Scott Sigler's Audiobooks
New York Times best-selling novelist Scott Sigler gives away all of his stories as free, serialized audiobooks. Described as "Stephen King meets Michael Crichton meets Chuck Palahniuk," Scott's stories of hard-science horror will have you tapping a vein as you Jones for next week's fix. Subscribe to hear major-release hardcover novels read by the author, as well as short fiction and the "FridayFix," a random piece of weekly nonsense. For more info on the author, visit http://www.scottsigler.com

StorySmack is a podcast about storytelling, but I must admit we talk quite a bit about movies. Today, however, we’re going to talk about a movie maker. In fact, the most Oscar-nominated movie maker on Earth. Actor? Director? Nope — orchestrator and conductor John Williams.

I know you love John Williams’ work. I know I love the Star Wars score, and the Indiana Jones score. Those are both his. But so many others you know and love are also John Williams’ work. You’ll be amazed at how much of the score to your own life is lifted from work he’s done.

Direct download: 32_StorySmack_32_-_John_Williams.mp3
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With 25 episodes under our belt, we dive into the listener mail bag (awwwww yeah) to look at y’all’s suggestions for future installments. We also talk about the difficulty of reviewing books, TV series, why movies are the low-hanging grapes (awwwww yeah), and why Hollywood keeps remaking the same schlock over and over again.

Direct download: 26_StorySmack_26_-_Upcoming.mp3
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The first episode of this ground-breaking series aired on July 19, 2007. A decade later, the FDØ and the Director of Døøm sit down to discuss the cultural impact it had on television and on long-form storytelling.

Direct download: 21_StorySmack_21-_MAD_MEN_Pilot_10th_Anniversary.mp3
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We sat down to watch SNATCH this week while Scott’s nephews were in town. They’d never seen this awesome crime flick from 2000, and it was pretty interesting to chat with them about it afterward. Listen in to hear the next generation Sigler men share their opinions on shakey-cam fights with their decidedly anti-shakey-cam uncle.

Direct download: 19_StorySmack_19_-_Snatch.mp3
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You may be shocked to know that THE FIFTH ELEMENT is 20 years old. That’s two decades of multipass, folks. We break down the storytelling elements (see what I did there) in the Luc Besson-directed classic.

Direct download: 18_StorySmack_18_-_Fifth_Element.mp3
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This week we were going to do an ALIENS watch-along. We didn’t get that off the ground. We’ll tell you all about it in the episode. Instead, we’re doing a traditional movie review StorySmack, but for Sigler’s favorite movie of all time. ALL TIME!

The thing is … ALIENS is Scott’s favorite, but it’s also a hugely important and influential movie in general. Sigourney Weaver is luminescent in every sense of the word, all the while being a difficult, ornery character, in unfathomable circumstances. It’s a performance of a lifetime, and it’s only one part of the movie. If you have never seen it, do watch it before listening.

Direct download: 17_StorySmack_17_-_Aliens.mp3
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It’s 4/20, the favorite day of every stoner on the planet. At StorySmack, we decided to do a little medical experimentation — why not do an episode about a stoner movie, on 4/20, while on 4/20 ourselves?

We feature the Dave Chapelle movie HALF-BAKED for your listening pleasure. A got the giggles. And, yes, munchies were involved after the fact.

Direct download: 16_StorySmack_16_Half_Baked_4-20.mp3
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This week we’re taking a break from movie breakdowns as we recover from our European jet lag.

Everyone’s seen plenty of courtroom dramas, cop stories, and forensic investigation on television and in the movies. So much that our sense of justice and the law is surely informed by what we’ve seen on the screen. And what’s on the screen isn’t always real-world accurate, surrendering dry legal wrangling for entertaining fiction.

Scott and A breakdown the degrees of murder as they’re written in California so we can see where reality and fiction diverge. If you’re a storyteller or just a big fan of true-crime stories, these are things you should know. We’re here to help!

Direct download: 15_StorySmack_15_Murder_1-2-3.mp3
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The European Tour of 2017 rolls along. We took a few minutes to talk about our feels and impressions from some of the amazing, life-changing things we’ve seen. We also discuss how seeing such things can affect a storyteller’s views, and impact (or create whole cloth) future stories. 

Direct download: 14_StorySmack_14_-_European_tour.mp3
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Why are we celebrating the random 17th anniversary of GLADIATOR? Because we’re idiots and somehow got it in our head it was 25 years old (a “thank you” to Junkie Shane who pointed out that maybe we need to lay off the sauce for a bit …).

Nonetheless, this is a movie that holds up better than most. It’s a lovely, fragile, hard-as-nails movie, full of anger and grace and humanity and morality. It’s an essential movie for anyone who likes fight movies, historical movies, love stories, and even interpersonal dramas. If you’re looking for parody, this isn’t that, but otherwise, I think you’d really dig it.

Direct download: 13_StorySmack_13_-_Gladiator.mp3
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This week’s StorySmack has us going back in time to a weird, wonderful Los Angeles, and a sterling example of the buddy cop movie. LETHAL WEAPON turns 30 this month, and we revisited the original to see how it stands the test of time. And to see Mel Gibson’s enormous hair. Give us a listen and let us know what you think!

Direct download: 12_StorySmack_12_-_Lethal_Weapon.mp3
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Can you believe it? Twenty-five years since WAYNE’S WORLD landed its most-excellent ass in theaters. If that shocks you, you are old!

Direct download: 11_Story_Smack_11_-_Waynes_World.mp3
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We’ve got some of our own storytelling afoot, with a few things in the works that ate up every spare moment of this week — so here’s a shorter StorySmack to talk about the fantastic flick JOHN WICK. And hopefully, soon we can tell y’all what’s got us so busy.

Direct download: 10_StorySmack_John_Wick.mp3
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Yes, 2016 saw some serious coinage being tossed about Hollywood in a festive manner. But which of those obscenely bloated budgets was the biggest and girthiest? And did those huge expenditures result in equally huge profits? Your FDØ and ARealGirl get into the numbers game on this week’s StorySmack.

Direct download: 09_StorySmack_9_-_Nine_Most_Expensive_Films_of_2016_1.mp3
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This week Scott and A discuss the RESIDENT EVIL franchise. We talk about all five movies currently available for at-home viewing, and our experience marathoning them this month. It’s been a wild ride, and we’re excited to go see Resident Evil: The Final Chapter this weekend!

Even if you’re not into these games or these movies, the success of these films can’t be ignored. And, honestly, they’re better than you might think at first.

Direct download: 08_StorySmack_8___Resident_Evil.mp3
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Yes, 2016 generated an all-time high in box office revenue, but when you adjust for inflation how successful was it, really? Is Hollywood heading for a major crash, a-la the music business of the 90s and the publishing biz of the oughts?

We cover that in this episode, as well as:

  • What were the Top-10 highest-grossing films of 2016?
  • The influence of Chinese investors and the Chinese government on Hollywood.
  • What year set the record for attendance, not for revenue?
  • Why it’s better to root for the Dark Side.
  • The evil that is Herbie the Love Bug.
Direct download: 07_StorySmack_7_-_Five_Box_Office_Lessons_of_2016.mp3
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It’s Friday the 13th, so what else would we cover but FRIDAY THE 13TH? The original, people, not a remake, not a reboot, not a sequel, but the carnage-fest that started a billion-dollar franchise. A first-generation slasher film that created many copies, this horror classic is slathered with the blood of horror movie history.

Direct download: 06_StorySmack_6_-_Friday_the_13th.mp3
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If you haven’t seen GALAXY QUEST in all this time since 1999, let’s just say you’re missing out. Or, more correctly, if you’re a fan of this ‘cast, or scifi, or nerdom and you haven’t seen Galaxy Quest … you’re totally missing out. Just trust us, see it.

Direct download: 05_StorySmack_5_-_Galaxy_Quest.mp3
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