The Spiel

Director Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2, Imaginary) has a new killer shark movie out now called The Devil's Mouth starring Kathryn Newton, so naturally he had to come on The Spiel talk a little bit about his Spielberg-y influences. Yes, Jaws does come up, of course, but the conversation mostly focuses on Spielberg's move into the executive arena when he, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen launched their very own movie studio and called it Dreamworks. What happens when a filmmaker is put in charge? Does that have an impact on their own films? With multiple Oscar winning films and giant blockbusters that have come out of the studio over the years, there's no question that the venture was a success, but it wasn't without its lows as well. We talk about all that and more in this new episode of The Spiel! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a brand new Steven Spielberg movie out in theaters this weekend so of course we had to dive into it on The Spiel. Vespe is joined by his longtime friend and ex-Ain't It Cool colleague Drew McWeeny to dissect, as best they can, Spielberg's Disclosure Day, which could very well be his final cinematic statement on the topic of extra-terrestrial beings. The conversation begins with a spoiler-free discussion before diving into more spoilery specifics. This chat is definitely intended for those who have already seen the movie and want to hear some detailed thoughts on the film. What did they like? What didn't work for them? And did you notice the Jaws easter egg? Disclosure Day stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo, and Colin Firth and is out in theaters now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DC Pierson (Captain America: Winter Soldier, Community) returns to talk a little about the brand new restoration of his cult classic indie comedy, Mystery Team co-starring Donald Glover and Dominic Dierkes, as well as continue his Spiel journey of watching every Transformers movie until all have been conquered. At this point in the Transformers franchise we're pretty sure Steven Spielberg's creative input is limited to asking when his check is going to be deposited, but he's technically still an executive producer and by God we're going to finish them out. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the third film in the franchise and when it was released in 2011 it was still massively popular entertainment, coming in at #2 at the box office that year. This one sees poor Sam Witwicky get a medal of honor from Obama, more rah-rah military action, the worst digital JFK you've ever seen, Buzz Aldren having a chat with Optimus Prime, John Malkovich being a complete weirdo, and Leonard Nimoy getting to relish in being the baddie. And still it feels like this series is wearing thin and we're not already halfway through the movies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legendary action director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) is our guest this week to talk about the latest chapter of his Strangers reboot trilogy, his collaboration with Steven Spielberg early in his career, and how much of an impact Jaws has had on many of his films, including his own killer shark flick Deep Blue Sea. We talk color theory, visual storytelling, how and when you can lose an audience, and what can be learned from watching Spielberg's films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TV Mastermind Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) makes his feature directorial debut with Dust Bunny starring Mads Mikkelsen, Sigourney Weaver, and newcomer Sophie Sloan. On the surface this film has nothing to do with Steven Spielberg, but it turns out that it was originally developed as an episode of the Amazing Stories reboot and Spielberg himself gave notes on the script that survived to this feature version. Fuller talks all about that creative collaboration as well as his relationship with Spielberg's work and even gives us some of his patented "queer readings" of some unlikely contenders from Spielberg's filmography that spoke to his own queer coming of age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emmy Winning writer (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) and very funny standup comedian (People Pleaser) Josh Gondelman returns to The Spiel to talk about a film that most people probably forgot was produced by Steven Spielberg: 2010's True Grit starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld in her first major role. Based on the Charles Portis novel, previously adapted as a starring vehicle for John Wayne, True Grit is about a young girl who hires a drunk and haggard Marshall to hunt down the man who killed her father. The Coen Bros wrote and directed this incredibly entertaining and highly quotable flick and Vespe and Gondelman delight in going back through the story, finding their favorite moments, and figuring out why the movie is so damn good, even if Spielberg had almost nothing to do with it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Sagers is not only a pop culture journalist, he's also a well-known paranormal investigator. He's the founder of ParanormalPopCulture.com and you've seen him on-camera for Travel Channel's Paranormal Paparazzi and Paranormal Caught on Camera, and Netflix's 28 Days Haunted. In short, he knows a lot about movies and the spiritual world, so he was the natural choice to come in and talk about Poltergeist, written and produced by Steven Spielberg. We focus on the portrayal of the paranormal in Poltergeist, see what cases it might have borrowed from, what famous paranormal investigators it very well might have taken influence from, and try to figure out exactly what the hell The Beast is in the context of that first movie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legendary film producer, director, and documentarian Frank Marshall is my guest on the show today to talk about his working relationship with Steven Spielberg, a creative partnership that goes back to Raiders of the Lost Ark and continues on to this day. Marshall co-founded Amblin with Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. We talk about what necessitated Spielberg creating his own production company, how they split up their duties to produce some of the best geeky flicks of the '80s, and eventually get to the new entry into the Jurassic franchise, Jurassic World Rebirth, which opens in theaters July 2nd. This chat covers a ton of ground, from Peter Bogdanovich to Robert Zemeckis, killer spiders to hungry dinosaurs, and even how a plate of pasta helped convince Spielberg he should call this guy to help produce Raiders of the Lost Ark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Jonathan Entwistle (Karate Kid: Legends, The End of the F***ing World, I Am Not Okay With This) joins Vespe to talk about the incredibly divisive Spielberg film, Hook. Spielberg's Hook is a bonafide classic for a whole generation, but if you're not part of that younger Millennial generation it has the reputation of leaving you cold. The story is about a world where Peter Pan is real and he grew up to be Robin Williams. Peter marries Wendy's granddaughter and starts his own family, forgetting all about his Neverland adventures until he's forced back into fantasy when the very real Hook shows up and snatches his kids. Turns out there's a lot for two grown up nerds to dissect with this movie, not the least of which is why it feels like a couple of different films smashed together. We didn't know when we sat down to talk about this one that we'd get so introspective, but that's what even a complicated Spielberg flick can do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Spiel co-host, Josh Robert Thompson, is stepping away from the show, but before he leaves to pursue his own creative endeavors he and Vespe take a look back at his time on the show, discuss our favorite episodes, guests, and experiences while he was behind the mic. You'll hear plenty of behind the scenes stories, more Spielberg, Lucas, and Morgan Freeman impressions, some Scott Wampler anecdotes and even a rant about Uwe Boll being terrible. In short, it's a hell of a send off for Josh Robert Thompson as he ends his reign at The Spiel. So, sit back, relax, and get ready to laugh as Vespe and JRT look back at the last year of nerdy Steven Spielberg discussions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles Soule (author of the Star Wars: The High Republic series as well as some of the best Star Wars comic books) joins the show to talk all about one of the most controversial and heavily debated Steven Spielberg films: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We all know co-host Josh Robert Thompson goes to bat for this one, but does Soule? We dive into the George Lucas of it all, a topic that Soule has a lot of insight into considering how closely he has studied Lucas's output while he plays in that massive Star Wars sandbox. There's a healthy range of opinion on this title and you're going to get some unfiltered opinions that range from "are you crazy?" to "don't be so mean" as three self-identified Indiana Jones nerds break down the fourth installment (and final Spielberg-directed entry) of this iconic series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Spiel welcomes Anthony Breznican, Vespe's Kingcast co-host and entertainment reporter extraordinaire at Vanity Fair, to talk about Amblin's Innerspace. This weird-ass movie was directed by Joe Dante and produced by Spielberg and is all about a shrunk down Dennis Quaid getting injected into Martin Short's butt and that's just the start of this crazy '80s flick. Bond-esque villains, mini-Kevin McCarthy, a pissed off screenwriter and a who's who of very famous people that almost made this movie. Innerspace is a trip and a hell of a lot of fun to revisit. If you dig The Spiel, consider joining The Spiel's Patreon. Throw us a few bucks a month and you'll not only directly support the show, you'll also get bonus episodes and access to the Discord. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Goonies is an important movie for folks of a certain generation, including the absolute madman who is this week's guest. You know him from Pitch Perfect 2, The Suicide Squad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Silicon Valley and now he's here to talk about The Goonies, Richard Donner's coming-of-age adventure story produced by Steven Spielberg. We bounce around a lot in this episode, going from behind-the-scenes trivia to random Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions to a serious discussion about the authorship of this movie. We even have some great ideas for the poor bastards tasked with writing The Goonies 2 that may or may not involve casting Flula as the new Sloth who speaks only through his butthole. As always, if you dig the show and want to get extra bonus episodes how about heading over to our Patreon (www.patreon.com/TheSpielPodcast) and throwing us a few bucks? We'll make it worth your while! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices