When the Terminator tried to save the planet

Rewind to 30 July–5 August 2006, when The Terminator went green, YouTube discovered the secret to going viral and one of sport's greatest victories started falling apart almost as quickly as it happened.

🌍 The Governator goes green
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tony Blair teamed up to tackle climate change in what might be the most unexpected political crossover of the 2000s. One brought international diplomacy, the other brought catchphrases. Together they promised to "terminate pollution" long before climate action became front-page politics.

🚴 From yellow jersey to red flag
Fresh off one of the greatest comeback rides in Tour de France history, Floyd Landis found himself facing a positive testosterone test that would eventually strip him of cycling's biggest prize. Turns out the biggest twist wasn't on the mountain stage.

🎤 Top of the Pops drops the mic
After 42 years, more than 2,200 episodes and countless mimed performances, Britain's most iconic music show aired its final regular episode. An institution that launched pop careers quietly signed off as music television began giving way to the internet.

🏃 Four treadmills changed the internet
OK Go's Here It Goes Again proved you didn't need explosions or million-dollar budgets to make history. Just one camera, perfect timing and a choreography routine that every office worker immediately overestimated their ability to recreate.

🍸 One arrest, one rant, one career-changing moment
Mel Gibson's drink-driving arrest became one of Hollywood's biggest PR disasters after his shocking comments to police made headlines around the world. Celebrity scandals would never quite be handled the same way again.

📺 Being D-list suddenly became A-list television
Kathy Griffin's My Life on the D-List premiered and turned celebrity desperation into Emmy-winning reality TV. Before influencers overshared for a living, Kathy was happily making a career out of not being quite famous enough.

🎬 Cinema served cops and couch surfers
Miami Vice brought Michael Mann's stylish reboot of the iconic TV series to cinemas, while You, Me and Dupree asked one very important question: how long before you'd kick Owen Wilson out of your spare room?

Hang with us on socials to chat more noughties nostalgia - Facebook (@tminus20) or Instagram (tminus20podcast). You can also contact us there if you want to be a part of the show.

Transcript

Transcript is auto generated. 

The year is 2006. We head to the hills and learn reality is scripted. Your Sony Cyber Shot uploads 462 blurry regrets. A Facebook poke makes everything complicated. And Twitter's like, cool story, you've got 140 characters. Go. T-minus 20. Rewind 20 years with Joe and Mel. Week of 13 July 2006. T-minus 20. Bringing sexy back. I want to forgive you. T-minus 20. I hate this long decent relationship. And I want to forget you. You have no style or some possession. This is a beauty. This is very nice. Yeah, boys. Remember when the internet still felt like the Wild West? When celebrities could derail their careers between the front door and the car? And everyone genuinely thought treadmill music videos were the most impressive thing they'd ever seen. This is T-minus 20, the podcast that rewinds to the exact same week 20 years ago, unpacking the biggest news, pop culture moments, and wonderfully weird stories that shaped the mid-2000s with your host, Joe and Mel. Hello, Mel. 

Hello. So yes, we bring you nostalgia with hindsight, a few rabbit holes, and just enough sarcasm to remind you why we survived the era of low-rice jeans. 

And the era we're looking at, 2006, what's the week? 

30th of July to the 5th of August. 

I should know that, right? Should know. If he needs a job and wants a job in Hollywood, I get him to play Germinator 4. I mean, anything is available. that is definitely the best offer I've had. Actually, the sad thing is it's the only offer I've had. Arnold Schwarzenegger laughing it up with Tony Blair there. What A mismatch. 

They hashtag collabed on climate change this time 20 years ago. 

That's right. You thought him teaming up with Danny DeVito was weird. I guess a few days after the tour when I was told about that positive test, I think I would have told the truth right then. Everything else, I'd do it all again. It was worth stealing for winning the race. It was worth cheating for winning the race. The Tour de France we're talking about. 

Yes, and it's not Lance. 

No, it's a bloke by the name of Floyd Landis who completed one of the greatest comeback victories in Tour de France history. Did he? Only to test positive to drugs. Hello, and welcome to the very last Top of the Pops. 40 years, 42 years, I think it was. Top of the Pops was on TV and it all ended this time 20 years ago. Well, there was also that little band, OK Go, that reinvented music videos. Yes, I remember that. Kind of. It was the crossover between the five. I mean, they were TikTok before TikTok. 

I think it was the first video clip to ever go viral. 

Yes, those stories and more. This week on T-minus 20. 

And speaking of viral, we talked last week about how, well I did, how I'm trying to stay off social media by reading books at night time. I also came across a really cool idea, ironically on social media before I stopped looking at social media. It's the concept of turning your mobile phone into a landline. Which I love. 

Hey, you can't. It's a mobile phone. It's not tethered to anything. 

You're kind of treating it like that in your own mind. Oh, so it's a psychological thing. Yeah, there was this woman on TikTok and she went and put a sticky thing on the wall, like a little holder. She plugged a phone into its charger and sat it in the holder. And the rule was, if she wanted to use her mobile phone, she had to treat it like the old landline that used to sit on the wall with the curly cord. 

Yeah. 

And you have to stand at the wall. 

Right. 

And then you can only use it while you're standing at the wall. And when you're done, you hang it back up as you would the landline. 

So you'd like stand in between the kitchen and, you know, it was. 

You put it on the wall in the kitchen. Yeah, next to the kitchen. 

In between the kitchen and the dining area or the kitchen and then the. 

Houses used to have a little phone, Alco. 

Where was it? Yeah, they did. 

My parents still do. 

I remember at my grandmother's house, it was in the hallway, the phone was in the hallway. 

Yeah, you'd have the hallway in the kitchen, but there was a little, there was a little nook for the phone. And then lots of them, ours had a little table with a bit underneath where you'd put the Rolodex with everyone's phone number. 

Yeah, the phone numbers. My Nana's had the little table, but then a little chair. 

Yeah, we had a chair. 

A little chair. It was more of a stool than a chair. 

But as kids, because was that long curly cord. We'd lie on the floor and hold it up to our ears and mum would be like, get off the floor while you're on the floor. 

So that was in the hallway of the house. That was an older house. 

And then it kind of. 

Migrated to the kitchen, in the kitchen sort of dining area where a lot of the work is happening in the house. 

So she stuck this little holder on the wall and she put her phone in it, plugged in the charger. 

Was it a curly cord? 

Well, this is where it gets interesting. So she did a very lo-fi version, but people were loving it. That is such a good idea. 

Also, it's your patent. You got to pay. 

So basically, it's like locking, you know how you can buy those boxes where you lock your phone up? Yeah, It's kind of that concept. It's that that's where the phone lives. And if you want to use it, you've got to stand over in the phone room. 

Because you have no control over your faculties or your physical faculties. I don't know. You can't you can't physically restrain yourself from picking up your phone. 

But this is the thing. It was it resonated with a lot of people. And I really like the idea because if my phone is near me, I will. 

It's a mind muscle thing, isn't it? 

I will look at it. 

It's a muscle memory thing. 

And I don't realize that I'm looking at it. 

Yeah, and then you're like, what am I doing? I understand. 

So I love it when I plug my phone into my charger because it's nowhere near me. So it's that kind of concept. And it resonated with so many people that there's actually this Kickstarter here. 

Oh my goodness. 

Who, and you asked about the curly cord? 

There is a curly cord. 

It's a little holder that goes on the wall. It's aesthetically pleasing because that's what I didn't like about this woman's. It was just some kind of command. plastic holder. It looked ugly. And I was like, that's too ugly. 

Yeah. 

So now this company, this Kickstarter has created one. You can choose whatever color you like. It's like a little hook thing and it's charger. So the charger that you plug into your phone has a curly cord. So it actually looks like. 

You've got a phone on the wall. Yes. But it's a new phone with an old school. 

But it's your mobile phone. So it's not like you could be angry and like slam the phone down like you did in the olden days. 

No, basically smashing that $2,000 computer that you outlaid money for probably on a two-year your finance plan? 

Isn't that a fabulous idea? 

I think it is. 

Can we buy this one? It's a kick starter. 

That one, that's a really long curly cord. So they've obviously got a teenager who's going to take that extra long cord and stretch it all the way in their room. 

Well, because you don't have to tell a secret. You'd have to see how far you can stretch the cord away from the kitchen because, you know, mum's cooking dinner in the kitchen. She always hears secrets if you're too close. 

It just becomes a little bit counter-intuitive, doesn't it? Because then you're eventually going to want to have that longer cord so you can get away. and have a private conversation. What's next? We're going to turn our mobile phones into fax machines. 

Oh, that'd be great. 

Would it though? Would it really? 

I used to love, I used to love fax machines. 

Did you? 

Yeah, I had one at my first job. 

Because it's like it's printing something that's come from somewhere else. 

It's coming from somewhere. This is amazing. I liked it when people would ring the fax machine instead of dialing the phone number, they'd ring the fax machine. And you'd be standing at the fax machine, you'd hear this voice go, hello. 

Underneath, yeah, that was great, wasn't it? No, you've run the facts. We're all about facts here on this show, like facts, not facts machines, facts. It sounds the same. It's different. It's a hatches, matches, and dispatches clue. That's the fact that we're dealing with right now. The little segment that we do at the end of the show, the births, deaths, and marriages. We had a celebrity birthday. 

Yeah, just a birthday. 

Just sort of fall back on a birthday. A celebrity having a birthday that said this. So say from whence you owe this strange intelligence. Or else why upon this place do you stop thy breath with such prophetic greeting? 

Speak, I charge you. 

Forsooth, verily. We'll find out who that is at the end of the show. 

31st of July, 2006, and we had a very unlikely pairing. One was Britain's Prime Minister, the other was the Terminator. They decided to team up to fight climate change. 

Twins too. They couldn't get Danny DeVito, so they got Tony Blair. 

They got Tony Blair. California had just begun introducing some of the world's toughest emissions laws at this stage. The US federal government on George W. Bush, however, opposed the Kyoto Protocol, while Tony Blair, over the other side, was trying to keep climate change high on the global agenda. So on the 31st of July 2006, Blair travels to California, meets the governator, and they sign an agreement to cooperate on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We see that there is not great leadership from the federal government when it comes to protecting the environment. 

So this is why we as a state move forward with it, because we want to show leadership. 

The evidence of climate change and its danger is overwhelming. I think it is very hard now for anyone to dispute it. I wouldn't like to be the political leader when in 15, 20, 30 years' time, people look. 

Back and say, well, what on earth were they doing at this time? There was the evidence and they didn't act. I feel like Tony's just, because he's followed George Bush into the depths of hell around the Iraq War and stuff, and he's just like, Oh, look, enough's enough, mate. I'm not I'm not going down with you on the climate change one, OK? 

I've had enough. I'm done. 

I'm going to go and speak to Arnold Schwarzenegger, and we're just going to do our thing. 

Because people are going to be talking about us in 15, 20 years. People are like us, and he's going, What were they doing? 

Yeah, and then Schwarzenegger, I think, coined the phrase, Germinate pollution. 

I liked it when he said leadership. It reminded me of that, don't be your leadership. 

He's got him. He's got him. That's right. I mean, California was definitely acting a bit rogue. Yeah, they were quite loose comparatively, weren't they? Little climate diplomat over there. 

Yeah, Look, it didn't directly reduce emissions overnight. 

And so Blair was like, well, I'm not going to wait for Washington. I'll just. Treat California is my partner. They represent enough of America for me at the moment. That's where Hollywood is. 

That'll do. 

Yeah, exactly. 

While it didn't reduce the emissions, it ended up being surprisingly influential because it helped legitimise this idea that... states and regions could lead on policy, even when the national government disagrees. So you could go rogue. You could go a bit loose unit for the greater good. And I think California wasn't just another state. It was acting almost like its own kind of climate diplomat. 

And you got to remember, like a week ago, we were talking about this massive heat wave. 

Exactly. 

So I mean, it's great timing from a, the optics are good. The optics are good for these two guys to get together and say, we're going to fight climate change after, you know, Several reports of between 1 and 600 people died last week in America in 2006 from a heat wave. 

And Blair's effectively treating California as a global partner instead of waiting for Washington to come to the party. And it helped build momentum for California's landmark climate law, which came into effect two months later, which was the AB32 Global Warming Solutions Act, which committed California to reducing emissions back to 1990. levels by 2020. 

Yeah, that's pretty impressive. 

Quite progressive for the time. 

Indeed. And it's very interesting in the context of today, because I mean, Schwarzenegger has now become probably one of the world's most influential climate politicians. And I mean, he's a Republican governor during Bush's presidency, pushing aggressive emission reductions, which is flying in the face of probably a lot of other people that are on his side, while working with Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair. Big deal. And Blair nowadays, I mean, he runs the Blair Institute and is still very active commenting on climate policy. 

And Schwarzenegger as well is still heavily involved in environmental campaigns. 

Yes. 

And I think California is one of the major leaders in the world on on climate policy. 

That's extraordinary. 

And the agreement that they made back 20 years ago is often cited as an early example of this sub-national climate cooperation. So go Arnie. 

What an awesome superhero team up. And I think, I feel like it warrants a trailer. In a world where carbon emissions are rising and politicians keep holding meetings. One man had the policy, the other had the pecs. I really can't sustain the trial of voice. Tony Blair, Arnold Schwarzenegger. This summer, they're putting the green in greenhouse gases. Arnold, the planet can't wait. Then let's terminate pollution. Together, they'll face big oil, gas guzzlers, SUV drivers who reverse into every parking space, and their deadliest enemy yet, the Carbonator. Half coal-fired power station, half evil genius, all emissions. You'll never stop fossil fuels. You're full of hot air. Featuring one international treaty, three awkward diplomatic photo opportunities, and enough renewable energy to power a medium-sized village. We need global cooperation. I'll be back with solar panels. This August, saving the planet is no longer optional. It's Climate Force. Rated PG for mild emissions. Come with me if you want to. Recycle. That was exhausting. I feel like I've run a marathon or perhaps even ridden a Tour de France. 

Oh, yes. Oh, that's lucky because that's what was happening 20 years ago on the 27th of July. Well, no, I think the Tour de France had finished by this stage, but we had some results come through, some testing results that weren't so great because cycling thought it had found its new hero. Lance Armstrong, he's retired. It still hasn't been found guilty. 

Not yet, no. 

But conveniently has retired. I've had enough now. I'm just going to nap for a bit. I'm going to take my wins and off I go. So Floyd Landis becomes the new hero of the Tour de France for about four days. 

Yes, four days. 

About 4 days. So Lance is retired. There's lots of scandals. And then Floyd does the Tour de France and Mount's one of the greatest comeback stages in tour history. 

He made up like 10 minutes of time on the 17th stage. He lost. Unheard of. Like 10 minutes. He made up 10 minutes of time on that stage. So, I mean, that's a lot of juice. Do you know, that's what I think anyway. He won as a result too after that big comeback on the 17th stage. He won it. And then officials announced that he tested positive for unusually high testosterone levels, he, in a press conference, insists that the result was natural and denies cheating. I declare convincingly and categorically that my winning the Tour de France has been exclusively due to many years of training and my complete devotion to cycling, to the sacrifice of an entire life to carry out my dream, a dream of thousands of kilometres that I have completed through an absolute respect to the cleanness of this sport. My physiologic parameters of testosterone and epi-testosterone are high, as of those of any other sportsman, and in special cases, as in mine, for natural reasons, this level is higher still. I think that was Lance Armstrong calling you. 

I could have got a better ringtone. 

He's like, have you got any gear, mate? 

There was a little bit of a stumble around there too. It's like, oh mate, not buying it, not sounding confident to you. That wasn't good. 

I think the phone calls. 

And what were the other, what were the other reasons as to why your testosterone was higher than everyone else's? 

Because I'm more of a man. 

Tell us the reason. 

I'm more of a man than anyone else in the race. That's why I'm more man than you. My testosterone levels are naturally high. Of course I didn't cheat. I've just got big balls. 

So that happened on the 27th. Then on the 5th of August, he has a second sample, his B sample. 

Yeah. 

Also testing positive. 

B for big balls. 

Or big amounts of testosterone, strengthening the case against him. He spends over a year fighting the charges, arguing. 

I'm innocent of the charges. 

Arguing that the French lab made mistakes, terrible mistakes. He was raising millions of dollars for his legal defence. Then on the 20th of September 2007, a panel upholds the doping finding. The same day he is officially stripped of his Tour de France title. And the victory then goes to a guy from Spain called Oscar. 

Yeah, Oscar from Spain. He was not a drug cheat. 

No. 

Apparently. 

In 2008, he appeals. 

He didn't test positive anyway. 

He appeals the Court of Arbitration for sport and loses making the decision final. Then he is. 

This stuff confuses me. 

Years later, he fights this. 

You know you've done the wrong thing, you spend so much time fighting it. 

He fights it for over a year and then he launches an appeal and he does this, he does it years later, he's like, oh yeah, I did it. 

Yeah, I did it. And not only does he say he did it, but he's like, and I'd do it again. I guess a few days after the tour when I was told about that positive test, like I think I would have told the truth right then. Everything else, I'd do it all again. It was worth doing for winning the race. That's right. It was worth doing for winning. What a role model. 

But he said the only thing he'd do differently is admit, but then he wouldn't have won the race anyway. And he didn't win the race. It got taken off him. So it just doesn't make sense. 

I mean, he still won the race. But he cheated. 

But he didn't. He got the title taken off him. So therefore he did not win. 

For 4 days. But those four days. Those 4 days were incredible. Those 4 days were great. Especially when he was on that big testosterone high. You know, he was just running around like a barbarian because he was so hepped up on his own hormones. 

His stage 17 comeback is still considered. And I don't know why, but it's still considered one of cycling's greatest, too good to be true performances. 

Because it was too good to be true. 

Mark's another devastating blow for cycling's credibility. His later confession helped expose the broader doping scandal within the community and paves the way for stricter programs. So you know how they did the The what were they called? The games where you could take the drugs recently. 

The drug games. 

Was that what they were called? 

I don't know. It might as well have been. The enhanced. They called it the enhanced game. 

Did they have cycling? 

Yeah, probably. 

I'd love to see what happened there. 

Yeah, well, cycling. You know, it was basically the Tour de France. Tour de France from 20 years ago. Anyway, it was funny because in 2010 he accuses Lance Armstrong. Does he? Yeah. That's right. Lance, after he's in 20, he got, because the suspension all that happened in 2010. He's like, well, Lance Armstrong did it too. I may not do it again, but go and have a chat to him. Go and see what's going on over there. It's all connected. It's all very sus, isn't it? 

Is. And I mean, Lance has said it a few times as well. It's like, well, it wasn't just me. It's wonder how prevalent it actually was. 

Yeah, it's the performance enhancing drugs versus the party drugs. with the athletes as well. I mean, if an athlete tests positive to party drugs, generally they're not performance enhancing, I would think. 

No. 

So maybe they should be rewarded. You mean to say you stayed up all night taking pingers? 

Oh, you have Lance's Tour de France medal, well done. 

And then you still managed to make 10 minutes on that leg that you lost all that time. Well, it was a pingers, wasn't it? Well, yes, but I mean also like I'm really dehydrated. I need a chupa chup and I've grinded my teeth down to nubs. 

Let's start. Well, UK, Australia, same #1 this week. 

Oh, really? It is too. God. She's not going anywhere for a while, is she? Maybe she will next week. I don't know. Shakira, hips don't lie, #1, barnstorming the charts. 

And over in the US. 

It's going down, leave me in the mall It's going down, leave me in the club, it's going down I know I'm on the line, my hips don't lie. 

And I'm starting to feel it's right All the attraction, intention Don't you see, baby, this is protection. 

Now, I've been waiting, waiting Think I wanna make. 

That move Now, baby, tell me if you like it Tell me if you like it. 

I think you're crazy crazy I think you're crazy promiscuous girl whatever you are I'm all alone and it's you that I want promiscuous boy you already know that I'm all what you waiting for That is exactly the same top five as last week over in the States. 

Well, maybe I just didn't update it. No, I think it was meant to be the same. No, I think it was. 

I haven't known any different. What is it? Nelly #1, Niles Barclay #2, Cassie at #3, Shakira at #4, and then Young Jock is going down at #5. 

I don't think that's his heritage. 

Well, his name's Young Jock. Lean into it. 

Number 5. So let's go over to music news. On the 30th of July, after 42 years, Britain's most famous music show quietly plays its final song, Top of the Pops. 

Yeah, and so this is an institution, well, 40, 42 years, like you were saying, lots of different hosts. It's kind of, it's hard to look back at the final episode of Top of the Pops because Jimmy Savile is all over it. Jimmy Savile was one of the hosts of Top of the Pops at the time. So, and you heard a little bit of it in the intro, unfortunately, but there's no getting away from the fact that he was there. But there was a great performance on that final episode by Niles Barkley. I love that because he was dressed up as like a flight captain and all the backup singers were dressed up as cabin crew and the musicians were all dressed up as like pilots and stuff as well. It was very, it was very cool performance. But yeah, the final episode of Top of the Pops launched in 1964. 

And it was. Everyone was on it. 

Everyone. You name a famous music artist from that era, from 1964 onwards that was in the charts anywhere, they would have appeared on Top of the Pops. 

More than 2,000 episodes. The final number one song, surprise, surprise, Shakira's Zips Don't Live, who just played it a minute ago. It did define pop culture today and it launched generations of British music careers. Many iconic live performances, which we found out in later years, were actually mimed. Some of them, yeah. We all believed they were live. 

Well, some, I mean, that one of Niles Barclay's one was then. I can remember when Iron Maiden were on there and they all just swapped instruments and started running around engaging in horseplay on the stage. They just, they were just like, if we're not playing live, we're not taking this seriously. 

And so they didn't. 

Yeah, exactly. But there were a lot of artists that would do that, would protest. I don't know if it was on Top of the Pops. I'd like to think it might have been, but maybe it was the Mamas and the Papas. And if it started in 1964, this story probably lines up. But I've seen a video of the Mamas and the Papas and it's, oh no, it wasn't Top of the Pops. It was, which kind of ruins it. was the Ed Sullivan show, but a similar thing where it was Michelle Phillips from the Mamas and the Papas. And she very famously ate a banana. in the middle of the lip-syncing when they're all seen, she just peeled the banana and started eating it. But there's, it's in the spirit of that sort of stuff, but that also happened on Top of the Pops. I digress. Sorry about that. 

But yeah, it never... No, it never returned. I think sometimes, occasionally there were a few Christmas specials over the years, a few compilation CDs were brought out. But we do see clips going viral now from a nostalgia point of view. You do see them popping up on social media from time to time. 

I do hate that though, because then you get, but you get like 10 to 15 seconds of it and then you're like, where can I find the full one? And it's just like, it's all in, it's all piecemeal. It's like a fragment of history, which is frustrating. And that's kind of like. how people consume music now, though, in fragments. I mean, now that you don't have TV shows like Top of the Pops or Heaven Forbid Countdown or Sound. 

Hey, it's Saturday. That's where I first discovered 5. I remember watching 5 perform and going, who are they? 

It's so limited now, right? It's so limited. So you find it, you get it in fragments on social media platforms like TikTok, which is just gross. And you never get the full version of a song. How do you know it's good if you only get like a small part of it? 

And how would you have watched OK Go's music video from the 31st of July going viral on a short TikTok clip? You would not get the full effects. 

But here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again. Oh, here it goes again. I should have known, should have known, should have known again. But here it goes again. No, you wouldn't get the full effect, but I do think that this particular song and this particular music video is a precursor for the way this stuff is consumed now, because this was the first real example, I think, of a music video and a viral video being rolled into one. And this is the song you heard it then. This is where they did the choreography on the treadmills. 

Four treadmills, one camera, no CGI. 

One take, right? Yeah, one take. 

Well, I mean, there were a few goes at it before getting the take. YouTube is barely a year old at this stage. Music labels are still figuring out what this means for video clips as well. 

Because it didn't cost anything. 

And how does it work? We're used to rage and video hits and MTV and other clips sort of shows. What does this mean now with this YouTube thing? How do we monetize this? 

A treadmill took my job. 

I remember we watched this on the work computer, not the house computer. I remember watching this one at work. 

When it came out. My first experience of this film clip was on a computer. It wasn't on the TV. 

Yeah, it was at work. I was working at Prime at the time and we just sat there watching it going, how did they do that? And so then you'd have to watch it again. I think we watched it over and over just trying to figure out. How in the heck these guys did this thing on the treadmill? 

And this is, I think, where the song becomes secondary to the video because OK Go are like, we're on to something here. 

Yeah. 

And that's that set the course for what they did because they built their entire career around doing these one take videos. 

It became known as the treadmill song. I don't think anyone knew it was called Here It Goes Again. It's that treadmill song. 

Yeah. 

And it was, yeah, it was crazy. It was a continuous take. They'd rehearsed it for days. And I think, they did it. That's pretty good. 

That's pretty good when you're on a production budget. I'm thinking, yeah, that's like maybe a day. Is it sort of a day shoot? A couple of breaks in between there. You know, it's with, you know, one camera, you know, one camera operator. 

And this is a time. 

No catering. I don't reckon there was any catering. 

This is a time of two of those really schmick, schlick, hip-hop, overly produced, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars cinematic masterpiece. And here's these dudes on a couple of treadmills. 

And everyone's like, oh, that's clever. And they send it to their friends. They go, check this out. This is really clever. Yeah. And so I do think like a lot of record labels and people were starting to see the writing on the wall and just thinking, holy **** the business model is about to change. 

The business model is about to change. Were they the ones that did the one in the plane a few years ago? And didn't one of them faint because they had to do? 

In the anti-gravity. 

They did something in the anti-gravity and they had to do it so many times. One of them got I think one of them got dizzy and fainted and it's actually in the clip and you can see that they've just kind of strapped him into a chest. 

He's just done for. Yeah, look, I'd have to go back and have a look at that. I mean. 

I'm sure that was them. 

They've done things with drones, robots, giant machines, all sorts of stuff. But I mean, and that's the thing. It's like they've done this video that's done so well. 

Where do you go? How do you top that? 

The pressure. How do you top it? I don't know that they did. I think it's just the novelty of the first one. 

And at the time, it was the perfect time. time, the perfect moment for that, because it was when we were starting to watch YouTube, it was when we were starting to email things to people. So people would email the clip or email a link to the clip. And we were starting this social sharing. So it was just the perfect time. 

It's good for treadmills as well, product placement for treadmills. I think it's pretty good. I mean, it still shows up on TikTok and these other platforms. So that's where I see the connection. Like, it's just... 

I'd like to see TikTok reenacting it as a dance. I'd like to see like real people trying to do it and just eating **** off the industry. 

Oh, that'd be good. I'd like to see the outtakes. I'd imagine there'd be a bit of skin off somewhere there. Yeah. A lot of crossover there with the screen, it's like music is merging into screen time with the OK Go stuff, Top of the Pops, last music on TV. It's all happening, but we're over to the movies now, the movies, and we've got a number one at the US box office. Oh, I really, I didn't mind this film. Are you afraid of violence? We get down, if the plague calls for it, bud. We're here for business. That's right. We can close each other's eyes right now real fast. Then ain't nobody gonna make no money. This is Detective Crockett, Miami-Dade PD, and we got him. No one has ever tried before where we are now. We're seeing their operations from the other side. Your agency cannot know how they do whatever it is they do. Taking it to the limit one more time. That is the trailer for the remake of Miami. Well, it's not a remake, because it was a TV series, but they turned it into a movie with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, Miami Vice, Crockett and Tubbs moving into an undercover drug operation, as they do in Miami, and taking on the cartels. Or on stuff in Miami. Yeah, well, no, Miami Vice. What I liked about it, directed by Michael Mann, who directed Heat, which has one of the greatest action sequences of all time, greatest heist shootout sequences of all time. And he's just got a look and a feel to his films that's really gritty that I really like. And I think actually when he did this, a bit ahead of his time with it really. Obviously based on the 80s TV series, so people were expecting nostalgia and like because he went for that gritty thing, I think some people walked away from it really disappointed. So 135 moon budget and a gross of 164 at the box office. He went for that realistic look and maybe it took itself too seriously. Colin Farrell didn't like his performance in it particularly, he said, but they had a lot of problems with delays from Hurricane Katrina and stuff at the time, really caused major problems with that shoot. And like, let's face it, there's probably more important things going on in that region than actually making movies at the time. So critics mixed, some praised the style and atmosphere, some found it confusing and emotionally distant. And I think I think it has developed a bit of a cult following and it's one that I have revisited probably about maybe five or six years ago and still kind of enjoyed it. So yeah, pretty good. In Australia, we had a number one as well, an Owen Wilson film. I don't know if you remember You, Me and Dupri. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come talk to you on career day. Now, I don't have a career per se unless you consider living and loving a career. 'cause I do that to the utmost. Randolph Dupree lives by his own rules. What's your policy on Columbus Day? Uh, we work. Kind of a big holiday for me. I don't know how we're gonna get by that one. Hey, we tried, right? Yeah. He's the best friend a guy could have. Carl, check out this ****** skate ramp I'd Aaron's dad built us. What do you say we put on a little show for these guys? My little Dupree! but you never really know someone we're into a little bit of cash flow situation ended up losing my apartment until you live with him I really really appreciate this Dupree live with us just for a couple of nights till he gets back on his feet Universal Pictures presents what's the tie doing on our door looks like Dupree brought his date home funky comb with oh I can explain oh my God oh my God Polly call the fire department Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, and Michael Douglas. Dupree has got to go. He's a big boy. He'll be able to take care of himself. I'm okay. Oh boy. That was directed by the Russo's who went on to obviously make the Marvel Avenger films. Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas. You heard it. You mean Dupree. The synopsis, a newly married couple's life falls apart when the husband's unemployed best mate refuses to move out. We've all, I mean, you know, you always, as a bloke, you always have that one mate who just hangs on to their youthfulness a little bit longer than the rest of us. And we don't know if we're jealous of it or if it's time to move on or what. And then they write them into these movies and everyone goes, oh, I can really identify with that. And they go and see it. So much so. And this is like comparatively, you think about how much Miami Vice costs. This one cost $54 million and worldwide grossed $130 million, which is how much it cost to make Miami Dollars. 

Which is, yeah, so it makes so much more, but critics hated this movie. Yeah, And I mean, audiences didn't mind it. I think it was probably the Owen Wilson. 

But I feel like there's those people that were chosen by Hollywood, and like Owen Wilson is one of the chosen ones. 

And Kate Hudson. 

Well, yeah, and well, yeah, and I mean Matt Dillon to a lesser extent, but It's like if you put those two, Kate Hudson, Owen Wilson in there, the chosen ones in the field, people are just going to go and see them. I don't know why. I don't know. It's not how I do things. I go and ask AI to help me search for films, which you would have heard about in the last episode as well. So I don't know why. I'm probably not the guy to be critiquing this. I mean, whatever floats your boat. There you go. You mean Dupri. Mixed reception. But like, You cannot deny how successful or how much money these guys make from these movies with very, I mean, they don't have, they don't need special effects. They're not blowing up cars or anything. They're just the situational comedy suit. I mean, that must be a cakewalk. Like, I don't know how hard they are to make. I mean, I wonder, like, I feel like Owen Wilson just needs to phone it in and be Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson just needs to phone it in, be Kate Hudson. 

Oh, maybe you should be a director. 

Sure. They don't do much, do they? No, of course not. Aside from, I think, well, that's, I don't know because they're the one person that's always having the nervous breakdown in the middle of it all. 

Having to deal with the stars having tantrums. 

Stars are ******** each other or having tantrums or whatever and the budget's blown out. So no, thank you. And I mean, $54 million is still a lot of money to be responsible for when you've got a producer breathing down your knee. 

It is. 

Yeah. 

On TV, we had a big premiere. I remember the promoing of this went on and on for months before it came on. It was touted as being the next big thing. The reality show, well, the reality show that wasn't about becoming famous, it was more about staying just famous enough. Kathy Griffin, My Life on the D-List premieres. 

Kathy Griffin is a celebrity. Kathy Griffin is the funniest. 

Griffin! Sort of. Ouch. Her new Bravo series reveals the life, climbing the Hollywood ladder one letter at a time. My agent doesn't return my phone calls until I called. I'm on my cell. Bye. Kathy Griffin. My life on the D-list. Coming soon. Only on Bravo. Watch what happens. 

Was this, was this kind of in the vein of like the, how we had the Tory spelling one a few months ago or so ago? 

So notorious. 

Yeah. Was this in the vein of that? Was this a scripted kind of? 

It was kind of, yeah, but also it was a look into her life and the sort of things that she was getting invited to or not invited to. 

Yeah. 

Self-deprecating. 

I feel like it's got a, like they've ripped a bit of the Larry Sanders style off it, but kind of added that celebrity out. Like, it's that situational stuff. I mean, Larry Sanders was all scripted, but it was based on real life experiences from Larry Sanders. And I feel like they've kind of taken that model, but not been as successful. 

Well, people thought it was going to do really well. I remember, I remember the commercials for it and everyone was so excited for the big premiere. And she'd built her career poking fun at Hollywood too. So I think a lot of people were just sort of standing by going, oh yeah, what are you gonna do? 

Well, was she, I mean, she wasn't out of favor with people at this stage. Like Kathy Griffin these days is a bit more maligned, isn't she? 

Is, but I mean, as a comedian, she... She didn't make a lot of friends, let's put it that way. She was pretty scathing towards a lot of celebrities and celebrity culture and openly embraced being a D-list celebrity herself. It followed her hustling for work, publicity and relevance. It mixed stand-up, celebrity encounters and just general behind the scenes chaos. But it did okay. The ratings were all right and it was pretty successful. And I think looking at it from today, it kind of predicted that influencer culture. 

Yeah, right. I mean, you got to be careful what you wish for when you're hustling for relevance, because we all know, you know, she started doing that. Well, she's been hustling for relevance for a very long time. And in 2017, that came unstuck pretty quickly when she did that photo shoot with the effigy, the beheaded effigy of the president, which just didn't go down very well for her. I didn't think she, I think that's the thing with Kathy Griffin. I've always found that she's not one to read the room rather than just kind of kick the door in and then kind of try and pick up the pieces afterwards. And I think this show probably illustrated that perfectly, actually. 

I think that was the thing. She wasn't this polished celebrity. She was a bit messy and self-deprecating. So in a way, I think it was at the time a little bit charming comparatively a lot of the other celeb reality. 

She was almost too real, if that makes any sense for a lot of people to handle. And I think as a consequence, you know, when you are too real and you kind of make yourself that vulnerable, And yet you put yourself forward as a comedian, and then you tell something that's meant to be a joke and people start taking you seriously, that becomes very problematic. And Kathy Griffin is probably the epitome of that. 

Something else problematic over on the 31st of July. 

Oh, yeah. 

I can't believe this is 20 years ago. 

Well, maybe. I mean, he kind of landed on his feet after this. I don't think he even cared, did he? 

No, I don't think he cared. 

No, a lot of people cared. 

We all cared. It was all over the news and the tabloids for quite some time. We're talking about Mel Gibson being arrested for drink driving on the 28th of July in Malibu. But it was on the 31st of July that we found out exactly what went down. It could have been a standard celebrity traffic stop. But it's what the star who first became famous as Mad Max allegedly did next that has Hollywood talking. Reporter Harvey Levin first broke the story. He became uncooperative, profane, threatening, at times violent, banging himself against the car, inside the car, tried to escape. Levin obtained the arresting deputy's notes, which say the handcuffed actor also began a barrage of anti-Semitic remarks. The Jews are responsible for all the wars, asking the deputy, was he Jewish? Initially, none of Gibson's actions were made public. One sheriff's spokesman told reporters the actor was arrested without incident or special treatment. Absolutely no favoritism to the suspect was shown. 

The sheriff's lied. They just flat out lied. That journalist is the TMZ guy. TMZ guy. So I mean, this helped put TMZ on the map a little bit more as well. But I mean, it's interesting in the context of today with a lot of the stuff that's being bandied around about anti-Semitism and the fact that Gibson is kind of back on the radar today and he's still quite respected. But if you, this incident was terrible. 

Yeah. 

This was really bad. 

Yeah. 

And we see, we see another incident with Mel Gibson fairly soon after as well, which I'm sure we'll get to with his wife with that horrible phone call, that tape that was released. But you know, he's arrested for drink driving in Malibu. He's found driving his Lexus along the Pacific Coast Highway while he's He's drunk with 3/4 of a full bottle of tequila wrapped in a brown paper bag on the floor of the car. So chewing his spirits while he's driving. 

So he gets pulled over and then he tries to run away. He tries to do a runner and then becomes increasingly belligerent. 

He says, I own Malibu. 

Yes. 

That's what he says. 

You're going to regret arresting me because I own Malibu. 

Yeah. 

Don't you know who I am? 

Yeah. I directed the Passion of the Christ. I'm practically God. 

Launches into that rant that we heard there. And I think, yeah, the other interesting thing which they kind of alluded to in that report was that the LA Police Department had tried to cover up the offensive remarks. And apparently the guy, so the police officer who who was involved was told not to put everything that happened into the report. 

Yeah. 

And it was only later that was actually leaked. 

Yeah, maybe it was like halfway through the arrest. He's like, hey. Are you the lethal weapon guy? And he's like, yeah, I was, oh my god, I didn't even realise. How about a photo, maybe an autograph of the kids that will send you on your way? 

Your own Malibu. Yeah, that's right. Silly man, I forgot about that. Now, apparently the police officer involved was asked to rewrite the report omitting. I just think he like gets home from work and he's like, you never. 

Believe what happened to me today. I arrested Lethal Weapon. 

No, he was told to rewrite it. And then they found out afterwards, because when they first said that he was arrested, they said that he cooperated and yeah, nothing to see here. And then it was later revealed that, oh, actually, no, there's a little more to the story. 

Why did he change it, though, is the question. 

Is it because I think he was told to? 

Or was it by? 

Because he owns he owns Malibu. 

And I well, I do remember actually. that Gibson was actually, I think, friends with the Commish. Like he'd been to a couple of fundraisers and whatnot, you know, connected. So he was connected with the Malibu Illuminati or whatever they were. I don't know. But yeah, so that's, I mean, it's not what you know, it's who you know. But unfortunately, if you don't know the guy that's running for TMZ, he's going to tell everyone anyway. And that's what put him on the map. let's go to books we didn't read. 

Angels Fall by Nora Roberts. 

Angels Fall. What is it? What is it? Like a suspenseful thing? Oh, it is. Look at that. It's about somebody on... Okay, let me do this. Oh, Jesus. That's a bit much. this late in the proceedings, Reese Gilvour has come a long way to see the stunning view below her as the sole survivor of a brutal crime back east. She has been on the run, desperately fighting the nightmares and panic attacks that haunt her. Reese settles in Angel's Fist. That's an unfortunate name for a town, isn't it? Angel's Fist, Wyoming, temporarily at least, and takes a job at a local diner. And now she's hiked this mountain all by herself. It was glorious, she thought, as she peered through her binoculars at the Snake River, churning below Snake River Angel's Fist. Then Reese saw the man and woman on the opposite bank, arguing, fighting, and suddenly, the man was on top of the woman, his hands, around her throat. Enjoying a moment of solitude a bit farther down the trail, is a gruff loner named Brody. But by the time Reese reaches him and brings him to the scene, the pair has vanished, when authorities comb the area, where she saw the attack, they find nothing. No sign of struggle, no freshly turned earth, not even a tyre track. And no one in Angel's Fist seems to believe her. After all, she's a newcomer in town, with a reputation for being jumpy and jittery maybe, even a little fragile. Maybe it's time to run again, to move on. Reese Gilmore knows there's a killer in Angel's Fist, even if Brody, despite his seeming impatience. and desire to keep her at arm's length, is the only one willing to believe her. When a series of menacing events makes it clear that someone wants her out of the way, Reese must put her trust in Brody and herself to find out if there's a killer in Angel's Fist before it's too late. Coming up at 7 o'clock tonight on Slime. 

Ollie B, two stars. This was aggressively mid-tier. 

How can you be aggressively mid-tier? 

I like that. That's a really good insult. That was aggressively mid-tier. 

Wow. 

I'm going to use that. 

Michael, open bracket, author, close bracket. He's identified himself as an author. 

He's an author. 

Michael is. One star. If I'd not been assigned to read this for my, quote, master class, unquote, workshop for the professional fiction writers, It's likely I would never have started. If I had not been a requirement for the master class, I certainly would not have finished it. 

Oh, tell us more about your master class, Michael Author One Star. 

Yeah. 

Wow. Pat M One Star. This book was left in a home we were renting. I can see why no one wanted to take it with them. 

Oh, wow. Just leave it in the house. Don't worry about it. Don't even put it in a box. Zia One Star. Nothing to do with angels. I'm sad. 

Oh, this person's name. Ampisand hashtag X1F3381 star. 

I think they pasted their password as a username at a password generator and they must have something up. 

The sex scenes did not make me wet. 

Oh. Because I mean... Is it really a sex scene if there's not any residual moisture after you've consumed it? 

At Angel's Fist. 

Yeah, well, yeah, on the Snake River. 

What a shame. 

Oh, that's enough for this way. 

Let's just get, let's... We're nearly there. 

It's clue time. We had a celebrity having a birthday who said this. So safe from whence you owe this strange intelligence. 

Or else, why upon this place do you stop thy breath with such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you. 

What light through Doth's window breaks? Have you said Sam Worthington? You would be correct. 

Yes. When's his birthday? The 2nd of August. He was born in England, but moved to Perth as a baby and grew up in Rockingham in WA. Left school early and worked as a bricklayer and a labourer. Got into NIDA on a scholarship after tagging along to his girlfriend's audition. She didn't get in, but he did. Wow. 

Oh, that's disappointing. That's like those idol, where they do the idol auditions. Oh, the friend comes. 

Yeah, and the friends. 

Then they try and split the friends up. 

Yeah, harsh. 

It is really harsh. 

He builds a strong reputation in Australian film with Bootman, Dirty Deeds, getting square and somersaults, winning an AFI award in 2004 for somersaults. 

Yeah, in 2004. Because that dialogue, that dialogue was from 2006. So say from whence you owe this strange intelligence. Or else, why upon this place do you stop thy breath with such prophetic greeting? 

Speak, I charge you. What is that? 

That's him doing Macbeth. 

Oh, okay. 

I think it's Macbeth, yeah. 

Logan Shakespeare. Lovely. 

It's well, yeah, it's an Australian production of Macbeth, otherwise known as Macbeth. Yeah, it's a sight to behold, really, Sam Worthington doing that. And it just made me think of like, I mean, Shakespearean monologues really. 

Don't work with the Australian accent. 

The Australian accent should not be applied. 

We used to have to read it out loud at school. Did you have to do that? I remember having... having to do that at school. And my friend, my friend was reading one and there was something about having donkey's ears in some one of Shakespeare's things. And she said something about having ***** for ears instead of having ***** ears. Yes, but it is something you have ***** ears. And she's like, blah, blah, blah, ***** for ears. And I was like, that's such a Sam Worthington reenactment right there. 

Act one, scene 2, Hamlet. Oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt for and resolve itself into a Jew. There you go. What about the Merchant of Venice, Act 3, Scene 2, Bassiano? So, may the outward shows be least themselves, for world is still deceived with ornament. 

That does sound like my year 11 English class, and we had to read it out loud. 

Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 1, Scene 1. 

I think that was the one that had the ***** for years, actually. I think that's what we're reading. 

Full of vexation, come I with complaint against my child, my daughter, Hermia. In other words, Honia, what the **** have you done? 

Did you have to do that in school and each person, you'd go around the room and each person would have to read, say, a chapter, not a chapter, a paragraph. And so you'd go around the classroom and so you'd just be sitting there getting all stressed out, going, which one's my paragraph? Oh my God, what bit have I got to read? And you'd be so nervous. And I think that's what my friend said. 

I had a bowl with it. I was like, I could wait till it was my turn. 

Oh, really? That was the worst. 

Forsooth, verily. I say. 

I'd be like trying to read ahead and figure out which paragraph I was going to read and oh no, too stressful. 

Because it's just, I mean it just sounds so absurd with the Australian accent. 

It does. 

But Sam Worthington. 

Sam back to Sam. He auditioned for James Bond and Casino Royale. 

Bond. James Bond. I mean, if it's good enough for Macbeth, it's good enough for GM Spond. No, Daniel Craig beat him. 

Well, he ended up living in his car around 2007 because he just wasn't getting any work. And then, and then life-changing. 

Avatar. 

Life-changing audition. 

Avatar. 

Jake Sully in Avatar. Global stardom overnight. Then marries Lara Bingle, where the bloody hell are you? Actually, I think where the bloody hell are you is about 20 years old too. 

That was 2006. We're getting close. 

We're getting close to where the bloody hell are you? 

Are we sure? Yes, maybe we are. 

That was 2006. 

Yeah. 

And he married her in 2004. I think they met at a gala in 2013 and they're the ones who've got the weird... They've got Rocket and Racer. 

Rocket's middle name is Zot. Rocket Zot Worthington. Racer Worthington. So Rocket Zot born in 2015, Racer born in 2016, and River born in 2020. Rocket Racer and River likes alliteration and things. 

And ours. They're like ours. 

Yeah. Our things. And then, so obviously Avatar is the big thing. I mean, he never has to work another day in his life. 

I thought he was in a Neighbours or a Home and Away, but he wasn't, was he? 

No, he was in a Terminator film. He was pretty good in that, actually. I mean, he's been good in a lot of stuff. Nothing much springs to mind apart from Avatar. That's all I kind of think of. And that Terminator movie, he was the best thing about that Terminator movie. No, he was in that with Christian Bale. And they're both pretty good, but it wasn't a very good Terminator movie. It was directed by McG. Yeah. What else has he been in that I've seen him in? Oh, he was in this Netflix movie where he got injected with alien DNA so he could go and live on Saturn or some ****. so I mean, you got to keep working, but get yourself an avatar contract, you have a pretty happy birthday. 2006 though, ho-hee! So say from whence you owe this strange intelligence, or else why upon this place do you stop thy breath with such prophetic greeting? 

Speak, I judge you. 

We hope they are dust have the happiest birthdays. 

With no ***** for ears. 

Sam. 

Happy birthday. 

Yeah, that's it. 

Have a good one. 

That's it. We're done for this week. We're done. That is the end of the show. You can continue the fun over on the socials with us. So we never stop. Although Mel's been reading about it. 

No, we do. Because I'm turning my phone into a landline. It's going to be on the wall. So I'm not going to be spending much time on it. 

Oh, really? So. 

But if you send me a boom, I'll see it because it'll have a little when people send me a direct. message on the little Instagram picture. It has a little number that pops up next to it. So I always know if I get a direct message. So I will check if there's a direct message. 

Where are you going to put the phone? It's like in the kitchen. 

I've got to work out the best spots. It's got to be near a PowerPoint so I can plug it into a charger. 

Oh, it'd be good if you got in the kitchen from time to time. 

Who can make a nook? We can make a phone nook. 

I know, just the spot actually. And then it's like. 

Around the corner from the fridge. 

Standing there for 45 minutes attached to the cord doing the socials. That'll be a good time for you. So there you go. She's going to be on her feet doing the socials, working really hard. So you need to go over there and find us. Look for T-minus 20 on Facebook and Instagram. What's happening next week? Anything? Anything good? 

Oh, blue. Blue's Clues ends. 

Oh, tragic. Blue's Clues. Blue's Clues. No, because I was an adult at that time. Everyone in America was 2006. 

Talking about that. Was that the one with the guy and he came back like five years ago and said hello to everyone and everyone was shook? 

Yeah, there was a viral video moment. Yeah, and then he danced on a treadmill with OK Go and then reviewed some books and said it didn't make him wet. 

Yeah. 

Tiger Woods did something. Well, that'll make you wet. 

Yeah, look, what else do you need? That's enough. 

Keep smiling, keep supporting the podcast. We love that you do it because we wouldn't do it if you didn't support it. So that's a pretty good thing. We'll see you next week. Bye. Thanks for taking the time to rewind. Join us next time for another week that was 20 years ago. In the meantime, come and reminisce on the socials. 

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