Director Greg Mottola RETURNS!

EPISODE 34: Greg Mottola RETURNS

The FletchCast crew sits down again with Writer/Director/Executive Producer/Friend of the Show Greg Mottola,  to talk more about Confess Fletch Mottola talks candidly about breaking the Fletch curse - trying to make a movie that is their own, but still paying homage at times to the iconic Chevy Chase version from the 1980's. Greg plays "Fletch Either Or" and answers questions from Fletch Fans. Greg gives us an exclusive that he has officially been contracted to write Fletch's Fortune, while Confess premiers in the UK. You are really going to enjoy this continuation of our previous discussion with the SuperBad creator.

Follow Greg Mottola on Twitter: @gregmottola or Instagram: @gregmottolaofficial

FletchCast is Your Ultimate source for everything Fletch: the books, the movies, & the latest news about our favorite journalistic reporter, Irwin M. Fletcher.

... making sure Fletch Lives forever!

Host: James "Laker Jim" Kanowitz (@webguy911)
Co-Host: Jake Parrish (@jakelparrish)
Co-Host: Robert "Big Bob" West


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Fletch & Fletch Lives are Copyright 1985, 1989 Universal Studios and distributed by MCA/Universal Pictures. The Fletch Soundtrack is Copyright MCA Records. Confess, Fletch is Copyright of Miramax with Paramount distribution. All images and sounds are the intellectual property of Universal Studios. They are used only with the intent of public appreciation of a great film and possible publicity for its place among the great comedies of our time. We imply no rights to the characters or intellectual property created by Gregory McDonald, Universal or Miramax and is used for educational purposes only.

Transcript

SPEAKER_11 0:00

Hey there folks, this is Burton Gilling from Fletch and always kids Laker Jim. I tell him what are you doing some stunt podcasting or something? What's he say? You are a listen to the only podcast that's all ball bearings. Yeah, Laker Jim's Fletch cast.

SPEAKER_12 0:27

Broadcasting live and around the world. Around the world from Cabana One, the only podcast that's all ball bearings. Your ultimate source for everything flat. Take it out. Like it's beautiful. They don't shower much. It's Flightcast.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

Thank you, Sammy, and welcome everybody to Flightcast. I'm your host, I think Jim. This week Bob took some time off to remodel his garage. Not to worry. Joining me today are two men who stole a homecoming float on the way over and then crashed into a goal post. And Greg Matolo.

SPEAKER_09 1:26

What do you have to say for yourself? Just some consequence refund for the riff.

SPEAKER_03 1:31

Greg, welcome back to the show. Thanks for filling over for Bob. These are big shoes to fill. Size 16 in case you were wondering.

SPEAKER_06 1:37

Thanks, Bob. Pleasure to be here, Jim.

SPEAKER_03 1:39

Now, actually, we were recording this on the day that Confess Fletch premieres in the UK. So that's exciting. We first spoke to you days before it was going to come out in the US, and now we're uh we're on the UK release. So that's exciting.

SPEAKER_06 1:52

Yeah, I've done a few um interviews for the UK release. They actually ran trailers there, so that's nice.

SPEAKER_03 1:58

Why didn't we think of that?

SPEAKER_06 1:59

I know. What you know, it seems it seems like it's getting a similar reaction as it did here, which is that some people really, really like it, and some people are like, well, I can't get past a non-chevy version, which is fair enough. But I think the majority of the people that saw it really enjoyed it. Absolutely. It's it's been gratifying. I mean, it's very nice. My wife is in charge of she's the one who goes through the internet and Twitter and sends me nice things that people say and cuts out the mean things. And uh, you know, with comedy, there's you know, it's it's very subjective, and and I think this is a particular style of comedy that's not for everybody, but the people who like it seem to really like it. It seems to feel like what I set out to do, which and what John wanted to do is do an adult comedy like they used to. You know, all kinds of comedies are viable, and there's still tons of funny stuff out there, but there are certain styles of more verbal adult comedy that has been passed over for the kind of noisier slapsticky pop culture referencing sex farces that I I'm the my own enemy.

SPEAKER_09 3:08

So right. I was um I was reading Empire Magazine, they I was reading their review, and it was a good review, and it and I think they kind of summed up what you said. It says in the end, Confess Fletch is a mid-budget mystery comedy for adults that will delight newcomers and please McDonald fanatics. Really, what can you ask for besides a sequel? So that was a good it was a great review, actually.

SPEAKER_06 3:30

Yeah, that's really nice to hear. And and and I did a nice interview with them and they were super kind. You know, it makes me super happy that people who love the books have come out for the movie. And and I think there are more, you know, it doesn't surprise me there's so many people who love the books, but you don't know if, you know, are those people who are also going to watch this or uh hear about it. And I I hear from more people than I expected who love the books, which is which is a great thing. And I hear from the occasional person who said, like, it's gotten me to start reading the books, and I love them, which is which I could not be happier about. If it gets anybody to look at the books, uh that's a win because they're such a delight.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

Now, how about feedback from the studio? Were they happy with it?

SPEAKER_06 4:16

Yes, I think they're happy with the movie. I think that they understandably were not willing to risk a ton of money on it. Which I, you know, there have been some journalists who want me to be mad about that. And I mean, I am possibly slightly depressed about that, but I get it. I I mean, look at, you know, people are still staying away, pandemic just drags on and on, and we know what makes gets people to go, and it's a handful of genres, superheroes, certain kinds of action films and horror films that are real crowd pleasers and appeal to a younger audience. And that's those are the people who are going in in significant numbers to movies. And I can see, you know, brose came out not long after us, yeah, and they did advertise that movie and and it didn't do the business they had hoped. And I can't think of a comedy that has done a lot of business since the pandemic. It's maybe there's a couple of like action comedies, like I don't remember the name of the movie, but the one with um Chani Tatum and Sandra Bullock.

SPEAKER_09 5:24

Oh, like Lost City or something like that, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 5:26

Yeah, like that. I think I think that did make some money, but that's a real full-on studio action comedy. It's not a 20 million talkie comedy with no special effects at all.

SPEAKER_09 5:36

So I know we've heard rumors. So was the budget 20? Is that what it was?

SPEAKER_06 5:41

The budget after um after, you know, we got a Massachusetts is a good rebate state, so we probably spent closer to 25 and then got a bunch of it back. But you know, the sad part about that 20 is something like two and a half million is eaten up by COVID protocols. Oh, true, okay and insurance. And so, you know, uh we're closer to an$18 million film. But it was surprising how not far 20 million goes in this day and age. I did super bad for 20 million and we shot for 40 days, and you know, but inflation, that was a while ago. You know, I I certainly learned things that I will apply to the next one if they let me do the next one. I feel like I feel like the next one, I want it to be a bigger production. Not I don't want to lose what people liked about this one, but I do want it to, I want to build on this one. So, you know, we'll see. We'll see, we'll see if they give me a little more time and money.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

Who knows? Let us say thank you too, because I know you gave back a portion of your salary, John did too. And that means so much to Fletch fans everywhere that believed in it enough to put your money where your mouth is.

SPEAKER_06 6:51

Well, you know, the question I I got a lot of interviews is how did you break the Fletch curse? And the answer is it was by being willing to take the risk of doing it for less money. Um, both taking less money, but but you know, shooting it in fewer days than I thought we needed. But that's why we gave money back. It literally was just to buy us more shooting days. And I'm glad we did because there were things, if I had more time, there were certain scenes I would have probably done somewhat differently. But I don't feel like I sacrificed anything that was really essential to me, uh, for better or worse. And you know, part of that was trying to capture a version of the tone of the book. Um, the books obviously aren't as joke heavy as the movie is. Uh that's part of the compressing something down to 90 minutes and and and and making it play for an audience, but I really hope to get to the spirit of the book in a way that's different than the original. I mean, the original has a ton of the spirit of the book, and um but yeah, the the I I'm sure I talked about this last time, but the difference between a character like Fletch and a character like um Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe is that other people played those characters a lot.

SPEAKER_04 8:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 8:09

Um, and and so they don't have one great performance hanging over them to discourage people from doing it again. And I don't know how much that had to do with the other Fletch movies falling apart, if the if if Chevy Chevy Looming Large over it uh gave financiers pause, yeah um, you know, and I and I get the comments of X, Y, or Z actor would have been better for the movie than John. And those are mostly from people who want someone to carry on Chevy's performance, right? You know, they'd rather have Chevy do it in a time machine. Uh, and I'd love to see, I'd love to see those movies too. I wish I wish for the second movie they didn't write their own script. I really wish they just kept the books. I mean, so much of what's great about the first fletch is the premise of that novel is so clever and interesting, um and so much fun. And like all of the books, there's always more than one mystery going on. And and the first fletch movie really captured that. Um, both him investigating you know the drug connection on the beach and being asked to murder someone by the person who wants to be murdered, and that's such a great premise. Um yeah, I don't know why they didn't go back to the books. I don't know what the thinking was there, right?

SPEAKER_03 9:30

You bring up something that that comes up a lot. Originally Andrew Bergman wrote uh Fletch 2, Fletch and the Man Who script. What happens though to those scripts that people write that don't ever get made? Are they ever able to be published anywhere? Does the the person that write it have any rights to it at all? Or is it just owned by the studio that hired them and will never see them other than leaks here on the internet?

SPEAKER_06 9:55

Yeah, only only if something gets leaked on the I, for instance, I adapted this novel. This is uh novelist, uh Jeffrey Eugenides, who wrote the uh the version suicides and another book called Middle Sex, which were both very well-received books. Sophia Coppola made a great film out of the version Suicides, and we adapted one of his books called The Marriage Plot. And we were writing it for Columbia Pictures and Scott Ruton, and we worked, we wrote maybe three different approaches to the book. It wasn't an easy book to adapt. And we tried three different strategies on how to adapt it and what to include and what to not include, and how to make it something that would work on a budget. And we just, according to our bosses, did not get there. They just felt this isn't a movie, this isn't this isn't going to happen. Many years later, Natalie Portman now has the right to the book, and she wants to start a brand new script, and she can't really look at our versions of it, even to learn what to do or not to do, because because then she's in some kind of legal liability that if she has anything that's close to what we did in our adaptation, the people who own not us, not the writers, but the people who own what we wrote, being so many pictures, and Scott Rudin could sue her. So it's this weird thing that even though the original novelist co-wrote it with me, we can't show it to anybody, we can't do anything with it. We can't go to another company and say, Can we make this? In some cases, if the company's feeling generous, they'll say, Yeah, you can take this somewhere else and try and make it. But often, you know, they just sit on it and it just dies in a vault somewhere. Yeah. I mean, I'd be so curious to read Andrew Bergman's script.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 11:38

Oh, me too. I mean, he he says it's great. He tweeted about it recently, and he said, I wrote a terrific script. And and and you know what? He's one of the best comedy writers who ever lived, so I wouldn't doubt it. God, I would love to see it. Why on earth did they not make that one? I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

You left us on a little bit of a cliffhanger last time we spoke, and you said there was something you regret not writing for for Monroe. Something of a Flynn sort of reference that if you had thought about it, you meant to write the line.

SPEAKER_06 12:09

Yes. Oh god, now I have to remember what I said. What the hell I was talking about.

SPEAKER_03 12:14

So many times trying to figure out. Yeah, we have it wasn't a reference to bit by bit because Flynn mentions bit by bit. Was that it by any chance? No. Oh my god, what was it?

SPEAKER_06 12:25

I'm gonna let you guys know. Oh, um, it had to do with the how Flynn solved the case.

SPEAKER_03 12:34

Oh, not the the Hitler used.

SPEAKER_06 12:35

No, right, right. No, I did have a scene in one early version where Fletch goes to Flynn's house and meets his family, and Flynn introduces him as the murderer to all his kids.

SPEAKER_09 12:47

That's a great chapter of the book. I mean, that's a whole chapter.

SPEAKER_06 12:49

Yeah, and and I really and I really loved writing it. And at the end of the day, it felt like there are only so many digressions we could do. Um and and and is it too close to Flynn, which it was a bit of an eagle uh legal problem or question, but I I at least had him introduce um Fletch to his infant as he's gotta talk to the murderer right now. I was like, I had to get that line in somewhere because it it was just too priceless. Um this is another thing we didn't do from the book, which is that the solving of the murder all happens off stage. Fletch learns from Flynn how he figured it out. Um, I think it had to do with that, it had to do with um Flynn being a better detective than Fletch in in the end, or or a very worthy adversary, um very collegial adversary on top of it. Okay, this is embarrassing, but I really now I'm gonna have to rewatch the episode and get back to you for the third time we talk.

SPEAKER_09 13:56

So LJ had a great premise about where to put in Chevy in the movie.

SPEAKER_03 14:04

You said we would have put Chevy in if there was a a good role for him.

SPEAKER_09 14:08

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 14:08

What about the role of the Commodore? Oh, good lord. Let me paint this picture. Now, in a perfect world, Moon River is being played by the band. Yeah. And Chevy walks up on Ham as the Commodore. Like, how amazing would that have been?

SPEAKER_06 14:22

Yeah, that that that is the best place. We did talk about that. Um I I think the fear from the studio was that it would be more distracting. Uh yeah. And and and it might feel insulting to Chevy to offer him a part that small, a one-scene role.

SPEAKER_09 14:40

And then get shot at the end.

SPEAKER_06 14:42

But but yeah, I know he gets the shot, and and I made sure we kept in the part that the Commodore's still alive, because I thought gave him shit. He doesn't need to die for it.

SPEAKER_03 14:53

Yeah. Um speaking hypothetically again, if you somehow in a fantasy world could have cast Flynn in with your dream actor of choice when you were reading the book, who did you picture as Flynn? Because it's been a conversation we've had forever. I cannot picture an actor. And it's so distracting to me because of the way they described Flynn having like a tiny head and a giant body, and yeah, all these sort of like attributes. Could Brian Cranston have played that role? Could Mike Myers as the dad from So I Married an Axe Murderer?

SPEAKER_11 15:28

Give your mother a kiss and I'll kick your teeth in.

SPEAKER_03 15:30

Like, yeah, I mean, like, I don't know what Flynn looks like. I mean, what were you?

SPEAKER_06 15:33

Yeah, I I think I pictured Brendan Gleason.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 15:37

Yeah, he was in the uh Harry Potter movies, right? Yeah, yeah. That's the closest. He but I feel like he's too old for Flynn. Um, I mean, he's a wonderful actor, he's a great actor. Um, but at least I mean he's Irish, and he's got some of the physical qualities, but the way he's described in the book is is unusual and interesting, and it's hard to get past that picture you have of this odd-looking guy.

SPEAKER_09 16:04

Odd-looking, yeah. I don't know why. I always saw James Cotton in that role.

SPEAKER_06 16:11

That would be amazing. Rest in peace. Um, yeah, really. That's pretty cool. There was the that Irish actor who was on one of the Star Trek shows who has has the curly hair, and I'm forgetting his name.

SPEAKER_09 16:23

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He was in Enterprise, maybe?

SPEAKER_06 16:26

Was he on yeah, Calm Meanie or Calm? Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 16:29

Calm Meanie or something like that. Yes, I know you're talking about. Yes.

SPEAKER_06 16:31

Yeah, he had he had like the yeah, he had the curly ginger hair or something that but besides the obvious problem of what do you do with the Hitler youth aspect if you're doing a contemporary version of it. And it would have been super cool to do a period piece. Um yeah. I mean, now that at least there's more than one fletch in the world, I would fully be into other people doing the books, the other books. I mean, you know, John's way too old to play the prequel books, obviously. Yeah. So there's no reason someone couldn't do those and do the material pieces. And um, I mean, I suppose you could try to steal the plots and and and make it older fletch, but anyway, uh I say I say have at it, fledgling filmmakers of the world. Um, we've had a lot of James Bonds, we could have multiple fletches. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

Now, originally when when John brought up Fletch for the first couple times, he had mentioned that the story was going to be moved to New York. Obviously, the story's in Boston. Boston, what was the thinking there with the New York switch?

SPEAKER_06 17:38

I think John's original idea for New York was that because the first was in LA, it would make it as as diametrically opposed, and the art world is so big in New York, it seemed like the art world setting um had a slightly bigger cachet in New York. But the truth is, when Zev wrote his first draft and said it in New York and he made it in a bigger way about the art world, I kind of felt like I've seen the art world satirized a lot, the New York art world satirized a lot. And and that was not as interesting to me as the novel. And Zev had jettisoned a lot of stuff from the novel. Um, and you know, which is a choice, which is not a wrong choice, it's just a choice. But when we start to run the numbers and what a New York version would cost, yeah, it was just gonna be a lot more expensive, and we'd have even fewer days. And so the guy who runs Miramax Bill Block said, Are you completely against setting it where the book is set in Boston? And I said, Really, the truth is I know New York better than Boston. That was one of my fears, but let's investigate it, let's let's do a serious look. And I started, and that was around the time I was taking over the script. So I started to research Boston and and where we would set these scenes, um, and what was still kind of the same about Boston today. Um, and in the fact that it was we're in the classical art world, we're not in the modern art world. Uh it's very easy to believe that there's rich people in Boston buying paintings from the Renaissance through Impressionism and onwards that that that it didn't really take anything away from me. And I got more and more excited about Boston because that's because that's where the book is. And um, and I got over my fear of shooting in a city I don't really know. Um, we just had enough time when I got there to hit the ground running and really start scouting and exploring and looking for spaces that made sense for it. Um, and we got lucky insofar as you know, Boston's one of those cities that everyone leaves in the summer anyway. And the pandemic was keeping people inside. So we were suddenly getting offers from people to let us use their spaces for a doable fee because I think people were so dying to see humans again. They were like, sure, bring all of your grips into my house and smash things. Um, and uh yeah, so it it could not have been more perfect. And I was really glad at the end of the day that that's you know, that's where the book was set, and that, and that and it should be Boston, and that trying to go to New York was trying too hard to uh to give it a profile um that is different than the first fletch. And and you know, maybe we were imagining we'd have more time and money when we started the process, but you know, the writings on the wall about films right now, and everything, you know. I mean, so many uh, you know, Kevin Hart movies go straight to Netflix now. Um, Adam Sandler movies go straight to Netflix now. These are people who made tons of money at the box office, and and what are what were we to expect? It was like this is this is how you do it. This is like I said, break the fletch curse is that you you do it as smartly as you can and try and make get all the money on screen.

SPEAKER_03 21:01

Greg, have you heard anything about a DVD possibly coming out?

SPEAKER_06 21:05

I mean, there will be a DVD and a Blu-ray. I don't know um if there'll be any special features or not. Um, I'm hoping that maybe John and I can do uh commentary on it. Um and I like to supervise, make sure that the Blu-ray especially looks as good as it can. And you know, there's a the world of quality control also isn't what it used to be, so I kind of have to wedge myself into some of those things sometimes because because you know it's content. It's not it's it's not yeah, it's not even entertainment, right? It's just content.

SPEAKER_09 21:43

Any idea on a timeline on that?

SPEAKER_06 21:46

I don't know, but hopefully I'll be back soon and and I'll have more information on that.

SPEAKER_03 21:53

Okay, that's great. All right, we're gonna take a quick break, hear a word from a sponsor, and then Greg, we're gonna play a little game with you. Sure. A little game we call Fletch Either Or. Okay. After this.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Do you want a friend? Ben Franklin. Feeling lonely. Ben Franklin. Need a workout? Ben Franklin. Call us today at 1-900-Friend. Your place are mine. The Ben Franklin Service. A service company that has everything you desire. So let me ask you again. Do you want a friend?

SPEAKER_00 22:36

Ben Franklin?

SPEAKER_12 22:43

It's time to play. Flat, flash, either, either, or. Oh which one?

SPEAKER_03 22:56

Okay, so either or it's pretty self-explanatory. You ready? Sure. Okay, let's get started. Gail Stanwick or Becky Culpepper. Well, you know. I think Gail. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 23:11

Gail Stanwick or Larry? Ooh, that's tough. You know, I'm I now I think of the actresses and they're both super confused. Um, um, I actually knew her in real life. Dana Wheeler, Nick or Slick. So I would pick up her because I I knew her in person and had such a crush on her and knew she was in the movie, so she's awfully sweet as can be.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Yeah, she okay. Lobster Thermidor or Steak Sandwich.

SPEAKER_06 23:43

Oh, yeah, steak sandwich. Steak sandwich. Very good.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

And the last one Provo Utah or Provo Spain? I'm gonna go with Utah. All right, good job. Okay, good, good. Pass this test with flying colors. Hey, if you wouldn't mind, we had some fans call in with some fletch questions for you if you have some time to answer them. Sure.

SPEAKER_06 24:04

I've got more time.

SPEAKER_03 24:05

Okay, let's take some calls.

SPEAKER_07 24:06

Hey, Laker, Jim, Jake, Bob, Paul Simon from Rush Fans here, Southside of Chicago. Thanks for keeping the IP alive all these years later. We appreciate how much you put into it all this time. My question for Greg. Greg, you, the captain crew, made the fletch movie as far as I'm concerned. I picked up my first fletch novel in 1988, and it was flesh. Not popular to say, but it was despite the first film. Not slamming it, not saying it wasn't as much my thing, but the novel took me instantly. We appreciate it. You made a great movie. Understanding that there are many unknowns and not yet and things you aren't allowed to say or talk about. Overall, how optimistic are you about Fletcher's fortunes? Do you hope to include Crystal and what she might bring to the series eventually? Again, thanks a lot. Appreciate it, guys. Ala.

SPEAKER_06 25:01

Um, well, Paul, I mean, Crystal is a great character, and so she's absolutely going to be in the movie. Um, a lot of the jokes about Crystal would be tricky to do in our day and age, and I think you guys know what I mean. Yes. Um, yes, uh in so far, in the spirit of the book, I mean, I've had friendships like that with people where you might joke about someone's weight or and and and what I love about their relationship is it's such an easy-going, they clearly amuse each other, kind of thing. So, what happens between Fletch and Crystal is not that surprising because they have a real affection for each other. And and and it's kind of great that Fletch is uh is not such a jerk that he'll only go to bed with beautiful babes.

SPEAKER_10 25:53

Right.

SPEAKER_06 25:54

Um, that uh Fletch Fletch is uh is a man of many appetites and and also loves his friends. I mean, he really loves his friends. He loves people, but there are people he loves off-beat people and he and and has you know great affection for that character. As far as the what we know about Crystal Hash who plays into the overall scheme of the Fletch novels, it's a little hard for me to imagine that far ahead. You're gonna get there, you're gonna get there. But yeah, I mean, to use a really bad pun, the seed will be planted. Which is a really tasteless way for the people who know what happens in Fletch's fortune to put it.

SPEAKER_09 26:41

So a shower curtain will be involved.

SPEAKER_06 26:43

Yeah, probably, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:48

All right, let's go to the next call.

SPEAKER_08 26:49

Hey guys, want to say thank you to the distinguished guys at the Fletch Cast. You guys have done a great job. Many fans appreciate the content. Also, thank you to Greg for a job well done. I hope there are more movies based on the book. And as far as a question for Greg, um, when will you know a rough time frame as to when A, when you'll go ahead with another Fletch movie, and two, how much will it take to get the original theme music into the next movie? The guys mentioned uh even a GoFundMe. If that happens, I'm in, and I'll get Frida to write the first chat. Put down$30 for yourself. Sincerely yours, Fletch Burr from the Chicago Birds.

SPEAKER_06 27:30

I mean, I I there are certain things that I would be more open to doing in a sequel that I wasn't open to doing in this one, which is something like, you know, as in an abstract sense, put the theme in somewhere. Because I didn't want to, I was very perversely not wanting to ride on nostalgia and on other people's accomplishment. Because I think I think, first of all, I think there's a price you pay for that, that it can backfire, and that it reminds something, it's it's taking other people's work and trying, you know, there's something about the Ghostbusters spin-off sequels, whatever you want to call them, that I can see why they aren't satisfying completely to some people. I mean, I think you know, I haven't I haven't seen the last one, I haven't had time to see the last one. Um, there are things I really enjoyed about the Paul Feig movie. And and yet at the same time, I can see why it drives people nuts. The sort of it's sort of like it, it's sort of not. It's like, yeah, where do you go? But since I feel like we did some things right in Confess Fletch in making it its own thing, and and since John and I are big fans of Chevy and the original, why not pay more homage to it? So have I completely ruled out the idea of begging Chevy to make an appearance? No. Um, he may have ruled it out. He may not. I've not heard from the gentleman. Uh, he may not be happy.

SPEAKER_03 28:59

Chevy was on the uh Dana Carvey and David Spade podcast, and he kind of got asked about it. And to be honest, he glossed over it both times. Yeah. They asked him twice. They said to Chevy, oh, if somebody did a play on your life, who would play you, John Hamm? And he either didn't get the joke or he acted like he didn't get the joke.

SPEAKER_06 29:18

Yeah. Yeah. Well, he might have very strong. I mean, I know it's his favorite role, so he might have very strong feelings about it. And I would not blame the man. Um, so to uh to get back to Fletch fur, what's his real name?

SPEAKER_10 29:29

Fletch fur.

SPEAKER_06 29:30

Yeah, Fletch Fur. Uh yeah, that music is great. And they're and and uh yeah, possibly. And as far as the timeline is concerned, that's hard to know. I I'm uh going to start post on this pilot on a pilot I just did for Hulu on Monday, and at the same time start rereading Fletcher's Fortune and get going on that. I have been officially paid to start, so that's a good sign. Oh, that's big news. The check cleared. That's great. I have a lot of ideas. Hopefully, some of them are good and stay. And I can't wait to start writing it. So, so I'm very, I'm very thrilled by the prospect of getting to do another one. So, would can you say for sure? I can't say for sure because it'll it'll, you know, because John and I gave up some of our money, our deals on the second one were a little bit better than the first one to try and make up for that. That, of course, adds money to the budget. Um, maybe we're in a situation to have a few higher profile uh names in the movie, friends of ours that we would go to, and that would help justify the budget. I mean, I could not have loved my cast more. There's not a single person that I wasn't thrilled with who did this movie. Um, so so you know, I have I have absolutely no regrets there, but we had to call in favors. We had to ask people who get paid more money to do it at a number. So we'll see. I mean, it's it's a strange thing having this hybrid release of small theaters, very little marketing, on demand, then showtime and rentable. It's like I don't know, I don't know how they even quantify whether it's it's a success or not. I don't know who knows. And you know, in the world of streaming numbers and on demand, it's so hard to get any kind of transparency of how it's done or what it's doing. Uh yeah. So this whole streaming thing, once these companies basically saturate the entire planet, how what's their plan? What are they gonna do? Yeah, what's next? I mean, it's like how do you keep growing when you grow to a certain point where you've got every corner of the world, anyway? So so so I'm we're all caught caught in the vortex of changing the technology.

SPEAKER_03 31:52

Well, here's a good example of how much we love the cast. Grizz liked and commented on our post on Instagram the other day. I saw that.

SPEAKER_09 31:59

Yes, me and Jay were like little schoolgirls. Yeah, we really we were so giddy.

SPEAKER_06 32:04

I know. Well, Aiden is the best, she is so funny and so winning. And I'd like your, I'd like to ask, I'd like to turn the tables and ask you a question. If I found a way to work Morris and Grizz into the next movie, would you think that's desperate? Because they're obviously not in the book, or would you think if I could find a way that worked in the story and wasn't just shoehorned in in the lamest way, would that be interesting to you guys as Fletch lovers? Would that be would that, or would you say, well, that's that doesn't make any sense because they're not in the book?

SPEAKER_09 32:42

Well, here's the thing with me. Now I know in Fletch's Fortune there's a mention, I believe, of Flynn in Fletch's Fortune when because Fletch calls Jack, which I assume you'll probably make that Frank, yes, in in in The Fortune. Um so I'm sure you could put an angle in there where I would be fine with it because I will tell you that the response of those two characters from you know both of us, Bob of course, and I think in the general public was you know overwhelmingly positive. So I it I could definitely see that happening, and I would be fine with it.

SPEAKER_06 33:18

I mean, I'll definitely I'm going to use the the the Picasso somehow in the next movie. And they were you know, Flynn at the very end was still searching for it, still trying to find out what happened to those paintings, like for Morris, I mean. Um and and so I thought, is that is that a connection?

SPEAKER_03 33:40

You know what you can do, you can make them the two cops that uh force Fletch to bug the convention.

SPEAKER_09 33:46

Yeah, instead of like the CIA. Yeah. You know, the first scene of the book is Fletch is in Italy and the CIA people come into his. I mean, that could be the two of them.

SPEAKER_03 33:57

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

SPEAKER_09 33:58

You know, what you know, walking in and there they are standing there.

SPEAKER_03 34:02

Fletch gets out of the pool and hi Grizz.

SPEAKER_06 34:06

That hadn't occurred to me, but that's yeah, that hadn't occurred to me, but that's there's there's I mean, as as loving those two actors as much as I do, and loving Roy and Aiden as much as I do, because they are two of the best human beings I know. Um and loving them on screen, yeah, that's pretty appealing. You've just you've just given me an idea that I will take full credit for if people like. So so I'll think about that. I'll definitely think about that.

SPEAKER_03 34:33

Um Well, it's yours. We work for free, we act for free, we podcast for free.

SPEAKER_09 34:39

So, yes, if you need like podcasters in the background because of the convention going on or something like that, you know, for sure.

SPEAKER_06 34:45

Great. Well, that's one thing. That's one thing I've been thinking a lot about is where to set it because um obviously the book is set in the south. Yeah, Virginia, not not dissimilar to the setting of Fletch Lives. And I don't know that I want it to feel like Fletch Lives because it's just I want to distinguish it. So uh you know, and it's also going to be smart to set it in a good rebate state because that's just the lay of the land. Um, so I've thought about places like New Mexico or Colorado, someplace that's very couldn't be more different than Boston.

SPEAKER_09 35:21

Yeah, I remember John saying something about that, that he was already kind of mentioning a sequel during the interviews. And I remember he said something about a second one possibly being set in the southwest or something like that. I think that would be cool.

SPEAKER_06 35:35

So someplace that has physical beauty um that would feel very different than Boston, but also um would be keep them sort of there's a hothouse quality. I mean, Fletcher's Fortune reads a bit like uh an Agatha Christie uh takes place in an estate kind of uh mystery. You've got people trapped at a place and they're all they're all together. I think pushing that even further away from civilization might be helpful. Um, and getting a big fat rebate so we can have more days to shoot would be helpful. I shot a movie in New Mexico, this movie Paul with Simon Peg and it crossed. Oh, yeah. I loved that movie working there. That was just such a oh thanks. It was such it was so much fun to work. That was supposed to be a road trip, and we got all these looks out of going around various places. We were based in Santa Fe, but we went to all various toasts in this town called Las Vegas, New Mexico, where Easy Rider was shot and Red Dawn was shot. It's yeah, it was like an old old railroad stop on the way out west, so it looks nothing like the Adobe houses of of New Mexico. Um it's a great, yeah, it's a great and beautiful place. Um, so we'll see. I'm still this is stuff I'm just beginning to research um to try and make sense of. I thought about going back to Southern California, but the truth is it's hard to that's an expensive place to shoot. Maybe, maybe if they let me keep doing them and there's a you know a reason why the book doesn't necessarily have to be where it was written. Um I mean in in Fletch's Fortune, I'm about to, you know, I it's actually been I haven't picked it up again. I've been waiting until my head was more clear. Is it an old plantation turned resort?

SPEAKER_09 37:18

I think that's what it is.

SPEAKER_06 37:19

Kind of my rel recollection of it.

SPEAKER_09 37:22

Yeah, you know, I was thinking because I'm from West Virginia, and there's a resort in southeast West Virginia called the Green Briar Resort. And for some reason it's like old South, you know, with like it's yeah, um, and I and um, you know, big white columns and you know it's Sleepy Town down south, that kind of thing. Yeah, I always, when I read it, pictured it there in that.

SPEAKER_06 37:45

I'll re I'll research that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 37:47

Yeah. It's in Southeast West Virginia, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 37:49

Yeah, I haven't begun that research of what it should be.

SPEAKER_09 37:52

I'm sure you could shoot it cheap there. I'm sure you could shoot it real cheap there.

SPEAKER_06 37:57

If you were yeah, I know that a lot of people like West Virginia, you'd probably get crew out of Pittsburgh a lot.

SPEAKER_09 38:03

Or yeah, or um, like maybe Roanoke or maybe even DC. Yeah. It's just right over the over the at the mountains there. It's not far.

SPEAKER_02 38:12

Yeah. All right. Let's we got a couple more calls. Hi, Zach here from St. George, Utah. Greg, I'd like to know. I've heard that you're you're working on such as fortune. Who do you picture in the role of Freddie Arbeth not?

SPEAKER_06 38:27

Oh god. Thanks. Love her. Um I don't really know yet. I I'm sort of resisting the idea of falling in love with an actress to play that part or crystal yet, because I want to write it first. Um and not, but uh you know, I mean, John and I have talked about a few people. I feel like I don't want to say yet because these are people we know, and I don't want them to hear like, what? I'm what do you yeah? I'm you think I'm gonna play something. Um, but it's a once again, great part. It's it's a great relationship they have in the book. It's great that she shows up again in other books. Um you know, Aubrey Plaza would be a good Freddie. She she, you know, she actually did table read for us of Confess Flesh.

SPEAKER_10 39:17

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 39:18

Aubrey, Aubrey read a bunch of parts like we just want to hear the script read, and she's a friend of John's, and I met her a couple times, and we had her and Pat Noswalt um and a few other friends um read the script for us so we could just hear it out loud. And boy, you know, she was reading like Angela and with a great Italian accent. And I was thinking, if we go that route of putting an American, I mean, then she's fantastic and hilarious.

SPEAKER_03 39:46

Okay, I know we're running a little low on time. Let's do one more call.

SPEAKER_05 39:49

Hey, what's up, guys? Uh, time Travis actually right around where Virginia Tech is located, if you know where that is. I have a question from Greg when he comes on. I would just love to hear his thoughts on the possibility of taking uh a full, which by the way, fantastic job uh from him with the movie. I love my wife, who's slightly less of a flesh fan than me. She definitely enjoys it too. And I think that's the performance of the movies that you'll watch for he is, obviously. Uh anyway, the question I'm curious about is what are your thoughts on adapted flesh to a possible series because it's the way a lot of television uh shows a lot of characters are going, uh adapting it to some sort of series on a training service. Um maybe maybe even using an an original uh original plot as opposed to to a novel. I just love to kind of kick his brain about where can this uh great, like loved, beloved character go in the future, and how can it become you know more accessible uh for more people. Uh so anyway, thanks for all you all's hard work and uh look forward to listening to you.

SPEAKER_06 41:06

I certainly have seen comments to that effect. People say this should be a series, this would be a great series. I've seen some negative comments to say that this movie is no better than a pilot for a mediocre series. Um I saw that one player. Okay. Yeah, you can't win them all. Um, but but uh I mean the when I yeah, I I mean I've thought about it. I thought, like, do you do something like where you adapt a book in three long episodes, you know, like three one-hour episodes, um, or do you create new storylines and and figure out how to do 10 episodes to tell those storylines? I certainly would watch it, I think that would be really challenging. I mean, I, you know, I was asked if there was a sequel early on, would you want to create an original story or to adapt the books? And I said, I would only want to adapt the books. Um, I'd only want to springboard off of the books. I'm not maybe I'm not confident enough, but I also feel like there's so much there, and there's so much there that you can apply to now. Um, you know, if Fletcher's Fortune is about a journalism conference, is is this not a great time to tell a story about the media and journalism and what's happening in the world and all you know the pros and cons of journalism and and the insanity of the world and uh you know to sort of use McDonald's you know, mixture of cynicism and true affection that is so is so poignant. I mean, because he obviously loved a lot about the being a reporter, and he also saw for what it is, and um he, you know, he's not is not afraid to kick someone in the shins who deserves it, but he also clearly has had a lot of respect for the profession. Um I could never I I would need his insights to jump off of. So maybe, you know, for instance, if someone wanted to take the prequel books and turn those into a one season limited thing to go decide whether or not to to do it again, that would be super cool. And if they want John and I to help out, you know, or I'd I'd be totally into that. That would be super fun because you know, like I said, John knows he's too too old. He's he's a little older than Fletch to begin with, obviously, but he's way too old to play young Fletch. Um that would be awesome. Um, I would love to see people make a Flynn movie or series.

SPEAKER_09 43:46

Yeah, or series, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:48

Hey, with deep fakes now, you could do John as a young Fletch.

SPEAKER_06 43:51

Yeah, it's true. That is true. That is true. I'm very curious to see the new Indiana Jones. Um I am too.

SPEAKER_09 43:58

Oh my god. I can't wait. Hey, I had a quick question. What's more of a compliment? Um I loved because I love jazz and I loved the soundtrack for Confess. Where did you kind of decide on that type of genre? Because I mean I thought it was a great soundtrack, just the jazzy kind of, you know.

SPEAKER_06 44:18

It it started with I'd worked with David Arnold on Paul, and so I'd asked him if he would do the music, but it moving to jazz happened earlier than that. I thought it started with the idea that I would make Morris a jazz guy. Um that that would be a fun character trait for him, that he plays it in his office, he plays it in the car. Um and my uh music supervisor on the movie, who's um great guy, um he said, Do you think and I'd like written in some like Art Blakey stuff and some Horace Silver stuff that was on Blue Note? And he said, He said, Why don't you let me go to Blue Note and see if they'd be interested in in partnering with us on this? And it could help us, you know. Like it's very hard to get a soundtrack sold in this day and age. Yeah, if they thought it was good for them, they might help defray some of the costs of buying the music. And that's what ended up happening. So they helped us pay for some of the rights to the music. And because they have relationships with the estates of all the artists, um, we were able to get stuff that I think would have been really hard to get otherwise. Um, and Blue Note, you know, Blue Note music I love deeply. It's not always the easiest music to use in a movie because it's it's complex and and it's and it's it sort of demands your attention often. But we found enough pieces and we found enough places where something that, you know, like we used a big R Blankey piece at the end of the film, um, which is very famous to jazz lovers, um, but I you know was kind of a satisfying way to take it from playing in the car with Morris and Grizz and out into the world and take us into the last scene as if Fletch put on that CD in the in his rental apartment because he liked hearing it. And and you know, I I just thought, fuck, you know, you know, I saw I've seen people call it an old farts movie because of the jazz, and people like to make fun of jazz, but you know, I just think they're missing out on something like one of the greatest American art innovations of all time, yeah. And also a great American, great African American art forum. Because anyone I know who sort of disses jazz when they bring it up, they're talking about the shit you hear in a hotel lobby. Um, like smooth jazz. You have no idea. Yeah, you've you've never really listened to Charlie Parker or or Miles Davis. You just don't and some people just don't hear it. It's their loss, man, because it's it's it's great. I thought, why not put in something I love? And it will probably alienate some people, but fuck them. You know, they've those people have a lot, those people who who want to be pandered to have a lot of entertainment.

SPEAKER_04 47:00

Yeah, you know, exactly.

SPEAKER_06 47:01

I have a pet, I have a pet peeve about kind of pop culture references and stuff today, because I feel like people, it's an easy thing to fall on, fall back on, and the audience will go, hey, I've heard of that person. I know what that's a reference to, and they feel included, but it's like you're really putting a a like a timestamp on your movie that like in 10 years that's not gonna be effective anymore, and your movie's not gonna have longevity because you filled it with too many dates cameos. Yeah, it really it really dates it. It's like you go back and look at like Road to Morocco with Bob Hope and Crosby. Yeah, yeah. And it's like, you know, yeah, they're great, and and they're so silly that like the dated references have a charm to them, but you know, they're not gonna play for a lot of people, right? You have to know who Dorothy Lamore is to get references. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 47:52

Umriginal Fletch does it too with references like that, hop along Cassidy and things like that.

SPEAKER_09 47:57

Yeah, Papa Taco and all that stuff, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 48:00

Yeah, so it's you know, it's like it is it's a thing, and it's it's perfectly it's perfectly fine, but um, yeah, I just find like sometimes it's like comedies are just doing it.

SPEAKER_09 48:09

It's like you don't even they don't even write a joke, they just drop a reference to something popular now, and it's well I think too, it it it kind of goes back to what you're saying about you know your Dashiell Hammett, your Sam Spade, you know, it's it's kind of more of a classic kind of you know music, and I think it kind of is old fashioned in a way, and and and and I'm fine with that.

SPEAKER_06 48:32

Yeah. Um, you know, it's like, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:34

But I really think that's part of its charm.

SPEAKER_06 48:36

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_09 48:37

I think it is part of the charm of it. I think you're exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 48:39

Greg, while we're on the music really quick, and you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but uh a lot of people are wondering, especially listening to our last interview. What does a song like Moon River cost? Or I mean can you give us some kind of a range and just so we have some kind of an idea of like what what a song like that costs that's over 60 years old?

SPEAKER_06 48:56

I think the number that came back was like 50 or 60,000. Um my God. And that's and and in music rights, there's two sides of it. You're paying for the the song itself, and then and then you're paying for the person, the the people who own the rights to the song. Uh, and it they're separated rights somehow. And I still, after all this time, can't always get my head around it. But you're paying for the sync rights and you're paying for the publishing rights. Um, so somebody owns a song and somebody owns the the copyright. So I don't, it still doesn't make sense when I'm saying it out loud. So it's like usually it's like you pay 30 for one and 30 for the other. Um uh this pilot I just did, we wanted to we want to use a standard, uh we want to use somewhere over the rainbow because it has a uh a thematic point in it, and we got a similar number back, and we'll see if we can afford it or not. Um, you know, when I did the movie Adventureland, we were getting songs for um 15,000 because we were a low budget film and the and because soundtracks had kind of fallen apart, we were able to make deals that were just way, way better than you can make now. That was just a moment in time, and I had a very aggressive, good uh music supervisor who would just basically with some songs that were used in very featured ways, we had to pay more for, but for a lot of the songs that play, and there's a ton of music in that, um, we were getting what's called favored nations. Everyone, it's like everyone else is getting$15,000 for this song. So if you let us, you know, if you want to do it, that's what that's what we're paying. We're not gonna pay more if it's if it's not a super featured song. Like we use some Velvet Underground songs that are very featured, and we had to pay more for those. Um, but uh, you know, I don't I don't think I could make deals like that now, especially because no one's making any money in streaming. So if if John were to whistle the fletch theme, is that different than it that would be the same as playing it? The same, maybe even more. Really? Yeah. I mean, it's kind of depends because sometimes if you use the original recording that used, you know, that they did at the time that Harold Faltermeyer, I'm sure, oversaw with his musicians. Um the ownership of that might, you know, the people who own that might say we want a lot of money for that because this is a classic bit of film score. You never know, you kind of never know who you're gonna if you're gonna come against, come up against a big company like Universal or Sony, who owns gigantic cat uh catalogs of music. Um or like we were thinking of using a Modern Lovers song, a Jonathan Richmond song in it, because he's very Boston. Um, and he has a song called Picasso. We're thinking of maybe using that somewhere in the movie. The people who happen to own all of his early masters for that are just really, it seems I would say unreasonable in their expectations of what you're gonna pay for it. And it was just way out of our it was like our entire music budget. It was like, well, that's not gonna happen. So um, yeah, it's it's a it's a it's a weird world. Uh in the case of Moon River, because we were actually it was fifty thousand dollars just for one of the rights because we were doing our own version of it. So if we had wanted a famous recording of it, it would have been that much more. The Audrey Hepran, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 52:12

So can we officially say that the sequel is quote in development? Can we say that? Sure. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 52:20

I I don't think any I don't think uh anyone would yell at me for saying that.

SPEAKER_09 52:24

But I mean the production itself, there is a difference, I assume, from in development and officially green lighted for production.

SPEAKER_06 52:33

Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, they they're they're paying me to write it. They have to, you know, then I'll get notes and rewrite it and notes and rewrite it. And that's that process can last what seems like an eternity. Um, it depends on how much they want to write it. I mean how much they want to make it. And then and then at some point, either they'll green light a contingent to cast, they'll say we'll make it, but but X number of roles need to be filled with people at uh of on these lists of known actors. Um, and if you can't meet, if you can't um entice the those the those actors into doing it, either like there was an early situation on on Confess Fletch where there's some names that we talked about that were fairly big that if we maybe could have gotten them to say yes to play someone like Morris, uh huh, um maybe maybe they would have put more money into it. And that list was pretty short and and and we got no's pretty quick. And the no's we got were along the lines of like, I don't think these actors ever read the script. It was like, you know, we were never gonna come to the number that their agents were gonna be happy with. Um, and it wasn't the the product didn't have the kind of profile. You know, I'm I'm always in that situation where unrealistic expectations are had by the financiers that like you're somehow gonna get Keanu Reeves or Matt Damon to say yes to something, and yet they're gonna take one-tenth of what they make um and work really hard. You know, it's like you know, it's like, yeah, that happens for some people. There are some directors who have like real close relationships with movie stars, and they can get those movie stars to to work for less. But it's you know, and we got great actors to work for less. Um, but you know, the list the star the list of who's a star changes and is very short. Um so so you know, we'll see. We'll see what that that particular game becomes. But what's interesting about getting a green light is it always happens in drips and drabs, and there's never that moment where you get to like sort of open the bottle of champagne. It's always like, yeah, you're kind of making the film, but we might pull the plug if something goes wrong. You know, it's it's it's you know, you never know.

SPEAKER_09 54:54

I assume though, day one you're shooting, you're like, okay, there's a pretty good chance it's I'm going to finish.

SPEAKER_06 54:59

I think this is yeah, I think this is happening. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If there's no if there's no uh sexual harassment claims in the course of making this film, if everyone behaves.

SPEAKER_09 55:12

Hey, um, are you shooting the uh uh the pilot for Hulu? Is it the Adventureland pilot? Is that what you're shooting, or is it something different?

SPEAKER_06 55:19

No, it's it's a a show uh starring it created by Ronnie Chang.

SPEAKER_09 55:24

I know I read that there was going to be a series based on Adventureland, but I didn't know if that was if you had anything that I assume you had a yeah, we're I'm I'm co-writing with Andy Ciara, who who wrote the movie Palm Springs, who's super talented. I love that movie, by the way. That was a really fantastic. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_06 55:41

And he also showrun a great series called The Resort that was on this year, which was really terrific. And he's super talented. And luckily for me, he's an adventurer fan, so he's co-writing it with me. And we actually owe another, we got notes on the last draft that we owe it's just always happening in between all our other demanding projects, but maybe, yeah, maybe something will happen. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 56:04

It sucks that you have to bounce around from writing project to writing project, and you can't just stay in the fletch world.

SPEAKER_09 56:11

And just write fletch, right?

SPEAKER_06 56:13

I you know, yeah. I mean, part of that is my decision to live in New York City, and it's so fucking expensive that I have to always be working. You know, having three kids in New York City is a lot of money. So it's if if if I got if I was smart, I would have moved to Austin or somewhere.

SPEAKER_09 56:29

Yeah. Uh hey, we've got room. Everybody's coming here.

SPEAKER_06 56:32

Where are you from, Long Island? I I'm from Long Island. Yeah, I'm from Long Island. It's hard for me to imagine anywhere else to live because New York is is home.

SPEAKER_09 56:40

Well, I tell you what, you have been so nice to us, so we can't thank you enough because I tell you what, I mean, you've just been I mean, and it's been huge for us too. I mean, it has just been because of you. I mean, we've just exploded. Wouldn't you agree, LJ?

SPEAKER_03 56:55

Absolutely. Since day one, you've been a supporter of ours, and you kind of legitimized our podcast.

SPEAKER_06 57:04

Well, I I respect what you're doing. So it's, you know, I got into this business hoping I could make stuff that would reach people the way the things I love reached me. Um, I have friends who are a lot richer than me and you know have, you know, bigger names in this business. But some of them are doing stuff that I, you know, it's like Godspeed, but it's not stuff I want to do. You know, I've been approached about some bigger tank pole type things, and and because I have a family, I've had to take it seriously. Sure. But it's not really where my heart is. I mean, stuff like Fletch and those, and you know, when I finally got off my lazy ass and read the books, I was like, this really speaks to me. This is my sensibility. Yeah, I I I I I love detective stories, I love this reinvention of the detective novel. Um, and I thought, yeah, this is I couldn't ask for more. And it shows, it shows you know my passion. It really does. Um well, it's nice of you to say, and I hope to, yeah, I hope to to do an even better job on the next one because I I learned a lot.

SPEAKER_09 58:15

So But you don't have a timeline yet of even when you might shoot it.

SPEAKER_06 58:21

I I don't, I really don't.

SPEAKER_03 58:23

I mean, it's so it'd be like two years, two, three years, probably.

SPEAKER_06 58:27

It could be. I'd be so happy if we're somehow in production in next year somewhere. But you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna, I don't know if I'm gonna whip out a first draft in two weeks, but when I have this pilot done, I'm gonna jump into it full time and and you know really immerse myself in it. And and I'm excited to write it. Sometimes when you're writing and you're you're and it's a job and a paycheck, it drags on because you're not as excited.

SPEAKER_09 59:00

I tell you what, the as of I think Fletch's Fortune is a super fun read. I I mean it's I I always thought that it would be a great movie. I just think Fortune would be a I mean, Confess obviously was too, but fortune is so fun, and I think there's so many characters, and I just think that it you would have a lot of fun playing around with that book.

SPEAKER_06 59:22

Yeah, and it has a similar sense in that, in that, you know, I've even seen criticisms of Fletch's Fortune that Fletch gets a little himself gets a little lost amongst all the characters, which which you know plays to, I think, what I like to do, which is to get John in a reactive situation. But I want to always keep an eye on making sure he's he's we're start we're following him and he's propelling the story. And that's always, you know, that's just a balanced thing. But um, but yeah, it's exciting to think about modern-day equivalents of some of these people that Craig McDonald was sending up. Um, some with some affection and some with a little less affection, and uh, and it's great. It's fucking great.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:02

Super quick, I cannot believe you got all that footage in Italy in like a day or two. I can't believe you got all that done in like a couple of days.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:09

It was it was very, you know, it was like a little bit of an army maneuver. We had to be so perfectly planned. We did all the Vespa stuff on one sort of sing second unit day, and and before that first day, we did all of the dialogue scenes. We did some of the interiors in Boston. So we did like Angela's apartment. We found this weird old mansion that could plausibly feel like a turn of the century, which in Italy would be new, new, new architecture, but it felt appropriately rich enough that she could be living there. Um, and and yeah, we had to all those exterior scenes we had to cram into a day, but it was, you know, that was fun.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:47

Oh, it looked great. And you know what? I don't know if I told you, but Jason McDonald said, I I think I might have said this, that a Gregory McDonald would have loved the movie just when he saw Fletch on a Vespa in Italy. He said after that he would have just absolutely loved the film. Yeah. He said he just would have got the biggest kick out of seeing Fletch on a Vespa.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:08

I I I was tweeted about going to a French movie with my son. Uh it's a sequel to 400 blows, and and I think it was Jason, he wrote he sent me a post, the picture of a poster was his dad's favorite movie is 400 blows. Isn't that always really nice to see? Yeah, yeah, it's so awesome. It's very it's very I got very nice contact from both of the both sons, and it was made me really happy.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:31

And and his his widow really loved it too, Jason said.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:35

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was I yeah, I got a really nice note from him about them, and it's uh it could not have made me happier.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:44

So Greg, I know you gotta go, but in all seriousness, if we can help in any way, if you need us, we're more than happy to help.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:52

I'll I listen, I that was a sincere question of about bringing back Aiden and Roy because because I don't want to do it for the wrong reasons, but if there's a way that makes sense and and is a way of building on, you know, there's a great pleasure in characters coming back, and I know that those are not characters that came back and not exactly the characters from the book. Um, and wouldn't it be nice if if Gregory McDonald had brought Flynn back in a fletch book or brought Fletch into a Flynn book? But he didn't, but he did it with other characters, and so you know, I feel like there's a precedent at least that if you if you can earn it, so that's why I wanted to pick your brains because no one would know better than you guys, you know.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:32

And then you gotta think too, if you don't bring them back here, yeah, exactly. Where do you bring them back? I mean, like they're a spot in and the man who or something like that.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:41

In Moxie, or yeah, they're they're they're like Fletch in that they're pests. You know, that's what I took from Flynn is they're pests. You know, they don't they don't they don't you can't shake them easily. Um so I don't I'm gonna I'm gonna give some real thought to that. So thank you guys. Of course, anytime.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:01

Greg, I know you gotta run. That about wraps up this episode of Fletchcast. This was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:06

Appreciate your time, as always.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:08

You guys thank you, Fletch fans, for listening. Thanks to everybody who called in. We really appreciate it. Hey, Greg, you wanna catch the last 10 minutes of dynasty with us? Yeah, yes, absolutely. You are awesome, my friend. We're Greg and Jake. I'm Laker Jim. See you guys. See ya. Bye. See ya. Bye.