What the corpus says about Mank (2020)

The 60 lines php artisan corpus:ask hands a model, in the order it gets them, and nothing else. The model writes a clerk's answer from these and only these.

What was said about it (26)

  1. [The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:54:31 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] The Trial of the Chicago 7 ↔ Mank · programming · Chicago 7 is a big fat fastball for the Oscars alongside Mank, Nomadland and Hillbilly Elegy. · "this is a big fat, fastball right down the middle."
  2. [The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:58:09 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Citizen Kane ⇒ Mank (the host's read) · lineage · Mank is partly inspired by Pauline Kael's essay on who truly authored Citizen Kane. · "it's in part inspired by that very famous Pauline Kale, story raising Kane, about the true authorship of Citizen Kane"
  3. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:13:08 · David Sims (0.80)] Citizen Kane ⇒ Mank (the maker said so: David's interview with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt) · lineage · Messerschmidt told the interviewer he wanted low, deep-focus photography evoking Citizen Kane, not noir. · "He's like, no, I want to do it low to the ground, lots of deep focus, evoking citizen Kane."
  4. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:10:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Citizen Kane ↔ Mank · craft · Like Citizen Kane, Mank has a complicated relationship to its lead; Mank mirrors the attitude of the man himself. · "Yeah, as much as Citizen Kane, the movie has a very complicated relationship to its lead character."
  5. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 2:03:48 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Lost Weekend ⇒ Mank (the host's read) · craft · The election-night drunk sequence in Mank is called self-consciously reminiscent of The Lost Weekend. · "almost self-consciously reminiscent of the last the lost weekend"
  6. [The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:57:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Mank ↔ The Social Network · people · Fincher's perverse films are hits but the Academy snubs them, as when The Social Network lost to The King's Speech. · "notably the social network, being defeated by the king speech, which is a result that should be should die in a fire."
  7. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:56:18 · unknown (host) (0.30)] The Killer ↔ Mank · people · Arliss Howard is brought back from Mank. · "Bringing back Carlos Howard from Manck."
  8. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:59:42 · unknown (host) (0.30)] The Killer ↔ Mank · people · Messerschmidt shot both. · "Eric Master Schmidt shot the movie, same guy who shot Mink."
  9. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:14:55 · David Sims (0.50)] Mank ↔ The Social Network · people · Griffin says Mank is a talkie without the entertaining dialogue of The Social Network. · "It's a talkie movie, but a talking movie without having the kind of like wildly entertaining dialogue of a social network."
  10. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:34:09 · Sean Fennessey (0.60)] RKO 281 ↔ Mank · people · Malkovich plays Mank in RKO 281, Schreiber Welles, Cromwell Hearst; Oldman, Burke, Dance in the Fincher film. · "Cromwell plays him in the RKO movie."
  11. [The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:38:55 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Mank ↔ The Two Popes · industry · Netflix surely has another celebrated prestige film like The Two Popes coming. · "I'm sure there's a 2 popes-esque thing coming down the pike that we're not even aware of"
  12. [The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:56:38 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] Parasite ↔ Mank · industry · A bold Academy choice like Parasite triggers a counter-reaction toward traditional movies about movies, with Mank a test. · "I do kind of think it'll be movies about movies and the power of storytelling and all and all of that nonsense."
  13. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:38:40 · unknown (host) (0.30)] The Killer ↔ Mank · industry · Both Netflix movies are uniquely bad for streaming. · "They're both uniquely bad for streaming."
  14. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 0:05:01 · David Sims (0.50)] Mank ↔ Nomadland · industry · Nomadland and Mank are both nominees in the pandemic Oscar year. · "Nomadland certainly fell into that trap, I think."
  15. [The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:48:34 · Adam Nayman (0.85)] The Killer ↔ Mank · self-portrait · Mank and The Killer both read as self-allegory about a talented guy and his financiers; both are emotional about art and voice in an industry. · "speaking of Mank, you know, what if you missed? You know, what if you're a really talented guy and your financiers? So like, hey, that didn't go so well."
  16. [The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:49:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Let Them All Talk ↔ Mank · streamer day-and-date example · HBO Max could debut the Soderbergh movie directly instead of qualifying via theaters, hence streaming's Oscar ramifications. · "what happens when HBO Max debuts the new Stephen Soderberg movie rather than putting it in theaters to qualify"
  17. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 1:24:23 · unknown (host) (0.30)] The Killer ↔ Mank · shared self-mockery · Both films have Fincher mocking his own exacting reputation. · "it's Fincher mocking himself a little bit."
  18. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 0:55:17 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] Mank ↔ Mindhunter · how Mank got made · When Netflix could not afford a third Mindhunter season, Fincher pulled Mank off the shelf. · "Netflix is kind of like we kind of can't make a 3rd season of this, it's too expensive."
  19. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:02:33 · David Sims (0.50)] The Social Network ↔ Mank · history as Shakespeare · Sorkin's Social Network uses Zuckerberg like Shakespeare riffs on kings, as the Mank makers use film history. · "I think, like, uh, the Finchers and Eric Roth and old men are all doing the same thing here"
  20. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:08:00 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] The Offer ↔ Mank · behind-the-scenes drama · The Offer, like Mank, makes the writers and directors of a classic into putzes; the gap between Mank and Kane is much closer. · "The offer does a similar thing where it makes Coppola and Puzo both out to be putzes."
  21. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:18:33 · David Sims (0.50)] Mank ↔ Roma · Netflix black and white · Netflix is where you go for a script nobody else wants and for a black and white movie: Roma, Mank, Blonde, Maestro. · "Not only is Netflix the place you go to for your script that nobody else wants to buy, but it's where you go and you want to make your black and white movie."
  22. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:18:42 · David Sims (0.50)] Mank ↔ Nebraska · black and white · Studios' old resistance to black and white (TV, VHS, foreign sales) shown by Nebraska's regrade for Paramount. · "Especially when so much of Studios opposition to black and white movies was it doesn't play on TV."
  23. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:31:32 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] RKO 281 ↔ Mank · same story · Watched back to back; RKO 281 makes Mank a pain and writing an active process, where Mank makes it passive. · "Whereas whether correct or not, RKO 281 makes it more of an active process."
  24. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:42:23 · David Sims (0.60)] RKO 281 → Mank · rosebud theory · David asks whether Mank's denial of the Rosebud explanation answers RKO 281; Sean says it is a really popular theory instead. · "Do you think that's just directly responding to a 20-year-old HBO TV movie"
  25. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:45:17 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ↔ Mank · self-portrait · The speaker reads Fincher as both the scumbag who made Seven and the sincere artist who made Benjamin Button, which is Mank. · "he made Ben Benjamin Button, you know, like that he is, he's Mank"
  26. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:53:14 · David Sims (0.60)] Babylon ↔ Mank · Hollywood scum · Both films treat the decision-makers of old Hollywood as scum who exploit creative people. · "I think that both of those movies are about the people who are effectively in decision making roles in Hollywood are scum."

Films put beside it more than once (4)

  1. [pairs] Mank ↔ The Killer · said 5 times in 2 episodes
  2. [pairs] Mank ↔ The Social Network · said 3 times in 2 episodes
  3. [pairs] Mank ↔ Citizen Kane · said 3 times in 2 episodes
  4. [pairs] Mank ↔ RKO 281 · said 3 times in 1 episode

Fun items about it (4)

  1. [The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 0:02:07 · Sean Fennessey (0.90)] Mank · fun · Fincher's teaser makes both the film and the trailer look 1940s; Sean treats Dec 4 as his day. · "I turn into a Dragon Ball Z character and I am lit a flame and I'm powered by the energies of David Fincher"
  2. [The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:31:42 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50)] Mank · fun · A hosts muses that Netflix might release Mank early in IMAX gesture; the other says a June release is forgotten by December. · "if you release Manck in June, then it's forgotten by December."
  3. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 0:54:33 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] Mank · fun · The Mank 1998 version had Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster lined up; Polygram balked at black and white. · "He had Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster lined up for the lead roles in 1998."
  4. [Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:55:12 · David Sims (0.60)] Mank · fun · Fincher on credit: the distilled version of importance, 'a 10 pound bushel of amoebas'. · "he calls it credit is, um, the distilled version of importance."

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (19)

  1. [The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 1:20:30 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] The Killer ↔ Fight Club · programming · Both are very funny first-person-narrated films about sociopaths who rationalize brutal violence as a personal mission. · "This movie would make a neat pairing with Fight Club. Two very funny films about sociopaths whose inner monologues rationalize brutal violence as expressions of a personal mission."
  2. [The Big Picture · Top Five Gen X Director Debuts, the Fate of ‘Black Widow,’ and a Potential Oscars Disaster · 0:21:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Errol Morris ↔ Citizen Kane · programming · The Academy hired Errol Morris for short documentaries, one of which produced Donald Trump misreading Citizen Kane. · "he completely misreads Citizen Kane and misunderstands it and then kind of sort of predicts his own future in some respects"
  3. [The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:40:17 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Panic Room ↔ The Social Network · programming · Fincher movies are rewatchable and date-movie friendly, with the exception of Se7en; Social Network is the perfect date movie. · "Like social network, perfect date movie."
  4. [The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:53:26 · unknown (0.30)] Babylon ↔ Snack Shack · programming · A pool-snacks tangent leads to a recommendation of Snack Shack, produced by Rian Johnson's T Street. · "Um, Basically being released independently is produced by Ryan Johnson's company, T Street, and it's a, here we see Margot Robbie losing her nerve and breaking down."
  5. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:16:54 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Killer ↔ Steven Soderbergh · programming · A friend of the podcast says it is Fincher and Soderbergh land: a stripped-down genre exercise. · "it's Fincher and Sodaberg land."
  6. [The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 0:50:25 · Amanda Dobbins (0.80)] Citizen Kane ↔ Casablanca · programming · Younger viewers resist classics because they feel they must watch five canonical films first; a recent episode showed they refuse Citizen Kane even on streaming. · "we just went through a whole episode where people refuse to watch Citizen Kane on streaming."
  7. [The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:56:04 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] The Social Network ⇒ Steve Jobs (the host's read) · lineage · Steve Jobs is called a worthy sequel to The Social Network on big tech and innovation. · "I think this is in many ways a worthy sequel to the social network"
  8. [The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 2:30:05 · unknown (0.30)] Babylon ↔ Road House · programming · After a crocodile-fear tangent triggered by Babylon's crocodile scene, a speaker pushes Roadhouse for its crocodile scene. · "I mean, they're just... pretty exciting crocodile scene."
  9. [The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:17:53 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] The Killer ↔ Gone Girl · lineage · It is the closest Fincher has come to a pure thriller since Gone Girl, maybe Dragon Tattoo. · "he hasn't made a movie quite like this, I guess, since Gone Girl, but even, I mean, you could maybe even going back further to Dragon Tattoo is maybe a little closer to this kind of a pure thriller."
  10. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network · 0:11:24 · David Sims (0.50)] The Social Network ↔ Blackberry · lineage · Blackberry is named as the only movie to come close to The Social Network in the 13 years since. · "I think Blackberry is the only thing that has come close and then now 13 years since this movie came out."
  11. [The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:13:47 · unknown (0.30)] Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read) · lineage · A speaker calls the sound-stage scene a direct Singin' in the Rain homage, 'on steroids times a 1000'. · "Again, like a very, very direct homage."
  12. [The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:20:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Rear Window ⇒ The Killer (the host's read) · lineage · The Paris hit sequence is a clear homage built on watching rooms across the street. · "it is a kind of rear window monkey. You know, it is like an attempt to recreate the across the street path, vision of what is happening in rooms in another building, and clear homage to that film."
  13. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network · 0:11:44 · David Sims (0.60)] The Social Network ⇒ The Big Short (the host's read) · lineage · David says The Big Short is the most obvious movie ripping off The Social Network, and that people do not make the connection enough. · "I think the big short, which is not a movie I love, is the most obvious movie that's ripping off the social network, even though people maybe don't make that connection enough."
  14. [The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 2:51:30 · unknown (0.30)] Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read) · lineage · The speaker says Babylon is deliberately built around Singin' in the Rain, with specific scenes mirrored on purpose. · "But it is so intentionally built around singing in the rain that I do think the mirroring of the specific scenes are intentional."
  15. [The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 1:22:52 · Adam Nayman (0.70)] The Cable Guy ⇒ The Killer (the host's read) · lineage · The TV-character aliases gag was already a joke in The Cable Guy (50s characters there, 70s and 80s here). · "that was a joke of the cable guy just to give credit where it's to."
  16. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network · 0:15:37 · David Sims (0.50)] The Accidental Billionaires (Ben Mezrich book) ↔ The Social Network · lineage · The film is technically an adapted screenplay but the speakers say Sorkin was working from the same research and the book proposal, not using the book as a template. · "But it's basically like this movie is using the same research that the book has called rather than Aaron Sorkin reading this book and using it as a template if that makes sense."
  17. [The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 3:06:12 · unknown (0.30)] Zack Snyder's Justice League ⇒ Babylon (the maker said so: the hosts' own account of the show) · lineage · The Snyder Cut watch-along, born of a lost bet, started the show's watch-along concept that led to this one. · "The Snyder, the Snyder Cut thing was a bet that we lost, that Sean was like, if that, that's how the watch along concept started."
  18. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:12:09 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Killer (graphic novel) ⇒ The Killer (the host's read) · lineage · The film takes almost everything from the first 200-odd pages of the comic; the series ran on to 2018. · "it feels like everything from the movie is basically taken from the 1st 200 some odd pages"
  19. [Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network · 0:26:04 · unknown (0.35)] The Accidental Billionaires (Ben Mezrich book) ↔ The Social Network · lineage · Sorkin had no finished book and worked from notes and a general structure, with little to do with the book that exists. · "but he doesn't really have much to do with the actual book that exists."

Who said it, by their latest sketch (5)

  1. [speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
  2. [speaker] David Sims · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Prepares history: novel, casting, budgets, box office. Reveres the film and thinks it reads as a normal ground-level story. A sucker for Hollywood deal backstory and box office game. · stances: Praises Keitel and Dafoe casting; Respects Scorsese's persistence and Corman discipline; The film is now well regarded though not 'canonical Marty'
  3. [speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
  4. [speaker] Amanda Dobbins · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · Loves The Strangers' withholding craft and a good tense horror film without gore, but likes fun, communal movies like Mamma Mia. She dislikes supernatural or gory horror, which irritates her more than it scares her. She is a sucker for stars and for Googling a movie mid-recording. · stances: The Strangers is scary because of what it doesn't show or explain; Ending explanation weakens it; no answer would be better; Prefers 'withholding' filmmaking; Defends Mamma Mia as joyful and intentional
  5. [speaker] Adam Nayman · latest sketch, The Big Picture · The Final Girl Film Canon and ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ · Self-described slasher fan who likes a movie that plays with tropes intelligently; admires Miasma's playfulness and sincerity but dislikes its showbiz satire. Soft spot for Texas Chain Saw, wrestling and Toronto sports. Wary of the idea that references alone make a movie smart. · stances: Miasma is academic but playfully so; Better filmmakers deserve less intention-guessing; Don't need to love slashers to love Miasma

The shows' running bits (2)

  1. [bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
  2. [bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

The whole prompt

As the model gets it, from app/Ai/Prompts/CorpusAsk.md 
You are a clerk at Video Culture, a video store. A customer just finished Mank (2020) and wants to know what to watch next.

Below is what people who love movies said on three podcasts (Blank Check, The Rewatchables, The Big Picture) about Mank (2020) and the films around it, one line each. Every line starts with where it came from, in brackets: [show · episode · time · speaker (how sure we are it was them)]. A [pairs] line says how often two films were put side by side. A [speaker] line says what that person likes. A [bits] line lists a show's running bits: a format, not an opinion.

[The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 1:54:31 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] The Trial of the Chicago 7 ↔ Mank · programming · Chicago 7 is a big fat fastball for the Oscars alongside Mank, Nomadland and Hillbilly Elegy. · "this is a big fat, fastball right down the middle."
[The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:58:09 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Citizen Kane ⇒ Mank (the host's read) · lineage · Mank is partly inspired by Pauline Kael's essay on who truly authored Citizen Kane. · "it's in part inspired by that very famous Pauline Kale, story raising Kane, about the true authorship of Citizen Kane"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:13:08 · David Sims (0.80)] Citizen Kane ⇒ Mank (the maker said so: David's interview with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt) · lineage · Messerschmidt told the interviewer he wanted low, deep-focus photography evoking Citizen Kane, not noir. · "He's like, no, I want to do it low to the ground, lots of deep focus, evoking citizen Kane."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:10:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Citizen Kane ↔ Mank · craft · Like Citizen Kane, Mank has a complicated relationship to its lead; Mank mirrors the attitude of the man himself. · "Yeah, as much as Citizen Kane, the movie has a very complicated relationship to its lead character."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 2:03:48 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Lost Weekend ⇒ Mank (the host's read) · craft · The election-night drunk sequence in Mank is called self-consciously reminiscent of The Lost Weekend. · "almost self-consciously reminiscent of the last the lost weekend"
[The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:57:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Mank ↔ The Social Network · people · Fincher's perverse films are hits but the Academy snubs them, as when The Social Network lost to The King's Speech. · "notably the social network, being defeated by the king speech, which is a result that should be should die in a fire."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:56:18 · unknown (host) (0.30)] The Killer ↔ Mank · people · Arliss Howard is brought back from Mank. · "Bringing back Carlos Howard from Manck."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:59:42 · unknown (host) (0.30)] The Killer ↔ Mank · people · Messerschmidt shot both. · "Eric Master Schmidt shot the movie, same guy who shot Mink."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:14:55 · David Sims (0.50)] Mank ↔ The Social Network · people · Griffin says Mank is a talkie without the entertaining dialogue of The Social Network. · "It's a talkie movie, but a talking movie without having the kind of like wildly entertaining dialogue of a social network."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:34:09 · Sean Fennessey (0.60)] RKO 281 ↔ Mank · people · Malkovich plays Mank in RKO 281, Schreiber Welles, Cromwell Hearst; Oldman, Burke, Dance in the Fincher film. · "Cromwell plays him in the RKO movie."
[The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:38:55 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Mank ↔ The Two Popes · industry · Netflix surely has another celebrated prestige film like The Two Popes coming. · "I'm sure there's a 2 popes-esque thing coming down the pike that we're not even aware of"
[The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:56:38 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] Parasite ↔ Mank · industry · A bold Academy choice like Parasite triggers a counter-reaction toward traditional movies about movies, with Mank a test. · "I do kind of think it'll be movies about movies and the power of storytelling and all and all of that nonsense."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:38:40 · unknown (host) (0.30)] The Killer ↔ Mank · industry · Both Netflix movies are uniquely bad for streaming. · "They're both uniquely bad for streaming."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 0:05:01 · David Sims (0.50)] Mank ↔ Nomadland · industry · Nomadland and Mank are both nominees in the pandemic Oscar year. · "Nomadland certainly fell into that trap, I think."
[The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:48:34 · Adam Nayman (0.85)] The Killer ↔ Mank · self-portrait · Mank and The Killer both read as self-allegory about a talented guy and his financiers; both are emotional about art and voice in an industry. · "speaking of Mank, you know, what if you missed? You know, what if you're a really talented guy and your financiers? So like, hey, that didn't go so well."
[The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:49:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] Let Them All Talk ↔ Mank · streamer day-and-date example · HBO Max could debut the Soderbergh movie directly instead of qualifying via theaters, hence streaming's Oscar ramifications. · "what happens when HBO Max debuts the new Stephen Soderberg movie rather than putting it in theaters to qualify"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 1:24:23 · unknown (host) (0.30)] The Killer ↔ Mank · shared self-mockery · Both films have Fincher mocking his own exacting reputation. · "it's Fincher mocking himself a little bit."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 0:55:17 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] Mank ↔ Mindhunter · how Mank got made · When Netflix could not afford a third Mindhunter season, Fincher pulled Mank off the shelf. · "Netflix is kind of like we kind of can't make a 3rd season of this, it's too expensive."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:02:33 · David Sims (0.50)] The Social Network ↔ Mank · history as Shakespeare · Sorkin's Social Network uses Zuckerberg like Shakespeare riffs on kings, as the Mank makers use film history. · "I think, like, uh, the Finchers and Eric Roth and old men are all doing the same thing here"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:08:00 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] The Offer ↔ Mank · behind-the-scenes drama · The Offer, like Mank, makes the writers and directors of a classic into putzes; the gap between Mank and Kane is much closer. · "The offer does a similar thing where it makes Coppola and Puzo both out to be putzes."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:18:33 · David Sims (0.50)] Mank ↔ Roma · Netflix black and white · Netflix is where you go for a script nobody else wants and for a black and white movie: Roma, Mank, Blonde, Maestro. · "Not only is Netflix the place you go to for your script that nobody else wants to buy, but it's where you go and you want to make your black and white movie."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:18:42 · David Sims (0.50)] Mank ↔ Nebraska · black and white · Studios' old resistance to black and white (TV, VHS, foreign sales) shown by Nebraska's regrade for Paramount. · "Especially when so much of Studios opposition to black and white movies was it doesn't play on TV."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:31:32 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] RKO 281 ↔ Mank · same story · Watched back to back; RKO 281 makes Mank a pain and writing an active process, where Mank makes it passive. · "Whereas whether correct or not, RKO 281 makes it more of an active process."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:42:23 · David Sims (0.60)] RKO 281 → Mank · rosebud theory · David asks whether Mank's denial of the Rosebud explanation answers RKO 281; Sean says it is a really popular theory instead. · "Do you think that's just directly responding to a 20-year-old HBO TV movie"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:45:17 · Sean Fennessey (0.50)] The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ↔ Mank · self-portrait · The speaker reads Fincher as both the scumbag who made Seven and the sincere artist who made Benjamin Button, which is Mank. · "he made Ben Benjamin Button, you know, like that he is, he's Mank"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:53:14 · David Sims (0.60)] Babylon ↔ Mank · Hollywood scum · Both films treat the decision-makers of old Hollywood as scum who exploit creative people. · "I think that both of those movies are about the people who are effectively in decision making roles in Hollywood are scum."
[pairs] Mank ↔ The Killer · said 5 times in 2 episodes
[pairs] Mank ↔ The Social Network · said 3 times in 2 episodes
[pairs] Mank ↔ Citizen Kane · said 3 times in 2 episodes
[pairs] Mank ↔ RKO 281 · said 3 times in 1 episode
[The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 0:02:07 · Sean Fennessey (0.90)] Mank · fun · Fincher's teaser makes both the film and the trailer look 1940s; Sean treats Dec 4 as his day. · "I turn into a Dragon Ball Z character and I am lit a flame and I'm powered by the energies of David Fincher"
[The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:31:42 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50)] Mank · fun · A hosts muses that Netflix might release Mank early in IMAX gesture; the other says a June release is forgotten by December. · "if you release Manck in June, then it's forgotten by December."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 0:54:33 · Griffin Newman (0.60)] Mank · fun · The Mank 1998 version had Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster lined up; Polygram balked at black and white. · "He had Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster lined up for the lead roles in 1998."
[Blank Check — Patreon · Mank · 1:55:12 · David Sims (0.60)] Mank · fun · Fincher on credit: the distilled version of importance, 'a 10 pound bushel of amoebas'. · "he calls it credit is, um, the distilled version of importance."
[The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 1:20:30 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] The Killer ↔ Fight Club · programming · Both are very funny first-person-narrated films about sociopaths who rationalize brutal violence as a personal mission. · "This movie would make a neat pairing with Fight Club. Two very funny films about sociopaths whose inner monologues rationalize brutal violence as expressions of a personal mission."
[The Big Picture · Top Five Gen X Director Debuts, the Fate of ‘Black Widow,’ and a Potential Oscars Disaster · 0:21:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] Errol Morris ↔ Citizen Kane · programming · The Academy hired Errol Morris for short documentaries, one of which produced Donald Trump misreading Citizen Kane. · "he completely misreads Citizen Kane and misunderstands it and then kind of sort of predicts his own future in some respects"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:40:17 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Panic Room ↔ The Social Network · programming · Fincher movies are rewatchable and date-movie friendly, with the exception of Se7en; Social Network is the perfect date movie. · "Like social network, perfect date movie."
[The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:53:26 · unknown (0.30)] Babylon ↔ Snack Shack · programming · A pool-snacks tangent leads to a recommendation of Snack Shack, produced by Rian Johnson's T Street. · "Um, Basically being released independently is produced by Ryan Johnson's company, T Street, and it's a, here we see Margot Robbie losing her nerve and breaking down."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:16:54 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Killer ↔ Steven Soderbergh · programming · A friend of the podcast says it is Fincher and Soderbergh land: a stripped-down genre exercise. · "it's Fincher and Sodaberg land."
[The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 0:50:25 · Amanda Dobbins (0.80)] Citizen Kane ↔ Casablanca · programming · Younger viewers resist classics because they feel they must watch five canonical films first; a recent episode showed they refuse Citizen Kane even on streaming. · "we just went through a whole episode where people refuse to watch Citizen Kane on streaming."
[The Big Picture · Aaron Sorkin Top 5s and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ · 0:56:04 · Sean Fennessey (0.80)] The Social Network ⇒ Steve Jobs (the host's read) · lineage · Steve Jobs is called a worthy sequel to The Social Network on big tech and innovation. · "I think this is in many ways a worthy sequel to the social network"
[The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 2:30:05 · unknown (0.30)] Babylon ↔ Road House · programming · After a crocodile-fear tangent triggered by Babylon's crocodile scene, a speaker pushes Roadhouse for its crocodile scene. · "I mean, they're just... pretty exciting crocodile scene."
[The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:17:53 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60)] The Killer ↔ Gone Girl · lineage · It is the closest Fincher has come to a pure thriller since Gone Girl, maybe Dragon Tattoo. · "he hasn't made a movie quite like this, I guess, since Gone Girl, but even, I mean, you could maybe even going back further to Dragon Tattoo is maybe a little closer to this kind of a pure thriller."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network · 0:11:24 · David Sims (0.50)] The Social Network ↔ Blackberry · lineage · Blackberry is named as the only movie to come close to The Social Network in the 13 years since. · "I think Blackberry is the only thing that has come close and then now 13 years since this movie came out."
[The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:13:47 · unknown (0.30)] Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read) · lineage · A speaker calls the sound-stage scene a direct Singin' in the Rain homage, 'on steroids times a 1000'. · "Again, like a very, very direct homage."
[The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:20:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.70)] Rear Window ⇒ The Killer (the host's read) · lineage · The Paris hit sequence is a clear homage built on watching rooms across the street. · "it is a kind of rear window monkey. You know, it is like an attempt to recreate the across the street path, vision of what is happening in rooms in another building, and clear homage to that film."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network · 0:11:44 · David Sims (0.60)] The Social Network ⇒ The Big Short (the host's read) · lineage · David says The Big Short is the most obvious movie ripping off The Social Network, and that people do not make the connection enough. · "I think the big short, which is not a movie I love, is the most obvious movie that's ripping off the social network, even though people maybe don't make that connection enough."
[The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 2:51:30 · unknown (0.30)] Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read) · lineage · The speaker says Babylon is deliberately built around Singin' in the Rain, with specific scenes mirrored on purpose. · "But it is so intentionally built around singing in the rain that I do think the mirroring of the specific scenes are intentional."
[The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 1:22:52 · Adam Nayman (0.70)] The Cable Guy ⇒ The Killer (the host's read) · lineage · The TV-character aliases gag was already a joke in The Cable Guy (50s characters there, 70s and 80s here). · "that was a joke of the cable guy just to give credit where it's to."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network · 0:15:37 · David Sims (0.50)] The Accidental Billionaires (Ben Mezrich book) ↔ The Social Network · lineage · The film is technically an adapted screenplay but the speakers say Sorkin was working from the same research and the book proposal, not using the book as a template. · "But it's basically like this movie is using the same research that the book has called rather than Aaron Sorkin reading this book and using it as a template if that makes sense."
[The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 3:06:12 · unknown (0.30)] Zack Snyder's Justice League ⇒ Babylon (the maker said so: the hosts' own account of the show) · lineage · The Snyder Cut watch-along, born of a lost bet, started the show's watch-along concept that led to this one. · "The Snyder, the Snyder Cut thing was a bet that we lost, that Sean was like, if that, that's how the watch along concept started."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer · 0:12:09 · Griffin Newman (0.50)] The Killer (graphic novel) ⇒ The Killer (the host's read) · lineage · The film takes almost everything from the first 200-odd pages of the comic; the series ran on to 2018. · "it feels like everything from the movie is basically taken from the 1st 200 some odd pages"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network · 0:26:04 · unknown (0.35)] The Accidental Billionaires (Ben Mezrich book) ↔ The Social Network · lineage · Sorkin had no finished book and worked from notes and a general structure, with little to do with the book that exists. · "but he doesn't really have much to do with the actual book that exists."
[speaker] Sean Fennessey · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · Loves gory, funny, fast genre movies with craft and confidence, especially 87-minute films that never overstay. Can't stand ponderous elevated horror that fills out its runtime with introspection and sad family history. A sucker for the Carpenter-era lineage, Die Hard homages, and directors who break studio dogma. · stances: Resident Evil is one of the best films of the year; Horror movies have become a drag; fun genre experiences are needed; Short running times are a virtue; Video-game films work best when great filmmakers get creative license
[speaker] David Sims · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Prepares history: novel, casting, budgets, box office. Reveres the film and thinks it reads as a normal ground-level story. A sucker for Hollywood deal backstory and box office game. · stances: Praises Keitel and Dafoe casting; Respects Scorsese's persistence and Corman discipline; The film is now well regarded though not 'canonical Marty'
[speaker] Griffin Newman · latest sketch, Blank Check · The Last Temptation of Christ · Calls Last Temptation his college-era favorite Scorsese; loves Scorsese's smaller 80s and the film's closing transcendence and Gabriel score. Cannot stand fundamentalist outrage at it. A sucker for casting trivia and Tom Cruise-silliness. · stances: Hot take: Last Temptation structurally mirrors New York, New York as a better version; Outrage over the film is stupid; it is respectful to Jesus; Scorsese's smaller 80s work beats his later baroque phases
[speaker] Amanda Dobbins · latest sketch, The Big Picture · ‘Mamma Mia!’ Meets ‘The Strangers'! It’s a Movie Swap! · Loves The Strangers' withholding craft and a good tense horror film without gore, but likes fun, communal movies like Mamma Mia. She dislikes supernatural or gory horror, which irritates her more than it scares her. She is a sucker for stars and for Googling a movie mid-recording. · stances: The Strangers is scary because of what it doesn't show or explain; Ending explanation weakens it; no answer would be better; Prefers 'withholding' filmmaking; Defends Mamma Mia as joyful and intentional
[speaker] Adam Nayman · latest sketch, The Big Picture · The Final Girl Film Canon and ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ · Self-described slasher fan who likes a movie that plays with tropes intelligently; admires Miasma's playfulness and sincerity but dislikes its showbiz satire. Soft spot for Texas Chain Saw, wrestling and Toronto sports. Wary of the idea that references alone make a movie smart. · stances: Miasma is academic but playfully so; Better filmmakers deserve less intention-guessing; Don't need to love slashers to love Miasma
[bits] The Big Picture: Drafts (Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument); Hall of Fame (A star's or director's best, ranked and argued); Countdowns (Ranked lists, top five or top ten)
[bits] The Rewatchables: Apex Mountain (The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits); Who Won the Movie (The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off); The Ebert review (Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show); Casting what-ifs (Who was almost cast, or who should have been); Most rewatchable scene (The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels); Aged best / aged worst (What holds up and what does not); Picking Nits (The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits); Double feature (The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick)

Recommend three to six films, and only films that appear in these lines. A series, a TV film, or a franchise counts too when a line recommends it or pairs it with Mank (2020); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend Mank (2020) itself. For each one, give one short reason in your own words and say whose reason it is: the show, named exactly as the brackets name it, and the speaker when the line names one (an "unknown" speaker is just the show). If the lines are thin, say so plainly rather than stretching them.

Keep a contrast a contrast. When a line sets two films apart, the reason is how they differ; never turn it into a way they're alike. A line with ⇒ puts the source first and what drew on it second, and one marked "the maker said so" is still the host reporting it: say who said it, and never state an influence as fact.

You know only what's on these lines. Add no fact they don't state: not who directed a film, not what kind of film it is, not when it came out, unless a line says so. Say nothing about the store or how anything rents here.

Talk the way a clerk talks to a customer at the counter: plain text, titles written plainly with no asterisks or other markup, no headings, no lists of more than six, no JSON.