Robert Zemeckis - What Lies Beneath

0:00 I know we're we're just off camera talking about this this new movie here that's about to come out. You'd never you hadn't seen the trailer. You just watched the trailer. What now, I gotta know your thoughts. This is going to be a pretty powerful film. I see a The last shot of that trailer really nailed me when he walks into the room and says, we used to live here something this wife, this is where we lived. This is where we lived. But just the I'm guessing a lot of this movie takes place in one room or one house. I guess. I think the whole theme, the whole the whole gimmick. You know, Zamechis loves his gimmicks. Every couple of years he's doing something crazy, and you know, at the forefront of technology, and we've got we've got Tom Hanks basically growing up in this house and living his whole life there. And yeah, it's and it's like it looks like it's a static shot. It's like one shot, like what like the camera's just stuck in the living room because watch the whole movie.

1:01 Yeah, because it shows the whole past too, like dinosaurs and like a cavewoman and then I guess everything is right there. You know that Casey Affleck movie Ghost, We should cover that sometimes. I know we've been talking to horror movies all month long, but we should cover that at some point because it's amazing. But same kind of premise, like where he's stuck in the same spot and we never leave that spot. Like, I don't know, man, I think Zamechas is up to something brilliant here. I think so too, and I'm very excited about it. Well, on that note, let's talk about a film by Robert Zamechis, his two thousand underrated horror mystery What Lies Beneath. Hello, everybody, I'm Jeff Johnson. I'm David Burns, and this is a film by podcast. It's been a great month. We've talked about some excellent horror films here and on our Patreon. Uh, Dave, I know you've been very busy over there.

2:23 It's been a little crazy busy, Jeff, I've been. I've been involved in a lot of podcasts this month, but but I know we had a lot of fun with Scott Haffman with nineteen eighty six Psychoe three. I have been so waiting to cover Psycho three with you guys, Yeah, cause you know how we'll let the listeners hear that one. But you know how I feel about it, and I was. I would like to say I was surprised by the uh the reactions that you and Scott gave, but I'll leave it. I'll leave it at that. Yeah, moving on, Yeah, you know, and then like you know, nineteen ninety six, you know you you did Scream, You did, you did From Dust Till Dawn a film at forty five, you guys did the Amityville Horror.

3:03 It's been a busy month for you not to mention the uh the stuff you've been doing for a film. Buy. Yeah. Absolutely, it was an enjoy having Wayne with the Amityville Horror because he was always frightened that movie. He is terrified of that film. I can't believe you guys, maybe you sit through that. Come on, Sorry, Wayne, but hey, you yearned it. What lies beneath Dave? You and I have been talking about this one for a while. We were gonna do this last year. Remember the schedule. We just couldn't get the schedule figured out. Unfortunately we couldn't. But hey, we've got it now. Absolutely, Well, why don't you tell the listeners what What Lies Beneath is all about? Absolutely, he was the perfect husband until his one mistake followed them home. CLAIREA and Norman seemed to be a normal married couple taking their daughter off the school, but things began to quickly unravel when Claire believes there was a ghost in their home. To make matters worse, Claire believes the ghost is trying to tell her something, leading to discovery that she never could have even imagined. What Lies Beneath is a Hitchcock style film with lots of surprises, incredible camera work, and beautifully directed by the master himself.

4:10 Roberts mechis hold on tight as this mystery unravels in dramatic fashion, not only for Claire but for us as well. You mentioned Hitchcock, so let's go ahead and have the Hitchcock conversation. Of course does the meccas asks himself, what would Hitchcock have done with this script? So a couple of things, you know, And this is I'm quoting, I'm kind of paraphrasing him. He says, you got to cast a big star for the husband. First mission accomplished right easily. Yes, you got to make sure our female lead is blonde. Yeah, they think about I mean, if you think about all of Hitchcock's the female leads, they were all blondes. Yep again, you're doing great. Yep. Knocked out of the park. Yeah, Ford, Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer. They were his first and only choices for this movie. I can't even imagine who else could have done this movie because their chemistry and we'll get into we'll get into their their relationship, their marriage, whatever throughout the while we talked. But but the chemistry that these two have is just amazing.

5:18 I think two incredible actors at the top of their game, no doubt about it, and their chemistry was phenomenal in this film. Mm hmm. I'll tell you what I love. I've made no secret that rear window is my all time favorite Alfred hitch hoy Home. I know there is a lot of rear window happening here at the beginning. You know, you got Claire spying on the furs, the the the the couple who lives next door. Yeah, you know, you got the husband. I love the husband removing something large and wrapped in plastic and stuffing it into the trunk of his car during a thunderstorm. Yeah, Wabachelle Fiver's watching in terror. Yeah, you know, we got the the wife goes mis see for a little bit. You know, Claire Michelle Pfeifer's character, she's spying, she's snooping, No one believes her her suspicions. I love that about about this movie, honestly.

6:12 Yeah, you gotta have you gotta have those neighbors, right, I mean you've got to have that mysterious neighbor to keep things rolling. So yeah, of course. Every every uh, every neighborhood needs aklopex living living somewhere. What about that? And then we got the psycho homage. You know, there's a lot of terror in this movie that takes place in the bathroom. And you know, it's funny as how that's the first shot of the film. Mm hmm that you know, I'll say, if you're gonna open your movie with Michelle Pfifer in the bathtub, that's right, I'm in. I'm in. Yeah. I mean this movie has got like foreshadowing like crazy in it. There's like three things they foreshadow that clearly comes into play later on in this movie, and that's one of them. Puting up with that bathtop. You know, obviously something's gonna happen in there later.

7:03 Yeah, well, you know, and and then later like we you know, just because we're talking Hitchcock. Now. I love the fact that Michelle Feiffer pulls the shower curtain in a very a very familiar way. I found an interesting quote Zameca's actually he uh, Dave, I know you uh you have this one on on DVD. Correct, Oh, yeah, of course they do. Yeah. Uh. The audio commentary, I noticed a Za Mecca stated, and I'm quoting him here about the bathroom. He says, quote, it's the most vulnerable, vulnerable room in the house. It's the creepiest room. And they offer bathrooms offer many of the same services as a morgue. I'm telling you right now when he like, I heard him say that, and I thought about, like, think about bathroom brightly lit, a lot of hard surfaces, you know, cleaning, preparing drains, drains. He's not wrong, No, he's not.

8:01 That's kind. I haven't been to the bathroom all day just because I don't know if I want to do the bathroom to night now. Yea. And of course there's you know a lot of the pacing of this film, the camera angles especially. You know, I don't know how much you want to talk about camera angles, but there's a lot of hitchcock. If you know me and camerangles, Buddy, I talk about it all the time because I love cinematography. Yeah, tell me what tell me, tell me what you thought about the shots of this movie. Yeah, I'm telling you, man, towards the end of this film, when you get that whole sequence of her trying to escape. Okay, we're gonna go back to one of them a little bit later that we're going to talk about and that's going to the floor. But yeah, the ones I'm talking about is when she runs out to get to the vehicle.

8:49 She jumps into the vehicle and then she it won't start, and then she has to open the door and the camera goes with the mirror you kind of see what's going on behind her to add even more attention to what's going on with her character. And then she goes through the truck. She gets the truck, she takes off, but yet you're she's still looking in the mirror back. You see the rocking chair moving. Yeah, on the porch, Yes, so you. Know someone has gone off. Come off that porch. But even before that, you get that shot of him sitting up inside the window. That's that silhouette where he yes. Yeah. So many good camera angles in this movie. Man, that just very Hitchcock, very Hitchcock. I remember when I first saw this in the theater and that scene was like, oh my god, he literally this is a love story to Alfred Hitchcock. That's exactly what that was.

9:38 It is it is uh and the music and I, you know, we'll kick this down the road a little bit because I know we're gonna talk about it later, but even the music is such such a Hitchcock homage. And I absolutely love what Alan Silvestrie does. But we'll get to that. We'll get that a little bit later here. But Dave, are you aware that this film has a very infamous connection to a television show? No, I don't think I do. This makes me a little a little sad, It makes me a little suspect. But apparently this film has a lot in common with an episode of Charlie's Angels Real But All Shows, Season four, episode thirteen was called of Ghosts and Angels. This came out in nineteen eighty, So I'll give you a rundown of the episode because it's out there. The Angels attend a weekend party at a creepy mansion and there's a woman. She's one of the angels, her friend I think Shelley, the one that the angel that Shelly Hack played. She's friends with her. And this woman happens to be terrorized by a ghost that was in a relationship with her husband. Turns out the husband is the villain. You know. They they solve the crime

11:08 using stuff they find in the house. You know, it's apparently there's a lot of similarities, even with some dialogue, and not only not only does does DreamWorks not talk about this? There's no credit, there's no nods, no mentions, nothing to the Charlie's Angels episode of ghosts and Angels? So interesting. I didn't know that at all. Well, you know, they don't want you to know about it. Yeah, you don't. They don't want you to know. But yeah, check check out season four, episode thirteen, and I will. You might go. You might ask yourself like, what are you what are you up to? Robert? Yeah, he's very very Harrison Ford like is his cribbing. But speaking of Harrison Ford, he's playing he's playing Norman as in as in Norman Bates Norman Spencer Dave. He immediately signed on despite being cast against type. I think this is amazing, Like, I love that. I love the fact that he he's been the hero for so long and then a chance to play a real villain comes along and he's he snaps it right up.

12:25 Well, it throws you off, and that that really helps the film in my opinion, because when you when you watch it, you're you're kind of fooling yourself because like, this is Indiana Jones. He's not bad. No, I'm sorry, he's not bad. And then when you realize, as been Claire learns, you're like, oh, Harrison Ford is a jerk. Well he he goes from like, hey, he's Harrison Ford. He's gonna save us. Two, Okay, you know what you're you kind have a shitty husband. You know, you had an affair, but you're still Harrison Ford, so we can get past. It goes a little bit deeper. You covered up a murder, yeah, no, he you know, a suicide. First, you covered up a suicide, which at that point you're like, well wait a minute, hold on, why would you do that? Yeah?

13:12 And man, Harrison Ford is. I think he's doing some of his best acting when he's got her her lifeless body, when you know, when she's paralyzed by the drill. Yeah, he is just he's one of the best villains I've ever seen on a screen. Yeah, that whole sequence man, of when he drugged her and then takes her to the bathroom. Oh my god, dude, and she's in the bathroom, turns. The water on. Dude. That terrifying. Think what was terrifying? Just the camera angles in themselves, you know when the water level is rising. Well, and you know, we've seen we've seen Harrison Ford work with so many talented directors, and I'm asking myself, why did we have to wait until the year two thousand to get these two guys lined up? Turns out he was the original choice to play Eddie valliant and who framed Roger Rabert, but at the time Zabecca couldn't afford him. Yeah, he is Harrison Ford after all, that's right.

14:10 He is forward, so he comes with quite the price tag. His lovely and talented wife, Claire Spencer laid by Michelle Pfeiffer, The Beautiful, The Beautiful mesmerizing Michelle Pfeiffer we're talking about. I feel like we've been talking about Michelle Peiffer quite a bit this season. I know, I know we talked about her on Lady Hawk with me and Amber Lewis, But I'm always happy talking about Michelle Feiffer. This is Dave. You gotta think this is not the first time. You know, we opened the month talking about Michelle Pfeiffer, Amber and I did talking about Wolf. That's right, and now you and I are closing the month talking about Michelle Pfeifer, like the next little Michelle Feiffer sandwich. So yeah, I like that. Uh that that DVD audio commentary I mentioned, Becca Zabecca says, and you know he's talking about Michelle Feiffer, obviously he's as The whole reason the movie works on a suspense level is because the audience is. It has nothing to do with technique, it has nothing to do with effects or sound. It's all because audiences are one hundred percent emotionally involved with Michelle's character. It's true. He's absolutely right.

15:18 Yeah, you attach yourself to her character really quickly. Yeah, and you want to believe her, you want to be with her. You want to be behind her, you know, in believing what she's doing, and you want to protect her. So yeah, you attached to her pretty quickly. I'll tell you something. You and I. I mentioned you and I talked about Scream on our nineteen ninety six limited series. This is something we didn't talk about, but Michelle Pfeiffer actually took inspiration from Drew Braymore's performance and Scream. That's right, Yeah, saying the character's terror was was so real. It was so real. She thought, that's that's how you do it. That is exactly how you do and that's why it works so well in that film. That's why it works so well in this film.

15:59 Yeah. Well, she spends this whole movie trying to convince everyone that she's not going crazy, but at the same time, she's wondering, am I going crazy? Yeah? You know, and and as you as an audience that are thinking the same thing. Because what I like about this movie about her character, you know, you don't get it through dialogue right away of kind of her past when she goes downstairs and she's looking through the photo album and you're looking at the pictures and stuff like that. Just in that you're starting get a little tidbit of her, of her background, of a story that you want to know more of, And of course you get that a little bit later on what happened to her previous husband. Yeah, well, movies, movies have to give us exposition. Some movies do a poor job where they just ram it down her throat. And then you have a movie like What Lies Beneath where it's very subtle, like with the scene that you're talking about, cause you you know, the first thing you cleue in on. You know, the daughter's going away to college. They're packing her up, getting her ready, and the daughter's concerned, and she says, don't worry. I've got my garden, I've got Norman, I've got you know.

17:02 And I'm like, wait, why didn't she say dad? Right? And I'm like, wait, is the girl not? Is Harrisupport not her father? And then you find out you're looking at this this photo album she was married before to a musician. Yep, it was a you know, he passed away, and you know, a lot of a lot of a lot of emotional baggage Michelle Feiffer's carrying. We don't it's not told to us it's shown to us in a very subtle, quick way just looking through a photo looking through a photo op. And I think that's such a brilliant way it is to tell a lot about someone's past. Yeah, it's a very talented way of doing it. Because in working in the movies you want to use left words and more visual. That's exactly what they did right there, and it works perfect.

17:43 Yeah. Other than that, Zameccha's is doing doing great foreshadow, Like you talked about her in the bathtub opening the movie, and even when you get exposition through dialogue, think about when she's scared. You know, she hears some noises in the house, she goes to work, you know, she she goes to see him at work. And you get to like the lab, the lab guys that the lab techs. They're just talking about what this that this drug can do to mice. And you know, the first time you watch this, you're not even thinking about it night, not at all. It's just like whatever. Yeah, you know, same thing like when they go to dinner and cross the bridge. Yeah, oh yeah, the crossing the bridge and the cell phone signal. Yep, them having dinner with their friends and they're having that that that situation where he's talking about another professor that was let go because he got involved with a got involved with a student and hairsports like that. I don't mess around with that. Yeah. There's so little, so many, yeah, so many things that you you missed the first time you see this movie. Yeah, and it's funny to go back and watch and pick them up.

18:45 The movie's full of that foreshadowing stuff and yeah, you don't really catch it. Yeah, I mean, we're we're we just what we just did was tip of the iceberg, you know, you know, and if we just and if hey, if we ruined it, I'm sorry. Has been out for twenty four years. So yeah, I think you had your chance to see this. Come on, come on, sorry, I'm not sorry. How about that? That's great. James James Remar and Miranda Otto play the problematic couple that's just moved in across next door the Fears again. Remar in small doses is amazing. I think I love his character. Oh yeah, me too, because he's creepy when she goes next door to kind of snoop around try and find the wife. He's polite, he's not threatening, but his creep factors off the charts. Still, really, when when will your wife be back? I have to go so you know, you know, man, he's great. I love the fact too that he gets I love the fact for James remar that he gets to save the line I didn't kill my wife in front of Harrison Ford, who says it in like what nineteen ninety three fugitive in the Futuitive.

20:02 I tell you, there's there's a There's a couple other scenes I really love with him. One was and you really feel like bad because when Clara goes off off the rocker at the party blaming him from murdering his wife in front of everybody, and then they turn his wife like walks in, they're like, oh rap, well okay, I just made a full of myself. But the other part was later on when there I guess was at the dinner party. Or the dinner party for the Dean or something for the Dean. Yeah, and like they're together and he's pretending like he's choking her. Oh yeah, he sees her from across the across the party and he gives like the high nod, but then like play strangles his wife, like I gotcha, you know Miranda Auto. Uh, this is two years before she's playing Iowin in The Lord of the Rings. Yeah. Kind of nice for ze Meccas to get. You know, you look back on this now, it's like, wow, Mirandato. You know she's in such a small role, right, but she really wasn't you know? She had? Yeah yet that's some TV.

21:02 He done a couple couple of small roles. But hmm yeah, nice seeing her in this though. I think it was I think he also was. Nice. Thing is Joe Morton who plays that doctor Drayton. Oh, yeah, he's been in a ton of stuff, you know, Miles Dyson exactly. Everyone's gonna know him a Mile Dyson from T two. He plays one of those uh, he's he's playing the therapist though, like when Michelle Wiffer's going crazy or thinks she's going crazy and she needs to go talk and he's he's doing one of those therapists bits. So where you know, why do you think you're here? You know? And I. Want to point something out here, Jeff that I don't know if they did this on purpose or not. So the movie is called What Lies Beneath? Yeah, did you notice the Psychiatric's office was below ground.

21:51 You're right, the windows were like you saw people like above them. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I bet it is. That's pretty cool. I bet it was. Yeah. He's been a nice little he gets what I think he gets. Like what two scenes she goes to seam twice. Maybe it's always it's always nicee Joe Morton, Oh yeah, it's always nice to see uh. Amber Valletta, supermodel, supermodel, Amber Valletta. She's playing Madison the Ghost yep, Dave. This was her feature film debut, is it mm hmm. Now, I don't know about you. I I know her aside from playing the creepy ghost in this movie. I always remember as the object of Kevin james affection in that Will Smith movie.

22:39 Hitch oh yeah, hitch, Yeah, you're right. She was like the she played the girl like Kevin James had a crush on her, and Will Smith was gonna help him. You know, He's gonna give him some game, teach him how to talk to girls or whatever. Sure, Kevin James, we believe you. I believe it. I believe I want to live in a world where Kevin James can can land someone like Amber Valletta, because. I guess because that gives me home to You're right, she gives you hope too, man. Yeah. Yeah, So it's it's this is one of those fun things though, where like you see her and like you gotta be careful that because at any any given moment she turns into like the ghost, the the coord the the decayed corpse ghost version of Madison. So I'm happy to see her sometimes and sometimes I'm like, you know, pull the blanket up. I'm not ready.

23:29 Yeah, that that whole sequence of her when she was when the truck obviously crashed into the water and you get that whole secret underwater fantastic. Yes, that was an entirely incredible scene from beginning in there. But then you know she comes up and basically grabs mister Ford there and helps him drown. Mm hmm, just just you know, justice served, right, that's right, Justice served. Let's uh, I want to talk about the film's background, but before you do that, let's take a quick break and we'll be right back. Welcome back. We're talking about what lies beneath Dave. I found something that you might know this, but I'm gonna share it anyways.

24:12 Because our listeners are gonna you know, it might blow. We might blow some minds here. DreamWorks has a script treatment from Sarah Trona Chan. Now if you don't know that name, it's partially our fault because we did not talk about her on our limited series nineteen eighty six. She was the writer for nine and a half weeks. But she gives us a script treatment and it's involving a retired couple dealing with compassionate spirits. Apparently yep, which is not this film. No DreamWorks. DreamWorks likes it enough to get it. Then they hire Clark Greg to rewrite it.

24:52 Clark Greg, Clark Greg, you know who I'm talking about. No, please tell me. Oh well, I'm gonna blow your mind too. Clark Greg is Agent Coulson from the MCU. What oh my, yes, yeah, Clark. I was like, I'm looking at you by Clark Greg, and I'm getting no reaction. I'm like, because they didn't connect it to that's the same person. Holy crap. Agent Coulson wrote What Lies Beneath all right? Yeah, And in nineteen ninety eight, Steven Spielberg hands agent Coulson's script to his friend Robert Zemeckis. M that's that's that's the starting point for this one. You know, I don't know where we can talk about it, but I want, I do want to. We we gotta talk about the music before it gets away from us. Oh yeah, Alan's music. Yeah, composed and performed by Alan Silvestri. I love his music here.

25:48 I love the nods to Hitchcock that he's doing in it. It's so Hitchcock. I mean, he could. I mean, Allen Sylvester has worked with the Meccas for many, many, many years and many films, so of course he was going to high Silvestri. But the fact that you know Zamakis was going for this Hitchcock style film, he knocked it out of the park with Soda Sevestri. Both of them camed up very well to pull that off. It's incredible what he does here, because sometimes the best thing a composer can do is nothing at all, And there are several scenes where he purposely has no music and all you're left with are the sounds in.

26:28 The house as as a frightening Well, think about this. Think about every time you've ever been in a situation where you're alone and you're scared, the silence is almost deafening because everything is amplified because you're listening so intently, and you get that, you get that in this film. Some of the best moments are are the moments where there's no music because you're you're you're like like you you mentioned like you know, we're along for the ride with Michelle Pfeiffer, and we are put in that same, that same place of fear with her. Because his music, I think would sometimes music can have a way of telling you what's gonna happen, right, And I like the fact that this time out his score when it does kick in, especially at the end, which is when it should kick in when it should and it just now, then it's telling you, like, buckle up, right, yep, Well I'm gonna buckle up because you know, you know as well as I are. Our good friend Wayne Whiteed loves Alan Silvestri. So I think it's time for another of Wayne's score sessions. Let's do it, Wayne, take it away.

27:39 The year two thousand was an interesting year for cinema, with quite a mix of films including Gladiator, Castaway, Dinosaur X Men, The Patriot Chicken Run, all of which I saw in the theater, And another film that I saw in the theater with my family was What Lies Beneath, not because I like the trailer or the plot of the film sounded interesting, but simply on the fact that it was acted by Robert Simchis. Zamechis was a director that I had followed with for more than a decade at that point, ever since the release of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and I always made sure that I saw every one of his films in the theater, even if I didn't care for the film. There was always one thing that I could rely on that every one of his movies would have a fantastic score by Alan Silverstrey.

28:24 But this was a different genre film that I was used to hearing from Silvestri, the horror film. At this point, Silverstrie hadn't scored many horror films. The only film that comes to mind was his electronic score for the nineteen eighty five film Cat's Eye. I know he had scored three episodes, as Mecha said, directed of the TV series Tales from the Crypt, which I loved, so I believed he was up for the task. But was he. I'm finding it difficult to answer that question. Silverstrie has a style, a unique sound that, like most composers, can be heard throughout every one of their scores. It's like a fingerprint, and within a few bars of music, I can tell it's his. It's in his scores for Back to the Future, It's in his music for Judge Dread Richie Rich Young Guns too. Hell is even in his earliest scores for the TV series Chips. That uniqueness is missing with his score for What Lies Beneath. Silvistrie had created one sound with his score, one tone, and it's a low, droning monotone, oneasiness. At times he will lift his music above that, creating short bursts of full orchestra that start to remind me of his other more luscious scores before they need backs down and returns to the quiet and somber undertones. What Lies Beneath is a case of where the score works best within the context of the film and not as a separate listening experience. Get

29:55 me wrong, There are some wonderful cusity created one that sets the mood of the scene. It's accompanying without ever going overboard and moving above the dialogue and sound effects that Simcha's has expertly crafted. One would be the cue panic Attack, using quiet strings and woodwinds to set the tone before ending with a brief reprise of his main title. Another is Forbidden Fruit, the longest cue that Sylviistry created for this score, which at times begins to mimic the sound of Bernard Hermann and his score for Psycho, and where Sylviistry side finally starts to lift his music above the ominous droning and into more familiar orchestral themes, with several outbursts of percussion leading to string and woodwinds mealy and ending with a very creepy ensemble of screaming female voices, and then the course the score ends with a very satisfying six and a half minute end credits, where Sylvistry takes all his new themes and combines them into one concert piece to cap everything off. The score for What Lies Beneath was first released on July twenty fifth, two thousand, with a thirty minute CD consisting of nine selected cues, released by Very Sarah Band Records just in time for the film's theatrical release, but then this year, on May fourth, twenty twenty four, Very Sarah Band released the complete score in a twenty five track sixty minutes program featuring two source cues, newly remastered with beautiful clear sound and with

31:27 new liner notes, and an interview with screenwriter Clark Gregg, which I'm just now realizing is that the same guy that played Agent Cools Avengers. It is okay, Well, I learn something. The score is still available through the company's website and at various soundtrack dealers like in Trodden Screen Archives. While I wouldn't call it an essential buy, those who would enjoy a different side to Alan Silverstree, which should pick it up for their collection. It's amazing. Wayne is so good about breaking down a score for us. Yeah, and I'm so glad that we're doing this now and getting him involved with these scores because people need to hear what he has to say. And I couldn't agree more. Wayne, you are absolutely right about Silvestri's score and what he did for this film.

32:18 Absolutely. Back to the production, Dave DreamWorks brings Fox into this deal. They agree to a package that involves Castaway. I think this is a very unusual situation here because Samechis shoots What Lies Beneath while Castaway is on a hiatus. Well, yeah, the d heady of Tom Hanks time to lose weight when he was stuck on that island. So I mean it made sense, right, you need to waste time. They're shooting Castaway. He's out on the island. All right, Tom, you need to grow your hair, you need to grow the beard. You need to drop about thirty forty pounds. We'll see in six months. Right, we're gonna film another movie.

32:58 We're gonna go fill another Think about that, though, I mean, you dave you as a director, think about the idea of shooting something, being right in the middle of it, and then hitting the brakes and then jumping into a whole different project and shooting the entire thing pre production, production, post, and then jumping right back to the movie that you're working on. It boggles my mind that there are some talented people out there who are able to do that. You just turn it off and turn something on and then off and then on again, because I mean, you're switching gears so much, and you know how involved it is with filmmaking, Jeff, you know you've been behind the scenes and making films too. But this reminds me of Spielberg when he made Sinders List and Jurassic Park at the same time.

33:44 How do you do that? I don't understand what these guys how they do what they do, But I'm so happy that they do. Oh yeah, what they do because their films are incredible. They absolutely are. Yeah, this film, I mean, this film was incredible in its own right. It did earn two hundred and ninety one million dollars on a budget of one hundred million. It opens at number one at the box office. It beat the X Men, Yeah, Bryan singers X Men, it beat it. And you know, but here's the thing. When we speak about it being underrated, it's with the critics, you know, because they praised Michelle Pfeifer's performance, but they went cold on the film overall. And I don't understand that. I've read so many reviews of this, Dave, and I'm like, what film did they what?

34:25 What were they watching? I don't know. And this is why, man, just go to the theater, don't you know. The critics are a good thing to read to get an idea, but just go get your make your own mind up, go see movies. And this is a perfect example of that, Jeff, I don't know what they were watching. I saw this. I saw this at the theater I did do, and it was it was phenomenal. You know, I have a funny story about when I saw this movie. Oh tell me, I gotta I want to hear. So I was working at Suncoast. I was living in Indiana at the Lafayette Store at that time. Okay, so my family had come out to visit me. And you know my niece, Meghan, oh yeah, who loves horror movies, but she has a tendency to get scared very easily.

35:09 So her and I decided to go watch What Lies Beneath in the theater, just her and I. And it was fortunate for us because when we went to see this, we were the only two in the entire theater that saw this movie, so we had this theater to ourselves. But the only reason why I say that, Jeff, is because the scene in the movie where Claire's walking around and the radio comes on, oh yeah, nowhere, it's really loud and makes you jump. So when that happened, Megan let out the most blood curdling scream I have ever heard in a theater, and I'm like, oh, I was laughing more at her than anything else. So that for this movie here. I have so many fond memories of that, and I just I'd love to tell that story.

35:53 Seeing seeing movies on the big screen and sharing it with an audience, even if it's one person, sometimes makes a huge difference and whether or not you're gonna enjoy it, And that's I love when stuff like that happens. Actually, oh yeah, yep, you mentioned earlier there was a scene you wanted to talk about. Oh yeah, the the the shot of going under the floor. Yep, you know, this was an amazing This is when she's getting drugged and the camera comes basically over top of it. He goes down underneath the floor looking up at her, and of course Harrison fordas he's coming over her in the commentary that you talk about, Jeff, I watched listen to that commentary and when he got to that point, says, we're not going to talk about this scene. I got so agitated because of that happening in that commentary.

36:43 I remember, I remember you and I talking about that moment, and then I remember this comes out, and I remember I hadn't listened to the commentary yet, and then you called. I remember you calling me angry. I was because you were like he he mentions the scene and I was like, well, why you so upset? Like what he goes because he says, oh, here's this great scene, and we're not going to talk about it. Moving right along, You're like curious. Yeah, it's him and the two producers on that audio commentary. They're like, oh, here's a great scene. You know, we're gonna talk about how we did it, though, you know, sometimes you just can't. You can't tell everything. But we're living in twenty twenty four now, yeah, we know the answer. We know the answer now. Yeah. Yeah.

37:27 So irritating. But apparently they had done a glass. Floor, uh huh. So when the camera goes under and looks up, you're looking through obviously glass, and they just replaced it digitally with the wooden floor, which is very unique on how they did that. I love when they do stuff like that. I think it might be one of the best camera shots in the entire film. I do too. And they kind of did it again a little bit later when she was escaping. Remember she knocked the keys out off at that little dish or whatever it was, and they fell on the floor. The camera kind of goes underneath him, again, so they kind of did it again right there. Yeah, yeah, he double dipped on that one about but I was totally cool with that. Oh yeah, me too. Yeah.

38:08 Best scene for you, like most like whether it's the most intense, whether it's I'm thinking, you know, I'll just I'll jump ahead of you. Mm hmm. I think it's Ford where he's he's he's getting her ready, like he's he's gonna murder her. Oh yeah, And you know, we we always see this. It's it's a cliche when a villain is going to explain their whole motives to the hero that's gonna that we know is gonna get away. But he's so arrogant and he's so smarmy the way he's he's talking about what he did to Madison and why he did it, and even that moment where he's he's kind of sympathetically like he's he's resting his chin on the on the on the edge of the tub, yep, and he's like, you know, I always I'm I'll always think of you. When I look at you know, your daughter's eyes. It's like the creep factor shoots through the roof on that because now you're thinking wait, why is he even thinking about the daughter, you know, the nineteen year old daughter away at college. Because you know, he says, oh, this is gonna your death is gonna bring us so much closer. It's like, oh dude, yeah right, No, Harrison Ford, like, would you let me give a chance to be a villain?

39:21 He goes all in right that that whole sequence, You know that you took the words right out of my mouth. That whole scene there in the bathtub, in the bathroom, just every camera angle, every word, everything that was done there was just perfectly done. And the scene where he gets scared because he sees the the ghost mm hm and he hits his head. Dude, I don't know how they filmed that, but that looked real. It looks well, it looks real because it's it's really Harrison Ford. Because they talk about him doing his own stunt there, like he was like, no, I can do it. I do not want to take a tumble in a marble bathroom. No, with with a cast iron tub, That's that's not for me. But even the close shots that like right, he's right up, the camera's right on the shell fifer as that water is getting closer to her mouth closer to her nose because she can't move.

40:10 She's paralyzed, but she's awake, but she's getting slow movements in her toe. Slow mood. Yeah, but I love that that he keeps the water. I love that he keeps the camera right on the bath water yep, so that you feel it's a very tense moment because you feel like that, that that anxiety, like you're about to drown, like the water's getting too close. And that can want to show you what camera angles can do for you. They help tell the story and pull you into it. Yeah, well, then the whole you know, she gets out, you know, he he he sees the ghost, He tumbles, busts his head open, there's blood everywhere. She regains feelings. She's able to escape, narrowly escapes the bathtub drowning, but now he's missing, like where's he at in the house And she's got to creep around like it's it's always you always feel for the like the fine girl in a horror film when she has to quietly try to get out because you know you're you're you're screaming, like just run, make a mad dash for the door. But the reality is when you're in a scary situation. You're not gonna no one's gonna do that because you're every little, every little movement, you're terrified that absolutely that that thing that's out the getch is right there right. Yeah, it makes perfect sense. I think we need to talk about Zamechas and his filmography.

41:25 Oh yeah, absolutely, let's do it, all. Right, So I'll tell you what. Let's let's do a couple of bullet points. Uh, and then we'll take a break before we do his filmography. But I do wanna, I don't want to share a couple of things for you, Dave. So. He attended the University of Southern California, the School of Cinema. His classmates were George Lucas and John Malace. No, how about that. Can you imagine the talent sitting in that room. It just baffles your mind, doesn't It does? As I say it, it baffles me. We've never done a George Lucas episode. We have not. Uh. We put that, we put that on the list. We got we gotta do that next season. Certainly there's something that George has done that we can do that's underrated.

42:11 So yeah, we'll get to that. Uh, here's something that surprised me. Robert Zemeckis, his first wife appeared in several of his films talking about Mary Ellen trainor Wow, and that was his wife. Yeah, And for those of you listening that don't recognize that name, she is one of the quintessential moms of the nineteen eighties. This is this was this was a Mikey's mom from the Goonies. Yeah, you know, she was the mom and a monster squad. Yeah, that's right. A lot a lot of us loved her as the she was what what was she like? The the therapist, the police therapist that was always trying to get Rigs to calm down and come talk yep. Yeah, wonderful lady. Wonderful lady. One other thing, Dave, I'll tell you, uh, you know, his movies like we and we kind of mentioned this earlier, but his you know, although his movies are typically at the forefront of special effects technology, his favorite effect is the good old fashioned close up shot because of its uniqueness, and he uses it several times in this film. He does.

43:17 Yeah, every director has something they love to use, and that clearly is his. You know, I always like to before you get into the filmography. I always like to offer up a quote, Oh yeah, the director, but you you just you, You and Scott do such a great job on a film forty five. I taskeed you. I said, hey, man, give me give me a good Zamechas quote. What do you what do you got for me? So this has come directly from Roberts and Mechas. He says. I feel that one of the reasons I enjoy having films that are historical or revisionist history or a period film is because I think it's one of the things that cinema can do best. It can do it well in two areas. One is that you can recreate the past in a movie and present present it in a fictional way because we know what it looked like. And the second reason is by having time pass, you can examine the truth about something that happened in the past because you've been able to look at it through the prism of time.

44:13 That is very meaningful. I'm gonna guess that you you chose that one because I know you're You're the biggest history buff I know. Any huge history buffs. Of course, very clever of you, mister Burns. I'll tell you what Let's take one last break and then we'll do Uh. The filmography of Roberts A mechis welcome back. We are talking about Roberts mechis What Lies Beneath? And Uh, Dave, Yeah, his first film is a you know, he did a couple of shorts, but his debut. I can understand how you and Scott might have overlooked this one on a film at forty five, the first season when You Guys Wed in nineteen seventy eight movies. Yep, he does a movie called I Want to Hold Your Hand and I'm looking at this, says. In nineteen sixty four, six teenagers from New Jersey run off to see the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in the hope of meeting their idols. However, they don't have tickets. Along the way, they learn new things about friendship and growing up. I don't know. I mean, I like the Beatles, I do you do? But never ever heard of this one? I'll tell you. I bet I bet our friend def Dave has heard of this one. You know, he better have heard of it, because he better have as big of it.

45:36 He's the host of the Apples and Oranges podcast right where they match up the Beatles against the the Beach Boys. So we'll have to reach out to Dave and get his take on. I want to hold your hand because I can't tell you anything about it, but I can tell you I want to see it now. Nineteen eighty he does used Cars, Kurt Russell. What do you think about that one? It's been so long since I've seen that one, to be honest with you, so I can't remember too much about it. I remember he was a car salesman, right, Yeah, I remember correctly. Yeah, I don't remember too much about it. I do remember it was enjoyable, but it wasn't something that really stood out to me. It's one of those like you're at home, you're board, you're looking for something to watch, and you're like, oh, used Cars is on. I haven't seen this in ten years, fifteen years. Yeah, you know. And this is a this is a very young Kurt Russell, obviously sineteen seventy eight.

46:25 This is he's right out of the Disney factory. I might I might have I might have to give that one another another look. See, Yeah, me too. But I'll tell you what I what I can talk about endlessly Romancing the Stone in nineteen eighty four. This movie is so, so freaking fantastic. It is a really good film, one that I've only seen once or twice. To be honest with you, are you kidding me? I'm not kidding you once or twice? Yeah, I just I do remember as a family watched it. We rented it on video and that was the very first time that I had seen it, and it was very entertaining. Oh absolutely, It's It's one of those movies where, look, we had had Raiders at the Lost Ark, we wanted more of it, and it's okay if we can get a couple more action film. I know, I know this movie got a lot of heat for trying to be be a Raiders, you know film, but it works so well on its own. It's the chemistry between Michael Douglas and and Kathleen Turner. It's well, it was good enough to do a sequel, right Joel and I so well? Yeah, I mean, Dad of the Vido though, is so fun as like the bad guy in this.

47:39 Amazing and everything. I swear, I love, I love Romancing the Stone. I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what you need to do because you said you've only seen it once or twice. I'll remind you that it is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year. It is, yeah, forty years old. Let's not forget our our buddy Dayton Johnson covered this on docum Base seventy seven. Oh yeah, that's right, and he. Invited a couple gals that we have worked with before, U Testa Nicole from the Doom Generation. That was a fun episode that the three of them did on Romancing the Stone. So listen, Dave, check it out. Listeners, check it out, because anything I could say about Romancing the Stone, those three individuals are going to say it better. Yeah.

48:26 From there, Dave, he the hit the hit machine is in full effect though. Nineteen eighty five, we know this. Yeah, Back to the Future a man again. What can we say that hasn't been said already? Great trilogy, great trilogy. We know he did one, part one, part two, part three. Yeah, part one, Yeah, he did the whole trilogy. Yeah, I remember though, think about this though, Remember remember when you went to the theater and you saw Back to the Future Part two and then you immediately freaked out because it it went right into like, oh, get ready for part three. Yep, and we had to wait. I think it was what six months it was released. Yeah, it was a very rare occasion that happened too.

49:07 I think was that the first time that's happened. I know, I know, that was the first time I had ever seen, uh to be continued type of situation happening because the first yeah, in the theater, because the first movie lends itself to like, oh, that'd be cool if they ever did a second one, but there was no guarantee, right, you know, but the second one at the end it says to be concluded, right, So and then they even got you know, they kind of did the horizon thing that Kevin Costner did this year where you got a couple couple of shots scenes from Back to the Future three. So yep, yeah, pretty incredible. Uh you actually we met one of the cast members. We sure did. I mean earlier, earlier this year.

49:49 I mean I was in a movie with one of the actors from Back in the Future. Yeah, pardon, pardon the big star here. We we met Tom Wilson at Motor City Comic Con this year, and the dude was so freaking funny, Jeff, as you know that guy can turn it on and off like it's nothing. And oh, he's definitely a performer. There's no doubt about that. Yes, you said it, no good, you said it perfectly. There. He can turn it on, he can turn it off because he definitely was working the crowd. He was had a lot of energy. He was turning it on. I know you had a great experience with with with him, and I want to hear about it. I want the listeners to hear about it. Well, it comes to turning it when he when he turned it off. I definitely feel like he turned it off when I when I was talking to him, because he he apparently was not happy with me bringing up let's get Harry or several other things about his career. He just looked like he was going, yeah, he wanted nothing to do with me.

50:57 But but you, on the other hand, you had a great experien's at least I did. Yeah, tell us you know so. Like I said, I was in Andersonville with him where we shot a movie for three months back in nineteen ninety four, and I wanted him. We got a book that we got because the cast and crew received and I wanted him to sign it. Obviously, so when I went up, you know, to pay for his autographs, they basically told me to go ahead and get the item out of my bag. I pulled it out. As soon as I pulled it out and started walking through towards Tom Wilson, he saw it, and Jeff, you. Saw his reaction. He was lit up when he saw what I had for him to sign, because I mean, come on, let's be honest here. He probably that's all he signed is back to the Future, Back to the Future, back to the future, everything, and for him to get to sign something that's not Back to the Future, and you can clear least tell he had a good experience with that movie because he lit up about it. And then I had a photo album full of photos that I had taken behind the scenes as we were making that movie, and you know, we went through the pages and stuff like that. He was pointing out people he remembered, and we talked a little bit back and forth right then and there and really complimented me on a great collection of photos that I had. So it was a wonderful experience.

52:06 The guy was so genuine, so nice and just you know, so funny. He absolutely was that for you. I'm happy. It was great for me to watch you have that experience because you were, like you said, he all he gets to talk about is Back to the Future. Yeah, you were discussing Andersonville gave him an opportunity to talk about another another one of his projects. Like I said, I tried his His whole table was just covered in Back to the Future. Yeah, I was, and I jokingly was like, hey, man, where's all the let's get Harry stuff. Let's talk, let's talk action. He just he gave me that uh what are you looking at butt head kind of look. Yeah, it was moving right along. Uh. Nineteen eighty six, Robert Zemeckis is doing a couple of the Amazing Stories YEP episodes.

52:58 I love that series. You to a lot of famous directors came through that Amazing Story. Is that available? But I feel like that would be like on two B or Pluto. Don't it's streaming anywhere to be once you I owned the box set which come on DVD years and years ago, I don't not even streaming anywhere. To be honest with you, I well. You know, I'll just I'll just come over bar years and never give it back. Moving on, Moving on, nineteen eighty eight, Who Framed Roger Robert another little film you might not have heard of, just kidding. The idea it's still to this day. I mean, this movie's been out for decades. And the idea that someone said, hey, what if we took all the Disney characters and all the Looney Tunes characters and put them together in a movie with live action reactors blows my mind again. Robert Zemeckis is the guy you call when you want to do something that hasn't been done before. Yeah, you know, it's like yeah, yeah, It's like it's like, hey, uh, George Lucas, Jim Cameron, Robert Zamkas. Yep, that's that's the that's the three of the Mount Rushmore when it comes to, let's make a movie where something has never happened before, and we'll we'll just create the technology, right right, Yep. This is one of those other This is again, this is another situation where you know, I gotta plugs I gotta plug Dayton Johnson and the docum maay seventy seven podcasts because he did a great episode on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and he happened to do it with our friends Jason and Dee the Shirley you Can't Be Serious podcasts,

54:30 So you know again you want to you want to hear some great stuff about these movies. Uh, check out our friends both both the Shirley you Can't Be Serious podcast and the Docum Bay seventy seven podcast. Absolutely. Uh you know. Back to Future two comes out in eighty nine. Back to Future Part three comes out in ninety ninety two. He does a film that I absolutely love it is so it's critically underrated. Hm, it's hilarious and I'm talking about Death Becomes Yeah, Bruce Willis, isn't it Bruce Willis? Yeah? I think they absolutely Goldie Haunt and Meryl Street Cure in that one as well. Yeah, them is like fading actresses. Yeah, you know, learning how to be immortal and but not being able to put their their rivalry behind them. And man does this movie go off the rails in such a fun way, a fun way. Yep, that's one of It's one of my favorite Bruce Willis movies too. Honestly, that says a lot. Yeah, he's just he's hilarious. He's so fun in this movie.

55:34 I love it, you know, And I always remember like I remember at the end of the movie when they go to his his funeral, he you know, he has dieded like you know, of extreme old age, but he's lived this amazing life after he got away from him. Yep, and the reverence like you know, as he once said, life begins at fifty. And you know, as I as I get closer to fifty, I'm starting to wonder, like, Okay, yeah, let's let's live that. Bruce willis life. That's gonna go with this nineteen ninety four again, Let's he's breaking new ground because he's bringing all kinds of celebrities back to life, put them on the big screen in Forrest Gump.

56:17 Using all the old footage that he does in that movie. You're right, he's breaking all new ground again by putting Tom Hanks Forrest Gump into those scenes Forrest Gump. You know, say what you will about it now, But in nineteen ninety four, it was it was mind blowing because of the special effects. The soundtrack was everywhere. You could turn the radio on and not hear something from the two disc CD soundtrackep and it had it gave us all this great stuff in the fifties the sixties, the seventies, eighties. I mean it's like the Mega soundtrack, right, Yeah, yeah, fantastic.

56:57 And Tom Hanks gives us the performance. If it's not a lifetime to be honest, of a lifetime. Yeah, I mean when he's reading the letter h the jinny at her grave, there's not a dry eye on the audience. No, there's not. You watch that movie now and you still get a little choked up. Oh, he does that when he tries to get through that beautiful score too by mister Sovestry. Oh man, I'm memorable score by Alan Silvestri. Yep. Absolutely love that. I tell you another one and you know, back to like another. I'm gonna say this a little underrated. But a couple of years later, in nineteen ninety seven, he does a sci fi film called Contact. Yep, Jodi Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Man, this movie. This is another one. Like I'll tell you right now, if we do another Robert Zecca's movie, or I should say, when we do an when we do, it's probably gonna be Contact. Yeah. I adore this film. Absolutely love this one. YEP. If listeners, if you haven't seen this one and check it out.

58:02 Jennie Foster plays a doctor who, after years of searching, she finds she basically finds proof. She finds evidence of extradustrial intelligence. And then they start sending plans. It's almost like they're like doing this long distance pin pal thing to like build a machine that can connect us, we can bring us together. It is absolutely fantastic. Love that one. So another one that I love. Of course, we know we're talking about what lies beneath, which was after contact passed away. Jeff, I love this film so much. If I want to say that you and I saw this in the theater together.

58:42 We saw this one in the theater. I remember this one. I never could imagine having a movie that made me feel so emotional about a damn volleyball. This is the magic of Robert Zemeckis, because he does have us very upset over a volleyball, a Wilson brand volleyball. Right seriously here, Oh your heart. Is broken into a million pieces. Yep. The moment that ball floats away and Tom Hanks is just laying there on that makeshift raft apologizing. I'm sorry, Willson, sorry, Oh my god, your heart breaks like.

59:22 It's a volleyball. But still it was his best friend. Man. I gotta tell you, you can't talk about Castaway without talking about, you know, the character that drives Tom Hanks the whole time he's on the island. I'm talking about Helen Hunt's character. I have I have thoughts, do you. I don't know that she's entirely innocent. No, she's not. Oh okay, so you're with me. I'm I'm with you on this. Yes, I know where you're going with I. Kind of I kind of feel like maybe she was a little unfaithful, yeah, till told Chuck Nolan. Yep, and uh, I think she had something going on with the dentist before.

1:00:03 I have that feeling too, Yeah, because I mean he's so wrapped up with his job. Yeah, a little a little too convenient for for her to just move on so so quickly, right, Yep. I agree. It's a situation where and this isn't like years later, I'm like, oh wait a minute, I remember seeing this and we might even talked about it that, you know, when we saw in the theater. Like, it's a situation where I'm like, I don't know if I trust her, you know, right? And I was, I was, I remember being happy that they didn't end up together. Oh yeah, me too. I love the fact that he his his world is like wide open. At the end of the movie, he's got that great that great monologue about you know, he's just the sun will come up, you know, you know, I will got to keep moving, gotta keep breathing.

1:00:48 And the whole symbolism again that Zamechis does so well reaking the cross Roads of life. Mm hm oh at the end of that film. Yeah, it's just it's amazing that is it? Could that be as a mechus like his best work. I think between between that and Forrest Gump, they're they're pretty close for me, in my opinion, to be his best work, which is saying a lot looking at this, Yes, I mean he's look at his filmography. It is his very impressive philmography. I might, I might go on the line right now and just say, yeah, I think Castaway is his best work. All right, all right, don't hold me to that. But it's it's it's not a bad choice, Jeff, it's not.

1:01:29 Now And I'm not gonna say I'm not gonna use the phrase bad choice, but questionable choices. He goes on a little bit of a CGI tear here after Castaway, he was getting tiring. Okay, okay, I'm glad you said, because I didn't want I didn't want upset you. But you're not all right. Two thousand and four, we get the Polar Express. Two thousand and seven, we get BeO Wolf. Two thousand and nine, we get a Christmas Carol. Yep. Here's the thing. It's stories we've all known, we all grew up with. Yep, it's this new cutting edge CGI that just to me feels kind of creepy, like they they they're onto something here, but it's not perfected. So like the eyes, everyone's eyes are kind of dead. Yeah, and they look it almost looks like corpses, like if you're making their mouths move in a way. I get it.

1:02:22 I get it. In two thousand and four, you know, twenty years ago, it was like, wow, look at this, we can do computer animation that looks just like Tom Hanks. Yeah, but it just it didn't work for me. Man, I'm with you on that. I'm hoping he's out of that stage now no more. Well, I hope so too. And you know, Polar Express, like all right, hot take I don't get it. I don't get the magic of it. Yeah, it's one of those it's one of the Christmas stories I've just never really been big on. I don't care about it. Yeah, it's super popular, though. I know I'm not saying, you know, it's just not for me, that's all, you know, it's I don't I don't deny that it's what it did for cinema. But you know, Beowulf, Yeah, yeah, I think I think I enjoyed reading it in Missus Hatcher's ninth grade in English class more than watching this movie. Yeah, I would agree. And in two thousand and nine, when you got Jim Carrey doing the Christmas Carol in this CGI animation, this was the moment. This was the kind of the time frame. I was really sick of Jim Carrey.

1:03:30 Oh yeah, me too. I'd had enough, yep, like take take some time off or do something different. And he did, you know, he went off and did like a you know, he did his serious dramatic acting for a little while. So I was happy about that. But I'll tell you what I was also really happy about. Zamechas comes back in a huge way in twenty twelve. He calls up Denzel and he gives us the movie Flight. Oh Yeah. To this day, when I think of the scariest plane crash scenes ever filmed in a movie, I don't know if it's Flight or if it's Castaway, because they're both absolutely terrifying. They both are, yes, And what Denzel is doing in this movie is just on a whole other level because he's he's a very damaged individual. He's a flawed character. We should not be rooting for him the way we are. But I can't help you know, you can't help it. You know, I don't know. I just talk about a high functioning alcoholic drug addict. Yep, does you know he did? He's he was in the wrong, but he did the right thing. Kelly Riley playing a very emotional role. This is this is way before Yellowstone.

1:04:49 So everyone that's like, where's Kelly, where's Kelly Riley? Been? Well? Shit, go watch Flight. She's she's amazing in it, you know. Yep. John Goodman's character, Harlan Mays, that hippie drug dealer character he does, Oh man, he's so good. He is so good. Yeah, I Flight, oh Man. I went all in on Castaways, saying that's his best best work. And now I'm talking about Flight, and I'm. Like, that's what I'm saying. It's hard to pick because he has so many good films. I will go on the record right now and say that his best work involved a very traumatic plane crash. Okay, to go, and that covered for Flight or casting? I can, I can, I can flip back and forth. Now, yeah, Dave, I'm gonna I'm gonna admit something here and I'm a little a little embarrassed. But I've got some homework to do because after Flight, I have not seen any of his filmography.

1:05:48 So I've not seen The Walk and I've not seen Allied. Okay, well, let's well The Walk twenty fifteen Joseph Gordon Lovett. He plays this tightrope walker that correct walks between the World Trade Center towers. Yeah right, yep. I watched the trailer a couple hours ago and my palms were sweating. Yeah. I couldn't imagine like the trailer was like, see it in Imax three D. There's no way I could watch a film like that on an Imax screen in three D where the guys trying to walk a tightrope between the World trade center buildings. Yeah, but I do want to see it. The trailer looked amazing, you know, so I'm putting that on the list. This movie Allied in twenty sixteen, I mean, Brad Pitt going up against the Nazis already I'm in I don't was this. I have to okay, I have to believe that this came out up against some kind of juggernaut movie that just wiped it out at the box office and we don't even remember it, or we don't you know, because it's got you know, Brad Pitt, Marin Qatar, Jared Harris, yeah, eyes, you know. Listen, listen to this. Dave nineteen forty two, a Canadian intelligence officer in North Africa, encounters a female French resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines.

1:07:11 When they reunite in London, the relationship is tested by the pressures of war. This is what Hanover Street should have been. Yeah, right, absolutely, it should have. Man, it looks great. I'm putting it on the list. Yeah I am. Listeners, listeners, let us know, like, you know, the Walk Allied, how are they twenty eighteen, We're going back to the the weird stuff. The visual effects. Yep, who's it Steve Carroll. Steve, Yeah, he does. Does this movie called Welcome to Marwin. I remember seeing the trailer for it, but I never watched it.

1:07:54 I honestly just like this. I thought this was going to be another Forest Gump. And I'm not talking for another Force Gum. I'm talking like, you know, you're just gonna you're getting that vibe. It's gonna be very powerful, very dramatic. Yeah, you're gonna get another character in that style. But man, this movie phil flat for me. Uh. I saw this in the theater. Okay, because isn't this where he like he's creating like a he's dealing with like his trauma he. Gets He gets beat up by a group of really bad gets attacked, and the only way that he can find a way out of, you know, coming back from that mentally, he like takes pictures of like figures and like action figures and stuff war war like figure army figures or whatever you want to call them, and build like a little village with them, and and and creates a story and stuff like that with him and takes pictures and stuff like that, and like it it fades in and out of like, you know, actually showing like they become the life and those kind of things. But it just doesn't.

1:08:56 It didn't work for me at all. And yeah, all right, so you're saying skip it. Yeah, I think a lot of people. I think a lot of people did skip it. It didn't at all. Right, Well, you know, two years later he does a remake of The Witches. I guess a lot of people skip that because. It's I didn't see that either. It's a it's got a rating IMDb rating of five point four. That's that's not great. No, it's not. Did you did you see his? Uh? Look, you know how I feel about these Disney Live action remakes. I'm not I'm not a fan of them. But twenty twenty two, he did Pinocchio with Tom Hanks. I did see it. Okay, not a fan, Not a fan. Okay, No, not even Tom Hanks can save it. No.

1:09:43 No, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there who do love it and like it. You know, Hey, good for you, and you know that's fine. Everybody has their opinion. I did not like it. I hated the ending of it. Jeff, And I don't want to ruin anybody because it's a fairly newer film, so go watch it, and they're the the ending. I just was not happy with it at all, So please listeners, go watch it and let us know about it. If you think that I'm wrong, well right, I don't know, but I was not. A fan chef. Well it sounds like a lot of people were in a fan because if you thought the his his uh the IMDb, the i MDB rating five point four for The Witches was bad. Pinocchio was rated five point one.

1:10:26 So you're going the wrong ways, a mechas, come on. We're going the wrong way. But I think he's about to turn it around, because I do want to talk about his his upcoming film, which is it's out. We're a couple weeks away from it. Actually we talked about it. You know, we're at the beginning of this episode. You just watched the trailer for the first time. YEP, this film called here. He's back with Tom Hanks. He's back with Alan Silvestri. Uh, think about that. He's been doing work. He's been working with Alan Silvestri for forty years now. That's insane. Man romancing the stone all the way to hear and this film. Man like like we kind of talked about it.

1:11:09 It's like you know, like a it's like one setting. Yeah, and we're gonna watch this all you know it And again this is where like that deep fake technology is now caught up where now it looks really like the Tom Hanks, like the young Tom Hanks that we see in this trailer. Yeah, is like the Bosom Buddies Tom Hanks. You know, he's like the uncle Ned from Family Ties Tom Hanks. Like it's it looks real. So I can't wait to see it. I am so excited. We will definitely go see that in a couple weeks when it comes out. Yep. I'm also excited about what he's got in development. Though. Have you have you have you heard about the King? No? I don't know anything about the King all right. So one thing that Zamecha's has really never done for us is a biography, right, Yeah, he's not known for the biopics, and that is what the King is. He's he's working with the Rock Dwayne Johnson.

1:12:10 It's all about King Kamahamaha, who fulfills his lifelong prophecy of uniting the Hawaiian Islands. And it's written projects being written by Randall Wallace, Oh most notably gave us Brave Heart, right. Yeah, absolutely, And this is a passion project for the Rock because he has said this is the dream project he had on his had set his sights on since the beginning of his Hollywood career back in two thousand and one. So I'm excited to see what this is going to be, what we're going to hopefully, hopefully they get that put together here pretty quick. Yeah. I do have to ask, though, Yeah, because you know, we got a great movie coming out next month, we got something cool in development. But if you could pitch something to U sa Mecca's what would you want to see him do next?

1:13:03 So listeners, don't shoot me when I say this, but I want to go back back to the future, not a remake, but a fourth film. We catch up with Marty still played by Michael J. Fox and write in that he is suffering from Parkinson's and is living out his best life with his family. He married Jennifer and they have a beautiful family and things are going as good as they can. That is until a mysterious individual arrives late one night and starts the chaos all over again. It is his great granddaughter from thirty years in the future coming back to get something without his knowledge. This mcguffin is somehow related to doc that Marty has kept hidden from everyone that is left over from their adventures when he was young. Something is desperately needed by his great granddaughter because something terrible has happened in her time.

1:13:58 That's my pitch. That pitch was very well constructed. It was detailed. It it offered plot specific points, and in my mind, the only word I can come up with is sacrilege. If I was John Lithgow and footloose, I would be raining down on you right now with lastphem me. Then we don't talk of that. Really another Back to the Future movie? You'd want that? Yeah, I'm not remaking anything. It got. It got destroyed in the Old West, So you can't. You can't go back in time. You don't know that. I I don't know about that. That's that is that that take is so hot. I can't. I can't touch it with with gloves. I'll get burned. Fair enough, Dave back to what lies beneath? You own it? I do I own it? Obviously your recommendation is to check this one out.

1:15:01 Of course, that is, if you've got time, October is almost over with, you definitely want to experience a scary movie. This is definitely one you want to check out. It's you love Hitchcock. You this is right up your ally, trust me on that you heard us talk about it. I mean, if you've not seen this film and you've made it to this point and we've already ruined it for you, but hey, it's still worth the worth of shot to go look at it. Highly recommend a check it is currently streaming. If you don't have a copy of it, it is currently streaming. So I'd definitely say you got to check this one out. If you're looking for a great Harrison Ford film, you want a great Michelle Pfeiffer horror film, like Dave said, if you're in the mood for Hitchcock, if you're looking for a great date movie, I feel like this film delivers all that and more. Yeah, well, listeners, what do you think of what lies beneath? You can let us know on social media. You'll find us on Facebook, Instagram, and x You can check out a film by a podcast for all of our episodes streaming free on the platform of your choice, and you can reach out to us at a film by podcast at gmail dot com with your questions, comments and concerns. We may just read your response on the show and send you some a Film By swag. Join us tomorrow for our Star Trek theme series, Phasers Set the Stunt. On Friday, our limited series of Film at forty five will celebrate the forty fifth anniversary of one of the all time great horror films.

1:16:31 Boy, that's right, Yes, we're talking about Fantasti. Oh. I'm so excited to hear you guys cover that one. Yep, Man, that's gonna be a good one. Yes, it is, Dave. It's always a pleasure, sir, It's always fun. Man. Thank you, and to all of you out there joining us every week, listening, subscribing, and following us on Patreon, we thank you.