The Future Blockbusters Draft, Part 2

This episode is presented by AMC Network, a new chapter in Anne Rice's Immortal Universe begins with AMC's The Vampire Listot. Get a backstage pass to the iconic frontman who Pace magazine calls a Bowie-inspired rocker that will have fans screaming. Don't miss the legendary Vampire Listot Delian Corps in his own electrifying rock saga. Experience the glory and darkness. Binge The Vampire Listot only on AMC Plus. Learn more at AMCPlus.com. It is Tuesday, July 28th. Today it's part two of the very special two-part episode, The Future Blockbuster Draft. If you haven't listened to part one, please go back and do that. Lucas Shaw and I are each picking ten elements. We're picking directors, actors, or intellectual properties that we think will help us win the box office from now through the next ten years. So we're going to get right to it, if you haven't listened, get up to speed, and then part two now of the Future Blockbuster Draft. From the ringer and puck, I'm Matt Bellany, and this is the town. Okay, we are here with Lucas Shaw, who is back for part two of the Future Blockbuster Draft. Lucas, how do you feel it's going so far? I felt like part one went about as well as it could have. I got five of my top six picks, Kugler was the only one. Just to say, you got Spider-Man, Chris Nolan, Shrek, Demon Slayer, and X-Men. And I have Super Mario Brothers, Ryan Kugler, Batman, Frozen, and Michael B. Jordan. I think yours is a solid five, too. I don't know. Yeah, I'm okay. I'm feeling good about it. I'd be happy to be either studio. I think this is where it gets just about fucking impossible. And I'm already trying to, like, reorder the next ten. All right, so I'll catch you off guard then. You go first. I have concerns about what happens with this franchise, which you voiced in part one. But I'm going to go with Minecraft. Oh, okay. That's totally fair. I think that there is interest. There is like a built-in audience for that property that is not going anywhere. You know, the first one almost got to a billion. I'm a little worried that Minecraft's going to be like Super Mario, where the second one is going to go from almost a billion to like 700 million. But I think that there is, that is a property where there is like a real floor. And it is crossed it appeals to at least sort of a segment of, you know, 20 years of people. And it's not going to feel tired for the period that we're talking about. Yeah, that's totally fair. My only worry with that one is that it's such a weird movie. And it worked for such mysterious reasons, like Jack Black and, you know, Jason Momoa and having the world and everything that it's going to be tough to replicate that. It could be. But the property is huge. And don't underestimate Jack Black. No, I know. He's a huge movie star. I mean, God, you can even pick Jack Black. That would, that would be an interesting pick. Yeah. You don't have to take Jumon G3 then. He's like an accent to a lot of these things, which makes it hard to, to, yeah, yeah. All right. So my number six, and I, I take this with some reservations as well. But I'm going to go with K-pop demon hunters. Okay. On my list, but much lower down. So it's the only Netflix property that we have looked at here. And it's really, I think, going to be the only Netflix property that we pick if I have to predict here. From a movie perspective, yes, unless you're really all in on red notice too. Yeah. I am not. So the next movie isn't coming till 2029, but I got to assume that there is a plan that once this next movie comes out, and remember Sony makes the movies for Netflix, that they have a plan to keep these coming every few years for the next decade that is not going to take four years to get a sequel after 2029. I'm hoping it. The wild card here is that so much of the success of the first movie was based on the music. Music is really tough to replicate. And we'll see if they can get the hit makers in there. Well, but you could make that argument about frozen so much of the success of the first one was about the music. Yeah. And the music in the second one was the same composers and they did a nice job. Like it's not quite the same as the hit from the first one, but they did a decent job on it. And maybe they'll be able to replicate it on K-pop demon hunters. But I just think that the upside there, it's instantly going to be massive. Who knows if by then Netflix will come to its senses and put the movie for an exclusive theatrical run. We'll see. But regardless, it's going to be massive. I think the second one is going to be huge no matter what. So I totally get it, you know, a bigger, sir, you know, an even bigger hit last year than Minecraft was. I do, yeah, I do, I do think that there's real execution risk going forward. And Netflix is really never managed to film franchise before. So you know what, how dare you, what's the Chris Hemsworth one extraction, extraction. And the Millie Bobby Brown and Ola Holmes, they're different, different, different level. But yes. I know Millie Bobby Brown is not on our list. Are you just ignoring her immense draw on Netflix? I'll let you take her. I'm not taking it. All right, you give me your number seven. I am going to make a strange selection. Maybe I'm overreacting to this year. So one of the quibbles I had with the list, I think that Lord Miller are like the most bankable director producers in Hollywood. So you're taking Lord Miller, yeah, they just direct controversial about that. And they produce a lot too. So the production is why we were allowing produce, they directed Project Hail Mary, which was one of the most successful movies of the year. They are involved either as producers or directors in Spiderverse in 21 Jump Street franchise. And we don't get the franchises, but I list that to say that if you look at their filmography and we're going to get to some other directors later, unlike some of the other really great directors, they basically only do popcorn. And they're good movies, but they are not trying to make the art house project that's going to get someone their first acting officer. But who cares? I mean, that's the reason to pick them. No, that's my point. That's why I'm picking them is that if you are looking at filmmakers who consistently give popular movies to studios and are very productive, they're at the top of the list. And you're saying that now and unless Amazon really fucks up their Oscar campaign for Project Hail Mary, which is a distinct possibility, they will get nominations and all of that stuff. Yes. Yeah, they are going to be in that conversation after this year of prestige filmmakers because they're going to get a bunch of nominations for that movie. When I looked back on it and our draft from earlier this year, one of the things I regretted was not having more confidence in Project Hail Mary because of their track record as directors and producers. Yep. Agreed. So instead I went with Disclosure Day, big whiff. I forgot about the Lego movie. They also, so yes, they do the Lego movies. Although, are we getting another one of those? I mean, again, we don't get the IP. It just proves that most of what they, you know, no, they're great. So by only reservation with them is they also do television, and they could decide to work on a TV show for a few years and then take a break for movies and you may not get 100%. But that's a solid choice. So my next pick is also a filmmaker who directs and produces. And it's a little bit of a risk because he's at the beginning of his career. But I think that given where we're going right now in the business with the lower budget or genre movies, are you taking Kane Parsons right now or Curry Barker, which one I'm taking Zach Kregger. Oh. Okay. Yeah. Why not? Because so it's not just weapons and it's not just this resident evil movie that he's got coming out, which I think is going to be pretty big in the fall. This is a guy that has become a brand to younger audiences and I think he's meaningful going forward. I think that everybody in town wants to be in business with them. He will get chance after chance and he's the kind of filmmaker that can produce a couple movies a year maybe and direct his own. So you get the volume there. I get it. He's for me. He sort of got to leave the horror lane. Weapons got to 270, almost 300 million worldwide. This is where I'm just betraying my bias against horror movies because I don't like them and I don't enjoy so, but usually when we're talking about kind of franchises, horror is sort of like simmering below the surface because they are sort of like not the ceiling is always going to be lower for the most part. You know, the biggest, biggest, biggest horror movie is going to get to about 400 million of the year. But I totally, yeah, he's, he is an emerging filmmaker that to your point everyone wants to work with and everything he's touched so far has worked. And so who wouldn't want to be in business with him? Some people might say, Oh, Curry Barker, Curry Barker has one movie. No, I, if you would take it and be clear, if you had taken either of the guys from this year, that is premature that you need to see them way too premature. I mean, I hope they've lost them into that, but you can't, I mean, even Craig are arguably is, is a little bit premature, but I'm willing to make a bet on that guy. Yeah, I think he's, I think he's got the track record now and he's an adult and people who worked with him is like he's very focused he could do multiple movies a year I think the volume plays where it's at all right go with your number eight pick I think now I finally have to pick an actor okay oh this will be interesting you already took Michael B. Jordan who I and we've discussed this in the past who I think is the consensus number one pick okay I think this is where I'll go Zendaya yeah that's a solid pick if I'm trying to pick us an actor actress who I think is going to be a global star over the next 10 years the question with her and and we've talked about in the past is like what types of projects does she want to do the biggest things that she has opened on her own are or where she was the star and there's no IP we're basically the invite and challenges and they were sold but those are a hundred million dollar movies but those are in the sensibility movies getting those movies to 100 plus is incredible but yeah she but coming off of the Odyssey coming off of Spider-Man coming off of Dune is there what is going to is there going to be a movie like that where she is the face of it and not the thirdly or the fifth yeah yeah it's a good question and she's going to have to step up to that leading role yeah I could see her doing a really cool action movie I could see her do it like you know but I believe it's I believe that the appetite is there okay yeah my my only reservation there is she's sort of proven herself with the IP stuff and I could see her having a more artsy type trajectory where she uses the cache to get smaller movies made and go the Angelina Jolie route where it's like okay I did Tomb Raider now I'm going to make 10 depressing movies that nobody's going to see I totally hear you and that is a risk but Angelina Jolie did Angelina Jolie had a phase of being the face of movies for like a decade Maleficent and she did a Marvel movie it didn't work but she did do a Marvel movie right she did there was there was there yeah there were the Tomb Raider movies there was Mr. and Mrs. Smith she did a bunch of these action movies that establish the bonafives and I think as big a star as Ndea is she has not been the face of a huge studio movie yeah huge value add huge value add yeah yeah and maybe because maybe it's because she doesn't want to do it yeah maybe I just want I want her to be a bigger star than Tom Holland I just like I don't I just don't why I don't know I just we don't get we don't have to get into this but I I'm not betting on him let's just say that he is not on my list no you do you do you you had him as the 17th best actor in the Odyssey right I just I didn't get him at all and I but I normally don't so I'm in the minority people love him I did enjoy that he threw up on hot ones should have been you I did not throw up I wanted to throw up but I did not okay who you got so my number eight pick may shock you okay it's a filmmaker yeah that is consistently underestimated yet only makes hits okay I can't wait to see where we're going at this Sean Levy okay are you sending Richard white to Christmas basket or something oh is he representing him he's a sort of yeah oh okay I didn't even know that but this guy like he is going to Star Wars movie coming out and I know Star Wars is conspicuously absent from the list right now given the state of the franchise but I think he can make that work he has consistently shown that he is an IP guy and it can also do originals like with free guy and he just has a commercial smart sensibility that studios love he will get big projects he also produces he produced back rooms via his company he has his fingers and a lot of different projects so there's going to be a lot of 21 laps projects that he probably has very little to do with but we'll have his name on and then there's going to be these movies and I think once every two three years there'll be a Sean Levy directed blockbuster so I'm going with him I can't get there no no he just don't respect him no that's rude but that is rude that's what I'm saying I he feels more like I get maybe this is my bias but he feels more like a a custodian or executor of other people's visions than someone who always has the vision himself so yes you know what that's that's what Hollywood likes that's what these studios like I hear you and and that's important to have the adult who really knows how to do that he's doing Star Wars he's he's he's he's sort of managed a lot of these franchises yeah he's got a he's got a you know an adaptation of a Japanese video game series that he's doing for Netflix that's a producing project right he's got a lot of he's got deals and Netflix I guess my feeling is if you just say here is a Sean Levy movie do I think that people know who that is but okay but is that the standard here sort of what we're talking about the standard is does the industry know who he is and they definitely do no I think we're talking about who our consumers showing up for is sort of I thought that the the like what we were going for yeah I guess I hear you and like look he could say free guy it was the director of night of the museum and free guy yeah sure and Star Wars Starfighter but I I don't know that there is a there's sort of a following for him in the way that there is no certainly not yeah which is what I thought which is I guess is what I thought we were going for if you're saying it's sort of like the John Favreau question I realized maybe not the right time because of coming off of Mandalorian but like sure Disney trusts John Favreau and the Russo brothers and some of these people with their movies but but if John Favreau just makes the movie that he wants I don't think my my kind of faith in that being a hit are much lower not because he's a bad director just because I don't think it's like that it's the same yeah Favreau is a good one though because he will always have he'll always be on the studio lists yeah even those Star Wars didn't work he will he will do what he wants and I think Favreau seems to have a lot of different interests so I think Sean Levy his company produces a ton of stuff and then he directs a big movie every couple years yeah all right give me your nine we're getting down there so this is interesting I was going to go director or actor here but since there's a lot of options for that and I really only have one IP left on my list I think when Bond comes back it's gonna be huge and so I all right I'm taking that yeah that that I was thinking of picking it's just I know there's there's a lot of risk it's Amazon it's they don't even know who they're they at least have an announce to their casting as Bond but I know but they know they have Denis Villeneuve and although nobody's picked him I should have maybe picked him over Sean Levy well I was debating between the two but I they're but there's reason they they have a proven director at the helm of it they have a really good producer involved and I just I just have faith that they won't they know how important it is to not fuck that up if they and if they had gone in the like if they had gone in the direction of a more strictly commercial director who is a franchise manager I would be worried but putting it in the hands of someone with a vision I just think it's going to be good he's going to cast the right person they're going to reintroduce it in a way and we're going to get at least two or three Bond movies over the next decade and and they're going to be they're global they're going to be 600 to a billion with each one and I'm in yeah and the whole problem with the broccoli family where they could just decide not to make a movie for five years that's not Amazon right Amazon wants to crank these things out right there's a risk that they will oversaturate but yeah that's not in our time frame yeah and you know maybe after this first one Denis goes away or produces and then others come in and do the other ones but at least this is the key one this is the force awakens of Amazon yeah they have to get this one right in order to fuck it up for 10 years in a row and and have the opportunity to to make all the others and listen that Denis he decided Timothy Chalamet was an action star when nobody else did yeah and he was right so I trust him on the casting and it's probably going to be great I just wonder um I don't know I wonder whether the long-term plan for Bond is going to work out in Amazon it might not but I'm I just think there's going to be a lot of pent up enthusiasm because it will have been one of the longest stretches without a Bond movie yeah that there's been and I don't think that's going to hurt it and also like is that character still cool like they got to modernize that character with but I I think they'll find a way to make it work I just I have trust okay this episode is brought to you by Accenture when your advertising operations fall out of sync campaigns slow down insights get buried and opportunities get missed that's why Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales using automation analytics and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business the result less time spent on operations more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most to learn more check out Accenture.com/spotify so now my number nine this is where it's getting really getting hairy I know this is a guy who wants it wants to be a huge movie star he's going to do the prestige movies fine like the Marty Supremes the Bob Dylan movie like right he wants to be a global star but he wants to be a global star he'll do another wonka he'll find another franchise after June like he knows the game and he knows that to be the biggest star and have everyone looking at you at you know at the next game you need to be in hits yeah so I think and my only worry is that it is he going to become like a big producer like to see how his version of plan B in him maybe not who cares but who cares I think he'll make enough movies and enough of them will hit over the next 10 years that I will bet on him I agree I um though I that was obviously a little bit of sort of blowback to him earlier this year oh who cares nobody cares about that yeah tempest and a teapot short term I think that of the young actors even though I picked a different one of the after Michael B Jordan of the other ones I actually think he's probably a safer bet than Zendaya just in terms of how much she's gonna want to act and work and the types of projects he does he's got to stop doing the tacky ads though I like Cal she like like no betting ads like don't just stay away yeah he's he's gotten a little bit too big for the bitches right now as as they would say and I think he's probably gonna have a couple of years that are a little off but he's gonna long-term too talented too too ambitious and like he'll he'll figure it out and he's like 30 years old yeah so he's got a long career ahead of him and if you manage this properly this decade could be his best yeah all right last pick for you in keeping with sort of the spirit of what we were doing I went I went like equal amounts talent an IP and since I already have five pieces of IP I'm gonna I want a five talent five IP I'm gonna go with another director and even though I already picked bond I just think commercially like that's what Denise tendencies are he wants to make these big studio like fun fun movies the only risk with him is I do think there is like he's gonna be a director who is gonna probably do who I'm worried that after Dune and Bond he's then gonna be like I'm gonna go do something really fucking weird and like something small and I don't need to make a billion dollar movie but his recent track record is like you could say second to Nolan in terms of commerciality of the and like spectacle and all of that so yeah and he will probably move off of Bond after doing one movie and he will move on to either an original like arrival or he's shown that he wants to do IP and he's total you could do a Star Wars movie although no he told me he told me in my interview with him that he had a bad experience and does not want to do Star Wars okay well that much we know my last pick I'm torn here I was going to go out of left field and pick a property that is not currently being made but is one of the biggest properties and only because I have some intel that I know they really wanted to happen I got a tip the other day that there was a very interesting sighting on the Disney lot McCauley Culkin was there and he's talked about doing having an idea for a new home alone and Disney is like salivating they want like you think right now of the Culkin brothers that Kirin would be the hot one since he just won an Oscar McCauley Culkin is having his ass kissed like nobody's business they're offering him another movie like he could do his own passion project if he would also do another home alone and they have a good idea I've talked to people who've heard it and it's a really good idea for a home alone reboot with McCauley Culkin if that happens and they restart the home alone franchise that would be gigantic for the next 10 years because that movie as you know is is perennially top of the streaming list from October through Christmas every year it's one of the biggest franchises and the fact that they haven't done a movie in 30 years and the star is like just sitting out there like enjoying his life into Luke a lake like he this could be massive if they can figure out how to get McCauley Culkin into a new home alone I'm not gonna pick that what why not I'm not picking you're gonna you just wanted to sprinkle in a little sizzle but not take the not take it I'm not taking it because there's risk there's risk here and it may not happen so but I think it will they are like courting him like nobody's business the problem with taking the Disney movies is that there is a long wait between them right and as much as I would like to take Zootopia I just don't know when they're gonna get around to it maybe there's one movie you're probably gonna get one in the decade yes yeah and and the reason I took frozen is because I know that three and four are in the works and they already have deals with everybody but maybe we get to Zootopia so I'm not gonna I'm not gonna pick that one even though that is a sure thing is I weirdly I don't think I had I have anything touching a touching Disney even though it is clearly the most successful movie studio year after year after year yeah that's bizarre all right I'm doing it I'm taking Greta Gerwig okay I'm proud of you even though I I have some reservations about Narnia we'll see and we'll see if the Netflix release plan to put it in theaters will work I think it probably will my guess is she probably does not direct the movies after that but if she produces them then we still get that she has not had a loser movie yet like little women huge obviously Barbie huge lady bird big so I think she's also young I was torn between Denise and Greta and the only thing I think that held me up on Greta a little bit and maybe it's honestly because of her partner but I sort of feel like she's gonna do some small movies I don't know that she has the same she's gonna get Melissa McCarthy husband no I she's gonna have her she have no a bond back taking her no I just ladybird and Francis Hobb were like really great movies that did well and but is that a lane that she wants the kind of swim swim back in or is she like fully committed to sort of like the big ambitious studio movies like even little women like little women is a really solid hit but not like on the scale of 300 million worldwide yeah but not sort of like we talked about with Zack Pregger like not at the scale of what you would get from a Nolan or a Denise and yeah and if I'm and if she is like I want studio movie studio movie studio movie then I actually then I think she's a no-brainer and I would have taken her higher and I don't know the answer to these always a risk with these otters that they could do something personal maybe she's got her version of the Fabelman's in her or something like that but I think there will be another Barbie at some point I mean clearly Warner's wants it and I think that she will probably take on other IP in the future things that she's interested in so I'm willing to bet on her much more so than I am five home alone movies yeah fair oh god all right so now we have our teams Jesse can you go through them please and then offer your sense of where you think we are who's gonna win here okay so Matt's team going one through ten Mario Brothers Ryan Kugler Batman frozen Michael B Jordan K-pop Demon Hunters Zack Pregger Sean Levy Timothy Shalame and Greta Gerwig and Lucas is picks Spider-Man Chris Nolan Shrek Demon Slayer X-Men Minecraft Phil Lord and Chris Miller Zendaya James Bond and Denis Villeneuve dammit I think you're winning I feel good yeah how did I get outsmarted here again Lucas is very top heavy which I think will kind of carry him that's I heard those top three and I was like that's great love that I know Chris Nolan has to do his version of the Fabelman's he needs to do like a no budget very personal movie and absolutely tank his career even if he did that it wouldn't tank his career I know it wouldn't and all and there would probably be some massive explosion in it how many misses in a road you think he'd have to have for people to like look at him differently at least two right yeah at least two if he did a movie if he did his next movie and it's like or if it was just like the biggest disaster ever right if it was ishtar or like goes off the rails everybody quits like that kind of thing that's less likely to happen because he's such a professional person it's more likely that he would read some book and decide to do a you know an epic silent movie or something in all Taiwanese or something like that and just nobody watches it all right I am looking forward to the episode in July of 2036 when you and I can finally assess who did better in the future blockbuster draft two years after we assess how we did in the I talent under 35 and four years after we assess the seven other drafts I know that's the best part about these is very little accountability it's not like the box office draft where there's like guys online who are tracking every weekend and tweeting at us when we have a bomb yeah all right Lucas thanks a lot thanks Matt all right no call sheet today I want to thank my guests, Lucas Shaw, of course, producer Craig Horoback, Artur Jesse Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez, and I want to thank you no more episodes this week. We're back next week.