The Big Picture - The Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Movie Draft. Plus: ‘The Rip.’

Episode Date: January 19, 2026

We’re drafting again! Before diving in, Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to debate whether or not this is the best January at the movies ever (0:37). Then, they cover the new Netflix action movie ‘The Rip’—starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck—during which they make the case for it being an A-plus January Netflix release (17:02). Next, they talk through what Damon and Affleck mean to film (39:41) and draft their favorite movies from the iconic duo (51:41). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Producer: Jack Sanders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm Sean Fennessey. I'm Amanda Dobbins. And this is the Big Picture A Conversation Show about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. And Chris Ryan, who's here today to talk with us about The Rip, which is the new film from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, starring together. And also to draft movies from their careers. Yes. Happy Dump Uri. Thank you.

Part one. Is this Dump Uri? That's really where I wanted to start this conversation. Spiritually, yes. It's January. Yeah. And in theory, this should be. the time when the movies that the studios don't believe it are coming out.

And yet, we've just had 28 years later the Bone Temple, which rocked. And I've just seen the film Primate, which also rocked. And we all enjoyed the rip. Yes. We still have a handful of movies still to come. Sam Ramey send help, which we haven't seen yet. We have Charlie X, CX, and Aidan Zemiris, The Moment. Oh, yeah.

Is this the best January of all time? Do you want January to be, quote, best or good? Like, is the point of January supposed to be, this is for sickos, we're going to the movies five times to watch 90-minute genre movies, like, night swim? Well, I think it being like a place for original movies, which is what most of these movies are, it being the last bastion of original movies is kind of exciting. So maybe it is for the sickos. I don't know. What do you think? We normally plan a dump.

movie episode and like around the fact that we know this this time the schedule is soft people studios put things here that they're not really excited about and we think but we'll have fun and then we we go see all the movies and they're not that fun and then we record sort of like a down episode and you kind of like have a breakdown so this January is what we imagine in our minds when we plan the dump you're like no no no this is for the real ones for the people who want to get back to basics right you know, and there is like a very gnarly horror plus movie and there is, there was a romantic comedy on Netflix that like did not have enough sex

but also romantic people we meet on vacation. Romantic comedies don't really have, yeah, so it's they are meeting our needs and we're not going to leave this depressed. It's nice, good, right? It is. It's great. I bet you guys are also feeling a bit of relief because it's an antidote to talking about the same three movies. 100% for me. Endlessly from every different angle for the award season and since the Oscar

are in March. I'm sure it's like refreshing, refreshing, honestly. I think that the Bone Temple really lifted my spirits. Primate, which is this new movie from Johannes Roberts, is just like the most what you see on the label of the, you know, at the grocery store movie of all time. It's like there's a killer ape. He goes crazy because he gets rabies and he just starts killing actors you've never seen

before. And it's incredibly gory. It's really fun. It's 87 minutes. Yeah. It has a really good fake John Carb. Carpenter score. It's very stylish. Johannes Roberts, who made The Strangers Pray at Night and 47 meters down. He makes, he makes like schlocky good B movies. Jome Colette Serra Jr. Very much. He's

kind of in that tradition. And since Colette Serra has kind of graduated to, you know, much bigger movies, it's nice that we have somebody making stuff like that. That to me is just like a good version of a dump you or a movie, you know, where it's going to make $25 million at the box office, the people who go are going to have a good time. When I saw it, people were literally clapping and laughing in the theater because it's just fun. Yeah. Bone Temple, The Rip, even send help and potentially the moment are like, they're real movies. Yeah.

They're not movies that have been dumped somewhere. They are made by famous people. They're part of like genuine traditions in movie history. So maybe, well, one thing that I did do is I looked back at the January. I think this is really cool. Yeah. I looked back at the January's from the last 40 years. So I just looked at 86, 96, 2006, and 2016.

Just to kind of get a sense, this isn't going to be a total history of January 8 of the movies, but we can look at the kind of stuff that came out. In 86, not a ton of notable titles. I guess the most notable is probably down and out in Beverly Hills. Iron Eagle to a certain kind of gentleman. Iron Eagle is well-liked. Sydney Lumet's Power, a movie that I like quite a bit, but is not considered one of his greatest films.

And then a lot of stuff you haven't thought about or ever heard of. the Adventures of the American Rabbit, the Adventures of Mark Twain, the clan of the cave bear, one of Michael Chapman's few movies he directed, troll, my chauffeur. Is the best of times a football movie? It's Kurt Russell and Robin Williams, yes.

Is it like high school? I think it's guys going back to LSU or going back to high school or something. Yeah. So that wasn't, that's not a great year. There's some interesting, well-known figures there, but that's not great.

96, very resonant in my mind, January 96. One of the weirdest things about it is, on the same day, three mainstream comedies were released. Biodome, don't be a menace to South Central while drinking your juice in the hood, and Dunstan Checks in. Yeah, sure. Which are all very, like, burned into my brain movies that I saw in the, I'm pretty sure I saw all three in theaters. And, you know, you were 14. Or 13. 13. Yeah.

And I mean, Biodome at 13? There you are. Yeah. Of course. What's your favorite Pauly Shore movie? I'm not a huge, I guess in season. Encino man. Yeah. It's got to be Encino man.

Dunstan checks in. It's kind of the primate of its time. Right? It was a monkey who was up to no good. Also that year, John Schlesinger's Eye for an Eye with Sally Field. Sure. Lawnmore Man 2. Colon beyond cyberspace.

Say the full name. What is beyond cyberspace? What was the concept of cyberspace? In 1996 also. I mean, it was dial up. It was... Did we have dial up in 96? I don't know.

Yeah, we did. Yeah. Okay. I was on the internet. I had an email account in 1996. I was a part of a pavement list serve. Wow. Where you would like write an email and it would get sent to like, you know, the 50 people in the list serve.

Yeah, no, I know what listserv are. It was like my first writing, quote unquote, job was like a college list surf. Oh, okay. Yeah. I've told this before, but I have literally would boot up and then just spend 14 hours downloading the reservoir dogs trailer and just like not letting anybody call my mom's house. This I remember too, but I thought it was later. than 96. And for a while, and also, like, for a while, I was definitely taking those, like, AOL, like, free

10 minutes of AOL, like, CDs that you would get because my parents were not actually letting me connect to the internet. So I was like, no, no, no, let me get my one hour. And then let me get a new CD. I thought it was like a free hundred hours in every offer. Yeah. Maybe it was. But, like, I definitely maxed all of the math. Totally. It would be amazing if some point, like George Clooney was trying to call in the house to ask your mom out. It was just like Cindy saw you at Gristadis. So your son went beyond cyberspace.

We'll never meet. One more men, too. Never seen it. I never seen it. Also that month, speaking of George Clooney from Dust Till Dawn. This might be the best movie that was released in all of these January's, but at the time, it seems like kind of a classic dumpy or film. Have you seen Screamers?

I haven't. Screamers, if I remember correctly, is a sci-fi movie about little alien buzz saws in the sand that take people's heads off. Very cool. And I remember it making a huge impact on me as a child. As a young man.

Starring Peter Weller in the stone. How small were the buzz saws? They're like fist-sized, but they're like screaming around in the sand. But not like grains of sand. No. That would be terrifying. Were they more or less powerful

than New Met's starting third basement bobbashet? We can do it. We can do it. We can do it. It's dirty work by you? It's dirty work by you and it's dirty work by your fucking GM. That was a handshake agreement of long-term stability and financial gain that the Philadelphia Phillies were offering him. Also, multiple trips to the playoffs over the years, an institutional kind of trust in greatness.

It's shocking because he's white. And you would just imagine him wanting to join the whitest team in baseball. Yeah, he's probably vaccinated against COVID too. We're so happy to have Boba Shed under our domain. I wish we recorded this like 30 hours ago. I was in a bad place. You were probably being so pissed off about Kyle Tucker, as you should be. I saw that news relatively soon after it happened and like almost texted you.

And then I was like, I'm going to step away from this. I don't know. Jack and I had a very gentle meeting yesterday for 45 minutes that was only about the Mets. And we were just like, could this happen? Is this possible? Boboshit? No, no, not bobushet. Kyle Tucker.

We were getting our hopes up. And we were devastated and now we're back. If you take another shot at the Phillies. I'm going to have a private meeting with Jeff Chow and threatened to quit unless you get the Dodgers to sponsor the big picture. And you have to do Dodgers ad reads about the sterling lineup that they've put together. We can't destroy them. We have to try to become them. That's the only way through.

No. It's the only way through right now. We have to live within the rules that have been set. Her children can. I will never bend the knee. I'd just like to say if anyone from the Dodgers organization is listening to this, my child and I would love to attend a game this season. I've renounced the Braves and I am also a free agent. I love going to Dodger Stadium, but I can't abide this.

I've renounced the Empire. Darth Vader is no longer my favorite player. 2006. Anything jump out to you from this stretch? I mean, high school musical is a little, you know, we're a little old for high school musical, but generationally. Yeah. You guys up on Ashley Tisdale's drama? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Did it to herself. Mega Traynor says that's not her. Megan Traynor. Megatrainer's husband says it's not.

So I don't, respectfully, I don't really think that Megan Traynor is in like the center of the mom group in question. I've been following them from the other side and from their Instagrams. Okay. They've made it pretty clear that she was kicked out. For her political years. Yeah. And well, they haven't said that. No.

I wouldn't. I'm not going to assume anything. But yeah. And then the husband, Hillary Duff's husband, did like the actual. Yeah. How does this stack up relative to me storming out of the fantasy football chat that we had?

It's not dissimilar. A man with really out there political and cultural beliefs. That's not what happened. 2006, I just want to shout out Hostile. When it happened, very important. It was, yeah, very fun movie.

Glory Road, decent sports movie. Solid. That was Josh Lucas's big swing. He tried to step up. I don't know about that. What do you mean? What's his big swing? Josh Lucas has had bigger swings than that, right?

Is there a bigger? movie from a bigger studio. It's a Disney sports movie starring Josh Lucas as a basketball coach. Well, yeah, I guess you're right. Tristan and E. Sold, the James Franco film, did you guys see that? No. Have you read Tristan and he sold? Isn't it an opera? I think so. He did not direct it, right? Yeah. Yeah. High school musical is the biggest movie out of all these. What about Big Mama's House, too? I think high school musical is probably bigger. Tristan and he sold, the overture is what plays in Malancholia. Oh. Yeah. So that's, yeah. I mean, I mean, I I think it's probably also a story.

Yes, definitely. But once you get into the Northern European stuff, as we know, all their mythology, I don't follow it. Well, you don't know the Norse. You don't know the Norse mythology. No, I don't. That's right. That's why I kept being like, so where is Thor right now? And you guys were like, he's obviously on Ragnarok or whatever.

He's with Tristan. They're looking for you sold. I just want to point out that Nanny McPhee is how Emma Thompson got to, like, renovate her kitchen or whatever. And that's important for everyone. Tristan and he sold is a Celtic romance story from the 12th century. Sorry to disrespect the Celtic people. It was also the story of Tristan is old was apparently what Redley Scott was going to do instead of alien until he saw Star Wars. And then this is just disgusting Kathy Kennedy's exit interview.

Oh. We can talk about that if you'd like. Sure. I haven't yet had a chance to read it in full. I basically just read Matt Bellany's summary of it. But I found it pretty depressing. She presided over a bad time in Star Wars history. But even like her allusions to the forces beyond her control that were keeping certain things.

So when she talked about James Mangold and Bo Willemann's script, which she said broke the mold and was amazing but is on hold. And then obviously referenced the Scott Byrne, Steven Soderberg Adam Driver movie. What did she say about that? That it was great, but that it's not happening. Basically she was not allowed to make that way. Yeah, because Bob Iger said Palpatine is. Palpatine is back. Palpatine is back so the other guy can't be back.

Yeah. Okay. Right. And as a reaction, that I'll be naming my firstborn son, Kylo. Kylo bullshit. Yeah.

This is just a terrible stretch. And it's very obvious to me that she was broken by the backlash of the Last Jedi. And she just completely failed to make any move that was not incredibly safe and or Dave Faloni supported. She said pretty much explicitly, she's like the hardest thing is that there is a small percentage of the fans that are the most vocal ones that restrict our ability to they don't restrict anything i'm sure you're right this is creativity do what you feel is the most interesting outcome that can also be successful that's your job okay that's what all executives

should do in my opinion okay 2016 um 13 hours the secret soldiers of bengazi yeah michael bay's fearless portrayal of okay all right of the of of bengazi yeah so what happened there So you start as Hillary Clinton in that film Which version of events would you like me to recount? Hillary Clinton not to be seen in 13 hours Dirty Grandpa 2016 January Kung Fu Panda 3, that's a pretty big movie The Finest Hours starring Chris Pine

Underrated I think Which one is that? 50 Shades of Black was the sequel to 50 Shades of Grey No, it was the parody starring Marlon Wants My bad So January And Jane got a gun A very infamous kind of

Behind the scenes Yes, Natalie Portman starring film With Lynn Ramsey directed that, right? No, Didn't Gavin O'Connor come in To work on it? And yeah, like a hot script at the time

That was then kind of mangled in the making A movie that does not exist So yeah, this hasn't been a pretty good January You want to talk about the rip? Well, let me just ask you one more dump youory question Yes. In a perfect world Would Hollywood more evenly distribute

the programmers from January across the year to give people more variety at the movies throughout the year? Or do you enjoy the lollapalooza aspect of the first month is just this grab bag of like ups and downs and curve balls? I mean, at the risk of being insanely positive about movies, February has some really cool stuff too.

So it's possible that stuff, Evening out right now as more movies just start to come out. And I was going to say that the rhythms that we have become used to are changing. And I mean, you see that like in Best Picture nominees and winners are now kind of released throughout the year. And like, you know, there are like four different horror seasons. Except often for October, which is very weird. Good point. And like tons of horror movies this spring.

Exactly. It's like every studio is looking for the new window and the new spot and like let's try this. So it actually is somewhat distributed. I'm totally fine with... I wish it would extend to basically the first four to five months of the year. I think that would be a really fun, fertile playground. And then if you want to basically call it,

what, Memorial Day on, it's basically blockbusters going into award season. I'll accept that. I think it will be this year three months because April 3rd is the Super Mario Galaxy movie. And that's kind of when the summer starts, even though it's only April. But prior to that, you know,

you've got your scream set. Seven's in your bone temples, but for the most part, it's a lot of, you know, it's Project Hail Mary and it's Wuthering Heights and the Bride and these kind of like exciting otorist movies that seem like they've been dumped but might actually be better than we think they are. I thought the new trailer for The Bride was really good, by the way. I don't know if you guys saw that. I did. I'm kind of excited about that movie now. Um, so yeah. Did you see the poster for Scream 7? There's like 47 people on it. Well, I certainly saw Tim Simon. Yeah. I see that. I follow his instructions and zoomed in. Uh, there may be too many people in that movie.

We'll see. I will watch it and I'll probably rewatch all the screen movies before I watch it and I look forward to that The Rip. Yeah, it's on Netflix right now. This is the new film from Joe Carnahan Who has given us some good dump you-er-esque movies in the past? Including the gray Smoking Aces Nark Nark He wrote and directed this film stars Damon and Affleck Stephen Yon Teana Taylor Sasha Kaye

Catalina Sandino Moreno Scott Adkins, Kyle Chandler Nester Carbonell It's a very overqualified cast. Yes. And not everyone is used equally. I agree with that. It is about a group of Miami cops who discover a stash of millions in cash leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the seizure, making them question who to rely on. Okay.

What did you think about this movie? It's an absolute yes for me. Of course, I had high expectations. This was number 12 on my most anticipated list because you have the reunion. of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, which is the reason I go to the movies or watch them on my TV at home. And you also have Echoes of Triple Frontier, which is one of the great dumpuary movies of years past for this podcast. And a great example of the feeling of like, nobody else really got this, but like we got it, you know? And like Charlie Hunnam, you know, writing things on a chalkboard and then having a panic attack like in a Publix.

It's meaningful. So, and it delivers. You know, it does what it says on the box, like, with enough charm and with enough humor. Like, everyone, everyone is very competent. And Damon and Affleck are having fun. So I had a great time. I think we have enough evidence from the artist equity movies that these guys have been making together since they reunited with air that they're kind of making the movies that

they would like to watch. And you get that from this. Like, you get a tremendous. amount, even though it's a very dark movie both like in its lighting and its content, you get the idea that they are really, really enjoying themselves.

And that this is the kind of movie that they grew up watching. This is the kind of B movie that they kind of sharpen their teeth on in a different world. They'd be happy to just be making three of these a year. But they're obviously two of the most famous actors we've had in the last 40 years, so they have other responsibilities

and other ambitions, but this is just awesome. If anything, it was almost too good for the material or there's the inverse of that is like it's too bad for the guys who are in it. Right, yes. I totally agree. The script is like a B minus thing.

It's not a great story. It's kind of familiar, but there's a tremendous amount of charisma and style that is happening around the movie. And you come in with these bait-in relationships with so many of the actors. And not just Matt and Ben, but like Tiana Taylor is now like a movie star in our heads, right?

So when she shows up, she's given nothing to do in this movie. Nothing at all. But even though she's not giving anything to do, you're kind of like, oh, oh, Seema Tiana Taylor. Something must be about to happen here. Excuse me, that's not true. She counts over and over again. Let's just take two very well-known actors,

Catalina Sandino Moreno, to Academy Award nominee, I think, for Maria Full of Grace, and just like put them in a room and they count money. And then that's what they'll do for the entire film. But still, it kind of keeps the energy of the movie up by having all these overqualified people. And, you know, Carnahan, I think, can really shoot the hell out of a movie. And there's a chase sequence in this movie. There's some shoot-up sequences. There's a fire sequence.

There's some stuff in it that is really well executed. Plus, Matt and Ben, their relationship in this movie is very similar to their relationship in air. And I find that fascinating, except they've inverted the roles. In Air, Ben was in charge, and Matt worked for him, and Matt needed to make something happen. In this movie, Matt is in charge, and Ben works for him, and it doesn't quite trust him in the same way. It's interesting to me. I also find it fascinating that they've kind of settled into this, like, Matt Damon is number one on the call sheet in these movies to my eyes, you know? Like, I...

Right. He's a bigger star. Yeah, but it's interesting that Affleck is just kind of, like, cool with being the sidekick in these, you know? And even thriving. I think, like, last duel is really when the possibilities of him taking the supporting role. and going for it, opened up. And, you know,

and they were co-writers on that with Nicole Hollif Center. So maybe he's come to an understanding of what he can do. Or he's just going back to Chucky. I think that's part of it. And I think the fact that Ben Affleck is so tall and so lantern-jawed,

but never could quite become the same level of star as Damon. He's a huge star. It's a, you know, it's a tight race or whatever. But, you know, when we talk about the box office category for the draft, Damon's just got more to pull from. He's just had more and bigger hits.

He had a bigger franchise and Born all by himself. I think he's had fewer smaller dry runs, too. That's true. Yes. Fewer struggles over time. And so, yeah, I think that might be part of it as just selling the movie is probably easier if Damon role that he is in this movie. The plot itself, I still, I'm not totally sure I grasp all of it.

Happy to help you. Okay, yeah, let's go. Spoilers. This film is available on Netflix. You don't want this, you know, popcorn Saturday night experience ruined for you, skip ahead. Yes.

Don't DM me. I wouldn't say the reason to watch it is to figure out the plot per se. But so it's, Well, it's not, it's not. There is like the consequential scene. Yeah. When they're all together and it's like which one. And the script is baiting like, is Affleck the, is it Damon?

Is it these other, you know, who is the rat? Right. They're clear. And that wasn't confusing to me at all. Like the final execution of. the story. It's more like the setup of the story is a little bit confusing. It opens with the murder of a team member for these Miami police officers. And then a series of interrogations around who may have been responsible for that murder. And the feds have come into the investigation.

Scott Atkins plays one of the... ...legendary action star plays an FBI agent and also Ben Affleck's brother. And they have a very intense exchange. This is up there with Al Pacino throwing Henry Rollins through a screenboard. is Ben Affleck going toe to toe with Scott Adams? Yeah. I really enjoyed that scene. It's great. It sets us up for kind of figuring out that there's like,

there's distrust within the police department here. And Nestor Carbonell has taken on, I guess he's like the police captain, the major. And he wants them to get to the bottom of this. Matt Damon's character subsequently gets a tip that there's a stash house and that they need to do a count. A crime stopper tip. And so that he wrangles the team, before he wrangles the team, he tells them all different numbers for how much is in the stash house. And while you're watching it, you immediately know, okay. This is a setup of some kind.

Who's responsible for the setup? We don't know. Why is Damon sharing different information with different police officers? He's trying to draw someone out, obviously. And they go to the stash house. Now here's the thing that I didn't totally grasp. Right. Why is that neighborhood empty that they go to?

The cartel owns all that books. So they own all that book. So they own all the buildings and they're using those buildings to store money? I think that they just, it's the indication is that those are cartel-owned homes and that no one, there's not a lot of activity there. There may be people in those houses, like lookouts and stuff. Okay. But that and that cul-de-sac, it's all. I think that was really the major thing that I couldn't figure out.

I was like, what are they using this entire city cul-de-sac for? I think for pick-ups and drop-offs and stuff. Okay. Just the place where they can do business? I guess so. And then they also, it's implied that. they own those local cops. Right.

So that it's a business district. Got it. Okay. Interesting. So it's just kind of like the food court for the cartel. Yeah. I mean, I think actually one of the cool things about this movie is...

Is that something that happens? If it is, I believe it. Well, I think one of the neat things is like Miami not dissimilar Los Angeles is you throw a blanket over Miami, but then there's lots of little counties within. And there's like Broward and Dade. And then there's like different law enforcement agencies running different. parts of the city, but that the city is itself pretty porous. So those guys cross into like, they know as soon as they go to High Lake, we're on somebody

else's turf. Did this district go for Gore or Bush in 2000? I think that they were a bellwether district for Bush. And so then... Although I don't know, because the cartel very helpful in this movie. I had some questions about that too. Sure. Very loose with information as well.

And also doing FaceTime. Hey! It's me. I run the Sinaloa cartel. You had mentioned... What happened to that guy? I think it was just like... Not the guy on the phone, the other guy.

I don't know. Okay. He just kind of... Some loose ends in the film. Just don't go in looking for the airtightest plot. Yeah, so go ahead. Well, so essentially they get into the house and they discover that there's a tremendous amount of money. There's a woman also in that home played by Sasha Kaye. Last scene as Supergirl in The Flash.

Best part of The Flash. And now there's another Supergirl movie coming out. And I'm like, why is she not just Supergirl? She's awesome. She's really, very good. And lifts like another nothing part with a tremendous amount of presence. And she becomes this kind of counterweight to Damon's character where she has information, but we don't know how much information she has.

And she's also presenting a false front. She's sort of protecting what's inside of this house, which is her grandmother's house. And it's weird because, like, it's a single location. movie in a lot of ways. It should have just been assault on Precinct 13. Like I really like this. So I'm not, I'm nitpicking at something I liked. This kind of movie should have been James Badge Dale and pick another actor. And Scott Atkins. Those are the two leads. And you can't really tell who's good and who's bad. And it's got basically one location. And they're trapped in this house. Who is going to come get them first? The cops of the cartel. How did they get out? And instead it kind of expands to like a larger Miami chase. Yeah, it's what happens when a B movie gets A stars. And I'm not opposed to that. I really like it. The 80s and 90s were full of movies like this.

Black Rain, Internal Affairs. They've all been on the rewatchables. There's a long history of it. I think it's really fun when you get this kind of thing. It is slight. You know, you get to the end of it. And you're like, cool. That was fun.

The reveal is incredibly obvious from the beginning. So obvious. Why is this actor in the movie? Well, and Netflix has already done this with another. great to Netflix action comedy stars starring two of my favorite people. Jamie, um, yeah,

Jamie Fox and a camera Diaz. Yes. Right. So it's like, back in action. Yes. Come on. We got a,

we got a, we got a few of this. But that's okay. And also, you know, to your point about the, the plot not being, uh,

bulletproof. I don't really understand how it all got totally pulled off or what even his plan was, but that's okay. What Kyle Chandler's plan was? Yeah, yeah. I think the idea was that they were going to probably wind up killing everybody involved and then taking the money and that Stephen Young was going to facilitate that. Nice job taking two of America's boyfriends and making them the heavies.

I wanted to ask you guys a little bit about this film in particular, but the artist equity movies that they've been making over the last couple of years in general. and the way that these guys are servicing their public image with these movies rather than challenging that public image, because there's another version of this movie, not necessarily the one I want. It's a lot more 70s, and maybe one of Matt and Ben are the bad guy in this.

And that would be pretty interesting to watch the two of them face off in that regard. I agree. This is much more of a testament to their chemistry and friendship than it is about, like, what if they were adversaries? Well, I will say the movie works because I believed it was possible that they were going to face off. Yes. They did pull that punch at the end of the movie,

but I was excited by the idea of Chuck E and Will having a showdown. Me too, but the film ends with this sort of like, these are the last two. Good cops. The last solid dudes to... From Netflix in 2026? But like, rather than...

Wait, why are they sitting on a beach just like watching? Who is that over with the dog? It's so funny. And you guys also aren't at that beach. Like, I can tell you that the shot of the sunset is very... We're just, we're in this. Chris, I was talking to Chris about this this morning. in this extremely vivid post-heat generation of movies,

where everyone now who loves movies, from the highest art house to the lowest dingy, D-grade crime movie, is obsessed with heat. Everybody is like heat, and obviously Chris and Bill have done tremendous work in supporting that legacy. You're the leaders. You know, we've all seen heat. It's fucking amazing.

It's a five-star classic. Everyone agrees. And now they can't help but get the heat out into the world. Like, this movie doesn't have to have anything to do with heat, But the sitting on the beach looking out of the water is the most Michael Manshit of all time. Yes, but the most Michael Manshed of all time would be one guy makes it to the water. That's true. That would have been the one way to pivot against that.

You can't do heat without having to make some hard decisions. But this is a movie about Brotherhood. It's not just Scott Adkins and Ben Affleck, but Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. And, you know, it's a fun movie. Yes. I had a great time. For a movie on Netflix in January, it's an A-plus. Yes.

So I'm very happy to have it. Shout out, Lover. Didn't know that you could train us out of Basset Hound. that's looking for money. Yeah. Were coming in all those different sizes and forms. Is it a thing? Did you look it up? I didn't.

Okay. And they did also, like there was a moment where you didn't think Wilbur was going to make it. And I was very, I was stressed out about that. So I was connected to Wilbur. A lot of good dialogue. A lot of good cop talk. Ben is just really good in movies like this. He's really, really comfortable in a B movie that's got a lot of crime in it.

Like, obviously he made the town. He knows how to be. what his energy is. Damon was interesting. Yeah. I think he's got a tough part because he has to withhold a lot of information and he's kind of the mechanic of a scheme. But when they first, when they first get to Sasha Kaye's house and they first start interrogating her and going through that, like Damon has like a 25 minute run where he's

basically like slightly bad guy version of the Martian guy. And he's like, here's how we're going to do this. I need all your phones. I need you to go over here. I need you to go over there. and you're like, what's happening, man? And he is conducting the orchestra in that sense. Like, he is just really, he is really able to control the center of a movie

on, like, very few other actors. And also when he goes out on the street with Stephen Young, and you're like, I don't know what's going to happen here. When they are fainting towards him being departed, Matt Damon, you're like, I could see this. Yes. It's a great point. That's a really effective scene because you don't know which direction is going to go.

And to your point about, like, internet boyfriend. and Stephen Young is just such a genital, likeable movie presence that you could never think that he would be the one responsible, even though it's pretty clear from the way the story is playing out, that he's doing something wrong. I have a question for you. So, you know, I've had some facial hair for the last six months. Yes.

I did. They all. And like, they all happen. Like, this is, it's kind of an epidemic. And I'm watching the movie and I'm looking at Matt Damon's facial hair. And he's letting it gray, you know? And he's not dying it. I thought he was like either on his way.

Oh, maybe. That's possible. To doing the Odyssey or coming off the Odyssey. If you look at any movie starring a guy 45 plus now, this is kind of acceptable. Yes. And I'm wondering about, like, I'm wondering what even inside of me was like, you should just let that happen. And I feel like a lot of the stars now are very comfortably just kind of looking that like half manicured, half haggard facial hair look. Yes.

What do you make of it? What's it about? I have to say, I do not. understand men in their beards. Like, and I don't, it seems like a real hassle. It seems itchy. It seems uncomfortable. It is just.

I don't. It doesn't. I mean, that's great. But it's not, if I were a man, I wouldn't wear one. It's not my preferred aesthetic. I think it's nicer when you have a clean shaven. What if you hate yourself, though? Well, is that what it is? This is what I'm saying.

Like, so it's, I think it's, I think it's, does Matt Damon hate himself? I think it's about it you guys. have that facial hair in this big movie. I think he looks like a cop's. I don't know. Also, he's not going home to shape. Or maybe it's softening the jawline, you know, as you age, things get, you know, much looser and people are really very into the... He's never been thinner. He said so. For the audits. I mean, no one got him down to 165. Yeah, but that doesn't mean that everything is still like tight, you know, and you get like the jowls. You know, it was that big face. Look it up.

I can't think immediately of another example, but in a lot of movies this year. You know, like Austin Butler has facial hair all the time, you know? When you rapidly lose a lot of weight, then the skin is looser. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah, anywhere. Don't go losing a lot of weight right now. Yeah.

I mean, also, never have a child because once it, like it stretches out and then it goes away and that you can't get that back. Pro tip for you to not have a child if you can help it. Do not get pregnant. Also could be covering a plastic surgery. going to throw that in on the last minute. I don't think that's true. I don't think that's true, but that's like another. Damon specifically has never given me the vibe that he's had worked up. Doesn't seem like it. Are you surprised that these are the kinds of movies these guys are making? I like it a lot. It makes me feel like it's the 90s and those guys love the 90s. They're lynch pins of the 90s and even a movie like Air

just feels from a different time. And the fact that they sought out that script and wanted to make that script, I think is great. You know, I don't know where it fits into the hierarchy of Hollywood. Obviously, like, I believe in their mission of having the money kind of stream down to all the people who worked on the project. I think that's very cool. And there's been a lot of writing and a lot of interviews with them about that and the times and deadline. You can read those interviews. So I very much believe in that, that structure that they're building. The kinds of movies that they're making are real tweeners. Yes. And I don't know if you can actually functionally make a business out of this without streamers.

And they've been using streamers to buttress this business. This movie in particular is unusual because they got Netflix to pay them in success as opposed to pay them a flat fee. That's fascinating that they were able to do that. Bella Bajaria had to go into the New York Times and talk about how we did it here but we're not doing it again. Our model is our model, but we did it because it's Matt and Ben effectively. But that's an indication that because of their force of personality and success, they can

Ben the system. Well, I think the next one is also for Netflix. That's Animals, which is the kind of high and low style kidnapping drama. There were Ben Affleck plays like a mayoral candidate or something.

But I don't think that that movie got the money and success deal. I'm just saying you're right. Like, they're essentially using streamers as driving movie theaters or something. And when this first started

and they first started talking about doing this company, there's another version of this where it's like, we just want to make sure Andrew Dominic has $60 million and all the time

he needs to make assassination of Jesse James again or whatever. And instead they're like, now, like we kind of know how to make this kind of movie really well

and we're going to crank them out a little bit in between Matt being in Nolan movies and Ben maybe prepping like a directorial effort. I mean, I think he directed animals.

That's right. He did. Yeah. And I think he's also like attached to like the witness for the prosecution remake that they're talking about doing. So in any case... Oh, he's so perfect for that, for the Tyrone Power Part. Oh, man, that would be

great. I just think it's a really fascinating kind of idea just to be like, what people want from us is instigators, the rip animals rather than Goodwill hunting but middle-aged or... It might just be because they're saleable because they're $75 million movies and not $200 million movies, you know? And the other thing, too, is like, in 1997, Joe Carnahan would never struggle to get a movie made because he'd already made a few movies that were really good. And he would be able to make movies until he was set up. And he would be able to 75 years old. His last two movies are cop shop and game over or boss level, which are like streaming movies effectively, you know, and they're not bad. Cop shop's kind of entertaining the Gerard Butler movie. But, you know, if you made the gray, you'd be able to make movies for a long time. And so

I do think that they're doing something with kind of like, they're trying to rebuild the middle class. Yeah. And I respect that. And they're also, they're like reading the market effectively. They are smart guys. You know, there's like the viral clip of Damon being like, what happened to Hollywood is the DVD business went away. And then they, so I do think. that they just saw, okay, there are no middles, and there are streamers that will pay for it at this amount. And what most of the streamers are missing is, like, quality of any kind, so we can do it a little bit better, and they'll pay more for it. So who knows if it'll be a model that works in five years, but they're savvy. It's a really good point, and I feel like the Netflix

quality conversation is often oriented around the fact that it's either like, this film is either Roma or the Irishman or the worst movie ever made. Like, there's just no, there is, there's so few B or B plus movies that they've made over the years for whatever reason. Yes. It's like you either use the Virgin River set or you've made you've made Roma. It's just, it's a very strange thing.

And, you know, that's obviously being dramatic and it's not a, there are tons of B movies that they've made that I enjoy watching. But that is the reputation that the studio has. And so this kind of begins to reshape that a bit. So it's beneficial for them too. I was looking at somebody to put together like a sort of panel

of like all these straight to prime video action movies that are often like like like yeah it's like Dave Batista and Jason Momoa and it's like two guys who are actually long separated brothers but are also the greatest killers in the world. It's the bottom of the barrel of the wink action era yeah yeah I hope

I hope we're turning somewhere I hope we're getting into like it's a really good point this is another movie that's not it's not super ironic or joky or there's not a lot of one-liners like the conversations are like the way that cops shit talk each other, not like turning to the audience like Argyle, you know. Okay.

Should we draft? Yes. Yeah, sure. You made some interesting choices here category-wise. Well, I have a couple of questions for you about what I put. Because what I tried to do is mirror our George Clooney and Brad Pitt draft in a way in terms of the categories. But that might not be as effective or it might make the game more interesting. Before we do that, I mean, is there anything you want to say about Damon and Affleck, what they mean to the movies?

Obviously, there are spiritual guides for you, Amanda. Yeah. And as you said, they're 90s guys. They came up in the 90s as we were starting to log on to movies. I've talked a lot about how both Goodwill hunting and their Oscar speech were points to me being like, I'm paying attention now. There are people who seem to like the same things like I like about movies, but they're younger. And they have a like an interest in old Hollywood. But, you know, they're smarter, but they like to have fun. So, but I do think they're also really interesting case. studies because they did come up together. And they're like two actors who experienced a lot of fame and success very early on. And then what are the choices do you make? And what do you do with that? And, you know, I think some of those choices were made for them by the media or by the interest. And I'm, of course, talking about Ben Affleck.

But, you know, Damon goes like the pure, like, directors route and figures out, like, a non-superhero franchise. Affleck goes to Michael Bayland, then goes to Jennifer Lopez land, then starts directing. You know, like the ups and downs and where they are. And they haven't, I think that like traditional narrative would be like, oh, Damon, you know, easily outstripped him. And maybe in terms of quality of films, yes. But like, they've been up and down, you know, throughout the 30 years. So it's, it's just an interesting, like, business school study of what does it mean to be a movie star in our lifetime. I think Matt Damon has

like one of my favorite body's work of an active actor right now. I've gotten to a fight with Bill about Brad Pitt versus Matt Damon when we were talking about F1. A fight. It was just an argument about like who's a bigger star and I was like I actually think that Damon

has more bigger movies in a way. I think Brad Pitt is more famous. Yes. But yeah. But it's for similar reasons. I agree with everything the Mandis said and I'll just highlight. I find their current iteration of like how they're relating to the world and the business to be basically like this really cool extension of almost like the character that William Goldman and habits and adventures in the screen trade where they're both really charming articulate

guardians of movie making they're ambassadors yeah and so whether you're watching damon on Conan or Damon talking to Michael B. Jordan recently about all the technical aspects of playing Smoke and Stack or, you know, Affleck talking to Fincher about Mank, you know. Affleck explaining cameras to Jennifer Lopez.

It's just like... Yeah. Listen to Affleck interview Josh Safty about Marty Supreme. Yeah. And it's like... Affleck on the Criterion Clousin closet. Yeah, exactly.

And so, Affleck picking Menace to Society over Boys in the Hood. Yeah. Like, they're just really... They love movies. They know movies.

They really understand movies and they love talking about movies. So it makes their external personas just kind of. just kind of more interesting than like George Clooney. You know, like George Clooney is a good star and he's made some really good movies. It's been a rough 20 years for George Clooney, honestly.

But he's just not as interesting. He's more interesting talking about the world than he is talking about Hollywood and films. And he doesn't have that same like synophilic thing that game in and acting. I also don't think, I don't know. I wouldn't actually want to disparage him by saying this. But like, I was going to say something along the lines of like,

I think George Clooney stopped challenging himself by working with directors that might push him in different directions. whereas I think Matt Damon does that pretty routinely and also plays around a lot with like the role he has in Interstellar is quite quite dangerous for a guy who's like

I am the hero. Totally agree. I don't want anybody to ever doubt that like I am the good guy in this movie. Yes, which is part of why that's in my opinion the most effective part of that movie. It is the most surprising thing in the movie. Yeah, I mean I'm a big fan of theirs.

I think they both have fascinating taste. I think the way that you described it is dead on. However, Affleck does also have a best picture winner or under his belt as a filmmaker. So they're kind of neck in neck in this perverse way if you wanted to pit them against each other somehow. And I think also their friendship I find very charming. You know, the fact that they like stuck it out

and have not been broken by what is genuinely a nasty business where people are trying to pit you against each other all the time. The fact that they have each other's backs and they built this company in the aftermath of their success is very cool. Ben Affleck was the only celebrity who got to visit the set of the Odyssey. Wow. That's cool. It was like pretty much according to,

him. It was like a pretty close set. And then he got to show up. Just Ben. That's beautiful. You weren't invited. After all that pre-work you did, all that elbow grease on blue thunder and everything. I mean, I'm sure you'll get your premiere invite any day now. You think so? Yeah. You think Chris will call me personally?

Okay. Well, let's talk about the categories before we set the draft order, okay? You don't like the categories. No, I just said that they were different. Oh, okay. As with Clooney Pitt, here's what we did. We did Blockbuster $100 million or more at the box office, Oscar nominee, Matt and Ben together, directed or produced by, supporting role, and Wildcard.

Now, the one question I have for you guys is Oscar nominee. So does it have to be in their name, or is it a movie that they were in? I think that we can do it. But we have to respect it. No, I don't even think that you can do it without breaking it. Yeah, but if you just have to be like, if somebody picks it. one of these movies in another category, then that takes one of like three out of this.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we could extend this category to mean any movie that they were in that was nominated for an Academy Award, which is something that we do in other drafts. Right. In the year drafts. Or we could say this is a movie that only has six potential candidates. Then let's widen it so that we can get more movies in.

I'm fine with that. Okay. I don't, you know, we don't have to kill each other during this. I didn't do that work, so it'll kind of be on the fly. I didn't either. So we'll be doing it together. That's okay. You did do that work.

Because you were afraid and you were going to lobby for this. I know you so well. It's fucking insane. How well I know you. As I was doing this last night, I was like, I know what CR is going to say. He's going to be like, this category is too tough. It's going to fuck up the game. We need to widen it so that I can take Interstellar here or whatever.

I didn't have Interstellar in my top five for Oscars. Okay. You want to read your top five right now? How do you feel about the drafts? I feel great about them. Aren't they an excuse for us to just chew the fat? They are. They are.

How do you feel about them? You've done quite a few these days. I look forward to seeing Christopher Ryan, you know? That's nice. You never see him outside of this. I honestly, he was traveling for a long time. I see him, you know, there's a way to keep him in Los Angeles for an extended period of time. So it's really nice.

You know what I will also say is that I do, we have the smaller table now. And I thought a lot about how now I like I can like push you and when you use the roller You shouldn't be. I know, and I watched the video back just to see that you actually did like sale slightly, which I really, which I really enjoyed. So I like that element of it now in 2026. I like them too. Okay, good. I have a lot of ideas for them.

We're not stopping. Oh, good. Because I thought for a second, you were like, we're sundowning this. Yeah, we got two weeks off and I came up with a lot of stuff. Okay. I'm pretty excited. Okay. Where do your best ideas strike you?

Like, what time of day? Where are you? And you're like, no, we got to do the. As you know, I have a very annoying schedule where when I'm not recording, I have nine Zooms planned. And so if I can get a day with no meetings, I can come up with a lot of shit. But so you're in front of the laptop. It's not just like walking around. You're not at the playground.

It's either that or furiously mastermind. You know what? No, it's a boobeshet slash line. Oh, my God. Well, the problem that I have, I'm glad you asked this. I'm no longer glad I have. Whenever there's dead time, like when I'm driving, for example, I had a long drive yesterday. I drove all the way to Culver and all the way back.

Oh, you did end up going? I did. I would go see Crime 101. Yeah. And it was a long drive there and a long drive back. And I just listen to pods the whole time. So I'm not actively thinking about anything. I'm listening.

And I fill a lot of my dead time with that. It's like in modern life, the input's never off, you know? That's very true. And I'm very susceptible to additional inputs wherever I can find them, as opposed to just sitting quietly with my thoughts. Yeah. But when focused on the show, yeah, it's not that hard.

I'm not doing the show. I do too. I was just wondering if there's a place where inspiration strikes. You know, you were on a plane recently. I was wondering

if plane Sean got activated. Yeah, that's a very powerful force. Yeah, I know. Don't unleash that force. Was that a good flight for you? To New York? Productive?

The way home. Yeah, it was very productive. Yeah, I heard a lot from you on the way home. Did you? Yeah, and I was like, sir, it is Saturday morning. And I am in charge of two children. two children.

I got a lot of ideas. I just got a lot of ideas. I wish you guys would be cool if you got her a pager. And you would be like, Star 911. Call me back immediately. I have a draft idea. Call me back immediately.

Go see Primate. Okay. How's Troy Kotzer in Primate? It's just the funniest damn thing you've ever seen. Academy Award winning actor. Recently seen in Black Rabbit with Jason Bateman and June. Oh, Was he?

Okay. This is the first time I've seen him since Coda. Yeah. And the film, because he's deaf, the film cuts out sound whenever he appears. There's one moment in particular where there's a violent ape encounter happening in the other room and he can't hear it. And he's just like, do-to-do, like cleaning up his kitchen. His performance is fine. Okay.

He is on the, there was the sending end of one of the dumbest text exchanges in movie history, which I encourage people to check out. When they see it where he's corresponding with a veterinarian. I actually know a DNA specialist around veterinary science. Okay. Where he's questioning their expertise. I don't think that you're watching enough new romantic comedies to weigh in on the dumbest text exchange in semantic history. That's probably true. In semantic history.

But you can do this like asterisk, you know, animal attack division. I take your people we meet on vacation and raise you a primate. That's all I'm going to say. I'll say for achievement in text messaging on screen, he did a rivalry. Excellent with that. Okay. I mean, I'm going to check it out. And then they do like Scorsese push up shots, you know? Let's do it. Let's cut back to Wednesday night. I got home. I had to go pick up my credit card somewhere.

Walked in the house. It's a long story. Walked in the house. Did you close out a bar and you forgot a card? I'll tell you right now what happened. I left my credit card in the bar in New York when I was in New York because the man who doesn't go to bars anymore. Every seven years you do something really fucking stupid. Really stupid. Fortunately I was there with David Sims and Griffin Newman and Griffin just so happened to be coming to Los Angeles. So he picked up the credit card, brought it

to me. I met him on Wednesday. It was very nice. Thank you Griffin. I got to see him and some friends. And I came home and I came home and Alina's watching heated rivalry. And I walked in... What episode? She was on episode three. Yeah. And she paused it. And the first thing she said to me was Chris likes this.

And then she went on to tell me about the extraordinary amount of gay sex in the TV show. I haven't seen it. I haven't seen it. I'm down for anybody who wants to get after it. I'm going to try it this weekend. People listening to this all have already hopefully tried it. Post-Martin Luther King, you'll update the fan base. I hope Eileen enjoys it. She seemed to be enjoying it. Yeah. I haven't checked it out. Let's get the draft order from Jack. Jack, Matt and Ben, you in? Sure. I almost want to come back and check on this. Okay.

Your fucking Matt's hat back. there and your glib smile. You know, this morning I put on a David Wright-Shay Stadium edition jersey, and my girlfriend looked at me and she said, they just signed a player, Jack. Like, just relax. So I took it off, just wearing the hat. You know what it is? Here's what happened.

It's also, like, if you'd had to get dressed last night, you would have lit everything on fire instead. That is very true. It's just the ups and downs, I think. You didn't even want him. That's a thing. The thing is that this, we spent this whole offseason feeling like, they're don't care about us. They're trying to reset. They're going to play the kids. This is a slap in

the face. They let players we love walk. You would not do this deal if you weren't going for it. It would make no sense. So they showed us that they're going for it. And I appreciate it. But like, didn't they lose the guy they really needed? So aren't they only half going for it? Well, I don't think. And I read that, so they offered 50 million a year. And then he ultimately signed for 60 million a year. Doesn't see if they offered 60 for the first two years. They offered 55 average annual. Yeah. He doesn't have 20 extra million?

I don't think that's really what it was. It was like Kyle Tucker just wants to be able to be a free agent. Not Kyle Tucker. Bob Shett wants to be able to be a free agent again. No, but I'm talking about Kyle Tucker. Well, he also wants to be able to be a free agent again because he has the two and three opt-outs. There were opt-outs also in the Mets deal. And the Mets were paying a bigger signing bonus and there were no deferrals.

So it was a better deal to sign with the Mets. But Kyle Tucker was like, I'm a coward and I want to sign with the Dodgers. I want to win because I'm a coward. That's really what that's about. fuck him. Okay. We don't need him. And if the Dodgers are listening,

Sean is also available. Fuck them. I don't give a shit. What are we like caping for the Dodgers? I'm not going to be in L.A. That's bullshit. No, they're going to ruin the sport. Okay.

What's the order? Chris first, Sean second, Amanda third. Okay. Kind of got fucked here, but what are you going to do? Is there, in your mind, a clear number one? Well, especially if we'd kept the Oscar nominations, in the traditionalist way?

Then the answer would be yes. And I will actually, in honor of that philosophy, do the same thing I would have done anyway. I mean, take goodwill hunting in Oscar. Yeah. I do feel that this is the number one overall pick. Yeah, of course.

This is the fourth consecutive time you've gotten the number one overall pick? No, it's not. I think it is. No, it's not. And I didn't. This is definitely the second time in a row that I'm on the turn

at a time when it matters. Next time this happens if I'm first and somebody else has the turn, I'll take the turn. I love the turn. I feel like you had first in New York. Did I? I think so. Yeah, diehard DB3.

Yeah, DH with a V. Yeah, DH with a V. That was if anything showed the discrepancy, the disconnect between the liberal elites and the real people listening to the show, it was that. It was you guys being like, Dyerard with a vengeance. Are you fucking crazy? All the people were like, ah. So the insinuation there is that two liberal elites host the show and yet all regular people listen to the show. How could that possibly be? Well, I mean, I just don't think they have. have enough options, you know?

Yeah, that's the issue. That is also something Eileen once said where she was like, why has no one competing with your podcast? It's obviously not true. She just doesn't know

the entire landscape of movie podcasting. Goodwill Hunting. You like that film? Yeah, love it. We did, uh, we watched Bowels for it in Boston with Rissolo and Bill. A lot of fun. Great Rissolo story about Bunker Hill

College. Yes, that's right. Um, and, um, yeah, this is, this is where it all began. Same. Well, actually, where it all began, and it's always delightful to hear their stories about these guys going out for Dead Poets Society, these guys going out for different movies, like, coming up. And so they were trying to get into films before this and obviously wrote themselves into Hollywood history.

Where are you on the William Goldman conspiracy theories with this movie? I don't believe it. I think at this point, it's probably like Goldman and Reiner both had some suggestions and they followed them. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I agree as well. I think that's just saying, take the same. CIA plot out of this or whatever is a good idea. It's still strange to me, though, that there's not another movie that's just the two of them that they wrote that is like a character drama.

Like, that is that is something that we do need in Hollywood is guys and women, obviously, but these two guys specifically doing. It's fine. We need some women. Women may also speak to one and further. They're allowed to if they want to. I wish they would write another movie. It doesn't have to be good while hunting two hunting season. You know, it needs to be something else, but I would like to do it.

Was last dual Nicole Hoffs and her script that they also wrote on? Or was it their script? And they had her come in and do. Yeah, they had her come in. They brought her in for her perspective. A woman. Yeah. And it was the better for it.

Do you feel that you're a woke movie watcher? Oh, my God. In what sense? Like, are you thinking about what's the diversity of this storytelling? No. I'm just thinking about whether it's true. It feels true. Whether it feels true. Not if it's a true story.

Yeah. What about you? Afraid to answer. You have a pick. Okay. I'm going to go with directed or produced by and take the town. I mean, that's what I would have done to. So, I mean, that's the best movie.

This is how I got fucked. That they, that they have directed or produced. Fuck. There's plenty of good movies of that category. I know, but I wanted one of those too. And you don't think executive producer counts, right? This is not. No.

It's got to be, you gotta have a hand in actually making it. The Lenders want you to open the door. It's just, this movie fucking rips. We also showed the town when we were in Boston for that. We watchedibles at the Coolidge Corner and we stayed. Did we stay for the whole movie? We stayed for a lot of it. I feel like, I have because I rewatched it the other night and I was like, oh, I'll be fine.

And then they do the second, the like North Boston. The nuns. Yeah. And I was like, okay, well, I'll just like watch this and then I'll turn it off. And then, you know, it just like keeps going. And then it's like, they're starting Fenway. And it's like, well, I can't. It's very involving.

Yeah. Even after a hundred times, it's very involving. Possible's Fergie, late breaking rewatchable's character. Oh. He's coming in this year. He's making some appearances. And what did he do to his mother? He gave her a little taste.

He gave her a little taste. Yeah, I love this movie. I did your daddy the chemical way. This category might actually be a little harder than Oscar nominee now. So this is why I put it here. Yeah, the town's great. I think his other movies

that he's directed are good except for Live By Night, which I think is very strange. And we can talk about that if it ends up getting picked at all. But that's the only movie of theirs really that I've only watched one time. Yes.

But yeah, I love the town. So easy pick there. Okay, Dobbins. We got two picks. Yeah, I do. Okay. So, I mean, I would have picked Goodwell Hunting One

in the town, And it opens up a little bit here. There are obviously a lot of movies that we all love that are eligible here. So I guess I'll just go with in Blockbuster, I'll take Gone Girl, which is still the single best movie made about Ben Affleck. And there have been many at this point. He is an interesting concept to investigate the town in many ways could be seen as a movie about Ben Affleck trying to understand parts of himself. But great movie. We screened it as a part of the Friends of the Fest at the American Cinemathech, and that was really, really fun.

Played so beautifully. Yeah. Everyone laughed exactly where you should. Yes. So I'll do that in Blockbuster because we used to be a country where Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher. Was a Blockbuster? Didn't they make like 350? It was insane.

Did you see the photo of Adventures of Cliff Booth where the clapboard photo and it says teleplay by Quentin Tarantino? That was funny. What does that mean it will feel more like a TV movie then? I'm fine with that. Okay. Okay. And then. We know Quentin loves a 70s TV movie. Because we've opened up Oscar nominee.

I can, in directed or produced by Take Manchester by the Sea. Yes. Yes, you can. Matt Damon produced that the absolutely devastating Kenneth Lonergan movie about New England. It's not, it's outside Boston, right? Outside of Boston. And not being able to get past your mistakes, which, you know, in this case, I don't know whether it's not possible to. It's not possible to, but most movies try to sand that off or to give you hope.

The single greatest what if of Matt Damon's career. Yeah. It's if he had taken this part. Taking the Casey Affleck part, yeah. I think we got the best version of the movie, personally. And it seems like it was, I mean, he's the one who put Casey up for it, right? And that's part of the reason why. I think they worked it for a long time.

And it was like, if we're going to, if we do this, like, I'm busy for the next three and a half years. And so I will step aside. And if I step aside, I want Casey to play the part. A, an unusually funny episode of the rewatchables about this movie. That is perhaps the saddest film of 2020. I love that movie. Great pick. Okay.

I've got another pick. This is a tough one because I don't know where you're going to go. And so I need to account for what you're going to get on the term. How do I be strategic and just get something I really want right now at the right time? Or do I just follow my heart and say, come what may? Like, for example, I don't care about Jason Bourne. I'm on the record about that. Like, those movies don't really do it for me.

So I don't need to, but like you do. Yeah. I don't know. I don't dislike them, but I don't, I'm not a subscriber to the cult. But isn't your favorite the one with Retner? I really, really love it. I think my favorite is supremacy, the second one. Yeah.

Although huge Fomka potent. I was going to say, yeah. I'll, I'll. It's okay. Take your time. It's tough. You picked what? Your first pick?

I took the town and directed or produced a guy. All right. And I guess you can only get so many here, right? You can only take so many away from me. So I'll just take what I think is the best entrant in this category, which is Matt and Ben together in Dogma. Yeah. They're amazing in this movie, which was like kind of lost to time. I interviewed Kevin Smith on the pod last year.

I asked him two questions. He spoke for one hour. God bless him for it. He told great stories. The movie has since been reissued on 4K. I looked at it last night. It looks great. Matt and Ben play Fallen Angels in this movie.

They're awesome in this movie. This is, you'll laugh because it's a Kevin Smith movie. Some of Ben Affleck's best acting ever. Is the conference room seen the best they've ever been together? No, the parking garage. That's the best scene. Oh, yeah. It's good.

Them going back and forth about the nature of God and order. In a Kevin Smith movie is legitimately exciting to me. I've always had a really soft spot in my heart as a fallen angel of sorts as well, a lapsed Catholic. And I really appreciate that Kevin Smith, after making a bunch of dick joke movies, attempted to do something like this. This is also something that I think is missing from the movies right now, even though it's a little clunky at times. But I just think they're really, really special together.

And all these other movies, I think, are not bad that they're in together. I like them. Yeah. But this feels to me like their essence in the 90s. Yeah. It is also the most of you of them together. It is. I'm following my heart.

Yeah. So this is an interesting place where the categories wind up dictating the choices a little bit more than my personal taste. But be that as it may, I'll go Matt and Ben together and take the last duel. Okay. There's not that many of them left. I think in the long test of time, the last duel eclipse the rip. Although I probably have more fun watching the rip. Sure.

Well, I'm just, I mean, neither subject matter is uplifting. No. But I would say that the RIP has more fun, except for Ben Affleck, who's having a great time throughout the last stool. The last one in the last door is quite good. A little bit overlooked because of the period in which it was released. And also the amount of movies Ridley Scott was putting out. It was a two-movie year for Ridley. Was that House of Gucci?

I think so, yeah. And so it kind of got a little push aside. But it is also a tough sit. And the way that the movie concludes is quite serious. Yes. But I think the movie's very good. Yeah. So I'll do that.

And I will do Argo for directed or produced by. Yeah. And Argo, it's just a very well-made, it's like Moneyball to me. If you can distract yourself from its truthfulness, it is like a very well-made genre film. It's kind of... Excuse me. So when you watch Moneyball, you're holding its truthfulness against it? No, I just think it's worth noting that they had an excellent pitching staff.

That comes up zero times. Everyone is very, very raw about baseball right now is what I'm learning. No, I, I worship buddy ball. Yeah. Right. It's that Eric Chavez, Miguel Tehada, Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and who was the, and Tim Hudson were, are not mentioned. It's just as a pathway to success for the age. These guys won the division by having Scott Hatterberg walk.

Yes. Just that's all that happened. And then he hit the home run at the really important moment, okay? And the sound cuts out. So it's awesome. The movie's great. If you not be romantic about baseball. So is Argo, even though it sounds like it was a pretty seamless departure from Tehran for those guys.

Yes. It makes it seem like they're being chased, you know. But just an excellently well-made movie and also like the Hollywood stuff in Argo is so great. So happy to have that. Yeah, Arkin and Goodman are fantastic in the movie. You have another pick. He just grabbed two. He had the last duel in Argo.

Oh, that's right. Okay. So now I've got a pick. This is just feel. I'm going Oscar nominee The Martian just because there are vanishingly few acting nominations for our figures here. Right, but we opened it up. I know, but I feel better about picking The Martian here because Damon is the absolute center of the movie. He's phenomenal in this movie.

It's also a hugely nominated movie. 24, six, seven nominations. Zero wins for The Martian. Shamedful. Is somebody supporting non-ness? No supporting. It's screenplay, production design, sound editing, and sound mixing. and visual effects along with picture.

What a crazy cast this movie had. Really good. Really good. I like this movie a lot. I think this is the, perhaps the best use of Damon's talents in a film in terms of his ability to sell, defeated,

intelligent, overcoming struggle. Like, he really, he uses all of his pitches. His talk show host, his talk show guest persona put into a giant blockbuster. Obviously, a lot of credit to the novel and the story and the framework that he fit, but he slides right into it beautifully.

Speaking of Ridley Scott, two Ridley Scott movies off the board already. Okay, Dobbins, you got two picks. I'm going to take the other side of Matt Damon in Oscar nominee, and it is, he was not nominated for an actor, a best actor for this, but he should have been. So I feel comfortable putting the talented Mr. Ripley in this space. Great. Yeah. Which is my favorite Matt Damon performance. And it is everything that the Martian is not.

And it comes very soon after Goodwill Hunting. And he plays against his charisma and his confidence and is just like a really messed up weirdo. And I just couldn't love this movie more. So. You also screen this movie at the American Simintech. I did. A trend is on.

Yes, for Friends of the Fest. So also my other two things in this category are the Martian and Argo, which you guys are already took. So, talented, I'm, like, I could have found something else, but that was all the Googling that I did. So now I have Matt and Ben together supporting role and wildcard left. I have a cute idea for Matt and Ben together. So I think I can guess what that is. And I think that, yeah, and I don't think that you guys are going to take it anywhere else. So you're going to wait. So I'm going to wait. And I think I can go into supporting role. You sure you don't. want me to just take school ties in wildcourt right now because I'll do it. Oh, it's not that.

It's not that. Yeah, it's a different one. Yeah, it's a different one. But, you know, let's see. But so, I think now I just got to go with what I want in supporting role. Even though I think you guys would go for the most obvious one, but I'm going to be cute and true to my heart and supporting role as well and take Oceans 12. Oh, wow. Which, you know, it's an ensemble film. Yeah. And, and, And no, that's 13. This is no, I. I wasn't in four weddings in a funeral. He is more of the star of 12.

Yes, but it's an ensemble. Listen, okay. Like, I know what you're saying. You know what I mean. Linus does get his moment. Does he get the most lines in the movie? Oh, I thought Brett Pitt was the star of 12. Yeah, because of the Catherine Zeta Jones.

And it's like Danny handing it over to Rusty. And Linus like does come into his own at the end of 12. And then he, then that sets him. He sets him up for 13. Yeah. But. Is he the star of 13? I got to rewatch 13.

I think if you have to pick a star, he would be 13. Yeah. But so I choose him in Ocean's 12, which is just an absolutely wonderful movie. And does embody, like, were I Adam Sandler and I could just pay for everyone, like, everyone I love to be in a fun movie together. Like, I would pick Oceans 12. And I'd pick all those people and I'd pick those locations. And, you know, I'd learn some parkour and it would be a great time. Is it south of France, Monica?

Where are they? Where's Catherine Zeta Jones living? Where's the night fox? Night Fox is in the south of France. Yeah. So that's south of France. But I think they do the heist in Rome. I think that's where the egg is going to be on display.

No, no, no. It's in Italy because they filmed it, like, not at Clooney's Como place, but, like, nearby. That's where Albert Finney is at the end, right? No, I think he's somewhere else on a different island. Can I make a request? Yeah. Will you guys refer to me as the Night Fox going to? Sure. If you can do the dancing through the laser beams, I will call you the night fox.

I think I need to stretch a little more to be able to figure that out. How about this? What if you just referred to me as the night fox not in my presence? Okay. Like, will the night fox be there? That's great. Do you know what time night fox is around? So was that too? Or did you just pick one? Yeah, that was too, because I did talented Mr. Ripley. Okay. So I'm up.

I'm going blockbuster and I'm taking the departed. Oh, okay. Which I, are you upset? No. Yeah. But you did. I grilled me there. Like you just, you held that reaction a little bit longer. No, I was thinking, I was, I actually, when you said the departed, I was like kicking myself for not talking about the departed during the rip.

Oh. Because I was like, this movie wound up being more like den of thieves than the departed kind of. Yeah. She didn't mention that he did. Just the math demon of it all. But you're right that it faints away from the departed. The rat, rat damon. Yeah.

Rat damon. Yeah. Can you call me rat demon when I'm not around. Matt Damon not nominated for an Academy Award in this film despite... Shockingly. Some of his best work,

obviously Leo is also terrific in this movie. This movie won best picture, but didn't really get all of those Hosannaes that you usually expect for a movie like this. And it makes that the Marty win feel even more like a makeup win or something

because this movie didn't get nine wins, even though I think it has pretty clearly lived on. It's the 20th anniversary of the departed this year. And... A wonderful re-re-re-repart. No, we've reparted. We need to re-repart.

Yeah. I could pot about this movie any day of the week. Any time. It's fabulous and super weird, as you pointed out, over the years, the way that it's made where it just feels like they're like pre-torn jeans the movie. You know, it's just kind of like messy and burnt on the edges and the editing style is kind of insane. Tell more about your concepts of pre-torn jeans. I've just spoken with Jack Fisk and he told me all about it. Sure.

Oh, he's distressing the jeans? Well, he explained how they age things on set. But you don't mean like... Right, but that's very different from the like fake distress. that you're walking into at urban outfitters. You'll have to listen to the interview to learn how a master does it. He's doing it with craft. Are you implying that Sean gets his clothes from urban outfits?

I really don't know at this point. I'm having Jack Fickick make all my clothes. I don't know Rag and Bone is selling distressed jeans at the silhouettes that Sean is looking for. I don't know. Perhaps. What number is it again? Three? Right in the middle there.

You're going to try and get sponsored by Rag and Bone? Doesn't hurt. Do you do like a distressed gene ever? Are you wearing new jeans or are you? exclusively vintage at this point. I buy Levi's 502 made in Japan. Okay, but vintage were new made. How are those tariffs working out? Yeah. I'm taking a little bit there. Yeah. I don't get them from Japan. Okay, but no. You don't fly to Japan to get them. I should though. The dollar is stronger. Is it salvage? Like, what are we talking about here?

I'm wearing them right now. There's jeans. Yeah, but they're not distressing. Can I touch them? Yes. So weird. Zip fly or button fly. Zip. Okay. Oh, interesting. Is that wrong? No, I just. You think that makes him less of a man I prefer a straight button fly these days Yeah, I'm only doing vintage also Okay, boring buttonfly as well Blockbuster's a loaded category

The Departed was at the top of my list A lot of contenders here Have you taken Blockbuster yet? Yeah Okay, so you have places to go You have another pick? No, you have two picks now In Blockbuster I'll take Armageddon Wow Which is kind of the first of

For one thing, I wanted to wait it a little bit for Ben. I don't think I'm going to pick another Affleck starring film or Affleck kind of fountain movie. Armageddon also Blockbuster, you know, these guys are pretty popular people. So a lot of different kinds of movies are blockbusters for them. But Armageddon is the capital B blockbuster. I was seriously considering this in Wild Card in order to expand my Ben palette. Oh, yeah. You know?

So that's the funny thing about. Because I don't know if my final is going to represent Your actual love for him. Yeah. To me, I'm going to swerve now then. The long list is 80-20 Matt to me. 70-30 Matt?

It's so, it's tough because Ben directed three really good movies. Yeah. And one, I think one truly great movie, which I drafted, and then two movies that I like a lot. Oh.

So that does, it does balance the scales a little bit, but Damon's just cuts. I think being in Oceans born. and Nolan movies is just like pretty overwhelming. Yeah. But yeah, I know that Borns in here and a lot of stuff, but Armageddon to me is when I close my eyes and think of a summer blockbuster. When he sings leaving on a jet plane, are you kidding me?

Independence Day or whatever. Like, are you fucking kidding? My 15-year-old heart just absolutely shattered. What are you doing? Why did you draft that movie? Because I got Gone Girl, which is still the single best movie about Ben Affleck. I stand by my choice. And also, I believe in a world where that movie is eligible for Blockbuster, okay?

So that's pre-netflix venture. So whatever. But it's, yeah, it's powerful. I'm just, I'm backing him up. Okay, cool. I like Armageddon, too. I was mean about the jeans, so, you know. To whom?

To you, to the zip fly. I'm sorry about that. There's nothing wrong with a zipper fly. Yeah, well. What's wrong with it? Why don't you get into it? With your whole chest. What's up with zip flies?

Well, I will actually tell you that post-carrying two children, the zipper fly provides, like, a structural support that's, like, helpful to me. Okay. Yeah, there's a button fly. Yeah, the button fly, yeah, sorry. So that's a practical thing. You don't have to worry about that. Racing up on an earthquake zone only, is that like how it works? Literally, yes.

Yeah, like, placing the foundation. I know, like, you're, like, making a joke, but, like, this is what I'm dealing with every day. Right? The skin, you know, everything. Do you feel that as though you may topple over at any moment? Um, not anymore in that way. Okay. Emotionally. And that's more of a core support, you know?

Sure. You should look into that because I'm lifting stuff all day and as are you. I'm not lifting stuff. Right. That's what I'm saying. And your back is suffering. And I'm, you know, I'm doing my little workouts and I'm wearing my buttonfly jeans as a brace. I, this is not something I give a lot of thought to.

You can't get this on any of other movie podcast. So when my wife asks me, why is no one compete? You can't compete with this conversation about button fly versus zip of fly. This is one of one content. I do have some jeans that are button fly, but when I put jeans on, it's not like what's the fly. I mean, it's also like the vintage 501s are button fly. And then the 505s or zipper, which I was like trying for a while, but they don't really hold their structure. Go be. Yeah. I don't, I don't look good in 511s. That's okay. Yeah. Have you tried on enough? I think so. Yeah. Well, we should go to American

rag sometime. You and I go gene shopping. It's incredible. This incredible content. That's good YouTube content. You will not find that on Ringer movies. Just for the record. Okay, Sierra, you've got another thing. I'm going to take Born Supremacy and Wildcard. Good. Great.

Wasn't on my board. This is probably the sort of like the peak of the green grass iteration of these movies. I'm not a big Jason Bourne fan. The third one is good, but two is the one that features the huge twist in the beginning, plus the Russia car chase. Cool. Yeah. And Matt Damon is really good as Jason Bourne.

Did you see the Lost Bus? Paul Greengrass? You're looking to be like, you've never seen me before. I was just thinking that I almost put Paul Greengrass's new movie up on the auction where it's about a peasant rebellion in the 14th century. Yes. And that looks sick.

That film's called The Uprising. It stars Andrew Garfield and Jamie Bell. I'm very excited about that movie. Yeah. Love both those guys. It's actually produced by Blumhouse. I did not see Lost Bus. I know that it's right there on my Apple TV, but I didn't see it.

Was not a big fan. Greengrass, I really like, generally. And I think his post-borne output is a little underrated. Have you ever... What was the Tom Hanks? News of the World? Yeah, well, sure, but News of the World is what I was talking about. Which is pretty good.

I mean, he definitely just goes around town reading the news to people. But, like, you know. That's peak podcast. It's how we got our information. It's absolutely right. Okay. So you got two there. What do you have left?

What do you have left? I have a supporting role. I have a supporting role left too and I'll be taking days and confused. Just to get my Ben numbers up. O'Banyan, legendary piece of shit. Affleck has done this part a few times. I also revisited mallrats last night as Shannon.

What's his way of describing anal sex in that? I'm going to have sex with her in an uncomfortable place. place and they're like in the back of a Honda. A very deranged movie. I watched the movie last night. Watch the extended cut. You guys familiar with this? It's two hours and one minute. There's like a whole 15

minutes at the beginning of the movie that sets up Michael Rooker's character as like the you know, the guy who's going to run this game show. Yeah. And there's lots of Claire Forlani and Jason London stuff at the beginning of it. They're like I didn't know existed. They like really sliced and diced this movie and served it up to us, which, you know, is a favorite of ours, and we watch as teenagers and is extremely stupid.

Though Jason Lee, possibly the single best performance of the 90s is Jason Lee and Morrats. He's the funniest person who's ever lived. I don't know what the hell happened to that dude. Basing and Fuse, though, perfect film, five-star classic. Nice. Nice introduction for Affleck, who is a very, I think a very recognizable, insecure bully. I remember older kids in my high school that were like this guy,

overcompensating and extremely mean to small children. So him getting the paint dumped on him. Iconic shit. Love this movie. Okay. Amanda. So what do you have left? Oh, I have my last two.

I have Matt and Ben together and I have Wildcard. So Matt and Ben together. Matt and Ben famously had cameos in the Fenway scene at Field of Dreams. Oh, that's true. So I will be taking Field of Dreams. Sneaky little. Yeah. See, there will go.

That's what happens when you get the third. pick. You got to be creative. It is eligible. That's a great call. Field of Dreams, just an absolutely amazing Costner performance. I also, this has nothing to do with Matt and Ben, but was rewatching scenes of Truth or Dare in order to get ready for the moment. I remember when Kevin Costner meets Madonna in Truth or Dare. It's very funny. What does he say to her? He's like pretty neat. That was neat. That was nice for having us. He's kind of like how I react to eating mushrooms in a small place restaurant. That was neat. Anyway, I didn't get the Fenway raid from the

heist from the town, but I got Field of Dreams. And then I have Wildcard, which could go a few different ways. So I was going to do Armageddon for to get up my bed. And obviously, Gone Maybe Gone is still on the table. You know, at one point I had the accountant to an indirect or produced by is like a back pocket situation. Tough one. Which, I mean, it's tough. That would have been rough.

Who directed the accountant to? Gavin O'Con. Who directed the accountant? Remember the team of hackers at the school? Oh my God, I forgot about it. Yeah, yeah. It was like accounting to Havoc and what was the third one that we did together? This is basically this time last year.

The amateur? The amateur. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I really wish the amateur were better. Just needed a different lead. It did, yeah. But put Andrew Garfield in there.

Oh, that would be good. Yeah. So, like, I could do my Affleck. But I guess, and you already did born supremacy. So what would I even, should I do? I don't really think I want to do Shakespeare in love, even though I do like that movie and he's good in it. You're in Wildcard right now?

Guinethera, yeah. Jack of the Mets done anything since we started? I don't believe so. Okay. So there's no time limit on when they can, it's not like. I mean, all the guys will be gone over the weekend, probably. Time limit on baseball, you mean? It's not like, there's not a deadline.

No, this is something that people have been asking for in the sport because this has been a really elongated offseason. And then pitchers and catchers in three weeks. And then Scott Boris holds all his guys, you know, hostage for a while. He does. There's still some big players on the board, though. Framber Valdez still unsigned. How do you feel about losing Ranger?

I mean, I liked him. I wish he won. I'll do Gone Baby Gone. Gone, Baby Gun. Yeah. Good pick. Well. Well.

Ranger Spars own the Mets. Listen. I respect Ben Affleck. Gone Baby Gone is an incredible movie. I've also tried to get... Also, like Amy Madigan back in the news, you know? Good point. So it's very upsetting.

Yeah, I tried to get able to do it, and it was like, it's too upsetting. It's really, really upsetting. I read hereditary. I read a bit last night, and I was like, oh. Yeah, that's true. Hereditary is funnier, though. Yeah.

Yeah. With the Coke House and Gone Baby God is really sad. Not to spoil 20... Not to spoil Bone Temple and Hereditary. so I guess fast forward. Predatory's 10 years old. Well, you never know with people on this show.

Just like absolutely grow up. If they had one other movie podcast to listen to, maybe they could find one that doesn't spoil Boat Temple. So people being lit on fire, it doesn't bug me at all. I just think it's kind of cool. There I am on that. That's my day.

We should get you into the Halloween movies. Because I feel like Michael Myers is frequently being lit on fire. And then five minutes later he's like, I'm fine. It's so interesting you should say that because I was talking to a few. last night about different things on the pit that gross us out versus stuff that doesn't. And she's really not into anything with skin.

Oh, yeah, skin is upsetting. But like I don't want to see them after they've been lit on fire. Yeah. But like when they burst into flames, I'm just like, ooh. But I'm like. The power of fire. Almost all I need you to get four fingers in there and lift that up. Eat me, the American Prometheus.

The power of fire. Anyway, gone baby gone is a very upsetting I haven't revisited it in a while I like to see it again I like this movie a lot It's quite good The board really just played it completely in my favor I got everything I wanted

And I'm going to get what I wanted at Wildcard So I'm really happy about it How wild are you going to get wildcard? Well I just feel like I've been stymied quite a bit In drafts recently So you're going to pick Oppenheimer here? No, I'm going to take Rounders

Which is one of my favorite movies of all time Okay And some of the best Damon you'll ever see and I think one of his great star parts, star turns, as a kind of classical, to your point earlier, about how they're kind of these like emissaries of Hollywood who stand for a certain kind of thing,

the part in rounders as constructed is something that, you know, Paul Newman could have played, that any great star from the 50s, 60, 70s, or 80s could have played and Damon fits that so comfortably. I love that movie. I've talked about it incessantly over the last whatever years I've been podcasting. Feeling good about it. So I have one, my last pick then.

Supporting Role, saving Private Ryan. Yeah. Okay. There's a ton of really good Matt Damon work out there that I could shout out for supporting role from one of his breakthroughs and courage under fire to his appearance in Che part two. But I think I don't. No sudden move. More of it like a cameo, but an incredible cameo.

Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I will go with saving Private Ryan. Just watched, like, very delightful. I think he was talking to, I can't remember who he was talking to, but Damon telling an anecdote about Spielberg, like, doing two takes and moving on and being like, just trust me, like, I know how to make a movie. He's interesting in this movie just because I think when I watched it, I wasn't like that guy's going to be in my life for the next 35 years as a major movie star. Yeah. Like, he's supposed to be a little bit annoying in this film. They're supposed to have a genius aspect of the screenwriting is to make him kind of an ingrate and to be, you know, ungrateful for the, yes, journey that these men have gone on. Exactly. So, but a fantastic performance in a five-star all-timer movie. A lot of really good Ben supporting parts that are a little bit lost to time.

Like boiler room? Boiler room is one, right? That's kind of an extended cameo, Hollywood land, where he plays George Reeve. Who played Superman. That sort of kicked off his comeback after the series of misses he had at the box office. I thought he's really funny in extract. Did you ever see the Mike Judge movie starring Jason Bateman?

That a guy who owns to like a liquid extract company. And Affleck plays his buddy. He's so funny in that movie. Tender Bar. He's excellent in the Tender Bar. Yeah. He's very funny in air, very effective as Phil Knight. I was just watching, it was on cable the other night, state of play.

Oh, yeah. Where he plays the congressman. Yeah. I much prefer the British adaptation of that, Which I think you put me on to. Yeah. That was one of my first, like, there's TV over there and you can get it on like BitTorrent and it's amazing. I remember you definitely.

Not that I used BitTorrent. There's TV over there. Pirate Bay is what you used. Not that I used any torrenting sites. You did, you said. Did not? You said you did. Pam Bondi, don't come at me.

Don't at me. You mentioned Shakespeare in Love. Yeah. A good Ben supporting part. Interstellar undrafted? Yeah. What? Chris didn't do it.

Yeah. I mean, I adore Interstellar. I thought about taking a blockbuster. Is Oppenheimer a supporting part? I had it on the list as well. Wasn't he nominated for supporting actor? No, he wasn't. No.

He should have been. Probably. He's really good. He's excellent. This is the most important thing. It's in the history of the world. True grit. Also a great supporting part.

Fuck yeah. Le Beef. Yeah. Love true grit. Ford B. Ferrari. Doesn't it feel like Affleck should have been in a Cohen brothers movie? Does. At some point.

Maybe they don't find him funny. Yeah. I do. I think he's very funny. But he's funny in a different way than George Clooney is funny. Like the unknowing or the true dumb humor that they do with Pitt too, Ben Affleck's not like dumb funny. Yeah.

Yeah. You can see him trying to do that specifically in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jay and Silent Bob reboot. Yes. Doesn't work quite as well. No. He's a smart ass. That's the appeal. Do you guys think about drafting

Promised Land? I had it noted that that was one of Gus Van Zant's Promised Land. That was an early version of Matt Damon producer or actor, right? Co-written by John Krasinski. Jerry? Jerry. That's a leading role.

He edited that movie too, right? Matt Damon edited Jerry? I think so. They'd Gus Van Zand movie? Wow. Very cool. What about Invictus? Did not have that on any of my lists. One of the only acting nominations

directed by Clint Eastwood. Yeah. About the South African rugby team. Edited by Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, and Gus Vincent. I only got in the editing bay together. Got in the Avid. Do you think the three of us should let Jack take a playoff and we cut an episode of the Big Picture together?

I'll do a lot of VO. Yeah. That sounds what I'm thinking. That sounds fucking awesome. You just want to have more time off. Yeah. I get it. No, I would legitimately like to see.

What else? Any other honorable mentions that we didn't get to? I didn't do Born Identity because he did Born Supremacy. Born Identity is my favorite Europe. Oh, seems nice. Yeah. The informant. Yeah.

Love him. Love Matt Damon and the informant. That was my backup for Wildcard. And in behind the candelabra. Yes. He's great and behind the, very funny. And behind the candelabra. Really.

Who's your favorite Matt Damon director, actor partnership? Like, who do you love him with the most? It's a fun question It's got to be Soderberg, right? Yeah, it is. Over no one? I mean, but that's just, that's numbers. You know, that's all the oceans.

Because I, the informant he's really good in, but I prefer Damon to either be, like, evil, you know, treading on, like, really messed up or, like, the good guy. Yeah, yeah. You know? Well, so he's had seven movies with Soderberg. Informant, Candelabra. Three, three oceans.

He's in, uh, No sudden move. Side effects for one scene. Oh, he's in side effects. He's in insane. Yep. No, wait, is he in side effects or insane? Maybe it's insane.

Unsane. Unsane. Yeah. No, and there's one other big one that I'm forgetting right now. Che? Che. That was the other one. I think he's in nine Soderberg movies.

I can love it. Yeah. I mean, so it's got to be far and away Soderberg. That's pretty great. Admired that. One Scorsese. Mm-hmm. Two no ones?

Or three? I think it's just interstellar and Oppenheimer and now Odyssey Right He's got four Kevin Smith films Right

Mallrats Chasing Amy Dogma Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Jay and Silent Bob reboot It's five of those And then two Gus Van Sants Right

Jerry and Goodwill Plus something else He's briefly in Finding Forrester As a cameo Yeah Affleck doesn't have that Affleck doesn't have his guy.

He doesn't. I think probably because he thinks he's the guy. His guy is himself. His guy sadly was Zach Snyder. He was the bomb in phantoms though, as you may recall. Yeah, who is his guy? John Frankenheimer and reindeer games? John Wu?

John Wu and paycheck. Yeah. I mean, it's Bay. It's Bay. It's, I guess so. Yeah. It's Pearl Harbor and it's Armageddon. That's his dude.

Yeah. I mean, Jake Gyllenhaal is doing Affleck in ambulance. Very true. very true Ben walked so Jake could run I like that Jake in the ride I didn't know that

On his own race Should Ben run for public office You can do whatever he wants He's like he's like the office manager Artist Equity He's like he's like making sure The pens are there Okay now that we're at the end of the episode

No one's listening anymore I have one final question around this It's not nice but I'm gonna ask it Beard dye For Ben or oh is he using beard dye I mean he obviously is using it Yeah that's okay That's okay

that's normal? I think he's just, whatever he's, makes him happy and stay stable. I'm not shaming him, I'm asking. So you're, you're going silver and you have it like, it's a nice color, which is nice. But so you're not dyeing your hair. No. I'm not saying I won't. But like, I might.

So dyeing your hair, either to cover grays or just like in life, it's just very normal. I have no judgment. So I don't understand how the beard is any different. I think it's like a 55 year old man with jet black facial hair. Right. I think the beard also. So, like, I think when you dye your beard, it looks weirdly less authentic than when you dye your hair. Yeah, I mean, it does seem like the beard dyers and groomers are not kind of doing like the layering that they're paying doing in the hair.

And we're not kind of like layering the approach. Do you think Ben is zip fly or button fly? Oh, he's zip fly. Those jeans are too skinny. You know, I would, I would work with him on that personally. You're just, you're captured by the fashion industry. You're like, you're concerned for what is on trend relative to Ben Afflex physique. No, I think they are like actually too skinny where he looks.

It's like a proportions issue because he's broader up top. Yeah, he's got a big refrigerator body. You know, he's got a big refrigerator on top. And he's like really sticking. Like I think there is like stretch in the jeans, you know? Sure. And I don't think we need to go quite a stove. I got you.

Like I think we could do. It's slim is fine. Slim straight. We don't need to be like a wide leg thing. I'm not on that. But they are, we don't need any stretch jeans. Do you have stretch in your jeans? Sean Fentnessy good.

Right now? No, there's the three. They're quite loose. I can't, you know, tug on them as you did. Chris is. I just touched them. Yeah. So I just wanted to connect.

I can't really. By touching. Look at this gentle shoulder. Yeah, this is a. This is an acrylic material there? A top that I'm wearing. You look like you're like going to direct traffic, but in, in a war zone. It's a nice color on you.

Thanks. I got it in England. England. That's what it comes from Japan. Tariffs. Are there tariffs in England as well? There are. Wow, interesting.

Well, that was an interesting draft. You guys feel good about it? Yeah, I thought it was very congenial. There was no like, how fucking dare you. I took you took on girl, a piece of shit. Should we recap the teams real quick? I'm sad that I didn't get the town, especially. You know, that's as soon as the draft order was, I was like, well, it's gone.

That's one of the most important pieces of cinema. Okay, Sierra, you chose first. So what did you get? I got, in Blockbuster, I took Armageddon, in Oscar nominee, I took Goodwill Hunting. In Matt and Ben Together, I grabbed Last Duel. In directed or produced by Argo, in Supporting Role, I took Saving Private Ryan, and in Wildcard, I took the Bourne supremacy. In Blockbuster, I got the Departed and Oscar nominee. I got The Martian, in Matt and Ben together, I got Dogma, directed or produced by, I took the town supporting role.

I took dazed and confused, and Wildcard, I took Rounders. In Blockbuster, I took Gone Girl, an Oscar nominee, the talented Mr. Ripley. In Matt and Ben Together, Field of Dreams, in directed or produced by Manchester by the sea, and supporting role, Oceans 12, and in Wildcard, Gone Baby Gone. Pretty good draft. So next time you hear from us, we will be here 7 a.m. for the Academy Award nominations. It's 7 now. Or 7.30?

What do we say, 730? We can do seven if you want. How about 6 a.m. Okay. Are you guys doing them like a live reaction or you're just recording? Just like we always do pretty early in the morning. Yeah, because they're announced at 5.30 something because of once upon a time, people watched morning shows.

It's really stupid. What's the biggest shock that you could see happening? Shock? Yeah. F1 best picture or somebody getting left out. All of those permutations are so, feel very possible. Something like Leo not being nominated would be shocking. You know, something like that.

where you're like someone who we had in or like Michael B. Jordan, you know, somebody here like, I'm pretty sure this is happening. Right. Being left out. And there usually is one thing. I'm still here made best picture last year. And I was like, what? Right. And then that got us all gassed on the secret agent versus like Brazil. Right. Brazil will reign supreme forever. Right. I don't know. What about for you? Anything that would be really shocking? I think that if what he said about the actors, and I guess, I wouldn't be shocked if Emma Stone gets in, but, you know, if there's like a huge begonia wave, I'll be like, oh, interesting. I didn't see this coming. I think we've been talking, you know, there might be four international features in Best Picture. There might be one, you know? So I think I'll be like very surprised if it was just an accident gets completely locked out, which it sort of was in the last wave of Guild. It's in play. Yeah, and that would be not surprising, but to be like, oh, that's not a good look.

It's an amazing film and incredibly germane historical moment. Yeah, it's always interesting when it's something being weaker than you thought rather than stronger than you thought. It's always more surprising. The guilds have been weirdly like domestic leaning, but the internationalization of the academy itself will probably lead to a more interesting reveal of news. Gotcha. It's harder to predict because.

of this because I think you're right. I think if it's four international nominees where we're going to be like we don't have to worry as much about the precursors as we used to because they don't really mean a lot relative to what the academy is now. We'll talk all about it on Thursday morning. Sierra, thank you so much. Three episodes in a row. You smoked all three. I don't know when I'm coming back though. When do you want to be back? Let's see what happens with that I-Heart thing.

You guys get back to me. I think those awards are in March. No, I'm sure I'll be back at some point in favor. My idea was to do an Oscar Snubs draft. Oh, that's a great one. Yeah. So that could be... Is that...

How are you defining snubs? Just not nominated or not winning? I don't know. What do you think? Okay, it's open. I mean, the not winning would also be... There could be you were nominated but didn't win, or they could be you didn't get nominated. I mean, you could have different categories.

Right. Yeah. Or we could say this is just in the 2000s or this is just in the 90s. There's a lot of permutations that you can do. We've done best picture winner draft. Yeah, but... But it was polite. They've been polite.

Yeah. We may add some special guests as well to make it a little bit more competitive. I'll come back for Crime 101. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I think garbage crime is coming back. Okay. That's exciting.

I think it's important to talk about it. I think it's important to talk about heat. And it's important to talk about jeans. It's a little disgust fun. And we won't let it stand. Heat? We need to get more hours on the board of heat talk. Thanks to Jack Sanders for his work on this episode.

Jack, we killed it this week, dude. A lot of recordings. feeling? Top of the world. Next week, no recording is Monday through Wednesday. I'm fucking pumped. I'm pumped too. Have a great Martin Luther King Day. We'll see you soon.