We cannot believe it. It’s been five years!! And we still haven’t done a series on Star Wars?!

This week we are celebrating our five year anniversary the only way we know how… by talking about MOVIES, baby! We’re running down our top 10 films of 2025, reminiscing about this little pandemic project that became a half-decade tradition, and looking ahead to the 2026 year in cinema! Thank you from the entire EOTD crew for supporting us for all these years.

Next week we’re kicking off our next miniseries with OCEAN’S ELEVEN (2001). Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod

Credits:

Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich.

This episode was edited by Michael Gaspari.

This episode was researched by Parth Marathe.

Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich. You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop

The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling.

Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd or join the conversation at Eye of the Discord.

Learn more at eyeoftheduckpod.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we say a fond farewell to Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. We wish it hadn’t happened in our time… just kidding. We’re so lucky to be alive when it did!

On this epic conclusion to One Scene to Rule Them All, we’re tying off loose threads, answering listener questions, sharing some thoughts on WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM, and announcing our next miniseries!

Next week, it’s our long-awaited Eye of 2025 year-in-review. And a celebration of five years of podcasting! Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod

Credits:

Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich.

This episode was edited by Michael Gaspari.

This episode was researched by Parth Marathe.

Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich. You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop

The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling.

Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd or join the conversation at Eye of the Discord.

Learn more at eyeoftheduckpod.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Municipalities, start your engines!! Or… get ready to eat each other?

We’re finishing off our Rings series today with the final (?) major live action narrative production from Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and the whole WETA gang. It may not be Tolkien-related, but hey, Hugo Weaving wields a blade in it!

It’s tragic that the film didn’t start a new era for Jackson, and we’re sorting through its disastrous box office fallout this week along with some predictions for what the future has in store for WETA.

Next week, we close the book on Tolkien once and for all with our series finale (including some thoughts on WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM) and an announcement for what comes next!

Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod

References:

• Cinefex #163 Production History
• Richard Armitage Turns Down the Engine
• Mortal Engines Production Notes
• Christian Rivers & Peter Jackson Reddit AMA
• The Film Pie Christian Rivers Interview
• The Hollywood Reporter JunkieXL Interview
• The Hollywood Reporter Peter Jackson Interview
• Peter Jackson on Loss of Andrew Lesnie

Credits:

Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich.

This episode was edited by Michael Gaspari.

This episode was researched by Parth Marathe.

Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich. You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop

The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling.

Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd or join the conversation at Eye of the Discord.

Learn more at eyeoftheduckpod.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Come for the breezy fantasy, stay for Robert De Niro actively trying to speed run himself out of the movie – it's STARDUST!

Our very own Sky Pirate, Stephen Hilger, returns to help us drag Claire Danes across the land so that we can finally prove ourselves to Sienna Miller. Ya know, normal fantasy stuff!

Next week New Line Cinema tries to jump start another fantasy trilogy adaptation with THE GOLDEN COMPASS. Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod

References:

• Special Features
  • What Do Stars Do? They Shine – The Casting Process
  • A Quest of Enormous Importance
• Stardust: The Visual Companion by Stephen Jones
• Cinefex #111 Production History
• Den of Geek Jon Harris Interview
• Matthew Vaughn on Stardust Sequel
• Ain’t It Cool News Neil Gaiman Interview
• Los Angeles Times Neil Gaiman Interview
• Sarah Michelle Gellar Turns Down Role
• Ilan Eshkeri's Stardust: A Film Score Guide by Ian Sapiro

Credits:

Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich.

This episode was edited by Michael Gaspari.

This episode was researched by Parth Marathe.

Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich. You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop

The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling.

Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd or join the conversation at Eye of the Discord.

Learn more at eyeoftheduckpod.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This Labyrinth has everything: a dude with eyeballs in his hands, a sassy faun, a big ass toad, and bugs that are also fairies!

This week our guest host, good friend, and Joe Dirt expert Stephen Hilger helps us get lost in dark heart of Guillermo del Toro's PAN'S LABYRINTH.

Next week it’s Matthew Vaughn’s first foray into blockbuster filmmaking with STARDUST! Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod

References:

• Special Features
  • del Toro and Funke
  • The Power of Myth
  • Pan and the Fairies
  • The Color and the Shape
  • The Melody Echoes the Fairy Tale
  • Doug Jones
• Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth: Inside the Creation of a Modern Fairy Tale by Mark Cotta Vaz and Nick Nunziata
• Cinefex #109 Production History
• American Cinematographer Production History
• The Hollywood Reporter 15th Anniversary Academy Q&A
• Guillermo Del Toro Writes His Own Subtitles

Credits:

Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich.

This episode was edited by Michael Gaspari.

This episode was researched by Parth Marathe.

Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich. You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop

The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling.

Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd or join the conversation at Eye of the Discord.

Learn more at eyeoftheduckpod.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we're taking a moment to share a brief but important update with you.

Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.