Unnatural Selection Emma Shannon
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- TV & Film
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Unnatural Selection is a monthly podcast about film adaptations of books, the weird choices Hollywood makes, and what actually constitutes a "good" adaptation. Each episode is hosted by Emma Shannon and a rotating cast of special guests.
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Jaws feat. Marn Lastname
It’s finally time to cover the adaptation that inspired this show! Set sail on the Orca with Emma and Marn for a nearly two-hour discussion about the beast known as Jaws. Bridge the brief gap between Benchley’s 1974 hit novel and Spielberg’s inaugural summer blockbuster in 1975 with these two podcasters as Marn lets Emma gush about real-life shark footage, Hooper’s affair with Brody’s wife, and mafia subplots.
Content warnings for Jaws include: graphic shark attacks, child death, graphic descriptions of sharks being killed, infidelity, mentions of rape and rape fantasy, 70’s-pulp typical nudity and horniness, and insufferable rich scientists.
The extra book Emma read for this episode is The Jaws Log by Carl Gottlieb. Emma read the 25th anniversary edition with introduction by Peter Benchley.
You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca and the show @UnselectPod. Marn can be found on most social media @corpserevivers. The web serial she writes with her wife can be found at https://prairiesongserial.com/
Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard from either Emma, Marn, or the myriad shows they make together, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork
The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com/ -
New Moon feat. Kat Jamolin
Kat and Emma return to the woods for their annual trek through the Twilight series. This year, listen along to their thoughts on Stephanie Meyer’s New Moon as they muse about terrible CGI, laugh at ridiculous teen behaviors, and restart Team Jacob discourse in the year 2024.
Content warnings for New Moon include: depressive episodes, suicidal behavior, abandonment, the murder of a tour group, references to domestic violence, weird racism towards werewolves, insensitive depictions of the Quileute people, and an obscene number of references to Romeo and Juliet.
The articles Emma references can be found here:
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/2/9/effects-CGI-new-moon/
https://screenrant.com/twilight-new-moon-behind-scenes-details-making-trivia/
For more information on the Quileute people, visit https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/truth_vs_twilight/
You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca, Kat @StrawberrySiren, and the show @UnselectPod. Kat can be found on Instagram @swordsandsirens and her dog Walter is @WalterWednesdays. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and want to support them, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork
The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com/ -
Dune feat. Tom O'Brien
Travel to Arrakis and venture out into the desert for spice with Emma and Tom as they discuss the two-part 2021 and 2024 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965). Neither Emma nor Tom have mastered the voice, so no need to worry about any Bene Gesserit tricks. Just listen along for their takes on adapting a behemoth of a book, Jessica’s evil arc, and a firsthand account of the limited-edition Dune AMC popcorn bucket.
Heads up that the audio for this episode has more background noise than usual because it was recorded in person on one microphone.
Content Warnings for Dune include: mind control, colonization, violence, assault, religious fanaticism, death of a parent, death of a child, many other miscellaneous deaths, and a weirdly intelligent two-year-old.
The articles Emma references in this episode can be found here:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/making-of-dune-denis-villenueve-novel-adaptation-1235052084/
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-10-21/dune-movie-book-changes-explained-denis-villeneuve
https://screenrant.com/dune-2-denis-villeneuve-interview/
https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-part-2-is-a-perfect-adaptation-because-of-one-key-difference
You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca and the show @UnselectPod. Tom does not wish to be found on social media, but if you would like to connect with him on a cosmic level, try getting really into Twilight Imperium. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and want to support them, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork
The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com/ -
Guardians of Ga'Hoole feat. The Ga'Hooligans Podcast
What is this, a crossover episode? Unnatural Selection host Emma joins forces with PB and CJ of the Ga’Hoolingans Podcast to talk about, you guessed it, Zach Snyder’s Legend of the Guardians: the Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010), an adaptation of the first three books in Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’Hoole series! Join these three hosts as they go into the hollow of the Ga’Hoole tree to talk about egregious slow motion, uncannily detailed owls, and how amped we would have been as 10-year-olds witnessing this story about owl fascism.
Content warnings for The Capture, The Journey, and The Rescue include: cult programming and deprogramming, white supremacy, fascism, child slavery, cannibalism, graphic depictions of owl feeding and digestion functions, PTSD nightmares, a lot of owl deaths, attempted fratricide, successful parricide, owl swears, and a weirdly racialized way of handling a real dynamic between owls and snakes.
The articles Emma references in this episode can be found here:
https://movieweb.com/exclusive-john-orloff-talks-legend-of-the-guardians-the-owls-of-gahoole/
https://www.expandedcinematography.com/the-cinematography-of-legend-of-the-guardians.html
You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca and the show @UnselectPod. PB can be found on bluesky @paulyhedral and CJ @atypicalley. You can find PB’s ttrpgs at pauly3d.itch.io. Unnatural Selection and The Ga’Hooligans Podcast are both part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you want to hear more from Emma, PB, and CJ, check out the Moonshot twitch channel at moonshot.mov or support the network at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork.
The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can find more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com -
Annihilation feat. Jacqueline Swampert
Get ready to inhale some spores, step through the shimmer into Area X, and explore a ~~tunnel~~ tower with Emma and Jacqueline as they take a look at Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation and the 2018 film adaptation of the same name. Listen along as they dive into the creative use of repurposed visuals, the differences between a biologist and Natalie Portman, and overlooking scientific curiosity in favor of the military.
Content warnings for Annihilation include: body horror, gun violence, memory loss, hypnosis, gore, medical horror, and being replaced by a doppelganger.
The articles Emma references in this episode can be found at:
https://www.theringer.com/movies/2018/2/23/17036466/alex-garland-annihilation-interview-ex-machina
https://screen-queens.com/2018/04/06/the-dancer-behind-annhilations-epic-ending/
You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca and the show @UnselectPod. You can find Jacqueline on tumblr at swampert.tumblr.com. You listen to her show Unwise Girls on a podcatcher of choice. If you want to hear more of Emma and Jacqueline together, check them out on the show Dead Teen House Party. Unnatural Selection, Unwise Girls, and DTHP are all a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and want to support them, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork.
The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can find more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com/ -
The Lawnmower Man feat. Jory Andre
Put on your VR headset and load up a CGI courtroom as Jory and Emma discuss the 1992 “adaptation” of Stephen King’s 1975 short story The Lawnmower Man. Join them as they discuss how loose an adaptation can get before it’s just a different piece of media entirely, why Stephen King sued, and how sometimes a director is wrong even if they’ve put a quality monkey into a movie.
Content warnings for The Lawnmower Man (1975) include: animal death, descriptions of gore, public nudity, graphic lawnmower-based violence, and republican fathers.
Content warnings for The Lawnmower Man (1992) include: flashing lights, terrible cgi, monkey violence, gun violence, death of an animal, mental ableism, abusive fathers (both parental and religious), and an absolutely horrifying instance of cybersex.
The articles Emma references in this episode can be found at:
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/976/824/47250/
https://collider.com/stephen-king-the-lawnmower-man-lawsuit/
https://www.thecompanion.app/lawnmover-man-cyberpunk/
You can find Emma on twitter @ematsca and the show @UnselectPod. You can find Jory on most sites @NoImJory and @jory.zone on Bluesky. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Podcast Network. If you like what you’ve heard and want to support them, you can become a patron at patreon.com/moonshotnetwork. Jory’s podcast We Are! Watching One Piece can be found on twitter @WeAreWatchingOP
The music for this show was commissioned from and composed by Jake Loranger. You can find more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com/
Customer Reviews
analysis and humor melted together
a great show with some movies I never even knew were books first!