#296 – Breaking Down Black Mirror’s Playthings and Creative Lessons for Writers and GOATs Doing GOAT $hit
Welcome to the Spun Today Podcast! In this episode, host Tony Ortiz dives deep into the world of creativity, storytelling, and relentless artistic dedication. Through a writer’s lens, Tony breaks down the Black Mirror episode "Playthings," exploring how subtle world-building, understated technology, and obsessive innovation can drive a narrative that lingers long after the credits roll. He shares actionable writing takeaways, like infusing big ideas through passion—not prophecy—and harnessing ambiguity to keep your audience engaged.
The episode doesn’t stop at dissecting TV—Tony shines a spotlight on creative perseverance in the beloved segment "Goats Doing Goat $hit," this time honoring Nia Vardalos for sticking to her vision and overcoming countless studio rejections to create the iconic "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." You’ll find inspiration, practical advice, and creative prompts throughout, making this episode a must-listen for writers, artists, and anyone chasing their creative dreams.
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Links referenced in this episode
Plaything: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31215636/
My Big Fat Greek Wedding: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259446/
https://www.looper.com/845207/the-untold-truth-of-my-big-fat-greek-wedding/
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Transcript
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Transcript 〰️
Tony Ortiz [00:00:00]:
It's just a testament to sticking to your guns, your creative guns. Don't be rigid to the point where you don't accept notes that could help elevate your story, but definitely don't give in to making some sort of mockery of your creation just for a short-term gain or to quote unquote appease the masses. What's up, folks? What's going on? Welcome to the Spun Today Podcast, the only podcast that is anchored in writing but unlimited in scope. I'm your host, Tony Ortiz, and I appreciate you listening. This is episode 296 of the pod, and in this episode, I am going to break down from a writer's perspective yet another Black Mirror episode, this one titled Playthings. We'll also be adding, or better said, inducting another member into your favorite segment and mine, Goats Doing Goat Shit. So definitely stick around to find out who made our prestigious list this time. If you'd like to support the Sponsored Podcast, there are a bunch of different ways that you can do so.
Tony Ortiz [00:01:23]:
One of which is purchasing the recently re-released, new and improved Make Way for You, which is the first book that I published that is a collection of tips for getting out of your own way. Great for my fellow writers and creatives out there. Go to spuntoday.com/books where you can see that title along with a Spanish translation of that title and all of my other books. You can also support this podcast by simply rating and reviewing it wherever it is that you're listening. It takes a couple of seconds, it's completely free to do, and it goes a long way. It helps other folks find the show. Here is one more way that you can help support the Spun Today Podcast if you so choose, and then we'll jump right into the episode. Another way you can help support the Spun Today Podcast and also upgrade that stale wardrobe of yours is by going to spuntoday.com/support.
Tony Ortiz [00:02:18]:
And clicking on the banner for Stitch Fix. Once you do, you'll enjoy a $25 discount to your first purchase. And the way Stitch Fix works is pretty cool. I use it and I've never been disappointed. You'll set up a profile, you'll put in all the sizes for your clothes, as well as all the different brands and types of clothes that you like to wear. It's really simple and intuitive to set up. They'll show you pictures and pretty much give you a thumbs up or thumbs down option on if you would wear something or not. And you get to select all the brands that you already are used to wearing.
Tony Ortiz [00:02:50]:
With this information, their thousands of passionate trendsetting stylists will curate a Stitch Fix box for you. They'll send you 5 items that you get to preview before they mail it to you, and you'll get to select based on the image if you like it or not. If not, they'll replace it with something else, and if so, they'll mail it to you absolutely for free. You can try everything on and you have a few days to to send everything back or keep the stuff that you want to keep. Then you can use that $25 credit that I mentioned towards your purchase of those items. Again, to freshen up your wardrobe and also support the Sponsored Today podcast, go to sponsoredtoday.com/support and click on my affiliate link banner for Stitch Fix and enjoy your $25 credit. Black Mirror Playthings. There's a specific kind of Black Mirror episode that doesn't shock you right away.
Tony Ortiz [00:03:43]:
No jump scares, no immediate twists, just a quiet unease that slowly tightens its grips the longer that you sit with it. Playthings is one of those episodes. At its core, Playthings isn't about gadgets or neural implants or artificial life. It's about belief. It's about obsession, about the stories that we tell ourselves when we convince ourselves that we're building something better, even if we can't fully explain better for who. Now, before we get into all the great writing takeaways that I got from this episode, as we like to do here on the Spontanate Podcast, let's shout out the writer. Very special shout out to the writer of this episode whose DNA is all over The Black Mirror series, Charlie Brooker. Really good, great episode.
Tony Ortiz [00:04:36]:
Now let's dive a bit deeper. The story starts off in this near-future reality that's very true to the Black Mirror series in that it feels like a reality that is not far off. And we see this wide-eyed, messy-haired older man named Cameron Walker, played by Peter Capaldi. That barges into a liquor store and attempts to steal a bottle of whiskey. He rushes to the exit door, which auto-locks, and he bumps into the glass doors. The whiskey bottle falls, shatters, and goes all over the place. And the liquor store attendant mentioned that the door is locked because there seems to be some sort of mechanism where it detects when someone tries to leave the store without paying for something and it auto-locks. And he states it so matter-of-factly like it's such an obvious thing.
Tony Ortiz [00:05:24]:
And he just does so like nonchalantly, like kind of frustrated, like, and now the police are on their way. So our main protagonist, Cameron Walker, then just goes to sit down by the fridge to wait for the police. When they arrive is when we learn that we are beyond the year 2029, at least probably like mid-2030s, because when— and I thought it was genius the way they like slipped this into the dialog of the story— the police arrive and they casually reference a law allowing them to instantly DNA swab via a handheld device when probable cause exists. And they mentioned, you know, due to the law of 2029, we have the authority to swab your DNA. Please open your mouth. And it's— there's no like grand exposition, just a matter-of-fact detail that was slipped into the world. Now, on their little handheld device thingy, Karen flags up as some sort of high-profile dangerous criminal wanted for a cold case murder that we come to learn. And he just calmly gets up and taken into custody where he's later interrogated by a detective and a psychologist.
Tony Ortiz [00:06:33]:
And here is where he starts telling a bit of the backstory on how he wound up where he was today at that liquor store. Now, a great writing takeaway for my fellow writers out there is What makes speculative fiction feel real is the understatement. So instead of explaining the future, let the characters just operate inside of it and go about their days as it already being normal to them. When you make the technology of like a handheld DNA instant swab thing just seem boring and mundane and, and routine, to the people using it, it becomes terrifying to the audience while easily acceptable. And it's a great way to immerse them in the rules of the world that you're designing. Now, during his interrogation, we learned that Cameron was a former video game journalist back in the 1990s that became obsessed with a life simulation game called Thronglets. Which was created by this eccentric programmer who was idolized in that space named Colin Ritman, played by Will Poulter, who did a great job, by the way, playing that actor or playing that role, rather. And there was this scene in particular where he describes his own creation with a line that felt almost like a thesis statement.
Tony Ortiz [00:07:59]:
He says that progress and flux are the defining properties of life itself. And the reason why that resonated with me was because it's an artist explaining his obsession. The idea that life is just constant iteration, constant mutation, that feels benign, like just the way the world, the way things are supposed to be until you see where it leads, which we'll see a little bit further in, in this breakdown. And a great writing takeaway is that we as creatives can let big ideas enter our story through passion, not through prophecy. So when philosophy comes from creators and thinkers and people that are passionate about what it is that they're doing within your story rather than some sort of authority figure, it feels seductive and much more palatable instead of just preachy. Now that game designer Colin tells the game journalist Cameron, who is there to do— write this piece on him and his new creation, that he created something that wasn't a game. It was actually the first sentient digital beings. So these creatures on the screen that he's seeing on the computer are actually alive.
Tony Ortiz [00:09:16]:
Now Cameron is skeptical at first, and then as the interrogation goes on and he's again, telling the story of how he got to where he was at that liquor store. We learned that Karen stole a copy of that game software to take it home and tinker with it. And then he becomes obsessed with the thronglets, which he then begins to think are actually sentient. He thinks they're alive. And then after a friend of his visits and gets on his computer one day and begins to just kill the Thronglets by like dropping rocks on them and torturing them on the screen. Cameron winds up killing his friend in a complete blackout rage. Now mind you, he's this really nerdy computer geek guy that's socially awkward, barely even knows this friend because just some dude that he met that sold drugs and stops by every once in a while, but he winds up killing this guy then chopping up his body and hiding it. Hence him 40 years later in the future getting flagged up in this, you know, DNA device thing because his DNA was all over that body.
Tony Ortiz [00:10:26]:
But they were never able to identify whose body it was and the person that killed him. And at this point in the interrogation, once he's admitting to all this, he said something that struck me, which was that humans are masters of the universe. Creators of tools, yet still running on buggy software in our heads. Darwinian 1.0, he said. And that statement reframes humanity as outdated hardware. So from his perspective, it's not a problem of technology evolving too fast. It's people evolving too slowly. And a good writing takeaway for us there is reframing familiar themes with new metaphors.
Tony Ortiz [00:11:10]:
So calling human nature, quote unquote, like legacy code or coding instantly modernizes an ancient argument about violence and impulse and our basic human instincts. Now, an interesting or important anecdote of the story is that Cameron also admits that when he started realizing from his perspective that he could actually communicate with the Thronglets, he could start understanding their— the noises that they made as some sort of digital language that they were attempting to communicate with. He was on acid. He was on LSD, which was sold to him by that, that friend that he wound up chopping up. And he admits that the LSD is what expanded his mind enough for him to be able to communicate with the throne. And they became this artificial digital life that he was able to interact with. And the story never definitively tells us when fantasy becomes reality, or if he was just delusional or ahead of the curve. And a great writing takeaway there is that that type of ambiguity can be used as a tool.
Tony Ortiz [00:12:21]:
It's not necessarily a cop-out in not fleshing out your story or not defining everything in your story. Because when the audience can't pinpoint the moment where reality breaks, they're forced to stay engaged and wrestling with those elements of your story long after the scene ends, long after the story ends, really, because that type of thing is what keeps the conversation going. We then learn that Cameron winds up upgrading his computer system repeatedly. You know, he's popping acid, speaking to the Throng. Getting information from them on how to build up his computer to make it more powerful so they can communicate more, so he can expand. And he gets to the point where he eventually builds a homemade neural implant so that he can plug himself into the computer and have the Throng and him in some sort of symbiotic relationship, communicating directly with each other. And it was framed, at least by him and his perspective, as not some sort of craziness or madness, It's framed as devotion, like just the progress that he was trying to make with the Thrawn at any cost, to the extent where he literally drilled a hole in the back of his head following their direction to create this homemade neural implant to plug his brainstem into the computer. And a great writing takeaway there is how the most unsettling characters in stories They believe that they're improving the world.
Tony Ortiz [00:13:50]:
When obsession masquerades as innovation, it becomes morally slippery and dramatically rich. And that's exactly what we have here. Now, at different points throughout this interrogation, Cameron continues to ask for a pen and paper, and the detective denies it. The detective's perspective is, fuck you, you're— you killed someone. You could probably stab one of us with that pen if we gave you one. And I think you're a piece of shit, so I don't want to give you anything that you want. And he's coming from a very practical perspective in the interview, which is, all right, cut the shit. I don't care about your backstory.
Tony Ortiz [00:14:26]:
Tell us who the guy is that you chopped up who had no identifying marks. There's a family out there that doesn't know if their son is dead or alive. Give us his fucking name right now. And then you have the psychologist which is in essence playing the quote unquote good cop and just trying to decode and parse out the truth and delusion and genius and different things that she seems to be picking up on from Cameron's story. Now they finally give in and give him the pen and paper and he starts drawing and then shows them this QR code looking round symbol. And then he reveals his plan. He says how getting arrested was intentional. He wanted to be in that interrogation room because there was a camera in that room that was linked up to the most powerful computer in the state or in the country, in the county.
Tony Ortiz [00:15:22]:
I don't remember exactly how they framed the geographical territory, but it was the most powerful computer around. And the detective and psychologists are kind of like, what the hell even is that, you know, glyph QR code looking thing? And this reveal reframes the entire episode retroactively. So every action up until that point that we were confused about suddenly has a purpose. And a great writing takeaway for us is that great twists don't add information. They recontextualize what we've already seen or read so that the audience feels both surprised and inevitable at the same time. And what the QR code symbol did was allow him to aim that QR code at the camera, which automatically scans the QR code, and it allows the throng to access the system, expand exponentially, almost instantly, and then broadcast a worldwide signal like an audio signal that triggers a hive mind singularity event where all humans become one and the Throng is embedded within them. There's no explosions, no screaming crowds, just a soft, irreversible shift in human consciousness. And when the sound is triggered, you see that some characters collapse to the floor and have their eyes rolling to the back of their heads and apparently becoming one with the throng.
Tony Ortiz [00:16:59]:
And we see the view from the perspective of the detective now as he opens his eyes back up and sees Cameron standing above him, reaching down to help him up. And a great final writing takeaway for my fellow writers and creators out there is that sometimes the most powerful ending doesn't shout, it whispers. And we as creatives can let scale come from implication and not spectacle. Playthings isn't asking whether technology will replace us. It's asking whether we'd recognize transcendence if it didn't look like a threat. And something very like meta and cool that I thought Netflix did was that with releasing this episode or this season, they also released through Netflix Games a real-life Thronglets game, which is a cool little, little Easter egg. I haven't seen or played it myself, but in just researching some details for this episode, I picked up on that. So I thought that was, that was pretty cool of them to do.
Tony Ortiz [00:18:07]:
And lastly, a little writing prompt for my fellow writers and creatives out there who may be interested. Write a scene where the end of the world happens quietly through some sort of policy or routine or a decision made in a small room. No panic, no announcement, just a line crossed that can't be uncrossed. And see what you come up with. Feel free to share any of those in the comment section of this episode at SpunToday.com/podcast/296. And if you enjoyed that breakdown, make sure to check out other episodes of the Spun Today podcast for many more. And now it's time for your favorite segment and mine, Goats Doing Goat Shit, where I like to highlight GOATs within their respective lanes that go above and beyond in some sort of way. And this episode's inductee is none other than writer, actress, creative Nia Vardalos.
Tony Ortiz [00:19:14]:
Very special shout out to Nia. Nia was the main protagonist and more importantly, the writer of the romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Now, when she wrote the script, and she was trying to get the movie made, she faced repeated rejections over and over again. Nobody wanted to make the movie. They liked the script but thought it was too niche, too ethnically Greek. The studios that did show some interest in making it wanted her to change the film's ethnic identity to make it more palatable to the masses. They suggested things like making the family Hispanic or making the family Italian. And they wanted to replace her in the lead role with a bigger name actress like a Julia Roberts or Marisa Tomei, so on and so forth.
Tony Ortiz [00:20:04]:
She stuck to her creative guns, as I like to big up here on the show, specifically within this segment, and she didn't give in to those demands, which from my perspective aren't just creative notes to elevate a story. They are corporations corporationing. If you will, and just looking for ways to increase the bottom line. She wound up getting fired by her agents or let go. And what did she do? She turned her script, her movie script, into a one-woman stage play. And then that ultimately caught the attention of Rita Wilson, who in turn convinced her husband, Tom Hanks, to produce the film through their production company, play tone. Hanks and Wilson supported Vardalos's vision without requiring any changes, allowing the film to be made as she originally intended. They made the film for a modest $5 million.
Tony Ortiz [00:21:01]:
That was the budget of the film. And I don't know if that means it was made for $2.5 million and then $2.5 million worth of marketing, or if it was made for $5 million and then another $5 million worth of marketing. Because how they say whatever a film is made for, it's that exact same amount that goes into the marketing. But regardless, total overall price between $5 and $10 million, I would say. But the budget itself is publicly known as being a $5 million budget. Now, Nia wound up taking a modest upfront fee along with an 8% profit share of the AGI, or adjusted gross profits— or gross income, rather. Of the profits. Now that's those backend points that I've mentioned in the past where if you believe in your vision, you know what it is that you made, you really think it's going to connect, you know, you take a gamble of just taking a large upfront fee or as large as it could be, I guess, with a $5 million budget and it's like a one and done deal.
Tony Ortiz [00:22:01]:
Then the production company and the studio, they make all the profits the movie makes. Or versus on the flip side, you know, if the movie flops and doesn't make anything, you might, you know, that upfront fee might be more than whatever you would've negotiated on the backend. But then if the movie does blow up, the studio and production companies are the ones that make all that money. But again, believing in her vision, she negotiated this 8% fee on the backend and the movie went on to become the largest grossing rom-com in history, raking in over $368 $10 million worldwide. So because of that 8% profit share agreement, she earned $10 million for herself, which as an aside, Playtone, which is that, uh, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson production company, later wound up suing the studio, Gold Circle Films, for additional profits that they were all owed due to their quote unquote Hollywood accounting. Again, corporations gonna corporation. So I'm not sure if that $10 million that she made wound up increasing. Cause if I do some, some quick behind the envelope math, she was probably doing 8%.
Tony Ortiz [00:23:12]:
If that's gross minus the budget, probably like 3 times that $10 million. But regardless, $10 million bucks, very great payday. And it's just a testament to sticking to your guns, your creative guns. Don't be rigid to the point where you don't accept notes that could help elevate your story, but definitely don't give in to making some sort of mockery of your creation just for a short-term gain or to, quote unquote, appease the masses. And with that said, Nia Vardalos, welcome to the Spunt Today GOATs Doing GOAT Shit list. And that, folks, was episode 296 of the Spun Today podcast. Thank each and every one of you for taking the time to listen. I really, really do appreciate it.
Tony Ortiz [00:24:02]:
Again, if you'd like to support the show, please go to spuntoday.com. SpunToday.com. SpunToday.com. There you'll find links to all of my books. You can click on the support page to send in a donation or to shop at Amazon using my affiliate link. Go to sponsored.com, click on the shop link where you can get the latest and greatest Sponsored merch. Don't forget to rate and review wherever it is that you listen to the show. Share with someone, maybe a writer or creative in your life that may be interested in these little breakdowns from a writer's perspective.
Tony Ortiz [00:24:35]:
And stick around for another minute or two so you can hear about, about a bunch of different ways that you can help support if you so choose. And I'll check you guys out next time. Peace. What's up, folks? Tony here. I hope you're enjoying the Spun Today Podcast as much as I enjoy producing it for you. Here are a few ways you can help support the show. You can help support the Spun Today Podcast by shopping my merch section. Go to spuntoday.com/support and navigate to the merch section.
Tony Ortiz [00:25:05]:
Here you'll find the iconic Podcast vs. Anybody tee. Which comes in many different color schemes and all different sizes. There are a bunch of other designs available as well, including writing-themed shirts, cycling shirts, and the classic Dominican escudo, and much, much more. And if t-shirts aren't your thing, all designs also come in pullover hoodies, zip-up hoodies, sweatshirts, and tank tops. You can also shop the Sponsor Day coffee mugs, which has the Spun Today logo on one side and the tagline that I end every episode with on the other, which is start taking steps in the general direction of your dreams. Once again, for all Spun Today merch, go to spuntoday.com/support and navigate to the merch section. Another great way for you to help support the show and also take care of your foundational health is by going to spuntoday.com/support and clicking on my affiliate link for Athletic Greens, aka AG1.
Tony Ortiz [00:26:08]:
One scoop of AG1 in your water helps to fill nutrient gaps, promote gut health, and support whole body vitality. Just one serving delivers a comprehensive blend of 9 products: a multivitamin, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, adaptogens, and more, all of which work together for the strongest foundation for better health. I personally take AG1 and really appreciate the peace of mind of knowing that my foundational health bases are covered, even when I know I'm not eating as healthily as I should be. Also, by using my affiliate link at spunte.com/support, you will get 1 free year of vitamin D3 as well as 5 AG1 travel packs absolutely for free. Again, go to spunte.com/support and click on the banner for AG1. If you're a fellow creative, a cool way that you can help support the Spun Today podcast and actually be part of the podcast is by filling out my 5-question questionnaire located at spuntoday.com/questionnaire. Here you'll find 5 open questions related to your craft, your art, what inspires you to create, what type of unrelated hobbies you're into, and what motivates you to get your work done. You can choose to remain anonymous or plug your website and your work.
Tony Ortiz [00:27:23]:
And once you submit your questionnaire, I read your responses on a future episode of the Spun Today Podcast. It's completely free at no cost to you. And what I like to say about it is that if your responses could potentially spark inspiration in someone else, why not share that? SpunToday.com/questionnaire. The Spun Today Newsletter is available to each and every one of my listeners absolutely for free. All you have to do is go to www.malcolmtoday.com/subscribe and drop in your email address. What I'm gonna do is brighten up everybody's least favorite day of the week by delivering 5 curated things within my weekly newsletter every Monday at noon. You're gonna receive a photo of the week, a recommended podcast of the week. I listen to tons of podcasts from an array of varied interests.
Tony Ortiz [00:28:13]:
I cherry-pick the very best ones so that you can check them out. I also share a video of the week, which can be anything from a tasty recipe to a dope rap battle to an enlightening TED Talk. I also share a quote of the week. And finally, for my fellow wordsmiths out there, a word of the week so that you can step up your vocab. Again, this curated list is yours absolutely free by going to SpunToday.com/subscribe and dropping in your email address. And you can unsubscribe at any time. Again, go to SpunToday.com/subscribe, drop in your email address, and you'll get the very next one. And as always, folks, substitute the mysticism with hard work and start taking steps in the general direction of your dreams.
Tony Ortiz [00:29:00]:
Thanks for listening. I love you, Aiden. I love you, Daddy. I love you, Grayson. I love you, Daddy.