Robert Towne

Made films the shows talk about.

Counted as writer. The films the hosts said they wrote, which the two lists below run through too: Tequila Sunrise (1988); The Firm (1993); Mission: Impossible (1996); Without Limits (1998). Count them as director (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.

Jules Dassin: 1 line

  1. lineage (homage source) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: Jules Dassin ⇒ Mission: Impossible (the host's read). Dassin's heist classics are the model for the Langley break-in.
    “the Langley heist is an homage to the Jewel Statsen classics”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:49:53 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Psycho (1960): 1 line

  1. lineage (Hitchcock structural homage) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: Psycho ⇒ Mission: Impossible (the host's read). Killing off Kristin Scott Thomas's star-billed character early mirrors Psycho killing Janet Leigh.
    “it's completely Hitchcocky and it's killing Janet Lee after 40 minutes.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:29:57 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

Rififi (1955): 1 line

  1. lineage (heist homage) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: Rififi ⇒ Mission: Impossible (the host's read). The silent Langley vault heist echoes the Rififi heist where an alarm is triggered by sound.
    “my favorite heist movies were Fifi, which has a heist uh, portion where they very similar, they drill through the roof and it's all in silence”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:24:41 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

The Fast and the Furious (2001): 1 line

  1. lineage (franchise influence) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: The Fast and the Furious ⇒ Mission: Impossible (the host's read). The modern MI films combine Bourne-style hand-to-hand combat with Fast and the Furious over-the-top action.
    “the 2 biggest influences on Mission Impossible are born in the Fast and the Furious.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:18:47 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

The Fugitive (1993): 1 line

  1. unmapped (TV-to-film precedent) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: The Fugitive ⇒ Mission: Impossible (the host's read). The Fugitive proved a classic TV property could be a big-screen box-office hit, which opened the door for Mission: Impossible.
    “the fugitive proved that there was box office potential and television IP on the big screen.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:02:32 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

The Lady Vanishes (1938): 1 line

  1. lineage (Hitchcock homage) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: The Lady Vanishes ⇒ Mission: Impossible (the host's read). The European mystery shades of the film recall The Lady Vanishes and Shadow of a Doubt.
    “Lady Vanishes or, or, uh, even like Shadow of a Doubt in some respects”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 1:06:25 · Jason Concepcion (0.40 sure it was them)

The Verdict (1982): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Firm (1993), which they wrote: The Verdict ⇒ The Firm (the host's read). The Verdict is foundational for the Grisham underdog stories.
    “foundational for a lot of the Grisham stories”
    The Big Picture · Objection! Top 10 Courtroom Dramas | The Big Picture · 1:08:58 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Topkapi (1964): 1 line

  1. lineage (heist homage) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: Topkapi ⇒ Mission: Impossible (the host's read). Langley heist is an homage to the Jules Dassin heist classics Topkapi and Rififi.
    “the Langley heist is an homage to the Jewel Statsen classics of uh, top copy and uh, Rafifi.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:49:53 · Chris Ryan (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.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018): 2 lines

  1. lineage (callback) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: Mission: Impossible ⇒ Mission: Impossible – Fallout (the host's read). Every later MI film calls back to the Langley drop as a hallmark.
    “I realized that they call back to that specific moment every time”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:06:37 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. industry (franchise template) · through Mission: Impossible (1996), which they wrote: Mission: Impossible ⇒ Mission: Impossible – Fallout (the host's read). Every MI film reuses the same three-set-piece structure plus a McGuffin, which is why the franchise is elastic.
    “they used the same exact structure in every single movie that came forward.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Mission: Impossible' With Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Jason Concepcion · 0:11:13 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Writing (4) everyone in writing

Other (2) everyone in other

Directing (1) everyone in directing

What was said about them, by kind

people (1)

  1. people (people): Robert Towne → Without Limits. Towne is the Without Limits writer/director.
    “Without limits is the Robert Town one.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Tombstone’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:06:51 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

None.