Blank Check with Griffin & David
Not just another bad movie podcast, Blank Check reviews directors' complete filmographies episode to episode. Specifically, the auteurs whose early successes afforded them the rare ‘blank check’ from Hollywood to produce passion projects. Each new miniseries, hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims delve into the works of film’s most outsized personalities in painstakingly hilarious detail. Produced by Ben Hosley.
Episodes (51)
The Man Who Wasn't There with Jordan Hoffman
This one’s a real enigma - is The Man Who Wasn’t There a film about the alienation of a man who is deeply closeted and searching for connection in a tightly wound post-war world? Is it about a wife...
O Brother, Where Art Thou? with Emily St. James
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...
The Big Lebowski with Seth Rogen
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...
Fargo with Zach Cregger
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...
The Hudsucker Proxy with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger
(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...
Barton Fink with Chris Weitz
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...
Miller's Crossing with Ari Aster
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...
Raising Arizona with John Hodgman
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...
Blood Simple with Ray Tintori & Jordan Fish
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...
Vamps with Caroline Framke
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...
I Could Never Be Your Woman with Karen Chee
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...
28 Years Later
Blank Check is going back to the British Isles with Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, and one extraordinarily well-endowed zombie this week as they discuss 28 Years Later. This movie has so much to love in...
Loser with Chandler Levack
The song. The hat. The…casual date rape?!!? In what should have been Amy Heckerling’s “blank check” after the success of Clueless, 2000’s Loser is a real LOSER. Filmmaker Chandler Levack joins us to...
Clueless with Heidi Gardner
Okay, so you’re probably going, “Is this like a Noxzema commercial or what?” But seriously, this is actually a way normal podcast about one of David Sims’ favorite movies! SNL’s Heidi Gardner (a total...
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Griffin, David, Ben, and Marie accepted the mission. They live and pod in the shadows, for those they hold close, and for those they never meet. They also have a few notes for Tom Cruise and Chris...
Look Who's Talking Too with Max Minghella
The Ubriacco family are back and - can you believe it? - they’re still talking! Actor and filmmaker Max Minghella joins us to talk about Look Who’s Talking Too, the contractually-obligated, quickly...
Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis
In perhaps the spermiest film we’ve ever covered, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley hang out with a baby voiced by Bruce Willis and Amy Heckerling gets revenge on Harold Ramis. As David Sims says early...
National Lampoon's European Vacation with Jon Gabrus
Congratulations! You’ve won an all-expenses-paid vacation with Griffin, David, Ben, and Jon Gabrus to Europe! Only downside is…well, you have to watch this movie. From the strange cultural stereotypes...
Johnny Dangerously with Josh Gondelman
He’s the nicest bad guy in town. His last name is an adverb. And he’s got some pretty wacky bits! Sweetie pie comedian Josh Gondelman joins us to talk about 1984’s Johnny Dangerously, Amy Heckerling’s...
Fast Times at Ridgemont High with Lola Kirke
We’re grabbing our Vans slip ons and heading to the mall as we kick off our Amy Heckerling series - Pod Times at Ridgemont Cast - with Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Fresh off her appearance in...
Schindler's List with David Ehrlich
Our Early Spielberg series concludes with a movie that is a super fun time and not at all distressing to watch in our current political climate! David Ehrlich joins us to discuss 1993’s Schindler’s...
Jurassic Park with Sean Fennessey
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...
Hook with Lin-Manuel Miranda
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...
Always with Richard Lawson
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...
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Chris Gethard
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...
Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri
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...
The Color Purple with Kenice Mobley
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...
Blank Check LIVE! at Town Hall (2025)
👑👑 A LIVE SHOW OF MAJESTIC PROPORTIONS 👑👑
Podcasters, cinephiles, and freaks—rejoice! Blank Check will be returning to Town Hall this summer to commemorate our 10th anniversary with a long-promised...
Podcasters, cinephiles, and freaks—rejoice! Blank Check will be returning to Town Hall this summer to commemorate our 10th anniversary with a long-promised...
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with Olivia Craighead
“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...
The Tenth Annual Blank Check Awards with Joe Reid
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:...
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
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...
Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis
You’re a young movie fan. It’s 1981. STEVEN SPIELBERG is teaming up with FREAKING GEORGE LUCAS (!?!?!) to make a movie with HAN SOLO…can you imagine how hyped you’d be?? Marvel Comics legend Brian...
1941 with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger
He invented the summer blockbuster. He inspired millions of people around the world to “watch the skies.” And now, he has sent Griffin Newman into an existential crisis over the question “what is...
Close Encounters of the Third Kind with J.D. Amato
Five curious tones. A mountain of mashed potatoes. Bob Balaban with a beard speaking french. After the industry-changing success of JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND feels like a classic “blank...
Jaws with Timothy Simons
Dunnnh dun. Dunnnh dun. Never before had two notes provoked such terror as they did in JAWS, the 1975 classic that invented the summer blockbuster, catapulted Steven Spielberg to Hollywood legend...
The Sugarland Express with Esther Zuckerman
Young whippersnapper Steven Spielberg continues his run of dusty, road-centric films with 1974’s THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS, and we’re along for the (surprisingly chill) ride. Writer Esther Zuckerman joins...
Duel
2025! Blank Check Year 10! Year of Miracles! In honor of our record 10th year of podcasting, we’re doing something we’ve never done before - going back to fill in the gaps on a filmography we’ve...
Twin Peaks: The Return (Episodes 14-18) with Jane Schoenbrun
What year is it? Well, it’s 2024 - but not for long. It’s our last episode of the year! Director of this year’s I SAW THE TV GLOW Jane Schoenbrun joins us to talk about the conclusion of Twin Peaks:...
Twin Peaks: The Return (Episodes 9-13) with Fran Hoepfner
Dougie gets it on (or, more accurately, Naomi Watts gets HER Dougie on), guest Fran Hoepfner pitches her artisanal slime for adults (don’t steal the idea), and we relitigate LOST for the hundredth...
Twin Peaks: The Return (Episode 8) with Connor Ratliff
This is the podcast. These are the (two) friends. Drink full, and descend. The famous “Atomic Bomb” episode of The Return stands as one of David Lynch’s most defining works, an “origin story” for Twin...
Twin Peaks: The Return (Episodes 1-7)
It is happening again - we’re covering TV! Or is it an 18-part movie? Much to ponder. We’re heading back to the Pacific Northwest (and Vegas…and New York…and the Red Room…and outer space?) in our...
Inland Empire with David Rees
Only on Blank Check would an episode about David Lynch’s deeply destabilizing INLAND EMPIRE turn into a heartfelt celebration of creativity and the human experience. David Rees joins us and brings...
Mulholland Drive with Leslye Headland
Is it a dream? Is it about a dream? Is it a TV pilot? Is it the greatest film of the 21st century? In any case, Leslye Headland returns to the podcast to talk about David Lynch’s endlessly fascinating...
Here
We apologize in advance if you had a profound emotional experience with the new Robert Zemeckis joint - HERE felt like more of a “Here?? What???? Why?” to us. Dinosaurs, Benjamin Franklin’s cuck son,...
The Straight Story with Dana Stevens
Walt Disney Pictures Presents A Film By David Lynch. And what a beautiful, expectation-defying, G-rated, cold-glass-of-beer film it is. Dana Stevens joins us to talk about 1999’s The Straight Story, a...
Lost Highway with David Lowery
1997’s Lost Highway - is it (as David Sims wrote on Letterboxd), “a movie about headache”? Is it David Lynch’s most visually beautiful film? Is it a dry run for Mulholland Dr? A radical reimagining of...
Joker: Hallie À Goodrich
What if they made a sequel to the Joker movie that was pretty much the finale of Seinfeld but it’s also a half-assed jukebox musical, and EVERYONE hated it? What if Michael Keaton had a 35-year-old...
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me with Arkasha Stevenson
One of the more harrowing films we’ve covered on the podcast (and the second film we’ve covered in 2024 with a memorable “gobble gobble” line), 1992’s TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME was not the quirky,...
Wild at Heart with Tatiana Maslany
If we told you this was the first time we’d covered a Nicolas Cage movie on the podcast - would you believe us? Well, baby - it’s true. And what a movie it is! The luminous Tatiana Maslany returns to...
Twin Peaks (Season 1) with Eva Anderson
For a brief shining moment, Middle America went crazy for the surreal soap opera stylings of David Lynch and Mark Frost. We’re talking ABC, primetime, airing against “Cheers”-level mainstream. And...
Blue Velvet with Jamie Loftus
Lend us your (severed) ears! This week, we’re jumping back into our Lynch series with a trip to Lumberton, USA, as our beloved Jamie Loftus joins us to chat about 1986’s BLUE VELVET. We’re going deep...
About this Podcast
Copyright
2024
Language
en
Categories
TV & Film, Film Reviews, Comedy, Society & Culture