While Scotty was away exploring the Liminal Space Hotel at StokerCon this week, Amelia invited friend (and returning guest host) Elizabeth Dwyer onto The Weirdest Thing to talk about queering the rom-com canon. They discuss which literary and film classics could handle queer remakes, the importance of telling marginalized stories that de-center trauma, and ponder who the Queer Meg Ryan (Queen of Rom-Coms) will be!
They also discussed which queer or queer-coded characters they became aware of first, how problematic rom-coms can be in general, and how the rom-com genre really needs diversification across the board.
Amelia introduces Scotty to Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking "Hamilton: An American Musical" (2015). They talk about the show's music and its importance to theatre, to history, and to Broadway in general, and Scotty discusses his struggle with this popular art form. They spend a few moments at the end of the episode going over a few other musicals that have had an impact on them in various ways.
The son of a Mormon evangelist from Detroit. A reluctant blues balladeer from Cleveland. A pair of "nice Jewish boys" from New York City. Who would've thought these would have been just a few of the pioneers of the rude, rowdy, and often (fake) bloody musical genre known as "SHOCK ROCK?" Scotty is here to tell Amelia--and you--all about it.
CONTENT WARNING: This story has a few brief mentions of animal cruelty.
Scotty introduces Amelia to David Bowie's classic "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" (1972). Through the course of their discussion, Scotty gives a bit of history on the importance of the British glam-rock movement of the early 1970s, and Scotty and Amelia explore Amelia's sometimes complicated relationship with certain singing voices.
Amelia and Scotty take a deep dive into the new Prohibition-era vampire movie "Sinners," starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, and Wunmi Mosaku, and written/directed by Ryan Coogler. It should be no surprise that they both absolutely LOVED this one.
WARNING: Spoilers abound in this episode! You probably don't want to listen until you've seen the film.
We've got another WILD art-heist story this week. Amelia tells Scotty the tale of WIllem de Kooning's 1955 masterwork "Woman-Ochre," the...ahem...eccentric couple who (likely) boosted it from the University of Arizona Museum of Art, and the New Mexico antique-store owners who played an integral role in its eventual rediscovery.
Scotty and Amelia dive into two of their favorite respective documentaries this week, specifically dealing with big egos, wild creative visions, and singular artistic ambitions. They start with 1991's "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," which is about the making (and near unmaking) of 1979's "Apocalypse Now," and how the out-of-control production nearly drove director Francis Ford Coppola over the edge. They follow that up with 2008's "Every Little Step," which details the casting process behind the 2006 Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line," and how that process--cattle-call auditions, grueling rehearsals, brutal callbacks--reflects the storyline of the original 1975 musical.
Scotty's been teasing this one for awhile. This week he delves into another rock-and-roll urban legend--and the history of his all-time favorite band--when he tells Amelia the story of Pink Floyd's 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon," and its strange (and disputed) connection to the classic 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz."
Well, it's no surprise Scotty and Amelia have a lot to say about the latest seasons of "The Traitors" (Peacock) and "Yellowjackets" (Showtime), but they're also boiling over with opinions on probably the best new show of 2025--HBO's surprise new medical drama "The Pitt."
WARNING: This episode is FULL of spoilers. If you want your ears to remain properly virginal on the respective shows discussed, the timecodes are listed below:
"The Traitors" discussion: approx. 2:30 to 15:00
"Yellowjackets" discussion: approx. 15:00 to 27:20
"The Pitt" discussion: approx: 27:20 to the end.