Ramblin: An Amblin Podcast

We were very lucky to be granted time with Bonnie Judd, the ace animal trainer and coordinator who oversaw all of the good boys and girls on A DOG’S JOURNEY. She talked to us about what brought her to this line of work, the ethos in her approach and the many emotional memories from the set of the film. Thank you for joining us, Bonnie!Follow the podcast on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music. You can listen to The Robert J Hunter band's new single 'Loser' here: ⁠https://ffm.to/rjhloser ⁠And you buy tickets to their upcoming album launch show on October 10 here: ⁠https://events.talentbanq.com/events/talentbanq/2123808⁠

Now we all know that clocks reside either on walls or beside them. It’s a simple matter of fact. But what if, this movie supposes, there was a house with a clock in its walls? A radical notion, to be sure, and one that was first broached in 1973 by author John Bellairs and again in 2018 when director Eli Roth adapted his novel into the film we all know as THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS. Joining us to find the source of the infernal ticking is returning guest Jack Buckley, who has not only read the Bellairs original but has been waiting to wax lyrical about this since the clock-cogs first started turning. Together we talk about the origins of the project, its strange permutations throughout the ensuing decades, Roth’s wide and varied directorial career (Josh did a lot of unnecessary prep and had to make it count somehow), its Goosebumps adjacency and its weird dalliances with (Jamie Lee Curtis voice) trauma. A truly indomitable episode.Here’s the Contrapoints video we referenced, in case anybody is interested: https://youtu.be/uiGIbdrQjbI?si=Isggv-nHNTzkUUlt You can listen to The Robert J Hunter band's new single 'Loser' here: ⁠https://ffm.to/rjhloser ⁠ And you buy tickets to their upcoming album launch show on October 10 here: ⁠https://events.talentbanq.com/events/talentbanq/2123808⁠ Follow the podcast on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

It’s a film made up entirely of pop culture Easter eggs, centred around a literal Easter egg hunt and released on Easter weekend eight years ago, so we thought it would be fitting to give you a little Easter 2026 treat and release our episode on READY PLAYER ONE a week early. But we’re not heading into the Oasis alone: we’re joined by Em, the fab host of Verbal Diorama, to wade (Watts) through the smorgasbord of references, the film’s long road to realisation and its ultimate message about the real world vs. the virtual one. A playful instance of Spielberg pondering the darker side of his generational impact, or a soulless piece of garbage designed to validate the stunting of our minds? Can it be two things? Plug in and find out!You can follow Em on Instagram at @empoweredstuff. You can follow Verbal Diorama at @verbaldiorama and listen wherever you get your podcasts.Follow the podcast on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

Things are about to get rough for the Ramblin boys as Lasse Hallstrom’s 2017 adaptation of A DOG’S PURPOSE fetches us its lead and demands to be taken for a walk. Joining us as we unpack the tenets of doggie cinema, weigh up the value of Josh Gad’s voiceover and stare the film’s emotional manipulations in the face is Fandomentals’ Harley Mumford, longtime dog-haver and self-professed easy-mark for this type of thing. Lots of bark, a little bite and a surprising amount of impressions ensue.You can follow Harley on Twitter at @HarleyMumford and his Fabdomentals Podcast at @FandomentalsPod. You can listen to Fandomentals wherever you get your podcasts.Follow the podcast on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

We’re back! Again! This time for good! We mark our return – which in turn marks our five year anniversary, if you can believe that – by covering two films that were added retroactively to Wikipedia’s Amblin filmography list (which, of course, is our gospel): the cursed 1983 production of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE and the other ‘comet hurtling towards earth’ picture from 1998, DEEP IMPACT. It’s a lot to bite off in one episode, so we set ourselves a time limit for each discussion to make sure we don’t disappear too far down the rabbit holes. Strap in as we discuss whether any film can ever escape the tragedy of its making, the tenability of idealised movie presidents in today’s climate and Andy’s unbridled delight at this episode’s very silly title. Just don’t call it a comeback. Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin), Instagram (@ramblinamblinpod) and Blusky (@ramblinamblin.bsky.social). Be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via our socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

The park is open. After a long 14 years since the release of Jurassic Park 3, the Jurassic franchise burst back into life in 2025 with JURASSIC WORLD, from the mind of unknown filmmaker Colin Trevorrow, and it made a quite significant roar at the box office. To take a tour inside the park and see what works - and what doesn't - about this long-awaited fourth entry in the franchise, we’re thrilled to welcome journalist, author and editor of Empire Magazine Nick de Semlyen to the pod. We get into it all from failed scripts featuring dinos with guns and scary castles in the Swiss alps, to stories on set with Trevorrow and perhaps most importantly, the backstory of Edmond, perhaps the most important Jurassic character you never new about. So, hop on your motorbike, summon your pack of highly trained raptors and join us for the ride, won’t you? You can buy Nick’s books - Wild & Crazy Guys and Last Action Heroes - from any good booksellers and online retailers - and can subscribe to Empire Magazine here. Follow the podcast on Twitter, Bluesky and Instagram and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

Four score and seven years ago (or thereabouts), our Papa Spielberg brought forth on this filmography a new biopic, conceived in collaboration with Tony Kushner, and dedicated to the proposition that Daniel Day-Lewis was the best man to embody Honest Abe in his pledge to ratify the idea that ‘all men are created equal’. Now we are engaged in a discussion of the result, 2012’s LINCOLN, testing whether that biopic, or any biopic so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that discussion with friend and fellow Warwick film grad James Warren, to explore this work within the pantheon of ‘great films’, the degree of ambivalence with which it views the democratic process and the astonishing array of character actors with great faces. It is here that we highly resolve that this film was not made in vain, and that filmmaking by the Spielberg, with his collaborators, for the Ramblin listeners, shall not perish from our memory.Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin), Instagram (@ramblinamblinpod) and Blusky (@ramblinamblin.bsky.social). Be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via our socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

It’s time to journey from the beautiful green landscapes of Devon to war-torn Europe - then back to a now very orange Devon - in Steven Spielberg’s World War One drama WAR HORSE. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s children's book as well as it’s hugely successful stage adaptation, we welcome friend and history-buff - and star of Zombey - Ben Weldon to join us on the journey of innocence lost and the struggle to maintain a sense of decency in a world gripped by violence - from the perspective of a horse. We get into Morpurgo’s original inspiration, to what pulled Spielberg to the story, before diving into its success as a World War One story and what its multiple story strands offer to the overall pictorial canvas of Spielberg’s lush war epic. Saddle up and join us, won't you? Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin), Instagram (@ramblinamblinpod) and Blusky (@ramblinamblin.bsky.social). Be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via our socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

Get ready for an episode full of production value as we get nostalgic with JJ Abrams and SUPER 8 - the 70s set sci-fi drama following a group of kids making their own movie in their backyard, and happen to stumble on a government conspiracy involving an escaped extra-terrestrial being. We welcome back returning guests Daniel Kelly and Michael Perry, re-assembling the team that once made up our student radio show Close-Up on RAW 1251AM, fittingly looking at a movie that was released the summer before we all met for the very first time. We dig into its value as a nostalgic artefact; a film looking back and directly homaging Amblin of old, and how successful Abrams is at approximating that Spielberg-vibe while also trying to deliver something that feels like it comes from the heart, as well as assessing its place in the early 2010s blockbuster landscape. We also resurrect a old feature from our Close-Up days to give you some further viewing recommendations. Mint! You can watch Andy’s Sixth Form zombie movie - ZOMBEY - made in the summer of 2011 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjn3y1L5CLo And you can read Forbes’ 10th anniversary oral history of Super 8 here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshweiss/2021/06/01/super-8-turns-10-a-mint-oral-history-of-jj-abrams-love-letter-to-movies-childhood--spielberg/ You can rent or buy Dan’s film DOCTOR JEKYLL on Amazon and find Michael’s blog here: https://quotesponge.wordpress.com/ Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin), Instagram (@ramblinamblinpod) and Blusky (@ramblinamblin.bsky.social). Be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via our socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

After six years and 14 movies, the 00s of the Amblin’s comes to a quick end, which can only mean one thing: who’s going to win the Waxflatter Award for best visual effects shot of the decade? Yes, it’s time for one of our review bonanzas covering the best moments and performances of the decade that has just been, as well as reveal both our and the listener’s top five movies of the decade that have just been. Get comfy, grab yourself a beverage, and join us for a retrospective six years in the making. Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin), Instagram (@ramblinamblinpod) and Blusky (@ramblinamblin.bsky.social). Be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via our socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

The right picture can win or lose a war, and they don’t come more iconic than the image of US Marines raising the American flag atop a mountain in Iwo Jima. But the story behind an image isn't always so red, white and blue, as shown in Clint Eastwood’s sombre World War Two drama FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS. There is plenty to dive into and explore in both the film itself and the real history of the men who were - or perhaps weren’t - in the iconic image. To help us examine that iconography, we welcome back returning guest Rhys Edwards. Join us as we explore what is a more unconventional war film than its surface may suggest. Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin), Instagram (@ramblinamblinpod) and Blusky (@ramblinamblin.bsky.social). Be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via our socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

We return with an episode on the final film of 2005, and the second from Mr. Steven Spielberg himself, with his historical drama MUNICH. Charting an account of Mossad assassinations following the massacre at the 1972 Olympic games, it is one of Spielberg’s most polarising and daring works to date, with the decades long Israel-Palestine conflict front and centre as it - and we - explore the moral complexities at the centre of its story that are as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.Save the Prince Charles Cinema: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-prince-charles-cinemaFollow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin), Instagram (@ramblinamblinpod) and Blusky (@ramblinamblin.bsky.social). Be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via our socials or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.

After donning the Mask, it is now time to continue THE LEGEND OF ZORRO with our episode on Martin Campbell’s 2005 sequel, once again starring those damn fine sexy leads Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. But, coming some seven years after the original, something seems to have been lost along the way: the juice. To find out why this Zorro doesn’t quite whip like he used to, we enlist the help of podcaster MJ Smith of Let’s Jaws For a Minute fame to see if this follow up was just a case of too little too late - or if it is a greater miscalculation of appeal than that. You can follow MJ on Twitter at @MJSmith891 and you can find his shows (Let’s Jaws For a Minute, Let’s Party with Marty and Reel Perspective) where you get this podcast. Follow the podcast on Twitter (@RamblinAmblin) and be sure to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! Get in touch with us either via Twitter or email rambinaboutamblin@gmail.com. Please feel free to give us a 5-star review, share your favourite Amblin movies and tell us if ET makes you cry.Ramblin is created and produced by Andrew Gaudion and Joshua Glenn. A special thanks as always to Emily Tatham for the artwork, and Robert J. Hunter-Clayton & Greg Sheffield for the theme music.