And here we are, another episode of Han Solo, part of the George Han experience. And boy is that a loaded experience. I mean, specifically in the experience of being me. It's a lot. You wouldn't want it. I'm George Han. Hi. Thanks for joining. For those of you who are joining on Substack, I love you double time because, you know, that's where the good subscriptions happen. All right. Let me get rid of the banner in my face. And there we go. So it is Tuesday, September 15th.
I hope this moment of viewing and/or listening finds everyone doing, you know, reasonably all right. I think it's a lot to ask that everyone's doing great. That's a lot to ask. But let's just say I just hope everyone's doing reasonably okay on a Tuesday. We got about six or seven weeks to coming up to our midterm elections here in the US.
And good news today, which I'm going to talk about or touch upon, is that thanks to our Supreme Court, because you can never really count on everyone doing the right thing, but in this instance, the right thing was done. The Supreme Court shot down Trump world's request to stop mail-in voting. And mail-in voting is safe. Like, we're all going to be, if you do mail-in voting, if you are overseas, however you do it, whyever you do it, you're fine at least for the midterms. You know, we're not going to touch it for the midterms. So that is great news. That gives me hope, as it were.
What else can I tell you? It just, every day it hits me that there is always some... it's too much. It's too much to go, like, pull your hair out over every little thing. There's a lot of distraction. But some of it can be amusing. Like Trump's take on AI. According to Trump, AI is nothing to worry about and we're all going to be okay. Experts suggest otherwise. And let's be crystal on this: Trump is no expert. So yeah, but you know, good for those who are on team Trump and thinking, well, you know, he said everything's going to be okay, so why should we be worried, right? Yeah, good luck with that.
I really don't understand why Trump... I think of the likes of Scott Jennings, or I forget who's the other one who Jessica Tarlov has to endure on The Five, Jesse Watters, or Megyn Kelly, or any of them. All of these people who, like, they think they have a leg to stand on, and they will often deploy this false equivalency of, well, President Obama did, and Bill Clinton did, and then there was that time that Joe Biden, like, laptop, you know, Biden crime. No, no. Not in the words of John Bender from The Breakfast Club: not even close, bud.
They really don't have a leg to stand on. And it's got to suck to be on that team, on team Trump or part of MAGA World, and to really at one's core know that and understand it and acknowledge that you were punked. Trump punked everyone who bought the act. And now more than ever, I mean, better late than never, but now more than ever, more people are waking up to it, that they were punked. And that, you know, the wheeling and dealing, hopping off the helicopter, billionaire, on The Apprentice was a work of fiction and a manufacture from the creatives at NBC, no thanks to Mark Burnett. So yeah.
Trump is the hoax. Donald Trump is the hoax. You cannot take anything he says, any promise he makes, any proclamation he makes seriously. You can't. You never could. If you keep power on the red team, no one's getting a $5,000 check. It's not happening. All right. Trump is the hoax. And that's just the latest of many. We still don't, they still haven't offered a health plan. You know, pick an issue. Trump is the hoax and y'all were punked.
So, and it sucks to acknowledge that, you know. I get it. We've all been punked by one thing or another. How do you know, what do you want to say? Like, just going to move my logo over there. For one reason or another, and it's uncomfortable when you acknowledge that you've been punked for one reason or another, you have to admit that you're fallible, that you were fooled. Nobody likes to admit that. I get it. I get it.
And there's a part of me that feels badly for, and I'm embarrassed for, Trump supporters who are just, no matter what, digging in their heels because they don't want to admit that this thing is a scam and that Trump is a hoax and that they've been punked. You know, and it's very easy for someone like me who has been exposed to Donald Trump at least in the 30-plus, almost 32 years I've been a New Yorker. New York is wise to him, and we're all just kind of like, you know, any reader of Spy magazine and going forward would know this guy's a loser. He's a joke. He's a dangerous joke now because he's in power and he's the leader of the free world. He's a dangerous joke.
He is a toxic clown and he is, as I will always say, the great American embarrassment. So there you have it. Thank you, Bill. Hey, George, I'm going to see your friend Judy Gold on November 5th. How was the US Open? I will get to that. My friend Bill Kelly is asking, well, Judy Gold on November 5th, which city is she going to be in on November 5th? Answer me that in your comments, good man. And thank you for the tip in the tip jar. As anybody watching this can see, Bill's watching from YouTube where people can literally in real time throw tips in the jar, which is fantastic. So, thank you for that.
How was the US Open? The US Open, wow, what an experience. I mean, it's a New York tradition. Rockville, Maryland. Very good. The US Open is a New York tradition. I hadn't gone in many years until the last couple of years and I love it. I absolutely love going to the US Open. I'm not a sports person, but I actually like tennis as a spectator sport. I watched the men's final on Sunday, which was thrilling. I saw Zverev play on Monday night. I went on Labor Day Monday with my friend Michael McDonald who was in from Colorado and he got in that afternoon. I had bought tickets sometime in advance. It's not cheap to go. If you want any decent seats, it's very expensive. That's my one problem with it. The US Open, I think, prices a lot of people out. That said,
it is a singular experience. There is nothing like seeing tennis like that live, as anybody who's ever done it will attest. And I loved it. We had a great time. We had dinner out there. There were some good food offerings, I think. What did we have for dinner? We had like a... I was starving. I hadn't eaten that entire day. When we had like taco salads or something like that at the taco bowl. It was quite tasty and giant bottles of water. Neither of us drinks, although a Diet Coke was really hitting right. But then at some point, between the women's match, and we saw Coco Gauff, she was great, between the women's match and the men's, the break in between, we went and got an ice cream sandwich, a Van Leeuwen ice cream sandwich. Fantastic.
There were no influencers really bugging us, but there was, and I talked about this at other points on my socials the day after, there were these three British dudes, these bros who were students, I'm guessing either NYU or Columbia. They were students, probably no more than 20, no older than 20, wasted out of their minds. It just, they would not shut the fuck up. They weren't loud loud, but they were speaking at a volume that was appropriate for a bar. And we were all, everyone around them were like, 'We're trying to watch this match.' They came in late to the men's match. Anyway, it was what it was. So, yeah, that was a pain in the ass.
Or did they come during the women's? I don't remember. It doesn't matter. But that was the only bother. Other than that, we had a great time. Easy going out there on the 7 train on the subway, and then coming back. Next time I would take the Long Island Rail Road. But the good... I don't know why anybody would even Uber out there unless you're a celebritarian and you can't take public transit, and that's legit. Unless you're a real celebrity, unless you are like a Brad Pitt, a McConaughey, a Ben Stiller, yeah, you need a car and driver. But for the rest of us, Long Island Rail Road, subway, it's all good. Fabulous. Literally the best way to go.
My friend Michael, who likes to say that he's a city guy and he's not afraid of public transit, he does not like public transit and it makes him nervous. And he said, 'Should we get an Uber out there?' I said, 'No, buddy. We're going to take the train.' He was staying in a hotel that was very close to Grand Central, so it was quite easy. The 7 train stops right there and I said, 'We're going to take the train. It's going to be easy and you will thank me later.' And he did. So, that was pretty funny. But it was a great night. I love tennis. Love watching it.
I like being there more. In fact, I temporarily upgraded my Disney Plus subscription to include ESPN. And now that the US Open is done, I have since downgraded to just include Disney Plus and Hulu and no ESPN because I don't really care. I'll re-engage it next year because I love the tennis. Although, I was really appreciative that the French Open was available on HBO Max. That was nice. What else did I want to talk about today? Also, mail-in voting. Those of you voting by mail or prefer to vote by mail, the same way the president himself clearly prefers to vote, your voting is safe. Your voting is safe.
So yeah, that's a really good thing. I love how the Supreme Court just kind of like swatted that down again. At least for the midterms, mail-in voting or however, whatever you call it, vote by mail, it's all good. I think a lot of states, as I understand it, have already sent out the ballots. Some of you may have already received your ballots, but if you haven't, get it done. And mail it in ASAP so that there is no excuse. No excuse. None of this 'I didn't get it and I couldn't mail it until the day of,' even though I don't really trust, like, even though they're supposed to wait until all, like, you have till election day, I believe, to make sure that your mail-in ballot is postmarked. Get it in well in advance. Get it in well in advance. So yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then of course we've also got this Kennedy Center shit rearing its ugly head again. Another distraction, by the way, and this is Trump who is big mad that he wanted to put his name on something, went ahead and did it without permission and then got slapped down, which he doesn't take well, clearly. The rich kid who was never told no or wouldn't accept no. Thank you, Roy Cohn. You guys read that book, by the way, or started it at least. It's called American Scoundrel by Kai Bird. I'm in the middle of it. It's really good. It's a really good biography of Roy Cohn. Anyway, I digress. Trump is big mad that he was ordered to take his name off the Kennedy Center. And this is a guy who likes his name in a lot of places, we all know. And so when he doesn't get his way, he has to stomp and kick and jump up and down and scream.
And that's what this shit is. You know, first it's, 'The Kennedy Center is a shit show. We have to renovate it. We have to close it for two years.' But if Trump doesn't get to put his name on it, something like, 'Well, then we're going to demolish it.' What? No. It's pretty gross. And apparently the board is just loaded with his sycophants and they just live for, you know, they live to give him whatever he wants. It's a real shame. It's a real shame. Let me just skip over to Sub here. Check in with that crowd. All right, there we go.
And finally, the last thing I want to touch upon, you know, people often ask about the movie. And Barbara, I will say a couple of words about the Emmys. I didn't watch. You know, the older I get, the less interested I am in watching award shows. It's hard. Part of it is envy. You know, I have friends in the business, but the business is also something where I've kind of always wanted to be a part of it. And there is a part of me that's envious that there was a group of people who got to be a part of it. Not just go to the award shows and shit like that, but just to be a part of it. And I have not been so fortunate. So, I have a chip on my shoulder about it. I will own that straight up. Like, I'm not going to lie. And while I applaud really good work, it's fantastic. I love Maren Morris. She's actually a neighbor of mine. She lives not far, like three blocks away. And I'm such a fan of hers.
And John Mulaney, I did watch his clip. John Mulaney is hilarious. John Mulaney is always funny. I like John Mulaney very much. And yeah, but I did not watch the show. I didn't watch the whatevers. Style. Some of the women look great. I think Nick Campbell's assessment, if you guys follow Nick Campbell on Instagram, I think his handle is Nick Bell, but his name is Nick Campbell, and he delivers really great commentary on all the red carpet looks. He does all the award shows and colorful. I don't agree with him on all of them, but generally Nick Campbell, I agreed with most of what he said.
I have always been, guys, and especially when it comes to men, I'm not a fan of men breaking their backs to have a fashion moment. Women, it's a different story. Men have and have had so much. It's like, guys, step aside. Let the women have this. I don't... You know what I mean? Like, I don't know. That's, I'm old-fashioned that way. I'm not really a fan of men dripping in fashion. Not a fan. Now, there are those who are known for it and have made a name for themselves for being an outsized fashion personality. Colman Domingo comes to mind. Billy Porter comes to mind. There are others who are not coming to mind, but fine.
But everybody else whose stylists and handlers are saying, you know, 'So-and-so was really big this year and had a great collection. You should wear...' No, you got to have the personality to match it. And most guys who attempt this are walking a tightrope without a net, and I find it embarrassing. So guys, keep it traditional. And what else do we have on the docket today? Oh, I want to end with this. I had a great showing last night. I went to go see All That Jazz at the Paris Theater, which is part of the Big and Loud series, which has been extended, I think, till the 29th of September.
For those of you who don't know, the Big and Loud series is a four-week, now six-week series of films that celebrate scale and big sound and big picture. Think Lawrence of Arabia. Think 2001: A Space Odyssey. Think West Side Story, Aliens. Yeah. So last night I watched All That Jazz, which I had never seen in its entirety and I'm embarrassed. It's 1979, directed by Bob Fosse, and it starred Roy Scheider in the lead role, Joe; Jessica Lange as Angelique, like an angel of death, really; and Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Ben Vereen, Cliff Gorman.
But it's a really... it's tragically funny. All That Jazz, I think, is, yeah, it's funny, but it's also really tragic. It's tough to watch. And I remember why now, having seen it finally, why it was hard growing up, because my father had heart issues and had open heart surgery like this character does in the thing. And I remember the conversations when I was little around my father's health and his heart and clogged arteries and bypasses. And so my father had a hard time with this movie, I think, just because it was like such a, you know, pressing his face up against the glass of a cardiac health crisis.
But you know, being an adult now, and I can see it, and also when it first came out in 1979, I was 9 years old, and I didn't understand it because there's a lot of jumping along a timeline of what is really happening and what is also happening in his head as he's dying. So, it's a flawed movie, but I found it kind of thrilling, All That Jazz, and the musical numbers, the movement, the dancing.
And it's almost, I mean, Roy Scheider, the character he plays, Joe Gideon, is an avatar for Bob Fosse. I mean, it's kind of his own life story, and it's clearly a bit of a confessional. It's Bob Fosse basically saying, 'I was gross. I am... This is... I'm a mess,' and 'I'm a monster and I'm a bad guy' is kind of like what he's saying. And yeah, I'm actually sitting as I speak about this, I'm watching the looping trailer on IMDb on my iPad here, and I'm going to post it because it's going to be on my movie of the night tonight, All That Jazz.
And if you have the opportunity, if you're here in New York, it is showing, I think, one more time, maybe two, but I think only one more time at the Big and Loud series at the Paris Theater. It is thrilling to see it with an audience. It really was a good time. And also, it was a Monday afternoon. It was a 3:45 showing and a pretty full house for a 1979 film. Yeah. So, I'm very happy to see so many people show up to the movies. It's great to see movies with other people. You guys, I've beaten this drum many times before. I'm such a huge fan of going out to the cinema.
And it's thrilling to see people interested in movies like this. And also, by the way, as I've been going to see some of these screenings at the Paris Theater, it's not just old people, like people my age and older, going to see these movies. The crowd, age-wise, is happily mixed, and that's encouraging. So, you know, couple that with the phenomenon of the 70-millimeter IMAX showings of The Odyssey. The Odyssey is still sold out. You still can't get in, and we are two weeks from October. It's been out since July. Like, that's crazy. And also it's a movie about an old Greek poem, you know. Like, this is not, you know, it's just, thematically, culturally, it's encouraging to me.
So, yeah, I really, really love that. So, I'm going to sign off here. I just want to thank... This is a free episode. I do a lot of stuff on Patreon lately behind a paywall because, you know, daddy's got to make a living and we got a dog to feed here. But this is a free episode and it will also be available in the podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, wherever you get those, and it will be living on YouTube and Substack. So gosh, I don't even understand myself. So anyway, thank you guys for tuning in, for joining me, for hanging out. Let me make sure I don't miss any comments over here on Substack before I sign off officially.
Jim Hippo here sharing, 'Grew up a few blocks away from the US Open. As kids, we would get the errant tennis balls from the courts to play stickball with.' Oh, that's cool. Yeah, there's really, as I said earlier, it's kind of terrific to see tennis live. You know, I'm not really a sportsy person, but on the occasions on which I've seen sports live, like I've gone to a Knicks playoff game and I literally sat on the floor, like I had courtside. I was with Justin Theroux and the two of us, and Justin's not a real sports person either, and he just turns to me and he goes, 'Sports ball, huh?' And I went, 'This is kind of amazing.' He's like, 'Yeah.' So we were both into it and it was kind of great. So yes, on that score, I say fantastic.
All right, let's get out of here. Thank you guys for hanging out. If you are not already, please consider subscribing to the YouTube channel. That's great. Also, consider subscribing to my nonsense over on Substack. And that's easy to find. All you have to do is go to georgehahn.com and you will find my Substack because that's where it lives. And if you're looking for my older blog, my website, it's georgehahnarchive.com. That's where that is. I have to put a link to that on my Substack. I keep forgetting to do that. Thank you for reminding me. None of you reminded me. I'm just reminding myself. This is what happens when I talk to myself.
So, yeah. georgehahn.com. That's where Substack lives. You can be a non-paying subscriber, but if you want access to everything, please consider the $5 a month subscription. You get a little break if you get an annual subscription. That's kind of sexy, huh? And I will be back on Substack Live tomorrow for you paying subscribers. But I think maybe Wednesday we should do a free one for all the people. And I am going to have guests. I've done it before and I'm going to do it again. We are going to have guests. For now, this is a Han Solo. So, thanks for hanging out. I will see you kids later.
Have a great rest of your day. Go to a movie. Go to a show. Get out of the house. Do something where you're in a room of people, like a movie theater or a theater theater, and you're having a shared experience and laughing together. We're getting scared together. We're getting excited together. It's great that we can have access to all this yummy content at home and in our earphones, but there's nothing like going out. So, go enjoy that. By the way, did you know that the US Open on a seasonal basis employs about 7,000 people? That's what I read anyway. So, get out of the house. All right. Bye.
