Steven Spielberg’s Quest to Be the Next Walt Disney (Ep. 53)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Tv & Film, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 30 May 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jim Hill and Eric Hersey explore how Steven Spielberg’s early ambitions to follow in Walt Disney’s footsteps shaped both Universal Studios and modern theme park storytelling. From his failed pitch to Disney to his work on Amazing Stories and Harry and the Hendersons, this episode connects the dots between Spielberg’s cinematic vision and his lasting impact on themed entertainment. How Disney turned down Spielberg’s offer—and why it shaped his long-term partnership with Universal The story behind Amazing Stories and its role in Spielberg’s attempt to build a brand beyond film Why Harry and the Hendersons was seen as a potential franchise—and why it never became the next E.T. Remembering Ed Gale and his roles in Howard the Duck, Child’s Play, and more Universal’s Jaws 50th anniversary celebrations and evolving How to Train Your Dragon film updates This episode blends nostalgic storytelling with industry insight, spotlighting how one filmmaker’s dream to become the next Walt Disney changed the theme park world forever. Support Our Sponsor: Be Our Guest Vacations Planning your next Universal vacation? Be Our Guest Vacations is a Platinum-level Earmarked travel agency with concierge-level service to make every trip magical. Their team of expert agents plans vacations across the globe, from Disney and Universal to cruises and adventures, ensuring you have the best possible experience without the stress. Book Now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to the epic universal podcast.
0:19.3	I'm entertainment writer Jim Hill,
0:20.7	and this is the podcast where we cover
0:22.5	the latest universal news, rumors, and history. And as always, I'm joined by Eric Hersey, who
0:29.9	a surprisingly young-looking person, but he has a son that had just graduated from high school.
0:38.5	How is that possible?
0:46.3	Jim, you know, you start early so that way you can end early, I guess. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
0:50.0	live on, like get them out of the house early so we can live, you know what I'm saying?
0:54.7	No, I understand. Okay, for a moment there, you had me concerned.
0:55.6	We were all good.
0:55.9	Okay.
1:00.5	I had an 18-year-old if we just stuck that out, but then we decided to, Miles is eight.
1:03.9	So we, 10 years gap, it just kind of threw off our plan.
1:08.4	So there's not as many trips to Disney with just the two of us, Lauren and I now.
1:09.5	Okay, okay. But again, you know, remember, you need miles.
1:12.9	Otherwise, how are you getting on Terradon Flyers?
1:15.0	That's the goal. We had that in mind, Jim.
1:17.4	There we go. All right. Now, speaking of relatively small people,
1:21.6	just as we went to record here tonight, some somewhat sad news broke,
1:31.5	we learned of the passing of Ed Gale,
1:41.6	though I have to say that Gail's niece, Casey Gale, posted on on Facebook, perhaps my favorite,
1:45.6	well, tribute, not an obit, in quite some time.
	...

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