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Mother of Flies Interview Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

We are once again joined by the incredibly talented Adams Family. Toby Poser, John Adams, and Zelda Adams joined me to talk about their new film Mother of Flies, which premieres on Shudder on January 23rd. We have previously chatted for Hellbender, and I have been a super fan since. The Adams create terrifying stories as a family, which allows for such creative expression as you will see in this film. Doing interviews like this one is my favorite because I get to dig into so much, since much of the project has been done by a small team. The family gives insight into their process, editing, and so much more about the film. For a film grappling with life, death, and the nature of things, it perfectly captures the horrors of the in-between.

Mother of Flies follows Mickey (Zelda Adams), who faces a deadly diagnosis, but she isn't ready to die yet. Heading into the woods with her father (John Adams), she seeks dark magic at the hands of a mysterious recluse, Solveig (Toby Poser), who has an intimate relationship with death and roots that go deep in the land. For three days, Mickey endures Solveig's extreme rituals of death magic. But every cure has its cost, and every curse is another's gift. As buried secrets claw their way to the surface, the veil between the living and the dead begins to unravel, and Mickey finds herself facing dark truths that only the dead and the dying can know.

John Adams, Toby Poser, and daughters Lulu and Zelda Adams (collectively known as The Adams Family) have been making films under the creative marquee of Wonder Wheel Productions since 2010. Features include The Deeper You Dig (2019, Dark Sky Films), Hellbender (2021, Shudder), Where the Devil Romas (2023, Tubi), and Mother of Flies (2025, Shudder). The family's films have been represented by Yellow Veil Pictures for sales, festivals, and theatrical runs since 2021. John and Toby also directed the sci-fi feature Hell Hole (2024, Shudder) and the episode 'Plastic Smile' for Screambox's "Tales from the Void" (2024). The soundtrack for Adams Family films is performed by the family's band, H6LLB6ND6R.

G.I. Joe Catch Up with Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

After 16 issues, Dan checks back in with Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly to talk about all things G.I. Joe! The series has been going strong at Skybound and Image for some time, so Dan wanted to do a retrospective on the series so far. Also, any excuse he can find to talk about Cobra Commander, he will take. With the DREADNOK WAR wrapping up this week with Issue #17, we wanted to take a chance to chat about the series and this big event.

Joshua Williamson gives insight on writing Cobra Commander and Destro who are both the biggest personalities in any room they walk into. Tom Reilly talks about his character designs for them and how he tries to always give them the most flashy costumes because they have to stand out.

We also dig into the first appearance of Road Pig with how the team approached Dan's new favorite character. The team shares thoughts on who the character is in their series and their Texas Chain Saw inspirations for him, including what is stated and what is implied.

They dig into the future of G.I. Joe and what's to come in the Energon Universe. We talk about sharing all the cool toys in the Energon toy box and how they work together across teams to keep it cohesive. Joshua talks about collaborating with Robert Kirkman to make the line as tight and accessible as possible for new readers.

Born to be Wild Interview Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we spoke with the team behind Apple TV's new show Born to be Wild. Lucy van Beek (Executive Producer, Tealfeather Productions Founder and Creative Director), Alex Williamson (Executive Producer, Offspring Films Co-founder and Creative Director), Isla Robertson (Executive Producer), and Tom Payne (Showrunner) talk about the documentary. We chat about what it's like to film over the years to follow the journeys of these incredible people and animals.

ABOUT "Born to be Wild"

Filmed over several years across three continents, the six-part documentary series follows six endangered young animals as they grow up in our world but are destined to return to theirs. From their earliest days through their journey to life in the wild, the series highlights the challenges, triumphs, and resilience that define their survival, both for the animals and the extraordinary people working to raise and protect them. "Born to be Wild," narrated by SAG Award winner Hugh Bonneville ("Paddington," "Downton Abbey," "The Secret Lives of Animals") premieres worldwide on Friday, December 19, on Apple TV.

As each animal finds its place in the world after being orphaned or born through conservation programs—from an elephant calf and two young cheetahs, to a ring-tailed lemur pup, a moon bear cub, Iberian lynx kittens, and rescued African penguins—"Born to be Wild" offers an intimate and emotional look at the pow

Alan Tudyk and Jeanine Mason Talk WondLa Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

WondLa's grand finale to the trilogy is out now on Apple TV! We were lucky enough to sit down with two of the show's leads, Jeanine Mason and Alan Tudyk, to discuss the final season. We chat with both of them about their approach to voice acting and more in these interviews. Make sure to listen before starting the final season of Wondla!

About the show:

This groundbreaking third and final installment features a star-studded voice cast, including Jeanine Mason ("Roswell, New Mexico") as Eva, Emmy Award winner Brad Garrett ("Everybody Loves Raymond") as Otto, Gary Anthony Williams ("Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows") as Rovender, Alan Tudyk ("Resident Alien") as Cadmus Pryde, John Ratzenberger ("Toy Story") as Caruncle, John Harlan Kim ("The Librarians") as Hailey, Ana Villafañe ("Castro's Daughter") as Eva 8, Peter Gallagher ("The O.C") as Antiquus, and many more. New cast members include Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo ("House of Sand and Fog") as Darius and Arius, and Maz Jobrani ("The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour") as Zin.

In the epic final season of "WondLa," war erupts between humans and aliens. With Orbona's fate hanging in the balance, Eva must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: recapturing the stolen Heart of the Forest. Along the way, she gathers old friends and unlikely allies for one last stand. But to save Orbona, Eva must do more than find the Heart; she must bridge two divided worlds and prove the ultimate truth: "There is no 'them.' There is only us."

The epic trilogy's final season continues with six thrilling half-hour episodes executive produced by Tony DiTerlizzi and Bobs Gannaway alongside Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, Julie Kane-Ritsch, and Skydance Animation's John Lasseter, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg. The series is also produced by Tony Cosanella.

Guenther Steiner Interview Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

One of my favorite aspects of doing all this is stepping out of my comfort zone. GateCrashers' mission has always been to help people find new things and engage with them without the fear of embarrassment. So I would not be living by my own mission if I didn't push myself to do new things! The topic for this interview was Formula 1 racing! I got the chance to interview one of the biggest names in the industry, Guenther Steiner.

What I learned about Mr. Steiner in my research was that he was, as the title of his book suggests, Unfiltered. I watched many interviews where censors barely caught expletives coming from his mouth or things he put so plainly that many just assume he is blunt. I admire this quality in someone to be themselves at all times, regardless of what others think. It's a power not many possess, and I hope many can emulate this bravado to fully be themselves.

While the other interviewers at the WONDERFUL F1 Arcade were in the know about F1, I was not. I stood watching them interview Guenther Steiner with insight into the industry and happenings. I stood, sipping the only beer in the room, admiring people who were good at their craft. I was a bit worried my book-centric interview would be a bit off, but it went wonderfully. Guenther was an incredible interview. I could listen to this man speak for hours. Luckily, you can! For the book, he is doing a speaking tour called "Guenther Steiner: Unfiltered" which is in Philly tonight, November 13th. You can find more dates on his Instagram here. I suggest checking it out to anyone who loves F1 or big personalities. It will give you such new insight into the industry, his life, and what it means to live an unfiltered life.

Solar Opposites (For Now) Special Oct 13, 2025

Show notes

The day has finally come. The final season (for now) of Solar Opposites is now on Hulu. When the show started in 2020, I was instantly hooked and have been a Solar ever since. The show is the best Hulu original and will live on. This very special episode is jam-packed with Solar Opposites energy. Chach and Adam join me to talk about the show, the final season, and The Duke's biggest secret at length. I also share my recent interviews with Sean Giambrone, Mary Mack, Josh Bycel, and Mike "The Big Hog" McMahan to talk about the series as a whole. This is a big one, so get your novelty motto t-shirt on and get ready to hear the word mount A LOT.

The Solar Opposites final season perfectly encapsulates why this show was a perfect blend of comedy, family, and sci-fi hijinks. It's a worthy send-off for one of the best adult animated shows since The Simpsons. There are episodes that will bring you to tears with their touching moments surrounding the family and what it means to be a finale. The Wall saga comes to a shocking finale that will leave you with your mouth wide open for bugs to crawl in and stuff.

Synopsis:

Once their alien diamond-making machine gets destroyed, the Solar Opposites must face their greatest challenge yet: living their expensive lives on a budget! When their consumerist habits and expensive hobbies are gone, only their true selves will remain... but will they like who they find? ALSO: The epic story of the people of The Wall has all built to this thrilling and shocking conclusion…

Yvette Nicole Brown, Scott Adsit, and Creators Talk Shape Island Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

On this interview special, Dan chats with Yvette Nicole Brown, Scott Adsit, Mac Barnett, and Jon Klassen about their show Shape Island on Apple TV+! They discuss how they carry the life lessons of childhood TV into their own lives, the important elements of storytelling, and much more. Yvette and Scott discuss their approach to voice acting while the show's creators talk about what it was like to let others become involved with something they created. Each interview brings a unique light to the show and what everyone brings to the project. Dan was excited to have such insightful conversations revolving around the show. The show is now available to stream anywhere you watch Apple TV+, so make sure you are checking it out with your family!

ABOUT "SHAPE ISLAND" SEASON TWO:

The Children's and Family Emmy Award-winning series from Apple TV+ takes place on a charming island and invites viewers to join serious Square, intrepid Circle and tricky Triangle as they dig up some fun, search for answers and build on their friendship — all while learning how to navigate each other's differences. "Shape Island" shows kids that friendship can take many shapes.

Season two features the familiar voices of Yvette Nicole Brown ("Frog and Toad") as the narrator, Harvey Guillén ("Puss In Boots: The Last Wish") as Square, Scott Adsit ("Big Hero 6") as Triangle and Gideon Adlon ("Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earth") as Circle.

"Shape Island" was co-created by book authors Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, who serve as executive producers. Barnett was recently appointed the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress. Kelli Bixler and Drew Hodges ("Tumble Leaf") from the Emmy Award-winning studio Bix Pix Entertainment also serve as executive producers. Ryan Pequin serves as co-executive producer and head writer.

Spirited Away Aug 29, 2025

Show notes

It's the final day of Anime August Week and Amanda and Patrick have saved the best for last: today, they're treating you all to Hayao Miyazaki's award-winning, record-breaking 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film, Spirited Away!

Often considered Ghibli Studios's breakout project—and a usual suspect on "best of" lists throughout the industry—Spirited Away is the company's (and Miyazaki's) first Academy Award-winning film, having been only the second movie to win Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards (following Shrek, the award's inaugural winner, lol). As with all Miyazaki films, Spirited Away tackles themes of community building, environmentalism, and greed, conveyed across a simultaneously tender and exciting coming-of-age adventure set against a backdrop of cultural Japanese folklore.

Mythical deities, acerbic witches, and whimsical magical entities (looking at you, Soot Sprites!) are just a few things that the 10-year-old protagonist, Chihiro, encounters during her employment at a bathhouse for spirits, where she's forced to earn her keep if she doesn't want to run afoul of powerful witch Yubaba, the bathhouse's austere owner. If Chihiro hopes to make it back to the mortal realm, she'll have to rely on the help of her coworkers and Yubaba's mysterious right-hand man, dragon-shifter Haku.

Join Amanda and Patrick as they engage in some all-too-familiar antics, including (but not limited to): Amanda forgetting how to read, Patrick going on a tangent about music, Amanda literally crying about how much she loves this movie, and Patrick Googling things in real time.

We at GateCrashers are so excited to bring you the final episode of one of our favorite annual segments. Thank you for joining us. See you next year. Long live Anime August!

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Aug 28, 2025

Show notes

Amanda and Patrick are back for day 3 of Anime August Week, and this time they're diving into the world of revered director Hayao Miyazaki, starting with his 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind!

Believe it or not this is the first episode in GateCrashers history talking about Studio Ghibli or Miyazaki! Amanda and Patrick are huge fans of Miyazaki's films, so they are very excited to talk about this movie.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is often considered the beginning of the Studio Ghibli era, even though Miyazaki made it before founding the studio. As such, Amanda and Patrick talk about how it feels so classically Miyazaki, fully formed and fledged right from the start, even though it was only his second ever full-length film. There are plenty of classic themes in this film we've come to appreciate in Miyazaki's canon, including environmentalism, Marxism, and our favorite, some funky little airplanes!

To that end, this Amanda and Patrick episode has all the classic Amanda and Patrick themes too: yelling about the English dub, learning things in real time about the manga that they absolutely did not read before recording the episode, and going on tangents so deeply unrelated from the topic of the episode that they have to hard segue back to talking about the movie. Ya know, a classic Amanda and Patrick episode!

Amanda and Patrick do genuinely believe that this is one of the Miyazaki's best films. They talk about how important and relevant Miyazaki's message in this film is, even 41 years later, as we continue to live in a world affected by ecological disaster, war, and hatred. But importantly, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind has a message of hope for a humanity that chooses to coexists with nature and the Earth instead of dominate it.

Come and join us as we continue our annual dive into the world of Japanese animation! And keep an eye (or ear) out for tomorrow's episode about another Hayao Miyazaki movie!

Delicious in Dungeon Aug 26, 2025

Show notes

It's another Anime August episode with Patrick and Amanda! This time, we are discussing the anime Delicious in Dungeon (or as it is known in Japanese and on some corners of the internet Dungeon Meshi). This episode covers the first season of the anime series on Netflix (and in theory the corresponding manga - we didn't read it, sorry!), so be sure to watch the whole season to avoid spoilers. (Although Patrick definitely spoiled something he saw online that happens after the first season's story! He's really sorry he promises!)

Amanda and Patrick talk about some of their favorite bits of the season of Delicious in Dungeon, including Senshi crotch shots, Marcille's semi-canon lesbianism, and the spectacular English dub. They also discuss autistic representation, perceived or otherwise, in Laios's character (which might be partially influenced by the performance from Damien Haas, his English language voice actor). The food is talked about, of course, but more importantly Amanda yells about how weird it is that people think it's so strange that Laios and party eat the monsters in the dungeon. Naturally, they also get very passionate about side characters like Kabru and Shuro.

There is also a good deal of discussion around the influence that Dungeons & Dragons has on Delicious in Dungeon, including how the mangaka read Dungeons & Dragons player and dungeon master books for research. They also discuss the need (or lack thereof) of racism in the fantasy genre (spoiler: they come out hard against racism).

And Amanda and Patrick only briefly get sidetracked into talking about Smosh like twice and whether or not Damien Haas's participation in Smosh videos means that we are getting season 2 anytime soon… So come and join us as we continue our annual dive into anime. Be sure to check out our other episodes this month while you're at it!

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