Smartless

SmartLess · Episode #267 · Hosts: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett · Guest: James Gunn · Published Aug 18 2025 · Runtime 1:02:03 · Watch: YouTube 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 People Products Places Ads 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. Show more Want this section to go deeper? Share this page with the creators and have them sign up so we can get permission to dig deeper into this episode. People On this episode Jason Bateman Wikipedia Co-host. New to Instagram and ready to post traffic shots; makes the case for trunks as a practical layer. 4:07 Sean Hayes Wikipedia Co-host. Already knows James from a dinner at Chris Pratt’s, and jokes that he read for Superman. 6:53 Will Arnett Wikipedia Co-host. Introduces James, remembers Troma ads on Ninth Avenue, and swaps notes on fan fights from voicing Lego Batman. 5:05 James Gunn Wikipedia 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 Wikipedia Hosted the dinner where Sean and James met; later, Will’s ode to him from Parks and Rec to Guardians. 6:53 Alexander Payne Wikipedia Director of The Holdovers, the movie they watched that night. 6:53 William Howard Taft Wikipedia The president in the painting behind James, with sausage links for a watch chain. 8:09 Lloyd Kaufman Wikipedia Head of Troma, who paid James $150 for Tromeo and Juliet. 10:18 Roger Corman Wikipedia Will asks if Kaufman is an East Coast Corman. 10:35 Sean Gunn Wikipedia James’s actor brother, covered in fake blood in their childhood movies. 13:18 Peter Safran Wikipedia James’s partner at DC Studios and former manager, whose dream was a Superman movie. 14:59 Ana Nogueira Wikipedia Wrote the Supergirl script DC green-lit. 16:53 Mike Flanagan Wikipedia Wrote the Clayface script. 16:53 Matt Reeves Wikipedia DC moved the next Batman date to give him time on the script. 17:17 Kevin Feige Wikipedia Marvel Studios chief; James calls him a great guy who cares about the movies. 18:46 Louis D’Esposito Wikipedia Marvel’s other leader, praised alongside Feige. 18:46 Grant Morrison Wikipedia Writer of All-Star Superman. 21:59 Frank Quitely Wikipedia Artist of All-Star Superman. 21:59 Jamie Grant Colorist of All-Star Superman. 21:59 Jerry Siegel Wikipedia Co-created Superman as a strongman type, hence the trunks. 27:20 Joe Shuster Wikipedia Superman’s co-creator and artist. 27:20 Zack Snyder Wikipedia Took the trunks away, and fans were outraged. 27:43 David Corenswet Wikipedia The new Superman, who argued for the trunks. 29:17 Bradley Cooper Wikipedia The voice of Rocket; executives once asked why he didn’t sound like himself. 34:03 John Cena Wikipedia Star of Peacemaker; James’s press-junket partner now. 37:02 David Zaslav Wikipedia The one boss DC answers to, who called to say he loved the screen test. 45:42 Rachel Brosnahan Wikipedia Lois Lane, from the screen test with Corenswet. 46:05 Rhett Miller Wikipedia Co-wrote songs with James for the Guardians holiday special. 57:36 Tyler Bates Wikipedia Co-wrote a song with James for Guardians 2. 57:36 Jonny Greenwood Wikipedia Will’s example of a rock musician who scores films. 57:59 Jennifer Holland Wikipedia James’s wife and Peacemaker co-star, and co-host of its podcast. 58:20 Steve Agee Wikipedia Plays Economos and co-hosts the Peacemaker podcast. 58:20 Danielle Brooks Wikipedia One of the podcast’s guest stars. 58:43 Mike De Luca Wikipedia Warner Bros. film chief, a past SmartLess guest. 59:49 Pam Abdy Wikipedia Warner Bros. film chief, on the show with De Luca. 59:49 Show more Want this section to go deeper? Share this page with the creators and have them sign up so we can get permission to dig deeper into this episode. 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