Tarantino’s sun-bleached fairytale gets the full Movie Wars teardown. I’m joined by Seth and McKenna McFadden to dig into Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: the Rick/Cliff bromance (Leonardo DiCaprio & Brad Pitt), the Sharon Tate revision, the Bruce Lee fight debate, and why Quentin himself calls this his best film.

We trace how the idea sparked on the Death Proof set while Tarantino watched the actor–stuntman bond, how Rick & Cliff were stitched from real Hollywood pairings (Burt Reynolds/Hal Needham; Steve McQueen/Bud Ekins), why it nearly became a Manson movie, and why he wrote five episodes of “Bounty Law” just to make Dalton feel real. We also hit the Sony deal (post-Weinstein), needle-drop genius (real KHJ radio airchecks), and the stunt-culture DNA that still shapes modern action

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⏱️ Chapters

• 00:03 Cold open & welcome
• 00:17 Show format + guest intro (NYU → WWE; music licensing)
• 01:57 LA golden age vs today
• 02:00 Why it's our Tarantino favorite/rankings
• 02:39 Tarantino says it's his best
• 03:29 Origin on Death Proof set; actor–stuntman dynamic
• 03:53 Rick & Cliff modeled on Reynolds/Needham, McQueen/Ekins
• 05:21 It started as a novel / novelization
• 06:54 From Charles Manson project to Hollywood elegy
• 07:38 Tarantino “universe” & alternate history
• 09:02 Tarantino wrote five “Bounty Law” episodes
• 09:20 Fincher’s Cliff Booth project (debate if needed)
• 09:52 Sony deal, $100M budget, Weinstein split
• 11:58 Bruce Lee scene discourse
• 12:30 Martial arts’ impact on action; Casino Royale pivot
• 16:25 Real KHJ radio airchecks; no original score
• 22:55 War Zone: Round 1 (mid-episode volley)
• 28:24 Randos → Questions transition
• 42:09 Questions: character & craft
• 42:50 Penultimate question: Tarantino’s “best” claim
• 51:08 Last question: Who/What won & lost the movie?
• 58:15 Influences & tone (Texas Chainsaw vibes
• 60:24 Scorecard: Yes/No
• 63:38 Final scores & sign-off

💡 Takeaways

• Tarantino almost wrote Once Upon a Time as a novel before filming.
• Rick Dalton & Cliff Booth sprang from real Hollywood duos.
• Sony’s $100M deal gave Quentin final cut and first-dollar gross after splitting from Weinstein.
• The Bruce Lee scene was meant as a satire of old vs new Hollywood, but still divides fans.
• The soundtrack uses authentic KHJ radio tapes—no original score—so LA itself becomes the music.

Today on Movie Wars, we dive headfirst into Joel Schumacher’s 1990 cult thriller Flatliners. With an all-star cast of Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and William Baldwin, the film follows a group of med students who push science (and sanity) to the limit by experimenting with near-death experiences.

Kyle, Seth, and Dr. Ben (comedian and real-life physician) break down the history, the behind-the-scenes drama, and why this wild Brat Pack–era sci-fi horror flick feels more like The Breakfast Club Dies than a medical thriller. From medical inaccuracies (you can’t actually shock a flatline) to Joel Schumacher’s gothic Chicago aesthetic, we uncover how Flatliners mixes big ideas about mortality with questionable execution.

We’ll also hit the random facts, the funniest discoveries from our research, and debate whether Flatliners deserved cult status—or just a DNR order.

• The true story behind screenwriter Peter Filardi’s inspiration and Joel Schumacher’s obsession with death.
• Michael Douglas stepping in as producer and early casting “what-ifs” (Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman).
• Dr. Ben fact-checks the movie’s wild CPR and defibrillator scenes—spoiler: none of it works.
• Why the Brat Pack label followed this cast and why the characters never land emotionally.
• Cinematography, lighting, and Schumacher’s gothic style vs. storytelling gaps.
• Our take: this premise deserved a miniseries, not a two-hour chaos ride.

00:00 – Welcome to Movie Wars – Kyle, Seth, and Dr. Ben kick things off

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01:00 – How the show works – History, Randos, Questions, War Card

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02:00 – First impressions of Flatliners – VHS memories, ethics class screenings, and why it’s so wacky

03:00 – Medical perspective – Dr. Ben explains why shocking a flatline is nonsense

06:30 – History & development – From spec script to Schumacher’s obsession with death

07:30 – Early casting rumors – Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman almost starred

08:45 – Acting & characters – Why Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland couldn’t save it

10:00 – Bacon talk – Kevin Bacon’s hair, career tangents, and Six Degrees

13:00 – Stephen King confusion – Why the movie feels like a bad King adaptation

14:15 – Why it should’ve been a miniseries – Missed opportunity for depth

15:00 – Hallucination scenes – The film’s weakest link (bad child actors, floaty trees)

17:00 – Comedy parallels – Hecklers, bombing on stage, and Flatliners as metaphor

18:30 – Randos – Loyola University, Chicago filmmaking push, and production trivia

21:00 – DMT & near-death theories – Real science vs. Flatliners’ Hollywood spin-

22:00 – Chicago vs. Boston setting – Why Schumacher moved the story to the Midwest

23:30 – Brat Pack label – Was this really an ’80s ensemble movie in disguise?

26:00 – The War Card – Who did “life after death” better: Flatliners or The Sixth Sense?

Today we dive into Dallas Buyers Club, a film that took nearly 20 years to get made, changed the trajectory of Matthew McConaughey’s career, and gave Jared Leto one of the most transformative roles of his life.

Joining us is Dr. Ben—orthopedic surgeon by day, comedian by night, and now a regular at Zanies Nashville. He brings both medical perspective and sharp comedic timing to the table, making this one of our most unique breakdowns yet.

We cover the brutal realities of AIDS in the 1980s, the insane lengths McConaughey and Leto went to transform their bodies, how the film almost fell apart days before production, and why director Jean-Marc Vallée’s handheld style made the movie feel more like a documentary than a drama. Plus, we get into the McConaissance, Hollywood’s obsession with body transformations, and whether True Detective or Dallas Buyers Club was McConaughey’s best performance.

• 00:00 – Welcome & intro to Dr. Ben (surgeon + comedian)
• 05:40 – The 20-year battle to get Dallas Buyers Club made
• 07:30 – McConaughey’s career pivot & the birth of the McConaissance
• 09:00 – Losing funding mid-shoot & how they saved the fil
• 11:00 – Jared Leto’s Rayon & breaking barriers for trans representation
• 13:20 – Jean-Marc Vallée’s documentary-style realism
• 14:50 – Extreme body transformations: McConaughey vs. Leto
• 17:40 – Christian Bale comparisons & medical risks of yo-yo acting
• 22:00 – The McConaughey debate: True Detective vs. Dallas Buyers Club
• 25:30 – Early McConaughey roles (Angels in the Outfield, Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
• 28:00 – Legacy of the film & its Oscar wins

• Dallas Buyers Club was rejected over 100 times before finally being made on a shoestring $5M budget. It went on to gross $55M and win 3 Oscars.
• McConaughey lost nearly 60 pounds and Leto about 40 pounds, pushing their bodies to dangerous extremes for authenticity.
• Jared Leto’s role as Rayon broke ground for serious representation of trans characters in film, shifting away from decades of ridicule or parody.
• Director Jean-Marc Vallée shot with natural light and handheld cameras, giving the film its raw, documentary feel.
• The “McConaissance” began here—McConaughey turned down $20M+ rom-com offers to reinvent himself as a serious actor.
• The makeup team famously pulled off their Oscar-winning work with a $250 budget