The Spiel

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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