Loves charisma performances, movie stars at their peak, and trivia from Tarantino's circle. Champions Brad Pitt as the winner. Can't stand awards mistakes like The Artist winning, and he warns about the 'Oscars should wait five years' view. A sucker for 1960s details, driving scenes, and Boogie Nights real estate.
Stances
Brad Pitt won the movie
Oscars should be awarded five years later
Focus is underrated
Humor: Runs bits on movies he almost bought, fake research, and sports-style comparisons.
In their words
“I think Pitt won the movie.” (1:17:58)
“I think I'm the only one that likes focus.” (0:32:43)
Loves the mid-80s Eddie Murphy and the movie's cultural phenomenon, and has a clear soft spot for Lisa Eilbacher. Is a sucker for Hollywood-excess anecdotes (Simpson, cocaine, Rourke, Stallone) and for sports analogies. Has little patience for plot logic holes but loves list games and categories.
Stances
Eddie Murphy in 1984 was the biggest star in the world after Michael Jackson
Lisa Eilbacher is the Apex Mountain and the film's winner
The Eddie-Murphy-as-star what-if game (Top Gun) is a worthwhile question
Humor: Rapid-fire sports analogies (WAR, LeBron, Dion Waiters, Shawn Michaels) and mock-indignant asides.
Loves the lore of how a movie got made, the lists (casting what-ifs, recasting), and the 'unanswerable questions' category. Has little patience for Lawrence Tierney's acting or for Ebert missing on Tarantino. He remembers the 1992 Boston era of a movie that mattered and is a sucker for a heist.
Stances
Tarantino won the movie
Lawrence Tierney is bad (the 'Mike Francesa' bit)
Does not want new Reservoir Dogs content
Wants to see the heist, plays devil's advocate
Humor: Throws sports analogies, invents award names, and runs recurring bits like Roger Ebert and Felony Land.
In their words
“I love bank ice scenes.” (1:23:55)
“It's Tarantino, and I think all of those actors robbing a bank.” (1:23:22)
“Can I make the case for seeing the heist?” (1:23:18)
Loves ensemble casts and film-lineage framing, sports analogies (Dwight Gooden, Penny Hardaway), and the show's recurring awards. Wants a better soundtrack, and cannot stand the ending speech. Is a sucker for his wife and kids' opinions of the film.
Stances
Mean Girls is the best Lorne Michaels movie
Lohan's decline is like an athlete's lost career
Soundtrack and ending speech are weak
Humor: Dry, sports-and-family riffs, often teased by his co-hosts.
In their words
“that was like Dwight Gooden in 1985 on the Mets.” (0:27:59)
“I think this is the best Lauren Michaels movie.” (0:16:22)
Bill loves old-school sports myth-making, baseball nostalgia, the Natural's chill scene, and stat-nerd rabbit holes like reconstructing Roy Hobbs's season. He is picky about throwing motions and lineup logic, and is a sucker for the dugout-emptying slow-motion shot. He ranks Bull Durham/Hoosiers/Rocky near the top and finds slow hospital stretches in sports movies unbearable.
Stances
The Natural used to be the greatest sports movie but is now slower than he remembers
Every great sports movie needs a chill scene
Dislikes bad throwing motions on screen
Hospital detours in sports movies should be cut short
Roy Hobbs was a Bonds-level statistical machine, or worse
Humor: Dry, list-making sports-nerd riffs and reaching pop-culture asides (Bachelor, Harry Potter) delivered as if serious.
In their words
“My move with sports movies is like, get me out of the hospital as fast as possible.” (1:00:37)
“nothing drives me crazier than when somebody can't throw in a baseball movie.” (0:56:43)
Loves Gen X touchstones and basketball analogies; sticks up for Winona Ryder and Friends season one; mocks Troy-type guys and over-talky English majors. A sucker for half-assed internet research and awards-bit tradition.
Stances
Winona Ryder won the movie
Singles is a flawed but beloved sibling
Ben Stiller deserves credit
Humor: Rolls NBA references and mock-feuds into everything.
In their words
“I do look at her in a way, like, uh, like I look at some NBA players.” (0:32:14)
Loves sports-adjacent silliness, big broad comedy and quotable lines, and wedding toast chaos. Can't stand being wrong about movie trivia he has already litigated. A sucker for his own running categories and bits (Ebert, Joey Pants, Dion Waiters).
Stances
Roger Ebert is never to be trusted on comedies
Comedies of the era were a nice 6-7 year run
Open your movie with a wedding theory
Luke Wilson is not Harrison Ford
Humor: Deadpan rapid-fire teasing of co-hosts and mock-outrage, plus sports references.
In their words
“never to be trusted on comedies.” (0:15:17)
“This movie also nicely slots into my open your movie with a wedding theory.” (1:01:05)
Loves sports analogies, Kurt Russell and Pacino's Cruising, defends 90s movies like Fletch. Dislikes dated romance interludes like the picnic. A sucker for mustaches and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson.
Stances
Val Kilmer wins the movie
Wyatt Earp is the rival, Tombstone is more entertaining
Cruising is incredible
Cut the 12-minute theater scene
Humor: Rapid-fire sports comparisons and teasing his cohosts.
In their words
“I think this movie is the perfect microcosm of both of their careers.” (0:12:28)
“I just don't come to Tombstone for picnics” (0:29:44)
Loves old-school and 5 o'clocker action, Seagal, Stallone, Nick Cage, and movies that know exactly what they are. Can't stand over-explained worldbuilding or sequels that give the hero a known villain. A sucker for the Neeson comeback and for ranking things by era.
Stances
Taken is the perfect 5 o'clocker
Taken 2 is not better than the first
Neeson is the Apex Mountain of the movie
The first Taken works because there is no main villain
Humor: Deadpan nitpicking, escalating sports analogies, and long self-deprecating dad stories.
In their words
“I just like watching movies that know exactly what they are.” (0:32:10)
“I don't think it's a John Wick 2 situation where John Wick 2 is actually somehow better than John Wick one, or we could at least have the debate.” (0:42:12)
Loves big star-driven movies and sets the show's categories; adores the Wahlberg and Baldwin scenes, Boston flavor and the crazy cast what-ifs. Can't stand Nicholson's performance here, implausible plot points and the rat. A sucker for 'that guy' actors, Goodfellas and Boston details.
Stances
The Departed is a Hall of Famer because it is flawed and fun
Leo won the movie, Nicholson loses it
Costello should have been Pacino
Damon's Boston accent beats Wahlberg's
Scorsese's Stones fetish is funny
Humor: Deadpan nitpicking, jokes about plot holes and trivia, rapid mock-outrage.
In their words
“This is a perfect rewatchable because it is a great bad movie.” (0:12:23)
Calls Spielberg the greatest director ever but is skeptical of his late period and Munich. Loves Jaws, Raiders, and E.T. through his kids, and measures movies by whether kids can stay with them. Distrusts the calculating, career-minded side of Spielberg and Spielberg's DreamWorks hedging.
Stances
Spielberg's first 15 years are the greatest career stretch ever
His recent work is solid but not special
Spielberg is 'calculating' where Mann or Coppola are obsessive
Judges movies by whether his kids can watch them
Humor: Wry and teasing; leans on sports analogies (LeBron, Popovich) and bits like 'hit by a car in 1986'.
In their words
“if you just got hit by a car at the peak of your career, how would people remember you?” (0:51:08)
“I judge everything by my kids who have, you know, 21st century ADD with pop culture.” (1:00:09)
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.
The Rewatchables
Apex Mountain: The moment a star peaks; where on the mountain a performance sits.
Who Won the Movie: The hosts name the person who came out of the film best off.
The Ebert review: Roger Ebert's original review and star rating read aloud. Ebert is cited, never on the show.
Casting what-ifs: Who was almost cast, or who should have been.
Most rewatchable scene: The scene each host would stop on while flipping channels.
Aged best / aged worst: What holds up and what does not.
Picking Nits: The little things in a film the hosts love that they don't think totally work: the nits.
Double feature: The film each host would pair it with; a programming pick.
Their claims
Showing 601–700 of 1,295 claims.
craft (craft):
Wedding Crashers → Knocked Up.
Bill says Wedding Crashers and Mean Girls became genuinely funny, which is what Apatow figured out.
“I think the thing Appatau figured out on wedding crashers and Mean Girls and some of these other things was, they became genuinely funny.”
contrast (contrast):
When Harry Met Sally → My Best Friend's Wedding.
Bill says Harry Met Sally is genuinely funny, unlike Pretty Woman or the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks movies; My Best Friend's Wedding is funny but not hilarious.
“My best friend's wedding is funny, but it's not like, it's not like hilarious.”
craft (craft):
Judd Apatow → The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Bill says Apatow put idiot 22-year-old men into a rom-com, a trick he also used in 40-Year-Old Virgin.
“Judd figured out how to like put them in a rom-com and make it work.”
contrast (contrast):
Knocked Up → The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Bill says the first half is idiots hanging out and the second half is more rom-com, less funny and more heartwarming; he notes 40-Year-Old Virgin was already covered.
“He did it in 40-year-old version too, which we've already done”
industry (industry):
Judd Apatow → Adam McKay.
Bill says McKay and Ferrell were doing the same improvise-and-keep-rolling thing at the same time as Apatow.
“Adam McKay and Will Ferrell and those guys are kind of doing the same thing at the same time.”
career (career):
Katherine Heigl → Grey's Anatomy (TV).
Bill says Heigl got more attention from Grey's Anatomy and was good in Knocked Up, laying seeds of a major star.
career (career):
Katherine Heigl → Julia Roberts.
Bill lines up Heigl with Reese Witherspoon, young Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts as someone you can tell 'has it'.
career (career):
Martin Starr → Silicon Valley (TV).
Bill says Martin Starr is the same guy in everything, like in Silicon Valley, but figured out his lane.
programming (programming):
Knocked Up → Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
The pee-break category is named after the Anchorman flute scene; Bill uses it to mark Knocked Up's 7.5-minute labor stretch.
“The anchorman flute. P-break Award for best time to go go pee”
what-if (what-if):
Anne Hathaway → Knocked Up.
Bill raises Anne Hathaway as originally cast as Alison and dropping out over how the birth footage would be used.
what-if (what-if):
Kate Bosworth → Knocked Up.
Bill reports alleged auditions by Jennifer Love Hewitt (transcribed 'La Feud'), Kate Bosworth and Christina Aguilera.
“Allegedly, Jennifer La Feud and Kate Bosworth auditioned.”
what-if (what-if):
Mila Kunis → Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Bill says Mila Kunis auditioned for Alison, didn't get it, but Apatow remembered her for Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
“We know Mila Kunis auditioned and didn't get it, but Jed Appatau remembered her and put her around forgetting Sarah Marshall.”
industry (industry):
Michael Cera → Knocked Up.
Bill describes a DVD special feature where Michael Cera is 'fired' and Bennett Miller co-directs, a wrestling-style work.
“Do you know about this special feature on the DVD where Michael Sarah gets fired from the film”
programming (programming):
Knocked Up → The League (TV).
Bill says Knocked Up may be the most high-profile fantasy moment in a movie, since The League is a TV show.
“It might be the most high profile fantasy moment.”
theme (theme):
Knocked Up → Big Daddy.
Bill compares Ben's money-from-nowhere set-up to Sonny in Big Daddy: it doesn't have to work because he has all the money.
“Sonny get run over by, uh, like a cab in Big Daddy.”
contrast (contrast):
Knocked Up → Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Imagining Alison's life after the movie, Bill says she might meet a better guy than Rogen and it becomes a Forgetting Sarah Marshall situation.
“and it becomes a forgetting Sarah Marshall situation where.”
unmapped (fish out of water vs showcase):
Beverly Hills Cop → Beverly Hills Cop II.
The first film has a coherent story and fish-out-of-water appeal; the sequel is a showcase of Eddie doing bits.
“The 1st movie has like a much more coherent story.”
lineage (sequel scarcity):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Police Academy 4.
Cop II was the only sequel in the 1987 domestic top 20-25; the next was Police Academy 4 at 44th.
“This is the only sequel in the top 20, top 25, where it's not until Police Academy 4, which was the 44th biggest movie that year.”
career (career decline):
Eddie Murphy → The Distinguished Gentleman.
The set indulgence of 1987 Eddie leads eventually to the wheels coming off by The Distinguished Gentleman.
“at some point that leads to, you know, you're doing the distinguished gentlemen and the wheels have just gone, the wheels have come up.”
unmapped (Eddie Murphy run):
Beverly Hills Cop II → 48 Hrs..
The Rewatchables has covered 48 Hrs., Cop I, Cop II, Coming to America; only Trading Places is left; Simmons prefers 48 Hrs. personally.
unmapped (rewatchability):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Beverly Hills Cop.
Not better, but more rewatchable than the first because sleeker with no dead spots or open questions.
“I don't think it's a better movie, but I actually think it's a more rewatchable movie because it's sleeker.”
unmapped (critic grudge):
Roger Ebert → Spies Like Us.
Ebert had trashed Spies Like Us on the Tonight Show with Chevy Chase sitting next to him, showing his salt toward these comedies.
“he was on the Tonight Show with Chevy Chase and he reamed the Spies like Us movie right in front of him.”
verdict (all-time favorites):
Eddie Murphy → David Letterman.
Simmons ranks Murphy on his short list alongside Letterman and Larry Bird.
“I don't know whether he's where he ranks against Letterman and Larry Bird and, you know, the Alzheimer's for me, but he's right. He's on the short list.”
unmapped (TV appearance):
Eddie Murphy → Joe Piscopo.
Murphy appeared on a Piscopo comedy special doing a Miami Vice parody during his scarce public years.
“He was Joe Piscopo, had a comedy special that was great. where Eddie went on that and they did a Miami Vice parody.”
unmapped (modern equivalent):
Eddie Murphy → Dave Chappelle.
A modern equivalent would require combining a piece of Chappelle with five other peak performers.
“It's like a piece of Chappelle, and then you'd have to take 5 other people who are at the peak of their powers and combine them.”
unmapped (top-20 neighbors):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Dirty Dancing.
The 1987 top 20 includes Fatal Attraction, Lethal Weapon, RoboCop, Predator and others, putting Cop II as the third biggest.
“Three Men and a Baby, Fatal Attraction, Beverly Hills Cop 2.”
unmapped (Black stardom in 1987):
Eddie Murphy → Bill Cosby.
Murphy was the only Black star in the 1987 top 20 and, with Cosby, carried outsized importance.
unmapped (racetrack crosscutting):
Tony Scott → Beverly Hills Cop II.
Scott's signature crosscutting with running horses defines the racetrack robbery.
“Nobody loved crosscutting with running horses more than Tony Scott.”
unmapped (romance):
Brigitte Nielsen → Tony Scott.
Nielsen cheated on Stallone with Tony Scott during this filming, per what Simmons read, and also had a romance with Schwarzenegger.
“Mary Stallone, cheated on Stallone with Tony Scott, which broke up his marriage during this filming”
what-if (career what-if):
Brigitte Nielsen → Steven Seagal.
Nielsen should have landed in a Seagal movie like Above the Law or Marked for Death, or been the bad guy in Under Siege 3.
“I think she could have been an above the law or marked for death, any of those.”
craft (score echo):
Harold Faltermeyer → Escape from New York.
The Faltermeyer opening has hints of 48 Hrs., Escape from New York, Miami Vice, and Fletch.
people (producer power):
Don Simpson → The Presidio.
Simpson was powerful enough to have Paramount pull writer Larry Ferguson off The Presidio mid-script.
“Simpson is so powerful at this point that he had Paramount remove a writer named Larry Ferguson from the Presidio to come help with this film.”
unmapped (easter egg):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Cobra.
Rosewood has a Cobra poster in his apartment, which is funny given Scott and Nielsen's off-screen story.
“He's got the Cobra poster in his room, and meanwhile, Tony Scott is...”
career (career arc):
Judge Reinhold → Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Reinhold's rise runs from Fast Times (1982) through Ruthless People; Vice Versa was his solo breakout attempt that failed.
“Vice versa was his big chance to break out on his own. Didn't work, and then the wheels kind of came off after that.”
people (sequel adds cast):
Beverly Hills Cop II → Lethal Weapon.
By the mid-90s sequels learned to add stars (Pesci in Lethal Weapon, Jackson in Die Hard 3); Cop sequels just ran it back.
“You have to have Joe Pesci join Lethal Weapon, and you have to try to bring in Chris Rock. You get Sam Jackson in Die Hard 3.”
lineage (lineage):
The Player → The Larry Sanders Show.
Bill asks whether The Player is ground zero for the meta-Hollywood strain that runs through Larry Sanders and Curb.
“Larry Sanders and Curb your enthusiasm and all these different things we've had over the 30 years.”
lineage (lineage):
Robert Altman → Paul Thomas Anderson.
Bill says Altman's legacy is the filmmakers he influenced, and Boogie Nights is PTA trying to do The Player and Altman.
“He's just basically trying to do the player, right?”
lineage (lineage):
Robert Altman → Adam McKay.
Altman was one of the first directors to encourage ad-libbing, a trend followed by McKay, Apatow and PTA.
“there is this whole generation directors that follows Adam McKay, Apatow, Paul Thomas Anderson”
verdict (verdict):
The Player → The Bonfire of the Vanities.
The quoted review calls The Player the movie Bonfire of the Vanities wanted to be, and the hosts agree; Wesley followed the Bonfire saga before seeing it.
career (career):
Brion James → Striking Distance.
Bill remembers him from cable as Bruce Willis's nemesis in Striking Distance, which spins into a Rowdy Herrington week idea.
“In my house growing up, he was Bruce Willis's like arch nemesis in striking distance.”
programming (programming):
Striking Distance → Road House.
Bill pitches a Rowdy Herrington week for the show covering Road House and Striking Distance.
theme (theme):
The Player → Pretty Woman.
The recurring pitch-as-mashup joke (Out of Africa meets Pretty Woman) and the running Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis casting gag.
“How Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis get suggested for every movie is just a funny running bit.”
career (career):
Tim Robbins → The Shawshank Redemption.
The Player is a step in Robbins's run from Bull Durham to Shawshank, and two years from Dead Man Walking.
“I think Robin needed this for his Bull Durham, to the player, to Shawshank”
career (career):
Tim Robbins → Dead Man Walking.
Robbins directed Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking; the hosts trace the Scacchi/D'Onofrio/Leila George/Sean Penn six degrees.
“Tim Robbins directed Sean Penn in the movie Dead Man Walking.”
what-if (what-if):
Robert De Niro → The Player.
Bill proposes De Niro in the Fred Ward part, overqualified, as the right-era move after Goodfellas and Cape Fear.
“Could he have just played the Fred Ward part for like 4 scenes.”
what-if (what-if):
Jennifer Jason Lee → The Player.
Bill says the Bonnie part, instead of Cynthia Stevenson, has Jennifer Jason Lee written all over it; the others disagree.
“it just has Jennifer Jason Lee crying all over it.”
people (people):
The Player → Presumed Innocent.
Bill's memory of falling for Greta Scacchi in Presumed Innocent frames why he finds her Player character underwritten; Scacchi refused nudity after Presumed Innocent.
“Skocky's like, I fucking went to town on Harrison Ford and presumed innocent.”
fun, about
Fletch (cut scenes):
Original posters showed Fletch as a hockey player; a cut fantasy had him pitching in the World Series until Lasorda pulls him, explaining his later grudge against Lasorda.
“There's another fantasy moment that was cut where he pitches in the World Series and Lasorda pulls him from the game.”
fun, about
Fletch (Apex Mountain):
Apex Mountain: Chevy's apex is SNL or the 85-86 comeback; Harold Faltermeyer's is Beverly Hills Cop into this into Top Gun; Kareem's is 1980 or 1985.
fun, about
Fletch:
Lakers jersey, the Magic-Bird poster in the apartment, and the faded purple; Fletch jersey became a thing people wore; Chick Hearn's street named maybe because of Fletch.
fun, about
Matthew Broderick:
Casting what-ifs: first choice for Alex P. Keaton, cast then dropped out of The Flamingo Kid (Matt Dillon's breakout), turned down Johnny Utah in Point Break. Hosts say he is not a quarterback.
“He turned down the role of Johnny Utah, point break.”
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
Bill's 2009 mailbag timeline test: fit the whole day (Sears Tower, exchange, art museum, Chez Louis, Wrigley, parade, car repair) into under 8 hours. He challenged readers to reenact it; no one did.
“I challenged everyone in 2009 to to, I was like, all right, 3 high school or college people, just try to reenact this and see if you can do this in 8 hours.”
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
Most Rewatchable Scene nominees: the they bought it monologue, Cameron deciding to leave, Ferris picking up Sloane, the Abe Froman call, the Star Wars Ferrari joyride, the art museum, Cameron destroying the car, and Ferris sprinting home.
“My winner for this is I'm going to break rewatchables tradition for the 1st time in 110 episodes”
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
Bill's pick: the parking attendants' joyride in the Ferrari set to Star Wars music, one of the hardest he has ever laughed.
“It probably made me laugh top 4 hardest ever in a movie”
fun, about
Robert Smith (The Cure):
The art museum scene bombed with Robert Smith's original music; they swapped in an instrumental of a Smiths song and it worked.
“they even said in the test screening for this, they use different music and it just didn't work.”
fun, about
Mia Sara:
Mount Rushmore of mid-80s teen girls: Bill inducts Mia Sara alongside Kelly Preston, Joyce Hyser, and Elizabeth Shue; Chris is accused of taking it too far.
“I do want to induct her into the mid 80s Mount Rushmore with Kelly Preston, Joyce Heiser, and Elizabeth Shu.”
fun, about
Richard Edson:
Joey Pants Award (best that guy): both parking attendants. Edson's filmography is notable, including Stranger Than Paradise, Platoon, Do the Right Thing.
“Edson is in more important movies than almost any actor in the 80s.”
fun, about
Charlie Sheen:
Dion Waiters Award (small role, big impact): Charlie Sheen in the police station. Reportedly stayed up over two days for the look.
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
Deleted scene: Ferris takes a bond bought at his birth from his dad's closet and cashes it, funding the day. Cut because it made him look like a thief.
“It was removed because it made him seem like a thief.”
fun, about
Matthew Broderick:
Broderick hurt his knee in the running scene, which was shot before Twist and Shout, so he could not do much choreography; a blessing because the scene would have run longer.
“thank God, because then that scene would have been longer.”
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
The post-credits bus scene was supposed to be in the film; Hughes loved it and threw it at the end, so the school bus of kids coming home at 6 makes no sense.
“I think John his is just like, fuck it, I'm putting it in.”
fun, about
Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
Hosts say the car in the movie is a replica; maker Modena Design was sued by Ferrari and went bankrupt. A real 1961 250 GT California sold for around $18 million.
“Ferrari ended up suing them and they went bankrupt because of this movie.”
fun, about
John Hughes:
Cameron wears a Red Wings jersey, not Blackhawks, because Hughes grew up in Michigan and idolized Gordie Howe, which still bothers Bill.
“John Hughes grew up 1st 12 years of his life in Michigan, loved the local hockey team, the Red Wings.”
fun, about
John Hughes:
Who won the movie: Hughes first, Broderick second, Cameron third. Bill argues Hughes is the most-seen, most-loved director since 1980 and had no rival in his lane.
“I think you could make the case that since 1980, he is the director who more people have a serious relationship to his movies than any other person”
fun, about
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood:
Tarantino's 10-film plan and the idea of 300 minutes of Bounty Law: he has threatened to make five episodes of it, possibly on Netflix, though Leo may not agree.
“he's been threatening doing 5 episodes of bounty law. like for real.”
fun, about
Eddie Murphy:
On Letterman after this film, Eddie came on in a Michael Jackson suit and behaved differently; after buying Bubble Hill, the speaker says, a mansion every night is death for comedy.
“He was one of the biggest stars in the world and he had reached a point where there was no way to have normal interactions with anybody.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop:
Eddie was hired about two weeks before shooting on a script that had been kicking around since the 70s, and he improvised large swaths of it. Brest said every time they hit a jam he asked Eddie for something.
“every time we got into a jam, I turn to Eddie and say, can you come up with something?”
fun, about
John Ashton:
In the super cop scene, Ashton looks pained but is actually trying not to laugh, Carol Burnett Show style. Ronny Cox can be seen fighting it off too.
fun, about
Eddie Murphy:
Axel's checking-in-at-the-Beverly-Palms bit: a Rolling Stone writer doing a Michael Jackson cover story, crying racism without saying it, and getting a room at half price. Watch his wordless take when he hears the price.
“he gets like one of the all-time, like, wordless takes where they give him the price of a single room.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop:
The banana-in-the-tailpipe line became a playground catchphrase, used at Little League, then revived when Tiger Woods arrived in 1997.
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop:
Mumford Phys Ed t-shirts were a mid-80s thing and a high school got flooded with requests; Cop 2's lion jacket was intentionally merchandised.
“The Mumford Phiz ed t-shirts were really a thing in the mid 80s.”
fun, about
Mickey Rourke:
Don Simpson reportedly tore a picture of Mickey Rourke out of a magazine and said 'isn't he great?'; Rourke then signed a $400,000 holding deal and left the project.
“Mr. Simpson tore it out, held it up and said, isn't he great?”
fun, about
Martin Scorsese:
Scorsese was offered the directing job while trying to get The Last Temptation of Christ made, and was reportedly bewildered by the script.
“According to the research, Scorsese was, quote, bewildered by the script.”
fun, about
Michael Eisner:
Eisner says the idea came from a 1975 speeding ticket: stopped in a beater, he decided he needed a Mercedes. Simpson claimed he had the idea in 1977 and the two argued until Simpson died.
“But they've, they argued about it until Don Simpson died about who came up with that idea.”
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop:
CBS made a pilot for a Beverly Hills Cop TV show from the creator of The Shield, with Brandon T. Jackson as Axel Foley's son. It didn't work.
fun, about
Lisa Eilbacher:
Apex Mountain pick: Lisa Eilbacher 'one hundred thousand percent'; she is also named most aged-well and the winner of the movie.
fun, about
Beverly Hills Cop:
The movie never lets Axel have a love scene, and the guys read Axel and Mikey as the love story. 'Is Axel Foley gay?' is described as a long-running Reddit conspiracy theory.
“And the axe is Axel gay is like a long term, that's like a Reddit board conspiracy theory thing that's been going on for years.”
fun, about
Reservoir Dogs:
Ewing Theory Award for best theory: Madonna, Madsen's Ladera Heights joke, the finger-cutting theory, or Buscemi's tipping. Chris picks the tipping.
fun, about
Reservoir Dogs:
The 2006 video game used only one actor's likeness, Madsen, who 'needed the paycheck'; GameSpot called it an out and out failure.
“GameSpot called it, quote, an out and out failure.”
fun, about
Reservoir Dogs:
Budget trivia: actors wore their own clothes, Chris Penn used his own car, and the soundtrack budget went to 'Stuck in the Middle with You.'
“the entire soundtrack budget was spent on securing, stuck in the middle with you.”
fun, about
Tarantino:
Pulp Fiction was to follow the Vega Brothers: Vic Vega is Vincent Vega's brother; a prequel 'Double V Vega' never happened because the actors aged.
“And then Tarantino said he always wanted to do a prequel called Double V Vega.”
fun, about
Reservoir Dogs:
Origin of the title: at Video Archives he recommended Au revoir les enfants and a customer mockingly said he did not want to see no reservoir dogs.
fun, about
Reservoir Dogs:
Best quote: Bill leaves it blank because the whole movie is the best quote; Chris's pick is 'let's get a taco' after the finger speech.
fun, about
Mean Girls:
Most rewatchable scene picks: the talent show (Jingle Bell Rock), the sabotage montage, the four-way phone call, the lunch scene, the burn book blowup, Tim Meadows in the gym; Simmons picks the burn book blowup into the gym.
fun, about
Jonathan Bennett:
Aaron Samuels' IMDb is aged worst; running gag that Juliet will be trained by Aaron Samuels and a Mark Ruffalo road-trip indie.
fun, about
Mean Girls:
The reverse Vivian Award for worst clothes: wide-waistband mini skirts, kitten heels, blue eyeshadow, the party dress; the Henley top and short skirt also hated.
fun, about
Regina George:
Lohan originally wanted to play Regina but the director insisted Katie (Cady) was the heroine; the irony is she really was Regina.
“So I had a war with the director and he said, no, Katie is the heroine and that's who you are.”
fun, about
Lindsay Lohan:
Lohan has repeatedly pitched and treated a Mean Girls sequel; direct-to-TV Mean Girls 2 aired on ABC Family January 23, 2011.
fun, about
Lindsay Lohan:
Apex Mountain: Lohan's 2004 is the highest peak anyone has reached, unanimous; Tina Fey, McAdams, Seyfried, Chabert and Poehler also considered.
“It's the highest peak anyone may have ever reached on their apex mountain.”
fun, about
The Natural:
Bill's 1997 website list of the 30 greatest sports movies graded each film on whether it had a chill scene; The Natural's fireworks home run is the best.
“This movie has, I think, the best chill scene of any sports movie, which is the home run with the fireworks”
fun, about
The Natural:
The film maps onto Greek myth: Max Mercy as Vulcan in red and brown, Pop as Zeus with uniform number one, the Judge as Hades, Memo as Calypso, Gus as the cyclops, Iris as Penelope.
“Max Mercy is the Vulcan god of fire who could make or break you.”
fun, about
The Natural:
Bill's 2001 Page 2 piece estimating Roy Hobbs's stats; hosts redo it by freezing newspaper dates, landing near 70 games and 28 homers.
“This one, I just tried to figure out his stats and people loved it.”