FMC 163: Hard Eight Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Full Episode Transcript
This episode of Filmmaker Commentary Paul Thomas Anderson's directorial debut, "Hard Eight," dissecting its critical reception, box office performance, and thematic depth, while also covering recent industry news and listener viewing habits.

Opening Discussion & Film Overview
Reginald Titus Jr.: Filmmaker Commentary episode 163. 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 showbiz 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. Welcome, 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 "Hard Eight," written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, came out 1997. Um, what was the budget and box office for this film?
Casey G. Smith.: So, for "Hard Eight," it came in on a $3 million budget, and burst out of the box office with a whopping $223,000.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. That's an L.
Casey G. Smith.: That's a hard L.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Fun and Games. A hard L. Yes, man. What happened? Did anybody...
Casey G. Smith.: Not a damn thing. Nothing, not a zilch, zip, zero.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. I wasn't expecting that.
Casey G. Smith.: Nobody was expecting this film. They didn't go and see it. This is one of the biggest flops I've ever seen. I don't remember the last time, or maybe it was another one of these film festival films where I said, oh, it only made in the thousands, didn't break a million.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, uh, did was "The Last Black Man" did it, did it break a million? I don't remember. But A24 knows how to get their money, but I don't...
Casey G. Smith.: I don't think it did. Yeah, that was the other one. That was like, "ooh."
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Oh, man.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, that's this one. Only 223K? That's a distribution problem.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's why I'm like, uh, and a marketing problem. I was like, who pissed who off?
Casey G. Smith.: But to be fair, I never even heard of this film until, you know, a few, you know, a week and some change ago. But apparently nobody else did when it came out.
Reginald Titus Jr.: How did you hear about it? Or should we talk about that later in the show?
Casey G. Smith.: I was just looking through, you know, films that had, uh, some acclaim at film festivals and it popped up and I saw the key art and I was like, oh, I know Samuel. Oh, I like John C. Reilly. Ah, I like Gwyneth Paltrow too. It couldn't be bad. And so, here we are.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I, uh, because I remember, you know, because Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those guys, because we covered him in "Boogie Nights." And so, I thought "Boogie Nights" was his first film. And then I remember seeing "Hard Eight." I was like, okay, this is a film I'm going to have to go to. But just looking at the key art, I'm like, God, I don't want to. You're not the only one. Yeah, it looked like they didn't try. You look at the key art. You're like, what happened here?
Casey G. Smith.: It's just those pictures.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it's green. The key art's green. Like the color's green. Yeah, there's just a weird like Christmas song that plays. I'm like, I, I got no impression that this film had anything to do with the holidays. Dude, I, I don't know what was going on.
Casey G. Smith.: Hmm. More to explore.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. But, uh, so, did this movie get nominated for any awards or anything like that?
Casey G. Smith.: "The Hard Eight." Well, it did get some acclaim initially at some of the film festivals. So let's see what's going down here. So, "The Hard Eight." It was a short scroll. But, um, it was nominated for the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes Film Festival. And the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, won the New Generation Award, Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson. Boston Film Critics Award, the Best New Filmmaker, Paul Thomas Anderson. And the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Bunch of nominations for Samuel L., for John S. Lyons as a producer along with Robert Jones and Paul Thomas Anderson as the director. Yeah, and also for Philip Baker Hall for, um, lead performance, screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, and Best Cinematography by Robert Elswit.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. What, um, what was like the sentiment at the time? Did you, did you ever catch anything?
Casey G. Smith.: No. This film didn't catch anything. Nothing. Crickets.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I, uh, uh, Siskel, Ebert, you know, they, they covered it. Um, but it seemed like they were just kind of, they gave it like some, like some positive vibe for it, you know, mainly the, uh, main character, uh, played Sydney, the actor. Um, they gave, yeah, Philip Baker, they gave him a lot of praise, you know, just kind of coming like, dude, he was like, man, after this, he's going to get a lot of work. You know, that's what, you know, they said on the, on that show. And then it just, the clip just kind of cut off. It was like, that was it. It was like a three-minute clip.
Casey G. Smith.: Cut next. Yeah. Move on, move on.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Even the coverage was short. Uh, so that, that's the only thing I was able to pull up for any kind of sentiment or anything that reviewed.
Casey G. Smith.: I saw the box office. I was like, nobody has much anything to say, because not enough people would have seen this. Because it's just, I mean, it's, yeah, kind of unfortunate. It's, I mean, , I say it's a solid film. I think it's something that, you know, if you were scrolling through, you, you know, and look for something just to, to watch, you know, a quick, fairly enjoyable film. Then, uh, yeah, you pop it on, you watch it and, uh, and you move on.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's how movies work. Is that? Is that how it goes? I just want to confirm. But I, I, I could recommend it if, uh, you're just chilling and have nothing else better to do. Nothing at all.
Casey G. Smith.: I don't think I...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, we'll get to that later. Yeah. Uh, but, uh, before we talk further, uh, about "Hard Eight," let's talk about TV news and movies.

News & What We're Watching
Casey G. Smith.: So, according to Deadline, "The Last of Us" debuts at number six on the Nielsen Streaming Charts, outpacing "House of the Dragon" viewership. "The Last of Us" officially hit the Nielsen Streaming Charts for the week of January 16th through 22nd with 837 minutes of viewed, um, with 837 minutes viewed, excuse me. The that outpaces viewership from another HBO hit, "House of the Dragon" in the same interval. Despite premiering the week prior, the series didn't make the charts because episode one had only been available for a few hours when Nielsen's measurement window closed. However, Nielsen did note that in just those few hours, the Pedro Pascal-led series accumulated 223 million viewing minutes. Nielsen Streaming Measurements only account for viewing on HBO Max, so the numbers don't reflect any viewership on HBO's linear channel. Okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, "The Last of Us" doing well. Yeah, and you've been you've been keeping up with that one.
Casey G. Smith.: Yes, sir. Very much so and enjoying it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, any more news?
Casey G. Smith.: No, that was it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. Um, what have you been watching?
Casey G. Smith.: So, uh, I'll start off with some trailers. We just had the big game take place. And, you know, for those of us, uh, for those of you who, who stay tuned to Filmmaker Commentary, of course, we, we missed, uh, the past couple of weeks. We had some, some things happening in life, nature taking its course. We had some pretty tumultuous weather here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. For those who don't know, in Texas, yes, we can get ice and snow. And, uh, that happened in, in a, in a very dangerous way, so we had to forego recording a few weeks back. And then, of course, uh, there was life. That's right. Our very own Reginald Titus, welcoming another addition to his family. Congratulations, Reginald.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Thank you, sir.
Casey G. Smith.: You're welcome, sir. So, but nonetheless, we are back.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, we are. We are here.
Casey G. Smith.: And so, during the big game, of course, is a popular time for lots of commercials and trailers.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Hmm.
Casey G. Smith.: And so, one that I, I, you guys know, resident nerd here, that I absolutely loved was for the long-awaited, controversial, Flash.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes.
Casey G. Smith.: DC, Warner Brothers, dropped "The Flash" trailer on us, and, oh my goodness, what a trailer they dropped.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Did you, did you watch it like during the Super Bowl or did you catch it like later?
Casey G. Smith.: I watched it during the Super Bowl. I did. Yeah, I was I was I was, uh, kind of waiting for it. Yeah. I was like, yo, it was fire. This trailer was absolute. Have you seen it?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, man. I mean, I, I knew Michael Keaton was going to be in the film, and the way they revealed him, I mean, they had the Danny Elfman score going. Yeah. Like, for me, like, I mean, I'm glad Ezra Miller is getting help for his personal issues.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Is he getting help?
Casey G. Smith.: Mm-hm. Yeah, he's getting help.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. I haven't been keeping up with him.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. He's getting help for his personal issues. I can separate the artist from the art. I will be in line, first day, for "The Flash." He's "The Flash" is also one of, he's one of my favorite characters since since childhood.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Same, same here.
Casey G. Smith.: And, uh, yeah, man. It it looks fantastic. I love they're taking the, the storyline from the, "The Flashpoint" which was, um, anyway, but they're doing that. They've already adapted it before, previously animated in one of DC's best animated features, "The Flashpoint Paradox," if you want to do a little research. But yeah, the trailer was incredible. You know, you got freaking Zod showing back up. I'm curious what other Easter eggs or other characters will, will see. You know, we got, you know, Kara, you know, we got Supergirl in the mix. So, uh, yeah, it looked absolutely amazing. I don't I don't even want to see anything else. I don't I don't I don't need another trailer, nothing. I'm like, this is just going to be amazing.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, because a lot's going on in that trailer in the first place. I'm like, got to be careful there.
Casey G. Smith.: I did hear from some outlet, uh, sources that those who have seen like early, early viewings of it or early buzz out of Warner Brothers is that some are calling it like a masterpiece. Which again, that's a big, big word to throw around for any film.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I know he brought that up on our last podcast. I was like, ooh, wow. I was like, let's, let's, um.
Casey G. Smith.: I'm just saying what I heard. Week one. Yeah. But yeah, so, uh, uh, that was the, yeah, man. But the way the trailer came out was like, what? I'm like, ooh.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. I I saw the trailer as well. I didn't catch it like during the Super Bowl. It was kind of in and out. Uh, but I did watch it the same day of the Super Bowl because I was like, okay, we caught like the last portion of the of the trailer. So I was like, okay, let's go on YouTube and check it out. So my sons, everybody is just like thrilled and can't wait to watch. They don't even they're unaware of like the drama behind the scenes with the actor and all this stuff. So they're not fazed by that. But yeah, everybody's excited to to watch it. It actually comes out on my, um, my third kid's birthday.
Casey G. Smith.: Nice.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, yeah. So, okay, it'll be available on his birthday. That's how, yeah, so everybody's everybody's going to be there.
Casey G. Smith.: Heck yeah. Birthday.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, but I looking at it, I was like, I'm sign me up.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, it looks freaking awesome. And one thing I am curious about, other people were too, like there's one clip that where it looks like almost the, the Nolan Bat Cycle like rolling through the streets. And people are like, wait, wait, is that Nolan Batman? I'm like, I don't know, it might be so that that I'm curious about. I think it's still Keaton. I don't think Christian Bale is, is in this. I looked on IMDb to see if his name popped up. But who knows? It's a time-traveling, so they could, they might pull like a "Spider-Man No Way Home" and bring in Batmans from three different eras.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah. That's fun. Um, yeah, that's cool when you can kind of do that. And that's the kind of like the whole point, I think. Yeah. You can do whatever you want to do in movies.
Casey G. Smith.: The fan service. The "Spider-Man" movie, yeah, that one when they were able to do that, I was like, yeah, everything's possible.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, that was. And to get the actors to kind of like get on board to do that. Oh, yeah. And they all, they all enjoyed like seeing each other, meeting each other because they're, they're part of a special fraternity. They got to play "Spider-Man."
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Um, yeah, so I'll be, yeah, I can't actually can't wait to see this one.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, I'm very, very excited. The other film trailer that I'd seen, which I'd already seen one trailer before, was for the, the last edition, speaking of DC and Marvel, all tied together now through one James Gunn, who is now head of, of DC Studios, co- co-executive. But of course, his last film with Marvel, the finale of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, Volume 3. And so, they showed another trailer for that, just more, more of kind of what it entails. I think it's going to be, again, it's going to have, it's going to be a, I think a bittersweet ending. This is their, their final journey. So, some people, I don't think are going to, going to make it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: No, I mean, you got to.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, it might, it might. I don't know, who knows? With James Gunn. I don't know, it, it might, it might end okay, but they might go off in the sunset, they might retire. But I think at least one person will, will pass.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Get the axe. Yeah. Uh, was the trailer like, uh, exciting enough to make you want to like watch it? I mean, I think most people are going to watch it regardless, but, um, how was the trailer? I didn't see the newest one.
Casey G. Smith.: Um, man, "Flash" kind of overshadowed everything. Like I remember seeing it. I was like, but, but see, you see, here's the thing, for that one, like they just gave like a teaser. Like they had you go online to watch the full trailer. I'm like, okay, they're trying to save some money here. Like. So I just went, I went on YouTube and and watched it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith.: And, um, yeah, I mean, it looks, it looks good. Uh, but I, yeah, I see, there's a foreboding darkness over it. But I'm interested to see how they handle High Evolutionary, how they handle Adam Warlock, what happens with Rocket and seeing more of his origin. Uh, and then we'll, you know, see what's going on with Gamora, this, this alternate Gamora, uh, and what her status is with the Guardians. So, uh, yeah, I don't really care too much about what happens with Peter Quill. I'm kind of, I'm kind of over Peter Quill. Yeah. Um, yeah, and then Drax. Drax is my guy too. Uh, but also seeing what happens more with Peter Quill and what, I don't want to give that spoiler away. But yeah, so anyway.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith.: But that's all the trailers I can remember. How about you? Any any other trailers?
Reginald Titus Jr.: No. I haven't. Uh, I've seen the, the teaser trailer for "Invincible" Season 2.
Casey G. Smith.: Woo! Heck yeah. Cause Season 1.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's kind of meta there. Um, yeah, it's worth checking out there.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, man, I've been waiting. I've gone back and watched Season 1.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow.
Casey G. Smith.: About three times. It goes, it goes fast. You just go, go, go, go, we're done.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, that one's good. And then, uh, the, the comic book going like, I actually read some digital versions of the comic book. I was like, this is fantastic.
Casey G. Smith.: I've got I've got like the first compendium of that, like the yeah, I've read through the whole freaking thing.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. Yeah, man. So yeah, so I've been, I've been waiting on that. So yeah, that's that's the reason I saw that one today actually.
Casey G. Smith.: Once again, our man Steven Yeun providing the voice of one Invincible, Mark.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Mm-hm. Yeah, well done. Uh, that's it for trailers. What you've been watching?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, me, the family, we watched, uh, on our scary night, movie night, a film called "Incarnate." Okay. That's on Netflix. So Netflix has quite a bit going on there. But, uh, here's a quick summary: A scientist with the ability to enter the subconscious minds of possessed of the possessed must save a young boy from the grips of a demon with powers never seen before, or facing the horrors of his own past. Um, yeah, I'd give it like a six out of ten. But I mean, the kids love it. They, again, a 11-year-old kid that gets, you know, bothered by some spirit and, you know, must overcome that. That seems to be the thing.
Casey G. Smith.: Sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. And so the kids are kind of loving that, you know, seeing a kid overcome these obstacles.
Casey G. Smith.: You have the power.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And yes.
Casey G. Smith.: Awesome. Uh, so in in preparation for "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" dropping this weekend. I revisited "The First Ant-Man" on Disney+.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Still hold up. Still good. Still a lot of fun.
Casey G. Smith.: Okay. Yeah. So, we visited that. Probably, we'll check out "Ant-Man and the Wasp" in the days to come before I go and see the film this weekend.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith.: Uh, but one thing I did find out that's streaming on Disney+, which I wish there was more advertisement for it is "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur." So, for those of you who are not familiar, Moon Girl, uh, Lunella Lafayette is the character's name. But young African-American female who's considered in and within Marvel Comics to be like potentially the smartest person in the MCU, like smarter than Reed Richards, Tony Stark, all those people. But, um, but yeah, you know, she's an African-American character. You know, like really on the forefront of, you know, the, like STEM kind of stuff. But she's also got this psychic bond with, uh, this dinosaur.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, is it in animation or what is it?
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, it's like animated. It's like the first season dropped, but it, it's for me, I felt it dropped quietly because I've, I've, I've read I've read some of the comics, and I think it's, you know, I think she's a great role model. But, um, but yeah, I just have I got a notification. I was like, oh, this is here. This whole season? Like, oh, it's like 10, nine episodes or so. So, yeah, I'm definitely going to start watching that. I want to check that out. I want to support I want to support that. But, uh, yeah, "Devil Dinosaur."
Reginald Titus Jr.: Snuck that one in. Okay. Um, one.
Casey G. Smith.: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, excuse me.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Moon Girl. Yeah, when I think Moon, I think of the Moon, what was the one with the guy with the white outfit on? Moon Knight.
Casey G. Smith.: Moon Knight?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Didn't watch an episode. I was kind of feeling the vibe what people were saying. I was just like, not going to watch it.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, it started off strong, kind of fizzled at the end. And I I love Moon Knight. Like I Mark Spector, that's my dude. They leaned more into the the mystique of Moon Knight versus the, I like the I like more the gritty, the grittier style. Like when he's just like straight vigilante beating people up.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, yeah. Okay.
Casey G. Smith.: It is what it is.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, one last thing that I checked out. I I saw about half of this film. It's, um, kind of caught me by surprise. I'm going through Netflix just trying to like, oh, I'll add this to the list. Kind of thing.
Casey G. Smith.: The list that never really shrinks. It just grows. 10 years ago. I'm going to get around to that. One of these days.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, it's called "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs." Okay. Um, it's a Western, uh, by the Coen Brothers. And I got about, about 60 minutes in. It's about two hours long. But the, it's like each, um, it's, um, different, I, what do you call it, when it, it's an anthology. Yeah, it's like 10, 15 minutes for each story. And I don't know how many stories they have, but I'm at least maybe five stories in. But the first story just like took me away. I'm just like, I got to keep watching this.
Casey G. Smith.: Sucked in. Yeah. What year did this come out?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, I don't know. I want to say, I don't know, if I was a guest, maybe 2018 or something like that. Okay, so within the last 10 years then. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, so that, that one, I, it, it sucked me in. So I'm like, I got to go finish it off. "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs." Pretty cool. Yeah, you know, Westerns. I'm not, I don't really dig Westerns too much. But this one, I was like, oh, I like, so far.
Casey G. Smith.: You like "Tombstone?"
Reginald Titus Jr.: I did. Tombstone is a classic. That one, yeah. That one's, I didn't know about. I knew about it, but didn't think I would like it. Then I watched it and, "Tombstone" is the Western for people that don't like Westerns. "Tombstone" will get you. Absolutely. "Tombstone" will get you.
Casey G. Smith.: Uh, for me, I'll be real quick. I'm still up on my just kind of regular grind. "The Last of Us." I wrapped up "Velma," the season finale. Uh, which again, I still enjoyed the show as a whole. Um, "Be Cool Scooby Doo," still dipping on some episodes there. Because I, I kind of, I don't know, I'm on a Scooby-Doo kick now. Like I got on Tubi and I found the original, uh, "Where Are You Scooby Doo?" Like the original 1968, 69 show. Because they got all the like, it's only two seasons. Like it's weird. Like you think about these old cartoons, a lot of them like only two seasons. Like super short.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, wow. Really?
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. "GI Joe: Real American Hero," only two seasons. So anyway, but yeah, it's just it's fairly short. But anyway, so I'm watching like the first, I watched it the first episode because like, you know, sometimes when you see the intro of it, and you're like, wonder, okay, where those clips come from? They come from other episodes. And so I watched like the first, the very first episode of, you know, um, Scooby-Doo. And like, it's interesting how they, how they frame the characters. Like they, they mentioned Shaggy, you know, it's 68. And he, they need to climb up to get inside a place and, and, uh, Daphne says, well, you know, uh, Shaggy is the he's the, he's the swingin'est gymnast at the school. I'm like, wait, Shaggy's a gymnast? Like this guy has, like, all I see this guy is a is a clumsy stoner. Like, I've never seen him do anything athletic. Uh, but anyway, it's just, it's just interesting to kind of hear where they frame certain characters. But yeah, I'm kind of been on an old-school kick. Uh, with some of those things. Still working through "Emily in Paris" as well, which is very enjoyable. Still working through "Cheers," which is also very enjoyable. I'm on like Season 3 of "Cheers."
Reginald Titus Jr.: But how many episodes per season? Oh, that's enough. I mean, because these days, I mean, that's that's like two or three seasons. That's a lot. Oh, man. Anyway. What is it? Yeah. It seems like you'll never end.
Casey G. Smith.: It's like maybe nine or 10. But they, the episodes, it's like 30-minute episodes. They go quick. I just have them on in the background. And it's I mean, it's entertaining. Like where I'm at now, Season 3, Frasier gets introduced. And kind of just seeing kind of the origin, because these people I've heard of and seen that kind of have a place in pop culture, TV pop culture. But to kind of see where they stem from because obviously Frasier gets his own show later on, which I'm positive is a spin-off. Kelsey Grammer.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. Yeah. Frasier is that's one of those weird shows for me that's in my nostalgic brain. Um, it spun off in my sister graduated high school and all this stuff. And he was like, one of these movies or TV shows that just play in the background. And you don't intend to like it. Like it's just playing. And then it's like, this is actually kind of funny. That's yeah, but.
Casey G. Smith.: Huh. I've never even watched an episode. Yeah. That's that's one of those, yeah, it's a sleeper. It's just like, huh, I didn't You don't expect to like it, but then you find yourself liking it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's that's me with "Cheers" right now. I'm like, and then you get you get you get attached to the characters. You're like, oh, look at this this stuff going on here. And now I'm like, okay, I know who Norm is and all right, you know, Clint and and yeah, it's just, yeah, Sam and and anyway. So it's it's very interesting like learning more about these characters. Like I didn't realize that the lead character Sam Malone played by Ted Danson is actually an ex-baseball player. He was a pitcher.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah. Does he ever like memorial on the on the bar, in the bar? Not really. Not really. Nothing, nothing that's really been shown off. He used to be called Sam "Mayday" Malone. He was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox because they're in Boston. Your cousin from Boston. I love I love those commercials. But, um, but yeah, but he, but he became an alcoholic. And he actually yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. That's the bar.
Casey G. Smith.: But he actually kicked the habit and, you know, went sober. And but runs a bar. Like, fascinating. Anywho, but yeah, still grinding on those.
Reginald Titus Jr.: As a kid with that show playing, I was like, this is the most boring show in America. It's guys are talking, you know, and it's the only just at a bar. Yeah. And a lot of times it's like when they're closed. It's like they're, it's closed. Like they have like their deep conversations is that when when no one's around? Like, this, what is this?
Casey G. Smith.: What? Cause have one or two drinks that alcohol. These guys are alcoholics though. Cause they're I mean, they're they're every night. It's I'm like, you guys are alcoholics. I'm sorry. Especially Norm. That dude is like just pounding down beers like the whole time. They're they're functional alcoholics. They still go their job. You guys are, it's, it's something else.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Unbelievable. Everybody knows your name. So it's all good. How, why? Maybe two drinks. That makes me. Been coming on lady. Who the heck told you about this before? You said you're going to calm down. You said you was going to calm down. So we left you alone. Dress up. Oh, man. Ah, sorry for the hard bait tangents.
Casey G. Smith.: Yes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, um, what what show was it? Um, did you ever watch "The Masked Singer?"
Casey G. Smith.: I've caught pieces of episodes, and every time I do, I'm like, this is interesting, but I never just consciously decided to watch it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Have you seen any of them where you knew like who the Masked Singer was at the end?
Casey G. Smith.: No. Holy smokes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I'm like, I don't sit and wait for the show to come on or anything like that. For whatever reason, I was on YouTube and they have like compilation of reveals. Yes. Entertaining. Surprisingly entertaining. I had my kids. I don't know if I said this in one of the podcasts before, but I'm watching it with my kids and they're like into it. I guess because, you know, it's like a mascot singing. And so they're, they're really enjoying it. And I'm like, dude, and so we're trying to, we're trying to guess who the singer is along with the people. It's like, oh, that's so and so. Oh, that could be, I'm like, oh yeah, it's worth checking out. Not maybe not a whole season, but like just like a quick little snippet. I'll send you a URL. How about that?
Casey G. Smith.: Please do. Please do. I didn't remember seeing like catching part of one episode. And then the judges they're trying to guess, they're throwing out names, and I'm like, oh, and then like, it turned like being like, I want to say Lil Wayne was on, was like, on, he was like, they were I think, yeah, they actually ended up revealing that it was him. I was like, huh, but actually like singing. Like, huh? Really? Yeah. But anyway, but yeah, please send that, man. I I would I would I would.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, there's one, there's maybe one or two in particular. I want you to check out. Um, but yeah, that was that was we watched this probably like a month or so ago on on our laptop, just kind of just, you know, you know, spending some time with the family. It was like, this, it was actually entertaining. The people ask the judges ask why the people got involved. And they were just like, yeah, my kid, they do they did it for the kids, you know. My kids, I want them to see them for them to watch, you know, and be able to hang out. So any how, yeah, "The Masked Singer," I did that was a surprise. I was because I remember when they were promoting it, I was like, what in the world?
Casey G. Smith.: Right, right. Oh, another singing show.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Another little old person, you know, comment.
Casey G. Smith.: In my day, they didn't wear masks. They just sang.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. So I was like, yeah, so that was like my attitude towards it. But after like kind of catching like the recaps and seeing some of these songs and the performances, I'm like, oh, wow. Straight up entertaining.
Casey G. Smith.: Oh, so I got to plug "Abbott Elementary." I'm still still when those episodes pop up. Whenever I see I watch it on Hulu. So whenever new episode I always get excited. So I still still solid. Um, I also watch a little bit of somebody, there used to be a show I used to watch called "The Dark Side of Wrestling." But now it's like turned into a new version show called "Tales from the Territories." And somebody I work with mentioned it to me. And so I found an episode on on YouTube, and it was one dealing with Jerry "The King" Lawler and Andy Kaufman from way back in the in the 70s.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I was like, a famous match. Yeah, famous like feud. But this goes really like behind, like it this this, you know, back then you had kayfabe where you had to keep, you know, keep things tight. But this goes into how Andy Kaufman actively like reached out and wanted to be involved with this stuff. And all the conversations and the dealings. So that aspect is super fascinating. And you got a little round table of Jerry Lawler, Jeff Jarrett, his father, Mr. Jarrett. I can't think of his first name, who actually just, he just passed this week, ironically enough. But he's in it, um, some other some like two other people. But super interesting. Very interesting episode. But they go all into it. And they they even had this whole thing that happened on, on David Letterman. That, and then there Oh, yeah. They get slapped. Exactly. That actually they call that the famous show. Cause they said that's the show Letterman was like, maybe he was like in his first year. He said that, that that episode made them famous. That catapulted his show. So it's fascinating how that, uh, plays out. But yeah, I'm it's it's very entertaining. And hear how much Andy Kaufman was totally into it. And because he started off, he was wrestling women.
Casey G. Smith.: That's right. He was he called himself, he was the intergender champion. And and he was literally in the ring calling out women from the crowd to come and wrestle him. He was wrestling them for real. And, and he he he was beating them. He he was like, he was like, literally beating, beating these women. And I'm like, how man, what kind of lawsuit like, what kind of these people had to sign waivers like that's liability out the butt. Anyway, but he's beating these women and then this one Black woman gets in and she she got gives him a run for his money. But then she gets blown up, she runs out of, out of gas. And he beats her. But then like, uh, it goes over so well. Jerry Lawler, he's one, he's the promoter, he's like, hey, man, we got to bring you back again. But this time, I'll come out and I'll be, I'll be this, this woman's manager. And so they kept raising the stakes, raising the stakes. And then eventually it turns into, yo, those, Jerry and and, uh, Andy Kaufman going at it. And then it's builds from there. But yeah, he was Andy was in on it the whole time. Even he even faked an injury. Cause he gets piled driven in the ring and sells it so damn well. He's actually taken him to the hospital. He fakes neck injuries, stays in the hospital for three days. Straight selling it. Wow. But yeah, man. "Tales from the Territories," I'm like, this is super interesting. Entertaining, y'all. Entertaining.
Reginald Titus Jr.: No. No. Entertaining. And today's show is sponsored by Naturally Healthy the movie by Grind of Matter the Films, available to stream on Tubi and on the Roku Channel on demand for free. Check it out and leave a review. Now let's jump back into the show.

Hard Eight Synopsis & Cast
Reginald Titus Jr.: Thank you for tuning in to Filmmaker Commentary. We're talking about "Hard Eight," written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, came out February 1997. And let's jump into the synopsis. Veteran gambler Sydney befriends a young man named John, by transforming him into a Las Vegas casino champion. John falls for a prostitute, and then the couple soon finds himself in need of Sydney's help. "Hard Eight."
Casey G. Smith.: And very quickly, let me just mention the cast. But before I do, if this is your first time listening to Filmmaker Commentary, please know that there will be spoilers. You've been forewarned. So, the cast of this film consists of one, Philip Baker Hall in the lead role of Sydney. One, John C. Reilly in the role of John.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And we know him from.
Casey G. Smith.: "Talladega Nights," "Step Brothers," uh, other stuff. He's in "Boogie Nights."
Reginald Titus Jr.: He sure is. And he has that face. He has this distinct face where every time you look at him, I'm just like, I just want to laugh. It's his hair too. Yeah. He's got the the widow's peak, but, but it's also curly. So, yeah, it's a very unique look. But he's funny too. I mean, he's he's he can go like dark and dramatically, he pulls some it off here. Yeah. But mainly you see him in a lot of comedies. Especially when he was working with, uh, Will Ferrell. Yeah. Dude. Yeah, man. "Talladega Nights." He has the perfect face for comedy. The magic man. Now you see me? Now you don't. All right, I'm sorry. All right. Also, the lovely Gwyneth Paltrow. Yep. And one Samuel L. Jackson. Mother! Please!
Casey G. Smith.: Yes. Best main cast, that's, uh, pretty much it. Yeah, main, main players, right there.

Hard Eight Review and Commentary
Reginald Titus Jr.: Absolutely. Um, how did you watch this film? Did you, did you know about this film? We talked about that, didn't we?
Casey G. Smith.: Come on, buddy. Come on, buddy. Nobody knew about this movie. And ain't no secret that people didn't know about this film. Um, yeah, I never heard of it before. I just I stumbled across it in my research. Yes. I saw the cast. I said, hey, this is a good cast. And Paul Thomas Anderson, solid director. So, uh, why not? But then I was really blown away when I saw that the, the, the unfortunate box office. But, uh, it's a solid film. Solid film .
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, same here. I didn't know anything about it, like I said earlier. Um, knew about it. I kind of like knew about it, but didn't care. There comes a thing with this. It's got, it's got that vibe. He's just like, they didn't care about the key art, they didn't care. There's a lot of things they didn't care about. So if they don't care, I, I don't either. Yeah. Help, help me, help you guys. Come on. So, um, I ended up going to the movie trading company, purchasing it on DVD. I prefer to get it on Blu-ray, but they didn't have it. So I just got the DVD. And, um, that's how I got it. I just purchased it and that's how I watched it this time around.
Casey G. Smith.: Yeah, I wasn't quite ready to make the full investment. I just rented it. Yeah, I'll just, yeah, yeah. I'm going to rent this.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, because I mean it's on 12.99. I'm like, oh, well. Yeah, I was like, I'm just going to rent this. I'll have it back by Tuesday. Thank you. Just because I'm bad at returning stuff. So I just purchased them. I was like, I know me. Save that.
Casey G. Smith.: I've got reminder in the phone. Return film on this day. Yeah. Got it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What did you like or not like about the film?
Casey G. Smith.: Uh, I like I like the performances. In particular, Mr. uh, Mr. Hall. He is I see why Paul Thomas Anderson, uh, enjoyed him so much. But Philip Baker Hall, like he has a a presence on screen. He's he's he's so grounded and stoic. Yeah, he's stoic. And when he he speaks, he's got this this calmness, yet assertiveness. That's very powerful. Also, Gwyneth Paltrow, I enjoyed her performance as well. She's, um, at times you see her as vulnerable, but she's got more of an edge in this film than I've than I've seen her in than I can remember seeing her with in other films. Uh, so I thought that was kind of refreshing. Sam's always doing his thing. Absolutely. Um, and John C. Reilly, he's solid too. But mainly, mainly Gwyneth and, uh, and Philip Hall really stood out to me.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I like seeing, uh, Philip Seymour Hoffman. It's like, uh, seeing an old friend. Yeah, good memories about. So I was like, oh, man, there he is. So that that was cool to see that. I didn't like how they did the brothers in the film. Like come on, there's only two. One is helping one of the characters in the bathroom. Just smiling. And then, of course, Samuel L. Jackson. That's that's about it. We know we know how that ends. Yes. Yeah. In death. Yeah. Brother. Yeah, that's the only representation in the film. And it's not, yeah, not not not great. But, uh, that's the "Hard Eight." That's true. Um, also like, uh, there was a part where when, uh, John when, uh, Sydney is kind of showing him like around the casino, how to make his money, you know, you know, how this all works. And then it just cuts to two years later. Me, I would like to see him develop and see, okay, what's the next stages of how he becomes a person that can become well off with his money.
Casey G. Smith.: You want to see the montage?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, or just like, just kind of seeing the development of his character. You know, because when two years passes by, you know, okay, he doesn't need money anymore, but I I feel like I don't see the development of his character.
Casey G. Smith.: Cause he still seems like an idiot. Yeah. Well, see, I I think once, once you see how patient Sydney is with with John's character, um, and like step by step tells him what to do, and he does it, and he and he makes the money. I feel I feel like, okay, once we fast forward and knowing that they're still connected, I'm like, okay, Sydney's been looking out for John this whole time. So, John's success is is is 100% because of Sydney. It's not because John is is Right. is skilled or intelligent at all. John's a big dummy. I hate to break it to you, John. Yeah, damn it. It is what it is. So, um, yeah, I kind of felt okay with that because I'm like, I don't know if I want to spend that much time with with John. Like, oh, okay. Yeah. Cause when we find out that, oh, this is we find out the reason why Sydney is so persistent in looking out for this guy. Because the further you get in, you're like, oh, man, especially when you get towards the end, you're like, oh, man, John, you're what's wrong with you, man? You're Yeah. You you fall in love with this girl like just right off the bat like that. But that, you know, that's also credit to John C. Reilly's acting ability. He could play like this, you know, vulnerable. He reminds me of, yeah, like, just he plays a loser well. Um, there you go. He reminds me of the guy in "Zola," uh, the the boyfriend in "Zola." Oh, I'll do it! Do it! I'll kill myself. So like her like her boyfriend, like she's prostituting herself and he's like kind of has no choice but to be okay with it. And just kind of deal with the outcome after she goes through a bad situation. Same thing here. Just like, um, I think they call it a simp. Yeah. Yeah, 100%. And the fact that as soon as she marries him, she takes a job. Like, oh, that's, uh, yuck. That's really? Like, uh, I don't know. Anyway, so, uh, but yeah, I enjoyed those two lead performances. What do I not like about this film? It's it's a little slow. Yeah. I think at the very beginning, like if you if you don't know anything about this film, you're like, uh, okay, these guys are having a conversation. Yeah. Where are we going with this? Like, and and and you have you have a lot of questions. Yeah. But they they all get answered by the end. So I always appreciate that. Like, oh, I don't have any more questions. Right. It is slow. It's, uh, it's a slow burn. After, you know, but, you know, I watch a lot of films during the 90s around this time. It it was that era where, okay, we're going to hang out with these people and see what happens. I don't know where this is going. Like even like when Sam gets introduced, like it's kind of awkward when he's there because he's, you know, you know, kind of being crass or whatever, and you could tell that kind of bothers Sydney. And and and John is awkward because he's friends with, you know, the cool Black guy. Yeah. But he doesn't want to disappoint his his father figure. Right. Like, uh, I don't know. Unapproving. Yeah. But there's there's some interesting dialogue. But yeah, it's it's a slow beat, but it's slow bleed, but I think there's some smart dialogue within the within the film as well. Even like the conversation that Sydney has with Gwyneth Paltrow's character. When he asks her about, you know, does she have to flirt to be able to get the tip or whatever. It's kind that that exchange. I I like I like good conversation like that. And I think "Boogie Nights" had some of that too. Yeah. But yeah, I like the dialogue. Yeah. Which is a very, I think, 90s thing also. Yeah, it's like, yeah, he has all these like weird standards and it's like, what do you care, pal? You know, that's what I thought. But, um, the commentary, what did you think about the commentary that, um, because there was two commentaries. I only watched, I only listened to one of the commentaries. Same here. I I I listen to the first one. That's what, uh, the director and with the actor. Mm-hm. Which I thought was pretty solid, it it at at times it seemed like they were in the same room. Yeah. At other times it seemed like they were in separate rooms. Yeah, it's weird because you could hear when the actor's talking, you could hear stuff going on in the background. I was like, what? Are they sharing a mic? What the hell? Yeah. And, and I, I enjoyed it for the most part. I thought it was it was very informative. It's solid. Uh, there's some good insights about acting and about the development of the film. It's a solid commentary. Yeah. At the end, it got very like on the like the last, I don't know, like 30 minutes, it's just the actor. I'm like, where did the director go? He bounced. Oh, uh, where's the director at? He left. And so, yeah, that was kind of weird because I would I would have liked to have heard more from him towards the end in terms of what, you know, what was planned out and why it played out that way. But the first three-fourths of it, uh, solid. Solid commentary. What about what about you? Yeah. It was solid. Um, and he's in a good mood. Considering that this film didn't perform at all, um, Well, he recorded this after "Boogie Nights" because he's talking about "Boogie Nights" stuff like that. So, he recorded the commentary after "Boogie Nights" was out in the world. So, he's now a superstar director. Yeah, yeah, he he got past this L. Real quick. It was like, man, that's a heck of a rebound. Uh, it may have, he may have shot them like fairly close. Yeah. And so it was like they were releasing, you know, or going to release anyways. It was like, oh, he's like, oh, it's like "Boogie Nights" is coming out anyway. And then he was like, oh, okay. So, yeah, saving, saving grace right there. Absolutely. Um, I was holding my breath. I'm like, So, anyhow, I feel like that that's probably, you know, spending a little bit more time with the with the script in the in the development stages. Um, but any how, uh, what are we watching next time? Next time, we are diving into "The Florida Project." And you can catch us where? Facebook.com/filmmakercommentary. We're on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher Radio, and Spotify. Please check us out. Leave a review. You can find us on social media. On Twitter, he is at Reggie Titus. I'm at Casey G. Smith 32. We're also on the gram @filmmakercommentary. He is at Reginald Titus Jr., that's JR. And I'm at Casey G. Smith 32. Until next time. Peace. Respect.