Man Forced His Teen Son to Help Him Build Massive Bomb for Revenge in 1980. Now, the Son Finally Tells His Story in New Doc Toria SheffieldSat, March 21, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC 0 Jim Birges now; Jim Birges in 1980Credit: Sidestilt Films The new documentary I Got Bombed at Harvey's from Emmy winners Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel tells the story of the Lake Tahoe 1980 casino bombing in Nevada The film is told through the perspective of the teenage boy forced to help execute the plan with his father Jim Birges was 18 when his father masterminded a plot to extort $3 million from Harvey's Wa...
Man Forced His Teen Son to Help Him Build Massive Bomb for Revenge in 1980. Now, the Son Finally Tells His Story in New Doc
Toria SheffieldSat, March 21, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC
0
Jim Birges now; Jim Birges in 1980Credit: Sidestilt Films -
The new documentary I Got Bombed at Harvey's from Emmy winners Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel tells the story of the Lake Tahoe 1980 casino bombing in Nevada
The film is told through the perspective of the teenage boy forced to help execute the plan with his father
Jim Birges was 18 when his father masterminded a plot to extort $3 million from Harvey's Wagon Wheel Casino
A revenge plot, a domineering father and one of the largest, most intricately booby-trapped bombs the FBI has ever encountered are just the first few elements of new documentary I Got Bombed at Harvey's.
On the surface, the film, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, is about the events of August 26, 1980, when an elaborately constructed bomb packed with over 1,000 pounds of dynamite was wheeled into Harvey's Wagon Wheel Casino in Lake Tahoe alongside a handwritten demand for $3 million.
With a ticking clock, a 33-hour police standoff and a mastermind convinced he couldn't be caught, the crisis gripped law enforcement and captivated the nation.
However, the film, which is told largely through the eyes of the bombmaker's now-grown son, Jim Birges, is ultimately more about trauma, loyalty and the fear that shaped a childhood.
Jim Birges circa the time of the 1980 Lake Tahoe casino bombingCredit: Sidestilt Films
Jim was just 18 years old when he, along with his older brother, helped his father execute a plan that could have killed hundreds of innocent people. Now, as a father himself, the film shows him grappling with the powerful family forces that led him to do what most would deem unthinkable.
With the same high-energy style and stranger-than-fiction twists that defined their SXSW breakout The Pez Outlaw, co-directors Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel balance propulsive storytelling with raw emotional access to their subject.
Jim Birges nowCredit: Sidestilt Films
In a statement to PEOPLE, Amy and Bryan said they were drawn to Jim's story and the events that led to the bombing specifically because there was so much more to it than first meets the eye.
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"As directors, we have always been drawn to the human stories buried beneath the surface of a spectacular hook," they explained.
"Reality has a way of outperforming even the most creative fiction film with its improbable coincidences and raw emotion. That tension between truth and what feels unbelievable drives us as filmmakers to not only entertain an audience through the thrill of the story alone, but also captivate them with heart and humanity," they added.
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Explosive device from the 1980 Lake Tahoe casino bombingCredit: Sidestilt Films
Amy and Bryan are best known for directing and producing the Emmy-winning documentary The Pez Outlaw (SXSW 2022) and the Netflix original feature documentary Bitconned (2024).
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Recently, they were showrunners/producers for the HBO comedy series It's Florida Man and the AMC true crime series Smugshot. Currently, they are finishing up an original four-part series on Hulk Hogan for Netflix set to premiere soon.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: March 21, 2026 at 07:36PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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