In this episode Cole discusses the premiere of the film 'Megalopolis' by Francis Ford Coppola at the Cannes Film Festival, highlighting the mixed reactions and controversies surrounding the movie. He expresses support for the film and emphasizes the importance of art in society, particularly in shaping a better future for children. The episode ends with a song from FOUR ARM SHIVER who is getting 60% of your Satoshi Donation in a modern podcast app.
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[00:00:00]
Cole McCormick:
In a world inspired by Rome.
[00:00:09] Unknown:
What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Cole McCormick. It's another week, another episode. What's going on, everybody? It's America Plus. Happy
[00:00:19] Cole McCormick:
Happy to be here, folks. It's another beautiful week to be alive. I'm coming to you in my kitchen, 6:40 in the PM, Sunday, May 19th. What's going on, everybody? I'm hyped to be here, dude. We got a great freaking show for you right now, dude. I'm coming back home from the beach. Shannon and I, we had a rare weekend off together. Didn't have work at all. Very happy. I'm very pleased. We decided to go to the beach, get ourselves some sourdough, and have a good time. That's what we did, man. I did a little workout, did some pull ups, Working on on my pull ups. I'm trying to do 20 without any breaks. I'm working on it. I'm at, like, 6. So we're doing feeling good.
And, Yeah. I I randomly met up with with Case at the beach. Didn't know he was gonna be there. He was there. I was at Muscle Beach. Got caught some waves. Those, Dude, the Pacific Ocean's always so cold, dude. I love it though. I love the cold water. I we were there for like 4 hours, and then we came home, had some food, dude, and she and I literally okay. What I wanna talk about this week? This week at America Plus, we're talking about narratives. Right? Narratives for a more beautiful world that our hearts know is possible. And this week, dude, I'm coming back at you with a narrative I talked about last year, dude. 2023, I brought up this concept of this film coming out, this imaginary epic from the master, Francis Ford Coppola, titled Megalopolis.
What is this film? I'm bringing it back. This movie just to give you a quick breakdown. Francis Ford Coppola, mega director. He did The Godfather Movies, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders. He did a movie with, what's his name? Oh my god. I forgot his name. He's in Heat. He's in he's Batman. That guy, the the blonde guy who lost his voice. He's in Topgut. Holy crap. Val Gilmore. He did a movie with Val Kilmer in, like, 2007. Nobody saw it, including me. I just know that it that it it exists. Francis Ford Coppola, legend, the master of cinema. He has been making a movie for the last 40 freaking years, and it's about okay. I don't even know what it's about. I haven't seen it. It's about it's a mix of Roman history.
Okay? There's this old Roman, conspiracy to kill an emperor. Like, this is like real history that really happened. It was the Catalina conspiracy. Look that up. A Roman emperor was being murdered by the people, and by his, like there was a coup. So this movie is about that mixed in with America. Like, where is America going? Okay? Like, society at large. What is the future going to be about? How are we moving forward in through through this current turmoil? Okay? And Coppola's been working on this for decades. Okay? I brought this up last year, just to be like I was just inspired, I was into it. I didn't know what was gonna happen. They're they they had just got done filming it when I had recorded that podcast, and only a few actors were talking about it, but there was really nothing to say because the movie was being edited, the movie was being worked on, there was a bunch of special effects that needed to be done. I guess there's like a shit ton of special effects in this film, and, I'm coming to you now because this film has officially debuted.
This film is finished. I believe it's finished finished. There was a screening of it back in March, with with Hollywood, with like, the all the Hollywood executives, and this week, it just premiered at the Cannes, the Cannes Film Festival in France, and I need to discuss it because there is so much there's a little bit of controversy, but there's a lot of mixed slash negative reactions going on right now, and I I I think I need to speak to it. This this is just my instinct, dude. So just to start it off, let me just give you what's been going on in 2024. In March, when Coppola showed this movie to all the studio executives, I'm talking Disney, Warner Brothers, Amazon, MGM.
I'm talking Apple. I'm talking Universal. I'm talking Paramount. Everyone. Everyone. Every executive was there. Bob Iger, the whole deal. They saw it, and nobody liked it. What? Nobody liked it. They there was literally quotes saying that it was unmarketable. Interesting. That's okay. Okay, Disney. What are you talking about? You're saying the Lion King remake is marketable, but not this Megalopolis? What? Literal quotes of that, other quotes from that screening saying that it's, like, it's madness. It's crazy. It's literally one of the most insane movies ever.
And that excited the shit out of me, because that's exactly what I'm looking for from this movie. When you hear the description, and my description is the description. It is literally based off of the Roman Catalina conspiracy and a, like, fable of the future of America. What else would you expect from that description? Of course, it's gonna be insane. Of course. And, how can it not be marketable when it's about so much? When it's about, like, it's about the society that you're living in. How isn't it how is it not marketable? Just market it. But regardless, that sort of came and went. No one knew, no one knew what was gonna happen. He was looking for distribution. That was the purpose of the screening.
None of the classic studios, none of the traditional studios, or like or newer ones, nobody's picked it up. So right now, it does not have a North American distribution. Okay? No company has it. No company's gonna put money into it for marketing, to to put it out, which is really interesting. The one thing that is interesting though is, it will be an Imacs. Okay? So when it I think it's coming out in like November. I don't have a release date yet, but it will be in Imax around the globe. So that's one good thing, but Imax is a totally different company. Imax is Imax, so I'm happy that it's an Imax, but at the same time, there's still nothing there's still no official distributor, because people don't see it as profitable. They don't see it as a smart business move, which makes zero sense to me.
And that takes me to canes, to cons. I remember reading that Francis, he didn't wanna he didn't wanna bring it to Cane's because there wasn't a he didn't wanna bring it to Cane's until there was a distributor, but he ended up just taking it there just so he can get the get the press, I guess. I mean, just I mean, it's good press. You know, Coppola, Cannes, the movie, like, I feel like it's just like a smart business move regardless. And I have clips to share. I got like 4 clips I wanna share from a press conference of the actors talking about it. Specifically, I got a few clips of Coppola talking about it, and the reason I'm sharing this on America Plus is because it is literally about America Plus. It is like, it's it just aligns, dude. So people it was met with a 7 minute standing ovation. Okay?
Now, to give you just to let you in on, like, some inside Hollywood, on some inside film, Every movie at canes gets a standing ovation. Okay? They always get a 5 minute, 7 minute. I think joker got, like, a 10 minute standing ovation at canes film festival. So it's very political there. You know? It's always gonna be political. You're always playing to the to the snobby to the snobby Filipino people. You know, anyone who's anyone is gonna be there, you know. Whoever has money to go to France in May, you know, just imagine that crowd. So people respect them. The culture, like, the film culture respects them, but the film business does not.
Okay? And when it comes to reviews, there have been some extremely negative reviews. People say people calling it unhinged, people calling it messy, people calling it, like, silly, just lame, not interesting. There's a real narrative coming out of Kains of this movie sucks, and Coppola doesn't know what he's doing, and it's really no And then on top of that, there was even this, in in my opinion, bogus ass report. There was a anonymous crew member came forward to The Guardian, the Guardian outlet, and said that the the set was a mess.
Like, there's 0 organization. Francis Ford Coppola was in his trailer smoking weed all day long, not doing anything productive. The crew did their best to keep the show going, but they just could they could only do what they did. And, like, I guess Francis was, like, kissing extras. Like, he's saying that literal, bogus reports of Francis or Coppola kissing extras to, quote, get them in the mood. And that doesn't align with anything that's ever happened in the man's life. Like, this sounds like some me too shit. Like, people are trying to me too him when it's not the me too era anymore. Okay? So that's how I interpreted it. There's I I don't understand. Like, this man makes he's been in so many insane situations filming a movie. I don't understand why he would do that because he sold, like, a huge section of his ownership of his winery. So if you know if you're not familiar with his movies, you might be familiar with his wine. Coppola wine.
He's had this winery for like decades, and he sold a huge portion of it, so he can make the movie with his own money. He spent $120,000,000 of his own money to make this film. Like, no one else like, he this is all of his skin. All of his skin is in the game. Okay? And there's just bullshit reports of saying that he's just wasting time. Why the fuck would you sell a winery so you could waste time? The reason why you wanna open a winery is to waste time. You know? You know what I mean? Like, upside down world. Upside down. The Guardian fucking sucks. And so, I called that out on Twitter, and just to just to embellish on my part real quick, it was actually one of my biggest tweets. I did a whole thing.
I did a whole thing calling out the Guardian, calling out Hollywood, like, they want him out, like, there's this narrative of this movie sucking, and not being interesting, and Coppola being reckless, and therefore, the movie's not gonna be good. And I see that as like a real, like, institutional, like, narrative grab of, like, we're not gonna do this. We're like, because Hollywood rejecting distribution for Coppola is a bad look for Hollywood. It's a bad look for, for all the classic distributors. Okay? And so, what better way to grab the narrative than to say, oh, like, the movie's no good, and he's also an asshole, and he also just smokes weed all day long. Like, that's feels like it's coming from the top down. That's just my opinion.
And I got, like, over a 100000, views. I got over a 140,000 views on this tweet. I got, like, 60 retweets, you know, and I struck a nerve with some people. People calling me insane. People calling me deranged, which I love. So if you wanna read that, read that. I just wanna bring that up real quick. But so I think it's bullshit. I think those reports are bullshit, and I think this movie's gonna be awesome, and I'm super interested in it, and I think the film is important, and I'm willing to just listen to what the man has to say, because when you go back in time and watch Apocalypse Now, which is a film about the Vietnam war in America, the route that he took with that film is there there's a quote from him saying, Apocalypse Now is not an anti war movie.
It's a pro war movie. Apocalypse Now literally embellishes in all of the expenditures and extravagant extravagance extravagance? I don't know what's that word. It expands on everything that the war embellished on. The bombs, the drugs, the confusement, like, Apocalypse Now did its best to represent that war, and when you have a mind that is willing to create something like that, and now to bring it forward into this modern American society in 2024, and to ask the question, where are we going? I just I get excited, and I'm willing to listen. And what I have to share is just a few clips. I have 4 clips mainly of 2 cast members talking about it, talking about the film and the future, and then I got, and then we're wrapping up with with Coppola talking about the future. Okay? So all these clips are a little long. They're over they're all over, like, a minute. This first one's 2 minutes. So if you're a fan of Breaking Bad, Gus Fring is in the film.
Giancarlo Esposito is in the film. He plays the old guard. He plays the man who has been in charge, and he wants to go he wants to move forward in in the status quo. And, we got a clip from from him at the press conference talking about the experience, talking about his perspective, and what he thinks this film really brings.
[00:15:02] Unknown:
Right at the end of this, you talked about hope, Esperanza, as you said. I wonder, it's a question for all the crew member here. If this feeling of hope was, you can felt it on set or you can felt it in the making of it, we can you can feel
[00:15:16] Unknown:
this hope while you were making the movie. You know, it's funny. I I left the movie. I watched the movie for the first time. I don't know if anyone else in the cast had seen it before or not. I had missed the screening. And I hearken back to making the film and Francis speaking to me in our initial conversation about the history behind the film. And then I started to feel like, and he explained to me what my character represented, and that's the old guard, the old school. And I started to realize that's an old way of thinking. And as I walked myself through the movie in my dreams last night after having not been able to get it out of my crawl, I realized that the genius of what Francis does is is allows me to be a channel and to channel what he's shared with me in terms of information.
And you asked to specifically address your question. There was a feeling of hope Because I think in the way film is supposed to inspire us, it is also supposed intellectually and also emotionally. It is also supposed to take risks. So then we don't know what's gonna happen. And so on set, we I didn't know what was gonna happen because everyday Francis allowed us to be free, but then gave us a directive. And I went, where is he going? Is there hope in this for me and my character? I might not be the character that holds the hope. But toward the end of the movie last night, I start I came to tears because all of a sudden I got it.
I'm not supposed to know everything. Mhmm. I'm not supposed to know all the answers and neither is Francis. But he's open enough to allow his channel to figure it out with all of us. And isn't that the genius? When we don't understand something, there are parts of the movie I go, oh, I don't really quite understand that, but I'm still thinking about it. It's supposed to inspire us to a new way of thinking. And in the end, that inspiration is supposed to allow us to have hope for our world. And believe me, I do because of you. Woah.
[00:17:18] Cole McCormick:
Yeah. So Gus Fring had some really good things to say about that. The ideas of cinema, the purpose for films, the purpose for an artist expressing an idea about the world or society within film, I think he's on it with it is an invitation for for the public to come in and to think about something, and I think when it comes to it's hard to make a narrative that might be as broad as the future of society, because it might come off as, like, like a very firm narrative. Like like like the filmmaker has a very strong viewpoint on how it should be. But what Gina Carlo Esposito just said is that, you know, that's not the case here.
He want like, Coppola wants there to be some interpretation. He wants there to be maybe I'm not sure if confusement is the right word, but he wants there to be an openness for people to put their own mind into it. And I think it's beautiful. Like, I think that's the right way to go. Like, what how what other way are you supposed to do that, you know? Like, it's probably not responsible to put your own answer into whatever the question you're asking is, you know. Like, this podcast is about the future of America, the future of the world, and I don't think I have a good answer yet. You know, I'm just talking about what I'm talking about. And that's why I like to open up to the audience, why I like value for value because it's about it it it's about the audience's reciprocation and interpretation and feedback, and it's a collective thinking, of these ideas. And so that I'm aligned with that man. I'm very aligned with that.
Going down the list to another cast member, legendary actor, Jon Voigt, is in the film. I don't know who he plays, but, but he's in the movie. He's a great actor. Angelina Jolie's father. And, he's also infamous in Hollywood because he voted for Trump, which is very, very scandalous. And this clip is, a little over 3 minutes, but this is where they really get into, like, the future of the world, the future of society. Where are we going? Because I I I think it's really important that this film is asking these types of questions in a non pretentious way. So here's Coppola. It's actually Coppola asking Jon Voigt what he thinks about all this.
[00:20:05] Unknown:
Well, how do you feel about the future? How could we make a beautiful world? I know you have children and grandchildren. How could we make a beautiful world for the children?
[00:20:15] Unknown:
Well, first of all, I I think that, your longing to contribute to that has created this film. That's what your focus is, is to make a better world for the where are we going? And I think we're all at this moment and asking that question of ourselves. Where are we going and what can we do? You know, I'm a little older now. Some of you may have noticed that, and and of course I have limited amount of time and I think to myself what can I do to encourage us toward a better world to protect these kids? I I feel that's that's exactly what I'm doing. It's in my head every second of the day to see what can we do to make this world better, and I know it's possible. I agree with this film, Francis vision that says human beings are capable of of solving every problem we get ourselves into.
We can do it. That's what the last moments of the film with Adam beautifully saying it. You know, we can do it. We must bond together. We must help each other. We must listen to each other and we must take this on and make a better world because we've been through a lot. You know, we've been through quite a lot. We have experience. We know many things. So so we have to do our best and we have to do our best to to appreciate especially those people who step out and attempt, to to show us the way a little bit. I I saw the film for the first time.
I was deeply moved by it. I was deeply moved because I saw, from from the even the beginnings, I I was aware of this film when, Francis was working on it 25 years ago. And, and I saw in the work of it that he was he had this vision. It's it's a vision that has bothered him to to express. He had to do it. He took every risk to do it. He assembled brave people, really. Brave these actors are brave actors.
[00:22:41] Cole McCormick:
You're so brave. You're so brave. Intelligent.
[00:22:43] Unknown:
They're very talented. They're experienced, but they're brave too. And they took this on, they said, I'm I'm with you Francis. I'll go on this adventure with you. And we all threw in and then what we had in the room was Francis with a tie and, you know, nice jacket, sitting there every day, watching us, encouraging us, schooling us a little bit, worrying through things to to bring forth this vision. There was another person in the room. Who was it? It's Francis' vision. And and I saw it from the beginning takes in the the little details of the film. That's why I was so moved. I saw it complete. It was magnificent last night to see the all of the things that were, all the things he was driven by coming forth. What the fuck? And, I I don't know what he said to Adam, but I I hope it was a kind kind thing.
[00:23:50] Cole McCormick:
Okay. Did you hear Coppola say that? He voted for Trump. He voted for Trump. He voted for Trump. He voted for Trump. He Voted for Trump. He voted for Trump. Trump. He voted for Trump. That's hilarious, dude. I don't know who Coppola was talking to when he said that, but whatever. Voigt. Jon Voigt, dude. He's talking about the kids, man. He's talking about the future of society. And to have this film talk about those questions to and and and for this for for these older people, you know. Jon Voight, I believe is in his seventies. Coppola, I believe is 80. His wife just passed away.
And so there's this generation of filmmakers that are still making films, you know. You got you still got Spielberg. You still got Scorsese. You still got Coppola, man. Like, you have these people making movies, and they continue to ask questions about life. And you know, Coppola being the man himself, the master, in my opinion, to ask the question of where are we going, you know, that is the most important question. And what other art pieces are saying that? What other art pieces are asking that? I think that's an important thing to to look around for as a consumer of art or media.
Is the questions being asked, you know, important? Even if it's not, you know, it isn't always at the be important, you know, you maybe you just wanna put on some random movie on Netflix, you know, who cares? It's not that big of a deal. But, you know, when it comes to what's influencing you, you know, like movies influence people. Movies influence society, and, there's this narrative of movies ending, and movies being dead, and, you know, these, like, theaters are dying, and I'm unwilling to accept that narrative. And it's people like Coppola, and movies like Megalopolis that show me that there is still a way to ask big questions, and to take big swings, and to make big movies for the world, for society.
And I'm I'm so inspired by that, man. I'm so inspired by that. It's why I do a podcast, dude. It's why I'm a podcaster. Goddamn it. Now, they're talking about the children. Right? A more beautiful world for the children. What does Coppola have to say about all this? Let's move into his own words. Okay? What does the man himself have to say about the children and about, the future of society? This person who's about to ask, him the question, she has a question for him, specifically about America. And I thought this was really interesting. This clip is 3 minutes. Stick with me.
[00:26:46] Unknown:
Your film had so many ideas about sociology, politics, medicine, science fiction, the future, physics. Who do you think in our society today has those kind of ideas? Who could build a megalopolis like that you envisioned, that Adam Driver envisioned in the movie? Do you see hope I'm gonna ask specifically about the United States. I hope that's okay. But do you see anyone with those kind of ideas and vision, that you have in the movie? And that could be for anyone to answer. Thank you.
[00:27:26] Unknown:
Well, I'll just I'll I'll I'll I'll venture one little thought, which is, of course, when years ago, I said I wanna do a Roman epic but set in modern America, a lot of people said, well, why? And I would say, well, because America was founded on the ideas of the Roman Republic. We didn't want a king. Rome didn't want a king, so they invented a new form of government called the Republic with the senate and with Roman law and with all of the things which we embrace. We even built our cities to look like Rome. If you remember the great, building they tore down, it was based on the Caragala. It was Penn Station, which they destroyed, which is insane.
So so my feeling was that, that they that that to do a Roman epic set in modern America, but I had no idea that the politics of today would make that so relevant because what's happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy is exactly how Rome lost their republic 1000 of years ago. So it's it's it's a real, and you even see now in articles and in Saturday Night Live, the parallel between modern America and Rome. So we our politics has taken us to the point where we might lose our republic. And and so it's it's it's not people who have become politicians who are going to be the answer. I feel it's the artists of America because artists the role of the artist is to illuminate contemporary life, to shine light on it, to be the headlights.
And and so to make art that does not illuminate contemporary art is is is like making a hamburger that you eat but has no nutrition in it, which is also what's going on. So so my my my dream, my hope is that it's the artists of our country who are going to, in their work, shine light on what's going on and allow the people to see it because you can't act on it if you can't see it. And and and, I once asked Joseph Papp, how he chose projects, and he said to me something I've never forgotten. He said, I choose projects that illuminate contemporary life, and and that's that's what I think all artists should do.
[00:29:47] Cole McCormick:
You need to choose projects that shine light on contemporary life, that that that pick up contemporary life. That is important, dude. Like like, that's like that's some serious shit, you know? Like, it's not just a paycheck. It's not just a movie. It's not just a marvel movie. It's not just anything, you know. It's not just like something moody. It's shining light on on what picks up society, and I can say confidently, I am expressing myself through America Plus. Like, this is the purpose of America Plus, to pick up society through my own voice. Like, I'm I I I I'm just 1 guy in a kitchen with a microphone doing a podcast. But this is goddamn it. This is picking up society.
This is speaking to a better world. And I identify with the artists of America that he brings up. Like, I am that guy. I am him. Like, I'm right here, Coppola, dude. It's happening. I'm 27 years old, and I'm I'm doing my damn best to keep a positive mindset for the future. Like, I'm doing my best. I got a nephew myself, sir. I want my 5 year old nephew to live in a better world. I see this. I think about these things. And when I have my own kids one day, it's gonna be a good year. It's gonna a good year. It's gonna be a good time. It's gonna be a good life. Like, it's important.
It's important. And who else to bring in a new world? Who else to shine light on what on what should happen in society than the artists? You know? Podcasters are artists. Painters are artists. People who talk are artists. People who people who make movies are artists, dude. Like, there's so many artists. Everything you do is is artists. People who write are artists. And it it it is through your art that we shine light on what needs to have light. Okay? And sometimes, some people might be drawn to shining light on the on on what has been dark within society.
Other people's art might shine light on a new idea, on on a new way of doing things. Some people might shine their light on something that is just simply true. Something that is just simply beautiful about the society, and all these things are necessary. And it's up to you the consumer, along with myself as a consumer, to seek out these things that are picking up the world because we get hypnotized into being narcissist and nihilistic. That's a fact. Like, the way that normal media and social media run, they want you to be obsessed with yourself and your own analytics, and they also want you to to have a shit outlook on America specifically and the future in general.
Like these are true things and I'm telling you right now, I am against these things, and I get caught up in the analytics. I get caught up in myself. I get caught up in looking at what I post, like, 10 time 10 different times. Like, let me just read what I wrote again. Like, it's some bullshit that I do. But it's about just expressing myself. I need to be a channel for these positive these positive ideas, you know. And I'm not it's my practice to not get caught up in what I'm doing. Oh my God. Look at me. Look at me. You know, it's about just allowing myself to speak, and just being confident in what I am speaking of. Oops. And what I am speaking of and to.
So I'm with Coppola. I'd listen to Coppola as an elder. You know? Listening to Coppola as an elder, makes me feel like I'm on the right path as an artist. And hopefully, one day, I'm able to meet him and talk about these things, and maybe even he'll have an may maybe he'll listen to America Plus. Maybe maybe he sees this, maybe he hears this, and like, maybe him and I can vibe. You know? Like that's what I want. I want like, I want to vibe with other with other artists. I want to vibe with people who think similar as me, and I think he thinks similarly. That's just my my assumption, you know?
I got the final clip right here. This is the shortest clip, but just over a minute. This is him, so this is going from Instagram, actually. So there's some music. It's it gets a little emotional. But this is Coppola right after the movie, ends in the in the theater during the standing ovation, and this is what he has to say to the crowd during it about the future for the children.
[00:34:49] Unknown:
Thank you. Thank you all so much. It is so,
[00:34:53] Unknown:
it's impossible to find words to tell you how I feel. But I wanna say, you know, this is my granddaughter. This is my grandbaby,
[00:35:04] Unknown:
and this is my wonderful collaborator, my son Rory. And
[00:35:11] Unknown:
this this is my sister, Tavia. But they were not the only family because all of these wonderful actors and the folks work, they were all my family. And in fact, as as Caesar says, we're all one family. You're all my cousins because we are 1. We are the human family and it and and that is you see at the end, that's who we should pledge our allegiance to, our entire family, and to this beautiful home earth that we have. So that is my wish, that it's the children who are gonna inherit a beautiful world from us. So the most important word we have is the most beautiful word, I think in any language which is hope.
And that's what I dedicate this film to. Hope and the children make a world for the children.
[00:36:07] Unknown:
Thank you. For the children. For the children. Why? For the children. A better world for the children. Do you hear what I'm saying? My last dying breath, I will make a movie for a better world for the children. Like, Coppola, dude, like, you're making me cry, man. You're making me emotional.
[00:36:26] Cole McCormick:
Like, this older man, like, he's just doing it for the kids. What else are you supposed to do? What else? There's no other way. Why does Adam Curry innovate with podcasting so the children will have a way to to distribute online. Like, why does anyone do anything? It's always for the kids. Why does a mother work? Why does a father get up early? It's for the kids. And so, it's really just, like, inspiring. And I want Megalopolis to get a distributor, and I will be there opening night with my popcorn, with my drink, and I'm gonna enjoy the fuck out of it because I know that it was made for me.
I'm confident in that. I don't know that it was made for the world. It was made for me to think. I'm gonna think about it. I'm probably gonna see it again and again. I'm gonna see it multiple times, and I'm gonna try to see if Coppola was really trying to get to something, or I'm gonna see what comes to me. What comes to me after I see it? Because what if there's a movie what if there's a piece of media that inspires somebody with a new idea? You know, that's some real shit right there. You know, for for there to be an old Hollywood system that wants to push this movie down, and to degrade it, and belittle it, and its creator.
You know, we all know Hollywood's ran by the devil. You know? That just makes me think God is behind this. You know? That's just some rebellion shit. That's just some, like, let's fucking go, dude. Like, I'm on some I'm I'm ready to fight. You know? Like, my buying a movie ticket to this movie means that you are aligned with God. You are aligned with the light forces of the universe. Choose your side, son. I know my side. Do you? So that just makes me hyped up, dude. Yeah, man. Like, what do you think about that? Like, are you gonna see Megalopolis? Are you interested in this? Do you think this is important as I do? Do you think it's lame? Do you not think it's cool? Like, should this movie exist? Like, does anyone have the right to make this type of a movie right now?
I believe so. Of all the people who are gonna make a movie about the future of society, why not have a b, Coppola? Why not? What else do you have to lose when watching things, dude? Just just watch something, and watch something with a real idea. This seems like a movie with a real fucking idea behind it. And so let's just enjoy it. Let's support it, and let's see what the artist has to say. Come on, dude. That's value for value, man. That's value for value, dude. Come on now, man. And that America Plus is value for value. Like we're gonna go into the value for value section now folks. America Plus is a value for value show. That means that I put up this content of upfront for you, and you can reciprocate that value, through 3 main ways.
Time, talent, treasure. You listening to this, you watching Megalopolis, you watching my short films in a modern podcast app, that's that that's your time. Talent is if you have anything to contribute through with your voice, with resources, with links, you know, whatever you gotta share with me, that's your talent.
[00:40:01] Unknown:
And and treasure, there's 2 main ways, you can send me a boostagram through fountain, by the way. Go to value for value dot info for more info, then download the fountain dot f m app. It's the best way to support the show. You can send me a boostagram
[00:40:15] Cole McCormick:
with little bits of Bitcoin called Satoshis. You can do this in any modern podcast app. Go to podcastapps.com or just download Fountain and follow the show. Send me a boost You can choose any amount or number that you want. I'm gonna be reading the boostograms from this, from, from last week. Along with that, there's also another way. You can all if you wanna support me with dollars, with normal fiat money, I do have a PayPal, so you can send me money directly through PayPal, if you want. But I will be reading the Boostagrams. I saw Frillist streaming in last week. Thank you, Frillis.
Frillis is always streaming in. He's the guy. He's like the streamer. He's the streamer of that. But, we got 2 other boostagrams from our friend at Joel w. He was commenting on last week, number 1 22. It was the Mother's Day episode. And, I I mentioned okay. So last week, I mentioned that I might do a podcast with my mother, who's a therapist, about mental health and stuff like that. And and I would, like, talk about, like, my spiritual journey, or, like, I would bring in the spiritual side, as well. So the this is what's going down. He says okay. So Joel sends in 2,222 sets. He says, I think the mental cast is a good idea.
At least give it a shot and see how it goes, or see how it goes over. As far as your spiritual journey goes, I think you will really enjoy this. As well as anything else, I okay. He he says, I think you'll really enjoy this, as well as anything else this guy does. He is a true teacher, then he sends me a link. He says, for me, it's weed over alcohol okay. I'm sorry. Let's let's click this link, dude. This link says, Joel sent me a link to this, like, cosmic thing, like, we're talking about aliens here. Okay. Dude, I can't read this right now, Joel, but I will I'm I'm diving deep into it, dude. Diving deep into it, and then he says and then I was talking about weed last week, weed weed and alcohol. He says, for me, it's weed over alcohol, but admittedly, was a very heavy drinker, so didn't have quite the same level of control.
I had a vape all day, every day, and and a happy late Mother's Day to you, mofo. Thank you, Joel. Boosting is loving. Because, basically, you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. That's the first one from Joel. This next one is comes in from his normal 1,111 sats. He says, this is what smoking does to me. Was pulling the vape while listening, then must have been at just the right high because I'm now trying to dig a tree stump out that I suddenly got motivated to do. Wow. And now, as the French say, it is time for Le Boost.
Joel, that's that's hilarious, Joel. Yeah, dude. Okay. So quick thing I got an update on on weed for me. I recently so last week, I smoked a sativa, and it totally, like, blew my mind, like, it did not make me feel good at all. I then experimented with with a Pure Endica, and that was actually an incredibly different experience. Something that I have never really felt like before, and so now, I think when it comes to smoking any cannabis product, I think I'm looking for an indica now, Joel. So that's, I'm I'm evolving. I used to be pure sativa and hybrid. Now, I think I might be, like, pretty heavy indica now.
I don't wanna smoke every day, like I was, or like like I don't know I don't think that pattern's right for me right now, but indica, I think, is, like, I I I I just don't like drinking all that all that much. I'd rather smoke a joint. So I'm doing indica now, Joel. Doing Inika now. And thank you to Joel. I think that was everyone. Thank you to all those people who wanted to donate. Thank you to Furlus and Joel W. That's the America Plus community. If you wanna be a part of the America Plus community and chime in with with your thoughts, you can do so in a modern podcast app, or and you can do so you can DM me on Twitter, hang out with me on Twitter. I'm always on Twitter, at Cole McCormick 1. Do whatever you want, dude.
That is that's the vibe. What I wanna do now guys, we're gonna end it with a song. This song is, okay. So this song is really good. I was listening to, I've I've been really getting into this, this music podcast called The Sidestream, hosted by Cody Christopher. And, he had this dope ass song, dude. I played this band before, but not this song. This this band is called, 4 Arm Shiver, and, dude, this song just gets me hyped up, dude. The drums, the guitar, the whole thing, it's rock and roll. Like, it it's just a whole vibe, dude. So, if you didn't know this, for value for value, whenever I play a song, the artist is gonna get 60% of your satoshi donation.
So for the duration of this song, if you wanna donate, please do. If you want a boost, the artist is getting 60%. So send in a big boost, send in a baller boost, and support your favorite podcaster and your music, dude. This is 4 Arm Shiver Bums and Rapscallions. Enjoy. That's America Plus, bitch. Stay free.
In a world inspired by Rome.
[00:00:09] Unknown:
What's up, everyone? It's America Plus. I'm your host, Cole McCormick. It's another week, another episode. What's going on, everybody? It's America Plus. Happy
[00:00:19] Cole McCormick:
Happy to be here, folks. It's another beautiful week to be alive. I'm coming to you in my kitchen, 6:40 in the PM, Sunday, May 19th. What's going on, everybody? I'm hyped to be here, dude. We got a great freaking show for you right now, dude. I'm coming back home from the beach. Shannon and I, we had a rare weekend off together. Didn't have work at all. Very happy. I'm very pleased. We decided to go to the beach, get ourselves some sourdough, and have a good time. That's what we did, man. I did a little workout, did some pull ups, Working on on my pull ups. I'm trying to do 20 without any breaks. I'm working on it. I'm at, like, 6. So we're doing feeling good.
And, Yeah. I I randomly met up with with Case at the beach. Didn't know he was gonna be there. He was there. I was at Muscle Beach. Got caught some waves. Those, Dude, the Pacific Ocean's always so cold, dude. I love it though. I love the cold water. I we were there for like 4 hours, and then we came home, had some food, dude, and she and I literally okay. What I wanna talk about this week? This week at America Plus, we're talking about narratives. Right? Narratives for a more beautiful world that our hearts know is possible. And this week, dude, I'm coming back at you with a narrative I talked about last year, dude. 2023, I brought up this concept of this film coming out, this imaginary epic from the master, Francis Ford Coppola, titled Megalopolis.
What is this film? I'm bringing it back. This movie just to give you a quick breakdown. Francis Ford Coppola, mega director. He did The Godfather Movies, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders. He did a movie with, what's his name? Oh my god. I forgot his name. He's in Heat. He's in he's Batman. That guy, the the blonde guy who lost his voice. He's in Topgut. Holy crap. Val Gilmore. He did a movie with Val Kilmer in, like, 2007. Nobody saw it, including me. I just know that it that it it exists. Francis Ford Coppola, legend, the master of cinema. He has been making a movie for the last 40 freaking years, and it's about okay. I don't even know what it's about. I haven't seen it. It's about it's a mix of Roman history.
Okay? There's this old Roman, conspiracy to kill an emperor. Like, this is like real history that really happened. It was the Catalina conspiracy. Look that up. A Roman emperor was being murdered by the people, and by his, like there was a coup. So this movie is about that mixed in with America. Like, where is America going? Okay? Like, society at large. What is the future going to be about? How are we moving forward in through through this current turmoil? Okay? And Coppola's been working on this for decades. Okay? I brought this up last year, just to be like I was just inspired, I was into it. I didn't know what was gonna happen. They're they they had just got done filming it when I had recorded that podcast, and only a few actors were talking about it, but there was really nothing to say because the movie was being edited, the movie was being worked on, there was a bunch of special effects that needed to be done. I guess there's like a shit ton of special effects in this film, and, I'm coming to you now because this film has officially debuted.
This film is finished. I believe it's finished finished. There was a screening of it back in March, with with Hollywood, with like, the all the Hollywood executives, and this week, it just premiered at the Cannes, the Cannes Film Festival in France, and I need to discuss it because there is so much there's a little bit of controversy, but there's a lot of mixed slash negative reactions going on right now, and I I I think I need to speak to it. This this is just my instinct, dude. So just to start it off, let me just give you what's been going on in 2024. In March, when Coppola showed this movie to all the studio executives, I'm talking Disney, Warner Brothers, Amazon, MGM.
I'm talking Apple. I'm talking Universal. I'm talking Paramount. Everyone. Everyone. Every executive was there. Bob Iger, the whole deal. They saw it, and nobody liked it. What? Nobody liked it. They there was literally quotes saying that it was unmarketable. Interesting. That's okay. Okay, Disney. What are you talking about? You're saying the Lion King remake is marketable, but not this Megalopolis? What? Literal quotes of that, other quotes from that screening saying that it's, like, it's madness. It's crazy. It's literally one of the most insane movies ever.
And that excited the shit out of me, because that's exactly what I'm looking for from this movie. When you hear the description, and my description is the description. It is literally based off of the Roman Catalina conspiracy and a, like, fable of the future of America. What else would you expect from that description? Of course, it's gonna be insane. Of course. And, how can it not be marketable when it's about so much? When it's about, like, it's about the society that you're living in. How isn't it how is it not marketable? Just market it. But regardless, that sort of came and went. No one knew, no one knew what was gonna happen. He was looking for distribution. That was the purpose of the screening.
None of the classic studios, none of the traditional studios, or like or newer ones, nobody's picked it up. So right now, it does not have a North American distribution. Okay? No company has it. No company's gonna put money into it for marketing, to to put it out, which is really interesting. The one thing that is interesting though is, it will be an Imacs. Okay? So when it I think it's coming out in like November. I don't have a release date yet, but it will be in Imax around the globe. So that's one good thing, but Imax is a totally different company. Imax is Imax, so I'm happy that it's an Imax, but at the same time, there's still nothing there's still no official distributor, because people don't see it as profitable. They don't see it as a smart business move, which makes zero sense to me.
And that takes me to canes, to cons. I remember reading that Francis, he didn't wanna he didn't wanna bring it to Cane's because there wasn't a he didn't wanna bring it to Cane's until there was a distributor, but he ended up just taking it there just so he can get the get the press, I guess. I mean, just I mean, it's good press. You know, Coppola, Cannes, the movie, like, I feel like it's just like a smart business move regardless. And I have clips to share. I got like 4 clips I wanna share from a press conference of the actors talking about it. Specifically, I got a few clips of Coppola talking about it, and the reason I'm sharing this on America Plus is because it is literally about America Plus. It is like, it's it just aligns, dude. So people it was met with a 7 minute standing ovation. Okay?
Now, to give you just to let you in on, like, some inside Hollywood, on some inside film, Every movie at canes gets a standing ovation. Okay? They always get a 5 minute, 7 minute. I think joker got, like, a 10 minute standing ovation at canes film festival. So it's very political there. You know? It's always gonna be political. You're always playing to the to the snobby to the snobby Filipino people. You know, anyone who's anyone is gonna be there, you know. Whoever has money to go to France in May, you know, just imagine that crowd. So people respect them. The culture, like, the film culture respects them, but the film business does not.
Okay? And when it comes to reviews, there have been some extremely negative reviews. People say people calling it unhinged, people calling it messy, people calling it, like, silly, just lame, not interesting. There's a real narrative coming out of Kains of this movie sucks, and Coppola doesn't know what he's doing, and it's really no And then on top of that, there was even this, in in my opinion, bogus ass report. There was a anonymous crew member came forward to The Guardian, the Guardian outlet, and said that the the set was a mess.
Like, there's 0 organization. Francis Ford Coppola was in his trailer smoking weed all day long, not doing anything productive. The crew did their best to keep the show going, but they just could they could only do what they did. And, like, I guess Francis was, like, kissing extras. Like, he's saying that literal, bogus reports of Francis or Coppola kissing extras to, quote, get them in the mood. And that doesn't align with anything that's ever happened in the man's life. Like, this sounds like some me too shit. Like, people are trying to me too him when it's not the me too era anymore. Okay? So that's how I interpreted it. There's I I don't understand. Like, this man makes he's been in so many insane situations filming a movie. I don't understand why he would do that because he sold, like, a huge section of his ownership of his winery. So if you know if you're not familiar with his movies, you might be familiar with his wine. Coppola wine.
He's had this winery for like decades, and he sold a huge portion of it, so he can make the movie with his own money. He spent $120,000,000 of his own money to make this film. Like, no one else like, he this is all of his skin. All of his skin is in the game. Okay? And there's just bullshit reports of saying that he's just wasting time. Why the fuck would you sell a winery so you could waste time? The reason why you wanna open a winery is to waste time. You know? You know what I mean? Like, upside down world. Upside down. The Guardian fucking sucks. And so, I called that out on Twitter, and just to just to embellish on my part real quick, it was actually one of my biggest tweets. I did a whole thing.
I did a whole thing calling out the Guardian, calling out Hollywood, like, they want him out, like, there's this narrative of this movie sucking, and not being interesting, and Coppola being reckless, and therefore, the movie's not gonna be good. And I see that as like a real, like, institutional, like, narrative grab of, like, we're not gonna do this. We're like, because Hollywood rejecting distribution for Coppola is a bad look for Hollywood. It's a bad look for, for all the classic distributors. Okay? And so, what better way to grab the narrative than to say, oh, like, the movie's no good, and he's also an asshole, and he also just smokes weed all day long. Like, that's feels like it's coming from the top down. That's just my opinion.
And I got, like, over a 100000, views. I got over a 140,000 views on this tweet. I got, like, 60 retweets, you know, and I struck a nerve with some people. People calling me insane. People calling me deranged, which I love. So if you wanna read that, read that. I just wanna bring that up real quick. But so I think it's bullshit. I think those reports are bullshit, and I think this movie's gonna be awesome, and I'm super interested in it, and I think the film is important, and I'm willing to just listen to what the man has to say, because when you go back in time and watch Apocalypse Now, which is a film about the Vietnam war in America, the route that he took with that film is there there's a quote from him saying, Apocalypse Now is not an anti war movie.
It's a pro war movie. Apocalypse Now literally embellishes in all of the expenditures and extravagant extravagance extravagance? I don't know what's that word. It expands on everything that the war embellished on. The bombs, the drugs, the confusement, like, Apocalypse Now did its best to represent that war, and when you have a mind that is willing to create something like that, and now to bring it forward into this modern American society in 2024, and to ask the question, where are we going? I just I get excited, and I'm willing to listen. And what I have to share is just a few clips. I have 4 clips mainly of 2 cast members talking about it, talking about the film and the future, and then I got, and then we're wrapping up with with Coppola talking about the future. Okay? So all these clips are a little long. They're over they're all over, like, a minute. This first one's 2 minutes. So if you're a fan of Breaking Bad, Gus Fring is in the film.
Giancarlo Esposito is in the film. He plays the old guard. He plays the man who has been in charge, and he wants to go he wants to move forward in in the status quo. And, we got a clip from from him at the press conference talking about the experience, talking about his perspective, and what he thinks this film really brings.
[00:15:02] Unknown:
Right at the end of this, you talked about hope, Esperanza, as you said. I wonder, it's a question for all the crew member here. If this feeling of hope was, you can felt it on set or you can felt it in the making of it, we can you can feel
[00:15:16] Unknown:
this hope while you were making the movie. You know, it's funny. I I left the movie. I watched the movie for the first time. I don't know if anyone else in the cast had seen it before or not. I had missed the screening. And I hearken back to making the film and Francis speaking to me in our initial conversation about the history behind the film. And then I started to feel like, and he explained to me what my character represented, and that's the old guard, the old school. And I started to realize that's an old way of thinking. And as I walked myself through the movie in my dreams last night after having not been able to get it out of my crawl, I realized that the genius of what Francis does is is allows me to be a channel and to channel what he's shared with me in terms of information.
And you asked to specifically address your question. There was a feeling of hope Because I think in the way film is supposed to inspire us, it is also supposed intellectually and also emotionally. It is also supposed to take risks. So then we don't know what's gonna happen. And so on set, we I didn't know what was gonna happen because everyday Francis allowed us to be free, but then gave us a directive. And I went, where is he going? Is there hope in this for me and my character? I might not be the character that holds the hope. But toward the end of the movie last night, I start I came to tears because all of a sudden I got it.
I'm not supposed to know everything. Mhmm. I'm not supposed to know all the answers and neither is Francis. But he's open enough to allow his channel to figure it out with all of us. And isn't that the genius? When we don't understand something, there are parts of the movie I go, oh, I don't really quite understand that, but I'm still thinking about it. It's supposed to inspire us to a new way of thinking. And in the end, that inspiration is supposed to allow us to have hope for our world. And believe me, I do because of you. Woah.
[00:17:18] Cole McCormick:
Yeah. So Gus Fring had some really good things to say about that. The ideas of cinema, the purpose for films, the purpose for an artist expressing an idea about the world or society within film, I think he's on it with it is an invitation for for the public to come in and to think about something, and I think when it comes to it's hard to make a narrative that might be as broad as the future of society, because it might come off as, like, like a very firm narrative. Like like like the filmmaker has a very strong viewpoint on how it should be. But what Gina Carlo Esposito just said is that, you know, that's not the case here.
He want like, Coppola wants there to be some interpretation. He wants there to be maybe I'm not sure if confusement is the right word, but he wants there to be an openness for people to put their own mind into it. And I think it's beautiful. Like, I think that's the right way to go. Like, what how what other way are you supposed to do that, you know? Like, it's probably not responsible to put your own answer into whatever the question you're asking is, you know. Like, this podcast is about the future of America, the future of the world, and I don't think I have a good answer yet. You know, I'm just talking about what I'm talking about. And that's why I like to open up to the audience, why I like value for value because it's about it it it's about the audience's reciprocation and interpretation and feedback, and it's a collective thinking, of these ideas. And so that I'm aligned with that man. I'm very aligned with that.
Going down the list to another cast member, legendary actor, Jon Voigt, is in the film. I don't know who he plays, but, but he's in the movie. He's a great actor. Angelina Jolie's father. And, he's also infamous in Hollywood because he voted for Trump, which is very, very scandalous. And this clip is, a little over 3 minutes, but this is where they really get into, like, the future of the world, the future of society. Where are we going? Because I I I think it's really important that this film is asking these types of questions in a non pretentious way. So here's Coppola. It's actually Coppola asking Jon Voigt what he thinks about all this.
[00:20:05] Unknown:
Well, how do you feel about the future? How could we make a beautiful world? I know you have children and grandchildren. How could we make a beautiful world for the children?
[00:20:15] Unknown:
Well, first of all, I I think that, your longing to contribute to that has created this film. That's what your focus is, is to make a better world for the where are we going? And I think we're all at this moment and asking that question of ourselves. Where are we going and what can we do? You know, I'm a little older now. Some of you may have noticed that, and and of course I have limited amount of time and I think to myself what can I do to encourage us toward a better world to protect these kids? I I feel that's that's exactly what I'm doing. It's in my head every second of the day to see what can we do to make this world better, and I know it's possible. I agree with this film, Francis vision that says human beings are capable of of solving every problem we get ourselves into.
We can do it. That's what the last moments of the film with Adam beautifully saying it. You know, we can do it. We must bond together. We must help each other. We must listen to each other and we must take this on and make a better world because we've been through a lot. You know, we've been through quite a lot. We have experience. We know many things. So so we have to do our best and we have to do our best to to appreciate especially those people who step out and attempt, to to show us the way a little bit. I I saw the film for the first time.
I was deeply moved by it. I was deeply moved because I saw, from from the even the beginnings, I I was aware of this film when, Francis was working on it 25 years ago. And, and I saw in the work of it that he was he had this vision. It's it's a vision that has bothered him to to express. He had to do it. He took every risk to do it. He assembled brave people, really. Brave these actors are brave actors.
[00:22:41] Cole McCormick:
You're so brave. You're so brave. Intelligent.
[00:22:43] Unknown:
They're very talented. They're experienced, but they're brave too. And they took this on, they said, I'm I'm with you Francis. I'll go on this adventure with you. And we all threw in and then what we had in the room was Francis with a tie and, you know, nice jacket, sitting there every day, watching us, encouraging us, schooling us a little bit, worrying through things to to bring forth this vision. There was another person in the room. Who was it? It's Francis' vision. And and I saw it from the beginning takes in the the little details of the film. That's why I was so moved. I saw it complete. It was magnificent last night to see the all of the things that were, all the things he was driven by coming forth. What the fuck? And, I I don't know what he said to Adam, but I I hope it was a kind kind thing.
[00:23:50] Cole McCormick:
Okay. Did you hear Coppola say that? He voted for Trump. He voted for Trump. He voted for Trump. He voted for Trump. He Voted for Trump. He voted for Trump. Trump. He voted for Trump. That's hilarious, dude. I don't know who Coppola was talking to when he said that, but whatever. Voigt. Jon Voigt, dude. He's talking about the kids, man. He's talking about the future of society. And to have this film talk about those questions to and and and for this for for these older people, you know. Jon Voight, I believe is in his seventies. Coppola, I believe is 80. His wife just passed away.
And so there's this generation of filmmakers that are still making films, you know. You got you still got Spielberg. You still got Scorsese. You still got Coppola, man. Like, you have these people making movies, and they continue to ask questions about life. And you know, Coppola being the man himself, the master, in my opinion, to ask the question of where are we going, you know, that is the most important question. And what other art pieces are saying that? What other art pieces are asking that? I think that's an important thing to to look around for as a consumer of art or media.
Is the questions being asked, you know, important? Even if it's not, you know, it isn't always at the be important, you know, you maybe you just wanna put on some random movie on Netflix, you know, who cares? It's not that big of a deal. But, you know, when it comes to what's influencing you, you know, like movies influence people. Movies influence society, and, there's this narrative of movies ending, and movies being dead, and, you know, these, like, theaters are dying, and I'm unwilling to accept that narrative. And it's people like Coppola, and movies like Megalopolis that show me that there is still a way to ask big questions, and to take big swings, and to make big movies for the world, for society.
And I'm I'm so inspired by that, man. I'm so inspired by that. It's why I do a podcast, dude. It's why I'm a podcaster. Goddamn it. Now, they're talking about the children. Right? A more beautiful world for the children. What does Coppola have to say about all this? Let's move into his own words. Okay? What does the man himself have to say about the children and about, the future of society? This person who's about to ask, him the question, she has a question for him, specifically about America. And I thought this was really interesting. This clip is 3 minutes. Stick with me.
[00:26:46] Unknown:
Your film had so many ideas about sociology, politics, medicine, science fiction, the future, physics. Who do you think in our society today has those kind of ideas? Who could build a megalopolis like that you envisioned, that Adam Driver envisioned in the movie? Do you see hope I'm gonna ask specifically about the United States. I hope that's okay. But do you see anyone with those kind of ideas and vision, that you have in the movie? And that could be for anyone to answer. Thank you.
[00:27:26] Unknown:
Well, I'll just I'll I'll I'll I'll venture one little thought, which is, of course, when years ago, I said I wanna do a Roman epic but set in modern America, a lot of people said, well, why? And I would say, well, because America was founded on the ideas of the Roman Republic. We didn't want a king. Rome didn't want a king, so they invented a new form of government called the Republic with the senate and with Roman law and with all of the things which we embrace. We even built our cities to look like Rome. If you remember the great, building they tore down, it was based on the Caragala. It was Penn Station, which they destroyed, which is insane.
So so my feeling was that, that they that that to do a Roman epic set in modern America, but I had no idea that the politics of today would make that so relevant because what's happening in America, in our republic, in our democracy is exactly how Rome lost their republic 1000 of years ago. So it's it's it's a real, and you even see now in articles and in Saturday Night Live, the parallel between modern America and Rome. So we our politics has taken us to the point where we might lose our republic. And and so it's it's it's not people who have become politicians who are going to be the answer. I feel it's the artists of America because artists the role of the artist is to illuminate contemporary life, to shine light on it, to be the headlights.
And and so to make art that does not illuminate contemporary art is is is like making a hamburger that you eat but has no nutrition in it, which is also what's going on. So so my my my dream, my hope is that it's the artists of our country who are going to, in their work, shine light on what's going on and allow the people to see it because you can't act on it if you can't see it. And and and, I once asked Joseph Papp, how he chose projects, and he said to me something I've never forgotten. He said, I choose projects that illuminate contemporary life, and and that's that's what I think all artists should do.
[00:29:47] Cole McCormick:
You need to choose projects that shine light on contemporary life, that that that pick up contemporary life. That is important, dude. Like like, that's like that's some serious shit, you know? Like, it's not just a paycheck. It's not just a movie. It's not just a marvel movie. It's not just anything, you know. It's not just like something moody. It's shining light on on what picks up society, and I can say confidently, I am expressing myself through America Plus. Like, this is the purpose of America Plus, to pick up society through my own voice. Like, I'm I I I I'm just 1 guy in a kitchen with a microphone doing a podcast. But this is goddamn it. This is picking up society.
This is speaking to a better world. And I identify with the artists of America that he brings up. Like, I am that guy. I am him. Like, I'm right here, Coppola, dude. It's happening. I'm 27 years old, and I'm I'm doing my damn best to keep a positive mindset for the future. Like, I'm doing my best. I got a nephew myself, sir. I want my 5 year old nephew to live in a better world. I see this. I think about these things. And when I have my own kids one day, it's gonna be a good year. It's gonna a good year. It's gonna be a good time. It's gonna be a good life. Like, it's important.
It's important. And who else to bring in a new world? Who else to shine light on what on what should happen in society than the artists? You know? Podcasters are artists. Painters are artists. People who talk are artists. People who people who make movies are artists, dude. Like, there's so many artists. Everything you do is is artists. People who write are artists. And it it it is through your art that we shine light on what needs to have light. Okay? And sometimes, some people might be drawn to shining light on the on on what has been dark within society.
Other people's art might shine light on a new idea, on on a new way of doing things. Some people might shine their light on something that is just simply true. Something that is just simply beautiful about the society, and all these things are necessary. And it's up to you the consumer, along with myself as a consumer, to seek out these things that are picking up the world because we get hypnotized into being narcissist and nihilistic. That's a fact. Like, the way that normal media and social media run, they want you to be obsessed with yourself and your own analytics, and they also want you to to have a shit outlook on America specifically and the future in general.
Like these are true things and I'm telling you right now, I am against these things, and I get caught up in the analytics. I get caught up in myself. I get caught up in looking at what I post, like, 10 time 10 different times. Like, let me just read what I wrote again. Like, it's some bullshit that I do. But it's about just expressing myself. I need to be a channel for these positive these positive ideas, you know. And I'm not it's my practice to not get caught up in what I'm doing. Oh my God. Look at me. Look at me. You know, it's about just allowing myself to speak, and just being confident in what I am speaking of. Oops. And what I am speaking of and to.
So I'm with Coppola. I'd listen to Coppola as an elder. You know? Listening to Coppola as an elder, makes me feel like I'm on the right path as an artist. And hopefully, one day, I'm able to meet him and talk about these things, and maybe even he'll have an may maybe he'll listen to America Plus. Maybe maybe he sees this, maybe he hears this, and like, maybe him and I can vibe. You know? Like that's what I want. I want like, I want to vibe with other with other artists. I want to vibe with people who think similar as me, and I think he thinks similarly. That's just my my assumption, you know?
I got the final clip right here. This is the shortest clip, but just over a minute. This is him, so this is going from Instagram, actually. So there's some music. It's it gets a little emotional. But this is Coppola right after the movie, ends in the in the theater during the standing ovation, and this is what he has to say to the crowd during it about the future for the children.
[00:34:49] Unknown:
Thank you. Thank you all so much. It is so,
[00:34:53] Unknown:
it's impossible to find words to tell you how I feel. But I wanna say, you know, this is my granddaughter. This is my grandbaby,
[00:35:04] Unknown:
and this is my wonderful collaborator, my son Rory. And
[00:35:11] Unknown:
this this is my sister, Tavia. But they were not the only family because all of these wonderful actors and the folks work, they were all my family. And in fact, as as Caesar says, we're all one family. You're all my cousins because we are 1. We are the human family and it and and that is you see at the end, that's who we should pledge our allegiance to, our entire family, and to this beautiful home earth that we have. So that is my wish, that it's the children who are gonna inherit a beautiful world from us. So the most important word we have is the most beautiful word, I think in any language which is hope.
And that's what I dedicate this film to. Hope and the children make a world for the children.
[00:36:07] Unknown:
Thank you. For the children. For the children. Why? For the children. A better world for the children. Do you hear what I'm saying? My last dying breath, I will make a movie for a better world for the children. Like, Coppola, dude, like, you're making me cry, man. You're making me emotional.
[00:36:26] Cole McCormick:
Like, this older man, like, he's just doing it for the kids. What else are you supposed to do? What else? There's no other way. Why does Adam Curry innovate with podcasting so the children will have a way to to distribute online. Like, why does anyone do anything? It's always for the kids. Why does a mother work? Why does a father get up early? It's for the kids. And so, it's really just, like, inspiring. And I want Megalopolis to get a distributor, and I will be there opening night with my popcorn, with my drink, and I'm gonna enjoy the fuck out of it because I know that it was made for me.
I'm confident in that. I don't know that it was made for the world. It was made for me to think. I'm gonna think about it. I'm probably gonna see it again and again. I'm gonna see it multiple times, and I'm gonna try to see if Coppola was really trying to get to something, or I'm gonna see what comes to me. What comes to me after I see it? Because what if there's a movie what if there's a piece of media that inspires somebody with a new idea? You know, that's some real shit right there. You know, for for there to be an old Hollywood system that wants to push this movie down, and to degrade it, and belittle it, and its creator.
You know, we all know Hollywood's ran by the devil. You know? That just makes me think God is behind this. You know? That's just some rebellion shit. That's just some, like, let's fucking go, dude. Like, I'm on some I'm I'm ready to fight. You know? Like, my buying a movie ticket to this movie means that you are aligned with God. You are aligned with the light forces of the universe. Choose your side, son. I know my side. Do you? So that just makes me hyped up, dude. Yeah, man. Like, what do you think about that? Like, are you gonna see Megalopolis? Are you interested in this? Do you think this is important as I do? Do you think it's lame? Do you not think it's cool? Like, should this movie exist? Like, does anyone have the right to make this type of a movie right now?
I believe so. Of all the people who are gonna make a movie about the future of society, why not have a b, Coppola? Why not? What else do you have to lose when watching things, dude? Just just watch something, and watch something with a real idea. This seems like a movie with a real fucking idea behind it. And so let's just enjoy it. Let's support it, and let's see what the artist has to say. Come on, dude. That's value for value, man. That's value for value, dude. Come on now, man. And that America Plus is value for value. Like we're gonna go into the value for value section now folks. America Plus is a value for value show. That means that I put up this content of upfront for you, and you can reciprocate that value, through 3 main ways.
Time, talent, treasure. You listening to this, you watching Megalopolis, you watching my short films in a modern podcast app, that's that that's your time. Talent is if you have anything to contribute through with your voice, with resources, with links, you know, whatever you gotta share with me, that's your talent.
[00:40:01] Unknown:
And and treasure, there's 2 main ways, you can send me a boostagram through fountain, by the way. Go to value for value dot info for more info, then download the fountain dot f m app. It's the best way to support the show. You can send me a boostagram
[00:40:15] Cole McCormick:
with little bits of Bitcoin called Satoshis. You can do this in any modern podcast app. Go to podcastapps.com or just download Fountain and follow the show. Send me a boost You can choose any amount or number that you want. I'm gonna be reading the boostograms from this, from, from last week. Along with that, there's also another way. You can all if you wanna support me with dollars, with normal fiat money, I do have a PayPal, so you can send me money directly through PayPal, if you want. But I will be reading the Boostagrams. I saw Frillist streaming in last week. Thank you, Frillis.
Frillis is always streaming in. He's the guy. He's like the streamer. He's the streamer of that. But, we got 2 other boostagrams from our friend at Joel w. He was commenting on last week, number 1 22. It was the Mother's Day episode. And, I I mentioned okay. So last week, I mentioned that I might do a podcast with my mother, who's a therapist, about mental health and stuff like that. And and I would, like, talk about, like, my spiritual journey, or, like, I would bring in the spiritual side, as well. So the this is what's going down. He says okay. So Joel sends in 2,222 sets. He says, I think the mental cast is a good idea.
At least give it a shot and see how it goes, or see how it goes over. As far as your spiritual journey goes, I think you will really enjoy this. As well as anything else, I okay. He he says, I think you'll really enjoy this, as well as anything else this guy does. He is a true teacher, then he sends me a link. He says, for me, it's weed over alcohol okay. I'm sorry. Let's let's click this link, dude. This link says, Joel sent me a link to this, like, cosmic thing, like, we're talking about aliens here. Okay. Dude, I can't read this right now, Joel, but I will I'm I'm diving deep into it, dude. Diving deep into it, and then he says and then I was talking about weed last week, weed weed and alcohol. He says, for me, it's weed over alcohol, but admittedly, was a very heavy drinker, so didn't have quite the same level of control.
I had a vape all day, every day, and and a happy late Mother's Day to you, mofo. Thank you, Joel. Boosting is loving. Because, basically, you put Bitcoin with anything, and all of a sudden, that is more efficient. That's the first one from Joel. This next one is comes in from his normal 1,111 sats. He says, this is what smoking does to me. Was pulling the vape while listening, then must have been at just the right high because I'm now trying to dig a tree stump out that I suddenly got motivated to do. Wow. And now, as the French say, it is time for Le Boost.
Joel, that's that's hilarious, Joel. Yeah, dude. Okay. So quick thing I got an update on on weed for me. I recently so last week, I smoked a sativa, and it totally, like, blew my mind, like, it did not make me feel good at all. I then experimented with with a Pure Endica, and that was actually an incredibly different experience. Something that I have never really felt like before, and so now, I think when it comes to smoking any cannabis product, I think I'm looking for an indica now, Joel. So that's, I'm I'm evolving. I used to be pure sativa and hybrid. Now, I think I might be, like, pretty heavy indica now.
I don't wanna smoke every day, like I was, or like like I don't know I don't think that pattern's right for me right now, but indica, I think, is, like, I I I I just don't like drinking all that all that much. I'd rather smoke a joint. So I'm doing indica now, Joel. Doing Inika now. And thank you to Joel. I think that was everyone. Thank you to all those people who wanted to donate. Thank you to Furlus and Joel W. That's the America Plus community. If you wanna be a part of the America Plus community and chime in with with your thoughts, you can do so in a modern podcast app, or and you can do so you can DM me on Twitter, hang out with me on Twitter. I'm always on Twitter, at Cole McCormick 1. Do whatever you want, dude.
That is that's the vibe. What I wanna do now guys, we're gonna end it with a song. This song is, okay. So this song is really good. I was listening to, I've I've been really getting into this, this music podcast called The Sidestream, hosted by Cody Christopher. And, he had this dope ass song, dude. I played this band before, but not this song. This this band is called, 4 Arm Shiver, and, dude, this song just gets me hyped up, dude. The drums, the guitar, the whole thing, it's rock and roll. Like, it it's just a whole vibe, dude. So, if you didn't know this, for value for value, whenever I play a song, the artist is gonna get 60% of your satoshi donation.
So for the duration of this song, if you wanna donate, please do. If you want a boost, the artist is getting 60%. So send in a big boost, send in a baller boost, and support your favorite podcaster and your music, dude. This is 4 Arm Shiver Bums and Rapscallions. Enjoy. That's America Plus, bitch. Stay free.
