Eli

Day One FM coming to you from a nice little cubicle in sunny Los Angeles, California. Clara, Trey, what's happening in the studio? I feel missed.

Trey

We were like, do we have Eli's hologram in the studio with us?

Clara

If only.

Trey

Just the presence. I'm a little on edge without Eli here physically.

Eli

Guys, it's okay. Although I am enjoying life here in L.A., I mean, thankfully we're not doing video but I'm unbelievably sunburnt. I'm just gonna walk you down some of the things that I've experienced: I'm sunburnt, I've gotten the grimace shake, I've gotten the Haley Bieber skin glow.

Trey

Oh, you're not using Rhode, her skincare line?

Eli

No, I'm not using Rhode.

Trey

And you survived?

Eli

If you think I didn't use sunscreen, you think I would use Rhode? I did use sunscreen by the way.

Trey

Wait what's your sunscreen rec? Anyone have any sunscreen recs?

Eli

E.l.f. Suntouchable.

Trey

Okay. Wow. Really, nice.

Eli

Whatever is easiest.

Clara

Well, I know. Well, we were just talking about this though. But like how important chapsticks or chapsticks sunscreen is.

Trey

You're right! Yeah, something about like doing your whole face and neck, but just forgetting your lips and they get that like weird. Ronald McDonald. Like, burnt edge to them.

Eli

That is exactly what I'm experiencing. But before we fully dive in speaking of sunburn, I do want to just go into a quick little story about the beach, because Fourth of July weekend went to the beach. It was beautiful. The sunscreen application as we just covered was not that great. There was no coverage actually. But I feel like in the world of marketing, at least there's this common misconception. Maybe not a misconception, but a common narrative about Gen Z and Gen Z is a sober generation. But I'm with a bunch of my friends hanging out, very calm, quiet day, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing on the sand, and

Clara

Really painting a picture.

Eli

In droves. In droves, were in a fairly isolated part in droves. Probably early college like potentially late high school kids serious getting some serious booze on and they decide to plop right down next to us and they're all drinking those Borg's, you guys know, the black out rage gallons, right. It's like, elevated jungle juice. And I thought, well, the most interesting part to me is that they have almost graffitied on the side of them with like, political messaging. It's like the yard signs that said like in this house, we do not blah blah.

Trey

Borg's the Oppenheimer of alcoholic drink.

Eli

I know. I know. Well, anyway, so that was my my quick story. I've never felt older. In my life. This one kid got popped by the cops tried to run but the sand is not the terrain that you want to run from the cops on.

Trey

Was this like Venice Beach or like

Eli

No it was Manhattan Beach. There was some shenanigans going on in Venice Beach, but that's for another pod. But speaking of Oppenheimer, which I feel like in the world of double features Oppenheimer and Barbie, I'll probably go to Oppenheimer first and close out on Barbie. Wanted to spend most of today's pod speaking on the ladder Barbie because I feel like it's been in our feeds for about a year now. It is the oil in the marketing machine that has been fueling our feeds recently. And I know both of you have a lot of takes on Greta Gerwig up and coming soon to be hit.

Trey

There are over 100 brands collaborating with Barbie leading up to the release of the live action Barbie movie on July 21st. Have you seen any come across your feed?

Eli

I've seen many. I've seen toothbrushes. I've seen phone cases. I've seen sunscreen. I've seen makeup. I've seen lemonade. I mean the IP machine is churning them out.

Trey

I almost wonder like, was this every brand marketing person's like ultimate "Say Yes to the Dress" moment where they were like, oh my god, this is the perfect collaboration. Or was it a bit like a gun held to head yes to Barbie?

Clara

Say yes or else. I mean, do you mean in the sense have like a everyone thought like, oh, this will be like such a great idea. Yeah collab with them right now or that it was like....

Trey

I'm sure the tangle tee's or brush team and like fun boy pool floats were like, oh yes, this is exactly what you want it. But you know like, I don't know the urban planet like Bloomingdale's all those shoes, Kitsch hair accessories mermaid hair blow kit forever 21 clothing. I mean the list goes on and on, base luggage like, has there been any part of the world that has not been turned pink by Barbie?

Clara

No, I mean and that's what I was gonna say is like, I feel like I have seen a lot of Barbie collabs and stuff, but I'm having a harder time telling now like which are real and which we'll have like, I mean, speaking of like the Raytheon jet Barbie. Band of Barbie is coming soon to HBO. But honestly, I mean, I would pitch that I think it's I think it's interesting though to think like how it all came to be you have to wonder it like the behind the scenes but all but Eli, have you been keeping up with the Barbie stuff you've been dismissive.

Eli

I haven't been super dismissive. I have, I mean, I've been keeping up I just, I find a lot of the, you know, the thread, like five key lessons that marketers need to know from the Barbie rollout. Like, I find all of those, you know, insufferable as I do most of that worlds like I just think when people take themselves too seriously like that was annoying.

Clara

And not to be doom and gloom about it but I was just gonna say like I completely agree that like the LinkedIn of it all has been like one of the worst things to come out like I think working in marketing during this Barbie rollout has been like one of the more insuffurable things like truly like have like different hot takes and whatnot. Because I think on one end, you have people that are sort of appaulding this is like the most incredible thing to ever happen not in entertainment, or like in Greta Gerwig career, but like the most incredible in herstory and also like the most incredible, like marketing moment and whatnot. But I feel like what I feel about it is that it's kind of like this bleak harbinger of doom for like entertainment. And also just like, talent in industries, I think because we had talked about this a little bit yesterday too Trey, but there's been a lot of sort of like, Twitter art girly takes about how like, Greta Gerwig is totally selling her souls to the devil, and whatnot. And I don't, I don't totally. Yeah, like, I don't totally agree with that. But I do think what's interesting about it is just like, I don't know, the idea that making a movie like this is something that can be artful and interesting. And not like another Lego Movie. You know what I mean? Not to like trash, the Lego movies, but it does seem like this movie is actually going to be good. But just like, maybe, do you suppose. I mean, what are your anticipations? About it?

Eli

Does even matter if it's good or not? Yeah, I guess it doesn't.

Trey

At thi point I don't know if it matters because like, the Super Mario Bros, movie, two previous podcast episode, like, people will go see, you know, paint dry. At this point and like, give it 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Like, I think so. And like, I think that this has, if you are now you know, when I was at Richard Brody, or who was the New York Times film critic that stepped away from film criticism. Ao Scott, and he basically released a statement that was like, movie culture is so steeped in fanboy-ism essentially that like, it is so hard to give a film a proper review without keeping at least in the back of your mind how the fan people will respond. Because if you do even give some slight like feedback or criticism about some piece of art, which films inevitably are or should be, then the fanboys will come after you and like rip you a new one. So at this point, like the Barbie movie is bulletproof. If you say anything bad about Barbie, like you are a hater of all things pink.

Eli

Send some of the jets after you.

Trey

Exactly.

Clara

Do you think that people, like that Barbie has like stans and fans?

Trey

Absolutely. Like this is my point is like everyone is acting like this is the first ever Barbie movie there have been hundreds of Barbie movies

Clara

A ranger of the Barbie, animated cannon cinema.

Trey

Honestly one of my favorites Barbie and the Nutcracker. One of the best Christmas films of all time. I stand by that but you know, she's been like chugging along ad nauseam since she was like what uh, I don't know, stay at home mom and like 1953 or whatever it launched?

Eli

59

Trey

Right, and like she's had more careers than that. Gen Z. She's was is quiet quit before everyone was quiet quitting. But yeah, so I just think that like, the IP is too big to fail and I am almost begrudgingly going to see it now like yes, I'm still thrown you know, I can't I can't believe that's Margot Robbie's real feet like it only took two takes for her to hold on to a rail and step out of the shoe and like the lore around it is already there's like BTS of the BTS like before the film's even out yet. I haven't laughed at a single clip. You know, I'm just like, I've never been like, so ambivalent about my excitement for something. It's just like our culture has really reached like, it's such an adhere that I'm just like, I am so intrigued to check this out. And yet maybe I would rather see Oppenheimer.

Clara

Yeah, I mean, I guess and maybe this is sort of to your point, I feel like I'm having a hard time identifying like, the kernel of my despair from which all other despair is coming with this, you know what I mean? Like, is it about the sort of, like, excitement and hype for this as opposed to something? I don't know, like an Oppenheimer like something that sort of has like original whatever, like casting and sort of like talent.

Eli

It's anoriginal story!

Clara

I mean, not, you know what I mean, though, like, it's not just sort of like a recycled thing because I feel like like recently as well, The New Yorker released an article just about like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how it's come...

Eli

Soon to be the Mattel cinematic universe.

Clara

That's what I'm saying is like we were talking about it today of like, there's like the Hot Wheels thing.

Trey

Oh, please read that quote. Yeah, that was so funny.

Clara

So basically, this was I think part of this larger Mattel story that also came out in the New Yorker, but Hypebeast pulled just like this one quote from it. The title of the piece reads "JJ Abrams reveals HotWheels film will be quote, emotional, grounded and gritty". And it's like it's stuff like that, that I find to be also like, particularly ominous like this need to sort of art house brand IP, if that makes sense.

Trey

Like remember the Rihanna Battleship movie like let's just put Rihannaon a battleship that's all I'm looking for.

Clara

I was going to bring up the Rihanna Battleship movie because I do think it's interesting like in the last few years and I don't know if this is as a direct result of people just becoming so accustomed to the format of films like Marvel and have sort of re experiencing IP again like this time last year we had Top Gun Maverick, you know that like there's been kind of enough change. Unless we forget, I personally will always remember it. It's really the summer of Mission Impossible. What is it five? Ghost? Ghost Protocol, still ghostsing. It's ridiculous. But I do wonder if it's like, because I feel like there has been so much shift just in terms of like perception of those movies and also quality of those movies, just like in terms of net value. Like the director and the sort of like clout that the movie has been able to amass between the age of battleship, if that makes sense. And like Barbie,

Trey

I just like I don't get the people who are talking already about like, is the blockbuster truly back? Like, are we back in cinema seats? Now, when first of all, the film is not even out yet? There's like, yes, you can measure the social engagement of this film and like its marketing footprint, but I will be curious to see what the box office does say. And I look, I'm sure it'll be successful. And I'm sure Oppenheimer will also be successful. But I just think it's so naive to think that like, Everything hinges on the high arched heels of Barbie success, like.

Eli

Yeah, I hope Oppenheimer doesn't bomb at the box office.

Clara

I don't think it will. I don't lose sleep about Oppenheimer

Eli

Yeah that didn't land land as well as I hoped it would.

Trey

But and then there's the other aspect of all of this, which, you know, are the people online creating all this like, hardcore nerd film discourse around Greta Gerwig selling out because she's now since announced that she'll be directing at least two Narnia reboots which they I think came out in like 2007 or eight or something.

Eli

Those movies are good.

Trey

They're good like they're very serviceable and I just think it's funny that the people who like couldn't name them Greta Gerwig film before "Lady Bird" like are these people like oh my god, remember like "Hannah Takes the Stairs" are like Oh, I loved "Frances Ha" are like "Damsels in Distress". You know, all of these people who are like lamenting that their favorite director Greta has sold out post Barbie. Like, don't you think we've reached kind of peak capitalism and peak marketing collab and like peak selling your soul? And now they're like Narnia is the last straw. Like, there's no way she's come back from this.

Clara

Oh my god who's being casted for Aslan. No, that's what I have to know

Trey

Probably like, Timothee Chalamet. Aslan!

Clara

No Timothee has got to be Mr. Tumnus. Can you believe?

Eli

I though he was?

Trey

Nothing's announced yet.

Clara

I don't think it is annaounced. I were joking about it yesterday when I thought. That was a joke.

Eli

Yeah, I mean, I think the Marvel Cinematic Universe of it all is an apt point. what point does it just become a black hole, though? You know, like, also, there was a interesting piece about in the New Yorker about about is it Mattel? or Mattel? Mattel? So talking about how they are all in on what they're calling pre-awareness. There's a lot of like pre pre-grieving, pre -awareness etc. What's pr-grieving? Oh that's what I'm doing that for the Barbie movie. Your pre-grieving the Barbie film? Sorry go ahead. No, I was just gonna say like pre-awareness is basically just a fancy word of fancy phrase for like, relying on their existing IP. And, you know, expanding that into major motion pictures with big name producers, such as JJ Abrams. Tom Hanks. I think Daniel Kaluuya? Kaluuya is in the Barney film, but deep within the piece. They note in what felt like a, you know, a footnote that they have 45 films in development all based around Mattel IP. So toys, whatever, board games, which I don't know, I just, that seems like a little depressing.

Trey

Imagine how tired we are. Yeah, it's really franchise fatigue. I just like I understand repeating successes and taking ingredients that work and like just regurgitating it over and over like the Real Housewives of Dubai, The Real Housewives of whatever, but like, I don't understand the desire. Like the actual desire of people wanting real things they can respond to in life, and just never fully being satiated and just taking whatever comes. And it's just like, it's like a fast food diet of media and culture where we're just like, can't wait for Barbie four back in the saddle like..

Eli

My other question is like, at what point does this just become like elevated spawncon? Because you have to imagine that there's like people in the boardroom that are essentially having a very watchful eye around the messaging. I mean, the New Yorker piece, mentioned that Greta Gerwig, and Margot Robbie, like acted with a certain amount of autonomy and push back a lot on the execs who are trying to oversee it. But like, I don't know, all of these films that just came out this past year, like you had the BlackBerry movie, you had the Tetris one,

Trey

I watched Blackberry last night.

Eli

Why are we watching just long form commercials? Yeah.

Clara

I mean, I guess that's kind of what we were trying to get at earlier, too. I think just talking about like, because I think what's interesting too, is like taking it from the beginning ish was like Star Wars like when Star Wars first came out on the scene, it was basically an entertainment like what became an entertainment franchise that then became like, a product franchise, you know, and like, now it feels like it's getting reversed. Where things that were not entertainment franchises are going from like product to entertainment. You know what I mean? But like, I feel like that is such a dangerous pipeline, because it could potentially go like ad nauseam, like you could be whatever in like a John Deere movie or in a Pine Sol movie, potentially forever. You know what, like DC Comics or Marvel were not originally entertainment franchises or like comic books, you know? And it's like, you can make the case of like, oh, that's a clearer transition. But I think that like, what Mattel is identifying is completely true of like, you have people that have a true emotional connection with your product and don't really have a way to engage with it anymore. And you're basically losing your entire audience once they hit the age of like, 14 or whatever it becomes, like weird to still be playing with Barbies and Hot Wheels, you know? So it's like keeping people in these like, also like protracted adolescences which is also really creepy to me too is like, you just live in a perpetual state of like, Barbie childhood.

Eli

Yeah a safety blanket. Well, the whole thing is a safety blanket of sorts too.

Trey

Yeah. kidults.

Clara

Kidaulting.

Trey

Well, okay, let me read this headline. Ammit the recent grimace hype and memes people are now selling vintage McDonald's merchandise like T shirts and toys for hundreds and 1000s of dollars. So like, once the Barbie movie hits, there will be this sort of ripple effect of like, collecting old dolls like this secondary market, you know, buying back into the lore creating more stories around the existing Barbies and her friends like there's I think in the New Yorker piece, it talked a little bit about Ken having this one friend like a male friend. Yeah, Michael Cera, played by Michael Cera. And like his only attribute, the dolls version was being Ken's friend. And I think quickly after it being released, it was like removed from shelves because of any sort of homosexual undertones or something. So you know, I think that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie are one of them kind of brought up to Mattel like, Oh, this is a fascinating story. Here's like a possibly gay Barbie or something that, you know, maybe didn't come out at the right time. But like now is a kind of fascinating kernel of history that we'd like to include in the movie. And they were like, I don't know, like, and then she kind of like I guess shoehorned it in but I just think that all of those weird nuggets of history and stuff about the brand like brand lore will just come to the surface now that it has been surfaced in such a big way. And I just think like never before have we seen a film so intrinsically tied to product, but there will be come a time like very soon, I imagine probably around Barbie three, where you know,

Clara

God save us.

Trey

There will be like a huge manufacturing of whatever adjacent toy or whatever thing there is to tie in with the movie, the movie will flop so hard. And all the merchandise and toys will flop so hard that the studio will lose like, in consequence like not in like consequential amounts of money that will leave them flailing essentially and then we will have reached like, like whatever this is that's just starting peak capitalism peak collab with like, pre What do you call it pre movie pre pre awareness, awareness right? That that will see in like heavily backfire and it'll what happened to Star Wars because like on Disney Plus, there's like five star wars spin off versions. Who was watching like the Mandalorian season three?

Clara

I mean. And like I feel like we have this conversation about Game of Thrones as well of like, what is the half life of a franchise? Like how many times can you break something down? Spin it out, pump it out commercialized? Like make a Barbie for it? Like, how much like value is there and I think some of them do have like the lore enough like a Star Wars or a Barbie to like, like you're saying like maybe crank out a few movies, but it isn't infinite, you know? But I guess to your point, though, like what do both of you see as being the kind of like, runway of this of like, are we reaching like, is the Barbie movie peak? And people are sort of critiquing it enough and are upset about it enough that this is maybe like it's gonna sort of maybe get less from here go downhill or is this like the beginning of the end.

Eli

Oh, Clara, Clara, I fear that we are early days in in the pre awareness era, particularly with with AI, unfortunately, that I even had to utter that sentence but you talked about like scale, I think and I feel like this goes back to earlier you talked about like, kind of like the infinite loop or whatever. And I think this goes back to that idea of scale brain from Charlie Warzel's piece in The Atlantic of like, things eventually need to come to an end like it is not natural for things to last forever for you to be able to flip it and reverse it and you know, expand and extrapolate and make this other small world and whatever like things need to end it's not natural for them not to but I feel like what new AI a new technology has unlocked in this kind of like safety blanket. entertainment world that we live in, which is based off of expanding IP is like we're just getting started on all of this like you will get a Pine Sol movie you will get a you know a Bounty movie, a Lacroix film whatever a reality TV show Diet Coke etc. You know name a product. Name some ancillary story or whatever, and like you'll get something from it. So I think that we're this is just the start. But I'm hoping this does kind of spark, maybe a resurgence of indie filmmaking and kind of smaller subcultures, maybe wishful thinking, that are kind of pushing back against all of that.

Trey

Well, yeah, I was reading something interesting. And it was sort of like a trend report, it was called Visions volume four. And something in there, I think adds a lot of context to this discussion. So physical media formats are no longer innovating. Streaming is the innovation of the prior decade. The more time we spend online, the more distant our memory of a physical world becomes. So essentially, it's talking about how like cassettes and VHS tapes remind us who we truly are. And cassette tape sales are at a 20 year high at the moment, apparently. So I think there's like, if you wanted to, you know, psychoanalyze the Barbie release, I think the intrinsic tie between the film which is like the streaming of it, and the physical media format, which is the Barbie product itself, they are trying to, like, close the gap between having a memory that's like tied to an experience that's digital, watching the movie, and a memory that's like tied to an experience that is physical owning, and playing with the Barbie or your pink suitcase, or your pink toothbrush or whatever. So I do think that like, people are yearning to kind of experience that nostalgia. And this sort of combines it in this weird swirl of like, figital media.

Eli

I hate that word.

Trey

figital. Yeah. Sorry.

Eli

Clara what do you think, though,

Clara

About the future?

Eli

Are we beginning or more middler?

Clara

I think I tend to agree with you. I think that we are at the sort of mid stage beginning. You know what I mean? Like, I feel like the true beginning was like, whatever, like the Marvel peak, like Avengers Endgame was kind of like the beginning. And then from there, we've had, you know, whatever, like Lego movies, we've had the BlackBerry movie, those all felt like, you know, a moment. But this Barbie thing feels like a new, a new beast, I guess. I think I agree with you that the AI of it all is definitely going to impact things. I do wonder, though, like, what are sort of the alternatives? And like, what can you offer people to sway them from this? Because I think to your point, like there are things that are driving this that aren't people love brands, you know what I mean? Like, I don't think like, which I think is the mistake that a lot of like marketers sometimes make is that people have this like, innate love for the brand, which I think people do have the love for the brand. But it's like, the memories or whatever that are associated with Barbie. And those can be redirected to something that's like an original piece of IP. So now like, just like no, I mean, it sounds direct... Saying, like, I'm saying this creepy thing in a hopeful way, in the sense that like, I think that if you are an indie filmmaker, I think like there's ways that you can still appeal on a mass scale without having to use brands with mass reach, if that makes sense. And I think that like because the money is where it is right now. It just there is no proof point for that. But I think that like there's enough people, I think that are hopefully creatives that are coming up at this time, that can hopefully sort of like innovate a way out of this. Because I think the way that it's going it doesn't seem like there's going to be any sort of like, internal halting mechanism on the part of brands or studios because why would they it's profitable. But it's like, I guess I'm hopeful that somebody clearly not Greta Gerwig. But somebody, some director will have this sort of like, concept and wherewithal to be like, No, you can make a movie that's like, new and exciting, which maybe sounds like very ridiculously optimistic. But like, I try to be optimistic about it. Because I think that like, right now, there's a lot of reasons not to be very hopeful. But I do think like, there's been some good books out recently, like, I don't know, adaptation is obviously a type of, you know, franchising, I suppose, but it doesn't I don't feel like original IP is completely dead is I guess my point. Like, I don't think in the entertainment space, it's alive. But I think there are people that are doing interesting things right now.

Trey

Yeah, I guess. I'm concerned also about, I've been reading a bit about how, even though, you know, the model has switched to streaming and everyone's put all of their power and muscle behind making that happen. We have fewer choices, in terms of like available movies and series. And they're basically all of these big companies like HBO, and you know, whatever Warner Brothers are like disappearing a lot of their IP, even, like even recent things like Westworld was taken off the Max app or whatever, because they would rather like write it off as like a tax write off then streaming service,

Clara

There was a movie that also was like... I liked it too. But there was a movie that was out for like seven weeks, like a sci fi space movie that they literally just took off of, I think it was like Apple TV or something like that, which is crazy.

Eli

Apple has so much money too actually I don't understand that. Well, I do understand that I do understand.

Trey

But it's the frustration I come up against constantly, just as my personal anecdote. I always am seeking like, you know, not even like obscure or interesting or arthouse films, but just films that I want to watch or have a craving to watch, like Blade Runner, for example. And it's like not streaming anywhere, so I have to purchase it on like Tubi or something like, I'm like, I pay for literally every streaming service and I still cannot stream the film that I want to find. That is like the biggest Beep.

Eli

And if I don't like it, I'll just go on my phone.

Clara

I also think and this is like maybe something that I'm also interested in from a future standpoint is variety had an interesting piece. I think it was brought up in the Marvel New Yorker piece as well, about the sort of lack and not maybe for any lack of ability, maybe on the actor's part, I don't know. But to that, like Hollywood just hasn't been able to produce a talent. Like a Tom Cruise or like a Julia Roberts,

Trey

Thay's not true I don't think.

Clara

But I guess it's more in terms of like, the way I think the article was meaning to say that like Ttimothee Chalamet, is he putting like, butts in seats, for lack of a better word,

Trey

Well right. But like those former celebrities had a chance. First of all, there was 20 movies a year. That's what I'm saying they were in 10 of them. And like.

Clara

There's not though anymore,

Trey

Right. Exactly. Like, I don't think it's the fault of any, you know, young star that they're not like putting butts in seats, which probably wasn't the point. But, you know, there were 20 films where there's now like 200, and they're, you know, are like, of those 200. Only 10 Will like break through really and get like the 100 million plus box office that they're like expecting or hinging it on. So..

Clara

I guess that's my point is that, like, the talent is there, but it's not being cultivated in any type of way. And it's not people aren't investing in talent, they're investing in the franchise that the talent will appear within, you know, or like an even to the same extent with like, directors, they're getting sort of put into these like machines, basically, although Timothy Chalamet was quoted that Leonardo DiCaprio for better or worse, I don't know if you want to take advice from him all the time. But he did give him the advice of like, don't do superhero movies ever. Yeah, that it's like kind of a career ender. But I think like. I know but not to go back to again, the origin story, but like, Marvel, I think what was interesting about it was that Iron Man basically rescued Robert Downey Jr's like career basically at that point, and I didn't know that he had ad libbed also apparently like a lot of it. But it became just sort of like a mythmaking thing and like, multiple ways he's like, you're able to like bring back this X star basically. But I don't know like, I think from a talent angle, I guess. I think it's interesting too that a lot of these like younger stars just like aren't being given opportunities to shine outside of a franchise you know? Because to your point I don't hate Timmy.

Trey

No, me neither. I'm very excited for the Bob Dylan movie.

Clara

Oh my god.

Trey

And the subsequent Bob Dylan action film.

Clara

Oh my God. And the subsequent branded meal at McDonald's

Eli

Bob's Burgers!

Clara

Now it's like a single french fry on a wet bun you know? Yeah, I can't imagine that Bob Dylan Burger tasting good you know I mean.

Eli

There's no food. It's not the diet. Yeah, that's my that's my meal. Final word on Barbie?

Trey

Of all the dyer collabs though to come out of it. I do. I will be streaming the Barbie soundtrack.

Clara

Oh yeah. With the new Dua Lipa.

Trey

Yeah, and Billy eyelash.

Eli

Trey will be streaming the Barbie soundtrack. Clara's gonna get the Barbie meal.

Clara

Inhaling the Barbie Oppenheimer smoke cloud.

Eli

That's me.

Clara

Ripping that.

Eli

Eli will be sitting front row at Oppenheimer.

Clara

With a sunburn.

Eli

Thanks for tuning into day one. FM. We'll be back I'm sure with more thoughts on all things Barbie on all things franchise fatigue, see you next time. Thanks for listening in. Be sure to check out more on d1a/perspectives, and sign up for our bi weekly newsletter to get the latest trends and insights directly to your mailbox.

Eli

Day One FM coming to you from a nice little cubicle in sunny Los Angeles, California. Clara, Trey, what's happening in the studio? I feel missed.

Trey

We were like, do we have Eli's hologram in the studio with us?

Clara

If only.

Trey

Just the presence. I'm a little on edge without Eli here physically.

Eli

Guys, it's okay. Although I am enjoying life here in LA. I mean, thankfully we're not doing video but I'm unbelievably sunburnt. I'm just gonna walk you down some of the things that I've experienced in sunburn, I've gotten the grimace shake, I've gotten the Haley Bieber skin glow.

Trey

Oh, you're not using Rhode, her skincare line?

Eli

No, I'm not using Rhode.

Trey

And you survived?

Eli

Do you think if didn't use sunscreen? You think I would use Rhode? I did you use sunscreen by the way.

Trey

Wait what's your sunscreen rec? Anyone have any sunscreen recs?

Eli

Elf Suntouchable.

Trey

Okay. Wow. Really, nice.

Eli

Whatever is easiest.

Clara

Well, I know. Well, we were just talking about this though. But like how important chapsticks or chapsticks sunscreen is.

Trey

You're right! Yeah, something about like doing your whole face and neck, but just forgetting your lips and they get that like weird. Ronald McDonald. Like, burnt edge to them.

Eli

That is exactly what I'm experiencing. But before we fully dive in speaking of sunburn, I do want to just go into a quick little story about the beach, because Fourth of July weekend I went to the beach. It was beautiful. The sunscreen application as we just covered was not that great. There was no coverage actually. But I feel like in the world of marketing, at least there's this common misconception. Maybe not a misconception, but a common narrative about Gen Z and Gen Z is a sober generation. But I'm with a bunch of my friends hanging out, very calm, quiet day, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing on the sand, and

Clara

Really painting a picture.

Eli

In droves. In droves, were in a fairly isolated part in droves. Probably early college like potentially late high school kids serious getting some serious booze on and they decide to plop right down next to us and they're all drinking those Borg's, you guys know, the black out rage gallons, right? It's like, elevated jungle juice. And I thought, well, the most interesting part to me is that they have almost graffitied on the side of them with like, political messaging. It's like the yard signs that said like in this house, we do not blah blah.

Trey

Borg's the Oppenheimer of alcoholic drink.

Eli

I know. I know. Well, anyway, so that was my my quick story. I've never felt older. In my life. This one kid got popped by the cops tried to run but the sand is not the terrain that you want to run from the cops on.

Trey

Was this like Venice Beach or like...

Eli

No it was Manhattan Beach. There was some shenanigans going on in Venice Beach, but that's for another pod. But speaking of Oppenheimer, which I feel like in the world of double features Oppenheimer and Barbie, I'll probably go to Oppenheimer first and close out on Barbie. Wanted to spend most of today's pod speaking on the ladder Barbie because I feel like it's been in our feeds for about a year now. It is the oil in the marketing machine that has been fueling our feeds recently. And I know both of you have a lot of takes on Greta Gerwig up and coming soon to be hit.

Trey

There are over 100 brands collaborating with Barbie leading up to the release of the live action Barbie movie on July 21st. Have you seen any come across your feed?

Eli

I've seen many. I've seen toothbrushes. I've seen phone cases. I've seen sunscreen. I've seen makeup. I've seen lemonade. I mean the IP machine is churning them out.

Trey

I almost wonder like, was this every brand marketing person's like ultimate "Say Yes to the Dress" moment where they were like, oh my god, this is the perfect collaboration. Or was it a bit like a gun held to head yes to Barbie?

Clara

Say yes or else. I mean, do you mean in the sense have like a everyone thought like, oh, this will be like such a great idea. Yeah collab with them right now or that it was like....

Trey

I'm sure the tangle tee's or brush team and like fun boy pool floats were like, oh yes, this is exactly what you want it. But you know like, I don't know the urban planet like Bloomingdale's all those shoes, Kitsch hair accessories mermaid hair blow kit forever 21 clothing. I mean the list goes on and on, base luggage like, has there been any part of the world that has not been turned pink by Barbie?

Clara

No, I mean and that's what I was gonna say is like, I feel like I have seen a lot of Barbie collabs and stuff, but I'm having a harder time telling now like which are real and which we'll have like, I mean, speaking of like the Raytheon jet Barbie. Band of Barbie is coming soon to HBO. But honestly, I mean, I would pitch that I think it's I think it's interesting though to think like how it all came to be you have to wonder it like the behind the scenes but all but Eli, have you been keeping up with the Barbie stuff you've been dismissive.

Eli

I haven't been super dismissive. I have, I mean, I've been keeping up I just, I find a lot of the, you know, the thread, like five key lessons that marketers need to know from the Barbie rollout. Like, I find all of those, you know, insufferable as I do most of that worlds like I just think when people take themselves too seriously like that was annoying.

Clara

And not to be doom and gloom about it but I was just gonna say like I completely agree that like the LinkedIn of it all has been like one of the worst things to come out like I think working in marketing during this Barbie rollout has been like one of the more insuffurable things like truly like have like different hot takes and whatnot. Because I think on one end, you have people that are sort of appaulding this is like the most incredible thing to ever happen not in entertainment, or like in Greta Gerwig career, but like the most incredible in herstory and also like the most incredible, like marketing moment and whatnot. But I feel like what I feel about it is that it's kind of like this bleak harbinger of doom for like entertainment. And also just like, talent in industries, I think because we had talked about this a little bit yesterday too Trey, but there's been a lot of sort of like, Twitter art girly takes about how like, Greta Gerwig is totally selling her souls to the devil, and whatnot. And I don't, I don't totally. Yeah, like, I don't totally agree with that. But I do think what's interesting about it is just like, I don't know, the idea that making a movie like this is something that can be artful and interesting. And not like another Lego Movie. You know what I mean? Not to like trash, the Lego movies, but it does seem like this movie is actually going to be good. But just like, maybe, do you suppose. I mean, what are your anticipations? About it?

Eli

Does even matter if it's good or not? Yeah, I guess it doesn't.

Trey

At thi point I don't know if it matters because like, the Super Mario Bros, movie, two previous podcast episode, like, people will go see, you know, paint dry. At this point and like, give it 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Like, I think so. And like, I think that this has, if you are now you know, when I was at Richard Brody, or who was the New York Times film critic that stepped away from film criticism. Ao Scott, and he basically released a statement that was like, movie culture is so steeped in fanboy-ism essentially that like, it is so hard to give a film a proper review without keeping at least in the back of your mind how the fan people will respond. Because if you do even give some slight like feedback or criticism about some piece of art, which films inevitably are or should be, then the fanboys will come after you and like rip you a new one. So at this point, like the Barbie movie is bulletproof. If you say anything bad about Barbie, like you are a hater of all things pink.

Eli

Send some of the jets after you.

Trey

Exactly.

Clara

Do you think that people, like that Barbie has like stans and fans?

Trey

Absolutely. Like this is my point is like everyone is acting like this is the first ever Barbie movie there have been hundreds of Barbie movies

Clara

A ranger of the Barbie, animated cannon cinema.

Trey

Honestly one of my favorites Barbie and the Nutcracker. One of the best Christmas films of all time. I stand by that but you know, she's been like chugging along ad nauseam since she was like what uh, I don't know, stay at home mom and like 1953 or whatever it launched?

Eli

59

Trey

Right, and like she's had more careers than that. Gen Z. She's was is quiet quit before everyone was quiet quitting. But yeah, so I just think that like, the IP is too big to fail and I am almost begrudgingly going to see it now like yes, I'm still thrown you know, I can't I can't believe that's Margot Robbie's real feet like it only took two takes for her to hold on to a rail and step out of the shoe and like the lore around it is already there's like BTS of the BTS like before the film's even out yet. I haven't laughed at a single clip. You know, I'm just like, I've never been like, so ambivalent about my excitement for something. It's just like our culture has really reached like, it's such an adhere that I'm just like, I am so intrigued to check this out. And yet maybe I would rather see Oppenheimer.

Clara

Yeah, I mean, I guess and maybe this is sort of to your point, I feel like I'm having a hard time identifying like, the kernel of my despair from which all other despair is coming with this, you know what I mean? Like, is it about the sort of, like, excitement and hype for this as opposed to something? I don't know, like an Oppenheimer like something that sort of has like original whatever, like casting and sort of like talent.

Eli

It's anoriginal story!

Clara

I mean, not, you know what I mean, though, like, it's not just sort of like a recycled thing because I feel like like recently as well, The New Yorker released an article just about like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how it's come...

Eli

Soon to be the Mattel cinematic universe.

Clara

That's what I'm saying is like we were talking about it today of like, there's like the Hot Wheels thing.

Trey

Oh, please read that quote. Yeah, that was so funny.

Clara

So basically, this was I think part of this larger Mattel story that also came out in the New Yorker, but Hypebeast pulled just like this one quote from it. The title of the piece reads "JJ Abrams reveals HotWheels film will be quote, emotional, grounded and gritty". And it's like it's stuff like that, that I find to be also like, particularly ominous like this need to sort of art house brand IP, if that makes sense.

Trey

Like remember the Rihanna Battleship movie like let's just put Rihannaon a battleship that's all I'm looking for.

Clara

I was going to bring up the Rihanna Battleship movie because I do think it's interesting like in the last few years and I don't know if this is as a direct result of people just becoming so accustomed to the format of films like Marvel and have sort of re experiencing IP again like this time last year we had Top Gun Maverick, you know that like there's been kind of enough change. Unless we forget, I personally will always remember it. It's really the summer of Mission Impossible. What is it five? Ghost? Ghost Protocol, still ghostsing. It's ridiculous. But I do wonder if it's like, because I feel like there has been so much shift just in terms of like perception of those movies and also quality of those movies, just like in terms of net value. Like the director and the sort of like clout that the movie has been able to amass between the age of battleship, if that makes sense. And like Barbie,

Trey

I just like I don't get the people who are talking already about like, is the blockbuster truly back? Like, are we back in cinema seats? Now, when first of all, the film is not even out yet? There's like, yes, you can measure the social engagement of this film and like its marketing footprint, but I will be curious to see what the box office does say. And I look, I'm sure it'll be successful. And I'm sure Oppenheimer will also be successful. But I just think it's so naive to think that like, Everything hinges on the high arched heels of Barbie success, like.

Eli

Yeah, I hope Oppenheimer doesn't bomb at the box office.

Clara

I don't think it will. I don't lose sleep about Oppenheimer

Eli

Yeah that didn't land land as well as I hoped it would.

Trey

But and then there's the other aspect of all of this, which, you know, are the people online creating all this like, hardcore nerd film discourse around Greta Gerwig selling out because she's now since announced that she'll be directing at least two Narnia reboots which they I think came out in like 2007 or eight or something.

Eli

Those movies are good.

Trey

They're good like they're very serviceable and I just think it's funny that the people who like couldn't name them Greta Gerwig film before "Lady Bird" like are these people like oh my god, remember like "Hannah Takes the Stairs" are like Oh, I loved "Frances Ha" are like "Damsels in Distress". You know, all of these people who are like lamenting that their favorite director Greta has sold out post Barbie. Like, don't you think we've reached kind of peak capitalism and peak marketing collab and like peak selling your soul? And now they're like Narnia is the last straw. Like, there's no way she's come back from this.

Clara

Oh my god who's being casted for Aslan. No, that's what I have to know

Trey

Probably like, Timothee Chalamet. Aslan!

Clara

No Timothee has got to be Mr. Tumnus. Can you believe?

Eli

I though he was?

Trey

Nothing's announced yet.

Clara

I don't think it is annaounced. I were joking about it yesterday when I thought. That was a joke.

Eli

Yeah, I mean, I think the Marvel Cinematic Universe of it all is an apt point. what point does it just become a black hole, though? You know, like, also, there was a interesting piece about in the New Yorker about about is it Mattel? or Mattel? Mattel? So talking about how they are all in on what they're calling pre-awareness. There's a lot of like pre pre-grieving, pre -awareness etc. What's pr-grieving? Oh that's what I'm doing that for the Barbie movie. Your pre-grieving the Barbie film? Sorry go ahead. No, I was just gonna say like pre-awareness is basically just a fancy word of fancy phrase for like, relying on their existing IP. And, you know, expanding that into major motion pictures with big name producers, such as JJ Abrams. Tom Hanks. I think Daniel Kaluuya? Kaluuya is in the Barney film, but deep within the piece. They note in what felt like a, you know, a footnote that they have 45 films in development all based around Mattel IP. So toys, whatever, board games, which I don't know, I just, that seems like a little depressing.

Trey

Imagine how tired we are. Yeah, it's really franchise fatigue. I just like I understand repeating successes and taking ingredients that work and like just regurgitating it over and over like the Real Housewives of Dubai, The Real Housewives of whatever, but like, I don't understand the desire. Like the actual desire of people wanting real things they can respond to in life, and just never fully being satiated and just taking whatever comes. And it's just like, it's like a fast food diet of media and culture where we're just like, can't wait for Barbie four back in the saddle like..

Eli

My other question is like, at what point does this just become like elevated spawncon? Because you have to imagine that there's like people in the boardroom that are essentially having a very watchful eye around the messaging. I mean, the New Yorker piece, mentioned that Greta Gerwig, and Margot Robbie, like acted with a certain amount of autonomy and push back a lot on the execs who are trying to oversee it. But like, I don't know, all of these films that just came out this past year, like you had the BlackBerry movie, you had the Tetris one,

Trey

I watched Blackberry last night.

Eli

Why are we watching just long form commercials? Yeah.

Clara

I mean, I guess that's kind of what we were trying to get at earlier, too. I think just talking about like, because I think what's interesting too, is like taking it from the beginning ish was like Star Wars like when Star Wars first came out on the scene, it was basically an entertainment like what became an entertainment franchise that then became like, a product franchise, you know, and like, now it feels like it's getting reversed. Where things that were not entertainment franchises are going from like product to entertainment. You know what I mean? But like, I feel like that is such a dangerous pipeline, because it could potentially go like ad nauseam, like you could be whatever in like a John Deere movie or in a Pine Sol movie, potentially forever. You know what, like DC Comics or Marvel were not originally entertainment franchises or like comic books, you know? And it's like, you can make the case of like, oh, that's a clearer transition. But I think that like, what Mattel is identifying is completely true of like, you have people that have a true emotional connection with your product and don't really have a way to engage with it anymore. And you're basically losing your entire audience once they hit the age of like, 14 or whatever it becomes, like weird to still be playing with Barbies and Hot Wheels, you know? So it's like keeping people in these like, also like protracted adolescences which is also really creepy to me too is like, you just live in a perpetual state of like, Barbie childhood.

Eli

Yeah a safety blanket. Well, the whole thing is a safety blanket of sorts too.

Trey

Yeah. kidults.

Clara

Kidaulting.

Trey

Well, okay, let me read this headline. Ammit the recent grimace hype and memes people are now selling vintage McDonald's merchandise like T shirts and toys for hundreds and 1000s of dollars. So like, once the Barbie movie hits, there will be this sort of ripple effect of like, collecting old dolls like this secondary market, you know, buying back into the lore creating more stories around the existing Barbies and her friends like there's I think in the New Yorker piece, it talked a little bit about Ken having this one friend like a male friend. Yeah, Michael Cera, played by Michael Cera. And like his only attribute, the dolls version was being Ken's friend. And I think quickly after it being released, it was like removed from shelves because of any sort of homosexual undertones or something. So you know, I think that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie are one of them kind of brought up to Mattel like, Oh, this is a fascinating story. Here's like a possibly gay Barbie or something that, you know, maybe didn't come out at the right time. But like now is a kind of fascinating kernel of history that we'd like to include in the movie. And they were like, I don't know, like, and then she kind of like I guess shoehorned it in but I just think that all of those weird nuggets of history and stuff about the brand like brand lore will just come to the surface now that it has been surfaced in such a big way. And I just think like never before have we seen a film so intrinsically tied to product, but there will be come a time like very soon, I imagine probably around Barbie three, where you know,

Clara

God save us.

Trey

There will be like a huge manufacturing of whatever adjacent toy or whatever thing there is to tie in with the movie, the movie will flop so hard. And all the merchandise and toys will flop so hard that the studio will lose like, in consequence like not in like consequential amounts of money that will leave them flailing essentially and then we will have reached like, like whatever this is that's just starting peak capitalism peak collab with like, pre What do you call it pre movie pre pre awareness, awareness right? That that will see in like heavily backfire and it'll what happened to Star Wars because like on Disney Plus, there's like five star wars spin off versions. Who was watching like the Mandalorian season three?

Clara

I mean. And like I feel like we have this conversation about Game of Thrones as well of like, what is the half life of a franchise? Like how many times can you break something down? Spin it out, pump it out commercialized? Like make a Barbie for it? Like, how much like value is there and I think some of them do have like the lore enough like a Star Wars or a Barbie to like, like you're saying like maybe crank out a few movies, but it isn't infinite, you know? But I guess to your point, though, like what do both of you see as being the kind of like, runway of this of like, are we reaching like, is the Barbie movie peak? And people are sort of critiquing it enough and are upset about it enough that this is maybe like it's gonna sort of maybe get less from here go downhill or is this like the beginning of the end.

Eli

Oh, Clara, Clara, I fear that we are early days in in the pre awareness era, particularly with with AI, unfortunately, that I even had to utter that sentence but you talked about like scale, I think and I feel like this goes back to earlier you talked about like, kind of like the infinite loop or whatever. And I think this goes back to that idea of scale brain from Charlie Warzel's piece in The Atlantic of like, things eventually need to come to an end like it is not natural for things to last forever for you to be able to flip it and reverse it and you know, expand and extrapolate and make this other small world and whatever like things need to end it's not natural for them not to but I feel like what new AI a new technology has unlocked in this kind of like safety blanket. entertainment world that we live in, which is based off of expanding IP is like we're just getting started on all of this like you will get a Pine Sol movie you will get a you know a Bounty movie, a Lacroix film whatever a reality TV show Diet Coke etc. You know name a product. Name some ancillary story or whatever, and like you'll get something from it. So I think that we're this is just the start. But I'm hoping this does kind of spark, maybe a resurgence of indie filmmaking and kind of smaller subcultures, maybe wishful thinking, that are kind of pushing back against all of that.

Trey

Well, yeah, I was reading something interesting. And it was sort of like a trend report, it was called Visions volume four. And something in there, I think adds a lot of context to this discussion. So physical media formats are no longer innovating. Streaming is the innovation of the prior decade. The more time we spend online, the more distant our memory of a physical world becomes. So essentially, it's talking about how like cassettes and VHS tapes remind us who we truly are. And cassette tape sales are at a 20 year high at the moment, apparently. So I think there's like, if you wanted to, you know, psychoanalyze the Barbie release, I think the intrinsic tie between the film which is like the streaming of it, and the physical media format, which is the Barbie product itself, they are trying to, like, close the gap between having a memory that's like tied to an experience that's digital, watching the movie, and a memory that's like tied to an experience that is physical owning, and playing with the Barbie or your pink suitcase, or your pink toothbrush or whatever. So I do think that like, people are yearning to kind of experience that nostalgia. And this sort of combines it in this weird swirl of like, figital media.

Eli

I hate that word.

Trey

figital. Yeah. Sorry.

Eli

Clara what do you think, though,

Clara

About the future?

Eli

Are we beginning or more middler?

Clara

I think I tend to agree with you. I think that we are at the sort of mid stage beginning. You know what I mean? Like, I feel like the true beginning was like, whatever, like the Marvel peak, like Avengers Endgame was kind of like the beginning. And then from there, we've had, you know, whatever, like Lego movies, we've had the BlackBerry movie, those all felt like, you know, a moment. But this Barbie thing feels like a new, a new beast, I guess. I think I agree with you that the AI of it all is definitely going to impact things. I do wonder, though, like, what are sort of the alternatives? And like, what can you offer people to sway them from this? Because I think to your point, like there are things that are driving this that aren't people love brands, you know what I mean? Like, I don't think like, which I think is the mistake that a lot of like marketers sometimes make is that people have this like, innate love for the brand, which I think people do have the love for the brand. But it's like, the memories or whatever that are associated with Barbie. And those can be redirected to something that's like an original piece of IP. So now like, just like no, I mean, it sounds direct... Saying, like, I'm saying this creepy thing in a hopeful way, in the sense that like, I think that if you are an indie filmmaker, I think like there's ways that you can still appeal on a mass scale without having to use brands with mass reach, if that makes sense. And I think that like because the money is where it is right now. It just there is no proof point for that. But I think that like there's enough people, I think that are hopefully creatives that are coming up at this time, that can hopefully sort of like innovate a way out of this. Because I think the way that it's going it doesn't seem like there's going to be any sort of like, internal halting mechanism on the part of brands or studios because why would they it's profitable. But it's like, I guess I'm hopeful that somebody clearly not Greta Gerwig. But somebody, some director will have this sort of like, concept and wherewithal to be like, No, you can make a movie that's like, new and exciting, which maybe sounds like very ridiculously optimistic. But like, I try to be optimistic about it. Because I think that like, right now, there's a lot of reasons not to be very hopeful. But I do think like, there's been some good books out recently, like, I don't know, adaptation is obviously a type of, you know, franchising, I suppose, but it doesn't I don't feel like original IP is completely dead is I guess my point. Like, I don't think in the entertainment space, it's alive. But I think there are people that are doing interesting things right now.

Trey

Yeah, I guess. I'm concerned also about, I've been reading a bit about how, even though, you know, the model has switched to streaming and everyone's put all of their power and muscle behind making that happen. We have fewer choices, in terms of like available movies and series. And they're basically all of these big companies like HBO, and you know, whatever Warner Brothers are like disappearing a lot of their IP, even, like even recent things like Westworld was taken off the Max app or whatever, because they would rather like write it off as like a tax write off then streaming service,

Clara

There was a movie that also was like... I liked it too. But there was a movie that was out for like seven weeks, like a sci fi space movie that they literally just took off of, I think it was like Apple TV or something like that, which is crazy.

Eli

Apple has so much money too actually I don't understand that. Well, I do understand that I do understand.

Trey

But it's the frustration I come up against constantly, just as my personal anecdote. I always am seeking like, you know, not even like obscure or interesting or arthouse films, but just films that I want to watch or have a craving to watch, like Blade Runner, for example. And it's like not streaming anywhere, so I have to purchase it on like Tubi or something like, I'm like, I pay for literally every streaming service and I still cannot stream the film that I want to find. That is like the biggest Beep.

Eli

And if I don't like it, I'll just go on my phone.

Clara

I also think and this is like maybe something that I'm also interested in from a future standpoint is variety had an interesting piece. I think it was brought up in the Marvel New Yorker piece as well, about the sort of lack and not maybe for any lack of ability, maybe on the actor's part, I don't know. But to that, like Hollywood just hasn't been able to produce a talent. Like a Tom Cruise or like a Julia Roberts,

Trey

Thay's not true I don't think.

Clara

But I guess it's more in terms of like, the way I think the article was meaning to say that like Ttimothee Chalamet, is he putting like, butts in seats, for lack of a better word,

Trey

Well right. But like those former celebrities had a chance. First of all, there was 20 movies a year. That's what I'm saying they were in 10 of them. And like.

Clara

There's not though anymore,

Trey

Right. Exactly. Like, I don't think it's the fault of any, you know, young star that they're not like putting butts in seats, which probably wasn't the point. But, you know, there were 20 films where there's now like 200, and they're, you know, are like, of those 200. Only 10 Will like break through really and get like the 100 million plus box office that they're like expecting or hinging it on. So..

Clara

I guess that's my point is that, like, the talent is there, but it's not being cultivated in any type of way. And it's not people aren't investing in talent, they're investing in the franchise that the talent will appear within, you know, or like an even to the same extent with like, directors, they're getting sort of put into these like machines, basically, although Timothy Chalamet was quoted that Leonardo DiCaprio for better or worse, I don't know if you want to take advice from him all the time. But he did give him the advice of like, don't do superhero movies ever. Yeah, that it's like kind of a career ender. But I think like. I know but not to go back to again, the origin story, but like, Marvel, I think what was interesting about it was that Iron Man basically rescued Robert Downey Jr's like career basically at that point, and I didn't know that he had ad libbed also apparently like a lot of it. But it became just sort of like a mythmaking thing and like, multiple ways he's like, you're able to like bring back this X star basically. But I don't know like, I think from a talent angle, I guess. I think it's interesting too that a lot of these like younger stars just like aren't being given opportunities to shine outside of a franchise you know? Because to your point I don't hate Timmy.

Trey

No, me neither. I'm very excited for the Bob Dylan movie.

Clara

Oh my god.

Trey

And the subsequent Bob Dylan action film.

Clara

Oh my God. And the subsequent branded meal at McDonald's

Eli

Bob's Burgers!

Clara

Now it's like a single french fry on a wet bun you know? Yeah, I can't imagine that Bob Dylan Burger tasting good you know I mean.

Eli

There's no food. It's not the diet. Yeah, that's my that's my meal. Final word on Barbie?

Trey

Of all the dyer collabs though to come out of it. I do. I will be streaming the Barbie soundtrack.

Clara

Oh yeah. With the new Dua Lipa.

Trey

Yeah, and Billy eyelash.

Eli

Trey will be streaming the Barbie soundtrack. Clara's gonna get the Barbie meal.

Clara

Inhaling the Barbie Oppenheimer smoke cloud.

Eli

That's me.

Clara

Ripping that.

Eli

Eli will be sitting front row at Oppenheimer.

Clara

With a sunburn.

Eli

Thanks for tuning into day one. FM. We'll be back I'm sure with more thoughts on all things Barbie on all things franchise fatigue, see you next time. Thanks for listening in. Be sure to check out more on d1a/perspectives, and sign up for our bi weekly newsletter to get the latest trends and insights directly to your mailbox.