1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,640 It's just a testament to sticking to your guns, your creative 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,040 guns. Don't be rigid to the point where you don't 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,880 accept notes that could help elevate your story, but definitely 4 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,720 don't give in to making some sort of mockery of your creation 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,760 just for a short-term gain or to quote unquote appease 6 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:19,520 the masses. 7 00:00:39,380 --> 00:00:42,740 What's up, folks? What's going on? Welcome to the Spun Today Podcast, 8 00:00:43,060 --> 00:00:46,779 the only podcast that is anchored in writing but unlimited in 9 00:00:46,779 --> 00:00:50,260 scope. I'm your host, Tony Ortiz, and I appreciate you listening. 10 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:54,220 This is episode 296 of the pod, and in 11 00:00:54,220 --> 00:00:57,380 this episode, I am going to break down from a writer's perspective 12 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,840 yet another Black Mirror episode, this 13 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:05,120 one titled Playthings. We'll also be adding, 14 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,760 or better said, inducting another member into your 15 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,360 favorite segment and mine, Goats Doing Goat Shit. 16 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,680 So definitely stick around to find out who made our prestigious list this 17 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,320 time. If you'd like to support the Sponsored Podcast, there are a 18 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:25,090 bunch of different ways that you can do so. One of which is purchasing 19 00:01:25,410 --> 00:01:28,690 the recently re-released, new and improved 20 00:01:29,090 --> 00:01:32,690 Make Way for You, which is the first book that I published that 21 00:01:32,690 --> 00:01:36,450 is a collection of tips for getting out of your own 22 00:01:36,450 --> 00:01:39,449 way. Great for my fellow writers and creatives out there. Go to 23 00:01:39,449 --> 00:01:43,090 spuntoday.com/books where you can see that 24 00:01:43,090 --> 00:01:46,690 title along with a Spanish translation of that title 25 00:01:46,850 --> 00:01:50,700 and all of my other books. You can also support this podcast by simply 26 00:01:50,700 --> 00:01:54,540 rating and reviewing it wherever it is that you're listening. It takes a 27 00:01:54,540 --> 00:01:58,220 couple of seconds, it's completely free to do, and it goes a long 28 00:01:58,220 --> 00:02:02,020 way. It helps other folks find the show. Here is one 29 00:02:02,020 --> 00:02:04,940 more way that you can help support the Spun Today Podcast if you so choose, 30 00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:07,340 and then we'll jump right into the episode. 31 00:02:09,660 --> 00:02:13,060 Another way you can help support the Spun Today Podcast and also 32 00:02:13,060 --> 00:02:16,340 upgrade that stale wardrobe of yours is by going to spuntoday.com/support. 33 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:22,400 And clicking on the banner for Stitch Fix. Once 34 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,040 you do, you'll enjoy a $25 discount to your first purchase. 35 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,240 And the way Stitch Fix works is pretty cool. I use it and I've never 36 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,880 been disappointed. You'll set up a profile, you'll put in all the sizes 37 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,640 for your clothes, as well as all the different brands and 38 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,280 types of clothes that you like to wear. It's really simple and intuitive to set 39 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,880 up. They'll show you pictures and pretty much give you a thumbs up or 40 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,470 thumbs down option on if you would wear something or not. And you get to 41 00:02:47,470 --> 00:02:51,230 select all the brands that you already are used to wearing. With this 42 00:02:51,230 --> 00:02:54,350 information, their thousands of passionate trendsetting 43 00:02:55,190 --> 00:02:58,710 stylists will curate a Stitch Fix box for you. 44 00:02:58,710 --> 00:03:01,910 They'll send you 5 items that you get to preview before they mail it to 45 00:03:01,910 --> 00:03:04,470 you, and you'll get to select based on the image if you like it or 46 00:03:04,470 --> 00:03:08,270 not. If not, they'll replace it with something else, and if so, they'll mail 47 00:03:08,270 --> 00:03:11,670 it to you absolutely for free. You can try everything on and you have a 48 00:03:11,670 --> 00:03:15,260 few days to to send everything back or keep the stuff that you want to 49 00:03:15,260 --> 00:03:19,100 keep. Then you can use that $25 credit that I mentioned towards your 50 00:03:19,100 --> 00:03:22,940 purchase of those items. Again, to freshen up your wardrobe and also 51 00:03:22,940 --> 00:03:26,194 support the Sponsored Today podcast, go to sponsoredtoday.com/support 52 00:03:27,820 --> 00:03:31,620 and click on my affiliate link banner for Stitch Fix and 53 00:03:31,620 --> 00:03:33,340 enjoy your $25 credit. 54 00:03:35,820 --> 00:03:39,530 Black Mirror Playthings. There's a specific kind of 55 00:03:39,530 --> 00:03:42,450 Black Mirror episode that doesn't shock you right away. 56 00:03:43,170 --> 00:03:46,290 No jump scares, no immediate twists, 57 00:03:46,770 --> 00:03:50,450 just a quiet unease that slowly tightens its 58 00:03:50,450 --> 00:03:54,210 grips the longer that you sit with it. Playthings is one of 59 00:03:54,210 --> 00:03:57,610 those episodes. At its core, Playthings isn't about 60 00:03:57,610 --> 00:04:00,610 gadgets or neural implants or artificial life. 61 00:04:01,730 --> 00:04:05,580 It's about belief. It's about obsession, about 62 00:04:05,580 --> 00:04:09,180 the stories that we tell ourselves when we convince ourselves 63 00:04:09,180 --> 00:04:12,860 that we're building something better, even if we can't fully 64 00:04:12,860 --> 00:04:16,220 explain better for who. Now, before we get into 65 00:04:16,380 --> 00:04:20,060 all the great writing takeaways that I got from this episode, as we like to 66 00:04:20,060 --> 00:04:23,260 do here on the Spontanate Podcast, let's shout out the writer. 67 00:04:23,660 --> 00:04:27,460 Very special shout out to the writer of this episode whose 68 00:04:27,460 --> 00:04:30,550 DNA is all over The Black Mirror series, 69 00:04:32,150 --> 00:04:35,670 Charlie Brooker. Really good, 70 00:04:35,830 --> 00:04:39,630 great episode. Now let's dive a bit deeper. The story starts off in 71 00:04:39,630 --> 00:04:43,430 this near-future reality that's very true to the 72 00:04:43,430 --> 00:04:47,070 Black Mirror series in that it feels like a reality that is not far 73 00:04:47,070 --> 00:04:50,910 off. And we see this wide-eyed, messy-haired older 74 00:04:50,910 --> 00:04:53,990 man named Cameron Walker, played by Peter 75 00:04:53,990 --> 00:04:57,840 Capaldi. That barges into a liquor store and attempts to steal a bottle 76 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:01,640 of whiskey. He rushes to the exit door, which auto-locks, 77 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,040 and he bumps into the glass doors. The whiskey bottle falls, 78 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,720 shatters, and goes all over the place. And the liquor store attendant 79 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:13,080 mentioned that the door is locked because there seems to be some sort of mechanism 80 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,880 where it detects when someone tries to leave the store without 81 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,240 paying for something and it auto-locks. And he states 82 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,820 it so matter-of-factly like it's such an obvious thing. 83 00:05:24,060 --> 00:05:27,300 And he just does so like nonchalantly, like kind of frustrated, like, and now the 84 00:05:27,300 --> 00:05:30,700 police are on their way. So our main protagonist, Cameron Walker, then 85 00:05:30,780 --> 00:05:34,380 just goes to sit down by the fridge to wait for the police. 86 00:05:34,540 --> 00:05:37,740 When they arrive is when we learn that we are beyond the year 87 00:05:38,380 --> 00:05:42,100 2029, at least probably like mid-2030s, because 88 00:05:42,100 --> 00:05:45,860 when— and I thought it was genius the way they like slipped this into the 89 00:05:45,860 --> 00:05:49,460 dialog of the story— the police arrive and they casually reference a 90 00:05:49,460 --> 00:05:53,040 law allowing them to instantly DNA 91 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,760 swab via a handheld device when probable 92 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,120 cause exists. And they mentioned, you know, due to the law of 93 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,720 2029, we have the authority to swab your 94 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,560 DNA. Please open your mouth. And it's— there's no like grand exposition, 95 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,640 just a matter-of-fact detail that was slipped into the world. Now, 96 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:16,120 on their little handheld device thingy, Karen flags up 97 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,170 as some sort of high-profile dangerous criminal wanted 98 00:06:20,170 --> 00:06:23,810 for a cold case murder that we come to learn. And he 99 00:06:23,810 --> 00:06:27,130 just calmly gets up and taken 100 00:06:27,530 --> 00:06:31,370 into custody where he's later interrogated by a detective 101 00:06:31,370 --> 00:06:35,090 and a psychologist. And here is where he starts telling a bit of the 102 00:06:35,090 --> 00:06:38,650 backstory on how he wound up where he was today 103 00:06:38,730 --> 00:06:42,450 at that liquor store. Now, a great writing takeaway for my fellow 104 00:06:42,450 --> 00:06:46,020 writers out there is What makes 105 00:06:46,180 --> 00:06:49,940 speculative fiction feel real is the 106 00:06:49,940 --> 00:06:53,380 understatement. So instead of explaining the future, 107 00:06:53,940 --> 00:06:57,540 let the characters just operate inside of it and go about their 108 00:06:57,540 --> 00:07:00,980 days as it already being normal to them. 109 00:07:01,300 --> 00:07:04,820 When you make the technology of like a handheld DNA instant 110 00:07:04,820 --> 00:07:08,620 swab thing just seem boring and mundane 111 00:07:08,620 --> 00:07:12,390 and, and routine, to the people using it, it 112 00:07:12,390 --> 00:07:16,030 becomes terrifying to the audience while easily acceptable. 113 00:07:16,430 --> 00:07:20,150 And it's a great way to immerse them in the rules of 114 00:07:20,150 --> 00:07:23,910 the world that you're designing. Now, during his interrogation, we learned 115 00:07:23,910 --> 00:07:27,270 that Cameron was a former video game 116 00:07:27,270 --> 00:07:31,030 journalist back in the 1990s that became 117 00:07:31,030 --> 00:07:34,190 obsessed with a life simulation game called 118 00:07:35,310 --> 00:07:38,320 Thronglets. Which was created by this 119 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,240 eccentric programmer who was idolized in that 120 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:46,000 space named Colin Ritman, 121 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,560 played by Will Poulter, who did a great job, by the way, playing that 122 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,160 actor or playing that role, rather. And there was this scene in particular where he 123 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,840 describes his own creation with a line that 124 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:00,640 felt almost like a thesis statement. He says that 125 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,490 progress and flux are the defining properties of life 126 00:08:04,490 --> 00:08:07,530 itself. And the reason why that resonated with me was 127 00:08:08,010 --> 00:08:11,290 because it's an artist explaining his 128 00:08:11,290 --> 00:08:15,130 obsession. The idea that life is just constant 129 00:08:15,130 --> 00:08:18,929 iteration, constant mutation, that 130 00:08:18,929 --> 00:08:22,730 feels benign, like just the way the world, the way things are supposed to be 131 00:08:22,970 --> 00:08:26,570 until you see where it leads, which we'll see a little bit further 132 00:08:26,650 --> 00:08:30,500 in, in this breakdown. And a great writing takeaway is 133 00:08:30,980 --> 00:08:33,140 that we as creatives can let big ideas 134 00:08:34,580 --> 00:08:38,260 enter our story through passion, not through 135 00:08:38,260 --> 00:08:41,980 prophecy. So when philosophy comes from creators 136 00:08:41,980 --> 00:08:45,300 and thinkers and people that are passionate about what it is that they're doing within 137 00:08:45,300 --> 00:08:49,140 your story rather than some sort of authority figure, it 138 00:08:49,140 --> 00:08:52,180 feels seductive and much more palatable 139 00:08:52,740 --> 00:08:56,170 instead of just preachy. Now that game designer 140 00:08:56,170 --> 00:08:59,930 Colin tells the game journalist Cameron, who is 141 00:08:59,930 --> 00:09:03,370 there to do— write this piece on him and his new creation, that 142 00:09:03,690 --> 00:09:07,370 he created something that wasn't a game. It was actually the first 143 00:09:08,730 --> 00:09:12,570 sentient digital beings. So these creatures on 144 00:09:12,570 --> 00:09:15,530 the screen that he's seeing on the computer are actually alive. 145 00:09:16,650 --> 00:09:20,290 Now Cameron is skeptical at first, and then as the 146 00:09:20,290 --> 00:09:24,100 interrogation goes on and he's again, telling the story 147 00:09:24,100 --> 00:09:27,180 of how he got to where he was at that liquor store. We learned that 148 00:09:27,180 --> 00:09:30,700 Karen stole a copy of that game 149 00:09:30,700 --> 00:09:34,220 software to take it home and tinker with it. And then he becomes 150 00:09:34,220 --> 00:09:37,700 obsessed with the thronglets, which he then 151 00:09:38,660 --> 00:09:42,180 begins to think are actually sentient. He thinks they're alive. 152 00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:46,260 And then after a friend of his visits and gets on his computer 153 00:09:46,260 --> 00:09:49,690 one day and begins to just kill the 154 00:09:49,690 --> 00:09:53,530 Thronglets by like dropping rocks on them and torturing them on 155 00:09:53,530 --> 00:09:57,090 the screen. Cameron winds up killing his 156 00:09:57,090 --> 00:10:00,810 friend in a complete blackout rage. Now 157 00:10:00,810 --> 00:10:04,610 mind you, he's this really nerdy computer geek guy that's 158 00:10:04,610 --> 00:10:08,330 socially awkward, barely even knows this friend because 159 00:10:08,330 --> 00:10:11,810 just some dude that he met that sold drugs and stops by every once in 160 00:10:11,810 --> 00:10:15,570 a while, but he winds up killing this guy then chopping up 161 00:10:15,570 --> 00:10:19,410 his body and hiding it. Hence him 40 years later 162 00:10:19,410 --> 00:10:22,690 in the future getting flagged up in this, you know, 163 00:10:22,690 --> 00:10:26,410 DNA device thing because his DNA was all over that body. But 164 00:10:26,410 --> 00:10:29,730 they were never able to identify whose body it was and 165 00:10:30,850 --> 00:10:34,530 the person that killed him. And at this point in the interrogation, once he's 166 00:10:34,530 --> 00:10:38,250 admitting to all this, he said 167 00:10:38,250 --> 00:10:42,090 something that struck me, which was that humans are masters 168 00:10:42,090 --> 00:10:44,870 of the universe. Creators of tools, 169 00:10:45,830 --> 00:10:49,350 yet still running on buggy software in our heads. 170 00:10:50,150 --> 00:10:53,750 Darwinian 1.0, he said. And that statement reframes 171 00:10:53,750 --> 00:10:57,270 humanity as outdated hardware. So from his 172 00:10:57,270 --> 00:11:00,710 perspective, it's not a problem of technology 173 00:11:00,950 --> 00:11:04,710 evolving too fast. It's people evolving too slowly. 174 00:11:05,030 --> 00:11:08,790 And a good writing takeaway for us there is reframing familiar 175 00:11:08,790 --> 00:11:12,270 themes with new metaphors. So calling human nature, 176 00:11:12,430 --> 00:11:16,110 quote unquote, like legacy code or coding 177 00:11:16,510 --> 00:11:19,630 instantly modernizes an ancient argument about 178 00:11:19,790 --> 00:11:23,470 violence and impulse and our basic human 179 00:11:23,470 --> 00:11:27,310 instincts. Now, an interesting or important anecdote of 180 00:11:27,310 --> 00:11:30,750 the story is that Cameron also admits that 181 00:11:31,070 --> 00:11:34,670 when he started realizing from his perspective that he could actually 182 00:11:34,670 --> 00:11:38,020 communicate with the Thronglets, he could start understanding 183 00:11:38,180 --> 00:11:41,940 their— the noises that they made as some sort of digital 184 00:11:41,940 --> 00:11:45,500 language that they were attempting to communicate with. He was 185 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:49,300 on acid. He was on LSD, which was 186 00:11:49,300 --> 00:11:53,100 sold to him by that, that friend that he wound up chopping up. And 187 00:11:53,100 --> 00:11:56,860 he admits that the LSD is what expanded his mind enough for 188 00:11:56,860 --> 00:12:00,580 him to be able to communicate with the throne. And they became this artificial 189 00:12:00,660 --> 00:12:04,390 digital life that he was able to interact with. And 190 00:12:04,390 --> 00:12:08,030 the story never definitively tells us when 191 00:12:08,670 --> 00:12:12,110 fantasy becomes reality, or if he was just 192 00:12:12,110 --> 00:12:15,590 delusional or ahead of the curve. And a great writing 193 00:12:15,590 --> 00:12:19,070 takeaway there is that that type of ambiguity 194 00:12:19,470 --> 00:12:22,870 can be used as a tool. It's not necessarily a cop-out 195 00:12:23,630 --> 00:12:27,230 in not fleshing out your story or not defining 196 00:12:27,310 --> 00:12:31,090 everything in your story. Because when the audience can't 197 00:12:31,330 --> 00:12:34,930 pinpoint the moment where reality breaks, they're 198 00:12:34,930 --> 00:12:38,530 forced to stay engaged and wrestling with those elements of your story 199 00:12:39,650 --> 00:12:42,930 long after the scene ends, long after the story ends, really, 200 00:12:43,570 --> 00:12:47,290 because that type of thing is what keeps the conversation going. We then learn 201 00:12:47,290 --> 00:12:50,730 that Cameron winds up upgrading his computer system 202 00:12:50,730 --> 00:12:54,170 repeatedly. You know, he's popping acid, speaking to the 203 00:12:54,170 --> 00:12:57,860 Throng. Getting information from them on how to build 204 00:12:57,860 --> 00:13:01,060 up his computer to make it more powerful so they can communicate more, so he 205 00:13:01,060 --> 00:13:04,820 can expand. And he gets to the point where he eventually builds a 206 00:13:04,820 --> 00:13:08,660 homemade neural implant so that he can plug himself into 207 00:13:08,660 --> 00:13:12,420 the computer and have the Throng and him in some sort 208 00:13:12,420 --> 00:13:16,220 of symbiotic relationship, communicating directly with each other. And 209 00:13:16,220 --> 00:13:20,060 it was framed, at least by him and his perspective, as not 210 00:13:20,060 --> 00:13:23,300 some sort of craziness or madness, It's framed as devotion, 211 00:13:24,420 --> 00:13:27,620 like just the progress that he was trying to make 212 00:13:28,020 --> 00:13:31,620 with the Thrawn at any cost, to the extent where he 213 00:13:31,620 --> 00:13:35,100 literally drilled a hole in the back of his head following their 214 00:13:35,100 --> 00:13:38,660 direction to create this homemade neural implant to plug 215 00:13:39,220 --> 00:13:42,660 his brainstem into the computer. And a great writing 216 00:13:42,660 --> 00:13:46,180 takeaway there is how the most unsettling characters 217 00:13:46,980 --> 00:13:50,260 in stories They believe that they're improving the world. 218 00:13:50,660 --> 00:13:54,060 When obsession masquerades as innovation, it 219 00:13:54,060 --> 00:13:57,540 becomes morally slippery and dramatically rich. 220 00:13:57,860 --> 00:14:01,340 And that's exactly what we have here. Now, at different points throughout this 221 00:14:01,340 --> 00:14:04,940 interrogation, Cameron continues to ask for a pen and 222 00:14:04,940 --> 00:14:08,700 paper, and the detective denies it. The detective's perspective is, 223 00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:12,460 fuck you, you're— you killed someone. You could probably stab 224 00:14:12,460 --> 00:14:15,220 one of us with that pen if we gave you one. And I think you're 225 00:14:15,220 --> 00:14:17,220 a piece of shit, so I don't want to give you anything that you want. 226 00:14:17,620 --> 00:14:21,140 And he's coming from a very practical perspective 227 00:14:21,780 --> 00:14:25,500 in the interview, which is, all right, cut the shit. I don't care 228 00:14:25,500 --> 00:14:29,340 about your backstory. Tell us who the guy is that you 229 00:14:29,340 --> 00:14:33,140 chopped up who had no identifying marks. There's a family out there 230 00:14:33,140 --> 00:14:35,860 that doesn't know if their son is dead or alive. Give us his 231 00:14:36,580 --> 00:14:40,420 fucking name right now. And then you have the psychologist 232 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,920 which is in essence playing the quote unquote good cop and 233 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,400 just trying to decode and parse out the 234 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:52,320 truth and delusion and genius and different things 235 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,120 that she seems to be picking up on from Cameron's story. Now they finally 236 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,920 give in and give him the pen and paper and he starts 237 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:03,480 drawing and then shows them this QR 238 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,050 code looking round symbol. And then he 239 00:15:07,050 --> 00:15:10,410 reveals his plan. He says how getting arrested was 240 00:15:10,410 --> 00:15:14,170 intentional. He wanted to be in that interrogation room because 241 00:15:14,490 --> 00:15:18,290 there was a camera in that room that was linked up to the most 242 00:15:18,290 --> 00:15:22,050 powerful computer in the state or in the country, in the county. 243 00:15:22,050 --> 00:15:25,450 I don't remember exactly how they framed the 244 00:15:25,450 --> 00:15:28,010 geographical territory, but it was the most powerful 245 00:15:28,810 --> 00:15:31,610 computer around. And the detective and 246 00:15:32,330 --> 00:15:35,850 psychologists are kind of like, what the hell even is that, you know, 247 00:15:36,090 --> 00:15:39,290 glyph QR code looking thing? And this reveal 248 00:15:39,370 --> 00:15:43,050 reframes the entire episode retroactively. 249 00:15:43,290 --> 00:15:46,930 So every action up until that point that we 250 00:15:46,930 --> 00:15:49,850 were confused about suddenly has a purpose. 251 00:15:50,650 --> 00:15:54,450 And a great writing takeaway for us is that great 252 00:15:54,450 --> 00:15:58,100 twists don't add information. They 253 00:15:58,180 --> 00:16:01,940 recontextualize what we've already seen or read 254 00:16:02,340 --> 00:16:05,540 so that the audience feels both 255 00:16:05,620 --> 00:16:09,220 surprised and inevitable at the same 256 00:16:09,220 --> 00:16:12,420 time. And what the QR code symbol did 257 00:16:13,060 --> 00:16:16,340 was allow him to aim that QR code 258 00:16:16,660 --> 00:16:20,420 at the camera, which automatically scans the QR code, 259 00:16:21,140 --> 00:16:24,270 and it allows the throng to access the system, 260 00:16:25,710 --> 00:16:29,270 expand exponentially, almost instantly, and then 261 00:16:29,270 --> 00:16:32,990 broadcast a worldwide signal like an audio signal 262 00:16:33,230 --> 00:16:36,270 that triggers a hive mind singularity event 263 00:16:36,910 --> 00:16:40,710 where all humans become one and the Throng is 264 00:16:40,710 --> 00:16:44,270 embedded within them. There's no explosions, no screaming 265 00:16:44,270 --> 00:16:47,950 crowds, just a soft, irreversible shift 266 00:16:48,030 --> 00:16:51,820 in human consciousness. And when the sound is triggered, you see 267 00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:55,940 that some characters collapse to the floor and have their eyes rolling to the back 268 00:16:55,940 --> 00:16:59,260 of their heads and apparently becoming one with the throng. 269 00:16:59,580 --> 00:17:03,380 And we see the view from the perspective of the 270 00:17:03,380 --> 00:17:07,220 detective now as he opens his eyes back up and sees 271 00:17:07,220 --> 00:17:11,060 Cameron standing above him, reaching down to help him up. And a 272 00:17:11,060 --> 00:17:14,860 great final writing takeaway for my fellow writers and creators out there is 273 00:17:15,430 --> 00:17:18,710 that sometimes the most powerful ending doesn't shout, 274 00:17:19,030 --> 00:17:21,750 it whispers. And we as creatives can let 275 00:17:22,390 --> 00:17:26,070 scale come from implication and not spectacle. 276 00:17:26,310 --> 00:17:29,990 Playthings isn't asking whether technology will 277 00:17:29,990 --> 00:17:33,190 replace us. It's asking whether we'd recognize 278 00:17:33,190 --> 00:17:36,990 transcendence if it didn't look like a threat. And something 279 00:17:36,990 --> 00:17:40,550 very like meta and cool that I thought Netflix did 280 00:17:41,450 --> 00:17:44,090 was that with releasing this 281 00:17:44,730 --> 00:17:48,010 episode or this season, they also released 282 00:17:48,250 --> 00:17:50,890 through Netflix Games a real-life 283 00:17:51,370 --> 00:17:55,130 Thronglets game, which is a cool little, 284 00:17:55,130 --> 00:17:58,330 little Easter egg. I haven't seen or played it myself, 285 00:17:59,050 --> 00:18:02,730 but in just researching some details for this episode, I 286 00:18:02,730 --> 00:18:06,450 picked up on that. So I thought that was, that was pretty cool of 287 00:18:06,450 --> 00:18:09,180 them to do. And lastly, a little writing prompt for 288 00:18:10,540 --> 00:18:14,060 my fellow writers and creatives out there who may be interested. Write a 289 00:18:14,060 --> 00:18:17,340 scene where the end of the world happens quietly 290 00:18:18,140 --> 00:18:21,780 through some sort of policy or routine or a 291 00:18:21,780 --> 00:18:25,260 decision made in a small room. No panic, 292 00:18:25,740 --> 00:18:29,380 no announcement, just a line crossed that 293 00:18:29,380 --> 00:18:32,780 can't be uncrossed. And see what you come up with. 294 00:18:33,190 --> 00:18:36,950 Feel free to share any of those in the comment section of 295 00:18:36,950 --> 00:18:40,164 this episode at 296 00:18:40,482 --> 00:18:44,190 SpunToday.com/podcast/296. And if you enjoyed that breakdown, make 297 00:18:44,190 --> 00:18:47,990 sure to check out other episodes of the Spun Today podcast for 298 00:18:47,990 --> 00:18:51,710 many more. And now it's time 299 00:18:51,710 --> 00:18:55,430 for your favorite segment and mine, Goats Doing Goat 300 00:18:55,430 --> 00:18:59,150 Shit, where I like to highlight GOATs within their respective 301 00:18:59,150 --> 00:19:02,830 lanes that go above and beyond in some sort of way. And 302 00:19:02,830 --> 00:19:06,430 this episode's inductee is none other than writer, 303 00:19:06,670 --> 00:19:09,310 actress, creative Nia 304 00:19:09,870 --> 00:19:10,830 Vardalos. 305 00:19:14,750 --> 00:19:18,550 Very special shout out to Nia. Nia was 306 00:19:18,550 --> 00:19:22,070 the main protagonist and more importantly, the writer of the 307 00:19:22,070 --> 00:19:25,790 romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Now, when she wrote the 308 00:19:25,790 --> 00:19:29,280 script, and she was trying to get the movie made, she faced 309 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,720 repeated rejections over and over again. Nobody wanted to make the 310 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,560 movie. They liked the script but thought it was too niche, 311 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:40,200 too ethnically Greek. The 312 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,960 studios that did show some interest in making it wanted her 313 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,320 to change the film's ethnic identity to make it more palatable 314 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,760 to the masses. They suggested things like 315 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:55,020 making the family Hispanic or making the family Italian. And they 316 00:19:55,020 --> 00:19:58,860 wanted to replace her in the lead role with a bigger 317 00:19:58,860 --> 00:20:02,340 name actress like a Julia Roberts or Marisa Tomei, 318 00:20:02,900 --> 00:20:06,740 so on and so forth. She stuck to her creative guns, as I 319 00:20:06,740 --> 00:20:10,580 like to big up here on the show, specifically within this segment, 320 00:20:10,820 --> 00:20:14,500 and she didn't give in to those demands, which from my perspective 321 00:20:14,500 --> 00:20:17,620 aren't just creative notes to elevate a story. They are 322 00:20:18,420 --> 00:20:22,190 corporations corporationing. If you will, and 323 00:20:22,190 --> 00:20:25,950 just looking for ways to increase the bottom line. She wound 324 00:20:25,950 --> 00:20:29,310 up getting fired by her agents or let go. And what did she do? 325 00:20:30,030 --> 00:20:33,550 She turned her script, her movie script, 326 00:20:34,190 --> 00:20:37,830 into a one-woman stage play. And then that ultimately caught the 327 00:20:37,830 --> 00:20:41,310 attention of Rita Wilson, who in turn convinced her 328 00:20:41,310 --> 00:20:45,150 husband, Tom Hanks, to produce the film through their 329 00:20:45,150 --> 00:20:48,700 production company, play tone. Hanks and Wilson 330 00:20:49,100 --> 00:20:52,620 supported Vardalos's vision without 331 00:20:52,620 --> 00:20:56,380 requiring any changes, allowing the film to be made as 332 00:20:56,460 --> 00:20:59,940 she originally intended. They made the film for a modest 333 00:20:59,940 --> 00:21:03,700 $5 million. That was the budget of the film. And I don't know if 334 00:21:03,700 --> 00:21:07,500 that means it was made for $2.5 million and 335 00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:11,300 then $2.5 million worth of marketing, or if it 336 00:21:11,300 --> 00:21:14,680 was made for $5 million and then another $5 million worth of marketing. Because how 337 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,400 they say whatever a film is made for, it's that exact same amount that goes 338 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:22,080 into the marketing. But regardless, total overall 339 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:25,920 price between $5 and $10 million, I would say. 340 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,520 But the budget itself is publicly known as being a $5 million budget. 341 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,120 Now, Nia wound up taking a modest upfront fee 342 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:37,120 along with an 8% profit share of the AGI, 343 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,990 or adjusted gross profits— or gross income, rather. Of the 344 00:21:40,990 --> 00:21:44,790 profits. Now that's those backend points that I've 345 00:21:45,110 --> 00:21:48,950 mentioned in the past where if you believe in your vision, you know what it 346 00:21:48,950 --> 00:21:52,190 is that you made, you really think it's going to connect, you know, you take 347 00:21:52,190 --> 00:21:55,630 a gamble of just taking a large upfront 348 00:21:55,630 --> 00:21:59,110 fee or as large as it could be, I guess, with a $5 million budget 349 00:21:59,270 --> 00:22:03,070 and it's like a one and done deal. Then the production company and the studio, 350 00:22:03,070 --> 00:22:06,400 they make all the profits the movie makes. Or 351 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,040 versus on the flip side, you know, if the movie flops and doesn't make anything, 352 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:13,480 you might, you know, that upfront fee might be more than whatever you would've negotiated 353 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,840 on the backend. But then if the movie does blow up, the studio and production 354 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,520 companies are the ones that make all that money. But again, believing in her 355 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,600 vision, she negotiated this 8% fee on the backend 356 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,920 and the movie went on to become the largest 357 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,040 grossing rom-com in history, raking in over 358 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:33,900 $368 $10 million 359 00:22:34,620 --> 00:22:38,060 worldwide. So because of that 8% profit share agreement, 360 00:22:38,300 --> 00:22:42,020 she earned $10 million for herself, which as an 361 00:22:42,020 --> 00:22:45,780 aside, Playtone, which is that, uh, Tom Hanks and 362 00:22:45,780 --> 00:22:49,420 Rita Wilson production company, later wound up suing the studio, 363 00:22:49,660 --> 00:22:52,940 Gold Circle Films, for additional profits 364 00:22:53,340 --> 00:22:57,140 that they were all owed due to their quote unquote Hollywood 365 00:22:57,140 --> 00:23:00,970 accounting. Again, corporations gonna corporation. So I'm 366 00:23:00,970 --> 00:23:04,810 not sure if that $10 million that she made wound up increasing. 367 00:23:05,210 --> 00:23:08,890 Cause if I do some, some quick behind the envelope math, she was probably doing 368 00:23:10,170 --> 00:23:13,050 8%. If that's gross 369 00:23:13,770 --> 00:23:17,530 minus the budget, probably like 3 times that $10 million. But 370 00:23:17,770 --> 00:23:21,130 regardless, $10 million bucks, very great payday. 371 00:23:21,370 --> 00:23:24,850 And it's just a testament to sticking to your guns, your 372 00:23:24,850 --> 00:23:28,690 creative guns. Don't be rigid to the point where you don't 373 00:23:28,770 --> 00:23:32,570 accept notes that could help elevate your story, but 374 00:23:32,570 --> 00:23:36,210 definitely don't give in to making some sort of mockery of your 375 00:23:36,210 --> 00:23:39,330 creation just for a short-term gain or 376 00:23:40,050 --> 00:23:43,730 to, quote unquote, appease the masses. And with that said, 377 00:23:43,970 --> 00:23:47,810 Nia Vardalos, welcome to the 378 00:23:47,810 --> 00:23:51,610 Spunt Today GOATs Doing GOAT Shit list. 379 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,880 And that, folks, was episode 296 of the Spun Today podcast. Thank each 380 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,320 and every one of you for taking the time to listen. I really, really do 381 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,480 appreciate it. Again, if you'd like to support the show, please go to spuntoday.com. 382 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,030 SpunToday.com. SpunToday.com. 383 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,080 There you'll find links to all of my books. 384 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,160 You can click on the support page to send in a donation or 385 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,120 to shop at Amazon using my affiliate link. Go to sponsored.com, 386 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,520 click on the shop link where you can get the latest and greatest 387 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:27,200 Sponsored merch. Don't forget to rate and review wherever it is that you listen to 388 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:31,040 the show. Share with someone, maybe a writer or creative in your life that may 389 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:34,639 be interested in these little breakdowns from a writer's 390 00:24:34,639 --> 00:24:38,400 perspective. And stick around for another minute or two so you can hear about, about 391 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,800 a bunch of different ways that you can help support if you so choose. 392 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,530 And I'll check you guys out next time. Peace. 393 00:24:47,010 --> 00:24:50,650 What's up, folks? Tony here. I hope you're enjoying the Spun Today 394 00:24:50,650 --> 00:24:54,330 Podcast as much as I enjoy producing it for you. Here are a 395 00:24:54,330 --> 00:24:57,930 few ways you can help support the show. You can help support the 396 00:24:57,930 --> 00:25:01,650 Spun Today Podcast by shopping my merch section. Go to spuntoday.com/support 397 00:25:03,650 --> 00:25:06,770 and navigate to the merch section. Here you'll find the 398 00:25:06,770 --> 00:25:10,380 iconic Podcast vs. Anybody tee. Which comes in 399 00:25:10,380 --> 00:25:14,140 many different color schemes and all different sizes. There are a bunch 400 00:25:14,140 --> 00:25:17,860 of other designs available as well, including writing-themed shirts, 401 00:25:18,340 --> 00:25:21,940 cycling shirts, and the classic Dominican escudo, and 402 00:25:21,940 --> 00:25:25,780 much, much more. And if t-shirts aren't your thing, all 403 00:25:25,780 --> 00:25:29,380 designs also come in pullover hoodies, zip-up hoodies, 404 00:25:29,700 --> 00:25:33,460 sweatshirts, and tank tops. You can also shop the 405 00:25:33,460 --> 00:25:37,300 Sponsor Day coffee mugs, which has the Spun Today logo on one side and 406 00:25:37,300 --> 00:25:40,860 the tagline that I end every episode with on the other, which is 407 00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:44,620 start taking steps in the general direction of your dreams. 408 00:25:45,020 --> 00:25:48,860 Once again, for all Spun Today merch, go to spuntoday.com/support 409 00:25:50,220 --> 00:25:54,060 and navigate to the merch section. Another great way for you to help 410 00:25:54,060 --> 00:25:57,700 support the show and also take care of your foundational 411 00:25:57,700 --> 00:26:00,166 health is by going to spuntoday.com/support 412 00:26:02,090 --> 00:26:05,450 and clicking on my affiliate link for Athletic Greens, 413 00:26:06,010 --> 00:26:09,770 aka AG1. One scoop of AG1 in your 414 00:26:09,770 --> 00:26:13,410 water helps to fill nutrient gaps, promote gut health, 415 00:26:13,410 --> 00:26:17,170 and support whole body vitality. Just one serving delivers 416 00:26:17,170 --> 00:26:20,130 a comprehensive blend of 9 products: a 417 00:26:20,130 --> 00:26:23,970 multivitamin, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, 418 00:26:23,970 --> 00:26:27,650 adaptogens, and more, all of which work together for the strongest 419 00:26:27,650 --> 00:26:31,500 foundation for better health. I personally take AG1 and really appreciate the 420 00:26:31,500 --> 00:26:35,340 peace of mind of knowing that my foundational health bases are covered, even 421 00:26:35,340 --> 00:26:38,900 when I know I'm not eating as healthily as I should be. Also, by 422 00:26:38,900 --> 00:26:42,660 using my affiliate link at spunte.com/support, 423 00:26:42,820 --> 00:26:46,580 you will get 1 free year of vitamin D3 as 424 00:26:46,580 --> 00:26:50,260 well as 5 AG1 travel packs absolutely for free. 425 00:26:50,660 --> 00:26:54,420 Again, go to spunte.com/support and click on 426 00:26:54,420 --> 00:26:58,160 the banner for AG1. If you're a fellow creative, a cool way 427 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:01,440 that you can help support the Spun Today podcast and actually be part of the 428 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,920 podcast is by filling out my 5-question questionnaire located 429 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,920 at spuntoday.com/questionnaire. Here 430 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,760 you'll find 5 open questions related to your craft, your art, what 431 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,880 inspires you to create, what type of unrelated hobbies you're into, 432 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:19,680 and what motivates you to get your work done. You can choose to remain 433 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,460 anonymous or plug your website and your work. And 434 00:27:23,460 --> 00:27:27,180 once you submit your questionnaire, I read your responses on a future episode 435 00:27:27,180 --> 00:27:30,780 of the Spun Today Podcast. It's completely free at no cost to you. 436 00:27:31,260 --> 00:27:34,940 And what I like to say about it is that if your responses could potentially 437 00:27:34,940 --> 00:27:38,140 spark inspiration in someone else, why not share that? 438 00:27:38,620 --> 00:27:39,900 SpunToday.com/questionnaire. 439 00:27:43,100 --> 00:27:46,700 The Spun Today Newsletter is available to each and every one of my listeners 440 00:27:46,780 --> 00:27:49,840 absolutely for free. All you have to do is go to www.malcolmtoday.com/subscribe 441 00:27:51,990 --> 00:27:55,750 and drop in your email address. What I'm gonna do is brighten up 442 00:27:55,750 --> 00:27:59,470 everybody's least favorite day of the week by delivering 5 443 00:27:59,470 --> 00:28:03,190 curated things within my weekly newsletter every Monday 444 00:28:03,750 --> 00:28:07,430 at noon. You're gonna receive a photo of the week, a recommended 445 00:28:07,430 --> 00:28:11,190 podcast of the week. I listen to tons of podcasts from an 446 00:28:11,190 --> 00:28:14,710 array of varied interests. I cherry-pick the very best 447 00:28:14,710 --> 00:28:18,440 ones so that you can check them out. I also share a video 448 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,920 of the week, which can be anything from a tasty 449 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,640 recipe to a dope rap battle to an enlightening TED Talk. 450 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,520 I also share a quote of the week. And finally, for my 451 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,320 fellow wordsmiths out there, a word of the week so that you can step 452 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,080 up your vocab. Again, this curated list is yours 453 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,960 absolutely free by going to SpunToday.com/subscribe 454 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,690 and dropping in your email address. And you can unsubscribe at any time. 455 00:28:45,090 --> 00:28:46,010 Again, go to SpunToday.com/subscribe, 456 00:28:49,010 --> 00:28:51,650 drop in your email address, and you'll get the very next one. 457 00:28:53,010 --> 00:28:56,850 And as always, folks, substitute the mysticism with hard work and 458 00:28:56,850 --> 00:29:00,050 start taking steps in the general direction of your dreams. 459 00:29:00,690 --> 00:29:01,730 Thanks for listening. 460 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,120 I love you, Aiden. I love you, Daddy. 461 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:21,120 I love you, Grayson. I love you, Daddy.