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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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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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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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.
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Better Than the Movie 26: HOLES w/ Sophia Benoit
Author and comedian Sophia Benoit (Well, This Is Exhausting) joins the Better Than the Movie crew to discuss a modern children's book classic, HOLES by Louis Sachar, and its 2003 live-action Disney adaptation, which was scripted by Sachar himself, directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive), and starred an insanely talented ensemble cast headed by Megalopolis co-stars Shia LaBeouf and Jon Voigt. Both the book and movie have held up extremely well in the ensuing years... but which is better?
Check out Sophia Benoit discussing her book with Tyler Austin on this episode from the Skylight Books archive: https://youtu.be/MxvdzJVo51c?si=Cc2Mq7j_o5YNU21Y
Hosted by Tyler Austin, Allan Traylor, and Justin Remer.
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.
Ireland