Episode 11 | The Recap

Welcome to a special edition of The More for Me and You Podcast! In Episode 11, we’re hitting pause... not to slow down, but to look back. This episode is all about reflecting on the first 10 episodes that got us here: the laughs, the deep dives, the movie moments, and the incredible guests who’ve dropped knowledge, shared stories, and made us think (or crack up) on and off the mic.

We highlight standout moments from each episode, relive some of our favorite clips, and... because you’ve been asking... we take some time to flip the script and let you get to know me, your host, Bryan. From why I started this podcast to the stories behind the scenes, this episode brings it all together.

Oh, and I’m also breaking down my top movie picks, because let’s be honest…what’s a recap without some cinematic hot takes?

Whether you’ve been with us since Episode 1 or you’re just tuning in, The Recap is the perfect way to catch up, laugh along, and get to know the voice behind the mic.

Follow us on Instagram or TikTok for BTS footage @mometupodcast & do not forget to download the Mometu app and watch movies for free today.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

That's more for me and you. That's more for me and you. That's more for me and you.

SPEAKER_02: 0:29

Hey everyone, it's Brian, and you're probably wondering right now why we started with the intro music. It's because today we're going to do things a little differently. We're actually going to talk about me, and we're going to recap the first 10 episodes of our podcast. So if you've been along since day one, thank you very much for being along on our new journey. And if you're here for the first time, thank you for giving us a chance. We're actually going to recap the first 10 episodes, so it actually is a great time to join in on the fun. So with that, I have my friend here, Craig. And Craig's going to jump on the podcast to kind of host it. We hear Craig every now and then, you know, talking in the background, searching stuff on Google. Really appreciate you for doing that. And today he's going to be the host. So it's kind of fun. I get to sit back and be the interviewee. So yeah, let's do it.

SPEAKER_03: 1:23

Yeah, I was going to say... I know people are always hearing my voice a little bit when there's a question and we don't know how to spell somebody's name or somebody can't remember a movie or who was in what. But yeah, it's nice to be able to jump on mic and actually do this. And I was going to say, people don't know that we are newer friends. Like we've just met when we started this project and working together. So this is going to be a good opportunity for me to maybe ask you some things that I don't know about you.

SPEAKER_02: 1:54

Absolutely. I mean, yeah, it's been about, what, a few months? Yeah. I mean, this all started literally for me looking on Peerspace. Like, where could we do this podcast that we've been thinking about for a little over a year and we wanted to get it done? And there's just been so many things that have just kind of like, not gotten in the way, but just, you know, business happens. We started a film festival. We then started like a short film contest.

UNKNOWN: 2:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 2:22

And just the inner workings of just running a streaming platform day to day. I mean, we just put this podcast on the back burner. So when we finally, it was like, no, we need to do it. Now's the time. Let's find a location. Found the beautiful studio that you have here. Thank you very much. So, you know, kudos to you for putting this together and making it look the way it looks. I'm really grateful for that. But then it turned into this little, you know, kind of a deeper relationship between the two of us. Yeah. Yeah. No, I love what you've been able to bring to our podcast and make it what it is today. So thank you.

SPEAKER_03: 2:54

My pleasure, man. I appreciate that. I'm really happy to support you. Like from day one, I was telling you, it's like, whatever I can do while you're in the space, let me know. I guess it evolved from whatever I could do to, hey, can you come do this with me to where we are now, which we're 10 episodes now, this being the 11th, deep into building this out and making sure that it's reaching the audience that we think would find value in Momitu. And also these interviews, because we're actually connecting with a lot of people that are in and around the industry, and they're just very diverse backgrounds. creatives, but also executives, and just giving this really unique perspective about just content and media in general, but getting to know these individuals and how they're charting their own paths. So it's been good to listen to so many different stories from episode to episode.

SPEAKER_02: 3:59

Yeah. And it's been fun to watch the progress of that. I When my naive self, who had never produced a podcast, was like, I can do this. It's easy. Just set up a camera, put some mics together, whatever. And I was so hardheaded and even wanting to use these microphones versus other ones. And yeah, I mean, we get through episode one and I'm like, Craig, I need help. Yeah. And the cool thing was that you came along and said, dude, you're doing a great job, like phenomenal job. Like we had an issue with a camera that was just like something we couldn't have predicted and it just happened. But like we figured it out. It worked. It worked well, actually. Episode one turned out amazing. I thought so, too. With Jacqueline. And it was something where we had issues, but like you helped us along, like even during that time where you weren't producing that first episode. Yeah. Came on board, said, what do you need? How can we help? And it turned into something even bigger and better. I think that the first 10 episodes have been incredible. But on top of that, like the social media stuff that you've been able to create with like the clips and the excerpts on YouTube and just the little details on how we can reach the right audiences for this. Thank you so much for sharing. being along the journey with me to make this happen. So I'm glad we could do this type of an episode, not just recap, but like you said, for you chance to us to get to know each other a little deeper as well.

SPEAKER_03: 5:26

Yeah, for sure, man. Like I said, it's been, it's been great and looking forward to doing many, many more.

SPEAKER_02: 5:30

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03: 5:32

So my question, first one for you, who are you? Who

SPEAKER_02: 5:41

are you and what do you do here?

SPEAKER_03: 5:43

What's interesting is like, um, you know, as I'm listening to the episodes, I'm picking up these different tidbits of like how you grew up. I mean, obviously I know who you are and where you're living and what you're doing. Yeah. Form of me too. And kind of the origin story.

SPEAKER_02: 5:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 5:58

But for somebody who is just joining for the first time, you want to give them a little summation? Sure.

SPEAKER_02: 6:03

I'm trying to make it as short as I can. So yeah, Brian Luzil, a very unique Czech last name that We're actually the only Luzell family in America, so that's kind of a fun tidbit. Grew up in Santa Clarita, so North LA. Really, I grew up in the film industry, so I mean, I've talked about that on a few different episodes, but my parents were in the film industry. They both produced Kevin Costner's first film, which was pretty unique, pretty fun. I was not alive at that point, and they were not, I don't know if they were married at that point. Can't remember. What film? Uh, Malibu hot summer. Oh my

SPEAKER_03: 6:39

God. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 6:40

Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, I want to say it was like 79, 80, 81. I don't

SPEAKER_03: 6:45

know. I want to say it was early eighties. Yeah. Yeah. So I'll

SPEAKER_02: 6:48

Google that. So Kevin Costner's for film. And the funny thing is actually my parents actually discovered Kevin Costner. Uh, he wasn't a known name. He was just, uh, I think he was working in the building or whatever. And they like, kind of like, gave him or helped him get the opportunity or something like that. I mean, again, these stories are stories that I've heard since I was a kid, but I don't know all the inner workings of them. And it's weird about that. I think more people would be like, I want to know all the details. But as a kid, you grow up through it and just whatever. So yeah, they helped produce that. Malibu Hot Summer, I remember having the poster in my house growing up. So it was just random and wild that that ends up being one of the most successful actors of all time. 1981, by

SPEAKER_03: 7:30

the

SPEAKER_02: 7:31

way. 81. Okay. See, look at you already. Still Googling stuff. Hosting and Googling. Multitasking. But yeah, so they grew up in the film industry. My dad was a director for most of the time. My mom eventually moved on to being a full-time mother and then eventually worked other jobs to make ends meet. I think at certain times having up to three jobs at a time to just bring... money to the table because unfortunately being an independent filmmaker doesn't always provide and my dad didn't want to give up on his passion so but yeah grew up at least on a personal side I or it's all personal but grew up playing soccer my brother wasn't four years older than I am so I have an older brother is only brother half and older is only sibling and he played soccer so I obviously in tune played soccer as well and because he was four years older I got Pretty good at it because I played with all his, you know, you play with the older teams, you get better, you get stronger, faster, whatever, you think differently. And that played an advantage for me. So I got quite good at soccer, played throughout my whole adolescence and to the point where I was eventually going to go and play, you know, play collegiately. And that was my out, actually. I didn't want to be in this industry. Like I wanted to play. play soccer professionally or do something different because it's weird from the outside looking in this industry and being in the entertainment world, it looks amazing. People see what's on the silver screen. They see all these great things, what's streaming on their televisions, but what they don't see is the hard work and the sacrifice and the time away from your family. We talked a little bit about that in JD's episode, the last episode, that we talked about time away from family and even why he almost didn't want to be in this industry either. So It's something where it takes you away from your family and you have to really balance that out. So again, I didn't want to be doing what I'm doing for MoMe2 now. And so I tried to take my own path and of course it sucks you back in. But I went away to college, played collegiate soccer. There's a whole longer story with that as well, but ended up playing collegiate soccer and became an All-American, got to travel the world a little bit, went to Africa. which was a big thing we talked about in April's episode, a little bit about like my tattoo and why I have my tattoo and what it says. And so pay attention in that episode. You get a little tidbit there, which really actually shaped who I am today. And so I guess fast forward that, went to San Diego, lived there for about four to five years. It was almost five and ended up having an injury. My soccer career ended. I ended up going– back home with like negative money in my account and said what am i going to do and so i ended up for the next 15 years working in corporate america so worked for a car rental company and then eventually into a construction rental company and during that time met my beautiful wife that we've been married for almost 11 years now we live we reside in orange county and um chose there because she's from there and that's how it works. Um, and I'm very, very grateful to this day that we are living there now because, uh, living in Santa Clarita versus living in Orange County, uh, two totally different vibes. And, uh, the weather is, I will say a lot better whenever I go to visit my brother. It's just, it's so hot or just really cold too. It's, it's like streams of both grown up in the desert. So, uh, yeah, been married for 11 years. Um, Again, reside in Orange County. And we have a beautiful little three-year-old boy, Caden. Still a whole lot of fun. A lot of fun being a dad. Changes who you are. But in the middle of that, I had this opportunity to run MoMe2. Came upon me. I actually said no initially. Didn't think it was going to work the way that it initially had been kind of talked about. And I kind of revamped it. And then... put a few things behind it. And now today I'm the VP of business development for Momitoo. So.

SPEAKER_03: 11:49

I know we covered a little bit of that in one of the earlier episodes,

SPEAKER_02: 11:53

but. I think that was with Jeff.

SPEAKER_03: 11:55

Yeah, with Jeff. And I was going to say, talk about just like a little bit about that initial conversation and why you were hesitant and why'd you do the 180 and

SPEAKER_02: 12:06

Yeah, I didn't think that the company as it was going to be set up or at least the initial business plan or idea of it wasn't going to work. And unfortunately, I've seen why it hasn't worked with some other companies because we're seeing a lot of other streaming services that like started up and a lot of it were like just companies that either had content or they had like certain ideas of what they wanted to do, but they didn't have like a niche audience. They didn't have this focus of how they were going to grow. And I looked at it and said, we can support a whole niche, a few different niches, to be honest, within MoMe2 and take the name from inception of why we created MoMe2 for the name of More For Me and You, which is the name of the podcast, More For Me and You podcast. And I came back and I just said, you know, initially it wasn't going to happen. I wasn't going to change what I was doing, my trajectory of, you moving my way up in the corporate sales world and uh to do this and i said well if we if we do it right we have to focus on someone something that someone else is not doing focus on underserved content focused on focus on independent films that have that typically don't get the limelight um whereas they get kind of held back through the algorithms on other platforms international films that typically don't make it to the States. And if they do, they might be on like specific subscription platforms. Like we have a lot of really great Asian content, like a lot of great South Korean content and content from Japan and Hong Kong and China. But you may have to go to like Crunchyroll, right? But you have to get a subscription to Crunchyroll to like then watch that. So for those that want to get into that world that don't want to pay for a subscription, they can get that experience on Mometoo. At the same time, we can also... introduce people that let's say like yourself who let's just say you've never seen korean content before or uh content from the uk or or nollywood content from nigeria you know anywhere in the world right uh even independent films that typically don't get presented to you on other platforms we get to expose you to that content by the next step of why we called it momi too is by presenting it without an algorithm and so all that long-winded amount of information to say I brought it back to a point where, with our team, it wasn't just me, but bringing it back to the point of saying, how can we best serve underserved content makers, right? And filmmakers and shows that, and even channels, like there's a lot of linear channels. Like we talked with Jeff about it's active channels. Well, there's like, there's a whole bunch of other people that create channels that unfortunately don't get seen either. So we're trying to serve the underserved and, and, Um, by doing that, I think we're building a connection with those different niche audiences to make it what it is today.

SPEAKER_03: 15:03

And I have to say, since we started working together, obviously I spent time on the app and I'm like, this is amazing because I'm heavy into television film and I would always love when I'd find a random independent movie that might've been shot on a shoestring budget. Yeah. but really resonated with me. And I feel like there's just a variety of films. I mean, you're taking them and finding them in all different manners, right? Different budgets, a lot of different genres and styles or vibes as you curate. You curate a lot of vibes, right? And again, not to make this sound like a plug for the platform, but it is, it's just a nice alternative to the algorithmic findings that were served up on every other platform we're streaming from. So if I hop on, I'm like, all right, well, I'm just going to go find my way. And that's what I've done very fortunately, listening to you over the course of these episodes. I'm like, oh yeah, you should probably go check this out because this is something, this is a genre or sub genre I'm interested in. And I'm very curious what's up there. And then also just anecdotally, because I have a few years on you guys, most of everybody who's come in here, a few years of age, it's so funny to go and see some of these movies that were dropped right around the time when I was like four or five and revisiting titles. And remember walking through blockbuster or something and then seeing the you know seeing the cover art on the boxes and then it's like wow this thing is actually here yep so it's just nice to see the that diversity of content in one place

SPEAKER_02: 16:48

yeah i appreciate that man that's where we work really hard to to represent a diverse collection of content and um i like that you brought up like i don't know the walking down the blockbuster field because that's something that we talked about in um I was actually interviewing the director of a commercial we shot. And that was what he brought up too. He brought up like, he's like just going through Momitu gives you like these nostalgia vibes about finding things that are in the deep cuts, things that weren't typically in the outside of a blockbuster. You get to kind of in the middle of things that you just never knew what it was. Maybe your friends didn't give it an opportunity. And so, yeah, we kind of like the me of Momitu is kind of us in the chair. presenting stuff to you. And kind of like you mentioned, there are other apps that people use, which is totally fine. We don't want to be someone's only option. It'd be great if we were, but at the same time, I don't only use MoMe 2, so I can't expect others to only use MoMe 2. And let's just say we have another platform that's like your go-to. We can be your second fiddle, right? We can be your fallback when you get to a point where you're like, I've seen everything. You know, so it's like, uh, we, we want to be that option to just get you into something. And then all of a sudden you're like, man, I'm, I'm six, you know, films deep in, in, uh, Bollywood films or whatever. Right. So who, who knows who's going to go down to whatever direction.

SPEAKER_03: 18:21

Yeah. I was going to say, I kind of think of it almost like if you are going to have a meal at a Or there's just a restaurant that you frequent because it's convenient. It's close. You know, everything's going to taste the same, you know, the quality, right? You're making me hungry by the

SPEAKER_02: 18:40

way. And

SPEAKER_03: 18:40

you took my popcorn. So I take the popcorn after every episode, by the way, we should all know that little, little trivia there, but it's his tip, but the way that I'm thinking about it, it's like, all right, we know all of the other ones that are out there and we're going to show up and they're going to have their original content, so forth and so

SPEAKER_02: 18:58

on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 18:59

But, I don't always have to be there. Sometimes I want something different. And I know that I'm gonna have a very unique experience when I flip over to your platform. So I just think there is space for multiple platforms. The thing that I don't think that there is space for is for people to miss the mark with catering to their niche audience. And that's why some of them succeed and fail. And that's why I'm really, really confident about what you and your team are doing Because I think you found your lane and you're like, this is our lane and we're just going to do. It's what I tell a lot of people. You can do a million things. Let's pick one or two and do them really, really well. And I think that's what you guys have done is picking these things and doing them really, really well. Solid platform, really great content that's geared towards specific audience and serving it up.

SPEAKER_02: 19:55

Yep. And shout out Charles, uh, Charles Angelus. He's our director of operations and does all of our content curation. Um, so he heads that up and, and with a mix of everyone on our team that kind of, you know, gives their two cents about things, but, uh, shout out to him. Um, a lot of the, a lot of the stuff that we do for, uh, uh, I don't remember we were talking about it, but, uh, but the, uh, the little tidbits about, um, the movie of the week, right. The, um, Also the stuff that we do with Harry Marks from Lobby Intros. So he does a lot of like these classic movie intros. And so getting deeper into a niche that we're really strong and we love classic films. And so he gets to kind of like have his say in what our listeners get introduced to and like his top 10. And then it's kind of cool that we have a little section there now too for the podcast.

SPEAKER_03: 20:48

Love that, man. Yeah. I love that. I was going to say– so– Since we are recapping the episodes, I kind of want to run it down. Let's do it. So even though I wasn't necessarily in the room for this one, but obviously in the edit and spent a lot of time reviewing the content, what was your favorite moment from episode one, your conversation with Jacqueline?

SPEAKER_02: 21:11

Man, that was a lot of fun. Especially because it was the first one. There's something about the first one that just makes it really intriguing, but... I kind of, I gave that episode the title of You Can Do It, and obviously can, C-A-N-N-E-S, where both of us had been before, and I go once a year for content at MIPCOM, and we talked a lot about can. And I think our relatability to that was really fun, but also seeing the city in just a different aspect. where her experience was totally different than mine. She talked about the croisset, which is like this part of Cannes where you– it's just– I think– I don't know what croisset translates to, but it's like a– it's just this walkway. And so for me, it's just all restaurants. But for her, it's set up differently there. And so– that was really fun to talk about, like talk about, uh, Dabuto, like one of my favorite restaurants there. Uh, it turns out like, so she thinks she thought she had not been there, but then I sent her pictures of it. She's like, Oh, I think I had lunch there. Like, it's so cute. And so like, you know, um, it just, it was fun. Like can is just such a, um, it's a beautiful place. It's magical. Um, I went there three years ago, I believe for the first time after I had actually taken a trip, uh, that kind of walked by there with my dad, uh, back in 2019 we took a euro trip so like it was cool to like just go there in 2019 and you know you have those moments where i don't know if you've ever had these moments before but like you go somewhere you see something and it's in your mind and then all of a sudden like five years later you're really involved in that area but right like this is a place right you're you've been here right so um for me it was that moment i went to can it was a place that my my dad had gone to when he was a filmmaker. And I remember hearing him talk about that as a kid. And I never knew that was going to be part of my future. We got a chance to walk there, like walk up where the red carpet is, where like people walk up the steps and go to all the, the premieres that they can film festival. And we just took pictures there. I thought that was it. And then fast forward to 2022 or 2021, was it 22 or 23 i don't know i keep losing track of the years now but um no it's 22 because this will be my fourth year going and i go yearly now and i get to experience that so yeah what a beautiful place i'm so glad that she had been there and i'm so glad we got to talk about it

SPEAKER_03: 23:44

and i was going to say um just one of my favorite moments um watching that episode and kind of pouring over it and looking at what I think the viewers would wanna see in a bit of a snapshot is I found her evolution from being talent on stage and in front of the camera to being a director very interesting, right? Because of the feedback that she was getting when she was showing up and auditioning or getting booked and they said, well, you're telling the director basically how to direct. And I love an origin story that way because I feel like in my life, there are things that I do now that I just had thoughts and opinions about. And I'm somebody, and my people know this, I'm notorious at having a hobby and then figuring out a way to monetize it. So it was just great to hear that because I spend a lot of time in my life mentoring younger people and they think that they just need to have it all figured out by a certain and very ambiguous day, arbitrary, excuse me, day and age. They're just like, oh yeah, this needs to happen. It's like, no. I was like that, 100% like that. I think we were all like that, which is why through the mentorship and through the conversations, I try to educate them because you don't need to live, there's enough external pressures. You don't need to create your own, right? But just hearing her story and then going into the movie review, where she was critiquing another piece of content.

SPEAKER_02: 25:12

Dude, that was incredible. And

SPEAKER_03: 25:13

I just loved her sensibility around, like, this is how I would have done it, but these are the things and this is why. And there's just levels and layers to how people consume content. There's people that like things that are mindless, and then there are people that are looking at every single detail. And you can see her mind work as she's just talking about it. It's almost like she's pulling it up. shot by shot,

SPEAKER_02: 25:37

you

SPEAKER_03: 25:38

know, and I love that. So those were my favorite kind of moments from that episode.

SPEAKER_02: 25:41

Well, so, okay. You bring that up and it just spurs on another thought where, as far as like me growing up in the film industry, I never looked at film that way. Sometimes I just like looked at it. I was like, okay, I know how that was done or whatever, like that kind of thing. But being able to like hear filmmakers break things down like that is it's something I never would have done. And I think I mentioned that in the first episode or second episode that I want this to podcast to be something that's also relatable for all people to where it's this is not a time to critique it's it's a time to literally give just like our review on it and like our thoughts on something from a really organic perspective that it's not always just a filmmaker on like we we've had multiple people on that are not filmmakers and they give like their two cents from a different perspective than even i would and i'm not a cinephile by any means like I've seen a lot of movies and I've seen a lot of film and I've seen a lot of shows and I've talked with a lot of filmmakers, but I wouldn't consider myself a cinephile. I wouldn't be able to name you my top 10 horror films and who are they directed by or my top three John Carpenter films or whatever. I know my favorite is Halloween, but I'm just not into that deep. But I just love film. Like, I love movies, and I love it from a perspective of being just a typical person watching movies because, to be honest, about four years ago, that's what I was. Like, I wasn't consuming content the way I am today. So that's why I wanted this to be light and fun and just relatable. And so it's great that we get both perspectives. Like, we get those perspectives from Jacqueline, and we also get stuff from myself or whoever.

SPEAKER_03: 27:21

Yeah, which actually brings me to my next episode, which is getting a different perspective from somebody that's not a filmmaker, but a CEO focused on building a brand. So it was with April Showers, an Afro unicorn. So I want to know what was a moment that really resonated with your left impression on you?

SPEAKER_02: 27:42

April's a very magical person. And she uses that term all the time, be magical. The one thing that stands out, not even a question, the secret. She talked about the secret and a lot of that came from things that I, it's honestly things that I think about already, but just not in the way that she mentioned them, but manifesting things, vision boards, breathing things into existence, like that stuff that I, it comes with a lot of confidence to be honest, like with most people, but And I talk a lot about Gary Vee in a bunch of different episodes, but I'm a big proponent of his mindset too with that, is that you have to be confident in what you're going to do. And just also know you can change what you're going to do. But with April's moment of the secret, it really brings it back in and saying, okay, if you want to do something, go do it. And if you dream... which is obviously what she's creating behind the magical brand of Afro Unicorn. If you dream as a child or if you're an adult, go back and still dream as a child. Dream childlike thoughts to where you can build some pretty magical moments in your life like Afro Unicorn, like MoMe 2, like what you're doing here at Keyframe. I mean, it's just you have to have those thoughts and you have to manifest them. You have to think about them. You have to also be confident that they're going to happen.

SPEAKER_03: 29:14

Yeah, and I think that was something that was actually resonating, or I shouldn't say the word resonating. I feel like that was a theme that kept appearing before you two actually spoke about

SPEAKER_02: 29:25

the secret.

SPEAKER_03: 29:27

It's not that she was trying to work it into the conversation. It seems like it's just a part of who she is and how she chooses to live her life. And I feel like that's what really came across to me when I was watching that. The other piece is that And you and I talked about this off camera and I was encouraging you to let that moment sit where you were having the conversation about the unicorns and the color of the unicorns. And she's like, I've never seen a unicorn that looks like me. And then she mentioned about the white unicorn, the Afro unicorn. And then you were deferring to just saying,

SPEAKER_02: 30:10

Well, I'll take the white unicorn because that's me. And she's like, no.

SPEAKER_03: 30:13

And she had that moment with you.

SPEAKER_02: 30:15

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 30:15

And that moment is the moment that I think she wants everyone to have.

SPEAKER_02: 30:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_03: 30:21

Which is like, why isn't this for me too?

SPEAKER_02: 30:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 30:24

Why wouldn't it be?

SPEAKER_02: 30:24

Yeah. I grew up with Cinderella. What's the difference? And it was

SPEAKER_03: 30:28

a fantastic point. And sitting in the room and watching your response to her, I was like, this is exactly why this woman wants to have this business.

SPEAKER_02: 30:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 30:39

And I loved that. And I'm so glad we were able to catch that and we can share it with the audience because, and if you're watching this recap and you haven't seen that episode, you really should go back and look at it because it was a really great moment. And I was really happy to be a part of that.

SPEAKER_02: 30:57

Yeah. And if you look at the intro, I am wearing an Afro unicorn sweatshirt for those intros because why, like, why not? You is such a beautiful thing that she's doing. Not just for children. but also helping business men and women just continue their dreaming thoughts and continuing to be unicorns in their own aspects of life.

SPEAKER_03: 31:20

Yeah, and it's as a person of color that is running a business and growing up in a time where there really wasn't a ton of representation, this is just an example of how you can show up for your community, but also... It's for a global community and it's not limiting. And I just, like I said, I loved that moment. I love the conversation and I love how you two got there together.

SPEAKER_02: 31:47

Yeah, I'm glad you saw that.

SPEAKER_03: 31:50

Ah, so as I'm going down my list here, episode three, Liliya. Yes, Liliya Doichinova. That's right. So what do you think you took away from the conversation with her because I thought it was a great conversation and it was really a testament of someone that is a creative, needs to be resourceful, took the time during COVID, right, where we're all trying to figure out what life is going to look like. And she poured that into her creative endeavors. And I thought that was very admirable. Um, what did you learn from like her journey overall, just her immigrating to the, to the States and her education? Yeah. Would you, would you learn from that?

SPEAKER_02: 32:41

Yeah. Lily, Lilia, uh, in her own respects as a unicorn to, uh, being as a filmmaker, she is someone that, uh, so I guess, uh, To start with, we premiered her film, right? Her first feature film, The Haunting of Hollywood. And we talk about that in episode three about her film and how she made it, which is what Craig's mentioning. But with Lilia, I also touched on this in episode 10 with JD, was the fact that she grew up in Bulgaria, wanting to get into the industry in some way. She didn't really know exactly if she'd be a director. Yeah. But I think that it brings those thoughts above just how film is international and how film can really impact people differently. For myself, growing up in the film industry, it's weird that I didn't want to be in this industry, right? But for her, she saw something... I can't remember if it was a play or a musical or something like in her local area. And it made her think like, I could do this. I want to do this. And, and then, you know, to then make it to New York and, and get into a school there for filmmaking and then to then make it to USC for their MFA program, which is like one of the hardest programs to get into for filmmaking of to get a master's in. What an incredible journey for her. And to just keep, keep in mind that people get, they get into content differently around the world because content may not be available in Bulgaria the way it is here. And so I think it gives you a perspective of life where, and not just in film, but also just life in general, we grow up with things and very privileged to have so much content around us at all times. And we're like in the heart of literally in the heart of Hollywood right now, uh, being able to be exposed to anything and everything. And yet people around the world get exposed to content completely different.

SPEAKER_03: 34:42

That's something that, um, I, I really paid attention to, uh, earlier in life as I had a were, you know, they came over here with their families, right? So they maybe came to the States when they were seven and eight years old. And there are all these movies that we look at as classic and iconic that came out. And they've gone so long in life, not some people have never seen the Goonies and we're like, well, you've never seen it. You know what I mean? Those things. I never saw Star Wars. You know what I mean? And I think that is just like our typical, you know, like basically North American culture thinking that that's globality and it isn't necessarily. It is now because of the syndication of content and the access. But yeah, there are people that are, you know, middle-aged people that have just not seen some of these things. So yeah, it definitely lends a unique perspective. But then again, to be of such mind to say, now I'm going to create something myself.

SPEAKER_02: 35:43

Is amazing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 35:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 35:46

Yeah. And her film is incredible. So if you haven't had a chance to go watch The Haunting of Hollywood, definitely go do that. It's on MoMe too right now, playing for free. Just an incredible little film. So.

SPEAKER_03: 35:57

Ah, so, you know, this one was, I actually really loved this moment because I kind of had in my mind, I had the same reaction you did, which was for episode four with Jason when he asked you your favorite movie. But you didn't answer. Yeah, I didn't really answer, did I? But your answer was my answer. Yeah. Yes. Lots of contingencies, lots of variables and circumstances.

SPEAKER_02: 36:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 36:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 36:28

It's hard to pick. And we talked about comparing genres and how even in the Oscars, you know, The Complete Unknown versus The Substance. I mean, it's like, what? How are we going to pick between one? It's like crazy. Yeah, so what's funny is after that episode, I was thinking about it in the car ride home the entire way. And I'm just like, I hate when I get this question. So I literally, when I got home, I put together a list of my top films. And so let me pull this up real quick. Here it is. So I literally I didn't go top films of like all time because I just I still feel like I can't do that. What I did is I actually broke down. I'm sorry. This is going to be like long here, but I'm totally fine with it. I got my top 15 films. Oh, did you do one too? Because

SPEAKER_03: 37:24

people would ask me. That's so funny. I know. And people would ask me the same question.

SPEAKER_02: 37:27

Oh, my gosh. So I have a list of 20. That's awesome. Yeah, it stays in my notes. That's awesome. So I'm curious to hear yours. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I put top 15 films. I just literally chose some genres and not technically all genres. Some are niches. And then I also gave some honorable mentions. So I'll go through those as well. So favorite comedy, old school. I went through that. It's nostalgic. I quote it all the time. with my buddies and it just is what it is. Uh, favorite sports movie. Remember the Titans. I'm a big Denzel Washington fan. So like it is what it, but like that movie is just so good. Um, the talent in that, in that film, the, the, the writing, the historical moments of like when they go, like they do the long run to Gettysburg and they talk about like, we're still fighting the same fight that like these men, uh, died for like why are we doing this like really touching moments there's moments like even between the dad and the daughter and with Hayden Penetier which is crazy to see her as like a 10 year old which is just so wild and she's like the same height which is crazy too but I just love that movie especially with the strong side left side strong side like just gets me every time favorite epic Braveheart just absolutely love that film it just i could watch the scene of when he's just like getting people ready for battle and i i could just i could just get really you know into things where like it's a pump up jam at that point right um favorite horror i talked about it john carpenter's halloween 1978 uh hands down not even a question uh favorite sci-fi which i know you're gonna hate this answer avatar i i just love it I know you're going to hate that answer. Yeah. It's just, I, I literally at a point, I remember it was just on TV all the time after I'd seen in theaters and I literally would just like stay up till like two in the morning watching it. Cause it's like such a long movie, but absolutely love that movie. Haven't seen in a while though. And the funny thing is I have not seen the second one, which is just crazy for people. It was when they released it, it was when my son was born and, And I refuse to watch it on my television. I want to watch it in the theater. So I need to find someone that's showing that first. And I need to do it before they release the next ones. So favorite drama, Good Will Hunting. Can't hate on that one. Favorite action, which is kind of an action epic, but Inception. Love it. I think you had mentioned about one of the episodes where the little... The top spinning. Sure

SPEAKER_03: 40:15

did.

SPEAKER_02: 40:15

Love that moment. Favorite rom-com? A Knight's Tale. Ooh. Yeah. I'm not mad at that. No, right? I like that. Heath Ledger. I like that.

SPEAKER_03: 40:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 40:26

I think it's a guy's rom-com, which I don't know if it's weird to say that, but it is a guy's rom-com. It's the Geoffrey Chaucer references and the sports references. There is some stuff throughout that, which I love it. I'm glad you like it, too. Favorite musical? which I feel like musicals need their own category. Stop putting together a comedy musical or all that stuff. The greatest showman.

SPEAKER_03: 40:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 40:52

There's a lot of great musicals too, though, like Santa music. Love that. But like, I was going to say singing in the rain. Oh, such a good one. That's mine. Yeah, that's phenomenal. That's mine. And by the way, feel free to chime in on these different genres if you got stuff on your list, please. Well, I'm just listening and judging. You're just like, okay. I'm listening and judging. Listening and judging. And then changing your answers afterwards. I get it. No, totally fine. I see the pencil over there erasing. No, but this is in stone. Fantasy, The Princess Bride.

SPEAKER_03: 41:24

Okay, real quick. Yes. I'm with you. Yes. I showed this to a friend of mine for the first time. They didn't get it. They didn't get why this was a classic. They didn't get the connection. It just was completely lost on them. And I tried, it really, and that's what we talk about that kind of, I feel like they were just greater cultural shared or shared cultural experiences when it came to films back then. And now, I mean, I'm sitting there and this was in the last year. And no, didn't work.

SPEAKER_02: 41:58

Wow. Didn't land. I'm surprised. Fortunate. More for us then. Favorite adventure movie we were talking about? The Goonies. It's, yeah, it's phenomenal. And I'm looking forward to them. I'm actually looking forward to a sequel. It's weird that I am. I don't like sequels, but I'm looking forward to that. Favorite classic? It's a Wonderful Life. Timeless. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 42:26

I can get with that. I can get with that.

SPEAKER_02: 42:28

There's a lot of, there's a lot, there's so many good classic films, but that's just, it's a, it's a time of year film too, where it's just like it, it brings it back to family and it brings it back to just Christmas. And so,

SPEAKER_03: 42:40

yeah, I was going to say, uh, some like it hot was mine. Okay. And I found it randomly because TBS used to play All these old black and white movies, old. But then I remember just watching it being young. Yeah,

SPEAKER_02: 42:55

yeah,

SPEAKER_03: 42:56

yeah. I mean, it was funny. Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe and the whole thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tony Curtis. I don't know. That one.

SPEAKER_02: 43:05

Yeah. Yeah. So then we got animation up. Just a solid film. Never saw it. You need to. That's what everybody says. What is up with that? You need to go see Up. Yeah, I did it. Sorry, dad joke. It's good. The relationship with the older man, with his wife and how much he misses her. It gets me every time. Favorite indie? Swingers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 43:37

Highly stylized is what I would say.

SPEAKER_02: 43:40

The writing's incredible. The cast is phenomenal. Yeah. And to be able to do that all under 300 grand, so good. They were nobodies, I mean, just to make that film. It's so good. And then my favorite, micro budget, because I have to throw that in there, especially with MoMe 2. We talked about it in episode four, Stupid Games. It is something that is so, it's near and dear to my heart. Was there for the premiere, got to do the Q&A for it, got to really get to know the filmmakers. it's a great little horror film. And if you haven't seen stupid games, go see it. Um, so yeah. And then I'll just, I'm not going to talk about each one. I'll just, I'll name them off, but I got honorable mentions because I just, they were just so good that I couldn't, uh, toss them out. But, uh, as far as comedy, uh, space balls, Mel Brooks is writing so good. Yeah. Um, I love spoofs. I love things like that. Um, but like also like his work with, um, uh, Robin Hood, men in tights, just, Phenomenal. Blazing Saddles. So those are not on my list, but I just named one. Big Trouble in Little China. Oh, good. Yes. Good one. Yeah, pull that out of the archives. That goes in many different categories. Some say it's a horror film. Some say it can be more of a fantasy type. There's comedy in there. There's action. I mean, there's a lot of everything there. It's

SPEAKER_03: 45:03

like, what category is it?

SPEAKER_02: 45:04

Yes. Yes. And it has my favorite Asian actor. A well-timed pioneer, and I don't think he gets enough praise for him, but James Hong playing Lo Pan. Just, yeah, phenomenal. And let's see here. Gladiator, Top Gun, The Italian Job. So good. Another just, this is such a banger, Seven. What's in the Box, another quotable piece there. But, oh, incredible film. I would love to see them make... I don't want to see them remake that, but if they were a film to almost not remake it, but even have a prequel or a sequel to, I would love to see something developed off of that.

SPEAKER_03: 45:50

Like in the universe of Seven. Yes, 100%. Because the tone, those characters, the way they were developed. So something in the Seven universe would be

SPEAKER_02: 46:00

really good. 100%. I think that's an incredible take there. Three Amigos, just, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you can't. I

SPEAKER_03: 46:11

think if you're of a certain age, you saw it running on HBO. Yes. And it was unavoidable.

SPEAKER_02: 46:17

Yeah, the singing Bush. It's just so good. Did you say you have a plethora of piñatas? So quotable. Training Day, just because, again, Denzel Washington. Huge fan. And we talked about the Korean training day ask of, of that in the policeman's lineage in episode one. And last but not least had to throw it in there. It was a last, it was a last minute addition, but eight mile. Oh, okay. I think it's one of the, you get to that scene and every single person knows that you can't, first of all, not nod your head. Everyone knows those lyrics. Yeah. And, and it's just, yeah. Phenomenal. I think they did an incredible job. It's one of the, and obviously with Eminem winning. The Academy Award. Yes. Yeah. Winning that and just being a part of that is phenomenal. So yeah, there's my list. I have more. There's so many more, but this is why it's so hard, right? Yeah. Let's talk about your list. I would love to hear some more.

SPEAKER_03: 47:16

Well, because I have a question for the next episode, but I'll just run down a couple of these. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't think you and I, I'm sorry, we only had one. that overlapped. Wow. Only one. Yeah. Which is just a Top Gun. Wow.

SPEAKER_02: 47:32

Top Gun. So we had

SPEAKER_03: 47:33

overlapping, but it was only in my honorable mention, which is wild. So here we go. So I'm just going to run them down in particular order, but A Star is Born, the Bradley Cooper

SPEAKER_02: 47:43

one to be very specific. I think that was a phenomenal film. Great choice. Where would you put that in? What genre would you put that in your list though?

SPEAKER_03: 47:50

Oh yeah. I would say that's it. It's a drama.

SPEAKER_02: 47:55

the drama, but it's also kind of a musical. It is kind of a musical. But

SPEAKER_03: 47:58

they're not singing the conversations. They're not, yeah, you know what I mean? The musical performances were there, but that's why I would drop it in drama. No, that's good. I was going to say The Talented Mr. Ripley. Great. Fantastic movie, right? The Color Purple, Spielberg's. This one is going to be a hot take because a lot of people haven't seen it. Sunshine. Cillian Murphy, Danny

SPEAKER_02: 48:22

Boyle.

SPEAKER_03: 48:24

It's I'd say three quarters of it is a sci-fi movie. And then it gets a little, and I know the third act is. I see you, Craig, getting the deep cuts. That's where I'm at. But I love Danny Boyle. He's one of my favorite directors. I just really loved The Vision. Cliff Curtis was really great in that movie too. Just like stellar performances all the way around, right? Kind of on that same Danny Boyle train, 28 Days Later, my favorite. It's my favorite horror movie, but it's just one of my favorite movies in general. Mm-hmm. Respect that. Yeah. Let's say Pulp Fiction. Okay. Right. Mission Impossible 3. Ooh, wow. J.J. Abrams won. Okay. That movie, I feel like, because as much as I love John Woo, 2 wasn't for me. Wasn't for you, boy. Wasn't for me.

SPEAKER_02: 49:11

Controversial take, but I wasn't that big of a fan of Mission Impossible as a whole. Just as the whole thing. I just never got into

SPEAKER_03: 49:19

it. I can understand because one is a little, it feels a little of the time because, and it's also De Palma and then Wu for two. But J.J. Abrams for three, that was the on-ramp to- We're getting specific on it, which I really appreciate. Yeah, yeah. These are very well thought out opinions here, right? Yeah. Just to run through the list because I want to get to this next question for you. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Yep. Shane Black, right? Yep. Saving Private Ryan, one of my favorite military movies, right? There's a few more, but that's one of the ones. Singing in Rain, which is what I mentioned. One that no one probably would ever put on their list, but I loved it. Match Point. Did you see it? I did not. Woody Allen movie. Okay. Controversial. I know. I know. But just bear with me. Enjoy it for the art, not for the personal outside. Jonathan Rhys-Myers and Scarlett Johansson. Fantastic. Yep. The tension between the characters is just, yeah. The Rainmaker. Okay. And Joaquin Phoenix was just so good. In the Rainmaker. Not hating on it. Shawshank Redemption. Yes. And then Unfaithful, if you haven't seen it. Richard Gere, Diane Lane. No, I have not. Oh, man. Oh, man. Yeah. Okay. I saw that in a theater. I was like, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 50:41

Yeah. Yep. Another honorable mention for me, just because it came up when you were reading off your list, but Rock and Rolla.

SPEAKER_03: 50:48

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02: 50:49

I'm on the fence. I just, I got into it. I have... A friend of mine, Romero, who we quoted that all the time. But yeah, I don't know. There's a film on it also. I enjoy British films. I do too. British accents. I'm a big English Premier League soccer fan. Manchester United, by the way. Some people are going to hate me for that. But I... don't have to use subtitles for British films. And whereas like if I'm sitting with my wife, she needs them on. She's like, what did they say? Especially with, what was the, Cillian Murphy, Razorblades. Oh, Peaky Blinders. Peaky Blinders. So yeah, we had to have the subtitles for that. Even for me, that stuff gets real deep. But no, the... What am I? Oh, gosh, I'm blanking on the name now. Green Street Hooligans.

SPEAKER_03: 51:43

Oh,

SPEAKER_02: 51:43

OK. Not not an incredible film by any means. Yeah, but it's a good film, but it's something I really enjoyed. So like rock and roll, it kind of fits into that. So I'm

SPEAKER_03: 51:51

a big Guy Ritchie fan.

SPEAKER_02: 51:53

Yes. Like I am.

SPEAKER_03: 51:55

He's one of my favorite directors. I put him in my personal top 10. Yeah. His catalog is deep. I'm with that. Yep. But there are just some things that I vibe with and like snatches on my list also.

SPEAKER_02: 52:06

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 52:07

But, you know, like Rock and Roller and Revolver were the ones that I was like, I don't know, my boy. Let's talk about this. But, you know, that's why, but

SPEAKER_02: 52:16

this is, so again, this is also, and we can segment this into the next episode, but it's like, yeah, This is why, again, why MoMe2? Why do we do things this way? Because we want to expose people to content that they never would have seen with an algorithm because your algorithm is going to look like how your list is. Mine's going to look how my list is, right? And so we can bridge that gap, hopefully, for people to get exposed.

SPEAKER_03: 52:42

Yeah, absolutely. Which, funny enough, speaking about the platform, And so in episode five, we had Jen Colbert in here. Yep, Jen Colbert. And with Jen, I loved how she was giving you just all the praise for you and your team getting the app up and going. But the launch party, I feel like I missed out. And I saw the video.

SPEAKER_02: 53:09

Yeah. I saw the video. Yeah, if you haven't seen the video, definitely go to our YouTube page. If you're not already watching on there now, if you're just listening, Go to our YouTube page. You have to. Search MoMe2. Go all the way down and type in MoMe2 launch party. And wow, what a night. I mean, we had Jen Cobra there. She did a stand-up set, which was incredible. She rocked the house. Everyone was laughing, just dying from her. She's so funny. We had an incredible tequila sponsor. in califino tequila so everyone was you know kind of kind of greased up from the beginning we we had this like little room in the beginning which was kind of cool so we kept away kept everyone away from the main party and it was just like this glass door uh that you could see into the party so you could see all the cool things that were going on we had all these different setups for all the different food themes we had this uh we had a a photo booth inside of like a uh a vw bus which was really really fun Um, so we had all this going on and we had some music playing in the front room. People are just hanging out, but they could see in. So it was like, almost like you couldn't get into the party, but you see it. But the funny thing is no one was in there yet. So it was kind of like, I want to be in that party, but there's no one there. It's kind of this weird thing that we created and shout out to, uh, to Debbie for, um, to doing that. We talked about that on Jen Cobers. She, uh, Debbie is just phenomenal, um, event planner and, uh, yeah. She, she just, she blew that, blew that party out of the house. I mean, people came back from that. Even Jen, I think Jen mentioned it. She was like, Oh, that's my top three, top three parties I've ever been to.

SPEAKER_03: 54:53

I know that's, that's saying a lot, right?

SPEAKER_02: 54:55

It says a lot, especially cause I mean, I, at that point I hadn't been to a lot of industry parties. And so like we put this together and everyone came away saying like, man, whoever didn't come missed out. And so, um, yeah, it was great to kick off the company that way. Um, we wanted people to, to know our name from the jump. Um, it was unfortunate that we had some things that kind of held us back like mid, like we, we launched the brand, but then we had to like kind of hold off on launching it as fully as we like to, because we had to upgrade our technology. So it was kind of like, man, I wish we did the party like a year later kind of thing, but it is what it is. We got, we had an incredible night and people came away from that knowing who Momiji was from day one. So, so incredible for her to bring that up and have so much fun there. It was, yeah. Phenomenal.

SPEAKER_03: 55:39

So speaking of party, that actually segues very nicely into episode six, who I thought came with a ton of energy and was like a party, was Romaine.

SPEAKER_02: 55:50

Romaine Simon, my Haitian brother.

SPEAKER_03: 55:53

Yes, and I know what moment stuck out for me, and I'm going to guess it's the same moment that stuck out with you. Yeah. But let's say it on the count of three together. So one, two, three. MySpace.

SPEAKER_02: 56:11

I can see it in your eyes. I didn't mean to like... Dude, that moment was hilarious. You have to go back and watch that with Romain. He is such a character. But yeah, when he started bringing up his MySpace page and like... forward slash backslash like he just went off on this tangent of just like promotion so good man it was so good i mean we all remember videos

SPEAKER_03: 56:34

on his myspace

SPEAKER_02: 56:35

still remember when we had a myspace i mean for those that are were old enough to have a myspace i mean before facebook myspace was the thing and you have a song on myspace i wish that i kind of wish they brought that back like they kind of did with instagram you can have a song on your like little thing but like it's not the same you don't visit someone's page and all of a sudden music's playing i think they should do that like where you go to someone's page and music is just automatically playing. Oh, man, that could get a lot of people in trouble. It could. It could. But I think it says a lot, right? Like you're in the middle of a breakup. Like why has this guy not been– like why has my homie not been like getting back to me kind of thing? And like you go to his page and it's just like a breakup song. You're like, oh, that's why he's just not available. Or maybe someone's just really happy because they just got married, right? Like so they're sharing their wedding song. And like there's so many moments like that you could– do that for right like and anniversaries you know valentine's day like again you could change your song up all the time and i think that nowadays especially back then it was more difficult to get your song because i think you were limited to like 30 seconds or a certain yeah and it was just loop right yeah it was just loop and so but and you had to play it i don't think you you didn't go to the page and it played you had to like go and play the song that was there and i think instagram instagram's missing out on that i think they could make something happen there with uh Maybe it's one of those things like it's part of the premium version with the blue check or something. Whatever. That was a lot of fun,

SPEAKER_03: 57:57

though. Oh, man. And also a lot of fun was our buddy, Sierra. Sierra Nowak. Yes. Well, Sierra is a collaborator of Momitu. She's the one that's featured in a lot of the ads. She's been... a supporter, collaborator, contributor, and guest on the pod. And yeah, she was hilarious.

SPEAKER_02: 58:22

She does our MoMe Too Movie of the Weeks. If you haven't seen those, go check those out. MoMe Too Movie of the Weeks. We drop one every Thursday. It's like a 60-second spot on just the film we want to highlight that week. So yeah, shout out to Ciara. She's incredible.

SPEAKER_03: 58:37

But she had a few nuggets for us. She dropped some gems. And I know she mentioned... learning from failures and that kind of stuck

SPEAKER_02: 58:46

out, right? It, it did. And, and that is something where I've, I've had, I've been fortunate enough to fail a little bit of life. And I say that people say like, you're an idiot. Like, why would you want to fail? And it's like, you need to fail in order to succeed. People that have not failed early on, We'll pay for it later because they don't know what it looks like. And so again, bringing up Gary V again, I talk about that a lot, Tim a lot. And just, he talks about failures. He talks about starting over. He talks about, Hey, you're not too old yet. Like you're, you're young enough to can to start something new and do something different and get into your hobby and do your niche and just love what you do with life and don't hate it. Like she, she mentioned that and it was such a great moment. Um, have to learn from your failures and i'm honestly learning that through my toddler now because he's he's three and it's the hardest thing to see him fail at things i just want to do it for him right but i have to let him fail because it's the only way he's going to succeed so yeah learning from failures i mean that was kind of episode one at the same time is like trying to do this whole thing by myself without you and i i wouldn't have it any other way to have you you know without i wouldn't have it any other way i want you to buy my side for the rest of the life of this podcast. I'm here, bro. I'm with you, man. I'm with you. But what's

SPEAKER_03: 1:00:12

funny is that we're talking about failures, and I think that the next episode was a key indicator of failure and resilience because we had a fantastic guest in Jeff, but we also had a bit of a technical difficulty

SPEAKER_02: 1:00:29

with his episode. We did. Yes. Jeff was so patient, so kind. he we started recording our episode we literally like had i honestly felt like one of the funnest and intros that we had done up to that point 19 minutes and for whatever reason um and i'm glad that he did this and so this is more of a of a a thing for podcasters in general that are listening to this not just everyone's listening but podcasters specifically uh check your audio check your wires make sure you're not that nothing is wrong um We even wear these headphones. We don't need to. I have you doing it, so I don't need to have the headphones, but I like hearing my voice. Everyone else is going to hear it down the road, too. We could hear each other fine. Everything was great. All of a sudden, he did this. He just bumped his mic, and all of a sudden, something went out. We don't know what happened, but... Uh, we went back and we checked the, we're like, Hey, let's stop real quick. Let's just see what happened.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:33

Yeah. That's, that's my experience.

SPEAKER_02: 1:01:34

Oh, it was rough.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:35

Yeah. I mean, it happens. A camera will cut off sometimes and we lost all the audio.

SPEAKER_02: 1:01:40

It was,

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:41

it

SPEAKER_02: 1:01:41

was what it was. Yeah. But Jeff, but okay. I will say Jeff was so patient, so kind. Like he was like, you know what? It's all good. Let's reset. Let's do it. Let's go back. So if you go back to Jeff's episode, the beginning is like the second beginning. It's kind of funny.

SPEAKER_03: 1:01:54

But what's great about it is that it wasn't like put on or rehearsed. It felt like a continuation of the conversation. We warmed up a little bit. But also going back and starting it over again gave you an opportunity to kind of explore some things that you didn't. Because you were super intentional going back the second time to make sure, like, I want to ask this up front. So I thought it was great. And I told you separately when we cut, I was like, you didn't lose the momentum. It was a really good episode with Jeff.

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:23

Well, so in JD's episode, I was actually getting nervous because he kept moving his mic around, which I'm very like hesitant to do right now. But I just like, I kind of want to get comfortable because I'm not. I'm not facing the way I normally would face. I'm facing you and just I'm trying to get comfortable. He kept moving his mic around and like, oh, you'll hear it, all that stuff. And I don't know if that was like homage to his dad, but like just making all the ASMR like, you know, his dad was known for making all those noises. So, yeah, I was nervous that his sound was going to cut out somehow. I was like, and it didn't. But, yeah, Jeff was great about it. He was really, really nice to just say, hey, let's just start over, reset, do what we can with the time we have. and made it happen

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:04

but also I will say that kind of goes back to the conversation you were actually having about with Jeff becoming the CEO of this company and him working at the places yeah so him being the CEO and then making some decisions and being going there through an exit and then starting something and then the course correcting, I just thought that was his character trait and it was exhibited in how he's worked and how successfully is now. And even with something as simple as a technical difficulty, consummate professional is really good conversation.

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:37

Yep. And through that, it led to us getting documentaries plus his channel on. There you go.

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:42

Yeah. Yeah. Ah, so yeah, Um, this one was an interesting one because, um, I didn't really have much information about, uh, from episode nine about Chloe,

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:53

Chloe, Caroline,

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:54

super talented,

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:55

very talented, very, very

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:56

talented. Yes. And, um, I'm, you know how I am. I love to support creatives and especially people that are out there just doing as much as they can on their own. But, um, what, what was your, your biggest takeaway from her episode?

SPEAKER_02: 1:04:13

With Chloe, there was a moment that, and I had given her, I gave her like this like creative idea to, she was talking about how she was writing songs when she was like six. And she's like, yeah, they're just, you know, six year old songs, whatever. There's, you know, basic, nothing too deep. And so we had talked about, that was kind of the stepping point or the stepping stone point of her writing. Like where she's like, I want to do this. Like she liked writing and she liked, you know, performing, whatever. And so she wanted to become an artist. And so, and growing up in a musical family, it's obviously, you know, a little easier to, not easier to get into, but it's also just like kind of a little bit of that influence is there already. And so for her to mention her earlier moments, it made me bring it back to like pursuing your dreams, right? And I think that that's something, and we talked about that with April a little bit too, but taking a moment to think about what makes you happy? What is something that you could look back on and say, okay, I did with my life what I wanted to. And even if you fail in pursuing your dream, taking the chance to do it, taking your shot, you have to go after it. Because if you don't, you're going to live a life of regret, right? And so I took that away from her. Pursuing your dreams and hopefully, I think, I really hope she makes the kind of the idea that we talked about is turning her six-year-old self into an album, like taking her six-year-old songs and like rewriting them and developing them into even just an EP.

SPEAKER_03: 1:05:49

Well, it's funny you say that because it makes me think of Superbad. Seth and Evan, right? Wrote that when they were kids. And then now they have the resources and the technical acumen to bring something like that to life. So, you know, we've seen it done and successful, different genre, but we've seen it. So I would love to see that

SPEAKER_02: 1:06:11

from her too. A friend of mine, James Cullen Bresick, he's a director. He actually just, he had a film come out with Jean-Claude Van Damme recently, forgetting the name off the top of my head. And he's going to be like, killing me for that. But, uh, either way, look up his name, but James Cole, James Cole and Brassick, uh, he has a film that's in development now that he wrote when he was like 13 or 14. I love that, man. And so he's, he took it and he's like redoing it, like re or not rewriting it, but just like polishing it. Right. Yeah. And it's getting, it's getting made into a, into a film now. So it's so cool to see that stuff.

SPEAKER_03: 1:06:45

I love it when it happens in an instance like that or like a super bad situation. Yeah. I don't like it when it's like cabin fever. where I loved the first iteration of it. And then it came out again and I'm like, yeah. Remakes don't always need to be hot. Yeah, that one was, yeah, I don't know. I just thought the first one was, that was it. And since we're, this one's kind of fresh because we're literally shooting right after our last episode, episode 10, J.D. Witherspoon.

SPEAKER_02: 1:07:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_03: 1:07:19

Yes. So my friend- Mr. Witherspoon. My friend, my client, I am JD's manager, but he is my friend first and foremost. And I hope my friend now, too.

SPEAKER_02: 1:07:31

Oh, definitely. It was a long episode. It was the longest episode of any episode. It wasn't even close. It was almost two hours of an episode. It was

SPEAKER_03: 1:07:39

a two-hour episode, and I don't think there was any space in there. It was just a great conversation.

SPEAKER_02: 1:07:45

I feel like we could have gone for three. I feel like we could have literally kept talking. I almost had to bring him back And it's kind of weird being on the other side of like the things right now, like you hosting and I'm kind of the guest. So kind of jump into my host method again, but like method acting. So being the host, I had to get back to the points. Like I have, you know, talking points of what I want to get to and,

SPEAKER_04: 1:08:10

you

SPEAKER_02: 1:08:11

I'm very bad because I get into tangents all the time.

SPEAKER_04: 1:08:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 1:08:14

And my wife will be the first one to tell me like, that story was way longer than it needed to be. Yeah. You could have just said this. And I'm like, yeah, sorry. But it's one of those things like I had to hone myself back in. That's probably one of the biggest struggles I have as being a host on this because I always want to continue to talk about whatever topic. Yeah. And I have to get back to the program in a sense, right? Like kind of just to keep us on time and keep us on pace and make sure that this episode is not Too long, right? Because, I mean, people's attention spans are only so long. It was difficult with him, for sure. But it was so much fun. Like, I had a blast on that episode.

SPEAKER_03: 1:08:49

Well, see, I think that's the thing, right? So, JD is so creative and so dynamic and clearly very funny. Clearly very comfortable talking, too. Like, that's not always easy for him, people. Him being on many podcasts, hosting his own podcast. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Getting up in front of people doing stand-up, it's like that's what he does, right? And there's a different gear for individuals. And even when I told you J.D. was going to come in, I was like, you're going to be good.

SPEAKER_02: 1:09:19

J.D., he's got it. Well, because I was a little nervous because he was the first guest that I hadn't had a previous relationship with. So a little nerve-wracking a little bit just to get to know someone because it's not just me personally. making someone else feel comfortable. It's also me getting comfortable with them, you know, in the sense of, Hey, I just met you, you know, a few minutes ago,

SPEAKER_01: 1:09:41

you

SPEAKER_02: 1:09:42

know, kind of thing, uh, and via email and just random stuff like that. But, uh, it's, it's, it was different. It was definitely different, but it was a lot of fun. I think he was the right person to have as that first kind of guest that was a, uh, an unknown for me.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:55

Yeah. And I was going to say, um, even when the cameras cut, uh, you and I both had a moment that really stayed with us when he was talking about his father during the this and that. And that was the longest this and that too. The whole episode was long. The beginning was long. The this and that was great. But I'm here for it. Being someone who sits behind the camera and I'm watching and recording and thinking about how this is going to go out and this is going to connect and this is for the audience. And I was like, All of this is good.

SPEAKER_01: 1:10:30

All

SPEAKER_03: 1:10:31

of it is just a really great conversation. I could see you two connecting. But in particular, that moment during this and that, when you asked him daytime or nighttime, and he said daytime, and he started reminiscing about his father. That got me. That got me.

SPEAKER_02: 1:10:51

Yeah, the question, it was a simple question that I wasn't expecting to be that deep. And it was literally like, Nighttime or daytime? Just like, hey, you like being a daytime person? You like staying up late? It was the right question for him because of the fact that he does streaming and, you know, he does gaming. And so I know a lot of gamers are typically night owls. They stay up super late, don't get a lot of sleep, especially if they're streaming on Twitch or whatever. And then also working in the comedy clubs. You know, working in a comedy club, like you could be, if you're headlining or whatever, like you or you're whatever, like you're on a weekend. Sometimes it's like 11 o'clock and you're not getting done until, 1 a.m. 2 a.m. or not getting home till 3 or whatever because maybe you stay back and have a drink or whatever like sometimes you just don't see the daylight and for him to then talk about his father rest in peace John Witherspoon incredible actor incredible comedian for him to get deep like that especially so early I wish that question was like later in the this or that now that I look back on it but man he he said that his father mentioned when he was a kid that He appreciated the times in the sunlight, in the daylight, because there were days where he sometimes never got to see the sun, which is so wild to think about. We see these celebrities, we see these A-listers, whatever you want to call them, and you see these people that are successful in their own right, whether it's stand-up comedy or as actors or on TV or whatever, and we don't see the behind the scenes of what they're doing. And for him to like, you know, JD mentioned about like not seeing his father sometimes, and I had the same reason. Like I didn't see my dad for sometimes weeks at a time. He's on film sets or whatever. You get to a point where like you don't want to be in the industry because of that. But we don't see all the effort and the sacrifice that it takes to make things happen for people on a screen or at a comedy club or whatever. whatever it may be. So yeah, that hit me hard. I mean, I kept thinking about it after that episode. I couldn't stop. It was just like, man, like, I think it's also like, I mentioned to you before, like, you know, we talked about like, why did we film at the hour we film at and why we film the day we film? Because you mentioned like, hey, we should film on a weekend. And I said, you know what? I don't film on weekends because that's family time. And that's one of the things I keep in my life because I don't want to sacrifice time with, I don't want to miss moments with my son. I don't want to sacrifice weekends with my wife. I don't want to sacrifice date nights on Fridays when we are able to do them and get our Mimi and Papa to watch our little one, right? Because those are moments I don't want to have sacrificed for myself. And it's not always the case for a lot of people. So yeah, that was a touching moment. It was really touching.

SPEAKER_03: 1:13:47

Yeah, I mean, I lost my father a few years ago. Sorry. I didn't know that. Yeah, and I've actually lost both my parents. Wow. And they passed away 11 months apart. So J.D. answering a very simple daytime, nighttime, evoking this memory of his dad, thinking about my dad. Both of us have talked about just like losing– losing our dads. It's just, yeah. So that one just really, that one stuck with me too.

SPEAKER_02: 1:14:21

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's nice that we've only done 10 episodes. I feel like it's, it's been so long just for the fact that we've gotten, like, we've had some fun with the guests. We've had some moments that are just like, wow. Moments of like, wow, that's incredible that you do that or incredibly you went through that. Like we're living lifetimes of people that, through each episode, at least in the beginning part, right? Like we have some fun with this or that, but even this or that gets deep as we found out with JD. And then like then doing the movie reviews, it's fun to get perspectives, but also like that brings on the, like even thoughts of like, Like with Chasen, he talked about his upbringing in Wilmingwood and Wilmington, North Carolina and like how they filmed there and that he's got friends back home. And so it's not just like for him, it's not just a business thing. It's a nostalgia thing. And yeah, I mean, there's so many pieces to this that we've hit only in 10 episodes that I feel like we lived multiple lifetimes through this. Yeah. And it's only been 10. Like I can't wait to do the next one. Yep. It's going to be a lot of fun. So- Any more questions,

SPEAKER_03: 1:15:30

Mr. Craig?

SPEAKER_02: 1:15:31

Question

SPEAKER_03: 1:15:32

is, what are the next 10 episodes going

SPEAKER_02: 1:15:37

to look like? Wow. They're going to be a lot of fun, for sure. I feel like I'm definitely evolving as a host, too. So I'm looking forward to having deeper conversations, even being more prepared for certain people and just talking to them. It's not something that I just show up here and we do this. I spent some time researching each person and getting to know them on what Google says, but also what their social media says, maybe movies or shows or whatever they've been in. But I also don't want to do that too much because I also want to leave some openness to hear their story. So I think that's why I wanted to strategize this or set this framework of this show to be that so that it's not just a– you know, a set in stone, like here's every question, here's every answer kind of thing. I want these interviews to be organic and fun and to share about these moments that maybe people have never heard before, like some moments that, and I don't know who's heard that from JD about his father's, you know, you know, you know, enjoying the sunshine, enjoying the day. I don't know how many people he's shared that with. So it's cool that that's been a moment here, right? And I'm hoping to have more moments like that with our future guests. So stay tuned for those new guests coming in, the next 10. I'm looking forward to them. And I'm looking forward to doing them with you as well. Same moment. It's been a lot of fun. Yeah,

SPEAKER_03: 1:17:03

absolutely.

SPEAKER_02: 1:17:04

Well, everyone. Thank you again for joining us through the first 10 episodes, the journey that we've been on so far. Looking forward to having you, and hopefully you share this with more people as well. Make sure that you hit that subscribe button if you're not already doing so. Make sure you follow us, like us, or like our episodes. It would really help us a lot if you commented on our podcast as well, or leave a review. If you're just listening to this, you're not seeing me talking to you, make sure you leave a review and and share this with some people. It really goes a long way because it's not just helping us share the podcast. It's also helping share the journeys of all of our guests that are going to be on here and sharing what they're doing and what's coming up next for them. And also the small businesses and the podcasts that we shout out as well. It's going to be helping all of those people. So we want this to be a space that's light, it's fun, it's entertaining, but that we also learn from each other's journeys and also get to learn about some films on Momitu at the same time. So make sure you share that with everyone. And if you're not already following us on social media, make sure you do check us out there as well. So for the podcast, it's going to be at Momitu Podcast. So we're on Instagram, on TikTok. And then you can find our podcast episodes on YouTube for the video version and then on audio on the traditional spots like Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more. But yeah, make sure you go follow us. And then if you're not already doing so, make sure you go download the MoMe2 app. You can download it on your television at home. You can download it on your Roku, Fire TV, Vizio, Samsung. You can even download it on your phone. Very simple to do so. Just go to the app store, type in MoMe2. And it'll be right there for you. It's free to download, free to use. And you can check out all the movies and more that we've talked about on this podcast and obviously for the episodes to come. So really looking forward to getting on to the next 10 episodes with you. And thank you again for being a part of our journey. Until next time, we'll see you in the pod. Thanks for spending your time with us today on the More For Me And You podcast. If you've made it to the end, we appreciate you. Now, go do us a quick favor. Please like, comment, and share this episode. And before you go, don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode with the incredible guests we have coming up. You can also follow us at at Momitu Podcast on Instagram and on TikTok. Oh, and for your next movie night, check out the Momitu app. It's free and packed with amazing movies and shows you've probably never seen. Until next time, take care, stay safe, and we'll see you in the pod.