Love Triangles, Fortnite & Being Open-Hearted | Celine Song

Matt Buechele breaks down Trump’s mysterious $2 billion “slush fund,” why no trustworthy operation has ever used the phrase “slush fund,” and the growing trend of college graduates booing AI commencement speeches delivered by men who look like they own underground bunkers in New Zealand. Then he sits down with filmmaker Celine Song to talk about modern masculinity, internet identity, vulnerability in art, adapting The Seagull in The Sims 4 on Twitch, and their shared addiction to Fortnite and other deeply time-consuming video games. Topics covered:  Personality tests, identity, and labels Social skills and meaningful connections “Past Lives” misinterpretations  Heroic masculinity and men behaving well  Challenging the trope of male characters as lazy or villainous  Consent culture vs. rape culture  The pandemic and creative transitions  The haenyeo, elderly Korean free-divers Addictive personalities and gaming culture  Writing, directing, and acting  Chapters:  00:00:00 Critiquing AI obsession and modern tech culture 00:02:53 Celine Song on astrology and Virgo personality traits 00:05:48 The importance of reading the room and social skills 00:09:10 Vulnerability and open-hearted communication 00:14:00 Why "Past Lives" is not a love triangle movie 00:15:47 The problem with internet film discourse and movie reviews 00:17:35 Depicting heroic masculinity and men behaving well in cinema 00:22:57 Historical context of consent culture and generational decency 00:30:00 The impact of the 2020 pandemic on theater and playwriting 00:37:00 Directing Chekhov’s "The Seagull" inside The Sims 4 00:43:20 Hardcore gaming: Fortnite, Elden Ring, and addictive creativity 00:54:40 Movie franchise predictions and voice acting careers FOLLOW THE SHOW ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatsoundslikealot/ ►Threads: https://www.threads.com/@thatsoundslikealot FOLLOW MATT BUECHELE ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattbooshell/ ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattbooshell ►Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mattbooshell.bsky.social Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices