FMC 057: Inside Man Directed by Spike Lee

Full Episode Transcript
This episode of Filmmaker Commentary Spike Lee's commercially successful film "Inside Man," discussing its production details, the hosts' viewing experiences, and various filmmaking techniques highlighted in the director's commentary.

Opening and Film Overview
Reginald Titus Jr.: Filmmaker Commentary episode 57. Welcome to Filmmaker Commentary, where we give you insights from our favorite filmmaking commentaries. These commentaries can be heard on your DVD and Blu-rays of your favorite movies. We'll show you how you can use these commentaries and apply them to improve your video production and filmmaking techniques. All this here on Filmmaker Commentary. I'm your host, Reginald Titus Jr.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Welcome back to Filmmaker Commentary. I'm Reginald Titus Jr. I'm joined with...
Casey G. Smith: Casey G. Smith. Welcome back, sir. Good to be back, sir.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, indeed. And today we're talking about "Inside Man" directed by Spike Lee, written by Russell Gewirtz, and produced by Brian Grazer, with music by Terence Blanchard. Uh, we had a budget of 45 million, box office... is that 184 million?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, with 88.5 million of that being domestic and 95.8 million being foreign. This is Spike Lee's most commercially successful film. I would say this is a win.
Casey G. Smith: Yes, this definitely is a win. Did this one outperform "BlackKkKlansman"?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes. I think, especially when you break down how much you make compared to the budget. But I think "BlackKkKlansman" was it 90 something million?
Casey G. Smith: So, "BlackKkKlansman" budget 15 mil, worldwide 92. Yeah. So about 100 more.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Huh, okay. Well, there it is. But before we dive into "Inside Man" a little bit further... Oh yeah, by the way, "Inside Man" was made, it released in 2006. So, before we dive into "Inside Man", we're going to talk about news and movies watched.

News and Movies Watched: Avengers Endgame & Movie Etiquette
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, news and movies watched. Um, what movies did you watch this past week? Well, as of right now, we're what? Today is May 6th.
Casey G. Smith: May 6th.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, so it's been, you know, it's been a couple of weeks, you know, since, you know, we've recorded. Hey, sorry about that guys, but um, you know, yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Life.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Life.
Casey G. Smith: Thanks for hanging with us, we appreciate it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, indeed.
Casey G. Smith: So, of course, in that time, um, "Avengers: Endgame".
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Took over the world. It did take over the world. No spoilers here. Um...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Even though the spoiler ban has been lifted.
Casey G. Smith: It technically has lifted as of as of the recording of this podcast. As of the recording of this podcast, "Avengers: Endgame" has been out for, uh, this is going on its...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Third week.
Casey G. Smith: Second week, technically. This is second week.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Third weekend? Or...
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, it'll be the third weekend coming up this...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Because I watched it on the first week when it came out, but I watched it on a Sunday.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. So within 11 days, it has made over $2 billion. It has eclipsed "Titanic" and now sits as the second highest-grossing box office film of all time. And, uh, we'll see if it's poised to take down "Avatar".
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. And "Avatar" is at what?
Casey G. Smith: "Avatar" sits at 2.78 billion.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And this one's at 2 point...
Casey G. Smith: Uh, 2.1, 2.18, 2.19, somewhere like that, something like that. Enough to pass, enough to pass "Titanic". Which again, in 11 days, within less than two weeks, it did this. That's...
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's crazy. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: It is crazy, this this, I mean, this is a phenomenon. And to do it this quickly, I mean, it's the fastest movie to a billion dollars, the fastest movie to $2 billion.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And the fastest movie to $3 billion.
Casey G. Smith: Whoa. Soon enough. Man, there are now some projections that this may, you know, on its final and its, um, when it's done, all said and done, might sit anywhere between, you know, maybe 2.8, 2.9 to maybe anywhere up to three, three billion and some change, three billion and some change, which I mean, that's not bad business at all. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Not bad business at all. Yeah. And, you know, a lot of the, uh, those films were built around technology with the "Titanic" thing, it was built around like the sinking of the ship and how he was going to perform that. And then with "Avatar", it was the new 3D technology and how that was going to be integrated. And, uh, with this film, just the special effects and how they made the villain Thanos look and how realistic that was. Technology was a big factor in these films. The Hulk looks, Hulk looks great in this. Very committed to the mo- the mocap and...
Casey G. Smith: The Hulk looks great in this.
Reginald Titus Jr.: We're going to talk about it a little bit, guys. So if you haven't seen it, just fast forward about a minute. We're not going to spoil it, but hey...
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. FYI.
Reginald Titus Jr.: You did say Hulk.
Casey G. Smith: Yes, Hulk looks great. I mean, you more so than ever we see the nuances of of the Hulk's face and we see a lot of we see a lot of Ruffalo. And there's story reasons behind that. Um, even Rocket, I mean, God, Rocket always looks good.
Reginald Titus Jr.: True.
Casey G. Smith: But...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Rabbit.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Sweet, sweet rabbit. Uh, and again, Thanos always looks amazing with Brolin's performance. But it again, aside from the visuals, it's the performances behind them. Uh, but yeah, this is this film. If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend it enough. Go out and see it. Watch "Infinity War" first.
Reginald Titus Jr.: If you have not. Watch all the films and then watch this. No.
Casey G. Smith: That is one of the great things. If you've seen all the films, you will be rewarded.
Reginald Titus Jr.: You will appreciate it later if you do.
Casey G. Smith: Mhm. There's a lot of callbacks and, uh, we've talked about this uh, uh, off mic, but, uh, I think this is the, so we see some of the best performances, um, nuanced, dramatic performances, uh, from this cast in in "Avengers: Endgame".
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, I agree. Um, I watched it that Sunday it first came out, you know, caught a, um, a 10:00 p.m. showing. And, uh, yeah, it was real. But it was, you know, that one wasn't as packed. But then I watched it again on a Friday with my son, because the first time, uh, it was that first weekend and I was like, you know what, I want to hurry up and get this out the way because if I somebody's going to spoil this. And so, and also Kevin Smith had dropped like a half an hour, hour long, you know, just review of the film. And I I like to hear him nerd out just because of how passionate he is about nerding out on this stuff. So I live through these guys that nerd out, because I just don't have the time to read all the comics. So I'm just like, you know what, let me live through these guys. And so I like to listen to his review. So it was going to be spoiled spoiler field. And, uh, I wanted to watch that. So I was like, let me go ahead and check this out on Sunday. Usually I watch these films with my son, but for whatever reason, it was 10 o'clock on a Sunday. Couldn't make it. He was asleep. And, um, I had to pretend like I didn't didn't see the film for about a week. I was like, man, we got to watch that film. And, son of a gun, at his, uh, school, like kids were spoiling like the movie left and right. And, uh, he was a he was a good sport about it. He just like, I still want to see it though, you know, and see if what they said were true. But I'm not going to tell you, Dad, because I don't want to spoil it.
Casey G. Smith: I still need to watch it. Don't spoil it. Good job, son.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Good job, son. But I heard in the news like there was people spoiling the freaking, uh, movie and somebody got beat up. I don't know if like it's been confirmed like that was a real story, but they were saying like people were waiting in line to go see it. And some guy, some jerk, came by and was just giving away like spoilers, just telling people in line. And those people got in line and beat this guy up.
Casey G. Smith: Good job. There was images of a guy in, uh, somewhere in Asia, where supposedly that that happened. But there was there was a video on YouTube. Uh, some dude in a classroom who had who had given a spoiler. And somebody, you know, they were recording or whatever. And this guy's like, did you just spoil, did you just spoil "Endgame"? And the guy was like, yeah, what, you know, like talking talking trash and got popped. And that you can hear the class, ooh, got popped for it. I told you about this, Reginald, but during my my second viewing of "Endgame", I saw it opening night on Thursday with an amazing crowd. That's one of my favorite movie going experiences. Everybody was so excited. They they they they cheered and they cried and it was just this we were together. Everybody was cool. Good movie going etiquette. The Saturday showing that I went to, that was rough. I had people who were just, uh...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Same theater, right?
Casey G. Smith: Um, yes. Yes, same theater. Yeah. Same same theater but you know, it's a different theater. The first time, first time was just a 3D showing. The second time was IMAX 3D.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, so you saw it in 3D?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Twice in 3D and then once in 2D. So, seen it three times.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. Sounds pretty penny.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, we we budgeted for this, you know what I'm saying?
Reginald Titus Jr.: You know.
Casey G. Smith: See the fun side. Uh, but during that second that second showing, some jerk, came into the theater. You knew they're at the back of the theater and they this is right like we're we're talking maybe like seven minutes into the movie. And some jerk came in the theater and yelled out a major spoiler and then just left.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I was going to watch the second time 3D. I was like, go back to the regular budget. One child, one adult, please.
Casey G. Smith: Hey, hey, you got to work it. Work it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, and it was like the ending like part of the ending of the movie?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Major in in in spoiler to "Endgame" and yelled yelled out, uh, yelled that out and then they left. And I was sitting towards the edge, I like to sit towards the edge, um, in theaters. And if there weren't two people on my right, I I would have gotten up and and and find out who that was to to give them a piece of my mind.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. How did people, was there like a reaction to what this guy said?
Casey G. Smith: People stayed mellow. Like they were like, there were so many people in there. It's like you couldn't really like, I guess, move or whatever. So they were kind of like, and that and that at that time, that character happened to be on the screen. And so it yeah, but I was just like, what? Who would? Oh man, yeah, I was I was raging out. Fortunately, I had already seen the film, so that's how I also knew it was a spoiler for sure. But I was just shocked. So you know, if you've seen the movie, don't do not be a jerk. Don't spoil it for other people because...
Reginald Titus Jr.: What? What? I don't know why this brings that out of people. Like this film, like you have plenty of films you can ruin, but why this one? Like you think that people would want to kind of keep it hush-hush and let people experience because of the fan, like how many fans this movie has. Uh, and the jerks came out.
Casey G. Smith: Oh man. And the anticipation because again, you're coming off of "Infinity War", a year long cliffhanger. People have been waiting. Um, but yeah, I I just yeah, that Saturday showing again, there are a lot of people who just don't have good movie etiquette. And that was on display too. Uh, please remember when you go to the theaters, you are not at home. You are not at home.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I'm on sandwiches.
Casey G. Smith: You know, I I don't I don't care if you bring your own food. But, you know, I had a guy answer the phone.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's beautiful.
Casey G. Smith: Answer the freaking phone at about the two-hour and 50-minute mark. Hey, man, hey, man. I all I know is that I I thought I thought initially he was talking to his girl, because they were literally sitting right next to me. It was her and then him. And I thought he was maybe, you know, talking to her.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Was it ringing or did it vibrate?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Was the phone like lit up too?
Casey G. Smith: I think it may have been. And but what happened, I happened to look over and he has his, you know, the phone to his ear. Hey, man, I'm at this movie, man, let me you know what I'm saying? And I was like, I literally said, what are you doing? What are you doing? Get off the phone! Get off the phone! I will I will call you out if your movie etiquette is out of place, because if nobody says anything, then you'll think it's okay. And I will let you know.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Is that is that a threat, sir?
Casey G. Smith: That's not okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And there's hundreds of commercials, right? That tell you repeatedly like, hey, now it's time to turn off your phone. Hey, silence. Hey, like how many proper how much propaganda do you need?
Casey G. Smith: That is an ultimatum. Take it as you will. Good day, ma'am. Good day. I gave it three times. So again, clearly if it if I don't say anything, people think it's okay. Hey, I didn't come to the movies to listen to you have a conversation on the phone or to see you pull out your phone, um, and and check messages, which his girl did before he did. And I got I I told her, hey, are you kidding me? Are you kidding me right now? So, yeah, that movie going experience was not not my favorite. But yeah, if your movie going etiquette is whack, clearly someone needs to tell you.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. I I was at one theater when I saw "Sicario". I was I was up in Wisconsin for work. And, you know, I was sitting like towards the back. And this girl pulled out her phone once and I was like, And then she did it again. And she was like, you know, texting or whatever. I was like, And then she did it a third time. And I was like, nah. Because again, she's in front of me, so I can see the light of her phone every time. Yeah. And I literally I got up and I walked and I and I over to I was like, excuse me, miss. It's like, if you pull your phone out one more time, I'm going to go get a manager. I was like, I didn't come to this theater to watch you on your phone.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. We are in public. We are in public. Social contract.
Casey G. Smith: If you if you can't if you can't hold it down, then, uh, stay home.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Right? Stream it. Yeah, that's that's it. If you have no movie going etiquette, no consideration for others in the theater in that confined space who've all paid money not to listen to you on the phone or watch you text or watch anything with your screen, stay home or sit all the way in the back. But don't interrupt my experience. Bawd of all bawd.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. That's that's it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Unbelievable. Yeah, but speaking of like the commercials, like there's so many commercials now. Like I got the the 10 o'clock showing, I'm expecting the movie to start at 10. And I'm like, you know, cuz we're captive audience. How early were you? I probably say I was about 10 minutes, 15 minutes early for sure. Before the trailers even started? Before 10 o'clock. So it starts at 10, so I was there about 9:45. Yeah, so I'm just like, okay, well, you know, I expect that. But then 10 o'clock rolls around. I'm expecting us to get started. No. Dude, they had more and more commercials, more commercials. I'm like, bro, like I'm expecting to see trailers at 10.
Casey G. Smith: Not these days. See, I wonder at the theater you're at, um, oh, cuz you said you were at the, uh...
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's like a it's the Grand Lux theater.
Casey G. Smith: See, are they a are they a franchise or is it like just...
Reginald Titus Jr.: I don't know if they're a franchise.
Casey G. Smith: Cuz that might be the difference then.
Reginald Titus Jr.: No, no, well, they they have different branches like in different states and stuff. So, I don't know if they're corporate owner or if they're franchise.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, see I wonder their whole, you know, situation is different then because of that. Like they have, you know, additional revenue streams to support.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Probably. They got Gecko commercials and stuff like that.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, wow.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, they got official commercials.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, see that's a different game right there because they're yeah, they they need the extra revenue then. That's that's all about.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's killing me. And then, um, me and my son were just like going through. He's like, man, what's going on? And then the movie starts. And then he says, finally. And then he puts his like out loud. And then the lady next to him was just starts laughing.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I could only Oh, man. I didn't know when you said commercial, like, oh, he means trailers. No, you mean commercials, bro.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. I I've gotten to a habit now where I show up again about 15, about I show up right at the the actual showtime. That's when I show up. I've bought my tickets in advance, but I show up at the showtime. Go get concessions. That way I can skip maybe at least like three, you know, maybe two or three trailers. And then sit down and let the rest of the trailers play out and then the movie will start. But it's about 20 to 30 minutes of trailers nowadays. It's it's it's pretty it's pretty mad.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Trailers, I'm I'm cool with. You know, I expect that. That's part of the the deal.
Casey G. Smith: Uh, but those commercials. Sometimes it's a lot.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, yeah.
Casey G. Smith: I'm like, I have YouTube now. I don't I don't I don't need this many trailers. Like, I can I can I can trailers on demand. So I'm like, you're forcing me to sit through all these.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's true. It's funny too because now like because the trailers are available online like that, you've already seen them. Back in the day, it was just was like new. It's like, oh, wow.
Casey G. Smith: It was exciting. Pikachu. You know what I mean? But you've probably seen it two or three times before you get there. And there's some instances where they might, you know, again, there was there was a trailer that showed uh in "Endgame" that was for, uh, you know, another Russo Brothers film. Uh, with with Chadwick Boseman in it. I was like, okay, that's a surprise. Uh, I saw a trailer for "Frozen 2" during my third viewing. And I was like, oh, okay, there were a couple of gems. But for the most part, most of the stuff I had seen before. But so I I again, I try to arrive right at showtime, so I can forego some of the trailers.
Reginald Titus Jr.: True.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Any other movies or any other news before we dive back into the movie?
Casey G. Smith: Uh, new trailer released for "Spider-Man: Far From Home". That dropped today. So again, if you have not seen "Endgame", don't watch that trailer just yet if you want to avoid spoilers, because it is it is it is spoiler heavy. But, uh, opens up some some uh, delightful possibilities. So, I'm very I'm I'm I was looking forward to "Spider-Man: Far From Home". Now I'm really, really excited for it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That dropped today.
Reginald Titus Jr.: True.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it's uh, I like how they, uh, opened up with the spoiler alert. And then they go into the trailer. Now that I've seen the trailer, because the first trailer that that came out, however many months ago, I was not I was I'm not signed up for that. I was just going to watch it because my son loves Spider-Man. It's like his favorite character. And so I'm like, okay, I'm I'm going to be taking him to that. But now that I've seen the trailer, experienced "Endgame", I'm like, all right, cool.
Casey G. Smith: Mhm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: It's totally different. Like they had to hide so much when they first that first trailer. It was like almost a different. I'm like, oh, like they they were some major stuff.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, totally different vibe. I'm like, ah, okay, okay, cuz I I had rewatched that trailer like last week, uh, at some point. Maybe this weekend, this past weekend. So, but yeah, this new one is it's really good. That's, uh, I love I love Tom Holland as Spider-Man. He's just he is great as as Spider-Man and Peter Parker. He's he's crushing it. Um, I think that's all I had as far as, uh, movie news goes. How about for, uh, movies watched?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Factual.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Movies watched. We me and my wife, we've been trying to get into another series to watch, cuz we were watching "Suits". And there's not that many like, uh, series that's available where it's not it's not graphic violence or like dealing sexually, you know, there's very few series that have that, you know what I mean? "Suits" has that, you know, it's it's classy, it's classy, it's smart. And like, there's just not a lot of debauchery going on. So when that came on, we were just trying to find another, you know, show to watch. And I was like, you know what? "American Gods", you know, that came out. I think it was like two years ago or something like that.

News and Movies Watched: Other Films & TV Series
Casey G. Smith: Mhm.
Casey G. Smith: Uh, as a year ago, it came out last year.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It was a year ago?
Casey G. Smith: Came out last year.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. So they're they're on their second season, I believe.
Casey G. Smith: And just to be clear, you said you were trying to avoid debauchery?
Reginald Titus Jr.: I was trying to avoid debauchery. No, but, you know, with "Suits", there's like, uh, it's USA.
Casey G. Smith: It's USA.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it's USA. And on top of that, you know, we don't have that many, you know, shows that we're watching. But, you know, debauchery's out there. Uh, we started "American Gods". In the first freaking two minutes, it's like, you see someone getting their head split and like blood is gushing out and slow motion. I'm like, oh, okay, here we are. I was like, that's what you mentioned "American Gods". I'm like, yeah. Your your game plan's changed.
Casey G. Smith: Sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it did. The game plan's gone. Shout out the window. I said, we found a new series, but, uh, never mind our morale. It's The game plan split like this guy's head. I was like, dang. But what I it to me it's, you know, it's just shows like this just like cotton candy. It's just candy for your brain. It's debauchery. It's you're not yeah, it's a mess. But, um, I it made me look at just spiritual stuff a little bit differently, you know, just like the things that you pay attention to, a lot of things, whatever you spend your time to is like basically part of your worship. And, uh, yeah, that one, yeah, it was very interesting to watch this whole series "American Gods".
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. The game plan split.
Casey G. Smith: I got through. I think I think I watched all of the first season.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, man. I wouldn't watch something that's so much not so much violence, debauchery.
Casey G. Smith: "American Gods". I'm like, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: No, I was just saying like. I know, right? Like, we weren't searching for something that, but that was the reason why we could enjoy "Suits", you know, it was like, you know, it's somewhat clean, you know, every now and then they cuss, but even when they drop a F-bomb, they blank it out. Um, but the rest of the cuss words is fine. But yeah, in "Suits", the last the we're in the last season because Meghan Markle, you know, she was part of it and then, of course, everything she's a princess or the duchess.
Casey G. Smith: About that.
Casey G. Smith: Sure.
Casey G. Smith: Royalty. Kings and queens.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So yeah, so the new season, the the the the series finale, um, drops this summer. So we're just trying to find something to fill in the blank or whatever.
Casey G. Smith: "Friday Night Lights". You're looking for something that's like not too crazy. "Friday Night Lights", man. Yeah. Yeah, that's my that's that's that's my again, I've been rewatching, uh, that show, been been digging it. Um, but yeah, it's a clean it's a clean it's a clean show. It's got some interesting drama. And again, you get these actors like who are when they were younger and some good performances, dude. Yeah. Little combination to it can kind of take you back, make you think about when you were in high school, you know, also and, uh, you know, and again, we both, you know, went to high schools in Texas. And you know how big football is. Yeah, and it captures some of that that vibe too. But yeah, So "American Gods", it was decent. It was decent. It was debauchery. I wouldn't recommend it for anybody. But, um, if you like debauchery, this is it. They got everything you need. Today. Uh, so, so I've actually went, um, I I dig I dig what Amazon Prime has been doing. Uh, you can find some really old shows on Amazon Prime. I mean, when I say old shows, I'm talking like, um, "My Favorite Martian", which, uh, with with Bill Bixby and I forget the older gentleman's name. Um, so even like old, uh, variety shows. Uh, so like, I I got super excited when I saw the "Carol Burnett Show". Cuz I I remember one time I was out traveling for business. And, you know, like Lifetime has commercials for, you know, they promote older series, you can buy the the "Carol Burnett Show", blah blah blah. I didn't grow up watching "Carol Burnett Show", but I remember I just watched the commercial, an extended infomercial. And just the clips they were showing, I was cracking up. I was like, yo, man, "Carol Burnett Show" was like popping back in the day. Like it's it's some smart humor going on here. And and, you know, it's like like SNL, you know, like people are trying not to break, you know, they're trying to stay in character. And Carol Burnett's like this like triple threat. I mean, she can, you know, she's not only she's funny, but she can sing and she can dance, which I didn't really I mean, I've seen her in "Annie" back in the day. I knew she could, you know, sing like kind of, you know, playfully, but no, she's got legit pipes. All that to say, I'm going to watch some episodes of the "Carol Burnett Show". And, man, there's some craziness going on, man. And she takes questions from the audience at the beginning and it's their their their skits are are are crazy. There was there was one skit where, um, she was, uh, just like, uh, you know, kind of a housewife and her husband she was married to a superhero. Basically, you know, a Superman archetype. And this guy comes in and they're they're trying to live life together. But he's he's got the like the strength of Superman, but he's an idiot. And so they sit down at the table to eat. And everything he does, like his he just breaks stuff. Like, you know, he's trying to like get his spoon in his soup and he's like, well, let's go ahead and eat. And he boom hits the table, crushes it, you know. He, um, he ends up like saying, uh, like like sighing out and like, you know, blows her over. Uh, just it's just constant stuff is being like damaged throughout. And, uh, it it's a it's a it's a nice little skit, a good laugh. Um, but yeah, "Carol Burnett Show", man, it's something different. Is it a product of its time for sure? But there's some smart stuff going on with it. It's definitely it's 60s, straight up 60s, but, man, Carol Burnett, man, like and it's kind of like pioneering for its time, uh, as well. But yeah, "Carol Burnett Show". Uh, still doing my my my "Doom Patrol", which is unlike any other show that's out there. "Doom Patrol" is just something else. What else have you been, uh, watching, Reginald? Anything else?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah. It's everything.
Reginald Titus Jr.: No, that's it. "American Gods" took over.
Casey G. Smith: Okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And yeah, I haven't started season two yet. Finished season one, just kind of took a break from seasonal stuff.
Casey G. Smith: Okay. I also, um, I watched I haven't finished it yet, but I I watched, um, about half of, uh, Beyonce's "Homecoming" on Netflix.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Is that pretty good?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I I forgot that she had had twins, boy and a girl, which I always, you know, resonates with me because I'm I'm I've got a twin sister. Uh, but yeah, and seeing her prepare for this to do Coachella. And she's the performance at the beginning. It's I mean, you know, it's Beyonce.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's Beyonce.
Casey G. Smith: It it is Beyonce. But you watch her the see the process of her prepare for it? That's cool. Really, really cool. And she's yeah, just so raw and the talent that she the people that she brought in talent-wise, um...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wasn't there like some controversy recently with, uh, what's that, Taylor Swift?
Casey G. Smith: I saw that. I was like, you can't...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Did you saw it? And she's like, stole the marching band stuff. Cuz everybody knows Greek homecoming, black bands. If you copy that, it'll be like very obvious.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. And so, so was there like a match? Did it match up? Oh, man. Oh, it was kind of obvious. It's bad. It's like really, really. Yeah, dude. Yeah, like you you yeah, when you get a chance, pull up on YouTube. And it's it's like, oh, come on. You're not even trying. Like, you're this is so blatant. It's why? Why? Like, who who told you this would be a good idea for you to do this? To to imitate this? Like no. It's one thing to pay homage, but no. Not a good look. Not a good look. Not in these in these, uh, in these times. No.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Even with her music video, the take it off video, it's kind of obvious that, you know, she's going to jack culture. Yeah. Yes, there's a documentary that makes reference to that.
Casey G. Smith: Uh, yeah. Uh. Yeah. Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. I don't know, yeah. Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Um, I watched it I watched a, uh, on Netflix. There was a a a documentary on like on like marijuana and like, I forgot what it was called, but it was like a Netflix original. Just very fascinating. You know, they were diving deep into, you know, this and that. I'm always fascinated by documentaries on on marijuana. As far as like it's it's medicinal purposes and the controversy and where it's research and where it's not and and and they were going deep into like how it became vilified and and made illegal. It's very fascinating. Like just the that history always interests me. Um, so anyway, I watched that. And then also I I started watching "Barry" on HBO.
Reginald Titus Jr.: The propaganda what they use?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, the Obama?
Casey G. Smith: Uh, no, no, no, no. This is an HBO series called "Barry". It's about a hitman who decides to become an actor, starts taking, uh, acting classes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, really?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, it's, uh, uh, Bill Hader. Uh, he actually directed the first episode. He's the main star in it. Uh, and yeah, yeah, yeah, it's been pretty good, man. The the the the supporting cast and all that, uh, especially.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Pretty good?
Reginald Titus Jr.: And it's an original? It's HBO?
Casey G. Smith: Oh, yeah. Originals.
Reginald Titus Jr.: HBO's good at curating content.
Casey G. Smith: They're so good. But yeah, it's a it's a it's a fun show each season. It's only it's only two seasons. So, you know, they started last last year. Uh, and it's the second season's still going now. So I watched all the first season. It's only eight episodes. Okay. And I'm I need to watch I need to watch, uh, this weekend's episode. But it's like just they're like four or five episodes into the second season. So, but yeah, so far it's it's it's good, man. Bill Hader, man, is doing doing his thing.

Inside Man: First Impressions and Style Analysis
Reginald Titus Jr.: Well, we're going to dive back into the show. Welcome back to Filmmaker Commentary. We're talking about "Inside Man" starring Denzel Washington directed by Spike Lee. And we are going to jump into the synopsis. The perfect bank robbery quickly spirals into an unstable and deadly game of cat and mouse between a criminal mastermind and a determined detective, and a power broker with a hidden agenda. As the minutes tick by and the situation becomes increasingly tense, one wrong move could mean disaster for any one of them. From acclaimed director Spike Lee comes the edge-of-your-seat action-packed thriller that Wall Street calls a heist film that's on the money. "Inside Man".
Casey G. Smith: Very good. Okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: All right. Um, so how did you watch this film? You know, this came out in 2006. Uh, did you watch it when when it dropped or, you know, how'd you see this film?
Casey G. Smith: Talk to Daddy. Well, before I mention how I came across this film, I just want to let all of our listeners know, this is your first time listening to Filmmaker Commentary, please know that there will be spoilers. You've been forewarned. This was my first time watching "Inside Man".
Reginald Titus Jr.: How, how is that possible?
Casey G. Smith: I just never seen it before. I had I had I'd went on a a a a tear a couple of years ago, like getting caught up on Denzel films that I hadn't seen before. And I just missed this one. So, I didn't I didn't I had no idea what it was about. I never even seen a trailer for it. I didn't know Spike Lee directed. I knew nothing about "Inside Man". It was a total blind spot. So when you recommended it, I was like, "Inside Man". I thought I'd seen it. And I was like, I was like, no, I haven't seen this one. I have not seen this one at all. So, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the film. I enjoyed the drama. I enjoyed the build up. I enjoyed the performances. I enjoyed the dialogue.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Really?
Reginald Titus Jr.: And you hadn't spoiled or anything like that? So, oh, wow.
Casey G. Smith: I knew nothing about this film at all. I heard the name, thought I had seen it, knew nothing. I didn't know that, uh, Chiwetel Ejiofor was in it. I didn't know Clive Owen was in it. I didn't know Jodie Foster was in it. I knew nothing. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. And, uh, yeah, so yeah, I I watched it, uh, you know, last week and I was like, this is pretty awesome. Yeah. This is this is it's it's well done and obviously well directed, some some really, uh, amazing camera work and cinematography. And again, the dialogue is is is snappy. But there's a lot of improv, uh, in it as well as you find out in the commentary and, you know, and D, you know, Denzel, he's he's doing his thing. And there's some there's some awesome quotes in this film as well.
Reginald Titus Jr.: For sure. For sure. So how about you, man? How'd you get introduced to "Inside Man"?
Casey G. Smith: For sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: This one, I remember seeing the commercials, but it was '06. I was finishing up college and all that. So, it wasn't happening. Um, but when I started studying Spike Lee, this is one of the films I did eventually get to. And, uh, which is kind of blown away, you know, that being its most commercial film, I can kind of understand why because I was reading like an article and, uh, in the article, people respect Spike Lee's work, but, uh, the guy that was writing this article, um, eventual be able to include links and and the show notes and stuff once we launch the site. But, um, he said, I didn't have any white guilt. He wanted to feel like the white guilt. I didn't have any white guilt leaving this film, which you probably you will have watching a Spike Lee film. And so that was just kind of funny. But, uh, this film is a little bit different. It doesn't feel long. Spike Lee's films are usually like maybe 30 minutes. Yeah, I've heard someone say about 30 to 45 minutes too long sometimes. Uh, this one felt the pacing was right. Even with the, uh, the title sequence, like it even though it's it's still is a title sequence, the movie is still kind of progressing during the title sequence. But yeah, that was that was probably around like 2009, I think, I want to say, 2009, 2010, when I studied when I was studying Spike Lee's work, you know, I caught this film. And then this time around, I just watched it again and then watched the commentary back to back. As far as like style, you know, I felt like it was it was it was paced well. The color the color scheme kind of felt like a little bluish on the color scheme and then except for like the flashback scenes, they were a little bit, um, I don't even they were soft. Yeah, they were like, the focus was soft and it was bright, but then it had these amber tones to it as well. Um, on those flashback scenes. I wish they would have said what they use to do those. Um, if they just did it did it in post or if it was part of the film processing, that part wasn't clear.
Casey G. Smith: Wow.
Casey G. Smith: It's interesting because it almost looks like it even though it's flash-forwarding to flash-forwarding to the future, it looks like a dream sequence, like something from the past. So it's kind of like mixing like two elements, like something you would see either in a dream or a flashback sequence, but we flashed forward. So I thought that was interesting to to to use that technique.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I didn't say flashback. Flash-forward. True. And then they just had some pretty interesting, uh, transitions. So yeah, so for the style I'll definitely it definitely had its own cool style.
Casey G. Smith: I thought it was, uh, fascinating hearing, uh, Spike talk about the fact that that cuz I watched the behind the scenes, um, clips as well as special features. Which I thought they were I thought they were really good. There were some good stuff there. Right. Um, and they talked about how he, uh, likes to do, uh, shoot with two cameras. So in scenes where people are talking instead of doing one setup and another, like he's got two cameras set up on on on both actors when they're going, I'm like...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, that was Clive Owen that had said that. He said he's never seen another director do that. Yeah. And, um, and he was right when he said it would it would be hell on the the DP director of photography because usually when you're setting up a shot, you're lighting for that specific setup. Exactly. And if you have another camera, it's going to look different. And so how do you light for both angles? Um, but, you know, it it's very efficient.
Casey G. Smith: Mhm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And the fact that, you know, Spike talks about how, you know, a lot of times when you have to go with, you know, two and three setups for for for a scene, you know, the actor will have gone through and they'll have, you know, gone over their lines so many times and they've they've already given the performance, you know, they potentially in that first take or of the first, you know, setup. And so then you kind of lose lose some of that.
Casey G. Smith: Mhm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's true. And they can't cheat either because they can't just like kind of bull crap it while the close up's on another actor that they're bouncing off of, they can't just like kind of bull crap their way through it. They got to be real.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Got to be engaged, locked in. Mhm. Yeah. I I agree. And again, he does his double dolly shot. I obviously that signature, uh, shot is there. We use it with Clive and and with and with, uh, you know, with with Denzel and with, um, Christopher, uh, what's the gentleman's name? Pike Plummer. Christopher Plummer. There we go.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's true.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah, dude, that totally was blanking on his name. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Casey G. Smith: I was like, I I You know, there's some handheld shots, there's some steady cam shots, there's some cool crane shots. True. Um, yeah, there's times a little bit of a film noir vibe, kind of going on. Yep. Uh, and then also say there's a thing of like war of words. I mean, there's a lot of like I said, a lot of talking in this film and and and there's a lot of verbal sparring that's happening, especially when when, uh, when Denzel and Clive, uh, are talking with each other. There's a lot of this verbal jabbing. And and everybody that Denzel goes up against, he's like, he he he like kind of verbally spars with people continually with with Jodie Foster, uh, with Christopher Plummer, um, with um, True. Uh, with William Defoe. When when, you know, it's like just it's just continuous. Like, he's just constantly just verbally spars, like this is war, war of words.

Themes and Memorable Quotes
Reginald Titus Jr.: Got the detective, got the investigative hat on, all that. Quotes. Do you have any quotes for us?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, this is constantly, you know, with with, uh, even with with William Defoe, when when, you know, it's like just it's just continual. Like, he's just constantly just verbally spars, like this is war, war of words.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I've got a couple of couple of quotes.
Casey G. Smith: So the first one I I written down was was, uh, Big Willie and the Twins.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I've got a couple of couple of quotes.
Casey G. Smith: That that, man, that slayed me, man. That when I heard that, that slayed me. And then it it got me again during the commentary. When again, Spike being very good about breaking things down, he's like, "Big Willie and the Twins." He goes, that's, you know, testicles and and a penis, you know. He's just like, he just just like, he just did not care. He's like, that's clinical, it's very clinical. Like, that's clinical. I was like, that's great. Um, uh, so speaking of, you know, the cultural discord, uh, with the character who has his turban taken, uh, you know, first you, you know, when when he's in the diner with the police officers, you know, they're trying to get in intel from him or what he saw inside the bank. He's like, you know, first you beat me, now you want my help. That just that just stood that just stood out to me, uh, with the way that he was he was treated. Even when he's demanding, he's like, no, I don't he know, I want, you know, I want my turban now, you know. Just I I I loved seeing that someone who who's put that like is is is pissed about it. And they're letting the police know they're they're pissed about it. Like, this is this is not okay. I'm like, stand up for yourself, man. Imagine how they feel, like, dude, like they come out everybody comes out the building, and the police shoot 'em with rubber bullets, like on their way out. Like, you're not, like, just let me out of here. Like, I don't want to give you any information. I just want to go home. For real. That would make you shut down like, I'm not I'm trying to cooperate. Shut us. Oh, man. Cuz you know those things hurt, man. Oh, yeah. Those things hurt. But yeah, uh, you know, Denzel mentions, uh, yeah, Tiana, don't ask, you know. Uh, yeah, it was just so cool. I mean, Denzel is just so quick in this movie. Uh, I dig it. Oh. And when he's talking with Clive, I want I wanted to add to that one. He was, uh, sitting up talking about don't ask. He was like, they send us on a wild goose chase. And the last the last time I had my Johnson pulled like that, it cost five bucks. And then William Defoe's like, five bucks. And then he goes to the...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. I'm like, that's clinical. That's very clinical. That's very clinical. Tell Nick Cannon to buy you groceries. I forgot. Oh, he said something like that. I do remember that. I do remember that. That was hilarious. I'm broke, nigga. Oh, man, I do remember that.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, man. I do remember that. And then all of a sudden you hear, you know, gold digger. You know, play on his phone. Uh, that's yeah, that was that was great. Uh, last show a piece that I had a tip that I had was, uh, to be aware and know your actor schedule. You know, they had to shoot Denzel within a certain period of time and and then, you know, he had to go. Uh, this is a total of 39-day shoot. Um, but they had to, you know, get in Denzel's scenes and then, um, they had a couple of pickups that they did, you know, but um, but yeah, know your actor's schedule and and if you need to, you know, move up their shoots then do so.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Play on his phone.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, man, I do remember that. Oh, man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And one of the last, uh, tips is, uh, he he talks about having that, uh, the camera at a 45-degree angle to make the shutter look like staccato. Kind of like in "Saving Private Ryan", if you've seen that film, you know how like jittery that it looks. You get that by, uh, changing the shutter. And the, uh, the cinematic, the way that the cinematic cameras work and then how they set their shutters a little bit different if you're shooting on like DSLRs and things like that. So if you're on a DSLR, they might not have a degree angle, but they'll have like, you know, you're shooting at, you know, 120 or 50 or 60. But, um, yeah, so just kind of note the difference between shooting with a a cinematic camera versus your DSLR and learn the degree angles. So you can get those same looks that you can get with your DSLR cameras. , good film, great film, good commentary.
Casey G. Smith: Great commentary. Yeah, this is this was one of the one of the um, this is this is how you do a commentary.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, indeed. Um, okay, thank you all for tuning in. Next time we are going to be diving into the film "Hellboy". Directed by Guillermo del Toro. And, um, you can catch us where?

Filmmaker Commentary Insights and Final Takeaways
Casey G. Smith: Facebook.com/filmmakercommentary. Also, you can, uh, listen to us on iTunes where you can both like, subscribe, and rate. Uh, you can follow Reginald on Twitter at Reggie Titus or on Instagram at Reginald Titus Jr. You can also, uh, connect with us on Instagram, simply at Filmmaker Commentary. If you want to follow me, I'm simply at Casey G. Smith 32 at both Instagram and Twitter.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Until next time, peace. Bye.