Michael Kahn

Made films the shows talk about.

Counted as craft, the making department they hold the most credits in. The films the hosts said they worked on, which the two lists below run through too: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); Seven (1995).

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.

James Bond films (the franchise): 3 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: James Bond films (the franchise) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the maker said so: Spielberg's account of the Hawaii conversation with Lucas). Lucas pitched Raiders to Spielberg as a better, American take on the Bond idea Spielberg had been wanting to do.
    “I have the I have the same basic idea, but better, and it's this Raiders of the Lost Ark idea.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:49:39 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: James Bond films (the franchise) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). The Cairo plane fight with the burly Nazi is called a straight James Bond henchman scene.
    “that's that's a flat out James Bond jaw scene.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:50:56 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: James Bond films (the franchise) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Raiders borrowed the Bond villain structure: a refined man in a lair with separate gimmicky henchmen to fight.
    “that's a clear thing they lifted from James Bond very wisely, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:50:59 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Chuck Jones: 2 lines

  1. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Chuck Jones ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Spielberg's staging has a Chuck Jones element, going back to Chuck Jones as a cartoon influence.
    “how important Chuck Jones was to Steven Spielberg at the time”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:36:15 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Chuck Jones ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). The wordless anticipation and subversion of Wile E. Coyote shows up in Indy's silent action beats.
    “the importance of anticipation, and how to visually, uh, sort of indicate to the audience, what the character thinks is going to happen”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:39:05 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

The Fabelmans (2022): 2 lines

  1. theme (theme) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: The Fabelmans ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Marion's monkey scenes mirror Spielberg's mother's relationship with the monkey shown in The Fabelmans.
    “the relationship Marion has with the monkey, in that brief amount of screen time, feels so mirrored to his mother's relationship with the monkey”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:09 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. theme (theme) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: The Fabelmans ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Marion is partly Spielberg's mother, which keeps her from being an idealized tough-girl fantasy.
    “it does feel like to some degree she's like his mom.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:40 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)

Alfred Hitchcock: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Alfred Hitchcock ⇒ Seven (the host's read). Se7en is a Hitchcock movie in its pulling-your-chain structure of mystery, reveal and anxiety, and Hitchcock is Fincher's biggest influence.
    “I think as much as this seems like a modern movie, it's also just completely a Hitchcock movie in so many ways.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:14:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

All That Jazz (1979): 1 line

  1. lineage (cited influence) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): All That Jazz ⇒ Seven (the maker said so). A host recalls a Fincher film the show covered where he cited All That Jazz as an inspiration for the look, maybe Seven.
    “where he cited how much of an inspiration all that jazz was for him for the look of the movie?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 1:13:07 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Flash Gordon (Republic serial): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Flash Gordon (Republic serial) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Lucas conceived Indiana Jones as a B-picture at A-picture scale, like the old Republic serials.
    “let's make a sort of B picture at an A picture scale, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:46:47 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Klute: 1 line

  1. lineage (visual inspiration) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Klute ⇒ Seven (the maker said so). The speaker watched Klute because Fincher and DP Darius Khondji cited it as an inspiration for Se7en's dark look and flashlight-led framing.
    “I watched Clute over the weekend because I know that both Fincher and Darius Conji, the DP, had cited that as an inspiration”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 2:38:58 · Nick Wiger or Mike Mitchell (unresolved) (0.30 sure it was them)

William Friedkin: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): William Friedkin ⇒ Seven (the maker said so). Fincher drew from Friedkin and wanted it to feel like an episode of Cops.
    “he's drawn from like Friedkin, but he's also, he's, he's referenced like how he wanted it to feel like an episode of cops.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:15:42 · 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.

Fight Club (1999): 2 lines

  1. career (career) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ Fight Club (the host's read). Without Se7en's power Fincher does not get to do The Game and Fight Club his way.
    “I think without this movie, he doesn't go on this run”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:27:28 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)
  2. career (career lever) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ Fight Club (the host's read). Se7en's success is what let Fincher make the seemingly impossible Fight Club.
    “But the fight club is him more being like, okay, guys, I know this seems impossible, but I made seven.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 1:05:55 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): 2 lines

  1. contrast (contrast) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the host's read). Willie Scott was built as the anti-Marion, which means doing the opposite of what works.
    “the anti-Marian means you're doing the opposite of what works.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:53:35 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the host's read). Temple of Doom was a prequel partly to avoid doing the Nazis again.
    “part of the calculation of making a Temple of Doom, a prequel was that he didn't want to just do the Nazis again.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:59:23 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

The Game (1997): 2 lines

  1. unmapped (R-rated proof) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): 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 Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): 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)

8mm (1999): 1 line

  1. lineage (rip-off) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ 8mm (the host's read). Calls 8mm Schumacher ripping off Se7en.
    “8 millimeter is Schumacher ripping off seven.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:41:48 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Chris Pratt: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Chris Pratt (the host's read). The wrong lessons from Indiana Jones were taken by later action heroes like Pratt.
    “the lessons that we took from that character that like Chris Pratt took maybe from that character are not the ones that I think we should have been taking”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Empire of the Sun (1987): 1 line

  1. craft (shot design) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Same slow reveal as Indiana Jones in pieces before the hero shot.
    “which similarly has the like Spielberg taking 5 minutes to show you Indiana Jones in pieces before you really get the hero shot”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

MTV Movie Awards Se7en parody: 1 line

  1. unmapped (parody) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ MTV Movie Awards Se7en parody (the host's read). The MTV Movie Awards parodied the Se7en ending with William Shatner playing every role and the head in the box.
    “And then Shatner's head is in the box and then he sings a song.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 2:34:40 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Nine Inch Nails: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ Nine Inch Nails (the host's read). Se7en caught industrial rock at its peak and led to Fincher-Reznor scores.
    “Fincher and Rezner go on to make this incredible partnership”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:55:04 · Sean Fennessey (0.45 sure it was them)

Saw (film series): 1 line

  1. unmapped (borrowing) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ Saw (film series) (the host's read). Rewatching the Saw movies, the speaker was struck by how much they lifted from Se7en.
    “I forgot how much saw stole.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 0:59:00 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix (the host's read). Soderbergh re-cut Raiders silent, black and white, over The Social Network score.
    “It's basically his silent film remix of Raiders, black and white film with the social network score playing over it”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:10:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

The Batman (2022): 1 line

  1. unmapped (borrowing) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ The Batman (the host's read). The speaker had forgotten how indebted The Batman is to Fincher, mostly to Se7en.
    “I had forgotten just how indebted the Batman is to...”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 1:28:34 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Color of Money (1986): 1 line

  1. craft (camera-movement coverage) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ The Color of Money (the host's read). Scorsese covers scenes with morphing moving master shots, like Spielberg's quick efficient coverage, to stay under schedule.
    “But he's doing like all this Spielberg, like coverage with camera movement.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:21:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Horizon Experiment (comic): 1 line

  1. contrast (contrast) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ The Horizon Experiment (comic) (the host's read). A current comic flips Indiana Jones into someone taking things out of museums back to adventure.
    “a comic book out right now called the Horizon experiment by the guys that did the good Asian”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:24:12 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)

True Detective (2014): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ True Detective (the host's read). Se7en's influence shows in True Detective from the title sequence to the characters, though True Detective's first season flinches at the dark ending.
    “you can see the influence of of 7 on things like True Detective from the title sequence to the characters.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:15:19 · Chris Ryan (0.55 sure it was them)

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024): 1 line

  1. craft (plot structure) · through Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which they worked on as editor: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (the host's read). The film fails to tie its Indiana-Jones-style MacGuffin to the Wallace-Gromit relationship.
    “They fail to make the, um, the plot, the sort of like Indiana Jones-S McGuffin of what they're up against directly relate to Wallace and Gromit's relationship.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:11:21 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Zodiac (2007): 1 line

  1. unmapped (why Fincher was offered it) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ Zodiac (the host's read). Seven made Fincher the first choice for any serial-killer project, Zodiac included.
    “Ever since he makes seven, if there's some serial killer movie, is getting sent it”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 0:51:53 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

later crime thrillers and crime TV (unnamed): 1 line

  1. lineage (genre influence) · through Seven (1995), which they worked on as assistant director (as said): Seven ⇒ later crime thrillers and crime TV (unnamed) (the host's read). As an adult the speaker is less shocked by Se7en because everyone since took a page out of its book.
    “I'm not as shocked by 7 because everyone took a page out of its book, of course.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 2:15:39 · Mike Mitchell (0.50 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Craft (2) everyone in craft

What was said about them, by kind

craft (1)

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Michael Kahn. Michael Kahn gets credit for making Raiders look effortless despite its grit and dust, in contrast to Hook, which shows its effort.
    “I think you're right about Michael Khan deserving a lot of credit.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:35:55 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

people (1)

  1. people (people): Steven Spielberg → Michael Kahn. Spielberg and his editor Michael Kahn have a lifelong working relationship, and Kahn is the one who makes Spielberg look effortless.
    “you know, relationship between him and his editor and him, and he does, he makes things look effortless”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:34:10 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

None.