Tom Cruise and the New Age of Celebrity Profiles

(upbeat music) Imagine setting your makeup, then forgetting it's even theirs. Meet new grippy setting mist from Mavily New York. Gel to mist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours with flexible all day comfy grip. No tightness, no stickiness, no residue. Just plump, dewy hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Try new grippy setting mist from Mavily New York. Maybe it's Maybelline. - It is Friday, September 18th. Those of us who follow the entertainment media closely notice something pretty monumental this week. Tom Cruise did a real interview. Not a press line where every junketer gets one fluff question with his publicist hovering for five minutes pretending to be a human claw machine with Jimmy Fallon. This was an actual sit down interview with GQ plus another alongside Alejandro Inaritu, director of his new movie. Plus a traditional print magazine photo shoot with video. Partly groundbreaking, there were clearly some strict ground rules. Not one mention of the S word, Scientology, and a long way from the heyday of celebrity journalism where very famous people routinely granted tons of access so journalists could write thoughtful profiles. But this was noteworthy because Cruise hasn't done a real magazine cover story in about a decade in this country. Mainly because he hasn't had to. We know why he's got his own social channels to speak directly to his fans. He doesn't want to answer personal questions. And he's been making pre-branded Mission Impossible movies or Top Gun for the past decade. But now he's got a movie that isn't very known. So Cruise knows he's really got to sell it. Got me thinking about the state of high end celebrity journalism these days. The prestige outlets, the magazines mostly and their relationship to the stars. It's all changed so much as the power dynamic has inverted and the traditional press tour is morphed into this carnival of stunts and subway takes and hot wings eating. Most of it on video. Vanity Fair couldn't even get a star for its September cover. They went with a fashion designer, Mark Jacobs. So today I've got Zach Barron on the show. He did that interview with Tom Cruise. He's one of the last big celebrity journalists. Zach's title is Senior Special Projects Editor at GQ where he's worked since 2013. And he does most of the big celebrity cover stories. Everyone from Brad Pitt to Kanye, to Conor McGregor to Tim Cook. He's also got a new interview show called One More Question. We're going to talk about that Cruise interview, machinations behind it, the state of access journalism in Hollywood. What celebs want out of the media these days and a lightning round. Who sucks and the secret to getting someone famous to open up? From the ringer in Puck, I'm Matt Bellany, and this is The Town. OK, we are here with Zach Barron, who is Senior Special Projects Editor at GQ and prolific celebrity profiler. Welcome, Zach. Matt, thank you so much. All right. I'm interested in this topic because, as you maybe know, I was the editor of the Hollywood Reporter. We did a lot of celebrity profiles. We did 40 covers a year. Most of them celebrities. And the celebrity profile became the bane of my existence, the negotiations, the access, getting stuff into the story that was interesting, placating the publicist and the team, making sure everyone's happy where you get where you want, they get what they want, the photos look good, all of it. So when I saw your Tom Cruise interview, I said, oh my god, this must have taken a few years off of the lives of everyone involved in this. So give us the backstory on what it took to get Tom Cruise to do his first magazine cover story in a decade or so. I honestly wish that the answer to this were more interesting. It really was as simple as us asking in him saying, yes, which don't get me wrong. But that's the start. Yes, yes, yes. So he says, yes, and then it's but dot, dot, dot. Not really, and I'm not like spinning or lying when I say that. Can I have the tiniest bit of history? I wrote a piece about Mission Impossible last year. It's been a lot of time with Christopher McQuarrie and ultimately ended up emailing with Tom about that, which we didn't become brothers. And I did it again with Glenn Powell. So I think he had at least a vague idea of who I was. Sure. And then there's a person who works for GQ Dana Matthews who are a long time sort of global entertainment director. Yeah, most of the big magazines have the celebrity wrangler, the person who is involved in the booking and scouting and at the festivals and stuff. Yes. And Dana is like a certified in her world and very good at what she does. But this is one of those like, and you ran a magazine, you know how it goes, everyone's sitting around and be like, "When this be cool." And then sometimes you don't even send the offer 'cause you're like, "It's just an auto no." And in this case, we were like, "And maybe send the offer." And then the answer was just, yes. Okay, but then the yes is ground rules. What are the ground rules for Tom Cruise? Obviously, no Scientology Talk, no Surrey Cruise, no Personal Life. Those I imagine were explicitly told to you, we're not going there. No, completely incorrect. I've never done. But why did you ask about Scientology? When the guy do, when I prepare for these things, I had the same thought you did initially. When I prepare for these things, I go back and I look at everything that's ever been written about a subject. And he hasn't done magazine journals in a long time. But the last time he did it, he did a lot of it. And it turns out he's talked about that subject, the subject of Scientology, quite a bit. And the answer was sort of always very similar. It was what it was. And it was 2026. I didn't have a ton of time with him. I think I understand completely if there are people who wanted to kind of see the car crash version, the Matt Lauer version, the jump on the couch version. Well, no, but it's the most interesting thing about him. He is a high ranking, I don't think I agree. He is a high ranking member of a church that has been accused of some pretty awful behavior and is considered by many countries to be occult. And it's also had an evolution since the last time he did press. So I am endlessly fascinated by Scientology. I think a lot of people are. And it also caused the breakup of his marriage, by most accounts, two marriages. You know, he has the whole thing with the kids. He hasn't a cold kidman where they don't talk to her. That's stuff to me. So you just decided that his personal life was not as interesting as the movie that's coming out. Well, I mean, we talk about a lot more than Digger. But yeah, I think I was interested in the sort of reclusive movie star. I was interested in the guy who's kind of like, I've sacrificed everything at the altar of movies and this industry is me. I was interested, you know, this isn't like brain surgery. But I was interested in his like relationship with his phone. I just think I think there's actually a lot of curiosity about Tom Cruise that is not about this subject. And that's genuine. Again, that's not me like lying or spinning. I think that was the conversation I wanted to have. I maybe I'm more cynical, but I believe he has adopted this mantle of the mayor of movies. And I live my life for movies to sidestep any questions about his personal life. And to deflect essentially, he's a man of the world now. He doesn't live anywhere, he lives everywhere. He doesn't do anything, he does everything. He's sort of this deity of Hollywood. And I'm interested in sort of breaking that down a little. I think I was actually interested in the deity of Hollywood part. I think that's fascinating. I don't know if there's like a modern equivalent. I don't know if there's like a historical equivalent. I'm actually fascinated by that. Well, so I know the writers don't choose the cover images or even really manage the photo shoots. But the limitations are, I mean, do they just cruise get creative control over these shoots? Do they get to see the article in advance? No. Obviously no, right? No, no. I mean, like I don't know how many places are left like this. And this is no shot to the competition. But well, there aren't many. I mean, that's part of what we're going to talk about. Is that you are among, you're like a late night host. You're like among the last and dying breed. Yeah, that's not good news for me to be a late night host. Well, it is. If you're Kimmel or Fallon, you're, you got, you know, there's nobody coming up behind you. If you're comparing me to Jimmy Kimmel, I will take that. Maybe less so Fallon. How has your job changed in the past 10 years? Besides completely, like the power structure has completely flipped where the stars don't need you. They have their own channels. If Tom Cruise wants to talk to his fans, he does it on his own channels. There has to be a reason to do a celebrity profile. And you are fortunate that you work at a brand that does have cache and meaning and can position a star a certain way and does make sense for some stars to do before their campaign kicks off to sort of frame the campaign. The publicists will call it. But I imagine it's just become so much harder to get the access you need in order to do something interesting. I agree and disagree if that makes sense. sense. I will not sit here and say it has not changed. You know, I can even sort of remember that era of when I started in this business, which was already kind of like late in the game relative to some of the stuff we're talking about. And it really was like, gee, if GQ wants you to show up and like do buy on a Tuesday and then spend three weeks like in the desert for the shoot or the reporting, like more often than not, they're like, they're kind of be like, yeah, we don't like it, but yes, because like you said, this was the only channel for someone like them to kind of reach their public or set their narratives or whatever. And you do a GQ cover all the sudden you got a, you know, Balenciaga campaign or something. You got tangible benefits from being positioned by a men's magazine that is also a fashion taste maker, 1000%. And that's still true today. I don't want to dismiss it. Yes, but yes, there's a lot of other ways to do that now. And I think it trickles down to these writers. First of all, there are fewer opportunities. There's fewer magazines, there's fewer outlets that are doing this. And there are, there are other options. And that means that you have to compete with those other options. And the access is usually the first thing to go. And that's like where I would actually push back a little bit. Because I've like, like, you know, I think it was like two years ago that I spent three years on and off with Kevin Costner and reporting a GQ cover. You know, now Kevin Costner is really of a of a generation of star for whom that is a more familiar ritual, you know, but it's like, and I think it was like four or five years ago that I was like at Francis Ford. Hope was house from like many days. What did Kevin Costner say privately about Taylor Sheridan? What you really want to know is what Taylor Sheridan said privately about Kevin Costner, but we're not going to get into that. Okay. Yeah. We'll talk afterwards. I can imagine. I can imagine you had you would have had to believe it, although you don't really believe stuff. But okay. So continue. So the access issue. Well, a lot of things where you're trying to seek is like, where do we meet? And sometimes you find the meeting place and you do the cover. And sometimes it's kind of like, yeah, we can't. Your demands are too much, meaning ours, the magazines. Yeah. Or they are like, we'll do it. But only with, you know, lunch and a phone call. And we're like, thank you, but no, thank you. And so there are people now who maybe we would have been able to compel to do stuff. But I'm like, I don't really, even though I was kind of there for that, I don't really fetishize the version where the magazine had all the power and the subject had none. I kind of like the game that we play now where it's a little bit like, you gotta get out there and earn it like everybody else. And how much do you as the writer participated in that? Or do you leave it to the editors in New York? I have very specific ideas about what I want to do with people. The modern mutation that is very funny where it's like, okay, you're writing about this person, you guys should do something together. We don't want you to observe him to direct our ads. But like, maybe you guys want to play paintball together? Like, do you want to go skydiving? Yeah. And then it's like, no, why would I ever want to do that? I'm like, can we go pick up dry cleaning? Like we just do something they would be doing anyway. So I inevitably get involved in those conversations because I have very strong opinions about what is a good illuminating thing for us to be doing together and what is a kind of fake, not very helpful thing to be doing together. Well, it's all fake. Let's be honest. Any staged circumstance is fake. You want to make it as less fake as possible. So like fly fishing with Jake Tapper, we would say that is that real or fake? Yeah. Like Gavin knew some going fly fishing, just a normal thing that a white wine liberal governor of California does. Just two men fly fishing, you know, you see that? But listen, from the publicist standpoint, you want the stunt because the story becomes about the stunt. Correct. The goal, the entire goal of these publicists now is to avoid being aggregated for the wrong reason. And that's how social media and the internet has completely changed this because you don't want any quotes that could potentially be problematic to come back and buy two in the ass. And from a celebrity profiler point of view, that sucks because your whole goal is to illuminate this person in a way that will make them interesting and have that travel on the internet. I'm not saying gotcha moments. I'm not saying they inadvertently trash their co-star. I'm saying you want to be interesting. Yes. I'm trying to figure out how to put this in a way that doesn't sound super egotistical and I might just go the full ego route. Do it. No one can look. Everyone on this show has a huge ego. 90% of our guests. That is the journalist problem. It is not the subject's problem. It is not the publicist's problem. The art of this game is going in doing that no matter what. And I don't like it when I hear fellow journalists complain about this being like the game has changed and they wouldn't give me anything. And the publicist has engineered this situation so that nothing could happen. I'm like those are all you failures. In this interaction, there is only one professional and that is me. They are like an actor and athlete whatever director is not a professional interview subject that you're not making a magazine. That is not their problem. It is fully my problem. And it is my job when I go out to make something happen. But don't you feel it's been become harder because they are so media trained and so afraid of getting aggregated. Yeah, but like what's difficult? Like who cares about hard? Like hard is great. Oh, I know. I'm just saying. Like you go back and look at magazine profiles in the 80s and 90s. Sort of the heyday of this genre. And it's wild. Like people are popping off. They're going after co-stars. They're taking you out drinking. They're doing stuff that would never happen today because it's not on brand for the selling of the MOOC. And you're saying that that's your job to make them interesting. Totally correct. And one thing I love about this job is like I show up and make it happen anyway. And the secondary interviews where you get quotes from other people about the subject, they've all been sanitized by five different policies. I read a profile of Mike Myers from Vandy Fair in the early 2000. And it's crazy because the secondary interviews are people trashing him talking about how difficult he is and how much he's cost people money on the set. And the whole thing is just I read it and I'm like, this would never happen today. Yeah, I imagine people request you now. Again, ego here. I think in part because it's like, all right, can we get the guy who did that other thing that that was the thing, you know? Yeah. Good enough for Clooney. Good enough for me. I think that I hopefully like live in that place where it is. It is a little scary, you know, like, but they know that these things generally make noise when they happen and kind of want want that feeling, that vibe, you know? Yeah. I had a nice experience where someone was like, I read your scores as a piece. I kind of wanted that, you know? Oh, that's good. Yeah. That is what I want, you know? Right. With me, it was the opposite. Anyone but him. I mean, look, you're not supposed to be able to select your writer. Like most outlets will say no, but if you're talking to a publicist and it's someone you really want and they say, who are you thinking about for the writer? And you mentioned a name and they don't like it. That person I'll admit would likely be off the list. And you and I also both know that what you just said about yourself is a badge of honor in this industry is much respected. But that's why I'm hosting a podcast and doing a newsletter, not doing celebrity profiles. Speaking of like the genre and how it works is that the norm when I started, I don't know if it was like this for you, but like at a place like GQ was still very combat because I think people thought this is an inherently frivolous job. And so, you know, and at the time, and this is in a shout out Jim Nelson who was editing GQ when I started, but he came from Harper's, you know, very serious journalism. And I think there's this element of two men enter the ring and one man leads, you know? And like kind of your conversation with the editor afterwards would be like, well, did they win or did you wait, you know? Totally. And it would lead to like, I can think of so many like very intense interactions that I had with people basically because I was trying to prove to like someone back in the office that I had like, I triumphed over them. Totally. I mean, they're getting something out of you. You want to get something out of them. And it's a back and forth and negotiation and a battle. I remember when I was writing for Esquire in the 2000s, and David Granger, the editor, he didn't like celebrity profiles. He knew they had to do them. And he would make his top writers do them. Like guys like Tom Jeanaud and Tom Kierrella and Mike Sager, they would have to do these celebrity profiles. So they took it as like a challenge. How do I turn this into either a piece of creative writing that I could be proud of or something that is like a boxing match where I'm going after this person or I'm having a flirty moment with Halle Berry or whatever. I think those people were wrong. And I think that was kind of fucked up. Oh, really? I think that I think the sort of creative writing, I'm Ernest Hemingway version of that is is actually like, yes, this person's a celebrity. Yes, they are promoting something. They still don't really deserve to be a prop in your attempt to be F Scott Fitzgerald. Sometimes I imagine them reading this and being like, why are you writing about what the rocks looked like as you're gazing? just trying to get some good senses off. And this person is just there as a prop in your story. I actually think that's a messed up way to do this job. And for the record, not all those guys did that, but I remember reading some great as well. I know what you're talking about of that era, where you're right. The star would be the inspiration moment for 3,500 words that are largely about something else. Yes. And no one wants to read that now. And I also think it's just unkind to any interview subject. It's like, you're asking for their time and their energy. That doesn't mean that it's like, Hey, we're going to make this a smooth, frictionless experience for you, and you're going to be comfortable the whole time. But it probably ought to be that you pay attention to them primarily. And they be the subject of the piece that you write. So that will be point one. And then on the combative stuff, I think for me, one of these I find is I'm asking a lot of the same questions I was asking 10 or 15 years ago, but I am asking them in a nicer way. And I honestly think that is less about, you know, part of it is just like I was just kind of like, I think I, I think I generally like lead with empathy and want to know how people's brains work and doing that sort of boxing match thing is not always conducive to finding out how someone thinks about the world. Right. And part of that is like that norm was just that that norm in some ways was actually crazy to just show it to somebody who's minding their business and be like, Hey, fuck you. Let's go. You know, like that's like, like if someone did that to you at a cocktail party, you'd be like, what what is going on? You know, as as coddled at or or or rich or whatever is there, they are still humans in this world. And journalism rules apply, but some of this extra stuff that used to get brought to this, I actually think it was crazy. Imagine setting your makeup then forgetting it's even theirs. No tightness, no stickiness, no residue, just plump, dewey hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Video. You're even doing video now. Is video going to replace the celebrity profile? I mean, in some ways it already has. It is a great question. I think I think Cruz is actually a great example of the strengths of this medium. You know, yes, I am, I am doing video right now. One more question on the GQ YouTube channel. That's the new show. Thank you very much. No, but I think, you know, like look, Adam by Dowie took over the magazine this year. He and I had conversation about this even before he was at our in chief, just about like this seems to be where this is going. I am related to someone who works at the ringer. I guess we should say that you are the husband of a man to dobbin suit. Which is why mass being so nice to me, can you tell? If it is going that way, and I do think I do think it might be in some respects. I think there's still room for that like super long super-accessy written piece. I wrote a piece about the Odyssey this summer that, you know, where I talked about I talked to all the people involved. And it's sort of a making of piece. And it's sort of like a here's where four, you know, where Damon and Halen and Pattinson are in their life. And that just really felt like it still should have been a print piece. And I think it worked in that way. And the photos were nice. Yeah. And the photos were cool. I think something like the Tom Cruise interview shows like why in addition to the fact that the audience seems to be increasingly there. Like there's a reason why you and I are actually like on video right now. It's like even no matter what you do, it just seems like where the where the readers used to be for print journalism. They now just seem to be by default either listening or trying to watch this stuff. So that is obviously one reason is that these places are trying to adapt and find where the audience is. And then I do think the second thing and I actually really like this as a long time profiler is. I would always be having interactions where sometimes the way they answered a question was more interesting than their sort of written version of their answer. Whether it was like the pause or the voice crack or the stumble or the evasion. And you know, obviously like part of the art of writing, you know, magazine journalism is conveying to a reader that that happened. But one thing I actually really like about this new era of doing certain interviews on camera is people can see it. And I think people can learn so much from the how the interaction goes, the nonverbal cues. All that stuff I think is actually fascinating. I always knew that stuff was there. But now I'm I'm finding that the audience is like, oh, that moment where they kind of looked like this or said that or they raised their voice or they laughed. And I'm like, yeah, those were always happening. And then it was like very hard to communicate to someone that that was happening. Now it's quite easy. And I think that's very cool about the medium. Zach, what's the biggest difference to you between editing a written interview and a video interview? The expectation of a written piece is still I think is very polished. You know, you're really like every line, every sentence, every the structure of it. And I actually think, and I'm trying to find this line now with some of the stuff we're doing on camera is people's norm is actually like a three hour Joe Rogan podcast. Now I think the thing that I am doing is more polished than that where it's like, oh, you know, oh, you just talk to Taylor Sheridan about horses for 25 minutes. Like that will never appear on a thing that I do. It's curation. I'll be honest, like it's just different, different entry points. I read the cruise interview because I appreciate the curation and editing where you make the most interesting parts available to me. But some people just want to turn on Tom Cruise and look at him for 20 minutes. And you and I are of a certain generation where yes, like I am always like, where can I read this? You know, but I think I think younger people don't feel that way. All right, we're going to do a lightning round. I'm ready. So I'm going to ask rapid fire questions. Do you answer to the best of your ability? And then we move on. Okay, no follow-ups. Okay. Okay. And this is based on your, you know, many, many years of interviewing celebrities. I'm terrified right now. Let's go. Best hang. Best hang. Jesse Plemmons. Amazing guy. Very small thing. Stuck with me forever. I was like, how is that guy so nice? Mahershala Ali just said the decency of that human being. I really try not to judge. So you have to, the impression really has to be strong for me to like mention these people. And then Scorsese. I'll remember that for the rest of my life. Who's cooler? Actors, musicians, athletes or other musicians by far. Who impressed you most in person? I don't want to pay the backhand accompaniment and say Ben Affleck, but I'm going to say Ben Affleck. I think that I think that, you know, he's talked about before about like kind of people think he's the moron from from Goodwill Hunting. Yeah. What a smart interesting guy when you meet him. Who's team was the most annoying? Is there like is there like a no comment or pass? Sure, but that's wussy. Don't do that. That's wussy. Yeah. I in a in another era, I had a a wild ride with a Bradley Cooper story. And we can leave it there. Oh, okay. We'll talk after. You kind of already answered this. Damon or Affleck? Well, no, I didn't answer it because Damon also has a lot to give to this world. Yeah, they're both great. I'm gonna choose Affleck. I'm so sorry, Matt. Okay. George or Brad? George would be the easy answer, but actually the correct answer is Brad. Autist location for an interview. I would probably have to say Abiza or should I say Abiza with Idris Elba, who was DJ and I went to like every club in Abiza with Idris Elba. Biggest celebrity secret that you held on to for months until the interview published. You know, in that same Idris Elba piece, a wild thing happened, which is and this is a once in a career thing and it still hasn't really got talked about, but I had been reading his past press and I noticed that he briefly mentioned a child and then never mentioned the child again. The child wasn't on Wikipedia or anything. And while we were in a recording studio in Abiza, and I say this story with love, not to not to air Idris out, I kind of was like, what happened here? And he was like, oh yeah, I thought I had fathered a child and it turned out the kid wasn't mine. And I found out. And I was like, this is while probably that or no, I'm thinking about I wrote a Brendan Fraser piece years ago, where he alleged that the former head of the HFPA actually assaulted him and that was a wild experience. And also like, not only did I sort of keep that secret until we published it, but also you can imagine all the people I had to talk to behind the scenes to make sure that we were writing something correct. So that was a wild one to kind of know about and not talk about. What's your emergency question if the interview is not going great? If I know the answer to this, it's like an unconscious reflex. I'm sure there is something I do. There was a moment in the cruise interview where he called out a couple of my follow-up questions and I was like, this is uncanny just because I do think I asked these a lot. Did he say you're being glib? No, he did not say I was being glib. It was kind of like, you know, I do a lot of like, how did you feel when and what did you think when kind of things? And I think You know, when I started, I was the guy that they sent to interview the youngest possible person that GQ Would put on the cover and now I there are some clunies and stuff in my orbit and I find myself talking about aging a lot with people Hmm interesting for this you've traveled to talk to a celebrity. I once went to Dele with Kevin Durant which celebrity gave you the best gift Sometimes the subjects will bring gifts or send follow-up gifts when the interview publishes I must be kind of a loser because I never got a gift. I remember one time I wrote about Alexander McKelle who was then the head designer of Gucci and I got this package in the mail and I was so excited and I was like Zack's coming up and then it was like the worst backpack that you've ever seen in your entire life. Oh, wow I got about a thousand dollars worth of flowers from the Kardashians. No one ever sends me flowers And I've written I've written about multiple Kardashians for I don't know why and it was you know on the car I still have the card and it's like I think it's because you're that you were the editor and chief you were fancy They were carrying favor. I think that's probably true But if someone were to like people used to send me like a kindle or things like that I would send that stuff back and What are you going to do send flowers back when I when I wrote about Tim Cook Apple was like and they had also seen like my old iPhone and stuff and they were like Can we just replace every device you have like this is actually like a bad look for us and I was like you absolutely cannot do that I will hold on to this broken iPhone until I die largest entourage. Oh, wow Such a good question Might be T.C. Might be Tom Cruise recently. How many we're you know, we're gonna. We're gonna keep that part off the record. Oh, wow How many of them were dead behind the eyes and had Scientology pins on none of them come on All right questions. Are we getting here? No, this is the last one person. You were most nervous to interview This is actually a bummer for me the only people I get nervous to interview are kind of like the heroes So like the Paul Thomas Anderson's and Quentinine's and with everybody else I get really nervous and that nerves go away and with them It doesn't and I'm always so frustrated because I'm like I want to write the best possible version of this piece with this person And yet like I can't get over being nervous because I I can think about you know myself in whatever gear X Just like absolutely loving this thing. So probably one of those guys director is weirdly even though the easiest people Talks in a world. I often get nervous. Huh. Yeah, I don't get nervous around celebrities at all But some like Oprah a little bit very David. Yeah, they sat they sat me next to Paul Thomas Anderson at the Oscars brunch or the lunch the nominees lunch and It was a little intimidating all a bit. He's a very intense guy and I could tell that he sort of had no time for me and New who I was and was just like kind of bum that he was sitting next to me, but But he was nice and by the end we were cool like it was fine Actual final question who sucks the most because that is what everybody asks me about the Hollywood Reporter roundtables When I used to do those about people in Hollywood people just want to know who sucks and I imagine you get the same question I get the same question I always get the same answer everybody hates my answer. I alluded to it before one of the things I do before these things It's just kind of like hypnotized myself into being really interested in whoever I'm talking to Couple that with my thing of it's really only my problem to make this thing go well And I just don't really do a lot of judging in that particular respect So I honestly like when people ask me a question and I do get it a lot at like sip from civilians I'm just kind of like I don't have a good answer for you, and that's more or less the truth I always just say Julia Roberts really good. Yeah, cuz she's really I don't want to hear that I know that's sad just in my interactions with her and her team She was really difficult and then people give that reaction. They're satisfied. They're like, oh Okay, Julia Roberts sucks. Okay. We need to find you need to find a new example. We have I know I'm saying better No one no one feels good when they hear that I feel horrible now all right Well, we appreciate you coming on congrats on the story Leverating your profiles, and now we will watch you on your new show. Thanks. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it We're back with the call sheet Greg before we start many listeners are concerned How is your injury that you sustained at the Emmys if you didn't listen you were stabbed at the HBO party By an actual Emmy that was carried by an unidentified male middle-aged non-famous My injury. I'm recovering well. It's it's almost gone. It's between your middle finger and your ring finger, correct? Yeah, that's correct. We I kind of use some clickbait in the latest episode of the fantasy show because we in the at the end of the title It said and Craig got stabbed at the Emmys, so Which is technically true. Yeah, technically true Well, I'm pleased to announce that I will be representing you free of charge in a personal injury lawsuit against Warner Brothers Discovery and the San Vicente bungalows and anyone else who's at the party Thank you. It was either me or Morgan and Morgan and you decided that size does not matter, so you went with me. You're a cheaper. Yeah All right, well, we'll monitor that closely. So resident evil Mm-hmm. This movie keeps like surging in the tracking. I had it at 45 and I took the over in my newsletter last night, and I got some updated intel today That I think we should move the tracking to 50 for this weekend the over under being 50 It's a Sony release Zach Rager directing a lot of buzz for this because the reviews are actually amazing like in the mid 90s on Rotten Tomatoes, so what say you on resident evil? I'm still taking the over on 50. I think Craig or that Craig or is the new you know I think now fans are starting to attach themselves to these like a tour horror directors He's the new who he's a new Jordan Peele Sure, I mean I already asked her a few years ago. I think had this had this kind of momentum But yeah, I think that there are these there are like a handful of directors now that people will kind of go see Whatever they make, which is a fun place to be and weapons open till a 43 domestic So I think this has much more momentum because of weapons and they're and the resident evil baked in video game IP I would take the over on 50 Yeah, it seems that way. I know I was at the Sony lot for lunch and they this week and they were very bullish on it They're like it it's gonna deliver and the thing with Craig or is that he's not cheap now They had to pay him. I don't know what the actual number was, but coming off with barbarian and weapons He's in that echelon now where his reps are taking advantage of the fact that he can bring a crowd and I think Sony was a little nervous when they green live this so like yeah, we're betting on this guy But as our guests last week on a Constantine said like this is they need to reboot this The last one did not work the 2021 reboot of Resident Evil did not work and I think this is gonna be a movie that can spawn three four spin-offs Yeah, and the the budget of this is double what weapons was because we were right usually when we talk about these horror films The budgets are somewhat small resident evil says the budget's 75 million. Yeah, I mean, that's high for horror Obviously, but it is branded horror and there is an audience here and you got the the a tour factor now So we'll see I'm gonna take the over on 50 little risky But I'm gonna go above the actual energy tracking Set it at 50 and take the over. I think there's a chance it's way higher. We will see I had a big L last week on practical magic too Took the over on 40 and it came in at 30 which is big loss But whatever Warner Brothers let me down. That's the show for today. I want to thank my guests back baron producer Craig Horlbeck Art is Jesse Lopez and stuff from Sanchez, and I want to thank you. 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