John Mathieson

Made films the shows talk about.

Counted as cinematographer, the making department they hold the most credits in. The films the hosts said they shot, which the two lists below run through too: Gladiator (2000); Gladiator II.

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.

Gladiator (2000): 6 lines, within their own work

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator II, which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel is very similar in structure and story to the original.
    “it's pretty well known that this movie is very similar in structure and story to the original.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator II, which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel's plot, structure, approach and pacing mirror the first, forcing a one-to-one comparison.
    “it's just the movie is so similar to the 1st one in terms of plot, structure, approach, focus, pacing.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:15:52 · Mallory Rubin (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. contrast (contrast) · through Gladiator II, which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel tries to feel new by flipping the first film's premise: Marcus Aurelius's dream of Rome becomes its failure.
    “Instead of here's Marcus Aurelius's dream of what Rome can be, it's a bastardization and a compromise and a failure to execute against that promise.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:30 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator II, which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Because it mirrors the first film, outcomes for characters become predictable by inversion.
    “I almost felt like it became impossible not to know what was going to happen to certain people”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:39 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator II, which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Lucius's hand in the grain is a callback to Maximus's hand in the wheat.
    “And it's an obvious callback to Maximus walking through the kind of afterlife feeling the wheat.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:52:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. craft (craft) · through Gladiator II, which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Lucius as Maximus's son is a classic retcon not in the first film's text.
    “it is, is a classic case of reconning.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:53:58 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

Spartacus (1960): 3 lines

  1. lineage (riff / imitation) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read). Richard, seeing Spartacus for the first time, says it is the main thing Gladiator riffs on.
    “this is really the main thing the gladiators are riffing on.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 1:03:34 · Richard Lawson (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. people (casting approach) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read). Gladiator, like Spartacus, is loaded with supporting actors who are thespian gems, which the speaker says Scott recognized.
    “as Ridley Scott recognized about this movie, is like loaded up with supporting actors who are like just thespian gems.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 1:33:49 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (scene reused) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Spartacus ⇒ Gladiator (the host's read). The trident thrown into the stands in Spartacus is in Gladiator too, with Russell Crowe doing it.
    “that's literally in Gladiator.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 1:14:49 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

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

Gladiator II: 6 lines, within their own work

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel is very similar in structure and story to the original.
    “it's pretty well known that this movie is very similar in structure and story to the original.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel's plot, structure, approach and pacing mirror the first, forcing a one-to-one comparison.
    “it's just the movie is so similar to the 1st one in terms of plot, structure, approach, focus, pacing.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:15:52 · Mallory Rubin (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. contrast (contrast) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel tries to feel new by flipping the first film's premise: Marcus Aurelius's dream of Rome becomes its failure.
    “Instead of here's Marcus Aurelius's dream of what Rome can be, it's a bastardization and a compromise and a failure to execute against that promise.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:30 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Because it mirrors the first film, outcomes for characters become predictable by inversion.
    “I almost felt like it became impossible not to know what was going to happen to certain people”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:39 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Lucius's hand in the grain is a callback to Maximus's hand in the wheat.
    “And it's an obvious callback to Maximus walking through the kind of afterlife feeling the wheat.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:52:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. craft (craft) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Lucius as Maximus's son is a classic retcon not in the first film's text.
    “it is, is a classic case of reconning.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:53:58 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

Kingdom of Heaven (2005): 1 line

  1. unmapped (followed) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Kingdom of Heaven (the host's read). Ridley tried to repeat Gladiator with Kingdom of Heaven and again later.
    “And even Ridley tried to do it. Kingdom of Heaven. Two more times.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 2:06:08 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Troy (2004): 1 line

  1. unmapped (followed) · through Gladiator (2000), which they shot: Gladiator ⇒ Troy (the host's read). Troy coasts off the goodwill from Gladiator.
    “Troy is the one that coasts off of the Goodwill from Gladiator”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 2:06:43 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Photography (2) everyone in photography

What was said about them, by kind

No claims join them to a film or another person.

Fun items about them

None.