This Means Something...: Recent Episodes
Chris Frain & Tierney Steele
A movie-by-minute podcast exploring the 1977 film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Hosted by Tierney Steele and Chris Frain.
Congratulations! You've made it to the final episode. Thanks to all our guests, our families, and to all our listeners for your support!
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Embezzlement! PCP! Hollywood? Tierney has all the Hot Gossip, and Chris has problems with the order of the cast listing.
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One of the Titans of MxM podcasting, Alex Robinson (Star Wars Minute, Godfather Minute) is here to talk about meeting Dennis Muren and determine which Meco disco adaptation is better. The answer won't surprise you!
Drugs! Scandal! Topless production meetings! Tierney got all the hot gossip for this credits episode.
Chris gets MAUDLIN about the end of the movie, while Tierney teases some HOT GOSSIP about the behind-the-scenes drama that she will cover in future episodes. Plus, we track down whether "When You Wish Upon a Star" is used at the end, or whether it's some weird collective Mandela Effect nonsense.
Puck and LaCombe are throwing signs at each other while everyone on the Dark Side of the Moon looks on in blissful wonder, except for Lou Reed - he's too cool for that, man.
Roy heads up the ramp, Jillian is happy crying, and we finally get to meet...Puck the Alien.
Chris and Tierney begin the final week of full episodes by discussing Devo, LaCombe's gesture, and Laughlin being able to finally experience joy.
Paul Sapp returns to point out a huge violation of employee health confidentiality laws. Tierney has a lot of information about the ballet students who contributed to the film as the little aliens. Chris wonders aloud how Jillian plans to get her film developed.
Paul Sapp and the Spindly Alien are back. One of them is a hideous creature from space, the other is a marionette puppet.
Paul Sapp is here once again to discuss nightmare aliens, Carly Simon, and the eternal debate about which is the better film: Eyes Wide Shut or Joe vs. The Volcano.
Friend of the show Paul Sapp is here as hasty arrangements are made for Roy's (assumed) journey while Barry realizes his friends are leaving.
Barry's back! Rudi's back! And Roy just wants to know if this is all real. All the plots will be resolved in this one minute...
Rudi Thornburgh from "Open the Podcast Doors, HAL" compares and contrasts the visual effects from CE3K to 2001. Tierney references George Carlin, and Chris wonders aloud if Spielberg is trying to heal the wounds from the Vietnam War era.
Chris and Tierney are joined by Rudi Thornburgh who brings up The Orb, synthesizer patch sheets, and how a bit of music from "2001" helped visualize this scene from CE3K.
Rudi Thornburgh returns to usher us over the two hour mark threshold. Together with Tierney and Chris they discuss the Arkanoid, Breakout, and whether the movie Jaws exists in the Close Encounters universe.
Heidi Bennett from Vibrant Visionaries is here to help us reach the 2 hour mark (!) in the movie. Chris has a dissenting opinion about the score for this scene, and Jillian finally loses her patience with these men and their interplanetary Simon game.
Chris jumps the gun and talks about quavers a minute early. Tierney reminisces about piano duels. And guest Heidi Bennett from Vibrant Visionaries returns!
The Vibrant Visionary, Heidi Bennett, is back to discuss what she sees and hears in this minute, and expounds on some issues regarding creativity and how it relates to the story lines in CE3K.
Heidi Bennett from Vibrant Visionaries and Spinal Tap Minute joins the podcast again to don some aviator shades and behold The Mothership.
Heidi Bennett from Vibrant Visionaries and Spinal Tap Minute is here to help us figure out if the porte-potty gag is legitimately funny.
Tierney and Chris react to the dramatic appearance of THE MOTHERSHIP in this minute, profanities are uttered.
A pause in the action and all is quiet as the spacecraft appear to have left the area. Or have they? (They haven't).
Roy and Jillian kiss, the spacecraft are all but gone, and all Tierney can talk about is the gritty reboot of Duck Tales (a woo ooo).
Tierney and Chris are talking cuboids, mirrors, and the challenges of multi-track cinema audio. Monorail!
Chris and Tierney decide whether to keep it or ditch it for the remaining deleted scenes contained with the currently available edition of Close Encounters.
Chris and Tierney wrap up the week and Tierney has a fantastic story about a meteorological event on the set almost (if not more) terrifying as the one shown in the film!
Chris and Tierney refuse to give in to a false sense of security, and Lance Henriksen has his only line in the film. Plus, scary clouds!
...with Jarf from Joe vs. The (Volcano) Minute. Automation in effects photography and electronic music meet during this minute of the movie - two crowning achievements of 1970s technology!
...with Jarf from Joe vs. the (Volcano) Minute. Roy and Jillian don't look well, and Jean Claude looks really nervous while playing the five tones.
Geoffrey "Jarf" Harden of Joe vs The (Volcano) Minute re-joins the podcast for a few episodes this week. Tierney is creeped out by the hovering scout UFOs, Chris is intrigued by all the analog recording equipment.
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: www.cff.org
Dr Jennifer Levasseur from the National Air & Space Museum is here one last time to help us discuss Mother Ship models, cuboids, and the advantages of pre-digital effects.
The stage is set and the orchestra is tuning up, metaphorically, during this minute. Chris gets emotional thinking about the symbolism of the shooting stars, and Dr Jennifer Levasseur of the National Air and Space Museum relates how the music in this scene put her kids at ease.
Jennifer Levasseur - Curator at The National Air & Space Museum - is back to discuss this mostly voice over minute, and helps Chris get over his grudge regarding flowery language from mission control announcers.
Jennifer Levasseur of The National Air & Space Museum is here to discuss the minute, including an in-depth conversation about how the designs of 1970s sci-fi influenced the space programs of today.
For some reason we end up talking a lot about "Jaws" with Museum Curator at the Smithsonian Institute's Air and Space Museum, Jennifer Levasseur!
...with Pete Mummert from the Indiana Jones Minute. We bid farewell to Larry Butler. RIP Larry (he's not dead, he just needs a good night's rest)
...with Pete Mummert and Gerry Porter of Indiana Jones Minute. Who will win the next season of Close Encounters? Roy, the delusional suburban prophet? Jillian, the heartbroken mother looking for her son? Or...Larry, the jogging enthusiast from Los Angeles?
Gerry Porter and Pete Mummert from the Indiana Jones Minute podcast drop by to contribute dialog on the ethics of alien abductions and the logistical considerations of picking a remote Wyoming landmark as your landing festival site.
Indiana Jones Minte: https://www.indianajonesminute.com
Excised from a previous episode, Chris asks Paul Francis Sullivan from the "Locked On MLB" podcast a lightning round of questions about baseball from the 1970s to the present.
Paul Francis Sullivan (director of "I'll Believe You") stops by one last time to talk about "Witness," "The Final Countdown," "Solar Babies," and - from time to time - Close Encounters.
Locked on MLB's Paul Francis Sullivan revisits a very particular memory of the film, and how his fundamental understanding of its ending was determined by arbitrary editing choices made for The Special Edition.
Bull Durham Minute's Paul Francis Sullivan (please call him Sully) is here again to talk cereal, baseball, and Close Encounters.
Locked on MLB's Paul Francis Sullivan ("Sully") continues his residency, helping us fill in the backstory of the people in the helicopter and reviewing the career of Lance Henriksen.
Paul Francis Sullivan (please call him "Sully") from Bull Durham Minute and Locked on MLB podcasts is here and he wants to talk about Close Encounters. We discuss his feature film, "I'll Believe You," turtles, and the way 70s movies feel different from the blockbusters of today.
Locked on MLB: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-mlb-daily-podcast-on-major-league-baseball/id1361879433
Bull Durham Minute: https://bulldurhamminute.libsyn.com
There's lots and lots of acting on display as we end this scene, and Jim O'Kane from Airport Minute is here to help analyze and scrutinize. Stay tuned for some inside baseball talk about the movies-by-minute podcast genre towards the end of the episode.
Jim O'Kane (The Best Minutes Podcast) is helping us understand how a simple interrogation scene is a wonder of advanced camerawork and subtle optical effects. That's not crazy, is it?
Jim O'Kane (Rocketeer Minute) is back to help us translate the translating between LaCombe and Laughlin. BalaBAM!
Jim O'Kane (The Andromeda Minute, Into the Night Minute) returns to help figure out what kind of podcast Roy is recording in his little studio. Also, the thrilling story of Bob Balaban's missing tie!
Jim O'Kane (Rocketeer Minte, Apollo 13 Minute) is here all week to explore the dark corners and vanishing points in Close Encounters.
Eowyn and Richmond spend one more guest-less episode discussing sedated cows and providing citations regarding the Garr-Truffaut affair.
Tierney and Chris analyze this perfect example of Spielberg's "Cinema of Awe" craft in the minute, as Devil's Tower is finally revealed to Roy and Jillian.
Chris and Tierney are following Roy and Jillian as they smash through ranch fences and go off-roadin' in a rented station wagon.
Tierney and Chris break down the very nostalgic shot of a man and a woman seeing each other across a crowded train station.
Chris and Tierney kick off '70s Week with revelations about Richard Dreyfuss' visual impairment, one way street experiences, and observations about the crowd gathered for the the rescue train.
Eric Nash (Almost Famous Minute, Feels Like Weezer) is here one last time to turn to the keys to the finely-tuned podcast machine back over to Tierney and Chris. They discuss the magic of rain in the desert and the omitted-from-production scenes of Roy making his way to Wyoming (he rents a car!). Plus, Moorcroft (WY) FACTS!
April fools! After Chris and Tierney disappear under mysterious circumstances, Eric Nash (Almost Famous Minute) commandeers the show and brings Geoffrey "Jarf" Harden (Joe vs. the Volcano Minute) along. Together they break down almost everything about Devil's Tower.
To hear Chris and Tierney today, head over to Almost Famous Minute, Episode 87.
Almost Famous Minute: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/almost-famous-minute/id1476725386
Eric Nash from Almost Famous Minute drops by again for our minute which finds Roy frustratingly ignoring the expository news on the TV.
Eric Nash (Almost Famous Minute, Feels Like Weezer) is back to help us with explaining the significance of soap operas, try to establish the passage of time, and listen to more of Tierney's camp stories.
Eric Nash (Almost Famous Minute, Feels Like Weezer) drops by for the week to discuss foley work, possible inaccuracies in the timeline, and the Spinal Tap moment during the production of this scene.
Brett Stillo (Five Minutes of Trouble and Five Minutes of Banzai) is back and wonders whether Belloq is essentially the same character as LaCombe. Chris is triggered by Brad's feathered hair, and Tierney has hot goss about the behind-the-scenes shenanigans.
Roy Neary is at it again, and Brett Stillo (Five Minutes of Trouble, Five Minutes of Banzai) is our guest in holding him to account. Tierney recommends listeners look up the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike of 1968, while Chris tries to make a point that Spielberg was unfair in portraying lower-middle-class suburbia.
Brett Stillo (5 Minutes of Trouble, 5 Minutes of Banzai) reveals insight into the psychology of Boat Dad across the street. Chris wonders aloud about the possible symbolism of this no-privacy neighborhood, and Tierney just wants to see pictures of your puppies!
Brett Stillo (Five Minutes of Trouble, Five Minutes of Banzai) is here to entertain, inform, and delight us about a marriage falling apart in seemingly wacky fashion.
Robert Black (5 Minute Arrival, Annihilation) has all the answers about the articles Roy is tearing down to prove he's done being a man-child. Chris and Tierney are skeptical about Roy's prospects.
Robert EG Black (5 Minute Arrival, Annihilation Minute) propels us into the second half of Close Encounters with a complete inventory of the articles Roy throws away to prove he's alright now. Chris and Tierney also talk about all-nighters, Loony Tunes, and drop some weird recommendations.
The minute that broke us, hosts and guest alike. Robert EG Black (5 Minute Arrival, Annihilation Minute) joins us for a minute of marital strife and sad children.
Another difficult to talk about minute, so Chris and Tierney bring in one of the best in the movies-by-minutes game: Robert Black from 5 Minute Arrival and Annihilation Minute. Plus, Tierney shares some Spielberg family history that might help us make sense of this scene.
Professor Robert Black (5 Minute Arrival, The Michael Myers Minute) gets us going on a good start to an uncomfortable week for the Neary's, the viewers, and our podcast hosts.
Roy Neary: the tortured artist. Chris Callaghan wraps up the week by contributing to a discussion about Roy's sky yelling, rickety swing sets, and obscure Danny Kaye movies.
Chris Callaghan sits in on a discussion about Roy's mental state, great kid acting, and the countless times this scene has been referenced in other media.
Chris Frain gets into "method podcasting," while Tierney identifies the mystery entree as salmon croquettes. Chris Callaghan recommends an Australian space movie, and they all appreciate more reviews from kids!
A sinister truck parade leaves a weed-covered military base, while the Nearys settle in for a carb-heavy dinner. Chris Callaghan joins Tierney and Chris to discuss packaging for Millenials, oppressive heat, and the lost art of displaying fine china.
Chris Callaghan joins the podcast to discuss planned disasters, military costume accessories, and regional grocery store chains.
Cece Pleasants (The Late Late Show with James Corden) stops by one last time to discuss a transitional moment in the film. Chris thinks the Project Mayflower guys look like Devo, while Tierney tries to parse the idea salad presented by Team Leader. Also, Muppets.
More Bigfoot talk, furious doodling, and a written but not-shot scene where Roy gets up into some trouble at the Air Force Base. All this and more - along with Cece Pleasants from The Late Late Show with James Corden - on this episode of This Means Something!
"I saw Bigfoot once!" Cece Pleasants from The Late Late Show with James Corden drops by again to help us discuss Sasquatches, Ronnie's visage, and another installment of Kids Review Close Encounters!
Cece Pleasants from The Late Late Show with James Corden continues her tenure on the podcast with a scathing critique of Major Benchley's theatrics. Tierney gives us a capsule history of the Air Force's debunking efforts, and Chris is obsessed with She-Ra character names.
We are pleased to welcome Cece Pleasants (writer for The Late Late Show with James Corden!) to our podcast. Our episodes start with Jillian and Ronnie desperately trying to avoid the media in a very sassy Air Force lobby.
Damian Marley returns from alien captivity to wrap up the week. Chris talks about the band Rush, and Tierney complains about wriggly children.
Damian Marley joins the podcast, then disappears, for a wonderful recap of a very scary minute involving a floor furnace, a vacuum cleaner, and a rotary phone.
Damien Marley checks in from the future to weigh in on this owl-in-the-chimney minute of Close Encounters.
"Why don't they just steal Barry at night when everyone is sleeping?" asks guest Damian Marley. Tierney is scared of skittering noises, and Chris is amused by the self-harmonizing singers at the door.
Damien Marley (from Australia!) stops in for a visit from the upside down future to discuss Bluey and the accelerated pace of editing during this alien abduction sequence. Chris is creeped out by the bust of Barry, Tierney is frustrated by her own child's wanderings.
You're so vain, you probably think this podcast is about you. Chris and Tierney talk about clouds, both real and imagineered by the great Douglas Trumbull.
This is gonna be great! Chris and Tierney follow the mischievous scientists as they break into the administrator's office and...steal a globe. Hijinks ensue.
We're talking longitude and latitude, but mostly longitude. Chris almost makes Tierney cry, and Tierney tells us exactly where the aliens are planning to land (hint: it's not in Wyoming).
Chris reminiscences about the game "Simon," while Tierney confirms that the futuristic hand scanner technology was real in 1976.
What would a Movie-by-Minute podcast be without a discussion of the Dies Irae? Alan Sanders is here to find out, along with regular hosts Chris and Tierney.
The Wilder Ride Podcast: www.thewilderride.com
Alan Sanders from The Wilder Ride podcast tags along with Tierney and Chris for this extra special episode featuring Roy's utterance of THE famous line, as well as the return of Dolly Zoom!
The Wilder Ride podcast: www.thewilderride.com
Alan Sanders (The Wilder Ride podcast) rejoins regular hosts Tierney and Chris for a conversation about Jillian's/Barry's backstory, the magic moment of Roy's realization, and the career highlights of Richard Dreyfuss.
The Wilder Ride: www.thewilderride.com
Alan Sanders from The Wilder Ride podcast engages in some speculation about the backstory of Jillian Guyler.
The Wilder Ride podcast: thewilderride.com