More for Me and You Podcast
Brought to you by the free streaming service Mometu, the More for Me and You Podcast blends interviews and movie reviews. Guests from across the entertainment industry share their journeys and what's next for them. Before each episode, they choose a movie on Mometu for us to watch, followed by a spoiler-free review. Fun. Light. Insightful.
More for Me and You Podcast
Josh Levesque | Episode 31: Don't Go in the Podcast
On this episode of the More for Me and You Podcast, I sit down with horror movie creator Josh Levesque for a conversation that spans from childhood dreams to present-day chills. Josh shares his journey of moving across the country, his earliest memories of exploring a local video store, and how those moments sparked a passion that eventually led him to his dream job at Universal Studios Hollywood. When the pandemic turned his world upside down, Josh pivoted in a big way, bringing his creativity online and becoming a rising force in the horror community on social media.
We also dive into a fun round of This or That, where Josh opens up about his creative process, including the birth of his popular “horror roommates” series. To wrap things up, we do a quick spoiler-free movie review of Glowzies, Josh’s pick that you can stream right now for free on the Mometu app.
If you’re a horror fan or just love hearing about how passion can turn into opportunity, you won’t want to miss this one.
Follow us on Instagram or TikTok for BTS footage @mometupodcast & do not forget to download the Mometu app and watch movies for free today.
Four for me to do it. That's more for me to do it. That's more for me to do it. That's more for me.
SPEAKER_02:Welcome back to the More For Me and You podcast, where we interview guests across the entertainment spectrum and also do some spoiler-free movie reviews on movies that they pick that are playing on the free streaming service Momitu. And speaking of Momitu, this episode is brought to you by them. You can download the free app on your Smart TV, Roku, Fire TV, Apple or Android device, and yeah, just pick a playlist and get streaming. And as for today, we actually have a very special guest, a man that if you saw his name, you'd probably mispronounce it. He is a big Dodger fan, loves beer, and I'm very excited to get his take on some horror films because that's what he does. And just to let you know as well, Josh, first of all, very happy to have you. I'm a big fan of like candy and drinks. Yes. And I love your takes because you get sent the wildest stuff. And you and your wife, Kami, like you guys are always just trying different candy, trying different drinks. Oh yeah. How did that get started?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, I I rarely get sent any snacks right now. I just I buy them whenever I see them. Really? Yeah. The I don't remember how that started. I think I was I got something weird and I was like, this is silly, but maybe I'll just record myself trying it and post it on TikTok because I didn't have anything else to post that day. And half the comments were people just being like, I hope this is a new series. Like, are you gonna be doing more snack videos? And I was like, I mean, I do love candy and sodas and trying new flavors and stuff, so I'll try it. And yeah, it just became like a secondary thing. But the the most recent one I did was the Chucky soda because I was like, oh, Fanta's gonna do all these horror sodas. I gotta try the Chucky one um because he's my favorite. And that was fun. And then I still have uh yeah, chips and gummy candies and all kinds of stuff just sitting in a bucket by the sink, and I eventually I gotta open some of them. There's some good ones in there. And then if I worry that they start to get stale, I'll eat them and I won't record it. So there have been a few that unfortunately did not make it to the uh to the app, but I am still sitting there. Exactly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:That's fair enough. I appreciate that. So with your last name, how many different ways have people said it? Levec. I mean, I I I see it. I'm like, yeah, that's Levesque. It is Levec, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you. I appreciate that. Uh anyone who is a diehard um WWE fan usually gets it right because it's Triple H's last name, um, which I didn't know until a few years ago. And then everyone else, uh, the worst I've ever had was a telemarketer asked if Mr. Levasquez was home, which made it very easy for me to be like, no. Mr. Le Vasquez from Southern California. That guy definitely is not here. Um I get Levescu a lot. I get Levesque. Um, Levesque. I've had since I my username is Josh B. Levec because Josh Levesque was already taken. Everyone assumes my last name is Blovec. I've had that a lot since I started on TikTok and I hadn't said it out loud. And then uh I interviewed for a job at Pepsi when I lived in Vegas. And the person who was interviewing me was like, There's somebody here with your same last name. Do you have any relatives here? And I was like, not that I know of. I mean, I just moved here a few months ago. And uh and she's like, What do you how do you pronounce it? And I was like, It's Levesque. And she's like, Oh, he pronounces it Leviscu. And I'm like, Oh, he's pronouncing it wrong then.
SPEAKER_02:Like first time ever a person pronouncing his own name wrong.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it was very weird. And then I had somebody comment on my Instagram that uh she used to have the same last name, or her family did, and they changed it a few generations ago to just L-A-V-E-C-K because they got tired of having to explain it to people. And I'm like, nah, it's the best part having the unique weird name.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean, my mom's original like family name was definitely changed when they came over on the boat. And yeah, like I think there's an R that dropped off, and like and then you go to find out, like, yeah, there's there's multiple Koenigs and Koenigs and like all this stuff. So you're like, yeah, okay, it makes sense. Uh I wonder if they actually said their name differently, like the Levescu or whatever, like just to like try to fit in and make sure people could say it better. Maybe not that much easier to be honest, though.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, people that's just how people started pronouncing it, and they're like, you know what? Sure. Like let's let's run it out.
SPEAKER_02:I get so many different ways because Luzil is my last name. So L-O-U-Z-I-L, it's it is a very unique looking name. People think it's like French or Italian, and I'm like, uh no, it's just it's Czech, but uh it's pronounced Luzil, like bruh Zil with a loo in front of it. But I get so many different ways. So really yeah, and just like we get many ways of how to say momitu, uh, you know, we get some fun ones. That's true. Mometu, mommy too, uh a lot of different ways, but I don't really care how you say it as long as you're watching it. That's all that matters. Um but yeah. But I I did want to thank you in person because we we just met, you know, we've talked for months and months now, and uh I did want to thank you for just taking the time out of your busy day and your busy schedule to be a judge for the Momi 2 College Film Festival. Oh yeah. It is so important to support the up-and-coming filmmakers, and I appreciate every single person that that volunteered their time to to judge those films, to be even like to work the event. But that event would not have happened with like the 22 or 23 judges that we had judging the film. So thank you very much for doing that.
SPEAKER_03:Hell yeah, no, that was that was a blast. That was super fun. I love I I'll support indie horror any chance I get, and especially short films are easy. Like that one obviously wasn't so much of a short film because it was like three hours worth of short films, but I still watched all of them and it was it came at a good time when I was traveling and I I downloaded a bunch or watched uh while I was waiting at my mom's house in Colorado and stuff. Um, but yeah, it's anytime because I'll get emails from people who want me to to review their movies, and usually if it's uh an independent filmmaker, I'm like, yeah, send it. I want to watch it. And if it's a short film, then I'm like, absolutely send it, and I'll watch it like right now. I can I can I can make that happen. Yeah. So it's uh yeah, no, it was it was exciting to get that message, and I was happy to to be a part of it. And those are some great films.
SPEAKER_02:So we had some incredible entries. I mean, we had 83 films from 38 different colleges and universities just selected. Yeah. But yeah, we had 83 films from 38 different colleges and universities just selected. We had more, you know, obviously submissions, but just the selections alone, that's a lot to go through. And we want to make sure as many schools are represented as well. So, like it was tough to say no to certain ones, but we also had to kind of say yes to some because we wanted to make sure all the schools were represented. And but I mean, gosh, the horror thriller sci-fi category was phenomenal. Yeah, it was not. I mean, the one that even so the one that won the its category best kept shut also got chosen to have their film developed into a feature film. So like you weren't you weren't able to make it to the actual like the in-person festival. Yeah, because I think you had like warp tour that day or Comic Con or something that was going on that day. Um but either way, yeah, they're they're they got chosen to have their film developed. And so, like in conjunction with another company called Insurgents, we're in pre-production right now, and we're gonna go into production, I think, in January to make this film happen, and it's going to uh come out you know next summer. We're gonna premiere the trailer at next year's festival. So uh pretty exciting. I mean a 23-year-old kid gets to make his first feature film, Zero Debt. That's rad.
SPEAKER_03:That's amazing.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so uh thank you again for doing that. But of course, the reason we're here to talk about you. Oh, I know. But so what we do is a little bit different here because uh most people know you for who you are today, right? You're your social media influencer. Yes. You got a like, I don't know, like 400k ish on TikTok alone. Half that. But I appreciate I think it's more than that. No, is it only 200? It's 200 and it feels like four five. Either way, it's not something I checked twice at all. You got a pretty pretty solid following on TikTok. Yeah, and uh people know you in the in the horror creator world. I mean, obviously, I go to Midsummer Scream, people are telling me, Hey, you gotta meet Josh, you gotta meet Josh. Like you're just this amazing dude. And checked out your content. Dude, it's a lot of fun. A lot of fun. Thank you. But again, people know you for what you're doing now. They don't really get a chance to know you for who you are and who you were. So we usually go back in time and just kind of give people a little bit of context on who our guest is. And so let's go back in time. Who are you? Where are you from? Where'd you grow up? And tell us a little bit about like maybe you know what kind of kid you were.
SPEAKER_03:Oh man, I was uh not a cool kid. I was uh I was born in Lancaster, California, up in the Antelope Valley. Um yeah, no. Lived in Mojave for a while, and then my parents split up when I was young. My mom and I moved to Palmdale for about a year, and then to Colorado for a few months to stay with family before moving to Nebraska for four years, five years. Wow. Yeah. That was rough. That was I mean, it it was lovely. I made some friends, but it's uh we were in Gearing, Nebraska, which is this tiny little town in the panhandle that has like one gas station, one grocery store, one video store. And when we got a McDonald's, the line four hours long. Yeah, it's it was nuts. Um, we were in Nebraska for a while. I went through all of elementary school there, and then Kentucky for about a year, and then back to Colorado. And I lived in Colorado Springs for a very long time, and that's where Kimmy and I met. And then I wanted to get out of Colorado. That's I I'm not a winter guy. And so when my mom was like, We're moving to Colorado, and I was like, I don't want to deal with the snow, I don't want to deal with that. She's like, It's not that bad. Well, you've seen the movies, whatever, it's not that bad. And we moved there in October of 1997, uh, right before what people still remember fondly as the blizzard of 97. So, like a week after we got to Colorado, the worst snowstorm Colorado Springs had like ever seen hit. What a way to get introduced. Yeah. And so I'm walking home from school in snow up to my chest, just like, I hate this place. I don't want to be here. And so for a while, I was like, I gotta get back out to California because I was still visiting my dad several times a year, obviously, and uh I just missed it so much. And then when Kimmy and I met, uh I had mentioned wanting to move to Vegas because I love Vegas and it's way cheaper to live in Vegas than it was in California at the time. And she said she also wanted to move to Vegas, so we moved to Vegas and then we we lived there for a couple years and realized we were driving out to California so often to to visit and and do stuff out here that we were like, let's just make California happen. So we we applied for jobs and and got out here in 2013 and uh and haven't looked back.
SPEAKER_02:That's crazy. Yeah. What a journey. Yeah. Almost you'd see like I would think you're a military kid at that point.
SPEAKER_03:That's what everyone thinks. Like, oh, is your dad in the military? And I'm like, technically he was in the Air Force, but he wasn't anymore when I was a kid. Like, that's not why I moved. It was completely different reasons. That makes sense.
SPEAKER_02:Lancaster Mojave, Edwards Air Force Base.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, my mom uh was a bartender at Edwards. That's how she met my dad. And uh yeah, they whirlwind romance, got pregnant, went to Vegas, got married at the Little White Chapel, and yeah, everything was uh hunky dory for a few years. Like it was a obviously divorce isn't usually like amicable, but they they still got along great and shared custody and everything. Like I I had a pretty solid childhood. I was a weird kid, um, because I was a big nerd. I uh I skipped first grade because of my uh like test scores and stuff. So I uh uh which was exciting at the time, but when you're younger than everyone else in your grade for the rest of your school like life, it's weird having to explain it to people.
SPEAKER_02:Getting picked on or something like that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. So I was like, I was a little kid, really thick glasses, uh, just love to read and loved horror movies because my my parents showed me my mom loved John Carpenter, so I saw like Halloween in the thing, probably too young. Um, the story I always tell is when I just said, Go get me a horror movie, and my dad came back from the video store with Pumpkinhead, had no idea what it was about, but my nickname around the house was Pumpkin Head. So he was like, Oh, it's a it's a movie had your name on it, so I got you pumpkin head. And then I went home and watched it, and I was like, Jesus. Um, but I fell in love because it's big puppets and the crazy practical effects. And so I I was always into horror movies. I was always reading Goosebumps and watching like, Are you afraid of the dark and eerie Indiana and Tales from the Crypt? Um and in conservative Nebraska, Kentucky, Colorado Springs, that makes you kind of like a bit of a weirdo outcast. And then in high school in Colorado, things started the tides started to kind of turn. I made a few friends that were all different types of outcasts and like skater kids and goths and stuff like that. And that's that became like my close-knit friends, and I'm still really good friends with a few of them today, which is awesome. Um, and that's kind of how I started to to turn into the person I am now. So cool, man.
SPEAKER_02:I was gonna ask like what your major influences were in horror. So can you maybe elaborate on that? Because obviously that was like another introduction, but like what were what were the influences? Big uh getting you really in love with the with the genre.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, for sure. It was uh definitely like the thing. Um, and Halloween and the original nightmare on Elm Street. My my mom showed me a lot of classics. Um, Monster Vision with Joe Bob Riggs was on anytime it was airing, it was on my TV. I was watching that religiously. I watched so many movies with Joe Bob because he was shared a lot of the like Friday the 13th sequels, and then I didn't realize how much I had seen through that until I got older and I rewatched the Friday the 13th franchise. And I was like, Oh, I've seen this movie like a dozen times when I was a kid, and then I looked it up and they're like, Yeah, that's the one that they used to play on Monster Vision all the time. And I'm like, Oh, okay, so that makes sense. I I saw Friday the 13th part five that many times. Um, and then Tales from the Crypt was a big one because they would air the edited version of Tales from the they would they would shoot a PG 13 version of Tales from the Crypt for Fox and I would record those on VHS tapes and then just re-watch them over and over again. And I I loved Tales from the Crypt. Um Who didn't, by the way? Yeah, like it was amazing. But what's crazy is there's like I just remember the vivid every time he popped out of the uh the sarcophagus or whatever at the beginning, scared the hell out of me every time. I knew it was coming, scared the hell out of me every time. And then The Blob is one of my favorite movies of all time. But I remember my mom showed me that as a kid, and there's uh most people remember like the sink kill, but the car scene is a very graphic. You watch it now and you're like, oh, it's just like a rubber dummy that gets like turned inside out, like cool, practical, like 80s effects. But when you're a kid, like when you're a kid and you see like the way her face uh reacts, I just remember that moment like scarring me. And I did not watch that movie for years because I was like, No, there's a kill in that movie that's just so brutal. And then I got older and I was like, I want to rewatch the blob at some point, and it was on streaming, and I finally re-watched it, and I was like, Oh, this is incredible. This is one of my favorite movies. Like every everything about it was perfect, and now it's like a comfort film that I watch like once a month. Yeah, that one, and then oh, I remember uh Return of the Living Dead 3 is also a big one for me because when we were living in when we were in Colorado visiting family, my cousin, who was like, you know, the older cool cousin who like smoked and probably wasn't doing very well in school or whatever, but you wanted to like look up to him and be cool. He also loved horror movies. And we went to the video store and Return of the Living Dead 3 was on the new release wall, and he was like, We gotta rent this one. Like, you don't you want to see this one? And I was like, I don't know, man. Like, I haven't seen the first two, so I'm not gonna be like all caught up. And he's like, It's a completely different story, like these movies you don't need to see the other ones to understand it, trust me. And I was like, All right, yeah, if I like I want to make him happy, I'll I'll also say that I want to see Return of Living Dead 3. So my mom's like, Oh, you both want to see the same movie, okay? Well, we'll rent that for you. And I just probably way too young to see that one, also, but now that one's like a comfort film, it's it's incredible, and it's my favorite of the franchise because of that nostalgia, even though the first one's clearly like the best.
SPEAKER_02:For sure. No, I I grew up watching a lot of movies that I shouldn't have as a young kid. I grew up in the in the entertainment world, so just like getting exposed to films that I definitely should not have seen. And having a brother that was four years older, you know, you get exposed to stuff just because you're just there and he's already kind of getting into that space, and it's like, all right, well, I'm in the room. He's not gonna like tell me to get out. Like, my mom's not even there, she's working two jobs. It's like, all right, well, whatever you're doing, I'm doing. So yeah, it totally changes you. But yeah, that's uh there is a nostalgia about like going into a video store. Oh yeah, and just walking in, it it smells different, like but how much time would you spend like in the home your hometown video store, just like kind of perusing through and like what was your thought process when you were trying to pick out a film? Was it like did you try to go around the outside, which is kind of typically where the newer stuff was, or did you like to kind of spend more time in the middle?
SPEAKER_03:I was uh a bit of an I I was usually around the outside walls, new release stuff. I would always try to be I I got more mindful as I got older and realized that like not everything there's a the moment as when you're a kid and you you see your first like bad movie that you know is bad, and you're like, oh, not every movie is great. Because when you're six and your parents take you to the theater, whatever you saw, you were like, that was the best movie ever. And for like the next two months, Men in Black 2 is my favorite movie of all time.
SPEAKER_02:And for people that don't know what a video store is, it's it's very similar to scrolling through a streaming service. Exactly. Except you actually got to walk through and and touch, touch movies.
SPEAKER_03:Like, imagine the uh the user interface for Netflix, but it's on a wall, and you can actually grab each of those thumbnails and pull them off the shelf.
SPEAKER_02:Uh do you want to scroll to the left?
SPEAKER_03:You got to take a couple steps, you gotta move. The uh the one we had in Nebraska was Sunmart, that was our grocery store, and we had the video section that I would go to all the time. And I just I remember like the ghoulies cover art where he's coming out of the toilet vividly. We rented Monster Squad like once a week because that was my favorite movie ever. Um, Drop Dead Fred was another one that I would rent regularly. Dick Tracy was another one I really loved. Not a horror movie, but obviously I was just uh obsessed. Um, but yeah, I would I would usually just go for fun cover art or certain monsters that I was attracted to. Like uh I was a huge vampire guy. I was Dracula for Halloween for like four years in a row. Um so anything that had a vampire on the cover, I'd usually grab. And then as I got older, when we moved to Colorado, I was 10, 11, 12 going to the Blockbuster video down the street. And I would start browsing some of the older stuff, and so I remember the cover art for like Dagon still burned in my memory. I still haven't watched that movie, I keep meaning to, but the cover art stuck out to me. Um, and I rented American Psycho and didn't understand it. Like, I mean I I kind of understood it, but I was like, oh, I thought this was gonna be like a slasher movie, and I'm watching it at 12 years old. Like, what is this? So he wasn't a psych? What? And now I've rewatched it and I'm like, oh, this is also a masterpiece. I love it. Um, but I remember I rented House of the Dead because I loved that video game so much, and brought it home, and like half an hour into that movie, I was like, I don't, I don't think this is a good movie. Like, this has nothing to do with the game. They're like partying on what happened? What's going on here? And that was one of the things it was that and uh seeing Mortal Kombat Annihilation in theaters when I was like, Oh, sometimes they just make bad movies and they it happens, yeah. It happens, and there was that weird in-between period where I was a very like arrogant elitist about film, and I was like, these remakes are bad and these movies are bad and everything. And I I don't know what changed or what clicked in my brain, but like 10 years ago, I was like, that's not a really fun way to live. I think I'm just gonna try liking everything, and now I I love bad movies, and they're because just making a movie in general is a miracle, like even if it didn't turn out well, the fact that you got this on a shelf next to like Hellraiser and stuff, that's awesome. Good for you. I'm I'm happy. You've done more than I have. Like I you made a bad house of the dead movie, I didn't make a movie at all, and I'm it's still entertaining.
SPEAKER_02:So yeah, our friends that made stupid games, they they made that for under 10 grand. I think it was like$70,800 is their final budget of what they actually produced it for. But they they had it when we premiered it on a Momi Too, it was literally sitting there in our horror section right next to Halloween. And they screenshot it and sent it to me. They're like, This is so cool. Like, thank you so much. Like, we made a film, but it's like they have it just sitting on the shelf in a sense, right? Yeah. Next to one of the arguably the best horror film that at least for me. But you know, it's sitting right next to it. They're just like, This is so cool. This is just amazing. So yeah, it's there's there's there is something about like looking at and not just like low budget films, but even like films from the 80s and 90s that are just like people stringing together money to make a film and put a put a project together. It's very hard to do that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:To get it all done, and there's so many films that get made and never get finished. Like, people don't understand how much work it goes into making a film.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah. We talked about that. I was uh just at the the Jaws exhibit um at the Academy Museum, and they had part of it was talking about like Spielberg came out and talked about how multiple times they were like, you don't have to finish this movie, like we're already way past budget. We're or like we're already way over budget, we're way past schedule. We can just shut it down. And he was like, But nobody wanted to quit. Everyone was like, We've done this much so far. Yeah, let's keep going. Like, we we we see a finish line, let's make it happen. And I was talking with my friends who was there. I was like, Can you imagine how many movies didn't get finished though? Like how many times somebody was like, Hey, we're over budget, we don't have time, we've got to kill it. And another one of maybe the greatest movies ever made just didn't even get made. Like that's it sucks to think about, but it's it probably happens more often than we like.
SPEAKER_02:It is so true. There, there's so many films that never get finished because you run out of money.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Alone, just that alone, or people quitting. Like, oh yeah, F this, like, we've gone way too like way more, like more days than scheduled for, right? Like, or you just weather, like, there's just something that always takes place that really just shuts everything down. It's unfortunate. But you have something really cool from the Jaws exhibit, right?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, they gave us these uh these pins, right? But what we got in there was these, and then I've got like a folder with a whole uh fact sheet about the exhibit and like talking points like press kit, because it was the the media preview of the new exhibit that's gonna be at the Academy Museum through next July, I think. And it was uh insane. Just they've got so many props and uh displays, and they've got a little keyboard set up where you can learn how to play the the Jaws theme song, which is obviously uh extremely difficult to learn for uh for a long time. And then uh photo ops, you can do your own dolly zoom, like the winning. Yeah, it's uh it's so cool. They really uh went all out with this one, and it's uh it's a lot of fun. But yeah, it was crazy. They they gave us these when we walked in, um, and they had some photo ops going up, they had a carpet going, and then Spielberg came out and talked for like 10 minutes about what it was like making this movie and just had some some fun stories. But yeah, it's it's crazy, but he was 26 when they they made it, and yeah, nothing worked. And he was like, I don't know what I was thinking. We can just go out into the ocean and film a movie, and he was like, and we get there, and I'm like, Oh, this is way harder because you gotta like have this boat prepped and this going on, and like the regatta keeps coming in and interrupting the shot, and it was uh it was hell, and yeah, nowadays studios would not let you keep going.
SPEAKER_02:No, I've heard I heard people like really hated him on set because he was very determined and very like, no, we gotta get this done. Yeah, we've already we're already here, we've already gone, we've gone this far. Like we're what is that Pablo Francisco, we've gone too far. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's so cool that he got to that you got to even just be in the same presence as him, though. Hear him speak about all that stuff is is so cool. So let's take a step back though, out of the horror genre and get to know you a little bit a little bit more. You weren't just a creator, like I mean, obviously the creator boom kind of happened during COVID.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:What were you doing before? Like what what did you or and and maybe what are you still doing now?
SPEAKER_03:Um, so I I was kind of spinning my wheels. I did I went to college to be a math teacher at the University of Colorado, um uh Colorado Springs. Go Rams or whatever they are. Mountain lions, Rams. I don't know. It doesn't, I wasn't uh an active uh member of the team. Like I I went to the the UCCS because I had uh scholarship there and I I got to stay living with my mom. So um I went originally to be a math teacher, changed my major to communications when I wanted to get into marketing because I saw what salary math teachers make, and I was like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to live off that.
SPEAKER_02:Um that's not mathing up.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's not that's not gonna work for me. So I got into advertising and like marketing seemed like a fun uh idea, and so I just switched to communications to do that. Um, but then I was working in a T-Mobile call center for a while, just doing tech support. That's how I met Kimmy, and then came out here and I was just doing sales for the local cable company for a while, and then I applied for a job doing ticket sales at Universal. And when I got that job, I cried because I was like, we I had quit the job at Time Warner Cable because I was so miserable. Like they're they're not a their spectrum now, and I'm I'm sure they're slightly less evil, but they were not a good place to work when I was there. And uh so I was unemployed. I was like working very uh I was working part-time and not making a lot of money, and Kimmy was pretty much carrying us with her great sales job that she also hated. Um and I got the job at university.
SPEAKER_02:Who typically loves their sales job?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, no, not not fun. Like the commission is so great, but then you get the check and you're like, maybe it was worth it. Then you go back on Monday and you're like, nope. Um so we sold my soul. Yeah. My sales job at Universal was actually pretty good though. It was doing the uh the VIP tour and like group sales. So it was mostly people who were determined to buy these tickets. Like I didn't have to pitch anybody, they just called in because they were like, I'm coming to your park. I want to do this. Like, should I do this experience? And I got to like really talk it up because that was my theme park as a kid. My dad took me to Universal every time I come back to visit him. Yeah, I knew that park like the back of my hand. So pure nostalgia, and you could exactly. Yeah, they were like, You're we we want to offer you the job. And I just like I was so excited. And as soon as I got in, I was like, All right, I'm gonna be selling tickets in the VIP center, doing like park stuff. And I was like, but I'm turning this into something bigger. And I I made friends with everybody in the marketing department. They got to know me as the guy who would go down, like we were on the third floor for sales, but I would take my lunches on the second floor because they had the Dodgers game on. And so they would always see this weird kid in the breakout.
SPEAKER_01:You're a Dodgers fan, that's weird.
SPEAKER_03:So they would just see me in the break room and they're like, Who's this kid watching the Dodgers every day at noon? And I'm like, sorry, I'm in the VIP sales center. My name's Josh, but I just I wanted to watch the game. And I just I became friends with that whole department, and then their social media specialist uh came up to the sales center to be like, Hey, just want to say goodbye to everybody. I'm I'm moving to San Francisco. And she was super sweet. And I was like, wait, you're leaving? So the social media job is open. And she's like, Yeah, we're gonna be back filling hopefully pretty soon. And I was like, Okay. And I immediately messaged everybody I knew and I was like, How do I, who do I apply to? Like, where do I submit? And they're like, Well, yeah, I mean, you have to get an interview because you're internal, like we have to take all those seriously. But if you don't have any social experience and you don't have this, and you don't have like this, then it's not like they they tried to downplay it to be like, yeah, obviously we'll interview you because it's the right, like the nice thing to do, but you're probably not gonna get this job. Yeah, and I was like, that's fine. And I just like studied everything, I put together a whole presentation, I did all this and I interviewed and I I got the job. Yeah, and I was thrilled. So I did social media for Universal Studios Hollywood for a few years, and it was incredible. It was like one of the best jobs I've ever had. Because they were just like, make funny memes about the theme park you love. And if like I need inspo, I would just go into the park and walk around. Like I'd hop in a golf cart and head down to the lower lot and just look at movie sets, and it was a dream.
SPEAKER_02:Just take pictures, make cool little reels, and yeah, because I don't know what was happening, like what was popular in on social media at that time.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, we weren't doing reels, TikTok hadn't really started, so we were we were still very active on Twitter. It was still Twitter, um, and then Facebook and Instagram, and we were just trying to like keep up with the algorithm because everything's changing. And they were like, Oh, everything's gotta go video now, but we've also got to do this. And so I was we would write blogs, we had freelancers that we would work with sometimes, and then we had uh we had a really fun graphic artist who did. Like an animation of the Waterworld show as a video game that was super cool. He did a Jurassic Park one for us too. The the biggest hurdle was the licensing team. The the team was great. I love working with them, but having to go through all the brands. Because like if you do a post about the Simpsons, that has to be approved by Gracie and like the graining estate or whatever, because they're in charge of the Simpsons. And if we did a post about Transformers, Paramount had to approve it. Yep. And depending on what we were talking about, Michael Bay's company might also have to approve it and stuff like that. So we couldn't be super quick, which you have to be on social. Like if there's a trending topic, you've got to jump on that within the hour, or it's not funny. And we were like trying to come up with clever stuff about the Transformers or about Jurassic Park and plan it out four to six weeks in advance because we didn't know how long it would take to execute the video and also do this, but we needed to get pre-approval if it was even worth pursuing. So Waterworld was one that we didn't need any approvals for, which is why we made a lot of fun Waterworld content because we could turn that around in a day. Um Woody Woodpecker, I think, was one that we officially owned the rights to, or he was public domain, so we could do anything with him. And then the in-studio ones were somewhat easier depending on.
SPEAKER_02:Was backdraft still around at that time?
SPEAKER_03:No, backdraft was gone. I we that's Transformers now. Um and that had opened a few years before I got the job. The but the anything that was like universal was usually pretty easy. The minions people tend to be easy to work with because you can just do some silly minion stuff. Illumination. Um, yeah, illumination. They're fun. And then we we would find like loopholes and workarounds if we needed to. But as soon as I got the job doing social, I was like, Who's doing horror nights? And my director was like, You are if you want it, because I do not like scary movies. And I was like, I want everything to do with horror nights. And he was like, All right, that's that's your baby. And so I was doing the Twitter at the time was run by John Murdy, um, the creative director, but Facebook and Instagram, and then other stuff on Twitter, like full announcements and and other campaigns we were doing. I I would do a lot of the work on that. And one year they they wanted to do, we do a red carpet premiere night for horror nights every year.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it just happened like last week.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it was on the I think last year, or last yeah, it was last Thursday they did it. And when I worked there, the the first year they were like, Yeah, we have media come out and we do interviews on the red carpet, and then this and this. And our director was like, We really need to have our own like correspondent out there. And they were like, Well, no, we're just kind of like sensitivities about posting it on our own channels. We want to make sure like these celebrities can be crazy sometimes. And he's like, Yeah, that's social media, it happens. Like, it's not gonna like the park's not gonna go out of business if one of these directors accidentally says the F-word on Facebook Live. Like, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:No one's shutting down Universal.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, like we're gonna be fine. And so he he lobbied for us to finally do a live on the red carpet, and it was Facebook Live on the Red Carpet, and he had me host it because he was like, Josh does I was doing stand-up comedy at the time. Oh, okay. So I write and I do stand-up comedy too. I've as a hobby. Um and he was like, You've hosted shows before, I've seen you on stage. Like you, he's like, You have the the confidence to do this, and he's like, and you're the only person here who knows everyone you're gonna be interviewing. Because we've got like the director of Halloween 4 coming through, we've got the writers of Killer Clowns from Outer Space coming through. And he goes, And I'm I know our PR team doesn't know who those people are. And he's like, I don't want to hire an outside on-camera talent or whatever to do that. And he's like, Why don't you do it? I was like, Yeah, I'd be honored. And the first year they were like, Oh, you're probably not gonna get that many celebrities. Like, people don't know who you are, they'll like it's Facebook Live, it's whatever, they just want to get through the red carpet and they they'll talk to extra and they'll talk to like whoever else is out there, but don't get your hopes up. And I was like, Okay, that's fine. Like, it'll be fine. I'll do whatever I think for 20 minutes. Yeah, it's cool. And within like five minutes of being on stage, like Vanessa Hutchins is up there chatting with me about how much she loves horror nights, and then Eli Roth came through, and Travis Barker um like rolls in, and she's like, I've got Travis Barker for you. And I was like, Shit, no, what are you talking about? And uh he's like, Can I bring the kids? And I was like, Absolutely. And so, like, he brought Alabama and Landon up and yeah, these still young kids, and we just talked about how much we love the purge movies, and then yeah, I talked to Quinn Lord, who played Sam and Trick or Treat. Bunch of cool people that all came through. Greg Nicotero was there with uh with Dana Gould, I think the second year talking about Creep Show at the Chioto Brothers from Killer Clowns, Rob Zombie. Everyone was down to chat because they all want to like promote their new stuff and they're all having a fun time. But it was uh yeah, it was unreal. And that's when I officially realized I was like, this is what I want to do is talk to horror filmmakers about their process and their their projects and what they're doing. And I like because I just like to hear people get not even just horror filmmakers, but anyone in general, I like to hear them talk about stuff they're passionate about and get excited. Like we just did a uh off topic. We did a cocktail experience at this place uh in the arts district called the Obscura.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I saw that video, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and the guy that runs it, his name is Theron Rainier. I'm probably gonna mispronounce this so bad, but I think it's Theran Rainier. He's the uh the whiskey distiller, the head distiller who put together this whole experience, and he's just like so passionate and so smart about alcohol and like the history of of whiskey and rum and vodka. And he's got these stories and this whole like experience that he put together. And I was like, this is this is my shit. Like, this is so fascinating. I love it. And that's how it feels whenever I was talking to like these different filmmakers, because they and that was also it felt really nice because multiple times they'd be like, All right, we're good, cut. And I would think they're ready to just like walk away, but they would look at me and they'd be like, Thank you so much for asking like legitimate questions, like real, real people questions. And I'm like script. Oh yeah, no, of course. Because like Dwight Little walked up there, and she was like, We've got uh Dwight Little, he's uh and I was like, Yeah, he's a director of Halloween four. And like, I'm ready, go ahead and bring him up. And uh, and I was like, So you you brought back Michael Myers and you had like the strike to worry about, and this and this, and he was like, Yeah, yeah, I did.
SPEAKER_02:I wasn't ready for that question.
SPEAKER_03:And I was like, sorry, did you think I was just gonna be like, what's your favorite horror movie? Like, no, that's actually my next question.
SPEAKER_02:No, I'm just kidding. So let's transition. I mean, you you you're doing this for however many years, and I'm I'm guessing this is just pure guess. Something called COVID happened. Yeah. Something I think probably not doing that anymore because no one was going to the parks.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that was uh that was rough. That was really weird. I still vividly remember when we were sitting in our office and they were like, we're probably not gonna come back to work next week. Like we'll start working from home. And we're like, oh, it'll just be a few weeks. Like we'll close to the end of April. And see you next week, Dave. Yeah, totally. And my boss was like, We're not coming back in a few weeks. And he's like, This is a pandemic. Like, trust me, it'll yeah, I guess it does seem pretty bad. And then months and months went by, and it was all like we were still working from home and trying to plan around things, and it was there was a part there where it felt so like foolish or or pointless to be like, why are we like still creating content and planning this campaign and playing this kind of for an event that we know is not going to happen? Like we we we have like we're not gonna pull this off in June, like we're not gonna be open yet. Um, and then I eventually got furloughed, which is obviously when you temporarily lose your job for about a month or so, but then they brought me back and had me doing both parks because the Florida park opened a lot earlier than we did, and uh, and I was doing social for them for a while, and then another job came around that just paid better and seemed more giving me a bit more creative freedom. Like I I still love the job at Universal, but it just wasn't the same.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it wasn't the same as it was before because you were on set, you were physically immersed in the experience. So it was it at that time then did you like you obviously I'm guessing you took that other job? Yeah. And was it at that time you're like, hey, I I still want to do something on social media?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it was uh it was really weird because I when I was home furloughed, I having worked social media for Universal, I was so sick and tired of looking at Instagram and Twitter and Facebook that I would like clock out and I would not want to look at any of those apps.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:But then TikTok happened, and I joined TikTok just to watch what my niece was posting because she loved it. And I would scroll through and I was like, this is kind of fun. That's a cool dance. Yeah. And I was like, and this is an app that I'm not familiar with, so it's new and it's uh and it's fun and it's interesting. And uh Kimmy started posting more. She was doing like makeup tutorials and she had a couple of videos go viral, um, just making like funny stuff. And then I posted one video that blew up because it was just a really dumb video that I posted on Facebook like a year before. And then I tried doing a couple of transition videos. And once you have one video, do numbers, you just start chasing that high for a while.
SPEAKER_02:So you remember what that video was, like your your first viral video?
SPEAKER_03:The first one, it was so I I have this jacket that somebody bought me from Express, and it's one of those like fake leather moto jackets that was like blue with a gray hoodie underneath, but it wasn't a full hoodie underneath, it was just a little like zip up dicky thing to make it look like you're wearing a hoodie under your leather jacket. Yeah, and so I posted a video being like, I got this leather jacket and it's got this hoodie piece that uh zips out and it's removable. So do you think it looks better on or off? And when I said off, I was just wearing the hoodie swatch and was shirtless. And it was it was the dumbest joke I thought of when I was putting it together because I was like, I unzipped and I was like, Oh, I could just wear this on its own. And then I filmed that and I posted it on Facebook and it got like a thousand likes, and uh it came through again a year later, and my friend commented on it, and she was like, You were posting TikToks before TikTok was the thing. And I'm like, Oh yeah, I guess this would do well on TikTok. Let me try it. And I posted on TikTok and it like just went 50,000 views or something within a few days, and I was like, Oh, is this what TikTok is like? I kind of like this, I could do this, and then didn't do that for a minute. Um, everything I was posting, I was just doing random transition videos, like showing off I did sneaker unboxings because I'm a big sneaker head, and then I did a sketch of me saying, like, this is me watching a horror movie, and I'm just like peaceful, laughing, having a good time. And then this is me opening a can of biscuits, and I had the when the biscuit tin popped, I like shrieked and freaked out because it scares the hell out of me every time. Yeah, and then that video hit like a million views, and I got a bunch of new followers from it. It's so relatable because people do that.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, every time you don't know when it's pop.
SPEAKER_03:Well, once it does, it's just like everyone in the comments is like, that's why you just slam it on the counter. Yeah, and then that and I'm like, Well, don't okay. Yeah, I guess I should have been the whole time.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, thank you. Thanks for ruining it, Karen.
SPEAKER_03:Um, but then you get more comments and then you get more engagement and you get more views. But what's funny is that was the video I was wearing my reanimator shirt that I had ordered from Creepo Rama. Yep. And a bunch of the comments were people that were like, Where did you get that shirt? That shirt's amazing. And so I was just like tagging Creeporama in every comment. I was like, Oh, I got it from these guys. These guys are great, Creeporama, blah, blah. And then I DMed them a link to the TikTok, and I was like, You guys are gonna have to bring this shirt back because a bunch of people want it. And he just replied, he was like, Holy crap, dude, like you just told hundreds of people to visit our page. Thank you. And I was like, Well, yeah, what am I? What else am I gonna do? And he's like, I don't know, some people gatekeep, like you you ask them where they got their shirt, they don't want to tell you because they don't want you to have the same shirt. And I was like, Oh, I don't care, dude. You're a small business, it's a pandemic. Like, sell t-shirts, yeah. Let me help. And then that's how we became acquainted, and when we'd start DMing back and forth, and then I was a guest on their podcast a couple years later, and now I'm just a a regular now. I'm part of the logo, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:One fourth of the Kree Orama podcast.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it's crazy. But that was that was one of the first ones that that blew up, and that's what got me over 10k followers on TikTok, and then I started posting somewhat regularly, and I started doing the dope horror movies that are streaming for free right now, um, which is very handy because I just found a bunch on Momitu that I can talk about now. Um, I think the first one I did was for Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and then after that I did like Motel Hell, and then I would just grab random movies that were streaming for free on any of these apps and be like, let me just talk about this one. And my editing was terrible, the camera was fuzzy, I didn't have anything fun in the background, I didn't really pay attention to what my hair looked like or what I was wearing. It never matters. Yeah, and some of them would do big numbers, and I was like, I guess this is a series I'm doing now. And I was like, I'm just gonna keep talking about horror movies because that's what I love.
SPEAKER_02:And you're giving people recommendations that they don't have to scroll around through and spend time because most of the time that's that's like the biggest hurdle that people have to getting to content is you sit down, you're like, hey babe, want to watch something? Yeah, I want to watch something. We just made dinner, you're sitting down, you want to eat, and you're like, all right, scroll, scroll, scroll. Does it look good? No, I don't want to do that. It's like half an hour later, your food's cold and you're having watched a thing, you're like, I'll just throw on suits again, I guess. Like, you know, and you just you waste a whole evening when you could have found something ahead of time. Like, hey, you know, let's let's check out Josh's page real quick. Like, what does he recommend today?
SPEAKER_03:Anytime somebody tells me that, I get goosebumps or like butterflies. I get legitimately emotional whenever Dude, you saved an argument in my household. No, yeah, because uh everyone will I'll get a comment that was like, Oh my god, I just came here to see if you had recommended anything. I'm gonna watch this right now. Or I had somebody message me recently who's like, Hey, I watched this on your recommendation and I loved it. It's like one of my new favorites. And I'm like, I I'll never get sick of hearing that. Um, so that was what I thought I was gonna be doing full time was just talking about movie recommendations, and then I had the most ridiculous uh joke idea of the slasher icons all living together in an apartment, talking shit about each other's weapons.
SPEAKER_02:And have you guys have you guys seen those? They're so good. You haven't seen his page, you gotta check it out. Sorry, we're talking to our talking to our producer and editor. Uh the the scenes that he has, he he literally is like every character and plays them. It's it's so funny.
SPEAKER_03:It was uh because I I am a writer, like I said, I I I write and I do stand-up comedy, and so I I've got like little scripts and sketches that I was writing already, and I thought of a really dumb one between Ghostface, Freddie, Leatherface, Jason, and Michael. I think that was the original like five that I had. And I already had a Freddie Krueger mask that I bought on clearance when I worked at Hot Topic like 20 years ago. It's not a good mask. And I have a Michael Myers mask that I also bought on clearance from Hot Topic from 20 years ago. And so I went online and I was like, I can get a ghost face mask for like 12 bucks. Like that's one of the cheapest masks uh out there. And I can get a leather face one for pretty cheap too. And I was like, I think I have to just like make this sketch, I have to see it and just get it out of my system. And so I don't even know if I had like a working tripod, I don't know how I set it up, or I think maybe uh Kimmy had one because she was doing stuff, but I yeah, I put on all the costumes. I didn't have Freddy's hat or his glove yet, but it was just the sweater and the mask, and I was like, that's enough, people know who he is. The Jason mask was uh an actual like Jason mask autographed by Kane Hodder that I bought at a convention. And after the first sketch, I was like, I should probably buy one that I'm comfortable wearing. I don't want to keep wearing this, like I I autographed mask. Um you want to keep that one safe, yeah. Keep it in uh in safe cans. Uh so I I just bought the ghost face one and the leather face one for cheap, and then I I knocked it out and I posted it, and I was like, this is one of the stupidest things I've ever written, but I I just needed to see it, make sure it sees the light of day or just get it out of my system. And then that one blew up, and everyone was like, this is gonna be a series, right? And I was like, Oh man, I mean, I guess it could be because like as I'm watching it, I'm thinking, like, oh, I could do this, or oh, I could joke about this, or oh, I could mention this, or I could include this person, and it became this huge thing, and I I feel bad that I haven't been able to keep up with it like I used to because they take so long to write and film and edit and everything like that. But when I do make them, they are super fun.
SPEAKER_02:What's been the one that's kind of like resonated the most?
SPEAKER_03:People just really find the I think it was episode three was the one that really popped off. That one hit like four million views or something. Uh, and it was Michael finding out that Freddie and Jason are dead because he didn't realize like I it opens with him asking Freddie how he goes to the bathroom with the glove on. And Freddy was like, I don't go to the bathroom, dude. I'm dead. And he was like, You're dead? How are you dead? And he's like, How did you not know I was like, that's my whole thing? And Chucky comes in, he's like, Did you not know that? And he was like, Oh my god, are you dead, Chucky? And he's like, I mean, kinda, I'm a doll. Like, my human form is dead. And then he was like, What about you, Jason? And Jason's like, Oh yeah, no, I've been dead for more movies than I've been alive, actually. Like, I I died in part four, and uh just keeps going. And I it was like me digging into the backstory of each person, and I think uh that's Pennywise was in there or something, and he was like, Are you dead, Pennywise? And he's like, Oh no, no, and then he explains that he's this ancient transdimensional entity who disguises himself as a clown to get closer to kids because he feeds on their fear, and then Chucky was like, And if you read the book, there's a space turtle, and he was like, What? And then half the comments were like, Wait, what's with the turtle? Like, what are you talking about? I was like, have you not read Stephen King's It? Because it's crazy. But yeah, that one really blew up, and then I just started coming up with silly stuff. Anytime a new TV or movie thing was announced, I would try to weave that in, and then every once in a while I would bring in a new character. Bringing in uh Billy the puppet from the song movies was a lot of fun, and then I just kind of developed a character, uh, like a full personality for each one. So if you if you go back and watch the first episode, they're all very generic, just basic. I'm trying to do the voice and I'm doing terribly. Yeah. And after episode three or four, I had established like, okay, Ghostface is essentially just like a teenager, he's always holding a red solo cup. Um, but because he's the meta slasher, he's the one that can like break the fourth wall and like explain to people what's happening um the characters. Mikey's just like perpetually 10 years old because that's when he went away. Uh Jason wears a hockey mask, so he likes hockey and he has like a Canadian accent. Um and then Leatherface is the uh essentially the house mom. Yeah, got the the the southern charm. Uh and Freddy's like the curmudgeon dad who's just like tired of everything. Pennywise is the kind of annoying guy that they still let hang out. And then well done.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's well done.
SPEAKER_03:It's a it's a really fun outlet. If I come up with some really dumb jokes, I'm like, I could turn this into a fun little sketch, and then I I put it out there, and lately they haven't done nearly as well as they used to, but I think that's mostly just TikTok and the algorithm being tricky. Everything evolves, but it's still a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think if people are watching on YouTube right now, they're probably on their phones looking for these episodes. I gotta check them out.
SPEAKER_03:It's a whole playlist on TikTok.
SPEAKER_02:I got them all linked, so it's incredible. Uh last question I have for you. Just what what's kind of next and like what are your wants within this kind of world as being a creator?
SPEAKER_03:Oh man. Um next, just uh getting through spooky season, got got some fun stuff coming up. We haven't done horror nights yet. We're going in a couple weeks. Uh, we're trying to do probably not scary farm and reign of terror and Queen Mary and all that. I love doing all the haunts and then uh just putting together some pitch ideas. I I do really love interviewing people. I've got another interview lined up this weekend. I don't know if I can talk about it or not, so I'll keep it under reps for now. But um you don't have to tell us. That's fine.
SPEAKER_02:No, you're good. All right.
SPEAKER_03:But it's it's it's very it's very exciting. You can. I mean, I'm not gonna hold your bag and you can do whatever you want. It's well, no, it's it should be I I I'm pretty sure it's confirmed and everyone already knows it's happening, but uh the Happy Fright Film Festival is happening in a few weeks. I am not able to attend because I'm gonna be in Vegas for when we were young. For some reason, I schedule these pop punk festivals right around the same time as uh great horror movie film festivals, but um they have have you ever seen the movie Forbidden Zone?
SPEAKER_02:No, oh man.
SPEAKER_03:It's so it's this cult classic yeah, that completely bombed, I think, when it first came out. And what's funny is when I worked at Blockbuster, I saw the cover art and I was like, this looks insane. I have to check this out, and I turned it around, and it was um the Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo were in the movie, and I was like, Oh, I know the band Oingo Boingo, my mom has all their vinyl and stuff. And Danny Elfman plays Satan, and then Oingo Boingo, the rest of the band plays like his backing band, and the movie was uh co-written and directed by his brother Richard Elfman, who has a new movie also premiering at the Happy Frights Film Festival, starring his wife Anastasia. And so they reached out and they were like, Would you be interested in interviewing Richard to talk about Forbidden Zone and his new movie at Happy Frights Film Festival? And I was like, Yes, absolutely. So I'm talking to him on Saturday, uh, which I'm very excited about because I he was like, I don't know if you're familiar with Forbidden Zone. And I was like, dude, I rented that from Blockbuster and I brought it to my friend's house and we watched it like five times in one week. That movie's insane. And he's like, Oh, perfect, and you're the right guy to talk to about this. So they're gonna be airing that and then um his new movie. So I'll be talking to him about that. But that's that's what I would like to do is somehow parlay this into interview stuff because I love talking to filmmakers about everything. Yeah, and I love talking to, I talked to the the guy who mixed the last few ghost albums, and that was fascinating. I love music and doing that. So if I could spin it into that or do my own talk show, game show idea that I've been kind of toying with, I'm I'm putting together a whole idea for that. That would be cool. But I don't know the first thing about like shopping stuff around to to streamers or original content or anything. But for now, I'm just I know a guy gonna keep talking about. I know a guy.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. We can talk. Okay. Um, but yeah, that that's awesome. Looking forward to seeing what else you're doing. Uh awesome, man. Well, hey, uh, before we get out of this uh segment, do you want to just look down the barrel of the camera and just let people know where they can find you?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah. I am uh Josh Levec, but you can find me at Josh B Levec, that's B is in Bravo, and then L-E-V-E-S-Q-U-E. Uh on TikTok, Instagram, X, I still call it Twitter. But yeah, pretty much any social media app that exists. I have uh a page there. I'm just not super active on all of them. Instagram and TikTok mostly.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Awesome. Well, uh, we're gonna take a quick little break and we will be right back. All right, friends. If you're into things that go bump in the night, let me put you onto a podcast that you're going to love. The creep O Rama podcast. This show dives deep into all things spooky. True crime, paranormal encounters, urban legends, and the kind of campire stories that make you check your bed before you go to sleep. But also kind of fun balancing chills with laughs because you're entertained the whole way through. It's like sitting around with your horror-loving friends watching ghost stories. Only these tales will stick with you long after the episode ends. So if you're ready for some goosebumps, and maybe if you sleep less night, go hit play on the Creep O Rama podcast. Subscribe and follow, and tell a fellow horror fan to check it out too, because creepy is always better when shared. Welcome back. We are here with the Josh B. Levack. And Josh, we play a little game in this little section of the podcast called This or That. Okay. Would you like to play? I would love to. Awesome. Well, this or that is brought to you by our friends at Coastline Travel. So if you're going anywhere in the world, you can fly somewhere, get a hotel, book a rental car or a zip car, either way. Hey, uh you know how to do that. Go to Coastlinetravel.com and book your next trip. Josh, I have 20 questions for you. The first one is always asked to this everyone the same way, and the rest of them are kind of just tailored towards you, and we have some fun with it. And then I throw these cards around, so just get used to that. Hopefully I can get this one further enough because it's the thick one. The rest of them are the thin ones. Darn it. Tacos or pizza?
SPEAKER_03:Oh.
unknown:Oh man.
SPEAKER_03:I'm gonna say pizza. Pizza. Yeah, because I don't I love tacos, but we eat pizza a lot. And whenever I go to like we eat a lot of Taco Bell, but I never actually get tacos or taco bell. I always get burritos or you can't really say like Taco Bell.
SPEAKER_02:They have tacos, but like some real street tacos, like some. Yeah. So pizza.
SPEAKER_03:I'd say pizza. Pizza's like a staple for me. I can eat pizza multiple days in a row. Yeah, and the fourth horseman. True, yeah. Fourth horseman's got some great pizzas.
SPEAKER_02:Dad jokes or dark humor?
SPEAKER_03:Man, these are tough questions. I'm gonna say dad jokes. I love a good pun. I love gateway horror. I love like family-friendly type stuff. So I I make more dad jokes than I do dark humor. I think dark humor, when executed effectively, can be amazing. Like Anthony Jezelnik knocks me out every time. He's he's so good at it. But uh I think I've had too many doing stand-up in Vegas and LA and stuff. I've seen too many edgy people try dark humor and it's just offensive. And I'm like, oh, that doesn't work.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it doesn't always work. It's hard. Yeah. Uh and by the way, these questions are not meant to be easy. So thanks for the warning. You're welcome. Stouts or IPAs. IPAs. Maybe that one's easier. That one's loud. I'm a big stout guy. I just can't handle the hoppiness.
SPEAKER_03:I don't know what it is. I don't mind a stout. I like it, I like a good stout. There's a pumpkin stout in the uh the Elysian mix pack that I'm looking forward to this season. Uh it's it's quite tasty. But yeah, I I can always put down two or three IPAs.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and I can put down probably two or three Guinness at any time. It has to be on nitro, though. Yeah. Stouts on nitro are way better than stouts not on nitro. Noted. Much more smoother. And actually, IPAs on nitro are really enjoyable.
SPEAKER_03:I don't think I've ever had that.
SPEAKER_02:There's a brewery down in San Diego called AleSmith. If you've ever been to AleSmith, uh they always pour an IPA on nitro. Every time I've been there, it's always they've always had it. Phenomenal. It takes away like the hoppiness and just you get the full flavor of the IPA without that bitter ending. Okay. Really nice. Yeah. Nitro. Slashers or psychological horrors.
SPEAKER_03:Slashers.
SPEAKER_02:Big slasher fan.
SPEAKER_03:Big slasher fan. I love I love a good psychological horror when I'm in the mood for it, but I I I love that I can just throw on a slasher pretty much anytime. Favorite slasher all time? Intruder from 1989. It's uh it's directed by Scott Spiegel, who passed away recently, R.I.P. Um stars, he co-wrote Evil Dead 2 with uh Sam Raimi. Sam Raimi stars in Intruder, and his brother Ted Raimi also stars in it. Um but if you look at the cover art, you would think Bruce Campbell stars in it because he's the first one credited. He doesn't appear until the last like 15 seconds of the film.
SPEAKER_02:So annoying when they do that.
SPEAKER_03:But yeah, it's uh it's like a who-done it slasher that takes place in a grocery store overnight. The overnight stocking crew starts getting picked off one by one, and it's got some incredible like Raimi-esque shots and some really fun dad jokes and like puns and a fun sense of humor throughout, and some insane practical effects. I I love it.
SPEAKER_02:Have to check that one out. Yeah, I know you're a Dodger fan, obviously the Dodger hat on for those that are uh listening, not watching. Clayton Kershaw or Sandy Koufax?
SPEAKER_03:Oh man, I'm gonna say Kershaw just because I that's my generation. I grew up a Dodger. Well, I as a kid it was Nomo, and then Kershaw came around the same time I got back into sports because I went through my goth sports or lame phase in high school. And then uh when I met Kimmy, she is a diehard hockey fan. Ooh, and I was like starting to get back into hockey because I grew up an LA Kings fan, and I was like, I'll watch hockey with you, and I started getting into hockey again, and then I started getting I bought a Dodgers hat and somebody tried to talk to me about the Dodgers, and I was like, Oh, I shouldn't wear this hat if I don't know at least a little bit about what the Dodgers are doing. And so I went home and I watched the Dodgers game that day, and I was like, Oh man, I forgot how much I love baseball. And it was right when he had uh started pitching for the Dodgers. So I was like, I think I was still doing sales at Time Warner Cable, and some guy called in. He's like, Oh, I'm trying to get the Angels on here. And I was like, Well, that's your problem. You're just rooting for the wrong SoCal team, man. You gotta watch the Dodgers, and he's like, Oh, I know they're the better team, but I grew up in Anaheim. I'm I'm an I'm an Angels fan, but you got Kershaw, that guy's gonna be in the Hall of Fame someday. That's he's insane. And I was like, Kershaw, yeah, I should know more about Kershaw to figure out who this guy is. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Ooh, from Texas. All right. Uh yeah, Kershaw's amazing. I I I have a lot of appreciation for Sammy Koufax, but the same thing. Yeah, growing up for the last 20 years watching Kershaw, it's like the prime time of watching sports. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:He's the goat. There's so good. Funny story. Yeah. We were flying out of Burbank to go to, I think, Orlando or something to visit family at Disney World. And it was right when they were flying to uh New York or something for a series. And Kimmy was like, You don't think the Dodgers would fly out of Burbank, would you? And I'm like, I mean, they might. It's close to the stadium and it'd be easier. And uh she's like, but they're probably already on their way there, right? And I was like, probably. I mean, I don't know, they probably don't fly public or anything. And we're in the cafe waiting for our flight, and Kershaw just walks into the restaurant and like grabs a coffee and a snack. And I was gonna go talk to him, but somebody else did, and I was like, Oh, I don't want to keep bothering him now. But he was very nice to the guy that approached him and then went and got on his flight.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, he's like he's like he's normal. Yeah, he's a human being, super chill. Sorry, I started laughing because like I saw the next question I was getting ready for. Oh, okay. Accidental fart in public or awkward sneeze attack.
SPEAKER_03:Oh man, these were tailored to me. That wasn't that one wasn't. But uh what do I not know? Um I'm gonna say sneeze attack because I've I've had so many of those that I'm just used to it by now, or at least Kimmy is like she knows when it comes. Um I I do my best to not fart in public. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:There's this guy that I've didn't, I don't know, again, FYP TikTok author algorithm, who knows? They're cool, they're selling a fart machine thing, right? It's like of course a little handheld one and just walk by people and lift the leg up. It's like they do one in the in the tunnel, you know, and it's just the people's reactions are so good. But yeah, I don't know where that can't where that question came from. Moving on, streaming or physical media?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, physical media. Yeah. Everyone knows I'm a physical media fiend. Yeah. I just every movie that I want to watch when I go to watch it, it's not streaming anywhere. It's just my luck. And other people say that too. And then I'll buy it on physical media, and then a week later it'll be on like Netflix or Hulu or something. But I just like being able to hold it, the cover art, like the all the special features and everything like that. And I grew up in video stores and I worked at Blockbuster. Like it's just yeah, it means something.
SPEAKER_02:Do you have a a wish list that people can access on your social media for like looking for movies that you you oh I think yeah, I do.
SPEAKER_03:I actually, yeah, I put together an Amazon wish list because someone told me to. And I think I I don't know if it's public, it might be in like my link tree or something. I don't know I just made it for myself, yeah. Because I was like, I just want to make sure I I keep track of all these. Um, but I did, yeah, I think somebody found it because they sent me a couple for my birthday last year. I was really exciting.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it'd be kind of fun, you know. People are listening, they could check out your wish list and be like, hey, I want to send Josh something because his episode was so cool. Yeah, thank you. Or he just they just really love your uh your character episodes. Yeah, maybe city life or small town vibes?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, city life. Yeah. Having having been in both, I am a city guy, and I know a lot of small town people, and I've got small town family that love it. Um, but I just when I go back to like like my mom lives in Colorado Springs, which isn't even like a small town. It's it's pretty uh populous now and it's it's getting bigger, but I still I like being in a walkable like city. Like I live in downtown Long Beach where I I don't have a car and I don't need one. Like I've got so much stuff that I can just walk to and it's noisy, and there's there's a lot of people that you encounter every time you go for a walk, and I still that I just love all that about it. I don't yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, I would even look at Long Beach being like small town city vibes because of the fact it's like it's the city, but it's not LA. Like LA's huge, yeah. Like when you walk downtown LA, it's just massive buildings. Like in Long Beach, like there's a couple big buildings, but for the most part, like you kind of know the most of the same people, and it's kind of like uh that same kind of deal.
SPEAKER_03:It is a perfect like mix of uh of both. That's why we like it there so much. We're so comfortable. Because yeah, if if I had to live in like LA proper, like off of Fairfax or something, I would probably go insane.
SPEAKER_02:Kruger's Dreams or Jigsaw's Traps.
SPEAKER_03:Oh I gotta go Kruger's Dreams. I I love the Saw franchise, but not all of it. I love I think all of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:What if you what if you had to live in one of the two?
SPEAKER_03:Oh man. I mean you're probably not gonna live long in Kruger's Dreams. I might be able to, depending on the saw trap. You might be able to figure it out. I might be able to make my way out of it.
SPEAKER_02:And at least there's a path to an exit, at least.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I don't know. I feel like the saw trap might be more comfortable depending on what Kruger's putting me through. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Have you seen a movie called The Odds? No. One you can put on your reclist for Mo Me Too. Okay. We did that, someone chose it as their movie. So we're gonna do uh gloseies later, but uh yeah, the odds. Check that one out. It's two two person cast mainly, four people total, but two really. Oh, okay. And it's very like saw vibes. Love it, really cool. Oktoberfest or St. Patty's Day?
SPEAKER_03:Uh I mean I gotta say Oktoberfest, because it's yeah, it's the it's my favorite season, and it's I I love Oktoberfest beer. That's the one thing when I see that on the shelf, I know the time has come. I love St. Patrick's Day, but I I feel like I don't feel as a bigger as a beer guy, I gotta ask you. Yeah, no, we have a good time. Did uh we did a pub crawl last year through Long Beach. It was a lot of fun for St. Paddy's Day.
SPEAKER_02:Awesome. Yeah. Nighttime or daytime.
SPEAKER_03:Nighttime. Gotcha. Gotcha. I'll say nighttime still. Nighttime? Yeah. Not a morning person. Not I mean I'm not either. Not usually. Well back in like high school and college, I was absolutely not a morning person. I was sleeping till 11 or noon. Now I can be a morning person if I need to be, but I I find myself being a night person. And I feel like that's always the when you have a day job and you have such limited free time, like if it's nighttime, I'm just like not in a hurry to go to bed because I'm like, this is the the time I have to sit on the couch and enjoy a beer and watch a horror movie with my lady. Like I want this to last a lot longer. And so my my nights end up going later and later because I'm just not in a hurry to get back to what tomorrow's gonna be.
SPEAKER_02:For sure. And speaking of glosies, would you rather step in the glosey slime or Dodger Stadium Nacho Cheese?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, I mean, I've stepped in Dodger Stadium Nacho Cheese a few times, so I think I could handle that again. I don't think it would have the same effect on me that the glosey slime has on the might be easier to clean off your shoes, especially since you're a sneaker head. So exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:That stuff is does get very sticky though. It does. Drink a beer that's gone flat or a soda that's gone warm.
SPEAKER_03:I oh man. I think I'd probably drink if is the beer still cold?
SPEAKER_02:I mean, I guess it could be. Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_03:Because I I mean I'll I'd I've drank warm beer. Beer, you're supposed to drink beer warm soda. That's how the Germans did it. Yeah, it's supposed to be at least like room temperature. I don't think I could do a warm soda though. That would be it's rough. Yeah, that's weird. I would do the flat beer. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, not a hot soda, just a warm soda, just like temp like room temperature soda. I don't know, it just sounds terrible.
SPEAKER_03:Not boiled Dr. Pepper, like in Blast from the Past.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, it's it's it's like it's the Chucky, you had to go Chucky, uh, Chucky soda. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Definitely couldn't do that one.
SPEAKER_02:No, that that one looked rough. Yeah, I I could tell like you almost didn't post that one. It was close. Podcasts or playlists?
SPEAKER_03:Uh I'll say playlists. I am starting to get more into podcasts. Having been a part of one now, I see the appeal, and there are a few that I've actually gotten uh wrapped up in, but I just I love music so much, and it's easier. Like I I don't usually listen unless I'm driving or at the gym, and I think music just works for me better there. So I I have a lot of playlists, but podcasts are cool.
SPEAKER_02:Ghost story or creature feature? Creature feature.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yeah. Same. Love a good creature feature. Favorite creature. Oh man, that's a tough question. I mean the creature from the Black Lagoon has got to be one of the best. But as far as like just any sort of like animal or creature feature movie, alligator is uh one of my top top movies. I it's just a big practical effects gator just wrecking stuff. It's so good. Love it.
SPEAKER_02:Beer with pizza or beer with wings?
SPEAKER_03:Oh I'll say beer with wings. I I could put down a lot of wings. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I feel like with beer with pizza, you get so full too. Right? With wings, it's kind of filling in the cracks. Yeah. But yeah, it's a good solid wing, like a solid, a solid day at Buffalo Wild Wings. Can't go wrong. I think some friends of mine just did their fantasy football draft recently. I guess you can go to Buffalo Wild Wings and they they provide you with the kit. Oh, wow. Like you can draft in person. They they give you everything to just do it all in person and put the stickers up and everything. Because they know you're gonna also order however much a bunch of wings and beer and stuff. So yeah, next year, uh, if you're looking to do your fantasy football draft, go to Buffalo Wild Wings. Keep that in mind. Checks in the checks in the mailbs. Uh our newest our newest sponsor, Buffalo Wild Wings. That would be amazing. Just free wings and beer. Like sure. Just once once a year, guys. Just that'd be great.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, just have me on every time that delivery comes through. We're good. Love it.
SPEAKER_02:You can be part of my league. Movie or sorry, movies ending with closure or open to interpretation.
SPEAKER_03:I I would say open to interpretation now. Okay. As when I was younger, I needed closure. And I would always think because there there are times when I'm like, that feels like a cop-out, like you didn't know how to end it. So you just like, oh no, we left it ambiguous.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you can tell the ones that are like purposely written with interpretation and purpose, and then the unpurposefully ones, like the ones that are just like, oh, we ran out of time. Let's just piece it together and hope it sticks.
SPEAKER_03:You're like, let's roll credits, and people will think it's deep. And I'm like, no, I think you just ran out of ideas. Yeah. But uh, yeah, no, I still appreciate something open to interpretation, just because it it opens up so many more fun conversations afterwards, and then it I end up going home and reading like 16 different reviews to see what other people saw that I didn't, and then it makes me want to rewatch the movie.
SPEAKER_02:Love it. And then you could just go on your TikTok and say, Hey, what do you guys think this actually meant? Exactly. Get hopefully more than four comments. Yeah. John Carpenter or Alfred Hitchcock?
SPEAKER_03:I'm gonna say Carpenter. I I do love Hitchcock. I got into his stuff late because I was uh a dumb teenager who didn't think old black and white horror movies were scary, so I was just uh arrogant about it. But uh yeah, I saw a lot of Carpenter stuff when I was young, and now I've seen almost all of Carpenter's catalog, I think. I went I went through his IMDB recently and I was like, which ones did I miss? And I knocked out like Prince of Darkness and Christine and stuff in the last few years, and it was yeah.
SPEAKER_02:What would you say your favorite Carpenter, like most favorite Carpenter film that's lesser known, like lesser talked about, not lesser known, just lesser talked about.
SPEAKER_03:Um a toss-up probably between vampires and ghosts of Mars. Okay. Um, I have a very there's a handful of movies that my mom and I went to see in theaters together that I just have that like connection to. Jason X is one of them, and Ghosts of Mars is another one that I was like, this the trailer came up and I was like, this movie looks absurd, but I was like, when did Ghost of Mars come out? Like 98, 99? Like I was I was like 12, 13 years old, and I was like, this looks amazing. And I thought for sure my mom would not care about this silly sci-fi zombie movie with ice cube in it, but it's John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars. So my mom's like, oh, I will take you to go see a new John Carpenter movie. Absolutely. And so we saw it together in theaters, and I was like, that movie was oh one, okay. Oh one. So I was 14, 15. You were spending most of your time at Hot Topic. So exactly, yeah. But uh, but yeah, I saw Ghosts of Mars in theaters and I thought it was incredible. And then later on I was like, wait, that movie was probably bad, right? It sounds bad, but everyone I've talked to is like, no, actually, it's just super underrated, weird. Like people weren't ready for it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I feel like sometimes there's like, especially on just the horror talk community, there's some films that just don't get talked about enough.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Like everyone talks about their favorites, and it's like, well, let's talk about some of the stuff that they did that's kind of maybe on the later spectrum of maybe stuff that's just not talked about.
SPEAKER_03:I try to. It's been it's a mixed bag, and it's always the algorithm that uh that bites you because I'll be like, I'll want to talk about this lesser-known movie, but if I start getting into the weeds about something and people don't recognize it, then you get a lot of drop-off. Yep. And as soon as you're just like, here's my scream ranking, people are like, Oh, I know the scream movies and they want to watch that video. And I'm like, I don't want to so many other people have already done this better than I'm going to. I don't know why you need it. But every once in a while you gotta post something to to jolt the numbers.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you can just be like, here's my scream ranking and start talking about like lesser-known carpenter films.
SPEAKER_03:And people like I lied, we're watching vampires. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:What's the better franchise? Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th?
unknown:Oh man.
SPEAKER_03:I will say Nightmare on Elm Street because it's oh man.
SPEAKER_02:It's tough, but it's this is when they get harder.
SPEAKER_03:Ken's like Ken's like, I want to talk, give me a microphone. I don't know where you're going, I want to hope. It's no, it's because it's so it's it's still it it breaks some rules. Like the second night round Elm Stream movie immediately breaks a lot of rules that were set in the first one, but it's still so good. And Dream Warriors is such a just incredible like comic book movie of a horror movie with just an insane kills. Freddy is such an icon, and I just feel like there's there's something about like it's it's because you see his face that you could never cast anybody other than Robert England, then you have to have the the voice and the jokes and the the unique weapon, like just everything about it is so iconic. That first nightmare on Elm Street movie is a perfect horror film and it's still terrifying. Whereas the Friday the 13th franchise was good and it was good, and then it was finally Jason, like as we know him, and then it still doesn't really know what it's doing half the time. Like the canon changes so many different ways where they're like, Oh, he actually didn't die until the fourth one, but then the guy who took over the reins in part six was like, Oh no, he drowned and he's supernatural. And then the guy who took over in part nine was like, Oh, yeah, no, he drowned and got super big, and it's because he's a deadite. Yeah, and then somebody else grabbed so it's everyone has their own. And my friend Josh talks about how he looks at the Friday the 13th franchise as like just folklore at this point. And he's like, That's why Jason Goes to Hellworks separately, is it's everyone has their own story of what happened to Jason Voorhees and what happened to Crystal Lake, and it's all just kind of like blurred together, and nobody knows the truth of this like legend. And I'm like, okay, that makes it a little easier to stomach the so many inconsistencies in the franchise. But final answer Nyman Elm Street. Nymron Elm Street.
SPEAKER_02:I feel like that question could be its own podcast. I mean, there's just so much to understand.
SPEAKER_03:It absolutely could, and I I love the Friday the 13th franchise. I've watched it top to bottom. The only I I was gonna do like a whole series of uh character breakdowns, and the only one I've done so far is Jason because I know his history like from day one. I was born Thursday, June 12th, 1986. If I had hung out for a few more hours, I would have been born on Friday, June 13th, which is his birthday. I uh Jason's Jason's my boy, but I just re-watched both franchises and I just think nightmare is stronger top to bottom.
SPEAKER_02:There's no wrong answer. I know. Yeah, I know. I'm gonna try to get this question all the way through without messing it up. Live in a world with no new horror movies ever again, or live in a world where classics are erased and all new horror from now on. So from today, from today, from today, there's either no new horror and you have what you have, or from today everything's erased in the past, and there's a fresh, clean slate of what people can create moving forward.
SPEAKER_03:Oh man. I feel like my my gut is no new horror going forward because we have such a wealth of good horror to choose from, and I know I've still only seen like one percent of it. Um, so I've got plenty to catch up. If anything, that would actually be a relief if someone was like, hey, good news, there are no new movies you have to worry about seeing for the rest of your life. I'd be like, I can finally cross some stuff off my watch list now. Thank you. Um, but like if we were to wipe the history, would we still remember those movies? Or they just wouldn't be available for us to watch?
SPEAKER_02:I I'd have to say we wouldn't, right? Because they're erased from history.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so it was like a complete clean slate.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, moving forward, people could almost reimagine those characters too. So I mean, it could be all redone with new technology, and I don't know, that's not really a good thing.
SPEAKER_03:So I don't know if we yeah, this wouldn't be the same. Yeah. The fact that this is not actually going to happen tomorrow based on my answer makes it a little bit easier. Yeah, thank goodness. But I would I would initially say uh keep the classics, no, no new horror is the world I would be have an easier time living in.
SPEAKER_02:That's where I would go as well. So Ken, you were yeah, okay. Ken's with us. Yeah. Ken shaking his head. We need to get Ken and Mike. Craig a mic, Ken and a Mike. Get a Craig Cam.
unknown:He says that we don't get a mic.
SPEAKER_02:We don't get a mic. No Mike. No Mike. Awesome. Well, that was this or that. Is that fun? Yeah, I have no more cards in my hand than that.
SPEAKER_03:No, it was it was kind of fun. I don't know what to do with that. It was kind of stressful. Uh yeah. Sorry. You got me on the Friday the 13th tangent arrival.
SPEAKER_02:I love that. There's so much depth to that. Like, I think we could almost make a whole excerpt just from that alone. So thank you.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Uh, and and depending on whether you're gonna go to the past or the future and you need to go somewhere to travel, go to coastline travel.com to get you there.
SPEAKER_03:That was good. Wasn't it? Yeah, that was very smooth.
SPEAKER_02:So smooth. It's even more smooth, like when you say it was smooth too. It's great. With that, we'll be right back. All right, creepers. If you're already thinking about checking out that creeporama podcast, then you've got to check out their website too. They've got all the spooky extras, articles, updates, and best of all, their exclusive creeporama merch. We're talking shirts, hoodies, mugs, basically everything you need to rep your love for all things creepy, whether you're at home or haunting the streets. And here's the hook if you use the code Josh 10 at checkout, you'll get a sweet discount on your order. That's right. Creepy savings for all you horror fans out there. So don't wait. Head over to creeporama.com, load up your cart with some spooky goods, punch in that code Josh 10, and join the creeper squad in style. Now let's get back to the pot. Alright, we're back here with Josh Levesque, and we're gonna talk a little bit about a film that you picked on Momitu. I gave you a task. Go on the platform, download the app, and for those listening, if you haven't downloaded the app yet, you're missing out. It's free. But I gave you a test. Go look. 10,000 plus titles, find one that you and I could watch, and you picked Gloseys.
SPEAKER_03:Why did you pick Glosies? Because so I I already had the app downloaded on my smart TV, by the way. Um, so it's very easy to just hop right in there. Uh, so it's a terror films movie. I have friends at Terra Films, I love terror films. I think what they're doing with indie horror is uh is real special. And so when I opened Momi To and saw that you guys had a terror film section, I was like, this is gonna make it a lot easier. So I'll just start here.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we literally have just a carousel of just terrafilms films. Yeah, thanks to Joe and Sarah for uh that partnership. Yeah, appreciate that.
SPEAKER_03:They're they're great. And so I I just started scrolling through that, and they I was having a hard time narrowing it down even then, because I found like five movies. I was like, ah, I've been meaning to watch that one, meaning to watch that one. Yep. Um and then Glosey's popped up, and I was like, okay, this seems like it was made for me because I love gateway horror. So even though it is like unrated, it's still all the stuff said it was like kind of family friendly and it looks silly. Um, it stars James Remar, who I love. I think he's a super underrated like character actor. Um, and it's got slime and like sticky gooey stuff in it. And you know, I love the blob and like body horror and stuff like that. So yeah, it just seemed like the the perfect choice.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean it's kind of a mixture, it's it's a horror film, but it's kind of sci-fi, and yeah, it's got a lot of comedy. Like, I mean, the the writing that a little almost kind of slapstick comedy going on sometimes sometimes. But the the slime actually what stood out to me when you when you said, Hey, we're gonna do glosies. I remember seeing the poster, and it was one of those ones like I had again hadn't seen it, but I was like, Man, the poster just sticks out. It's so bright, it's welcoming, it just it's warm. It reminded me of like trauma films. Yes. And that brings me back to my childhood, which is something I haven't told you about yet. But my dad actually directed some trauma films. Oh, and so he actually directed the class of Newcomb Highs part two and three. Oh, snap. And so, like, yeah, going back to like slime and like the ooze or whatever they they called it in in their day for that movie, it just brought me back, like pure nostalgia for me when I saw the green stuff that's awesome throwing over by people because I remember that as a kid. I remember playing in it. Like my dad had like trucks, truckloads of stuff, and they would just get all over the set and like people cleaning it up. It was just a nightmare.
SPEAKER_03:That's amazing.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. So really brought me back. Thanks for thanks for choosing this because I it was just a fun watch.
SPEAKER_03:Awesome. Love that.
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely for me, for me at least. Uh for you, we'll find out. First take. First take. What about what do you think about it?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, I loved it. It was uh it was super fun. I'm more forgiving uh of indie horror because I'm like, I know the time you had, I know the budget you had, and I know what you were working with. And so if there are certain shots that I'm like, that was clearly like the first take, and they didn't have time to do that again, or when they're trying to like stretch stuff, because there are moments where it feels like they're something's getting dragged out a little bit more, and I'm like, they could have trimmed this, but it felt like just a long episode of like the goosebumps show or something like that. It just reminded me of the type of horror stuff I watched on TV as a kid, and it was so fun.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I mean, without spoiling it, what because this is a spoiler-free review for those listening. What would be kind of the vibe or tone of this film in three words?
SPEAKER_03:Oh man. Just sticky silly. Uh man. I don't know why I'm having a hard time thinking of the third word. Yeah, just sticky, silly, fun. Sticky, silly fun. I like it. That's what I would say. Yeah, that works for me. You got influencers being annoying like we are, and then you got veterans being badass like they are. You got James Remar being very James Remar in this one. It's good. And you got some fun, gooey practical effects and some weird neon.
SPEAKER_02:These old military though, the war dogs or whatever they call themselves. And then you got, yeah, these influencers that just randomly show up and be like, oh, related to blah blah blah. And it's like, cool. Like, that's so random that you're here at this moment in time, but let's piece it together and make it happen. That was really cool. Uh, did any of the cast members surprise you? Like, obviously, James Remar is in there and he's an incredible job. And you can even say say him that did he surprise you, but like, were there any other cast members that just surprise you?
SPEAKER_03:I'm uh, I mean, James didn't surprise me necessarily. I always I I know he's gonna deliver every chance. He he's in so many movies, and not all of them are great, but he always seems to just like give a hundred.
SPEAKER_02:He was an Oppenheimer, right?
SPEAKER_03:Uh he was a small role there, yeah. And then obviously he's Dexter's dad, and then he was in uh I my my first memory of James Remar is Mortal Kombat Annihilation when he replaced Christopher Lambert as Raiden. I was like, what is happening right now? Um that math, that math doesn't matter. Yeah, it didn't didn't add up, but it was still fun. And then I I I feel bad that I'm forgetting all the other uh actors' names, but I would say the uh the other the older veteran, I looked him up while I was watching it because I was like, what else has this guy been? And he was really fun. Um and I I wish I remembered his name right now.
SPEAKER_02:He was kind of the slapstick comedy of the two. Exactly.
SPEAKER_03:I thought he was great.
SPEAKER_02:Um I really like the the the influencer guy. Like, not that I liked his character at all, but just like I really when you when and again, spoiler free, just the faces he makes, yeah, like in that time, like so good. Like I felt like that was just so it was so needed, and he didn't overdo it. Yeah. So I think when people lit or that are listening that watch that, they're gonna be like, oh, I that's what he's talking about. Yeah, he really well done on that side.
SPEAKER_03:He'd also surprise me because at first you don't you're not supposed to like his character, he's supposed to be like an irritating like D-bag, and he was, but he was good at that. So I'm like, okay, I get that I'm supposed to not like this guy, and he's he's doing a good job of making me not like his character. And then, yeah, as as his character progresses, that was a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and and for independent films, this is probably the hardest question for most films to answer. How was the pacing for you?
SPEAKER_03:The pacing was decent. I will say there were moments. This is why I'm always like pro theater. I love streaming. I love that uh especially like that Momi 2 and Terror and stuff are getting movies that wouldn't even be made out in front of people and that it makes them available to watch. But I wish I had like a home theater that I could set up where I would make the rules where I couldn't look at my phone. Because watching this movie, I'm I'm into it, but I I catch myself like checking my text message notifications, and then I'm looking at my phone for too long and I'm like, ah, I missed something. And if it was a little bit more compelling in certain parts, that might not have happened. But yeah, um, overall, I think the the pacing was decent for what it was. It was a short film, it's only like 82 minutes or like 84 minutes long.
SPEAKER_02:Typical hour and a half, roughly running, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Um, but it's it still felt there like there were some parts where they kind of stretched scenes longer than they needed to be, and then other stuff where they could have like just done a little nip tuck.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, a little nip duck, a little slice off that. I sometimes I feel it just comes down to the score too. Yeah. Because there's always gonna be moments, really in any film, like it doesn't matter what if it's a big budget or not, like the moments that really kind of drag a bit or kind of the lull of the of you know, because you get that little peak in the beginning, you're like, all right, this I'm I'm interested. I'm interested. I'm past the first 13 to 15 minutes, like I'm gonna watch the rest of this film. Yeah, and then eventually kind of gets back down again, and then it gets back up to the climax, right? Like, and then you're like, all right, this is what I'm here for, right? When it gets down to that valley, you really need some good music, you need something to keep you kind of going, and I think that's what a lot of low budget films end up lacking because they don't have the budget for it. Yeah, they they're barely making the film as it goes, right? And they're they're hoping they get like some some PD or you know, some some uh what is it, non like licensable, like what is it called again? Uh music that's copyrighted, copyrighted, yeah, non-copyrighted film, like music, like stuff that you don't have to pay money, royalty free. That's what I that's the term out of the way. Yeah, and so getting royalty-free music and like just hoping that you're like searching the right stuff and finding the right songs and like be able to match it up and get the right part of the song. It's like there's so much that goes into that. And I feel like one of the films that we just recently talked about with the director, actually, um this uh Byron Manual on a couple episodes ago, he has a movie called Swoon.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02:And again, there's this moment in Swoon where it it it it lulls out a little bit, right? Like every film, it just kind of gets into that valley. Man, his music choices were so good. It was so phenomenally done. You should check that one out. Swoon. Like another one you need to definitely take a look at. It's like a black horror thriller. Okay, phenomenally done. He won a couple awards. Uh he won best uh one of the awards was best screenplay at the Mi Show Film Festival, which is only like eight years in, but yeah, man, incredible festival here in LA. And he got best screenplay. Like the writing on it was just top tier. So but the music really kept me going. Um did the gooey slime work for you? Because I think this is the this is the thing. Like slime is hard to do, yeah, especially because you got to get the colors right. Yeah, but then they also added some kind of filters to it and made it kind of look bright at certain points. Yeah. Did it work for you? Or is it just kind of cheesy and that was supposed that's what it was supposed to be?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, no, I think it would it was kind of cheesy. I I will I would like to give them credit, assuming that that was. Somewhat intentional, but I know there were elements of it where I'm like, you probably would have wanted to make this look cleaner if you had the budget or you had the time. But I think that's what kind of uh worked for me from like a nostalgia piece where it just reminded me of like an Are You Afraid of the Dark episode or a Goosebumps episode where that's what the the gooey slimy like shine would look like in the 90s. Um, and then yeah, doing the weird like tentacles and stuff that they did with it was also I mean, I I'm a sucker for any sort of weird practical like stop motion effects, anything you you do with that. I'm like, even if it looks terrible, I'm like, hell yeah, for doing it.
SPEAKER_02:For sure. Yeah. I think I think the music choices from the jukebox were definitely good.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, that was some good music choice for sure.
SPEAKER_02:They they got one in there. Yeah. As far as like the budget, you mentioned that. Were you good with the low budget, or do you wish they had like a little bit more?
SPEAKER_03:Uh I do wish they had a little bit more. Um, I always this is the the hardest part is you see movies like this where this one had already been, I think that's another thing that kind of uh was intriguing to me about it is it reminded me of did you ever read about Rob Zombie's The Blob remake that he never made? So after I don't know if it was after uh House of a Thousand Corpses or something else, but he he was also supposed to direct like a one of the crow sequels, but he did uh he was in pre-pro to do a remake of the blob, but he wanted it to be that the blob infected people and like turned them into these little blob zombies. And so when I read the synopsis for Gloseys, I was like, oh, somebody did like a family-friendly version of Rob Zombie's blob remake. Okay. Um, and so I I don't mind the low budget. I feel like there's uh it's like a double-edged sword where you can appreciate how much they were able to accomplish with what they had, but you see the potential if they had more money. And that's why I'm like, why I wish we could just remake all these movies, get all the same people involved. Because I'm like, obviously, the writer has something here, the director has an eye for this, and just give them an extra like$10 million and be like, blow this out, and yeah, and see what we're doing.
SPEAKER_02:We talked about on one of the other episodes, I think it was with Monty's episode. We talked about say, okay, let's let's give the same script to three different crews. One crew's gonna have like five mil, one crew's gonna have like 300k, and one crew is gonna have like 20k. Like you can use SAG actors under 20k, do it that route, 300k ultra low budget sag, and then the five million dollar route, or you just go like full indie unknown actors on the front in the lower end, right? And then you kind of get that mixed bag at the 300k route, and then the the five million you're you're able to afford some some names. Yeah, maybe maybe yeah, some names, maybe B list, but maybe not A-list, but we'll see. Either way, a bigger, like bigger, middle, and small budget and put it together and say, here, and don't sh don't let them talk. Like do not let them know that it's even happening. And just say, hey, go make this film and then see what happens, and then put like all three films up at the same time and just watch them through and just see what they were able to make because that's the hardest thing. Like you have incre you have an incredible writer that's just unknown, or you have an incredible director that again just doesn't hasn't made their first feature yet, yeah, right? Or you have an actor that could just skyrocket, like just could be the next whatever, right? Like currently Timothy Chalamet or whatever, like whoever's been in the most films in 2025, right? It's like you have that person, Pedro Pascal, yeah. Pascal's in everything. So uh he's in every meme, too. So it's like you could take that actor and maybe they they get found because of that, right? So yeah, it was a fun conversation because it's like, man, there's some really, really good talent out there. They just may not have the budget.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, for sure. And it's also like, I feel like I you could do another game of that where you just take two movies and you're like, which of these do you think like it reminds me of that YouTube series where it's like expensive taste or something, and they have them sip two types of champagne, and like, can you guess which one costs more? And like this glass costs five dollars, this glass costs$200. And you could do that with like I just saw that movie Primitive War, the dinosaur Vietnam movie, and it looks so good. Like the dinosaur action in that movie is nuts. And I I don't know the exact number, but their budget was ridiculously low for like an action horror film with a bunch of creatures in it. So what they managed to pull off is insane. And I'm sure there are other movies out there that don't look good. Like, I don't want to name names, but like I I know the Madam Webb budget was insane, and that movie apparently was not good.
SPEAKER_02:Well, everyone everyone kind of agreed that the the recent ice cube movie. So they'll just say their budget, and we can use it for anything else.
SPEAKER_03:There you go. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Because it really fell off.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah. But yeah, you could just compare the two and be like, this is what this crew pulled off with two or three million, while this crew had 25 million, and this is the best they could come up with. And that's always the and like anytime I see a low budget, like like Glosey's, I so many things were working for me that I was like, I maybe it is just budget, or maybe another writer to go in and just like punch up some stuff, and like like I said, nip tuck, just like kind of clean up some of these scenes. But for the most part, the cast was all great. Had no problem cast. The director clearly knows what he's doing, has has an eye for this stuff. Like there were some really fun shots in there. Certain sequences reminded me of like the the your time in perfection when you watch tremors and stuff like that. So yeah, I I had a lot of fun with this one. I would just give them more budget because there are other movies I've I've watched from like everything was working here except for these like elements where I think if we just got a different director in there, they would have made that cleaner, or if we had a different writer to go through and like tweak these jokes, that would have been better. But I feel like everything in glosey's worked, they were just hamstrung by timing and money.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, even just even if you took the same film and just kind of cleaned up the post, yeah, that alone would make it a little bit cleaner. Just because you have some inconsistencies with like the lighting of the goo and exactly and the different eyes and the looks and then whatever, and like even the masks of the glows, the glosey guys, like it's like you know, whatever. But yeah, I mean it'd be kind of fun. And I I think there's so many films that are in whether whether they're scripts that again never got finished or ones that did get finished that in the lower budget, man, there's so many great stories that could get remade. Yeah, instead of just going back and man, okay, we're gonna remake something that was just a box office hit from 20 years ago and disappoint everyone with the remake. Like go back and make something that that just was amazing but just didn't have it all there, like from a financial standpoint, and remake that and just have fun with it.
SPEAKER_03:That's what I would do if I if I had like Kardashian money or something, if I was like uh one of those crazy rebel billionaires, instead of just buying a bunch of yachts, I would be like, Hey, you want to make a horror movie and you've got this idea? Here's ten million dollars, because that's nothing to me. Like, I I made that back in interest while having this conversation with you. So just enjoy it. And then make the movie just for me. And I would I would have my own studio and I would just release that, and that's all I would do. That's all they'd be like, all these movies are losing money, Josh. And I'd be like, no, they're not. I don't care. I bought it, I made the movie for myself.
SPEAKER_02:All you need is all you need to do is win the Powerball. Yeah, exactly. Just have that happen, which is some uh student at University of Texas, he's a sophomore, just won the Powerball. Oh, two billion, no big deal. I think he bought like three three tickets too. Holy screwed just three.
SPEAKER_03:That's it. I gotta find this guy, see if he wants to produce a movie with me.
SPEAKER_02:Uh last but not least, I always ask who's gonna love this movie and and would you recommend it?
SPEAKER_03:I I would recommend it, absolutely. I I recommend most movies. Even if I don't like a movie, I'm still like you should still. Yeah, somebody that's why I don't usually review movies that I really didn't like, because I don't want to steer anyone away from anything. Um, but I think anyone who grew up watching uh like cheesy kids horror in the 90s, anyone who loves sticky, gooey stuff, and anyone who can appreciate just like a fun, low budget like romp. Um, if you're trying to get your kid into like fun zombie type stuff or alien type stuff, like this is this is an easy watch and it's fun and it's silly and it's not wholly inappropriate. I think there's like a couple of exploding heads, but those are they're gooey green heads, they're not even like that's fine. It's not like gore. Yeah, you're fine.
SPEAKER_02:Enjoy it, kids. Yeah, dude. Thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it. Yeah, this is so much fun to talk, shop with you in a sense, like talk about just I I love to hear like your story though. It was it was incredible to hear your journey, just that how you got to where you are. I mean, there's so many different things and twists and turns that could have happened in your life that you could have been a math teacher and totally not have gone the route of working at Universal and then becoming a social media manager, which then led to now you being a creator and going back to Universal, literally on the red carpet with the creators of the Terrifier Haunted House. Yeah, how freaking cool is that? So congrats on just how life has just been for you and where it's taken you. And I can't wait to see what else comes and obviously the next episode of your uh your cast members.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, for sure. Got it. Of all your villains. Oh, yes. My horror icon hangout.
SPEAKER_02:Awesome. Well, uh, if you haven't checked it out, go watch gloseies, go download Mo Me2. That's M O M E T U, which stands for more for me and you. Go download for free, watch gloseies, and then check out all the other terror films movies that are on there as well. Plus, close to up to 10,000 titles that we have there. So with that, we'll say goodbye to Josh Levesque. Thank you so much for joining us, and uh, we'll have to have you back on again.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, absolutely. Awesome. There's five other movies, at least, that I off the top of my head that I wanted to watch and and come back. So I'll yeah, I'll come back.
SPEAKER_02:Awesome. All right, talk soon. 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 Momi2 Podcast on Instagram and on TikTok. Oh, and for your next movie night, check out the Momi2 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.
