In honor of our discussion of Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Melvin of the Cinematic Doctrine podcast joins me again to do an Alien Invasions Movie Draft! This was a really fun movie draft where we chose some of our favorite films where aliens invade earth, and we have a much wider range of types of movies than you would think! Be on the lookout for the polls on social media to vote on who you think won the draft!

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This week, Melvin Benson of the Cinematic Doctrine podcast joins us to discuss what Steven Spielberg has called his most personal film: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. At the height of his powers in the 1980’s, this awe-filled look at an optimistic alien encounter through the eyes of a child captured the hearts of people around the globe. We talk everything from directing children, to the special effects of our alien friend, to why this film is not just for kids but for everyone.

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This week, I talk with The West Sisters (Chasah and Charliese) about screenwriting. They have done a good bit of screenwriting, entering into screenwriting contests, and have even been able to write and direct some short films that are currently being submitted to festivals! We talk about their inspirations, their process from start to finish, what it is like to work on a script as a team, and what sorts of screenplays they might be interested in writing next.

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Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic characters of all time, and it is all due to a combination of the charm of Harrison Ford and the masterful character building of Steven Spielberg as director and George Lucas as storyteller/producer. Not only would Raiders of the Lost Ark become a beloved gem for an entire generation, it would also launch Spielberg’s already successful career into the stratosphere! We dig into the inception of the film, the cast, the production and set pieces, and the unexpected, pop culture shaking success of this classic adventure. 

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Sometimes even the best directors have a big ol’, old fashioned FLOP. This week, we decided to follow up our discussion of Spielberg’s critical and audience flop with a movie draft of some of our most renowned directors’ flops! The goal is not to draft the worst collection of movies, but movies we think hold up despite flopping at the time of their release. We tried to stick with movies that had 60 or below on their metascore, were rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, were huge commercial failures, and typically some combination of those three. This was a super fun draft!

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In 1941, the 1979 WWII comedy, we have a prime example of a powerhouse director putting out a complete flop. Steven Spielberg along with writers in Robert Zemecki & Bob Gale and producer John Milius were trying to ride the train of troublemaking comedies that came before them. While the film did fine commercially worldwide, it was not well received by audiences and critics alike. Our discussion delves into why this movie was a failure and what we can learn from that.

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We discuss some of our approaches to film viewing. We tackle questions concerning motivations for watching films, how to choose what to watch, how we process films, and how we determine if a film is good or not. We also share some recommended resources to help with your film viewing experience. This is by no means the definitive film viewing treatise but just two normal people who love movies sharing our experience.

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To accompany our discussion of Jaws last week, we did a Creature Feature Movie Draft! Creature Features are generally any film where a creature of some sort (beast, vampire, alien, zombie, etc.) is the main antagonist. We drafted 5 movies each and ended up with some great lists and fun discussions. Tune in to hear how the draft turned out, and look for the poll to vote for your favorite draft on our social media platforms!

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Jaws marks both the breakout of Steven Spielberg’s illustrious career and the beginning of the summer blockbuster. From crazy production stories to camera work to efficient character building and more, this discussion with guest Daniel Blackaby really encompasses a ton about what makes Spielberg such a great director. We also discuss if the dawn of the summer blockbuster has ultimately been good or bad for cinema (or both).

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