September 11, 2025 • 7 mins
Filmmaker Cam Miller on his latest project entitled "The Machine in Reds Country"
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Awesome, and you know it's awesome because Cam Miller made it.
His new film, The Machine in Reds Country, which is
a documentary that tells the story of the Big Red Machine,
is going to be shown at the Reds Hall of
Fame's theater on Tuesday night. Hall of Fame doors open
at six o'clock. The film's going to be shown at
seven oh five. There's going to be a Q and A.
(00:23):
Tickets are twenty five dollars each. You can get them
at Redsmuseum dot org. What I've seen of this film
looks awesome. Cam is with us. Here's what I want
to know. I don't know that there is a baseball
team that has been more chronicled, especially here, than the
Reds of the nineteen seventies. And so how much of
a challenge is it to tell new stories about a
team that we are all so familiar with.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, that was the challenge. I mean, how do I
tell this story? You know, I'm like, let's do a
film on the most talked about baseball team in the
history of humanity. I'm like, sure, let's do that. But
what I'd decided to do was, let's look at some
of these photographs I looked to like four two hundred
and fifty six pictures and I was like, you know,
(01:06):
people haven't seen some of these. And then as I
started listening to some of the radio calls, I was like,
you know what, it would be really cool to show
these photos in the context of some of these radio
calls and put together a film that encompasses ten seasons
of the greatest baseball dynasty ever and do it without
showing hardly any film footage. Because we've seen Johnny Bencher's
(01:27):
home run, we've seen the World Series replays over and
over again, but we don't get to live in that
moment with the photo. So I was really, really, really
trying to capture the seventies the best I could with photographs, music,
radio calls, and oh, by the way, Pepper in this
is where the country Red Country Park comes in. Let's
talk about, you know, some of the fans that were
(01:49):
from West Virginia and Indiana and Illinois and all points
in between, and kind of pepper that in there to
kind of give context to how the second smallest market
next to Kansas City, Kansas City was last in the
Reds became the most dominant team in a decade it's
mind boggling to think now that that's what it was,
but just an incredible, incredible experience to make. I enjoyed
(02:10):
every minute of it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
You know, Red's Country. I'm glad you mentioned that. You know,
there's a whole part of the country that fell in
love with the Atlanta Braves in the nineteen eighties because
of TBS television. Now in so many of these towns
you mentioned, you know, they've got minor league ballparks that
rival major league ballparks, and so maybe there's not as
much of a need to travel to Cincinnati and spend
a weekend there. But back then, that's what you did, right,
(02:34):
And I think like Red's Country, because of the size
of the radio network, because of the success of the team,
and because of just where we are geographically, Like that's
to me, that's as much a part of the story
as what happened on the field itself.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Oh absolutely. And that was the fun part about this
was I knew the story, at the least I thought
I did. I learned so much making the SNILLM. I
thought I knew everything about the Big Red Machine. But
the thing is is that there was so much behind
the means stuff that was going and just think I'll
give you I'll give you a taste here. The film
starts with the beekeeping farm in Colorado. Okay, that's where
(03:09):
the story begins. And it ends in Pittsburgh at six
forty nine PM in October fifth, nineteen seventy nine. And
how did we get there? It's an incredible journey. Bob
Housen's the son of a beekeeper. He gets in touch
with Sparky Anderson, who is in LA and is the
bat boy for USC and then they somehow meet. It's
in his Sparky's high school friend is that becomes the
(03:32):
PR guy for the reds under Hausen because Sparky recommended
the job to him. And then so when the story
comes out, say, oh, by the way, Tom Seedberg, the
PR guy recommended Sparky for the job. Just all of
these connections were just remarkable. So you tell that story
and then you realize at the same time that all
of these things are converging on Cincinnati. Red's Country is
(03:55):
being built. It wasn't Red's Country until sixty eight sixty nine,
when the marketing team got a hold of an old
Ford ad and said, this is what we're going to
do so telling that story of how it became Red
Country and the genius that Bob Housen was it not
just baseball but marketing. I learned so much, Mo and
I cannot wait to share this film. It's an hour long.
(04:16):
I think it's really different. I think people are going
to enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
You know, the A's won more titles in the seventies,
the Yankees won as many in the nineteen seventies. The
Dodgers were always really good, the Phillies were always really good.
The Pirates won two titles of the seventies. And yet
I don't think in that era there was a more
culturally significant Major League baseball team maybe sports team in
the United States of America, than the Cincinnati Reds. And
(04:40):
I think for generations. Look, I'm not going to pretend
I was alive then. I was born in seventy seven.
But I think, I think there are younger folks who
hear big Red Machine and go, yeah, great baseball team,
Rose Bench, Morgan, et cetera. I don't know that younger
fans will know that. I don't know that younger fans
can really grasp it. In the seventies like these these
you guys were more than just a baseball team.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, and that's one of the reasons why I wanted
to make this film. We have to keep that history alive.
It's not just, you know, not to borrow the NBA commissure.
It's not a highlight league, right. Baseball is stories, it's people,
and we get we are so far removed from that
as we keep marching forward through time that stories like
(05:22):
the Big Red Machine just become headlines and we hear
about Pete, and we hear about Johnny and Morgan. Like
you said, but Jeronimo, Griffy the Bench, the Doug Flynn's,
the murv Retmans, all of these guys that contributed, and
I really wanted to make sure that that story was told,
and to do it in a short amount of time.
I had to cut this baby down like I do
all my films, and that's just the way it goes.
(05:43):
But I really think that this type of film, where
I can tell the story so the kids can learn,
I want this is more about the future than it
is for the people that know about the Big Red Machine.
This is for the future generations of baseball fans.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Tuesday Night at the Reds Hall of Fame, Roll through
everything that's going to be happening that evening.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Well, we'll show the film at seven oh five, like
they used to play baseball seven o five back in
the day. That's why we decided to make it that time.
We're always clever with that stuff, guys the Hall of Fame,
so we wanted to do something special by showing the film.
Your ticket gets your bibblehead, you get the two of
the place. You get to talk to me if it's
so pleases you. We can have a discussion about the
big Red Machine. And I think it's going to be
(06:21):
a fun night and it'll course be on YouTube later
as I do with all my films for people Red
Country that can't get out to the event. But I
really encourage people to get tickets to come out. It's
going to be so fun because you get to be
at the psychmc river it was to watch the bigger film.
I mean, is there anything clear than that?
Speaker 1 (06:37):
There is not no Redsmuseum dot Org doors open at six.
Film's going to be shown at seven o five. Cam
is the absolute best. I cannot thank you enough and
I look forward to seeing it. Cam.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Thanks so much, Thanks my friend, Talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Best in the business right there, cam Miller, cam Miller Films.
We are done. Cannot thank the folks here at Riversbend
a TBC at River's been enough for hosting us. The
uh Kroger Queen City Championship is happening all weekend long.
It's a phenomenal event. You can get tickets starting at
just thirty bucks Queen City LPGA dot com. My thanks
to Mike Mills for producing on site. Of course, Darren
(07:14):
back in Kenwood. I will be at Rally House in
Kenwood tomorrow from noon to two hanging out. So buy
some Bengals gear, Say hi and we'll see you. Then
have a great night. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Genesis Diamond
Awesome, and you know it's awesome because Cam Miller made it.
His new film, The Machine in Reds Country, which is
a documentary that tells the story of the Big Red Machine,
is going to be shown at the Reds Hall of
Fame's theater on Tuesday night. Hall of Fame doors open
at six o'clock. The film's going to be shown at
seven oh five. There's going to be a Q and A.
(00:23):
Tickets are twenty five dollars each. You can get them
at Redsmuseum dot org. What I've seen of this film
looks awesome. Cam is with us. Here's what I want
to know. I don't know that there is a baseball
team that has been more chronicled, especially here, than the
Reds of the nineteen seventies. And so how much of
a challenge is it to tell new stories about a
team that we are all so familiar with.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, that was the challenge. I mean, how do I
tell this story? You know, I'm like, let's do a
film on the most talked about baseball team in the
history of humanity. I'm like, sure, let's do that. But
what I'd decided to do was, let's look at some
of these photographs I looked to like four two hundred
and fifty six pictures and I was like, you know,
(01:06):
people haven't seen some of these. And then as I
started listening to some of the radio calls, I was like,
you know what, it would be really cool to show
these photos in the context of some of these radio
calls and put together a film that encompasses ten seasons
of the greatest baseball dynasty ever and do it without
showing hardly any film footage. Because we've seen Johnny Bencher's
(01:27):
home run, we've seen the World Series replays over and
over again, but we don't get to live in that
moment with the photo. So I was really, really, really
trying to capture the seventies the best I could with photographs, music,
radio calls, and oh, by the way, Pepper in this
is where the country Red Country Park comes in. Let's
talk about, you know, some of the fans that were
(01:49):
from West Virginia and Indiana and Illinois and all points
in between, and kind of pepper that in there to
kind of give context to how the second smallest market
next to Kansas City, Kansas City was last in the
Reds became the most dominant team in a decade it's
mind boggling to think now that that's what it was,
but just an incredible, incredible experience to make. I enjoyed
(02:10):
every minute of it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
You know, Red's Country. I'm glad you mentioned that. You know,
there's a whole part of the country that fell in
love with the Atlanta Braves in the nineteen eighties because
of TBS television. Now in so many of these towns
you mentioned, you know, they've got minor league ballparks that
rival major league ballparks, and so maybe there's not as
much of a need to travel to Cincinnati and spend
a weekend there. But back then, that's what you did, right,
(02:34):
And I think like Red's Country, because of the size
of the radio network, because of the success of the team,
and because of just where we are geographically, Like that's
to me, that's as much a part of the story
as what happened on the field itself.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Oh absolutely. And that was the fun part about this
was I knew the story, at the least I thought
I did. I learned so much making the SNILLM. I
thought I knew everything about the Big Red Machine. But
the thing is is that there was so much behind
the means stuff that was going and just think I'll
give you I'll give you a taste here. The film
starts with the beekeeping farm in Colorado. Okay, that's where
(03:09):
the story begins. And it ends in Pittsburgh at six
forty nine PM in October fifth, nineteen seventy nine. And
how did we get there? It's an incredible journey. Bob
Housen's the son of a beekeeper. He gets in touch
with Sparky Anderson, who is in LA and is the
bat boy for USC and then they somehow meet. It's
in his Sparky's high school friend is that becomes the
(03:32):
PR guy for the reds under Hausen because Sparky recommended
the job to him. And then so when the story
comes out, say, oh, by the way, Tom Seedberg, the
PR guy recommended Sparky for the job. Just all of
these connections were just remarkable. So you tell that story
and then you realize at the same time that all
of these things are converging on Cincinnati. Red's Country is
(03:55):
being built. It wasn't Red's Country until sixty eight sixty nine,
when the marketing team got a hold of an old
Ford ad and said, this is what we're going to
do so telling that story of how it became Red
Country and the genius that Bob Housen was it not
just baseball but marketing. I learned so much, Mo and
I cannot wait to share this film. It's an hour long.
(04:16):
I think it's really different. I think people are going
to enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
You know, the A's won more titles in the seventies,
the Yankees won as many in the nineteen seventies. The
Dodgers were always really good, the Phillies were always really good.
The Pirates won two titles of the seventies. And yet
I don't think in that era there was a more
culturally significant Major League baseball team maybe sports team in
the United States of America, than the Cincinnati Reds. And
(04:40):
I think for generations. Look, I'm not going to pretend
I was alive then. I was born in seventy seven.
But I think, I think there are younger folks who
hear big Red Machine and go, yeah, great baseball team,
Rose Bench, Morgan, et cetera. I don't know that younger
fans will know that. I don't know that younger fans
can really grasp it. In the seventies like these these
you guys were more than just a baseball team.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, and that's one of the reasons why I wanted
to make this film. We have to keep that history alive.
It's not just, you know, not to borrow the NBA commissure.
It's not a highlight league, right. Baseball is stories, it's people,
and we get we are so far removed from that
as we keep marching forward through time that stories like
(05:22):
the Big Red Machine just become headlines and we hear
about Pete, and we hear about Johnny and Morgan. Like
you said, but Jeronimo, Griffy the Bench, the Doug Flynn's,
the murv Retmans, all of these guys that contributed, and
I really wanted to make sure that that story was told,
and to do it in a short amount of time.
I had to cut this baby down like I do
all my films, and that's just the way it goes.
(05:43):
But I really think that this type of film, where
I can tell the story so the kids can learn,
I want this is more about the future than it
is for the people that know about the Big Red Machine.
This is for the future generations of baseball fans.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Tuesday Night at the Reds Hall of Fame, Roll through
everything that's going to be happening that evening.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Well, we'll show the film at seven oh five, like
they used to play baseball seven o five back in
the day. That's why we decided to make it that time.
We're always clever with that stuff, guys the Hall of Fame,
so we wanted to do something special by showing the film.
Your ticket gets your bibblehead, you get the two of
the place. You get to talk to me if it's
so pleases you. We can have a discussion about the
big Red Machine. And I think it's going to be
(06:21):
a fun night and it'll course be on YouTube later
as I do with all my films for people Red
Country that can't get out to the event. But I
really encourage people to get tickets to come out. It's
going to be so fun because you get to be
at the psychmc river it was to watch the bigger film.
I mean, is there anything clear than that?
Speaker 1 (06:37):
There is not no Redsmuseum dot Org doors open at six.
Film's going to be shown at seven o five. Cam
is the absolute best. I cannot thank you enough and
I look forward to seeing it. Cam.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Thanks so much, Thanks my friend, Talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Best in the business right there, cam Miller, cam Miller Films.
We are done. Cannot thank the folks here at Riversbend
a TBC at River's been enough for hosting us. The
uh Kroger Queen City Championship is happening all weekend long.
It's a phenomenal event. You can get tickets starting at
just thirty bucks Queen City LPGA dot com. My thanks
to Mike Mills for producing on site. Of course, Darren
(07:14):
back in Kenwood. I will be at Rally House in
Kenwood tomorrow from noon to two hanging out. So buy
some Bengals gear, Say hi and we'll see you. Then
have a great night. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Genesis Diamond
Mo Egger News
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