Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: What up, everybody? And welcome back to another episode of the Nerd Gen Report. I'm your host, Paul. Joining me, as always, is Mister Brian Schultz. Brian, we got a glimpse of the Christopher Reed documentary that's going to be coming out Wednesday, September.
[00:00:13] Speaker B: I think it's 21st.
[00:00:15] Speaker A: Okay. What did you think of it?
[00:00:19] Speaker B: It was pretty emotional. I guess I was not expecting it to be as much of an inside look at his recovery and the tragedy and what followed as it was, I thought. And the trailer maybe is skewing what you actually will see, but there's a number of very graphic, like, very moving, like, behind the scenes shots, including one of the accident, which I didn't even know.
[00:00:43] Speaker A: Snap.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: That tells you that. I mean, obviously the family is the one that's sort of behind this, so they're willing to take you all the way inside.
So, yeah, I found myself getting a little bit emotional, like, you know, even and listening. And they obviously have all that. You see all the kids participating, including the one who looks just like him, will, you know, and so some celebrity friends as well. So it looks like a really interesting kind of moving piece of work. And then I guess I didn't realize they were going to put this in theaters in a limited release, which I'm assuming is a way to raise money for sort of the research and foundation that he's been a part of since the incident, since he was injured and obviously passed away.
[00:01:22] Speaker A: So I give me a prediction because you know what? He's leaning to give me a prediction.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Um, well, then when I saw that it was being put in the theater, I immediately texted. I was like, you know, it'll be perfect. Is here's where you could sneak in. Here's where you sneak in the Superman teaser and you get more people to go for a good cause.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: See something, a worthwhile story, but that's fine if they want to go to just see the two and a half, two minutes or the 90 seconds you want to tease people with for next summer. That, to me, looks sounds like a perfect opportunity to surprise.
[00:01:56] Speaker A: I will show that at the end of that. That would be like the end credits.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. There you go. Do it that way. Like, do it that way. But I mean, I think it's the perfect forum to do it. And I am officially, like, tinfoil hat is on. And looking at that where no one's talking about it and saying, like, that would make a lot of sense.
[00:02:13] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. What did you think when I was watching it and I saw that they were sort of leading up towards showing a glimpse of the accident. I was like, wow. They actually showed that I had been following Christopher Reeves life, you know, from afar. Obviously, whenever he came up in the news, I think there were some specials that he did when they were talking about stem cells.
And obviously, I've seen a lot of his films. Brian and switching channels with Burt Reynolds and Christopher Reed was in that movie somewhere in time.
And obviously the Superman films. And to see his life is definitely going to be a nostalgic feeling in seeing those moments and how they prepare to do this film. And that was his coming out party right there, the Superman film, right? With people talking about how they first received the film, possibly while they were doing it, that behind the scenes sort of talk of perhaps the awe that they were witnessing. Brian, that's going to be very interesting for me to watch. Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing it.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: What would have been gold, and I don't think they'll have it in there, but it would have blown me away, as if they could have gotten a quote from Gene Hackman, who is notorious since he retired from cinema 20 years ago, I don't think has ever given an interview.
And he lives in New Mexico. He's still alive. He's in his nineties.
But that's actually. But I mean, obviously, one of the greatest actors that ever lived. That would have been one perspective on a young Christopher Reeve that I would, I would kill to hear if he'd be willing to offer it. I don't think he'll be in the documentary, but if they, if they wanted like a sort of a bombshell, even audio, was this kind of, that would be it, because. No, I'm serious. No one has talked or seen or had anything to do with Hackman since he retired from Hollywood 20 years ago. But, you know, this guy won oscars and was generally regarded as one of the best living actors and obviously played the original Lex Luthor. So he saw Christopher Reeve from the beginning.
But so I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to the retrospective of him getting the part. There's stuff that I've read and I've seen about, you know, him getting it, the training where, you know, they talked about, like, he refused the muscle suit. This is back in 1970, whatever. Like, you know, he refused to have the suit doctored. He basically was like, I'm going to do this on my own, you know, and obviously didn't quite have all the, all the techniques that today they might have to help enhance.
You know, he wound up looking great. And as we said, the suit itself is not all that necessarily. He makes it work.
[00:04:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: And his physique really works in the part. And he was six foot four, so.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: Yeah, some interesting storylines that occurred with one of the actors in Superman, two from the trio, the bigger guy, the mute. That, yes, there was some. Some very interesting interaction between him and Christopher Reid.
Let's see if that even makes it into the documentary.
[00:05:20] Speaker B: Cause aside, I actually would want to see this in the theater. So I think I will see.
[00:05:25] Speaker A: Let's see if James Gunn does that.
[00:05:29] Speaker B: That would be smart piece of marketing, too, because they send it to the theater for, I think it's about a week, maybe two weeks. Then it goes straight to Max. And it goes to Max just after the penguin is premiering. So they are giving you, like, a lot of reason to get back on Max if you're not with that. With that one two punch. So I think that's smart.
[00:05:49] Speaker A: Quick segue. Brian, the news.
Brian, when you sent it to me that Pattinson and his. Brian.
And it's not to say that his presence will not be felt or discussed, but Pattinson will not be in penguin. And again, is not to say that Batman's presence will not be, uh, felt, but is disappointing in that you can't go one day to shoot this one scene or this, you know what I'm saying? Little sprinkles, little things here and there. Brian, that would have made it all worthwhile, but they're really banking on this performance from Colin Farrell, which seems to be the talk of the town. Brian. And something that we've been looking forward to seeing because we saw it in its initial genesis in the Batman. That performance, Brian, and it's not to say that we will not feel Batman's presence, and it won't be spoken of, which would be disappointing if it wasn't completely ignored. I don't think they're gonna be that crazy. Brian, what are your thoughts on.
[00:07:05] Speaker B: No, they explicitly will not. So these quote. There's some quotes from the showrunner and from Matt Reeves about this subject that make me think there was a version of this where he was in it.
And I don't know if that means he ever shot anything for it or not, but it sounds like this is something that was debated, and they ultimately have decided not to. So let me give you the quote. So the showrunner is Lauren Lefrank. And so here's her quote to me. I think it packs a different punch because Matt's films are through the lens of Batman. So you're high up, looking down the city, that's a different looking down on the city, that's a different perspective. With Oz. You're in the streets. You're in the grit and the muck and the grime. He's looking up, wanting to claw his way to the top. So it's a different experience. And I think Gotham is an interesting enough city that it deserves to have more doors unlocked within it and for us to walk through those and see what we think, end quote. What do you think about that idea of, like, Batman floating above the city, descending down versus this being a streets level show going up?
[00:08:11] Speaker A: I understand the perspective because this is from, this is called the Penguin, and this is his story, his ambition, his journey to being the guy taking over everything, right?
[00:08:26] Speaker B: Yep.
This is his Michael Corleone. Right?
[00:08:29] Speaker A: So I get it. Yeah, I get it. I just want to know that Batman is causing problems for him outside in the streets. And it would have been nice an end credit scene to lead up to. I don't know, Brian, but without Batman and some of these things, although they can be great, it always feels like it's missing something.
[00:08:55] Speaker B: So I'll give you Reeves quote, and then I have, like, a conspiracy theory or, like, just sort of random idea. So this is Reeves discussion of it, quote. I don't feel like it's missing anything fundamental. I feel like it's an extension of what is fundamentally there. We know this is the world of Batmandhead. So the specter of Batman is there. The specter of the Riddler is there. The specter of everything that happens in the last movie is there. It informs it, and it's exactly where we begin, end quote. The way he says that makes me think they thought about it, where he's sort of like, I don't feel like it's missing anything fundamental. I kind of fill in that blank of, like, they wrestle with this idea of, like, should Pattinson be in the show? Should he do this? Should he do that? And then they were like, ultimately, no, I understand that.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: I get it.
I get it. I get. I get the perspective that it will be a distraction, perhaps.
Uh, we all know that Batman exists. We all know that what happened happened because of where it takes place from, Brian. But we also know that Batman understood what would happen after this event. Escalation.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: He had to change, whatever that may be.
I just want to know that Bruce Wayne is out there.
He's doing fundraising.
He's retrofitting the city for his.
For his missions. Whatever the case may be Bruce Wayne is in the vicinity or in that world trying to make some change. Brian, I just want to see something. I think.
[00:10:33] Speaker B: So you hit on my conspiracy theory, okay. Which is neither of them says that Bruce Wayne is not in the show. Okay, what if. And they don't say that Robert Pattinson is not in the show. They say that Batman is not in the show.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:49] Speaker B: What if he is in the show just as Bruce Wayne for a scene or two?
I think that's perfectly acceptable. And in fact, it might be better. It might be better because they don't know each other yet in that way.
And so it's probably a 1% chance.
But with these things, you got to look at the specifics. And these people are smart enough to dance around on technicalities.
And the way the questions asked and the way they answered it, they could be telling you the complete truth. Batman is not in this show.
And Robert Pattinson might be for a scene or two, and there's no mention at all about Jeffrey Wright at all. There's no discussion about Gordon, who could also feasibly be in the show somewhere and make a lot of sense as a street level investigator of whatever Oz is doing. So I feel like there's some. There's some outs here. As much as they're talking about this.
[00:11:47] Speaker A: In this way, it'll be interesting to see how much we cut away from Ozdev.
What other storylines are being. What other characters were being introduced to Brian, what conversations are being had that affect Oz and his mission to take over?
[00:12:14] Speaker B: Well, Falcone's daughter is clearly going to be a co lead.
[00:12:17] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:12:18] Speaker B: Kristen Miladi is. That's a no question. I mean, every promotional material has made it clear she is, I think, as much billing as Colin Farrell for this show. So I think we're definitely getting a. A trip down the Falcone family rabbit hole.
And again, that sort of fits with if you're headed towards some of these other stories that they seemingly want to tell, you know, you kind of need to get in the crime families of Gotham to kind of make that happen. I think we're clearly also getting, you know, some Sal maroni with our good friend Clancy Brown.
So, you know, I think that's also going to be something that gets introduced formally in this, even though he was referenced in, in the last one in the movie. So, yeah, I think. I think all that's fine. So. And I think it remains to be seen. We could get to the end of these episodes and feel like it was a good decision not to have that.
[00:13:10] Speaker A: Possible I just find it difficult to believe that these gangsters, these conversations where they're talking pretty serious stuff, that they're not talking about Batman and the prime and him being a problem.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: Well, I think that will happen.
[00:13:24] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: I think you'll see the bats. I think you'll see the Bat signal. I think you'll see discussions of plans that are sort of meant to try to be one step ahead of this guy. They don't understand who's out there. I think that will happen for sure.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: And that would.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: That's absolutely what Matt Rubin is talking about. Specter of Batman. Right. It's like that. It actually is kind of like that opening scene of the Batman where you already see, like, when the symbol is up in the sky and like some of the, some of the perps are already, like, nervous because they don't really know is he going to find me? Like, I think you're going to see more of that for sure.
So.
[00:13:55] Speaker A: And I'll be good with that. And that would be the case.
Uh, so, yeah. Let us know in the comment section below what you guys think of the possibility of James Gunn's, uh, Superman trailer popping up in this Christopher Reed documentary that's supposed to come out September 21.
[00:14:12] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm gonna double check, but yes, I believe it's, it's, it's the third week of September is when it goes. It's really in the theater for, I think, one week.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: It's certainly a possibility and a great marketing tool if they did that. And let us know in the comment section below what you guys think of Batman not being seen in the penguin, because I believe that is what we're talking about. So what are your thoughts on that not happening? Does it make you think a bit differently? Are you going into. I think how we're going into it similarly with seeing how the penguin is, how Colin Farrell performs with this character now that he has a lot of room to cook.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: Can.
I don't know if he can win it. Can he be nominated for an Emmy for this?
[00:15:11] Speaker A: Not this year, right?
[00:15:13] Speaker B: No. For it would be for the 2025.
[00:15:15] Speaker A: I wouldn't see. Why wouldn't he?
[00:15:17] Speaker B: I think he's got a shot. I don't think he could he be the favorite to win, but I think he have a shot to get a nomination.
[00:15:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
So, yeah. Let us know in the comment section below what you guys think, and we'll see you next time on another Jim, important. Please remember to hit that like, and subscribe and share with others who talk about this stuff, and we'll see you next time the show goes on.
