Blank Check with Griffin & David

It took seven years for Hayao Miyazaki and the artists at Studio Ghibli to make THE BOY AND THE HERON. What better way to honor that lengthy process than to invite JD Amato back for another clockbusting, context-loaded episode?! For a rather bit-free THREE-AND-A-HALF HOURS, we are diving into Miyazaki’s personal history, his creative process, the differing animation styles between the Ghibli greats, and the thematic implications of this beautiful new film. Because this is Blank Check, we’ve also got lots of thoughts on Robert Pattinson’s vocal performance, and a lot to say about some other, less-successful animated films released this year.

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Mamma mia! We’ve got-a some-a sleepy pasta for-a you to taste-a this-a week! In our latest, much-awaited installment of PORCH CLASSICS, we’re handing the reins to Producer Ben, who has chosen to spotlight a forgotten comedy about “the world’s horniest pizza man who cannot die.” Lawrence Kasdan’s I LOVE YOU TO DEATH is a feast of bizarre performances (Italian-face Kevin Kline, Serb-face Joan Plowright, Stoner-face William Hurt) and tonal miscalculations. All this to say - it’s a very FUN movie to talk about.

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We’re wrapping up our Fincher series with his latest release - a stripped-down, gig-economy hitman thriller - THE KILLER. Is Michael Fassbender’s unnamed hitman actually good at his job, or a total goober? How do your friends at Blank Check feel about The Smiths? Where do the Two Friends put MANK in their final Fincher rankings? And - is Griffin okay, or has he fallen too deep inside the Gaylor Swift rabbit hole?

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Nerts! Are you folks ready to get MANK-PILLED? We advise that you start by “mankro-dosing” David Fincher’s 2020 exploration of the life and times of cantankerous screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz. The Big Picture’s Sean Fennessey joins us to chat about Fincher’s first Netflix feature, and we’re asking all the important questions. Would this film have a better reputation if it had been titled “manK!” ? Will there be a film made 40 years from now entitled “SORK” about Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher, Mark Zuckerberg, and the making of THE SOCIAL NETWORK? Is Mank the “Jabba the Hut of cynicism”? Will Griffin use this episode as another excuse to talk about The Offer?

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“Amazing Amy” meets “Awkwardly-Smiling Affleck” in Fincher’s darkly comic masterpiece - an instant classic from that first shot of Rosamund Pike’s pretty head. The delightful Esther Zuckerman (who will definitely NOT “gone girl” her boyfriend) joins us to discuss this impressive work of adaptation. We’re asking all the big questions - is “Amazing Amy” actually a good children’s book? Did Tyler Perry take any directing tips from David Fincher when he made BOO! A MADEA HALLOWEEN? Would this movie work as well with Reese Witherspoon and Jon Hamm as the two leads? Why haven’t we gone long on the career of one Benjamin G. Affleck yet?

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? More like The Girl Who Go On Computer! The Girl with the Fruit Tattoo - Fran Hoepfner - joins us as we dive into Fincher’s 2011 Nordic noir. How does Fincher’s take on Stieg Larsson’s international best-seller compare with the original Swedish version? What does Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander have in common with ET? Does Christopher Plummer have the greatest octogenarian acting decade of all time? WHEN WILL BEN HOSLEY MAKE HIS WITCH HACKER MOVIE?

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Let us take a walk down memory lane to when the Metaverse was but a twinkle in Zuck’s eye, to when Aaron Sorkin was just a much-respected writer and not yet a (groan) director…to when the idea of a prestige film about millennial tech bros seemed like a ludicrous proposition. My, how times have changed! THE SOCIAL NETWORK is one of the most influential and consequential films of the 21st Century - prescient, quotable, and eminently rewatchable. You know what’s cooler than a two hour podcast? A THREE HOUR PODCAST. You’re welcome, nerds.

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2007’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is a film that dares to ask the question, “What if he baby but old?” Despite the meme-ification of David Fincher’s trip to the uncanny valley, we are pleased to make our belated case for why this movie is GOOD, actually, and in step with the themes of Da Finch Man’s body of work - not a sappy outlier. Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson returns to the podcast as we all grapple with mortality, wistfully opine about tugboats, and develop an absurd running bit about late character actor Orson Bean (who is not in this movie). Did you know Producer Ben has been struck by lightning seven times?

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This is the Zodiac speaking. I have recorded this podcast episode with Griffin, David, and the genius Leslye Headland because I am tired of the tangents on every other episode so far this Fincher series. With this episode, we’re getting into the CRAFT, the OBSESSION, the MADNESS, the MINUTIAE of David Fincher’s Gordian knot of a true crime mystery. What is the scariest scene in ZODIAC? Which of the three main actors gives the best performance? Are Aqua Velvas good? Like my identity, there is no definitive answer to these questions. The untangling is the juice, baby!

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We’re scootin’ through some wild Manhattan real estate this week and locking ourselves into David Fincher’s PANIC ROOM with the wonderful Eva Anderson! Can you believe that Jodie Foster wasn’t even supposed to be in this movie? And that David Fincher was the one who braided Jared Leto’s cornrows? Just kidding about that last one. Come for Griffin’s formative crush on young Kristen Stewart, stay for the inexplicable amount of talk about “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” - a show that has absolutely nothing to do with this movie.

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