Secret Level: A GeekTyrant Podcast

In Episode 25 of Secret Level, we talk about Jim Henson and Frank Oz ’s beautifully made 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal . This is a wonderful and timeless film and it was interesting to research the making of the film and how it came to exist. We offer some nostalgic commentary on the film and offer some fascinating insight into how Henson, Oz, and their creative team brought this true work of...

In Episode 24 of Secret Level , we take a look at the making of director Gary Godard ’s live-action adaptation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe starring Dolph Lundgren . It’s been a long time since we revisited this movie and it’s so laughably bad! We offer some amusing commentary on the movie and discuss all the behind-the-scenes issues that the production faced. We also share details on...

In Episode 23 of Secret Level , we take a journey into the wild insanity of Sam Raimi ’s badass 1990 comic book-style action film Darkman , which stars Liam Neeson . This movie takes audiences on an incredibly wild ride that will leave your head spinning and delirious. It was a perfect storm of madness that led to getting this movie made. This movie also has one of the greatest behind-the-scenes s...

In Episode 22 of Secret Level , we take a deep dive into the 1989 film The Wizard directed by Todd Holland . The movie starred Fred Savage, Beau Bridges, Christian Slater , and Nintendo and it was originally pitched as " The Karate Kid , but with video games." This movie introduced us to the Power Glove, Super Mario Bros. 3 , and Jenny Lewis ! After this movie came out every kid wanted a...

In Episode 21 of Secret Level , we talk about Disney Animation’s cult classic 1985 animated fantasy film The Black Cauldron ! Disney really wanted to do something cool and different with this film and they wanted to take their animated films to a new level with it. But the production of the film was a complete disaster and because of all the crazy things going on behind-the-scenes, this movie almo...

In Episode 20 of Secret Level, we discuss one of our favorite films from the 80s, The Monster Squad ! The 1987 movie comes from director Fred Dekker and writer Shane Black , and it’s one of the craziest movies to come out of the 80s that was made for kids! This movie is actually pretty freakin’ bonkers and there’s no way a film like this would get made today. This is one of those lightning-in-a-bo...

In Episode 19 of Secret Level, we take a dive into the horrifically hellish world of John Carpenter ’s 1994 horror film In The Mouth of Madness , which stars Sam Neill and Julie Carmen . Carpenter has made some great horror films in his career, and this is one of our favorites! It’s also one of his most underrated films! We have a blast talking about this movie and offering commentary on it. We al...

In Episode 18 of Secret Level , we strap into the cockpit of an F-14 Tomcat and talk about director Tony Scott ’s awesome 1986 film Top Gun , which stars Tom Cruise ! With Top Gun: Maverick coming out soon, we thought it’d be fun to see what kind of fun details and trivia we could find for the original movie. We found a lot of cool and interesting stuff that we were never aware of and offer some a...

In Episode 17 of Secret Level , we talk about the classic 1987 animated film Transformers: The Movie which was produced by Hasbro and Marvel. A lot of ridiculous and crazy decisions were made with the development of this movie and we have fun discussing all of them! While there’s a lot of stuff to joke around about and Optimus Prime was killed off along with several other fan-favorite characters,...

In Episode 16 of Secret Level , we put the spotlight on the classic 1987 animated film, G.I. Joe: The Movie ! This was a favorite animated movie of ours when we were kids, but it wasn't until we watched it as adults, that we could appreciate how completely bonkers this movie was! This movie is filled with so much awesome weirdness and insanity and we talk about it all! We share some silly com...

In Episode 15 of Secret Level, we jump on the old pork chop express and talk about director John Carpenter ’s classic 1986 action fantasy comedy, Big Trouble in Little China ! This movie was awesomely ridiculous on every level and easily one of Kurt Russell ’s wildest roles. This flick was a lot of fun to discuss! We offer some insight into the making of the movie and some wild behind-the-scenes s...

In Episode 14 of Secret Level, we continue to dig into Rob Reiner ’s 1990 film adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery! In the first part of our Misery journey, we focused on the horrific hobbling scene. In this latest episode, we talk about the rest of the cockadoodie movie and share various behind-the-scenes details about the making of the horror-thriller and we also offer some fun commentary and in...

In Episode 13 of Secret Level, we wanted to talk about Rob Reiner’ s 1990 film adaptation of Stephen King ’s Misery ! This is the first of a two-part episode and in this first part, we put a focus on the gruesome and terrifying hobbling scene. You know, the part when Kathy Bates brutally smashes James Caan' s feet with a sledge hammer! This is easily one of the most cringe-worthy scenes ever...

In Episode 12 of Secret Level, we continue our discussion of the 1984 epic fantasy film The NeverEnding Story . When we started talking about this movie we couldn’t stop! So, we split it into two episodes. In this second part, we talk about Noah Hathaway ’s close calls with death while shooting the film and how we all had a crush on the Childlike Empress when we were impressionable young boys. We...

I’m Episode 11 of Secret Level, we take a deep dive into the classic 1984 fantasy classic, The NeverEnding Story, which was wonderfully directed by Wolfgang Petersen. This is a beloved film that we enjoyed watching as kids and it’s something that we still enjoy watching! When we started talking about this film we couldn’t stop! It was a never-ending conversation, so we ended up splitting the discu...

In Episode 10 of Secret Level , we share a story from the development of  Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings that you probably don't know. This is the story of Gimli stunt double Brett Beattie . Beattie is the unsung hero of the making of the fantasy film trilogy. He spent more time playing Gimli than actor John Rhys-Davies ! While Rhys-Davies provided the close-up shots and voice of...

In Episode 9 of Secret Level , we talk about director Joe Dante 's 1985 sci-fi adventure film Explorers . The movie stars Ethan Hawke , River Phoenix , and Jason Presson and it told the completely bonkers story of how they built a spaceship out of trash and end up on an alien ship with a couple of wacky and gross aliens, one of which Phoenix's character is crushing on. This was a fun fil...

In Episode 8 of Secret Level, we discuss Don Bluth’s classic 1983 animated video game Dragon’s Lair! This is a game we loved playing at the arcade when we were growing up. We have fond memories of Play Dragon’s Lair and we thought it’d be fun to dive into the history of the game! So, we talk about when went into the creation of the game, offer some fun info you probably don’t know, and provide som...

In Episode 7 of Secret Level, we take you on a behind-the-scenes journey of director Rob Reiner 's classic adaptation of Stephen King's Stand By Me . It's crazy that no major studio wanted to produce this beloved film, luckily it beat the odds and got made! Stand By Me is an all-time favorite and we dive in and offer all kinds of fun and interesting insight into the movie, including...

In Episode 6 of Secret Level, we talk about director Joe Dante’s classic horror-comedy The Burbs in which Tom Hanks finds himself taking on the neighbors from hell. This film is a perfect guide on how to deal with Satanic Neighbors! We dive in and offer some trivia, commentary, and insight regarding this movie, which is one of our favorite horror comedies of all time. There's a lot of fun stu...

In Episode 5 of Secret Level, we jump into the awesome insanity of Gene Wilder's classic 1971 film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! This is easily one of Gene Wilder's best films! He was brilliant in this movie and we discuss how ridiculously bonkers the film is and offer all kinds of fascinating trivia that will simply help make your life so much better. Enjoy the show! Follow us...

In Episode 4 of Secret Level, we take a deep dive into the most terrifying PG-rated horror film ever made, Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper’s 1982 film Poltergeist! We talk about the curse of the film, discuss the rumor of the skeletons, offer some interesting behind-the-scenes insight, and amusing commentary. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook - @GTSecretLevel

In this third episode of Secret Level, we talk about Terry Gilliam's awesomely insane 1981 fantasy adventure film Time Bandits! There's a ton of crazy information that we found for this movie and we have a lot of fun talking about it, including weird insight on the story and characters, as well as details on the various wild sequel ideas that were never produced. And, the episode just wo...

In this episode of Secret Level, we take a deep dive into Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial! We talk about the awkward and out of place scenes that didn't make it into the movie, one of them involves E.T. and Elliot's mom. We also discuss the original story for the film, the sequel that never got made, and lots of other cool and interesting details! Follow us on Twitter...

Welcome to Secret Level! This is our very first episode and in it, we talk about the forgotten BMX stunt biker boys of Stephen Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.  There were a group of teens and young adults that Spielberg hired to perform the stunts in the movie, most notably the climactic chase sequence near the end of the film. These guys never got any real credit for their work on t...