This week on the podcast Bryan Dressel, Graham “Cantaloupe” Mason, and Nick “Watermelon” Friedemann talk about The Buddy System, Bryan’s favorite episode of the series.
INTRO MUSIC COURTESY Bradley David Parsons inspired by JG Thrilwell
This episode is one of the funniest but also super dark at the same time. This episode makes me wonder if the creators of Rick and Mitty got any inspiration from the character of Dr.Venture.
SAM RECOUNTS HER TIME VISITING WETA STUDIOS IN NEW ZEALAND!
On December 26th, I got to visit Weta Studios on the Miramar Peninsula in Wellington, NZ, fulfilling an eighteen-year dream. Weta is four separate companies — Weta, Weta Digital, Pukeko Pictures, and Park Road Post. They also have physical studio space at Stone Street Studios. The front doors of the Weta Cave, the physical effects and prop house where Richard and Tania Taylor, along with Peter Jackson crafted the miniatures of Middle Earth, are guarded by Mr. Bilbo’s trolls. There’s a gift shop with a mini-museum, one of the only places where they have any major references to Peter Jackson’s early horror films. We got a snap of the Sumatran Rat Monkey.
Simian Raticus Rat Monkey Sumatra
The tour itself does not go through any workspaces, but it does include windows into their machine shop and armory. There are also artists working on their projects that take questions at the end. It’s far from the real experience of being in a studio space, but the tour guides and props they have on display are no less beautiful.
The second half of the tour found us at Pukeko Pictures, a production company responsible for the animated series Thunderbirds Are Go! Like the original Thunderbirds series from the 1960s, this family show used physical sets. However, instead of marionettes, the characters are all CGI animation. The sets themselves are more of what I had expected to see at the Weta cave — sets actually used for filming, and they were an absolute dream to view up close. Seeing the craftsmanship, ingenuity and creativity, not to mention the fascinating hybrid animation technique, really inspired me.
It has been eighteen years since I first watched Fellowship of the Ring — my first true movie obsession, the film that made me want to make films. In that time, I did go to film school, and I now work in animation, albeit in marketing, not production. It’s fascinating to take a step outside of that and see a movie studio through a fan lens. It made me realize what a big influence a movie can have on a person. As much as I wanted to see the nitty-gritty, the cubicles, the harried assistants and the ugly process of actually building a movie, it was refreshing to be reminded of the magic.
Thunderbirds set.
This week, back at my own desk, bogged down in the minutiae of one sheets and trailer release dates, I kept reminding myself to take a step back. While movies are my job and jobs feel tedious more often than not, what we do has the potential to connect with people. Whether it’s a favorite joke, a sweet character moment, or a movie like Fellowship that is such a big undertaking it inspires a person’s life choices, movies find their way into our hearts and minds. They connect us across oceans and continents, and we find ways to make sense of our own stories because a bunch of weirdos go to work every day to build something from nothing.
Weta was not necessarily the mind-blowing experience it would have been for me when I first watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but in some ways, it was more satisfying. It changed me yet again — from a jaded adult to one a little more inspired to take on her day.
Imagine a time when comic book movies were not even a genre and the idea that they would dominate the box office would be laughable. Imagine a time when a film based on a comic book was seen to be a huge risk. That time is 1978 and a film was on the horizon that would change American Cinema forever. That film was Superman. At this point the most well known comic book adaptation was the live action Batman starring Adam West. The campy series was the exact opposite of what producers Ilya Salkind, Alexander Salkind and Pierre Spengler wanted to achieve. The development of Superman is the stuff of legend and borderline insane.
A Tabletop RPG podcast from ATH Network with a focus on fiends.
We’re excited to announce Demon Dayz, an Actual Play podcast whose goal is to focus on the oft-overlooked devilish and demonic characters found in tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, and any other game system that can support a group of “horned bastards” creating mischief wherever they go.
If you’re familiar with and enjoy shows like Critical Role, The Adventure Zone, Friends at the Table, High Rollers, and Sirens of the Realm from Maze Arcana, you’ll be right at home here. The first campaign will use Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and future campaigns will switch systems (and possibly Dungeon Masters) to shake up the storytelling and offer a different authorial voice. Some campaigns will be lengthy epics spanning years, while others might be as short as a one-shot. Some stories might feature the tried-and-true, while others could skew heavily experimental. Demon Dayz will be a storytelling playground, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this journey with you all.
The first few episodes of our new show will appear in the main After the Hype feed to introduce you to the characters and setting and give you a feel for what to expect. After that the show will break out into its own podcast feed. Along with each episode we’ll have an “enhanced” version on our YouTube channel with character stats, story and fan art, and anything fun we can think of to add to the experience.
We’ll have more specific information in the coming weeks such as cast and character reveals, campaign synopsis, and more. You can find all that information over on the show’s twitter page, as well as any other teasers that come up. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with this thematic teaser trailer to get HYPE.
The new year has arrived, and with it come more episodes of your favorite podcast of all time. Well, it’s Bryan’s favorite podcast of all time. Well…..ALL his podcasts are his favorite. Join him, Graham “Pineapple” Mason, and Nick “Raspberry” Friedemann this week as they take on the next episode in the third season: Home is Where The Hate Is.
INTRO MUSIC COURTESY Bradley David Parsons inspired by JG Thrilwell
This is a very solid episode, more plot driven then most which slows it down a bit. I personally love the writing of episodes like this but I can understand if a casual viewer isn’t into it.
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A NEW SHOW TO WATCH IN 2019, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THIS EXCELLENT COP DRAMA.
In this age of binge watching and box set consumption people are forever looking for new shows to watch. The first show I recommend to everyone is Bosch. Based on the books by Michael Connelly, Bosch stars Titus Welliver as the titular character. A hard boiled, old school detective who constantly clashes with his superiors. It sounds like a cliché, and in some ways it is. But in others it is one of the most impressive crime series I’ve seen since The Wire.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us over at the ATH Network of podcasts! We know you’re probably opening gifts or feasting with family but forget all of that and come join us for two Christmas-themed podcasts as well as an article from our friend and main contributor Matt Dykes.
AFTER THE HYPE EP. 261 – FEEL GOOD CHRISTMAS MOVIES BATTLE
Twas the day that was Christmas and all through your earbuds came the sounds of epic battle. That’s right, you wonderful holiday people! We watched a bunch of “feel good” Christmas movies and argued pleasantly for over an hour about which one was best.
Nothing says holiday celebration like hanging out with friends talking about the greatest animated show of all time and its…uh…well…not very good holiday special. At least there’s fun banter between Bryan Dressel, Nick “Sugar Cookie” Friedemann, and Graham “Bah-Humbug” Mason.
You can listen to the episode below or go to the episode post with all them fancy shownotes and pictures
Suck it, family time!
ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS MOVIES – BY MATT DYKES
And then we’ve got a new article from our friend and contributor Matt Dykes about alternative Christmas movies to watch when you’ve burned through all the best “feel good” Christmas movies like The Mistle-Tones, My Santa, 12 Dates of Christmas, A Cinderella Christmas, or Married By Christmas.
See? Aren’t you glad you spent your holiday with us instead? We laughed, we cried, we battled, and we discussed a disappointing Christmas Special to the greatest animated show of all time. It was truly an epic day that changed all of our lives. Now you’re ready to go out there and face 2019 like a champ!
Need some alternative holiday films? Matt has got you covered!
As the time of turkeys, trees and tinsel descends, also does the time of cheesy movies about Santa, hyperactive elves and reindeer. Not everyone is a fan of these kinds of films but they’re hard to avoid, so I decided to give you a list of five alternative Christmas movies you can watch this yuletide season.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL OF US AT AFTER THE HYPE! In the spirit of the holidays we thought it would be a hoot to give you a battle episode featuring those feel good Christmas movies you might see on ABC Family, Freeform, Hallmark, etc. We had blast pitting these movies against each other, and even brought in producer Brian Nolan to join in the holiday tussle.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Bryan Dressel, Nick “Sugar Cookie” Friedemann, and Graham “Bah-Humbug” Mason over at Venture Bros HQ. This is the only holiday special, and it’s…certainly a thing.
INTRO MUSIC COURTESY Bradley David Parsons inspired by JG Thrilwell
