Netflix

Made films the shows talk about.

Counted as studio. The films the hosts said they were behind, which the two lists below run through too: Mindhunter (2017); Roma (2018); Atlantics (2019); Dolemite Is My Name (2019); Marriage Story (2019); The Irishman (2019); Velvet Buzzsaw (2019); Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020); Mank (2020); The Eddy (2020); Malcolm & Marie (2021); Blonde (2022); Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022); Wendell and Wild (2022); Maestro (2023); May December (2023); The Killer (2023); A Family Affair (2024); A Perfect Couple (2024); Spellbound (2024); Black Mirror (TV episode directed by Wright); Carry-On; Havoc; Hit Man; Hit Man (Richard Linklater); House of Cards; House of Cards (TV); Love, Death & Robots; Nimona; Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (and the planned Fincher follow-up); Slumberland; Spencer Confidential.

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.

The Killer (graphic novel) (1998): 3 lines

  1. lineage (adaptation) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: The Killer (graphic novel) ⇒ The Killer (the maker said so: interviews (Fincher 'gave some interviewers')). Fincher told interviewers he was adapting a French graphic novel about an assassin that he had always liked.
    “he gave some interviewers, like, we're working on this Chinatown thing, and then he was like, I'm also playing with adapting this French graphic novel about the assassin that I've always liked.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:27:27 · unknown (host) (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (adaptation scope) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: The Killer (graphic novel) ⇒ The Killer (the host's read). The film takes almost everything from the first 200-odd pages of the comic; the series ran on to 2018.
    “it feels like everything from the movie is basically taken from the 1st 200 some odd pages”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:12:09 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (adapted from) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: The Killer (graphic novel) ⇒ The Killer (the host's read). Paramount acquired the graphic novel in 2007; the film is Fincher's latest.
    “In 2007, Paramount acquires the rights to some little graphic novel called The Killer.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:18:42 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Citizen Kane (1941): 2 lines

  1. lineage (visual influence) · through Mank (2020), which they were behind as studio: Citizen Kane ⇒ Mank (the maker said so: David's interview with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt). Messerschmidt told the interviewer he wanted low, deep-focus photography evoking Citizen Kane, not noir.
    “He's like, no, I want to do it low to the ground, lots of deep focus, evoking citizen Kane.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:13:08 · David Sims (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (subject / source) · through Mank (2020), which they were behind as studio: Citizen Kane ⇒ Mank (the host's read). Mank is partly inspired by Pauline Kael's essay on who truly authored Citizen Kane.
    “it's in part inspired by that very famous Pauline Kale, story raising Kane, about the true authorship of Citizen Kane”
    The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:58:09 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)

Andrew Kevin Walker: 1 line

  1. unmapped (idea credit) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: Andrew Kevin Walker ⇒ The Killer (the maker said so). Fincher credits Walker with the contemporary consumerist and technology angle of the film.
    “Walker with the sort of like contemporary consumerist angle that this movie has, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:47:20 · unknown (host) (0.30 sure it was them)

Coraline (2009): 1 line

  1. unmapped (technique evolution) · through Wendell and Wild (2022), which they were behind as studio/distributor: Coraline ⇒ Wendell and Wild (the maker said so: Selick's own statement). Selick turned against slick 3D-assisted look after Coraline and kept seams visible and embraced artifice in Wendell & Wild.
    “He said Coraline was maybe a little too smooth, and he wanted to go a bit backwards and show off the artifice with this movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Wendell & Wild · 1:08:37 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

David Fincher: 1 line

  1. craft (house style) · them, directly: David Fincher ⇒ Netflix (the host's read). The speaker says Netflix shows now look like a watered-down Fincher because he established the look of Netflix.
    “we're kind of living in a world where everything is forced to look like a bad Fincher project because he established the look of Netflix.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:28:34 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Guillermo del Toro: 1 line

  1. unmapped (technique learned from) · through Maestro (2023), which they were behind as distributor: Guillermo del Toro ⇒ Maestro (the maker said so: a video with Guillermo del Toro). Cooper learned crane technique from del Toro and used it in the On the Town sequence.
    “executed magnificently in the on the town sequence in Maestro.”
    The Big Picture · Best Picture Power Rankings and a ‘Poor Things’ Deep Dive. Plus: Julianne Moore and Todd Haynes! · 0:17:17 · Amanda Dobbins (0.40 sure it was them)

Haywire (2011): 1 line

  1. people (casting origin) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: Haywire ⇒ The Killer (the maker said so: the Q and A at the screening). Fincher cited Haywire, with Prometheus, as the Fassbender movies that made him cast him.
    “He said it was Prometheus and Haywire, which makes sense.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 1:17:06 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)

Heavy Metal: 1 line

  1. unmapped (unrealized idea) · through Love, Death & Robots, which they were behind as distributor: Heavy Metal ⇒ Love, Death & Robots (the host's read). Love, Death & Robots is framed as Fincher finally doing the omnibus he wanted with Heavy Metal.
    “I mean, that sort of is him finding a way to do what he always wanted to do with heavy metal”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:28:22 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Jack Fincher: 1 line

  1. lineage (script origin) · through Mank (2020), which they were behind as studio: Jack Fincher ⇒ Mank (the maker said so: Fincher's own account as read from the dossier (outlet not named)). Fincher's father wrote the original Mank script, which David set aside until years later.
    “I'm handed this script that my dad wrote about all powerful directors ruining storytelling”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:48:09 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Jean-Pierre Melville: 1 line

  1. theme (genre ancestry) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: Jean-Pierre Melville ⇒ The Killer (the host's read). The sparse expressionless killer film riffs on Melville, Kurosawa samurai movies and Walter Hill's The Driver.
    “This is a Melville movie, this is a Curasawa samurai movie. This is all that stuff, right? This is the Walter Hill, the driver movie.”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 1:08:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

Jordan Peele: 1 line

  1. lineage (origin of film) · through Wendell and Wild (2022), which they were behind as studio/distributor: Jordan Peele ⇒ Wendell and Wild (the maker said so: Selick's account of seeing Key and Peele). Selick saw Key and Peele on Comedy Central and realized they were Wendell and Wild.
    “then it hit me, Wendell and Wild.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Wendell & Wild · 0:53:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Pablo Lobato: 1 line

  1. lineage (visual inspiration) · through Wendell and Wild (2022), which they were behind as studio/distributor: Pablo Lobato ⇒ Wendell and Wild (the host's read). Selick picked a flat, cutout caricature style that should not be adaptable to 3D and asked the team to build it.
    “Wendolyn Wilde, Argentinian artist, Pablo Lobato, is the big inspiration for the look of a lot of these guys.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Wendell & Wild · 1:09:45 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Prometheus (2012): 1 line

  1. people (casting origin) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: Prometheus ⇒ The Killer (the maker said so: the Q and A at the screening). Fincher said at the Q&A that seeing Prometheus made him note Fassbender as a good sociopath for later.
    “I go to see Prometheus and I go, hmm, sociopath.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:31:01 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)

Rear Window (1954): 1 line

  1. lineage (homage) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: Rear Window ⇒ The Killer (the host's read). The Paris hit sequence is a clear homage built on watching rooms across the street.
    “it is a kind of rear window monkey. You know, it is like an attempt to recreate the across the street path, vision of what is happening in rooms in another building, and clear homage to that film.”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:20:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

The Cable Guy (1996): 1 line

  1. lineage (callback joke) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: The Cable Guy ⇒ The Killer (the host's read). The TV-character aliases gag was already a joke in The Cable Guy (50s characters there, 70s and 80s here).
    “that was a joke of the cable guy just to give credit where it's to.”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 1:22:52 · Adam Nayman (0.70 sure it was them)

The Last of Sheila: 1 line

  1. lineage (character influence) · through Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), which they were behind as studio: The Last of Sheila ⇒ Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (the host's read). The Sue Mengers-type characterization in Last of Sheila influenced Kate Hudson's part in Glass Onion.
    “And she's that sort of characterization is very influential to the way that Kate Hudson plays her part in Glass Onion.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Barry Lyndon with Karina Longworth (Ad-Free) · 0:03:17 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Lost Weekend (1945): 1 line

  1. craft (visual echo) · through Mank (2020), which they were behind as studio: The Lost Weekend ⇒ Mank (the host's read). The election-night drunk sequence in Mank is called self-consciously reminiscent of The Lost Weekend.
    “almost self-consciously reminiscent of the last the lost weekend”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 2:03:48 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

The Shadow King: 1 line

  1. unmapped (unfinished predecessor) · through Wendell and Wild (2022), which they were behind as studio/distributor: The Shadow King ⇒ Wendell and Wild (the host's read). The Shadow King combined stop motion with shadow animation; some of that is used in Wendell & Wild.
    “And they use some of that in this film, Wendell and Wild.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Wendell & Wild · 0:44:46 · Griffin Newman (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.

Jackie Brown (1997): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Killer (2023), which they were behind as distributor: The Killer ⇒ Jackie Brown (the host's read). Jackie Brown has a monologue about The Killer, showing Woo's aesthetic was known to Western audiences.
    “Jackie Brown has a whole monologue about the killer.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) · 0:33:35 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Studio (45) everyone in studio

What was said about them, by kind

craft (1)

  1. craft (house style): David Fincher → Netflix. The speaker says Netflix shows now look like a watered-down Fincher because he established the look of Netflix.
    “we're kind of living in a world where everything is forced to look like a bad Fincher project because he established the look of Netflix.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:28:34 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

industry (2)

  1. industry (industry): Roma → Netflix. Only Netflix would give Cuaron the budget for a black-and-white film about his hometown and keep it in theaters.
    “who else would give Alfonso uh, that budget to make a movie, a black and white movie about his hometown”
    The Big Picture · The 10 Best Horror Movies of the Decade | The Big Picture · 1:41:42 · unknown (Alexander or Karaszewski) (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. industry (industry): Black Mirror (TV episode directed by Wright) → Netflix. Wright worked on Netflix via Black Mirror but values theatrical communal viewing.
    “Black Mirror was Netflix.”
    The Big Picture · Joe Wright Bounces Back From His Darkest Hour | The Big Picture (Ep. 37) · 0:23:37 · Joe Wright (0.95 sure it was them)

programming (2)

  1. programming (programming): Homecoming → Netflix. Beyonce also picks the platform, and Netflix puts the film in more homes than anywhere else.
    “if you give it to Netflix, it's going to go into more homes than almost anywhere else.”
    The Big Picture · The Oscars Schedule Changes, and Andrew Garfield On ‘Under the Silver Lake’ | Interview · 0:09:08 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)
  2. programming (programming): The Irishman → Netflix. Sean assumes the Irishman has a contractual theatrical release while the other Netflix films might not.
    “I assume the Irishman has something contractually that says they'll do that.”
    The Big Picture · The Oscars Schedule Changes, and Andrew Garfield On ‘Under the Silver Lake’ | Interview · 0:27:58 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

theme (1)

  1. theme (business model comparison): Apple → Netflix. Apple Plus makes the movie and sells theatrical distribution; Netflix does not.
    “Apple Plus is currently the one doing it right”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:37:56 · unknown (host) (0.30 sure it was them)

unmapped (2)

  1. unmapped (captive audience): Spencer Confidential → Netflix. 85 million at least started it, showing a captive audience for Netflix releases.
    “85000000 people at least started Spencer confidential. I'll never get over that.”
    The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:25:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (business): Netflix → Mank. Fincher's Netflix deal and the end of the anything-you-want era are the context for Mank.
    “And this is kind of the end of the period of Netflix being like, anything you want.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:55:27 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Netflix: Netflix is called the printing press of movies, followed by a Wolf Hall Gutenberg gag.
    “it's the printing press of movies, for sure.”
    The Big Picture · Emergency Mailbag: The Oscars Are Streaming and Hollywood Is Fighting Over Trolls | The Big Picture · 0:26:15 · Amanda Dobbins (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Netflix: Every other streamer won a series award before Netflix; Apple won Best Picture before it did.
    “Is that basically every other streaming company won a series award before Netflix.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 2:14:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)