Nicolas Cage, Bingo Wings, and another Paul nudity flashback?! All this and more when Paul answers YOUR corrections & omissions on our Monkeybone episode. Plus, Jason & Paul chat with NY Times Best-Selling Author Brad Meltzer about his new book THE VIPER, his inside access to the witness protection program, favorite comic books, and a lot more. Paul also shares a bonus deleted scene from our Monkeybone live show and announces next week's new movie! PAUL, JASON, & BRAD'S COMIC BOOK RECS: Deadpool/Batman Godzilla vs. the Marvel Universe Predator vs. The Marvel Universe Batman by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez Ghost Machine Absolute Batman #15 Batman & Robin: Year One Jonna and the Unpossible monsters Thor: the Mighty Avenger Hilo Bone Dog Man Captain Underpants Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Nicolas Cage, Bingo Wings, and another Paul nudity flashback?! All this and more when Paul answers YOUR corrections & omissions on our Monkeybone episode. Plus, Jason & Paul chat with NY Times Best-Selling Author Brad Meltzer about his new book THE VIPER, his inside access to the witness protection program, favorite comic books, and a lot more. Paul also shares a bonus deleted scene from our Monkeybone live show and announces next week's new movie!
PAUL, JASON, & BRAD'S COMIC BOOK RECS:
Deadpool/Batman
Godzilla vs. the Marvel Universe
Predator vs. The Marvel Universe
Batman by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez
Ghost Machine
Absolute Batman #15
Batman & Robin: Year One
Jonna and the Unpossible monsters
Thor: the Mighty Avenger
Hilo
Bone
Dog Man
Captain Underpants
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
[00:00:00] Paul Scheer: Edgar Allen Poe's family getting paid, the world's most secretive funeral home and I have a nudity flashback. That's right everybody. All this and more on a brand new episode of How Did This Get Made Last Looks. Hit the theme.
[00:00:21] Music: [Last Looks Intro Song]
[00:00:37] Paul Scheer: What's up, all my coma guys, and coma gals? It's me. Paul Scheer, your nightmare guide through downtown and welcome to How Did This Get Made Last Looks where, wait a second, I'm realizing something here. Downtown. Okay. That, that's where Brendan Frazier is trapped in the movie Monkey Bone. And now I didn't give it that much thought downtown.
[00:00:57] Right? That's where it is. It's like downtown Los Angeles. It's just a way to describe where he is at. But I'm looking at it and I'm realizing there's a space between down and town. All I'm saying is this downtown is actually a town. It's not downtown. It's Down Town. So there might even be a downtown Down Town.
[00:01:17] Oh, wow. Now my mind is exploding. I love this subtle detail. Why? Because it's confusing, because Brendan Frazier isn't even down technically. His body is up, he's out of the coma, but he is trapped in downtown, but he is also awake. So now I don't even understand why you call it the Down town. It should be like.
[00:01:40] I don't know, Idville or you know, uh uh, I don't know. Idville,, it's what I'm going with. Um, yeah. Monkey Bone is confusing. Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. Uh, no matter how much Griffin Newman explained the plot to us, I still, uh, didn't like it, even though maybe I respected it a little bit more. Uh, but Monkey Bone is a film that could be many things.
[00:02:03] Uh, one of our users, Fun Facts 47 thinks it could have been called
[00:02:08] "Drop Dead Fraser."
[00:02:12] Did I do it right? Scott? Scott is looking at me. Yes, I did it right. Scott was nervous I was gonna say, uh, Drop Dead Frazier, which was the title of my, uh, spec comedy pilot. Uh, where, um, we team up a world of Cheers villains who go out to try to kill Frazier Crane.
[00:02:29] Kind of like that. Uh, bring on the bad guys, uh, Spider-Man thing, uh, which I gotta tell you. If you're, uh, somebody in the industry, you never got back to me about that. I, I really wish you would've read Drop Dead Frazier. Um, but again, I don't wanna, I don't wanna associate my spec comedy pitch with Fun facts 47's, uh, alt movie tagline, which they submitted on the Discord, which is "Drop Dead Fraser."
[00:02:55] Uh, anyway, uh. Get back to me. If you wanna read Drop Dead Frazier, it is available in PDF form only. Uh, and, uh, just hit me on my AOL account. Um, big shout out to the Midwest shakes for that opening theme song. Now remember, if you have an alt movie tagline or a theme song, you can just submit it via the Discord at Discord.gg/HDTGM.
[00:03:18] And these songs are really easy to give us, uh, because all you gotta do is go to our website, you click on the submit a song button, and then that's it. Drop it in the Dropbox and you get the hell outta there. Uh, remember as you put it in there so quick. Uh, you also should make the song quick too. 15 to 20 seconds is best.
[00:03:35] We're not saying that because we don't love you. We're saying that because we wanna protect you. That's right. No one likes a long song. Do what Midwest Shakes did so well. You nailed it. Got out. Some people would say hit it or quit it. But I say you nailed it and got out. Um, alright. Coming up on today's episode, we're gonna break down so much in Monkey Bone.
[00:03:57] Uh, a movie where I believe, there's gonna be less of a division between Team Sanity and Team Fred, if that was a, a breakdown. I, I think that there's a, a Team Monkey and a Team Bone. No, that sounds wrong too. Let's just call it Team Sanity. Uh, we are going to play a very exclusive, well, it's not that exclusive, but it is an exclusive deleted scene from our Monkey Bone episode in just a little bit.
[00:04:22] Uh, there was so much in there. A shout out to our producer, Molly, uh, which didn't make the episode. But, uh, we love Molly. We love Scott. Uh, we love our whole team here. Uh, we also have a very special guest. I mean a no messing around a special guest. I'm talking about a New York Times bestselling author, a award-winning comic book writer.
[00:04:42] Uh, this guy has been on the show before. Uh. And we're gonna break down his brand new book, The Viper. That's right. Brad Meltzer is coming back to the show in just a little bit. He's gonna challenge Jason on some comic book, uh, trivia, but more importantly, he's gonna tell us some stuff that blew my mind about the Witness Protection program.
[00:05:03] And he also was in the most top secret funeral home in the country. Brett is one of the coolest. He writes all these amazing books like they're like little biographies. The I Am books, like I am Walt Disney. I am Sally Ride. If you haven't, uh, checked these out, they are great. Uh, I remember we got my kid the I am Jackie Robinson.
[00:05:26] The I am Jane Goodall and the We are the Beatles, and they are addicted to them. They are so, so good, and he is always got great ones coming out. I love Brad. I can't wait for you to hear what we're talking to him about in just a little bit, and of course, you know why you're here. To hear the reveal of next week's movie.
[00:05:44] That's right. We got a good one for you. And right now, uh, if you're in New York City or you want to travel in New York City, you could catch Jason on Broadway. In All Out. All Out is a hilarious night of short stories from Simon Rich. Simon Rich. I love Simon Rich. If you've not read one of his books, you're missing out.
[00:06:01] Simon Rich, uh, I believe, uh, wrote the short story. That Seth Rogan based An American Pickle on, which is a movie I really enjoyed. But I love Simon so much. I love his writing. And this is a great night because not only is it full of hilarious people like Sarah Silverman, Heidi Gardner, Craig Robinson, but uh, The Band Lawrence, who I, uh, worked with when I did this big fundraiser for everybody when we were out of work during the strikes, uh, are also playing along, uh, with them every single night.
[00:06:33] And they were just. Bringing down the house. But here's the thing, you wanna see Jason live? You wanna see him alongside Sarah Silverman, Heidi Gardner and Craig Robinson? Well, guess what? we're gonna give you a 20% off on tickets. That's right. How Did This Get Made listeners, we'll get an exclusive discount code.
[00:06:50] Just go to AllOutBroadway.com. Use the code "ALLOUTPOD" to get up to 20% off tickets. That is Code "ALLOUTPOD" for up to 20% off tickets. You can also find the link and discount code in this episode in the show notes as well. I wanna thank everybody for watching my Taylor Swift documentary that I put up on YouTube last week.
[00:07:10] The comments have been wonderful. They've really blown me away. Uh, I've just been, uh, so incredibly moved by them. Um, and uh, I also just wanna plug, uh, I don't know when it's coming out, but I am in FXs Beauty. That's right. One shot makes you hot. Um, do you know about Beauty? Get ready for Beauty. Beauty, I think might blow your mind.
[00:07:35] Uh, here's a spoiler. Vincent Donofrio takes a shot. Who has he become? Ashton Kutcher. Tune in, people, that's all you need to know. Alright, that is all the plugs I got. Let's get into it. Last week we talked at length about Monkey Bone. Well, we had questions and we might've even missed a few things. Here's your chance to set us straight. Fact check us, if you will. It is now time for Corrections and Omissions.
[00:08:00] Music: [Corrections and Omissions Song]
[00:08:21] Paul Scheer: Thank you John Steele for that awesome theme song. Let's go to the Discord. Ghost Mutt writes,
[00:08:27] "In the opening cartoon, young Stew has a fetish for his elderly teacher's, loose underarm skin. In the UK there's actually a specific derogatory term for this loose skin fat. It's called. Bingo wings. Yes, that's right. Bingo wings. This comes from the way in bingo halls when a winner waves their arms in the air in celebration, that loose arm flap fat flops around like wings. Pretty awful nickname, but what else would you call 'em?"
[00:08:58] By the way, I love. Bingo wings, bingo wings. I mean, we should have used that. Maybe the movie shouldn't have been called Monkey Bone.
[00:09:06] It should have been called Bingo Wings. Uh, I love that. Thank you. Ghost Mutt.
[00:09:09] Dr. Guts 1003 writes,
[00:09:11] "There was a lot of discussion about Ben Stiller's possible involvement in the film, but according to Henry Selleck on the film's DVD commentary, he said his original plan was to have Nick Cage play the lead character."
[00:09:20] Whoa. Yes.
[00:09:23] "And have him be a puppeteer instead of a cartoonist."
[00:09:27] I love this.
[00:09:27] "And then once, uh, he was in the coma, the film would be Stop motion and Cage would become one of his puppets."
[00:09:35] I mean, it's wow. Very Malkovich, right? Being John Malkovich.
[00:09:38] "Unfortunately, uh, producer Chris Columbus insisted that audiences can't relate to an animated character, so the lead would have to be live action the whole time. Since Selleck couldn't do stop motion, he scrapped the puppeteer idea and we got Brendan Fraser as a cartoonist version instead. Just more proof that Chris Columbus was the true villain of this film. And here is some pre-production storyboard art from the film where they were still thinking about having Nicholas Cage as the lead."
[00:10:06] Now you can go on Discord and check out this art. It looks awesome. And wow, what a cooler idea to do this, this way. Wow. Now I like the movie more. I like the movie more, if it was all like, stop motion, not real people. Anyway, uh, Nick Cage would've been genius and we were robbed.
[00:10:24] Uh, Mitch Kappa Chunk style writes
[00:10:26] "Griffin gave a valiant defense of this movie, but let see him explain away Bob Odenkirk doing organ removal on a clothed corpse."
[00:10:36] Ooh, Mitch Kappa. Laying it down. Yeah. Uh, look, sometimes you gotta make your day. Uh, you don't have time to listen to the scripty. Oh, it's on the other hand. Oh, we should not be fully clothed. No, you gotta shoot the scene. Comedy people. Comedy with a K, uh, that's what I think that scene is all about. Let's go to the phones.
[00:10:58] Julian from New York.
[00:10:59] Listener: Hey, this is Julian calling about the um, Monkey Bone episode. Specifically Griffin Newman's rousing defense of that shitty, insane movie. So Griffin posits that all of these, you know, nightmare inducing figures from history or Atila the Honey or Jack the Ripper, they are quote, creative guys who didn't have an outlet yet.
[00:11:21] So under this theory, just like our heroes too, these guys were bad at drawing. They fall into a coma. Quote, there's a little murderer in there who takes over their body and quote does a bunch of bad shit. Uh, you guys know where I'm going with this. There is one historical figure who was famously a mediocre artist.
[00:11:43] Who took a turn into nightmare inducing, quote unquote bad shit. Is Griffin suggesting that Adolf Hitler's monkey bone took over his body? Is he saying that Hitler's childhood boner is responsible for World War II and the Holocaust? Is Griffin a Hitler apologist? Hang on. Do we need to cancel Griffin Newman? Okay, bye.
[00:12:11] Paul Scheer: Wow, Julian, I am not touching that.
[00:12:14] I am not touching that one bit. Uh, wow. Uh, honestly, on the verge of, maybe we should edit that out, but, uh, no, we, Griffin is not, uh, a Hitler apologist. He is not, we are not canceling Griffin at all. Respect Griffin. He hates ICE. He is a defender of democracy. He, I mean, he likes Stalin. I, I know that to be true.
[00:12:38] Uh, alright, let's go back to the phone from Connecticut, we have Sarah.
[00:12:43] Listener: Hi Paul. I have to say I was kind of sad to see you guys did Monkey Bone. Uh, it's actually one of my favorite movies. It's just so strange and weird and I've watched it a million times. Um, that being said, it seemed like there was some confusion about downtown and, uh, where Monkey Bone came from.
[00:13:01] So basically, downtown is a collection of all of Earth's nightmares and, the reason Monkey Bone is in downtown is because he is the nightmare of Stew. And the only reason he exists is because, uh, he used to make horrible, scary art from the nightmares that he had before he met his girlfriend and she told him to switch hands drawing, and he grew Monkey bone.
[00:13:28] Um, and Monkey Bone was a type of nightmare, uh, about, you know boners, I guess. And that's why there's all sorts of different kinds of monsters and stuff. And they explain The reason that, uh, people are having less nightmares is because of studies like Julie's doing, um, in order to help people sleep better, um, and sleep meds and stuff.
[00:13:50] So they want more nightmares, uh, to populate their world. Um, I hope that helps. I have seriously watched this movie a million times, but I appreciate your guys' commentary. Love you lot and have a good one.
[00:14:05] Paul Scheer: There's downtown again. There is downtown again. And she made me realize, okay, well got it. Like downtown.
[00:14:13] Maybe you should be called like Nightmare Town. Um, oh man. Yeah, and downtown should be Nightmare Town or Dream Zone. Dreamscape. I saw Dreamscape, the movie in the theater, 3D glasses. I was so psyched and I thought like that was a time when I thought like all 3D movies might have nudity in it too. I don't know why I thought that, but I was like hoping that there's like a kissing scene in that movie.
[00:14:37] I remember I was like, oh, maybe I'll see some nudity. No, there's no nudity in that movie. Hold on. Let me double check. I wanna make sure there's nudity. 'cause I remember being quite titillated at Dreamscape. Oh my God. There was nudity in Dreamscape. I think it was like a PG movie. Brief nudity and paranoid politics.
[00:14:56] Wait a second. PG 13? It was PG 13. And you saw nudity. I knew it. I knew it. Holy cow. Uh, and I believe the nudity was Kate Capshaw. Yeah, I'm right. Wow. Well look, I have a mind remembering nudity. Alright, um, let's go. Like weird little kid pervert. Uh, let's go back to the phones one more time to hear from the Berkshires.
[00:15:24] That's right. Jamie from the Berkshires. What do you got?
[00:15:26] Listener: Hi Paul. I am a longtime listener and I finally got to see you guys live, um, last week in New York and it was a great show. So Edgar Allen Poe, um, in the cast of characters in the prison, um, of Monkey Bone was played by Edgar Allen Poe the Fourth and now he is calling himself the fourth.
[00:15:48] Even though Edgar Allen Poe never had any children. So I believe he is a great, great, great nephew of Poe. And so if you do a little digging into this man, he's very fascinating. He seems to have made an entire career of doing POE characters and acting work through the Poe connection. Um, he eventually had his own, I think it was a one man play called,
[00:16:11] Poe-sessed in 2011 that has some great reviews out there. And um, an excerpt from one from Backstage is
[00:16:20] "If his famous relative knew what he was doing with his legacy, he'd probably wall that nephew into a wine cellar or bury him under some floorboards."
[00:16:28] So there is that and I am just a big fan. I hope you guys have a great weekend.
[00:16:34] Thank you. Bye.
[00:16:36] Paul Scheer: Wow. I love that. Keeping it in the family. Keeping it in the family. Indeed. Guys, I have to tell you, I, I am still, uh, shook by my Dreamscape revelation. Uh, anyway, let's go back to the Discord. I mean that, that Edgar Allen Poe thing was actually pretty great too. Uh, odd but great. Um, alright.
[00:16:54] The Mighty Beard writes
[00:16:55] "Well, uh, Rose McGowan posted about this movie on Facebook and Instagram back in 2016 and revealed some interesting things. Here is her post. 'Here I am as Miss Kitty in a film called Monkey Bone. The movie would've been incredible, at least the underworld part, if the men at 20th Century Fox, the Suits, hadn't fired the director, a true artist, Henry Sellek halfway through filming a profoundly stupid move. Later, Sellek went on to direct Coraline and James and Giant Peach, both classics, the set design, costumes, prosthetics, actors, all at a master level, at least in the underworld part of the film. What Fox turned. This film into, because of their fear and lack of artistic thinking was a travesty. They truly robbed us, the audience of a possible classic, also fun fact, uh, Monkey Bone was based on a graphic novel called Darktown.'"
[00:17:41] Why are we calling it, uh, downtown? All right. Oh, wait, hold on.
[00:17:44] "'The weenies at Fox change the name to downtown because they were scared that African Americans would be upset by a psychedelic underground acid trip of a world. With a cat for a waitress named Darktown.'"
[00:17:59] Huh? I'm not following that train of thought Rose. Uh, anyway, uh, I wonder, oh, now it's getting weirder. Hmm.
[00:18:07] "'I wonder how many African American women directors they've hired in ratio to white male directors. That's what Fox should have been concerned with.'"
[00:18:15] Okay. Well that you kind of pulled yourself out. I don't. Okay. I let it sit. I let it sit 'cause I think there was a, the right energy was there.
[00:18:24] Um, anyway, Buster Bluth writes,
[00:18:27] "At the live show, how is there not a Comate chant?"
[00:18:31] Oh man. Well, Buster, you should have been there. We should have had you. We need a Comate. Comate.. Uh, alright. Wow. So many great corrections and omissions this week.
[00:18:42] Uh, mainly the best one, in my opinion is mine, uh, about Dreamscape. Um, but look, I, I, I am not gonna give myself the award, even though I probably deserve it. Uh, I'm gonna give one of you the award. I love that we heard a little bit from Rose McGowan. I also love that we have figured out that Edgar Allen Poe keeps it all in the family, but I think to me, I'm going out on a limb and saying something different.
[00:19:07] Yes, I know that we've listened to the commentary. Thank you Dr. Guts. But I gotta say bingo wings. That's a winner. Ghost Mutt. You don't get anything, but you do get this amazing theme song. Hit it.
[00:19:26] Music: [Winner's Song]
[00:19:39] Paul Scheer: Thank you Aaron Webb for that beautiful winner's theme. Remember, chime in with your thoughts on these episodes. Gimme a call 6 1 9 P-A-U-L-A-S-K. Call it any time it's a Google line, you're not gonna get anyone to pick up, so call, leave a message. Have a fun fact. Give me something. Coming up after the break, Jason and I will chat with Brad Meltzer and I'll announce our next movie.
[00:19:59] But first, take a listen to this bonus deleted scene from our Monkey Bone episode where Jason and I discuss our experiences taking the train to the show.
[00:20:07] Jason Mantzoukas: While a woman had the loudest cell phone conversation from Washington DC all the way to to New York, screaming into her cell phone. I was like, I am going to fucking murder this person.
[00:20:22] Paul Scheer: I sat next to a very lovely lady who dinged her elbow against the window, and we talked about that for about 10 minutes.
[00:20:29] Jason Mantzoukas: Wait. You're talking to people on the train?
[00:20:33] Paul Scheer: Not willingly.
[00:20:33] Jason Mantzoukas: Huge mistake. I put on headphones if anybody tries to talk to me, I'm like, nope, that's not happening.
[00:20:41] Paul Scheer: Here's why I think she started talking to me because I did have a Mahjong card out in my lap and I was playing online mahjong. I, I think I was an easy target for an older woman.
[00:20:53] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah, big time.
[00:20:54] Paul Scheer: She's like, this person's safe.
[00:20:56] Jason Mantzoukas: Wait, I'm sorry. Were you trying to pick up an old woman? Because if not, that is a sure fire way, like.
[00:21:04] Paul Scheer: Oh yes, it is the 2025 Mahjong Card in bold font. And for people who are slightly colorblind.
[00:21:14] And welcome back. By now, I'm sure you've all noticed that every week we re-release an old How Did This Get Made episode back into our feed. These matinee episodes now come out every Tuesday to pair with Monkey Bone. This week's matinee was another movie about a cartoonist interacting with his own creations.
[00:21:31] I'm talking about 1992's Cool World and next week's matinee will learn all about June's hatred of break dancing when we watch Body Rock with guest Alison Brie. So keep on checking off all of our replays of classic episodes every Tuesday. And now without any further ado, it is time to welcome Jason and a very special guest.
[00:21:50] That's right, we've teased him throughout the show. The one, the only, Brad Meltzer, whose brand new book Viper, is in bookstores right now. And people, you're gonna love it. You're gonna read it, you're gonna read it all up. But you know what, um, let me have him tell you all about, but first. John Cohen, play us in.
[00:22:12] Music: [Just Chat Song]
[00:22:26] Paul Scheer: Brad. So excited to have you back on the show. It's been too long.
[00:22:32] Brad Meltzer: Yeah. Good to see you guys.
[00:22:33] Jason Mantzoukas: Thrilled to have you here, Brad.
[00:22:35] Paul Scheer: Brad, one of our most accomplished guests on the show. You are, uh, Emmy nominated a number one New York Times bestselling author. Uh, you're writing comic books, you're writing nonfiction books.
[00:22:46] Um, you're on a book tour, but you new book The Viper. I am fascinated about this. Jason and I were talking about this before you came on because this is the, uh, third book in your Zig and Nola series, and this is all about people who are disappearing, right? I mean, like you are in the world or you know a lot about how people disappear, whether it's a witness, uh, protection program.
[00:23:12] Jason Mantzoukas: You're in the world of disappearing people.
[00:23:14] Paul Scheer: Yeah.
[00:23:14] Jason Mantzoukas: Right? Yeah. Right. Uh, is that your?
[00:23:16] Brad Meltzer: I do, no, listen. There is, there is, there is a, in my phone. My wife knows if anything happens to me, there is a guy to call that literally, I said, put in the word kidnap.
[00:23:26] Jason Mantzoukas: Wow.
[00:23:26] Brad Meltzer: And it is literally, I'm like, you call Tim and he's going to be the one to find me.
[00:23:30] Jason Mantzoukas: We're gonna need that info, Brad.
[00:23:31] Brad Meltzer: Yes. Because you need to be found. I mean, but that, that's the, if you, if you write thrillers for a living, that's what you have to be moving in. Right. You have to find, like, I found this book, it's a crazy story. I was in a funeral home as one is.
[00:23:43] Paul Scheer: Right.
[00:23:43] Brad Meltzer: And, um. And this guy's showing me, you know, he is showing me around the funeral home doing research for one of the thrillers, and he opens up, I see a closet with a padlock.
[00:23:53] And I'm like, well, that's obviously the most interesting place now, right? So what's in the, what's in the closet? And he opens it up and he's got all these, um, old kind of like nineties era suits and sequin gowns, and. It's all the clothes that people pick out that they wanna be buried in before they die.
[00:24:10] Jason Mantzoukas: Wow, wow.
[00:24:10] Brad Meltzer: So especially if you have no family, you pick out what you wear. And so, and it's got like, you know, a Jet's jersey and like a hat that like a guy wants to wear. 'cause his ex-wife hates that hat and he's like, put me in the hat. You know, like, and so like, people are, you know, vindictive, but
[00:24:24] Paul Scheer: I'm just realizing that that's hilarious. Like, to bury them in the wrong, like, like not their fandom, like, or like, I mean, is it like, could you?
[00:24:31] Brad Meltzer: No, he wants the hat. He's like, my wife hates this hat.
[00:24:34] Paul Scheer: But I love it.
[00:24:34] Brad Meltzer: I love it. Like my father is buried in a hat that says Best pop. My dad is buried in a baseball cap.
[00:24:40] Paul Scheer: Awesome.
[00:24:40] Brad Meltzer: Because he was just like, f everything, man. I don't care. He's like, he wants to like wear the baseball. Like my dad took a picture for his driver's license in a baseball cap.
[00:24:48] Jason Mantzoukas: Awesome.
[00:24:49] Paul Scheer: My stepfather is buried in a Walt Disney World T-shirt.
[00:24:53] Brad Meltzer: Fantastic.
[00:24:53] Paul Scheer: It says like, I'm your Mickey. Uh, and um, and, and that was it.
[00:24:58] And, but I will tell you like there is something about being in a funeral home. Because when no one's there, I think I'm used to being there where, you know, there is a, like, there's a pomp and circumstance coming in. People are grieving, there's a lot going on. But in those quiet times, in those in-between times when they're not selling you on anything, we're not showing you, like, I imagine that is, you know, a, a place that's a little bit more unexamined than we probably even realize.
[00:25:24] Like you're saying, like there's a closet full of clothes.
[00:25:27] Brad Meltzer: And not only that, but you get the full attention of the guy walking you around, right?
[00:25:31] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah.
[00:25:31] Brad Meltzer: So I'm like, tell me about everything in here. And I was like, what I realized is if you know, so, so the book opens and like guy walks into a funeral home, he is carrying a blue suit and.
[00:25:42] It's a suit he wants to be buried in. Just exactly what I saw that day. But what I realized that day is if you go to a bank and you open up a new bank account, there's a file that's filled out and paperwork that's done, government wants to track you, they'll find you. You go to the UPS store and open up a PO box, there's paperwork done.
[00:26:00] If the government needs to find you, they can figure it out and track you down. You know, there's like wifi cookie jars now tell you who stole the last chocolate chip. Right? But if you take the outfit that you're gonna be buried in, and you secretly sow something inside that suit and you give it to the local funeral mortician and he puts it in his closet with the padlock on it.
[00:26:20] You have the ultimate hiding space that no one will ever track. And basically that's what happens. The guy walks in, hands it over, hides something in it. He goes back to his motel room, they're like, where is it? He's like, I don't know what you're talking about. They shoot him dead. Basically the suit winds up in the hands of no one that you would ever expect.
[00:26:36] I just ruined Chapter one of the Viper for you. But that's chapter one.
[00:26:39] Paul Scheer: I mean, I'm already in.
[00:26:40] Jason Mantzoukas: That's great. I love that.
[00:26:42] Paul Scheer: I mean, now Zig is a mortician, like Zig is, you know, one of your characters here in the book. And this idea that, now I'm, forget if I'm misremembering it, but like does Zig work at the Dover Air Force base or, okay, so the Dover Air Force Base, the most secretive, uh, funeral home in, in the world or the country.
[00:27:02] Brad Meltzer: In the, in the whole country. So I, I do a lot of work with the USO. They bring over. In the USO, they'll, they bring over thriller writers. I mean, they actually, like we went, we went the day after the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders and like the MMA fighters. And then it was like a bunch of authors
[00:27:15] Paul Scheer: I went after. I went after football players and, and models and It's hard. It's hard. Yeah.
[00:27:20] Brad Meltzer: It's hard. My friend was like, can you tape the audible sigh when you walked in the room? Like, I wanna hear how it all just went down.
[00:27:27] Jason Mantzoukas: And they keep asking me to go with all the models. They keep being like, you're a, you're a model, right?
[00:27:33] Brad Meltzer: A hundred percent. You should. By the way, go. Anyone should go. Like, and so
[00:27:37] Paul Scheer: USO is one of the best experiences I've ever been in because they take care of you. But one of the things I love is they do want to get people pumped about you being there. And when I went, uh, we were there with Rob Riggle who was on the Daily Show shooting pieces for the Daily Show. But, uh, Horatio Sans was with us as well, and I guess the only thing they could get their hands on was a movie called Boat Trip, which might be routinely viewed as not the best film, but every serviceman that we met had gotten it from like the, like the store. Yeah. Everyone knew Boat Trip. I, I, I was signing Boat Trip DVDs on that tour. Yes.
[00:28:15] Brad Meltzer: Whatever they give you, you are, it is the be like your worst book is the best book when you're in the desert.
[00:28:19] Paul Scheer: Yes.
[00:28:19] Brad Meltzer: Yeah. So you are just, everything's, it's great.
[00:28:21] Like, I remember had Al Roker book in the, in the thing and I texted him and I was like, dude, they got your book here. And he is like, oh my gosh, they got that book nowhere, you know? But they got it there and he was like a star. Um, but yeah, so, so I'm there and I, and that's where I find that about Dover and I, I didn't know what Dover was, but you've seen it.
[00:28:38] It's where all the, the, the, those flag covered coffins. When a soldier dies, it comes off the thing and everyone salutes. But what I figured out and what I realized is Dover is where all our fallen soldiers go, but it's also where all our astronauts go. Like when the space shuttle exploded. Oh wow. It's where all of the 9/11 victims from the Pentagon went there.
[00:28:58] It's also where all of our spies, our 007's around the globe when they go on a mission and die. Their bodies go to Dover, which means Dover's a place that's filled with secrets. And I love secrets.
[00:29:09] Paul Scheer: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:29:09] Brad Meltzer: So I'm like, so I went in there and my main character works outta Dover and it's just, you know, the, the morticians there will rebuild someone's jaw and smooth it over with clay for 12 hours.
[00:29:20] 'Cause some mother wants to see her son in the coffin one last time. Rebuild someone's hand, 'cause a mother says, I wanna hold my son's hand one last time. Like, so good luck making a joke at the end of this, you know, description. But like, it's just like the best of the best of us working on the best of the best of us.
[00:29:34] And you're, and you go there and you're just humble. And I was like. I need to set thrillers in this world because the morticians here ha, they know the real name of that fake person they just brought into Dover. They know the person that whose identity they're hiding. Like I talked to a guy there who was like on 9/11, he, all of a sudden all these bodies are coming in.
[00:29:55] He's putting literal, putting Humpty Dumpty together, putting pieces of people, trying to figure out who's who. And the FBI comes in. And they surround this one body he's working on. He has no idea what's going. He's like, why are you so interested in this one body? And he's like, this is the guy flying the plane and that's who he realized he's working on.
[00:30:13] Paul Scheer: Wow.
[00:30:13] Jason Mantzoukas: Wow.
[00:30:13] Brad Meltzer: So these guys have the firsthand view to see things like nothing else. And I'm a forever a Quincy fan, so Quincy to me is like, this is just a cooler version.
[00:30:22] Jason Mantzoukas: Ama that is, I mean, you couldn't have just said a more Gen X statement that you are a huge fan.
[00:30:29] Brad Meltzer: Have you looked at the three of us lately? Two bald men. And like a beard. I mean, of course.
[00:30:34] Jason Mantzoukas: Oh my god. Quincy.
[00:30:36] Paul Scheer: Quincy was, I mean, Quincy was a staple in my house. And it was like.
[00:30:40] Jason Mantzoukas: Quincy was like CSI before CSI. Right?
[00:30:43] Brad Meltzer: Yeah, of course. And Quincy was, Quincy used to be like the word Xerox. Yeah. You would just be like, what are you, Quincy like?
[00:30:48] Paul Scheer: Right.
[00:30:48] Brad Meltzer: And I remember, I remember like 10 books ago making like a Quincy joke in a book, like Shut Up Quincy or something. And all these Gen Xers like of course were like going on my Instagram, going this be like, represent baby, keep it alive, Meltzer. So like it was just like the cult was alive and well.
[00:31:05] Paul Scheer: What I loved about Quincy too is I was so familiar with, uh, Jack Klugman from, uh, The Odd Couple, right? And it was like, oh, actors can do different things. I think that was like my first realization, like, he's totally different. He's not oscar.
[00:31:19] Brad Meltzer: Yeah, a hundred percent. Oscar. A hundred percent. I'm like. That guy is two people officially.
[00:31:23] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah.
[00:31:23] Brad Meltzer: And one is serious and one is funny. And I, you know, it was mind blowing.
[00:31:27] Paul Scheer: I can't believe that we have not done a Quincy remake. I mean, I guess.
[00:31:30] Brad Meltzer: I, by the way, I have pitched it. Not only like I a hundred percent, I pitched like every Gen X show over again. Like.
[00:31:36] Paul Scheer: Oh yeah, yeah.
[00:31:36] Brad Meltzer: And I don't even tell them. 'cause if they're younger than me, they don't know. And if they're old, like, unless they're perfectly our age.
[00:31:42] Paul Scheer: Right.
[00:31:43] Brad Meltzer: Most of 'em don't, you know how Hollywood is, they don't even know. They don't care.
[00:31:46] Jason Mantzoukas: In a world in which we can have an Equalizer movie, franchise, and TV show.
[00:31:52] Paul Scheer: Yes.
[00:31:52] Jason Mantzoukas: How can, why wouldn't we have a Quincy uh, a Quincy, uh, uh, uh, show?
[00:31:56] Brad Meltzer: Well, someone just wrote me when we announced our book tour, someone wrote to me and said, have you, are you familiar with the show, Quincy?
[00:32:02] I'm like, I've based my life on it. Like, that's not even a simple question to me.
[00:32:07] Paul Scheer: Well, I mean, how do you get access here? Because I was thinking about this too, like you've been writing for a very long time and you know, I talked to you about, I, the biggest fan that I've ever made, uh, for you, I believe is I was reading your book.
[00:32:20] My dad was visiting out of town. He read it and now my dad is like texting me. Like, you get this one, you get the, my dad has like devour.
[00:32:28] Brad Meltzer: You texted me? You texted me? I love that.
[00:32:29] Paul Scheer: Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and like I just was home for Thanksgiving. He was like, you gotta read this one now. And I was like, great. And like, so, but it's like you.
[00:32:36] I think you crossed this line of, you know. You're incredibly appealing on all these levels, right? You, you can get the people who love comics, you can get the people who love, you know, real history and you have this like a amazing voice and, uh, characterization to write, you know, dramatic thrillers, but you also get real information and you go deep.
[00:32:56] How do you get the trust of these people or get into these spots because no one else is getting there. Right? I mean, like.
[00:33:02] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah, like, like how do you have that fixer in your phone? Like where do you?
[00:33:05] Brad Meltzer: Yeah. I mean, the truth is, is I think sometimes it's just no one's as nerdy as I am to ask for these things. Like, right, like right. Most people are like, take me to the front lines and show me how you kick in doors. And I'm like, right, you show me the Quincy version of yourself. Like, yeah.
[00:33:18] Paul Scheer: Right.
[00:33:18] Brad Meltzer: So that's part of it. But the other thing is, is. Some of it is, is just being nice, right? If someone calls you up and says, Hey, and you know, you've done it for roles, like, Hey, I'm doing a medical show, can I just follow you around for like half a day?
[00:33:30] Paul Scheer: Right.
[00:33:30] Brad Meltzer: 99% of people say yes. The, the, the benefit I had is some of the books became popular in DC and so, I got a letter one day from, from President George HW Bush. I got a letter from Bill Clinton and they were like, we read your books. And I'm like, uhoh. And then I was like, oh shit. And, and of course I thought it was fake.
[00:33:50] I thought the letter was fake, right? 'Cause when I used to work in, I, I was an intern. My first internship ever was in the, um, the Senate Judiciary Committee. And we stake the pen signing machines. And I would take the Senate judiciary stationary, and I'd sign the senators. Letter and I write to my friends and tell 'em they were being deported.
[00:34:06] Like, because I'm like, what am I gonna do? Like, right, right. And so I just thought, this is someone playing the joke with me. So I call the office and I'm like, Hey man, um, I got a, there's someone there in the president's office. And they said, 'cause it said, can you send us a signed book? And I'm like, someone wants to sign book.
[00:34:20] They go, oh, you got the president's letter?
[00:34:21] Jason Mantzoukas: Wow.
[00:34:22] Brad Meltzer: Like, oh, this is real.
[00:34:23] Paul Scheer: Oh wow.
[00:34:24] Brad Meltzer: And so I was like, not stupid.
[00:34:25] Paul Scheer: Cool.
[00:34:25] Brad Meltzer: I said. I wrote them back and said, Hey, uh, I wanna do research on Presidents. Can I come see what your life is like? And they had left the White House, so I'm like, can I come see you after the White House?
[00:34:36] And both of them said, yes. 'cause what are they doing? I'm like, how bored are you that your life is so boring now that you're writing to me? Um, and that helped like, 'cause once you have that, then the Secret Service is like, oh, if the president trusts you, then I'll talk to you.
[00:34:48] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah.
[00:34:48] Brad Meltzer: And then if the Secret Service talks to you, now that you know, you can get the CIA and the FBI like, and so it's just like these people know each other and that. It just starts from people just being genuinely nice.
[00:34:59] Paul Scheer: Can you tell us something interesting about like the witness protection program? 'cause I think that that is something that, you know, we understand it in a grand scheme of things. Right. We'll see it in a movie like One Battle after Another. We'll see it in these things, but like.
[00:35:12] Brad Meltzer: Which was such a good movie. I just saw it by the way, last week.
[00:35:15] Paul Scheer: Oh, loved it. Loved. It's so good. I, I got to see it in Vista Vision out here, which was really fun. And, but I mean, it seems so. Kind of made up, I guess in my mind I always thought mobsters, that's where mobsters go.
[00:35:25] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah.
[00:35:25] Paul Scheer: But it's hard. How do you fit in in that world?
[00:35:27] Jason Mantzoukas: It's the college tour episode of Sopranos.
[00:35:30] Brad Meltzer: It's Soprano, the Sopranos episode. That college tour episode is what I, I firmly believe is what has informed the Witness protection program for the last decade. Right? And I became obsessed with it because we're all obsessed with exactly that. 'cause you can't help but ask the question, what if it was me?
[00:35:44] Paul Scheer: Right.
[00:35:45] Brad Meltzer: And we all have this like weird fantasy in the back of our heads. Even if you love your life to be like, could I start it all over from nothing?
[00:35:52] Paul Scheer: Yeah.
[00:35:52] Brad Meltzer: Like, what does that mean? There's like something sexy and tantalizing. So I became obsessed with it. I will tell you, I've done the White House, the Supreme Court, I've done the secret tunnels below the Capitol.
[00:36:02] I've, I've done the tunnels below Disney World. I don't think anything except for Disney, which was hard to get into. The witness practicing program was one of the hardest places ever to research.
[00:36:10] Jason Mantzoukas: Hmm.
[00:36:10] Brad Meltzer: Yeah, because people's lives are on the line.
[00:36:12] Paul Scheer: Right, right.
[00:36:12] Brad Meltzer: It's not just your dumb ass, like, oh, I want to go and, and screw around the White House.
[00:36:17] And so the thing that blew me away. It's just the pure history of it, right? Like, so they said to me, yes, the Witness Protection Program is created for mobsters, right? We gotta, we gotta get mobsters to turn on themselves, protect them so we can go. And I'm like, great. I know that I've seen the Tony Soprano episode.
[00:36:34] Then eventually, guess what happened? They arrested most of the mobsters. So now it's not like crime was done and like Batman wins. Guess what happens? New criminals are like, I want that turf. So guess who started becoming the number one person, the witness protection program? It was gang members. They started putting gang members away.
[00:36:54] Jason Mantzoukas: Wow.
[00:36:54] Brad Meltzer: So all these gang members were now in the witness protection room. And then guess what happened? Those started shutting down. Like they weren't, you know, they weren't the same. Now the number one group, according to my source, who's in the witness protection program are accountants, because that's the frigging world we live in now.
[00:37:10] Paul Scheer: Wow.
[00:37:10] Jason Mantzoukas: Whoa.
[00:37:10] Brad Meltzer: And I was just like. I'm writing about that, like, this is awesome to me. Like, and just that idea that you can, you know, 'cause I'm, I'm like, can you really change someone's face by giving them a nose job? No, you cannot. Like anyone with, like when we were kids, we were like, oh, obviously that's like quick sand.
[00:37:27] It totally works. But the witness protection room is awesome and these guys are really good at what they do. The problem is all the people that are in it miss something about their lives.
[00:37:39] Paul Scheer: Right.
[00:37:39] Brad Meltzer: And if you miss one thing about your life, same thing as in One Battle after Another. Like, you can't, you can't hide away like that.
[00:37:47] That calling eventually gets to you. And that's what, that's what fucks everybody up. It's not the program, it's the person there just says, I, I need to see blank.
[00:37:55] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah.
[00:37:55] Brad Meltzer: Or maybe an old girlfriend or an old wife or someone wants to have sex with someone. Someone's got, you know, that's what screws it up. And
[00:38:01] Jason Mantzoukas: Those tethers, yeah, those tethers that keep you connected to your old life.
[00:38:04] Those you, you know, and that's the thing is like, because in our lifetime I'm thinking of people like, uh, Henry Hill or Whitey Bulger or those kind of people did. Wait, was Whitey Bulger and Witness protection or was he just hiding?
[00:38:17] Brad Meltzer: Can I tell you, I've never told this before, Whitey Bulger, at one point I got a tip that someone told me they knew where Whitey Bulger was, and I couldn't tell anyone.
[00:38:24] Jason Mantzoukas: Whoa.
[00:38:24] Brad Meltzer: And I'm like, and I'm literally like, what am I supposed to do with this? And it, and I will tell you in the end, it was totally wrong and it was completely not.
[00:38:30] Paul Scheer: Oh, okay.
[00:38:30] Brad Meltzer: That's, but it was a really good source for a really good spot. And I was literal like. But yeah, he wa he wa he wasn't in witness production. He just ran.
[00:38:37] Jason Mantzoukas: He was just hiding.
[00:38:37] Brad Meltzer: He hit on himself. Yeah.
[00:38:39] Paul Scheer: Whoa.
[00:38:39] Brad Meltzer: Um, but he was, he was good.
[00:38:41] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah. Oh boy. Was he good. But that's like, what I was gonna say is like the mo, like the world used to be so much bigger and more you could disappear into it. And so much of the world now is online on camera. We are living in a world which it would be very difficult, I feel like, to disappear because everybody is existing constantly, publicly, you know?
[00:39:03] Brad Meltzer: Yeah. That's well. Now I, I'm not gonna ruin the plot of the Viper, but that's a key part of it. Like witness protection back in the old days was just give someone a new driver's license and someone would move new to your neighborhood and you wouldn't know much about them. But as the world changes anytime someone moves to your neighborhood, guess what we all do?
[00:39:21] We Google them, we check 'em out, right? And if, and if there's nothing there. Then we're like, oh, that's even more suspicious. So they, you know, they have to now figure out how to, and they've gotten really good at giving you long historical backgrounds. 'cause if you're, if there is nothing from back then, you're like, something's wrong.
[00:39:38] But we are, all of us can, you know, go on Zillow and know what our neighbors paid for their house and what they bought and where they drive and how much they pay for their car and what their wife makes. We got it all. So good luck hiding in today's world. And, and the Viper, one of the key parts of it is how do you do it really well?
[00:39:53] How do you, how do you disappear from the government today?
[00:39:56] Paul Scheer: Yeah. I mean this, I, I love this. Uh, but I guess the question that I want to ask though is, you know, there's been a lot of interesting stuff going on in the comic book world. We've been talking about this for a while. Are you working on anything, uh, in the DC world right now?
[00:40:10] Brad Meltzer: Uh, kind of, yes.
[00:40:12] Paul Scheer: Kind of. All right.
[00:40:13] Brad Meltzer: Kind of, yes.
[00:40:14] Paul Scheer: Alright. This is interesting.
[00:40:15] Jason Mantzoukas: But, but also
[00:40:16] Brad Meltzer: I like that.
[00:40:16] Jason Mantzoukas: I feel like, but also I feel like you're inside of the Marvel ecosystem as well.
[00:40:20] Brad Meltzer: So that's, I can say I, I can, yeah. I am, I am working on a new Marvel project.
[00:40:24] Paul Scheer: Okay.
[00:40:25] Jason Mantzoukas: Great.
[00:40:25] Paul Scheer: Okay. Okay. Oh, interesting. All right.
[00:40:27] Brad Meltzer: So, but I can't. I can tease that.
[00:40:29] Jason Mantzoukas: Okay. You can tease that. Can you tease what it is? Thwip thwip.
[00:40:35] Brad Meltzer: Wow, so subtle. Um, I can't say, no, I can't.
[00:40:39] Jason Mantzoukas: Maybe snick. Or maybe Snick. Snick.
[00:40:41] Brad Meltzer: But I'm go all the special effect. Yeah. Do all the, do all the sounds. Yeah. No, I mean, I, I, I'll say yes to one of those. Yes.
[00:40:46] Paul Scheer: Yes to one of those. I like this. I like, alright, this is exciting.
[00:40:49] Brad Meltzer: I just wanna, by the way, I wanna just live the rest of my life with people who understand.
[00:40:53] That if I do snick or I do BAM, or I do what? Like.
[00:40:56] Jason Mantzoukas: I was gonna say, bam snick.
[00:40:57] Brad Meltzer: Who just like can, can, like how far we can take understanding and having a conversation with nothing but the sound effects.
[00:41:03] Paul Scheer: I mean, ugh, it's what a, what a world to live in.
[00:41:06] Brad Meltzer: Because that's how I just find my friends, like, yeah, you know, it's like going out and being like.
[00:41:10] I said to my son, I'm like, if you find someone, and this is, you know, who knows a couple of Legion of Superhero home planets, they're just gonna be your friend.
[00:41:17] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah.
[00:41:18] Paul Scheer: Yep.
[00:41:18] Brad Meltzer: Like that's just, you could just find them. And so that, like we should just have like little quizzes. I would just move through life with that and be very happy.
[00:41:24] Paul Scheer: Uh, I love this. Brad, well I'm very excited. We'll be watching Anxiously to see what this will be. Um. Alright. You can get Viper wherever you get your books.
[00:41:33] Brad Meltzer: Wait, but I got, but, but I can leeway before I go. I gotta know, what do you read? I wanna know what comics you're reading. What are you reading?
[00:41:37] Paul Scheer: Oh my gosh. You know, this is great. This is a good, uh, question right here. I have been, uh, very, I've been loving this. The mashups, right? Like the, like, you know, the Deadpool and Batman has been fun. Like I've been.
[00:41:50] Brad Meltzer: I I read 'em, I just read 'em this week. There was some, I thought Kevin's, uh, Smith's. I, there was, did you read that story?
[00:41:56] Paul Scheer: I, I haven't had that one yet in my, yeah. And it's on my desk.
[00:41:59] Brad Meltzer: And, uh, did you read Tom Taylor's? That one was great too.
[00:42:01] Paul Scheer: Yes.
[00:42:02] Brad Meltzer: That was great.
[00:42:02] Jason Mantzoukas: Tom Taylor. I also loved the mashups that were happening previous, which was Godzilla versus everybody.
[00:42:09] Brad Meltzer: Oh yeah. I didn't read that one.
[00:42:10] Jason Mantzoukas: There was, there was a bunch of good Godzilla vs. Each of the Marvel teams each. It was a very fun.
[00:42:15] Paul Scheer: I read a Predator Marvel one too, which is like, could just get. Yeah. Which is great.
[00:42:19] Jason Mantzoukas: Uh, I'm really enjoying Fractions new Batman run. Love that. Yeah. With Jorge Jimenez on.
[00:42:24] Brad Meltzer: I love Jimenez. I love the way.
[00:42:25] Jason Mantzoukas: Incredible.
[00:42:26] Brad Meltzer: He does the, um, like, like how he dials into stuff on the utility belt.
[00:42:30] Jason Mantzoukas: Yes.
[00:42:30] Brad Meltzer: That's inspired, that's one of those ideas, like I always think the best continuity things are the things that you go, it's new. But it should have always been there.
[00:42:37] Jason Mantzoukas: Yeah.
[00:42:37] Paul Scheer: Right.
[00:42:37] Brad Meltzer: And I look at that, I'm like, that should have always been there. That's great.
[00:42:40] Jason Mantzoukas: Well, that's like the reveal that, um, in, um, absolute Batman, that the bat symbol is an ax.
[00:42:48] Brad Meltzer: Oh, that is.
[00:42:48] Jason Mantzoukas: That he takes, that takes the bat symbol off of his chest and it's an axe is incredible.
[00:42:53] Brad Meltzer: By the way. Do you know ma, how many Nerds Just got hard on that page when it happened? It was just like, how many friends have told me? Like, did you see when he took the, I'm like, I know, like.
[00:43:03] Jason Mantzoukas: Loved.
[00:43:04] Brad Meltzer: That book is so good. They're killing that book.
[00:43:06] Jason Mantzoukas: I'm also reading, I will say there's been I think a bunch of great stuff. Um, uh, wait, what was I?
[00:43:13] Brad Meltzer: Ghost Machine. Come on. Ghost Machine. Have you guys been reading our stuff?
[00:43:17] Jason Mantzoukas: Ghost Machine. Great.
[00:43:17] Brad Meltzer: Ghost Machine is is, so I have a go and I'm not saying it just 'cause I'm part of Ghost Machine and I do have a book coming out with Jeff John's next.
[00:43:23] Uh, that'll be out later this year. Um, but their stuff Red Coat is so good. And, and Gary Frank's art obviously is so, so good. Um, I lo I mean all the books, I'm, and now I'm gonna start naming 'em, feeling like I'm Bad. No, and I'm leaving people out. But Every Ghost Machine book you should read too. They're great.
[00:43:38] Jason Mantzoukas: Great. I love that.
[00:43:38] Paul Scheer: I love it. I was thinking that this is a great, just time for, I mean, I'm going back to Batman for a second. I've also been a big fan of what Scott Snyder's been doing, and they have the Absolute Joker I think is coming up right now or something like that. Like it, uh,
[00:43:48] Jason Mantzoukas: I've really loved, just because one of my favorite artists is.
[00:43:52] Uh, Somne. The Batman and Robin, uh, Mark Wade, Chris Somne book I think is unreal.
[00:43:59] Brad Meltzer: If you went to my kitchen right now, it's on my island 'cause I want my son. I'm like this art, I, you know, I said to Wade when I saw him, I'm like. This art is so beautiful.
[00:44:06] Jason Mantzoukas: It's incredible.
[00:44:07] Brad Meltzer: Like when he does that Robin, that young Robin.
[00:44:09] Yes. It's so, I'm like, it, it's so kinetic. It's breath of fresh air. It is. Exactly. It reminds me of Michael Turner. When I first saw Turner, it just, it had movement without moving. And I was like, how is he doing this?
[00:44:19] Jason Mantzoukas: It's incredible.
[00:44:21] Brad Meltzer: Flip everything. It's just so good.
[00:44:23] Jason Mantzoukas: I can't recommend, uh, his book that he did with his wife, uh, the All Ages book called Jonah and The Impossible Monsters.
[00:44:30] Brad Meltzer: Oh, I love that book. Yeah. That's a good book.
[00:44:31] Jason Mantzoukas: And that's another character whose movement is so beautifully drawn in that book. Um, incredible.
[00:44:39] Paul Scheer: You know, I've been really just trying to get my kids into stuff. So we've, I've been trying to read with them a little bit right now and just trying to find what they're connecting to, which is interesting because I, like, I have been having a harder time than I thought I was gonna have with my kids.
[00:44:54] Brad Meltzer: How old are they?
[00:44:55] Paul Scheer: They are 9 and 11. They have just gotten in majorly into Marvel, and so I'm like. I'm trying.
[00:45:02] Jason Mantzoukas: I have one. Yeah, I have one. Um, just because it's Chris Somne I'm gonna shout out Thor the Mighty Avenger.
[00:45:09] Paul Scheer: Well, yeah, that's great.
[00:45:10] Brad Meltzer: Yeah. Have they read high? Wait, have they read Hilo by Judd Winnick?
[00:45:13] Paul Scheer: No. These are good.
[00:45:15] Brad Meltzer: You should give him, give him Hilo for sure. And nine years old. That's a gem. They're gonna love Hilo. Okay. Hilo is a no brainer.
[00:45:20] Jason Mantzoukas: Not Marvel, but Bone is a great.
[00:45:23] Brad Meltzer: Bone was good. Um. I will again. I'm sure they're reading Dog Man. Like that stuff is full man.
[00:45:28] Paul Scheer: Oh, dog man. I mean dogman is like nonstop that. Yeah, that's huge.
[00:45:32] Brad Meltzer: Dog man. And, and uh, and Captain Underpants like Pilkey, Dave is one of my dearest friends.
[00:45:37] Paul Scheer: Oh, toki is like a big, we just got like the boy, underpants boy. It's not even Captain Underpants. It's like it's a, a boy in under.
[00:45:43] Brad Meltzer: It's like spinoff.
[00:45:44] Paul Scheer: Yeah.
[00:45:44] Brad Meltzer: And Dave is a dear friend of mine. He's come to my house 'cause and my, like, he's literally my son is like, loves Dave Pilkey is like, Dave Pilkey is the greatest writer of all time. And I'm like, you know, I'm a writer, right? Like, you understand what I do for a, but he's, but for that age, that's the perfect jump on point.
[00:46:02] Paul Scheer: Yeah. Because this is, that's what they're devouring and so I'm just trying to like, let them find their little things and.
[00:46:07] Brad Meltzer: Oh, I got one more.
[00:46:09] Paul Scheer: Oh yeah, please.
[00:46:10] Brad Meltzer: Uh, Batman Brave and Bold. That's when my son read when he was younger.
[00:46:13] Paul Scheer: Okay.
[00:46:13] Brad Meltzer: He couldn't read like, like now that he's, like when you, once you hit 13. Right. As far as I'm concerned, you, we were ready for anything. 'cause you and I, we all three of us read right at 13. It was like, whether it was Dark Knight or Teen Titans or like we were all reading it, but at nine years old.
[00:46:26] My son read the Batman Brave and Bold series, um, and just put 'em in. You'll s but it's beautiful and it's a fun book. And there's like team up like a Scooby Do Team Up. He loved the team up.
[00:46:37] Paul Scheer: Okay.
[00:46:38] Brad Meltzer: He love it wasn't just the Brave Bold, it was the, it was like the Scooby do team up with Batman and they loved them.
[00:46:45] Paul Scheer: Alright, this is good. This is gonna, this is what I'm, I'm doing, we are making our plans to go see, uh, Avatar to just watch the trailer for the Avengers. Like, that's why we're going to see Avatar three. A movie we have not seen one or two of, I mean, I have, they have not. And there's like, they just wanna see this trailer, which I'm also,
[00:47:00] Brad Meltzer: I'm, I'm thrilled that they're into it. Most non girls now are like, you know, my kids love all those movies and will go to them, but nine year olds now are like, I'm not watching the new ones 'cause I gotta watch these other 25 ones.
[00:47:10] Paul Scheer: I know. Well, this is, yeah, so it's been interesting. I, I've, I've been, I've been enjoying watching them get into it. They met John Cena in costume as the peacemaker, which truly was.
[00:47:20] Brad Meltzer: By the way, what a set to take him to. Oh, oh, you took him to ComicCon. You saw him.
[00:47:23] Paul Scheer: I was at ComicCon and he just was wearing the costume and man, oh man. It was the best thing.
[00:47:28] Brad Meltzer: Yeah. You can't, I mean, that's the, yeah. You can't compare. Like you win, you win that like, yeah.
[00:47:32] I, of course took my children who were older, to meet Eric from the boys. Oh. And so like, so you know, Eric is a dear friend of mine as a show. And so he, I told him like, listen man, you gotta impress my kids, my boys, you know, they watch the show, they love it. So on last scene of the Boys and Huey's mom in one of the scenes is like, she's literally reading one of my books and I just sat there.
[00:47:53] Jason Mantzoukas: Wow.
[00:47:54] Brad Meltzer: And I sat there like this. I knew it was coming. He told me it was coming and I was like, it's amazing how much bullshit as dads we will pull off to impress our kids.
[00:48:02] Paul Scheer: Absolutely.
[00:48:02] Brad Meltzer: Like I don't care about anything. I never took my kids, you know, to the White House or anything like that. You can pull off. But I pull and I just sat there trying to be cool. My kids both turned to me and, and I, and I was like, okay, how's that Dave Pilkey? How's that one? He's good.
[00:48:17] Paul Scheer: Oh, that's great. I love it. Um, alright, this is great. Brad book Viper is out now, and I'm sure by the time this is out, it's gonna be another bestseller. We, this is what you do, you just, you just rack em up.
[00:48:27] Jason Mantzoukas: Paul, Paul, I'm looking at my calendar right now and it's telling me that the book is already out and is already a huge bestseller.
[00:48:33] Paul Scheer: This is, that's what I'm saying. This was great. I'm excited about the secret project and, uh. Always great to talk to you. Talk to you soon.
[00:48:40] Brad Meltzer: You got it brothers.
[00:48:41] Paul Scheer: Thank you, Brad. I love him. He is the best. And if you wanna buy his brand new book, The Viper, just click on the link in the show notes to this episode. Now it is almost the end of the show, which means it is finally time to announce our next movie. Next week we'll be saying goodbye to Monkey Bone and returning to no place like home. That's right. We were watching 1985's Return to Oz. This was Disney's sort of sequel to the Wizard of Oz that was based in the book, not the original movie. So yeah, a tricky sequel indeed. It stars Fairuza Balk as Dorothy in her feature film debut, and IMDB describes the plot as
[00:49:14] "Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the gnome king destroy everything that makes a magical land beautiful."
[00:49:25] Yikes. Rotten Tomatoes gives this film a 59% score on the tomato meter, and Joel Balta from the Philadelphia Daily News wrote
[00:49:33] "Return to Oz is very much a great film, an adventure ahead of its time. I doubt it will be appreciated now. It's the kind of movie whose greatness will be discovered in 10 years."
[00:49:42] Well, guess what, Joel? You wrong. Listen to the trailer.
[00:49:45] Trailer Audio: Now fly away with Dorothy and her wonderful new friends, the Gump, Half Moose, Half Flying Sofa, a talking chicken.
[00:49:55] Where are we, anyway?
[00:49:56] Jack and Tick Tock the mechanical soldier to save the kingdom of Oz from the evil princes and a king with a body of rock in a magical new movie.
[00:50:09] Return to Oz.
[00:50:12] Paul Scheer: You can stream Return to Oz on Disney plus. Oh, you can rent it on Apple tv, Amazon Prime Video, or Fandango at home. And as you know, I am always gonna shout out the digital media services offered to you by your local public library like Hoopla and Canopy, and Libby, even though return to Oz is not on these services, they are still great resources to find movies, tv, music, audiobooks, eBooks, and comics for free. That is it for last looks. If you listen to us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, uh, rate and review us. It makes a different, leave a comment for us. And if you're following us, um, make sure you have automatic downloads turned on. It helps us show and we appreciate it.
[00:50:48] You can visit us on social media @HDTGM, and a big thank you to our producer, Scott Sonne, Molly Reynolds, our engineer, Casey Holford, our social media manager, Zoe Applebaum. And of course, we'll forever be grateful to the one and only, Avaryl Halley, if you have not seen it yet, there's a beautiful writeup, um, of her a, a beautiful celebration of her life.
[00:51:06] We posted it in the Discord. We also have it on the How Did This Get Made, uh, Instagram page. Uh, we will see you next week when we travel down the decaying remains of the Yellow Brick Road as we return to Oz.