WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:04.320 In two thousand and three, Paramount Pictures spent fifty million 2 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:06.879 dollars on a movie. Yeah, and it's a movie where 3 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:11.320 two people just you know, professionally and psychologically torture each other. 4 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:14.160 Right for workplace promotions. 5 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:16.800 Basically exactly for promotions. And it went on to make 6 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:20.640 nearly one hundred and eighty million dollars worldwide. 7 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:23.359 Which is I mean, that's just a staggering return. 8 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:26.320 It's huge. And today, you know, in twenty twenty six, 9 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:29.960 the Hollywood studio system is essentially betting billions of dollars 10 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:32.000 that you and I are absolutely desperate to watch them 11 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:32.920 do it all over again. 12 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:33.679 They really are. 13 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:37.399 So Okay, let's unpack this because a brand new exclusive 14 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:40.759 report from Variety has just revealed that Paramount is officially 15 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:43.719 in the early stages of developing a sequel to the 16 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:46.640 massive hit romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 17 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:50.280 Ten Days Wow. Yeah, and the studio is intending to 18 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.759 bring back original stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey to 19 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:57.000 you know, reprise their roles as Andy and Benjamin. 20 00:00:57.039 --> 00:00:59.439 I mean, it is a headline that is just engineered 21 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:01.759 to break the end Internet, right, Oh, totally. But if 22 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.480 we look under the hood, we are looking at a 23 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:10.680 brilliant case study in modern Hollywood economics. Right Like, this 24 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:15.280 isn't a whimsical creative reunion. This is a highly calculated 25 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:18.840 reaction to well, to algorithmic destiny. 26 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:20.280 Algorithmic destiny. 27 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:22.959 I like that because the entertainment landscape right now, it's 28 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:26.359 operating under a very specific set of financial pressures. Sure 29 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.680 and reviving a twenty three year old intellectual property is 30 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:32.920 you know, it's one of the few ways a major 31 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:34.560 studio can actually mitigate. 32 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.040 Risk, Which is exactly why this matters to whoever is 33 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:41.120 listening right now, exactly because whether you have the original 34 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:43.719 movie poster framed in your bedroom or you've literally never 35 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:45.799 watched a rom com in your life, you need to 36 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:48.319 understand the mechanics of this announcement. 37 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:49.519 Right because it affects everything else that. 38 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:52.040 Gets messed exactly. Every time you log into a streaming 39 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:55.000 platform on like Tuesday night and watch a movie from 40 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:57.959 the early two thousands, your data is being weaponized. 41 00:01:58.079 --> 00:01:59.159 Weaponized is the right word. 42 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:04.159 Yeah, it's spinized to dictate massive billion dollar corporate investments. 43 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:09.800 Your comfort watching is it's feeding an algorithm that tells 44 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:11.840 executives exactly what to green light. 45 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:14.919 Yeah, and the Variety report it lays out the early 46 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.039 mechanics of the deal, which is fascinating. Oh yeah, So 47 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.719 paramount is they're driving the vehicle, but they haven't chosen 48 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:22.919 the destination. 49 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:24.840 Yet, meaning they don't have a script, right. 50 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.080 They are currently on the hunt for a screenwriter, and 51 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.280 the article notes that casting, you know, actually getting Hudson 52 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:35.120 and McConaughey to sign the final contracts that ultimately depends 53 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:35.680 on the take. 54 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:36.319 The take. 55 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:40.280 So the pitch, yes, this specific angle or story the 56 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:43.639 writer pitches has to be absolutely bulletproof interested and the 57 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:47.560 actors representatives haven't commented, which is standard procedure when the 58 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:48.879 script doesn't actually exist yet. 59 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:51.280 Sure, they're not going to commit to a blank page exactly. 60 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:54.039 But the sheer fact that this is public knowledge tells 61 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:56.759 us everything we need to know about the current cinematic climate. 62 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:00.759 The climate is basically just a monsoon of millennial nostalgia 63 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:01.280 right now. 64 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:02.439 It really is a monsoon. 65 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:06.520 I mean, the article explicitly places this sequel within a 66 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:10.039 massive y two K wave that's currently dominating the twenty 67 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:13.319 twenty six box office. Yeah, we have already seen outside 68 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:17.560 hits this year with the devilwares Prata to the New 69 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:21.360 Scary Movie reboot, oh right, and Toy Story five, which 70 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:23.919 is just yeah, I know, and the future slate is 71 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:26.319 just as heavy, like we are looking down the barrel 72 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.680 of practical magic too, Fokker in Law, which you know 73 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:33.879 is wild and in twenty twenty seven Shrek five and 74 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:35.800 Grete Gerwig's take on Narnia. 75 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.599 Yeah. So, if we connect this to the bigger picture, 76 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:42.240 the mechanism driving this isn't just a cultural yearning for 77 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:45.680 the past, right, it's the sheer cost of audience acquisition today. 78 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:46.919 Okay, break that down for me. 79 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:50.039 Well, Marketing the theatrical release in twenty twenty six often 80 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:52.400 costs much, if not more than the production. 81 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:54.120 Budget itself, really like one to one. 82 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:58.240 Sometimes even more, because audience attentions just fractured across thousands 83 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:01.120 of platforms, apps and you know micro trends. 84 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.520 Right, everyone's on a different TikTok algorithm exactly. 85 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:08.000 So if Paramount green lights an original romantic comedy today, 86 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:11.240 they have to spend thirty to forty million dollars just 87 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:15.039 to explain to the public who the characters are, oh wow, yeah, 88 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:17.519 what the tone is and why they should actually leave 89 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:18.639 their houses to see it. 90 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:20.959 I see, so it's I look at it like tech 91 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:22.319 backward compatibility. 92 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:23.199 Okay, I like that. 93 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:26.319 Like studios are trying to run a massive, expensive, twenty 94 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:30.600 twenty six operating system, you know, the modern theatrical distribution model, right, 95 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:34.199 but to justify the server costs, they have to run 96 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:36.560 legacy two thousand and three software. 97 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:37.839 Yes, that's exactly it. 98 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.360 The brand awareness of how to lose a guy in 99 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.079 ten days is the legacy code. They don't have to 100 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.600 explain who Andy Anderson or Benjamin Barry. 101 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:46.240 Are, right, you already know. 102 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:48.920 But I have to push back on the studio logic here. Okay, 103 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.720 are they doing this because they're just completely out of 104 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:55.120 original ideas and terrified of risk? Or is the audience 105 00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:56.000 actually driving this? 106 00:04:56.199 --> 00:04:57.959 It's a chicken and egg scenario. 107 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.839 Right, Like it's like finding a perfectly broken in pair 108 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:04.439 of vintage genes. It's comfortable, it's guaranteed to look good. 109 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:09.120 But if Paramount poured fifty million dollars into a completely original, 110 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:13.040 mid budget romcom tomorrow, would anyone even buy a ticket? 111 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:16.040 Well, the data suggests they wouldn't really, or at least 112 00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:19.879 not numbers that satisfy a publicly traded conglomerate. That's depressing, 113 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:22.480 I know, But the box office returns for things like 114 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:27.040 The Devilwar's Prota too. They prove that audiences are actively 115 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:29.160 voting with their wallets for familiarity. 116 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:30.360 I guess that makes sense. 117 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:34.319 The global climate is complex, economic pressures are high, and 118 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:37.600 consumers view an expensive night out at the movies as 119 00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:38.279 an investment. 120 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:42.720 Yeah, a babysitter parking popcorn. It's easily one hundred. 121 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:45.399 Bucks, exactly. They want a guaranteed return on that investment, 122 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:47.560 which means they want a known commodity. 123 00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:49.600 So they want the vintage genes, right. 124 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:53.839 But the danger in the studio's logic is assuming that 125 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:56.360 simply slapping a Y two K brand name on a 126 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:58.120 marquee guarantees success. 127 00:05:58.279 --> 00:05:58.920 Oh, for sure. 128 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:02.319 The underlying archet texture of the film still has to function. 129 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:04.800 Which forces us to look at the architecture of the 130 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.600 two thousand and three blueprint. Yeah, let's do that, because 131 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:11.480 why this specific movie. There were dozens of rom comms 132 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:14.160 in the early two thousands, but the Variety article calls 133 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:16.600 this one an essential title. They call it an anchor 134 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.480 of the genre. It really is, and the economics alone 135 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:24.000 are staggering nearly one hundred and eighty million dollars globally 136 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.480 on a fifty million dollar budget. 137 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:29.680 Yeah, that kind of return on investment is it's what 138 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:31.199 built the modern studio system. 139 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:32.079 It's crazy. 140 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:35.399 It's a phenomenal margin. Yeah, and directed by Donald Petrie, 141 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:39.519 the film cracked a very specific code that allowed it 142 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:43.600 to transcend, you know, standard genre fare and achieve that 143 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:46.120 level of cultural and financial penetration. 144 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:47.839 So what does this all mean? Like when you actually 145 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:50.759 break down the plot, the premise is completely unhinged. 146 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:51.439 It is wild. 147 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:54.600 Right. We have Kate Hudson playing Andy Anderson. Right, She's 148 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:57.360 a how to columnist for a women's magazine who pitches 149 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:01.560 an article about modern dating, and her research methodology is 150 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:05.079 to find a guy, seduce him, and then deliberately act 151 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:09.759 like the most toxic, clingy, nightmare girlfriend imaginable to document 152 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:10.959 how fast he dumbs her. 153 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:14.240 It's a premise that is frankly matched in its sociopathy 154 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:15.759 by Matthew McConaughey's character. 155 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:16.399 Seriously. 156 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:19.959 Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive who makes a bet 157 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.720 with his boss that he can make any woman fall 158 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:24.959 in love with him in ten days. Just any woman, 159 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:28.120 any woman, and if he pulls it off, he wins 160 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:32.920 the lead on a massive, career defining diamond advertising campaign. 161 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:35.720 So Andy and Benjamin target each other. 162 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.480 All right, meaning neither of them is operating in reality. 163 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:41.480 They are fundamentally lying to each other for professional game 164 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:42.959 for the entire run time of the movie. 165 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:43.560 They time movie. 166 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:45.879 Yeah, I reread the plot summary for this, and honestly, 167 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:49.399 I was stunned. It is essentially a movie about two 168 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:51.680 people ruining each other's lives for a promotion. 169 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:52.480 It really is. 170 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:55.639 How did this not alienate audiences in two thousand and three? 171 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:58.519 I mean, does a plot build on such bizarre borderline 172 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:02.040 cruel deception actually translate to a modern audience or is 173 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:04.399 the charm entirely trapped in the amber of two thousand 174 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:04.839 and three? 175 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:07.800 Well, the deception is exactly what makes the engine run, 176 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:12.040 how so, because it creates a high stakes, dramatic irony. Okay, 177 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:16.839 the audience does both secrets, which turns every standard romantic 178 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:18.560 trope into a battlefield. 179 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:20.199 Like when she brings the love Fern. 180 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:24.199 Exactly when Andy acts terribly, Benjamin can't leave because of 181 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:25.240 his bet right. 182 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.319 He has to just sit there and take it. 183 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:30.639 It forces the characters into a confined space. But the 184 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:33.679 reason it didn't alienate the audience and the reason it 185 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:36.360 made one hundred and eighty million dollars comes down to 186 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:37.720 two specific mechanisms. 187 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:38.600 Okay, what's the first one? 188 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:40.600 First, the casting of the supporting ensemble. 189 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:43.879 Oh, this source mentions this a wildly talented bench. We're 190 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:48.559 talking Catherine Hahn, Adam Goldberg, Thomas Lennon, Michael Michelle, and 191 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:49.720 Shalom Harlowe. 192 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:53.440 Incredible cast, and that supporting cast acts as the grounding 193 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:54.600 wire for the absurdity. 194 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:55.919 Grounding wire that makes sense. 195 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:00.559 Yeah, you have phenomenal comedic actors reacting to the chaos. 196 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:02.480 Andy and Benjamin are creating. 197 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:06.080 Like Adam Goldberg and Thomas Lennon just watching Benjamin suffer. 198 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:09.639 Exactly, which signals to the audience that the universe of 199 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:13.000 the film recognizes how crazy this behavior is. 200 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:14.879 Oh, I see. So it's not like the movie thinks 201 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:15.639 this is normal. 202 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.360 Right, the movie knows they're crazy. And the second and 203 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:22.919 probably more vital mechanism is the chemistry between Hudson and McConaughey. Right, 204 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:26.440 the film only works if the audience believes that beneath 205 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:31.080 the layers of mutual manipulation, a genuine connection is forming. Yeah, 206 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.960 the friction of the lie creates the heat of the romance. 207 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:39.159 The chemistry overrides the toxicity perfectly said. Even McConaughey refers 208 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:41.799 to the film the article as an anchor in the 209 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:42.759 rom com cannon. 210 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:44.000 He knows how important it was. 211 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:48.519 But trying to recreate that highly specific alchemy twenty three 212 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:52.159 years later without making the characters deeply unlikable by modern 213 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:56.559 standards requires absolute precision behind the camera, total precision, which 214 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:59.480 is where the Variety report pivots from a standard nostalgic 215 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:03.360 announcement to a genuinely fascinating industry maneuver. 216 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:06.840 Yes, the architecture of the production team is shifting in 217 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.600 a big way. Well, the driving force here isn't just 218 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.000 a studio executive dusting off a script, right. Kate Hudson 219 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:16.120 is officially attached to produce the sequel through her banner 220 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:17.120 Shiny Penny. 221 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:20.000 And we really need to look at Kate Hudson's current 222 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.480 industry capital because she is in the middle of a 223 00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:23.879 massive career resurgence. 224 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:24.600 It really is. 225 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:27.960 The article notes she recently earned her second Oscar nomination 226 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:31.759 for the twenty twenty five film song sung Blue. Yeah, 227 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:35.000 her first being her iconic role as Penny Lane and 228 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:36.759 Cameron Crow's Almost Famous. 229 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:38.720 Right, which was decades ago exactly. 230 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:42.960 And she's also leading a high profile Netflix sports comedy 231 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:44.240 series called Running Point. 232 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:45.080 Yeah. 233 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.600 She is not a fading star desperately trying to relive 234 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:50.879 her glory days. She has immense momentum. 235 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:54.519 Right now, immense momentum, and her attachment as a producer 236 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:58.320 fundamentally changes the power dynamics of the development process. Why 237 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.919 is that because in two thousand and three, actors, even 238 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:05.399 a listers, were largely hired guns who showed up, hit 239 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:08.000 their marks and let the studio dictate the final cut. 240 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:10.360 Sure, you hit your mark and say your lines exactly. 241 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:14.320 But by attaching her production company, Shiny, Penny Hudson is 242 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:18.799 installing a contractual mechanism of creative control. Oh wow, she 243 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:22.320 has video power over the writer, the director, and the 244 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:23.080 final script. 245 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:24.279 That's huge. 246 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:26.759 The piece notes she is waiting in the wings for 247 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:29.840 the right deal, which means she is protecting the brand 248 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:34.000 asset of Andy Anderson until the narrative meets her standards. 249 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:36.120 So she won't just sign off on anything exactly. And 250 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:39.200 the protective layer she's building gets even thicker when you 251 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:41.240 look at who she brought in to co produce. 252 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:42.279 This is the best part. 253 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:45.240 The source confirms Stacy Shrr is on board. Yeah, and 254 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:47.039 when I read that name, my jaw. 255 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:49.399 Actually dropped same. It's unbelievable for. 256 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:53.039 Those who don't aggressively track Hollywood producers, Stacey Sherr's credits 257 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:55.519 are a masterclass in prestige cinema. 258 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:56.159 Yes they are. 259 00:11:56.200 --> 00:12:01.919 We are talking about pulp fiction Gataka Brokovich, Vanilla Sky, 260 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:03.840 Django Unchained. 261 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:07.000 I know it is the most telling detail in the 262 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:11.120 entire report because it completely recontextualizes the ambition of the project. 263 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:16.840 It's staggering. Like bringing the producer of Quentin Tarantino's most violent, 264 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:20.799 morally complex films onto a sequel to a two thousand 265 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.879 and three rom com is like it's like hiring a 266 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:28.039 Michelin Star steakhouse chef to come to your kitchen to 267 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:29.360 make a grilled cheese sandwich. 268 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:30.799 That is exactly what it's like. 269 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:32.399 Like, you know it's going to be the most intense 270 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:35.679 grilled cheese of your life. But what is she doing there? 271 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.720 What specific tactics does a producer like Stacy sher bring 272 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:41.840 to a high concept romantic comedy. 273 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:45.480 Well, what's fascinating here is how Sure structured a film 274 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:48.440 like Aaron Brockovich. Okay, that was a movie about an 275 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:51.120 absurdly large, almost unbelievable true story. 276 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:53.519 Yeah, the water contamination exactly. 277 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:57.519 Yeah, but Shares producing tactics grounded it in gritty, working 278 00:12:57.559 --> 00:12:59.960 class reality, making it an oscar head. 279 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:01.960 That's true, it felt very real. 280 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:06.320 She specializes in morally gray characters and sharp grounded stakes. 281 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:07.480 Oh, I see where you're going with this. 282 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.480 Yeah. Her presence signals to the industry that this sequel 283 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:13.759 is not aiming for fluffy, disposable nostalgia. 284 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:15.120 It's not just a cash grab. 285 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:20.799 No. When you pair Andy and Benjamin's inherently toxic manipulative 286 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:23.879 origins from two thousand and three with a producer known 287 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:27.879 for pulp fiction and Django unchained, yeah, it suggests they 288 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:31.559 are aiming for a much sharper, elevated, and perhaps more 289 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:32.440 cynical tone. 290 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:36.240 Wow, Because a call from Stacy shr hits a top 291 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:40.360 tier screenwriter very differently than a standard pitch from a paramount. 292 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:41.399 Executive completely differently. 293 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:44.759 It elevates this from a cash grab to a legacy. 294 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:47.840 Sequel, and it creates a halo of prestige, which they 295 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.080 absolutely need to execute the most difficult phase of this development. Okay, 296 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:56.440 what's that, Well, Hudson's producer, Cloud Ensure's prestige backing are 297 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:59.679 strategic lures designed for one specific. 298 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:00.559 Target, Matthew conaughey. 299 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:03.759 Yes, because this movie simply does not exist without the 300 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:06.759 actor who has spent the last decades sprinting away from 301 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:08.159 the romantic comedy genre. 302 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:10.840 Sprinting is the right word. Let's get into the Matthew 303 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:12.000 McConaughey paradox. 304 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:13.159 Yeah, let's talk about it. 305 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:16.240 The article states that if Hudson is involved, McConaughey would 306 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:19.840 presumably follow suit, right, presumably, But we have to look 307 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.840 closely at that word presumably, because the Matthew McConaughey of 308 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:25.080 two thousand and three, you know, the guy leaning back 309 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:28.120 to back on a movie poster in a yellow dress. Yeah, well, 310 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:30.399 Kate was in the yellow dress. He was in the suit. 311 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:34.480 But that guy is functionally a different human being in 312 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:35.919 the eyes of Hollywood today. 313 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:39.200 His career trajectory is one of the most studied transformations 314 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:40.279 in modern cinema. 315 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:44.120 The source breaks down this incredible pivot. Like in the 316 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:48.799 twenty tens, he deliberately abandoned the Broyish rom com persona 317 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:49.879 that made him famous. 318 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:51.480 He completely turned his back on it. 319 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:56.480 He completely rebranded himself by diving into incredibly dense, critically 320 00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:00.320 acclaimed dramas. We're talking Mud, The Wolf of wals Street, 321 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:04.480 Intersteller and Dallas Buyer's Club, which won him the Best 322 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:06.360 Actor Oscar in twenty fourteen. 323 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:08.000 And the culture labeled it the mcconnaissance. 324 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:09.039 Mcconnaissance exactly. 325 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:11.159 It was a masterclass in market scarcity. 326 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:13.360 Okay, explain that he stopped. 327 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.080 Giving the audience the lightweight charm they expected, right, He 328 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:19.240 just stopped, and that forced them to accept him as 329 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:20.279 a dramatic heavyweight. 330 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:20.639 Yeah. 331 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:23.960 You couldn't just go see a goofy Matthew McConaughey movie anymore, Right, You. 332 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:26.480 Had to watch him lose forty pounds for Dallas Buyer's Club. 333 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:31.840 Exactly. Furthermore, the article highlights a crucial current detail his 334 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.320 market scarcity has only increased. Oh right, He only recently 335 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.639 ended a six year big screen hiatus with the film 336 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:41.440 The Rivals of im Ziah King. 337 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:44.440 Six years away from the big screen. Yeah, so here's 338 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.639 where it gets really interesting. Okay, After winning an OSCAR, 339 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:51.639 working with directors like Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese and 340 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:55.360 taking a half decade hiatus, is returning to Benjamin Barry 341 00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:58.519 a step backward. It's a great question, like does returning 342 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:01.799 to the genre he fled finish the dramatic credibility he 343 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.879 fought so hard to build? Or is it the ultimate 344 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:07.679 flex of a movie star who has nothing left to prove? 345 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:10.720 This raises an important question about the psychology and the 346 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:13.320 market value of the modern a lister. Yeah, and I 347 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:16.440 argue it is the ultimate flex precisely because of the 348 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:20.000 leverage he now holds. Right, the psychological shift required to 349 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:24.120 return to Benjamin Barry after winning an Academy award is immense. Sure, 350 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:26.200 he isn't taking this role to pay the mortgage or 351 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:26.879 stay relevant. 352 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:28.519 No, he doesn't need the money. 353 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:30.960 If he signs on, he is doing it from a 354 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:35.399 position of absolute power, total power. But that power dictates 355 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:38.320 that the script cannot just be a rehash of a 356 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:39.120 goofy bet. 357 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:42.919 No, of course not. You cannot have a fifty something 358 00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:46.679 Oscar winning Matthew McConaughey making a frat boy bet with 359 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:51.360 his advertising boss. No, the fundamental mechanics of the character 360 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:55.559 have to evolve to match the gravity the actor now carries. 361 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:59.279 Which underscores exactly why Paramount, Kate Hudson and Stacy Shirr 362 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:01.840 are searching so desperately for the perfect writer. 363 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:03.000 They need a genius. 364 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.119 The script has to honor the dramatic weight McConaughey has 365 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:10.000 cultivated over the last decade while still delivering this specific 366 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:12.759 comedic friction that made the two thousand and three film 367 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:13.200 a hit. 368 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:15.200 That sounds almost impossible. 369 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:17.680 They have to thread a nearly impossible needle to justify 370 00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:18.240 his return. 371 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:20.880 It is a high wire act of legacy management, it 372 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:23.400 really is, which brings us to the ultimate synthesis of 373 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:26.799 what we've unpacked today. The sequel to How To Lose 374 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:29.240 a Guy in Ten Days isn't just happening because someone 375 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:30.920 at Paramount was feeling nostalgic. 376 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:31.839 No, definitely not. 377 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:35.160 It is the result of a massive convergence of forces. 378 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:37.720 You have the structural economics of the twenty twenty six 379 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:42.359 box office, where fragmented audiences make original ideas too expensive 380 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:46.039 to market, which forces studios to rely on the backward 381 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.960 compatibility of proven ip and you have the original films 382 00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:53.519 staggering one hundred and eighty million dollar blueprint proving the 383 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:54.440 concept works. 384 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:58.200 And then you have Kate Hudson leveraging a massive career 385 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:02.039 resurgence to seize creative control through her production company. Yes, 386 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:06.960 you have Stacey Shure injecting prestige level producing tactics into 387 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:11.119 a historically lightweight genreact, and hovering above it all, you 388 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.599 have the challenge of writing a script good enough to 389 00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:16.720 pull Matthew McConaughey out of his dramatic era and back 390 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:17.799 into the romcom arena. 391 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:21.400 It is a perfect storm of algorithmic demand meeting incredibly 392 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.279 calculated talent negotiation. 393 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:26.359 So the next time you see a headline announcing a 394 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:29.359 sequel to a movie you loved twenty years ago, I 395 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:32.880 want you to remember the machinery operating just out of frame. 396 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.079 There's always machinery. 397 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:37.400 You are watching billions of dollars being mobilized based on 398 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:41.599 market trends, star psychology, and your own streaming habits. 399 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:44.720 The business of Hollywood is rarely as romantic as the 400 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:45.599 films it produces. 401 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.480