Podcasts about action game

Chris hat sich die aktuelle Demo zu Stellar Blade für PS5 angeschaut und erzählt euch in diesem Vorschautalk, wieso ihr das koreanische Action-Game spätestens jetzt auf dem Radar haben solltet. Viel Spaß dabei! ► Abonniert unseren Youtube-Kanal für Videoversionen & mehr https://www.youtube.com/@Poweroncast ________ ► Alle unsere Episoden auch auf https://www.Poweroncast.de ► Folgt uns auf Tiktok und Twitter @Poweroncast ► Podcast Titelsong: „Jump 'n Fun“ Composed & Produced by: Timo Jäger ► Podcast Logo by: Anita Wan

I am open to other perspectives, but a lot of the love of games to me is down to how it feels to hit a button. When the jump feels bad, the game is bad. When the jump feels good, the game is good. That's oversimplifying, intentionally. But so many games ARE just a collection of button presses, and how good they feel to hit. Platformers, action games, shooters, MOBAs, all of these are represented on our nominees. Whose buttons feel the best to hit? Let's decide that. The Nominees Are: Peppino (Pizza Tower) Chai (Hi-Fi Rush) Kai (Gravity Circuit) Spark (Spark the Electric Jester 3) Blaster Stance (Star Wars: Jedi Survivor) Wild Dancer (Like a Dragon: Ishin) Sybil (Pseudoregalia) Xeku Zwei (Gundam Battle Operation 2) GM [Gatherroad Type] (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Alex [CA] (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Sisquiede (Gundam Battle Operation 2) MSN-04FF Sazabi (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Woundwort (Gundam Battle Operation 2) Mega Mewtwo X (Pokemon Unite) Mario Mario (Mario Wonder) Here's our write-up for the winners! Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2023 is Ippai by kamatamago, and our art is a commission from @inkopolis on Twitter.

Broke n JP discuss: - Gramps Basement - First BKL boating extravaganza - Starfield vs Balders Gate - Dream Journal - Local Baton Rouge introvert night out recommendations! BRCADE IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/brokeknocklife/support

Broke n JP discuss: - Gramps Basement - First BKL boating extravaganza - Starfield vs Balders Gate - Dream Journal - Local Baton Rouge introvert night out recommendations! BRCADE IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/brokeknocklife/support

Hour 2: Could the Bills be on alert for the Jets play action game?

Die dieswöchige Ausgabe der Sommerserie steht unter dem Motto "Dunkle Machenschaften". In der fünften Ausgabe Sommer Spiele Schatzis 2023 erinnert sich Robert Glashüttner an "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade", und zwar das Graphic Adventure, nicht das Action Game! Rainer Sigl knöpft sich gleich eine ganze Serie vor, und zwar die unkonventionellen und facettenreichen Indie-Horrorspiele der "Amnesia"-Reihe. (Sommerfolge #5/23) Sendungshinweis: FM4 Game Podcast, 3. August 2023, 0-1 Uhr.

Digital Eclipse LA's Adam Orth chats with John Johanas, the Game Director for the recently released rhythm-action game, Hi-Fi Rush. Together they discuss John's journey into development and how he landed himself in Japan and working with legendary game creator Shinji Mikami at Tango Gameworks; transitioning from design to leading his first full game project on The Evil Within 2; the personal weight of directing a sequel to a high profile game and earning your team's trust; how John's background in music lead to the creation of Hi-Fi Rush; and how the team balanced art, combat, and level design to guide players through the music enhanced gameplay.  The Game Maker's Notebook is sponsored by Xsolla. To learn more, go to xsolla.pro/AOIAAS. Follow us:  Twitter Instagram

Shazam! Em uma atmosfera de pura diversão e camaradagem, nossos intrépidos apresentadores irão reviver as aventuras do poderoso herói mitológico, Hércules! Preparem-se para saltar, lutar contra monstros lendários e superar desafios emocionantes enquanto desbravamos as fases desse jogo inesquecível! Então, não perca tempo! Junte-se a Guilherme Dellagustin, Lili Brandelli, Alexandre Machado e Marcos Melo nessa aventura incrível e mergulhe na nostalgia com Fliperama de Boteco! Solte o seu herói interior e prepare-se para reviver momentos mágicos no episódio dedicado ao […] O post Fliperama de Boteco #375 – Disney Hercules Action Game apareceu primeiro em FLIPERAMA DE BOTECO.

Join your Fantasy Addicts Sharleam (@shaarleaam), Joel (@JoelAmor9), Andy (@AndyFBAddicts), and Burgo (@iamjackburgess) as they preview the NFL Week 17 Action Game by Game giving their best bets and Fantasy Football analysis!1.29.40 - Recap of Our Best Bets 1.31.15 - Our Dynasty League Discussion - Frank Shit Talking Make Sure to Follow the podcast on Spotify so you don't miss an episode and check out our socials: Instagram - @thefantasyaddicts Twitter - @TheFBAddicts

Join your Fantasy Addicts Joel (@JoelAmor9), Sharleam (@shaarleaam), Andy (@AndyFBAddicts) and guest Dylan Lawrence as they preview the NFL Week 16 Action Game by Game giving their Best Bets and Fantasy Football Analysis.Make sure to follow the podcast on Spotify so you don't miss an episode and check out our socials:Instagram - @thefantasyaddictsTwitter - @TheFBAddicts

Chaque semaine, Sortiraparis vous propose une sélection de sorties à faire à Paris et en Ile-de-France ! ©Musique proposée par La Musique Libre/Jazz In Paris - Media Right Productions/Rizhlaine Ferfar/Laurent Pradal

On Monday the Supreme Court takes up the Harvard and University of North Carolina affirmative action cases in what is the Super Bowl of civil rights litigation—arguably the biggest moment for the Court since Brown v. Board of Education. Naturally that is the focus of this episode, though we do briefly review a couple of the key news stories of the week, such as Fetterman's collapse... Source

On Monday the Supreme Court takes up the Harvard and University of North Carolina affirmative action cases in what is the Super Bowl of civil rights litigation—arguably the biggest moment for the Court since Brown v. Board of Education. Naturally that is the focus of this episode, though we do briefly review a couple of […]

On Monday the Supreme Court takes up the Harvard and University of North Carolina affirmative action cases in what is the Super Bowl of civil rights litigation—arguably the biggest moment for the Court since Brown v. Board of Education. Naturally that is the focus of this episode, though we do briefly review a couple of the key news stories of the week, such as Fetterman’s collapse... Source

Dan goes behind Tom's back to post this mini-episode detailing the Game Demo Day Tom organized for the high school Game Club, inspired in part by his experiences at GenCon. 48 students had the opportunity to try a wide variety of games including a trial by fire introduction to D&, thanks to Tom's creativity and hard work.

Gabe is joined by Steve Merril to discuss all the upcoming NBA Finals action, share picks for game 6, and much more!

Daniel-Nugent Bowman and Ryan Rishaug preview game three between the Kings and Oilers.

We discuss video game adaptations (movies, TV, books, comics, etc.) and weird sports games, talk Ghostwire: Tokyo and New Super Lucky's Tale, pitch new game ideas, predict the future, and more! Gaming news, trivia, discussion, and more! Game Groofs is the weekly all-encompassing video game podcast from the Goodnight Groofs! Get this show 2 days early at https://www.patreon.com/goodnightgroofs Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:52 - Peak of the Week 6:22 - Trending Topics 8:27 - The Big Question (Video Game Adaptations) 35:25 - Groofstradamus 49:40 - The Watercooler (What We're Playing) 1:04:39 - Audience Questions (Weird Sports Games) 1:07:27 - Pitch Meeting 1:21:48 - A Special Shoutout 1:24:19 - Outro Goodnight Groofs is an independent media production team focused on creatively providing commentary on the video game landscape, and tangentially-related areas of pop culture, with enthusiasm, unapologetic authenticity, and diverse thinking for a massively underserved gaming community that deserves such honest, genuine, and fun content. Visit https://goodnightgroofs.com/ for all of our content! Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodnightGroofs

Check out Gaming Forte: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqin... https://twitter.com/gaming_forte​ Check out SloMoBackSlap: https://twitch.tv/slomobackslap https://twitter.com/slomobackslap

Four rounds of general knowledge bar trivia to test your brain. Grab some paper and pens, decide on a prize and quiz the family around the dinner table. Alternatively, use the questions to train your brain while you tone your body at the gym. This week: General Knowledge Which Came First? Clued Up Final Fling Written and hosted by the team behind the Bar Wars pub quiz. A weekly pub quiz in Hereford UK. Want to contact us? Fancy seeing some subjects covered on this podcast? Tweet us your suggestions @barwars or follow us at www.facebook.com/takeawaytrivia Intro music: There It Is by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4519-there-it-is License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ We make every effort to check that the trivia presented in this podcast is correct and up to date at the time of publishing however this contents of this podcast are presented for entertainment purposes only. Takeaway Trivia cannot be held responsible for any errors. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/barwars/message

In the words of the man, the myth, the legend, "Do I look like I need your power?" This week, we go over massive quantities of reveals from this year's Game Awards, from updates to brand new games. Plus, there's a new Sonic 2 trailer featuring everyone's favorite echidna, Knuckles. Couple that with a promising new open-world Sonic game, some Cuphead DLC, and a joyful new Christmas movie, and you have a pretty nice episode. Check us out on Twitter @MarkersOnTheMap.

Νέο χορταστικό GameCast και έχουμε τα κυριότερα νέα που απασχόλησαν την PlayStation κοινότητα αλλά και του Xbox στην Αντίπερα Όχθη, σχολιασμός των The Game Awards 2021, Black Friday με προτάσεις και φυσικά στο τέλος γεμάτο Now Playing με πολλά παιχνίδια. Παίζει και διαγωνισμός με δώρο ένα αντίτυπο του Assassins Creed Valhalla για PS4/PS5. TIMESTAMPS (0:00) - Εισαγωγή (5:02) - NEWS (5:10) - Αποκάλυψη για το Multiversus της WB Games (10:28) - Κατοχύρωση πατέντας για PS5 Faceplates από την Sony (12:30) - Επίσημη ημερομηνία κυκλοφορίας για το A Short Hike (15:20) - Black Friday: Ο απόλυτος οδηγός (36:53) - Το πρώτο LoL παιχνίδι σε κονσόλες είναι γεγονός! (41:20) - Αποκλειστικά στο XBOX το επόμενο Elder Scrolls σύμφωνα με λεγόμενα του Phill Spencer (49:35) - Η μελλοντική κατεύθυνση των Yakuza & Judgment (52:43) - Πρώτο trailer για το ανανεωμένο WWE 2K22 (54:40) - Νέα ημερομηνία κυκλοφορίας για το ιδιαίτερο Sifu (57:30) - Αισθητή καθυστέρηση για το Saints Row (58:30) - Οι προβλέψεις μας για τους νικητές των The Game Awards (58:35) - Game of the Year (1:05:35) - Game Direction (1:07:01) - Narrative (1:07:32) - Art Direction (1:07:45) - Score and Music (1:08:23) - Audio Design (1:08:49) - Indie (1:09:28) - Action Game (1:09:47) - Action / Adventure (1:10:04) - Role Playing (1:10:58) - Fighting (1:11:10) - Sim / Strategy (1:11:30) - Performance (1:12:25) - Ongoing (1:12:41) - Anticipated (1:15:03) - Το φιάσκο που επικρατεί με τον CEO της Blizzard (1:18:02) - OTHERSIDE (1:19:18) - Ανάλυση της εξαιρετικής παρουσίασης για τα 20 χρόνια Xbox (1:34:13) - NOW PLAYING (1:34:27) - Bright Memory Infinite (1:39:44) - First Class Trouble (1:40:38) - Call of Duty: Vanguard (1:45:40) - Battlefield 2042 (1:52:50) - Sherlock Holmes: Chapter 1 (2:02:35) - Επίλογος =================================== Like και Subscribe αν σας άρεσε το βίντεο. =================================== Στο Facebook μπορείτε να μας βρείτε εδώ: Ζήσης https://bit.ly/2jDijtP Άλεξ https://bit.ly/3iO7PpQ Στάθης https://bit.ly/2Pxpbxl Στο Twitter μπορείτε να μας βρείτε εδώ: https://twitter.com/zisisprsk https://twitter.com/EfthimiouAlex https://twitter.com/Kaenspyre Στο Instagram μπορείτε να μας βρείτε εδώ: https://www.instagram.com/zisisprsk/ https://www.instagram.com/alex.efthimiou/ https://www.instagram.com/_kalafatis/ Στο PSN: zisis_GR & alexefth1996 & KAENSPYRE Για επικοινωνία μέσω email στείλτε στο: admin@psaddict.gr Μάθετε τα πάντα γύρω από το PlayStation στο http://psaddict.gr/ Ακολουθήστε το Site και την ομάδα μας στα social media: Discord Server ► https://discord.gg/MNUgP6Z Facebook ► http://bit.ly/1VLB9iB Facebook Group ►http://bit.ly/2DbgFcj Twitter ► http://bit.ly/1UasjJj Instagram ► http://bit.ly/1VvbfPq Twitch ► https://www.twitch.tv/psaddictgr

It might be time for a break Metroid. For now. But what "Search Action" game should I play next? Please follow, like and share. And of course, join the rant!

Listen to our extended roundtable conversations from the 24th Annual #DICEAwards, moderated by Spawn on Me's Kahlief Adams, with candid conversations and insights from the nominees for Action Game of the Year. The nominees include- -DOOM Eternal -Hades -Half-Life: Alyx -Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales -Nioh 2

Julien Perrot, 33 ans, a créé il y a quelques mois un concept innovant d'espace de loisir, Neoquests.   On y trouve ici du Laser Game, du Laser Kart (comme Mario Kart, mais en vrai) ou de l'Action Game.   Son histoire, vous la retrouvez dans C'est moi le Patron, en partenariat avec Réseau Entreprendre Alsace. 

Good Episode, 3rd pod this week, just so much content to comment on and show for you all. Mayhem and maniacs everywhere. Love playoff time!

On this week's Gaming: The Podcast we delve into the design of Resident Evil Village. The eighth main entry in the Resident Evil franchise is very much an action horror over a survival, making it somewhat of a different proposition than it's predecessor. Does the change work? How does the change work? Why does it make us feel a certain way?A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.Visit us at IndieByDesign.netTwitter: @IndieByDesign See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's Gaming: The Podcast we delve into the design of Resident Evil Village. The eighth main entry in the Resident Evil franchise is very much an action horror over a survival, making it somewhat of a different proposition than it's predecessor. Does the change work? How does the change work? Why does it make us feel a certain way?A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube.Visit us at IndieByDesign.netTwitter: @IndieByDesign See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Platinum Games fans are surprised that the Apple Arcade has again snagged a title from us console peasants, accoridng to this GamesRadar.com. Check out this episode 16.81 of your daily dose of Pinoy Gaming news. You're listening to… Lite Control! Lite Control is powered by EasyPC, Rakk Gears and Game Express.

In the latest episode of "The Emperor's New Podcast" Host Micah Hirsh is joined by Gaby Tyrrell to discuss the platformer cult classic "The Emperor's New Groove" Action Game --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theemperorsnewpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theemperorsnewpodcast/support

This is a film review/analysis of "Game of Thrones." March, 2020 The fourth basic dramatic convention "action" is discussed.

Fortuan, MorgDaddy, and Pan all discuss action-adventure games and which ones deserve a spot on the list. 1. Zelda BOTW 2. Super Mario 64 3. LOTR: Shadow of Mordor 4. Darksiders 2 5. Banjo/Dk 64 6. Majora's Mask 7. Folklore 8. Assassin's Creed 2 9. Uncharted 4 10. Tomb Raider 11. GTA 4 12. Dad of War

In today's episode the debaters tackle which game will win Action Game of The Year at the 2019 video game awards. Then we close it out with Wilder vs. Fury 2 and our thoughts on who will come out on top. Want us to hear your debate? Visit out twitter @S2WGaming and talk to us.

The game awards are here, and the year is almost most over! What are the categories this year, and is your game listed? Let's dive in and discuss.   Geek News   Mandalorian is Still Awesome We are a few episodes in the series, and we are excited were Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau continue to take the series. The relationship between the Mandalorian the child is a compelling story full a mystery and intrigue. We can't wait for the coming episodes.   Kathleen Kennedy Contract Ends in 2021 Kathleen Kennedy, the president at Lucasfilm, will have her contract end in 2021. Now, before some become excited, this does not mean that she won't resume her role at Lucasfilm. However, Disney has not come out public state the Kathleen Kennedy will continue her position, and Kathleen has been vague about what the future holds for her. We hope that people like Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau with maybe a little Kevin Feige threw in there will hopefully be the next leaders for Lucasfilm.   Video Game News   PS5 Announced for 2020 Holiday The PS5 has been announced, and the console race between PlayStation and Xbox has begone. The big question is, what games and services will the PS5 be able to offer over the Xbox. It is shaping up to be a fantastic struggle for the consumer.    Stadia Disaster  Google Stadia is here, and, to the surprise of none, the service is laggy, limited, and underwhelming. We have voiced heavy skepticism and cation when it comes to this service. Especially when there are better services such as xCloud around the corner. Even Amazon is looking to enter the video game streaming space. It will be a competitive market that will allow little room for error. It is our feeling that Stadia has made to many mistakes to correct the course promptly.    Showstopper   The Game Awards 2019 The Game Awards are here, and we are excited to list the categories here in the show notes! These are the following categories for the 2019 Game Awards: Game of the Year, Action Game, Action/Adventure Game, Art Direction, Audio Design, Community Support, Content Creator of the Year, Esports Coach, Esports Event, Esports Game of the Year, Esports Host, Esports Player, Esports Team, Family Game, Fighting Game, Fresh Indie Game, Game Direction, Game for Impact, Independent Game, Mobile Game, Multiplayer Game, Narrative, Ongoing Game, Performance, Role-Playing Game, Score & Music, Sports/Racing Game, Strategy Game, and VR/AR Game.    If you are interested in voting, then go to the Game Awards website! Let us know in the comments the games you think will win, and what you hope will win.   Thank You For Listening!   If you have an idea for an episode or a person of note in the video game industry, i.e., a developer, influencer, illustrator, etc. then let us know! Email us at: contactus.armstrongsmusings@gmail.com   If you love the content and want to support us, then join us on Patreon! We love to have you part of the Inner Circle!   Connect with us on social media: Facebook Twitter Instagram   Visit us on our website: https://armstrongsmusings.com  We appreciate you listening and hope to hear from you. Stay Strong! 

The Game Awards Nominees 2019   0:00:29 A Word from our Sponsor – MSI “Gaming just got real”   0:00:39 What’s up!!!   0:01:59 VR/AR GAME   0:03:15 STRATEGY GAME   0:04:10 SPORTS/RACING GAME   0:04:40 SCORE & MUSIC   0:05:39 ROLE-PLAYING GAME   0:06:31 PERFORMANCE   0:07:54 ONGOING GAME   0:08:54 NARRATIVE   0:10:02 MULTIPLAYER GAME   0:12:03 MOBILE GAME   0:13:03 INDEPENDENT GAME   0:13:48 GAMES FOR IMPACT   0:14:37 GAME DIRECTION   0:15:42 FRESH INDIE GAME   0:17:12 FIGHTING GAME   0:18:01 FAMILY GAME   0:18:35 ESPORTS   0:21:43 COMMUNITY SUPPORT   0:24:42 AUDIO DESIGN   0:26:09 ART DIRECTION   0:27:13 ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME   0:28:28 ACTION GAME   0:29:17 GAME OF THE YEAR

Get 20% off and free shipping with the code RETRO at http://manscaped.com. Nolan North and Troy Baker are teaming up and fighting bad guys! TRAUTMAN! Hold on to your bandanas, RAMBO is coming to save the day! With Nolan's two degrees and Troy's incredible button mashing, the guys are armed and ready. Warning watch out for random Mariachi band tangent. Get ready! This is RETRO REPLAY.Let's play!

Habe die Ehre! Gearbox hat bei Borderlands 3 das Problem der EPIC Games Store Cloud Saves anerkannt - hoffentlich kann man nun speichern! Dragon Quest 1 - 3 kommen am 27.09. für Nintendo Switch heraus, CAPCOM hält an MEGA MAN fest, Microsoft Flight Simulator geht in die Alpha, und Sonic Erfinder Yuji Naka entwickelt ein neues Game! Alle Details dazu findest Du in der heutigen Ausgabe von Double Jump - Dein Games News Podcast! Wenn Dir diese Episode von Double Jump gefällt, bewerte die Show bitte positiv auf Apple Podcasts! =====Quellen===== https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/16/20869561/borderlands-3-cloud-save-issue-glitches-hotfix https://twitter.com/DragonQuest/status/1173582556718977025 http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/09/sword_and_shields_glitched_pokemon_will_be_revealed_tomorrow https://www.pcgames.de/Mega-Man-Thema-205413/News/Mega-Man-Capcom-haelt-an-Marke-fest-neuer-Ableger-in-Entwicklung-1332577/ https://www.flightsimulator.com/september-12th-2019-development-update/ https://twitter.com/nakayuji/status/1173893519125049344 ================ =====Podcast jetzt abonnieren===== Apple Podcasts: https://pcr.apple.com/id1480119942 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3s8MmDflAFelDG8A5Ewx5r Soundcloud: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:697540860/sounds.rss Pocketcasts: https://pca.st/ow5l2lce YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQHMVCuWyCnN7AyXveytTTg Jede Podcast App Deiner Wahl: https://www.doublejump.at/feed/podcast/ ============================= =====Folge Double Jump auf Social Media===== Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doublejumpat facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doublejumpdeutsch twitter: https://www.twitter.com/dbljmpdnl ======================================

Mental Vision Games is proud to announce the release of the new Immersive Action 3D Audio game, Circus Masters Revenge available in the App Store for iOS. Joe and Jesse Anderson joined Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio to talk game development, creation and working with the industry to bring more awareness to accessibility in the gaming realm. Joe wrote and created along with his Mental Vision team a 3D audio game which involves the right and left audio in relation to your environment physically and within the game. Turn your device or swivel in your chair and the scene in the game changes it’s focus as well! Chase the Circus freaks and move up a stage and into the next chapter of this well written and acted game that unravels right before your ears. Jesse Anderson from Illegally Sighted worked with Mental Vision Games by testing and advising as Jesse has done for years on his Illegally Sighted YouTube Channel. Listen in as Jesse talks about his advocacy for access in the gaming world. You can download Circus Masters Revengefrom the App Store. You can find Mental Vision Games on the web at www.MentalVisionGames.com. You can find Jesse’s Illegally Sighted web site at www.IllegallySighted.comand his Illegally Sighted Channel on YouTube. ***** Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. To find your State Services in your State you can go to www.AFB.org and search the directory for your agency. Contact: Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impairedand the Assistive Technology Community for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Ian Mclarty joins us again to talk about his latest game JUMPGRID a fast paced puzzle game that features a combination of quick fire action gameplay, sort of a plays a bit like Pacman but with teleporting. With a kicking soundtrack and cosmic level design JUMPGRID looks like it's a big departure from Ian's last game Dissembler but things might be closer than it seems. We first spoke to Ian on Episode 96 of the podcast so you check out that if you're interested in learning more about how he makes games. Developing a game by yourself is something that many indie developers are choosing to do but in a new article by Brendan Sinclair, Joakim Sandberg, developer of Iconoclasts says that solo development may not be all it's cracked up to be. We dig into the difference between solo game development and isolated game development and why one is preferable to the other. Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week. SPONSOR: Thank you to Murdoch University School of Arts for their support over every single episode of Pixel Sift. We couldn't have done it without you. If you want to bolster your skills in media, journalism or game development, check out the Murdoch University School of Arts website for more information! You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

The high-quality talent of the team that brought Die Hard to the screen is well-recognized. But to many, the secret ingredient to the movie's success was Bruce Willis and his portrayal of John McClane, an everyman police officer from New York, trapped in Nakatomi Tower at exactly the wrong time – and without even shoes on his feet. McClane takes on the role of reluctant hero to save his wife and the other innocent hostages, and defeat German terrorist-thief Hans Gruber. The McClane character has stuck in audiences' memories ever since, and sparked a change in how action heroes are characterized. So what makes John McClane so special? How much of it is his character, how much of it is the influence of other legendary heroes before him, and how much of it is Willis bringing the role to life?  Let us know what you think! Drop us a line at diehardwithapodcast@gmail.com, or visit our site at www.diehardwithapodcast.com   Links Baroness Von Sketch's Die Hard sketch Spin Magazine, How So I Married an Axe Murderer Wrecked One Writer’s Vision, Lost Several Stars, Bombed at the Box Office, and Became a Classic Anyway by Maggie Serota Halloween Unmasked on The Ringer network, with Amy Nicholson   Source Links A/V Club, Die Hard humanized (and perfected) the action movie A/V Club, The novel that inspired Die Hard has its structure, but none of its holiday spirit American Film Institute, 100 Greatest Heroes and Villains Another Angry Woman, Making fists with your toes: Towards a feminist analysis of Die Hard Deep Focus Review, The Definitives: Die Hard Empire, Empire Essay: Die Hard Review Film School Rejects, 31 Things We Learned From the ‘Die Hard’ Commentary Track MovieTime Guru, Die Hard: First Impressions Last Script Secrets, Die Hard analysis The Guardian, Die Hard at 30: how it remains the quintessential American action movie The Internet Movie Script Database, Die Hard shooting script Vulture, How Die Hard Changed the Action Game   Guests Reed Fish Jeremiah Friedman Shannon Hubbell Sasha Perl-Raver Adam Sternbergh Katie Walsh Scott Wampler   Get In Touch Email Website Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   Full Episode Transcript Welcome to the podcast, pal. My name is Simone Chavoor, and thank you for joining me for Die Hard With a Podcast! The show that examines the best American action movie of all time: Die Hard. This is episode three of the show, and I wanted to thank you all again for the amazing response we got for the last episode. I’ve been having a lot of fun talking with people about Die Hard for the podcast. First of all, the fact that people get SO EXCITED to talk about Die Hard and have SO MANY thoughts on it gets me so amped up. I’m telling you, if you’re socially awkward like me, just ask somebody what they think about Die Hard and you can have an amazing conversation for an hour and feel like you just made a new friend. Some of the folks I’ve talked to are friends I’ve had for years, and then sometimes they recommend their own friends, like, “you gotta talk to this guy, he fucking loves Die Hard,” and some have been people I’ve cold-emailed or cold-Tweeted who say yes to talking to a perfect stranger because they get to talk about Die Hard and have someone actually listen to them. And we just get to be big nerds about something we love, and it’s amazing. And also, now everyone knows how much I love Die Hard and everyone’s sending me Die Hard things they see on the internet and I’m loving it. Like I’m a pretty easy person to figure out; if you see something that’s Star Wars, or tiki, or horror movie, or Nine Inch Nails, or pizza, or kitty cat-related online, that’s gonna make my day. But now people know that Die Hard is one of my Things I Like, so they’re passing along the best stuff. One thing a friend sent me was this sketch by the comedy troupe Baroness Von Sketch, where this lady is at a party, complaining to her friend that she can’t meet guys, and her friend says she knows a trick. She stands back and says “OH MY GOD I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN DIE HARD,” and then alllll the dudes come flocking. I almost died. Except now I know why I’m single, because clearly I’m doing the EXACT OPPOSITE. But that’s okay, I’m having too good of a time lady-splaining Die Hard to you all. Speaking of lady-splaining… I’ve had such a great response from ladies who are excited to see themselves represented in this genre. Die Hard gets thought of as a bro movie. And I am definitely not a bro. I got an email from a listener, Cindy, who says: I also really wanted to express how exhilarated I am that you are of the womanly persuasion. I am also a woman who loves Die Hard, and I know there are plenty of us out there, but that's not the popular perception. I've dearly wanted the perspective of other women who actually enjoy the film--it seems like millennial women are either turned off by the lone-hero-cop narrative, which I understand, or see Die Hard as the ultimate annoying dudebro movie, which is frustrating. It warms my heart, like literally makes it feel all fuzzy and nice, that this podcast exists, with a woman helming the way. Yes, girl. I absolutely feel you. And I wanted to give two quick shouts to two other women who are doing some exciting work. Maggie Serota wrote a piece for Spin magazine titled, “How So I Married an Axe Murderer Wrecked One Writer’s Vision, Lost Several Stars, Bombed at the Box Office, and Became a Classic Anyway.” So I Married an Axe Murderer is another favorite movie of mine – Mike Meyers is so, so funny, and I have immense nostalgia for the 90s and also love any movie set in the Bay Area. Maggie wrote the piece for the movie’s 25th anniversary, but also because it’s one of her all-time favorite movies. There’ll be a link in the show notes; go check that out. Also, Amy Nicholson, who you know from the podcasts The Canon and Unspooled, is doing an 8-part series called Halloween Unmasked for The Ringer podcast network, which is all about, obviously, the movie Halloween. I love horror movies, but Halloween was never one of my favorites, so I’m letting Amy take me away in her deep dive on the film. The podcast premiered on October 1st, so catch up on the first three episodes now. So, if you want to send me funny links and memes about Die Hard, or if you have other suggestions for female film critics’ works, drop me a line! Email Website Twitter Facebook Instagram And if you like this show, kick me a buck or two on Patreon. Patreon helps to offset the cost of doing this show, not just in pure dollars and cents, but for the sheer amount of time this podcast takes to put together. This is my first solo project, and although I have the wonderful, amazing support of my guests and fans, it still takes a lot of time researching, writing, recording, and editing. Patreon Shout out to our contributors… Cindy, who sent that lovely email earlier, and Paul! And special thanks to Paul for his support, as his encouragement means a lot to me on this particular project. Thank you so much! You can also support Die Hard With a Podcast by leaving a review on iTunes. With more starred ratings and written reviews, the show becomes more visible to other potential listeners, so please share the love and let me know what you think! All right. On to our main topic. When we last left off, we talked about Die Hard’s place in the 80s action movie ecosystem. How it was molded by the conventions of the genre at the time, but also how it broke the mold – and improved upon it. There was a lot that elevated Die Hard beyond a conventional, empty, popcorn-chomp of an action movie. There was the amazingly neat and efficient script, the gorgeous work of cinematographer Jan De Bont, the genius of John McTiernan’s directing. But to many, the secret ingredient was Bruce Willis and his character of John McClane. So what makes John McClane so special? How much of it is his character, and how much of it is Willis bringing the role to life? Let’s take a step back. Before we figure out why McClane is an iconic action movie hero, let’s talk about what makes a good hero in any story. There’s been so much written about the Hero’s Journey, and archetypes and, well, I’m no Joseph Campbell. I think, for our purposes, we can really really really simplify it down to this: a hero is someone who is undergoing some sort of ordeal, and who is someone we root for. We root for them because we relate to them in some way, and view them with a mix of admiration and sympathy. To contextualize things a bit, let’s look at The American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Heroes and Villains list. Now unfortunately, our John McClane didn’t make the list (although Hans Gruber came in 46th on the Villains list). But let’s look at the top 5: 1. Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird 2. Indiana Jones 3. James Bond 4. Rick Blaine, Casablanca 5. Will Kane, High Noon All men from different backgrounds, but who fall within our definition of hero. Further on in this episode, at least three of these heroes come up in comparison to John McClane. So, even though John himself doesn’t make the list, him being compared to Indiana Jones, Rick Blaine, and Will Kane on the regular, means he’s doing pretty all right. In order to root for our hero, the audience needs to see themselves in his shoes – or lack thereof. Someone who’s perfect is unrealistic, unbelievable – and really, don’t the people who pretend to be perfect kinda bug you? But a hero with flaws, a hero who’s the underdog – we want to see them overcome their obstacles. JEREMIAH FRIEDMAN I’m Jeremiah Friedman, and I’m a screenwriter. Mostly working on the film side of things. I don't know if you can set out to create an iconic movie hero. I mean I guess you can set out to create an iconic movie hero. Some of it feels like, you know, a little bit of like lightning in a bottle. I think, you want something that hasn't been seen before, and that feels emotionally relatable to people. They feel like they get that guy or that woman, and they just want to root for them. And I think that the original Die Hard, if we're going old school and not 2-3-4-5, what makes McClane so compelling is he's such an underdog you can root for the entire movie, and you just feel like he has the whole world against him. Sasha Perl-Raver, writer, correspondent, and the host of FX’s Movie Download. SASHA PERL-RAVER So I think that the best heroes have to be both heroic and flawed. I mean, I think about everybody from obviously John McClane, but even to Alexander Hamilton in the Hamilton musical, you’ve got somebody who is exceptional but has this one thing that is inevitably also their downfall. When you think of even Murtaugh and Riggs in Lethal Weapon – Mel Gibson’s character, the fact that he’s so broken, he’s on the verge of psychosis. He is a great cop and an excellent fighter and has all this combat training, but also comes from this incredibly fractured place, is what makes him really interesting. I think that heroes in general have to do the things that we wish we would do, say the things we wish we would say, and somehow manage the impossible. But they have to be somebody who you either want to emulate or relate to. I think those are all the key characteristics that make a great hero. First impressions are incredibly important, especially when meeting our hero for the first time. John McClane went through several iterations from his beginnings on the pages of a novel to the script to the screen. Let’s take a look at how McClane is introduced to us. In the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, written by Roderick Thorp, John McClane is actually Joe Leland, a retired cop turned private detective. Far from the handsome 30-something McClane we get in the movie, Leland is an older man – if you’ll recall, Frank Sinatra was offered a chance to reprise his version of Leland from his previous film The Detective – and Sinatra was 73 years old at the time. He turned it down. The book opens with him in the back of a cab on the way to the airport… aaand the cab has just crashed in a snowy fender-bender. There’s little physical description of Leland in the book, although we’re told he’s a “mature man” – and it makes sense, given that he’s trying to make his flight to Los Angeles to see his grown daughter and her children. But we quickly learn what kind of man Leland is. After his cab gets in an accident, Leland’s instant dislike for the driver of the station wagon his cab has hit mixes with his anxiety about missing his flight. The other man is a racist bully who tries to push the cab off the road as they try to leave – and holy shit, Leland just goes ahead and pulls his gun on him so he and his cab driver can make it to the terminal on time. But far from being a badass, Leland immediately regrets his impulsive action, and is left shaken as the adrenaline leaves him. He makes his his flight, and strikes up a flirtation with the stewardess, Kathi – spelled with an “i.” He kisses her (it’s okay, his ex-wife is long dead), and gets her number so they can meet up later. It’s actually kind of sweet. In the script and on the screen, we meet John McClane already at the end of his flight. On the page, he’s described as “mid-thirties, good-looking, athletic and tired from his trip. He sits by the window. His relief on landing is subtle but we notice.” The businessman next to him takes this opportunity to offer his advice about taking off his shoes and making “fists with his toes,” as we all remember. The plane finishes taxiing, and they begin to disembark. In the first draft: McClane is calm and reassuring as he flashes his badge and heads off the plane – after helping a lady with her bags. In the shooting script, he’s a little more relaxed, a little cockier. McClane is definitely more of a rascal here, a funny guy, a ladykiller. While the bit with the stewardess is pretty much cut out of the final film, let’s listen to how this scene plays out. [CLIP - DIE HARD - McCLANE ON THE PLANE] There’s a lot of work being done in these opening moments. It’s part of what’s so, so good about the Die Hard script. In under two minutes, we learn a lot about John McClane. The very first thing we see is something that comes up over and over again when discussing McClane’s character: he’s vulnerable. He’s afraid of flying, and it’s noticeable enough that the guy sitting next to him feels the need to reassure him, offer him advice. We also quickly learn: He’s a married man with kids (from the wedding ring on his finger, the teddy bear he’s carrying, and his disinterest in pursuing things with the stewardess he locks eyes with as he exits) He’s still good looking though, given the eyefuck the stewardess gives him He’s a policeman from New York with over a decade of experience He’s armed (I guess being armed on a plane was cool in 1988; I don’t know, I was born in ‘83 so this concept is still really weird to me) He’s a bit of a wiseguy, using humor to break the tension as the businessman becomes visibly concerned over that gun There are so many other ways that McClane could have been introduced. We could have seen him in the cab ride to the airport. We could have seen him deep in conversation with the stewardess. We could have even seen him already in Los Angeles, or even alllll the way back in New York before he even began his trip. But here, we cut right to the chase, and are shown the most important things we need to know just as the main action starts. John McClane’s vulnerability is probably the number one character trait that comes up when discussing him. But a close second is his being “a guy.” He’s a guy, he’s a dude, he’s an everyman. He’s someone you know; he’s someone like you. He’s relatable. JEREMIAH FRIEDMAN He's not super jacked up, he seems more like an ordinary guy more or less. And he's got relatable issues. He's got a problem with his marriage, he kind of fucked up his marriage. He's got this blue collar job that seem pretty routine, he's going to be crashing on a friend's couch. He's kind of a fish out of water, which is a big part of the movie too. He doesn't feel anything like Los Angeles as Los Angeles as portrayed in the movie. He's right at the Christmas party, he's uncomfortable in the limo. Everything that gets thrown at him is outside of his comfort zone. And you are very much with him the whole movie. So you're kind of along for the ride and on his side to a certain extent. We’ve all been there. We’ve all hated flying, we’ve all argued with our significant others, we’ve all been at parties we don’t want to be at. We’ve been John McClane. And so when John is faced with extraordinary circumstances, it leads the audience to put themselves into John’s place and wonder what they would do. According to Vulture.com, “Die Hard is rightly situated as a visceral experience because John McClane becomes such a direct surrogate for the audience; it becomes a ‘what would you do’ scenario, and an exercise in improvisation. John McClane is a street cop, flying through this thing by the seat of his pants, just like we would.” Scott Wampler, news editor at Birth. Movies. Death., and host of the Trying Times podcast. SCOTT WAMPLER And, as you already pointed out the weakness that John shows during that first movie in particular, and the fear and the indecisiveness, all of that is key to making him and every man character, but also key to making him relatable to the audience. You can absolutely imagine yourself in John McClane shoes. He definitely does some heroic shit. He does some shit that I would probably be too cowardly to do. But, also like put in that position where you're running on adrenaline, I could feasibly imagine myself doing a lot of the stuff that John McClane does. Not beating up any like six-foot-five Russians, definitely, you know, but like the other stuff. You know, he’s wiley, he thinks on his feet, he’s a smart guy. He’s clever. REED FISH I’m Reed Fish, I’m a director and screenwriter. I feel like John McClane, to me, was not an emotionally relatable character, but I feel like in the predicament that he was in, it was relatable to me because I felt like, Oh, you know, if push came to shove I could probably do those things too. Where in a typical Schwarzenegger movie, like in Predator or something, I don't think there was ever a moment where I was like, Oh yeah I think I could do that. So I feel like John McClane is a proxy for someone who, you're like me and you think you're witty, you think you're clever, you think you're smart. Well, I certainly I could outsmart Hans Gruber. Well except I'm bigger so I don't think I could have fit in that air shaft. SIMONE: Well it's a lot easier to picture yourself like I can probably move a panel on an elevator shaft, but I don't think I could wrestle a helicopter out of the sky. REED: Yeah, yeah, basically. And I remember in Commando, Schwarzenegger jumps off the airplane as it’s taking off, and jumps into a swamp. And you’re like, okay – not that you think he could do that, but you think yeah, I’m not going to do that. So I would have just been on the plane to South America. As we mentioned previously, that relatability comes not just through John looking and acting realistically, but also because he’s not a perfect person. He’s fucked up. SCOTT WAMPLER I think John McClane’s kind of an asshole, you know, but he’s a loveable asshole, you know? When John McClane is an asshole to people, they kinda had it coming. You know what I mean? Like particularly in the case of the terrorists, but also him giving sass to Ellis, or whatever. He's definitely more of a dick to his wife and he needs to be. But also just to speak as a devil's advocate here we don't – we could some of their backstory, but we don't know everything that happened between John and Holly up until that point. I'm sure he has his own reasons to be mad, and I'm not here to judge them. But he strikes me as a likable guy. Definitely a guy I would get a beer with. I would love to ask this guy about his history and his stories. He’s personable. He’s an asshole, but he’s personable. REED FISH John McClane is kind of a dick. And I was quite struck by that, just how much of a dick he was in the setup of the movie, in terms of the relationship with his wife and his non-existent relationship with his kids. He's not someone I really wanted to succeed. I did not find him sympathetic. But, that said, once it gets going, and he's ingenious, and he's clever, and obviously Bruce Willis at that moment had quite a lot of charisma, by the end, you are pulling for him. Even though for me, it was kind of bittersweet because you're like, oh, he's such a dick. And here’s the thing: John McClane knows he’s a dick. And he hates himself for it, and he can’t get out of his own way. As John McTiernan and Bruce Willis worked on the character, they came to the realization that at his core, John McClane is a man who does not like himself very much, but is doing the best he can in a bad situation. SASHA PERL-RAVER In 80s action movies, again, like Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, that self-loathing is something that propels these characters to do something beyond themselves, which is sort of interesting. Like, I am not good enough to survive, so all of these other people should survive instead of me. Because any normal rational human being would not do the stuff that John McClane does, except that he feels he is not worthy of anything else. Until he jumps off the roof and ties the fire hose around his stomach and says please don't let me die. That's the one time where you're like, Oh, he doesn't have a death-wish, he's not a complete maniac, he’s still trying to get through it. But yeah, the self-loathing is I think a great character trait. But the key to John’s success within the plot is his flaws. The very characteristics that drive his wife, his captain, the LAPD down on the ground completely crazy are the ones that undo Hans Gruber and his plan. Adam Sternbergh, novelist, contributing editor to New York Magazine, and pop culture journalist. ADAM STERNBERGH If you were to renumberate his flaws, he’s very stubborn. But then in a sense all the things that are presented as personality flaws in the beginning like his sort of pig-headedness and unwillingness to capitulate to his wife’s career decisions and things like that, they end up sort of being qualities that help him prevail because he’s just so ridiculously persistent against these terrorists. Yep. Just being annoying is enough to start unravelling the calm, cool, collected terrorists. So I mentioned last episode that I created a Die Hard D&D character alignment chart, because I am a huge nerd. It actually ended up being pretty helpful as I looked more into McClane’s character. So, in case you haven’t played Dungeons and Dragons before, a character alignment chart is chart that categorizes the “ethical and moral perspectives of player characters, non-player characters, and creatures.” It helps you create a character, and gives you guidelines to how a character will behave and react to new situations. If you look at it, it’s nine squares in a three-by-three grid. Each square has a character in it along with their alignment, which is determined by where it sits on the rows and columns of the chart. The first row is “lawful.” Using the third edition of Dungeons and Dragons rules, lawful “implies honor, trustworthiness, obedience to authority, and reliability. On the downside, lawfulness can include closed-mindedness, reactionary adherence to tradition, judgmentalness, and a lack of adaptability.” The second row is “neutral.” The third row is “chaotic.” This “implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility. On the downside, chaos can include recklessness, resentment toward legitimate authority, arbitrary actions, and irresponsibility.” Switching directions, the first column is “good.” Should be pretty self-explanatory, but, just in case, it “implies altruism, respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings. Good characters make personal sacrifices to help others.” The second column is “neutral.” The third column is “evil.” This “implies harming, oppressing, and killing others. Some evil creatures simply have no compassion for others and kill without qualms if doing so is convenient or if it can be set up. Others actively pursue evil, killing for sport or out of duty to some malevolent deity or master.” Whether or not you ever actually play D&D, I really recommend learning more about character alignments. It’s not a perfect system for creating deep, complex characters, but if you’re a writer or just a fan of storytelling, it can unlock some interesting insights. I categorized John McClane as “chaotic good.” But Simone, you say, John McClane is a police officer! Shouldn’t he be lawful? Well, not really. He’s a police officer, yes, but we know he doesn’t always play by the rules. [CLIP - DIE HARD - TONY AND JOHN - YOU’RE A POLICEMAN] We know that John improvises, taking in the situation as it lies and creating ad hoc solutions just to get through, moment to moment. He doesn’t have a long-term plan other than to vaguely somehow rescue Holly and the other hostages if possible. That John is also characterized as “good” is pretty obvious. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone if he doesn’t have to, and he wants to protect his wife and other innocent people. Even if those people aren’t exactly on his side. [CLIP - DIE HARD - JOHN TRIES TO CALL OFF THE FBI] So how does this make John the perfect guy to defeat Hans Gruber. Well, Hans is “neutral evil.” The neutral comes from Hans having no loyalty to anyone other than himself. He’s not technically on the side of the law, but he’s also not an agent of chaos. To lend some perspective, Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T Robinson is Lawful Evil (he follows the law but in so doing fucks things up and is a total dick about it), and Karl is Chaotic Evil (he’s a wildcard, willing to disobey even Hans if it’ll get him the revenge he’s after). Hans has planned this Nakatomi takeover down to the minute. He knows everything about the building, the vault, Takagi… [CLIP - DIE HARD - HANS FINDS TAKAGI] … and he knows step by step what needs to be done to pull off this heist. [CLIP - DIE HARD - HANS - I PRESENT THE FBI] Hans has accounted for everything. Except for one thing. [CLIP - DIE HARD - JOHN - I WAS INVITED BY MISTAKE] John McClane is something Hans could have never, ever predicted. I like to think that somewhere, Hans had a guest list of the entire party and had checked everyone out to some degree. But John wasn’t expected to come. Hell, even Holly wasn’t sure that John was coming – his showing up was a surprise. So the one thing that Hans couldn’t see coming, the thing that Hans doesn’t know how to predict, is the thing that completely blindsides him. John’s chaotic behavior, a liability in his marriage and everyday life, is just what’s needed to bring Hans down. [CLIP - DIE HARD - JOHN - JUST A FLY IN THE OINTMENT] Plus, it drives Hans – and Karl, too – completely crazy. JEREMIAH FRIEDMAN There’s kind of the external stuff. Like at the beginning of the movie, he’s going with a very clear mission, he’s a man on a mission, he’s a guy who wants to get his wife back. And he has no interest in any of this Nakatomi terrorism crap. And then to get his wife back, he has to deal with Hans and all these people. But he also has to overcome his own thing, which is kind of part of the genius of the movie, which is what makes him such like a difficult, crappy husband is also what makes him so problematic for Hans. He’s kind of relentless, and he stubborn, and he’s belligerent and all these things that make him – you know, in that fight scene in Holly’s office in the middle of the Christmas party, and she leaves and he knocks his head on the bathroom wall, and starts ragging on himself – and he knows he’s the problem, in a sense, but he can’t help himself. And he becomes the problem for Hans in a way that we all love. And part of the fun of that movie is he’s not just killing guys, he’s getting inside, he’s pissing them off. You know there’s the moment when they send Karl and some people after him, and then Karl comes back and destroys the bar cart, and Holly’s like, “He’s still alive.” And her secretary is like, how do you know, and she’s like, “Only John can make somebody that angry.” But okay: John’s only skill isn’t making people mad. He’s a veteran police officer, and as he demonstrates, he’s a pretty good one. We see him putting together the clues. [CLIP - DIE HARD - JOHN - FAKE IDS AND EUROPEAN CLOTHING LABELS] Katie Walsh, film critic for the Tribune News Service and LA Times. KATIE WALSH And then you get John McClane, who’s just like – kind of just a guy. He’s a normal, everyday guy; he doesn’t have special training other than being a cop. He uses common sense and he’s not like a special forces guy he’s not a military dude. He’s just like, I’m just using my everyday knowledge of being a cop and applying that to this situation. So, in many ways he does fit the mold of this singular hero who’s resourceful and thinks on his feet and has, you know a specific set of skills, but it’s not so outside the realm of everyday possibility. SIMONE: He doesn’t have the Liam Neeson “set of special skills.” KATIE: No, no. You’re not like, Oh my god, this guy was in the special forces, you kind of look at him and go, you know, this guy is just a really good cop who happens to be very physically gifted and resourceful. Something I read that I really, really loved is how even though John is armed with a machine gun (ho ho ho), he uses it as so much more. From the blog “Another Angry Woman”: “And yet, in John’s hands, the primary function of the gun is not as a weapon. There are more instances within the film of John using the gun as some sort of tool than as something to kill or hurt people with... John is far more creative in his use of firearms. In his hands, a gun becomes a multitude of useful objects as he displays the kind of creative thinking that neurosexists like to term ‘feminine’ as opposed to the logical, analytical male approach. The gun, wielded by John, is a device for allowing escapes as a rig and a thing to get back into the building, as well as jamming a fan. It is also repeatedly used as a last-resort communication device, shooting to make noise and draw attention, shooting to direct a crowd away from explosive death.” John McClane, even though he’s presented as a tough, macho New York City cop, actually ends up subverting macho stereotypes throughout the film. In our last episode, we talked about the hulking meat-trees that starred in other 80s action movies. John McClane is already different in that, while masculine, he’s not masculinity on steroids. In fact, it’s the macho posturing of the forces around him: the LAPD and the FBI versus the terrorists, that creates a stalemate that forces McClane to act. JEREMIAH FRIEDMAN One of the moments I always like to think about and talk about when I'm talking about the movie, is what he jumps off the roof when the roof blows up. When he gets up there – first of all, he’s forced to jump off the roof ‘cause they're shooting at him and he's going to die. And before he does it, he's terrified and he says a prayer to God to please don't let him die. [CLIP - DIE HARD - JOHN - ON ROOF] And it makes him so human, and you've never really seen that and that kind of character before. He's not just doing it because he's a badass, he can do this. He’s doing it because he has to do it. And that's kind of the beauty of the movie. He keeps getting forced Into doing things he does not want to do. And he keeps trying to get out of it, in a way. But he's kind of, the movie plays with all the Western stuff, the Roy Rogers, he's the cowboy he's got to get the job done. But he's scared, and he's vulnerable, and he's angry, and he has very human reactions to the crazy things that are happening around him. So the aspirational quality I think is that you would be able to be a smart and brave and as tough eventually as McClane is. And you would die as hard as he does. I would go out in the... I wouldn't be Ellis, but I would go out pretty quickly. John – and the movie Die Hard itself – gets compared to cowboys in Westerns a lot. As Deep Focus Review puts it, “McClane is established as a newly envisioned but classical Western hero — an Easterner ‘goin’ out West’ to tame the frontier. Gruber, McClane’s nemesis throughout the film, even points this out later by referring to McClane as a cowboy.” And John is a cowboy, in a lot of ways. An honorable sheriff type, trying to save the townspeople with nothing but his wits and his grit. According to the site Script Secrets, “He is a cowboy: an individualistic man whose character is earthy and grounded in reality.” [CLIP - DIE HARD - HANS - GARY COOPER] And there it is. Even while he’s a cocky, swaggering cowboy, one of the cowboys John McClane resembles most is Gary Cooper’s Will Kane in High Noon, who was already an in-genre subversion of the cowboy trope. In High Noon, Will Kane learns of a dangerous enemy coming back into town in a mere couple of hours. It’s a man who he once sent to prison, who is now free and will certainly try to seek revenge. At first, Kane attempts to flee with his wife (played by Grace Kelly), but he feels compelled to end this threat to his life, and the safety of the townspeople. So he comes back to face him… but discovers that the townsfolk won’t help him. Kane is left alone to face Frank Miller. And he’s afraid. He’s visibly desperate and afraid. But with no other choice, he shows down with Miller and his gang, and – with a little assist from his wife – he takes them all out. McClane’s fear and vulnerability was the biggest twist in the action movie genre at the time. From Deep Focus Review again: “McClane is not an impervious robotic warrior carved from the template of the action movie gods. Embodied by Willis with pitch-perfect humanism, McClane bleeds, cries out in pain and emotional desperation, and has imperfections that become his trademark. One of the film’s most memorable characteristics is how much physical punishment McClane endures and how such wear amasses on him through the course of the film.” Or how wear doesn’t amass through the film – by the end of the movie, John’s lost his shirt alongside his shoes, and heads into his final confrontation with Hans almost stripped bare. SASHA PERL-RAVER Girl, what isn’t broken inside of John McClane? His marriage is broken, the smoking is broken, the bare feet - the bare feet is such a great example of a character whose vulnerability you just can't avoid. He obviously has a lot of interpersonal stuff going on with his wife, with his family, with wanting to save all these people. Also with just wanting to be good at his job. But you don't like the physical embodiment of it, as you see him get more like, cut up and bloodied, as he's running through the glass to get to exit, all of that stuff is such a great way to make the character somebody who you're like, “Oh, I see that.” I wonder if the movie got made now, if they would have allowed him to get his bloodied up as he does. Because he looks messed up by the end of the film, as well he should. JEREMIAH FRIEDMAN And that’s part of the fun of the movie. You watch him – they really put him through the ringer. He gets the crap beaten out of him in that movie, in a way that doesn’t really happen in the sequels as much. That’s kind of fun – you feel like he’s running this gauntlet, and at the end, when he wins, he earns it. He earns the right to kill Hans and save his marriage, because he’s really been put through hell by this entire experience. And again that goes back to the making him human: he’s bleeding, and he’s tired, and he’s angry and frustrated, and he’s reacting like a heightened human being would react as opposed to just a cartoon movie hero. The obvious physical manifestation of John’s vulnerability is his cut up feet. John was caught by surprise by the terrorist takeover, in the middle of a quiet moment when he is practically defenseless. But it’s his emotional vulnerability that makes us feel for him. And how the filmmakers show John’s emotional vulnerability is nothing short of genius. Deep Focus Review: “Some of McClane’s best moments are by himself as he talks himself through the situation. Whereas stone-faced lone heroes had machine-gunned their way through countless bad guys in action movies before, McClane just an average cop, after all, not even a super-cop... In this unpolished treatment of McClane, and the character’s ability to make observations about his own situation, he becomes instantly ‘real’ when compared to his unstoppable counterparts.” [CLIP - DIE HARD - JOHN - WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP THEM] KATIE WALSH You know, I love when he’s talking to himself when he’s alone in the building, and I think the script as kind of brilliant in the sense that he gets the radios, and so he can talk to everybody. They're all in different spots in the building, But he can talk to Al, he can talk to Hans, he can talk to all these different people. And that really keeps the story moving, and it also lets us understand him as a person and the way he presents himself. So I think that the way that they function the radios in that whole thing is so brilliant in terms of storytelling. But I also love when he’s just talking to himself, and he’s like “No, John, why didn’t you stop them, John.” And you can tell, he’s kind of got like anxiety or something, he’s, you know. Like, that's what I would say to myself if I was in that situation. “Aw, darn it, why did you do that?” So you relate to him in that way ‘cause you are getting some insight into his psyche. It’s not like you can’t understand him. You totally understand him. One scene in particular is the perfect example of John’s physical and emotional vulnerabilities intersecting. [CLIP - DIE HARD - JOHN AND AL - BATHROOM] To quote Empire Magazine, “McClane has narrowly escaped a gunfight and holes up in a bathroom to remove shards of jagged glass from his shredded feet. As he does so, McClane has a heartfelt back-and-forth with Reginald VelJohnson’s Al Powell, an LA flatfoot with whom he has forged a brotherly connection over a walkie-talkie. As their dialogue exchange continues, McClane — alone, badly injured and afraid — breaks down and starts sobbing. [In] Willis, audiences were suddenly confronted with a recognisably vulnerable hero who didn’t have all the answers, who didn’t laugh — or stoically squint — in the face of danger or death. Sure, he cracked wise, but his humour felt organic, a defence mechanism to keep him sane. Here was a hero who made Arnie and his muscle-bound ilk seem antiquated.” John’s relationships with other people are what keeps him going. His trying to ensure Holly’s safety is his sole motive throughout the movie. The thought of her helps him to push through his fear and pain. But it’s also his walkie-talkie relationship with fellow cop Al Powell that gives him the extra, in-the-moment support to stave off despair. SASHA PERL-RAVER What is the most important vulnerabilities that he has, is his yearning to be back with his wife. The relationship he has with Bonnie Bedelia, wanting to keep her safe, wanting to make sure that the mother of his child is okay, that’s huge. But also I love the relationship he has with Al, I think that's really, really special, and the way that he's able to latch on to this voice through the radio and they have such a strong bond and connection, is really beautiful. It’s bromance the way we wanna see it. Dudes supporting other dudes in this great way. From his feet to his emotions, from his relationship with his wife to his battle with the terrorists, John McClane’s story is a perfect example of external and internal conflict aligning. As Script Secrets puts it, “But what makes Die Hard into a superior script is the nexus between the Villain's Plan and the Protagonist's character arc... What makes John McClane the perfect protagonist for Die Hard is that the external conflict forces him to confront and solve an internal conflict, leading to a single solution which solves both problems and brings peace to the protagonist. It is only after he faces and conquers this internal conflict that he becomes strong enough to take on Hans (his external conflict) and rescue Holly and the other hostages. Without the external conflict from Hans' Plan, McClane would not have been forced to resolve this problem, and their marriage would have ended. The resolution for the external conflict and internal conflict intersect, creating a strong, organic plot.” Shannon Hubbell, editor-in-chief of LewtonBus.net. SHANNON HUBBELL And also, beyond the fact that he just happens to be there in the building, and he wants to get the bad guys and he wants to save all the hostages, he's there for an emotional reason. He shows up having screwed up his relationship with his wife. And he wants to save her. He has an emotional connection to what he's trying to do. Going back to Under Siege, Segal's character in that is just a cook who used to be a Navy Seal. And he just happens to be in the ship, and there's no real motivation for him being a total action movie bad ass other than him just naturally being an action movie bad ass. So yeah, McClane is extremely relatable. He wants to save his wife, he wants to preserve the relationship with his wife. And also by extension his kids and whatnot. He's a person who happens to be pretty damn good at killing people. SIMONE: Well you know the best arcs are the ones that we are on the outside what's happening on the inside. So he's literally fighting to save his wife. SHANNON: Yeah, absolutely. JEREMIAH FRIEDMAN And I would say the closest he comes to really arcing is the bathroom scene, when he’s pulling the glass out of his feet, and he’s on the radio with Karl – er, Al, not Carl Winslow… He’s on the radio with Al, and he kind of gives up and starts thinking that he’s not going to make it out. And he takes responsibility for the failure of his marriage. I think that’s pretty much an arc. I mean, he’s able to get someplace emotionally he wasn’t able to get earlier in the movie and from that, he kind of earns the epiphany of “what was Hans doing on the roof?” And then he goes up to the roof and there’s the C4 and all that stuff. But even with the impeccably plotted script and carefully built character of John McClane, the role could have easily fallen flat without that third element: the actor. (Or Fifth Element, heyo.) Remember, they wanted to cast pretty much anyone BUT Bruce Willis as the lead for this movie. They looked at everyone from Schwarzennegger and Stallone to Don Johnson and Richard Gere to Burt Reynolds and Robert De Niro. In the end, they took a huge, five million dollar gamble on Bruce Willis. But it worked. ADAM STERNBERGH But I think if you were to watch Die Hard and Raiders of the Lost Ark side by side, there’s something about the Indiana Jones character that seems a little bit more well-rounded than the John McClane character. But at the same time, you know, you might even say that about watching Casablanca or something like that. I mean, there’s many actors and many great characters in Hollywood history where the lead performance is essentially the actor’s extraordinary charisma carrying it, and it’s not something that any other actor could have brought to the role. And so sometimes I think you know, lightning just strikes and you end up with the right person in the right role and so in many ways I just feel like John McClane was, like, Bruce Willis; he was the embodiment of whatever it was that people loved about Bruce Willis, this kind of irascible, indefatigable charm that he had. SASHA PERL-RAVER I think that Bruce Willis certainly is a better actor. And is therefore better able to get the pathos across, and able to really deliver the lines without feeling like you learned them phonetically. Which is something you get a lot of in Schwarzenegger's early performances and even later performances.  SCOTT WAMPLER Well I also think Bruce Willis is an asshole but not a lovable one. I think the Bruce Willis at that point in his career, though, is not the Bruce Willis that we know today. You know, he was still humble, he started out as a bartender. I think Bruce Willis, when he made Die Hard, even though he had been on Moonlighting and was still kind of hot shit at that time, was – he hadn’t developed the full Bruce Willis ego that has sort of come to define him in his later years. People knew who he was because of Moonlighting, and a series of very entertaining Bartles & Jaymes commercials that I would encourage all of your listeners to go find on YouTube. That will make your fucking skin crawl with embarrassment. [CLIP - BRUCE WILLIS SEAGRAM'S COMMERCIAL] But, you know, he was not a Stallone or a Schwarzenegger. He wasn’t even a Van Damme. He was a guy. He was just a dude. And still doing Bogart a little bit. He’s still got that earthiness to him. SHANNON HUBBELL But also before die-hard established him as an action hero, much like Kurt Russell in Escape From New York, That was the first action role for Kurt Russell. He was in Disney movies before that. He was in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. And then John Carpenter put an eye patch on him and some tattoos and told him to growl. And now he's an action star. And it was kind of the same thing with Bruce Willis. He was more of a comedic actor as I recall, before that. Again tying in with the idea of McClane being more relatable, everyman-ish action hero, having someone who's completely not associated with the action genre before that, really makes that character work. He's just a dude. He's just a balding dude. KATIE WALSH But yeah, he’s charming, he’s funny, he’s a better actor. He’s got the gift of gab. It’s a different star persona and it’s a different acting ability, completely. John McTiernan has said something similar. “Bruce is most endearing when he’s being a smart-ass. That’s the essence of his stardom is somebody’s pointing a gun right between his eyes and he goes, ‘Oops.’ That irreverence is what we seem to love about him.” Willis even improvised the “Hi, honey” at the end of the movie. [CLIP - DIE HARD - JOHN - HI HONEY] As Empire Magazine put it, “It’s testament to Willis that he not only thwarts Gruber’s heist, but also Rickman’s own audacious attempt to walk away with a multi-million dollar movie. Willis’ performance in Die Hard is hungry and committed, redolent of a man visiting the Last Chance Saloon, and it worked handsomely, turning him into a bona fide megastar. What’s more, his McClane — a likeable mix of working-stiff neuroses, desperate heroics and wise guy sardonics — changed the face of action heroes forever.” In the end, Bruce Willis’s John McClane gave us someone to root for. All of the character’s influences, from reacting to other action heroes to Gary Cooper to Bruce Willis himself, create someone who is… a human. And no matter what extraordinary things we see onscreen, telling human stories is where film is most powerful. It’s why Die Hard rises above its peers – all thanks to John McClane. In our next episode, we’ll take a look at John’s wife Holly. Whether she goes by Gennaro or McClane, Holly’s role as a working woman, a wife, and a mother brings forward the changing role of women in 1980s film. Thank you to our guests Jeremiah Friedman, Sasha Perl-Raver, Scott Wampler, Reed Fish, Adam Sternbergh, Katie Walsh, and Shannon Hubbell. Be sure to check the show notes on the website to learn more about them. Thanks again for joining me, and yippee-kai-yay, motherfuckers!

Every film is both a product of its environment, and a rebellion against it. Artists (and audiences) search for something new and fresh, but cannot escape the world as it exists around them. Die Hard is no exception. While Die Hard is often marked as a turning point in American action cinema, we must first look at the state of action cinema as it existed before 1988. What does a “typical” 80s action movie look like? What artistic and societal pressures shaped that mold? And in what ways does Die Hard break it? As we kick off this limited series, let us know what you think! Drop us a line at diehardwithapodcast@gmail.com, or visit our site at www.diehardwithapodcast.com.   Source Links A/V Club, Die Hard humanized (and perfected) the action movie Creative Screenwriting, “There is no such thing as an action movie.” Steven E. de Souza on Screenwriting David Bordwell, It's the 80s, stupid Hollywood Suite, The French Connection and the gritty realism of the 70s IndieWire, 10 Defining 1970s Disaster Movies IndieWire, Cruel Summer: Die Hard (1988) James Kendrick, Hollywood Bloodshed: Violence in 1980s American Cinema Medium, New Hollywood: Why The 70's Were The Greatest Decade In America Cinema New York Times, How the American Action Movie Went Kablooey Oxford Bibliographies, Action Movies Slate, In The Parallax View, Conspiracy Goes All the Way to the Top—and Beyond Vulture, How Die Hard Changed the Action Game   Guests Shannon Hubbell Ed Grabionowski Adam Sternbergh Katie Walsh Scott Wampler   Get In Touch Email Website Twitter Facebook Instagram Patreon   Full Episode Transcript Welcome to the podcast, pal. My name is Simone Chavoor, and thank you for joining me for Die Hard With a Podcast! The show that examines the best American action movie of all time: Die Hard. Thank you to everyone who listened to the first episode of the show! It’s been so fun to get this podcast off the ground. Everyone’s been really awesome and supportive, from the listeners to the experts I’ve been talking to for the show. Starting in this episode, we’ll hear from filmmakers, film critics, and pop culture writers to get their perspectives on Die Hard and what it means as a part of film history. I’m excited to introduce them to you later in the show. If you want to share your thoughts on Die Hard and the things brought up on the podcast, reach out! Email Website Twitter Facebook Instagram I’ve been trying to post lots of additional photos and facts to the social media accounts in particular. My favorite so far was a Dungeons and Dragons character alignment chart I made for Die Hard. McClane is Chaotic Good, Al Powell is Lawful Good… You’ll have to visit the pages to see the rest of who’s who on the chart. And if you like this show, kick me a buck or two on Patreon. Patreon helps to offset the cost of doing this show, not just in pure dollars and cents, but for the sheer amount of time this podcast takes to put together. This is my first solo project, and although I have the wonderful, amazing support of my guests and fans, it still takes a lot of time researching, writing, recording, and editing. Patreon There are some cool bonuses you can get, everything from shout outs on the show, to stickers, ornaments, and the bonus episode – which is TBD, because you get to vote on! So check that out, and pitch in if you can. Shout out to our contributors… Rob T, Jason H, and Saint Even! I hope I’m saying that right. Anyone who’s listened to my other podcast knows that I can’t pronounce half the names I come across. It’s amazing how good you think you are at pronouncing things until you get in front of a mic... Thank you so much! You can also support Die Hard With a Podcast by leaving a review on iTunes. With more starred ratings and written reviews, the show becomes more visible to other potential listeners, so please share the love and let me know what you think! All right. On to our main topic. Every film is both a product of its environment, and a rebellion against it. Artists (and audiences) search for something new and fresh, but cannot escape the world as it exists around them. Die Hard is no exception. While Die Hard is often marked as a turning point in American action cinema, we must first look at the state of action cinema as it existed before 1988. What does a “typical” 80s action movie look like? What artistic and societal pressures shaped that mold? And in what ways does Die Hard break it? But before we talk about 80s films, let’s talk about… 70s films. 70s cinema was a time when shit started to get real. After years of glossy studio pictures, filmmakers wanted to show things as they really were. And with Vietnam, Watergate, the oil crisis, rising crime in cities, and so much more, things were… fucked up. And the movies made then reflected that. They were dark, pessimistic, gritty, bleak. No happy endings to be found here. Midnight Cowboy and Taxi Driver are two of the most 70s-ish depressing-ass movies that I like to point out as an example of this. [CLIP: MIDNIGHT COWBOY - I’M WALKING HERE] With that mood in mind, let’s drill down into some specifics. [INTERVIEW: ED GRABIANOWSKI I’m Ed Grabianowski, and I am a longtime writer; I’ve written for sites like io9 and How Stuff Works and a whole bunch of others, and I also write horror and fantasy fiction. If you go back to the 70s, there weren’t really movies in the 70s that were just like action movies, like that you would just define as action movies, to the extent there were later. You instead got sort of different sub-genres; you had sort of like cops and robbers movies with gunfights and car chases, and then you had like martial arts movies with lots of fist fights and sword fights.] Within this general movement, a few particular genres stand out. There was a lot going on in 70s film as the studios’ creative control was usurped by a new wave of auteur filmmakers. Now of course, there were lots of popular genres in this moment, all important in their own ways, like science fiction, horror, spaghetti Westerns, blaxploitation films, kung-fu movies. You can see some through lines from then, to the 80s, and into Die Hard in particular. But for our discussion today, we’re going to focus on three: disaster movies, paranoid political thrillers, and rogue cops and vigilantes. Let’s start with disaster movies. [INTERVIEW: ED GRABIANOWSKI And then you had the disaster movie subgenre, which was a huge trend for a while, and that was more based on spectacle and the visuals of a disaster happening. And also interestingly tended to be more ensemble casts.] After all, As we discussed in our first episode, Die Hard was directly inspired by one of the best-known disaster movies of the 70s: 1974’s The Towering Inferno. These movies featured people going about their business – attending a party, trying to catch a flight, taking a nice little cruise. Then BAM! A fire starts, a bomb goes off, a tsunami hits. These disasters, some natural, some natural-with-the-help-of-man’s-hubris, and some entirely man-made strike large groups of people, who we quickly learn are totally expendable. We follow these thinly written characters in multiple plot lines as they try to escape, survive, or stop whatever calamity is going on. In the process, the audience gets to experience their peril... which usually includes a bunch of explosions. The Towering Inferno boasts an all-star cast that includes Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway, and Fred Astaire. Our main characters are at a dedication ceremony for the new Glass Tower, the now-tallest building in the world. (As an aside, I work quite close to Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, which is currently the tallest building in San Francisco and the second-tallest west of the Mississippi. The fictional Glass Tower in the movie is taller than both of those by 500 feet. And every time I look at it I think about either The Towering Inferno or Nakatomi Tower, and neither of those are things you want to think about on your lunch break.) While at the ceremony, a fire breaks out on the 81st floor, trapping the people above. A group makes it to the roof for an attempted helicopter rescue, but the copter crashes and sets the roof on fire. After many thwarted attempts to escape, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman use plastic explosives to blow up the water tanks on the top of the building, flooding the floors below and putting out the fire. [CLIP: THE TOWERING INFERNO TRAILER] It’s easy to see how novelist Roderick Thorp could see that movie, dream about it, throw in some terrorists, and come up with the seed of Die Hard. As the Watergate scandal unfolded, the paranoid political thriller came to the fore. We’re talking Three Days of the Condor, Parallax View, and obviously All the President’s Men. These are films mostly centered on an individual uncovering a government conspiracy, and trying to either expose it or just escape with their life. But, fitting with the general mood of American cinema at the time, things usually don’t work out too well for the protagonists. Spoiler alert – in these films, usually the big bad government conspiracy gets away with it, leaving the heroes either dead or defeated. The individual, no matter what knowledge they’re armed with, is helpless against the faceless cabal that keeps the populace in line. To put it bluntly, the government is all-powerful and all-knowing, and you, the lone citizen, are fucked if you go against them. [CLIP: ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN TRAILER ] The final 70s genre we’re looking at as a direct influence to Die Hard is the “rogue cop” or “vigilante” movie. The protagonists in these films are also lone individuals, but of a different stripe than what we’ll see later: they’re the anti-heroes. They’re deeply messed up in some way. They’re the cop who doesn’t play by the rules, or the everyman who gets pushed too far by society and turns to violence. Death Wish, Dirty Harry, The French Connection. These movies manifest the existential dread of audiences who feared social upheaval, economic instability, and rising crime in cities. And then they offer the wish fulfillment of being able to buck the rules and do things your way – no matter what the police chief says. [CLIP: DIRTY HARRY] As Ed pointed out earlier, the 70s didn’t have what we consider a blanket “action movie” – as you can see, the genres we just talked about had action in them, but it wasn’t the defining characteristic of the movie. If the word “action” was used to describe a movie in generic terms at all, it was usually paired with the word “adventure” to convey something more fantastic and epic. But moreover, the action in these films was, well… kind of a bummer. Violence and destruction were used to emphasize the more troubling aspects of our society. Even if these scenes were exciting, they were heavy. They were serious. So what tipped these old genres over into a new kind of film at the start of the decade? [INTERVIEW: ED GRABIANOWSKI It just sort of happened. There’s – yes, people – there’s this sort of gestalt like, let’s take elements of all these things and make something that just embodies all of that. And that became the action movie.] Audiences were transforming from Steven and Elyse Keatons into Alex P. Keatons. But in addition to a transition from Carter and the recession to Reagan and a “greed is good” economy, the film industry in particular had new pressures and opportunities that ushered in a new era of filmmaking. David Bordwell, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, sums it up: “With the new attractiveness of the global market, the demands of home video, and increasingly sophisticated special effects, the 1980s brought the really violent action movie into its own.” Bordwell amusingly closes his exploration of 80s action movies with one, lone sentence: “I save for last the obligatory mention of Die Hard, the Jaws of the 1980s: a perfectly engineered entertainment.” Guess that statement stands on its own... The writer of Die Hard and Commando, Steven De Souza, expands on Bordwell’s point about the global market. He says, “I would argue that the genre of an ‘action movie’ is a completely false creature. There is no such thing as an action movie. All movies have action. ‘Action movie’ is a term that was invented in the ‘80s. I think Commando may have been the first one in 1985. They noticed for the first time that a handful of American movies were making more money overseas than in America. This had never happened before. Commando made 60% of its money overseas and 40% in the US. Action speaks louder than words. You don’t need to read the subtitles to know it was a bad idea to kidnap Arnold Schwarzenegger’s little girl. I disagree with the idea that there is such thing as an action movie, but we are stuck with that term now.” Well, if we’re stuck with that term, let’s go with it. So: what makes an action movie? In the 80s, “physical action and violence [became] the organizing principle, from the plot, to the dialogue, to the casting.” That’s according to academic reference site Oxford Bibliographies. Picture your typical action movie poster. There’s probably some kind of aircraft or ship or ground vehicle, maybe a hot lady kinda small and in the corner there… there’s definitely a bunch of fire… And standing tall in the middle, our hero. And he’s probably holding a gun. The lone hero is one of the defining characteristics of what we think of the stereotypical action movie. But he – and it’s almost always a “he” – is different than our “rogue cop” of the 1970s. The 80s action star was a one-man army, alone more powerful than the hordes of henchman thrown up against him. Our hero might have a sidekick or lead a small team, but in the end they’re either ineffectual and/or expendable – by the end of the film, it’s our protagonist who takes down the bad guy by himself. The action hero inhabits his body, not his mind. His powers come from physical strength (and firepower) instead of cleverness. I mean, when we meet Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando, we see multiple shots of his biceps before we even see his face. As IndieWire put it, the heroes are “obscenely pumped-up one-man fighting machine[s]... outrageously entertaining comic-book depictions of outsized masculinity.” [INTERVIEW: ADAM STERNBERGH My name is Adam Sternbergh. I’m a novelist and a contributing editor to New York Magazine and a pop culture journalist. 80s action films, as we think of them now, they’re very excessive, they’re all about a sort of oversized machismo and enormous guns and enormous muscles and enormous explosions. Which was very exhilarating, but I think even by the time Die Hard came out, was starting to feel a little bit tired, and there was a hunger for action film fans – certainly myself, I would have been about seventeen or eighteen, for something a little bit different.] [INTERVIEW: SCOTT WAMPLER My name is Scott Wampler, I’m the news editor at Birth. Movies. Death. I’m also the host of the Trying Times podcast. The first word that’s coming to mind is “sweaty.” When I think of action movies in the 80s I think of, you know, dudes that are super cut up, they look like condoms filled with walnuts, and they’re always glistening with sweat. And usually there’s a dirty tank top involved, or maybe some camo pants.] [INTERVIEW: SHANNON HUBBELL My name is Shannon Hubbell, I’m editor-in-chief of LewtonBus.net. I’d say action films of the 80s – I mean, it’s obviously dominated by Schwarzenegger and Stallone, and so a lot of the larger action films are centered around big, burly, unstoppable killing machines. Just barely human. Other than Terminator, that kinda thing doesn’t yank my chain. But also, you have things like, say, Escape from New York – smaller fare, different types of heroes, anti-heroes, instead of just hulking, machine-gun-spraying douchebags.] Matrix and Dutch, Rambo and Cobra – these guys were far from helpless. Once pulled into a conflict by circumstance, our hero is unstoppable. It’s a reclaiming of agency that had been taken away by faceless forces in the 70s. Our heroes’ incredible power is just that: incredible. I know this might be shocking news to you, but a lot of these 80s action movies are… unrealistic. After all, in Predator, Arnold escapes a thermo-nuclear explosion by just… running away. These guys are superheroes pretending to be regular dudes. Comic book movies weren’t so much a thing yet, although we did have that platonic ideal of a superhero – Superman – appear onscreen in ‘78, ‘81, ‘83, and ‘87. But invulnerability is okay. That’s part of the appeal. We want the heroes that fight for truth, justice, and the American way to be assured of victory. This leads into another characteristic of 80s action: patriotism. Now, of course, not all of our protagonists are American. Arnold definitely does not – er… can not – try to pass for an American, and neither can Jean Claude Van Damme. But most of our protagonists are not only American, but working-class, everymen Americans who are just trying to get by with an honest day’s work. Sometimes that honest day’s work involves special forces missions, but you know what I mean. Adam Sternbergh explains. [INTERVIEW: ADAM STERNBERGH There was a sort of parallel ascent of the John Rambo paradigm, and Ronald Reagan. And Reagan was quite open about making references to Rambo, and I think Reagan at one point quoted the Dirty Harry line, “Make my day.” And there was a real sense in American culture that post the 1970s, post Jimmy Carter, post this national ennui or whatever people decided had overtaken the country, that America was being proud of being America again, and part of that was watching movies in which American POWs blow entire countries. And in fact the third Rambo movie is just sort of a ridiculous patriotism porn where he goes to Afghanistan and essentially single-handedly defeats the Russian Army in Afghanistan. That kind of action movie, I think if you look at it in a historical, sociological context, it made perfect sense for the national mood.] [CLIP: REAGAN AND RAMBO] In other words, if America was in fact a shining city on a hill, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Carl Weathers were there to guard its walls. Finally, the hallmark of an action movie is all the… [GUNSHOTS, EXPLOSIONS] If you’re having a celebration of American masculinity and strength, what else are you gonna do but blow shit up? There was certainly a fetishization of weapons in the preceding decade. Robert Blake’s character Beretta shared his name with that of a gun manufacturer, and Dirty Harry gives a whole soliloquy about his .45 Magnum. But the films that followed had to be bigger. Louder. If the 70s were the decade of the handgun, the 80s were the decade of the automatic weapon. [CLIP: NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN, HO HO HO] General explosions were also bigger and better, due to improved special effects technologies. The disaster movie of course had terrific destruction, but the buildings getting blown up were more obviously flimsy sets, if not just miniatures. And to me, the differentiating factor that separates 70s action from 80s action, was that 80s violence and destruction was… celebratory. It was fun. It was generally free of consequence. Our hero can’t die, remember? And the bad guys he’s blowing away are largely faceless cartoon characters, a dime a dozen. It was perfectly okay to sit in a theater and shove popcorn in your mouth while large-scale mayhem unfolded before your eyes. With these definitions in place, let’s go back and tick off the action movie characteristics that Die Hard shares. Lone hero? Check. John McClane is almost totally alone, with only a walkie-talkie as a tether to the outside world. The LAPD and FBI are ostensibly on his side, but they’re certainly not working with him. John must face a whole gang of terrorists by himself to rescue his wife. We’re confident that he’ll achieve his goal, even if things look dicey sometimes. [INTERVIEW: ADAM STERNBERGH I mean, Die Hard was similar in the sense that it featured a sort of lone, male protagonist who’s battling against the odds, and if faced with a sort of intractable situation where he’s trying to fight his way out using his brains and brawn. An interesting parallel is the movie Commando, which came out just a couple years earlier with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he basically has 24 or 48 hours save his daughter from these evil military types. And he goes about breaking everyone’s neck and shooting a bunch of people and blowing things up, and spoiler: he saves the daughter at the end. And so in that sense, Die Hard was sort of a very familiar setup. It obviously was kind of ingenious setup because it launched its own mini-genre of movies, which was the “Die Hard in a blankity-blank movie.”] Physical prowess? Mmm, not as much. John McClane isn’t in bad shape, not at all. He’s a cop, he can brawl. But he’s not one of those guys with “gleaming sweat [and] bulging muscles that couldn’t possibly exist without chemical enhancement... A bodybuilder’s fever dream, the sort of thing he might imagine after doing a mountain of blow and watching nothing but early MTV for 48 hours,” as the AV Club puts it. [INTERVIEW: ADAM STERNBERGH Everything else was moving in that direction, toward more invulnerable, more muscular, more explosive. And then Die Hard came along and said, what if a real, normal guy found himself in this situation? What would he do, and how would he prevail?] Bruce Willis’s embodiment of a wisecracking cop caught in an extraordinary situation was a key factor in John McClane’s believability. [INTERVIEW: SHANNON HUBBELL On paper, just like describing Die Hard to someone, you can totally imagine Schwarzenegger playing that role, or Stallone playing that role. It’s the details and execution that makes it different. You have a character who is fallible, and hurtable and emotionally vulnerable, which is not something that comes across in a paragraph synopsis of Die Hard.] John is a pretty regular guy. He gets tired, he gets hurt. In fact, his physical vulnerability in the original Die Hard is famous. [CLIP: SHOOT THE GLASS] [INTERVIEW: ADAM STERNBERGH From the very beginning of the movie, when he takes his shoes off at the beginning of the movie, you know, he’s in bare feet, he’s incredibly vulnerable and there’s this real sense that he’s this regular guy, who, there’s no way he’s going to accomplish this. He doesn’t even seem to believe it at the beginning. And it makes it so much more satisfying at the end of the movie when he does; he’s bloodied and he’s broken and his feet are bleeding. And that was just so different from that kind of Rambo, Schwarzenegger paradigm that had been established that had been so successful.] When you watch an action movie, you get the thrill of watching a superman executing a perfect plan. But watching a normal guy making it up as he goes along in Die Hard, you start to wonder – what would I do in this situation? We’ll get more into McClane’s physical and emotional vulnerability in our next episode. Patriotism? Die Hard isn’t an explicitly jingoistic film. There aren’t American flags waving as soldiers fight to defend American values. But we do have John, a white, heterosexual, working-class dude as our hero. See, not only is John representative of the American way of life, he also reflects a tension between classes within America, as well as in relationship to other world powers. Our bad guys are an International House of Terrorists, including what Ellis calls… [CLIP: ELLIS EUROTRASH] [INTERVIEW: ADAM STERNBERGH I think there’s definitely some quintessential American ideas of class in the movie, and it’s not a mistake that the terrorists are not just Europeans but they’re all wearing turtlenecks and sort of beautiful European clothes and then there is a whole conversation in the elevator between Hans and Mr. Takagi about their suits and their respective tailors. And John McClane’s just a guy with a singlet on, running around like Johnny Lunchbucket. And I think at that particular moment in American history, that was a very resonant idea, again because there was this sense of America’s influence in the world being undermined – in particular by Japan, but just in general. American industry and this sort of notion of the blue-collar American economy was faltering in coming out of the 1970s. There was a sense that that was changing. So McClane is interesting, and I wonder if you made Die Hard now, if he would still be a New York cop, or if they would try to make him even more of a kind of heartland hero.] It’s also worth noting the presence of another foreign “threat” in Die Hard. The Nakatomi Corporation represents a very real American fear in the 80s that the Japanese wouldn’t so much invade as they would conduct a hostile takeover. Richard Brody of The New Yorker explains: “There’s another ethnic anxiety that the movie represents—the film is centered on the Nakatomi Corporation, headed by a Japanese-American man named Joseph Takagi, which is an emblem of the then widely stoked fear that Japanese high-tech businesses were threatening to dominate the American economy.” At the time, the Japanese economy was booming thanks to post-World War II reconstruction and a strong manufacturing industry. Japanese corporations began buying American companies, starting with car factories, steel works, and media companies – industries that are held as quintessentially American. [CLIP: TAKAGI TAPE DECKS] [INTERVIEW: ADAM STERNBERGH It also has interesting strains of things that were happening in politics at the time, you know, the whole idea of a Japanese corporation that’s come to America and is a powerful corporation, and then the American inevitably has to save them. There’s a little mini-genre of 80s-era films that were sort of about America’s anxiety about Japan’s rising influence in the world. So I think a little bit of that is in Die Hard. You know, this sort of twist of having the terrorists be political terrorists who just turn out to be greedy robbers, was a little bit of a wink at the notion that all the other movies were about politics.] As Adam points out, American fear of this so-called threat can be seen in more than just Die Hard. 1986’s Gung Ho is specifically about a Japanese company buying Michael Keaton’s character’s auto plant. The Back to the Future series (which kicked off in 1985) also has a few telling moments. [CLIP: BACK TO THE FUTURE ALL THE BEST STUFF IS MADE IN JAPAN] [CLIP: BACK TO THE FUTURE II McFLY’S BOSS] In Die Hard, Nakatomi is positioned as not just another Japanese mega-corporation with more money than they know what to do with, but it’s also the company that is threatening to take Holly away from John. Okay, onto our last action movie qualifier: [CLIP: GUNSHOTS, EXPLOSIONS] Welp, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Die Hard has big explosions and over-the-top stunts. Lots of ‘em – and really good ones, too. They’re well choreographed and a pleasure to watch. Plus, they keep their own sense of fun. Having your hero dispatch a bad guy and follow it with a quippy remark is a classic action movie cliche. [CLIP: FEET SMALLER THAN MY SISTER] But the difference is that Bruce Willis has the comedy acting chops to actually pull it off. Look, Arnold’s great at a lot of things, but line delivery ain’t one of ‘em. [CLIP: LET OFF SOME STEAM] In the end, Die Hard is very much in the mold of traditional 80s action movies – and where it breaks that mold, is where it improves upon it. Hollywood’s been trying to recapture that magic ever since. [INTERVIEW: SCOTT WAMPLER I would say that it probably broke a general mold that had a hold on Hollywood for at least a decade. Outside of the work of say, Stallone, Schwarzenegger, who – you know, Schwarzenegger did a lot of sci-fi stuff, and Stallone – Stallone’s always been pretty ‘oo-rah American.’ But I think Hollywood as a whole, it definitely reformed the template, you know? There were shock waves coming off of Die Hard for at least a decade. You can still feel them.] [INTERVIEW: ADAM STERNBERGH I remember sitting in the theater and watching the movie and just being completely blown away by how great it was and how fresh it felt. That is really the thing I wonder if people watching it now can appreciate, is just how it felt like this gust of fresh air, given all the films that had come before. And those action films again, they were all tightly packed in in just like six or seven years in the 80s. It was a very sort of young genre itself. But this kinda came in and it was just a complete reinvention of what an action film could be, and John McClane was a completely different kind of hero, and it was so exhilarating.] The elevated craft of Die Hard, from the airtight script to McTiernan’s direction to De Bont’s cinematography, to the performances of Willis and Rickman, took what could have been an unremarkable summer flick and turned it into a classic. [INTERVIEW: KATIE WALSH My name’s Katie Walsh. I am a film critic for the Tribune News Service and LA Times. You know, you see enough bad action movies, and then you watch Die Hard, and you’re like, “This is so impeccably made.” The cinematography is gorgeous, there’s these amazing camera movements, and the lighting and all of the stuff that’s going on is just so perfect. And then you’re like, “Okay, this is a perfect movie.” I think cinephiles now are saying John McTiernan’s an amazing director, Jan De Bont is an amazing cinematographer, the craft that goes into this movie is impeccable, and it’s a very well-made movie; I think people are recognizing that.] In our next episode, we’ll dig in to arguably the most important contributor to Die Hard’s success: the character of John McClane, and Bruce Willis’s portrayal of him. So get ready, take off your shoes, make some fists with your toes, and join us next time. Thank you to our guests Adam Sternbergh, Scott Wampler, Shannon Hubbell, Ed Grabionowski, and Katie Walsh. Be sure to check the show notes on the website to learn more about them. Thanks again for joining me, and yippee-kai-yay, motherfuckers!  

This episode Clay and Jeph go from Zero to hero reviewing Hercules Action Game!

Gaming as a career - EP 9 : Action Game ผม ทรั้ม รักษิต และ ยู ปฐวี จะมาคุยกันมั่วๆซั่วๆภาษาเกมเมอร์ สำหรับ EP 9 เราจะมาเม้าท์มอยกันเรื่อง Action game ที่เราชอบเล่น เกมใหญ่ๆ ดังๆทั้งหลาย และเล่าข่าวเดือน Fucking Action Month สำหรับเดือนกุมภากันครับ https://www.facebook.com/gamingasacareer/photos/a.1044301392346291.1073741827.1044298925679871/1135457636563999/ ใครมีคอมเม้นท์อะไร อย่างไร แนะนำ ติชม กันได้เลยครับ จะที่นี่ก็ได้ จะที่เพจ Gaming as a Career ก็ได้ครับ และ reference ทั้งหลาย อยู่ในเพจนะครับ Music Credit Music ⓒ - Kevin MacLeod Itty Bitty 8 Bit www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxUiLGgy_Lo Vexento - Tevo https://soundcloud.com/vexento/vexento-tevo

  Jose Leitao, Ryan Danhauser and guest Matt Harpold (who made our banner) talk about Clive Barker in Video games, and Clive Barker's Art. Show Notes Below:  1)  Ocuupy Midian Report 5 by Crystal Raen 2) Gladiators Vs. Zombies http://studios.amazon.com/scripts/3578 3)  Monster Mania http://www.monstermania.net/ 4)  Nightbreed the Action Game 5) Nightbreed the Interactive Movie 6) Noah's Ak NES 7)  Demonik Trailer :  http://www.gamespot.com/demonik/videos/demonik-official-trailer-1-6123857/ 8)  Grandma's Boy 9)  Jericho Trailer  http://www.gamespot.com/clive-barkers-jericho/videos/clive-barkers-jericho-official-trailer-4-6181786/ 10)  Hellbound Heart Cenobite Costume (Tortured Man) 11)  Jericho Characters in Playboy  (concept sketch)  http://www.clivebarker.info/playboy.html 12) Demon Putting out his Eyes statue http://www.gremlins.com/sideshow/bites.html  http://www.gremlins.com/garage/galleryView.jsp?buildupUid=847 13) Clive Barker Imaginer http://www.clivebarkerimaginer.com/menu.php 14) Visions of Heaven and Hell (My Autograph-RD) 15) Demon Putting out His Eyes 16)  My Imajica trading card poster (-RD) 17) Imajica Card Game : Pullusic (-RD) 18)  Barlowes Guide to Fantasy  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barlowe's_Guide_to_Fantasy   -Gek-A-Gek (Not an Oviate -RD) Turbine Divinity on Deviant Art   web www.clivebarkercast.com iTunes (Leave a review!) Clive Barker Podcast and the Occupy Midian group on Facebook Twitter: @BarkerCast | @OccupyMidian forum: www.timewinds.com/clive/forum www.OccupyMidian.com   More from Crystal Raen at www.BringBackNightbreed.blogspot.com  

This week Jason runs down a long list of Xbox Live Indie Games and ten months after release, he checks out MAG. Steven clears off some more demos, as well as finishing the story mode in Puzzle Quest 2. We both check out the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow demo and run down the news of the week. [H:MM:SS] - Show Time Line -------------------- Opening Song (Overture - Halo: Reach OST) [0:00:53] - Introductions [0:01:51] - Jason's Now Playing [0:51:56] - Steven's Now Playing [1:11:01] - News -DC Universe Online - Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Nf-m6WGl4 [1:56:14] - Wrap Up [1:59:04] - End