# Blank Check with Griffin & David

Blank Check with Griffin & David is a film podcast following the career output of notable directors who had significant success early in their careers and were then offered a figurative blank check to pursue their passion projects. Most episodes focus on a single movie from the director's filmography, and the show's episodes are grouped into miniseries, in which some or all of the director's films are reviewed. Founded in 2015, the show is hosted by actor Griffin Newman and The Atlantic film critic David Sims.

## Series overview

The Blank Check website describes the podcast as:
   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.
Notable guests who have appeared on the show include Rachel Zegler, Jamelle Bouie, Leslye Headland, Jamie Bell, Kevin Smith, David Lowery, Patton Oswalt, Tatiana Maslany, Richard Lawson, Lulu Wang, Ayo Edebiri, Karina Longworth, Alex Ross Perry, Roman Mars, Nia DaCosta, Bowen Yang, Amy Irving, David Krumholtz, Jane Schoenbrun, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

### Origins: Griffin and David Present

In 2015, the podcast began as Griffin and David Present, and assessed the Star Wars prequel films as if in a universe where the other Star Wars films did not exist. Originally planning to spend 50 episodes on each film, producer Ben Hosley convinced the hosts to only do ten. Having used a lengthy analysis of a filmography as a means of discussing the films' director, Newman and Sims decided to use a similar approach in reviewing the works of other directors, and retitled the show Blank Check with Griffin and David.
| | Title | Title reference | Director | Initial Release | Initial Release | Initial Release |
| | Title | Title reference | Director | Episodes | First episode | Last episode |
| 1 | The Phantom Podcast | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | George Lucas | 11 | March 23, 2015 (2015-03-23) | June 1, 2015 (2015-06-01) |
| 2 | Attack of the Podcast | Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | George Lucas | 10 | June 22, 2015 (2015-06-22) | September 8, 2015 (2015-09-08) |
| 3 | Revenge of The Podcast | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | George Lucas | 10 | September 21, 2015 (2015-09-21) | November 30, 2015 (2015-11-30) |
| 4 | The Star Wars Sequels | — | George Lucas | 6 | December 6, 2015 (2015-12-06) | January 11, 2016 (2016-01-11) |

### Blank Check with Griffin & David

Each miniseries is given a loosely comedic title which combines the word "podcast" with either a title of a film or the director's name. If a director they've previously discussed releases a new film, they will work it into their schedule of upcoming shows.
| | Director | Title | Title reference | Coincides with | Initial Release | Initial Release | Initial Release |
| | Director | Title | Title reference | Coincides with | Episodes | First episode | Last episode |
| 1 | M. Night Shyamalan | Pod Night Shyamacast | Name of director(s) | N/A | 11 | January 25, 2016 (2016-01-25) | April 12, 2016 (2016-04-12) |
| 2 | The Wachowskis | The Podchowski Casters | Name of director(s) | N/A | 9 | April 18, 2016 (2016-04-18) | June 10, 2016 (2016-06-10) |
| 3 | Cameron Crowe | We Pod A Cast | We Bought a Zoo | N/A | 10 | June 23, 2016 (2016-06-23) | August 26, 2016 (2016-08-26) |
| 4 | James Cameron | Podinator: Judgment Cast | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | N/A | 11 | September 18, 2016 (2016-09-18) | December 3, 2016 (2016-12-03) |
| 5 | Steven Spielberg (The DreamWorks Years) | Pod Me If You Cast | Catch Me If You Can | N/A | 15 | January 28, 2017 (2017-01-28) | May 20, 2017 (2017-05-20) |
| 6 | Christopher Nolan | The Pod Knight Casts | The Dark Knight Rises | Dunkirk | 10 | June 25, 2017 (2017-06-25) | August 13, 2017 (2017-08-13) |
| 7 | Kathryn Bigelow | Pod-19: The Widowcaster | K-19: The Widowmaker | Detroit | 10 | September 17, 2017 (2017-09-17) | November 19, 2017 (2017-11-19) |
| 8 | Paul Verhoeven (English language films) | Podship Casters | Starship Troopers | N/A | 8 | January 7, 2018 (2018-01-07) | March 4, 2018 (2018-03-04) |
| 9 | James L. Brooks | Podcast News | Broadcast News | N/A | 7 | March 18, 2018 (2018-03-18) | April 29, 2018 (2018-04-29) |
| 10 | Brad Bird | The Podcastibles | The Incredibles | Incredibles 2 | 7 | May 13, 2018 (2018-05-13) | June 28, 2018 (2018-06-28) |
| 11 | Ang Lee | Podback Mountcast | Brokeback Mountain | N/A | 13 | July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | September 27, 2018 (2018-09-27) |
| 12 | Nancy Meyers | Something's Podda Cast | Something's Gotta Give | N/A | 7 | October 14, 2018 (2018-10-14) | November 25, 2018 (2018-11-25) |
| 13 | Tim Burton | Podward Scissorcast | Edward Scissorhands | Dumbo | 17 | December 9, 2018 (2018-12-09) | April 28, 2019 (2019-04-28) |
| 14 | Michael Mann | Michael Mannsplaining/Cast of the Podhicans | Mansplaining/The Last of the Mohicans | N/A | 12 | May 19, 2019 (2019-05-19) | August 4, 2019 (2019-08-04) |
| 15 | Hayao Miyazaki | Howl's Moving Podcastle | Howl's Moving Castle | N/A | 12 | August 11, 2019 (2019-08-11) | November 7, 2019 (2019-11-07) |
| 16 | Jonathan Demme | Stop Making Podcasts | Stop Making Sense | N/A | 16 | November 10, 2019 (2019-11-10) | March 19, 2020 (2020-03-19) |
| 17 | George Miller | Mad Pod: Fury Cast | Mad Max: Fury Road | N/A | 10 | March 29, 2020 (2020-03-29) | May 28, 2020 (2020-05-28) |
| 18 | Nora Ephron | You've Got Podcast | You've Got Mail | N/A | 9 | June 7, 2020 (2020-06-07) | August 2, 2020 (2020-08-02) |
| 19 | Gina Prince-Bythewood | Pod & Basketcast | Love & Basketball | The Old Guard | 4 | August 9, 2020 (2020-08-09) | August 30, 2020 (2020-08-30) |
| 20 | Robert Zemeckis | Podcast Away | Cast Away | The Witches | 20 | September 6, 2020 (2020-09-06) | January 31, 2021 (2021-01-31) |
| 21 | Ron Clements/John Musker | The Poddle Mercast | The Little Mermaid | N/A | 7 | February 7, 2021 (2021-02-07) | March 21, 2021 (2021-03-21) |
| 22 | Elaine May | The Podbreak Cast | The Heartbreak Kid | N/A | 4 | April 4, 2021 (2021-04-04) | April 25, 2021 (2021-04-25) |
| 23 | John Singleton | Podz n the Cast | Boyz n the Hood | N/A | 9 | May 9, 2021 (2021-05-09) | July 4, 2021 (2021-07-04) |
| 24 | John Carpenter | They Podcast | They Live | N/A | 18 | August 7, 2021 (2021-08-07) | December 5, 2021 (2021-12-05) |
| 25 | Jane Campion | The Podcastiano | The Piano | The Power of the Dog | 9 | January 9, 2022 (2022-01-09) | March 6, 2022 (2022-03-06) |
| 26 | Sam Raimi | Podcast Me to Hell | Drag Me to Hell | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | 15 | March 20, 2022 (2022-03-20) | June 26, 2022 (2022-06-26) |
| 27 | Bob Fosse | Pod That Jazzcast | All That Jazz | N/A | 5 | July 3, 2022 (2022-07-03) | July 31, 2022 (2022-07-31) |
| 28 | Stanley Kubrick | Pods Wide Cast | Eyes Wide Shut | N/A | 12 | August 7, 2022 (2022-08-07) | November 13, 2022 (2022-11-13) |
| 29 | Henry Selick | Ben Hosley's The Podmare Before Castmas | Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Wendell & Wild | 5 | November 27, 2022 (2022-11-27) | January 15, 2023 (2023-01-15) |
| 30 | Danny Boyle | Trainspodcasting | Trainspotting | N/A | 13 | January 22, 2023 | April 30, 2023 |
| 31 | Buster Keaton | Podcast Jr. | Sherlock Jr./Steamboat Bill, Jr. | N/A | 6 | May 7, 2023 (2023-05-07) | June 11, 2023 (2023-06-11) |
| 32 | Park Chan-wook | I'm a Podcast, But That's OK | I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK | N/A | 10 | June 18, 2023 | September 3, 2023 |
| 33 | David Fincher | The Curious Pod of Benjamin Buttcast | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | The Killer | 12 | September 10, 2023 | November 26, 2023 |
| 34 | Barbra Streisand | Podcastl | Yentl | N/A | 5 | January 14, 2024 | February 4, 2024 |
| 35 | John McTiernan | Pod Hard with a Vengecast | Die Hard with a Vengeance | N/A | 11 | February 11, 2024 | April 28, 2024 |
| 36 | Satoshi Kon | Podprikast | Paprika | N/A | 4 | May 5, 2024 | May 26, 2024 |
| 37 | Martin Brest | Podverly Hills Cast | Beverly Hills Cop | N/A | 6 | June 9, 2024 | July 14, 2024 |
| 38 | Kevin Costner | Podcasts With Wolves | Dances with Wolves | Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 | 4 | July 21, 2024 | August 18, 2024 |
| 39 | David Lynch | Twin Pods: Fire Cast With Me | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | N/A | 15 | August 25, 2024 | December 22, 2024 |
| 40 | Steven Spielberg (The Early Years) | Podrassic Cast | Jurassic Park | N/A | 15 | January 5, 2025 | April 20, 2025 |

## Blank Check: Special Features

On January 1, 2019, Newman and Sims created a Patreon page, Blank Check: Special Features, where fans could pay a monthly amount in exchange for extra content. Blank Check Special Features focuses primarily on audio commentary about films that are part of franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Toy Story, Mission: Impossible, The Santa Clause and Alien. The Patreon feed also offers monthly bonus episodes and other content related to the current miniseries or general interest.
As of November 2023, the Blank Check Patreon was ranked 15th in the podcast category and 39th overall based on the number of paying supporters, with 18,692 subscribers.
| | Franchise | Initial Release | Initial Release | Initial Release |
| | Franchise | Episodes | First episode | Last episode |
| 1 | Marvel Cinematic Universe | 23 | January 1, 2019 (2019-01-01) | December 1, 2019 (2019-12-01) |
| 2 | Star Wars | 8 | January 1, 2020 (2020-01-01) | April 21, 2020 (2020-04-21) |
| 3 | Toy Story | 5 | May 11, 2020 (2020-05-11) | June 21, 2020 (2020-06-21) |
| 4 | Mission: Impossible | 6 | June 30, 2020 (2020-06-30) | September 21, 2020 (2020-09-21) |
| 5 | Alien | 6 | October 1, 2020 | December 21, 2020 |
| 6 | Crocodile Dundee | 3 | January 1, 2021 | February 1, 2021 |
| 7 | Star Trek | 6 | February 21, 2021 | May 1, 2021 |
| 8 | The Twilight Saga | 5 | May 21, 2021 | July 21, 2021 |
| 9 | The Chronicles of Riddick | 3 | August 1, 2021 | September 1, 2021 |
| 10 | The Mummy | 5 | September 22, 2021 | November 11, 2021 |
| 11 | The Santa Clause | 3 | November 21, 2021 | December 21, 2021 |
| 12 | Ghostbusters | 4 | January 1, 2022 | February 21, 2022 |
| 13 | The Matrix | 4 | March 1, 2022 | April 21, 2022 |
| 14 | Batman | 7 | May 1, 2022 | August 1, 2022 |
| 15 | Roger Moore Bond | 7 | August 21, 2022 | November 21, 2022 |
| 16 | National Treasure | 2 | December 1, 2022 | December 21, 2022 |
| 17 | Qatsi Trilogy | 3 | January 1, 2023 | February 1, 2023 |
| 18 | Men in Black | 4 | February 21, 2023 | April 1, 2023 |
| 19 | Planet of the Apes | 5 | April 21, 2023 | June 21, 2023 |
| 20 | Ocean's | 5 | July 1, 2023 | September 1, 2023 |
| 21 | Pierce Brosnan Bond | 4 | September 21, 2023 | November 1, 2023 |
| 22 | Austin Powers | 4 | November 21, 2023 | January 1, 2024 |
| 23 | Terminator | 6 | January 21, 2024 | April 1, 2024 |
| 24 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 7 | April 21, 2024 | July 21, 2024 |
| 25 | Tabletop Games | 6 | August 1, 2024 | October 21, 2024 |
| 26 | Andrew Lloyd Webber adaptations | 4 | November 1, 2024 | December 21, 2024 |
| 27 | The Jelly Trilogy | 3 | January 1, 2025 | February 1, 2025 |
| 28 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | 5 | February 21, 2025 | April 21, 2025 |

## Blank Check: March Madness

Every March since 2018, there has been a March Madness style bracket pitting thirty-two directors against each other, allowing listeners to vote and decide a director to be covered later in the year. Until 2022, the votes were cast through Twitter polls, but were later moved to the Blank Check website following use of bots to influence match-ups. Since 2020, there have been brackets exclusive to the Patreon to decide a franchise to cover.
| Year | Theme | Winner | Runner-Up |
| 2018 | N/A | Nancy Meyers | David Fincher |
| 2019 | N/A | Jonathan Demme | George Miller |
| 2020 | Oscars vs. Razzies | Robert Zemeckis | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| 2021 | Hosts vs. Guests | John Carpenter | Gore Verbinski |
| 2022 | 20th Century Filmmakers | Stanley Kubrick | Orson Welles |
| 2023 | World Cup/International | Park Chan-wook | Bong Joon-ho |
| 2024 | The New Blood | David Lynch | Spike Lee |
| 2025 | Decade of Dreams | TBD | TBD |

## Reception

Blank Check has been positively reviewed by Paste, Decider, and The A.V. Club. The show was included in Esquire's list of the best 21 podcasts of 2018, as well as on Paste's list of the top 30 podcasts of the decade. It has also been featured in Vulture and Entertainment Weekly as a selection of the week. In May 2023, Luis A. Gómez of The New Yorker wrote about the podcast, stating that "Newman and Sims reveal themselves as connoisseurs of context in engaging, discursive conversations" and are "a positive, authoritative voice in the film-podcasting landscape."