Blank Check — Patreon: Iron Man 3

Published 2019-04-01; 2:29:39 by the feed.

As extracted (engineer-sonnet-2026-10-13)

The extraction calls the show “Blank Check with Griffin & David (Patreon)” and the episode “Iron Man 3”.

Hosts: Griffin Newman, David Sims. Guests: Ben Hosley (producer, present throughout).

Subject films: Iron Man 3 (2013).

On the transcript: No speaker labels; Whisper-quality transcript with many homophone errors and dropped sentences. Speaker attribution is mostly unreliable, so most speakers are 'unknown' with low confidence.

Films that came up

Claims (74)

people (people): Robert Downey Jr. → Shane Black. Downey, who worked with Black on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, was the obvious route to getting Black the Marvel job.
“But he was an obvious choice to work with Robert Downey Jr.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:09:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Iron Man 3 → Iron Man 2. Black got the job because people hated Iron Man 2, so the studio needed a shakeup.
“Because people hated Iron Man 2.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:09:34 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Drew Pearce → Mission: Impossible. Pearce is a studio-trusted franchise planner who also worked on Mission: Impossible.
“Yeah, if they want to figure out how to extend a brain because he also did this with Mission Impossible.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:10:01 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Shane Black → Joe Eszterhas. Black and Eszterhas were in an arms race for the biggest spec-script sales.
“and he and Ersterhaus, who we've covered, who did show girls in basic instinct, were in this like arms race to see who could sell more scripts for higher amounts of money”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:11:05 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Shane Black → Last Action Hero. Black's Last Action Hero is called the downfall that followed his boy-genius era.
“He wrote Last Boys Guy, who wrote Last Action Hero, which is sort of his downfall.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:11:31 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Shane Black → Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Black came back from the Last Action Hero/Long Kiss Goodnight flops with a small personal film using two stars on the downslope.
“It was like the biggest spec script sale of all time, and then it flops, and he kind of goes under until Kiss, kiss, bang, bang, which is like now he's making smaller personal film with 2 movie stars who are on the downslope, like he got them cheap.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:11:45 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Robert Downey Jr. → Shane Black. Downey is described as pulling Black up after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang failed and sent Black back to drink; Black says he got sober for this movie.
“Shane Black was like, I got sober for this movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:12:29 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Shane Black → Tony Stark. Black's near-collapse through fame, addiction and sobriety maps onto Tony Stark's arc, as man and as comics character.
“There's a real clear map between Shane Black and Tony Stark, both as the Robert Dine Jr. character and as the comic book character, who almost succumbs to like his own vices.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:12:40 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Kevin Feige → Shane Black. Feige's stated aim in hiring Black was to restore Tony Stark-in-the-cave stakes after Iron Man 2 made him invincible.
“We wanted to get back to that feeling of Tony Stark in the cave with the scratch.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:13:12 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Black Panther → Iron Man 3. Speaker hopes Ryan Coogler goes as personal and unconstrained on Black Panther 2 as Black did here.
“I kind of my hope is that Ryan Kugler is going to go totally Iron Man 3 with Black Panther, too.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:14:07 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Black Panther → Batman Returns. Coogler could make his own Batman Returns-style odd, personal sequel.
“Like, he can do his fucking Batman Returns, Iron Man 3.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:14:16 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Ryan Coogler → Steven Spielberg. Coogler is called the new Spielberg for innate commercial instincts plus personal film-making.
“this is the key to Kugler, which is why I think he's the new Spielberg, is that he innately has very commercial instincts.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:15:01 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Iron Man 3 → The Avengers. Iron Man 3 works as a quasi-sequel to The Avengers because it deals with Tony's trauma of the portal and aliens.
“Except it's it is a sort of quasi sequel to the Avengers in that it's dealing with the fact that he got sucked into a portal into space for a 2nd there.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:15:43 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
programming (programming): Iron Man 3 → The Avengers. Phase 2 begins here and Avengers' victory lap gave Feige room to let each film feel individual.
“They're on such a victory lap that it feels like this is the one little chunk of time where Kevin Feige lets go a little bit.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:16:00 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
people (people): Shane Black → Mel Gibson. Black says the only way he does Iron Man 4 is if Mel Gibson directs, because Gibson stuck his neck out for Downey.
“The only way he'll do Iron Man 4 is if Marvel lets Mel Gibson right directly.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:16:49 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Iron Man 3 → Eiffel 65. The speaker says the 90s pop song 'Blue' over the opening is about the film and about Tony Stark.
“Now, listen, this song is about the movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:18:03 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (unlabeled) (0.40 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Iron Man 3 → Vanilla Sky. The Elvis idea behind Vanilla Sky, lonely in a room where everyone knows who you are, is the Tony Stark thing Iron Man 3 digs into.
“There's the Elvis quote that Cameron Crowe loves, which he said he based Vanilla Sky around, which is the feeling of being lonely in a room where everyone knows who you are.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:18:19 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Iron Man 3 → Iron Man. The Iron Man trilogy is closed into a circle by the flashback to the party and Becca Hall and Pierce.
“as individualistic as this movie is, it actually like... It's bringing the 1st 2 complete.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:18:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Ike Perlmutter → Iron Man 3. Perlmutter's no-girl-villain toy rule changed Rebecca Hall's villain role; afterward Feige negotiated to answer to Disney instead.
“James Seamus was like, girl villains don't sell toys.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:20:01 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Rebecca Hall → Iron Man 3. Hall's Maya was written as the true main villain, which would have made the film stronger.
“It would have been more interesting if it was Rebecca Hall.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:20:38 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Jessica Chastain → Iron Man 3. Chastain reportedly turned down the Maya role as underwritten unless she could play the villain.
“She turned it down because she was like... She was like, this is underwritten. Like, I'll do it if I can play the villain.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:21:02 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Iron Man 2 → Robocop 2. Iron Man 2 forces Tony to be a wreck again for no earned reason, which they liken to Robocop 2 resetting its hero.
“doing the Robocop 2 thing.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:21:49 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Iron Man 3 → Due Date. Both films interrogate Downey's star persona: we love him being an ass; here are the people he wronged.
“This movie is interested in Robert Tank Jr.'s star persona and how weird it is.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:22:24 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Iron Man 3 → Osama bin Laden. Trailers made people fear the Mandarin was a bin Laden analog; the twist reveals him as manufactured xenophobia.
“Are they making like Mandarin and Sam bin Laden character?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:25:32 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): James Badge Dale → Lord of the Flies. Dale was a child actor in a Lord of the Flies adaptation, which Griffin's father produced.
“And he was in like Lord of the Flies when he was a kid. When he was a kid.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:31:47 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): James Badge Dale → Flight. Flight (six months earlier) and this film were great one-scene supporting turns that did not turn him into a star.
“Because flight's a great one scene performance, and then he's in this, and it felt like, oh, he's given like a lot of color to these supporting roles.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:32:40 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Guy Pearce → Christopher Nolan. Odd that Nolan never put Pearce in a Batman film despite rumors (Scarecrow etc.).
“still kind of crazy that Nolan never found a place for him in the Batman.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:33:50 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Guy Pearce → Memento. Memento is named Pearce's best performance.
“I mean, Pierce's best performance is Memento, which is sort of like a dream performance for any actor.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:34:02 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Guy Pearce → Animal Kingdom. Pearce was off the grid then came back via Animal Kingdom and this film.
“Animal Kingdom.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:34:17 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Jon Favreau → Vince Vaughn. Vaughn/Favreau scenes were the one reason to see Vaughn's weaker vehicles.
“The one scene that's like Vaughn and Favreau playing speed tennis.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:35:05 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
people (people): Iron Man 3 → The Break-Up. Favreau and Vaughn's bar scene in The Break-Up is cited as a hall-of-fame scene, and the Favreau riffing is why he works as a utility player here.
“Breakup has, I think, I contend one of the funniest scenes in movies.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:35:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Iron Man 3 → Hiroshima. The shadows of the dead on the wall after the blast recall Hiroshima.
“like people's dead people's shadows are cast on the wall, like in Hiroshima.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:43:50 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): James Badge Dale → Rubicon. Rubicon, overlapping with this film, did not hit and did not break him through.
“Also, Rubicon didn't hit, even though he's good in Rubicon, very good, and it's a good show.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:44:11 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): James Badge Dale → Michael Bay. After this film Dale worked with big directors (Bay, Zemeckis, Verbinski) on movies that missed.
“But it's like Michael Bay, Zamekis.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:45:11 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): James Badge Dale → The Departed. Dale is in The Departed as the man who shoots Leo and is revealed to be with Nicholson.
“he's the guy who shoots Leo.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:45:29 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Iron Man 3 → Liam Neeson. The trailer cut made Stark's TV threat read as a Liam Neeson moment, but in context it is a breakdown.
“This is Liam Neeson moment of like, I will find you, I will kill you.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:46:23 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Iron Man 3 → Charlie Sheen. Tony giving out his address on TV is his Charlie Sheen meltdown moment.
“This is like his Charlie Sheen moment.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:46:31 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Gwyneth Paltrow → Avengers: Age of Ultron. Her Marvel contract ended with this film, so she is absent from Ultron and Civil War.
“Her contract ends in this movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:53:20 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Gwyneth Paltrow → Spider-Man: Homecoming. Speaker says Sony wanted Paltrow in Homecoming, she was on a small fee, and she came back for Infinity War.
“Because Sony was like, we want Gwyneth.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:54:09 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
people (people): Marisa Tomei → Robert Downey Jr.. Downey has done several films with Tomei, so he may have pushed for her as Aunt May.
“And Donnie Jr.'s done a bunch of movies with her before.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:55:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Ty Simpkins → Jurassic World. Harley's actor, Ty Simpkins, is also in Jurassic World.
“And he's in Jurassic World.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:00:59 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Avengers: Endgame → Iron Man 3. Speaker wants an older Harley back in Endgame, a kid inspired by Stark who got into inventing.
“It would be nice to see an older version of this kid who, like, was inspired by Tony Stark and we see where he is now.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:01:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Robert Downey Jr. → W. C. Fields. Downey plays W.C. Fields to Harley, which stops the cute kid being annoying.
“That's the thing this movie does write is he makes Downey Jr. WC Field to this kid.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:01:48 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
theme (theme): Iron Man 3 → Fu Manchu (character). The Mandarin is a Fu Manchu stereotype that Marvel could not play straight, so Kingsley's false-flag twist threads the needle.
“Because the Mandarin is Fu Manchu.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:06:17 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if): Doctor Strange → Michelle Yeoh. The Tilda Swinton Ancient One part should have gone to Michelle Yeoh; erasure vs. smart Mandarin twist.
“The Tilda Swinton parts should have been Michelle Yeo.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:07:56 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Dale Dickey → Leave No Trace. Her Leave No Trace appearance is described as a Marvel-style cameo moment.
“Her appearance at the end of Leave No Trace is like, is like Marvel cinematic universe level where it's like, here she is.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:09:47 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Robert Downey Jr. → Captain America: Civil War. Downey used this film's draw to negotiate a $20 million Civil War deal with box-office bonuses over Winter Soldier.
“where he gets paid $20 million with a bonus if it outgrosses Winter Soldier by like some amount.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:15:16 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
industry (industry): Robert Downey Jr. → Scarlett Johansson. Downey renegotiated Marvel's thrifty early contracts and raised co-stars' pay.
“He renegotiated for all of them so that Scarlett Johansson started making actual money off these movies”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:16:34 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Miguel Ferrer → RoboCop. Ferrer is the ultimate 80s asshole and a classic Shane Black type, pointed to via RoboCop.
“He's like the like ultimate 80s asshole.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:17:28 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
people (people): Miguel Ferrer → George Clooney. Ferrer is George Clooney's cousin, learned on the Under Siege 2 episode.
“He's George Clooney's cousin.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:17:38 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Adam Pally → Happy Endings. This is Pally in his Happy Endings era; they wanted an improviser to play with Downey.
“This is in the happy endings days.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:21:50 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Iron Man 3 → Mission: Impossible III. Misdirect villains usually deflate (Hoffman as the front for Crudup in MI3), but Kingsley's reveal enriches the themes.
“Like, the classic example is like, Mission Impossible 3, when you realize that Philip Seymour Hoffman is just the front for Billy Kredup, you're like, I can't just rather watch the Philip Seymour Hoffman.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:33:42 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Ben Kingsley → Bill Nye. Kingsley's Trevor Slattery performance is likened to Bill Nye.
“He's doing Bill Nye.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:35:47 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Gwyneth Paltrow → The Royal Tenenbaums. Paltrow's best work includes Tenenbaums, Ripley, Two Lovers; when great she is otherworldly.
“But, I mean, obviously, like, you look at, like, Royal Tannenbaums, talented Mr. Repley. Two lovers, baby.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:41:32 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
verdict (verdict): Iron Man 3 → Dumb and Dumber. Speakers defend the director of Green Book by praising his earlier comedies Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and Something About Mary.
“Dumb and Dumber is a masterpiece.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:42:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Shane Black → Lethal Weapon. Black wrote Lethal Weapon, and the movie's last act turns Rhodey and Stark into a Lethal Weapon-style buddy cop pair.
“You get this last this last act where suddenly like roadie and Stark become like a buddy cop team.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:43:23 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Iron Man 3 → Lethal Weapon. The shot of Stark and Rhodey peeking over a girder with guns has a Lethal Weapon vibe.
“lethal weapon vibe, that shot of the 2 of them like peeking over a girder with like guns in their hands being...”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:43:33 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Iron Man 3 → Hotel Rwanda. Cheadle's single Oscar nomination is for Hotel Rwanda; Griffin has not seen it.
“I've never seen the one movie he was nominated for NASCAR for.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:44:13 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Iron Man 3 → The Iron Giant. The suit's body parts bursting free are likened to The Iron Giant.
“With the rest of the suit wants to get out, Iron Giant style.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:44:33 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Iron Man 3 → Air Force One. The mid-air Air Force One rescue gets the praise Air Force One itself earns for tension and offices.
“Air Force One action is always good.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:50:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Wolfgang Petersen → Air Force One. Speakers want to cover Air Force One and toss out Petersen's name.
“We can do the Wolfgang.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:50:41 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Iron Man 3 → live-action Human Torch (film unnamed). The Extremis heat effect beats any live-action Human Torch; the Human Torch is a black bodysuit lit on fire.
“I always felt like this effect in this looks better than any of the live action human torches.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:51:49 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Iron Man 3 → Captain America: Civil War. The docks finale beats Civil War's airport fight; Marvel's wet-cement problem (no negative space).
“You compare that to like the Civil War, the fucking airport.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:56:49 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast): Iron Man 3 → Under Siege 3. The docks finale (containers, catwalks) feels like a mid-nineties buddy-cop action movie.
“But that's why this environment also works, is because, like, they're so in the buddy cut mill, you know, that it feels like, oh, this is like under siege 3 or something.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:59:00 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Gwyneth Paltrow → Mortdecai. She jumped from this film to Mortdecai, where her role is dry-heaving at a mustache.
“She basically jumps from this to Mordecai.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:11:59 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): Iron Man 3 → The Nice Guys. The jazzy 70s-cop-show end credits are described as Black's future movie vibe.
“His future movie sort of vibe.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:17:32 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Brian Tyler → Chuck Mangione. The jazzy end-credits take on the Iron Man theme, which the speaker thinks is Brian Tyler's, is likened to a Chuck Mangione record.
“But it's also like this weird, like, fucking like Chuck Mangioni version of the Iron Man theme.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:17:39 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (unlabeled) (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Brian Tyler → Charlie's Angels. The end-credits music is likened to 1970s TV theme songs, Charlie's Angels and Cagney and Lacey.
“This is like Charlie's Angels, like Cagney and Lacy.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:17:56 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (unlabeled) (0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Iron Man 3 → Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Speaker's anecdote of staying for the curtain call credits applies to Iron Man 3 end credits.
“we can't leave before they give Tom his curtain call.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:18:18 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
craft (craft): Iron Man 3 → Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2. They wish the end credits recognized the whole cast like Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Kill Bill 2 do.
“Do you know how many times I've watched the closing credits of Twilight Breaking Dawn part two, like 50?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:19:33 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
programming (programming): Iron Man 3 → Pain & Gain. Pain & Gain opened the same spring with a big second-week drop; The Rock's performance is called the smartest use of him.
“Smartest anyone has ever used him.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:21:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
career (career): Michael Bay → Bad Boys. The shortest Michael Bay film is Bad Boys at 2:03; he has never made a movie under two hours.
“Yeah, his shortest movie is Bad Boys at 2 hours and 3 minutes long.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:22:29 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
programming (programming): 42 → Iron Man 3. 42 and a run of April 2013 releases are compared in the Box Office Mojo segment.
“That we waited this long for a Jackie Robinson movie and that Brian Helgeland ended up making it such a disappointment.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:23:04 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
programming (programming): Oblivion → Iron Man 3. Oblivion released the same spring (Cruise sci-fi) and made 70% worldwide.
“Oblivion, a Joseph Konsinski film.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:24:42 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Fun items (25)

fun, about Iron Man 3 / Ben's pitch: Pre-show bit: producer Ben pitches hacker witches as a million-dollar idea, then a Night Eggs villain idea (witches who hack by hand-waving).
“I just think that's a that's a $1000000 idea.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:05:13 · Ben Hosley (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about Chris Weitz: Mid-banter, Chris Weitz has asked to appear on a Patreon commentary track.
“Chris White's has asked to be on one of these Patreon commentary episodes.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:07:42 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: See the opening scene: Eiffel 65 'Blue' plays over the 1999 party; the song is called a perfect anthem for Tony Stark.
“Now, listen, this song is about the movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:18:03 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: Black's Christmas habit: he sets films at Christmas because it is the loneliest time of year.
“Shane Black movies are always set at Christmas.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:23:39 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Chris Gethard: See the cut Iron Patriot boardroom pitch scene: Chris Gethard shot it as the slick marketer and was cut.
“I did know that. I shot that scene.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:29:02 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: See the panic-attack scene on the sidewalk outside the party: the host calls it when he knows the movie is a masterpiece.
“Like, this is when I go, oh, fuck, this movie is a masterpiece.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:29:34 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: Host recorded a podcast mid-dissociative episode; he links it to Tony puppeteering the suit.
“And then I once recorded a podcast when I was in that state.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:30:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
fun, about Randy Savage: Tangent: Macho Man's 2007 rap album and the biopic casting question (Downey in a wig).
“Have you ever heard the Matcha Man rap album?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:47:26 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about The Tick: Griffin visited the studio that built his Tick helmet and the Iron Man suit; they said he is Downey-sized.
“They said you were Downey Jr. sized.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 0:57:51 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: See Tony in the garage talking to the dead suit on a ratty couch and the boy Harley.
“Puts the suit on a ratty old couch.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:00:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Marvel Netflix shows: Crew reportedly report the worst craft services in the world on Marvel productions; Netflix shows were bare bones.
“The Netflix shows apparently had the worst craft service.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:17:01 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Ben Kingsley: Kingsley's birth name is Krishna Banji; a knighted actor reportedly gets angry if not called Sir Ben.
“He's apparently one of those guys where if you don't call him Sir Ben.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:18:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Marvel: 2017 Comic-Con gun-maker partnership: a Marvel comic with teen representatives of Northrop Grumman was pulled after backlash.
“And they were going to do this comic miniseries that was teenage representatives of North of Grumen.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:23:55 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: The hosts' ranking: the movie that loses people at the Mandarin reveal gets a five out of five star dismissal.
“If the movie loses you here, go take a walk around the block.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:32:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Ben Kingsley: See the Mandarin reveal: Trevor Slattery, a junkie actor in a rented mansion with a bullet T-shirt.
“Falls asleep in the middle of his explanation.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:34:40 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Robert Downey Jr.: Black wrote Tony chained to a wall for several scenes to work around Downey's broken ankle; production paused and Black edited in the break.
“But I think they purposely wrote him chained to a wall for several scenes so that he could like have a giant cast on.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:38:55 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Don Cheadle: See the Iron Patriot confrontation with the vice president: Cheadle uses the hot end of a gun and the TV football game.
“They use the hot end of a gun.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:47:20 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Ike Perlmutter: The no-female-villain toy mandate; Guy Pearce had no toys either, while the Mandarin got put on all the Lego vehicles anyway.
“They just put Mandarin in all the vehicles that are in this movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:48:28 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: See the Air Force One rescue: the free-fall sequence was real stunt work with digital cleanup, Miami-clean 'collect ten people' objective.
“This is actual stunt people.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:52:31 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: The mid-air rescue is praised as clear stakes, a game with an objective: collect everyone before the sky falls.
“Like, you're playing a game. and you're saying, like, here's the objective. I have to collect all 10 people before the sky falls.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 1:53:24 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: The house party protocol: favorite armors named on the spot (Igor the hunchback, Skeleton, Heartbreaker, Pile Driver, Red Snapper).
“They call him Igor because he's like hunchbacked.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:00:42 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Pepper Potts: See Pepper's kill shot on Killian in her workout clothes, and the 'honey?' line right after.
“Here comes my favorite, Gwyneth. Honey?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:11:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Max Landis: The sun-sets-multiple-times 'one day' fight: host argues Christmas is a season.
“This was the movie I got in the fight with Max Landis.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:13:18 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: The Chinese cut adds a scene with a doctor played by Chinese-market actors; they recall it grinding the film to a halt.
“There's an additional scene and it stars, like, actors that were recognizable in the Chinese market”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:14:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
fun, about Iron Man 3: See the end credits: Mark Ruffalo's Banner tag, a late replacement for a possibly shot Guardians scene.
“I've heard that maybe they did shoot a guardian scene and cut it and then brought in Ruffalo late.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 3 · 2:26:42 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Who's talking

Griffin Newman (host): Loves Iron Man 3 as his favorite MCU film for its character study and how it turns superhero loneliness into anxiety and panic. Collects $20 off-the-shelf action figures and Hot Toys Robocop, and cherishes buddy-cop 80s action and well-built set pieces. Dislikes suits that are just mush CGI and wet-cement final fights.
David Sims (host): Also calls Iron Man 3 his favorite MCU film; a critic who tracks box office, awards ballots, contracts and Hollywood history. Likes character actors, Shane Black wit and clean action stakes. Sucker for ensemble casts and set-up/payoff.
Ben Hosley (guest): Producer; saw Iron Man 3 once on a plane and has not seen Iron Man 1 or 2. Has an enthusiasm for odd concepts like hacker witches and likes subtle patterned suits.

The show's recurring bits

Names the transcriber got wrong

'Drew Pierce' = Drew Pearce; 'Guy Pierce'/'Guy Pierce' = Guy Pearce
'Ersterhaus' = Joe Eszterhas
'Chris White's' = Chris Weitz
'Ryan Kugler' = Ryan Coogler
'Kingsley/Kinsey' = Ben Kingsley
'Sadler' = William Sadler
'Badge Dale' = James Badge Dale
'Becca Hall' = Rebecca Hall
'Stephanie Strozak' = Stephanie Szostak
'Marcia Tome' = Marisa Tomei
'Ty Skim' = Ty Simpkins
'Boden Flack' = (Anna) Boden and Ryan Fleck
'John Tools' = John Toll
'Verbinsk' = (Gore) Verbinski
'Zamekis' = Zemeckis
'writes along his good night' = The Long Kiss Goodnight
'Last Boys Guy' = The Last Boy Scout
'Kiss, kiss, bang, bang' fine; 'Doom Ranger Bank' = an unidentified Alicia Vikander film
'Hispanic Scott Bam' = unidentified
'Sam bin Laden' = Osama bin Laden
'Cheeto' = Don Cheadle
'Rogal' = unidentified friend (Rogal)
'Pain and game' = Pain & Gain
'Tulip' = Ruth Negga
'shamelack/shame black' = Shane Black
'Stark' also transcribed as 'Starkwell'
'Banji' = Bhanji (Kingsley's birth name Krishna Bhanji)
'Matcha Man' = Macho Man Randy Savage
'Fabreau' = Jon Favreau
'Miguel Ferrer' correct; 'rebel cop' = RoboCop
'Dale Dicky' = Dale Dickey

Blank Check — Patreon: Iron Man 3

As extracted (engineer-sonnet-2026-10-13)

Films that came up

passing (64)

anecdote (9)

subject (1)

compared (24)

dismissed (2)

Claims (74)

Fun items (25)

Who's talking

The show's recurring bits

Names the transcriber got wrong