Aug. 27, 2025
Eden: Jude Law & Ron Howard on Survival, Morality and Movie Magic
In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly, renowned director Ron Howard and the equally legendary actor Jude Law join me, Kyle McMahon, for a deep exploration into their latest cinematic venture, "Eden." Get ready to hear firsthand how this gripping survival thriller takes audiences to the edge of human endurance, thrusting a diverse group of characters into a high-stakes struggle for survival on a desolate island. As Ron Howard unpacks the real-life events that inspired the film, you'll gain insight into the intricate dynamics of morality and leadership that are woven throughout this intense narrative. Meanwhile, Jude Law discusses the challenges and nuances of portraying a character within an ensemble cast, offering a vivid and engaging perspective on survival instincts and human nature.
From shooting challenges to the electrifying energy on set, this episode offers a rare glimpse into the crafting of a movie that resonates long after the credits roll. Whether you're a film enthusiast or just curious about the magic behind the screen, this conversation promises to be both enlightening and entertaining.
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In this special edition episode of Pop Culture Weekly, I
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talk with Jude Law and Ron Howard all about their
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brand new film Eden.
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Let's go Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon
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from iHeartRadio, your pop culture news, views, reviews and celebrity
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interviews on all the movies, TV, music and pop culture
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you crave weekly. Here's Kyle McMahon.
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Naran Na no no No, Hello, and welcome to pop
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Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon.
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I of course am Kyle McMahon.
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I thank you as always for hanging out with me
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for another episode on the show where I get to
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hang out with some of the biggest names in entertainment
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and somehow convince them to keep talking to me.
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Today is a big one. That's why it is a
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special episode.
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We are diving into one of the most talked about
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films of the year.
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Eden.
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Now, if you haven't heard about Eden yet, first of all,
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where have you even been? Second, this film is an
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absolute powerhouse. It's directed by the legendary Ron Howard and
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starring the equal legend equally that would be helpful if
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I use the words right, equally legendary Jude Law. It's
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like a gripping survival thriller that really asks what happens
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when humanity is pushed to its very limits. The story
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follows a group of people that are stranded on this
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remote island after this catastrophic event, and as their resources
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dwindle and tensions start rising, then the questions of morality, leadership,
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and survival start to kind of take center stage there.
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It's kind of like a movie version of Survivor if
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you will. It's really intense, it's really emotional, and it'll stick.
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With you long after the credits roll.
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It's really Eden is a really great film, and lucky
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for us, I got to sit down with the masterminds themselves,
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director Ron Howard, who has shaped some of the greatest
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films of our time, The Da Vinci Code, Apollo thirteen, Hillbilly,
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Elegy Willow Solo, a Star Wars story, Cocoon, Splash in
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the Heart of the Sea, like just so many it's crazy.
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And of course Jude Law, who like, you know that
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I'm on a mission. First of all, I mean, Jude
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Law is amazing, but you know, I'm going a mission
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to talk with like every major Wizarding World Harry Potter,
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fantastic Beast Star, and of course Jude is Albus Dumbledore
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himself FYI. And you know he's been in other things
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Jula Combs and The Young Pope, Captain Marvel, King Arthur,
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among many many.
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Other incredible movies.
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And Jude delivers a performance in Eden that is like
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nothing short of electrifying. So we're going to talk about
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bringing this story to life, the challenges of shooting a
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film like this that has so much much intensity, and
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why Eden might just be, in my opinion, one of
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the most important films of the year.
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So here they are, Ron Howard and Jude Law.
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Eden is such a great film, and I wonder for
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both of you, you know, it kind of deals with
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not just survival challenges, but human challenges too. I wonder
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how did the both of you kind of find that
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balance in balancing those two kind of big things.
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Well that's what attracted me to the story when I
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first realized that, you know, this had really happened. This
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it's a true crime thriller that really unfolded. And part
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of the fascination is when you recognize how different the
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people were, and it's this collision of personalities and hopes
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and dreams, and I found it. You know, it's so
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incredibly relatable and so you know, the reason it's a
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thriller is because you know, the outcome turned out to
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be very, very intense and even violent. But I felt
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like there's the real humanity to the story because I
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feel like audience members can relate to someone in this
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story that they're going to find that they connect with.
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Yeah, when you get in help out for you.
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Well, when you get involved as an actor in a
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project like this, you know, you look at the whole
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and what's exciting. What's enticing is you know you're a
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part of an ensemble. Everyone knows that they're representing if
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you like, a different camp, a different side, a different perspective,
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on on on on how to survive this scenario. And
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so you're you're able really to play the truth and
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commit to the truth of your particular perspective knowing that
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the piece as a whole is offering is offering the
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three dimensional story to you as an audience. Memory. It's
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not like saying this is the way. It's saying, look
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how these individuals all chose to deal with this extraordinary
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situation and what's you know, in many ways you could
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say is a sort of slice through society. You know,
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some people deal with it with their head, with their heart,
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with it with passion.
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And I love that.
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It was It was a.
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Very you know, it had it had incredible focus as
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a sort of thriller, but somehow managed to embrace society
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as a whole.
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I love that.
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And how how do you think you personally, Jude? Would
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you know, what would you bring to that situation?
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What if it was me or if you mean me
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me living?
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Yeah, all of us voted Jude as the one guy
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who could probably do this. That's what that was, that
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mark around a lunch data.
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That's interesting. I mean, I like, I like, I like
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physical challenge.
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I think what's interesting about the character Rita is that
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he exposes how you know, Ritta was so so fascinating
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as a man. He was clearly incredibly motivated, very intelligent,
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and and absolutely driven to express himself.
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And his ideals. And somehow he connected a way to
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express that with clarity and honesty through a physical art
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of through a physical test. And now I know that
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I'm pretty good physically and I can test myself physically.
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I think it's it's always going to be what happens
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in your head in the end, you know, can your
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head handle it? Because that's where all the voices start,
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right That's where you start to say, oh, that's where
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that's where you start to question yourself and all those
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around you.
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It's one of the things I really like about the
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film too. And I didn't understand this fully, but as
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I started working with the actors it became a more
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clear during rehearsal. It's the three very different women. There
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are very different reasons, two of them mostly just following
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a man, you know, and and and and trying to
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be seen who have to completely shift what they believe
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about themselves, what they believe is possible, what they even
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understand about their mate, you know, and kind of become alpha.
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So there's this transformation among the women that I also
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found really uh really interesting. It seems to speak to
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audiences in a way that I I that pleases me.
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It is a wonderful film. I can't wait for everybody
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to see Eden. Thank you both, Thank you, Jude and Ron.
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I really appreciate every day.
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Ron Howard and Jude Lowe love love, love love them.
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And that's going to do it. For this special episode of.
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Pop Culture Weekly, Huge Thanks to Jude Law and Ron
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Howard for joining me and sharing the insights on Eden.
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Trust me, this is a movie you're going to want
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to experience, particularly on the big screen, if you can.
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If you liked this episode, make sure you're subscribed to
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pop Culture Weekly wherever you get your podcasts, and don't
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forget to leave a review, because it really does help
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more pop culture fans find us. I'm Kyle McMahon, proving
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once again that sarcasm is a survival skill. I love you,
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I'll see you next week.
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Well, thank you for listening to pop Culture Weekly. Here
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all the latest at popcultureweekly dot com.
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I'm the survivor.
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I'm not gonna give
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137
00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:01.319
138
00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:03.839
139
00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:07.199
140
00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:10.160
141
00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:13.519
142
00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.399
143
00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:20.279
144
00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:24.120
145
00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:25.319
146
00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:29.079
147
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148
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149
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