Rob Thomas on Summer Blockbusters (Hour 1)

From Washington to Hollywood and right back to Wisconsin.

It's Night Light with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach.

Connecting the dots on the stories shaping our world with smart takes, sharp humor, and plenty of personality.

You know, I really expected more professional behavior from you.

It's news and culture without the noise.

Yeah,

come on!

Here's Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach.

Dude!

Welcome to Night Light!

Good evening, everybody.

Happy Thursday.

It is great to have you here tonight with us.

I am Pete Schwabbe, coming to you live from northeast Wisconsin in beautiful Marinette, and I am joined as always by my compadre who is just down the coast in Radio Park in Racine.

Mr. Greg Bogg, hey buddy.

Hello, sir.

How's it going this afternoon slash into the evening?

It is kind of a weird time.

We can't, we're not really committing to one time a day.

I think that's what makes the show so special.

One minute you

think it's afternoon, one minute it's the evening.

You

don't know.

What is, what's going on?

I don't know.

Yeah, we'll see what happens.

Dom is joining us tonight also from Madison.

He's got, as I understand it, a splitting headache.

And I know I'm breaking HIPAA rules by always pointing out when the two of you are not feeling well.

So you have every right to do it when I'm on the line.

Hear from our

lawyers.

There we go.

Just call my lawyer.

Well, first of all, get a lawyer.

Get a lawyer.

Get a lawyer, then call him.

There

you go.

There you

go.

Dom, how

are you doing, buddy?

Are you hanging in there?

I'm doing pretty good.

I'm doing pretty good.

It's a bit of a slower Thursday, I'd say.

A bit of a slower Thursday.

But I always have to talk about the weather in Madison.

It's nice.

It's bright.

It's looking nice.

Not much to complain about.

Really not much to complain

about.

That's outstanding.

Well, I hope, uh, I hope you make it through the show.

We couldn't do it without you.

Um, we have Greg, I just want to give you bragging rights because man, your brewers just took it to my cubs.

That was, and Dom secretly enjoyed that as well as a socks fan.

You took two or three from the, what used to be the red hot cubs and you guys both have bragging rights now.

So congratulations on that.

You know what?

I think that I'm happy.

Don't get me wrong.

And I'm happy that the brewers have worked their way into first place after what seemed like a pretty rocky.

Well, it was, it was a great start than a horribly realistic middle.

And now we're, you know, it's, you know, we're only in the second full month of baseball.

So, but I think that like for some reason it doesn't like, I'm happy they won, but it doesn't feel like it used to because I've become so tired of other fans.

picking on the brewery so much that I don't like their behavior.

So I don't want to do the same.

So for me,

I just said, I

just said, that's good.

I'm glad they won.

I'm really happy they won.

That's really great.

And I didn't take any sort of special like, like, yeah, the Cubs, I'm happy they won.

And that's where I let it lay.

And, you know, that's how I want, that's how I want to comport myself from now on.

I don't want to look at other teams like, yeah, I'm going to destroy this team.

Why?

Because that team, so I'm just, I'm happy they won.

That's all I, I'll feel.

I was, I won't, I won't lie.

Very surprised that it was a sweep, but still

happy to I was surprised it was a sweep, too But I kind of you know how your team like is hot for a while

and

you sense well I think this is coming to an end and at least as a cub fan and maybe to some degree as a brewer fan this year because the brewer started so hot then they slumped

You just can't, you just can't get this excited this early in the season.

And I'm certainly not, but it was a nice series for the Brewers for

sure.

That's the other point too.

Yes, you're exactly right.

It's like, it's like, yeah, baby.

It's mid May, dude.

It's mid May.

You got a lot of time to eat those words, put it in some humble pie and just chow down.

So I keep it, I keep it very realistic that we're still really pretty much in the beginning of the season.

I will say though, sweeping the Yankees felt really good.

I don't know

why

it's just like that that felt really good like like the Yankees don't take I mean you you know this as a Cubs fan and as the Yankees are like yeah you're all great we're the Yankees right but the fact that we were able to sweep them that did feel that that just

and it's okay to feel good even though it's early in the year

It's still an impressive like but I have to temper my own expectations because my parents are really into the Cubs and they're giving me updates daily So they went on a hot streak and I started watching it now

I'm like

all right I'm gonna take a little break again because it's May and that's how my son is I said hey the Cubs have a 10 game winning streak He's like that's great.

I can't wait to watch him in October like That's kind of how it is, you know, yeah, it's true.

It's very true.

Yeah, but it was good.

That was good serious

I had, I'm dealing with this thing.

I don't know if you guys do this.

I know I'm not, I'm fairly techno savvy, but the pop-up ads, I can't handle it anymore.

I open these news sites, pop-up, pop-up, pop-up.

I try to get rid of them in my settings.

They still happen.

And then I've got like an inch of information because of all the pop-up messages.

What

is

going on?

I don't even like it's not even the fact like I'm now used to the pop-ups on the side or on the bottom But when you're like, all right, I gotta read this.

Oh my gosh dove soap Ah, you're

like

right in front of you blocking your way And then you got to search for their clothes button somewhere or they're like your ad will close in 15 seconds And you say well, I just go sit here and wait and look

at now.

Yeah,

how

about how about I'm a how about I'm a tax-paying

adult I honest to God.

I'm so sick of trying of

Trying to have people sell me stuff

whether

whether it's I kind of miss door-to-door because then you just didn't answer even though it was kind of before my time to like when the vacuum cleaner Salesmen would show up.

No, but I don't yeah, I just cannot I know where to find things if I need them stop advertising Yeah, yeah, I know where the store is.

I know what I like

Exactly.

Hey, guys, we have a great show tonight.

It

is Thursday night, which means, well, a couple things, but in the second hour, it means we have Night Light Movie Club.

And this week's film, man, this is a good one, Vacation.

Okay, I thought I

was gonna get a timpani again.

Ooh, da, that, see, he went way over budget yesterday.

I

was

about

to do it.

He

killed the budget for the whole year.

Yep, I was about to do it, and then I

stopped,

nope.

Oh, no!

Oh, man, all right.

Well, unfortunately, Don, we can't afford to keep you anymore.

So you've really brought this upon yourself.

It's my own fault.

Yeah.

It is a fine timpani, though, I will say.

But we have this week's movie, folks, is Vacation.

National Lampoon's Vacation, Chevy Chase, Beverly DeAngelo.

Such a great movie.

I've seen this movie, and I'm not lying, 50 to 75 times from when it came out.

And then I went through phases where I watched it over and over for the performances, the jokes, whatever.

I forgot.

Like, I knew it was funny.

I knew I was going to enjoy it again.

But man, oh man, it's a classic.

It's an absolute perfect choice.

So,

hands off.

Very much looking

forward.

Very much looking forward.

But who are we talking to, though?

We have a guest, though, this evening, Pete.

We do have a guest in the first hour.

I was getting that through my through my burp.

So thank you for the bridgeway to you're welcome.

I'm here for you.

I'm

here to make sure that all of that can be taken care of.

I'm the guy.

Just call me the bridge

was brutal.

Rob Thomas is here.

Madison based film critic and city cast Madison newsletter editor.

We'll talk to Rob a little bit about what's happening in Madison.

CityCast Madison is just a fun publication.

I always enjoy reading it.

And then we'll talk to Rob about summer blockbusters and what is opening this summer that we can look forward to.

And I think, you know, without further ado, maybe that could lead us into our question of the night because it's pretty, pretty right up that alley.

Apropos.

Apropos, that's what I was looking for.

Let's talk about the question.

Okay, question.

Question.

Question.

Pregunta.

Question.

Question.

Okay, I have a question.

Questions.

This question.

Domanda.

Question.

Question.

What is your favorite all-time summer blockbuster movie?

There's so many great ones over here.

Yeah, I want to say Greg that it started and this is just based on books I've read and I didn't see it when it came out in the theaters I was too young but Jaws apparently is the first official summer blockbuster.

Yeah, they kind of changed cinema Steven Spielberg's Jaws And that's a great one and it's a really good movie too I watched that one recently within the last year and I forgot how good that was but That's tonight's question folks.

What is your favorite all-time summer blockbuster movie?

Let us

know

Can I make a small confession?

And I think I've

said this on

the show before, so

I'm just repeating my, just hold on.

I'm getting there.

Just both of you, knock it off.

I'm doing a preemptive shock look, but go ahead.

I watched it for the first time like three months ago.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

Wow.

Jaws.

Yeah.

There are movies like that that just fly under your radar for a while.

Well, as those flying under my radar, just when I was a little kid, I was like, oh, I'm scared.

Oh my gosh.

And then, and then I, and then it's one of those movies where you've seen it.

In pieces over the years because they play every scene all the time and time, you know, it's Jaws is another one of those very quotable very, you know, whatever and so I finally just said like I just need to watch this movie from start to finish and I did and I'm very very good.

It's very good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Worth the hype.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Because I when I when I rewatched it, you know, it was probably six.

I think I did.

I used to do this classic movie pick of the week.

It was probably last summer where I chose Jaws and I had to re-watch it and I was like, wow, this kind of holds up and the shark doesn't look bad.

And here's a fun fact for you.

People who designed the Jaws shark, it was a father-son duo and the son is in his 70s, mid to late 70s right now, is an artist and lives in Christmas City, USA.

Are you kidding me?

I am not kidding.

Rusty Wolf is

his name.

Yeah.

See, that kind of information, I would have sprung from another hit on the Tempani.

You know, that's a big old, that's, that's big information.

No, don't do it.

I didn't.

Oh, see.

Okay.

Dom, if I'm going to order the Tempani, I have to go through HR, put in a purchase requisition.

They have to submit it to sales sales.

That was a whole thing now.

Are we out

of petty cash?

Oh, dude, we blew thread cash after Tempani hit

number two yesterday.

I was paying Dom out of my own pocket.

Then he went for hit number four today.

Oh, terrible.

Folks, that is our question of the night.

What is your favorite all-time summer blockbuster 855-752-4842?

855-755 Civic.

You can also text us on the Civic Media app an outstanding little dealio that helps you take all your Civic Media shows and news with you wherever you go.

It's outstanding.

And if you are watching the radio on YouTube, Facebook, or...

The app Greg used to call Twitter and still does.

Send us a stream comment and we'll read it on the radio.

So we'd love to hear from you.

Have fun with that question.

Do we have a call?

We do.

We have Cindy from Appleton answering

the

question of the night.

Cindy from Appleton, get on over here.

What's going on, friend?

Well, I always thought one of my favorite summer movies was Grease.

Oh, great one.

Really good.

Tell me more.

Tell me more.

Yeah, I'll tell you more, tell you more.

But I will tell you though, I am not real happy with the idea of this Jaws movie because we are an environmental crisis and, you know, I don't want to promote anything that promotes the hatred of anything, especially a shark, because after the first Jaws, sharks were murdered by the thousands.

I really don't want that to happen again.

Well, okay, and understood, Cindy, I'm not invalidating your concern, but I don't, but...

I I would like to think as a society we are past that but like we are we know a lot more about sharks and we know that like I Don't know if we've heard if that's been happening since then as much about the movie, but I do take your concern as Valid so yeah

Right.

Informative calling a great choice.

Of course.

It's Cindy from Appleton.

She always

informs.

Thank you very much, Cindy.

I expect nothing less.

Thank you, Cindy.

Exactly.

Exactly.

That's awesome.

We did get a message from our co-worker, Zomers, here, saying, Timpanies are stupid expensive.

You guys are bankrupting the company.

So sorry.

Aaron, sorry.

I'll give you the fifth.

Aaron could pull a few strings.

He's kind of a big shot here at Civic Media.

The Zomers.

A little more supportive.

Folks, we've got all kinds of fun stuff happening.

We're going to tell you what's going on around the state and the country coming up next.

But we've got Rob Thomas here after the news, CityCast Madison newsletter editor, Madison based film critic.

He's one of our favorites here at Nightlight.

He'll be by and maybe we'll get his thoughts on the.

on the Movie Club selection this week, which is Vacation.

We'll be talking about that in hour number two, and we hope you guys join in.

Tell us your favorite lines, scenes, actors.

There were more laughs in this movie than I had even remembered, and it was so much fun to watch it.

So if you're up on it, be part of the Nightlight Movie Club, and we will be back after a very short break.

Greg, we're not going away for long, so Greg, don't you leave, Dom?

No.

Stay put.

All right.

Okay.

Do a little meditation.

Work on that.

We'll get you through this, buddy.

There you go.

See, Greg's got it.

That's what you need to do.

All right, we're coming right back.

This is Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach on the Civic Media Network.

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen.

So fun to have you here with us on this awesome Thursday night in the state of Wisconsin as we approach a long weekend.

You've earned it.

Have fun and let us help you start your weekend tonight and tomorrow night as well here at Nightlight.

I am Pete Schwabba, just up the coast from Greg Bak, who is in Racine.

And Dom Lee is in Madison.

And Greg, we are the Yatterhey Triangle for those listening on the stream.

That's a diamond.

because that's kind of how we're sitting.

There we go.

Exactly.

And our question of the night, folks.

It is Nightlight Movie Club because it's Thursday and we do this every Thursday in the second hour.

Tonight's movie is Vacation.

Tonight's question is, what's your favorite all-time summer blockbuster?

Share that with us and be part of the fun.

We'll read those texts in hour number two before we do Movie Club.

And it'll be fun, Greg.

It will be fun.

Very fun.

We will have.

Fun great.

I'm

gonna give you a great segue.

Don't phone it in tonight.

I was just gonna say guys I want I don't you can't see it here like right here I've got it You can't see it and he can't prove it either whether it's you know, it's there on the live stream.

Okay, the Trump phones have finally appeared Finally Wow

After many, many months and lots and lots of money being spent on deposits, folks around the country are finally receiving their Trump phones and people aren't happy about them.

Biggest problem is they sold it on the idea that these would be American made.

Well, guess what?

They are now officially shaped by American innovation.

I don't

get that.

When did a phone become patriotic?

I get if it's made in the USA, but they were saying this phone will have values and using all this.

I'm like, what on earth does that even mean?

How does patriotism come into play?

I sometimes feel

like my phone puts New Zealand first.

And you know what?

It doesn't bother me.

I still use it.

It gets the calls made, but what they seem like I repackaged iPhone threes.

People are not happy if you read the reviews.

No, they're not happy.

They're not special.

They come preloaded with true social, which is very interesting and not surprising.

All the American flag on the back of it doesn't have the same amount of stripes as, say, the American flag does.

But then folks are saying, well, the logo acts as a stripe.

No, it doesn't.

It doesn't have enough stripes.

It's got less.

It's not the American flag.

It's something else.

And it also just took a lot of time.

And I I personally.

believe that the only reason why these are finally out is because the tech writers have been pushing and pushing and pushing on this.

And finally, some of these tech tech bloggers got a phone here and there, and then they just released them out to the world.

And they tried to also blame it on the fact is that, well, the government shut down.

No, the government's not making this phone.

Right.

This is a third party.

This Trump didn't make these phones in the White House.

They were made by a third party.

So don't talk to me about the the shutdown that has nothing to do with anything But they're out there in the world and I'm sure a person or two especially Don Jr.

And Eric are very happy that the Trump phone are out there It's called it out there.

We didn't that was gonna happen a couple weeks ago We were talking about how this isn't happening at all and they were just taking the money and run now.

It's a little late, but

Yeah, it's people are upset about the cons the hardware and the software.

It's just it it's shoddy and honestly, I mean honestly

What do you really expect for a phone that costs less than half of what an iPhone costs or a Google Pixel or a Samsung?

You know, this is a cheaply made phone sold to people who just wanted the logo and wanted to feel good about themselves So yeah, they got what they paid for and I'm sure there are some people who are really really excited because they have to because they've bought into the brand but They'll be using another phone in a year.

Keep sending him money

Exactly, exactly.

Grift, a-grift, a-grift.

Speaking, I don't know if this is a grift.

I didn't know.

I saw this article on Yahoo Finance about Jeff Bezos.

And I used to think he was like one of the good billionaires, like Warren Buffett or something, you know?

And he came out and he was talking, Greg, about how the tax to rich effort

Well, he's advocating for eliminating federal income taxes for lower income Americans He says lower income Americans pay only like 3% of

the

taxes the top 1% pay 40% or close to 40% And I was like, well, this is kind of cool eliminate federal income taxes for the poor But then he's also saying well, it doesn't really help if you tax the rich either.

I'm like, okay, so here there's the rub, right?

I didn't know what to make of this but he's

kind

of

He's

using poor and working folks as the shield to say, don't tax me.

Correct.

And, you know, he said those, he said those, uh, uh, use, he said those words and use the example of a nurse in Queens and Zoran Mamdani came out right away and said, I think that nursing Queens does not agree with what you're saying, essentially.

Like, like he wants to say, I'm for the little people and don't tax them.

It's like, dude.

We want to tax you and your companies.

We want to make sure that you guys actually pay money because if you don't tax anyone, if you don't tax the, you don't tax anyone, then, then, then there's a lot of problems there.

Like this is not a good example.

This is a false narrative.

And it's just for him to say, Hey guys, I'm just like you.

It was

confusing when I read it to first like saying taxing the rich isn't, uh, you know, bringing in more money isn't going to solve the problems.

It's like.

My buddy Mike Tumia is a joke where he gets pulled over by a cop and the cop says, uh, where you headed?

Oh, I'm going to a family dinner.

We'll drive in 65 miles an hour.

Isn't going to get you there any faster.

He's like, well, apparently you weren't a physics major officer because that's how

it

works.

When you tax the wealthy, you get more money.

Sorry.

Nobody likes to be taxed, but I can't afford my own police force.

That's why we do it.

Well, and the other thing too, I like about this story is it talks about the big old scares of Mamdani's mayoral time so far and the people will be, you know, leaving and people not only aren't leaving, they're staying, they're buying, it's New York is going to New York and the rich people are going to be like, oh, my taxes going up a little bit, fine, whatever, I can't, like, what am I going to do?

Move to my fourth house?

It's just a scare attack.

And Jeff Bezos is not a good man.

He is not a good man.

He is just another insufferable, wealthy person who thinks he knows more and he doesn't.

more Warren Buffett, please.

Hey, on another note, Greg, there's a, this is a big night in show business tonight because, uh, another chapter of late night TV is coming to a close with a guy who, uh, you know, whether you watch him or don't, I don't really watch the show, but I think he's absolutely hilarious.

Stephen

Colbert's last broadcast is tonight.

That's right.

That's right.

And not because he's retiring because CBS is a bunch of, uh, wimps.

So, right.

There are a bunch of wins who kowtow to the president of the United States.

And yeah, so that is closing a chapter, which is very, very upsetting.

And tonight is the last show.

I've watched the other two shows this week, and it will be emotional and hard.

And I don't know if I don't know what the course of late nights is going to be like after this.

I'm sure that Jimmy Kimmel is the next target for realsies now.

Yeah, I think you're probably right.

All right, this is Nightlight with Pete Schwab and Greg Bach.

We are coming back to talk with our pal Rob Thomas, Madison-based film critic and city cast Madison, a newsletter editor that is all next on a Nightlight movie club night.

We're coming right back on the Civic Media Network.

Welcome back.

I am Clark W. Griswold.

I'm sorry.

I am Pete Schwabba, joined as always by Greg Bach, who is just down the coast from me on beautiful Lake Michigan, coming to you live from Radio Park in Racine.

I am, of course, in Marinette, Wisconsin.

And Dom Lee is in Madison, working the board and producing the show.

We are the Yatter Hay Triangle.

And our movie tonight for Night Light Movie Club folks in hour number two is Vacation.

National Lampoon's Vacation.

We'll be discussing that in the second hour and reading your texts.

All kinds of good fun.

So I hope you guys participate and share with us your favorite parts of the movie.

Right now it is my pleasure to welcome one of our Night Light best buds.

He comes to us also live from Madison.

He is a Madison based film critic and the city cast Madison newsletter editor, Mr. Rob Thomas.

Hey buddy.

Hey guys, how's it going?

Doing very well.

How are you doing good?

Yeah,

I'm doing well.

It's great to have you.

What's what's what's the haps in Madison tonight, Rob?

Well, we're all just bracing ourselves for broadcast this weekend.

So we're, you know, this is this is the Thursday fast we all do so we can fit as many sausages in our stomach because we possibly can kind of a ritual.

So so if my stomach growls on air, I apologize.

That's

okay.

We've done our share of that as well.

Hey, I want to start start off with you I love the city cast Madison everyone should check it out the articles are informative and fun Rob.

That's how I Appreciate that.

Yeah, I have a good time.

That's for sure.

Yeah You you put out a quiz I don't know Greg and Dom if you guys had a chance to take this I just saw this right before the show But it was five questions.

How well do you know Madison?

And I got three out of five and I don't even live there.

What do you think?

Oh, I got two out of five.

I got two out of five.

Somebody

was very mad at me about one of those questions.

So

really?

How

much the Plaza burger that's an iconic burger and iconic late night burger in Madison cost.

And I think he was he had undersold it and he had just bought one, he said.

So he probably I got that one wrong.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I know I get that one wrong because I don't even know what that is.

You got to come.

Got to come to Madison.

Yeah.

Okay,

all

right.

Well, what else did I get?

I got the Dodie Street was the one my son lived on Dodie.

So I knew that didn't intersect with Capitol Square.

And then the two bombers from the 60s who own the sandwich shop called radical rye.

That was a guess, but I got it.

I had a fun with them because I had like the liberal loaf, the radical rye, the Pumpernickel, I can't remember the other one I came up with.

So that was my favorite.

So

yeah,

oh my gosh.

Madison rules.

Like any of those would work as a sandwich shop in Madison.

Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely.

So, um, what I mean, like, so we got the broad fest, the broad, the broad fest is coming up.

What other like big things that are you guys reporting on right now at city cast, Madison, that's coming up in the summertime, that's people should maybe make a, maybe make a day trip, whether they're in Wisconsin, maybe a little bit outside Wisconsin.

What is coming up that people should keep their eyes on?

Well, um, first of all, because it's Madison, in addition to broadcast, there's a vegan sausage fest going on at the same time.

So we, uh, we offer an alternative to our, our, our meatless friends.

Um, and then like, like Madison is so great for free live music.

Like the first of all, you got the, the terrorists, the UW Madison and like

every

Friday, Saturday night, there's stuff going on there.

And then like every week, there's like a free.

Free outdoor festival going on usually on the east side of town Marquette waterfronts in a couple of weeks in June.

I think no, maybe July.

There's Lafette to Marquette Those are great and and they're very low-key and fun.

Like I said, they're free although the beer costs money, of course and Yeah, like summers are always really fun in Madison even even when the city was a little smaller people kind of just get out and see their neighbors and have a good time

Rob, you also did something about supper clubs, and I've been to a couple of these places, but have you been to all of them?

The Tornado Club and the Harvey House and Hilltop?

I've been to Tornado.

I've been to Harvey House.

I've not been to as many of like the old school.

Like I think we talked about, I missed...

Smokies.

Smokies and then Cavanaugh's Esquire Club, which was one of the

oldest

restaurants in Madison.

had a whole drama going on where the owner retired and then the new owner kind of messed it up and closed and then the old owner came back.

And so I never went to that.

So I like the ones that are thriving in like the tornado club or Harvey house I've been to, but those really old school relish tray pink squirrel places.

I got to catch up on for sure, especially in the summer, right?

They're perfect for that.

I feel I know they're not.

specifically for a certain season but in my head a supper club is a fall winter thing just because I've only been so full it's it seems embarrassing going to a supper club that a summertime visit just is like it's like all right guys we just ate like 14 pounds of food now let's go outside in the 90 degree weather

That's fair, yeah.

You need layers to wear to

cover yourself

after a prime rib and a surf and turf, right?

Oh my god, I'm hungry.

I have a question for you.

One of your articles was about smart studios.

Greg is a huge music fan.

I've seen Wendy Snyder's documentary a couple of times on that and I was fortunate enough to interview her and Butch Vig a couple of times about that documentary.

What made you write about that again?

Well, we had rerun the show that the Wendy was on that we have the podcast as well as a newsletter.

So I'd written that article, you know, just kind of a history of smart studios.

But like.

You know, the reverberations of what happened in that studio, I live on 30, 40 years later, like Smashing Pumpkins just announced they're coming back to the Cole Center here in Madison in October.

And of course they recorded their first album at Smart Students' Dish.

So like that documentary is great.

If you find, I'm sure it's on VOD out there, but like, like there were so many famous bands who played there, but there are also so many just like.

Wisconsin bands, like they would let just about anybody come in and work with them and make the best album they could.

And it's what made it such a special place.

I mean, that's the thing that I really love about that.

And, you know,

I think we may have talked about this too some time ago is that if you go to Memphis, you go to Sun Studio, it's still, that original space is still open and it's affordable.

And that's I think the most important thing is that, especially nowadays where you can sit and record an album in your house, you can get, a recording studio will say, not only do we want people to come in, but we want to make it affordable so that up and coming unknown bands can spend their money and get a good quality product.

That's something I always loved about smart studios.

They understood that it's not just about, once they got the famous people there,

It wasn't just about the famous people.

It

was about

everybody.

Yeah, absolutely.

They loved music and they loved nothing better than to bring some guys in or some girls in and record that powerhouse first album that launched them.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I toured Sun as well and like the tour guide like was in a band and like got a break on the studio by doing tours and it was so cool.

That's cool.

Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely.

Go ahead, Greg.

I was just going to say, that's Rob Thomas, folks.

He joins us over the stream for Madison.

He is a Madison based film critic and the city cast Madison newsletter editor.

He's got his finger on the pulse of what is going on in Madison and there's always tons of stuff going on there.

Let's switch to movie.

Greg, unless you had another question about

smart, I was no, I was actually going to get into I was going to go into movies, but you take it.

Take it, take the baton.

Well, this weekend's more or less kicks off formally or informally the summer movie season.

And I want it to also, but before we start that, if you don't mind taking just a minute, Rob, your thoughts on Stephen Colbert and this being his last night, his last broadcast as the Late Show host.

That's wild, yeah.

And you think about the Late Show that started 33 years ago under...

Letterman.

I mean, I

remember

watching that first week of shows so vividly.

It feels like, like, you know, Kimmel's still around for a little while longer, at least.

Fallon doesn't seem like he's going anywhere, but it does feel like the end of an era, for sure, right?

Like a place where, you know, kind of that old school, you know, the couch for interviews and monologue and stuff.

It feels like it's falling away.

I mean, I was, you know, it wasn't my fault, but like I, you know, I didn't watch it.

straight through anymore, I would watch clips on YouTube, just everything's changed, you know, everything has changed so fast.

Yeah.

I mean, I think I know that I know that Kimmel took another year on his contract.

He was going to retire sooner than later.

But because of everything going on, he took another year.

And

I

think he is really, I mean, like, because Phalan is not going anywhere because he doesn't ruffle feathers.

And to a certain extent, I'm fine with that because he never has been that guy.

He's always been the fun, let's have a good time.

And Kimmel has really changed over the past like five or six years.

But, you know, I mean, will we even have

any late night shows period in the next five years.

Will they just finally say, all right, it's time to close shop on the tonight show.

I mean, it sounds ridiculous, but it's very much a possibility if they just say, well, these shows don't make us a lot of money.

As you said, Rob, people are watching them in clip forms anyway.

So how much money are they generating online versus through commercial advertisements?

And it's just, it's weird because I've watched other hosts retire and there's that.

bittersweet excitement for their next chapter.

And you're like, all right, you're done.

And we're gonna hand it off to the next person.

But now this feels so forced that he has to be gracious, but also he's very upset, you can tell.

He's very angry, but he's not letting on to it,

but you can

see it in his response to certain questions.

And it just makes me wonder what this landscape will look like by even say 2030.

Yeah, I

mean, he's definitely trying to stay classy and go out on a

You know, I think honor the institution and of course all the people who work with them and stuff.

And like, I'm sure I have a Netflix show like Letterman did or something like that.

But, um, yeah, it's just, it's just different out there.

You know, I'm surprised the Daily Show is still going to, but it is.

I think the only reason why that is because John Stewart came back.

No offense, but I think

it's true.

I think it's true.

Well, movies, at least for now, are here to stay for a while, so let's switch to some summer big releases, Rob.

What are you looking forward to this summer, and are any of them on the docket in May still here, or even this

weekend?

Well, the big one this Memorial Day weekend is the new Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu.

I have not ever seen the show, Mandalorian, so I'm a little on my back foot about that one.

Um, the last Star Wars movie was in, was it 2019?

The Rise of Skywalker?

Yeah,

that was pretty bad.

Yeah.

I

thought it was pretty bad.

Um, so I mean, when we was like, I'll see it, but it's not like I'm going to be there midnight Thursday night to

see

it.

Yeah.

Um, and there's actually one coming out this weekend called I love boosters, which is this wild,

uh, you wrote about that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Tell us about that.

It's getting.

Amazing reviews.

Yeah, it's really funny the boots Riley who is and was a musician has started filmmaking He made this movie a few years ago called sorry to bother you which was sort of a wild satire.

Yeah

telemarketers and You know and this is very much in the same vein of of an anti corporate satire about the fashion industry following this group of like fashion thieves who are stealing from this really

Shishi designer played really funny by Demi Moore and it just gets crazier and crazier and crazier involves like time travel and all these weird things.

I thought it was really fun.

I mean, it's it's a little exhausting.

There's so much in it quite honestly, but like I'd rather have 10 great ideas and 10 okay ideas in a movie than just one okay idea.

And that's that's what it's got.

Yeah, that's great.

Rob Thomas is our guest, folks.

We'll have a few more minutes with Rob on the other side of this very short break.

It is a nightlight movie club night.

We're talking vacation in hour number two at 620.

And we're going to read some of your texts to tonight's question, which is, what is your all-time favorite summer blockbuster?

So maybe it'll be our selection of the week.

Who knows?

But be part of the show.

Be part of the fun and join us.

And if you have a question for Rob, feel free to text or call that in as well.

We are coming right back.

This is Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach on the Civic Media Network.

Welcome back Always nice to be played in by Chicago.

This is a nightlight with peach wabba and Greg block coming to you on a pre holiday weekend Thursday It is great to have you here folks.

We're talking movies with our pal Rob Thomas And we're talking more specifically summer blockbusters tonight.

That's our question tonight Please share your favorite all-time summer blockbuster and we're talking about what is opening in 2026 with Rob

Rob, the big one I want to ask you about opens July 17th, and it's the Odyssey.

I read the Odyssey.

I can't believe I did, but I was an English major and I had to like 30 some years ago.

What are you hearing of anything?

It's very ambitious as I understand it, but what are you hearing about that particular project?

I think it sounds awesome.

It has this incredible cast.

It's Christopher Nolan, obviously his follow-up to Oppenheimer.

And it looks like a very

kind of realistic take on it.

Like it's not like one of those Ray Harryhausen stop motion versions of, you know, with the three headed dragon or whatever.

It seems pretty like even the Cyclops looks pretty grounded from the trailer.

So that's the one I'm really excited about the same or one of the one of the two or three, I think, where that's when I think you just got to catch in a theater.

I was watching some interviews with him.

He was on Cold Bear as well and Cold Bear flat-outs.

He's like, are there gods?

And he's like, you're going to have to come see.

But this is the first movie ever to be shot completely on IMAX.

And they actually had to build special containment units for the cameras.

Oh, wow.

powerful or how much like whether it's power or it's absolute belief from the studio where they say hey you know this really expensive film and filming system well we want to make it even more expensive because we want to build apps because he went to iMac said hey your cameras are really loud make them quiet and they're like okay and like I just and and he's really the only one besides museums using this to such

a

degree it's unbelievable

Yeah.

I mean, it reminds me of James Cameron, where it's like, oh, you can't do that.

Well, we'll just invent that and then we'll do it

that way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I'm very excited to see that.

Like anything he does.

And he's such a, you know, he's such a promoter, proponent for seeing movies in the theater and huge screens on film if you can.

And so I'm very excited about that.

And the other one is another great.

you know, all time filmmaker, which is Steven Spielberg has a summer movie, which I think it's been a few years.

I try to think what the last summer movie he's made.

Yeah.

Because I was thinking like Ready Player One, but I don't think that was summer.

I think that was in the spring.

And, you know, he's made great movies.

He's made The Fablements of West Side Story, but but Disclosure Day is the movie.

And it looks like.

Uh, you know, kind of a, kind of a follow up to close encounters and ET, right?

From the trailer or something about aliens and, uh,

they finally come clean, right?

The government finally, or they're living among us.

We find out something like that.

Something like that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And this one guy has the answers.

He's going to, he's going to, he's going to disclose it.

So, uh, I'm really on a day on

a day.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I, uh, you know, honestly, you said that now I'm looking here.

Ready Player One came out in spring.

It looks like it's been a very long time since he's had his huge.

I mean, I don't think I would count Lincoln as it.

No, it's not.

It came out in November.

But yeah, this is like the first one in, I think, maybe since the Crystal Skull.

That's like 2009.

Yeah, wow.

Yeah.

So I'm really, I'm very excited about that one as well.

Yeah.

Those are the two dad summer movies.

Right.

Are

you looking

forward to the new Spider-Man movie?

I don't know.

And I will say, I, you know, I really had fun with the last one with the Wintobi, McGuire and Andrew Garfield.

I thought that was super fun.

Yeah.

But boy, when I saw that trailer for the new one, I was like, that looks like, it looks like garbage.

And like, they're definitely at this point bringing up like, you know, the C team super villains, right?

Like, Scorpion and stuff.

So.

Again, kind of like Mandalorian.

I'll see it.

Sure.

Why not?

But, you know, I think the Marvel movies are real, real hit and miss right now.

I don't disagree with you.

Rob.

All right.

So our takeaways are we're both looking forward to the Odyssey.

You really liked it was that I love boosters.

I love boosters.

I love boosters.

That's you've already reviewed that.

Check out Rob's sub-stack.

All those reviews are there.

Not that Rob Thomas sub-stack.

I want to ask you about an independent film that played at the Wisconsin Film Festival.

He's a friend of mine.

He's been on this show, Nathan Deming, a very talented filmmaker.

And Winter Hymns is his film.

It has a return engagement in Madison.

I've heard it's very... I still haven't seen it and I'm embarrassed about that, but I've heard it's very long.

and it takes place in just a couple locations, and normally that would scare me away, but Nathan is that talented, and apparently he pulled it off.

Do you have thoughts on that?

Yeah, I wrote a review.

I

have the only review on Rotten Tomatoes of this movie, shot

in

Menominee, and honestly, I don't think I would have gone, but a friend of mine had an extra ticket and said, would you go?

And it's a very powerful movie.

It's in one location, and that location is a doctor's office where the doctor

uh,

talk to people who are terminally,

terminally ill.

Yeah.

And like, you know, basically like, how can we make you more comfortable?

What are you going through?

And it's just a series of conversations over the course of the day.

So it sounds heavy and it's very sad, certainly.

Um, but it's incredibly well acted and, and written and really, you know, makes you grateful for your health.

Makes you grateful for health care professionals who do that kind of work.

And you just see people.

dealing with their own mortality in all kinds of different ways.

And I gotta say, it was an amazing experience in a theater.

Like if

I watched it at home, what if I

sat there for two hours and 40 minutes?

I'm not really sure.

But you're just so, I just felt so spellbound by it.

That's

so great.

And it's great.

Yeah.

We played at the Wisconsin Film Festival and it's just had this extra life where people keep going to see it.

It kept extending it, Flix.

I think it's opening in Milwaukee tomorrow.

It's

fantastic.

I mean, it's fantastic.

It's a great, what a Wisconsin success story that this kind of movie is becoming.

Yeah.

This surprise hit.

Yeah, I've enjoyed all his stuff.

I was in one of his very low budget films.

He did these shorts that were great.

He's very talented guy.

Rob, thank you so much for your time as always, pal.

Good luck.

Yeah, podcast and keep up the great work.

Enjoy the weekend, guys.

Thank you very much.

Rob Thomas.

Check out his work at not that's not that Rob Thomas substack and check out citycast Madison newsletter.

This is Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach.

We're joined as always by Dom Lee.

Who's feeling better?

I think we're helping him through his hike.

We're coming right back though.

It's Movie Talk next hour and vacation.

Join us for Nightlight with Pete Schwabba and Greg Locke on the Civic Media Network.

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now our feature presentation.

Here's Pete and Greg.

Welcome back to Night Light with Pete Schwabba and Greg Bach here on the Civic Media Network.

If you want to be part of the conversation, give us a call or text 855-752-4842-855-75 Civic.

Leave a comment on that live stream.

We are currently streaming on Facebook, YouTube and the platform.

We still call Twitter still ahead.

We are going to be entering into the movie club discussing the 1983 classic John Hughes written Harold Ramis directed National Lampoon year left National Lampoon's European not European vacation.

That's not a classic.

That's the one I grew up loving the most.

or

not

because that's one like came right in the time of my like.

Just watching more television, but we're watching the original the original vacation That will be the subject of the nightlight movie club and we'd love to hear your thoughts on that I am Greg Bach coming to you live from radio park in Racine all the way up the coast in Marinette, Wisconsin aka Christmas City, USA is Mr. Pete Schwabba and then at HQ for civic media is Mr. Dom Lee on the ones and twos and we are your yadda hey triangle here for you here to have fun and also

We'll be wrapping things up with the nightcap.

So we're going to have a great time.

If you missed anything tonight, like our great conversation with Rob Thomas, you can go to civicmedia.us slash shows.

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That was a very fun first hour, guys.

Anything?

Oh, yeah.

Love, Rob Thomas.

Love the chit chat.

Yeah,

we're on the radio,

right?

Exactly.

It's like we're just hanging out at a bar.

You know, it's just like having a drink, a cocktail, a mocktail, or maybe some free peanuts.

I don't know where

I'm going.

People don't

do the peanuts anymore at the bar.

Do you get excited?

I get excited when I see peanuts if they throw like, or a snack.

Like they throw like a bowl of like, like whether it's a party mix or sometimes like, ooh.

I'm gonna eat these.

I used to.

Scarf those things like there was no tomorrow and then I heard about people coming back from the bar restrooms that don't always wash their hands and supposedly they were like a Petri dish of disgusting bacteria Sorry, I don't mean to rain it.

Banta killed

so

I

just felt like we were having

too much

fun.

Well, that's why you take some you take some Febreze and you just sprayed on the on the snacks.

Yeah

That's fair.

It adds flavor, if you will.

Sure.

We do have a question of the night, as we always do here on this show, but before we get to the actual question, I buy contract by legal means must be introduced by a theme song, so Dom, hit it.

Let's talk about the question.

OK, question.

Question.

Question.

Question.

Question.

OK, I have a question.

Questions.

This question.

Domanda.

Question.

Questions.

What is your favorite blockbuster summer movie?

Let us know 855-752-4842, 855-755-CIVIC.

Leave a comment on that live stream.

Again, we are on Facebook, YouTube, and the platform.

We still call Twitter.

What is your favorite all-time summer blockbuster movie?

And we'd love to hear from you on this one.

And yeah, we've already got some messages on the Facebook and on the text line, so we'll get to those in a moment.

But let's start with the man in Christmas City himself, Mr. Pete Schwab.

But what about you?

Well, I've thought about this long and hard guys and I have a couple different answers as I often do because I can't decide but most recently I'm gonna say the Mission Impossible movies.

They are an absolute great ride.

Tom Cruise just rules at the box office.

He is maybe the greatest movie star of all time.

The movies are well directed.

They're well written for what they are in that genre and they are the perfect popcorn summer movie I also loved once upon a time in Hollywood which came out in 2019 during the summer.

I don't know if it's technically blockbuster status, but It's up there and then Terminator 2 back in 1992.

I remember seeing that Highly anticipated love the first one couldn't wait to see the second one and it didn't disappoint

Terminator 2 I remember seeing that in the movie theater at Southgate

Mall

in Milwaukee with my cousin John

And I don't even think I told my parents and that was an R rated movie and I was 14.

I was 14 years old

when that movie came out.

And I remember thinking to myself, well, I'm going to get in trouble.