Universal Pictures

Made films the shows talk about.

Counted as studio. The films the hosts said they were behind, which the two lists below run through too: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); Dune (1984); Fletch (1985); The Last Temptation of Christ (1988); Do the Right Thing (1989); Jurassic Park (1993); The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997); Bring It On (2000); Hulk (2003); The Mummy (2017).

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.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977): 2 lines

  1. programming (programming) · through Dune (1984), which they were behind as studio / distributor: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ⇒ Dune (the host's read). Dune was positioned and released as the studio's answer to Star Wars, the next big space epic.
    “Uh, this movie is released with the energy of, here you go, here's the new Star Wars.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 0:22:17 · John Hodgman (0.85 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (tentpole hope) · through Dune (1984), which they were behind as studio / distributor: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope ⇒ Dune (the host's read). Dune was meant to be the new Star Wars franchise, Lynch writing the sequel, coloring books on shelves.
    “I thought it was going to be the Star Wars.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 2:18:09 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Shopping for Death: 1 line

  1. lineage (inspiration) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Shopping for Death ⇒ Do the Right Thing (the host's read). Spike got the idea after seeing the Hitchcock Presents episode where characters theorize hot weather increases violence.
    “Spike Lee 1st got the idea for this film after watching the Alfred Hitchcock presents episode shopping for death”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 1:06:09 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Alien Resurrection (1997): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they were behind as studio: Alien Resurrection ⇒ Jurassic Park (the host's read). Aliens caged and taunted while hunting you feels like the raptors; raptors may be Alien rip-offs.
    “the raptors have a bit of an alien rip off vibe, honestly”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:46:01 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Barbara Hershey: 1 line

  1. lineage (origin of project) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: Barbara Hershey ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the host's read). Hershey also planted the book in Scorsese's head and told him to let her audition as Mary Magdalene.
    “But it's planted in his head by her.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:44:30 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Ben-Hur (1959): 1 line

  1. unmapped (accent convention) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: Ben-Hur ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the host's read). Scorsese made the Romans British, as in Ben-Hur, with everyone else American.
    “He said the big thing was to give let the Romans be British.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 1:02:57 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Boxcar Bertha (1972): 1 line

  1. unmapped (production method) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: Boxcar Bertha ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the maker said so). Scorsese's Corman-style Boxcar Bertha experience let him storyboard and time every shot to make Last Temptation cheaply.
    “I never would have been able to make this movie if I didn't have my Corman background and experience a boxcar Bertha specifically”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:54:52 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): 1 line

  1. theme (theme) · through E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which they were behind as studio (turned Night Skies into E.T.): Close Encounters of the Third Kind ⇒ E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (the host's read). Close Encounters sets a template for science fiction and for stories about families and divorce.
    “It sets a different kind of template for science fiction storytelling, for stories about families, for stories about obsession, for stories about divorce”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:19:05 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Eleanor Bumpurs: 1 line

  1. lineage (real-events inspiration) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Eleanor Bumpurs ⇒ Do the Right Thing (the host's read). The film was inspired by Howard Beach and Eleanor Bumpers, plus a list of other deaths in 1980s New York.
    “It was also inspired, as you mentioned, by the Howard Beach racial incident in Eleanor Bumpers.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 1:06:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

Godzilla (1998): 1 line

  1. unmapped (intent) · through The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which they were behind as studio: Godzilla ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). A host suggests Spielberg wanted to make a Godzilla-style fun monster movie, which explains the San Diego ending.
    “I've always wanted to make like a Godzilla movie.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:26:03 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Gregory McDonald: 1 line

  1. lineage (source material) · through Fletch (1985), which they were behind as studio: Gregory McDonald ⇒ Fletch (the host's read). Fletch adapts the McDonald novels; the noir voiceover feels like the book, the ad-libbed scenes deviate.
    “So it's a Gregory McDonald novel”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Fletch’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:25:35 · Bill Simmons (0.80 sure it was them)

Jessica Bendinger: 1 line

  1. theme (theme) · through Bring It On (2000), which they were behind as studio: Jessica Bendinger ⇒ Bring It On (the maker said so: her own interview, quoted on the show). Her hip hop journalism at Spin shaped the film's theme of white kids imitating black artists.
    “Years later, when she got into the world of cheerleading, she saw that pattern repeating itself.”
    The Big Picture · 1. ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Donnie Darko’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:12:37 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)

Jurassic Park (1993): 1 line, within their own work

  1. lineage (sequel-comparison) · through The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which they were behind as studio: Jurassic Park ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). The hosts judge the sequel as normalizing the dinosaurs too fast and dropping the wonder-before-terror structure of the original.
    “This movie normalizes the dinosaurs way too much.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:03:46 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

King Kong (2005): 1 line

  1. theme (plot trope) · through The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which they were behind as studio: King Kong ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). The T-Rex escaping a boat into a city is called a predictable King Kong move.
    “We've all seen King Kong.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:24:22 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Michael Crichton: 1 line

  1. unmapped (adapted) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they were behind as studio: Michael Crichton ⇒ Jurassic Park (the host's read). Named among the Crichton adaptations they could do another time.
    “we would not do Jurassic Park”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:18:30 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

The Color of Money (1986): 1 line

  1. career (career enabler) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: The Color of Money ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the host's read). The paycheck-gig hit stabilizes Scorsese's career and makes Last Temptation and Goodfellas possible.
    “Must admit though, it is the guarantor that allows him to immediately then make. Last temptation of Christ in Goodfellas.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 0:17:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Lost World (1912): 1 line

  1. lineage (homage) · through The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), which they were behind as studio: The Lost World ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). Crichton's sequel novel pays homage to Doyle's 1912 Lost World about an island of dinosaurs.
    “the novelist has also decided to sort of pay homage to Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 or whatever book, The Lost World.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 0:25:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Robe (1953): 1 line

  1. lineage (influence) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: The Robe ⇒ The Last Temptation of Christ (the host's read). The Robe is the first Christ movie Scorsese remembers seeing.
    “The 1st Christ movie he remembers seeing is the robe.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 0:45:07 · David Sims (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.

After Hours (1985): 3 lines

  1. career (personal projection) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: The Last Temptation of Christ ⇒ After Hours (the maker said so: Scorsese quoted in an oral history). Scorsese worked Kafka's Before the Law into the club doorman scene to reflect his frustration over Last Temptation.
    “inspired by Franz Kafka's before the law. And Scorsese said the short story reflected his frustration toward the production of the Last Temptation of Christ.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 1:23:31 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (cause) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: The Last Temptation of Christ ⇒ After Hours (the maker said so: a Scorsese quote on After Hours being a reaction to the Last Temptation ordeal). After Paramount collapsed Last Temptation, Scorsese wanted a cheap, personal film; After Hours is his reaction to the Hollywood ordeal.
    “it's a reaction against my year and a half into Hollywood trying to get last temptation to Christ made.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · After Hours with Alison Sivitz · 0:50:49 · unknown host (quoting Scorsese) (0.35 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (sliding door) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: The Last Temptation of Christ ⇒ After Hours (the host's read). Paramount cancelling Last Temptation sent Scorsese to a small fast job; one of movie history's sliding doors.
    “it is one of the massive sliding doors in movie history because him not making it leads to him making this movie”
    The Rewatchables · ‘After Hours’ with Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:17:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977): 2 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Dune (1984), which they were behind as studio / distributor: Dune ⇒ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (the host's read). The Dune book's messaging is credited as one of the things that inspired Star Wars.
    “And not only that, the messaging of this is one of the things that inspired Star Wars.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 0:22:22 · John Hodgman (0.70 sure it was them)
  2. theme (theme) · through Dune (1984), which they were behind as studio / distributor: Dune ⇒ Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (the host's read). Dune's Fremen/revolution material is the denser source that Star Wars abstracts; the Force is Dune without the drugs.
    “the Force in Star Wars is like doom without the drugs.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 1:17:01 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)

25th Hour (2002): 1 line

  1. lineage (callback) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Do the Right Thing ⇒ 25th Hour (the host's read). 25th Hour repeats the racial slur montage as Ed Norton's mirror monologue; Wesley says the repeats made the original less effective for him but 25th Hour has greatness.
    “There's a 25th hour version of that too.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 0:45:38 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001): 1 line

  1. unmapped (technology showed it was possible) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they were behind as studio: Jurassic Park ⇒ A.I. Artificial Intelligence (the host's read). The speaker says Kubrick, who first asked Spielberg to build a robot, saw Jurassic Park and reconsidered.
    “And then he sees Jurassic Park and he's once again like, well, wait a second.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) · 0:31:56 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Anaconda (1997): 1 line

  1. lineage (ripple effect) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they were behind as studio: Jurassic Park ⇒ Anaconda (the host's read). Anaconda is called the final lapping of the Jurassic Park creature-feature wave.
    “that's like the final lapping of the Jurassic Park ripple, sort of washing up on the beach.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:37:19 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Cape Fear (1991): 1 line

  1. industry (business deal) · through The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which they were behind as studio that made and released: The Last Temptation of Christ ⇒ Cape Fear (the host's read). Universal's deal to make Last Temptation obliged a bigger film later, resulting in the Spielberg swap and Cape Fear.
    “it gets fear is a direct result of his deal with Universal for this month.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie · 2:00:50 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Confess, Fletch (2022): 1 line

  1. unmapped (reboot) · through Fletch (1985), which they were behind as studio: Fletch ⇒ Confess, Fletch (the host's read). Chris describes it as a riff on the long-promised Fletch franchise reboot, with Jon Hamm taking the role Chevy Chase made iconic.
    “Chevy Chase did an iconic turn as a Fletch character, a journalist come detective in Los Angeles.”
    The Big Picture · The 2022 Movie Draft · 1:08:48 · Chris Ryan (0.85 sure it was them)

David Lowery: 1 line

  1. people (people) · through Dune (1984), which they were behind as studio / distributor: Dune ⇒ David Lowery (the maker said so: David Lowery's episode later in the series). A later series guest, David Lowery, called Dune a very big film for him as a child.
    “we have an episode coming later in the series with David Lowry, who talked about Dune being a very big film for him”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 2:33:25 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Inside Man (2006): 1 line

  1. lineage (callback) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Do the Right Thing ⇒ Inside Man (the host's read). In Inside Man the police provide Sal's Pizza to the hostages.
    “In Lee's 2006 film Inside Man, the police provide Sal's Pizza to the hostages.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 1:15:17 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

Jungle Fever (1991): 1 line

  1. theme (thematic follow-up) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Do the Right Thing ⇒ Jungle Fever (the host's read). Jungle Fever explored the Bensonhurst setting a couple of years later, rehearsing part of that story.
    “which I think is explored in jungle fever a couple years later”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 0:14:34 · Wesley Morris (0.70 sure it was them)

Jurassic World (2015): 1 line

  1. unmapped (misreading) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they were behind as studio: Jurassic Park ⇒ Jurassic World (the host's read). Spielberg's line that the T-Rex is the hero of Jurassic Park was taken too literally by Trevorrow in Jurassic World.
    “Which Colin Trevor took way too literally in making Jurassic World.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:08:10 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they were behind as studio: Jurassic Park ⇒ Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (the host's read). The sequels are a spinoff of Spielberg's imagination though he only executive produces them.
    “even though he's just an executive producer on those movies, it is this interesting spinoff of his imagination.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:08:07 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Quentin Tarantino: 1 line

  1. unmapped (borrowed line) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Do the Right Thing ⇒ Quentin Tarantino (the host's read). Sean says Tarantino lifted the 'shoot me in a dream, wake up and apologize' line from Do the Right Thing into Reservoir Dogs.
    “you shoot me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize, which is something that I think Robin Harris says in the movie, which later appears in Reservoir Dogs”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 0:50:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

Red Hook Summer (2012): 1 line

  1. lineage (pseudo-sequel) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Do the Right Thing ⇒ Red Hook Summer (the host's read). Mookie reappears delivering for a Sal's that has relocated to Red Hook, though Spike insisted it was not a sequel.
    “he made a movie called Red Hook Summer.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 0:19:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

Ryan Reynolds: 1 line

  1. theme (persona successor) · through Fletch (1985), which they were behind as studio: Fletch ⇒ Ryan Reynolds (the host's read). Reynolds stole the Chevy Chase playbook; Deadpool is Fletch.
    “Deadpool is Fletch.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Fletch’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:15:11 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

Starman (1984): 1 line

  1. industry (studio rivalry / shadow) · through E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which they were behind as studio (turned Night Skies into E.T.): E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ⇒ Starman (the host's read). Columbia chose Starman over Night Skies, which Universal turned into E.T., so Starman carried the stigma of the one that got away and then looked like a ripoff.
    “Uh, so they let go of night skies and let Universal acquire and turnaround.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 0:24:25 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Stranger Things: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which they were behind as studio (turned Night Skies into E.T.): E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ⇒ Stranger Things (the host's read). E.T. has been so imitated, in films and TV like Stranger Things, that the original feels less rewarding.
    “so many people have like basically based entire film franchises or television shows Stranger Things off of that”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:33:46 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)

The Incredible Hulk (2008): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Hulk (2003), which they were behind as studio: Hulk ⇒ The Incredible Hulk (the host's read). Despite the reboot claim, the same three relationships (Hulk, Betty, Thunderbolt Ross) carry through, as does the South America opening.
    “And those 3 relationships feel very much on a continuity with everything that happens in English film.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Incredible Hulk · 0:06:37 · Griffin or David (0.35 sure it was them)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997): 1 line, within their own work

  1. lineage (sequel-comparison) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they were behind as studio: Jurassic Park ⇒ The Lost World: Jurassic Park (the host's read). The hosts judge the sequel as normalizing the dinosaurs too fast and dropping the wonder-before-terror structure of the original.
    “This movie normalizes the dinosaurs way too much.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Lost World: Jurassic Park · 1:03:46 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

True Romance (1993): 1 line

  1. unmapped (borrowed speech) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Do the Right Thing ⇒ True Romance (the host's read). The Sicilians-and-Moors speech in True Romance echoes what Mookie says to Pino in Sal's.
    “Well, Sicilians and and Africans and the Moors in that whole speech that appears in true romance, which is also something that Mookie essentially says to Pino”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 0:51:06 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

Twister (1996): 1 line

  1. industry (industry) · through Jurassic Park (1993), which they were behind as studio: Jurassic Park ⇒ Twister (the host's read). Marketing a disaster around unknown leads follows Jurassic Park, where Sam Neill and Laura Dern were known but not famous.
    “coming off of Jurassic Park where it was like Sam Neil and Laura Dern were like well-known, but not famous.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Twister’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:53:21 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

Wes Anderson: 1 line

  1. lineage (influence) · through Do the Right Thing (1989), which they were behind as studio: Do the Right Thing ⇒ Wes Anderson (the host's read). Direct address to camera (Mr. Senor Love Daddy and the like) was taken up by the whole indie revolution, Wes Anderson most of all.
    “Using direct address into the camera as a style, which has been now jacked by basically the whole indie revolution that came after him.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 0:50:23 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Studio (10) everyone in studio

What was said about them, by kind

industry (1)

  1. industry (industry): Bring It On → Universal Pictures. Universal could afford to bankroll a risk like Bring It On because 2000 was a boom year.
    “And major studios like Universal could afford to take a risk by bankrolling a movie like Bring It On.”
    The Big Picture · 1. ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Donnie Darko’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:17:24 · Brian Raftery (0.95 sure it was them)

programming (3)

  1. programming (programming): Universal Pictures → Meet the Parents. Universal's 2000 slate was original A-list films like Meet the Parents, Erin Brockovich and Gladiator.
    “At the time, it was mostly producing original films with A-list stars, like Meet the Parents, or Aaron Brockovich, or Elizabeth Taylor's favorite award-winning epic.”
    The Big Picture · 1. ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Donnie Darko’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:15:08 · Brian Raftery (0.95 sure it was them)
  2. programming (programming): Universal Pictures → How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Universal also released franchise fare in 2000; the Grinch was its biggest.
    “Its biggest movie that year was How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
    The Big Picture · 1. ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Donnie Darko’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:15:35 · Brian Raftery (0.95 sure it was them)
  3. programming (programming): Universal Pictures → The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. Universal's prequel-sequel-TV-adaptation, which the host dismisses.
    “Universal even managed to make a film that was a prequel, a sequel, and a TV adaptation all in one.”
    The Big Picture · 1. ‘Bring It On’ and ‘Donnie Darko’ | Mission Accomplished · 0:15:38 · Brian Raftery (0.95 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

None.