Arrival
3/26/20261 hr 18 min
Paul and Amy make first contact with Denis Villeneuve’s quietly mind-bending sci-fi about language, time, and the choices that shape a life. They trace the film’s journey from Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life to the screen, unpacking how screenwriter Eric Heisserer turned a cerebral short story into a $200M hit and why Amy Adams’ performance still feels criminally underrated a decade later.
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First 90 secondsPaul Scheer· Host0:01
The year is 2016.
Speaker 20:03
Are they scientists or tourists? If they're scientists, they don't seem to ask a lot of questions. Why did they park where they did? The world's most decorated experts can't crack that one. The most plausible theory is that they chose places on Earth with the lowest incidents of lightning strikes, but there are exceptions. The next most plausible theory is that Sheena Easton had a hit song at each of these sites in 1980, so we just don't know.
Paul Scheer· Host0:34
The film, Arrival.
Amy Nicholson· Host0:36
[upbeat music] Hello, everyone, and welcome to Unspooled.
Paul Scheer· Host0:49
Unspooled. Yes, welcome to Unspooled. This is a podcast about good movies, critical hits, fan favorites, must-sees, and in case you missed 'ems.
Amy Nicholson· Host1:00
We have covered the AFI Top 100, and now we are checking off movies from three major lists: the Letterboxd Top 250 Films with the Most Fans, the IMDb Top 250, and The New York Times 1,000 Essential Films. And actually, strange fun fact about the Letterboxd Top 250, they just recalibrated it, and one of the films we did dropped off.
Paul Scheer· Host1:22
[laughs] Whoa, which one?
Amy Nicholson· Host1:23
Saw.
Paul Scheer· Host1:24
Oh, interesting. Wow, wow, wow.
Amy Nicholson· Host1:26
Yeah.
Paul Scheer· Host1:26
Well- Farewell to Saw ... you know what? We have to bend with