The Big Picture - The Robert De Niro Movie Draft

Episode Date: May 23, 2023

We are drafting again! Sean, Amanda, and Chris Ryan reunite for a draft, with a twist. We’re drafting movies that feature Robert De Niro. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Producer: Bobby Wagner  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Visit Superstore.ca to get started. I'm Sean Fennessey. I'm Amanda Davin. And this is The Big Picture, a conversation show about Bobby D. CR, Chris Ryan, is here in studio with us. We're drafting again. Hi, Chris. Oh, sorry.

You're talking to me? That's good. That's cute. This week, we are changing things up. We are drafting, but we are not drafting from a year. We are not drafting from a theme. We are drafting from a human's career.

That human is Robert De Niro. This week, he stars in the new Sebastian Maniscalco comedy, All About My Father, CR told me privately off Mike, his favorite movie of the year. Actually, his favorite movie of the decade. This is by my count, the actually 100th credited on-screen performance in the acting career of Robert De Niro. That's if you take out- When you say by my count, does that mean you went through and hand counted them? Yeah, it's sort of a Dominion voting system situation.

No, well, he's done some voice work. Oh, okay. I learned something interesting that I did not know as I was researching this episode that I'm going to share with you both right now. In 1969, he made a film called Sam's Song, directed by a Greek man. It's a little scene film. Ten years later, at the height of Robert De Niro mania,

after he had won an Academy Award, after he had starred in 1900 and worked with great filmmakers as he was heading towards Taxi Driver, he starred in a film called The Swap. His performance in The Swap is the same performance from Sam's song but was just recut into an entirely different film.

Wow. AI. So do we count that performance as one or two performances on screen? Interesting question. Nevertheless, if you do the math, as you can see that I have, you count 100 on-screen performances.

Did you make that revelation? Last night. Yeah. Well, like, what's all 14? There we go. Okay, that's okay. That's what I'm talking about. This is the kind of work that revelation. Last night. Yeah. Well, like, what's up? 12, 14. There we go. Okay. That's okay. That's what I'm talking about. This is the kind of work that goes into these episodes.

I don't want people to think that I'm just, you know, firing up Letterboxd, looking at some titles and moving on in my day. I'm working hard for the content. I'm working hard for you, Amanda. Thank you so much. I'm working hard for you, Christopher. Thanks, bro. Robert Wagner, working hard for you.

That's me. And Bob De Niro, the other Bob in our life, has been working so hard for so long. So he's done some great, great work. Amanda, what's your relationship to Robert De Niro? I'm my dad's favorite actor. Yeah. So yesterday I did, in preparation of this draft, ask my dad to prepare his top five Robert De Niro performances.

Love this. They were fairly traditional, but I will say he had Deer Hunter at one and two. Wow. I said, well, he gave me six. Is that a Sam Song situation? But he really just wanted to emphasize. Emphasize Deer Hunter is at a tier of its own. Yeah.

He loves the first half of Deer Hunter. In fact, for his 70th birthday, which was during the pandemic, he had pancakes for dinner and watched the first half of The Deer Hunter. I also, my dad is a legend. I also fondly remember in the, shall we say, less exalted, but certainly financially auspicious portion of Robert De Niro's career in the 2000s, my dad very excitedly emailed me, subject line, Bobby De Niro text of the email is filming down the street. And I think my dad is like, was just like hanging out in the lobby of his condo. What movie was it? Do you know? Oh gosh. Um, should we pull it up right now? I bet I still have it in Gmail. You know, Bobby De Niro. Let's see. Okay, Bobby De Niro. Here it is.

Bobby De Niro. Email. This is Thursday, November 15th, 2012. Bobby De Niro is shooting a scene in front of my condo tomorrow. He will be up and down the street. A movie called Vegas? Question mark. Yeah.

Anyway, the scene is supposed to be Brooklyn apartment. That's just... He was so excited. This actually, this is a good segue. I believe that film is Last Vegas. Last Vegas. He was accurate. Does latter day De Niro diminish prime De Niro for you at all?

I'm glad you brought this up. The answer, of course, is no. That being said, I am looking forward to the phase in my life when after we've completed all the movie drafts and we've all been celebrated and and and we've all received academy awards when i can just do bullshit for money yeah that's really i don't blame him one bit for doing i don't either the only thing that bums me out about like the 2010s and to you know since is essentially that he plays on his own legend so much, whether it's playing boxers or playing gangsters

or whatever. And it's not that I'm like, you should only be in The Intern from now on. Although, ideally, he would. But I just don't think it's like, damn, dude, you're going to make another boxing movie when you made the goat boxing movie? Isn't there something a more age

appropriate you could do you know I think people don't realize maybe Clint gets to be a cowboy like what are we doing you know I mean it's slightly different insofar as like Clint controls all aspects of the production for that with Robert De Niro these are clearly paycheck roles that he's been taking I was even thinking about just the idea of doing this episode obviously we have a huge relationship to De Niro I didn't even realize that that was your dad's favorite actor, but I'm sure he was very present in your youth. I'm not sure if he holds the same weight culturally that he did even 10 years ago, in part because he's just made a lot of disposable stuff recently. In fact, he made a movie last year called Savage Salvation. Are you familiar with

this movie? It's directed by Randall Emmett, who is a figure of some controversy because he was ensnared in that Bruce Willis story about working with him. He's also Vanderpumpa Jason, right? He's Vanderpumpa Jason. Look at you! The stars of this movie, Savage Salvation, are Jack Houston, Robert De Niro, and John Malkovich.

Pretty impressive. Fourth build, Quavo from Amigos. Okay. Did anybody see this movie? Not a single mutual has logged it on Letterboxd. Not a single... Oh, my God. Just notable for that.

Can't you just say, I don't know anybody who's seen this movie? Not a single mutual? Do you have to sell my fucking house in 2001? I've just given you guys... I've opened the doorway. What was that tweet you sent me last night? You sent both of us.

What did I send you? It was about one of the robot characters in Guardians. It was about Nebula. Yeah, and like not being able to emotionally process something. It was that someone who was a fan of Guardians 3 tweeted,

James Gunn just admitted that in this scene, Nebula is flirting with Star-Lord, but she's been so emotionally traumatized, she can't speak it. Because Thanos pulled her apart, literally. And I shared that with you guys. Oh, not because she's a robot?

Yeah, and I said that I would be tweeting like that going forward. But all my tweets will be, this director told me something, but it's about a comic book character. Okay. What do you guys think of that? That's cool. Yeah.

That's cool. Savage Salvation. Apparently, I mean, maybe it's great. Is it possible that this is one of the great... You think that Randall Emmett accidentally made like an American classic? I mean, I don't know. You didn't watch it last night in preparation?

I didn't. I mean, there are some films that he's made in the last 15 years that I have not seen, let me tell you. He has still made The Irishman, though. You know, to your point. Yeah, I know. He's still got it.

He's going to make Killers of the Flower Moon. Marty's still got it. He does. He does. Amsterdam, what did you think of his work in Amsterdam? Did you see that? I did not. Wow.

No. A lot of people are like, why can't CR have the full-time third chair on this show? I get this question a lot. And you just answered it. You're not willing to do the work have you seen avatar yet uh the second one the second one yeah the second avatar i did not see the second avatar but i have a lot on my plate and if you want like you've got me halfway meet me halfway meaning let you watch half of Avatar 2? I can't just like do all the big picture work, but then not get all the big picture respect.

You know what I mean? I have no idea what that means. If you think that Amanda and I respected, you have not been listening to this show. Our fans despise us. So you're not going to see... Have you seen The Irishman? Yeah, I've seen The Irishman. Okay. All right.

Have you seen Taxi Driver? Yep. Okay. Do you feel prepared for this pod? I do, actually. Yeah. What's your relationship to De Niro? I think that if I'm being honest,

he's probably the person who taught me the most about acting because I... You mean one-to-one personally? Yeah. He and I did a lot of Strasberg sessions with each other. And just like, you know, if you've seen Bradley Cooper in Inside the Actor's Studio

that was me no I think just seeing his movies in the 80s as I was like coming of age was the first time where you hear people

talk about like the first time I saw Brando or the first time I saw James Dean or the first time I saw this and I think when I saw him in some of the performances that I first saw like when I was like

10, 11, 15 whatever it was I was like he's doing something different and better than everyone else and I don't know how to describe it and I don't even know if he describes it he can describe it he's sort of a famously um intuitive actor even though he does a lot of research and a lot of work and he does all this stuff to like build these characters i also think that people kind of have talked about him as kind of a mystery as to how he arrives at how what he arrives at but you know he was the first actor i had ever encountered who would transform himself physically uh to to throw himself into a role and famously you know and famously is like almost like disappears into the parts he plays. I almost feel as though I knew that about him before I had even seen the great performances.

Yeah. Barring maybe like catching Goodfellas on HBO at a young age or something. I don't, I'm not, I think I probably knew that he was, you know, celebrated for having gained and lost a lot of weight for Raging Bull before I even saw Raging Bull. So his sort of his, his history precedes him in many ways for, if you weren't contemporaneous with him, you know, because he, his iconography grew really, really fast in the 70s. And so it's interesting to try to evaluate like what is great about him. Because as Chris said, there's not a ton of media that supports his intellectual process. He's not the best

interview in the world. He's quite taciturn. I don't know. What do you think about his iconography? Well, I mean, it's interesting what Chris said about him disappearing into roles, which I think is certainly true in the 70s and 80s. But it is funny when you come from, you know, Sean, from our generation, and we were talking about, like, how does the later half of De Niro's career impact your understanding of De Niro and to me he's a little bit always Robert De Niro you know there is this persona and because he himself has like done so much meta work on like what the idea of himself is in in movies I think I did always bring that to watching like the great films you know and and i probably was more familiar with me like mid-career de niro before i saw say raging bull or goodfellas deer hunter as we

know i saw at a very early age which is just an extremely fucked up yeah it's really messed up um but it's interesting i was also doing some as i was prepping for this it's really fascinating and i honestly think like moving to go back and watch like the early de niro stuff which you know when you're doing it like together just being like okay now i'm gonna go into nearer land he is so present in my head as like you know old Robert De Niro whatever like he's so young yeah in Godfather 2 and they're just like it's really you like almost feel the passage of time and like this person's entire career in many ways like his career in the last 50 years of movies are also just like how we all learned about movies I like I said, I found it very moving. There's something very specific,

an experience that happens when you are watching a movie star before they truly have gone supernova. So there's one thing when you're like, hey, Philip Seymour Hoffman is in Twister. That's really cool. But when you're seeing Pacino or De Niro, before they know what's going to happen to them,

and they're just one of like 10 guys kind of coming out of New York in the 70s. And they're really good, but they don't... Watching both of them in The Godfather 1 and then 2, you're like, man, this dude has no idea. And this is fucking incredible. Yeah, he's one of... Him and Pacino are paired in a lot of ways.

And I want to talk about them together a little bit. So he turns 80 years old this year, Robert De Niro. And he, more than almost any signature actor of their generation, effectively starts at the beginning of a massive sea change in the industry that he works in. And then is, I think, working in representation of how that industry has evolved. If you look at the parts that he has taken on. In the 70s, he is arguably the actor of the decade. We could debate that.

That might be a fun episode to debate. But if you look at the work that he starts to take on in the 80s, he sort of like loosens up, you know, the sort of like Midnight Run era comes along. In the 90s, he's sort of like, let me remind you that movies are still great and I'm still great. And in the 2000s, things start to get a little watered down and the industry, as the industry starts to get kind of bloated and dissolved, his work gets less

interesting and he takes more paychecks. But that moment in the 70s when he arrives, I completely agree with you guys. You can see him sort of like unaware of his own fame, but still aware of his own power. And that was part of the reason why that particular decade is so powerful the thing that happened for me is i think you know i came of age watching like the joe pesci show uh bits on snl and i remember seeing like a rocky and bullwinkle parody on mad tv in the in the style of raging bull and there was like all of this kind of shoulder content about robert de niro's fame and acting performances that dilutes your opinion of him a little bit. Same thing with Nicholson.

Right. There were a handful of people that doing Jack and doing De Niro imitations is like, I think if you are experienced with Saturday Night Live and you're experiencing

stand-up comedy in like the 80s and 90s and then you see Taxi Driver, it's a much different experience than if you had just gone to see Taxi Driver and you were like, I've never seen anything like this before. So we come to this in a slightly different way than people say who are seeing Taxi Driver in theaters. Nevertheless, this is a 50-year career, almost 55-year career. That's pretty remarkable.

Do you remember the first De Niro movie you saw? It wasn't Deer Hunter, was it? No. You know what I think it was, honestly? It was Analyze This, which is like 99. Is that correct? And I just remember that my Aunt Betty, my dad's sister, loved Analyze This and did like a very funny De Niro impersonation based on Analyze This, which is definitely like, if not the first, then one of the great De Niro impersonating De Niro impressions. I'll be honest, I rewatched 20 Minutes of Analyze This last week, and I laughed. Do you know who wrote Analyze This? I forgot. Kenneth Lonergan.

Oh, that's right. Kenneth Lonergan and Harold Ramis wrote Analyze This. So Analyze This is funny. It is obviously him doing what you're describing, Chris. And that might be the breaking point. That might be the movie in which he is like,

I'm going to now leverage my bit. You know, leverage what people expect from me. Nevertheless, I thought that movie was pretty good.

And Billy Crystal, your City Slickers number one coming through there. What was the first one you saw? Probably 1984. Me,

Tom Verlaine and John Cage at Anthology Film Archives seeing the rough cut of Once Upon a Time in America and helping Sergio kind of find it

in the room. What was the run time there? Six hours? Six hours. But John Cage was playing a contemporaneous score along so it seemed a lot longer

it was just one note. Interesting. I think it was probably The Untouchables which is funny because oh yeah that's such a physically different performance from what he looked like in taxi driver but uh i think i was aware of him new kind of like ranging bull and taxi driver were things and that my parents were like loved him i know my dad went interviewed him once i don't remember

what the movie was for what what movie it was for, but it was around the time... I remember my dad asked him, like, why are you doing more stuff now? And he was like, because I have more expenses and I need money. Like, I want money.

Did he use the phrase, I want money? I think he was just like, it's very expensive to be a famous person. Is what it was. Have you found that as well? I'll let you know. But yeah, Untouchables is the first one.

I can't remember the first one. I want to say it was A Bronx Tale, which is roughly around when I would be starting to pay attention to movies like this. It'd be fun to say it was Goodfellas, but that feels unlikely. Now that I'm looking at the list, I'm wondering if it was actually... Savage Salvation? No, where did this go? Marvin's Room.

Oh, because of Leo? Because of Leo in 96. Yeah, but I wouldn't have known that it was De Niro. The first De Niro film that Chris ever cranked it to is Angel Heart. Okay. Honestly, not wrong. We had to work with what we had back then. That's right.

We had Lisa Bonet. Do you think Angel Heart will be drafted in this episode? It's on a list that I have. It's on a list for me as well. Yeah. I do wonder. Have you seen Angel Heart? I have not seen Angel Heart.

Do you know what his character's name is in Angel Heart? No, tell me. Louis Cipher. Oh, that's right. I actually do know that because Angel Heart is one of the most referenced movies on rewatchables that I've never seen and will never see. But I know that it's very near and dear to you and Bill's heart. This is a challenge to Bill.

Yeah. To have us on for an Angel Heart rewatchables because that would be a lot of fun. What else should we... I guess we should talk about the categories here because we've changed things up slightly. What do you think about this? You guys never, I shared this document with you. I put time and thought into this. No one responded.

I'm sitting here alone. It's Mother's Day weekend. I'm working my tail off. Right. Nothing from my friends. Not a fucking thing. You know what? You get a pass.

It was Mother's Day. Thank you so much. CR, where were you? I worked a full day yesterday. Uh, okay. Here are the categories. One, drama. Yeah. yesterday. Okay, here are the categories. One, drama. Yeah.

Easy. Two, comedy. One that might not have seemed plausible in 1995, but in 2023, you really need to take it seriously for De Niro. Number three, action horror thriller. Speaking of Angel Heart. Number four, supporting role.

This is a good one. Thank you. Number five, Oscar nominee. And number six, wild card. Now, with Oscar nominee, there are seven nominations that we're going to cite here. The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, Awakenings, Cape Fear, Silver Linings Playbook. Do you guys recall that he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Silver Linings?

And for Best Picture, he was nominated for The Irishman. So that is also eligible. Great. Can I ask one more general interest question before we get into the draft? Is this going to be about the Sixers? Nope. Okay. What would you guys think?

What do you think is what happens to Robert De Niro if Martin Scorsese is like, after three movies, like, that was great, Bob. I think we should see other people. Well, what are those three movies? So let's just say they do Mean Streets. They do Taxi Driver. And then they do New York, New York, and they don't do Raging Bull or something like that.

Like there's some sort of like Chazelle Teller schism. It's a bold comparison. Yeah. it's a bold comparison my point more is like how much do you kind of think of De Niro as the avatar for Scorsese

versus as this sort of independent genius how many fan cam edits have you done trying to get Miles Teller's performances into Babylon fan cam?

do you understand I have Final Cut open and I just have him like in First Man I just have Miles Teller's performances into Babylon? Fan cam? Do you understand I have Final Cut open and I just have him in first man. I just have Miles Teller floating past the spaceship. That's disrespectful to Ryan Gosling. I think that's a great question that has no answer, obviously.

I think if he becomes Travis Pickle, he's fine. If we're ever at a point where we have to do five pods a week, we should just be like, let's recast every Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro movie with a different actor from that year. Okay.

I was just imagining a world in which we have to do five pods a week as if that's not what I'm already doing. Exactly. I think he would have been not Robert De Niro,

but still a legendary actor. It's interesting though if you cut them off after New York, New York instead of Raging Bull. Because it's like, oh, that one didn legendary actor. It's interesting, though, if you cut them off after New York, New York, instead of Raging Bull. Because it's like, oh, that one didn't work. If they don't get, you know, Marty back on the train for Raging Bull, they don't get, you know, I guess De Niro at that point has Godfather 2 and Taxi Driver. But like Raging Bull is the three is a trend. This is the three is a trend like this is the guy yeah so it's it's worth exploring just that exact

era because in that moment after taxi driver he works with bernardo bertolucci and ilia kazan and then he makes new york new york and then he makes the deer hunter and then we get the swap and then yeah it's raging bull true conf Confessions King of Comedy once upon a time yes he does have Deer Hunter so it's really Marty needs it more than De Niro needs it De Niro's 80s is weird because he has like

six iconic movies and then a lot of stuff that you're like what? but he's also I mean the 80s is when he maybe shuffles

the deck a little bit and it's Terry Gilliam and it's Roland Joffe and it's Alan Parker and it's Brian De Palma and he's like moving through like some other guys

and he doesn't get back together with Scorsese until 90. But for a very special film. Yeah, for a very special film. Gosh, it's a great prompt. I'm not sure. What's your emotional status going into this?

Like, are you, are there certain films you guys have to have? Are you going to be mad? There are two movies that I would really like to have and then there are everything else is like

I feel very... You've already given me too much information like pat riley watching the tape old calling jewelry yeah rich my hair slicked back living in a massive condo uh-huh all right you've answered the question of your emotional state and i don't need it anymore i actually it is a kind of a question of how much does Robert De Niro matter to you, right? Like he matters to me a great deal, but not as much as the filmmakers that he has worked with. Well, I was going to say, that's another question. What, and you don't have to answer this and I'm certainly not going to give away my strategy, but a question looming over this draft is how much are you drafting it for the De Niro performance versus the movie itself? How are we going to evaluate

success at the end? Yeah, I like that question. I really don't know. How do you think we should think of it? And how should we instruct the audience to think of it? I think that listeners and voters will probably just look at movie and say like that's Look where? They'll look at Twitter or wherever you decide to put the poll up. Yeah. Blue Sky,

are you on? I haven't signed up. Did you get an invite? Amanda uses Twitter.com on her desktop computer. Yeah. Blue Sky, are you on? I haven't signed up. Did you get an invite? Amanda uses Twitter.com on her desktop computer. Yeah. You know, I realize, no, I use it on my laptop. I don't have a desktop. Okay. And I don't have a monitor.

Well, I just thought people would want to be precise, you know? So it's really, it's for my web browser. Thank you. That's why we have fact checking here at The Ringer. It's come to my attention also, just speaking of my tech status for a second. I don't have enough storage on my phone. Yeah, you've mentioned this before. No, I know, but like I didn't realize it went up to like 256 gigabytes. Did you know that? Yeah, I honestly haven't. I can't remember. I thought I had it all

in the 2010s that I've been like, I don't have enough room on my phone. Top five moment of the last few years for me is Amanda saying she's not on the cloud. She's just not using the cloud at all, but also doesn't realize that there can be more storage on your phone. I also just, no offense, think you may not know that you're actually on the cloud. It's one of those things that you kind of casually opt into without thinking. Do you store your passwords? I say no every single time. Do you store your passwords? No, I don't.

You don't? I don't store my passwords. You enter a new password every time you log into anything? I say no every single time. Do you store your passwords? No, I don't. You don't? I don't store my passwords. You enter a new password every time you log into anything? I do. Holy shit. We're podcasting with Mr. Robot over here. What the fuck, man? Do you know how many logins there are now?

You know what? The only thing that is saved is my Delta SkyMiles password. Well, then you've just given them a tripwire into your entire life. Well, I guess I'm going to unsave it now. Wow. Okay, that's really impressive. I think this should be about the combined weight of the performance and the film. So if you draft a shitty film with a great De Niro performance, that should be noted by the gods, by the gods of movie drafting.

If you draft an exceptional film with like an okay De Niro performance. I'm sure the electorate will see the nuances. Yeah. Is ATN covering this draft? Do you guys know? Shall we start? Yeah. Bob Wagner, any thoughts on Robert De Niro?

Well, I like that he's holding it down for dudes who go by Bobby in adulthood. That's really important to me personally. Right, but when he gets his Oscars, it's like Robert. They don't say Bobby 150. Well, if they give us an oscar i'll go by robert wagner producer of the big picture now hey can i ask you guys a question did you see the um poll going around on twitter from ashley reese who's hotter young al pacino or young robert de niro i did see this got 277 000 votes that's like more than whole for for this podcast. It does. It does. Where are you on that, Bobby?

Well, did you see the results of that poll? Yeah. 50-50 split De Niro by like a couple hundred votes. It's a very difficult question. It's a very divided time in our country. It's interesting.

I went in thinking De Niro. Yeah. And then as I was scrolling through the replies, I think it's just Pacino like kind of by like a little bit. Like he's got a little distance.

Pacino and Godfather is really powerful. Do you think it's just Pacino, like, kind of by, like, a little bit. Like, he's got a little distance. Pacino in Godfather is really powerful. Do you think that's the psycho energy that you want? Or him in the military outfit? In all of the above. Like, what? Have you met me? When he just dips into the suburbs and he's like, K, get in the car? Well, I don't like the K casting, as you know, but that's a different conversation.

Do you think that there's, like like a whole part of people on Twitter who are tweeting about like the woke virus all day and then they come across that tweet and they're like, huh, who is hotter?

I do. I think that's the kind of tweet that brings us all together. Yeah, that's what we need more of, you know? 31 million people saw that poll.

31 million. 31 million. Right, so there's definitely some people who were just like, we're tweeting, yeah. Where do you land on this who were just like, we're, we're, yeah. Where do you land on this?

Pacino or De Niro hotness? And then Pacino or De Niro, Pacino or De Niro actor? Uh, definitely Pacino actor. Okay. And I think De Niro, young De Niro hotness.

Hmm. I think I might go the other way. I think young Pacino coolness, but I think Robert De Niro in his youth was a beautiful man. He was. I mean, they both were. And Al was a haunted, you know, scarf-wearing lunatic. Who do you think is a better hang right now?

Pacino. Pacino. I think maybe Bob. Really? Bob's got a lot of restaurants. He knows how to host. I mean, that is true. Yeah.

That wasn't what I asked. He's going to let you into the restaurant and then leave. But he might be like, whatever you guys want tonight, drinks are on the house. Pacino would just be like, I don't know. He seems like a real kook, but in a way that I would find amusing. I think Pacino is hotter. I think De Niro is more important to movies, is what I'll say. I think he has participated in more iconic films.

I think him and Scorsese sort of define the New York American filmmaking aesthetic of the last 50 years. So I'll go with them. Okay. What's the draft order? Let's get an order here. Selecting first will be Amanda Dobbins. Wow. Okay.

Okay. This is interesting. I don't know whether it's good, but... Sam's song, first overall. And second will be Chris Ryan, which means Sean, you're going third. Wowzers. So it's really weird

because even in the most exciting years, even in a 1999 year, you can only take one movie to start. You know, you can't like... It's true. I also, I think that for the most part, with one category exception, there's plenty of stuff.

I don't know why I'm drawing this out. In drama, I'm taking Goodfellas. Okay. Is that the right category for that film now that's a great pick obviously Chris and I Goodfellas

yeah life-defining film you guys just didn't even react are you just gonna do like De Niro I'm just like not engaging with you

I'm doing math on it's definitely like a great I mean it's just like that would probably be the number one consensus pick yeah I think yeah the think, yeah.

The category question is interesting. There's a drama, right? If you swap out Robert De Niro with Al Pacino in Goodfellas, is it a significantly different film? Is he more Irish? Jimmy Conway. Yeah, you did this. By the way, I listened to your rewatchables on Goodfellas.

About Goodfellas? Yeah, I re-listened to it. Chris's finest hour. It was very funny. You did this on rewatchables. I didn't agree with you then, and I don't agree with you now. This to me is- I did this exact thing? You did that exact bit. Wow. I've only got so many cards in the deck. You know, it's sad. And I mean, the Irishness is a good point, but to me Goodfellas to me even over Taxi Driver Raging Bull all of them

Goodfellas is the defining dinner performance is that because it's a more fun movie maybe because Taxi Driver and Raging Bull masterworks are no fun

yeah and they're at times tough to re-watch yes and I think you know that the scene of him smoking

you know is like cream of him smoking you know is like cream CR huge Clapton head I love that it's one of the coolest I know

it's one of the coolest things but that kind of crystallizes to me like De Niro like in lights like when you say it

I you know obviously I think of like you talking to me and all of that stuff but that is when like Robert De Niro like transcends to just like a to just not an all-timer,

but the phenomenon. So if I had the opportunity to draft this movie, I probably would have done it in supporting role. Okay. That was why I asked you the question, not to troll you. Because he's not the star of this movie. In fact, there are stretches where he's not in the movie. That's true.

This is a Ray Liotta starring performance. That's great. Where would you have taken Goodfellas? I would have taken it in supporting. But that's no knock

on what I'm not attacking. I mean, but the thing is also that there are other supporting movies that you can take in drama. It's like kind of

six of one, half dozen of the other. Oscar and drama as well. Yeah. It's not eligible in nominee, Oscar nominee. Tragically. Yeah. Isn drama as well. Yeah. It's not eligible a nominee, Oscar nominee. Tragically.

Yeah. Isn't that weird? Yeah. That's just really weird. He was nominated for Awakenings and Silver Linings Playbook, but not Goodfellas. And was Pesci nominated for supporting actor? He won. He won, yeah.

I mean, I'm sure that that's part of the reason why. We've had many years where two actors were both nominated in that category. The Goodfellas Rewatchables was a very charming episode of that podcast that was our first one back to each of you yeah i remember that yeah a lot of you just yelling karen it was very funny i think i prepared for that podcast while aileen and i were on our baby moon is that possible i i mean and i think i made aileen on our baby moon watch Goodfellas twice. Okay. Is that possible?

I think it is. It's totally possible. Wait, can I ask you a question? Sean, can I ask a process question? Why is Irishman eligible for Oscar nominee but Goodfellas is not? Because De Niro was nominated for... He was not...

De Niro was not nominated for Goodfellas. It's only films for which he has been nominated. He was a producer on Irishman? He was a producer on that. Oh, I see. So that's why the film totally nominated for Best Picture.

I understand. I think that's an interesting thing for the listeners to understand too because I was confused. I tried to explain it. If I failed, I apologize. I think I interrupted you when you were doing it.

Okay. I mean, Goodfellas, wonderful pick. I wanted you guys to be a little bit irked, but that's okay. Well, I... That's fine. As you said, I already trolled this bit where I was like,

is De Niro the reason this movie is great? Or is it Marty? Is it the totality of Marty? I think they maybe not share equal responsibility, but I think that De Niro is a huge part of that movie. Okay. Sierra, you have a pick. Iiro is a huge part of that movie. Okay. Sierra, you have a pick. I'll do Taxi Driver for Oscar nomination.

Interesting. The original Master Gardener. Okay. You know what I mean? Have you seen Master Gardener? I haven't. I wish you could join us for our Master Gardener conversation, which Amanda and I will have already had by the time people hear this podcast.

I rewatched Taxi Driver over the weekend. Did you? Still really good. Yeah. Did you learn anything new about yourself? I'm glad I don't

journal very much. I see. I think that his, I really love the transformation in this movie and some of his films, like,

there are a couple from this era where I think that he puts his body through a lot but watching this guy kind of unravel and yet still being forced to see everything through his POV is so disturbing still today

and I think it's a very nuanced performance despite the fact that it has like two or three iconic moments so those moments kind of subsume the performance itself. And yes, you know, he has been something of a role model for me, you know. Jesus.

I'm just kidding. I think this would have been my first pick. I think. I'm not entirely. It's a little hard to know. So you guys are doing De Niro first and movie second. That's fine. That's up to you not necessarily well okay that will be challenged I mean Taxi Driver is one of the great like I also

re-watched it yeah still really good um and like you're right the not there is I mean it's not like he's likable or like soft at the beginning but there is something where you're just like something's a little off and it like and just the degrees to which he turns it is like phenomenal. If you were Sybil Shepard working in Palantine's office in New York City

young Amanda in her 20s idealistic putting your heart behind a candidate who can change the city and this taxi driver banged on the window

and was like I would like to have sexual relations with you and take you to a porno would you go if you looked like Robert De Niro?

Well the thing is that's not immediately what happens he comes in and they have like a couple conversations and there is like

a little bit of frisson there you know what I mean? So you're susceptible to a Bickel is that what you're saying? No but this is a little bit like the Joker thing where it's like you know what the Joker's like a little

hot and like at the beginning Travis Bickle's a little hot like I don't know what to tell you he's De Niro he's young De Niro incredible stuff incredible stuff would would you would you in the 70s had really questionable taste, but she also goes. Yeah. I told you I saw Heartbreak Kid on 35 at the Los Filos 3. And I was thinking about that exact thing you just said, where every movie that Sybil Shepard made in the 70s was about some weirdo wanting to have sex with her. Kind of an amazing little run for her there. Taxi Driver is amazing. I was on the rewatchables for Taxi Driver as well with Bill Hader. Yeah.

My erstwhile podcast partner. I have two picks. One pick is obvious. Oscar winner. The Godfather Part 2. One of the greatest films of all time. Let me ask you a straw poll here. Godfather 1 or 2, Amanda?

Zach and I were talking about this this weekend because we were... Zach was very interested in this draft and you know got out the IMDB and was like here's my strategy and I was like well you're not drafting uh and I is this what he would have taken he well I told him if I got first pick I would do goodfellas and he was like what do you know about goodfellas and I was like excuse me absolutely

that's my brother right there I literally what do you know it know about him? It was like, it was a Saturday night. And I said literally the most romantic words in the English language to him. Do you want to watch Goodfellas? And then he's like, what's it for? And then we did this whole thing. And he's like, what do you really know about Goodfellas? And I was like, excuse me? Just because like you're like on the corner.

Yeah. Incredible stuff. That's Virginia Woolf shit. For the record, I have watched Goodfellas with Zach in his childhood home. Yeah, I also have watched Goodfellas with Zach in his childhood home. But then, even though he's so protective of Goodfellas, we were talking about first pick, and he's like, you sure you wouldn't go Godfather 2?

And I was like, you know, would definitely should be in the first three so but then i think i've seen godfather one more so i have like a certain connection how many times in your life have you sat down on an idle afternoon yeah which you no longer have those anymore right and said i'm gonna watch the entire Godfather series. Well, remember when it just played on AMC? AMC used to do, and then they would sometimes do the chronological cut. Yeah. And I, oh, I never watched that. I just, you know, it would be on.

And this also was like another hazard of living with Zach Barron was like, if it was on AMC, he would turn it on. So we watched snippets of both a lot. Did he learn Italian for this role? I believe so. It's pretty believable Italian. Yeah. You're there with him

the whole time. It's an amazing It's an extraordinary performance. I rewatched it you know you asked like when did you most recently sit down

and just like turn on The Godfather and it was actually when Zach was out to dinner with you guys and I was like hey I'm gonna watch Godfather 2

and I got to the scene where baby Fredo has pneumonia and De Niro is sitting there just like watching him cry and looks like so upset and I was like this is the pinnacle of acting because that's literally how I feel it's really it's beautiful it's very upsetting I'm like I too don't want Fredo to have pneumonia yeah but also ice cold in that role too you know and just a brutal character. I feel really good about that. And then, of course, in action horror thriller, I'm taking fucking heat.

How did you not take heat? Because I wouldn't take heat first. Why would you take heat? I can't take heat. I'm not going to get trolled by you. CR. See, this is... CR. We're trying to get reactions out of you.

It's because you're about to travel. You're excited about your new journeys and you're trying to get reactions out of you. You're very, it's because you're about to travel. You're excited about your new journeys and you're, you know, you're trying to keep it low. You don't want any alarms going off when you go

through security. is that frickin' frack came into Goodfellas in heat and I'm supposed to have a nervous breakdown? Is that what happened? Yeah, and underneath the surface

of this- Joanne B. took it all away from me. I can't fucking feel anymore, man. I hadn't counted on that before scheduling this draft. Do you know how dead I am inside?

You know how many text message threads I'm on right now? I'm on like, Jeff, I think I, Jeff wrote me East of Eden last night. Here's what I have for you.

I can confirm that because then he also wrote it. Yeah. This is what I have for you. I have Julius Randall. I have Emmanuel Quickly. I have Quentin Grimes. And you have Neil Macaulay.

I have the 2025, 2027, and 2029 unprotected first round draft picks for Joel Embiid. I guess we should share with the listeners right now that we are pre-recording this draft in Advanced of Travel. And today is the day after Mother's Day. That's right.

And also the day after the Sixers were disemboweled on live television in Game 7. Do you accept my trade offer? I don't. I'm sorry. Rejected. You rejected?

Yeah. I'm not trading Joel Embiid to the Knicks. If he wants to leave Philadelphia, he can go to fucking Charlotte like everybody else. I've taken Heath. I'm mad about this, but I'm not going to kill you. What category did you take Heath in? In action horror thriller, which I think is a complicated category. And that is why

i'm taking it here it is it is actually not despite chris because i feel like it is the best possible move on the board at the moment though there are arguably better de niro performances this is in the run of course in the 90s where he's like i'm taking the crown back i will be at the center of uh great films in the 1990s how are you feeling about heat 2 right now the film not the book uh i i gotta be honest i'm still pretty skeptical that just that it's even gonna happen the 1990s. Chris, how are you feeling about Heat 2 right now? The film, not the book. I got to be honest. I'm still pretty skeptical. Just that it's even going to happen.

You've been doing this for weeks now. Yeah. Holding back. When is Ferrari? Does Ferrari have a release date? I believe it's this fall. Okay. We've gotten some intel from folks who were working on the film.

On Heat 2? No, no, on Ferrari. and is the intel like pointed in the right direction the intel is extraordinary we're hearing wonderful things from ravenhead about it i think pluralism i think that i think it's gonna happen okay and if it happens with driver and austin butler how do you feel very very. But I still don't understand if for the, I don't want to spoil anything about Heat 2 and what,

how Heat 2 is laid out. But I don't understand how you do Heat 2 without Kilmer. I guess, unless you're just like, we're just going to pretend like Chris is a different guy.

This is what people said about Top Gun Maverick. And what, which character were they referring to? Val Kilmer. Iceman. And they brought him back for the most emotionally touching scene.

I love Val Kilmer. I don't think that he can do this part in Heat 2 the way he currently is. Okay. You think Heat 2 is going to happen, Amanda? I believe. I have a little less to lose, you know? Do you remember when Uncut Gems was coming out and everybody was like, oh my God, the ultimate ringer movie.

If Heat 2 happens we actually have to close the office for a week and we all have to go to see Heat 2. And if Austin Butler is in it then it's forget it.

What do you think of a fucking bald Butler in Dune 2? See you haven't been listening to our podcast. I think he he looks like Fade Rautha to me.

When I think Rautha I think Butler. I listen wait I listen. Would you guys talk about that on the I think Rautha, I think Butler. I listen, wait, would you guys talk about that on the, um, I think I skipped ahead to get to the Oppenheimer part. Okay.

So you heard he started crying? You and millions of others. It's just kind of, you know, it's not exactly what I want from Austin Butler on screen, but on the other hand,

minimum six months press tour into Oscar season from my guy, Austin. And I assume he'll have some hair for that. So, you know. Did he shave it off? Denis gives and he takes. Yeah, I think it's a bald cap. It's prosthetic, yeah. He's got great hair, though, that guy. He really does.

Okay. CR, you have a pick. This is really hard, man. This is a good draft because it's... There's five movies that you're like these movies will live forever and then everything else is like kind of what do you like what fits i think i'm gonna go with deer hunter for drama good pick that's good good pick i'm also hugely relieved right now for reasons that great pennsylvania movie i was i was a little nauseous just then what did you think i was i took a risk. You were worried about the intern coming off the board?

You know what? I would be really mad, but we can come back to that. Go ahead. I love the deer hunter. My dad's going to be really disappointed. Well, I think he loves you. He's a night closer. Another great transformation film for him.

A lot of under-the-surface acting in this, where sometimes you can be volcanic. I think a lot of the stuff, a lot of under the surface acting in this where sometimes you can be volcanic i think a lot of the stuff you know that a lot of that act like the more performative stuff or like theatrical stuff is left to walk in in some ways also lovely de niro meryl streep romance in this film um meryl streep never more beautiful it's just incredible and i mean and that's when the de niro handsomeness is just like... I mean, it's a presence, too. Just like the draw of that man is really something. This is an incredible film. What happened to John Savage?

He was a good actor. He was around, and then he wasn't around. This is a beautiful film. Chimino? Should we have a Chimino-sance? Is Chimino alive? I believe he... No, I don't think that he is.

No, he passed away. He passed away in 2016. But should we have like a revisiting of some of his non-canonical films? Yeah. What's that one

with Lindsey Krauss and Mickey Rourke and it's like the kidnapping movie? Desperate Hours? Yeah. You know what movie I've never seen

is The Sicilian. Have you seen that? No. It's between Year of the Dragon and Desperate Hours. Who's in it? Is it also Mickey Rourke? I think it might be No. It's between Year of the Dragon and Desperate Hours. Who's in it? Is it also Mickey Rourke?

I think it might be Mickey Rourke. Year of the Dragon fucking rules. No, it's Christopher Lambert and Terrence Stamp. And this is based on a novel written by Mario Puzo. Oh.

Who is relevant to today's conversation. Chimino Sans, huh? Well, Heaven's Gate is money. Have you seen Heaven's Gate? Yes, of course. Didn't we have to talk about that for the directors? We're not animale.

Zach does that all the time. That's very good. Thank you. Okay. All right. Deer Hunter, apologies to your father. Yeah. Well, you know, shout out my dad.

Boy, this guy's got a lot of good movies. Yes. Okay, Amanda. Okay. I have a clear strategy here. An Oscar nominee, I'm going to take The Irishman. Which I just was incredibly moved by. And I think it's like a...

Especially the World War II part, right? Yeah, of course. No, I just... It was really interesting revisiting all of this stuff and experiencing both De Niro's career as like 50 years and also Scorsese's because they work so hand in hand. these older artists reckoning with not just their work and commenting on it, but like, you know what it means to, to,

to grow old and to have regrets. Um, I think it's really beautiful. That ending is just like still an absolute, absolute gun punch. I remember we, Sean, you and I were at the premiere seated across the theater from each other,

but it's still, that was a great experience. It was a really great experience. We texted through the, you know, the red carpet, still... That was a great experience. It was a really great experience. We texted through the, you know, the red carpet, which we watched on a live screen.

We'll never forget Juliette Lewis striding across the red carpet very excitedly. An alum of those films of Martin Scorsese, one of which we may talk about today.

But I'll never forget that, the feeling of that last scene. And it's just like incredibly... Yeah. Wait till you get into

your 60s and 70s. I know. I understand. So anyway, I understand there are some other Oscar nominees on the board that other people might connect with more. But for me, it's The Irishman. I like it as a sentimental pick, a personal pick. It's also a great film. Also, do you remember?

We all spent New Year's Eve 2019 into 2020 together. Listening to Pearl Jam's verses. Clock hits midnight and you put on the Irishman. That's a real thing that you did. Well, we're all dying slowly. I finished listening to Glorified G, Eddie Vedder's masterpiece about

the war on firearms and then I went towards the war on death. Martin Scorsese's ongoing. So while we are discussing this, we're ahead of Cannes, but Cannes and the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon will have happened.

What if, it's just absolute garbage. What if the Cannes critics are like, this is a piece of, it's badly edited. It's incoherent. The performances stink.

What do you, the performances stink. I just channeled the the critic the uh john lovett's animated series there i don't really think you don't think that'll happen no i don't think so either i'm very excited for that film i have you excited about that yeah do you think you'll get around to it yeah i'll try i'll try to make some time uh okay oh amanda you have another yeah i have another pick an action horror thriller I'm not looking at Chris Ryan as I do this

I'm taking Midnight Run What the fuck? That's fucked up Are you serious? I knew, I knew And I thought you were gonna take it It's not a fucking action movie Yes, it is

It's a comedy Yeah, it's an action comedy Oh, God Oh, my God There's a helicopter chase They're running around They're guts it's an action comedy literally what else was i gonna do i had to turn down the volume in my headphones here it's getting a little loud uh fuck now i'm fucking mad about heat and i'm fucking furious

about goodfellas this is all fucking lining up for me. What are you guys talking about? I'm sorry. I knew that that's when you were picking your second round. I was actually nauseous because I didn't have a third option for action horror thriller. I had Heat. I had Midnight Run. And then I'm completely out of luck.

So Midnight Run is a great film. Very funny. The greatest performance of profanity in American cinema is just Jack Walsh saying, fuck. Are you okay? Yeah, but I'm mad. I know, I'm really sad. I'm sorry.

I knew, but I'm sorry. It's okay. It's the categories, you know? It's the categories. It's the categories. It's not your It's the categories, you know? It's the categories. It's the categories. It's not your desire to slice Chris open and remove his heart. De Niro is incredibly funny in this, but Charles Grodin makes me laugh so hard. The funniest person to have ever lived is Charles Grodin.

It's absolutely true. In my opinion. And what they have together is very special. Well, it's a very good pick. I can't criticize it. I'm sorry. If someone takes a movie from someone else, then it is automatically a good pick.

That's the game that we have created here. You guys fucking did it. I'm sorry. You know, like, you're like, I'm sorry. I know. You're like, cute. I gotcha.

And then it was just like, all right, fucking, we're going to get back around. Everybody knows how I feel about Midnight Run. You know what's funny is, so De Niro obviously has made probably six or seven of your favorite movies of all time. But I feel like I never hear you talking about him particularly. Well, I don't.

I think that there's a different feeling when you're going back and watching films versus when they're coming out as you're a film lover. And I feel like, also, we talk so much about contemporary movie stars in this almost weird parasocial way that I think that it would be weird if I was just like also like we talk so much about contemporary movie stars in this almost like weird parasocial way that I think that like it would be weird

if I was just like and then Bob did this and then Bob is gonna do that and Bob is thinking about like the way we talk about Austin Butler is even so different than the way we would go back

and talk about like Robert Redford right but that's how you spoke of Kate Winslet on Mare of Easttown is it not because it was happening happening in like

in real time you know what I mean okay so you when you see Savage Salvation you won't talk to us about it on this show is it not because it was happening happening in like in real time you know what I mean okay so you when you see Savage Salvation you won't talk to us about it on this show

in an excited fashion should we all watch Savage Salvation on our flights I think that no I have like 80 other movies that you've assigned

so you guys are dialing up checking out The Diplomat what do you think about that I really liked The Diplomat I finished it I have to say good tip having 6 to 8

to 10 episodes of a TV show that you're just like I'm just gonna do this right now I finished it. I have to say, good tip. Having six to eight to ten episodes of a TV show that you're just like, I'm just going to do this right now is actually a great way to pass the time. Can I tell you what I'll be doing

in that respect? I'm going to try the diplomat, but my plan is to do all of Dead Ringers. That's what I'm going to be doing. No, you are not watching that next to me on a plane. That's a really fucked up thing

to watch next to Amanda. On a plane? Yeah. No. In fact, I'm going to turn the iPad towards you as I watch. I'm going to sleep. watch not gonna let you get out

you just revealed on this podcast that you and i are flying together seated next to one another for 10 plus hours easily the craziest thing that either of you which is not something we planned or chose to do booked my flights so i like sent you the flights you found the flights but we there's a booking service and they were like, I think that these two should be next to each other. Yeah.

But they don't know that we have a podcast together. Or that you put AirPods in like the second you get to an airport and you never take them out. But you make it sound like I cover myself in honey

and then jerk off on the plane. Like, don't bother anybody. I'm quiet. I'm like the best person to fly with. I never talk. I don't even sleep. That's not normal like the best person to fly with. I never talk. I don't even sleep. That's not normal.

The best person to fly with. When two people are sitting on a plane and they're talking to each other during the flight, all I want to say is, shut the fuck up. I'm trying to watch TV. Like, I don't want people talking on the plane. What are you talking about? I'm watching Rachel Weisz deliver a baby from Rachel Weisz. I genuinely think I am the ideal flying partner

that is a summation of like everything that is true about you and also everything that is wrong about you that you can't perceive that it's weird to not talk to someone when you are traveling with them but and you arrive at the airport. We're going to spend like eight days together. Like we're going to be together all the time on this trip. I understand that. But you're also going to be together the whole time. What do you want to be like?

Oh, the cookies are really good on this flight. Fuck that. We don't need to do that. Just say hello. And how are you? I'm like, I got OBGYN Prestige Drama to watch. I don't need to talk to you about if the coffee is too hot on the plane. This is incredible.

Meanwhile, you haven't traveled in ages and I'm talking you through your sleep strategy. It's so true. I asked you guys if I should check a bag today. Should I check a bag? I'm 11 years old. So when do we get on the plane? Is it three hours before it takes off? Nine hours? I don't know bag. Should I check a bag? I'm like 11 years old. So when do we get on the plane? Is it three hours before it takes off? Nine hours?

I don't know anything. Yeah. So you're going to have to talk through that. What if I just am a real chatty Cathy on the flight? I'm like, oh my God, Amanda, it's so good to see you. I'm so excited about this trip. It's going to be so exciting. Okay, so that's in the airport while we're eating your favorite food, a grilled chicken salad.

I have pods to listen to. I don't have time to talk to you in the airport. What are you talking about? You have nothing but time. your favorite food a grilled chicken salad I have pods to listen to I don't have time to talk to you in the airport you have nothing but time you say you don't sleep for more than 40 minutes on flights do you know my title

is here at The Ringer chief content officer no head of content I have to know what all the content is I have to listen to everything I've got to read it all

I've got to have a total mastery of our output then why do you delight so much in being like I don't listen to the Philly special the one thing I don't listen to is the philly special and off the pike no disrespect to brian bear but i would never remember in there was a podcast that we did when it was last week

you know in this in the big picture run i have no idea when we did it and it was like two hours in and you're like i don't hold myself to a high enough standard and that's why i'm failing at life and i'm like your response to me was that i need to get on xanax my response was actually Like, I don't hold myself to a high enough standard, and that's why I'm failing at life. And I'm miserable. Yeah, and your response to me was that I need to get on Xanax. My response was actually, like, empathy. And, like, you're doing great, Sean, and also take some Xanax. Anyway, do you have to listen? Do you think I should get on Xanax?

Like, when I'm not around, it's just you guys. You're just talking, right? You've taken knocks to the park. You're hanging out with Zach. You guys are talking of Eagles offseason moves. And you think we talk about talk about you no i maybe not often but every once in a while my name comes up are you like sean really needs to get into a strict regimented therapeutic program and be prescribed drugs have you ever said that you can tell me like i respect you i just don't really know if xanax would make you more polite.

Is that one of the things Xanax does? It's so funny. I feel like I was raised really well. But every day I learn I was not. You know, every day I learn I don't have good manners. You were. No, you really are. You are. When it comes to airports, I can tell that your preferred way of doing it is if you went into a glass tube

and were fucking like transported to somewhere else. You don't want to have to like talk with me or watch my backpack while I run to the bathroom. I don't. Or be like, hey, do you want a granola bar? I'm going to get a granola bar. What if you guys found out- Or any of that stuff.

You want to have fucking podcasts going and you want to go sit down and then be left alone for like, so you can check in on your mutuals on letterbox and that's fine that's fine but i gotta say as social of a person as i am i'm kind of with sean on this one for 12 hours on this flight but amanda's point being like you know like like it's weird if he's going to be encased in media for the entirety of this experience and Amanda's just like

okay yeah while you're like getting to the destination once you like sit down on the plane that's like okay you guys will probably take a cab from the airport

together I'll be waiting for you at the hotel that's really exciting did you ask them about early check-in Sean? ask who? okay

here we go I'm just going to be leading a chat. Did you check your passport? I did. Okay, good. Yeah, no, we're good. We're good. We got another year before it expires.

This is why this is an ideal situation for me, right? Because I don't actually have to do any of the emotional work, but I have someone who can help me solve the problems. Yes. So I'm feeling excited about that. But what I need you to do is not look at me or talk to me for 10 hours. Can we agree?

I'm going to go to sleep. I got two melatonin gummies and I'm out. Okay. I do think the more that you guys describe this, you really do need to like capture some natural sound in the airport for the pod. Well, no, Bob, you know what actually I really want to know? And it's not going to happen,

but I guess there's a one in a million chance. i need to know who the third person in the row is and how this flight goes for them but they're just like these two know each other but aren't talking and this guy's watching dead ringers and the other one is just what if it's like angela merkel you know like a really important person. She's playing premium economy. Well, you know, there's a lot of criticism of pre-pod banter. You know, pod starts and then it takes 15 minutes to get to the meat of the episode. We don't have that problem here. We have mid-pod problems.

We have derail problems. Let's get back on the rail. It's my turn? You had the film Midnight Run stolen from you by Amanda. So I'm going to take in comedy Jackie Brown. That's okay okay yeah okay that's okay you were beautiful man yeah yeah lewis man we love lewis don't we some melanie one of my favorite on-screen couples ever uh until lewis murders melanie um violently and with not much thought uh And that disrupts Samuel L. Jackson's plan. Just an incredible, like, Undeniro-esque performance,

which I actually think I wonder almost plays into his public persona of, like you said, being kind of taciturn, being a little bit unreadable. Lewis is that. As a man recently released for prison, working with his buddy Odell on a crime. Just sitting in a Lazy Boy. Iconic Elmore Leonard character,

by the way, if people want to check out some of his novels, he shows up in some of them. I wish Bob reunited with Tarantino. Yep. I'd like to see it. I felt like there was,

there are times when I'm looking at Robert De Niro in an interview and I'm like, is he stupid? And that's kind of that's that's kind of the that's kind of the

lowest character. Maybe we should talk for 10 hours. No you don't think so Chris? No I'm not saying he is. I say I ask myself. Yeah. Because when you hear

stories about De Niro and the way that he hunts for characters he seems extremely erudite like really thoughtful guy and he often brings material to filmmakers and says I that he hunts for characters. He seems extremely erudite, like really thoughtful guy. And he often brings material to filmmakers and says, I want to do something like this.

Could I get you interested in this? Because he's got a real searching mind, but his affectations seem like a dim guy from New York. And Lewis captures that beautifully. It's a good pick. I've got two selections to make. There's one very obvious one that I'm just going to do. Do it.

It's Raging Bull and Drama. Okay. Raging Bull lasted a little longer than I expected. Raging Bull, of course, Oscar winning. One of the great films. American masterpiece. Yeah. Very hard film to revisit.

I have revisited it a few times in the last five years, largely because of this podcast. Not out of like time to fire up Raging Bull. No. It is a punishing work of art but it is I think probably the signal performance post Brando that tells actors what

great acting is. Now whether or not that's actually the truth is debatable but I do think that people looked to it. You mentioned Bradley Cooper in that Inside the Actors Studio series of episodes where he's gazing upon a great director or actor. And I think that if you asked actors from our generation effectively, what is great acting? This might be the first performance that they jump to. And I think that that's right. I think that there's like something not just transformative but emotionally deep and powerful about what he

does as LaMotta. And obviously of course it's wedded with Scorsese the master essentially like getting his groove back you know in the aftermath of New York New York

and a very you know drug addled phase for him of course. But this is an amazing film and it's an amazing performance by him. So Raging Bull and

Drama. Now I've got two ways I can go here. And I'm not sure what the right way is. Because if I don't go one way, I'm going to lose out on one thing. And if I don't go the other way, I'm going to lose out on the other thing. I think.

That's tough. That's the game. That's the game we've devised here on The Big Picture. I'm looking at comedy. I'm looking at comedy and I'm looking at supporting role. These are two intriguing

categories. Is it the same part but trying to decide which category to put it in? No, it's not. In fact, I don't I'm just going to take my favorite possible movie and I'm going to take The King of Comedy in comedy. Okay.

That's a good one. Is it funny, though? I kind of forgot it was on the board, which I feel stupid about. Yeah, I think it's very funny. The last 15 minutes are hilarious to me. Also, Sandra Barnard is incredible in this movie. So funny.

Yeah. Particularly once she's kidnapped Jerry Lewis. You don't think it's funny? I think it's funny. I think it's also a drama. Would you prefer... I think it's a satire. You guys were really...

All right, whatever. Are you accusing me of category fraud? No, I would never do that. Are you feeling a little bit... For those listening at home, Chris just pointed at Amanda. Just, you know, big action star Charles Gurdon.

There is a change. You know what? Were you eyeing the king of comedy for a category? I wasn't. Do you not like the film? It's not my favorite.

Is it because you feel like Rupert Pupkin cuts too close to him? That's right. I do think that this is, I've said before, this is one of my favorite, certainly among my five favorites,

Scorsese movies. I think this is maybe the cleverest movie of the 1980s and has incredible foresight about where we're going in terms of our obsessions with celebrity and the striving nature of regular folk trying to get famous. So it's sharp as hell.

De Niro, I think, is really funny. The best part about this movie, I think the smartest thing about this movie is that when Rupert Pupkin at the end of the film, and if I'm spoiling the king of comedy, fuck off while you're listening to this show, gets on TV and starts telling jokes. His jokes are kind of funny.

He doesn't bomb. He doesn't fail. It's actually not Joker. In Joker, when Arthur Fleck gets on stage and people are like, are you kidding me? And that's now become a meme. He's kind of amusing, Rupert Pupkin. And that's that very narrow divide

between like, if only you got a chance and what would you be willing to do to get that chance is such an amazing observation in the movie. So King of Comedy and Comedy. Okay. That's a good pick. Thanks. Amanda, thank you.

Chris spun out inside a world, a torrent of emotions, a veritable twister of pain. So is it back to me? Yes, it is. Did you just do two? You did Raging Bull and... And theister of pain. So is it back to me? Yes, it is. Did you just do two? You did Raging Bull and The King of Comedy.

I also have Heat and Godfather Part 2. Yeah, those are good. I'll take Cape Fear and Action Horror Thriller. Oh, okay. Good, good. I thought so.

That's good. This is a very... There is another film that I would like to have drafted here but I think that the performance of De Niro outshines the other. So I'm gonna

do that. I'm just giving you a little background into my methodology here. Is Limitless the other film you were thinking of? Yeah. We just did a Cape Fear rewatch. Yeah. It's also very fresh in my mind.

What did the CR head say about that ep? I don't know. But I mean, like, one of the things I was going to say. I don't know. But to your point about the intelligence of Robert De Niro, I think that his investment

in the fine-tuning all these different things about that part and that character speak to a very literate, learned, inquisitive man. I agree with you know a curious soul i agree with you um i have an important question for amanda about cape fear do you do you think max katie is hot no he's jacked no i know that's not really my

you know my vibe you like an unjacked man i do okay historically interesting i mean like i mean just look at the evidence like robert kennedy i don't think your history of x's is on display at the museum of modern art i don't know like we talked about you know my it would be a fun exhibit i i might attend yeah uh okay cape. Cape Fear. Terrific film. Definitely. Is it the least of the Scorsese-De Niro collaborations? You don't have to be rude. I'm just asking questions.

I don't know. I mean, do people really rate New York, New York that highly? I don't know. I was wondering if that conversation would come up today. I did not revisit that film today. I haven't seen it in a while. It's obviously Yeah.

It's been through a series of reconsiderations over the years. It's probably considered lesser than Cape Fear Big Hit is a very famous

you know popular film. You would say New York New York behind Max Cady. Yeah. Okay. Didn't he learn to play

the saxophone for New York New York? Yeah. He did. I mean he learned how to hang on underneath of a car for Cape Fear. That was good. Yeah. Okay. Didn't he learn to play the saxophone for New York New York? Yeah. He did. Yeah. He learned how to hang on underneath of a car for Cape Fear. That was good. That was impressive.

Okay. Amanda, you have two picks. All right. This is where it gets a little... We've taken all of the true classics. Except for one. Well, there's one exception. There's one exception.

But you know what? I did rewatch it, but it doesn't really... I don't know. I think he has a few here that are still considered all-time films. I know what you mean,

but like one in the highest. It's a really interesting debate. Well, right. Okay, whatever. I'm not going to take that one. I guess I know what I'm going to do. In supporting, I'm going to take Untouchables. Yeah.

Yeah. You know, Robert De Niro plays Al Capone and hits him in the head with a baseball bat. Good stuff. Also, I just want to say, it's been a rough couple months for Kevin Costner. Listen, thoughts and prayers sheltering in place then he was a party to a dissolution of marriage act through no fault of his own um and i guess he's still yellowstone he can still decide how he wants to die i don't know that he can i. I think he can decide whether he shows up to work. And he wants to have a say

on how his character exits. It's not in his contract? I don't know. Okay. Well, I just want to say that he just is incredibly handsome in The Untouchables. He really is.

Really, it's a very... Kevin Costner as Elliot Ness? Yeah. I think my understanding is he's doing exactly what he wants to do right now. Okay. So I think he's fine.

So you guys feel good? He's making Horizon 2? I would love to make $35 million over the course of three years and then decide I don't want to do my job. Maybe that's what you should do is watch all of Yellowstone on the flight. I've tried to watch Yellowstone and I find it to be really lame. And I was mystified when it became the most popular show and also an object of affection amongst people I love so I'm excited that I don't have to care about it anymore yeah I don't think I've ever watched more than three complete hours of a Taylor Sheridan series and I like a lot of

his movies so it's the damnedest thing it's another example of like could you just write more movie scripts you're pretty good at that anyhow i'm excited for you when you uh reach your 60s and start making um your trilogy self-funded trilogy um western film and then eileen just absolutely files for divorce out of nowhere yeah it's just like good fucking luck and you're trying to hide your fortune in the budget of the film you know diving out every week it's it's fun you're just looking forward to me doing you're not saying anyone else is doing that you're just suggesting that that's what i will do exactly correct yeah just want to protect us legally on that one um okay cool um there's a lot of good films left i know yeah and you have another pick right now i have another pick uh-huh and you know

what i'm gonna let my life shine okay in comedy i will be taking the intern directed by nancy myers how could you not? Co-starring in Hathaway. This is a good movie. This is a depressing movie. I don't think that it turns out well for the girl boss. But... What do you think is the message there?

Life is about compromise and you can't have it all. Wow. Yeah. Chilling. Well, she gets betrayed by... And yet here you sit in a white button-down shirt. Thank you so much.

An exceptional mother. Thank you. A truly gifted podcaster. An international trip at your fingertips. Yeah. That's all very true. Did you get a haircut?

I did. You got a haircut. I did get a haircut. You can have it all. A haircut? You got a haircut? And a flight. A baby?

A baby, a flight. You get on a plane? Sure sure yeah um you're a married woman that is true you receive a paycheck on a bi-weekly basis that is and health insurance yeah yeah so that's great i know nancy myers fall back amanda's got this yeah so but here's the thing about the intern the like her schleppy brooklyn husband cheats on her. Who plays him? Anders Holm. Is that his name? Oh, sure.

From Workaholics? Yes. Okay. And then she stays with him. And then she is... Do you find that guy attractive? That's really not my type. I left Brooklyn just in time.

To get away from Anders Holm? Well, that generation. It's not my vibe. I mean, he himself is perfectly attractive but like the styling and the you know chris is looking to the sky imagining a world in which he is married to anders home and we just watch cape fear together but then also so as you recall she's also like the founder and ceo basically Net-A-Porter, which do you guys know what Net-A-Porter is? I do know what Net-A-Porter is.

Okay, so shopping. Yes. Yeah. Anyway. I worked at GQ, Amanda, for Christ's sake. You know what? That was a long time ago. That's true.

I knew when she asked, do you guys know what Net-A-Porter is? You would not be able to resist being like, I'm a fucking fashionable guy. Okay. I'm not anymore. And I don't pretend to be. So, and one of the plots is like whether she should let another ceo um take over you know and then i wait actually hold on it's very important that we get this right just for the record well i know what's funny is like in my head i know what this is because it's just like, is he dreaming in Blade Runner?

Yeah, I know. It's like, hold on. Wait, so is Anne Hathaway a replicant in The Intern? I'd like to know. You're just reading the wiki summary of the film right now just to make sure you get this right for this podcast. For one of Robert De Niro's least essential roles. I know. But like it doesn't say.

I'm like pretty sure that she lets the CEO do it and like take over the company. But maybe she doesn't. Well, it seems like a really important film to you. It's a great pick. Thanks so much.

Thanks for playing, Amanda. What I remember is just like whatever she chooses, it's like she's not happy. And then she's just like, whatever she chooses, it's like not, she's not happy. And then she's just like alone and she's like doing Tai Chi in the park, but it's like,

she's not creatively or professionally fulfilled. And you're just like, damn, you can't win. Fuck, I shouldn't be watching this. Sorry. Remember like a minute ago when I said you can have it all, but you can't remember plots of movies

you pretend to like? You can't have it all. I just like, should she have picked the CEO should she have not I don't remember who's the CEO in this movie

why are we not talking about Robert De Niro basically is she gonna get Emily Weiss do you know about do you know who Emily Weiss is no

founder of Glossier you mean like a real person okay yeah she's from the hills but then she found I became aware of her yeah alright but Glossier is like

do you know what Glossier is I do know what Glossier is okay Chris so it's like question for you would Emily Weiss be Emily Weiss without the hills That was how I became aware of her. Yeah, all right. But Glossier is like, do you know what Glossier is? I do know what Glossier is. Okay, Chris. So it's like. Question for you. Yeah. Would Emily Weiss be Emily Weiss without the Hills? It's a good question.

I think yes, actually. I say no. Okay. Do you think Robert De Niro is good in this movie? Okay. Yeah, he's very charming. Okay. He and Rene Russo like start a late, you know, a late in life love affair after the death

of his wife. Today, Rene Russo knocks on your door. Knock, knock, knock. Chris, it's me, Rene Russo. I want you to throw over your wife from me and I want you to spend the rest of your life with me. I've been listening to the rewatchables. You are so funny.

What happens to Dan Gilroy in this scenario? Dan Gilroy is forced to marry Phoebe, your wife. No, but will Dan Gilroy then write me Nightcrawler 2, crawling through the night? Why would Dan Gilroy do anything for you after you've stolen his wife Renee Russo? I didn't steal anything. Is he stealing when mail arrives? Like, she comes to my door.

Can I give an update here? I was able to read the entire paragraph. Please don't. Please stop talking about the intern. I'm begging you. She stays CEO and stays with her husband. All right. And so she just has to work all the time.

That's great. And the company isn't like doing very well. I need you to form a relationship with ChatGPT. Which is not what happened to Emily Weiss, but Glossier is still going through some problems. So that's the thing. You can't win, you know? And she's still with the guy.

This is why I have my airpods in during the flight okay this is why i need to just watch what would i do with what in a fake nancy myers universe i was confronted with being the ceo or getting to like bone my boyfriend what is it what is the problem the other note i'll give about this movie is like it's my least favorite of the kitchens oh interesting well is it because it's in New York it's in New York and it is also like a little Instagram influenced you know it's trying to be like a hip like new kitchen and her Brooklyn Browns I gotta say that one of the most beautiful brownstones it was it was filmed like three blocks from where I was living

in Brooklyn when I was living there and they really messed up parking. I feel like you just entered an episode of like taxi cab TV for the last five minutes where you're just like saying facts about things that Chris and I are like. Just nothing about dinner. She just said he's nice to the people. Of course I did. He's nice. He has to make the dinner by himself, you know, because his wife isn't there anymore. It's very sad.

Oh, that's right. He has like one beer, right? Chris, would you do an intern program for elderly people like when i'm old or now should i just go internet glossier now i believe you have a did you take two films? Yeah, I took The Untouchables and The Intern.

You took The Untouchables four hours ago and then since then you've been talking about The Intern. Oh, sorry. We're talking about women's concerns

for two minutes. Not women's. A fake character. Anyhow. In wildcard, I'm taking Casino. Okay. This was my number one

wildcard pick. Okay. This is a very good pick. Yeah. This is a stunning De Niro performance. Very funny. Very fast. Ace Rothstein.

Yeah. And I think that if you just want, like I encourage people if they haven't revisited Casino recently, like we did a rewatchables about it. Yes, in which your voice was not recorded. Yeah, because famously Dr. Dre Simmons didn't quite have the talent dialed.

One of the funniest things that's ever... You should tell the story in full. Bill asked us to come record Casino at his home. And we said, Bill, we'll bring our stuff. We'll bring our recording equipment. We've been doing this for a while now in COVID, but now we're getting back out in the world. But Sean and I are both pretty adept now at just quickly setting up our recording equipment. No need, guys.

I got this. And when we arrived, there was a web of Zoom recorders laid out in a True Detective-esque symbology on a table. And he was like, right here, CR. And I didn't know what to say because it just figured Bill's one of the most popular podcasters that's ever lived. He probably knows what he's doing.

And he did not plug my microphone in. So one of, I think, actually, if I may say so, a pretty good pod by me. Sure, sure. Just sounds like I'm talking into a loaf of bread the entire time. That's tough. It was a film

we were really looking forward to do. Yeah. We love this movie. Yeah. I think it was a two-hour and change pod, too. And it was a classic. It was a hang.

It was not on one of these pods or just at a certain point or just off the rails. And unfortunately, all your great insights could only be heard by dogs. So that's a real shame but uh at least it was recorded for posterity uh casino is great love casino so i have two picks my last two picks i believe so we've got two categories remaining one is supporting role and the other is wild card

hmm well supporting role is an easy one and i was hoping this would stick around. And in fact, it did stick around. And that's Mean Streets, which is his breakthrough film in many ways, even though he had made films with Brian De Palma before this. And he plays Johnny Boy. And in one of the most explosive announcement performances in movie history and Martin Scorsese's debut. And I think I keep saying things that like changed movies forever, changed things forever. This is one that changed

the trajectory of American movies. Definitely. What's the, is it Be My Baby that opens the movie? Yes. Yeah. Just like the use of music

in this film. Him walking through the red lit nightclub and, you know, Keitel walking through in slow motion. That kind of sets the stage for, I think, frankly,

a lot of things that are very important to you and I, Chris. And Amanda. Of course, yes, but you would admit that Martin Scorsese... She's still reeling

from the intern thing. Have you found any more facts about the plot of the intern that you'd like to share? She obviously has a thousand observations she wants to make and is so fucking mad.

I mean, just feel free to weigh in here. I can't fucking breathe. I remember. You haven't spoken since we got off the internet, which definitely means you're thinking about the internet. I'm thinking about the scene when Robert De Niro and Ed Hathaway are on the work trip to interview the prospective CEO. And she's made one decision, but then he shows up in her room and they're sitting on the bed in the hotel room together eating candy, and it's so uncomfortable. Oh, yeah. And you're just like, why is this happening? It's still Robert De Niro, but then he's just a supportive grandfather.

Yeah, I'm thinking a lot about The Intern. I was also thinking about, you were talking about the Mean Streets soundtrack and one weekend this morning, I put on the Goodfellas soundtrack just like while I was hanging around with my son, which on the one hand is like, you know, just, hey Knox, why don't we listen to the Goodfellas soundtrack?

But on the other hand, as soon as Rags to Riches started with the horns, he just like started dancing and I was like the proudest I've ever been. I was that's my kid i love that so much i know that song in particular yeah um the song from that movie that orbits my mind is uh the moon glows sincerely which is a really great uh song that i wrote like a 3 000 word piece about for cleveland week in like the first three months of the ringer. Do you remember when we did that? Yeah.

Remember that simple time? In part because Harvey Fuqua is from Cleveland. Okay. You're the head of content for a reason. You know, you just see the angles. Cleveland week. That's just one of a million gems that I worked on. This is a tough one here.

Wildcard. I would say there's only one true classic left that he is elemental to. And I'm going to take it. It's Once Upon a Time in America. That's totally acceptable. Sergio Leone's last

film, an epic crime story. And now there is a definitive director's cut version somewhere out, right? I don't know. If there is, I don't think I've seen that. Okay. I don't believe on the Blu-ray is what you're describing. Because I thought that there was a point not altogether

that long ago where somebody was like, we have finally assembled the thing that Leon wanted people to see. And it is actually a masterpiece and people need to revisit this. And then I saw something on cable see and it is it is actually a masterpiece and people need to revisit this. I don't recall. And then I saw something

on cable recently and it was just like Jimmy Woods having sex in a car and I was like this is the same movie. Is that not something you want to watch? Yeah.

But I'm just like I was like I knocked this out a while back. This is an at least the version that I've seen is an amazing film

but not often revisited in part because it's almost four hours long. That being said, I had intended to watch 1900 before this podcast. Big Bernardo. Bertolucci's film, which came before this with De Niro and Gerard Depardieu. But that film is five hours long. And so I didn't get a chance to revisit it. If I had, I might have said, you know what, I'm going to pontificate about it here.

There are other films that I think are still very draftable here. I'm not trying to say this is the last movie that one can draft, but this feels like the last movie that, largely because of him, it is iconic. Yeah. Fair? Yeah. Other than I'll analyze that the second I analyze this film.

Okay, I'm done. You guys are... You got another one? I got supporting actor. And... Man. What am I going to take here? Can I tell you what I would take?

I don't know if you'll take it. Sure. My hands are tied now. That's what I have. I had Copland or Backdraft. Oh, you love Backdraft. And he's really good in Backdraft,

but Copland is probably a superior film and a superior performance. He's great. I gave you a chance and you blew it! And it's him and Keitel

like brown bag coffeeing it in a diner together or in like a rest stop together. But yeah. Moe Tilden. Yeah.

One of the great characters. So Copland, yeah. that's what you're going with yeah great pick love it i have wild card i want you to take something i'm going to psychically tell you okay go ahead okay i i don't know what it is uh i mean here are some some of the options what has not been taken that is you know significant to me. I mean, New York, New York is on the board. I did revisit it. You did?

Yeah. On just like a very illegal and janky stream. Sorry. Is it not available? It's not. It's like part of the United Artists

sort of thing. And I asked Sean to borrow it and then I forgot. Oh, yeah. It's okay. It's fine. I found it. Do you have a Blu-ray player? Yeah, we do. Is it PlayStation or is it? No no we have a we don't have a PlayStation. Zach

gave it away when we moved in together. I don't know why. I didn't ask him to do that. It's one of them that's like an Ernest Hemingway short story. I didn't ask him to do it. The young man in the FIFA. Yeah. We have a Blu-ray player, but Knox plays with the remote of the Blu-ray player a lot. So I honestly don't know whether it's functional. Anyway, I watched it on LegalStream. Like, on the one hand, incredibly cool idea. You know, when Les Minnelli is, like, actually singing New York, New York. That's golden.

On the other hand, it's, like, long and pretty boring for long stretches of it. It's not my favorite. So yeah, I mean, it's like I like the idea of it, but it's kind of a little letter box for me to take it. Okay, what else do we got? Well, a little letter box. So wait, you haven't taken it. You didn't take that. No, I'm just

going through some of the options. Wag the dog. That was what I was going to try and get you to do. Okay. I mean, that's a pretty good one. Try and get her to do. Yeah. I think he's amazing in it good one. Try and get her to do. Yeah. I think he's amazing in it. He's very funny. It's a very funny movie. Yeah. I like it a lot. Tim and Hoffman. Yeah. It's a good movie. There's Alfonso Cuaron's Great Expectations

starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Never seen it. Maybe that's the first thing I saw. I wonder whether I saw that or Marvin's Room first. I guess we'll never know. I watched Alfonso O'Connor's Great Expectations when I spoke to Stephen Knight

about his adaptation of Great Expectations for FX. How did that interview go? I haven't heard it. It went fine. Okay. Yeah. Do you listen to the

big picture interviews? No. Unless I've seen the film. That's so funny. Unless I've seen the film. I feel like I listen to almost every episode of The Watch and never listen to the interviews.

Yeah. But if you're obsessed with a TV show and we're talking to somebody about it, you probably listen. But I thought about this because I was late to finishing Beef. And you spoke to Sonny and... Jake. And also Jake.

And I like both of those guys. And I'll never go back. Okay. Thanks. It's got nothing to do with you. I don't take it personally. It's just like life moves on. I'm the head of content.

I got a lot of stuff to listen to. I got a lot of flights to take. I'll have Kaya put together a mega mix of our interviews for you to listen to on the flight. I will receive that and then delete it. Another thing about Wag the Dog. I was just not listening to you guys and looking at my list. Another thing about Wag the Dog is that. We were being incredibly charming.

You are charming. You missed it. And I was thinking about do I listen to the interviews? And like I don't usually. That's okay. Will you listen to my Paul Schrader interview? Yeah. You missed it. And I was thinking about do I listen to the interviews and like I don't usually. That's okay. Will you listen to my Paul Schrader interview? Yeah.

You promise? But I want to watch Master Gardner first. He does speak about the film. You'll never listen to it then. I'm going to see Master Gardner. Bobby has seen Master Gardner. That's not surprising.

Amanda has seen it. It was great. I shrieked aloud alone in my apartment watching that film. He shrieked aloud at a moment. There's a really there's a shriekable

moment in the film tremendous reveal the other thing about Wag the Dog is Barry Levinson my dad's favorite director is he your dad's

I know he loves Diner I mean he's not but it's like so what did he think of the found footage horror film The Bay that Barry Levinson directed

does he like Tin Man he fucking loves Tin Man dad's fucking dad literally loves Tin Man. Dads fucking love Tin Man. Dad literally, last Christmas, it's like 10 p.m. on Christmas night, we're doing the dishes, and my dad is just reenacting Tin Man.

Like, the one man performance in the kitchen. That guy. Will you speak a country? No, he had a tough weekend. Oh, yeah. Wait, hold on. I need to know your thoughts specifically on richard dreyfus's feelings about both the writer's strike and

the academy's rules changes it's just do you stand with dreyfus i do not stand with dreyfus okay it's a real log off old man okay um it's just like someone should should log you out of twitter and then you won't be able to i out how to get back in. I think he's making those statements publicly. He's being interviewed. Oh, yeah, right. I'm going to tweet this out. He's driving up to picket lines and telling people to get back to work. Yikes.

I don't think that's a good idea. One more Barry Levinson thing. He and De Niro are making another movie. Yeah. That's coming out next year. That's right. that's coming out next year. But as soon as my dad, he reads the business digest of the trades, but he knows what's going on.

But let me tell you, I learned about that project from my dad as soon as it hit deadline. He just texted me and he was like, David Zaslav, savior of the industry. And I was like, I don't think that that's the case, but I'm glad that you're really excited. Interesting takeaway. This was before some other things.

So you're not, but you're not taking Wag the Dog. Well, here's the case but I'm glad that you're really excited. Interesting takeaway. This was, you know, before some other things. So you're not, but you're not taking Wag the Dog. Well, here's the other thing is that there's Analyze This which I do have. Did you take Analyze That? No, I didn't take Analyze That. Oh, okay.

That was a joke. Oh, okay. I thought it was like that would be amazing if you bookended it. With Analyze This and Analyze That? No, I haven't taken

Analyze This yet. She was just saying Analyze This might be the first film she saw. Oh, okay. My bad. And I have very fond memories of everyone

in my family doing Analyze This. Are you going to take This Boy's Life? No, that's just a Bill thing. But it's Leonardo DiCaprio. Yeah. Actually, De Niro is

terrifying and excellent in that film. But I'm not. I'm not going to take Silver Linings Playbook. That movie stinks. You know what? I liked it a little more

than you did. It's a Christmas movie. You know? I like Christmas. Get the fuck out of here. Whatever. We're going to have the Jennifer Lawrence

conversation soon. It's not her fault. I've actually changed my tune on that. All right. It's not her fault. I don't know whether that's allowed.

That filmmaker is a charlatan. Okay. That's my take. I kind of want to do An allowed that filmmaker is a charlatan okay that's my take I don't I kind of want to do analyze this instead of wag the dog do it

go with your heart yeah go for it yeah the Wizard of Lies is still on the board the Bernie Madoff sure yeah you interested in that

in CR there's a couple of movies that I'm very interested in that didn't get picked do you know who plays Ruth Madoff in the Wizard of Lies

no tell us do you know who in The Wizard of Lies? No. Tell us. Do you know who directed The Wizard of Lies? Barry Levinson. That's correct. Michelle Pfeiffer plays her. Wow. Ruth Madoff. I'm mad that Wag the Dog didn't get picked. I'm sorry. That's okay. What did you take? I took Analyze This. Oh, okay, great.

I also think it's worth noting Good Shepherd. The film you directed? Yeah, really good. Okay. I acquired this film on Blu-ray for this pod, but then didn't rewatch it. It's very good. You love the CIA.

Caveat? You love stories about the CIA being great. Yeah. Yes. No, not about the CIA being great. Stories about the CIA murdering our leaders in cold blood. I like great stories about the CIA because I think it is the secret history

of our country after World War II. I see. I see. And you felt Zero Dark Thirty was an accurate representation. What was that now? Bob's looking at like pitch cast somewhere. No, no, no.

I was reading about The Good Shepherd because I remember watching that and not liking it very much. It's very slow. It's very mature. Very slow. I would also say

I haven't revisited The Mission. I watched it this weekend. How is it? Can I tell you something? I'd never seen it before. I thought I had and I had not.

Beautiful film. Yeah. Absolutely breathtaking. Well, one of the most gorgeous scores ever created. Yes. Anymore,

score Chris Menge's cinematography, won Best Cinematography for that film. Very good De Niro performance playing a Spaniard. A conquistador, right? A conquistador. And Jeremy Irons is... As a Jesuit priest. Yeah.

It's a very spiritually enriching film. Lots of silence you can see in this film. The film Silence, a lot of clear inspiration. Roland Joffe, one of the weirder careers you've ever seen. Made The Killing Fields in 84 and then The Mission in 86.

And then just takes a weird turn towards Hollywood stuff. I liked it a lot. I thought it was a very good De Niro performance. It was something for Best Picture as well. I'm pretty into Mad Dog and Glory.

Very good movie. Basically a classic flip parts role movie where De Niro's playing the Bill Murray part and Bill Murray's playing the De Niro part. It's an interesting film. True Confessions. I like that one a lot too. Robert Duvall.

You think it's weird? I started re-watching it and then I was like, That's old. Joan and John wrote that one together, right? Yeah, they did. Yeah. Is it Ulu Grossbard?

Is he the director of that movie? I think that's a real that's a real guy's movie yeah about how men are really pained as if

many of these movies aren't but you know I don't really have a relationship like that with my brother I love my brother

and think he's a cool guy you know like some people are just like my brother he's destroying me and oh my god

yeah how does Kyle feel about you I was gonna say do you think your brother says the same thing about you

wow fuck yeah think about that for 10 was going to say, do you think your brother says the same thing about you? Wow, fuck. Yeah. Think about that for 10 hours on the plane. He listens to the pod sometimes so I know he doesn't hate me. I mean, I know he doesn't hate you.

You would never participate in that. Do you think you save that dynamic for Chris then? Like, you love Chris but he's destroying you? We have a slightly brotherly thing, certainly.

I have a brotherly thing with a lot of my friends because I'm kind of mean and rude. But now that you're on Xanax, that's all going to change. It's all evened out now. Any other films that you think deserve note? Bang the Drum Slowly.

Stanley and Iris. We didn't do Awakenings? No, I haven't seen that in a long time I haven't either he won the Oscar for that don't think so he was nominated

okay I mean we didn't talk about the De Palma films Hi Mom and Greetings both of which are quite good Sleepers

yep Bill suggested possibly a Sleepers pod down the road yeah speaking of Barry Levinson what do you think

about that it's one of my wife's favorite movies interesting yet not one of yours no's favorite movies. Interesting. Yet not one of yours. No.

We don't share everything, you know? Legally, you do. No, but I mean, in terms of taste, in terms of our Venn diagrams of things. We didn't talk about Brazil. You mentioned Terry Gilliam.

Yep. De Niro, you could take him out of the movie and the movie would be fine. Jonathan Pryce is the star. Terry Gilliam is the visionary behind it it's probably the biggest

it's like the best reviewed film that was not drafted here barring maybe Joker oh yeah I forgot that he was I mean technically a De Niro movie

yeah when Robert De Niro's character a talk show host has his head blown off on live television and you thought what tell us Nero's character, a talk show host, has his head blown off on live television. Right. And you thought what?

Tell us. In my theater, people are like, oh, shit. Chris and I saw it together with a woman with a dog in a baby carriage. What did she say when that happened? The dog was asleep. The dog was unaffected. I gave a talk recently and a woman brought a dog in a baby. So the talk was unaffected. I gave a talk recently and a woman brought a dog in a baby carriage to the talk. You gave a talk?

It was for advertisers for Spotify. I see. And somebody brought a dog in a carriage. Like a potential advertiser? Dead serious. What company did she represent? I will not name this company. I will not jeopardize our business relationships in the world.

Was it My Pillow? Oh, man. It was the CIA, actually. Yeah, it was the Central Intelligence Agency. I think we've done a good job. Oh, we did talk about Meet the Parents. Yeah. Which I think is, along with Analyze This, very is a critical film I don't think I've seen

any of those movies really oh I think they're funny I thought Meet the Parents was very funny my dad really enjoys them Meet the Parents Jay Roach

I think so yeah he's good anything else any The Score you guys like that movie I tried re-watching that

and then it was kind of long The Fan so The Fan? So The Fan is considered by many to be the worst Tony Scott movie. Yeah. Though there is also a strong hive for The Fan. The Fan is actually good. Yeah.

Where do you stand on that? It's been a really long time since I've seen it, and I've dedicated a lot of my life to the films of Tony Scott. So I can't decide whether that's a flaw or whether I have every right not to watch the fan again. Do you think non-Americans should be allowed to make films about baseball? No, absolutely not. These are the kinds of questions that people come to this podcast for.

I think that the fan is bad, but I also haven't seen it since 1998. Yeah. Have you seen it? I don't think so. Wesley Snipes plays a... San Francisco Giant, right? Yeah Oh, okay

I think predates Barry Bonds' reign there I believe you're right And plays a kind of Ken Griffey Jr. esque star Okay And is it like And Robert Schmeichel It's a romantic comedy

He and Bob De Niro fall in love They sit on the bed And Hotel Room eat candy Yep Wesley Snipes plays a girl boss. And Robert De Niro plays his intern. It's a crazy movie. It's actually his second baseball film,

Bang the Drum Slowly, in which he plays a Thurman Munson-esque catcher. And Michael Moriarty, the great Michael Moriarty, plays his pitcher. I'm just a machine. Just wind me up. Just let me say words and names.

I'm just making sure that it's Andrews Hall, who is the husband. Well, I just, like, I can't trust anything now. Have you seen the film Machete? No. With Danny Trejo, right? But I did. I was looking through this,

and it's part of the Spy Kids universe, Bobby. It is, yeah. Can I show you the art that comes up when you open up Machete on Letterboxd? I don't think that that's an accurate representation of the film. Is he the star of Machete? Well, no. Machete is Danny Trejo. Why does he get the hero image there?

He gets a hero image holding two 9mm in his hands. They look like actually silver embossed 9mm. We're such a diseased country. We are. Any closing thoughts? Well, we should recap did you enjoy this exercise oh sure

of doing it with a doctor I mean these are some of the best movies of all time and we also talked about how I have huge mental problems do you think that there are more than five actors we could do this with

oh certainly yeah do you think it would be funny to do it with Ryan Gosling did you listen to our discussion of Ryan Gosling's career I did do you

will you stand with me in what happened to Ryan Gosling Island? Yeah. You know that I do. Like, we were there with him. Yeah. When Dead Man's Bones was released.

That's about you. That's, that's between the two of you and, and where you are in your life. Chris and I have created extraordinary things together. Sure. But like, you're putting shit on Ryan Gosling.

Ryan Gosling. Ryan Gosling is just hanging out with Eva Mendes and his two children. He can't have it all. I'm not. He does have it all.

I'm not trying to take that away from him. And being Ryan Gosling. When he was in Place Beyond the Pines, it's you who are upset. We saw ourselves in God's eye. And then, now you guys are just watching

Copenhagen Cowboy or whatever. Yes, we are. And... They're trying to get back to that feeling. Sure. And we can't get back. He's enjoying life. He goes back.

He needs to play. Why can't you enjoy life? I don't. It's a central preoccupation of my devastated soul. I don't know why I can't accept that I am extremely lucky and happy. So just don't take it out on Ryan Gosling. But the thing is. Is he happy?

He wasn't happy and neither was I and we could have that together. He was like I've been destroyed by man, my father,

religion, guilt, all of these ideas and now he's like I used to make Halloween songs and now I'm a clown and I'm not happy

about it. I used to make Halloween songs. I did watch that music video. Dead Man's Bone. Without the make Halloween songs. I did watch that music video. Dead Man's Bone. Without the diseased internet. I copped that album.

That's on you. Again, it's your choices. You stand with me? I do. I do. I mean, up to nice guys, I still think he's the GOAT. But then he goes and, you know, I think he's just having a good time. I saw him in Murder by Numbers when he was when he was dating

Sandra Bullock he was like 18 years old and I was like this guy is just an absolute lord this is an unbelievable person what's that Anthony Hopkins movie where he's like

Fractured that's fucking good too man great film he's just that's the thing is he could make mainstream entertainments they aren't just weird

jerk off letterbox stuff he should just make a Grisham movie every four years I would love that I would love I think I I would love that too I forget what movie I think he made They aren't just weird jerk-off letterboxd stuff. You should just make a Grisham movie every four years. I would love that. I would love that too. I think he made Drive and Crazy Stupid Love in the same year.

And I was like, why can't we have this? Because the movie industry crumbled. Okay, I'm sorry. We're on our old Jack. Because Refn took him to Thailand. And he was like, this is too much. Only Refn forgives. That's what he needs to do. They need to get back together

reunite in Copenhagen have some have a nice Austrian wine you know a Gruner what is it with you and Gruner I love Gruner I know

I had a bottle of Gruner at Dunsmore on Friday fabulous bottle wow holy shit it was it was the biochemical power no it wasn't PD

no it was crisp something very dry it woke me right up. Almost acidic. Yes. I want a slight burn. You want the white fish that you're eating to be burned into oblivion by the wine. I like it with a ham, which is just fabulous at Dunsmore.

White wine and ham. You like ham? Because a little bit of like- Since when do you like ham? I've always loved ham. When do you eat ham? Yeah. At the restaurant Dunsmore where they serve a lovely country ham. I've always loved ham. When do you eat ham? At the restaurant Duns Bar where they serve

a lovely country ham. And if they're listening to this podcast, please host me again. I had a lovely time with my wife. You're getting drunk on this. Don't get over your skis with asking for stuff in minute 71 of the pod. This isn't very important. This is something that happened Friday night. Friday night.

We went to a bar called The Grant in Glassville Park. Yeah, if The Grant... My wife and I sat down at the bar. We had a cocktail. The bartender came over and served us a Montenegro Amaro and said, I'm deep into the Ringer Podcast Network. Please say what's up to CR for me. What the fuck?

I was there on Thursday night and got nothing wow so the grant you're on fucking notice and I was also there last weekend going the other way the grant

you're on the team that's messed up welcome to team ringer that's fucking messed up so you were served nothing for free well perhaps the right fellow

was not in rotation that evening I had been at the grant he was a lovely guy twice in the last two weeks. Nada. Maybe they actually think they're more thinking

they know what kind of an Amaro guy I am. Well, so Montenegro I was not familiar. It's not my jam. I like Averna. I like the one that's the Swiss Alps one.

Fuck. I can't remember the name of it. That's fine. I'm just going for the Capri Club endorsement. What's up, Capri Club? Bobby knows where I am. Well, Nonino is fantastic. Nonino is fantastic.

Nonino is beautiful. I give Nonino as a gift to folks. And my friends at Waltz. I love Waltz. Yeah. Are the proprietors of local bars of the Eagle

Rock, Glassville Park area listening to this podcast, you think? It's not a call-in, so they can't respond. Yeah. I was asking you guys. Oh, I thought you were

going to be like, we're waiting by the phone. Let's go to Steve. Steve, so they can't respond. Yeah. I was asking you guys. Oh, I thought you were going to be like, we're waiting by the phone. Let's go to Steve! Steve, thanks for calling in! Steve from Highland Park! We're going to recap the movies. Okay. Oh, good.

Truly deranged pod. You guys fucked me, but I think I won. Classic loser material. That's really good. I like the energy that you're bringing to us. Chris, why don't you recap your films for yourself? The fucking Deer Hunter. In what really good. I like the energy that you're bringing to us. Chris, why don't you recap your films for yourself? The fucking Deer Hunter. In what?

Drama. Keep going. Jackie Brown in comedy. Yep. Cape Fear in action horror thriller where I honored what that genre is about.

Uh-huh. And it was a thrilling film. Okay. Supporting character. Supporting role. Copland. Oscar nominee. Taxi driver.

Wild card casino. Amanda, why don't you recap your films? Sure. In drama, Goodfellas. Supporting character. Supporting role. Copland. Oscar nominee. Taxi driver. Wild card casino. Amanda, why don't you recap? Sure. In drama, Goodfellas. In comedy, The Intern. In action, Midnight Run. Do you want me to pull up the chase scene right now?

Yeah, we can pull up the part where Charles Grodin's hiding in the shower. He's like, dogs barking at him. Midnight Run. Please, please, please keep reading your films. Midnight Run helicopter scene. Here it dog's barking at him. Please, please, please, please keep reading your films. Please. Midnight run helicopter scene. Here it is. Here they go. Please keep reading

the titles of your films. Because I've seen this movie a hundred thousand times. Please keep reading the title of your films. Amanda, I'm begging you for crying out loud. Supporting role of The Untouchables,

Oscar nominee, The Irishman, and Wildcard analyzed this. Okay. I drafted in drama, Raging Bull. I drafted in comedy, The King of Comedy. I drafted in action, The Irishman, and Wild Card analyzed this. Okay. I drafted in Drama, Raging Bull. I drafted in Comedy, The King of Comedy. I drafted in Action, Horror, Thriller, Heat. I drafted in Supporting Role, Mean Streets.

I drafted in Oscar nominee, The Godfather, Part 2. And I drafted in Wild Card, Once Upon a Time in America. It's a little unoriginal, don't you think? No, I won. You're just doing... You drafted the intern, all right? I love the intern. I love the intern.

I just need you to know. CR, for once in our fucking life, you teamed up with me to shank CR, which we don't like to hurt him because he's such a good guy. Did I win the last one?

But sometimes you gotta lose. You did win the last draft. Yes. So you're good. What are you showing me? I'm not arguing with you about category fraud. Nobody says,

I watched Midnight Run. It's such, what a great action film. They say, God damn it. Midnight Run is funny, but that's okay. It's an action comedy. Yeah. And we're good.

They don't make them like they used to anymore. Why don't you hold a grudge? I'm fucking holding one because you took heat. Well, you didn't care at the time. Well, because I thought I was going to hit Midnight Run. Ain't that a shame? Yeah. That's the breaks.

Any concluding thoughts about Robert De Niro? You enjoyed this exercise. I had fun. You guys don't normally let me on the podcast for like the boy things, you know? Let you on the podcast for the boy things? Yeah. Sometimes you just like go in your corner and you're just like- I invited you to garbage fish. Yeah.

That is, you did invite me to garbage fish. Garbage fish is coming. What'd you think of the Meg 2, the trench trailer? Yeah, that is. You did invite me to Garbage Fish. Garbage Fish is coming. What did you think of the Meg 2, the Trench trailer? It looks really important. And I need to have you do a four-hour ayahuasca podcast with Ben Wheatley to get to the bottom of this. It's quite a career he's having. Did you watch his remake of Rebecca?

I did. I really enjoyed his COVID horror movie. In the Earth. Yes. That was actually a good movie. He's a weird one. Yeah. So garbage, you started your research on garbage fish?

So what's the cutoff? When is a fish just a fish and when it is a garbage fish? These are conversations I have to have with my daughter. I'm not going to have them. It's basically not, it's basically stuff other than Jaws. Okay. I mean, that is, but that is like garbage fish turned into high art. That's what I'm saying.

So we put that in the museum. Okay. I hadn't thought that, but I like that point. And we'll bring that to that episode, which is coming in three months. And I don't know what we're talking about. Thank you so much for listening to the Robert De Niro movie draft here on the Ringer Podcast Network. Thank you, of course, to our producer, Bobby Wagner, who has endured a particular strain of mania in this conversation. Later this week

we're going to talk about some current films, some May movies. Also, I talked to Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicole Holofcener on this podcast and great things happened. She dropped a lot of F-bombs and she read a poem. It was delightful. Incredible. Did you ask her about... Never mind. Feel free to ask.

No, go ahead. Wrap the pot. Did I ask her to recap the plot of the intern I did so you'll get another dose of that later this week thanks for listening