“Without Phantom Menace, You Don’t Get Avengers” with Talking Bay 94 Host Brandon Wainerdi

THIS ADVENTURE Peter and Daniel are joined by Talking Bay 94 host, Brandon Wainerdi. Brandon Wainerdi, host of the Star Wars interview podcast Talking Bay 94 and a writer for Star Wars Insider, StarWars.com, ILM.com, and Fangoria, joins The Young Indy Chroniclers to talk about growing up with George Lucas’s work.Wainerdi traces his path into Indiana Jones through a 2001 issue of Star Wars Insider celebrating the 20th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark. He recalls the homemade Young Indiana Jones short film he once made starring his little brother, and describes finally working through the full series on DVD from his college library. The conversation moves to why Indiana Jones never built the same kind of fandom as Star Wars, why the prequel era’s visual effects artists deserve far more credit than they’ve received, and why he considers The Phantom Menace the purest George Lucas movie ever made. He names Daredevils of the Desert and Transylvania, January 1918 among his favorite Young Indy episodes. He also shares the lesson he learned from an early interview with visual effects legend Phil Tippett, which was to stop steering a guest toward the story you want and actually listen. The conversation closes with what he’s writing now, including his two DK Star Wars encyclopedias.00:00 Intro03:04 Meet Brandon Wainerdi: Host of Talking Bay 9408:31 How Brandon Discovered Indiana Jones and Young Indy17:05 Why Indiana Jones Never Became as Big as Star Wars24:51 Watching the Full Series in College27:56 Dial of Destiny, Arabic, and the Great Circle31:34 Young Indy and George Lucas’s Legacy41:03 Why George Lucas Made Young Indiana Jones43:35 The Movies That Hooked Brandon for Life51:56 Reappraising the Prequels’ Visual Effects58:29 Favorite Episodes: Daredevils of the Desert and Transylvania1:08:10 What Brandon’s Working On Now1:10:30 Advice From Interviewing Phil Tippett1:12:52 Closing Thoughts and Where to Find BrandonSubscribe for new episodes of The Young Indy Chroniclers every two weeks. Bonus and early-access episodes are available on Patreon at patreon.com/YoungIndyChroniclers. Late pledges for our documentary, George Lucas: The Lost Golden Age, are still open at kickstarter.com/projects/georgelucas/george-lucas-the-lost-golden-age.#YoungIndyChroniclers #StarWars #IndianaJones #TalkingBay94