Jeff Bridges

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q174843: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by Wikidata joins them to Fearless, which Fearless with Timothy Simons credits them on.

Counted as other. The films the hosts said they were tied to, which the two lists below run through too: Thief (1981); Miami Vice - Pilot (Brother's Keeper) (1984); Fletch (1985); Die Hard 2 (1990); The Game (1997); Taken (2008); (telecast). Count them as actor (31 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.

Seven (1995): 2 lines

  1. unmapped (R-rated proof) · through The Game (1997), which they were tied to as first choice for Conrad: Seven ⇒ The Game (the host's read). 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 with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:33:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (commercial lead-in) · through The Game (1997), which they were tied to as first choice for Conrad: Seven ⇒ The Game (the host's read). 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 with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:47:35 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

58 Minutes (1987): 1 line

  1. lineage (source material) · through Die Hard 2 (1990), which they were tied to as proposed John McClane: 58 Minutes ⇒ Die Hard 2 (the host's read). The screenplay was adapted from Walter Wager's 1987 novel with a similar plot.
    “Screenplay was adapted from Walter Wagers.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:19:50 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

A Christmas Carol (2009): 1 line

  1. unmapped (template) · through The Game (1997), which they were tied to as first choice for Conrad: A Christmas Carol ⇒ The Game (the maker said so: reading Fincher's quotes in the dossier JJ put together). 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 with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:47:52 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Commando (1985): 1 line

  1. theme (genre revival) · through Taken (2008), which they were tied to as first choice for Brian Mills, dropped out: Commando ⇒ Taken (the host's read). Taken returned to the basic Schwarzenegger/Stallone template, but with a real actor selling the lines.
    “We're still going to have him do all of the same stuff that a Schwarzenegger or Stallone would do in commando or cobra, but now we've got a guy who, when he says things into the camera, when he gives the phone speech, you feel it.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:10:08 · Shea Serrano (0.70 sure it was them)

Gary Busey: 1 line

  1. unmapped (research) · them, directly: Gary Busey ⇒ Jeff Bridges (the maker said so: Busey's description to Bridges). Bridges called his friend Busey, a motorcycle-crash survivor, to prepare.
    “Bridges called Gary Busey, one of his close friends, who had been in a serious motorcycle accident and survived.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 2:10:51 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Gregory McDonald: 1 line

  1. lineage (source material) · through Fletch (1985), which they were tied to as considered for Fletch: Gregory McDonald ⇒ Fletch (the host's read). Fletch adapts the McDonald novels; the noir voiceover feels like the book, the ad-libbed scenes deviate.
    “So it's a Gregory McDonald novel”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Fletch’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:25:35 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Hill Street Blues (1981): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Miami Vice - Pilot (Brother's Keeper) (1984), which they were tied to as first-choice lead: Hill Street Blues ⇒ Miami Vice - Pilot (Brother's Keeper) (the host's read). Hill Street Blues raised TV through writing and performance; Miami Vice added the cinematic look on top of that standard.
    “try to write, like, Hill Street blues level scripts and have real grounded performances and make it all look fucking awesome.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Miami Vice - Pilot Episode · 0:16:28 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Lloyd Bridges: 1 line

  1. unmapped (family) · them, directly: Lloyd Bridges ⇒ Jeff Bridges (the host's read). Jeff's work ethic comes from his actor father, who put his kids in small parts on his shows.
    “And it is instilled in him and his brother, just the fucking work ethic of this is a job.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:39:22 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Manuel Noriega: 1 line

  1. lineage (real-world inspiration) · through Die Hard 2 (1990), which they were tied to as proposed John McClane: Manuel Noriega ⇒ Die Hard 2 (the maker said so: the screenwriter admitted it). The writer admitted the script grabbed smoke from Iran-Contra and Manuel Noriega.
    “there's definitely some Iran Contra, kind of, they're just grabbing smoke from that whole scandal and shoehorning into this with Manuel Noriega in real life.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:20:16 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)

Rififi (1955): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: Rififi ⇒ Thief (the host's read). Thief draws on Bogart movies, Rififi, samurai movies, French New Wave.
    “in thief, you can feel Humphrey Bogart movies, you can feel, Rafifi, you can feel samurai movies, you can feel French new wave.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:11:29 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)

Taxi Driver (1976): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: Taxi Driver ⇒ Thief (the host's read). Scorsese used wet streets in Taxi Driver before Mann made it a signature.
    “Scorsese did a little bit in taxi driver”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:03:18 · Bill Simmons (0.45 sure it was them)

The Big Lebowski (1998): 1 line

  1. career (career turn) · them, directly: The Big Lebowski ⇒ Jeff Bridges (the host's read). Lebowski broke something in Bridges and led to his later gruff-coot era.
    “And then Lebowski obviously, like, breaks something in him that leads to the next era of, I'm a billy goat, gruff eating a tin can.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:57:36 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

The Jericho Mile (1979): 1 line

  1. career (career) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: The Jericho Mile ⇒ Thief (the maker said so: Mann's interview with Robert Rodriguez). Mann pulled the story's texture from prison guys he met making Jericho Mile.
    “It was being pulled from the stories he had heard from the guys he had met working on Jericho Mile.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:12:52 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

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

Heat (1995): 3 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: Thief ⇒ Heat (the maker said so: the Siegel piece, Caan telling Pacino). Caan said scenes cut from Thief went to Heat.
    “All the scenes that weren't used in our picture came over to you guys.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:15:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: Thief ⇒ Heat (the host's read). The diner scene's wide shot echoes Heat's, which never shows both guys.
    “Wide shot, some heat DNA, although in heat, they don't have, you never see the 2 guys”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:36:13 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. lineage (lineage) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: Thief ⇒ Heat (the host's read). Thief is the notebook sketch for Mann's later work, with Heat sharing DNA.
    “the building blocks for what you wind up seeing in heat and collateral and Miami Vice in so many of his films to come.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:02:54 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Collateral (2004): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: Thief ⇒ Collateral (the host's read). Mann later circled back to blues in Collateral after trying all-blues for Thief.
    “but then circled back in collateral”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:57:36 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)

Confess, Fletch (2022): 1 line

  1. unmapped (reboot) · through Fletch (1985), which they were tied to as considered for Fletch: Fletch ⇒ Confess, Fletch (the host's read). Chris describes it as a riff on the long-promised Fletch franchise reboot, with Jon Hamm taking the role Chevy Chase made iconic.
    “Chevy Chase did an iconic turn as a Fletch character, a journalist come detective in Los Angeles.”
    The Big Picture · The 2022 Movie Draft · 1:08:48 · Chris Ryan (0.85 sure it was them)

John Wick (2014): 1 line

  1. lineage (genre descendant) · through Taken (2008), which they were tied to as first choice for Brian Mills, dropped out: Taken ⇒ John Wick (the host's read). John Wick may belong to the subgenre Taken started, though Wick is a more elaborate 5 o'clocker.
    “Probably even John Wick, maybe.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:07:45 · Shea Serrano (0.60 sure it was them)

Kidnap (2016): 1 line

  1. lineage (genre descendant) · through Taken (2008), which they were tied to as first choice for Brian Mills, dropped out: Taken ⇒ Kidnap (the host's read). Kidnap is another of the movies stemming from Taken.
    “Kidnap is another one of the stemmed off of taken movies, so it's funny that you mentioned it.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:18:47 · Shea Serrano (0.60 sure it was them)

Manhunter (1986): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: Thief ⇒ Manhunter (the host's read). Thief's final shootout is a dry run for Manhunter's.
    “That whole shootout is very reminiscent of the shootout at the end of Manhunter”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:11:12 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Panic Room (2002): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they were tied to as Mann's first choice for Frank: Thief ⇒ Panic Room (the host's read). Fincher may have watched Thief before Panic Room.
    “Fincher does panic room and he probably saw Thief like 2 weeks before he started filming”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:40:36 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Positive K: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Die Hard 2 (1990), which they were tied to as proposed John McClane: Die Hard 2 ⇒ Positive K (the host's read). Positive K's song 'I Got a Man' samples a line from Die Hard 2, so the song now brings the movie to mind.
    “And then that line got sampled on, I got a man, the positive K song. So now every time you hear that song, you hear that line from that movie.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:43:06 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Ryan Reynolds: 1 line

  1. theme (persona successor) · through Fletch (1985), which they were tied to as considered for Fletch: Fletch ⇒ Ryan Reynolds (the host's read). Reynolds stole the Chevy Chase playbook; Deadpool is Fletch.
    “Deadpool is Fletch.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Fletch’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:15:11 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

Succession (2018): 1 line

  1. unmapped (looks like) · through The Game (1997), which they were tied to as first choice for Conrad: The Game ⇒ Succession (the host's read). Jokes that the opening home-movie footage is ripped off by Succession.
    “ripped it right off”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:35:58 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

The Equalizer (2014): 1 line

  1. lineage (genre descendant) · through Taken (2008), which they were tied to as first choice for Brian Mills, dropped out: Taken ⇒ The Equalizer (the host's read). Taken's box office started a subgenre of an older star beating up younger bad guys, and The Equalizer is the first example.
    “There's a whole subgenre of movies after taking exploded at the box office where everybody's like, oh, shoot, we just have to get an old person and let them fight young people”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:07:29 · Shea Serrano (0.60 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Acting (55) everyone in acting

Other (7) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (13)

  1. career (career fallout): Jeff Bridges → Heaven's Gate. Heaven's Gate did not hurt Bridges because he was not a major part of it.
    “He's not even a big part of that movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:39:03 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. career (career turn): Jeff Bridges → The Big Lebowski. Lebowski broke something in Bridges and led to his later gruff-coot era.
    “And then Lebowski obviously, like, breaks something in him that leads to the next era of, I'm a billy goat, gruff eating a tin can.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:57:36 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. career (career contrast): Alec Baldwin → Jeff Bridges. Baldwin was another consolation lead, always one movie from A-list.
    “Baldwin, kind of an interesting counterpoint to the Bridges discussion.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 2:44:50 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. career (career parallel): Christian Bale → Jeff Bridges. Like Bridges, Bale came to acting as a child by family expectation and had to find his own reason to take it seriously.
    “it sounds almost a bit like what Jeff Bridges went through.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:17:06 · Bilge Ebiri (0.85 sure it was them)
  5. career (career phases): Jeff Bridges → The Big Lebowski. Lebowski came out ignored, then became his defining mode, and Hollywood asked him to do it again.
    “everyone's like, oh, Lebowski's the best shit ever.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:44:45 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. career (career association): Jeff Bridges → Hell or High Water. Serrano reaches for Jeff Bridges as a real actor in the Neeson mold, citing Hell or High Water.
    “Jeff Bridges, hell or high water, Jeff Bridges?”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:44:01 · Shea Serrano (0.60 sure it was them)
  7. career (career): Jeff Bridges → Crazy Heart. Iron Man is the start of the older, bearded, weirdo Bridges that peaks with Crazy Heart.
    “This is the beginning of him with the beard, tight-mouthed, is Crazy Heart?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:13:14 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  8. career (career): Jeff Bridges → Surf's Up. Bridges had made nothing in two years except the animated Surf's Up before Iron Man.
    “except for he had an animated role.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:25:27 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  9. career (career): Jeff Bridges → Seabiscuit. Bridges' bad stretch (Tideland, The Door in the Floor) came after Seabiscuit, the last hit, and an Oscar nomination for The Contender.
    “These are bad years.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:29:19 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  10. career (career): Jeff Bridges → Tron: Legacy. Two years later Bridges has his biggest star year with Tron Legacy and True Grit, each about $180M domestic.
    “He has Tron legacy and true grit, which both make $180 million in theaters at the same time.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:29:47 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  11. career (career): Jeff Bridges → Hell or High Water. After bad choices (R.I.P.D., Seventh Son), he is back in great character actor mode in Hell or High Water.
    “And now he's back in like great character actor mode.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:30:01 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  12. career (career): Jeff Bridges → The Big Lebowski. Casting him coincided with the 10-year anniversary of The Big Lebowski becoming a phenomenon.
    “We're at like the 10 year anniversary of Big Lebowski.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:30:28 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  13. career (career): Jeff Bridges → The Big Lebowski. His Stane is the midpoint between the Dude and his Crazy Heart character.
    “This is the perfect midpoint between the dude and his billy goat groth.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:07:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

contrast (1)

  1. contrast (star contrast): Jeff Bridges → Mel Gibson. Mel or Bruce would have made the same material wish-fulfillment; Bridges stays grounded.
    “where if it was Mel Gibson, there would be 30 minutes of this movie that felt like, yes, man, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 1:59:00 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

craft (1)

  1. craft (craft): Jeff Bridges → Robert Downey Jr.. Bridges and Downey threw the script down and made the scenes real acting exercises.
    “And the 2 of them and Favreau are controlling the scene because they decide to throw the script down.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:46:24 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

industry (1)

  1. industry (Oscar): Jeff Bridges → Crazy Heart. Crazy Heart won the Oscar over strong rivals, with True Grit coming a year later.
    “I just remember like when he's on the Crazy Heart Oscar Trail being like, he's doing true grit with the Coen brothers next.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:47:28 · Katey Rich (0.40 sure it was them)

people (1)

  1. people (casting): Mel Gibson → Jeff Bridges. Gibson had wanted Bridges for his own The Man Without a Face.
    “I wanted to cast him in midnight, man, without a phase.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 2:09:22 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

unmapped (4)

  1. unmapped (family): Jeff Bridges → Lloyd Bridges. Jeff's work ethic comes from his actor father, who put his kids in small parts on his shows.
    “And it is instilled in him and his brother, just the fucking work ethic of this is a job.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:39:22 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (research): Jeff Bridges → Gary Busey. Bridges called his friend Busey, a motorcycle-crash survivor, to prepare.
    “Bridges called Gary Busey, one of his close friends, who had been in a serious motorcycle accident and survived.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 2:10:51 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (method detail): Jeff Bridges → The Fabulous Baker Boys. Pfeiffer told the Oscar story of painted broken capillaries on his nose.
    “He had the makeup people paint broken capillaries onto his nose to like belide the characters, pass as an alcoholic.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 0:47:02 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. unmapped (irony): Jeff Bridges → K-PAX. Bridges plays the man trying to get into the head of a man claiming to be an alien in K-PAX, after playing an alien here.
    “It's funny that Jeff Bridges is in K-pax.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:40:12 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

verdict (1)

  1. verdict (verdict): Jeff Bridges → Iron Man. Argues Bridges is wrongly ranked bottom five in Marvel villain lists; it is one of the best performances.
    “It's one of the best performances.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:44:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

what-if (2)

  1. what-if (what-if): Jeff Bridges → Jamey Sheridan. A bigger star like Jeff Bridges or Nick Nolte in Sheridan's role would make the cast an event.
    “If that was like Jeff Bridges, you'd be like, oh, wow, this movie has a fucking event.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Ice Storm’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:06:42 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (casting what-if): Jeff Bridges → Liam Neeson. Jeff Bridges was the first choice for Brian but dropped out because it was too physical, paving the way for Neeson.
    “paving the way for Liam Neeson to be Brian?”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:43:46 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Jeff Bridges: His Oscar speech line was 'what a groovy profession, man', remembered as proof of his working-actor spirit.
    “he gets up there and just says, what a groovy profession, man.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:44:19 · Tim Simons (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Jeff Bridges: He is cast as the 'most interesting consolation movie star': directors get Bridges after the top ten pass.
    “Like, he's kind of the most interesting consolation movie star.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Fearless with Timothy Simons · 0:49:41 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Jeff Bridges: Oscar story: Pfeiffer recalled Bridges had broken capillaries painted on his nose for Baker Boys; 'doesn't read on camera' - 'yeah, but it helps me'.
    “yeah, but it helps me.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 0:47:09 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Jeff Bridges: Five eras of hot: babyface 70s, grown-up 80s, dad-handsome 90s, the Lebowski phase, marble-mouth Crazy Heart onward.
    “Bridges has had 5 distinct eras of hot.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:41:59 · Katey Rich (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about Jeff Bridges: The honor segment halted the show, with a jab at his IMDb page.
    “And it certainly halted for the Jeff Bridges IMDb page.”
    The Big Picture · Instant Reactions to a Truly Ludicrous Golden Globes | The Oscars Show (Ep. 115) · 0:22:44 · Amanda Dobbins (0.45 sure it was them)
  6. fun, about Jeff Bridges: Stressed by the improvised shoot, Bridges adjusted three days in by treating it as a $150M student film.
    “you have to treat this, like a $150000000 student film.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 0:53:09 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  7. fun, about Jeff Bridges: See the scene where Stane takes one strip of bacon and chews it while delivering the villain monologue over paralyzed Tony, getting close in his face.
    “He's just taking a one strip of bacon and chewing it very, very deliberately.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man · 1:45:42 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)