David Sims

95 sketches, 1,091 claims, and 378 fun items attributed to them. What was said about them.

Personality, episode by episode

Showing 1–20 of 95 sketches.

Blank Check with Griffin & David: The Last Temptation of Christ with Jamelle Bouie (host)

Prepares history: novel, casting, budgets, box office. Reveres the film and thinks it reads as a normal ground-level story. A sucker for Hollywood deal backstory and box office game.

Stances

  • Praises Keitel and Dafoe casting
  • Respects Scorsese's persistence and Corman discipline
  • The film is now well regarded though not 'canonical Marty'

Humor: Deadpan nerd asides and mock outrage about movie titles.

In their words

  • “It's a very well-regarded movie.” (2:18:48)
  • “Paul's 1st version, apparently, he has Jesus taking his heart out.” (0:46:13)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: The Color of Money with Chris Ryan (host)

Loves 80s star vehicles and detailed Hollywood production history. Is a sucker for Paul Newman and for the idea of living inside a pool hall. Defends polished mid-budget studio work and is wary of Cruise's late-career legacy-sequel plans.

Stances

  • Hud is among the best screen performances
  • The first hour of Color of Money is like Citizen Kane; the rest is less thrilling
  • Cocktail is a dog shit movie but fun
  • Legacy sequels like Days of Thunder 2 are a mistake

Humor: Dry, quick asides and mock outrage, often pushing back on friends' takes with a deadpan correction.

In their words

  • “Yeah, my favorite's HUD.” (1:03:56)
  • “It's a dog shit movie for a stupid movie.” (1:33:18)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: After Hours with Alison Sivitz (host)

Reveres Scorsese's lesser-seen work, loves Addicted to Love and Practical Magic, and delights in awards trivia and box-office rankings. Is a sucker for Hitchcock/noir comparisons and Rosanna Arquette. Hates Weezer covers.

Stances

  • After Hours is his favorite Scorsese film
  • Griffin Dunn deserves a director series
  • Remakes pile on too much incident

Humor: Explosive tangents, trivia dumps and shameless transitions.

In their words

  • “This is my favorite Martin Scorsese film, unsurprisingly.” (0:11:34)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Raging Bull with David Krumholtz (host)

Loves The Elephant Man and Popeye and cites Altman and Casavetes as favorite directors. Interested in the history, box office and Oscar context around the film. Admires Raging Bull's sound and picture.

Stances

  • Raging Bull was robbed in Oscars cinematography
  • Oscars do not respect comedy
  • The film's moral ambiguity is by design

Humor: Dry, mock-indignant, with the box-office game guessing bits.

In their words

  • “It is my favorite.” (2:10:47)
  • “And we know how much Oscars just will not respect comedy.” (2:03:45)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with John Hodgman (host)

This is his favorite or one of his ten favorite movies and he has seen it 15-20 times; he loves comforting, likable, steady-hand movies and the Aubrey-Maturin friendship. He is a sucker for the weevils dinner scene and ensemble craft, and an Anglophile who saw it at 17 in London.

Stances

  • This film is a miracle that could not be made today
  • It is best viewed as dad cinema, now lost to streaming
  • Praises Bettany's performance as arguably the best in A Beautiful Mind and a strong turn here
  • Rations rewatches of favorites so they stay special

Humor: Deadpan, quick with a callback and a tangent into Oscar-year trivia and box-office minutiae.

In their words

  • “It's my favorite movie ever.” (2:53:55)
  • “I saw it at the Odeon Leicester Square with Howard Amos.” (0:38:37)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Fearless with Timothy Simons (host)

A critic who prefers dossier-driven history. Loves action movies like Demolition Man and Jeff Bridges' earthy 90s era. Dislikes elite-school lionization, a recurring bit about Juilliard. Avoids flying since COVID and has twins.

Stances

  • Jeff Bridges is the best consolation movie star
  • Fearless's first 30 minutes are transcendent
  • Fearless is the final boss plane crash movie
  • doesn't care where someone went to school

Humor: Deadpan dossier recitation, aggrieved rants, ribald asides.

In their words

  • “This is the final boss plane crash movie.” (1:36:04)
  • “I do not like people's lionization of Juilliard.” (0:18:18)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Fargo with Zach Cregger (host)

Enthusiastic about Fargo's perfection and its nice-versus-good theme; tends toward film-criticism takes, Oscar history and 1990s box-office. Skeptical of the Dark Marge reading and fond of horror and genre follow-ups like Final Destination.

Stances

  • Fargo is about the difference between being nice and being a good person
  • Skeptical of the Dark Marge theory
  • A Final Destination sequel fan; distrusts stopwatch screen-time stats
  • Mr. Holland's Opus is trash

Humor: Chewing-ice gags and sarcasm; teases Ben and Griffin with off-handed jabs.

In their words

  • “I think if anything, this movie is about the difference between being nice and being a good person.” (0:40:48)
  • “I always question the way that people fucking stop watch these things.” (1:42:45)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis (host)

Film critic who loves studio-era comeback stories (Sea of Love), Travolta in Get Shorty, and box-office archaeology. Dislikes Travolta's bad instincts, such as Hairspray. Loves the opening-weekend charts, and has strong opinions about Chevy Chase stories.

Stances

  • Travolta is undeniable when good and annoying when bad
  • Travolta's Tarantino rescue story is overstated
  • Sea of Love was Pacino's real comeback

Humor: Deadpan bits and rapid-fire tangents, often at the expense of the guest or a studio.

In their words

  • “I do think that is my single favorite Travolta movie star performance.” (0:57:48)
  • “It's Ridley Scott's Black Reign with Michael Douglas.” (2:11:14)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri (host)

Enjoys Spielberg's crowd-pleasers and Indiana Jones; considers Last Crusade his favorite and his most successful comedy; likes Oscar speculation, Wall Street, Planes Trains and Automobiles, and Adrian Lyne. Dislikes Always.

Stances

  • Last Crusade is his favorite Indiana Jones
  • Lincoln is great
  • Williams should have won for Home Alone

Humor: Quick quip man; plays straight man to Griffin and mocks critics and awards bodies.

In their words

  • “It is my favorite, but I'm also like, I don't think it's a particularly deep film.” (0:21:06)
  • “Jurassic Park is the much better version of what the story that Huck is trying to do.” (0:24:09)
  • “I think he should have won for Home Alone over Dances with Wolves.” (0:38:53)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis (host)

Marvel and comics devotee who treats Thunderbolt Ross as the best character in the Marvel universe. Loves Harrison Ford's craftsmanship, Bond, and chronicling career arcs; cares about movie-star persona and industry history.

Stances

  • Harrison Ford's grumpy era began around Hollywood Homicide
  • Raiders is the greatest distillation of Ford the movie star
  • Hook is clunky

Humor: Dry and deadpan, plays along with being called cranky and joking about turning into a Red David.

In their words

  • “Have you ever written Thunderbolt Ross, the best character in the Marvel universe?” (0:01:18)
  • “What if I become the red David in 2025?” (0:06:49)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Twin Peaks: The Return (Episode 8) with Connor Ratliff (host)

He leans on film-critic comparisons (Oppenheimer, Fury Road, The Mist) and loves Lynch's visual-effects ambition and unvarnished plainness. He appreciates structure and ties up the episode's plot, and is skeptical of lore talk, saying it sounds stupid when talked about. He also cares about trivia and media-business details, like People's sexiest man list and ratings.

Stances

  • Lore is more fun to experience than to explain
  • Part 8 is both the most abstract and most straightforward episode
  • The last 15 minutes are among Lynch's best
  • Ratings and network context matter

Humor: Dry, trivia-driven asides that spiral into offhand references and bits.

In their words

  • “I will say that like the this stuff is all more fun to watch an experience than it is to talk about.” (1:10:43)
  • “it's one of the best 15 minutes of his whole career.” (1:43:39)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Dune with John Hodgman (host)

Treats Dune '84 as a David Lynch movie through and through and loves it as a strange object, with a particular fondness for Lynch's signature fingerprints in the margins. Is the one who flags the sleeper must awaken line as Lynch's invention. Loves Furiosa and has real affection for Alicia Witt.

Stances

  • It's 100% a David Lynch movie; Lynch overstates how little of him is in it
  • Sleeper must awaken is Lynch's most important contribution
  • Villeneuve cracked the populist-but-grown-up Dune

Humor: Big, quick riffs with absurd metaphors (the bracelet with a watch face).

In their words

  • “I'm David.” (0:05:35)
  • “It's 100% a David Lynch movie.” (0:08:52)
  • “I had a huge crush on Alicia Witt, specifically in Sybil.” (0:30:00)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Decision to Leave with Tatiana Maslany (host)

Critic's taste: values craft and performance, loves a good-looking cheap movie. Admires Park as a sensual filmmaker and Tang Wei's inscrutability. Not a Cassavetes fan, but enjoys Eastern Promises and Stronger, and champions Javier Bardem in Lyle Lyle Crocodile.

Stances

  • Wants movies to be hot without being lurid
  • Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile sucks but Bardem is incredible
  • Amsterdam is a film he walked out of in his head

Humor: Dry, deadpan deflation; goes along with the bits.

In their words

  • “He is absolutely more my guy.” (0:17:52)
  • “Yeah, that movie sucks, but Javier Bird has incredible in it.” (2:01:52)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator with James Urbaniak (host)

Prepared with printed plot synopses and notes, and loves tight gag construction, Keaton's streamlined modernity and trivia (title-card puns, cast and box office). Has an eye for casting names and silent-era minutiae. He gets the box office game right and enjoys obscure film-history jokes.

Stances

  • Sherlock Jr. is perfect and Keaton's best film
  • Keaton's modernity and lack of indicating make him timeless
  • The Navigator is a series of boat bits, a step back after Sherlock Jr.

Humor: Dry, research-fueled asides, name jokes and affectionate teasing of his co-host.

In their words

  • “I do think it's his best film.” (0:58:11)
  • “I feel like it's supplanted the general as sort of the critic consensus, perfect Keaton movie.” (0:58:18)
  • “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?” (2:00:45)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Wendell & Wild (host)

Critic who covers festivals; liked Wendell & Wild at TIFF after a sleepless night. Loves how it looks and the punk soundtrack, appreciates its political point about prisons, and is fond of Monkeybone. Rankings: Coraline 1, Nightmare 2, Peach 3, Wendell & Wild 4, Monkeybone 5.

Stances

  • Wendell & Wild is great but plotty
  • Studios should restore theatrical windows
  • Claydream is essential viewing
  • Voted Mad God first in the Critics Circle

Humor: Deadpan storyteller who spirals into bits, and owns his own stressed behavior in the Airbnb tale.

In their words

  • “I think it's great.” (1:53:48)
  • “I fully like it. But I also support the in spite of its selfness.” (1:53:06)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Star 80 with Julie Klausner (host)

A film critic who respects movies that provoke a reaction but gives no credit for mere upset. Loves film-history trivia and box-office lore, responds to Star 80 strongly but wants to put it away, and calls Cabaret his sentimental top pick.

Stances

  • Cabaret is the top Fosse
  • Star 80 is the weakest Fosse for him
  • Emotional reaction is not the same as quality
  • Eric Roberts was seen as a talent in the 80s

Humor: Dry, quick-witted and sarcastic, leaning on movie-star gossip and trivia.

In their words

  • “I'm a film critic.” (0:55:09)
  • “There are movies that like upset me that I don't give any credit to.” (0:55:21)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: An Angel at My Table with Dana Stevens (host)

Admires the film's matter-of-fact handling of trauma and its structure as a small-scale epic of one woman's life; anchors discussion with festival and release history. Likes heightened, bright movies and is a self-declared Annie fan. Comfortable gently ribbing Griffin over trivia.

Stances

  • Praises matter-of-fact restraint over trauma
  • Notes Campion's rise through film festivals
  • Believes The Power of the Dog rewards repeat viewing
  • Likes The Piano but conceded its score is divisive

Humor: Dry, quick ribbing and pop-culture riffs, often at Griffin's expense.

In their words

  • “I think it was, it's famously the 1st movie I ever saw.” (0:52:41)
  • “Perhaps the biggest discovery of this film for me.” (1:14:36)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Starman with Katey Rich (host)

Loves Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen and Oscar-season lore; a fan of Moulin Rouge-era Baz Luhrmann and of a good road movie. Mixed on Charles Martin Smith's role and finds the sex scene off the rack. A sucker for the Midnight Special comparison and the baby-prop weirdness.

Stances

  • Bridges is among the least pretentious great actors
  • The sex scene feels divorced from the emotion of the film
  • Karen Allen deserved a nomination
  • Box Office Mojo cannot be reformed

Humor: Dry, bit-loving, goes after Griffin with deadpan callbacks; a Hank the Cow Dog true believer.

In their words

  • “I think Karen Allen absolutely should have been nominated.” (1:00:36)
  • “Defund box office mojo cannot be reformed at this point.” (2:17:27)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Ricki and the Flash with Bobby Finger & Lindsey Weber (host)

Critic who likes ambitious and pop-oriented movies (Rogue Nation) and has strong opinions on directors; loves Demme but is blunt that Ricki disappoints. Can't stand Jason Reitman and bad-movie trends, and is a sucker for box-office trivia and the Monday-morning numbers game.

Stances

  • Ricki is disappointing but Demme is not the worst of his own career
  • Streep and studio interference hijacked the script
  • Loves Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Humor: Dry, contrarian one-liners and mock-outrage.

In their words

  • “But also, Jason Reitman directs a lot of her movies who I am increasingly cannot stand.” (0:02:39)
  • “Stephen Frere is the king of mediocrity.” (0:22:38)

Blank Check with Griffin & David: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind with Lulu Wang (host)

A critic who reaches for franchise-career context and Hollywood politics; likes tidy thematic readings (Dune, WALL-E, Starship Troopers comparisons) and a trusted small-scale film. Hates press-trained performative behavior and bad films like The Hustle. A sucker for sandwiches, Spirited Away, and a good fan-theory.

Stances

  • Nausicaä is a beautiful-feeling world but not a kid's movie
  • The Farewell may be the movie of the year
  • Press fatigue and interview transcripts distort people
  • Ranks Nausicaä as the buggiest Miyazaki

Humor: Dry and conversational, he undercuts earnest moments with fandom needling and food tangents.

In their words

  • “I don't know what a kid gets from this movie.” (1:41:57)
  • “I think it's more of a movie for teens.” (1:42:05)
  • “It is nuts.” (0:31:20)

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 501–600 of 1,091 claims.

  1. unmapped (same fetish): You're the Worst (TV) → The Game. The only other depiction of findom the speaker has seen is You're the Worst.
    “The only time I've ever seen that depicted is you're the worst has a big findom plot.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:44:18 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. theme (comparison): The Game → What Women Want. Compares Michael Douglas's disassembling to What Women Want's electrocution.
    “You know how what women want is like Mel Gibson has to get electrocuted to understand that women are people.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:54:17 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (strong concepts): David Fincher → Milos Forman. Douglas said only Forman and Verhoeven rival Fincher for strong concepts.
    “have such strong concepts as David, and that is Milish Foreman”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:58:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. unmapped (strong concepts): David Fincher → Paul Verhoeven. Douglas said only Forman and Verhoeven rival Fincher for strong concepts.
    “and Paul Verhoven.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:58:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. unmapped (same vibes): The Game → Conspiracy Theory. Same X-Files conspiracy vibes.
    “Conspiracy theory in the game, you know? Same similar vibes, the whole world.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 2:15:24 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. industry (release strategy): Seven → Kiss the Girls. Se7en was a September release sold as a nasty genre movie, like Kiss the Girls and later Freeman thrillers.
    “in the same vein in terms of its release strategy is like, Kiss the girls.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 0:25:50 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. unmapped (borrowing): Seven → Saw (film series). Rewatching the Saw movies, the speaker was struck by how much they lifted from Se7en.
    “I forgot how much saw stole.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 0:59:00 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  8. theme (analogy): Alien 3 → Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning. Mother Mode's pop-up flood on the Blu-ray is likened to Gabriel in the entity tank.
    “to invoke the recently released uh, Mission Impossible dead reckoning when when Gabriel goes into like the entity tank.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:13:58 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  9. theme (cut comparison): Alien 3 → Blade Runner. Wants a third Alien 3 cut that meets in the middle, Blade Runner Final Cut style.
    “I almost want a Blade Runner style final cut thing where it's like, now we need a 3rd cut that meets in the middle.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:16:00 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  10. lineage (sequel): Alien 3 → Alien Resurrection. Resurrection follows Alien 3, but its Ripley is a different character from the one who died.
    “As much as she was quote unquote resurrected, obviously, that's a different character explicitly.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:24:13 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  11. what-if (what-if): Ridley Scott → Sigourney Weaver. Before Prometheus there was a moment when Ridley seemed to be considering a Sigourney return.
    “there was a moment where it felt like Ridley was considering doing a thing with Sigourney.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:24:40 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  12. lineage (influence): Mary Poppins → David Fincher. Fincher cites Mary Poppins as a humongous movie for him, when he curated his influences at MOMA.
    “he cites Mary Poppins as like a humongous movie for him.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:42:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  13. unmapped (hiring logic): Renny Harlin → A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Harlin got the Alien 3 job off Elm Street 4.
    “He had just made Nightmare on Elm Street 4, and I guess that was enough.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:52:14 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
  14. unmapped (hiring logic): David Twohy → Critters 2. Twohy was scooped from the New Line horror sequels.
    “He had just written critters too.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:55:00 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  15. industry (studio hiring pattern): Jean-Pierre Jeunet → Vincent Ward. Fox later hired Jeunet for Resurrection the same way it hired Ward: a unique artistic vision, just have a meeting.
    “which is clearly what they did with Jhene later too, where they're just sort of like, well, this guy has a unique artistic vision.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:57:44 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  16. unmapped (concept merged in): Vincent Ward → Alien 3. The film is built from Ward's monk concept pushed together with the prison planet; his only surviving credit is story.
    “they mishing up the monks with the prison planet, they turn the monks into prisoners, but they're kind of religious.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 1:01:11 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
  17. unmapped (imagery): Alien 3 → Joan of Arc. The shaved head gives Ripley the whole Joan of Arc thing, foreshadowing the fire ending.
    “it gives the whole Joan of Arc thing to the movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 1:30:33 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  18. people (actor's presence): Lance Henriksen → Alien vs. Predator. Henriksen alone gives Alien vs. Predator a star.
    “He like gives alien versus predator a star by itself.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 1:34:26 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  19. people (composer-director): Elliot Goldenthal → Joel Schumacher. Goldenthal scored the Schumacher Batman films.
    “I love his Joel Schumacher Batman scores.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 2:00:04 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  20. people (composer comparison): Elliot Goldenthal → Danny Elfman. In the 90s Goldenthal was becoming an unconventional blockbuster composer, Elfman style.
    “becoming sort of Alfman style, an unconventional blockbuster composer”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 2:00:17 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  21. people (composer brief): Elliot Goldenthal → David Fincher. Goldenthal says Fincher wanted the audience to feel completely fucked within five minutes with no hope.
    “Fincher told him he wanted him, you to feel, you the audience, to feel you were completely fucked within 5 minutes and that there is no hope completely.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 2:00:36 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  22. lineage (sequel comparison): Wayne's World → Wayne's World 2. One is great and profound; two is funny, stupid bullshit.
    “I think Wayne's World 2 is funny, stupid bullshit, but I think Wayne's World one is like great.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 2:10:11 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  23. career (career): Henry Selick → Tim Burton. Burton said Selick was the only CalArts student who moved between the experimental and character-animation camps.
    “Burton said that Selleck was the only guy in his time who actually coexisted between the 2 camps.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:20:17 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  24. people (people): Michael McDowell → Beetlejuice. McDowell was first brought in to adapt, being the writer of Beetlejuice.
    “Burton 1st brings in Michael McDowell, who wrote Beetlejuice.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:30:02 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  25. craft (craft): Danny Elfman → The Nightmare Before Christmas. Elfman wrote songs off Burton's story beats with no script, and the script came after.
    “Burton is basically describing the story beats, and Elfman is writing songs off of the story beats”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:31:42 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  26. craft (craft): Henry Selick → Seepage. Selick's early work and later films recurrently use shadows and silhouettes, as in Prince Achmed.
    “that is like a recurring thing through Celic's movies where he's constantly using shadows”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:40:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  27. career (career): Henry Selick → Eric Larson. Selick worked under Larson and Keane at Disney.
    “he worked at Disney works under Eric Larson and Glenn Keane, big Legends of the Field”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:41:23 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  28. career (career): Henry Selick → Glen Keane. Selick worked under Larson and Keane at Disney.
    “works under Eric Larson and Glenn Keane, big Legends of the Field”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:41:23 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  29. industry (industry): The Fox and the Hound → Don Bluth. Fox and the Hound is the fulcrum of American animation: Bluth's walkout and the CalArts generation's disillusion.
    “that movie is the real fulcum point of American animation in its own weird way”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:46:13 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  30. people (people): Henry Selick → Tim Burton. Selick says the film began as Burton's idea and he was the one who finished it.
    “it was Tim's egg, but I was the one who hatched it”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:49:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  31. craft (craft): The Nightmare Before Christmas → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The film's background characters beat everything since Star Wars for feeling like a real ecosystem.
    “I think since Star Wars, no better background characters.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:01:07 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  32. craft (craft): Danny Elfman → The Nightmare Before Christmas. Elfman was the main driving force in writing the film during development.
    “Elfman is basically the main driving force and writing this film for a bulk of the development.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:04:24 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  33. career (career): Danny Elfman → Forbidden Zone. Elfman had been the on-camera lead of Forbidden Zone, playing a jazzy demon like Oogie Boogie.
    “he did like Forbidden Zone, where he's, you know, the main on camera performance”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:05:42 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  34. people (people): The Nightmare Before Christmas → Child's Play. Chris Sarandon is identified as the cop who shot Chucky.
    “We need the cop who shot Chucky.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:09:38 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  35. contrast (contrast): Henry Selick → Richard Williams. Selick's insistence on live-action camera moves is like Williams hand-drawing his camera movement.
    “much like Richard Williams being like, I'll fucking hand draw the camera movement”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:14:15 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  36. craft (craft): The Nightmare Before Christmas → Vincente Minnelli. The film's constantly moving camera is compared to Minnelli (transcribed Vincent Manelli).
    “he's like moving the camera like fucking Vincent Manelli in this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:14:33 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  37. contrast (contrast): The Nightmare Before Christmas → Aladdin. Disney princess films open with an I-want song; Jack's opening is a triumph followed by unexplained ennui.
    “the Disney princess movies of this time have the big, I want song, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:28:15 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  38. industry (industry): The Nightmare Before Christmas → Aardman. Aardman is the one studio working consistently in stop motion with a different tone from Nightmare's creepiness.
    “Ardaman is the only studio that's been able to work consistently at a high level and stop motion and do something totally different tonally.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:42:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  39. lineage (lineage): Cab Calloway → Minnie the Moocher (Betty Boop short). Oogie Boogie's cab Calloway flavor traces to the Betty Boop short Burton saw as a kid.
    “a cab Calloway short, a Betty Boop short with cab Calloway that I think is called Minnie the Moocher.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:00:43 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  40. craft (craft): The Nightmare Before Christmas → Prince of Darkness. A man made of bugs works for the speaker in Prince of Darkness as an adult but frightened him in Oogie at seven.
    “when I saw like Prince of Darkness later in life and there was a man made of bugs, I was like, cool.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:07:06 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  41. lineage (lineage): Henry Selick → Charles Addams. Selick thought kids would love Burton's work the way they love Charles Addams.
    “I thought that people, especially kids would love his work in the way they love Charles Adams”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:10:38 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  42. industry (industry): The Nightmare Before Christmas → The Three Musketeers. Nightmare beat Disney's big live-action release of the year.
    “it did a lot better than Disney's big release of that year, which was non-animated.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:17:23 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  43. industry (industry): The Nightmare Before Christmas → Jurassic Park. Nightmare's first-ever animated VFX nomination lost to Jurassic Park.
    “It lost to Jurassic Park.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:22:47 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  44. people (people): Jurassic Park → Dennis Muren. Muren is named as one of the Jurassic Park effects Oscar winners that beat Nightmare.
    “the winners for that Oscar are Dennis Muir and Phil Tippett and Stan Winston.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:22:52 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  45. people (people): Jurassic Park → Phil Tippett. Tippett is named as one of the Jurassic Park effects Oscar winners that beat Nightmare.
    “the winners for that Oscar are Dennis Muir and Phil Tippett and Stan Winston.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:22:52 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  46. people (people): Jurassic Park → Stan Winston. Winston is named as one of the Jurassic Park effects Oscar winners that beat Nightmare.
    “the winners for that Oscar are Dennis Muir and Phil Tippett and Stan Winston.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:22:52 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  47. people (people): Caroline Thompson → The Addams Family. Thompson was the hot goth movie writer of the era, also writing The Addams Family.
    “Which Caroline Thompson also wrote.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:23:54 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  48. people (people): The Beverly Hillbillies → Penelope Spheeris. The #1 film that weekend was directed by Spheeris.
    “directed by Penelope Spheres”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:24:42 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  49. people (people): The Age of Innocence → Martin Scorsese. The #10 film is Scorsese's.
    “Martin Scorsese.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:33:59 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  50. craft (craft): Henry Selick → The Nightmare Before Christmas. Selick's own rule: the stranger the imagery, the straighter the story.
    “The commercial rule for me is the stranger, the imagery, the straighter, the story.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:38:06 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  51. lineage (King hated the adaptation): Stephen King → The Shining. The film is a Kubrick film King hated, which sits under the whole project.
    “trying to do the thing Stephen King hated”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:03:31 · David Sims (0.90 sure it was them)
  52. lineage (adaptation): Stephen King → Gerald's Game. Gerald's Game is a King adaptation, which gave Flanagan a King connection before Doctor Sleep.
    “I guess Gerald's game is a king adaptation, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:12:29 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  53. theme (King-like author character): Mike Flanagan → The Haunting of Hill House. Hill House has a character who becomes a paperback author very similar to King.
    “one of the characters becomes like a, like, an author of, like, paperback, like, novels very similar to King.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:13:04 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  54. unmapped (Netflix hit gave Flanagan the job): The Haunting of Hill House → Doctor Sleep. The speakers guess the hit Netflix King adaptation and Hill House, after Oculus and Ouija, are why Flanagan got Doctor Sleep.
    “And then I think it really is the Geralds game thing.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:13:27 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  55. theme (comparison): Hush → Wait Until Dark. Hush is a simple home-invasion thriller in the vein of Wait Until Dark, Lights Out, Don't Breathe.
    “It's his kind of wait until dark.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:14:03 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  56. lineage (adaptation): Doctor Sleep (King's novel) → Doctor Sleep. The film is an adaptation of King's Doctor Sleep, a bestseller Warner Brothers optioned.
    “Warner Brothers, option the rights, put Akiva Goldsman on it.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:14:23 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  57. unmapped (restored ending): The Shining (King's novel) → Doctor Sleep. Flanagan pitched going back to the Overlook as a means to restore the burn-down ending of King's book, which won King over.
    “he said, I'm going to go back to the Overlook, but as means to an end to restore your ending.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:16:33 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  58. people (regular collaborator): Mike Flanagan → Henry Thomas. Henry Thomas is one of Flanagan's stable actors.
    “one of my Flanagan's favorite, like, stable actors.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:19:03 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  59. unmapped (King's disavowal): Doctor Sleep (King's novel) → The Shining. King's sequel book, speakers say, goes out of its way to say Kubrick's movie did not happen.
    “it feels like he's even, you know, trying in the book to be like, and that movie didn't happen, FYI”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:23:19 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  60. programming (trauma horror pairing): Doctor Sleep → Smile. Both are horror films about trauma, in the host's framing of a trend of elevated horror.
    “smile is literally about trauma”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:25:13 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  61. theme (shine as comparison): The Glass trilogy (Unbreakable, Split, Glass) → Doctor Sleep. The film's treatment of the shine resembles the Glass trilogy, but Doctor Sleep avoids saying trauma causes the powers.
    “There is this sort of like Shyamalan glass trilogy thing. to the way this movie represents the shine.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:32:36 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  62. unmapped (praise): Danny Boyle → Ewan McGregor. Danny Boyle said McGregor is uniquely good at depicting physical pain on screen.
    “Ewan is uniquely good at depicting pain on screen.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:49:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  63. unmapped (also in): Carel Struycken → Twin Peaks. The actor playing Grandpa Flick is also from Twin Peaks.
    “He's, you know, from Twin Peaks as well.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:56:17 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  64. craft (visual echo): Doctor Sleep → The Shining. The hospice office is composed like the Overlook interview scene, reversed so the boss helps instead of dooms.
    “It's composed like the exact same way as that 1st interview sequence in the original film.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:59:43 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  65. people (cameo link): Doctor Sleep → The Shining. The boy who played Danny in The Shining appears as a parent on the sideline in the baseball scene.
    “That is the kid who plays Danny in the original Shining.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 1:05:22 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  66. lineage (legacy sequel (contrast)): Ghostbusters: Afterlife → Doctor Sleep. Afterlife is eager to relive the first movie for no reason; Doctor Sleep avoids the original for as long as it can, so its return is earned.
    “Ghostbusters Afterlife is a perfect example of the movie is so eager to relive the 1st movie”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 1:07:27 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  67. craft (score reused): Wendy Carlos → Doctor Sleep. Doctor Sleep uses the Wendy Carlos Shining score and holds off on it for a long time.
    “Even just the way they use the Wendy Carlos score and hold off on it for a long time.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 1:16:19 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  68. lineage (ripoff): Black Adam → Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The Black Adam kid is called a straight John Connor ripoff, down to the skateboard and the catchphrase coaching.
    “It is a straight up John Connor ripoff.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 1:18:46 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  69. unmapped (also in): Jocelin Donahue → The House of the Devil. The mother in the final scene is from House of the Devil.
    “The mother is Jocelyn Donahue from House of the Devil.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 1:22:51 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  70. unmapped (subversion): Full Metal Jacket → Major Payne. The answer to how to subvert the drill-sergeant movie is to do it with children, as in Major Payne.
    “Now, which your answer is do it to children.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:15:10 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  71. unmapped (praise): Billy Wilder → Full Metal Jacket. Wilder is quoted calling the first 45 minutes the best movie ever made.
    “I found some quote that like Billy Wilder said that he thought the 1st 45 minutes were the best movie ever made.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:20:09 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  72. unmapped (same cycle): Platoon → Casualties of War. Platoon begins a late-80s cycle of Vietnam films that show the war as foolish and bleak.
    “Like there's that this whole realm of late 80s movies about Vietnam”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:26:59 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  73. unmapped (generational template): Full Metal Jacket → Jarhead. Jarhead is described as trying to be the Full Metal Jacket of the Iraq war generation.
    “like jarhead feels like it's very much trying to be the full metal jacket.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:27:21 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  74. career (unmade project taken up): Stanley Kubrick → Steven Spielberg. Kubrick could not make A.I. because technology was not ready; Spielberg eventually did.
    “which obviously Steven Spielberg eventually makes.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:35:14 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  75. unmapped (wanted to adapt): Dispatches (book) → Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick also wanted to adapt Herr's Dispatches, which has no narrative.
    “And that's like another thing that Kubrick wanted to adapt.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:37:34 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  76. people (co-writer carried over): Michael Herr → Full Metal Jacket. Kubrick kept Herr, the writer from one piece of material, to help adapt a different one.
    “Yeah, so he sort of absorbs the writer from one piece of material to help them adapt a different piece of material.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:37:57 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  77. programming (thematic pairing): The Woman King → Full Metal Jacket. Both films are about how much you have to break your brain to survive training for war.
    “But it's the thing that like Woman King goes into a lot as well of like, how much you have to break your brain to survive an environment like this, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 0:56:40 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  78. industry (Oscar snub theory): Lou Gossett Jr. → R. Lee Ermey. A drill-sergeant Oscar win a couple years earlier may have cost Ermey a nomination.
    “Lou Gossett Jr. had just won an Oscar a couple years... So maybe it was kind of like, eh, drill sergeant, we've seen that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 1:12:30 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  79. what-if (what-if casting): Ted Levine → Full Metal Jacket. A speaker thinks Ted Levine would work in this film.
    “Ted Levine would work in this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 1:30:14 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  80. theme (same location instruction): Stanley Kubrick → Ken Adam. Kubrick told Ken Adam to find every location within 20 miles of his home, as on Barry Lyndon.
    “Which was basically the same thing he told him for Barry Lyndon”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 1:39:02 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  81. industry (Oscar attention): A Clockwork Orange → Full Metal Jacket. Clockwork Orange got Oscar attention, but The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut were ignored.
    “obviously, the shining full metal jacket and eyes wide shut are all basically ignored by the Oscars.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 2:00:28 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  82. craft (unused score): Vivian Kubrick → Eyes Wide Shut. Vivian also wrote an Eyes Wide Shut score that was not used; Pook scored it.
    “Vivian Kubrick did a score for eyes wide shut that wasn't used, right?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 2:04:40 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  83. people (same actor, opposite bodies): Full Metal Jacket → Adventures in Babysitting. D'Onofrio is Pyle and a Thor-lookalike beefcake in two films opening the same summer.
    “Dino Frio is on, you know, different screens in your multiplex in completely different bodies.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus (Ad-Free) · 2:15:07 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  84. unmapped (prestige horror): The Exorcist → The Shining. Compared as prestige horror with major actors based on a bestseller.
    “That's a similar thing where it's like prestige horror with major actors based on a bestseller.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 0:07:24 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  85. unmapped (over-read): 2001: A Space Odyssey → The Shining. Like 2001, Kubrick's films prompt people to ask what they mean.
    “2001, obviously, is one of those like, wait, what's the meaning of that?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 0:57:06 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  86. unmapped (blacklisted): Bud Cort → Robert Altman. Altman cut Bud Cort off for taking Harold and Maude after M*A*S*H and Brewster McCloud.
    “And Altman's like, door closed, you're never welcome back.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 1:25:49 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  87. people (casting): Shelley Duvall → Popeye. Duvall was cast in Popeye against Altman's wishes.
    “She's cast in Popeye against Altman's wishes.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 1:26:00 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  88. people (cameo): Danny Lloyd → Doctor Sleep. Danny Lloyd makes a cameo in Doctor Sleep.
    “He makes a cameo in Dr. Sleep.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:00:21 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  89. lineage (homage): The Shining → Bobby's World (TV). The Bobby's World opening of Bobby on a big wheel is called an homage to The Shining.
    “And it's so clearly has to be an homage to this”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:06:41 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)
  90. lineage (homage): The Shining → Ready Player One. Ready Player One has a fun sequence set in the hotel.
    “Ready player one, they go to the hotel.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:26:19 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  91. unmapped (friends): Stanley Kubrick → Steven Spielberg. Kubrick and Spielberg were very close.
    “obviously Kubrick and Spielberg very close”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:26:31 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
  92. craft (music): Wendy Carlos → The Shining. Wendy Carlos's music is credited with making the crash zooms scary.
    “Crash zooms are just always so effective with that fucking Wendy Carlos.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:29:57 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
  93. industry (same weekend): The Shining → Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. The Shining platformed against the wide release of The Empire Strikes Back.
    “this movie came out platform against the wide release of another very famous movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:37:47 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  94. unmapped (knockoff): American Graffiti → Hollywood Nights. Hollywood Nights looks like an American Graffiti knockoff.
    “This looks like a kind of American graffiti knockoff.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Shining with Timothy Simons (Ad-Free) · 2:40:09 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  95. craft (music): Leonard Rosenman → Barry Lyndon. Rosenman helped pick the classical music and won the Oscar for adapted score.
    “So Leonard Roseman won and he was the guy who helped pick the classical music.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Barry Lyndon with Karina Longworth (Ad-Free) · 1:48:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  96. theme (comparison): Stanley Kubrick → Wes Anderson. Kubrick's chaotic dinner parties are contrasted with lavish Wes Anderson restaurant dinners.
    “but they weren't these like sort of lavish like Wes Anderson eating at the finest restaurant dinner parties.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman (Ad-Free) · 1:03:04 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  97. people (casting source): David and Lisa → 2001: A Space Odyssey. Keir Dullea's break was David and Lisa, a small indie, before being cast in 2001.
    “I mean, cure delay, like, yeah, breaks on David and Lisa, which is this like small sort of like searing relationship trauma.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman (Ad-Free) · 1:11:11 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  98. unmapped (Rosetta Stone): The Graduate → Rushmore. People told the speaker The Graduate is the Rosetta Stone of Rushmore.
    “That's the Rosetta Stone of this movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman (Ad-Free) · 2:19:48 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  99. unmapped (precedent for multiple roles): Peter Sellers → The Mouse That Roared. Sellers had already played multiple parts in The Mouse That Roared.
    “Okay, yes, sellers had done the mouse that roared, and, um, you know, that's he's playing multiple parts.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:19:14 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  100. people (unrealized collaboration): Paddy Chayefsky → Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick was one of only three people who met to direct Network, but he and Chayefsky never clicked.
    “Kubrick was like one of only 3 people who even met to direct that movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:31:34 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)

Their fun items

Showing 101–200 of 378 fun items.

  1. fun, about The Judge: The judge's tell is that he forgets his bailiff's name; the hosts say it is set up in the first scene and is open and shut at trial, yet they convict him anyway.
    “The bailiff who he's had at his side for like 30 years.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Judging The Judge · 1:09:17 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about The Judge: David would take a dumb spaceship movie over a dumb adult drama, and notes The Judge has no spaceships.
    “I'd rather take a dumb spaceship movie than a dumb adult drama.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Judging The Judge · 1:10:26 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Warner Bros.: The Judge's tornado father-son fight is a Man of Steel homage, so Warner Bros. is the go-to studio for father-and-son tornado fights.
    “Warner Brothers has become the go to studios for tornado fights.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Judging The Judge · 1:20:09 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Robert Downey Jr.: Pitch to Downey for an Oscar: play Buster Keaton, whose voice was a gravelly surprise after MGM made him do talkies with Jimmy Durante.
    “He'd be great old, sad Buster Keaton.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Judging The Judge · 1:24:49 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about Matt Damon: David wrote a sarcastic Atlantic article about the Great Wall poster and Damon blamed his own disappointment on the magazine.
    “I wrote a sarcastic article and then Matt Damon gave an interviewer.”
    The Big Picture · The Great ‘Avatar’ Debate with Blank Check’s Griffin Newman and David Sims · 0:17:11 · David Sims (0.80 sure it was them)
  6. fun, about Joel Kinnaman: Kinnaman said his dad, an American soldier, deserted during Vietnam and ended up in Sweden; he spoke English with his dad and Swedish with his mom.
    “I spoke English with my dad in Swedish with my mom.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:19:12 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - suit: The first suit reveal got an awful response a week or two into filming, so the production panicked and had two weeks to build a second, 80s-style suit that could fit only 15 to 20 minutes of the film.
    “the production panicked when the 1st photos came out and the response was so bad”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:34:47 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  8. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - anatomy: The film answers the question: he does not have a dick.
    “They do answer the question, he does not have a dick.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:40:04 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  9. fun, about Jackie Earle Haley: Haley told the host while filming The Tick that he was proud of this performance because it was a different thing he doesn't usually get.
    “was like really proud of this performance”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:45:42 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  10. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - Hocus Pocus: The training montage plays Focus's Hocus Pocus, one of the few things the hosts like.
    “Hocus pocus by focus.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:46:51 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  11. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - Bing: Product placement for Microsoft Bing in a Sony movie.
    “Microsoft Bing.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 0:49:05 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  12. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - ending: The final showdown is Keaton holding the wife and son at gunpoint on a rooftop helipad to get away in a helicopter.
    “The final showdown of this movie is Michael Keaton holding Alex Murphy's wife and sonic gunpoint on the rooftop helipad.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:46:11 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  13. fun, about Michael K. Williams: Casting people loved The Wire and Omar and kept giving him small parts.
    “he can play the ninth character.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:50:12 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  14. fun, about Samuel L. Jackson: The film ends with Jackson saying good night; the host jokes that his favorite part of his movies is when he doesn't say motherfucker.
    “It's my favorite part of his movies is when he doesn't say motherfucker.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:55:25 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  15. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - sequel: Neill Blomkamp was attached to a sequel and Neumeier and Miner came back with an old-man script called RoboCop Returns; it never happened.
    “Yeah, it was called Robocop Returns.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 1:57:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  16. fun, about Endless Love: Opened at $13 million; the 1981 original starred Brooke Shields and was Tom Cruise's first screen performance.
    “because the original is a Brooke Shields movie”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 2:01:46 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  17. fun, about RoboCop (2014) - the hosts' ranking: All four films ranked: original is a clear number one; the hosts put 2 mildly above or below 3.
    “I would say there's a pretty clear number one in the ranking of Robocop.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · RoboCop (2014) · 2:04:34 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  18. fun, about Perfect Dark: The Game Boy Camera cross-compatibility feature that was cut before release.
    “So Nintendo Power magazine announced, this is going to have some cross-compatibility with a Nintendo 64”
    Blank Check — Patreon · 2025 March Madness Update 1 · 0:23:27 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  19. fun, about Jack Fisk: Fisk, Lynch's high school friend and production designer, plays the Man in the Planet in Eraserhead.
    “plays as we all know, plays the man in the planet in Eraserhead.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:33:48 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)
  20. fun, about Six Men Getting Sick: Lynch's first proper short is a one-minute film of casts of Jack Fisk's head throwing up; it earned him a $1000 grant.
    “It's a one minute film of these like weird casts of Jack Fisk's head throwing up.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:40:41 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  21. fun, about Gardenback: Fox offered $50,000 to expand Lynch's 45-page script; Lynch asked what people would say to each other to fill it out.
    “Fox is like, we'll give you 50 grand if you want to turn this into a feature.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:43:30 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  22. fun, about Grimace: Grimace started as a villainous milkshake thief with forearms and a mean face; Grimacey is the green Shamrock Shake cousin.
    “Grimace was always purple, but he originally had forearms and a mean face.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:47:58 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  23. fun, about Eraserhead: Shot on weekends over years, the production cost Lynch his first marriage within the first year.
    “So his 1st marriage does not survive the 1st year production on Eraserhead.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:50:03 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  24. fun, about Eraserhead: A financier friend of Malick watched scenes, stood up trembling and screamed that people don't act like that.
    “People don't talk like that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:51:26 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  25. fun, about Jack Nance: Lynch hired Nance after Nance admired the wooden rack Lynch built on his Volkswagen.
    “And Lynch said, thank you, Jack, I did that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:52:18 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  26. fun, about Eraserhead: Lynch told Nance to play Henry as a blank; the more expression emptied out, the closer they got.
    “The more you can empty out the closer we're getting.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:52:56 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  27. fun, about Lady in the Radiator: She wasn't in the script; Lynch drew her sitting in the food room and then saw the radiator in his head.
    “I drew a picture of her and I didn't know where it came from, and then I saw the radiator in my head.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:55:41 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  28. fun, about Eraserhead: Lynch never says how the baby was made; guess is organs from the butcher.
    “he won't really talk about how they made the baby or what it's made of.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 0:56:15 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  29. fun, about H.R. Giger: Giger tried to work with Lynch once and Lynch told him he'd stolen all his ideas.
    “tried to work with Lynch once and Lynch was like you stole all my ideas.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 1:29:28 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)
  30. fun, about Eraserhead: After rejections from Cannes' Directors' Fortnight and the New York Film Festival, a bad Variety review at Filmex led Lynch to cut about 20 minutes.
    “Lynch then cuts about 20 minutes out of the movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 1:43:34 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  31. fun, about Ben Hosley: Ben plays with a metal slinky in front of the microphone while the show wraps; the editor will have to clean it up.
    “Ben says as he plays with the slunky directly in front of the microphone.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Eraserhead (Ad-Free) · 2:07:47 · David Sims (0.45 sure it was them)
  32. fun, about The Killer: At the guild screening there was no moderator, so the Q&A was a free-for-all of sound mixers.
    “And David Fincher was like, we have no moderator, so just we're opening it up and you're like dangerous.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:13:47 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  33. fun, about Andrew Kevin Walker: Fincher's 2008 approach to Walker: backstory is overrated.
    “He's like, I think backstory is overrated.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:14:43 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  34. fun, about Andrew Kevin Walker: Fincher pitched Walker a five-chapter plan for The Killer in 2008, nothing happened for ten years, then in 2018 he recited it back word for word and said he was set up at Netflix. Walker told this at the Q&A.
    “And then 2018, he goes, do you remember that killer thing?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:15:39 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  35. fun, about Michael Fassbender: Fincher keeps card catalogs of actors by type; he filed Fassbender as romantic lead, sociopath after Prometheus.
    “He has these card catalogs and he said, like, romantic lead, sociopath.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:30:44 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  36. fun, about Michael Fassbender: Halfway through the shoot Fassbender told Fincher he finally got it: precision modeling, holding a head position for long takes.
    “And Fastbender went precision modeling.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 0:55:01 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  37. fun, about Michael Fassbender: Fincher says he cited two Fassbender movies from 11 years earlier, and jokes about his own speed.
    “Fincher was like, yeah, 2 movies from 11 years ago.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 1:17:18 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  38. fun, about The Killer: The Florida fight took five days to shoot after five weeks of rehearsal.
    “I think he said it was 5 days of shooting, but it was 5 weeks of rehearsal.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killer with Marie Bardi (Ad-Free) · 1:18:08 · David Sims (0.55 sure it was them)
  39. fun, about Arliss Howard: Casting director Laray Mayfield told David she has had a crush on Arliss Howard since Men Don't Leave.
    “David, I've had like a crush on Arliss Howard, basically, since like the 90s.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:03:05 · David Sims (0.70 sure it was them)
  40. fun, about Gary Oldman: Casting director Laray Mayfield: Herman was 'beat to shit', so Oldman's age doesn't matter.
    “But then she says, but look, Herman was beat to shit.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 0:58:16 · David Sims (0.70 sure it was them)
  41. fun, about Messerschmidt: He refused to shoot noir: low to the ground, lots of deep focus, evoking Citizen Kane.
    “I don't want to do a noir movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:12:53 · David Sims (0.70 sure it was them)
  42. fun, about Nebraska: Alexander Payne shot Nebraska in color then regraded it; Paramount had the contractual option to sell the color version.
    “And they shot that movie in full color.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:18:59 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  43. fun, about Mank sound: Sound mixer Ren Klyce projected the film in a scoring room at Skywalker and recorded the echo back into the mix.
    “they would like project the movie and set up microphones and record the echo and then mix it into the movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:22:27 · David Sims (0.70 sure it was them)
  44. fun, about Mank score: Each musician recorded their part at home during COVID with a mic they were sent; Reznor and Ross assembled it.
    “each, um, uh, musician individually recorded their part in their house with a microphone they were sent”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:22:48 · David Sims (0.70 sure it was them)
  45. fun, about Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross: David's interview: Reznor opens as 'This is Trent Reznor', Atticus is the fun one in London.
    “Trent Resner's like, hello, this is Trent Resner.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:23:51 · David Sims (0.70 sure it was them)
  46. fun, about Rin Tin Tin: Punished with a Rin Tin Tin picture, Mank turned in a script about a dog frightened by a mouse and a burning house.
    “he turned in a script that began with a dog frightened by a mouse and had the climax of a house on fire”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:35:46 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  47. fun, about Kane (WWE): WWE's Kane started as a Christmas creature in a candy cane-striped costume.
    “was a Christmas themed monster called the Christmas creature”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:39:44 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  48. fun, about Mank: Fincher on credit: the distilled version of importance, 'a 10 pound bushel of amoebas'.
    “he calls it credit is, um, the distilled version of importance.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:55:12 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  49. fun, about Dakin Matthews: The True Grit line, 'He loves to pull the cork', is Ben's favorite scene.
    “He loves to pull the cork.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 1:59:27 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  50. fun, about Come Play: The original title was Dick Cheese; in France it was Sticky Fingers.
    “the original title of the film was Dick Cheese”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 2:20:43 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  51. fun, about Ammonite: A poster pull quote read 'Get out of here', from David himself.
    “Get out of here, says David Sims of the Atlantic.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Mank with Sean Fennessey (Ad-Free) · 2:24:22 · David Sims (0.60 sure it was them)
  52. fun, about Erik Messerschmidt: Michael Mann told the speaker he likes Messerschmidt (Gone Girl's gaffer, now DP on Ferrari) because cinematography is all lighting.
    “to me, cinematography is all lighting and no one understands lighting anymore.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:43:46 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  53. fun, about Christopher Plummer: David's hot take: the best 80s of any actor.
    “Best 80s of any actor.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Fran Hoepfner (Ad-Free) · 1:27:45 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  54. fun, about The Muppets: The Muppets as the original legacy sequel, the template for Force Awakens.
    “it feels like Force Awakens is using that as the template.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Fran Hoepfner (Ad-Free) · 2:38:36 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  55. fun, about Torso (unmade): Fincher wanted Torso in black and white and the project fell apart.
    “Fincher wanted to shoot it in black and white. Project falls apart because of that.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:18:21 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  56. fun, about The Social Network: The 166-page script was too long for Sony; Fincher and Sorkin read it aloud against a stopwatch and it came out at two hours.
    “And Fincher was like, you and me are going to sit down and read the script.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:50:41 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  57. fun, about The Social Network: Sony pushed Jonah Hill for Sean Parker; Fincher wanted Timberlake.
    “Sony wanted Jonah Hill to play Sean Parker.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:55:48 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  58. fun, about Armie Hammer: The twin effect (Hammer plus Josh Pence's body) is called one of Fincher's most impressive technical feats, though the 4K shows a little deep-fake tracking on big moves.
    “honestly, maybe one of the most impressive things Fincher has ever done technically.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 1:01:18 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  59. fun, about Kiefer Sutherland: Kiefer Sutherland was still sore years later about not being cast as Zuckerberg.
    “was still angry about the fact that he had not gotten cast as Mark Zuckerberg in this film.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 1:14:32 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  60. fun, about Jesse Eisenberg: Fincher gave Eisenberg a list of things Mark is terrified of in a scene: proximity, eye contact, direct confrontation.
    “I want to remind you the 4 things you're terrified by in this scene.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 1:25:30 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
  61. fun, about Douglas Urbanski: Urbanski, the non-actor who plays Larry Summers, says in an interview he did not study Summers at all.
    “He says, I didn't study Larry Summers for the role because I quote, I couldn't be less interested in Larry Summers.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 1:50:33 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  62. fun, about The Social Network: Harvard did not want them filming and they shot mostly elsewhere.
    “Harvard didn't want them to. So they mostly use John Hopkins, Johns Hopkins, but of course, the shot through Cambridge”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 2:41:57 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
  63. fun, about David Fincher: Studio asked for 200 grand and Fincher said he needed 40 million; he argues he never rents gear he will not use.
    “I know also when he signed on to do this movie, I think Pascal was like, we have this budget for $200000 and Fincher was like, I need 40.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 2:43:59 · David Sims (0.35 sure it was them)
  64. fun, about Trent Reznor: Interviewing the Mank crew, Reznor was soft-spoken and tough to draw out, while Atticus Ross was the opposite.
    “And Attics Ross is the most lovely, garrulous British guy ever.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 2:45:53 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  65. fun, about Zodiac: Zodiac was released at Cannes two months after it bombed, to Fincher's confusion.
    “They put it at Cann, 2 months as Griffin is saying, after it had bombed, even to Fincher's confusion.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 0:18:38 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  66. fun, about Rick Springfield: Springfield owns one of the great Star Wars action figure collections, though by his own admission he is more a figure fan than a movie fan; the hosts tie it to Fincher's Return of the Jedi credit.
    “Rick Springfield has one of the greatest Star Wars action figure collections in the world.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 0:07:31 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  67. fun, about Shame (The Motels video): Martha Davis wanted Michael Mann after The Keep; he was unavailable, so her agent suggested Fincher.
    “After man proved unavailable, Davis's agent recommended Fincher instead.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 0:13:57 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  68. fun, about David Fincher: A host says Fincher thinks the death of the music video cost a generation of visually distinctive filmmakers their training ground.
    “the death of the music video has really been at the expense of a new generation of visually distinctive filmmakers coming up.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 0:32:11 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  69. fun, about David Fincher: Fincher is the most nominated and most winning director at the VMAs; his last video, Suit & Tie, was his final win.
    “Did you know that David Fincher is the most nominated and most winningest VMA for best direction director ever?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 1:05:10 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  70. fun, about Saw VI: Saw VI's victim is a health insurance claims adjuster who denied Jigsaw's claim, which David finds satisfying.
    “Now, Saw 6 is the one where, um, uh, a health insurance claims adjuster is the one being tortured.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 2:28:23 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  71. fun, about Panic Room: The new New York studio the show records in turned out to be a built panic room, windowless and fortress-like.
    “And we found out this was, in fact, intended to be a panic room.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 0:19:40 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  72. fun, about Nicole Kidman: If Fincher had shut the film down after Kidman's injury, the insurance would have paid out a profit.
    “They basically, I mean, the numbers I saw, there was some sort of calculation of like, if they had shut the movie down and just never started filming again, they would have made $3000000 off the insurance.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 0:51:42 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  73. fun, about Michael Douglas: Douglas was 53 when he made the film, playing a man about to turn 48.
    “Okay. He was 53.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:17:03 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  74. fun, about The Game: Fincher on Douglas, as read from the dossier: the story is a little prurient and sadistic because you enjoy the central character's suffering, and nobody embraces that as eagerly as Douglas.
    “You want to see him learn a lesson, and nobody embraces that quite as eagerly as Michael Douglas.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:27:42 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  75. fun, about The Sky Is Falling (unmade): Fincher's post-Se7en idea: two clerics on a dig find proof that God is dead and are hunted by a terminally ill hitman.
    “Two clerics on an archaeological dig, discover proof that God is actually dead.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:39:54 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  76. fun, about The Game: Fincher wanted the audience to have nothing to hold on to; he calls it a movie about movies, where the protagonist doesn't know how to act like a movie star.
    “It's a movie about movies.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:43:58 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  77. fun, about Jodie Foster: She wanted to play the waitress; Fincher said she was too famous; she suggested sister, then daughter, then Douglas refused to play her father; she was written out and sued.
    “She then filed a huge lawsuit saying she was supposed to be in it.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:58:19 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  78. fun, about Daniel Schorr: The newscaster is Daniel Schorr, whose last NPR broadcast was July 10, 2010; he died July 23, 2010, at 93.
    “His last broadcast on NPR, Saturday, July 10th, 2010.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:04:25 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  79. fun, about Harris Savides: Savides had sworn off features after Heaven's Prisoners, and Fincher basically had to beg him to shoot The Game.
    “And Fincher had to basically beg him to do this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:28:13 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  80. fun, about Mark Boone Junior: His first credit is 1983's Variety, as a porn customer; here he looks the cleanest the hosts have ever seen him.
    “His 1st credit is 83.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:39:36 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  81. fun, about The Game: Not in print for a long time (a Polygram issue, per a host); the Criterion Blu-ray in 2012 carried features shot during production for Criterion.
    “This is a movie that was like not in print for a very long time.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:56:44 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  82. fun, about The Game: Shot over 100 days, mostly at night; the airbag scene was shot three weeks in.
    “It was a long shoot, 100 days, most of it at night.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 1:57:13 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  83. fun, about The Game: Opened September 12, 1997, number one with 14 million; made 109 million worldwide against Se7en's 327 million.
    “Um, the film opened September 12, 1997 Griffin.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 2:01:49 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  84. fun, about The Full Monty: At 5 weeks in 387 theaters it was on its way to a best picture nomination; one host picked it down the ballot at an Oscar party against Titanic.
    “This film was nominated for best picture.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 2:11:12 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  85. fun, about Panic Room: The three-disc Panic Room DVD is called the most comprehensive special-feature package for any movie ever, and the movie is not on Blu-ray.
    “peak DVD Fincher being like every single 2nd of this will be documented.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 0:12:22 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  86. fun, about Jordan Cronenweth: The first cinematographer was diagnosed with Parkinson's weeks in, barely shot anything, but set the look; Alex Thomson took over, and the son later became Fincher's DP.
    “He barely shot anything, but he set the look that then was continued.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Alien³ with Matt Singer (Ad-Free) · 1:15:37 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)
  87. fun, about Sally: Thompson's job was to write Sally's story; Griffin guesses pre-Thompson Sally mooned over Jack.
    “The thing I had to do was write Sally's story.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:32:10 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  88. fun, about Henry Selick: Selick on Burton: five set visits in two years, 8 to 10 hours total; 'it was like me adapting a book that was never actually written.'
    “it was like me adapting a book that was never actually written.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:49:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  89. fun, about Tim Burton: Burton and Selick fought over the Oogie ending (Scooby-Doo reveal that he's Finkelstein); the fight reportedly ruined an editing bay.
    “Selleck wanted the ending to be that Oogie Boogie was actually Dr. Finkelstein in disguise.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:53:50 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  90. fun, about The Nightmare Before Christmas: Fans on Blu-ray message boards beg Disney to restore the Touchstone logo opening.
    “when will Disney release the version with the touchstone logo at the beginning?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 0:56:46 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  91. fun, about James Earl Jones: Elfman told him he'd written Santa for him and Jones angrily replied 'you don't know me'.
    “James Earl Jones got very angry and yelled, you don't know me.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 1:11:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  92. fun, about Box office: The opening-weekend box-office game: Hillbillies #1, Demolition Man #2, Nightmare #3, Cool Runnings #4, Rudy #5.
    “Number 3 is Nightmare for Christmas.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:26:07 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  93. fun, about Rudy: Rudy 'sits on the bench for 3 years, plays for 5 minutes' and still makes a compelling film.
    “The entire movie is he sits on the bench for 3 years.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:30:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  94. fun, about Henry Selick: 1994 Sight and Sound quote read to close: audiences are more open than Hollywood imagines; the stranger the imagery, the straighter the story.
    “But the audience is more open than Hollywood imagines.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda (Ad-Free) · 2:37:57 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  95. fun, about Henry Thomas / Doctor Sleep: Henry Thomas, Elliott from E.T., plays Jack Torrance in the bar scene, shot in profile with his chin down; the host did not recognize him until the credits.
    “And then somehow the moment he comes on screen and the entire scene, extended scene is all done from profile.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:20:00 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  96. fun, about Ewan McGregor / The Island: A studio exec threw The Island under the bus: the mistake was hiring the stars of tomorrow rather than the stars of today.
    “the mistake we made was hiring the stars of tomorrow rather than the stars of today.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:41:19 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  97. fun, about Danny Boyle / Ewan McGregor: Danny Boyle reportedly said McGregor's superpower is depicting physical pain on screen.
    “Ewan is uniquely good at depicting pain on screen.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:49:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  98. fun, about Rebecca Ferguson: A host notices her Irish accent slips in on purpose, since Rose has lived thousands of years and the roots are nearly gone.
    “She is choosing to have an Irish accent slip in sometime, because the point is this character has been alive for 1000s of years.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 0:54:55 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  99. fun, about Doctor Sleep: In the baseball scene a sideline parent is the actor who played Danny in The Shining, now a school teacher who was excited to do it.
    “He's a school teacher.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 1:05:28 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  100. fun, about Doctor Sleep (box office): Opening weekend, November 8, 2019: number two behind Lionsgate's Midway at $14 million.
    “This film opens number two”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Doctor Sleep · 1:27:12 · David Sims (0.30 sure it was them)