Wisconsin's Weekend Morning News
WWMN Interview: Matt Mueller from OnMilwaukee.com Talks RNC Impact and a 90s Movie Sequel 7-21-24
And I'm bound to be an American We're at least nine over I'm free I love that song. I know, Isaac, you said it's cheesy. It's time to check in with Matt Miller from on millloggy.com. Matt, cheesy or great American song? Oh, it can be both. Yeah, I love that song. You know, that was one of my favorite parts of the convention. I was standing literally on the wall next to the stage and I couldn't see. I hear Lee Greenwood singing and I can't see him. I'm kind of looking and this guy, he had to be about 6/8. He was huge. He was like a professional wrestler, huge. And he sort of grabs me by the shoulders and he turns me around and he says he's up there. And literally, Lee Greenwood was right above me. And this mountain of a man, a real sweetheart, by the way, he had a big beard and an American flag bandana on his head. He puts his arm around me and during the whole song, he swayed back and forth with me while Lee Greenwood was singing. It was surreal at the convention. But you probably miss this because I know you're busy on a Sunday morning, Matt. But I talked about Gonzo, photographer Bruce Gilden, who got me with the, you know what I'm talking about? The name sounds super familiar, but tell me more. Okay, where he literally took his flash gun and got my picture. And Jessica Gadsow just found it. It's in Vanity Fair, their online edition. It is the most horrifying picture you've ever seen of your life. And it's there. They've got pictures of Kevin McCarthy and Roger Stone and Dana White. And there's Libby with all of these pictures of the RNC. And you can text the word Libby to our talk and text line. And we've got a link to that article. So yeah, so how was your week? It was more normal than that, I would say. No Vanity Fair appearances for me. No giant wrestlers in America bandanas swaying with me to America. Let's not forget Hulk Hogan. That was one of them. We can't. We can't forget Hulk Hogan. We as a culture did forget Hulk Hogan. And now apparently he's on the RNC stage. It was quite a moment to see Hulk Hogan rip his shirt open. I never thought I'd see that one. But you know what? Talking about the RNC, and it was an exciting place to be. And I was there every day of it and saw just tons of people. But a lot of people are talking about the restaurant situation here in Milwaukee because a lot of the restaurants thought they were going to do a lot better than they did. Yeah, I think there was kind of, there were two things. I think first of all, they kind of underestimated how much locals didn't want to be around the RNC. I think sometimes it's hard for people in Milwaukee and Milwaukee surrounding area to convince them to go downtown until you deal with parking and all that stuff. And then you add a gigantic convention with security and with parking and a lot of places and a lot of streets closed off. And I think a lot of local Milwaukeeans were like, you know, I don't need to deal with that this week. You know, so you had that going on, which was more than expected. And then I think people expected more RNC people to kind of stay downtown and hotels and do various things and be within Milwaukee. And from the reporting it seems that I've read is that instead it kind of was like more of an all-inclusive resort is how I heard it described. You know, these RNC attendees hung out within the security perimeter, hung out around Pfizer forum, ate, drank within there. And then kind of took their buses home to wherever they were kind of staying elsewhere. And they didn't really explore outside of Milwaukee very much. I mean, we saw the videos of major Goldsmith employees kind of like pleading at people leaving the RNC. Like, come have a beverage here. Come have a burger here, please. So I think all of that is disappointing, but that just means that we know walk-ins. Have to, you know, go and support these restaurants and these bars and these places that we love. You know, this was a week. It was a bad week. It sounds like for a lot of these restaurants. But now it's our turn to make sure they have good weeks and to support these things that we talk about that we love. So people are doing that. Yeah, it was a hassle to get in and out. There's no question about that because you literally went through very, very intense security screening just to get into the yellow zone, which means that was before you got into where the actual convention was. And, you know, the lines were long. I got to tell you, though, the police officers, the Secret Service, every single one of them that I came in contact with, they were so nice. And, you know, they knew the inconvenience people were going through. But they really, they were just nice guys. Yeah, again, you know, it seems like everything here for the RNC, minus the kind of local business bump that some may have been expecting, this seemed to have gone pretty smoothly here in town, all things in general. Obviously, it didn't go perfectly. And obviously, there were situations such as the Columbus police situation. But overall, I would say, generally speaking, it seems like this went well. I think a lot of people talk about, you know, okay, so maybe you didn't get the business boom from this convention. But now this is the kind of a proof of concept. Now, when Milwaukee is talking to other conventions, maybe not political conventions, but other large-scale conventions, they can say, like, this is something we did. We pulled off the RNC successfully. You should have your convention here, too. And, hopefully, maybe some other of those conventions, you know, have less of a gigantic situation and have, maybe, more of an adventurous base who want to explore the city, who want to, you know, get a taste of Milwaukee while they're here in town, as opposed to just kind of stay within the kind of borders of their convention. Well, I think, like you said, though, I think a lot of that had to do, because they were busing them in and out to wherever they needed to be. And it was just, they didn't get the chance. But a lot of people I talked to wanted to see more of Milwaukee. And they said, you know what, I would come back. And that, I think, was the positive part of all of that. They should. They should come back. Come back in September and October. Our falls are very nice, you know. Yes, they are. One real quick question, because we didn't get to it. Twister, do you like the movie? I enjoy Twisters. It's very much a classic summer blockbuster movie. There's no, you know, big plot stuff. There's no big smart intelligence stuff going on. It's not the best blockbuster you'll ever see. But it's just a really good time watching charismatic people chase after insanely well created storms. And it's really fun. And I would argue, I've re-watched the original Twister. And I think people have an idea of what that movie is like in their head that isn't exactly what the movie is. The movie itself is a lot of bickering. And a lot of, like, marital strife in the original Twister. And, you know, every now and then. Strive? Yeah, weirdly a lot of marital strife. And, you know, you watch it and there's a flying cow, occasionally. And the villain is fun. But, you know, this new Twisters, I feel like, I have a little bit of that problem, too, where they get kind of caught up in Dower, you know, oh, trauma plot stuff. But I think it has a lot of fun. And I do think Glenn Powell is such a freaking superstar. That guy is so charismatic. And when he's on screen, you're just like, I want to hear what this guy is up to. I think we have been so desperate for a good movie star instead of somebody who just got hired, that, you know, I think Glenn Powell's really it. And I don't even think this is his peak form yet. I think this is him early days, McConaughey era. We haven't even gotten Pete Glenn Powell yet. And he's still really impressive in something like-- Well, that is something to look forward to. I'll have to-- I agree. I have to check that out. Hey, Matt, we are out of time for now, but it's always great to hear from you. Thanks for having me. Congratulations on Vanity Fair. Yeah, OK. It's not a glamour shot. I just texted it to you, Matt. You have that picture. When you see it, can you look at it right now? Oh, yeah. I see it now. Yeah. It's a photo already. Yeah. All right, Matt, let me follow you in on my walkie talk. You know, one of the world's most famous photographers took that picture. Thanks a lot. That's something. That's something. You got to put that on a resume. I certainly will. All right. Thanks a lot.