Eric Roberts

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q207969: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by Wikidata joins them to Star 80, which Star 80 with Julie Klausner credits them on.

Counted as actor. The films the hosts said they acted in, which the two lists below run through too: Star 80 (1983); The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984); Runaway Train (1985); Heaven's Prisoners (1996); The Dark Knight (2008); Babylon (2022); King of the Gypsies; Raggedy Man; The Coca-Cola Kid; The Expendables; The Specialist.

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.

Singin' in the Rain (1952): 5 lines

  1. craft (scene mirror) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). Babylon's walk-on bar scene mirrors the flashback that opens Singin' in the Rain, where Don Lockwood gets a walk-on.
    “Um, Don Lockwood gets a walk on part in a bar in that like in that flashback to start the movie.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 0:48:21 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (homage) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). 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 ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:13:47 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. theme (echo) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). The silent-to-sound struggle scene in Babylon echoes Singin' in the Rain, down to the actress who cannot find the microphone.
    “And that is a huge echo of singing in the rain.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:14:54 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. craft (scene mirror) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). A Babylon moment is said to echo Don and Kathy Selden from Singin' in the Rain.
    “Also, echoes of Don and Kathy Selden.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:44:09 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  5. lineage (homage) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). 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 ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 2:51:30 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

James Bond series: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Dark Knight (2008), which they acted in: James Bond series ⇒ The Dark Knight (the host's read). Nolan's Batman films are read as a commentary on Bond.
    “I think Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight movies are also a commentary on James Bond, if you look at them from one direction”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Amanda Dobbins · 0:46:41 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)

John Gilbert: 1 line

  1. unmapped (real-life basis) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: John Gilbert ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). Brad Pitt's character in Babylon is obviously based on John Gilbert.
    “John Gilbert, who Brad Pitt's character in Babylon, is very obviously based on”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator with James Urbaniak · 2:09:22 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

La La Land (2016): 1 line

  1. craft (score reuse) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: La La Land ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). The Babylon score is said to reappropriate music from La La Land's dream ballet.
    “This is like very much from the dream ballet of La Land, this music and the score.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 0:57:59 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Lenny (1974): 1 line

  1. craft (structure) · through Star 80 (1983), which they acted in: Lenny ⇒ Star 80 (the host's read). Star 80's interview framing/superstructure echoes Lenny's, and Lenny is the origin of the Chevy-Chase-style voice.
    “This movie, you have the interview, this sort of superstructure that he loves so much”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:32:03 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Sweet Charity (1969): 1 line

  1. unmapped (technique) · through Star 80 (1983), which they acted in: Sweet Charity ⇒ Star 80 (the host's read). Fosse's choreographic insert/isolation technique reappears in Star 80, applied to ugly material.
    “There's even the, I mean, the whole fossy isolation of the body parts thing, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:33:58 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

The Dancing Cavalier (film-within-Singin' in the Rain; heard also as 'link cavalier'): 1 line

  1. craft (scene mirror) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: The Dancing Cavalier (film-within-Singin' in the Rain; heard also as 'link cavalier') ⇒ Babylon (the host's read). The audience in Babylon's screening laughs at the same dialogue ('I love you') as in Singin' in the Rain's screening of The Dancing Cavalier.
    “They're literally laughing at the exact same dialogue in the screening that they do of the link cavalier.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 1:56:30 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Killing (1956): 1 line

  1. lineage (homage) · through The Dark Knight (2008), which they acted in: The Killing ⇒ The Dark Knight (the host's read). The clown mask is said to look basically like the Joker mask Nolan pays homage to in The Dark Knight.
    “Nolan obviously pays homage to in the Dark Knight”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing with Patton Oswalt (Ad-Free) · 1:28:00 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021): 1 line

  1. lineage (series lineage) · through Babylon (2022), which they acted in: Zack Snyder's Justice League ⇒ Babylon (the maker said so: the hosts' own account of the show). 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.”
    The Big Picture · The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along · 3:06:12 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

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

Mickey Rourke: 1 line

  1. unmapped (advocacy) · them, directly: Eric Roberts ⇒ Mickey Rourke (the host's read). Rourke repeatedly urged Hollywood to give Roberts another chance in awards speeches, which got Stallone to hire him.
    “Mickey Rourke, when he was winning all his fucking wrestler awards, kept on being like, do you remember this in all of his speeches”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:10:54 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Silva: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Dark Knight (2008), which they acted in: The Dark Knight ⇒ Silva (the host's read). Silva's plan to be captured and gain M's attention is the Joker plot.
    “essentially the Joker plot from Dark Knight.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Amanda Dobbins · 1:26:07 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Skyfall (2012): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Dark Knight (2008), which they acted in: The Dark Knight ⇒ Skyfall (the host's read). Mendes openly lifted the Dark Knight aesthetic and the orphan-avenging-sins idea.
    “Mendy's just very openly lifted a lot of the Dark Knight aesthetic for these movies.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Skyfall’ With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Amanda Dobbins · 0:46:30 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)

The Lego Batman Movie (2017): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Dark Knight (2008), which they acted in: The Dark Knight ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The Joker's need for Batman to see him as an enemy is read against the post-Dark Knight Joker.
    “It's this thing of like, right, especially post Dark Knight, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:15:06 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Acting (11) everyone in acting

Other (2) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (3)

  1. career (career arc): Eric Roberts → Mickey Rourke. Roberts's trajectory from hot talent to unemployable-then-prolific mirrors Rourke's.
    “It's a very similar arc to Mickey Rourke, I think.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:09:39 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. career (comeback attempt): Eric Roberts → Christopher Nolan. Nolan's Dark Knight casting was meant as an Eric Roberts reclamation project that did not go anywhere.
    “you had like Christopher Nolan giving him a good little supporting part in Dark Knight and being like, Eric Roberts reclamation project.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:10:42 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. career (career type): Malcolm McDowell → Eric Roberts. McDowell's IMDb is compared to Eric Roberts: endless work, still capable of a real performance.
    “he is in that weird Eric Roberts zone where it's like, he does so much schlock.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · A Clockwork Orange with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) · 1:24:32 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

lineage (1)

  1. lineage (character lineage): Eric Roberts → The King of Comedy. Roberts's Snyder is seen as another version of what Rupert Pupkin could have been.
    “I also think a group for Pupkin is another version of who this character could have been, but he was just following orders.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:02:19 · Julie Klausner (0.50 sure it was them)

people (1)

  1. people (performance model): Eric Roberts → Taxi Driver. A speaker thinks the Snyder performance would have been more interesting if influenced by Travis Bickle.
    “It would have been interesting if this was sort of like more influenced by Travis Bickle as a performance.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:01:37 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

unmapped (1)

  1. unmapped (advocacy): Eric Roberts → Mickey Rourke. Rourke repeatedly urged Hollywood to give Roberts another chance in awards speeches, which got Stallone to hire him.
    “Mickey Rourke, when he was winning all his fucking wrestler awards, kept on being like, do you remember this in all of his speeches”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:10:54 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Eric Roberts: Roberts was only about three films in and was persuaded into Star 80; after it he never gave another memorable performance until villain parts in The Specialist and Heaven's Prisoners.
    “He had to be persuaded to take this role.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:01:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Eric Roberts: Roberts is Julia Roberts's brother and Emma Roberts's father; hosts joke that Julia was the annoying kid sister on his sets.
    “And like, Julia Roberts was like his annoying kid sister who would be on set and people, ugh, Eric Roberts' sister is here.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 0:10:24 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)