Sunday Jan 29, 2023

Movie Music Moments with Shai Korman

Shai Korman, co-host of the Friday Night Movie Podcast, is back and we are talking about music movie moments. Opening and closing credits, soundtracks, movies about bands and more.

https://www.frinightmovie.com/

Follow Shai on Twitter and Instagram

Show Notes

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Shai 00:00

Hi, my name is Shai Korman. And my favorite thing is, music movies or movies with musical moments, especially really cool movie music and credits or beginning credit scenes.

Announcer 00:14

Welcome to the Finding Favorites Podcast where we explore your favorite things without using an algorithm. Here's your host, Leah Jones.

Leah Jones 00:26

Hello, and welcome to Finding Favorites. I'm your host, Leah Jones. And this is the podcast where we learn about people's favorite things and get recommendations without using an algorithm. We're back with a third time guest, but also someone who has been a guest host three times. And that is Shai Korman from the Signal Award Winning Podcast, Friday Night Movie podcast. Shai Korman and his sisters recently won an award and be Conan O'Brien and the Chill Chums. That is so amazing. And I'm so proud of you. And you work so hard, just secure the votes. Shai, how are you doing?

Shai 01:14

Thank you, first of all, thank you. I feel like you are a kindred spirit to me in our commitment to indie podcast hood, in the punk rock nature of being a podcaster that is totally DIY. So while it was exciting, and amazing and fun to have that victory, I feel, like I was pushing for all of us who do the editing ourselves, and no one knows who we are by name, unless they already listened to the show. It's really special. It was really special to do with my sisters and after five years of doing the show really nice to be validated by her peers. But the validation I really need is, being invited back on Finding Favorites.

Leah Jones 02:02

It's a new year. And we got new favorites to talk about.

Shai 02:06

Oh, yeah. If there's one thing an ally, my wife will always, it's what do they call it? It's a compliment. It's not really backhanded compliment. But you will see you have so many interests. But it's not 100% a compliment. But there's a lot of favorite things, I have. On this show, I've done Cereal/Serial and just the movie Cats, as a guest.

Leah Jones 02:29

You recently went to see Cats again with the host or the same night as the host of the Wrong Cat died?

Shai 02:42

The Wrong Cat Died, hosted by Mike Abrams, another great podcast on the Broadway Podcast Network. Mike Abrams was going to do a bit with the Cat and he has this amazing thing coming out. It's very funny thing that he did with all the Cat members. And we our family bought tickets for the same night of one of the nights he was going, so we got to hang out. That was another great like Potter and family moment.

Leah Jones 03:08

That's fantastic. What else has been keeping you busy? You seem to be busy from the internet.

Shai 03:18

I like in my approach to what some people how they approach their iPhone battery. I'm going to run it down until it crashes. And then I'm going to have to plug it in and it's not even going to charge right away because it's got to do that thing where it just shows you the side and that's what I just going to continue operating that way. When we were doing the podcast released an album with Howie, my lifelong musical partner. The band is, “What Does It Eat” and the album is called Scraps and our first music video that we released from it is all of footage of people's dogs that they said because Scraps is about a dog. So that's it. There's been a lot cooking, how are you?

Leah Jones 04:07

I'm doing good. This is, I think, Episode 135 of the podcast. It's January of 2023, which feels completely insane.

Shai 04:19

I know, there's a bit of a time travel element to all this 133 episodes. It's a huge accomplishment. That's an awesome way to go.

Leah Jones 04:26

Thank you. And it was and I've written about this on Facebook that this is the week that's the anniversary of finishing Chemotherapy for breast cancer. So I've been, “Oh cowboy! I was so mean”.

Shai 04:41

That was the Cat. That's not the actual thing. You've been expressing Chemotherapy. That was great the way that, I've been feeling, “Oh, cowboy!” Someone who didn't know, it'd be like, “Oh, is that like a thing people say on their anniversary?”

Leah Jones 04:59

It is same people saying, the breast cancer community is, ”Oh, cowboy”. I would wear that shirt before I'd wear a big pink ribbon honestly. So it's just been weird, because I also finished Chemo last year. My last month Chemo is when you and Amy Guth were guest hosting for me. Because that's when I was just completely out of juice. That's when my battery was asked to do that. It was great. You're always invited back, if there's someone that you can get on to talk about a favorites. The people that you think you could get on an episode of Finding Favorites that you can't quite get on a Friday Night Movie. The episodes are always available.

Shai 05:42

That is how I used it to. I got my dream guests, that I wasn't sure if they would buy what Friday movie was selling, but they loved Finding Favorites.

Leah Jones 05:53

So the end of my Chemo hat was pretty. I went in on week 12, which was supposed to be the final week. And that's when they were like, you're actually too sick for your final Chemo. And there's the damage Chemotherapy is doing to you, currently is no longer worth the benefits, it'll give you in the future. Because my lungs at that point, like I could barely breathe. I was using a wheelchair in the hospital. Now I realized, I was very sick at the end of Chemo. Because I wasn't nauseous, and because I still had my appetite. It just didn't register to me as being very sick. They're like, we're going to give you today's infusion of your immunotherapy but surprise Chemo ended a week ago. For me the anniversary hard to remember because I was a little bit disappointed that they took the last chemo away from me. But also, I would have been so sick, if they had done the final Chemo.

Shai 07:03

A year later you look fabulous. I got to see you in person and give you a hug in person. This is our first time recording since we went to see without each other. It was also amazing. It's great to see you at the spring back in your step.

Leah Jones 07:17

It's great to have it back.

Shai 07:19

I wish you the [Foreign Language Unclear [07:25]] like a real Hebrew.

Leah Jones 07:42

Friday Night Movie podcast is all about pop culture but specifically movies. And we were kicking around what are other favorites you could talk about? And you decided movies and music.

Shai 07:58

Movies and music, it's one of my favorite topics. I've been just waiting a long time a spin off podcast about this topic alone. You know one podcast is a lot of work is you know you do too.

Leah Jones 08:11

Well because the second one barely happens.

Shai 08:14

That's what usually happens. I love music. I am a musician of sorts. But music is just been a happy place for me since I was 13 around. I was even younger but when I was in my Bar Mitzvah and I first started having agency over what I could pick when I got my first gift certificates. Discus and ANE music, those are both music stores in Montreal. Pre HMV taking over everything. I still remember some of the first CDs I got but having agency over my own music was just such an amazing experience, getting my CDs and needles in my room and I make mixes on tapes and I bring them in the car and then an argue with my dad over my music. I don't know, if kids today will have the same thing because they don't get to own music the same way. They don't have a music collection, they have Spotify. I buy my kid CDs they don't you know that listen to them a little bit.

Leah Jones 09:16

Henry, my sister's oldest was up recently and we were driving. We were coming to my house from the United Center. Ronnie was driving in his Tesla to show off his Tesla. And Henry, we were like what music do you want us to look like what the soundtrack to this drive on the highway in this fancy car be. Henry logged into his Spotify in Ronnie's car to then be able to DJ from his iPhone to the car.

Shai 09:52

There was no eight-chord going from an iPod into that thing that looked like a cassette tape. How that even was, who figured that technology out? What an amazing piece of technology. We'll get a wire and something that looks like a tape. It will just jam it in that tape.

Leah Jones 10:09

A couple weeks ago, I had Michael Shelley on a DJ on WFMU and a musician, who I have a CD of his that I've been listening to since 1999.

Shai 10:23

A mix or his own music?

Leah Jones 10:27

His own music. He opened for They Might Be Giants, on my college campus in 1999. I bought his CD. They Might Be Giants were really rude to the student volunteers and so I've written, They Might Be Giants off.

Shai 10:38

Wow, that's surprises me because they seem like such nice dudes.

Leah Jones 10:43

The backstage crew are their roadies ate the food. And then there wasn't food for They Might Be Giants and they yelled at the student volunteers. But it was like the behavior of the people on the road with them. It wasn't college students didn't eat the food. It was like their crew ate the food. Which means their writer didn't have enough food information on it. Not enough peeled M&Ms. I don't remember who they yelled at. I don't remember. I don't even know, who was true. I don't, in fact check it. I have just written off, They Might Be Giants, since 1999, for one rumor I heard. Michael Shelley, I have listened to his CD ever since. And he sent me a care package of six CDs this week, which I added to my car CD collection, which is four CDs from you, mix CDs from you and now, six Michael Shelly contributions.

Shai 11:48

That's great. I love car CDs, so great. There's something so secure about putting a CD in and it beginning like it's contained. You don't have to worry about internet. It's just there beginning to end. And in new cars, no CD players period. They don't exist. There is no CD players in the cars at all.

Leah Jones 12:17

I don't like that. That's super weird.

Shai 12:21

Total strange. You buy a CD, you can't pop it into your car.

Leah Jones 12:26

You can only put it in your DVD player.

Shai 12:29

Does your car have a DVD player?

Leah Jones 12:32

No. But in your house, your DVD player will play CDs.

Shai 12:35

That's a good point. Well, I still have CD players. I still have. I'll show you this. You've seen my office, That's just the stuff that's allowed on display. There’re boxes of unholy amount of CDs, and the floor is covered in them. I actually have admitted that I have to dial it back and I am. I still buy my music. In fact, people should buy if you have the opportunity to buy music from someone, buy on Bandcamp because the money actually goes to the artists. The people whose music you need to buy most are the ones you should be buying for Bandcamp. Particularly, if there's a Bandcamp Friday, which are these days where Bandcamp gives a bonus, they give all of the money, they don't take a cut or they don't take a cut at all. I'm committing to buying some more stuff digitally, but I still buy my music, even though I pay for Spotify to. I love owning. And that dates back to that Bar mitzvah. I love owning right and making the choice that I'm investing in this record.

Leah Jones 13:43

For you, it's your Bar mitzvah, that's when you start getting agency over music. And when does the music in movies? Or how do you define? How are you defining the topic that we're going to dive into?

Shai 14:00

There’s three key categories. Of course there's a lot of categories we talked about. There’re three categories we're going to talk about. We're not going to touch concert films, documentaries. So no The Last Waltz today, none under the rock [Not understandable [00:14:14]] I could do those forever, too. But so we're going to talk about music is part of narrative on screen is really where we're going to dig into. And there's my favorite music movies or music and there's going to be some fudging of that. Because of where this all starts. There's some music moments in movies because I think about that all the time, where there's a moment where a song is used and just moved and it captures everything or it plays with the meaning of the song or it's some kind of absurd use, or it's just the perfect use or tension. And then one of my favorite subjects is the use of music in Credits – Opening or closing credits. I have a few weird ones to talk about. But let it start on screen for me, with the Monkees.

Leah Jones 15:11

Yes.

Shai 15:12

Do you remember, Naked Night? Was it Naked Night or whenever it was when they were rerunning the Monkees in the 80s on either.

Leah Jones 15:20

I was obsessed. I was obsessed with Davy Jones. I was like, “Oh, I'm way more than monkees over the Beatles. I thought the Monkees, were so much better than the Beatles.

Shai 15:31

So my favorite band of all time, REM. Michael Stipe has said that before. I don't know, if they were serious about it or not. But the Monkees was definitely a huge influence on REM. They used to cover stepping stone and all that. So I think there are a lot of people who liked the [Not clearly audible [00:15:30]]

Leah Jones 15:50

It was a [Not clearly audible [00:15:55]] sitcom kind of Beach Blanket Bingo. [Not clearly audible [00:15:59]] sitcom . But there was always at least one and then they're like playing at the cafe. We watched the Monkees TV show all the time.

Shai 16:13

If there was a time like I wanted to be a rock star. At first, my first obsession with the Monkees was Peter Dark. I thought Peter Dark was the coolest guy. And then I would go on to truly settle into loving Micky Dolenz is my favorite Monkees. I remember being at the beach one summer at Cape May with my friend Aaron Davis, lifelong friend, and we listened to the theme song from the monkeys a lot. I just loved. I just love this idea of and I wanted to be a rock star because of them. So this would start there. And that mix of humor and rock stardom and not taking yourself too seriously. Rock stardom has always been a part of my love of music. And so that's why it begins with Monkees.

Leah Jones 17:03

And even though the Monkees are the show was zany and, in my head, I put them in a category with weird owl. Accomplish music like they were good musicians, which is something I can appreciate as an adult that I don't think I appreciated it as a kid. Because it seemed like they were a parody of a band.

Shai 17:24

They didn't write most of their songs that were famous. Diamond and other people because they were a corporate credit creation.

Leah Jones 17:34

Yeah, but isn't that okay, like, [Not clearly audible [00:17:35]]

Shai 17:38

No, it's totally fine. And Mike Nesmith was already a very accomplished musician. And then they go on to be. I've seen them play, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, I saw those two. They were great. And they learned. They actually might have learned a lot of their instruments as part of the process, but that's fine. They were playing characters, they are still saying. No one's asking, Ariana Grande amazing singer, if she's playing keyboard on the album. She writes the songs. But so I think they're songwriters working with her.

Leah Jones 18:14

I think they're songwriters. And I think that's fine.

Shai 18:17

Totally. Elvis didn't write his songs, regardless of what the credits say.

Leah Jones 18:24

All right. So it starts with a Monkees. You're like, I want to be a rock star. Do you envision yourself as a rock star with a TV show and a band? Is that what rock star means to you at the time?

Shai 18:36

I don't know, if I even made that kind of connection. I just love the idea of playing music on stage. And I still I mean, I'm not a rockstar, but playing music on stage for a crowd is the best.

Leah Jones 18:46

Agreed. I feel the same way about comedy about doing even though I'm a failed standup comic. Like I love being on a stage. Let me emcee an event. Let me get a giggle. Let me get an applause. It's getting that energy is really fun.

Shai 19:08

Tension working for it. All of that. Although I think standup comedy is, thousand times harder than music. A thousand times more precise, complex.

Leah Jones 19:18

It's more like jazz than other types of music. I'm deeply involved in the Doughboy fan community.

Shai 19:34

Is that your Doughboy shirt?

Leah Jones 19:35

It is. It's the one, I wear to your house. It's my avatar on this recording website, I'm using. It's my favorite sweatshirt right now. At the beginning of every mainline episode, there's a drop, which is a radio drop. It's a fan edit. A 30 seconds fan edit joke at the beginning. I've submitted a few, one has been used so far. And last night, someone on the Dough’s courts said, “Can anyone help me? I need some samples of someone singing? Can anyone help?” And I was like, I can try. So he was like, “Can you sing this word?” This one word, and all of the notes of a scale, like, Do Re Mi Fa Sol. And so I did it. But I did the non-parody version, and did a really good job. And I sent it to him. And I was like, Oh, my God, I didn't even say the word you wanted. So then I do it again. I sent him the correct word. And he's like, ”This is amazing. Do you think you could record it and be like, a little shoutty here? And do a chromatic scale?” I like the white and the black keys.

Shai 21:07

I'm a musician, but I got it chromatic. I'm a drummer. And we don't have scales of anything.

Leah Jones 21:12

Every note of the octave. And I sent him a 10 minute audio clip of me, finding YouTube videos, trying to sing along with them, failing miserably. And I would sing like four notes. And I'd be like, I'm singing the same note. I'm like, the note is not changing. It's hilarious. And it did make me think maybe going and getting voice lessons as an adult, would be a fun thing to do.

Shai 21:42

That's fun, I can't hear, I can't make pitch and might hear it and make my voice land in the same place. Not a natural ability of mine. You could do that already with this video that you made, that's incredible.

Leah Jones 21:56

Well it turns out, I can do a C major scale only. When I tried to add in the flats and sharps in the middle, it was …

Shai 22:07

There are many devices that can help with that. That's amazing.

Leah Jones 22:14

So it starts with the Monkees. They'll start essentially the Monkees.

Shai 22:17

Start with the Monkees and then as time goes on the as I talk about music movies, movies, where music is central to the story where musicians are often central to the story. I have a few other moments. One of them is well, there's Spinal Tap, which was a huge part of growing up as a musician. Howie and I, we'd watch Spinal Tap over and over and over again, as everyone did growing up, and we did it. There's no musician that can't speak in up to 11. It's just part of the… and then Mr. Holland's Opus was a really big one for me,

Leah Jones 23:01

That's about a high school orchestra director, finishing his opus, finishing his grand work and having the orchestra play it.

Shai 23:11

Yeah. Although you go back, there's a little bit of creepy. There's one creepy plotline in that movie. It's about him struggling, he has a deaf son. So it also it is part of what he's dealing with is the unrealized dreams of making the symphony and not settling, but appreciating and being grateful for the symphony of his life. I didn't appreciate that message as much. I just appreciated this journey that he went on in. The music of the end made me cry and a few times, I've cried in the movie. But when you think about life, you think about what you set out to do, and appreciating it and liking your life, at the same level like not having regrets. I think that's one of the things about that character that he has to learn to really embrace and love his life and, in some ways, he spends a lot of time not being happy because he doesn't. So anyways, Mr. Holland's Opus, the music in it and his love for music is so beautiful. But then, where a spinal tap was a funny band and Monkees are a parody band. These are two parody bands. The first band movie that just blew my mind, was The Commitments. Have you ever seen the Commitments?

Leah Jones 24:40

Just a viral fact about that movie about like whoever wrote the leads, the main song?

Shai 24:48

Well, The Commitments, a lot of the songs were on it.

Leah Jones 24:51

This is Tom Hanks in it?

Shai 24:52

No, that's the thing, you do. Unfortunately, Adam Schlesinger, who wrote, That Thing You Do, died of COVID, was terrible heartbreaking. A Tom Hanks also covered up but Adam Schlesinger, what an incredible musician! The Commitments is about a working-class band in Ireland that decides to be a soul band and play the music of Wilson Pickett and Percy Sledge. It's about the manager putting together the band. It's about the very quick rise and fall. It's a movie a lot like the Full Monty. These like British or in this case Irish for Americans working class.

Leah Jones 25:37

Who was that Prime Minister, the woman …

Shai 25:43

Margaret Thatcher. It's a delightful, gritty movie where there are scenes of just them playing the songs of these folks from Ireland. I think it captures something, how people overseas embrace and love American soul music.

Shai 26:09

It has some really funny, quirky internal band politics. There's a hilarious bit about the drummer in it, where the drummer essentially gets switched out halfway through. It's just a great band movie. And it's funny and it's got heart and that's great. The idea of band movies really peaks. There's a lot of other bands related movies around. Star with Marky Mark and things like that. I think band movies really peak with That Thing You Do. 1997, Tom Hanks directed it. It was a movie; he'd always wanted to make. Tom Everett Scott plays the Tom Hanks avatar in that movie. Guy Patterson, the drummer which again, as a drummer, I love that the drummer is the main character. Tom Hanks is in it as Mr. White who's the businessman. He's not bad or good, but he's the music business guy.

Leah Jones 27:10

Wasn't he also the music business guy in Elvis?

Shai 27:14

He was Colonel Tom Parker. Colonel Tom Parker is a malevolent character. Mr. White is more just, he is what he says he is. If you don't do what he says that those are the breaks. One wonders come and go. He's very practical. But he also does a great thing with them. And he has respect for guy. And he has a sense of anyway, so but yes, that is interesting to Tom Hanks for that.

Leah Jones 27:47

Two pieces of trivia that were going around on Twitter recently for this. Were that Tom Hanks wrote the script while doing the promo tour for Forest Gump. Because he was so bored with the same interview questions being asked. So he just wrote a screenplay. And then Adams Schlesinger, who was the bass player for Fountains of Wayne, wrote the title song in response to a contest being held by the studio, because they were trying to find a song that could be, you had to have a believable pop song.

Shai 28:26

It had to play. I remember the interviews about that movie. You have to have a song that you are willing to hear and want to hear over and over and over again, as long as it. Adam Schlesinger, the things he's given us, so the Musical Fountain of Wayne, the music of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, he’s the key author. He co authored lots of different pieces of it with Rachel bloom and other folks, but he's the guy behind that. And then a bunch of other things. Josie the Pussycats, there's a lot of movies where if you go and you look at and see his death, such a terrible loss.

Shai 29:07

So that thing you do, I think that picks band movies. And then the next segment into my other theme, which is music Movie Moments. I love this question. One of my favorite questions to ask people is what's your favorite music movie moment? I asked that question to you. But mine will always be the moment where they first hear their song on the radio, and they are running through the streets. They gather at the appliance store. They’re dancing around and Steve's on grabs the cardboard cutout of the woman and he's dancing with there and it just moves into this fervor of optimism and possibility of rock and roll, breaking against what the hard working parents were trying to do. Everything about it is so great. For me also, then there's a different other than music movies about music, then there are moments that are just magical. And that to me is the number one.

Leah Jones 30:12

I loved Harry Connick Jr. before I saw, When Harry Met Sally. I didn't see, When Harry Met Sally, until my freshman year of college. Then it rocketed up to being one of my number one favorite movies. Recently, I realized I am 15 years older than they are at the oldest in the movie. Isn't that weird?

Shai 30:38

Is Billy Crystal ever believable? Is he supposed to be in his 20s in that movie? Was Billy Crystal ever really 20, other than on soap dish?

Leah Jones 30:49

They're basically from college graduation. So it's like 21-22, over the course it to 32.

Shai 30:55

I don't know, Billy Crystal will never be in his 20s as far as I'm concerned. He's always in his 40s.

Leah Jones 31:00

But that Harry Connick soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally is phenomenal. I love the movie and the music in that. But that's not necessarily a moment.

Shai 31:12

Well, the whole thing can be a moment.

Leah Jones 31:14

The whole thing. But then it also makes me think of, did you see the movie, Her?

Shai 31:24

I did not. That's the Scarlett Johansson is the voice of the AI that becomes friends with Joaquin Phoenix. That's not, I've not ever. I'm sure it's great. But I have not ever like wanted to see it.

Leah Jones 31:39

It's really the sound design is really interesting. I don't think there's a song in the movie. There's not a soundtrack because he's constantly wearing ear pods with noise cancellation. So the whole movie is very quiet. And it is the opposite. And when I left, I don't think, I liked it. I didn't like, how there was like nothing. The sound design was so crisp, and noise cancelled until the last minute when she leaves them. Sorry, spoiler alert for if I continue.

Shai 32:17

I really don't want to see it. The robot leaves him?

Leah Jones 32:20

The robot voice, the AI. His Alexa leaves him, falls in love with someone else. Then he takes the air pods out and you hear like birds and cars driving by and it's the first time in the whole movie you've heard.

Shai 32:35

That's a cool move. That's brilliant filmmaking. I love what you're describing. I just think the whole thing will give me anxiety.

Leah Jones 32:42

Don't watch the movie.

Shai 32:45

But I love that that's a great choice for you that the absence and the tension from that is awesome.

Leah Jones 32:49

I noticed it; I was like, what is wrong with this movie? I was like, ”oh, there is no soundtrack”. There is no music it is just zipped. I'm not interested in that. I want a needle drop, manipulate me with your music, Hollywood.

Shai 33:10

I would love to share some of my favorite music moments in movies. Some of them are like recent ones. They're not because like music moments and movies go like way back. There’re obvious ones like Rocky, Steps. Well, pretty much anytime the score in Indiana Jones or Star Wars kicks in. Those things are the classic among classics. I have some weird ones to pick here. This one is going to really skeeve out my sisters. This movie that we just saw called X, is horror comedy but it stars Brittany Snow, Mia Goth, who has gotten a lot of praise for her two roles in this film. I'm not going to get into the details of it but I would say in a sense, its body horror. But anyways, there is a scene in the film, where Brittany Snow who was in pitch perfect and all this and she plays very against that type, in this usually plays a pretty buttoned up character. And in this she plays a porn star. And there's a scene where she is singing Landslide, Stephanie Nick’s Landslide. And it's juxtaposed with the scene of this older woman because what's really interesting about X is the quote unquote body horror is really just aging. It's just the idea of people facing the idea of sexualizing old people. And that's part of what makes this. It's also like a gruesome horror movie. But what I found really fascinating about X is that element of it. It’s like, ”are you scared of this?” Because it's a horror movie, “Are you scared of this?” Old people make you feel gross. That's like a really interesting part of this movie. And you have Brittany Snow, who is very classically beautiful person, playing this very adult person singing Landslide. And it's juxtaposed with the old lady. I think like, putting makeup on herself into a truly disturbing way. And to me, it captures the theme and what this movie is trying to say to perfection with a song that can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. But I bet, it's never been displayed this way before.

Leah Jones 35:51

And it's so interesting.

Shai 35:53

And so for me. Recently, that's probably my favorite music moment, and it is truly unsettling.

Leah Jones 36:03

And I will not be watching that.

Shai 36:05

That is not. I can't recommend that movie. It's part of a trilogy with two parts of come out at once a prequel and a sequel. And I really, I'm fascinated by what they've done here and I really want to see more. Then in, Eurovision: the story of fire saga, which is Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, it's about the Eurovision contest. I love it. Also it has a cameo of Netta Barzilai, who is the Israeli one. The final song, Husavik (My Hometown), which is sung by Will Ferrell and the vocals are actually done by a woman named by Marianne, who I think is a Scandinavian singer. Rachel McAdams sells it. I thought Rachel McAdams is so moving. I get close to tears every time, I see it. I make my kids did not like this movie, and I make them listen to this song all the time.

Leah Jones 37:01

I haven't watched it yet. It was a COVID release. Right?

Shai 37:06

It was a COVID release. And it was a perfect COVID movie. But I love it. Love it. Love it.

Leah Jones 37:10

And they filmed a bunch of it, at the real Eurovision. Right?

Shai 37:13

Did they? I don't know, how they made it.

Leah Jones 37:15

But I guess, I thought they were. For some reason, I thought they were on site and filmed it there.

Shai 37:23

There's a 90-minute movie. It's like a two-hour movie. There's a 90-minute movie in there, I think would also be great. It takes some really strange asides. Particularly in playing around with Nordic cultures, relationship with things likes elves and things, that sort of superstitions. It's just so funny. It could have been in like an open and shut music competition movie. Just an edge of weird that is so awesome. I love it. I love that movie. So Husavik though, is like, so here you are in the silly movie. But I might as well up every time, when you get to the end of that movie. And then I just watched this movie, last night, as part of the Sundance. You can order online some of the movies from Sundance, which I did not know until this year.

Leah Jones 38:16

It's new. It’s not even that you've been missing out. It's a COVID. They did it. I talked to Liz Nord recently.

Shai 38:26

Who I refer to always as the great Liz Nord and I just quoted her on our last episode of the podcast.

Leah Jones 38:34

During COVID, they think, Sundance 2020 would have been the last normal events because in South, it got canceled. So then they made a push online and now they have much more online access and they have captioning access. It is a much more accessible festival now.

Shai 39:01

Sundance, this platform was once I was watching the movie, once it started, they have a bunch of preamble things that you watch. It was lovely. By the way, doing this, the film festivals, I don't know what the economics of it are, but these are very expensive things to attend. Like these big ones. Sundance, the South by Southwest, these are not normal people. What a great way to get your movie out and have people also participate in the festival. So I watched this film because an actor that I follow Rivkah Reyes. They put on their Instagram, a reference to this film they had been called, Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls. Now already with a name like that and because I know Rivkah, seems to have a great dark sense of humor. And that Rivkah was in it. So I'm excited to see it. The title though, speaks to me, I'm like, this sounds like Horror comedy. Right away. I love her comedy. I watched this film last night. I can describe it as Napoleon Dynamite meets Rocky Horror Picture Show. That's how I describe it. Very funny, very odd, but that sweetness to it. The heart and sweetness to it. There is a couple of musical moments. But there is a brief musical quote of "Somewhere Out There" from American Tail. A straight up performance of, I would do anything for love, but I won't do that for me love. In this film about five people going to find their devil worshipping, mastering and help with a ritual after winning an online contest. And it also was Charlie in the Chocolate Factory vibes because there's like five people are going to be. Anyways, I thought this movie was so for me. But I didn't know anything about it, but the way it used music and the way it used the meatloaf thing because they foreshadow a little bit and then livered it. It just blew me away. Then I can't talk about music and movies without talking about RRR.

Leah Jones 41:30

Okay, good. I was like, are we gonna talk about Natu, natu or not?

Shai 41:33

Well, natu, natu, first of all, I have this new attitude towards Oscars, which is that everyone who is nominated, deserves to be nominated. It's hard to make a movie. These are very talented people. Like yes, there are snubs. It really shouldn't take away from the nominees. But I do have lists of people that I think are on equal footing and could win and RRR to me, should have been nominated as Best Picture. It's on Netflix renewing, should have been Nominated Best Picture. It absolutely should win for Natu Natu the song, it could win for any of the songs in the movie. This is a movie about the horrors of colonialism and inspiring movies about the horror of colonialism, that is also an action movie, also a superhero movie, also a bromance, also a fairy tale and also a musical.

Shai 42:23

Are you kidding me? The scene where Bheem and Ram the two main characters become friends. So that's even before Natu Natu, which has a best friend shoulder piggyback montage see where they're just, dancing in the field where one guy is on the shoulders of the other guy?

Leah Jones 42:45

Yeah, it's the montage of becoming friends. And then that, like on his shoulders, is like the Chekhov's gun of the rifle. It pays off.

Shai 42:57

Never have I ever because you're watching that. No, I've never seen like this before. And then it pays off at the end of the movie.

Leah Jones 43:04

Yeah, everything in that montage pays off. Riding the horse, riding the motorcycle, the bridge rescue all comes back at that.

Shai 43:13

And that movie uses music. And I'm not familiar, it's a Tollywood movie. But I'm not familiar really with a lot of Bollywood or Tollywood or anything like that. So I get that there are people who are watching, there are people who follow Indian cinema, who this is the best of that. But, it's not unheard of. For an American. it's not our formula. And it was the most refreshing exciting big screen experience. I didn't get to see on a big screen. But I saw it on a small screen.

Leah Jones 43:41

It was such an amazing. I think I watched it after you had recommended it. And this was after it was recommended on the Doughboys, it was recommended on How Did This Get Made, it was all these podcasts I listened to recommended it. And then you did and I was, Okay, now I'll watch it.

Shai 43:58

I know How Did This Get Made, in some ways couldn't do an episode of it, because they loved it. But I would also love to hear them break down that movie. Because from the perspective of someone who has never seen a movie like this, you're watching it and you're just dumbfounded throughout. And you're loving it.

Leah Jones 44:14

Yes, I agree. It would be amazing. So I watched it at home. I just have a TV. I don't have a sound system. I don't like I just have a TV. And it was wonderful. And then I had the experience of seeing it in a movie theater. 700 people, sold out screening, with the director doing a Q&A. And that was I mean, people cheering their videos on Twitter, people kept taking their phones out to video crowd reactions.

Shai 44:51

That's what that movie is like.

Leah Jones 44:55

It was amazing. Like my hands hurt from clapping during Natu Natu. They gave us permission before. They really were like, it's okay if this gets rowdy. Like if you want to dance, get up and dance. There were standing ovations, there was so much cheering. And he, the director talked about how many days of filming for Natu Natu. There was something like 100 different choreographies. So that people would be dancing together, but like differently. So that would, so it would look spontaneous. And so people would dance for like 12 hours on set that day, and then go back to their hotels and rehearse for six more hours. It was I mean; people were pushed to their limits in that scene.

Shai 45:48

It's incredible, because it's a dancing that is truly an action scene. And I also want to say we can talk about love for this movie. So I don't know if you use pod beam, I use pod beam. So one of the things pod beam does and they convince you to do I'm not 100% sure what the value of it is. But they automatically post the episodes to YouTube. And most of my episodes that go on YouTube get like a couple of views because our audience is really from the subscribers or from Instagram clubs. The RRR episode that we put up has 3500 views on YouTube. So the most anything that I've ever put on YouTube, 3500 and like tons of comments and stuff. Because this movie is an absolute sensation. Absolute sensation.

Leah Jones 46:49

So this week, I watched Days of Heaven. It's Richard Gere 1986, young Richard Gere. It's a cinematic tone poem. I mean, look up who? 1978 A hot tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss, so that they can lay claim to his fortune. It's a Terrence Malick who directed it.

Shai 47:20

Okay, because I have to tell you, I've been again, brilliant filmmaker. I don't think I've liked a single thing that guy's ever made.

Leah Jones 47:27

So I watched this, because my number one Hollywood crush Jason Van Zuckuss mentioned it on a podcast.

Shai 47:35

He's so sophisticated, though, right? Me not liking Terrence Malick is not an indictment of Terrence Malick. Let's be clear. I don't understand it.

Leah Jones 47:43

It's been a long time since I've watched a movie. And the classical music the orchestral music it was opening with, I was like, what is this? I must know what this is. It was really like did I play this music? How do I know this music? What other soundtracks has it been on? It was a real I had a very visceral reaction to the orchestra. And that hasn't happened to me in a long time.

Shai 48:14

That's cool. It does stand out when a movie has like the old-fashioned orchestral score. So RRR, which has this great music and music scenes throughout also has an incredible and this leads to my third and final theme. Yeah, an incredible and credit scene, which we did in a breakdown. And I have to thank Richie Mohinder, who helped us break down and explain the context of cultural context of the finale credits musical scene because it goes into history of Indian revolutionaries.

Leah Jones 48:51

It's also right because it's revolutionaries from like every province, different states in India. The cast are dancing as themselves not as their character. It's fascinating.

Shai 49:10

So that led me to think wow, there's some great credit music moments. And there's famous ones like James Bond one that stands out to me as always Catch Me If You Can, but now I have again, some odd picks, but ones that just… So on HBO max is the show Peacemaker, which got clearly that's what that and Suicide Squad got James Gunn. He's now in charge of the whole DC Universe. And rightly so guy is amazing. And if they let him do his thing. It's gonna be fantastic. But the opening song sequence of Peacemaker. I just watch over and over again as a music video on its own. Because it's choreographed,

Shai 49:57

almost like Broadway type of number but with John Cena and the rest of the cast of this looter violent..

Leah Jones 50:06

Superhero show.

Shai 50:10

Oh my God, what's his name? Is it Jason? No, it's not Jason Patrick. Who's the guy, The guy who played the Terminator T1000.

Leah Jones 50:25

Oh, I'm like Arnold...

Shai 50:29

Robert Patrick. He played T 800. So that one is it's great, the show is actually great. But that opening sequence, you watch it and people don't do this anymore. This is amazing. It's a lot like, do you remember the old Drew Carey five o'clock world opening? For The Drew Carey Show in the US to play five o'clock, we're all done. There was like the musical opening and all the cast dancing.

Leah Jones 50:52

I just Cleveland rocks.

Shai 50:56

So there's Cleveland rocks and then there's five o'clock world was the other one.

Leah Jones 50:59

I only remember Cleveland rocks.

Shai 51:02

But it was a musical number opening. And then what I would say is the greatest closing credits scene of all time. Now this is a deep cut. And if you haven't seen this, just you should check it out. I'm gonna pitch you a movie. It's called Buckaroo Bonzai and the adventures across the eighth dimension. The final scene is just the cast walking. Maybe it's the LA River. I don't know if it's LA River, but it's like that kind of a thing. To the theme music of the film, which is really cool keyboard he kind of stuff. And it's just the epitome of 80s cool. But the cast of this movie is Peter Weller, who played Robocop and it directs a lot of stuff. So Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin. John Lithgow plays the villain John Orphan. Christopher Lloyd plays one of the other villains. Dan Hadiya who you might remember from Let's Dance Today. He's just the one of the classic character actors. He was in we just rewatched The first Addams Family movie, and he's the bad guy Tali – the lawyer. It also includes Clancy Brown, who was in Highlander, but also very famous voice actor. And wait, I'm saving the best for last. Jeff Goldblum,

Shai 52:48

plays a neurosurgeon from New Jersey, who dresses like a cowboy. And Peter Weller, the main guy Buckaroo Bonzai is a special operative neurosurgeon, astrophysicist, Samurai alien. Anyways, the best closing credit scene of any movie ever.

Leah Jones 53:15

I have an opening credits for you. The opening credits of My Best Friend's Wedding. Wishing and Hoping. And it's none of the actors from the movie.

Shai 53:32

Doesn't that have another musical scene in that movie too?

Leah Jones 53:33

So then there's the karaoke scene in the Dick's last resort. Where the bride who's Kimmy, is Julia Roberts thinks if I can get Kimmy to sing karaoke, and fail then Michael will fall out of love with her. And of course, it ends up being just endearing.

Shai 54:01

Cameron Diaz is the singer. Is it Cameron?

Leah Jones 54:06

But the opening credits to it is like a very highly stylized 1960s wedding music video. And there's a blonde woman is the bride, but it's not Cameron Diaz. And none of the people in the opening are in the movie. It's just a whole thing that lives on its own.

Shai 54:24

That's great. That's fantastic. And then other closing credits ones. That's fantastic. That's great. I forgot about that. I don't think about that movie a lot. Because Pretty Woman just overshadows it.

Leah Jones 54:35

Well, I don't. This is where I think.

Shai 54:38

Oh, no, no, wait. I'm mixing up with Runaway Bride. My Best Friend's Wedding ally watches that a lot. She loves that. Who's the husband? Who's the best friend? Who's the guy?

Leah Jones 54:53

Peter Gallagher is the gay best friend, who shows up to save her.

Shai 54:57

Is this a Dylan McDermott situation? Rooney one of them. Do you ever seen that SNL Skit Dylan McDermott or DERM already?

Leah Jones 55:08

It's one that like see it. So romantic when we like, I was interning that summer at Iowa State. Iowa State University Program for Women in Science and Engineering and the kind of group of girls I went to, we all went to see that in the movies in a movie theater together, and then we road trip to Chicago for a weekend. And the movie takes place in Chicago and it just seemed like so grown up and so romantic. We're but like Kimmy was our age. Kimmy as a 20-year-old college student, marrying a 30-year-old sports writer. And it's Julia Roberts in the sports writer, the husband character had made a pact in their 20s. If we're still single, when we're 30 we'll get married to each other. And then like he's marrying Chemi.

Shai 56:06

That was a movie that really that like maybe the movie age is fine, but the big premise of it. That's like watching a movie before cell phones.

Leah Jones 56:15

Yeah, she does have a cell phone in it. And it is huge. It's very funny, but it's like

Shai 56:22

I heard it compared to 30.

Leah Jones 56:25

Yeah, it was. I read when I rewatched it in my 30s I was like, Oh my god. Julia Roberts is the villain.

Shai 56:34

Yeah, she totally is.

Leah Jones 56:35

She is the villain. It's not a rom-com. It is a it's a rom-villainy-com

Shai 56:41

Does she bring her husband back at the end. Oh, he marries.

Leah Jones 56:46

He marries the girl he's in love with.

Shai 56:48

Oh, okay. That's good. Good for him. I hope they're happy. I've never sat through the whole movie. No, all those wedding date movies. Ally watches them like all the time. I've absorbed all of them. They all have Dermot Mulroney in them.

Leah Jones 57:02

So I have a thing where I have beloved movie soundtracks of movies I've never seen.

Shai 57:12

Oh, that's totally cool. Especially growing up when we grew up because movie soundtracks were so important. I had the who made who soundtrack. It was a Maximum Overdrive soundtrack. It's an album called Who Made Who by AC/DC? Because it's a killer AC/DC album. Because it has like a combination of Greatest Hits and some unreleased songs like Who Made Who, I never seen this Maximum Overdrive. That album was great.

Leah Jones 57:38

It was such a sneaky way to get a professionally curated mixtape. So I have never seen Reservoir Dogs. But that is an outstanding soundtrack.

Shai 57:51

Oh, that's on my list of greatest that's when I listened like obvious greatest moments, the opening scene of those guys walking. It's you see it even is brought back in and reservation dogs because that's what they're referencing and reservation, which is truly one of the greatest pieces of media I've ever seen. Is that because that by the way, if you have a chance, that's perfection.

Leah Jones 58:14

Dazed and confused. Great soundtrack. Never saw it?

Shai 58:20

Oh you have some fun movies to go back and watch. Yeah, like dazed and confused. That's a fun watch.

Leah Jones 58:25

Super fun. I know. It's super fun. But somehow, I'm sure I took both of these CDs from my sister. Because she probably did see the movies and then bought the CDs. And then I swiped them from her. Sorry, rain. And then the other soundtrack that I obviously had seen the movie, but that I think is one of the greatest soundtracks of all time is Forest Gump.

Shai 58:52

Oh, that soundtrack again that was when movies came out. And you freaked out to buy the soundtrack. Train Spotting, that's another amazing one. It's funny wanting to last for life isn't lost on that. Do

Leah Jones 59:07

Train Spotting had the soundtrack, the orange one. And then a supplementary one in green of music that wasn't in the movie was like so good it should have been. And it was the vibe of Train Spotting. And it was a second soundtrack. But the none of the music …

Shai 59:25

The brand of the movie sold the music. Sometimes they would say music inspired by. There's, well gross point blank is another great one that had two discs. My dad listened to that one nonstop. I mean, I loved the era of great movie soundtracks now. Now you just go on and find the Spotify mix. I don't know the business and the politics of making the soundtrack. But I do know that there's a whole section in the CD cellar which is the awesome used record store that I go to around hear soundtrack CDs. I picked up the back of that Future One once. That's also just part of music history because Back to the Future was the reward was the part when Ray Parker Jr. ripped off Huey Lewis to make the Ghostbusters song ripped off. I want a new drug. The way universal made up for it with Huey Lewis. I think as far as I understood was, they gave him a song on the back of the future soundtrack. It's something and that's when you get that's how you got power of love. It's something to do with that it is something there's some sort of bouncing ball that but yeah, that's I mean, the era of soundtracks is that's a whole episode of your show. There are shows though. One thing I do love is that there's some TV shows with amazing music curation. And that's really fun to go follow on Spotify, because they in the old days, when you had scrubs, they released that one album of Scrubs, songs and then never again because they probably didn't have the budget to release. But now if they're using music, if it's not music made for the show, then you can go and just see people are making the mix. It's like there's a show Chuck. Chuck has some of the best music I think ever on a show. That was one of my all-time favorite music moments. There's another… Have you seen any of the shows? Have you seen Patriot or Perpetual Grace Limited from Steven Conrad?

Leah Jones 1:01:38

No, but somebody came on and told me about Perpetual Grace Limited

Shai 1:01:42

It was me? I don't know. Perpetual Grace list and Luminous is phenomenal. Hopefully one day we'll get. It doesn't need a conclusion. But it would be cool if it had a conclusion.

Leah Jones 1:01:53

Because it's like office workers and heaven. No.

Shai 1:01:56

No, that's I don't know what that is a crime show. Like every con brothers ask.

Leah Jones 1:02:04

I guess the title Perpetual Grace makes me think of like, how do I keep you in Perpetual Grace?

Shai 1:02:09

Yeah, Perpetual Grace is I believe the name of a corrupt church in this crime story. In both of those shows, Steve Conrad puts together bands in patriot and he created this band called The Jones Sisters. But it's really him and some other musicians. And they do the soundtrack of the show, some of its cover, some of its originals. There's a version that's not on the soundtrack probably for some complicated rights reason, but there is a moment where they do this haunting version of When Doves Cry by Prince, in a scene in that show, it's incredible. That shows on epics so good luck finding it.

Leah Jones 1:02:55

But [Not Audible [01:02:56]] on surrealism.

Shai 1:02:58

There's a lot of surreal dreaminess in his work, but Patriot which is on Amazon Prime, two seasons masterpiece, amazing music. So way back to end credits, I want to shout out yes, for my sister's Lily and Becky, my co-hosts and creative partners, David Spade, Sophie Marceau. Lost and Found – the movie where David Spade plays a restauranter who kidnaps his beautiful classical musician neighbor's dog in order to spend more time with her and…

Leah Jones 1:03:42

With the dog or with the neighbor?

Shai 1:03:45

With the neighbor because he's in love with this impossibly beautiful woman.

Leah Jones 1:03:49

So he takes her dog.

Shai 1:03:51

Yeah, he naps her dog. It's very 90s humor. Can you imagine you'd lose your… like how distraught would you be if your dog was missing? And then this guy's dating her while he's kidnapped her dog. But now it would be made as a very dark movie. But then it was mistaken identity. He has two incredible music moments one during the movie another there is during the climax of the movie. And the scene involves Martin Sheen by the way. There was a performance of Neil Diamond's salvation train the brother, you know that song. Brother Love Salvation Train. It's incredible. David Spade performs it. But at the end of the movie, non sequitur, not related to anything else in the movie. They do one of those cast lip syncs they did about Mary to de lights group is in the heart and it's just the cast goofing around together. Isn't love watching a cast goof around together?

Leah Jones 1:05:04

Yeah, I like anytime you get a sense of their real friendship that they formed during.

Shai 1:05:10

And then most recently did you watch life minutes in trouble?

Leah Jones 1:05:14

I watched the first five minutes. I don't think I care about Jesse Eisenberg dating and his wife disappeared. I don't know. People love it. So we're obsessed with it.

Shai 1:05:27

I would say the type of show that it is, which is essentially unhappy people in their 40s sorting out their issues, is not my kind of show, especially ones that do have a lot of great things in their lives. Although Josh Ratner's character really also, addresses that directly towards the end, so and I thought, by the way, Josh Radnor, I don't know if he's appreciated, underappreciated, but he is fantastic in that show. I tuned in because I heard how amazing the Jewish content was and so I was committed to it. And the Jewish stuff in it is wonderful. The last scene over the credits at the end of the full eight episodes, is Lizzie Kaplan in a dance class I don't know if it's moms or it's but an amateur dance class to Total Eclipse of the Heart. And it races, all of the tension that you had in the show, and the show doesn't like leave you with everything resolved. But it sends you off just so happy. And it's so beautifully done. Because she’s not perfect, it's really about her. I think about her finding her place in the world in a way. It's told through this musical scene. And it's told to our generation of people, this is these people are exactly our age dealing with the stuff that people our age are dealing with. And there's something about the way they close that scene in the credits that just really sends you off with a sense of optimism and peace. That's really great.

Leah Jones 1:07:12

All right maybe I'll give it another go.

Shai 1:07:14

That's my ending note on music and movies and television. I could keep going but I'm already think I've heard listeners you've heard.

Leah Jones 1:07:24

It's a good long list of recommendations.

Shai 1:07:30

Oh, yeah. I snuck those in very frightening movie style. A lot of recommendations.

Leah Jones 1:07:32

Well, Shai? Where can people find you on the internet?

Shai 1:07:38

You can find me personally, at pancake for table. We didn't have some pancakes at some point. Pancake in the number four table on all the socials. Or you can go @frinightmovie on the socials or Frinightmovie.com on our newly rejuvenated website that has all sorts of cool stuff cooking on it and follow the show and talk about movies.

Leah Jones 1:08:05

Yeah, it is, at minimum, a weekly podcast and during kind of Film Festival, Comic Con seasons, you ramp up and sometimes you release everyday for a week! Which is an editing feature I do not understand. But it keeps your interviews timely. You're not banking them to give yourself six months of… I really appreciate that you do that because you're keeping you're keeping things timely. And you're not banking so far that like, oh, well we don't have to record again for six weeks. Well so much pop culture has happened in six weeks.

Shai 1:08:40

Yeah, the most will have once in a while is like four weeks. And that just has to do with our schedules or if we do have an incredible run of guests and we want to space them out. But yeah, we weekly every Friday 7:01 a.m. Eastern time. Well, I'm so happy to be here. I love this show so much.

Leah Jones 1:09:02

It's so good to catch up. Yeah, you can follow whatever my podcast is called…

Shai 1:09:07

Finding Favorites with Leah Jones.

Leah Jones 1:09:11

Please rate and review on Apple podcasts or whatever app you're using. If you would have feedback for me, I finally set up a Gmail account for the podcast and that is findingfavoritespodcast@gmail.com. So you can send me an email there if you've got feedback or you want to pitch yourself as a guest and follow the podcast @findingfavspod on Twitter and Instagram. I'm Chicago via and that's all I got. Have a good day.

Announcer 1:09:45

Thank you for listening to Finding Favorites with Leah Jones. Please make sure to subscribe and drop us a five-star review on iTunes. Now go out and enjoy your favorite things.

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