Lee Hutchison and Dallas King tackle every single movie released by A24, one of the most groundbreaking companies distributing some of the industry's most original films. We also bring you interviews with the people behind Eighth Grade, Hereditary, The Florida Project, Midsommar, The Farewell, The Lighthouse, Under The Skin, and much more.
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To see it in a cinema. I think, yeah, initially, it was sort of streaming, but then I I did manage to get the, it did eventually come out in Blu ray over here, I think. And, yeah, for me, I mean, it's a misunderstood, underseen and misunderstood gem. I know that a lot of people were talking about Alex Garland just, in the run up to the film actually coming out about him stating that he's, now jaded with the directing, world and is probably gonna take a step back. But I guess we can discuss at the end of this podcast whether or not you think he should or whether you'd like to carry on based on his latest effort, but, let's get the elephants out of the room, shall we? I think the biggest thing for me, is that, you know, as, you know, we've had in the past, particularly more, I guess, when we're discussing some of those, 824 elevated horrors, I mean, you even had an entire episode on it when you talk to, you know, a trailer editor about how a 24 sometimes go around crafting I mean, it's all about, you know, you have to get people into the cinema. I understand that, but sometimes I guess it's creative marketing, creative licensing, about how you present a film, and I think it's safe to say that the trailer for Civil War painted a very different picture to the film that people actually saw this weekend. And a lot of people saw it this weekend. It was a number 1 movie in America grossed $25,100,000, and it's opening weekend. Which is A24's highest ever opening weekend. The previous, highest opening weekend was hereditary and that was 13,500,000. So it did 12,000,000 more than that. So a huge opening weekend for them. But I mean, this was trailers and sort of promoted very, very heavily. You know, the it the poster had
Call Saul. And so he, he snuck in, he came in, he just watched the show and left. And then like later that week, he contacted us and asked if we would allow him to come and do improv with us. And so I think that was a testament to our improvisers that he felt that they were good enough for him to perform with. And, since then he's done so many things for our children's theater. He's had a a number of, fundraising events with Ray Sehorn and Patrick Fabian, Jonathan Banks. And it's been just incredible that he would donate his time, his efforts to our to our children's theater. And one of the things that he's that he's said before is, like, it's some really good improv. It's probably some of the finest improv in the country, and he and he knows improv. He's from Chicago to Los Angeles. He knows he knows what he's talking about, so it's really quite an honor. You've touched on it. Like, is it the kind of the cardboard kind of Playhouse Theatre? Would that be sort of your your kind of children's sort of theatre? Yeah. Yes. Like, you've obviously kinda got you know, you wear a lot of hats there as well, like, in addition to being the core artistic director, producer, set designer, and and so many more. Kind of what's been that experience like to be a bit of a a jack of all trades for something like that? Well, it's maddening. Sometimes I'm just always dropping balls and trying to pick things up and, you know, get things moving. And, it's, it's a lot of hours, lots and lots of hours, lots of frustration, but it's worth it. Just the, what I get back from watching these children grow and to their confidence to grow and just their talent, is just amazing. It's it's it's, it's quite rewarding to watch this happen. Fantastic.
Welcome to the nerd party. Hello, and welcome to the a 24 project here in the Nerd Party Network. My name is Lee Hutchison, and Dallas King and I make our way through the a 24 filmography. And along the way, bring you interviews with the talent involved in front of and behind the camera. This week, we welcome Samantha Ashley, known for her recent role in the brilliant mini series, The Curse, alongside Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, and Benny Safdie. Samantha plays Tonya, a production assistant on the show Flip Lanthropy, working alongside Whitney, Asher and Dougie. Join us as Samantha recounts her journey to starring in the acclaimed the curse, collaborating with this exceptional cast and delving into her exciting career trajectory thus far. Thanks so much to Samantha for joining me and hope you too will enjoy this episode. What kind of started your passion for for acting, and how have you kinda turned it into a career? So I've been I've been passionate about acting for as long as I can remember. A kid, really. I mean, I love playing pretend as a kid. I think all kids do. But, really, I think I was, like, maybe 11 11 or so when my aunt took me to my first, like, play, like, musical theater piece that I had ever seen. And that was rent by Jonathan Larson, and it was done at, like, a high school in New Jersey by one of my cousins. Like, not Broadway or anything like that, believe it or not. And, yeah, I just got super super inspired by it, and I I don't know. I just knew I was like that in between watching movies. I loved I loved movies. I feel like movies raised me. I grew up as an only
And, put it out to the team. We have a team, called from your street set. I've been with my manager, and she has has has a group of us that she she manages. So she sends out these auditions when she gets them, and she'll send them to the whole team or anybody that seems fit for it. And, I I auditioned, and and I don't wanna get ahead of myself because I know some of your questions. But, yeah. I auditioned. They ended up liking me, and I get, I got a callback. And, yeah, I found out through her, and she just pushed it out to all of us. Sounds like a an interesting kind of, agency and all that sort of stuff. Was did you say it was from the sort of streets to the the sets, did you say? Yes. It is. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So so how does that kind of work? Is that is that sort of looking for for talent that might be not be well represented? Or how how does that kind of work? Yeah. Yeah. So so the the so it's the basis is from the streets to the set. The actual, company is URA Underrepresented Artist. And, but, yeah, we started as, from the street. And, it's literally as it sounds, you know, taking people that come from street life or come from that that sort of rougher background and and putting them in situations when they can where they can, make a living, you know, like, on sets, you know, and, like, and, like, work our ways up. Like, I started I started with her on background. I had a little bit about me and a little bit about my background. I was actually, imprisoned for quite a while. So I got, arrested as a juvenile, and I was, tried as a as an adult. So I got arrested when I was 16 years old, and I went to prison for 11 years. Came home, and I knew that I wanted to entertain and get into the entertainment business somehow. And, I started out as a production assistant, and then I, ended up meeting somebody or I met somebody and then followed him on Facebook.
Welcome to the nerd party. Hello and welcome to the a 24 project here in the Nerd Party Network. My name is Lee Hutchison, and Dallas King and I make our way through the a 24 filmography, and along the way, bring you interviews with the talent involved in front of and behind the camera. Last week, we had the pleasure of interviewing Saint Maud and love lies bleeding director Rose Glass. This week, we're thrilled to welcome Aaron Dean Eisenberg, known for his recent role in the brilliant film, the iron claw, alongside Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson who portrayed the iconic Von Erich wrestling dynasty. Aaron takes on the legendary role of Ric Flair, famed for his flamboyant persona and technical prowess, engaging in numerous encounters and rivalries with the legendary Von Erich family over the years. Join us as Aaron shares insights into his involvement in the film, discusses the art of crafting the perfect promo, delves into the physical transformation for the role, and offers an important glimpse into the world of acting. A big thank you to Aaron for joining us and hope you too will enjoy this conversation. Woah. Now let's get to the less pretty facts of life. Kevin, you and daddy got together with the powers that be in order to get down here to doubt nothing happened in 2nd rate sports community. I am the world's heavyweight champion because I am the greatest wrestler alive today, the toughest wrestler alive today. I have led and sweat for this title. No daddy's boy is going to take that from me. This professional wrestling is the most grooming of all professional sports. I've been stabbed, hit my chairs, beat up by everybody. I don't cry. I don't complain. I carry on.
