The Big Picture - The Denzel Washington Draft

Episode Date: September 12, 2023

We are drafting again! Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan are joined by Bill Simmons and Van Lathan for a draft of the best Denzel Washington movies. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, and Van Lathan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up, everybody? It's Brian Barrett from Off the Pike, where we're gearing up for another exciting NFL season. We'll be with you every Sunday after the Pats with three-time Super Bowl champion James White to recap the game and break down the biggest moments. Plus, episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays to cover all things Patriots

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I'm Sean Fennessey. I'm Amanda Dobbins. And this is the Big Picture, a conversation show about Denzel Washington. Chris Ryan is here. Hi. We're drafting again. We've invited two very special guests from the Ringer orbit

to also draft films that Denzel Washington has appeared in. Van Lathan. Hello. And making his draft debut on the big picture, Bill Simmons. Hey, Bill. Yeah, because you fucking kept me out of it. You're afraid of me. What are you talking about?

You're here. You're here now. You're afraid of me. Did you feel blocked out? No. Okay. But I'm glad I'm here. Okay.

I'm glad I'm here to get Denzel right. He's my favorite actor. Just to let everybody know that's listening, Bill has come in with the weirdest, most aggressive aggro ever. I've seen in a long time. He's on it. I don't know what's happening. He's taking calls in the wired headphones

in another studio and he's fired up. Early morning, took a couple calls already. Business Bill. But also, I think I really like, when you come on the big picture, you take the big picture exercise seriously. I've noticed this as a fellow participant and also a listener at home. As a fellow person who takes the thing seriously. Yes. So I appreciate that about Bill always, but I'm really nervous now because you pair that with the draft energy.

Well, I know Sean's gonna rig the order somehow he's got welcome welcome there we go for the first round yeah you too bill first pick for the second round I already it's a snake it's a snake draft so it's gonna be all right sorry you know what so I'll never I'll never have an advantage in any round you started that off with the right energy which is everyone against Sean. And then I noticed that you turned on me a little bit. And I just want to say

right here, right now, this is a fun, competitive exercise. I love sports. You love sports. We love Sofia Coppola. We love the Eagles. It's just like, let's all just remember that

as we go through this. This is a big week for us, Amanda, because the morning show is coming back. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. First thing this morning. Are you in, man? Yeah. Bro, because the morning show is coming back. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. First thing this morning. Are you in, man?

Yeah. Bro, what's going on? Me and Kalika, the entire weekend, have watched the morning show, and you guys didn't tell me how good the show is. Oh, well. How good the show is. Wrong. No one told me. Whoa.

I walked in on the scene, and it was Steve Carell talking to Martin Short about who was the biggest predator. Yes. Right? Yes. You remember that scene? I walked into it and I watched the scene. I was like, Kalika, stop. Start from episode one.

Let's do the entire thing. So we got all caught up. I love this show. It's the best bad show on TV. Yeah. It is. It's testing the bad part in third season. Oh, really? Oh, you've seen this? I've seen the first two TV. Yeah. It is. What it says. It's testing the bad part in the third season. Oh, really?

Oh, you've seen this? I've seen the first two episodes. Don't say anything. Didn't Jon Hamm join this season? Yeah, he plays Elon Musk. Oh my, does he really? Really? He plays a billionaire

rocket engineer This is unbelievably exciting. who might buy I keep wanting to call Is it UBS? Is that the name? Can you remind me where Crude Up

and Reese Witherspoon's characters ended their romantic entanglement at the end of season 2 she's interested in her and she is leaning towards being a lesbian

oh that's right and Julianna Margulies is still with Julianna Margulies yeah wait Julianna Margulies is on the morning show she's like Diane Sawyer

of the world she's like the most refined respect but also out and so then Reese Witherspoon is exploring her character, is exploring her sexuality.

But Julianna Murray-Lace sort of gave her an ultimatum about like, if you want to be with me, you need to not be ashamed of this. Embrace the lifestyle. My wife and I spent most of a day on our vacation trying to remember Reese Witherspoon's character's name. And we were like, it's a guy's name. And it starts with a B. It's Bradley. And we were like, it's a guy's name. And it starts with a B.

It's Bradley. And we were like, is it Breg? And now we can't unhear it. So we just were like, oh, Breg. There's a lot of pandemic culture that I just went in one ear and out the other. Like that two years is just such like a blur. It's literally 2021 Blue Check Resistance Twitter as such like a blur. It's literally 2021 blue check resistance

Twitter as a prestige television show. It's unbelievable. I don't know what, I love it. They stay, they cover the wildfire. And you just turned

an invite on me. Yeah, extremely exciting. They stayed at the safari inn. The whole thing is just, is really,

it was just really schmaltzy, but that's the kind of TV I get into. you haven't seen the season two finale yet? Shout out to Denzel. We're always we're almost through.

I knew this was gonna happen. We're almost through. Like I think I'm four episodes into season two. Okay will you text us when you get to Jennifer Aniston's monologue in the finale?

Like you'll know and I just want to hear from you. By the way I hate her by the way I hate the character. I have an important question for CR. Has Winning Time replaced the morning show as the best bad show on TV?

No. Okay. No. Do you want to do our imitation for these guys on Magic and Cookie? When you do your first pick, call me, I'll be Cookie, you be Magic. Okay?

So you're going to be Cookie and I'll be Magic. And I'll be like Bill alright no no say it Bill just tread lightly with the magic voice winning

I'll be careful man you be magic I'll be cooking but I'm gonna do Alonzo from Training Day full that's what I'll do Denzel from Flight

as magic and winning time cool I like how you guys brought it back to Denzel from Flight as magic. I like how you guys brought it back to Denzel. I didn't have to do anything. We're pros. Thank you so much. Usually the beginnings of these draft episodes are very chaotic. I expected nothing less from Bill and Van. Bill, you said this is your favorite actor. When's the first time you saw Denzel Washington? Say it elsewhere.

I never saw Carbon Copy. I think that was the first movie ever canceled. I'm not positive. Show of hands, how many people in this room have seen Carbon Copy now? I saw it this weekend for the first time. I saw it in the mid-80s. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's tough. But yeah, St. Elsewhere, that was back in the days with TV shows

where you were only allowed one black character on the show, so he was the black guy. And he was really good. You could tell he was headed somewhere. It was unclear. And then all of a sudden, the late 80s, it just took off. Dan, what about you? When did you first see Denzel?

A movie called Heart Condition. Bob Hoskins. Bob Hoskins, where Bob Hoskins plays a detective that really loves to eat. And he eats terrible food. He has a heart attack. And then he gets denzel's heart and then denzel as a ghost is there with bob hoskins trying to help him solve his murder or whatever that's the first time i ever saw denzel washington because like for me in my household denzel i think there's a part of his

career that gets overlooked which is the fact that he was the sexiest black man in the world for a number of years. And whenever he would come on the screen, my mother and aunts and stuff would go crazy. And then it seemed like once you see him, it's like one of those things, then he's omnipresent everywhere else. CR. Glory. Yeah. So, I mean, I think I was aware of Cry Freedom. I can't remember if I saw it, but Glory was like the first time that I saw him. And, you know, he's in that movie, not only with Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick, but Andre Brouwer, like some of the best actors of his generation. And he, you know, he's just like a comet, you know, like you can, you're just, you can't take your eyes off of him.

It's such a great angry young man role. And yeah, I just remember just being like, well, I guess I didn't, I didn't have the terminology season tickets, but I bought lifetime passes at that moment. What about you, Amanda? It's either Pelican Brief, because my parents started me on the Grisham Young, or Honestly Preacher's Wife. Oh, wow.

Well, because I would have been that age, Christmas movie, Whitney Houston. I mean, come on. And speaking of sexiest man alive. Yeah. What about you, Sean? It was also Glory. It was shown Glory in sixth grade social studies, which looking back on that,

weird movie to show a bunch of 12-year-olds. White people's view of the Civil War. Yeah. And it's not a bad movie, but it's a movie that would not be made in 2023. And, you know, Edward Zwick is an interesting, his name will probably come up a few times.

He's a frequent collaborator with Denzel Washington. They clearly have something together. And Denzel is obviously legendarily great in the movie, but it's a weird movie. So, like, what did you respond to

with Denzel? What was it about him that clicked? So, it's really important to say why he's my favorite actor right now. Because it's unlike sports, I think it shifts.

Because Cruise is my favorite actor for a long time. Right. i think it shifts because cruz is my favorite actor for a long time right but then to win an argument with me you had to switch your opinion well before cruz stallone long stallone run and before stallone paul newman so those have kind of been my four and right now it's denzel just because the library is overwhelming like just from a from a rewatchability standpoint it's him and cruz and i've kind of just i'm still diving into the denzel library i feel like i just know the cruz library now so the denzel has just so much like flight is a movie we've talked about a lot about doing for rewatchables and flight just gets better each year so he has a few slow burners that i think i i he's the guy for me now in addition

to thinking he's very sexy van why was he why was he meaningful to you as an actor because he was culturally omnipresent in a very specific way meaning like denzel never shied away from being a black actor right so he does a soldier story which is a fantastic film all black cast um glory has tinges of obviously it's the overtones are our race um and he's respected for these roles that are culturally very grounded right uh malcolm x his work with spike lee all of that stuff i mean there are black actors now that are huge that have shied away from being in movies that are considered to be Black films. Denzel Washington never was that.

As a matter of fact, I would say that we embraced and propped Denzel up prior to him breaking through in Hollywood in a very mainstream sort of way. And he's always come back and always done that. He's never done the movie star thing. He's never picked the role that was like, Hey, I need to do this so that everyone can see me so that I can be everywhere. You know what I mean?

And in that way, he's like, there's a purity to his career that he seems like he cares about the work and he cares about his cultural reputation and that's endeared him the purity is like a really good way of putting it because i think he's a pure movie fan i think like i have like you know i have a lot of shared taste with a lot of different actors where they're like the all the pieces that they they choose like i'm like oh yeah you know what like that would be great that i can't wait to see dicaprio do this or i can't wait to see

paul meskel do that or whatever it is but denzel makes I can't wait to see DiCaprio do this or I can't wait to see Paul Meskel do that or whatever it is. But Denzel makes the movies I want to see. You know, like Denzel makes Shakespeare and Vengeance movies

and romantic movies and thrillers. And yeah, exactly. It's a romantic movie, Ricochet. I think he actually has like the broadest

like spectrum of taste that I also agree with. And I, you know, he's just a master at so many different things while there is that movie star quality where you are the same in every movie. Yeah, but he doesn't do the, he knows what he can and can't do, which I've always appreciated with him too.

But it's a wide range of what he can and can't do. He's never been in goofy comedies or stuff like that. I mean, Van's point of that he never took the movie that is like, now I need to be the movie star is a good one and true because he picks movies based on what he's good at and what he can do. He is also like the movie star and probably the only remaining movie star from that 90s batch. You know, you think Denzel, you think Tom Hanks,

you think Julia Roberts, you think Tom Cruise. Like Tom Cruise only makes Mission think Julia Roberts, you think Tom Cruise. Like, Tom Cruise only makes Mission Impossible movies now, right? And so, for the last 15, 20 years, well, he makes other types of movies,

but they're all where he just takes, like, Don't offend Sean. He thinks he's a better actor than Hanks. off of a... He is. Well, Tom Hanks,

who I love deeply... Wait, what? You think that Tom Cruise is a better actor? I'm not doing this with you two. It's like a filmography argument. Whatever.

Denzel is still doing it all and doing Shakespeare and doing Equalizer 3 and doing everything well. And doing August Wilson on screen. He's still doing it in the same way that he was pretty much in the 90s.

And no one else has been able to maintain that level of stardom. There's one other piece with him that is super important for the last 20 years. He basically replaced Nicholson as the coolest guy in the room. And I don't know what year that was, but it's definitely been the case for the last two decades. If you put all the athletes and all the musicians and all the celebrities and whoever you put everyone in like a laker game i feel like he's the most important person out of all of them unless they show nicholson but nicholson's like what 85 yeah you usually use the laker seats as like the the measure of that and he's he's a staple obviously at laker games

too i was thinking about this because there's a really funny YouTube video where it's like he's being interviewed by Jamie Foxx. Oh yeah, of course. It's great. Oh yeah. He just spent the entire thing cracking Jamie Foxx up. But Jamie Foxx is asking him about like advice for younger actors. And people come on the come up and he's just kind of like, it's about like scarcity. You know, it's about like giving people just enough so that they feel like they know who you are, but not so much that they're tired of you. And I think he has completely mastered that. It's like, I don't really know that much about what Denzel Washington thinks about a lot of stuff. Bill talked to him and he was dancing through the raindrops with you, I felt like, trying to avoid revealing anything interesting.

He really wanted to talk basketball and boxing. That's what he cared about. And then he got excited about talking about the Ray Allen, he got game thing. Yeah, he's game thing. Yeah. He's maintained a certain mystique that it's been difficult for a lot of movie stars that have broke lately to kind of actually do it because you have to saturate yourself. You got to be on social media. All the time.

I remember watching him on Leno in like 94 or 95. And it was the first time that I remembered that he doesn't give a fuck about anything. Because, you know, it's a huge deal right you show up and you got you got like a suit on and you do the whole thing you go back and forth with with with Jay and Denzel showed up he had he had a hat on he was wearing like a flannel and jeans I remember the first thing Leno said was oh we appreciate you dressing up for the thing right and he And he just, he laughed, he cracked a smile, and he just sat there as himself.

Like, not as the guy who goes on a talk show and does the movie star thing, tells a story from the set and the whole nine. He sat there as Denzel Washington. And I was like, I like this guy. And it kind of bleeds over, because that guy kind of really is, in like a lot of the movies, it's like in every single movie, it's that guy in Hurricane, and it because that guy kind of really is in a lot of the movies.

It's like in every single movie, it's that guy in Hurricane and it's that guy as Frank Lucas. But at the same time, I love that dude. And he's broken down a lot of walls and he's given a lot of actors in this town something to shoot for. Yeah, he saves the star power for himself. His filmography has the highest possible highs and some pretty low lows. But the thing is, is that he is, I think, the ultimate floor raiser for a movie. More so than Leo, more so than Hanks,

more so than Cruise, more so than Julia Roberts. Those people that we think of in the same class as Denzel. Like, The Bone Collector is a bad movie, but I have seen it like five times. And it's mostly because he is just incredibly watchable laying in a bed in that movie. You know, he's just, he's an incredibly engaging person.

The other thing too is I really like how he weathered the first five to ten years of his career where he was only cast as characters who were not Denzel. He's asked to do an accent in all of his early movies.

He's always playing a foreign character. Lady Quinn and Cry Freedom. And even Malcolm X, to some extent, is like a transformation and a different style of speaking. And then in the last 30 years, eight out of 10 times, he's just playing Denzel. Like he's just playing a really cool, competent, smart guy.

Sometimes he's a criminal. Sometimes he's a cop. Sometimes he's a world leader. But he's always like a very familiar thing. And that's the movie star versus actor thing. You know, like he is able to really bridge that gap really well. Pretty amazing. I feel like he's not stopping. He's basically making a movie a year every year for the last 20 years. He's in Gladiator 2. No, is that eligible? It's not eligible, unfortunately. Maybe we will auction it soon. He had the biggest, you know, watching it evolve. And then when Malcolm X, that was 92,

I was a senior in college, but that just felt like it was a huge movie and a huge important movie. And it was these two guys that were about to go to the top, right? But then the next year, what are the two movies he picks? Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts. He's like, now I'm going to be side by side

with the two biggest stars in the world. And he goes toe to toe with them. And then that's it. That sets up the next 30 years. But I always thought those two choices were like the, I'm here. I'm a member of the dream team. I'm actually a starter and get used to me. I wonder whether he is the most, like not, it sounds stupid to say the most undefeated. Has Denzel ever lost a one-on-one?

Like I was thinking about that run where he's like you know going through Crimson Tide and going through all these things where he's paired

with another big actor yeah and it's like has Denzel ever lost a bout Goodman in flight just fucking wipes him

that's right he comes in smoking hot that's right no you're right he never he never loses every once in a while

in a bad movie, like, who takes him out in bone and blood? Virtuosity. Sid 6.7, Russell Crowe, is going for it.

Yeah, but he gets him back in Gangster. But he does. Yeah, like, Russell 6.7, one of my favorite movie characters. I love him.

He's just a stupid amalgam of all of these serial killers, and that is just Russell Crowe having an amazing amount of fun. This is almost a straight man in killers and that is just Russell Crowe having an amazing amount of fun. This is almost a straight man. That was Russell Crowe doing the Denzel

move. By being next to Denzel, he gets elevated, but that's what Denzel became. I guess he takes an L from Lithgow in Ricochet. Oh, Jesus. In more ways than one. By the way, these are really watchable,

like to your point, bad movies. Yeah. Ricochet is ridiculous. And it's a movie that you realize is ridiculous even when you're like 12 years old. HBO classic though. It's classic. I was on all the time. But it's so much fun to watch.

And he is really leaning into, I'm young, virile, sexy cop man in that movie as well so so we are like male and denzel like at a time he's on autopilot that's a good movie that's a good movie it's like yeah denzel just showing up putting up 25 you just want to spend some time with him yeah you know yeah i think he mailed in american gangster oh yeah oh no until the final fucking way i think he i think he i i look i think there are scenes in that movie denzel first of all that that movie had a very tumultuous path to get made right i think by the time they got to making the movie denzel is just gliding i think it's because he's too old

by that point or not that he's too old i just think there are a couple of scenes where he turns it up right like the scene where he you pack a rug the showdown with final scene with russell crowe where that's like among his best stuff yeah but even even the the showdown with with um with idris right where he shoots it it's like for for the the point that he's at in his career by that point that's cake to him that's catnip sure that's easy that's him with the gun blowing the guy's brains out. Sure, but he's earned it. You know,

he worked hard throughout the career for that to be easy and pleasurable. When he's trying to get Russell Crowe to offer him a deal, it is just like, it's fantastic. It's really, really good.

And the coffee, yeah. It's not a bad movie. Not a great movie. Not a great movie. Not a great movie. No, no. Look, I, I have always been

one of those people that was slightly disappointed with American Gangster. You're not wrong. That movie was disappointing. With the way they talked that film about. Yeah, of course. Even who worked on it.

And the whole nine. That was the first time he ever got paid 20 million. I thought it was going to be like this big, huge deal. It was the wrong director. It was just the wrong director. It needed to be somebody from New York.

It needed to be Spike Sc New York. It needed to be Spike Scorsese. That movie was a complete letdown. Now it's fine. But in the moment we were like I had a great time on Saturday night.

This is going to be DiMera Pacino and Heat for this decade. That was what we walked in with it. And it wasn't. It is definitely a letdown. Jay-Z album though. Clutch.

I spent four hours in a room with Jay-Z for that album. he played it for he played it for five press members and we sat and talked for two hours after that one of the best days of my life honestly absolutely amazing i was also like is this the greatest album ever recorded and it's like the eighth best jay-z album but at the time i was truly convinced it was amazing uh okay so you've never drafted before. You were asking me some questions. You're nervous you're going to get punked here? No.

I just, you sent out a document and CR was first in each round and I thought you changed the rules for CR. It's just a placeholder. Just a placeholder. Oh, I was, I had questions about that too. I was like, can I'm last? You've drafted before.

I know, but I didn't realize, because I've never looked at the document before. I had the idea of him propping up CR. I never, ever, ever, ever take it seriously. I come in there to destabilize the draft. That's my thing. And now Bill wants to do that. But in this one...

No, I want to win the draft. I have a cultural... Okay. You know what I mean? I have to show up here. Okay. And so I was like, I'm last. I'm like, this is not the way it's supposed to work.

You're not last. Don't worry. We're going to find a randomized order. He might be last. That's true. but if you're last there's an event you come back around on the same

we know what happens Wags is about to fix the draft is this the point of the podcast this is not the point of the podcast this is Wags

no pressure Bob do you have the scrabble pals or are you Sean you're first are you you have the scrabble pals I want to say

I bristle at the notion that I would rig it for Sean, especially since last time he betrayed me by talking shit on Linkin Park. So I'm rigging it against him going forward. The Linkin Park fans

coming at me, get fucked. That's my take on it. Everyone. Everyone. Not a good fan. Bob, let's do the order. I did not use the Scrabble tiles.

I did use a list randomizer. I did clear cookies. I did deny all of the unnecessary cookies The order is Bill Amanda Wow is it promotion season already Bobby Jesus Christ

Bill Van Sean No no no Bill Amanda Chris Van and Sean Okay Okay Absolutely Are you writing it down On your iPad Bill, Amanda, Chris, Van, and Sean. Okay. Absolutely. Are you writing it down on your iPad? I just wanted to have it.

Are you sufficiently relieved of suspected chicanery here on the podcast, Bill? You have the first overall pick and I have the last pick. So drama is the first category? No, no, no. Let me explain the proceedings because we're doing things a little differently on this one. We have new categories. Obviously, any

film that Denzel Washington Yeah, this is a small plates restaurant. Talk about when it's ready. Can I course this out for you? Three plates per person. If you've never listened to a draft before, we draft from six categories. Any film that Denzel has appeared in

or produced really, honestly, but I don't think that's going to be much of a factor in this conversation because he appears in every movie he produces, is eligible for the draft. So our six categories today are drama, action or thriller, Spike Lee or Tony Scott movie,

two of his most legendary collaborators blockbuster and the threshold for blockbuster will be 90 million dollars domestic oscar nominee and of course wildcard as our final now bill you can draft any movie in any category you want but you have to be strategic obviously about which category you use and when because there's a limited number of films that qualify for blockbuster for Oscar nominee etc. So you have a pick Bill. Is there anything anybody else wants

to say? Anything else you want to give a couple warm-ups you want to vamp a little bit? Why did you just do I want to vamp

a little bit? I'm a little nervous. You're the co-host of this podcast. Thanks so much. The tricky thing about this is that it is like a limited

number of films and even though he's made a lot of films and there's a lot of people. And there's a lot of genre overlap. Well, and there are also a lot of people here. So we are going to be sort of at the bottom of the barrel by the end,

which is funny. That's what I like about this. Yeah, I do too. But, you know, also your definition of bottom of the barrel might be different from mine. Absolutely. And I might be in some weird places

by round six, but that's okay. It could benefit you. Well, we'll see. You know, the thing for me is i could draft my heart and have a bunch of movies that you guys just don't really give a fuck about because i can already tell you guys don't give a fuck about carbon copy and i love carbon copy yo carbon copy is terrible bro i love carbon he's trying so hard in it. Denzel. He's really giving his all. It's his first movie. I know.

Yeah. He's literally trying to be Richard Pryor. Mr. Charlie. And it's so weird. He plays the dough bro Charles Grown in that one. To Bill's point about him

not doing goofy comedies, you can tell why. Because he got cast in one for his first movie and people were like, don't do that anymore. There's also going to be a little bit of a thing here

about the great movie versus the great Denzel performance. And there are some movies that have great Denzel performances that are not good movies. And there are some movies that have very good, if replacement level, Denzel performances. And the movie itself is great.

You don't want to share a version? You want to hold your version of that? I will bring this up if I get the luxury of picking this movie that is in my head that I'm thinking of. But I think that there are some things where it's like Denzel is very good and the movie is great. And there are some movies where Denzel is astonishing and the movie is pretty good. I'm ready to make my pick. I was just talking in circles.

So it's part strategic because I don't love the category. It's also a classic movie that we've already done in the rewatchables. He won the best actor for it in 2002. Yeah. Yeah. Training Day. I think this has to be number one. It's off the board.

Yeah. So which category are you taking it in? I'm taking it in Oscars. In Oscars. Okay. So generic. So that is predictable but smart. Predictable but smart, I think.

Oh, I love your little like passive aggressive. It's called hosting a podcast. Okay. I'm merely filling the open air. Controversial movie in the black community. How so? Because Denzel had played characters, you know, and these characters had been uplifting characters.

He played Malcolm X and it was a movie that like everybody loved. Imperfect movie, but one of those ones that you have to see. And he wasn't given the big trophy for it. He won the big trophy for playing a slave. A dirty cop. And then he won the big trophy for playing would you say that like a terrible hawk at this point is more beloved in the black community than denzel it was even mendez for like five seconds um but it but like that movie is like oh my god you're gonna give it to denzel

when he's playing a thug and when you're playing when he's playing somebody that like is a drug user and somebody trying and it was we It was different than we had seen him, but a lot of people had problems with it. They wanted to see him win for the hurricane or something like that. You know why he won? Because it was like a landslide. He was going against Russell Crowe

and Beautiful Mind. Sean Penn and I Am Sam got nominated. Yep. Chris Ciaran's favorite movie. And Tom Wilkinson in The Bedroom is actually really good. Russell Crowe fucked himself off an Oscar that year, if you remember.

He talked himself right out of it okay in fairness you know a lot of a lot of white actors win for playing gangsters as well

Michael Corleone is you know he helped you know won an Oscar also well do we want to

litigate now do we want to litigate now how we would hope to be seen in a country that plays us in a specific way on the 6 o'clock news? We want to have this conversation? Because I can go higher learning right here. Invite me on higher learning.

Yeah, we can debate that whole thing. Can I do a counter in fairness? Sure. In fairness, that sounds fucking incredible in training day. He's great. He's really good. I've already forgotten who's picking second. It's me.

And I'm going to take a more rational path off of Van's last point and take in Oscar Malcolm X, which is what he should have won his first best actor for uh i think even if i'd had the number one pick i would have gone with this so thank you bill for leaving it for me it's fair she's so coming to the june 10th bash next year thank you so much man um chris you have a astonishing movie malcolm speech uh tattooed on your back can you read it to us right now it's one from prison though so I don't know if it's like, yeah, from the pre-Nation of Islam days. Is it my turn?

We can talk more about Malcolm X. Feel free. Go ahead. I love that movie. What'd you think? Absolutely. We were just talking about it the other day on an episode

of Bandsplains coming out this week because we were talking about just the social and political weakening that came out. I see. It was great. Seems like a good crew to be talking about.

Yeah, absolutely. The Bandsplain hosts. Absolutely. You said Imperfect movie when you were describing it. Imperfect. First of all, the more you know

about Malcolm's life, the more the shorty character doesn't exist. You know what I mean? And it's difficult to do biopics like that sometimes when you're trying to do a birth-to-death biopic. It's always a harder thing to do.

Imperfect, a little long. Sometimes you get into a couple of things about the movie. It gets lost in itself a little bit, but it's still just insanely powerful. One of the most powerful films ever. And when you talk about Denzel, the full arc of Malcolm's life in terms of where he started,

where he got to, and just the paranoia and the anxiety that he had towards the end of his life about how things had turned out for him. This is one scene where a change is going to come, it's playing, and he's walking. And he realizes that he's at the end of his life. things had turned out for him this is one scene where a change is going to come is playing and

he's walking and he realizes that he's at the end of his life and this woman says jesus will save you and when it comes back to him he's crying and it's just it's flooring like how denzel was able to kind of give that to you so it's really really powerful one of the most amazing last hours of a movie it just moves man yeah uh okay third pick. Third pick. Who's up? I am. Chris. So obviously, there's a run on Oscar movies because probably we're not all

thrilled with it. But I am going to take an Oscar movie and I'm going to take Flight. It's early for Flight, maybe. But I think it's actually growing as Bill was saying. It's been coming up a lot.

And it is such a complicated and dark character for him to be playing at this point in his career and not in the like oh it's the equalizer man on fire kind of trope of like this guy is just an avenging angel it's actually like really fucked up person um and pretty like powerful portrait of addiction and also is like a Robert, you know, Zemeckis movie that has like an incredible set piece that in fairness may drown out the rest of the film.

It's so good. Last good Robert Zemeckis movie? Might be. I almost took it first. First? Wow. You love Flight. It's a great movie.

It is really good. I wanted something from this category but I was looking at it. I thought I was going to be able to get it in the second round but fucking CR. Well, I had to, I wanted to get it. Strategic choice. I wanted something from this category but I was looking at it. I thought I was going to be able to get it in the second round but fucking CR. Well, I had to. I wanted to get it. Strategic choice. I wanted to get an Oscar movie.

It is probably like the 18th best Denzel movie, honestly. Movie, but I think as far as performance, it might be creeping up there, in my opinion. Plus, some say it created Yellowstone. How so? Beth. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, she's in Flight. No, Kelly Rowther. Oh, Kelly Rowther? True, she's in Flight. No, Kelly Riley. Oh, Kelly Riley?

She was thrown heat well before that. True Detective Season 2, probably. Tara Sheridan watched Flight. And she's like, I've got an idea. That's it, yeah. Seriously? That's what I heard. So I'll go Flight and Oscar.

Okay. Van. I am going to go box office. I'm going to go box office. And I'm going to take Remember the Titans. Now, listen, let me tell you why. All right? I'm going to take Remember the. I'm going to go box office. And I'm going to take Remember the Titans. Now, listen, let me tell you why. All right? I'm going to take Remember the Titans.

Shout out to Boaz. That came a friend of mine. I knew you were going to say something. You're greasing the wheel. Do you think Boaz is listening? No, Boaz is definitely listening. I'm producing a movie with him right now. Everybody go see it once again for the very first time.

But look, I'm taking it. First of all, this movie is very, very meaningful to me. Like super meaningful to me. And it's meaningful to a lot of people in terms of Denzel's career. It like really galvanized a lot of people. And it was like, as I was getting older, for me, it was a film that let me know that there was like answers to some of the societal issues that we have other than just being angry all the time and like i saw it on screen the team came together there are some great performances in the movie young ryan gosling's in this movie you know it's

it's just like a movie that like everybody loves it's one of his most beloved portrayals to me and by the way you get less Denzel in this movie. It's not a Denzel heavy movie where he has to carry the entire film because he gets to a point in his career where like every single film, he's doing a lot of heavy lifting. Not so much in this one,

but still like one of my favorite films. He hasn't had a bunch of huge blockbuster films. So I go remember the Titans, man. Was there a Remember the Titans rewatchables? There was, right? Oh yeah. Who was on that one? I don't remember the Titans, man. Was there a Remember the Titans rewatchables? There was, right? Oh, yeah. Who was on that one? I don't remember.

Okay, great. You didn't remember the Titans. I think it was remembered in Shea. But we did it when we had our old office. It was at least four years ago, yeah. Interesting. You want to re-remember with Ben one day? Ben.

I'll do it. We're calling the Titans. You say the word. I'll do it. You say the word. Let's sign! Is Remember the Titans 21st century? What? Is Remember the Titans you say the word I'll do it you say the word is LASSA is remember the 21st century what

2000 2000 it's gotta be on the short list of most beloved mainstream movies of the 2000s it's not a huge movie

for me personally you don't like it it's okay it feels like it's trying to be a sports movie from the 1980s Sean's more of a Marshall guy I get it

that makes a lot of sense. Shane Gillis makes a lot of sense. Invincible you like? Yeah. In fairness, there are white coaches in football movies

that, you know. Shane Gillis has a good bit about it. Oh, God. There we go. No, it's just like how racism can be solved if your football team's

4-0. It's basically this whole premise. It's a good take. This is pretty funny. Okay, so we're going into Nate Draft. I have the fifth pick, which means I have two picks coming my way. This, again, feels rigged. No, this is how it works.

You got the first pick. I think Wags was like, no, actually, the first pick's not good. You got training day. Come on, you'll be fine. The funny thing is, is this is like the 60th draft on this pod, but it's your first draft, so you get to make this joke for the first time. I've heard it all before from these two many times. That's fair.

Okay. This is actually relaxing for me. I'm just sitting here enjoying the show. I know. They're bringing all of the anger and the good news is Sean's going to go snooty for at least one of the two picks. Incorrect. Not on my board. Incorrect.

Here are my picks. In Blockbuster I'm going Crimson Tide yeah yeah this is one of the great Denzel performances toe to toe

with an actor that he has a lot more in common with and I think we give credit for Gene Hackman an actor who appeared in a lot of legendary movies

but also made a lot of genre stuff for his 50 year career absolutely riveting movie we did a rewatch of Bazan a few years back is it the best submarine movie it We did a rewatch of Lausanne a few years back.

Is it the best submarine movie? It's in a class of two. No. Well, you say Hunt for Red October. I also say Hunt for Red October. And Das Boot, I think, is... No. Okay. All right.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that film. Crimson Tide, absolutely amazing movie. A lot of fun. Polish on the screenplay from Quentin Tarantino. Yep.

After his collaboration with Tony Scott. Big Rick Sch screenplay from Quentin Tarantino. Yep. After his collaboration with Tony Scott. Big Rick Schroeder performance in this one. Yeah, sure. Absolutely. When he was known as Rick. You know, like,

it was after when he shortened his name. I see. Chris, that's a complete derail. No idea why we're talking about Rick. So that's for Blockbuster.

And then in Spike Lee or Tony Scott movie, I'm taking Inside Man. God damn it. So you doubled up on Tony here. I did.

No. Well, I mean, Inside Man is a Spike movie. I know, but you took like you took two, you took a Tony off the board and went then into your Tony.

That really fucks me up. That's part of the reason why I did this is because I know that that's a big one for Amanda but Amanda just got it in another draft so we're good

we're even that doesn't help inside man movie that I love we also did a rewatchables on it god damn it I watch it again

on the plane why how tough for you I think that this is Spike and Tony is I think him at his best you I think that this is Spike and Tony is I think him at his best like I think that those are the two directors

that he is performs the best with there are gonna be a couple of exceptions here and there about different things we talked about but when we look at like

the absolute totality of his career these are the movies I most like watching him in I think so and Inside Man's probably my second favorite out of the bunch I most like watching him in I think so and Inside Man's probably my my second

favorite out of out of the bunch I lost Malcolm X unfortunately okay next pick strong picks uh Vin all these movies that I really love I'm gonna be able to get them later on that see that this is the tricky thing now yeah you say that I said that about Flight. Okay. So I have to draft a wild card movie. That was Chris's Trubisky pick. He's like, I love Trubisky. Taking him third. I have to have this movie. And to be honest with you, it's a wild card pick.

But I want more people to see this movie because I really think that this is a perfect film. I don't know that you have to do this right now, but okay. I'll do it. Mo' Better Blues. Damn it. Mo' Better Blues. Damn it. Is my favorite movie of all time. So you're taking this for Spike or Tony? I'm taking this for Wild Card.

This is your favorite movie of all time? Yeah. So you're saving Spike or Tony for another movie? Yes. Okay. You could also take it in drama. Yeah, I could. But you're not doing that.

I know. I'm taking it in Wild Card. I'm getting fucked right now. This was next. God damn drama. Yeah, I could. But you're not doing that. I know. I'm taking it in a wild card. I'm getting fucked right now. This was next. God damn it. This is so good. So this is my favorite movie of all time. This is my single favorite film.

I think that's great. All right. Have to have it. How many times have you said this is my favorite movie with a different movie at the end of it? Never. This has always been your favorite movie? Yeah. This is a great movie.

I'm not criticizing it. I'm just curious. Is there a locked top 10 for you with movies yeah but like no order though yeah but but for example yeah you've told me several times a working girl is a top 10 movie for you but but is that so is there a locked list and working girl is on it and mo better blues is number one? Or are you just throwing this out from time to time? And if we sat you down for a ranking. So Mo Better Blues is always number one.

Okay. But like it vacillates for the rest of the top 10. Okay. You have, I don't know, The Matrix. Okay. You have Empire Strikes Back. You have all of those different movies that are going there. So like that's kind of the whole...

So it's flexible, but Mo' Better Blues is number one. It's number one. So why? What is it you love about it? It's a perfect art piece. It melds love, the music, the story, the cast is amazing. It's a movie that you can feel it. You can touch it and grab it.

You know what I mean? And I was awed. People wouldn't even rank this as one of Spike's classic films, right? But when I was first watching this, I was still developing a lot of ideas on what I thought the world was supposed to be, what love was supposed to be, what dedication was supposed to be. And the movie isn't really about anything other than one character coming to terms with how their life is supposed to go. And it just always hits me.

It's just like a perfect piece of art. Love, Cinda Williams, beautiful. What happened to Cinda Williams? She's incredible. If you watch this movie and then watch One False Move you'd be like

she's out of it the next big movie star yeah so she sings Wesley Snipes the shadow character all of it a really grown movie

for like an 11 or 12 year old kid to be watching but I've always loved it and for like a 29 year old Spike Lee to be making

that's the coolest thing. An incredibly mature movie. The coolest thing about those first like five or six or seven Spike movies is exactly what you're saying, where I feel like you would walk out of that theater and you would have like a two-week conversation about it. Yeah. You know what I mean? Just kind of like trying to wrap your head around the movie, but also what the movie made you think about. Also, wasn't Bleak Gilliam the inspiration for Memphis Bleak's rapper name?

Is that facts? I think so. I didn't know didn't know that at all okay well these are the nuggets we provide vibe magazine uh okay cr uh you have a chance to do the funniest thing of all time oh you know what what did i do to you nothing like i'm just making a podcast you're such an asshole it's so nice to you for the last Like, I'm just making a podcast. You're such an asshole. I feel so nice to you for the last however many weeks through your trying time. You've got other people here

and you're just being a dickhead. I'm going to take, in Spike or Tony, I'm going to take Man on Fire. Oh, yeah. Wasn't on my board. Which is cute.

Because I'm trying to do this. You said you had a good attitude. Let me assure you, you do not. I have a great attitude. I'm just trying to do you said you had a good attitude let me assure you you do not I have a great attitude I'm just trying I was trying to replicate your board

that's what I that I live for Man of Fire is probably the most Tony Scott of the Tony Scott movies where Denzel Washington is like literally part of the atmosphere and scenery

of Mexico in this absolutely psychedelic vengeance plot. I think Creasy is probably my favorite of the Denzel Avenging Angel characters if it's like this and Equalizer and in some ways Magnificent Seven.

This is the one. He has just some absolutely unbelievable scenes. A little sleepy in the first 30 minutes when he's just hanging out with Dakota, but it really turns it up. Did anybody else here see The Equalizer 3? No. absolutely unbelievable scenes. A little sleepy in the first 30 minutes when he's just hanging out with Dakota. But like, it really turns it up. Did anybody else here

see The Equalizer 3? No. That obviously was the impetus for the idea for this pod. And I went to go see it on Friday night. Honestly, it ripped.

I thought it was really good. I thought it was much better than the first two in a lot of ways. It looked really good. The Italian setting was really cool. You could probably have made

this Spike or Tony or Antoine. Yes. They've now made five movies together, which is interesting. I don't, you know, I think some of their movies together are a little iffy. Can I give you my Tom Cruise

versus Tom Hanks take that nobody will agree with? Of course. I like Tony better than Ridley. Oh, that's not it. I think you're in a safe space. I personally disagree, but I see it.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, me, Bill, and Chris are very, very, very big Tony fans. But it's a good... I think Tony loses when you do the head-to-head because Ridley has made, like,

so many movies now. But it's really close. In 100 meters, turn right. Actually, no, turn left. There's some awesome new breakfast wraps at McDonald's. Really? Yeah, there's the sausage, bacon, and egg. A crispy seasoned chicken one.

Mmm, a spicy end egg. Worth the detour. They sound amazing. Bet they taste amazing too. Wish I had a mouth. Take your morning into a delicious new direction with McDonald's new breakfast wraps. Add a small premium roast coffee for a dollar plus tax. At participating McDonald's restaurants.

Ba-da-ba-ba-ba. Okay. Here we go. Amanda. So I need to be strategic here. Because many of my Tony and Spike movies got taken off the board faster than i expected so i will be taking unstoppable in tony or spike yes great movie it's a great movie i just it's it's so accessible right you just you gotta stop the train so and then denzel i really

like chris pine i have seen this movie and i can't say that I've seen every single one of the 2006 to 2015 Denzel action experiences. So, I don't know. Are you a train person? Do you mean in film or in life or? Have you ever been the conductor of a train? That's what I mean. No, just in general. Do you like to ride the train?

Sure. It was kind of in in atlanta in the south there are trains but it's not like a predominant mode of transportation the way it is in the northeast so it was like a big novelty is that because of what sherman did yeah um primarily and then i just here we go could have gone further yeah you're right we should have yeah you know what I mean there we go should have all been ours so there's a romance

to it I guess like you know especially when I moved to the 90s I'm just going right I'm going right past that when it was gone with the wind the whole train system

yeah burned to the ground and my son likes trains okay there you go yeah he's really getting into that phase of his life

so and there's like a fake train place train town in los angeles where you can go and like ride you know what's it called again train town interesting and it's near the la zoo right and you go and you just climb on trains yeah the train that you when you drive past it yeah by the zoo yeah you see yes you see see Amanda's son and Joe Biden riding around Graffiti Park. Stop. Is Knox campaigning with Joe? I think.

That's exciting. You know, together they could balance out the age to something that we all might want. Should they replace Kamala with Knox Dobbins? That would be exciting. I think, yeah, a good platform for him. Trains and. He supports agriculture. He does. And snacks at all times for all people. I good platform for him, trains. He supports agriculture. He does.

And snacks at all times for all people. I'm voting for him. Yeah. I rode the train from LA to New Orleans. Did you? Yeah, 48 hours. How did it go? Terrible.

Yeah. You have a sleep car? No, I did not. I see. I was just up the whole time. That sounds horrible. My Popeye's got soggy. Are you being serious?

I did. You were up the whole time? I was an aviaphobe. I wouldn't fly for years. And so I rode the train twice, 48 hours. You're like John Madden. Yeah. We got to get a van bus.

Okay. Good pick, Amanda. Thank you. BS? Bill's got two. Bill's not. You guys realize Bill's not socializing with us

right no he's strategizing that's okay you guys you gotta prepare I prepared okay I just CR

I just spent too much time with CR so he was strategically taking stuff one round ahead of where they should've gone so I'm just gonna have to be a prick

he got game for Spike Lee and Tony that's cool that's good that's a good pick that's a great pick I had my eye on that one that was good I'm just going to have to be a prick. He got game for Spike Lee and Tony. That's cool. That's good. That's a good pick. That's a great pick.

I had my eye on that one. That was good. I thought getting this with the 10th pick in the draft is a delight. Yeah. I think it's a very important Deadzel movie. It's a very important actor playing sports movie, as we covered when we did the pod about it. And, you know you gotta just

fast forward through all the mila jovovich scenes that's the key to this movie on the rewatches just just fast forward i don't know why that plot's in there all i care about is him and ray allen i don't need anything else in the movie and i love this uh i love this movie all right so for the next one i'm deciding whether i just want to be a prick or not. And I'm really like leaning toward just being a prick. Why stop now? Yeah. What,

what's the, why are you? Cause I know what CR is going to take next. Okay. Oh, you can, I know what you think. And I also know what Amanda is going to take next.

Bill. Yeah, I know. And I don't know who I want to screw over. Out of the two. Cause they both, I thought. What about, is there know who I want to screw over out of the two. Because they both, I thought. What about, is there a way for you to screw over Sean instead? No, because Sean. I'm everything.

I believe in everything. We don't usually align. As long as it's coming from a place of us seeing eye to eye, that's, you know. I should invite Bill to more drafts because we don't see eye to eye. We you know I should invite Bill to more drafts because we don't see eye to eye we can have what we need no he's totally silent

because he's trying to wish us to I have a question is American Gangster an action thriller or is it a drama I think it's a drama I think it's a drama as well

I think that the fact that there are gunshots in the movie you could get it into thriller it's debatable but I think that I think I would allow it but I would movie, you could get it into Thriller. It's debatable. But I think that, I think I would allow it, but I would be like, it's more of a drama. When you look at the Wikipedia description, do you think the words action or Thriller will appear? What about the last 10 minutes when they have to do one of those, it's always sunny boards for Denzel to identify like four people in a photograph?

It's not the best part. The problem is I don't love American Gangster as a movie. And I think it'd be disingenuous if I took it. To me, I think it is a really good Denzel performance though. Chris was making that point earlier that sometimes he's great in movies that are not

considered so good. So it's debatable. It's not for you to make a choice. Are we doing performance or movie? You can do whatever you want. It's everything. It's your draft. That's right. This is really tough. I'm going to do the equalizer for Blockbuster.

Wow. Wow. Interesting. Bill. I'm just drafting for me. You know what? I love you, Bill. Thank you.

Yeah, you're welcome. I didn't want to take the movie you're going to take. That's really nice. Because Thank you. They mutilated the movie you're gonna take that's really nice because thank you they mutilated the movie they cut the sex scene they cut the sex and i'm not taking it because i'm i'm on van side i can't wait to talk about this movie the one that you're gonna take yeah i'm not gonna take it for the same reasons bill is it it's almost like they're trying to

like psych a man down i wish that they had released the version of the film with the sex scene. We're talking about the movie Safe House. Yes. No, it's Ryan Reynolds, Denzel's sex scene. It's two guns. I like that movie. I like that movie. Nobody liked it.

I've told stories about this movie before. This was when I first moved to L.A. Tobin Glass. I first moved to L.A. We didn't have any TV. The only thing that was working was like the you know 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and the only movie I could

get was Safe House on the TV and I watched it and it fucking sucked. That was pretty good. It's just extremely poor. It's not on my list. Okay.

Okay. Wait so Do you want to say anything about The Equalizer? I enjoyed your dad's appearance on Three Watchables. Great pod.

So some argue that Equalizer 2 is a whiff better I argue that but I wait till you guys see three you're gonna be blown away yeah yeah but I

really like equalizer one it was so much fun I watched it I think two and a half times when we were about to do the pod and I'm just like you know what

great job by Denzel little nice career reset for him I think it's an important movie for the catalog sets up his version of like a little mini Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible kind of franchise. John Wick-ish.

Yeah, which he had never really done. And his version of like Taken. In a lot of ways, it's worked out way better than Taken because Taken 1 was elite. Taken 2, it's like it's fine. And then Taken 3 is an abomination. It's a disaster. Equalizer, I haven't seen 3 yet, but everybody, it's fine. And then Taken 3 is an abomination. It's a disaster. Equalizer,

I haven't seen 3 yet, but everybody says it's solid. I'm saving it. Sneaky good Denzel performance to me too. Yeah. I mean,

he's good. He tried some stuff. This is the floor razor thing I'm talking about. Yeah. Like, Liam Neeson is still doing these movies

and kind of mailing it in at this point. You can tell Denzel cares about this character for whatever reason. Took it serious. Very weird character though in 2 especially

he's like just doing good deeds for people for like an hour and a half it's a really weird movie yeah but that scene when

it's just like chilling the scene in the first equalizer where the guy is laying and he's like you're watching the life

drain from this body and Denzel's like yo this all happened over 10,000 hours this is quite awesome yeah I was like I'm're watching the life drain from this body. And Denzel's like, yo, this all happened over 10,000 hours. I was like, whoa. The Nailgun finale is really pretty spectacular. The Equalizer movies are fun. I didn't realize when they first started coming out how fun they were.

Well, it's also the whole legacy of the Vigilante movie, which I've kind of grown up with. I've never known a world where we didn't have those. And I liked when they came back. And I'm still in. I'm always in on normal human gets upset about the state of something and just decides to wreak havoc. It's a winner every time.

Fortunately, we don't have to see yours because you're going to have the chance to draft the movie that you want. But wait, so who is next? Is Van next? Or is Amanda next? I left it first just because I like Amanda. I don't really like you, Bill. I am receiving this as a gesture of love.

In Blockbuster, I will take Pelican Brief, a movie that I wanted and that Bill and Van will now make me feel bad about. Go ahead. It's not about feeling bad. So it's like,

I love it. I wanted the sex scene too. Yeah. And when I learned that, I was pretty upset. Me too. Yeah. They're in learned that, I was pretty upset. Me too. Yeah.

And then- They're in the hotel room. It's going to happen. Right? It's kind of like Prime Julia too. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like that- Prime Denzel.

It just really would have been like- I feel like that changes everything. Yeah. So what's the story? Even though it is not the ideal reporter source. No. Ethics. Yeah. In practice. That's probably true.

In that sense, they made a journalistically responsible decision, except. My nine years at the old TMZ, I've seen it work the other way too. Yeah. The thing about this scene, because they're in the hotel room and like suddenly the hotel room, the Washington Post has sprung for like a suite so there's a living room so there's like nowhere with a bed so they're in the living room of the hotel suite that scene is like 10 minutes long they like cut out the sex but they just sit there for a very long time staring at each other in close-up and I feel that the chemistry is is palpable and it's not like they fill it with anything else. They're just like,

we want you to know that there was supposed to be a sex scene here and you're not going to get it. That same year on 90210, Deshawn Hardell and Donna Martin, same thing. The interracial romance was sitting there, Van. Do you think Alan Pecora was thinking about that?

They were too scared. Too scared. Yeah. If 90210 can't break this barrier, how could I? That was 1993. But we've seen this over the years. The Golden Child, Eddie Murphy wasn't allowed to have a sex scene with anybody for most of the 80s. And the Golden Child got cut out.

Do you guys remember the movie Love Field? Yeah. Michelle Pfeiffer. So Denzel was supposed to do that. He was supposed to do that movie. He was connected to do that movie. He was connected to do that movie. And the thing on it was that they didn't want it to be an interracial situation. It wasn't time yet.

It wasn't time. So to know that he worked through that and he was like, it's time to go for it. It's time to buy some milk. With America's sweetheart, Julia Roberts. With America's sweetheart. You know what I mean? It's time to bring her over to the, you know, who knows how her career would have changed. You know what I mean?

She might have gone on to star in Why I Get Married Too. Or, you know what I mean? Like, you know what I mean? Who knows how that would have, how her career would have changed. And it didn't happen. And so it's the whole thing. Has Denzel ever romantically been opposite

a white woman in a movie? Not that I don't think so. I don't think so. They always, they always. If it wasn't going to be Julia Roberts, it's not like she's on the screen. I was going to say Kelly Riley. Like it's, there's something.

Do they consummate? No. There's heat. They kind of do though. Do they? I thought it was more like he saved tragedy. That's why you shouldn't have drafted the movie.

Kelly Riley could have heat with a wooden chair. I mean, she is just a flame. This is a thing. He gets funky with the redheads. She's very special.

But Joe, this is a thing. She's like in the hospital gown in that scene in flight flirting with him. They're smoking a cigarette. I mean, Christ, come on. I love Kelly Riley. That's an important person.

You're very reserved. A little tight on this one. I think it's the Rick Schroeder thing. Now I'm trying to keep it on track. I was with you. I thought that was a great joke. You weren't looking this way. I was laughing.

They put every young actor in that movie. Okay. So you got it. Are you relieved? Are you happy? Yes, I am relieved. I don't know how the rest of the draft is going to go. So you got it. Are you relieved? Are you happy? Yes, I am relieved. I don't know how the rest of the draft is going to go. Can I make one Pelican brief point?

Yeah, please. The premise itself is like a 15 out of 10. It's incredible. It's a great idea for anything. It's so good that I think we have like talked about doing it as a rewatchable and it's like it's almost too prescient to do. You know what I mean?

It's just absolutely incredible. I actually wish that there was more. They don't plan the plane on it, but it's almost too prescient to do. You know what I mean? It's just absolutely incredible. I actually wish that there was more. I wanted more. It's tough because they took the two movie stars so you want to spend all the time with the movie stars

but I want more Supreme Court talk. Like I feel like there could have been a lot more about the machinations. I want a lot more Sam Shepard. I'm zagging.

I want more Tucci talk. I want more disguises. He's very good in that. great little era in courtroom related stuff fan that's a great segue to my pick yeah wow good job because i'm picking philadelphia uh which people don't typically think of i think is a denzel movie because it's obviously a a huge tom hanks oscar winning performance uh this is an incredibly important movie just like growing up because it was the name of the city that i was growing you know born and raised in and was shooting like while i was in high school so there was like oh where's philadelphia shooting today

it's like they're gonna be on broad street they're gonna be on you know outside of city hall or whatever um if you go back and watch it it's an incredible Denzel performance and it is an incredibly courageous one because he is reflecting so much of the ambivalence towards this moment in history with the AIDS epidemic and with I think mass

acceptance of homosexuality and culture and he still manages to project so much warmth and integrity and he still manages to project like so much warmth and integrity and you know honest searching for answers and confronting his own prejudices and it's an amazing character and i think denzel i wish he had made more demi movies he made two but he is that kind of character person who can stare directly at a camera and really captivate you. And the final courtroom scenes, especially

as he kind of brings down the firm, is just unbelievable. I hope we get to do this at Rewatchables. I think it's an amazing movie. I do believe I've been circling it as a phrase I've heard you say about the movie Philadelphia Bill. I almost took it. I thought it was a little too early. But as usual,

CR was around too early with a pick. Just the Howie Roseman over here. He likes his guy, just goes and gets him yeah sure no matter what he's done in his personal life yeah uh okay great pick amazing movie amazing movie uh Van I have to uh I have to sell out because I have to take American Gangster okay yeah I have to do it you know because here's the thing as a drama i it was on my list man so i'm really i'm just yeah wait did we're just 15 minutes away from you being like american gangsters just okay right yeah okay yeah um i have to take it in now it's good value yeah it's a good value pick it's it's just okay but i have to take it in drama just because like to me the movie is actually less important than like

the cultural moment that it created stenzel gangster film blue magic blue magic frank lucas soundtrack the entire deal ti's in the movie giselle is in the movie. You got him together with Russell Crowe. It was just like a big deal when it came out. A big deal. I was a little bit let down, but it's actually one of his more important roles leading to this part of his career. Where he's the elder statesman, big bro, Uncle Denzel type of situation. It's almost like a gateway movie to this new Denzel that we're into right now. I think it has one of the best final shots

in any movie in this century when Frank gets out of jail and Can't Trust It by Public Enemy starts playing and he's all alone. And he's like, I'm in a new world 15 years later, all by myself. Amazing moment in a movie that I kind of didn't earn the moment.

Like I felt like it didn't totally, it's good, but like you want a movie like that to be great and it's just not great but i feel like do you think younger people younger than us like it more yeah because maybe they haven't seen the movies that it is so clearly riffing on you know what's interesting like getting older is really a motherfucker it is because i have this entire relationship with Denzel Washington going back to childhood. And then every once in a while on Twitter, someone will post a young Denzel and be like, oh, my God, look at how great Denzel Washington looked. Or look at this crazy Denzel Washington movie that he was in.

Or this is Denzel Washington with the South African accent or something. And I'm like, y'all really know him from either training day on yeah or American Gangster on and it's almost like the same way that I had to go back and do my homework on Jack Nicholson you see Chinatown when you're in the ninth grade or something like that so it's it's a whole interesting thing I think American Gangster is probably one of those movies that kids like a little generation behind me, like more gravitate towards. Okay, I've got two picks. Go for it.

In drama, I'm taking Devil in a Blue Dress. You ruined my whole draft. That's right. It was that or that. It probably lasted too long. Yeah, you ruined my whole draft. This is definitely one of his 10 best movies. This is also my biggest regret for Denzel is that they never made more Easy Rollins movies.

It would have been great, wouldn't it? This is a Carl Franklin movie. He's made two movies with Carl Franklin. We mentioned Out of Time earlier. This is their first collaboration. Movie, in many ways, I think is remembered for like really putting Don Cheadle on the map because he's incredible in this movie. But this is, I agree, Chris, it could have been like the equalizer before the equalizer. Like it's a character that you would have wanted to see Denzel return to. Just absolutely riveting kind of noir detective movie.

Like very clearly him doing his riff on Bogart. And I have seen this movie north of 10 times. I'm actually surprised it lasted as long as it did.

I'm surprised you didn't take it because I know you like it. I love it. It's one of the Don Cheadle's performances one of the most overlooked performances I've ever. He's just fantastic in I know you like it. I love it. It's one of the... Don Cheadle's performance is one of the most overlooked performances

I've ever... He's just fantastic in the movie. He's amazing. Revelatory. Denzel's great. Okay, that'll be in drama. A year later, Don Cheadle was in a donut shop

covered in blood, brains, taking some money out. Starting a new stereotype. The second best performance as Buck Swope. In action or thriller, I'm taking the Manchurian Candidate interesting

wow okay when's the last time you guys saw this movie recently yeah cool very cool

very cool movie very underrated might be too early but I like this movie a lot and it features I think one of the best Denzel performances and

as you guys know love love Jonathan Demme. And on paper, the idea of him remaking an already perfect movie was a bad idea. But I think he brings something completely new, completely different to it. They completely redefine the idea of like PTSD and addiction and the wars of the 21st century and all this other great stuff. Really fascinating, really great looking movie with a very complicated interesting denzel performance so that's for action thriller also that category is getting very thin so i had to move there typical sean pick yeah great exceptional that movie's a fucking mess i just watched it that's a bad take I tried to talk myself into it

and I watched it like during my break and I was like no I maybe it's better this time it's like no it's not yeah no you're wrong

it's very well done it's just the Meryl Streep Liev Schreiber part is super weird it's like is she gonna like start having sex with him

have you seen the original movie that's the original movie yeah early 60s when people were fucking bonkers. Remaking. Okay. Next pick, Van. I'm going action thriller, Equalizer 2.

Yeah. One of my favorite, favorite lines anywhere. Anywhere in a movie. You know, we live in a world where hopefully people get what they deserve, but we don't. Men do the things that they do. I don't ask why. The difference is you killed my friend. So I'm going to kill each and every one of you.

And my only regret is I'm only going to be able to do it once. And just the look on, you know, Pedro's coming into his thing, the look on everybody's face as he walks back out. Just cold. Let's go around the room. If you could equalize one person in society, who would it be? Oh, I love it. Okay.

That's a great question. All society, not like immediate to me. So not like people in this room. That's a good question. You know, are you asking if we would kill someone?

This is a murder question. Just equalize. Yeah, because like the cops in Equalizer 1, he just gets them on tape and he's like, you're no longer going to be taking money. You can define how you would like to equalize. Right, so like Brian Colangelo.

Right. That's a great one. That's amazing. That's a really good one. That's a great one right there. In some ways, I did. Yeah, I was going to say. That's going to say.

Anybody else want to? Vivek Ramaswamy. Okay. It just seems like a very of the moment pick. I know, but like just right now, I want to equalize him. I might get the chance to. You guys must be. And what would you do to equalize him? Just drain his bank account?

That would be good. But just bring the bullshit to the top. Just say, hey, bro, aren't you full of shit? I think you might self-equalize. Yeah. Interesting. Bill,

anybody you want to equalize out there? I mean, lots of people. I won't be mentioning them. Oh, I know. I know who it is. Well,

there's lots of people. It's a fucking long list. Yeah. Okay. I'm a half Italian, Sean. Amanda, you've been known

to equalize here and there. Have I? I think so. Oh, that's, well. You've been directing your commentary. here and there. Have I? I think so. Oh, that's, well. You've been direct in your commentary. Yeah, but the beauty of it is,

it just, it's not, it just, it springs naturally, you know? So who can say who's next? Probably you. Thank you. I'll be equalizing the person that gave my family COVID. That person needs to be sent to the gulag. Brutal.

Okay. Equalizer 2 is off the board. Sierra, youutal. Okay. Equalizer 2 is off the board. CR, you're up. You took Equalizer 2? 2, yeah. All right, just so I can be clear, Bobby, I just want to let you know that Philadelphia was in drama for me.

All right, I'll update that. I still have Blockbuster and Action to go. It's getting a little tight. Action is a little bit in a complicated place here. Well, they're both in kind of complicated places not for me

I have a lot of cornerbacks left on this board that I like some Cole Stranges here I have a lot of four foot speed like underrated smaller college guys

Tayshaun Boutte yeah dropped because of a situation in Atlanta can't wait to pick this category for Blockbuster I'm going to take

The Magnificent Seven. Are you being serious? No, I am. Amazing. He's fucking awesome in that movie. I knew the draft would fall apart for him. That movie fucking sucks.

No, man. Nick Pizzolatto wrote the script. Yo, when's the last time did you see it? I've seen it, yeah. How many times? Every Magnificent Seven movie, you gotta see it seven times to understand it.

It's like my favorite Chris Pratt performance in that movie. You guys are crazy. Come back to me when you're sitting on Book of Eli in a minute. Magnuson 7 is good. It really is not. Peter Sarkar is a sin of villain in this? It's really not good. It seems like

everybody is just has that are we getting paid right after this shoot? Are the checks coming today or is it tomorrow? Yeah, right off set right into their Ferrari.

Oh my God. Okay, interesting picks here. Ethan Hawke plays somebody named, like, Beauregard Beauregard in this movie. Who is, like, an assassin with PTSD with, like, a Chinese manservant who throws knives at people. Doesn't he talk like Foghorn Legler in the movie, though?

He's like, I say, I say the movie though he's like I say I say I do declare but I like it okay interesting pick who's up next Ben are you up

I thought Amanda said oh Amanda sorry we're going in the opposite direction in action thriller which is a category

that is getting quite slim I will be taking the taking of Pelham 1 2 3 which is a film that I getting quite slim, I will be taking the taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3, which is a film that I have seen in the last three years because my husband turned it on one night during COVID. What an amazing recommendation. Sounds great.

Here we go. So Amanda, you've watched two train movies. I do. I have two train movies. It was okay. It was pretty good. Pelham's guy, I think Denzel's good in it. I have two train movies. It was okay. It was pretty good. Pelham's guy, I think Denzel's good in it.

I think Travolta is atrocious. Exactly. Yeah, that's the problem. Have we ever litigated this? Like, that guy's a fucking fantastic actor. Like, what the fuck happened? Like, why? Who can say?

It's almost like the Monstars got to him and drained him of all his shit. It's like, what happened? He's a really talented actor. I mean, there's too bad. We can speculate. There's probably some things that have gone on. Yeah.

He had a longer run than you think, and it actually makes sense. It tailed off dramatically in the mid-2000s. Because he'd been famous for like 30 plus years. And also had already had arguably the greatest comeback in movie star history. So he's made a lot of movies in the last five years that are abominable. had already had arguably the greatest comeback in movie star history. So, he's made a lot of movies in the last five years

that are abominable. Like, straight to VOD crap. There's now, at this point, there's like, guys are releasing movies,

the Redbox action movies at a clip where like, you couldn't even do like, it's, how funny, I'm going to watch all of Emile Hirsch's cop movies that have come out

in the last two years. And it's like, no, you're not. Yeah. But there's 17 of them. It actually gives me anxiety as a completist where I'm going to watch all of Emile Hirsch's cop movies that have come out in the last two years. And it's like, no, you're not. Yeah. But there's 17 of them. It actually gives me anxiety as a completist where I'm like, so movie stars are just making awful movies

all the time now? What am I supposed to do about that? Every time I'm like weirdly scrolling through Amazon and it'll be like, Anthony Hopkins, 50 Cent, Robert De Niro. And I'll be like, I'll be like, yo, I gotta look at this. Kalika's like, man, we're not, like, you don't understand. Like, I have to watch this.

But you can see they bring Anthony Hopkins, like, they shoot at his house for one day. What? He's standing by an ocean and it costs a million dollars and they get six hours. But the movies always have, like, two titles and the titles are like brutal integrity. Yeah. Or like how to hold a hand. Savage salvation. Yeah.

Okay. BS. Just delighted right now. The board really fell into place for me. Great. CR shit in the bed in round four. Huge. Yeah.

Really helped me. Just delighted to ask. So, just to be clear, you've got, you've got how, how many picks remaining?

Magnificent Seven for Blockbuster, right? Okay. Bill, you're missing a drama, an action thriller, and a wild card right now. Well, I have, I have two of those right now.

So, it's, it's, you know, I want, I want to think about the movies too who's a fourth rounder who's a fifth rounder you know i don't want either of them to feel like they lost yeah in this so for drama just because this was a better movie courage under fire is a really good movie and uh has good denzel in it has Has kind of an amazing Meg Ryan performance.

And it does. It is the career-making Damon performance. And Damon loses, he's like, basically his organs shut down. He lost so much weight. I think the movie itself is really good. It's,

you know, it's a war movie. It's like a Roshamon. You're not seeing much of war movies again, but I think this movie is excellent and I'm proud to add it to my team it's actually it's cooler to watch

as like a sort of courtroom investigative movie where he's trying to piece together the truth yeah more so than as a war movie

yeah and he's really good in it so there's one I don't know if you have any Courage Under Fire thoughts man I never saw it I've only seen pieces of it

it's good yeah it's a good movie so then for my other one this is a guilty pleasure movie for me thoughts, man. I never saw it. I've only seen pieces of it. It's good. Yeah. It's a good movie. So then for my other one, this is a guilty pleasure movie for me. It's a controversial movie for reasons that we aren't going to talk

about. What the fuck is happening here? It has two actions in this movie at the absolute peak of their powers. It has Denzel in my favorite version of Denzel where he might have done something wrong, but he's got to pull himself out of it. It's a movie called...

See, I always get these mixed up. Out of Time or Deja Vu. Oh, I thought you were going to pick. I'm doing Out of Time. Okay. All right. 2003. Sanaa Lathan and Eva Mendes

yeah and this movie's just sweaty and just Denzel's super horny and it ends up costing him and then

it's one of those movies where it costs him everything I like movies where the cop is involved but nobody knows yet but then they're in the office and they're like

yeah I ran a trace on your thing. So weird, your number came back. It was one of the last numbers they called. It was like, whoa, that must be a mistake

and they have to like, it's just one of those movies that makes you uneasy. It's really good. Thumbs up. He plays Matt Lee Whitlock in that one, man. It's a movie that like

a lot of people always wanted him to play because he was he was swarmy but he was good looking. I like the film. It's like a lot of surprises.

I've always liked that movie. I always felt it was underrated. Yeah. Interesting movie and then Denzel Lexcon too. You sound really passionate about this.

Facts. I mean, it is an interesting movie and then Denzel Lexcon. A lot of stuff happened around the movie. Denzel's super horny. Facts. I mean, there is an interesting movie in the Denzel X-Con. A lot of stuff happened around the movie. Denzel's super horny. Two ladies.

He's got to pull himself out of it. I'm Bill Simmons. Give it up, Dex. Tonight on Mr. Skin TV, one of our finest actors. Fast forward to 1.14. And he's horny. And you'll get to see.

But I don't know if he's going to pull himself out of it, so we got to watch. Well, the other movie, the other part of this movie was late. No selling that. It's incredible. Love and Basketball was three years before, right? And she's just so awesome in that movie.

But then to see her in this movie, it's like, oh my God, that's the love and basketball lady oh no she's actually got this other side I don't know that's a good movie

incredibly underutilized in succession Sonal Ethan when they introduced her as the lawyer I was like this is gonna be amazing she's gonna be a huge

part of this show and then she just wasn't okay so I always forget now is it your number were you the number

two pick Amanda's up so I have two categories left I was. So I have two categories left. I have drama and I have wild card. And all the boys have picked something in drama. But only Van has picked a wild card. And I know what I want my wild card to be. And I don't trust everyone at this table.

Even though this is a very weird one. No, I think you're right to pick this. You think that I'm right to pick the 1993 Shakespeare adaptation, Much Ado About Nothing? I thought you would. Yeah. Well, sure. But you've also been really rude throughout this auction and have been suggesting places where people can take things from me throughout. Just one thing.

So now I am taking it. This is directed by Kenneth Branagh when he was still married to Emma Thompson who was also in the film. Keanu Reeves is in this. Robert Sean Leonard. Michael Keaton.

What? Can I ask you a question? Sure. Is Much Ado About Nothing a drama or is it a comedy? It's in wild card. Oh, I'm sorry.

Yeah. I apologize. Okay, but thanks for, you know what? You don't miss an angle to be an asshole i like that you were like on this one you literally went full james yeah in fairness white cops have also been presented if i didn't do this would this be a good pod? Probably not. It would just be about being like, yep, that's my pick.

I got it out of time. I didn't realize you got bullied like this on the drafts until you're actually in it. I'm team Amanda. Thank you so much. You're welcome. I gave you a pelican brief. I'm on your side.

And I'll never forget. Bill, where does Much Ado About Nothing rate on the Mr. Skin horn meter of Bill Shakespeare plays. Kenneth Branagh gets some tone tan bodies. Wandering under the Tuscan sun. The sun dappling them just so. It's a really thin line between Mr. Skin and Metal Draft. They're really close.

I'm not positive I've seen this movie. Okay. If I did, it was 30 years ago and I have no recollection of it. It was a big deal. It's like a 90s Shakespeare adaptation. There's a ridiculous scene where they're all riding horses together

in the credits. It's delightful. It's really lovely. Yeah. But Keanu's in it, right? He's not very good in it. Yeah. That's okay.

That's my big memory of it he has other talents and I'm doing She's There well you mentioned the incredible nature of doing Pelican Brief in Philadelphia

in the same year this movie is also you omitted what you do yeah 1993 is a powerhouse year for Death Note this is a rough run for Keanu right

like this is remember Dracula Dracula was yeah yeah it's okay it worked out it's fine speed yeah yeah it's okay it worked out it's fine

speed speed brought him back yeah yeah he's the man okay my turn stand or get off stand or get off

Chris's pick now I think in wild card I'm gonna go Mississippi Masala oh wow you know I'd never seen this until this weekend wasn't expecting it

to get drafted huge blind spot really lovely movie good movie yeah and Sarita Chowdhury back in the news because she's on And Just Like That

as Seema. Is she? Yeah. She's wonderful as Seema. She's like a ray of sunshine in this movie. By the way, I finished And Just Like That season 2 and I'm ready to discuss whenever you want. But this is a fantastic movie. Is she still podcasting? You know, she sort of abandoned the podcast.

Well, it got shut down because she refused to do the vaginal rejuvenation act or whatever it was. You guys ever see Kama Sutra, A Tale of Love?

She's in that. I've seen it, yeah. Have you really? I have, yeah. Mississippi Masala was just also like a really awesome time in indie movies

when, I don't know, it was just like I was going to the movies a lot at like the Ritz, which was like the indie theater. And you would just, you never knew what you were going to get, but something like this where it's like Denzel Washington, he was on his trajectory to be like the biggest movie star in the world is doing a Mirror and Error movie. And it was fantastic. Sierra used to go see movies at the Ritz Hotel? No, it was the Ritz. It was like see movies at the Ritz Hotel. No, it's like

the Ritz, it was like the name of the art house movie in Philly. It's a good name. Chaotic Denzel years. In 1991, he made

Mississimi Masala, a beautiful romance and Ricochet. Wow. Wow. That's really the spectrum, the total spectrum. Van, you're up.

I like it just like that just by the way. I like to watch it. Yeah. We are, Chris and I are both upset about Miranda I just didn't do right by that character

yeah but hasn't just like that appeared on the Mr. Skin Meter has there been any moments let me tell you so I watched the last three episodes on the plane

on the on the way to Italy and like they by the end you know they're trying to write by all of the characters that they have and then also you know perhaps widen the lens of the sex in the city universe

and they interpreted that to mean that everybody had to be shown having sex yeah like the last episode is just like a long montage and you just cut to person after person finding their sexual joy like fairly graphically for me on an airplane with other people watching. But I persevered. Like Austin Powers? I'm the pervert here. These are the shows though.

These are the shows that I'm into now. Yeah. This Yellowstone morning show. Unwatchable. Like morning show. These are the shows, man.

These are the great shows. You have the taste of like a 58 year old white woman living in Montana Van welcome I'm just being honest with you these are the shows

can I just say that and just like that is singularly one of the worst shows of the last 20 years but it's watchable though it's bad

abomination of an atrocity no it's so bad it's so bad and I would watch an episode every day. I really would. Even my wife tapped out, and I don't think there was a bigger Sex and the City fan than my wife.

And she was like the wrestler trying to lean toward the road. It's so bad. Just an awful show. Amazing how much bad TV we've talked about on this podcast about Denzel. Okay. Okay. Okay. Van, you're up. I'm going to do Spike or Tony.

I don't think I've done that yet. I'm going to do Deja Vu. I haven't rewatched this in a long time. I remember really liking it but being a little confused by it when I saw it. You can look into the past. Are you telling me that? I mean, that's what the movie can do. They invent it invented it's ridiculous

they invented technology where you can look either into the past or into the future but I just remember the Paula Patton discourse was so sufficient

after this not the discourse the Paula Patton conversation was sufficient or insufficient no it was sufficient baby it's a legend

like we like it was it was just like okay this is this is the No, it was sufficient, baby. It's a legit, like, we, like, it was, it was just like, okay, this is, this is the thing. Meaning it was abundant. It was abundant.

Yeah. Okay. Denzel is here. He's in the movie. Things happen. They shot this one in Louisiana. It takes place in New Orleans. I remember I was still back home

when everybody was trying to get a job on the film. Some good outdoor New Orleans footage. Yeah, great outdoor New Orleans stuff. And to me, like, these are the, like, I really like the film. job on the film. Outdoor New Orleans footage. Yeah, great outdoor New Orleans stuff. And to me, like these are the, like I really like the film. I like the movie.

I'd already taken, I was going some different ways. I didn't expect you to take He Got Game. I should have thought about that. But I like Deja Vu.

It's a good movie. That's great, man. You know what my short Walter Montite one sentence review of Deja Vu is? A noble failure. I really respect it.

Put it on the poster. Mr. Skin a noble failure. It's respectable. I really appreciate that it happened. It just never quite got there but I still liked watching it.

There's a lot of overlap I think. Deja Vu and Out of Time get mixed up a lot. I think they did earlier on this podcast. Yes. Yes, they think. Deja Vu and Out of Time get mixed up a lot. I think they did earlier on this podcast. Yes, they do. I met Paula Patton once.

Impressive lady. Cool. Very impressive. Good story. That's all I can say. That's great. It's my turn. I have my final two picks.

We should like Sean. We love hearing from you. Sean, I love the pod. Tell us more. This was like 15 years ago. And she was like, get away from me, nerd. Sean, if you know anything about her, you know that you had a shot. Did she was like, get away from me, nerd. Sean, if you know anything about her,

you know that you had a shot. Did she like white guys? The reason that I met her was because I was profiling Robin Thicke. Wow. Imagine a world where

you steal Robin Thicke's lady. But our lives doesn't happen. We all know that's not plausible. Though I wouldn't want to be Robin Thicke

right now either. The hair's not that different. It was discussed in 2008. Yeah. Why does he want to be Robin Thicke? Is that because he lost his publishing

to Marvin Gaye? And also he cheated on Paula Patton and she broke up with him. Oh, okay. That was not ideal. I don't have a Robin Thicke role.

I was a fan. We've also reconsidered Blurred Lines in the last five years. I don't know if you checked out. I think we've re-litigated Blurred Lines and there were some years. I don't know if you checked out. I think we've re-litigated Blurred Lines. And there were some issues with the song itself.

Some things happened. To video as well, perhaps. Okay. So I've got Oscar nominee and wild card left. I have no idea what I'm going to do with wild card. But Oscar nominee, I'll take it back to the beginning. I'll take Glory. This is his first Oscar win.

This is an amazing performance from Denzel. Supporting acting performance. Very young actor to be winning an Academy Award especially a black actor in Hollywood in the 1980s extremely uncommon

at this time this is a good movie I like this movie a lot it's a little hard to see it in a way that is not infected by the fact that

I saw it when I was so young but the first of the Edward Zwick collaborations that he makes and really really really good. Wildcard. Do you feel like that's, for a lot of people, that was a forgotten Academy Award?

Like, he won that Academy Award, and I don't think I realized when I was first getting into Denzel that he really had already achieved that. Yeah, I'll tell you why. I think people saw the Training Day Oscar as like Pacino's Scent of a Woman Oscar. There was like an it's time for him to win Best Actor. He already had one.

Yeah. And that doesn't mitigate the fact that he's great in Training Day too. But I think you're right. I think people forget that he has two. He also feels like a person who you wouldn't be stunned if in the next five to ten years he got a third.

And there's very few actors who have three. But he commands. He got nominated for Tragedy of Macbeth, which is fine. You know, it's okay. It was, yeah. It looked very interesting. Yeah. You liked it.

Gotta bring the Coen brothers back together. Yeah. I agree. We do. He got nominated for another movie. I don't know if anybody's going to take Roman J. Israel, Esquire. No. No. I didn. We do. He got him in for another movie. I don't know if anybody's going to take Roman J. Israel Esquire.

No. No. I didn't even give it a go. Again. I still have drama so we don't know. Okay.

You might be getting it. We'll see. Wild card. I mean what's my favorite movie of his that's left? This is a tough one.

I should be able to suggest a movie to you right now. Suggest one. Go ahead. Take Fallen. That was honestly the one I was going to take. You're lying. I should be able to suggest a movie to you right now. Suggest one, go ahead. Take Fallen. That was honestly the one I was going to take.

You're lying. I swear to God. Are you serious? I just don't want to see it not get drafted. I don't know why I love that fucking movie. I love that movie.

Now you can't take it. I mean, that is, I was strongly considering that. I think it's the best movie left on the board am I crazy to say that show of hands who's seen Fallen it's not the best movie left on the board

are you taking it or not what is this I never do like a litmus test Bill who hemmed and hawed over a pig literally for five minutes we also vamped for you for five minutes yeah

like we're scammed and hard and now you're you're the Minnesota Vikings he's losing your pig placement he's like the pig you're the goat and then you listen to us

like was that a pig or was that not a pig what the fuck I'll take Fallen yeah thank you I'll take Fallen and watch it

Gregory Hoblet I believe this is his follow up to the incredible film Primal Fear yeah which we just did on the rewatch list this is a follow up to the incredible film Primal Fear which we just did on the rewatch list this is a movie about

how a Satan demon jumps inside you and then possesses you and causes you to do terrible things good for you Sean couple great things

about this movie really good John Goodman incredible Elias Koteas performance in this movie that guy's the man he's amazing in this movie and Denzel again is a kind of detective

cop hunting down Satan I love it the one scene where because you gotta touch somebody for the demon to go to their body the one scene where all the people are grabbing each other

blah blah blah at the end the shades of Bill's vision of hell in in ghost feels very similar it's not my vision, Sean. It's what hell is like. Birds come up and they pull you down. Black shadows.

Okay. That's my final pick. Van, you're up. What do I have left? Do I have drama left? I have you with Oscar nominee left. Oscar nominee left. Have you been taking your own notes, Bill?

Yeah. I love it. So if it's Oscar nominee left, I am been taking your own notes, Bill? Yeah. I love it. So if it's Oscar nominee left, I am going to go with Fences. Yeah. I was really hoping that you wouldn't. Yeah. But I understand why you did. Something awesome about Fences that I want everybody to do.

I want everybody to do this. This is a really awesome exercise about this play play by august wilson and about like the lead performance right now go on youtube and youtube james earl jones's performance of the big time monologue in fences when the character asks that like why like why you never liked me watch how james earl jones plays it and watch how powerful the scene is and then watch how Denzel plays it and watch how Denzel takes it, does the exact same thing with it,

but makes it a little funny, makes it a little bit more humorous, plays it a little bit more like a scamp. Like, obviously, August Wilson is incredibly important to me as an American playwright, obviously as a Black American playwright. But Denzel and what he was able to do

in Pasadena with Viola Davis and then bringing it to the screen and taking that performance and giving a different spin on it, fantastic. It was a great performance. Obviously, she cooked a minute. When we talk about whether or not

Denzel has ever lost a one-on-one, that might be a time that he lost a one-on-one. But it was... Oh, he lost. And it might have been a 10-8 round. Yeah. I love the movie, love the play. But he made the movie in part

so that she could cook him. That was part of the idea, which is amazing. Good value. Thank you, Bill. Thank you. Your final pick. Good value. Thank you, Bill. Thank you. Your final pick. So I have to do action thriller.

Do you see that he's more interested in being the Mill Kiper of this than actually participating? What's funny is I was going to say, he's like the greatest podcaster in history and he's acting like he's at Shakey's. He's just like, you fucking idiot. That's bad value. Did you pick or not?

Well, you picked and then you looked at us and you like saw approval and then it seemed like you were gonna walk back to pick I've never seen anything like that

well you gonna pick or not pick welcome to the big picture uh in action thriller I'm gonna take the siege uh okay

which is obviously another what what a relief What a relief. What a relief that somebody picked it or that I... I just really want... There's one movie left I really want and you just passed on it. What if Amanda takes it? She won't.

Okay. Another movie that is kind of difficult to sort of view maybe through today's eyes but is actually like a really gripping thriller for much of it and especially his chemistry with Bruce Willis

and Annette Bening and just watching the three of them square off is really I don't know if that's a solid movie overhated I don't know why

people don't fuck with it as much I think it's the Tony Shalhoub part and like the internment camp stuff and the way that's handled I think some of it

is considered a little insensitive yeah at the time it got kind of cancelled no but even at the time like the handled. I think some of it is considered a little insensitive. Yeah. At the time, it got kind of canceled. No, but even at the time, like the trailer when it showed some people,

they showed some Muslims praying and people were like, this is very, and this is like even pre 9-11, people were still like, this sucks. Like I went to the theater and watched the movie. It's a good film. It's a really, really gripping thriller. The politics of it aside. And I think that it's actually like

just a really classic movie star performance where he's in pretty much every shot he holds it together he goes up against it's a really actually

pretty fabulous Annette Bening performance she's great yeah and Willis is the bad guy in him so it's just really cool to see him sort of

be the you know classic Jimmy Stewart kind of like I'm trying to figure it out hero in this movie not too flashy by him either. This movie's good. I think it got people forget like late 90s

coming off what happened in 94 at WTC. So I think that set, that was one of the reasons why the movie got made. It also got lost because there were so many good movies in the late 90s. And then it had the semi-cancellation piece of it. But, you know,

it's got really good actors. He's great in it. Bruce is still throwing like Bruce is really good. And the whole beginning part where Bruce is like, do not let me do this. You guys cannot put

the military on the ground. And Annette Bening's good in it too. And it's a nice run for her too. Great turtleneck sweater from her in this movie. Yeah, this is, you got to watch this one a little bit with an open mind. Thank you for bringing me in. Late 90s turtlenecks sweater from her in this movie. Yeah, this is, you gotta watch this one a little bit with an open mind.

Thank you for bringing me in. Late 90s turtlenecks in movies. See also Rene Russo in Thomas Crown Affair, the remake. With that said, I'm glad you took it.

Okay. I have drama left and I was really hoping that Fences would still be there. Though I understand, Van, why you took it. And also it's sort of disrespectful that Fences was the last round. But anyway.

So instead I shall bring an existential, possibly spiritual question to the table and to the group. Is the preacher's wife a drama? I mean. Amanda's done a lot Amanda taking this movie This is a huge moment for you In terms of Atlanta, Lenox Mall This is what I'm saying

It's not a drama Oh excuse me I'm not going to be the one who I'll tell you what On Wikipedia which is what I referenced earlier This is what it says The Preacher's Wife is a 1996 American Christmas comedy drama. Right.

There you go. Listen, here are some of the issues at stake. I'm fine with it as a drama. In The Preacher's Wife. Okay? We have some marital crisis. We have crisis of faith. There's a very upsetting child foster care subplot.

It's a lot like Last Temptation of Christ. Yeah, exactly. Of course. And, you know, at the end, Denzel has to walk away from his love. Why didn't Scorsese

direct The Witcher's Wife? I think this is also the movie, like, this was timed to his Sexiest Man Alive people cover, if I recall. I mean, that's like 96

and this is 96 also. And as Van noted, I'm almost certain I saw this at Lennox Mall. Yeah. I mean, that's like 96 and this is 96 also. And as Van noted, I'm almost certain I saw this at Lenox Mall. Yeah. I mean, I could take The Tragedy of Macbeth. I think this is not a,

I wouldn't call this a comedy. It's not like a laugh riot. It's based on The Bishop's Wife, which is a movie from the 40s, which is a pure romantic comedy. Yeah, but this is bringing other issues into it. It's narrated by a small child.

So I don't really know where that goes. I don't know. I fell asleep during Tragedy Macbeth. I'll be very honest. I was eight months pregnant. You know, what can you do? He's made other dramas. That could be...

Well, you're not drafting for me. That's true. There's actually four Oscar nominees still available. It's kind of surprising. Which is amazing. Because that just shows you what we love about Denzel versus what he gets recognized for in those fields, which is very different. I mean, I don't want to step on Bill's final pick. Yeah.

I don't know whether this movie that's Oscar nominated is going to be Bill's final pick, but I'm not going to take it. So why can't I just be me? You can. I'm going to take The Preacher's Wife. You got it. Bill, are you taking The Little Things? No. I just want to say in The Preacher's Wife, my memory of that is like that's when Whitney

started to really go off the rails. I think that's- And I think that overshadowed the movie. I think that- That was when it really started to get bad with her. She looks very beautiful in it though, and she gets to sing a lot. But I think that was like- No, to get bad with her. She looks very beautiful in it though. And she gets to sing a lot. But I think that was like,

no, I mean, I think you're right as well. The kids call an easy shoot. No. The kids. Yeah. It's Mr.

Skin call it that. So you have, this wasn't an easy shoot. Preacher's wife. Thank you for noting that down on your particular. No nudity in that one. Well, so I have the last pick. You do.

So I have the following movies available for me. Ricochet. Virtuosity. The Bone Collector, where he's just in a bed the whole time and it's a fucking terrible movie, Equalizer 3, which I haven't seen yet and I almost want to take, Carbon Copy,

The Mighty Quinn, and Macbeth. Can I read some more? There are a couple more. And Soldier Story is on there. That's a great movie, by the way. He's like the eighth lead. I know, but that's a great movie.

That's a fucking fantastic cast. There's another movie, by the way. He's like the eighth lead. I know, but that's a great movie. That's a fucking fantastic cast. There's another movie directed by the same filmmaker of A Soldier's Story that he starred in that is not a bad movie. I'm sure you wrote a column about it back in the day. What is it? The Hurricane. Oh, yeah.

I'm not a huge fan of that movie. It's not bad. Zach was wrong. I went through some draft options last night at dinner with Zach and was going over strategy. And he was like, I wonder whether the Hurricane will be a Bill movie. But he was wrong. You did write a column about it, didn't you?

I don't remember. I don't remember half the things I wrote. Just for the record, the four remaining Oscar nominees are The Hurricane, Cry Freedom, Roman J. Israel Esquire, and The Tragedy of Macbeth. He's really good in that movie, but it's also a movie where you know exactly what's going to happen. And it was during that era where every actor felt like they had to play a boxer in a movie. I don't know. I didn't love the choice.

I did love this choice, and I'm going to go with this. The ricochet is just incredible. I'm glad it got picked. It's a really important Denzel movie because it's still early. He's at this point we didn't know

if he could be the leading man in like an action movie yet so we checked that box. It's before Malcolm X. It's before 93. It's with Lithgow.

Lithgow's insane. Yeah. Like just absolutely abjectly insane in this movie. He gives Denzel VD at one point. That's an actual plot point. I fully came of age during that scene.

Yeah. When we see him on video. She walks. Okay, I'm not going to do the whole thing. If you've never seen Ricochet, I recommend it. Yeah. And the movie is just fucking nuts. It is.

Because he's being stalked. It's almost like a weird brother of... It's a revenge movie gone to the biggest... But it's also like single white female. Single white female because he's obsessed with him. Remember the part where they're in prison fighting with phone books taped to them as armor? Yeah. They're having a whole... It's like a weird, crazy movie.

Crazy movie. A lot of fun. Ice-T. It's an awesome movie. And John Lithgow has never been, he's been insane in a few movies. Like he was in Raising Cain. He was in that whole Dexter season.

He was insane in Blowout. So he can put his insane on. He's never been crazier. I think he follows this up with Cliffhanger like the next year too. Oh, yeah. Crazy. But this movie was on cable for like six straight years. Yeah.

Like just every night. It really did disturb me. Yeah. It might have been my first exposure to like psychological erotic thriller. Yeah. Also written by Steven D'Souza who wrote Die Hard. Produced by Joel Silver

and it is a Joel Silver classic. Yeah. Is it a Rennie Harlan movie? It's Russell Mulcahy immediately after making two Highlander movies. Oh my God.

The quickening. I regret not taking it. I haven't seen it in a long time but I remember liking it. I saved it because I thought I might get it in round six but I did think

Bane was going to be on the corner. I wasn't going to draft it because time, but I remember liking it. I saved it because I thought I might get it in round six, but I did think Bane was going to be on the corner. I wasn't going to draft it because I had to have their other books like that. I know you've watched it 10 times. I've seen it way more than that. Earl Talbot Blake, I've seen it way more than that. It's so funny that he makes this and is like, and now I will do Malcolm X. It's really the definition of how great he is,

that he is willing to do that range of kind of movie. But I don't know how many options he had for good roles in that 89 to 91 range. You know, when you think about the movies we've done, like even, you know, things started shifting and there were better parts really starting around here. It just feels like you can feel him from movie to movie being like, I want to do something

completely different every time. Like, there are very few times where there's a movie next to each other that feels similar in any way when you look at the filmography all laid out. And that's part of what makes him great. Kevin Pollak doing his career defining, I'm the friend of the guy. Oh, yeah. That's his thing. He's the friend of the guy.

Lieutenant Weinberg. Soon to be. You know what we didn't talk about with Denzel is the character names. I think he might have had the best character names. He plays... Who did we talk about this with? He plays Easy Rollins. He's a very famous character, yeah.

He plays Nick Stiles. Nick Stiles, yeah. And Bleak Gilliam. And Napoleon Stone. And like you just go down and it's just every movie sounds like it was made up in a room with like 11 people just trying to trump each other. Don Pedro of Aragon. What is the most Denzel name we can come up with?

Jake Shuttlesworth. Just a great like character name. But you go on through. Do you think he ever has notes on that? Do you think he's ever like, I see the name here. Steve Johnson. I think we can do better than this. John W. Creasy.

Creasy. Yeah, it just goes through. Great job by him. So we drafted 30 movies overall. Whip Whitaker. That's a really good one. That is a really good one. Yeah, that's a good one.

He's made 51 films. So we drafted 30 of his 51 films. Pretty good. You feel good? I feel okay. Okay. Yeah, I think we all kind of... That's the only five people...

I feel okay. Yeah, things get taken away. It's hard. Five's hard. Yeah. Bill, we recap by having each drafter read their picks in order. So do you want to go first since you had the first pick? So my category is

I took Courage Under Fire for drama, At a Time for action thriller, He Got Game for Spiker Tony, The Equalizer for blockbuster,

Training Day for Oscar nominee, and Ricochet for wild card. Incredibly seedy lineup of movies. Yeah. Yeah, Mr. Skin. There we go.

And that's why I was mad when Flight didn't get, when I didn't get Flight. Okay, Amanda, you had the second pick. Sure. In drama, I took The Preacher's Wife, which you guys really didn't engage with me enough on that, I'm just going to say. We gave it to you.

Sure, but like a different group could have had more fun. That's all I'll note. I felt bad because you said that I was being mean and then Bill said I was rude, so now I feel bad. Okay. All right. Thank you for at least that acknowledgement. In Action Thriller, I took The Taking of Pelham123. In Spike or Tony, I took Unstoppable.

In Blockbuster, thanks to the generosity of Bill Simmons, I took The Pelican Brief. In Oscar Nominee, I took Malcolm X. And in Wild Card, I took Much Ado About Nothing. CR. You went more drama, Denzel. Yeah, I mean,

I've seen a lot of the action movies. I went CD, Denzel. She went drama, Denzel. What'd you have, CR? In drama, I did Philadelphia. In action thriller, I did The Siege. In Spiker Tony, I did Man on Fire. In Blockbuster, I did The Magnificent Seven. And I stand fucking by it.

I like The Magnificent Seven more than Book of Eli, more than whatever I could have gotten there. The Philly just came out there. Jalen Hurts is going to be fucking fine. And in Oscar nominee, I took Flight. And in wild card, I took Mississippi Masala. Okay, Van, you picked fourth. In drama, I picked American Gangster.

In action thriller, I picked The Equalizer 2. In Spike or Tony, I picked Deja Vu. Blockbuster, I picked Remember the Titans. Oscar nominee, Fences, wildcard. My very favorite movie of all time, Mobetta Blues. Okay. And in drama, I selected Devil in a Blue Dress. In action thriller,

I selected The Manchurian Candidate. In Spiker Tony, I got Inside Man. In blockbuster, I got Crimson Tide. In Oscar nominee, I got Glory. And in wild card, I took Fallen. There's 15 irrefutable Denzel movies. It's the next 15 that will decide this draft,

I think. What do you guys think? I think there's also some ringer bubble around certain Denzel titles, and I'll be interested to see how that's reflected, but I

also have no idea how this will be voted on. I'll be just passing out pamphlets in the street, asking people to fill it in with pencil. That's how we're gonna do it

this time around Bill what'd you think you drafted movie I'm most upset didn't get drafted um Virtuosity 6.7

almost if we had a double wild card I think that I think that goes right and I think the hurricane should have gone yeah but it just

you know everybody kind of picked their drama spot and that was it. Everyone had their drama and their Oscar and that, you know. Any regrets? Carbon copy is a regret, I think, for all of us. I would have liked to have Inside Man. Okay. But that was still the spiky portion of the draft for you before you started having feelings and feeling slightly guilty.

But it's a good movie. It is a very good film. You feel good? I do feel good. Okay. I just wanted a devil in a blue dress. Maybe we should start introducing trades to the drafts. How would we do that?

I've said this like three or four times. We've floated this, and you're always like, no, absolutely not, Because I think you, you feel that you would lose some control. You literally passed on it right before Sean. You did.

You picked right before me. I thought I was 100% sure you were going to take it. Probably equalizer too. No, no, no, no. But I was, I made a mistake. I should have just taken,

I didn't expect anyone to take Mo'Beta Blues. First of all, would that movie have been drafted? Would you guys have drafted it? Yes. Yes, that was the top. That was the next

on my Spike or Tony list. That was probably my number one drama. That's the only person that likes Mo' Better Blues. Excuse me. Sorry about it. You are the only person

that likes The Magnificent City. Well, I feel good about this. You want to come back and do another one of these or no? Are you done? Yeah. What would you like to draft?

A year? A director? Director? Who has enough movies for a director? Martin Scorsese. Yeah. Oh, shit. Yeah, he's got like, how many?

40? Yeah. Buried Sonnenfeld. I'm with you. I like him. I like his movies, too. I feel like he's underrepresented here. Van and I want to come back for a CD draft. I like him. I like his movies too. I feel like he's underrepresented here. Van and I want to come back

for a CD draft. I would love. Like, erotic. Let's do, let's just do porn. Let's just draft porn. I guarantee you,

no one can even get close to me. I could draft off the top of my head. We do erotic thriller. We do basic instinct, basic instinct two, risk addiction.

Basic instinct two. We do sliver. Yeah. We do J.inct, Basic Instinct 2, Risk Addiction. We do Sliver. We do Jade. I like this. You know what I mean? We do these movies. You know, there's a new erotic thriller coming out on Netflix in about, is it a week? A week and a half? I didn't know they were making them anymore.

Fair Play, it's called. Starring Alden Ehrenreich. Oh. And Phoebe Dynevor? Is that her name? Yeah, from Bridgerton. I still haven't seen it. They do make them, it's just they make them in different countries

and then Netflix dubs them and fools you into thinking it's an American movie. And then the lips aren't moving with the words. Every episode of the show is Sex Life, right? On Netflix? Would you want to draft episodes of Sex Life? I don't even know. Is that a real show? Yeah, that's a show.

That's a show that every time there's a new season, it's at the top of the Netflix chart for like six weeks. That's your algorithm. Yeah. Okay. That's, that's been the podcast. Thank you to our producer, Bobby Wagner, for his work on this episode. Later this week, what are we doing?

Oh yeah. What are the most anticipated movies of the fall that we haven't seen? That's the trick. Yes, but you and I haven't seen the same movies. So that's going to be the cheat. Okay, we'll negotiate it. Thank you to Bill. Thank you to Van.

The Bill Simmons podcast. The Rewatchables. Higher Learning. The Midnight Boys. CR's stack of porno pod. Jam session. We'll see you later this week.