Ron Howard - A Beautiful Mind

0:00 I'm a little curious. Let me put the scene together for you. You're at the bar, okay, you make eyes with a very attractive guy. He takes initiative, he comes over, and then he says, I don't know what I need to say to you to have intercourse, but can we assume I said it and go straight to the sex? Angela, are you do you have a shot or are you slapping his face? Honestly, I would probably hear the guy, Oh, I've never been approached like that before, and you know I you know I'm no longer in my twenty So yeah, let's just cut to the chase.

0:44 Man. But I would want to argue any good at it? Is it gonna be worth my while? Definitely? To quote from Sleepless in Seattle, conversation and verbal ability is highly overrated in a man, So you know U well. More on John Nash's lack of dating etiquette later, probably, But let's talk about a film by Ron Howard, his two thousand and one John Nash biopic A Beautiful Mind.

1:42 Hello everybody, I'm Jeff. Johnson and I'm Angela Norris. And this is a film by podcast Angela. Welcome back, Welcome to season seven. Thank you, been waiting for you to been waiting for you to walk back in that door, happy to have you. Thanks. Can I before we jump in, can I give you a quick top three list? Okay, sure, all right, I'm gonna give you top three most annoying commercials. Okay, Number number three the pharmacy drugs where you get to see people like living like wonderful lives and you know, symptoms may include and you know side effects man include death and dismember and ask your doctor if Vasutra Treks is right for you. Those I can't stand those, Yes, more so though. At number two, I've got online casinos because they got to they gotta add all the tones and the bells and the buzzers from the casino, and they're so they're so damn annoying. I hate those commercials.

2:48 Yeah. Well, the latest one I've seen is Ryan Seacres and he bugs me so, yes, doubly annoying. I was listening to a podcast just a couple of weeks ago, and the commercial break it had, like I ended up hearing that Ryan Secrets one like six times, and I just I thought, I've never met the guy, but I want to punch him in the face. That's that's how I reacted, you know. My visceral reaction to him too. Yes, and I'm apologizing because you know, the irony is that someone is We're gonna go to a commercial break later and it will probably have the Ryan Secrets online casino. But number one on you, Jeff, but overall, the number one I can't stand, and it's it's any of them that have that AI voice narrating the product. You know, you see a lot of those on YouTube, I think, but you can tell there's like there's like four distinct AI voices that a lot of commercials are using. I just I can't stand.

3:43 Them dismissing a lot of the human talent out there. But what does any of this have to do with a beautiful mind? May I ask? Not? Well, not much unless you take into account that if you join our Patreon, in addition to all the exclusive episodes we have for you, you can also listen to the show early and add free now. So we started doing this a couple of weeks ago. It seems to be going over well, so we'll keep doing it. But yeah, listeners starting for as little as three dollars a month, you can hear the show ad free. Go to patreon dot com slash a film by podcast today and sign up for a free seven day trial and discover what you're you've been missing.

4:30 An excellent perk ANGELA. Three things you may not know about Ron Howard and a quote. Okay, well I didn't know this that. I'm so sorry. Did I jump the gun? I'm sorry. I usually I'm usually liked the three things in a quote person. Yeah, no, no, no, you have Do you have three things in a quote? I didn't know you did that? I do. I'm sorry. I thought I was supposed to contribute. Okay, okay, well you know what. How about six things and two quotes? Let's roll with this, ladies. First, what do you got about Ron Howard?

5:12 Well, this I learned. I didn't. I knew he had a Hollywood Walk of Fame, but he actually has two of them, one for TV and one for film. He's got two stars. Wow. So yeah, nineteen eighty one he received his one for television in the second for film. I did not have that. I did not have that. Last week when Amber Lewis and I talked about the Da Vinci Code, all right, let's let's let's go, We'll bat the ball back and forth? How about that? I got one for you. Ron Howard's favorite film happens to be One flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which which we covered on our Patreon just a few months ago as part of our limited series A Film at fifty excellent.

5:53 What do you Got for Me? I knew he was a child actor, obviously from the Any Griffith Show. Watched that a lot with my Grandpa obviously runs. But he apparently started acting when he was eighteen months old, and then he left the Happy Days series to focus on filmmaking. That he did. Howard was also no stranger to voice acting. In nineteen sixty nine, he appeared on the Disneyland Records album The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion. He played one of two teenagers who get trapped inside the Haunted Mansion. Years later, it was reissued on cassette and CD as A Spooky Night in Disney's Haunted Mansion.

6:33 What's a cassette? Tell us more? Grandpa? I still get sometimes yeah looks from some of my younger co This one I knew, but I still thought it was a fun effect for listeners who may not know this, but all four of his kids are named after the places they were conceived. Well, Angela, you clearly did not listen to last week's episode, because we talked about that. I did not. I'm so sorry. Well then it's good. Good baron repeating, I'm so sorry. That's you know what for all the listeners who who did not listen to Amber destroy Ron Howard's Da Vinci Code last week. Yeah, see, which I'm going to definitely be listening for this because i want to know.

7:19 I want to know the brants. Yeah, all four children named after the places they were conceived. Listeners, go back and go back to last week and check that out, because we we we ambered. I talk about that real quick, Angela, you mentioned I got one last one here for you. You mentioned Andy Griffith. In February of twenty twenty five, Ron Howard revealed that he had recently discovered that he and one of his co stars from The Andy Griffith Show were distant cousins. Oh wow, any guesses who? No, I couldn't tell you all who was on that besides him Andy Griffith? And what don Nott sets you on?

7:59 Don Notts? There you go? Yeah, yeah, neither of them were aware of that. Well Knots was still alive though. Okay, if if if memory serves, they're they're like sixth cousins, They're like distant cousins. So yeah, very cool stuff. Now, I got a quote, but I think you said you got a quote. I do, all right, what do you got? I really like this, he said. I don't choose something unless I think I have a personal understanding, which I think is super important. That we're just not doing projects, just projects. It doesn't have to be money motivated or anything, but invest and connect with and then create something.

8:41 I really like that. That is absolutely I can hear him saying that we uh, me and the common uh. We got to meet Ron Howard last year last fall. One of the nicest guys you can talk to, just a gentle, gentle soul. My my quote. I saw that this was a He was talking about his preference between acting and directing, and he said, it was always my dream to be a director. A lot of it had to do with controlling my own destiny, because as a young actor you feel at everyone's disposal. But I wanted to become a leader in the business. How about that? Angela this season, obviously we are celebrating the films of two thousand and one and two thousand and six. We're going after the big movies, the blockbusters.

9:25 We're having fun, and with that, we have abandoned the need for long winded descriptions of what the movie's about, you know, because they're not exactly underrated. So this season we were doing the five word synopsis. So I'm going to challenge you. This is your first time back this year since we started doing this, can you give me a synopsis for a Beautiful Mind using exactly five words? Genius finds love and accreditation. That's really nice. I like that. I help you. Yeah, here's a little more soft, little more sweet than mine. I have Prodigy succeeds despite mental illness.

10:08 Yep, very good. Yes, both work did put a little more of a romantic flare in that. Well, okay, this is a romantic film. Yeah, they romanticize quite a bit. But yes, John and Alicia's story, Yeah, I mean they were together until their deaths at like age eighty two and eighty six. I think, well, since you brought since you brought that up, I thought, because I was looking at I said, I know they both have obviously passed, but tragically it wasn't from old age. They both died together in a car accident in New Jersey. When they were coming home after he got.

10:48 Accepted the Abel Prize in twenty fifteen. And I'm like, you've got to be kreaky. Yeah, I just took taking a cab home. Yeah, I'm like, oh. I mean, I'm glad that they were together, but I did not realize that that is how they passed at. Least, and the stories like that. Now obviously it's it's it's tragic, but I like, I like to think it, you know, I take comfort that they were together in their final moments, you know. So yes, speaking of I found this out and it just blows my mind because I know we're going to talk about Russell Crowe and we're going to talk about Jennifer Connelly. But early on, before the film rights were even secured for this, Robert Redford and Tom Cruise they were like producing partners on the Legend Bigger Vance. I think, Yeah, they had discussed doing this movie with Cruise in the John Nashville and Redford directing it. Can you can you imagine what that would have been.

11:43 Like, I know Robert Redford as a director. Sure, it's fantastic Tom Cruise, And that's not a that's not a putting him down or anything. It's not what he's good. Yeah, what he's good at, he is good at. But no, well there's no there's no death defying stunts either for him. So I don't know if he's like, Okay, I'm gonna go learn advanced mathematics and chaos theory to get into John Nash's head. Now, there's nothing tall enough at Princeton to parachute, even bungee jump. Probably not. Well. I don't know how you feel about the film Minority Report, but that is the reason that didn't happen. Cruise chose to do Minority Report.

12:30 Yeah, and I think, yeah, he chose wisely. That was definitely more in his plane. Yeah yeah, But after that, after Cruise is on set doing Minority Report, both icons kind of moved on from the idea left and. Yeah, yeah, no, I really can't picture anybody else playing John Nash than Russell Crowe. After It's just no way. Before we talk about Russell Crowe, let's take a quick break. Loved. We are gathered here today to celebrate death Dave's nineteen eighty four a brand new show that will take you through the greatest pop culture year we have ever seen. Flax On, my fellow Americans.

13:10 Flacks right, sis, I am a candidate and we'll seek reelection. From movies, music, sports, comics, television and more. This show will be a chronological journey through every aspect of the year. So who's going to drive you home and not let the glory days pass you by? Death? Daves nineteen eighty four. It's a hard habit to break, but time after time I'll show you why nineteen eighty four was the best year ever. So who are you gonna call? Coming in twenty twenty six? Subscribe and follow now I'll be back.

13:56 Welcome back. We are discussing Ron Howard's two thousand and one drama A Beautiful Mind. So Russell Crowe claimed he wanted to play this role upon the first reading of Akiva Goldsman's screenplay Akivas that good. I mean, let's I mean, he's a legend in the screenwriting world. But and you said you can't imagine anyone before before we took a break, you said you couldn't image anyone else playing this role. I mean, I know it's easier said after you see him in it, but even now, twenty five years later, I was still the perfect choice. Well you're not the only one that felt that way. Producer Grian Brazier was especially taken with Russell Crowe after seeing him in La Confidential, which is one of my favorite Russe Oh.

14:43 Yes, that is where the crush began. Oh is that okay? Yeah, the crushing for Crow, I mean it is it is settled long ago. But yes, that was that movie into the early two thousands. Yes, there was a significant Crow crush. Well it was. It was that movie and The Insider that had Grazer becoming up fan too, he said on casting on getting h Russell Crow for this. On casting him, he said, I zeroed in on Russell because he can communicate so intensely without words. Yes, I agree to that. Yeah, you know, it's uh, I mean, he's he's so gentle, like his his performance of John Nash, He's very gentle, even when he's kind of cold and you know, a little less personable. Not not by choice, it's just that's just his way. Yeah, he's still you know, he just seems, you know, like he's intense this entire film. He's intense and.

15:43 I feel like even when he's not speaking, looking, and not even just in this role, but you just know, like so much going on behind Yeah, that expression, those those eyes, everything, like he just has like this vibration coming off. Yeah, the real John Nash. Uh. They told Russell Crow like, hey, I think we think John Nash might stop by, and Russell Crow's like, I don't want to. I don't want to meet him because you know, he didn't want to. He didn't want his his performance to kind of be like skewed in any way. Yeah, except for the fact Nash he didn't just visit the set. He visited all the time. So yeah, at that point, Russell's like, what the hell? So they start, they start, you know, they kind of strike up a friendship, and you know, this gave Crow the opportunity to kind of take cues from him in the way of his mannerisms and his hand gestures.

16:32 So a lot of the stuff you see Crow doing in the movie, like even when he's like hanging out in the library, you know he take his barefoot with his shoes and socks off. You know, the he's very uh, he does a lot of hand acting. I know that's a weird way to describe it, but he's he's a he's always moving, you know what I mean. Nash is always it's almost like a quiet frantic thing he's got going on. And Crow got that off from the real John Nash. Excellent. Yeah, part of you know, he had so much going on in his mind, probably physically, just trying to keep up, and that's just how it comes out. Yeah, let's talk about the unbelievably amazing Jennifer Conley. She's playing Alicia. Yes, Oh, she's more lovely, lovely you know through the years, Like I don't I don't care if you're you're back in nineteen eighty six and you're falling in love with her for the first time when she's sixteen in Labyrinth, or you're falling in love with her, you know, a couple of years ago when she's in Top Gun Maverick and she's she's what like fifty two.

17:40 Oh yeah, And somehow it becomes more beautiful with every year. I know some actresses pull that off, but and she's just she's she's enchanting. I think that's the word for Jennifer Connell. She isn't chanting. I agree, Yeah, that's a that's a perfect word for her. So the real Alicia n Ash was from El Salvador, which is why Salma Hayek was initially considered for the role. Can you imagine, imagine this role, Roger, this movie with Salma Hyak in it, which I'm sure a lot of our male listeners are fine doing that, but we're you know, hey, we're talking Jennifer Conney versus Salma Jayak, So you know there are no there are no wrong answers here. But she also she does fantastic drama yeah work, So I I could I could see that definitely more so than I mean, I wouldn't want her to replace Jennifer Kenelly obviously, I mean she was fabulous and she won the Best Supporting Actress oscar for that. But I definitely could see her in the place of Alicia way more than I could Tom Cruises.

18:39 I'll tell you, I'll tell you who I can't see is Britney Murphy, because that's who Connelly narrowly beats out to take the role. And I really, you know, and you know, all due respect to the late Britney Murphy, but I don't know. I just her and her and Crow. It just doesn't seem like a like the chemistry is there, you know. Yeah, all of this, though, I got I got one more name for you. All of this was happening after the fact of Rachel Weiss. She was offered the role and declined it. How about that? Yeah, No, definitely, Oh I love I love hers. Oh my god, I guess I could go on and on and on about her, but yeah, I know, I I love her, but I'd have to look up, like what was she because I know nine. I think maybe the second Mommy came roun She's return I think, yeah, yeah, so.

19:31 That probably a much bigger pay day. Not only that, but she needed to be in them. The Mummy returned, so she needs to maintain that that franchise. So I'm actually glad for that. So I I know how Amber feels about this actor, this next actor. Uh well, not the actor, the actor's performance in the Da Vinci Code, but uh, let's talk about Paul Bettany as Charles. Yes, your thoughts on pre vision Paul Bettany. Yeah, I know, you're like always you're a big fan. I had to I had to drop Oh yeah. No, absolutely, because you're like oh my god. Yes, you know he there was a version of Paul Bettany before Vision, which A Night's Tale. Uh yeah, you know, he was in a ink car, so he kind of you know, still, it seemed like this character was in that thread of on his own little path, kind of untethered and and uh.

20:34 We're doing we're doing a Night's Tale, Join us. Yeah, if there's room, Yeah, I think I did sign up for for that one. I'll make room for you. Yeah. So this definitely, yeah, went in that same vein. And I mean, I I could probably guess probably what her thoughts were about the Da Vinci Code, but I will I will listen to the podcast to last. Time I bring up Da Vinci Code, and. It's gonna be like the it's gonna be like the trigger words for like the Winter Soldier also turning back into maniac. But no, I mean, I think the contrast to Russell Crowe, I I believe he brought that uh that energy to to that he is still very very good about doing like that that drama part. So it's not all sillier or anything, but he definitely was a good I think contrast to Russell Crowe's straight and narrow.

21:38 I'll tell you this, and you know, you watch this the first time and you don't if you, if you, especially if you don't know anything about John Nash, you know, we get this big plot twist and you're like, whoa, because it's like a sixth sense level yeah type of thing. Listeners, if you haven't seen A Beautiful Mind and you don't want it spoiled, just hit pause, go watch the movie and then come back because we're you know, obviously it's we're it's celebrating it's twenty fifth anniversary, so we're going we're going all in. But when you watch this, you know, on your second time, third time, ninth time, whatever, you have to pay attention to Paul Bettany's physical acting because he is a hallucination. He's an imaginary friend, so he can't move physical objects in the room unless it's in Russell Crowe's mind, like the desk. Obviously, he kind of throws it out and we know that that's Russell Crowe doing it or John Nash's the John Nash character doing it, But for him to be oblivious to people that are in the room, for them to be oblivious to him.

22:45 It's one of those things where it's like whoa Like he never gets acknowledged by anybody, and he's always like in a corner and he's always he's always like speaking first and then like, oh he's here. You know absolutely of that. I'll tell you this, you know, because I know we got to move on. This film wins. It's fair share of Golden Globes and Oscars and BAFTAs and all that stuff. But the big winner is Paul Bettney, who was not nominated for anything. And I say he's the big winner Angelo because this is the film where he met Jennifer Connolly for the first time. They've been together ever since.

23:26 Yeah, two began dating after the film wrapped and married to this day. So anyone that gets to go home to Jennifer Connolly every single day, that's that's the biggest winner. Gosh, I'll tell you. I'll tell you right now because you know, I know how you feel about Tom Hardy. Yeah, and Angela is to Tom Hardy as Jeff is to Jennifer Connolly. I if a director, if a director made a film about a fresh coat of paint drying and that's all we saw, but you had her sitting in. The shot, I would I would watch the I'd watch like the three and a half hour Director's cute. That's that's how great she is.

24:10 I I can I can feel that level. That's a that's a good comparison, like on a scale of you know, uh to Tom Hardy. Where does Jennifer Kennelly falling fall in for you? But back when you were talking about, you know, knowing that it's Paul Bettany's a hallucination, I hadn't seen this since it originally came out. And even though I knew the you know things were what was real and what wasn't, I still got so enthralled in it that I forgot And I was still mildly like surprised when I'm like, oh yeah, like I like I suspended my belief. You know, when starting getting you know, re watching uh this and and diving into it just enraptured me all over again.

24:59 To where I I left. I'd seen this before, I know what happens, and I still forgot by just getting lost in the story. And yeah, it's especially on your first time watch, even after they've acknowledged that you know, he has schizophrenia. H You're like, well, hold on, now he's working for the government. You're you're you're still fighting for him a little bit. I feel like I was fighting for him, like no, uh, you know, Charlie Charles at Paul Bettany's character, he's real, you know. Uh. Ed Harris's d o d uh shadow shadowy government guy. He's he's got to be real. Nash is working for him. And then when you when we get to that moment where Nash realizes that Paul Bettany's litt niece through the decades like just never gets she's she's like ten years old forever, and that that moment, I was like, Oh, that's so, that's brilliant. That's such a brilliant moment in the in the in the in the movie, where he now understands that everyone's right, that he is sick, that it's all been in his head because this little girl just does not age. I love. I love that moment.

26:04 Not that we are jumping into scenes just yet, but can we get can one more thing? One more Jennifer Conley thing, since we're already Since I'm trades, I've ever scene when he comes in to teach his first class and the wind he shuts the window and he tells that one kid, like, you know, your comfort comes second to my me needing to hear my own voice. And then she gets up and stauncers over the window. The fact that she can tell that construction company to hey, can you go somewhere else and work for forty five minutes? Like yes, yeah we can't. Yeah, I'll do whatever, she says. I'm just telling you she has that power, she's and it's such a good moment for her. Her Her character is very confident. I love that her character is super confident, you know, kind of takes the point she's asking Nash out.

26:45 She's kind of taken the lead in a lot of a lot of these situations. And I don't know, I love. Her, Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean she she's obviously got that intelligence and that good intuition. But yeah, it's like, yo, Jennifer, you need me to hide a dead body for you worry about don't worry about it, babe, I got it, I got you. Yeah. If this is if this is the town and Jennifer Connley walks in and looks at me and says, Hey, we're gonna go hurt some people and you can never ask me about it. Who's car a We teking I'll drive, I'll drive you, Jennifer, Yeah, exactly, we talked about that, Harris. The film also stars jud hirsh, Christopher Plummer, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, and one of my favorite guys, Josh Lucas, who I just he's an underrated actor.

27:31 I feel like, yeah, he's done some pretty good things and I did kind of forget yeah he was in this, but yeah, he's He's so good in his his role too, with. That his swag. Yeah, the swagger that Lucas has in this reminds me of his character in American Psycho, which is another one of my favorites. He's just you know, cocky, overly confident. But I love I love that him and Crow at the end of the their characters, after all the years they're they become friends. You know, they're they're they're cool with each other. Love it. Yeah, I do like that exchange when Crow is like, you know you were right if you're a winner, and then no, they lie to us.

28:15 There there is no winning. I'm super paraphrasing here, but I like that exchange because you know, he was how competitive they were in the beginning and even bullying a bit on Josh Lucas's You Know Part two, come to that mature you know actually you know, grew grew up and kind of understood the system and and. Them being able to have a friendship from that. Yeah. I got a couple of fun things about the background of this production. This one may surprise you. Before this film came to be, Ron Howard was already developing a very similar film titled Laws of Madness. Are you aware of this? Okay? So like this movie, it also was based on a true story a guy named Michael Lauder who successfully graduated from Yale Law School despite his schizophrenia. Okay, so I mean it's practically we're talking almost like the same movie. Howard purchased the film rights to this guy's life story for one point five million dollars in nineteen ninety five, and while he was trying to determine whether or not Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt should play the lead role, project was immediately canceled in nineteen ninety eight

29:46 after the real guy, the real Michael latter, murdered his fiance. Yeah. That's nothing shuts a production down faster than murder. Really, there is, Yeah, there is no pr spinning that and that is definitely some We're just gonna take take a step away for us. Yeah. So the movie is based off of Sylvia Nassauer's book of the same name, A Beautiful Mind. There was an excerpt of the book in Vanity Fair and that's where Ron Howard's longtime producing partner Brian Grazer saw it was fascinated by it. He wins the film rights over producer Scott Ruden. And it's not because he offered more money.

30:28 It's because the real John and Alicia Nash chose him. Uh. In the in the end, they had they had resisted the idea of their life story being made into a movie for a long long time. But you know, Graser has a has a knack for partnering with the right the right directors and telling like these and these stories where you know, especially with Ron Howard, we kind of you know, he had a quote that I talked about in last week's episode where you know, like why does he choose these American stories where people persevere right? You know, you look at like Apollo thirteen or Cinderella Man. John Nash is one of those guys like he doesn't give up it's a survival story if you think about it. No. Absolutely so.

31:10 On casting, Ron Howard stated, and I'm quoting him here, there's an element of danger with a number of these actors, especially Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Christopher Plumber. There's a palpable visceral tension with them on screen, the threat of some kind of explosion. And he's right, these guys have they all have a long history of doing these. I mean, they have explosive personalities. Yes, I'm not saying in a bad way, like you could throw Gene Hackman in with this group, you know, It's just they have a tendency like they can be very animated in their performances. I absolutely agree with him though, absolutely. And then one last thing for you, Angela. Talking to you know, we kind of talked about these hallucinations. You know how the real John Nash's hallucinations were auditory. Yeah, he heard the voices but never suffered from visual hallucinations. So the characters portrayed by Paul Bettany and Ed Harris and the Little Girl done purely for cinematic aesthetic, which I think you have to have in a movie. Oh yeah, it wouldn't have worked if we just heard voices, you know, and plus that we're giving it away. You know, if if if all of a sudden, Paul Bettany burst into the dorm room to uh to announce his arrival, we don't see anybody that's we immediately like, what's this guy's crazy? What's going on? You gotta you gotta have it.

32:35 Yes, Visually in the film, we would need those hallucinations to be in physical form for us to have them be as real to us as just the auditory. Hallucinations were as real to him. So yeah, even though yeah, those it was fabricated, you've definitely had to have that that element, and for a film version that'd be. Very hard also too. With I think with that that if you're just like the hearing voices thing, I think maybe too much of that automatically kind of maybe like a bias of all this person is crazy and as he's missed the character. Too with that, so.

33:17 You're also stepping into you know, his mind and and and his world again being just completely enthralled by all that, not realizing it is all in his head, without taking away the brilliance of his contribution, you know, mathematics that no, he wasn't just a crazy person who absolutely made no sense. There was plenty right with his mind different way, but he was still able to, you know, create these highest accolades from him and still. Being used in well said Angela. I'll tell you what. Let's take another break, and then when we get back, I know we got we gotta talk about a scene or two.

33:59 Every know how some of the most legendary movies, TV shows, and songs were never supposed. To work, box office flops on paper, network rejects, songs the artists didn't even want to record, and yet boom instant classic cultural obsession songs that have played everywhere NonStop for decades. We dig into the projects that were supposed to flop and accidentally became icons. Bad ideas, bad timing, somehow perfect results. This is the accident of the legends, proving that failure is just a success that showed up late. We're available anywhere that you find podcasts, Speaker, Apple or Spotify. Okay, so I know there's a scene you want to talk about, Uh before I get before and before we get to the scene you want talk about, because there's one I want to talk about, and uh, I'm gonna I'm gonna bend the rules a little bit here. I'm gonna I'm gonna give an honorable mention because it's such a small and significant scene, but I just love it so much.

34:54 And I'm talking about the opening of the movie where Nash is standing there listening to Rap and Goldberg's characters, and he's looking at the the light refracting off the glass and then taking that to the orange slices and then moving it to the guy's tie and seeing like like the whole theory, like the whole mathematics of finding those shapes the guy's ugly tie. I just love the cinematography there. I think it's amazing what they're able to do. And it immediately, it immediately puts you in John Nash's mind and you get the idea of like, Okay, this is this is what this guy's all about. He can see things that we can't see. He can he can It's like a up you know, you dump a you know, one hundred piece puzzle on the ground. He's putting it together in like immediately he can see it, right, And I love I love that moment. But I just had to point that out real quick. But Angela whatever you're seeing as I'm sure I'm gonna ask you is it?

36:03 Did you pick it because of the cinematography like the ugly tie? Did you pick it because of a strong performance? Is it the pivotal moment? Amber is trying to wedge a new topic in here, the you know, is it? Is it the scene that didn't piss Amber lewis Off? Tried that last week? By the way, what scene? Well, it's a scene that didn't piss me off. It's like that, that's not one of the that's not one of the choices, but you know, it might it might become one of our new choices. Did the scene piss Amber Lewis off? So tell us, Uh, why did you pick this scene? What? What's the reason behind it?

36:43 I feel it was a pivotal moment, at least in regards to the relationship. Oh okay, this gonna be good because I've I've got a pivotal moment. And you could argue that there might be more than one, but mine, mine has nothing to do with Alicia. So tell us tell us a scene that we're talking about. I love the scene where it's after he realizes that he is hallucinating because the little Girl never ages, and that was also at the point where basically Christopher Plummer's character, who plays psychiatry, you know, advises her to send him, to send John back to the hospital. But after Russell Crowe's character John acknowledges that they're in the bedroom where he's sitting on the edge of the bed, and then she's kneeling before him and she's talking about if you want to know what is real and what isn't real, and then you know, placing his hand on her heart and on his heart and his mind. There is some grander out you know, out there.

37:48 You need to believe that something extraordinary, y'all. Know, it's real. This this, this, this is real. Maybe the part that nots awakening from the dream maybe.

38:35 It is here. Maybe it's here. I need to believe that something extraordinary is possible. I mean. And you could argue that it was a strong performance but so very quiet and it was so real, and it was just kind of reconnecting him to like grounding him. I think in her showing the that she was you know, willing to, Hey, I want to work with you, I want to support you in this.

39:20 I don't want to. Have to send you to this place because I know what you're capable of. I know the parts of you that aren't. You know, this chaos and and this you know, the mental illness that is the paranoid schizophrenia. So and I know the movie oversimplified their relationship a bit that they you know, left out, and that's okay, But I just really loved that her grounding him and her not just abandoning him, her not just you know, writing him off, but trying to Hey, if you can remember that this, you know, is real, we can't get through this. So I I really really enjoyed that.

40:02 Yeah, I guarantee, you know, I can't remember exactly, like thinking back, you know, because it's been twenty five years. Uh, the night of the Academy Awards, when and the nominees are you know, I guarantee you when they name, when they when they announced Jennifer Connley's name. That's the scene where she's like, I need to believe that, you know, it's got to be that moment, you know, and everyone gives her a little applause. It's a it's a it's a it's a beautiful scene. I like that you picked that one. I have a different kind of a pivotal moment, and it happens early on. But I want to talk about Nash disproving Adam Smith's governing dynamics.

40:46 Adam Smith needs revision. What are you talking about? Field goal for the blonde? They block each other, not a single one of us. He's going to get her. So then we go for her friends. But they will all give us the cold shoulder because nobody likes to be second choice. But what if no one goes for the blood? We don't get in each other's way, and we don't insult the other girls. That's the only way we win. That's the only way we all get late.

41:32 Adam Smith said, the best result comes from everyone in the group doing what's best for himself. Right, That's what he said. That's right and complete and complete, Okay, because the best result would come from everyone in the group doing what's best for himself and the group. This is some way for you to get the blood on your own. You can go to hell. Governing dynamics, gentlemen, governing dynamics, Adam Smith, He's wrong. I gotta tell you, when this movie came out, me and my buddies applied this like when we were going out to the bars and the club. We're like, you know what that's actually, that's that's pretty damn smart. So you know, the governing dynamics, you know, every man for himself is wrong. Every man working together in their best interests is better for the for the group. And it's like, okay, so we we at this point. This is the second time where a group of co ed's walking, you know, they're they're they're in school. Group of co eds walks into the bar, there's a there's a knockout. I mean, she is just a platinum blond knockout in the center, you know, like like a gazelle, you know. And then she's yeah, she shout out, yeah, let's let's be let's be fair though her, her her other friends that are what there are all attractive. It's just there's standing next to her and you're gonna see her, and they're all like, ah,

43:04 they're zeroed in on her. And then he explains how if they all go after, they all lose because even her girls are gonna be like, you know, they don't be slighted, like, hell, you picked her first. It's brilliant. It's absolutely brilliant. I love how he you know, because even at first they're skeptical, They're like, you just want the blonde for yourself and he's like no, no, no, listen. And the way that even the way it's shot, where like you're like the she vanishes and then they all show up, and then you know, it's brilliant. I love it. It's so much fun. I know it's a little sexist, however, it is such a cool way to disprove this guy's theory. And at this point John Nash does not have his original idea for his his doctorate, for his paper, and it's this this moment with this this beautiful blonde in the bar where he he knows what he's going to do, you know, with you know, the game theory or whatever they call it, and he's you know, so I love it.

43:59 I love that he even pops up, he's ready to go go to work, and he stops just to say thank you to her. She's like, uh huh, She's like, what are you talking about? Yeah, I just going I love that moment. It's one of my favorites. Of course, it would have been nice like hey, I'm sorry that, you know, well not really necessarily Podula. Sorry, I didn't choose you or rejected you, but I also wanted to thank you for your inspiration. So you did help me in a way, just not in the way you thought. I was going to use you for Yeah, miss, miss you, just you just initiated the Nobel Peace Prize for me. Simple thank you goes a long way. Yeah you know, hey, but find every behind every guy, there's a there's a there's a hard working woman, right even when she's a platinum blond walking into the bar.

44:41 Absolutely, but yes, that that is too fair. He explained it in ways that these guys could understand, like, Okay, do you want to go home alone? You know, with maybe just because you're and let's be honest, you guys don't need to be shooting that high anyway. Come on, you really, I think. Your chances are there. I you miss one hundred percent of the shot, you don't take blah blah blah blah blah. Okay, but can we. You need to be reasonable in logic. Come all I know is twenty two year old Jeff saw this movie. Well, yeah, okay, now we got it's a game changer. I am down with math. I get why I am math? Now math is hot. Yeah, thank you. Speaking of math Angela, let's run the numbers here.

45:28 A Beautiful Mind was released on December thirteenth, two thousand and one, on a budget of fifty eight million. It grossed three hundred sixteen point eight million dollars worldwide, nominated for five Golden Globes, winning three of them. That was Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay. Ron lost the Best Director and James Horner lost Best Score. But at the Academy Awards, it's nominated for five and wins four of them, and we're talking about Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Director. Crowe did not take home the Best Actor, Oscar Angela any do you remember any guesses or do you remember who actually did get that one? That night?

46:16 I did. It's Denzel Washington for Training Day. Yes, I remember that because that was also the year that I'm going to insert my little salty rant that I'm still holding on to twenty five years later, that Halle Berry won Best Actress when Nicole Kidman should have won it for Mulan Rouge. I will stand by that statement till the day I die. Okay, So that's another thing I could take away from that year's Oscars. So listeners, next what is it March? We will be talking about Mulin Rouge, and I'm sure Angela will have some things to say about the film. So there's a little preview. Oh no, I love the movie, so don't it's not a rain about the movie. I love it. You and Amber, I'm telling you.

47:00 Is it? Is it just Ron Howard? Is that what's branded out you got? I don't know, I don't know. No, No, Ron Howard is a lovely man. I don't know what detective tissue is. I'm just saying that Angela plus Amber plus Ron Howard movies equals rant of some sort. You know, well, well, this was just a segue, like an extra little trivial part of thought in adjacent It had nothing to do with Ron Howard. It's a it's a pre rant. You're just gearing up for Mulan Reas. Okay, I got the seeds have been planted. Okay, moving moving on from the seeds and back to the numbers. A Beautiful Mind has an eight point two out of ten IMDb score, a seventy four percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and if you're on Letterbox it's a three point nine out of five. Angel. I had a question.

47:51 I was gonna, I was gonna I had a ranking question for you, But I think you tipped your hat way earlier because I was gonna ask you. You know, these guys are always there, always to get the blonde that's in the bar, and you happen to be a blonde. And I'm just wondering, like, when Russell Crowe and Josh Lucas walk in, are you looking at Crow? I was gonna ask if you're looking at Crow or Lucas, But I think you made it clear that you what did you say, crushing on Crow? Right? Yeah? I did have a Crow crush starting with confidential, Yes, yeah, all right, all right, well yeah, I think I would notice Josh Lucas, but I'd be like, I know you, I know what you're trying to do. And then I'd be like, okay, do you. Notice Josh Lucas when you hear him all the time on the radio or on the on TV. Do you know that he's the voice of Home Depot right now?

48:40 That's him that Josh. I can hear the voice in my head, but no, I had no idea that that was him. Okay, well interesting, I did not know that he was still in my life every now and then on. The yes, more saving, more doing, Yeah, yes. I yeah, went the funk it? All right, I'll tell you what. Let's take one last break and then we'll wrap things up because I want to I want to hear what you what you're thinking about an underrated Ron Howard project. We'll hear that in just a moment. Okay, So something different here, Angela. You know, typically we would be talking about an underrated film, so we'd ask like, hey, what about some other projects? What about some other projects that this director has? You know?

49:31 And that gave us a chance to briefly talk about some big budget movies. Now that the things are turned upside down, my question to you is, uh, make your choice, written by, directed by, or starring Which underrated project from Ron Howard would you suggest? See I struggled with this, so I'm going to be extra different and flip it. I couldn't really tell you an underrated one, but I will give you my opinion as to which film he directed that is overrated? Do you and Amber just get the outline and just decide that you're going to rewrite it is that what everyone else is in line, like, all right, but you got.

50:18 Everything well look at through its history. I was like, no, that was good. No, that was good. No, that was good. And I'm like, you know what, I know how I could answer this, but it's. It's your first one of the of the season, so I'm gonna I'm gonna give you a pass here. Okay, what what overrated project would you say? What would you recommend for? For a Ron Howard? I am going to get so much slack for this, I am sure, and I'm sure you're probably going to put this on par with Amber's ranting of last week. But I think it's how the Grit stole Christmas? Okay, okay, uh, I'm not going to disagree with you, Okay, okay.

50:58 I'm I am very loyal to the the Boris Karloff was it like nineteen sixty six? I think, yeah, I'm very loyal to that. And I know that there have been like what like one or two animated new movies and they've got the Jim Carrey Grinch' It's it's fun, it's nice. But yeah, I can I could give that, and you are you are recommending it? You just say, hey, it's a little overrated, but you'll, yeah, it's Christmas time. What else are you going to watch? Right right? It's definitely one of those that I don't rewatch like on my own, but if like my nephew wanted to, which he's getting a little bit older, so he's not really into that, you know anymore. It has its moments, it has its you things, but just generally overall, yes, I just think that was put a little bit on too high of a pedestal, Okay, but probably a lot of people put it on.

51:47 I've got an underrated film directed by Ron Howard you might want to check out. Okay, nineteen ninety four, a film called The Paper. Did you ever see that one? It's stark that one, yes, starring Okay. So Michael a long time ago. Well it's nineteen ninety four. Yeah, uh, we're talking Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Randy Quaid, Robert Duvall, Marissa Toomey. Uh, your girl Catherine O'Hara is in it, yeah, okay. And then and Ron's Ron's little brother, Clint Howard is in this one. That's so funny when he pops up. I love I love it. He's not in this one. Oh yeah, okay, no, we know Clint Howard in a Beautiful Mind, but uh yeah the paper this one, yeah yeah yeah, but the paper which did have Clint Howard.

52:37 Very quiet box office but but critically acclaimed. You know, it had an eighty six percent on Rotten Tomatoes. It's and it's got that fast, fun, frantic energy of the newsroom. Like I like it. I like a good newspaper movie, like like All the President's Men or Spotlight. You know, just I love that that that uh that that atmosphere. I guess you know, they're they're trying to crack the story. Yeah, I think it's great, great performances. I say, check it out. Okay, yeah, it's been so long god, since I've seen it. I mean I remember Michael Keaton was in it. But since you brought up the like Clint Howard usually kind of pops up in Ron's movies, he didn't in. A Beautiful Mind. But when I was. Doing research on the cast, apparently his daughter Bryce Dallas Howard played a Harvard student. I'd have to go back and actually find her, but she is listed as.

53:24 That blink and you miss her. Yeah it's uh yeah, it's her I think it's like, uh, when he's getting taken away in the car, I think she's one of the students that's like standing right there. Okay, so your recommendation, would you recommend a beautiful Mind to people? Absolutely, it's a it's a fantastic film, fantastic performances. Yes, I would still recommend you know, learning you know about the real uh life people. You know that we're in there. So obviously with films things are exaggerated or creative licensing things like that, but it is definitely worth getting to know the action people at This movie is boosed on too so and it opens up to learning what his his contribution was to to the world.

54:08 So he's absolutely. Definitely person worth knowing a little bit more about, and this is definitely a nice little entry point to that. Yeah, it's uh. I think it's one of Ron Howard's best. It's one of those that you watch it, you enjoy it, and then you want to you want to dig deeper, you want to find out about the real the real John Nash. Uh. It's available to rent on most streaming platforms, but I highly recommend the DVD or Blu Ray for this one. It's got some deleted scenes, as well as two audio commentaries, one with screenwriter at Kiva Goldsman and the other with Ron Howard himself. So and they're both good. I can I can tell you I can vouch for that. Listeners come back this Friday because our new limited series, A Script Buy, will be available. Brad Kozo hosts a deep dive into the screenwriting process of some of Hollywood's biggest movies, with lively discussion about how well they're written and how well they transitioned from the page to the silver screen.

55:08 And then we'll have a new theme for February that we're calling Washington and the Man. Do you like Denzel Washington movies? How about films directed by Michael Mann? If so, don't miss a Film by Podcast in February, and next time we'll be talking about Tony Scott's two thousand and six thriller Deja Vu. If you've seen it, how would you summarize it in five words? You can go to a Film by Podcast dot com to give us your answer, or email us at a Film by Podcast at gmail dot com. If we use your five words synopsis on the show, we'll shout you out on the episode and you'll get some a film by Swag which Angela made me some stickers might be one of our new t shirts.

55:55 We've got a couple of those color changing stadium cups still that we've been passing out the conventions. You get one of them. Yeah. Please join us on social media. You can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and x. We love interacting with you, sharing opinions, taking your requests for future episodes, and debating great movies. Angela, I think is it this week? You've got another movie review for us on our website? Right, Yep. It's gonna be about Kate Winsled's directorial debut called Goodbye June that was released on Christmas Eve. So check it out.

56:35 Yeah, I would ask you right now, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me, like, no, go read it. It's there. Maybe maybe give you a little preview if you'd like. Yeah, well, i'll tell you what. I'll tell you your there's a movie listeners movie came out. I think it's a Netflix original called The Woman in Cabin ten. I enjoyed it. That was kind of I mean, it's predictable and you know, and hitchcocking. But I I enjoyed it. You can go to you can go to our Facebook page and you can see Angela's very brief. I didn't know if you're really gonna pass. I was like, I was like, oh, just for a gat this woman is, she's working, She's working some overtime.

57:19 I got two movie reviews, and I was like, oh, what you have to say about the woman in cabin ten? I was like, oh, okay, well like two sentences. Maybe not for the website, but I'll definitely put that on on Facebook for for our listeners. Yeah, maybe maybe it's time you get your own column. I don't know. You'll need to catch you title though. Uh, we gotta we gotta figure this out the more if you gotta keep doing these, we gotta we gotta get you. There has to be there should be a link on the on the website for for your movie reviews. Wayne's writing book reviews, You're doing movie reviews. It's uh, you know, all kinds of good stuff on that website now, So I will I will all right. Well, in the meantime, to all of you listening to the show, following us on social media, and subscribing to our Patreon, we thank you.

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