Bruce Willis

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q2680: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only person by that name on Wikidata.

Counted as actor. The films the hosts said they acted in, which the two lists below run through too: Die Hard (1988); Look Who's Talking (1989); Die Hard 2 (1990); The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990); Billy Bathgate (1991); The Last Boy Scout (1991); The Player (1992); Striking Distance (1993); Color of Night (1994); Nobody's Fool (1994); Pulp Fiction (1994); 12 Monkeys (1995); Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995); Mercury Rising (1998); The Sixth Sense (1999); The Story of Us (1999); The Whole Nine Yards (2000); Unbreakable (2000); Rugrats Go Wild (2003); Over the Hedge (2006); What Just Happened (2008); Death Wish (2018); Beavis and Butt-Head; Hudson Hawk; Mortal Thoughts; Ocean's 12; Perfect Stranger; The Jackal.

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.

Harold Ramis: 2 lines

  1. unmapped (autobiographical) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Harold Ramis ⇒ Look Who's Talking (the host's read). The speakers say the film is Heckerling's personal grievance about Ramis, who fathered her daughter Molly while Neil Israel believed the child was his.
    “The child that Neil Israel thought was his own was actually the byproduct of a years-long affair that she had had with Harold Ramos.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:24:44 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (roman a clef) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Harold Ramis ⇒ Look Who's Talking (the host's read). Kirstie Alley's character Molly shares a name with Heckerling's daughter and echoes Ramis's leave-my-wife promise.
    “Kirsty Alli's character is named Molly. Amy Heckerling and Harold Ramos's illegitimate daughter is named Molly.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:21:13 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

58 Minutes (1987): 1 line

  1. lineage (source material) · through Die Hard 2 (1990), which they acted in: 58 Minutes ⇒ Die Hard 2 (the host's read). The screenplay was adapted from Walter Wager's 1987 novel with a similar plot.
    “Screenplay was adapted from Walter Wagers.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:19:50 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Alfred Hitchcock: 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through The Player (1992), which they acted in: Alfred Hitchcock ⇒ The Player (the host's read). Wesley notes the Hitchcock-like touches in the rattlesnake and police station scenes.
    “Little Hitchcock homage, I feel like.”
    The Rewatchables · 'The Player' With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Wesley Morris · 1:05:45 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Basic Instinct (1992): 1 line

  1. theme (genre copy) · through Color of Night (1994), which they acted in: Basic Instinct ⇒ Color of Night (the host's read). Bruce Willis's Color of Night was another Basic Instinct era noir with a famous full-frontal moment.
    “Everyone, remember Bruce Willis did that movie where he showed his penis?”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Edge’ With Bill Simmons and Van Lathan · 0:21:57 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)

Deliverance (1972): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Deliverance ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). The pawn shop sequence is inspired by Deliverance and transplants a Tennessee 1974 pawn shop to Hollywood.
    “It's not just that he's inspired by deliverance.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:41:44 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Joe Dante: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Joe Dante ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). Monster Joe's truck and tow is named after Joe Dante, whom Tarantino interviewed in the 80s.
    “Apparently named after Joe Dante, director of Gremlins”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:06:41 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Kiss Me Deadly (1955): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Kiss Me Deadly ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). The briefcase is an overt mimic of the Kiss Me Deadly briefcase, a metaphor for danger.
    “It's interesting because it is such an overt mimic of the Kiss Me Deadly briefcase”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:23:29 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Lee Majors: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Lee Majors ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). The setup of Vincent taking the boss's wife out echoes a Hollywood story about Lee Majors asking someone to take Farrah Fawcett out while he was away.
    “Because Lee Majors is going out of town.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:09:49 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)

Manuel Noriega: 1 line

  1. lineage (real-world inspiration) · through Die Hard 2 (1990), which they acted in: Manuel Noriega ⇒ Die Hard 2 (the maker said so: the screenwriter admitted it). The writer admitted the script grabbed smoke from Iran-Contra and Manuel Noriega.
    “there's definitely some Iran Contra, kind of, they're just grabbing smoke from that whole scandal and shoehorning into this with Manuel Noriega in real life.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:20:16 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)

Nashville (1975): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through The Player (1992), which they acted in: Nashville ⇒ The Player (the host's read). Wesley says the tricks Altman uses in The Player, like famous people dropping into a space, are ones he used in Nashville.
    “a lot of the tricks that he's using in the player, I mean, he uses in Nashville, right?”
    The Rewatchables · 'The Player' With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Wesley Morris · 0:17:32 · Wesley Morris (0.85 sure it was them)

Reservoir Dogs (1992): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Reservoir Dogs ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). Pulp's opening two-song credits echo the radio dial concept from Reservoir Dogs.
    “Well, the radio, the concept of the radio had been in Reservoir Dogs, but I think switching the songs in the middle, because you hear him change the dial.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:04:26 · Sean Fennessey (0.35 sure it was them)

Shaft (1971): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Shaft ⇒ Pulp Fiction (the host's read). Bad motherfucker wallet reference to the Shaft theme.
    “It was a reference to the theme song of Shaft.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:55:45 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Singin' in the Rain (1952): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Player (1992), which they acted in: Singin' in the Rain ⇒ The Player (the host's read). Sean says movies about movies go back long before The Player, e.g. Singin' in the Rain, but this one is far more inside the joke.
    “Going back to singing in the rain.”
    The Rewatchables · 'The Player' With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Wesley Morris · 0:04:08 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

The Detective: 1 line

  1. lineage (legal sequel) · through Die Hard (1988), which they acted in: The Detective ⇒ Die Hard (the host's read). Sinatra's rights deal on The Detective gave him first refusal on follow-ups, so Die Hard had to be offered to him.
    “something in the deal for when Sinatra had bought the rights to the detective, gave him right of 1st refusal on any of the follow-ups”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing with Patton Oswalt (Ad-Free) · 0:14:30 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)

The Edge (1997): 1 line

  1. unmapped (dramatization) · through What Just Happened (2008), which they acted in: The Edge ⇒ What Just Happened (the host's read). Barry Levinson's 2008 film, drawn from Art Linson's book, fictionalizes the making of The Edge, including the beard fight and De Niro.
    “They made a movie based on Art Linson's book, and a lot of it is about making this stupid movie and a big part about him not shaving the beard”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Edge’ With Bill Simmons and Van Lathan · 1:35:23 · Bill Simmons (0.85 sure it was them)

The Long Goodbye (1973): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Player (1992), which they acted in: The Long Goodbye ⇒ The Player (the host's read). Wesley reads Greta Scacchi's character as an echo of Nina van Pallandt's ice queen in The Long Goodbye, itself a riff on noir femmes fatales.
    “that character is a an echo of another Altman character, the Nina Van Palant character in the longabai”
    The Rewatchables · 'The Player' With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Wesley Morris · 1:07:08 · Wesley Morris (0.80 sure it was them)

Touch of Evil (1958): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through The Player (1992), which they acted in: Touch of Evil ⇒ The Player (the host's read). The Player's opening nods to Touch of Evil's tracking shot by having Fred Ward's character talk about it, then reveal he never watches foreign films.
    “Fred Ward talking about the tracking shot and touch of evil, but then revealing that he never watches foreign films.”
    The Rewatchables · 'The Player' With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Wesley Morris · 0:35:53 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

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

Baby's Day Out (1994): 1 line

  1. lineage (influence) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Look Who's Talking ⇒ Baby's Day Out (the host's read). The baby-escapes-in-a-towed-car sequence is claimed as the origin of Baby's Day Out.
    “I feel like that entire, like the entirety of like baby's day out is based on that sequence in this movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 2:00:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Captain Marvel (2019): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Captain Marvel (the host's read). Samuel L. Jackson driving around mid-90s Los Angeles evokes Jules Winfield, a clever but surface 90s nod.
    “a Samuel L. Jackson character in the mid 90s driving around in a car in Los Angeles, a la Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Captain Marvel’ Is a ’90s Nostalgia Play. Did It Work? | Exit Survey · 0:18:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

Clueless (1995): 1 line

  1. career (career enabler) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Look Who's Talking ⇒ Clueless (the host's read). The hit rescued Heckerling's career and so gave us Clueless.
    “she kind of rescued her entire career, and because of that, we get clueless”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 0:51:18 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Look Who's Talking Too (1990): 1 line

  1. lineage (sequel) · through Look Who's Talking (1989), which they acted in: Look Who's Talking ⇒ Look Who's Talking Too (the host's read). The sequel keeps Willis, adds Roseanne for Joan Rivers, Damon Wayans, and Mel Brooks as Mr. Toilet.
    “Roseanne Barr replaces Joan Rivers.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 2:18:01 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Misery (1990): 1 line

  1. programming (programming) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), 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)

Nobody: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Death Wish (2018), which they acted in: Death Wish ⇒ Nobody (the host's read). Nobody is a Bob Odenkirk revenge thriller in the spirit of Death Wish.
    “the movie Nobody, the new Bob Odenkirk Revenge Thriller, this transformational Bob Odenkirk movie that's very much in the spirit of like Death Wish”
    The Big Picture · Top Five Gen X Director Debuts, the Fate of ‘Black Widow,’ and a Potential Oscars Disaster · 0:07:33 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (the host's read). Marcellus's you-pride-only-hurts speech to Butch is the same speech Pacino gives DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
    “And it's the same speech that Pacino gives DiCaprio at Rousseau and Frank in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:17:32 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Positive K: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Die Hard 2 (1990), which they acted in: Die Hard 2 ⇒ Positive K (the host's read). Positive K's song 'I Got a Man' samples a line from Die Hard 2, so the song now brings the movie to mind.
    “And then that line got sampled on, I got a man, the positive K song. So now every time you hear that song, you hear that line from that movie.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:43:06 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Pulp Fiction imitators: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Pulp Fiction imitators (the host's read). The Royale-in-Paris, Amsterdam conversation is the most parodied and copied stretch of screenwriting of the last 30 years.
    “Yeah. I would argue this is the most ripped off four and a half minutes of screenwriting in the past 30 years.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:06:07 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)

Resident Evil (2026): 1 line

  1. lineage (homage) · through Die Hard (1988), which they acted in: Die Hard ⇒ Resident Evil (the host's read). The shoes-melting beat is called a Die Hard nod (walking on broken glass).
    “You have that wonderful diehard nod where his shoes are starting to melt and he has to take his shoes off.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Resident Evil’ Absolutely Rips! · 1:00:42 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

Samuel L. Jackson: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Samuel L. Jackson (the host's read). Nick Fury's diner scene is described as a try at a Tarantino diner, with Jules-style rhythm.
    “I'm trying to do some like fucking Tarantino diner scene.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Iron Man 2 · 1:05:14 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Station Eleven (2021): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Pulp Fiction (1994), which they acted in: Pulp Fiction ⇒ Station Eleven (the host's read). Time-shifting storytelling that Pulp put front and center is still used in current TV.
    “Yeah, it's like still showing up in like station 11.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:08:39 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

The Larry Sanders Show (1992): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Player (1992), which they acted in: The Player ⇒ The Larry Sanders Show (the host's read). Bill asks whether The Player is ground zero for the meta-Hollywood strain that runs through Larry Sanders and Curb.
    “Larry Sanders and Curb your enthusiasm and all these different things we've had over the 30 years.”
    The Rewatchables · 'The Player' With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Wesley Morris · 0:03:46 · Bill Simmons (0.95 sure it was them)

The Whole Ten Yards: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through The Whole Nine Yards (2000), which they acted in: The Whole Nine Yards ⇒ The Whole Ten Yards (the host's read). The Whole Nine Yards was a hit big enough to earn an ill-advised sequel.
    “a big enough hit that they made an ill-advised sequel.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Hanging Up with Sonia Sarayia · 1:19:21 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

The Wild Thornberrys Movie: 1 line

  1. unmapped (crossover set-up) · through Rugrats Go Wild (2003), which they acted in: Rugrats Go Wild ⇒ The Wild Thornberrys Movie (the host's read). Rugrats Go Wild is a crossover that set up the Thornberrys movie.
    “Setting up the wild Thornberry's movie, which came out the following year, I think.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien 3 · 1:36:30 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Acting (37) everyone in acting

Other (2) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (2)

  1. career (career strategy contrast): Bruce Willis → Tom Cruise. Willis was erratic and high-volume, not a Cruise who picks the best material and promotes it to death.
    “this is not going to ever be like a cruise or somebody who's just like, I pick the best material.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:06:32 · Chris Ryan (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. career (career arc): Bruce Willis → Kevin Costner. Both flew close to the sun with hits and then had major bombs.
    “Costner and him, I think, both flew pretty close to the sun with some of their hits and then had some major bombs.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:08:57 · Bill Simmons (0.85 sure it was them)

people (2)

  1. people (early collaborator): Bruce Willis → M. Night Shyamalan. Willis took a risk on then-unknown Shyamalan and kept working with him.
    “He's in the 6th sense with a little known filmmaker named M Night Shyamalan, who he went on to work with all the time.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:08:10 · Sean Fennessey (0.90 sure it was them)
  2. people (self-aware cameo): Bruce Willis → The Player. He played himself in The Player 30 years before Ocean's 12.
    “he did the same thing 30 years before that in the player.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:08:44 · Sean Fennessey (0.90 sure it was them)

theme (2)

  1. theme (theme): Richard Gere → Bruce Willis. Leading men of the era did not play bad guys, unlike Gere here; Willis and Costner barely did.
    “Costner played 0 bad guys other than No Way Out, if you count that as a bad guy.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Internal Affairs’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:32:31 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. theme (persona blend): Bruce Willis → Paul Newman. Willis split the difference between Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman as persona.
    “it seems like he's trying to split the difference between like Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman in terms of the persona.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:11:11 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

unmapped (3)

  1. unmapped (voice work): Bruce Willis → Over the Hedge. Willis took the voice role Jim Carrey left; the speakers say voice work is his last comedy outlet.
    “if it's just my voice, they'll let me be funny Bruno.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 1:37:23 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (star power): Bruce Willis → Pulp Fiction. Willis's star stamp as Butch is a big reason Pulp Fiction became Pulp Fiction.
    “a big reason pulp fiction became pulp fiction is because a big movie star Bruce Willis put his stamp on it to play Butch.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:07:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.90 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (marriage): Bruce Willis → Demi Moore. Their power-couple marriage was a big piece of his fame, and she briefly matched his stardom.
    “That was one of the biggest celebrity couples we had.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:14:12 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)

what-if (1)

  1. what-if (what-if): Bruce Willis → Matt Dillon. Dillon asked for a day to decide and wanted to see Butch fight; Willis said he'd love to be Butch, ending it.
    “Matt Dillon was like, give me a day.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:39:20 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Bruce Willis: Bruce's hair here is the last wave of the peninsula at the top before chicanery.
    “I think this was the last wave of when he had like the peninsula at the top.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Die Hard 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:04:22 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)