Dean Reisner

Made films the shows talk about.

Counted as writer, the making department they hold the most credits in. The films the hosts said they wrote, which the two lists below run through too: Code of the Secret Service (1939); Dirty Harry (1971); High Plains Drifter (1973); The Enforcer (1976); Starman (1984); The Godfather Part III (1990). Count them as actor (1 film) 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.

It Happened One Night (1934): 2 lines

  1. craft (genre / structure) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: It Happened One Night ⇒ Starman (the host's read). Carpenter wanted a road movie of two people in a car getting to know each other, in the mold of It Happened One Night.
    “I want to make it happens one night.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:22:08 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (homage) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: It Happened One Night ⇒ Starman (the host's read). The hay-bale love scene in an empty train car is called a likely conscious homage to It Happened One Night.
    “So it's a, maybe it's an homage.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:27:07 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

An American Werewolf in London (1981): 1 line

  1. lineage (effects lineage) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: An American Werewolf in London ⇒ Starman (the host's read). The transformation sequence is indebted to American Werewolf's practical, show-it-all body effects.
    “Yes, which is very like American werewolf in London, where the body is stretching out.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:20:41 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): 1 line

  1. industry (studio rivalry / shadow) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ⇒ Starman (the host's read). Columbia chose Starman over Night Skies, which Universal turned into E.T., so Starman carried the stigma of the one that got away and then looked like a ripoff.
    “Uh, so they let go of night skies and let Universal acquire and turnaround.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 0:24:25 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Two for the Road (1967): 1 line

  1. craft (genre / structure) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: Two for the Road ⇒ Starman (the host's read). Carpenter reportedly wanted to make something like Two for the Road.
    “I want to make like 2 for the road.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:22:06 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Zodiac Killer: 1 line

  1. unmapped (case becomes movie) · through Dirty Harry (1971), which they wrote: Zodiac Killer ⇒ Dirty Harry (the host's read). In the film Ruffalo's line says they are already making movies about the case, at the Dirty Harry premiere.
    “They're already making movies about it.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 2:10:16 · 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.

Forrest Gump (1994): 1 line

  1. people (performance lineage) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: Starman ⇒ Forrest Gump (the host's read). Bridges' hat, check shirt, strange speech and not-quite-a-person quality read as a proto-Forrest Gump.
    “there's like a proto-Forrest Gump vibe in this performance in the hat and in the check shirt”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:57:23 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

John from Cincinnati (2007): 1 line

  1. theme (premise) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: Starman ⇒ John from Cincinnati (the host's read). A mysterious odd visitor who solves everyone's problems and parrots dialogue; John from Cincinnati owes a lot to Starman.
    “He comes and visits, and he's mysterious, and he's weird, and he solves everybody's problem.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 2:11:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Midnight Special (2016): 1 line

  1. verdict (same story, better version) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: Starman ⇒ Midnight Special (the host's read). Midnight Special is called Spielbergian but really Starman-like; its Adam Driver agent does the benevolent-government-agent role better than Starman's.
    “I'm like, God, that's so Starman.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 2:02:29 · Katey Rich (0.45 sure it was them)

Sean Levy: 1 line

  1. lineage (remake plan) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: Starman ⇒ Sean Levy (the host's read). Levy announced a 2016 remake with Michael Douglas on board.
    “I learned from Wikipedia that in 2016, Sean Levy was planning to direct and produce a remake of Starman.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 2:13:16 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Starman (1986): 1 line

  1. lineage (sequel / spin-off) · through Starman (1984), which they wrote: Starman ⇒ Starman (the host's read). The 1986 show is set 15 years later, about his son, with a recast Starman.
    “is set 15 years in the future because it's about his son.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 2:08:52 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Writing (6) everyone in writing

Acting (1) everyone in acting

What was said about them, by kind

unmapped (1)

  1. unmapped (credits): Dean Reisner → Dirty Harry. Dinky Dean got screenplay credit on Dirty Harry but mostly did uncredited rewrites.
    “But then most of his work is uncredited rewrite work, High Planes Drifter, the enforcer, rich man, poor man, Godfather part three.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 0:39:46 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Dean Reisner: Rewrite man was child actor 'Dinky Dean' in Chaplin's The Pilgrim; Google his photo.
    “He's was a child actor named Dinky Dean.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 0:37:51 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)