Adam Sztykiel (Let's Have Kids / Bad Monkey / Black Adam) • #392

Summary

Podcast Summary: Films To Be Buried With – Adam Sztykiel (#392)

Host: Brett Goldstein
Guest: Adam Sztykiel (Writer, Director: Let's Have Kids / Bad Monkey / Black Adam)
Date: April 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Brett Goldstein welcomes writer, showrunner, and filmmaker Adam Sztykiel. The conversation dives into Adam’s personal history through the lens of movies that have shaped his life—from his earliest cinema memories through career-defining projects and vulnerable moments, with a signature blend of wit and warmth. Together, they unpack laughter, tears, fear, partnership, and legacy, all by way of their favorite films. Adam also shares the unique experience of writing with his wife and the drive behind his new film Let's Have Kids.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Adam & Brett’s Creative Connection

• How they met: Adam was the creator and co-showrunner of the pilot "Spaced Out", which Brett was cast in alongside Bill Lawrence—a pivotal moment in Brett's career.
  • “I like to think that I, yes, played a very tiny part in the beautiful union that you and Bill have made with many creative babies.” (Adam, 04:43)
• Early Hollywood experiences: Brett’s story about being told the pilot was a sure thing, packing up his life, and the shock of the unpredictable business.

2. Transition to TV and Collaborations

• Adam’s move from film to TV was catalyzed by meeting Jeff Ingold and Bill Lawrence, with whom he co-created "Undateable."
  • Bill Lawrence’s tenacity as a showrunner detailed: “That dude is P.T. Barnum. He’ll be. He will do anything to keep his babies going.” (Adam, 06:09)

3. Let's Have Kids: The New Film

• Written with his wife, inspired by her parenting podcast and classic adult comedies.
• Premise: Two lifelong best friends strive to have kids at the same time, but their friendship is tested when only one becomes pregnant.
  • “It feels like sort of adult character-driven comedies, you know, about some real stuff just don’t get made anymore... the movies I grew up on, like Rob Reiner, Nora Ephron, Cameron Crowe.” (Adam, 08:01)
• Emphasis on the value of writing with his wife, the importance of validation from a partner, and balancing honesty with vulnerability in a creative marriage.

4. The Death Scenario & Views on Mortality

• Brett’s signature conceit: the guest is told “you’ve died.”
• Adam’s comedic story: Died at nearly 90—trampled in a robot mosh pit at a “Pacific Northwest World” theme park during a Nirvana robot cover band show. (14:14)
• Reflects on mortality, Buddhist philosophy (“little drops returning to the ocean”), and concern for those left behind.
• Adam’s heaven: Movie-filled, cinemas everywhere.

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In-Depth Movie Q&A Highlights

First Movie Memory

• The Muppets Take Manhattan (first half, empty theater, unnerved by solitude), followed by Supergirl (in a crowd with his sister and dad).
  • “I became so unnerved by the fact that there is no one else in the theater that I cannot focus on this movie.” (Adam, 18:00)
  • Memorable for the communal aspect of cinematic experience.

Movie That Scared Him Most

• Lost Highway (David Lynch):
  • “David Lynch, I’m convinced, has the codes to just the deepest, darkest, scariest parts of my brain.” (Adam, 21:10)
  • Highlights Lynch’s ability to unsettle through atmosphere, especially the “mystery man” phone scene.

Most Emotional Movie/Crying

• Logan (James Mangold), watched on an airplane leading to an embarrassing public cry.
  • “It just is his daughter. It’s like a lot. It’s just a great story. He’s trying so hard and he did everything he could, but he couldn’t get there.” (Adam, 24:20)
  • Related profoundly as a father of two.

Underrated or Guilty Pleasure Film

• Bloodsport (Jean-Claude Van Damme):
  • Admits the movie isn’t “good” but watched it countless times as a kid on VHS; forms part of his film DNA. (25:52–28:21)

Film That No Longer Holds Up

• The Toy (Richard Pryor):
  • “I did not show it to them first, thank God... it’s problematic to say the least.” (28:28)
  • Revisiting childhood favorites as a parent reveals past cultural insensitivities.

Film With the Most Meaningful Viewing Experience

• Children of Men: First date with his (now) wife—did not realize how intense/traumatizing it would be for her sensitive temperament.
  • “We walked out, and I remember being like, how amazing was that? And she looked like she just lived through the movie.” (Adam, 31:13)

Film He Most Relates To

• Logan again, for its aging, father-daughter strife, and emotional rawness:
  • “He is so broken... my body’s falling apart. Both my daughters are incredibly headstrong. Just like you know... it’s Logan. Just an old man fighting with a daughter, getting yelled at by his kids for two hours.” (Adam, 32:58)

Sexiest Film

• Contempt (Le Mépris, Jean-Luc Godard):
  • “It is so good... It is French, they’re like smoking cigarettes, the whole time they kiss... it’s soft and sensual. It’s just like washing over me.” (Adam, 34:11)

Student Films & Symmetry

• Briefs on film school (USC), cutting on film, and a short he made, “Writing Women”—a metafictional piece about a man struggling to write female characters before finding inspiration in real life.
  • Remarked on how art mirrored life in later career writing with his wife. (35:45–37:14)

Troubling Attraction Scene (Wide-On)

• The Shining (Room 237): Admits the scene is arousing before turning horrific, and subsequent viewings make him “worry” that he still finds it attractive despite knowing the twist. (37:34–38:09)

Objectively Greatest Film of All Time

• The Social Network (David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin, Jesse Eisenberg):
  • Highlights script, direction, performance, and increasing relevance. (38:35–41:04)
  • “Every scene in that movie feels like it is done at such a high level... it’s more meaningful every year that goes by.” (Adam, 39:32)

Most Rewatched Film

• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:
  • “It’s got all the things that are fucking brilliant... But the father-son story is amazing. It’s so funny and it makes me cry.” (Brett, 42:54)
  • Praised for humor, action, and “perfect” Spielberg touch.

Worst/Most Disappointing Film

• The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick):
  • “I went into that movie ready to be like, this is going to be a religious experience. And then... it just didn’t click for me.” (Adam, 44:53)
  • Distinction between pure badness vs. disappointment vs. expectation.

Funniest Film

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail; also Spaceballs:
  • “When you’re a kid and you see that movie for the first time, there is a level of comedy and a style of comedy I didn’t even know existed.” (Adam, 46:36)

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Final Film Choice For the Afterlife (Movie Night in Heaven)

Pick: Die Hard

• “It’s got love in it... I love that when he shows up, him and his wife, from whom he is separated, you can watch them try to have a nice moment and then they are arguing almost immediately, which is so real. And then ultimately that movie is about them reconciling their relationship.” (Adam, 49:21)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On his career’s odd trajectory:

  • “I’m not a big looker backer to that. So it’s funny when someone says it all back to you, you go, wow, that’s... Whoever that is, they’ve done all right.” (Adam, 03:55)

• On receiving validation from his wife:

  • “I have waited 15 years to hear you say that... the validation of your partner means so much.” (Adam, 09:17)

• On horror and Lynch:

  • “I remember driving home from that movie... just wanting to be like, can we turn all the lights on and just have a conversation? Because I’m so freaked out.” (21:10)

• On film as community:

  • “I think I was just wired to, I wanted to be with people.” (Adam, 19:35)

• On aging and parenting:

  • “He is so broken... my body’s falling apart. Both my daughters are headstrong. Just like in ‘Logan’.” (Adam, 32:58)

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Recommended Viewing/Projects

• Let's Have Kids (Adam Sztykiel, upcoming release)
• Bad Monkey, Season 2 (Apple TV+)

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Timestamps of Significant Segments

• 03:42: Brett introduces Adam’s career and their connection
• 08:00: Adam discusses Let’s Have Kids and working with his wife
• 14:14: Adam’s comic “death” scenario (robot mosh pit)
• 17:47: First movie memory
• 21:10: Scariest film—Lost Highway
• 24:20: Most emotional film—Logan
• 25:52: Guilty pleasure—Bloodsport
• 28:28: Childhood film that didn’t hold up—The Toy
• 31:08: Most meaningful viewing—Children of Men
• 34:03: Sexiest film—Contempt
• 38:35: Objectively greatest film—The Social Network
• 42:37: Most re-watched—Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• 44:53: Biggest film letdown—The Thin Red Line
• 46:33: Funniest film—Monty Python & the Holy Grail
• 49:21: Final film for heaven—Die Hard

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Closing Thoughts

Adam Sztykiel offers a lively, thoughtful, and deeply personal journey through the films that built his worldview, shaped his creative sensibilities, and punctuated the milestones of his life. The episode moves deftly between humor, nostalgia, and real emotion, serving not just as a tribute to cinema, but to partnership, parenting, and finding meaning in movies both great and guilty-pleasure. A must-listen for anyone who believes films are more than entertainment—they’re a language for life.

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Transcript

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[Brett Goldstein]

Look out.

[Podcast Host Narrator]

It's only Films to be Buried With. Hello and welcome to Films to be Buried With.

[Brett Goldstein]

My name is Brett Goldstein.

[Podcast Host Narrator]

I'm a comedian, an actor, a writer, a director, a patty cake and I love films. As Carl Sagan once said, somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known. Have you seen Train Dreams yet or what?

[Brett Goldstein]

Hell, it's a banger.

[Podcast Host Narrator]

Every week I invite a special guest over. I tell them they've died. Then I get them to discuss their life through the films that meant the most of them. Previous guests include Barry Jenkins, Kevin Smith, Sharon Stone and even. But this week we have the writer, producer and director. It's the brilliant Adam Stiiel. You can see me live if you want to come see some of my stand up. I have a couple of dates coming

[Brett Goldstein]

up in New York and LA.

[Podcast Host Narrator]

You can find them at BretGoldsteinTour.com all of Shrinking Season 3 is now available to watch on Apple TV and you can still watch my film all of youf, which I made with Will Bridges and Imogen poots on Apple TV. Head over to the [e-mail] BrettGoldstein where you get an extra time with Adam. We talk beginnings and endings. You get the whole episode uncut ad free and also as a video. Check it out. It's [e-mail] BrettGoldstein so Adam Sti Keel. You might know him from his work as a writer on Due Date, Maid of Honor and Bad Monkey. His new film, let's have Kids, which he wrote, directed and produced, is coming out very soon. Check it out. It's brilliant. I've known Adam for a few years now and we recorded this over zoom the other week. We had a very lovely chat He's a brilliant man. He's also integral in my life, so I really appreciate him coming on. And I really think you're going to love this one. So that is it for now. I very much hope you enjoy episode 392 of Films to be Buried With.

[Brett Goldstein]

Hello and welcome to Films to Be Buried With. It is me, Brett Goldstein, and I'm joined today by a writer, a showrunner, a maid of honor, a due dater, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Road Chipper, A Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Long Hauler, A rampager, A Scoob, A Black Adam, A Family Switch. He's a showrunner, he's an executive producer, he's a creator, he's undateable, he's Whiskey cavalier, he's a bad monkey, and he's about to let us have kids. He's also a huge part of why I am where I am today. Please, will you welcome to the show. He's one of the greats. It's Adam Stigo.

[Adam Stigile]

Thanks, buddy. That was a lot of fun. And it's very strange to hear it all lined up like that.

[Brett Goldstein]

That was very thorough and a well earned and fascinating cv. You've done a lot. You've done a lot.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah. Again, I'm not a big looker. Backer to that. Another one. And so it's funny when someone says it all back to you, you go, wow, that's. Whoever that is, they've done. All right.

[Brett Goldstein]

Give it.

[Adam Stigile]

Their parents are proud.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. I actually want to know how it all started. But first, let me tell the listeners, just in case they don't know how we know each other and why you're such an integral part of my life. Because you were the creator and co showrunner of the pilot that I got cast in with Bill Lawrence, which is where me and Bill met. And we made this pilot. Your pilot called Spaced Out.

[Adam Stigile]

Yes.

[Brett Goldstein]

Which was fantastic. And I was convinced, we were all

[Adam Stigile]

convinced it was getting made ultimately probably better. It's good that it did it. And I like to think that I, yes, played a very tiny part in the beautiful union that you and Bill have made with many creative babies. But that was an awesome pilot. I mean, that was like. It was cool. We basically built SpaceX on a soundstage and made a workplace comedy out of it. And I remember showing up on that set and being like, this is bananas. We got a full size rocket going through here right now.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah, that was a fun one, man.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, it was cool. And it was my first taste of, like, Hollywood madness. Because at the end of the shoot, it had been so good. And Jeff Ingold, who is Bill Lawrence's partner, he said to me, great work, buddy. See you in August.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah. Famous last words.

[Brett Goldstein]

And so I went back to England. Like, yeah, I guess I'm packing up my life. And this show is happening right in a place.

[Adam Stigile]

I mean, we're going to be on TV for 10 years. Wild.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. But I remember it was all very, very exciting. And I remember calling you before it, and you were very kind to me and I appreciate you. And then, since then, you've made 300 other films and then run TV shows. And then you wrote a load of Bad Monkey, which I fucking love.

[Adam Stigile]

I did. You know, I. I'm a movie guy, sort of by whatever trade or luck or whatever you want to call it. And then I have been very lucky. I met Bill, I think, in like 2013 or something, and we did a show together.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. How did it all start for you?

[Adam Stigile]

The TV stuff was. I was doing feature stuff and I had met with Jeff in Gold, and we're from the same hometown and we just kind of got to talking and Bill has a great story about how the show came about. But the show, undateable. I said, like, yeah, I could see a show there. And then Bill and I started to crack it together and we thought, oh, it'd be fun to cast a bunch of standup comics. And it was sort of this, like, under the radar show that we kept on the air for three years thanks to his. Like, that dude is P.T. barnum. Like, he will. When I watch, I'm like, this is incredible. Like, he's, you know, he'll be. He will do anything to keep his babies going. And we got to do it for three years. And ever since, he's really the only guy I've ever worked with, I've been really lucky to kind of come back through a few times and, you know, done a couple pilots with him and Bad Monkey, which has been awesome. And season two comes out.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, soon. Yeah, yeah. And we nearly made a film together. We've been trying to work together a few times. Right. And then. Yeah. But now you've finally. You finally done it. You've only got and done it. You wrote and directed a fucking proper big old movie.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah, I actually wrote it with my wife and it's called let's have Kids. It's coming out very soon. We have an incredible cast. And I say that because I am incredibly proud of this movie. Every time I watch it, I'm like, God, this is so good. And I say that in a completely selfless way because I swear to you, every day that shoot, I was like, directing so easy. You just get great actors and they just kind of. They just do it.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Adam Stigile]

So I'm very excited for everybody to see it.

[Brett Goldstein]

You've got a great cast. You've got some of my favorite people. You've got Karen Gillan's, one of my favorites. Sam Richardson's, one of my favorites. Mary Steenbergen, my God, killer cast.

[Adam Stigile]

Killer. And they did an amazing job.

[Brett Goldstein]

What's the story of the film and why did you want to tell it?

[Adam Stigile]

Oh, my gosh. I'll try to keep this short because I could talk forever. But the story is basically, it's two lifelong best friends. They literally met the day they were born. They've done everything together and they decide. Last big thing on the checklist. They got to have kids at the same time. And then the friendship kind of gets tested when one of them gets pregnant and the other one doesn't. You know, in making this movie, what I really wanted to do, and we all were sort of on the same page with this, was it feels like sort of adult character driven comedies, you know, about some real stuff just don't get made anymore. Sort of the movies I grew up on, like Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron and Cameron Crowe and John Hughes, that, you know, they're funny, but they feel like there's some emotional kind of weight to them by the end. And I just. I love those movies and I don't see enough of them. And that's what we set out to do. And I feel like we did a really good job of. Of delivering on that.

[Brett Goldstein]

I like the sound of this very much. And how was it you. You always write with your wife? Not always, but often. Or is this new?

[Adam Stigile]

Sometimes I will say, I listen. I. She's the only person I really write with as far as writing goes. Like, I am much more comfortable, like, sitting in solitude and.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Adam Stigile]

You know, doing it all in my head and then. And then bringing in collaborators once I feel like I've gotten. I've found a certain path. We'd always talked about working together. I think, you know, if we want to turn this into a therapy session, there was probably a lot of fear and insecurity there. And I will tell you one of the most. So for a long time we had talked about it and I always sort of came up with an excuse as to, oh, it's not a good time. And at this other project and whatever it was. And then finally she had a podcast about parenting. And we sold sort of an idea inspired by that as a half hour comedy, half hour TV comedy. And we sat down and started writing it together. And I remember the first day writing together, I sort of, like, pitched something out and then type it in, and she goes, you're really good at this. And I got emotional. I was like, I have waited 15 years to hear you say that. It's like. And you realize, like, the validation of your partner, of the person you love more than anybody, means so much. And I didn't even realize it until that moment, but I was like. And then, you know, then we'd have fights and arguments and all that stuff. And it gets very, you know, messy when you're both married and writing together. But this movie in particular, let's have Kids, was. Was really cool because it's a female. It's a movie about female friendship. And I obviously could not have done that, you know, without her because most of that is her experience and her voice. And she really is sort of a, you know, she has a lot of Nora Ephron, Nancy Myers in her, which is, you know, what we're trying to do. So. So I'm really proud of the work she did and happy to take credit for it.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's beautiful, man.

[Adam Stigile]

Thanks, man.

[Brett Goldstein]

I'm wondering if it is the most. I assume it is. The most important person you want validation from is your partner. You don't want them going, like, I'm glad other people enjoy it.

[Adam Stigile]

No. And by the way, she's very. That's why it also meant a lot to me. She's very, like, honest to a fault, you know. Like, I have other movies I've worked on, and, you know, I know what their warts are, but, like, I worked very hard on them and, you know, and she. And I, you know, and she's kind of like, not my favorite. And you're like, okay, that's fair. So the other great part about it was, I knew she meant it when she said, yeah, because she's also not afraid to be, like, when we're working together, like, that's not good. I don't like that. And I don't always take a note well, so we've had to work through some of that together.

[Brett Goldstein]

Hello, friend. I take those very badly. I take notes with a look like, I'm gonna kill you. That's how I take notes. Okay?

[Adam Stigile]

I try to hide it and swallow it, but, you know, that's not great either.

[Brett Goldstein]

I Go look me in the fucking eye and say that again.

[Adam Stigile]

I like that. That's authentic.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, it is. Hello?

[Podcast Host Narrator]

It's your neighbor, Maureen. I was thinking the other day, we're all very committed to our streaming habits, aren't we? Entire seasons in one go. Late night film, rabbit holes. It's all very serious work. And yet most of us are just clicking about online like everything's perfectly safe. Millions trust NORDVPN for a reason. It encrypts your Internet traffic, so what you're watching, browsing or quietly obsessing over stays between you and your screen. No prying eyes. As it should be. And here's the part I really love. NORDVPN enables me to switch my device's virtual location with one click. Meaning I can access all my streaming services and content from back home while traveling. It's a game changer, isn't it? To get the best discount off your NORDVPN plan, go to nordvpn.com Brett. Our link will also give you four extra months on the two year plan. There's no risk with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee. The link is in the podcast episode description box. Thank you.

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[Brett Goldstein]

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[Adam Stigile]

that's O L L Y dot com.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh. Oh, Adam. I've forgotten to tell you something crazy. Crazy that I didn't tell you this at the beginning.

[Adam Stigile]

What's that?

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh my God. What a dummy. I'll just say it and then we can deal with it.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah. Shoot it, man.

[Brett Goldstein]

Hit me. You've died. You've died. You're dead. Dead.

[Adam Stigile]

Wow.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah. I feel like you did. Wait. Waited a bit to share that. Okay.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. You see? Yeah. I don't know. You seemed excited about stuff I didn't want to.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah, no, I appreciate it. I do appreciate you letting me get the good stuff out first.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yes. I wanted you to at least be able to talk about.

[Adam Stigile]

No, it's. It's a lot that I had that moment that I can now hang on to with my wife, who I now won't see anymore.

[Brett Goldstein]

Well, one day, hopefully.

[Adam Stigile]

She's good, you know, let's.

[Brett Goldstein]

Let's hope so. Yeah. How did you die?

[Adam Stigile]

Well, I mean, I guess I should have seen this come in. I mean, the good news is I've lived a very full life pushing 90. But unfortunately I died the way so many of us have in the 2000s. I was killed by robots in a, in like a Westworld situation.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, Westworld death.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah. But not, not the Old West. This was. They. I went to a park that catered to Gen Xers that replicated Seattle in the 90s. So Pacific Northwest World is what we called it. And you know, mostly it's pretty safe. Mostly was like flannel and coffee shops and smoking cigarettes and being elitist about music. But I attended a show and I was trampled in a robot mosh pit. So that, yeah, I didn't realize that was the end, but I went doing what I love, man.

[Brett Goldstein]

What was the show again? You were being, you were in the mosh pit.

[Adam Stigile]

It was a Nirvana cover band, actually, also robots. So I was like, I had robot Kurt Cobain up there. It was very cool. But you know, for 90 years old, I shouldn't be in the mosh pit. That's, that's on me. Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

When you were trampled by the robots, were there other humans around or was it mostly robots?

[Adam Stigile]

No, there were, yeah. Yeah, there were a handful of us, but I think they were, you know, they were practicing.

[Brett Goldstein]

What's the robot to human ratio?

[Adam Stigile]

Pretty high. They people that world with a lot of non sentient all. I guess that's a question. Are they, Aren't they? That's where we get in trouble. But it's a lot of robots, like they really fill out the city. It feels like you're in Seattle. I don't know how many, what the population is there, but hundreds of thousands at least.

[Brett Goldstein]

Wow.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Do you worry about death, Adim?

[Adam Stigile]

Do I worry about death? That's a great question. I didn't. And then, you know, some things happen to you in life and you realize, you know, I think of myself in midlife and I've had a couple of moments where I go, who's to say it's the middle? You know, we don't, we don't know. And I think that was a little scary. But I don't really worry about it. I worry about the people that I would have to leave behind. But I don't, I don't actually. I'm actually sort of like. I think it's probably just the start of another great adventure.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's a good attitude, isn't it?

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

So what do you think? What do you Think the great adventure is next. What happens after you die?

[Adam Stigile]

You know, man, I mean, it's a great question. I.

[Brett Goldstein]

Thank you.

[Adam Stigile]

Something. I don't know, there's probably some quantum physics involved in this answer. I like to think that. I like sort of an Eastern Buddhist philosophy that we're all sort of like little drops of water and then we're returning to the. We're returning to the ocean. We're returning to the source.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yes. Well, you're right. That is it.

[Adam Stigile]

I usually am.

[Brett Goldstein]

But along the way there's a heaven. And you'll go into it.

[Adam Stigile]

Great.

[Brett Goldstein]

And we'll see if your wife is. We don't know yet.

[Adam Stigile]

Fingers crossed.

[Brett Goldstein]

Fingers crossed. She behaves. But you're going to heaven and it's filled with your favorite thing. What's your favorite thing?

[Adam Stigile]

My favorite thing. I'm going to put my family aside for a second. They won't count. My favorite thing is. Honestly, man, it's movies.

[Brett Goldstein]

Then you're going to love it here. I had a feeling you're really going to like it here. You might regret putting your family aside because you were going to get movies anyway, but here you are, alone in heaven, but cinemas everywhere, all over. Beautiful, perfect imax, beautiful cinemas. And everyone that's there, which is no one but the, the, the water that is there, is such a huge fan of you. And they want to know about your life, but they want to know about your life through film. And the first thing they ask you, what's the first film you remember seeing? Adam Sti. Kill.

[Adam Stigile]

Oh my gosh. This. It's actually. The answer is actually two movies. And it's because when I was six years old, my dad took me and my, my second sister, who was 4 at the time, took us to see the Muppets Take Manhattan. Huge, huge Muppets family in my house. So we go to see the Muppets Take Manhattan and my dad gets us. It's the 80s. So he gets, you know, Twizzlers, Coke, popcorn, as you would give your six and four year old back. Then we go in. We are literally the only people in the movie theater. It's just the three of us. The theater is empty otherwise. I become so unnerved by the fact that there is no one else in the theater that I cannot focus on this movie. And I asked my dad, can we please go to a theater where there are other people? And we pick up all of our candy, we move one theater over and we watched the second half of Supergirl in a semi crowded theater. So it's the Muppets Take Manhattan Into Supergirl is my, is the first memory I have of going to the movies.

[Brett Goldstein]

What do you think that's so interesting? What do you think that's about? Were you like agoraphobic or something?

[Adam Stigile]

I, No, I don't know. I was trying to unpack it as I thought about it, because it is kind of a weird thing. And so part of me thinks, look, I'd love to be like on a cellular level. I understood that cinema is about a community experience. But my guess is I had been to movies before, right. That I did remember going to where there were people in the theater and this was just like, where is everybody? And then I think there was some sort of like liminal space discomfort of being in this like giant empty theater and just the three of us. Yeah, that's probably the, like the psychological part of it, but I'm gonna go with it. I was just wired to, I wanted to be with people.

[Brett Goldstein]

Your dad's, your dad is a, is a kind and loving man. I'd have been like, we ain't going anywhere, son.

[Adam Stigile]

Wait, let's talk about. Yeah, I made him go from the Muppets. Amazing. To see Supergirl, which I did some research. Like, not a well received film. Like people did not enjoy that in 1984. So yes, he, he was a, he was a great, a great parent who, you know, put his kids needs first. Probably also be honest, like I probably mentioned it so many times. He was just like, this kid's not gonna shut up about this.

[Brett Goldstein]

Like, let's, it wasn't just one quiet. Do you mind if we, you want.

[Adam Stigile]

I'm sure, I'm sure I was very vocal.

[Brett Goldstein]

What's the film that scared you the most? Do you like being scared?

[Adam Stigile]

I, I, I, I don't think I do, but I, but I have great experiences. I'm the guy that has to watch a horror movie with like my hat here. So I can kind of like dip down real quick if I don't want to watch it. I like some scary movies. Like, I was thinking about all the ones that I've really loved and usually the ones that I respond to are like, psychologically creepy. I'm not into just like torture porn, gore type stuff. That stuff's not into it, I would say. I mean, I had a lot of experiences growing up in the 80s where it's like you'd go to a sleepover and somebody had an older brother and you'd watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre when you were way too Young. But I will tell you the movie that I remember, like a visceral discomfort after I left was Lost Highway. David lynch movie. So David Lynch, I'm convinced, has like the codes to just the deepest, darkest, scariest parts of my brain.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yes.

[Adam Stigile]

I remember driving home from that movie we saw. I saw it late at night driving home alone. So creeped out, coming into my house and just wanting to be like, can we turn all the lights on and just like have a conversation? Because I'm so freaking.

[Brett Goldstein]

The mystery man in the house on the phone is one of my favorite sequences in novel cinema.

[Adam Stigile]

I literally just got chills as you mentioned it. It's so scary and I can't even tell you why. That's the part that I'm always like, why is this so freaky? Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

And also Lost highway, there's loads of. He just makes. He does it in Twin Peaks as well. In Lost highway he makes the corridor, just the corridor between the living room and the bedroom. Scary. Just this space and you're like that.

[Adam Stigile]

It's the opposite. I'm like leaning away. I'm like, I don't want to know what that is. It's so. It's just such a compounding discomfort and anxiety and fear and that. And there's really no release. Like that's the other thing is like, you know, there are scary movies I've seen, but they have that great third act release where you're like, oh yeah, okay, good. Like, and he just never lets you off the hook. And then the credits roll and you're just like, what do I do with this now?

[Brett Goldstein]

But I was actually talking to someone just the other day about David lynch, because they don't like David Lynch. And they said, well, does he make you happy? And I thought about it and I was like, yeah, he does. I'm scared the whole time, but I'm dreaming about. I like that it puts you in a. It is like dreaming and then you get to keep.

[Adam Stigile]

I totally agree. There's like a. It's a part. There's like an imagination he clearly has or a creativity that I don't have access to. And so yes, I'm like simultaneously terrified on like the deepest level of my psyche, but also thrilled. And there is a joy to it of like. Yeah, it's, it's, it's special.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's because it takes you out of yourself. I think it's like trying to send it. It is like.

[Adam Stigile]

That's the word. Hundred percent. That's how I felt about. Yeah, Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive. And all those movies are. Yeah, transcendent's a great word.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. Okay. You get 10 points for that. I fucking love Lost Highway.

[Adam Stigile]

Very competitive.

[Brett Goldstein]

So. Okay, okay.

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[Brett Goldstein]

What's the film that made you cry the most? Are you a crier? You an emotional man?

[Adam Stigile]

I'm like. I'm like a. Choke it back and don't let it out. Do a quick tear wipe so nobody sees when I'm in the theater. That actually happens a lot, like when I'm watching a movie, because, again, Ellie, my wife and co writer, she's got, like, the hugest heart. She's the biggest empath in the world. And so, like, I know she'll be like, are you. Is this making you emo? You know, because it's like she wants to know, like, what is the. What makes me emotional. So, yeah, the movie that made me cry the most, and I know there is an explanation for this scientifically, as to why in airplanes we. I don't know what it is, but, you know. Plane cries. Yeah, I was watching Logan, the old Wolverine, and it's. It was. It felt very personal to me. And then when they. I don't know what the spoiler policy is here, but the thing that happens at the end. Yeah, I lost it on the airplane to the point where the flight attendant was like, sir, are you okay? And I was like, it just is his daughter. It's like a lot. It's just a great story. He's trying so hard and he did everything he could, but he couldn't get there. Yeah, I really fell apart watching Logan on an airplane.

[Brett Goldstein]

Logan's fucking great. I think James Mangold is great. Makes good films, really. And also in a way that, like, they're really entertaining and they're deep and all this stuff, but they also are like sort of proper Hollywood entertainment films.

[Adam Stigile]

And that's what that movie felt like to me. Like, you know, you go into a. I mean, I love superhero movies, so I'm not denigrating them, but I think when I turned it on, I Was kind of like, okay, it's like a Wolverine movie. Like, this is cool. And you're right. He's. He just finds a way to make it feel big and like a big Hollywood movie. But then you find yourself along the way. Yeah. Like really feeling it very deeply, I think, both emotionally and intellectually.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. Great. What is the film that you love? It is not critically acclaimed, but you love it unconditionally.

[Adam Stigile]

I wanted to cheat. I want to cheat and name a movie that's not bad, but I'm not going to do it. This movie might actually have come around to people, but it's. It's not good in its Bloodsport, starring Jean Claude Van Damme. Yeah, I had this on VHS as a kid.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yes.

[Adam Stigile]

And I wore the tape out. I mean, I have watched this movie so many times. It's not great. It makes weird use of flashbacks and slow motion. And Van Damme, I think, is still kind of finding his style as an actor a little bit. Cranks it up to 11 in some scenes. It's got a young force witness just like doing what he can. I love it. I watched some of it the other day and I'm like, yeah, still love it. Like, it's Chong Lee, the bad guy. He's like an all time great villain.

[Brett Goldstein]

Is it. Is it like, you killed my brother and now I have to win the tournament?

[Adam Stigile]

No, it's like I got to remember the exact part I remember. It's basically like he. There's some weird choices in it. He's like, in the military, goes AWOL to compete in the kumite, the. This underground Hong Kong fighting championship. And I think it's mostly to honor the memory of his shidoshi, of his. Of his master. Because in the flashbacks you find out that like, he was like a street kid who broke into this guy's house. And then that guy, like took him under his wing and trained him and made him, you know, the greatest fighter on the planet. But none of it really connects. Like, even what I just pitched you is me really working hard to tether his backstory to, like, why he's doing it. Like, I'm sure someone's written something on Reddit about it to explain it, but it's just like, it's mostly just like a series of fights between. Got, like, there's a dude who like, can chop coconuts in half with his hand and he's like, got certain skills. And there's another guy that. It's.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's like street fight.

[Adam Stigile]

Insane movie.

[Brett Goldstein]

The movie.

[Adam Stigile]

It's Like Street Fighter the movie.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. It's probably better than Street Fighter the movie.

[Adam Stigile]

Maybe. I don't know. I. But I like, I mean, I watched this thing 100 times and like, being a child of the 80s and I feel like there are people out there. My general that will relate to this is you just had certain movies on VHS that, like, you didn't really know if they were good or bad. You just kind of consumed them so many times that they kind of became the fabric of your personality and your movie watching case. And like, that was one of them for me.

[Brett Goldstein]

Great answer. What is the film that you used to love, but you've watched it recently and you thought, I don't like this no more.

[Adam Stigile]

So this happens a lot once you have kids because you, you're like, oh, I'm so excited to share this wealth of fantastic cinema with them. And then you revisit these things and you're like, huh, that's. That's more problematic than I remember. That's not great. So the one for me that I actually, in my mind, I'm like, they're gonna love this. And I did not show it to them first, thank God, was the toy starring Richard Pryor, which. I don't know if you remember this movie. It's problematic to say the least.

[Brett Goldstein]

I remember the premise that Richard Pryor is a kid's toy. That's the premise. Right.

[Adam Stigile]

Even when you say it back to me, it sounds so much worse. It's like, this is such a bad idea. Yes. Yes. A. A rich white guy.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Adam Stigile]

Buys a toy for his kid. And like, I don't know why this was another one that, like, where does he get.

[Brett Goldstein]

I don't understand how. The logistics of it. He says to Richard Pryor, would you be a toy for my kid? Or he buys him in a shop.

[Adam Stigile]

His kid. I mean, listen, it's a hero's journey. There's a refusal of the call. He tells him no at first, and then he agrees to it for the money. And then him and the kid form a friendship. But it's not good. And I also checked. I was like, I got to make sure. Like, am I, am I being too. It has 3% on rotten tomatoes, which, like, I'm not. I think Rotten Tomatoes is not always the greatest metric, but, like 3% is. That's, that's tough. And it's, it's also weird. Like, like you're like, oh, Jackie Gleason and Richard Pryor. This, this is going to be great. And it's like, Jackie Gleason like, isn't doing Jackie Gleason. He's, like, playing, like, a real. Like, just, like. I don't know. He's not funny in it. It's. It's. It's not like. It's also just not good. Like, I rewatch it and I'm like, this is just not a good movie. Independent of the very troubling.

[Brett Goldstein]

Aside from all the troubling things, what's he doing with him as a toy? Just being hanging out. Or is he like, yeah, hanging out.

[Adam Stigile]

And they're like. I mean, there's, like, the famous. I use the term loosely sequence where, like, they're both in matching spike. There is 20 minutes of the movie where Richard Pyre is in, like, spider man pajamas that, like, don't leave a lot to the imagination either. And, like, they're in his toy room. And it's just. It's a lot of hanging out.

[Brett Goldstein]

He's like a nanny.

[Adam Stigile]

He's like a nanny, but. Yeah, sort of. But even that feels like it. That would have been better, I guess. I like. I guess. Yeah, it's a really weird moment.

[Brett Goldstein]

What is the film that means the most to you? Not necessarily the film itself is good, but the experience you had watching it means it's always special to you.

[Adam Stigile]

Was that I would say Children of Men, which is, I mean, one of my favorite movies of all time. I loved it when I saw it. It was the first movie my wife and I ever saw together on one of our first dates. The comedy in that for me is, you know, when you first start dating somebody, like, you don't. You don't totally know their personality yet. You're making assumptions about them because you want it to work. And so I was like, oh, my God, I'm so excited to see this movie. Let's go. What I did not know about my now wife is that she is an incredibly sensitive individual. And that movie is not for the faint of heart. It is intense. And we walked out, and I remember being like, how amazing was that? And she looked like she just lived through the movie. Like, that's essentially how she experienced that movie. Was as if she had lived through that experience. And it just. It's like. It still cracks me up to think about, like, me walking out being like, let's kiss. Yeah. She was like, I need several days away from you to just. Just recalibrate myself. So both incredible movie and mental out of me.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. Not a great date movie.

[Adam Stigile]

Not a great day movie. I like again. I. But I was so excited. I'M such a movie dork that in my head I was like, this. This is going to be such a cool experience for us to go see this incredible film together. Not thinking, like, I should take her to see romantic comedy, which would have been the move.

[Brett Goldstein]

Well, that Children of Men sounds like could be some sort of cute comedy.

[Adam Stigile]

Children. That's right. What she thought, she was like, I

[Brett Goldstein]

don't know, like, Daddy Daycare is another name for it.

[Adam Stigile]

Children of Men. How sweet. He wants to have kids. This is beautiful.

[Brett Goldstein]

What's the film you most relate to?

[Adam Stigile]

It's Logan because it's. I realized this only later when it completely destroyed me was it's about a man whose body is breaking down, arguing with his daughter for two hours and then ultimately, like sacrificing himself so that she can then go on and have his life. And I'm like, that's. That. That literally is the most relatable premise that I've ever come across. Just because, like, he is so broken and he's so. And I, like, I have. I'm, you know, I'm 48, man. Like, my body's falling apart. Both my daughters are incredibly headstrong. Will literally argue with me about anything. Just like, you know, and you're. And it's one of those things, as a parent, you're like, I love this for you. Once you leave the house. But when, when, when it's my responsibility. This is incredibly difficult. But yeah, it's Logan. Just an old man fighting with a door, getting yelled at by his kids for two hours.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. This is why you were crying yourself to death on a plane.

[Adam Stigile]

That's what I realized. I was like, oh, my God. That's why I melted.

[Brett Goldstein]

Wow. What's the sexiest film you've ever seen?

[Adam Stigile]

This is the easiest one for me. It's Contempt, the French film starring Brigitte Bardot.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, okay.

[Adam Stigile]

If you have not seen this movie, get out there, treat yourself. It is so good. I saw Les Mispre, I think is the French name. I don't speak French. I saw it in film school and it was the first time I had ever seen Brigitte Bardot in anything. And I was like, that's the sexiest woman I've ever seen in my life. And then just on top of that, beyond an 18 year old seeing a beautiful woman in a movie. It's French. They're like smoking cigarettes the whole time they kiss. And that Frenchie just kind of smashing their faces together way. It's soft and sensual. I just remember watching it being like, it's just like washing over me the entire time.

[Brett Goldstein]

Where were you at film school?

[Adam Stigile]

Usc. University of Southern California.

[Brett Goldstein]

Is that where like George Lucas and that went? Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Was it great?

[Adam Stigile]

It was great. I mean I like if we wanted to work out for a minute, I was one of the last classes that got to shoot and cut on actual film.

[Brett Goldstein]

Wow.

[Adam Stigile]

Which is like, it's so weird to me now that like that's not a thing because it, you know, people can call me pretentious but like I'm like, I can tell the difference. Like you see something shot on film and it does have a feel to it and it does, you know, the grain, we all talk about the grain. But it was like that was a very cool experience and it taught me a lot about editing because that was back when like, you know, you'd have like strips of film hanging from your wall and you're literally taping them together and it's like you can only make so many cuts before the tape gets too thick to run through the projector and. Yeah, I have great. I have very fond memories of my time at film school.

[Brett Goldstein]

Can you tell me the plot of one of the short films that you made at film school?

[Adam Stigile]

Yes, sure. I made one of them was like mildly embarrassing. It was called and it's now that I'm. I mean it's so dumb as just like a dude. But it was called Writing Women and it was about a guy who is like trying to write a story and the main character is a female and he just can't get his head around it. And then simultaneously he's like had this meet cute and is starting this relationship with this young woman in his world and ultimately realizes like what am I doing? I'm sitting here, I'm sitting here focused on this fantasy and I have the real thing out there and I'm going to go see about a girl.

[Brett Goldstein]

Adam, this became your life.

[Adam Stigile]

It became my life.

[Brett Goldstein]

You then wrote women with your wife.

[Adam Stigile]

I did. I know.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's.

[Adam Stigile]

It's eerie how that stuff works like that. Yeah, I mean it's. Look, I'm going to again just to just to therapies with you for a little bit. It's one of those things that when I think about my 19 year old self doing it, it feels like that's the. Oh wow. Like what? You know, what a story. And then now when my 48 year self. 48 year old self looks back on it, I'm like, yeah, this, this not only tracks but feels weirdly fortuitous. In that, like, ultimately, the movie that we made together was me connecting with my wife and being like, hey, here's the blind spot in my storytelling capabilities. Like, let's. Let's join forces and do this together.

[Brett Goldstein]

So very cool. Very cool.

[Adam Stigile]

Now that I'm dead in heaven, it's nice to be able to look back and see that symmetry and just hope

[Brett Goldstein]

that she behaves herself enough to join you in heaven again.

[Adam Stigile]

Fingers crossed, man. She's got a wild streak in her. If she gets a couple more two, there's no telling what you can get up to.

[Brett Goldstein]

There's a subcategory troubling bonus. Worrying wide ons a film you found arousing that you weren't sure you should.

[Adam Stigile]

I don't even know if this. I'll tell you what I'm gonna say. The shining, the room 237 scene. And I don't even think it's worrying because, you know, attractive woman, but then

[Brett Goldstein]

attractive women turns really scary.

[Adam Stigile]

Turns really scary. I think if I would say what's worrying about it is the. Is the. The subsequent times I saw it, knowing what was going to happen, I was still like, she looks good. I get it, Jack. I see. I see what's going on here. That's probably the worrying part.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's funny. What a scary scene.

[Adam Stigile]

Terrifying.

[Brett Goldstein]

What is objectively the greatest film of all time? Not your favorite, but the greatest.

[Adam Stigile]

Does this question ruffle some feathers? Occasionally? I'm just. Because I. It's something I've asked people in my life and I've often met with. There's no such thing as an objective best.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, it's a stupid question and I would never answer it, but that's why I wouldn't be a guest.

[Adam Stigile]

I have an answer.

[Brett Goldstein]

Great.

[Adam Stigile]

Am I going to stand by it for the rest of eternity? I don't know. But right now I would say it's the Social Network.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, wow. Tell me why. Can I say this? I like the Social Network. I enjoyed it very much when I saw it, I thought it was interesting, I thought it was smart, etc. I don't know why to so many people, it's, like, as important to you, clearly. I would really love to know. I have nothing against objectively.

[Adam Stigile]

It's not even my favorite movie.

[Brett Goldstein]

Tell me, tell me.

[Adam Stigile]

I think that it's probably. I mean, look, part of it is because I think it is one of, if not one of the best screenwriters and one of the best directors, both contemporarily and of all time, collaborating and working at the highest level, I think that it is one of the best written movies right up there with your movie, which we didn't talk about. Also one of the best written movies that I've certainly seen the last 20 years.

[Brett Goldstein]

Thank you. You got 10 points for that. Thanks, buddy.

[Adam Stigile]

Appreciate it. It is one of the best written movies of. Of my lifetime and I think it is also one of the best directed movies in my time. I also think it's one of the best performances I've seen in my lifetime. Jesse Eisenberg doing Mark Zuckerberg. I think the degree of difficulty in doing what is. I know it's reductive to call it a biopic, but like it's the story of a public figure done in a way that feels like it is about so much more than just that. And I also think it's a movie that as we move forward as a society is more meaningful every year that goes by where you watch it and go, oh my God, like this. And part of it is because I think that why I personally respond to it so much is because I think David Fincher, it's not a celebration of Mark Zuckerberg by any stretch of the imagination. It's a. It's like a cautionary tale and a story about a, you know, a guy who, you know, essentially fucked over like the closest people in his life to get where he got. And you, you look. Every year I look back and I go, God, it feels more and more like prescient and appropriate and well told every time I watch it. And I just. And again, like every scene in that movie feels like it is done at such a high level. Literally from frame. Not even from frame one, from negative one. When that white stripe song hits over the, the logo and then we come in on them and that. And from that first bar scene, I'm just like, I'm all the way in. Like, I'll go on this entire ride. And I just. I think it's excellent.

[Brett Goldstein]

That is.

[Adam Stigile]

Why do you. Why are you not impressed by it?

[Brett Goldstein]

I am very impressed by it.

[Adam Stigile]

Why are you sub top tier impressed by it?

[Brett Goldstein]

As in why it's not like one of my favorites or whatever, is it? I guess because I think ultimately I sort of have a aversion to things about horrible people. As in, there's not much love in that film, frankly. You know, and for good reason and all of that. But it's a kind of.

[Adam Stigile]

It's a really good answer.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's, that's genuinely the only reason. As in, I admire it. And I can see that it's brilliant, but I don't sort of find myself going back to it because it feels like an intellectual. It's very smart and interesting, but I'm not moved because I don't care for them. And that's why it's a repeating, long lasting thing for me. You know what I mean?

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah, totally. That makes a lot of sense. And I think you're absolutely right. There isn't a lot of love in the movie. I think part of what impressed me so much about it was that he was able, from my experience to humanize that character. Not in a way where you go,

[Brett Goldstein]

yeah, oh for sure. You feel kind of sorry for him in the end.

[Adam Stigile]

Exactly. You feel sorry for him. And I think that's the best. Yeah, that's the best you can do.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Adam Stigile]

Which but to me was a real, A real feat. But I hear you, man. It does. Listen, I have eternity, so I'll keep thinking about it.

[Brett Goldstein]

But no, but that's a good case. You made a really good case. And I would. And I watched. I need to watch it again. And maybe I'm going to be like, this is the greatest. Now what is the film you could or have watched the most over and over again?

[Adam Stigile]

I think I would say the movie that I have watched the most over and over again is probably Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

[Podcast Advertiser]

Yes.

[Adam Stigile]

I love that film.

[Brett Goldstein]

Is it the best one?

[Adam Stigile]

I think, I think so. I think so. And I'm. Let me hear. Why do you think so?

[Brett Goldstein]

I'm so loving his heart because it's got all the things that are fucking brilliant about it. But the father son story is amazing. It's so funny and it makes me cry. So moving when he says let it go. Oh my God, it's beautiful. I think it's beautiful, that film and it's fucking exciting and set pieces and all the things you love.

[Adam Stigile]

It's. I mean, to me it's also like, first of all, I totally agree. There's so much love in that movie. The father son story. Let it go, Indiana. Let it go. And the fact that he has not yet called him Indiana at any point in the movie is again, chills just thinking about it. It's so great. The riding off into the sunset is the end of the movie. Like, I just leave that movie being like, yeah. And I also think like you're getting Spielberg at a time when he's just like, I know how to make the absolute pitch perfect version of this movie. It's also the funniest One like, that movie's hilarious. It's. It's good. Do you ever think about. I think about this a lot. That, like, Harrison Ford and Sean Connery were, like, they were almost peers. Like, Sean Connery is not that much older than him.

[Brett Goldstein]

And. And they're just so great.

[Adam Stigile]

Steven Spielberg. To be like, listen, I know you're James mom, but how would you feel about playing Harrison for his dad?

[Brett Goldstein]

He's so funny in it. Sean Connery. They're both. Yeah.

[Adam Stigile]

He's incredible.

[Brett Goldstein]

What a great film. It is the best.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

What is the worst film you've ever seen? We can skip it if you want.

[Adam Stigile]

No, listen, I actually think this is a great question.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay. I keep thinking I should take it out. We're going way. Listen.

[Adam Stigile]

No, no, no, no. I'll answer this one because I actually think, for me, it's not about, like, that movie was bad. It's about the delta between where my expectations were and then what I experienced in the movie. And, like, I mean, I could actually give you several examples of this of, like, by. And it's always by a great director. Always. Because my expectations going in. The one that probably sits with me the most is the Thin Red Line Terrence Malick movie.

[Brett Goldstein]

Because I love that film.

[Adam Stigile]

I Listen, you can love it. I went into that movie ready to be like, this is going to be a religious experience. Like, my expectations were way too high. And then I just remember being. And it just wasn't. I don't know what I thought it would be. And I love him as a filmmaker. And it just wasn't. It just didn't click for me. And I remember. And I will tell you. I will tell you, just to back me up, I walked out of the theater with. With my girlfriend at the time, and she said. I go, what did you think? And I didn't want to, you know, didn't want to yuck her. Yum. If she loved it. And she goes, I would have rather sat in a barrel of ants for three hours than watch that movie. And I thought, okay, no, this is different. I thought, that's too harsh on Terrence Malik. We have to break up. But I've had that experience. Like, I remember, Like, I also saw. And again, not to. I'm not saying it was worse movie, but, like, I went into Sucker Punch.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yes.

[Adam Stigile]

Thinking like, oh, my God, I'm so excited. I love 300. Like, this is going to be great. And I was just like, I don't. I don't know what's happening right now. And I Think, like. So for me, like, worst movie I ever saw. It's not about it being terrible. It's about me feeling let down by whatever my expectations. By the way, one of my heroes, Robert Altman, Godsford park, that was another movie I went in. I don't know. My expectations were misaligned. So disappointment is usually the feeling that I have when I don't.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's even worse. Maybe change the question. What's the most disappointing film? Jesus.

[Adam Stigile]

I think a lot of people could answer that question.

[Brett Goldstein]

You're very funny. You've made a lot of comedies. What's the film that made you laugh the most?

[Adam Stigile]

Probably Monty Python on the Holy Grail.

[Brett Goldstein]

Funny.

[Adam Stigile]

I mean, you know, when you're a kid and you see that movie for the first time, you're like, there is a level of comedy and a style of comedy I didn't even know existed. My world is wider now that I open this coconut. That was another one. It's. I haven't watched it in forever. I don't know that. I don't. I mean, I don't know if I would still find it funny, but when I was growing up, that was. That movie was like the apex of comedy for me. Or Spaceballs. Spaceballs would be the other one.

[Brett Goldstein]

Nice.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Adam Stiquill, you have been a delight. However, when you were 90 years old, it was 2060, and you were in a fake Seattle overrun by robots. Not overrun. They, you know, were nice enough. But you went to Pacific North Westwards,

[Adam Stigile]

West, Walsh, Westworld, Pacific Northwest, Wood World.

[Brett Goldstein]

That seems better to see the Nirvana robot tribute band. And you were in the mosh pit having a nice time. You're enjoying it. But one of the robots jumps into the mosh pit, you trip over on their foot, and then the robots stamp you to death. And because they aren't sentient, so we believe it appears to be an accident. Anyway, I'm at the concert with a coffin, you know, I'm like. And I go, robots assemble. And they all stop. And I go, what happened to Adam? And they go, oh, I don't know, sir. And I go, don't call me sir. And they go, great idea. And they go, what happened to Adam? And they go, huh, That's a great idea. It seems he's dead. And I go, can you at least help put him in the coffin? They go, huh, Great idea. And then they peel you off the ground, but you're stuck into all sorts of bits, having to drill into the fucking cement to get you out. We get you in the coffin stuff you in. They're like, great idea. I say, you can go now. They go, great idea. They walk off. Coffin's absolutely round. There's no room in it. There's really only enough space for me to slide a DVD into the side for you to take across to the other side. And on the other side, it's movie night every night. What film are you taking to show no one in heaven when it is your movie night in these empty cinemas from your childhood. Oh, my God. What is the film you're going to show on your movie night?

[Adam Stigile]

First of all, it all really came together with it. My heaven is empty, as was the movie theater. Wow.

[Brett Goldstein]

But you finally learned to enjoy.

[Adam Stigile]

Yeah, you're right. I'm comfortable in my solitude. Second of all, love that we're bringing DVDs, physical media, even into heaven. So it makes me so happy. I would bring, for my movie night, Die Hard. Die Hard. I would bring Die Hard. And you know why?

[Brett Goldstein]

Why?

[Adam Stigile]

It's got love in it. It's got love in it.

[Brett Goldstein]

It does have love in it. It absolutely does have love in it.

[Adam Stigile]

I love that movie. I think it's great. I think it's a crowd pleaser. It makes me happy every time I watch it. And I love of all the things I love about it, especially now that I myself am a married man. I love that when he shows up, him and his wife, from whom he is separated, you can watch them try to have a nice moment and then they are arguing almost immediately, which is so real. And then ultimately that movie is about them reconciling their relationship and that family coming back together. It's beautiful. I love it. And they kill so many guys in so many awesome ways.

[Brett Goldstein]

Adam, you're brilliant. Thank you for everything you've done in my life. Thank you for doing this episode. Please tell the people what to look out for that you have done that is coming up.

[Adam Stigile]

Look out for Bad Monkey Season two and look out for let's have Kids. It is coming out soon and I think people will really enjoy it. So check it out when you get a chance.

[Brett Goldstein]

My friend saw it and she laughed. She was watching it in the next room and she laughed all the way through it. And.

[Adam Stigile]

And she has impeccable taste.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. And she said your film and she loved it. I love it. I'm excited to see it.

[Adam Stigile]

I love you, pal. This has been fun. Thank you.

[Brett Goldstein]

I love you too. Thank you very much for having me. Having you for me. Either way, I'm grateful you did this.

[Adam Stigile]

Having me Having you. Yeah, having each other.

[Brett Goldstein]

Good day to you.

[Podcast Host Narrator]

So that was episode 392. Head over to the [e-mail] Brett Goldstein for the extra 15 minutes to of chat secrets and video with Adam, go to Apple podcast. Give us a five star rating. But write about the film that means the most to you and why. It's a lovely thing to read, it helps with numbers and it's really appreciated. You can see all of you and shrinking on Apple tv. Plus have a look for my stand updates coming up in New York and la. Thank you so much to Adam for giving me his time. Thanks to Scrubius Pip and the Distraction Pieces network. Thanks to Buddy Peace for producing it. Thanks to Adam Richardson for the graphics and Lisa Lydon for the photography. Come join me next week for a fucking amazing guest coming soon. Well, next week actually. Thank you all for listening.

[Brett Goldstein]

I hope you're well.

[Podcast Host Narrator]

That's it for now. Have a lovely week. And in the meantime, please, now more than ever, be excellent to each other.

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