Eye of the Duck: A Film Podcast

Ryan Gosling in space. Ryan. Gosling. In. Space. How did this movie not blow up? On today's episode, we're embarking on the Apollo 11 mission, venturing deep into the abyss of lunar craters both vast and impossibly lonely. Not to spoil anything, but this is one of those movies that makes us remember why we started this podcast in the first place. References: LA Times Reports Clint Eastwood circlin...

Houston, we have a podcast. Today we shut down the LEM and attempt to return to Earth, with the legendary American classic, Apollo 13. Tom Hank! Ron Howard! (Hot) Gary Sinise! It's all here this week on EOTD: A SPACE ODYSSEY. References: Special Features Apollo 13: 20 Years Later Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13 John Sayles Interview with Creative Screenwriting Film Ink discussing Close Casting...

Here we are again, trapped in the conscience-eating orbital pull of Solaris. Except this time, George Clooney (and his exposed ass) are with us. What could go wrong? Joining us today for a deep-dive on the 2002 Soderbergh remake is our old friend Sarah Welch-Larson. Happy birthday, Sarah! References: Special Features Behind the Planet James Cameron interview with Urban Cinefile James Cameron Inter...

This week, we drift into the ocean of Tarkovsky’s exceedingly human, empathetic (and definitely anti-2001), SOLARIS. Or, perhaps, the ocean drifts into us. Who can say? Really, you should watch this movie. It’s a big one. References: Collected Screenplays by Andrei Tarkovsky Time Within Time: The Diaries BFI Tarkovsky Retrospective Akira Kurosawa on Watching Solaris With Andrei Tarkovsky Eduard Ar...

My god. It's full of stars. References: Special Features: 2010: The Odyssey Continues Stanley Kubrick: A Biography The Odyssey File The Arthur C. Clarke Chapter from The Silicon Jungle Suite Success: An Interview With Tony Banks Peter Hyams Money Into Light Interview Peter Hyams Empire Interview Peter Hyams The Hollywood Interview Peter Hyams Film Talk Interview Credits: Eye of the Duck is created...

It happened. The episode is here. It's Kubrick's foundational science fiction epic, and we tried our darnedest to contend with it in (nearly 3 hour) podcast form. Even though sorting through the abyss of this movie is kind of like staring at the sun. Or, scraping an alien(?) monolith capable of bestowing knowledge to an entire civilization. To quote Hal, "[We're] afraid, Dave." References: Special...

It’s our 2 year anniversary, we’ve joined the Morbid Podcast Network, and we couldn’t be happier to be here. For new listeners: welcome to Eye of the Duck! Today is a special (non-series) episode. Before we embark on new frontiers, we’re looking back on everything we’ve done with the show, and the year 2022 in (mostly) American cinema. Today we’re highlighting five of our favorite films of the yea...

We made it! We’ve gone where no toy has gone before…to Disney Plus, where you can watch FORKY ASKS A QUESTION, with about 20 minutes of credits between every 2 minute episode. This week, we’re closing the loop on our TOY STORY miniseries, exploring all the many short films and one-offs and micro movies that star the gang from Andy’s room. Also, OUR NEXT MINISERIES ANNOUNCEMENT!! References: All th...

We have some wild news to announce!! Eye of the Duck has joined the Morbid Podcast Network! Our podcast is now available ad-free for Wondery Media subscribers and on Amazon Music. What does this mean for the future of our show? Well, for starters, it gives us resources to make the best podcast we can make. The feed will remain the same on all podcast platforms––but Amazon/Wondery listeners will ge...

Griffin Newman returns to Eye of the Duck this week for Pixar’s LIGHTYEAR! And just to be clear, this isn’t a podcast about Buzz Lightyear, the toy. This is a podcast about the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on.  References: Blu-Ray Special Features: Building the World of Lightyear Toyetic The Zap Patrol Angus MacLane Gizmodo Interview Angus MacLane Fandango Intervi...

Bonus!! This week we depart the Pixar studio to answer the question, What if Raytheon manufactured children’s toys? It’s Joe Dante’s SMALL SOLDIERS. And we’ll (probably) never get another movie like it. Because everything else is just a toy!  References: Blu-Ray Special Feature: The Making of Small Soldiers Syfy - Everything You Didn’t Know about Small Soldiers Joe Dante Den of Geek Interview Kirs...

It’s…Forky! The dawn of a new era is here, and it’s all about a plastic spork and his love of trash. Joining us is writer, critic, and author of the upcoming book, The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha , Ethan Warren !! References: Blu-Ray Special Features: Toy Box: Forky Anatomy of a Scene: Playground Anatomy of a Scene: Prologue Lee Unkrich on Toy Story 4 Tim Allen Signed on for...

What is a good death when your God has abandoned you? TOY STORY 3 is courageous enough to explore such questions (insane!!) so we tried our best to contend with them here too on Week 3 of our miniseries. But do we have the courage to leave our beloved Andy behind? Listen to find out. Happy Holidays from Eye of the Duck.  References: Pixar to Disney: Adios, Mouse A Look at the Toy Story 3 You Didn’...

How can you watch a TOY STORY movie and not completely emotionally unravel? This week we find ourselves, our trauma, and the value of accepting love in TOY STORY 2. Really, we do. Why do these movies do this to us? Please write in if you have these answers. Best, References: Blu-Ray Special Features: Commentary International Scene The Pixar Touch David Price Ed Catmull LA Times Interview Lee Unkri...

TOYS!! And returning champion Stephen Hilger is back!  Welcome to the premiere of our December/January miniseries, BEYOND INFINITY. The TOY STORY franchise may seem like a weird choice since we mostly do sci-fi / horror here at Eye of the Duck. But any true Pixar head knows Toy Story is among the scariest series of all...the toys are alive (??!) References: Blu-Ray Special Features: Commentary CGI...

That's a wrap on our Romero series! No more zombies. For now. 2023 will be all mummies, all the time! That's right, Eye of the Mummy will be our next miniseries. Just kidding...or are we? You'll have to listen in to find out. Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced, by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich . This episode was edited by Erik Gunnarsson . This episode was researched by Parth Marathe ....

Bonus #3! It’s Dan O’Bannon’s gnarly punk rock black comedy, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. This week is one of those Siskel and Ebert episodes — we disagree so fundamentally about the meaning of O’Bannon’s film that it threatens to bring down the podcast entirely. Brains! References: Blu-Ray Special Features: Dan O’Bannon Commentary More Brains: A Return of the Living Dead The FX of the Return of the...

At long last, we’ve arrived at the end of Romero’s run of (not) zombie movies. This week our old friend Sarah Welch-Larson joins the pod again to help us give us a fond farewell to the perhaps the most legendary figure in horror movie history. But don’t worry–we’re not done with zombies yet! References: Blu-Ray Special Features: Walking After Midnight Documentary Fangoria Romero Interview Time Wit...

I bet you didn’t know George Romero made a god dang found footage film. Yeah. We didn’t either! This week, we’re joined by horror experts and new friends Sean Parker and Steve Goldberg of the Mostly Horror podcast to unpack the incredibly daring (and bizarre) late-career zombie thriller, DIARY OF THE DEAD. Which, technically, is a student film (?) References: Blu-Ray Special Feature: For the Recor...

Romero returns! After exactly 20 years, the master of (not) zombie movies helps resurrect the genre for the modern day. And we’re going to talk about it! With our new friend and fellow podcaster, Trey Flynn of the excellent Extra Credits Podcast .  References: Blu-Ray Special Features: Cholo’s Reckoning: An Interview With Actor John Leguizamo Charlie’s Story: An Interview With Actor Robert Joy The...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! For our second and final bonus of our FALL OF THE DEAD miniseries, we are exploring the very un-Romero reboot(?) of DAWN OF THE DEAD, directed by our old friend, Zack Snyder. Yes, we're doing another Snyder Cut this week! But watch out. These zombies run fast. And some of them look like Jay Leno. Anyway, enjoy your candy!!!!! References: Blu-Ray Special Features: Commentary Take a...

We're coming to get you, Barbara! This week we are NOT saying the "zed word" OR talking about a George A. Romero film. It's Edgar Wright's exquisitely funny zombie satire, SHAUN OF THE DEAD. Joining us for our first bonus episode of FALL OF THE DEAD is returning guest, writer, and film podcaster of Letterboxd's Weekend Watchlist, Mia Vicino ! References: Blu-Ray Special Features Commentary Simon P...

Bub, your Day has come. This podcast is for for all the Bub heads out there. It's Eye of the Bub this week, y'all. We hope you'll watch the movie and listen along. Because once you meet Bub, you'll never forget him. References: The World’s End: The Making of Day of the Dead The Many Days of  Day of the Dead Joe Pilato Homepage of the Dead Interview Home of the Dead Making Of Tom Savini Simon Abram...

Today we're joined by our friends from the Morbid podcast (and a new NY Times best-selling author!!) Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley to unpack the maddening zombie shopping spree that is DAWN OF THE DEAD. If you love malls, this one is for you. Also, zombies! References: Dawn of the Dead Making Of George Romero Medium Interview Rolling Stone Making Of George Romero Pittsburgh City Paper Interview L...

New miniseries premiere!! The leaves are falling, the air is crisp, and the dead are rising from their graves. Welcome to FALL OF THE DEAD. This week we are exploring George A. Romero's landmark horror, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, where the zombies are definitely not zombies because they are called Ghouls. But they're probably just zombies? Like, maybe the first zombies ever? Listen to find out. Ref...