Griffin Newman

96 sketches, 1,162 claims, and 605 fun items attributed to them. What was said about them.

Personality, episode by episode

Showing 41–60 of 96 sketches.

Blank Check — Patreon: Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves Zodiac as a masterpiece and the Fincher dossier details; the show's box-office fixer. Gets weirdly delighted by obsessive production detail (flashlight museum, typewriters). Has no patience for the studio logic of dumping films.

Stances

  • Zodiac is Fincher's best film and the best of a loaded 2007
  • Studios act irrationally against their own interests
  • Fincher is often called cold and later vindicated

Humor: Dry, deadpan banter and a running bit about reading the room as a podcast host.

In their words

  • “Okay, I'm going to read a thing while David's still in there.” (2:25:37)
  • “Leslie, I get some satisfaction out of the fact that I think people who listen to this show sometimes think that I'm like on my devices during this.” (2:20:30)

Blank Check — Patreon: David Fincher Music Videos (host)

Loves music videos tied to movie soundtracks and the weirdly sincere Springfield video. Grew up on Disney cassettes, Hanson, and Celebrity Death Match era pop culture. Appreciates a sprawling, nonsensical video that sets up multiple characters.

Stances

  • Praises the Springfield Dance This World Away video as a favorite, then sours on it
  • Defends movie tie-in videos that interact with the film
  • Mocks Fincher's autopilot work on rock videos

Humor: Escalating bits and character voices, from the Beavis and Butt-Head shirt assignments to the fake Reddit thread.

In their words

  • “I think all 3 of these guys are me, but it's an ed ego super ego thing.” (0:22:01)
  • “I was in, uh, anything goes?” (1:15:38)
  • “Uh, no, Hanson Hanson was my favorite band at this point in time.” (2:08:42)

Blank Check — Patreon: Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) (host)

Obsessive movie nerd who tracked every upcoming film as a 13-year-old and has a soft spot for Kristen Stewart. Loves craft and box office lore, recoils from suspense that stresses him out.

Stances

  • Panic Room was built around Jodie Foster and defies logic otherwise
  • Fincher scaled back after the Fight Club flop

Humor: Runs bits on tangents like Studio 60, razor scooters, and Jared Leto.

In their words

  • “obsessively read every fucking dork website I could and thought I was ahead of the curve and knew every movie that was in the pipeline.” (0:26:32)

Blank Check — Patreon: Fight Club with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) (host)

Is a movie-tie-in collector who grew up in Britain, did not see Fight Club until later, and was never the target of it. Loves a deep tie-in and a rights-clearing bit. Thinks the film is fine but not his formative one.

Stances

  • Not the film for him, but happy to talk about it
  • DVD and collector culture matters
  • Anti-ads bit as the through-line

Humor: Runs bits (no-ads fake-outs, Deadpool-cover Photoshops) and narrates posters.

In their words

  • “The reason I have to tap out of this is I grew up in Britain.” (0:15:19)
  • “I was such a fan of tie-in games.” (3:00:35)
  • “I just did not have that masculine.” (0:33:16)

Blank Check — Patreon: The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves 90s thrillers, character actors, and Fincher at his bleakest; the show's box-office quizzer. Leans toward Se7en over The Game and wishes the movie really gamed him. Bit-hungry about names, keys, and found trivia.

Stances

  • Admires Se7en more than The Game
  • Never feels gamed by the movie
  • Likes The Player and the Criterion disc

Humor: Fast, absurd riffing and gags built on the movie's props.

In their words

  • “I would argue that I, my beef with this movie is that I never feel like I am being gamed.” (0:45:08)
  • “I don't hate the game.” (1:05:19)
  • “I love the player.” (1:05:18)

Blank Check — Patreon: Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves grim, well-made thrillers and obsessive craft detail; reads the dossier and revels in production lore. Teases guests about their bits. Has a Tisch background and some gun-safety training from a film shoot.

Stances

  • Se7en is great and Fincher's control of a never-named city is the key choice
  • Fincher is a blank-check director
  • Pitt's need to prove himself is the performance

Humor: Driven by running bits, exact trivia, and deadpan fake interview impressions.

In their words

  • “You know what has happened?” (1:36:38)
  • “I did when I did gun safety training for Tomorrow War.” (2:08:57)

Blank Check — Patreon: Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves a sequel that spits in the studio's eye, and the Alien 3 behind-the-scenes extras. Enjoys box-office-weekend trivia, poster taglines, and Fincher's DVD-era thoroughness. Speaker attribution in this transcript is mostly inferred, so these are low-confidence reads.

Stances

  • Alien 3 is a crowd-displeaser by design
  • On the assembly cut versus theatrical: leans theatrical, as a cleaner movie (low confidence on which host says it)

Humor: Running bits (the Santa Claus line, the wood planet, poster minutiae).

In their words

  • “Okay. I think the assembly cut is better while not being perfect.” (0:14:24)
  • “I really do have a preference here, and it is the dog” (1:21:48)

Blank Check — Patreon: The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves Tim Burton's early work and defends late-period Burton, theme-park lore, box-office minutiae and Pixar-style craft. Can't stand studio condescension toward children and celebrity-casting logic. A sucker for sweaty, overworked names, bones, and unfashionable Disney touchstones.

Stances

  • Nightmare Before Christmas is a perfect movie that outlasts its ubiquity
  • Jack is an analog for artists trying to make commercial art
  • Studios underestimate children
  • Mrs. Doubtfire's box-office run deserves celebration

Humor: Sweaty-pun builds and deadpan escalation, riffing on bones and box-office numbers.

In their words

  • “I defend late period Burton” (0:18:59)
  • “I'm going to riot until they do.” (0:56:56)

Blank Check — Patreon: Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich (Ad-Free) (host)

Obsessed with this film and calls it his favorite of the Kubrick set alongside Barry Lyndon. Loves box-office trivia and where he saw things. A sucker for the small perfect line readings and the Christmas-lights look.

Stances

  • Eyes Wide Shut is a masterpiece
  • Reputation has risen and it will climb the Sight and Sound list
  • Bill's journey is about the impossibility of not knowing

Humor: Escalating riffs and bits, from alternate podcast lines to sequel fantasies.

In their words

  • “I don't need to know what grows for you every time when you watch that scene.” (0:01:19)
  • “Let's play the box office.” (2:42:11)

Blank Check — Patreon: Doctor Sleep (host)

Loves Doctor Sleep and the director's cut, and the idea that the sequel deepens The Shining. Treats Flanagan's patient, emotional horror as a plus and dislikes jump scares. A sucker for Rose the Hat as a villain and for the box office game.

Stances

  • Doctor Sleep is a great movie and rewatchable
  • jump scares are fake tension
  • legacy sequels usually just suck the steam from the original

Humor: Riffs and runs long on bits, such as the Rose the Hat biography and the Hunk Shoe sleep-train jokes.

In their words

  • “Now, I have to assume this is all conjecture on my part, okay?” (0:14:58)
  • “I give it 10 hunk shoes.” (1:33:23)

Blank Check — Patreon: Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves Kubrick's dark, mordant comedy and the Barry Lyndon, Shining and Eyes Wide Shut run, and tracks the casting and production legends behind Full Metal Jacket. Reads the dossier closely, likes award-season trivia and box office games.

Stances

  • Kubrick's humor works best when earnest performances sit at the center
  • Ermey was a surprising Oscar snub
  • ranks Strangelove low among Kubrick's funny films

Humor: Deadpan, quotes the film back at itself and lets the guests run riffs.

In their words

  • “I, I, I rank Strange Love lower in the pack of movies I find funny by him.” (1:36:54)
  • “Now, which your answer is do it to children.” (0:15:10)

Blank Check — Patreon: The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves Kubrick trivia, research-dossier detail, and the show's long-running bits; fascinated by how Altman's company shaped Shelley Duvall. Sensitive to anyone mishandling his catchphrases. A sucker for a Draft Day story and the box office game.

Stances

  • Stephen King's objections were a reaction to being shown himself
  • Kubrick's many takes need to be separated from cruelty
  • Would rather talk about the movie than its cultural weight

Humor: Pedantic riffs and teasing, usually at David's or Tim's expense.

In their words

  • “Wait, what is it called?” (0:13:43)
  • “I'm checking my notes here.” (2:47:46)

Blank Check — Patreon: Barry Lyndon with Karina Longworth (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves Barry Lyndon as one of his favorite movies and finds the humor in Kubrick more than the austerity. Sentimental about the film's warmth and its devastating last act, especially as a parent. A sucker for the film's absurd rules (duels, class) and for production lore.

Stances

  • Barry Lyndon is a comedy and Kubrick's warmest film
  • O'Neal is perfect in the part
  • Barry stays mysterious without an inner monologue

Humor: Plays it dry and jokey, leaning into modern analogies and bits.

In their words

  • “I feel like this was the epitome of when the critical community was like, yeah, Kubrick makes like coffee table books.” (0:07:58)

Blank Check — Patreon: 2010: The Year We Make Contact (host)

Likes genre craft and unvarnished big swings; enjoys box-office-game trivia and Kubrick lore. Dislikes pretension without payoff. Hosts wallow in sequel-hubris jokes.

Stances

  • 2010 is respectable and watchable, not a masterpiece
  • Hyams not aping Kubrick was the smart move

Humor: Riffs on fake headlines and extended bits, with a dry, deflating tone.

In their words

  • “Good pull griff.” (1:12:13)

Blank Check — Patreon: A Clockwork Orange with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves Kubrick's looseness and humor and wants to demolish the cold-genius myth. Resents the mythology built around him and the attitude of Kubrick guys. Is a sucker for comedy bits, Simpsons-grade jokes, and cinema trivia like the box-office game.

Stances

  • Kubrick is not a humorless perfectionist; he was elastic with actors and loved improvisation
  • The mythology around Kubrick makes the films less interesting
  • Held the line that the bits should continue

Humor: Runs long, escalating bits and puns, and pins running gags like hip hop Sims for later payoff.

In their words

  • “the more people try to put Kubrick in this, like, alien box, the less interesting I find him.” (0:36:11)
  • “I don't think of myself as a Kubert guy, is because of how much I resent the mythology that's built around him” (0:43:58)

Blank Check — Patreon: 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman (Ad-Free) (host)

A Kubrick-series host who rewatched the films in order and found the 2001 rewatch surprisingly brisk. Loves the slow-sci-fi tradition including Star Trek The Motion Picture, and is moved by the ending's dread. A sucker for production lore from the dossier.

Stances

  • Reevaluating Kubrick as funny
  • 2001 is a brisk watch despite the slowness
  • Likes slow sci-fi like Star Trek TMP
  • AI rights may never be granted

Humor: Shifts between bits and earnest observations; lands jokes about the guest and podcast logistics.

In their words

  • “I found it a surprisingly brisk watch.” (0:36:31)
  • “I love the slowness of motion picture.” (0:44:04)
  • “My question is, do we ever grant them rights?” (0:48:01)

Blank Check — Patreon: Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) (host)

Loves Strangelove's dry delivery and Peter Sellers' underplayed Mandrake, and watched it as a comedy-obsessed kid through the AFI 100 Laughs list. Skeptical of Adam McKay's recent satire and of Don't Look Up's tag. A sucker for movie lists, titles and bits like podcast series names.

Stances

  • Mandrake may be the funniest of the three Sellers roles
  • The film's seriousness is what makes every joke funnier
  • Don't Look Up's ending works but its tag undercuts it
  • Podswide Cast was first pitch, best pitch

Humor: Escalates a bit with mock-grandiose confidence and wounded-pride deadpan.

In their words

  • “Podswide cast, it was like 1st pitch, best pitch, I just said we're fucking going with this.” (0:07:42)
  • “Mandrake talking about being captured by the Japanese is the funniest part of this whole movie.” (0:11:32)
  • “I watched this because AFI in the year 2000 did their 100 years, 100 laughs” (0:28:13)

Blank Check — Patreon: Lolita with Fran Hoepfner (Ad-Free) (host)

Reread the book and finds it brilliantly written; an enthusiast of Kubrick on a big screen and of Sellers in Strangelove. Compares movies to a wide pop-culture range (Nope, Hail, Caesar!, The Lobster). Believes the Lolita poster beats the film.

Stances

  • The poster and tagline are better than the movie
  • The film's tone is wildly inconsistent but absorbing
  • Kubrick's films are best seen in a theater

Humor: Rapid-fire riffs, mock-pomposity and long tangents.

In their words

  • “I stand by it.” (1:38:12)
  • “Poster eats this movie's lunch.” (1:33:57)
  • “I hate watching his Kubrick movies at home.” (0:45:39)

Blank Check — Patreon: Spartacus with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) (host)

Leans on the dossier and the Kubrick-era history; loves tidy business-and-career stories and the Blank Check 'guarantor' framing. Likes bits about stars and their careers. (Speaker attribution within the transcript is inferred; confidence is moderate.)

Stances

  • Spartacus is Kubrick's guarantor: the hit that gave him the blank check
  • Kubrick was a pain but the work stands out

Humor: Rapid riffs and impressions on the episode's running bits.

In their words

  • “Today we are covering Spartacus, which is what we like to call a guarantor.” (0:26:58)
  • “This is the film that gives them the blank check that they run off of for the rest of their career.” (0:27:03)

Blank Check — Patreon: Paths of Glory with Sarah Marshall (Ad-Free) (host)

Admires well-made war films but finds them panic-inducing; prefers Full Metal Jacket to David. Likes the Coens (Hudsucker Proxy) and the box-office game ritual inherited from his father. Responds to Kirk Douglas as a star who used clout for challenging pictures.

Stances

  • War movies stress him out even when they are good
  • Paths of Glory is short in a way that is a blessing
  • Won't rewatch Saving Private Ryan despite loving it

Humor: Gallows-humor riffs and running bits that escalate the absurd (e.g. trench humor, reenactments as a Patreon goal).

In their words

  • “I get very stressed out watching war films even when I think they're good.” (0:02:01)
  • “I like full metal jacket more than you, David” (0:55:08)
  • “I buy it on fucking steel book.” (1:19:43)

Their shows' recurring bits

Running bits, not opinions; a critic read aloud is cited, not present.

The Big Picture

Blank Check with Griffin & David

Their claims

Showing 801–900 of 1,162 claims.

  1. craft (craft): Old Dogs → Chariots of Fire. The pioneer-weekend games use the Chariots of Fire theme as a gag for audiences who know it.
    “Oh, we got the Chariots of Fire theme song.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:01:49 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage): Old Dogs → Moonrise Kingdom. A host jokes that Moonrise Kingdom, three years later, is what made scouts cool, after the Old Dogs scout weekend.
    “So you're saying Moonrise Kingdom made scouts cooling?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:04:05 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. people (people): Robin Williams → John Travolta. The pair were Mork and Barbarino and were long asked when they would make a movie together.
    “No, no, it was it was Mork and Barbarino.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:06:27 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. people (people): John Travolta → Robin Williams. Compared to Spielberg and Cruise: fans waited decades for them to team up.
    “It was like Spielberg and Cruz.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:06:33 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. craft (craft): Walt Becker → Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip. Becker's cornerstone take: his Alvin film has a John Waters cameo, evidence of knowing transgression.
    “So this is the cornerstone of my Walt Becker take is there's a moment in Alvin the Chipmunks.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:12:34 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  6. people (people): Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip → John Waters. In the Alvin film Alvin sneaks into first class beside John Waters.
    “And the other person occupying the seat next to him is... John Waters.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:13:12 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  7. craft (craft): John Travolta → Batman (the Joker). The digital facial-palsy effect is called Joker face and compared to a Batman villain.
    “He's fully jokerified.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:13:56 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  8. career (career): Bernie Mac → Old Dogs. Old Dogs is Bernie Mac's final film performance.
    “Bernie Mac and his final film performance.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:18:29 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
  9. theme (theme): Old Dogs → Friday the 13th (parts 1-3). The kids' Friday the 13th rule joke pays off in the film: they watch part three because Jason does not wear the mask until then.
    “But this is not parts one or two because Jason doesn't wear the mask till three.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:28:25 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  10. programming (programming): Old Dogs → Tangled. Disney released Tangled the next year on the same Thanksgiving weekend, which became its animated slot (Frozen, Moana).
    “A year later, they released Tangled the same weekend, and then this becomes the weekend they released their biggest animated film of the year.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:32:52 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
  11. craft (craft): Old Dogs → Jurassic Park. The zoo break-in sequence gives Jurassic Park vibes.
    “Getting kind of Jurassic Park vibes from this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:43:21 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  12. programming (programming): Old Dogs → The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Old Dogs opened fourth, behind New Moon in its second week, The Blind Side and 2012.
    “Twilight Saga New Moon.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:53:21 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  13. programming (programming): Old Dogs → The Princess and the Frog. The Princess and the Frog opened the same weekend on two screens, ranked 18th.
    “Princess and the Frog opens this week, number 18.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:54:07 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
  14. people (people): A Christmas Carol → Robert Zemeckis. The box office quiz answer, a 2009 holiday film in a director miniseries, is Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol.
    “Zameck is a Christmas Carol.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · OLD DOGS - Blank Check LIVE! at the Bell House (May 12, 2022) · 1:55:01 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  15. industry (industry): Spider-Man (1970s live-action TV show and its European compilation movies) → The Batman. TV episode compilations as movies (Spider-Man, Battlestar Galactica) frame why Batman 1966 could be mistaken for stitched-together episodes.
    “They would package together episodes of that and release it in like Europe and other countries.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:01:54 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  16. industry (industry): Batman (TV series, 1966-68) → The Munsters (TV series). Batman premiering and eating the Munsters' timeslot is why that show tanked.
    “And it was because Batman premiered and immediately Munsters like tank.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:03:01 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  17. career (career): Burgess Meredith → Grumpy Old Men / Grumpier Old Men. Meredith went on to play the grumpy old man in both Grumpy Old Men films.
    “He also did like the fucking both of the grumpy old men movies.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:05:46 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  18. lineage (lineage): The Batman → Batman Forever / Batman & Robin. Griffin says Schumacher's Batman films are directly shaped by the Adam West show's pairing and cliffhanger style.
    “Joel Schumacher is very influenced by the Adam West show.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:08:26 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  19. lineage (lineage): The Batman → Monty Python. The opening dedication to fun lovers and the apology for overlooked lovers is compared to Monty Python.
    “That's like Monty Python.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:14:37 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  20. career (career): Adam West → Batman (TV series, 1966-68). West says the show hurt his career for a while because people assumed he was a bad actor.
    “He talks about that this show fucked up his career for a while after this because people assumed he was a bad actor and he was like out of touch.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:16:36 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  21. lineage (lineage): The Dark Knight Rises → Tim Drake. Nolan's Robin take is basically Tim Drake, and a speaker wishes it had been 10 percent more obvious.
    “And I wish Nolan had just gone 10%, you know, more obvious with it.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:28:17 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  22. lineage (lineage): The Batman → The Simpsons. Joke density, word jokes and visual jokes read as proto-Simpsons.
    “it feels very Simpsons.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:29:45 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  23. people (people): Frank Gorshin → Adam West. West and Gorshin supposedly got kicked out of an orgy for staying in character.
    “I went into the Batman character and we were kicked out.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:47:36 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  24. career (career): Adam West → Burt Ward. West, Ward and Yvonne Craig could not get other parts and ended up at comic conventions.
    “They just couldn't, you know, get another part, basically.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 0:50:35 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  25. lineage (lineage): Nicolas Cage → Adam West. Cage says he modeled his Kick-Ass performance on West and West teased him for it.
    “Adam West was like, I saw you try to channel me.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:00:57 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  26. programming (programming): Batman (franchise) → The Dark Knight Rises. All the post-West movies are on a race to self-serious credibility.
    “It's been this race to self-serious credibility.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:04:50 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  27. craft (craft): Robert Pattinson → Bruce Timm. Pattinson's wide, straight mouth in the cowl looks like a Bruce Timm drawing.
    “he looks like a Bruce Tim drawing.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:05:47 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  28. contrast (contrast): The Batman → Spider-Man (franchise). Spider-Man has the second-best rogues gallery but its villains read as criminals with a gimmick, while Batman villains are insane.
    “They feel like criminals with a gimmick.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:08:04 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  29. people (people): Burgess Meredith → Paulette Goddard. Meredith was married to Paulette Goddard, Charlie Chaplin's wife, and was blacklisted.
    “He was married to Paulette Goddard.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:21:42 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  30. career (career): Burgess Meredith → Time Enough at Last (Twilight Zone episode). Meredith is the reader in one of the most famous Twilight Zone episodes.
    “He's in a one of the most famous Twilight Zone episodes ever or time enough at last?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:22:07 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  31. craft (craft): The Batman → The Batman. The Burton Batmobile was a childhood toy; the 1966 car looks coolest but also most like a car.
    “I certainly had the Burton Batmobile as a toy, and I played with it all the time”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:25:31 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  32. craft (craft): The Batman → The Batman. Reeves pulled the Batmobile back toward being a car, like the 1966 one.
    “I like that Reed's turned it back into being a little more of a car again.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:25:47 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  33. verdict (verdict): The Dark Knight → The Batman. The Batpod reveal is called the greatest Batmobile moment of all time.
    “I do think the greatest Batmobile moment of all time is when it's broken in the dark night and the Batpod comes out.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:26:27 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  34. lineage (lineage): The Batman → Batman Forever. Burton had a plane and a boat which Schumacher updated in Batman Forever; Batman & Robin gave Robin a motorcycle.
    “Burton has a plane and a boat.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:27:30 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  35. people (people): Burgess Meredith → Mickey Rooney. Meredith, Rooney and Dudley Moore are grouped as short-king Hollywood Lotharios.
    “Dudley Moore, Mickey Rooney, Burgess Meredith.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:31:54 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  36. lineage (lineage): Conan O'Brien → The Batman. Conan's brand of obvious-shorthand humor is why this humor lands for the hosts; Conan echoes it.
    “Conan is actually probably a crucial reason this humor lands for us because Conan is echoing it.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:37:33 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  37. people (people): Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue → George C. Scott. The sentient cloud of drug smoke in the anti-drug cartoon special is voiced by George C. Scott.
    “He's played by George C. Scott.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:40:06 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  38. people (people): Tim Curry → FernGully: The Last Rainforest. Tim Curry voices FernGully's smog villain (named Hexxus).
    “Is that Tim Curry?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:41:08 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  39. theme (theme): The Batman → Rocky and Bullwinkle (Fearless Leader). The UN delegates scene includes a Soviet delegate with a Nazi vibe like Rocky and Bullwinkle's Fearless Leader.
    “Fearless leader from Rocky and Bullenkle.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 1:56:45 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  40. programming (programming): The Batman → The Sound of Music. A UK sing-along Sound of Music (Prince Charles Theater) turned into a Rocky Horror-style costume event.
    “It became this rocky horror adjacent thing”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 2:03:25 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  41. industry (industry): The Offer (Godfather making-of series) / The Godfather → The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming. A tweet about no one having the courage to make The Godfather today came up alongside Jewison's The Offer-era bit.
    “no one would have the courage to make the Godfather today.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 2:05:36 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  42. lineage (lineage): The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming → It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. As a kid, the speaker watched it as 'another thing like' Mad Mad Mad Mad World.
    “it's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad world that my parents were like, here's another thing like that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Batman (1966) · 2:07:00 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  43. verdict (verdict): David Lean → Alfred Hitchcock. Lean beating Hitchcock in the Sweet 16 was the first big surprise of the round.
    “I mean, I think the 1st huge surprise was David Lean beating Alfred Hitchcock.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2022 MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 2 PRESENTED BY THE CHIP REPORT · 0:10:51 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  44. programming (programming): In the Cut → Hulk. Both were 2003 films that were derided on release; Hulk is called David's derided film of the year.
    “It was your derided film of 2000.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · In the Cut with Jourdain Searles (Ad-Free) · 0:09:37 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  45. people (people): David Slade → Ray Winstone. Slade's look is compared to a more homely Ray Winstone.
    “He looks like he looks like a more homely Ray Winstone.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 0:16:18 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  46. industry (industry): Summit Entertainment → Bill Condon. Summit met Bill Condon, Gus Van Sant and Sofia Coppola to tackle the last two films (Breaking Dawn split in two); Condon got the job.
    “the 3 people Summit met with to tackle the last 2 movies, the one book split into two, were Bill Condon”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 0:18:14 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  47. what-if (what-if): Summit Entertainment → Gus Van Sant. Van Sant and Sofia Coppola were also interviewed for the last two films.
    “the other 2 people who they met with were Gus Van Sant and Sophia Coppola.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 0:18:14 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  48. career (career): Robert Pattinson → The Batman. Telling the 2010 Comic-Con complainers that Pattinson would play Batman a decade later.
    “a decade from now, this guy's going to play Batman and you're going to be amped about it.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 1:41:49 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  49. craft (craft): The Twilight Saga: Eclipse → The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Eclipse was shot by Javier Aguirresarobe, who also shot New Moon, and the speakers find Eclipse similar-looking to New Moon, only more lush and autumnal.
    “Uh, Javier, Agriaska Robe. I, you know, I, I, who shot New Moon.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 2:02:26 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  50. verdict (verdict): The Twilight Saga: Eclipse → The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. Griffin promises the last movie makes a very active decision, the biggest deviation from the books.
    “they make a very, very active decision in the final movie that is the biggest deviation from the books.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eclipse · 2:20:50 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  51. contrast (contrast): Robert Altman → John Cassavetes. Altman beat Cassavetes in round 1; Altman is imagined winning a real-life fight against him.
    “He was folding Castavetti's like laundry”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:04:57 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  52. programming (programming): Robert Altman → Robert Altman. If 70s Altman wins, Griffin promises the remaining Altman (80s-2000s) the next year.
    “if 70 Saltman wins, we can make the promise that the following year we will do the remainder of Altman”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:05:40 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  53. verdict (verdict): Joe Dante → Chris Sturgis. Dante beat Sturgis two years running in the bracket.
    “Dante kicks Sturgis's ass.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:09:08 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  54. verdict (verdict): Jane Campion → Jane Campion. Griffin would be thrilled if Campion sneakily won it all; she is among his all-time favorites.
    “Campion is one of my all time favorite filmmakers.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:12:06 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  55. craft (craft): Wong Kar-wai → George Lucas. Wong's recolorizing of his own films is compared to George Lucas special editions.
    “He's going George Lucas, maybe.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:16:33 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  56. verdict (verdict): Wong Kar-wai → Danny Boyle. Wong could win it all but may lose to Boyle in sweet 16.
    “I think he might lose to Danny Boyle”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:16:46 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  57. craft (craft): Mike Leigh → Mike Leigh. Leigh's unique process yields movies unlike anyone else's yet recognizably his across genres and periods.
    “they do all have, uh, a certain definable mic-y quality to them.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:18:28 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  58. programming (programming): Robert Zemeckis → Nancy Meyers. Eclectic careers (Zemeckis) tend to help in March Madness, while Meyers is more consistent.
    “I think people vote for a weird eclectic career to a certain degree”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:19:04 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  59. programming (programming): Danny Boyle → Yesterday. Listeners were intrigued by a Yesterday episode.
    “people people were very intrigued by the prospect of a yesterday episode.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:20:06 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  60. verdict (verdict): Ernest Dickerson → Harmony Korine. Dickerson upset Korine 51-49 as voters discovered his 90s output.
    “Ernest Dickerson snuck out a 2% win over Harmony Korean, 51 to 49.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:20:37 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  61. people (people): Martin Brest → Scent of a Woman. Brest is unified as the G League guy, the Scent of a Woman guy and the Beverly Hills Cop guy.
    “you have to unify that the G League guy is also the scent of a woman guy is also the Beverly Hills cop guy.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:21:56 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  62. programming (programming): Larry Clark → Ken Park. Larry Clark's filmography including Ken Park would be less appealing than Kids.
    “You don't want to do Ken Park.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:24:04 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  63. programming (programming): Harmony Korine → Nora Ephron. Proposal to cover Korine like Ephron: start with the screenplay (Kids) as the defining work.
    “treat harmony like Nora Efron and be like, you start out with the screenplay.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:24:13 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  64. verdict (verdict): John Carpenter → Danny DeVito. Carpenter, the presumed front-runner, faces DeVito, the toughest opponent he could draw.
    “DeVito is arguably one of the toughest people he could go up against.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:25:32 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  65. programming (programming): John Carpenter → Danny DeVito. Carpenter win means 18 weeks of scheduling; DeVito means about 6 weeks, leaving room for more miniseries.
    “Some people want someone like Carpenter to win so they can control 18 weeks of our scheduling.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:26:04 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  66. verdict (verdict): Spike Jonze → Penelope Spheeris. Jonze beat Spheeris 57-43.
    “Spike Jones, who beat Penelope Spheres.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:26:22 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  67. industry (industry): Penelope Spheeris → Harvey Weinstein. Spheeris's career stalled after Senseless, made for Weinstein, after fights and a flop.
    “she did that movie for Weinstein.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:27:47 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  68. theme (theme): Her → Lost in Translation. A Spike Jonze episode would involve the he-said-she-said around Coppola's Lost in Translation.
    “he said, she said quality of her with lost in translation”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:30:32 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  69. career (career): Spike Jonze → Spike Jonze. Jonze's gaps between films, then a Vice TV detour as head programmer, explain his absence.
    “I'm gonna run a cable network.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:31:54 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  70. programming (programming): Gore Verbinski → Wolfgang Petersen. Sweet 16 pairing; guest Karen Han expected to rally Gore's fans.
    “I think Karen Hahn's going to activate Gore Hive.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:33:29 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  71. programming (programming): Gore Verbinski → The Lone Ranger. If Verbinski wins, guest Karen Han must do The Lone Ranger episode as penance.
    “if you push Gorbinsky up the hill, then you got to take the bullet on Lone Ranger.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:34:28 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  72. lineage (lineage): Oliver Stone → Robert Zemeckis. Alex Ross Perry views Stone as the only real successor to Zemeckis in bracket terms.
    “who I view as the only real successor to Demi and Zameckis.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:34:34 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  73. programming (programming): Jackie Chan → Alfonso Cuaron. Sweet 16 matchup, Chan against Cuaron or Reichardt winner.
    “Jackie Chan versus the winner of Caron, Reichhart”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:34:57 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  74. unmapped (fun): Oliver Stone → Natural Born Killers. Griffin promised to be shirtless in vest and purple wraps for Natural Born Killers.
    “for natural born killers I would be shirtless with just a vest and some purple round sunglasses.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:36:02 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  75. theme (theme): Oliver Stone → Robert Zemeckis. Stone's reclamation might be coming like Zemeckis's late-career surge, but too early.
    “Stone might be due for a reclamation at some point”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:36:55 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  76. programming (programming): Twilight (franchise) → Muppets (franchise). Twilight is rich in commentary fodder; Muppets would let hosts rest.
    “Twilight is just a perfect situation for us as commentaries.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:42:10 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  77. theme (theme): Final Destination (franchise) → Vacation (franchise). Both are groups narrowly avoiding catastrophe on trips, with a reboot each; one deadly, one funny.
    “both both franchises about groups of people trying to narrowly avoid catastrophe, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:43:51 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  78. industry (industry): The Mummy (Fraser films) → Bill & Ted Face the Music. A fresh Bill & Ted release likely hurt it, since voters had just revisited the films.
    “the release of Bill and Ted face the music hurts Bill and Ted in this bracket”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:46:58 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  79. lineage (lineage): Austin Powers (franchise) → Monty Python films. Myers would acknowledge Monty Python as a huge comedy influence.
    “Mike Myers, I'm sure, would acknowledge Monty Python is a huge comedy influence.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:47:19 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  80. programming (programming): Rocky (franchise) → Dirty Harry. Stallone voices are suggested as a funnier alternative to Eastwood voices.
    “a series of Stallone voices is actually better.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · March Madness 2021 Recap - Round 2 · 0:52:34 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  81. craft (craft): Alien: Covenant → Prometheus. The Fox logo is washed out here where Prometheus's was really blue.
    “Prometheus is really blue and this is a little more just kind of washed out, I feel like.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:06:23 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  82. lineage (lineage): Alien: Covenant → Prometheus. Covenant is half the Prometheus sequel Scott wanted and half a concession to a more normal Alien movie.
    “this is half, like Ridley Scott doing the Prometheus sequel he wanted to do and half”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:06:57 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  83. industry (industry): Alien: Covenant → Prometheus. Prometheus's marketing left it unclear whether it was an Alien film; Covenant's marketing was the opposite, selling the Alien iconography.
    “how much of this is going to be directly an alien franchise film or not”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:08:07 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
  84. contrast (contrast): Alien: Covenant → Alien. Alien films usually give a calm before the storm in hypersleep; Covenant throws you straight into trauma.
    “rather than ever getting the sort of calm before the storm that you usually get an alien movies”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:17:42 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  85. career (career): Katherine Waterston → Inherent Vice. Her sudden casting heat came from Inherent Vice, an alienating movie, and then two franchises.
    “it was all off of inherent vice, which was an unsuccessful alienating movie to audiences”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:25:12 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  86. people (people): Danny McBride → David Gordon Green. McBride went to film school with David Gordon Green and Jody Hill and acted in all their films.
    “He went to film school with David Gordon Green and Jody Hill and all those guys, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:32:32 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  87. career (career): Danny McBride → Foot Fist Way. McBride was a failed writer-director until The Foot Fist Way made him a comedy star.
    “until Foot Fist Way happened where they were like, would you want to play the lead?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:33:00 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  88. career (career): Danny McBride → Halloween (franchise). After this he moved into the Halloween franchise and HBO series to make the genre work he wanted.
    “And then after this, he's like, I'm the Halloween guy.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:34:19 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  89. craft (craft): Alien: Covenant → The Lord of the Rings. New Zealand locations can't replicate what Peter Jackson did with it in Lord of the Rings, but still look like a newer earth.
    “you can never replicate the total stunning magic trick of Peter Jackson, like deploying it in Lord of the Rings”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 0:38:46 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  90. what-if (what-if): Ridley Scott → Danny Boyle. Swap them: Scott directs Steve Jobs and Boyle directs The Martian.
    “I like to imagine the reality in which Ridley Scott made Steve Jobs.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 1:20:02 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  91. contrast (contrast): Alien: Covenant → H.R. Giger. The neomorph in Covenant lacks the Giger biomechanical kibble, with a more human, translucent-skinned look.
    “He does not have all of the HR Geiger biomechanical kibble all over his body.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 1:21:16 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  92. craft (craft): Alien: Covenant → The Hobbit films. Acting to tennis balls on a green screen was exhausting for The Tick, and people say it was easy because of the Hobbit movies.
    “they do this shit with like the Hobbit movies, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 1:40:13 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  93. programming (programming): Crocodile Dundee → Crocodile Dundee II. Next Patreon miniseries: the three Crocodile Dundee films, skipping a made-up Great Mr. Dundee.
    “Yes, we're doing the 3 crocodile Dundee movies.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Covenant · 2:18:01 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  94. career (career): Jean-Pierre Jeunet → Delicatessen. Griffin was shown Delicatessen and City of Lost Children by his French mother before Resurrection let him down.
    “She had absolutely made me watch, uh, Delicatessen and City of Lost Children at this point”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:05:05 · Griffin Newman (0.90 sure it was them)
  95. contrast (contrast): Amélie → Griffin Newman. Griffin loved Amélie at 12 or 13; David thought it twee at 15.
    “I was 12 or 13 and I was like, 100%.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:06:44 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)
  96. contrast (contrast): Alien Resurrection → Alien 3. Alien 3 ended with Ripley's noble sacrifice in lava; Resurrection undoes it by cloning her.
    “She falls into lava, and that's the end of that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:07:24 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  97. programming (programming): The Hunchback of Notre Dame → Lon Chaney. Griffin pitches a Patreon series doing all the Hunchback of Notre Dame movies, including the Lon Chaney version.
    “We do all the hunchback of Notre Dame movies.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:16:29 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  98. programming (programming): Ghost Ship → Ben Hosley. Ghost Ship keeps coming up on the podcast as a future pick by Ben.
    “Ben's choice 2025.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:20:04 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  99. career (career): Brad Dourif → Child's Play. Dourif is Chucky, one of the most iconic characters, unrecognized unless you are a big fan.
    “But he's also Chucky.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:21:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  100. career (career): Brad Dourif → One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. A secret Academy Award nomination, from Cuckoo's Nest, that nobody mentions.
    “I have a secret Academy Award nomination that no one ever talks about.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien: Resurrection · 0:21:51 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Their fun items

Showing 201–300 of 605 fun items.

  1. fun, about The Power of Grayskull (documentary): A good documentary on how the He-Man toy line was made, home of the viral clip about painting the cat green.
    “Power of Grayskull, which is a really good documentary about how the toy line was made”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 0:25:54 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about He-Man (toy line): When the toy line lacked a vehicle they borrowed Big Jim's jaguar; it was too big for He-Man, so they painted it green.
    “The cat's too big for He-Man to ride, and they go, just paint it green or some shit.”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 0:26:15 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Orko / Griffin Newman: Griffin voiced Orko on a Kevin Smith-run He-Man show after a writer called to pick his brain in 2019 and then pitched him for the part; he calls it his hardest-won scale job.
    “I ended up voicing Orco on a He-Man cartoon show, showrun by Kevin Smith”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 0:34:00 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Orko: Orko is the self-insert for kids too powerless to relate even to He-Man.
    “Orco is the little tiny thing who messes everything up.”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 0:37:36 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about He-Man fandom: He-Man was kept afloat in lean years by the Latin American and LGBTQ communities, more than by nerdy white boys.
    “What basically has always kept He-Man afloat are, uh, the Latin American community and the LGBTQ plus community.”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 0:58:57 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  6. fun, about Big: Rewatching Big, the fortune-teller machine arrives within ten minutes with zero backstory, the model for how fantasy used to skip setup.
    “And he gets to the fortune teller machine within less than 10 minutes.”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 1:05:11 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  7. fun, about Orko / Masters of the Universe (2026): Orko appears for three seconds in an end-credits tease; Griffin finds withholding him maddening.
    “And I'll just say like withholding Orco from the masters of the universe movie, it's just fucking annoying.”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 1:11:29 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)
  8. fun, about The Brats movie: A cheap toy cash-in with Chet Hanks as the nerd the Brats pick on and Jon Voight as the principal.
    “the brats movie, which stars uh, Chet Hanks, uh, weirdly as a nerd who the brats pick on, and uh, John Voight as the principal”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 1:34:13 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
  9. fun, about The Hudsucker Proxy: Griffin's pick for the toy-movie canon because it is about the business of toys: a film entirely about the hula hoop.
    “It is a movie entirely about the hula hoop.”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 1:34:41 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)
  10. fun, about The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy: Richard Williams's nightmarish toy musical, watchable on YouTube; skip to the number 'Blue,' sung by a camel with four legs, for astonishing animation.
    “There is a musical sequence in this uh, called Blue, uh, sung by a camel, uh, with 4 legs”
    The Big Picture · The Top 10 Fantasy Films, The Toy Movie Hall of Fame, and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ with Griffin Newman! · 1:37:24 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)
  11. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - Aronofsky: Aronofsky was announced at Comic-Con and stayed on three years before MGM's money trouble ended it.
    “He stayed on it for like 3 years.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:12:39 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  12. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - casting: MGM floated Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves and Johnny Depp, then Fassbender and Schoenaerts, then settled on Kinnaman.
    “Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:13:58 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  13. fun, about José Padilha: He told Meirelles it was hell; Meirelles repeated it in the press as a warning about Hollywood.
    “I'm having the worst experience of my life.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:30:53 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  14. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - the mirror scene: The one scene the host likes: Murphy is stripped down to his lungs, brain and one hand and made to look in a mirror, called the Cronenberg moment.
    “And then this is like the Cronenberg moment of this film.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:39:47 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  15. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - stars: Griffin gives the film one star on the Patreon scale and says it is 'an F'.
    “I'm just going to tell you, okay, this movie's getting one star for me, okay?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:21:25 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  16. fun, about Griffin's bootleg RoboCop toy: Griffin pulls out a true bootleg RoboCop toy from his shelves, blue and silver with misapplied paint, which still looks better than the movie.
    “But somehow still looks better than what we're watching, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:24:41 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  17. fun, about Pizza analogy: The hosts rank the RoboCops as pizza: the original is the best pizza ever, 2 is cafeteria pizza, 3 is Lunchables pizza, and this one is a picture of pizza stomped on.
    “Robocop one is like the best pizza you've ever had.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:29:28 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  18. fun, about Michael Keaton: Keaton told Marc Maron the new RoboCop might be good if they let the director do what he says.
    “If they let him do what he's saying, it could be interesting, who knows?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:48:25 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  19. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - budget and box office: Budget estimated between $100 and $130 million; opened third at $21 million, made $58 million domestic, $242 million worldwide.
    “It made 58 domestic, 242 worldwide.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:56:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  20. fun, about Resident Evil series: Next up on the feed: all six Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil films, three of them 3D, with a 3D commentary.
    “Three 3D entries.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 2:05:50 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  21. fun, about Tom Cruise: A host argues Edge is possibly Cruise's best performance and the first blockbuster that owns what is weird about him.
    “There is an argument this is Cruz's best performance.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:02:35 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  22. fun, about Tom Cruise: Cruise is the 'guy pretending to be Tom Cruise' for the first ten minutes: the movie strips the persona and makes him earn trust back.
    “he's a guy pretending to be Tom Cruise”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:04:15 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  23. fun, about Ben Hosley: Ben picked the film as a sleepy-time comfort movie to fall asleep to, and says it resonates with his depression.
    “this is a comfort watch movie”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:06:06 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  24. fun, about Tom Cruise: Emily Blunt on Graham Norton: on the worst day, Cruise, always upbeat, admitted he was 'a little trying'.
    “And he went like, a little, a little trying.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:09:00 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  25. fun, about Mr. & Mrs. Smith: On Mr. & Mrs. Smith the agency heads were cast three times; none of the actors ended up in the film, only Angela Bassett's voice.
    “Angela Bassett, her voice on a screen”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:11:07 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  26. fun, about Edge of Tomorrow: The title fight: announced as All You Need Is Kill, retitled with 'Live Die Repeat' as a tagline on a badly laid out poster; on home video they flipped them.
    “they flipped them because their takeaway from the confusion was”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:19:33 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  27. fun, about Edge of Tomorrow: The Blank Check joke: the show's own scheduling was a time loop, as the episode was pushed three times.
    “The day would reset and you'd be like, next week we are recording edge of tomorrow.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:26:08 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  28. fun, about Edge of Tomorrow: Exposition lands at literally minute 40: Noah Taylor's briefing, timed by a host's time-code check.
    “I just did the time code check.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:32:27 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  29. fun, about Noah Taylor: Taylor and Brendan Gleeson never leave their one set, avoid the suits and stunts, and get mini arcs; the hosts call it a princess part, a theater term for one big featured number.
    “Those 2 guys never leave their one set.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:33:27 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  30. fun, about Edge of Tomorrow: Cage dies in a close-up of his face melting with black blood, and the audience reacts because Tom Cruise doesn't fail.
    “Tom Cruise doesn't fail.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:50:56 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  31. fun, about Doug Liman: Hosts call the Liman method 'Limania': chaos production that sometimes comes out masterful, compared to a watchmaker tied upside-down in a crashing plane.
    “tied up a washmaker by his feet”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:53:54 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  32. fun, about Emily Blunt: Blunt lost Black Widow because Fox made her do Gulliver's Travels, and Rose Byrne took the Get Him to the Greek role.
    “Fox goes, no, no, no, nah, nah.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:58:55 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  33. fun, about Edge of Tomorrow: The practical exosuits weighed 80 to 100 pounds; Liman called making them practical the stupidest thing they did, yet they look great.
    “the stupidest thing we ever did was make those practical”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:01:56 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  34. fun, about Emily Blunt: Blunt's Smartlist story: she cried the first time in the suit and Cruise said 'come on, stop being a pussy'; it was a joke and went viral.
    “stop being a pussy, okay?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:03:21 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  35. fun, about Pat Kiernan: The New York One anchor in the opening news montage has a huge film-credit list; the hosts joke he must get a check every month.
    “Pat Kieran's got like 40 of the biggest film credits of all time.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:05:51 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  36. fun, about Tom Cruise: A host reads Gleeson's contempt for the PR-man Cruise as a cathartic audience stand-in for how people felt about Cruise then.
    “Your time is done.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:10:19 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  37. fun, about Edge of Tomorrow: The farmhouse: the hosts agree it lifts the film into masterpiece territory, as it is farmhouse number 100 for him.
    “this is farmhouse 100.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:29:55 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  38. fun, about Tom Cruise: Late in the Liman-Cruise era Cruise would not make a space movie because he refused to owe Trump a favor.
    “I don't want to owe Trump a favor.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:37:47 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  39. fun, about Edge of Tomorrow: Box office: opened third behind Fault in Our Stars and Maleficent, about $100M domestic, $367M worldwide.
    “It made 367 worldwide.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 1:38:55 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  40. fun, about Griffin Newman: The pitmaster bit at the Airbnb in Austin and his rollerblading-camp backstory.
    “I pulled off the tarp and I immediately threw some brisket on that fucking bad boy.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:11:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  41. fun, about Griffin Newman: Origin story of his comedy: after rollerblade camp bullying, he Photoshopped meme flyers and posted them in the locker room.
    “I was like, me, comedy.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:12:56 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
  42. fun, about Eraserhead: The group's recurring idea of the 'dang-ass freak canon': the film is the key text.
    “is this the key text?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:59:23 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  43. fun, about Eraserhead: The chicken-carving scene: the host says the movie heightens ordinary dinner discomfort by 10 percent; Griffin is not an egg fan.
    “I'm heightening this thing by 10%.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 1:05:52 · Griffin Newman (0.45 sure it was them)
  44. fun, about The 13th Warrior: Lowery texted that he talks about this movie with odd frequency for a film he had not seen since it opened.
    “13th Warrior is something I talk about with odd frequency for a movie I haven't seen since it opened.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The 13th Warrior with David Lowery (Ad-Free) · 0:12:04 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  45. fun, about David Fincher: Griffin's Letterboxd one-liner: the film is Fincher's nightmare of being allowed only one take, and the missed shot is the nightmare.
    “a psychological horror film about David Fincher imagining a reality where he's only allowed one take.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:22:44 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  46. fun, about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: On the commentary, Fincher tells how the bottle-catch and the cat landing in frame was a perfect take, and he did two more anyway, a self-parody of his many takes.
    “I wasn't even happy with that take.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:24:15 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  47. fun, about Videosyncrasy: Fincher's HBO series about the rise of the music video industry shot several episodes before the plug was pulled.
    “Videosyncrasy, which was his series about the rise of the music video industry.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:23:56 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  48. fun, about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Fincher wanted a blockbuster as dark as Empire Strikes Back; Disney would only greenlight it with Brad Pitt or a peer.
    “I wanted to see if there was a way to make a blockbuster that's that dark.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:29:34 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  49. fun, about Jack Fincher: Rock Hudson was once interested in a spec script Jack Fincher wrote in the 60s.
    “apparently Rock Hudson was interested once in a spec script he wrote, but it fizzled out.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:45:27 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  50. fun, about Eric Roth: Running joke: a man arrives every five minutes with a bag of Gump money for Eric Roth.
    “Every 5 minutes in Eric's Roth life, and a man appears with a bag filled with gump money and just hands it over.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:47:20 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  51. fun, about Mank: The Mank 1998 version had Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster lined up; Polygram balked at black and white.
    “He had Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster lined up for the lead roles in 1998.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:54:33 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  52. fun, about The Offer: The Paramount+ series was called the winning time of movie shows; the speakers watched all 10 hours.
    “The offer was kind of the winning time of movie shows, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:06:20 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  53. fun, about Fincher quote: Fincher: no faster way to transport you to the 30s than black and white.
    “My way of thinking is there's no faster way to transport you to the 30s than using black and white.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:16:37 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  54. fun, about Sorkin: Griffin's pitch: in 40 years, a movie about Fincher hiring Sorkin to take down Zuckerberg, with Sorkin on meth rocks.
    “The film about Fincher hiring Sorkin to take down Zuckerberg.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:26:37 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  55. fun, about Daniel Craig: Griffin's Letterboxd review of the film mocked Craig's glasses.
    “Daniel Craig wearing glasses a way that no one has ever worn glasses in their life.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Fran Hoepfner (Ad-Free) · 1:43:50 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  56. fun, about John Getz: The cold open riffs on John Getz, the Blood Simple lead, spending decades in movies looking exasperated at a Zuckerberg who is not there.
    “For 20, 30 years, he was in movies looking at Mark Zuckerberg exasperated and people said, John, this doesn't read.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:03:34 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  57. fun, about Kitchen Confidential (series): Bradley Cooper played Anthony Bourdain on a short-lived Fox sitcom, a decade before he got to make Burnt.
    “Bradley Cooper was on a fox sitcom in which he played Anthony Bourdain.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:21:54 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  58. fun, about The Social Network: Auditions were other Sorkin scenes, because Fincher needed to see if people could do the pace; Eisenberg's self-tape was the first time he said under two hours.
    “I pointedly remember that the they sent the script out, but for the auditions, it was just other Sorkin scenes.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:52:46 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  59. fun, about The Social Network: The first line of dialogue lands the second the studio logo starts.
    “that the dialogue on this movie basically starts the 2nd the studio logo start.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:53:57 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  60. fun, about Max Minghella: Max Minghella's pratfall is a favorite moment.
    “And also, of course, we have to shut out Max Bengella, my favorite Max Bengella moment, by far.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 1:04:12 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  61. fun, about David Fincher: Why a hundred takes: Fincher says the surprising little things only come out after the lines are routine; the Erica line appeared in a single take.
    “And Fincher's like, that's like the kind of fucking moment I'm looking for, which he only does on one take.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 2:35:47 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  62. fun, about David Fincher: On the last shooting day Fincher handed Sorkin the third insert shot to direct.
    “I'm going to do the 1st two. I'm going to get in the car, you direct the 3rd one.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 2:36:23 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  63. fun, about The Social Network: The title card shot over Boston is about fifteen separate shots tiled together, each lit individually, because Harvard would not cooperate.
    “But like that shot's basically constructed of like 15 shots that they visually all tiled together and had to be lit individually, not by the cart.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 2:42:50 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  64. fun, about The Social Network: A mime carrying the lights kept cops busy: they will stop a crew guy at once but not a mime.
    “If it's a truck, if it's a crew guy, they'll stop without like any hesitation. If it's a mine, they're going to be so confused about what's going on.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 2:43:20 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  65. fun, about David Fincher: Fincher on his style for this film.
    “Fincher said, my style in this was trying to have no style.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 2:44:34 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)
  66. fun, about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The teaser made the audience go silent at Crystal Skull; the speakers say the trailer is a better version of what the movie does.
    “2 great fucking teasers that have such a different tone than everything else that was playing that the audience just went pin drop silent.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:18:21 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  67. fun, about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The film's clock prologue tested badly until the film grain and crackles were added late in post, after which audiences accepted it as a story being told.
    “we added all the filters of the film grain and the pops and the crackles and the distortion and whatever.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 0:32:43 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  68. fun, about Eric Roth: A running joke: Roth should open a soup restaurant called Eric Broth.
    “Eric Roth should open a soup restaurant called Eric Broth.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 1:26:53 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  69. fun, about David Fincher: On the commentary Fincher said Benjamin's behavior is largely modeled after his own father, who died shortly before.
    “He said that Benjamin Button behavior is largely modeled after his father”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 1:43:06 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  70. fun, about Quantum of Solace: On the Christmas 2008 box office, the speaker had to go to number 17 to find a sequel.
    “I had to go to number 17 to find a sequel and it's quantum of solace.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Richard Lawson (Ad-Free) · 2:21:42 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  71. fun, about Joe Carnahan: Carnahan said in interviews that his dropped MI3 script was largely about drug trafficking in human bodies.
    “The thing I know that Carnahan has said in interviews is that his script was largely about drug trafficking in human bodies.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 0:40:38 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  72. fun, about Lords of Dogtown: Fincher's budget ask for Lords of Dogtown was fifteen million to rebuild the pier at full scale, which got him pushed off.
    “you have to rebuild the pier at full scale.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 0:43:25 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  73. fun, about Zodiac: Graysmith claimed the killer could mount a flashlight on his gun; Fincher went to a flashlight museum, learned no 1969 bulb could do it, and so the film shows no such beam.
    “And Fincher went to a flashlight museum.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 0:53:34 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  74. fun, about Jake Gyllenhaal: Zodiac shot through the Brokeback Mountain awards season, and Fincher would not release him for events; Fincher says he was distracted.
    “And Fincher will not release him to do shit.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 0:59:00 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  75. fun, about Jake Gyllenhaal: Fincher's dossier line on how scattered Gyllenhaal was on set during his campaign.
    “He was being nibbled to death by ducks and not particularly smart ducks.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 1:00:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  76. fun, about Jake Gyllenhaal: On the making-of, Gyllenhaal asks Fincher to confirm he is good at inserts after dozens of takes of his hands scribbling; Fincher teases, then agrees.
    “no, no, no, you are, you are good at inserts.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 1:02:40 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  77. fun, about Mark Ruffalo: Ruffalo says his first day with Gyllenhaal took 68 takes and he hoped Fincher was coming to fire him.
    “My favorite line, actually, is Ruffalo saying, like, I did my 1st day with 68 takes with Jake.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 1:03:20 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  78. fun, about Mark Ruffalo: Ruffalo, the actor who took to Fincher's system most, said he finally understood Fincher is taking a stab at immortality.
    “He says, I finally understood, quote, he's taking a stab at immortality, which I think is a really great line for Ruffalo.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 1:03:50 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  79. fun, about Robert Downey Jr.: Downey's line on working for Fincher, from the dossier: he can do it because he understands gulags.
    “I think I'm a perfect person to work for him because I understand gulags.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 1:07:32 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  80. fun, about Robert Downey Jr.: Downey's Oppenheimer press-tour story: after 60 takes, Fincher made him watch the footage on the monitor and Downey had to admit it was not right.
    “And he made him watch all the takes on the monitor.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 1:07:59 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  81. fun, about David Fincher: Fincher's stated goal for Zodiac: a serial-killer movie the killers could not enjoy.
    “I wanted to make a movie that serial killers couldn't masturbate to.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 1:31:41 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  82. fun, about Wild Hogs: Zodiac opened against Wild Hogs, Ghost Rider, Bridge to Terabithia, The Number 23 and Black Snake Moan; Wild Hogs beat it.
    “It annihilated zodiac.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 2:16:30 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  83. fun, about Robert Graysmith: A friend's ink review from an art store sounded too specific to be anyone but Graysmith; Griffin reads it at the very end.
    “too weirdly specific to not be written by the real Robert Graysmith.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 2:25:48 · Griffin Newman (0.90 sure it was them)
  84. fun, about Janie's Got a Gun (Aerosmith video): Steven Tyler flashed the shocker on his forehead in Disney's Rock and Roller Coaster pre-show until Disney digitally painted the finger out.
    “And they digitally paint it in the remaining finger.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 1:26:09 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  85. fun, about Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (TV series): The Sting episode's mandolin double entendre line is held up as the moment the show was doomed.
    “And Sarah Paulson says, him or the mandoline, and she goes both.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 2:24:01 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  86. fun, about Heroes (Wallflowers video, Godzilla soundtrack): Griffin thought Jakob Dylan wrote Heroes and was sure he would be the next Dylan.
    “He's going to live up to the legacy of his father.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 2:25:50 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  87. fun, about (episode): The no-ads gag: the sponsor fake-out.
    “Our sponsor for this week's episode is fuck you.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Fight Club with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) · 1:33:29 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  88. fun, about Fight Club video game: The final unlockable character in the fighting game is Fred Durst, via his music-licensing contract.
    “The ultimate unlocked character in the game is Fred Durst.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Fight Club with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) · 3:01:31 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  89. fun, about Earl (dog): Earl, Brendan Hines's dog, is the first in-studio dog guest in Blank Check history, and it is his seventh birthday. Brendan says Earl came to set every day on The Tick and never ruined a take.
    “The 1st ever in studio, dog, guest, in the history of blank check.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:11:24 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  90. fun, about Charles Martinet: The father in the opening home-movie footage is Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario. He once taught typing as Mario at a 1994 tech convention.
    “I thought it was Charles Martinette.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:38:04 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  91. fun, about The Game: The original ending had Nick shoot the waitress and then kill himself; Fincher said he would feel remorse for shooting someone who tricked him, so he changed it.
    “So what I had read was that the original ending was the same thing, but he shoots Deborah Carra Unger.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:54:31 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  92. fun, about The Game: The Criterion disc includes a one-take alternate ending, from the clapboard to Fincher saying cut, where he looks both ways and walks off without a cab.
    “It starts with the clapboard.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:55:05 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  93. fun, about James Rebhorn: He wrote his own obituary, which the host says is very sweet.
    “He wrote his own obituary.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:00:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  94. fun, about The Game: Hosts riff that the movie is pre-findoming, where a dominatrix drains your accounts and you get off on it.
    “I mean, this movie is pre-findoming.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:13:10 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  95. fun, about Harris Savides: He is also the guy asking for toilet paper in the bathroom.
    “He's the guy asking for toilet paper in the bathroom.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:27:32 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  96. fun, about Seven: Rewatch fact: the sloth victim's license says he was born in 1931.
    “you see that the sloth victim was born in 1931, did you notice this?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 0:59:32 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  97. fun, about Alien 3: The alien-sucks-down-a-Pepsi commercial aired a full year before the movie; the suit was built for the film, and Fox was pushing Alien toward a kids' franchise (cartoon, toys, games).
    “That commercial came out a full year before this movie came out.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:19:43 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  98. fun, about Alien 3: The rod puppet called the Bambi Burster, the juvenile runner alien, plays more in the assembly cut.
    “There's the rod puppet that they call the Bambi Burster that plays more in the assembly cut.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:21:48 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  99. fun, about Sigourney Weaver: She was eight months pregnant when the Newt dummy was made, so they measured only her head and shoulders; she made the film six months after her first child was born.
    “When they made the dummy, Sigourney was like 8 months pregnant.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:36:11 · Griffin Newman (0.30 sure it was them)
  100. fun, about David Fincher: As a boy he asked for a BB gun, was refused, and asked for a movie camera instead, on the theory that it cost far more.
    “he asked his mother for a BB gun.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:43:30 · Griffin Newman (0.35 sure it was them)