D23 Reasons Not to Celebrate Gina Carano

Ready to experience some interdimensional fun? We've got you covered in this jam-packed episode of Multiverse Tonight! Ever wondered how a Hollywood star handles a serious health diagnosis? Find out as we share an exclusive update on Daisy Ridley’s health journey. Then, get into the Halloween spirit with some chilling serial tales that promise to give you the perfect spooky vibes. Legal expert Andrew Torres from Lawn Chaos dishes out the latest insights, and we pay a heartfelt tribute to the late, great actress Patty Yasuki, whose influence touched many hearts.

But that’s not all! This episode takes you on a whirlwind tour of the biggest announcements from D23. Expect the unexpected with exclusive Simpsons content on Disney+, a Toy Story 5 reveal, and an intriguing Marvel collaboration in Fortnite. We also explore exciting new live-action adaptations of beloved classics like Lilo and Stitch and Snow White, as well as fresh chapters in the Frozen, Incredibles, and Avatar franchises. Plus, dive into the upcoming Star Wars Skeleton Crew and other exciting series such as Moana 2, Zootopia 2, and a new LEGO Star Wars multiverse show. Marvel fans, hold onto your hats—there’s a boatload of news including Oscar Isaac’s return in What If? and a TVMA Marvel Zombies series.

Shifting gears to the legal drama, we unpack Gina Carano's lawsuit against Disney with Law And Chaos' Andrew Torrez ( https://www.lawandchaospod.com/podcast ) guiding us through the complexities. We'll examine her claims of wrongful termination and political discrimination, the unknowns in her contract, and the broader implications for employment law. In our celeb news segment, learn about the closure of Cartoon Network's site and its integration into Warner Bros Animation, exciting casting news for Alex Proyas' sci-fi satire "RUR", and the return of General Mills' Monster Cereals. Plus, celebrate the acquisition of "The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie" and the rescheduled re-release of Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar." Tune in for an episode overflowing with the latest in geeky news and heartfelt tributes!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Tonight what went down at D23, daisy Ridley health update, some spooky serial, a legal update from Lawn Chaos' Andrew Torres, and, remember, actress Patty Yasuki. All that and more on this edition of Multiverse tonight. Comic books, sci-fi fantasy and more sci-fi fantasy and more. If you're looking for a roundup of geeky news, you're in the right place. This is Multiverse Tonight. And here's your host, thomas Townley. Well, hello everyone, and welcome to episode 221 of Multiverse Tonight. I'm, of course, your host, thomas Townley. Welcome to 21 of Multiverse Tonight. I'm, of course, your host, thomas Townley.

Speaker 1: 1:07

And well, we've gotten a bit of early fall weather the past few days Been, you know, temperate in the 80s, of course, with the humidity that you know pushes the feel-like temperature into the 90s, but still was nice. Had some rain. This past weekend Took a long trip up to Kansas City to a bit of a family reunion. I got what I wanted out of it. I saw my brothers, I saw my sisters, I got to experience a long trip in my EV, which wasn't that bad. Again, it's one of those things if you plan ahead, take your time, it's not a bad way to go. Of course, some might agree or disagree Now I don't have a lot to go up front here. So we have some news from D23. So I put that all together in one segment. So let us go to the D23 news. And D23 news begins with Disney Plus getting Simpsons exclusives. Now, while Fox will show most of the new season, simpsons execs producers said at the D23 showcase that some episodes from the show's 36th season will air exclusively on Disney Plus. The episodes include a Christmas one titled O Come, all Ye Faithful on December 17th, and the stream will also get an exclusive Halloween-themed short in October. Fortnite's new Marvel collab will be nothing less than fabulous. During the Horizons Disney Experiences panel at D23, kevin Feige announced that Marvel's next collab will, unsurprisingly, revolve around Doctor Doom, but the most surprising thing about the event's trailer is the number of X-Men who popped up.

Speaker 1: 3:08

Toy Story 5 will come out in summer of 2026, and this time the boys are taking on tablet computers as they try to figure out how to get their new kid away from the tablet. Good luck. It might be a short movie. There was also shown a live-action Lilo and Stitch movie that's out next summer, as well as a live-action Snow White, agatha All Along will come out on September 18th with a two-episode premiere. Star Wars Skeleton Crew, which looks like the Goonies in space, will see Jude Law play a clever force user and will be out on December 3rd. Frozen 3 will debut sometime in 2027 and will be followed up by a subsequent film. There's also Incredibles 3 in the works. Also, pixar's Elio, which was slated to debut next March, will instead be hitting theaters sometime next summer.

Speaker 1: 4:08

After spending two films knocking around Riley's Waking Mind, disney is taking the Inside Out franchise to Disney+ and a new show called Dream Productions. This will be out next year and it will be about how dreams are, kind of sort of like movies. After the Way of Water. James Cameron's Avatar franchise is turning up the fire. Next December, james Cameron, zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington announced that Avatar Fire and Ash will hit theaters on December 19th 2025. They also revealed a new title card that makes it look like Pandora will be engulfed in flames. So, based on the California wildfires, I guess Moana 2 comes out November 27th and it looks like Moana is trying to reconnect the islands across Oceania and we get to see little coconut guys too. Also coming out is Zootopia 2, which will be released November 26, 2025, as well as LEGO Star Wars Rebuild the Galaxy, which opens up the multiverse of possibilities with a multiverse type of show. They showed the first trailer at D23, and it actually makes the premise seem like the rare modern Star Wars Luke Skywalker story that might liven up the franchise where it premieres on September 13th. Yes, we get to see Darth Jar Jar Kind of cool Also returning.

Speaker 1: 5:42

Oscar Isaac is returning to the MCU. The actor is set to reprise his role as Mark Spector, aka Moon Knight, in the upcoming season of Marvel's what If? Voicing the Fist of Khonshu for the fan-favorite series. Also, marvel Zombies will be a TVMA four-episode event series and X-Men 97 will see yellow and black costumes based on the Grant Morrison run, with Danger being the villain of the season. In addition to Danger, the teaser that they gave out gave fans first looks at X-Men like Havoc and Polaris and, if the end of season one is any indication, apocalypse will also have a substantial role in the second season. That could also be how we get Gambit back, as he was turned into one of the Apocalypse horsemen in the second season. That could also be how we get Gambit back, as he was turned into one of the apocalypse horsemen in the comics at one point, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Also in the news, nine Inch Nails is back and will be doing the score for Tron Ares. On other music news, a stage adaptation of Disney's Hercules is headed to London's West End next year, marking the last outing for a Disney live theater run. Also, you probably never saw this one coming.

Speaker 1: 6:55

Freakier Friday, the sequel to Freaky Fridays, will star Jamie Lee Kerf and Lindsay Lohan and will hit theaters in 2025. The film picks up years after Tess, played by Curtis, and Anna, played by Lohan, and will hit theaters in 2025. The film picks up years after Tess, played by Curtis, and Anna, played by Lohan, underwent an identity crisis. Now Anna has a daughter and her own soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate the myriad challenges that come with two families' merge, tess and Anna discover that lightning might indeed strike twice. According to the description, production is currently underway and the current release window is 2025.

Speaker 1: 7:32

Harrison Ford, john Williams and Frank Oz were given Disney Legends awards. The full class of honorees includes Oscar winning costume designer Colleen Atwood, black Panther star and Oscar nominee, angela Bassett, the first black Disney tour guide. Martha Blanding, panther star and Oscar nominee, angela Bassett, the first Black Disney tour guide. Martha Blanding, tv and film icon, oscar winner James L Brooks, avatar mastermind and Oscar winner James Cameron, freaky Friday star and Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, grammy winner and Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, comic book artist Steve Ditko, animator Mark Henn, emmy-winning TV host Kelly Ripa and Disney Imagineer executive Joe Rode. The ceremony will stream on Disney Plus in the USA and Canada.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Also, in park news, the company finally confirmed that a long-rumored villain's land is coming to Disney World's Magic Kingdom Park. This land will be home to the villains that you know and those that you loathe, with means that, happily ever after, might feel like a distant dream Quote. It will have two major new attractions dining, shopping and so much more fiendish fun for you to explore. This is storytelling on a grand scale that only Disney can deliver. So be prepared, you poor unfortunate souls. It's going to be a fearless new vision for what a Disney experience can be. In the other park news Avengers Campus Expansion We'll see new attractions like Avengers, infinity Defense and Stark Flight Labs coming to Disney's California Adventure. There'll be new themed lands Monsters Inc Land and Avatar. The Way of the Water Land are among the newest additions to the various theme parks and the Disney Cruise Line will be getting four new ships joining the fleet between 2027 and 2031, featuring new shows like Hercules and the Tale of Moana 2. Also, disney is teaming up with Epic Games to feature new online universe featuring characters from Disney, pixar, star Wars and Marvel Studios. Exciting times for Disney fans.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Now let's go on to the DC News with the film formerly known as Superman Legacy. Superman Gunn's reboot is very inspired by all-star Superman, according to James Gunn himself, who has shared Superman's comic book influences on social media. And just in time for the new film to hit theaters on July 11, 2025, dc will be releasing the Superman box set, a four-graphic novel box set that collects some of Superman's greatest and most influential tales. The set, which retails for $85, will be scheduled for release on June 24th 2025. It will include soft cover editions of all-star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank quietly, superman for all seasons by Batman along Halloween's, jeff Loeb and Tim sale. Whatever happened to the man of tomorrow, a tale of Superman's last adventure by Watchman writer Alan Moore and artists Kurt Swan. And the definitive DC tale Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, one of the best comic book stories ever told, according to the Washington Examiner. The publisher released a similar box set for the comics that inspired Matt Reeves' 2022 Batman the Batman, which contained Batman Year One, batman Along, halloween and Batman Ego. Also available from DC is a recently reprinted new edition of the 12-issue Absolute All-Star Superman. The new deluxe hardcover edition of Supergirl, woman of Tomorrow, apparel and the first-to-market Superman movie merchandise is available for purchase and pre-order. And now let's go on to the Star Wars news. Roger Roger.

Speaker 1: 11:34

In Star Wars news, daisy Ridley opened up about her recent health scare and revealed that she has been diagnosed with Graves' disease. Last year, the star of the Rise of Skywalker said in a new interview that she had initially attributed the symptoms of the disease to playing a stressful role in Magpie. Quote I thought well, I've just been played a really stressful role. Presumably that's why I feel poorly, she told Women's Health in a recent interview. Now, magpie was a psychological thriller and she starred alongside Shahzad Latif and Matilda Lutz. Ridley said that some of her symptoms included a racing heart rate, weight loss and fatigue. The doctor told Ridley that Graves was feeling tired but weird. Quote. It was funny. I was like oh, I just thought I was annoyed at the world, but turns out everything is functioning so quickly you can't chill out. Unquote.

Speaker 1: 12:31

Being diagnosed with Graves' disease led Ridley to make some dietary changes and go gluten-free, adding quote I am not super strict about it, but generally cutting down on gluten makes me feel better. Unquote. I've always been health conscious and now I'm trying to be more well-being conscious, she added. Now Ridley also noted that it is important to listen to what your body is saying, saying that you should read the stats about women being undiagnosed or underdiagnosed, and sort of coming to terms with saying I'm really actually don't feel good not going. I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just normalized to not feel good Now. Other noble celebrities who have been diagnosed with Graves' disease include Wendy Williams and Missy Elliott.

Speaker 1: 13:14

Now let's go on to the Marvel news, and Marvel News is also out of D23.

Speaker 1: 13:36

Come on, it's all out of D23. This weekend, the first voyage of Daredevil Born Again was shown to fans, and they got their first look at the revival of Marvel's most popular shows. As was teased in set photos snapped during filming, white Tiger will be appearing in the series. Now little is known about the character's involvement in the show or how big a role he'll have, although the footage seems to tease that Matt Murdock will act as White Tiger's attorney at some point through the series Daredevil Born Again is expected to be released on Disney Plus starting March 2025. Now let's go on to that interview and we're back to discuss Gina Carano's lawsuit against Disney. Now there has been an update recently. A couple weeks ago, disney lost their first round bid to dismiss the suit, so it's going to trial and so, of course, I have to bring in someone to sort of set the table, tell us what we need to know, and that would be Andrew Torres of the Law and Chaos podcast. Welcome, andrew.

Speaker 2: 14:45

Thomas, thanks for having me back on.

Speaker 1: 14:47

It's no problem. You know you're a great guest and people like hearing what you say.

Speaker 2: 14:53

Well, I appreciate the kind words. Gina Carano fans may not appreciate what I have to say this time around. You know, look, I thought she was great in, you know, the first Deadpool movie. So you know, it's not personal, it's just. You know she went a little right wing crazy and you know this is what happens.

Speaker 1: 15:14

Yes so.

Speaker 2: 15:18

So should I, yeah, set the landscape?

Speaker 1: 15:20

Yeah, set the landscape. Not 16th century Tuscany or anything.

Speaker 2: 15:25

Too bad. No, again, sort of on the heels of her success. As you know, one of the supporting actors in Deadpool she was Angel Dust and then she had a recurring guest role. And then she had a recurring guest role, seven appearances on Star Trek, star Trek, on Star Wars, the Mandalorian, as as Cara Dune, and and at that same time, this was 2020 that the second season of the Mandalorian was airing Gina Carano decided that she was going to kind of drink all of the right wing Kool-Aid, and so, you know, and it started with, of course, the things that you know, bother these folks, which are, you know, having to use pronouns, and the the, the far right, has one joke.

Speaker 2: 16:18

So Gina Carano took to Twitter and was like my pronouns are beep bop boop. So Gina Carano took to Twitter and was like my pronouns are beep bop boop. And you know how could anybody possibly think that? That's, you know, anti-trans, anti-lgbtq, plus. And Disney sat back and did nothing for a very, very long time as she continued to escalate. She posted, you know, sort of crazy truth or stuff about the 2020 election, and you know, I'm just saying we have to investigate all the votes, and you know, and again, right, you sort of get this sense of. You know, you're stretching the rubber band. You're stretching the rubber band. And then, finally, you know, she went on Instagram and said Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers, but by their neighbors, even by children, how? And then you, you know. And then a bunch of other stuff. And how is that any different from hating someone for their political views? Um, and disney was was not amused by that right and at that point.

Speaker 2: 17:13

Uh, you know through she. She worked for the, for the lucasfilm uh subsidiary of disney, and the president of lucfilm and a Disney rep came out and said look, she was never an employee, right, she was always a contractor and she will be a contractor for us no longer, right. And then Gina filed a lawsuit alleging three counts. Two are based on discrimination on political activity and one is based on discrimination on the basis of sex. And here and we could talk about that a little bit, but I think it's important to sort of talk about the different inflection points that come out in litigation, right? So I've been trying cases for over 25 years and what happens when a plaintiff sues is there's an early period in which you can file what are called dispositive motions, and they mean exactly what it sounds like right, like if that motion is granted, it disposes of the litigation in its entirety. So a motion to dismiss is one of those things and it's the way to get out quick and cheap. Dismiss is one of those things that she said were true. That still does not amount to a compensable injury as a matter of California law, and the reason that you have to do that is because, if there's any doubt over what she said is true or not with respect to material facts, then the court says, well, look like maybe she's wrong, but we're going to go to a period called discovery and we're going to let her prove up those claims. Right, and and that's what it means to you know, have your day in court. Right that, yes, even if it's super far-fetched. If there's any kind of reasonable construction of your facts being true the way they said they are, then you're entitled to assume that they're true, before the defendant can say look, we're not going to court at all. This is just, you know, complete and utter nonsense. And you might. You might recognize some of the things that we talked about, right, like, such as whether she has a contract with Disney Lucasfilm, what that contract says, right, whether she abides. Those are all facts. So those were not things that Disney could rely on.

Speaker 2: 19:49

And instead, what Disney said was assuming that we fired you for political behavior. We have a First Amendment right to do that. And three weeks ago the court came back and said we're not sure that you've met that threshold, disney, right, because one of the things you have to do in order to assert a First Amendment defense is you have to say that I'm engaged in, in this case in associational conduct. Right, that that think about this from from Disney's perspective. What they're saying is we are represented by the folks who are our actors, and their speech essentially becomes our speech. And so when their speech is at odds with the kind of speech that we as a company want to engage in, then we have a right, a first amendment right to disassociate ourselves from that kind of expression. And the court said maybe, but we don't know that you've proven that as a matter of law yet, disney. So we're going to let her go forward and we're going to let the case proceed to the discovery phase and give her the opportunity to prove no, you don't really have those sorts of associational values.

Speaker 2: 21:03

Now, I don't think that that's going to be a hard lift for Disney to engage in. Right To say, hey, we are represented by the actors who feature in our films. Right, and you can think about that in any sort of number of ways, right, like if you had the lead actor from a movie wandering around trashing your movie. Disney would probably say we no longer want to be affiliated with someone that's like yeah, don't go see the steaming pile of hot garbage that we just put out right. So the question is right is the bucket of speech that Gina Carano engaged in, is that the kind of thing that that Disney has a right to disassociate itself from? So that's sort of where we are in terms of the legal landscape.

Speaker 1: 21:52

Okay, now, uh, so she goes. Next is discovery, right. So they have to basically open up their doors, show, show them what they've got, and she has to show them what she's got, right. So they have to basically open up their doors, show, show them what they've got, and she has to show them what she's got, right.

Speaker 2: 22:06

So, so, yes, and this is going to be very one sided Right, like that. Most of the public, most of the evidence that Disney wants from Gina Carano are the things she's already done in public, right? So her public posts on social media, they're entitled to drafts, they're entitled to, you know, correspondence, that sort of thing. But basically what happens is you serve several different kinds of documents, but the two primary ones are requests for production of documents, right, give me all your emails that say X, right, and what goes along with that are requests to depose material witnesses, right, and so typically what you do is you ask for the documents first, and there are others, but this is what you're going to see kind of in the news, right, you're going to see, I'm sure her lawyers have already served those discovery requests on Disney. They do not have to be filed with the court. So we don't know what they say. We won't know what they say unless and until the documents show up at a deposition and then, depending on what the protocols are with respect to that deposition, we may or may not get it. They may or may not be leaked, they they may or may not be leaked. There may or may not be a confidentiality order that you know protects the production of certain documents and things.

Speaker 2: 23:30

But she's going to, she's going to ask Disney hey, I want all of this correspondence and I want to to depose under oath certain Disney witnesses. And we know, for example, she wants to depose Pedro Pascal, right, her, the, the, the star of, of, of, of the Mandalorian. And you could ask, right, there is a doctrine called the apex doctrine, which, which is again kind of what it sounds like it. It basically says if you are seeking to depose a high ranking official right Within a company, depose a high ranking official right within a company, and there is somebody who equally has that evidence, uh, who is not that high ranking person, then you should get it from the other person instead, right? So so she's also, you know, sought to depose the ceo of lucasfilm and some other high ranking disney execs, and so there will be a battle back and forth about what do you want from this witness, and you know can, can we go to that trouble to date, right, her, her complaints to the thing that you would think were the things that you would think that Pedro Pascal has an opportunity to weigh in on, seem to be, seem to me to fall into really two categories, right, the first is to be able to discuss what Gina Carano was like as an employee.

Speaker 2: 24:49

Right, what it was like working with her on the set. And again the evidence appears to be that she was a pleasure to work with, right, a joy to work with in terms of, you know, actually filming and, you know, getting the production done. And that is relevant to Ms Carano's lawsuit, because the more she can say I fulfilled all these other criteria that are important for bringing someone back as as an actor, the more she can say so it was solely right. My political expression, for which you know I was, I was terminated.

Speaker 2: 25:31

And then the second thing is, again I mentioned, that her lawsuit asserts has two causes of action with respect to political activity and a third with respect to sex discrimination. That's really a subsidiary. What she alleges in that third cause of action is Disney has had lots of male co-stars who have also engaged in political speech and have also said stuff on social media and have also referenced the Holocaust. But you fired me and you didn't fire them. And so that fundamental factual inquiry is going to come down to does a company have a right not to associate itself with public speech by its employees, which it finds counterproductive, at odds with its corporate values.

Speaker 1: 26:26

Exactly Now. According to the most recent update, the attorneys proposed a start date of September 29th 2025. Yeah, that's the trial date yeah, and the trial is expected to last one week. So between now and then, they're going to be getting their witnesses together, getting your documents together. They have, you know, a year to figure this out, right?

Speaker 2: 26:52

And this is. This is a fairly typical schedule and, again, a week long trial is, by by large, commercial litigation standards. A short trial Is, by large, commercial litigation standards, a short trial. I do not think this case is going to trial the procedure that happens. You have to pick a date and put it on the calendar, because the court then uses that to back out all of the other dates. So if the trial is in September, then what you would have is probably a discovery cutoff in July and you would have a summary judgment motions deadline in August and that both sides here are going to gather up all of their evidence and then prepare and file competing motions for summary judgment.

Speaker 2: 27:35

And let me talk a little bit about the distinction between those two. Right, because I talked about a motion to dismiss, comes at the very, very beginning, in which there are no facts in dispute and you, as the party resisting the motion to dismiss, right, as the plaintiff, are entitled to all of the inferences and all of the asserted facts that you claim in your complaint to be resolved in your favor. So example I give all the time is right. You sue me for trespass, right, and you say I jumped over your fence and you know, was on your property on September 1st 2023. And if I go to move to dismiss and say, no, I was never there, right? But the court's going to say, well, look, that's what discovery is for. Prove it, right, like, maybe you've got off my footprint in your front yard, maybe you have, you know, a ring doorbell and you have video camera footage, who knows? Then we have discovery and then we exchange all of our information and suppose none of that comes about. Right, there's no footprint, there's no video, there's no testimony. And I introduce a flight stub that shows I was actually the time you claim I was in your yard, I was on a plane, right? Well then, we're not going to trial, right? I'm going to move for summary judgment and I say all of the evidence is now in and there is no material, there's no genuine dispute as to any material fact, right, nothing that could make a difference with respect to your claim. There's no evidence to support the fact that I was ever on your property and the only evidence there is and maybe it's equivocal you can say, well, the stub is torn, but it doesn't matter If you've got zero evidence that says I was ever on your property and I have some evidence that suggests that I was not, then I'm going to win on summary judgment, and I suspect so.

Speaker 2: 29:35

There are a lot of things here again that we don't know right. We don't know what the contract between Disney and Ms Carano looked like, right? We don't know. If we don't know what the contract between disney and ms carano looked like, right? We don't know if she was an employee, as she contends, or a contractor, as disney contends. We don't know. Promises and assurances were made to her that the contract may contain. It is, it is Not something that Disney has yet previewed, so possibly it doesn't. But frequently contracts will contain a morals clause, right? We'll say, hey, if you engage in X type of behavior, then we have the right to terminate this contract. Right, go ahead.

Speaker 1: 30:16

So in other words, a real Mickey Mouse clause.

Speaker 2: 30:21

Exactly. So look, all of that is going to come up against the way that this argument is being pitched in media, right, and that is Elon Musk is bankrolling this lawsuit, right, and has publicly said, yeah, I'll fund and I'll pay whatever, and there was nothing Disney can do that can make this expensive enough for Elon Musk to even notice it. Right? I mean, there just aren't that many issues in dispute. There's not an infinite amount of lawyering you can do on a case like this. Do on, you know, a case like this. So now I will tell you that you know Gina Carano has engaged in some high profile celebrity lawyers. She has Eugene Volokh of the Volokh conspiracy, who's written some frankly crazy stuff in connection with this case. So you know they're throwing as much money as they can at both sides. But you know, for Elon Musk, you know that's not, it's not even couch change level money, right? So he's doing it to make a public statement that says you know woke companies are out there discriminating against conservatives, and you know we're going to win and fight back, and, and that's not the law. You know we're going to win and fight back and and that's not the law, right? And this is the thing that I said the first time I came on the show and and I flagged at the time that you know it was going to be hard to win on a motion to political activity, right.

Speaker 2: 32:03

And so let's describe kind of what that means. That means your employer can't say I'm firing you because you've left to go attend a Kamala Harris rally, right, I'm firing you because you've said you're going to vote, right, like I'm firing you because you are engaged in political action and they can't write a contract that says in order to be a Disney Imagineer, you must agree not to vote. No, you can't do that. That's discrimination on the basis of a protected activity, your civil right to vote. Your employer can't force you to give that up. That's very different from saying we're going to fire you if you spread dangerous misinformation and nonsense that reflects poorly on the company, even if, right, that what the company thinks reflects badly on it happens to be to skew highly, highly on one side of the political spectrum. Right. And again, you know Disney is going to be aided here by the fact that there is a coterie, particularly in California, of anti-vax far left Democrats, right, going, going back 40, 50 years, right. So they're going to be able to say like it's not exclusively right wing political opinions. It certainly correlates highly with the fact that you know, gina Carano got maga pilled and started spouting off crazy stuff.

Speaker 2: 33:33

But but you know again, just kind of ask yourself at that fundamental level this for my newsletter at lawandchaospodcom. I began with the idea of suppose I applied to write for the National Review or the Federalist or something like that. Right, then you would expect a right-wing magazine to say you know what, we're sure you're a terrific writer, Mr Torres, but we're not that interested in associating ourselves with your point of view. That doesn't reflect well on us as the federalist, and you know, quite frankly, I'm all for that. Right like that. They are entitled to not be affiliated with my crazy left-wing views. And and the question is, is what's you know? Is the sauce that's good for the goose good for the gander, right? Is it the case that you are actually going to convince a court of law that there should be affirmative action for conservative actors in Hollywood? And I continue to be as skeptical as anyone can be of that proposition.

Speaker 1: 34:43

All right, as skeptical as anyone can be of that proposition, all right, well, and uh, I think, uh, we've kind of exhausted the the the talk for now, unlike, you know, the right-wing blogosphere which keeps, you know, touting that oh this is a great thing.

Speaker 2: 34:59

Oh oh, it's like it's just going to the next phase, folks thing, oh, oh, it's like it's just going to the next phase, folks, yeah, and and, and you know, as, as we mentioned before, right, this is now elon musk versus disney, these two people that are not going to be deterred by the cost of of litigation. Now, look, if there are truly embarrassing documents that are out there, right, I could see a situation in which, you know, disney wants to settle this early, as opposed to heading to a motion for summary judgment in which its documents, which will be on the public docket, right, this is a federal lawsuit, so anybody with a pacer login or you know who goes to court listener will be able to have access to to those pleadings. They will be all over the press, and if there's something that you know looks embarrassing, then, uh, you could see reasons why, why disney might, uh feel compelled to settle. That being said, I don't know how that will interface in the in the interest between gina carano, who does not appear to be gainfully employed at the moment, uh, and and elon musk, who would like to use her for for pr, right?

Speaker 2: 36:14

So you know, I mean, she went from, uh, you know, being in the deadpool franchise to doing, you know, daily caller kind of indie films for the far right, and that's a pretty big drop off. So you know, I don't know. I would not be surprised I've never surprised when civil litigation settles. I would not be surprised if this settles, but I would be surprised if it goes to trial. Would be surprised if it goes to trial and I would be, um, whatever the level is above that, uh, if that were to somehow result in a, uh, in a, in a plaintiff's verdict. So that that's, that's my, those are my predictions yeah and uh yeah.

Speaker 1: 36:57

By her imdb it does look like she's not gainfully employed since 2022. Her last name was my son hunter.

Speaker 2: 37:02

That piece of I have, I have seen it, so you don't have to, uh, and you should not. She plays a secret service agent tailing hunter biden and you know, remember when hunter biden it was super important that, like the republicans proved that he was on crack for I. I don't know reasons that that, but somehow it doesn't seem as important to them anymore.

Speaker 1: 37:28

Oh, yeah, well, anyway, when there's more developments, I'd love to, of course, have you back, but I love coming on the show.

Speaker 2: 37:36

Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1: 37:38

In the meantime, I'll let you promote the Law and Chaos podcast In the meantime, I'll let you promote the Law and Chaos podcast.

Speaker 2: 37:45

Yep, we do two podcast episodes a week. They drop on Tuesdays and Fridays and we do written content twice a week, that is Monday and Wednesday. That is myself and Liz Dye. Who is amazing, and it is lawandchaospodcom, so just head on over and check it out.

Speaker 1: 38:02

All right, folks. Well, thank you, andrew Torres, for coming on today, and you'll see me right back here in this chair in a couple of seconds in a different T-shirt. But we'll see Andrew later.

Speaker 2: 38:16

Thank you, take care.

Speaker 1: 38:19

You too. Andrew Torres is always. He's been my guest twice now and he does excellent. You just have to start him on a subject and he takes it from there. That's something I really like. Anyway, cartoon Network's official website has been shut down and now directs to the Mac streaming service instead.

Speaker 1: 39:05

Cartoon Network was once home to some of the most notable animated series releases, and that's been shifting in the last few years, especially Now. The closing of Cartoon Network Studios prompted fans to wonder if the network would be shut down entirely, and it's been made clear that Warner Bros Discovery is still shuffling around their Cartoon Network projects among Warner Bros animation as a whole. So watch this space for future developments. Agents of SHIELD actress Mallory Jansen and Emmy and Tony winner Anthony LaPaglia are boarding Alex Proyas' upcoming sci-fi satire RUR opposite Lindsay Ferris. Sci-fi satire RUR opposite Lindsay Ferris Cameras roll on October 21st in Sydney, australia. Proyas penned the screenplay, which was based on an adaptation of Carl Capic's famous science fiction play RUR, rossum's Universal Robots, published in 1920. Rur follows Helena, played by Jansen, who visits the alien factory of Rossum's Universal Robots to emancipate the robots from capitalist exploitation, with catastrophic results.

Speaker 1: 40:08

As we head towards the end of summer, halloween fans are starting to see a number of signs that signal the imminent approach, with one of the major skinfires being the rebirth of General Mills monster cereals in stores nationwide Now. This means General Mills is not only bringing back those staples for the season, but finding new ways to celebrate Halloween as well, seeing this year as the iconic mascots are getting animal companions. In addition to there being four individual cereals honoring four icons, there's also a mashup that brings them all together into one bowl. Monster cereals are hitting shelves nationwide now. According to a press release, halloween's Haas Hunters are back, and this year they're joined by their one-of-a-kind scary sidekicks. For the first time ever, the beloved nostalgic monster cereal characters Count Charcula, boo-berry Franken-Berry and Carmela Creeper are accompanied by their frightful friend pets to bring more festive fun to the Halloween season. Just like you, the monsters are also obsessed with their pets, and this year each classic cereal includes specialty marshmallows shaped like each of the characters' Frightful Friends. More information on each sidekick is available below Frightful Friends.

Speaker 1: 41:20

It's a spooky pet party. The monsters' cereals you know and love are joined by their scary sidekicks. Monster flavors are now pet-shaped marshmallows, from spiders to snakes. Monster's creepy character critter friends are here to add more mischief to Halloween. Count Chocula has Igor the spider Chocolate classic cereal bits mixed with spider shaped marshmallows. Igor is Count Chocula's loyal guard, spider and sidekick. Frankenberry has Beanie the Bat the Berry Delicious cereal will be joined by bat-shaped marshmallows In honor of Beanie Frankenberry's best bud, who has a wicked sense of humor, and wonky sonar. Booberry, with Meowberry the Cat the Berry cereal incorporates cat-shaped marshmallows. When Meow Berry disappears, there's now a ghost of a chance of finding her. And Carmelo Creeper has Scratch the Snake. The new cereal of the crew combines caramel apple cereal with snake-shaped marshmallows. Scratch has serious attitude and crazy good rhythm, making him the perfect partner in crime for the edgy zombie DJ. Keep your eyes out for monster cereals which are hitting shelves now nationwide. Shoot me, catch-up. Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to Warner Bros animations.

Speaker 1: 42:32

The Day the Earth Blew Up, a Looney Tunes movie from GFN Animation, which handles worldwide distribution sales. The sci-fi comedy adventure follows the adventures of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig will be released nationwide A date has yet to be confirmed. The film directed by Pete Breiningart. The film stars two Emmy award-winning Eric Baza, reprising his role as Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig, will uncover a sinister alien plot while working at the local bubblegum factory. Together with Petunia Pig, the unlikely heroes embark on a high-stakes mission to fight off zombies and aliens and deliver all the gags and visuals recognized by Looney Tunes fans. Christopher Nolan's Interstellar will be re-released in honor of its 10th anniversary. However, the sci-fi epic is flying back to theaters slightly behind schedule.

Speaker 1: 43:22

The Paramount Pictures film was slated to return on September 27th, but will now land two months later, on December 6th. It will be released in 70mm IMAX prints as well as digital. The theatrical release was pushed back to line with the home entertainment relaunch. According to knowledgeable individuals, warner Bros Pictures is co-producing the movie with Paramount on the revival Studio sources. Knowledgeable individuals Warner Bros Pictures is a co-produced movie working with Paramount on the revival Studio. Sources are displaying a rumor that 70mm prints were destroyed. Paramount claims that it archived more copies of the movie than most other pictures. However, because of the film experience, wear and tear while playing on the big screen. It's not uncommon for some of them to become unusable after their theatrical runs. Interstellar premiered in November of 2014 and generated $731 million at the box office. And finally, tonight, patty Isocki, best known for her roles in Beef and Star Trek Next Generation, passed away peacefully on August 5th, surrounded by friends and family, after a long battle with cancer. She was 70 years old, los Angeles native.

Speaker 1: 44:34

Yusaki, born and raised in Gardenia and Inglewood, graduated from UCLA with honors in theater. She started her career at East West Players, where she worked with the company's co-founder, japanese-american icon Meiko, for six years on stage, on staff and on board, performing in over a dozen shows. Her major theater debut was in Ron Howard's 19th-century comedy Gang Ho as Yumiki, a relocated Japanese wife trying desperately to Americanize. She reprised her role in the follow-up ABC comedy series spawned by the movie. For her next movie, the 1988 the Wash, she played and received an Independent Spirit Award supporting actress nomination. Her resume also includes the films Drop Dead, gorgeous, Blind Spot and Road to Galveston and a slew of guest star appearances on shows such as the Closer, grey's, anatomy Bones, flash Forward, the Unit and Cold Case. Her last TV role before her death was one of the highest profile ones in her career, as she was a series regular on Netflix's acclaimed late limited series Beef, playing George's mother. She also played nurse Alyssa Agawa turned Dr Agawa on Star Trek the Next Generation, a role she reprised on Star Trek Generations.

Speaker 1: 45:56

Spending three decades, her theater work includes stints at the New York-Mexico Repertory Theater, american Southwest Theater, los Angeles Theater Center, san Diego Repertory Theater, manhattan Theater Club, south Coast Repertory Theater and the Westwood Playhouse. Yasuki was preceded in death by her parents, michael and Jean, and her sister, business executive Irene Inoue. She was survivor siblings Lisa, linda Hayashi and Steve Yasuki, a large extent family of nephews and nieces and a family of friends and colleagues, including Fritz and Jonathan Del Arco. A memorial will be held at the Eastside Players in Louvre Flowers. The family requested that a contribution be made to the theater company. Again, patty Yusuti was 70 years old, and that brings us to the end of this edition of the show.

Speaker 1: 47:00

Now please be sure to check us out on social media. We're on Blue Sky and Twitter at Multiverse, tom Threads, facebook and Instagram at Multiverse Tonight. If you've found some baggage to the show or would like to teach me how to say Japanese names properly, please head on over to multiversetonightcom where you can find our Patreon and Ko-fi links, check out the show notes, visit our TeePublic store, leave some feedback and so much more. And if this is your first time listening, thank you and welcome, go ahead and hit that subscribe and share us with others. Special thanks to Shane Ivers for the intro music and Lobo Loco for the outro theme music. Thanks for watching this edition of Multiverse Tonight. We'll be back in two weeks with more sci-fi and comic book news. Goodness Now. We'll be back in two weeks with more sci-fi and comic book news. Goodness, now. Please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half-Baked Genre Productions. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. This podcast is part of the Pop Goes the Culture podcast network, pop Goes the Culture.