{"id":30982,"date":"2020-07-20T22:23:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T19:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/28-things-we-heard-from-james-gunns-the-specials-commentary\/"},"modified":"2020-07-20T22:23:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-20T19:23:00","slug":"28-things-we-heard-from-james-gunns-the-specials-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/28-things-we-heard-from-james-gunns-the-specials-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#28 Things We Heard from James Gunn\u2019s \u2018The Specials\u2019 Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35a9413001e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35a9413001e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/28-things-we-heard-from-james-gunns-the-specials-commentary\/#The_Specials_2000\" >The Specials (2000)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/28-things-we-heard-from-james-gunns-the-specials-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/28-things-we-heard-from-james-gunns-the-specials-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#28 Things We Heard from James Gunn\u2019s \u2018The Specials\u2019 Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div><em>Sometimes filmmakers and\/or film lovers sit down to talk about the movie they\u2019re watching, and it\u2019s called a commentary. Sometimes our Rob Hunter listens to that commentary and shares the most interesting and entertaining parts. Welcome to\u00a0<strong>Commentary Commentary<\/strong> and this week\u2019s pick: James Gunn\u2019s The Specials!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/hr>\n<p><strong>James Gunn<\/strong> is best-known these days as the director of <em>Guardians of the Galaxy <\/em>and its sequel. He worked in indies before then, though, with Troma Entertainment before making the move west to Hollywood and gifting movie lovers with films like <em>Slither<\/em> (2006) and <em>Super<\/em> (2010). His big break was with the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a> for the 2000 movie <strong><em>The Specials<\/em><\/strong> which has just been released to Blu-ray complete with two commentary tracks from Gunn and friends along with numerous other extras.<\/p>\n<p>The first features the writer with director Craig Mazin (<em>Superhero Movie<\/em>) and other crew members, but the second sees Gunn sit down with co-star <strong>Paget Brewster<\/strong> for one of the more entertaining commentary tracks I\u2019ve heard in a while. It\u2019s something special, so keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for\u2026<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/hr>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Specials_2000\"><\/span>The Specials (2000)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Commentators: James Gunn (writer, actor), Paget Brewster (actor)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.<\/strong> He wrote the film in \u201ctwo or three weeks, and the screenplay is what got me every bit of work I\u2019ve had in Hollywood since.\u201d Brewster adds that the film has gotten her no work at all. Gunn specifies that it was the screenplay that led to more work \u2014 not the actual film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> Gunn gave the script to his brother Sean who passed it to Jamie Kennedy who shared it with his manager who then took on Gunn as a client. \u201cWithin a month I had a deal to write <em>Spy vs Spy<\/em> for Warner Bros.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> He mentions most of the names appearing in the opening credits, but is quiet when director Craig Mazin\u2019s name shows up. \u201cI was not really happy with <em>The Specials<\/em> when it came out,\u201d he says, adding that power struggles and the resulting feel of the film were issues for him. He originally envisioned it as more of a faux-documentary with hand-held cameras and natural acting, but \u201cit ended up being a little bit more sitcom-y in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> Gunn lived in Jamie Kennedy\u2019s guest house when he first moved to Los Angeles as the actor was a big fan of the script, but they would get into \u201cheated battles\u201d non-stop during production. They\u2019re still friends (well, as of this 2005 recording anyway).<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> Rob Lowe taught Brewster \u201cthe white eyeliner on the inside of the eye trick.\u201d Apparently Sarah Jessica Parker does it \u201call the time.\u201d It apparently makes yours eyes look ten percent bigger.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> Brewster used to be in a band in New York City and was a big fan of X. When she left to pursue acting she was thrilled to send old band mates a pic of her on set here with X\u2019s John Doe who has a cameo.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> Gunn didn\u2019t direct the film in part because he was tired. He was also $70k in debt \u2014 mostly on Discover card \u2014 and was focused on writing, paying off his debt, and meeting girls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> Brewster recalls first reading the script and simply not understanding it. That changed when she reached the \u201cyou just hit a bird\u201d scene which made her realize the whole thing was being played straight. The scene was cut from the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> One of Brewster\u2019s biggest issues with the film is the lack of character introductions via comic book panel freeze frames. It was apparently discussed beforehand but then dropped, and the result for her is a lack of awareness as to who these people are until too far into the film.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> Per Brewster, one of the hallmarks of first-time directors is that \u201cthey pitch fits, bitch everybody out, and act like an asshole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> The film was made for roughly a million dollars.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> Some of the heroes had to have their names changed due to copyright issues. The Strobe was Laser Man, U.S. Bill was Dollar Bill, The Weevil was Bug, and Amok was Eclipse.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> Uwe Boll\u2019s <em>House of the Dead<\/em> (2003) is mentioned, and they agree that the best thing to say about the film is that it\u2019s based on \u201ca great video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> Amok (Kennedy) was originally written as being extremely racist and prone to uttering slurs. Gunn still finds it funny, but it didn\u2019t survive production.<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> Rob Lowe taught Gunn \u201cthe extras game\u201d where you identify nameless players by which celebrity they resemble. He went on to use that in his script for <em>Dawn of the Dead<\/em> (2004) with the guys on the roof top calling out zombies by lookalike name.<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> What is the significance of the pig? There is none.<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> That\u2019s Richard Dawson\u2019s face on the doll at 35:45. They tried to get various approvals for celebrity faces \u2014 Ernest Borgnine said no \u2014 but only Dawson and John Schuck.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"525\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1wMvv924Gks?feature=oembed\" title=\"The Specials trailer\" width=\"700\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> Gunn\u2019s favorite part of the movie is the action figure reveal during the convention.<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> Gunn was married to Jenna Fischer from 2000 to 2008, something Brewster ribs him about with faux jealousy. He points out his good friend Lee Kirk playing one of the reporters during the convention scene, and Fischer went on to marry Kirk in 2010 after separating from Gunn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> Lowe wasn\u2019t happy with the film either and refused to do press for it, something that still irks Brewster. He apparently talked a lot about how his career had tanked, and when <em>The West Wing<\/em> (1999-2006) was picked up from pilot she surmises that he saw that as his ticket back and im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely distanced himself from this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> Both Judy Greer and Kennedy were simultaneously filming <em>Three Kings<\/em> (1999) while making this film, and it was causing some friction with the other movie\u2019s filmmakers. One of the issues was how long it took for Kennedy\u2019s blue makeup to be fully removed, and as an example Gunn recalls seeing Kennedy at a party two weeks after production wrapped and noticing blue paint on the back of his neck.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> Thomas Haden Church refused to say \u201ccunt,\u201d but he had no problem wearing his costume without underwear \u2014 something that apparently bothered the costume department as he had \u201ca sweaty taint.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> They mention Michael Weatherly (<em>Dark Angel<\/em>, 2000-2002) who Gunn says was engaged and then not engaged to Jessica Alba. \u201cOh, thank god,\u201d says Brewster. \u201cThat broad, ugh.\u201d Gunn wonders what that\u2019s about saying she\u2019s a \u201cnice\u201d woman, but Brewster replies \u201cHave you had dinner with her? If you ever wanna punish yourself for some unforgivable sin, sit down and have dinner with Jessica Alba.\u201d She later adds that Weatherly became \u201ca dick when they were dating.\u201d This is a great commentary track.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> So as not to leave Brewster hanging in the wind of throwing people under the bus, Gunn says that \u201cPerry King is an asshole.\u201d RIP <em>Riptide<\/em> (1984-1986).<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> Gunn mentions how he hasn\u2019t really kept in touch with many of the people from the film including Brewster who \u201cdumped me as a friend.\u201d She quickly clarifies saying it was because he had \u201cjoined a cult\u201d and \u201cwouldn\u2019t shut up about it.\u201d They argue about this for a few minutes as he denies everything while she piles on about how he was \u201cawful, worse than Jessica Alba, and I didn\u2019t want to hear about it anymore.\u201d My first thought was Scientology, but a quick Google suggests maybe it was The Artist\u2019s Way which Fischer was into for a little while. \u201cYou were all looney-eyed, and you did a lot of shoulder touching, and \u2018you\u2019ve gotta come down!&#8217;\u201d He is adamant that she is incorrect.<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.<\/strong> The cult conversation devolves into the pair rehashing their relationship \u2014 they were friends, but more than friends doing \u201cwhat adults do,\u201d and then stopped being friends. She says it\u2019s because he was in a cult, he says she didn\u2019t like who he really was, she adds that they were both in other relationships and didn\u2019t want to cross into infidelity\u2026 \u201cso that\u2019s all out in the open now for all <em>The Specials<\/em> fans to know,\u201d says Gunn. \u201cThat\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>27.<\/strong> Gunn relates to The Weevil\u2019s betrayal of the group as he views his move to the big leagues with <em>Scooby Doo<\/em> (2002) as \u201cmy own sort of Weevil moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>28.<\/strong> They both like the film far more on a re-watch.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cAre you gonna yell the whole time?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s his tight pants that he was afraid made his ass look fat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can be a bit precious at times as most writers can be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanna punch myself in the fucking face.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh the maxi-pad on the face.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe does have some big cans for a little tiny girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of big <em>Specials<\/em> fans despise the dance scene.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to work with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a big fan of pleather.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel bad that I ragged on Jessica Alba, but she really was a monster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve been yelling all day!\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>The Specials<\/em> may be merely okay as a movie \u2014 some laughs, some emotional beats \u2014 but this commentary is gold. It\u2019s the second of two that Gunn has recorded for it (with the other being in 2000 on its first home video release), and it is gold. It\u2019s informative and funny, but more than that it\u2019s open and honest which is something too many distributors shy away from when things seem critical. Only one thing is bleeped, a person\u2019s name, but the rest is laid out for everyone to hear. And you should. Hear it I mean.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/hr>\n<p>Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>if you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">watch Movies<\/a> or Tv Shows go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/dizi.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dizi.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a> <\/span> for forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/james-gunn-the-specials-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=james-gunn-the-specials-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#28 Things We Heard from James Gunn\u2019s \u2018The Specials\u2019 Commentary&#8221; Sometimes filmmakers and\/or film lovers sit down to talk about the movie they\u2019re watching, and it\u2019s called a commentary. Sometimes our Rob Hunter listens to that commentary and shares the most interesting and entertaining parts. Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary and this week\u2019s pick: James Gunn\u2019s The&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[41573,1354,22447,19315,1361,41574],"class_list":["post-30982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-28-things-we-heard-from-james-gunns-the-specials-commentary","tag-columns","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-james-gunn","tag-movies","tag-the-specials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}