In one of the stunts that almost cost him his life, Vic Armstrong doubles for Indiana Jones in 'Last Crusade'

Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

It's been a while.

Matters were complicated because the last podcast I recorded got eaten by my computer, something I had to tell Scott after the fact.  It's a shame, too. That was just before Cannes, and it was a really solid podcast overall.  We had the director of "Trollhunter" on as a guest, and we played a great round of Movie God, and it was just a fun, spirited conversation that got totally vaporized somewhere on my hard drive.

It was my fault, no doubt.  I am just competent enough with the software I use to edit the podcast to be dangerous.  I don't really know what I'm doing, but I like to pretend that I do.  This week, I was very careful, and I am pleased with the end result.

Part of that is because I finally got Scott Swan back over to the house to record, something that isn't always easy to do.  His schedule and my schedule are increasingly hard to synch up.  But more than that, I'm glad I was able to record this week because the interview I've got for you is one of my favorites since I joined HitFix.

Titan Books has just released The True Adventures Of The World's Greatest Stuntman, the memoirs of Vic Armstrong, and he's been on the publicity circuit, talking to anyone who would talk to him.  I think I speak for every geek who has had that opportunity in the last month when I say that it's a real thrill to have a conversation with the guy who doubled for Indiana Jones in the first three films and who flew for Superman when Chris Reeve played the part and who has performed hundreds of iconic stunts over the years in addition to creating equipment that has made the whole industry safer and serving as a great second-unit director on any number of films.  We talk about some of his oldest work, as well as next summer's "The Amazing Spider-Man," which uses lots more practical stunt work than you'd expect.  Vic Armstrong is one of the giants of the stunt profession, and we owe him thanks for all the amazing moments he's been part of, all those impossible things that he somehow did.  His book is available now, and I highly recommend you go out and pick it up.

Here's a break-down of what to expect this week:

00:00 - 00:25 / Cold opening

00:25 - 4:00 / Introduction

4:00 - 34:45 / This Week On DVD & Blu-ray

34:45 - 41:00 / "Raiders" 30th Anniversary and Vic Armstrong introduction

41:15 - 1:05:30 / Vic Armstrong interview

1:05:30 - 1:16:10 / This Week In Theaters and wrap-up

There's some weird tech glitch that added about ten minutes of silence at the end, and I can't really recut this without taking it all apart again, so as soon as that final music plays, you can turn it off.

Hopefully we're working out a recording schedule that will give you guys more podcasts rather than the sporadic few we've had this year. It's all just a matter of figuring out how to make it work for everyone involved.  In the meantime, my thanks to Tom Green of Titan Books and Vic Armstrong, as well as Scott Swan and, of course, you guys for listening.

And please... if you like the show, leave us some reviews at iTunes.  It helps.  A lot.