Show Notes
Well… this movie is something, isn't it? Leon: In this episode we break down Leon: The Professional. We talk about Gary Oldman's insane performance and how he created one of the best villians improvising the entire time. We tell the story of how the production smuggled illegal weapons into France and got hit with massive fines when authorities shut it down. We get into why Natalie Portman's parents ever allowed her to be in this movie. And we give our honest reaction to a cult classic that caught us WAY off guard in ways we were not ready for.
Chapters: 00:00 Announcements 0:29 Not what we were expecting... 12:43 How Jean Reno helped the problematic story 14:49 The sketchy backstory of the director 19:06 How Natalie Portman's parents kept her safe 25:26 Why is this a cult classic 28:07 Gary Oldman here to save the day 36:12 Keanu Reeves and John Wick 41:10 Jean Reno's method acting & the music 44:14 The most accurate DEA raid in movie history 45:09 Setting up major scenes 49:35 Could've been Man on Fire 53:02 Our final thoughts
More from CRWN CINEMA Podcast
Predator is the movie made for the boys… and the behind the scenes stories are even more insane than the film itself. We tell the story of how Arnold secretly rigged the wardrobe measurements to make Jesse Ventura think his arms were bigger. We get into how Carl Weathers was sneaking to the gym at 4am before anyone else woke up just to get a pump and pretend he was naturally that jacked. And we talk about how Shane Black got tricked into flying to Mexico with the promise of an acting role just so the studio could trap him there and force him to rewrite the script — which they then threw out and never used anyway.
Pulp Fiction is the movie of movies… We break down how this movie revived John Travolta career from literal death because Tarantino couldn't get Michael Madsen, turned down Daniel Day-Lewis, and finally banked everything on the washed up Travolta. We discuss the entire hidden Tarantino universe threaded through his films, including this one. And we talk about all of our favorite moments, rarely discussed behind the stories, and much more. Enjoy!
The Hangover had no business being this good… and the studio knew it. We break down how Bradley Cooper was on the verge of quitting Hollywood entirely before this movie came along and saved his entire career. We discuss our favorite moments that make us roll every time we watch. And we tell the story of Mike Tyson completely forgetting he agreed to be in the movie, finding out the night before at a Vegas club, showing up to set high on cocaine, and somehow delivering one of the most iconic cameos in comedy history.
Mud might be the most underrated movie of the McConaughey’s career… We break down how Jeff Nichols wrote this film specifically for McConaughey when nobody in Hollywood believed in him anymore and the lengths he had to go to just to get him cast. We tell the story of Jacob Lofland, a homeschooled kid from Briggsville, Arkansas who had never acted a day in his life, answered a casting call looking for a kid who could drive a boat and ride a motorcycle, beat out 2,000 other kids, and ended up on the red carpet at Cannes for his very first acting role. And we talk about how this is the most underrated love story of all time.
Catch Me If You Can is one of Spielberg's most slept on movies… and deep down it's actually a sad story disguises as the coolest story you've ever seen. We break down why Frank Jr. isn't really running from the FBI. We discuss Christopher Walken's Oscar nominated performance as the dad and why he doesn't get nearly enough credit for being the emotional backbone of this entire movie. We get into the wild real life story of Frank Abagnale and how the guy pulled off one final con nobody saw coming… convincing the entire world his story was true.