James Gray

Speaks on the shows. Their sketches and lines as a speaker.

Wikidata Q630845: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by Wikidata joins them to Ad Astra, which Our Alternative Academy Awards | The Oscars Show credits them on.

Counted as director, the making department they hold the most credits in. The films the hosts said they directed, which the two lists below run through too: Two Lovers (2008); Ad Astra (2019); Armageddon Time (2022); The Immigrant; The Lost City of Z; The Yards; We Own the Night. Count them as writer (5 films) instead.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): 1 line

unmapped (cribbing) · through Ad Astra (2019), which they directed: 2001: A Space Odyssey ⇒ Ad Astra (the host's read). Ad Astra is called the one other film that feels realistic about space travel, and it cribs from 2001.
“is cribbing from it so much where like the way at Astra depicts space travel”
Blank Check — Patreon · 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman (Ad-Free) · 1:41:09 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Alfred Hitchcock: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · them, directly: Alfred Hitchcock ⇒ James Gray (the maker said so: Gray, the director, speaking on the show). Gray names Hitchcock, Kubrick, Scorsese and Coppola as heroes with lengthy careers.
“all of the heroes of mine who have had lengthy and beautiful careers in the cinema, whether it's Mr. Hitchcock or Stanley Kubrick or Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:16:37 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)

David Lean: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through The Lost City of Z, which they directed: David Lean ⇒ The Lost City of Z (the maker said so: Gray, the director, speaking on the show). Gray wanted an old-fashioned English-language epic in the style of David Lean or Coppola.
“a movie in the style almost of like David Lean or Francis Ford Coppola or something like that”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:24:31 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

No line says anything drew on them or a film of theirs.

What the speakers said they did

Directing (11) everyone in directing

director, The Yards (Blank Check with Griffin & David, Planet of the Apes with Matt Singer)
director, Ad Astra (The Big Picture, Our Alternative Academy Awards | The Oscars Show)
director, Ad Astra (The Big Picture, The Snubs and Surprises of the 92nd Academy Award Nominations | The Oscars Show)
director and writer, The Lost City of Z (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director and writer, The Yards (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director and writer, We Own the Night (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director and writer, Two Lovers (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director and writer, The Immigrant (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director, Armageddon Time (Blank Check — Patreon, Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free))
director, Two Lovers (Blank Check — Patreon, Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free))
commercial director (Maybelline) (Blank Check — Patreon, Marvel Nerdfest)

Writing (5) everyone in writing

director and writer (writing half), The Lost City of Z (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director and writer (writing half), The Yards (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director and writer (writing half), We Own the Night (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director and writer (writing half), Two Lovers (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))
director and writer (writing half), The Immigrant (The Big Picture, ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9))

What was said about them, by kind

career (4)

career (career): The Lost City of Z → James Gray. Sean says the film resembles Gray's earlier work yet differs from it.
“This is a beautiful movie that is very similar to some of your movies, but also very different.”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:00:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.90 sure it was them)
career (career): Vertigo → James Gray. Sean links Vertigo's rocky first reception to Gray's own uneven reviews.
“It's a notable parallel, something like vertigo.”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:15:11 · Sean Fennessey (0.90 sure it was them)
career (career): Wes Anderson → James Gray. Gray admires that his friend Wes Anderson built a brand audiences trust.
“what I've admired about Wes from afar, as much as I can admire him from afar, is that he has created a kind of brand for himself.”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:20:18 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)
career (career): James Gray → Commercials. Esoteric auteurs pay the bills with commercials, e.g. Maybelline for Gray.
“How does James Gray pay the bills, right?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Marvel Nerdfest · 0:08:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

craft (1)

craft (craft): Ad Astra → James Gray. Speaker praises the sound of Ad Astra, which earned a sound editing nomination.
“I think the sound of net Astro is wonderful.”
The Big Picture · The Snubs and Surprises of the 92nd Academy Award Nominations | The Oscars Show · 0:16:23 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

lineage (2)

lineage (lineage): James Gray → Alfred Hitchcock. Gray names Hitchcock, Kubrick, Scorsese and Coppola as heroes with lengthy careers.
“all of the heroes of mine who have had lengthy and beautiful careers in the cinema, whether it's Mr. Hitchcock or Stanley Kubrick or Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:16:37 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage): James Gray → Stanley Kubrick. Gray says if Fellini and Kubrick got slaughtered for it, he must readjust his expectations.
“well, if it happens to someone as great as Fellini or Stanley Kubrick,”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:17:33 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

fun, about James Gray: Gray's self-image: not built for the jungle.
“I'm genetically designed to be an accountant in Minsk not to be hanging out in Amazonia.”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:07:25 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)
fun, about James Gray: Gray's formula for a guaranteed hit: test it to death and base it on an existing brand.
“The only way to make a film you know that will be a success would be to basically test the movie like crazy”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:19:56 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)
fun, about James Gray: Watching a film on a phone is like seeing paintings as postcards.
“I've looked at so-and-so's paintings, uh, in a, as a series of postcards.”
The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:28:50 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)
fun, about James Gray: Maybelline commercials fund the uncompromising artist.
“He does like fucking Maybelline commercials.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Marvel Nerdfest · 0:08:44 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)