Storytelling Breakdown

As we near the end of summer, the Storytelling Breakdown team decided it was time for Movie Share II: Electric Boogaloo. 

The rotation from last time has been reversed. Stephen has Ben, exploring more works of Hayao Miyazaki with Howl’s Moving Castle. Ben has Larissa, and the two opened the episode with a trip back to the 1970’s with Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. Larissa has Caleb, and she put Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself on his radar. Caleb has Stephen, who put on his headphones and sat down for Live, Die, Rep… wait, Edge of Tomorrow. 

In The Lord of the Rings: The Scenes of Power our team begins our journey into The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. From Glamdring to an impassable labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks, the conversation starts around the 01:24:03 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

Film goers of a certain age have grown up with Indiana Jones. For the Storytelling Breakdown team, that meant seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade on VHS, sharing the first viewings with parents and siblings, and probably seeing Temple of Doom a little later in the ol’ childhood. We got Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008 and 15 years ago it looked unlikely that Indiana Jones would go out on top. 

Ben, Caleb, Larissa, and Stephen saw Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny together. Just a couple days later, they sat down for a conversation about growing up with the movies, what makes a good Indiana Jones film, and how each sequel fared in following what some consider to be a nearly perfect movie. With Harrison Ford stating that he will not be tempted to make another Indy film, how does Dial of Destiny hold up as this character’s final adventure? 

Autumn Schultz joined us for last month’s Spider-Verse episode. She returns for this month’s Spotlight on K-Dramas. The conversation starts around the 01:49:49 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

When Storytelling Breakdown debuted in 2020, our first episode dedicated to a single movie was dedicated to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Our guest for that episode was Autumn Schultz. With a new Spider-Verse film capturing the imaginations of audiences worldwide, Caleb and Larissa have invited Autumn back to the podcast to discuss the Web-Head’s latest outing. She is joined by another guest bringing his own Spider-Man expertise to Storytelling Breakdown, Apollo Lymon. The four of them will explore the many elements that set Across the Spider-Verse apart from other animated works, even its predecessor. 

This conversation will be SPOILER heavy, so if you haven’t yet, rewatch the first film, put on some Sunflower, and watch Across the Spider-Verse on the biggest screen possible while you have the chance. Then join us for this jam-packed love letter to Spider-Man. 

We are returning to our original Spotlight format for this episode. Caleb and Larissa got to hear more from Apollo and Autumn as Ben 10 was discussed. The conversation starts around the 00:57:25 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

Before the start of Storytelling Breakdown’s third season, our community update episode served as an official welcoming of Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker as co-hosts of the podcast. We went down the rabbit hole of everyone’s media histories and Larissa mentioned a show we will cover in depth in this June episode, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 

Despite sixteen seasons of staying power, Sunny has never received Emmy consideration for anything other than stunts, with three nominations and no wins. Larissa and Caleb come into this episode with a for your consideration campaign as they introduce the show to Sunny newcomers, Ben and Stephen. Does It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia deserve an Emmy for Best Comedy? What are the best episodes to start with if you are introducing the show to someone who's never seen it? How do you win a game of Chardee MacDennis? Grab your toe knife and your headphones, and join us for this latest deep dive from Storytelling Breakdown. 

In The Lord of the Rings: The Scenes of Power our team takes one last look (probably) at The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. We’ll be discussing the dynamic between Aragorn and Borimir and the conversation starts around the 01:26:14 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

You pull into the drive-in for a double feature. Maybe you tilt your seat back and settle in for the latest entry in a franchise with decades of staying power. The floor is sticky. The popcorn is almost gone by the time the trailers finish. These thoughts could remind you of when you were a kid or maybe you're the one bringing the kids along. They could also remind you of a commercial featuring Vin Diesel or an SNL parody of the same. As the weather gets warmer and we look ahead to summer movie releases, Ben, Caleb, Larissa, and Stephen took some time to reflect on summer blockbusters. 

Where does the term come from? What are some of your favorite summer movie memories? What makes a movie a blockbuster? And how good is our team at identifying when movies came out even if the films’ original releases predate our team? Join us for a blockbuster spectacular on this episode of Storytelling Breakdown. 

This month’s entry in The Lord of the Rings: The Scenes of Power features The Bridge of Khazad Dum from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The conversation starts around the 00:52:15 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand… 

We are finally getting around to a Firefly episode. Ben, Caleb, and Larissa revisited the series for the first time in a while and started out with what currently sits as the highest rated episode in the series on IMDB, Out of Gas. 

To again paraphrase Robert McKee, “true character is revealed in the decisions human beings make under pressure,” and this episode puts the crew of Serenity in peril from the episode’s first moments. Out of Gas also makes fantastic use of flashback, setting, and the opportunities storytelling within the confines of a dark and isolating ‘verse can bring. Ben’s first viewing of the show was half his lifetime ago and he’s met two members of the core cast since. Put on your browncoat, stay shiny, and remember that no power in the ‘verse can stop you. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Scenes of Power continues with the Council of Elrond from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The conversation starts around the 00:47:18 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

Before this episode starts, we want to boost the signal for a GoFundMe to support the Hall of Heroes. Ben and Caleb visited the museum in 2019 for the finale episode of Storytelling Breakdown’s first season. The museum was broken into on March 19 and several valuable items in the museum were taken. Our team is heartbroken that some of this amazing history that the museum holds may be lost and we hope you will support the Hall of Heroes. If you love comics and are anywhere near the midwest, we also hope you take the opportunity to see the Hall of Heroes for yourself. We are thrilled such an incredible organization is so close to home. 

Planning for this episode started with the discovery that most of our team has visited the Disney parks and experienced the Pirates of the Caribbean rides firsthand. Today, the rides show the cycle of inspiration as elements of the park experience can be found across the film franchise, especially within Curse of the Black Pearl. It’s also easy to pick out ways in which the movies have inspired updates to the rides. Almost twenty years after the first film’s release, the Storytelling Breakdown team is discussing both experiences of Pirates of the Caribbean. What makes the ride the gold standard for Imagineering? How does the action-packed adventure that breathed new life into the pirates genre hold up? What are the pirate names for Ben, Caleb, Larissa, and Stephen? It’s time to parley and find out. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Scenes of Power continues with four scenes from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The conversation starts around the 01:04:14 mark. Two characters are introduced, one hero and one villain, though they are initially presented as the opposites. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

We cover a lot of movies on Storytelling Breakdown. This entertainment is bite-sized compared to the time you can spend getting to know a character through a TV show. And both of these are dwarfed by the time you can spend getting to know a character in a D&D game. 

Dungeons & Dragons has permeated the pop culture landscape in recent years, becoming even more popular through shows like Stranger Things and The Legend of Vox Machina from Critical Role. When the villains are fantastical, the stakes can be apocalyptic, and the emotional struggles can be showcased in ways that allow for a deep dive into a character’s psyche, we wanted to spend this episode speaking about RPG storytelling and how we’ve seen it reflected in the journeys of Max Mayfield and Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III. SPOILERS AHEAD, as Ben, Caleb, and Larissa will be discussing episode four of season four of Stranger Things, with Dear Billy. The conversation will also include a discussion of the finale from season one of The Legend of Vox Machina. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Scenes of Power continues with The Shire and A Long-expected Party from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The conversation starts around the 00:58:45 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

“Wait, you haven’t seen…” 

We know how this interaction goes. On one end of the conversation you have someone who hasn’t seen a film and is about to get a recommendation that might be going on a list they have been working through at an somewhat uneven pace. The other person gets to share one of their favorite movies and looks forward to hearing what the other person has to say about it. 

We’re tackling four movies simultaneously. Each Storytelling Breakdown host was assigned another host with whom to share a movie. The only prerequisite for a film was that the person giving it had seen it and the person receiving it had not. When the dust settled, Stephen gave Caleb Casablanca, Caleb showed Larissa Tropic Thunder, Larissa let Ben borrow Paterson, and Ben organized a movie night for Stephen featuring Inside Man. How did things work out? How did each film land with its new audience of at least one? Join us for a discussion of, as Caleb put it, “a slice of life film, a high stakes heist thriller, one of the greatest movies of all time, and Casablanca.” 

In 2023, we will be dedicating Spotlight conversations to discussing movies we have been meaning to get to for a while. The Lord of the Rings: The Scenes of Power is our attempt to do a deep dive into many of the moments from these films, starting off this episode with the prologue from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The conversation starts around the 01:24:04 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

Ben said it during the introduction for this episode, but truly this felt inevitable. After many standard episodes and campaign diaries dedicated to Dungeons & Dragons, the Storytelling Breakdown team is attempting one of the most famous dungeon crawls of all time, the Tomb of Horrors. 

First released in 1978, our adventurers will be attempting the fifth edition version as Ben takes on the role of Dungeon Master. Caleb will step into the talons of Keeoth Krackerjack, the kenku rogue. Stephen will take up the hammer of Olfric Stormjaw, the northman fighter, and Larissa will channel wild magic as Tabitha, the pink dragon sorcerer. Will they have what it takes to survive the tomb before the deadliest traps are sprung, the demilich unleashes his true power, or someone is accidently turned into a potted plant? 

The Muppet Christmas Carol from 1992 is the subject of this episode’s Spotlight. Caleb and Ben’s conversation starts around the 02:57:44 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions.