The Idol Room Podcast Episode 5 - Discussing the Spider-Man Movie Universe
The Idol Room Podcast
Hosted by Mark Tuan & Kim Yugyeom
Feat. Conan Gray & Troye Sivan
Guest Star: Lee Felix
Intro Theme: Starble Zone by Tee Lopes
All Voice Acting is produced using Elevenlabs Voice Cloning Software
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Mark
Hey everyone, and welcome to the '5th' episode of The Idol Room Podcast.
I'm your host as always, Mark.
And I'm joined here in the studio as always with my three wonderful co-hosts.
Yugyeom
Hey guys!
Conan
Hey everyone!
Troye
How's it going guys?
Mark
Okay. Today we have a special guest on the show here with us.
Please give a warm welcome to Stray Kids very own, 'Lee Felix'.
Felix
Hey, what's up everyone?
Yugyeom
Hey!
Troye
Welcome!
Mark
Okay, so 'todays' episode is actually really interesting, because last episode, we had Jungkook from BTS in the studio to talk about Batman, but you specifically Felix asked to talk about Spider-Man for your topic, correct?
Felix
Yeah, I just figured since your podcast is all about movies and what you love about them, I thought it could be interesting to talk about Spider-Man, because... this to me is 'such' an interesting series.
It's gone through so many reboots and re-designs, yet every single movie always fills seats in theatres and gets everybody talking, no matter what. Y'know?
Mark
No, yeah, I can agree on that.
I mean, we're all Spider-Man fans here, right guys?
Yugyeom
Oh yeah.
Troye
Totally.
Conan
Who isn't?
Felix
Right. I just think it's interesting because this is a series that's touched 'so' many lives over countless decades of comic books, movies and television, yet it goes through so many constant reboots and re-designs but somehow manages to capture audiences every single time, y'know?
Mark
Yeah, I agree.
Well lets talk about that, shall we?
Yugyeom
Lets do it.
Conan
-Clap sfx-
Lets go!
Mark
Sooo... lets start with favourite movies.
Everyone has a favourite Spider-Man film that they always love to talk about, right?
Yugyeom
Totally.
Mark
So... Yu-gyeom? Do you wanna go first?
Yugyeom
Yeah man. For me it's gotta be Spider-Man 2.
I am such a fan of the classics, and this is a film that encompasses everything Spider-Man without any weird gadgets, re-designs, cameos.
It's just 'pure' Spider-Man at his absolute best, y'know?
Mark
Yeah, it's interesting how divisive fans tend to be on the Rami films, even though they were the ones to pretty much start it all.
Felix
Yeah, dude. Pretty much all super hero movies owe it all to the Rami films.
The MCU might not have even happened if it wasn't for Rami's Spider-Man showing us all that there is even a good market for this type of genre.
Conan
Yeah, that's kinda true.
Troye
Yeah that's kinda interesting because a lot of super hero movies really weren't worth anything until Spider-Man came along.
Like, even Tim Burton's Batman was considered niche back then.
Yugyeom
Yeah, I remember Michael Keaton even said didn't he, that he didn't want Batman on his resume because he was worried people would think less of him because of it.
Conan
Wait, did he really?
Felix
Yeah, Super hero movies were a whole different ball park back then.
Stuff like Superman, Superman returns?
It was seen as cringe by the general public back in the day.
It definitely wasn't the huge, cinematic blockbuster guarantee that these films are today.
And Hollywood, funnily enough tried their best to avoid them.
Mark
Yeah, I just think it's funny because everyone I ever talk to about these films, the Rami trilogy, either loves them unconditionally, or hates the ever loving crap out of them.
There's rarely an in-between.
Yugyeom
Really? People hate Spider-Man 2?
Mark
Not so much Spider-Man 2, but I think Spider-Man 3 left such a bad taste in people's mouths that it left a serious negative look on the trilogy as a whole, y'know?
Like everyone you talk to, you even mention Rami, the very first thing they think of it that scene of Emo Peter dancing in the street.
Y'know what I mean?
Conan
Yeah... I know what you're getting at.
Troye
I have to admit actually, that was the 'very first thing' that popped into my mind when you mentioned Rami actually.
-Felix giggles-
Mark
Yeah, that's the thing. That one scene, hell that one image is 'so' burned into peoples minds that it's 'literally' the first thing anybody ever thinks about when Sam Rami is 'ever' mentioned.
Yugyeom
Honestly, I don't even mind Spider-Man 3 to be totally honest.
A lot of people hated it to death, but there was a lot of good moments that came out of that movie as well.
Conan
The Sandman scene.
Yugyeom
Exactly! Yeah. What else...?
Troye
Dude. That scene alone with Sandman deserves an Oscar.
I so wish that was it's own separate movie, and wasn't tied with the absolute mess of a plot that was Spider-Man 3.
Felix
Yeah they really would of benefited from keeping Venom to his own movie quite frankly.
Mark
Yeah, I think it's kinda funny how badly Sony desperately wants to make Venom a thing.
They always push so hard to include Venom wherever they can and even give him his own cinematic franchise, y'know?
Yugyeom
Venom 3's literally out right this second at the time of recording this.
Mark
Right. Yeah.
Has anyone here seen Venom 3?
I know it has mixed reviews.
Conan
I haven't.
Felix
Not yes, but if I have a lot of free time to kill, I might try and talk Han into going with me to see it.
Yugyeom
Yeah I'm gonna pass actually.
Like you I saw the mixed reviews and I'm like, "Do I really wanna waste my time when there's so much else on right now?"
I mean, Gladiator II comes out next week I think, and I kinda would rather go see that in Imax instead to be honest.
Mark
Yeah, it's kinda a hell of a thing when you know going in that the film is going to be 'mid' at best, y'know?
It's like, do I even wanna waste my time and money on this? Y'know?
Troye
Unlike Joker 2, where we were all duped into going to see it thinking it was going to be good.
Conan
God, the whiplash from that movie, oh my 'God'!
Troye
That was 2 hours of my lie I'm never going to get back.
Mark
Exactly, yeah.
If you know going in that the films gonna be 'mid' at best then it's like, "why even bother", y'know what I mean?
Felix
Yeah, I do.
Yugyeom
What is it with Sony constantly dropping these Spider-Man spin-off movies that nobody asked for anyway?
I mean, we have 3 Venom films that are 'mid' at best.
Morbius fucking sucked.
Madame Web!
Mark
Yeah I think Sony is just really banking hard on building up this cinematic universe around Spider-Man, because, let's face it.
Spider-Man is really the only movie franchise Sony has that actually works, y'know?
Troye
Yeah, it's funny to think that-...
-Door opens-
Jin
Oh, shit! Sorry!
I didn't know you guys were recording today. [40% volume]
Yugyeom
Hey Jin!
Jin
Hey. Sorry. [40% volume]
Mark
Yeah. Did you need the studio room?
Jin
No. Sorry. I had some voice actors with me, we were gonna record a comedy skit.
I can use the studio next door. It's no problem.
Sorry guys [40% volume]
Mark
It's no problem.
Yugyeom
Bye Jin.
Jin
Bye. Sorry everyone. [40% volume]
-Door shut-
Mark
Uhh, Sorry. You were saying Troye?
Troye
Uhhh... right.
Yeah, I was just saying that it's funny to think that at one point, Sony had an opportunity to purchase the whole of Marvel, but they chose instead, to settle 'Just' for Spider-Man.
I just think it's really interesting they could of owned all of Marvel but chose not to.
Y'know what I mean?
Mark
Yeah. It's like what Felix said earlier, how Superhero movies were seen differently back then.
So Sony probably saw the possibility of an MCU being a disaster, rather than a successful multi-million dollar franchise.
Felix
It's funny to think, right?
Conan
It's probably for the best though.
I mean, can you imagine if Sony owned Marvel instead of Disney?
The Avengers films, Ant-man, Guardians of the Galaxy?
It probably never would of happened.
Mark
Yeah. It's funny to think though.
If it wasn't for Sony buying Spider-Man and making that a success, it probably wouldn't anyway.
Disney would have never wanted to buy Marvel in the first place.
Yugyeom
Scary to think, right?
Troye
Yeah that's exactly my point.
Sony not wanting to buy the MCU, ironically kinda helped create the MCU, in a strange way.
Mark
Spooky.
So anyway, Conan.
Let's hear your favourite Spider-Man film.
Conan
For me it's gotta be 'Far From Home'.
Mark
Really?
Conan
Yeah. It's actually a really funny story.
I was down in Prague visiting some friends and we decided to go see a movie.
Spider-Man Far From Home was showing so we decided to go see it.
Turns out the film actually takes place right where we were. Right literally next to where my hotel was actually.
And I was like, Oh my God! We were literally 'right there', y'know?
It was 'such' a head trip!
-Mark laughs-
Conan
So yeah, No Way Home is my favourite movie.
Mark
Right. So-...
Conan
Oh, sorry. 'Far' From Home I meant to say.
Mark
Gotchu.
Uhhh, Troye? How about you?
Troye
Funnily enough, it 'is' No Way Home actually.
That film truly was 'peak' MCU Spider-Man.
Mark
Yeah, it's really funny to think actually.
Even though he's only had 3 films, Tom Holland has technically been playing Spider-Man longer than any of the main actors.
Yugyeom
Including Civil War and Avengers, I'm assuming?
Mark
Yeah. When you think about it.
We've technically had 6 films with Holland now.
4 with Tobey Maguire and 3 with Andrew Garfield.
So that kinda makes Tom Holland the longest running Spider-Man.
In the films at least.
Felix
Yeah it's kinda interesting how mixed the fan base was on accepting Holland in the role of Spider-Man.
Some were completely on board for it, others hated it for not being faithful to the source material.
Yugyeom
Well for me, as someone who loves the Rami Spider-Man universe, I think it kinda says a lot when Rami can get across in 3 films what took Disney 6.
I mean, here's a Spider-Man that I know everything about. I know his backstory, his personal life, his friends, his trauma.
All clearly given in 3 whole movies.
Where as Disney took the opposite approach and made Spider-Man a kid who's trying to get in with the Avengers and who's constantly taking a back seat to other super heroes like Iron-Man and Doctor Strange.
And it's like, why is Spider-Man being forced to take a back seat and play sidekick in 'his own' superhero movies, y'know what I mean?
Like, even Mark Webb, kinda got across exactly all I needed to know about Spider-Man in one single movie.
Conan
Are you talking about Amazing Spider-Man?
Yugyeom
Yeah.
Troye
Yeah, I think that's what makes No Way Home so great though, is that, even thought it has all these villains.
Even though it has Doctor Strange and all these other cameos in it. You still feel, first and foremost, that this is Hollands Movie.
Like, even without all these other characters, you can still be fine getting sucked into the drama, because you've had 6 different movies in the MCU to get used to these characters and identify with them.
Mark
Yeah, I think that's what threw me off about Spider-Man Homecoming actually.
Because, as you mentioned, drama. It 'felt' like I was watching a teen drama more than anything else.
It felt more like a teen rom com with Super powers rather than anything Spider-Man related, y'know?
Yugyeom
Totally. I felt the same way.
Like, these films are good, don't get me wrong, they are.
But... I just hate Spider-Man having to play second fiddle to Iron-Man in his 'own' movie, y'know?
It just feels like an insult to the character 'and' to the audience who were really excited to see it.
Mark
Yeah... Uhhh, Felix?
Felix
So... I'm surprised none of you have even mentioned the Spider-Verse films yet.
Mark
I was just getting to that actually and I'm glad you brought it up.
Let's talk about the Spider-Verse movies, shall we?
Felix
Yeah, so. For me, Into the Spider-Verse is 'easily' my favourite Spider-Man movie.
Here's a film that came 'completely' out of nowhere. Was animated, stylish, incredibly funny and had me and everyone else completely engaged from start to finish.
That 2 hour running length, you don't even notice it.
Just... brilliant all around movie.
And, especially in a day and age where most people were so quick to write off traditional animation all together as a dying format.
Just... wow. Perfect film.
10 out of 10.
I just love it.
Mark
Wow... Yeah, I feel ya man, and I agree completely.
The Spider-Verse films really were something else entirely.
Yugyeom
Love every moment of it.
Troye
Yeah, I do as well.
I for one cannot 'wait' for Beyond the Spider-Verse.
I am edging to see that, day one if I can, easily.
Mark
I really hope it lives up to the hype.
Yugyeom
Yeah. Dude I remember your face the way Across the Spider-Verse ended.
You were like, "What!?" "What the hell!?!"
I could not stop laughing.
-Conan laughs-
Mark
Yeah, well I went into this not knowing it was leading to another sequel.
I thought we were lucky we were even able to get a second film and I was like, "How are they gonna top it?"
I had no idea going in that this was gonna end on such a massive cliff-hanger. I really didn't.
Felix
You gotta admit that's a pretty ballsey move on Sony's part though, right?
I mean, if Beyond the Spider-Verse doesn't live up to the hype, that's gonna be such a huge let-down.
Conan
Yeah.
Felix
It might even ruin people's opinions of the first two films as a whole, which scares me quite honestly.
Yugyeom
Have faith man, have faith.
Felix
Yeah but, man... We have "so" much riding on Beyond the Spider-Verse to knock it out of the park.
There's so much riding on this film, it's insane!
Troye
That's the thing though, isn't it.
The first film never ended on a cliff-hanger so there was no pressure to get a sequel out and make it succeed the original.
Like when this film, Across the Spider-Verse came out I was like, "What? They're making another one?"
I mean, I'm glad but... the first film wrapped up so perfectly.
Yugyeom
Yeah that scene at the end where Gwen was calling to Miles, that could of just as easily been her calling him to that end credit afterparty sequence and not to set up another movie or anything.
Felix
Yeah.
Conan
I'm glad these films exist.
Felix
Me too. It's just, Ahhh! I want Beyond the Spider-Verse to be "so good!" Y'know?
Mark
We all do.
Yugyeom
Mark. What about you?
You haven't told us your favourite film yet.
Mark
Honestly, it's gonna surprise you because it's not actually a film.
But for me personally, I really love the PlayStation Spider-Man games by Insomniac.
Yugyeom
Oh my God. I love those games!
Mark
Yeah. For me, the Insomniac portrayal of these characters is just 'Peak' Spider-Man, y'know?
From the character portrayals, the excellent writing, the amazing stories in each game.
Dude, even the world itself is just gorgeous to look at.
Plenty of Spider-Man games have done an open world New York before, but Insomniacs Spider-Man is just next level, y'know?
It really is.
Yugyeom
Love every minute of it. Have you Platinumed these games?
Mark
No, not yet. Hoping to at some point though.
Felix
That's actually interesting you brought that up though, because that's the only version of Spider-Man I can think of where they recast the lead actor after the first games success, and even went as far as to replace him in the updated remaster of the same game.
Like, what do you make of that?
Did that bother you in any way?
Mark
Honestly, It didn't.
I thought it was weird at first, and even their explanation as to why they chose to do it was a little weird.
But honestly, by the time I got to Spider-Man 2 it was a non issue for me.
I was completely sold on Ben Jordan as Spider-Man.
Yugyeom
And Yuri Lowenthal.
Mark
Yeah.
Troye
It's actually kinda weird though when you think about it.
Because, you technically have two lead actors both portraying Spider-Man side by side.
Ben Jordan as you said, but also Yuri Lowenthal doing the voice.
Dude, I can't think of any other version of Spider-Man where there's actually two completely separate actors both portraying the same character, both being the lead protagonist and both selling me on the exact same performance.
It's crazy!
Felix
Strange times we live in, man.
Strange times indeed.
-Conan laughs-
Mark
Yeah it's actually really bizzare how well facial animations in video games have become now.
Because, it used to be back in the day, the actor who was providing his likeness was also doing the voice, 'and' in most cases the mocap work as well.
Conan
Like LA Noire.
Yugyeom
Those old Getaway games on PS2.
Mark
Yeah.
But now they don't even need to do that. They can have completely different actors come in to voice the characters, have completely different models come in for face capture and still have different stunt men do the mocap work, and you don't even notice.
Like, take the Mortal Kombat games for example, by Neverrealm Studios.
Troye
Yeah, speaking of LA Noire, I remember the way the characters would talk in that game and interact with you.
And, just the way it never really looked like their heads were fully attached to their bodies, it was "so" uncanny valley to me. It freaked me out quite honestly.
-Conan laughs-
Troye
It almost looked like everyone in 1940's Hollywood was possessed by aliens, y'know?
Mark
Yeah.
So guys, that's gonna do it for todays episode. I'm looking at the clock, we kinda have to wrap it up unfortunately.
Conan
Ahh, bummer.
Mark
Yeah, I'm sorry.
But hey, a big thank you for you, Felix, for coming onto the show and discussing Spider-Man with us.
Felix
It was no problem at all.
I was kinda hoping we could mention Spider-Man Lotus as well, but ahh, next time maybe?
Mark
Yeah, next time, definitely.
So guys, thank you so much for tuning in. Hopefully you'll join us again next time where we hope to get Han Jisung on the show with us to talk about the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie that's coming out in December.
Should be a lot of fun.
Yugyeom
Ahh, can't wait. Keanu Reeves is gonna be in that movie as Shadow. So excited.
Mark
Yeah, me too.
But anyway, after that we have 'Jin from BTS', who's actually the sponsor of this entire podcast.
He really wants to come onto the show to talk about The Matrix Franchise.
After that we have both I.N. from Stray Kids and Taehyung from BTS both in to discuss all things Studio Ghibli. Should be really interesting.
Then we have Christ Bang and Lee Know in for a later episode, and finally, Lee Taemin from Shiney [Shinee] and Jimin from BTS for our grande finale.
I can't wait.
Conan
Can't wait.
Mark
So guys, thank you so much to you all, and until next time guys, take care.
Felix
Bye everyone.
Yugyeom
Bye.
Troye
Thanks guys.
Conan
Byeeeeeeee!
Mark
Bye guys.
-outtro music plays-
