Jason, Sean and Will talk with James Gunn about writing Tromeo and Juliet for Troma for $150, running DC Studios with Peter Safran, and making Superman a movie about kindness, with his dog Ozu as Krypto. Plus the great trunks debate, how a sad raccoon unlocked Guardians of the Galaxy, Peacemaker season 2, and what AI means for Hollywood.
Chapters
- 0:00 The “cozy” open, Will’s new haircut from Kevin Won (Kevin with a K), his hotel on Warren Street, the live show at the Avalon, and Jason officially joining Instagram for traffic updates.
- 5:05 Will introduces James Gunn, and Sean explains how they met: dinner at Chris Pratt’s, The Holdovers, and the Taft painting with sausage links.
- 8:39 Troma: writing Tromeo and Juliet for $150, Lloyd Kaufman, and learning every job on the set.
- 13:33 Passion and luck, Peter Safran running the business side, and why DC never shoots an unfinished script: Supergirl, Clayface, and Batman’s moved date.
- 18:29 DC vs. Marvel culture, Kevin Feige and Lou D’Esposito, and the streaming squeeze on quality.
- 20:24 The new Superman: All-Star Superman, Peter Safran’s dream, Ozu the dog as Krypto, and kindness as Superman’s superpower.
- 26:07 The great trunks debate, Zack Snyder, Lego Batman fan fights, and the “super-package.”
- 30:27 How Guardians of the Galaxy happened: almost quitting film, a sad raccoon, Star Wars, 70s AM pop, and Chris Pratt.
- 37:55 Peacemaker with John Cena, Creature Commandos, and writing 650 pages in a year.
- 40:26 The first creative to run a studio, Marvel’s old creative committee, and David Zaslav’s “I love it” call about the Superman screen test.
- 47:11 AI in Hollywood: VFX jobs, the lost training ground, Hallmark movies, songwriters on Spotify, and human connection as the premium.
- 58:07 Peacemaker season 2 on HBO Max August 21 and its official podcast, then the hosts’ wrap-up.
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People
On this episode
Jason Bateman
Co-host. New to Instagram and ready to post traffic shots; makes the case for trunks as a practical layer. 4:07
Sean Hayes
Co-host. Already knows James from a dinner at Chris Pratt’s, and jokes that he read for Superman. 6:53
Will Arnett
Co-host. Introduces James, remembers Troma ads on Ninth Avenue, and swaps notes on fan fights from voicing Lego Batman. 5:05
James Gunn
Guest. Writer-director and co-chairman and CEO of DC Studios, on Troma, Superman, Guardians, Peacemaker and AI. 6:43
People mentioned
Kevin Won
Will’s hairstylist in New York, the man behind the new cut. 1:38
Chris Pratt
Hosted the dinner where Sean and James met; later, Will’s ode to him from Parks and Rec to Guardians. 6:53
Alexander Payne
Director of The Holdovers, the movie they watched that night. 6:53
William Howard Taft
The president in the painting behind James, with sausage links for a watch chain. 8:09
Lloyd Kaufman
Head of Troma, who paid James $150 for Tromeo and Juliet. 10:18
Roger Corman
Will asks if Kaufman is an East Coast Corman. 10:35
Sean Gunn
James’s actor brother, covered in fake blood in their childhood movies. 13:18
Peter Safran
James’s partner at DC Studios and former manager, whose dream was a Superman movie. 14:59
Ana Nogueira
Wrote the Supergirl script DC green-lit. 16:53
Mike Flanagan
Wrote the Clayface script. 16:53
Matt Reeves
DC moved the next Batman date to give him time on the script. 17:17
Kevin Feige
Marvel Studios chief; James calls him a great guy who cares about the movies. 18:46
Louis D’Esposito
Marvel’s other leader, praised alongside Feige. 18:46
Grant Morrison
Writer of All-Star Superman. 21:59
Frank Quitely
Artist of All-Star Superman. 21:59
Jamie Grant
Colorist of All-Star Superman. 21:59
Jerry Siegel
Co-created Superman as a strongman type, hence the trunks. 27:20
Joe Shuster
Superman’s co-creator and artist. 27:20
Zack Snyder
Took the trunks away, and fans were outraged. 27:43
David Corenswet
The new Superman, who argued for the trunks. 29:17
Bradley Cooper
The voice of Rocket; executives once asked why he didn’t sound like himself. 34:03
John Cena
Star of Peacemaker; James’s press-junket partner now. 37:02
David Zaslav
The one boss DC answers to, who called to say he loved the screen test. 45:42
Rachel Brosnahan
Lois Lane, from the screen test with Corenswet. 46:05
Rhett Miller
Co-wrote songs with James for the Guardians holiday special. 57:36
Tyler Bates
Co-wrote a song with James for Guardians 2. 57:36
Jonny Greenwood
Will’s example of a rock musician who scores films. 57:59
Jennifer Holland
James’s wife and Peacemaker co-star, and co-host of its podcast. 58:20
Steve Agee
Plays Economos and co-hosts the Peacemaker podcast. 58:20
Danielle Brooks
One of the podcast’s guest stars. 58:43
Mike De Luca
Warner Bros. film chief, a past SmartLess guest. 59:49
Pam Abdy
Warner Bros. film chief, on the show with De Luca. 59:49
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Products
The Holdovers (2023) — the Alexander Payne movie they watched after dinner. Amazon 7:04
Tromeo and Juliet — James’s first screenplay, for Troma. Amazon 9:13
The Toxic Avenger — the Troma hit that paid the bills. Amazon 9:38
Slither (2006) — James’s directing debut, from the intro. Amazon 6:20
Superman (2025) — the new movie, with Krypto modeled on James’s dog. Amazon 20:24
All-Star Superman — the comic James reread before cracking Superman. Amazon 21:32
The Lego Batman Movie — Will’s Batman, and the endless best-Batman fights. Amazon 28:04
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — the movie that launched James to the next level. Amazon 31:29
Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 — the platinum soundtrack of 70s AM pop. Amazon 34:53
Peacemaker (HBO Max) — season 2 premieres August 21. Max 58:20
Peacemaker season 1 — the show James created with John Cena. Amazon 38:09
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Places
Warren Street Hotel, New York — the Firmdale hotel where Will is staying. 2:33
Avalon Hollywood — where SmartLess did its live show. 3:20
Interstate 405 — Jason’s first Instagram traffic update. 4:21
St. Louis, Missouri — James’s hometown. 5:27
Columbia University — where James was in grad school for writing. 5:36
Troma Entertainment, New York — the indie studio where James got his start. 9:00
Manhattan Beach, California — where Marvel was when they called. 32:34
Studio City, Los Angeles — James’s starting point for that drive. 32:40
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