Full Transcript for Girlfight

00:02:16.960 That didn't stop half of the bands you liked when you were growing up. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:23.199 John Fogarty cannot sing, Axel Rose cannot sing, Joe Cocker can't sing, but the man destroys. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:29.360 You don't need to be a great singer to put on a good performance, and you certainly don't need to be an actor to be amazing in a movie. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:31.680 It's the power of charisma over talent. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.039 Talent is indicative of hard work and practice, of effort. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:39.680 I think it's very much the reason insecure actors choose to become method or dive into roles. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:45.039 It justifies or adds legitimacy to their craft, their career, their range. 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.439 Charismatic people do not need range. 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:50.560 They're rewarded for being authentic, for being themselves. 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:52.319 And I don't want to come off as a hypocrite. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:03:00.319 I know I complain that Tim Robbins has been shorthand for creepy in the Arlington Road episode, but that's because there's evidence you can play much more than that. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:03.199 Next week we're gonna cover a Jason Statham movie. 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:04.960 Let's play a game. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:10.639 I'm going to list a few movies he's been in recently, and we'll see if you can name any of the characters he's played. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:12.400 First, the Beekeeper. 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:14.319 What was his name? 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:17.520 Second, a working man, which he certainly is. 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:19.439 What was that working man's name? 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.000 Okay, I'll give you an easy one. 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:24.080 We'll do the Fast and Furious movies. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:29.199 We all know that he is Shaw of Hobbes and Shaw, but what's his first name? 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:33.599 If you're having a problem with this exercise, it's not your fault. 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:34.800 I'll tell you why. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:36.000 They don't have names. 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:36.639 Not really. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:41.120 Who the hell cares about Adam Clay or Lavon Cade or Deckard fucking Shaw? 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:43.439 He's Jason Statham in this B movie. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:45.840 He's Jason Statham in this hard hat movie. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:49.039 He's Jason Statham in this family drives fast movie. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:51.280 I'm a huge Jason Statham fan. 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:52.319 London baby. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.520 But he doesn't see himself as an actor, and we'll talk about this next week. 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:56.800 That's the magic to him. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:03:59.039 Sometimes you need a Jason Statham type. 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:01.199 Sometimes you need a Jeff Goldblum type. 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:04.319 Sometimes you need a woman that is so intimidating. 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:07.039 Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Michelle Rodriguez. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:14.159 Wow. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:16.800 I can't believe you guys are honoring me. 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:18.000 I make action movies. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:20.800 I never thought anybody'd give me an award for that. 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:23.360 Thank you. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.639 Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for listening to Screen Generation. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.079 It's a podcast about the films released by Sony under the label Screen Gems. 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:34.720 I'm your host, Evan Hughes, and we're finally at the point where the movies on my list are starting to kick ass. 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:37.439 And actually, this one made me feel really nostalgic. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.120 This movie's got a killer soundtrack. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:42.560 It doesn't have 30 seconds of fat that could trip off, trim off of it. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:45.839 It's the most solid edit on a breakout film, I think, ever. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:52.959 The lead is an unknown extra whose first role is to train for two to four months, depending on who reports it, to become a fighting machine. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:56.879 God, if you thought this intro was long, you probably have no idea where I'm going. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:58.959 I adore Michelle Rodriguez. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:03.199 I actually don't think uh it's fair to say that she was typecast in her filmography. 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:09.680 When everyone else is at dinner and they order an action movie, getting a plate of Michelle Rodriguez for the table will not upset anyone. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:11.439 Let's be Hollywood for a minute. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.639 After this, let's stick her in Resident Evil as a tough commando. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:17.279 Then let's stick her in SWAT as a tough cop. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:22.000 Then James Cameron's gonna see that, and he's like, I guess you're Trudy, the tough pilot in Avatar. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:25.600 She's a lot like Vasquez and Alien, so I can see a parallel there. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:34.639 This movie kind of starts it, but if you need a believable member of your team that will be in action situations, Michelle Rodriguez is shorthand for capable, formidable, and fine as hell. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:39.600 Karen Kusama, the director, decided to make this film after pursuing boxing herself. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:46.480 It'd be wrong to call it autobiographical, but it's fair to say she did the research and learned a lot about action choreography for the ring. 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:55.360 Before setting her sights on this, she was an assistant to John Sayles, who directed our first Screen Gems film, Limbo, and play as the professor in this movie. 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:02.800 Also, losing funding for the project, less than a week before shooting, Sayles and his partner, Maggie Renzi,

backed her with the help of IFC. 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:09.040 When this film was released at Sundance, they all looked like geniuses when they won the grand jury prize and best director in drama. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:13.839 I know Kusama to be a good director, but the next film she makes is somewhat of a fool's errand. 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:16.399 A film I would see in theaters called Eon Flux. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:21.439 Regardless, any name she made for herself with this movie was unmade with that flop. 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:29.439 And from what I have found with the Peter Chung miniseries, that's it's a it's a crazy property, meant to be a dissociative anime experience. 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:39.360 So a few years go by, and she's been doing TV, but um, she comes out with another movie hiding behind Megan Fox and a Diablo Cody script who is fresh off of Making Juno. 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:44.560 It's called Jennifer's Body, and I believe it's a very good, in my opinion, Teen Horflick. 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:48.319 With it it makes me wonder how traumatizing high school was for Karen. 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:54.319 Like both her depictions are of women being the worst to each other and men being oblivious, which we probably are. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:59.040 A few years later, she directs a script written by her partner Phil Hay, called The Invitation. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:04.879 I think this is her masterpiece, and it's different from all of her other movies because a man's the protagonist. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:12.399 But I do want to say, he's such a damsel in distress, I really wonder if she pulled a smooth move on us and just gender swapped the roles. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:17.199 Either way, she had a strong television career and is a solid worker when she has a good script. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:20.240 This movie is less about fighting and more about coming of age. 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.480 That said, this is a non-traditional narrative. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.199 This isn't the karate kid, it's not the longest yard. 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:26.560 There aren't movies like this. 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:33.439 Actually, watching it and thinking about it, this movie has a lot in common with the original Rocky without sharing any of the tropes sports movies have. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.240 And it could be because of what Rocky turned into. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:40.959 The lead is misunderstood, the love interest is a sex-deprived honey named Adrian. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:46.079 The montages keep this thing moving, and they manage to make boxing exciting, which is a Rocky thing. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.199 In Rocky, there's less than 10 minutes of the match with Apollo Creed. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:51.759 The whole movie is about making it to the fight. 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.480 I watched a ton of boxing during the late 90s. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:57.199 HBO pay-per-view fight nights at my grandparents. 00:07:57.360

--> 00:08:03.600 Heavyweights always were the primetime feature, and when you're that big, it's difficult to make it that far, you know, into the rounds. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.720 Somebody gets tired or somebody punched face too much. 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:11.279 But I remember watching a featherweight fight in person and being pretty disgusted. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:16.079 It looked like men who escaped to prison camp were paired off and punched each other out for like no sport. 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:28.480 And they don't do it in the movie, but kind of like when you're watching an NBA All-Star game and you know the players get tired of it, and then it just becomes like a dunking contest in a featherweight match, they know it's going to go to the card. 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:35.759 So the last minute or so, they just stop dancing around and unload on each other, like to land as many punches as possible and maybe win. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.919 So, back to why this movie works. 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:40.559 It's about a troubled teen applying themselves. 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:44.720 The patriarchy of coaches try to discourage her at first, but they're not really the issue. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:47.039 The scarcity of female competitors is the issue. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:49.360 Her disapproving abusive father is the issue. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:54.960 The school that doesn't see her until she outperforms and probably helps the school's average in the fitness assessment is the issue. 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:57.919 The guy she wants to love who has priorities is the issue. 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.440 This movie is about a young woman's life and it punches you in the face for it. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:08.720 Because I have already invoked Fast and Furious, and because I'm heading somewhere, I kind of find it hard not to notice the similarities to this movie and Tokyo Drift. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:12.960 The opening shot in this movie and the soundtrack give Justin Lin a template for his movie. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:17.840 He uses some cool time-lapse shots and a dope DJ Shadow track, but they're almost the same. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:21.840 Seriously, this movie starts its opening with a fight over a chick being a hoe. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.639 In the other, it's a race over a chick being a hoe. 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:30.480 Both of them get in trouble, and they still continue to fight or race to success and ultimately finding love. 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:38.159 I was at one point going to make like a parody of the trailer for this movie, just as a guy who wants to get into fighting women because they don't believe I can. 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:40.159 Yeah, it wouldn't have aged well. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:44.080 And I figured it was so close to Tokyo Drift, so listen to this. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:55.120 When bullying in cars gets too crazy, you're going to get kicked out of high school for racing cars. 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:56.480 You're not my mom's car. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:59.039 Shape up and ship out to Japan. 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:03.039 Oh no, they drive different here on the wrong side. 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:05.679 No furious will race a fast under my roof. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:08.480 Coming to theater in the year 2000. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:10.159 It's car fight. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:18.879 To clean the palate of whatever that was, I want to show you, or listen, yeah, I want to tell you how important Michelle Rodriguez is to the Fast and Furious. 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:21.519 The same year as Avatar, they killed off Letty. 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:25.120 Probably because she was the most recognizable member of the crew from the first movie. 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:29.600 The sin of Fast 5 is she's not in it, and I consider it perhaps the best movie they've made. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:36.000 But that's forgiven in Fast and Furious 6 when her amnesia subplot, and no looking, what's the bad guy's name? 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:37.360 I'll give you a hint. 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:39.279 He's Jason Statham's brother. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:40.559 Something shaw. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.279 I bet you can't remember Jason Statham's first name either. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:46.720 Okay, anyways, Statham is Deckard, his brother is Owen. 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:57.440 Okay, they get Letty back, as with Han, conveniently from Tokyo Drift, wink wink, maybe a similarity, fixing a huge miscalculation, and now nobody has to die in the series. 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:03.759 Let's make a list of non-traditional actors in Fast and Furious and put them behind Rodriguez in acting ability. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:07.759 Tyree Skibsen, model turned baby boy turned Roman Pierce. 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:13.279 Chris Ludacris Bridges, rapper turned actor, Rhonda Rousey, fighter who acted that one time. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:18.720 Dwayne The Rock Johnson and John Cena, wrestlers who make most actors look bad in these movies. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:20.080 Iggy Azalea. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:25.039 Hey, that's the girl I heard so much about. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:26.480 Where you been at? 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:27.759 Ghost girl? 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:29.919 Yeah, that actually happened. 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:34.080 Former rapper, former cameo, Iggy Azalea was stuck in these stupid movies. 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:38.000 Jason Statham, diver turned martial artist, turned actor. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:42.240 There's a serious evolution of Letty and Dom's relationship in the Fast franchise. 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:47.360 And if you take it from both ends, one and X, in the first, she's territorial and a total boss. 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:49.440 She has to believably deliver lines like this. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.279 Why don't you girls just pack it up before I leave tread marks on your face? 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:03.120 Yeah, whatever. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:10.000 You

don't have anything? 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:11.519 You look a bit tired. 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:14.080 I think you should go upstairs and give me a massage. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:15.120 Look at all our guests. 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.679 How about we go upstairs and give me a massage? 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:26.559 See, in that movie, they have sexual chemistry, and by Fast X, they're cuddling on some Walmart furniture like the Amish. 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:30.960 Michelle Rodriguez is so good at kissing, I cannot believe Vin has fumbled this so bad. 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.960 But every trace of their off-screen romance is dead in the later movies. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:40.320 And if you're looking before and after one to X, she looks the same and Vin has changed. 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:41.679 For the vineyard. 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:43.840 Also, we know too much about these people now. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:48.159 Vin Diesel's idea of a good time is karaoke, and he does it right. 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:52.480 And Michelle Rodriguez's idea of a good time is target practice or skydiving. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:56.639 One time on television, Bear Grills drank her urine and did not complain. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:58.320 I can't make this shit up. 00:12:59.360 --> 00:12:59.600 Ah! 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.000 That's not gonna make much of a broth. 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:04.320 But you know what we could do to supplement this? 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:08.159 I am a little scared to hear what you have to say about the situation. 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:16.960 Well, if one of us peed, and then we stew the the mouse and the pea in the water, and then we got a urine mouse soup. 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:18.879 Have you never had urine mouse soup? 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:20.080 Oh my god. 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:27.200 It's like chicken. 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:28.000 Yeah. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.879 Sauted in piss. 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.120 Well, I'm kinda happy it's my piss and not yours. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:34.000 Yeah, thanks. 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:36.799 We better not let the broth go to waste. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:42.799 You're for real. 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:43.919 I can't believe this. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:53.200 Now, while I did not like the most recent Fast and Furious movie, but Eating Fast X, Rodriguez gets to fight Cypher, played by Charlize Teron. 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:55.759 She has dreads two movies ago, but forget about that. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:56.879 And it's a good fight. 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:02.399 These women are physical, choreographed, have great stunt teams, and have stayed relevant for over 25 years. 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.840 In fact, the Curse Project Eon Flux starred Thuron. 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.120 So the ladies fighting in the Arctic bunker are both Kusama leads. 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:15.120 And in a series of movies where people fight each other with cars, these women are the people who can believably throw down with each other. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:17.279 And they managed to fuck that up too. 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:21.519 Like the endgame shot with all the ladies in frame, they just had to bring her back. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:24.960 Okay, let's uh let's go back to the list of non-traditional actors. 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:28.159 Galgado, war criminal turned alleged actress. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:29.840 Don't get mad at me for that part. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.440 When Galgadot attempts to smile on camera, the IDF bombs a hospital. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:36.159 Oh, so I guess you're not coming for the hot takes? 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:38.399 You're coming because you're a fucking jerkoff? 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:42.960 She might be the best example of history of visually depicting looks aren't everything. 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:48.399 And maybe she shouldn't come back if Vin is interested in, I'm not sure, murdering, you know, family. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:51.759 I'm certainly not going to waste your time recalling the events in this movie. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:56.080 I would love to spotlight Jamie Torelli and Paul Calderon's performances. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:01.519 Um Calderon is Marcillus Wallace's bartender in Pulp Fiction and the Sergeant Major in The Last Castle. 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:03.919 I solidly recommend you watch this movie. 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:11.679 And there is a Criterion Blu-ray available, but I found a 2001 DVD in full screen, and it did the trick just fine. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:14.080 As per a rating, I'm giving it a 9 out of 10. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:15.519 It will be joining my collection. 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:19.600 Every week my list seems to be getting smaller, and my library seems to be getting a bit bigger. 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:21.679 But I must have been going somewhere, right? 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:24.159 Like I must have had a point with the introduction, right? 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:33.120 When Robert Rodriguez was looking to cast female leads for his new project, a spinoff of the Grindhouse trailer Machete, he had to find someone with enough gravitas. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:38.799 Someone shorthand for dangerous, beautiful, incapable of running a taco truck that starts the revolution. 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:41.120 And who do you think came to mind? 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:44.159 I guess they needed someone with some natural charisma. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:46.399 Bet you didn't think I'd make it back. 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:46.960 Oh yeah. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.960 The only actress to hold her own against Danny Trejo is Michelle Rodriguez. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:56.320 Extras who can throw a punch, who are cast because of who they are, not because of what they can pretend to be. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:59.440 This movie came out on September 29th, 2000. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:03.759 I'm recording this podcast on the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:06.799 And this movie is New York without the Skyline shots. 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:10.639 It's bodegas, it's diners, it's the gym, it's classrooms. 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:17.440 The movie is older than several of my colleagues, and I can't imagine how they see the world when it's just history, not something that happened to you. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:20.159 In 25 years, it's clear we made a whole lot of mistakes. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.799 We never forgot, but we got so distracted. 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:31.600 It's a stupid podcast about movies, but the impact of one day will be noticeable on the art we start making in the early 2000s, which is where the show is going. 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:33.519 My name is Evan Hughes. 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:34.960 I'm the host of Screen Generation. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:38.320 It's a podcast about the films released by Sony under the label Screen Gems. 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:45.440 The show was made by human beings, correction, made by a human being, without artificial flavors, colors, or any intelligence for that matter. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:50.399 Next week, join me for my third favorite, Spelled with a U, filmed by Guy Ritchie, Snatch. 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:11.039 Well, you know, 50 up for three very fast. 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:18.400 I've got a pair of five, I want to have to fight it. 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:54.079 I'm outless. 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:27.200 Anything to declare? 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:27.599 Yeah. 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:29.279 Don't go to England. 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:38.400 Uh in Florida, and uh strong questions with uh magic structure for the standard work. 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:43.039 Until next time, Governor. 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:53.759 It's been many years uh that I've been doing what I do, um, thirteen to be exact, uh, since um Girl Fight, which was the first look I ever made. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:58.079 And it's it's it's a half road, Jesus. 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:01.599 Just uh growing up in the industry. 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:05.359 Um and I when I say growing up, I mean becoming an adult. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:06.559 And um