CRWN CINEMA Podcast

Psycho was Hitchcock’s biggest gamble of his career… and the behind the scenes stories are even crazier than the shower scene. We tell the story of how Hitchcock bet his own money on this movie after the studio wanted nothing to do with it. We get into how he pranked Janet Leigh on set and why this movie stuck with her for the rest of her life. We break down the filmmaking tricks that made Hitchcock the master of suspense. And we give our honest reaction to a 1960 classic that one of us loves and the other… not so much.

Chapters:

00:00 Old movies are funny man

13:14 Hitchcock gambled BIG on this movie

18:13 What doesn't hold up anymore?

20:37 Hitchcock almost ruined his most iconic scene

23:51 Norman was so close to just being a player

27:29 Hitchcock doing things no one has ever seen before

29:35 The worst part of this movie

35:23 Men are evil

38:19 Hitchcock surprisingly is just a dude

40:55 The most insane story from this movie

45:00 The deeper symbolism in Psycho

53:32 Gray Hour

1:04:56 Our official ranking & final thoughts

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has one of the worst behind the stories of all time… We break down how Tobe Hooper forced his cast to film in 115 degree Texas heat surrounded by real rotting cattle carcasses for weeks on end, told them not to bathe, and filmed the infamous dinner scene in one 26 hour session straight while cast members were vomiting between takes. We discuss how this movie claims to be based on a true story right in the opening title card… and how that is completely made up. And we give our honest reaction to a film that Quentin Tarantino calls perfect and we have some thoughts on that.

Chapters:

00:00 The most overhyped horror movie?

5:53 The absolute TRAP they put you in

12:59 Just completely lying to the audience

15:29 The film set from HELL

45:32 A massive success but no one got paid

51:05 Was True Detective inspired by this movie?

53:53 CRWN Awards & final thoughts

57:26 Our official ranking

Predator is the movie made for the boys… and the behind the scenes stories are even more insane than the film itself. We tell the story of how Arnold secretly rigged the wardrobe measurements to make Jesse Ventura think his arms were bigger. We get into how Carl Weathers was sneaking to the gym at 4am before anyone else woke up just to get a pump and pretend he was naturally that jacked. And we talk about how Shane Black got tricked into flying to Mexico with the promise of an acting role just so the studio could trap him there and force him to rewrite the script — which they then threw out and never used anyway.

Chapters:

00:00 INTRO

0:25 It sounds like it sucked filming this

4:55 The most dude behind the scenes story ever

9:48 Gray's first time reaction

17:46 The Predator is kinda soft

19:30 Arnold has an insane career

20:57 Jean-Claude Van Damme got fired as Predator

24:15 Did they just copy The Thing?

27:27 How this movie beat all odds to get made

28:46 The worst hostage rescue of all time

35:27 Some of the coolest shots in this movie

37:08 Arnold's high level pranks on set

38:53 The greatest one liners in Predator

46:51 The best scenes in the movie

53:48 Anna never plays her cards right

59:10 The original Predator suit would've ruined the movie

1:05:32 CRWN Awards

1:11:31 Sonny Landham was a WILD boy

1:18:24 Our official ranking

Pulp Fiction is the movie of movies… We break down how this movie revived John Travolta career from literal death because Tarantino couldn't get Michael Madsen, turned down Daniel Day-Lewis, and finally banked everything on the washed up Travolta. We discuss the entire hidden Tarantino universe threaded through his films, including this one. And we talk about all of our favorite moments, rarely discussed behind the stories, and much more. Enjoy!

Chapters:

00:00 INTRO

0:22 Why does Tarantino's style work?

4:31 HOT TAKE on The Gold Watch chapter

11:24 The extremely brutal scenes

21:06 John Travolta reviving his career in this movie

37:23 Michael Madsen dropped the ball on this movie

45:13 Uma Thurman almost unrecognizable

47:15 Jack Rabbit Slims sounds like a terrible restaurant

48:58 Samuel L. Jackson almost lost this role

52:02 What's in the case?

53:33 The best of Vincent

56:04 Forget About It Cuh Award

56:43 The best moments of Jules and Vincent

1:01:04 Tarantino's WILD signatures

1:06:00 CRWN Awards

1:10:32 Ezekiel 25:17 & The Gold Watch Monologue

1:16:30 Our ranking of Pulp Fiction

The Hangover had no business being this good… and the studio knew it. We break down how Bradley Cooper was on the verge of quitting Hollywood entirely before this movie came along and saved his entire career. We discuss our favorite moments that make us roll every time we watch. And we tell the story of Mike Tyson completely forgetting he agreed to be in the movie, finding out the night before at a Vegas club, showing up to set high on cocaine, and somehow delivering one of the most iconic cameos in comedy history.

Chapters:

00:00 INTRO

46:01 The older you get the more scary this becomes

5:44 It makes no sense how this movie was successful

16:12 RIP to the old beloved Vegas

21:05 Breaking wedding movie tropes

26:02 Do you want Phil on your team in a situation like this?

30:38 Mike Tyson just being a wild boy

41:21 Some of the funniest lines in this movie

43:53 Funny behind the scenes stories

49:19 Our favorite moments

1:04:10 Our ranking

Mud might be the most underrated movie of the McConaughey’s career… We break down how Jeff Nichols wrote this film specifically for McConaughey when nobody in Hollywood believed in him anymore and the lengths he had to go to just to get him cast. We tell the story of Jacob Lofland, a homeschooled kid from Briggsville, Arkansas who had never acted a day in his life, answered a casting call looking for a kid who could drive a boat and ride a motorcycle, beat out 2,000 other kids, and ended up on the red carpet at Cannes for his very first acting role. And we talk about how this is the most underrated love story of all time.

Chapters:

00:00 INTRO

1:21 A love story for the boys

4:03 Crazy story of casting Neckbone

8:51 Fun McConaughey stories around this movie

17:13 Crazy Reese Witherspoons stories

20:34 McConaughey's found arrest footage

24:19 The extremely difficult shoot

28:56 The greatest character in the movie

34:27 Breaking down the symbolism in Mud

49:23 Michael Shannon is a G for doing this movie

57:35 The most unintentionally funny scene in this movie

1:05:33 CRWN Awards for Mud

1:13:19 Our ranking

Catch Me If You Can is one of Spielberg's most slept on movies… and deep down it's actually a sad story disguises as the coolest story you've ever seen. We break down why Frank Jr. isn't really running from the FBI. We discuss Christopher Walken's Oscar nominated performance as the dad and why he doesn't get nearly enough credit for being the emotional backbone of this entire movie. We get into the wild real life story of Frank Abagnale and how the guy pulled off one final con nobody saw coming… convincing the entire world his story was true.

Chapters:

00:00 INTRO

1:22 Spielberg insane career & back to back shoots

8:59 Limited series are peak "cinema"

12:29 This was not the movie they planned

19:18 Just straight up the coolest guy ever

22:26 The actually sad story of Frank Abagnale

41:02 Leo's range in this movie alone

41:51 Incredible filmmaking examples

52:37 The truth behind the not so true story

1:01:19 Spielberg's con to get into Hollywood

1:03:54 Every crime movie comes back to Heat

1:08:56 CRWN Awards

1:13:57 Rankings and Outro

Ocean's Eleven is the coolest movie ever made… We break down why this movie only works because Soderbergh filled every single role with actors you already love, solving the impossible problem of making you care about 11 characters in two hours. We tell the story of how George Clooney convinced Julia Roberts to be in this movie. We get into how nobody on this entire cast would go back to their trailer between scenes because they were all having too much fun just hanging out on set. And we discuss the behind the scenes drama of Don Cheadle getting so upset about his billing that he had his name removed from the credits entirely.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

1:29 Just the coolest movie ever

4:35 How they afforded all that star power

13:37 Defending Oceans 12

17:05 Actually filming in the Bellagio

20:01 What makes these scenes so good

24:01 The other great characters

28:58 Don Cheadle drama behind the scenes

36:45 9/11 caused a reshoot

39:54 RIP Bernie Mac

42:35 The plot holes

48:27 Lennox Lewis lost because of this movie

52:11 What new stars could replace this cast?

1:04:25 Why Brad Pitt eats so much in this movie

1:06:18 Under appreciated lines

1:09:22 Benedict is WAY overhyped

1:13:44 Our ranking & final thoughts

Gangs of New York is one of Scorsese's most underrated films. We breakdown the Biblical allegory running through the entire story and how Daniel Day-Lewis is essentially the devil on earth. We tell the story of how this movie almost made Scorsese quit Hollywood as he went to war with Harvey Weinstein during production. And we reveal all the insane method acting tactics Daniel Day-Lewis did in preparation for this role that almost got him killed.

Chapters:

00:00 INTRO

3:06 An allegory of The Bible: A Man vs The Devil

15:58 The corrupt nature of nations & government

21:05 A subversion of Scorsese gangster movies

23:21 Stories about the cast

30:09 The "Forget About it Cuh" Line in This Movie

34:47 Who's the real GOAT of acting?

36:22 The insane method acting of Daniel Day Lewis

40:30 Rough movie to release right after 9/11

42:05 This movie almost made Scorsese quit Hollywood

51:37 Spiderman brought Daniel Day Lewis out of retirement

56:33 Is this Scorsese's most brutal opening?

1:03:06 Truly exceptionally written scenes

1:09:33 More CRWN Awards for this movie

1:18:24 Our official ranking & final thoughts

Kick-Ass might be the most fun superhero movie ever made… and it's not even close. We break down why the premise of this movie is so genius that it makes every Marvel and DC film look like they're missing the point. We get into how Chloe Moretz trained with Jackie Chan's stunt crew for three months at 11 years old and became the most terrifying character in comic book movie history. And we tell the story of how Hit-Girl's most iconic line almost didn't make it into the movie… until her mom stepped in.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro: Real superheroes

15:43 The stories of the cast

31:40 Roger Ebert loves movie violence

36:46 The studios hated this movie

44:49 The original comic book

56:19 The super hero callbacks

58:33 McLovin coulda been Kick Ass

1:04:23 Gray discovered who Nick Cage really is

1:10:46 Our ranking & final thoughts

We thought Oldboy was a South Korean action film… and then the plot twist happened. We break down why this movie has the most evil villain either of us has ever seen in our entire lives and how he dedicated his entire existence to the darkest revenge possible over something any teenager could have done. We get into the hallway fight scene, one of the most iconic in cinema history, filmed in a single unbroken shot that took three full days and seventeen attempts to get right. And we give our honest reaction to a film so heavy that one of us had to go stand in the backyard in the sun just to feel something normal again afterwards.

Chapters:

00:00 Reaction & recap

20:35 The messages relevance today

27:15 Did he forget at the end?

38:13 The most iconic fight scene ever filmed

49:53 True dedication to the character

54:08 How Tarantino made this movie internationally famous

56:31 The kinds of movies Park Chan Wook wants to make

1:00:29 A perfectly made movie

1:04:44 Our official ranking & final thoughts

Hot Rod is a childhood staple that bombed so hard at the box office that nobody saw it coming… but it somehow became one of the most rewatchable comedies ever made. We break down how this movie was originally written for Will Ferrell and how the Lonely Island completely took it over and made it into something nobody had ever seen before. We discuss why the whole movie is basically just a series of sketches and why that's exactly what makes it impossible to stop watching. And we get into all the wild behind the scenes stories that prove this movie was just as chaotic to make as it looks on screen.

Chapters:

00:00 Flop city to beloved classic

15:57 The rise of internet humor

19:20 The beauty of Danny McBride

21:41 The stunts gone wrong

28:51 The most quotable movie of all time

35:41 "Cool beans" was almost cut

39:53 New comedies that flop

45:55 Bill Hader: The Man

51:35 Talkin' Tony Romo for some reason

54:55 Danny McBride: The Man

59:08 What Andy Samberg is up to now

1:02:35 Arrested Development, Sopranos, & Friends

1:08:03 Our ranking & final thoughts

Three watches deep, and we’re ready to talk about The Odyssey… We break down the themes and character decisions that most people are completely missing on their first watch. We discuss the casting choices that the internet got wrong and exactly why Nolan made them. We get into the details hidden throughout the film that you will only catch if you know what to look for. And we talk about why this is exactly the kind of Nolan movie that gets better every single time you watch it.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro & B.S.

11:36 The themes and meaning

29:07 Our favorite moments

33:03 Nolan's intention with casting

51:08 Nolan's deeper meaning

56:03 Defending Nolan dialogue

58:27 Theories and wishes

1:07:39 The secrets of Odysseus' bow

1:09:37 When Odysseus returns

1:11:47 The limitations of complete IMAX

1:22:28 A taste of Nolan horror

1:24:15 The scenes that showcase Odysseus' cleverness

1:27:17 Our ranking & final thoughts

Nightcrawler is the darkest success story ever put on film. We break down why Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the greatest actors alive and how this might be the performance that proves it. We get into how Jake created his entire character from scratch including the hair bun, the weight loss, and the physicality without a single note from the director. We discuss the wild detail that Rene Russo never kisses Lou on screen because she is actually the director's wife in real life. And we talk about why that last line of the movie is one of the greatest final lines in cinema history and exactly why it works so well.

Chapters:

00:00 What a beautifully dark movie

5:47 Jake is too good at being scary

16:03 The complicated nature of Lou Bloom

22:53 The craziest story from on set

25:04 One of the best written psychopaths

28:03 The real villain in this movie

31:05 A horribly perfect success story

33:50 Revealing the dark side of the news

45:56 Top notch filmmaking examples

55:49 The power of negotiation

57:41 A great movie recommendation

1:02:02 Lou Bloom will always find the best deal

1:09:12 Movie ranking & final thoughts

Limitless is the ultimate guy movie… and we are not taking questions on that. We break down how Shia LaBeouf was originally cast as Eddie Morra before a car accident handed the role to Bradley Cooper, and why that accident might have saved this movie entirely. We discuss how Bradley Cooper realized mid-shoot that his performance wasn't working and completely overhauled how he played a genius on the drug. And we get into the ending that everyone thinks is a happy ending… and why it actually proves Eddie never got off the pill and never will.

Chapters:

(Coming soon)

Land of the Lost is a disaster on almost every level… but is still one of Kade’s favorite movies. We break down how Universal bought the rights to this movie with the sole purpose of putting Will Ferrell in it at the peak of his career, and how it still managed to flop harder than almost any movie in Hollywood history. We talk about why this is the only movie Will Ferrell and Danny McBride ever made together and why that alone makes it worth watching. We get into how the original creators of the TV show publicly apologized at Comic-Con and called it one of the worst films ever made. And we discuss why despite all of that, this movie gets exponentially funnier every single time you rewatch it.

Chapters:

00:00 Announcements & Intro

0:52 Why are we watching this movie?

9:03 Horrible plot

16:08 Massive flop

24:57 Jorma Taccone out of nowhere

32:16 A universally hated movie

42:02 The lines that made it's way into Kade's vocabulary

54:22 Adam McKay almost graced us with directing

59:26 Has Will Ferrell lost his touch?

1:05:29 Final thoughts

Hell or High Water is one of the most perfectly written movies ever made… and somehow nobody talks about it. We break down how Taylor Sheridan built the dying cowboy way of life directly into the DNA of this film and why every single character, even the smallest ones, feels like somebody you actually know. We talk about Jeff Bridges delivering one of the best performances of his entire career as a retiring ranger who can't quite let go. We get into Ben Foster's insane method acting and the wild lengths he goes to for every role he takes. And we discuss how this movie got four Oscar nominations and walked away with nothing, which honestly just makes us more pissed off about it.

Chapters:

00:00 Announcements & intro

0:54 Some of the most real characters on screen

11:41 The theme effects every part of this movie

17:33 The coolest side character there is

19:45 Chris Pine stepping out of the usual

22:39 Breaking down the opening scene

26:17 The beautifully bad brotherly love

30:47 Ben Foster's insane method acting practices

42:47 No Country vibes

45:28 The perfectly written dialogue

47:57 In praise of Jeff Bridges

53:23 2016 tough year to win an award

56:00 How Taylor Sheridan wrote this movie

59:09 A complete rushed production

1:02:39 Smart editing choices in this movie

1:06:11 Townsfolk have never been more ready

1:15:09 Our final thoughts

Adam McKay’s passion project that changed the direction of his career. We break down how The Other Guys was his first attempt at calling out the 2008 financial crisis through comedy… and when nobody took it seriously, he made this. We get into why cutting away to Margot Robbie in a bathtub to explain mortgage backed securities is actually Adam McKay making fun of the audience. We discuss how Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment quietly made this movie possible after already producing Moneyball from the same author. And we break down why Ryan Gosling's performance as Jared Vennett might be the most underrated thing in the entire film.

Chapters:

00:00 ANNOUCEMENTS & Intro

2:02 Adam McKay finally being fr this time

9:25 What the hell is even going on in this movie

17:17 Michael Burry's next big prediction

21:26 Why Adam McKay wanted to make this movie

26:25 Josh Safdie needs to take some notes

31:47 What happened in the Morgan Stanley scene?

35:12 Brad Pitt making money moves

38:14 How the cast came to be & stories from their prep

52:21 Why the style is perfect for the movie

59:04 Our final thoughts

The Other Guys is one of those comedy staples that will live forever in the comedy movie hall of fame. We break down why Will Ferrell playing the put together guy in the room, instead of the usual idiot, is one of the best running jokes he's ever done. We get into how Adam McKay hid real commentary on the 2008 financial crisis inside one of his dumbest, funniest comedies, and how that satire ended up being the first step toward him making The Big Short. We also talk about the deleted ending featuring Derek Jeter that hinted at a sequel that never happened. And we discuss why this movie never gets brought up in comedy conversations despite being one of the most quotable films Will Ferrell has ever made.

Chapters:

00:00 Announcements

0:41 The ultimate comedy duo

7:00 The Adam McKay Will Ferrell breakup

11:50 Will Ferrell leveling up Mark Wahlberg’s comedy

18:20 How The Other Guys creates funny scenes

21:38 Greatest opening to a comedy movie

25:12 Adam McKay covering real topics disguised as a comedy

30:24 The finances of The Other Guys

34:41 Donald Trump almost made it in the movie

37:01 Our favorite moments from this movie

51:03 Dirty Mike and Boys outtakes

54:54 Our final thoughts

Obsession completely lives up to the hype, and the game has changed. We break down how Curry Barker turned a YouTube sketch comedy career into one of the best horror movies of the year on a budget of just $750,000. We talk about Inde Navarrette's star making performance as Nikki and why her descent into obsession is somehow funny, heartbreaking, and horrifying all at once. We get into why this film might change how Hollywood looks for new directing talent, especially creators already building audiences on YouTube. And we give our honest reaction to a movie that had us on the edge of our seat the entire time, wondering what she was going to do next.

Chapters:

00:00 ANNOUCEMENTS

0:29 Our first reaction

6:18 Hollywood is probably gonna change

9:49 What makes this movie so scary

12:06 Bear is a f***** p****

15:52 The scariest part of this movie

21:47 More on why Bear sucks

24:57 The freedom now unlocked with the One Wish Willow

26:17 A new breakout star

31:28 The comedy sketches sneak their way into the movie

34:18 The party scene...

36:14 Music is banging in this movie

38:00 The cat sandwich scene...

39:45 The ending of this movie was changed

42:48 The angry art director

54:24 Our final thoughts