Elya Baskin

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: 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984); Air Force One (1997); Austin Powers (1997); Spider-Man (2002).

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.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): 5 lines

  1. lineage (sequel) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: 2001: A Space Odyssey ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the host's read). The film has a sequel, and Clarke wrote three sequel novels.
    “Obviously, the sequel exists.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman (Ad-Free) · 0:11:43 · Jordan Hoffman (0.70 sure it was them)
  2. contrast (contrast) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: 2001: A Space Odyssey ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the host's read). 2010 tries to answer Kubrick's questions and is more loyal to Arthur C. Clarke's ideas.
    “it's much more... As I remember loyal to Arthur C. Clark's science fiction ideas”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:26:18 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. lineage (lineage) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: 2001: A Space Odyssey ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the host's read). 2010 was made because the novel sequel existed, a movie made just because they had to.
    “Because Arthur C. Clark had come out with a 2010 novel.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Dune with John Hodgman · 2:54:20 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. lineage (sequel) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: 2001: A Space Odyssey ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the host's read). 2010 is the sequel to 2001; the speaker's reaction to the Kubrick film is the benchmark throughout.
    “And I said, oh, you know, 2010, the sequel to 2001 and they were like, the what?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:02:34 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. craft (borrowed music) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: 2001: A Space Odyssey ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the host's read). The only thing 2010 borrows from 2001, apart from plotting, is the music, including the Zarathustra drop at the end.
    “Yeah, is the music.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:07:40 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

2010: Odyssey Two (novel) (1982): 3 lines

  1. unmapped (changes from the book) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: 2010: Odyssey Two (novel) ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the maker said so). Hyams demanded changes to play up US-Soviet politics, which the novel does not treat as a source of tension.
    “Two, there's changes I want to make to play up the politics of the movie because in the novel, the U.S. Soviet thing is not like a source of tension.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:21:36 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. theme (changed character nationality) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: 2010: Odyssey Two (novel) ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the maker said so). Dr. Chandra is Indian in the book; the film made him American, per Balaban.
    “Bob Balaban said they changed his nationalities from Indian to American because they thought it would be confusing to have another nationality who've got the Russians and the Americans up there.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:28:11 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. lineage (adaptation) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: 2010: Odyssey Two (novel) ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the host's read). The film exists because Clarke published the sequel novel.
    “Arthur C. Clark, of course, did publish a sequel to 2001 called 2010.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:17:20 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

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

  1. unmapped (tip of the hat) · through 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), which they acted in: Close Encounters of the Third Kind ⇒ 2010: The Year We Make Contact (the host's read). Casting Balaban reads as a nod to Close Encounters; the speaker finds 2010 more in its shadow than 2001's.
    “And the Balaban casting feels like a real tip of the hat to that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:28:46 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

Darkman (1990): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Spider-Man (2002), which they acted in: Darkman ⇒ Spider-Man (the host's read). Raimi's Spider-Man strengths start in Darkman.
    “all the stuff that is cool about the Remy Spider-Man movies starts here”
    The Big Picture · The 1990 Movie Draft · 1:31:21 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Steve Ditko and Stan Lee: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Spider-Man (2002), which they acted in: Steve Ditko and Stan Lee ⇒ Spider-Man (the host's read). Ditko and Lee made Spider-Man a teen hero for younger readers, not yet accepted by the Avengers or Fantastic Four.
    “I mean, like it was Steve, uh, Ditco and Stanley basically making a character that appealed to younger readers.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’: One of the Best Superhero Movies Ever | Exit Survey (Ep. 108) · 0:09:39 · Micah Peters (0.80 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

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

No line says anything drew on them or a film of theirs.

What the speakers said they did

Acting (4) everyone in acting

What was said about them, by kind

unmapped (2)

  1. unmapped (rent guy): Spider-Man → Elya Baskin. Baskin plays Mr. Ditkovich, the rent guy, in Spider-Man.
    “he's the rent guy from Spider-Man.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:34:40 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (Russian general): Austin Powers → Elya Baskin. Baskin plays the Russian general in Austin Powers.
    “Yes, he's the Russian general, Austin Powers.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:34:50 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Elya Baskin: Baskin was a comic actor with a Moscow comedy company who defected in 1976 and was surprised to be given a dramatic part; he then became a go-to Russian.
    “Elliot Baskin, had defected from Russia in 1976.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:38:16 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Elya Baskin: Baskin and Lithgow bonded lying on the floor next to each other in their stiff costumes, like planks.
    “So we were laid down by the wardrobe people on the floor like wood.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · 0:39:38 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)