Joe Dante

#45 – “I used to pretend I built my own spaceship”: Screenwriter Eric Luke on Joe Dante’s EXPLORERS

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On today’s episode, I’m excited to be joined by screenwriter Eric Luke to talk about Joe Dante’s 1985 sci-fi adventure EXPLORERS – a film starring River Phoenix and Ethan Hawke, both in their mid-teens.

After the success of GREMLINS, EXPLORERS was expected to become Joe Dante’s next amazing success story. But unfortunately, the movie wasn’t finished properly, and after it was released to some very lukewarm reviews, it quickly disappeared – only to become a minor cult classic later on, thanks to its unique tone and humor. The film is about three youngsters who build themselves a home-made spaceship to travel to the stars – and it is impossible to fully discuss the film without spoiling the big surprise that awaits our heroes, so if you want to experience the full effect of EXPLORERS, please watch the movie before listening to this conversation! And if you’ve already seen the film, I’m quite sure you’ll agree that it’s definitely a unique experience.

So it’s wonderful to welcome the writer of EXPLORERS, Eric Luke, who’s going to talk about how this story came together, which influences he and director Joe Dante drew from, and how they developed the third act and the ending of the film. Eric and I also discuss some of the problems the production ran into, and some of the things which could have been different in the finished version if the post-production process hadn’t been cut short. And we’ll talk about the legacy of the film, and how it continues to attract new audiences who are drawn to the fact that it’s a sci-fi adventure unlike any other.

Eric Luke’s very own EXPLORERS tattoo.

My interview with Eric Luke was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz and the 2026 Science Meets Fiction festival, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #94, which features an in-depth discussion of EXPLORERS. You’ll also find episodes on other sci-fi movies and ideas as part of our Science Meets Fiction special.

So without any further ado, here’s screenwriter Eric Luke!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Eric Luke
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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Talking Pictures #9: Charlie Haas, Screenwriter of MATINEE

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Today’s guest is screenwriter Charlie Haas, best known for his work with cult filmmaker Joe Dante. Our conversation focuses on their movie MATINEE, released in 1993 – a love letter to the horror films of the 50’s and 60’s set during the Cuban Missile Crisis: John Goodman plays Lawrence Woolsey, a producer not unlike William Castle, who comes to Key West, Florida, to promote his new monster movie MANT! – half man, half ant, all terror! The story is told from the perspective of a young boy who loves horror cinema, and who befriends the eccentric producer while out in the real world, the United States and the Soviet Union come close to a full-scale nuclear war during the October Crisis of 1962.

In our interview, Charlie talks about his own movie-going experiences and his memories of the Cold War, about working with a film scholar like Joe Dante, about the development of MATINEE and the inspiration behind the Lawrence Woolsey character. We also talked about some of Charlie’s other work, including the teen rebellion drama OVER THE EDGE, the sci-fi cult classic TRON, Joe Dante’s anarchic sequel GREMLINS 2, their TV movie RUNAWAY DAUGHTERS – and an exciting project they worked on which unfortunately didn’t come to fruition.

The interview was conducted in connection with the German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz where we produced an entire episode on MATINEE, so if you speak German, check out our Lichtspielplatz episode #43 at www.lichtspielplatz.at.

So here’s Talking Pictures with Charlie Haas!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

All photos (C) Charlie Haas.
Special thanks to Dr. Wily, my Lichtspielplatz podcasting partner for audio editing. The music was created by Clark Kent.

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