Eli Manning and Michael Waldron on Chad Powers season 2, Glenn Powell's range, and a 20-season plan

Speaker 6: what time it is.

Speaker 2: Time to put up

Speaker 1: Here we go.

Speaker 2: Hours now. These are insane. Let's bring in Eli Manning and Michael Waldron to discuss the latest season. Here they are. Chad Bowers, how are guys doing?

Speaker 3: Doing great. Thanks for having us.

Speaker 1: We're gonna try to keep... I'm gonna try to keep it You're gonna

Speaker 2: keep it on? I'm gonna

Speaker 1: try to keep it together on. It's it's a lot.

Speaker 15: It's really upsetting.

Speaker 2: It's a lot. Yeah. Well, so on Halloween, we we we we do the full Hollywood makeup. And last year, did Marc Andreessen and and it was three hours. It took forever.

Speaker 1: It was a lot more than three hours.

Speaker 2: Was so worth it. And when I watched the 2022 clip of you Eli putting on the makeup, I was like, that is us. Like, this is so this is so us. I know how much time that takes in the in the the show. You show all the different prosthetics and how much work goes into that both... Like, it's almost an athletic endeavor to get into that makeup every day. But anyway, thank you so much for being here.

Speaker 3: Of course. Looking forward to it.

Speaker 2: Thank you. Can we go back to that 2022 original bit you did? Like, what was the inspiration? What were you drawing on? Like, what led you to come up with that idea?

Speaker 3: I think just the idea of the fact that Penn State still, you know, held an open tryouts for for to try to walk on and try to go out there and see if you could still throw a little bit

Speaker 16: and compete with these guys.

Speaker 3: So I was excited about that, the fact that Jane Franklin was into it, didn't want to tell any of his coaches. I felt like he was kind of pranking his coaches to see if they would recognize if someone had a little talent and showed up for one of these tryouts. And definitely after, you know, sitting in that chair for two hours to go through the prosthetics and the hair, you know, sweet mullet, great mustache, and you know, once I started competing, like, I was definitely worried about the 40 yard dash, that I might pull a hamstring and just ruin this whole thing. All that hard work and logistics to pull this thing off is go to waste on the hammy. But then just started making up stories and just kind of, you know, did not worry about getting caught in the lie. And just, I'm gonna make every lie more outrageous than the other, and and kinda... I like how Michael's continued to do that with the show. Just, like, keeps going lie after lie that you gotta kinda cover up and figure out, and then sometimes you just kinda run away and and, like, don't don't over over, you know, complicate things in the sense of explaining too much. Just kinda say random stuff and and then get out of it.

Speaker 2: That's great. So, Michael, what was your what was your reaction to that and your journey to getting involved and actually taking this into what it's become today?

Speaker 15: Well, I was... Glenn and I were buddies, and we've been looking for something to do together. And I'm a big college football fan. I went to Georgia. Glen went to Texas. And, obviously, a fan of Eli and the original sketch. And so, somehow this thing came to us that they wanted to adapt it. And I think our initial reaction was that's an insane idea. As Glenn and I started talking about it, Glenn was the one who said, Well, what if you really took... What if you did the Mrs. Doubtfire thing? And it was a story about a guy putting on prosthetics to try and do this for real. We got really excited because I think what we thought about was just how insane someone would have to be to do that. And also, it's weirdly believable in the world of college football, like, that someone would do something that insane. Like, if I saw that story, I think I'd believe it. And and so we we said, alright. Let's let's do it. And let's take the story really seriously. And let... Let's, like, let's let's try and make it dramatic and romantic and, like, elevate the filmmaking. And and so we did. And I and I think the other thing that about it about it that was fun for me, everything that Eli said, it's It's stupid improv. Eli, it's like he's just saying the first thing that comes to mind. So really, it allows me to be a very lazy writer. The funniest thing that Chad can say is the first thing that comes to mind. He's an idiot. He's terrible at improvising. So it's actually a very joyful, easy show to write. Yeah, I think it's just a lot of fun, and I can't believe here we are. Yeah. There's two seasons of it.

Speaker 2: How did you think about the transition from season one to season two? I mean, the reviews are incredible, and a lot of shows, I feel like, have ten years of, we're going to do this. They do the first season, and then they're like, oh, we caught the we're the dog that caught the car. We got to figure out season two. This feels like there's much more planning or much more thought. But is this something that's evolving organically? Are you responsive to what the fans and the critics are saying? Or are you more of like, I know where things are going five years from now?

Speaker 15: Twenty season plan.

Speaker 2: Okay. Lock it in.

Speaker 1: Thing I live my life one episode at a time.

Speaker 15: This this thing, if any idea has legs, it's Chad Powers. We're gonna we're we're gonna chase down the Simpsons.

Speaker 2: Yeah. He's going to space eventually.

Speaker 15: I think it's a it's a little bit of both. I mean, you have an idea of maybe where you hope something would go, but I think that you're you're an idiot. And and if if you're not responding Yeah. If you're lucky enough to get a second season and and you've got fans and you... And you've got sort of audience reaction, you you know, you... That should inform what you do. And and we're making the show, to to hit as wide of an audience as possible. I... At the same time, I think for season two, I kind of did more of probably what I always wanted the show to be, which was just make it more of a thriller

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 15: Maybe more dramatic and lean into those elements. And I and I think that while perhaps unexpected for for audiences, seems seems like it connected with them, which is Eli,

Speaker 2: what advice are you giving to young athletes that want to get into media or even just have a great career in a world where you're expected to do some sort of media, even if it's just some social media? How are you thinking about the challenges faced by young athletes today?

Speaker 3: Well, think, you know, you don't do anything you don't want to do. You know, if you don't want to be a media source, you don't want to be on social media, if you don't want to, you know, be out there and and doing it, don't don't do it. But if you have interest in it, you have a personality and you wanna pursue that or just kind of enjoy being in front of the camera or behind it or doing interviews or having fun with it, then I think just gotta be yourself. Don't try to be someone you're not. And and and so I think that's kind of the idea, that you can have fun. I think I think nowadays, kind of being an athlete and being a personality and and doing things outside of your sport is kind of more acceptable. Twenty years ago, that wasn't really the case. Like, maybe you could do a commercial, but you didn't want to kind of be seen as like, well, this guy's doing too much or he's not taking his day job seriously. All these athletes take their day job very seriously, but they can also kind of show the lighter side of themselves and do something, go undercover, or do a skit, or do a prank, or you know, what or whatever, kind of show a little that you have you have something going on besides your your kind of your everyday, your day job, your your sport that you, you know, spend 90% of the time doing. You know, you can have a personality, you can do other things, and if that's an interest, you should pursue it.

Speaker 1: Yeah. It's interesting. I I noticed, like, great at the media side cannot take you from a good athlete to a great athlete. Yeah. But it can take you from an okay athlete that maybe wouldn't have a career to somewhat of a career, you know, not necessarily in every sport. Sure. There is a new generation of athletes that are actually not elite, they're just so good at social media that they can get the attention necessary to kind of make a career out of it. I wanted to ask, like, what are the ups and downs across creating a new season of a TV show like this? Most of the people most of the entrepreneurs that come on our show are building companies and products and it's kind of like this, you know, it's it's a roller coaster, but you go from like concept, everyone gets excited about a concept, maybe you raise some money, build a product, you launch it, you... But but like the the point of launch is, like, when the work begins because you have this flood of customers that come in. For you guys, like, when the customers are coming in, people are watching. It's like the work has already been done and you have to be thinking about the next one. But, like, during the sort of during the actual creation process, I imagine you get all sorts of roller coasters where you're going, maybe we're going in the totally wrong direction with with with this part of the story or whatever it is.

Speaker 15: Yeah. And we and we have we have our investors that we have to to contend with. The the the Walt Disney company. But but that's... It... It's... I mean, there's probably... I hadn't thought about it. There's probably a ton of similarities between the two. You know? Filmmaking, making anything, it's it's a collaboration. It's a it's a lot of people with a lot of different skill sets collaborating. You know? You're you're working with the studio and the people who are paying for the thing and, you know, they... They've got a perspective on what can make something a success for their platform. And and and you unless you're really up your own ass, you you want it to be a a commercial success. And so, you know, you take that into account. And and then just in the making of of something, yeah, there's a million different departments that that you're, you know, the actors, the costumes, whatever, you know, and and and these things take a long time. When you... Once the thing launches, it's true. We have to sort of sit back and just see, you know, all right,

Speaker 1: how's... Let Chad take the wheel.

Speaker 15: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. It's up to Chad then and, you know, you hope that a thing connects and it... And and there's no guarantee that it's hard. You know? I've... And and so when something like this that's that's really... You know, people don't know what to think of an adaptation of the Chad Powers sketch. And so when it does break through and you're able to get a second season, then it's like, alright. That's that's a gift. And and so really, I think the goal of season two is just elevate it, and you wanna grow the audience and and keep, I guess, making a better product over time.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Eli, when you... I'm sure you have a lot of ideas for different characters that you've seen across your career. How do you how do you think now about which characters should be... Should end up in Chad Powers versus our entirely other cinematic universes that you could... You guys could build shows around.

Speaker 3: Well, yeah, I always I always try to think of, like, you know, when talking with Michael a lot kind of around the first season, just about the characters, like, on the team that you could you could have, or just funny stories that happened in the locker room, or things that happened at practice that maybe you could make into a funny skit. So it was a lot of fun, I think, working with him and just got a, you know, reminiscing on just the great things that that happened in a locker room. A lot of it you can't quite tell the public, but you can tell a writer that he could kind of get this story out without me saying this has happened to me or this is my teammate did this. So kind of a secret way to release some of these stories. And maybe the greatest way to tell a story is like a guy all of sudden your teammate's watching is like, wait a minute, that's me.

Speaker 8: I did

Speaker 3: that. The pervert that said that. Like that's my, you know, I did, you know, what the heck's going on here? But, so I think, you know, that's kind of the fun way with shows movies and these type of things, doing these things, it's kind of another way to tell different stories and also you can make it to how you want it to happen also, and how you wanted it to remember. You don't have to let the total truth get in the way and just to to, you know, make it a little bit better. Hollywood it up.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. Someday, you know, twenty years from now, you should do... You should put out the like watch along guy... This is this guy. DVD copy. This is this is this guy. Yeah.

Speaker 2: That's great. Alright. I I'm interested in understanding a little bit more about Glenn Powell. There's this take that goes around Hollywood like Tom Cruise is the last movie star. And when I saw the new Top Gun, I was like, I think we might get another movie star. But I'm wondering about how you're processing just the changes that are happening in Hollywood. What's actually not changing? And what's it like working with Glenn?

Speaker 15: Eli, how are you processing the changes in Hollywood? Yeah.

Speaker 3: I mean, yeah. I think you should take this one, Michael. I

Speaker 15: mean, Glenn, you know, Glenn, clearly, a movie star is so amazing, and that's part of the joy of this show is getting to show audiences what he can do, you know. One half of this handsome leading man, and then the other half is this Jim Carrey esque idiot performance, which is so insane. It's like, I love just what a showcase it is for his incredible range of talents. And, it's a really like... For a guy that is, everybody's like, Oh, you're the next guy. This is a really brave performance. Like like, not not every leading man is always able to to go and and play an idiot and and, you know, really humble themselves and lose scenes the way that that Russ and Chad does. And and and Glenn is that character so happy to be the the butt of the joke and let other actors win, and it and it makes you root for him and root for Chad, root for Russ. And so it's really an incredible performance. And as far as, you know, I don't know. I I I mean, I'm I'm not that old, I guess. People are always saying... I mean, Hollywood's... Everybody's always saying that Hollywood's changing. I I suspect that's a thing that everybody's heard. Yeah.

Speaker 14: And and and it

Speaker 15: probably is always changing, but I but I think the the thing that I believe at least is that, you know, and and maybe we're seeing it this year more than ever, is that audience will show up for original cool stories and and great actors, great performances, and and great filmmaking. So if you make good shit, people are gonna wanna watch it. And it's like, that's not really a subversive idea, and I actually don't think that that's gonna change.

Speaker 2: Yeah. It feels like this year has been particularly... Like, we've just seen so many breakouts, The Backrooms, Obsession thing, Iron Lung, all these, like, indie filmmakers. Are you finding talent in on... In like non traditional places for your team across the organization? Like... Because we we hear about the YouTuber who turns into the director. Right? But I don't know if

Speaker 1: we the hear the Friday beers guy in Yeah. Artificial?

Speaker 2: That's right.

Speaker 1: Yeah. There's...

Speaker 2: He was an Instagram comedian. Right?

Speaker 1: Yeah. We're seeing this and I I have a I have a buddy who just started making skits and...

Speaker 2: He's getting cast and stuff now. Yeah. But what what... Yeah. What... Are you seeing the same effect or is it just starting to heat up?

Speaker 15: I mean, yeah. I... Well well, I can at least speak to like, you know, casting, you know, these people that they're just casting folks, digital creators or whatever, folks who are just have little niche followings online are oftentimes really exciting to see them break out in these big movies. Like, the guy who played Timmy Chalamet's friend in Marty Supreme was amazing, that guy. And I think he had, like, maybe a little... He was, like, a little minor Internet presence before that, I think. But, like, he was so good. And and so I I think it's a great place to find find actors. Certainly, we're seeing these, you know, awesome industrious filmmakers and writers come come out of YouTube and all that. So, yeah. I mean, of course, I wanna work with those people.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I want them to

Speaker 15: be able to give me a

Speaker 1: job. Well,

Speaker 2: thank you.

Speaker 1: Awesome, guys. Well, we're we're super excited for everyone else to to get to watch. And, yeah, really amazing work.

Speaker 2: Have a great rest of your day.

Speaker 1: We'll soon. See Goodbye. Go

Speaker 9: fish.

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