FMC 161: Minari Directed and Written by Lee Isaac Chung

Full Episode Transcript
This episode of Filmmaker Commentary Lee Isaac Chung's *Minari*, covering its box office performance, critical reception, unique distribution challenges during the pandemic, and an in-depth analysis of its characters, themes, and filmmaking craft.

Opening Discussion and Box Office Analysis
Reginald Titus Jr.: Filmmaker Commentary episode 161. Welcome to Filmmaker Commentary where we cover movies with commentaries from directors who take the time to record them on Blu-ray and DVDs. We also give our detailed insights, so look out for spoilers. We discuss the latest in show biz news along with movies and TV shows that we've been watching. So join Reginald Titus Jr., that's me, and Casey G. Smith, that's me, every week here on Filmmaker Commentary. Yo, yo, yo. Welcome to another episode of Filmmaker Commentary. I'm Reginald Titus Jr., I'm joined with.
Casey G. Smith: Casey G. Smith.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Welcome back, sir.
Casey G. Smith.: Good to be back, sir.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And today we're talking about *Minari*, directed and written by Lee Isaac Chung. And this was what, uh, 19, wait, 2019, or 2020?
Casey G. Smith.: 2020. Yes, sir.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Whoops. Welcome to the millennium. Yes, 1974.
Casey G. Smith.: It's 19, it's 97. This look good.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, for this film *Minari*, what was the budget and box office for this film?
Casey G. Smith.: So *Minari*, on an estimated $2 million budget, had a worldwide gross of $15 million.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay, that's a win.
Casey G. Smith.: That is a win.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, what was the breakdown between international and American?
Casey G. Smith.: So, we're looking at about 3.1 million domestic, and then that would leave roughly about, about $12 million world, or globally.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Globally. Internationally. I was, uh, I forgot what this was on. I don't know if it was IMDb, no, it was The Numbers. I think it was called The Numbers. It was either The Numbers or one of those that report. And they report like a fraction of like the, um, the DVD sales and things like that. For more of the financials you got to like order it or something like that. But they had like, I think it was like Korea, um, like the other places where it was available because it wasn't like available, I don't know if it was like in China or anything like that, but it was like Korea, Russia, I think Australia, something like that. It was only like five or six other territories. But Korea was definitely one of them. Um, yeah, what are your thoughts about that? Like, like around the world, like, 12 here, yeah?
Casey G. Smith.: I wonder if I don't know. I don't know what their distribution strategy was, or if there were some potential challenges in that, or if they decided to be very specific in its distribution. Yeah, that's interesting research, interesting results to to see that. Um, it's it's fascinating sometimes when you get to dive in and look at the breakdowns by country of not only where something is distributed, but how it performs. Pardon me. Um, but no, I didn't realize the scope or the distribution had been so limited.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Especially like because, I mean, the distributor is A24, which A24, you know, they have the resources, they have, you know, um, Plan B partnered up with them, uh, production company. Uh, A24, you know, has the resources to kind of push what they want to push. As we saw with the, um, everything, all the one at the same place, what was it called, that we covered?
Casey G. Smith.: Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, that was A24. And then, of course, what's all they didn't, that one barely broke even, if I remember correctly.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Yeah, so.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Pretty much yeah, broke even. Yeah. So maybe, you know, they have their formula down for, uh, American films that may not necessarily be a hit. I don't know. And I don't know if they just don't push it as hard, um, yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, I'd probably say that's definitely it. Um, this is this is technically like a foreign language film because it's it's all subtitled. Like 90% of this film is subtitled, and that's that's tough for some people to to to get through.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Americans specifically. We don't like reading. I when I saw the uh lyrics pop, you know, when I saw the subtitles, I was like, I wonder what Casey thinks of this.
Casey G. Smith.: No, I'm fine with that. I knew going in. I saw the trailer. I was like, yeah, so I was I was prepared. I was like, okay. Okay, you know, I'm okay. I'm locked in. No, I I enjoyed it. That was good. So I yeah, it's only, I don't know. Like sometimes I'm not in the mood to if I if I'm trying to do other things. Right. Cause I can listen well and and absorb that way. Yeah, but if I if I have to watch subtitles and I'm not in the mood to, then it's a little frustrating. But I'll get through it. I like I like to read. Yeah. But I can, you know, watch and listen to the movie and look away or, you know, go and grab a snack and like, oh crap, what did I miss? What's the key plot device? Oh, what was the joke? They're laughing now. I'm okay. I gotta rewind. So, no, but this I was totally locked in. And loved it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. Um, so uh, A24, of course, they distributed it. It's available Apple TV, iTunes, Amazon, Google, Vudu, Fandango, Xbox, Redbox, a place called Rakuten Vika. Sure. On-demand Korea. I was like, oh, okay. Showtime, DVD, Blu-ray, Amazon, DVD, Blu-ray, Target.
Casey G. Smith.: So, on Showtime it's available with a subscription.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, that's what I'm assuming.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, cuz Showtime anytime is anytime. Yeah, cuz they don't sell they don't sell things directly. So yeah, if you got a subscription, then you could check it out on Showtime. All those other platforms, you you got you got to pay to to rent or purchase.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, so maybe that was their deal. Um,
Casey G. Smith.: That may be an A24 thing because *Ad Astra* was the same way. It was also available on Showtime. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, you got a point there, so maybe they got that deal baked in with a lot of their product.
Casey G. Smith.: Hey.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Which is, um, I know from like Blumhouse, he knows on like, even if a budget is like a million or it's not doing well box office, they, he has a certain amount that they like can guarantee that they'll get a profit off of, even if it's a few million.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh yeah. Definitely. They they've mastered that formula.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, I wonder if they just kind of like, A24, if they kind of default to that instead of like pushing, um, pretty hard for that.
Casey G. Smith.: I think you got you have to, I think you have to know your market. I mean, this is this is a beautiful film. Yeah. This is also to a certain degree an art-house film. Yeah. And yeah, again, I think if people are, you know, forced to sit down and watch it, most people are gonna get something out of it and and enjoy it. Yeah. Um, but some people it would take again, even from the trailer it would take more to get them to either go in a theater and watch it or even to sit down and watch it. Cuz I remember I was telling my mom about it and telling her about some of the scenes, and I was like, you know, yeah, it is it's subtitled. She was like, I don't I don't I don't really care to watch subtitled films. I was like, Right. I understand. I I get that I get that I get that feeling and sentiment, but.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Mhm.
Casey G. Smith.: But this was a beautiful film. And, uh, yeah, it's it's worthwhile.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, I, um, I, uh, what was I about to say? Especially I think, um, was it a Edgar Wright film? It was one of the films. I don't know if it was a *Hot Fuzz* movie that we watched, where internationally it was like, it did well. It also did well, but it was more where he was from, took like they pushed it a little bit more.
Casey G. Smith.: Hmm. That may have been *Hot Fuzz*.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It was *Hot Fuzz*. Yeah, versus like in America, like it still did well, but not as well as it did nationally. They gave, it seemed like it just gave more of a push where they were from. And so like from from a Korean standpoint, it's like, wow, this did well, you know, in these territories, but even with the American Koreans here, I think if they knew about it, they would go probably support it.
Casey G. Smith.: It also fell during an interesting time. It was right it was 2020. This is right as the pandemic is is kicking up. So even if it had whatever kind of release, theaters were shutting down and AMC, I think they were still going through their their financial problems at the time. So I think there's other factors uh to take into consideration versus just a typical marketing strategy. I think there were worldwide factors influencing that impacted the the the release uh of the film.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, maybe and probably for that distributing company specifically, cuz I mean, there were people that won during the pandemic, and there were others that maybe not so much.
Casey G. Smith.: Some L's were handed out for sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Some what?
Casey G. Smith.: Some L's were handed out for sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: *Tenet* being probably the biggest L. Yeah. Yeah. Not trolls though. Dance, dance, dance. Yeah. What kind of awards did this movie get?
Casey G. Smith.: I'm glad you asked. So, um, you know, this run of films we're trying to highlight some that were some, uh, darlings at some of the film festivals, and *Minari* is no exception. So at Sundance, uh, it won the Grand Jury Prize for a for dramatic and it also won the Audience Award under the dramatic category.

Accolades, News, and Current Watches
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow, two awards.
Casey G. Smith.: Two awards at Sundance.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's that's a big deal.
Casey G. Smith.: Grand Jury and Audience. So, this is like critically acclaimed and also you'll be loved by the by the people. This is great. Uh, couple with that, the Academy Awards. It was nominated for multiple awards. I want to say six or seven Academy Awards. Um, and of course, the award for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress was won by the the actress who played the grandmother. That would be one miss Youn Yuh-jung.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Youn Yuh-jung.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, and yeah, but I think she was listed as Youn Yuh-jung in the in the credits. But Youn Yuh-jung. Okay. So her her incredible performance in this film. Also Steven Yeun, who played Jacob, the father. He was also nominated for Best Male Actor. Uh, the director was nominated for screenplay and possibly directing as well. And then also the soundtrack was nominated also.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Nice. But they got an award after the deal.
Casey G. Smith.: Yes, they did. I thought that Yeri Han, who played Monica, the wife. I thought that she could have could have been nominated as well. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What was her name? Han Yeri?
Casey G. Smith.: Uh, Yeri Han.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeri Han. Yeah, she did well. Good stuff. Good that it won an award too. Okay, nothing wrong with that. Um, but before we talk further about *Minari*, let's talk about TV news and movies watched. So in the news, according to IndieWire, with no serious challengers, *Avatar 2* passes the $2 billion worldwide mark and nears $600 million domestically. The absence of a strong new film took the usual late January toll, and James Cameron's blockbuster sequel continues to benefit the lack of competition.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It took off.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh yeah. And it's still kind of tearing things up. So what's what's interesting is that it looks like, um, that it may be inevitable that James Cameron's three most recent films, *Titanic*, the first *Avatar*, obviously both having passed two billion $2 billion mark, uh, makes him even with Steven Spielberg, who calculating by current ticket prices, also has three, *Jaws*, *E.T.*, *Jurassic Park*, but none since 93. Uh, anyway, so yeah, James Cameron, you really can't bet against him. He's got, Oh, no. Three films. His last three films all hitting over a billion and him taking his taking his time.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And it it pays off literally. Um,
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, he really does.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Cuz um, according to like a lot of the reviews, I was planning on watching this. Like, I still plan on watching this in the theater, but the reviews have been very interesting. Like, they're like, this looks great. You know what I mean? Like from a technical standpoint, like the technical nerds have been really harping about like how fantastic it looks.
Casey G. Smith.: Visually. Visually amazing. Impressive.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Um, compared to when was the original one? Was it like 2009? I don't remember.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, like 09.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Like like it was amazing to see it then, so I can only imagine what it looks like now and, um, all that payoff. But it seems like he, uh, James Cameron, he's producing films, and he wants you to have that theatrical experience.
Casey G. Smith.: Theatrical experience. Yeah, he's all he's all about that.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Very few, I I feel like not too many, um, directors kind of focus on that so much, you know.
Casey G. Smith.: I mean, the world's changing, and the way we the way we the way that audiences consume Yeah, is is changing and it was was partially forced to change because of the pandemic. That that kind of pushed pushed things in a certain direction even quicker, even though they were already moving that way, that kind of hyper-accelerated that. But, you know, even when the VCR came out, people like, oh, God is gonna be the end of the end of the movie theaters. Not true. No. And so things streaming on demand, that's not gonna be the end of of movie theaters. No. There is still something about the experience of sitting in a theater for for certain things. So, um, and and, you know, doing that with with friends or a date, whatever the case may be. There's still something that the theaters hold for us. So, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it still feels magical. And then everybody can't afford $100,000 plus sound system to where you can feel the rumbles through the air. And it's true. Um, like *Maverick*, you know, stuff like that. It's like, this is you can only experience this one way. And like, when you're captive like that in the movie theater, you there's no distractions.
Casey G. Smith.: As long as you don't pull your damn phones, people.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah, that's terrible.
Casey G. Smith.: Minimum put it in dark mode. Yeah, be courteous, please. You know, don't don't ruin the experience. They they give you all the warnings up front. I know we can forget that we're not at home sometimes because we become very comfortable, and we know those experiences are like, but we're in a communal movie watching experience. Please know that nobody paid 10, 15 for a ticket to see your screen break through the darkness and and light up the the theater.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, goodness. Darkness. Um, what you been watching, man?
Casey G. Smith.: What have I been watching? So I've been on some things.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith.: So, uh, I watched the premiere of *The Last of Us* on HBO. For those who are not familiar with *The Last of Us*, it is based off a a video game, which sometimes when you say the word video game and movie or show, you're like, yeah, exactly. Yeah. Get out the garlic. Put it put up a cross because it has not been a great success record of You're absolutely right. video games adapted into other mediums for consumption. Well, cartoons may be an exception. *Halo*, I don't I don't. It was well, it looked good. It looked really good. No, actually, I was I was enjoying *Halo*. Then I kind of just fell off and I didn't go back to it. But that was on Paramount Plus. You know, they spent some money on that. Um, we'll see if it's if it gets a second season. Um, but, you know, they put a lot of work into it again, it looked good, but I wasn't I wasn't a huge fan. I mean, I used to play the game a little bit back in the day. Anyway, side the point. *The Last of Us*. Maybe Max Payne? Was Max Payne?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it was *Halo*? I don't I don't.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, with Mark Wahlberg? No. No, that was none, not a good one. *Assassin's Creed* had hope with even, but not even the great Michael Fassbender could make that one work. Wow. Uh, there was something that came out a couple years ago that I think actually, you know what, *Sonic the Hedgehog*. The those are those are the best video game, one and two. Yeah, those are yeah, maybe only does. I'd say even the first *Mortal Kombat* is, uh, yeah, I mean, I mean, they kept it going. They kept they kept making them. That's true. One came out during the pandemic. That's you know, that was that was fun. That was kind of fun. But but nonetheless, this, um, this is a series on on HBO Max and *The Last of Us* If you've if for those of you who have played the game, you know, the the the video game is incredible. Like the it's they've got two, two of them. It's a game that that is immersive. But the show so far, yeah, looking looking pretty good. We got the great Pedro Pascal, who is just, man, that dude, that dude stays working. I mean, from *Narcos* to *The Mandalorian*, like, this dude, this dude gets work like, I mean, we're talking like high-end properties. Like, all right, Disney, you know, bam, *Star Wars* franchise. All right, I got you. Oh, HBO Max, *Last of Us* franchise. I got you. I'm there. This dude is this dude is doing his business. I wouldn't be surprised if if he pops up in Marvel somewhere, but he's he's making his money. So, um, but yeah, it's, you know, the the main characters, Joel and Ellie are are the foundation of this, but the show sets up in a very emotional way, which is just how the video game starts. And, uh, yeah, it's this, you know, they're they're not blood-related, but like, when you play the game, you are you're having to kind of look out for this young this this young girl. You gotta get to a certain destination and protect. And then there's parts of the game when you play as Ellie, who's we're talking like maybe like a a young teen, like, between 11 to 13 years old. Um, you know, much smaller, and obviously not as, you know, strong as Joel, but then but but she's she's this is a post-apocalyptic kind of world. Thus the name, *The Last of Us*. Yeah, and there's wow. There's reason behind like what's going down, and people have gotten sick and, uh, but yeah, it's it's good. So, so far, yeah, the show has got me locked in. It's zombies. This kind of the kind of the trope is kind of there. Yeah. But, uh, but these things are they're called clickers and they go, Yeah. Of course. So they they they they they some can't see that they're listening for you. No, no, no. You know, all that all that fun stuff. So yeah, *The Last of Us* so far HBO Max, first episode down. And then, uh, also, uh, shout out to uh, one of our our our faithful listeners. Yes. Uh, one Mr. Reginald G. Yes, indeed. who, uh, heard us talking a little bit about *Emily in Paris* last week and and made the recommendation of checking out *The Devil Wears Prada*. Yeah, that's a classic. Which I'd heard about many a time and and seeing streaming many a place. And I said, oh, yeah, you know, I need to check that out. Finally did. I watched it. I watched it this week. I I watched it on Free Frevee.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah. This is a W. Absolutely. I mean, I mean, they kept it going. They kept they kept making them.
Casey G. Smith.: That's true. One came out during the pandemic. That's you know, that was that was fun. That was kind of fun. But but nonetheless, this, um, this is a series on on HBO Max and *The Last of Us* If you've if for those of you who have played the game, you know, the the the video game is incredible. Like the it's they've got two, two of them. It's a game that that is immersive. But the show so far, yeah, looking looking pretty good. We got the great Pedro Pascal, who is just, man, that dude, that dude stays working. I mean, from *Narcos* to *The Mandalorian*, like, this dude, this dude gets work like, I mean, we're talking like high-end properties. Like, all right, Disney, you know, bam, *Star Wars* franchise. All right, I got you. Oh, HBO Max, *Last of Us* franchise. I got you. I'm there. This dude is this dude is doing his business. I wouldn't be surprised if if he pops up in Marvel somewhere, but he's he's making his money. So, um, but yeah, it's, you know, the the main characters, Joel and Ellie are are the foundation of this, but the show sets up in a very emotional way, which is just how the video game starts. And, uh, yeah, it's this, you know, they're they're not blood-related, but like, when you play the game, you are you're having to kind of look out for this young this this young girl. You gotta get to a certain destination and protect. And then there's parts of the game when you play as Ellie, who's we're talking like maybe like a a young teen, like, between 11 to 13 years old. Um, you know, much smaller, and obviously not as, you know, strong as Joel, but then but but she's she's this is a post-apocalyptic kind of world. Thus the name, *The Last of Us*. Yeah, and there's wow. There's reason behind like what's going down, and people have gotten sick and, uh, but yeah, it's it's good. So, so far, yeah, the show has got me locked in. It's zombies. This kind of the kind of the trope is kind of there. Yeah. But, uh, but these things are they're called clickers and they go, Yeah. Of course. So they they they they they some can't see that they're listening for you. No, no, no. You know, all that all that fun stuff. So yeah, *The Last of Us* so far HBO Max, first episode down. And then, uh, also, uh, shout out to uh, one of our our our faithful listeners. Yes. Uh, one Mr. Reginald G. Yes, indeed. who, uh, heard us talking a little bit about *Emily in Paris* last week and and made the recommendation of checking out *The Devil Wears Prada*. Yeah, that's a classic. Which I'd heard about many a time and and seeing streaming many a place. And I said, oh, yeah, you know, I need to check that out. Finally did. I watched it. I watched it this week. I I watched it on Free Frevee.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Free Frevee. Freevu?
Casey G. Smith.: Freevu. Something something along those lines.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Is that the is that an Amazon product or IMDb? I don't know.
Casey G. Smith.: I don't know who's behind it. I just know that it's free. And therefore, and I accessed it. I'll get I'll get the name proper. *The Devil Wears Prada*, um, that had a lot of buzz around it when it came out.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And therefore, and I accessed it. I'll get I'll get the name proper. *The Devil Wears Prada*, um, that had a lot of buzz around it when it came out.
Casey G. Smith.: It did. And Oscar Buzz, all that. Rightfully so. It was it it lives up to the hype. It was fantastic. You know, Anne Hathaway.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Can't go can't go wrong with Meryl Streep.
Casey G. Smith.: No. You can really you really usually can't go wrong with Anne Hathaway either. Like she's she's solid. She she always brings it. And she does in this. Our man from *Entourage*, um, playing plays her plays her boyfriend in this. Um,
Reginald Titus Jr.: Jerry Jeremy Piven?
Casey G. Smith.: No, like, uh,
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, Adrian. Adrian Grenier. Uh-huh. Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah, he's in it. He he was at the top of his game at that time.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Yeah, I remember. Where are they now? Uh, it happens. You know, he's he's hey, he's had a good long run on *Entourage*. Absolutely. But yeah, but the streaming channel was uh, yeah, Freevee. F R E E V E E. Freevee.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Freevee. Uh, recently, um, I was watching on Instagram. This is probably about a year ago. I said recently. But, um, is Dylan, which one's Dylan? The one that played, um, drama?
Casey G. Smith.: His brother?
Reginald Titus Jr.: The one that played drama, yeah, in *Entourage*. Yeah. It was him and the actor that plays E. Uh, they were talking about Adrian. They were like, hey, did you know that Adrian got married this past weekend? And then they were like, no. And then they were just he said, no, I didn't. Were you invited? No, I wasn't. And he was like, man. Feels like we're still in *Entourage*. Oh. You know how his character would just pull like this random stuff. Right. Just go off and do his thing. Hey, I just got married this last weekend. Like, so it was kind of interesting to how meta kind of got.
Casey G. Smith.: That's funny. That is funny. Um, I did get a chance to finally watch, I did I forgot to say this last week, uh, *Glass Onion*. Mm, *Knives Out* *Glass Onion*. On Netflix. Yeah, man. Love. What can I say about that film? It was entertaining. And I like the first two acts. I think the third act to me kind of was like, oh, okay. But, um, but , very entertaining. I watched it with the wife. We kind of dug it. Um, I I what I didn't know is that, um, uh, Rian Johnson, I didn't know they sold the property to to Netflix for I think it was like 400 million. It was a lot of money.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh yeah. This is a W. Absolutely. I mean, I mean, they kept it going. They kept they kept making them.
Casey G. Smith.: That's true. One came out during the pandemic. That's you know, that was that was fun. That was kind of fun. But but nonetheless, this, um, this is a series on on HBO Max and *The Last of Us* If you've if for those of you who have played the game, you know, the the the video game is incredible. Like the it's they've got two, two of them. It's a game that that is immersive. But the show so far, yeah, looking looking pretty good. We got the great Pedro Pascal, who is just, man, that dude, that dude stays working. I mean, from *Narcos* to *The Mandalorian*, like, this dude, this dude gets work like, I mean, we're talking like high-end properties. Like, all right, Disney, you know, bam, *Star Wars* franchise. All right, I got you. Oh, HBO Max, *Last of Us* franchise. I got you. I'm there. This dude is this dude is doing his business. I wouldn't be surprised if if he pops up in Marvel somewhere, but he's he's making his money. So, um, but yeah, it's, you know, the the main characters, Joel and Ellie are are the foundation of this, but the show sets up in a very emotional way, which is just how the video game starts. And, uh, yeah, it's this, you know, they're they're not blood-related, but like, when you play the game, you are you're having to kind of look out for this young this this young girl. You gotta get to a certain destination and protect. And then there's parts of the game when you play as Ellie, who's we're talking like maybe like a a young teen, like, between 11 to 13 years old. Um, you know, much smaller, and obviously not as, you know, strong as Joel, but then but but she's she's this is a post-apocalyptic kind of world. Thus the name, *The Last of Us*. Yeah, and there's wow. There's reason behind like what's going down, and people have gotten sick and, uh, but yeah, it's it's good. So, so far, yeah, the show has got me locked in. It's zombies. This kind of the kind of the trope is kind of there. Yeah. But, uh, but these things are they're called clickers and they go, Yeah. Of course. So they they they they they some can't see that they're listening for you. No, no, no. You know, all that all that fun stuff. So yeah, *The Last of Us* so far HBO Max, first episode down. And then, uh, also, uh, shout out to uh, one of our our our faithful listeners. Yes. Uh, one Mr. Reginald G. Yes, indeed. who, uh, heard us talking a little bit about *Emily in Paris* last week and and made the recommendation of checking out *The Devil Wears Prada*. Yeah, that's a classic. Which I'd heard about many a time and and seeing streaming many a place. And I said, oh, yeah, you know, I need to check that out. Finally did. I watched it. I watched it this week. I I watched it on Free Frevee.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Heck yeah. Uh, don't quote me on that, but it was a lot of money. They sold the property, so they're gonna keep pushing these out.
Casey G. Smith.: It'll be some more. It's almost like a like a series of novels with Benoit Blanc.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Doing his thing.
Casey G. Smith.: Absolutely. And it looks like the actors are having a lot of fun, just kind of like, uh, being silly and stuff like that. So you can kind of feel the fun that they're having playing these characters.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And it's star-studded cast. I mean, it's a who's who of of various names. From Janelle Monáe. Yeah, Ed Norton. And you think else, Batista. Um, Leslie Odom Jr., um, anyway, but yeah, just star-studded cast. Absolutely. That's kind of like the thing is you have this compilation of people and then it's just like, oh, okay, who's this is who's who's gonna die, you know, kind of thing.
Casey G. Smith.: And I think for for Daniel Craig, right, as he transitions from the Bond franchise, right, this gives another franchise where he doesn't have to go heavy on the action and can yeah, just do his thing.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. I think I'm gonna check it out. It's like, it's entertaining enough. I'm gonna check it out again. So I get to see it from the eyes of kind of knowing what's going on and kind of, you know, seeing how people act, you know, now that I know what happened.
Casey G. Smith.: Sure. Like, again, it's it's it's it's I feel different enough from the first one. Cuz even how like the things unfolded, it's it's different, you know, but but it's again, it's it's kind of has that clue vibe to it where, you know, it's uh, oh, this happens when this happens. And then as as as it's explained, right, you get the little recaps and you look at the different, you look for the different signs, oh, wait, that guy did that thing there at that time. You know, now, is that how really happened? Is that how I perceived it to happen? Or do they want me to believe that's how I perceived it to happen? Or, uh, yeah, it's it's interesting. But yeah, I I I enjoyed, uh, um, *Knives Out: Glass Onion*. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So yeah, it'd be interesting seeing what else they come up with. But I'll I'll check that one out again. Kind of like what Christopher Nolan does with some of his films like, you you watch it, then you're like, what happened? Then you go have to go back and watch it.
Casey G. Smith.: What happened? I will say this, with *Knives Out: Glass Onion*, we what I was watching with my family initially, and we it was late at night, and we got through the first act, and then we had to stop and then came back and then watched the and then watched the rest. Yeah. But, um, but yeah. Uh, I've also been watching *The* much talked about *Velma*. I I I went in and watched the the next the next two episodes on HBO Max.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, dear God.
Casey G. Smith.: That's right.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Cause last week when you brought it up, you're just like, you know, you said, what character do you know, name Velma. And I was like, oh no. You know, that's you know, I was like, oh, yeah, that's right. They did. So is it confirmed that she's a different ethnicity or is she just have a tan?
Casey G. Smith.: She's a different you when you see her parents in the show. Okay. Yeah, yeah, definitely. She's a different ethnicity. Okay, okay, okay. So, cuz I didn't I didn't, you know, I didn't confirm that cuz it's the same name, you know what I mean? Like I I don't I don't know. Yeah, no, looking at her parents, they're both of her parents are brown. Okay. So, do they make it differentiate do they you know, do they tell like what culture she's from? Do they like are there clues there like, she's Latino, or she's Asian, or she's Indian, or anything like that? I wanna say Indian, but, um, yeah, that'll that would be my educated guess. Yeah. Okay. So what do you think? I'm I'm still enjoying it. Really? Yeah. It's it's it's it's it's wild, man. It's out there. I think I think if you can get past the first, I guess, three episodes, uh-huh. Then, uh, uh, uh, why why you say get past the first three? What do you mean? Well, cuz people hooting and hollering about, you know, what they didn't like. So I'm like, well, I guess if you can get past those, then you'll probably be still still entertaining. Yeah. Uh, again, to me it has it has kind of those *Rick and Morty* vibes where it's just it's just wild. Well, where what were people, cuz I I remember we kind of we were texting a little bit about it, and I was kind of researching a little bit, but I kind of forgot. So, what I know people are upset, but why were they upset about, you remember? Um, I think maybe possibly because some feel that maybe with, uh, with Mindy Kaling, who's who's over it, that's right. Cause she's an executive producer, right? Yeah, and she's also voicing Velma as well. Okay. Um, because it's it's it's it's to some degree kind of maybe like it it has I guess if you will, like, I mean, very much so kind of like modern vibes, but also kind of puts different spins on on these different Scooby-Doo characters. Like, everybody's in there except for Scooby, basically. Uh-huh. Um, and uh, and and and and there's things like, you know, Shaggy, he's he's he's a black dude. Oh, no. Yeah. But but he's but he's he's he's he's he's straight there's just one black actor. I forget his name, but he's played in a lot of stuff. And he and he he plays more for a straight straight black guy and stuff. He was in *Veep*. He was in a lot of episodes of *Veep*. Okay. Um, and uh, actually, Shaggy, he's mixed. His his dad is white. Mom is black. Okay. Um, but he's he's not he's not even spoiler alert. He's not even smoking weed. Uh, yeah, yeah, and he's like, he's like, and he's like, man, if I ever get involved in in in in 411 culture, weed culture, just shoot me. Like, he's like like totally against it. What? So it's so so it's so it's fast so. So it's like a is it like a woke show? Like, they say, you know, like, they're making like woke be like kind of like a bad thing. Well, see, I think maybe that's what maybe was some of the, I don't know, uh, controversies at. Is like, it's it's like woke, but kind of like, you know, poking fun at that. It's one of those shows that I feel like they're kind of just making fun of everything. Kind of like South Park does. Kind of like *Rick and Morty* does. Like, it's kind of has those vibes, but I guess because it's taking these established, long time, you know, very, you know, long-time established characters, Yeah, so,
Reginald Titus Jr.: Really? Yeah. It's it's it's it's it's wild, man. It's out there. I think I think if you can get past the first, I guess, three episodes, uh-huh. Then, uh, uh, uh, why why you say get past the first three? What do you mean? Well, cuz people hooting and hollering about, you know, what they didn't like. So I'm like, well, I guess if you can get past those, then you'll probably be still still entertaining. Yeah. Uh, again, to me it has it has kind of those *Rick and Morty* vibes where it's just it's just wild. Well, where what were people, cuz I I remember we kind of we were texting a little bit about it, and I was kind of researching a little bit, but I kind of forgot. So, what I know people are upset, but why were they upset about, you remember? Um, I think maybe possibly because some feel that maybe with, uh, with Mindy Kaling, who's who's over it, that's right. Cause she's an executive producer, right? Yeah, and she's also voicing Velma as well. Okay. Um, because it's it's it's it's to some degree kind of maybe like it it has I guess if you will, like, I mean, very much so kind of like modern vibes, but also kind of puts different spins on on these different Scooby-Doo characters. Like, everybody's in there except for Scooby, basically. Uh-huh. Um, and uh, and and and and there's things like, you know, Shaggy, he's he's he's a black dude. Oh, no. Yeah. But but he's but he's he's he's he's straight there's just one black actor. I forget his name, but he's played in a lot of stuff. And he and he he plays more for a straight straight black guy and stuff. He was in *Veep*. He was in a lot of episodes of *Veep*. Okay. Um, and uh, actually, Shaggy, he's mixed. His his dad is white. Mom is black. Okay. Um, but he's he's not he's not even spoiler alert. He's not even smoking weed. Uh, yeah, yeah, and he's like, he's like, and he's like, man, if I ever get involved in in in in 411 culture, weed culture, just shoot me. Like, he's like like totally against it. What? So it's so so it's so it's fast so. So it's like a is it like a woke show? Like, they say, you know, like, they're making like woke be like kind of like a bad thing. Well, see, I think maybe that's what maybe was some of the, I don't know, uh, controversies at. Is like, it's it's like woke, but kind of like, you know, poking fun at that. It's one of those shows that I feel like they're kind of just making fun of everything. Kind of like South Park does. Kind of like *Rick and Morty* does. Like, it's kind of has those vibes, but I guess because it's taking these established, long time, you know, very, you know, long-time established characters, Yeah, so,
Casey G. Smith.: I think also too, like in America, we have unfortunately, you know, when there's a stamp like you said, established IP, and they look a certain way, whether that be the mermaid or, um, uh, guy, um, Thor, what's the guy? Sword. Yeah, you know, when you start changing the, um, the race. Yeah, the race. When you say I was like, whoa, what politically correct word can I use? Race. Race. When you start changing the race of people, like people get triggered, you know, in America. It's kind of funny to watch, but, um, unfortunately, uh, depending on the situation, you you either they get over it, or they can make your your situation worse. Uh, I think with some of the other ones like the, uh, Thor and they kind of just you just have to get over it. And in the mermaid, little mermaid, you just got to get over it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, you know, when you start changing the, um, the race. Yeah, the race. When you say I was like, whoa, what politically correct word can I use? Race. Race. When you start changing the race of people, like people get triggered, you know, in America. It's kind of funny to watch, but, um, unfortunately, uh, depending on the situation, you you either they get over it, or they can make your your situation worse. Uh, I think with some of the other ones like the, uh, Thor and they kind of just you just have to get over it. And in the mermaid, little mermaid, you just got to get over it.
Casey G. Smith.: And sometimes it's it's characters that, in my opinion, some some are mind. Again, Heimdall within the Thor mythos, yes, he's been around a long time, but I don't think he's ever even had his own like mini series as a comic. He he's a long-standing character, but anyway, but so anyway, but yeah, so I've been watching still been watching Velma. Uh, I'm I'm I'm still digging it so far. It's it's it's it's it's wild, man. I I think I think again, I think I think you might dig it, cuz it's just enough out there and it's I'm with it. It's pretty wild. It's pretty wild.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I'm with it. It's pretty wild.
Casey G. Smith.: Sometimes with that stuff, I just wish that, uh, for example, the actress did executive producer, anything like that. Like create something original. And like, you could probably still have the same content and just, uh, make it an original project. I think people would accept, you know, receive it differently versus using some IP and putting your own twist to the IP. Um, that's my thoughts on it cuz I
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's pretty wild.
Casey G. Smith.: Well, my thing always is this too, like the show just started. And so this is this is like a again, they're all young and in high school. I don't know if I if I failed to mention that, but they're all they're all they're they're all in high school. They're going to high school together. So this is like them becoming who they'll who they'll be as as, you know, the mystery machine like that. That like the mystery machine hasn't hasn't been introduced. Yeah. You know, Fred comes from a very wealthy family. So this is the beginning. Yeah, it's like a modern beginning for them. So it's like, okay, where are they gonna end up like, what what what is gonna happen to Cuz already you already see where Velma, she's in the she's in the to solve mysteries. You've got Thelma, who is wanting to figure out who her her real parents are. She's she has two moms who are who are both police officers, both lesbians, voiced by, um, one is black voiced by Wanda Sykes. I can I can I can hear Wanda Sykes immediately. And the other is, uh, her name is Jane something, but she was she was the she played the the the cheer leader, um, coach on *Glee* back in the day. But she's she's tall, blonde, um, but like, they they play they play both play the moms. Uh, but it it's very interesting. It's it's yes, it's it's modern, but so far I'm like, okay, this is interesting. Where where are they gonna take them? Because you know, the tropes of who they have been. Those are gonna come, but it's this is the early journey to kind of get them there. So, we'll see what goes down. And I don't know like where talking where where a talking, um, what kind of dog is Scooby? He's a uh, Great Dane. He's Yeah, I don't know. I don't know where our talking Great Dane is gonna come into play, but right. We'll see. We'll see what's up. Interesting. So, yeah, I'm I'm interested to see where the where the journey goes. I can dig it. Uh, what else have you been been watching? Uh, also been watching still. I'm still on I'm still working through *Cheers*, which has been it's been entertaining. I I cannot lie. It's been it's *Cheers* has been You're in that world now. I am. It's been very entertaining though. They're um, I'm on the seventh season of *Cheers*. Sometimes I'm like, okay, you know, some of the characters great a little bit, but other times like they're you get these couple breakthrough moments here and there. Um, you know, stop I watched another episode. Wait, I don't know I didn't watch another episode of *Rap Sh!t* this week, but I'll probably watch another next week. I did start watching season two of *White Lotus* on HBO Max. Okay. That's been interesting. Enjoying that so far. So, yeah. I can dig it. Um, today's show is sponsored by Naturally the Movie by Grind of Matter Films, available to stream on all Black TV, as well as for free on Tubi and Roku on Demand. Please check it out and leave a review. Now, let's jump back into the show. Thank you for tuning in to Filmmaker Commentary. We're talking about *Minari*. It came out in 2020 and it is directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Here's the synopsis. *Minari* follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, *Minari* shows the undeniable resilience of family and what it really makes a home. *Minari*. And if this is your first time listening to Filmmaker Commentary, please note that there will be spoilers. You've been forewarned. How did you watch this film?

*Minari* Deep Dive: Plot, Characters, Themes, and Craft
Reginald Titus Jr.: Really? Yeah. It's it's it's it's wild, man. It's out there. I think I think if you can get past the first, I guess, three episodes, uh-huh. Then, uh, uh, uh, why why you say get past the first three? What do you mean? Well, cuz people hooting and hollering about, you know, what they didn't like. So I'm like, well, I guess if you can get past those, then you'll probably be still still entertaining. Yeah. Uh, again, to me it has it has kind of those *Rick and Morty* vibes where it's just it's just wild. Well, where what were people, cuz I I remember we kind of we were texting a little bit about it, and I was kind of researching a little bit, but I kind of forgot. So, what I know people are upset, but why were they upset about, you remember? Um, I think maybe possibly because some feel that maybe with, uh, with Mindy Kaling, who's who's over it, that's right. Cause she's an executive producer, right? Yeah, and she's also voicing Velma as well. Okay. Um, because it's it's it's it's to some degree kind of maybe like it it has I guess if you will, like, I mean, very much so kind of like modern vibes, but also kind of puts different spins on on these different Scooby-Doo characters. Like, everybody's in there except for Scooby, basically. Uh-huh. Um, and uh, and and and and there's things like, you know, Shaggy, he's he's he's a black dude. Oh, no. Yeah. But but he's but he's he's he's he's straight there's just one black actor. I forget his name, but he's played in a lot of stuff. And he and he he plays more for a straight straight black guy and stuff. He was in *Veep*. He was in a lot of episodes of *Veep*. Okay. Um, and uh, actually, Shaggy, he's mixed. His his dad is white. Mom is black. Okay. Um, but he's he's not he's not even spoiler alert. He's not even smoking weed. Uh, yeah, yeah, and he's like, he's like, and he's like, man, if I ever get involved in in in in 411 culture, weed culture, just shoot me. Like, he's like like totally against it. What? So it's so so it's so it's fast so. So it's like a is it like a woke show? Like, they say, you know, like, they're making like woke be like kind of like a bad thing. Well, see, I think maybe that's what maybe was some of the, I don't know, uh, controversies at. Is like, it's it's like woke, but kind of like, you know, poking fun at that. It's one of those shows that I feel like they're kind of just making fun of everything. Kind of like South Park does. Kind of like *Rick and Morty* does. Like, it's kind of has those vibes, but I guess because it's taking these established, long time, you know, very, you know, long-time established characters, Yeah, so,
Casey G. Smith.: Well, before I dive into that, I'd love to just give a shout out to the cast of *Minari*. Let's go. So, playing the role of the father, Jacob, is one Steven Yeun of *Walking Dead* fame. Boom. Uh, as well as Yeri Han, who plays the role of his wife and mother, well, she's the wife and mother, Monica. Also, their their oldest child and daughter, uh, Ann is played by Noel Cho. And the the breakout star, the the the young charismatic youngest child, David, played by one Alan Kim, who just is just absolutely yeah, super charming throughout this whole thing. He just he just crushed it. And of course, there is our Academy Award-winning grandmother, Soonja, who is played by Youn Yuh-jung.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Probably one of my favorite characters in this film. Um, and Alan, you know, um, I know, I can't remember what episode we talked about, when we were talking about just kids that steal the show. This is a kid that's stealing stealing scenes, but grandma steals it right back. Oh, yeah. Um, like Macaulay Culkin and, you know, some of the other kids that we talked about in the past where they're just, man, charming our butts off.
Casey G. Smith.: Word, like, hey, they they bring it in this film. And it's I was, this is my first time seeing *Minari*. I was pleasantly surprised. Again, I I all I knew was the trailer that I saw from A24 when we were doing *Ad Astra*. Yeah. And I said, okay, this, uh, and a couple of other lines a couple of David's lines were in there. And I'm like, oh, okay, this looks like it's gonna I know there's something heavy that's gonna happen, but this kid alone is selling me on this. And I I I like Steven Yeun, for whatever reason, like I Yeah. I don't know. I just I like to I like seeing his his rise, his hustle. Yeah. Um, he's in this entire world. He's got a movie star look too, to himself.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, sir. And he he he's putting in the work, and I love that I love that he's able to be a part of getting out content that reflects aspects of of his culture. Like, I get like, yeah, okay, do that. So, so yeah, I was I was pleasantly surprised. This this film, um, put a smile on my face, and, you know, some some aspects of it that that that hit that hit home, you know, very personally, you know, when I again, we already said this'd be spoilers. You know, when the grandma has the stroke, I was like, Ooh, oh. Yeah. Like, man. Um, but it's it was it was well done. So, how about you? How how'd you watch this film?
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. I will say this, with *Knives Out: Glass Onion*, we what I was watching with my family initially, and we it was late at night, and we got through the first act, and then we had to stop and then came back and then watched the and then watched the rest. Yeah. But, um, but yeah. Uh, I've also been watching *The* much talked about *Velma*. I I I went in and watched the the next the next two episodes on HBO Max.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, I had no when you when you said mentioned it last time, *Minari*, I was like, what is that? You know, So kind of movie you got me watching with this ambiguous title. Um, so I after *Ad Astra*. Okay. At least you know, it's about somebody on Twitter, you know, I know nothing about the *Minari* situation. Um, but, uh, uh, um, yeah, so after kind of I didn't look at the trailer or anything. I kind of went in blind. Yeah, just kind of went in blind. But when I saw the Blu-ray, I was like, this looks boring. Like, like, yes. Like the Blu-ray is literally Alan, wait, uh, David in the middle holding hands with his sister. His mom and the dad is, you know, got his arm around the daughter. Unassuming. Yes, man. This is this is not selling any tickets. Um, so when I saw that I just To say the least, I wasn't excited. You know, I was like, I just pushed it in the little PlayStation. I've been using that now. He was like, pushed it in, like, you get access to the the 1.5 on this commentary time. I I still listen to it regularly. You know what I mean? Yeah. I might start doing that, you know, I saw the little tricks on it. I was like, oh, okay.
Casey G. Smith.: I knew nothing about the *Minari* situation. Um, but, uh, uh, um, yeah, so after kind of I didn't look at the trailer or anything. I kind of went in blind. Yeah, just kind of went in blind. But when I saw the Blu-ray, I was like, this looks boring. Like, like, yes. Like the Blu-ray is literally Alan, wait, uh, David in the middle holding hands with his sister. His mom and the dad is, you know, got his arm around the daughter. Unassuming. Yes, man. This is this is not selling any tickets. Um, so when I saw that I just To say the least, I wasn't excited. You know, I was like, I just pushed it in the little PlayStation. I've been using that now. He was like, pushed it in, like, you get access to the the 1.5 on this commentary time. I I still listen to it regularly. You know what I mean? Yeah. I might start doing that, you know, I saw the little tricks on it. I was like, oh, okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: You'll you'll thank me. Just. Okay.
Casey G. Smith.: cuz it again, you'll find that you you'll find that the speed at which people talk, you can hear it just fine. It just you just hit that R2 once and just let it go. Yeah. It works fine. There's very few that I've heard where I've had to like play it regularly because they were talking too fast. Yeah. Nine times out of ten, you're like, oh, no, this is this could use some speeding up. Like 1.5 is. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, um, watched it with the wife, and we dug it, you know, it was like one of those surprises. I was like, okay. All right. All right. It's good. This is good. I mean, it's got again, on the front, it doesn't say anything about Sundance, does it? No, it has the Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh, and it has the Academy Award nominations on there.
Casey G. Smith.: I think once you go to academies, you you tend to probably not put Sundance on there. Maybe, I don't know. I just got you know, you got that, you got that yeah, you know, But it seems like the the whole Rotten Tomato thing is like I think I think if you I think if you don't win an Academy Award, well, I think if you if you don't get nominated, I'll say that. If you don't get nominated for any Academy Awards, but you've won some things at Sundance, then you'll have Sundance on there. But I think once you get to the place where you win Academy Awards, because that's more it's more it's more well known. Right. Then you're gonna put that on there from the marketing standpoint.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I don't even know if like Sundance is like a marketing thing like that anymore because *Ad Astra*, it, uh, um, it had it had the Rotten Tomato on there, right? But I don't think it had the Sundance on there.
Casey G. Smith.: It was nominated, but it didn't I don't think when we look back at it, it didn't win at Sundance, but it was but it was nominated. Right. Cuz it used to be like back in the day, back in the day. Uh, people put the laurels on their, uh, on their project. Yeah. They'll put it there. But like, how's Rotten Tomatoes like kind of trumpeting your acceptance in Sundance? Like, being accepted in Sundance is like a lottery by itself.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Right. Cuz it used to be like back in the day, back in the day. Uh, people put the laurels on their, uh, on their project. Yeah. They'll put it there. But like, how's Rotten Tomatoes like kind of trumpeting your acceptance in Sundance? Like, being accepted in Sundance is like a lottery by itself.
Casey G. Smith.: It is the, uh, the changing of the guard. Just that that, you know, pop you know, mass opinion. Well, even with Rotten Tomatoes, I mean, those are you have to be a certified reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes to get that aggregate score. So, um, yeah, I don't I'll I'll be honest. I never look at Rotten Tomato. Like, I I I could I don't know if I care less, but I don't pay attention to Rotten Tomato. I don't I don't look to see something's fresh or not. Like, it doesn't make a difference to me. Really? Really? I I pay I pay zero attention to Rotten Tomato. Huh. So, what do you get your you just have to go watch it and and make your own decision. Yeah, I'll take a risk. I I, you know, I don't mind being disap I I I'll be honest. I'm seldomly like, oh, man, that totally sucked. That was a waste of time. It's pretty rare that that happens. Uh-huh. So, huh. I try to curate it a little bit more. So, like, I'll I'll take in consideration, uh, the tomato thing. I was like, um, I heard about this thing. You know what I mean? Sure. Casey, did you go see it? You know? Right now. Again, if somebody makes a recommendation to me, then of course that that carries a different kind of weight, but in general, I I may I may look at reviews other places, but I don't I don't take Rotten Tomatoes really into consideration. I I I'm like blind to Rotten Tomatoes. Right. Cuz I cuz I like how like the, uh, with Rotten Tomatoes, they have like the critics' version of what the critics are saying. And then what real people are saying. Sure. Every day going. Yeah. So like the people like I like looking at that to kind of see what their quotations are, like what they liked or didn't like. Just to kind of gauge what the audience is really thinking about it. Um, and then of course, what the streets are saying, like, I'll talk to someone like you or whoever else to kind of get the street's vibe. Sure. And then I make a decision. I'm like, we watching today. What are we watching today? So, I'll I'll I'll take I'll I'll I like taking the risk. Yes. I'm here. Let's take a we got to turn my content. Um, but yeah, so uh, yeah, I mean, I'm I'm gonna share with y'all a text that Reginald sent me. Okay. In regards to, you know, going having gone in like, ah, this looks boring. So, yesterday you sent me a text, and he was like, uh, it was a an emoji of of of of a dude like just bawling, like, eyes with, you know, like it's like an anime image where tears coming down the eyes and snot in the nose, and it says, me watching *Minari*, and it's all your fault, Casey. I was like, oh, and now now mind you, I had not watched the movie at this point. I'm like, I'm like, oh, it's gonna be a tearjerker. Yeah. Oh, okay. So I was kind of girding myself for that. I'm like, all right. Here we go. But, uh, I think it's it's always a plus when a when a when a movie makes you feel something. For me, that's that's one of the most powerful gauges. When when the movie leaves me thinking about it afterwards. Yeah. Or it it hit me in an emotional place, or where I where I wanna go and tell someone about it. Yeah, absolutely. Even if I think there may be some, you know, it'd be being a foreign language film. I know it's a barrier to some people, but like, you know, I was talking to my mom this morning and I was telling her about it and I was telling her about some of the funny parts in the movie that just it made me laugh. Even trying to talk about them making me laugh. So, yeah, this is a this is a this is a a dime of a movie. This is this is a precious film. Yeah, it was a good one. I wish this one had more coverage in America. Um, it was one of those films where I liked about it is that I can relate to a lot of what's going on in this as me having my own family, kind of where me and my wife were in discussions of talking about how we're gonna be taking care of our mothers and bringing them into the house or how we, you know, how we're gonna approach that. We're kind of getting ahead of the game on that. Um, so I can relate a lot about everything that's going on in this film. Nice. Um, so yeah, more than *Ad Astra*, right? I'm like, even though they had their own dysfunctional family, but specifically this one, you know, could relate. We like both of them, both A24 films. Yeah, if you came in and said, I can relate more to *Ad Astra*. I'd be like, oh, really? That's uh, that's interesting. I'd say interesting take. Yeah, I really I feel really attached to Derrick. Oh, man. I'll do it. I'll do it. I'll do it. Do it. Do it. I'll make him sell off. Do it. Do it. Um, that's all I have for trivia. I have two more. Uh, um, the the sleepover scene, the when the dad shows up and he gives the kids their bowls of cereal, that actor, he has these fake teeth in his mouth that are just look like they've been tore up from tobacco use. Yeah. And those teeth were actually made by Guillermo del Toro from a project he did with him. And he specifically wanted to wear those teeth because he's this actor has like amazing like white teeth. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so he he used those teeth in that scene. Do you have any questions for these for this film? The director or anybody involved?

Plot, Characters, Themes, and Craft (Continued)
Reginald Titus Jr.: Really? Yeah. It's it's it's it's wild, man. It's out there. I think I think if you can get past the first, I guess, three episodes, uh-huh. Then, uh, uh, uh, why why you say get past the first three? What do you mean? Well, cuz people hooting and hollering about, you know, what they didn't like. So I'm like, well, I guess if you can get past those, then you'll probably be still still entertaining. Yeah. Uh, again, to me it has it has kind of those *Rick and Morty* vibes where it's just it's just wild. Well, where what were people, cuz I I remember we kind of we were texting a little bit about it, and I was kind of researching a little bit, but I kind kind of forgot. So, what I know people are upset, but why were they upset about, you remember? Um, I think maybe possibly because some feel that maybe with, uh, with Mindy Kaling, who's who's over it, that's right. Cause she's an executive producer, right? Yeah, and she's also voicing Velma as well. Okay. Um, because it's it's it's it's to some degree kind of maybe like it it has I guess if you will, like, I mean, very much so kind of like modern vibes, but also kind of puts different spins on on these different Scooby-Doo characters. Like, everybody's in there except for Scooby, basically. Uh-huh. Um, and uh, and and and and there's things like, you know, Shaggy, he's he's he's a black dude. Oh, no. Yeah. But but he's but he's he's he's he's straight there's just one black actor. I forget his name, but he's played in a lot of stuff. And he and he he plays more for a straight straight black guy and stuff. He was in *Veep*. He was in a lot of episodes of *Veep*. Okay. Um, and uh, actually, Shaggy, he's mixed. His his dad is white. Mom is black. Okay. Um, but he's he's not he's not even spoiler alert. He's not even smoking weed. Uh, yeah, yeah, and he's like, he's like, and he's like, man, if I ever get involved in in in in 411 culture, weed culture, just shoot me. Like, he's like like totally against it. What? So it's so so it's so it's fast so. So it's like a is it like a woke show? Like, they say, you know, like, they're making like woke be like kind of like a bad thing. Well, see, I think maybe that's what maybe was some of the, I don't know, uh, controversies at. Is like, it's it's like woke, but kind of like, you know, poking fun at that. It's one of those shows that I feel like they're kind of just making fun of everything. Kind of like South Park does. Kind of like *Rick and Morty* does. Like, it's kind of has those vibes, but I guess because it's taking these established, long time, you know, very, you know, long-time established characters, Yeah, so,
Casey G. Smith.: You know, I think maybe the only question I would have, and I could probably research this, but I would ask the director, cuz I know this is pretty autobiographical. I would ask, was he David? Did he have the was he the one that he have the heart condition? Oh. You know? Cuz it's only two kids in the film, but I'm like, and his family, was did he have an older sister or more siblings? And if not, or if so, did he have a heart condition? Uh, was was he was he David?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, he got something kid. He definitely got something.
Casey G. Smith.: Uh, delay meetings of actors with with tension or tension-filled scenes until they actually get on set. So, uh, YJ actually avoided meeting David in advance until their scene on set where David literally is hiding from her behind his mother. Yeah. And so all the more it made for that kind of tension to be even even real because he I don't think he he I don't think he actually liked her or was kind of scared of her initially. So all that could play out even more on screen. That's good. Craft, all her experience, you know, kind of paying off.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Uh, you know, it's probably probably quite true back then. Um, so three of the kids who were extras during the church scene when they said uh the pastor said you know, if you this is your first time here, you know, as a visitor, if you please stand up. And three of the three of the kids kids who were extras were were in the front row and they all three stood up. No, no, not not you guys. Down. Cut.
Casey G. Smith.: Um, so this is again, once again, David, grandma having a conversation. And and she tells him, uh, oh, you're very pretty. You're very pretty boy. Very pretty. And David gets upset. Once again, as feels like he has to correct his grandma. He says, I'm not pretty. I'm good-looking. He's He's just looking for a reason to correct grandma. Um, they're playing cards, so grandma showing them how to showing the grandkids how to play cards. So apparently this is a thing. It's called *Hwatu*. This is the name of the card game. And then it's just funny cuz she said, out of my way, you bastard. And she slams the cards down. At the beginning of it, when they start playing, cuz she cuz he had he had just asked for, what can you grandma, you don't cook. You don't this. What can you do? And this is pause. And then it cuts in and playing cards. The first she says, sucks to be you. Like, what? I was like, whoa, they saying, sucks to be you in the 80s? But it's just yeah, this grandma is raw. Raw. Sucks to be you. Like, oh, man. That was laughing. I was like, this grandma was wild, man. She but she's but it's but it's but there's a sweetness there within all that. Because they her and David have this dynamic that it's it's contentious at moments and then very sweet in others. And it's that that grandparent grandchild thing where she's not really there to discipline him. And grandkids sometimes will get away with murder, you know, when it comes to the grandparents. Oh, for sure. And grandparents are having to you know, to to suddenly say, okay, now it's time to give you back to your folks. But she's living with them, obviously, but. But yeah, that line was uh, who cares if I drink a little pee? It was fun. Yeah. It's like she's gets to be a kid again by hanging out with the kid in a way. Oh yeah. They're like friends, you know, versus like she's being a disciplinarian to him, you know, you got the parents for that. It's kind of crazy cuz like our, um, grandmother, um, my mother-in-law, is kind of like the same way, cuz it's like, she's always giving gifts, she's always just like, don't whip it, you know, don't discipline him, you know, like kind of like, you know, like my my mom and my my my knees and nephew like, she doesn't give them play that mess. Like, she's like, you know, she'll she'll she'll just whenever you're younger, she would definitely discipline him. Like, Yeah. Man. What's wrong? Nope. We don't play that. We don't play that here. Right. No, yeah, like, hey, I understand. But, But yeah, sometimes it's just different, you know, I know my grandmother, like with us, like she remember we she came to visit us one time and uh, and North Dakota. And our mom would always limit how many cookies we could have. Like, any good parent would. They would limit how many cookies. You can only have, you know, X amount. And then my mom went somewhere and grandma was watching us, and she gave us, she was like, grandma, I'm gonna give y'all, you know, five cookies each. We're like, ah, thanks, grandma. We and for whatever reason, we were just being stinkers. We went and literally told her like, yeah, grandma let us have five cookies. She's like, you told on grandma. Like, ha we was like, what's so funny? But we just been, you know, can't hold water. Grandkids, yeah. He thought it was funny. We thought it was funny to tell grandma, like, yeah, she gave us like five cookies. But it's just, you know, that's all the quotes that I had. Do you have any questions for these for this film? The director or anybody involved?

Filmmaker Tips and Final Takeaways
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, that's all I have for trivia.
Casey G. Smith.: Uh, two more. Or maybe actually just one more. Stand out at audition. So the the kid in the back of the church van who talks about the character Paul, when they're driving by him on carrying his cross in the road. That kid when he came to the audition, he had that long hair. And the director, uh, Chung told him that, um, if he didn't cut his hair, that that that cast him. And he's like, oh, I never cut this hair. Yeah. And that that got him in. Boom. Uh, and lastly, I'll say this, uh, YJ, she actually spoke with a neurologist in terms of how people with strokes sometimes act or or how they move. And that helped her in her research for the role, for when she had her stroke. Well done, doing the work. Yo, real talk.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. What was that budget again? Two million?
Casey G. Smith.: Uh, the kid in the back of the church van who talks about the character Paul, when they're driving by him on carrying his cross in the road. That kid when he came to the audition, he had that long hair. And the director, uh, Chung told him that, um, if he didn't cut his hair, that that that cast him. And he's like, oh, I never cut this hair. Yeah. And that that got him in. Boom. Uh, and lastly, I'll say this, uh, YJ, she actually spoke with a neurologist in terms of how people with strokes sometimes act or or how they move. And that helped her in her research for the role, for when she had her stroke. Well done, doing the work. Yo, real talk.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Doing the work. Um, what are we diving into next time?
Casey G. Smith.: Next time we'll be diving into *The Last Black Man in San Francisco*.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And everybody can catch us where?
Casey G. Smith.: facebook.com/filmmakercommentary. We're also on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher Radio, and Spotify. You can catch us on Twitter. He is at Reggie Titus. I am at Casey G. Smith 32. We're also on the gram at Filmmaker Commentary. Once again, he is at Reginald Titus Jr., that's Jr., and I'm at Casey G. Smith 32.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Until next time. Peace. Respect.