'Argylle' Review & Interview with Director Matthew Vaughn

Transcript is generated automatically.
0:00

Hey, I'm Derek.

And I'm Noah, and you're listening to A Bite of.

Where we take our cards.

Favorite pop culture obsession.

And you know what we do?

We enjoy it 1 Nibble at a time.

One nibble, super spy nibble.

Oh, secret espionage questions.

Twists, turns dancing.

0:20

OK, Argyle.

We are here to discuss the new Matthew Vaughn movie, Argyle, which I'm sure is going to be the talk of the town because it's a Matthew Vaughn movie one and it's bananas, crazy bananas.

Before we get into that, we have at the end of this episode, we're going to be talking a review and our thoughts, then an exclusive interview, which Derek got to talk to Matthew Vaughn himself, the director.

0:48

Very exciting.

It was very cool.

We're best friends.

We're not, but in my mind we are.

Spoiler he loves libraries.

And so that's great.

So that conversation will be at the end after a review, and then we'll come back and talk about that.

So lots of fun things in this episode before we get into everything.

1:08

Throw some stars our way, Be a secret agent and throw some stars to let us know that you understood the assignment and you gave us a review.

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1:26

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1:42

Also major, MAJOR MAJOR SPOILER alert both in our review right now and in the interview with Matthew Vaughn.

Spoilers all over the place, so you have been warned.

Warned.

It's very confidential going forward, so if you have not got the proper clearance or briefing, don't go ahead.

1:58

Boy, you are killing it today on this episode of The Pod.

You know I love spy and espionage site.

Double O Seven.

Yeah, yes.

All right, so let us officially take a bite of Argyle.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn and written by Jason Fuchs, Argyle follows mild mannered spy novelist Ellie Conway, who is struggling with writers block for the 5th installment of her series Argyle.

2:23

Heading home to Moms for inspiration with her cat Alfie and Toe, she is launched into the middle of a plan centered on killing her.

By her side is the rough and tumble real world spy Aiden, who is tasked with protecting her from the evil crime syndicate The Division world's become blurred for Ellie as her fictional creation becomes reality.

2:43

And that reality isn't exactly as it seems.

Oh, no, it's not.

OK.

So like we do with these reviews, what is your thoughts after we got out of the screening for it?

3:01

How did you feel?

I think going into it, having seen Kingsman, knowing what Matthew Vaughn is capable of, this met all the Matthew Vaughn criteria, right?

It was like people dressed sharply, fantastically, weird characters, a bunch of craziness that happens, great action, lots of twists and turns, and it was just so much fun.

3:24

Yeah, I think this is one of those movies where I'm at.

Kingsman.

Great, great movie.

Kick ass.

Amazing X-Men First class.

I mean, he has a a good track record for creating serious stuff, but also like zany and bizarre things that just seem to work.

3:40

And this one, I felt like he was experimenting, right?

This is going to be one of those movies where if you don't surrender yourself to the chaos and just the bonkersness of it, you're not going to have fun, right?

Right.

And this is just a movie to have fun.

3:56

And I I really much enjoy that because I feel like we don't get those too often.

Yeah.

I I feel like what he does so well is he takes something like Spy with Melissa McCarthy and he mashes it together with a James Bond movie, you know, like a newer Daniel Craig one, which is very serious.

4:13

So he takes the best of both of those worlds.

And I feel like you have to be willing to lean into that because you could so easily be like, oh, it was so ridiculous when this happened.

It was so, but it's like that.

The point of the movies is that it's breaking that spy genre.

Yeah.

And it it's having fun, right?

4:28

And I I know I said that word like three times already, but it's it, it is just fun.

I will say it is a little long.

It's it's quite a long movie.

It's over 2 hours long, especially for like a spy romp.

But like, I just felt like if you you kind of just like, OK, I'm here for this ride.

4:48

I'm just going to see what happens by the end of it.

Satisfied.

Absolutely.

You know, there wasn't.

I would shave down some things, but those last two action sequences were so worth the wait because they're bananas.

I mean, should we just let's just get into them, right?

5:04

Sure, it's so the the first one is, is that Ellie and Aiden are backed into a corner.

There's oil slick everywhere, so the only way she can defeat the Hench men that are surrounding her is by taking her boots, stepping hard onto some knives and ice skating with her gun.

5:21

She's using her memory of actually being an ice skater to not only slice and dice them, but then use a gun at the end when she's just spinning and shooting.

I was like, this is great.

Yeah, And it's on oil like.

It was incredible.

5:36

I, you know, I've seen other interviews and Matthew Vaughn has said that that was actually one of the hardest action scenes to shoot.

I would think so.

Because it's so much with this ice skater whipping around the corners and the choreography with the guns and who's going down when I can't imagine really kind of trying to keep that track of all that.

5:55

Well, you're creating it.

That's why those people are paid to do what they do, right?

Absolutely.

You make it work.

Yeah, I I like the idea of going to work and being like, yeah, we have to shoot an oil slick, ice skating gun scene today.

There's a lot happening.

It's going to be tough.

She's.

Going to be spinning.

She's going to be spinning and she's doing sow cows and stuff, axles.

6:13

It's just going to be bonkers.

The other scene that we were talking about is when Aiden and Ellie as well, backed into a corner and have to get out of the Armory, just released one.

I don't know why they have so many different colour smoke grenades.

I'm happy for it, but it is one of the most beautiful, you know, I don't want to call it a dream ballet.

6:32

It was like a action ballet almost.

And they're dancing and there's smoke and the music, it's just phenomenal.

It's so much.

Fun.

It was.

I mean, not to get, you know, too sentimental about it, but it really solidified their partnership.

6:47

And then, falling in love, this gorgeously choreographed the smoke dance, which is also them murdering a bunch of people that are surrounding them.

I really like though that we were talking about how it could be like kind of serious, like it's the spy and then also it's like a comedy.

And I like how these two action scenes, while they're unique and sure to be like Crowd Blazers, but like we also have like straight espionage type action within the train, right.

7:12

And so I like the balance between them because we got those, like trying to get around those people, killing all these people in the hallway, fighting people underneath 4 floorboards, it's great.

I like the balance between the action as well.

Yeah, 100%.

That train scene is it's the first real world Ellie action scene that we see.

7:32

And so what's happening is that, So we see a couple of different vantage points, right?

So we see Aiden fighting the people and then we see her watching Aiden.

We literally see her eyelashes as as if we're looking through her eyes and then we see Argyle fighting them as well.

So it's all pieced together into this like 1 fantastically fight choreographed scene.

7:52

We also see so Alfie played by Chip who is Matthew Vaughn's real world son, Feline son.

We also see it through his little, like, I don't know, astronaut, the cat carrier, the cat carrier thing, it's so great and so we're getting flashes of what she's seeing, what's really happening and it all comes together.

8:12

It's like bullet train within 15 minutes.

Basically I I like the different PO VS.

It's it's a lot of fun.

Let's talk about the cast a little bit.

Right.

And and their stories in this I, you know, the the marketing and the trailer that you see for the movie very much just shows you the first like 1015 minutes or so with Henry Cavill, John Cena, Dua Lipa, all of them, Ariana Dubose.

8:36

And it makes you think that like, oh, they're like fully in this movie.

And like Ellie is the subplot in a way.

It's the other way around, which that was kind of smart.

You know, going into this, I was like, oh, they're really not in this interesting.

8:52

But so it made it fun for a normal person and author to tag along with this spy.

And then Polarity ensues, right?

But I did like that they kept bringing them back.

And towards the end, whenever we find out that the real Argyle is actually Ellie Conway, who's Bryce Dallas Howard, it would just made it fun because then she could still be part of the action and ending up, you know, solving the whole conflict of the movie.

9:19

Yeah, it was smart.

It really was.

I mean, I have to say, I think as a homosexual librarian watching this movie, it centers around an author and books and Dua Lipa's in it.

Granted, she's only in it for like 10 minutes, but she does her Dua Lipa thing.

And so that first set, that first thing that we see is Argyle fighting Dua Lipa and John Cena, as well as sort of like his right hand man throughout all of that.

9:44

And so it is really quick and they do pop up throughout the movie.

But you're right, it really does center on Ellie and Aiden in the real world.

Now, rounding out the cast, of course, are two comedic but also dramatic geniuses, right?

10:00

So we have Catherine O'Hara playing Ruth.

You know, Emmy winning Golden Globe, winning everything, winning Schitt's Creek.

Schitt's Creek, of course.

And we also have Bryan Cranston playing Ritter, who was like the evil big benchman of Division, of the Division, right?

10:16

And he, I mean, you know, he won an Emmy for Breaking Bad.

He's been Oscar nominated, but we also know him as the lovable dad for Malcolm in the Middle.

Yeah, too.

I I really liked these two together.

This movie has so many twists and turns that like, when after I would say after the 14th one, I don't, I'm not actually counting.

10:37

But like, you know, when it's revealed that her, that the head of division is her parents.

But then it's like, wait, no, they're not her parents.

They just posed as her parents.

And then it just kept going.

I just kept going, of course.

Yeah, sure.

Yeah, yeah.

Why not.

But I liked it because then that gave us more Katherine O'Hare screen time.

10:54

That gave us more Brian Cranston screen time.

It was just fun.

Like, I know some people might be like, it's convoluted.

They it's just like whatever stuck to the wall they would do.

But that's what made it fun.

Because at one point I was just like, oh, OK, Like somehow they were able to connect to that.

11:12

Yeah, together.

It was funny.

Noah and I were able to see a screening of this Universal offices in Manhattan and and it was Noah and I and I felt like some there was like four or five, like kind of maybe serious journalists.

But you and I were watching it as like fans and viewers and having fun.

11:30

And so when things were happening like those reveals, we were like, oh, no way we did.

We had a really good time.

So like, if you want us to come and like, give genuine reactions, just call us up.

Totally, Totally put us in a room.

We are there for the action.

We're always.

I think the beauty of Noah and I is that we're always leaning into what the movie is.

11:49

We're always willing to.

We give ourselves over to it.

Yeah, we always look for the positive part, right?

It's like, yes, we can critique and we we're reviewers, so of course we'll do that.

But like, that's not fun.

Like, I want to be able to find the things I didn't like with the movie because I spent time.

They spent time making it.

12:05

You know, it's not an A for effort thing, but it's like it's fun.

Like, just have some fun.

It's fun.

I mean, just speaking about the fun, right?

So there is the reveal that Ellie is actually our Kyle.

That's her name like Rachel Kyle and so she's Argyle in reality.

12:21

So when it is actually revealed that Catherine O'Hara isn't her mother but is some sort of like Winter Soldier Russian scientist or something that and she breaks out this accent, you know.

And we learned that the kitchen that she was Facetiming her from was actually in like the big division layer.

12:38

You know, it's like, yeah, it's hilarious and and the whole thing that she lost her memory from an ice skating accident, she fell in the ice and she couldn't remember anything.

It's just so silly.

It's not even like she got hurt in action.

It's like, no, she actually ice skated and she.

12:55

She ice skated almost to death.

She got hurt.

I do want to say one of the MVPS, aside from Dua Lipa in this movie, is Sam Rockwell.

I like so good.

I wasn't sure at first because like, you never know what you're going to get with like not Sam Rockwell, but like having this type of character in a movie where so much funny stuff is happening around them, but really leaned into it as Aiden and Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell together.

13:25

Fantastic.

The chemistry was great.

They were a lot of fun.

And so the Aiden character has layers as well, right?

So when we first see Aiden, he has the long hair.

We think, oh, he's just there to protect her.

But what we Yes.

But what we learn is so in the Argyle world, there's Argyle.

13:43

And then there is John Cena, who plays Wyatt, who is like his best bud, right.

We learned that our real, our Kyle, her best bud was Aiden.

That was her Wyatt.

So he's protecting her, playing along that she's just an author, but all the time knowing that they've actually been partners this entire time.

14:01

Yeah, I like that.

And he finds out that, like, that's who she saw him as.

He's like, wow, thanks.

Yeah, big, big dude.

Exactly.

Who enjoys like a cappuccino or whatever in Greece?

Yeah, it's pretty fantastic.

So I just like that Sam had to play those levels.

14:19

And I mean, Sam Rockwell was freaking killing it.

In these action scenes and these fight scenes he had, he probably had the most work to do out of everyone.

They all really put on their best action.

Star Boots.

14:34

Yeah, you know they they all did stunts.

You know, if I if I have to find like some critique as far as like the cast and stuff like that, I would say Dualifo being in it for like 5 minutes was disappointing to me because like I I'm not sure like she can act right.

14:49

But like I want to see her do it.

Like I want to see is she a triple threat?

I'm sure she is, but like, I wanted to see a little more because the chemistry with her and Henry so good.

You want to see Dua do it.

I want to see Dua do it, but whenever the whirly bird was one of the greatest things because it comes back again in the movie.

15:10

But just seeing like it happened, that's like one of the first things that happens in the movie and it's like.

And The funny thing is, is that in that scene it's supposed to be like this very sensual dance and then the whirly bird is basically her with her legs spread eagle going on his shoulders with her crotch in his face.

15:27

And it's not really that sexy, but.

They're so serious.

But they're so serious about it.

We get these very close up shots of her face, of his face, and it's just too good.

And like you said, the whirly bird comes back.

And I was.

I was so entranced by the whirly bird.

And we I was doing some research and I found out that whirly bird is British slang for a helicopter.

15:47

Is that a real dance move?

It's not so the only whirly bird I could find was one that's like in jive, and it's just two people kind of just like spinning together in rhythm.

So it's not what we see it as in the.

Movie is this what you did for like research?

16:04

You're like, OK, I have to like do some research, whirly bird research and you just went into like the dark web to.

Find That's exactly where I started my research.

That was the most important detail of this movie for me.

The Whirly bird.

Sophia Buntella, Fantastic.

16:20

Yeah.

I liked the inclusion of her at the end.

I wanted more because, like, I want to know who the Keeper of the Secrets really is and what is going on with all of that.

Because it felt very much like this is a thing that's happening.

You're not going to know more about it until later, you know, Because there is, I think it was announced that there's like a series being planned with like the art real Argyle from this movie guy or whatever his name is.

16:44

Because we find out this is like in the Kingsman universe, which I believe you asked Matthew Vaughn about that.

So like, we'll leave that discussion for like the creator to talk about.

But I do think it's interesting that it's like hidden, right?

That like you have to see the movie to then find out like oh, this is part of his like von averse that he's.

17:05

Creating I was saying it's like the KCU, it's like the Kingsman cinematic Universe.

I I did have some questions about that whole secret secret keeper.

I was looking at that room trying to figure out what's really going on there.

It's like, is it just like, I don't know, safety box deposit boxes and she just has people's secrets?

17:22

Yeah, the secrets, they're all just flash drives on there.

Exactly.

But what a job, you know, It's like.

How do you become the Secret Keeper?

You just start collecting.

You're just a kid on the playground letting kids whisper to you.

And then you're like, I see some business, just in case their memories get wiped.

17:39

They need to know all the secrets.

So what was are you excited to see more like Do?

Are you excited to see like the show?

Do you think there's going to be more Argyle because it is a real book?

Yeah, written by a real Ellie Conway.

So I'm curious if there would be more.

17:56

Would you be open to that?

I definitely would, because I think that what the picture that we have painted here is a very static moment in time.

I think you could do a lot with this, whether it's with the actual Henry Cavill Argyle character or looking at Ellie Conway and seeing where she started.

18:13

Because something that I was thinking about is who are her parents?

Actually her real parents?

What is their deal?

Where are they?

You know, are they something that can either?

Was she trained to be a spy her whole life?

Is it like a Black Widow situation?

Does she have parents?

18:29

Where's the Red Room?

Where exactly exactly, especially at the end when Ruth Catherine O'hara's character comes out and literally is doing like a Winter Soldier thing, is like saying a code to get to her deeper programming to kill Aiden.

So I think that there's a lot to play with there.

18:47

Yeah, yeah, I thought.

I thought there could be the the one, the only twist where I was just like, come on, it was with Kira, Ariana Dubose's character, where it was like a fan sent me a thing of like how to bring her back and I'm like the fan was her.

19:03

You know, that was a thing that I meant to look into.

Is there a little area of the heart that a bullet can go through?

Oh, I'm sure.

But it doesn't actually go through the heart.

It just like goes through the empty space, you know what I mean?

The empty space.

Yeah, I'm sure.

I'm not a doctor.

I don't know.

19:19

I went to the twirly bird.

That was my research, not the.

Twirly.

Bird.

Oh, you're right, the whirly bird.

How dare you?

Well, I've had.

It's just been too much fun.

So overall, I think it's a fun movie, right?

I highly recommend it for people that like to have fun, I think so.

19:38

I very much like espionage and spy.

The serious stuff, like James Bond, I haven't really been a fan of the ones that play on those tropes or the comedy ones.

Like you mentioned, Spy with Melissa McCarthy.

Those are fine.

I'm watching it for Melissa McCarthy and like everything else that happens in it, I'm just kind of like, it's fine.

19:59

But this one I was like, I could see myself enjoying multiple of these.

Like the cast was fantastic.

The action was just as good as any other action movie.

So I'm here for it.

Like, it takes me a lot for like, a genre that I really like to be like.

OK, I like this like spoof.

20:16

Yeah, I think that it's interesting because, you know, I'm thinking of the Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon movie, the The Spy Who's Something or other.

I don't know.

But it was trying too hard to be a serious spy movie.

20:32

And it's like, but you have Kate McKinnon in one of the lead roles.

Like, don't lean into the series.

She should be leaning into the comedy.

Whereas this, I feel like, is very cognizant of what it is and what it's trying to do, and it's not trying too hard in either direction.

It just exists in this sort of silly world, and I think that's what makes it work, yeah.

20:52

It doesn't take itself too seriously, and I think that you shouldn't take the movie too seriously because it's playing with you.

It knows.

It knows that it's hilarious and the inclusion of like, just having the cat there.

Alfie.

How?

He's just going to bring up Alfie.

Is great because, like, it didn't really like if you took the cat out of it.

21:11

It's like, yeah, there's going to be some moments where like they need to go back for the cat and all this stuff.

But like, I just liked the addition of it.

I like those like, motifs or like those things that just happened in movies where it could just be synonymous with it.

Also, cats are fantastic.

Well, yeah, I have to admit that I was very worried about Alfie the entire time.

21:28

When she was like, when she decided not to go back for him, I was like.

I.

Hate this movie.

This movie just completely lost me.

The cat's fine, yeah, this.

The cat survives.

The cat is fine.

So those of you who are always concerned about the animals, we're letting you know now the cat survived.

21:44

It's OK.

Yeah, so any final thoughts before we get into Matthew Von's interview?

Oh, I just, like I said, I think it was a lot of fun.

I would definitely be interested in seeing more of these characters, more of this world.

And you know, I think that this von averse is growing, which is exciting.

22:02

What did you call it in the interview?

You said Vontasy.

Yeah, I called it Vontasy.

That's like how he constructs a movie.

It's so good.

He takes a normal plot and then he injects it with Vontasy.

It's so good.

How about you?

22:19

What are your final thoughts?

Yeah, I mean, I've said them, you know, I I think somebody that likes the serious stuff.

I like that this drew me in with also being like totally engrossed in it.

Samuel Jackson's character, I thought it was just Samuel Jackson having fun.

22:35

Like no notes on that.

I loved his like spy cave.

Did you ever notice that in a spy movie, like nothing downloads faster, I mean slower, than in a spy movie?

Yeah.

And the constant, like, it wasn't even like we had to wait for it to download.

They kept stopping it and going.

22:52

And I was just like, wow.

It felt like being back in the dial up days when you're trying to download one song and it took three hours, no?

Oh, man.

All right.

Matthew Vaughn, interview.

Let's get into it.

So let's talk about this amazingly fun, fantastical, twisty, turny movie you created.

23:13

First things first.

I was wondering, so I know that you read Argyle as a novel.

What was it about the novel that made you want to turn it into a movie?

Well, the actual book I was, it's a really weird story between the book and this Jason Fuchs and the screenwriter and and and it all came together.

23:33

But I just saw the opportunity of having fun of creating two worlds of fictional spies and non fictional spies colliding together.

That was so.

So it it it when a crazy spark happens why is is is It just happens.

23:51

So it's, it's and when it does, I just follow it.

That's awesome.

You got to go with your gut when you feel the feeling you.

Have to go with your gut.

Full stop in life.

Absolutely.

All right.

I'm writing that down.

That's that's getting tattooed for sure.

OK.

No, don't.

24:07

Answer that.

Well, dude, just an arm.

An arm or something like that, No.

So now taking that story of that novel, I know that I had read that you had said it was kind of a straightforward story of the character of Argyle.

When you're looking at it, how in your mind, what I'm calling adding these sort of the vontasy of it all, adding this fantastical moments of, I think we're going to need a smoke dance in here.

24:31

I like the Vontasy.

It sounds like a German.

I want to see this film, but I'm going to.

I'm going to be using that as a joke to my in laws, yeah.

No, feel free to use it.

Absolutely.

But I was wondering, how do you, when you're looking at a straightforward story, go, all right, I know we could beef it up here.

24:51

How does that sort of happen?

Is that between you and Fuchs?

Is that just happening on your own beforehand?

Yeah, no.

Jason and I had a really fun collaboration because he we, we we we definitely approach problems.

25:06

I mean in a weird way we are we're our girl and and you know he yeah we are we we we sort of life obtaining art.

You couldn't have two more opposing ways of writing and creating movies.

But getting to the same destinations, you would say we just get there differently.

25:24

So we definitely pushed each other's boundaries and he would always be trying to push me to the safer zone and I'm trying to push him into the danger zone.

And we ended up with our girl.

But, and I love that, I really feel like you can see that balance.

They are right.

There are these thought provoking conversations and these very fun action moments.

25:43

But then there's choreography and ice skating, and that balance is what makes Argyle so magic.

So now.

You're very welcome so to.

Coffee.

Coffee is definitely needed.

Caffeine is always good.

I want to talk about the cast a little bit.

26:00

It's pretty much stacked Oscar winners, Grammy winner, Emmy winners, and all of the above.

Was there any character that you knew that you wanted to cast first when you were bringing the project to life?

It was the triumvirate of Ellie, because I, you know, I try to cast for for chemistry and balance and instant recognise, you know, so that the audience know who this character is.

26:26

So it might, you know, it was for me, it was always Ellie in the middle, Aiden Wilde and Argyle on each side.

So you can tell I'm tired then.

I'm trying to remember this is the character, the lead name.

So yeah, that was that was so I had rough sketches and I was mad and I and I saw the three of them together, you know, so I wouldn't have committed to any of them without knowing all three were right.

26:57

So it's like casting a triumphant instead of a single person.

Yeah, there's there's always that magic in the trifecta of of roles throughout books and television, and so this is definitely a a fantastic one that came together and not to get too serious here, but NEPO babies are a topic that have been coming up a lot recently.

27:16

So how was it having your own child chip on set and in the film?

You've no idea.

This whole nepo baby slash cat debate has been interesting.

I, I, I my theory on Napo babies and cats is they have to be better than the rest.

27:37

Because if you're going to be given that leg up you know, I always, I always say in life contacts or or privilege or birth.

All these if you've been given a, a a a a door that opens for you, you better be better than everybody else because you've been given been lucky enough to have that.

27:58

So therefore and by the way everyone's going to be rooting for you not to succeed and if you do succeed they're only going to say you succeeded because of your your your luck but ultimately you still have to have talent and tenacity to get there.

And I would say with the cat he did brilliantly.

28:16

I mean to his credit I think what happened is because I think he just thought he was home away from home.

He saw me and he was chilled and and I think his performance and I'm and I'm actually not joking when I say this because I work with an acting cat which we fired beforehand I think because he was so relaxed and it wasn't when the so-called trained animals they spend the whole time looking at their trainer waiting for a treat and their eye lines off and they're always got the wrong energy.

28:40

They're just in what do you want me to do mode so they'll sit.

They don't sit down like dogs don't snap to a sit dogs you know they go around they look around they they they sit in a casual way a trained dog and then they sit they I mean they literally look like they're about to get chopped by 1000 volts if they don't sit on command.

28:57

So they don't, you know, dogs.

Yeah.

And most people's dogs aren't that well trained in life.

So it looks weird when you've got a family and the dog is, is sort of bouncing around with his weird energy.

So I really think that's what happened with them.

With Chip, I think he he came across as a real cat because he was just hanging out. 100% and I love seeing Chip on the red carpet.

29:19

I follow Chip on Instagram.

I.

Think you do.

Wow.

Yeah.

Chip is a breakout star from Argos.

It's so surreal.

But hey, you know what?

Life is a truly original roller coaster.

So the fact that Chip's become, I mean, it's my daughter's reading.

29:37

My daughter went to, there was a, there was a an event here and she said everyone was walking around with chip bags with chip in the back, you know, and she used to spend, This is my cat and I'm seeing him everywhere out and he's like, daddy, how I meant to feel about this.

29:53

And I mean she's only 13 and I was like, I don't know.

I just don't know.

So yeah, Bizarre.

A surreal moment, sure, watching everyone walk around jumping back to the humans in the cast.

I was so interested in the fight scene on the train.

30:11

And so there again are those 3 characters.

We have Ellie in the middle and she's watching, you know, from her literal point of view.

We're seeing it go from, you know, Argyle to Aiden back and forth.

So in directing a scene like that.

How are you?

30:26

Piercing it together.

How are you making sure that it all fits together so perfectly with the choreography?

Well you have to shoot it twice.

So if so and and that was fun designing an action sequence that again these two they they had to fight the same person in the same manner but scrappy versus you know like the Super spy versus the scrappy let's say it.

30:56

And they but they had to get to that same place so they you know they both have to win so and and and then having the fun and then on the day you know we'd we'd only been totally concentrating on the fight choreography And then I was doing that I was like, wait, hold on.

31:15

I think we can do a bit more with this.

So I was like Henry, do you mind saying the lines as well.

I think we can actually intercut the line.

I said why are we only doing this with the fighting.

Let's do it with the drama And before Henry's like, wait, you want me to what how much dialogue do I need to say.

And I was like just just try it And and then I said this is working And then during the fight.

31:33

Henry, actually stop.

Stop.

Look at the camera.

Do me a favour.

Just just slowly put your hand through your hair and give me a wait and he's like really I went fuck it, what have we got to lose?

And then the girls were fighting with him and I went, I went and I said to the two of them, don't tell him anything just give him a kiss on his cheeks.

31:49

So he's getting ready to fight.

And they went and he was like, what the Hell's going on?

So we were it, it was a a lot of seeing some magic happening and and just being brave enough to try it because I would say, look we can try it.

If it doesn't work, hopefully I'll be clever enough not to put it in the movie.

32:07

So and sometimes, sometimes it's yeah, it's different.

So yeah, so that's good.

Very cool.

Nothing like keeping Henry on his toes on the on the day, right?

Definitely.

Definitely.

Since we're just chatting about Henry, I have to know how did the flat top come about for Argyle?

32:24

Well, I I needed again.

We're trying to create a super spy that doesn't exist, right?

So I thought, how can we create an icon in five frames, you know.

And so that's why the first shot you're seeing the flat top from behind and then you see Gio Leapy Oh my God, who is this guy?

32:42

And then it comes around and he's like, Oh my God, Henry Cavill look at his hair and he must be a very confident man and good at what he does because if no one's everyone's like, wow.

And and I just wanted to create a silhouette that I have it here on the cap where you can go, OK Argyle is he's the Argyle pattern.

33:04

Nero and laptop.

So I needed to you know, it was all about building an icon immediately instant icon.

Just add water and stir.

You know what I mean?

Beautiful.

Everybody use it.

Pick it up at your local supermarket.

Yeah.

So, and I have to say that I'm a I'm a librarian in my 9:00 to 5:00 so I feel like and obviously a geek, so the.

33:27

Minifigure.

So you're a librarian.

I have to ask you that because how are libraries doing in the modern world?

Libraries in the modern world are doing OK.

They're becoming these amazing community centers where folks can go and learn new topics, be with their peers, talk about things that are going on.

33:46

You know, we are offering amazing ebooks and audiobooks that you can download right on your phone.

But of course, being in the libraries, being a Center for information, it's tough out there, especially here in the US with book bands and book challenges.

So brave librarians are stepping up to fight the good fight to keep books on shelves.

34:04

But you know it's.

I love books.

That's right.

Look this whole movie is a celebration of a book and there is a book and we we we please get make sure library has a copy of Argyle book one and make people read it because it's it's a it's you know we also wrote the book to try and get younger people reading as well because it's you know it's all about the 1819 year old Argyle.

34:28

And I think reading is so important.

I mean if people say how did you become a film director and I used to read lots of books and the books put the images in my mind more than any I I still an image from reading is still more powerful to me than anything I see in a film and you know the the the mind is better than the camera.

34:50

So I I applaud you for your day job.

Thank you and I appreciate your support and your love of books and and that was one of the things that was so exciting about this movie was seeing books and seeing Ellie as an author being celebrated you know and and having people want to see her speak.

35:08

And of course, the collector of the books, their spines next to each other on the shelf was also delightful.

So that's that's really great.

I was talking a little bit about fight choreography.

I want to talk about the dance choreography that happens in the movie, specifically the beautiful, the amazing whirly bird.

35:29

Where did that come from?

Well, the whole movie is about disco.

When we wrote the script and then we did we disco.

Music makes you feel happy and stuff.

And then I looked at a lot of disco choreography from the 70s and early 80s and there was something I saw that was sort of similar to the whirly bird.

35:49

And I was like, OK, that's we're going to take that because then we can also use that later and fights And it's it's again, it's iconic and memorable and like you know the opening sequence, by the end of it you're like, what am I watching?

And so and and well done Henry Cavill.

36:08

He could actually do it.

Her and him and Joe just did it while we were really wires and ropes and reming ready and safety harnesses and they're like Oh no, no, no, we'll just do it.

And what up?

They weren't.

And I was just like, well done, the two of you.

I was wondering how that was rigged.

36:23

No rig needed, huh?

No rig needed.

That is definitely impressive.

I was, I was sitting in the Screener, my husband and I, who's my Co host on the podcast, and you know, there were just moments where I was whispering under my breath.

The whirly bird it's.

Coming.

It's coming.

36:39

So it made an impact for sure.

Wow.

So I wanted.

To.

Yes, yes, you mission succeeded there.

I wanted to ask about our I mean, we're going to put spoiler alerts on a review in the interview.

So our our end credits scene where we do see our young Argyle and it seems to be connecting to the Kingsman universe.

37:01

Am am I right in in that?

All, all, all I can say is if you are Asian Argyle and you you're you're you're you're you're known for your flat top and your your Nero coloured coloured jackets.

Where would the man go?

37:18

If you're a super spy, to get a super beautifully made tailored suit and there's only one place to go.

Heck yeah.

All right.

I was.

I was wondering, so are we looking at more Argyle films in the future?

37:38

But that's really up to the audience.

So I wanted to make a sequel to Stardust, but no one in America decided to go see it.

So that got, you know, burnt.

But yes, there's things planned, but you guys have to go see it.

37:59

It's really, we'll make sure if there's a, if there's a desire for a sequel, we will make one.

If there isn't, then you know we're not that stupid.

Fair enough.

And you know, just as a wrap up question, here on our podcast we cover lots of things that are based on comic books and in the past you have created films from comic books.

38:20

Is that something that you would look to do in the future?

Film.

If I found a comic book that I loved, yeah, you know source materials, I said.

It's an instinctive thing.

You read something like, I'm doing a musical at the moment and David Chazelle sent me the script and I read it.

38:39

I mean, I want to make this movie.

I like it was a it was AI made the decision on page 10 and my page 50, I was suddenly emailing everyone in my office saying fence in the script, saying get reading.

I'm halfway through it, I want to do this.

38:56

And then I got terrified.

Each page going, oh, is something going to happen to stop me doing it.

But my instinct got bigger and bigger and bigger and by the end I said this is such a this is it.

That's good.

Let's go.

Is this your first musical?

That you're doing my first full musical, I think as you've just seen.

39:14

Yeah, I think there's musical moments without anyone singing in in Argyle.

That's one of the reasons by the way, as well.

There is some methods my madness.

I was like, well, let's see what I'll start thinking about.

What's it like working with choreographers and dancing.

And so I was just wanted, you know, so the bits in Argyle that was that so.

39:32

And then my last question, simple one, I I know that Argyle was a bit of a pandemic project.

They started by watching movies with your kids.

Have they seen Argyle?

And I was wondering what they thought of it.

Yeah, they've definitely seen it.

39:50

They, they they.

I got thumbs up from my harshest critics.

They really enjoyed it.

I think they enjoyed it more.

I think they were surprised because this one they were involved a lot more because they saw how you make the sausage.

40:05

And when you see how you make the sausage, you know, I've never been to a sausage factory, but I got a feeling I won't enjoy the sausage as much if I went to 1.

So I.

And I think they were quite surprised because when you when you test movies and even with film executives, there's, you know, there's like like 20% of a real lift when a movie before a movie's finished, when you know, from the CG, the, the music, the grade, all this stuff, suddenly it becomes a movie.

40:34

And even on this one, some executives are saying, I think you should get, just get rid of the ice skating, you don't need it.

It's too much.

And I'm like, I don't know, I think when it's finished, it's going to be a pretty spectacular scene.

And now we've finished it and even the execs are like, Oh my God, we never imagined it.

40:50

That's what it would be like.

And I was like, yeah, so sometimes you got to you have to, We said at the beginning of this this podcast, follow your instinct.

Trust your gut.

It won't let you down.

Your head can let you gets you.

41:06

Your head gets you in trouble.

Your gut keeps you balanced.

And it can really lead us to an amazing place where there is a fight scene with guns, ice skating and that's what we needed for sure.

Well, yeah, yeah, the the men in the white coats are, they're outside waiting for me.

41:24

But get a few more interviews.

Don't let them get you.

There's too much goodness in the world that you need to bring.

Well Matthew, thank you again so much for chatting with me on a Bite of it really means a lot and I'm so excited for the world to see Argyle.

Well, thank you.

41:39

Thank you very much.

So that was a very cool way to spend a Wednesday morning chatting with the director of Argyle.

Just like such a cool, chill guy.

And it's so interesting to see how chill he is, but the zany wacky things that he can think of.

41:55

Yeah, and it's like, he says.

I love how he's like, making a joke, but he's telling it to you.

Seriously, I was just like, this dude's cool.

Yeah.

Also his Argyle hat.

Yes, I want it.

The fit was on point.

The glasses, the Argyle hat.

I mean, the man knows what he's doing.

42:10

Obviously.

He's married to Claudia Schiffer people, so they chip the Cat as his son.

It's his son.

They're they're just an awesome family all around.

But I really just loved some of the details he told us about, about how you know that our our favorite Dua Lipa scene, how there was absolutely no rigging involved and you know, Henry Cavill can just lift a dual leap up and hold her in that spin.

42:31

I mean, he should be able to.

Yeah, with those PECS, yeah.

It's not just for putting computers together.

But dudes, been The Witcher and Superman.

Yeah, he could do the world.

He.

Could he could lift the lipa?

He could lift the lipa for sure.

For sure, but what an awesome opportunity.

42:47

I mean this entire Argyle thing, getting to go to the screening and talking to Matthew.

I am fully invested and I really hope that you all watch Argyle.

And I love bringing all of you along with us.

That's what this is all about, right?

You're at our table.

We're having fun with the things that we love.

Let's see what's next.

43:04

Let's snack together our Our podcast is like a charcuterie board.

You can.

We we always have tons of variety out there, so pick and choose what you like.

Yeah.

One, you know, we're covering Percy Jackson for months and then we switch to this, you know, because that's a we.

That's how you consume media anyway, you know.

43:19

Mama, that's pop culture, one at a time.

All right.

So till next.

Time bye, folks.