DYLA Reader Mailbag #2

You asked and we answered!

Welcome to another DYLA reader mailbag! Last time we did this you all sent in great questions, so we figured we should do it again. In this one, we discuss Disney Channel Original Movies, an E.T. remake, Succession, and much more. Thanks to everyone that sent in questions! 

You get the chance to go into the Criterion closet. What movies are you picking? (You have to have a good story to back up your choices!) - Katie C.

Billy: The dream is to be in the Criterion Collection closet looking up at the tall stacks analyzing what you’ll take home. Every flash Criterion sale has me feeling like my favorite celebrities in those videos taking home free Criterions. In my case the movies are half off for 48 hours and the anxiety of what to choose becomes overwhelming. In the past I have reached for movies I haven’t seen and movies I love that have shaped my taste. After looking at my current shelf there are three that I would for sure grab to fill out the collection. Paris, Texas, Petite Maman, and The Exterminating Angel.

Paris, Texas early in my film fandom was constantly showing up in my recommendations online and in person. Screaming that I needed to watch it. The stills from the movie made it evident how beautiful the movie is, but what I didn’t expect was how emotionally resonant the movie was for me. The whole time my face was smiling while director Wim Wenders navigated the regret of our main characters. What a film that I need to own. Petite Maman is incredibly similar. Paris, Texas is a movie I needed to see and Petite Maman a movie I threw on flippantly. That is the main difference for me. Both ended up having a profound effect on me that had me smiling in the midst of melancholy. 

I haven’t asked Ruben Östlund personally if The Exterminating Angel was a major influence on him, but Luis Buñuel’s hilarious social satire on a group of wealthy party participants not being able to escape the party for some divine reason needs to be a part of my collection. One of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen.

Drew: I’m going to limit myself to three films I don’t already own, even though that would be impossible if I were actually in the Criterion closet. First, I’d have to grab Seven Samurai, which I first saw in a high school film class. This Japanese epic from the master Akira Kurosawa is partly responsible for my budding passion for cinema at a young age. I had no idea an over 3-hour black-and-white foreign-language film could be so entertaining and enriching. Next, I’d go with Jane Campion’s The Piano, a masterpiece I only saw a couple years ago. I went in expecting to be unmoved by this period piece romance and emerged with a wider perspective on how this type of film can surprise and provoke. I love when that kind of thing happens. Finally, I would pick one that I haven’t seen before, and why not go with one from my favorite filmmaker? I’ve never seen Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, so I’d eagerly snag his 1993 romantic drama, a genre he hasn’t often dabbled in. 

I just watched E.T. with my granddaughters this week and I think that is a great movie still after 40 years! I was wondering why they haven’t done a remake. . . Any thoughts? - Margaret K.

Billy: Aunt Margaret, you are doing the Lord's work. So happy that E.T. is being seen by young people 40 years after its release! And that is the reason why it hasn’t been remade. It is eternally relevant and transcends generations. In a world where everything is remade this feels like it is untouchable because of its universality.

Your favorite Disney Original movie. - Billy Hinge Date

Drew: It’s tough to pick just one, but I’d say Brink!, one of the first Disney Channel Originals and maybe the best movie ever about aggressive inline skating. Soul Skaters 4 lyfe! My runners-up selections would be Motocrossed, Alley Cats Strike, The Even Stevens Movie, and Miracle in Lane 2 (starring Frankie Muniz). DYLA might have to do a Disney Channel Original Movie edition of the newsletter someday… 

Who are your fave up and coming/younger gen actors and actresses at the moment? - Becca B.

Billy: Thomasin Mackenzie has had my heart since Leave No Trace. She has almost broken out with Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho and Taika Waitit’s Jojo Rabbit, but the former being a flop of some sort and the latter being praised for things outside of the performances make me think she could break out this year. Mackenzie is starring alongside Anne Hathaway in Eileen from director William Oldroyd, the same director that gave Florence Pugh her big break. It is Thomasin Mackenzie’s time.

Did you watch the Succession premiere and what do you think will happen in Season 4? - Becca B.

Billy: Oh man. Yes, I did (Drew did as well). My 3 favorite shows are all ending this year. Succession, Barry, and Ted Lasso. Succession leading off the end of an amazing run of TV is most appropriate. It has the most stakes and the most “what ifs.” Loved the first episode. By the end I think Logan is dead, the kids have lost all control of ATN or any major media bureaucracy because they are pathetic, and Tom is left at the top of ATN.

What’s the process like for getting DYLA together every week? - Joshua R.

Drew: It’s always a little bit routine and a little bit of a scramble. We try to plan our weekly topic a month or so in advance while leaving room to be fast on our feet if something else comes up. We figure out what each of us is writing about, and then I send a shared Google doc over to Billy. After we both finish writing, which can often be a last-minute Friday morning dash, I paste it into Substack and get to work on formatting, building, and testing the email. Then I hit publish and our little newsletter ends up in your inbox! 

Movies that make you believe in love. - Billy Hinge Date

Billy: Broadcast News is the movie for me. As someone that feels like an Albert Brooks character in my own life you would think that this movie would be a detriment to my outlook on love. The sacrifice in career vs. relationship is realized in the failures of these characters. Both don’t seem to coexist, but eventually love seems to persevere. And the movie seems to say that love in your career is more toxic than your love in relationships. The end leaves me with great optimism in pursuing love.

What’s the darkest movie one of you likes a lot? - Becca B.

Drew: I try to know my audience before telling someone two of my favorite movies are Taxi Driver and Se7en. Also, I tend to get some side-eye when I say I really like Black Swan. 

Before Yang? - Ryan

Billy: This prompt gives me some awesome ideas for our “create the next Ben Affleck / Matt Damon collaboration” next week.

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Links

• We got to see Air in an early access screening this week, and let’s just say no one should be surprised we absolutely loved it. 

• We’re heading back to Wes world this summer! The trailer for Wes Anderson’s latest Asteroid City dropped this week.