The Spiel

Ever wonder how Steven Spielberg's unmade Close Encounters sequel, Night Skies, became Gremlins and E.T.? Well, this episode is for you!

Vespe welcomes author Max Evry who literally wrote the book on this topic, titled Stranded On Earth: How Night Skies Became E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, to go over the evolution of this dark project while examining where exactly Steven Spielberg was in his life and career as all this was going on.

We dive into the sliding doors of it all as young Spielberg chose certain projects over others (like did you know he almost directed an R-rated jocks vs nerds in middle school comedy) and what his ultimate decisions say about him as a creative.

This episode has everything: Alien abduction stories, edgelord Spielberg, Carlo Rambaldi slander, and a frank discussion of the different eras of our greatest living American director.

Stranded On Earth hits shelves October 27th and you can pre-order it directly via the publisher if you want a signed copy at no extra charge.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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