Billy Dee Williams

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); Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983); The Lego Batman Movie (2017); Mahogany.

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.

Batman (1966 Adam West film) (1966): 2 lines

lineage (lineage) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Batman (1966 Adam West film) ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The Joker's all-villains-together plan is the Adam West movie's plan.
“it's essentially like the, the, uh, Adam West Batman movie plan, where it's like, I know to finally defeat Batman, call in everybody.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:12:49 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Batman (1966 Adam West film) ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). Robin's costume transition and the Kick Butler nameplate are Adam West-style text and costume jokes.
“It's essentially like a doing the Adam West transition.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:44:07 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Batman (Burton/Keaton films): 1 line

theme (theme) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Batman (Burton/Keaton films) ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The film shares the Burton/Keaton take that Batman is fully broken and has not processed his parents' deaths.
“this movie sort of has the Burton Keaton take of like, he's fully broken by this fucking thing.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:40:08 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

Casablanca (1942): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Casablanca ⇒ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (the host's read). Jabba's court is conceived as Sydney Greenstreet crossed with Casablanca.
“The concept is he's sort of like Sidney Green Street and then Casablanca, yeah.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:13:00 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Doctor Who: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Doctor Who ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). A Dalek is an iron-lung garbage can with a plunger arm, and the Lego film's villains riff on such designs.
“But his main villainous called the Dalek, and it's like this sort of like big garbage.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 1:31:45 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Galaxy Quest (1999): 1 line

craft (craft) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Galaxy Quest ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The Phantom Zone security system gets the Galaxy Quest joke: who would ever build this?
“It's like the Galaxy Quest joke of like, why would this ever be your security system?”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:49:34 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

Grant Morrison: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Grant Morrison ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The film's premise is Morrison's idea that every Batman era is canon, so the goofy and the grim must coexist.
“which is he did his run where he was like, every single thing that Batman's ever done is canon.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:01:43 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

Hanna-Barbera cartoons and Mike Judge: 1 line

craft (craft) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Hanna-Barbera cartoons and Mike Judge ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). Repeating slightly varied copies of a drawing makes still characters vibrate, and the Lego films use the same trick on flames and clouds.
“if you want to have a character standing still, essentially trace the same drawing 3 times on 3 different pieces of paper.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:52:26 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

Jerry Bruckheimer: 1 line

craft (craft) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Jerry Bruckheimer ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). Its action is played like a Bruckheimer movie, with jokes placed inside as character jokes.
“Like the joke is kind of treating this all like it's a Bruckheimer movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:05:46 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)

Jerry Maguire (1996): 1 line

theme (theme) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Jerry Maguire ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). Batman's arc ends with him giving the Joker the Jerry Maguire speech, completing the film's running Jerry Maguire joke.
“just like it's so good full circle to fucking have him realize I have to give Joker the Jerry Maguire speech.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 1:33:26 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Michael Bay: 1 line

craft (craft) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Michael Bay ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The camera work deliberately copies real rigs, down to a constant circling Michael Bay shot.
“This sort of constant circling Michael Bay shot.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:09:11 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

Revenge of the Sith: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Revenge of the Sith ⇒ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (the host's read). Lucas added a 'No' to Vader's turn in Jedi that matches Revenge of the Sith.
“same fucking no from the end of Avenge of the Sith.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:13:31 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Star Wars (A New Hope): 1 line

craft (craft) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Star Wars (A New Hope) ⇒ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (the host's read). Leia pulls the Chewbacca-in-manacles disguise trick from A New Hope when infiltrating Jabba's palace.
“pulling the same trick that they pulled in New Hope, that like Chewbacca in Manacles trick.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:39:43 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ⇒ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (the host's read). A second, bigger Death Star is called a lateral remake of the first.
“We're kind of, it's like a lateral remake.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:04:32 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Superman (Christopher Reeve films): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Superman (Christopher Reeve films) ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The Phantom Zone comes from the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, though it is in the comics too.
“Just from the Chris Reeves Superman movies.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:25:43 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Sydney Greenstreet: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Sydney Greenstreet ⇒ Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (the host's read). Jabba is said to be visually based on Sydney Greenstreet.
“He's based on Sydney Green Street, right?”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:12:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Dark Knight (2008): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: The Dark Knight ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The Joker's need for Batman to see him as an enemy is read against the post-Dark Knight Joker.
“It's this thing of like, right, especially post Dark Knight, right?”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:15:06 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

The Lego Movie (2014): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: The Lego Movie ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). The Lego Movie is where the earnest-Batman bit started, and the hosts doubted it could sustain a whole movie.
“It's the thing that the Lego movie lashes onto, but you felt unsustainable for a whole movie.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:03:41 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Wreck-It Ralph (2012): 1 line

industry (industry) · through The Lego Batman Movie (2017), which they acted in: Wreck-It Ralph ⇒ The Lego Batman Movie (the host's read). Wreck-It Ralph began the modern IP-mashup movie, then The Lego Movie and this, then Space Jam-style follow-ons.
“But it's also like Wreck-It Ralph was really the 1st of the modern Ralph, right?”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 1:07:29 · 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.

The Phantom Menace (1999): 3 lines

lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ⇒ The Phantom Menace (the host's read). Sees seeds planted in Jedi that bloom in the prequels.
“you see the things, the mechanations starting to come into place a little bit.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:08:34 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ⇒ The Phantom Menace (the host's read). The Obi-Wan log scene starts the over-explanation that typifies the prequels.
“tiptoe towards the problems of the Phantom Madness trilogy, whereas, like, where it's all explained out loud.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 0:58:53 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ⇒ The Phantom Menace (the host's read). Ewok guerrilla tactics echo the Gungan thing in Phantom Menace, though that one is far worse.
“And it just sort of reminds you of the Gungen thing, which is way worse, but is in the same, like, ballpark.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:08:02 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Lego Star Wars: 1 line

lineage (adaptation) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ⇒ Lego Star Wars (the host's read). Lego game levels from Jedi are always fun; the prequels' plot-heavy levels play less well.
“weirdly, like Return of the Jedi levels are always really fun to play.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 1:31:02 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Revenge of the Sith: 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ⇒ Revenge of the Sith (the host's read). The Emperor in Jedi sits in a chair saying roughly the same things as in the identical-chair scene in Revenge of the Sith.
“he's basically saying most of the same thing.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Podcast (Ad-Free) · 1:11:34 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

The Incredibles (2004): 1 line

lineage (lineage) · through Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), which they acted in: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ⇒ The Incredibles (the host's read). The speeder bike forest chase is a clear inspiration for the Incredibles chase.
“This is such a big inspiration too, clearly, on the Incredibles chase sequence.”
Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 1:02:11 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Acting (4) everyone in acting

actor, Brian's Song (The Rewatchables, ‘Thief’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan)
cast member, Mahogany (Blank Check — Patreon, Barry Lyndon with Karina Longworth (Ad-Free))
voice of Two-Face, The Lego Batman Movie (Blank Check — Patreon, The Lego Batman Movie)
actor, Lando, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (Blank Check — Patreon, Return of the Jedi)

What was said about them, by kind

career (1)

career (career): Billy Dee Williams → Batman (Burton/Keaton films). Voicing Two-Face here completes the arc of him never getting to play Two-Face in the Burton movies.
“completing the arc of him never getting to play Two-face in the Burton movies.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:08:14 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

fun, about Billy Dee Williams: Voices Two-Face as little Lego Billy Dee, finishing the arc of never playing him for Burton.
“It's his voice and they make it look like him.”
Blank Check — Patreon · The Lego Batman Movie · 0:08:20 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)