Room Escape Artist

“Yippie Ki Yay”

In the inaugural episode of PG’s Playhouse, Peih-Gee Law and David Spira are joined by immersive creator Tommy Honton to explore the controversial topic of whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. We kick off with a game called “Christmas-fied” where non-Christmas movies are transformed into Christmas-themed titles by adding festive song lyrics. We also discuss Die Hard’s Christmas credentials, and its tight writing and unique casting choices.

Time Stamps

• 00:44 Game: “Christmas-fied”
• 10:20 About Tommy Honton
• 12:45 Discussion: Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
• 22:29 Credits

Guest: Tommy Honton

Tommy Honton is a Los Angeles-based designer who creates immersive experiences blending storytelling, game mechanics, and innovation across escape rooms, theme parks, theater, museums, and video games. Honton co-created the award-winning escape room Stash House and co-founded the interactive Museum of Selfies in 2017.

His work spans intimate experiences to large-scale events reaching up to 300,000 participants, including contributions to Expo 2020 in Dubai and creative direction for YouTube’s “ESCAPE2021,” a global streaming event that reached over one million viewers. Honton has collaborated with major entertainment and technology companies, including The Walt Disney Company, Google, Meta, Amazon, Hasbro, Universal Studios, Lionsgate, and Warner Brothers. Recent projects include co-designing the Money Heist experience for Netflix and Fever and contributing to the critically acclaimed Game Changer episode Escape the Green Room for the online network Dropout, where he also served as a contributing writer for Seasons 6 and 7.

An active lecturer, Honton speaks at conferences and universities worldwide and has been teaching at ArtCenter College of Design since 2023.

More Podcasts from Peih-Gee & David

If you enjoy PG’s Playhouse, check out Reality Escape Pod (REPOD), where your hosts David Spira & Peih-Gee Law explore immersive gaming from all angles, alongside guests with incredible experience in this realm.

And by supporting Room Escape Artist on Patreon, you’ll get access to the REPOD Bonus After Show ($5 per month and up) and the Spoilers Club ($15 per month and up) where we chat in depth with creators about iconic escape rooms… spoilers and all!

Production Credits

• Hosted by Peih-Gee Law & David Spira
• Puzzles by Peih-Gee Law
• Produced by Theresa Piazza
• Supported by Lisa Spira
• Edited by Peih-Gee Law
• Music by Matt Farthing
• Logo by Theresa Wagner