recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Karen Han

**Karen Han** (@karenyhan on Twitter) is a writer for various publications including Vulture, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, VICE, /Film, Polygon, The Daily Beast, The Village Voice, Vox, The New York Times and more.

## Biography

Karen appeared on the The Weight of Water episode of Blank Check, together with her friend Emma Stefansky. They have a #TheTwoFriends-like relationship, in which Karen is the Griffin analogue due to her preoccupation with comedic bits that irritate the more serious (and taller) Emma.

Her first book, Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema, is set to be published by Abrams in November 2022.

### Karen’s Boys

She is known for her group of "Karen's Boys" which is a collection of character actors who - even though they might not be considered the most conventionally attractive people in Hollywood - Karen is infatuated with. Members of this exclusive club include but are not limited to: Ben Mendelsohn, Andy Serkis, Ciarán Hinds, Bill Nighy, Richard E. Grant, and Jim Beaver, among others.

### March Madness

Karen has been a vocal support of director Gore Verbinski during every March Madness. In March Madness 2018 he was the number 8 seed and was knocked out in the second round against Guillermo del Toro. In March Madness 2019 he was again the number 8 seed, but was defeated in the second round by the eventual victor Jonathan Demme. He was absent from he 2020 bracket, as he never won an Academy Award for Best Director (but did win for Best Animated Feature — *Rango*). He was nominated for a Razzie for best director for *The Lone Ranger*, but lost to all 15 directors of *Movie 43*. For the 2021 tournament she picked Verbinski for her contribution to the Guest Bracket, in which he was the number 1 seed.  The tournament was riddled with controversy, and while Verbinski *technically* won there was overwhelming evidence of bots skewing the vote. #TheTwoFriends decided that John Carpenter would be the winner, and Karen appeared on the Escape from New York episode.

## References

1. ↑ @blankcheckpod, *A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM @karenyhan*. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
List of Guests with Covered Films

The following is a list of the guests that have appeared in, or worked on, a film covered by the podcast.

*‡ indicates the guest appeared on the episode on which they worked*

## References

1. ↑ @AlmondMilkHotel (Mar 14, 2022). You asked for it....you got it. Thrilled to finally premiere: West Side Story: The Rebecca Cut. Twitter. Retrieved on May 15, 2023.
Here Today Gone Trevorrow - An Emergency Minisode

**Here Today Gone Trevorrow** is episode 125 and an emergency minisode, filed under the podcast's continuing coverage of the Star Wars Sequels. Posted 7 Sep 2017.

## Summary

> "In a special bonus emergency minisode, Griffin and David call in remotely to weigh in/celebrate the firing of director Colin Trevorrow from *Star Wars: Episode IX*. But are the reports true that Colin is a bit arrogant? Did Kathleen Kennedy see *The Book of Henry* and not like it? Should director Rian Johnson continue to helm the wheel? Together they discuss TC-14, Griffin’s IMDB trivia, The Judge 2 and more."
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During *The Book of Henry* episode, #TheTwoFriends doubted that this momentous event could ever happen... but it did. In this episode Griffin and David react to the news of longtime Blank Check nemesis Colin Trevorrow's firing as director of the upcoming film, *Star Wars Episode IX*.

This episode had to be done on the spur of the moment and it happened that Griffin was out of town, so this is the only episode of the show to date to be recorded via call-in instead of live-in-person.

## References

1. ↑ Here Today Gone Trevorrow on Audioboom.
Octopussy Commentary

**Octopussy** is episode 153 of Blank Check: Special Features and a commentary for the 1983 feature film of the same name. Posted November 1, 2022.

## Summary

>
> We’re into the home stretch of our Moore Bond commentary series! In this installment Griffin, David, and Ben discussed 1983’s Octopussy. Topics include: the evolution of Moneypenny and Bond’s relationship, spider bites, the Doughboys use of the term ‘hammer’ and more!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* David worked at a chess shop?
* Don't Google 'Bond in India' unless you want financial advice
* Griffin's pitch for new Bond locales: Australia with a Crocodile Dundee X James Bond collab.
* Griffin promised to purchase a Faberge egg by the end of the episode
* Hard pass from everyone on eating eyeballs but Ben recommends jowls
* Octopussy ≠ Octomom
* <redacted> from the Orange Twist Files was finally revealed, but its staying behind the paywall
* Ben has a scar from a wolf spider - it melts your skin?
* Meet the Winner of Nintendo Power's *The Mask II* Contest
* Ben wants it on the record - not a fan of *Malibu's Most Wanted*
* Ben would sleep in a box for entertainment/art but only if he can hotbox.
* DJ Hammers Trains
* Jurgen the German
* Box Office Game: Weekend of June 10, 1983.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Octopussy. Patreon. Retrieved on November 1, 2022.
March Madness 2019

**March Madness 2019** was the March Madness tournament event held daily on the Blank Check twitter for Blankies to determine a director to be covered. The winning director was Jonathan Demme and the resulting miniseries, Stop Making Podcasts, began in November 2019.

## Summary

It's the 2019 March Madness event!

See the full blank bracket, all the daily matchups, and results below.

### March Madness Rules

* Polls post on Twitter @blankcheckpod at or around NOON Eastern/ 9am Pacific/ 4pm Greenwich Mean Time (shoutout British English)
* Polls are open for 24 hours, new poll daily through 3/31/2019
* Winner = covered this fall 2019
* Don't @ blankcheckpod about missing directors. These are the choices this year!
* PLAY NICE!

## Tournament

### First Round Matchups

* A first round stats roundup by u/mi-16evil: BC March Madness 2019 - Round 1 Stats

### Semifinals

The Final Four

twitter -- 5,088 total votes -- reddit

twitter -- 4,782 total votes -- reddit

## Statistics

 Round 2
 Round 3
 Round 4
 Round 5

## Featured Episodes

The 2019 tournament was not featured on any main feed episodes but was recapped on the Patreon.

 SF010
 SF012

## References

1. ↑ u/mi-16evil. BC March Madness 2019 - Round 1 Stats. reddit. Retrieved on March 31, 2022.
Gemini Man

Podini Man: They made a podcast out of another podcast.

**Gemini Man** (also known as **Podini Man**) is episode 240 focusing on the 2019 film of the same name, as part of the Podback Mountcast miniseries. Posted October 20, 2019.

## Summary

> On the week of its release in October of 2019, Griffin and David discussed *Gemini Man*. Together they examine the performances of old and young Will Smith, Ang Lee's second attempt shooting at the high frame rate of 120 fps and in 3D and a young Benedict Wong.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Interview: Ang Lee: 'I know I'm gonna get beat up. But I have to keep trying'
* Box-Office Game: Weekend of October 11, 2019

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Gemini Man. Audioboom.
2. ↑ Ryan Gilbey. Interview: Ang Lee: 'I know I'm gonna get beat up. But I have to keep trying'. The Guardian. Retrieved on March 29, 2022.
Marie Bardi-Salinas

**Marie Bardi-Salinas** is a film producer and the social media manager for Blank Check with Griffin and David. She came aboard after the departure of Producer Ang, and has been doing an excellent job of filling those shoes!

## Biography

Marie was an extra in the M. Night Shyamalan film Wide Awake which filmed at her elementary school.  This was mentioned in the episode, years before she would be part of the BC team.

Marie became internet famous when she pointed out Al Pacino's Shrek phone case on Twitter dot com.

Marie has said if she were given a Ben's Choice episode it would probably be *Madonna: Truth or Dare* and her dream miniseries would be Streisand.

Marie is a sometimes guest on other podcasts. For more information on those appearances, see Outside Podcast Appearances.

## Appearances

With her appearance on Knock at the Cabin, Marie became the 12th member of the Five-Timers Club and with her appearance on Wonkquaman she became the 3rd member of the Double Digits Club.

### Special Features

Much like Ang and Ben, Marie has appeared on several Special Features episodes, particularly during March Madness 2021. She has also been part of the live shows. Only episodes where she is a listed guest are included here.

## References

1. ↑ u/bardiparty, Comment on 'Marie in Praying With Anger/Wide Awake?', reddit. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
2. ↑ Brooke Steinberg. Al Pacino's Shrek phone case has Twitter in a tizzy: 'It changed my life'. New York Post. Retrieved on July 12, 2022.
3. ↑ @mariebardi. Al’s headphones continue to be iconic, but I need a full investigation on whatever the fuck is supposed to be on his iPhone case. Twitter. Retrieved on July 12, 2022.
4. ↑ Today Show. Here's The Endearing Reason Al Pacino Has A Shrek Phone Case. Youtube. Retrieved on July 12, 2022.
5. ↑ u/bardiparty (2023-03-29). It's Marie "Bardiparty" Bardi - AMA!. reddit. Retrieved on March 30, 2023.
Four Brothers

**Four Brothers** is episode 330 focusing on the 2005 film of the same name as part of the Podz n the Cast miniseries on the films of John Singleton. Posted June 27, 2021.

## Summary

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> What if there were four brothers? Has anyone thought of this before? Jonathan Braylock (Black Men Can’t Jump in Hollywood) joins us to talk about the niche genre of “snow crime,” the “what ifs?” of Singleton’s career in the 2000s, and the four classic archetypes of brothers.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Box Office: Weekend of August 12-14, 2005

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Four Brothers with Jonathan Braylock. Audioboom. Retrieved on June 28, 2021.
Lust, Caution

**Lust, Caution** is episode 180 focusing on the movie of that same name, as part of the Podback Mountcast miniseries covering the films of Ang Lee. Posted 2 September 2018.

## Summary

> Director, screenwriter and producer Chris Weitz (*Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*, *The Twilight Saga: New Moon*) joins Griffin and David to discuss 2007’s extreme erotic espionage period thriller: *Lust, Caution*. But what makes this NC-17 rated film a blank check? How was Tang Wei’s career affected after the release of this movie? Did one of the hosts go through a Jessica Alba phase and can the listeners guess who? Together they examine green lights in Hollywood, scoring films, Wetflix and foregrounding the mahjong. This episode is sponsored by Hims and the Bechdel Cast on HowStuffWorks.
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> And check out *Operation Finale* staring Ben Kingsley, Oscar Issac and directed by Chris Weitz!
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Director, writer, and producer - and Blank Check listener - Chris Weitz (*Operation Finale*) is in the studio to talk about Ang Lee's return to his native language, the eroticized period drama *Lust, Caution*.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* The second ever NC-17 film covered on the pod, after Showgirls.
* Movie pitch that is going straight to the script phase: Ben Hosley's ***Night Eggs***
* Box office game: Weekend of September 28, 2007
Hotel Transylvania Trilogy

**Hotel Transylvania Trilogy** is episode 174 that functions as a forum for Griffin to talk about the three (so far) Hotel Transylvania movies, and their director Genndy Tartakovsky. It is part of the Standalones episode grouping. Posted 22 July 2018.

## Summary

> Griffin and David present a special episode covering the Hotel Transylvania films and tv series. But how do the monsters pay for staying at the hotel and do they ever leave? What is the recent history behind Sony Pictures Animation? Do the hosts open toys on mic and there is a bunch of dead air? Together they discuss Genndy Tartakovsky’s career, zinging, blah blah blah and more. Plus, a Burger Report: Masterpiece Theater edition!
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Sometimes Griffin throws a little tanty, and makes David and Ben watch all three Hotel Transylvania movies and talk for hours about them.

What is 'zinging' and is it problematic? Is the main setting of these movies really a hotel and how does anyone pay for their extended stays? Is it possible to go on a vacation from a vacation? And why is "blah, blah blah" funny anyways?

In addition, a discussion of mad genius Genndy Tartakovsky's amazing CGI animation innovations, and the tragic tale of Sony's handling of their rights to Popeye (look at Tartakovsky's test reel below, goodness me).... and for that matter, Griffin tells us what the heck the story is with Sony Animation.

Listen to Ben's story of his near-midnight moviegoing experience to see the new one, *Hotel Transylvania 3*, and his new friend he met there; listen to David tell us when it is okay to sit in the handicap-accessible seating at the theater; and listen to Griffin come tantalizingly close to explaining his "The Tick" dialogue-scene injury that left him broken and really sick.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* "I left my other computer at the technology store." Now you can buy the shirt too, from the Blank Check merch collection!
* The Burger Report, the first-ever "Masterpiece Theatre" edition. All we can say is, WHOA.
* Merchandise Spotlight! We are all over the recurring features in this ep.
* Box Office Game:
	+ HT: Weekend of September 28, 2012
	+ HT2: Weekend of September 25, 2015
		- Same game as The Intern
	+ HT3: Weekend of July 13, 2018

### Sponsors

* **We Transfer** - (what a transition to this ad!) Share files, for free! wetransfer.com
* **Hims** - the perfect sponsor for these children's movies.

## References

1. ↑ Hotel Transylvania Trilogy on Audioboom.
Ocean's

**Ocean's** is a commentary miniseries as part of the Blank Check: Special Features covering *Ocean's 11* and its remake, sequels, and spinoffs.

## Summary

*Ocean's* appeared only once in the Special Features March Madness tournament in 2023 where it defeated *Magic Mike*, *Rocky*, *TMNT*, *Police Story* and *Philip K. Dick* en route to winning the championship.

## Ranking The Franchise

At the conclusion of the miniseries, the Blankies rankings will compiled from a voting thread found on the r/Blankies sub-reddit.
Flesh + Blood

**Flesh + Blood** is episode 142 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the Podship Casters miniseries covering the Hollywood years of Paul Verhoeven. Posted January 7, 2018.

## Summary

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> This week’s episode begins a new mini series (Podship Casters) covering the Hollywood films of director Paul Verhoeven. Already an accomplished filmmaker in the Netherlands, 1985 marked his American debut with the unpleasantly realistic period piece, *Flesh+Blood*. But how gross was the medieval times? What was the influence of growing up under Nazi occupation on Verhoeven’s worldview? Is it intended for the viewer to root for the plague? Together, Griffin and David discuss his original Dutch movies, Bosch paintings, and how Flesh+Blood’s failure at the box office would inform his study of American culture and his future films.
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Everyone is practically vibrating with excitement to start this new miniseries. Takes a few minutes to settle down after callbacks to a bit from one of their least-listened to episodes ever, and a rundown of Paul Verhoeven's films in his native Netherlands (check out one of them on Pornhub!?) before sailing into Hollywood. The entry point for discussion of this movie becomes the fact that Verhoeven's number one actor in his Dutch movies, Rutger Hauer, came to Hollywood at about the same time. They worked together on this movie, and then never again after reported disagreements on set.

How is this movie similar to *Monty Python and the Holy Grail*? How does Verhoeven's obsession with Jesus and his extreme dislike of organized religion show up on-screen in this film? Are we watching the extremely young Jennifer Jason Leigh learn to act in front of our eyes? Is there any character at all to root for among this group of awful people? Holy crap, is that Bart Simpson?

Finally, Griffin and David see Verhoeven as a great technical filmmaker with classical skills who uses those skills as a trojan horse, under the label of satire, to inject some really weird philosophical ideas of his into popular American filmmaking. He's almost an impressionist of conventional Hollywood movies. This film exhibits that on a small trial-size scale before he gets the funding to go bigger in his next several projects. Stay tuned for those!

### Milestones and Ephemera

* This movie may or may not have been released in theaters, before ending up on 80's pay channels late at night.
* Abandoned (?) nickname for the Producer: **Fun Ben**
* Jack Thompson performance review: Cliegg Lars
* Griffin's Verhoeven impression level: Austin Powers' Goldmember

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Flesh+Blood. Audioboom. Retrieved on May 21, 2022.
Jerah Milligan

**Jerah Milligan** is an actor, comedian, improviser, and producer living in NYC. He is also one of the hosts of the podcast Black Men Can't Jump [In Hollywood].

## Biography

Jerah was a guest on The Terminal episode of Blank Check. He surprised #TheTwoFriends by picking *The Terminal* to talk about, out of all the choices in Spielberg's latter-day filmography, but he said that he liked and owned the movie on DVD, even though he was critical of the movie in the podcast. It's a flawed movie, but it's charming!

He was initially promised to be on the True Lies episode but due to scheduling conflicts was not able to appear.

He was also on the Detroit episode of Blank Check, together with his co-hosts from *Black Men Can't Jump [In Hollywood]* James III and Jonathan Braylock.
Ocean's 8 Commentary

**Ocean's 8** is episode 187 of Blank Check: Special Features and a commentary for the 2018 feature film of the same name. Posted September 1, 2023.

## Summary

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> Viva Las Vegas?! No, on the contrary, this fifth entry into the BC:SF Ocean’s commentary series is set in (checks notes) NEW YORK CITY! Join Griffin, David, and Ben and watch the female drive spin-off Ocean’s 8. Topics include: favorite Sandra Bullock performances, spotting Griffin’s arm, NYC landmarks, a certain “entertainer” that shows up towards the end of the movie, and more.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Box office game: Weekend of June 8, 2018

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Ocean's 8. Patreon. Retrieved on September 1, 2023.
Louis Peitzman

**Louis Peitzman** is a senior entertainment editor for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York. Peitzman writes about and reports on theater, film, and television.

Louis was a guest for the The Visit episode of Blank Check. Griffin and David described this episode as the "punchiest" episode of the podcast because of how often they went off-topic and the numerous bits.
Joe Reid

**Joe Reid** (@joereid on Twitter) is a film critic, senior writer, producer and awards season prognosticator for The Decider. He has also written for *The Atlantic* and *Vanity Fair*, among others. As a known enthusiast for annual film awards in general, he has appeared on many other podcasts to discuss his predictions and favorites as well including Little Gold Men. He also has a podcast of his own, co-hosted with Chris Feil, to cover an interesting angle on films and awards: "This Had Oscar Buzz."

## Biography

Joe is a regular Blank Check guest on the annual Blank Check Awards episodes. He has an open invitation every year due to his love of awards and award season expertise - in fact David has said he knows so much about Oscars trivia and ephemera that he was their one and only choice to come on for Blank Check's awards show extravaganza. Joe is also one of Griffin and David's former teammates on their infamous Videology Trivia juggernauts, in the prehistoric era before The Phantom Podcast began.

When Joe was in for The Third Annual Blank Check Awards, Griffin gave Joe a very sweaty nickname: Reiding RainJoe.

## Appearances

Special features episodes with the check symbol (✔️) have been released from behind the paywall.
National Treasure

**National Treasure** is a commentary miniseries as part of the Blank Check: Special Features covering the *National Treasure* diptych.

## Summary

The winning choice on the Patreon poll for the super short series options. The entirety of the poll (from posting to winner) was conducted during the A View to a Kill episode.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* This series will represent the first time a movie starring Nicolas Cage has been covered on the podcast.
* The first-ever two movie franchise covered. Previously, three was generally considered the magic number of movies required for consideration.

## Ranking The Franchise

At the conclusion of the miniseries, the Blankies rankings will compiled from a voting thread found on the r/Blankies sub-reddit.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check podcast. PICK OUR NEXT COMMENTARY SERIES: YOU HAVE TWO HOURS. Patreon. Retrieved on November 22, 2022.
2. ↑ @BlankCheckMeta. Tweet dated Nov 22, 2022. Twitter. Retrieved on November 22, 2022.
Fran Hoepfner

* "Brave era" Fran
* Fran Classic

**Fran Hoepfner** (@franhoepfner on Twitter) is a writer and stand-up comedian.

## Biography

She is from Chicago but currently lives in the New York area working on an MFA at Rutgers. She has been Associate Video Director at *The Onion*, written often about classical music for The Awl (R.I.P.) and WEXP, and about movies for Bright Wall/Dark Room where she is an Editor at Large.

Fran was a guest on the Aliens episode of Blank Check. She cited *Aliens* as one of her favorite movies and as a point of connection with her mother who is also a fan of the film and female led sci-fi movies. In that episode she also coined the nickname Big Chicago for actor Michael Shannon.

After her first Blank Check appearance got hosannas and great ratings, Fran finally returned to the show two and a half years later to talk about Nancy Meyers' The Holiday, which she stood in defense of while asking, "Is John Krasinski.... in *The Holiday*.... the Adam Driver of *Lincoln*.... of 2006?"

## Appearances

Her first four appearances were on the movie that spawned Ben Hosley's nickname for that miniseries.

Fran joined the Five-Timers Club with her Bright Star appearance. She was the 10th guest to join the club.
Jason Mantzoukas

Jason on the cover art for HDTGM

**Jason Mantzoukas** is an actor, comedian, and podcaster. He hosts the podcast *How Did This Get Made?* with Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael.

He was a voice in Ralph Breaks the Internet and The Lego Batman Movie making him one of the few guests to have appeared in, or worked on, a film covered by the podcast.

## Appearances

Jason appeared on the first ever episode to surpass the 3-hour mark. Since both of his episodes have been over 3 hours, he ranks very high on the longest episodes rankings.
JD Amato

**John Donald "J.D." Amato** (@JDAmato on Twitter) loves movies. He is known for his work directing on "The Chris Gethard Show," "Cop Show," and "My Brother, My Brother and Me."

## Biography

He has appeared on the Digital Filmmaking, War of the Worlds, Starship Troopers, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, and My Neighbor Totoro episodes of Blank Check, as well as the beginning and end of the Speed Racer episode. He also appeared on the Blank Check Special Features episode Corpse Bride. He introduced to the podcast his relevant hypothesis that all films are about their filmmakers.

Griffin and David have an ASMR-like fascination with J.D. talking about cinematography techniques, a topic which Amato is well-versed in.

He is a big fan of Toys (1992).

### Talking the Walk

Some of J.D.'s appearances are part of an annual feature called Talking the Walk. These episodes often involve waxing poetic/going extremely deep about technical details and visual effects. For the 2020 installment, he recorded a secret companion podcast wherein he interviewed Kevin Baillie, the visual effects supervisor for *The Walk*.

## Appearances

JD Amato's appearances on the podcast tend to run long, and he currently has the 3rd and 4th longest episodes. His episodes on My Neighbor Totoro, Coraline, and The Boy and the Heron are among the longest to eclipse the film's run time, with each going at least 1 hour over the film's runtime.

### Secret Podcast

A secret podcast, called Talking the Walk, is hosted by J.D. Amato and produced by Ben Hosley. The podcast is a companion to the annual Talking the Walk feature. To locate the episode, listeners have to solve a series of riddles.
Manhunter

**Manhunter** is episode 219 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of The Cast of the Podhicans miniseries on the films of Michael Mann. Posted June 2, 2019.

## Summary

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> This week, Chris Cabin and Eric Szyszka of the We Hate Movies podcast joins Griffin and David to discuss the original Hannibal Lecter film: 1986's *Manhunter*. But what motivated producer Dino De Laurentiis to scrap the adapted title Red Dragon in favor of Manhunter? Did Michael Mann's research involve becoming pen pals with an incarcerated murderer? Is poet and painter William Blake's Great Red Dragon on fleek? Together they examine the performances of William Petersen and Brian Cox, the work of novelist Thomas Harris and the complete Lecter-verse (including *Hannibal Rising*), Walt Disney’s frozen head and serial killer home design aesthetics.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* David and Griffin basically predict the deleted Joker scenes from *The Batman* and a Joker musical à la *Joker: Folie à Deux*
* Tom Noonan's in-character Frankenstein interview from the *Monster Squad* EPK.
* Kim Greist is James Newman's godmother?
* Box Office Game: Weekend of August 15, 1986

## References

1. ↑ Manhunter on Audioboom. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
2. ↑ Approx. 1:09:20
Following

**Following** is episode 114 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the The Pod Knight Casts miniseries covering the filmography of Christopher Nolan. Posted 25 Jun 2017.

## Summary

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> In the first episode of a new mini series focusing on the filmography of Christopher Nolan, Griffin and David discuss the 1998 debut feature, Following. But how have conmen or “confidence men” influenced the director’s later work? How was the burgeoning filmmaker received by festivals? Is the uncensored director’s cut of Nutty Professor II: The Klumps worth viewing? Together they examine the extended Nolan family, Kevin Bacon getting Bernie Madoff’d, Griffin’s auteur video rental store and David’s recent dance moves. Also, BRAAAMS.
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As is so often the case for the first film by these auteur directors, this is a movie that did not have well-known actors, had a short run time, and overall was maybe not so great a film. So in this episode #TheTwoFriends embark on many digressions, multiple sidebars, and sometimes range far afield to fill the time. Even David is mostly not that eager to bring the discussion back on topic at times.

Questions asked and answered during this episode: Who are David's two favorite screen actors? Can Griffin sell his co-host on doing an episode on *The Emoji Movie*? What are David's go-to dance moves? How many different musical instruments can the multi-talented Producer Ben play?

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Abandoned nickname for Ben: Temperature Queen. Possible nickname: NOT a temperature queen.
* Established: Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Ice Age: Collision Course.
* Congratulations to David Ehrlich on his nuptials. Griffin confirms David (Sims) raised the roof on the dance floor.
	+ If invited to a wedding that is well-organized but outdoors, he will not raise the roof.
	+ If the wedding is not well organized but outdoors, he will build a roof and then raise it.
	+ If it’s an Amish or Mennonite barn-raising, he will lower the floor.
	+ He will neither raise nor lower the roof at a funeral.
* Ben was a band kid! He played trumpet. Also trombone, tuba, French horn, tenor sax, and clarinet. Damn!
Miniseries

**Miniseries** refers to the series of individual episodes focused on specific directors, themes, or franchises. For a full list of episodes, see the main episode guide, Special Features, or the miniseries summary category pages. For possible future miniseries, see that page.

## Miniseries Statistics

The three longest series' by number of episodes are They Podcast covering the films of John Carpenter (23), Podcast Away covering the films of Robert Zemeckis (22), and Podward Scissorcast covering the films of Tim Burton (19). Podcast Away moved ahead of Stop Making Podcasts (covering the films of Jonathan Demme) for most films covered with 21 total versus 20.

## Footnotes

1. ↑ *The Clone Wars Animated Series*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Star Wars Holiday Special
3. ↑ *The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan*
4. ↑ *Sense8*, *The Animatrix*
5. ↑ *Denim Invasion* TV commercial, *Roadies*
6. ↑ *Toruk: The First Flight*, *Avatarland*
7. ↑ *Family Dog*
8. ↑ *Chosen*
9. ↑ *Miami Vice* Pilot Episode, *The Jericho Mile* TV movie, *The Keep* role playing game
10. ↑ *Nightmare at 20,000 Feet*
11. ↑ *Disappearing Acts* TV movie
12. ↑ Three *Tales from the Crypt* TV episodes.
13. ↑ TV movies *Someone’s Watching Me* and *Elvis*, and the TV anthology series *Body Bags*
14. ↑ Two series of *Top of the Lake*
15. ↑ *Liza with a Z* TV special
16. ↑ *London 2012 Opening Ceremony*
17. ↑ Short films *The Cook, The High Sign, One Week, The Playhouse, Cops* and *The Balloonatic*
18. ↑ TV Series *The Little Drummer Girl*
19. ↑ music videos
20. ↑ *Toy Story Toons*
Maestro

**Maestro** is episode 456 focusing on the 2023 film of the same name part of the now designated A Pod is Cast miniseries on the films of Bradley Cooper. Posted December 17, 2023.

## Summary

> The music! The makeup! The MAESTRO! We’re diving into Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic, the result of his post-A STAR IS BORN Blank Check, and we’re getting personal, emotional, and pretty ridiculous. Who does Griffin’s Bernstein impression sound like (because it certainly doesn’t sound like Bernstein)? What is Ben’s familial connection to the Maestro? Will Marie ever forgive Griffin for inviting Bobby Wagner on a date to visit Bradley Cooper’s Philly cheesesteak truck instead of her? Will David ever forgive Griffin for comparing the Maestro to Will Smith?
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Variety's Directors on Directors - Bradley Cooper & Spike Lee
* Box Office Game: Weekend of November 24, 2023
* Check out Slow Xmas 3, out now!
* The Sgt. Pepper inspired gift from AJ McKeon, designed by Pat Reynolds

## Quotes

Intro:

> "*If podcast doesn't sing in you then nothing sings in you. And if nothing sings in you then you can't make music, something she told me.*"
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## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Maestro. Audioboom. Retrieved on December 17, 2023.
In A Galaxy Far Far Away

**In A Galaxy Far Far Away** is episode 1 and first part of the The Phantom Podcast miniseries. Posted 23 Mar 2015.

## Summary

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> The year was 1999. It had been twenty-two years since George Lucas last directed a feature film. *Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace* was highly anticipated. But then why did the majority of audiences and critics hate it so much?
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> Sixteen years later, Griffin Newman and David Sims started this podcast with one question in mind: "what is The Phantom Menace REALLY about?" Here in their debut episode, the hosts set out to solve the mystery by beginning their investigation with the first eight minutes of the movie. Join them as we meet Jedi's Qui-Gon Jinn and protegé Obi-Wan Kenobi, the very sexual TC-14, learn about the trade federation and get some insight into how a fourteen year old girl could be elected queen of a planet. Also, Griffin talks merch where he spotlights the CommTech Communicator that made action figures talk.
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The hosts set the ground rules early, establishing the conceit that The Phantom Menace was the only Star Wars movie ever made. If anyone were to refer to other Star Wars movies, they could be docked points (accompanied by an hilarious sound effect, they hope). For his part, producer Ben Hosley wields that power judiciously during the recording. Also within the episode, the movie *The Judge* is mentioned as "one of the craziest movies I have ever seen," foreshadowing the standalone episode Judging The Judge which was recorded at the conclusion of the first Phantom Menace miniseries.

So, what is the film about?  Perhaps it's about a non-stop thrill ride as two Jedis try to make it home while defending their lives, and hopefully in the process expose the naked corruption that's happening within the Trade Federation.  Tune in next time to investigate further!

### Milestones

* Ben Hosley Nickname Added: **Producer Ben**
* Ben Hosley Nickname that didn't stick: **Pizza-doer Ben**
* David Sims Nickname that didn't stick: **David "A+" Sims**
* Does Griffin eat on mic? No.... not yet
* Does David mention he grew up in England? Yes (The Phantom Menace was rated "U" there)
* Merchandise Spotlight! (Refered to as "Merchandise Corner" in this episode)
* Scoring: David loses one point for mentioning 'Strange Magic'.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. In A Galaxy Far Far Away. Audioboom. Retrieved on August 30, 2022.
Justin McElroy

**Justin Tyler McElroy** is a podcaster, author, and the oldest of the McElroy Brothers, hosts of the My Brother, My Brother, and Me podcast.

## Biography

Justin is part of the McElroy family of podcasters. He is the elder brother of both Travis McElroy and Griffin McElroy and the son of Clint McElroy. Together they host The Adventure Zone, a D&D podcast which has been adapted into a series of graphic novels. With his brothers he hosts My Brother, My Brother, and Me, and (podcast within a podcast) Munch Squad. He also hosts Sawbones with his wife Dr. Sydnee McElroy, and together they are the authors of the Sawbones book.

He is an avid woodworker.
Hanging Up

**Hanging Up** is episode 64 of Blank Check: Special Features and a bonus episode of the You've Got Podcast miniseries. Posted July 11, 2020 and released from behind the paywall on July 11, 2023.

## Summary

> Written by Nora and Delia Ephron. Directed by Diane Keaton. Starring Keaton, Meg Ryan, and Lisa Kudrow as sisters. It's the Avengers for 30+ year old white women! Before we get to M:I 2, we're taking it back to another time capsule from 2000—*Hanging Up*. Our old pal Sonia Saraiya (Vanity Fair) joins!
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James III

**James III** (that's James the Third) is an actor and writer originally from Akron, Ohio. He co-hosts the podcast *Black Men Can't Jump [In Hollywood]* with Jerah Milligan and Jonathan Braylock. He has developed content for Comedy Central Digital and Hearst Digital/Seriously.TV. He can be found on Twitter, @james3rdcomedy.

## Biography

James was on the After Earth episode of Blank Check. He was on the pod due to his professed expertise on Will Smith, who is a frequent subject of his own podcast, *Black Men Can't Jump [in Hollywood]*, which often deep-dives into media portrayals of African-Americans. He was also featured on the Detroit episode of Blank Check, together with his two co-hosts from BMCJIH, which turned the endeavor into a real crossover episode.
Justin Charity

**Justin Charity** is a writer, podcaster and film critic.

## Biography

As a writer Justin covers politics and culture for *The Ringer*. He co-hosts the *Sound Only* podcast with fellow guest Micah Peters.

He previously was a speechwriter and worked in politics in Washington D.C.

## References

1. ↑ Justin Charity, LinkedIn. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
K. Austin Collins

**Kameron Austin Collins** (@melvillmatic on Twitter) is a writer based in New York City. He was a staff writer and lead film critic for *The Ringer* until 2018 when he became a film critic for *Vanity Fair*. His writing has also appeared in the *Los Angeles Review of Books* and the *Brooklyn Rail* among other outlets, and he authors crosswords which have appeared regularly in *The New Yorker* and *The New York Times*.

## Biography

Kam was a guest for the Batman episode of Blank Check. He was enthused to discuss how on earth Prince's world intersected with Tim Burton's pioneering superhero blockbuster, as well as discuss the differences between this era of superhero world-building and the later Batman movies and now today's Marvel universe; Jack Nicholson's acumen for lucrative deal-making; and some strong feelings on Spider-man's sexuality. In addition to writing about film, he also creates excessively hard Saturday crosswords for the New York Times.

He is a child of divorce and queer [for pizza].

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/melvillmatic/status/1084823045347393538
Michael

**Michael** is episode 279 focusing on the 1996 film of the same name as part of the You've Got Podcast miniseries. Posted July 5, 2020.

## Summary

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> This week, Blank Check tackles one of film’s greatest mysteries, John Travolta’s career in the 90s. In *Michael* (1996), he plays an angel who visits earth to bring people together, but get this…he’ a bad boy! With the cast rounded out with Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, Bob Hoskins and of course, Sparky the dog, it did well at the box office but where does it land in the scope of Nora’s career? Kevin Porter (Good Christian Fun, Gilmore Guys) joins!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Box-Office Game: Weekend of December 27, 1996.
	+ Same weekend as the limited release of The Portrait of a Lady, but NOT the box-office game featured in the episode.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Michael. Audioboom. Retrieved on August 14, 2020.
Ocean's Eleven Commentary

*This article is a stub. You can help Blank Check with Griffin and David Wiki by expanding it.*
*This article is a commentary for the 2001 Steven Soderbergh film. For the 1960 Frank Sinatra film see Ocean's 11 Commentary. For other uses see Ocean's Eleven (disambiguation).*

## Ocean's Eleven

### Reddit thread

Link

**Ocean's Eleven** is episode 183 of Blank Check: Special Features and a commentary for the 2001 feature film of the same name. Posted July 21, 2023.

## Summary

> Bum bum bum-bum-bum start spreading the news because its time for the second installment in our Ocean’s commentary series! This time on BC:SF the gang discusses Ocean’s Eleven (2001). Topics include: the star-packed casts' different career trajectories leading up to this film, the filmmaking touchstones of director Steven Soderbergh, heist lingo, cufflinks opinions, and more.
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> **Movie starts at…3:22**
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Box office game: Weekend of December 7, 2001
* Extended discussion on how to cover Soderbergh including how to split the filmography and where.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Ocean's Eleven. Patreon. Retrieved on July 21, 2023.
March Madness 2020 Recap - Round 2

**March Madness 2020 Recap - Round 2** is episode 50 of Blank Check: Special Features about the second round of the year's March Madness tournament. Posted March 18, 2020.

## Summary

>
> Another b-b-b-b-bonus episode recapping Blank Check’s March Madness brackets! Griffin, David and Ben recently recorded round 2 over Skype while practicing social distancing. Together they discover “ESKY” the mascot of Esquire Magazine, deep dive into Bill Condon’s filmography, examine the character CD from the Hellraiser franchise and so much more! Please be safe Checkmates and enjoy!
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* One of the first remote records during the early days of the pandemic.
* Sadly Ang hasn’t gotten her recording equipment so she’s not on this ep.
* Does Griffin’s mom have Covid? Definitely, Maybe
* Chip Smith is absent because he has full-blown Covid.
* Other Chip facts gleaned:
	+ Griff FaceTimed Chip and it looked like he was in space.
	+ Got all his style tips from the first issue of *Esquire*, which he picked up from the news stand in 1933 (possibly a lie)
	+ Has double shoulder pads
	+ Collects famous skulls
	+ Doesn’t get paid, was never hired
* ~~Esky~~ Chip Smith

## References

1. ↑ March Madness 2020 Recap - Round 2 on Patreon. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
Iron Man

**This article is a disambiguation page for Iron Man**

The following is a list of links to pages that might share the same title.

Please follow one of the disambiguation links below or search to find the page you were looking for if it is not listed. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

**Iron Man** may refer to:

* Iron Man Commentary, episode 1 of Blank Check: Special Features.
* Iron Man 2 Commentary, episode 5 of Blank Check: Special Features.
* Iron Man 3 Commentary, episode 15 of Blank Check: Special Features.
Glass

You cannot contain what you are

**Glass** (also known as **Casst**) is episode 200 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the continuing Pod Night Shyamacast miniseries covering the films of M. Night Shyamalan. Posted 20 January 2019.

## Summary

> On the week of it’s release in January of 2019, Griffin and David discussed M. Night Shyamalan’s latest offering, Glass. But did the hosts find this film to be a “glassterpiece”? What is Papa executive privilege time? If you had to guess what would you say Samuel L. Jackson’s age would be? Together they try to make sense of why M. Night wanted to tell this particular story, recent Bruce Willis straight to Redbox movies and get retrospective on their two hundredth episode! Plus, a special supercut of Blankies reading Producer Ben’s many, many nicknames.
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It's the two hundredth episode of Blank Check! No better way to celebrate than by returning to the very first filmography subject of the show, M. Night Shyamalan, and his latest film *Glass* on the weekend of its new release.

Did the hosts find this film to be a “glassterpiece”? What is Papa executive privilege time? If you had to guess what would you say Samuel L. Jackson’s age would be? Together they try to make sense of why M. Night wanted to tell this particular story, recent Bruce Willis straight to Redbox movies and get retrospective about the show and the fans and themselves on the occasion of their two hundredth episode.

Stay tuned at the end for a very special supercut of fans reciting the entire catalogue of Ben Hosley nicknames.

### Milestones and Ephemera

* #200, what more can you say
* In The Fifth Annual Blank Check Awards Griffin nominated the film for Best Adapted Screenplay and ranked this his 10th best film of the year.
* Box office game: Weekend of January 18, 2019

### Sponsors

* **Hims** - "Foghorn Leghorn" comes in the studio to tell David about his performance troubles and about how there are "no sins in art" and he was "fired from Netflix" for some reason.
* **Talkspace** - Dr. Ellie Staple stops by to tell David that he might have a condition that makes him think he is doing a paid ad read rather than just enjoying Talkspace's online therapy
Jon Gabrus

**Jon Gabrus** is an American actor and comedian. He hosts the podcast *High and Mighty* and co-hosts the podcast *ActionBoyz.*

## Biography

A self-styled "thinking man's meathead," he is a huge fan of action and crime films and co-hosts the Patreon podcast *Action Boyz*. Fittingly, he appeared on the episodes on the films Heat, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and 2 Fast 2 Furious.

## Appearances

From June 2019 until July 2020, he held the record for longest episode for Heat until he was usurped by Alex Ross Perry for Lucky Numbers.
Michael Cerveris

**Michael Cerveris** (born November 6, 1960) is an American actor, singer, and guitarist. He is a two time Tony award winner for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the 2004 revival of *Assassins and* Best Actor in a Musical for *Fun Home.* He is also known for his work on television in shows such as *Fringe* and *The Tick (*Streaming on Amazon Prime right now).

Michael was the guest on the Sweeny Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street episode of Podward Scissorcast. He was a ringer and was brought on as an expert on all things Sweeny Todd due to him having portrayed the character in the acclaimed 2005 revival of the musical on Broadway. He talked about his point of view of Depp's performance and Burton's choice in adaptation in a more interview style of podcast than Blank Check is used to.
James and the Giant Peach

**James and the Giant Peach** is a episode 404 focusing on the 1996 film of the same name as part of The Podmare Before Castmas miniseries on the films of Henry Selick. Posted December 4, 2022.

## Summary

>
> Bugs! So many bugs! And…Richard Dreyfuss?? The Bug Queen Emma Stefansky returns to the podcast to celebrate all the creepy crawlies in 1996’s JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. We’re talking about stone fruit, Randy Newman, and cinema’s sexiest spider in this episode. Plus, we rank our favorite bugs AND our favorite Roald Dahl adaptations, and we learn about how Ben got his scar.
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### Milestones and Ephemera

* Welcome to the Five-Timers Club, Emma!
* Emma, a tall girl, reviews *Tall Girl*
* Bilge's *Lilo & Stitch* piece
* Susan Sarandon Masturbated to for Old Time's Sake
* William Joyce's Buzz Lightyear
* Box office game: Weekend of April 12, 1996
* A Thin Line Between Love & Hate poster which no one ever talks about.

## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. James and the Giant Peach. Audioboom. Retrieved on December 4, 2022.
2. ↑ Emma Stefansky. A Tall Girl Reviews Netflix's Newest Teen Rom-Com 'Tall Girl'. Thrillist. Retrieved on December 5, 2022.
3. ↑ Bilge Ebiri. ‘Family Means No One Gets Left Behind’: An oral history of *Lilo & Stitch*, the Disney movie that almost brought hand-drawn animation back. Vulture. Retrieved on December 7, 2022.
4. ↑ Susan Sarandon Masturbated to for Old Time's Sake. The Onion. Retrieved on December 7, 2022.