The Rewatchables - ‘American Gangster’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

We celebrate movie no. 400 on The Rewatchables by revisiting Ridley Scott’s 2007 crime thriller, ‘American Gangster,’ starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.... Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Ronak Nair, and Chia Hao Tat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:01:19 The rewatchable is brought to by the Ringer Podcast Network. We can find the watch with Chris Ryan. Still cranking it out. Yeah. Ben Lathen. You got ear on three podcasts now. Yeah. college football tailgate.
Starting point is 00:01:31 We call it the ringer tailgate. It's college football podcast. Coming live on Saturdays. Wednesdays as well, plus you're in higher learning. Plus, uh, midnight. Pew, pew, pew. There you go. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:42 Finally on board. I'm Bill Simmons. This is the 400th movie we've done on the rewatchables. Wow. I was looking back at all the people. So fantasy is in Tellerad, so he couldn't be here. But fantasy was a huge part of this podcast, really since we launched it in 2017. We'll tell the story in a second.
Starting point is 00:01:59 Shea Serrano Jay Secepcion Yeah Really big parts of the first Like first half of the feed Kyle Brandt Huge part of the last five years We've had Mallory and Dobbins
Starting point is 00:02:14 And Wesley Coppulman Rosillo, Juliet All of them popped down many times Tarantino toys Three times I was getting to that Oh sorry
Starting point is 00:02:23 Three times We've had some Extending cameos From Joe Juliana Robinson Bigwaz, Greenwald, Rembert, Chang, Mina Kimes, Logan Murdoch, Cousin Sal, Chuck Closterman, the Danys with Craig a couple times.
Starting point is 00:02:39 We had Quentin Tarantino, Michael Mann, Bill Hader, Aaron Sorkin, Judd Apatow, Bill Lawrence, Jimmy Kimmel, all making memorable stopby. Jennifer Lawrence was stopped by, not as memorable. She didn't understand the categories. My wife was on an episode. Oh, that's right. My dad was on an episode with me and CR from my 15.
Starting point is 00:02:59 birthday. We did Shawshank Redemption. That was great. Craig's wife was on an episode. When she was my assistant, she requested country strong, polarizing. Country strong. Polarizing episode. We were originally produced by... Liz Kelly, yeah. Yeah, Liz Kelly. I'm just saying Craig's wife. He said his wife for the commoners. Zach Mack, original producer. Nephew Kyle did a few.
Starting point is 00:03:24 Jason Gallagher was involved a little bit. Are you retiring? What are we doing? Ronick. I'm just doing the list. Okay. Richie, who else was producing in the background, Craig? That's basically it. Dylan, maybe a couple times. Yeah, Dylan Berkey.
Starting point is 00:03:38 Now we have Gahau. We producer Craig, who's been with us. I would say 80% of the pods, Chris. Yeah. Right? 2019, I think. Started as a podcast intern. You can just see the hunger in his eyes, man.
Starting point is 00:03:51 That was it. He's been with us ever since. He's hosted a couple. He's on one that, but he might be on 401 or 4 or 2. Van Lathan, do you remember your first, watchable? I do not. I'm not even going to try to act like a lot. It was boys in the hood?
Starting point is 00:04:03 No. No. I do not. 8mm. No. I couldn't have been the first time. But that was the one when I was like, this guy's a regular. First of all, you requested 8mm. Yeah. He spoke by language. Yeah. Your first one was higher learning. Oh, yeah. That's a memory. Yeah, that's a memory. That's a nice tie in. And then CR, the legend.
Starting point is 00:04:22 So this started in my little pool house, my old house. Yeah. 20th anniversary of heat. And we said, let's just do a bill pod. An entire podcast about Heat on my podcast. We did, I think, in December around Christmas time, you came in. Back to a pilot. We just talked about heat for an hour.
Starting point is 00:04:43 And we had no idea if anyone would want to listen to it or care. It was the Wild West back then. Put it on my feed. And the general response was like, that was fucking cool. Wow, I loved Heat, too. So we were like, huh. And then tried to figure out the rewatchables. It got a little rocky for the first year,
Starting point is 00:04:58 trying all kinds of different things. And then I remember the July 4th, 2018 area, we taped Jaws, me, you and fantasy. And we had had the pod for almost a year at that point. We tried a bunch of different things, but we kind of knew what it was at that point. And that was the first one where I was like, oh, this pod's going to go a while.
Starting point is 00:05:17 Like, we've kind of cracked the code on this. You remember that? I do. And I also remember, like, feeling like that was the first one. Was that the first super long episode that we did? Yeah. We had more category. We just kind of were like, this is what the pod should be.
Starting point is 00:05:31 I've been doing it ever since. Made some hairy times during COVID. Sure. We were doing stuff on Zoom. We're doing two a week. I did castaway by myself. That's right. We were doing two a week.
Starting point is 00:05:42 You did cast away by this. I did cast away by myself. By the way, solid pod. We're going to be the best performances. Really good. But see, our great to have you back. Thanks, man. And obviously, this wouldn't happen if we were in the guest house that day.
Starting point is 00:05:57 So, yeah. Four-in-Jeth movie. Anyway, I gave you the call. I said, you picked the movie. I know, and it's weird. I said, my man. My man. You know, there's a couple of white whales out there,
Starting point is 00:06:08 but I was really eyeball an American gangster because it's been on Netflix a lot recently, or it's on Netflix. And this has just been, you know what, it gets suggested in my YouTube algorithm a lot, scenes from this movie. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:21 And I saw there's a couple of scenes that have like five million views. And I was like, I think, I think there's like a ground swell behind American gaming. right now. I flew to Boston a couple weeks ago and it was on AMC. Can't say it was the best American gangster experience to be on AMC.
Starting point is 00:06:37 But it's been, I've been circling him for a while. I saw in the theater. I remember being exhilarated and disappointed. And then over the years, it's kind of grown. But on the AMC, and then I finally texted him.
Starting point is 00:06:49 I was like, I'm watching American gangster in AMC and CR. I immediately grew a Josh Brolin mustache. So anyway, American Gangster, our 400th movie, is next. We're going to take a break. American Gangster 2007. I wrote down, this is like if CR typed into ChatGBT, GBT,
Starting point is 00:07:23 Make Me a Movie combining French Connections, Scarface, Goodfellas, Heat, Serpico, Black Caesar, and Godfather, too. And Chat, JAPT was like, here it is. Oh, put Dense in Washington in it. Can I interest you in a quick scene in Bangkok? Six minutes out of nowhere. Why do you love this movie? It's kind of what you just said,
Starting point is 00:07:46 which is that it's a collection of some of my favorite genres, my favorite parts of American history, my favorite parts of like criminal underground history in a sort of environment that honestly, like I never, ever, ever get bored of 1970s New York. It is like the never-ending maze
Starting point is 00:08:05 that I could just live in and explore for the rest of of my cinematic life and reading about it life. And it somehow, Ridley Scott, like, brings it to life in a way that I think is reminiscent of some of the Sydney Lumet stuff from the 70s for sure. But it looks different. It feels different. And, you know, he's got these hitters in it.
Starting point is 00:08:25 This is one of the best casts assembled in the century. Whether or not they live up, the movie itself lives up to, like, all the talent that's assembled is another conversation. But, like, I was going through looking for. Dion looking for that guy. And I was like, where do you stop? It was a long Dion. This is like a 26-man roster.
Starting point is 00:08:45 The DM list was like a basketball team. It was like a bench. That guy list. Like I just started grouping them together. Yeah. Like the whole squad could be a that guy. You know what I remember about the movie? The lore leading up to it.
Starting point is 00:08:58 The rumors of the production, Denzel getting paid, the movie's going. Then the movie's not going. Fook was on the movie. Then Scott comes on the movie. and changes the movie. And so then the version of the film that we get is kind of this mish-mash of all of these visions. Then the cultural push behind it.
Starting point is 00:09:20 Jay-Z, the theme album, this is Denzel's first $20 million paycheck. All of the whispers, about time you got to see the film, you were actually, if you were like a cinephile, trying to see how this entire thing was going to come together after years of having been kicked around.
Starting point is 00:09:38 stuff. He was very similar to heat in the 90s. You knew about the movie for a while. It was two people
Starting point is 00:09:44 I wanted to see in a movie again because they were in virtuosity. It was Ridley Scott. It just felt like a big movie.
Starting point is 00:09:49 It's like, I can't wait to go see this. You think in the theater. You're saying that people saw virtuosity and they were like,
Starting point is 00:09:55 let's run it back and do it. No, I'm just saying but they did virtuosity. Denzel was a big star. Crow is not. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:10:01 But in 07, Crow is a massive star and it felt a little Pacino De Niro in. Well, there's an experience I had with this movie that is not dissimilar to what I have with Miami Vice, which is, you hear about that this is going to happen. You find out who's going to be in it and who's making it.
Starting point is 00:10:17 And you're like, I'm going to wake up soon and find out that I dreamed this. This can't be happening. Like a Harlem gangster story with Denzel Washington and Russell Crow's the cop chasing him. Same kind of thing with like Colin Farrell and Jamie Fox playing Crockett and Tubbs and it's Michael Mann going back to it. Then I think the initial reaction to it, probably Miami. Vice because of how beautifully strange it is, an American gangster
Starting point is 00:10:40 where there's just like, you're watching it and you're like, I want this to be Godfather, but it is a different kind of movie and it's got a different kind of message and idea and it's different kind of like... Were you disappointed when you left the theater? I think so.
Starting point is 00:10:53 I think a little bit. I was disappointed. It didn't take me until this decade to really grow into this movie. I remember Miami Vice, we said it was like seven, eight years before we were like, wait, is this movie good?
Starting point is 00:11:03 Yeah, yeah. This movie was always pretty good. But I look at it now. It's just like a collection of scenes. Yeah. It's almost like watching those S&L Best of Will Farrell, and it's just like a bunch of awesome wolf. Now you look at it, you can just jump in anywhere.
Starting point is 00:11:18 It doesn't, the script's all over the place. Like, it's just a fun hang. The movie is insanely dense. Like, insanely dense. Everything is happening in every single scene, right? You look at the film now and you still see a better, movie in there somewhere. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:11:37 Well, I think that people seem to think the director's cut, which was like 30 minutes longer, filled in some of the blanks. But I'm not positive of this movie. You need to be longer, Van? I don't think that it needs to be longer. When I say it's, you know, a better movie, I'm talking about some really big choices. Like, it almost feels like if the movie focused more on Roberts or more on Lucas that the film would have been better.
Starting point is 00:12:02 What would you have, what would have been your choice? This is an interesting topic. I was going to do this later. Probably more, more Frank Lucas, a little less of Richard Roberts. Yeah. Yeah. But I think that's the issue with the movie is Crow was such a big star. They had to almost put more, and they're making up all kinds of shit about that character, too.
Starting point is 00:12:21 But it really should have been a Frank Lucas movie. And it kind of, to me, I always thought, because Roland is at the perfect point in his career. Yeah. Where if the Roberts role was smaller, that he could have played it. Right? Because he was, Josh Rowland,
Starting point is 00:12:38 he's an entity that we've known for a very long time, but he wasn't... He was in the wilderness before this movie. Right. Well, this is no country.
Starting point is 00:12:46 Yeah. So, like, that's a situation, too, if that role were a little bit smaller, you could have put him in that role, and maybe the movie, it streamlines a little bit. But don't you think...
Starting point is 00:12:56 The thing I love about this movie, but it's also frustrating, is Trupo and his whole crew just could have been the movie. Sure. And then you have Frank Lucas and his whole thing. That could have been the movie. Dude, Frank Lucas getting the drugs out of Vietnam.
Starting point is 00:13:10 Yeah, that could have been the entire movie. It would have been an insane movie. Roger Winiver Smith and Denzel Washington getting drugs out of from coffins. But this goes, Van used the word dense. I think this is why this movie was such a slow burn and why I like it so much now. It's, there's five fucking movies in here. And when you saw it the first time, you're just like, it's like being overfed at Thanksgiving or something. But now there's so many different beats and the way it moves.
Starting point is 00:13:33 and it's just like such a fun hang. And then, you know, one of the reasons we're doing this is Denzel, who's in the spotlight again. I think he's going to get nominated for the Spike movie. But, you know, he's been bringing it now for four decades. This is... Would probably not be a good rewatchable's guest because apparently he doesn't like watching movies.
Starting point is 00:13:52 No, he doesn't want to talk about the past. But in this one, I was thinking, like, the Denzel dialing it upscale in training days of 10? Yeah. where he's like, I am dialed up. I'm going all out. Like Game 7, NBA star. Philadelphia's maybe an 8, where he brings it up.
Starting point is 00:14:15 Highest to lowest, maybe a 7. He's like a 6 in this movie. And there's just a couple scenes, like the piano scene, where he just fucking brings it. But other than that, he's playing this pretty cool for the most part. It's pretty ice in his veins. I mean, the tango scene, you know what I mean? Like the entire point of the Frank,
Starting point is 00:14:33 the characterizing. of Frank is that like he's not going to get flustered. He's not going to get distracted. It's only when he wears the chinchilla that anything starts going wrong for him. And the whole time, he's kind of, he's got a code for all of us. For all of us. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:14:47 At the same time, he is always one step away from violence. Like one step away. One of my favorite scenes is towards the end when he's being interrogated by Richie Roberts or actually he's more interrogating Richard Roberts. And he's recounting the thought of this encounter with the police that he's had. And he's just getting madder and matter and matter until he snaps. That happens so many times in this movie. To wear the chinchilla or the fur or whatever it is,
Starting point is 00:15:21 and then to have it go back and then to come back after your wedding and burn it in front of your wife while she cries is all-time psychotic. You know what I mean? So he's- It's like my wedding night went better. Tell us about it. I wasn't arrested by the police. I didn't burn my chinchilla.
Starting point is 00:15:40 It's pretty average night. Detective Troupo didn't pull you guys up. Trupo was, I love that character. You bring up a really good point, though, because the film concludes with the most revealing traditional character moment with Frank. That's where he tells his life story.
Starting point is 00:16:00 That's where he gives his biographical background and talks about why I am the way I am. What we usually see is all my life I've wanted to be a gangster and then it's Henry Hill's childhood. Michael Corleone is going to become a senator or a congressman,
Starting point is 00:16:15 but then his father gets a hit on him and it changes who he is and he becomes the godfather. Frank is Frank when we first see him. The first image of Frank is shooting a burning man. Then it's bumpy for like five minutes and Frank just becomes this great white shark out there immediately. And I think for some people
Starting point is 00:16:34 watching this film, it's a little disorienting because you're used to take me on the arc of this character. How does this guy get to the point where he's shooting Idraselba in the head on the street and not caring about the consequences? And we only really get that at the end. And at the end, it's almost like two minutes
Starting point is 00:16:50 of Frank Lucas is the good guy. Right. Well, and that's another thing that was always odd to me about the movie. The abrupt ending? Well, the idea that Frank is like, I'm a cop now. The idea that like, so the movie has to reconcile itself because they've made Frank into this immensely likable character. And then you have to watch him fall.
Starting point is 00:17:13 Now, normally what happens in these films is when the drug dealer falls besides blow, which is tragic about a time. George, like legitimately tragic, right? Yeah. But normally the drug dealers, it's a fictional characterization. The drug dealer dies and, oh, my God, the excess got to him. In this one, we know that that doesn't happen. So how do we feel good about Frank going to jail? And the way that they do that is, aha, he put a lot of bad cops away.
Starting point is 00:17:41 And this kind of allowed him to get all of the trauma that he had from the police blowing off his cousin's head out because he put cops away. But like, I remember when the movie came out, we left the movie. And so, and culturally we think, and so, like, Frank Lucas is a snitch. Right. He's working with the police. Well, they flip it so that the cops are the true bad guys, right? That's the threat of the whole movie is cops just steal drugs and do money. And that's the thing. I don't think they quite get there.
Starting point is 00:18:12 Yeah. You know what I don't think that they quite get there. That's why you'd have had to have more Frank to do that because you have more Trupo. Right. Yes. Truppo is kind of limited to we don't really know why Trupo is doing what he's doing. I mean, he just seems like a fucking asshole and is just like nobody's allowed to come to New York without paying my, my taxes, but we don't get a ton of time with him, ultimately, for a movie that's two and a half
Starting point is 00:18:35 hours. Could have had more time. Yeah. Yeah. Josh, Josh Barlin was a borderline. Did I steal the entire movie kind of candidate? When you think he did this in no country in the same year. Yeah, it's incredible.
Starting point is 00:18:46 And was just this child actor who had bounced around forever. And then all of a sudden, he's doing these two movies. He's doing W's hosting SNL. He's married to Diane Lane. How does that happen? I always think about that. So before this, the last thing I can remember really. seeing Josh Brolin there was like hollow man.
Starting point is 00:19:02 Remember that joint? Where like they were invisible and Kevin Bacon's dick is in the movie for some reason. And he wanted to show it off. He will, yeah, he doesn't fluffed himself a little bit. He fluffs himself and then bangs it out. Self-fluffing. Like that guy in a saltburn. That guy was tugging it before he was saying, hold on.
Starting point is 00:19:24 Oh, is it my shot out? Don't say action yet. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Just got to play with myself a second. All of a sudden, we are in the era of John. Josh Brolin. Yeah, and it's a fun era. One after another.
Starting point is 00:19:35 You know what? He like gets to that point and I have a lot of rolling stuff later. But like it's that funny thing of success truly coming later in life. And you're like, I'm not letting this opportunity pass me by. Because Brolin works and does two or three movies a year at a time. When most guys are like, cool, I'm in my 40s now. Like I can I can dial it down a little bit and do maybe one big one and one, you know. I just liked them.
Starting point is 00:20:00 I'll tell you when he went on my radar as a real guy, into the blue, a rip-off of the deep with Paul Walker and Jessica Alba. Wait a minute. That was her Pedro, 1999 season. This was a very important moment for me, Into the Blue. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:20 Into the Blue. Like formatively? Yeah, man. In your 20s at that point. No, no, no, no. But I'm still forming. And the beginning scenes of Into the Blue, I remember we went to see this in theaters. It's like, well, the beginning scenes of Into the Royal Wee or Who's We?
Starting point is 00:20:39 This movie knew what it was. Two very attractive people are going to scuba die and he's getting trouble. Really, I cannot even remember really what the movie is, but they find like a treasure or something like that. Josh Burlin's the bad guy. He's a bad guy. And he's a really good bad guy in that. But that film was interesting because everything happens at the beginning. And, you know, Jessica Alba, these scenes had linked on the internet, but they leaked on the internet.
Starting point is 00:21:02 Jessica Alba was like in the bathing suit and the whole nine of this happening. And then we just keep waiting for that scene to like happen again. Yeah. We keep waiting for us to go underwater with Jessica Alba again. And then it kind of doesn't happen. That's what the deep was like. And the movie gets really serious about like real stuff. And I'm like, I kind of didn't come here for that, man.
Starting point is 00:21:23 I kind of wanted to see her look for fish. Yeah. For the entire time. That's the deep, by the way, a classic, definitely watch this on Tooby movie. It starts out with Jacqueline Bassett in a white t-shirt, scuba diving with Nick Dulte for like eight minutes. And then getting back on the boat, just white t-shirt, you can see through everything. You're like, oh, this is going to be a fun hang with a half-night. And then all of a sudden, voodoo's involved.
Starting point is 00:21:48 And Luke Gossett's like an evil Haitian guy. But yeah, they rope you in and then they get into the pot. Sierra members. No, I'm just imagining what's going to happen when you get your hand. on like the AI tech that's like voice to video where you're just like I just want to see Jessica Alba scuba dive for like 20 more minutes and they just make a video but it's true because really they're getting close this is one of the thing when Craig's generation took over uh-huh yeah they stopped doing this they stopped getting us to the movies fucking Craig with fucking
Starting point is 00:22:16 Craig's generation oh because it's like the woke mine virus kept just Galba out of scuba gear yeah they stopped going to the movies they would say hey we want you to know that there is a good-looking person in this film and you should come watch it. And then we're going to do a movie as well. Into the blue had Paul Walker for the latest. Can I refer you to the film that just won Best Picture? What's that? We're back.
Starting point is 00:22:38 Anora. Oh, yeah. Could be. Could be back. My generation's bringing it back now. Well, so Denzel in the rewatchable standings, Cruz has been 17 rewatchables. Pacino and De Niro were tied for second place at 13.
Starting point is 00:22:55 And Denzel is at 12. He has now moved in his second place. And we have several. Several Denzel movies. Including some huge ones, right? Some huge ones. Even like... Come on, deja vu.
Starting point is 00:23:06 Out of time. Well, this is my favorite era. What's the one with San Al-A then? Sonal. That's out of town. I love that movie. We have to save that for Sleazy Florida Keys month. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:23:21 We just have that way of things and I don't know what the other two are. What's the Florida Keys with Gene Hackman and Melanie Griffith, Young Melanie Night moves? Night moves? Is Miami Blues in the Florida Keys? No, that's Miami. That's in Miami. Yeah. We'll find We'll out. But sleazy Florida
Starting point is 00:23:37 Keys, not enough time. That in New Orleans, the two most underrated movie locations. Anyway, Denzel making it happen. And then Russell Crow, oh, I should mention one thing with Denzel. So remember the Titans is 2000. Training Day, Wednesday, Oscar. John Q,
Starting point is 00:23:55 Antoine Fisher, out of time, Man on Fire, my single favorite Denzel performance, as we've discussed. Manchurian candidate, really interesting movie. It's aged. Fantasy is a big Manchurian guy.
Starting point is 00:24:08 Of the Demi one? Yeah. Inside man. Deja Vu, American Gangster. That's about, that's an eight-year run that's about as good as it gets.
Starting point is 00:24:19 It's also like made for us. Yeah. Like, that's like a list of films. That's 10 movies in a row over the span of eight years that you could just take on a desert island and be probably okay with. You always wonder how someone's going to respond to the best actor, best actress Academy Award.
Starting point is 00:24:38 Like now, especially when somebody wins it like Denzel. Denzel, who had been a Hollywood mainstay for all of this time, right? A bunch of movies, people love them in these films. And then he makes it to the top of the mountain with the best actor now. Denzel solidified, top five, top 10 leading man, maybe of all time. And that also, because he was a black actor that also had like triple significance. Huge.
Starting point is 00:25:07 So what is- The Oscars didn't even know black people existed until like 1970. It was a bad. The 90s were bad for that. So huge. And what does he do? Like how does he round into being this gigantic magnetic star? And then he kind of gives you every different part of Denzel with all of these movies.
Starting point is 00:25:23 But all of these movies have edge. their edgy performances, which when you look back at the 90s, it's not that Denzel wasn't in edgy movies, it was that he gave you a different side of himself than he did in the 2000s. He also, I think in the 2000s, creates the idea of like a Denzel Washington movie
Starting point is 00:25:45 rather than being another people's movies. The season tickets thing. Yeah. I have a movie coming out and you will see it. And I think guys like, I mean, the first person who jumps to mind who has obviously tried to like mimic that, although I do not think he's anywhere close to the same actor
Starting point is 00:25:58 is Walberg. Where, you know, Walberg will make a family movie, an action movie, and a drama, and, like, has a lot, and he's making more and more action
Starting point is 00:26:06 and thriller stuff now. But Denzel kind of, like, decides, like, what I like doing is working with these guys. I like making these kinds of movies, and I'm going to make two of them a year or one of them a year, and always have something going.
Starting point is 00:26:19 And now, you know, more recently, yeah, tragedy of Macbeth, you know, doing the August Wilson films, you know, Like, he's coming, he's trying different things. But for that 2000s run, he's kind of making Denzel Incorporated movies, you know?
Starting point is 00:26:33 Yeah. Well, he's also goes head to head with Hanks. Hanks is his big kind of rival in the 90s, right? But they're in a movie together that they elevate each other. Hanks' is his rival in the 90s. And Russell Crow is his rival in the 2000s. Hanks' his rival. Because Cruz is kind of over here.
Starting point is 00:26:50 Yeah, but I think, look, so American Gangster, is like 98% sounds like pretty much made up. I was going to get to that. Based on a true story, which then you can just do anything you want. The guy's name was Frank Lucas. Now let's go nuts. Yeah, I really like Russell Crow's performance in this movie. But there is like a question of whether or not like Russell Crow is almost like too deferential and too like, I'm going to be down here so that Denzel can be up here in the course of this film.
Starting point is 00:27:23 And what would have happened if Russell Crow had kind of chewed more scenery and like made Richie like a larger-than-life character in that way? Looking back on it, when I watched it, it almost felt like he did it as a favor. Like Russell Crow, the character doesn't have
Starting point is 00:27:39 any bite, like, at all. Well, Ridley Scott was this guy. Yeah. They had just done a good year together. They had done Gladiator, obviously. And I think he just wanted to do another movie with him. They seemed like they beefed the part up a little bit for him. this was the Russell Crow
Starting point is 00:27:54 Run speaking of runs this goes back to 99 Mystery Alaska which we've not done yet where do you stand on that movie I like that movie The insider gladiator
Starting point is 00:28:03 proof of life what are we doing the reproof I mean when are you going to go Where do you stand on that well I remember this was very controversial I enjoy the movie
Starting point is 00:28:13 but I said that the movie was the film that like no no what am I fucking doing I don't like that shit you don't like proof of life no How'd you start it? I like that movie.
Starting point is 00:28:23 He doesn't like the cuck part. Yeah. It is like hostage cuck. I don't like. So I like proof of life as a movie. Wait, you don't. Okay.
Starting point is 00:28:32 Wait a second. Listen, here's the deal. Proof of life does not exist as a movie to me. It exists as the cucking of a man and the ruining of his, like, I can't separate the movie from the scandal. I can't. I can't.
Starting point is 00:28:46 The movie itself is okay. But it ruined America's sweetheart, Meg Ryan. You know what it is? Stuff of legends. It ruined America's sweetheart, Meg Ryan. It bears Dennis Quaid. She had to die for the movies since. Dennis Quaid did not ever get it back together after that.
Starting point is 00:29:01 He never did. The movie is just like a bunch of fucking mess. Well, Sierra and I love it. And he followed it up with a beautiful mind. Yeah. Then Master and Commander. I remember Concepcion was a big master and commander guy. I'm a big master.
Starting point is 00:29:13 I'm a big master. I didn't keep that in other world. Cinderella man. Many, many, many people are. Now, that's an underrated movie to me. Yeah, I think there was just too many boxing movies. movies in a row. Man, that to me...
Starting point is 00:29:23 I gotta watch that one again. That is an underrated movie. When people talk about sports movies and particularly boxing movies, they don't mention as much as they should. I love that movie. Ron Howard. Ron Howard. A good year.
Starting point is 00:29:33 310 to Yuma and American gangster. That's all nine years. Three to nine years. It's the best of 2000s, I think, of all actors. That is the best movie out of all of those movies to me besides the insider. Yeah. Loved that fucking movie. He won the 2000s, I think.
Starting point is 00:29:46 I mean, especially... He's in the most, like, high-hand good movies. 2000 to 2010, yes. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, this was it. This was like kind of the last one. This is the next year he's in that weirdly a movie.
Starting point is 00:29:56 Are you like, I wish he hadn't taken a couple of miles per hour off the fastball? Do you wish like he was a little bit more? I got to say, I really like the crow parts. I just think it's a different movie. We're kind of over here. The child custody stuff is just bad.
Starting point is 00:30:12 They should have cut it. None of that makes, that should not be in the film at all. I do like, fuck me like a cop. Don't fuck me like a law. He, they, that's the part of the movie that's overstuffed. We just don't need to know that about him. No, that's not. And by the way, in real life, he didn't have a kid.
Starting point is 00:30:33 I know. Right. It's like, why is this in here? They were like, oh, we got to beef up this character. It's like, no, you actually don't. I guess it's an attempt to give him an arc. I mean, with anything. Like, you don't know anything about him.
Starting point is 00:30:45 But it's like, interesting enough that he's like, I'm trying to go to night school and I don't like public speaking. like those feel like real details the kid stuff is just like it's the classic like the cop has to be neglecting his family to do his work but we do get Carla Gricinoe
Starting point is 00:31:00 we do but once again like not in the perfect way she just never landed the plane in any of these movies and I just want to do her career over again so many at bass Sin City oh that is true yeah but here's the thing
Starting point is 00:31:15 we already had the crow piece of this that made me understand him is that he gave the money back. He's honest. That's it. That's all we need. Honest dude, he's not like these other cops. We're good.
Starting point is 00:31:27 Drilling in on him as a police man, that would have been better than any of the family's stuff. Or even what was really interested to me was the pressure from his old friends trying to bring him into the criminal life. Yeah. Like all of that stuff. Give me two more scenes with that. Two more scenes with that.
Starting point is 00:31:48 And like people stink eyeing them again in the police station. Craig, Russell Crow, Denzel, you grew up with these guys. Denzel obviously bigger. But what's your Russell Crow relationship? I think always seen as a guy who could do like a ton of different things. Russell Crow was one of the best actors in my mind growing up. A beautiful mine in Gladi are probably the two biggest movies that I remember growing up. He was just like a guy who was always in the top five, I think, for me.
Starting point is 00:32:15 Yeah, the cool thing we talked about this when we did The Insider. the ability to do the Gladiator type of movie but then to also be able to just slip into like the insider guy or a character like this. An insider he's kind of You don't even know it's him. Yeah, and he's
Starting point is 00:32:31 also kind of the marshmallow man in that movie. He's the guy being poked around and who doesn't know his thing. Between 310 of Yuma and Gladiator, the 310 of Yuma character is the most alpha character in a movie ever. That movie's
Starting point is 00:32:47 so good. Like ever. Just getting to it when he, when he gets the fork, he steals the fork. And then he just wakes up, the guy, he wakes up and he's killing that guy and the whole deal. And they pull him off of him and he's laughing. I'm like, this guy is fucking diabolical, but amazingly charming as well. It's funny. So he hits the 2010s.
Starting point is 00:33:10 I think it's over. Yeah. And he's, I think he parted pretty hard in the, uh, off the set. I think he's kind of moved into like he's a different version of himself. I mean, he's not making exactly like Red Box movies, but he's in like three exorcism movies a year now. By the way, I've seen all of them. But at least we didn't have a Mel Gibson moment with him.
Starting point is 00:33:32 The other Australian kind of that part of the world with, you know, hard parting dudes. We didn't have a Russell Why? Did you ever see Land of Bad? I liked Land of Bad. Where he's the drone. drum pilot. That's good. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:33:50 Yeah. He's been all right. You know what's funny is he ends up playing Jorell in Manistiel. Yeah. And so yeah, you know. I just found this out because I'll never see that movie. Well, he played Jorel and Manistel. Actually, the best parts of Manistil to me,
Starting point is 00:34:04 the beginning parts where they're in Krypton, which is like really good stuff to me. But his career kind of goes in like a Brando-ish, older Brandoish way. Yeah. Where, you know, Brando physically changes, obviously. and he is bringing more of his reputation as Marlon Brando to movies
Starting point is 00:34:21 than actual real characters. Certainly did that in the Exorcism movies. Yeah. It's like, that's Russell Crowe. He's put the cute cards right there. He likes them a little closer. This episode is brought to you by McDonald's. Right now at McDonald's,
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Starting point is 00:35:35 That ink on the cute card so you can make sure. We'll take a break. We'll talk about the rest of the big picture stuff here. All right. So we talked about Brolin. Four Oscar winners in this movie, Denzel, Russell Crow, Common, and Cuban, Gooding, Jr. And then Josh Burlin, Ruby D, John Hawks. What was he nominated in?
Starting point is 00:35:56 The one where he's paraplegic, I think. Oh, yeah, yeah. And Chouette. Oh, yeah. In Chouette. How do you say his name? Chuitale. Chouette.
Starting point is 00:36:06 Chouette. I knew I was going to mangle that one. He got nominated to. Loaded cast, plus a bunch of that guys. That's an understatement. Yeah. I mean, it's like a 26 person where you're like, yep, yep, yep, yep. Including, I think some CR All-Stars.
Starting point is 00:36:24 Yes. Yeah. Including. Richie Costa, John Ortiz. John Ortiz? Richie Costa. Yeah. Who just comes in hot.
Starting point is 00:36:33 Who plays the crazy killer in Black Hat. But in this is Richie's childhood friend who's now in the mafia. Is it possible Michael Mann and Ridley's, Scott just shared a Google Doc with actors they liked. I just think that those guys are like, yeah, I'm ready to go, like, put the camera on me. New York guys. Yeah. Throw them in a movie.
Starting point is 00:36:53 If you need the movie to feel, if you need to. Authentic. Authentic, you want to put some texture to the movie. You throw those. English, I think, or Welsh, yeah. But, yeah, it's crazy. But that's how they use it. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:37:02 So the story of the movie, we'll get to some of those guys who would do the categories. But there was a New York Magazine story called Return of Superfly in 2000. Mark Jacobson. great yeah good story i remember when it came out it was like holy shit what an amazing and then universal imagine purchase the rights fincher we're doing most of the cast of win if's here but you kind of have to because the situation of the movie fincher kicks the tires couldn't figure out a budget they start negotiating with the palma and the movie's called true true blue at that point falls through antoine fuqua denzel benicio del toros richie that's marchi that's march 2004 it's
Starting point is 00:37:41 happening. Fukuwa gets fired over creative differences. Peter Berg almost comes in right around when he's doing the Friday and Lutz movie. Denzel like approves of Peter Berg coming on if that's what's going to have. Budget so high, the studio panics, they back out. They cancel production. Denzel and Deltora have pay or play. Denzel just gets 20 million. Deltoro gets five. Sounds amazing. What a great gig. I have that for big picture episodes. Yeah. Yeah. Almost gets revived in 05 with Will Smith.
Starting point is 00:38:13 Uh-huh. That movie sucks. I'm just kidding. Like Will Smith trying to be Frank Lucas. That movie's going to be bad. Yeah. It's not going to work. They bring in another screenwriter named Terry George,
Starting point is 00:38:24 who plans on downsizing the budget, writes a script, and he's going to get his guy from Hotel Rwanda, Don Cheadle, fans guy. Okay. Want to text them right now? I will. Uh, he was going to be frank. Frank Lucas, they turned down the screenplay.
Starting point is 00:38:39 Steve Zalian, who wrote the original screenplay, now he's back. Yep. And all of a sudden, we have Scott and Denzel and Crow. And I remember that. I'd forgotten until I did the research, but remember they were calling it the Black Godfather as they were filming it. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:38:51 They're like, this is it. This is the Black Godfather. Also, just to throw in, somewhere in there, there is a Richard Price draft of like either a rewrite of the Terry George script or there's a draft of Richard Price's script. I couldn't find it. I don't know if it's like actually even in existence. they go back to this huge, like, 170-page Zalian script.
Starting point is 00:39:11 But when you look at, like, the names involved with the shepherding slash almost did this, it's one of the great, like, oh, I could sit here all day and think about what the De Palma version would have been. How about what is the Fincher version of this? Oh, I mean, it would have been... It's just all the process. It probably steers more toward Ritchie, right? Can you imagine Fincher and Denzo Washington working together? I don't know if I can.
Starting point is 00:39:36 Denzel for the 71st take. Do a hundred takes of one scene. My man, we're done. Can you imagine that? The Fuku version, I learned a lot about the business through the painful production process of this movie. Because the Fulco version was being
Starting point is 00:39:49 Bally Hood and people were talking about it. Antoine Fuku and Denzel reuniting, doing another movie after Training Day. And it comes out that Denzel has gotten already $20 million. They've paid him. So, and it's pay or play. What's pay or play mean?
Starting point is 00:40:05 meaning that they've paid them and he gets the money whether they make the movie or not. It doesn't matter. And then, so you figure out they're going to make this if they paid $20 million to Denzel Washington.
Starting point is 00:40:16 The initial doctoral party didn't even know. And then year after year, the movie's not coming. The movie's not coming. The movie's not coming because you don't understand that it's going through so many different eyes. And to me, it still feels like the crux of the creative differences
Starting point is 00:40:31 with Antoine Fouca is that he wanted to focus his movie on Frank Lucas. and he did not want the Richie Roberts character to be as big of a deal. And maybe that's almost what Denzel thought that he was doing as well. So when you saw the film, when it came out, you go,
Starting point is 00:40:46 oh, the movie has been really scotted a little bit, almost like Clockers. Yeah. Clockers was when... Scorsese had it. It was more on Harvey Cottell's character. It was going to focus on. It was going to be De Niro, too. Right.
Starting point is 00:41:00 And then Denzel gets it, excuse me, Spike Lee gets it, and then Spike Lee reorients the movie, to be around Mikai Fifer's character and it's a completely different film. It's almost like this movie happens but in the reverse here. They're like, Denzel, here's where we are
Starting point is 00:41:15 and he's like, am I still getting my 20 million? Do you want to weigh in on script? Am I still getting my 20 million? I'll be there. What's our first day of filming? I just think he was moving from movie to movie at this point. I think that's his process. Denzel or?
Starting point is 00:41:27 Denzel. I think he wants to work with the director that he likes. And if he likes the story and likes the character, he's in, he's good. Yeah. Like he's cranking out basically a movie every nine months at this point. You're moving on fast.
Starting point is 00:41:41 His first $20 million paycheck. First time I'd ever happen for him. This is a very difficult thing to balance in these kinds of genre movies where you've got the crook and the criminal and they don't, they're not necessarily in contact. I mean, when does Richie figure out it's Frank at the fight, right?
Starting point is 00:41:58 Yeah. That fight is like... Oh, no, no. The fight, but even then more so with his friend. Remember his friend goes, leave Frank Lucas alone. and Richie goes, huh? Oh, the mafia guy.
Starting point is 00:42:07 Yeah, yeah. He's like, I'm here to give you a message to leave Frank alone. That's an hour and a half into the map. That's not even like Vincent Hanna being like, this crew is good in the first 10 minutes of heat, even though he doesn't know who he's talking about. So it's a delicate balance.
Starting point is 00:42:25 And then to your point, like, where clockers, like, if you read the novel, Clockers, like, it's 50-50 between Strike and the detective and like the detective has all like all this personal stuff going on and that. And yeah, like the director will orient it and wait it. Kind of like where he wants to go. Sierra likes the new studio. He's doing his thing.
Starting point is 00:42:48 He's like, legs crossed, got the hands on. Steve's alien for 93 he writes searching for Bobby Fisher, which we did in the rewatchables. Clear and present danger. Schindler's list. Mission Impossible.
Starting point is 00:43:00 The civil action, Hannibal, gangs of New York. The interpreter? What was that one? That was the Sean Penn The Full Kidman movie All the Kingsman American Gangster
Starting point is 00:43:09 Moneyball Girl with the Dragon tattoo and that's all in less than 20 years. And he just directed That's impressive and wrote Ripley on Netflix last year and he had done The Night of
Starting point is 00:43:19 with Richard Price a couple of years ago. Yeah, so there you go. Anyway, they finally make the movie and they get a comeback movie for him a little bit. Yeah, a little bit. All the Kingsmen, tough.
Starting point is 00:43:29 And then Ridley Scott, who this will be I think the fifth or sixth one we've done for him. Is that all? Every seven years he just has like an eternal banger. Alien 79. Blade Runner 82.
Starting point is 00:43:45 Black Rain, 89? For me and CR. Heavy. Oh. I'll send you I'll send you your Evite for the Black Rain you watch me. That one I fuck with heavy. Culey underrated. Thelman Louise, 91. G.I. Jane, 97.
Starting point is 00:44:01 Gladiator. Gangster. Martian in 2015. You don't go more than seven years without him being heard from. Although we have now from he's about 100 years old. He's basically making a movie and prepping a movie
Starting point is 00:44:16 at the same time and he's been doing that for basically the last 30 years. And I think he has an incredibly high floor and an increasingly lower and lower ceiling. But every once in a while. Because he's 80. Older than Jerry Jones.
Starting point is 00:44:31 Ridley Scott definitely would have traded by a person. He's like, for sure. It's like, we're getting two first round picks. And it's, and you, you like Napoleon, right? Yeah. You would have thought that there was no way that the movie could miss. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:44:45 Because the last duel, fantastic, right? Football coaches and directors. You would have thought that there's no way to know. And then you go and you watch Napoleon, it is a mess. And you're like, how is with all of the talent and how is this? How is this boring? How is this is that? Did you ever see the duelist's first movie?
Starting point is 00:45:00 Yeah, it's awesome. I've never seen that. It's fucking amazing. Yeah. It's really weird. But then he also, he has smaller movies. It's a tuby classic. Yeah, but like match dick.
Starting point is 00:45:07 Man is good. Yeah. He's the king of, I saw it in the theater and I was so excited and it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. And then 10 years later, you're like, you know what, Robin Hood's okay. Yeah. I kind of enjoy costume. There's seven accents on this movie now.
Starting point is 00:45:22 Like, even this, American gangster is, and like a lot of the stuff that we've talked about this film, a lot of the people that they threw in this movie is because I think you can, you can feel the pressure of making this movie a huge, huge deal for everybody in it with the amount of people that said, Com and Tia, everyone got to go see it. So they overstuffed the film because after
Starting point is 00:45:45 all the rumors and after everything they had put into the production, they needed people to get out to the theaters to go see this. It was a big part of Denzel's career, all of that stuff. But also, just in the Ridley Scott like Denzel Washington
Starting point is 00:46:01 portion of this movie, like these drug dealer biopics, they're not as many of them as you think they are. Right. Like most of the drug dealers... So you say we need more? Well, I'm saying that they're hard to make. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:46:13 But most of the drug dealer movies that we, like, that are legendary are about fictional characters. These stories don't turn out well. You got this. You have played in full. You have bloat.
Starting point is 00:46:24 All of those movies end up in profound tragedy. Somebody going to jail, leaving their daughter, whatever, whatever. And so these films... Yeah, nobody just gets away. Yeah. Yeah, I mean,
Starting point is 00:46:35 also the more nuanced, complicated versions of these stories has moved into television. So, like, I mean, Bumpy Johnson is that that's Godfather
Starting point is 00:46:41 now. Narco's in the wire kind of, like, created a much higher standard of like, here's the nuances of how this stuff works. Task.
Starting point is 00:46:51 Our new show. Task. Yeah, and what I'm saying? Way do you see Task? I saw you guys are getting really excited about it. Like,
Starting point is 00:46:57 the movies aren't easy to make. Big boner. Did you say big boner? Big, TV bonus for TASC. Is it that good? That's all you guys doing prestige on it. Craig, what do you think?
Starting point is 00:47:09 What's your best one-season HBO show ever? True Detective. Okay. I think it's as good as True Detective. Season 1, True Detective? I do. Wow. I've only seen three episodes, though.
Starting point is 00:47:21 I'm wait. I watched the first one, but I don't want to watch ahead. So I watched ahead only because we banked a couple of prestige pots. You think it's True Detective season one level good? I do. Wow. I do. And as you know,
Starting point is 00:47:34 I don't say stuff like that lately. I was blown away. Okay. Also, set in a CR's Pennsylvania. And CR was in a biker gang when he was there. That's right.
Starting point is 00:47:45 It's like there's a lot of like... Me and Sir Kristen Cole riding around Philly. Yeah. Two Oscar nominations for this movie. Art Direction and Ruby D. For supporting actress. I forgot this until I did the research.
Starting point is 00:47:56 This was one of the first sabotage campaigns because they were so loose with the facts, it became a huge story as we headed toward the Oscars. Yeah. When this came out, people were like, Denzel's getting nominated. And by the time we got to the Oscars,
Starting point is 00:48:12 people were like, they made all this shit up in the movie, no way. It kind of happened with Gladiator 2 just recently, where it was like, oh, Denzo nailed on. It's going to happen. Yeah. 100 million dollar budget made $269 million. How about this van?
Starting point is 00:48:24 Biggest opening weekend out of any film for either Denzel or Russell Crow. I can see that. In 07. Yeah. Roger Ebert He's right to you're right He's looking at you right over there Two books right there
Starting point is 00:48:39 I read this review Four stars Unbelievable An engrossing story Told smoothly and well Russell Crow's contribution is enormous He was really into Crow And he said
Starting point is 00:48:55 The film ends not with a Scarface-style shootout But with Frank and Richie sitting down For a long intelligent conversation written by Zalian and showed two smart men who both know the score as I hinted above less godfather than Wall Street blah blah blah blah
Starting point is 00:49:09 Raj really into it really liked our 400th movie alright let's do the categories so here's why you know it's a rewatchable I have like 14 rewatchable seats it's a whole fucking including the opening credits
Starting point is 00:49:23 because this movie starts with Denzel setting a guy in fire and shooting him six times and we're off yeah kind of like, you're like, okay, here we go. All right, I'll just throw out some, and then if I forgot any, tell me after. Richie finds $987,000 in her trunk
Starting point is 00:49:39 in debates with this partner, John Ortiz, what to do. We'll be fucking pariahs. Cops kill cops. They can't trust. Is that true, CR? In the 1970s, perhaps. We also get Ted Levine.
Starting point is 00:49:54 Didn't mention him in the top. Yep. He's the sergeant. She'll be a fat person. you don't know what Prater's lighting Love seeing him I can't unsee him
Starting point is 00:50:07 Every time I see it I think he know He just kind of I kept changing hairstyle How his hair is What he's doing I see that every time I can't
Starting point is 00:50:15 I can't unsee it It puts the lotion on its skin Or it gets the hose again Yes she will Precious Small scene But I like when Richie screams At the Park Hood
Starting point is 00:50:29 Hulums when he's arguing with his wife. Oh, yeah. Yeah, good times. I just wrote down Denzel goes to Bangkok. I don't even know there's like four scenes in here. Chiang-Kex defeated army, man. When has it ever been bad to go to Bangkok in a movie like this?
Starting point is 00:50:43 I'm going to say never. It's also like it is the movie that wasn't there, but you're like, this guy going to Bangkok and the Golden Triangle and negotiating with this fallen army for uncut heroin would have been. That's the more. Did you come back from 1970s Bangkok? No, there's one scene. There was one scene where, you know,
Starting point is 00:51:08 Denzel calls us connect and the guys getting a massage, and I'm like, that's the life I'm supposed to be living, man. Just multiple massage people. Multiple massage people. And I don't know about the Bangkok part, but I do know, like, in Saigon, that was true that there was like a lot of black GIs had clubs and stuff like that. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:51:25 And they kind of, some of them, once again, I was about to say that that's the more interesting film navigating that. Some of them stayed there, made lives there, had children there, the whole nine, yeah.
Starting point is 00:51:35 Yeah. All right, more rewatchable scenes. Okay. We haven't talked about this yet. Jake unravels. John Ortiz. I had to do it,
Starting point is 00:51:52 man. So John Ortiz, for the people who don't realize, he's the guy who jumps out of the car in this movie. after he's they have to this is the scene where they have to
Starting point is 00:52:05 pretend this guy's still alive, they wheel him out even though he obviously killed this drug dude and stole money from him and he's lost his way. Same guy from Miami Vice. Yes. Who played the one who worked with with who was the name of the bad
Starting point is 00:52:20 the main bad guy? The main Cuban or the guy who's in the Colombian jungle. Yeah. And he becomes the villain of the movie and he's amazing in that movie. He was also and a couple other ones, so we'll talk about later.
Starting point is 00:52:32 Carlito's way, wouldn't he in that? He's in Carlito's way, yeah. I'm a leopard because I listen to you and I gave up a million bucks. He's just on one. I like when people jump out of cars in movies, too.
Starting point is 00:52:45 I mean, just show you're going to just die every time when you do that. There's two really crucial, like, connections that they make earlier. One is when the, um,
Starting point is 00:52:53 John Polito is talking to Frank Lucas or the John Polito character is talking to Denzel's character about, they're still, stepping on the French connection dope, like the cops who got Popeye Doyle's dope from Marseilles are stealing it from the evidence room,
Starting point is 00:53:11 stepping on it and selling it. And it's like heroin is, it just sucks now. And there's no order anymore. And these cops are such bastards. So like the connection to the French connection, the film and the story. And then also just the idea that if you were a upstanding cop
Starting point is 00:53:27 in 1970s, New York, you were a pariah. And that like, that would drive the, John Ortiz character to drug use, you know, like... That's one observation, one thing that the movie really gets right is all of the competing cultural narratives in the 70s. The corruption of the cops, Harlem exploding as a center with celebrities and part of the
Starting point is 00:53:51 but also this tremendous drug use. And then just sort of Frank Lucas and his criminal connection to... the source in Vietnam to all of the stuff that's happening on the street. Yeah, and also just like an entire generation of men coming back from Vietnam and one and three of them's got a problem. And they have a problem. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:54:13 So that part, the movie really gets all on that stuff right. Craig, out of your two fantasy partners, Danny and Danny, who's more likely to lose it like John Ortizzo's in this and jump out of a man? Hyphi Fitzhiz is constantly on the verge of jumping out of moving cars because of a bad fantasy thing.
Starting point is 00:54:30 Keep an eye on. He's getting paid under the table by fantasy. So it's everyone's doing it, man. And Jackson dart flops. Hyvitz will jump out of a moving car. The Blue Magic drug montage scene. I love the making it's making the drugs montage. It's always fun right into Richie in the courtroom,
Starting point is 00:54:48 right into the kitchen with his lawyer. With his lawyer, which I'm going to, we rarely get to get this out. I used to fuck guys like you in prison award for craziest quote. It's to K.D. Strickland. Richie fuck me like a cop not a lawyer. Boy. Was there like a, is there a different way?
Starting point is 00:55:06 Like a lawyer, he would have been like more gentle? What's she trying to get at there? Richie also low-key, great stick man and has to answer the phone post or during sex multiple times in this movie. Yeah, he's got a little sly smile to him. Yeah. I think the cop is probably, you know,
Starting point is 00:55:23 I think that's probably like... More primal? Yeah, because the cop is authoritative. and he's working for overtime. Yeah, the cop doesn't care about your rights. The cop is imposing themselves. Meanwhile, the lawyer is probably, you know, caring about your civil rights and asking you questions.
Starting point is 00:55:42 There's a lot of caveats, a lot of precedents, and all that, a lot of procedures, right? Nah, the cop just comes out and plants the dick right on you is probably what she wanted, right? Katie Strickland. Never got close. Never quite made it. Got close.
Starting point is 00:55:56 Got close. Got close, man. I love their private practice. this, this, she did a Tyler Perry movie? I always thought. I always thought she was in a movie. Tyler Perry movie? I think it's called, I think she was in the movie called The Family That Praise. Okay.
Starting point is 00:56:07 Which is the best Tyler Perry movie. She was in it. Like, she got, she almost got there. Next scene. C.R.'s favorite, Frank kills tango. Yeah. The sugar jar. Fuck you gonna do, Frank. It's great.
Starting point is 00:56:25 Fuck you're gonna do, Frank? You gonna shoot me? That's the scene in this movie that lives on. Every great gangster movie has to have a scene, just one scene that lives on throughout the movie. At least one. I was going to do this for Apex Mountain, but we can do it here.
Starting point is 00:56:42 Better Idraselba on screen death. This is Stringer with Omar and Brother Mazzone. It's Stringer. It's Stringer. It's Stringer. But I will say, Denzel pulling the gun and putting it to his head, the facial expression he makes
Starting point is 00:56:59 is the hardest thing I've ever seen in my life. Craig, you hadn't seen this movie before, right? No. What was your reaction to that moment? They never do this. I can't think of another one of a movie where the guy who's like, what are you going to do? Shoot me in the street and he actually shoots him.
Starting point is 00:57:13 It never happens. It was amazing. Yeah, it was great. String still gives me, though. When I do a while, we watch, String just kind of... Get on with it. Like, Omar tells him,
Starting point is 00:57:23 and he's like, you know what? If that's where I'm at, just take me out of the song. I'll say, though, is Frank doesn't even get the satisfaction of letting Iderselba's character know that he did it. You know what I mean? Like I would almost shoot him in the leg first and then like the heart so he can think about it as he's dying.
Starting point is 00:57:39 You're a fucking insane person? When you shoot him in the head, he doesn't even know he died. I knew it was something behind those eyes here. The Bay Area. Dark Bay Area. He's like, what are you going to do? Shoot me? He technically doesn't even know he got shot.
Starting point is 00:57:52 You know what I mean? Are we positive Frank was going to shoot him before he said that? Do you know what I wonder? I don't think he expected him him to actually give him the money. I think he was like, look at this motherfucker. I wonder if Frank would have shot him
Starting point is 00:58:03 if his family wouldn't have been there. Because it was to show them. I think he was making a fucking statement to these people. Because they had just gotten to New York. Yeah. And so he goes out there. I know Frank was about his shit,
Starting point is 00:58:15 but he goes out, he's talking to them. And then he's like, oh, here's an opportunity to show them. Either this guy's going to pay me right now or he's going to pay the price and it just asked for it.
Starting point is 00:58:24 Should have shot him in the heart. Yes. You need him to, Craig wants more suffering. Craig wants to... You need him to know. Craig is like, I want the man that I killed to look me in my eyes as he dies. Crazy person, man.
Starting point is 00:58:38 Well, now we know. Right, exactly. A pretty enticing Dian Waiter's resume from Idrasilba in this movie. Yeah, yeah. A lot of slagger. Richie gets his money back from Troopo. Enjoyed that.
Starting point is 00:58:51 So this might be my number one. Oh, that's... Trupo, though, that's never come here unannounced. Yeah. This might be my number one. Frank freaks out at his own party. Yes. There's a piano assault.
Starting point is 00:59:03 Somebody says, come on, man, that's your cousin. Yeah. Always enjoy that. I almost wish they would have delved more into Frank's discomfort with the trappings of being a big time drug dealer.
Starting point is 00:59:15 That's your 10 extra minutes that you could have had from all the stupid courts. And his like constantly take the sunglasses off, don't do this, don't do that. And then like when he tries to get into it,
Starting point is 00:59:24 it blows up in his face. It's just really fast. Finn, that's $25,000 Apaka. Yeah. You bought that shit. You block that. The most interesting thing about the character is that he is so loyal to his family. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:59:38 He brings them up to make them his organization because he feels like they are the only people that he can trust. Yet they vex him throughout the entire movie. Yeah. Their country. They're stupid. Probably not a great professional move. He just, he was so untrue. for people that he would have had to go into business with,
Starting point is 00:59:59 that he had to do this. And then at every turn, they become his undoing. And that scene is kind of the first thing. It's just he's so flabbergasted, beats him up, everybody get out. And I love scenes where people get kicked out of a party. The part when Stevie played by Ti is like, I don't want to play baseball anymore. I want to be you.
Starting point is 01:00:18 It's like, it's such a great moment for Denzel because it's like, is he flattered or is he disappointed that this is what it's come to? He brought him up there to play for the Yankees. So that he did not have to be him. And everyone is just descending into what Frank is rather than ascending to something better than what he could be. Got to be honest. The scene could have been two, three more minutes for me. The baseball?
Starting point is 01:00:44 The party. Just the whole party. This next one, too, the Ali-Frasier fight with fake Ali and fake Frazier. One of the worst ali's that I've seen in film. I had it coming up in what stage is the worst? Yeah. They didn't even try. They're like, hey, is it a black guy?
Starting point is 01:00:59 All right, cool. Just the depiction of, that's the garden, right? Is that supposed to be the garden? Like, you're like, Bradley Scott, man, make a boxing movie. Like, this is incredible. So I wrote down, this could have been three to four more minutes that I would have liked to have seen a round.
Starting point is 01:01:14 Yeah. Right. Like just, it didn't have to be the 15th round, the famous round. From me in the fourth round as somebody's eating a hot dog. But just to live in that moment, I mean, obviously it's a formative moment. for the lore of Frank Lucas.
Starting point is 01:01:29 I mean, that's the one lesson, the enduring lesson in the movie is don't wear the fur, you know what I mean? But that is a really important historical moment. We could have stayed there and hung out with Sammy Davis Jr. Frank Sinatra was there. Everybody was there.
Starting point is 01:01:43 Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. Wow. I have that as a nitpick. I don't think they were dating for another six years. That's where they needed to ring our consultancy firm. Hey, guys, scrap that.
Starting point is 01:01:55 Woodman is not doing that. then, then even been in the godfather yeah. Troopo ruins Frank's wedding day. Brolin's just like,
Starting point is 01:02:04 I just like brolin in this. I like the bro, just the brolin cooking. Yeah. Frank sells Cuba Gooding on Blue Magic. What's interesting here
Starting point is 01:02:12 is this is just who Cuba Gooding became in every movie or TV show, this character for the next 20 years. Even he played O.J. Simpson like this. I have to say he's,
Starting point is 01:02:22 this is, you're talking about the catch me infringement, insist that scene? Just like dialing it up, seeming like a little bleary-eyed. I... He's good at this movie.
Starting point is 01:02:31 I love that scene. I like, you have Idris as Dion Waders. I have him as... Pretty good drunk acting. Because you forget, because he's one of these actors that his public persona has become bigger than the work, right? But when you watch that scene,
Starting point is 01:02:50 he plays it real cool. I love it. He's going up against Dead Zone. He's like, I've called Red Magic. not as good of a fucking name. You know what I mean? Like, he's just, he's really got that guy nailed in that one scene.
Starting point is 01:03:01 The plane search is great. Frank's, uh, what's, what's, uh, I'm blanking on. I'm Russell Crow's characters.
Starting point is 01:03:08 Richie. Richie, he's searching the coffins. Brolin's looking for the dope. Brolin just kills a dog. That, that sucks. That's when you know Troopo needs to die.
Starting point is 01:03:19 Yeah, he's got to go. But I love that whole part. And then, uh, we get the final police thing shoot out. We get naked gunfight. we get Frank coming out to church 400 cops.
Starting point is 01:03:28 It's amazing Grace is playing. There's a Crow versus Denzel section that's fun. You know what normal is to me? I ain't seen normal since I was six years old. Denzel gets a nice speech. And then Troopo kills himself. Yes.
Starting point is 01:03:42 What did I miss? You didn't miss anything. This is a very strangely constructed movie because the scenes are very fast. There's a lot of them. There is a lot of like dense visual information in every one of them. but it's like this isn't one where I'm like
Starting point is 01:03:56 there are a bunch of scenes I would probably say like tango is the most rewatched scene for me but my favorite scene is the final Richie Frank interview scene. Yeah. I think the most important scene in the movie is actually Frank bringing his family
Starting point is 01:04:14 from North Carolina and the moment that they see everything. Yeah. And walking through Harlem for the first time or the big house that they've bought. The big house and his mother and all of that because that becomes the central struggle of the movie, like a guy who has all of this trauma who believes deeply in America, but not in the America that is supposed to work for him and the America that actually does,
Starting point is 01:04:37 and that's why everything he does is illicit and he listens to bumping and all that. So that's one thing. But then I just like whenever Denzel and Armanda Sante are on screen together, like those two things, your success took a shot at you, like all-time, great line.
Starting point is 01:04:49 Yeah. Who do you have, Craig? anything in Bangkok. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm like this. I'm learning about you. Yeah, Craig's a dark side coming out.
Starting point is 01:04:59 Episode 400. Craig goes dark. Yeah. What's the most 2007 thing about this movie? Normally we have like five, six, seven choices. There's only one answer. Oh, I have one. What's yours?
Starting point is 01:05:12 Oh, you go. T.I. in common is up and coming young actors in this movie. Done. That's fine. Young T. That's not what I had. I mean, the movie has T.I. Anthony Hamilton and Common. and Common in it.
Starting point is 01:05:28 Like, the rappers. It's a good runner-up choice. Yeah. What's yours? They invited Jay Z to a screening and he was so impressed. He made an album called American Gangster. That's the most 2007 thing ever. Hey, that's a very important moment in hip-hop.
Starting point is 01:05:43 Well, because it was a little comeback album for him. Well, he had come back with, I think, Kingdom Come. He had done Blueprint already. Yeah. Well, he had, no, he had done. the blueprint, but what I mean is Jay-Z had retired. Yes. And then he had come back with an album that
Starting point is 01:05:57 was very controversial. Some people loved it, some people hated it. It's aged really well. But then American Gangster is a theme album, and that's kind of like Hove is still. Hove is very important. This episode is brought to by Pure Michigan. In Grand Rapids, every moment feels like a scene
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Starting point is 01:06:32 Grand Rapids invites you to find a rhythm all your own. Season after season in Pure Michigan. Find your season at experience gr.com. This episode is brought to by the active cash credit card from Wells Fargo. That's a mouthful, but that's because it packs a lot in. earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases with it big or small. So whether it's buying tickets to the game and grabbing a coffee, it earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
Starting point is 01:07:00 Say it with me, the active cash credit card from Wells Fargo. Be a 2%er. Learn more at Wells Fargo.com forward slash active cash terms apply. It has career to me. We'll take one more break and then we'll do what's age the best. What's age the best? What do you got, Sierra?
Starting point is 01:07:18 A couple of things. number one, it was nominated, but the art direction and the production design, Arthur Max, who does all of Ridley Scott's stuff, there are shots in the montage of people ODing on Blue Magic where you see a bathroom or a bedroom or even on a street corner, and you're like,
Starting point is 01:07:36 holy shit, like, there's more depth to this, like, set dressing and, like, what, like, props are in this shot than there are in some, like, entire films or TV series. So it's just always so, like, layered and interesting to look at this movie. I also really think that there's like some good thematic coherence in Zalian script where it's like,
Starting point is 01:07:58 for instance, Bumpy talking about the department store ruining the corner store. And how it's like, well, these guys just buy straight from the manufacturer. And what does Frank do? Buy straight from the manufacturer. Like he takes different lessons. Like a lot of the capitalism stuff, it might be a little on the nose. But I think like the script does a really good job
Starting point is 01:08:16 and the movie does a really good job of being like, this is more about capitalism than it. is about crime, you know. And I also just really enjoy watching topless women pack drugs. Always. Always works. So I had that as well as what stage the best. I don't think it's ever not worked in a movie.
Starting point is 01:08:31 Why do they do that? Yeah, it's because they can't steal anything. Yeah, it is. That's why. Couldn't they wear, like, what the actresses wear the tape over their nipples? Like, they could be, like, somewhat discreet. But also, you need them to commit.
Starting point is 01:08:44 You need them to say, hey, if you want to handle the dope, you got to come in here naked. You need the buy-in. I'm pretty sure it's an HR violation, but I'm not positive. Yeah. Yeah, you have to be completely naked. Do you think Red Top was doing HR as well as floor manager?
Starting point is 01:08:58 I don't think I don't know if he had HR. I had, do you have any name what's age the best? I do. This movie to me is the beginning of the Denzel era we're in now. This is where it starts. Like there's the Denzel on his climb, and then there's Denzel in his solidifying stage. And then this movie begins,
Starting point is 01:09:18 kind of the era of Denzel as an entity. Denzel Incorporated. Yeah, as much as an actor. Because after this, he just starts, he no longer does any movie that he feels like he just does stuff that is cool to him. And that's kind of the, we kind of,
Starting point is 01:09:35 it kind of starts with this movie. Stop above, being on a train. Yeah. Yeah. And then when he decides, like in the spot that he's in now, when he decides that he goes, okay, well, I feel like the art is not being elevated.
Starting point is 01:09:45 I'll do fences. I do some Shakespeare stuff. I'll elevate the art through movies that I'm actually in. I like it. I had, what's age the best? Anytime a movie has a character named Bumpy, I'm probably feeling good about where we're going. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:10:00 If the first person we're hearing from is named Bumpy, I'm probably going to see this movie nine times. Claris Williams, yeah. I was trying to think of what athlete could change their name to Bumpy. Like, could this save Kyle Pitts? Lori Marketing. I'm not Kyle Pitts anymore. I'm Bumpy Pits.
Starting point is 01:10:14 Bumpy Pits is a hard-ass name. Bumpy Pitts like shit. I think Bumpy Pitts is coming back this year. Bumpy Markinen. And it was just like, oh, you don't want to test him. Bumpy marketing. Sam Houser becomes Bumpy Houser. Oh shit.
Starting point is 01:10:29 What about Bumpy Wembeyanama? That's kind of like where it maybe goes the other way. Yeah. It's not too much. It's got to be a cook one. How many, Bumpy's been portrayed on film a lot? Bumpy seemed great. Gave away turkeys.
Starting point is 01:10:42 I think twice. Well, now he's Fores Wittaker, right? Forrest Whitaker, Lawrence Fishburn. launched fishburned twice maybe because I think maybe you did it in the cotton club too maybe a young Oh Well he had some big picture thoughts about life
Starting point is 01:10:55 You did And you also couldn't talk with them I had Vietnam's whole They had that news story about Vietnam And all the heroin opium addiction With the soldiers And I was like
Starting point is 01:11:06 I could spend another like eight minutes on this I'm really interested in this Yes Has that been in a movie in the right way Because I was racking my brain It's a So there's a What the fuck else were you doing
Starting point is 01:11:17 novel called Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone that got made into Who Stop the The Rain, the Nick Nolte movie. Right. And that's about bringing drugs back from Vietnam. There's a lot of writing about it. There hasn't been as many... Nobody's landed in many films, yeah.
Starting point is 01:11:34 Van, 360 scenes filmed in 180 locations. Crazy. That is just the what stage is the best. Holy fucking shit. We talked about him earlier. Any movie with Ted Levine, I just like seeing him Yep
Starting point is 01:11:48 It's awesome Oh I have one You You You You're sure big rat lady Uh Brolin's face
Starting point is 01:12:00 When he gets his car blown up Yeah Which is like The car itself The car is it What kind of car is that It's a Sheldby Like those cars came back
Starting point is 01:12:10 Like John Wick Brought those cars back Like yeah The car itself Beautiful fucking car And then I love The exchange between Troopo and Frank
Starting point is 01:12:17 when he's just like, how about I like throw you and your brother in the fucking river? He's like, how about next time I blow up your fucking house? Right. Yeah. Frank got some balls on him. They didn't call Frank with a couple kilos or raw in the fucking trunk.
Starting point is 01:12:31 And Frank still, like the cop is a full-on criminal. Just doing criminal talk. So there's a little thing in here when Frank starts pouring a lot of sugar in his coffee, that means his bodyguard has to be officially monitoring. in this situation. I'm going to start doing that. Who's your bodyguard?
Starting point is 01:12:50 Just for all for all podcasts. It just means that's when Kyle has to come over. And then I'm just pouring sugar. Craig's like, oh shit, something's going wrong with Bill. Like, you don't know. So you're the bodyguard. Not the bodyguard. Actually, to be honest with you, now I feel like you can fucking do it.
Starting point is 01:13:04 I'm going right for the heart. We're going right for the heart. You're going to know that Holbeck killed you. Bangkok Craig. Naked ladies cutting cocaine. John Ortiz in the span of two and a half years, Miami Vice, American Gangster, Fast and Furious and Public Enemies. God bless that fucking dude.
Starting point is 01:13:25 I love him. I have a quick Tao of American Gangster I wanted to put it as what stage is the best. These five quotes. Oh, okay. You can be successful and have enemies, or you could be unsuccessful and have friends. That's true? I just think great yearbook quote.
Starting point is 01:13:43 Yeah. Put that throw. I'm going to tell Ben when it's a senior year. I'm going to just have him throw that in there. The loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room. Not untrue. Doesn't work for podcasting, but yeah. Right.
Starting point is 01:13:56 Or maybe it does. It works for ESPN. Oh, shit. Jesus. Was that a shots fired? It's not what works in ESPN? It was the shots fired, but, hey, get your shit off. I'm fucking with it.
Starting point is 01:14:10 You are what you are in this world. that's either one of two things, either you're somebody or you ain't nobody. Yeah. The number one fear of people isn't dying, it's public speaking. That's in there. And then quitting while you're ahead
Starting point is 01:14:25 is not the same as quitting. Yes. What a great quote. You know what? I think this, this is how you know I was never cut out of the street. Because I think you up 60.
Starting point is 01:14:38 They seize $250 million. But do you feel that way in Vegas? I don't. gamble, though. Okay. So I'm saying it's like, that's probably the probably reason why I'm like, hey, if I'm Frank, I'm like, hey, bro, you up a hundred million man. Wash that.
Starting point is 01:14:52 75, you got it after you and washed it, right? Take that, put it in the S&P 500. Like you you're good, it's over. But they can't stop because it's never actually about the money. It was like Craig and the Danny's in New Orleans. Yeah. The craps table. You quit. You quit where you're head.
Starting point is 01:15:08 Yeah, you could have paid for your night, but nope. No. I'm there playing blackjack with people vacuuming under my legs. If I could tell the story of all of the ringer people huddled around the, that was an eye-opening scene. That was some blue magic right there. That was some blue magic watching everybody that you work with. I'll be honest.
Starting point is 01:15:28 I'll just admit this now. It's the 400th episode. I'll never fully forgive Rahim for betting on the don't come line and cracks. Maybe like 10 years from now, forgive it. Yeah. I just thought it was completely unacceptable. So eight people he works with and his friends. He was like, I'm going to him, zagging.
Starting point is 01:15:48 Crap's is hunkering down together. Yeah, it's, craps is all about community and togetherness. Yeah. Do you remember at Vegas Summer League when we had that weird Caesar Suite that you guys filmed that? Weird, it was extra.
Starting point is 01:16:01 I don't know if you were working with us yet. No, he was not. It was 2018. I was sitting in this suite, and it was him, House, and Chang. and Housen Chang, I think, had been up all night and then gotten off-strip gumbo somewhere.
Starting point is 01:16:17 Yeah. And then come back to the hotel room to talk about the previous evenings gambling. We did like a basically morning show, morning post-game wrap-up show. Chang winning a bone white chip that he needed to have like his social security number to cash out or something like that.
Starting point is 01:16:35 And these guys like betting not just the table, but like different people at the table, like they're betting against like, how deep did it go, like the layers of how? We were basically in Bangkok, even though it was Las Vegas. And I was sitting there watching it and I'm like,
Starting point is 01:16:49 this is probably what it was like to watch like Miles Davis and John Coltrane on stage together, except for being a degenerate, not feeling jazz. I loved it. I remember we're in New Orleans and a Super Bowl and like people are walking by and they're going, Bill Simmons right there.
Starting point is 01:17:07 Yeah. Bill is a. Locked. Why is he yelling at Rahia? Fuck in. Like, Bill is locked in. I love getting. And then Craig, because Craig, you went on a little run
Starting point is 01:17:19 that night. We did. Yeah. I kept the night alive. The Danis were hugging like they won the Game 7 on the World Series. It was the most community that I felt maybe at the rigger. Everybody was together.
Starting point is 01:17:29 It was fantastic. Can I throw one more of What's Age the best out there? So are you saying we should do a Vegas ringer trip? I think we definitely should. Yeah, we should do it. All right. Yeah. Right after Trupo and Richie meet for the first time
Starting point is 01:17:41 When he's like, don't ever come here unannounced One of Troopo's guys goes Let's go hit some balls Yeah, like I got tea time I didn't remember that He's like I got a tea time The guy's getting the car behind the Trupo Yeah
Starting point is 01:17:58 But it's like is he driving Where is he going? And in one of those guys Eugene from the Sopranos right? Yeah Hey, here's a category we don't get to give out that often. The Sean Fantasy word, sadly not here, for stealth homage that gives every movie nerd a criteria orgasm.
Starting point is 01:18:17 So the very last scene is an homage to the very first thriller when the robber looked at the audience and pointed a gunfire and the screen went blank. The great train robbery in 1903. Sean would have called that. Joe Pesci, straight to this camera. Big Cooner Burger Award, best use of food or drink. I think it's pouring all the sugar in coffee.
Starting point is 01:18:36 It's definitely the sugar jar. Yeah, okay. What do you have for Great Chuck Gordo? There is a shot when Frank brings his brothers to the apartment building where Red Top has all the ladies for the first time. As they're walking up the stairs, it cuts into the apartment. And there's a shot of a naked lady wearing a shower cap with her feet up on the table reading a magazine that says like, it's like for Jamaican rum. It's an ad. And she's smoking and the news is on TV.
Starting point is 01:19:05 and if you put that picture, if you freeze that and put it would be like Life magazine. It is unreal how deep, like every prop makes sense. And it's just this awesome like language shot in the middle of this like crime thriller. I love that shot. Also the, the slow kind of reveal of Richie standing in front of Frank at church.
Starting point is 01:19:28 Yeah, it's good. Kid Cuddy Pursuit Happiness where a Best Needle drop. That 110th Street, song is good in this, but the amazing grace for the mass arrest is pretty good too. I don't know what we do would have. At the end, the public enemy, when Frank, like,
Starting point is 01:19:43 it's my favorite public enemy record. Can't trust it. When Frank, like, leaves, and he's back out on the street now, and he's like a man without a country, and everything's kind of changed, but everything kind of is the same. That's mine. Do you think they should,
Starting point is 01:19:55 because American Gangster came out after this movie, do you think they should retroactively go back and cut, like, two of the songs into this movie since he basically was inspired by the movie? What are you talking about? Oh, you're talking about Jay-Z? Yeah. Oh, like, and put the, like,
Starting point is 01:20:08 almost like a director's cut re-editor. Like, with that music in it? I think it takes you out of the time period, though. Probably so, yeah, you want to stay in it. The Chess Rockwell, Brocklanders were for best character name is obviously Ice Pick Paul. Yeah, I had Moses Jones' Rizz's character, but... Also, like, anytime there's a character named Bruiser.
Starting point is 01:20:26 Bruiser. I love a character name. How about Bangkok Craig? Bangkok Craig. Shoot them in the heart. Shoot him in the hard-hole. Craig was buried. Hard shot Horlebeck.
Starting point is 01:20:37 Hard shot Horlebeck. CIR, you have a flex category. I brought two with me today. Sean Pren, the Sean Penn, I brought my own pack award for excellence and on-screen smoking. John Hawks is smoking all the time. It's just cameras happen to be on.
Starting point is 01:20:53 And he is getting really, really down to the filter. Like that's when you know it's real is when guys are down around the stub because that's where they keep the good stuff. Good one. Ed Norton, first dunk award did this movie need a random sports scene a little bit of a variation on this. Are you telling me Harry Dean Stanton couldn't play Billy Martin and come watch Stevie Lucas pitch a little bit?
Starting point is 01:21:15 Yeah. It's sitting right there. He's a perfect age. That was my flex. I wanted to see, I wanted to see that scene. I wanted to see T.I. How about? Rip it at 95 miles an hour.
Starting point is 01:21:26 He obviously, I don't think he could because right where he's like, I'm about to throw it. They would cut away. They would have, I would have better that. I would have wanted an Ali Fraser round. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's kind of wild, though, also, that we don't get any, like, pick up poops. We don't, you know, we can't go to the golf course with the cops. Everybody talks about sports, but there's no sports in the movie.
Starting point is 01:21:47 Butch's girlfriend word for Weeklink of the film we mentioned earlier, but all the accuracy issues. It feels like Lucas was fabricated. He wasn't nearly, like, as sophisticated as they make him in this movie. And it wasn't just. wasn't like this. Everyone's like he wasn't like this. And then Richie never had a child. They just made up basically this whole character story with him
Starting point is 01:22:12 because it's based on a true story. Yes. This is pretty much right around when people... I mean, it started being since the internet. People started getting offended by this. You started getting the slate article where it's like all the inaccuracies in this movie.
Starting point is 01:22:28 It starts to kind of, it kind of got to you a little bit, you know? Yeah. A federal judge who assisted in the arrest and trial Lucas, Sterling Johnson Jr., he said the film was 1% reality and 99% Hollywood. There's a whole bunch of other stuff about him being the, him rising above the mafia and being the mastermind of the Golden Triangle, that Frank Lucas's biographer is like not true. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:22:56 Didn't happen. But hey, I enjoyed the movie. Yeah. Like a lot of people say, the cadaver connection never actually even existed. Yeah. What's age the worst? We mentioned fake Ali and fake Frazier.
Starting point is 01:23:08 We didn't mention fake Will Chamberlain. I mean, Ridley Scott just gave a shit if these guys left even 10%. Like three of the most famous athletes of the 70s. Oh, my God. Oh, for three. Like, just go and get like Greg Oden to be Will Chamberlain. They did that in the movie, rebound. Remember they had Will Chamberlain in the movie.
Starting point is 01:23:30 He was played by Kevin Garnett? They're like, oh, okay. It's Kevin Garnet. Right. In rebound, they're playing at the rucker, you. Joe Mooney's mustache in this movie, I don't know what the fuck is going on. They were trying to make him a dandy. Joe Morton?
Starting point is 01:23:43 Joe Morton, yeah. Joe Morton. Joe Morton. Yeah. Why to call him Joe Mooney? Who's Joe Mooney? I don't know. Joe Morton, our guy from Terminator 2.
Starting point is 01:23:50 Paul Mooney? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, everybody knows Joe Morton. Yeah, yeah. And it's always nice to see him in movies. And I think he's like, like, that's a real character. He was like a gambler. But I don't know the mustache.
Starting point is 01:24:01 Just like, I would have gone back to the, you have this intricate early 70s Harlem set designs. You're getting every detail right. And you're like, hey, just throw that mustache on the job. Well, we got to find out, because I don't know the guy who's portraying. Charlie Williams. Charlie, was it the name? I think it's Charlie Williams.
Starting point is 01:24:15 Maybe Charlie Williams really had that mustache. Yeah, I think he was probably like, Ben, you're not going to like my next, what stage is the worst. Let's hear it. Armand Asante is a mafia boss. He's fucking French. What are we doing? Okay.
Starting point is 01:24:27 So many Italian actors. Fuck you. How about that? that Ridley Scott, you dick. Remember, you know, when people get banana shape when somebody doesn't play a character of that? This is more offensive than anything. It's a fucking French
Starting point is 01:24:40 guy. The Italians hate the French. You've never seen Gadi? HBO original movie Gadi? He's French. He's fucking awesome in that. What's up for you in HBO movies now? Oh, my God. The HBO original movie, man. I want to do a whole rewatchable situation of just... On HBO movies? I love
Starting point is 01:24:58 them. Gadi is when I forgot when I made my list. What was I watching the other time like a couple weeks ago? Oh, the one about Too Big to Fail. Too Big to Fail. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:25:07 Brabians at the gate and the Blamp played on, rebound, rat pack, all of that. He played Godi in one of the movies. By the way, I just looked this up and it says he's a Italian and Irish descent.
Starting point is 01:25:19 So he's you. He's you. Bill hates himself. My bad. I thought he was French. I wanted to make sure. I do like could have Google that before.
Starting point is 01:25:30 I do like the basically like what about your fellow dairy farmers scene? That conversation between the two of them and it's just like about price fixing and stuff. I have a better idea for that actor when we get to a later category.
Starting point is 01:25:48 What do you think of the central romance of this film? A Frank's relationship. It's all right. Craig, you want to go ahead and get to it now? We watched part of this movie in the Spotify screening room yesterday
Starting point is 01:26:05 and Craig had some Because you know Some thoughts on Frank's wife On Frank's wife I thought she's a great actress Lovely woman Okay Yeah
Starting point is 01:26:16 Seems like a great hang Yeah Do you think it was a good character And a thoughtful, deep human relationship You know what I didn't really get What I wanted that we didn't get Is we didn't really get the crash out You know, like, the Ray Liotto with, I'm blanking.
Starting point is 01:26:33 With Laurie Bronco. Yeah, like, there's no to, like, flush the Coke down the toilet scene with Frank. Carrot. There's no currency. You have the opportunity. That was all the money we had. Down with her. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:26:44 Yeah. But I got to say, we watched that movie in the Spotify theater with, like, seven people. Every single one of them was like, she's got it. Yeah, she's got it. And we looked up her IMD. Craig doesn't want a cop to what it was that he said yesterday. That's cool, Craig. Craig didn't look it up.
Starting point is 01:26:57 What did I say? Craig didn't look up. Bangkok, Craig. Bangkok, Craig looked it up. Shoot him in a hard horrobeck. Hard shot horribick. I have another one stage the worst. I don't think this movie had the right title.
Starting point is 01:27:12 Which one do you like? So they call it True Blue, which I don't like either. Why is this movie called Blue Magic? The old movie is about Blue Magic. Great name for a title. It doesn't sound like a gangster movie. Doesn't sound like a gangster movie. Blue Magic?
Starting point is 01:27:27 No, really. Doesn't sound like a gangster movie. American gangster feels like AI just like spatted out. I think it's just kind of like with Ridley, it's like, what is this movie about? It's about gladiators, then we'll call it gladiator. Is it a movie about American gangsters
Starting point is 01:27:40 then let's call it American gangster? Movie about common. Is Matt Damon on Mars? It's called the Martian. So this is a Ridley Scott thing. The duelist or two guys dueling? Duelan. He does... Thelman Louise. What's alien about?
Starting point is 01:27:53 What's alien about? An alien. Alien. He doesn't fucking... He doesn't hide the movie. movie in the title. So you think they bring really like 12 titles like fuck it, just call it alien. Yeah, it's not like bone apart. It's not
Starting point is 01:28:04 Waterloo. It's Napoleon. Blade Runner is a good title. Blade Runner is also not, you know, like that's also William, you know, like Philip K. Dick, like it's in there, you know? Any other words age the worst for you guys? So, you know, there's a couple of things. Obviously, they come in with a no knock warrant
Starting point is 01:28:19 that age the worst, but there's a scene in I'm just saying, that's a terrible thing. But there's a scene in the movie that it's not great. There's a scene in the movie, you know, at the end where they're executing the search on the plane. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:28:39 And Rich Roberts wants to go through and look at all the coffins and they don't want them to. They get Roger Bart, the U.S. attorney. The U.S. attorney comes in and they have to make sure that they make the U.S. attorney the bad guy in this scene.
Starting point is 01:28:51 The most fucking racist guy. The most racist guy you can't. So he goes for a double that you don't ever realize. see, he drops an N-word and then a K-word. And you can't do that. Like, he drops, even me. Like, I was like, oh, that's a little saucy right there.
Starting point is 01:29:11 Like, he comes in way too hot. It's also tough because Roger Bart is a wonderful actor and Broadway stage guy, but like his job in American gangster is to be the most racist person in New York City in the 1970s. That's incredibly difficult. Right. His racist PR was like Yokin' shit in the 23 playoffs. They don't even really explain who he is.
Starting point is 01:29:33 He's just like, stop what you're doing, N and K. Right. And he goes, I'm like, okay, well, you know, then he goes on my, whoa, whoa, whoa. Chill, man. That's wrong. The rough, low hand of Rubinick Partridge overacting word. Sadly, I think I have to give the Stargirl Carla. You're going to the same house.
Starting point is 01:29:52 The crooked cops you can't stand. Oh, my God. This is Denzel. It's Denzel Washington. They tried to kill my wife. Yeah, it's Denzel. I didn't, I wasn't going to give anything like this to Denzel. Like, Denzel is going.
Starting point is 01:30:07 You guys are all going to hell. Denzel is going so hard in this movie at certain times. He is getting it all out in this film. Slap and get people around, knocking shit over. We didn't get this to Denzel. I mean, we're also going to probably give him the movie, so it's okay. Yeah, that's fine. Ben, you have a flex.
Starting point is 01:30:26 So you already did it. I already did it. Yeah. All right, let's do the CR thinks Luke Wilson could have been Harrison Ford. Hottest Take Award. What do you got, CR? Josh Brolin has had the best post-American gangster career of anyone in American gangster. That's true.
Starting point is 01:30:38 Oh. Denzel Washington's highlights after this are Unstoppable Flight Tragedy of Macbeth and Gladiardier. I'm not saying he doesn't have good movies other than those. I'm just saying like those generally are like people are like, damn, that was really a great Denzel performance. Crow, it's almost negligible. It's this body of lies and the nice guys. Josh Broan did W. Milt, True Grit,
Starting point is 01:30:59 inherent vice, Sicario, Hail Caesar, Dune 1 and 2, and is in weapons. Like he clearly just catapults out of this movie and is,
Starting point is 01:31:07 I think just got better material. Obviously, he's doing different kinds of roles, is doing supporting roles. But it's kind of wild. He also was, he also was still, it's, yeah,
Starting point is 01:31:17 perfect. He also was still ascending. Yeah. So he could be a little bit more, like, what do you have? Ridley Scott ruined what could have been a classic
Starting point is 01:31:30 overwhelmingly classic movie. This ties into my take. Yeah. I think you're right. I think he might have been the wrong director. I think some of the other directors that were thrown around for this movie would have made this
Starting point is 01:31:43 into not a great, rewatchable movie that we love, because this movie serves you so well when you're watching it at home because there's so much in it. But I think the story the Godfather-esque crime epic timeless story. I think it's in there
Starting point is 01:31:57 but I don't think really really Scott was the right guy to do. Who do you think was of the directors that were up for it? I'm interested in the Fuqua's version but if you're looking at like maybe even Fincher, maybe Fincher takes this movie too seriously
Starting point is 01:32:11 but he takes it so seriously that you get somebody who focuses on one of the ideas that could have made it a more focus. I would do Fincher for the Bangkok Golden Triangle story. Yeah. I would do De Palma for the New York City crime story.
Starting point is 01:32:26 You feel like De Palma had lost it by this point, though? Well, I don't know. I mean, Carlito's is why I still work at the ringer is to do Carlito's Way one day. It's like, I'm just, no, I'm just waiting. Not to work with Bangkok, Craig? No, it's to do Sean Penn's hair in Carlito's way. Yeah, and then Fuku. Can we lead this into my hottest take?
Starting point is 01:32:49 Please. This would have been Michael. man's second greatest movie behind heat i just think he crushes this movie it's it it's all the stuff he likes it's weird characters and people just coming in and out all these different locations the golden triangle which he did in season one miami vice and he never worked with denzel he did work with russell he did work with russell um a lot of the people that were in his movies anyway or in this movie some of the ideas in the film are ideas that really interesting he loves going backwards the Ali Fraser fight, he absolutely would have
Starting point is 01:33:23 fucking filmed, at least a round of that. I just think he would have crushed this movie. What's Michael Mann's best period piece? Public enemies. Public enemies. Or last of the Manhattan. I think most of the Mexicans is fucking fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. Public enemies. Sierra and I.
Starting point is 01:33:39 You guys are in on public? You guys are in on public? You've been some text. Yeah. There's been some revival. We're interested in a revival. When was last time you watched it? When I saw it in the theaters? It's on this. It'll be in the 400. somewhere. It does feel like Lassau Mugas is the obvious answer
Starting point is 01:33:55 or not how I think about it. But that feels like even different Michael, man. But that's a fucking amazing. Perfect movie. Yeah. Stay alive. I will find you. Casting what ifs.
Starting point is 01:34:06 We did most of them, but this one kind of broke my brain. Somebody turned down the role of troupeau before Broin. Yeah. James Gandoffini. Oh, wow. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:34:20 It's tough. I love Berlin in this movie Yeah. Man. Wow. Gandalfini is Troopo. It's pretty good. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:34:29 It's pretty awesome. It's pretty good. It's right after Soprano and I just think he didn't want to play another bad guy probably. But man. There was some around the time of the sort of first iteration of this movie conversation about Ray Leota as Richie. Yeah, I have him in another spot.
Starting point is 01:34:48 Brad Pitt lingered in this for a second. There was an Eddie Murphy. was involved at one point as maybe somebody, but no. Best that guy award. Can we graduate John Ortiz? To the John Ortiz Award? No, just John Ortiz is not eligible anymore.
Starting point is 01:35:06 I'm fine with that. Yeah, okay. Yeah. So who do you have as that guy? Roger Guinevere Smith is Nate, the Bangkok Nate, Roger Bart as the racist U.S. attorney, or John Polito as Rossi,
Starting point is 01:35:18 although John Polito. I'd like to throw on Katie Strickland, too, because I'm not positive people know who she is. Gwinterbury Smith is one of the most underrated, amazing actors. Great and so spik-laced stuff. Dan Winters, he had multiple spike movies. I always like seen him. He always has like a hitch to him.
Starting point is 01:35:33 He's so cool in that scene when he's getting the massage that I want to get. I mean, they could have remade the Warriors. That looked like a good scene. I don't know what the, that was nice. They could have remade the Warriors early 2000s just to have him play Cyrus. I thought I was going to get more of a reaction. I wanted to let it. I think about the massage still.
Starting point is 01:35:58 Oh, for the, my bad guy is like just his whole crew, his whole crew of cops. Those are different. Oh, John Hawks, a bruzzo. Not Rizza. Yeah, Yul Vazquez and Rizza. Yeah. Dion Waiters Award. It's a long list that includes John Ortiz, Idriselba, Cuba Gooding Jr., Ritchie Koster, K.D. Strickland,
Starting point is 01:36:17 racist DA, or Nate, the troops connection. Can I also throw in Rick Young as Kansah, the. the general. Yep. Yep. What's the answer? It's Cuba Goody Jr. It is.
Starting point is 01:36:34 It's good being in Juni. It's got two scenes. First scene. Interesting. It's great. He is. He is. It's like he can't believe he's not winning this.
Starting point is 01:36:42 Yeah. He is. It's got to be like, that might be the defining portrayal of Nikki Barnes. Cuba's in his own movie, but in a good way. And we just could have easily just made another movie with him at the same time. Yeah. Recasting couch director of City.
Starting point is 01:37:00 I'll offer you Ray La Jada, Raleota as over the Armand Asante character. Rayliota as the Mafia boss? Raleota as the mafia boss. I would rather have Rayliota Copland, Realeota as Troopo or Richie.
Starting point is 01:37:15 Oh. Yeah. Can I offer you Eva Mendez as Frank's wife? You may. Oh, you definitely can. For sure. Thank you, Jerry Jones. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:37:25 I will take that. deal. Craig, you have a flex category. I always hate it when you guys kind of already get to mine, unfortunately. I did have Armana Sante as to Judd Nelson. Oh, yeah. I don't care if he's Italian. I don't care if he's like lucky Luciano son in real life.
Starting point is 01:37:40 He was like a human canoli in this movie. He was way over the top. I thought he sucked too. I didn't think he was getting this. The only other thing I had was Katie Strickland, who's killing it. But kind of the George L.R.B. Two Weeks with Pay Award, character who should have death been fired.
Starting point is 01:37:55 As Richie's divorce attorney, I mean, she doesn't say a word in court. She gets dressed down by Carla Guino. She has sex with a client and he does not have any shot of winning custody. Kind of just all-time bad divorce. And finds out that he has sex with strippers and all kinds of women.
Starting point is 01:38:11 And she's just turned on by it. Richie is really putting in work, man. That's what, that's one thing. Yeah, he's a stick man. Half a certain research. They had to pay. back $3 million. Brian Grazer and Ridley Scott
Starting point is 01:38:26 because they ran so far over budget. It barely happens. The BET TV series, American Gangster with Ving Rames. A lawsuit or something, right? It existed before this movie. Russell Crow gave Rizza
Starting point is 01:38:44 a mint condition 1961 Gretsch guitar. Yeah. Because he really liked them. They've been friends since. They hang out. So Frank Lucas's driver in real life
Starting point is 01:38:58 Melvin Combs father of Puff Puffy Combs shot to death at age 33 when Puffy was two years old and then the location stuff
Starting point is 01:39:15 was really hard trying to find parts of New York that they could turn into they basically went into the 110s in that range I would be really curious to know whether they could shoot this today in Harlem? And have it not cost a billion dollars
Starting point is 01:39:29 because it's like... I think there's C.Gi. Well, it's just... It's so interesting because when you read about like Tarantino making Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and him, like,
Starting point is 01:39:37 how he was able to set dress Hollywood Boulevard or Sunset Boulevard or something and still would be like this frame is still what it would have looked like in the late 60s, you know? And New York, I feel like in 2007 or whatever,
Starting point is 01:39:52 when they made this, you could still get some nice... 1970s, New York in shots, but now I wonder whether or not there's just too many corporate joybirds. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:40:03 You know, like, or whatever. Wait, you said Frank Lucas's driver is Diddy's father? Yeah. In real light. In real life. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:40:13 Wow. Yeah. Did you come across the bit that Coppola reportedly considered making a Frank Lucas or Frank Lucas type character a big part of Godfather 3? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:40:29 I had that in here somewhere in my weird notes. International Immobilieri? No, I think it was like, I think as they were like, what would we make Godfather part three? International movie. International movie. International Memorial.
Starting point is 01:40:44 Apex Mountain. Denzel no. Russell Crow no. Disjointed gangster movies. I'm going to say yes. Dope. Big sprawling. What's it up?
Starting point is 01:40:56 against? I don't know. It's not that many of these. It's so high up the apex that you can't see anything else. Once upon a time in America? Yeah, sure. That movie goes on for five years. Are you also like considering, I don't know, like triple nine?
Starting point is 01:41:19 Like how low down are we going for disjointed gangster movies? Here's my answer. Is a Bronx tale, a disjointed gangster movie? Carlydil's way. Disjointed. Not disjointed. Khalil's way in the dish. I didn't put a lot of thought into that way.
Starting point is 01:41:32 That's okay. Ridley Scott, no. No. Really Scott, no. John Ortiz. One of my favorite performances by him. Yeah, it's like he's just coming off Miami Vice. Hawks.
Starting point is 01:41:44 Not yet. Coming. Yeah. Harlem movies? Not to me. What do you have? So, I mean. Harlem Knights?
Starting point is 01:41:56 Harlem Knights. One of my... Harlem Knights is not a great movie. It's just, just be careful. It's got great people in it. Just be careful. Yeah. You're coming off a little bit like a U.S. attorney right now.
Starting point is 01:42:07 Yeah. Eddie Murphy never directed again after that movie. I mean, the reality is that you're, the in rules that you've made after the centers pod, like we can't even really talk about like the what you did, but you could give it all back right now. You don't want to do that. Right. I didn't say it was an entertaining movie. I wouldn't say it's like a, it's not a better made movie than this.
Starting point is 01:42:28 My favorite movie of all time takes place in Harlem. That's Mobeda Blues. And so I would say that Movedo Blues is better than American Ganga. The Golden Triangle in a movie or TV show, the answer is the two-part episode of Miami Vice with Edward James Olmos being reunited with his wife. One of my favorite. Do you remember that?
Starting point is 01:42:52 Of course I did. Yeah. They're at an outdoor bar, Tubbs and Castillo, played by Edward James Olmos. And he talks to Ty and the waiter, and Tubbs goes, Captain, I didn't know you spoke Thai. Because Theo's like the least fun, friendly guy ever. Yeah, you've given all of the sinners goodwill back.
Starting point is 01:43:12 With Golden Triangle? Yeah, with that, that, oh, was that, did you do tubs or crock? You just did tubs, yeah. I did tubs. So you're back at zero. That's how Tubs talk. He spent a lot of energy. Is it?
Starting point is 01:43:28 Watch the scene. I bet I nailed it. Okay, I will. Captain, I didn't know you spoke Ty. And you did it again. Yeah. Watch it. The social media clip, I nailed it.
Starting point is 01:43:39 Josh Berlin? Fuck, no. No way. Although 2007 is... Perhaps he's Apex Mountain U. He's no country in this. The lady who played Denzel's wife, I'm going to say yes. Yeah, that's definitely hers.
Starting point is 01:43:52 Yeah. You think this is... No, it's not. Horrible impersonations of Ali Frazier and Will Chamberlain? Yeah, 1960s and 70s athletes being terribly portrayed. All right. Cruiser Hanks. Oh, no, I got...
Starting point is 01:44:05 I got another Apex Mountain. I got to ask you guys. What is it? Dope Kingpin Biopics. When I looked at it, it's not as mean as you think. Yeah. It's really like Blow, right?
Starting point is 01:44:15 Tony Montana. That he wasn't real. Oh. So like Blow, paid and full. Mm-hmm. And then this are the three that stand out. I looked around for other ones,
Starting point is 01:44:27 like actually like drug kingpin biopics. So much of it is TV now. Yeah, the guy actually existed. That would have been a good how to take. We needed more. drug kingpins to make biopics of. There were so many of them. Too late.
Starting point is 01:44:40 And like a lot of the guys, they show up in this movie, and we've talked about them. We've talked about Nikki Barnes. We've talked about all of these other people. They pop up in different things. But they're kind of hard to make. They all end up the same way. The guy fucking goes to jail. Like they all end up in the same fucking way.
Starting point is 01:44:55 Captain, I didn't know you spoke Thai. There you go. So you wanted, Ben? There you are right there. Is that sanitized? Hey, Captain. Captain, I didn't know you spoke Thai. Didn't you speak Thai?
Starting point is 01:45:06 Cruz or Hanks? I have Cruz as Richie. Really? Yeah. I thought this was such an obvious Hanks part. As Richie? I think Cruz would be like, I am trying to get through night school. And he would go to night school in real life to try it.
Starting point is 01:45:23 You know, like, and I could see him being like, I'm a fake nervous about public speaking. And then at the end gives like his great summation. I wish we had a little bit more in court stuff with Ritchie. It was pretty cool. No? I don't see. I don't see Cruz as a 1971 New York detective. I don't know.
Starting point is 01:45:40 I just would feel like it was Tom Cruise the whole time. Yeah? Like he was playing house. You're the tiebreaker van. I have Cruz as Frank. I want to see it. I want to see Cruz. That's Alpeka!
Starting point is 01:45:54 I want to see Cruz. I want to see Cruz play Frank. Blah that! I want to see Cruz play Frank. And I just want to make the movie and not even a dream. It's impressive. Like, and the thing,
Starting point is 01:46:06 you know that Frank Luce, whatever. So who's winning here? Hanks? It's fucking. Hanks as Ritchie we're talking about. Did you pick Hanks? No. Hanks is Ritchie, yeah.
Starting point is 01:46:14 Okay. Okay. So Hanks. I have Hanks as rich as well. Scorsese or Spilberg. Scorsesee. Yeah. What role would Philip Seymour Hoffman have played Trupo?
Starting point is 01:46:23 I think Trupo. Yeah. Yeah. Although, you know what? Philip Seymour Hoffman is richy is an interesting. That's actually really interesting. Pretty interesting. The stick man part would have been tough.
Starting point is 01:46:34 Kind of, I would have, would have paid to see it. You know? Phillips Seymour often. Having sex like a cop, I would have paid to see it. He got down in, well, is it? When the devil knows you're dead? Oh, he got down, all right.
Starting point is 01:46:44 He was getting busy. Marissa Tomey. Another one. Jesus. Hall of Fame. All right. Pickin' Nits. Frank has this golden triangle connection.
Starting point is 01:46:55 Yeah. How does he have any competition in Harlem? What do you mean? He just got by far the best stuff. He's like in the NBA with a $900 million dollar salary cap. but everyone else has a 40 million cap. How does he have anybody coming out? He should be blowing everyone away.
Starting point is 01:47:10 He's getting all of this crazy drugs that's the best drugs that he can sell for. Yeah, but that is what happened. But he shouldn't have any competition. But the competition isn't necessarily in the product. The competition is in the territory. That's what I mean. He should have all the territories.
Starting point is 01:47:23 Well, he's going to have to go to the people who would distribute into those territories. He's going to have to go to war. He should be like Vince McMahon and WWF. He started wholesaling now. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's when the mafia comes in because he goes,
Starting point is 01:47:33 I have 110th to like whatever, 150th, it's river to river. I run Harlem. And then they're like, but we can go to Detroit. I think it could have gone national. It would have been like Vince McMahon in 1982. That's legitimately what Armand Asante's character said.
Starting point is 01:47:45 He said, let's start going to California. He didn't want to do it in that. Should have happened in five seconds. This is what you would have done if you were Frank. I would have done the Vince McMahon. Let's go national. Cables coming.
Starting point is 01:47:56 No repercussions at all for Frank shooting tango in the middle of the street. Harlem had his back. Yeah. He did right by Harlem. So Harlem was going to do right by him. Woody Allen and Diane Keaton not only with the not dating in 1971 nobody who knew the fuck she was
Starting point is 01:48:11 we mentioned that earlier I have one more but what do you have for picking it? This kind of goes along with what you're saying is I could stand a couple of more what year is it up on screen or what time a year is it? I have no idea what you and so sometimes you're like is this two weeks later
Starting point is 01:48:26 or is this seven years later you know that the time stuff gets a little bit murky in this. My name is like mama you know I'm selling dope Oh, yeah. I mean, there's... Yeah, Mom knows.
Starting point is 01:48:39 Mama, you know I'm selling dope. Great scene. Great scene. Disconnected from the reality of the movie. You know, you know I'm selling dope. You know what's going on. But it is cool, and she's like, no, everybody knows you don't shoot cops.
Starting point is 01:48:51 Yeah. All right, my last one is a big one. So we do these based on a true story things, which basically means this was a guy who existed. Now we're just going to make up shit. And then they go to another level in the closing credits, when they're like, Frank served 75 years.
Starting point is 01:49:08 It's like, no, he didn't. None of this happened. It's all, I just think they should have done, Frank went to prison and became a centaur. Richie Roberts left the force and coached the Lakers to five NBA titles. Like, just fucking go nuts. Shropo came back to life and became a vampire.
Starting point is 01:49:27 Yeah, just keep going. Richard Roberts and Princess Dyer living in the Cayman Islands under assumed identities. Just go nuts. You've already made up everything. Have fun. fun with it.
Starting point is 01:49:37 sequel prequel prestige TVL bycast or untouchable. Should we switch this to Rustige? Based on Van's suggestion, all white cast. All white cast. That's new category. All white cast. Ruffalo. You know, Adam Scott.
Starting point is 01:49:53 Yeah. Adam Scott is Nikki Barnes. Adam Scott is Nikki Barnes. Works. That works. Rob McElnani as as as Tango. Cruise as Frank.
Starting point is 01:50:03 who plays Frank's mom, Sally Field? Do you realize how funny it would be if in the current America weren't if somebody's like, I'm just doing it all-weight American gangster? And J.G. Vance was like, this is great. J.D. Vance is like, I'm fucking invested in this.
Starting point is 01:50:20 Telling you, I love this fucking truth. The essence of America. This is so cool. What we wanted to do is we wanted to take the story and just tweak it a little bit, make it more American. And introducing J.J. Reddick. I'm just going all white dudes I'm trying to think white people
Starting point is 01:50:38 JJ can play Stevie the athlete JJ could play Stevie the athlete and you change it to basketball Sure Is this movie better with the Knicks Is this movie better With Wayne Jenkins Danny Trejo
Starting point is 01:50:53 Mad Dog Russo I added him Doris Burke Just tragically Got pulled off off the A team Sam Jackson, No, Byer Mayo Tony Romo
Starting point is 01:51:03 Chris Collinsworth Daniel Plain Vu Long legs Bangkok Craig or Wilfred Brimley in the fake god, Craig. What is it? We got to do one more for DB. Yeah, I think.
Starting point is 01:51:15 We see you, Mr. Lucas, taking the lessons of your mentor, Fumpy Johnson, as you take the ball straight into the heart of Chiang Kai Shack's defeated army and buy opium straight from the manufacturer. Long before there was Magic Johnson, there was Blue Magic. And you, Mr. Lucas, are the wizard. Oh, revour, TV. I actually, I feel bad, yeah. I think you should have said something in Vietnamese at the end there. Just one, Oscar, who gets it? I'm gonna, this is not the answer you want.
Starting point is 01:51:57 It's either Harris Savities for cinematography or Arthur Max for corrections. But I think they did get art direction, right? Yeah, I would say art direction just because that got nominated. probably in answerable questions. How is Mark Ruffalo not in this movie? What was he doing? How is he not in this? Well, he's in our all-white version.
Starting point is 01:52:20 But he should have been in there. There was 19 parts he could have played for two scenes. What years? What years? What year's collateral? That's 05. Oh, so he could have just gone right. This is right in the zone of when he just popped in the shit.
Starting point is 01:52:34 I do. But like, he could have been nine parts in this. Was this the Denzel performance that created the Jay Farrow impersonation? Where he just goes over the top as Denzel? Right. This is the beginning of Denzel. My man. Yeah, yeah, it is.
Starting point is 01:52:50 Was this the movie or was it like Training Day plus this? Like, I wonder. I feel like this is the beginning of the... Denzel as a character. Denzel as a character, like I said before. Do you have any of their unanswerable? How long would this movie have to be for it to be too long? I mean, I could have got another.
Starting point is 01:53:10 hour. If I was like a three-night special event, six hours of American gangster, including like an hour in Vietnam and Bangkok, an hour of Rivera's fall from being a cop to a junkie to jumping out of an ambulance, like a good 45 minutes. It's actually way better for prestige. On Stevie Lucas trying to make the Yankees. He failed that that right there would be a fucking awesome subplot to investigate. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:53:37 That character like trying to be like his. uncle blowing it with the Yankees, Billy Martin, all of that stuff. But like, even Frank's fall, it happens pretty abruptly. I would have wanted to, like, dive into it more. My unanswerable question... What's Trupo's home life like?
Starting point is 01:53:53 Yeah, what happens to true? Troopo is so one-note. He has a housekeeper? Yeah. What golf club are they members of? Yeah, exactly. Where are they going? What are they doing?
Starting point is 01:54:03 Did Frank's wife set him up? No. Oh. She might have. She made them wear the jacket. I've always thought this. I don't trust her. Anyway, we can move on.
Starting point is 01:54:14 I don't know. I'm not defending her. I don't trust her. Okay. She made him wear the jacket. He goes there. He's wearing a thing. I think another thing that I would like to,
Starting point is 01:54:23 I think they got to her. I think the government got to her. That's pretty interesting because there's a couple scenes that are kind of missing. Like there's that one scene he goes to the bathroom and he's wearing like the fake beard
Starting point is 01:54:35 that he takes off. Yeah. But we don't know why he has a fake beard on. I think because he's going to look at Tango's like operation. I feel like there's some choppiness that maybe there was like a scene where they Richie got to her.
Starting point is 01:54:50 Somebody got to the wife. Richie to stick man. What piece of memorabilia? Oh, I have one more unanswerable question. Just related to the sports stuff. Could you go from like the street to the Yankees in 1974? Like, or was he on Keith Law's top 100 list?
Starting point is 01:55:05 I feel like you could do it in the NBA back then. Okay. Like, the NBA guys would show up. Nobody even knew where they went to college. Okay. Baseball, I don't know. But. Because they had the minors, and it was pretty hard for somebody to just show up and make the major.
Starting point is 01:55:18 And getting a meeting with Billy Martin? Yeah. So a drug dealer is going to. Well, Frank Lucas would have arranged that, though. Yeah, but like, that's what I'm saying. Yeah. So a reputed drug dealer is going to call the New York Yankees organization and say, hey, I want to try out for my nephew and then they're going to go, like, yeah.
Starting point is 01:55:33 Yeah, because they don't want to die. Or he'll give them a million dollars and, like, or, Maybe so. Maybe so. Piece of memorabilia you'd want or not want from this movie. I'll offer you the piano. Game used, heads slammed into the piano piano. Frank's suitcase was cool, that old school, big brown suitcase.
Starting point is 01:55:53 Frank's entire outfit from the Ali fight. The jacket, yeah. Yeah. What else do you have? Troopo's leather duster. Very cool. Troopo's car. We kind of usually don't do cars.
Starting point is 01:56:06 Well, the jacket, the outfit. That's the most iconic piece of memory. At least the hat. If you had the hat, I think that's a move. Coach Finstock wore for Best Life Lesson, quitting while your head is not the same as quitting. I had the same one. Best double feature choice?
Starting point is 01:56:21 French Connection. Oh, you're going drug and drug. It's the prequel. French Connection is they get the Marseille drugs off the streets, but then they go pumped it back into it. You wouldn't do virtuosity so we can get Crow and Denzel 12 years apart? I would do the French Connection. Am I a virtuosity guy, Sierra?
Starting point is 01:56:39 I like virtuosity. We haven't done the French connection on this pot either. What's the movie where they give Denzel VD? Is that John Liffel? No, that is Rick-A-Shea. That is a fucking crazy. That's an insane movie. That's like I can't believe this was in theaters and I saw it.
Starting point is 01:56:56 Lick-Gal set him up with the lady. That's got to be in Tubey. That's a crazy movie. That's, to me, is a huge rewatchable. Huge. So much ridiculous shit happens to him. John Lithgow. Giles gets...
Starting point is 01:57:09 He's... He's... He's... Armour and fights the Aryan brotherhood? Honestly, it's one of those movies that made me, like, suspicious of John Lithgow as a person for a swell long time after that. I agree with that.
Starting point is 01:57:21 Yeah. What do you have for who won the movie? I blow his best double feature choice, by the way. Oh, Blow. Yeah. Who won the movie? Denzel. Densel Washington.
Starting point is 01:57:31 I wanted to say Crow, but it's Denzo. Who do you have, Craig? It's Denzel. I think. Craig, what was your take? Never seen it. really enjoyed it. I didn't have a problem with the length at all.
Starting point is 01:57:41 It's, I mean, it's so ambitious and it's so jam-packed, but man, it's moving. Like, there's so much going on. I think it's really smooth, really well-paced. I think it's probably like, I think the reason why it doesn't get to that next level, like it's a perfect rewatchables. It's like a pro-bowler, but not an all-pro.
Starting point is 01:57:56 I just think the character arcs don't officially get there. Very well-put. You know? Pro-buller, not at all pro. Yeah, because the characters, you don't really feel for anybody too much in this movie. I would say.
Starting point is 01:58:08 Richie or Frank. You don't quite get there all the way, but I thought this was great. Super fun. This is a movie you can jump in at any time. It's almost like you don't even know where the movie starts or ends. Yeah,
Starting point is 01:58:18 that was like my more recent relationship with it really is typing an American gangster scene in YouTube and then watching it out of order. Yeah. And then you're just like, oh, that was awesome. And every scene that Denzel is in, he's giving something crazy. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:58:33 And not very many scenes where he's in the scene and he's not making some type of grand point about something. I mean, there's a, that first time Tango goes up to him in the diner, but the first scene when he's just like, now you owe me 20% the jars open, empty, and before he gets killed. Denzel, like, cleaning his hands from his toast with jam. You're just like, this whole thing, he has thought.
Starting point is 01:58:56 He's like, you're going to kill him one day. Yeah, like, you know that now. I don't know why this movie hasn't persisted, though. I mean, sometimes... I feel like it has. just not like in the heat I don't think this movie is relevant I think it was like did well on the Netflix
Starting point is 01:59:12 I think on Netflix that had a resurgence which is now it's coming off Netflix yeah ironically coming off fun it's just crazy I always forget that Goodfell has made $45 million and this made $230 million yeah I mean I think things had changed a little bit
Starting point is 01:59:24 Denzel watching it yeah and Denzel was like a gigantic star I don't know if culturally if like people talk about scenes from this movie moments it hasn't really lived on in that way compared to a lot of other famous gangster films. I know. I feel like I hear the tango scene referenced a lot.
Starting point is 01:59:39 You hear like some of the... We just started it. Yeah, we did it. We watched. We got the ball rolling. Now American gangsters. My life is, shoot the guy in the heart. Yeah. Yeah. So you can see your face as he dies. You want him to know what you did. Bill, I didn't know you spoke Thai.
Starting point is 01:59:55 I didn't know you spoke Thai. I didn't know you spoke Thai. You were more like, I didn't know you spoke Thai. Jive, Turkey. Get back, Jack. that's kind of how you can like that's well I'm just saying you see tubs in the minute
Starting point is 02:00:11 80s you know you know what I mean so fuck with it YouTube will back me up yeah I'm sure they will CR happy 400 great to be back fan great Sue is always
Starting point is 02:00:20 thanks to Greg and Cahow as well and Eduardo and Eduardo I'm not sure what's happening and Roneck too got a whole team whole team for the rewatchables
Starting point is 02:00:33 and you can check us out on the ring of move to see through channel as well. Great see you. You can't reason with the sun. Trust us. We've tried. This summer, it's time to put that angry ball of fire on mute. Columbia's Omni-Shade technology is engineered to protect you from the sun's harsh rays
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