The Point Radio: Leo Loves GATSBY

This weekend, the lavish remake of THE GREAT GATSBY hits theaters. We sat down with Leonardo DiCaprio to talk about how this experience topped his career – so far. Plus we begin our look at the end of NBC’s THE OFFICE. Showrunner Greg Daniels and star John Krasinski talk about the bittersweet wrap up coming next week. And..can it be true? 24 coming back? Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

Transcript

Hello, it's Mike Raub. Welcome to The Point, where all parts of pop culture come together. The Great Gatsby is in theaters and Leonardo DiCaprio is here to talk about why Gatsby is important to you and to him. Plus the office finale is on the way.

We talked to Great Daniels and John Krasinski about what it's like pulling the curtain down for one last time. At 24 on the way back, let's get to The Point. This is The Point, The Point radio, get The Point radio. The lavish reboot of The Great Gatsby is headed into theaters starring Leonardo DiCaprio,

Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and more. I sat down with Leo to talk about his take on Gatsby's hunger for more in life and is that something that he shares? I think everyone has some sort of connection to Gatsby as a character. He's a character that has created himself according to his own imagination and dreams

and lifted himself from his own bootstraps as a poor youth in the Midwest and created this image that is The Great Gatsby. It's a truly American story in that regard. Here is this emerging democracy that is America in the 1920s and he wants to emulate a Rockefeller of that time period.

Of course, he creates his wealth in the underworld but this is the new land that is America and it was a very exciting time and I think we can all relate to that dreamer in Gatsby. Each one of us gets excited by the prospect of somebody that has ambition, somebody that has that much ambition. Gatsby is a character that is a master at reinventing himself.

And Leo feels that this part of the character makes him that much more intriguing. The Gatsby that I remember reading when I was 15 years old in junior high school was far different than the Gatsby that I read as an adult. What I remember from my years in junior high was this hopeless romantic that was solely in love with this one woman and created this great amount of wealth to be able to respectively

hold her hand. But then to reread it as an adult was incredibly fascinating. It is one of those novels that is talked about nearly 100 years later for a reason. It's incredibly nuanced, it's existential and here at the center of this movie is this man that is incredibly hollow.

He's searching for some sort of meaning in his life and he's attached himself to this relic known as Daisy. She's a mirage. I was struck by the sadness in him for the first time and I looked at him completely different.

I looked at him as somebody that was very hollow and searching for some sort of meaning. Nick is the only one that truly sees what's going on in reality. Here's this man that's desperately holding on to this image and one very telling sequence that we talked about a lot and for me was a very important one in the book was after this great caravansary that he's created known as Gatsby's Castle in order to lure Daisy

in, Nick notices that he's holding her yet he's still staring out at the green light. He's finally got her in his arms but he's still searching for this thing that he thinks is going to complete him. That was the Gatsby that I was incredibly excited about playing it as an actor. As I got older it took on new meaning and I think that that's what's so incredible about

this novel. Everyone who reads it has their own interpretation of who these people are, who these characters are. That's what's very difficult about making, I don't know if this answers your question, but that's what's very difficult about making a movie about it is because everyone has their

own sort of personal attachment to this book and they feel like they know these characters on a very intimate level and of course when you're making a movie you have to be much more specific. Well, co-star Toby McGuire, how did his relationship with Leo play out in this role? Yeah, I think Leo and I have a very kind of trusting and close friendship so I think that

just the kind of comfortable open dialogue that we had in terms of the working process contributed to what we did and then in regards to like the actual, I don't know, like texture or chemistry of the relationship it's harder for me to judge like what contributed to that but I'm sure that that had an effect there. I think that the Nick and Gatsby relationship is such an interesting relationship to explore

because from my point of view obviously I'm looking through the eyes of Nick and searching through the book as Nick and Nick in relationship to Gatsby in particular and then the way that we made the movie and the way the book sort of is written, he's looking back over his experiences so there's both the experiences in real time as he lived them and then Nick's relationship to them later.

So looking back through who Gatsby was to him personally and as an idea I think inspires Nick to go off into his own future and then specifically, you know, I think having an understanding that Gatsby had an agenda for Nick but ultimately unfolded into a real friendship and perhaps Gatsby's only friendship I think was very meaningful to Nick and you know I definitely have an affection for Leo so it's easy for me to have affection for Gatsby

as Nick as well. Meanwhile Leo tells me he's still in awe of the material. This is like American Shakespeare. This is one of the most celebrated novels of all time. So to venture into a project of this magnitude it really took a sort of core unit of trust

for me to feel comfortable and to know that somebody that I've known for 20 years and Baz Luhrmann was involved and Toby was immediately involved in that process from the onset was incredibly comforting. We're always extremely honest with each other and to me you know I don't know if this project would have happened unless we had that sort of relationship because it needed that.

We needed those checks and balances and we needed to have a contract with each other to continually be honest with one another. The great Gatsby in 3D and 2D as well and in theaters right now. Let's roll into the very latest in pop culture. It seemed like just minutes after Fox pulled the plug on Kiefer Sutherland's series Touch

that there were talks out there about the return of 24 and now it seems to have been confirmed that Fox is considering bringing the series back for what they call a limited series run sometime next year. That's why in the early stages so not much is known other than Kiefer is talking about returning as is former 24 showrunner Howard Gordon.

Little bad news for the pilot of the on the series sixth gun NBC has passed on that pilot. However sources are saying that Universal is still very positive behind the project and it certainly isn't dead yet with them shopping it around to some other networks or outlets sometime over the next couple of months. Top Cat is back to popular Hanna-Barbera 60's television show has been acquired by

Viva Pictures and will release Top Cat the movie based on that series. It shows up in some theaters and more than likely on DVD and video on demand sometime before the end of this year. Fans of Eureka should be thrilled to know that Colin Ferguson has found a new job. He'll turn up still on Sci-Fi on the networks of the series Haven.

It'll be a season long arc on the show and be playing a quote a mysterious stranger who comes to town and wreaks some havoc. It is not connected to his character on Eureka by the way. Production on the fourth season of Haven is starting now and it will debut on the network more than likely late this year or early in 2014.

Warner Brothers has snatched up the rights to do a feature film based on Dungeons and Dragons specifically the chainmail version of the game. It will be written by David Leslie Johnson who wrote Wrath of the Titans and a couple of episodes of The Walking Dead 2 as well. This could be the boost the game needs.

Lately sales have been down especially when you compare it to where they used to be however over the years over a billion dollars of D&D products have been sold. It's tough for TV networks to be the first to do anything these days but A&E networks have managed to find something that's not been done already. When they'll simulcast the original miniseries Bonnie and Clyde on three networks.

It'll be on A&E lifetime and history all at the same time and will premiere on the networks later this year. BBC America is getting into the zombie game with their new feature called In the Flesh featuring a huge cast that also includes Bill Macy by the way from Shameless. It begins on BBC America on June the 6th and runs for three nights.

We've told you how Jupiter's legacy from Mark Millar and Image did pretty well for the month of April in comic stores. Here's the official number well over 105,000 copies sold in stores in April. The only other image comic to reach those numbers in recent years of course has been The Walking Dead.

The point, the point. Graphic novel sales in comic stores grew again this time just under 15% during the month of April but the big surprise of course is an unusual placement of image with a number of titles in the top 10 already. Let's run that down.

Here is your top 10 best selling graphic novels in comic stores in April starting at number 10 with Hawkeye the Trade Paperback. Volume 1 My Life is a Weapon Now. At number 9 DC is a Swamp Thing a Trade Paperback Family Tree. At number 8 DC with a Killing Joke Special Edition Hardcover.

At number 7 the Batman Detective Comics Hardcover Collection second volume in that again from DC. At number 6 the Batman Detective Comics Collection this time with the Trade Paperback form, Faces of Death. At number 5 Punk Rock Jesus from DC at number 4 Saga from Image.

Saga the first volume by the way. At number 3 the Happy Trade Paperback from Image. At number 2 Manhattan Projects from Image the second volume there. And in comic stores the number 1 best selling graphic novel in April Walking Dead the Trade Paperback.

Volume 1 Days Gone By again from Image. After a decade long rise to comedy dominance The Office is finally packing it in with a super-sized finale on NBC. But they've not been going out quietly for the last season. Some of the twists and turns have included a bump in the road for longtime characters

Jim and Pam. And I asked actor John Krasinski to comment on that. My favorite thing about the show has always been how especially with the Jim and Pam story how real the writers have always been to a relationship. And that yes there are incredibly blissful times like you were saying but there's also

times where the world around them can stall out and feel like it's not enough or that it is enough or feel bland or more exciting from time to time. So my whole pitch to Greg was that we've done so much with Jim and Pam and now after marriage and kids there was a bit of a lull there I think for them about what they wanted to do.

And the idea of Jim's ambition was always one of my favorite things from the early seasons that it seemed like between Australia and trying to be the boss at corporate and NYC. I think that all those things for me were really exciting that Jim always felt like there was something that he could be doing more of. I wanted to explore that and the idea of him going to another city came from my brother

actually. In his work at the beginning of his job he was traveling a lot all over the country for all his different clients. It was definitely a strain on the family in a very new way. Obviously not a strain that was as dramatic as what we did on the show but it was a thing

where sort of seemingly simple things like basic spending time with your children in the same city was becoming more and more difficult and putting a strain on just harder to do mentally. So for me it was can you have this perfect relationship, go through a split and keep it the same which of course you can't.

And I just thought I said to Greg it would be really interesting to see how that split will affect two people that you know so well. I think the exciting thing was to know that the audience would sort of take a guess at what Jim would do and what Pam would do and so to run those numbers on that relationship was really really interesting.

Showrunner Greg Daniels told me why this whole thing works. Yeah and I was just very attracted to the idea of doing something that would matter and that where people would feel very involved and I think that there are a number of moments this year where you know you really become involved in what's happening and in order to get that feeling of involvement you need some ups and downs.

As things wrap up I had a chance to ask John what he'll miss most about the series. There's so much to miss. I mean for me and I think probably more than the other cast members. I mean I was a waiter before the show so what I miss most about this character is way too complexly entwined in my real life.

So to me this was a winning lottery ticket except with a winning lottery ticket you just get money and with this you get a whole change of your life and everything about my life has changed and become better and I feel so lucky to be where I am. So it's hard to separate the two because I'm so sort of meshed in the experience but for sure you know I will say and I don't know if this is a good answer or a bad answer but

I will say I think the thing I'll miss most is playing a character that people believe in so much and attach themselves to in various degrees. There are some people who think they are a gym. There are some people who are looking for a gym and you know I think to me and I know to Jenna playing the gym-pam relationship and realizing how important it became to so

many people was such an incredible honor that I think that there was a small part of my brain that really didn't want to let anyone down every single week and that was actually really exciting. I felt like I was given a tremendous responsibility and that responsibility I really will miss because it's just so much fun to play a character that people are watching and rooting for.

And loving so I really appreciate that. Fans of the show know that John is a master of the camera take knowing exactly when to take that look at the audience to share the joke with them. And that's something though that he doesn't plan on taking with him after the series ends. I wish I could say I was professional enough to never look at a camera again on another

job but that's already been blown several times. And bizarrely on movie sets they don't really dig it when you look in the camera which is a bizarre fact. I will miss it very much. I think that going back to the other question I think one of the best things about Jim is

that he's one of those characters and there are a few others in different television shows or I guess movies too but I remember talking to Greg in the first week about how he saw Jim as the window for the audience into this office that everyone could watch this office but they needed someone to tell them that it was okay to laugh at everything and to see everything as a little bit ridiculous.

And to me that was so much fun to play. And I remember the first time reading the script that I had to look in the camera I you know that's very stressful because you don't want to blow it and overdo it. And you know I always joke that there's a number you know my favorite thing was RTP and that phone was like so on this scene when you look at Jenna give me the number

four and I always loved thinking that I had somehow got it down to a catalog of different looks so I will miss it very very much and hopefully can leave it on the office set and not blow any other professional opportunity by looking down the line. Final episode of The Office is Super Sized and it runs next Thursday on NBC and of course see more at NBC.com.

That does it for the podcast we're back in a couple of days you know with so many shows on TV ending in May it's nice to see something fresh around the corner and one of those fresh things coming up soon on NBC is a series involving actress Anne Hage. She's here to talk about that in a couple of days in the meantime keep following Pop Culture 24-7 on the Point Radio where you can listen free on your laptop or your desktop

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