Likes the Apes franchise but has only seen the first two; cares about filmography and box-office context. Hard on bloated, calculated star vehicles. Attributions to David are low confidence because the transcript is unlabeled.
Stances
The 2001 film is indefensible
Hype and release dates drove production
Studios chase sequels nobody wants
Humor: Dry, sarcastic tangents about box office and franchises.
Fact-checks on a laptop, pulling dates and biographical trivia (Kinnear's Indiana roots, box office facts); lines individually attributed to him are low-confidence.
Stances
Keeps the episode on movie facts via the computer
Doesn't wear glasses
Humor: Wry deadpan and pointed film-business commentary.
In their words
“I should just note for anyone listening, David has a computer and you're getting the dates with that.” (1:02:09)
“See, I'm not glasses wear.” (0:31:09)
Blank Check with Griffin & David: Flesh+Blood (host)
Likes this movie more in the first half and gets bored by the plague second half. Defends John Hughes, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Breakfast Club. Fond of box office trivia and the 1985 weekend. Cannot stand rambling.
Stances
Second half becomes boring chaos
Hughes's first film is gross
Verhoeven becomes an impressionist of blockbusters
Humor: Dry quips, wordplay and deadpan reactions.
In their words
“I do see, I like this movie more in the 1st half where I think it's more achieving what it wants to do.” (1:12:10)
“Uh, Plan Strans and automobiles is a masterpiece.” (1:34:21)
Loves box office history and the box office game, character acting, and a well-made Spielberg set piece. Cannot stand underwritten leads, miscast villains and nostalgia as a defense. Is a sucker for Austin Powers and a wrong-footed sequel pitch.
Stances
The sequel is dramatically inert
Jurassic Park is a one-movie concept
Nostalgia should not canonize bad films
Humor: Dry, sarcastic one-liners and exaggerated nitpicking, plus comedic fury about the Crichton island names.
In their words
“I just think it's a horrible screenplay full of bad ideas that are totally disjointed.” (0:31:15)
“I don't think there is a great Jurassic Park sequel that could possibly be made.” (0:33:30)
“We have to stop canonizing things just because we saw them when we were young.” (1:39:46)
A working film critic who respects the filmmaking craft but is unforgiving of incoherence; likes actors like Bob Balaban and Jeffrey Wright and notices careful details like casting and release data. Cannot stand a film he finds unwatchable or toxic, as with My Old Lady. A sucker for box office numbers and critic-baiting trivia.
Stances
Lady in the Water is awful and unwatchable
The scrunt looks terrible
Critic characters in movies are usually unfair
Humor: Dry, quick riffs and deadpan dismissals, plus pop-culture cross-references.
In their words
“Where you lose me is the idea that this is a watchable film.” (1:49:10)
The Atlantic film and television critic who adores RDJ's charm and will watch anything out of Oscar completism. Hates showy awards bait and the Dobkin comedy style. Fond of The Godfather, The Apostle, Sam Raimi, and spaceship movies, and says he'd take a dumb spaceship movie over a dumb adult drama.
Stances
Downey was hurt by Marvel; indies are risky for him
Duvall's nomination was a veteran's default, not a sign of quality
The Judge is worse than The Phantom Menace
Humor: Dry deadpan, quick pile-ons, and overdramatic dismissals of bad movies.
In their words
“I am a film and television critic for the Atlantic.” (0:04:50)
“I just want to say this movie is a lot worse than Star Wars episode one of the Phantom Menace.” (1:09:46)
“I'd rather take a dumb spaceship movie than a dumb adult drama.” (1:10:26)
David is an Atlantic critic and box-office nerd who has written about what Hollywood failed to learn from Avatar. He loves the movie as a sincere crowd-pleaser and compares it to Top Gun: Maverick. He is exasperated by writers' rooms and 'director bullshit' he loves.
Stances
Hollywood learned the wrong lesson from Avatar
Avatar and Way of Water should be bet on
Cameron is always right
Humor: Jokey and wry, trading gags about plagiarizing Griffin's takes.
In their words
“I lifted this right from Griffin.” (0:45:17)
“If James Cameron thinks I need 4 Avatar sequels, then I need 4 Avatars.” (1:42:09)
“I also write movie reviews of the Atlantic.” (1:49:02)
Film critic who writes for the Atlantic; likes Joel Kinnaman, For All Mankind and Michael Keaton's rhythms. He is hard on the film but follows the industry context closely. A sucker for box-office trivia and the Mets.
Stances
The film is humorless and a waste of its cast
The grounded Nolan-style reboot wave ended with this film
The suit and the lack of a physical villain are the failures
Humor: Dry asides and tangents, like his Lord of the Rings Gollum-hunt pitch.
In their words
“I wrote their obituaries.” (0:01:32)
“What if you made it about them looking for Golem when he's not around?” (1:36:15)
Fond of the Tom Cruise character-actor mode over movie-star mode; reads the film through its production history and cutting. Dislikes Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Road House. Admires the 2014 slate but ranks Edge near the top.
Stances
Edge is Cruise's unheralded fulcrum performance
The Liman-McQuarrie-Cruise triangle is why it works
Does not want a sequel
Humor: Dry, argumentative asides and cinephile one-liners.
A big Cronenberg fan and a video game kid (Game Boy Camera, Perfect Dark). Likes Villeneuve and Dune but is skeptical of Linklater and Soderbergh episodes that run thin.
Stances
Cronenberg is his Lynch
Dune and Villeneuve deserve an extended look
Skeptical of directors who just try stuff
Humor: Dry deflation and piling on Griffin's bits.
In their words
“Pronenberg is kind of my lynch.” (0:42:28)
“One of my favorite games, this is David Sims speaking” (0:23:16)
Reads the dossier and runs the box office game, with a film-historian's interest in distribution and Oscar history. Skeptical of calling things masterpieces. Has less Lynch background than Griffin and Ben, and is mostly seeing the filmography fresh.
Stances
Parent Trap is not a masterpiece
Lynch's career deserves the miniseries
The box office game gives context to a release
Humor: Dry corrections and pointing out others' mistakes, plus tangents like Grimace.
In their words
“I think a couple of the things you have as masterpiece are a stretch.” (0:09:19)
A Banderas devotee who logs everything on Letterboxd and is drawn to flops and Hollywood context. Finds this film dull and the lead miscast, but likes the idea. Sucker for 1999 box-office detail.
Stances
Banderas is miscast in a realism-minded part
The film is a middling watch
Humor: Dry sarcasm and mock outrage.
In their words
“I have never seen a performance that I feel he is phoning in because he has so much energy as a performer.” (0:47:56)
A working critic who saw the film at a guild screening with Fincher and Walker and relays the Q&A; ranks Zodiac first and Alien 3 high. He likes pulpy genre craft, Soderbergh and Hit Man comparisons, and box-office detail.
Stances
The Killer is Fincher doing a stripped-down genre exercise
Netflix business strategy hurts both Fincher films
Alien 3 is bleak and underrated
Humor: Dry, deadpan ranking-banter and tangents on the weekend box office.
In their words
“I think he said it was 5 days of shooting, but it was 5 weeks of rehearsal.” (1:18:08)
“He said it was Prometheus and Haywire, which makes sense.” (1:17:06)
Likes Mank and Fincher, calls it an airy delight, and interviewed everyone on the crew for his Atlantic story. Loves the Hearst-party scenes and the machinery of Hollywood development. Dislikes the Mank writing frame and The Offer's spirit.
Stances
Mank is more fun than its reputation
The writing frame is the least interesting part of the movie
He likes Mank but not Promising Young Woman
Humor: Sarcastic and deflating, with sudden bits like showing character posters during The Offer.
In their words
“This movie is fun.” (0:20:02)
“I interviewed everyone involved with this movie.” (0:02:09)
“I watched them both in the same night, so they're mushing together in my brain.” (2:01:06)
A working critic who loves Gone Girl as a stylish pulp thriller and keeps a running grudge about the Oscars snubbing it. Fond of craft detail (lighting, gaffers) and old-fashioned stardom talk, and a self-described soft touch on Netflix when they make something good. Wary of bad Netflix-Fincher imitations.
Stances
Gone Girl deserved cinematography, editing and score nominations
Netflix prestige now looks like a diluted Fincher
He is nice to Netflix when it makes something good
Humor: Dry, with groaners and name-mangling bits that the others pounce on.
In their words
“Look, if they make something good,” (0:30:56)
“And when I interviewed Michael Mann, which I just did.” (2:43:38)
“I also was deep in watching 8000000 lawyer movies for a big picture draft episode and I did not want to take on also trying to get through 2 seasons of Mindhunter.” (3:04:06)
Treats Dragon Tattoo as a comfort movie he likes more every rewatch; loves Christopher Plummer's 80s, cold murder, Fincher's craft. Dislikes hot murder and feel-bad-is-good-for-you talk. A sucker for Plummer, Muppets-era nostalgia and a rewatch-conversion story.
Stances
Best 80s of any actor
I want cold murder
Aloha now rules.
Humor: Dry, deadpan; lands the hot take then undercuts it.
In their words
“I like it more every time I rewatch it, which I think is true for a lot of people.” (2:24:32)
A critic who ranks The Social Network number one of 2010 and calls it one of the most rewatchable films of modern history. Likes tight genre craft and thinks the movie became a genre. Cool on The Big Short and the lesser Facebook-adjacent films.
Stances
The Social Network is the best film of its decade
The Big Short rips it off
The film is a harbinger of how culture works
Humor: Dry, with deadpan asides and long riffs on Hollywood business.
In their words
“I have the social network at number one of 2010.” (0:09:14)
“I mean, I think the big short, which is not a movie I love, is the most obvious movie that's ripping off the social network” (0:11:44)
Frames Zodiac against its 2007 competition and talks about its craft precisely. Coined the phrase 'a movie where the look of it makes your teeth hurt'. Treats Zodiac as a comfort-food movie despite the subject.
Stances
Zodiac is Fincher's masterpiece
Digital cinematography can be stunning
The 2007 slate was loaded
Humor: Gleeful, self-aware, quick to riff on bits (the squirrels).
In their words
“Those knives, Griffin, that I have, in my chair back there, they're covered in blood.” (0:01:03)
“This is a movie where the look of it makes your teeth hurt.” (1:10:47)
Their shows' recurring bits
Running bits, not opinions; a critic read aloud is cited, not present.
The Big Picture
Drafts: Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument.
Hall of Fame: A star's or director's best, ranked and argued.
Countdowns: Ranked lists, top five or top ten.
Blank Check with Griffin & David
The box office game: Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against.
The sung theme: "Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it.
Their claims
Showing 1,001–1,091 of 1,091 claims.
career (career):
Joe Johnston → The Wolfman.
Cap was a comeback for Johnston after the calamity of The Wolfman.
“This was a real, like, comeback for Joe Johnson, because this was after the calamity of Wolfman.”
career (career):
Captain America: The First Avenger → The Rocketeer.
The movie was a comeback for Johnston after The Wolfman and is essentially what he wanted The Rocketeer to be, with the culture now caught up.
“This is basically what you wanted to do with the rocketeer.”
verdict (verdict):
Captain America: The First Avenger → Matt Hatch.
A past guest argues this is the best Marvel movie; the hosts think it's the most individual in tone and look.
“has continues to argue that this is the best Marvel movie.”
programming (programming):
Captain America: The First Avenger → Thor.
Cap opened to about 65 million like Thor, finished near 176 worldwide domestic and around 370 vs Thor's 450.
“Cap opens pretty much exactly the same as Thor, 65.”
career (career):
David Yates → Fantastic Beasts (films).
Yates saved the Potter franchise but doing Fantastic Beasts is a couple that should have broken up years ago.
“Like the Yates doing the Fantastic Beast movies is like one of those like couples where you're like, they should have broken up like 4 years ago.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:02:45 ·
David Sims
(0.35 sure it was them)
industry (industry):
Thor → Kenneth Branagh.
Marvel hired Branagh for Shakespearean gravitas to signal seriousness, then handed him a goofball script.
“let's hire Kenneth Brown out to show people were making a serious movie because he's a Shakespearean guy”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:03:43 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage):
Thor → The Avengers.
The Ultimates reimagined Thor as a possible revolutionary claiming to be a god, versus the film's real Thor.
“in the ultimates, Mark Miller's take is like Thor is sort of like this revolutionary guy who claims he's a god”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:05:58 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage):
Thor → Stan Lee.
The Donald Blake identity came from Stan Lee's 60s devotion to the secret-identity trope; the movie keeps it only as a fake ID gag.
“in the 60s, Stanley was a little slavishly devoted to like the classic superhero comic trope, so you needed a secret identity”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:08:08 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
lineage (lineage):
Thor → J. Michael Straczynski.
The film borrows heavily from Straczynski's celebrated Thor run, including Thor spending time in the Midwest.
“the celebrated Thor arc was J. Michael Stratinsky, which is this is borrowing from heavily.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:08:28 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (industry):
Anthony Hopkins → Tommy Lee Jones.
Casting a gravitas-bearing famous actor as the elder is Marvel's repeat playbook, as with Tommy Lee Jones in Captain America.
“It's also the same thing they did with Tommy Lee Jones and Captain America”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:09:27 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
career (career):
Thor → Red Dawn.
Hemsworth was nearly unknown, with leads in two shelved films, Cabin in the Woods and Red Dawn, plus Star Trek.
“Red Dawn had been shelved.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:09:49 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
people (people):
Joss Whedon → Chris Hemsworth.
Whedon, having worked with Hemsworth on Cabin in the Woods and signing on to Avengers, urged the studio to consider him for Thor.
“Whedon had done Cabin in the Woods, and he was signing on to Avengers while they were casting this and he said, you should really consider that Hemsworth guy.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:12:26 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (industry):
Joss Whedon → Kevin Feige.
From Thor through Age of Ultron Whedon acts as the MCU's other creative force and number-one script doctor, butting heads with Feige.
“Whedon, and we're going to talk about this a bunch, is a major creative force on the level of Kevin Feige from Thor through to Age of Ultron.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:12:26 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
career (career):
Kenneth Branagh → Joel Schumacher.
Branagh is cast as this generation's Joel Schumacher, a big silly hammy director, which is meant as praise.
“He's like, our generation's like Joel Schumacher.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:18:12 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (industry):
Thor → Ike Perlmutter.
Perlmutter kept early Marvel budgets low, so these movies lack grandeur and the Jotunheim CG looks poor.
“Ike Pearlmutter is keeping the budgets pretty low, so these movies just don't have the grandeur”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:20:23 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
craft (craft):
Thor → Kenneth Branagh.
Branagh built action with no spatial coherence, cut in a seesaw, and canted every angle.
“Kenneth McRanaugh constructing big action set pieces with no spatial coherence.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:20:43 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
craft (craft):
Kenneth Branagh → Henry V.
Branagh's Shakespeare films handle epic battles well, but in Thor he chases flashy action instead of classical staging.
“Henry V is good.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:20:54 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
career (career):
Sam Raimi → Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Raimi's frustrated 90s Thor pitch is read as the origin of Hercules on TV, like Darkman after losing The Shadow.
“So like he really wanted to direct the shadow.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:22:21 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
career (career):
Sam Raimi → Darkman.
Raimi wanted to direct The Shadow, was refused, and made Darkman instead.
“So like he really wanted to direct the shadow.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:22:21 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if):
Thor → Matthew Vaughn.
Vaughn was hired after leaving X-Men and wanted Kevin McKidd, but exited in 2008.
“He loved to quit movies because he exits in 2008.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:26:16 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if):
Thor → Guillermo del Toro.
Del Toro was attached post-Pan's Labyrinth but left for The Hobbit, which he also did not make.
“Guillermo del Toro is brought in.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:26:18 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if):
Thor → Daniel Craig.
Before Hemsworth, Daniel Craig was offered the part of Thor and turned it down.
“Daniel Craig is offered the role.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:27:17 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
people (people):
Tom Hiddleston → Kenneth Branagh.
Hiddleston worked with Branagh on stage before Thor and was cast to bring gravitas.
“Hiddleston, who has worked with Brana on stage.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:27:29 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
what-if (what-if):
Tom Hiddleston → Josh Hartnett.
Josh Hartnett was widely reported as the Loki frontrunner, a bigger name, until two unknowns were cast.
“smart money is all on Josh Hartnett.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:28:29 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
industry (industry):
Natalie Portman → Black Swan.
Thor landed four to five months after Black Swan, so Portman's Oscar gave the film star power Marvel was lucky to get.
“This comes out like 4 months after Black Swan, 5 months.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:32:01 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
career (career):
Thor → Don Payne.
Comedy writer Payne came from The Simpsons and wrote Fantastic Four 2 and My Super Ex-Girlfriend before Marvel brought him in to make Thor funny.
“he was big into this, like, I know how to make Thor funny, so that'll be more approachable.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:39:00 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
career (career):
Thor → The Avengers.
Loki's Thor performance is a Shakespearean tragedy turn; the charm and menace arrive in Avengers.
“He's kind of doing like, like, you see, Branaugh cast him to bring the gravitas, and he's kind of giving mostly an emotional performance.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:43:03 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
craft (craft):
Thor → Iron Man 2.
Both force S.H.I.E.L.D. world-building into the plot; Iron Man 2 does it worse, and Captain America saves it for the end.
“Iron Man 2 has it worse than this, but this and Iron Man 2 have that right where they're sort of like, PS, like, Hawkeye's coming.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:48:53 ·
David Sims
(0.45 sure it was them)
industry (industry):
Thor → The Lord of the Rings.
Studios expected a Thor movie would have to be a serious sub-Lord of the Rings; post-LOTR C-list fantasy launches had been failing.
“anytime Post-Lord of the Rings, anyone was trying to launch a C-list, B-list, Lord of the Rings style fantasy thing.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
0:58:16 ·
David Sims
(0.35 sure it was them)
theme (theme):
Thor → E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
For Selvig, Thor is proof of aliens, his own E.T., and the reason he will not let go of him.
“Thor is like his ET.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:07:56 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
career (career):
Clark Gregg → Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Coulson's death in Avengers and revival for the show cheapen his arc, debated here.
“Let Carl Craig have his paycheck, man, the mentor.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:24:34 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
industry (industry):
Thor → Natalie Portman.
Portman had director approval and a multi-film contract but did not want to do more, so Marvel stopped forcing her.
“she got director approval over these movies.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:28:08 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
verdict (verdict):
Thor: The Dark World → Thor.
Dark World is the better brother movie; Thor's Thor-Loki rivalry feels underdeveloped.
“Dark World is better. They tapped into the brother dynamic.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:39:18 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
career (career):
Tom Hiddleston → Midnight in Paris.
2011 was Hiddleston's breakout year across Thor, Midnight in Paris, and War Horse.
“So those were his 3 performances.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:41:54 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
career (career):
Anthony Hopkins → Noah.
Hopkins in the gravitas role is an uncreative choice, same reaction as in Noah.
“I had the same reaction when he was in Noah.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:45:28 ·
David Sims
(0.35 sure it was them)
career (career):
Idris Elba → Luther.
Elba's low billing hides that he was becoming an internet boyfriend via Luther, and the Wire rediscovery.
“he was so clearly becoming like an internet boyfriend.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:46:05 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
programming (programming):
Thor → Fast Five.
Thor's opening was the Memorial Day-season release, with Fast Five as the number two film in its 2nd weekend.
“Number 2 is one of the best movies of this year.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Thor ·
1:50:54 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
craft (craft):
Jack White → Iron Man 2.
While reading the credits, a host notes that Jack White is credited on Iron Man 2 and jokes that he played the element.
“Iron Man Jack White is credited?”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Iron Man 2 ·
2:00:42 ·
David Sims
(0.30 sure it was them)
“It was like if somebody made a Western, but it also was implicitly built to and engineered to appeal to a worldwide audience as much as it appealed to an American one.”
lineage (lineage):
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon → King Hu.
CTHD plays in the milieu of King Hu and the wuxia classics, but with a more modern sensibility.
“this movie is playing in a, in a Milu that is inherent to like King Hu movies and Musha, like the classics”
career (career):
Chow Yun-fat → The Replacement Killers.
Chow's US run: The Replacement Killers, The Corrupter, Anna and the King, then Bulletproof Monk.
“And Cha-Yon Fat was doing, like, the replacement killers.”
“I mean, I just remember when the Tomorrow Never Dies came out and it was the 1st of 4 consecutive, like, finally, a Bond girl who's even tougher than Bond.”
“choreographing it had a time that he never really had before. And so he like busted out the big guns, all like the kicks that he had been holding in his back pocket for all those years.”
lineage (lineage):
The Ice Storm → Hulk.
After loving Hulk, a host went back to the Lee filmography and read The Ice Storm as the family psychodrama behind it.
“And then this movie is like, oh, here's all the weird family psychodrama, which is already contextualized through the Marvel Comics prism.”
career (career):
The Ice Storm → Ride with the Devil.
Lee made two straight films about outsiders looking in on America at a crisis point, both starring Maguire.
“I think it's very interesting that Angley made 2 movies in a row about America at a crisis point”
lineage (lineage):
Blue Steel → Halloween.
Calls Blue Steel a slasher with Ron Silver as Michael Myers and cites Ebert calling it the best Halloween sequel.
“I read back to Roger Ebert's review, and he said, this is actually the best Halloween sequel that's ever been made.”
lineage (lineage):
Vanilla Sky → Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes).
Vanilla Sky is nearly the same story as the Spanish original, except the hero is a magazine magnate friends with Spielberg.
“So the film is actually pretty much exactly the same as Abri Lozojos, except for the main character of that movie is not a magazine magnate who's friends with Steven Spielberg.”
theme (theme):
Vanilla Sky → Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes).
The Spanish original keeps the ending ambiguous, while this version spells out what the dream state is.
“And Abri Lo Sojos does not have this problem so much, is that I think the ending is supposed to be ambiguous”
lineage (lineage):
Vanilla Sky → Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes).
The ending follows the original beat for beat, down to the jump and the 'open your eyes' last line.
“Yeah, again, it's how Abri Lo Sojos works to a T down to him jumping and open your eyes, like being on last lines.”
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Jesus building a crude cross opens the film; hosts riff on the chair-inventing scene in Gibson's film and the invention of chairs.
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Watched the film then the Criterion vintage commentary, intercut among Cox, Schrader, Scorsese and Defoe, recorded as multiple interviews edited together.
“And it's intercutting between Cox, Schrader, Scorsese, and Defoe.”
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Novel history: Kazantzakis published 1955, Orthodox Church tried to excommunicate him; Scorsese first heard of it as an NYU student and only read it around 1972-79.
“The novel, presented Deeply Human Christ, contemplating a normal life spent with Mary Magdalene”
fun, about
Paul Schrader:
Schrader's first draft had Jesus taking his heart out and a literal Last Supper of eating flesh; his big contribution was outlining 300-400 scenes from the book.
“Paul's 1st version, apparently, he has Jesus taking his heart out.”
fun, about
Casting Jesus:
Candidates for Jesus included Aidan Quinn, Eric Roberts, De Niro (who said he can't wear a robe) and Walken; Sting was to be Pilate in the first Paramount attempt.
“De Niro's response was, I don't think I can wear a robe.”
fun, about
Martin Scorsese:
After Scarface flopped with Hollywood audiences, De Palma asked Scorsese if they would become teachers; Scorsese says he couldn't do anything else.
fun, about
Willem Dafoe:
Dafoe first declined; at a second meeting Scorsese's explanation within minutes convinced him he was the only person who could play Jesus.
fun, about
Harvey Keitel:
Keitel's Brooklyn-accented, red-haired Judas earned a Razzie nomination, which hosts defend; Scorsese wanted him to embody violence and anger.
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
With only five centurions, Scorsese whip-panned among them to suggest twenty-five without ever showing them in one frame.
“And he reuses 5 centurions to make them 25 centurions.”
fun, about
Irvin Kershner:
Empire Strikes Back director plays Zebedee; hosts digress to the Magic Roundabout's Zebedee and spot the call-out of 'Judith' from the background.
“Yes, is Irving Kirschner, director of Empire Strikes Back.”
fun, about
Star Trek TNG 'The Inner Light':
Picard living fifty years in a village in minutes is the lens for Jesus' long dream life, ending with the creepy-girl Satan reveal.
“The whole episode is him living an entire episode.”
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
The final crucifixion film burn: a cameraman exposed the magazine too early, ruining film in the final shot, and the flashing light damage was kept.
fun, about
Peter Gabriel:
Gabriel did the score nearly free, mixing voices from around the world; it was released as Passion and is credited as breakthrough for world music in America.
fun, about
The Last Temptation of Christ:
Box office: opened August 12, 1988, number 13, about $8M domestic and around $30M worldwide; one Oscar nomination (Scorsese for director), Hershey and score got Globe nods.
fun, about
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World:
David states it is one of his ten favorites and Griffin says he texted it was the best movie ever made; David jokes he should have put it on his Sight and Sound ballot.
“I think I should just, like, next time I do sight and sound, stop being like, moo, I love, you know, some important movie, so just fucking put this on there.”
fun, about
Tom Rothman:
Rothman was a studio exec who had long wanted to make the Aubrey books; he handed Weir a captain's sword, saying take command of the HMS Surprise, and Weir asked to keep the sword.
“is take command of the HMS surprise. And Peter Weir is like, can I keep the sword?”
fun, about
Peter Weir:
Weir's directing patience: he rewrote the property into a friendship story, using the 10th book (The Far Side of the World) for the subtitle instead of the first book.
“I want it to be on the friendship of Aubrey Maturin.”
fun, about
Paul Bettany:
Bettany refused the boot-camp costume T-shirt with his character's name so Maturin would feel apart from everyone; he trained in amputations and fish-cutting instead of sailing.
fun, about
Sound design:
At the Academy Museum, Weir's featurette says the rough impressionistic sound pass beat the version where every sound was justified, which was cacophonous.
“when it became too justified and you were trying to account for everything, it was cacophonous and it didn't work.”
fun, about
United Flight 232:
The author was inspired by this crash, where a freak mechanical failure still left 180 survivors; simulations never match the result.
“And then he, in 89, reads about the notorious United Flight 232 crash.”
fun, about
Fearless casting:
Weir's first call was Mel Gibson, who was busy directing The Man Without a Face and, when told Bridges was second choice, said he wanted Bridges for his own film.
“And Weir says Jeff Bridges and Mel was like, fuck.”
fun, about
Winona Ryder / Jeff Bridges:
The studio wanted Ryder and a screen-test kiss; Bridges refused in front of the executives, saying he was way too old.
fun, about
Rosie Perez:
On the WTF podcast she said that crew asked if she was okay after takes because the emotion looked extreme, and that she only began processing her childhood after the film.
“And that it was Fearless was one of the things where everyone was just like, are you okay during the scenes?”
fun, about
Fargo / critics:
Halliwell's Film Guide (stingy with stars) gave Fargo four; Siskel and Ebert both rapturous, and Ebert's review ends with 'Films like Fargo are why I love the movies.'
“Films like Fargo are why I love the movies is how his review ends.”
fun, about
Bolt:
Travolta's second-highest worldwide grosser is Disney's Bolt, which was the rewritten, normalized version of Chris Sanders's weirder road-trip animal movie.
“It is Disney's Bolt, which made 328 million dollars worldwide.”
fun, about
Dune:
See the cat-and-rat milking scene: Thufir must milk a cat taped to a rat for the antidote; pure Lynch, not in the book, and Thufir is never seen again.
“Inside a space cat carrier, and you're going to have to milk this cat for the antidote to the poison.”
fun, about
Decision to Leave:
Chain mail glove: the detective puts on a chain mail glove in a rooftop chase against a man with a knife; the hosts note both men are too winded to move fast so he has time. David pulls up Amazon listings.
“The perp pulling the knife is him kind of saying like, so just give me like 90 seconds to catch up.”
fun, about
Tang Wei:
The hosts' joke pitch: a TV show where Tang Wei returns every season with a new husband who dies, like Sideshow Bob trying to kill Bart.
fun, about
Sherlock, Jr.:
Gillette's title card plays on razor brands (Gillette, Ever-Ready, Gem); the studio's name on screen, Veronal, was a sleeping drug.
fun, about
Sherlock, Jr.:
Walking into the movie screen looks like a miracle: it is a second set built behind the proscenium and lit differently so it reads as a flat projected image.
“And he just steps casually into the screen, and it feels like a miracle”
fun, about
Sherlock, Jr.:
Keaton matched his body position across cuts to wildly different locations, shots made hours or weeks apart, by overlaying the earlier film.
“they had an initial shot of him and then they like put the film over the film.”
fun, about
Sherlock, Jr.:
Keaton's baby-gag reading: every other movie cue he can copy in real time, but he cannot produce twin babies; contributors read it as a joke about movies skipping the 9 months.
fun, about
The Navigator:
A title card says going on a honeymoon without a bride is like singing 'Kiss Me Again' to the tune of 'Alice, Where Art Thou' (a fast waltz versus a slow plaintive song).
“going on a honeymoon without a bride is like singing in the words of Kiss Me Again to the music of Alice, where art thou?”
fun, about
The Navigator:
The last 20 minutes (island of cannibals) are old-school white panic racism, where Keaton's timelessness 'falls to the ground'.
“It's 20 minutes of old school white panic racism.”
fun, about
The Navigator:
A cut gag sent a starfish with a badge directing fish traffic; previews showed the audience was caught up in the story and it cost 10 grand.
“apparently they'd spent 10 grand on that gag and they had to cut it.”
fun, about
Wendell & Wild / David Sims:
David saw the film at a TIFF 9 AM press screening after a night of fire alarms and an accidentally armed security system in a Toronto Airbnb; he says it healed him.
“I'm gonna put my clothes on, and I'm gonna walk my ass over to the light box and just watch Wendolyn Wild, because at least there won't be a fire alarm.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:26:55 ·
David Sims
(0.80 sure it was them)
fun, about
Comedy Central / Review:
Comedy Central refused to license to streaming after Broad City boomed on Hulu, so shows like Review were stuck on a bad app.
“We are never licensing any of our shows to a streaming service ever again.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:55:45 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Wendell & Wild / Jordan Peele:
Originally the nun Sister Helley was the protagonist; Peele's note was to make teen Kat the lead so kids can identify. Selick: it took a while to convince him.
“It's the easiest note in the world, Henry Selling.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:02:20 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Wendell and Wild:
A hellmaiden's cold open: the car crash, the punk boombox with a bloodshot eye, and X-Ray Spex on the radio ground the first seven minutes.
“She's listening to x-ray specs on the radio.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:24:46 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Wendell & Wild soundtrack:
The punk and new-wave soundtrack includes X-Ray Spex, Fishbone, The Specials, TV on the Radio for the finale, and Special Interests.
“Their song, Young, Gifted Black and Leather fucking rules.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:30:04 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Wendell & Wild / Buffalo Belzer:
The giant puppet heads were built so the faces are articulated; Belzer's hand is built to scale, about 15 feet tall, and you can see it in the credits.
“The hand is like 15 feet tall.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:35:06 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Wendell and Wild:
The undead city council members are skeletons from past centuries, which David finds a clever, laugh-out-loud idea.
“Like, what if you brought back New York's city council from like the 18th century”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:40:33 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Wendell and Wild:
The trans character Raul's identity is handled quietly through context clues, which they praise over self-congratulatory progressive films.
“It's basically like stated only through context clues, you know?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:55:14 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Black Adam:
Hosts mock a leaked-documents campaign to prove Black Adam profited, noting half the profit is Warner paying itself through HBO Max and billboards.
“Half of that profit is the amount of money that Warner Brothers pays itself through HBO Max.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
2:02:36 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Monkeybone:
Bit about Monkeybone's final sequence: it looks like rear projection, and Brendan Fraser is made up more monkeylike with a unibrow, bigger teeth and organs falling out.
“It looks like deliberately artificially like they're just in front of a screen kind of shit.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
2:14:22 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Bob Fosse:
After near-death experiences Fosse would try to live healthier for a month and then go back to chain smoking and squeezing nurses.
“smoking cigarettes until they're burning in his mouth and squeezing every nurse's ass”
fun, about
Fosse ranking:
Griffin: Cabaret, All That Jazz, Lenny, Star 80, Sweet Charity; David: Cabaret, All That Jazz, Sweet Charity, Lenny, Star 80; Julie argues Sweet Charity above Star 80.
fun, about
An Angel at My Table:
Made for TV as three episodes, but it conquered Venice: crowds chanted for the film for ten minutes, though it only won the runner-up prize.
“people were shouting angel, angel for 10 minutes”
fun, about
Janet Frame:
Days or hours from a lobotomy, Frame was spared when she won a literary prize, and the film tosses it off as the halfway point.
“It's completely bananas that she was like days or hours from a lobotomy.”
fun, about
Annie:
David says Annie is famously the first movie he ever saw; Dana saw original Broadway Annie at 12 and decided then to live in New York.
“I think it was, it's famously the 1st movie I ever saw.”
fun, about
John Carpenter:
Drew McWeeny's story: asked his favorite Carpenter movie, McWeeny said Starman and Carpenter said 'ah, a romantic'; Carpenter tests fans for being softies.
fun, about
Starman script:
Original script ended with Starman blowing up the government with his ray gun; Dean Reisner's rewrite humanized it; he got no credit but the film is dedicated to him.
fun, about
Jeff Bridges:
Oscar story: Pfeiffer recalled Bridges had broken capillaries painted on his nose for Baker Boys; 'doesn't read on camera' - 'yeah, but it helps me'.
fun, about
Ricki and the Flash:
A theory that the film would have worked better if cheaper and quieter, as a Meryl who agreed to be in a Demme movie, rather than Meryl hiring Demme.
“and it was Meryl agreeing to be in a Jonathan Demi movie rather than Meryl hiring Jonathan Demi.”
fun, about
Nausicaä's origin:
Miyazaki could not sell a new film after Cagliostro, so a manga publisher offered a life raft; after a couple of years of manga he finally pitched it as a movie, though he had never intended one.
“The publisher of the manga reaches out to him and says, I liked Castle of Cagliostro, would you want to try to do something in print?”
fun, about
King Kong (Broadway):
Both hosts say the Broadway King Kong musical is bad except for the enormous puppet, which they enjoyed more than anything else they did not like.
“the puppet is so fucking strong that I did not care that I did not care about the rest of it.”
fun, about
Warriors of the Wind:
The 95 minute US cut has no listed cast, a heavy metal style poster where Nausicaä is the smallest figure, and renames her Princess Zandra.
fun, about
Nausicaä's long action sequence:
David timed it: roughly 35 straight minutes of action, ending in the Ohmu stampede with the missile-pierced baby, and wonders what a kid gets from it.
“there's just this sort of bananas, like 35 minutes of action.”
fun, about
The Hustle:
The Hustle, the gender-flipped Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, was almost titled Nasty Women, which David thinks would have been the correct title.
fun, about
John Wick: Chapter 3:
The hosts argue Chapter 3 is the best Wick because Keanu is so natural in a heightened world and the scenes are choreographed with minimal cuts; a Twitter pile-on about 'not concluding a trilogy' followed.
“Barry Bosswick is the waspiest actor of all time.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Flesh+Blood ·
0:39:53 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Flesh and Blood:
Movie wasn't released wide and went quickly to HBO, where it became cult.
“It became like a somewhat well-known cult movie.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Flesh+Blood ·
0:43:09 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Susan Tyrrell:
Griffin did not know she was in the film, was glad.
“She's amazing in this movie.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Flesh+Blood ·
0:46:09 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Flesh and Blood:
The film sets a dog-meat plague scene and a flaming halo shot.
“I mean, there's also that incredible shot of later in the movie where he's got the burning wheel behind his head.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Flesh+Blood ·
1:08:41 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Bruno Kirby:
A mousy character actor in the film, always in film history by being in five beloved movies.
“he's been in like 5 of the most beloved movies of all time.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Flesh+Blood ·
1:27:03 ·
David Sims
(0.35 sure it was them)
fun, about
American Ninja:
What if we took ninjas, but made them more American; $3.2M opening.
“Well, it made, what if we took ninjas, but made them more American?”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Flesh+Blood ·
1:29:55 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
fun, about
Robert Altman:
Griffin would do Altman 1970 to 1980, not Buffalo Bill and the Indians.
“My pitch would be 1970 to 1980.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Flesh+Blood ·
1:39:16 ·
David Sims
(0.35 sure it was them)
fun, about
Michael Shannon:
David saw Michael Shannon eating a burger with a bunch of kids at Moo Burger, the first entry in the new Burger Report segment; Griffin followed with seeing Chivo Lubezki at Apple Pan.
“Oscar nominee, Michael Shannon, eating with a bunch of kids and a couple of adults eating his own bird.”
fun, about
Christopher Doyle:
Doyle is quoted as saying you cannot make a movie unless you've slept with a black woman and spent a night in jail; the hosts riff on it as the reason the party scene is illegible.
“a man who has said that you cannot make a movie unless you've slept with a black woman and spent a night in jail.”
fun, about
Lady in the Water:
Opened to 18 million, number three behind Pirates of the Caribbean and Monster House, and finished with 42 million domestic, 72 worldwide.
“It ended up with a grand total of $42 million, 72 worldwide.”
fun, about
Robert Downey Jr.:
On Inside the Actors Studio, Downey called Home for the Holidays the most relaxed performance in film history because of the heroin, and said Jodie Foster once confronted him.
“Yeah, home for holidays, which on that episode of Inside the Actor Studio, he refers to as the most relaxed performance in the history of film because of how much heroin he was on.”