Blank Check with Griffin & David

Those Soggy Bottom Boys really know how to carry a tune! Emily St. James joins us to talk about O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a wonderful film whose reputation was ultimately eclipsed by its octuple-Platinum soundtrack of “old timey” bops. When we’re on track, we’re talking peak Clooney, digital color correction, T. Bone Burnett, and the history of Southern politics. When we’re off track in this episode? Expect some discussion around Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory and the Emmy-winning run of The Practice.

“Blank Check Theme (Sirens version)” Performed by:
Amy Irving
Olivia Ellen Lloyd
Maggie Feldman
Recorded and Produced by Gabe Barreto
Mixed by Alan Smithee

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It’s the episode you’ve all been waiting for - Seth Rogen joins us to talk about the Coens’ 1998 stoner classic The Big Lebowski. It should come as no surprise that Lebowski has loomed large over Seth’s work as a writer and director, and we’re going in depth on the influence and lasting impact of The Dude. Make yourself a White Russian (but maybe take a Lactaid first), turn off The Eagles, and settle in for a hilarious three hours of film analysis and Hollywood anecdotes. Oh, and if you were wondering - in this episode, someone is made to answer for his crimes against Sammy Fabelman. Finally.

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Did we get the director of Weapons, another “true story,” on our Fargo episode? You betcha. Zach Cregger joins the Blank Check crew to discuss the Coens’ 1996 masterpiece and we’re going SCENE BY SCENE dissecting this perfect movie. “Minnesota nice,” “Dark Marge,” the Mike Yanagita scene, the origins of Jerry’s overwhelming debt, the inner life of Gaear Grimsrud, and the operatic score are just a few of the topics discussed. Did you know that Ben Hosley’s first car was an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera? YOOU BETCHA.

Note: This episode was recorded before we saw Weapons, so no spoilers here. 

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(Gestures at a circle) You know, for kids! Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger of the Doughboys join us for a freewheeling, gut-busting episode about the time Joel Silver gave the Coens a bunch of money to make a “commercial film” and then it ended up being 1994’s The Hudsucker Proxy. A sampling of topics discussed: Paul Newman being hot up until the day he died (and possibly after), whether or not this movie has a Sturges protagonist in a Capra film or vice versa, whether or not the previous question even matters, the fact that Griffin has never seen The Wire yet has watched every episode of Greg the Bunny, the amount of baby wipes David has to buy in a month, the extent to which the style of humor in Hudsucker overlaps with that of The Simpsons, and a whole bunch of Yaddle talk for some reason.

Read Caity Weaver’s Mozzarella Sticks piece from 2014

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Is John Goodman the devil? Is the studio system good, actually? Is it better to be the director of a bomb than it is to be the director of a film that doesn’t exist? Filmmaker (and part of a DGA-sanctioned directing duo) Chris Weitz joins us to talk about Barton Fink, possibly the greatest film ever made about the “art vs. commerce” divide inherent to the movie business. It’s not easy to make a picture, folks.

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It’s a movie about hats, and a movie about giving folks the high hat. It’s also a movie about how Jon Polito is the greatest actor in the world. It’s Miller’s Crossing! Filmmaker Ari Aster (go see Eddington!)  joins Griffin and David to discuss the Coen Brothers’ knotty homage to the gangster genre, a film overloaded with memorable characters and witty lines of dialogue. We’re doing a deep-dive on Gabriel Byrne, litigating Marcia Gay Harden’s surprise Oscar win for Pollock, and once again examining the Coens’ body of work through the lens of Jewish identity.

Don't watch Tino's Dick Fart

Read Faber Screenplay Books

Check out Straight Time

See Eddington

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Jesus Cock, that’s a hot new episode! John Hodgman returns to Blank Check to chat about Raising Arizona, the Coen’s swerve of a follow-up to Blood Simple that trades in the hallmarks of noir for the hallmarks of Looney Tunes. We’re talking about Nic Cage’s sad eyes, Holly Hunter’s year of iconic crying performances, rest stop public pomade, and people we are glad are dead. It’s a fun time. And yes, there’s yodelling.

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Gather round, folks - it’s time to embark upon a journey through one of the most sterling filmographies in American cinema. Our Coen Brothers series - Pod Country for Old Cast - kicks off with Joel and Ethan’s remarkably assured 1984 debut Blood Simple. Coen experts and hosts of the To The White Sea podcast Ray Tintori and Jordan Fish join us to do some serious tablesetting for the odyssey ahead, offering some context that JJ didn’t even manage to dig up. Speaking of digging - Ben Hosley has some thoughts on the subject.

Listen to the To the White Sea Podcast

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Our Amy Heckerling series comes to an end with 2012’s Vamps, a film produced too late to have an appropriate budget, and too early to be a streaming series. However - we find it charming! Caroline Framke returns to the podcast after 6 years (an eternity for us, but probably a blink for a vampire), and we talk about the pitfalls and pleasures of eternal youth, the B in Apartment 23, and how if Heckerling never makes another film, this one would serve as an appropriate career coda. 

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Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Amy Heckerling and Paul Rudd stars as ????? in a totally normal movie that might actually be a voodoo curse made against Amy’s enemies. Oh, also Saorise Ronan makes her FILM DEBUT. What a picture! The incomparable Karen Chee joins us to talk about 2007’s I Could Never Be Your Woman, a movie that was financed by a French scoundrel, released directly to Blockbuster, and features some of the most dated cultural references we’ve ever come across. Is the film good? No. Is it fascinating? We sure think so!

Watch A Man on the Inside on Netflix 

Listen to Yo-Yo Ma

Check out Paul Rudd’s trick

Follow Karen on Letterboxd 

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