Stories Are Soul Food

Brian forces Nate to watch two new kids movie trailers... one from Pixar, and one from China. Pixar's new movie Elio flopped harder than anything that's come before. The top-grossing animated movie this year comes from China... it's Ne Zha 2, and it's made 2.2 billion (!) dollars. The guys talk about why Ne Zha 2's trailer is better than Elio's. But it still kinda stinks: The last couple years for children's animation has been very poor. Artificial Intelligence makes you dumber, but it will soon replace this level of bad production. Find out what an AI future might look like on this episode of Stories Are Soul Food.

The guys welcome Scott Minor of Realm Makers for a cameo on Christian fiction... Meet the Realm Makers conference: A decade or two ago, Christian fiction publishers only wanted Amish romance; but Scott's wife Betty was a Christian fantasy writer... so together they founded Realm Makers! Nate's headlining at Realm Makers in two weeks: So Nate asks Scott about fantasy authors' greatest strength... and their greatest weakness. The guys discuss the future of Christian fiction, including Christian fiction "stars" like Mike Nawrocki (Veggie Tales), Katie Lee (Connie from Odyssey), and S.D. Smith (Green Ember).

We've got good news for you: Lucia and Ameera come on SASF to discuss HELP HELP!Yes, it's about the launch of Lucy and Ameera's new movie/book review podcast!The new podcast/show is named Help Help We're Being Repressed. (Yes, that's a Monty Python reference.)On this first episode of Help Help, Nate and the girls discuss writing female characters badly (and goodly).Subscribe to their new podcast wherever pods are podded!This and much more on this special episode of SASF.

Brian says he showed "Batman Begins" to his kids and enjoyed it; Nate goes on a rampage.Nolan's Batman earnestness necessitated the Joker to give us all some relief. "Why so serious, Batman?"Nolan is a great artisan but a terrible philosopher. "I run because they need me to run."... But it was all worth it for LEGO Batman.How long can Hollywood's obsession with superhero movies continue? Apparently forever.Is "Down with Hollywood" a good rallying cry?Why AI is the strangler fig for all that's real.What could end the entertainment industry in America? Social media may already have done it.This and much more on this episode of SASF.

When you've been hurt, what kind of character will you be? God gives you hardship as a Storyteller does: because readers love what happens when a character is down but finds a way to get back up; Remember that it's in the cellars of affliction that God makes his choicest wines (Rutherford); Be at once tender and merciless with your own victimhood; Stop assuming nobody else at church has the dark backstory of trauma and abuse that you do. Take heart from Grandpa Jim, who used to "get chose" to fight the bullies every day after school. What kind of wine will you be?

Time to talk about Christians in novels:+ Secular novelists love to make their villains hypocritical Christians.+ Christian novelists are very honest about their Christian characters' flaws as well.+ So don't be offended when you bump into a fake Christian in a story.+ Nate walks through the flaws of his Christian protagonists (Niffy, Rupert, etc.).This episode dissects Christians and their character flaws on the page... and in real life.

Brian asks Nate what tips he'd give a teenage SASFer who wants to become a movie director. And, perhaps surprisingly, Nate's advice has nothing to do with movies. Because if you want to direct feature films when you grow up, you're the kid saying "I am gonna be an NFL quarterback." That kind of career wish has everything to do with whether you're the kind of person who could manage someone else's million-dollar investment. That doesn't just happen for wanting. Are you ready to convince the rich guys, direct the talent, soothe the producers, reject the bad network notes, talk to the cinematographers, and maintain total clarity on your artistic vision for the film through it all? And that assumes you know your stuff when it comes to story (watch Canon+ resources like "On Directing" and "Fantastical Wordcraft") and aren't hoping your elementary critical analysis will take the place of artistic talent. The best thing you can be doing is MAKING films with your (or your parents') iPhones. Also in this episode, the guys take some potshots at allegory, Reformed Facebook groups, Edmund Spenser, and more.

Discover why today's kids need stories about failing institutions and how courage plays a vital role in rebuilding them. The discussion dives into the importance of empowering youth to face conflicts head-on while addressing deeper systemic issues. Unpack the intricacies of U.S.-Canada political dynamics, reflecting on leadership challenges and the significance of maintaining purpose. With practical insights, this talk emphasizes the necessity of resilience and relating to one another amid political uncertainty.

Brian springs an awful Aslan casting surprise on Nate, and the results are delightful. The SASF discussion of Greta Gerwig's new Netflix Narnia series ranges far afield. Planet Narnia, which book of the series is Nate's favorite, Lewis's repeated character archetypes, adaptation of books to film... this one has all things Lewis. Including Nate's claim that Edmund / Eustace / Digory all behave the way they do because CSL had thumbs that couldn't bend.

It's old news that the boys aren't reading. The NY publishing industry was obsessed with the idea when they first took at look at Nate's work twenty years ago. This episode of SASF features the story of the (female) editor who wanted to reach boys with Nate's manuscript of Leepike Ridge by 1) taking out the treasure, 2) taking out the father figure, and 3) making the book about the relationship between the boy and his widowed mom. The industry at large moved on to graphic novels to try to get boys to read. But Nate says things have gotten worse since then: Boys weren't reading then; they aren't even watching now. Hollywood is currently freaking out over the difficulty of getting young adult males into theaters. Turns out boys play video games a bit and watch YouTube and p*rnography a lot (devastating). The rest of the podcast discusses how to defeat the algorithms by creating dopamine with your family instead of your phones. This is the first step to freeing a generation of young people enslaved to the doomscroll.