In 1981, 11-year-old Matt De Meritt got a phone call that would change his life. He wasn’t a child actor, or a performer of any kind. He was just a suburban kid enjoying his summer before he had to go back to school. But Matt had something no other kid had — something Steven Spielberg needed in order to embark on his most ambitious movie yet. 

Note: This episode contains discussions of suicide. Please take care while listening.

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VERY SPECIAL CREDITS
Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English
Written by Jake Rossen
Produced by Josh Fisher
Story Editor is Marisa Brown
Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher
Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier
Voice Actors are Jess Krainchich and Juliet English
Original Music by Elise McCoy
Research and Fact Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin Thompson
Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla
Executive Producer is Jason English

Special thanks to Simon Brew. Check out the Film Stories podcast!

Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com. 

In 1981, 11-year-old Matt De Meritt got a phone call that would change his life. He wasn’t a child actor, or a performer of any kind. He was just a suburban kid enjoying his summer before he had to go back to school. But Matt had something no other kid had — something Steven Spielberg needed in order to embark on his most ambitious movie yet. 
Note: This episode contains discussions of suicide. Please take care while listening.
*
VERY SPECIAL CREDITS Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason English Written by Jake Rossen Produced by Josh Fisher Story Editor is Marisa Brown Editing and Sound Design by Jonathan Washington and Josh Fisher Mixing and Mastering by Baheed Frazier Voice Actors are Jess Krainchich and Juliet English Original Music by <a href="http://www.elisemccoy.com">Elise McCoy</a> Research and Fact Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin Thompson Show Logo by Lucy Quintanilla Executive Producer is Jason English
Special thanks to Simon Brew. Check out the <a href="https://filmstories.co.uk/podcast-page/episodes/">Film Stories podcast!</a>
Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Very Special Episodes, please leave us a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach us at veryspecialepisodes@gmail.com.

E.T. and Me

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/725c800b-af8d-480b-bbd4-b22e000f946b/transcript

Hosts Ryan Murdock and Gabbie Watts head to Microcon, a convention of micronationalists. Think Model UN meets ComicCon.  We’ll engage in light diplomacy, explore invented histories and exchange gratuitous amounts of medals. Plus, there’s a taco bar! Among the characters you’ll meet are Zaq from Zaqistan, the President of Molossia, the Sultan of Slowjamastan, the Princess of Sancrotosia and a bunch of dictator-curious statesmen, all asking the question: if you could start a country from scratch, what would it look like?

Hosts Ryan Murdock and Gabbie Watts head to Microcon, a convention of micronationalists. Think Model UN meets ComicCon.  We’ll engage in light diplomacy, explore invented histories and exchange gratuitous amounts of medals. Plus, there’s a taco bar! Among the characters you’ll meet are Zaq from Zaqistan, the President of Molossia, the Sultan of Slowjamastan, the Princess of Sancrotosia and a bunch of dictator-curious statesmen, all asking the question: if you could start a country from scratch, what would it look like?

Diplomacy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/be77218a-21e8-42fd-ab7f-b226012bdd22/transcript

Things come to a head in Hailey as Bruce Willis enlists the help of a rogue security force to chase unwanted visitors out of town. Soon, a life-altering event threatens to end the love affair between Willis and Hailey.

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Things come to a head in Hailey as Bruce Willis enlists the help of a rogue security force to chase unwanted visitors out of town. Soon, a life-altering event threatens to end the love affair between Willis and Hailey. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Episode 8: Until Further Notice

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Hailey, Idaho isn’t the only small town Bruce Willis wants to remake. He sets his sights on Penn's Grove, New Jersey, his actual hometown, and promises big things to come for the economically-strapped region. But red tape and negative press threaten to leave the town with a broken heart—and leave Hailey wondering if they’re still on Willis’ good side.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Hailey, Idaho isn’t the only small town Bruce Willis wants to remake. He sets his sights on Penn's Grove, New Jersey, his actual hometown, and promises big things to come for the economically-strapped region. But red tape and negative press threaten to leave the town with a broken heart—and leave Hailey wondering if they’re still on Willis’ good side. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Episode 7: Homecoming

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/003d65a3-9375-4d4e-a82e-ae390051714f/transcript

Willis announces he’s starring in and producing a major feature film - a Kurt Vonnegut adaptation - that will be shot in the state of Idaho. He even gives some local actors their big screen breaks. But in a bid to retain almost complete creative control, Willis upends both his career and the lives of his Idahoan neighbors.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Willis announces he’s starring in and producing a major feature film - a Kurt Vonnegut adaptation - that will be shot in the state of Idaho. He even gives some local actors their big screen breaks. But in a bid to retain almost complete creative control, Willis upends both his career and the lives of his Idahoan neighbors. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Episode 6: A Bruce Willis Production

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Small town bureaucracy slows Willis’ ambitions, the police go after his inner circle and some Hailey residents are just saying no to Bruce. When lawsuits start popping up, Willis steps out of the shadows and flexes his political muscle. It turns into a statewide battle when the federal government proposes dumping nuclear waste 60 miles away from Hailey.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Small town bureaucracy slows Willis’ ambitions, the police go after his inner circle and some Hailey residents are just saying no to Bruce. When lawsuits start popping up, Willis steps out of the shadows and flexes his political muscle. It turns into a statewide battle when the federal government proposes dumping nuclear waste 60 miles away from Hailey. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Episode 5: Citizen Willis

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Bruce Willis opens his biggest investment in Hailey yet—the two-story Mint bar and nightclub. Major acts draw modest crowds, but the real attraction is Willis and his band, who show up unannounced and rock long into the night. But having a major nightlife hotspot in the sleepy town leads to some big city problems, problems that leave some wondering where did the real Hailey go?

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Bruce Willis opens his biggest investment in Hailey yet—the two-story Mint bar and nightclub. Major acts draw modest crowds, but the real attraction is Willis and his band, who show up unannounced and rock long into the night. But having a major nightlife hotspot in the sleepy town leads to some big city problems, problems that leave some wondering where did the real Hailey go? Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Episode 4: Mint Condition

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/030e32a4-9973-4ea8-a80e-ae390052662b/transcript

Willis ventured into big business with his gimmicky Planet Hollywood franchise, but after being a quiet Hailey resident for several years, Willis buys and renovates a restaurant and bar, and soon an old movie theater. When blockbuster Hollywood premieres start happening on Hailey's main street, residents soon realize that Willis' persona casts a big shadow.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Willis ventured into big business with his gimmicky Planet Hollywood franchise, but after being a quiet Hailey resident for several years, Willis buys and renovates a restaurant and bar, and soon an old movie theater. When blockbuster Hollywood premieres start happening on Hailey's main street, residents soon realize that Willis' persona casts a big shadow. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Episode 3: Planet Haileywood

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An incident involving an angry Willis and even angrier police officers prompts the star to rethink his life in the spotlight. Just when Willis has had enough, an accident opens the door to a different life in Hailey, Idaho.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

An incident involving an angry Willis and even angrier police officers prompts the star to rethink his life in the spotlight. Just when Willis has had enough, an accident opens the door to a different life in Hailey, Idaho. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Episode 2: Welcome to the Party, Pal

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/64bb350c-a958-49db-83e3-ae390052da9a/transcript

As one of the most famous movie stars in the world, there aren’t many places Bruce Willis can feel comfortable. He decides to exit Los Angeles and seek solace in a tiny Idaho town in the hopes he can blend in as a regular guy. But can anyone thirty feet tall on movie screens ever seem small?

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

As one of the most famous movie stars in the world, there aren’t many places Bruce Willis can feel comfortable. He decides to exit Los Angeles and seek solace in a tiny Idaho town in the hopes he can blend in as a regular guy. But can anyone thirty feet tall on movie screens ever seem small? Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Episode 1: His Own Private Idaho

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c22a0a10-5c34-458d-9c90-ae390053033d/transcript

Onscreen, Bruce Willis dodged bullets and explosions in Die Hard and countless action films, making him the biggest movie star of the ‘90s. Offscreen, he dodged the tabloid press and became so determined to live a private life he moved to one of the smallest towns in Idaho. But he didn’t just want to live in Hailey — he wanted to transform it. Soon, this sleepy old mining town was home to a culture clash between Hollywood spectacle and small-town values, with real-life secret rooms, car chases, and betrayal worthy of a Willis thriller. Welcome to Haileywood. Host Dana Schwartz will be your guide.

Haileywood

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