The Story Behind Viral Nostalgia Pop-Ups with Derek Berry

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[00:00:31] But our guest this week actually reconstructs them. Creator and producer Derek Berry joins us to talk world building, licensing the past, designing for fans, and why nostalgia is still one of the most powerful engines in pop culture. Welcome to the No More Late Fees podcast. I'm Danielle.

[00:01:00] And I'm Jackie. And we're just two best friends and ex-Blockbuster employees re-watching some of the best and worst movies from the late 90s and early 2000s. This week on the No More Late Fees podcast, Danielle and I are thrilled to welcome someone who has been bringing our childhood nostalgia to life. From the Saved by the Bell pop-up to the Askew Universe movies and more, he's built immersive worlds for fans to step inside their favorite shows and movies.

[00:01:27] Basically, he's made the childhood we imagined into actual real estate. Please welcome creator, producer, and immersive experience designer Derek Berry to the podcast. So before we get into all the iconic bills, can you take us back a little bit? What was the very first seed of the idea that turned into recreating these pop culture spaces? For sure.

[00:01:53] So in 2016, I'm trying to think of the exact year, but 2016, I was looking around online. I was doing a lot of, like, 90s and 80s parties already in Chicago at a bar that I was working at. And so, like, we would do, I just, like, you name it. We did, like, the Baywatch Bash. And we did, you know, Hey Dude, Olympics. Like, just, like, the funniest stuff. And it was really just, like, 90s parties.

[00:02:22] Everyone would come dressed up. And we'd have, like, hilarious jello shots named after characters and stuff. And after a while, the lines were, like, so big every week that we did it twice a month. The lines were so big. We were like, how do we scale this? Like, how do we make this even bigger? This feels like it's a business at this point, not just, like, a party. And so, I started thinking, I was working at a music venue at the time and at a bar. And I was, the bar was packed out. And I was telling the music venue, I'm doing these nights at this bar.

[00:02:52] And they're, like, they're packed out. There's 500, 600 people every time. And, you know, I think we could come over here and do, like, a prom. And so, the original idea was to do, like, this Bayside prom. Because I love Saved by the Bells. Always my favorite show. And I was like, we'll do a prom. That's the scaling of it. And so, we started to look at the finances. And, like, I had no money. Like, we were like, wait, you have to rent a venue? Like, I didn't understand. The bar would just give us bar nights. We can't just do a night here.

[00:03:20] And it really, like, we paused on it. And so, I really was just like, what is the idea? Like, how can I ever think of something it'll come to? Like, just perfect timing. I saw an old mentor of mine. He was closing down a restaurant. And he was like, I have this location. And if you want to do any of your, like, 90s parties there, DJ nights, let me know. I heard they're really successful. I'm like, all right, cool. Let's do it. So, we start planning a 90s night and everything. And my wife was like, instead of doing, like, the parties there and stuff, what if you just did something bigger?

[00:03:50] And it, like, clicked instantly. And I was like, we could do one of those things. We could, like, do a 90s thing. We could do a 90s restaurant. We could do Saved by the Bell. Wait, we could do Saved by the Bell. And it was, like, very much came together super fast. And then before I hit that restaurant back, my friend who owned the restaurant, I put up an event page and I told my wife, okay, I'm not going to tell anybody I'm doing this. It's going to be totally anonymous. Right now, it's just more, like, bookmarking the idea.

[00:04:20] But I will email it to a bunch of the biggest writers in Chicago anonymously and see what happens. And so, right then and there, it was like, it never was like, hey, I want to do the Mack, so we're going to come up with a big business plan. It really just came together on its own super fast, you know? Yeah. And once it went viral, we were like, we have to do it. And so, we just jumped on the opportunity and never looked back and did it. That's awesome. Yeah. Oh, man.

[00:04:50] And how did the connection with Bucketlisters start to form? So, the way I know Bucketlisters is a lot of my pop-ups, when I had my own company with Save the Max, Good Burger, Breaking Bad, we'd done a lot of them. We'd always hit, like, a peak where, like, the initial interest, like, fizzles out. And you're like, all right, I need to get scrappy. I need to, like, how do I get people in here who haven't found out about it? Like, I've done everything I can.

[00:05:16] And so, I always used BucketListers for marketing push for a very long time. And they would always move, like, so many tickets, like, help come up with really good content and stuff. And this was, like, before people were, like, using the word, I feel like, content and creators and influencers, like, they were like, yeah, we'll help you come up with, like, a look. And so, I always loved them. The owner, Andy, was super cool. And when my company, I had a restaurant, and we'd flip all those pop-ups I named were in one restaurant, one after the other.

[00:05:47] We would just, it was kind of like the rotating pop-up space in Hollywood. Yeah. COVID ended that. And I kind of shuffled around a little bit. I went to work for Kevin Smith, James Island Bob. Him and I did, like, a touring pop-up for all of COVID. It was crazy. It was amazing. And he's, like, a great friend of mine now. But we just got creative, right? And so, they reached out to me while I was kind of freelancing for Kevin. And Andy was, like, and Jeff, my bosses, were, like, hey, we love what you do. Already, you know, sell a bunch of tickets when you do put it over here.

[00:06:16] What if you just came and helped create it? Because BucketListers already had millions of followers. And that was their thing is they were promoting a lot of other people's stuff. And so, they were looking for a way to promote their own stuff. I was looking for somewhere to partner now that my company had kind of gone under. One thing led to another. And so, we gave it a try. We did the Golden Girls Kitchen as the first thing. It went insanely viral in 2022. And I was, like, wow, I really see the power of BucketListers. Like, this makes total sense. I love the company.

[00:06:45] And so, I joined full-time. And, you know, we kind of hit the ground running. And so, all the stuff I'd been doing with me and my two best friends, which was, like, very small. We were the social media, the marketing, the, like, everything. I came to BucketListers and had this big crew now. And so, we were able to scale stuff, able to bounce ideas off of people. And it really helped, like, me grow. And then the attention grow. And then really just the things I was doing, like, on this scale went to, like, really much larger scale.

[00:07:15] That's amazing. Yeah. And very inspiring. That sometimes we have these ideas in our heads. And people, it's who you tell sometimes, too. But that seems crazy. Yeah. But I think the difference between people who make it and don't are the ones who actually go and do the things that come up, pop up in their heads. And I have always, and sometimes it's my fault. Like, if I have an idea, I'm going to do it.

[00:07:41] And it's, like, no, I know, like, I can do it always because I, like, definitely have fallen on my butt and had stuff that, like, I thought was a hit. And it was not a hit. And, like, you know, we did testing and that was great. But in general, like, if I have an idea, I usually try to do it. And because if we don't do it, someone else is going to do it. And then we're going to go, like, I had that idea first, you know? And so, like, I'll post pop-ups sometimes and people will say, like, I had that idea 15 years ago. And it's, like, dude, if you had done it, I wouldn't have done it.

[00:08:10] I would have seen you doing it, right? So, in general, I always try to do it. I always try to be a soundboard for, like, new producers, too. Like, who will, like, hit me up on LinkedIn or in my DMs. And there was a time where I was, like, is this, like, competition? And then I stopped thinking about it that way. And it's, like, I hope when I was starting out, someone with the experience that I now have would have given me some advice back then. And it would have made things, like, a lot smoother.

[00:08:36] And so, when people reach out now and ask me questions, I, like, I'm always, like, here, let me be your sounding board, right? Like, let's talk about it. And it always comes back, right? Some of those people I've, like, helped, like, springboard stuff and gone on, like, major stuff. And when they want a partner on something, like, they're, you know, I'm the first person they think of. So, in general, yeah, like, I always encourage people, whether it's my kids or my coworkers, like, just if you have an idea, try to pursue it.

[00:09:02] And if it doesn't work out, like, just say you at least put some work into, like, trying to make it happen. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. So, I know you had talked a little bit about, like, partnering with Kevin during COVID. Danielle and I did go to the movies pop-up. Yeah. Nice. So, we went in South Florida and then I went. Delray. Yes. Yes. Yep. I was there for that one, for the opening. And then I went in Austin, where I live. So, I went twice.

[00:09:31] It's no secret on the podcast, Kevin is my favorite director of all time. He's just amazing. Yeah. Anytime he has, like, a Q&A come to town, I go, like, it's just my obsession. So. He's the greatest ever. I love that guy. He's just so genuine. And, like, much like you, like, just wants to encourage everyone to do the thing and be creative. Say that. And he was great.

[00:09:58] And movies was, like, honestly, I learned so much in how to do, like, things really nimble. Because, like, during COVID, there was no, like, fabricators around. There was, like, you had to do a walkthrough method. And, like, in Austin, there was so much, like, taking over a music venue and trying to make it feel like a restaurant, you know. But, like, there was so many key learnings. And just in general, it was just amazing to, like, produce anything when everyone was just bummed at everything at that time. There was nothing going on, you know.

[00:10:27] And I was hopping on flights, like, every two weeks to produce these things. And it was great. And so, for me, it was also a means of, like, staying busy during COVID. My company had just went under. And Kevin and his manager, Jordan, are, like, let's just put movies on the road. You can run it. And I'm, like, great. Let's do it. And so, yes. I love Kevin. He is awesome. It always be at the openings of them. And that was, like, the craziest COVID pivot.

[00:10:53] When I tell you I was doing everything, I was, like, setting it up, doing the menus with the chefs, and then being the mascot. And I was, like, I'll do it. Like, it's Kevin Smith. Oh, my God. Every single word. Like, one of my favorites ever, ever movies ever. Kevin Smith's story really quick about him is we were wrapping up in Delray, actually. And his manager, Jordan, texts me and says, like, hey, I have a random one for you. Can you come to New Jersey in the next 48 hours? And I'm, like, what's going on?

[00:11:23] She's, like, we got to close down Quick Stop for filming of Movies 3. And we wanted you to do, like, a Quick Stop pop-up in the back alley. And I'm, like, all right, cool. Like, sounds great. And they're, like, and side note to that, we're going to have you be the manager of movies in part three. And I'm, like, me? Like, I'm not an actor, though. Like, I wouldn't know the first thing. They're, like, don't care. Kevin wants his friends in it. So just come. And so he put me in the movie.

[00:11:50] I have a whole scene, like, where I'm, like, dancing with Jay and Silent Bob. And it's, like, a dream come true. And, like, that's kind of just, like, yeah, the coolest part of even producing pop-ups. I was, like, finding myself in those crazy situations around people who I, like, you know, I'm huge fans of this to this day. That's amazing. Now I'm going to go back and re-watch Cloak's 3. Yeah. Yeah, you'll have to do it. There he is. There's Derek. Oh, man.

[00:12:15] So we could have, we probably saw you in the movie's costume. Yep. Now we probably spotted you on the screen and didn't realize it. Yeah. I have found myself in these most random situations just out of, like, these pop-ups, right? And they've opened up funny stories. I did, like, an episode with Dancing with the Stars with Kel Smith, or Kel Mitchell, when we did the Good Burger pop-up.

[00:12:41] And it was just, like, I was at the restaurant cleaning up, and they needed someone to be the guy on film. And I'm, like, sure. And so it had been great. And he's another one. Like, Kel's just been, like, those guys, you know, they say, don't meet your idols. But, like, those guys, both of them were the coolest ever. Super supportive to this day. Couldn't be more fun to work with. Kel and I did a Kel's Burger Fest in Brooklyn, like, three, four months ago. Oh, I remember that. And it was a hit, and it was great. And we were partnered on it.

[00:13:10] And so, you know, he's, like, amazing. He met everybody there. And it's just, like, one of the best humans ever to work with. I'd love to hear stories like that. Yeah. You hear so many times about, like, people not being nice. Yeah. 100%. Yep. And I've seen that side, too. And, like, you just, you always remember the awesome people. Yeah. And you always want to be around them and support them. And so, yeah, like, all the different pop-ups we've done, I always think about the people who come in and they shock you.

[00:13:38] It's just, like, how cool they are, how supportive they are of these things. But, yeah, it's been really great. I found my lane with these theme pop-ups. And, like, that's exactly where I love being. You know, like, everyone's always, what if you did this thing? And I'm, like, it sounds too cool. It sounds too relevant. Like, I'm a 90s Y2K. Put me in that lane, I'm crushing it. Exactly. Brand new stuff. If that's one season in, I'm like, I don't know anything about it. Yeah. Don't ask me what music is what movies are out. I don't know.

[00:14:07] I asked me about 30 years ago, and I'm good. And that's kind of, like, how we plan our pop-ups, too, is, like, so when we are thinking through, like, how do you figure out a pop-up? Like, people are always, of course, have a million ideas. And some of, like, the new relevant stuff, like the stranger things of the world, to me, it's almost nostalgic now because it's been on air for, you know, over 10 years, right? So it does have a nostalgia factor. But when people are coming up with ideas of very new stuff, I could see it working.

[00:14:33] But the reason I think, like, my specific ones do so well or, you know, knock on wood, do well is because it just, like, sparks something in you. Like, you remember that time that you were watching the Golden Girls or that you did Welcome to Good Burger, Home of the Good Burger with your friends 10 times over, you know? Like, certain things, like, they come out of you at these pop-ups. And, like, you don't have to be too cool to go there. Like, in fact, we encourage you to be cheesy and sing along with all the, you know, the music that's being played. And when people come dressed up, we want that, you know?

[00:15:02] So, like, when we're planning pop-ups, it really is, like, does it have, like, really memorable scenes? Does it have, like, very memorable quotes that if I saw it on the menu, it's not just, like, the Zack Morris Burger. But instead, it's, like, it's really thought out. You know, like the AC Sniders. People are, like, oh, love that. The onion rings, the one ring to rule them all. Oh, yeah. Like, top tier. Yeah. That meant you was very funny.

[00:15:30] I remember I sent it to Kevin, and he was, like, this is good stuff. Like, we don't need to change a lot here. But, like, to me, those are the things, right? Like, when you read that on the menu, you're, like, oh, yes. They didn't miss anything. And, like, to me, it requires a level of, like, nostalgia. I've watched it many times over, you know, 10 plus years to, like, to evoke that. So, yeah. When I'm planning anything, like, when I talk to studios, they're, like, all right, we'll send you our IP list.

[00:15:59] I'm, like, send me the nostalgia one first. Like, don't send me what just did well on Netflix on season one. Send me, like, what you just picked up on syndication and you're hoping, you know, X, Y, and Z. So, that is my world. I love all that. And it feels, like, so genuine for me because I can have these conversations, right? Like, some of the pop-ups, you'll see, like, people do interviews and you're just sort of, like, this is, they didn't plan this one. They're the spokesperson of it, you know? Like, I really love the 90s.

[00:16:28] And I was saying to my wife, like, my best friend and I, to this day, almost every time we talk, it's Full House or Saved by the Bell trivia before we're ending the conversation. Just to see who still got it. Pop quiz. Yeah, pop quiz. Exactly. And it's, like, that's just, like, genuinely, like, I've always been that way. Even more so now. You know what I mean? Like, rewatching all the fun stuff we're watching. Like, we're going, like, a Survivor pop-up when everyone's, like, Survivor, that seems relevant. It's so nostalgic.

[00:16:58] Like, it's on season 50. Yeah, it's been on for so long. 25 years. Yeah. So, it's crazy. And people actually look at that and know, like, lines of it like they would say by the Bell or Good Burger. And so, for me, that's another one that I love because when people come, they're, like, coming with their parents and their family and they're, like, I watched this growing up and I did, you know, and so we love to evoke all that. Core memories. Blockbuster. You know what I mean? Like, people love that.

[00:17:26] Even when we first had it, we were just, like, let's set up, like, bar seats. And we're, like, we got to think into another level. Like, what did you like about Blockbuster? Right. So, thinking one level deeper into it. And I love that because you're a fan, you're going to have that attention to detail. You're not just kind of Googling, like, what did people like about that? Like, you know the content at a personal level to be able to bring that to life, which it really shows in all of the pop-ups that we've been to.

[00:17:56] They're just... I appreciate that. I would say it's by a fan for a fan. You know what I mean? Like, there's big agencies. I go to them because I live in L.A. And so, they're in my backyard. And I go. And you're like, I knew they would have that. I knew they would have that. And that's a good thing, right? But, like, the Easter eggs to me is where people, like, just, like, go crazy. Yeah. Yeah. I love...

[00:18:21] I think that's why I used to love going to Universal Studios or Disney growing up because they would have those details and just my imagination being so consumed by the media and being obsessed with wanting to live in that. And I do find that that's starting to translate. You have your pop-up events, but now people are doing it at home, recreating meals while they're watching the movies, which has become, like, the scene to screen movement.

[00:18:50] I guess it has become very, very popular. Would you do something similar to that? Because I think your pop-ups now are people coming in dining but not fully immersed with watching the movie and having things come out on that kind of schedule. So, yes. I watch that super close, that trend. We gave... There's... We partner with Fork & Film. Do you know... Have you heard of Fork & Film? Yes. They're all over the world at this point.

[00:19:20] They've really scaled. And so, they're, you know, they're one of the first. I'm not sure who created it. Many people take credit for that model of, like, you know, eat it while it happens on the screen. But I thought it was super cool. And I think that, like, it was... To me, it felt like the excitement and the uniqueness reminded me of when we... Like, I didn't start theme pop-ups. Like, people have always done them. You know what I mean? There's activations. But, like, there was a wave in, like, 2018 where, like, the big ones started happening. And, say, by the max, my one moved to LA.

[00:19:48] And it really kind of, like, blew up. I would say, like, there was an excitement of, like, this is new. Like, this feels super different. But it's affordable. And, like, that to me was, like, Fork & Film. And they're in many cities now. And then, you know, obviously, once they blew up, a lot of other people started doing it. And there's, like... It's a very hard thing to do. I looked into it. You know what I mean? And there's, like, very good versions of it. And there's, like, there's some ones that are not done so great. But I think it is super cool.

[00:20:17] I think just watching a movie has become very hard. You want something different, right? And so, I think it is very cool. It's, like, there's, like, the movie theaters where you can feel the water hitting you. And you move around and crazy stuff like that. And I think this is, like, the answer to that. So, I think it's very cool. I wouldn't personally, like, at this point. I think it's... I'm already looking, like, what's the new thing? You know what I mean? And so, we have some really cool things we're planning that are, like, skating the lines of, like, themed dining.

[00:20:47] Like, really specific virtual reality elements. But, like, being able to, like, take a bar, transport you somewhere completely different using LED screens and making it feel like that outside of the bar is somewhere you have no idea where you are. And so, like, I'm planning something for a certain IP. I would tell you what it was, but I don't want to lose. It hasn't been signed yet. But, knock on wood, no, no. It's, like, I'm interested in that. I always want to do themed dining. I come from, like, the food world. I love the food world.

[00:21:17] Like, food to me is, like, it's what separates me from a lot of people because food is hard. And you mess it up. People will, like, pulverize you on Yelp and Google and all the things, you know? So, a lot of people just do bars or walkthroughs. But I think, like, food is where we've always been, like, very unique because you don't just talk to the pop culture side of the world. Like, it's the food and beverage and the eaters and food and wine who want to, like, are interested now, right? So, yeah. I've always, I want to just figure out a way, what's the next new thing?

[00:21:47] And so, there's a lot of cool stuff out there. And I'm trying to figure out how to merge it all together. But luckily, like, themed dining has sustained over the last 10 years. We just announced Golden Girls in Atlanta, like, today. And it's everywhere. Like, we were, like, this will be the telltale if Golden Girls still can do this. And it was, like, it might be the biggest one yet. And so, it's really exciting. Our family, I think, launched in Chicago last week. And it was, like, doing dead of winter, really packed out.

[00:22:15] So, I think as long as you do it right, like, the product matters. There's really bad pop-ups out there. And that is not to slight anybody. But, like, sometimes I think people see a pop-up and go, like, I can do that. And they could, right? They don't go get it licensed. Because when you get it licensed through the studio, they don't let you get a cardboard cutout. They don't let you just name the menu some cute names and call it, like, the, you know, the Golden Girls pop-up. There's, like, major investment. There's months of approval. Sometimes I'm, like, I wish I could do this unofficial.

[00:22:44] Because it's so hard to get this done. Like, you know, but there's a lot of people out there who just do it. And they don't get shut down. And they do it unofficially. And, you know, it really, like, tarnishes not only, like, the IP, but for people like myself. We get compared to those things, unfortunately. When I was in Chicago, people were asking me, like, what do you think of this experience? And that experience isn't the same as this. And I was, like, I like to think we're, like, fully immersive. We spent, like, a lot of money building this out.

[00:23:11] Like, training teams, months of development with Seth McFarlane for the, you know, like, we can't do anything unless he says yes. Like, I'm telling you, we've actually had to wait weeks at a time to put something on sale. Didn't know if it was going to happen because it's his team to just say yes. And we knew it was yes, but we had to wait. And so I think that separates us. But there is a lot of, like, not great stuff out there. And it's very hard sometimes to, like, not get eaten up in that. So it's a constant reminder of, like, we need to just be, like,

[00:23:40] thinking of new things and just, like, changing the wheel. But also while we're doing things, like, not cutting any corners. Because there's times where I'm, like, I love to do cardboard cutout. It would cost so much less. Yeah. Than building a 3D model that, yeah, gets sent out. And it's all the thing. So, yeah. But to me, my name is on the line. Like, I just always want to make sure it's the best product. And Bucky Lister's name is on the line. So, yeah. Well, you've been doing a great job.

[00:24:08] Jackie and I were like, oh, wait. We've been to us now realizing as you're on the show that we've been to multiple. That's so awesome. Pop-ups. So what has been, like, the most unexpected, difficult part of creating these experiences? Hmm. Like, permits, IP rights, budgets. Yeah, no. All of them. Those are all. Those three. Wow. I mean, it'd be a toss-up between us.

[00:24:38] I think, like, Bucky Lister's, for example, has a really good team, finance team. So, like, budgets don't really worry me. Obviously, like, there's risk in it and things of that nature. But I think it's the, there's a lot of just risk versus reward in the sense of, you know, it's a business, right? And sometimes you want to be able to do things on a cheaper dollar. And then it could be easier on the front side and people see through it. So, like, producing high-end pop-ups and doing it where you only are open for three or four

[00:25:06] months is very difficult because it is, like you said, you're pulling permits, you're signing agreements, you're hiring freelancers, you're, there's capital investment. There's so much going into it. On the flip side of that, I'd say the best part of joining Bucky Lister is, like, there's a team. And I will tell everyone that, like, sometimes people want to keep their team small. And I think a small team is good, right? Because people want to watch costs and stuff. But to me, to do these things right, you have to look at every side of it.

[00:25:35] And it really is, like, staffing up the right restaurant manager to co-hire and train. And so, you know, yeah, I think the hardest thing is just the process of, like, opening restaurants. Because opening one restaurant in your life is really hard. Yeah, I can't imagine. We opened up, like, probably 20 of them a year. Wow. And back to back, sometimes some at the same time. And they're full restaurant openings from the, you know, making it look like that to

[00:26:01] a new menu to training to setting up, you know, influencer nights in that city and everything and accounts. And so, it's a lot. And I think just having the right team has gotten to be very helpful over time. Yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. So, do you feel like there's a shift from nostalgia that feels like escapism to more like a community building? Yeah.

[00:26:26] I mean, I feel like Comic Con, for example, like 10, 15 years ago, it was, like, super niche. And people would be like, oh, man. Like, you go to Comic Con. And kind of, like, it was sort of, like, very much, like, not in the mainstream. It's the best way to say it. Right? People in the mainstream would go like, oh, that's kind of, like, nerdy. Like, it's just, like, a nerdy culture. Yeah. And everyone going to Comic Con is like, we're good with that. Like, that's our, we're good. Right?

[00:26:56] It grew so much, in my opinion, that it's, like, it is cool now to say I go to Comic Con. Like, I spoke at Comic Con last year and was like, dang, this thing is big. Like, this is, like, Coachella has nothing on this thing. I'm serious. Like, it's, like, people go to Coachella to have fun. People go to Comic Con because it's, like, their community. It was, everyone is dressed up. Everyone is, like, they're there. So, like, I feel like it's transitioned from, like, from a while.

[00:27:24] Like, I always looked at it as kind of was, like, it was escapism for me. Like, I didn't like mainstream music. I didn't, like, in my time, I guess, like, EDM, let's just say, was not my thing. I wanted to go listen to, like, Montel Jordan or Daft Punk or, like, something, like, really fun at the club. So, I always went to, like, 80s and 90s nights because I didn't want to be around the cool crowd. I wanted to be around people who just want to have fun and jump around and weren't doing bottle service. But instead, we were drinking, like, PBR and just, like, listening to fun music.

[00:27:52] That was always my vibe, right? Yeah. And so, as that grew, though, it's, like, you will go into, like, the clubs that used to play the EDM stuff 15 years ago that I wanted to stay away from. They're booking downtown Julie Brown now and they're doing 80s nights, 80s nights and stuff like that, you know? And so, like, it transitioned and I love that. It's just, like, you know, it really made the community bigger. It made the things I work on more fun and, like, people kind of put their guard down over time. And now it's, like, it's okay to, you know, be into that kind of stuff.

[00:28:22] In New York, there used to be a bar in Brooklyn that would, every Saturday, play Saturday morning cartoons from the 80s and 90s. And they would have the cereals from back then, too. Oh, I love that. So, it was just, like, a cereal bar and you would go. And I always wanted to go, but I would never get up to go to Queens. Early enough, yeah. Yeah. We did a cereal bar at one point. And cereal bars are so fun. I love them. And it just was nostalgic.

[00:28:49] We played Y2K stuff and that was, yeah, anything that's just leaning back to that time, we all, I'm like, let me give it a try. Yeah. So, were there any properties you wanted but couldn't get the rights or negotiations fell through? Like, what is on, as much as you can disclose your bucket list of future IPs? Okay. Ultimate dream IP here. Anything Adam Sandler related. Yes.

[00:29:16] My goal, throwing it out there right now into the universe, is, like, to do an Adam Sandler, like, theme park. Incorporate all his IPs. Yeah. Because, like, Happy Madison and stuff like that. I've tried. Hit a wall. Don't, usually, I'm going to dig back into it and I'm putting it into universe. 2026 is the year we try to make it happen. Anything Will Ferrell related would be a dream come true.

[00:29:40] I've talked about different IPs of his but, like, to me, like, those two guys are just, like, timeless. They have so many different IPs that you could quote left and right and so those would be the dream. I've always wanted to do a Seinfeld one. Never really was able to push that forward to do Monks, the cafe from there. Outside of that, ooh, is there anything else? I think those are the big ones. Those are the ones that have always been, like, I really want to do something Adam Sandler related.

[00:30:10] And I had a lead at one point a few months ago when Gilmore 2 was coming out. It unfortunately did not work out. So I kind of tabled the idea. But even as you say this, I said to a couple of my friends, 2026 is the year we get in touch with Sandler. Whether it's a yes or no, that's okay. But I need to know he saw the pitch. At the high end, you get Billy Madison. At the low end, you get Jack and Jill. Exactly. So fingers crossed. And I'll take it. I'll take it. Give me Grandma's boy. Give me anything. Anything.

[00:30:40] I mean, yeah. It's, yeah. That would be a dream. We are trying. Well, we love Matthew Lillard. And if we were to throw out anything, obviously anything that's green would be amazing. But also 13 Ghosts. I think they're making a TV show of it. But like when we did the episode talking about the movie, we learned that they had to actually build that entire set indoors. Wow.

[00:31:07] To have like all the glass and stuff like that. But I'm hoping the TV show will give us more insight because the movie did so much work with all these ghosts. Yeah. But as a movie goer, we don't learn anything about it unless you have the DVD, which is insane. When I think Matthew Lillard, instantly SLC Punk for me. Yeah. Like one of my favorite movies ever. Ever, ever. Know every word to it. We did that one. It was our other friend Simone on.

[00:31:36] And I'm like, I love when you guys can show me white culture movies because I don't know what the hell is going on. Did you watch SLC Punk? Yes. Oh my gosh. What a timeless classic. Anytime. I'm starting to see people clipping that movie into reels now. Like random stuff happening. And I'm like, no. Don't take this from us old people. Let us keep SLC Punk. No.

[00:32:00] When you were mentioning like the immersive experience, I immediately thought of hackers, how they go to like that gaming bar. Yeah. Yeah. People mentioned hackers as one. People mentioned. Yeah. I'm telling you, I want to put a list together of the stuff I get because anytime I name them, do one, it's like people will say good job. But then they more say like what I should have done. And sometimes I'm taking notes. That's how we end up doing Buffy. Like so many people over the year were just like, how are you going to do Halloween thing and not do Buffy? And I was like, you're right.

[00:32:29] And so we went out and got the rights to Buffy and it was really cool. We were going to try to relaunch it, but because it's coming back now. The studio. Yeah. The rights are just so difficult to track down. So we kind of put those to the side for now. But yeah, like working on a bunch of seasonal stuff for this year, working on a bunch of different stuff, looking to expand Barbie. We did our first international pop-up ever in Australia, which is like a major goal to knock off.

[00:32:55] So yeah, just a lot of like, just there's so much timeless stuff out there that has not been touched where like people are always like, what's new? It's like, I'm not looking at what's new. I'm just thinking like, what have we thought about? You know what I mean? Like, when are we doing something for coming to America? When are we doing something for, you know, just thinking through all the different, there's so many that people would go crazy for. I was thinking like Dumb and Dumber. There's even just like the scene with the hot dogs. You could do a hot dog pop-up. Yeah.

[00:33:25] Six weeks. Yeah. Because Dumb and Dumber is such an iconic movie. Yeah. And just even that, I wrote that one down with like, who owns the rights to Dumb and Dumber? I'm curious. And so usually that's how these pop-ups start is a crazy idea. Google who has the rights and then jump on LinkedIn and start blowing people up. There is a food truck here that's called Tommy Want Wingy based on Tommy Boy. Oh my gosh. That is amazing. I have to write that down. My boss's favorite movie is Tommy Boy. Yep.

[00:33:54] I'm like, how could you not, how could you pick a more perfect food truck? Too good. Oh my gosh. I don't have words for that one. I just wrote that down. My boss's going to go crazy. Yeah. Well, I'm already nowhere when I'm going to Austin where I'm going to eat. Even food's not good. Yeah. I've never had it. I don't actually like wings, but I'm like, every time I walk by, I'm like, if I did, I would have immediately stopped. I will fall for anything nostalgic like that.

[00:34:23] I was in Vegas. I walked by the chef, the Jon Favreau movie, like food truck. And I'm like, I know the food's not good, but I'm going to have it just because it's branded like that. And so I went in there, got a taco, got churros. And I was like, all right, cool. Like I had to do it. Yeah. Yeah. The truck was going around when it first, the movie first came out. I was trying to get to it so bad. I missed it. Luckily, I caught it in Austin or in Vegas. It was right across from our Mariah Carey pop-up with MGM. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:34:52] We just did the Mighty Ducks trilogy on the podcast. Amazing. All I did was buy jerseys first. And like, we were living our best lives with our favorite player jersey. Yeah. Greatest trilogy ever. Oh, yes. The one where they're in LA. Second one. Yeah. I always am like driving around downtown. I'm like, that's the scene where they're playing outside. And I look it up and I'm like, no. It's a total option in the town. Like once a month, I will do that.

[00:35:21] I'm like, wait, that is 100% when they're playing outdoor with the gates around him. I know this scene. And I look it up. I'm like, all right, wrong neighborhood. But yeah, I love that movie so much. It's so good. Colton Reed, most underrated character to ever exist. Love that guy. I love a Bash brother. Yeah. I always thought I could be the third Bash brother. Then I realized it's like way too small. Not going to happen. Well, Kenny Wu was the third and he was small. Yeah. Oh, my. I think I know what I'm watching with my kids this weekend.

[00:35:51] Yes. We used to do Little Rascals recently. And my gosh, that is a timeless classic. I'm watching with my kids and I'm just like such a writing for that. It's just amazing. Yeah. Yeah. I will only watch those. Directing children. Just your entire cast is children. Goldberg's movie. Didn't he produce that one? I think he did. I don't know. Did he? I can look at that. The fact that there's just like so many just like random banger jokes in there too that these kids deliver. Yes.

[00:36:20] Because I'm watching like new stuff with my kids all the time. And I'm like, all right, it's fine. And then we watch one of these old school ones and I'm like, this is good. And I'm sure that's how my parents were looking at movies. They were trying to film me growing up. But I'm just like. They didn't look at anything. They were like, go ahead and watch it. Yeah. Because my friend thought, oh, I'm going to be such a niche mom. I'm going to show them all dogs go to heaven. She said, girl, I don't know what they were letting us watch in the 90s. I said absolutely everything and anything.

[00:36:49] My favorite 90s anything film to this day. And like I've always prayed they never tried to remake it. And I know they couldn't is Airborne. It's like the greatest. Oh, my God. So good. I wanted to do like some kind of skate pop up, some kind of something. But I mean, like, I'm sure the rights are super interesting to track down. Yeah. But to this day, if I come across a reel and it's anything new to that movie, I'm like locked in. Watch this. Like, let's go. So I really like that.

[00:37:18] I remember wanting to see that movie because the main guy was in this like teen soap opera called Swan's Crossing with Michelle Gellar. Yeah, right. And I was like, yeah, I'll eat this up. I don't know what skateboarding, skate rollerblading. Yeah. I don't know nothing about that. Jack Black was in it. Yeah. Seth Green. Seth Green. Yeah. A couple random ones. Yeah. Those movies. I love seeing those. But yeah, that is. And it's just like the storyline is so unrealistic.

[00:37:47] You just like I watched it to this day and I'm like, what? But it's that good. So yeah, I love that film. Well, we did Brink. Jackie had never seen that one. Great one. Yep. Often confused with Airborne to some people. They're like thinking it could be the same thing. No, not in the slightest. No, no, no, no, no. But I'm glad you brought up your favorite movie because we do like to ask people who join

[00:38:12] us as if you were working at Blockbuster to be a Blockbuster employee and pick three movies that you would do as your employee picks that would be on the wall. Okay. First, we're going with Airborne. What your skin needs is what your skin needs. Pigmentflexes reduce and pours through innovative substances and high-end UV-Schutz. Eubos Anti-Age. Your new duo against pigmentflexes and skin-altern. Eubos. Individual skincare.

[00:38:47] Second, Billie Madison. Excellent choice. Third, Mean Girls. Mean Girls. Love it. Good one. Just too many classics, not to quote my 14-year-old daughters, like all over it at this point. And I'm like, I'm so proud of you. Like, please, please keep quoting Mean Girls. Yeah. Has she watched the musical one yet? Or the original?

[00:39:17] She saw it. That's all you had to say. I'm not a big fan of reboots. I'm public about it. I never thought they should have rebooted Saved by the Bell. Well, I thought if anyone's going to rewrite the storyline, it should have just followed the main characters who we all wanted to see what they'd gone on to, right? Right. It's just, I think like the new cast didn't do well. College years didn't do so well. Yeah. Yeah. This version was just like, it was just like, it was the new cast again, basically. You know, we grew to love those characters.

[00:39:45] And yeah, I had, that was like sensitive to me, that reboot, because I was, we did Saved by the Bell and I feel like when it rebooted, sometimes the pop-ups, the nostalgia factor goes away. 90210, the same thing happened. People weren't like massively into that reboot. And we did Peach Pit at the time and you felt it. And you know, they loses that appeal. I will personally think the only reboot that I'm thinking like right off that, I thought was like, they did that right. Was Cobra Kai.

[00:40:12] Cause it was like, they, you know, Johnny is like smoking cigarettes, drinking PBR. Like that's where he probably landed. And it felt like, you know what I mean? Like we didn't stop, nothing stopped. Like we're watching where it left off. So that's like, I felt like it's like, that's what I need. And it felt so good. It did a bunch of seasons. You never heard anything negative about it. People were like, great, this is great. A lot of the reboots we're seeing now, it's just like recycled jokes, brand new storylines. You know what I mean? It's, it's really tough.

[00:40:42] I thought Good Burger 2 was, was awesome. And I thought it was done the right way or everything made sense, you know? And so, yeah, I'm very partial to reboots. I'm always just like, even like Happy Gilmore. I was like, holding my breath the whole time. I was like, all right, they did a good job here. But I have the same feeling. I was like, okay, I'll watch it. Just like very low expectations. Yeah. I was like, they, they did callbacks like when they could and when it felt authentic to the original movie.

[00:41:12] And like, yes, it's over the top, but it's also Happy Gilmore. Like it's going to be over the top in scenes. Right. And maybe even Happy Gilmore was like super top 20 years ago when he was much younger. And like, it was, it didn't feel so over the top. It was just hilarious. But yeah, I agree. But those are my three movies. It's in general. I think the three, my three favorite actors, I was like, if they ever, like the trifecta

[00:41:36] would be Carrie, Farrell, Sandler, something together there would just be like, those are like, that's the era I grew up in. I think those guys are awesome. And like, they, they've maintained their sense of humor. Like a lot of the other people we grew up watching and just like, not funny anymore. You know, those guys are just like, they know how to do it still. They know how to be funny. You know, they're not like, they haven't strayed from the old way of doing things.

[00:42:03] I saw Adam Sandler Kids Choice Awards a few years ago and he was like, hilarious without trying to be, you know what I mean? And just like, he was just there. And so, and a dream, if I can meet any three of those guys, like I would just, it would be over with for me. I don't know that I would ever recover from meeting any one of those guys. He'd be like, I'm done, throw that in. Derek has been in a coma since he met in the trifecta. It would be done for, done for.

[00:42:32] Well, we really appreciate you coming on and taking your time. It was so nice talking with you guys and really appreciate you reaching out. It was super awesome. We appreciate you. We appreciate you, yeah. Thank you. If you love this interview and want more, make sure you hit us up at NoMoreLateFees on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Blue Sky. Bye. And as always, be kind and rewind.