WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:03.720 You're listening to an airwave media podcast. 2 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:11.160 It's actually quite unlike anything we've ever seen before. 3 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:14.800 A giant, very creature. 4 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:19.760 Part eight, Part Matt in Luckness, a twenty four mile 5 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:22.160 long bottomless lake in the Highlands of Scotland. 6 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:24.640 It's a creature known as the Luckness Monster. 7 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:52.920 Monstert Hello, I'm Blake Smith and in today's special bonus 8 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:56.320 episode of Monster Talk, Ben Radford and I interview a 9 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:59.960 movie director. Then I get a weird phone call from Scott's. 10 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:04.519 Information about the new movie and about Scott Siegler's book 11 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:10.439 are in the show notes. Monstrut We're talking with Daniel Netheim, 12 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:13.640 director of the new film The Hunter, which is adapted 13 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:17.159 from the award winning novel by Alice Addison. The film 14 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:20.400 stars Willem Dafoe and Sam Neil and it tells the 15 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:23.079 story of a man tasked with finding the last living 16 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:28.239 Filo scene, if it exists. So, Daniel, what drew you 17 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:30.159 to the thila scene as a film topic. 18 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:32.760 So the whole project came from a novel. As you know, 19 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:38.519 the Thilos scene has a particular place in Australian mythology 20 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:41.519 as well as an Australian history. You know, It's one 21 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:46.280 of those red beasts that kind of straddles both as 22 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:48.840 a child, you know, as an adult. I'd always found 23 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:53.400 the story of the demise of this creature particularly moving, 24 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:56.599 and I'd always been affected by that. You know, those 25 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:00.000 bits of footage that are quite well known, you can 26 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:01.840 see them on YouTube, you know, we got the rights 27 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:04.159 to use them in the film that the Last Living 28 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:07.840 Tasmanian Tiger roaming around and around in circles in the 29 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:11.919 Hobart Zoo, right. I'd always found that very poignant. But 30 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:14.280 what I liked, what I liked about the use of 31 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:19.520 this creature as the object of a mission in the 32 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:27.560 book was you know, both symbolic and physical, you know, 33 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:31.439 like on a literal level, it represents the search for 34 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:34.400 something unobtainable, you know, that something that can't be found, 35 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:41.080 and symbolically it represents very strongly the mistakes of our past, 36 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:44.120 the things that we can't undo, you know, And both 37 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:46.919 of these are kind of very lead to a very 38 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:51.439 poignant and profound character journey for the late lead character 39 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:57.039 played in the film by Willem. 40 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:59.199 Let me ask how I know have I've covered film 41 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:02.120 quite a bit also at the tru and by the way, 42 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:03.759 as I mentioned in Toronto Film. 43 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:07.159 Firstal, congratulations on your suggests there. Thanks, you want to 44 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:10.080 tell us a little bit about that. Look, it was great. 45 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:13.360 We we'd only just finished the film. We're invited to 46 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:19.800 screen as a special presentation at Toronto and within the 47 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:23.680 first couple of days we had amazing international sales, you know, 48 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:27.120 so selling to Magnolia in the US was great, but 49 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:30.240 we sold to a good you know, twenty five thirty 50 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:32.719 countries apart from that, So just you know, it's very 51 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:34.840 exciting to know that the film is going to reach 52 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:39.120 such wide audiences. 53 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:42.280 And we're it's opening, Nish and Wade, what this weekend? 54 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:44.280 Next weekend? What's what's the official. 55 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:49.840 April sixth for theatrical and it's it has a premium 56 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:54.639 VIAD window that's already started. So depending on your choice, 57 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:56.680 you can look at it now on the small screen 58 00:03:57.159 --> 00:03:59.520 or April six you can see it the way the 59 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:02.240 film makes as would prefer you to see it on 60 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:05.759 the big screen with amazing five point one Dolby surround sound. 61 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:07.879 Beautiful, beautiful. 62 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.000 Now, a lot of the shots look really stunning. Where 63 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:13.400 was the footage actually taken? 64 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:18.360 The film was shot entirely in Tasmania, which is a 65 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:21.480 large island state off the south coast of mainland Australia. 66 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:25.399 It's a small island. We spent a bit of time 67 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:26.800 in the north, bit of time in the south, a 68 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:31.000 bit of time in the center. A couple of weeks 69 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:33.319 we spent in and around a small farmhouse, but for 70 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.560 most of the time we were going out to driving 71 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:40.120 out to pretty remote but spectacular looking landscapes to tell 72 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.800 the story of this man who, for a lot of 73 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:47.360 the film is essentially alone in the spectacular wilderness looking 74 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:48.680 for this elusive creature. 75 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.720 What did it take to bring this to the big screen? 76 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:55.639 The film was financed out of Australia. We have a 77 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:58.600 different system over there with you know, a certain amount 78 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.519 can be subsidized by government aunts, but you still have 79 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:04.759 to have interest from distributors, you know, both local distributors 80 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:08.439 and foreign sales agents. And the one recurring question that 81 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:10.920 we were getting when we were touting the script around, 82 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:13.560 I mean everyone was saying, this is a beautiful story. 83 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:15.959 You know, it's a great script. It's really really well written, 84 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:18.399 it's very cinematic. But who was going to play the hunter? 85 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:19.639 Right? 86 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:22.959 And it was only once we could say Willem Dafoe 87 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:26.120 is the hunter that we could see people's eyes light 88 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:28.319 up and go, all right, okay, I get this movie now, 89 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:29.680 I know the kind of film you want to make. 90 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:33.199 You know, great casting, and so that in the end, 91 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.199 it was the casting of Willem that triggered the final 92 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:37.160 pieces of the puzzle. 93 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:41.800 And how did you end up getting Defoe to do that? 94 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:43.800 Did you know him personally or you just sort of. 95 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:49.199 Amazingly we sent him the script, but you know, we 96 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:52.519 sent the script to his management company and we got 97 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:55.560 a pretty prompt reply saying that Willem had liked it. 98 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:57.519 You know, he was intrigued, he wanted to know more. 99 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:00.600 So I flew from Sydney to New York to have 100 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:03.680 a face to face meeting h and at the end 101 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:07.519 of an hour of talking about the project, he pretty 102 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:09.399 much said, get your people to talk to my people. 103 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:13.480 Let's do let's let's make this beautiful nice. I didn't 104 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:15.439 think it would be that easy, and it probably never 105 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.560 will be again, but you know, thank thank goodness. 106 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:21.240 You know, we talk about movies a lot because there's 107 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.079 so many that deal with monsters, and in this particular case, 108 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:26.959 it's nice to talk to the director and I could 109 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:31.160 ask this question directly, when you shoot the film or 110 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.160 when you shot this film, what did you think of 111 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:36.160 the theme or what did you think the theme would 112 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.439 be and how much did that drive the way you 113 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:40.519 actually produced actually put it all together. 114 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:43.839 Yeah, look, you know, I mean, for me, the best 115 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.079 film works on many levels. There's a story, you know, 116 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.240 which is what you watch and enjoy and what you follow, 117 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:51.839 and then I really like to have layers of thematic 118 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:54.920 resonance underneath, so you know, you want to you want 119 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.920 to get the audience thinking about things that are important to you. 120 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:00.160 I mean, I think in this case, the strong theme 121 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:05.120 was the uneasy relationship between mankind and the natural environment. 122 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:08.680 And on the one hand, the history of what actually 123 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:12.160 happened to the Tasmanian tiger speaks of that. You know, 124 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:14.879 the thing was wiped out by farmers. It had a 125 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:18.079 government bounty on its head because it was seen as 126 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:21.000 a threat to the industry of sheep farming. You know, 127 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:25.160 as simple as that boom kiss goodbye the Thila scene. 128 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:30.480 The same story is being repeated in Tasmania with certain 129 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:33.319 areas of old growth forests, you know, which is under 130 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:37.079 threat from logging. So the story hasn't gone away, you know, 131 00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:41.199 and the ever present theme there is is kind of like. 132 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:43.879 How the greed, how our greed. 133 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:47.199 And pursuing what we think we need can affect the 134 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:50.120 natural environment around us. But you know what, I was 135 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:52.639 never setting out to make a message film. You know, 136 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.519 the idea was we tell a great story first. But 137 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:57.720 you have these layers, you know, you hint at this 138 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:02.480 thematic stuff underneath and hype that the audience carries something 139 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:03.000 away with it. 140 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:05.759 No, and I'm glad you brought that up, because that's 141 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:07.040 one of the things I wanted to ask you about, 142 00:08:07.160 --> 00:08:07.920 is that is that. 143 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:10.879 It's not a message film. It's not. 144 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:13.160 It's and it's frankly, to be honest, it's not even 145 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:16.680 a monster film. It's a thriller that of a monster 146 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:18.680 in it. And that's one of things I really enjoyed 147 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:22.399 about it is that it has themes about ecology and environmentalism, 148 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:23.160 but it's. 149 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:23.839 Not cut and dried. 150 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.160 You know, you have many the characters have unclear motives, 151 00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:29.480 and you have sort of moral shades of gray. You've 152 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:32.840 got loggers who are concerned about the impact of their livelihood. 153 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:34.759 If the animal has proven to exist, you know, are 154 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:38.399 they going to suddenly declare all this, you know, off limits. 155 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:40.879 But then you also have people who are sensibly trying 156 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:43.559 to help the animal but also kill it. So that 157 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:46.679 was it was just really interesting to see characters that 158 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:48.559 had such such nuances. 159 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:51.840 Yeah, certainly the moral complexity of the story was one 160 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.360 of the things I found really attractive. Might be one 161 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.480 of the things that might have difficult to get the 162 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:59.000 script rot, you know, because it was a difficult balance 163 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:01.120 to tread. You know, I'm glad you think it's what, 164 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:01.759 thank you. 165 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:02.919 Yeah. 166 00:09:02.919 --> 00:09:04.679 In fact, let me let me also ask about this 167 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:08.279 the one of the concerns that I don't want to 168 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:10.840 put words in enough, but on occasion i've heard director's 169 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.440 concerned that their film is too cerebral. 170 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:15.080 It's too it. 171 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:18.159 Takes too much thinking, and American audiences don't like thinking. 172 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:22.200 And and because it is, it's not a straightforward action film, 173 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:26.279 it's not a straightforward monster film, and it raises really profound, 174 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:29.000 interesting questions. And I guess my question to you is, 175 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:33.919 how do you balance making an entertaining action film that 176 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:38.279 also has is also slows down enough so that people 177 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:42.679 can can can have these these you know, larger questions resonate. 178 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.240 Look you know, we we we worked hard to find 179 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:48.799 that balance when we were writing the script, and then 180 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:50.960 we worked hard all over again, and when the when 181 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:54.279 we were in the edit room, you know, and I 182 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:56.279 think we tried, you know, we pushed the film to 183 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:00.240 both the extremes during the cut. I mean, sometimes looked 184 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:02.679 at it and it had gotten too meditative and too 185 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:05.519 slow and the story wasn't moving forwards and at other 186 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:08.200 at other times we tried things and suddenly, you know, 187 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:12.080 it's moving at a great breakneck pace, but you're missing 188 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.960 out on the poetry. And I wanted to contain both, 189 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.440 so really, you know, I mean part of that was 190 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:24.080 actually getting getting small audiences in during the edit, showing 191 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:27.200 film fresh and just asking them, you know, is it 192 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:29.480 too slow? Is it too fast? You know, are you 193 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:32.840 are your questions being answered? Or are you happy to 194 00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:35.120 have questions that remain unanswered? 195 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:36.159 Right? 196 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:41.039 You lose it's really easy to lose perspective when you're stuck. 197 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:42.919 When you hold up in an edit room for like 198 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:47.799 fourteen weeks, you know, not bad, the outside perspective becomes 199 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:48.840 really important. 200 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:50.320 Do you uh. 201 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:54.919 You know, there's sort of this underlying theme of a 202 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:58.919 national loss at this animal being extinct. Is there is 203 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:02.519 that culturally, I don't, you know, not being from there, 204 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:05.120 it is that the sort of thing that that the 205 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:08.120 opportunity to save one of these animals would sort of 206 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.440 in a way, be it kind of redemption or is that? 207 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:12.840 Is that? 208 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:14.000 Am I reading too much into that? 209 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:14.480 No? 210 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:18.440 Absolutely, I think that you know, if we could revive 211 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:21.600 this creature, it would be it would be a form 212 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.360 of redemption. You know, we would be able to shed 213 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:27.799 ourselves of that guilt, you know, correct the mistakes of 214 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:30.240 our past. I mean, I think that was one of 215 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:35.399 the big attractions of this, you know now derailed attempt 216 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:37.320 to clone the creature that was happening a few years 217 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:41.039 back when they had DNA extracted from the specimen of 218 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:43.360 a pup that had been sitting in formaldehyde in a 219 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:47.360 museum for like, you know, seventy years, and they thought 220 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:49.799 that they could cross breed this with something else, and 221 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:52.519 you know, I mean it was a dubious project that 222 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:55.159 had ethicists up in arms, but there are a lot 223 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:57.519 of people prepared to put a lot of money into 224 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:01.279 it because it was a sexy topic, you know, reviving 225 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:04.960 an extinct species, you know, I for better off, for 226 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:09.440 worse the DNA that they had was proven to be 227 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:15.559 too deteriorated to be any use, and that project has dropped. 228 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:20.320 But you know, the I can see why the enduring 229 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:23.200 mythology that it is still out there is attractive, you know, 230 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:26.679 for the same reasons. It offers us a hope of redemption. 231 00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:30.759 But it's also dangerous because it lets us off the hook, 232 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:33.879 you know, for facing up to the reality of what 233 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:36.279 we did and what people all over the world are 234 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:40.039 still doing, which is kind of killing off endangered species. 235 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:43.879 I don't want to spoil anything for the listeners because 236 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:47.000 obviously mysteries are kind of what drives you to go 237 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:49.960 see a film in a way. But there's this ongoing 238 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:54.200 debate in the cryptozoology world about capture or kill, like, 239 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:56.759 you know, for example, with Bigfoot, would you want to 240 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:58.399 capture a kill one even though they might be in 241 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:01.320 danger if they're real? Now, you know, our position is, 242 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:03.679 I think, you know, get the DNA, prove it right, 243 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:06.840 but how did you deal with that in the film? 244 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:09.639 One of the great experiences for an audience of watching 245 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:12.600 this film is not knowing, like you know, what Ivy 246 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:15.279 finds it, what's he going to do? In fact, is 247 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:16.559 he even going to find it or is it a 248 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:20.679 completely unattainable goal? And I think it's a great it's 249 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:23.639 a great driving narrative question to have, and I think 250 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.919 everybody has their own take on it. I mean, when 251 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:29.320 we were shooting down in Tasmania, we were shooting a 252 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:32.480 lot of behind the scenes footage and we interviewed most 253 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:35.360 of the locals we met about the Thila scene. You know, 254 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:37.600 do you think it still exists? Do you have any stories? 255 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:40.840 What would you do if you saw one? The majority 256 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:44.279 of the people, no matter what they believed, said that 257 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.480 if they found one, they wouldn't tell you know, they 258 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:51.399 would leave it alone. They wouldn't tell anybody ever, So 259 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:52.879 you know, it seems to be some kind of like 260 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:56.279 you know, profound in a compassion, like if the thing's 261 00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:00.759 still out there, leave it alone. I mean, logger saw one. 262 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:02.720 You know, as you mentioned before, they're not going to 263 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:04.840 tell anybody because it would mean suddenly you've got half 264 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:08.279 the world's scientific community trapesing around the areas they're meant 265 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:09.840 to be, you know, chopping down trees. 266 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:10.799 Right. 267 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:15.519 You know, Likewise, if an environmentalist saw one, it's not 268 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.120 in their interest to tell anybody, because you get the 269 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:21.159 half the world's journalist stuf there, you know, treading all 270 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:27.480 over the delicate ecosystem. So yeah, it's it's it's very 271 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:30.919 open for debate. What would you do? I recommend to 272 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.679 the viewers see the film with a friend and then 273 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:36.399 have the debate yourselves afterwards. 274 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:38.399 And put you on this right, what would you do 275 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:39.720 if if if while you. 276 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:43.240 Were out filming this this fictional this fictional film, and 277 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.639 you're just wandering around on location and you you'll you 278 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:48.759 you by now you're familiar with the Diallos scene. 279 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:50.919 You've seen hours of footage. 280 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:52.879 And you just happen to look to your right and 281 00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:55.720 you see something that is almost certainly. 282 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:57.600 A dialy scene. And what what would you do? 283 00:14:57.639 --> 00:14:59.440 You know what? I would take the camera off. Willem 284 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:02.240 Dafoe put it that that fall Asa in the bush, 285 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:06.919 and I would exploit. I would exploit it for publicity, 286 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:08.120 for the film, for all of us. 287 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:13.120 What you would shoot but not to kill? Got it? 288 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:15.840 Shoot but not killed? 289 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.759 Well that's no, It's interesting and it brings up and 290 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:20.679 that that's another element that I really enjoyed about the 291 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.240 film is, uh, there's this not only you have sort 292 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:26.679 of a mystery within a mystery, uh, sort of within 293 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:27.480 a mystery. 294 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:29.039 Depending on how you want to shake it out. 295 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:32.799 But you also have conspiracy theories in it, you know 296 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:36.840 where where again you're not sure what are people's motives? 297 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:38.519 Why are you know? What's it? 298 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:41.080 Because you know, you know, are they doing this to 299 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:43.200 exploit the creature? Are you doing it to save the creature? 300 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:44.039 Uh? 301 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:46.360 And really, at the end of the day, doesn't matter. 302 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:49.039 I mean, if you if what you have truly is 303 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:54.320 the very last animal of its kind, uh, in a way, 304 00:15:54.440 --> 00:15:56.840 it doesn't really matter. I mean whether you whether it 305 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:58.720 dies on its own because it you know, it falls 306 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:01.440 into a river or shot one way or the other. 307 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:04.840 Whether it's tomorrow or next month or next year or 308 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:07.840 five years from now, it will die and there will 309 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:10.679 be no more. So it's sort of interesting to sort 310 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:15.559 of have that that for enveloping mystery and intention there. 311 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:18.039 Yeah, yeah, very true. You know, like on a number 312 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:20.679 of times people who have seen the film, you know, 313 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:22.639 and this doesn't give anything away, but have said to me, 314 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:26.440 all right, so so this guy is looking for the 315 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:28.960 last what is meant to be the last Tasmanian tiger. 316 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:32.559 But that's ridiculous. If there's one, surely there are others. 317 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:36.840 You know, surely there's a breeding population. And my answer 318 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:40.200 to that is, you know, as you said, at one point, 319 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:43.919 I mean, the last nine Tasmanian tiger died in captivity 320 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:47.360 in nineteen thirty six. At one point there was going 321 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.039 to be only one left out there somewhere in the wilderness, 322 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:54.879 you know, and that was the last one. How long 323 00:16:54.919 --> 00:16:57.480 it lasted on its own, I don't know. We can 324 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:00.320 only speculate, but yeah, what you say is true. You know, 325 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.879 like once a population gets below a critical mass, it's 326 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:06.000 going to die out regardless. So what do you do 327 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:09.519 do you if you want to stop people from getting it, 328 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:12.119 you want to stop at people using it for for 329 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:17.559 whether for good or bad. You know, there's profoundly confronting 330 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:19.000 moral choices to be made. 331 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:21.519 Well, Daniel, thanks for being with us today. I know 332 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:23.599 you have to go. But we always ask her our 333 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.839 guests what their favorite monster is. It's kind of our 334 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:26.880 closer question. 335 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:32.519 That that is a great question, one that I'm not 336 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:34.319 quite prepared for. 337 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:37.960 Like, it could be anything. 338 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:39.279 It could be any. 339 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:41.960 Monster, but either fictional or real, allegedly real, whatever you want. 340 00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:45.720 Well, I'm really always attracted to this notion of the 341 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:46.599 giant squid. 342 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.160 Nice, yeah, you know this. 343 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:51.960 I mean I think that the depths of the ocean 344 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:55.240 have got such great potential for you know, deep dark, 345 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:58.799 murky secrets. But the idea of this, you know, these 346 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:02.480 giant squids you can kind of you know, do battle 347 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:06.440 with sperm whales. I mean, I find that really something 348 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:09.400 very attractive about that notion, you know, And I always 349 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:11.599 spoked on by the fact that occasionally these things get 350 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:13.799 washed up in remote places, you know. I mean for me, 351 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:14.599 that's fascinating. 352 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:17.079 Yeah, what are the experts? Is Steve O'Shea who's from 353 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:20.279 down there? So yeah, all right, okay, right, anyway, thank 354 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:21.240 you so much for your time. 355 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.240 Good good job on an excellent film, and good luck 356 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:24.559 with it. 357 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:25.559 Thank you so much. 358 00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:39.960 Monstertle Man Blake you there, Hello? Who is like? 359 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:41.400 This is Scott Siggler. 360 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:43.920 That Siggler. Dude, it's like three in the morning. Why 361 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:45.400 are you calling me? Listen. 362 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:46.359 I've got an idea. 363 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:49.400 I've got my new book, Nocturnal is out and it's 364 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:53.000 about monsters, so I thought we should talk about it. 365 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:54.160 On Monster Talk. 366 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:58.200 But dude, it's three in the morning. What kind of monsters? Like? 367 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:02.200 Okay, here's the thing right. It's basically skeptical horror. So 368 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:04.599 it's about monsters, but it's not about all the bs 369 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:08.400 monsters like vampires and walking dead and all that other stuff. 370 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:11.880 These they're like hard science monsters, okay, and they're all 371 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.759 original monsters. I'm telling you. This is skeptical horror. This 372 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:17.559 is a perfect for your show. You got to put 373 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:17.799 it on. 374 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:21.640 Well. Is called Nocturnal. 375 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.000 Yeah, it's called Nocturnal, and it's in bookstores right now, 376 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:27.920 right now. People could go look at it at Scott 377 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:31.400 sigler dot com slash Nocturnal, where we have a video 378 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:35.960 trailer of the book that is full of you guessed it, monsters. 379 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:38.720 That's right, you've got a video of the book. 380 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:41.160 We got a book trailer, so we've got a video 381 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:43.319 that shows what the book is about. It's full of 382 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:47.079 all these monsters that are in San Francisco, because this 383 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:50.640 subset of humanity is living in the shadows of San 384 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:53.160 Francisco and only comes out at night to feed on 385 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:55.599 the people who won't be missed. But in the book, 386 00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:58.960 my main character, Brian Klauser starts to have all these 387 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:01.759 crazy dreams about these monsters and then starts to track 388 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:06.079 down this serial killing cult that dresses up like monsters. 389 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:08.039 And there's other stuff I you know, I can't reveal 390 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:12.440 because maybe you'll read it. But look, no vampires, no mummies, 391 00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:16.079 no no zombies, no walking dead. These are straight up 392 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:20.720 hard science monsters. And this book has the best Punnett 393 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.039 square your people will ever see, because now there's not 394 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:27.279 just two sex chromosomes, there's three. It's a nine square 395 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:29.559 Punnet square as a feature point of the book. 396 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:32.480 That's a lot of math for three in the morning. Hey, 397 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:35.039 what did you say? It's got cops in it? So 398 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:36.720 this is not a sports book. 399 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:40.480 No, this is like a starts out like a police procedural. 400 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:43.599 And then Brian Klaus and Puki cheg are two San 401 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:47.359