Blank Check with Griffin & David - The Post

Episode Date: December 31, 2017

In November of 2017, Griffin and David attended the first screening of Nixon era political thriller, The Post. But did it really only take 9 months to make this film after Spielberg first read the script? Was there intention to make a movie about the freedom of the press in our current political climate? Is this an Oscar candidate for Best Picture? Together they discuss our two greatest living actors Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, Mr. Show’s Bob & David reuniting, broth and go on the record with their predictions for the 89th Academy Awards.

um let's podcast let's podcast let's podcast let's do it let's podcast it's great it's great look you can't beat her but you did good yeah yeah do you have the podcast not yet not yet not yet teeth clenched uh hello everybody my name is gr Newman. I am Davey Sims. 2018, baby! Davey Sims! Loosen that tie. No, no, no. I'm tightening it back up. I'm David Sims. This is a podcast called Blank Check with Griffin and David. It's a podcast about filmographies.

Directors who have massive success early on in their career and are issued a series of blank checks to make whatever crazy passion projects they want. There you go. Oh, here, a check for you. There you go. Oh, here, a check for you. Here you are. I'll take any check I want. And another. Yeah.

Oh, look, that check cleared. Let's see what that second check did. Boing. Boing. Bounce, baby. We're hashtag

the two friends. Competitive fans, no other podcasts have that going for it. 2018 still. Wishing you a happy... other podcasts have that going for it. 2018 still. Wishing you a happy. No competitive. No one can compete.

2018. Yeah, I wish you a happy 2018. I stepped all over you there. To all our blanksikins. Oof. Oof. I don't know. That's what he does.

I know it's what he does. We don't have to do everything he does. Blankadians. Yeah. We don't have to do everything he does. Blankadians. Yeah. We made a promise. A solemn vow. On this show. Fair.

Because if we've covered director, we've become invested. And we can't just leave him behind. We can't just close the book. Nope. We can open the book. Yeah, we can't just stop the presses. Yeah, we can't just leave them behind. We can't just close the book. Nope. We can open the book. Yeah, we can't just stop the presses. Yeah, we can't just stop the presses. Book of Henry.

I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm out of it today. Yeah. Yeah. But we said if a director we have covered in the past. We've done it before. In a miniseries, has a new film, we're going to do a one-off.

We're going to revisit them. Has it, we only done this with Shyamalan's Split so far? Is that the only director we've covered? Yeah, and then Rogue One is sort of, Star Wars was a pre-director. You know, that's kind of a, that's a little different. But that's the only one that's happened so far, right?

I guess so. Come on, guys. I know, but we have, Glass will be coming out in 2018. No, Glass is 2019. 2018, we get a couple things. We get another Speely because that guy's fucking working.

Working. We get the Han Solo movie. Right. And I feel like there's one other thing maybe that's coming. I can't remember now. Aquaman. Swimming towards us.

Roller of the Seas. My man. Oh, my man himself. Nothing but respect for my man. Oh, my man himself. Nothing but respect for my man. Yeah. Yeah. It's funny how we've done Star Wars for Christmas like three years in a row on this show. Our annual tradition.

And for the fourth year of Christmas, we'll be Aquaman because there's no Star Wars that Christmas. Yeah. Let's see. I mean, what? So M. Night's cooking right now. Yeah, he's cooking. Cammy's got, you know, Avatar 2 coming, but God knows when. Right.

Other Cammy's got nothing seemingly inactive. I don't know what other Cammy's doing. He's got a bag of chips on his lap. He's got a bag of chips on his lap. He's in a pop shop. Wachowskis are sort of off the map right now. And we need them now more than ever. I really think so.

I agree. Yeah. I agree. I still want that fucking Wachowskikis are sort of off the map right now. And we need them now more than ever. I really think so. I agree. I agree. I still want that fucking Wachowski fourth world movie. Yeah, give it to me. They'll never get that. They'll never let them do it. They'll never get that. And who's the other person?

Bigelow? Yeah, Bam Bam sort of just released a film. Well, that's the thing we did. We haven't had to follow up because we just did two miniseries where people had movies that were coming out roughly in the time. Yeah, that's true. Nolan and Bigelow. It's harder, but still. Lined it up.

Yes. Come on. Still. Let's get working. Well, so is Stevie Spielberg. But this is Spielberg, the most successful filmmaker of all time. Yeah, he makes movies. Biggest blank check of all time.

What does he do? He makes movies. He picks a script. He gets to make it. Yeah. What does he do? He makes movies. He picks a script. He gets to make it. And this is an example of, he read a script in March of 2017 and said, I want to make this. And we saw this film

nine months later. November 20th. That's right. Yes. We're recording this at the end of November. We saw it early. Humblebrag. David is now, has entered the circle. I'm in the critic circle. You're in the New York Film Critic Circle. Nice early screening. Some of our friends were there. Anne Roth.

Our good friend. Plus number one Anne Roth was number there. David Ehrlich. David Ehrlich. It was like in terms of fame number one Anne Roth.

Number two. Number two David Ehrlich. Number three Jordan Hoffman who very kindly brought helped bring Ben along. He gave a plus one to producer Ben. Producer Ben

to the Ben Ducer to the Poet Laureate to the Haas Mr. Positive Mr. Positive the Peeper the Tiebreaker the Poet Laureate, to the Haas, Mr. Haasitive, Mr. Positive, the Peeper, the Tiebreaker, the Poet Laureate, our finest film critic, the Fuckmaster, not Professor Crispy, Dirtbike Benny, Soaking Wet Benny. I like that. Let's graduate to certain titles over the course of different miniseries, such as Kylo Ben, Producer Ben Kenobi, Ben I. Chamlon, Ben Say Benny Thing, A.L. Benz with the dollar sign, Warahaz, and Ben 19, The Fennel Maker.

Oh, Perdue Urbane. And Perdue Urbane. Oh, yeah, Nolan. We don't know what he's up to either, yeah. But I said he was another guy where he had one. We synced up. You're right. We synced up, baby. Baby.

Anyway, so number one, Anne Roth. Number two, Ehrlich. Number three, Jay Hoffs. Number four, I guess, Meryl Streep. She's kind of on the up and up. Rob Shearer, friend of the podcast. He was there. I don't know if you saw him. I didn't see Rob. You were in the bathroom. I ran to Rob. Number four, I guess Meryl Streep. She's kind of on the up and up. Rob Shearer, friend of the podcast. He was there.

I don't know if you saw him. I didn't see Rob. You were in the bathroom. I ran to Rob. Number five, Rob Shearer. Okay. Number six, like,

fuck, you know, Odenkirk. Odenkirk. He was there. Bob Odenkirk. Beautiful Bob Odenkirk. Yeah,

he was just doing, he was doing five minutes. God damn it. That's what he was doing. He was running up and down. Yeah, he was just, God damn it. Now, why was doing he was running up and down he was just god damn it now why would you want to do that oh come on uh number seven tom hanks i'm sick of this

bit who else was there i don't know uh there was no oh matthew reese was there was a q a with speely meryl tommy yeah and roth it really is funny where it was like beautiful bob matthew do you think and roth just lives like near Bob Matthews Do you think Anne Roth just lives like Near Lincoln Center I think she lives in the Egyptian Screen number 7 I think she lives in the Egyptian I love She lives in the popcorn machine

I fucking love the Lincoln Square AMC For those of you who don't live in New York City This is the only theater in New York That still does it's not numerated. Each theater has like a theme and the like, the gateway for that theater, the sort of foyer,

you could say, is like themed around a different culture. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, to some extent, I don't know how much of an effort

they made with all of them. Right. But they don't go like, theater seven in the back to your left, you go, you're going to be in the Egyptian. Yeah, you're in the Olympic. I'm pretty sure I'm in a shitty movie theater.

But okay. I mean, that theater, the main theater, is nice. One of the best screens in New York City. Great screen. The other screens at Lincoln Square, apart from the IMAX, which is obviously awesome, but the other screens at Lincoln Square are kind of dumpy. But I love that theater. Nothing but respect for my theater.

My theater. My man. I was just recounting to somebody, Emma Stefanski I think, that I was, I saw the first movie in that theater

ever screened which was Star Trek Generations at my friend's eighth birthday party. That was when that movie opened? That theater opened?

Wow. 1994. Wow. Or five, whenever that is. Wow. Wow. Wow. Or 5, whenever that is. Wow. Wow. Wow.

Oh, Melissa V. S. and you is here. Mater, what are you doing? It's time to race cars. Mater. All right. So, Stevie Spielberg. Yes. Made a movie called The Post.

He's sitting on his ass farting out some special effects for fucking Ready Player One. Right. Long post-production process. Post? Post. What? Post-production process on Ready Player One. Right. Long post-production process. Post? Post-production process on Ready Player One

because that movie is predominantly mocap footage. Yeah, let's say he's pre-post, post-Ready Player One at this point, right? Right. But he doesn't even know he's pre-post. He's pre-pre-post.

He's mid-post. He's mid-post Ready Player One. He's pre-post. But he's pre-post-post. Pre-pre-post. We're recording this post having seen the post but pre-post being unleashed on the culture. But it's coming out post-post but he's pre-post post and we're pre-post we're recording this post having seen the post but pre-post being unleashed on the culture but it's coming out post post this will come out post post

this will come out it's gonna be post post post yes okay good glad that's all and let's mention that you know people we're pro smits and anti-bits yes we're pro smits anti-bits but also that um you know people know that we saw this movie early because Jordan Hoffman did some pre-post-post. That's right. He did some pre-post-post. He posted some pre-post-post. Maybe a post-post. He did a post-post-post.

Post-post-pick. Oh, my God. So Ben has informed us we have to wrap this episode as quickly as possible. We're on the clock. We're done. So, Stephen, you know what, though? Short movie.

It's a short movie. Because we were taking bets before and I was trying to do Price is Right rules closest to that going over and I was like I'm gonna go 127

like I was like it's gonna be a hair over two and they were like 155 under two well well you sort of swapped your I'm sorry

I was guessing 127 minutes I know I was guessing a clean Danny Boyle. It's an hour. It's basically an hour 50. Yeah. Yes. I guessed one minute, so I was right.

Okay. Fuck you. All right. The Post. He is in. What? Belabored. Fuck you, Ben.

Ben Hosley over here. Ten minutes late. The belabored Post process. Okay. I can be late sometimes. Very unprofessional, Liam. Don't you talk to my family like that. I love how the

late period Spielberg movies make us goofy, no matter what. Always. Always. I texted Ben, chastising him for being 10 minutes late, because I am never late to this. Griffin's never been late to anything. Anything, ever. never been late to anything. Anything ever. And I meant to write,

I am shocked and appalled by your unprofessionalism, but it auto-corrected to unprofessional Liam who is America's new favorite character, unprofessional Liam. He's my cousin.

He's sort of like Slowpoke. Like Slowpoke the Pokemon? Oh, no. I was thinking, what's the name of... Why are we this punchy? What's the name of the fast mouse from Looney Tunes?

Speedy Gonzalez. Too soon. Is he dead? 2018. Come on. Oh, you're just worried? I'm worried he might die between now and then. Or he'll be revealed to be some kind of a goddamn sexual harasser. Something, yeah. Oh, man.

Well, that actually brings up a good point. No one's been talking about the skunk character. Pepe Le Pew. Major creep. Yeah, he's a bit of a creep. But this is like the thing that happens is like, you know, Gawker reported on all these people for years and years. Yeah, they have lined up.

The stories were out there. It's true. Right, but it takes the New York Times to take these people down. Like they had fucking, Toback, Spy Magazine was ripping on him in the 80s. Right, but it took New York Times to come out with the most tobaccy of takedowns. Do we really need to be talking about James Toback? It's a new year.

Let us turn the page. I'm just saying Ronan Farrow, get on Pepe Le Pew because it's all there. Ronan Farrow, go on Choppo and or blank check. Do people want him to go on Choppo? No, but I think it's just like a Twitter joke. People say it to me too and I say, fuck Choppo. Chapo and or blank check. Do people want him to go on Chapo? No, but I think it's just like a Twitter joke. Blank go on Chapo.

People say it to me too, and I say, fuck Chapo. That's right, 2018, you're the feud with Chapo Trap House. I don't really know what you are, but we're feuding. Hold on, hold on. Let's do like a character. All right, I'll do my secretary of defense impression. This is my Rex. Okay.

And this is my character's name. It's unprofessional Liam. Sir, here's a box of poop. No, no, no, no. Keep unprofessional Liam because he's going to be good for ads. Okay, good. He's going to be an ad character. Unprofessional Liam.

He's no Dan Candyman, but sometimes we got to put Dan Candyman on the band. Got to mix it up. Oh, because we're recording this months in advance. Let's just like, I'm going to call a shot right now. On the record, Dan Candyman has taken over the world. Dan Candyman fever. They mean Dan Candyman happy meals, Dan Candyman movie. Sunday morning cartoon show.

Yeah, he's got a late show, too. They bought the chairs. Several Funko Pops. They have a variant for each different type of flower. We're recording this two days after Dan Candyman. After the first one. This is post. Post Dan Candyman.

Post Candyman. Pre-Candyman hype. When Spielberg gets this script, it's pre-Candyman. Now it's post-Clyde Barker's Candyman. Correct. But it's pre-Griffin Newman's Candyman. Pre-Dan Candyman. Yes.

They should remake Candyman with Dan Candyman. With you? Not with me, with Dan Candyman. I'm not Dan Candyman. Is Dan Candyman with you with you not with me with Dan Candyman I'm not Dan Candyman is Dan Candyman black you saw him

I wasn't in the room I think you were canonically I wasn't in the room canonically you're just quiet alright god the Dan Candyman mythos is already

getting complicated it's really really this is the thing I wanted to say when when Speely did Tintin, which is also a mo-cap movie. Sure, sure, sure.

He was working on it for a very long time. And he similarly went and kind of quickly did War Horse. Yeah, he just pooped that one out. Not as fast as this, but said, that movie is kind of on rails.

I can come in. I can direct from Skype or whatever because I'm just watching the dust. I already shot the stuff. I got the performances I want. It's just finessing. Ready Player One, a lot of mocap, that similar kind of state.

He's supposed to be first position helping Warner Brothers make this movie. In his Q&A, he was a little rueful. He was like, I know I was a bad boy. He was like, I'm working on this movie where I have to finish the effects and Warner Brothers, who are very nice, let me make another movie in the meantime

he read a script by this woman Liz Hanna I think she's 32 years old he said she was 31 years old I believe she was like a writer's assistant before this she has like one credit on an episode of a TV show called Guidance

that I have never heard of and like that's it she heard of. That's it. She had been a writer's, I mean a pre-production intern, a production intern in Reign Over Me. Which, hey, let's be honest is top 50 in Sandler. 100%. But she writes a spec script

inspired by the story of Washington Post their decision to publish the Pentagon Papers. And Speely reads it and he goes not only do I want to make this not only do I think I have the time to make this now but I think this is

a movie that needs to be made right now. Yeah Spielberg who at age how old is he now? 74. He is 70. Oh come on. I need to be just give

me the age. Give me the fucking age. I'm guessing 74. I'm guessing Spielberg is 74. I'm usually pretty good with the ages. 70. You're off. He'm guessing 74. I'm guessing Speeley's 74. I'm usually pretty good with the ages.

70. You're off. He's only 70. City miles. Exactly. At age 70, I feel like Speeley's still like, you know what? If I released a fucking movie about press freedom, and this is in March. Yeah.

So he's already seeing where things are going. Yes. You know, we're like basically two months into Trump. Right. If I make a movie about like press freedom standing up to the White House and it comes out in December, it'll probably be months into Trump. Right. If I make a movie about press freedom standing up to the White House and it comes out in December, it'll probably be a big hit.

Yeah. That'll probably be right on the money. Yes, and women fighting against the glass ceiling. And women who, right, in positions of power who are ignored by the men around them. Right, and everything that jumped out to him in terms of topicality with the script has just bloomed and exploded.

He was on the money. Since then. So he gets Josh Singer, Academy Award winner, for writing Spotlight, to polish the script. And I think, I assume he just fucking texted Meryl and Tom, right? I mean, they said that

they first read the script in May. Meryl literally was like, yeah, I read it in May, I shot for six weeks, and here I am. They were shooting at the same time we were shooting the tip. Yeah. Did you guys overlap? No, but I remember the drivers

being like, I'm on this fucking job, I want to be working with Tom. Nicest guy in the fucking business. There you go. He'll tip you every fucking ride. And I was like, okay, well, come on. I'm not making Tom Hanks money. Don't shame shame me that's that's kind of a that's a little hint yeah you know yeah that's what it felt like greases the palms okay but i'm getting taxed really hard here he always has a christmas turkey under each arm yeah they say it was great they said that guy fucking loves being tom hanks well which i thought was a great description that is a good description

he does seem to love being tom he loves being tom he also loves typewriters guy loves typewriters and talking about pomegranate well let's get to that okay that's that's like half an hour of this whole episode it's gonna be that so we'll get to that um but yes he he gets two of the most acclaimed famous actors alive correct uh signs him up puts together a fucking stack supporting cast rife with GGs Grif's guys oh okay, yes, no it's a real dad movie and Meryl Streep is queen dad yes, but it's just a movie of dads

dad central, and I think Tom Hanks is peak mom, I think moms don't like a movie star more than Tom Hanks oh sure, sure, sure, I get what you're saying I remember hearing some story about someone going to see a movie with their mom, and the Larry Crown trailer came up, and the mom turned and said, he just gets better with age.

And I just love the idea of seeing the Larry Crown trailer and being like, oh, my fucking God, Tom Hanks. Start your engines. Mulaney had an old joke about Larry Crown where he's like, the director's commentary is just my mother, like throughout going, oh, that's nice. I did go to the bathroom between when the movie ended, when the Q&A started. Oh, yeah. And I came back.

I mean, rabid, manic. Sure. And said, David, I just saw Tom Hanks. Oh, right. Because they hadn't emerged for the Q&A yet. The minute the credits rolled, you ran out of there. I had to pee, but I wanted to hear the Q&A. He was being escorted through the main sort of lobby area.

Yeah, by Anne Roth, of course, who is Lord High Executioner of the AMC Lincoln Square. No jokes. By an AMC employee in a Jumanji shirt. Welcome to the jungle, motherfuckers. Welcome to the jungle, by the way, Tom Hanks. And Tom Hanks was drinking a Tom Grenadiers?

A slushie. Blue, green? It looked blue but it was fast. He was moving fast. But he looked phenomenal. I came back and I just said guys, he looks so good. He looked good. He had nice black jeans. He looked great. He had nice black jeans. He looked great.

He had a really great sweater. Everyone looked great. Collared shirt tucked in, no tie. A collar fully tucked into the sweater. Yeah. Meryl had this very nice looking outfit. I mean, you know, they're far away. Like, you know, they're sitting on stage.

Meryl's glasses game, she crushes. Incredible. Spielberg had his usual like six scarves and two flat caps. Right, right. The old film Twitter meme about wearing everything your wife bought you for Christmas once. Right. Speely, I love him. Amy Pascal wasn't there.

She was in LA. Yeah. She released it. They got this movie up on Reels really, really fast. They posted it really fast. Apparently, John Williams finished writing the score like six days ago. Yeah. Like yesterday.

And they like threw the score on and did, we went to the first screening. There were two screens. By the way, finished writing the score. You mean fell asleep on his keyboard. Yes. Yeah.

There's a weird section of the movie where for 20 minutes, it's just, and then it's, he accidentally hits the demo button and Venus starts playing. That was the demo on my keyboard um you're venus that that he yeah he probably just gets a perfunctory nomination for this right they always nominate him you know they used to but they kind of stopped have they dropped off yeah so i feel like he won't i mean it's also i don't even think it's a terrible score i should listen to it it again. It's very profound. It's a very muted score. And like for a lot of the movie, there is no music.

You know, a lot of the movie is very, very light on the music. Now, we had seen a trailer for this movie. It came out fairly recently. Yeah, I mean, this movie was under lock and key. Because we probably saw the trailer for like a week before we saw the movie. I think that's correct. Like maybe a week and a half. Like, yeah.

And the blankies took to Reddit and said, it looks kind of perfunctory this and that but like my argument was fucking Bridge of Spies like same thing

I saw that trailer I went this looks like fucking homework and I sat there I faced the bridge and the bridge fucking ruled me standing man

standing man would it help uh Johnny Williams he did get the Force Awakens Oscar but that was good that's a good score cause I slammed that score in our the Force Awakens Oscar nom but that was good

that's a good score cause I slammed that score in our first Force Awakens episode I know I was wrong as shit I think that's some fucking strong themes in that one he did get nominated for the book thief in 2013 that's four years ago so you know

but that was pretty that was something but I was going like they probably made it look like a really kind of boilerplate dad movie. And instead it's going to be like a very rousing Bridgespies dad movie. But this movie was very different than what I expected to be cinematically. Because cinematically, this movie is closer to, like in terms of his technical style. style, I would argue it's closer to Munich than anything else he's done. It's certainly in look. And he's sort of emulating the 70s political thrillers.

There's grays. It's very, like, very handheld, which Spiag movies rarely are. It's sort of long, handheld shots with a lot of urgency. It's like a very fast-moving camera. Like, there are these sequences where they're going around the newsroom and it feels like someone's getting a fucking workout. It's not quite as stately as

say Bridgespies or Lincoln. It's also not like Danny Boyle flashy where he's showing you the shot inside the camel pack. With a fucking camera on his backpack running around. It's a very urgent movie. It's a very vital movie yeah and it's a very

like vital movie it's not short at all it's short it's snappy it is pretty snappy i would say not stodgy but it no it has a sort of a careful approach in its first half hour where it's kind of like a lot of scenes of like k gram at a party yes you know bradley having lunch with her it's also it's very muted emotionally it's not a big outburst movie. It's about people doing their jobs. But then when the outbursts come. Well, there's a moment in this that we will get to that I think is one of the most intelligent underplayings

of a scene I have ever seen. For sure. It's like stunning. We were like aghast. It led to applause in the audience because it was just like, how do you have the confidence to so deftly play against all the natural inclinations

of making this into an Oscar moment? Which this movie avoids all the big, rousing Oscar catharsis, monologue, triumph. It's just a movie about people doing the work. That's why it's a process movie, much like Bridgespies and Lincoln. And Spotlight, you know, which is the thing this is going to get compared to a lot.

But Spotlight even has the big fucking Ruffalo monologue, which for me is the moment that movie swings too big. I think that monologue is fine, but I get why people don't like it. I just know so many journalists who behave that way so it's just it always rang really true for me like journalists think they're that important like and sometimes they are you know yeah anyway uh but yes people don't like that scene that's like the is that my daughter in their scene of spotlight right they knew yes sorry but it's interesting because like okay we're recording this at the end of november ben's getting ordered some sea I gotta get lunch all right okay I look over to

see how much I blew the mics out he's fucking getting a poke bowl or something are you getting a poke bowl think about it maybe ramen I don't know yeah who, who knows? Who fucking knows? Anyway, so this movie's about a ramen chef played by Tom Hanks. That would be cool. Spielberg, you know, about like profession. A ramen guy. A ramen dramedy? A ramen-y?

A ramen-y. Ooh, that's a new genre. A rom-drom? You know, because, you know, you gotta get the right kind of broth, you know? Like, it's breaking the broth. Hey, hey. Ben is forcibly shoving David. you gotta get the right kind of broth you know like it's breaking the broth hey hey ben is forcibly shoving he shoved me to tell me that you've got to get the right kind of broth

which wasn't something i was really going to dispute we recorded episode yes late last night and we were totally fine we were really locked in we had guests who we didn't know very well so i think we were trying to be like professional we hit it off with them and i think it was a really good episode they slotted right in that's coming you'll hear that in a few weeks but um and then today we're just like and this film could legitimately threaten like certainly feels like a film that could win uh best picture like this you know this feels like one of the big movies of 2017. You were hotter on this movie than I was. You came out with a capital G great. Yeah, definitely.

I said, it's very good. And you went, come on. And I said, I think it's very good. I was like, Griffin. Yeah, you did. You said Griffin. And a lot of our friends, Ehrlich, Hoffman, were like, that's capital G great.

So I was a little more muted on it. I think, Ben, you were closer to me. We were both like, really good, solid flick. I thought it was awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. But, I mean, here's the thing.

Like, we're recording this now at the end of November. The movie doesn't come out in a limited release until... Wait, are we recording this at the end of November? We're recording this at the end of November. He's a fucking troll over here. Are you going to push me about broth again? Gotta get a good broth. Go on, Chapo.

Bone broth, baby. Ben, go on. Ramen. Whatever. I don't care. Nope. Come on. Ramo Trap House.

By the way, we should mention that- I'm sure we'd never reference Chapo Trap House on this fucking podcast. Go ahead. Let's flip our cards over. That's the podcast we've been feuding with I know we made these allusions to the podcast yeah I guess we should

we definitely began with a C anyway Chapo Trap House has been stealing our bits yeah that's why they did that whole Catherine Bigelow

miniseries right after the Nolan Macy's right after this Spielberg miniseries alright go on what were you going to say about

do you feel any different this movie's not coming out for a month I want to state something that I haven't said yet in this podcast. We're recording this at the end of November. Ben seems to be closing in on a chicken bowl. Congratulations. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Um, this movie doesn't even come out limited release until a month from now. Until the 22nd, I believe. Right. So it's going to go wide after we come out. I think it's going wide on like January 12th.

Right. Like the second week of January and then the Oscar nominations will come out around then. It's the end of January I would imagine.

Maybe first week of Feb because the Oscars are first week of March. I think usually in the January 20s the early 20s. You know we got the Olympics. Oscars are usually

now end of February. Oh because the Olympics are pushed into first week of March. So maybe the nominations will be early Feb this year. But the point is we're recording this with no context as to how this movie is going to be March now. First weekend of March. So maybe the nominations will be early Feb this year. But the point is, we're recording this

with no context as to how this movie is going to play, but also, this is a movie whose power could be greatly affected by the events of the world.

Sure. You know? You're saying like really, even within that window. Yeah, within that window. Yeah. There could be seismic shifts in the relationship

between the press and our administration. Let's hope. And our administration. Let's hope. I'm kidding. You know? But it's like, if things get better, this movie could gain power. If things get worse, this movie could gain power. You know?

We're at a point where, like, either direction the pendulum swings in terms of the relationship between journalism, you know, and our government is going to only strengthen this film. And I think we are at a point, as we were saying, I mean, we're making the joke facetiously, but like people say like, well, newspapers don't really have any power anymore, blogs, this or that. But you look at it and it's like all these guys are only actually getting outed when the New York Times writes about them. It doesn't matter if these stories have existed in the ether for a long time. Like the last couple of months have really proven how much power certain outlets still

have in terms of lending an air of legitimacy to a story. Which is what this movie is about. What it means if this paper puts their name and their weight behind publishing these papers. With literally a threat of imprisonment dangling over their heads

from the White House. Right. Now, it also is in a time period where the internet doesn't exist. Sure. And if papers don't publish, there's no way these things are going to get out. They're not going to leak.

They're not going to WikiLeak. That's true. They don't have Twitter. Right. Yet. Yet. But they're the only guard in between the powers that be and the people

so this movie starts in that it does, fucking CCR starts playing and I was like I got a little worried from the get go at least it wasn't Fortunate Son I forget what song it is but still what's that song called? it's called matthew reese paints his face yes but you hear like

helicopters sure it's just and you're just like oh fuck is he whiffing on this a little bit a little bit immediately for a second you're like fuck but then you remember it's steven spielberg every movie he makes has too much paprika right at the beginning and right at the end. Yes, correct. It's like he spills all the paprika and then he wipes it away really fast. Steve's weird because he only puts paprika on the bread of the sandwich. Yeah, on the outsides. Yes.

It's a little dip. So if you looked at the top of the sandwich, you'd be like, this is going to be a nightmare. And then you get in and the meat is perfectly seasoned. Delicious vegetables. Farm fresh. Great pastrami and vegetables. Yes. The classic sandwich. Yes. and then you get in and the meat is perfectly seasoned delicious vegetables farm fresh great pastrami and vegetables yes

the classic sandwich yes a nice a nice slice of gruyere uh so yeah you got Nam you got Ellsberg

Danny Ellsberg uh our bud Daniel Ellsberg played by a very haunted looking Matthew Reeves he's fucking excels at haunted

Matthew Reeves is king of haunted yes which is funny because he's obviously like in real life this happy-go-lucky welsh guy right who has a whole show on british tv about drinking wine with matthew good where they like is he really yes oh you don't know about this oh oh my friend you are in for a treat is it called a good wine uh it's called i believe uh fuck uh it's just called the wine show it should be called good wine yeah that would be good yeah it should be the the show should be they have to pair

wine with reese's products here's a picture of them drinking some wine i mean that looks lovely yes it's fucking lovely in the glass sniffing like a pro you gotta sniff you gotta sniff you gotta get that nose going yes uh he's got he's got a resting haunted face uh yes he does and when he did the q a afterwards he speaks his welsh accent there's something like so like the welsh accent it's not to stereotype it's very sing-songy very melodic i was gonna say but like he has this like his american accent which is impeccable it is you never know also is like very grave

like the way he speaks an American accent it's something you know his hair is like his hairline is slightly receded he's got a fascinating hairline

he's got this big forehead he's got these sort of sunken eyes and yeah so he always just kind of looks like even in fucking like

yeah what's like a kids movie he was in that I saw like I don't know he just always looks he was in a kids movie I could have sworn he was in some kids mr popper's penguin yes that's what it was fucker and mr popper's penguin oh fuck what was it oh no no you know

what it was a british tv miniseries that aired on a and e in america Yeah. Based on the Arthur Conan Doyle novel, The Lost World. Oh, okay. Starring, we love him, we respect him, he's our president, Mr. Bob Hoskins.

Ugh. Yeah, there you go. R.I.P. Yep. Do you know that Noah Baumbach was supposed to write and direct Mr. Popper's Penguins? No.

He was formally announced. He was like, I finally want to make a movie my kids can see. And then they were like, what the fuck is this script? I can't imagine what he submitted. Stiller was supposed to do it. Stiller signed on. The children's book, I

assume, is pretty light on detail, so he could kind of go wherever he wanted with it, right? Apparently his movie is mostly about sports management. That sounds terrible. Yeah, but Stiller was supposed to do it and Stiller was like I make fun of Baumbach for every scene. He just announced his new movie. It's like Scar Jo and Ben Stiller maybe

or Adam Driver's in it. And the plot synopsis is like a family struggles with a divorce. And it's like, great, fine. That's what you should do. Movies about divorce. That is what you do. Right. It doesn't track as well when a man is divorcing a penguin. Let alone many penguins. And fighting over like the, you know, house in Poughkeepsie or whatever.

Anyway, so we start out in Haunted Matthew Rees. 33 minutes in and we are one minute into the movie. Yeah. We have like an hour until we're literally getting pushed out of the studio. We have process from the get-go because we have this sort of scene of Ellsberg helping conduct this study for the Rand Corporation in Vietnam. He reports to Bob

McNamara, who was the secretary of the fucking defense at the time. Played by a delicious Bruce Greenwood. A plus Bruce Greenwood, who is soon going to play every single member of the Kennedy cabinet because he already fucking played Kennedy. He's played both JFK and Bobby. I think he's played Bobby and Kennedy.

I think he played JFK in something. He played JFK in 13 Days. Right. I think he played Bobby in something. He's got that patrician look. Yes. Let me see. Talk about a guy who, by the way, is

aging well. Like, Bruce Greenwood at 61 has never looked better. Like, you can imagine, like, 25-year-old Bruce Greenwood is like, oh, these heartthrobs, better looking than me. I'm never going to get the leading man parts. And, like, Bruce Greenwood has become, like, a surprise sex symbol. Sure. He's aged

better than most actors of his generation. I guess, no, he's only ever played John F. Jack Kennedy, but you know, he should play Bobby Kennedy. He's getting old, so I guess it's hard. And he was the president in Kingsman, the movie we talk about every episode, Kingsman and the Golden Circle. Exactly. I'd love to see him play

C. Douglas Dillon, the secretary of the treasury. Sure, Halderman. Yeah, well, that's Nixon, but yes. I'll go right, right. Anyway, we see him. He summons Ellsberg sure and he's like what's this come on give it to me straight yeah how's it going in vietnam and he's like no it's i think it's a great line where he sort of stands there and you know you can tell like a lot rests on what he says and he's like what surprises me is how much it stayed the same yes that's the thing right he's on the plane and they're trying to settle an argument right it was like it's worse is it better and he's like, what surprises me is how much it stayed the same. Yes, that's the thing. Right. He's on the plane and they're trying to settle an argument.

Right. It was like, is worse, is it better? And he's like, really? It's the same. And McNamara is like, see, what am I fucking telling you? Same is worse. You know, we're pouring troops in. It's no different.

Right. I forgot about that scene. That's a really good scene. I think it's a, yeah. And then, yeah, exactly. I think it's a great scene because it's also laying out this little sort of like D plot, which is like the guilt, the burden of guilt that McNamara held for the rest of his life. But this movie is of like D plot which is like the guilt the burden of guilt that McNamara held for the rest of his life

but this movie is moving like a bullet train like we're maybe like two and a half minutes into it and by minute four they're like photocopying the papers yeah he then so right then crisis of confidence conscience Ellsberg photocopies the Pentagon report takes it out

sneaks it out they cut off the top secret they photocopyies the Pentagon report, takes it out. Sneaks it out. They cut off the top secret. They photocopy it. But this is like he's shooting this stuff the same way he's shooting the Vietnam stuff at the beginning. Sure. This movie is just very forceful. Yeah. You know?

Yeah. Really, really elegant, unshowy, but every moment's fucking cinematic. There are some of the most cinematic like the scene that's closest to an action sequence in this movie is Bob Odenkirk struggling to find the loose change to make a phone call on a payphone the change is on the payphone

he like knocks it all off oh it's so good and he shoots it like it's the fucking parallax he's like practically on like a swivel oh it's so good okay so we're like, yes. All right, fine. So cut to Kay Graham, Meryl Streep, playing Catherine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post.

Taking the company public. Heiress to the family. Sure, yeah. The daughter of the Graham scion, I forget his name, who had left the paper to her husband, even though she was, you know, she was Bill Graham's daughter. Well, her rompher rompher woman cannot run the paper. So he leaves it to her husband.

Her husband was this famous sort of Washington player who killed himself and obviously suffered from depression. So this is, but that's all in the past. But they're hobnobbers. They're friends with the Kennedys. They're friends with McNamara. Friends with McNamara. Friends with McNamara. So she has an interesting relationship because she is very close with all the people they're ostensibly supposed to be writing about. Yes.

And so, but they're going public to get some solvency for their little paper. Right. The movie even doesn't hit it hard enough how little the post was. It was just like a local paper. I mean, they hit it pretty hard, I guess. But Meryl Streep pointed out in the Q&A that they don't mention that there just like a local paper. I mean they hit it pretty hard I guess. But Meryl Streep pointed out in the Q&A that they don't mention

that there were like other Washington papers. Right. There were like six other papers. No one thinks of that anymore that they were like competing.

But she's got her buddy Fritz who's played by the great Tracy Letts. He's so good. And she's like got her like bullet points of the speech she wants

to give. Oh because that's what we see first is her practicing the speech. Yeah. In her office. Yes.'s what we see first is her practicing the speech in her office. Yes. And saying, like, is this forceful enough, this and that, before they go into the meeting where she's making the case for going public

and what they're asking price, their initial offering is going to be, and all that sort of stuff. And they get in there, and immediately she's just being dismissed by everyone, just by their fucking eyes, you know, before anyone says anything. I think he, look, he hits the hammer on the head, the hammer,

the nail on the head. He also hits the hammer. Sure. Over and over, but I love all those shots of her, sort of swamped by men. Yes. Just a sea of old white guys.

Yeah, old gray man. And she, because she was, again, this movie doesn't note this, but she was the first ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Which is crazy.

Which is crazy. Yeah. Because this is, we're now in 1971. Mm-hmm. And yeah, and she, right. But I love that early scene. Yes. And like Meryl said at the Q&A how she read her autobiography.

And I think her autobiography is a lot about how timid she was. Mm-hmm. Like she reflects on her own timidity. Right. Like until later, until, until later, until she'd been at the post for a few years. Tracy Letts steps up and starts saying her bullet points because he can tell that she's too sort of nervous

at the moment. Helps her out. They share a kind of kind, warm look. And it's clear that this guy is sort of the one guy that has her back in this upper echelon in these boardrooms. But still he has to do, you know, this sort of assertion for her. Yes.

And like, you know, that's, but I love the way Merrill plays it where it's like, right, there's not resentment per se, but it is sort of like a sad fact, I guess, of how she has to exist in the public space. Right, but she's a blue blood and she's all about legitimacy and her whole stance is improve quality, improve profits. Yeah, her whole stance is right. It's good to pour money into good reporting because that'll boost the papers.

Which is a hard sale. Like she's just saying we have to get as intelligent and respectable as possible and that will pay us back later. They sign off on going public. Grudgingly. That means the banks have this like window where something crazy happens they can pull out of the deal. Yes. That's all laid out there. Cut to Ben Bradley.

Right? Yes. Because the time span of this movie is about a week. Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty tight. The bulk of the movie takes place over like 12 hours. It's great. Yeah.

Because again, I didn't know anything going in. Obviously, we had seen the trailer, but even the trailer's really vague. Yes. And I was like, is this going to be like a Watergate epic type thing where it like sort of starts with the Pentagon Papers and it goes to the Watergate because it's about the Washington Post. Right, right. You know, it could cover years.

Yes. But Spielberg, he loves that narrow window. Yes. He loves, you know, same with Lincoln. Like, let's, no, no, no, no. Let's just look at a little bit. And let's say Nixon's a big presence in this movie but the way he depicts Nixon is uh we get these sort of weird creepy zoom lens shots of him in the very voyeuristic right yeah um that Nixon from behind

on on the phone on the phone in the oval office a guy who's doing a lot of backting. A lot of gesticulating. Yeah, he's doing a lot of pointing to the table. Yes. A lot of finger on the table. But they use... It's a lot like when Ben wants to tell me about broth.

Yeah. Another full force shove from Ben Housley. But he's using, yes, he's using the Nixon tapes. The real Nixon recordings. Right, he said he went through all of the Nixon recordings

available and found the ones that he thought were most relevant to the points of the film. I bet you he, like, that's why he agreed to do this whole movie. That's such a dad project

where like Spielberg's like, listen to the Nixon tapes. That's a fun march. Because, you know, he comes up, you know, Spielberg emerges

in the Nixon, post-Nixon era, right around then. Yeah. I'm sure it was very formative to him as a stoned teenager or whatever the fuck he was in 1971. Yes.

But. He was like 25, I think. Yeah, he was like four years away from making Jaws. He made Jaws when he was like 26. It was ridiculous. But he was already like directing like fucking night gallery episodes and stuff. Yeah, he was already like directing like the final performance of fucking like. It was.

Who is it? What's it? Mommy dearest uh shit joan crawford is that who it is yeah he directed a night gallery episode gallery right right that was her last screen appearance ever and you see the picture where he's like grasping her hands and like bowing to her and he's like 18 tom hanks also noted slightly creepily that he was there on the last day of Kate Graham's life. Where he was like, yeah, I met her in Idaho. And then she died. Yeah, she got in a car and she died six hours later. And I was like, okay, Tom, you're trying to absolve yourself. I met her and then later I wasn't there.

And I was with other people. Did you serve her dinner as well? Did anyone check that? Anyway. Anyway. Ben Bradley. Played by Tommy Boy. What'd you do? It's a line from Tommy Boy.

David, at the moment, we see Tom Hanks in sort of like a boys club kind of room. That's his introduction. Smoking a cigar. His introduction is their lunch you know his lunch with Kate Graham and as Meryl pointed out in the Q&A we're on a first name

basis with Meryl because we saw her do a Q&A she's Meryl baby as Meryl pointed out in the Q&A she thought that was a really telling scene that she has to treat him like a superior even though she is his superior she's the boss she has to meet him at his place and his grounds

because they're talking about oh the Nixon you know Richard Nixon's daughter got married at the White House a superior even though she is his superior. She's the boss. She has to meet him at his place and his grounds. Because they're talking about, oh, Richard Nixon's daughter got married at the White House. How are we going to cover this? They banned this reporter you have who is kind of mean about the Nixons, so that's why it's happening. She's sort of gently trying to be like, it's the style section. Couldn't we get

someone else? And eventually he's like, don't put your finger in my eye kate you know he like he sort of shuts her down with this like kind of snappy line and rather than push back she kind of is like okay no i know you know it like sort of like tries to sidetrack or you know uh at the moment such a good scene yeah the shot where we see tom hanks sitting at this this table smoking the cigar waiting waiting for K to arrive, David tapped me on the shoulder and went, that's Tom Hanks. Yeah, great bit by me.

That's chappy. But, God, I mean, I've said it before, I'll say it again, this fits into the Tom Hanks, my favorite era of Tom Hanks, which is just men who are good at their job. Yes, for sure. I mean, Ben Bradley is a little more of like a...

It's a different variation. More of a garrulous guy than, say, your Mr. Bridge of Spies, but still, or Sully. Right, because Ben Bradley has more of an ego, and he has the reputation he wants to maintain. If Ben Bradley landed a plane on the Hudson, he would be like, check that fucking shit out that I just did.

He'd be into it. He wouldn't be like Sully, where he's like, everyone off the plane. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But he is a guy who becomes clear is just about the work even though there's a lot of showboating in his whole behavioral thing.

And he has this huge shit on his shoulder because the Post is this inferior product in everyone's eyes to real paper like the New York Times. And soon enough the Times, because there were some complaints to people like the Post, I mean the Times paper like the New York Times. And soon enough, the Times, because there were some complaints to people like the Post. I mean, the Times actually broke the Pentagon Papers. Is this going to overlook that?

No, the Times are like, that's like where he wants it, right? It's like the golden arches. That's where he wants to get some McDonald's. Right. The Times. And they're McDougals. Exactly. Yeah.

Exactly. That's the name of the thing from Coming to America, right? Did I fuck that up? McDowell's. That's what it is. God damn it. It's McDowell's. I was close.

Whatever. Yeah. We'll fix it in post. We'll fix it in post. Ben, cut this whole episode out. The beginning of the movie, New York Times gets a lot of play. Right. And I love, I mean, this is when I was getting, cause I was like,

there's a kid they send on a train, which he came on screen. I went like, Jesus Christ, how did I not get the fucking audition? Oh shit. Seriously. But no,

there's two kids. Cause there's the first kid in the times who's passing the real package. Right. Yes. And we follow him like through the building. And then there's the second kid the intern yes who bradley sends up to sneak snoop on the time yes and i love it when he arrives and he like looks up at the office and all the news that's either of those roles you didn't get either

of those roles they're both played by mel gibson no they're both played by griffin newman type yeah they are let's call it as i we see it your quote's too high for that role now. I also was filming too much at that time. I had negative free time. That's true. But, yes, he has them sort of spying on the New York Times trying to figure out what they could do. And there's a moment I love where the kid gets back to the office and he goes, I saw the front page because he peeped it in the elevator.

He peeps the front page. And he draws a, I saw the front page because he peeped it in the elevator. He peeps the front page and he draws a picture of what the front page looks like. Right, but there's a blank space where it's just like Neil, where Neil's story is going to go. Yes.

And Bradley's like, fuck. Like, I don't know if he says fuck. Yeah, but he knows. He's like, they got something amazing.

Yeah, and we get a little taste of Michael Stahlberg. Stahlberg. God damn it. Is Abe Rosenthal, who was the executive editor at the time. Yeah. And, god damn it. Is Abe Rosenthal, who was the executive editor at the time.

Yeah. And he's friends with Kate Graham too. You know, they're all buds. Of the times at the time. Exactly. Post post. Yes.

But in a pre-the post time. Well, pre-the movie, the post. Right. They're mid-post, pre-post the film. But it's mid-post the paper. Right.

All right, let's wrap this up. Yeah, that's it. All right. Good movie. Four and a half stars. Yeah, so we see the competition that's-post the paper. Right. Alright, let's wrap this up. Yeah, that's it. Alright, good movie. Four and a half stars. Yeah, so we see the competition that's spying on him. Like, a couple scenes later, he's hobnobbing with Kay Graham at a party, you know? Yeah, totally. They're friends, but, you know, they all think of Kay as, like, this nice

hostess lady. Right. Oh, it's a real shame what happened to her husband. Now she's stuck with this company. She never asked for it. She never... She doesn't know how to do this. And Bradley Whitford is playing Arthur Parsons who's like sort of her financial advisor type,

like a guy on the board. Yeah. Who's sort of like, Kay, I don't think we should be like doing anything. Yeah. Like. Yeah, in a weird turn of events,

Steven Spielberg casts Bradley Whitford to be irritable. Kay, what, what are you doing here? I adore Bradley Whitford, but it's true. That man is like the king of irritable. You once told me that you think I'm going to age into Bradley

Whitford, which is like kind of my dream career. I think you have the hair. I think you have the face. Yes. Like the sort of body type. I think you're just, you're Bradley Whitford waiting to happen. Bottle irritability. How old was Bradley Whitford when the West Wing happened? Well, what I'm looking for you're Bradley Whitford waiting to happen. Bodily irritability. Because, like, how old was Bradley Whitford when the West Wing happened? Like. Well, what I'm looking for is my Bradley Whitford and Billy Madison.

He was 30. Okay. He was 30 in the West Wing? Yeah, he looks 38. Jesus Christ. I have two years to get to the West Wing? Sorry. Jesus fucking Christ.

I just love how he's the hottie in the West Wing, even though Sam Seaborn is, Robbo, I guess, is the real hottie. He's 30 in the West Wing? Born in 1959 Seaborn is, Robbo, I guess, is the real hottie. He's 30 in the West Wing? Born in 1959. Oh, no. Thank you. I did the math wrong. He was 40.

Yeah, thank you. Okay, there we go. So he's like 30-something Billy Madison. Yes, he's like 33 or 34. I got five years to get to Billy Madison. Okay, cool. This movie has a stacked supporting cast

and I went into it being like, there's got to be some supporting nominee in this film. I don't think so. I don't think so either. Odenkirk is the biggest

and even he, I think, is a little too small. Because it's the... It's the Meryl show. This is the Meryl show. It's also, in a way I respect,

even Hanks is like, it's a very unshowy character. No, he's deferring to her. Right. He's got a voice that he's doing and he swears a little buthowy character no he's deferring to her right he's got a voice that he's doing and he swears a little but like no

everyone's just doing really solid work in this movie but it's not a movie that serves up big Oscar moments hers is the arc yes

and everyone else is sort of right these like little guys right and as we've said the artistry of Meryl Streep's performance in this is that she plays against

all the Oscar performance instincts that anyone else would have she knows what she's doing She knows what she's doing. She knows what she's doing. It would be insane for her to win a fourth Oscar, but she should have won her third Oscar for this. Not the fucking Iron Lady.

Interesting. I hate the Iron Lady. I do too. I think she won the Iron Lady Oscar for how good... Deborah Esprana? Well, yeah. But also, for Margaret Thatcher, I think is whatever.

I think all the older senile dementia stuff is very well done. She's fine in the movie. From an acting standpoint. I hate the movie. That movie sucks. There's no way she should have won. She beat Viola Davis. It was close to one of the worst decisions they ever made.

Oh, I think she should have won for adaptation. I think that's like the unheralded Meryl performance. Yeah. But whatever. Whatever. Who won for that? Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Yeah. I thought Meryl was going to win that year. I remember I had my chips on Meryl because she won the Globe. She did. Catherine Zeta-Jones won. Catherine Zeta-Jones won. Whatever.

Anyway, movie keeps on trucking. Yeah, truck's away right oh oh early on early on because they had announced

the cast and both David Cross and Bob Odenkirk were in it and I was like if fucking Speely has Bob and David

and he doesn't put him in the same scene I'm gonna like flip my lid and then early in the movie like the first time we go to the office of the post

you hear Cross's voice. It's a distinctive voice. Right. And so hurried, sort of like, Yeah, he's yelling at Charlene. Handheld shot going through the office. Right.

And it was ironic. Yeah. They didn't get it. He was doing a bit. Sorry. Jesus fucking Christ. Bob Odenkirk. Sorry.

David Cross with a really good comb-over wig. Great. He looks amazing. I think he's wearing a fake nose. You're telling me that's his real nose, in which case, what happened? I think that's the aging process, baby. That monologue...

Wahlberg gives him the happening. Remember where he's talking to the kid who's so good-looking, and he goes, but the thing is, when you get older, every year your nose and your ears get better. I think about that monologue a lot he's like so if you have perfect features at 17 you're gonna be worse off at 24 than someone who hasn't grown to their face

right Odenkirk's got a fucking cross has a big nose but Odenkirk walks into an office why am I fucking doing this cross walks into an office right next to Odenkirk and we get a two shot of the two of them and Ben and I high fived and I was really happy right Odenkirk, and we get a two-shot of the two of them. And Ben and I high-fived, and I was really happy. Right.

Odenkirk crosses cross to get into a post office. Pre-post. Pre-post. Yeah. There's a cross-cross. There's a cross-cross. But not a double cross. A single cross.

No. But what we do learn is that the Times has the fucking Pentagon Papers. Okay, let's move along. So they have the Pentagon Papers, and Bradley's mad about it. Yes. So he wants. There you go. He's sniff you go he's sniffing he's sniffing he's got nothing he goes to k though yes lets her know his intent he lets her know his intent but he's also like you're friends with bob mcnamara he commissioned this study number one like they're you know i feel like both he and k

throughout this movie are kind of wrestling with like you know we, we're the press, like we're the fourth estate. Like we're supposed to be the people who sort of examine the shit that's happening. Like this Vietnam war has been going on for 10 plus years. Yeah. And with no sign of progress. Sure. And like,

what, what, what have we been doing? Like not calling these people who were close to out on this. Yeah. What have we been doing being so cozy with them? And he's saying to her, like, Bob McNamara is fucking embarrassed right now,

and you got to call him out. And she's like, well, I would never. Bob's a friend. He's a friend. Yeah. But they're both wrestling with the same thing, and maybe in different ways. But he's also saying, like,

hey, does Bob want to have Pentagon Papers he can give me? Yes. Where's the movie go next after this? Well, it basically like, it picks up the, I mean, Odenkirk's character who is,

Oh, right. Paul Bedakian or Bedakian, I forget how you say his name. Very famous journalist. Right. He starts, he knows a guy

who he thinks might have leaked it. He has an idea like Ellsberg, this guy at the Rand Corporation who he worked with who was always a bit of long hair.

Yeah. You know, a bit of a hippie. Yes. So he starts sniffing at that. And I guess meanwhile, yeah, you just sort of have Bradley and Kay Graham going at it, right? Right. But then we also have, we have a hippie girl played by Sasha Spielberg.

I mean, what a name. What a performance. I don't know. Yeah. She drops a box off on Michael Cyril Michael Cyril one of my favorite fucking

desk and I was like oh he's gonna be in this story he's gonna be in this movie and instead it's like his whole job

is he delivers the box to Bradley right first he comes in the front door and Bradley's like no no

he goes around to the managing editor because he kind of meekly goes like sure I have something you might want to see and Bradley's like get the fuck out of here

yeah right and it's one get the fuck out of here. Yeah. And it's one continuous camera move. It's very fun. Following him where he goes to the other office and tells him and he has to go in and then Bradley listens. It's a good moment. It is. But yeah so here

they're getting the Pentagon Papers too but not enough and then right now. And they're like where do you get these? And he's like some girl. And he's like what do you mean? Left but not enough. And then right now, I guess, where do you get these things? Like some girl? Yes. Like what do you mean? It's left on my desk. And, but then the important thing is like, uh,

the, the Nixon, you know, the justice department sues the times and enjoins them from releasing this shit. No more Pentagon paper stories. Yes. Or else you'll be in contempt of court. Right.

So that's looming now too right so they start getting their legal team in right well no no that comes in later at this at this point is when odenkirk gets the papers yes he meets with ellsberg in the hotel room there's that great spielberg face shot of him looking at the papers and then you cut to the beds are strewn with these like piles there's also i was saying he shoots a lot of this movie like a 70s political thriller, but there are sequences, I think, that mostly come into moments of great sort of moral conflict

for people. There's another sequence where Meryl's on the phone trying to make a big decision. Sure. This one with Odenkirk in the hotel room trying to decide what to do,

where suddenly the film gets very German expressionist. It starts looking like Night of the Hunter. Yeah, yeah. He has this people, but it starts looking like night of the hunter. Yeah. He has this people, but he starts doing crazy shadows on the walls and these crazy angles. And you're right.

Cause like in that scene, that's when Ellsberg is saying to the Odenker character, like, well, you, cause it was like, we could go to jail. And he's like,

well, isn't that the point? Like you go to jail to stop the Vietnam war. Right. And he's like, yeah, in theory, like principle.

Sure. But these scenes that are, you know, like, I mean, I, people always say, the real test of a great filmmaker is how you shoot two people in a room talking. Like, anyone can shoot the fancy stuff and the exciting stuff and make it exciting. But if you know how to make that stuff cinematic with not an abundance of style or flash for the sake of style or flash, you know? Right, right. an abundance of style or flash for the sake of style or flash, you know? Right. But like he finds these moments,

they're just like people in a room having pretty low energy conversations. Right. But finds a way to shoot it. So you get the sense of the looming threat of like, this is a decision that's going to define the rest of my life. Yeah. What I say in the next two minutes could change the state of this country, could change whether or not I spend the rest of my life as a free man in jail.

So yes, that hotel room scene is really good. Odenkirk's so fucking good in this. It's just so exciting to see Odenkirk be fourth billed in a fucking Spielberg movie. I know, and he's terrific. There's the scene of him riding on the plane with the boxes all seatbelted to the plane.

Struggling to seatbelt it. I've long contended he's my... i think he's the greatest actor in the history of sketch comedy i think he always played sketch comedy like it was a fucking eugene o'neill play and for so long cross was working a lot and odin kirk was trying to direct and he wasn't really working and he didn't get as much respect yeah and he made he directed those like weird movies like the brother solomon yeah we're like what the fuck are you doing and I'm like so fucking here for this revival of Bob Odenkirk as like a legitimate actor getting this level of respect

nominations and everything he's the fucking best it's the same fucking path I just hope he doesn't do a bunch of boring ass bad movies he gives shit performances in Trumbo he's back the Trumbo fan is logged on I'm trying to type in my bathtub great line from Trumbo. He's back. The Trumbo fan is logged on. I'm trying to type in my bathtub.

Great line from Trumbo. Yes. Did you see Last Flag Flying? I have not yet. So in that movie, Steve Carell plays a sentient wet blanket. And Lawrence Fishburne, who's good, both of them I think are pretty good, plays a guy who's like, well, I'm'm a pastor now and I'm a good family man and you know someone goes like and he's like hey fuck you you know like he's all bottled up right Bryan Cranston is playing the Jack Nicholson

character right it's one of I think I mean I think it's an incredibly embarrassing performance even from the trailer it looked embarrassing it's it's you're just like what movie do you think you're in one because this is a muted AF. Yes. This is a low-key movie. Sure. And I guess he's thinking like, well,

I'm the energy, but like, it's all wrong. It's terrible. Link Letter tried to make that movie right after School of Rock when he had some heat.

Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. With Nicholson. With Nicholson and Quaid and Otis. Right, about pre-Star Wackers, off the grid, Quaid.

And Otis Young had died at that point, but he was going to have Morgan Freeman play the part. Yeah. And I just fucking wish he had made that movie. Maybe it wouldn't have been better than this film. Maybe this book just has less juice to it than Last Detail does. I think it does.

There would have been power from having the three guys. But if it was a real sequel to The Last Detail, it would make more sense. Because instead it's not. So they're alluding to events that are not quite like the last detail from their past. Right. And you're kind of trying to figure out what you're like,

right. It's not the last detail, but they're like, it was crazy what we got up to. And I'm like, what did you get? They don't tell you like Corral and Cranston are like pretty much the same age.

Yeah, sure. Unless it's held the generational shift between like, Quaid's like a kid in that. And that's kind of how they're playing it in this movie too is that Carell

is the younger person. Right. It's fucking... But like Cranston's too old. It's too young to be playing that character. No, I know. Carell is just a good actor

but he just, he gets so stuck in his ruts like when he's doing stuff. Like in Same with Battle of the Sexes where it's like he has one mode for that character. I think he's kind of solid in that movie same with battle of the sexes where it's like, he has one mode for that character.

I think he's kind of solid in that movie. I just think that movie should be less focused on him. I think that performance would work best if it were sidelined a little more. Okay. All right. I think that movie should be a Billie Jean biopic with occasional appearances from Bobby Riggs. And instead it's like 60,

40. That's cool. Anyway. Anyway. Sorry, I realize we've been on this. And we're getting kicked out of the studio in half an hour. 32 minutes. You got 45. Oh, okay. But what happens? Honestly, we're almost done.

Kind of, yeah. He gets the papers of yeah he gets the papers he's got the papers that's when you have the scene you were remembering where she's you know he goes to k there's this sort of recurring joke that he keeps showing up at her like a lovely washington mansion she's she's having a party giving a speech she's always having parties and giving speeches and he's like k uh they disrupt her speech to be like you got to pick up this phone call that's later that's later first is him being like yes where she's like do you have the papers and he's like, okay. They disrupt her speech to be like, you got to pick up this phone call. That's later. Oh, that's later. First is him being like, where she's like, do you have the papers? And he's like, not yet.

Right, right, right. But. That's when, oh God. Can I just like, I've said this before with Spielberg. Is this going to be about fucking Tom Hanks being good at his job? No, no, no. Because you made your point. No, it's not.

It's not. It's not at all. Okay. There is a moment. It might be this scene because there are a couple scenes that are similar of tom hanks barging in they later make a joke they call it out in the movie and say like what do you have a key like how do you keep on coming in sure i think he says you should give me a key yes something like that yeah uh but allison brie plays uh

meryl streep's daughter k graham's daughter. Yeah. And I think one of these scenes, he comes in when she's just sort of having family time with her daughter and her grandchildren. And they have a talk in front of the sort of big picture window doors to her backyard patio area. Uh-huh.

And it's a two-shot. The whole conversation's in a two-shot with Alison Brie in the background still in focus. Three kids running around the table playing. And you're just watching Alison Brie watch their body language talking. Alison Brie's good in this movie.

Clearly trying to figure out, knowing that something's happening. And Spielberg just keeps it fucking there. And I just looked at it and I was like, this is a fucking movie. This is a movie where you have, like, an immaculately dressed, period setting. Three fucking pro actors

playing out good dialogue and an unbroken take with so many interesting physical dynamics happening, you know? And there's so many things like that where, like, Spielberg, when he says, I want to make this movie, A, he gets top-of- of the line people and all the crafts. But B, he gets the budget to make it properly. And you look at this movie and it's like he's got fucking wide exterior shots where they've dressed everything to look so era appropriate.

And so many period films you see today, it's like clearly they're like, we're going to have to shoot this because we can only afford like two feet of dressing. No, you're right. I'm cutting you off. I just love that. Yeah, yeah you off. I just love that show. You're right. In nine months, they made a fucking movie that has those printing press scenes. All these nice elaborate sets. And you see a full block.

They go around a corner. They had to get that many cars. They shot it in New York a lot too. Yeah, they mostly shot it in New York. And upstate, they said a little bit. I think White Plains. I think it was White Plains, yes. It's where they shot the office stuff. So, The Post is a film by Steven Spielberg.

It came out a couple weeks ago. Yes, I mean, Hanks and Streep have this series of conversations about his intention, why he thinks it's important. Sure, but she knows it's this mix of him being like, we have to defy this concept that the newspapers can't print this shit. Sure. But like she knows it's this mix of him being like we have to defy this concept that the newspapers can't print this shit because the government says so. But also I

want to beat the New York Times and they've been shut down by the courts. So let me do it. There's like that window of time. I think they have I don't literally get ahead of 12 hours or something like this is when the movie becomes on the clock because there's all that fun stuff in I guess it's in bradley's house right where you've got all the reporters like pat healy and uh odin kirk and carrie coon and like they're all like they've spread the papers everywhere and

they're all like his daughter's daughter's making a fucking that's a classic spielberg bit i mean maybe he read that in some book somewhere but i love love that. That's a moment, too, I love when Odenkirk pulls up in the taxi cab with the box and is just like, get my briefcase, get my briefcase. It's like a baby that he's rushing to the hospital, you know? He's just running up the stairs

with this box because they know the time is of the essence. From the moment they open the box, they're like, we would have to go to press in eight hours. We have eight hours to comb through this find our story get the story ready to hand it over to the press to get it out

in time for tomorrow. Right. And there's all these questions like the Times had months with this. They could clear out any like redact anything that really was a threat to

national security. Blah blah blah. Also the two lawyers played ably by a full-faced jesse plemmons and a gaunt zach wood not full-faced zach wood zach wood a great comedy team uh they're like pressuring odenkirk where they're like is your source the same source as the times because then we're in the lawsuit right you know like you know right we could go to jail and there's a scene that comes later which which I remember

someone saying, back in the old days of the IMDB message boards, RIP. I remember someone in the Spielberg thread, I used to lurk around those, saying, why is he such a great director? I don't really get it. Can someone explain to me what a director does and why it's great? And someone wrote this whole post that I always think about,

saying the thing with Spielberg is, you want to know what makes him a great director? Watch the way he blocks any scene. You know, he is so good at figuring out the physical movement. How can I block it in shots and stuff like this? Yeah, he's a fucking good director. No, he is, I know. But there's the scene, I know I'm skipping ahead a little bit.

It's going to be about mise-en-scene next. Yeah, where Jesse Plemons. Mise-en-place or mise-en-scene? Jesse Plemons comes to Bob Odenkirk in the office and explains to him the stakes if this is indeed the same source. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Bob Odenkirk cannot reveal his source. Right.

But he goes, what are the odds? And he goes... And he's right on Odenkirk's face, yeah. What Spielberg keeps doing, there are very few cuts in this, he keeps on rearranging them, because they're moving around into a series of different two shots staggered who's in front who's in back come this what is this semi-autician over here what is this 2018 griffin with the fucking blocking but it's like you look at him and it's like he knows how to get a scene make it pop give it some

juice and do it in the fewest number of cuts possible keep the two actors i mean that's always been his reputation is like he's the guy like, will walk in and be like, okay, I think I want this camera here, this camera here. Right. And, like, decide that shit so fast compared to, like, most normal directors. And with the actors, if you're on this end of the table for this line,

but then you cross over, but simultaneously you're doing that. That was always, like, even when he was fucking directing Joan Crawford, it was always, like, the legend of Spielberg, that he, like, knew his way around a set in this sort of, like, magical way. And Jaws is, like, a master class of that. I mean, that's the thing everyone says, is, like, he's theielberg that he like knew his way around a set in this sort of like magical way and jaws is like a master class of that i mean that's the thing everyone says is like he's the first guy who feels like he is fluent in cinema like he didn't have to learn cinematic language

that's just somehow like a second language for him that he just speaks of understanding good for him they post they publish the pentagon paper hey hey come on they have a series of conversations and you have streep you have fits you have whitford you have all these people arguing the different reasons why they shouldn't do it i guess it's right they finally have the papers they're gonna publish it and so now it's right that's that's when she gets that's when she gets pulled out of the um speech she's giving where it's like you have to make the final call do we do this or not and everyone's on the phone like Whitford's on the phone in her house Letts is on the phone in Bradley's house

and I'm going to do another Spielberg stroke off here but there's a thing I love she's talking to like two or three people it's a conference call right there's at least four people on the phone but in different rooms he does this thing where he cuts with her turning her head

when she's talking to different people on the phone as if she's in a conversation looking at different people to give it more like pop. It just feels so tense, and it's building up to this big moment where you're waiting for her to give the big Oscar speech about why they need to take a stand. And it's so tight on Meryl's face,

and then she just goes, let's do it. Let's go for it. Let's do it. I think we should do it. After Let's has said, I wouldn't do it. The guy who usually sort of speaks for her.

Right. And yeah, no, let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do it. And she sort of like gathers this momentum as she goes. That's what I'm going to say. And I'm going to sleep now

goodnight it's the yes and the audience bursts out into applause it's the most deft underplaying I've ever seen we're all waiting for her

to do something to be like you know I say good day to you sir you know to Bradley Whitford or whatever and I guess she kind of

does that later where she sort of says like you know you shouldn't be on the board if you don't support this kind of stuff right but still he never leans into it which i love but it goes against that thing

that i hate out of like certain historical films and biographies biopics where it's like every line i say is the most important thing that has ever happened i am in this moment fully aware of the consequences of what i'm saying on history what i love and she's just kind of like um what yeah let's do it let's do it. Let's do it. What I love is, I guess, because there's still

all this drawn out shit where Whitford's like, you can still back out and they have to like, it goes down to this minute where the printing press, they're like, do we go?

Do we not go? And there's a line I love where they say, I think Plemons says, just know if you publish this, the post as you know it may cease to exist. Sure.

And Hank says something to the effect of, if we let them intimidate us, the post as you know it may cease to exist. Sure. And Hank says something to the effect of if we let them intimidate us the post as we know it has already ceased to exist. Which is a killer. Good line. He finally, you know, they get the go ahead the press starts working and like there's this shot of Odenkirk at his desk

and the desk is shaking because the press is beneath them. Jowls are moving. Which is a real anecdote and it's literally like moving the fucking earth. Yes. The news. And as Hanks pointed out,

big fan of typewriters, he's like, my biggest takeaway from this movie is how fucking difficult it was to print a newspaper in those days because you see them

having to lay out all the different blocks and it's like, oh, there's another moment. We saw this in a screening with a lot of critics and journalists, right?

True. And there was a moment where they drop the piece on the desk of the copywriter, the copy editor. Oh, God. I fucking love that. It's so funny. Literally, they hand it to the copywriter. His first thing is he crosses out the lead. Right.

It's so funny. And they say you have 30 minutes. Yeah. And he's like, oh, okay. And the audience applauded, which that will not get applause in most theaters. It's him immediately cutting the lead, which everyone like he's just like no two flower you know like you could just tell he's like nope you have 30 minutes and just one fell swoop like takes out the pen crosses it out 30 minutes later he's done they put in the pneumatic tube they're downstairs

they're putting the blocks on the press laying out the the front page and the thing is uh going yeah there's another merrill moment she has with a similar underplaying that well there's that thing laying out the front page and the thing is going. There's another Meryl moment she has with a similar underplaying that I'm trying to remember now. Well, there's that thing where she tells Whitford to fuck off. Yes. But I'm trying to remember

if there's anything else. I mean, there is. She's the best and I love her. Sarah Paulson gets her one moment where she has the speech where she kind of explains to Tom Hanks. Right.

And then, of course, Streep has that moment with Alison Brie where she's remembering her right after her husband's suicide when Alison Brie wrote her this little note to read to the board.

Yeah. Which is very well acted. It's more of like a classic Meryl, like, you know, where she's sort of like monologuing at nobody

and she has to, you know, does a lot of that, a lot of sighing. Wistful, mild, amazing sighs. Holding the glasses in her hand.

Holding the glasses. They go on, they go off. She does some amazing glasses work in this movie. She does, because she has glasses, but she doesn't wear them for a lot of the film. But if you just want to watch an actor working well with props, she's got a move she keeps on doing

where she holds one of the arms of her glasses and twirls it in her fingers when she's like deliberating on a big decision and it's fucking ace those are the two big sort of backwards and in heels monologues which I think Spielberg you know he said the Q&A that there were the co-themes to him about

the media you know the press needing to be brave at moments where the government is actively trying to silence and suppress. But also the co-theme of you know the amount of silent invisible

struggle that a woman in any industry has to go through. And they have these two speeches that could have been overwrought I think. And Spielberg as you said puts too much of a peak at the beginning and the end of a lot of movies you worry that he could underline that theme too much but both of those moments

very underplayed yeah because I mean basically once they publish you know there are these nice moments of like you know Bradley points out

the next day that all these other newspapers publish the same story where he tosses all the papers on the table that's really nice and we are not small town papers

and I'm like I love this and then there's the scene right after that where they're down in the printing press and Meryl Streep comes down

and she's sort of like you know the press doesn't always get it right and you're like alright Steven you know we know but whatever that's his move

they say that the newspaper is the first draft of history doesn't she say something like that no but that's always

what he does he always does that it's sweet it's baked with a cake and you kind of have to accept with Spielberg that there's always going to be

a scene at the end where he assumes you don't get what the movie was about. Yes. Like he always does that. It's fine. And sometimes it's more elegant. It's like how your aunt,

you know, just sort of like the anecdote just kind of goes on for a second. Right. This time it's thankfully pretty short. You know, I file it next to like the kids jumping over the wall

and the train and Bridge of Spies, which is just like, okay, get it over with. It's fine. It's fine. The movie should have ended with, you know,

face down in the bed. But yeah, sure. But you know what else I love in this movie is, uh, well, you know, there's obviously like,

there's the Supreme court scene where they, you see them all filing in, but you don't actually, you know, see the court battle. Sure. Um, but then you have Carrie Coon reciting the,

uh, the, um, the decision. I'll tell you over the phone that's a moment i thought he put a little too much no no no you are very wrong that is a great moment that is such a good moment i think that moment's played a little too much like an oscar moment i i love it i i think it's great to get those words in there they're so important i agree much more than her then being like, the press is an important institution. You know, there's more vague. I think it's important to get those words in there. I think it's fine to have

Harry Kuhn's character be emotionally affected by the words. I think she plays it as if she's making the grand statement of the film. No. And I think she's a phenomenal actor. She's the best. She's so good. She's obviously a power couple with Tracy Letts.

Carrie Coon. Really? Wait, you don't know that? No. Yeah, they're married. They've been married for years. I don't know anything. There was someone else I found out the other day I didn't know. Like two actors I didn't realize had been married for like fucking 30 years. Yeah, Tracy Coon, Carrie Coon and Tracy Letts. Tracy Coon and Carrie Letts. Oh, you know

what's one I just found out about recently? Tell me. Winnie Holzman and Paul Dooley? Yeah. That's weird, right? That's a weird one. Hey, man, Paul Dooley. Hey. Get him on a Spielberg. He can get it. Do you know how old Paul Dooley is? 68. I believe he's

91. That was way off. I looked him up recently. He's cracked 90. I believe he's 91. That was way. I looked him up recently. He's he's cracked 90. He's 89. Okay. He's 89. When's his birthday? Uh,

good call February. So, Hey, in a couple months, happy birthday, Paul February. What? 22nd.

I want him to have the same birthday as me. No, I'm sorry. Uh, Winnie Holzman is younger. Yes. Uh, she's like 63.

She's more what I thought paul dooley was i guess i'm thinking like paul dooley circa er you know paul dooley is also a guy who looked 63 when he was 21 like he has drugged hers face that's true he's a wilford brimley right yeah um so that's the movie it ends with the two of them walking off hand in hand uh in the with the press. The press running behind him, right? Well, and also there is that moment, and this is another paprika moment.

I rode the home train with, I rode the train home with David Ehrlich and his wife, Elisa, who's the best. And we were talking about that moment of Meryl walking out of the Supreme Court and Michael Stuhlbarg is giving the time statement on the decision and she just like navigates her way around and she's like I think we've said all we need

to say and just walks through a sea of women. Yes. All women where she you know and they're all kind of looking at her. Yeah. And I was like that's that's that was cheesy and Elisa was like I loved that. Oh there's that really good moment too where she shows up and she doesn't know where which room she should be in the courthouse and there's a girl who's like a like a clerk uh yes which apparently was a scene that spielberg expanded was like two lines right yeah that seems pretty

cute i like it hank said like he was like i just love a movie like this where everyone gets a moment and i do love sure that's a good way for him to put it feels like a character like no one feels perfunctory just to like prop up another person to alley oop you know um but she sort of gives the speech of being like look i know i'm working for the other side i hope you fucking cream them in there uh yeah um yeah the movie ends with the two of them sort of walking off right i love this movie. No, no, no. No. This movie ends with a break-in at the Watergate.

Oh, oh, right, right. But they also... Setting up the sequel. Setting up the sequel. They make a crazy amount of money. The stock does really well, right? Yeah, sure. Isn't there a scene

where they're popping champagne? Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, every... Right, I mean, the bank's never pulled out, obviously. Right. You know, like,

what they fear does not come to pass. Because Spielberg said that he was worried about having to recreate the same Washington Post offices from all the president's men. Because that was iconic. Right. They had shittier offices. They didn't have the cash flow until after this story. Right.

And then you get another tricky Dick Nixon conversation with him saying, Yeah, where he's like, the post can't do anything. Oh, whacking day. Right. They will never report on us ever again. And then you see. Oliver Stone should direct my biopic. That's what's crazy.

This movie ends on a nuts cliffhanger. Because you see a guard and he's like at this building I think it's called the water grate? The home of the Atlantic magazine and website. Really? Yeah, that's where their offices are. I've been to the Watergate many times. He's at the Watergate and

he sees the door taped open. Right, and we zoom out cut to exterior. So what do you think happens next? The Watergate. Well, there were some guys with flashlights. G. Gordon Liddy. Going through files. Yes.

Yeah, the Watergate's coming next. And of course, when you're watching it, you're realizing, of course Spielberg didn't want to make the Watergate movie about the post. That movie already got made. Do we try to predict the box office? I don't think we can predict. No, because it's like impossible. But this is what I want to do.

What do you think this movie is going to do final total domestic? Because this is a movie I think could go any direction. Yeah, I actually have no idea because A Bridge of Spies total, which was I think Bridge of Spies' total was 72. Yeah, 72. Okay. You know, seems perfectly plausible to me. But if this movie gets more Oscar traction, which I think it might. Yeah.

I see it more. And also that Christmas, you know, the cannibalization that you have at the box office for like the next two months. Right. I think it could easily make it to like 130, 140. But I could also see it low-balling at 50.

I could see it playing like Munich and not totally connecting because it is pretty muted. No, I don't think so. This movie is more star driven and like the munich was and it it's more feel good it just munich is a feel bad movie sure yeah i mean it just it just is my guess munich ended up at like fucking 40 right yeah i mean but remember munich literally ends with eric bonner being like was that whole movie pointless

and jeffrey rush is like maybe you're a good guy. 47 Munich ended up. Okay. I think this probably ends up making it. I think it's just good to note that we totally whiffed on our box office predictions for justice. Jesus Christ. We were way off.

I mean, so was the studio to be clear. Yeah. I mean, we were basically going off the studio estimates and the studio was like, yeah, justice league will make one 15 wonder. We'll make 15. Instead. It was basically like, yeah, Justice League will make 115. Wonder will make 15.

Instead, it was basically like, take that 15 off of Justice League. Put it on Wonder. We lowballed the star. We overshot the second weekend of Murder on the Orient Express. We got everything wrong. Oh, boy. Look, we're not always right. No, we're often wrong.

Let's see. Coming out the same weekend that the post goes wide. Uh-huh. One second. Because I want to see if there's some dumb horror movie. Jan 12th. Woman in Black 3. The woman back in Back in Black.

I remember you and I going to see some movie, and they played the trailer for Woman in Black 2. That said it was coming out January 1st. And you were like, geez, they cannot wait to get that thing. They are wasting no time pushing that thing onto the public. Radcliffe was even in that one, right? No, I think Sam Claffin, maybe? I don't know, whatever. No, unfortunately, it's going to have some competition

because here's your January 12th, my friend, the commuter, which looks like a fucking delight. Looks so fucking... Liam Neeson, he's on a train. There's some business he's got to take care of, and that business is punching. We saw the trailer when we went to see Justice League, and Tessa Claire Hirsch turned to me and was like,

is this taken on a train? I was like, yeah, pretty much. And she was like, no, I mean, is it literally taken for, but this time he's on a train? No, it's the commuter. And it's directed by, call it Sarah, way better than fucking Megaton or whatever. It's like you could

say the train is under siege. Ounce. Yes. It looks very under siege-y. It looks very non-stop-y. Do you think they go into dark territory at any point? I believe they do. Are they serving broth on the train? We'll find out. Ben, okay, for the listener at home, Ben just

leaned into David and David kissed him on the head the forehead Ben was looking for some kind of love I didn't know what else to do really I could have rubbed his head I guess we've also got Proud Mary

oh which is gonna be huge I think quite possibly although January 12th gives me pause that it's like abominable so I hope it's good I think they're trying to replicate Hidden Figures which went wide that weekend and think they're trying to replicate Hidden Figures.

Yeah. Which went wide that weekend and that's going to be like... But Hidden Figures was a nice movie that everybody could agree was nice. It was the sequel to Larry Crown. Your mom says, oh, that's nice. Proud Mary, she's like killing people.

I think Taraji is trying to carve out January to be her month. I'm all for it. And most importantly... My dad emailed me after the proud mary trailer came out and said this is the best trailer i've seen in 15 years my dad is so pumped for proud mary good for you shout out peter most excited for paddington 2 p2 baby p2 train stop he's a nice bear he's back and warner brothers is releasing at this time they are they uh they

bought the rights from uh watch those hands they bought the rights from a film company yes uh the only thing left on those hands is marmalade because pangton's a nice bear he's a nice bear he never hurt anybody and he deserves to be seen by every single member of the world and he should be count out waits to see that movie p2 so actually the post might be in trouble yeah because I think P2 is going to open big. And I think Commuter will do solid business. I expect that the post, although once again, we don't know because it's like, what kind of fucking critical groundswell is there going to be

for this movie? How much is it going to relate to our time? That's the thing. We're walking out of there, the critics, we're all like, that was good. That seemed terrific, actually. That seems like an Oscar winner. You think it's going to win Best Picture? No, I think it could. I think this is the craziest, most wide-open race.

Let's do an on-the-record right now. November, what is it, 2021? What do you think is going to win Best Picture as of today? Get Out. Really? I mean, it's on the record. Why not? Yeah.

No Guts, No Glory. Big swing, yeah. So my prediction for a while has been Get Out. Really? I mean, it's on the record. Why not? Yeah. No Guts, No Glory. Big swing, yeah. So my prediction for a while has been Get Out because I felt like the Oscars are so fucking topical right now. Yes. The favorite is Dunkirk, which is kind of like the opposite of that kind of movie. I think Nolan still wins Best Director.

I do too. I have always thought that Nolan is winning Director. I think he's kind of got that lock. I agree. He's winning the Gravity Award. Exactly. He's winning the Gravity Award. But exactly. He's winning the Gravity Award. IMO, yes.

But I don't think that movie wins Best Picture. I don't either because it is kind of a weirdly alienating movie anyway and also it's not topical at all. And this is a year where I think the winner

is going to be pointed. Maybe. But then people are like, it's going to be pointed. And I'm like, it's going to be pointed. What movie are you talking about? And they were like three billboards

and I was like, go watch that movie and let me know if you think it's going to win win best picture and then people come back and they're like all right maybe not because that movie is way too divisive to win best picture yeah and then you know people are like oh shape of water and i was like that movie's kind of weird she fucks a fish man like again feels too niche-y right because people are ladybird i'm like the academy still mostly men who are sexist yes that's I you know I love labored I

think there's a zero percent chance it wins best picture somebody was saying call me by your name and I'm like again that's like it's like an it is swooning 80s romance like it's again not really like hot buttony and not to be reductive but you can see a lot of the Academy being like whatever that's very reductive but sure and then so you're like then you sort of swing back to Dunker because you're like well you know what. So I was kind of like

what about fucking Get Out man. That movie's a phenomenon. I think Get Out's a good call and you will look so fucking smart. That's the thing and if it loses

I'll be like well I was a fucking brave person. Yeah. I'm brave. Okay so I'm going to be brave. I'm going to go on

the record. Lego Batman movie sweeps. I think it's a good call but then you know when we're coming out of that and Ehrlich was like to me like you don't think that wins

Best Picture? Nolan wins Best Director? And I was like, that does seem pretty plausible. But let's see. Let's see. I mean, look, for once, we are not the connoisseurs of context. We are the connoisseurs, but we don't have the context. You, the listener, are listening to this episode knowing what state the

world is in when this movie is released. Sure, but the Oscars haven't happened yet. We'll really cast the die for this film, I think. Cast that die. That was me casting a die. All right, we did it. We did it, guys. It's an hour and a half. So now, you know,

we're officially at the end of our corridor of all these sort of one-off episodes we've had to do. That's right. And very excited that next week we begin our miniseries on the films of paul verhoeven in hollywood that is true our first episode is flesh and blood hey stick with us

folks uh content warning yes that movie is really intense yeah hard hard content yeah yeah it has a lot of sexual violence so just if you want to watch along with us, I, people often do, and that's great, but I'm just saying, you might not want, Flesh and Blood, which is on Amazon Prime right now for you to watch. Yes.

Is a lot. It's a brutal movie. Capital A, capital L, a lot. It's a brutal movie. Mm-hmm. Um,

and then we recorded a whole episode about it. Yes, we did. Uh, so you can listen to that next week. Uh, Podshipcasters. We announced this already

we're just previewing it, next week is Flesh and Blood got Robocop coming up all our friends are going to be there Robocop, a 7 hour 4 part episode yeah, Robocop which is just Griffin just sighing loudly just it's not sighing, it's moaning

we got all kinds of fun stuff coming up Robert Copp. Thank you all for listening. Please remember to rate, review, subscribe. Thanks to Ant Fraguto for our social media, Joe Bone and Pat Reynolds for our artwork, Lane Montgomery for our theme song. Go to blankies.reddit.com for some real nerdy shit.

Yes. And? As always. And as always. Yeah, let's do it. Let's go for it. Let's do it. Yeah, let's do it let's go for it let's do it yeah let's do it let's do it