Fun Size Episode 60 – George Lucas Martyrs

We’re back with Chelsea Rustad to dig into the big questions. Have we hit the barrier when technological advances on video quality, frame rate and sound are butting up against the point where human senses can no longer perceive the difference in quality?

What about cars? Clothing? Is there a point where an expensive T-shirt can’t really get much more technologically advanced than a cheap one, and it makes no sense to charge big prices for it?

Plus, we touch on the recent lawsuit by the estates of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko to nullify the Marvel copyrights to the characters created by those artists, and the knee jerk reactionary response from some fans. And maybe…just maybe, we’d get better stories if these characters were allowed to lapse into the public domain.

And we talk about history’s greatest victims of targeted oppression: gamers.

Episode 34 – American Movie

“There’s no excuses, Paul. No one has ever, ever paid admission to see an excuse. No one has ever faced a black screen that says: “Well, if we had these set of circumstances, we would’ve shot this scene… so please forgive us and use your imagination.”

In another of our Single Serving Selections, we’re going somewhere that the show has never gone before: non-fiction! It’s time to max out our credit cards and hassle our moms until they agree to play extras in our movie, because we’re being joined by Patrick Johnson for a discussion of the 1999 documentary, American Movie.

Telling the story of an aspiring filmmaker’s quest to create his dream project — by first completing the low budget horror movie that he had abandoned years earlier. Now, he struggles against a lack of funds, the hapless ineptitude of his friends and family, a burgeoning alcoholism, a lack of talent, and his own self-destructive personality to make something great.

But don’t worry. It’s alright, it’s okay, there’s something to live for. Jesus told me so!

Episode 17 – Steven Spielberg

spielberg

Hold on to your butts!

Mike and Casey are stocking up on Reese’s Pieces and heading to Devil’s Tower to compare scars with sound engineer Scott Kramer (the Expendables, Transparent) and the composer of our show’s theme song, Todd Maxfield-Matsumoto! We’re talking about the filmmaker whose influence defined big budget cinema for an entire generation, Steven Spielberg!

From Jurassic Park to E.T., and Jaws to Raiders of the Lost Ark, few filmmakers have had the impact on movies as both an art and an industry like Spielberg. We discuss his evolution as a storyteller, director and producer. We debate his legacy among film purists, mainstream audiences and critics.

Music: 
“End Credits” from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial  by John Williams

Previously titled: “A Childhood Sense of Wonder”