Unspooled

Earwolf

Listen up, film fans! Actor & comedian Paul Scheer and film critic Amy Nicholson want your advice as they make the ultimate list of the greatest movies of all time. In Season 1, they watched every one of the AFI’s Top 100 films...and decided they could kick off half. Now, they're filling in the gaps by investigating wildly diverse areas of film through miniseries on topics like horror movies, documentaries and romantic comedies, with help from listeners' picks. Along the way, they’ll dissect iconic scenes, spotlight their favorite characters, and talk to some of the actors and directors who worked on these classics. And when Unspooled has built their own list of the best movies on earth, they'll blast them into space to be immortalized for eternity. Seriously.

Listen up, film fans! Actor & comedian Paul Scheer and film critic Amy Nicholson want your advice as they make the ultimate list of the greatest movies of all time. In Season 1, they watched every one of the AFI’s Top 100 films...and decided they could kick off half. Now, they're filling in the gaps by investigating wildly diverse areas of film through miniseries on topics like horror movies, documentaries and romantic comedies, with help from listeners' picks. Along the way, they’ll dissect iconic scenes, spotlight their favorite characters, and talk to some of the actors and directors who worked on these classics. And when Unspooled has built their own list of the best movies on earth, they'll blast them into space to be immortalized for eternity. Seriously.

Location:

United States

Genres:

Media & Entertainment Podcasts

Networks:

Earwolf

Description:

Language:

English

Episodes

Men In Black

7/29/2021

Paul & Amy neuralize 1997's Will Smith sci-fi comedy Men In Black! They learn about the wild career of director Barry Sonnenfeld, ask how Smith became so skilled at picking hit starring vehicles, and wonder why blockbuster films with this much personality are so hard to come by today. Plus: What if Wild Wild West was good? Next week Unspooled's summer blockbuster series continues with Back To The Future! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at...

Duration:01:58:13

Jurassic Park

7/22/2021

Amy & Paul break out of 1993's prehistoric creature feature Jurassic Park! They revisit the moment in film history when CGI was starting to break into the mainstream, learn how director Steven Spielberg decided to embrace realism in the film's dino designs, and debate whether John Hammond gets a bad rap. Plus: An in-depth breakdown of Jurassic Park vs. Jaws.Next week Unspooled's summer blockbuster series continues with Men In Black! You can join the conversation for this series on the...

Duration:01:46:47

The State Of Summer Blockbusters

7/15/2021

Paul & Amy break the block open with a new Unspooled series on summer blockbusters! They ask why the Fast saga has succeeded where so many original ideas have failed, try to pinpoint when franchise films lost their sense of joy, and preview some of the big films coming out soon, Plus: Narrowing down the shortlist of blockbusters to cover over the next two months. Next week Unspooled continues the summer blockbusters series with Jurassic Park! You can join the conversation for this series on...

Duration:01:06:30

Top 3: Karen Gillan

7/14/2021

Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Gunpowder Milkshake) joins Unspooled to talk about her top 3 films she would send to space, including a 90s rom com classic and a horror masterpiece.

Duration:00:32:31

Apollo 13

7/8/2021

Amy & Paul come home to 1995's space disaster docudrama Apollo 13! They ask if this is secretly a film about disappointment, spot a cameo by a legendary director, and discuss whether there's a successor to Ron Howard among today's generation of filmmakers. Plus: What's the actual version of the film's most famous quote? Next week Unspooled kicks off a new series on summer blockbusters! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at...

Duration:01:32:33

Top 3: Tom Scharpling

7/7/2021

Tom Scharpling (The Best Show, Steven Universe) joins us to talk about his new book It Never Ends and his top 3 movie musicals! He talks about why he loves excess in musicals, Jack Nicholson’s directorial career, and going to Papa Roach’s basketball game.

Duration:00:55:17

Aliens

7/1/2021

Paul & Amy invade 1986's James Cameron space action classic Aliens! They learn what this film had in common with Platoon, ask why the aliens feel less threatening here than they did in the first film, and try not to call Ripley 'badass.' Plus: Do the deleted scenes that give more backstory to Ripley help or hurt her character? Next week Unspooled's space series concludes with Apollo 13! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at...

Duration:01:42:40

Top 3: Daveed Diggs

6/29/2021

Welcome to Top 3, a semi-regular bonus series where we ask our favorite creative people to talk about three films they love! In this interview, Daveed Diggs talks about growing up on Abbott & Costello, a new film from Côte d'Ivoire he can't stop thinking about, and some of the influences that went into Blindspotting (both the film and series).

Duration:00:34:34

Solaris

6/24/2021

Paul & Amy orbit 1972's Russian outer space mood piece Solaris! They learn why director Andrei Tartovsky disdained nearly all American films, compare Solaris to the many movies it influenced, and decry the 'explainer' culture of modern film fandom. Plus: A dramatic reading of the trailer for the Solaris remake! Next week Unspooled's space series continues with Aliens! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at...

Duration:01:45:42

Alien

6/17/2021

Amy & Paul burst out of 1979's sci-fi horror pioneer Alien! They learn about the film's original darker ending, contrast it with another classic horror film Unspooled has covered, and ask whether today's filmmakers have lost the visual imagination that made Alien feel so innovative. Plus, the eternal debate: Alien or Aliens? Next week Unspooled's space series continues with Solaris (the 1972 original)! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at...

Duration:01:46:35

Contact

6/10/2021

Paul & Amy reach out to 1997's Robert Zemeckis extraterrestrial encounter film Contact! They learn about the long journey Carl Sagan's story took to the screen, ask whether Matthew McConaughey's character is too daffy, and debate the existence of God and aliens. Plus: How did they get Bill Clinton to cameo? Next week Unspooled's space series continues with Alien! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/unspooledpodcast,...

Duration:01:46:26

Spool Party: Clueless

6/3/2021

Amy & Paul totally get into 1995's Jane-Austen-in-high-school comedy Clueless! They discuss what makes this a perfect Emma adaptation, learn which actor's mistake director Amy Heckerling intentionally kept in the film, and play a Paul Rudd themed guessing game. Plus: Ronna Glickman (Jessica Chaffin) dishes out some love advice. (This episode originally aired live on YouTube as part of Unspooled’s “Spool Party” series.) Next week Unspooled's space series WILL resume with Contact! You can join...

Duration:01:15:01

Screen Test: Darkness In The Force

5/27/2021

The hosts of the George Lucas Talk Show (Connor Ratliff, Griffin Newman and Patrick Cotnoir) reenact a scene from "Ewoks: The Battle For Endor," defend Rise Of Skywalker, and pitch a new Star Wars prequel in this all-Lucas episode of Screen Test! This episode was originally released as part of our Premium game show series Screen Test; to hear more, just sign up for Stitcher Premium at stitcher.com/premium and use the promo code UNSPOOLED for one month free.

Duration:01:12:34

Spool Party: Big (featuring Lauren Lapkus)

5/20/2021

Paul & Amy dance on the keys for 1988's Tom Hanks body swap comedy Big! They discuss the unique perspective director Penny Marshall brought to the film's romantic scenes, play some of their favorite oddball Hanks cameos, and ask how Josh's experience would go on to shape his real adulthood. Plus: Lauren Lapkus shares why this is her favorite film. (This episode originally aired live on YouTube as part of Unspooled’s “Spool Party” series.) You can join the conversation for our space film...

Duration:01:30:06

Galaxy Quest

5/13/2021

Paul & Amy beam aboard 1999's TV sci-fi satire Galaxy Quest! They discuss how fandom has changed over the last 20 years, learn about an in-joke that inspired the villain's name, and debate whether Tim Allen was the right choice for the Shatner-esque lead role. Plus: Paul shares his secret history with this film. You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/unspooledpodcast, and on Paul’s Discord at...

Duration:01:47:02

A Trip to the Moon

5/6/2021

Amy & Paul set a course for 1902's seminal space short A Trip To The Moon (aka Le Voyage dans la Lune)! They dissect it as a work of imperialist satire, learn more about director Georges Méliès, and listen to a modern score made for the film by Air. Plus: Which films will we cover for the rest of our space series? Next week our galactic trip continues with Galaxy Quest! You can join the conversation for this series on the Unspooled Facebook Group at...

Duration:01:15:09

Hoop Dreams

4/29/2021

Paul & Amy take on 1994's groundbreaking high school basketball documentary Hoop Dreams! They compare the look of the film to slick modern docs, look at the subtle ways director Steve James contrasts his two subjects, and learn what stars Arthur and William are doing today. Plus: how Siskel & Ebert's advocacy for the film unveiled an Oscar scandal. Next week, we begin our discussion of films set in space with A Trip To The Moon, and start the conversation on which films should be part of the...

Duration:01:31:25

2021 Oscar Special

4/22/2021

Paul & Amy break down Nomadland, Mank, Judas & The Black Messiah, and all the Best Picture nominees before this year's Academy Awards! They discuss which movies looked too depressing to tackle during a pandemic (and which are less depressing than you'd think), ask why the Best Picture and Best Director nominations aren't one and the same, and give their predictions for the big category winners (and the shorts of course). Plus: some of their favorites from 2020 that didn't get nominations!...

Duration:02:01:48

A League of Their Own

4/15/2021

Amy & Paul hit a grand slam for 1992's Penny Marshall baseball comedy A League Of Their Own! They make the case this is a film about female friendship as much as a sports movie, dig into the camaraderie between Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell, and ask what was really going through Dottie's head in the final game. Plus: Amy met a Rockford Peach! This is the fifth episode of our Underdogs series; next week tune in for our preview of the 2020 Oscars! Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com,...

Duration:02:01:45

Chariots of Fire

4/8/2021

Paul & Amy run through 1981's Olympic track drama Chariots of Fire! They learn why this is Joe Biden's favorite film, ask if this thoroughly British story was at all jazzed up for American audiences, and compare the arcs of individual sports like running to the team sports they've covered so far. Plus: How composer Vangelis fought to get his iconic theme in the film. This is the fourth episode of our Underdogs series; next week’s film is A League Of Their Own! Learn more about the show at...

Duration:01:17:32