Welcome to the first-ever Multi Awards. I'm Javier Grillo-Marxuach.

And I'm Paul Alvarado-Dykstra. Javi, it's our first-ever awards show.

I know.

I thought we talked about this. I thought this was understood. Everyone got the memo. I'm here in my tux.

You look so good.

You're too kind. And it's like you all just kind of left me on my own here.

I feel like we failed you, Paul. I really do feel like right now, I feel like we've just let you're hanging out to dry, but you look so good. You look positively James Bond-y.

Well, that would be Summer of 83.

That's right. Oh my God.

Wow. Wow.

It's like a Brioni suit. And you've got your martini. Are you shaking or stirring?

With olives, no less. Two olives. I didn't want to go too crazy.

Oh, I can't wait for that to kick in.

Oh, yeah. We got a wild ride ahead of us. Quick aside, ask me about this tuxedo.

Hey, Paul, it sounds like that tuxedo has some kind of a history. Can you tell us a little more about it?

So, this was a last-minute decision. And as I realized, this existed among many other artifacts in my closet that resembles the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I've got this tuxedo. I've not worn this tuxedo in possibly in years, possibly decades. I got this tuxedo in college when I scammed a trip to the Cannes Film Festival and realized I needed a tuxedo if I wanted to attend any evening screenings at the Palais after 6 p.m. Notoriously, if you arrive and try to enter, climb the stair, do the red carpet, climb the stairs, the Swiss guards or whatever will shame you and send you back down and away. If you are not properly dressed, that was the protocol at the time, may have loosened a bit in more recent years. So this is now a vintage tuxedo that miraculously still fits, although no one needs to know what's happening below the waist today.

I got to tell you, you buried the lead and the lead is, you can fit into something you had in college. Wow.

Late college, end college, but still. It was a roll of dice today. I was like, could it, maybe? Is it worth it? I've got even my coordinating, black and white. I was like, I got to do it.

Yeah. No, you look great.

We'll see if it fits next year for our second annual Multi Awards. But anyway, I digress way too much because we have a lot to do and I apologize to our loyal listeners who have arrived at also the 20th episode, the season finale of season one, Summer of 1982. Javi, how are you feeling?

I got to say, summer, revisiting the Summer of 82 was amazing. The part I found most amazing about what we've done so far is that, look, there's the top six. You got your Blade Runner, you got the Road Warrior, you got TRON, you got ET, Poltergeist, Star Trek. You got the big ones, right? I think the most fun I had talking about these movies were the ones that I would not have shown up at the Multiplex to see, Night Shift and The Soldier and even the Phantasmagoria of Ecstasy, that was the best little whorehouse in Texas. I find that I've talked so much about Star Trek II in my life. But to actually talk about these other movies that really reflect the time, I think that's the part I've enjoyed most about the Summer of 82 as a grown-up. As a kid, of course, I loved all the movies, obviously. What about you, Paul?

I want to let producer Brad sign in.

I was going to say, real quick, we should list the 19 movies that we watched.

Yes. What a journey it has been, starting with...

Rocky III.

Poltergeist.

Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan.

Maurice II.

ET., The Extraterrestrial.

Firefox. Think in Russian.

You got to think in Russian. Blade Runner.

We're just doing titles. We're just doing the titles.

Blade Runner.

Megaforce.

The Thing.

Conan the Barbarian.

Tron.

Mad Max 2, The Road Warrior.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Night Shift.

The Sword and the Sorcerer.

Fast Time said Ridgemont High.

The Beastmaster.

The Soldier.

The Tempest.

Actually, I think it was just Tempest or Paul Mazursky's Tempest. Paul Mazursky's Tempest. Doesn't matter.

So here's the thing. We have a bunch of awards we got to give out, but we also have things that we either missed or things that are not regular awards. They're sort of like un septembre gav at Cannes, if you know what I'm saying, Paul.

Yes.

So Brad, we have a list of superlatives that we've come up with. Before we give all the awards, I think we should give these unofficial awards first.

Yeah, and there were also some films we judiciously avoided and opted out of, which included Visiting Hours, The Secret of Nim, Controversial Choice. I did attempt to rewatch it as viewers were reminded it. No, it was not going to happen. World According to Garp, Officer and Gentlemen, Pryor XIII Part III and Zapped. Oh God.

Yeah, Zapped. Zapped we kind of took out on moral grounds. I mean, it's okay. Yeah. So, producer Brad.

I'm here.

Let's do the superlatives. Let's get down to it. What do you think?

Well, in 19 episodes, 19 films, you guys made over 50 bold claims. And I tried to collect as many as I could. So let's see if you still stand behind them.

I'm surprised there were so few.

Well, my time is limited.

Yes. Thank you.

I grabbed what I could.

Producer Brad set problems of his own, you know.

All right.

Javi, Rocky III, one of the greatest scores of all time.

One of the greatest themes of all time. Not scores, but themes. The Rocky theme. But not the score.

Bill Conti. Javi, Rocky III, most entertaining movie of all time.

I stand by that statement.

Wow.

Yeah. So entertaining.

Says so much.

Javi.

Yes.

Rocky III, greatest pause and entrance. Apollo Creed's entrance.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. Come on. Come on.

Well, describe it real quick so people know.

You mean when he comes into the gym to see Rocky and he gives the eye of the tiger monologue?

To be honest, I made the spreadsheet and I didn't notate which scene it is.

You don't know, then I think it doesn't stand behind it.

You can't stand behind it.

Yeah.

It doesn't hold. Okay. Let's keep going. Keep going.

All right. Javi.

Oh, God. So many of them.

Poltergeist. One of the greatest composers of all time, Jerry Goldsmith.

Yeah. I stand by Jerry Goldsmith. I think Jerry Goldsmith is like literally top three.

Yeah. Yeah.

Paul.

Oh.

Poltergeist. Greatest expository monologue in film history. Tangina.

It's way up there. It's way up there. Certainly. I would probably I don't think this is an award category, but I think it probably would win for the summer.

Javi.

Yes, sir.

One of the greatest introductions of a character ever. Tangina Barron.

Yes. Stand by.

Yeah, totally.

I'm a Tangina Stan, and I'm going to Tangina until the break of dawn.

Well, and the follow up is also one of the greatest characters in cinema ever. Tangina Barron.

Yep.

Javi. Greatest N of a sequence line ever. Poltergeist.

This house is clean.

As clean as ours.

Javi Poltergeist. Best ectoplasm in cinema.

Yes.

Oh, yeah.

Straight up a chaser. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Javi.

Good Lord.

Then Paul comes up to Poltergeist. Greatest monologue ever. Craig T. Nelson. Why? Why? Why?

Oh, yes. No, no. Yeah. It's more it's more the greatest histrionics certainly. But but I loved it. Yeah. You you you move the you move the cemetery, but you didn't move the bodies. You only move the headstones. No, it's the best. I'm in.

Done.

Paul Poltergeist. What are the greatest visual effects of all time? The house implosion. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. That's a masterpiece of ingenuity and execution. Yeah.

All right. Javi Poltergeist. Tensest shot in movie history. Craig T. Nelson fishing for his keys in his pocket.

Oh, God. He's trying to get out. Yes, I stand by that. Literally. A man fumbling in the back pockets of his Levi's for his keys. It beats even like Psycho for me. Yeah, totally. I'm in.

All right.

Javi, Star Trek II. This one I tried to find other examples, so this one probably stands alone as the greatest cinematic bite of an apple.

Oh, yeah.

Kirk, Star Trek II.

Arguably of any fruit.

I would like to lose. Well, I would say of any cruciferous fruit. Maybe there's a better banana shot somewhere.

Yeah.

That's another podcast. Yeah.

Paul, Star Trek II. Greatest space battle in film, The Mutara Nebula.

I mean, that is a bold opinion. I'm struggling to think of another one that has the dramatic impact and character intensity. There are a lot of great space battles, but certainly for the summer, for this year, absolutely.

I think the only space battle that I think rivals it, honestly for me, is the last 30 minutes of Return of the Jedi.

Well, yeah. I was just thinking that. That's a whole other thing in another novel, which we will.

But I think it's still, yeah, well, you know, weirdly, that movie came out in the summer of.

83, so up until this point, yeah, the statement is true as of summer of 83. I mean, summer of 82, sorry.

Yeah, but Paul, where I think that we're both spot on on calling this the greatest space battle in history is that it is a space battle that is much like the one in Return of the Jedi. Like it is a space battle, but it's character. It's based on character. Yes.

It's a duel.

And it's so much of a, yes, I'm, so yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Go on.

Cut us off before we do a whole other Star Trek II podcast.

That's right.

All right, Paul, Grease 2, worst bowling etiquette ever committed to film.

Why even remind me of the trauma and reawaken my PTSD of that? I can't even get the word out. It's so just-

Is there a film that gets bowling right?

Oh, I mean, Big Lebowski, of course. It's a cathedral of bowling scenes of excellence.

Javi.

Yes, sir.

Grease 2, longest second act in movie history.

Longest second act in movie history, wow. I don't know what was it.

Grease 2.

Oh, my God. Yes. Oh, God.

So, yeah.

I feel like with Grease 2, they actually found a way to constrict time. So, yeah, it was terrible. It was like Dormammu being trapped by Dr. Strange, you know?

Yeah. One of the clandestine genre elements of Grease 2 is its ability to bend space-time in the second act for the audience.

All right, Paul.

Yes.

ET., one of the greatest movies ever made.

Yes.

Yes.

Yeah.

No-brainer. No-brainer.

Paul. ET., one of the greatest cinematic kisses of all time. The end with The Quiet Man.

You know. You know. I love that. Yeah, definitely. So, yes. Yes.

Paul. ET., one of the most romantic scenes of all time. Same scene. When Elliot kisses the girl in the classroom.

Yeah, the sweep of that whole sequence, I think, is a master stroke.

Yeah, I'll give a thumbs up to this part of the conversation. I'm in. I got it.

All right, Paul. Firefox. Greatest field promotion in cinematic history.

Yes, yes. Because that's where Captain Piat became, he's Admiral Piat and then in this movie, he's like a colonel or something, right?

Something like that, yes. I forgot to get exactly how we connected those dots, but I remember we did so with a plomb.

Yeah, we are Admiral Piat Stands and we stand by anything, any person that has to do this.

Another reason why this podcast must continue and soldier forth to the Summer of 83.

All right, Blade Runner, Javi.

Yes.

Greatest smile in movie history, Sean Young.

Oh my God, yes. The smile she gives Harrison Ford right before the Voight-Kampff test, where like, I mean, her lips are like, I don't know who did her makeup, I don't know how they, but it's amazing. It's, yeah, totally. It's beguiling.

It's up there.

Paul, Blade Runner, one of the greatest villains of all time, if not at least in genre films.

Absolutely. Ruckerhauer. An all-timer. And I'm not just saying it because he's Dutch. Incredible. Masterful. Character and performance.

All right, Paul, I wish I could imitate you because this needs to be said the way you speak. One of the most gloriously geeky scenes in all of sci-fi, Blade Runner, Enhance. Oh, yeah.

Yes. Yes. And by the way, and the scene that set the tone for procedurals for decades to come, Enhance that. Everybody's always Enhance. I bet that everybody who's ever worked on CSI basically saw Blade Runner and said, yeah, that works.

Yeah, I would add one of the most influential moments of techno-futurism.

Absolutely.

And Javi followed up that that scene was one of the greatest scenes in sci-fi.

The Enhance scene?

The same one.

Yes, the Enhance. Absolutely. For the reason I just said, literally, Blade Runner, its influence is so vast, and it's even something as simple as a bunch of people when they were 13, saw this Harrison Ford going hands and hands and hands, and then they started writing procedurals in their 40s, and they put that scene in there. So yes, absolutely.

Paul, Blade Runner, one of the greatest works of world-building in cinema.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Okay, we're on to Megaforce.

Do go on.

Most boring tour of anything anywhere. Megaforce headquarters tour.

Oh, yeah. So bad.

It's startling how viciously boring that sequence is.

Yeah. It's almost viciously boring.

Yeah.

It's like they're enjoying it. It's like they're a dom and we're the subs.

Yeah.

I mean, it's bizarre.

Yeah. Yeah. It's by the way, it's impressive.

I wore this dickey in honor of Megaforce, by the way.

Oh, nicely done. I should have recognized that at the outset. OK. Your excuse.

And don't forget for that tour, they had that special effects used to make the headquarters seem bigger and that company got a credit in the front of the film.

Right.

And it's still boring.

And it's still boring. Yes. All right.

Paul, Megaforce, longest, most boring takeoff scene ever committed to film.

Yes. Oh, that was painful.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

Yeah. You know, just even in this context, revisiting Megaforce is just so... It's horrible. Literally like, I feel like my muscles clenching, you know? Like...

I have to say, this is unexpected. I don't know if I'd call it a bonus. I don't know how our listeners and potential viewers feel about this. But I was not prepared for the kaleidoscope of cinematic memories that this episode is evoking in the corners of my psyche that I've tried to wall off and protect. Yes. So, producer Brad, please try to continue.

Please continue about Megaforce. They keep busting down the walls of our PTSD. Please.

Javi, Megaforce, longest scene of transit in the history of cinema. Oh, fuck it, Doug. The flight to the mission.

Oh, my God. Literally, it's like, oh, God. The transit scenes in this movie make the transit scenes in Attack of the Clones appear as masterpieces of brevity.

I want to inject one other observation and contrast, which I think is interesting and relevant. Do go on. Apologies. But I'm struck by how the Mission Impossible films have learned this lesson and do the opposite. You never see any transit in a Mission Impossible film. They just jump from one place to another. There's no filler. There's no like, oh, how do we get from here to there? No one cares. It's, and just as an exercise in contrast, I think it's illuminating and-

Are you saying Megaforce influenced?

I don't know if it's influenced, but it's like, it's their polar opposites on the spectrum of how to do that in that sub-genre.

However, I would be remiss if I didn't say this. I have a date in London!

Well, we're not to the ending of Megaforce yet. We got two more to go.

Do go on.

Paul, most boring action I've ever seen.

I mean, it's just, wow.

And it was so boring that Paul started reminiscing about another movie, Hooper, and he said Hooper has one of the greatest endings of all time.

Yeah, yeah, again, that's-

Does he have a date in London?

Not an 82 film, but if you have not seen Hooper, I can't rave about that enough, and sending my love to fellow Hooper fan Kevin Beagle.

All right, Paul, Conan.

Paul, yes.

One of the greatest title sequences of all time.

Yes.

Yep, yep, yep.

I just wanna have that on a loop in my house in the background all the time.

Whenever I walk in a room, I want that piece of music, Envelope Crumb, playing. I just wanna walk in the door and it's like, dun, dun, dun, dun.

It's just the best. In and of itself, the title sequence of Conan would be a contender for best film of Summer of 1992.

That's right. It could be just those 60 seconds, 90 seconds.

Best film.

I'm in.

All right. Paul, Conan. One of the most beautiful swords in all of film.

Yeah. Yeah. By the way, that sword has a superpower. I don't know if you know this, and I probably said this in the podcast because I saw this in a show, a behind-the-scenes show. Those swords had a button that you could push and they would spray blood.

Oh, yes.

I love that you're drinking that martini, Paul. That is just my favorite thing in the world. I feel like I need a cat. I feel like I should have a cat, the pet here. Oh, hold on. Oh, you do have a cat?

I mean, think about who you're talking to. I don't have a cat. For those listening and not watching, I am cuddling with my plush capybara. One of many, but the largest plush capybara in my possession currently.

All right, Conan, Paul. One of the great iconic images and unfulfilled promises, Conan sitting on the throne at the end.

Yes. Yes, that still stirs the imagination and fills me with aching longing. Yes, for what might have been and, you know, who knows, still could possibly be.

King Conan, Crown of Iron.

All right, Paul, Conan. One of the great transitions, The Wheel of Pain. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. Easily one of the, just a brilliant cinematic transition.

Just with the feet and then they finally do the wide side and it's, Arnold, it's great.

Yeah, that is cinema.

Yeah.

Paul, Conan. One of the great examples of how a score can make a film.

Absolutely. Absolutely. That score elevates Conan to god levels. Yeah.

All right, moving on to TRON. Paul, favorite title card of all time. Meanwhile, in the real world.

Yeah. It speaks to me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I like it.

Although now, present-day kind of carries a different weight.

All right, Javi, TRON. Worst death scream of a character. Clues death scream.

Oh, yeah.

He goes, Yeah, it's terrible. Worst death scream ever. Yeah. Jeff Bridges is a great actor. And sadly, that was not his best moment, though. Do go on. I'll just...

The Road Warrior, Paul. One of the great cuts in film history. That's the cut from the 4-3 recap montage to the cinemascope widescreen of Motor Mayhem.

And not just a cut, but a change in aspect ratio. Yes.

Yes.

Which, anyway, I'm refraining from a tangent.

And Paul, one of the greatest closing narrations in any movie, The Road Warrior.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Yeah.

Again, it opens up an entirely additional dimension of mythic-ness to the film that would not exist otherwise.

And the idea that the fear child grew up to be able to speak, much less in that poetic language, is alone a story that we needed to see, right, Paul?

Yeah. Yeah. But again, I feel like that's one of the great examples of the power of well written, well executed narration that actually can elevate and expand a narrative rather than weigh it down.

I second that.

All right, Paul, we're on to Night Shift.

Oh, yeah.

One of the great character introductions of all time, Billy Blaze.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, Michael Keaton.

Yeah.

So great.

That's actually one of our categories. It is. Yeah, it is. But I would say, by the way, I would say that there's also a great character reintroduction that is the greatest character reintroduction of all time, and that is Kirk in Star Trek II, where they open that door and he's backlit and there's like literally shafts of light coming from Captain Kirk. Yeah, it's...

So, in other words, one of the omissions you forgot, this would be one.

Yes.

Yes. But yeah, I was going to touch on that when we got to that corresponding award category, but I agree. I think it is certainly Shatner, or any actor, could not ask for a better on-screen introduction in a film than that. Absolutely, yep. And it's a thing of beauty.

All right, we're on to The Sword and the Sorcerer. Paul. One of the coolest swords in film history.

Yep.

Paul said it. You're questioning yourself.

I mean, conceptually, yes.

Well, here, I can help you out. Let me go to the next one.

I know, I know.

Paul. One of the flimsiest swords in film history.

That is the big asterisk on the prior...

Both can be true. Both can be true. And I think we need to just live in that world for a little bit.

Yes. Such is the magic of movies.

Javi.

Yes.

Sword and the Sorcerer, Greatest Line Delivery in the History of Line Deliveries.

Blast you, Blast you, Eric. Yes. Thailand would be crucified tomorrow.

Spread the word of his plight.

Yep. Captain Morgan. Yep. Yep.

All right. Paul. Sword and the Sorcerer, Worst Ending I Have Seen.

I mean, that's a big statement. I think certainly for the Summer of 82, that probably wins that. It's really bad.

But I think whenever we have the worst of anything, we should think about whether Soldier tried it, because probably Soldier beats everything.

Yeah.

Every worst category of this. I don't even remember how Soldier ended, and I'm willing to say the Soldier had the worst ending. But whatevs. It's funny.

I'm just glad it did.

Right? Would it be horrible if the Soldier were still happening? Oh my god, yes.

Yeah.

If we were clearly scarred by that film, Brad, do go on.

Klaus Kinski is skiing somewhere.

That's drop-off.

One last one from The Sword and the Sorcerer, Javi. One of the two great sword-throwing scenes in 80s history. Sword and the Sorcerer and Excalibur.

I mean Excalibur. Yeah, okay. You know what? If I compared it to Excalibur, I don't remember what I was talking about. Oh yeah, no, that's the one where the sword flies through the air and there's like red mist behind it. And yeah, no, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm in. I'm in. Okay, fine. No, we did it. We're good.

Okay. You know, I didn't mark who said this, but the Beastmaster, one of the greatest credits.

That was you, Paul. There was a credit there that it was... Do you remember what it was?

Was it the Leisure-related one? Yes.

Yes, the Leisure-related one, yes.

Yes. Shout out to my friends at Vacation and Pool Suite. Cheers.

So this was in the credits of the film?

Yes.

I don't remember.

It was like from a National Leisure Incorporated presents or something.

Yeah.

National Leisure Incorporated, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IG Farben presents, yeah.

And I went on this whole... Yeah. No, I love it.

It's great.

I want it on a shirt. I want it on a shirt.

Can't even talk about it. We don't know what it is, but we love it.

All right.

We've made it to The Soldier.

Oh, boy.

Javi.

Yes.

Most interminable ski chase of all time.

Yep. Yep. It just goes on and on and on, and it is just languid. And I had a birthday while that scene was happening.

So, yeah. Anti-bond film ski chase.

Yes, exactly. Paul.

Most dizzingly alarming Washington DC briefing scene ever committed to film.

That's the one where the president has only two advisors and they're in this conference room.

Also, that sounds startlingly like something I would say.

Dizzying is one of yours. Yes, indeed. Yes.

It was dizzying Lee. Dizzying Lee, okay. Javi. The Soldier. Greatest plot point in the history of film. The Nixon Suitcase.

Yeah. So basically, because the soldier has a suitcase that basically lets him control nuclear weapons on his own, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And just, you know, just in case. Yeah.

Just in case. They just hand that out.

No pun intended.

No, it's fine. Just in case. Whatever the case may be.

Okay.

It's an open and shut case. Anyway, do go. Do go.

That's it. We don't have any for The Tempest, but the last thing is a question for you two. Yes. Do you each have a most coveted prop from the films that you've seen from the Summer of 82?

Absolutely.

Yeah. Paul?

So obviously there are great many choices. And I, the way my mind works is that before I speak the answer to this question, there are multiple mental wheels turning, filling me with anxiety that at some point in the future, could be days, weeks, months, years, I will wake up in the middle of night with a start and realize that I should have chosen something else. Putting that aside for my therapist and self-care to cope with, only one answer presented it to me in my mind, which we've already mentioned, which is the Atlantean Sword of Crumb from Conan the Barbarian. It is a work of perfect beauty and elegance. It is iconic. It is, I would, that would be, it's a holy object.

Okay, I'm already gonna throw some blasphemy in there. Over the Swords from The Dark Crystal? Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, if that is your name.

We have not gotten to The Dark Crystal. We are only covering Summer of...

Oh, that's right, because this is in our Christmas special, is The Dark Crystal, and we're only covering that.

Of 82, I believe. Although, we exist in a strange zone out of space-time, thanks to the trauma inflicted upon us by Grease 2's second act.

That is true, that is true.

So, you know, that's a whole, that's, yeah, that's okay. But looking just at the Summer of 82.

Just the Summer of 82.

I mean, there's the...

Not the Winter of 82, Summer of 82.

Summer of 82. So, you know, there's the Voight-Kampff test, there's like, there's all sorts of other things that are really cool props. But if I had to pick one, and there's, of course, we've talked about the Rocky pinball machine, there's the statue, like, there's so many things across all these movies. I ventured to even call ET himself a prop that I might want. I don't know if I'd want to look at him in my house every day, but I know someone who would. But for me, it's the sword.

If I could have any prop from any movie that we saw in the Summer of 82.

Ace Hunter's headband.

Oh, no, it's even better. Chekhov's ear. And I actually saw it on display on a lobby at an anniversary screening of Star Trek II. It's about a big, you know, and it's just the ear and the sideburns. And literally, I would frame that and put it in my living room. I think it is so cool.

I think you would have to demand that it include a baby Seti Eel.

Seti Eel, yeah, like the little, the Seti Eel puppet. Yeah, exactly.

Yes. That's, that's, that's really good. We have different tastes.

We do? Oh, yeah, that's fine.

Yeah, that's okay.

Okay. So guys, now look, we've done, we've done the superlatives. This was our little, this was our build up.

This is our warm up to the main event.

So I think, I think, you know, big names up for these awards, Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Schwarzenegger, John Williams. I mean, I think, I think we should just ring the bell and start handing out some awards. What do you think?

If the bell was made for anything, it was to usher in the ultimate showdown, culminating the epic adventure of Summer of 82. Who will win? Who will reign supreme at the first ever Multi Awards?

Producer Brad?

Ding, ding!

So, the first Multi Award, the nominees are, ladies and gentlemen, well, the award is for Best Score. Best Score. And the nominees are Vangelis for Blade Runner, John Williams for ET, Jerry Goldsmith for Poltergeist, Eno Morricone for The Thing, Wendy Carlos for TRON, and James Horner for Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan.

Javi, I gotta say, this is not just one of the all-time great summers for genre films. I think it's one of the all-time great summers of movie scores.

I'm in complete agreement with you.

What an incredible array of riches that were bestowed upon us just with such a variety and vigor.

So, producer Brad, the winner is?

The winner is voted by the Multiplex Academy of Two, is Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan, James Horner.

Whoa, we agreed!

We agreed on that. Oh, I love that, woohoo!

That's amazing, okay. I love that. So, Javi, how much did you struggle with the choice, if at all?

I didn't struggle with it at all. I love every score in this list, but I literally listen to the Star Trek II score every night between 1982 and 1984. It is seared in my memory and I love it. I can't, I love it. I just think it's a great score that really makes so much of that movie.

Before I share a few comments, we were remiss in not introducing the awards by explaining our process, which is producer Brad set up these categories for us, provided secret ballots to each of us independently by which we voted and cast our ballots without knowledge or discussion with each other. So we are learning now for the first time, along with the audience of who are the winners in these categories. I overthink many things. I spent way too much time thinking about this category when the answer is obvious. For me, it came down to setting aside the intense majesty of Basil Poladoris' Conan and the sheer brilliance and beauty of John Williams on NIT. I mean, those are, and there are so many others, the Innovation and TRON, and there are so many great scores. But those are some of the huge, towering titans that were faced. Horner's score for Star Trek II, to me, one, in terms of which score did the most effective work in concert with the film in terms of fueling and being integral to the cinematic experience throughout, start to finish.

I genuinely look at that. I'm sorry, Paul. I just do, you know, back and forth. I generally look at that score as part of the dialogue in the movie sometimes. Like it literally, it's, yeah, but in the most, but in the best way, you know, it's not intrusive, but it is present and it is, it is like a narration for the film. It's beautiful.

Yeah. Yeah.

I think it serves a function at a granular, integral level that no other score quite does. And also has just such a variety. And it's just marvelous. But I'm delighted that we are, are unanimous in our, in our first awards.

So let's move on to our next award.

Oh, next award. Oh, well, this is probably a gimme, but it's a worthwhile gimme. Best Original Song.

Best Original Song. And the nominees are?

Sneaking Around by Dolly Parton for Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Nope.

Goodbye, Goodbye by Ongo Boingo for Fast Times of Ridgemont High.

Nope.

Somebody's Baby by Jackson Brown for Fast Times of Ridgemont High.

No, no.

Cool Rider performed by Michelle Pfeiffer for Grease 2.

That could be a contender. Could be a contender.

At least, at least worthy of some maybe special commendation. Reproduction performed by the cast of Grease 2.

Reproduction.

And then, inevitably, Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, Rocky III. And the winner is...

Best Original Song goes to the Billboard Summer Song of 1983, Eye of the Tiger by Survivor from Rocky III.

Yes!

Now, I have to apologize. I forgot to include Rod Stewart, and that's what Friends are For from Night Shift.

It doesn't matter. As I...

I know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Plus, also, that's what Friends are For became a hit later when it was remade by somebody else. I don't know if I'm gonna... It's fine. Look, producer Brad, the last known survivor hunts its prey in the night. Producer Brad, give us the next category, please.

The next category is Best Effects.

Effects.

And the nominees are Blade Runner, ET, FireFox, Megaforce, Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior, Poltergeist, Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan, The Thing, and TRON.

I'm gonna bet Megaforce wins this one. I mean, just hands down. You know, the camouflage, never mind.

Yeah, and I will inject a little clarification here because we are saying best effects, so making this a more expansive category. So this includes visual effects, special effects, make-up, practical makeup effects. Overall, catch all for all the effects for a film.

Yeah. So, producer Brad?

The winner of best effects, and we have a tie for this award. Javi voted Blade Runner and Paul voted ET.

Wow, really?

Which I think is worthy of a discussion and maybe a tiebreaker call by producer Brad.

So, I'm gonna guess that your belief is that because ET is basically a prop, a creature, an effect, but it carries so much emotional weight in the movie that that is why this movie should win. Am I getting that right?

Yes. That's what it came down for for me. And again, that's open to interpretation and discussion. But when I looked at it, obviously, Blade Runner, mind-boggling achievement in visual and special effects and the whole thing, the whole world of Blade Runner is affected, the whole film. But in terms of the central character and emotional core of ET, only works if those effects work on the creature effects of ET. I think that that is the first time that had ever really been done and achieved. To me, it makes that film in a way that that film would not work otherwise. I can imagine versions of Blade Runner that would still be cool and work maybe without even that quite pinnacle level of effects. But again, this is a tricky, subjective thing. And it's how we, the lens, we choose to view the category and bestow the award. So I have no problem with the recognition for Blade Runner. Maybe this is a tie, but again, I struggled with this as well. But for me, I just had to say ET is a singular effects achievement.

Look, I know that producer Brad is going to go for Megaforce, okay?

I know this man.

But I think I would say that I would say that Blade, I understand where you're coming from, but I would say that the world of Blade Runner and just the seamless integration of practical, optical effects, practical effects, like that movie, you know, there are scenes in Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan where you see the map lines on the ships, you know, and it's fine. But you know, Blade Runner, everything is so seamlessly integrated to create this world and the world itself is a character.

Yes.

But I told you where you're coming from too.

And again, to argue against myself, the scope and scale, I think degree of difficulty is also a consideration for some of these categories and for Blade Runner, like that's a staggering. So, yeah, I was legitimately torn and I would be, I'd be happy to see the award go to either or to call it a tie, but producer Brad, what are your thoughts? What do we, how do we wrestle through this conundrum?

The Multi goes to?

Well, I think I'm going to throw more confusion because as I listen to you guys, I think I would add Firefox because it's set in the real world. And when I re-watched this movie, I believed that plane was flying. I did. I thought it was real.

Don't, don't tell, you can't tell another person that like their emotions are invalid. I mean, he fell in love with you.

No, I'm just saying his eyes are, that he needs to update his prescription. I mean, talking about gnat lines and like, oh my God, a firefight. That is like, ugh.

I was impressed by it watching it again because I was expecting to be really bad.

But it is nowhere on the level of EFT or Blade Runner.

I agree with you on that, but that's, those are, because we still know those as being famous in Special Effects Layton, that's why I like this one.

I would say that if we were doing our superlatives again, I would say that Firefox is the coolest airplane ever put on film. I would go that far, but I'm not sure that I can join your effects, your esteem for the film. That's okay.

It's up there. I would, anyway.

If you were to force me to break the tie, I'd go Blade Runner.

Oh!

Ouch.

Sorry, Paul. And I had that in my head before Paul Muthers-Lee eviscerated me.

I will concede and, yes, differ and say...

I don't like this competitive thing. Can we just give two multis, one, two, three, four?

I think maybe we give a special achievement award to ET for the creature effects.

The Paul Alvarado-Dykstra Memorial Award.

To Carlo Rombaldi.

Oh, wait, you're still alive. What's the opposite of a memorial when you're still alive?

Oh, yeah. Please don't kill me yet. We have so many summers of the 80s to still go to. But no, I will happily concede and agree for consensus, Blade Runner.

The next category, ladies and gentlemen, is best costume design, best costume design. The Multi for best costume design. The nominees are Michael Kaplan and Charles Knode for Blade Runner, Nob Mamarize for Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior, Kathy O'Rear and Bill Teeks for Megaforce. How did Megaforce get this?

The fucking tights.

Okay, Robert Fletcher for Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan and Eloise Jensen and Rosanna Norton for TRON.

I mean, they're dinner outfits alone, Javi.

Right with the dickie. I know.

I mean, you're wearing the dickie.

I am. No, I know. I know. Well, I didn't wear my flesh-colored spangly spandex suit for a reason, and that reason is your sanity.

Javi, what do you think I'm wearing underneath and from the waist down?

Oh, I love it. So, it's James Bond on the top, Megaforce on the bottom.

It's the only way to live.

It's the only way to live.

It's the only way to face life.

You know, Paul, you love them in blue, and you love them in red, but you love them in blue. And the Multi goes to...

And the Multi for Best Costume Design goes to Blade Runner, Michael Kaplan and Charles Knoade.

Yeah, that is, I think, an easy, unanimous win, although there's some amazing work. Honestly, I kind of thought, Javi, you were going to go for Road Warrior.

You know, I thought about it a lot, and I actually wanted to give a special designation to Road Warrior for being the best integration of assless chaps into a post-apocalyptic universe.

Tactical assless chaps, if I recall.

Tactical assless chaps, yes, indeed. So, yeah. And also, by the way, I just want to go back a couple of categories because I do also have a special award for Vangelis, which is a best album that all geeks fuck to. Is that, yeah.

Okay.

Oh, come on! You know, you know I'm right.

It's a revelation. Anyway, let's move on, shall we?

Oh, I bet.

Oh, you know what? You know what? I'll put up a poll with this one because I know I'm right.

I'd be curious to see the results of the poll.

I mean, you know, I'm sure I'm sure you can you can throw the Toto soundtrack for Dune in there, too. But I think Blade Runner is dominant in that category.

Yes. Yes. I'm thinking also of some of the greatest times you had in Nightwell. A poll and also like poll for Paul Dancer's in Blade Runner. Yeah.

All I'm saying is when Vangelis finally released the tapes and we didn't only have the New American Orchestra recording of that score, a lot of things changed for a lot of people. That's all I'm going to say.

I'm fine.

I'm fine. I'm fine over here.

Sharing is caring. Our next category. Okay, I'm excited. One of the best categories. Some stunning contenders. Best cinematography. The nominees are Jordan Krennewith, Blade Runner, Alan Davio, ET, Dean Semmler, Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior, Bill Butler, Rocky III and Dean Cundi, The Thing.

Wow.

We did not include Star Trek II or TRON. There's so many others that could have made the cut.

Absolutely, but I think this is a solid, solid contenders.

These are extraordinary achievements.

And the Multi goes to?

And the Multi goes to Blade Runner, Jordan Krennewith.

That's what I thought.

I mean, love Alan Davio, but he sleeps with an Oscar. So he's fine. And it's spell-binding, stunning work, but the visuals of Blade Runner, my God.

Yeah, yeah. Krennewith also shot Stop Making Sense, which is kind of a nice contrast. He's one of the greats. He really is one of the greats.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Yep. Our next Multi Award is?

Best Character Introduction. Fast Times at Ridgemont High, we have Spicoli, played by Sean Penn. Night Shift, we have Michael Keaton playing Billy Blaze. Poltergeist, we have Tangina, Zelda Rubenstein. The Sword and the Sorcerer, we have Captain Morgan, played by Earl Maynard.

Blast you, Eric.

And Star Trek II, we have Khan.

Yeah. Played by... I call Canley. I declare Canley. Wait a second. Wait a second. This category is bullshit. But the forms have not been obeyed. No, because the best character introduction in the Summer of 1982, I think we all know this, is Mr. T as Clubber Lang. So I believe that this category be stricken, stricken from the record.

Well, you also have to strike Penitentiary II from the record because he was in...

Well, what?

Before Rocky III?

You know, let me check the release date. Let me just double-check.

But this is not screen debut. This is character introduction.

Oh. Oh. Oh. Never mind.

So.

Okay.

Good point.

I went... I had my meltdown to the wrong category. Oh, Faye Dunaway, get off the stage. Okay.

So it's best character introduction.

Let's go.

A subtle but important distinction. So the best...

But by the way, why isn't Clubber Lang in this? Remember, he's like in his basement through the... Ah, you know, and then he's...

It's a fair point. I'm happy to expand the nominees in the category to include that character introduction.

Yeah. Sorry. I'm... Yeah, Clubber Lang. Clubber Lang. You know what? I'm just... I'm just... Best character introduction, Clubber Lang. I think I voted for Bill Blaisjowski, but I'm... No. No. I'm... This is... I can't do this. Sorry. I'm fine.

I'm fine.

Okay. Okay.

Javi almost... almost... fled the set. Almost stormed out in protest.

Never mind the weeks I've sent you guys these lists. Anything you want to add to this? Anything you want to change?

Oh, my God.

Okay. Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

We're gonna... Producer Brad.

Anything I missed.

Producer Brad, can we call an audible on this category?

We're...

We can.

Okay.

Of course. We're gonna hear about this on Deadline.

Okay. Do we have any votes for Spicoli?

No.

Bill Bleszowski.

Wait, Javi, are you changing your vote?

Yes.

We then have a tie. We have a tie between Clubber Lane and Khan from Star Trek II.

Oh.

Okay, it's Khan. Never mind. Just forget the last three minutes of your life. It's Khan.

It's fine. It's perfection. It's exquisite.

And this is what being a friend of Javi is like.

Cheers.

All right.

We don't need to extol the virtues of this character introduction. Go back to our epic Star Trek II episode. But yeah, I mean, it's all great. These are all great on-screen character introductions. But Khan, it's a whole other level.

Yeah, it's a whole thing. Okay, so the next Multi that we're going to do here is Best Screenplay. Best Screenplay. And the nominees are Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples for Blade Runner, Melissa Matheson for ET, Sylvester Sly Stallone for Rocky III, and Jack B. Sowers for Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan.

I feel like we're missing, we should have a fifth nominee. And it's all on all of us probably for not including one, but I feel like we're probably giving someone a short shrift, maybe Poltergeist or The Thing as a fifth nominee for Screenplay.

Yeah, but even if we had that, I think we would all, but here's the thing, I think we could add 20 more nominees to this category. And I think I'm gonna guess that we're in complete agreement as to who the best is here.

I hope so.

And so I'm gonna wager, a wager that we're in agreement. And I'm gonna say, I'm gonna write it down right here so that it doesn't sound like I'm cheating, okay? All right, producer Brad, the multi goes to?

And the multi goes to the tie department. We have Javi voting for ET and Melissa Matheson, and Paul, Star Trek II, and Jack Sowards.

Wow. Wow. You know, here's the thing, here's the thing. I think ET is a perfect screenplay, you know? But, God, Star Trek II is great.

Which is why I tie break to Star Trek II.

You know what?

You know what? You know what?

I accept that. I accept that.

I'll allow it.

I will protest.

ET is an unassailable choice. It's a work of art and beauty and brilliance. But I feel, yeah, Star Trek II is such a well-oiled machine and such a, I think, an underappreciated from that sense, but also looking at it in the fuller context of the franchise and of what was mined and coalesced, it adds to the achievement for me in terms of...

But I will say this, Paul. Now, because you disagreed with me, I will chase you down the wings of Nidia and around the entire maelstrom before I give you up.

Yeah. I mean, it's also eminently the most quotable.

It's so up. I think, you know, another reason why I think I voted for ET is that the script for Star Trek II is beautiful and I love it so much. But it's also very operatic. Like it's not, there's, you know, and I don't think naturalism is better than maximalism in any way. Like I love how bombastic the script is. But I think I was, I think I was being a little bit parochial about, you know, I think that people in Star Trek II don't talk like people do, so I better vote for ET. But I think I recant.

Yes.

I repent and I redo.

Yeah. And it is, it is a fusion of going back to kind of swashbuckling. Yes. High seas adventure and also submarine, you know, Milder movies and sci-fi and operatic. Like it brings all these things together in such a, in a way that should not work and is just so captivating. And I think transcends even the franchise for fans who are not even Star Trek fans recognize this is just a great movie.

And also, here it comes. Our next category is.

Paul.

Oh, yes. Hello. We should have, we should have probably put these two, put this in flip the order on this. But now we have best screen debut, I think specifically big screen or silver screen debut. Some amazing nominees. Jennifer Jason Lee in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Pamela Adlon in Grease 2. Heather O'Rourke in Poltergeist. Lee Horsley in The Sword and the Sorcerer. Molly Ringwald, Tempest and Sam Robart. Is that his first sound?

Sam Robart. Who the hell is Sam Robart?

Oh, my God.

What are we talking about? Is he famous?

I mean, it's Jason Robart.

Jason.

Yeah, but I mean, what's he on now? I mean, is he like...

I don't know that he's worthy of a sixth nomination slot.

Well, who did he even play in Tempest?

I don't even remember that.

He was on the shipwreck that came in sort of a love interest from Molly Ringwald.

He's the...

Listen, I had to fill out the category.

You didn't.

And he was introduced to the film in Summer of 82.

We have five nominees without him. Throw him overboard. Throw him back into the Tempest. He is not worthy.

I think we can agree that the Multi will not go to Sam Robart's.

Yeah. Robart's, sorry.

Okay. So, producer Brad.

Well, Javi, this is where you drop in your rant.

Oh, yeah, but I did the rant already. Okay, so this is the one where Mr. T would be in this category, except for Penitentiary II, where he played what? Who was he in Penitentiary II?

Well, it came out a month before and he played...

Oh, it came out a month before Rocky III?

You're going to like this. He played Mr. T.

You are playing yourself? You know what? I'm not even... I can't. I can't even. I'm just... I don't like the system. I don't think that artists should be placed in competition. I'm boycotting this award show.

What you should do is figure out which one was shot first.

Oh, all right. All right.

And I don't know the answer to that.

All right, producer Brad, if that is your name, we'll... let's see where this goes. Let's see. I'll see you in line at the Multiplex.

I'll see you in hell.

All right.

I'll see you in line at the Multiplex. Okay, go on.

And the Multi for Best Screen Debut, we have a tie.

A tie again, yes.

Javi voted Jennifer Jason Lee and Paul did Pamela Adlon.

Interesting.

Interesting. I mean, I...

They're both good.

Yeah. I mean, I can't argue with you, Javi, really. That's a... She...

It's a tough one.

And clearly, you know, she has a bigger, more demanding role.

I think then we can all agree that it should go to Sam Robards. Then in the event of a tie, the award should... In fact, all of our awards should go to Sam Robards in the event of a tie. That's... Even if he's not like cinematography, music, whatever.

So here's what I might suggest. At the risk of opening a can of worms. In terms of screen significance and weight and degree of difficulty, all these factors, of course, Jennifer Jason Lee makes more sense. Pamela Adlon is sort of a sentimental choice, but also I felt like the most startling and surprising and delightful screen debut. And also most striking in terms of what it is a premonition for, in terms of her career that is still continuing to bloom now.

What you're saying is that there's a difference between hey man, Jennifer Jason Lee, really for a first screen performance, I just, you can see the cinematic legacy she's about to leave behind at the end of her big career because obviously she's so good in this movie. And Pamela Adlon is more like O-M-G-W-T-F-R-O-F-T-L. It's Pamela Adlon, what's she doing here?

As a kid.

It's the shock of it, yeah.

Yeah, also she steals every scene. She's the highlight of that movie. But, you know, it's hard to say. But I'm just saying we got to talk about her again. I will also say, clearly given the crossover of two categories, and I don't think we have best antagonist or villain role, I will suggest, Javi, we need to make a... Well, maybe we save this for in certain regard. Never mind, I was thinking out loud. I'll come back to this. I'll leave our listeners in suspense.

I think editor Brad is gonna have a nice time with this podcast.

But I'll break the tie, and I will vote Jennifer Jason. Whoa!

Okay, so the Multi goes to Jennifer Jason.

I'm happy with that.

Moving on, who's next? Producer Brad, give us the next category.

As I keep hitting the martini.

The Multi for Best Performance by Supporting Actor. And it's a large category.

It's a large category.

Some would say too large.

Well, if those people didn't speak up before the show, so this is the size of it.

All right, all right, let's hear it.

Charles Durning in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Yep.

He won an Oscar for that. Rutger Hauer, Blade Runner. Sean Young, Blade Runner. Drew Barrymore, ET.

Gertie.

Shelly Long, Night Shift.

Dark Horse, but okay.

Nitra Strait, Poltergeist.

Love her.

Zelda Rubenstein, Poltergeist. Love her. Carl Weathers, Rocky III.

Yeah, the Ice Tiger.

Keith David, The Thing. Ricardo Montalban, Star Trek II.

Where's Mr. T? You keep leaving out Mr. T.

You keep forgetting to add him.

You know, Mr. T can just be a nominee in every category.

Every category, yeah.

No matter what.

Best score, Mr. T, yeah. Best cinematography, Mr. T.

Yeah.

Or, I thought Sam Robars was gonna, nevermind, okay. So, producer Brad, best performance by supporting actor who is not Mr. T.

How could we possibly have a consensus choice given the vastness of this category? The most nominees of any category we have.

And I've already changed my mind, so let's- So, producer Brad, the Multi goes to?

And the Multi for best performance by supporting actor is a tie.

Yeah.

Javi voted Carl Weathers, Rocky III, and Paul Ricardo Montalban from Star Trek II.

Yeah, it's Montalban. I'm wrong. It's Montalban. I'm breaking the tie. It's Montalban.

And that's how I was going to vote too, although I was tempted by Shelly Long.

You know, she was very good in that movie, but I think it's kind of a- like I said, it's a dark horse. But I think Montalban is just so legendary in that film. You know, yeah, never mind.

Yeah, I will say again, very tempted by the pull of my Dutch heritage to go for Rutger Hauer.

Rutger Hauer, yeah.

And I feel bad that he is going to walk away without an award this summer. But I cannot argue with Montalban being what the winner of two awards.

I think also we know that Rutger Hauer went the full replicant and you never go the full replicant. So. Rutger Hauer, one who empty handed. Great. Okay, best performance by an actor. Best performance by an actor. It could be any actor. Our categories are not our gender mutual, by the way. So just so yeah. So we don't we don't describe.

And to make the show short.

Yes, that's true. So Harrison, because never mind. The Multi Award for best performance by an actor. The nominees are Harrison Ford for Blade Runner, Henry Thomas for ET., Michelle Pfeiffer for Grease II. Dare you. Craig, I'm sorry. Craig T. Well, don't they always mispronounce somebody when they're doing the nominees? Oh yeah, true. Like Adele de Zing, you know? So I feel like I have to be okay. That was good. Craig T. Nelson and Jo Beth Williams for Poltergeist. And Kurt Russell for The Thing. The Thing. And the Multi goes to...

And we have another tie. Yeah. Paul voted Henry Thomas ET.

I mean, yeah, that's a good one.

And Javi voted Craig T. Nelson and Jo Beth Williams for Poltergeist.

When I went to couples therapy, and it has happened many times, the psychologist said, the patient here is not either one of you. It's the couple, right? The couple is the patient. And in my mind for this, I feel like Craig T. Nelson and Jo Beth Williams together created this character of the marriage of those two. And I feel like it was such a great portrait of a functional marriage that I felt I had to do that.

Okay. So I have two counterarguments to that. First is, what is the name of this category?

I'm just saying. Best for us by the actor.

Yes, yes, please don't speak. Best for us by the actor. So that's point one. Point two, are you saying you're going to have two grown ass adults gang up on sweet kid young Henry Thomas? How cruel and unfair and heartless are you, my friend?

I did not think that I would leave this award show with accusations of bullying.

In defense of Javi, if you go back and listen to the Poltergeist episode, he raved about the acting of the two of them.

Well, yes, and I think that you could make a case that either or both are worthy of a nomination.

You can make a case for any of these to win.

I will not recant. I'm going to stick to my guns. Producer Brad, how would you make the case?

Well, if I can make the case for Henry Thomas.

Yes, do go on.

It's a miracle. His performance in ET is a miracle. That he, this child, is able to give this performance, carry the film, sell the relationship with this creature that is not real, and make us believe that they are real. I think we've agreed ET gender neutral. Yes. It's, I just think it's an absolute miracle, that there is no moment that you don't believe him. And I think for a degree of difficulty for a kid to carry that weight so wonderfully is just is a singularly astonishing acting achievement.

Paul, can I throw your shit back at you for a second?

Please.

So this performance is a miracle, right? What's the name of this category? Is it best performance by an act of God? I don't think so.

I'm saying this young actor is touched by the cinematically divine.

Yeah. Suddenly he escapes to the defense of the metaphor. Sure, sure, Paul.

Yes. Have you not been listening to this podcast for the last 20 episodes?

Producer Brad, break this tie.

I am going to go with Henry Thomas, because like Paul, I believe that he makes the film. And his belief is why I voted for Firefox over ET. There's no Henry Thomas in Firefox to make me believe those effects. I see it with my eyes and believe the effects.

I love how we're settling all these old scores tonight. I love it. All right, so our next-

Anyway, let me just toast Henry Thomas from afar.

He was wonderful.

He was, yeah. Yes, it's-

I would like to, I would like to, I toast no one. I'm going to be a sword loser in this category. You know, it's like when they cut to the audience and the person loses, you know, the person loses and they literally just tear up the speech, they're like-

Yes. Yeah. I mean, you do you. We are in the homestretch. We have two, I believe, the big categories left. Our penultimate category of the first annual Multiplex Overthruster Multi Awards for Summer of 82, Best Director. In an expansive category, the nominees are Ridley Scott for Blade Runner, Steven Spielberg for ET, Amy Heckerling for Fast Times at Ridgemont High, George Miller for Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior. Before I put the tux on, I was gonna wear my Directed by George Miller shirt. Toby Hooper for Poltergeist, Sylvester Stallone for Rocky III, and John Carpenter, The Thing. I mean, wow.

I think Mr. T should win for Blade Runner. Sorry, I'm a little punchy.

Why not? I've been handing out awards. Why not?

All right. This is great. I mean, what a fucking lineup. This is amazing.

Incredible.

Come on. Come on. They should all win.

It's such a great lineup that we have another tie.

Yeah, of course we do, yeah. I'm not surprised. I'm going to guess this is between Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg. That would be my guess.

Javi voted Spielberg, and Paul voted Ridley Scott.

Now, I just want to ask, and I know we can't hear their answers, but dear listeners, is there any bigger shock across the firmament of our 20 episodes that Javi would be picking Spielberg and I would be picking Ridley Scott in this category? Who would have ever seen that coming?

Can I add to that? If Blade Runner had not included Rutger Hauer's monologue at the end, would Javi vote for Ridley Scott?

Are we going to relitigate my dislike of that monologue? How that makes me a monster and what an awful human being I am for not thinking that Tears in the Rain is good poetry?

I'm not an awful human.

I'm a bad man. No, no, it's okay.

It's okay.

We all have our flaws. That's what makes us human.

Yeah.

Everybody wants to recriminate me on this. Fine.

What gives us our charm and relatability?

Yes. And so I'm clearly, yeah, I get it. I'm a monster.

One day, Javi, Rutger Hauer is going to show up at your front door. And he's going to look deep into your soul, and he's going to speak words that will burn your psyche.

I would argue, and I know that this is going to be a very unpopular opinion, that his Hobo with a Shotgun monologue is better than Tears in the Rain. Have you seen Hobo with a Shotgun? What a great film, right?

It is worth re-recommending.

How shocking is it that he goes to see a movie called Hobo with a Shotgun, and Rutger Hauer delivers one of the most intensely emotional and touching performances of his entire career in Hobo with a Shotgun. I mean, honestly, he should win Best Director, Rutger Hauer. He should beat Mr. T in this category for Best Director.

Hobo with a Shotgun, directed by the great Jason Eisenhardt, who also I'm happy to give a shout out to.

I love that film. It was one of the biggest surprises. I went into it thinking, oh, god, I'm, you know, and I, yes. So, producer Brad, I mean, did you did you break the tie?

Well, what did we discuss?

What are we discussing? The best director?

Yeah, the respective cases for our divergent choices.

You're welcome to.

Paul?

Paul, I'm sensing you'd like to.

That sounds like you have something to say.

Well, I am genuinely surprised because my inclination, of course, was to go with Spielberg. Although, I think notably, Nicholas Meyer is omitted from our nominations list, but there's so many amazing names. But looking at, again, the totality of the directing achievement, the fact that everything on screen had to be created. And directed. That the scope of the directing achievement and degree of difficulty, again, that's apples and oranges. But particularly in terms of scope and depth of the directing achievement, I felt like it's towering for Blade Runner and for Ridley Scott.

I'm going to grab a shovel and throw it right back at you. Are you ready?

Oh, yes.

Paul, Steven Spielberg got those performances out of those children.

Yes.

It's a miracle.

It's a miracle. And, and, and.

It's a miracle.

A puppet.

And a puppet.

And a puppet. And frogs.

And frogs, right? I think that, look, I think that there is no doubt in my mind that Ridley Scott is the greatest visual stylist in cinema. Straight up, no chaser. I think Spielberg is the greatest visual intuitive. When I look at Spielberg's direction, I see somebody at his best who combines the best aspects of that classic sort of school of, you only move the camera when you have to and all of that, with a really amazing sense of visual style that doesn't always show off itself. Like in ET, I feel like ET is really interesting in Spielberg restraining himself from doing a lot of the whiz-bang, razzle-dazzle stuff he can do. He keeps it very intimate. And I think that just when I look at that film, I think I do believe that I'm in that world. I believe in those children and I believe that I'm within that. And for me, that's as big a miracle as getting you into the future because I think that's a world building of its own. But that's just me.

I completely agree. I know. And again, this is like the impossibility and the unfairness of comparing art and artists and pitting them against each other across these gulfs of differences in their respective assignments. It's absurd that such awards and categories even exist.

Look, and when Stephen and Ridley listen to this podcast, they will be hurt.

I think both have plenty to consult themselves with.

Yeah, I think they're going to be okay.

But yeah, I can't argue against that. I think it's as worthy a choice as any, but it was difficult. I had to pick one and that in the moment went out. And also, I will say, and possibly foreshadow, because you know I like my foreshadowing, that I was also looking at the bigger picture constellation of categories. Right.

You know, it's interesting. I think that for me, one of the things that when I look at this list, I think George Miller is probably the only one who comes close to Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg in terms of being a visual stylist and being able to create these amazing visuals. And I think what's, you know, when you get to Amy Heckerling, Tobe Hooper, Stallone, and even John Carpenter, you know, you're talking about directors who make great movies, you know. But I don't feel like they have the same, when Ridley Scott or Spielberg and George Miller, to some degree, like, shoot something like you, like, I think those films are elevated in some strange way, you know? And I feel like those directors elevate the material in a way that the others keep it a little smaller and a little tighter and a little more intimate, you know, if that makes any sense. But then, yeah, edit that out, Brad, that was bullshit.

Well, but that sort of plays in, I was tempted to go with George Miller.

Yes.

I really thought long and hard about it. Yeah. But the movie kind of gets a little forgotten compared to these other two. And I was going back and forth between your choices, and I landed on Ridley Scott and Blade Runner.

Well, because we're talking about acting, world building, the directing actors, world building, a visual style, and so it's not just any one thing. So I think that Ridley Scott, CS. Lord and George Miller embody those categories a lot more consistently than the other nominees, is what I would say. Okay. Best picture, Brad. The big one.

Our final category, our big award.

Before we go, did you guys check the list? We have all the nominees that you want, are you going to get angry at me for not including someone, for not including a movie?

No, I'm good.

Yeah, I think we could say this is the short list, but realistically, for best picture, all 19 films are under consideration.

Except for The Soldier.

Hey, he's got a suitcase.

You know why I accept The Soldier? Because The Soldier transcends categories. It cannot be categorized. It can only be admired from afar. Quite afar.

It doesn't want or respect awards.

No, no, no. The Soldier, yeah.

Its reward is the mission.

Yeah, exactly. You unleash it. Yeah.

All right. Our nominees for best picture. It does not include the best Oscar, which went to Gandhi, not a summer film.

Not a summer film.

But our nominees are Blade Runner, ET., TRON, Mad Max 2, The Road Warrior, Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan. And we have a tie.

We have a tie. Do we now?

Javi did Blade Runner and Paul did ET.

Wow.

That's really weird considering the last argument we had.

You've left your directors in movies. Yeah.

Yeah.

I split the categories because I think they're both the two most towering achievements of the summer. And I felt that as a directing achievement, Ridley Scott has the edge in terms of, again, scope, depth, scale, all these things. But in terms of the best overall picture, ET is perfect.

Yeah.

It is immortal. It is perfect. And the thing that made this choice extra easy for me is that I am judging the 1982 theatrical release of Blade Runner.

You know, I think there's something very interesting about what you're saying, which is that the 55-year-old Javi voted for Blade Runner because I know the cultural impact of that film and the breadth of how it has just gotten into everything and how influential it is. Whereas I think that if I were voting for it in the year, both of the caveat of the theatrical version of Blade Runner and also just the movies themselves without looking at, you know, so much of this podcast is about the context of watching them now, watching them earlier in our lives. If this were the summer of 82, I would have to say that it was ET. I would actually change my vote because Blade Runner, I didn't know then what Blade Runner would do to the world. And I think that when you just look at them atomically, I think you're actually right.

Yeah, good. Because I was ready to fight for this because it's like ET, it's the greatest film of 1982. I think that's just unassailable. And yeah, but I struggled and I felt like I had to also recognize Blade Runner through the Best Director Award.

And I got to tell you, I really, really wanted to vote for Star Trek II for Best Picture. But when I think, the thing is though, I don't think, like Nicholas Meyer did a great job directing those actors. I think he did a great job on the script because we know he took a pass at it, obviously. And I think he did a great job directing the film, but I feel like his directing is actually kind of... He doesn't have that... He doesn't create that sense of scope, you know? I mean, for lack of a better word, his direction... His visual style just feels very restrained, and it doesn't have the kind of daring that you see with ET and the Blade Runner, you know?

I'm hesitant to even step foot into the territory I'm about to tread, but...

Oh, Lord, wow.

I love Star Trek II, love Star Trek II. I think it is an exquisite work of master craftsmanship. It is so wonderfully well-crafted. ET as a whole, Spielberg in full bloom, all the things that come together, the beauty, the magic, it is a work of art. It is a great work of art.

Yeah.

And I just think it's at a different, they're different things. And that's not entirely fair, and that's a gross minimization of things and whatever. But if I were to take a huge, high-altitude look at it, that strikes me.

Wrath of Khan was Nicholas Myers' second film.

Yeah.

You know? And literally, Spielberg is coming off of, you know, jewel jaws, you know, close encounters. I mean, it's like, you know, it's like...

Raiders.

This is Raiders. I mean, this is Spielberg at the height of his powers. And I think that it is, I think it's unfair to compare pretty much any director to Steven Spielberg most of the time. But in this one, it's just, it's just above.

One of those three films, which do you watch the most?

Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan.

Yeah, same here.

And I think again, that's the difference between best and favorite.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yes.

You know, those are, those are very different things.

And I tell you what, I probably won't revisit ET for a very long, not until my kids are ready to watch it. And that's in five years, you know. Because it just, it doesn't have, for me, it doesn't have that rewatch, that kind of, I rewatch movies usually because they make me feel how they make me feel. And ET is great, but I don't want to cry all day.

I don't want to, you know, although Star Trek II makes one cry, but a different, but a lot of it is more comfort food. And yeah, but no, I'm very proud and grateful of the journey and of where our choices have landed. I feel to whatever degree it's metaphysically possible for justice to be served. We have done so with our first ever Multiplex Overthruster Awards.

We have a couple of points of discussion. Producer Brad wants to know what our top three films are. Do you have a top three for the summer? I mean, it's going to be pretty clear what they're going to be, but I'm curious if there's anything out of the ordinary in your top three.

I mean, I keep going back and forth, but I think if it's just... Don't put a phaser to my head.

Right.

And it's like, don't overthink it.

This is your top three, not like...

Yeah.

It's ET., Blade Runner and Star Trek II, I think. But I'm just like, Conan, The Thing, it's really hard. That's probably my top five. But if I had to pick my top three, it's probably those three, but I'm curious what yours are.

Star Trek II. Yeah. Blade Runner and Rocky III.

Yeah, of course.

I mean, I just, you know what, look, this is coming from a guy who gets stoned and just watches all the fights from the end of Rocky movies, you know? Like, that's a thing I do. So, I just, you know what, I don't know what to say. The other thing I really like about Rocky III, honestly, is that, and this is not a virtue signal or whatever, I do like that there's black characters in that movie who are confident that they're job and good at it and who are fleshed out characters, you know? That's a really cool thing, I think. But honestly, above all things, I just find that movie really entertaining.

Absolutely.

Can't explain it. I think it's just a movie that, it's a movie movie.

And I have two thoughts that that provokes. One is, I feel like, this is not a suggestion necessarily for you to take on, because you have plenty to do. But I feel that it would make sense in some kind of cosmic way that someone did a Rocky-themed sports bar where on all the TVs and monitors, it was just all the Rocky fights in a loop.

Yep. Yep. Yep.

That should exist.

I'd go eat there.

Just live there. Just be there all the time.

I'd go there stoned.

The statue should be there.

And put the statue there.

The statue.

The Rocky statue.

Put the pinball machine there. You could have a speed bag and a big bunch of-

The robot from Rocky IV?

Yeah. We need to pitch this to MGM.

Frank Stallone will be on stage playing.

The Frank Factor.

The Frank Factor. Yeah, all the time, or behind the bar, or just hosting like the concierge.

Paul, I think you do it.

We need to pitch this and start an investor round. The other thought is, and we alluded to this, and I hope I'm not jumping out of turn, Producer Brad, I feel that there is a gap in our awards that we have bestowed, and we've spread some wealth wonderfully. But I feel there's room for maybe a special citation, a jury award or a certain regard. And I would propose that that award go to Mr. T.

I'm in. I'm in.

I'm not saying no to Mr. T.

No, I'm not saying no to Mr. T.

Great.

You know, I mean, and the thing is, I honestly think Clover Lang is like, this is going to be, this is going to be controversial, but I mean, not quite at the same level, but in terms of being an operatic, unstoppable nemesis, I think he's up there with Khan, you know, I mean, he's just, he's just, he's an amazing character and I can't say enough. So yes, I agree, un sept en regard for Mr. T.

As both a performance, as an actor, as a character, yeah, it is, it deserves special recognition and I bow to Mr. T and Clever Len.

But Paul, there's a question here.

Oh yes.

That is, it's a little bit on the negative side, you know, we don't like to get negative, we're all about the positive, we never say mean things about anything, do we Paul? Paul, which movie are you least likely to watch again? Which movie are you least likely to watch again?

There's so many that I will never ever be caught anywhere remotely close to revisiting.

For me, it's a slam dunk. I know exactly, the moment I saw this category, I'm like, I know exactly what movie this is, but I want to know yours first.

I don't know that I can pick between Soldier and Tempest and Thessalelhorhouse.

Those are your bottom three.

Those are the first ones that come to mind. I'd have to look at the list and see if there's some that have been stricken from my memory.

But here's the thing, I can't rule out rewatching Megaforce.

Oh, I mean, of course. But my caveat for Thessalelhorhouse is the Campfire sci-fi scene.

Yes.

That I feel is his own little perfect short film and prologue to a great Dolly Parton-Bert Reynolds science aliens science fiction movie that was never made, but that I choose to believe exists in the multiverse.

I feel like we as a popular culture have been robbed of that, and we should call our manager. But Paul, I feel like Paul, in The Immortal Wars of Leonard McCoy, you're hiding, hiding behind rules and regulations.

Can you be more specific?

Well, I feel like you're kind of dodging the category. You're kind of hiding here. You got to pronounce one. What's it going to be?

I think Tempest. I just, that was so insufferable. I just hated it so much.

I love this so much. I love seeing you see that so.

It made me so mad. Like, there are parts of Whorehouse and Soldier that are, but in totality.

I literally, Paul, I literally see those Madeline Khan include right now. Like, I hated her so much.

Fire coming out of my ears. Yeah, Blaine. But you know, Soldier, at least you've got Klaus Kinski in his Snow Bunny outfit.

As Dracar.

Yeah, you've, you've, you've.

For 20 seconds.

Yeah, yeah. But like, I will go watch that again. I will go look at that clip again. There is nothing in Tempus that I ever want to have anything to do with again.

I, I don't disagree. But here's the thing.

Another film rendered a greater depth of pain on you.

Here's the thing. I watched Tempus on cable. We talked about it in the podcast. It had some effect on me before I kind of had an idea of how reprehensible so many things in that film are, right? So I can't say it's the one that's least likely to rewatch because I also love Paul Mazursky. I don't know. Someday I might be at a Paul Mazursky retrospective and this thing might happen, right? Soldier. I have no plans on watching Soldier. Okay, but it's a spy movie. It's like, it's sort of in my wheelhouse and you never know. Yeah. You never know.

You might just want to be like, hey, hey, have you seen this? Oh my God. I got to see this.

Exactly. Now, look, recently I watched Superman III with a friend. So I can't say that I wouldn't rewatch Megaforce. You know, I have no, if I'll ever rewatch Megaforce, I have no standing on that. I rewatch Superman III. It's not, okay. So it leaves the best of the horror house in Texas. That is a movie that I don't think I could ever watch again. I found it so painful. I found it so politically reprehensible. I found it so confused, but also I found it so cheesy. You know, like it was a movie that didn't, like for me, best of the horror house in Texas is a movie that didn't, it had no convictions. You know, it had no courage of its convictions. And it pushed, like, I feel like Soldier is aggressively bad, aggressively badly done. But I know that that movie was made because one man wanted to go to Europe and drive a Ferrari.

Yes, Soldier is aggressively committed to its conviction of being a money laundering scheme. For the producers. Yes.

Megaforce, I mean, horrible film. But wow, does everybody, everybody commits in that movie. Every I was in that. I mean, they're in that movie.

And it has different movies. It has moments. It has it has moments of delight.

Yeah. But Best Little Horror House in Texas just feels like it commits the biggest sin for me, which is that it feels so phoned in and so and so mercenary like, oh, Bert was great and Smokey and the Bandit. We love Dolly and Nine to Five. Let's put them together. Yeah. Let's put the camera in a tripod and see what happens.

We hate each other. Yeah, exactly.

So yeah. So I think that's why.

That answer and this whole discussion, I have to say delights me to no end, maybe delights me more than anything in this whole episode for one reason only, because there is one film that did not even get mentioned in this category.

Oh boy.

Which is a bet I never would have taken. At the outset of earlier in the season, which is Grease 2. I feel so redeemed and validated and vindicated, even though I again never need or want to see that move again, but I've conquered my fear of it. I've overcome my disdain and disgust, and I've grown to appreciate it in some way through this fellowship that we've had, and the fact that I went out on that limb and subjected you both to it. Here we are at the end of our journey, and it is not even more than a mention of one of the films that you would run away from screaming versus ever seeing again.

What I love best about this moment that we're having right now, Paul is literally having a Pentecostal epiphany here. There's literally a tongue of fire over his head. Paul, I think you're imbued. You're imbued.

Oh, my name is Paul.

Yeah, Paul, I think for me, I wouldn't include Grease 2 because for expectations, it was what I thought it was going to be.

Was it?

Yeah, I mean, it's Adrian Zemed, Michelle Pfeiffer in her first role, a sequel to Grease 2 without the main stars.

But did you expect the whole alternate interpretation of Javi suggesting that half the characters are actually dead and ghosts? Did you expect young Pamela Adlon to arrive and steal every scene she's in? Did you expect its wild left or right or some direction turn into the supernatural and genre in Home Strange? No, no one could have ever expected any of that.

The way that the film's protagonist vanishes for 20 minutes, the second half of the second act.

Did you expect that it would have one of the greatest Clark Kent Lois Lane scenes ever filmed? Like, no, there are revelations of wonder in Grease 2.

I was also thinking that the category is you're least likely to watch again, and I'm sure somebody's gonna have a sing-along or something to Grease 2, and I'm gonna have to fucking go to that. Brad, producer Brad, you haven't said what your least likely movie is.

Mine's Megaforce.

Whoa.

How dare you, sir? How dare you?

Eighteen of the films we saw were pretty much what I thought they were gonna be. Based on the poster, based on the concept, based on the actors in them, they were what I thought. This is the one that disappoints me the most. I went in expecting to really, I hadn't seen it in 40 years, I went in expecting to love it. And I just felt disappointed by that film. And for that reason alone, I'll be hesitant to pick it up. If I watch Tempest again, I know it. If Paul Mazursky is the Tempest with John Kess of Eddie's, what else are you going to get? I mean, you know?

I will say, oh, sorry. I was just going to say, I will say that in the context of the actual Summer of 82, Megaforce is the film that disappointed me the most. Because we all got, we all saw the full page four color ads in all our comic books leading up to it that made this incredible, like, compelling promise that the film...

Flying Motorcycle.

Oh, just completely shit the bed on fulfilling. So, but I've already come in through that. And again, there are moments in Megaforce that I will happily revisit even only if in gift form to send you the thumb kiss.

Okay, now let's keep going, because I have a date in London. Oh, right. Okay, so, biggest oversights. How about we... Because I think Paul's biggest oversight is actually quite epic and will kind of set us up for some stuff. Why don't we do you last? Brad, producer Brad, what are your biggest oversights?

My oversight is, I researched after we watched Megaforce that the costumes were designed in conjunction with Mattel. So Mattel Toy Company helped design those costumes.

Wow.

And I wish we had included that in the episode.

Yeah, because we didn't impugn it enough as a mercenary cash grab, did we?

Question I have for that production is, and if so, at which point were the actors made aware of this? And how did they react?

I got to say, their biggest oversight was dance belts. That was in mind, that was whoever the custom designer was, but that's fine. Okay, so I don't actually have a biggest oversight. I've said everything I had to say. In fact, this is the moment when I go silent.

Whoa.

Paul, your biggest oversight.

Okay, so I've been sitting on this in agony since our third episode.

Amazing.

Was released, which I think is our longest episode. Was briefly...

This one hasn't finished yet.

Well, no, we're fine. Was briefly contemplated to be split into two episodes, but we realized that was just a bridge too far. Uh, no pun intended. I have an egregious oversight to admit and to belatedly acknowledge and celebrate from our epic examination of Star Trek II. Which is the ending, which was maybe... It was a momentous moment in my youth. Certainly of this summer and as cinematic moments go, that took my breath away in the theater when it happened. And it... Of all the things that there are to talk about in Star Trek II, I think it is willfully underappreciated. Which is the coda at the end of the film. And Star Trek II has a majestically impactful ending with the death of its most beloved character. Right there with you. But as the film ends, and we think it is over, we hear the disembodied voice of Spock and the gentle notes of the original Star Trek theme as for the first time on the big screen ever, and for the first time spoken by your ruining it, and spoken for the first time by anyone other than William Shatner as Captain Kirk. We hear Leonard Nimoy as Spock recite the iconic opening space, the final frontier narration, from the beyond.

From beyond the non-grave, yes.

Yes, from, dare I say, the undiscovered country. As Spock, and it takes on this whole other meaning and impact, it is, I think, an incredible vocal performance by Nimoy, in terms of how finely tuned and calibrated his delivery is for that moment and for its meaning. But it is one of the most haunting and elegant, and again, we were talking about the power of voiceover when it's deployed well. Again, we had not heard the classic opening Star Trek narration since the original series. We never heard it on the big screen, and no one other than Kirk has ever given it. But in the context of Star Trek II, it reminds us Spock is Captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek II.

Yes, he is.

And so it's fitting that he gives it, but then also just the meaning of the words and everything from him speaking to us from beyond death. I just think is an incredibly big swing done with such exquisite, like it's just such a perfect bow on the end of that film.

And yet in the three hours we talked about Star Trek II, you didn't think of bringing it up.

We were way long. We were running way, way long. Yes.

I dare say that is, I think we should give a multi for the biggest oversight.

Yeah, but I could not leave Summer of 82 behind without without saying a little or not so little ode.

Every time we record, I think you've been, you know, you've been itching to give this a valediction for this. And Paul, I'm in agreement with you. The best thing about that monologue, too, is that it's in the soundtrack album.

Yes.

So every time that I listen to that soundtrack, that's why I know like the exact notes that are going on when he says what, because it's like, it's all there.

It's gorgeous. Yeah. And it's such a radically different reading than we've ever heard before. Certainly.

Because he's dead.

Yeah. And it's Nimoy and not Shatner.

Yeah.

Such a different interpretation. But I, again, bought the LP album soundtrack like I did in many other genre soundtrack scores this summer. But, yeah, that over and over again, holding us over until we would maybe hopefully one day, because there's this glimmer of hope accompanying it, that we may yet meet Spock again.

Yep. So here's my question, Paul. As we wrap this up, what, so, you know, the importance of the summer of 82, I think we all know, like, you know, we started this by saying how big of summer this was culturally, but also just thematically, is there anything, like, from having watched all of these movies in a row and kind of discussing them, what did you guys, you know, get out of it? Is there anything thematically or anything like, you know, is there a grand thematic thing that you can draw from having seen all of these movies?

Many of these directors are still going.

Yeah.

40 years later, that's how big they are, how good they are.

Yeah.

A thought that comes to mind, and in part because just talking about Star Trek II, but thinking about many of the other movies, ET. Poltergeist, so many, is that these are big genre swings, re-approaching, re-examining genre in new ways, with new technologies and techniques, but also with new themes, some more adult mature relationship themes of divorce or loss and grief of things that are emotionally potent, and I think somewhat unexpectedly so, in some of these that could just be on the surface seen as popcorn movies or as genre blockbusters, but actually have some real human depth and feeling to them, which is I think key to their endurance and an impact.

Yeah, that's interesting. I don't know, I kept thinking about all of the stuff from the Reagan era, and just a sense of unease in terms of the suburban stability of everything. Even with ET or with Poltergeist or even fast times, there's just a sense that there's something more mysterious, perhaps darker underneath this perfect reality of the early 80s and Reagan and all that. But I don't know, that's what I was left with, even with something like The Thing and I don't know. It feels like there was a kind of, there's a sense of unease with reality in these films and unease with this sort of suburban ideal and the idea that it's all disruptible.

Yeah, yeah. No, I think that's a good point, is that there's a sense, a lot of them, even in genre films and stuff like Star Trek II, or the world of Mad Max that we've seen in the beginning, but that it's presenting us with, oh, there's a normalcy, there's a status quo that then can be so easily and readily disrupted by the extraordinary, and on both personal and impersonal means, that then, and how do we wrestle with that? And I think that that reflects the fact that we're in a changing world with greater complexity, that people are having to figure out and navigate that prior generations in our society hadn't had to, and that these films are filmmakers in conversation with that.

Interesting.

To some degree.

So, guys, you know, we have a, so we're going to do Summer of 83.

Yeah, we kind of buried the lead on that announcement.

It's very exciting. No, no, I think it's really exciting.

Give it away.

We're also going to do a holiday special. We're going to watch a movie that opened between Thanksgiving and Christmas because there is a big genre omission, one of the greatest films ever, that was in 82, but not in the summer. And that movie is?

The Dark Crystal.

Yes, yes, we're going to talk about The Dark Crystal. I'm so excited. There may even be a spring special, but we don't know what the movie is that we're going to watch yet. That's a big question. And then the summer of 83. Producer Brad, what do we have in the summer of 83? What's coming?

Well, I can only tell you what's out there. I don't know what we're actually going to watch, because sometimes you guys surprise me. But there is a Star Wars film. Oh, there's a Star Wars film.

Do we need to watch the Star Wars? We're fine, right? Least likely to re-watch.

If you start a podcast with the opening film, A Memorial Day Week in 1983, how do you not include it?

I just have two words for you.

Mm-hmm, yes.

Yum-nub.

I have one word for you, which is the other film that opened that weekend. Which is? Two words, Chained Heat.

Yeah, we're gonna watch the Star Wars movie. Okay, what else is there, Brad?

We also have James Bond, Tom Cruise, Eddie Murphy.

A Tom Cruise movie? Oh, okay.

Eddie Murphy's out there. There's a Stephen King film. And thanks to The Summer of 82 and Conan, Sword and the Sorcerer, we have a flurry of Sword and Sando films in 83.

Is that right? Oh, good. I love Sword and Sando films. I'm very excited about that. So, you know, I think this is a great caper tour season. I'm very excited, and I'm just grateful to you guys for doing the podcast. And I think there's some people that we should also thank. Would you guys like to go ahead and give some special thanks?

Absolutely. I would love to thank Afua Richardson for our splendid cover art that captures the spirit of the Summer of 82 in ways we could have only hoped and dreamed. And she is a tremendous comic book artist who somehow was convinced to indulge our request to grace us with her artistry. And we are huge fans of her and her work. If you aren't following her on Instagram and don't know her work for Marvel and others, you should get on it. She's amazing. Also, an incredible cosplayer.

The vision of the gun-toting mullet head in our poster is just literally seared into my memory with a blazing intensity. I love what she did for us.

The apocalypse background too.

Yes. I mean, everything, all of it. And she was such a joy and a dream to work with. She's so much fun. She was so inspired. And I hope we have many opportunities to work with her again and maybe even have her on a guest as a guest at some point for some special episode. But yeah, she's absolutely awesome. And we have been remiss in not yet offering official Multiplex Overthruster merch. I have a feeling, a tingling feeling, one might say some kind of arachnoid sense that during the course of season two, those of you who've been asking may finally get your wish of some Multiplex Overthruster swag.

Which would probably feature the art of it.

With our logo and our artwork, which I desperately want.

I was about to say, Paul, who's asking besides you? The people.

Producer Brad.

The people.

The people.

Don't you get stopped on the street like every day? Don't you get parades of text messages saying, producer Brad, how do we not have swag for Multiplex Overthruster with your awesome logo and artwork?

I just want a producer Brad t-shirt. So, there is one aspect of our podcast that is recurring that we always are very salutatory about, but we've never given, I think, official thanks to that person. So, producer Brad, would you like to fire that shot of gratitude for us?

Mike McGuill composed our theme song, which we struggled to find something, and when we heard that clip, we all knew that this was the clip.

Humongous thanks to Mike McGuill for his genius artistry, and for literally elevating us, kind of the same way John Williams and James Horner elevate all they do.

And I just, I still marvel at the forces of destiny that conspired across space and time to bring this music to our senses and to attach itself to this podcast, because we had very specific, yet vague, potentially unreachable aspirations for what a theme for Multiplex Overthruster would be and convey. And it's not something any of us had even a smidgen of skill to begin to execute on even the most primitive level. And so we underwent our own quest, our own search across just the, the dare I say, the vast post-apocalyptic wasteland of library stock music. And let me just say that and kudos to producer Brad for being the tip of the spear on that. But we listened to a lot. But when we found this, it was like a choir of angels singing through a sunburst through the clouds, saying, you are on the right path and we are rewarding and encouraging you at a cosmic metaphysical level and the universe validated us, we felt. Yes. With this theme song that again, I wake up to every day. It's my alarm. There's no other way I want to start the day.

Did you really set it as your alarm?

Oh, hell yeah. And I'm just so honored that I hope that our podcast lives up to the theme song. The majestic grandeur that is.

It's a lot to live up to.

The work of Mike McGuill. And yes, thank you. Thank you, Mike. And I hope one day maybe we can have him on a special episode.

I'd love that, yeah.

And interview him and ask him, where did this come from? And if he's speaking to us, he may not want to have anything to do with us.

He might just say, yeah, I wrote it on an afternoon. What's wrong with you? Guys, there's one last bit of thanks we got to give. And it's a big one. So I don't know. Does anybody want to take this one or should I do this one? Go for it. If you are listening to this podcast, we are so grateful for you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for blending your ears to our to our blitherings about cinema. We are so grateful that anybody has given us this platform to speak, to give our opinions and all of that. So thank you to our listeners for joining us.

And if I could just add to our listeners, thank you. It has been such a joy for me selfishly to get to hang out with these two guys that anyone else would want to join us and hang out with us. I, you know, I hope you're OK. I don't know what's wrong with you, who hurt you. Let me just say, there's nothing wrong with you. We love you and welcome you and appreciate you. We did, as our most loyal listeners know, we did kind of a soft launch for the first season, which was sort of a grand experiment to steal a line from Star Trek III. And we were so delighted by the feedback that we got. We're so happy to now have a new home to having relaunched the show and to give us the platform to move forward with season two and beyond through the 80s, as long as we can manage to do it. But at the very least, we're hitting Summer of 82 next. And we could not be more excited or delighted to have you hopefully join us for the ride. And please subscribe, share, follow us on social media. I need to bring, yeah, inflict us on your friends.

Because this podcast is about what we did as kids. We went to movie as kids and we went to movies as adults. This is all about watching with your friends.

Yes, and as we've said repeatedly, sharing is caring. And also, what better way to stress test the bounds of your friendships than by imposing episodes of Multiplex Overthruster on them. We intended for this to be a show that people could come and go. They could sample. They could follow along for the whole journey in sequence. Or they could just pick and choose out of order. However you choose to enjoy the show and share it, we're very grateful. You can follow us on most reasonable socials. But yes, thank you so much and please follow along. We've got a lot more in store and we are also expanding to video as we head into season two. For better or worse, I don't think I'll wear this every episode though.

I was hoping you would.

But for the award show, it'll probably come back. But yes, cheers and thank you. And with that, there may be no better way to go out than with the words and promise from the beyond of Captain Spock himself, the great Leonard Neymore.

End of line.