Ira and Louis discuss Coachella and Lady Gaga’s massive performance, Katy Perry’s space race, and Cate Blanchett’s plans to quit acting. Katie Nolan joins to create the ultimate sports movie draft. Ellen Pompeo joins to discuss her new limited series Good American Family, playing Meredith Grey for two decades, and more.

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TRANSCRIPT

 

Ira Madison III [AD]

 

Ira Madison III And we are back with an all new episode of Keep It. I’m Ira Madison the third.

 

Louis Virtel I’m Louis Virtel. I am trying to get my paws down, but then the little monster in me rose this weekend We’ll get into that this episode since Ira is currently at Coachella In fact, you were at the ace hotel in Palm Springs and I just want to voice a philosophical dilemma I currently am having I’ll be in Palm springs for Memorial Day weekend and I booked that hotel which is great And if you’ve ever stayed in Palm, Springs, it’s this like kitschy 60s 70s very beige II hotel But then I have friends who have a house and I may stay with them instead. But here’s the thing, you know what the guarantee of the Ace Hotel is? If I’m around a pool, I will be hearing the music of Dusty Springfield. And all these other queens hanging around town are, you know, they’re playing the Ariana Grande’s and the children of today. And I need the guarantee of old school kind of kitschy music. So I’m feeling a little bad for me, Louis, who is, as we say, derogatorial.

 

Ira Madison III As an old soul. Listen, I was by the pool yesterday and the mamas and the papas were playing wild.

 

Louis Virtel See? This is what I mean.

 

Ira Madison III While Charlie XCX was sitting at a table, sunglasses on, having a two hour conversation.

 

Louis Virtel Wait, at the ace?

 

Ira Madison III At the A’s yesterday.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, oh my god. Okay good. I want her to be infected with folkiness of the 60s I think that’ll be a good infusion for her next situation. She loves Lou Reed by the way. Okay. All right We’re on the right track is obsessed with Lou Reed So I think thats her vibe. She sort of styles herself somewhat similarly now that you mention it I was just thinking about Brett summer quickly I don’t think any album or song has been that big of a musical moment in pop since Katy Perry had California girls come out the summer of 2010, like a definitive, you know, we had things like espresso last summer, but brat as a moment, I don’t think anything has been huger since then.

 

Ira Madison III No, it’s sort of like omnipressive, to be honest. I mean, Brat debuted and then we had the whole Kamala is Brat thing and then it still didn’t go away. Gays are still having Brat summer.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, it’s like still its own genre of music, even though it’s just an album. But by the way, speaking of Katy Perry, we attempted to do Wile E. Coyote shit and launch her into space and somehow miraculously she got back. I don’t know what Uber she got to take her all the way back down here, but she did make it.

 

Ira Madison III I want to say that I was going to pay attention to the whole space race thing. It wasn’t really so much of a race. It was a, it was a space jaunt. It was that space walkie. Yeah. It takes longer for DoorDash to arrive to my apartment, okay? I woke up Monday morning after Coachella hungover. And first of all, I woke up to this insane earthquake in California. It was like a 6.5.

 

Louis Virtel Which we got an alert about on our phone. It appeared to be closer to San Diego than Los Angeles, but it’s funny to get an alert about an earthquake that’s going to happen seconds from now.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, well, it shook me in Coachella Valley. So it was like a violent shake that woke me up. And I woke up to then look at my phone and I saw that the shuttle had landed. And the first thing that friends had sent me was this image of Gail getting off that rocket. She did not look happy. She looked, the word is harried. She looked harried Not to mention the fact that Oprah was watching the takeoff along with Kris Jenner and Jeff Bezos. Why was Kris Jender there?

 

Louis Virtel Multiple Kardashians were there. It was like she was an investigative journalist. It made no sense. She went to look for evidence. Yeah, right. In case it all went awry, you know what I’m saying?

 

Ira Madison III Oprah looked horrified that she was gonna lose, Gayle.

 

Louis Virtel No, she literally cried. I’m always interpreting what’s going on with their relationship. I understand that they’re best friends, but no, something else is going on here. I’m not saying you’re married or whatever people are accusing you of, but it goes deeper than that. It goes deeper than. Oh, you’re looking for evidence too. Right. No, please. Bring out the deerstalker. I’m on the case.

 

Ira Madison III My question, though, is why did Gail do this? Because that has been everyone’s question the entire time we’ve heard about this. She didn’t look like she was having fun. Oprah didn’t looked like she having fun watching her best friend up in space. And is it because you’re reporting on it? Did she really want to be the, I guess, Reese Witherspoon of the morning show doing this project? Because I found the entire thing stupid. What did we learn? To be honest, the entire thing is just a vanity project for Jeff Bezos. It’s a waste of money. It is faux feminism, which makes sense that Katy Perry’s up in space there because this whole woman’s world is about women. Who the fuck it’s not, okay? It’s like it’s a Dr. Luz produced pop song that is horrible, actually. And this is a Jeff Bezos produced flam flam of a space project.

 

Louis Virtel And also, yeah, they’re up there for a very limited amount of time. It’s basically a roller coaster ride. But I do think it is very underrated that on their descent down, you can hear them screaming in the capsule. Like, it truly sounds like John Carpenter directed this flight. It’s very, very funny. And then Katy Perry, of course, landed, and we learned that she’s saying, what a wonderful world to everybody in there. In which case, I think I’m leaving through the escape hatch. I don’t know that I can hear her saying that.

 

Ira Madison III That’s why there was. I want to shout out Aisha Bowe, who was an actual aerospace engineer. I’m sure it was exciting for her to go up into space, but Lauren Sanchez sending Jeff as his wife up there is nonsense.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, right. Billionaire bullshit. And that of course, equally billionaire bullshit. Katy Perry landed and gave a soundbite to reporters that sounded mystifying. She said, I didn’t know I was so full of love until I launched into space. And I just want to say for a seven minute ride into space, girl, why did you take a gummy? Because Hahaha Seems like you experience something that most astronauts don’t.

 

Ira Madison III First of all, I’d know if I was full of love or not if I fucking Orlando Bloom, okay? So, what’s going on there?

 

Louis Virtel What you would know about yourself. You gain that awareness.

 

Ira Madison III She always is turning something into a promotional moment, which further lends itself to this being just like billionaire nonsense. She revealed the set list for the Lifetimes Tour. I got it, sorry, I couldn’t remember the name of the fucking tour or album. The album’s 143. She revealed, I guess, the setlist, but no one could see it via the camera anyway, so no one knew what they were looking at.

 

Louis Virtel Also, who needed that information right then? Like, oh, can you believe it? She’s gonna do roar.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, someone’s going to put it on set.fm, okay? The two people who attend the opening of it will get that taken care of. And I just want to say this further about the billionaire-ness of it all. The way that this is, I guess, just been embraced with magazine covers, this bullshit about it being an all-female lad space trip. The outfits and everything that have been designed for them, the same designer who’s also taking care of Lauren Sanchez’s wedding dress, the fact that they’ve been embraced, I guess, by Anna Wintour in the fashion industry is really just reminding me a lot of the way Kim Kardashian has also been running around with that Tesla Batman car that everyone has and also posing with Tesla robots on magazine covers. It really just seems like everyone has decided. We’re just gonna throw our hat in with all the billionaires now.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, let’s techno-crat this up. It’s also just that brand of celebrity who’ve been around a long time and now we kind of forget why they’re even famous anymore. And so they’re just like stealing these giant mega money moments that are still available to them for whatever reason. You know, if you’re famous, go ahead and do something cool. Can you just be awesome as opposed to desperate? And it’s weird cause Gale.

 

Ira Madison III It’s generally cool.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, right. No, if I were on the today’s show, she’d be the one I want to talk to. She’d probably say something really funny that you didn’t expect.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, so I don’t know why she was up there, but Katy Perry, it makes all the sense in the world for her to go out there.

 

Louis Virtel Bonnie McKee, you’re next. The wind beneath Katy’s wings, as you know. I don’t wish that on her. That’s true. She’s got to write those bangers down here. Yeah. What the hell is happening on this episode of death?

 

Ira Madison III Well, first of all, we’re going to talk about Coachella and maybe I’ve got my mayhem shirt on. Oh. I’ve been reading poems by a lady in red, but we’re gonna get into Gaga cella, Missy cella. Whoever’s cella you want to call it. Right. This was actually one of my favorite years. So we will get into the entire festival and what I experienced there. And then also. We are joined by the fantastic Katie Nolan this week.

 

Louis Virtel Talking about our favorite sports movies, which took me a beat. I had to think back because there’s lots of things that qualify as a sports movie somewhat tangentially, and we included those along with the more traditional choices, so we’ll get into that. Katie Nolan also did really well on Celebrity Jeopardy. Can’t wait to congratulate her on that as well.

 

Ira Madison III Did you include Kramer versus Kramer? I feel like marriage drama is a sport to you.

 

Louis Virtel No, that should have been the tagline though. Marriage is a contact sport. And then we are also joined by Ellen Pompeo this week. Television legend. I mean, how many people in television have had a job that long? She’s like this generation’s Vanna White.

 

Ira Madison III Certainly not any TV writers.

 

Louis Virtel Girl, we’re hurting.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, so we will be right back with more keep it.

 

Louis Virtel [AD]

 

Ira Madison III Coachella Weekend One has officially wrapped with Lady Gaga, Megan Thee Stallion, and Charlie XCX being the biggest names on everyone’s minds and Post Malone was the biggest name on mine. We’ll get into that. I was there watching it all and Louis was there via too many gazes Instagram stories

 

Louis Virtel I mean, everybody is like, speaking of photo journalism, everybody’s like an embedded reporter at this thing, getting every angle on it. I miss nothing.

 

Ira Madison III So we’re going to get into the festival’s best moments and more. Gaga first, obviously. She was massive. I mean, the last time I was that blown away by a Coachella performance was obviously Beyonce’s performance in 2018. And I really think that she was the first pop star to sort of take it beyond this is a… Once-in-a-lifetime performance in the desert and doing something just special and something surprising for the audience and really making it a creative thesis for the next era of her career.

 

Louis Virtel Well, first of all, I was at a pregame on Friday and I underestimated that there would be a Coachella live feed and that somebody put it on in the background. And I thought we were going to be going out to like the traditional bars or mayhem, if you will, of a Friday night. The minute that was on, there was no turning it off. Every single image in that Gaga concert was spellbinding. And it also, like the Beyonce concert, I think benefited from the fact that nobody knew. Quite how much was going into this. There’s something about Coachella where they could just perform live with no backdrop and people would be enraptured on all the Mali in the world, so it looks like everybody’s having a good time there. But instead, it was like you were watching a two-hour VMAs performance with all this epic imagery, literally operatic imagery, and then the thrashiness of this Mayhem album when paired with that desert exterior really gave it this Mad Max quality, this both dystopian and then super powerful vibe that everybody was like jumping along to. And of course, nothing is more astounding, along with all the choreography in it, which was great, and all of the things Gaga was physically wearing, blue and underrated color for her, which was what she wore throughout most of this, her voice. I mean, just the live vocal. Never stopped and she never wavered. It was like this like glorious flag like fluttering over the entire congregation the entire time. It’s so astounding and you couldn’t help but even if you’re a casual pop music fan being kind of emotional at the sheer breadth of her career like when she pops off with Poker Face and then also gives you Shallow and then does this really a aggro music she’s currently into. She’s obviously capable of anything and obsessed with giving it to you in the best and biggest way.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, I think that we got a taste of this with SNL when she did Abracadabra and Killa and the mic was on.

 

Louis Virtel Two great performances. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III And that also teased that she was really going to be doing something creative with this new And I love that the performance itself was so heavy towards mayhem, to be honest. I think one thing about her is she’s harkening back to, I guess, the Madonna era of when Madonna was just sort of like, I’m not a novelty act, you know? Like I am performing this new album. Right. The people who know it, know it. If you don’t know it like maybe you’ll hear Poker Face and Shallow So you can dance to those songs, but um, it was mayhem heavy. She made that album come alive She made me love like vanish to you killa and garden of even even fucking more Um just by the visuals and like the sheer physicality she put into each performance and um She really is one of the few people, I guess, like, you know, besides like Beyonce, you know, who is continuing to tour off of brand new music. It does not feel like you’re going to their concert and it’s great as hits.

 

Louis Virtel Right. Now, here’s my question though. Watching it, I sort of had the feeling that I do watching Super Bowl performances, the halftime show performances, which is this feels very delivered to me. Like the home viewer, like what I’m seeing right now is front and center, getting all of her micro facial expressions, you know, it’s a performance built for TV. When you were watching it there, did you think, I kind of wish I were watching this

 

Ira Madison III Well, my thing about Coachella performances too, especially with something like that, is you can’t wait to watch it at home the next week on the live stream because there’s so many things that you’re going to miss. And I think there is an element of it’s for home, but it’s also for the audience too. It’s a blend because there were many moments where she’s on the catwalk, there were moments where she passed by us as audience members. Even a moment later where she’s hugging fans and by the barricades and sort of like shaking their hands or taking photos with them. That was cool to see, yeah. So it felt like a live performance where she was really doing this for the people there, but there’s just so much that goes into the camera angles and everything that I can’t wait to watch it that way. I will say what I really loved about this performance too was she’s sort of been in this comfortable space for a while. I want to say it specifically in regard to like her piano, right? I mean, a piano used to hate to see that bitch coming, especially with that pink hat on, the Joanna era. Oh, please, yes. You felt like she was sort of using the piano as a crutch in the past few years. Like she’d sit down at that piano at a concert and she wouldn’t leave for like fucking 30 minutes, And this, the piano felt very sort of specific. Like she did shallow. She just let you know like, I’m doing this moment. It’s reminded me of a star is born. But then she was like, let’s get back to the fucking show. You know? Right. And I think that she utilized her voice and her talents in a really good way this year. It was just spectacular. And I can’t wait for the fucking tour now.

 

Louis Virtel I was going to say also that in regards to her not playing songs aside from Born This Way, or Art Pop, or Chromatica, whatever, but you know you’re going to get a Vegas residency out of her at some point in which she will have the opportunity to have that kind of concert. So I think you can sort of wait for that. But it’s nice to have something that just focuses on the specific energy of this album because you won’t get that again. You know, it’s like, I’m surprised there were no chromatic attracts on it, you know, it felt like those songs kind of marry well with this era, even if they’re less thrashy, more dancy, but you won’t get that again. So it’s nice that this is built for this specific moment Coachella performance.

 

Ira Madison III Also, it’s called the Mayhem Tour. What do you think of like Michael Jackson or Janet, right? You know, like the tours named after their albums. We need to bring back tours that are really just sort of that album, you know? I don’t think you need to cater to the fucking street. People in the audience who did not know many of the fucking Mayhem songs, just standing there silent and only coming alive during like poker face or band romance. And I say to them, get out of the way. That is Vegas vibes.

 

Louis Virtel When you go to a Vegas show and you think, oh, I know all the hits in Jennifer Lopez’s career, and then you’re standing next to straight people who only know on the floor.

 

Ira Madison III Elsewhere in Coachella some of my favorite performances obviously were Missy Elliott who fucking slayed

 

Louis Virtel She is such an underrated live performer. She obviously stole that Super Bowl from Katy Perry at the time, but those songs just go off and off and on and off. She always has been guided by good times that unite everybody, but then also being five degrees weirder than any artist needs to be too. She’s both Bjork and the Black Eyed Peas. I don’t know. She puts that party vibe together with something truly inspired.

 

Ira Madison III And I really wish it had been just a little bit more weirder with a little more surprises. I think what’s so interesting is Missy’s still in this space where she’s almost like reintroducing herself to people. There was a moment where Hot Boys or something was playing and then like Remember This came on the screen and it was like, I don’t want you to cater to the people who don’t remember it, girl.

 

Louis Virtel And also, it’s classic music. Yeah, right, it doesn’t need to be explained. There’s no primer you need to take before you launch in to get your free.

 

Ira Madison III I really wanted a Sierra or a Timbaland appearance. I appreciated that a lot of people sort of went the solo route this year and didn’t have special guests, but I would have liked to see them, but then not seeing Sierra also made it all the more shocking when Sierra popped out for Megan Thee Stallion’s performance.

 

Louis Virtel Right. That is very weird that she didn’t do the, maybe she is just sick to death of that song. She’s like, do not make me lose control again. Do not. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III I’m in control now, actually, Missy. The other things from the first day, this Benson Boone character, dressed like a Vegas impersonator.

 

Louis Virtel Right, again, we’ve talked about this before, we learned he was Mormon, and that does explain everything. His like, there’s a particular vivaciousness and piousness to him that can only be pseudo related to the Osmond.

 

Ira Madison III He did a cover of Queen’s song and Brian May was there and, you know, well, Brian May shows up whenever you write him a check, so not shocking. And I don’t know, there are a lot of gays went to Benson Boone. I did not. I don’ see a big appeal in standing there and watching him perform for two hours. I think he’s very attractive and I like maybe one and a half of his songs. I’m really into I’m Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else, that One Direction sounding song. More of that instead of his Imagine Dragons sounding songs.

 

Louis Virtel And by the way, I want to give a similar advice to Shawn Mendez, please stay on the pop trail and get away from the rock and roll. No, it’s not for you. Did you see, by the way, that pitchfork and talking about Coachella slam the fuck out of Benson Boone, like they called him awful. And they went very hard on him. Like nobody could be worse. And it was just something in the middle of a Coachella review. But they touted it on their Twitter as if it were like the the starring part of the column and I have to say look I’m not I’m saying like anybody is like you have to enjoy Benson Boone or whatever, but I don’t know that he’s so awful I mean, it’s like sort of he’s he has a genuine I think passion for what he does that comes across on stage and it’s not contrived. Maybe you think doing little tricks is annoying in a five-year-old at recess kind of way. But it’s also kind of nice to have a performer who acts like a five year old at recess.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, also, you have to do anything to get people’s attention these days.

 

Louis Virtel Dang, yes, we all are rattled with ADHD. It’s a Ritalin universe and Benson Boone is just riding the waves.

 

Ira Madison III I would not even say that he was the worst performance because the worst performers for me was Jenny. I’m sorry.

 

Louis Virtel And yes, now also Lisa was there too, correct?

 

Ira Madison III Yes, so the Blackpink girls have split off into their own thing. And I thought that Lisa was pretty high octane and fun. Her music is very like, it’s fast, it up beat, it club music. I like the song Fuck Up the World with Future a lot. That’s become like an anthem, a little mantra for me this spring. It’s a fun song. The show fit her music. I think that coming out of Blackpink… There’s still this sort of bombastic performance that everyone is expecting from these girls. And Jenny was giving that performance with songs that are very at home, high on the couch, sort of like driving in the car music, you know? So it’s not even like Janet Jackson mid tempo with dancing, it’s like the tip, the BPM is so fucking slow. And so you’re sort of swaying to this music. And it’s just like all these flashing lights and costumes. And it just felt like the entire show was swallowed up by the production, which is so huge. And she really needed to be doing something a little bit smaller. Got it.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, I mean, Patrick Schwarzenegger thrashing in the audience. You got, if he’s gonna jump along to Lisa, he can’t be like slowly swaying to your concert. You know what I mean?

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, so I’m still trying to figure out which of these girls is going to make it. There’s obviously Rosé as well. That apartment song is half good because it sounds like a Ting Ting song in the chorus and then the rest of it with the vocals is annoying as hell.

 

Louis Virtel I do have to say I respect all of these girls for just going with the first name as their stage name, because these, once upon a time, were just the people in my biology class. Lisa, Jenny, and Rosé are fighting it out. Wow. It sounds like a group project I’m in.

 

Ira Madison III So Marina, by the way, is back. And what do you think of the song Contissimo?

 

Louis Virtel Love the name the song fine for some reason I’ve never really vibed with her or felt like super obligated to put her in rotation with her without the diamonds. Are you a fan?

 

Ira Madison III I have liked the Diamonds era, I think I like Electra Heart, it’s an amazing album. But no, I’ve never really gotten into her post that and you know, like after How To Be A Heartbreaker and all those songs, I just don’t really care anymore. And Conticebo is a fun word to say, everyone was saying it all weekend. But the lyrics themselves, like does anyone still say YOLO anymore? It’s it sounds like she just got out of arm that um Bunker from Blast From The Past.

 

Louis Virtel Unbreakable Marina and the Diamonds, yes. I feel like once a year people kind of rally around an artist who’s lingering at about 168 on the charts. And, you know, last year it was Tinashe and this year it’s Marina. So we’ll see what that does for her.

 

Ira Madison III So I really enjoyed Post Malone, and let’s just say that none of my friends came to Post Malone with me.

 

Louis Virtel Not true friends at all. You’re in a post friendship with these friends. Yes.

 

Ira Madison III I was watching Post Malone alone from the artist section, then I ran into like a couple other people I know and a bunch of straight music bros, by the way, who were getting their lives and I thought it was fucking great. I did say, however, that Post Malon, he was really leaning into sort of like his country, sort of rock roots. It was a hootenanny, I would say. He was smoking a cigarette, walking around with a red solo cup. It was just a vibe. Of a performance, you know? And his hip hoppy songs from the past, which I really sort of want him to get back to, even though I do like this country era, he sort of made them rockier, made them a little bit more guitar heavies. How did Sunflower play? Sunflower was the last song, and it was cute. I liked that song. I mean, that’s his best song. Yeah, I like Better Now. I like Circles. Those are really good songs. But I thought he just had great stage presence, to be honest. He’s fun to watch. You sort of can’t help, bud. Root for him.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, okay. Well, I’ll resist in the meantime, but I mean, the music is fine. I can’t object to it in any single way. I am wondering next week if there will be more guest stars at Coachella than this week, because there did seem to be some mysterious absences. I mean I guess Gaga is somewhat obligated to sing Die With a Smile even without Bruno Mars there, but still it felt like you’re telling me we don’t get a single appearance from him, like, because we’ve had so few. Live moments with the two of them together. This seems like a perfect way to sort of cap off that moment.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, Charli XCX really had the most guest stars. You know, she had Lorde, Troye Sivan. She had Billie Eilish. First of all, I have seen Billie Eillish so many fucking times at Coachella. She pops out for anybody.

 

Louis Virtel No, right. And also, by the way, she sounds great. And it’s completely for somebody who seems to be like live in a constant shrug. She runs a crap.

 

Ira Madison III She does, and honestly, I thought I would be over the Bratt era, but it’s just so much fun listening to that album live.

 

Louis Virtel I also feel like that album has only grown on me since it came out too. Like, instead of being like, oh god, never play that again, instead, it’s like my brain has accepted it as a kind of music that will just be played forever, and I welcome

 

Ira Madison III Travis Scott was awful, by the way, I just have to say that. And I enjoy Travis Scott a lot, but it just was not that much fun to me and I left to go to Charlie XCX’s after party. The other thing about Coachella is, if you want to do anything after, you sort of have to leave early because when you’re there for the final show and then everything shuts down, it is mayhem, pun intended, getting out. You know, even no matter what, if you have artists, if you had VIP, if your in GA, it’s just, it’s a nightmare getting a car and the logistics out anywhere, linking up with a car, if have a car preset for you, trying to walk out anywhere. It’s just such an ordeal. And it’s really a testament to how fun Coachella is that I put up with it.

 

Louis Virtel My anxiety when I go out like to like a warehouse party or something is knowing that certain cars will be coming at certain times. It’ll be extremely busy. And if you don’t, if you try leaving at certain hours, you’ll be there still for another hour and a half. Whereas if you leave a little bit early, you might get a car in 15 minutes. I hate that part of planning a night like the end of the night when you’re already like lizard brained waiting to die.

 

Ira Madison III And you will be shaken down for a ride that is like $300 to get eight minutes by a driver. So you just sort of have to prepare for that or have a driver already set up or just sort be walking just into the festival and knowing that you’re gonna walk like 30, 40 minutes home or whatever.

 

Louis Virtel Or you walk the whole way and you bring a Bindle, like Snoopy or his cousin Spike. I love when Snoopy is off on his own.

 

Ira Madison III My last highlight, I will say, is I love the Doolab, which is this place where Lesser Ax play, I mean like Lesser Ax, we give it like Trixie Mattel Dj there, and Vincent came out, and Blue Dej Tiger performed, and my friend Lennox came out and did an amazing performance, and there was this group called Zed’s Dead, this DJ group that performed, that was playing really fun dubstep, I don’t know if it’s a threat towards Zed. Yeah, right, it seems pointed. Yeah, or if it is a Power Rangers reference.

 

Louis Virtel It could be either. Or they just hate the way Canadians pronounce the last letter of the alphabet, right.

 

Ira Madison III The last thing I will say though is the influencer-ness of Coachella is creeping into being annoying even more so than it usually is. It’s just I could not walk anywhere without accidentally being behind someone’s man on the street TikTok or someone doing a product review on a phone and that’s exhausting. And then if you’re going to any sort of party. You’re surrounded by the crazy influencers, even if the parties are fun. I went to this insane compound called Zenyara, which is basically straight island. There’s like a lake on the compound. There’s huge lights and like music and a DJ and there’s free food. It’s really sort of feels like you’re at this insane rich person’s compound, like Bezos’ third home.

 

Louis Virtel You might be.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, and that’s fun, but the process of getting in and out of these things is just so obnoxious. And sometimes the people are obnoxous, but straight men in music, they’re kind of fun.

 

Louis Virtel I continue to be surprised that Palm Springs is also a straight hideaway too, because when I go there, the kitsch factor of it is so, oh, I can picture the cast of the witch hanging out here. And I don’t see straight people caring about that. But you know, it is the most pleasant weather on earth. So I guess everybody has to technically be invited. But also, by the way, if you get an Airbnb there, don’t play your music too loud because you might be surrounded by neighbors who are vindictive about tourists, and they’ll call the police and kick you out. And I know because that happened to me in the year of 2021.

 

Ira Madison III Oh my God, I remember that. Pops Briggs also is maybe the worst place to stay. If you’re going to Coachella, La Quinta or somewhere else closer to Indio, you do not want to be taking a shuttle or being in a car for 40 minutes back from the festival each and every day.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, is extremely annoying. Yes. All right. Well, maybe next year is in the cards for me, but anyway, I will be in Palm Springs soon. So I’ll look for evidence of your mental descent into whatever happened to you.

 

Ira Madison III Who would have to play Coachella to get you there?

 

Louis Virtel Oh God, well, okay. Joan Baez, who by the way, is performing at these Bernie AOC shows. Maybe I’ll go and see her if she shows up.

 

Ira Madison III Bernie came out for Claro and now there’s a rumor online started by Azalea that they’re fucking

 

Louis Virtel She continues to find more and more time to be herself, which I didn’t know there was any more time to be found. There’s like 28 hours in a day for her. Yeah, Joan Baez. Okay. Joan Baes Chella. Yeah, right. By the way, can I just say a preemptive keep it too? Even the word be Chella, it’s just not a pun. Like Gaga Chella? We’ve got to come up with some other way to refer to these things.

 

Ira Madison III Mm, okay, be Raj like a mirage in the desert.

 

Louis Virtel Ding, something like that, anything. Yeah, let’s brainstorm. Let’s get everything on a whiteboard, cross some out, pick one, yes.

 

Ira Madison III Um, when we are back, we are joined by Ellen Pompeo.

 

[AD]

 

Ira Madison III Today’s guest is so legendary that we could truly not imagine the past 20 years of TV without her. She’s the face and heart of Gray’s Anatomy, and after two decades in the operating room, she’s trading in her scrubs for a new role in Hulu’s new limited series, Good American Family. Please welcome to Keep It, Ellen Pompeo. Hi.

 

Ellen Pompeo Hi.

 

Louis Virtel Queen of Queens, oh my God. Okay, first of all, let’s talk about this show, which if people are not familiar with the story of Natalia Grace, is one of the most harrowing stories to come out in the past few years, like tabloid-worthy headlines, et cetera. For this to be like a giant TV role to take on after Grace Anatomy, I mean, I would be terrified to take on this story, it’s so grim and strange and has many dimensions that are very unseemly, especially for the parents in this story. What provoked you to choose this story?

 

Ellen Pompeo Well, definitely, you know, like you said, I’ve been doing the same role for a really long time. So if I was going to do something else, I had to take a big swing, I have to really, you know do something that was noisy, kind of. And so I felt like this was it. I was definitely terrified. It’s very challenging, tricky material. There’s a lot of triggering stuff in it. It deals with child’s abuse and emotional abuse and mental illness. There’s neurodivergent children. There are so many touch points that are tricky to navigate, but I really trusted the writers and the team. And I’m someone who sort of listens to my team. And because I don’t think that I’m necessarily, it’s not that I don’ t know what’s best for me, but, I don t know, we all have our own ego and our own judgments about ourselves. So anyway, a lot of people around me who have been with me for 25 years who I know and love and trust thought this should be the thing, that it was noisy enough. So here we are.

 

Ira Madison III And sticking of stepping into this character, I mean, you’ve been Meredith Gray for 20 years, you know? Like, what did it feel like, I guess, stepping into a new character, getting, you now, to figure out how you’re going to be someone else on camera? Is that something that you’ve really sort of been dying to do for years? Did you have other moments, I guest, throughout the 20 years where you just be like, man, I really wish I could have played this character done this, you no? Like, how exciting was it to create someone entirely new.

 

Ellen Pompeo It was really exciting and I’ve always wanted to, yeah, do something completely different. And I’ve been dying for years to play like some sort of kind of like departed character like Boston gangster because that’s a side of me that sort of that’s so far from Meredith Gray and but also exactly kind of who I am. So that’s always what I thought would be my first foray into something else and, and I love that about life. It’s never what you think it is, you know? You can plan all you want you can have ideas all you won’t but ultimately the universe shows you You know the path and so it was really exciting and I sort of started with I had a lot of prep time because we had strikes So this took really four years to get to the screen I I came in probably two years into the four they had been developing it before me They had already had image and faith read who plays our Natalia Grace who’s amazing shout out to Emmy and I started with the emotional stuff and the script, obviously, and I worked with my acting coach. And then I got six months into that, and then I layered in working with our wardrobe stylist and sort of getting the clothes together. And once I sort of put the clothes together and we put the close together and the outfits together. I started sort of like finding a different way of moving because there are outfits that I would never wear, shoes that I never would wear, dresses that fabric felt horrible that I could never wear. The clothing started to change my physicality and I started to find that. And then also I worked with a dialect coach who helped me with my speech and my cadence and my sound and my pronunciation.

 

Louis Virtel Now that you’ve said rowdy Boston characters, I’m picturing you as the Amy Adams role in The Fighter. I imagine you watched that movie and you were like, that could have been me in there.

 

Ellen Pompeo Listen all day long

 

Louis Virtel Ha ha ha!

 

Ellen Pompeo I don’t know if my sisters will listen to this, but Mark Duplass, who plays my husband in the show, when we talk to each other and explain our lives or our upbringing or whatever, I always describe my sisters just like a sort of, to be funny, I have three sisters and I describe them as the fighters. I love that reference, yes.

 

Louis Virtel Some of my favorite sisters in cinema. Yeah, they’ll beat the crap out of you. Now, thinking again about this material, were there any just scenes to perform in this that were actually more excruciating than you anticipated?

 

Ellen Pompeo I think the scene, and I think we’ve seen it maybe, was it in episode five, I think, when Christine sprays Natalia with mace. In the face. I think that’s in episode five or maybe it’s six airing this week. I don’t know. That caused me tremendous anxiety for so many reasons, right? Let’s not forget I have three kids and I’m portraying myself as the most heightened sense of an agitated mother who just goes balls to the wall and wants to fuck shit up. And you don’t want your kids to see you that way. Even when you lose your cool around your kids, you immediately say, oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that and I just lost it or whatever. Not that you ever go that far, but this is like taking that to the nth degree. And then on top of it, what is it going to mean for people who watch it? Anyway, point is, it’s challenging for a million different reasons. And it’s like, wow, I have this in me? Like, what kind of person am I? What does that say about me? But it always helps me to sort of like tie into something very specific. And there was a movie, I’m sure you guys are pop culture phenoms and really good, you know, filmophiles, Cape Fear.

 

Louis Virtel Of course. The Jessica Lange one, yeah.

 

Ellen Pompeo Robert De Niro’s performance in that is, I think, hands down, one of the greatest performances of all time. And the way that he played a character called Max Cady, if any of you kids haven’t seen it, run. And Amy Adams is going to be in the remake and I’m so excited for her because she’s going to kill it. There’s a stillness to him in that performance that is so menacing and so creepy. And so that was my inspiration for that scene and The director of that episode really wanted me to amp it up. And so much of television acting and I’ve been on a network show for so long and I struggle with so many scenes sometimes because, you know, they want you to be really big, right? And I’m just, it’s just not my style. And I don’t feel like I need to be big like that because I have the bigness is in my soul and in my heart and in intensity and what I know I’m feeling. And, and so with that scene, they wanted me to sort of. Be bigger. And I was just like, it’s a quiet moment. It’s like when your rage is like so white hot, that you just get so quiet. Like I’m capable of things that I didn’t think I was capable of in this moment. That I think is more terrifying than being big. I delivered, you know, a variation in that moment for the director because you do some heightened stuff. And they chose, of course, a more heightened. Version of the performance, which I wouldn’t have chosen. I would have chosen a quiet, stiller one because for me that’s scarier. But that was the moment to answer your question that I think was the most intense for me.

 

Ira Madison III Even getting into these moments like how you think a character should be interpreted versus how you know like the creator and producer is, I think we’re all you know super familiar with you talking about you know sort of the pick me, choose me moment from Gray’s Anatomy you know where you didn’t think Meredith would really do that. I want to know if there are other moments throughout the 20 years that sort of stick with you where you were like I don’t really think Meredith should do this and maybe Chanda or another producer disagreed and what happened with the back and forth between that, where maybe you eventually agreed or you got a moment to be changed.

 

Ellen Pompeo There were definitely plenty of moments like that. I have also spoken recently about a love scene with George O’Malley that I was vehemently against and didn’t want to do it, he didn’t wanna do it. But again, I am someone who really tries to trust whose hands I’m in, and I’m so grateful that I trusted Shonda Rhimes. Not to say I never pushed back against her because there are plenty of times when I did. And to Shonda’s credit, being the G that she is, she really understands who I am. And I think people of that level and that skill level appreciate someone with an opinion. My biggest thing about actors nowadays is you have to make choices, even if someone tells you don’t do that. So the fact that I was even. You know, who’s even engaged enough to care and I’m not just going to go along, means I have an opinion, means I’m invested, means of thinking, means, I have a point of view. And that’s what actors have to have. And so Shonda has always appreciated my feedback, my pushback, my opinions, whatever it is and let me be who I am, received what I have to say and then says, okay, but you’re going to do it anyway. And I’m Yes, I’m going to do it. You know. But anyway, so there have been plenty of moments. I find that’s harder to do now because it’s a different show now and it’s more plot-driven and less character-driven. So now I push back about a lot of things because they’re not things, in my opinion, the character of Meredith that we created would do. They’re just sort of doing it to drive plot, which is, I think, my biggest acting challenge right now.

 

Louis Virtel Mm-hmm. On the flip side of that, so you’ve been on this show for 20 years and you’ve seen so many actors start on the show and then go elsewhere. But a lot of people who really started on Gray’s Anatomy, have you been most surprised by watching a former Gray’s anatomy castmate in another project and thought, oh, wow, who knew that they could do that? Since Gray’s Anadamy is its own kind of mode of acting and I assume once you leave, you abandon your Gray’s anatomy style of acting altogether sometimes.

 

Ellen Pompeo No, I’ve not been surprised at all. Everybody knows this Sandra Oh is the best to ever do it.

 

Louis Virtel She is pretty good.

 

Ellen Pompeo I’ll never stop saying that she cares so deeply about what she does. So she’s someone who went off and And ended an incredible and Killing Eve was an incredible show. So not surprised so answer I guess is no and Eric Dane has been extraordinary on euphoria Yes, and he was great on the last ship and and I love him so much, too. So Listen, Shonda knows what she’s doing. She knows how to cast. She knows talent when she sees it, you know? So I’m never surprised when people that she’s hired go off to do other things. Of course they have, because she knows it when she see it. Sada Ramirez.

 

Ira Madison III Tony winner.

 

Ellen Pompeo That’s what I think.

 

Ira Madison III Going back to this moment of wanting to play these Boston characters, maybe like The Fighter, and then even loving Robert De Niro’s performance in Kate Fear, what are some other films and performances that really stick with you that maybe you have used to model some of your choices after, or just things that you really love watching all the time?

 

Ellen Pompeo You know, what was amazing is I was traveling last week and I watched Chinatown on the plane again. I don’t know when the last time you guys watched it was, but like obviously, you know, Jane Donahue is in that. She was on Gray’s.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, of course she was on Gray’s, I forgot all about that, yes.

 

Ellen Pompeo Which was amazing. But it’s so interesting how like, you know, I don’t know when, what year that film was made.

 

Louis Virtel Seventy four

 

Ellen Pompeo 74. Okay. Los Angeles has always had a water issue. You know, it was really interesting to watch that back after the fires and just the state of LA right now and the corruption and the, uh, the corruption that existed then. And, you know, clearly there’s so much corruption now. And it was, really interesting for other reasons. Obviously the performances are fantastic. And it just makes you nostalgic for you know, how amazing films used to be, and how did we lose that? And, you know why isn’t the dome in Hollywood up and running? Why aren’t we showing amazing movies? Why aren’ we celebrating our history, what we’ve done in this town, what all these amazing performers and craftspeople have done? Why aren’t we celebrating that here? We’re in a down moment here in LA and it’s kind of heartbreaking, but Chinatown has made me sort of. Reflect on all of that.

 

Louis Virtel There’s something so amazing in general about 70s takes on 40s too. You know, like in the 70s, it’s like you had that mysterious gritty feel, but then you layer in the 40s film noir too, and it’s just this ultra cinematic experience. Chinatown is like the foremost of those, but movies like Farewell, My Lovely, et cetera. And of course, we just need a Faye Dunaway renaissance in general. Just what she brought to the silver screen, her hair and Thomas Crown Affair, we could go on and on.

 

Ellen Pompeo Listen, which they’re remaking Thomas Crown Affair. I’m so excited. My stylist, Jason Bull, is actually doing the costumes. Oh. But wait a second, full circle fade down away moment. Who’s Mommy Dearest in their new show?

 

Louis Virtel Oh, yes, that’s right. No wire hangers ever in Italia. Come on. Yes.

 

Ellen Pompeo Wait, I did a Kimmel a couple weeks ago and David Blaine put a wire hanger down his throat and I had to pull it out. And he took Jimmy Kimmel’s aura ring and he took it off Jimmy’s finger. And we’ve all seen Blaine for years do crazy things. We all know he’s so talented. And I got out there on stage and they were like, you’re going to help him with his And I was like, okay, they didn’t really tell me what it was. And then I saw that wire hanger sitting there and I was, what’s going to happen with that. And then, and then sure enough, he takes it off the hook and he takes the shirt off and then he starts bending that coat hanger and I was like, here we go. Why did I know that’s what was going to happen? And he put that thing right down his throat. He swallowed Jimmy’s ring. If anyone hasn’t seen this, you have to YouTube it and watch it. It’s crazy. He swallows Jimmy’s Ring. I literally was standing. 10 inches from him. I really feel like I heard him swallow it. I was hearing like body noises that were not fun. And then he stuck the coat hanger down his throat and then I pulled the coat hang out and the ring was around the coat hanger. But the coathanger was like closed loop.

 

Louis Virtel It’s disturbing. Well, let me tell you something, Ellen, I’m a writer for Jimmy Kimmel, and during the rehearsal that day, he also swallowed just pure glass. It was, I mean, like, I accept that certain things are illusions or that people can do crazy things. I almost had to leave. It was so not cute to see, and to watch him do, and just like the way the throat moves as he swallows things is just uncomfortable.

 

Ellen Pompeo And he sw- he did- he chewed glass on stage, too, I don’t know if you were watching, but like, yeah, and I’ve seen him do it on camera a million times, but like standing next to him to your point, hearing the sounds in his mouth is like- it’s another level of like, whoa, what’s happening here.

 

Louis Virtel And what’s wrong with him? Yeah, I kept being like, where is the psychiatrist?

 

Ellen Pompeo I saw him a week later in New York at Kelly Clarkson. We were sort of on the same circuit because he’s promoting that show, his amazing show on Hulu also. And I was like, how are you doing? How’s your throat? I was like, okay. He’s amazing.

 

Ira Madison III Speaking of that, I have to imagine that 20 years of being Meredith, you have done the talk show circuit to death. You’ve had so many conversations with people. Do you have any favorite moments, maybe even from early on in Gray’s Anatomy, that were especially fun and exciting for you?

 

Ellen Pompeo For sure, like the first time I did Letterman for the kitty cats out there, David Letterman. I don’t know if they know who he is, but David Letter… I grew up watching Letterman, right? So that was like a massive moment. And then you see clips of that back and you’re like, oh my God, like I was such an idiot, like giggling and fucking flirting and so conditioned to like, just be cute. Um, but that was, that was definitely like a an amazing moment for me, but watching it now, I’m just like, oh God, couldn’t I have been cooler?

 

Ira Madison III Do you find that often where you go on a show once and then when you’re going back the next time, maybe watching it back or thinking subconsciously, I need to not act like I was the last time or I need get this part of a conversation right?

 

Ellen Pompeo Well, I don’t typically watch myself back, but I think you just listen, you know, you get older and you get less giddy. You know, as a woman in this industry, the more confidence you get and the longer you work and the more agency you have, you get out of how you’ve been conditioned or how I was conditioned. I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but how I was conditioned to sort of. Behave around men or people in power or, you know, but also there’s just, you know, to be easier on myself. There’s just the excitement of like being on a talk show and like having a dream as a little girl from Boston to be an actress and everyone tells you like you’ll never do that and that’s ridiculous. And there’s also something that truly makes you giddy about like, shit, I’m here. I’m sitting in the chair with David Letterman. Like this is crazy. So there’s that too. It’s a soup of a lot of different things.

 

Louis Virtel You deserve credit for the conversation you did have though, because I’ve always thought David Letterman would be kind of hard to interact with in that way because he’s at once like very droll, but also like acting a little bit above the conversation. So I don’t know if I were a guest, how properly I would act or like, can I make a joke here because he is the one who runs the jokes, you know.

 

Ellen Pompeo Yeah, for sure. And that’s true of a lot of talk shows. The host really runs it. But again, how I specifically was conditioned as a young girl and how I survived was turning on that charm and being charming. And, that was the only power that I had in a lot situations that I was in. And so, that became my… My weapon, so to speak, so I could pretty much always kind of use that and navigate Myself in or around or underneath or over a situation. I also hung out with a lot of queens and drag queens and learned how to turn it on and perform. So.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, good. You’ve learned from the best.

 

Ellen Pompeo I put my weapon to a lot of different things.

 

Ira Madison III Hahaha

 

Ellen Pompeo It’s pieces of all of it.

 

Ira Madison III Well, thank you so much for being here with us, Ellen.

 

Ellen Pompeo Of course. Thanks so much, guys. It was great to meet you.

 

Ira Madison III Thank you to Ellen Pompeo. Good American Family is on Hulu now. We’ll be right back with more Keep It.

 

[AD]

 

Ira Madison III Keep it listeners know that Louis and I would talk about the same four movies every week if we could. It’s been eight years and we still haven’t found the bottom of Eve’s bayou. Anyway, we’ve decided to flex our movie muscles and discuss a genre we rarely touch, which is sports. And what better personal trainer for our movie flexing than the host of the new podcast, Casuals. Please welcome Katie Nolan.

 

Katie Nolan Yay! Hi! Thank you for having me. I’m so excited to be here.

 

Louis Virtel I’m so excited to have you here. And by the way, who could be better suited to host a podcast? I mean, you’re just amazing presence in general and who wouldn’t want to hear everything you have to say about these things.

 

Katie Nolan This is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me. Can you say stuff like that more? Send that to my fiance and I’ll have him just read it to me.”

 

Louis Virtel Okay. Good. I love giving fiance scripts. Good, this is all part of my dream. Tell us about this podcast. What are you going to tackle and what are your hopes and dreams for it?

 

Katie Nolan Hopes and dreams are to get people that think they don’t like sports to be able to participate in the conversation around sports. I feel like I grew up with sports all around me. It’s just kind of a part of the fabric of who I am. But I also love comedy and I love entertaining people. And I feel there isn’t a lot of crossover where podcasts are talking to people that for more entertainment focused. I feel like entertainment podcasts never touch on sports and sports does a weird job of touching on entertainment. So I just wanted to like invite people into the conversation that maybe feel like they aren’t necessarily welcomed. I want them to feel welcomed. So it’s basically sports for anybody who wants to keep up with what’s going on, but they don’t really care or they only care about a little bit of it, but they just want to be given like a level setting of what’s going on in sports so that they know. The basics and then also just they can laugh at it and be entertained by it. Because I think people who don’t watch sports forever have the best takes on sports sometimes. They have like a fresh eyes on something that we’re all used to seeing and it makes everything more entertaining and more interesting. So the goal is to just bring in more people to the world of sports.

 

Louis Virtel It’s like how the best gamblers are sometimes the people who are doing it for the first or second time. It’s, like, oh, they’re the most unpredictable. What are they going to say, you know? But also, I have to say you work fabulous on Celebrity Jeopardy, which is an institution, first of all. The best. But also what could prove your medal as a podcaster more than just knowing random shit? How was that experience for you?

 

Katie Nolan The best, it was the peak. I actually think there’s nowhere to go from there but down. I’m almost glad that I didn’t win because then it would definitely be nowhere to but down, it was awesome. I watched Jeopardy every single day. So to be able to be there in person alone was enough, like looking around at the set and being like, this is where they do Jeopardie. Was crazy, being able to like hit the buzzer and play Jeopardy, an experience that’s like very hard to replicate without the technology, was amazing. And then being like decently good at it, but it is Celebrity Jeopard, so it is kind of like dumbed down a little, but that doesn’t matter. I was decently at it. That was really fun too. So that was honestly top two moments in my career, and it’s not two.

 

Ira Madison III Since Katie loves sports and we love movies, we’re going to combine the two and keep its first ever sports movie draft. And a draft, as my producers tell me, is like award nominations for straight people. So here’s how it works. There are three categories. Goring for gold, Oscar films. Time for Title IX, women-led films, and no jokes aside, comedy films. In each round, Katie, Louis, and I will take turns drafting a film for one category. Then we’ll move on to category two, then category three. And to keep it fair, we’ll switch up the drafting order for each round. Once we drafted films from all three categories, we’ll see how our teams stack up against each other and crown a winner. So first up, we’re going for the gold. Louis, you’re first up.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, and that I kindly get to do this since this is my whole thing. I don’t think you can get around Raging Bull. When I watched it recently and now of course this is a movie that usually comes up for me under the context of actually ordinary people did deserve it to beat it for best picture but that’s a different conversation we’re talking about sports today. Raging Bull, first of all, is definitely the best. Filmed boxing experience in a movie ever the way it makes it so cinematic and Violet like it makes you feel like you’re in the middle of the impact of all these heavy-heading And then there’s the additional element of what a harrowing biopic of Jake Lamada Just a very unusual real-life sports figure then additionally got the performances of Joe Pesci and Kathy Moriarty that are so sensational Martin Scorsese’s signature movie, I believe. In a way, when you watch it back, he’s doing so many things that feel typical to his career. You can almost think like, oh, there are choices here that he replicates in so many other films. But the black and white quality, Robert De Niro’s monolog in the mirror, there’s just so much that’s so powerful and so fucking bleak in a way that is rare for even Martin Scorcese. So that is my choice. Wow. Okay, Katie.

 

Katie Nolan You guys are so good at talking about movies. Listening to you do that, I was like shit, I might be woefully underprepared. For my goal for the goal, can I take Jerry Maguire? You sure can. It wasn’t like best picture, but I believe didn’t it get an Oscar for, I think Cuba Gooding Jr. Got it?

 

Louis Virtel It was nominated for best picture, yeah.

 

Katie Nolan It was? Good for it. Yeah, I’m taking Jerry Maguire. A look at the agent side of the sports world. A fascinating look that gave us so many great lines. Show me the money. You had me at hello. Watching it back recently, the child part doesn’t make any sense. That The child is the most well behaved kid in every situation. Where he just comes in, says something quirky, and then gets out of the way. If kids were like that, I’d have some, but they’re not. Because of that and what just like a, it sums up like a time period for me watching Jerry Maguire is like, oh, I remember when life was this and a fun one and that’s why I picked it. So that’s my pick, Jerry Maguirre.

 

Louis Virtel There need to be more sports movies with Ms. Renee Zellweger in them. If Renee Zelleweger were a sport, baby, I’m on the varsity squad, okay? Ira, I don’t know how you’re going to beat these two. These are two pretty qualified picks.

 

Ira Madison III Well, first of all, very rude of Katie to come on my podcast and pick a Tom Cruise movie. I think it’s very inappropriate to steal Jared Maguire from me. I’m so sorry. But I guess that’s the whole thing of a draft, you know? So I am going to be a bit of a dad, I guess, and go with Fields of Dreams because I love Kevin Costner.

 

Katie Nolan Oh, wow.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. And I love his jeans in that movie. You know, he looks good in that. That’s the most important part of a sports movie for me actually is the, um, the costuming because like the men always look great in a sports. You love when an actor is playing an athlete and feel the dreams. Man, Kevin Costner. I can see why Whitney wanted him to be her bodyguard. Uh, sure.

 

Louis Virtel Also, I like sports movies that have a bit of a paranormal element to them too, that take it out of the realm of just the dramas we expect when watching 30 for 30, something that takes us elsewhere. And of course the lovely Amy Madigan in that film as well. Yes, and the lovely Ray Liotta. Oh my God, who was so stunning. People don’t talk about Ray Lietta as a stunning person, but those eyes, my God. He belongs in movies from the 40s or something.

 

Katie Nolan A hundred percent. Good round you guys, good draft, we’re doing it. This is sports.

 

Louis Virtel Very well. Well done. Now, Katie, you as a woman are going to lead the woman conversation because that’s what we feel safest letting you do.

 

Katie Nolan That’s really nice of you. Go ahead. Very thoughtful. No problem. Thank you, allies. This is tough because there’s so many to choose from. I feel like there’s a really obvious one that if I don’t take it first, I would feel remiss. But there is a littler one that I could have taken if I went later. We’re going to go with League of Their Own. I feel, like, marquee women’s film. It was a movie about when they let the gals play cause the boys were at war. And we got to see Madonna acting. We had Rosie O’Donnell acting. We had the great relationship between Gina Davis, her little sister in the movie. It was the Rockford Peaches. Tom Hanks was the coach. If we’re going with lines, because that seems to be my through line here in my draft, there’s no crying in baseball, famously came from a league of their own. It just felt like a rite of passage watching this movie. As a child, I’ve probably watched it. 15 times, it’s been a while and I forget movies. So I’m not here to say I’m an expert on this film, but it’s fun. It’s got a lot of personality and it was like a boys sport with girls playing it. Always a great conceit for a film, I think.

 

Louis Virtel I also think it’s the rare lady sports movie where there are like nine great lady athlete characters. You know, it’s not just it’s all about this one woman we have to learn about who’s like babe Didrikson or something. It’s like these all these people have different personalities and their interactions are so rich. And by the end of the movie, the friendships are so edifying. And you feel like you’re among them.

 

Katie Nolan That’s exactly the smart thing I meant to say. You’re totally right. You’re exactly right there.

 

Louis Virtel And you can watch it a million times, too. If it’s on, like, logo right now, I’m absolutely watching it in my baseball skirt.

 

Katie Nolan Yes, which yes, we all play baseball and skirts and watch logo.

 

Louis Virtel Welcome to my home, Katie.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. All right, Ira, what’s your choice? Well, I think we all know my choice is going to be bringing on.

 

Katie Nolan Yeah, good choice.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, you know, women, homosexuals in this film too, bisexuals in this film, there’s theft, there are black people.

 

Katie Nolan Race Relations at Play

 

Ira Madison III race relations, sexual relations, gender conversations, there’s so much going on. Susan Sontag has entered the chat. Okay. Okay. Listen, notes on bring it on. Okay? That’s the sequel to Notes on Camp. And it’s just one of my favorite movies. And I think really it does deal with race cultural appropriation in a fun and insightful way for a 2000 comedy that was basically like a teen sex comedy. And it’s funny, you can rewatch this movie any fucking time. There’s jokes every second in this movie. I’ve never not enjoyed rewatching Bring It On. And it is rare to find anyone who doesn’t love this movie, so.

 

Louis Virtel I watched that at homecoming, the year was 2000, and also Kirsten Dunst in any movie lends a layer of believable and seething angst that makes the comedy richer and the drama heavier. So I feel like it’s a hard movie to root against in that way.

 

Katie Nolan Also an extra sportsy pick because it stars Gabriel Union who is now married to Dwayne

 

Ira Madison III Yes, exactly.

 

Katie Nolan Sports on sports on sports, you know?

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, that’s why he married her, actually, you know?

 

Louis Virtel My Choice is a very old movie. I don’t know if you guys have seen National Velvet with Elizabeth Taylor.

 

Speaker 6 No!

 

Louis Virtel Playing a young jocky. Yes, in the 1940s. Here he goes. Once upon a time, movies used to be, get ready for this, very sweet. And I feel like something that is really essential for a sports movie, especially if it’s going to be here comes this underdog person and they’re going to do this amazing thing and we have to believe in it, is charm. And Jesus Christ in this movie, if you’ve not watched Elizabeth Taylor as a young actress, first of all, she is stunning and her eyes are like wonka blueberry blue. Watching her in the movie, you believe that she loves riding horses and she has these two parents who are the best parents in all of cinema, Donald Crisp and Anne Revere who won an Oscar for this movie, and just to see a believable family like stick behind this girl and her kind of like rough and tough relationship with Mickey Rooney who’s in the movies too and then Angela Lansbury is lingering in it too. It’s the rare It’s a very old movie that I think really holds up both as like an entry point into classic cinema, if you’re just getting started, and to a legitimate sports movie. So horse girls everywhere need to be rallying around this.

 

Ira Madison III Mmm, a rough and tumble relationship with Mickey Rourke, JoJo Siwa knows about that.

 

Katie Nolan Oh my god, what a nightmare scenario that was.

 

Louis Virtel To be trapped in a room with Mickey Roark.

 

Katie Nolan Mickey, what? This hasn’t been cool in a long time, buddy. What are you doing? Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel I meant to say Mickey Rooney and Mickey Rourke are two different people, and I hope they never meet.

 

Katie Nolan Which one’s the bad one?

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, Mickey Rooney and Mickey Roony.

 

Ira Madison III Mickey Rooney, not Mickey Roark. They’re the same person.

 

Louis Virtel No. Girl, it’s the 40s. Of course Mickey works not at it.

 

Katie Nolan Oh, I don’t know. He looks old enough.

 

Ira Madison III Mickey work looks like he would try to play Asian and breakfast at Tiffany’s too, okay?

 

Katie Nolan If given the opportunity, he certainly wouldn’t say no.

 

Ira Madison III You know, that’s some international velvet for you, okay? The sequel to National Velvet.

 

Louis Virtel Which, by the way, was the sequel with Tatum O’Neil, who might be coming up in my next comedy, so just be aware.

 

Katie Nolan I didn’t know that there was an Elizabeth Taylor sports vehicle. I’m in.

 

Louis Virtel You got to get in on this. And she’s so stunning. She like waves at the camera on the horse and you’re crying.

 

Ira Madison III I love that that’s the horse movie that you picked, Louis. You know, there’s a lot of movies about people playing with horses.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, like Secretariat and Seabiscuit and stuff. Not as good. Thoroughbreds even. Oh yeah, but that’s not a sports movie. Moving on. Ira, you lead the comedies discussion.

 

Ira Madison III Okay. I love a joke. So, round three. No jokes aside, it was very hard for me to, you know, pick one. Because, you could go with serious comedy, you can go with slapstick comedy. I’m going to go with Bull Durham. Yes! Oh, it’s also a very sexy movie. You know, I mean, I like sex with my co-

 

Louis Virtel You know also yeah, no Susan Sarandon is very like hot quite sexy in that movie. Yes. Yeah

 

Ira Madison III I was thinking about Susan Sarandon recently because I’ve been reading Frank Rich’s collection of his old theater reviews. And I found this play that Susan Saranden debuted in with Eileen Brennan, which feels like a play written for Louis. Yes. It was called A Couple of White Chicks Talking, Sitting Around Talking was the name of it.

 

Louis Virtel Let’s go. Also Eileen Brennan, an actress who like lives in a snarl, you know, just like long cigarette always and looking at you like you’re in a saloon together kind of vibe. It’s wonderful in private Benjamin of course. And written by John Ford Noonan. Yes, of course, so Bull Durham. Katie, or am I second this time? Yeah, you have to because I haven’t gone last yet.

 

Katie Nolan Bullderm is a great pick, Ira, thank you for picking that. What a great movie.

 

Ira Madison III Yes, love that. Thank you. Also looking great in jeans. Another man looking great.

 

Louis Virtel That’s what it’s all about. I’m going with the Bad News Bears, the original one from 1976 with Walter Mathau and Tatum O’Neill. Because first of all, if you’ve ever been on a little league team, you know like the kinds of characters it attracts, which is there’s two types of dads. One, the dad who’s drunk and upset when anybody doesn’t play the game well enough. And then the dad, who’s just hyper alpha and wants everybody to do their best and slaps the kids on the butt since they go around the bases. And he’s played by Vic Morrow in this movie, the late Vic Mrow. I just love the rowdiness of the kids, like the horrible swearing, the racism of the children. I am from the Midwest and have seen all of this firsthand. But also it’s just like, it’s the rare movie that gets right, I think, how kids are horrible to each other, even though that’s not really the point of the movie either. It’s constantly amusing. It’s so 70s. And of course, nothing is funnier than a little league team being sponsored by Chico’s bail bonds.

 

Katie Nolan It really is ridiculous.

 

Louis Virtel And by the way, I usually am not a fan of Walter Matthau and he’s exactly right in this movie. I find him too curmudgeonly for real. Like seems like he wouldn’t be fun in real life. Grumpy and old. Yeah. Right, if you will. Yes, grumpy and a man. Keeney, what’s your choice?

 

Katie Nolan Okay, this is a tough one because I could name a million. This is probably right in my wheelhouses if you’re allowed to have two of those. It’s my two-car garage comedy and sports. I think I’m gonna go with, and not for a full baseball sweep of this category here, but I think gonna go major league. Just a movie I remember watching as a child and it’s one of those ones you’re laughing even though you’re like, I don’t know if I’m getting all these jokes, but this feels. Raucous. This feels hilarious. Bob Euker doing the game calls is a classic part of that movie. The wild thing, Charlie Sheen coming out with the haircut and the music. Renee Russo’s in this film looking gorgeous. It’s just like a nostalgic, funny, another ensemble cast where everybody sort of has their little moment and interacts with each other in a really interesting way. Um, the, the sequel was good. It’s just a great franchise for like watching on a weekend. It’s funny. It’s purely baseball and it’s a blast. So major league is my pick, but shout out to the sandlot. I’m sorry to have not picked you.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, that was second on my list, I do have to say. Charlie Sheen, like Mel Gibson, I think people forget, at one point, was like the hottest actor we had. But when you watch him in platoon, you’re like, oh, you’re the heartthrob of this movie, in addition to the star.

 

Katie Nolan You could say he was winning.

 

Louis Virtel I won’t, though, K-

 

Ira Madison III What’s wild about that movie’s sequel, too, is it came out the week after D2, Mighty Ducks, which starred Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen’s brother.

 

Katie Nolan D2, which I would argue is the best movie of the D franchise.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, I’m quacking, okay? I’m cracking. The best thing in the franchise, though, was the animated TV series that was sort of in the style of Darkwing Duck. Yes, uh-huh. If anyone remembers that show, if anyone remembers the show, it is classic. I think it’s probably on Disney Plus. So yeah, they were like superheroes.

 

Louis Virtel I also just want to say that I’ve been watching The Pit recently, and there was an actress on it who was playing like an aunt or something, and I said, I absolutely know I know this I couldn’t place it, couldn’t placed it, looked her up. She is the girl on the team in The Mighty Ducks. Yes. Yes. So she’s around and pitting out, if you will.

 

Ira Madison III All right, well, we have our picks. Katie, Jerry Maguire, A League of Their Own, Major League. Louis, Raging Bull, National Velvet, and Bad News Bears. Heard of Prestige? Me, Field of Dreams, Bring It On, Bull Durham, Sexy Movies. Sexy, sexy movies.

 

Louis Virtel Quite. So I think it’s down to between me and Katie. I read it’s been fun, you being on this podcast.

 

Ira Madison III Sure, sure. Who’s going to get it? The old model? Please leave. Who’s gonna get it, the old model who missed her go-sees? Sorry, we don’t have your photo here, Louis. Don’t you Tyra me the grandmother’s listening to this podcast loves your pics. Yeah. Other people with taste you’ve seen it all.

 

Katie Nolan They truly were art and the way you spoke of them was so beautiful. I feel terrible taking this from you Please have it, please

 

Louis Virtel Oh god. Well, I’m looking over the votes and I won. I can’t believe. How did I do it? Now honestly, all nine of these movies are a qualified collection. Like we should put them on a Spotify playlist and make people just watch them for like three days in a

 

Ira Madison III I’m giving it to Katie Tom Cruise Jerry Maguire I mean, how could you not a league of their own you picked the Tom Cruise movie which appeals to me and a Madonna movie Which appeals to Louis? How can you not win?

 

Katie Nolan That’s such good logic.

 

Ira Madison III Okay, good. Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel We’ll give it to you.

 

Katie Nolan Okay, I’ll take it if you insist, you guys. Thank you so much for letting me talk about sports movies. This was fun. You guys know about sports, so don’t act like you don’t. I heard you just talk about sport films with a reverence that alluded to also liking sports a little.

 

Louis Virtel It implies we could potentially understand the rules of certain sports, maybe.

 

Katie Nolan They’re not like super important. You’re not playing, you’re just watching.

 

Ira Madison III I loved your recent episode too, with my friend Raesani. I honestly talk about sports with her. She talks about WWE and wrestling with me and we’re in a group chat with our writer friend Angelina Burnett, who is slowly getting me into the WNBA. She’s taking me to my first Liberty game after the Beyoncé concert in Chicago. So

 

Katie Nolan Hell yeah. And shout out Rae Sani, the greatest, who I’m obsessed with and love her so much.

 

Louis Virtel Well, thank you for being here, Katie.

 

Katie Nolan Yeah, thank you guys.

 

Louis Virtel Oh my god, come back again soon, we’ll do another one of these.

 

Katie Nolan I’m gonna go watch, what was it, National Velvet? I’m going to go genuinely watch it.

 

Louis Virtel Look it up, it’s so charming, it is so charming. And then I’ll come back and we’ll chat about it. Just watch Blue Velvet. Not the same, not the same.

 

Ira Madison III Watch the velvet rope tour DVD instead.

 

Katie Nolan That I watch every week

 

Ira Madison III Okay, that was great.

 

Katie Nolan All right, awesome. Thank you guys so much.

 

Ira Madison III Thank you to Katie Nolan. You can listen to Casuals wherever you get your podcasts. When we’re back, it’s Kepic. And we are back with our favorite segment of the episode. It’s Keep It. Louis, you look tense.

 

Louis Virtel I am worried. I don’t know if you know this, the news is like so bad recently. Like if you go on Twitter, which I have a problem where I keep doing that, it gets worse and worse. And then news is still bad as it pertains to our sphere of the universe entertainment. Kate Blanchett, two time Oscar winner has told the British press she is retiring from acting in the near future. She says my family rolls their eyes every time I say it but I mean it. I am serious about giving up acting. There are a lot of things I wanna do with my life. You mean like acting? Please keep doing the thing you are good at. Now here’s the thing. I think Cate Blanchett is very all organized around the arts. Whatever she does, like she’ll probably do a lot more with theater, like director, things like that. She’s a doyanne. But man, if you will, can she just? Find a way to do it every once in a while. I will say at the recent pace she’s been working, it’s like Ben Nicole Kidman level where it never stops. And I can see wanting to stop a little while, but like, oh, if she goes away, that is just so painful. And Cate Blanchett is basically her own genre of cinema. She’s not just prestigious. There’s this layer of kind of old school 50s style sophistication to everything she does. That elevates a movie like Black Bag and makes you feel like you’re kind of watching a Hitchcock movie in addition to watching a great Soderbergh movie. And then a movie, like Tar, which is a towering acting achievement anyway, but also this sheer level of intellect she clearly brings. It’s like Jane Fonda. You know you’re watching a brilliant person in addition whatever character they’re playing. So it’s just this added layer of fabulous and intelligent and awareness that she brings to movies. That I just can’t picture. Prestige without her recently, or really, it’s just extremely stressful for me. And in these next four years, which are gonna get precipitously worse in almost all conceivable ways, I would just love if I could bank on Blue Jasmine blowing it up.

 

Ira Madison III Um, I hope Kate doesn’t quit acting and I know that as she does, um, you’ll be right outside her door. Right. No, knocking it on down.

 

Louis Virtel Let’s make a theater right outside.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Ira, what is your keep it? My keep it this week goes to, this is more space related, actually. It goes to Wendy’s. I totally agree. Okay. So Katy Perry, obviously, as we said earlier in the episode, did the Blue Origin launch and she went up to space and then she came back down. Wendy’s tweeted, can we send her back?

 

Louis Virtel What intern was on fire that day and ate the Pop Rocks and the Coke and said, let me get on the

 

Ira Madison III keyboard. Yeah, that’s obviously a joke that gays have made so many times. Can we send Katie back or, you know, like they’re launching her out in the space because that’s the only place they want to hear her music, etc. I don’t know if that’s a joke a brand should be making online. Why are you starting a beef with a pop star?

 

Louis Virtel And additionally, it’s just it’s a risk-free thing, weirdly, where they get to be so mean and not enough people will defend her back recently. It just feels overly mean, but also like a toothless in a way, just like what does that even mean? Like you want her dead? You’re Wendy’s? I don’t understand what’s going on. Truly, it was a frosty tweet, if I may put it in Wendy’s vernacular.

 

Ira Madison III Wendy said, kill the bitch. Yeah, it’s just unbelievably cruel. It’s cruel. It’s losery, to be honest. It’s sort of, I mean, Wendy’s has always been part of this whole Stan’s Twitter thing. And I guess their whole thing is clapping back at people. They dragged Andy Heron once. Oh, I remember. Being on a show that no one remembers. But I’ve never really noticed if this promo helps companies or not.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, that didn’t really put the taste for a squarish burger in my mouth.

 

Ira Madison III Now, I guess I have to be the devil’s op here for a moment, because there was one funny thing that came out of the Wendy’s tweet, however, and this was, you know, a real comedian taking on the joke, Kesha taking a selfie of herself drinking a frosty from Wendy’s. Okay, that is a little bit funny now. That’s a little bit funny.

 

Louis Virtel And you know I’m going to that tour with the Scissor Sisters.

 

Ira Madison III Because you know what that is? That is shade.

 

Louis Virtel Yes, right. Because it’s a step removed and not just literally telling somebody to go die in space.

 

Ira Madison III Yes. So I guess you needed Wendy’s to be a [Unrecognized] for Kesha to be able to throw shade at Katy Perry. So, I guess it all evens out in the universe, but Kesha’s the winner here.

 

Louis Virtel Okay, good. And I’m going to blast Joyride again, because as you know, that’s a song done dirty by the general population. The song is so good. Let’s do another summer of Joyride.

 

Ira Madison III You know, she didn’t come out for T-Pain at Coachella to sing their new song and I was expecting her to. That would have been fun. Hmm, maybe we can too, maybe, we can do. Yeah, yeah, she was busy. She was at Wendy’s. She was in the drive-through. Precisely, precisely. All right, thank you to Ellen Pompeo for joining us. Thank you to Katie Nolan for teaching us about sports drafts. And we will see you next week with pretty iconic episodes. Don’t forget to follow Crooked Media on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to Keep It on YouTube for access to full episodes and other exclusive content. And, if you’re as opinionated as we are consider dropping us a review.

 

Louis Virtel Keep It as a Crooked Media production. Our producer is Bill McGrath our associate producer is Kennedy Hill and our executive producers are Ira Madison the third, Louis Virtel, and Kendra James.

 

Ira Madison III Our digital team is Delon Villanueva, Claudia Sheng, and Rachel Gaieski. This episode was recorded and mixed by Jarek Centeno. Thank you to David Toles, Kyle Seglin, and Charlotte Landes for production support every week.

 

Louis Virtel Our Head of Production is Matt DeGroot and Madeline Harringer is our Head of Programming. Our Production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.

 

Ira Madison III And as always, Keep It is filmed in front of a live studio audience.