Better Than the Movie 27: VINELAND / ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER w/ Rene Franco
Ocean waves, ocean waves. One of the best-loved movies of the fall has been Paul Thomas Anderson's ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. The Better Than the Movie crew is joined by Rene Franco, the head of Skylight's Rabbit Hole Reading Club, to discuss the flick and also the novel which provided some inspiration, Thomas Pynchon's kooky and kaleidoscopic Vineland.
Hosted by Justin Remer, Allan Traylor, and Tyler Austin.
Produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab, with remote recording via Zencastr.
Check out the "Better Than the Movie" audiobook playlist on Libro.FM - https://libro.fm/playlists/skylight-better-than-the-movie
Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.
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1:43:27
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1:43:27
Better Than the Movie Halloween Special 2: GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!
Mwahahaha! The Better Than the Movie crew have gathered again to celebrate R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS horror series for young readers. Rather than just talk ABOUT the books, as they did on the last Halloween special, they talk THROUGH a book. Justin reads a GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS title (a kind of CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE sub-series from the late 1990s) while everyone provides color commentary as the BTTM fellas navigate through various DEAD ENDS (mwahahaha) in search of a happy conclusion.
Hosted by Allan Traylor, Justin Remer, and Tyler Austin.
Produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded at Tyler's house. (Sorry for all the handheld mic rustling.)
"Johnny Graves" commercial taken from HALLOWEEN DREAMS by Creep Tape. Thanks to Matt Meindl for permission to use it.
Selected incidental music by Duck the Piano Wire.
Opening music: "Rumination: If I Should Die (Slowed / Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.
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2:02:10
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SKYLIT: Marie Lu, RED CITY
In Angel City, alchemy is everything. Red City is the new fantasy novel from Marie Lu (Legend, Stars and Smoke). Bookseller Keila Cone-Uemura talks to Lu about the difference between writing for an adult audience and for a YA audience. During this wide-ranging talk, they discuss the inspiration that Lu pulled from her own life and from the city of Los Angeles. They also touch on the unexpected influence of The Hidden Life of Trees upon the new novel, as well as some favorite video games and video game soundtracks.
Pick up a copy of Red City from Skylight books or order the audiobook version from Libro.fm.
Hosted by Keila Cone-Uemura.
Produced by Keila Cone-Uemura and Justin Remer.
Recorded remotely via Zencastr.
Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.
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1:01:45
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1:01:45
Better Than the Movie - Friend of the Fest 2025 Special: JOHNNY MNEMONIC
In advance of the screening of Johnny Mnemonic in Black & White that the BTTM crew is hosting for the American Cinematheque's Friend of the Fest 2025, Allan and Justin get together to discuss the film and the William Gibson short story that inspired it.
If you're going to be in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, why not come to our movie screening at the Los Feliz 3 theater?
Tickets available now on the American Cinematheque website!
Hosted by Allan Traylor and Justin Remer. (Hope that Japan is fun, Tyler!)
Produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded at the LAPL Octavia Lab.
Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.
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1:36:03
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SKYLIT: Alisha Mughal, IT CAN'T RAIN ALL THE TIME: THE CROW
Abashed the devil stood, and felt how awful goodness is. The Crow (1994) is a one-of-a-kind film, borne out of tragedy and thought to be cursed. Critic and culture writer Alisha Mughal takes a look at the film, its graphic novel origins, its beautiful but doomed star Brandon Lee, and much more in her new book for the Pop Classics series, It Can't Rain All the Time: The Crow. Alisha joins Skylight's Justin Remer for a talk about her book, her hyperfixation on the movie, and the '90s grunge ethos.
For more of Alisha Mughal's recent writing, check out:
*"The Lonely Landscapes of Materialists and The Worst Person in the World" on RogerEbert.com
*"Let's Rock: The Dialectic of the the Sublime in Twin Peaks" on FilmDaze.net
For more information on the screening of Johnny Mnemonic hosted by the Skylight Books podcast crew on August 26, 2025, check out:
*The American Cinematheque's website for Friend of the Fest 2025
For Pop Classics titles on audiobook, check out Libro.FM please!
Hosted and produced by Justin Remer.
Recorded remotely via Zencastr.
Opening music: "Optimism (Instrumental)" by Duck the Piano Wire.
Closing music: "Rule of 3s (Solemnity Child)" by Elastic No-No Band.
Ireland