The Studio, the Sequel, and the Great White That Ate the Budget (Ep. 60)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Tv & Film, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jim Hill and Eric Hersey return with a jam-packed episode that swings from Halloween Horror Nights updates to the troubled legacy of Jaws 2. First, they unpack the latest HHN announcements, including the debut of the Terrifier haunted house and the moody new scare zone, Origins of Horror. Eric finally learns the difference between houses and zones - only took 60 episodes. Then, the duo gears up for a future trip to Philadelphia, where Universal Parks is launching their first-ever traveling exhibit at the Franklin Institute. Meetups, cheesesteaks, and nostalgia await. In the second half, Jim dives back into the shark-infested waters of Jaws 2—revealing mob-backed plotlines, studio politics, and why Spielberg nearly came back to save the franchise. Plus: • Frequent Fear Passes are already sold out• A new Universal theme park docuseries is coming to Peacock• The real reason Jaws 2 moved from Martha’s Vineyard to Florida• How Lorraine Gary’s husband (the head of Universal) helped get the original director fired• Why the shark in Jaws 2 is bigger, meaner, and hungrier than ever Also: Eric inches closer to finally watching Jaws in full. Maybe. 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.
0:18.6	I'm entertainment writer Jim Hill,
0:20.4	and this is the podcast where we cover the
0:23.6	latest universal news, rumors, and history. And as always, I'm joined by Eric Hersey and
0:30.5	Eric, you had to revise your travel itinerary for next year, right? Jim, I was always looking for a reason to go to Philadelphia.
0:39.1	It's been a few years. Actually, last time I went to Philadelphia, I actually worked for Comcast.
0:43.6	So that's where the corporate headquarters. Yeah, yeah. Wow. You're doing some good television
0:48.3	commercials and advertising there, but that was last time I was in Philadelphia, but we have reason to go
0:53.1	there. Another Comcast reason to go there, right?
0:55.2	We do. We do.
0:56.9	The news just broke literally days ago about Universal Theme Parks, the exhibition,
1:04.4	which is going to be getting underway at the Franklin Institute.
1:10.1	In fact, Valentine's Day next year, February 14th.
1:14.4	This is kind of a big deal because this is the first time that Universal, the Universal Parks,
1:21.4	have done something like this.
1:23.4	I mean, it's an 18,000-foot traveling exhibit.
1:27.2	I'm going to have eight different themed galleries.
1:30.3	More than 100 artifacts from the parks in addition.
1:34.5	That's so cool.
1:35.1	Yeah.
1:35.7	And I have to say, I've told the story here on this podcast previously about Jason Sorrell, who wrote all of those wonderful books
1:48.7	for the Disney theme parks. And then he went over to work for Universal Creative. And I remember
	...

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