EDtv - with Will Weldon

EDtv opened in third place on March 26th right behind our last movie, Analyze This in 2nd and Forces of Nature in 1st, going on to gross $35 million worldwide on a budget of $80 million. Directed by Ron Howard, it is a remake of the 1994 Quebecois film Louis 19, King of the Airwaves, with a script adapted by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, Ellen DeGeneres, Sally Kirkland, a frankly Oscar-worthy Martin Landau, Rob Reiner, Dennis Hopper, Elizabeth Hurley, Harry Shearer, Ian Gomez, Rupaul, Michael Moore, Jay Leno, George Plimpton, and Bill Maher. EDtv tells the story of a regular guy whose life becomes a 24-hour reality show. It did modestly well with critics, but it was drowned out by 1998's similarly-premised (but in no way similar) The Truman Show. Anyway, since it's the only 1999 movie to feature Bill Maher, we invited the host of the I Hate Bill Maher Podcast, comedian Will Weldon, to talk about this incredibly confused, frustrating movie, which remains notable for being the start of the McConaughey-Harrelson (possibly literal) Bromance! Will's on Bluesky and other social media @oldmanweldon