Ken Adam

Made films the shows talk about.

Counted as craft, the making department they hold the most credits in. The films the hosts said they worked on, which the two lists below run through too: Dr. No (1962); Dr. Strangelove (1964); Barry Lyndon (1975).

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.

Adlai Stevenson: 1 line

  1. unmapped (real-life model) · through Dr. Strangelove (1964), which they worked on as production designer (war room, angular sets): Adlai Stevenson ⇒ Dr. Strangelove (the host's read). Speaker says Peter Sellers modeled the President (Muffley) on Adlai Stevenson.
    “He modeled it on Adlai Stevenson.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:27:02 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Bob Newhart: 1 line

  1. lineage (comedic influence) · through Dr. Strangelove (1964), which they worked on as production designer (war room, angular sets): Bob Newhart ⇒ Dr. Strangelove (the host's read). Speaker feels Newhart's one-sided phone-call format and his 1960 albums were a heavy influence on the President's call with the Soviet premier.
    “I feel like a heavy influence on the way the president's phone call with Russia play out in this movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:28:44 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Cabaret (1972): 1 line

  1. people (casting source) · through Barry Lyndon (1975), which they worked on as production designer: Cabaret ⇒ Barry Lyndon (the host's read). Kubrick cast Berenson after loving her in Cabaret.
    “Yeah, he loved her in cabaret.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Barry Lyndon with Karina Longworth (Ad-Free) · 1:14:15 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Curtis LeMay: 1 line

  1. unmapped (real-life model) · through Dr. Strangelove (1964), which they worked on as production designer (war room, angular sets): Curtis LeMay ⇒ Dr. Strangelove (the host's read). Jack D. Ripper is said to be very obviously based on Air Force chief Curtis LeMay.
    “Jack D. Ripper also is very obviously based on Curtis LeMay, who, uh, was the head of the Air Force at the time”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:00:51 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)

Red Alert (novel): 1 line

  1. lineage (adaptation) · through Dr. Strangelove (1964), which they worked on as production designer (war room, angular sets): Red Alert (novel) ⇒ Dr. Strangelove (the host's read). The speaker says Dr. Strangelove is based on Peter George's serious nuclear thriller Red Alert.
    “so he scoops up this book called Red Alert, which is, of course, what Dr. Strangelove is based on by Peter George that is a serious nuclear thriller.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:48:54 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)

William Makepeace Thackeray: 1 line

  1. lineage (adaptation) · through Barry Lyndon (1975), which they worked on as production designer: William Makepeace Thackeray ⇒ Barry Lyndon (the host's read). Kubrick adapted Thackeray's novel Barry Lyndon into the film.
    “versus just reading Barry Lindon once and then going, oh, I could just adapt this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Barry Lyndon with Karina Longworth (Ad-Free) · 0:24:16 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

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

Adam McKay: 1 line

  1. unmapped (aspirational template) · through Dr. Strangelove (1964), which they worked on as production designer (war room, angular sets): Dr. Strangelove ⇒ Adam McKay (the host's read). Speaker says Strangelove is probably McKay's north star, the thing he strives toward.
    “But I think you're right, though, that McKay is this is probably his north star, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:05:00 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Dr. No (1962), which they worked on as production designer: Dr. No ⇒ Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (the host's read). Bond is the blueprint for Austin Powers; Dr. Evil is Blofeld.
    “Dr. Evil being Blofeld and all that stuff, it's just kind of lost on the audience and it still works.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me’ With Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:09:48 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Heather Graham: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Dr. No (1962), which they worked on as production designer: Dr. No ⇒ Heather Graham (the host's read). Her bikini homage to Ursula Andress in Dr. No; character based on Bond femmes fatales.
    “the bikini that Ursula Andras wore in Dr. No”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me’ With Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey · 0:20:15 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Roger Moore Bond films: 1 line

  1. craft (set design template) · through Dr. Strangelove (1964), which they worked on as production designer (war room, angular sets): Dr. Strangelove ⇒ Roger Moore Bond films (the host's read). Speaker says hiring a Bond designer for the war room changed how such rooms look on screen forever, and the Bond movies being covered have war-room sets.
    “It is funny how this movie, this hiring a James Bond guy to design the war room, uh, changes the way you're allowed to put these things on screen forever.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 2:14:11 · Griffin Newman (0.55 sure it was them)

The Long Goodbye (1973): 1 line

  1. people (casting persona) · through Dr. Strangelove (1964), which they worked on as production designer (war room, angular sets): Dr. Strangelove ⇒ The Long Goodbye (the host's read). Speaker says Strangelove was the first time Hayden's personal struggles were put on screen, and later filmmakers used that persona going forward (Godfather, Long Goodbye).
    “This is the 1st time when like his personal struggles, like were actualized in a movie, and then I felt like filmmakers only used this in movies going forward”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:55:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

Zucker Brothers: 1 line

  1. lineage (comedic influence) · through Dr. Strangelove (1964), which they worked on as production designer (war room, angular sets): Dr. Strangelove ⇒ Zucker Brothers (the host's read). Speaker had a breakthrough that Strangelove must have been a big influence on the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams.
    “I did finally have the breakthrough watching this of how much of an influence this movie must have been on the Zucker Brothers and John Abrahams.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:53:55 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Craft (4) everyone in craft

What was said about them, by kind

people (1)

  1. people (shared crew / hiring): Ken Adam → Dr. No. Adam had just done Dr. No, which Kubrick loved, before designing Strangelove.
    “He had just done Dr. No, and Stanley Kubrick had loved Dr. No.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:04:23 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

theme (1)

  1. theme (same location instruction): Stanley Kubrick → Ken Adam. Kubrick told Ken Adam to find every location within 20 miles of his home, as on Barry Lyndon.
    “Which was basically the same thing he told him for Barry Lyndon”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 1:39:02 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Ken Adam: Adam justified the triangular war room to a skeptical Kubrick, and he and Kubrick devised the lighting scheme so the cinematographer could not design it.
    “Ian Kubrick together designed the whole lighting scheme so they could stop the cinematographer from designing any of the lighting”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:04:45 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)