What the corpus says about The Game (1997)

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)

[The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:34:20 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] The Truman Show ↔ The Game · programming · Double feature: The Game. · "I'd go to the game, the game."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:04:58 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ The Player · programming · Two 90s satirical thrillers about soulless titans of industry caught in a trap of their own design. · "In terms of like 90s, uh, sort of vaguely satirical thrillers"
[The Big Picture · The Oscars Schedule Changes, and Andrew Garfield On ‘Under the Silver Lake’ | Interview · 1:01:20 · Andrew Garfield (0.95)] Under the Silver Lake ↔ The Game · theme · Garfield says people crave mystery and decoding, citing The Game as a favorite modern film about that. · "the game is one of my favorite like modern films of all time that deals with this issue."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:28:04 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ Falling Down · theme · Fincher, in the dossier, lists the Falling Down fascist among Douglas's friction. · "he stole the fascist from falling down."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:28:09 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ Fatal Attraction · theme · Fincher, in the dossier, lists the Fatal Attraction adulterer among Douglas's friction. · "The adulterer from Fatal Attraction."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:43:29 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ The Most Dangerous Game · theme · Fincher first wondered if the script was a Most Dangerous Game thing, and was relieved it wasn't. · "oh, is it like a most dangerous game kind of thing?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:50:34 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ It's a Wonderful Life · theme · Calls the film Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life. · "Kafka's it's a wonderful life."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:51:53 · Griffin Newman (0.30)] The Game ↔ Jury Duty (TV) · theme · Compares the game to the Jury Duty prank. · "It's just fucking the jury duty or whatever."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:54:17 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ What Women Want · theme · Compares Michael Douglas's disassembling to What Women Want's electrocution. · "You know how what women want is like Mel Gibson has to get electrocuted to understand that women are people."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:16:12 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ Total Recall · craft · The test-then-start gag is like Total Recall's malfunction. · "It's it's the total recall thing where they tell you exactly what's going to happen right at the moment where the thing is supposed to start."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:35:16 · David Sims (0.40)] Panic Room ↔ The Game · contrast · Panic Room cost 48 million five years later, against The Game's 70 million. · "it is wild that 5 years later, panic room costs 48."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:44:43 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ Panic Room · contrast · Fincher called Panic Room the experiment in keeping the audience in perfect lockstep, unlike The Game. · "that's my experiment making a movie where you're in perfect lockstep."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:50:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ The Trial · contrast · Imagines The Trial with a friendly ending, which is what The Game does. · "What if the trial happened?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Fight Club · 0:56:09 · Alex Ross Perry (0.55)] Seven ↔ The Game · career · Alex long believed the order was Seven then Fight Club, not realizing The Game came between. · "I always was like, it must go 7 and then Fight Club."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:41:19 · unknown (0.40)] The Net ↔ The Game · people · The Net, by the same spec writers as The Game, is called the bad version of it. · "It's silly fun, but it's the bad version of this."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Ice Storm · 1:42:21 · unknown (0.40)] The Game ↔ Jumanji · people · The Game's mansion is recognized as the Jumanji house. · "That was the Jumanji's house."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:34:40 · David Sims (0.40)] Alien 3 ↔ The Game · industry · Alien 3 had money but no control; The Game is where Fincher gets both. · "Alien 3 is a lot of money, but they don't give them a lot of control."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:08:16 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] Seven ↔ The Game · sibling Fincher films · Hosts argue over whether The Game is better than, or as good as, Se7en. · "I think this movie is not seven."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:33:16 · David Sims (0.40)] Seven ⇒ The Game (the host's read) · R-rated proof · Se7en's hit status as an R-rated film convinced the backers to fund The Game. · "I think convinced, um, people like, okay, like, you can make an R-rated movie a hit."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:35:58 · unknown (0.40)] The Game ⇒ Succession (the host's read) · looks like · Jokes that the opening home-movie footage is ripped off by Succession. · "ripped it right off"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:47:35 · David Sims (0.40)] Seven ⇒ The Game (the host's read) · commercial lead-in · Se7en's success gave Fincher an absurd budget for The Game. · "this is better for me because now I can make this movie at an absurd budget."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:47:52 · David Sims (0.50)] A Christmas Carol ⇒ The Game (the maker said so: reading Fincher's quotes in the dossier JJ put together) · template · Fincher's own framing, as quoted in the dossier, is that The Game is A Christmas Carol and Nick is Scrooge. · "it's a Christmas carol."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:59:05 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ Carlito's Way · billing · Both have a legendary movie star above the title, with Penn right underneath. · "This and Curlito's way have the same thing where it's like legendary movie star right above the title."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:17:00 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ Escape Room · game-coded · The Escape Room films are very game coded. · "They're very game coded"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:22:41 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ Zodiac · same city · Both are San Francisco movies. · "I mean, obviously Zodiac is another... This is 2 SF movies."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:37:59 · Brendan Hines (0.30)] The Game ↔ Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning · reminded of · One guest says the hotel room reminded them of Dead Reckoning. · "this movie reminded me of dead reckoning"

Films put beside it more than once (3)

[pairs] The Game ↔ Seven · said 5 times in 3 episodes
[pairs] The Game ↔ The Truman Show · said 2 times in 2 episodes
[pairs] The Game ↔ Panic Room · said 2 times in 1 episode

Fun items about it (6)

[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:27:42 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game · fun · Fincher on Douglas, as read from the dossier: the story is a little prurient and sadistic because you enjoy the central character's suffering, and nobody embraces that as eagerly as Douglas. · "You want to see him learn a lesson, and nobody embraces that quite as eagerly as Michael Douglas."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:41:32 · unknown (0.40)] The Game · fun · Brancato and Ferris wrote the spec script that became The Game, and they also wrote The Net, Terminator 3, Terminator Salvation and Catwoman. · "But they also are Terminator 3 and Terminator Salvation."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:43:58 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game · fun · Fincher wanted the audience to have nothing to hold on to; he calls it a movie about movies, where the protagonist doesn't know how to act like a movie star. · "It's a movie about movies."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:54:31 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game · fun · The original ending had Nick shoot the waitress and then kill himself; Fincher said he would feel remorse for shooting someone who tricked him, so he changed it. · "So what I had read was that the original ending was the same thing, but he shoots Deborah Carra Unger."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:55:05 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game · fun · The Criterion disc includes a one-take alternate ending, from the clapboard to Fincher saying cut, where he looks both ways and walks off without a cab. · "It starts with the clapboard."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:13:10 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game · fun · Hosts riff that the movie is pre-findoming, where a dominatrix drains your accounts and you get off on it. · "I mean, this movie is pre-findoming."

One hop out: what recommends the films most often joined to it (17)

[The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ · 0:17:05 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Seven ↔ The Shawshank Redemption · programming · Both are movies you get sucked into on cable by the last 40 minutes. · "The same thing with Shawshank."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:29:37 · Bill Simmons (0.55)] Panic Room ↔ Bird Box · programming · Home-invasion and people-in-peril movies are what Netflix feeds viewers; Panic Room is the well-done version. · "But I think this is the really well-done version of it."
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:06:05 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] The Truman Show ↔ The Running Man · programming · 1998 is praised as the year that checked every genre box, with Truman Show as sci-fi, a model for movie-year variety and Powell's Running Man. · "I think 1998 is in the running for the greatest checking all the boxes movie year we've ever had."
[Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House · 1:54:45 · Marie Bardi (0.70)] A Christmas Carol ↔ The Polar Express · lineage · A guess that the answer is Polar Express is rejected; Christmas Carol is the other Zemeckis frozen-faced animation. · "It's the Polar Express?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien 3 · 1:35:21 · unknown (0.40)] Alien 3 ↔ Resident Evil · programming · Resident Evil should not be programmed next to Alien; wait for in-person sessions. · "Also, you can't put it next to Alien because Resident Evil does, well, not, that will not be good for Resident Evil."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ · 0:04:37 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] Seven ↔ Heat · lineage · Grouped with Usual Suspects, Heat and Casino as the four defining 1995 movies, three of which were shut out at the Oscars. · "Our usual suspects, which we recently did, Heat Casino in seven."
[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 Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:06:54 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] The Truman Show ↔ Armageddon · programming · In the 1998 genre roster, Truman Show is the sci-fi entry and Armageddon the action entry. · "Sci-fi Truman show."
[The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:59:46 · Adam Nayman (0.85)] David Fincher ↔ Alien 3 · lineage · Alien 3 is the primal scene of Fincher's chip on his shoulder, producers treating him like a shoe salesman. · "there's the chip on the shoulder and the primal scene of alien 3, right?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ · 0:14:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Alfred Hitchcock ⇒ Seven (the host's read) · lineage · Se7en is a Hitchcock movie in its pulling-your-chain structure of mystery, reveal and anxiety, and Hitchcock is Fincher's biggest influence. · "I think as much as this seems like a modern movie, it's also just completely a Hitchcock movie in so many ways."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 1:33:06 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] Panic Room ↔ Succession · programming · As a ten-episode Netflix show, Junior would be Roman from Succession. · "but it's just that, um, Junior is Roman from Succession."
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:34:11 · Glen Powell (0.40)] The Truman Show ↔ The Matrix · programming · Double-feature suggestion put to the table, with Gattaca and The Game also chosen. · "The Matrix?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ · 0:24:13 · David Sims (0.30)] Alien 3 ⇒ Alien Resurrection (the host's read) · lineage · Resurrection follows Alien 3, but its Ripley is a different character from the one who died. · "As much as she was quote unquote resurrected, obviously, that's a different character explicitly."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ · 0:15:19 · Chris Ryan (0.55)] Seven ⇒ True Detective (the host's read) · lineage · Se7en's influence shows in True Detective from the title sequence to the characters, though True Detective's first season flinches at the dark ending. · "you can see the influence of of 7 on things like True Detective from the title sequence to the characters."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:16:08 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Panic Room ↔ Rope · lineage · One-location construction recalls the Hitchcock single-setting movies. · "So it has shades of rope or lifeboat, those movies that Hitchcock made."
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:34:14 · Bill Simmons (0.40)] The Truman Show ↔ Gattaca · programming · Double feature: Gattaca, the other Andrew Nichol film. · "Gattica, underscene, other Andrew Nichol"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ · 0:30:17 · Matt Singer (0.40)] Aliens ⇒ Alien 3 (the host's read) · lineage · Alien 3 follows Aliens; watched back to back, Aliens ends on a new family that Alien 3 then kills. · "you watch aliens and that has this ending of, you know, this new family that has been created."

Who said it, by their latest sketch (6)

[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] Alex Ross Perry · latest sketch, Blank Check — Patreon · Fight Club · Loves Fight Club as a formative film he saw at the AMC Marple on opening night and again on Saturday, and says it still ranks among his heart picks despite finding it juvenile now. Respects a movie that looks good. Cannot stand the Fincher perfectionist myth, and thinks his push for digital had a bad influence. A sucker for Zodiac, which he ranks first. · stances: Fight Club is a time capsule: deeply embarrassing to admire but loved spiritually; Fincher's perfectionist myth and digital proselytizing are overrated; The second half and Project Mayhem say nothing new; Zodiac is the best Fincher
[speaker] Andrew Garfield · latest sketch, The Big Picture · The Oscars Schedule Changes, and Andrew Garfield On ‘Under the Silver Lake’ | Interview · Drawn to dark, strange, specific directors and to spiritual, grueling roles; loves The Goonies, The Game, Free Solo, Russian Doll and immersive theater. Wants a Spider-Man-sized scope with a small film's soul. Admires filmmakers who make exactly the film they want. · stances: Sam is a victim of the culture who is also perpetuating it, and he has compassion for him; Fans decoding the film is joyful, and cult status would be awesome; Seeks balance between decency and baser material in roles
[speaker] Brendan Hines · latest sketch, Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · Actor and musician. Has a real affection for keys, Mark Boone Jr., and James Rebhorn; his taste in actors favors working character actors. Proud of his dog, Earl. · stances: Speaks about on-set life (The Tick, Suits, Scorpion); Dismisses Twitter, keeps saving old tweets; Tells the Carrie Smith hair story
[speaker] Chris Ryan · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers. · stances: Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones; The series finds its legs at 4

The shows' running bits (2)

[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)

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 The Game (1997) 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 The Game (1997) 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 Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:34:20 · Chris Ryan (0.40)] The Truman Show ↔ The Game · programming · Double feature: The Game. · "I'd go to the game, the game."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:04:58 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ The Player · programming · Two 90s satirical thrillers about soulless titans of industry caught in a trap of their own design. · "In terms of like 90s, uh, sort of vaguely satirical thrillers"
[The Big Picture · The Oscars Schedule Changes, and Andrew Garfield On ‘Under the Silver Lake’ | Interview · 1:01:20 · Andrew Garfield (0.95)] Under the Silver Lake ↔ The Game · theme · Garfield says people crave mystery and decoding, citing The Game as a favorite modern film about that. · "the game is one of my favorite like modern films of all time that deals with this issue."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:28:04 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ Falling Down · theme · Fincher, in the dossier, lists the Falling Down fascist among Douglas's friction. · "he stole the fascist from falling down."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:28:09 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ Fatal Attraction · theme · Fincher, in the dossier, lists the Fatal Attraction adulterer among Douglas's friction. · "The adulterer from Fatal Attraction."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:43:29 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ The Most Dangerous Game · theme · Fincher first wondered if the script was a Most Dangerous Game thing, and was relieved it wasn't. · "oh, is it like a most dangerous game kind of thing?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:50:34 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ It's a Wonderful Life · theme · Calls the film Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life. · "Kafka's it's a wonderful life."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:51:53 · Griffin Newman (0.30)] The Game ↔ Jury Duty (TV) · theme · Compares the game to the Jury Duty prank. · "It's just fucking the jury duty or whatever."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:54:17 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ What Women Want · theme · Compares Michael Douglas's disassembling to What Women Want's electrocution. · "You know how what women want is like Mel Gibson has to get electrocuted to understand that women are people."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:16:12 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ Total Recall · craft · The test-then-start gag is like Total Recall's malfunction. · "It's it's the total recall thing where they tell you exactly what's going to happen right at the moment where the thing is supposed to start."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:35:16 · David Sims (0.40)] Panic Room ↔ The Game · contrast · Panic Room cost 48 million five years later, against The Game's 70 million. · "it is wild that 5 years later, panic room costs 48."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:44:43 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ Panic Room · contrast · Fincher called Panic Room the experiment in keeping the audience in perfect lockstep, unlike The Game. · "that's my experiment making a movie where you're in perfect lockstep."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:50:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ The Trial · contrast · Imagines The Trial with a friendly ending, which is what The Game does. · "What if the trial happened?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Fight Club · 0:56:09 · Alex Ross Perry (0.55)] Seven ↔ The Game · career · Alex long believed the order was Seven then Fight Club, not realizing The Game came between. · "I always was like, it must go 7 and then Fight Club."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:41:19 · unknown (0.40)] The Net ↔ The Game · people · The Net, by the same spec writers as The Game, is called the bad version of it. · "It's silly fun, but it's the bad version of this."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Ice Storm · 1:42:21 · unknown (0.40)] The Game ↔ Jumanji · people · The Game's mansion is recognized as the Jumanji house. · "That was the Jumanji's house."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:34:40 · David Sims (0.40)] Alien 3 ↔ The Game · industry · Alien 3 had money but no control; The Game is where Fincher gets both. · "Alien 3 is a lot of money, but they don't give them a lot of control."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:08:16 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] Seven ↔ The Game · sibling Fincher films · Hosts argue over whether The Game is better than, or as good as, Se7en. · "I think this movie is not seven."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:33:16 · David Sims (0.40)] Seven ⇒ The Game (the host's read) · R-rated proof · Se7en's hit status as an R-rated film convinced the backers to fund The Game. · "I think convinced, um, people like, okay, like, you can make an R-rated movie a hit."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:35:58 · unknown (0.40)] The Game ⇒ Succession (the host's read) · looks like · Jokes that the opening home-movie footage is ripped off by Succession. · "ripped it right off"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:47:35 · David Sims (0.40)] Seven ⇒ The Game (the host's read) · commercial lead-in · Se7en's success gave Fincher an absurd budget for The Game. · "this is better for me because now I can make this movie at an absurd budget."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:47:52 · David Sims (0.50)] A Christmas Carol ⇒ The Game (the maker said so: reading Fincher's quotes in the dossier JJ put together) · template · Fincher's own framing, as quoted in the dossier, is that The Game is A Christmas Carol and Nick is Scrooge. · "it's a Christmas carol."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:59:05 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ Carlito's Way · billing · Both have a legendary movie star above the title, with Penn right underneath. · "This and Curlito's way have the same thing where it's like legendary movie star right above the title."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:17:00 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game ↔ Escape Room · game-coded · The Escape Room films are very game coded. · "They're very game coded"
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:22:41 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game ↔ Zodiac · same city · Both are San Francisco movies. · "I mean, obviously Zodiac is another... This is 2 SF movies."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:37:59 · Brendan Hines (0.30)] The Game ↔ Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning · reminded of · One guest says the hotel room reminded them of Dead Reckoning. · "this movie reminded me of dead reckoning"
[pairs] The Game ↔ Seven · said 5 times in 3 episodes
[pairs] The Game ↔ The Truman Show · said 2 times in 2 episodes
[pairs] The Game ↔ Panic Room · said 2 times in 1 episode
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:27:42 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game · fun · Fincher on Douglas, as read from the dossier: the story is a little prurient and sadistic because you enjoy the central character's suffering, and nobody embraces that as eagerly as Douglas. · "You want to see him learn a lesson, and nobody embraces that quite as eagerly as Michael Douglas."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:41:32 · unknown (0.40)] The Game · fun · Brancato and Ferris wrote the spec script that became The Game, and they also wrote The Net, Terminator 3, Terminator Salvation and Catwoman. · "But they also are Terminator 3 and Terminator Salvation."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:43:58 · David Sims (0.40)] The Game · fun · Fincher wanted the audience to have nothing to hold on to; he calls it a movie about movies, where the protagonist doesn't know how to act like a movie star. · "It's a movie about movies."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:54:31 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game · fun · The original ending had Nick shoot the waitress and then kill himself; Fincher said he would feel remorse for shooting someone who tricked him, so he changed it. · "So what I had read was that the original ending was the same thing, but he shoots Deborah Carra Unger."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 0:55:05 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game · fun · The Criterion disc includes a one-take alternate ending, from the clapboard to Fincher saying cut, where he looks both ways and walks off without a cab. · "It starts with the clapboard."
[Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · 1:13:10 · Griffin Newman (0.40)] The Game · fun · Hosts riff that the movie is pre-findoming, where a dominatrix drains your accounts and you get off on it. · "I mean, this movie is pre-findoming."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ · 0:17:05 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] Seven ↔ The Shawshank Redemption · programming · Both are movies you get sucked into on cable by the last 40 minutes. · "The same thing with Shawshank."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:29:37 · Bill Simmons (0.55)] Panic Room ↔ Bird Box · programming · Home-invasion and people-in-peril movies are what Netflix feeds viewers; Panic Room is the well-done version. · "But I think this is the really well-done version of it."
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:06:05 · Bill Simmons (0.80)] The Truman Show ↔ The Running Man · programming · 1998 is praised as the year that checked every genre box, with Truman Show as sci-fi, a model for movie-year variety and Powell's Running Man. · "I think 1998 is in the running for the greatest checking all the boxes movie year we've ever had."
[Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House · 1:54:45 · Marie Bardi (0.70)] A Christmas Carol ↔ The Polar Express · lineage · A guess that the answer is Polar Express is rejected; Christmas Carol is the other Zemeckis frozen-faced animation. · "It's the Polar Express?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien 3 · 1:35:21 · unknown (0.40)] Alien 3 ↔ Resident Evil · programming · Resident Evil should not be programmed next to Alien; wait for in-person sessions. · "Also, you can't put it next to Alien because Resident Evil does, well, not, that will not be good for Resident Evil."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ · 0:04:37 · Bill Simmons (0.60)] Seven ↔ Heat · lineage · Grouped with Usual Suspects, Heat and Casino as the four defining 1995 movies, three of which were shut out at the Oscars. · "Our usual suspects, which we recently did, Heat Casino in seven."
[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 Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:06:54 · Bill Simmons (0.70)] The Truman Show ↔ Armageddon · programming · In the 1998 genre roster, Truman Show is the sci-fi entry and Armageddon the action entry. · "Sci-fi Truman show."
[The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:59:46 · Adam Nayman (0.85)] David Fincher ↔ Alien 3 · lineage · Alien 3 is the primal scene of Fincher's chip on his shoulder, producers treating him like a shoe salesman. · "there's the chip on the shoulder and the primal scene of alien 3, right?"
[The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ · 0:14:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.85)] Alfred Hitchcock ⇒ Seven (the host's read) · lineage · Se7en is a Hitchcock movie in its pulling-your-chain structure of mystery, reveal and anxiety, and Hitchcock is Fincher's biggest influence. · "I think as much as this seems like a modern movie, it's also just completely a Hitchcock movie in so many ways."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 1:33:06 · Bill Simmons (0.50)] Panic Room ↔ Succession · programming · As a ten-episode Netflix show, Junior would be Roman from Succession. · "but it's just that, um, Junior is Roman from Succession."
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:34:11 · Glen Powell (0.40)] The Truman Show ↔ The Matrix · programming · Double-feature suggestion put to the table, with Gattaca and The Game also chosen. · "The Matrix?"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ · 0:24:13 · David Sims (0.30)] Alien 3 ⇒ Alien Resurrection (the host's read) · lineage · Resurrection follows Alien 3, but its Ripley is a different character from the one who died. · "As much as she was quote unquote resurrected, obviously, that's a different character explicitly."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ · 0:15:19 · Chris Ryan (0.55)] Seven ⇒ True Detective (the host's read) · lineage · Se7en's influence shows in True Detective from the title sequence to the characters, though True Detective's first season flinches at the dark ending. · "you can see the influence of of 7 on things like True Detective from the title sequence to the characters."
[The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) · 0:16:08 · Sean Fennessey (0.55)] Panic Room ↔ Rope · lineage · One-location construction recalls the Hitchcock single-setting movies. · "So it has shades of rope or lifeboat, those movies that Hitchcock made."
[The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ · 1:34:14 · Bill Simmons (0.40)] The Truman Show ↔ Gattaca · programming · Double feature: Gattaca, the other Andrew Nichol film. · "Gattica, underscene, other Andrew Nichol"
[Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ · 0:30:17 · Matt Singer (0.40)] Aliens ⇒ Alien 3 (the host's read) · lineage · Alien 3 follows Aliens; watched back to back, Aliens ends on a new family that Alien 3 then kills. · "you watch aliens and that has this ending of, you know, this new family that has been created."
[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] Alex Ross Perry · latest sketch, Blank Check — Patreon · Fight Club · Loves Fight Club as a formative film he saw at the AMC Marple on opening night and again on Saturday, and says it still ranks among his heart picks despite finding it juvenile now. Respects a movie that looks good. Cannot stand the Fincher perfectionist myth, and thinks his push for digital had a bad influence. A sucker for Zodiac, which he ranks first. · stances: Fight Club is a time capsule: deeply embarrassing to admire but loved spiritually; Fincher's perfectionist myth and digital proselytizing are overrated; The second half and Project Mayhem say nothing new; Zodiac is the best Fincher
[speaker] Andrew Garfield · latest sketch, The Big Picture · The Oscars Schedule Changes, and Andrew Garfield On ‘Under the Silver Lake’ | Interview · Drawn to dark, strange, specific directors and to spiritual, grueling roles; loves The Goonies, The Game, Free Solo, Russian Doll and immersive theater. Wants a Spider-Man-sized scope with a small film's soul. Admires filmmakers who make exactly the film they want. · stances: Sam is a victim of the culture who is also perpetuating it, and he has compassion for him; Fans decoding the film is joyful, and cult status would be awesome; Seeks balance between decency and baser material in roles
[speaker] Brendan Hines · latest sketch, Blank Check — Patreon · The Game · Actor and musician. Has a real affection for keys, Mark Boone Jr., and James Rebhorn; his taste in actors favors working character actors. Proud of his dog, Earl. · stances: Speaks about on-set life (The Tick, Suits, Scorpion); Dismisses Twitter, keeps saving old tweets; Tells the Carrie Smith hair story
[speaker] Chris Ryan · latest sketch, The Rewatchables · ‘Friday the 13th’ · A franchise and genre scholar who likes Jason, the early sequels, and Manhattan; attention to trivia, tropes and critic reception. Treats slashers as a canon with tiers. · stances: Parts 1, 2, 4 and Manhattan are the good ones; The series finds its legs at 4
[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 The Game (1997); name it the way the line names it. Don't recommend The Game (1997) 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.