The Spiel

Latest Episodes:

True Grit with Josh Gondelman Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

Emmy Winning writer (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) and very funny standup comedian (People Pleaser) Josh Gondelman returns to The Spiel to talk about a film that most people probably forgot was produced by Steven Spielberg: 2010's True Grit starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld in her first major role.

Based on the Charles Portis novel, previously adapted as a starring vehicle for John Wayne, True Grit is about a young girl who hires a drunk and haggard Marshall to hunt down the man who killed her father.

The Coen Bros wrote and directed this incredibly entertaining and highly quotable flick and Vespe and Gondelman delight in going back through the story, finding their favorite moments, and figuring out why the movie is so damn good, even if Spielberg had almost nothing to do with it.

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Twilight Zone: The Movie with Macon Blair Aug 25, 2025

Show notes

Macon Blair (The Toxic Avenger, I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore) joins Vespe to talk about one of the most impactful films of Steven Spielberg's career, Twilight Zone: The Movie.

They dip into the tragedy, of course, but there's more to this anthology than the controversy. This film brings together some of the best filmmakers of the era in John Landis, Joe Dante, Spielberg, and George Miller and they're all given room to go as bonkers as they want to as storytellers.

While not totally successful, it remains a highly entertaining film and a juicy conversation starter for movie nerds.

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Poltergeist and the Paranormal with Aaron Sagers Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Aaron Sagers is not only a pop culture journalist, he's also a well-known paranormal investigator. He's the founder of ParanormalPopCulture.com and you've seen him on-camera for Travel Channel's Paranormal Paparazzi and Paranormal Caught on Camera, and Netflix's 28 Days Haunted.

In short, he knows a lot about movies and the spiritual world, so he was the natural choice to come in and talk about Poltergeist, written and produced by Steven Spielberg.

We focus on the portrayal of the paranormal in Poltergeist, see what cases it might have borrowed from, what famous paranormal investigators it very well might have taken influence from, and try to figure out exactly what the hell The Beast is in the context of that first movie.

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Jaws @ 50 with Laurent Bouzereau Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

Steven Spielberg's documentarian Laurent Bouzereau returns to The Spiel to discuss Vespe's favorite movie, Jaws, and his great new deep dive documentary made in conjunction with Amblin and Nat Geo called Jaws @ 50.

There's a lot to talk about in terms of the legacy of Jaws, the impact it had for good and ill on both the film industry and the fishing industry, as well as where it fits into the lexicon of cinema greats 50 years after release.

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Frank Marshall on Jurassic World Rebirth Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

Legendary film producer, director, and documentarian Frank Marshall is my guest on the show today to talk about his working relationship with Steven Spielberg, a creative partnership that goes back to Raiders of the Lost Ark and continues on to this day.

Marshall co-founded Amblin with Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. We talk about what necessitated Spielberg creating his own production company, how they split up their duties to produce some of the best geeky flicks of the '80s, and eventually get to the new entry into the Jurassic franchise, Jurassic World Rebirth, which opens in theaters July 2nd.

This chat covers a ton of ground, from Peter Bogdanovich to Robert Zemeckis, killer spiders to hungry dinosaurs, and even how a plate of pasta helped convince Spielberg he should call this guy to help produce Raiders of the Lost Ark.

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A Conversation with David Koepp Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

Frequent Steven Spielberg collaborator David Koepp is our guest this week. Koepp is the screenwriter behind Jurassic Park, The Lost World, War of the Worlds, and Spielberg's upcoming UFO/UAP flick as well as the director of the criminally underrated Stir of Echoes.

Koepp also penned the script for the upcoming Jurassic World Rebirth, which hits cinemas July 2nd. We talk about his work in the Jurassic realm, the Spielberg phone call that got him back into the franchise for the new movie, and the childhood inspirations that fed into some of the new film's biggest and most thrilling set pieces.

We also talk about his other work with Spielberg, going back to adapting the very first Jurassic Park from Michael Crichton's original book and even a little about breaking into the industry with the B-movie classic I Come In Peace (aka Dark Angel).

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Hook with Jonathan Entwistle May 27, 2025

Show notes

Director Jonathan Entwistle (Karate Kid: Legends, The End of the F***ing World, I Am Not Okay With This) joins Vespe to talk about the incredibly divisive Spielberg film, Hook.

Spielberg's Hook is a bonafide classic for a whole generation, but if you're not part of that younger Millennial generation it has the reputation of leaving you cold.

The story is about a world where Peter Pan is real and he grew up to be Robin Williams. Peter marries Wendy's granddaughter and starts his own family, forgetting all about his Neverland adventures until he's forced back into fantasy when the very real Hook shows up and snatches his kids.

Turns out there's a lot for two grown up nerds to dissect with this movie, not the least of which is why it feels like a couple of different films smashed together.

We didn't know when we sat down to talk about this one that we'd get so introspective, but that's what even a complicated Spielberg flick can do.

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Columbo with Rian Johnson May 20, 2025

Show notes

It might come as a surprise to some folks that Steven Spielberg directed the pilot for Columbo, titled Murder By The Book, but that he did and it turned out to be one of the most important projects of his early career as his success with this episode is what got him the gig directing Duel.

If you're going to talk about Columbo and Spielberg then you're going to need a guest who knows their whodunnits and howcatchems. Writer/Director Rian Johnson has made a name for himself in the murder mystery realm with his Knives Out films and the currently airing Poker Face, a sort of modern day take on the Columbo formula.

We discuss the differences between a whodunnit and a howcatchem, the stengths and weaknesses in both forms of mystery storytelling, and what Spielberg's cinematic eye brings to this pilot that helped him stand out as a young, upstart 24 year old trying to make his mark in the industry that he loves.

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Farewell to Josh Robert Thompson May 13, 2025

Show notes

The Spiel co-host, Josh Robert Thompson, is stepping away from the show, but before he leaves to pursue his own creative endeavors he and Vespe take a look back at his time on the show, discuss our favorite episodes, guests, and experiences while he was behind the mic.

You'll hear plenty of behind the scenes stories, more Spielberg, Lucas, and Morgan Freeman impressions, some Scott Wampler anecdotes and even a rant about Uwe Boll being terrible. In short, it's a hell of a send off for Josh Robert Thompson as he ends his reign at The Spiel.

So, sit back, relax, and get ready to laugh as Vespe and JRT look back at the last year of nerdy Steven Spielberg discussions.

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A Career-Spanning Interview with Veronica Cartwright Apr 29, 2025

Show notes

Veronica Cartwright joins The Spiel hosts to talk about her incredible career, from The Twilight Zone to The Birds to Alien and Witches of Eastwick, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and, yes, even Scary Movie 2.

Cartwright also shares her thoughts on Steven Spielberg's career, including an incredible anecdote of watching Jaws for the first time with Richard Dreyfuss.

There are so many great stories packed into this chat that it's hard to hint at them all, but you will get her memories on working with Hitchcock, Ridley Scott, George Miller, and so much more.

Her new film, The Ruse, hits theaters across the country May 16th.

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