Press-screening veteran who found Winter Soldier merely fine at release; likes political-thriller texture and Redford's calm, character acting. Dislikes Marvel villains who justify genocide with logic. Loves Samuel L. Jackson, spy-game lineage and the Russos' TV pilots.
Stances
Looks up facts (the computer guy)
Winter Soldier was a nonplus at release but improves on rewatch
Redford's underplaying is the movie's best asset
Regrets Civil War stops being a Captain America film
Humor: Dry deadpan asides, mock-serious pedantry and a willingness to play along with Griffin's bits.
In their words
“This is the 1st Marvel movie I started press screening.” (0:02:54)
Loves Sif, mythology, the practical-looking gold Asgard and the sibling story between Thor and Loki. Hates the first Thor and likes Dark World far more than Ragnarok. A sucker for spaceships and gap-toothed actors.
Stances
Dark World was the movie where Feige took over
Doctor Strange fails on comedy
Spaceships make any movie better
Humor: Deadpan escalation and gross-out one-liners, throwing a pillow to steer the room.
Also calls Iron Man 3 his favorite MCU film; a critic who tracks box office, awards ballots, contracts and Hollywood history. Likes character actors, Shane Black wit and clean action stakes. Sucker for ensemble casts and set-up/payoff.
Stances
Iron Man 3 is the best-structured sequel because it answers the previous film
The one flaw is the rushed Killian monologue and the sidelined Maya
Tony Stark should have ended here
Marvel's Atlanta wet-cement look is a problem
Humor: Dry, dead-pan and confidently over-informed, then deflates himself with a dumb aside.
In their words
“This is how you do a sequel.” (0:41:23)
“It's a really good 3rd movie.” (2:10:08)
“Anyone who dares criticize it, you know, is my enemy and I will meet them on the field of glory.” (0:56:30)
Treats Avengers as a model for plotted ensemble blockbusters; loves Samuel L. Jackson and Hulk, wants Marvel's cinematic conveyor belt held up to Justice League. Knows Hollywood trivia, box-office figures. Dislikes Man of Steel's destruction and Age of Ultron's continuity.
Stances
This is one of the best-structured blockbusters
The film looks cheap while being expensive
Age of Ultron can't be a sequel to this one
Jackson is undervalued
Humor: Dry, ironic, quick with box-office game-show bits and wry commentary on his own travel plans.
In their words
“I think this movie looks kind of cheap while being very expensive.” (0:03:02)
“Avengers 2 can't be a sequel to Avengers one. It has to be a sequel to 5 other moments.” (1:39:42)
He loves Marvel comics lore, the Golden and Silver Age versions of the characters, and period production design. He is a sucker for ensemble character actors like Neal McDonough and Tommy Lee Jones. He is dismissive of the movie's generic last third and of unearned endings.
Stances
The first third is perfect, the second solid, the third perfunctory
The ending teaser for Avengers cheapens the movie
The classic Bucky death was better than the film's
Humor: Dry deadpan asides and physical bits like rocking the couch for Tommy Lee Jones.
In their words
“The 1st 3rd is perfect.” (0:51:45)
“I think the 3rd 3rd is, you know, a little perfunctory.” (0:51:48)
The comics and film-history reader: knows Thor lore (Straczynski, Simonson), casting and development history, and Marvel's behind-the-scenes politics. Loves Hopkins at ease, Branagh as ham, the hammer-return sequence and the Patrick Doyle score. Dislikes chaos cinema and the Marvel pipeline's flat look.
Stances
Branagh is a hammy director he likes, but weak at action
Marvel's side-character sprawl hurts unfocused ensemble movies
Dark World is a better brother movie
Whedon over-kills characters
Humor: Deadpan fact-drops and interruptions that deflate Griffin's bits.
In their words
“I'm a big fan of Kenneth Bran as a director.” (0:18:10)
Film-history minded and well versed in studio politics (Feige, Perlmutter); likes Wes Anderson books but not Isle of Dogs. Dislikes hollow universe-building. Loves Galaxy Quest and Rickman.
Stances
Nick Fury's cameo derails the movie
Favreau lost The Avengers by making this film
Universe-building should serve story
Humor: Dry, mocking asides with pop-culture comparisons.
A Marvel and Hulk comics reader (Rick Jones, Peter David, Greg Pak) who loves Ang Lee's Hulk and trusts Tim Roth as the only good performance; hates bad CGI and generic Europa Corp action.
Stances
This film is the worst early MCU entry
Marvel quality control is fast food
Unleashed is the best Europa Corp film
Humor: Blunt put-downs and long, detailed story retellings, such as the Electro origin.
In their words
“Rick, you know, man, you got to read your 60s Marvel.” (0:17:51)
“Unleashed is my favorite of the Europa.” (0:11:09)
Pro-Iron Man, loves Downey's improvisational energy, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges' performances, and the Marvel comics of the 60s; dislikes Terrence Howard and generic Marvel scores. Cares about industry business details.
Stances
Iron Man is the best of the early Marvel films
Bridges is underrated as a Marvel villain
Hulk and later Marvel films feel generic
Humor: Self-deprecating New York landlord and apartment bits, deadpan Bill Maher mock-defense.
Attributions to David are low confidence because the transcript has no speaker labels. He argues about Nicholson's box office record, tracks the Oscar races of the era, and has a Transformers opinion (3 is a masterpiece, per a speaker who may be him). He is skeptical of Haunted Mansion.
Stances
Nicholson was not guaranteed money in the bank before this film (speaker uncertain)
Early-2000s Oscar races were set pieces worth remembering (speaker uncertain)
Humor: Dry corrections and numbers, plus a playful challenge to the guest's choices.
In their words
“Well, I'm going to dispute you on Jack being money in the bank.” (0:03:28)
“it did open to 16000000 and finished at 124” (1:52:03)
Box-office and awards nerd; loves Michelle Yeoh and the craft of fight choreography; is dismissive of Rush Hour as a boring sweaty cop movie and of Gladiator winning. A sucker for trivia and Oscar-night lore.
Stances
CTHD's release was a careful balancing of global audiences
Oscar race lore matters
Gladiator winning was weird
Humor: Dry, precise, and deadpan fact-bombs that undercut sillier riffs.
In their words
“Rush hour 2 is still the 4th biggest opening in August.” (0:46:50)
“Rush Hour is kind of a boring, sweaty cop movie.” (0:47:12)
Defends Hulk, owns Ice Storm on DVD and Criterion, and likes facts, production history and box-office context. Skeptical of easy characterization such as Weaver's.
Stances
Ice Storm gets cold weather as Do the Right Thing gets hot weather
Weaver's role feels easy; Lee's film is not about a craze
Reads out box-office top five in the closing game
Humor: Deadpan quiz-master and wry riffs on casting and careers.
In their words
“I think this movie gets cold weather as right as do the right thing gets hot weather.” (0:10:53)
“I mean, this podcast is just an excuse for me to buy Blu-rays.” (0:36:45)
Adores Richard Jenkins and critic-style takes; reads Blue Steel as a Bigelow B-picture that unifies her style. Loves a good box-office trivia quiz. Sucker for actor-career arcs.
Stances
Blue Steel is better than Point Break
Jenkins's entrance shifts the film into a representational register
Went in with the Spanish original in his head and thinks Vanilla Sky is essentially a remake of it with American excess added. Likes the genre-inflected last act more than the first half but rates the whole C plus. Sucker for British film magazine nostalgia.
Stances
The film is a remake of Abre los ojos with added Crowe preciousness
C plus, three out of five
Wants the sci-fi explained earlier
Humor: Dry, nitpicky, pushes catchphrase bits like 'island woman' and 'blowjob lady'.
In their words
“Yeah, C plus.” (1:55:12)
“I was a dedicated empire magazine reader.” (0:27:30)
“I think this movie's problem is it doesn't introduce it earlier enough.” (1:37:39)
Attribution is low-confidence. One host insists films should stand on their own merits, hates behind-the-scenes theorizing and complaining nerds, and is a fan of Admiral Piett. Likes the first 40 minutes at Jabba's palace; critical of Leia's handling and the Yoda deathbed scene.
Stances
Films should stand on their own merits
Don't read behind-the-scenes lore into the movie
The Jabba sequence is the best part; the Ewoks overstay
Humor: Dry deflation of the other host's rants and Empire workplace-comedy pitches.
In their words
“I think films should stand on their own merits.” (0:32:22)
“I hate nerds and they're always complaining.” (0:30:51)
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 101–200 of 1,091 claims.
unmapped (song):
Up Close & Personal → Diane Warren.
The film's Oscar-nominated song was written by Diane Warren and sung by Celine Dion.
“written by Diane Warrenburg performed by Celine Dion”
career (career arc):
John Travolta → Matthew McConaughey.
Travolta was never in the wilderness; he was like pre-McConaissance McConaughey, a bankable rom-com star not respected.
“I think it is closer to pre-ma connaissance, Matthew McConaughey.”
career (career pivot):
Look Who's Talking Now → Pulp Fiction.
Now came out a year before Pulp Fiction; it is the sort of film you make before saying fine to a weird guy's script.
“Look who's talking now is the kind of movie that you make where you're like, fine, I'll be the heroin addict in that weird guy's fucking script, I guess.”
people (peak performance):
Get Shorty → John Travolta.
The speaker calls Get Shorty their favorite Travolta movie-star performance, quiet and controlled.
“I do think that is my single favorite Travolta movie star performance.”
lineage (sequel):
Look Who's Talking → Look Who's Talking Too.
The sequel keeps Willis, adds Roseanne for Joan Rivers, Damon Wayans, and Mel Brooks as Mr. Toilet.
craft (score should have won):
Hans Zimmer → The Thin Red Line.
The Thin Red Line score should have won the Oscar even though it is unusually deployed in the film.
“Hans Stimmer should have won for the thin red line, although I think that score is sort of oddly deployed in the movie.”
industry (same-year rival):
Empire of the Sun → Hope and Glory.
Hope and Glory, another child's-view war story that year, ate Empire's lunch with critics.
“is Hope and Glory not also this same year when it kind of eats this movie's lunch on this sort of or from the perspective of a child thing, at least at the time?”
unmapped (mentorship / elder filmmaker):
David Lean → Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg befriended old masters (Lean, Kubrick, Wilder) who handed him their projects.
“The sort of string of great older filmmakers who somehow, uh, collaborated with Spielberg, only for Spielberg to wind up directing their movies.”
career (career parallel):
Christian Bale → Henry Thomas.
Both were kid actors Spielberg discovered who had to escape that shadow before being safe as adult actors.
“Christian Bale had a bit of a parallel Henry Thomas arc where for a while it was like he can't come out from the shadow of him being a kid that Spielberg discovered”
unmapped (development history):
Interstellar → Steven Spielberg.
Interstellar was developed by Spielberg and Jonathan Nolan and is closer to Spielberg in its first script.
“Jonathan Nolan's script for Interstellar is interesting, but it's more Spielberg.”
what-if (Oscar what-if):
Planes, Trains and Automobiles → Wall Street.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles should have won best actor for Candy that year, over Michael Douglas in Wall Street.
“Yeah, the movie that should have won best actor this year.”
craft (craft):
George Lucas → Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Lucas directed much of the second unit, taking over a lot of the stunt-heavy truck chase work to get the movie finished.
career (career):
Clash of the Titans → Ray Harryhausen.
Clash of the Titans is described as the last work of Ray Harryhausen, a throwback where he does one last.
people (cast continuity):
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me → David Bowie.
Philip Jeffries, Bowie's character from Fire Walk with Me, is now a giant teapot directing an agency against Mr. C, since Bowie died in 2016.
“Philip Jeffries, the David Bowie character, who is now a giant teapot, is like directing an agency against Mr. C.”
“we're such a big part of Twin Peaks the return, but of course they're in Firewalk with me in this sort of kind of goofier way where they're like guys in flannel.”
unmapped (role growth):
Sheryl Lee → Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8.
Laura Palmer began as a wrapped-in-plastic day-player prom photo and became so central that Part 8 treats her as the counterweight to Bob.
“But for like the the twin peaks the return to be like, yes, Laura Palmer is the fucking Iron Man to Bob Thanos.”
unmapped (black-and-white CGI):
Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8 → Mad Max: Fury Road.
Fury Road in black and white, heavy on CGI and wordless, feels like a silent film, the same illusion as Part 8's black-and-white digital effects.
“The one I find entrancing is Fury Road for that reason.”
theme (theme):
Dune → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Dune's Fremen/revolution material is the denser source that Star Wars abstracts; the Force is Dune without the drugs.
“the Force in Star Wars is like doom without the drugs.”
industry (peer rivalry):
Decision to Leave → Bong Joon-ho.
Park constantly goes up against his buddy Bong, who has only been submitted twice for the Oscars.
“And his buddy Bong, he's got to constantly go up against.”
career (career context):
The Handmaiden → Stoker.
Handmaiden was partly Amazon-funded, so after Stoker and Drummer Girl the Hollywood door was open for Park.
“Right, and Handmaiden is Korean film, obviously, but that was partly funded, I think, by Amazon, right?”
theme (anecdote parallel):
Steven Soderbergh → David Fincher.
Soderbergh's story of Fincher's hyper-precise color notes is used to explain a protagonist who cannot turn off noticing.
“I cannot imagine the curse of being able to notice that.”
people (same actor):
Decision to Leave → Lust, Caution.
Tang Wei broke out in Lust, Caution, a film about a seduction that may turn real, a similar tension to this film.
“But it's a movie about, basically, she has to seduce a man as an act of political espionage and the whole movie hinges on like, is she falling in love with him?”
career (career placement):
Decision to Leave → The Handmaiden.
Handmaiden was the last Park film several of them had seen before this one; Griffin ranks it his number one.
“I haven't seen a Park John Rook film since The Handmaiden, which blew my mind.”
people (cast connection):
Tatiana Maslany → Eastern Promises.
Tatiana played the victim Tatiana in Eastern Promises, an early film credit that David had never connected.
“I had never put this together, that you are the victim in Eastern promises.”
craft (style comparison):
Decision to Leave → The Handmaiden.
Decision to Leave is more restrained than The Handmaiden but still has wild camera moves.
“I guess he means more restrained than the Handmaiden.”
unmapped (texting in film):
Steven Soderbergh → Decision to Leave.
Soderbergh is called one of the few major auteurs who head straight into the smartphone present, as Park does with texting.
“And Soderberg is one of the few guys who like head straight into it.”
people (standout performance):
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile → Javier Bardem.
The movie is garbage but Bardem is called incredible in it as a failed circus entertainer.
“Yeah, that movie sucks, but Javier Bird has incredible in it.”
contrast (sentiment contrast):
Buster Keaton → Charlie Chaplin.
Chaplin can be accused of sentimentalizing and acting cute, which Keaton's understated style never does.
“you can accuse Chaplain of sentimentalizing, a chaplain of sort of acting cute.”
unmapped (canonical reference):
The Crowd → Jean-Luc Godard.
Godard reportedly said there was no need to make films about ordinary people because The Crowd already existed.
people (acting contrast within the film):
Sherlock, Jr. → Buster Keaton.
The rival and his crew do stereotypical heavy silent-film acting, which makes Keaton's modern performance stand out.
“those 2 guys are absolutely doing what most people think of as silent film acting.”
unmapped (ahead of his time):
Buster Keaton → New Hollywood acting.
Keaton acts like a talkie actor decades early, exploiting that nobody can hear the dialogue.
“he's acting like a talkie actor, but he's using the fact that you can't hear what he's saying.”
contrast (character contrast):
Buster Keaton → Charlie Chaplin.
Chaplin's tramp would pocket the money or even lift the wallet, while Keaton is not a scoundrel.
“which once again, Chaplin would not only not hesitate for a moment to pocket the money, he would pull the wallet out of the back pocket of someone.”
people (co-director):
Sherlock, Jr. → Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle.
Arbuckle was brought on as co-director and given the pseudonym William B. Goodrich, then edged out.
“this is the movie where he came up with uh, William B. Goodrich, which was his, like, nom de plume for directing, uh, Freddie Arbuckle.”
unmapped (reassignment):
Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle → The Red Mill.
Keaton's memoir says he and others conspired to get Arbuckle a job on The Red Mill, though historians say the dates do not fit.
“conspired to get him a different job on a different movie called the Red Mill.”
unmapped (comedy opening):
Sherlock, Jr. → Kumail Nanjiani.
Nanjiani says a comedy should open with a guy spilling hot coffee, and Keaton opens with a guy under the boot.
“the opening of any comedy movie should be a guy accidentally spilling hot coffee on himself.”
people (cinematographer collaboration):
Sherlock, Jr. → Elgin Leslie.
Keaton and his long-term DP set up the black-velvet and matched-position effects together.
lineage (homage):
Sherlock, Jr. → What's Up, Doc?.
The Chinese-dragon bicycle chase in What's Up, Doc? is a complete homage to the stag-party sequence.
“The bicycled Chinese dragon sequence and what's up dog is complete homage to this sequence.”
unmapped (same hook):
The Navigator → The General.
Both started from Keaton getting hold of a vehicle and building the movie around it, but The General is a real movie while The Navigator is a series of bits.
“It is so similar to what the general eventually is where he's like, vehicle?”
unmapped (boat movie):
The Navigator → Steamboat Bill Jr..
Steamboat Bill Jr. is another boat-bit movie but with a real emotional spine about the father.
“is another boat bit movie, but it's a boat bit movie that's more about the father.”
unmapped (period-accuracy obsession):
The General → Stanley Kubrick.
Keaton's obsessive uniform and detail accuracy on The General was Kubrickian, a push as a director beyond comedy.
“he was so obsessed with like fucking, you brought it up, James, but like Kubrickian, every fucking uniform has to be period accurate.”
unmapped (critic's reading):
The Navigator → Dennis Schwartz.
A modern reviewer says its theme of civilized man versus the machine explains why it was a hit.
“its theme of civilized man versus the machine, seen as making life difficult for modern man because we have become so dependent on it”
people (acting credit):
Noble Johnson → The Thief of Baghdad.
Johnson plays the Prince of the Indies in The Thief of Baghdad, another indigenous potentate in his long list of credits.
career (comeback context):
Monkeybone → Brendan Fraser.
Monkeybone is the film being skipped in the Brendan Fraser comeback conversation.
“It truly feels like the one that is being skipped.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:04:59 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
unmapped (viewing schedule):
Wendell and Wild → The Whale.
David planned to see The Whale right after Wendell & Wild at TIFF but skipped it after the Airbnb ordeal.
“I was supposed to see the whale next.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:28:36 ·
David Sims
(0.70 sure it was them)
unmapped (Netflix algorithm):
Wendell and Wild → Wednesday.
Typing 'Wen' brings Wendell & Wild up because of Wednesday's popularity, though JD Amato says Netflix never recommended it.
“Surely the algorithm's like, hey, you know, you might like Wendell and Wild.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:36:43 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (parallel Disney deals):
Guillermo del Toro → Henry Selick.
Disney gave del Toro a spooky-movie imprint and Selick his own animation studio, investing in artists to form new Pixars.
“And there was that Gimbla Toro Disney double dare you where they were like, we're giving you your own imprint to make spooky movies.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
0:45:17 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
unmapped (story note):
Jordan Peele → Wendell and Wild.
Peele pushed to make teen Kat the protagonist instead of the nun, to make the movie accessible to kids.
“And Jordan Peele was like, cat should be the protagonist.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:01:45 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (studio-notes buffer):
Tim Burton → Henry Selick.
Burton played the calming intermediary on Nightmare and, less so, James and the Giant Peach; Monkeybone had no such figure.
“Burton doing that for him to a far lesser degree on the 2nd movie.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:03:28 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
unmapped (absent protector):
Bill Mechanic → Monkeybone.
Mechanic, who shielded Selick, was gone by Monkeybone, so it was chaos.
“He had Bill Mechanic and the Bill Mechanic was gone.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:03:32 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
verdict (freedom made best film):
Coraline → Henry Selick.
Coraline was made with Laika hands-off, and it is his best film, so maybe studio notes are not needed.
“It does seem like he was pretty unfettered, and that is his best film.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:03:53 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
unmapped (Pixar brain-trust meddling):
The Shadow King → Brave.
Both were cases of the Pixar brain trust pressing a filmmaker's personal story into Pixar principles.
“which this is the same time that the brave thing goes down.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:04:06 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
people (caricature casting):
Wendell and Wild → The Incredible Mr. Limpet.
Making the characters caricatures of Key and Peele is likened to the Mr. Limpet trick of putting the star's face on the animated character.
“Like we have to make the characters caricatures of them, almost like it's the incredible Mr. Limpet or something”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:14:59 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
lineage (design lineage):
Lou Romano → The Incredibles.
Romano's Incredibles work has a similar 2D/3D look, which made him right for Wendell & Wild.
“Right, particularly because of the Incredibles, which has that similar kind of like 2D 3D thing.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:15:54 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
craft (tone and structure):
Wendell and Wild → Beetlejuice.
Wendell and Wild are Beetlejuice-like in that the story is really about the human teen (Lydia/Kat) and they are the colorful characters.
“They're Beetlejuicy in the movie in that it's like, well, it's really about Lydia.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:16:53 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
unmapped (same dynamic):
Keegan-Michael Key → Toy Story 4.
Toy Story 4 gives Key and Peele the same high-strung idea man / good-natured stoner dynamic as Wendell and Wild.
“Toy Story 4 gives them basically the exact same dynamic where the one guy's the motor mouth”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:21:20 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
craft (tone):
Wendell and Wild → Coraline.
The kindness shown to Kat, with quiet sadness, is likened to the boredom sequences in Coraline.
“it's it's similar to the sort of the boredom sequences and core line where, uh, Everyone's kind to cat.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:28:33 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
contrast (contrast of setup):
Wendell and Wild → The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Imagines Nightmare's Halloween Town opening as ten minutes of dialogue introducing each denizen as a plot function, to describe how Wendell & Wild feels.
“It feels like if in the opening, this is Halloween sequence of nightmare before Christmas.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:31:00 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
“We don't ask these same questions of someone like Oogie Boogie.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:36:33 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
unmapped (accept the lore):
Wendell and Wild → Kingdom Hearts (game series).
The hellmaiden rules are like Kingdom Hearts lore: you just accept them because those are the rules.
“Those are the rules because those are the rules.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:42:42 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
industry (oscar ballot):
Wendell and Wild → Mad God.
A host voted Mad God first and Wendell & Wild second on the Critics Circle animation ballot.
“I voted for Mad God of the Critics Circle because I was like, well, that's the thing I really think.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
1:59:08 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
industry (box-office rivalry):
Smile → Halloween Ends.
Smile, headed straight to Paramount+, outgrossed Halloween Ends, which was day-and-date on Peacock.
“Got crushed by smile.”
Blank Check with Griffin & David ·
Wendell & Wild ·
2:06:51 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
Their fun items
Showing 201–300 of 378 fun items.
fun, about
The Addams Family 2:
The oddest trailer tagline: next year things return to normal, in a 2020 trailer.
fun, about
Doctor Sleep (title):
The title comes from Danny's humane way of easing people dying in a hospice, a minor thread; some say it should have been Shining 2.
“It's funny that the title of the movie comes from like his very humane way of helping people be at ease before they die, a very sort of minor plot thread.”
fun, about
A Clockwork Orange:
Kubrick pulled the film from Britain a year after release and it stayed out until his death; it was banned in Ireland until 1999.
fun, about
A Clockwork Orange:
McDowell scratched his cornea during the eyedrop scenes and the numbing wore off in the car; a speed bump felt like a razor blade.
fun, about
Dr. Strangelove:
The release was delayed by the Kennedy assassination; a speaker also notes the President is the last reasonable president in an American satire, because Kennedy was in office.
“this movie was delayed because of the assassination of Kennedy.”
fun, about
Terry Southern:
Sellers gave Kubrick The Magic Christian, which brought Southern in; the dossier read is that Kubrick wrote it, George inspired it, and Southern made it funny.
“JJ's read on the screenplay, though, is that it's Dubrick wrote it.”
fun, about
Dr. Strangelove:
The first page of the screenplay says the story will be played for realistic comedy and the acting will never be so-called comedy acting.
“The 1st page of the screenplay says, the story will be played for realistic comedy”
fun, about
Gene Kelly:
The original plan for Jack D. Ripper was Gene Kelly. Kubrick then cast George C. Scott, who asked to play Turgidson instead, and brought in Sterling Hayden.
“You know who the original plan was to cast for Jack D. Ripper, the Sterling Hayden Row?”
fun, about
James Earl Jones:
Jones had a big role questioning the mission; Kubrick decided he did not want the protesting crew member to be a Black actor and cut it. Jones told him he took the part for the cut material.
“eventually Kubrick decided he didn't want the guy protesting to be a black guy and cuts everything out.”
fun, about
Dr. Strangelove:
Kubrick wrote down about thirty alternate titles, including Wonderful Bomb, Dr. Doomsday, and Dr. Strangelove's Secret Uses of Uranus.
“The weird one is Dr. Strangelove's secret uses of Uranus.”
fun, about
Kirk Douglas:
In Munich the rewritten script had a happy ending; Douglas threatened to walk. Kubrick calmly said he wanted a commercial hit.
fun, about
Kola Kwariani (Nick the Wrestler):
A former wrestler Kubrick met through chess circles, he died at 77 after fighting five teenagers outside his chess club.
“He was 76 years old and he was leaving his regular chess club where he played and he was jumped by 5 teenagers”
fun, about
Fear and Desire:
The poster sells a 'half animal girl' with an illustration of a kissed neck, making the war movie look supernatural.
“An illustration of, uh, Paul Mizurski kissing her neck that makes it look consensual, and says, fear and desire, trapped for desperate man, and a strange half animal girl.”
fun, about
Alien: Covenant:
Originally titled Alien: Paradise Lost; Damon Lindelof was going to write it before bailing, then John Logan, with a first script by the Transcendence writer and a Michael Green rewrite.
“Initially, it was going to be called Alien Paradise Lost.”
fun, about
Ridley Scott:
Scott gave interviews saying there would be no aliens or xenomorphs, then reversed; the hosts wonder if it was him or the studio telling him to put aliens in.
“initially Scott was giving these interviews where he was like, there won't be aliens”
fun, about
Alien: Covenant:
The online prologue with James Franco and Noomi Rapace is not in the film; the initial cut ran about 2.5 hours and Scott trimmed the franchise stuff.
“it was this thing with James Franco, who is not in this movie, although you see him in like photos.”
fun, about
Ron Perlman:
The basketball shot: Weaver actually sank it over her shoulder on a quick take and Perlman's reaction is real; no visual effects.
fun, about
Sigourney Weaver:
Weaver would not let toys be made with guns for years; Resurrection was the only time, and no collector figure for 15 years after.
“one of the key reasons was because she didn't want her action figures coming with guns.”
fun, about
You've Got Mail:
The box office for December 18, 1998: You've Got Mail at number one, ahead of Prince of Egypt, A Bug's Life, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Jack Frost.
“So number one, though, it's you've got mail, $18 million.”
fun, about
Jack Frost:
The animatronic Jack Frost snowman was built from the likeness of George Clooney, who dropped out late; Michael Keaton replaced him.
“But they built it off of the likeness of the actor who was supposed to play the title role who dropped out very late.”