Night Skies with Max Evry

Ever wonder how Steven Spielberg's unmade Close Encounters sequel, Night Skies, became Gremlins and E.T.? Well, this episode is for you!

Vespe welcomes author Max Evry who literally wrote the book on this topic, titled Stranded On Earth: How Night Skies Became E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, to go over the evolution of this dark project while examining where exactly Steven Spielberg was in his life and career as all this was going on.

We dive into the sliding doors of it all as young Spielberg chose certain projects over others (like did you know he almost directed an R-rated jocks vs nerds in middle school comedy) and what his ultimate decisions say about him as a creative.

This episode has everything: Alien abduction stories, edgelord Spielberg, Carlo Rambaldi slander, and a frank discussion of the different eras of our greatest living American director.

Stranded On Earth hits shelves October 27th and you can pre-order it directly via the publisher if you want a signed copy at no extra charge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices