James Caan

Made films the shows talk about.

Counted as actor. The films the hosts said they acted in, which the two lists below run through too: Brian's Song (1971); The Godfather (1972); The Gambler (1974); Killer Elite (1975); Rollerball (1975); Hide in Plain Sight (1980); Thief (1981); The Holcroft Covenant (1985); Gardens of Stone (1987); Misery (1990); Elf (2003).

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.

Stephen King: 2 lines

  1. theme (theme) · through Misery (1990), which they acted in: Stephen King ⇒ Misery (the host's read). King writing about his nightmare of a fan who takes things too far.
    “Stephen King writing about, like, basically his work's nightmare”
    The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 0:58:18 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. theme (theme) · through Misery (1990), which they acted in: Stephen King ⇒ Misery (the host's read). Misery is King's book about addiction; Annie Wilkes stands for the painkillers.
    “Annie Wilkes is really, she represents that, this thing that's trying to kill him.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:11:22 · Bill Simmons (0.75 sure it was them)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008): 1 line

  1. programming (programming) · through Misery (1990), which they acted in: Forgetting Sarah Marshall ⇒ Misery (the host's read). Dracula the Musical award is borrowed from Sarah Marshall; given to the Misery books.
    “We relate, so in, in, uh, forgetting Sarah Marshall.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:57:17 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)

Mario Puzo: 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through The Godfather (1972), which they acted in: Mario Puzo ⇒ The Godfather (the host's read). Coppola cut huge sections of Puzo's novel, as Gray cut Grann's book.
    “even there, Francis took out huge sections of the book and made very interesting decisions.”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Lost City of Z’ Director James Gray | The Big Picture (Ep. 9) · 0:23:12 · James Gray (0.90 sure it was them)

Pulp Fiction (1994): 1 line

  1. programming (programming) · through Misery (1990), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Misery (the host's read). Butch's Girlfriend Award for weak link of the film is borrowed from Pulp Fiction.
    “The Butch's girlfriend Award, Butch's girlfriend from Pulp Fiction.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:59:07 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)

Rififi (1955): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: Rififi ⇒ Thief (the host's read). Thief draws on Bogart movies, Rififi, samurai movies, French New Wave.
    “in thief, you can feel Humphrey Bogart movies, you can feel, Rafifi, you can feel samurai movies, you can feel French new wave.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:11:29 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)

Stand by Me (1986): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Misery (1990), which they acted in: Stand by Me ⇒ Misery (the host's read). King's first adaptation he liked was Stand By Me; Reiner got Misery through that deal.
    “the 1st one of the 1st adaptation of his that he actually really liked was stand by me.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:11:08 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Taxi Driver (1976): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: Taxi Driver ⇒ Thief (the host's read). Scorsese used wet streets in Taxi Driver before Mann made it a signature.
    “Scorsese did a little bit in taxi driver”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:03:18 · Bill Simmons (0.45 sure it was them)

The Jericho Mile (1979): 1 line

  1. career (career) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: The Jericho Mile ⇒ Thief (the maker said so: Mann's interview with Robert Rodriguez). Mann pulled the story's texture from prison guys he met making Jericho Mile.
    “It was being pulled from the stories he had heard from the guys he had met working on Jericho Mile.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:12:52 · Sean Fennessey (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.

Heat (1995): 3 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: Thief ⇒ Heat (the maker said so: the Siegel piece, Caan telling Pacino). Caan said scenes cut from Thief went to Heat.
    “All the scenes that weren't used in our picture came over to you guys.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:15:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: Thief ⇒ Heat (the host's read). The diner scene's wide shot echoes Heat's, which never shows both guys.
    “Wide shot, some heat DNA, although in heat, they don't have, you never see the 2 guys”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:36:13 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. lineage (lineage) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: Thief ⇒ Heat (the host's read). Thief is the notebook sketch for Mann's later work, with Heat sharing DNA.
    “the building blocks for what you wind up seeing in heat and collateral and Miami Vice in so many of his films to come.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:02:54 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Tombstone (1993): 2 lines

  1. craft (craft) · through The Godfather (1972), which they acted in: The Godfather ⇒ Tombstone (the maker said so: Russell, in his True West magazine interview). Russell's intended tone was a Western Godfather; Jarre's version was more elegant.
    “Well, Russell says it, it was basically the godfather of Westerns.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Tombstone’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:10:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. craft (craft) · through The Godfather (1972), which they acted in: The Godfather ⇒ Tombstone (the host's read). The Oriental faro takeover shows the Godfather-like business side Russell wanted.
    “You could see the godfather thing that Russell's talking about when he moves into Tombstone and immediately takes over the Faro game at the Oriental.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Tombstone’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:33:55 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Collateral (2004): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: Thief ⇒ Collateral (the host's read). Mann later circled back to blues in Collateral after trying all-blues for Thief.
    “but then circled back in collateral”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:57:36 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)

Manhunter (1986): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: Thief ⇒ Manhunter (the host's read). Thief's final shootout is a dry run for Manhunter's.
    “That whole shootout is very reminiscent of the shootout at the end of Manhunter”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:11:12 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Mark Wahlberg: 1 line

  1. career (career) · them, directly: James Caan ⇒ Mark Wahlberg (the host's read). Wahlberg wanted to be Caan but is only half there, and remade The Gambler.
    “Wahlberg probably wanted to be James Khan, but he's 50% there.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:20:21 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Panic Room (2002): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Thief (1981), which they acted in: Thief ⇒ Panic Room (the host's read). Fincher may have watched Thief before Panic Room.
    “Fincher does panic room and he probably saw Thief like 2 weeks before he started filming”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:40:36 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Acting (16) everyone in acting

Other (2) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (3)

  1. career (career): James Caan → Sonny Corleone. Caan's Sonny Corleone manic energy argued by Goldman as the reason confinement worked.
    “he had this manic energy to him, and Sonny Corleone, and just bouncing around.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:33:18 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)
  2. career (career): James Caan → Rollerball. Simmons is a James Caan fan and wants to do Rollerball as an episode.
    “the podcast you and I promised to do 5 years ago, I think, is rollerball”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:33:41 · Brian Koppelman (0.70 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): James Caan → Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg wanted to be Caan but is only half there, and remade The Gambler.
    “Wahlberg probably wanted to be James Khan, but he's 50% there.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:20:21 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

people (3)

  1. people (people): James Caan → Willie Nelson. Caan and Nelson were the two draws in 1981.
    “It was James Conn and Willie Nelson were like the 2 draws.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:55:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. people (people): James Caan → Michael Mann. The two difficult talents made one film and never again.
    “made one movie together and decided, yeah, we're good.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:17:11 · Chris Ryan (0.55 sure it was them)
  3. people (people): Thief → James Caan. Caan is one of Chris's five favorite actors and suits the machismo of Mann's leads.
    “James Kahn is one of my 5 favorite actors”
    The Big Picture · ‘Ferrari’ and Top Five Michael Mann Movies · 0:53:29 · Chris Ryan (0.70 sure it was them)

what-if (3)

  1. what-if (what-if): Rocky → James Caan. What would Rocky be with James Caan as Rocky and Harvey Keitel as Paulie, or John Cazale as Paulie?
    “What is this movie if it's James Conn is Rocky and Harvey Keitel is Polly?”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Rocky’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:19:47 · Bill Simmons (0.55 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (what-if): James Caan → Denzel Washington. Denzel is the only other person you could imagine in the part.
    “Denzel's the only person you could ever imagine”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:34:07 · Brian Koppelman (0.70 sure it was them)
  3. what-if (what-if): James Caan → Mark Wahlberg. Caan today would have gravitated to Tarantino, not Bourne sequels.
    “He probably would have loved to work with Tarantino.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:21:07 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about James Caan: Caan once showed up hungover; Reiner claimed a lab problem and reshot, then docked his pay.
    “apparently once he showed to the set, hungover, all his scenes, he shot that they were unusable.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 1:07:26 · Bill Simmons (0.85 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about James Caan: Doctor in the Willie Nelson death scene genuinely scared by Caan's stare.
    “the actor who played the doctor actually got scared.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:18:35 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about James Caan: Caan turned down Kramer vs. Kramer, Apocalypse Now, Superman, MASH, Cuckoo's Nest.
    “He turned all of those down.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:22:18 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about James Caan: Caan on his marriages.
    “I used to say marriages were like tornadoes.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:24:58 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)