Likes the Apes franchise but has only seen the first two; cares about filmography and box-office context. Hard on bloated, calculated star vehicles. Attributions to David are low confidence because the transcript is unlabeled.
Stances
The 2001 film is indefensible
Hype and release dates drove production
Studios chase sequels nobody wants
Humor: Dry, sarcastic tangents about box office and franchises.
Fact-checks on a laptop, pulling dates and biographical trivia (Kinnear's Indiana roots, box office facts); lines individually attributed to him are low-confidence.
Stances
Keeps the episode on movie facts via the computer
Doesn't wear glasses
Humor: Wry deadpan and pointed film-business commentary.
In their words
“I should just note for anyone listening, David has a computer and you're getting the dates with that.” (1:02:09)
“See, I'm not glasses wear.” (0:31:09)
Blank Check with Griffin & David: Flesh+Blood (host)
Likes this movie more in the first half and gets bored by the plague second half. Defends John Hughes, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Breakfast Club. Fond of box office trivia and the 1985 weekend. Cannot stand rambling.
Stances
Second half becomes boring chaos
Hughes's first film is gross
Verhoeven becomes an impressionist of blockbusters
Humor: Dry quips, wordplay and deadpan reactions.
In their words
“I do see, I like this movie more in the 1st half where I think it's more achieving what it wants to do.” (1:12:10)
“Uh, Plan Strans and automobiles is a masterpiece.” (1:34:21)
Loves box office history and the box office game, character acting, and a well-made Spielberg set piece. Cannot stand underwritten leads, miscast villains and nostalgia as a defense. Is a sucker for Austin Powers and a wrong-footed sequel pitch.
Stances
The sequel is dramatically inert
Jurassic Park is a one-movie concept
Nostalgia should not canonize bad films
Humor: Dry, sarcastic one-liners and exaggerated nitpicking, plus comedic fury about the Crichton island names.
In their words
“I just think it's a horrible screenplay full of bad ideas that are totally disjointed.” (0:31:15)
“I don't think there is a great Jurassic Park sequel that could possibly be made.” (0:33:30)
“We have to stop canonizing things just because we saw them when we were young.” (1:39:46)
A working film critic who respects the filmmaking craft but is unforgiving of incoherence; likes actors like Bob Balaban and Jeffrey Wright and notices careful details like casting and release data. Cannot stand a film he finds unwatchable or toxic, as with My Old Lady. A sucker for box office numbers and critic-baiting trivia.
Stances
Lady in the Water is awful and unwatchable
The scrunt looks terrible
Critic characters in movies are usually unfair
Humor: Dry, quick riffs and deadpan dismissals, plus pop-culture cross-references.
In their words
“Where you lose me is the idea that this is a watchable film.” (1:49:10)
The Atlantic film and television critic who adores RDJ's charm and will watch anything out of Oscar completism. Hates showy awards bait and the Dobkin comedy style. Fond of The Godfather, The Apostle, Sam Raimi, and spaceship movies, and says he'd take a dumb spaceship movie over a dumb adult drama.
Stances
Downey was hurt by Marvel; indies are risky for him
Duvall's nomination was a veteran's default, not a sign of quality
The Judge is worse than The Phantom Menace
Humor: Dry deadpan, quick pile-ons, and overdramatic dismissals of bad movies.
In their words
“I am a film and television critic for the Atlantic.” (0:04:50)
“I just want to say this movie is a lot worse than Star Wars episode one of the Phantom Menace.” (1:09:46)
“I'd rather take a dumb spaceship movie than a dumb adult drama.” (1:10:26)
David is an Atlantic critic and box-office nerd who has written about what Hollywood failed to learn from Avatar. He loves the movie as a sincere crowd-pleaser and compares it to Top Gun: Maverick. He is exasperated by writers' rooms and 'director bullshit' he loves.
Stances
Hollywood learned the wrong lesson from Avatar
Avatar and Way of Water should be bet on
Cameron is always right
Humor: Jokey and wry, trading gags about plagiarizing Griffin's takes.
In their words
“I lifted this right from Griffin.” (0:45:17)
“If James Cameron thinks I need 4 Avatar sequels, then I need 4 Avatars.” (1:42:09)
“I also write movie reviews of the Atlantic.” (1:49:02)
Film critic who writes for the Atlantic; likes Joel Kinnaman, For All Mankind and Michael Keaton's rhythms. He is hard on the film but follows the industry context closely. A sucker for box-office trivia and the Mets.
Stances
The film is humorless and a waste of its cast
The grounded Nolan-style reboot wave ended with this film
The suit and the lack of a physical villain are the failures
Humor: Dry asides and tangents, like his Lord of the Rings Gollum-hunt pitch.
In their words
“I wrote their obituaries.” (0:01:32)
“What if you made it about them looking for Golem when he's not around?” (1:36:15)
Fond of the Tom Cruise character-actor mode over movie-star mode; reads the film through its production history and cutting. Dislikes Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Road House. Admires the 2014 slate but ranks Edge near the top.
Stances
Edge is Cruise's unheralded fulcrum performance
The Liman-McQuarrie-Cruise triangle is why it works
Does not want a sequel
Humor: Dry, argumentative asides and cinephile one-liners.
A big Cronenberg fan and a video game kid (Game Boy Camera, Perfect Dark). Likes Villeneuve and Dune but is skeptical of Linklater and Soderbergh episodes that run thin.
Stances
Cronenberg is his Lynch
Dune and Villeneuve deserve an extended look
Skeptical of directors who just try stuff
Humor: Dry deflation and piling on Griffin's bits.
In their words
“Pronenberg is kind of my lynch.” (0:42:28)
“One of my favorite games, this is David Sims speaking” (0:23:16)
Reads the dossier and runs the box office game, with a film-historian's interest in distribution and Oscar history. Skeptical of calling things masterpieces. Has less Lynch background than Griffin and Ben, and is mostly seeing the filmography fresh.
Stances
Parent Trap is not a masterpiece
Lynch's career deserves the miniseries
The box office game gives context to a release
Humor: Dry corrections and pointing out others' mistakes, plus tangents like Grimace.
In their words
“I think a couple of the things you have as masterpiece are a stretch.” (0:09:19)
A Banderas devotee who logs everything on Letterboxd and is drawn to flops and Hollywood context. Finds this film dull and the lead miscast, but likes the idea. Sucker for 1999 box-office detail.
Stances
Banderas is miscast in a realism-minded part
The film is a middling watch
Humor: Dry sarcasm and mock outrage.
In their words
“I have never seen a performance that I feel he is phoning in because he has so much energy as a performer.” (0:47:56)
A working critic who saw the film at a guild screening with Fincher and Walker and relays the Q&A; ranks Zodiac first and Alien 3 high. He likes pulpy genre craft, Soderbergh and Hit Man comparisons, and box-office detail.
Stances
The Killer is Fincher doing a stripped-down genre exercise
Netflix business strategy hurts both Fincher films
Alien 3 is bleak and underrated
Humor: Dry, deadpan ranking-banter and tangents on the weekend box office.
In their words
“I think he said it was 5 days of shooting, but it was 5 weeks of rehearsal.” (1:18:08)
“He said it was Prometheus and Haywire, which makes sense.” (1:17:06)
Likes Mank and Fincher, calls it an airy delight, and interviewed everyone on the crew for his Atlantic story. Loves the Hearst-party scenes and the machinery of Hollywood development. Dislikes the Mank writing frame and The Offer's spirit.
Stances
Mank is more fun than its reputation
The writing frame is the least interesting part of the movie
He likes Mank but not Promising Young Woman
Humor: Sarcastic and deflating, with sudden bits like showing character posters during The Offer.
In their words
“This movie is fun.” (0:20:02)
“I interviewed everyone involved with this movie.” (0:02:09)
“I watched them both in the same night, so they're mushing together in my brain.” (2:01:06)
A working critic who loves Gone Girl as a stylish pulp thriller and keeps a running grudge about the Oscars snubbing it. Fond of craft detail (lighting, gaffers) and old-fashioned stardom talk, and a self-described soft touch on Netflix when they make something good. Wary of bad Netflix-Fincher imitations.
Stances
Gone Girl deserved cinematography, editing and score nominations
Netflix prestige now looks like a diluted Fincher
He is nice to Netflix when it makes something good
Humor: Dry, with groaners and name-mangling bits that the others pounce on.
In their words
“Look, if they make something good,” (0:30:56)
“And when I interviewed Michael Mann, which I just did.” (2:43:38)
“I also was deep in watching 8000000 lawyer movies for a big picture draft episode and I did not want to take on also trying to get through 2 seasons of Mindhunter.” (3:04:06)
Treats Dragon Tattoo as a comfort movie he likes more every rewatch; loves Christopher Plummer's 80s, cold murder, Fincher's craft. Dislikes hot murder and feel-bad-is-good-for-you talk. A sucker for Plummer, Muppets-era nostalgia and a rewatch-conversion story.
Stances
Best 80s of any actor
I want cold murder
Aloha now rules.
Humor: Dry, deadpan; lands the hot take then undercuts it.
In their words
“I like it more every time I rewatch it, which I think is true for a lot of people.” (2:24:32)
A critic who ranks The Social Network number one of 2010 and calls it one of the most rewatchable films of modern history. Likes tight genre craft and thinks the movie became a genre. Cool on The Big Short and the lesser Facebook-adjacent films.
Stances
The Social Network is the best film of its decade
The Big Short rips it off
The film is a harbinger of how culture works
Humor: Dry, with deadpan asides and long riffs on Hollywood business.
In their words
“I have the social network at number one of 2010.” (0:09:14)
“I mean, I think the big short, which is not a movie I love, is the most obvious movie that's ripping off the social network” (0:11:44)
Frames Zodiac against its 2007 competition and talks about its craft precisely. Coined the phrase 'a movie where the look of it makes your teeth hurt'. Treats Zodiac as a comfort-food movie despite the subject.
Stances
Zodiac is Fincher's masterpiece
Digital cinematography can be stunning
The 2007 slate was loaded
Humor: Gleeful, self-aware, quick to riff on bits (the squirrels).
In their words
“Those knives, Griffin, that I have, in my chair back there, they're covered in blood.” (0:01:03)
“This is a movie where the look of it makes your teeth hurt.” (1:10:47)
Their shows' recurring bits
Running bits, not opinions; a critic read aloud is cited, not present.
The Big Picture
Drafts: Hosts and guests draft films in rounds; every pick is a recommendation with an argument.
Hall of Fame: A star's or director's best, ranked and argued.
Countdowns: Ranked lists, top five or top ten.
Blank Check with Griffin & David
The box office game: Guessing the film's opening weekend and what it was up against.
The sung theme: "Blank Check with Griffin and David", sung; the transcriber garbles it.
Their claims
Showing 801–900 of 1,091 claims.
career (career):
Winona Ryder → Girl, Interrupted.
Ryder's next film after Resurrection was Girl, Interrupted in 99, an underrated movie.
“After this, I guess she has girl interrupted in 99, which is an underrated movie.”
people (people):
Ron Perlman → Alphaville.
Alphaville took a marginal American noir actor and presented him as America's greatest star, like directors do with Perlman.
“this marginal American noir actor and was like, you are the greatest movie star America has ever produced.”
verdict (verdict):
Alien Resurrection → Alien: Covenant.
David walked out of the Covenant press screening hearing grumbling that it was not their Alien; he does not get that anger.
“I walked out of the press screening of covenant, and I remember one credit being like, I mean, that's just not my alien.”
craft (craft):
Alien Resurrection → Aliens.
In Aliens you see them fleetingly; in Resurrection animatronics let an alien stand in front of you for ten seconds.
“But this is the 1st one where it's like, yeah, an alien's just standing in front of you.”
lineage (lineage):
Alien Resurrection → Jurassic Park.
Aliens caged and taunted while hunting you feels like the raptors; raptors may be Alien rip-offs.
“the raptors have a bit of an alien rip off vibe, honestly”
contrast (contrast):
Alien Resurrection → Prometheus.
Prometheus has a stacked cast on one level; Resurrection puts a second movie star above the title with Weaver and loses balance.
“it's putting them above the title, it's kind of implying that it's going to be kind of a two-hander”
craft (craft):
Joss Whedon → Alien Resurrection.
The acid-blood tricks in Resurrection are Whedon-style fan service, while Jeunet is the better visual stylist.
“The stuff like using the acid in creative new ways.”
craft (craft):
Joss Whedon → Astonishing X-Men.
Kitty Pryde's bat-in-the-head interrogation shows Whedon's gift for finding a clever new angle in pre-established ideas.
“so emblematic of what he's good at as a writer, which is just using all the things that have been pre-established by other writers”
people (people):
Darius Khondji → Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Jeunet brought his own French collaborators, cinematographer Darius Khondji and VFX man Pitof, plus his production crew, onto Alien: Resurrection.
“he brings all of his French people, right? Like he brings Darius Kanji, and he brings Pitoff, and he brings like his sort of, um, uh, production crew who all speak the same language as him”
people (people):
Jean-Pierre Jeunet → Alien Resurrection.
Jeunet brought his French crew and could not talk to the writers, producers or actors; the film is cohesive visually.
career (career):
Jean-Pierre Jeunet → A Very Long Engagement.
Jeunet's only other Hollywood-financed film was A Very Long Engagement, a Hollywood production made in France on his terms.
“Very long engagement's a Hollywood production, but in France on his own terms.”
industry (industry):
A Very Long Engagement → Warner Bros..
Warner financed most of it for distribution rights, so it was disqualified as a foreign film for the Oscars.
“And so it was disqualified as being a foreign film.”
contrast (contrast):
Winona Ryder → Alien.
Call is asked to do what Ripley does in the first movie, but Weaver makes it sing and Ryder punches the clock.
“what call is being asked to do here is not that different than what Ripley does in the 1st movie, except fucking Sigourney makes it sing.”
career (career):
Raymond Cruz → Breaking Bad (TV).
Raymond Cruz in Resurrection is Tuco from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and Detective Sanchez on The Closer.
“He's Tuco and Breaking Bad. And better call Saul.”
theme (theme):
Alien Resurrection → Saturday Night Live.
The creature too awful to live begging 'kill me' is a funny trope, like an Eddie Murphy SNL sketch.
craft (craft):
Alien Resurrection → Godzilla.
1998 Godzilla and the first Jurassic Park shot their CGI creatures in rain and night to hide the rendering.
“the 98 Godzilla is set in the rain constantly, and why in Jurassic, the 1st Jurassic”
contrast (contrast):
Alien Resurrection → Aliens.
In Aliens she rescues Newt and in Alien 3 the convicts find purpose; in Resurrection there is no purpose to the fight.
“in aliens, she's rescuing newt and like, you know, even in alien 3, they kind of, by the end of it”
theme (theme):
Alien Resurrection → Alien 3.
The alien-hybrid birth echoes Alien 3's mommy-child relationship; this one is treated as parent and child.
“But much like an Alien 3, it's like, oh, hey, mommy.”
industry (industry):
Alien → Die Hard.
Alien will be remade without its original star the way Die Hard will without Bruce Willis; the xenomorph design is too powerful to leave dormant.
“In the same way, they'll make another diehard without Bruce Willis.”
industry (industry):
Alien Resurrection → Flubber.
Flubber was number one on the Thanksgiving 1997 weekend; Resurrection opened number two with 25 million.
lineage (parallel origin story):
James Cameron → David Fincher.
Both lost control of a first film and reacted by vowing never to lose again; Cameron became a tyrant, Fincher says he will quit.
“He like, I'm never fucking losing an argument ever again.”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Alien 3 ·
0:28:14 ·
David Sims
(0.40 sure it was them)
“And yeah, the studio was like, it'll be better if it's a dog”
Blank Check — Patreon ·
Alien 3 ·
0:43:25 ·
David Sims
(0.50 sure it was them)
career (career):
Meg Ryan → City of Angels.
The same year Ryan also made City of Angels, dismissed as a chick flick.
“This year she has, you've got Mail, and she has City of Angels, which, despite being a remake of a German masterpiece, is roundly just dismisses like, eh, Chick Flick, right?”
craft (craft):
You've Got Mail → Sleepless in Seattle.
Both Hanks-Ryan films are experiments on the rom-com: one withholds the couple until the last scene, the other puts them together and makes them unpleasant.
“sleepless in Seattle is obviously like, can you create a rom-com with chemistry between the 2 actors without them ever actually communicating until the last scene of the movie.”
what-if (what-if):
George Clooney → Jack Frost.
The Jack Frost snowman was built on George Clooney's likeness before he dropped out, and Keaton took the role.
“That is pointedly snowman George Clooney. It is meant to be George Clooney.”
programming (programming):
Hanging Up → The Whole Nine Yards.
The Whole Nine Yards was the comedy for the boys; Hanging Up opened with the same money as the female-led comedy.
“That's like the comedy for the boys and hanging up, which is opening with the exact same amount of money, is more of a female lead comedy.”
lineage (lineage):
Pitch Black → The Chronicles of Riddick.
Chronicles of Riddick is the big-budget sequel, and home video retitled Pitch Black as Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black.
“And on the home video releases, they then retitled it, the Chronicles of Riddick, colon pitch black.”
contrast (contrast):
Trolls: The Experience → Trolls.
David's text says the experience was practical, engaging and well performed, far better than the movie.
theme (theme):
Trolls → The Manchurian Candidate.
Joke that after watching Trolls he wanted to assassinate a presidential candidate, so maybe there is a Manchurian thing going on.
“I wanted to assassinate a presidential candidate, so maybe there's a whole Manchurian thing happening there too.”
contrast (contrast):
Trolls → La La Land.
City of Stars beat Can't Stop the Feeling and the speaker resents it as the La La Land song; the opening numbers are the film's best.
“I still am so resentful that that's the La La Land song.”
programming (programming):
Taron Egerton → Little Shop of Horrors.
Rumor: Warner Bros. wants Taron Egerton for Little Shop of Horrors; Griffin joked he can sing.
“Warner Brothers wants to hire Taron Egerton to do a little shop of horrors.”
contrast (contrast):
Rebecca Ferguson → Jane Krakowski.
Ferguson's Hat performance reminds the speaker of Jane Krakowski in 30 Rock (character name garbled in transcript).
“Rebecca Ferguson and Dr. Sleep is the most I've ever liked a performance that also made me think so much of Jane Krakowski”
contrast (contrast):
Florence Pugh → Jude Law.
Pugh's arrival as a star is the Talented Mr. Ripley-era Jude Law analog; Lopez is Tom Cruise in Magnolia, a star channeling her legacy into her best acting.
contrast (contrast):
Jennifer Lopez → Tom Cruise.
Lopez in Hustlers compared to Tom Cruise in Magnolia: a star pouring their entire legacy into the best acting they have done.
“someone finding the performance that channels their entire legacy as a star into the best piece of acting they've ever done.”
verdict (verdict):
Laura Dern → Marriage Story.
Dern is on Joe's ballot but none of the three would pick her to win; she's the Oscar frontrunner as a career-recognition win.
verdict (verdict):
Under the Silver Lake → Under the Silver Lake.
Griffin watched it on a train from Buffalo and half-believes it was a dream; it played better in a theater than on a plane.
“I watched Under the Silver Lake on a train back to New York from Buffalo.”
verdict (verdict):
Richard Schiff → Clemency.
Schiff's Clemency performance is the benchmark of what a speaker wants to age into as an actor, alongside Joe Pantoliano in Bad Boys for Life.
“Those are the 2 benchmarks I'm setting for the next 30 years of my career.”
verdict (verdict):
Alfre Woodard → Clemency.
Great performance with a long-shot showstopper; the drunk scenes are among the best drunk acting the speaker has seen.
verdict (verdict):
Jennifer Kent → The Nightingale.
Kent's film is 'the best movie of the year that I would never recommend to anybody' for how punishing it is; she's a discovery of the decade.
“I think that's the best movie of the year that I would never recommend to anybody.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
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”
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
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?”
fun, about
Michael Fassbender:
Halfway through the shoot Fassbender told Fincher he finally got it: precision modeling, holding a head position for long takes.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.