Summary
Overview
The How Did This Get Made podcast team performs live at Largo in Los Angeles to discuss the 1992 Pierce Brosnan film Livewire, a bomb thriller where the explosive device is a water-based substance people ingest. Hosts Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and June Diane Raphael are joined by special guests Nicole Byer and Johnny Knoxville to dissect this obscure film that never received a theatrical release despite its $9 million budget.
Introduction and Film Setup
The team introduces Livewire, a Pierce Brosnan movie that most people had never heard of before. The film features Brosnan as Danny, a bomb expert dealing with two major problems: senators are being blown up, and one of those senators is having an affair with his wife. The hosts immediately flag the bizarre premise where bombs are ingested substances that turn people into detonators, and the movie doesn't really bother explaining how it works.
- Pierce Brosnan stars as Danny, a bomb expert whose wife is having an affair with Senator Ron Silver
- The bomb technology involves an ingestible substance that turns the human body into a detonator
- This was made one year after Mrs. Doubtfire and one year before Brosnan became James Bond
" Someone's blowing up senators, and one of those senators is fucking his wife. "
The Opening Bomb Scene and Upskirt Controversy
The film opens with an incredibly inappropriate bomb defusal scene where Pierce Brosnan has to disarm explosives attached under a woman's car seat while she's sitting on it. The woman isn't wearing underwear, leading to an uncomfortable "spread your legs" moment. After defusing the bomb, Brosnan quips "next time, put on some underwear," establishing the movie's bizarre tone from the start.
- The opening scene involves Pierce Brosnan defusing a bomb between a woman's legs while staring at her naked body
- Brosnan tells the woman to wear underwear next time, suggesting she was 'dripping wet' from the experience
- The woman had the bomb because of one affair, showing the movie's casual approach to extreme revenge
" Next time, wear some underwear. And I was like, God, she must have been dripping wet. "
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