God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg makes 1993’s Jurassic Park and changes movie history. The Big Picture’s Sean Fennessey joins us to talk about this totemic blockbuster, and we’re spending three hours talking about the bad boys of the Jurassic era (velociraptors), the bad boys of ILM (Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams and Mark Dippe), and the bad boy of movie scientists (Dr. Ian Malcolm).

Note: this episode was recorded last fall, so some of the takes you’ll hear are a bit…frozen in amber. Yup, you guessed it. Hawk Tuah Talk again.

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Everyone knows Captain Hook got swallowed by the crocodile at the end of Peter Pan. But what this movie presupposes is…maybe he didn’t? Let us go back to a time when the coolest thing a kid could have was a clubhouse that looked like a skatepark…when the worst thing a dad could do was own a cell phone…and when the craziest thing a filmmaker could do was agree to make a movie that started off as a child’s drawing. Lin-Manuel Miranda - most famous for starring as Captain Hook in his sixth grade production of Peter Pan - joins us on a trip to Neverland as we unpack Spielberg’s 1991 fantasia Hook. Bangarang, Blankies! And RIP Rufio.

Check out Lin's Warriors Album and the Hook Ultimate Edition Soundtrack

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Is it possible for Steven Spielberg to make a movie that doesn’t exist? Well, he sure tried with 1989’s Always, a film where John Goodman plays Monterey Jack of the Rescue Rangers, Richard Dreyfuss riffs to no one as an annoying ghost, and Holly Hunter falls in love with the most dull hottie at the Plane Depot. Our beloved Richard Lawson joins us to talk planes, boy bands, Marlboro merch, and the enduring mystery of what happened between Kathy Bates, Holly Hunter, and Fran McD in that famous apartment. 

Listen to Little Gold Men

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What if Indiana Jones had a dad who was a “grail scholar" but also his “eskimo brother" and he was played by James Bond and he had a funny little hat? We are so glad Steven Spielberg dared to imagine this scenario because we got Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade out of it! Chris Gethard - The self-proclaimed “Bad Boy of Blank Check Guests” - joins the crew to talk about this delightful film, considered a fulcrum point in Spielberg’s career where he switches perspectives from son to father. We’re talking about daddy issues. We’re asking if Kazim is the Kit Fisto of this film. We’re wondering if Elsa looking hottest when dressed as a Nazi is a weird psychosexual thing Spielberg is exploring. We’re realizing in real time that Indiana Jones might be a terrible archeologist. Basically - you should hand in your blimp tickets and join us on a very fun ride.

Listen to Gethard's Special A Father and the Sun

Listen To Beautiful Anonymous

Checkout That Show monthly at UCB NY LIVE and LIVE STREAMED

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Our Spielbergian journey takes us to new dramatic heights with 1987’s Empire of the Sun, the film that brought us Christian Bale (discovered by Amy Irving!), unexpected Joey Pants and Ben Stiller appearances, and a perfect use of John Malkovich. Bilge Ebiri joins us (and the Five Timers Club) to chat about how underrated this film is within the Spielberg canon, and how this movie evolves Spielberg’s perception as a serious dramatic artist.

Read Bilge's writing at Vulture

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After inventing the Hollywood blockbuster with Jaws, creating the world’s most loveable alien with E.T., and resurrecting the classic adventure serial with the Indiana Jones franchise, of course the next logical step in Steven Spielberg’s career was to…adapt Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel about the survival and strength of queer black women in the American south? Duh! Obviously! Comedian Kenice Mobley joins us to talk about 1985’s truly baffling and seismically important The Color Purple in our latest episode. We want to thank Quincy Jones for discovering Oprah and producing this movie. We want to yell at Quincy Jones for his awful, treacly score.

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Podcasters, cinephiles, and freaks—rejoice! Blank Check will be returning to Town Hall this summer to commemorate our 10th anniversary with a long-promised tribute to one of the greatest films in cinema history.

To honor our “Decade of Dreams,” we cordially invite you to a royal audience with King Ralph, the 1991 John Goodman/Peter O’Toole comedy that dared to ask, “What if there was a King Ralph?”

It will be an evening of reflection, analysis, elaborately produced (and adequately executed) royalty-themed bits, and an entire court of special guests. God save our gracious podcast!

Get your tickets HERE

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“Doom” isn’t just describing a Temple here, folks - it’s kind of the overarching vibe of this film! George Lucas is going through a bitter divorce. Steven Spielberg is dealing with PTSD from Twilight Zone: The Movie. Harrison Ford is suffering from a back injury from falling off an elephant or something. Kate Capshaw is there. A true cloud of doom hanging over this movie! Fortunately for you all, it’s only great vibes for us and Olivia Craighead *podcasting* about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It’s the return of the “George Lucas got cucked by the stained glass man” lore, of course we’re gonna have a blast.

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It’s a wonderful night for Blankies! Join us and This Had Oscar Buzz’s Joe Reid as we survey the year that was 2024 in cinema. Not to spoil too much, but some things that happen in this episode: Griffy Crystal sings a tribute to The Brutalist to the tune of “Bootylicious,” Nosferatu wins zero awards but shows up to present every category, Griffin is obsessed with Hundreds of Beavers, David hates The Bikeriders, Joe invents an incredible new bespoke category, and as always - Ben ranks his wettest films of the year.

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We’re putting out a bit of a throwback episode for the most iconic (literal) blankie in film history - this week’s E.T. episode is guestless, with Griffin going rogue off the dossier, David making fun of Griffin for being an adult who likes toys and animation, and Ben getting emotional over a family film…decade of dreams, baby! Join us as we gush over the child performances, creature creation, and authentic emotionality of Spielberg’s canonical hit. Did you know that the Italian guy who designed E.T. kind of looks like E.T.? Or that Researcher JJ wrote his doctoral dissertation about the Reese’s Pieces product placement in this movie? Open the schools! But please - no frog dissections.

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pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on.

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