So today we are taking a deep dive into a film
called He's Way More Famous Than You. Which is...
Quite the title to kick things off with. Right.
I mean, it doesn't even sound like a movie. It
sounds like a threat. Or an insult. Yeah, exactly.
An insult. Like somebody is just pointing a finger
at your chest at a party. But it's actually a
2013 indie comedy. And our mission today is to
unpack this really specific kind of chaotic project.
It's highly chaotic. Very. Because it's an indie
movie, right? But it's absolutely packed with
A -list stars. And it's written by its own stars.
and directed by a co -star. It is the definition
of a meta -narrative. The whole thing is just
actors making a movie about actors trying to
make a movie. Yeah, the creative team here is
super tight -knit. You have Michael Urie. Right,
who directed it. Who directed it, and also co
-stars in it. Playing a director, naturally.
Naturally. And then the writers, Haley Pfeiffer
and Ryan Spahn, they actually star in the film
as the leads. And playing characters named Haley
and Ryan. Obviously. So it's this huge hall of
mirrors. But the source notes describe it as
a balls to the wall Hollywood comedy, which is
an accurate description of the energy. But really,
at its core, it's a deep dive into the absolute
desperation of fame. Yeah, the sheer panic of
it. So let's get into the plot. Because the inciting
incident for this whole thing is brutal. Oh,
it's a nightmare. We have the character of Haley
Pfeiffer, played by the real Haley Pfeiffer.
And she goes through what the notes call this
triple threat of failure. In rapid succession.
Right. She loses her boyfriend. Yep. She loses
her agent. The worst one for an actor, maybe.
Totally. And essentially, she loses her entire
career all at once. She goes from being a, quote,
once up -and -coming indie starlet to basically
zero. And I feel like a normal person's reaction
to that would be to quit. Yeah. Quit. Move home.
Re -evaluate your life choices. Take up pottery.
But not Halle. No. Her aha moment is the exact
opposite of self -reflection. She decides the
only way to fix her broken life is to become,
quote, way more famous. It's such a pure toxic
Hollywood reaction. If my life is falling apart,
the solution must be more status. So she comes
up with this scheme, and the details of this
scheme are just my favorite part of the whole
setup. It's not exactly a professional business
plan. Not at all. She's armed with two things.
A stolen script. And two pictures of Sangria.
Two pictures of Sangria, which she uses to basically
fuel this manic energy. And then she enlists
her brother, Ryan. He played by Ryan Spahn. Right.
And she drags him into this mess. She needs him
to help her make this movie so she can get famous
again. Because she knows no one's going to cast
her right now. So she has to cast herself. Exactly.
But the conflict here and the stakes of the plot
are actually pretty dark for a comedy. The summary
explicitly says she will star up at nothing,
even if it means hurting the only people who
truly care about her. Which really just means
Ryan. He's the collateral damage in her pursuit
of the spotlight. Yeah, she is fully willing
to burn her actual human relationships to the
ground just to get some traction in the industry.
And that's where the meta tone really shines.
Yeah. Because you have these actors writing a
movie about themselves, acting terribly, trying
to exploit celebrities to make a movie. It's
brilliant, honestly. And that brings us to the
most surprising part of this whole deep dive.
The cast. The famous people. The famous people.
Because you hear indie comedy, stolen script,
sangria, and you think... It's gonna be shot
on an iPhone with their roommate. Exactly. But
then you look at the cast list and the sources,
and it's insane. Jesse Eisenberg. Right. Ben
Stiller. I mean, literal Hollywood titan. What
is Ben Stiller doing in this scrappy little movie?
And it keeps going. Ralph Macchio. The karate
kid. Vanessa Williams. Mamie Gummer. This is
serious A -list wattage. It really is. And it
directly mirrors the plot. How do you mean? Well,
for fictional Halle, his whole plan is to land
A -list celebrities for her fake movie to make
herself famous. But the real Halle and Michael
Airy... actually did land A -list celebrities
for this real movie. Wow, yeah. So the real life
execution was way more successful than the character's
plan. Precisely. They used their actual industry
connections to make a movie about not having
any industry connections. That is wild. And we
definitely shouldn't ignore the supporting cast
either. No, the ensemble is packed with heavy
hitters from the theater world. Trace Jameau,
Austin Pendleton. Austin Pendleton is a legend.
Total legend. And Michael Cherness is in there
too. So it's this blend of massive global movie
stars and deeply respected character actors.
Which gives the whole project this layer of legitimacy.
Even when the characters on screen are acting
completely unhinged, you the audience know you're
watching top tier talent. So behind the camera,
how did they actually pull this off? Who is writing
the checks for the sangria? Well, it was a coalition
of indie producers. You've got Christopher Sepulveda
and Michael Anderson. From Logolite Entertainment.
Right. Along with Ermi Productions and Jeffrey
Soffer. These are the people who actually wrangled
the logistics to make this meh joke a reality.
And on the technical side, the crew gave it a
really specific polish. The cinematography was
by Austin F. Schmidt. And Jim Mole was the editor.
which is crucial for a comedy with this kind
of chaotic, overlapping dialogue. Oh, absolutely.
The pacing has to be perfect. But the technical
credit that really caught my eye in the research
was the music. Jeff Beale. Jeff Beale. I mean,
most people know him from scoring House of Cards.
Exactly. Very serious, dramatic, sweeping, orchestral
scores. So putting his music underneath the story
about a desperate actress stealing a script while
drunk on sangria. It grounds it. It elevates
the joke. If the music was goofy, the movie would
feel cheap. But with Beal's score, it treats
Haley's desperation with this faux seriousness
that makes it so much funnier. And again, we
have to reiterate, Michael Urie is directing
all of this. He's directing Ben Stiller, he's
directing his writers, he's directing himself.
Pulling double duty on a set with your friends
requires a massive amount of focus. And he kept
the whole thing tight. The runtime is only 96
minutes. The perfect comedy runtime. Get in,
hit the jokes, get out. God bless a 90 -minute
movie. So they get it in the can, it's finished.
Let's talk about the release strategy because
2013 was a very weird transitional time for film
distribution. It really was. Streaming was just
starting to figure itself out, and VOD was becoming
a legitimate strategy, not just a dumping ground.
But they started traditional. They took it to
the festival circuit. Which is exactly what you
do to build hype. They premiered at the Slamdance
Film Festival. January 20, 2013. Which makes
total sense for this vibe. Yeah, Slamdance is
the edgy alternative to Sundance. It's the perfect
launching pad for something this cynical and
self -aware. And then they took it on a massive
tour in April. April 2013 was a busy month for
them. They were everywhere. They were the opening
night film at the Friars Club Comedy Film Festival
on April 1st. Fitting for April Fool's Day. Right.
And then they hit the Cleveland International,
Phoenix Film Festival, Dallas International,
and the Newport Beach Film Festival, all in that
same month. Just pounding the pavement, doing
the Q &A's, getting audiences in the room. But
while they were physically touring it, the actual
distribution model they used with Gravitas Ventures
and Warner Bros. was somewhat unique for the
time. This is the really fascinating part from
a business perspective. Yeah, walk us through
it. They utilized a pre -theatrical ViewOD release
pattern. So it hit iTunes, Amazon Video, and
Video on Demand on April 8, 2013. Right in the
middle of their festival run. Exactly. So you
could rent it on your TV before it ever hit a
regular movie theater. Because the theatrical
release wasn't until May 10th. Right. May 10th,
2013 for the U .S. and Canada. A full month after
it was on digital. Which feels backwards if you're
stuck in the 90s mindset. But for 2013, they
were using the theaters almost as a marketing
tool for the digital rentals. That's exactly
what it was. The theatrical run gives you the
prestige, the formal reviews, the posters, but
the actual audience engagement. happening on
laptops and smart TVs. Exactly. And then finally,
for the physical media holdouts, they dropped
the DVD on September 24. Released by Kino Lorber
and Archstone Distribution. So it had a very
complete modern life cycle. Yeah, it really covered
all its bases. Which brings us to the end of
our journey with Hayley and her son Gria. Let's
do a quick recap. We have a story of ambition
gone completely wrong, or maybe completely right,
depending on how you view the ending. A character
named Hallie Pfeiffer creating absolute chaos,
betraying her brother just to save her career.
And that title. He's way more famous than you.
It functions as this stark commentary on the
industry's hierarchy. It's the quiet part said
out loud. Yeah, it points directly at the reality
of the cast list. You can be talented, you can
be driven, but in that world, your worth is almost
entirely dictated by how famous the person standing
next to you is. Which is a heavy thought for
a comedy. And we want to leave you with something
to really mull over, building on that central
conflict. Because the core of the film is about
a protagonist willing to hurt the only people
who actually care about her, just to get a movie
made and get her status back. Right. So think
about that in the context of today. In the age
of social media, where literally everyone is
their own brand manager, where everyone is trying
to build a platform or an audience. Where do
you draw the line between ambition and alienation?
At what point does trying to be seen by millions
of strangers cost you, the people who are actually
sitting right in front of you? It's a question
of what fame actually costs. It really is. Something
to think about the next time you're crafting
the perfect post. Or pouring a pitcher of sangria.
That too. Thanks for joining us for this deep
dive into he's way more famous than you. We will
see you on the next one.