Blank Check with Griffin & David - Intolerable Cruelty with Katey Rich

Episode Date: September 14, 2025

We’ve been exposed. You’ve nailed our asses. Of course we’re going to defend this movie! 2004’s Intolerable Cruelty features George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones at the height of their powers, yet failed to connect with contemporary audiences. Guest Katey Rich joins us as we attempt to understand why. Too mean? Too talky? A lack of period trappings? Maybe they were just blinded by George Clooney’s incredible teeth. We’re talking Clooney’s directorial efforts (bad), Richard Jenkins’ 2008 (immaculate), and the name “Rex Rexroth” (difficult to pronounce) in this week’s episode, so sign your Massey pre-nup and join us!  Read David’s Interview with George Clooney Play Cinematrix Check out the Prestige Junkie After Party Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blank Jack with Griffin and David Blank Jack with Griffin and David Don't know what to say or to expect All you need to know is that the name of the show was Blank Jack Your husband had told me you were the most beautiful podcast he'd ever met I didn't expect the most beautiful podcast I'd ever met It's a great line.

It is. I don't have a good cloning. Few do. He's one of the least impersonated movie stars of that size, I would say. He's got a thing. I've seen someone could figure it out. People do it and you're like, let's get right into the deep end here. I believe you kind of can't be a great movie star without being someone that someone can impersonate.

You need to be distinctive enough that there is an ability to impersonate you in a specific. way. Someone could definitely do Clooney. I've seen people do it, but very few. You need to have like a hook that someone can hang on to. You fascinate me. But I can't, I can't do, you know, how. You could do the head tilt. It's a quality of the voice. He's very grovely in this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The down. But then in this, he's doing the Cohen's, the Cohen's, the Cohen's get him work in his neck unlike anyone else. And the teeth, obviously. I mean, that's a whole separate thing. Yeah. I think this is, yeah. I mean, I guess, what's your favorite Clooney Cohen's performance? Oh.

He's done four. Yeah. Okay. Perfect. All four. Uh, brother. This one, burn after reading. Mm-hmm.

I skipped one. Hell Cesar. Oh, thank you. Yeah. His Idiot trilogy, which is now four films. Right. Mm-hmm. I, my default answer is burn after reading, which I think he's unreal good in.

Mm-hmm. When I'm watching this, I go, how could it be anything but this? He's unbelievable in this. And this is just so much on his shoulders. Yes. Even more than O'Brother where it's like the three. He's amazing in O' Brother, but, right, it's a slightly. so much going on. Like, I didn't rewatch that one before this, but I did rewatch

Burn After Reading. And Burn After Reading is like, it's an ensemble way more than this is. Like, this is just like, really a two-hander, but really kind of a one-hander. It's a really kind of a one-hander. Yeah. He's, yeah, he's the best. He's unbelievable. He's an nominee for me this year. Yeah. It's an amazing performance. And this is the year after Ocean's 11? Two years after. And before Ocean's 12, which Catherine Zeta-Jones is, of course, in. This is a thing we've talked about in the past on this podcast that I found really interesting. I remember very distinctly. Catherine Zeta Jones

wins Best Supporting Actress for Chicago in 2002. I do remember that. Her three immediate follow-up films are Intolerable Cruelty directed by the Cohn brothers. Yep. Oceans 12 directed by Steven Soderberg

and the Terminal directed by Stephen Spielberg. And upon the release of Oceans 12, which I think is the third... That's the last, I think. Yeah. She fires all of her reps. I remember... It's not...

It's not just that. Her career is over. Basically. No, no, no, not basically. You can draw a line. Well, she's married to Michael Douglas at what point? That doesn't matter. That's already happened.

But I'm saying, the follow-up to the run he just said, the immediate follow-up is Legend of Zorro, no reservations, death-defying acts, then two years later to the rebound. Which is that on a shelf? It's over. Was there not the sense, though, that she's like, I'm married to Michael Douglas and I got kids. I'm going to just peace? No. I think everyone was like she stinks it up in all three of those movies. Sorry.

That was sort of, I think, the perception at the time. It was a little bit what happened to Helen Hunt post-Oscar. It was a take-her Oscar away run. Right. But it's also that she made movies with exclusively incredible filmmakers. Movies that are basically, well, the terminal's not good, but are basically all pretty good. But among the least regarded of all of their movies. Yes.

I mean, obviously, we all love Oceans 12 now. Ocean's 12 has now been reclaimed. At the time, it was not well-risk. We're trying to start the drumbeat here for their incredible cruel to. Oh, oh, yeah. Oh, I see. Yes, which has not happened, but may start today. And then Terminal, I feel like, is the furthest off, although some will defend it.

People stick off for it. I do think she's not one of the better parts of it, though. Like, you know. No, but that's a perfect example of that part sucks. It is basically designed to make the audience hate whoever's occupying that role. Get away from me. I'm sick. Do we think the Catherine Zeta Jones arrival is going to happen after Naked Gun has that great joke about her,

which is fresh as we are having this conversation. Remind me of a joke? In my day, the only thing. things that were electric were eels and Catherine Zeta Jones is Chicago. It's just a great show. Right. He's talking about the electric guitar.

A car. But I feel like he says three things. It might be guitar. He might be guitars. And then the third thing is so wordy. Part of the majesty of it is that they give Liam Neeson three sentences to say quickly and he goes, and Catherine Zer Jones is electrifying performance in 2002 film Chicago.

Like that's what they do that joke so many time and it's always always always hits. Just Liam Neeson saying a long thing. Well, the Buffy Tebow joke that comes right out. Yeah. Getting too worked up about something. Yes. From early 2000's pop culture that is still so... Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl. Right. You're like, why is this guy so hung up on the pop culture from when he was 50?

Like, it's part of what is so good about... Because he's ageless. But I don't... Look, I think that the Catherine Zita Jones comeback, in quotes, happened in that she is back and is on Netflix's hit show Wednesday and did a national treasure show she's around there is no chance

of a real comeback there's the post Oscar run there's the run you just said that it's like a big drop off then she disappears for a couple years then there's like the 2013 sort of attempted comeback she's in six movies in two years in 2012 and 23rd it's like playing for keeps

Rock of Ages side effects what's the other one I was about to say. I don't know. I'm looking at this. Oh, Broken City? Yeah. What the hell is that?

I'm looking at it. It's a political for- with, no, just one Hughes, I believe. It's all Hughes, Walberg, and Crow. Allent Hughes. Yes. And then there are two more? There's two more.

One, you might remember just as a, you know, anonymous title, much like playing for keeps, Lay the favorite. Oh, that's a freers. Uh-huh. Her character's name is Tulip? Uh-huh.

That's a movie that has like 10 giant movie stars in it and doesn't exist. Bruce Willis is in and Vince Vaughn's in it. Rebecca Hall? Yeah. I mean, it's a lot of movie stars who are at the tail end. Sure, whatever. And then Red 2 is the final.

Now, the thing about what we're talking about here is that this is the third of the three movies, usually, you know, the Intolable Cruelty, Terminal, Ocean 12 that we have covered. We have really put a magnifying glass on Catherine Zeta Jones's post-Oskar bust. Yes. You know, like, we haven't ever talked about great movies that she's been in, such as the Mask of Zaro, high fidelity, traffic, Chicago. America's Sweetheart, she just skipped right over that one, not on the lineup. She stinks in that movie. A movie I've rewatched recently, kind of like.

I would be interested to rewatch it. I do not remember her working in it. It almost works. The only good joke in that movie is Hank Azaria's Hank Azari's Hank Honkut the entire time. The whole supported cast of that movie is really true. I remember walk in as there, you know, right. Tucci. You get a good touch of the Tuch in that?

Yep. But like, you know, all the, all the movies that made Catherine Zeta Jones the star that she was. It's crazy where it's this, and we've talked about this, but this meteoric rise where it's basically like 1997, who the fuck is this? Yeah. 2002, an Oscar that almost feels like an overdue anointment. Oh, at that point, yes. Yes. Just like, well, she's undeniably one of our greatest movie stars.

and then just immediate drop off here that run of 2013 we just called out she has not been in a movie since then she has done five different TV series but she has not been in a feature film you're forgetting of course dad's army the British I'm sorry you know homage sort of

revival that was 2017 2016 that is her actual last film correct since then she's done Disney Plus National Treasure series I will say she has a film coming up what is it She's in Kathy Yans, Birds of Prey follow-up, which is called The Gallerist. That's right. And has a stacked cast, Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Sterling K. Brown, Charlie X, CX.

I've heard, uninteresting things about this. I've heard, I guess, like, why hasn't it been released? Yes. You should read the plot description because it grabs you. A gallerist conspires to sell a deceased man at Miami's Art Basel. That sounds kind of fun. I'm into it. And at Bernie's meets the art world, sounds good to me.

She does feel like someone. Although art world movie, art world satire, that is tricky. Remember Velvet Buzz saw. You never saw Velvet Buzz saw. You know, and if someone tries it every couple years, it's like, tough to, you know, they're all so silly to begin with. It's tough to satirize them. I'm a fan of Kathy Ann. Me too.

I'm excited for this. I want to see it. It does feel like she is someone who is just like. A little cursed. Well, but also. Kathy Ann or Catherine Zeta Jones are both. Catherine's Day of Jones, but also I'm just like, it feels like it's right there for the taking.

Yes. It feels like you don't even have to go full substance. Yeah. The right movie, the right supporting part for Catherine Zeta Jones, you look like a genius. Yep. And I thought she was incredibly good in side effects where I remember seeing that in theaters

and going like, this is it. And then that movie just makes no impact whatsoever. That's a weird Soderberg like wilderness period. I really like that movie. I don't like her. Interesting. This is a real David's being mean to Captain Zeta Jones episode so far,

which is weird because I think she works in Intolerance. I think she's good enough. I don't think. I do think she's its weakest element a little bit. I would argue that's Jeffrey Rush, but we can get there. Jeffrey Rush, he's in the, he's in two scenes. I like this take. I like, I just like coming in with this hot of a take.

I didn't realize it was hot. I just, I remember even at the time, the whole thing. Look, I'm getting worked up by Captain Zia Jones. Look, this is Blank Check with Griffin and David. I'm Griffin. I'm David. It's a podcast about filmographies, directors, who have massive success early on in their careers

and are given a series of blank checks to make whatever crazy passion projects they want and sometimes those checks clear and sometimes they bounce baby Kershner was in Kentucky Forget Kershner Forget Kershner Are you crazy?

You forgot Kershner? It's the best line. Richard Jenkins shows up in this movie and you're like, we are off to the races. Richard Jenkins drops 80 atomic bomb like just face like just just eyebrow twitches. And then Paul Adelstein hits like 43.

Like just crazy number. But Jenkins, I think, has two, three scenes and I'm just like, I want to know everything about this place. It feels like he's in the entire movie. It does feel like he's in the entire movie. It might just be well placed. I think it's the two meetings in the corner room.

Yeah. You won't eat that croissant. He won't pastry. Pastry sees me. This is the maisterers on the films of Joel and Ethan Cohen. Yeah. Together and separately. It is called Podcountry

for old cast today we're starting the drumbeat of the intolerable cruelty reclamation a movie i have found in my anecdotal conversations with people as we've been doing this series even the most ardent cohen supporters i know in my life by and larger like yeah i saw that when it came out in theaters it's bad right and have never rewatched it more than lady killers i always thought nobody's different okay all right more i did a little difference well he tried but i'm saying like a little I agree with Griffin that I know there are intolerable cruelty fans out there

because I'm one of them but we did kind of cast Nets being like so come on who's the big defender out there ready to come on blank check famous podcast time 100 yes decade of dreams yes Seth Rogen's on the show

you didn't say that then I said all of this you said all of this you didn't dangle Seth Rogen at the time I was walking in the top of 30 rock just blaring this from the top of my lungs hit an old time of director megaphone I couldn't really find anyone who was like yes intolerable crew i want to defend it because we've been such big defenders for a while that we're like

there have to be others and i just keep finding people who are like saw in theaters opening weekend disappointed didn't like have never considered rewatching or i've heard from others like oh i mean it's okay you know a little bit of that not so much what i expect and what i've always thought since i saw it in theaters which is this rocks love it now david in order to complete this task we had to look to the aforementioned Time 100 Greatest Podcasts of All Time List. We had to shunt her from two other episodes she was booked on because we kept booking famous people.

I think I was considered for three actually. There were definitely three titles in the mix at some point. I would have done any of them to be clear. You are overdue. We were like, we're getting Katie on somewhere in this series. I'm going to be, in our defense, you were also kind of like, I'm coming to New York somewhere in like a three-west window.

Yes, I make it difficult. I was supposed to have come on for a whole previous series. and then I had to go to Los Angeles instead, which is way less fun. What are you supposed to come on for? Yeah, always. You guys replace me with Richard Lawson, which I accept. Listen, from one of the 100 greatest podcasts of all time. And other podcasts.

Fighting the war room, but also prestige junkie. And all that's great work at the ankle. It's true. Katie Rich, who I'm overdue, but I'm going to anoint you with a title now. What we got? We always say that you were kind of the first blank check. You kind of work. Emily Ishida was?

This is the thing. But she was on this weird sort of herky jerky. Did she do like the early Shyamonds before sex? No, she talked about... We did a revisiting of Force Awakens. Force Awakens, yeah. So, like, it was basically... But it was the early run of me asking my friends

and you had asked... The Star Wars show, you, I feel like, had asked more comedian friends because it's like we were more of a comedy show. Also, most of our trivia team. Like, I wasn't going to ask film critics that I admired and respected. We call Emily the mother blankies.

Anyways, but you are our first... Which I think is the title she has earned. I wouldn't be clear. It comes up with the term. term in the episode. In that episode, we're like, should we rename our show? Right, right, right, right. You were the first guest when the show was officially blank checks. Yes. You were on the sixth sense episode to be clear. And it was kind of the first episode the box office game got played. It is? Why is it really? Because it's my favorite box office

weekend. I did it as a whim. I was like, oh, let's try to guess them. I called out how much I loved that weekend. Yes. It became the game. So I want to, I want to annoy you here in this decade of dreams. The auntie of blankies. Oh, God. What an honor. He turns to be the auntie of Blankies. I'll be sitting on a porch, just like this porch that is right here in the studio. Sipping on a sweet tea. Yeah, or half sweet, half a, or half lemonade, Arnold Palmer, you know. I could have brought some familiar cheese here.

Y'all come on, you have been talking for years pre-pandemic about doing a road trip and coming down. David, I realize you have a large cargo now. But I love, I love North Carolina. We have a lot of toys in our house, bring your children. Including some that I've sat. That's true. My kids aren't like, oh, yeah. All I need are some toys.

Anyway, Karen. I do think Griffin was spiritually with us because we went to Pandora. We went to Animal Kingdom and saw the floating islands of Pandora in Florida. And I do think the banshees that you sent to our house were like with us along on the journey. And like I talked to you about going through the little boat ride that people think is boring. But I thought it was beautiful. Anyway, you have helped encourage it. A boat ride through Pandora.

Come down and see Fire and Ash with us. We're going to be there opening night, I'm sure. I like that idea. Charlie went to the summer camp, Charlie passed on future guest. Now nine years old, which I just feel like people are. The Titanic episode is a sub-six-month-old baby. As a baby. He still holds the record for youngest guys.

I hope he keeps in. But he went to summer camp and the week that the Fire and Ash trailer came out and I picked him up. And while we were in the car, before we'd gotten more than two miles away, I was like, you've got to watch this. You got to see the Fire and Ash trailer. And he's so hyped. We're ready. We'll be there. A few things in this horrible broken world make me happier than how much Charlie loves Africa.

You know what rocks about Fire and Ash, too? What? Is like, you know, with way of water, just years of. yeah but is he actually going to make it and yeah and it kept getting delayed and all this and then Avatar 3 he was like yeah it's going to come out two years after and like like clockwork they were like

here's your trailer this movie is ready like this movie's coming I feel like Ash doesn't get enough credit Everyone's talking fire Yeah, what about the Ash? With fire and Ash I just wanted to say about fire and ash I agree with you where you're like

okay we're getting into like a rhythm here now these are going to come out and then you look at the calendar and you're like four is five years away? Is he going to make him? Do you think he's going to do it? I don't think so. You don't think he's going to make the other ones? The way he's talking about, oh, now I really want to, like, make you live inside of a

nuclear explosion for this, like, Hiroshima movie I want to make you cry. Like, he's being like, it's going to be an IMAX. Maybe I'll make an even bigger IMAX that's even more horrible to witness. I will make you hurt. Basically, every James Cameron quote now is just him seeing the lyrics

of her. I don't think I want to punish the audience. You know, George R. Martin is someone who clearly, like, hit a wall in his big creative process for his book. And he just, it's not like he got lazy. He just started doing other stuff being like, well, I hope I figure that out one day, right? And maybe he will, maybe he won't. James Cameron, he made out. He's not lazy.

No. But you get the sense from him a little bit of like, I just want to take a break. And then I'm going to get back to them where you're like, are you? But the man's, what, 75 years old and a box taken? Okay. He's not. And he's a fit man. Oh, sure.

He looks great. I'm not worried about. But he could die in a submarine. accident at any moment. Well, that's true. Although he would tell you, like, no fucking way. Am I dying at us? I follow all the precautions.

I'm smart. I'm like all the other guys. I'm the best at staying alive in a submarine. He's very good at it. Undefeated at this point. I just, maybe he'll hand it off to somebody. I don't know. He's intimated he could. That had always been my guess.

Yeah. And now he's saying, I don't want to hand them off. Right. Here's my new theory. He's always done this thing where after an avatar. He's like, maybe I want to make something else. And then Disney announces a new record-breaking deal for him to fast-track the next Avatar. And they've built him like a space station this time or whatever.

You know, like they've always built him some new facility. But he did it with Cleopatra. Right. After Way of Water, he was like, I'm going to make this Hiroshima movie right away. And then they were like, never mind fire and ash coming out two years on the clock. Right. I also think he has most of the footage in the can. For four and five?

You think so? Yes. I thought two and three were together And then four and five were going to be I've been doing more since then I see Well he's got like the studio in New Zealand Right?

You can just like throw Kate Winslet into the tank Whatever he wants I want I want We want I just wonder if he's sort of now Like I've captured most of it Can I be doing post on avatars

While making new movies Which feels like a tall task But if anyone has The hubris to believe they could pull it off Yeah To do the sort of Schindler Jurassic. I was just going to say it's like Spielberg. That's

my new theory on what he's getting. I'm all for it and I'm all for the sort of like these big directors hit a certain age of Ridley Scott's syndrome and they're like I want to work more. Scorsese is doing the same thing? Well it's not go crazy. I mean Marty works. He's no Ridley Scott but he knows

slowing down now but he had been cranking. I think the other thing with Marty is it's like he can only work at a high budget and all this stuff because he needs to work pretty slow and have a lot of infrastructure around him. Whereas Ridley Scott's like, send in my team, you know, we'll make a fucking, you know, I can build a pyramid for you in an hour or whatever it is he does. Yeah. Um, Catherine Zeta Jones. Zeta, Zeta.

That's an S&L 25 joke. Don't worry Nick the lounge singer. Welsh accent. Sings to Catherine Zeta Jones in the audience. How would you, you know, the Welsh accent Me and Catherine Zeta, Zeta, Zeta, Zeta, Zeta, Zeta, is it Zeta or Zeta? And I always forget how she corrects him. I always think it's Zeta. Catherine Zeta Jones, the great Catherine Zeta Jones, in a way, the great Catherine Zeta Jones. Yes.

I was raised on Catherine Zeta Jones, right? I saw Mask Azaro when I was 12. Beyond that. Bewitch by this woman. We have said this, the two trailers, she had two trailer moments that felt like they exploded the universe. Entrapment trailer. Entrapment.

Entrapment, her going through the lasers, yeah. And the end of the Zoro trailer, where her clothes fall off in a Z. And it felt like those two things, it was like Bill Clinton got, like, state of the union. We all agree this is the sexiest woman on the planet. She's so beautiful. In a way that was codified for like all children, you were like, I get it. You're telling me this is like the height of like glamour and charisma. And then there was this narrative that like Michael Douglas was like.

Like, I must meet that woman. Bring her to me. That's a decent Michael Douglas, actually. Thank you. This is CNN. And then it was, right, this constant comedy of, like, she has to change his diapers. Yep. She's married to the oldest man in the world.

Right. Meanwhile, he's like, I'm going to play Ant Man 20 years from now or whatever the fuck. Then she's in traffic and people were like, is she actually a good actress? Traffic was the, right, was the don't bullshit me. But, yeah, she's pretty good. And within a couple years, she's won an Oscar. Yep. Okay. I have this very strong memory of my industry dad, having the variety that says she's fired all of her reps.

And he goes, like, I know these movies haven't worked. The Terminal. Yes. Terminal Oceans 12 run in a row. But he was like, if you got Academy Award winner, Catherine Zeta Jones, and the next three projects you give her are Cohen's Spielberg, Hanks. You're doing your job. He's doing your job. Spielberg Hanks. Yep.

and oceans. Yeah. You're doing your job. You kind of can't get three better projects for her. I would agree with that. And yet. And yet they didn't. None of them really worked out. And the stink was on her. The stink was on her.

Even though none of them are her fault. The reason that they did not work. I think I would agree. I was thinking about her performance in this and whether she's the weak link and like who I would replace her with. Well, so that was my question. Well, so here's what I want to bring up right now. So 2003, David Sims.

Imagine him. 17 years old. Picture it. A sinophile. Foggy, London Town. Yes. living in Foggy London Town, reading his Empire magazines. By this point, reading

his sight and sounds, watching his old movies, right? A cool guy. Oh, yeah. So cool. Funky fresh. Yeah. Active social life. Yeah. I had a very active social life. I am an extroverted boy. Biting your bottom lip, raising the roof. Doing those things. Dressing, we're going to say

just okay. Probably some work to be done there. If you watch this movie, you see the fashion of the time and realize none of us really stood a chance. It's fine. It's interesting point. But there's two movies that come this year that are related to each other in that they are both trying to recapture the sort of throwback spirit of an old rom-com intolerable cruelty i would say it's more of a screwball comedy and then down with love which is more of a sort of 50s doris stay rock hudson kind of thing but like

they both have this same energy of like arch we are going super arch we've got movie stars we've got costumes we've got bright colors and audiences are like no thank you like absolutely not this is the tone we prefer. Down with Love has completely been reclaimed, I would say, at this point. Down with Love was essentially an instant cult classic. It came out, bombed. Critics were like, blah, but audiences were like, we hate it, and the Oscar Watch forums were like masterpiece.

Right. And that has a period piece going for it, right? Like, the, like, Atalgo Cruelty being present day. Does the weird kind of not a period piece, but something of a period like tone. I think it is why everyone bumped on this when it came out. is for filmmakers who are so good at pastiche, this is one of their most pastichy movies. And yet, it is committed to being dressed like a modern film. And featuring modern things like video cameras and fucking, you know, just like the sort of the type of gold digger that it's about is a modern kind of, you know, all that shit.

I think that broke brains in both directions. And you even look at the trailer for this movie, which can't decide. Which I saw a billion times. A billion times. You cannot decide. You fascinate me. You fascinate me. Was one of those we're duly appointed federal margels.

100%. Right. The trailer can't decide if they're trying to sell Cohen's weirdness or they're trying to sell two sexy movies, starts doing rom-com. It's more trying to sell. This is, we've got two hot people. They're going to fall in love. And it's a comedy set in the world of the divorce lawyer.

Okay, fine. But, you know, like, yes. DeVote's 20. forget to Klaus the Baron Heinz Fung. Exactly. There's going to be some goofy Coensy stuff. Yeah. And that's me again in the audience with a little phone finger being like, I'm ready.

I love Preston Sturgis. In the context of the movie, those things do go hand in hand, but selling them both together is really hard. I think this movie is incredibly cohesive and like of a piece. But I remember, I did not see this at the time. I said erroneously

from the moment I became co-inpled when I saw a brother. I haven't missed one of their films in theaters, but I didn't see this in theaters because everyone around me told me it was bad. It didn't get very good reviews, and it vanished quickly. Both directions where I was like, people went to see this a comedy where like,

that thing sucks, it's not funny. And I was like, well, I don't trust them. I had to talk to Cohen's people. And Cohen's people in my life were like, it's bad. It doesn't feel like them. It feels anonymous, which is insane to me. Now it's insane. Now it's insane.

Yeah. But I do think there was that bumping of like people, didn't know how to process this. Yeah. I think if this movie had been set in an arch 40s, like, sort of thing, it would have been the hugs out, look, the hud sucker proxy, which I did rewatch coming into this and was thinking a lot about that archness and how the setting of it tells you what it's going to be way more than intolerable cruelty does.

Right, but that movie was a giant pop. Yes, it would have been harder upon release. Yeah. But I think it would have found its champions faster. Yes. Versus I feel like Cohen's people who are, like, loath to revisit. visit this because they were like, I just remember that being a complete nothing. Yeah.

I think if you watch it now, I watch it for the first time on a plane years later. And I was like, it's the one I haven't seen. I guess I should watch it. And I got to the fucking Kershner was in Kentucky scene. And I immediately was like, this is fucking Preston Sturgis. This is the most surges of any of their films. How did people not get this? Down to like, it's weird like seven-act structure.

It's like insane like scenes. set pieces built around dialogue and like seven internal games within a five-person conversation. Objection, Your Honor. Poetry recitation. Right. I'm just going to keep giving you lines. We would say Farncou-Marto de Cepest. You would say Mick Hammer on his fanny. The way they say nail his ass in five different ways across the guests.

David. Yes. This episode is brought to you. The Listener by Mooby, a curated streaming service dedicated to elevating great cinema from around the globe. From iconic directors to emerging otors, there's always something new to discover. With Mooby, each and every film is hand-selected, so you can explore the best of cinema, streaming anytime, anywhere. And here's a hand-selection. Here's a spotlight.

Nothing more to discuss here. No, David, David, I've turned the spotlight on, I've put my glove on to select by hand. through the creak of the door we have three different visuals going on here the glove to handpick oh of course David Mussolini

colon son of the century it is it look it's an exciting project but it's really funny to be like guys musolini here's what's funny about it

just to peel back the curtain for a second we get like messages that are like hey you guys good with this ad here's the copy for And as shorthand, it was texted to us as you guys good with the Mussolini ad. And I was like, Mussolini sponsoring the podcast. What do you mean?

To be clear, we decry, Ilducci Mussolini, Benito Mussolini, the terrible dictator of Italy. But we celebrate Joe Wright and his newest project. The filmmaker Joe Wright. In quotes, Mussolini, colon, son of the century. An eight episode series about Mussolini's rise to power. And I will say not to sound like a, you know, a little nerd over here. But it is actually very interesting to consider Mussolini's rise to power in these times.

You know, he was sort of the original fascist. And the way that he seized power in Italy is unfortunately something we should probably have on our minds right now. I'm not trying to be a loser right now. You sound like me right now. This is the kind of thing I say. It's a very interesting part of history. And I feel like because, you know, other World War II things became whatever, the history channel's favorite thing. You don't hear quite as much about Mussolini's basketball.

No, you're right, unfortunately, sadly, tragically, frighteningly. He's not a hugely important thing. This is a hyper-relevant time. And this is a theatrical hyper-visual tour defore starring Luca Marinelli. Martin Eden himself. Remember that? A beloved member of the Old Guard. That's right.

Movie I Love, an episode that people considered normal. All right. Let's not litigate everything. Checking notes here, great. Critics are calling it a towering performance of puffed up vanity. It features an era bending score by. Tom Rollins of the Chemical Brother. That's cool.

Imagine techno beats scoring fascist rallies. It just sounds kind of Joe Wrighty. It does. Joe Wright, you know, he won't just do a typical costume drama. He likes to, you know, think about things in a different way. Got futurism, surreal stagecraft, cutting-edge visuals. Mm-hmm. Guardian calls it, quote, a brilliantly performed portrait of a pathetic monster.

It's part political burlesque, part urgent contemporary warning about how democracy's fault. This is heavy ad copy, guys. it's kind of like, hey, shorts, they, you know, critics are raving, words. A gripping, timely series, the Guardian, remarkable, the telegraph, a complex portrait of evil, financial times. Yeah, no, I, it's Joe Wright,

one of the, one of the, scariest people I ever interviewed, I told you that story, right? He was, he was, he knows he's kind of a cool guy. We've batted him around. He's certainly gotten interesting. He's very, he's very interesting. And he's made some great movies, and he's made some like big swings that didn't totally connect.

Totally. That's really interesting. He actually is a blank check filmmaker, unlike a lot of, some people that get suggested. You're like, sure, doesn't fit the model. This one does. This one does. Look, to stream great films at home, you can try Mooby free for 30 days at movie. com slash blank check. That's Mubi.com slash blank check for a month of great cinema for free.

You can watch Mussolini or you can, you can watch not Mosulini things. Yeah, they've got lots of movies. They've got a lot of things. Bye. It also, it's the funniest thing to me that this remains their most expensive film. I've erroneously said it was HUD-Sucker, but I didn't realize this movie costs a reported $60 million. I want to see what JJ's research says, because I've seen that number. And maybe it is truly just Clooney and Catherine got their quote.

I also think a lot of some development costs. Maybe that too. You have to remember that always counts against the film in this movie. just bopped around for 15 years. Creek, I'm opening the dossier, actually. Why not? Because indeed, this is crucial to understanding

in Tal of a Cruelty because it lived many lives before the Coins made it. It was written as a film by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone who had made movies like Man of the House. Of course.

Soul men. JT.T. You remember it well. Life, the... Right. Ted Demi, Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy, Dramedy. That is like, not bad. We, every time this comes of the box up and it's so close to being great

that every five years I'll watch it and I'll be like is it a masterpiece yet like do I need to put it back in the oven for five more years and they write through the script man of course two of the least culturally problematic films ever made no no no not soul man oh soul man

with Robert Downey Jr. and Bernie Mac which is a service of a Robert Downey Jr. I mean sex you know a three a three person three main I still sounds problematic here he wanted to follow up his Tropic Thunder nomination. I feel like that was like one of the last Burning Mac

movies, right? Yeah, that came out after Intolerable Coolty, right? Soulman came out in 2008. Yes. Yes. I want to say Old Dogs is the last one to be released. Possibly. But I feel like it was the last. But Soulman was his last Bernie Mac vehicle. Right. Where he's above the title. It's okay.

They wrote this concept based, you know, rom-com set in the world of divorce lawyer. Okay, funny. Michael Caten Jones, the director of Doc Hollywood is attached. That makes sense. Sure.

Like, that sounds like a sort of okay rom-com from the 90s so far, right? The Coens come on as screenwriters because Ron Howard picks it up and brings them into polish it. He wants to make it after wrapping ransom. And then Howard moves on to make way for Andrew Bergman, the director of the

freshman. It could happen to you. Uh-huh. Another guy who makes that kind of 90s on-based single. But it basically, I don't know if the pitch was this focused at the time, but I feel like, my girlfriend was asking me, like, what is intolerable cruelty about? And I was like, how do I logline it? And it's interesting because this felt like a script that studios were so hot on for so long. Just kept being like, someone's got to make it.

Right. This is such a good premise. And I was like, I guess the premise is divorce lawyer who becomes obsessed with world's greatest cold digger. There's that. It's like they're an opposite. There's a sincerity in it. What if the world's most brutal devourced lawyer

and the world's greatest gold digger fell in love? Right. And they sort of become fascinating with each other. But imagining Ron Howard doing that with like a gold digger. Like there's a cynicism baked into it

that's hard to imagine a lot of these people doing it. But I mean, like, I just figure guys like Ron Howard are like I'm making... Ron Howard is the ultimate journey. He's like, I'm making a thriller. Maybe I'll make a rom-com.

I'll make the farthest version. I think everyone else was going to make a much softer version of this. chronologically, this is the first for-hire work Cohen's due. Right. This is the start of them. So where are they? This is before, like, in the period where they're, okay, the period where they're making

Hudsucker and they haven't made any money. So I think it's in the immediate post-Hudsucker, they do a pass on this. That pass gets people really excited. That's when it elevates to like, oh, now it's Ron Howard-level fallmakers interested in this. So after Bergman, Joe Dante came aboard and was going to make it with Jeremy Irons and Heather Locklear Bazaar. Which like, they don't,

they're not a pair that makes sense. Nope. Jeremy Irons, like, I could see that. Howard then returns, then leaves to make Grinch and beautiful mind. Other people are rewriting the script past the Cohen draft at this point.

So they had moved on. They had made Fargo. They're good. They can do other stuff. Then Jonathan Demi, who's clearly seeking out a sort of throwbacky movie and eventually makes it

with Truth About Charlie. But what is so good? like circles this one with Will Smith. This is what's insane. I need to just get this timeline clear here. He's trying to do truth about Charlie with Will Smith. Will Smith is doing Ali with Michael Mann. Right.

And Ali just takes too long. Surprise of surprise. Michael Mann movie runs over budget over schedule. And he's just like... And Will Smith is very much like, I don't care. I will do anything for this movie. Like he was so in on Ali. Right.

That he's like, I guess I'll wait for you. Right. There's the threat of a WGA strike that ends up not happening. Right. That was right. That has everyone panicked of, like, you've got to get something made. So then he's like, can I find something else? Maybe I'll make something in the meantime.

So, right, then he circles this. And he wants Hugh Grant. Sure. Oh, yeah. And Taleyoni. But at the time she's... Oh, like, anti-Tayleone. Have you seen English?

Do you think Taley make the bravest performance? I watched a lot of Just Shoot Me in this period. Well, she's not in that. I love She was not in that. I love she was on the naked truth. Oh, she was on a show. It was called The Naked Truth. Okay.

It was also an M. Hang on. What NBC sitcom do I know Talyoni from? I mean, I think of Talyoni is emerging with like flirting with disaster or whatever, right? And then she was in Deep Impact. Yes. I know her from Deep Impact for sure. I guess the naked truth is what I'm thinking of.

Right. But her being in deep impact was kind of that thing of like she was in a movie that made money. Yeah. Is she a star? Yeah. And like the answer was sort of no. Family man, I think she's very good. Sorry.

I didn't mean to put us on a tailio. She's the cyber. She's a weekly cover for Naked Truth where I believe she's naked, wrapped in American flag. That all sounds about right. Demi then hops off to go back to Truth About Charlie.

He goes, Mark Wahlberg, who's going to be great. I can't wait for Will. I'll do Truth About Charlie. One of the worst movie star casting choices of all time, not waiting for Will Smith. And then he tries after the fact to do intolerable cruelty again with Will Smith because he's so angry that he missed

is Will Smith's shot. He makes truth about Charlie. He's coming off of that, probably thinking, like, nailed that. Everyone's going to love it. And then, right, it's like, I still have Taleyoni attached, and I'm now going to try and attract Will Smith. Would Will Smith have been good in this movie? Sure.

I can see a version of it working. Not like Clooney, but I can still working. I mean, like, Hitch Will Smith, that kind of like overconfident but doesn't, you know, he'd be fine. Hitch is the perfect. It's a completely different movie. Will Smith rom-com vehicle. down to now understanding how much of that movie is, like, weirdly autobiographical.

Right. So the Coens, obviously, the whole time, are around as script polishers, but they are developing to the White Sea. They're ill-begotten, never made adaptation of a JD M. Siki novel. And obviously, they want Brad Pitt, and that movie has bounced from Universal to 20th Century Fox. It's this constant battle of, like, a budget between 40, and $60 million.

They can get it made for $40 with Brad Pitt. Yes. But every time they have a close to set up. The Cohen's want like 60 and they want to shoot it in Japan. And Fox keeps being like, isn't this like a movie with no dialogue that's like completely bizarre? They'll tentatively like green light it at 50 and then a new budget will come in that 60 and pull the breaks on it again. They're actively in the middle of this like after O Brother trying to make to the White Sea. It's the thing they keep trying to make.

By 2001, Joel Colin says in an interview that to the white sea, quote, went down the old drainerino. I do like that they're pretty, you know. But they're, like, close to going. Yes. It falls apart, and they're like, I guess we're given up on this for good. Carter Burwell, basically. It's the one movie they, to this day, talk about is, like, that was a movie we wanted to make.

Like, of course, they've had other projects that never came to fruition. But that seems to be the only one. It is the great unmade movie. Right. In their brain. Our friends were Tori Jordan Fish. Your former classmates. My former classmates.

Uh, have done a great podcast about it. Continue to do a great podcast about it. But yes, it's the great on made Cohen's movie. I have a question, actually. Were you in attendance of the early. MGMT concert. Yes, I've seen that video going around. I'm not in that video,

but I have like, I have like Zepruder film gone through it being like, I've got to know someone who's in that. I haven't been able to find it, but yes, I saw them play multiple house parties circa 2004, 2003. And you were like, this music could really crush in a commercial. That kids was the song that they had

in college that they would put it on at a party and everyone would go nuts. Every wedding I've been to from someone from Wesleyan, like they always play kids, everyone always gets in, like, it's a, it's a thing. What was the other one? There were two, kids and Time to Pretend was there. Famously from the Minecraft movie trailer,

now beloved by children the world over. The kids right about this. Oh, kids now love Time to Pretend. The MGMT's had its generational moment. It's a great song. I love the second album, which is the one that everyone kind of slipped off. That was when everyone was like, we're out. I know, it's the good one.

Congratulations is really sad. The one with the like optical illusion cover? Well, there were different. There was a scratch. off cover for the vinyl release. It's trapper. It's a trapper. It's very trapper. Oh, yeah. I remember. It feels about right. Yeah.

So, yeah, that doesn't happen. And they're disappointed. Yes. And they are coming up to this point where it's like, okay, do we like strip to the white sea down to the tax and try to reconstitute it something that's going to be cheaper or whatever?

Or do we fucking do something else? Do we bury it? Do we move on so we don't keep getting hung up, losing years of our lives trying to make this stuff. At this point, Pitt has moved on, but they had Clooney attached to intolerable cruelty, I mean, to the White Sea. Okay. And he's the one who's like, why don't we just fucking make

intolerable cruelty? Look at this script. Well, because Universal has pushed that to him as a potential star vehicle. And it's just there. It makes perfect sense. And the Coens are like, we have always liked this script. Like, yeah. Clooney's response, by the way, now having worked with the Coen brothers, they send him the script. He's like, can I read the

Cohen's draft. Oh. Everything I've heard is that the Cohen's draft, like, 10 years of it. He went to Universal and was like, can you dig that up? That was the one that everyone got so excited about. Can I go back and read that? He reads that and he's like, I would do this. He goes to them.

JJ has the quote in there, but Carter Burwell basically says that within the same week, they called him to say, unfortunately, to the White Sea is dead. And then like three days later said, we're going to make intolerant cruelty. I hope we get a chance to talk about Carter Burwell because he is on fire on this movie. Herr-Berwell lit himself on fire with, what was it, Bloodson? Oh, like, what's the first movie? He's been running on that. Right. It's been just one of those guys walking around on fire and like us ever since.

Incredible score that I think has never been released. You cannot find this one. I think. Yeah, because it's like, like, if I called Universal, they'd be like, what? That movie, we didn't make that movie. Your phone would explode. So, but yes. Clooney's attached.

It's suddenly like super fast-tracked. And Burwell was like, it felt like a breakup. rebound thing of them just being late. Because Clooney is as hot as he can possibly be at the He's hot stuff, although we're going to talk about his career in a second because he's in a little moment. He's having a little moment here. Post Oceans, in 2001, I do think there is a feeling of he's cracked it 100%. Right? The irony of course is that Clooney never is able to replicate mainstream crossover movie star in the pocket outside of the Oceans trilogy in the way he did there. But in that,

moment, I think they were like, he's crossed it all. But you're forgetting, the run is, it's really impressive after Batman and Robin, you know. Uh-huh. So, like, we all love Batman and Robin. And then Peacemaker, which, like, did okay. You've got, like, out of sight, which it just does okay, but is such a smash, critically. Which is the movie star persona. Like, that's where he figures it out.

100%. And then Three Kings, which is, does pretty good and again gets amazing reviews. And then Perfect Storm, O'Brother. Oceans 11. No, I know. It's pretty nuts. But Oceans 11, or not Oceans,

11 is one of the 10 highest grossing films of the year. You're not going to beat Oceans 11th. And even in this big ensemble thing, you were like, this guy's undeniable. He's taking the Kerry Grant mantle. I think that's a lot of the feeling. Totally.

Yeah. He's now the mayor of Hollywood. It's just slap a tucks on this guy and we'll want it. But what does he want to make? He wants to make an out-and-out comedy. It's funny that he's saying that because he did make a brother, but I guess O'Brother is like

such an odd movie. Right. And he's like, can I fucking make a comedy. He's also editing Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which, of course, he directed, and he has, like, he's finishing work on Solaris, even Soderberg's film,

the laugh riot of 2002. Which is, I mean, one of my favorite movies of all time, but is a gloomy film. Let us let us say. And so, I'm sure he wants to shake the sillies out a little bit, right? Like, he's like, let me, you know, be a buffoon again for the Coens. Yeah.

And I think this is interesting. This is from a Vanity Fairpiece, 2003. I was, I did not work. I know you didn't work in. I know. I did. Yeah, I did. Where he says, he's like, this,

it is kind of a terrifying thing to do because this could be so bad. Like, when you're reading this script, this ratatat, this screwball thing, we're like, I have to go for it, right? Like, I'm going to have to give, like, a really big performance. And he does and it rocks, but it could be so, like, you know. Incredible in this. Yes. But it's not like he's doing it.

anything that's silly like he's he's not the big goofy character i mean there's i guess he wears a kilt but like you know the the baron and all those other side characters are doing so much of the height and stuff and he's in the like locked in carry grant mode it's just very stylized it's a stylized performance which speaks to why audiences bumped on this movie in general yeah what is this weird thing going on here without it having the clear signposts of being a period piece yeah more stylized yeah rumor has a top choice for this movie is Julia Roberts. Makes perfect sense.

Obviously, Clooney has literally just worked with her twice, Oceans and Confessions. Yeah. They're pals. But Catherine Zanda Jones has just won her Oscar. Sure has. Right? Mm-hmm.

Although, I have to imagine, was this filmed after that? It must have been. But Chicago was such an obviously hat thing. She won the Chicago Oscar, like, March 2003. Oh, you're right. Yeah. June 2002. Oh, wild.

But they knew that she was going to hit her with Chicago. Yeah. And they all had a great time with her. Chicago did feel like a

did you hear that Chicago's good? Like it was not seen as an Oscar contender until like October. Because it was supposed to be Kings of New York, right? Right.

And people were just like that can't be good. Hmm. Man. It is crazy that it came in and just fucking. and, right, like, elbowed Marty out of the way and who's the other...

There's two big... The hours. Hours. Well, penis came on late. It was the hours, I guess. And two towers is that year, right? Right, which everyone was sort of like... Wait, your turn.

We'll get there. And that's the year where I... Is every Best Picture nominee produced by either Ruden or Weinstein? It's all... Except for... The Hours is the one Ruden. No, but Weinstein has his name on it.

Oh, that's the thing. Yeah. He still had his... He did a lot of work. Yeah. Right. And his name is on it because he fired Peter Jackson or whatever the fuck. Nice work if you can guess.

He didn't, like, I think Weinstein's involvement with Chicago was low, but it was. It was a Miramax movie. Gangston, New York was obviously the wine scene one where he actually gets a nomination for that one. And then I do think he had something to do with the pianist as well. Oh, I don't. Maybe not. No. No.

The pianist was somebody else. Did that something to do with it? Am I wrong? Uh, fucking. Who even released the pianist? Pianist. Focus? No.

Canal Plus. Wikipedia is really not coming through on this one. Yeah. Who knows? Who can say? It's a mystery. We'll never know. Anyway, they had a great time making this movie.

DeCones did very little press. JJ's apologizing. I don't know why I need to apologize to me. I don't employ you because you're fired. Apparently, they were already shooting the lady killers when this movie came out. Okay. So I guess they didn't do much press. they liked that it was set in the present

Cool Roger Deacons was coming off shooting House of Sand and Fog, another laugh riot Piaz was released by focus Yes There you go Carter Burwell says He settled on a Mancini

Mancini approach Lighthearted 60s jazz pop And it's a classic him reappropriating other music Into the score beautifully Much like Hudsucker and the film premiered and I would say this is mistake number one

at the Venice International Film Festival Oh wow Out of competition as a work in progress Which is insane I wouldn't have done that I think it was still missing a scene or two Does it come out October? And they came out in October

Like do not release this in October Yeah put it out the spring Or summer movie Yeah Like it's a light rom-com But this speaks to them not knowing Like is this a straight down the middle play and we're hiding the ball on Cohen's weirdness.

Or do we want some level of, like, Cohen's prestige? Yeah. But it looks like America's Sweethearts or some other kind of modern-day rom-com. So getting that prestige, even getting the Cohen's people on board, I think, is challenging. Because you look at the poster for it, you're like, I know what that is.

The most generic poster in the world, they take this beautiful two-shot. They're saying next to each other. Well, there's this beautiful two-shot of, like, just incredible movie star glow of Clooney and Zeta Jones in the elevator, a scene that, is, like, throwing off its hump by a dog biting his hand and a bunch of funny dialogue, right? And they just, like, screenshot that.

Yeah. And then remove the elevator and put them in front of the most generic blue cloud. Just the sky, yeah. What can I tell you? The font is bad. The font's bad. Do you like, do you guys like the actual opening credit? You know, the sort of Vegas.

The suspicious minds. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's great. Cupid's and the hearts. Yeah, it's fun, right? Yes. It's like Monty Python

Flying Circus I think they got opening title sequences I didn't like go through an effort I would not say so but this is a movie that demands it I would say This is the most I'm trying to think of other films of theirs that have kind of like

standalone opening because like Hudsonucker you go through the city but that's like the set I mean like Raising Arizona has the like unbelievable like whistling you know yodeling you know like title rushing at you they'll crush an opening title

but they don't usually But this kind of sequence. Yes. Yeah. Having like a cold open and then cutting to the title, like, makes sense for them. But like the Cupid's felt new. The movie. And even just this movie opening with like, what is Jeffrey Rush doing in this?

How does this factor into the plot? It takes so long to circle back in any way. Yeah. So my thing with this movie is, I see when it comes out. I think it's great. And I'm immediately like the only fan of it, you know. And it's quickly forgotten. And then over the years, I will show it to anyone I date,

any pal of mine because I'm like because they're always like I just want to watch something light and I'm like have I got a light movie for you the Coen brothers made a rom-com with George Clooney do you want to watch it? Every single one of them

it starts with the Jeffrey rushing and they're just like okay and it loses them and never gets them back and pailed in the butt with a golden globe and screaming bitch

at a car to drive it's a oh god no it's not an Emmy it's like a cable it's like it's a made up award it's a made up award it's a made up award but like and you just, and then like, you know,

oh, Clooney's here and they're doing the, and I'm like, listen to this Radichette dialogue. And they're just like, I don't care. Like, it's never worked on anyone I've ever shown. It's wild. Isn't that weird? Or am I the fool? I mean, I said the thing about Jeffrey Rush earlier.

Like, I don't think it's that he's bad, but it's off- He's off-put, and there's something about that sequence being like, oh, she caught his wife sleeping with the pool guy. Like, oh, I kind of get what this is. Like, the Cohen twist on it takes time to merge. I think you need a name, like, Rex Roth and like the train stuff like the, you know, the sequence later where it's him, you know, driving with the girl in the hotel room and Patrick the entertainer busts in.

Like all the trains of is so funny and specific. And the Jeffrey Rush stuff feels more generic. Oh, Hollywood divorce kind of thing. I think that's part of the challenge. I would agree. You're right. It's very broad. Right.

Yeah. And it's kind of nonspecific to me. I don't know what you mean. Kind of earthy. And you're sort of like, what does this have to do with anything? Yeah. And the answer is. It makes sense they need this big of an opening credit sequence because

you kind of need to, like, palate reset immediately. You've also, it's like, you know, you need to understand that this guy, Jeffrey Rush, like, nailed his wife in Flagrante so hard. And yet, Miles Massey, like, took him for everything. Yeah. Like, this guy is unbeatable. When you get Clooney in there and being, like, well, and we assume that he beat you or that he was trying to sleep with the pool guy or whatever. Like, that's the tone is coming into place. Who's the lady?

She's very funny. She's got great. Yes. I look her up. I meant to look her up also. Stacey Travis. But the movie doesn't resume with them in court. It just kind of jumps ahead and you understand that as another battle he won.

I do love this setup of just this guy is so fucking good at divorce law that he's bored. Right? That he can just pull off anything. You can see how thoroughly the deck is stacked against the guy. I think it's great. Exactly. I think that's so funny. It's like, right, like, he's done it all.

He's done the hardest thing. So then when Edward Herman shows up, by the way, Edward Herman also hit and phrase, left and right. Chugga, chug a chug-a-choo-choochish. It's so funny. And it's basically like, hi, like, I cheat on my wife all the time. Right. She's caught me doing it.

I don't have a pre-nup. Right. And I, like, you know, I've been married to her for years. He tries to use the open marriage excuse. Yeah. Right. Was that talked about? Was it agreed upon?

Well, Clooney's like, you want to, like, put your unoffending wife out. out on her ass. And you propose, she have her taught, and he, Clooney's basically, like, light up. So just to get the three. So obscene, I guess I could try. In spite of demonstrable infidel in your part, you propose. With Clooney's performance, I thought so much a fantastic Mr. Fox, because it's a similar ratat-tap vibe in the like, oh, what's left for me in my life? Like, it really feels like Wes Anderson saw this movie and was like, that's a thing. That's a really good call. Now that Clooney just did a bomb back and is, you know, you know, whatever. Seems to be sort of getting limber again. Oh, it's coming. Do a Wes?

Can I have live action, Wes? It would be so great. It would be really good. You know, the whole thing with Fantastic Mr. Fox is that he didn't record them in booths. Oh, yeah. They brought the whole cast to, like, his home. Yeah. And they acted out the whole movie on, like, mini-d-v cameras and he pulled that audio.

So you can see there's, like, 90 minutes of Clooney acting through all of Fantastic Mr. Fox. Yeah, he's like doing somersaults in a backyard, yeah. And they'll show those clips sometimes. And I'm like, can you please put that full cut out there? I want that now. Oh, my God. But I'm just like, they're a great match. Oh, totally.

He rocks and Vanessa McSor Fox. Like, give me more of that, please. Can I have Clunes? Yep. I think just also generally, we've just been for years saying, hey, George, how about you direct fewer movies? Be a movie star, which you are better at than anyone alive. So let's just right. Let's just touch on Clune.

No, we've done Clooney before, obviously. And we just did O'Brother and we will be doing Byrne and Hale Caesar. What else have we done over the year? Well, we did the oceans. Oceans on Patreon. We did Batman and Robin on Patreon. You guys have been avoiding Soderberg? Tomorrowland?

No, avoiding him. You did Tomorrowland? Yeah, we did Tomorrowland. Wow. It's not a... He's not bad in it or anything, but he's... It's such an odd performance because he's so depressed. You haven't done Money Monster?

No Money Monster fans in here? We haven't known Money Monster. I did that on this on Oscar buzz. I will defend that movie. Really? That's not great, but, you know, there's stuff there. But, I mean, it's just the most crucial performance is one of the worst screen performances I've ever seen. From a good actor, or sometimes good actor.

The Jack O'Connor? He's so horrible. I still never seen it. It just ruins the movie. Jack O'Connell's coming back. He's back. That's the time to reappraise him. Yeah, well, then he should, like, expunge that movie.

He should pay to have that movie. He is a good actor in other things. He's so off in that movie. Yeah. I remember nothing about Clooney. I remember Julia being good in it. Yeah. But it's a bit of a boring role, but, like, you know, anyway.

But it does feel like the last 10 years, every time he's been like, I'm ready to do the movie star thing again, he's kind of picked wrong. Like, it's Money Monster Tomorrowland. All these look good on paper. Ticket to Paradise, which I feel like everyone was so forgiving of because they were like, this is what we want you to do. It's a real wet blanket of a movie. But everyone was like, okay. I watched it on a plane, which is it's natural. Wolfs didn't even get that treatment.

Had it been released in theaters, people might have again kind of been. And like, we appreciate you trying. Did you like, Wolfs? I never saw it. So bad. Okay. I think it really stinks. I watched it after months of everyone telling me how hard it stunk.

And I'm sitting there and I'm like, this is totally scratching the itch. What's everyone talking about? And then it ended. And immediately I was like, that sucks. I was kind of riding along with it the whole time in cruise altitude and was like, whatever. It's bad oceans, right? And then it ends and you're like, that was nothing. It really is nothing.

What a waste of everyone. time and energy. The audacity to be like, well, maybe Wolf's 2 is coming. And you're like, don't fucking piss on my life. Tell me it's raining. Gonna huff and puff and tell me he'll blow this house down. And indeed, he's just been making his own films. Yeah, he's in Midnight Sky to his credit.

It's terrible. No credit will be assigned for the Midnight Sky. But yeah, but you're like, do you? The thing about the Midnight Sky is watch it. And you're like, I can't believe this isn't the worst movie, George Clooney. And like, I never saw the boys in the boat. I do need to see those boys. I did never see the boys.

The Tender Bar was one of those things from like, hey, you got to a C-minus. Like, yeah. Something's happening where you're improving a little. That movie was watchable. But As well, Aslo is throwing smokers. He's really good in that. In Tender Bar and you're like, he'd be getting an Oscar nomination if this movie weren't directed by George Clooney.

Possibly. And also, it was one of those, you know, pandemic movies that went right to streaming where it's like, you're not going to... But Adle's great, I remember the year that Suburbancom was at Tiff and David, you talked to Clooney then because I think he was trying to go around

and being like, look, I'm George Clooney, I directed a movie. No, but it was like the pre-release apology. Let me explain. Basically, trying to tell you why his movie actually isn't that bad. It is one of my favorite, my single favorite things

that came out in the Sony Hacks was his email to Amy Pascal after the first completed screening of Monuments Men where he's like, Amy, what can I say? Sometimes you miss. I'm sorry, you gave me a bunch of money.

You entrusted me. Sometimes the elements just don't come together. We're all embarrassed by this one. We're going to hold our heads high and march forward. And you're like, he fucked up monuments, man. When that movie was announced on paper, you were like, unquestionable B minus. Such a sleepy movie. Like, that one at least made money.

Shockingly, made money. Well, because I said March was right before that. And that movie was, was that a B minus? I don't remember it that well. I felt like we received it. despised that movie. He was literally nominated for an Academy Award for writing it. Yeah.

One of the most charitable Oscar nominations I've ever seen. I think it was charitably treated like a B-minus when it's more of a C-plus. Yeah. It is an F. That movie is really rancid. Would you like it now having seen Midnight Sky? No. No, no.

Okay. I'd of March is worse because it, like, really thinks it's smart. And it's like, we are, this is a really, really sophisticated political thriller. And it's like really, it's got kind of nasty. It's a bad, bad movie. If anything, we were maybe a little kinder to it in the moment because you were like, look, Leatherheads was a mistake. He's getting back to the kind of thing he should be making. Well, because he was on Good Night and Good Luck for such a long time.

But being like, look, that movie worked. It's not as good as Good Night and Good Luck, but he's back in his area. Yep, yeah, yep. And now you're just like, the guy lost it and he was never getting it back. He got a lot. I mean, because Leatherheads in 2008, I saw that movie. But he's also that, you know, the occasional Hail Mary you see someone throw of like, can we do kind of a breast and start? Yeah, I like you're throwing a football as you...

And, like, leatherheads also is bad. Yeah. But beyond it being bad, it's like... Also, even if you make a good one, audiences are mostly just going to be like... You're old-timey foosball. A little triangle. I'm just doing this kind of like, hey, take the ball. Come on.

You want it? Yeah. And John Krasinski got to continue being a movie star after that, despite that. It feels like Klooney was one of the big people pushing the Krasinski project for a long time. I think so. He's a voice and if. I'm looking at his IDB. I forgot all about that.

I think Krasinski's really good at making friends. I'm not saying Krasinski has no talent. He's really, because I hear a lot about really respected people of John Krasinski. And I'm always like, really? But I think he's a nice, you know. 10 or 15 years of Damon and Klooney being like, we're telling you Krasinski is the next one of us. And it seems going a long way. Yes.

We're writing movies with him. Yeah. We're casting him. We think he's got. the goods to be a multi-tool player. If, I just want to call out, the single greatest movie to play in Cinematrix.

Oh, because everybody's in it. Because it has 20-8 list voice actors with one sentence. Yep. I just, I implore all of our listeners to look up the character posters for if. There's like 40 of them. That's all you need to memorize

is just the character posters. Yeah. Because there's just that one scene. I have seen the motion picture if. I saw it in theaters. And they all just come in for a hot second. Or Clooney might be in like post-credit. No, it's Brad Pitt, who shows up at the very, very end as, like, a silent character.

But you play a Pitt, Damon, or Clooney if on Cinematrix. You're guaranteed one, if not zero percent. Maybe I've got to get back into Cinematrix. I've let it fall off. But Clooney, what's interesting about Clooney is he just had that run that I just shouted out, right? The sort of late 90s, early 2000s, he did it after, of course, being a star on the biggest TV show in America, which is, you know, no, not chop labor either. And then it's like, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which is a, you know, a niche movie. It's pretty good. Solaris, which is a huge bomb.

And it's a masterpiece, according to, like, eight people, one of whom is me. Intolerable Cruelty. Oceans 12. And then, like, one year later, he does Good Night and Good Luck in Siriana and wins the Oscar. Yeah. And that's one of those things of, like, Okay, good job. Right.

You won an Oscar. Yes. You gave a fatuous speech that everyone kind of made fun of, but like you won an Oscar. Right. Smuggler. But doesn't it kind of feel like it's like over a little bit right there? Like it's like he still makes Ocean 13 Michael Clayton. He makes good movies. Michael Clayton is a big asterisk.

I see. It's like now it's like gray hair Clooney. Yeah, yeah. Like he's no long, he's already kind of gone away from whatever. this little era was the out of sight to sort of vote tolerable. I think what next the next era is it's

descendants up in the air and gravity the American I remember that you know burn after reading obviously Michael Clayton the big three from it the three best actor nominations of Michael Clayton up in the air

and descendants are like he cut his quote to nothing right he worked with a younger or rising otor and he like pushed the movie to like Best Picture Best Director Status got a best actor nomination He did it three times All three times people were like

Is he gonna win a second acting Oscar Because he was sort of so in his movie star pocket Right And all three those movies become like cross over Cable Classics middle brow hits Yep but also like up in the air 80 domestic descendants like 70 domestic Yeah Michael Clayton 60 domestic

It was like he is willing to like Cut his quote to like $2 million and make a movie a crossover. That felt like a kind of good period for him. But it's like it's a somewhat distinct era. You think like it's distinct from that first one. And it's almost like. I feel like it ends with like Tomorrowland. I would agree.

Yeah. And I'd say which is like him trying to make a more traditional tent hole again. Right. Yeah. Because money monster coming out the same year as the Hail Caesar. And like it just doesn't exist. That's the true epil. That's the end.

But like hail Caesar, gravity, those are like sort of like, I'll do a supporting role to help out project kind of things. Right. But you're right that all of these roles are now like kind of postmodern Clooney movie star persona where he's playing the sad over the hill version of himself.

The totem you build the movie around being like this movie is aware of his star persona it has to exist to make this movie. Yeah, exactly. We're like showing that maybe this guy's kind of broken inside. Doesn't Cosmigo so I was about to say way into this?

No, I have it exactly for you. In 2013. No, I'm going to tell you exactly what happened. Hale Caesar Money Monster 2016. He sold the company. Casamigos, well, tequila operation he has going on with his buddy, ride motorcycles. House of Friends. Wear jackets. In 2017, I interview him.

It sold. You said, okay. He sold it in 2017. I interviewed him in 2017 for Suburicon. And he says, very blankly, like, I have more money than God. Like, I mean, he doesn't say exactly that, but he's basically like, from now on, if I am in something or if I'm making something, it is only because I'm interested in it. I have Hollywood can give me nothing, like money

wise. I have so much money. You look at the CV from that point on and you're like, huh? So you were exclusively interested in boring dog shit. So you have shitty taste, huh? But like, it truly is he's basically, and I appreciate in theory, because all the movies he made are you know, not franchise movies. He's making original stuff, like, yada, you know, it's like, in theory, I'm like, cool, thank you. Good job, but it's just

they're all bad. Is he a blank check director? Sure. the worst kind. You guys are going to have a great time on that series. The one who makes bad movie. Are you aware that he was at a limited series version of Catch 22? Of course. That doesn't that's out right. He directed the entire thing. He went to every streamer because

that was Hulu. Yeah. And then Midnight Sky was Netflix. Tender Bar was Amazon. And I swear there's an Apple one in there too. Well, Wolves. Boys in the Boat was Amazon. Yes, that was also Amazon. Like he just He went to them. Hopped around the streamers collecting bags of money to give him C plus.

You know, C plus. Everybody. Think your C plus. No, pitch 22 was him and Grant Hazelov, wrote and directed, and he was going to play the lead. And at the last second, he decided he was too old. So he cast Christopher Abbott. And he plays... Shy scoff. He plays a smaller role. Right.

But, you know, big cat, you know, Kyle Chandler and Lewis Pullman and, you know, lots of... Doesn't exist. Doesn't exist. And I mean, look, if I'm Clooney, I can be like, well, the pandemic. You know, like, you can sort of... But it's, like, not just the pandemic. You have, he's a smart guy. Yeah.

When I interviewed him, he's so smart. he's married to this, like, you know, genius, he's, like, political, yada, yeah. But, like, I'm like, yeah, but he's kind of middle-brow. Like, he is. And it's like, when he was picking her up in the ears, your descendant, those are middle-brown movies, even Michael Clayton, they're just, like, really good ones. I mean, Descendants is just okay. And up in the air.

He was making, like, incredible, intelligent adult popcorn. Yeah. And then suddenly it's like he's making unseasoned vegetables every time. Yes, he's just boiling some broccoli. But, like, pure-a- He's, like, pure-aing, boiled-old. Does he have bad taste? Because he can't, because he works with so many good people. I guess so. And then he's, yes, he's smart enough.

Look, I don't know. I have great taste, in my opinion. Can you direct boys in the boat? Probably. No, but I'm saying, like, and if you're like, here, you have unlimited money and clout, David, what do you want to make? I'd probably make a bunch of dogs. I'm not that. Like, you have to be a certain kind of person.

And I do think pressure helps. Yes. You know, like, it's better to be under pressure. Clooney's under no pressure. So, like, that's probably kind of bad in a way. Let's also call out on top of the fucking Casamigos money. Yeah. He's also already rich, we should point out.

We are already rich, but also gravity. Mm-hmm. The FX budget was so huge on that movie, and it was developed to be Angelina Jolie and Robert Downey Jr., and they both drop out late. Right. And when he goes to Bullock and Clooney, he's like, I can't offer you much. because the money's all on screen you both get back end i believe cluny got tens of millions of dollars i think he made a ton of money sandra bullock made like 100 million i hope she made more yeah well i mean

Sandra bullock made again the kind of money where you're like huh she just kind of stopped making movies like because she just doesn't that's always what i want to happen for especially for i i truly think she made 100 and i think she did i mean it was a huge money he made like 70 or 40 million How about the moon? The moon, they had to shoot at it with a big cannon, the money. They shot a big bag of money in orbit around the moon as we speak.

No, it was such a big hit and because it was seen as so risky, they offered them so much of first dollar. Yeah. Yeah. So let's defend intolerable cruel. Yeah, I was going to say. David.

Okay, okay. I'll be quiet. Oh, I'm used to it. Producer Ben is sleeping. Oh, hazy boy is getting some zizi, zes with multiple dashes. What's he sleeping on? He's sleeping on one of the new beds we got from Wayfair for the studio for our podcast naps. But this is a big opportunity for us.

We get to do the first ad read for Wayfair on this podcast. No, no, Griffin, you're clearly not listening to past recordings. Ben did a Wayfair ad for us recently. You listen to past recordings? That's psycho behavior. It is. Look. You did that when we were sleeping?

Look, apparently we need to talk about how when you hear the word game day, you might not think Wayfair, but you should, because Wayfair is the best kept secret for incredible and affordable game day finds. Makes perfect sense to me. Absolutely. And just try to, David, just, if you could please maintain a slightly quiet, we don't have to go full whispered. I just want to remind you that Haas is sleeping.

I mostly just think of Wayfair as some, a website where you can keep basically. anything. Yeah, of course, but Wayfair is also the ideal place to get Game Day essentials, bigger selection, curated collections, options for every budget slash price point. You want to make like a sort of man-cage. Reflectors style. He's David.

Okay, fine, okay. All right. Sorry. You know, Wayfair stuff gets delivered really fast, hassle-free, the delivery is free. If you, for Game Day specifically, Griffin, you can think about things like recliners and TV

stands, sure. Or outdoor stuff like coolers and grills and patio heaters like that's you know that's all on winter months david you have like basically a football team worth of family at home you got a whole team to cheer up this is true you need cribs your place must be lousy with cribs i do have fainting beds i have cribs sconces shays lounges i'm low on sconces maybe maybe it's time to pick up a few game day That would make your home team cheer. Look, I'm just going to say that Wayfair is your trusted destination for all things game day. From coolers and grills to recliners and slow cookers, shop, save, and score today at Wayfair.com.

That's WA-Y-F-A-I-R dot com, Wayfair, every style, every home. David, there's only one shame to this ad read. Don't wake, Ozzie. There's only one shame to this ad read that I didn't find out about this in time before I already purchased. Coolers, grills, folding chairs, patio, heaters, recliners, barware, slow cookers, sports-themed decor, merch for my favorite teams and more. If only I knew. Cleveland Browns, of course. Bonte Mac, no matter one.

Dante Mac, no matter one. Okay, that's the end of the app. Bye. A blank check with Griffin, David, a podcast about for myelographies, is brought to you by booking.com. Booking dot, yeah. I mean, that's what I was about to say. Booking dot, yeah, from vacation rentals to hotels across the U.S.,

booking.com. Booking dot, yeah. Has the ideal stay for anyone, even those who might seem impossible to please. God, I'm trying to think of anyone in my life. Perhaps even in this room. Ben, who's, like, what's an example of someone I know who maybe has a very particular set of demands? bringing me in and there's only one other person in the room. There is one other person in the

room right now. I think this is so rude. I sleep easy. I'm definitely not a someone who insists on 800 thread count sheets. No. That's a, that's an example of a fussy person. But people have different demands and you know what? If you're traveling that's your time to start making demands.

Maybe you've got a partner whose sleep light rise early or maybe you know, like you want someone who wants a pool or wants a view or I don't know. Maybe I'm traveling and I need a room with some good soundproofing because I'm going to be doing some remote pod record. Sure. Maybe you're in Europe and you want to make sure. That's very demanding to be in Europe.

You got air conditioning. Which I can think of one person in particular, although it's really both of you. You got to have air conditioning. I need air conditioning if I'm in the North Pole. Look, if I can find my perfect stay on booking.com, anyone can. Booking.com is definitely the easiest way to find exactly what you're looking for. Like, for me, a non-negotiable is I need a gorgeous bathroom for selfies. You do.

You love selfies. As long as I got a good bathroom mirror for selfies, I'm happy with everything else. Look, they're, again, they're specifying like, oh, maybe you want a sauna or hot tub, and I'm like, sounds good to me. Yeah. Please. Can I check that box? You want one of those in the recordings, do that'd be great. You want to start, you want to be.

I'll be in the sauna when we were recording. going to say, you want to be the Dalton Trumbble a podcast. You want to be splish-splash and it would be good if I had a sauna and a cold plunge and while recording, I'm on mic, but you just were going back and going to like, ah! Like as I moved to the

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Booking.com. Booking.com. Book today on the site or in the end. Booking.com. Booking. Yeah. So we go, Jeffrey Rush extended sequence and then we go to Edward Herman who loves trains.

Do we think he has a full, like, he has to, the trains have to be involved for him to get it up? There's this sort of like quiet acknowledgement of like trains are involved with sex for him. I mean, what's his line he says to Clooney works like, she lets me be myself. Yes. Oh, he's so happy about it too. But there's weird sex stuff before that too. Because you see Clooney in the courtroom with the, like, the woman who's like, he built devices with my vacuum cleaner. That's the separate.

Which is like a preview of burn after reading with a sex machine. One of the greatest. Yes. I mean, slow burn bits of all time. But also, it just feels very Coens of like, right, let's cast the most milk toast middle age lady with like big hair and glasses and have her be like, I was his sexual slave, you know, while like Clooney and Paul Adelcene are just like bickering with each other. It's also the kind of thing that the Coens love to just like come in on is just like,

It's so funny that there's just this fucking, what you'll call it, the typist, the court stenographer. Oh, yeah, yeah. When she comes to later being like, do you want a milk bone, woof, woof, or whatever it is. But there's just like, if that didn't exist, the Coens would create it that you're like, so you're telling me some disaffected middle-aged woman.

Just sit there at a typewriter and type up every insane thing said in the courtroom. I mean, thinking of the woman in the courtroom in this one, I'm thinking of the woman in the trailer park in no country for old men. Are they the best at like middle-aged women with doubt? haughty hair, just being flat-affic. It's vital to their. Yes. It's, they're gestalt or whatever. Yeah, it's essential to them.

But also, I guess they've never made a legal movie before, right? You know, like, the courtroom is a great venue for them to be silly. Yeah. The Coins. And all of the courtroom scenes in this movie are so funny. Yeah. Poetry recitation of Jackson, Your Honor, Strangling Witness. I'm going to allow it.

Like, stuff like that, of course. So broad. Just like this sort of get smart joke of like Heinz the Baron Kraus von Espy and then the bailiffs keep opening doors and announcing it further

and further and further. Let's also call out Katie. She specifically said a silly man. I love that. Who's that guy? Yeah, who is that guy? What's his name?

Jonathan Hardesty? Uh, yes, you're right. Jonathan Haidery. He's the lawyer in fucking Margaret. Oh. He's the guy who wants all the prisons,

the for-profit, prison monger in Veep. Right? Yeah. He's did a bunch of beeps. His daughter is Mary Holland, who Tim Simons gets hooked up with. Okay. He's like in a thousand things. He looks so different in this than everything else that I always forget. It's him. Because he's usually... He always has those eyes. But you're right. He's... He usually plays a kind of like rumpled menshe. Right. Yeah. Yeah. He's so fucking funny in this. But Katie, you alluded to this, but the introduction of Clooney is through his teeth.

Oh my God. It's so good. That we're first. And truth to him in, oh, brother, it's his hair, here it's his teeth. The bleaching, right? I just like this immediate, like, we're dealing with the ultimate movie star. Yeah. And we're starting out by showing you how the sausage gets made of, like, how much work goes into making this guy look like this. And it helps balance the scales of the women and the plastic surgery, I think, because I do, like, the way that it gets at, like, rich Hollywood people, like, that part of it, like, works less well to me, like, the women sitting by the pool and talking about their liposuction. and stuff like that, like, that again, feels more broad

and Coenzy. But having that emphasis on Clooney, I think helps balance it out. And, like, the pan to his, like, movie star smile and the score, you know, swells as he's standing at the desk. Like, it, it brings it back to being something more than just cynical. Using suspicious minds into the sport. Yeah, it's so good. It's so good.

And it also, it's just, like, it gives you a drum roll. So when you get to the full reveal of Clooney's full face, because we're seeing him in the, in the chair first. Then we're seeing him in the car with the reflections that you're only seeing the TV. and nothing else, and you're just seeing him test out the teeth in the rearview mirror and everything. It feels so satisfying when you're getting the full Clooney burst, but I also like that it's kind of a everyone wants to be Clark Gable, even me thing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This guy is a construction. These people are constructions. Yep. No one is just like this. Yeah. And these people are very caught up in their reputation and their mythology and the massy pre-nup and all these things.

And then we're just seeing him, right, he's an ultimate conqueror. but he's so bored. He can barely get it up for this stuff anymore. He's torn down his house twice just for fun. Yes. Like, right. We never see his house, do we? He has a tab at the Mercedes dealership.

We don't think we ever see his house. We know, it's at the end. That's where the house invasion is. Because she's in his house, isn't she? Yeah. And you see his tennis court. Right. But, like, he's a person with no interests.

He's only good at this. Yeah. Well, that's what I mean... He's created, of course, an unbreakable pre-in-up agreement that is, like, legally... profound. Which I just think it's like a perfect screwball thing. You come up with the idea of something that is so important and so huge that you will never

break down and explain. They never get into what makes the Massey prenup so good. If you tear a piece of paper, does that render it legally invalid? In this movie it does. It's unclear to me if that's real. But that's why Richard Jenkins putting it all in the briefcase and running away is really funny. You're like he's going to tape it up. The Massey preem. But then also we should acknowledge Edward Herman is busted. a camera crew led by Gus Petch.

Gus Petch, played by Cedric the entertainer who's like firmly in his early post-barbershop, you know, kind of original Kings of Comedy where it's just like, get this guy in movies. Ten minutes of Cedric, please. Yep. He's going to nail your ass. And like, right, you're ordering it. And then you're like, and you know what, 10 minutes of Cedric. Have him in her.

Gus Petch likes doing one thing. Nail him ass. Nail him ass. He's an ass and he nails it. Yes. And I would have kicked his ass if he busted in on me. You would have nailed his ass for, trying to nail your house. I would have took that camera and I would have fucking nailed his

ass with it. I do love, this is the only period where it would still be like an over the shoulder. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's less fun if it's a stupid cell phone. It needs a huge light blaring on that poor woman in her underwear. But you're right. It is a thing that I think people couldn't verbalize at the time where they were like, how can this movie exist in a modern reality TV landscape, but yet everyone is talking like they are in the Great Depression. Yeah, which it makes perfect. Like, it's fine if you want. to set that up, but like getting people to actually buy into it without actually seeing it is the

hard part. Yes. So, yes, he successfully defends Rex, Rex, Rex, Rex, Rex, Rex. Rex. This is also Edward Herman, of course, is like right in the middle of his sweetie run on Gilmore girl. So it's fun to see him be a rascal.

Yeah. And even though Marilyn, Catherine Zia Jones is ostensibly in the right, basically, we've got the great showdown. with Richard Jenkins, you know, that's the, um... Kersner's in Kentucky. Are you nuts? Have you forgotten Kershersh? This was the scene.

I'd watch them movies a couple days ago. My girlfriend was disappointed because she was like, oh, I'd never seen that one. And I was like, I just watched it. Just show you the one scene. So, like, show you the thing that no one gets. And I think you'll lock into it immediately. And I just showed her this one scene. And it's just like a three-minute symphony of dialogue.

Yep. It is basically just two, two shots. reverse, right, around a table, just on fire. Just like precision swish watch timing and the overlapping threads that keep circling back. The way that it implies the relationship between Jenkins and Clooney, he's like, oh, sorry about the award or whatever it was. And he's, like, taunting him over the pastry. He's like, there's so much history between those two guys. He just knows exactly how to, like, cuck him.

Yes. And Jenkins is just so good at the, I mean, you know, he's just perfect at that. It is why this performance is incredible. It's not like early in Richard Jenkins' career. Obviously, he's been working for so long. The 2000s are when Hollywood start finally giving him his flower. He's on six feet under at this point. Yes, but he was like, you know, a spark plug in that show.

Yeah. Because he was dead. Spoiler alert for the opening seconds of six feet under. But he dies. But he comes back on the early seasons. And he'll come in and like be sarcastic and all that. And like he's in men who wasn't there also as. a lawyer from what I remember.

We haven't done that episode yet. And the Coins love him. And I remember they gave some interview where you're like, if you need like a sort of milk toast fussy guy, like Richard Jenkins. Fairley Brothers also used him a lot. He's in all of their... He's in me, myself, and Irene. He's in somebody about Mary.

Tiny role. He's really good in Hall Pass. He plays a pickup artist in Hall Pass. That sounds good. Just Ricky Jenkins with like a fedora and like Ed Hardy shirts. How many Coens is he in? He's in... Just the...

He's in burn after reading after this. Oh, he's in burn after reading, right. So three, I think that's it. That's his... That's his year. The burn after reading, visitor... Is that the same year as a visitor? Stepbrothers are all the same year.

Stepbrothers is obviously his peak and American acting's peak. Yes. Would you say? Yeah. I don't give a fuck. It's like, you can use that any time. But it's all the fucking dinosaur model. Obviously, the dinosaur stuff at the end is amazing.

Which is entirely improvised. Do you know that, that Michaela's just like, just come up with something? There's the moment where he starts doing the T-Rex arms and he looks down at them as if, like, remembering what he's lost. You know what we're talking about, Ben? I haven't seen the movie in a while, but he just tells the boys at the end, like, I also had dreams once I wanted to be a dinosaur. He spends the whole movie telling them to grow up. I do remember this. He spends the whole movie being like, you have to be adults, you have to get a job, you have to give responsibility.

At the end of the movie at the Catalina Wine Mixer They're like both doing jobs And they're like talking about taxes With each other joylessly And he's just like I can't believe I'm gonna say this But this is depressing

You guys need to go back to doing What you were doing before And they were like Dad we like Roth IRAs Like come on like And then he's just like no no And his big emotional speech About like not losing your flame

Is that when I was a child I wanted to be a dinosaur And my parents told me you can't do that. And I gave up with my dreams. And I thought someday I'd circle back to being a dinosaur and it never had the chance. And then they just keep going like, what do you mean? I was so good at it. I put my arms at my side. And I would roar. And they were like, but you're a human. You can never be a dinosaur. And he's like, that's what I let them convince me. Wow. I mean, that's crazy that he improvised. That's such a good choice. Ranj here is going to eat your dick. Like Kobayashi. I don't know. Step problem is still good. There's not a problem with stepbrose. No, it's five stars.

The whole, the best Jenkins, apart from a shut the fuck up, is, is that it? Or when's it when John C. Riley just does the long monologue about how Mary Steenberg is going to want to fuck him? That's like the introduction to those characters. So long. From my chest cubes down to my ball throw. And then I think he breaks a plate. You know what, Richard Jenkinson.

What's up? He's an if. He's putting that up there. He's an if. He plays a little. He's an artist model version of himself. He hasn't been in a movie for accepting his voice, Roland If, since Nightmare Alley, which he's very good in. And I don't, I mean, he's done like four shitty TV shows.

He played like Jeffrey Dahmer's dad in the Jeffrey Dahmer thing. Thank God. A few. And now he's in the Ed Brubaker connotation of criminal. Yes. Which I'm very excited for. Ed Brubaker, friend of the show, inexplicably, one of those people who's so important to David and I, who was. now a listener and text with us.

But in whatever recent Cohen's episode we were saying where's Jenkins been and he's like... He's crushing him criminal. Okay. I'm excited for you guys to see. Which is going to be on Amazon I think. I'm a prime video. But let's get, I want him back. I need more Jenkins in my life. And, you know,

he introduced Divine Joy Randolph at the critic circle the year she won, which was what, 20-224? When was that? Three. Three. For holdovers, because they did some tiny movie together and no one ever saw. Right, you guys have talked about this on there. I've heard you talk about this in another episode. I never have. Is this the first, why did you guys talk about Richard Jenkins already? Because

he's everywhere. He's everywhere. Yeah. I've no idea why he's come up before. I don't know. He came up recently. Whatever. Yeah, whatever. Yeah. So, yeah, so all that. Basically what happens within Miles, before he destroys Maryland in the courtroom, they go out to dinner. Oh, I'm sorry, to finish giving Richard Jenkins as flowers. The thing that's so beautiful about that scene that all rests on Jenkins' shoulders is how quickly he goes from kind of like, begrudgingly accepting the way that Clooney

bites him down to at the end being so emotionally overcome with like, I'm going to take my briefcase and go home. Like that Clooney's destroyed his spirits. Right. Yes. But Clooney asked Data Jones out to dinner

sort of as a kind of like, again, extension of his boredom of, like, maybe I just take her out to dinner. Like, if she's, you know, like, it's such an ethical, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, again, legally is he allowed to do this? I have that question, but who cares?

But I do think there's, like, a little bit of, like, Ethan Hunt, Elsa Faust in this movie where it's just like, they immediately lock eyes. Game-recognized game. Yeah. We're the only two people on the planet who operate at this level. Yeah. I mean, the way they order wine together is, like,

a rat-etad dialogue thing is gorgeous. So their dinner scene is nice. I get this is where I'm sorry Catherine I think she's like good I wish someone was amazing in this role okay so can I get Clooney is elite in this can I get my take yeah what's your two after watching this movie and is there a right a better I was like I really want to watch lady eve again sure because it's not like this is like a quiet remake of lady eve but I do think it pulls a lot of things from lady eve obviously for fans who don't know the lady eve it's one of the better movies ever made yes Barbara stammer And it's a Preston Sergist movie. And it's a movie about an elite con artist, Card Sharp, who multiple times romances the heir to an ale fortune. There's a lot of difference between beer and ale. And it's a similar movie where there's this kind of like, she keeps running different cons on him based on who has the power in the situation.

And part of the mystery of the movie is like, when are there real feelings and when are they're not? and what's motivating what and when is it just about money and whatever but that movie is all basically told from her perspective even though you meet him first no he's the mark you're getting her doing the kind of ocean style here's what i'm going to do and you have the scenes where she's going back to her father and explaining what's changing in her mind so you're not sure if she's going to be able to pull it off but the fun is her outlining what her intentions or her plans are and how things get in the way in this movie the character is kind of a sphinx it's It's clearly what they're sort of enjoying is that you're watching the film and it has these gaps where you're like, wait, what just happened?

Why do we just cut ahead six months? Yeah, I mean, I guess. And that you need to untangle it after the fact. Only at the end do you realize everything she's done. Right. They're hiding the movie's biggest twist, which they want to hide because it's a twist of like when she reappears with Billy Bob Thornton. Right. That's a total con.

We have not even brought up yet. Right. Well, we're going to get there. Yes. But I guess that's a. But I just, okay. But I think it means that there's not that much. she can play.

It's obvious to say, well, isn't the best version of this, Julia Roberts, because you just imagine the whole movie having the liar and a theme. And she's sassy. Energy. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You see this scene of them at the dinner table together and you imagine that. That scene in Ocean's 11.

Exactly. Which is just perfect. Who are the big other kind of, you know, elite female stars who could, right? I'm just trying to think like. Not to conjure leatherheads again, but could Renee Zellweger have done it? No. No, you don't think so? I don't think she's a good ass.

Oh, interesting. She's my big problem with Down with Love. See, I love her and let down with Love. I do not. Yeah, she couldn't have done that, I guess. She kind of have to pick one of the other. But obviously, she and Clooney, right, they did try at chemistry later. He's already done a Julia movie.

He's already done a Michelle Pfeiffer, someone who could have done this. She could have done it. Yeah. Who else is in that? Michelle Fiver makes sense. She's like on the cusp of being a little aged out or whatever, but yes. Callie Berry is huge at this point, but I don't think she would. wouldn't have worked in this role.

No. Comedy, not her strong suit. No, no. But you're like, who's in God-ass territory is an adult woman? Like, it can't be a girl. Right, it can't be like Scarlet-Jahanson or whoever the new stars are, like, you know. Yeah, I don't know. You know, sure, Julia.

I mean... See, I'm just saying, like, if you cast Julia in this and they obviously have such good chemistry and they're biting back and forth at each other, I still don't know if Julia makes this part explode because part of this role in construction. is you don't know what's going on with that. You're not seeing the hand she's holding until the very end. Julianne Moore? Julianne Moore could have been excellent.

She can kind of do everything, right? She could have been excellent. She does her own divorce lawyer, Rom Commerie. Laws of attraction, not exactly. Wow. An endorsement of any for doing comedy, right. I just had the thought while watching this movie,

and you miss the fun of the surprise of the complete unraveling at the end and realizing what you didn't realize you've been watching the whole time. See, Billy Buff, Thornton on the soap opera is like a key delight that you don't get if you know what's going on. If the Julia Duffy scenes, which I agree with you, are kind of the broadest and the least interesting parts of the movie, instead had more of a sense of who is this character, what is animating her, her planning, and it felt like the movie was more of a tennis match and less. We're seeing it on through Pune's perspective and she's unknowable.

I think there's a certain degree to which this part, as written, couldn't be played better than it is. Maybe you're right. Because the meat of the role is actually not depicted on screen. And it is supposed to be like, right, you're this beautiful sphinx-like woman, and she's totally good at that. And so my suggestion of a... What about Holly Hunter? Cohen's collaborator. She's older than Clooney by three years.

Would she work as the, like, the gliding? No, but she is... The one I was going to throw out. And they're great and a brother together. They have their back and back. That's true. This is the other thing. You're like, who has...

Has it he worked with, right? Already at this point. He tends to work well with... He's done a peacemaker with Kidman. There's a universe in which Kidman could have done this. Kidman could have done this. This is an era where she could have done something like this. Yeah.

Stefford Wives is around this time or whatever. This would have been a much better choice than Stepford Wives. But he's basically worked with all the A-listers in his age group. Yeah. Sandra Bullitt could have done it? Yes. He doesn't do that until gravity. Yeah.

She could have. This is like... She's still a big star. Like she's not really in her Isn't too far away from this But it's definitely Because like by the time she was in crash Which is a couple years later

You were kind of like Oh Sandy Bullock Yeah And then she disappears again Into blindside Uh huh The other one I was gonna throw out Is Charlize

I think she could have done it She wasn't doing comedies then No this is the year she does monster She's not really a proven actor yet So she's not big enough yet To hold her own against Clinton I don't think so Yeah that's fair

Do Clooney never worked with Winslet Did he? I'm looking at like best actress I don't know if he ever did I don't know if he would have worked in this Yeah Cameron Diaz No

I'm not finding an obvious Like You know Uma Yeah Umma's Look this is the Kill Bill year Yeah

Umas a little In the wilderness too Kilbby kind of You know Is her first big hit in a long time How is Uma comedy like this though Like fast

Oma's a weird one That's not her Strong Ben just said Solely Uma And then pulled the mic back away. It's like that's it. I mean, Blanchett's the one I think could have been interesting, but no one would have considered her in this way. Yeah, she's really in the wilderness in this

period, right? Like pre-Aviator? How dare you? The missing? Well, yeah, doesn't she, like, breaks out with Elizabeth and then makes like eight terrible movies? This is the she's fucking it up. I'm obsessed with her prestige run post-elizabeth pre-Oskar, yes. Where it's truly like, you know, a relief pitcher coming in and throwing like eight wild pitches or whatever. And then suddenly like, you know, like, you know, We were like, oh, okay, she got it. She got the Oscar. And after that, she was on the straight and arrow, basically.

In the same period, Kate Winslet, like, two at every three movies she makes are nothing, and yet none of them stick to her. Yeah, yeah. She was kind of, she was like, we all love Winslet. Well, she had, like, three Oscar nominations at this point in on anything? She was just occasionally, you know, do even an iris, and that would be enough to be like, yeah, we still love Kate Winslet if she shows up. And so, yes, nobody thought about the lives of David Gale or the hideous kinkies. Right. Just to just name some movies.

Starring in Titanic probably gets you there too. I don't think he plans to never made anything. It was kind of this film that had lingered in the consciousness in some way. I don't wonder why. Anyway, so he annihilates her in court. So the next sequence is, right. Well, hang on. There is the scene where they go to the diner with Sedric the Entertainer.

And Paul has seen orders baby field greens and the waitress. Another perfect middle-aged woman said, what did you just call me? What the fuck? What the fuck color would be? And Clinton orders like an overcooked steak with branch dressing or something. Right. He says, can I get a green sauce? And she goes, what other color would it be?

Maybe field greens. Who's that actress is so funny. That's like if round is funny. Like that's perfect Cohen's service worker comedy. Like every line in this movie is funny. It's just like a little kind of like jewelry box. Can I say, and I don't know if you guys agree with this, I didn't announce this yet, but I do think the first half is better than the second half. I do think it doesn't run out of steam exactly, but the first half where the stakes are so.

defined and Clooney is so on fire and the courtroom scenes are so fun whereas the second half where it's a little heavier on the plot twists and the kind of like I love the biggest stuff so I do too. It's funny. I'm not mad at it. I'm just saying like... Okay, so this was another reason I rewatch Lady Eve last night is like

Lady Eve is ostensibly a three-act movie. Yeah. I mean you're talking about one of the best movies. I know, I know, but I was just like there's a similar thing going on that's very unorthodox in the year that this movie's coming out, right? Lady Eve is like a three-act movie if you actually look at the story. But act one is like 50 minutes long. Right. Act two is like 20 minutes long. And act three is like 10 minutes long. And I think that was a thing back in the screwball era where they were just like this kind of diagrammatic. You need to build your three acts and each one needs to be half an hour. Right. And it needs to be like this clean. They were sort of like everything is as long as it can justify being while still being entertaining. And if the boring part of the movie needs to like you need to get through that faster, then you get through it faster. Or if something more interesting can happen, then there's four acts. Like who cares?

right the first 45 minutes of this movie is the dissolution of the marriage to edward herman right is the almost half of the film is basically act one and so then it's a movie where the acts speed up as they go yeah because billy bob thornton shows up you're like oh this is the rest of the movie and it's like not really he's kind of in and out very quickly yeah that feels again sort of like jenkins of them being like we just worked with this guy we loved him he's so funny for one second in this it's like a 20 minute act too yeah Right, but to conclude act one is he nails her ass with the Hines, Heinz the Baron, the Berenc Kralesbun Espy, who after he sets her up by having her cry about how much she loves Rex Rosh, Roth, brings in this guy and is basically the guy is like, I found her a rich, stupid husband. He's the Tensig Norgay.

Silly man, the Tensig Norgay. Just any time they come up with a good combination of sounds that you can repeat six times. And we should just ask, does anyone have any bones in the house here? Oh, they want the bones? The bones. The milk bones. The chunky for the teeth. Yeah. God.

May we. There are no maybes now. May we. But of course. I think he's funny. But I think stuff is funnier later, like, than the Baron. Like, he's not, he's broader than the stuff than, like, we Kirk of the Hills or whatever in Vegas. I'm really into, like, Lumier from Beauty and the Beast being in any movie.

Like, I just. Like that kind of a guy. With a tiny dog, ideally. With a tiny dog. Oh, so you love mine, that's men. Does it have fun? Is Jerry Orbach? Pleasure.

Oh, Duchardin. Yeah. Beat Clooney for that Descendants, Oscar. And that was their, uh, their, their makeup. Yeah. The crazy thing is that he, who did he, there's a crazy one he'd be in there. Uh, Brad Pitt and Michael. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's true. Yeah. Um, anyway, um, so, uh, so, uh, he annihilates Maryland and then as we, he annihilates Maryland and then as we as you say it's like six months later yeah right and it's sort of like he's back to um being a nobody um you also back to being bored you end that sequence with her with julia

duffy and her like girl gang saying like next time i got i got to i got to find a better husband without uh uh clouse without a baron hinds fun yeah espy yeah right right she also finds Jeffrey rush She has the one scene in the middle there. She finds him in the alley clutching his trophy. Yes. But basically you see her call the shot of like, I'm going to do it again. I'm going to do it better. And I'm not going to have a Tenzik Norgay that he can use to take me down.

And you assume. Because she's sort of activated by like this guy caught me. I need to now get the next point on him. Right. She thought she had the perfect murder. She didn't. So you assume what she's done is this oil baron who's so stupid. And she like gets the pre-nuff signed with.

Massey and Massey's like, okay, what's she up to? And then he emotionally tears up the pre-nup at their ceremony. Right. And Massey's like, okay, she's a genius. He gives to the barbecue sauce. Right, right. The confidence game of she hired me. Right. She respects me.

The pre-up. Right. I know what she's after. This guy's money. And yet, she's hiring me to do everything seemingly she can. You think it's your idea to get rid of the pre-up, right? Yes. But of course, the twist is this is all stage, but, yes.

He's so depressed at the wedding. He sees Billy Bob eat the pre-nup. He's just like, she's a genius. That's the moment where I think he truly falls in love with her, where it goes to being a lust. So, like, this is the only other genius on this planet. Well, and when he realizes the thing with the pre-nep

and he says to her the line, like, now that this marriage is winding down while she's standing at her wedding dress, which is so funny. It is. Because he's like mission accomplice. You got what you want. Exactly. You could divorce him tomorrow. Yep. Yeah. Somewhere in there before that is where we first meet the, like, senior partner who has the living

without intestines magazine in his waiting room. It's, like, very hot-sucker proxy. But it's also a gag that it feels like gets repeated in serious man. Yes. And it's another gag that any time I show this to her girlfriend, they would further back up in the couch somehow. Yes. I feel like you're paying even less attention.

They're like, yeah, well, that scene. That guy is gross and scary. The people I remember who were Cohen's fans at the time where, like, the movie sucks. It doesn't feel like them except for there's this old guy and there's. I mean, those things are obviously very good. Everyone told me those are the only two things that feel like them. Yes. Weezy Joe is definitely right out of raising Arizona.

But this is talking about the inherent darkness, Katie, in this movie, where it's so surprising that all these different people attach themselves to it and we're like lusting after this script, the coens are latching onto like an honest cynicism within this story, right? You could imagine the original version of the script and other versions that people directed being much frothier. and having a sort of like they both make each other good people kind of ending. And this movie is based on the cynicism of how we basically set up an industry of marriage.

Right? That marriage has like more from being this like property merger thing to ostensibly being a modern thing based on love, but also we're all kind of quietly ignoring the fact that the big concern is always

the money at the center of the thing and that there are people who become fucking millionaires many, many times over at being able to explode marriage or protect marriages or whatever it is. Yeah. That all of this is so callous and this notion of a pre-up and immediately like at the

beginning of your marriage being like, and by the way, I don't trust you. Exactly. Right? Well, it made me wonder, because like Joel Cohen's obviously been very happily married for a long time. Like, was Ethan going through any divorces in this period. Like, is anything personal? Joel was divorced once very young.

Right. Before he met Francis. Joel and Ethan have both been married to the same people for decades now. Ethan's marriage seems interesting. I would say both have very interesting marriages. Yes. They both seem to have interesting marriages. And they're very, they seem very content in their interesting marriages.

Exactly. In their own ways, they are both major wife guys. But there's the Joel divorce that he kind of never talks about. And it does feel like the early movies. Really pre-blood simple. Yes. I mean, Joe Cohen obviously is always doing people magazine spreads. And he just won't touch that one topic. It's like, Joel Coat doesn't talk about his personal life at all.

I'm hearing a rumor that he's going to announce his new era soon. He's going to go on new heights. on his new girlfriend's podcast. Imagine. Imagine if Francis McDorwood had a podcast? No, if Taylor Swift dumped Tyler Kelsey, whatever his name is? Travis Kelsey, sorry. I do know who he is.

I'm not trying to be a sports ball guy over here. And was like, I've got a new boyfriend. Joel Cohen. And she hooked up with Joel Cohen? Yeah. That would be a great. Would she finally make her movie in that case? That's like she's in Hollywood now.

Four years ago, everything was pointing towards serious cinnophile Taylor Swift. And then we just took a hard left turn. To the NFL. It only she had broken up the McDormon Cohen marriage. She also took a hard left turn to doing like a two-year tour that was like the most successful music tour in the history of sung

words. Sir Slates just saying like, hey, Taylor, where's the deal? We signed four years ago. I was going to say the most successful thing in the history of the economy. It was just right. Exactly. It was like a country onto itself. You look at the stats from the Aeros tour and it's like every city she went to for that

week had the kind of economy boost that is usually reserved for the Olympics. Oh, yeah. My mom and sister went to Indianapolis and there was like a thing in the airport greeting the people who were there for Taylor Swift. It was bananas. And you're like, oh, the one week she was in Indianapolis. Yeah, it was bigger than the Colts probably. The city went up two billion dollars. Yep. Yeah. Ben. What's up, Griff? This is an ad break. Yeah. And I'm just, this isn't a humble brag. It's just a of the matter, despite you being on Mike, oftentimes when

sponsors buy ads based on this podcast, the big thing they want is personal host endorsement. They love it to get a little bonus Ben on the ad read, but technically that's not what they're looking for. But something very different is happening right now. That's true. We have a sponsor

come in and say, we are looking for the coveted Ben Hosley endorsement. This is laser targeted. The product. We have copy that asks, Is the product a porch movie? It certainly is. And what is today's episode sponsored by?

The Toxic Adventure. The new Toxic Adventure movie is coming to theaters, August 29th. Making Blair's remake of... Reimagining. Reimagining, whatever. Reboot of the Toxic Avenger. Now, David and I have not going to see it yet, but they sent you a screener link. Yeah, I'm going to see it.

We're excited to see it. But Ben, you text us last night. this fucking rules it fucks it honks yeah it's so great let me read you the cast list here in billing orders they asked which I really appreciate

Peter Dinklage Jacob Tremblay Taylor Patege with Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon Tremblay is Toxie's son his stepson his stepson okay

Wade Goose yes great name give us the takes we haven't heard of them yet okay you got fucking Dinklage is fantastic he's talks

plays it with was so much heart. Yeah. It's such a lovely performance. Bacon is in the pocket too, man. He's the bad guy. He's the bad guy. There's a lot of him shirtless.

Okay. Looking like a snack. David. David, sizzling. Yep. And then Elijah Wood plays like a dang ass free. He certainly does. He's having a lot of fun.

Tell us some things you liked about the movie. Okay, well, I'm a Jersey guy. I just got to say the original movie was shot in the town where I went to high school. Troma. Yes, yes, that's right. The original film. Yep. I grew up watching Toxy and Tromob.

movies on porches with my sleazy and sticky friends. It informs so much of my sensibility. Your friends like junkyard dog and headbanger. Yeah, exactly. Making toxic crusader jokes. And so when I heard that they were doing this new installment, I was really emotionally invested. It was in limbo for a while before our friends at Cineverse rescued it and are now releasing it uncut.

But I feel like there have been years of you being very excited at the prospect, but also a little weary. They're playing with fire here. Yeah, it's just, it's something that means a lot to me, and they knocked it out of the fucking park. Okay. It somehow really captured that sensibility, that sense of humor,

even just that, like, low-fi, scrappy kind of nature that's inherent in all of the trauma movies and the original Toxy movies, and they have, like, updated it in this way that it was just, I was so pleased with it. It's gooey. It's sufficiently gooey? Tons of blood, tons of goo, great action.

It's really fucking funny. It just, it hits all of the sensibilities that you would want in an updated version. Cineverse last year, released Terror Fire 3 Unrated. Yeah. Big risk for them there. I feel like it's a very, very intense movie. And one of the huge hits. More interesting, yeah, theatrical box office phenomenon is the last five years.

Want to make that happen again here. Tickets are on sale right now. Advanced sales really matter for movies like this. So if y'all were planning on seeing Toxic Adventure, go ahead and buy those tickets. Please go to Toxic Avenger.com slash blank check to get your tickets. Blank Check one word. In theaters August 29th. And Ben, it just says here in the copy, wants to call out that Elijah Wood plays a weird little guy who says,

Summon the Nuts. Can you tell us anything about that moment without spoiling it? Some of the Nuts is in reference to a psychotic new metal band. Hell yeah. Who are also mercenaries. Cool. And drive a van with a skeleton giving two thingies up on the grill. And that's all I'll say.

Okay. And they are the most dang-ass freaks of dang-ass freaks. I'm excited to see it. And your endorsement I think carries more weight than anyone else is in the world on this. Seriously, get your tickets now.

Go to toxicadventure.com slash blank check. Do it. Do it. You have in the hotel hallway after the wedding where Clooney basically monologues to Catherine Zeta Jones

of like, aren't you in love with me? Right? It all happens in Vegas. We're the two stars of this movie. Right. Can we like get over and admit it?

and he kisses her and she kisses back and then basically has no reaction walks away and he does the you fascinate me. Fascinate me. And this is like six months after the bit of up on the wedding. Like we've gotten. But like right, but it's like he's operating on the premise of she is divorced and about to collect more money than even I have.

Yes. And it's a con. I mean, just to spoil the movie, like she's conning him. She has arranged it so that he will marry her in Vegas while he's at his convention. Oh, I'm sorry. the kiss in the hallway happens after she brings Billy Bob to him the first time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The introduction of Billy Bob.

That's in his office. This is about well before making. Right. He's like, let's cut through this shit, right? Post the marriage. And yes. And then. At the Vegas convention of divorce lawyers.

Right. She shows up looking like a trillion dollars. With the big dog. And he's immediately kind of like goooo-eyed at the idea that she's worth more than he is now. Yes. And this is where the big like power shift happened. is she gets a call that Julia Duffy had died. Right.

Well, that's after they go to that dinner, which is so lovely and, like, sad, where they're both, like, realizing they're not happy with what they've gotten. But she's making it. But she's making it. But, like, at the time, it feels very sincere. It does. It does. Where they're both, like, right, we, there's nothing left for us in the field except for love. We've achieved everything else.

Exactly. There's nothing left. Right. And then she gets this call, and she's, like, my friend, she had all this money. She had all these divorces. she died from, you know, recovery of another... The perforated ulcery. Well, because she, yeah, she couldn't take the medicine

for the ulcer because of plastic surgery. Right. And she's like, and she didn't have anybody. And Clooney's like, we have to get married right now. Is the thing I love that they have not slept together. But it is this kind of thing... It's a fairly chased movie. Well, I was going to say it's like post-code movies where they have to sort of skip over the implication

that the characters have ever slept together. And I guess in some ways it's a more traditional, you might just say, like, I like your look. Will you please take my hand in marriage? Yeah, they go get married so they can finally kiss on the bed. But he's basically, he just makes like a logical plea to her of like, shouldn't we just be together? Let's just get this over with. I'll give you the Massey pre-up.

Yep. Right. I'm so in this for love that I want you to know that I'm not after your money. Right. They go to the little travel. And then they get married and she tears up the medicine. She does, she does the, she does the, uh, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the. tearing up the pre-up thing three times in this movie.

In their marital. And the first two times it's fake. The third time, it's real. Yeah. But right. I mean, obviously, this is all along Khan. She is taking his money by marrying him. She was never married to Doyle, who's a soap opera actor.

Yes. And you're right about the Lady Eve thing where it's like, right, that second act is brief. And it's at Vegas. The crowning moment you mentioned in your letterbox review is his speech. Yes. his kind of greet is good speech where he's like love is good This is act three

Second act is Billy Bob Which is really short No this is act two Act three to me is after they get married Is Wee Joe? Oh sure no you're right You're right you're right I forgot about the whole Weesie Joe

Right and then so that's what I'm saying We leap to Massey is ruined Yes Marilyn has all his money He's speaking at the no man convention He has what would be Your big triumphant third act

The character has seen the light But that's in the second act and he's been fond of it, saying, like, I think what we're doing is bad and actually love is important. And they give him the slow clap and do they lift him on shoulders? Or is that just the implication? Yeah. He's conquering hero. Yeah. And then he immediately clocks Billy Bob on the TV. Apparently with Bruce Campbell is there, which I did not clock, but I showed on a Wikipedia.

Just to clarify, he signed Suprina because he believes that Billy Bob has given her the money. She has his wealth. But she has no wealth at all. Right. And instead, like, by ripping up the pre-up. He's in the bad position or whatever they say. He gave her the pre-nup to protect her to say to her, I love you not for your money.

So he thinks that her ripping up the pre-up is her saying, I love you so much. I want you to share my money. In reality, he's giving her access to his money. She has no money. I got so confused at this point and that it took me until the end to actually understand what was fucking going on. It's another thing with this movie.

of like, as I was saying, it is a movie, and most comedies are not structured like this, like a thriller heist movie where you don't know until the end what's been going on the whole time. I've now seen this like four or five times. And even still, every time while I'm watching it, I'm trying to remember exactly where it's going.

But in the third act, like, now Clooney is ruined. Marilyn has his money. She has his house. She has his house. Clooney's partner, you know, the old guy, Herb, is like, you have to kill her to protect the reputation of the firm. And Clooney's having nightmares about, like, this guy who previously had said, like, you're the best of us, you're the future. Now he's having nightmares basically about becoming that guy.

Higher Weezy Joe. Or I guess the nightmare is what gets him to propose to say. Played by the great Irwin Keyes, who's just one of those faces. Made a big, a big, big, school. Yeah. It's pretty funny to ask him, are you Weezy Joe? While he's wheezy. Yeah.

who's bit, of course, is that he has an inhaler. Also, he and Paul Adolstein get a lot of those, like, raising Arizona screams at each other where they just turn and shriek at the top of their lungs. They're really good at it. It's funny. It's, it's, um, Paul Adelstein went right from this, because it was like, he was just emerging Paul Adelstein, right? Like, prison break is right around this time.

Right. He does prison break in practice. He does like three TV shows in a row. And, like, in prison break, he was, like, a hard-boiled asshole. It's like, he's such a good goof, and I feel like he didn't get to do enough goof. Yeah. He usually plays in movies, like, a guy wearing an FBI jacket who's like, it looks like he went that way. Yeah, you watch this and you assume he's, like, a comedy UCB guy or something.

Right. He's so fucking funny. It feels like he got caught in a very, very lucrative detour. I mean, of kind of TV stuff, right? Network procedural stuff. But anyway, he's, but yes, but the final gag. is they hire Weezy Joe to kill her, and before he gets to her, they realize she is rich, because

Rex, Rex Roth has left her his fortune by mistake. He never updated his will. He dies in a train orgy. Yes. He's got a big bed in front of a train facade. You're right about postcode movies where it's like, right, he's jumping on a big bed

with a bunch of ladies in kind of like fancy old-fashioned underwear. Conjunction Junction hats. In front of a big train. Oh, yeah, there's like a chain coming into the station. And you're like, right, it's an orgy, but like this movie's orgy. It felt like the cell on this movie was trying to be, here you go, the two sexiest adults in Hollywood being sexy. Well, that's how the co-ins are about sex, though, right?

Like, is there any movie where there's, like, real, like, genuine sex scenes? What's the one we were saying? I mean, it's what... I mean, of course, the hottest sex scene, I hear bills when Shemi's getting ridden in Fargo. The parallel. Yes. I hear Bill. Yeah.

Yeah, sex in Cohen. They've had sex in the movies. Many episodes ahead, but it's what's so bracing about drive away dolls. Oh, goodness. Is your like every... Oh, my goodness. Ethan's been holding this back all this time. Cohen movies either cut away, fade out before the sex starts and fade back in the next morning, right?

Like this film does. Yeah. Or making it ridiculous. Or it's like it's cuckolding or it's kind of like comedic banality. Yeah. It is like this is. depressing. Yeah.

So they have to stop Weezy Joe from murdering her because now she's richer than him so he will now benefit from the divorce. And of course, Weisy Joe accidentally inhales his own pistol and dies in an iconic Cohn Brothers goofy criminal moment that I do feel like is the one thing everyone

was like Wee Joe. Yeah. One, it's also that violence, like the sudden, shocking bit of blood that like this movie really lacks, there's no violence in it, other than that, really. You watch that. I mean, he does, like, get shot. You see the fucking bullet wound. There is a lack of blood. You feel in a way where it's, like, right, this is a PG-13, universal imagine entertainment movie. Yeah. It costs $60 million. But it's also, it's, like, as surprising

as, like, Brad Pitt in the closet and burned after reading or something, right? But that's, like, bloodier. That's, like, and that's heartbreaking. That's what's shocking. Well, that's also Brad Pitt. So it's so shocking when that happens. Whereas Weezy Joe, oh, well, Weezy Joe. You kind of feel like they're teeing him up. I mean, Weezy Joe is, a studio would probably be like, we're introducing this guy like a hundred minutes into a 100-minute movie, right? Like, he's a big swing.

He wasn't made to be long for this world, Weezy Joe. Like, you could combine him with Cedric the Entertainer, maybe. Right. He's like a final destination set up where you're like, gun and inhaler. Got it. I know how this is ultimately going to end. I'm just waiting to see the joy of how they finally like teed up. Yeah, and the epilogue is, okay, time to do the divorce.

We're back at the table. We're back with Jenkins. And they finally are like, maybe we are in love, right? Tear up the pre-nup, you're exposed. Like, it's like the final tearing up. A sitting duck. He's furious where he's hired someone to murder you. And then he runs off with the briefcase and Adelstein's like, that's not there and chases after him.

But Lady Eve has a similar. thing where like the guy is so hurt by being conned the first time he needs to be conned a second time to forgive her you know like they have to go so far beyond the pale yeah to work past their problems yeah well they've gone through all this effort to con each other so maybe they are just they deserve each other in some way it's also like that's how they know that the other one cares I guess I guess re your point rerush we probably don't need the America's funniest divorce videos Coda I mean I like Gus getting his little Yeah, you want him back one more time, but I... He says, right, how did you find the actor? He said, I found this producer. Right, I was trying to... Yes. But I don't know if we need that.

I mean, we could probably buy that she would find an actress. It also feels specific dated in a way. And, like, not that this movie is trying to feel timeless, but you do get to that and you're like, I don't know if I need... Because I feel like that scene in the office is so perfect. Like, that's the note that you want to end. And it's probably the note that, like, a real press and searches movie would end on as opposed to the code.

Well, you want tact. Call a tactician. This is what I want to do. You want an ass nailed. I'm going to nail that ass. I do think you watch a lot of, like, Lubitsch and Sturgis in particular, and the final beat of the movie will often be

some loop closing with a supporting character. They end with, like, here's the perfect, like, romantic, and then William Demarest is like, positively the same thing. Or the three guys opening the restaurant at the end of Ninochka or stuff. Yeah. It does feel very classical to be like, we don't put game pieces on the board unless they will ultimately get their final payoff.

Well, and there's a bit about Jeffrey Rush where it's like, that show will be yours someday. So, like, to have that Catherine City Jones has now ownership of the game show. Like, yeah, I don't really know how that's a transfer to property. But it does feel like a callback to that too. Right. And the idea that she has something of her own that's now his and whatever. Oh, well, it's a thing that they do together, right? Right.

Does he say, like, what are we going to do now? And she's like, I have an idea. and then it's such as the entertainer at a TV show. It's interesting. Did JJ have anything more about the budget? I mean, I do think a lot of this was some development costs, but also you're like... JJ, who is fired, of course, because you didn't sign the Massey pre-up. We're going to nail us it.

We're going to nail us it. No, I mean, the budget is not really... There was just so little reporting on this movie because it was kind of there and gone. Clooney has always said that he thinks there are less than five times in his career where he actually got his full quote. Right. Because he is a guy who likes to be like, I wanted to do. He just didn't do a lot of paycheck. I want to do the descendants.

Right. I'll do deferred salary, you know. I feel like this is one of the cases where he probably got full quote. Maybe he did. And maybe like, I think this is probably more than the Coens were ever paid up front to direct a movie, I'm guessing. So everyone just got paid a lot. That's my thing. And I'm like, I bet.

It's bankable, right? Craft Services was much better on this film than it was in the Coen Brothers film. Sure. You know, they talk about how they prep so meticulously to be able to keep costs down. to have worked everything out so far in advance that they don't have to go searching on the day. And I just think that's them working around a lot of the second there's a certain price tag on your head.

People start asking questions and they start breathing down your neck and there's pressure. Even if your people who are able to retain final cut in a movie like this, they just don't want that pressure on them, right? And this is just, I think everyone was more comfortable. People probably had better trailers.

I think fucking like... They probably stayed at a great hotel in Vegas. Grazer and Ron Howard both probably paid like a million dollars to produce this even though Ethan was the main producer, you know? Like I think this is just a movie where everyone got their full salary, where everyone was treated

nicely. It doesn't feel like they made it any differently. But you do watch this and you're like, holy shit, burn after reading costs $20 million. It's crazy that true grit is cheaper than this. True grit's like 40 or 50. Wild. You know, like they're just so good at just like don't waste money

on things that aren't on screen. And also, big stars want to work with them, and they will ultimately benefit when the movie is profitable, which almost all other movies are because the bar is so low. You think this one's eventually made its money back? It made 80 worldwide? Wow. Yeah, let me look up the numbers. I do think we had Seth Rogen on the show recently to discuss the Bigelboski. The episode's already aired.

And he put it, which correctly, which it made 120 worldwide. It made 35 domestic. We made 120 worldwide? So it made 80 overseas? so that movie stars, man And it's like But as he said

As he put it in he's right He's like at this time Every movie made 40 million dollars on DVD Yeah Even bad ones That's the baby they made more Everything would just make

So much money on DVD Yeah And especially comedies Um Anyway The film came out October 10th But I do think

I do think it Spooks them a little bit It is weird Even though no one's losing Their shirt on it I think it's perceived as a miss I'm sure it spooked them as much as the coens are spookable.

I don't know how much they do seem quite self-assured, obviously. And yet they followed up with a very similar move. It's another movie they were originally just hired to write that they decide to take over and direct with a huge movie star. Yeah. And it's a studio project that's being pushed as a conventional mainstream comedy or at least trying to sell it that way. You've already recorded Lady Killers episode? And I had I did not. I've seen it once.

you know, I mean, I will, I will spoil here. I just contend that they have never made a movie with a failing grade. I'd say that's the one that's on the c-closest. I'm like, I give it like a fucking C plus B minus. Yeah. Ben, did you like intolerable cruelty? I haven't realized I haven't really gotten the end. And I was getting this sense.

He's been quiet. You had a hard time following. I laughed at some moments. I found the kids. characters quite despicable in a way that made it hard for me to want to follow them along. It's a very acidic movie with no one to root for me. Yep. But then it makes you believe in love at the end anyway.

Yeah. Yeah. And there's something about the crassness. And I understand it's arch. It's arch. The arch is hell. It just... Then you're a sincere fella.

Yeah. I struggled with it a little bit. Like I will say I had to pause at one point because I got... so frustrated, like the moment when Clooney, they get married, I just like, I got to walk away from this. I'm so annoyed. I also think so much of the movie is misdirecting the audience that you kind of need to see it twice to have seen it once, which is another thing of like people seeing in theaters at that time and never revisiting it. Yeah, yeah. And I bet that that's a symptom of me always, you know, knowing that if I were put in the situation that it would work out. Of course. And

And so seeing him fuck up so bad, I'm like, I'd not pull one over on you. I got to get out of here. I can't even deal with this. Ben, to David's point of view, being a sincere fellow and someone who loves love, unlike bag of money movies, I think you can't even place yourself in the character's heads in this. Yeah, you don't play around with that shit.

Heinz, the Baron Krauss. They are engaging in intolerable cruelty towards each other, which you don't fuck with. Number one of the... Well, hang on. Can I say one more thing about the tone of this? I know, David. I also have to leave. But I feel like if this...

You have to leave. That's why I'm rushing this. If this had come out with Burn After Reading, like Post No Country, put those two movies together, I think they go really hand in hand. But I do think Burn After Readings, that that tone directed at D.C. As opposed to, like, divorce lawyers and love, like, is a little bit better aimed. Like, it makes more sense to be cynical about that than... I vastly prefer this movie to burn.

Interesting. David dislikes Byrne, although we will see how the rewatch goes. We will. It's not like I think Burn is, like, a bad movie. Like, it's well made. It's got a lot of great stuff. But, like, that is the one time where I kind of had the Ben Reaction. And on every re-watch, I re-watch, I have the Ben, right?

And I'm like, too mean. I kind of hate everybody. I, you know, it feels like an exercise. I agree with you, Katie. And as I love to remind people, burn after reading is weirdly their third highest-grossing film. You love to remind people with that, but I don't care about that. But I'm just saying it did cross over in a way that. To Katie's point, I do think it was more palatable.

Like, the acidity in that movie is, like, we all. all hate these guys. This movie is based around people. Yeah. Who are kind of like annoying and arrogant, but we can all find common enemies in them. Yeah, and you want to like hate DC more than. And like, yeah. And also just like the post no country thing, people were like ready to receive it

audience level as opposed to this period where it was a little bit weird. It wasn't just Clooney, it was Clooney and Pitt. Yeah. I think that movie has targets that are acceptable. Yeah. There's also something to like grimy scumbags versus These are, like, rich, awful people. Well, you haven't seen Burn after reading it. They're rich people.

I have. Okay. I have, but I just think that movie has a really goofy tone. I just remember enjoying it. But they are rich people. I like this kind of, because it's like the rich people aren't happy even when they're not being mean. You know, it gets it. That's what I like.

October 10, 2003. A bad time to release this movie in my opinion is. I already said it's opening number four at the box office to $12.5 million, which is just straight up bad for your George Clooney PG-13 romcom. I'm like, come on. Yeah. Now, number one at the box office, making $22 million. So, again, I don't know why they opened this against this.

Yeah. Is it a Kill Bill? It's Kill Bill Volume 1. Yeah. Which is, like, one of the greatest experiences I ever had in a movie theater. It's another reason I think I didn't see this in theaters was I was seen Kill Bill three times. Yeah. You know, like I was just.

All the Cohen's people you were talking about who didn't want to see it, they were busy. It just felt triumphant. the guy's back and this thing is like a fucking thrill ride. What kind of crazy, you know, studio is like, yeah, let's open the new Coins against the new Tarantino. Anyway, so that's number one. Number two is I would call a big sleeper hit of the season. Okay.

It was number one last week. It's going to make $81 million. Wow. It's making $15 million in its second week. We had a very good legs. So it was September 2003? Yeah, I guess so. Yeah.

Late September. Like a charming. comedy with a movie star It's kind of his movie star breakout It's kind of his movie star breakout I was thinking it was a sleeper And you think it's a great movie It is a I think at this point a canonical classic

It's a canonical classic 2003 September It's his breakout Kind of I mean he's already a big star I get or he's He's becoming a big star right now He's been a big kind of supporting actor guy for a few years and now.

The Pacifier doesn't come out until 2004. Not talking about the pacifier. He said big star, so it has to be Vint Diesel. What would you say is the main genre of this star? Comedy. Comedy star. It's a big comedy star. Is it Will Ferrell?

Nope. No, because Elf is a little later the same year. Yeah. And it's not a stiller, and it's not known Wilson. It's not a Vince Vaughn. And it's School of Rock. It is School of Rock, the wonderful Richard Linklander movie. Which, right, it's that thing of like,

it's a mainstream family comedy that's made by Richard Linklater and feels like it was made by him. It is what I think everyone hoped intolerable cruelty would be. Sure. And there's this feeling. Actual crossover appeal

beyond just, right, art movie. Jim Jacks, who our buddy Kevin Smith talked about a lot on the podcast, was the guy who originally got the intolerable cruelty script and set it up at Universal in the early 90s. And his big thing was, find these Sundance guys.

who have, you can see the gem of a commercial movie within them and protect them enough to let them make it their way. And that was, like, dazed and confused. And at the time, it was like, one of these days, Linklater is going to figure out how to make a movie that cracks the mainstream. And there was that similar feeling with the Collins. Yeah. Number three at the box office, new this week,

is the movie that I'm sure an angry phone caller or two were made about not even opening above this. Okay. Right? You know, it's like, I'm sure some agents got chewed out, Some assistants got yelled at. It's a family comedy. It's a family comedy.

It's heavy on animal. Is it a good boy? It is the film Good Boy. Yeah. What is that? Which stars dogs, I would say. It's a Jim Henson production. Essentially, I think Molly Shannon is first built in this one.

Liam Eakin is the kid actor. But I think you're right, Molly Shannon's the mom. And it's like dogs are actually aliens. Oh. Matthew Broderick is an alien. I'm an alien dog. Matthew Broderick's an alien dog. So the dogs, the dogs talk.

Yeah, Beth would love this. Beck, Britney Murphy, Carl Reiner. Yeah, these are all the dogs. Sounds like people. Cheech Marin, Cheech Maren doing the hilarious voice animal. But I think it's basically like dogs are from Mars. I mean, this is one of those movies that has, like, been banned from existence by like congressional action. I have never been no idea of existence.

Of intolerable cruelty opening for a good boy. Number five of the box office. He said Molly Shane was top bill, but top. build is a dog. Like it was a movie that was sold on. To build is like eight dogs. She was like ninth build. Yeah. And they're beating two of the biggest movie stars at the moment.

Number five of the box office is a movie star thriller. Okay. I would say it is a lesser entry in his Uber, although it is a, he's working with a director. He made a great movie with before. Is it a Fuqua? No. I was thinking it was like a

Denzel. So it is a Denzel. It's a Donzel Washington. Nope. Not Tony Scott He only worked with this guy twice Okay He's a great filmmaker I believe he's directed you Griffin Oh this is out of time

It is out of time directed by who Carl Franklin The great Carl Franklin Who of course made One False Movement in Devil in a Blue Dress Which are amazing And of course directed Which is solid

One episode of vinyl One episode of vinyl Which I assume was good Yeah what I liked about him He whispered all his direction That's cool Is that a good vibe It just felt very intimate

Like he'd go up to someone and just really hand on shoulder. Out of time. I don't want to announce things in front of everybody. I'm giving the note to just you. Right, right. It's a Denzel mode that I love, which is Denzel as a sloppy, fucked up mess, right? Like, rather than Denzel as the cool professional or whatever, like, it is a sweaty Miami, or it's a Florida Keys thriller about, like, a cop who's like, he's the chief of police, but, like, scandals are piling up.

Yes. Eva Mendez is there. Here's my story about this movie is that. Kane, a great patriot. I texted you about this movie because I was at a trampoline park that was playing, I guess, it had T&T on.

And I saw the final, I was like, what is this movie where Denzel is like sweaty and kind of a bad guy and holding a gun? Out of time. And immediately after that, they started playing Malcolm X, which was just playing in the background

at a trampoline park, which was quite a sight. I do. Does Denzel own a trampoline part? Is he own urban air? He's probably making a lot of money off of it. It's not an amazing movie, but it's all right.

And that's number five of the box office. Number six of the box office new this week is House of the Dead. The video game adaptation that Clooney did have the temerity to beat that one. Uve-Bull. That's the beginning of the Uve-Bull video game dynasty. We've also got the rundown. The early Dwayne Johnson action, pretty good movie in my memory, Peter Berg movie, right? Yeah, it's like fun.

It feels like there's an alternate history where you're like, if that movie was a bigger hit at the time, the entire Dwayne Johnson's trajectory, would have been very different. I don't think the interview is going to up yet, but I interviewed Benny Safdi for Smashing Machine, and he calls him DJ. Okay. And that was very interesting to me.

I was like, oh, is that how we refer to him? Because I don't, I still don't really know, you know, like, when I'm interviewing something like, so what did Twain do? What did Rock do? What did we call on him? He calls him DJ. Number eight of the box office under the Tuscan Sun. A masterpiece, C-plus masterpiece.

Yeah. Number nine, secondhand lions. Never seen that one. That's the Haley Joel post Oscar. Kane, Robert DeVall. Yeah. Right. From fucking Adeld's studio that was like...

Get me, Iron Shon and Duval. I mean, Kane and Osmond had Oscar Heat? Yeah. Yeah. And then number 10, it's been out for five weeks. I love the idea that that's a burying the hatchet movie. Right. Between Kane and Haley Joel and their contentious.

The beef must be squashed. Cain does what he did. Ball is there being like, it's fine. You'll win your Oscar. I got mine for Tender Mercies, was it? Yeah. Haley, you'll win this time. Second-hand alliance.

And Cain's like, oh, I won't campaign. You can campaign for this. The lions are yours. What the fuck? I've never had a good cane and that was somehow the worst cane I've ever. Meanwhile, David's Kane really just popped out there. Well, you grow up in Britain, everyone has to say the lions are yours. The lions are yours.

I can't, yeah. I lost it. Number 10 is lost in translation, which people forget came out in like in August. August. Yeah. Wow. It was in early September. Right.

Did it go to Venice and then straight into theaters or something? I think so. But it, like, played for five months. Are you high on crack? All right. We're going to complete the episode with Ben. Griffin, you would have gotten a text from Ben.

Ben, I guess, just started hitting up eBay because he didn't care for the movie. So he's just, he's just hype and shit in eBay. Well, no, I looked up if there's any merch. He looked up merch spotlight and sent an eBay link. For $125. Or our best offer, perhaps. Yeah. You can buy a shirt.

Maybe the most wrinkled shirt? I was going to say. Pretty wrinkled shirt. Worn by Cedric the entertainer. Wow. With Studio C-O-A, so it's authentic. Like on-screen prop? Or?

It's just funny because the picture of the shirt now. Yeah. He's so wrinkled. Yes. But then the picture of him wearing it, you're like, this shirt was very iron. It was new in 2003. It's also, it's the shape of the shirt, I will say, is not making a ton of sense to me. It almost looks like it's like a middrift cut.

it is does look short but maybe it's a proportion and I'm like are the sleeves tiny or are they hidden are you guys tempted to buy I mean I'm looking around this office with all the stuff here and I cannot tell how much of it is shit you have bought on eBay just like this in a recording every day we come here and David goes I wish there was more stuff he goes yeah no it's interesting that you've you've said we uh-huh all this negative space in here you're complicit in all that's true fuck he is there's no option for best offer I would make a best offer I would make a best offer I We still haven't received our, like, device that turns. It's a fucking complicated delivery process. Water or air into water. Exactly. I have to text Minnick to figure out of time. I feel like I'm supposed to, like, bring a trinket. Like, I have to have an offering here. I don't like this.

We're done because we have to do Tank Girl. And Katie has to go see. If I had legs, I'd kick you. The movie for moms who are separated from their children as I am right now. Well, it made me never want to go home? We'll see. Possibly. I might give you some little avatar choice to bring back to the boys.

Oh, we'll be ready. I don't think this is going to be worth it. Very quickly, I looked up alternate titles for the foreign markets. Love is expensive in Argentina and Brazil. That's pretty good. Japan Divorceo. Good. My favorite, Austria, is Anne, parentheses, I am, close parentheses, possible case.

I don't get it. I'm impossible. I don't know. Oh. And possible and impossible. Oh. Okay. It's got layers. Yeah.

I think David's giving me kind of a... Intolerable cruelty is one of the... It sounds like the title of a USA show. Oh, you don't think it was a good title? It's okay. It's before suits existed and royal pains or whatever else. In 2003, it sounds like necessary roughness. Right.

There you go. But it's like... It's fine. You'd believe that there's like a 10-star Hepburn Tracy movie called Intelible... Yes. Or fucking rock. Hudson movie. It's like, yes, yes, 100%. That is true. You're the best. I'm so happy to be back here. Or too long. What a thrill. I got to get back to New York more.

You do. I mean, your first episode came out last year. I think we may have recorded. That's true. We reported, as I said, before we started recording, it was right before I started the terrible, endless process of being laid off. So I was like, I have a job that I like. And then by the time it came out, everything was insane. But it all worked out. Because I have a new job that I really like. Yeah. People should follow everything you're doing on the anchor. Yeah. I'm going to promote because Prestige Junkie, I've got. I've got. I'm going to promote because Prestigeunkey. I've got the podcast that's free to everybody, but we have a paid tier now where you can get extra stuff. Chris Rosen and I are talking about award season, some real nerdy nonsense. So. Just run out great takes. You and Chris Rosen? You're interviewing great people. Yeah, it's been fun. I feel like you and David are united in the idea that Sandler is going to win the Oscar this

year. I'm at least floating it. I mean, my super hot take is at Happy Gilmore 2 and how well that did and how many people are in it was like a really good like, that's good. That's pushing him forward. I listen to this episode. They're both Netflix movies. I think it's a good take that it is, it is emblematic of a level of love. Yeah. And just like acceptance in like you are part of the firmament. Yeah, that movie is so cheerful and like heartfelt in this way that it just makes you more affectionate to Adam Sandler, even if you don't like it that much. And the people forget that for 20 years, the industry would be like, oh, we hate our most successful movie stars.

They would throw him under the bus at every opportunity they got and be like, we're ashamed that he's our most consistent. Yeah, he keeps making all this money for us. And now I feel like he's just accepted as, like, part of Mount Rushmore. Yeah, I got me. Speaking of Clooney, like, I'm so ready for a drink help. I guess by the time this air is, it will have premiered at Venice. So the world will know if they got the goods. I'm ready.

Yeah. Thank you for being here. Thanks for having me. David. Yes. Did you order our lunch? Yes. I can't wait.

Great. I'm excited to eat it. We got to watch Tankor right away because I have to go to physical therapy. Okay. Thank you all for listening. My shoulder hurts. To rate review and subscribe everything in my body hurts. It's not a competition.

I wasn't trying to one off you. I understand that. It's just one of those things where my shoulders hurt for three months and I'm like, I guess I got to deal with this now because I'm old.

Like, it's just won't stop hurting. Yeah. I know why. It's because the babies, but like, yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's a good call. Yeah, I hold that.

Yeah. Yeah, they weigh, they weigh pounds. Yeah. Yeah. When I think I'm going to start standing. Hmm? Soon? Stoon?

Oh, oh, oh, whatever, sorry. Bebob. Bob. Bob? I don't know. We have to be telling we have to do Tink Girl. Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe.

Tune in next week for The Lady Killers. What we can all agree is their worst film, even though I will mount a half-hearted partial defense. Right, I would struggle with it's not their worst film from somebody. But I was just like, you could rank in Talberg cruelty as their second worst, and I wouldn't even argue with that because you're only putting masterpieces ahead of it. That's the thing, is I would defend this movie a lot, but it'd still be like, what am I going to put below it other than Lady Killer?

It's bottom five for me. We'll see where it wins It's probably top of the bottom five for me too. Yeah. You're the greatest defender and you're like top of the bottom five. So they've made a lot of good movies. They made a lot of perfect films.

And we'll continue to talk about them. And as always, we're going to nail your asses. We're going to nail every one of your asses. Every person out there. Blank Check with Griffin and David is hosted by Griffin, Newman, and David Sims. Our executive producer is me, Ben Hossley. Our creative producer is Marie Barty Salinas,

and our associate producer is A.J. McKeon. This show is mixed and edited by A.J. McKeon and Alan Smithy. Research by J.J. Birch. Our theme song is by Lane Montgomery in the Great American novel, with additional music by Alex Mitchell. Artwork by Joe Bowen, Holly Moss, and Pat Reynolds. Our production assistant is Minick. special thanks to David Cho, Jordan Fish, and Nate Patterson for their production help.

Head over to blankcheckpod.com for links to all of the real nerdy shit. Join our Patreon, Blank Check Special Features for exclusive franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us on social at Blank CheckPot. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Checkbook on Substack. This podcast is created and produced by Blank Check Productions.