The Spiel

Celebrating the release of his new major motion picture Whalefall, in which Austin Abrams gets swallowed by a sperm whale, director Brian Duffield makes his triumphant return to The Spiel to talk about one of his favorite Spielberg flicks: Minority Report. The conversation has a lot of twists and turns, from Whalefall stories involving not one, not two, but three different sphincters, getting onto the Austin Abrams train at just the right time, and consulting Zach Cregger to a deep deconstruction of what makes Minority Report tick nearly 25 years after its release. This is a movie made in the immediate wake of 9/11 that correctly predicts the surveillance state that would result from that tragedy, has a lot of moral ambiguity, asks a lot of the audience, and is also the movie where Tom Cruise chases his own eyeballs down a long, windy corridor. So, buckle up and sit back and listen to two grown ass men nerd out about Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jaws is host Eric Vespe's favorite movie of all time, so it's only fitting that we get the nerdiest possible deep dive into the 1975 blockbuster with special guest Ian Nathan. Ian's an author and documentarian who has produced books on The Coen Brothers, Tim Burton, and Guillermo del Toro as well as produced truly epic documentaries on John Carpenter's The Thing and James Cameron's Aliens. His next project up is Jaws Explored, a documentary that goes into the minutiae of the film, its legacy, and why it's just so damned good. It's hard to get Vespe to shut up about Jaws, so brace yourself for an uber-nerdy conversation that discusses the three leading characters, the reality behind the making of the movie, and a deep dive into the color theory of the film. More information on Jaws Explored can be found at www.jawsexplored.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prominent indie actor Lou Taylor Pucci (Southland Tales, Thumbsucker, Evil Dead 2013) is our guest this episode to talk about a new title for The Spiel: *batteries not included, the 1987 film produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Matthew Robbins, and starring everybody's favorite '80s old couple Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn. Lou's new movie, Touch Me, is a weird-ass movie about aliens and cult leaders that features tentacle sex, break dancing, and way more tracksuits than you're expecting and it still manages to be less weird than *batteries not included, a family film that starts off with an alien robot stillbirth and only gets more strange as it continues on. Talk also turns to other notable Spielberg producorial outings Poltergeist and The Goonies as the conversation gets highly nerdy and, hopefully, very entertaining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin and Matthew McManus (American Vandal, Cobra Kai, Redux Redux) jump in the passenger seat for a revving chat about Steven Spielberg's Duel. Shot in 10 days, this 1971 TV movie was Spielberg's first real introduction to Hollywood. It's an adaptation of a Richard Matheson short story that follows a spineless city boy as he's tormented by a faceless truck driver that prowls the rural roads outside of Los Angeles. Part Hitchcock, part '70s weirdo Spielberg, there's a good argument that without Duel being as good as it was Spielberg may not have broken out as quickly as he did. The McManus Brothers help your humble host break down the movie, talk about our favorite sequences, and point out some of the more eye-catching visual storytelling moments. Their latest film, Redux Redux, which follows a mother that jumps realities so she can torment her daughter's murderer over and over again, can be seen in theaters this Friday, February 20th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that Steven Spielberg produced the classic '80s cult film Three O'Clock High? Well, we didn't either, until our guest, writer/director Kevin Lewis (Willy's Wonderland, Pig Hill) came to the show wanting to discuss it. It's a simple story about a high school dweeb (Casey Siemaszko) challenged to a fight by the new kid in school (Richard Tyson) and the chaos that ensues as he tries every trick he can to get out of the ass-whoopin' heading his way. Spielberg took his name off of the movie before release, but was instrumental in bringing it to life. We talk about that decision, guess as to why he had the change of heart, and break down some of the wildest aspects of this mostly hidden gem of '80s filmmaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Spielberg tried his hand at a Twilight Zone-ish series in 1985 that didn't exactly set the ratings world on fire, but would prove to be formative for a whole generation of imaginative kids. Amazing Stories brought in a combination of seasoned pros like Scorsese and Clint Eastwood and exciting, young talent, including today's guest, writer and filmmaker Mick Garris. Mick became famous for his Stephen King adaptations like The Stand and The Shining mini-series, but it was Steven Spielberg who gave him his first shot, first writing a few episodes on the first season of Amazing Stories, and then acting as head writer overseeing all the scripts coming in before eventually giving him a chance at directing an episode in Season 2. Mick makes his first appearance on The Spiel talking about his time on Amazing Stories, collaborating with Spielberg, and writing for people like Martin Scorsese and Joe Dante. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Macon Blair (The Toxic Avenger, I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore) joins Vespe to talk about one of the most impactful films of Steven Spielberg's career, Twilight Zone: The Movie. They dip into the tragedy, of course, but there's more to this anthology than the controversy. This film brings together some of the best filmmakers of the era in John Landis, Joe Dante, Spielberg, and George Miller and they're all given room to go as bonkers as they want to as storytellers. While not totally successful, it remains a highly entertaining film and a juicy conversation starter for movie nerds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Spielberg's documentarian Laurent Bouzereau returns to The Spiel to discuss Vespe's favorite movie, Jaws, and his great new deep dive documentary made in conjunction with Amblin and Nat Geo called Jaws @ 50. There's a lot to talk about in terms of the legacy of Jaws, the impact it had for good and ill on both the film industry and the fishing industry, as well as where it fits into the lexicon of cinema greats 50 years after release. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frequent Steven Spielberg collaborator David Koepp is our guest this week. Koepp is the screenwriter behind Jurassic Park, The Lost World, War of the Worlds, and Spielberg's upcoming UFO/UAP flick as well as the director of the criminally underrated Stir of Echoes. Koepp also penned the script for the upcoming Jurassic World Rebirth, which hits cinemas July 2nd. We talk about his work in the Jurassic realm, the Spielberg phone call that got him back into the franchise for the new movie, and the childhood inspirations that fed into some of the new film's biggest and most thrilling set pieces. We also talk about his other work with Spielberg, going back to adapting the very first Jurassic Park from Michael Crichton's original book and even a little about breaking into the industry with the B-movie classic I Come In Peace (aka Dark Angel). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It might come as a surprise to some folks that Steven Spielberg directed the pilot for Columbo, titled Murder By The Book, but that he did and it turned out to be one of the most important projects of his early career as his success with this episode is what got him the gig directing Duel. If you're going to talk about Columbo and Spielberg then you're going to need a guest who knows their whodunnits and howcatchems. Writer/Director Rian Johnson has made a name for himself in the murder mystery realm with his Knives Out films and the currently airing Poker Face, a sort of modern day take on the Columbo formula. We discuss the differences between a whodunnit and a howcatchem, the stengths and weaknesses in both forms of mystery storytelling, and what Spielberg's cinematic eye brings to this pilot that helped him stand out as a young, upstart 24 year old trying to make his mark in the industry that he loves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veronica Cartwright joins The Spiel hosts to talk about her incredible career, from The Twilight Zone to The Birds to Alien and Witches of Eastwick, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and, yes, even Scary Movie 2. Cartwright also shares her thoughts on Steven Spielberg's career, including an incredible anecdote of watching Jaws for the first time with Richard Dreyfuss. There are so many great stories packed into this chat that it's hard to hint at them all, but you will get her memories on working with Hitchcock, Ridley Scott, George Miller, and so much more. Her new film, The Ruse, hits theaters across the country May 16th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Incredible composer Bear McCreary (God of War, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Battlestar Galactica, Happy Death Day) knows a thing or two about composing badass scores. Vespe challenged him to come up with top 5 favorite John Williams/Steven Spielberg collaborations and the resulting episode sees McCreary putting his Top 5 against Vespe' Top 5. Originally only available on the show's Patreon, this wonderfully nerdy chat is now available for all to hear. What comes out on top? Does Jurassic Park beat out ET? What about Jaws or Schindler's List? Certainly Indiana Jones has to enter the conversation at some point, right? You'll only know if you listen! If you want to support the show and sign up for the Patreon to get access to bonus episodes like this one on the regular, then head over to The Spiel's Patreon page and sign up! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I think we can all agree that Steven Spielberg knows how to end a movie. He's got some all-timer endings in his filmography, but he also has some divisive endings. We're talking about War of the Worlds, A.I., Munich, and more. Noted filmmaker, podcaster, entertainment host, and professional geek Clarke Wolfe (Malum, Torn Hearts, Sending in the Wolfe podcast) joins JRT and Vespe to examine some of these endings and, surprise surprise, there isn't always agreement about how well these more divisive endings work. This episode was originally released at The Spiel's Patreon and if you want to hear episodes like this before anybody else, throw the show a few bucks over at www.patreon.com/thespielpodcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices