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Hello and welcome to Camp Taikyuu Monster Movie Podcast.

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We are your hosts, Vincent Hannum and Matt Levine, and we're talking about all of our

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favorite monster movies, The Good, The Bad, and The Downright Campy, and asking if they

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stand the test of time.

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Traditional kaiju, creature features, space invaders, the supernatural, and everything

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in between.

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All strange beasts are welcome here.

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Camp Kaiju is sponsored by Zack Linder and the Zack Pack, powered by Coldwell Banker

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Realty, your source for real estate, home rehab, fixing and flipping for investor clients

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and residential buyers.

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Reach out to the Zack Pack today for real estate services, follow the Zack Pack on social

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media, and contact the Zack Pack for investment opportunities.

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Links in the show notes.

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Steven Spielberg presents Gremlins.

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Billy Pelser has a nice home.

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Billy, is that you?

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Yeah, Mom, it's me.

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A nice job.

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A nice girl.

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If you're not doing anything this Thursday night, maybe you'd like to go out on a date

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with me?

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I'd love to.

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And loving parents who are about to give him.

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You're gonna like this.

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No, no, no, don't shake it.

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We're gonna have to open it now.

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It won't wait till Christmas.

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The most unusual gift he ever got.

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What is it?

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It's your new pet.

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Come on, Bonnie, be a good dog.

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My dad gave it to me.

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But there are a few things to keep in mind.

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If you expose it to the light, you may hurt it.

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If you get it wet, it will multiply.

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All that from water?

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They got wet?

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Yeah, plain water.

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And most important, no matter how much they beg, never, never let them eat after midnight.

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Because when they do, they change.

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They become clever, mischievous.

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What's going on here?

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And dangerous.

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Prevalent, eh?

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Little monsters.

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Right.

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Hundreds of them.

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Well, I don't know, maybe thousands.

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They've been here too.

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Billy, what are these things?

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Where do they come from?

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Look, I know what they're doing.

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They're going to kill us.

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They're going to kill us.

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They're going to kill us.

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They're going to kill us.

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They're going to kill us.

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They're going to kill us.

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They're going to kill us.

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They're going to kill us.

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They're going to kill us.

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What are these things coming from?

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Look, I know it sounds crazy, I know.

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But in a few hours you're going to have a major disaster on your hands.

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Grandmama's.

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Directed by Joe Dante.

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They'll be expecting you.

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Matt.

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How you doing?

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I'm doing pretty well.

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How are you, Vincent?

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I'm good.

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We are halfway through December now.

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It is full-blown holiday season.

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And we got a Christmas movie lined up for you all tonight.

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Gremlins from 1984.

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We do indeed. This is such a fun movie.

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And you know, kind of like Die Hard is like a Christmas movie,

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but it's also a great Christmas movie.

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Sort of like A Nightmare Before Christmas is both a great Halloween and a good Christmas movie.

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I feel the same way about Gremlins.

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It's a good horror movie and a good holiday movie.

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Totally. Very unique.

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There's so much to this movie, y'all.

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And listeners, I just got to prep you here for this episode.

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There's so much to this movie, Gremlins,

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that Matt and I could spend four hours talking about all the ins and outs of the production history,

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the talent behind the camera, in front of the camera.

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This movie is more than just like a classic.

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It's... everything is available to do research on this movie.

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Books, websites, if you have the DVD, I'm sure the bonus commentary tracks are just dying, overflowing with information.

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So with that said, Matt and I will not attempt to go into all the nitty gritty.

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We'll give you the production rundown.

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We're going to talk about cast and crew.

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But largely, we're going to talk about our takes on this film,

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that talent involved with the production.

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And just kind of take it easier tonight, talking about a great classic horror film.

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Yeah, especially like I think almost everybody has seen Gremlins probably more than once.

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Like it's such a well-known popular movie.

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Like, you know, I'm sure everybody out there just wants us to like dive into the fun conversation.

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Because like, you know, everybody knows about this movie, which is not a bad thing.

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But we don't need to dwell on that stuff too much.

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Totally.

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But before we get into any of that, we got to thank you all for listening.

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And we'll thank you even more if you please rate and review this podcast.

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You can send us listener comments too at CampKaiju at gmail.com, our Facebook page, Instagram at Camp underscore Kaiju, our YouTube channel.

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Or if you'd like to be a featured voice on the show, you can leave a voicemail at 612-470-2612.

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And tell us about your favorite monster movies and memories.

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You can check out our website, CampKaijuPodcast.com, for more reviews and special content.

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Folks, we have a threadless store and all that can be found on our Patreon page,

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patreon.com slash CampKaiju, where you can enjoy discounts on that merchandise.

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You can get priority comments.

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And if and when we do have live events again, you're going to be a VIP.

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So why not check out the Patreon and join the ranks of Jason, Chris, Sean, Peggy, and our anonymous patron,

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who really do a lot of good work for us in just supporting our love of monster movies.

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OK, thank you patrons.

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What's happened last time since last previously on Camp Kaiju?

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Well, let's see. In our last episode, we talked about the movie we just talked about.

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What did we just talk about?

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Attack the Block. Yeah, that actually is the movie that was in my head.

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And I was like, what did we just talk about?

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Attack the Block is what we just talked about in our last episode, literally like half an hour ago for me and Vincent.

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Can't believe I forgot that. So yeah, that was the last episode.

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Coming out soon, we have our season five announcement episode, which is going to be a lot of fun.

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Yeah, and joining us on that episode, y'all, our previous guest hosts from season four confirmed.

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We have Frank Olson, Naomi Osborne, Patrick Kozaki, and Mike Swan.

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Awesome. Yeah. And Peter Laurie also.

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Well, hopefully. Fingers crossed. OK.

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We don't know if he's still screaming or cackling downstairs.

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I hope to see him there as unhinged as he might be.

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OK. This is also December.

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And this month in Monster Movie history, there are I went with a different angle to this.

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There are some Christmas holiday themed movies that were released in December.

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Krampus, Jack Frost, the family friendly one.

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But there's a whole bunch that weren't released in December, and I thought we got to let's just like pick a pick some some movies to talk about that are Christmas themed or holiday themed.

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For example, Santa Jaws from 2018.

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Who's seen that movie? Please let us know if it's worth it.

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Not me. I love that title, though. I assume you have not seen it either.

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No, I haven't. Not yet. I'm fascinated. I love that title.

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Yeah, that's that's probably the best title on this list.

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You know, it's a good subgenre like Christmas themed monster movies, but I honestly can't think of too many.

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Like we do have our list here. Krampus from 2015 is one of them, which is such a solid concept, but not a very good movie in my opinion.

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You know, I mentioned it before, but I'll just shout out the Nightmare Before Christmas again, which I really love.

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It looks great. I love the animation in that movie.

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It's kind of a funny story because like my mom volunteers for a movie theater in West Bend, Wisconsin, and she just saw the Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time.

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And she was like, I hated it. It's so gross.

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They're like maggots and like, you don't know if it's a horror movie or a Christmas movie.

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I was like, Mom, that's the best thing about it. Like, that's why it's so great.

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So, you know, Deb Levine is in the minority, but that is an awesome movie.

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I love a Nightmare Before Christmas.

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Wow. That's yeah. I mean, I get it.

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When I was a kid, it wasn't my favorite aesthetically because it's it's kind of weird and gross animation.

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I appreciate it now more as an adult.

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But but you know, yeah, it is a beloved classic.

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And is it a Christmas movie or is it a Halloween movie?

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That debate will wage on for the rest of eternity.

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Like, I don't think we'll ever be able to decide, which is why I love it so much.

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Yeah. All right. Well, in that vein, we have a new Christmas classic coming out on December 25th.

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Robert Eggers knows for a two. Yeah, I'm excited.

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I haven't loved all of his movies, but he's a great visual stylist.

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And I think that'll be, you know, just like visually beautiful, if nothing else.

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Agreed. Yeah, I feel like there's. Right.

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Love him or hate him. I feel like he represents the type of auteur director that is or maybe never was that common.

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But especially today in like this kind of mass produced Hollywood landscape,

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he makes popular movies that are clearly his own style.

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Yeah, totally. I mean, I really like The Witch a lot.

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The Lighthouse is like so amazing looking, even if there's not a lot of substance beneath it, in my opinion.

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But but yeah, I mean, like to your point, his you know, the Northman maybe is kind of like a derivative action epic.

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But other than that, I think he makes like very unique, again, very innovative, stylish movies.

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Yeah. And then another auteur, Guillermo del Toro, his Frankenstein adaptation is being released next year.

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And there were some images just released, I think, through Variety.

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But it's just starting the start in the hype train a little a little there for this new Frankenstein.

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And, you know, del Toro, he's not he's going to stick closer.

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He's more of a traditionalist than just trying to do something gimmicky with Frankenstein, which everyone has done.

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Right. Frankenstein meets the space monster, whatever.

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But he's going to stick to a more traditional telling, I feel like a Victorian setting.

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So I cannot wait. Yeah, me too.

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That's like the movie he was born to make.

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Basically, I think the James Well Frankenstein, I think, is his favorite movie or like up there in his list of favorite movies.

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So that should be a lot of fun.

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It's a good reminder that I still haven't seen his version of Pinocchio that came out a couple of years ago either.

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Oh, it's so good. I've heard good things.

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I feel like there was Netflix backlash for me a little bit, and that's why I didn't see it.

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But I definitely need to watch that at some point.

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Mm hmm. Like that not only is it really rich story or retelling of the Pinocchio story,

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but the animation in that is beautiful.

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And I am not always a fan of like animated movies.

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But but that movie made me appreciate the art of animation and what it can be.

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So would recommend. Nice. Yeah, it's a good reminder.

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I'll definitely see that soon.

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One thing I wanted to mention before we get back to Gremlins, there are some holiday themed horror movies that I really do like,

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like Silent Night, Deadly Night and Black Christmas, for example.

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I really love both those movies, but they're kind of more slasher movies.

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They're not really monster movies.

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So I just wanted to throw that in there because there are some great Christmas horror movies aside from the ones that we already mentioned.

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It's the most wonderful time of the year with the kids jingle bells.

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Merry Christmas. Looks like Martha Stewart threw up in here.

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This is delicious, honey. A little dry.

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Well, mine's delicious. Mine's dry.

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You want to trade?

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It's Christmas. It's Christmas. It's Christmas.

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How are we going to survive Christmas with 12 people stuck in a house with no heat and no electricity?

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Or food.

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There's plenty of leftovers, Howard.

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Beer it is.

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That's the weirdest thing. There's no cars, no people.

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How long can this keep up?

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We heard something on the roof.

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What the hell is this?

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St. Nicholas is not coming this year. Instead, a much darker ancient spirit.

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Those are hooves. Elk or goat?

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The kind of goat walks on its hind legs.

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His name is Crampus. He and his helpers did not come to give, but to take.

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I'm starting!

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He is the shadow of St. Nicholas.

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Welcome to an extraordinary world filled with magic and wonder.

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Open your mind and let yourself go to a place where every day is Halloween and every night, Jack Skellington...

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I am the pumpkin king!

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...dreams of something different.

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What is this? It's someplace new.

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Jack, look out!

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What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere. What's this?

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There's white things in the air. What's this? I can't believe my eyes. I must be dreaming. Wake up, Jack!

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What is this?

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Haven't you heard of Peace on Earth and Goodwill, Bored Men?

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Touchstone Pictures presents the enchanting story of two very special dreamers and the holiday spirit that brought them together.

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From the imagination of Tim Burton comes the nightmare before Christmas.

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And what did Santa bring you, honey?

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I can't believe you would do this on Christmas Eve.

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You're grounded.

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What? Tomorrow is the Christmas Eve comic book party.

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Well, you should have thought of that before.

233
00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:47,840
I'd better off without it. Isn't that right, Santa Jaws?

234
00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:52,840
Go, Jack!

235
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,840
That is not a shark! That is Santa Jaws!

236
00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:24,840
I know her! I made her! That is her!

237
00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:29,840
How, how, how, you son of a fish?

238
00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:39,840
So, speaking of gremlins, the select crew on this film is led by director Joe Dante.

239
00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:46,840
I think you and I are just the leaders of the Joe Dante fan club here.

240
00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:47,840
Oh, yeah.

241
00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,840
This man is directed... Let's just name as many as we can right now.

242
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,840
We'll go alternating order. I'll start.

243
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:56,840
Piranha, 1978.

244
00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,840
The Howling, 1981.

245
00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,840
Okay. I may not get all the years right.

246
00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:04,840
Yeah, me either.

247
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:06,840
I did that to differentiate from other piranhas.

248
00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:08,840
I gotcha, yeah.

249
00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:11,840
Gremlins.

250
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,840
Gremlins 2, The New Batch.

251
00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:15,840
The Twilight Zone.

252
00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,840
Small Soldiers.

253
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,840
Oh, no.

254
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:30,840
He directed some other films in the late 80s that I haven't seen.

255
00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:37,840
The only other one that I can think of is Matinee, which I think is from the early 90s.

256
00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:39,840
That's a really good movie.

257
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,840
Yeah, I know he's done others, but now I can't think of them.

258
00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:45,840
Well, I think we named the big ones.

259
00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:46,840
Yeah, for sure.

260
00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:51,840
The Howling is my favorite, and Gremlins is the movie he made right after The Howling.

261
00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:53,840
He was really broke at the time.

262
00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:59,840
I guess the production company that funded The Howling went out of business and didn't pay him.

263
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:03,840
He was really broke and thought that he was out of work as a director.

264
00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:07,840
Then Steven Spielberg sent him the script for Gremlins and the rest is history.

265
00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:09,840
Yeah, and he and Spielberg...

266
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:16,840
Well, okay, yeah, so Spielberg executive produced this film with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.

267
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:18,840
Shout out Arachnophobia.

268
00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:24,840
But Steven Spielberg had worked with Joe Dante on Twilight Zone, the movie,

269
00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,840
because they were both directors in that anthology film.

270
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,840
And that was right after The Howling.

271
00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,840
Or not right after, but that was right before Gremlins at any rate.

272
00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:39,840
Yeah, Dante, last thing I'll say is he comes from the Roger Corman School of Filmmaking.

273
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:41,840
He's a monster kid.

274
00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:48,840
You know a Joe Dante movie is going to have Dick Miller in the cast, just like Roger Corman.

275
00:19:48,840 --> 00:20:01,840
And you know a Dante film is going to have so many callbacks and allusions to 50s monster science fiction films and other classic films.

276
00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:04,840
And you see that in Gremlins.

277
00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:06,840
Totally, yeah.

278
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,840
And I think there's usually an element of like a subversive theme or two,

279
00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:14,840
like a little bit of like subtle political commentary in there with Joe Dante's movies.

280
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:19,840
I think definitely with Small Soldiers, Matt and A, The Howling a little bit you get that too.

281
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:23,840
Maybe not Piranha so much, but there's a little bit in there possibly.

282
00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:28,840
So he's great. One of my favorite monster movie directors for sure.

283
00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:36,840
Yeah, and you know if we're talking about directors with a clear visual style, Joe Dante makes the films that he envisions.

284
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:42,840
Like you can just tell this was what was in his brain and he made it a reality.

285
00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:44,840
Yeah, totally.

286
00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:49,840
Maybe this is getting a little too ahead of ourselves, but like Gremlins is so carefully made.

287
00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:56,840
Like it was just like tracking shots that like last kind of a long time and like really show you the space that the film is set in.

288
00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:59,840
Or you know like just kind of unusual camera angles,

289
00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:05,840
like a huge close up of like that orange juice maker at the beginning of the movie where you're like,

290
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,840
why are we just looking at this orange juice maker right now?

291
00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:14,840
It's just a pleasure to see a movie that is so thoughtfully made in comparison to some other movies where it's like,

292
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:16,840
just point the camera at the actors, you know?

293
00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,840
Exactly, right, right.

294
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:24,840
Helping Joe Dante is that script written by Chris Columbus.

295
00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:29,840
I forgot he wrote this movie and we didn't talk about our personal histories with the film.

296
00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:31,840
You have a much more extensive history.

297
00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,840
I had probably seen bits and pieces of this when I was a kid,

298
00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:42,840
but I honestly hadn't seen it for the first time since you and I watched it together a couple of years ago.

299
00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,840
So this movie is still relatively fresh to me.

300
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:51,840
So when I see Chris Columbus pop up, I'm like, oh, the guy who wrote or directed Home Alone.

301
00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:52,840
Yep.

302
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,840
Yeah, that's awesome. Chris Columbus is good.

303
00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,840
He's a very prolific screenwriter.

304
00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:05,840
He is. Yeah. The Home Alone movies, like you said, I think Bicentennial Man, I think he directed that.

305
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:11,840
The first two Harry Potter movies, he directed those, which are all kind of like light family friendly movies.

306
00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,840
And Gremlins is in some ways, but it's also like really scary and dark.

307
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,840
And I read that his original draft of the screenplay was way more violent.

308
00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:23,840
Like the Gremlins killed the dog in his original draft of the screenplay.

309
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:29,840
And there's a scene where they like throw Billy's mom's severed head down the staircase.

310
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,840
It's like, Chris Columbus, how did you write this screenplay?

311
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:38,840
You would go on to make this like family friendly fluff, you know, like it's just kind of shocking to me.

312
00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:43,840
And like, amazingly, that darkness was toned down for the final version, which is pretty incredible.

313
00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,840
Yeah. Well, I read that he didn't even Columbus had never even.

314
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,840
He did not intend this film to be made.

315
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:58,840
He wrote the script as an exercise, but then Spielberg got his hands on it and said it was the most original thing he'd ever read.

316
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:05,840
He's not wrong there. And and and bought the rights to the script and put it into production.

317
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:10,840
I didn't know that it was just a writing exercise for Columbus. That's cool. Yeah. Wow.

318
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:19,840
Fascinating. I guess that makes sense that he would throw in some like weird, very dark off the wall stuff then.

319
00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,840
Yeah. Some of which remains. But you're right.

320
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:29,840
It was a lot of it was removed from the final cut there, maybe for the better.

321
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:34,840
I think so. Like, I know one change was making Gizmo a good character throughout the entire movie,

322
00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:38,840
whereas like in the original draft, he also was turned into like one of the horrible Gremlins.

323
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:45,840
And I think that was a good change. We need like a cute little fluffy, you know, protagonist to root for the whole time.

324
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:50,840
Exactly. Yeah. So a team effort on this film and it shines through.

325
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:55,840
The producer was Michael Fresnel. He worked with Dante on previous films.

326
00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:01,840
They were close collaborators and music by Jerry Goldsmith, legendary film composer there.

327
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,840
Let's talk about the cast.

328
00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:11,840
Real sorry. Real quick before we go on to that, can I just mention John Hora, who did the cinematography because it's beautiful in this movie.

329
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,840
Yeah. Gorgeous movie like the lighting, the sets.

330
00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:19,840
It really it feels like a winter wonderland, but sort of like a nightmarish version of that.

331
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,840
And I know the cinematographer, John Hora, he he shot a bunch of other.

332
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:29,840
Well, he worked with Joe Dante a lot. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. He shot that movie as well.

333
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:34,840
I won't go into his full filmography, but his his work on this movie is fantastic.

334
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:41,840
It looks great. Agreed. No, the film, the cinematography definitely elicits a feeling of nostalgia.

335
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:48,840
It's like actually it reminds me of a Christmas story, which is also from the early 80s.

336
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:54,840
It has that there's like a little glow to it. And yeah. And the snow and the lights at night.

337
00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:59,840
It's almost like it's a wonderful life. For the 1980s.

338
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:07,840
Yeah, it's it's it's very intentional. Yeah, like shot in the studio back lot so they could like control everything very carefully.

339
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:11,840
It's just a great, great look in this movie. Totally. Yep.

340
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:18,840
Oh, my gosh. And I was thinking about the set of this film because I think it was shot on the on the back lot. Yeah.

341
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:27,840
And the snow, I was just thinking like, wow, if you're you're the producer, you're like Steven Spielberg, you're reading the script and you're like, OK.

342
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:37,840
This is there's snow. We have to truck in all this artificial snow and like the the set design and the production of that is.

343
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,840
That's awesome. That's like that's what we love about movies, right?

344
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:49,840
Like that's that's so much craft and literal craftsmen coming on and building this world.

345
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:56,840
It's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. It's movie magic. More like just vivid than real life can ever be.

346
00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:08,840
Mm hmm. All right. Let's talk about the cast, because there are so many names, so many at the time famous names and then names who became famous after this movie.

347
00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:20,840
Yes, we have Zach Galligan, relatively early role for him. He plays Billy Phoebe Cates, his kind of love interest, who was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High a couple of years earlier.

348
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:30,840
Love Phoebe Cates, you know, very, very beautiful, but also a great actress, of course, and just kind of radiant in this movie.

349
00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:39,840
A man dwelling a little too much on Phoebe Cates. We all love Phoebe Cates and Ridgemont High. Yeah, indeed.

350
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:50,840
She's great here as well. And also in Gremlins to the new batch. Yeah. Big, big fan of hers. Who else was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins?

351
00:26:50,840 --> 00:27:03,840
You know, I haven't seen Fast Times in a while. Are you referring to Judge Reinhold? I am. Mr. 1980s himself. I love Judge Reinhold because he's just he's so associated with me with the 80s like that.

352
00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:14,840
He was in almost every blockbuster. It seemed like. Right. It did seem like it. Yeah. And he's perfect for the role that he plays in Gremlins because he's kind of this like yuppie who's only worried about making money basically.

353
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:21,840
Yeah. And that just fits his persona so well, you know. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. He's great. Yeah.

354
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:28,840
Hoyt Axton plays the father. I'm not too familiar with him, but he's got a great presence. He's got a great voice.

355
00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:37,840
He's also the narrator in the beginning and the end of this film. Yeah. Great, lovable character actor there.

356
00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:46,840
He was a songwriter, I think, as well. I read. Right. Yeah. Like a country western singer songwriter. I could see that. I can hear that.

357
00:27:46,840 --> 00:28:02,840
Totally. You get that vibe from him in the movie for sure. The movie also has Dick Miller, who, like Vincent said, is in I think every single Joe Dante movie and is just like, you know, a beloved presence for fans of horror movies and sci-fi movies.

358
00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:12,840
I think he was also in Mars Attacks and some other, you know, very well known sci-fi movies in the last 30 years. Yeah. He's one of those actors that you might know the name.

359
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:22,840
You might know his face even if you don't know his name because he's an incredibly prolific character actor, especially in sci-fi and horror films from the 50s.

360
00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:31,840
I mean, he probably started earlier than the 50s, but definitely from the 50s through the rest of the 20th century. Yeah, he's great.

361
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:40,840
Totally. The moment where he and his wife are run over by a bulldozer or like a farm machine farm vehicle in this movie is great.

362
00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:50,840
It's like iconic when the camera just like barrels at him, you know. Yep. Corey Feldman, another 80s icon who was supposed to be an ET, the extraterrestrial.

363
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:55,840
And then he was cut out of that. So Spielberg was like, all right, we'll put him in this movie instead.

364
00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:10,840
He's a small role, but he's pretty fun. Yeah. And then you have a bunch of cameos by well known people as well like Spielberg, Jerry Goldsmith, even Chuck Jones, the legendary animator, has brief cameo.

365
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:23,840
Last but not least, Howie Mandel of what's that game show with the briefcases? Deal or No Deal? Yeah. Howie Mandel of Deal or No Deal fame voices Gizmo in Gremlins.

366
00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:32,840
I had no idea that blew my mind. I think I did read that the last time I watched this movie, but I was surprised all over again to find that out after this rewatch.

367
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:37,840
By the way, I think this was like maybe the 12th time that I've seen this movie. Like, I don't know why I've seen it so much.

368
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:45,840
I know it's kind of like a classic around this time of year, but it's starting to get a little bit too much. I think maybe I'll take a break from Gremlins for a while after this.

369
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:58,840
Oh, that's fair. But it's so easy to watch. It moves at such an easy pace. He gets sucked into the characters and the dialogue and Gizmo is so cute.

370
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:06,840
And you're just waiting for it all to go down. And then it does. And it's a roller coaster. It's fun. Yeah.

371
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:19,840
But it's like but that's the that's the Spielberg touch. That's the Marshall Kennedy touch. Yeah, like they just knew the formula for creating.

372
00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,840
These movies that have become.

373
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:33,840
Part of our childhoods, part of the culture, like even if you've never seen Gremlins, if you are shown a picture of Gizmo, you just know what that is.

374
00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:43,840
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Like even some things like Phoebe Cates sort of disturbing speech about what happened to her dad on Christmas.

375
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,840
Maybe we'll talk more about that. But like so many people know about that scene that haven't even seen this movie.

376
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:59,840
You know, it's pretty impressive. Yeah. Well, speaking of that infamous speech, Phoebe Cates gives about her father getting into the production a little bit.

377
00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:05,840
That was a an element of darkness that Joe Dante fought to keep in the script.

378
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,840
Even Spielberg wanted to cut that moment out.

379
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:20,840
And I got to be honest, it does seem to come out of nowhere. And it is kind of like a tonal 180.

380
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:31,840
I mean, like. I'm glad it's in there, I guess, but I understand the reason for removing it, because just like structurally.

381
00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:46,840
Why are we going into this dark place right now? Yeah, it like it simultaneously seems like it comes out of nowhere, and it also like perfectly sums up the movie, you know, which is like seems like this bright, happy holiday movie on the surface.

382
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:54,840
But so much is about like sadness and violence at this time of year, like even before that speech, Phoebe Cates.

383
00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,840
I wish I remembered her character's name. I'll just call her Phoebe Cates. That's all right.

384
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:05,840
She she and Billy are walking down the sidewalk and she's like, oh, everybody or so many people are sad around this time of year.

385
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,840
Like suicide rates always climb around Christmas.

386
00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:14,840
Like it just as many people open their wrists as open their presence is like another line of dialogue in this movie.

387
00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:24,840
Like, yeah, like definitely the speech about her father dressed as Santa Claus, breaking his neck while trying to go down the chimney is like the most shocking example of that.

388
00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:33,840
But I do think the whole movie in general is trying to be like, you know, Christmas might seem like this fun, happy thing on the surface, but it's a bleak time for so many people, you know.

389
00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,840
You know, that's so real. You mentioned that.

390
00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:44,840
I'm going to say it's a mention. It's a wonderful life again, because what do you know, Joe Dante features that movie within Gremlins.

391
00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:52,840
But that is also a bleak movie where the main character attempts to kill himself at the holiday time.

392
00:32:52,840 --> 00:33:01,840
So in that, I guess, when thinking about it that way, Chris Columbus, his script is right in line with that whole thing.

393
00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:04,840
Yeah, totally. And I, you know, I think it's a wonderful life.

394
00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:15,840
You know, of course we have this ending where like Jimmy Stewart realizes the value of life and like how much things would change if he weren't if he weren't around anymore.

395
00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:21,840
So like you do have that kind of uplifting ending about like the value of family and like togetherness and joy around the holidays.

396
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:32,840
I don't know if Gremlins even has that, though, you know, like there's there's kind of a happy ending, but it's like there's not any real message about like the value of Christmas or anything like that, you know.

397
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:39,840
Yep. Yep. It's so God, this movie's so weird and unique.

398
00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:52,840
And that's what makes it so effective and why we love it so much, because it's just like, what was that 90 minutes of of mayhem with lovable characters?

399
00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:57,840
And then, yeah, at the end, you're you're what are you left with? I have no answer.

400
00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:02,840
Yeah, yeah, it's it's tough. I mean, again, we'll talk more about that.

401
00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:08,840
But I don't know, thematically, this movie is a little bit muddled, but it's really fascinating at the same time, I think.

402
00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:13,840
Maybe it's like a Looney Tunes. Yeah. Yeah, I think it is.

403
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:18,840
But I do think there are some ideas on its mind, too. You know, I totally. Yeah, but you're right.

404
00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:25,840
I mean, it's that Looney Tunes, anarchy mayhem vibe for sure. Yeah, which I love. Yes.

405
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:30,840
This movie 1984 was a big year.

406
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:36,840
Matt, you were born that year. Yeah, I need.

407
00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:44,840
But other movies released Ghostbusters was released the same weekend as Gremlins.

408
00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:48,840
Beverly Hills Cop, I think, came out that summer.

409
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,840
Indiana Jones, Temple of Doom, maybe Temple of Doom. Yep. Yep. Yep.

410
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:55,840
On that subject, I hope I'm not getting too far ahead of ourselves.

411
00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:08,840
But Gremlins and Temple of Doom were basically the two movies that brought about the PG-13 rating because parents were so upset that both movies were so violent, even though they're kind of marketed as kids movies.

412
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:21,840
So, you know, like the industry was like, all right, like we need something between a PG and an R for like a movie as violent and weird as Gremlins, but like not deserving of an R rating, you know, and Temple of Doom as well.

413
00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:32,840
Totally. I want to show Gremlins to my kid as soon as possible, but I have to be aware, conscious of the of the violence that's in this movie.

414
00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:37,840
Yeah. And there are some frightening images, too. Yeah, for sure.

415
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:46,840
I mean, the whole like kitchen scene where Billy's mom defeats several Gremlins in like very gruesome ways is very it's gory.

416
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:55,840
It's yeah, there's blood and guts all over the place. Like it's yeah. But, you know, as a kid, you love movies like that where you're like, I can't believe I'm getting away with watching this, you know.

417
00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:59,840
So I think that's another reason we love this movie so much.

418
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:07,840
Even when Gizmo first gets wet and Gizmo's back is bubbling up before the other Gremlins pop out.

419
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:18,840
Like that's weird and disturbing. Like this poor little creature who you love is is is mutating. Yeah, like a really painful way.

420
00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:25,840
Yeah, Gizmo is streaking in pain and you have no idea what's going on. And then like that's relatively tame compared to what comes afterwards.

421
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:30,840
That's kind of like, you know, one of the first moments where you're like, oh, what are what are we in for? What's going to happen here?

422
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:38,840
No. Oh, man. So upon release, the film met mixed reviews.

423
00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:45,840
Common critiques were for the violence like we talked about in an ostensible children's film.

424
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:53,840
However, there were plenty of critics who who praised the imagination of the film and the anarchy.

425
00:36:53,840 --> 00:37:01,840
And financially, this was one of Brother's most successful film until 1989's Batman. So it was a huge deal.

426
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:07,840
There's, you know, like every other movie in the 80s, there was a toy line.

427
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:16,840
There was there was merchandising out the butt and it all just created this this massive success of a film.

428
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:23,840
Yeah. And there were a bunch of imitations throughout the 80s like ghoulies, troll and hobgoblins.

429
00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:26,840
And then, of course, in 1990, you have the sequel, Gremlins 2, The New Batch.

430
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:31,840
And Warner Brothers, I think, had been trying to get Joe Dante to do a sequel for years and he kept on refusing.

431
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:39,840
And finally, when they gave him like full creative control, he came back for the sequel, which I hope we talk about at some point on the podcast, because that movie is nuts. I love it.

432
00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:44,840
I'd love to, because I honestly haven't seen it.

433
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:48,840
I think I like it a little more than the first one. They're very different movies.

434
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:54,840
So, you know, maybe in our next season, stay tuned to find out.

435
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:57,840
All right. I love it.

436
00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:05,840
And folks, just as a reminder, when Matt and I reveal our picks for season five, we have not discussed these with each other off camera.

437
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:10,840
So they will be as much a surprise for us as for you. Can't wait.

438
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:12,840
Indeed.

439
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:25,840
Camp Kaiju is that's a great segue. Camp Kaiju is sponsored by Zach Linder and the Zach Pack, powered by Coldwell Bank for Realty, your source for real estate, home rehab, fixing and flipping for investor clients and residential buyers.

440
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:27,840
Reach out to the Zach Pack today for real estate services.

441
00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:32,840
Follow the Zach Pack on social media and contact the Zach Pack for investment opportunities.

442
00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:34,840
Links in the show notes.

443
00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:53,840
We do have a comment I want to read for Menia's mailbox, which is brought to you by Patreon.com slash Camp Kaiju, where for as little as five dollars a month, you, oh you, can have your comments read first.

444
00:38:53,840 --> 00:39:00,840
So why not make yourself feel important and support the show and tell us what you think about it.

445
00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:13,840
We have a comment from Verissa Millitude Films on our YouTube and Verissa Millitude Films says about Godzilla minus one.

446
00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:19,840
He clarified he had to ask, you know, how is it Oscar bait if it already won an Oscar?

447
00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:25,840
I think there was just some clarifying clarifying that we had to do and I was like, hey, no problem.

448
00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:27,840
Thanks for bringing that to our attention.

449
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:35,840
If anything, it was it was the movie was made before the awards ceremony with maybe the intention of winning that Oscar.

450
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:38,840
Then he says, gotcha.

451
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:40,840
And this is where we kind of came together.

452
00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:46,840
He said it should have been nominated for more, but they missed the deadline for the Oscars.

453
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:55,840
The filmmakers didn't even consider to submit it to the Academy, to which I said, yeah, they probably weren't making this for the Oscars.

454
00:39:55,840 --> 00:40:04,840
Yeah, true. Yeah, I think in that episode, I was more talking about how it feels like kind of a prestige movie that is like meant to garner Oscars.

455
00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:16,840
Like even if that wasn't the specific intention with Godzilla minus one of like has the kind of like prestigious and maybe sometimes sentimental air of a movie like that is the point that I was trying to make.

456
00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:20,840
But yeah, I don't think that winning Oscars was like the main priority of the filmmakers.

457
00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:30,840
No, but well deserved, nonetheless, if you're into that type of thing.

458
00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:35,840
Yeah, I I used to be obsessed with the Oscars.

459
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:42,840
And then I stopped being obsessed with it when I realized how political it is, like, as in.

460
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:50,840
You know, who do you know and the best movies don't always win and it's you know, it can.

461
00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:56,840
I was disillusioned. Yeah, I think like a lot of movie fans, I love to hate the Oscars.

462
00:40:56,840 --> 00:41:04,840
You know what I mean? Like they the nominations often annoy me and like the movies that I want to win very rarely do.

463
00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:10,840
And yet I usually watch them and I have like the actors and like the crew people that I'm rooting for.

464
00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:14,840
So, you know, I mean, like, yeah, I love to hate the Oscars.

465
00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:18,840
Yeah. But thank you, our listeners on YouTube for some Millitude films.

466
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:24,840
We appreciate you write in some more and we'll we'll get you on the show.

467
00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:31,840
All right. This is our last segment for Silent But Deadly with Peter Laurie.

468
00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:37,840
He's going to talk about the 1925 dinosaur movie The Lost World. Classic.

469
00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:47,840
Yeah. Early Willis O'Brien really cutting his teeth there in prep for King Kong six years later.

470
00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:51,840
Yeah. What what did Peter think about The Lost World?

471
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:56,840
I guess we'll have to listen and find out. Yeah, I have actually never spoken to Peter Laurie.

472
00:41:56,840 --> 00:42:01,840
It's Pierre the rat who sends us messages. I haven't seen that little guy in a while.

473
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:05,840
Still don't know what's happening down there.

474
00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:11,840
Hopefully everything's OK. Let's just not go down there and assume that everything is fine.

475
00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:19,840
But maybe we'll see Mr. Laurie at the holiday party and we hope to have you all tune into that as well.

476
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:25,840
It's going to be a good time.

477
00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:31,840
Before Karloff and Lugosi stalked the screens, the movies were no less monstrous.

478
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:39,840
These frightful figures lurked in the expressionistic shadows and and dance in the macabre moonlight.

479
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:45,840
They laughed and cried. They fooled the sensibilities of honest, decent folk.

480
00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:52,840
In the age of silent pictures, these gruesome ghouls nonetheless cried out for the savage humanity

481
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:57,840
that took the breath from all who witnessed their devilish delights.

482
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:05,840
But in the silence, no one can hear you scream.

483
00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:08,840
And no one can hear my pleas for help.

484
00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:15,840
Matthew and Vincent will be hosting the happy hour next week, but without my Pierre to ferry messages back and forth,

485
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:22,840
I am afraid I will be left out of the festivities. Ah rats, in more ways than one.

486
00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:28,840
Well, I take comfort knowing that this is my last segment of Silent But Deadly.

487
00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:32,840
I am sorry, long time impassioned listeners.

488
00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:39,840
At times it has been a pleasure to bring you silent monster movies, but if we're being honest,

489
00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:46,840
I could use the kind of sleep that one may only find in Terminal Dreamland.

490
00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:56,840
Therefore, without further ado, I bring you this week's picture, The Lost World, from 1925 and produced by First National Pictures.

491
00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:03,840
It is based on the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and is noted for being the first feature film

492
00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:08,840
in which Willis O'Brien usualised his groundbreaking stop motion animation.

493
00:44:08,840 --> 00:44:14,840
And while crude by King Kong standards, the effects are nonetheless captivating

494
00:44:14,840 --> 00:44:22,840
in bringing the dinosaurs to life. Those dinosaurs are discovered within a jungle high in Peru.

495
00:44:22,840 --> 00:44:31,840
An expedition is set out to discover the truth behind rumours of prehistoric animals living in a land that time has forgotten.

496
00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:37,840
Tyrannodons, Allosaurus, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and even an ape man missing Link

497
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:41,840
are all featured in O'Brien's world of adventure and terror.

498
00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:51,840
The most memorable feature of the movie is the climax where a Brontosaurus has been brought back to New York City and breaks its cage.

499
00:44:51,840 --> 00:45:00,840
The dinosaur rampage of Doricity will soon become a hallmark of giant monster movies and Kaiju.

500
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:08,840
The Lost World received critical acclaim upon its release.

501
00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:14,840
It was screened for Sir Conan Doyle and on that note, I conclude Silent But Deadly.

502
00:45:14,840 --> 00:45:18,840
Now take me, gods of the underworld, take me now, please, God.

503
00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:26,840
Hmm, allow me to consult my contract.

504
00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:37,840
Section two in the writer on page A, section seven B.

505
00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:44,840
Oh, what is this? What is this paper that has fallen from the contract?

506
00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:52,840
It bears the seal of Camp Kaiju. It is a personal note from Matthew and Vincent, dated October 2024.

507
00:45:52,840 --> 00:46:00,840
My goodness, it reads, Dear Mr. Lorry, after considering how rude we were to subject you,

508
00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:07,840
the legend of the cinema, to indentured servitude with nothing to eat but a bucket of fish heads,

509
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:13,840
we would like to say you are free to return to the afterlife whenever you are ready.

510
00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:17,840
We hope you forgive us. We are not worthy of your talents.

511
00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:21,840
Stay campy, Matthew Kolevine and Vincent Hannum.

512
00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:30,840
Oh, my goodness gracious, what? Ladies and gentlemen, this is both very exciting and extremely upsetting.

513
00:46:30,840 --> 00:46:38,840
For I am both released of this torment and simultaneously filled with appreciation for podcasting.

514
00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:47,840
Yes, I am ready now for my journey to the grave. Oh, what a wonderful new skill set I have gained.

515
00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:55,840
Perhaps after my rest I may return yet again. You hear me, movie fans, I may return yet again.

516
00:46:55,840 --> 00:47:00,840
One cold night, science and evil collide.

517
00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:23,840
Oh, yeah. Now a serial killer is on the loose.

518
00:47:23,840 --> 00:47:30,840
We hadn't even tested the acid on an amoeba, let alone a human cell. This is a disaster.

519
00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:34,840
Look, I just saw something that doesn't belong in this world and it's out there killing my friends.

520
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:40,840
Now tell me what it is. Jack Frost.

521
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:46,840
I think Jack's about to make an entrance.

522
00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:54,840
And he's giving cold-blooded a whole new meaning.

523
00:47:54,840 --> 00:48:03,840
Hey, Jack, what? You left the 710 split.

524
00:48:03,840 --> 00:48:16,840
Hell has just frozen over.

525
00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:27,840
Blow me.

526
00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:29,840
Jack Frost.

527
00:48:29,840 --> 00:48:34,840
Look, Ma, I'm a Picasso.

528
00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:43,840
Remember the last time we told you not to feed them after midnight?

529
00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:48,840
We told you to keep them away from the light.

530
00:48:48,840 --> 00:48:57,840
And the most important warning of all, we told you to never, ever get them wet.

531
00:48:57,840 --> 00:49:05,840
You didn't listen.

532
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:10,840
They're mutating.

533
00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:11,840
Sir, is the building on fire?

534
00:49:11,840 --> 00:49:16,840
No, no, that's a false alarm.

535
00:49:16,840 --> 00:49:18,840
Are you trying to panic New York City?

536
00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:21,840
Absolutely not.

537
00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:22,840
So the monsters are real?

538
00:49:22,840 --> 00:49:29,840
I didn't say that.

539
00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:31,840
Dremelands 2.

540
00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:33,840
The new batch.

541
00:49:33,840 --> 00:49:34,840
Now was that civilized?

542
00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:35,840
No, clearly not.

543
00:49:35,840 --> 00:49:46,840
Fun, but in no sense, civilized.

544
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:50,840
Yeah, I think there's lots of this movie, actually.

545
00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:58,840
I guess to expound a little bit on the sadness around the holidays thing, I think that comes through in some subtle ways.

546
00:49:58,840 --> 00:50:03,840
The Dick Miller character, it's briefly mentioned that he hasn't been the same since he lost his job.

547
00:50:03,840 --> 00:50:06,840
And then we see him and his wife in their house.

548
00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:09,840
He's wearing sweatpants and seems a little bit depressed.

549
00:50:09,840 --> 00:50:17,840
I feel like there's a little bit of just about economic disparity, which in the early 80s would have been a huge theme in the United States.

550
00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:23,840
The Regineers and the middle class was shrinking and the upper class and lower class were getting further and further apart.

551
00:50:23,840 --> 00:50:31,840
I think even in the small town of Kingston Falls, we see that a little bit between Mrs. Deagle or Miss Deagle or whatever,

552
00:50:31,840 --> 00:50:35,840
the villain of the movie who's this kind of Ebenezer Scrooge-like character.

553
00:50:35,840 --> 00:50:43,840
I think it's humorous and it's kind of whimsical, but also the movie speaks to that a little bit.

554
00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:48,840
I think like economic anxiety and precariousness.

555
00:50:48,840 --> 00:50:52,840
So I think that's definitely in Gremlins a little bit.

556
00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:59,840
Yeah, no, I don't think the Dick Miller character represents the film as a whole.

557
00:50:59,840 --> 00:51:04,840
But his character, again, I think he's a World War II vet.

558
00:51:04,840 --> 00:51:11,840
He's the one who's talking about Gremlins and the machines, which brief history lesson.

559
00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:16,840
Gremlins as just like a term for technology on the Fritz.

560
00:51:16,840 --> 00:51:27,840
So like during World War II, if your engine stalled in a plane or something, Gremlins became shorthand for just like technical failure.

561
00:51:27,840 --> 00:51:29,840
There must be Gremlins in the machine.

562
00:51:29,840 --> 00:51:34,840
Speaking of animation, there's a Bugs Bunny, Chuck Jones, Looney Tune,

563
00:51:34,840 --> 00:51:41,840
where Bugs Bunny is in a battle of wits with a little green Gremlin during the war.

564
00:51:41,840 --> 00:51:45,840
So there have been Gremlins.

565
00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:51,840
But Joe Dante said actually he's on record saying that like during the making of this film, he's like,

566
00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:55,840
my Gremlins are not the Gremlins you're used to.

567
00:51:55,840 --> 00:51:58,840
That is true. That is definitely true.

568
00:51:58,840 --> 00:52:08,840
I mean, we talked about God told me to episode the The Twilight Zone episode of Nightmare at 20,000 feet or Terror at 20,000 feet.

569
00:52:08,840 --> 00:52:13,840
That features a Gremlin. Looks very different from Dante's.

570
00:52:13,840 --> 00:52:18,840
Yeah, they're, you know, their own creatures in this movie for sure.

571
00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:22,840
And I, you know, Chris Wallace is a puppet design, mostly puppets.

572
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:26,840
I think there was, you know, some other stuff in there, too, but, you know, deserves a lot of credit.

573
00:52:26,840 --> 00:52:29,840
It's a unique design for the Gremlins in this movie.

574
00:52:29,840 --> 00:52:32,840
Totally got a lot of positives to say there.

575
00:52:32,840 --> 00:52:36,840
But what I want to say about the Dick Miller character, he's talking about Gremlins and machines.

576
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:42,840
He's talking about these foreign machines, because like his tractor, he's proud it's Kentucky made, it's made in the USA.

577
00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:47,840
So I feel like there's just there is a thread of not anti-foreigner,

578
00:52:47,840 --> 00:52:53,840
but just like a sense of things are better when they're made in the United States.

579
00:52:53,840 --> 00:53:07,840
We live in a new world where we're getting products and influences from overseas that are a detriment to homegrown technology and culture.

580
00:53:07,840 --> 00:53:19,840
We see this also in the the Gremlins themselves personify this as as creatures of destruction that come from a Chinese store.

581
00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:24,840
I don't think that's Dante's intent on saying that, but I think you can still pick up on it.

582
00:53:24,840 --> 00:53:30,840
Yeah, that's why I feel like the themes in this movie are muddled, but really interesting.

583
00:53:30,840 --> 00:53:34,840
You know, we still kind of have that slightly xenophobic rhetoric to this day.

584
00:53:34,840 --> 00:53:46,840
Like we see that with like I won't I won't get too political, but like, you know, tariffs with Canada and Mexico and like the kind of anxiety around what's locally made or what's exported from other countries.

585
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:51,840
Like that's that still happens to this day. So it's like definitely still a relevant theme.

586
00:53:51,840 --> 00:54:09,840
And you know, in Gremlins, it's I've seen this movie so many times and I still am not totally sure if it's like a criticism of that kind of like small town community, you know, close mindedness or if it's like an example of it, you know what I mean?

587
00:54:09,840 --> 00:54:18,840
Because like at the end of the movie, you know, the Chinese shopkeeper comes and gets Gizmo back and sort of says to Billy's family, like you're not ready for this.

588
00:54:18,840 --> 00:54:29,840
You don't know what to do with this. And I think there's like an element of like you stupid Americans like you like, you know, you look at everything that happened when I give you like one mogwai and like everything goes to hell, you know.

589
00:54:29,840 --> 00:54:42,840
So so I guess in a nutshell, I'm just trying to say like I felt like Gremlins is both like a satire of like xenophobia and like small town ignorance. It's both an example and a criticism of that, you know.

590
00:54:42,840 --> 00:55:06,840
100% is it is muddled, it is complicated, and ultimately, I think satire is the word. Yeah, it's not it's not Godzilla minus one here. If it is muddled, it can be it can be forgiven a little bit because the comedy and the satire just overrides everything else.

591
00:55:06,840 --> 00:55:35,840
Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, I don't I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing in this movie. It gives you something to think about, you know. Yeah, yeah, I read I read I read commentary about the anti sorry the yeah the anti technology of the film, which is is keeping in line with some of what we're talking about, like these cheap foreign products flooding our markets, but also like Billy's dad is an inventor of really terrible inventions.

592
00:55:35,840 --> 00:55:49,840
And just like the type of mass consumerist products that people buy as stocking stuffers, I don't know. I just think about like all the junk I've accumulated over the years that were Christmas presents.

593
00:55:49,840 --> 00:55:58,840
It's like, cool, I got this this little pocket watch that's also a knife that's also a toothbrush that's also it's like, why do I need this? Yeah, I know what you mean. Like, and then you know this other gift that's like, like I think it's like a

594
00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:14,840
living being like goes awry as terribly as possible. So like, you know, I guess I don't really know what the if there's a theme or if there's a point to that, but it's like, you know, the technological products are like disposable. But then like this alternative probably isn't all that great either. So yeah, you know, maybe it's kind of like an anti gift theme in general, but I don't know if that's true.

595
00:56:14,840 --> 00:56:29,840
I'm just for with a different kind of movie. I feel like the theme would be like the true meaning of Christmas is like spending time with family and like, you know, joy and all that stuff. But that's not the theme of this movie. It's too sort of like mischievous for that, you know? Yeah, if anything, I think it's like, I think it's like a theme of Christmas.

596
00:56:29,840 --> 00:56:57,840
I'm just for with a different kind of movie. I feel like the theme would be like the true meaning of Christmas is like spending time with family and like, you know, joy and all that stuff. But that's not the theme of this movie. It's too sort of like mischievous for that, you know? Yeah, if anything, this movie is just, again, abiding satire of consumerism. I think that's there. Yeah, as personified by the mayhem of these Remlins.

597
00:56:57,840 --> 00:57:02,840
The mogwai. And it's just.

598
00:57:02,840 --> 00:57:07,840
It's it's cynical. It's dark. It's satirical.

599
00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:19,840
It's just, yeah, a takedown of, like you said, the American capitalist, consumerist, disposable, ultimately mindset.

600
00:57:19,840 --> 00:57:36,840
Yeah, which is why an experience like a movie, I feel like it's the best Christmas present, you know, like, you know, like I've seen Gremlin so many times and it's just like, it's always so entertaining and like beautiful and amusing and funny and scary. And like, that's that's the kind of gifts I want. You know what I mean?

601
00:57:36,840 --> 00:57:37,840
I agree.

602
00:57:37,840 --> 00:57:51,840
There was one other thing that I wanted to bring up. This is actually a long speech in the movie Dear White People by Justin Simeon, where the argument is basically made that the Gremlins in this movie are meant to represent African Americans.

603
00:57:51,840 --> 00:58:07,840
Like in this in a stereotypical sense, like, you know, they the destruction they cause, the kind of some of the stereotypes that we've seen throughout American media for many, many years, they're kind of recycled and like the Gremlins in this movie.

604
00:58:07,840 --> 00:58:22,840
I don't know how seriously Dear White People the movie means that argument. I don't know if it actually is saying it seriously about Gremlins, but it is kind of sort of like, you know, the Dick Miller character is like this xenophobic guy who's distrustful of foreigners.

605
00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:51,840
I think there's also this kind of like, you know, sneaky subtext in the movie that like maybe the mostly white residents of the small town are also uneasy about all these like trouble making literally dark creatures that like come out after night and like cause crime, cause mayhem, cause, you know, like, I think like it's bad as satirical from Dante's part, I think, where it's like anxiety among small town people of this like bad element coming in, you know?

606
00:58:51,840 --> 00:59:12,840
Yeah. Element coming from New York City, the big bad city. Yeah, exactly. And it's Chinese. Right. Uh oh. Yeah, there's, I mean, a lot, a lot going on here, you know, but it's kind of like disguised by like humor and like fantasy and all that, obviously.

607
00:59:12,840 --> 00:59:36,840
So totally, which again, I think is the overriding sentiment of the film. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's almost interesting to pull apart like these very serious themes in this movie. They are there. I'm not discrediting, discrediting our conversation at all. But to a certain extent, I'm like, it's just it's Gremlins. It's what it is.

608
00:59:36,840 --> 00:59:48,840
Yeah. And that's why I love Dante. It's like he has ideas, but mostly he wants to entertain and he's like, he loves monster movies. He's like part of that legacy for sure. Absolutely. Yeah.

609
00:59:48,840 --> 01:00:15,840
There's so much that's good about it. I mean, no surprise there from our conversation. I just think like it has like really sly, interesting themes, even if they're a little bit muddled sometimes. It looks fantastic. The lighting in this movie is gorgeous. It's funny. It's scary. I yeah, I mean, there's there's a lot that I love about it. It's it's all the things I love about Joe Dante, basically, in a nutshell. Is this Dante's crown jewel?

610
01:00:15,840 --> 01:00:34,840
The Howling is my favorite Joe Dante movie, but this might be in a well, I also like Gremlins 2 a little bit better than this one, but it's in my top five. For such a good director, I feel like that's pretty good compliment, you know? Yeah. With more than five notable credits, I would say. Right. Yeah.

611
01:00:34,840 --> 01:00:51,840
I love how wonderfully over the top this movie is, especially in the beginning, like with the Mrs. Dekel character. She is she is Scrooge. She is the wicked witch of the West. She is so evil. She talks about killing the dog.

612
01:00:51,840 --> 01:01:18,840
Yeah, I'm like, who are you? What? You're terrible. But like that sets the tone immediately. Like this movie is going to be over the top. I love in movies that feature inventors and their inventions, like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids or something. I love the idea that somebody like a prop designer invented fake inventions. Yeah.

613
01:01:18,840 --> 01:01:23,840
There's just something like something meta about that.

614
01:01:23,840 --> 01:01:29,840
Designing them intentionally to be like non-functioning and pretty cheap, you know? Exactly. Yeah.

615
01:01:29,840 --> 01:01:41,840
What a fun job. Oh, and I think the animatronics are incredible. I think the way the the Mugwai, especially Gizmo just come to life.

616
01:01:41,840 --> 01:01:50,840
It's it's really believable, believable for me. The puppetry, the animatronics and so detailed, too, because this creature is so small.

617
01:01:50,840 --> 01:02:03,840
But the lips move in addition to everything else. And you're like, wow, this this fake thing has an incredible amount of personality given to it by the by the design.

618
01:02:03,840 --> 01:02:12,840
Absolutely. I read that like every puppet costs, I think, upwards of twenty thousand dollars because they were so complex and they had like some animatronics for some of them.

619
01:02:12,840 --> 01:02:14,840
And like there are so many gremlins in this movie.

620
01:02:14,840 --> 01:02:21,840
Like the security was really tight to make sure nobody went home with any of the gremlin puppets, which is understandable.

621
01:02:21,840 --> 01:02:23,840
But you're totally right. It's extremely impressive.

622
01:02:23,840 --> 01:02:34,840
And I think the scene where the gremlins are in the bar that Phoebe Cates works at and like all kinds of mayhem is going on, like there's one gremlin like drinking beer right out of the tap.

623
01:02:34,840 --> 01:02:38,840
There's another one wearing like aerobics workout gear for some reason.

624
01:02:38,840 --> 01:02:46,840
That scene is nuts. And like just the amount of imagination and humor and like really good puppetry that goes into it may be the best scene in the movie.

625
01:02:46,840 --> 01:02:48,840
But it's hard to choose just one. Yeah.

626
01:02:48,840 --> 01:02:56,840
A, this well, I'll save that for my my final assessment. What does not work for you in this movie?

627
01:02:56,840 --> 01:03:02,840
Well, I guess kind of echoing some of the things I already said, like it is kind of hard to know.

628
01:03:02,840 --> 01:03:12,840
Like, you know, I do think it's satire like Joe Dante, you know, has made so many so many satirical movies that do have elements of social and political commentary.

629
01:03:12,840 --> 01:03:28,840
I could have used like a little bit more in gremlins just to make it clear what the theme is, because like, you know, like I said before, it's a little bit muddled and we don't I don't totally know how to feel about the Dick Miller character who like doesn't seem to be a great guy in some ways, but like still has a lot of sympathy.

630
01:03:28,840 --> 01:03:34,840
And it's like some of those themes are a little bit muddled. That might be it for the bad category for me.

631
01:03:34,840 --> 01:03:43,840
Like, I really like this movie a lot and I feel like, you know, the tone is all over the place, but I feel like on a scene by scene basis, those tones are handled really well, you know.

632
01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:50,840
Agreed. Yeah, certainly not enough for me to for it to detract from my pleasure watching this movie.

633
01:03:50,840 --> 01:03:57,840
Maybe it seems obvious. I'm just going to bring up like the whole mystical Chinese. Yeah.

634
01:03:57,840 --> 01:04:07,840
Aspect. It's it's extremely it's such a trope that we see in a lot of movies, especially in the 80s.

635
01:04:07,840 --> 01:04:10,840
That even if it's like.

636
01:04:10,840 --> 01:04:13,840
Fairly harmless in this film.

637
01:04:13,840 --> 01:04:16,840
It's still like, I don't know.

638
01:04:16,840 --> 01:04:27,840
Chinese people are never depicted as just people. They're always depicted as mystics with Chinese dragons and and and glass eyes.

639
01:04:27,840 --> 01:04:33,840
And what what what would have been over the top is if this was in an opium den.

640
01:04:33,840 --> 01:04:41,840
Thankfully, that did not happen. That would be racist. Yeah, that would be bad.

641
01:04:41,840 --> 01:04:51,840
Yeah, it's like the big trouble in Little China syndrome or whatever, you know, like there are a lot of examples from the 80s, like you said, where it's like, you know, John Carpenter in that case and Joe Dante and this one.

642
01:04:51,840 --> 01:04:57,840
Like, I think they just thought it was like fun Saturday matinee type of representation.

643
01:04:57,840 --> 01:05:02,840
I get that. Like you said, that's not to excuse it. It's definitely it does not age very well at all.

644
01:05:02,840 --> 01:05:08,840
But like, I feel like maybe they just like didn't really think about the context of that kind of representation, you know.

645
01:05:08,840 --> 01:05:22,840
No, and they didn't at the time in our very white centric media landscape, which only now we're diversifying our stories that we're telling and the and the actors used in to play these parts.

646
01:05:22,840 --> 01:05:29,840
So, yeah, right. In a twenty twenty four lens, it does not look great. Be that as it may.

647
01:05:29,840 --> 01:05:34,840
I also don't read a lot of criticisms for that. That's just like what I picked up on.

648
01:05:34,840 --> 01:05:38,840
No, it's it's totally valid. Absolutely. Yeah.

649
01:05:38,840 --> 01:05:46,840
You know, I do want to mention that last scene one more time, though, because like, you know, the the Chinese shopkeeper comes to the Peltzer's house.

650
01:05:46,840 --> 01:05:50,840
I think that's their last name. And he basically says like, you weren't ready for this.

651
01:05:50,840 --> 01:05:57,840
You did not know how to handle this thing, you know, and like, I feel like there is an element of like, you know, you just thought this was a fun toy.

652
01:05:57,840 --> 01:05:59,840
You thought it was a product. And look at what happened.

653
01:05:59,840 --> 01:06:11,840
Like, I feel like maybe there is a dash of satire of like, you know, again, these dumb Americans who kind of just want to get a Christmas gift don't understand like the power and the responsibility of that.

654
01:06:11,840 --> 01:06:16,840
You know, that does not absolve the representation of the Chinese characters in this movie.

655
01:06:16,840 --> 01:06:25,840
And it actually kind of I think proves my point a little bit that I just wish those themes were a little bit clearer because I don't always know what to think about them in this movie.

656
01:06:25,840 --> 01:06:27,840
Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

657
01:06:27,840 --> 01:06:34,840
That's all I have. Lots of campy moments. The whole movie is over the top and ridiculous.

658
01:06:34,840 --> 01:06:41,840
The Missus Deagle character, there is a moment at the bank. It's still early. You're still getting to know the characters.

659
01:06:41,840 --> 01:06:45,840
And Billy's at the bank. It's the first time we meet Mrs. Deagle.

660
01:06:45,840 --> 01:06:53,840
And she talks about really, really wickedly like putting the dog in the spin dryer.

661
01:06:53,840 --> 01:07:00,840
And that'll do it. And there's this old man standing next to her at the bank counter.

662
01:07:00,840 --> 01:07:05,840
And he just looks at her and goes, yeah, that'll do it.

663
01:07:05,840 --> 01:07:12,840
He just concurs with her. I'm like, yeah, it's a bizarre moment.

664
01:07:12,840 --> 01:07:19,840
Have you thought about this, sir? Right.

665
01:07:19,840 --> 01:07:24,840
Yeah, I don't know what to think about that response. So bizarre.

666
01:07:24,840 --> 01:07:28,840
Like there's like right before that, there's a moment where Miss Deagle is walking down the sidewalk.

667
01:07:28,840 --> 01:07:32,840
And there's an old man who's like, oh, it's a beautiful morning, isn't it, Miss Deagle?

668
01:07:32,840 --> 01:07:39,840
And she's like, what's beautiful about it? And the guy's response is also really campy where he like covers his mouth and sort of like backs up in horror.

669
01:07:39,840 --> 01:07:45,840
You know, there's a lot of that kind of thing, especially at the beginning of this movie where I think you said this before.

670
01:07:45,840 --> 01:07:50,840
But like it's preparing us for how over the top it's going to be. You know? Yeah.

671
01:07:50,840 --> 01:07:52,840
I'm sure. Yeah. I mean, like the whole thing is campy.

672
01:07:52,840 --> 01:08:04,840
I really love the part where like like any time the mogwai's get covered in water, like in the swimming pool or in the fountain at the end or like with like Justin Billy's bedroom towards the beginning.

673
01:08:04,840 --> 01:08:14,840
It's a great kind of campy horror movie moment that almost might have been in like a 1930s monster movie where like, you know, there's a close up of like this thing writhing in pain.

674
01:08:14,840 --> 01:08:19,840
It's just like the lighting is like really extreme and kind of like bizarre.

675
01:08:19,840 --> 01:08:24,840
It's it's like a good horror camp where it's like, you know, again, very over the top.

676
01:08:24,840 --> 01:08:30,840
It's probably my favorite example of that in the movie. It's just a great monster movie. Yeah. Yeah.

677
01:08:30,840 --> 01:08:33,840
And I think your Looney Tunes comparison is totally apt.

678
01:08:33,840 --> 01:08:42,840
Like all of it is at that level of just like, you know, all out mayhem. It's so entertaining. It's a ride. Yeah.

679
01:08:42,840 --> 01:08:46,840
Well, let's rate this movie. Let's do it.

680
01:08:46,840 --> 01:08:50,840
Should I go through our ratings? Please do. All right.

681
01:08:50,840 --> 01:08:55,840
So our top rating, as always on Camp Kaiju is it's a timeless classic. It definitely stands the test of time.

682
01:08:55,840 --> 01:09:01,840
Our next rating, there may be some antiquated moments, but overall, it's great. It stands the test of time.

683
01:09:01,840 --> 01:09:06,840
Number three, it may be historically significant or just fun, but it does not stand the test of time.

684
01:09:06,840 --> 01:09:16,840
And our lowest rating, it is not worth revisiting and definitely does not stand the test of time.

685
01:09:16,840 --> 01:09:21,840
You can go. OK, whatever you prefer.

686
01:09:21,840 --> 01:09:28,840
I do love this movie, but I think I have to go with there may be some antiquated moments, but overall, it's great and stand the test of time.

687
01:09:28,840 --> 01:09:37,840
I this is kind of like the definition of that rating because there are a lot of antiquated moments, particularly in the representation of the Chinese shopkeeper.

688
01:09:37,840 --> 01:09:41,840
And some of these themes where it's like, what are you trying to get at?

689
01:09:41,840 --> 01:09:50,840
Joe Dante and Chris Columbus and like everybody involved like, you know, I do love this movie, but I can't love it unreservedly.

690
01:09:50,840 --> 01:09:54,840
So I'll have to give it our second rating. OK. All right. Wow.

691
01:09:54,840 --> 01:10:01,840
I'm going to one up you and I'm going to say it is a timeless classic and it stands the test of time, I think.

692
01:10:01,840 --> 01:10:12,840
Maybe it's because I've only seen it only a couple of times, but I'm still really taken in by the sheer audacity of this movie.

693
01:10:12,840 --> 01:10:18,840
You there's really nothing else like it and you think there would be, but there's not.

694
01:10:18,840 --> 01:10:24,840
And again, the level of special effects in this movie are unparalleled.

695
01:10:24,840 --> 01:10:27,840
If it was done today, here go knocking CGI again.

696
01:10:27,840 --> 01:10:32,840
But like it would be a CGI mess. Yeah.

697
01:10:32,840 --> 01:10:35,840
And it just wouldn't have the same cute factor either.

698
01:10:35,840 --> 01:10:39,840
So this movie just works on so many levels for me.

699
01:10:39,840 --> 01:10:42,840
And it is good. It is.

700
01:10:42,840 --> 01:10:49,840
I honestly I'd probably give it like three and a half if I could instead of three. You know, like I really do love this movie.

701
01:10:49,840 --> 01:10:55,840
I think part of it is that I have seen it a lot, like more than a dozen times now, probably.

702
01:10:55,840 --> 01:11:03,840
And I also think the sequel is a little bit weirder, has more pointed commentary.

703
01:11:03,840 --> 01:11:06,840
So, yeah, maybe unfairly. I just love the second one more.

704
01:11:06,840 --> 01:11:12,840
So maybe I'm like downplaying my love for this one. I do love it, though. I do love Grandlands.

705
01:11:12,840 --> 01:11:16,840
Hey, I'm not I'm not saying you don't.

706
01:11:16,840 --> 01:11:22,840
I'm you know, I got to stick up for a little bit because by my reservations, this is just an awesome, awesome movie.

707
01:11:22,840 --> 01:11:29,840
Yeah. Yeah, it really is. Maybe the best Christmas monster movie out there.

708
01:11:29,840 --> 01:11:34,840
That I haven't seen Santa Jaws yet. Good point. Yeah.

709
01:11:34,840 --> 01:11:39,840
We'll have to revisit that that, you know, that claim down the road.

710
01:11:39,840 --> 01:11:45,840
Yeah. Well, everybody, if you enjoyed Gremlins as much as I do, please let us know.

711
01:11:45,840 --> 01:11:49,840
Rate and review Camp Kaiju wherever you listen to your podcasts.

712
01:11:49,840 --> 01:11:57,840
You can also share this podcast with a friend. Send us listener comments at CampKaiju at gmail.com, our Facebook page, YouTube or Instagram.

713
01:11:57,840 --> 01:11:59,840
All those links are in the show notes.

714
01:11:59,840 --> 01:12:05,840
If you'd like to be a featured voice on the show, leave a voicemail 612-470-2612.

715
01:12:05,840 --> 01:12:12,840
Tell us about your thoughts on Gremlins. Tell us about other monster movies you love, things you'd like to hear us talk about on the show.

716
01:12:12,840 --> 01:12:16,840
You can check out our website, CampKaijuPodcast.com for more information.

717
01:12:16,840 --> 01:12:22,840
Camp Kaiju is recorded in Minneapolis, St. Paul with the mailbox music by Ben Cook-Felts.

718
01:12:22,840 --> 01:12:27,840
Thank you, friends. And until next time, stay campy.

719
01:12:27,840 --> 01:12:37,840
Camp Kaiju is sponsored by Zach Linder and the Zach Pack, powered by Coldwell Banker Realty, your source for real estate, home rehab, fixing and flipping for investor clients and residential buyers.

720
01:12:37,840 --> 01:12:40,840
Reach out to Zach Pack today for real estate services.

721
01:12:40,840 --> 01:12:45,840
Follow the Zach Pack on social media and contact the Zach Pack for investment opportunities.

722
01:12:45,840 --> 01:12:47,840
Links in the show notes.

723
01:12:47,840 --> 01:12:58,840
This is what's left of my imported barbarian snowman. Your dog broke it this morning.

724
01:12:58,840 --> 01:13:03,840
Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Just tell me how much I owe you. I'll be more than happy to...

725
01:13:03,840 --> 01:13:05,840
I don't want money.

726
01:13:08,840 --> 01:13:10,840
I want your dog.

727
01:13:13,840 --> 01:13:14,840
Barney?

728
01:13:14,840 --> 01:13:24,840
Give him to me. I'll take him to the kennel. They'll put him to sleep. It'll be quick and painless compared to what I could do to him.

729
01:13:24,840 --> 01:13:26,840
What could you do?

730
01:13:29,840 --> 01:13:32,840
I'll catch the beast myself.

731
01:13:33,840 --> 01:13:38,840
Then you'll get what he deserves. A slow, painful death.

732
01:13:38,840 --> 01:13:43,840
Maybe I'll put him in my spin dryer on high heat.

733
01:13:43,840 --> 01:13:45,840
That'll do it all right.

734
01:13:49,840 --> 01:13:55,840
It's the most wonderful time of the year.

735
01:13:55,840 --> 01:14:10,840
Yeah, it's ironic you say like doing something fresh when it's taking place, you know, 70, 80 years ago at this point.

736
01:14:10,840 --> 01:14:19,840
And I bet my dad would like this movie. He's not a sci-fi nerd like me, but he does like a good World War II drama.

737
01:14:19,840 --> 01:14:22,840
And this is a great World War II drama.

738
01:14:22,840 --> 01:14:28,840
100%. I so agree. It's such a good World War II drama.

739
01:14:28,840 --> 01:14:34,840
There's love, there's family, there's just so much into it.

740
01:14:34,840 --> 01:14:38,840
And you could be appreciated and accessed on so many levels.

741
01:14:38,840 --> 01:14:48,840
I think that's really cool and just very surprised. Not surprising, but I really appreciate that about it. It's just so cool. It has a lot of heart.

742
01:14:48,840 --> 01:14:55,840
What else do you guys want to know about the man or the panel or what we talked about?

743
01:14:55,840 --> 01:15:00,840
Did he talk at all about the next Godzilla movie that he's working on?

744
01:15:00,840 --> 01:15:04,840
Not really. I could tell he was being a little cagey about it.

745
01:15:04,840 --> 01:15:12,840
But yeah, people definitely wanted to know, but he was sort of just not really getting into that that much.

746
01:15:12,840 --> 01:15:14,840
That makes sense. Yeah.

747
01:15:14,840 --> 01:15:18,840
Yeah, yeah, we're hoping. We're hoping.

748
01:15:18,840 --> 01:15:24,840
Oh, he talked a lot about how he never really expected to win an Academy Award for it.

749
01:15:24,840 --> 01:15:27,840
I mean, he was kind of optimistic, but didn't want to jinx it.

750
01:15:27,840 --> 01:15:33,840
And he had sort of scribbled the outline of an acceptance speech, but didn't put too much into it.

751
01:15:33,840 --> 01:15:41,840
And when he got called up there, he felt a little bit unprepared, but he had a good sense of humor about it, which I thought was nice.

752
01:15:41,840 --> 01:15:44,840
He just was extremely humble and really, really cool.

753
01:15:44,840 --> 01:15:54,840
I remember when those guys accepted the Oscar at the ceremony, some of them were holding Godzilla action figures up there on the stage even.

754
01:15:54,840 --> 01:15:58,840
Yeah. They all. And did you see the Godzilla shoes that they had on?

755
01:15:58,840 --> 01:16:01,840
Yes. Yeah, they're so epic.

756
01:16:01,840 --> 01:16:09,840
Yeah, he said that he feels that most of the photos from that night are of the shoes and not really the people that worked on the film.

757
01:16:09,840 --> 01:16:12,840
He was happy about it. He thought it was great and funny.

758
01:16:12,840 --> 01:16:24,840
Yeah, he's like those kind of made a lot of the selection for what photos they would show in the press and so forth as those shoes, which I thought was funny.

759
01:16:24,840 --> 01:16:26,840
Nerds.

760
01:16:26,840 --> 01:16:40,840
Yes, I'm nerds.