The Eleventh Annual Blank Check Awards with Joe Reid

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Eleventh Annual Blank Check Awards (The 11th Blankies)

Podcast: Blank Check with Griffin & David
Date: March 1, 2026
Guests: Joe Reid
Produced by: Ben Hosley

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Overview

The 11th Annual Blank Check Awards (“The Blankies”) is an irreverent, delightfully chaotic alternative to the Oscars hosted by Griffin Newman and David Sims, with returning guest and awards spreadsheet maestro Joe Reid. The trio reflect on the year in cinema, debate honors for the 2025 film year, reminisce about 11 years of doing the Blankies, and dole out their own highly specific and personal awards—often with great wit, digressions, and the unique in-joke-laden style characterizing Blank Check. Ben “Producer Ben” Hosley joins them, providing his annual “weddies” and heartfelt tributes.

This episode celebrates the movies, performances, categories, and quirks that stood out to the Blank Check crew—often diverging from consensus and the actual Oscars. As always, deeply niche categories, running gags (“Putters and Murmurs,” “Wife on Phone”), and sentimental tangents pepper the breakdown.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Red Carpet Goofs and Musical Parodies (00:10–06:47)

• The episode opens with mock red carpet banter spoofing Oscar arrivals—with made-up celebrities (Pony, Varang, Samson from “28 Years Later,” etc.).
• Griffin bursts into several film-themed musical parodies, riffing on everything from “Let Hamnet Live” to “Frankenstein Made Him Hot,” and a “Wicked”/“F1” Oscars spoof.
• Commentary on the unpredictable nature of the Blankies (“Who will win?”) and acknowledgment that nominations often reflect the broader awards conversation, but rarely just copy the Oscars.

2. Reflecting on 11 Years of Blankies (10:51–14:37)

• Griffin, David, and Joe remember launching the Blankies early in the podcast run, their lack of preparation, and how it became a core tradition.
• The shift from “decade of dreams” to a more honest, reflective approach—appreciating Blank Check’s own 10-year milestone.

Quote:
"It made me realize, last year we were all, like, celebrating the decade of dreams. ... From a certain point of view, this year is when we celebrate the decade of Blank Check." – Griffin [12:32]

3. Oscar Nominations, Metrics & Personal Awards Strategies (06:54–17:13)

• The group reviews major blockbusters' box office standings for consideration (e.g., “F1,” “Sinners”), wrestling with how metrics and personal favorites blend in their ballots.
• Discussion on internal psychological games when voting (“Do I owe this person? Would it look bad to give a second award?”).

4. Marvel, Industry Gossip & Career Moves (16:45–20:55)

• A detour into Marvel news, rumors about upcoming “Avengers” and “Dune 3.” Florence Pugh’s trajectory is discussed, as well as the tendency of older actors (Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer) to accidentally leak spoilers.
• Banter about Kelsey Grammer’s Hollywood conservatism and navigating industry politics.

5. Category-by-Category Blankies

Best Supporting Actor (24:17–49:21)

• Panelists list their top five, revealing crossovers and unique picks.
  • Standout: Benicio del Toro (“One Battle After Another”) sweeps as the consensus winner.
  • Other nominees: Michael Cera (“The Phoenician Scheme”), Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”), Billy Crudup (“J. Kelly”), Dylan O’Brien (“Twinless”), William H. Macy (“Train Dreams”), Nicholas Hoult (“Superman”), Alexander Skarsgard (“Pillion”).

Quote:
"It’s a great old master performance where you’re like, this guy has cleaned his craft down to the bone." – Griffin on Del Toro [36:04]

• Discussion on category fraud, Oscar snubs, the performance arc for Del Toro, and love for Michael Cera’s versatility and meme-worthiness.
• Digression into the “Putters and Murmurs” category and redefinition for the year (Clifton Collins Jr. in “Eddington” gets the nod for apex puttering).

Best Supporting Actress (52:12–61:53)

• Highlights include Amy Madigan (“Weapons”), Miriam Afshari (“It Was Just An Accident”), Oona Chaplin (“Avatar: Fire and Ash”), Nina Haas (“Hedda”), Tiana Taylor, Regina Hall, Emma Stone (“Eddington”).
  • Nina Haas wins Griffin’s Blankie, Miriam Afshari wins for Joe, Amy Madigan for David.
• Commentary on how the tight Oscar race for supporting actress is “a three-way race”: Tiana, Wunmi, Amy.

Quote:
"That feels like an even three way. If I had supporting actor, feels like a five way." – Joe [56:28]

Screenplay Awards (62:33–76:19)

• Best Original Screenplay nominees include “It Was Just an Accident” (Panahi), “Sinners” (Coogler), “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” “Blue Moon,” “Griffin in Summer.”
  • Both David and Joe give it to “It Was Just An Accident”; Griffin to “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”
• Best Adapted Screenplay typical front-runners: “One Battle After Another,” “No Other Choice,” “28 Years Later,” “Wake Up Deadman.”
  • The panel agrees “One Battle” will win at Oscars; Griffin gives his Blankie to “No Other Choice.”

Best Animated Feature (77:16–80:48)

• Weak year overall, with “K Pop Demon Hunters,” “Arco,” “Zootopia 2,” and “Elio” in the mix. The team laments lackluster options and inability to catch up on all contenders.

Casting, Cinematography, Score (82:08–89:32)

• Shout-outs to “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “Peter Hujar’s Day,” “Train Dreams,” and “28 Years Later” for visuals.
• Score-wise: “One Battle,” “Sinners,” “Testament of Anlee,” “Tron Aries,” and “Train Dream” are among favorites.

Specialty Awards and Memorable Moments (92:40–103:32)

• The IO Adebiri “Couldn’t Be More Seated” Award: Honors Al Pacino in “Dead Man’s Wire” for remaining seated in every scene.
• Best Wife on Phone: A beloved running Blankies category (e.g., “Sully,” “Captain Phillips”). This year’s standout: Renée Elise Goldsberry (FLOTUS in “House of Dynamite”).
• Other superlatives: “Putters and Murmurs,” “Sergeant Shroom Award,” “Black Box Performance” (e.g., Billy Crudup in “J. Kelly”).

6. Main Acting Categories (117:42–153:44)

Best Actor

• Nominees: Josh O’Connor (“Mastermind” and “Wake Up Deadman”), Dwayne Johnson (“The Smashing Machine”), Channing Tatum (“Roofman”), Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another”), Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”), Ben Whishaw (“Peter Hujar’s Day”).
• Ethan Hawke, Dwayne Johnson, and Josh O’Connor are recurring nominees and favorites.
• Extended riff on dream sequences and actors’ career trajectory.

Quote:
"Dwayne Johnson... an incredible performance. I think that movie so suffered from trying to market it as a more conventional film..." – Griffin [124:16]

Best Actress

• Nominees: Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), Amanda Seyfried (“Testament of Anlee”), Jesse Buckley (“Hamnet”), Jennifer Lawrence (“Die My Love”), Kiki Palmer (“One of Them Days”), Sally Hawkins (“Unbecoming a Guinea Fowl”), Suzan Shardi, Son Ye Jin, Julia Roberts (“After the Hunt”).
  • Panel highlights Amanda Seyfried, Rose Byrne, Jesse Buckley; all have passionate supporters.
  • Julia Roberts’ career since 2000 becomes a point of debate (is “Ben is Back” her last great film?).
• Reflections on how Oscar narratives develop and shift—how someone can be "snubbed into" future opportunities.

7. Best Director & Picture (153:44–169:41)

• Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”) sweeps as consensus pick; other nominees include Ari Aster, Mona Fastvold, Park Chan-wook, Mary Bronstein, Ryan Coogler, Jafar Panahi.
  • All three predict a potential Director/Picture split at Oscars: one battle (likely Director), “Sinners” favored for Picture.
  • General sense of satisfaction that there’s no “villain” in this year’s race.
• Best Picture:
  • Griffin: “Eddington” (his favorite all year), “One Battle,” “No Other Choice,” “If I Had Legs...,” “Testament of Anlee,” “Weapons,” “Sinners,” “Materialists,” “Phoenician Scheme,” “The Shrouds.”
  • David: “One Battle,” “It Was Just an Accident,” “Weapons,” “Sinners,” “Caught by the Tides,” “Secret Agent,” “Marty Supreme,” “28 Years Later,” “Blue Moon,” “Eddington.”
  • Joe: “It Was Just an Accident,” “One Battle,” “Marty Supreme,” “Train Dreams,” etc.

Quote:
"It already feels like a movie we’ve been studying for 15 years.” – Griffin, on “One Battle After Another” [168:43]

8. Producer Ben’s Weddies and In Memoriam (171:19–174:41)

• Wettest movies (“Weddies”) of the year: “Frankenstein,” “Sinners,” “Last Breath,” “Magellan,” “Sorry, Baby.”
• Ben delivers a moving in-memoriam tribute to his recently departed beloved cat, Pig, a staple behind the scenes of the podcast for over 17 years.

Quote:
"She ran this city ... She was a silent participant in so many episodes and we miss her dearly." – Griffin [187:03]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “It is a great old master performance where you’re like, this guy has cleaned his craft down to the bone. ... Zen master!” – Griffin on Benicio del Toro [36:04]
• “If you pull that performance out, the movie’s not as good. It’s like the effect he had on the movie... the entire creative ecosystem.” – Griffin [35:25]
• “The rigorousness of your parameters really, like, dissuades me from, like, picking something on the fly...” – Joe, on Griffin’s “Couldn’t Be More Seated” award [96:57]
• “That feels like an even three way. If I had supporting actor, feels like a five way.” – Joe [56:28]
• Running Gags: The “Putters and Murmurs” debate; “Wife on Phone” award; “Sergeant Shroom” honorific; “Black Box” performance; talk-show asides about personal neuroses (Zoom phobia, falling and hurting knees/butts); Marie Barty’s crush on Austin Powers' "cut" body.
• Tribute: Deep appreciation and gratitude for Pig, Ben’s cat and podcast companion.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:10–06:47: Red carpet parodies and opening musical medleys
• 10:51–14:37: 11 years of Blankies, the show’s history and tradition
• 24:17–49:21: Best Supporting Actor
• 52:12–61:53: Best Supporting Actress
• 62:33–76:19: Screenplay categories
• 77:16–80:48: Animated Feature
• 82:08–89:32: Craft awards (casting, cinematography, score)
• 92:40–103:32: Special superlatives (e.g., “Putters and Murmurs,” “Best Wife on Phone”)
• 117:42–153:44: Best Actor, Best Actress
• 153:44–169:41: Best Director and Best Picture races—with predictions
• 171:19–174:41: Ben’s “weddies” (wet movie awards) and in-memoriam for Pig

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Tone & Language

• Highly conversational, referential, and playful; full of inside jokes, running bits, and cinephile references.
• Panelists constantly reference their own spreadsheets, past podcasts, and Oscar “narratives,” blending earnest cinephilia with meta-comedy.
• Language blends sharp critical insight with slang, self-mockery (“I am now a psyop hair!”), and affectionate teasing.

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Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

• All major categories are discussed, with panelists’ unique perspectives and cross pollination with the “real” awards conversation.
• Offers strong opinions on overlooked films/performances, category fraud, and the idiosyncrasies of Oscar and cinephile culture.
• Plenty of color about the show’s ethos and the personalities that drive it, making the summary useful both for regular listeners and newcomers with an interest in film awards.

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Final Thoughts

The Blankies is a film awards special as only Blank Check could do: part cinephile survey, part joyous inside-joke party, and always informed by genuine love of cinema, deep knowledge, and willingness to spotlight what moved and amused them most—no matter its odds for Oscar. Whether or not you’ve seen the year’s films, the discussion brims with personality, passion, and humor, and offers a welcome alternative awards lens.

In Memoriam: Farewell Pig, the best cat and an integral (if silent) member of the Blank Check family.

Next on Blank Check: New miniseries—Peter Weir, “Weir making it weird.”

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“We all got three babies. Are you looking at the picture of Varrang… Men do be looking at pictures of Varrang.” – Griffin [184:01]
“I know I joke and I whack with the stick, but I know men—and the men, they look at the pictures of Varrang.” – Joe [184:22]

Transcript

[Joe Reed]

Foreign.

[David Sims]

From a windowless studio in Brooklyn, New York.

[Griffin Newman]

It's the 11th annual Blankies. All the stars are out tonight. Oh, is that Ella McKay's deadbeat pizza husband I see on the red carpet? Pony, extra cheese. And you're Hawaiian. Hawaiian. Just entering the red carpet. It's balls from. Is this thing on?

[Joe Reed]

Oh, looks like he spilled a gallon of milk.

[Griffin Newman]

It's been a lot for me to carry around.

[David Sims]

Greta Lee wishes she could be here with us tonight.

[Griffin Newman]

However, she's at Gettysburg watching a Civil War reenactment.

[David Sims]

Varang can help you find this man.

[Joe Reed]

The paparazzi is loving our latest arrival

[Griffin Newman]

on the red carpet. It's Varang, wearing a stunning ash dress.

[David Sims]

I am the fire. Oh, my goodness.

[Griffin Newman]

Samson, the Alpha from 28 years later

[David Sims]

just arrived with his date.

[Griffin Newman]

His giant penis.

[David Sims]

Oh, my God. It's even bigger than I thought.

[Griffin Newman]

And now, your host for this evening, song and dance man, Griffin Newman. Wonderful night for blankies. Blankies. Blankies. Who will win? And possible nominees based on mostly just the things that have been nominated everywhere else. In particular the Oscar. Who knows where we're gonna swing?

[Joe Reed]

Their tastes are not did F1.

[Griffin Newman]

When you were young and your wife still had her hawk, you used to say, let Hamnet live. You know you did. You know you did. You know you did. But if this ever growing plague would make your son sick, that plague might make your wife cry. So let him die.

[David Sims]

Oh, okay, okay, okay.

[Griffin Newman]

Boom. I had some pitch problems on that one, sure.

[David Sims]

I was just, you know, it's a lot of buildup and I was finding my way into it.

[Griffin Newman]

That's all he is the creature. He's got good features. He is hot, hot, hot.

[David Sims]

Oh, Frankenstein, Frankenstein, Frankenstein made him.

[Griffin Newman]

But now he hates him cuz he's hot hot.

[David Sims]

It's true.

[Griffin Newman]

Thank you. You're selling shoes for uncle. He won't give you cash. You're cucking Mr. Wonderful. He paddles your ass doing circus tricks on globetrotter tours. You're absolutely sure that kid's not yours?

[Joe Reed]

You gotta fight panic for your right panic.

[Griffin Newman]

Tomorrow day supreme.

[David Sims]

Honestly, you didn't even need it.

[Griffin Newman]

I heard it said that the new Wicked would be numbed. Reward both films now. Return of the King was the comp. But then it came out and it fucking sucked so hard. Because for good sucked. Wicked. For good sucked. They nominate F1.

[David Sims]

F1 made it. I was wondering. I was wondering if F1 was gonna make it.

[Griffin Newman]

Now, Begonia.

[David Sims]

Wonder if Begonia's getting any numbers today. What do you think?

[Griffin Newman]

I'm a sinner.

[David Sims]

Okay.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm a twinner. I drink blood for dinner. I can't be exposed to the sun. I'm a smoker. I'm a stacker. I'm a neck blood snacker. I'm eating pussy in the club.

[David Sims]

That's all true.

[Joe Reed]

It says factually correct.

[Griffin Newman]

Stalin. Skarsgard, why won't you come to your senses? You've been so damn pretentious to your daughters so long. Got a project. Elle Fanning says she's attached, but you're. I don't know. I ran out of lyrics on that one.

[David Sims]

Whatever.

[Joe Reed]

Good.

[Griffin Newman]

Secret agent film. Secret agent film.

[David Sims]

Route 1, but good.

[Griffin Newman]

Disappeared your loved ones and they severed someone's leg. Blue moon, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhai. He's a really short guy. Abu Dhabu, die. Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhai. Blue moon, he will die. Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhai.

[Joe Reed]

A little romping.

[David Sims]

The coal, I feel like, is running low. He's performing these in the order that he wrote them down.

[Griffin Newman]

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

[David Sims]

And. And you can feel the kind of steam that's saying, like, the train is starting to slow down.

[Griffin Newman]

Well, I guess you guys are forcing me off the stage. And I can't perform the one battle after another song. I definitely cracked.

[David Sims]

So moving on. No, we need to hear it.

[Griffin Newman]

I know. We just have to know that I definitely had one.

[David Sims]

Right. It was in. It was locked, and now he's putting

[Joe Reed]

it in the attic.

[Griffin Newman]

There weren't 10 different drafts that didn't work.

[Joe Reed]

One is the loneliest battle. Never.

[Griffin Newman]

We tried a lot of things. I got to thank the War room. The self dubbed war room. The war Nicholas Frank, Tiger Weger and Sean Clemens.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Like the jingle during the midnight.

[Joe Reed]

Churning out. Churning out jingles.

[Griffin Newman]

Come with a good slate. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

We have one battle or another. Like one way or another. That was doing one jump ahead from Aladdin. That was. It was. Every. Every one of these. I hit a wall after like two lines.

[Joe Reed]

One jump ahead would have been a little like, really delving inward to the, like. The real. Real heads are going to get this and.

[Griffin Newman]

Totally. Yeah. But I. You know, they can all be

[Joe Reed]

spent. That entire setup being like, where is this going, Panahi? I couldn't quite.

[Griffin Newman]

That's the juice.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Panahi.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. I don't know.

[David Sims]

You know, F1 is nominated for Best Picture.

[Joe Reed]

It is.

[David Sims]

You made your list.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

It was the 14th highest grossing domestic release.

[Griffin Newman]

Don't say it made my list. It made the metric.

[David Sims]

That's what I'm saying.

[Joe Reed]

I mean, that's what I'm saying.

[David Sims]

It snuck in.

[Griffin Newman]

It's just hitting the topic.

[David Sims]

So Sinners made more money than it.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

So, like, if you're, you know, if you're ringing your hands over like, oh, we needed a blockbuster, though. It's like, well, well, Sinners.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

And I'm not. I'm not mad. I'm just saying. I was just sort of looking. Being like, was there another blockbuster they could have nominated?

[Griffin Newman]

What were the final totals on them?

[David Sims]

On which?

[Griffin Newman]

On sinners and sinners versus F1.

[David Sims]

It's domestic, so not worldwide.

[Griffin Newman]

No, I know, but worldwide. Did F1 beat sinners?

[David Sims]

Oh, I think definitely.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

That was my F1.

[David Sims]

Sure.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. I mean, that was the rationale.

[David Sims]

F1 makes 633 worldwide. The international academy members, 369.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

But domestic sinners is 279 to F1's 189. That's all.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

I just, you know, they could have nominated Superman. I don't know. Or Avatar. There's not really a lot else.

[Joe Reed]

There's not really. Particularly when the juice for both Avatar and Wicked kind of ran out at the same time.

[Griffin Newman]

That was the real thing. It did feel like a lot of people were mentally holding a slot.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Or one, if not both.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And then when Wicked fell through, they were like, well, obviously the slot is Avatars.

[David Sims]

Yeah, Yeah, a little bit.

[Joe Reed]

I remember because I covered post Thanksgiving,

[David Sims]

it was like, it'll be Avatars. And then post Christmas, it was like, I hear a car rumbling. Yeah, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Also, a bunch of male married Oscar voters were. Were at their ballot. Right. Licking the quill. Right.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

About to write in Avatar fire and ash. And then they hear the old battle axe wife with a rolling pin, as she does. You better not to be voting for the voting. Don't you vote for the revenge.

[David Sims]

I'm sorry.

[Joe Reed]

You vote.

[David Sims]

Sorry. Oscar voters are married to Italian nanas

[Griffin Newman]

with a rolling pins.

[Joe Reed]

That's what all the cast members from the Nonas.

[David Sims]

You better not to vote for the.

[Griffin Newman]

Wait.

[David Sims]

No wonder they're all, like, having affairs or whatever. Like, if the wife at home is like, strega Nona, like, I can.

[Griffin Newman]

And the husband goes, I work all day mixing the sound. I work my fingers through them if

[Joe Reed]

I want to vote.

[David Sims]

Okay. Welcome to our 202025 Blankies episode.

[Joe Reed]

That's right.

[David Sims]

Blank Checks.

[Griffin Newman]

This is the 2026 ceremony for the films of 2025.

[David Sims]

That's right.

[Griffin Newman]

Which makes this the 11th.

[Joe Reed]

The 11th.

[David Sims]

Is that right? Yeah. Okay.

[Joe Reed]

I erroneously texted you A few several weeks ago and thought this would be the 10th. But last. Last year was the 2015 movie year was the first one I remember doing.

[David Sims]

Correct?

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Correct. Yeah. No. So this is the 11th. Yeah. Blankies. Who are you?

[Griffin Newman]

I'm Griffin Newman.

[David Sims]

I'm David Sims. And who's that?

[Griffin Newman]

It's Joe Reed, AKA Reading Rango.

[Joe Reed]

Reading Ranger. The only person in my life who calls me that is Griffin Newman. And I look forward to it.

[Griffin Newman]

Just only once a year. Yeah. Yeah.

[David Sims]

I mean it's not a. You've done it other.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. But mostly in the ramp up or the wind down from this time. Once a year.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Now they're rebooting Reading Rainbow. Have you heard this?

[Griffin Newman]

With whom?

[David Sims]

Someone called Michael Threets.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, of course.

[David Sims]

The great Michael 3T24 episode pickup.

[Griffin Newman]

Where PBS. Okay.

[Joe Reed]

Well that's good.

[Griffin Newman]

I like that part of it.

[Joe Reed]

I was really brave.

[David Sims]

What if it was like Netflix fucking Paramount plus reading. You like Barry Weiss's book. What do you want from me?

[Griffin Newman]

Oh brother. Producer Ben is here.

[David Sims]

What's up?

[Griffin Newman]

I gifted him today a vintage McFarlane Toys aka T Dog Mac Violator action figure from the first series of Spawn toys. And he has wrapped it around his mic arm and he's looking at it so lovingly.

[Joe Reed]

The room was feeling a little empty so I. I'm glad that there was some decided to put something personality brought into the space.

[David Sims]

Yeah, yeah, that's true. There's just nothing. We needed a little something.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Colorful or sort of eye popping in our office.

[Griffin Newman]

Perhaps a chachk absorb the sound.

[Joe Reed]

Consider a chotchki once in a while.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, it's. It's all sound absorption and I've got my.

[David Sims]

I've got my baby Joey.

[Griffin Newman]

You got your baby Joey.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, nice.

[David Sims]

But it's greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Griffin Newman]

Of course. Anytime, buddy.

[Joe Reed]

I'm apparently staring at a photo of Austin Powers suspended in Cry Station.

[David Sims]

Yeah, that maybe doesn't have to be there.

[Joe Reed]

Hell of a thing for your guests to.

[David Sims]

Yeah, it does seem a little aggro to the guest.

[Griffin Newman]

Of course when we covered the Austin Powers trilogy on Patreon, Marie Barty Salinas AKA Woman would not stop talking about how Cut quote.

[David Sims]

Oh, I remember you have never let this go.

[Joe Reed]

That was quite the opinion. That was advanced.

[David Sims]

Yes. You really. It really got to you.

[Griffin Newman]

So that lives on that desk for when Marie's joining us as fourth chair reminder of her. Also on the back of it there's some notes written that I think were Ratliff trying to jot some things down during The Lady Killers episode.

[David Sims]

Connor.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

All right, let's see.

[Griffin Newman]

Here's the thing I like about the blankies and the movies.

[David Sims]

Okay?

[Griffin Newman]

We were just doing the count of, like, this is year 11, right? We. We start off the blankies, the award ceremony, as a franchise in our second year, but our first year as Blank Check, right?

[David Sims]

We. We were like, where. We were like, three months into being

[Griffin Newman]

Blank Check, and we already were like, you know what we should do?

[David Sims]

I do vaguely remember that being the vibe where we were just kind of like, let's just do, like, an Oscar

[Griffin Newman]

Y episode, but also, let's plant our flag. This is like, oh, yeah, this is who we are now. But it made me realize last year we were all, like, fucking celebrating the decade of dreams. Everyone was running down the streets blowing like Vuvu's Velas and shouting about the decade of dreams.

[Joe Reed]

They were definitely doing that.

[Griffin Newman]

But from a certain point of view, this year is when we celebrate the decade of Blank Check. Because last year was celebrating nine years of blank check and one year of Griffin and David present.

[David Sims]

That's a good. Okay, so you. Are you trying to bring decades of dreams.

[Griffin Newman]

It hit me the other day, into

[David Sims]

a second like, we're sort of like, doing the faded, sad legacy. Cool. To decade of Dreams.

[Griffin Newman]

A more honest decade of dreams. It's not actually diminishing returns. It's. It's. It's better.

[David Sims]

And then next year, you'll be like. And really, you don't start. It's counting.

[Joe Reed]

The millennium didn't begin until 2001. Yeah, you weren't kidding about chicken scratches. I'm getting Spock, perhaps two words that look like bacon melt, but they can't possibly be bacon melt. And then burn before reading is the thing that I can.

[David Sims]

Well, that's. That sounds like a good bit that he didn't get to do.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. These were notes. Oh, I see. Is this IP that I've just pulled into the universe?

[Griffin Newman]

What I like about having it on the guest desk is first we get to do a little Kinsey test of how you feel about Mike Myers and his cut bar.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah, that's fair.

[Griffin Newman]

And then you can see how far you can get trying to decipher Conor Ratliff's handwriting.

[Joe Reed]

Sure, sure, sure, sure.

[Griffin Newman]

This is the Blankie Awards, where we pick our winners.

[David Sims]

You know, you're right. I never thought about it that we just kind of did it like, six episodes into our M. Night Shyamalan series or whatever. Just being like, this is a thing we want to do. I also remember There was no. We were basically like, let's do awards episode.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Do you ever want to do it? And you were like, yeah, sure. And then, like, you know, day before, it was like, what is it, by the way? We're just like, I don't know. Your Oscar ballot.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Like, I mean, not like we were like, all right.

[Joe Reed]

We didn't have a planning session.

[David Sims]

Super prepared. Like, wait, you're saying that it wasn't organized.

[Joe Reed]

It was also recorded in the hottest little closet.

[David Sims]

Well, the worst part there, I'm not going to deny. And now look at us.

[Joe Reed]

Now look at us.

[David Sims]

A larger windowless room.

[Joe Reed]

Yes. But, like, ceilings that are. Yeah. That are higher.

[Griffin Newman]

Why did I feel confident just being like, we should do an awards episode. Let's ask. Let's ask Joe. And do no further planning, because I know that all three of us.

[David Sims]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Keep nerd spreadsheets and lists and what

[Griffin Newman]

we're going to have to do. Right. The work's done.

[Joe Reed]

Somebody asked me that the other day, like, how do you prepare for the blankies? And I'm like, well, I keep lists throughout the year.

[Griffin Newman]

Right.

[Joe Reed]

Like, this is not like I have to, like, cram session. You know what?

[David Sims]

The episode before it is Signs. We barely started the Shyamalan series.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

It was four episodes deep.

[Joe Reed]

That's amazing.

[David Sims]

And then we were like, let's do blankies. Just fucking do it.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. We nailed it.

[David Sims]

I mean, you know what?

[Griffin Newman]

Honestly. Yes. Can I.

[Joe Reed]

You know who was our consensus pick for best actor that year?

[Griffin Newman]

Michael B. Jordan.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Is that come around again? Only time we've all lined up on an acting.

[David Sims]

I don't have those kinds of.

[Joe Reed]

I'm leaning towards. No.

[David Sims]

But, like, I imagine it's maybe happened once or twice.

[Joe Reed]

There's a wiki out there that. That.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes, there is.

[Joe Reed]

Consultants they want to take.

[Griffin Newman]

I know there's been a couple, like, two out of three. Yeah. Both you guys picked Jennifer Lopez for Hustlers. I picked Florence. LeBron James. Bucket's Pew. Yeah.

[David Sims]

What's she up to? Oh, she did Thunderballs.

[Joe Reed]

I tend to consult that wiki a lot for my own picks because as I often on the fly, go a different way in the moment. And so I'm like, what? What? Where did the wind breeze me to that day?

[Griffin Newman]

Interesting thing. Now that we're doing this for the 11th time, do you guys find yourself at all getting into the psychological game of. Well, I snubbed that Person of the wind.

[David Sims]

Oh, I do that.

[Joe Reed]

Of course.

[Griffin Newman]

Like, when these were private spreadsheets for myself. I didn't worry about such things. And now I'm like, no, do I owe this person or would it look shitty if I gave them a second award?

[Joe Reed]

I.

[David Sims]

Or, I mean, I privately do that. I privately. I'm like, well, I gave Leo his David for Wolf of Wall Street. Like, I do that to myself all the time.

[Joe Reed]

I made a switch to one of my lists this morning and I literally had the thought of, like, they're going to be so disappointed that they didn't get on.

[David Sims]

Yeah, right.

[Griffin Newman]

They'll be.

[David Sims]

They'll be sad to have missed out.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

You know, Pew's in that MCU quagmire right now. I need her to do some more stuff. And I know she did a lot and maybe worried about doing too much.

[Griffin Newman]

What else is is going on?

[David Sims]

I mean, next year she's in avengers, Doomsday and Dune 3. And like.

[Joe Reed]

And she seems to be one of those people who, like, they have plans for that character seemingly. Because a lot of the people they're bringing back for that are being brought back allegedly to like, just pump the

[David Sims]

brakes on the behest plan.

[Joe Reed]

Well, okay.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Because here's their plan.

[David Sims]

I don't know how firm any of the planes.

[Griffin Newman]

I think they have a clear plan, but there are sirens going off everywhere and they're like, hold on to that. Fucking legitimate movie star. Yeah. We have on a five picture contract, but, like, your life depends on the

[Joe Reed]

day of the chairs. Right. You could tell, like a good two thirds of those chairs are, like coming back so that they can get kind of brushed off into the sunset.

[Griffin Newman]

Mostly.

[David Sims]

It's a vamoo sing. Yes. They're not. Ian McKellen is not going to do eight more magnetos.

[Joe Reed]

Right, right.

[David Sims]

It is so funny that McKellen went on Colbert and was like, I think I destroyed New Jersey. And Claire was like, is that a spoiler? And he was like, oh, I don't know. I guess so. Just destroys New Jersey.

[Griffin Newman]

I saw. I got the algorithm.

[David Sims]

It's like a bad sub or something. And he just fucking. Sorry, Ben.

[Griffin Newman]

All these guys over 70, if you put them in a Marvel movie, they spill everything.

[Joe Reed]

They're like spent spilling tea on big franchises since the Lord of the Rings days. And he like outed everybody in the Hobbit movies.

[David Sims]

Yes. Who do you. Right. No lipe.

[Griffin Newman]

No.

[Joe Reed]

But also the, the main Richard Armitage. Richard Armitage.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

I don't think he said anybody by name, but I think he was just like, oh, everybody in that cast is gay.

[David Sims]

It is my look I said this already, but, like, I think it's why he's mad about Hamnet.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, I didn't know he was mad about Hamnet.

[David Sims]

Well, he threw some shade at Hamnet recently. I can't remember where. He was like, no, no.

[Joe Reed]

Cause it didn't address Shakespeare being gay.

[David Sims]

He was basically like, I don't think it's very interesting to try and assign, you know, this wonderful. His works, which are so important and interesting. This kind of like, simple emotional narrative.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

And like, that was a perfectly valid point for him to make, and he made it well. But there, to me, there is an undercurrent. McKellen's also like, who cares about Shakespeare's W. Shakespeare was, you know, he was not getting dicked all over London.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

I don't know if he actually feels that way. I shouldn't put words in Ian McKellen's mouth.

[Joe Reed]

Getting dick all over London is the title of the spin off movie for.

[David Sims]

He was getting dick all over Britain, dude.

[Joe Reed]

They were traveling the Northlands, I imagine were just teaming with, I don't know,

[Griffin Newman]

Kelsey Grammer did some interview where he was just like. They were like, I'm sure you can't say anything about Doomsday. And he was like, oh, right. Oh, I had a great time filming with Pedro Pascal. And like, you just listed all the actors. Actors he had been in scenes with. So then people were making the grid of being right.

[David Sims]

Like, what is he doing?

[Griffin Newman]

Is gonna go into the pocket X Men universe. And then I saw him on some other show where they were like, now I know you've gotten in trouble before for, like, admitting. And he goes, yes, I shouldn't have said I'd worked with Pedro. I shouldn't have said that.

[David Sims]

Jinder said that I. I choked the life out of the Human Torch in one scene.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, you know what? This was some conservative show because they were specifically saying, like, what would Kelsey

[David Sims]

Grammar be doing is a disaster. And I can exclusively reveal that Dr. Doom, Invisible Woman.

[Joe Reed]

Sorry.

[Griffin Newman]

He was like, just imagining whatever conservative was like, all right, you said you had worked with Pedro Pascal. What was it like sharing a set with him? You guys hold pretty different political opinions.

[David Sims]

Oh, sure.

[Griffin Newman]

And he goes, pedro, I loved him.

[David Sims]

He's a.

[Griffin Newman]

He's a terrific guy. And you know what's interesting? We only really had one real conversation and it was him saying that he thought me too was a failure. Okay. And I was like, this feels like,

[Joe Reed]

well, I love that in your conception of Kelsey Grammer that he's just Sam the Eagle.

[David Sims]

I also love the idea of someone being like, hey, Kelsey, was it tough for you working with a left wing guy? I'm like, he's. Kelsey. He was like LA Cage on Broadway. I think he's encountered a liberal in his life. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

He worked with David Hyde, Pierce and Bebe Neuf his entire career.

[David Sims]

I think he's figured out how to navigate that in his life. Yeah, people act like he just, like, only does red tube movies or whatever.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

No, he's like the old school Hollywood conservative.

[David Sims]

Right. He's like, look, I want my taxes lower and my cigars cheap or whatever.

[Joe Reed]

Here's pun. Years of him and Bo Derek just going to the RNC every year and being like, we got two of them.

[Griffin Newman]

Right, Right, Exactly.

[David Sims]

All right, guys, we're going to do the blankies. We got to do the blank.

[Griffin Newman]

All right, we're going to do the blankies. We got to do the blankies.

[David Sims]

We got to. Come on, let's do our. So what we're doing here on the Blank Check Awards just for. For new listeners who. This is their first episode, and I'm sure that's going really well for them is we. We say our. Essentially our Oscar ballots for the. The big. At the year. Right, Griffin?

[Griffin Newman]

Yes. That's what we do. That's what we do here.

[David Sims]

What category does you all want to start with? Because I don't really care. I'm up for anything.

[Joe Reed]

We're traditionalists. I feel like we usually start with one of the supporters.

[David Sims]

We always do.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[David Sims]

Is there. Do you.

[Joe Reed]

We could start first screenplays if we wanted to get. Really?

[Griffin Newman]

No, I want to start with the supporting.

[Joe Reed]

Okay.

[David Sims]

Categories that are fairly wide open at the Oscars this year.

[Griffin Newman]

They are.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Interesting.

[David Sims]

In a sort of a fun twist.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm going to say this is an anti disclaimer disclaimer.

[Joe Reed]

Okay.

[David Sims]

Anti disclaimer disclaimer.

[Griffin Newman]

This is the year that I finally just gone. Like, it has become prohibitive to shadow ban movies made by people who have been on the show. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, totally. Oh, interesting.

[David Sims]

Well, because we're getting too.

[Joe Reed]

Your reach is too far. Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

So you're saying true.

[David Sims]

Humble Craig, you're in Nia dacosta. I'm trying to think like, who. Who made movies this year? That show. Ari asked Ari.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

You know, welcome in, buddy. You're in the ballots.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Alex Ross Perry made two movies that crazy. You're in it crazy. But it was like we had some of it last year with I Saw the TV Glow, which was one of my favorite Movies. And we had Jane on the show and it always been this thing of like, well, there's high level working people we've had on the show who are. I wouldn't really say I'm like friends with, but to the listener, does it seem like there's the same level of familiarity and is there implied?

[David Sims]

So don't even. Right.

[Griffin Newman]

Turn yourself up. I would get into other thing of. Is it more fair to just put all of them to the side so that I can't offend anyone by snubbing them? Yeah. But now equal part of it now it's just impossible.

[Joe Reed]

Well, now there's enough of them where now they sort of like battle it out in this imaginary ballad of I.

[David Sims]

Last year I did not nominate the film that I made, Amelia Parrot, because I didn't want. I made that film.

[Joe Reed]

That's. That's.

[David Sims]

I played every part.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

I wrote all the songs.

[Griffin Newman]

You did all the.

[David Sims]

I did all the tweets. You did. Yeah, I was gonna say you did

[Joe Reed]

all the tweets, you did all the interviews after the fact.

[Griffin Newman]

But also you didn't give the awards yourself because you were so tired of winning. You were winning so much.

[David Sims]

Right. This year, my best friend, Cynthia Rivo, I decided to not include her because we are best friends. Sure. And I also can't actually attend our ceremony if we do one because I will be playing 27 parts in a one man Dracula show.

[Griffin Newman]

Perfect. And that's. I heard that was the same thing the Oscar said. Yes. That they would have nominated Wicked for good in every category.

[David Sims]

But. But they're best friends with her, so they couldn't.

[Griffin Newman]

She's a conflict interest.

[David Sims]

Right. The statue is her best friend.

[Griffin Newman]

They're best friends. They hold her one finger. Supporting actor.

[David Sims]

Best supporting actor. Okay, great. So, Griffin, your supporting actress winner last year presenting this award.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay.

[David Sims]

Was Renata Rinesva.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

For A Different Man.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

That was a good choice, Joe.

[David Sims]

Yours was. And mine. Both of ours was Michelle Austin for Hard Truth. So she's back too.

[Griffin Newman]

She's back too.

[David Sims]

So. Yeah, Griffin, whatever, you know, give me your supporting actors.

[Griffin Newman]

Look, I tried not to overthink these this year. It was what came to me. And I'll be doing some last second cuts in the categories where I have six people jotted down mostly to see who's not being covered by you guys. Got it. But supporting actor, I had a pretty clean 5. Benicio del Toro and a picture called One Battle After Another. And boy, if you heard the song I wrote for that, you'd still be

[Joe Reed]

laughing down our face would still be

[Griffin Newman]

tapping big strong guys, tears in their eyes. Michael Cera, the Phoenician scheme, Delroy Lindo and Sinners. A performance I am pleasantly surprised to be aligned with the Oscars on.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Was one of the, one of my punch the air moments.

[Joe Reed]

Absolutely.

[Griffin Newman]

Rafe finds in 28 years later, he's there and Billy Crudup in J. Kelly.

[Joe Reed]

Nice.

[David Sims]

It's very good. He's got the one scene. I mean, I know it's a couple scenes, but it's that one big scene, one knockout.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, I, I would say he, I, I might put an additional title on this of Is this the thermostat performance of the year?

[David Sims]

A little bit. Except to some people. J. Kelly went from like 67 degrees to 68 degrees. Like, no, no one got hot watching it. I, I, you and I like that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

I like that movie.

[David Sims]

But you know what I mean? Like, generally there was, but, but I

[Griffin Newman]

also, I'll say this, I had a, I had a different thought of an honorific while watching this performance. And I once I, at one point I was like, do I just put it to the side and not put in proper best supporting Actor? My thought was, is this the black box performance of the year where you go, why don't they build the whole movie?

[Joe Reed]

Sure. Got it. Got it. Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

I think there's a juice to that like 8 minute chunk of the movie that as much as I like the film, I'm like, this is the fucking potent thing. If I'm bombach whatever I think I'm writing, I get to that scene even on paper, before you cast Crudup and he knocks it out of the fucking park. I go, maybe this is the movie. Yeah, maybe these guys spend the whole night together and that's the film.

[David Sims]

I can see it.

[Joe Reed]

J. Kelly versus whatever that guy's name is.

[David Sims]

Yeah, well, the point is we don't know his name.

[Griffin Newman]

We're proving the point right here.

[David Sims]

Jay fucking J. Kelly.

[Griffin Newman]

Fucking Kelly. I'm J. Kelly. You're J. Kelly. You're up here, you're down here. That movie. Here's another award I'll throw out. Worst trailer of the year.

[David Sims]

Oh, you hated the trailer. You were always saying how it like almost poisoned you against.

[Griffin Newman]

You saw an early screening of the movie. I did.

[David Sims]

They showed us.

[Griffin Newman]

You were like, it's really excellent. I was like, this thing looks like dog.

[Joe Reed]

It was a bad fuck.

[Griffin Newman]

Is Sim smoking? I saw the trailer.

[David Sims]

I was smoking that dank weed.

[Griffin Newman]

I saw the trailer before, like, everything. It Kept playing at the Angelica in the Paris when I was seeing a lot of things.

[David Sims]

It's probably still playing.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes, yeah. And I was just like, it is impossible. This movie will do anything to me other than leave me with an overwhelming desire to eat glass. And then the movie started and I was just like, the trailer makes it looks like fucking Cinema Paradisio. 4.

[David Sims]

Sure.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Is Cinema Paradiso. There's a real like genre of foreign film that is bad, that was loved. You know what I mean? Like Cinema Paradiso. Life is beautiful. Il pastino, huh?

[Griffin Newman]

Cola Was that that movie?

[David Sims]

Colia is a great example.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Foreign language winner, which I say bad.

[David Sims]

It's not. It's like a sort of 7 out of 10, like sweet movie but like where you're like, oh, this is, you know, this is kind of dumb.

[Joe Reed]

All I remember is the director like carrying the kid on the shoulder up to the stage or whatever.

[Griffin Newman]

And that was a poster was covering.

[David Sims]

I saw that film in theaters. Remember it being very sweet.

[Griffin Newman]

Look, we're not doing the happy birthday sign thing. Credit to Mulaney. And the two of you are going to list your best supporting actor categories. But I do want to say it's a shift that people don't know.

[David Sims]

But 10 minutes on Kolya. No, you're right that like foreign film used to be the Trely and now it's not so much. Is that what you're saying?

[Griffin Newman]

And the big biggest change was it used to be to vote in that category you had to go to a marathon screening.

[David Sims]

You had to go to so many screenings.

[Griffin Newman]

No, but you specifically, I think when the five films were nominated, you had to go to a full day marathon of all of them.

[David Sims]

That's crazy.

[Griffin Newman]

And so the only people who would

[David Sims]

do that were the oldest people in the world was always the trouble who

[Griffin Newman]

are like ready for the Treacly layups. The kind of sweetest movie all over.

[David Sims]

Or is it about the Holocaust or

[Joe Reed]

which is always something like that.

[Griffin Newman]

You know what? Maybe it was the opposite, but I know certainly for the nomination process that was part of it.

[David Sims]

I think it was more of the nominations.

[Griffin Newman]

It was that you had every single one.

[David Sims]

It was only retirees because no one else had the time.

[Joe Reed]

But that's always been the double edged sword of the Oscars, which is ideally you would like all the people voting on the Oscars to have seen all of the movies that they're voting on. And the realistic thing is the only people who do that are 80 year old people who have nothing else to Do.

[Griffin Newman]

And Kirsten Dunst.

[Joe Reed]

And Kirsten Dunst. She has said she sees all the movies, Joe. That's why she's our hero.

[Griffin Newman]

Who are your nominees for best supporting actor?

[Joe Reed]

Best supporting actor. I have Austin Abrams in Weapons. Hell yeah. Michael Cera in the Phoenician Scheme.

[David Sims]

Two noms for this guy. So good.

[Joe Reed]

Billy Crudup in J. Kelly.

[Griffin Newman]

Hell yes.

[David Sims]

Stacking.

[Joe Reed]

William H. Macy in Train Dreams. And Dylan o' Brien in Twinless.

[David Sims]

Is he supporting.

[Joe Reed]

I fudged it. Maybe it's a tween tough.

[Griffin Newman]

It's a tweener and a tweener test.

[Joe Reed]

Actor's tough.

[David Sims]

Very good performance by Dylan. I guess he is. I mean, the other one, the one I wanted to.

[Joe Reed]

To.

[David Sims]

To say bye bye to. Fun meeting you.

[Joe Reed]

And my. My podcast co host Chris File are of the same opinion on that guy.

[David Sims]

What's his name again? The guy who wrote it.

[Joe Reed]

James Sweeney.

[Griffin Newman]

And directed.

[Joe Reed]

And directed.

[David Sims]

I believe so.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Okay, so you got two shared noms of Griff there. And what was the other one? I already forgot. Oh, Sarah.

[Griffin Newman]

Michael.

[Joe Reed]

Sarah. I mean.

[David Sims]

Okay, okay, I'll do mine. All right. And then we can discuss. I have Beno del Toro for One battle after another. I have Delroy Lindo for Sinners. So I have that. Wow. I am going to just say that, like, Ralph Fiennes is a very obvious candidate for me. I'm going to hold him out just to have a look.

[Joe Reed]

I'm doing the same thing. I'm sticking up.

[David Sims]

And obviously also his bone temple nom is inscribed in stone.

[Griffin Newman]

And you're like, next year he's in lead.

[David Sims]

I think sort of. I was sort of thinking about that.

[Joe Reed]

I would say I would put him in lead.

[Griffin Newman]

I just. I was.

[David Sims]

He's more the lead.

[Griffin Newman]

I was so conscious.

[David Sims]

The kid is the lead of the first one and maybe kind of Aaron Johnson.

[Griffin Newman]

I was so conscious of. Of my Adam Driver up and Blanky's awards pass.

[David Sims]

Oh, sure.

[Griffin Newman]

Where in the Force Awakens and Last Jedi Years, Adam Driver was my sixth and I cut him on air and

[Joe Reed]

I was like, surely then the third one it'll be.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, for Rise of Skywalker. I'll come back around and give him the trophy.

[David Sims]

He did his best in Rise of Skywalker. Adam Driver is not the issue. Like, not the glaring issue at that.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

But I couldn't be like, the difference. Best actor goes to Adam Driver for Rise of Skywalker.

[Joe Reed]

The difference here is seen. Bone temple. Bone temple does not pull a rise of skull.

[Griffin Newman]

No.

[David Sims]

Yes. So sorry. So I have Del Toro and Lindo.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Then I have Alexander Skarsgard in Pillion, Nicholas Hoult in Superman.

[Joe Reed]

So good.

[Griffin Newman]

I considered it.

[David Sims]

And Matthew Penchant. I'm not sure how to say his name in Nouvelle Vaguele. Vague, who plays Raul Cotard, where I was like, did Richard Linklater fucking open a time tunnel? How did he find a guy who looks like Raul Cotard won, like, so much. And two, get the coolest performance I've ever seen of a guy. Godard is just annoying at him for five minutes and he goes like, okay. And I was just like, cannot take my eyes off this guy.

[Griffin Newman]

It is. I still have not seen that movie because it doesn't exist.

[Joe Reed]

But it exists.

[David Sims]

But it's tough to watch it on Netflix.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. It is crazy. From the trailers and the images I've seen how well he has physically matched every single famous French New Wave behind the camera.

[David Sims]

I think all the performances in that movie are fine, but that's right. You're just like, it's a magic trick. How do you get them to all look like this?

[Griffin Newman]

And you look them up and almost all of them have zero previous credits.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[David Sims]

You just went around Paris going, like. And the people just, like, showed up.

[Griffin Newman]

He lit a cigarette and they all ran towards him.

[David Sims]

A performance I really loved. My winner is Benicidal.

[Griffin Newman]

My winner is also Benicio Del Toro.

[Joe Reed]

Benicio, I should say, was a close six on mine. I think all of the Oscar nominees are really good this year, so it was tough leaving all of them off. But Benicio was my number six. My winner is. And I mean, I'm falling into the Oscar voter trap of category fraud, I suppose. But my winner is Dylan o'. Brien.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

I just don't like that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

I saw your letterbox review. I'm like, I'm gonna.

[David Sims]

People are so mad at me about that. But I thought Dylan was really, really good in that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. And he's excellent in Send.

[Joe Reed]

I still haven't seen Send. Help. It bothers me so much. I know you.

[David Sims]

You, Karen.

[Joe Reed]

I've been watching all the goddamn.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

You.

[Griffin Newman]

You've had your work cut out for excuse. Yeah. Del Toro. It for me, nudged over the edge by having Phoenician scheme as well this year.

[Joe Reed]

He's great.

[David Sims]

That's a valid point.

[Griffin Newman]

There's a real, like, range of. Oh, right. This guy is one of the most powerful screen actors ever.

[David Sims]

People have started to swing against him. Not like, in a mega negative way, but I've seen a little bit of a right Everyone. He doesn't need to win. Like, I don't.

[Joe Reed]

The arc on that performance has been interesting because when the movie first insane

[David Sims]

will be remembered for 100 years performance

[Joe Reed]

when people first started seeing the movie and Penn seemed like such the obvious.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Jump off. And he's great supporting actor.

[David Sims]

Sean Penn is so funny and weird.

[Joe Reed]

And so the Del Toro thing started like this underground. Like, am I crazy or is Del Toro the best performance in this movie?

[Griffin Newman]

You know what? It kind of reminded me of Departed, where it's like, well, this is Oscar play if I've ever seen it. For Jack Nicholson working with Scorsese the first time. And then everyone starts being like, is. Is Wahlberg secretly, like, the best performance in that movie?

[Joe Reed]

I don't like Wahlberg in that movie. But, like, that was the arc on that.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. You know, but it was a similar thing where everyone was like, pan, obviously. Obviously. But like, yeah. Is kind of incredible in this.

[David Sims]

Right? Like, that was absolutely. Parts of the movie. It sings the most when he's there

[Griffin Newman]

and then becomes fucking king of memes.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

You know, and then it feels like, oh, I guess he's going to get in. Holy shit, he's winning all the critics awards. Is he, like, cakewalking his way to a win? And then it felt like there was some pushback on, like, what, we're going to give him a second Oscar because we like small beers.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, that's.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Give it to the meme guy or whatever. Which, like, I find so annoying one.

[Griffin Newman]

One time, 25 years ago.

[David Sims]

It's true. And he's like a. A Titanic actor who's.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

It's not even like Ostronoms total. Like, you know, you should have more probably.

[Griffin Newman]

Like, it's been over 20 years since he was nominated last.

[Joe Reed]

Was it 21 last nomination?

[David Sims]

Wow. But she's so good.

[Griffin Newman]

It's not like a comeback Brody. You were in the wilderness narrative. But it's more like, you know what? This guy has continued to be good, has continued to be great for another quarter century.

[David Sims]

Sicaria was the crazy miss for him.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Because he did have major Oscar buzz that year.

[Joe Reed]

And that mo. He had a lot of Oscar attention. It got a nomination. The thing about Del Toro, too, is, like, I think without him, that movie fails in a way that you can't say about, I think, any other actor.

[Griffin Newman]

It's the two reasons I give him the win. It's a. Because he also had Phoenician scheme. Right. And it's like, this feels like a year to fucking call it out. And B, you hear every story about how much he created for that character, not just in, like, the look and whatever, but, like, actual core story themes and beats that then had ripple effects across the entire script.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

It's not just. If you pull that performance out, the movie's not as good. It's like the effect he had on the movie at large and the entire creative ecosystem.

[Joe Reed]

And his energy. His energy's so different than most of the other characters. And I think it, like, it draws you in closer. Right.

[Griffin Newman]

What I love, it's a great old master performance where you're like, this guy has, like, like, cleaned his craft down to the bone. You know, everything is so simple and unshowy with him. And he's always classically been one of those, who the fuck is this guy? This guy's just interesting to watch on screen, but sometimes he can do a lot, sometimes he can be big. And even when he was giving more naturalistic performances when he was younger, he was leading on a lot of sort of, like, neo James Dean affectations, which he.

[Joe Reed]

Mumbling his way through Super Usual Suspects, like, that kind of stuff.

[Griffin Newman]

And you're like, this guy has just, like, gotten to, like, Zen master.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, I agree. Yeah, he's great.

[David Sims]

Perfectly cast.

[Griffin Newman]

Dylan o'. Brien, you want to speak on him for a moment?

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. So he plays two characters in Twinless. And Twinless is a movie that you start off, you sort of think you've got a handle on what's going on. This guy, you know, meets gay guy, meets a straight guy in a grief support group, and there's an infatuation going on, and you understand that, like, something's up. Something's up with the James Sweeney character and whatever. And then it hits a point where you suddenly jump to this flashback and you see Dylan o' Brien as his deceased twin brother, who is the gay one. And not to be like, this straight actor really gets us. But it's just an incredibly. It's not only, I think, a really authentic feeling performance, but it also is a blast of energy in a very different vein. And again, it's a kind of thing where, like, that movie really needs this guy to sell you on. In the span of one night, he kind of, like, broke this guy's brain, the James Sweeney guy's brain. And I just think it's really incredible. And then you go back to the other character, and he just goes through this very. I don't know, this emotional journey that I find really, really good. And. And there's A degree of like, Dylan o', Brien, little Teen wolf guy. You know what I mean? Like, making good. And I really like that aspect to it. And, yeah, I just think that was a movie that stuck with me from when I saw it earlier in the season. Yeah. I was not able to watch it Sundance because some busybodies decided to pirate it and got it removed from.

[David Sims]

They were screenshotting butts.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, they sure were.

[David Sims]

They got in trouble.

[Joe Reed]

They sure were. So I wasn't able to see it until later in the year, but I really liked it. I could have. I almost went with Bill Macy and Train Dreams, which. That movie turned out to be a lot more divisive than I thought it

[David Sims]

was gonna be when I saw it, I liked that movie just fine when I saw it at Sundance, I thought it was very good. I thought it was nice. I thought William H. Macy was nice. I did not anticipate it becoming. Right. The cinephile Civil War movie of the year.

[Joe Reed]

I was really, really thrown by that. Apparently, people who read books have opinions about things.

[David Sims]

Well, that's. Well, it changes the book, but, like, that doesn't bother me because whatever. Change whatever you want. But, Griffin, you were kind of whelmed by it. I feel like you were not, like, anti.

[Griffin Newman]

I could not click into it. I might give another shot someday. I just need to call this out.

[David Sims]

Call it out.

[Griffin Newman]

And I'm glad you put it.

[David Sims]

The putters and murmurs thing. Yeah. Because we've gotten a lot of messages.

[Griffin Newman]

This thing screens at Sundance and immediately people are blowing up. It's a lock.

[David Sims]

Right. Passing us notes, being like, Macy and train Dream.

[Griffin Newman]

It was equivalent to running down the mountain and saying, J.K. simmons is going to win best supporting Actor next year.

[David Sims]

Sure.

[Griffin Newman]

Out of the whiplash screening. People just saying, it's done. It's a lock.

[Joe Reed]

Mark it down.

[Griffin Newman]

You know, possibly this put a burden on the movie that it was hard for it to cross.

[Joe Reed]

Sure.

[Griffin Newman]

But he comes on screen and I immediately go, the.

[Joe Reed]

Are these people talking about eloquent in that movie?

[Griffin Newman]

Old timey vernacular does not make a putter or murmur.

[David Sims]

I would agree.

[Griffin Newman]

Speaking clearly in an old style of language.

[David Sims]

It's just. He's got a corn cob pipe. I think it's just kind of throwing people and, like a big white beard and all that.

[Joe Reed]

But he's got accoutrements. But, like, the vocal.

[David Sims]

He's got a coot. This is true.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

That's good.

[Griffin Newman]

Every year we have to redefine what putters and murders is, because I think it Couldn't be more clear. And yet it's constantly misinterpreted. There was an iron lock, Putters and murders performance for me.

[Joe Reed]

Someone turn the camera on.

[Griffin Newman]

Turn the camera on.

[David Sims]

Turn the TikTok camera on. Kyle. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Clifton Collins Jr. In Edington. This is why putters and murmurs exist.

[David Sims]

That's an interesting. I had not. I have not thought too hard about Clifton Collins. Well, I don't. I don't know, Griffin. What are we talking about? All right, wait, no, wait. Well, should we. Should we put a pain in magic?

[Griffin Newman]

No, that's the winner. I'm just letting people know Clifton Collins Jr. Is the winner.

[David Sims]

Come on. Is there no one else?

[Griffin Newman]

I guess we could get back around.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, we'll have that conversation.

[David Sims]

Okay, we can get back to that.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay. Is there anyone else you want to call out in your account category?

[Joe Reed]

I really loved Austin Abrams and weapons, much as I love great actor. I don't know if Austin Abrams owns the middle of that movie to the degree that Amy Madigan owns the last third of that movie. But he holds the center portion of

[David Sims]

that movie, picks up the torch with

[Joe Reed]

a palm so well. And I really. He's so entertaining. I love, obviously, you know, I love Alen Aaron Reich, former blankie winner of mine for Hale Caesar.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

But I was just like this. You assume that it's just, all right, this tweaker is going to be cannon fodder for whatever monsters are happening in this movie. And he becomes so affecting weirdly, and you really end up feeling for this guy. And it really works.

[Griffin Newman]

It is a performance that is lacking in judgment in a way that I feel like a lot of actors would play that character condescendingly. Yeah. While also successfully finding all the humor where it needs to be.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

He's a really good actor.

[Joe Reed]

And then we had Michael Cera.

[Griffin Newman]

Michael Cera.

[Joe Reed]

High five.

[Griffin Newman]

High five.

[David Sims]

He's so funny.

[Griffin Newman]

You also add in how good he is in the Running Man.

[Joe Reed]

I haven't seen it yet, but he

[David Sims]

is the best part of that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Not only that, you get to his scene.

[David Sims]

Although you know who else is good in Running Man? William H. Macy.

[Griffin Newman]

He is.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

With weirdly high billing considering the size of his role. Similar to Train dreams.

[David Sims]

Good agent.

[Griffin Newman]

Good agent. Really good agent.

[David Sims]

And also not a lot of big guys in the movie, I guess.

[Griffin Newman]

No. Michael Cera shows up for one extended sequence, like a 10 minute chunk of Running man, and immediately you're like, huh? Does this whole movie work better if Michael Cera is in the Glen Powell Role.

[David Sims]

Definitely. Do most movies work better if Michael Cera is in the lead role?

[Joe Reed]

I really feel like we as a culture have. Have, or at least as like a cinephile culture have turned on Glen Powell in a way in the last couple years.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm still rooting for the guy 100%.

[Joe Reed]

I am too.

[Griffin Newman]

But, like, I don't think Running man is his fault. I think people have been a little quick to throw him under the bus and be like, oh, so that was a nothing burger.

[Joe Reed]

But like, the days of. What was the. Oh, Hitman. The days of Hitman are sort of. I just seem like they're far away.

[David Sims]

There's a lot of automatic hostility to the type of guy he's like, you know the type of star role he plays.

[Griffin Newman]

Sure.

[David Sims]

Right now, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Uhhuh.

[David Sims]

And so it's sort of like tougher for him to win people over. And then, yeah, he made a couple kind of me movies and people are like, all right, buddy, I knew you were reheated nachos.

[Joe Reed]

Get out of here. Short leash.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, I think we had like a 15 year stretch of, like, studios really pushing your. Your Headlands and your Hunhams and your Kitches y. And all these guys who never quite

[Joe Reed]

Many of whom I'm a fan of. But yes, yes.

[Griffin Newman]

And I think there is still some residual kind of knee jerk resistance to

[Joe Reed]

what are they pushing this guy on us for?

[Griffin Newman]

Right. And I think Powell works really hard to be like, I am not a psyop hair. But then the second he makes one movie that doesn't work, people are like, I fucking knew it. I called it.

[Joe Reed]

I was never fooled.

[Griffin Newman]

But Sarah's really fucking good in Running man and you watch it. And the performance he's giving is very different than I'd say anything he's ever done before on screen. It's a really interesting, like, hostile performance. But you watch it and you're like, oh, right, right. On top of everything else, this guy did like 18 months of kung fu training with Edgar Wright. Like, he also can do fight scenes and. And Phoenician scheme. I'm watching it in the first half. I'm like, yeah, yeah. All the memes, of course. How have they not done a film together yet? Wes Anderson, he's doing it really well. It's a good fit. He's making funny choices. I like that he's playing like a European Eddie Bracken role. Whatever. This is good. But like, like, there's part of me going, is this all Wes Anderson's going to use him for?

[Joe Reed]

Sure, sure.

[Griffin Newman]

And it is part of, like, the argument for why Wes Anderson's not fucking stuck in a rut. Whoever thinks that is without ruining any of the twists of the movie. Like, halfway through, he just throws an entirely different assignment at Michael Cera and is like, right, this guy gets that. We pigeonhole Sarah into doing, like, two things.

[Joe Reed]

Well, turns out Wes Anderson has seen both twin the Return and Molly's character because.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

Everyone likes to say this guy only plays himself, but, like, there is a pretty astonishing range within the tapestry of Michael Cera's particular frequency.

[Joe Reed]

Michael Cera only plays himself is really funny because I don't know if I could give you a real good sense of who I think Michael Cera is as a person.

[Griffin Newman]

Well, I also, that's my problem with ever people have that criticism where it's like you're saying Blank only plays themself.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

So what you're saying is their performances remind you of how they act in interviews, which also might be an actual.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

You don't know who they fucking are.

[Joe Reed]

Right, Right.

[Griffin Newman]

Anyway.

[David Sims]

Wow.

[Griffin Newman]

That was my little stump speech.

[David Sims]

Little rant mode there.

[Joe Reed]

All right. Turn the TikTok camera off. That was good.

[David Sims]

Yeah, I don't know. I just, you know, Holt, that's a performance I adore.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, Holton. Superman is so good.

[David Sims]

We've showered praise on Delroy Lindo on these episodes over the years.

[Joe Reed]

I'm crossing my fingers that he could come out of nowhere. It really feels like, sorry, JJ's Twitter rant or Blue sky rant last night.

[Griffin Newman]

What's JJ fucking about?

[Joe Reed]

It was a reasonable.

[David Sims]

I'll just start composing the email now.

[Griffin Newman]

Follow the paperwork.

[Joe Reed]

I'm normally the one being like, you guys are too mean to jj, but this one, I was just like, it was a decent point of just like, Delroy Lindo should have had 12 Oscar nominations by now. It would be weird if he wins seventh or eighth most for this particular.

[Griffin Newman]

I don't disagree with, I don't disagree with that either. Who gives a shit?

[Joe Reed]

I, that's also my thing.

[Griffin Newman]

If we give him an Oscar for this now, I'm not going to be like that one, like, really good excellentness. And after, you know, I, I, I think the 5 blood snub is the most egregious of this decade, in my opinion.

[Joe Reed]

It is.

[Griffin Newman]

You know, it's. That man might have been one of the two.

[Joe Reed]

We all might have agreed.

[Griffin Newman]

But with him, he's got the ultimate, like, how has he never been nominated? And they served him this performance on a Platter.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And I see Sinners a year ago and he pops up on screen. I'm like, fuck. Delroy's in the pocket in this. Yeah, this movie's a hit. There's a year to go. But could this possibly be an Oscar contender? He gets his big monologue, he gets to run throughout basically the whole picture, but be just perfect supporting juice. And it made me so happy that he has stuck in the whole time and has been a legitimate contender.

[David Sims]

Who do you think will win the Oscar?

[Griffin Newman]

Right now, my inclination is Stellan Skarsgard.

[Joe Reed]

Well, I talked about this. Griffin was there lurking behind me when I recorded Excuse Me, it's called Producer Critical Darlings yesterday. And I mention, like our friend Kyle Buchanan's stone cold certainty throughout this season that once the industry awards happen, that Sean Penn is going to run the table.

[David Sims]

Kyle has. Has been banging that trouble and that

[Joe Reed]

has the BAFTAs sort of leaned into that.

[David Sims]

So I don't see it.

[Joe Reed]

I'm. I'm hoping that that's not the case. Not because I don't like that performance, because I do.

[David Sims]

He's. He's unbelievable in that movie. But he has two Oscars. I just.

[Joe Reed]

He has two Oscars already.

[Griffin Newman]

And that category is so weird. If that thing fucking stuck to Benicio, we need to give him a second one and then Penn wins a third pen win.

[Joe Reed]

I think that category is so wide open that it would be really. It would just be really fun if Delroy Lindo could. Because sometimes my thing with awards is sometimes when somebody gets nominated without a ton of precursors and it's like, where did that come from? You're like, well, clearly they must have really liked that. You know, they must have really liked that performance.

[David Sims]

Sure.

[Joe Reed]

Because they sort of disregarded the, you know, pencil sketch outline of the nominees and put him in style.

[Griffin Newman]

We were also talking about this, or you were talking about this on Critical Darlings yesterday. But, like, sometimes people get a career boost from the snub. Like, as angry as everyone was that he didn't get the Five Bloods nomination and the worst Oscar year, it led to several years of discourse of being like, remember when the fucking Academy didn't.

[David Sims]

It can help.

[Griffin Newman]

It can help in people's heads, I think a little bit. In a way that boosted him in this. But this also feels like when you got to his monologue in the car, I was like, ryan Coogler kind of knows what he's doing. Ryan Coogler sat down and was like, someone needs to fucking figure out how to get Delroy Lindo nominated. Maybe I'm gonna give him like a combo platter character where he gets to do everything.

[David Sims]

Yeah, I think Skarsgrd will win because I think the Oscars really like that movie and that's where they can award it.

[Griffin Newman]

That's my feeling as well. Combined with.

[David Sims]

And he's another like sort of just major guy who's never gotten an Oscar nomination. And it's a quasi lead role and it's a sad dad and it's just a lot of stuff that they tend to vibe with. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.

[Griffin Newman]

Who knows?

[David Sims]

Back to the blankies after these messages.

[Griffin Newman]

David, this episode, don't act so surprised because it's a. It's a familiar friend.

[David Sims]

Okay.

[Griffin Newman]

This episode's brought to you by Mubi.

[David Sims]

Yawn. Just kidding.

[Griffin Newman]

Comfortable? Sure. We love them.

[David Sims]

They are a global film company that champions great cinema. Iconic directors, emerging auteurs. Always something new to discover with Mubi. Each and every film hand selected so you can explore the best of cinema. Nothing more to say, I guess.

[Griffin Newman]

Wrong. There's a new film coming to theaters.

[David Sims]

Yep. Movie theaters. February 13th. The first Nigerian film ever in official competition. Again.

[Griffin Newman]

That's pretty.

[David Sims]

This is a film by Akanola Davis called My Father's Shadow. Is BAFTA nominated poetic, tender portrait of a father son bond framed within the political landscape of 1993 Lagos in Nigeria. It is about a father and two young sons as they journey into and around the vibrantly rendered Nigerian metropolis, reckoning with their relationship, navigating the city that's in the middle of a democratic crisis. Written by real life brothers Akanola Davis Jr. And Walleye Davis.

[Griffin Newman]

Love it.

[David Sims]

Brothers co wrote this groundbreaking feature debut. And you've got Sophie Derisu. Oh. From Slow Horses. I love him. I hope I'm saying his name right, but he's a really good actor and he's the star.

[Griffin Newman]

It's worth seeing.

[David Sims]

It's in theaters. It's great to go to a theater.

[Griffin Newman]

It's in theaters. We love that Mubi puts Moobies in theaters years before ultimately ending up on their wonderful platform.

[David Sims]

Dang. Right.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm just looking at some of the stuff they got right now. Die, my love. Of course.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

An important watch. A necessary watch for any blankie. Lagrazza La Grazia, the new Paolo Sorrentino movie which I missed in theaters. Good moment to catch up with it. The great shall we dance?

[David Sims]

Oh. The classic.

[Griffin Newman]

The original.

[David Sims]

Oh, my goodness.

[Griffin Newman]

That's fun.

[David Sims]

Like a restoration.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. And look. But they got a collection called Heartthrob Nicholas Cage. It's young. Dreamy Cage. Wow.

[David Sims]

Still dreamy to me.

[Griffin Newman]

Hey, you're very open hearted.

[David Sims]

Anyway, to stream the best of cinema, you can try MUBI free for 30 [e-mail] blankcheck that's M U B I.com blankcheck for a whole month of great cinema for free. And then go see my father's shadow in theaters, please. Thank you for listening. Thank you, thank you for your attention to this matter.

[Griffin Newman]

Thank you very much. Kind.

[David Sims]

Best supporting actress.

[Griffin Newman]

Supporting actress.

[David Sims]

Let's do supporting actress. Okay, so our winners last year for supporting actor were for Griffin the twink from Menorah, Mark Edel. Eddie performance.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

For me, to my surprise, Edward Norton. And for you, Joe the brutalist, Mr. Guy Pearce himself, who I'm sure will be super normal presenting this award. I will do mine first. I guess just to switch it up. My nominees are Tiana Taylor for One Battle After Another and Regina hall for One Battle after Another. Amy Madigan for Weapons. Mariam Afshari for It was Just an Accident. And Oona Chaplin for Avatar. Fire and Ash.

[Griffin Newman]

There you go.

[David Sims]

Normal five.

[Griffin Newman]

Wow.

[Joe Reed]

Deeply.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Okay. Those are my guys. I was fairly chalked though, with that the One battle girls have to be there.

[Joe Reed]

I went with Maryam Afshari for It was Just an Accident. Nina Hoss for Hedda Yom Ha Ran. Apologies if I did not pronounce that correctly. For no other choice, Amy Madigan for Weapons and Wunmi Masaku for Sinners.

[David Sims]

Love her. Love that night.

[Griffin Newman]

I do too. I have to make one tough cut here.

[Joe Reed]

All right, well, you can tell an annual tradition.

[David Sims]

Griffin making my tough cut was Gwyneth, who I just love my tough.

[Joe Reed]

I mean, Gwenneth too. My tough cut was obviously Tiana Taylor. I think Tiana Taylor is incredible. Yeah, she's doing all right without me.

[Griffin Newman]

I. I love the Regina hall performance and I'm sort of cheating it by giving it my Sergeant Shroom award, which is a performance where, like, I. I wish I could nominate it.

[David Sims]

Sergeant Shroom, just for people who don't remember, is Vin Diesel's character in Billy Lynn Halftime Walk. Got it.

[Griffin Newman]

Got it. Love her.

[David Sims]

I know. Everyone remembers that.

[Griffin Newman]

I think she's incredible in that movie. I think it is to the credit of the movie and the performance that it could so easily have the explosive Oscar moment that would have made it an undeniable contender.

[Joe Reed]

Much like Vin Diesel and Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk when that movie, when that casting Got announced. People were like Oscar nominees.

[Griffin Newman]

Well, that's. That's why of course we call it the Sergeant Shroom award.

[David Sims]

Of course.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

But it's. That character is so defined by the quiet and what isn't said in the in between spaces. She's incred.

[David Sims]

Nice.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm using that as a cheat to not give her one of my five. I have to some great surprise. Wait a second. Please drop your rolling pins. Oona Chaplin in Avatar Fire and Ash. Marisa Bella in Black Bag. Kirsten Dunst in Roofman.

[David Sims]

Yep. She's so good in that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

Yep. Wunmi Masako, I will say I think is an incredible performance and was my vote for SAG this year.

[Joe Reed]

Nice.

[David Sims]

Okay.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm dropping her for my five only because she's being represented by the Oscars and I want to get my five weird people in.

[Joe Reed]

Yep.

[Griffin Newman]

Emma Stone in Eddington. Incredible performance.

[David Sims]

Not a performance I liked, but Carrie,

[Griffin Newman]

I think an incredible performance. And Nina Hossenhetta.

[David Sims]

Yeah. She was a tough cut for me too because she's really good in that movie.

[Joe Reed]

She rules in that movie.

[David Sims]

The only problem I have with that performance is that it's almost too easy where I'm like, well, yeah, of course. Nina Hawa playing like the person who you can't get over who's so powerful. She ruined your life walking around in that dress or that outfit, you know? Yeah, yeah, of course that's gonna work on screen.

[Griffin Newman]

Good thinking. Talk so much about like, oh, if you just like flip the gender of that character, the whole text transforms like so rapidly and it's like, no. But also if you just Nina Haas in that role, someone who also has played. Had a Gabler before for. Yeah, yeah. That's been on both sides of the situation. Who are your winners, gentlemen?

[David Sims]

Joe, who's your winner?

[Joe Reed]

I'm here. I'm going on the fly. I'm gonna go with Miriam Afshari for It was just an accident.

[David Sims]

She's so good in that movie. My winner is Amy Madigan.

[Joe Reed]

That was my almost. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Who I thought was gonna win the Oscar, but now I guess I feel like she might not.

[Griffin Newman]

But it also might happen.

[David Sims]

It could.

[Joe Reed]

It's still good. I think that category is pretty up in the air.

[Griffin Newman]

That feels like a three way race.

[Joe Reed]

Tiana Wood. Me and. And Amy.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Yes. Yeah. I think the sentimental value women cancel each other out. I agree.

[Joe Reed]

Yep.

[Griffin Newman]

But like that feels like an even three way. If I had supporting actor. Feels like a five way.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. If I had a crisp hundred dollar bill, I'D put it on Tiana, but, you know, I would, too, but only slightly.

[Griffin Newman]

I. I wonder if, by the way,

[Joe Reed]

Griffin, you owe me a crisp $100 bill.

[David Sims]

I gotta.

[Joe Reed]

I gotta do something with it.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, sure.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I. I feel like Amy Madigan might pull it out at the end. Yeah. For similar reason to someone skarsgard of, like, the Hollywood firmament, being like, you know what? Yeah. Thank you for all your service.

[Joe Reed]

Did you see somebody finally asked her in an interview about the. Her and Ed Harris refusing to.

[Griffin Newman]

Her answer was pretty.

[Joe Reed]

She stuck by it, and I was just like.

[Griffin Newman]

It was. It was pretty excellent. I think every interview she's done has been on fire wearing all those suits. My. My supporting actress winner is Nina Haas, which is like my performance of the year.

[Joe Reed]

She's so good.

[Griffin Newman]

And I, I, getting to the earlier point we were making, I was like, oh, but do I give it to her? Because I gave her best actress for Phoenix, didn't I? And then I looked back, and Phoenix was the year before we started doing it. So I was like, that's my private spreadsheet. I put her in my best of the decade, best actress lineup.

[Joe Reed]

Yep, yep.

[Griffin Newman]

But because I haven't given her an award on Mike before, I'm. I'm going, Nina Hoss, Best of the decade.

[Joe Reed]

The podcast episode that caused co. Yeah, the last one.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah, we left that recording. I was like, guys, I'm going to go to a rowdy screening of Cats and then Live Forever still. We're doing great.

[David Sims]

We're doing great. Yeah. Varang is mad at you, though, and she is going to set you on fire.

[Griffin Newman]

I. Look, I. I just.

[Joe Reed]

South coast.

[Griffin Newman]

We'll have a separate conversation off mic.

[Joe Reed]

David, you and I agreed on Miriam F, Though.

[David Sims]

I mean, that she's never been in a movie before.

[Joe Reed]

As far as by the Tree with the Tail Light. The Tail light Illum. Nomination was. I mean, there's some really good scenes and a lot of good movies this year, but, like, that was up there for me. I really thought, for as much as I love the ending of that movie and that's kind of what everybody talked about, but, like, for me, the scene of that movie is that one, right?

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

One other movie before.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

No, she. Yes. Then that movie is one of my favorites of the years. Yeah. Tiana and Regina. It's very obvious. Amy Madigan, just, you know, did you clock her when, when you saw the movie? Like, were you like, this is Amy Matt, like, when. When the character appeared? Because I was not really, like, I

[Joe Reed]

Definitely did it in the trailer.

[David Sims]

So. In the movie. Right. Like, so.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

And, like, obviously, Gladys's first appearance is when she's. Apart from the little glimpses is when she's in full wig mode.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

And I was just like. It's kind of like the don't look now thing, where I'm like, did he just, like, find someone from another dimension? Like, I don't get it. What is this? Who is this?

[Griffin Newman]

My problem.

[David Sims]

And then when you see her with the wig off, I was kind of like, okay, no, no, no. This. Who is this? This is an actress I know.

[Griffin Newman]

Anyway, problem is that the release of that film basically directly coincided with the worst of my no other choice, Esque Dental Nightmares.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, God.

[David Sims]

Yeah. I remember that. Where I basically took a while to see it.

[Griffin Newman]

I couldn't see the movie for, like, a week because I was sick and vomiting from a dental infection. So I. By, like.

[David Sims]

Dental infection.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Ben. I. His gums.

[David Sims]

His gums got all.

[Griffin Newman]

Remember my mouth was bleeding.

[David Sims]

Tooth stuff. Yes, yes. Right.

[Joe Reed]

My mouth was bleeding. Bert.

[David Sims]

Sorry.

[Griffin Newman]

I. Within three days, people were already doing the, like, can Amy Madigan get a supporting actress nomination?

[David Sims]

Yeah. Yeah. Right, Right. Just as a cheat.

[Griffin Newman]

I went in. No way.

[Joe Reed]

Right, Right.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Totally. Totally. You loved Emma Stone and Eddington. That's not a performance I like.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, I liked Eddington a lot. Me, too. That sort of sits on the.

[David Sims]

Maybe that was my least favorite part.

[Griffin Newman]

I don't dislike her Yorgis performances, but I don't either. This was my favorite performance she has given in many years.

[David Sims]

Years.

[Griffin Newman]

I thought it was the most different thing I have seen her done do in a long time. I think she's capturing something really interesting for me, which is the. You know, in a movie that is all about, like, everyone's living in separate realities. Right.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

That, for me, is so accurately captures the chaos of what it feels to be alive right now and that no one can agree on the ground we're standing on.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

This very tricky thing of, like, people who have experienced extreme trauma can be disconnected from reality in a way that is a coping mechanism where you don't know whether to believe them or not.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Even when you have endless sympathy for the understanding of what caused this disconnect.

[Joe Reed]

Well. And then you have Deirdre o' Connell in the other room breaking stick figures and casting spells.

[David Sims]

She wins.

[Griffin Newman]

And I. I think Emma Stone gets the kind of weird husk of that, really. Right. It really worked for me. I found it very gripping.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. I also just want to shout out Yom Hayran for no other choice. Who plays the wife of the guy that the main character is trying to knock off and is so funny.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes. Oh, yes. Yes.

[David Sims]

She's very funny.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

One of those. A great running performance. Every time she runs somewhere in that movie. I think it's very fun. Funny.

[David Sims]

Your winner is Miriam.

[Joe Reed]

My winner is Miriam Griffin.

[David Sims]

Who's your winner?

[Griffin Newman]

Nina Haas.

[David Sims]

Right, of course. Right. Okay, great. I'm going to read you the blankies. Supporting performance winners.

[Griffin Newman]

Got it?

[David Sims]

Or I'll go from 10 to one.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay.

[David Sims]

10 miles Katon and sinners. A great, great find. Great performance. Nine, Adessa is Ion and Marty Supreme. Eight, Stellan Skarsgard and sentimental value. Seven, Delroy Lindo. Six. Inga Ibs daughter Lilias. Is that how you say it?

[Griffin Newman]

Discovery.

[David Sims]

Yeah, she's great. Tiana Taylor is number five. Amy Madigan number four. Sean Penn number three. Ray finds our beautiful Dr. Kelson number two. And Ray Benicio is their winner.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, that makes sense.

[David Sims]

It all makes. It all makes.

[Joe Reed]

It all falls into place, as the

[David Sims]

Lightning Seeds once said. Let's do our screenplays. Maybe.

[Joe Reed]

Let's do it.

[David Sims]

I'm trying to think. Yeah, that's what we did last time. Okay. Yeah, let's do our screenplays. Okay. Okay. All right.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay.

[David Sims]

Original or adapted?

[Griffin Newman]

Let's go original.

[David Sims]

First.

[Griffin Newman]

Best original screenplay.

[David Sims]

Okay, I got. It was just an Accident, written by Jafar Panahi. Secret Agent, written by Cleaver. Cleaver Philho. Sinners written by Ryan Coogler. If I had Legs, I kick you by Mary Bronstein and Robert Kaplow's Blue Moon script were my five.

[Griffin Newman]

Interesting.

[David Sims]

Is that interesting? I've seen that interesting.

[Joe Reed]

Mine are Blue Moon, written by Robert Kaplow. Griffin in Summer written by Nicholas Kolio.

[Griffin Newman]

My ears are burning.

[Joe Reed]

Love that movie. It was just an accident. Jafar Panahy, Lurker, written by Alex Russell and Twinless, written by James Sweeney.

[Griffin Newman]

My original screenplay nominations are if I had legs, I'd kick you.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Sinners, Weapons, Eddington and of course, David. Say it with me.

[David Sims]

I just want to point out you sort of were getting a little Bob Duka there. Sanders. What happens?

[Griffin Newman]

Parker Posey Pox, Lucy Lu, flu.

[David Sims]

My winner is it was just an accident, which I think is great in every way way, but is a. A quiet, like, crucial screenplay, crucial story construction kind of movie. But those are all good winners.

[Griffin Newman]

Did thankfully give that.

[David Sims]

Right. That's. That got a nom.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

Right. Yeah. It didn't get Best Picture, but the Oscars, Right. They they went pretty. Yeah. They have sentimental value in there. They have Marty supreme in there. But they. Right, yeah, I, Yeah, I assume, I still assume Coogler is winning there.

[Griffin Newman]

I do too.

[David Sims]

Because of the Oscar trend of awarding black directors. Screenplay.

[Joe Reed]

Screenplay.

[David Sims]

Rather than giving them director.

[Griffin Newman]

It's funny.

[David Sims]

Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, like they're like. Well, we got a screenplay award for you, Jerry. Barry Jenkins.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Plus it also just feels like it's a very tidy split between one battle after another and Sinners where they give one to one and one to the other.

[David Sims]

And I think Sinners is a kind of a brilliant, like brilliant, brilliant actor idea and like a well written movie. I'm not. It's just funny. Like it's just like such a visual feast and you know, like. Anyway, I hope he wins. I want him to win.

[Griffin Newman]

Look, there was always the thing of like original screenplay. That's the cool category. Yeah, yeah. That's the coolest movie that the Academy has recognized. But it's a little too edgy or out there or new to win best Picture. It's the Pulp Fiction. It has sort of just become. We will let black filmmakers get runner up.

[David Sims]

Right, right. Or Nick Fowler.

[Griffin Newman]

Longa, of course.

[Joe Reed]

Or Nick.

[Griffin Newman]

Well, we salute.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

No, but even you know, those are. I'm about to name two films that were not written by their directors. But John Ridley winning for 12 Years a Slave and what's him, Jeffrey Cheshire for Precious.

[David Sims]

I believe that's correct.

[Griffin Newman]

Like there has been a last 15 years. Like this is the exact ceiling and then.

[Joe Reed]

Really good point.

[Griffin Newman]

Right, yeah. Moonlight, of course. Just the weirdest Oscar shakedown of all time. Shake out. I mean rather. Who are your guys? Winners.

[David Sims]

It was just an accident for me.

[Joe Reed]

Also for me it was just an accident.

[David Sims]

Wow. Who are you going for?

[Griffin Newman]

It's a really good question. Purple Nur. Are you going to murder me if I pick materialists?

[David Sims]

I'm not going to murder you.

[Joe Reed]

I want to hear it. I want to hear you talk about it. Because I was sort of. I did not like that movie but I was fascinated by it.

[Griffin Newman]

So yeah, I think that movie is like the, it is exploding the subtext in all kind of Hollywood romantic comedies into a like examination of how dating has basically just become, or rather partners have become another form of currency in our like insane late stage capitalism. Hellscape.

[Joe Reed]

Sure.

[Griffin Newman]

That the whole movie is about that. We have basically reduced this to like a sense of belonging in your like it's. It's another thing you own in your brand portfolio.

[David Sims]

Sure, sure.

[Joe Reed]

Certainly for a Particularly for a character like Dakota Johnson's.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes. And how much we've, like, gamified dating through apps. And that's.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Right. And then, you know, the people with the money to afford it. It bypass the apps by getting the bespoke, throwbacky experience. Yeah. And that all of this doesn't actually consider what makes you want to be with someone, what makes a relationship work. You know, the intellectual. The intellectualization of the kind of person you want to be with versus who you were emotionally drawn to. And I just think it's like an incredible movie about people lying to themselves.

[Joe Reed]

That is definitely a chance. I Two things, and neither one of this is to sort of discount your choice. One of which is I recently I have made the somewhat bonkers decision to, for the 25th anniversary of the movies of 2001, to watch the movies of 2001 throughout the year as they are released, as they were released back then. So I watched the Wedding Planner.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, sure. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

That movie scans onto materialists so well in a way that I think doesn't do materialists any favors because it's like we were kind of doing a lot of these beats 25 years ago, I would say, where, like, you know, a matchmaker and a wedding planner, you know, why do they even want to be together? Like, is this just status symbol, yada yada. The other thing is, I like Pedro Pascal in some things.

[David Sims]

I'm very with whatever this is.

[Joe Reed]

He really does not meet the moment in that movie. He comes across as such a TV actor in that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

See, I firmly disagree with this. Yeah. I think he's so good.

[Joe Reed]

I mean, if you liked the movie, you would almost have to.

[Griffin Newman]

And like, I admit my. Perhaps my single greatest movie frustration, frustration of 2025 is how badly he fumbled Reed Richards. It drives me crazy.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Did fumble it.

[Griffin Newman]

But I think. I think it speaks to. From, in my opinion, why he works in Materialist. I know all my defenses of Materialists are this is a feature, not a bug.

[Joe Reed]

Sure.

[Griffin Newman]

But I feel very strongly about this.

[Joe Reed]

But, like, that's how you end up liking movies against consensus. You end up liking the thing that everybody didn't like.

[Griffin Newman]

I think. And I feel like other performances in the past I've referred to this way, and I'm struggling to recall another one now. But I think Pedro Pascal is giving a great fake movie star performance in Materialists. I think it is about his limitations.

[Joe Reed]

Sure.

[Griffin Newman]

You know, and. And how, like, it's like, right, this guy should be like a giant movie star. Why isn't this working, you know, I

[David Sims]

think that's what he's trying to do. I agree.

[Griffin Newman]

Right. And I.

[David Sims]

That's the deal.

[Joe Reed]

And all of this, what you're saying is saying to me, I'm really not surprised. This movie did not do well because it did make more money than it

[Griffin Newman]

made $100 million worldwide. This is the crux of my, like, whole take on this movie is I understand why it drove everyone insane, because the marketing was, hey, guys, we're bringing it back.

[David Sims]

I was not baffled by the marketing of this movie that I understand what you're saying in terms of, like, a commercial response, but, like, I was not, like, expecting anything out of the marketing.

[Griffin Newman]

I just feel like every critic friend of mine who saw this movie early was like, the tone of this is so bizarre. It's not a comedy. It's not. Not funny.

[David Sims]

I. I did. I did agree that it could not pick a tone. Yes. But, like, the. The sexual assault plot line especially landed, like, so thuddingly for me. Especially the way she reacts to it was just like, not. I did not track a human onto that behavior. But my problem with Pascal was like, I was like, I think he's trying to come off as a little stiff, and he's coming off as someone with heads in his fridge. And I just, like, the whole time was just like, I don't understand who this person is.

[Joe Reed]

And the movie doesn't really.

[David Sims]

And like, she's. Yes, she's a little blinded by her. Her stats and figures and as well through it. But, like, I'm like, how she. She can't have sex with this person because he's crazy.

[Joe Reed]

Well, the movie is also eager to, like, move on from him to the.

[David Sims]

That's also true. Gives him nothing. Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

We should put maybe a spoiler alert around the section of the conversation because this is a danger we get into every year at the blankies where we start just throwing out random.

[David Sims]

That's true. People get grumpy on the blankies episode specifically. This movie came out a lot for me.

[Griffin Newman]

It all works in the fucking kitchen scene where she, like, confronts him and he just, like, unravels and is like, why is this not working? I'm everything on paper. Yeah, I see that. I think his vulnerability in that scene totally makes it work for me. There is, like, a desperate, eager, just sort of like, kind of pathetic quality that feels very honest, which I also think it's look, part of the Pedro Pascal thing of who is this guy really?

[Joe Reed]

Right. Well, I mean, that's sort of a Lot of his essential totally thing.

[Griffin Newman]

Totally.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. I, I, I think there is, there is one choice in relation to the, the sexual assault plot line in the movie that I think is a fatal mistake.

[David Sims]

Uh huh.

[Griffin Newman]

Which is having the following scene take place in real time on their doorstep where Dakota Johnson and and Chris Evans profess their love to each other. I think that cannot happen continuous with what she has just been going through.

[David Sims]

It's just contributed to the feeling of like these don't feel like people to me in the slightest.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Like I just had that problem with it throughout but like I really was just like this is not human behavior and satire or not, I've lost any grip on this movie because they're just not behaving like humans at all.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. See I, it just, it totally clicked for me and part of it is also that maybe I have dated three different Dakota Johnsons my life.

[Joe Reed]

Anyway isn't your screenplay winner.

[Griffin Newman]

That was my screenplay. That is your screen. Yeah. Cuz I'm realizing this is the one place I can sort of mount my case flag.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Plant your flag.

[Griffin Newman]

I mean it's yeah, it's that

[David Sims]

or what? I mean you have five nominees. I know the other four are probably better imo. Can't remember.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. If I legs I'd kick you center weapons. Eddington Materialist.

[David Sims]

Yeah, those are all really, these are, those are good ones. Ones.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay.

[David Sims]

Eddington was I mean one of your favorite movies of the year.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Well we'll get to that.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Right, right.

[Griffin Newman]

You know what? I've made my case for Materialist. I'm gonna give it to. If I had legs I'd kick you a great movie. Yeah. Because I thought I was going to give actress to Rose Byrne but I think I'm gonna swing on that. Yeah, that's I will tell you the

[David Sims]

blankies winners are for original screenplay. I'll just go one to five. Let's go one to five Sinners was their winner. And then Marty Supreme Weapons sentimental value. It was just an accident and it adapted. One battle was there when winner. Oh well we're about to do our.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, we haven't done adapted yet.

[David Sims]

Best adapted screenplay. But I'll tell you them anyway. On battle with say winner then no other choice. 28 years later Begonia and Wake Up Dead Man. My adapted screenplays let me see one battle after another. 28 years later. Peter Hujar's Day Hedda. All right. And Super Superman.

[Joe Reed]

I'm glad you I'm glad you had Peter Hujar's debut.

[David Sims]

Those are my Five.

[Joe Reed]

Mine are Hamnet, Chloe Zhao and Maggie o'. Farrell. Hedda Nia dacosta. One battle after another. Paul Thomas Anderson. Peter Hujar's Day. Iris X. Wake Up Dead Man. Rian Johnson. I was worried that Peter Hujar's day is just so much a. Oh, we have these transcripts.

[David Sims]

No, but I mean, it's. It's all precisely constructed.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Trying to. What is my number five going to be?

[Joe Reed]

I also realized I fell into one of the bullshittier Oscar things, which is it's. You're adapted if you have characters from previous movies, which I think spiritually I disagree with. But in this case, I wanted to nominate Wake Up Dead Man.

[David Sims]

Yeah. I mean, to me, right, Saying Wake Up Dead man is adapted is bizarre.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[David Sims]

Right. But I mean, but he's there.

[Joe Reed]

Otherwise. Otherwise y' all were getting Song Song Blue. And I would have stood by it, but.

[David Sims]

Well, I'm glad it all worked out.

[Joe Reed]

Stay tuned.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm struggling with my number five here, weirdly.

[David Sims]

Well, give us your four.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Cuz I'm just trying to remind myself on what qualifies as what A little bit bit. My 4. Definitely no other choice. One battle after another. Wake Up Deadman. A Knives Out Mystery. Final Destination, Bloodlines.

[Joe Reed]

Good movie.

[Griffin Newman]

Is Roofman adapted?

[David Sims]

I don't actually think it is.

[Griffin Newman]

Just because it's not like it's just

[Joe Reed]

based on a true story.

[David Sims]

Yeah. So it's not. You don't want to nominate. I don't know. Yeah. What 28 years later had a die, My love.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, I'll nominate. 20 years. Correct. Thank you. Sorry.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

So I'm. Three sequels sneaking in there. Yeah. 20 years later is a. Yeah. Just a.

[David Sims]

It's a great screenplay. Yeah, absolutely.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah. And it's my nominee for me. Yeah. I mean, I'm giving the win to one battle. Like, sorry, guys, like, one battle's one.

[Joe Reed]

I was gonna say, we're not breaking anybody's brains by saying one battle, but yet.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Joe Reed]

It's the best. It is the best.

[David Sims]

And it's also a very interesting feat of adaptation. It's like taking the guts of a book and, you know, messing it around in all kinds of ways.

[Joe Reed]

I take everybody's word for that because there's no way I.

[David Sims]

You don't want to crack open Vine.

[Joe Reed]

I can't read, so it would be pointless.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm giving it to no other choice.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Other than Benicio. One battle is like coming in like second for me. In almost every category.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Park Chen Wook and Don McKellar and Lee Kyung. Me and Lee Jahi.

[Joe Reed]

And that is based on a novel,

[Griffin Newman]

the Axe by Donald West.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Thank you to everyone who sent me the. The Costas Gavis film.

[David Sims]

Oh, right. Because it was hard to find. Yes. The prior adaptation.

[Griffin Newman]

And if anyone wants a link, I now have 47 of them. So I have many ways to watch the movie. I can just goon it. I can surround myself.

[David Sims]

I can just goon it.

[Griffin Newman]

We're gonna.

[Joe Reed]

We're gonna clip that as well.

[David Sims]

You don't need to goon it.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay. So anytime I. I invoke gooning on the show, listeners go, does he just think it's having a lot of screens? I know what the other stuff is. I'm just don't. I don't want to talk about it.

[David Sims]

He gets it. Oh, you don't want to talk about it.

[Griffin Newman]

I don't want to talk about it. What are your anime family show.

[David Sims]

That's so true.

[Griffin Newman]

Best animated feature.

[David Sims]

What are your animated films? Griff, give me your five.

[Griffin Newman]

This is actually tough. And I will say I have not. I. I have some big blind spots. I really.

[David Sims]

You haven't met little Emily yet.

[Griffin Newman]

I mean, this is. The problem is like I. I'd be putting in some stuff I like. Okay. Just to fill out the five.

[Joe Reed]

Sure. That's the kind of.

[David Sims]

You give me a three.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I mean like the day the earth blew up.

[David Sims]

Oh, you. Yeah, sure.

[Griffin Newman]

K Pop Demon Hunters.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And I'm like, what else do I even like? I admittedly haven't seen ARCO yet.

[David Sims]

Oh sure.

[Griffin Newman]

I haven't seen Little Amelie yet. I was not crazy about Zootopia 2.

[David Sims]

Elio.

[Griffin Newman]

I was not crazy about Eliot.

[David Sims]

Fixed.

[Griffin Newman]

I really was not crazy about that one.

[David Sims]

It's a Jenny Tartowski movie about a

[Griffin Newman]

horny dog gotta cut his balls off.

[Joe Reed]

Was that. I see. For some reason I thought that movie turned out to be to not actually like, I know the joke. Haha. Doesn't exist. But like, I thought Jenny Tartan movie.

[Griffin Newman]

There was a. There was a real threat of it being a zazlav and it escaped containment. And of course we devoted a full episode to it.

[Joe Reed]

Of course.

[Griffin Newman]

No. I don't even know what my like number three would be. I have some. Yeah. What about you guys?

[David Sims]

Yeah, I have. Yeah, it's boring. Like it's Zootopia 2 and Arco and K Pop Demon Hunters. And then. Yeah, I have to be like, I guess Eliot.

[Joe Reed]

I basically upstitched.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

I can't.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

It's a weak year. I haven't seen Little Amelie, which got the awesome.

[Joe Reed]

I think are in the same bucket

[David Sims]

for me, which is like really care for Arco.

[Joe Reed]

I thought Arco was fine. I thought Little Amelie was fine. I thought Elio was not bad. Which felt like a radical opinion to me because I think Elio got a lot of shit for some reason.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, I think Elio saw it.

[Joe Reed]

But like Elio left my brain.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Elio before it was over.

[David Sims]

I just barely remember. And like, like if I'm doing three

[Griffin Newman]

despises, I'm putting Elio and Zootopia in. I don't think either one's Z was fine.

[David Sims]

I really, I. I very much enjoyed it.

[Joe Reed]

I enjoyed myself with Zootopia 2 and K Pop Demon Hunters is kind of my number one with a bullet. Even though I think that movie is mostly a good time that is grafted onto a a decent movie.

[David Sims]

I'm glad everyone is having fun.

[Joe Reed]

Me too.

[David Sims]

I was a little bit like for this. The songs are now encoded in my brain.

[Griffin Newman]

I haven't seen Predator Killer of Killers, which I I. Oh yeah.

[David Sims]

Excellent blankies. Put that in there. Along with Arco Day, the Blue up and Chainsaw Man. Ben's favorite movie of the year was number two for them. And then K Pop Demon Hunters.

[Griffin Newman]

I continue to struggle with the NAA films. I cannot make sense of them. Little impenetrable bad guys two kind of did nothing for me. The King of Kings and David.

[Joe Reed]

Obviously my two favorite MOV Chainsaw one too.

[Griffin Newman]

The. That's Ben's favorite. I did not see that.

[Joe Reed]

I did not. I missed that one. Oh, Joe.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Worth.

[David Sims]

It is fun.

[Joe Reed]

Okay.

[Griffin Newman]

All right. Sneaks is one of the worst films I saw all year. That's a sneaker movie movie that talking sneakers.

[Joe Reed]

No, it's not.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, it is. Starring Anthony Mackie.

[Joe Reed]

Tony.

[Griffin Newman]

It's starring Martin Lawrence, who this is it kind of. There was an interesting technical breakthrough. If I can just animation nerd out for a second on the movie Sneaks. That is the first voiceover performance recorded entirely while someone is fully asleep.

[David Sims]

Just kind of put a mic by the bed there.

[Joe Reed]

We're doing a lot with sleep technology. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

That's what it sounds like. The whole.

[Joe Reed]

He was getting tested for sleep apnea and they thought while. While we were doing that, while we've got him hooked up to machines, why not we also record a voice.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

Any vocal performances we want to shout out this year? Honestly, no, I'm Moving us on from. Yeah, you know what? We're all struggling here.

[Griffin Newman]

Look, we talked about, you know what?

[David Sims]

David Strathearn and Andy Samberg did a great job in Zootopia 2.

[Griffin Newman]

The whole Zootopia cast is great.

[Joe Reed]

Thought Sandberg was really good.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah, I agree with you, Marin, in the Bad Guys.

[David Sims]

I haven't seen that one yet. I really just want to talk about goat, which is 2026.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, you're all about Goat. I still haven't seen Goat yet.

[David Sims]

Okay, that's good.

[Joe Reed]

It's the number one movie in America.

[David Sims]

It is. I got it there, baby.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Joe, what you're witnessing is a very interesting inflection point in the narrative of Blank Check, which is. I'm getting nonplussed about all animated films. And David is going to see them with his daughter. Like this thing rul I.

[David Sims]

It's kind of a. I'm now in the. I think if there's an animated film She's Old Enough, where it's like, if there's a cartoon, we're going to go see it. Like, we're going to Hoppers. We're going to Mario Galaxy, right? Like, whatever. The ones coming down the pike. Hoppers.

[Joe Reed]

Do you mean Meryl Streep's grand return to feature films after, like, five years away?

[Griffin Newman]

Hoppers. The first time Meryl Streep has played an insect queen in an animated film in 20 years.

[Joe Reed]

I mean, after the Empoli. Is that what we're talking?

[Griffin Newman]

One of the greatest Cinematrix plays.

[Joe Reed]

I Live literally was like, the only reason I'm pulling that is because I've been in the Cinematrix matches.

[David Sims]

All right, what else should we do here?

[Joe Reed]

Have you guys. Did you guys do nominations for casting? Because that's the inaugural Oscar category.

[David Sims]

I do. I don't do a casting nomination.

[Joe Reed]

Mine was kind of chalk, except for I wanted to throw in Griffin in Summer, which I was like, if you cast really awesome kid characters, can I just get in the hall?

[Griffin Newman]

Dibs on the other three seasons.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, Griffin in Spring.

[Griffin Newman]

Griffin and I will seed some.

[David Sims]

What, you're going to do some Rome?

[Griffin Newman]

I still have the other three.

[David Sims]

You're doing a Romare. Like, I want to complete the seasons quad.

[Griffin Newman]

Like that. This uppity little movie.

[David Sims]

Have you seen it?

[Griffin Newman]

No, I've heard it.

[David Sims]

I think you really enjoy.

[Joe Reed]

Heard.

[Griffin Newman]

It's a real winner.

[David Sims]

It is a real winner.

[Griffin Newman]

Love it.

[David Sims]

The whole thing with it. Got a new Griffin pin in Griffin and Summer. Interesting, but cinematography.

[Griffin Newman]

Best cinematography.

[Joe Reed]

Cinematography. Mine are Darius Khondji for Marty Supreme, Michael Bowman for One Battle After Another. Alex Ash for Peter Hujar's Day.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Gorgeous.

[Joe Reed]

Morrow Hirst for Seurat and Adolfo Veloso for Train Dreams.

[David Sims]

Pretty movie.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Probably gonna win the Oscar or.

[Joe Reed]

No, actually, I think it's gonna be one battle.

[David Sims]

One battle

[Griffin Newman]

Rock.

[David Sims]

Yeah, Yeah. I have one battle in Marty Supreme. I have 28 years later, which is my winner.

[Joe Reed]

So that's spec. Yeah.

[David Sims]

I have a Phoenician scheme. Because of course, like every west movie basically deserves every technom. It can I think them.

[Joe Reed]

Except for one movie that the weirdest Oscar narrative I breaks my brain all the time.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. This is the first live action movie he's done with anyone other than Bob.

[David Sims]

Yes. This is.

[Griffin Newman]

Which is also really interesting.

[David Sims]

I can't remember what. I don't know if there's a reason.

[Griffin Newman]

I don't either.

[David Sims]

But he and Yeoman got in a fight over, like, craft.

[Griffin Newman]

But Y goes all the way back to Bottle Rocket. Right.

[David Sims]

He goes way back. And then no other Choice is my fifth.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Mine are 28 years later. Die My Love.

[David Sims]

Oh, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

No other choice. One battle after another. And Phoenicians came.

[Joe Reed]

Nice.

[David Sims]

He does go all the way back to V Rocket. Yeah. What happened?

[Griffin Newman]

I don't know. I don't know.

[David Sims]

I mean, Dell's a king. I mean, he's one of my favorite dps.

[Griffin Newman]

But you're right, Joe, I, I, I will never stop yelling about this. It makes. Even when they don't like the movie, he should be getting like, young Victoria style nominations.

[David Sims]

I think that's why they don't do it.

[Joe Reed]

Gets a screenplay nomination. So clearly you saw it, clearly you liked it. And yet, like, no production design.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay, so was that movie too edgy at that point in time for the Academy?

[David Sims]

Now it should be agreed on.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

And it's like, it feels like what happened last year with Ray Fines. Yeah. Not winning for Conclave where people were like. But he already has one. Right.

[David Sims]

This is another Griffin Bugbird where it

[Griffin Newman]

feels like people are like, but hasn't Wes Anderson, haven't his movies won like 20 craft awards?

[Joe Reed]

You will hear that from people being like, oh, another play for craft nominations from Wes Anderson. It's like, no, actually kind of never.

[Griffin Newman]

Despla won for Grand Budapest. Grand Budapest. And did Grant Budapest win? It won makeup and hairstyle.

[Joe Reed]

It won like three or four awards.

[David Sims]

I feel like it was a tech

[Griffin Newman]

winner because, like, obviously Chivo beats it for cinematography.

[David Sims]

Yeah. It won for costumes, makeup, score and production design. So Stockhausen it's like Stockhausen has his Oscar.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Maybe that's how they feel about it. I don't know. I don't know and I don't like it.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, it's bad.

[David Sims]

The blankies winners here are our listeners. Were one battle and then sinners 28 years later, train Dreams and no other choice. So you know, good looking movies.

[Joe Reed]

Good look at the movies. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Score.

[David Sims]

Best score.

[Joe Reed]

I've got some score nominees, kind of chalky. One Battle, Sinners Seurat, Testament of Anlee and Train Dream.

[David Sims]

Testament of Anlee is a good shout.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

If nothing else.

[Joe Reed]

And I've kind of been like in many group texts I've been the sort of holdout on Testament of Anlee. But like elements of that movie that like are really fantastic.

[David Sims]

I was left quite cold by that film, but I was quite impressive.

[Joe Reed]

You're one of the very few people who I've heard that from and I'm glad to have at least some company. For some reason that became the like gay guy cause celeb this year. And I was like, folks, there's some like actual movies with like gay characters. I mean I know that whatever. Lewis Pullman in that movie and whatever. But like I don't know, everybody was just on the. On the Cypher train and she's great. I love Cypher.

[Griffin Newman]

Adore that movie. I'll talk about it in a little bit.

[Joe Reed]

All right.

[Griffin Newman]

I did. I forgot to post this on letterboxd when I saw it, but saw the film, was very moved by it, was very affected by it. Immediately came out with a couple of really good pitches for. If I had to write for the Spirit Awards. Testament of Stan Lee.

[Joe Reed]

I mean it's right there.

[Griffin Newman]

Tim Robinson Chair company parody where he shows up at the Shakers and he's like, what's going on here? And they just keep singing that.

[David Sims]

That would be fun.

[Griffin Newman]

That would be funny chairs because they

[David Sims]

made all those great chairs.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

I just wanted the whole movie to be about furniture.

[Griffin Newman]

Right. And then. And it like.

[David Sims]

It's like it gets like one line and then my.

[Griffin Newman]

My third Spirit.

[David Sims]

We make good furniture.

[Griffin Newman]

My third Spirit Awards pitch was Shake it Off. They. They do like a Daniel Blumberg style performance of Taylor Swift. Shake it Off.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Banging their chest. I thought that was like three good pitches right off the dome.

[David Sims]

I. You seem just like seething with rage that the spirits did not take you up on this. Did they even acknowledged Ann Lee Feel like the inds were kind of so

[Griffin Newman]

odd editing because I drafted it in our other secret Movie League. We're part of what. And I got it for $1. And I was like, I'm gonna fucking reap the riches with this. I'm the only one who has it on their slate. And then that is the only major award it got all year.

[Joe Reed]

Indie spirits were weird this year in that, like, the nominations were so pleasantly, like, off the map.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Cause they do the winter and stuff

[Joe Reed]

in that, like, really classic indie spirit way of, like, oh, this used to, like, give me 20 ideas for movies that I hadn't seen.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

And then because of that, the, like, it was so much more stark that, like, oh, there's one per category that's, like, an Oscar nominee crossover. And so, of course, those ones were the ones that won Train Dreams. Train Dreams won Sorry Baby, which is not an Oscar nominee, but was also, like, everybody's pick for best first feature this year. So, like, that won a few of them. And, like, Rose Byrne won. Very well deserved, but, like, is an Oscar nominee.

[David Sims]

My nominees for score were one battle, Marty Supreme, 28 years later, young for Fathers.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Sinners and Tron Aries.

[Joe Reed]

I did not see Tron Aries. I was waiting to have to see it before Oscar nominee. I believe it.

[Griffin Newman]

I mean, I'm. I'm now, like, wondering if I have the exact same five as. Yeah.

[David Sims]

I mean, there's other good scores this year, though. What have I been listening to? What have I been bumping?

[Griffin Newman]

Black Bag score is great. The Weapon score is great.

[David Sims]

Weapon score is really cool.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Not as much one to bump because it's so dis. You know, disorienting, but. But good. What are some other goods? The Superman score, the weird sort of hodgepodgey nature of it notwithstanding. But it's good. And Lee for sure. I don't know. I don't know, mate.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay. Thank you, mate. You're welcome. I gave.

[David Sims]

What final destination of screenplay? No, I'm just remembering that it was a lovely little nom for you.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Thank you. I think that is a perfectly structured screenplay.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I think that movie is so smart. I give it so much credit for, like, after six, right? No, no, this is the six entry. There were five previous final destinations.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Showing up and just being like, this is clearly what all of these movies should have been all along. Like, just finding the perfect narrative structure and emotional, like, underpinning for one of these films.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I also think that movie does some of the smartest legacy cool shit I have ever seen. Agree. It is the opposite of the stuff that makes my teeth. Teeth Hurt where there is a.

[Joe Reed]

Well, they essentially were like David Gordon Green's Halloween. But like, what if it wasn't stupid?

[Griffin Newman]

Well, because the movie, basically there is a reading of it that is not necessary for you to enjoy the film.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

That this is the starting point of the entire franchise.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

That everything that has happened in the five previous films which have their own Fast and Furious style, jumbled timeline where things keep on getting right, revolution, range are all the trickle effects of this one incident. That is the cold open. That is so good.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really liked it. I thought it was really creative. I think I go to those movies because it's like, I'm not normally this much of a sadist, but I'm like, I need creative kills. I need. You know what I mean? Like all I become like a. It's a real chance to be a

[David Sims]

little, you know, sort of. There were some things in this one

[Griffin Newman]

incredibly good and I. I just think the Tony Todd scene is like, excellent. Is another perfect example of just like retroactively applying all this meaning to previous movies that are like.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I find that entire franchise very fun. But a lot of times, through a lot of wonkiness.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, totally.

[Griffin Newman]

Like the power of the ideas push through a lot of conceptual, like, sort of inconsistencies.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

But. Yeah. And a lot of. It's like a masterclass of directing. But also, and I've said this so many times. Times, any movie that can get an entire audience to cheer when a child dies. Yeah. Is doing some sort of.

[David Sims]

I completely agree.

[Griffin Newman]

Super sophisticated, Raimi esque. It was the way I felt watching Send Help where I'm like, these are filmmakers who know how to play the audience like a drum.

[Joe Reed]

That's a movie. I wish I hadn't seen the trailer because the one trailer gives away so much of the backyard scene with the lawnmower and whatnot, that I was like,

[Griffin Newman]

that scene has so much wrong footing and so many misdirects.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, that's true. But it's just like, I just want.

[Griffin Newman]

Wanted.

[Joe Reed]

I wanted that. I understand why. It's the same thing with the Running man trailer where they give away so much of the one action scene in the hallway or the elevator or whatever.

[Griffin Newman]

I liked that the first Bloodlines teaser was the piercing tattoo shop.

[Joe Reed]

Yes. Which is the ultimate fake out.

[Griffin Newman]

Exactly. So I was like, oh, this is a good sequence and they're ruining it to do the marketing. And then you see in the context of the movie and you're like, no, this was the exact thing for them.

[Joe Reed]

To spoil that character.

[Griffin Newman]

Because in context, it's totally different frame.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's great.

[Griffin Newman]

Can I give out a special honorific award?

[David Sims]

Sure.

[Joe Reed]

Can I do one right after you.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, of course. The. The first ever Iowa Debery Memorial couldn't be more seated award. I say memorial because her time as a guest on the show is probably.

[David Sims]

Look, once in a while, I learned. I talked to IO Larson largely about my kids, but once in a while, I will be like, gotta come back on BC someday. And I'm like, hey, man, doors open.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

She is about to do Proof on Broadway.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

That's in New York.

[Joe Reed]

She's here. Oh, shit.

[David Sims]

She will also be fairly busy doing what is having seen, you know, the original production, one of the more demanding theater roles I'm aware of existing. Yeah. I wonder how that's gonna go.

[Griffin Newman]

I feel like we threw Spielberg to her and she said, I only want to do Colombo main feat.

[David Sims]

She didn't say, I only want to, but she did say, I really want to do. And, you know, again, it's spotted up.

[Joe Reed]

But.

[David Sims]

But you are honoring, of course, her iconic. I am so seated.

[Griffin Newman]

I couldn't be more seated.

[David Sims]

I couldn't be more seated. They're telling me it's not coming out for months, but I. Remaining seated. Typed, you know, her tweet.

[Griffin Newman]

So this is my award for the best performance with zero standing up.

[David Sims]

Okay.

[Griffin Newman]

Now, I think it's important that the performance cannot textually be a character who lacks the ability to stand.

[Joe Reed]

I understand.

[Griffin Newman]

It needs to feel like the actor is overriding any demands. Going. I got an idea. What if I just a little. What if I'm sort of in this chair here?

[Joe Reed]

What if I have an emotional connection to this chair? I really shouldn't leave it. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And this award was inspired. And I think this is much like putters of murmur, something that would be easy to fill every year, but it was inspired by seeing a performance this year that was in my memory, three or four different scenes in a couple different locations. And every time it cut back to this actor in a chair, I was just going, oh, I hope he doesn't fuck up the streak. I hope he never stands up. Al Pacino in Dead Man's Wire. Oh, sure.

[David Sims]

Have not seen. But I've hear. I've heard that his performance is a smidge low energy.

[Griffin Newman]

Four different chairs, by my count. Four different chairs. I believe. I read that he shot the entire performance in one day. I also believe the movie takes place over, like, I think 72 hours, but he goes from like a country club to like.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

A couple different rooms in his home. Yeah. Different trips, chairs.

[Joe Reed]

But this screen, he's moving and wheeling and dealing, but we never see it.

[Griffin Newman]

And he's doing a lot. But he could not be more seated. And it's a clear choice by Big Al.

[Joe Reed]

I thought you were gonna go for, like, Tracy Letson, House of Dynamite or something like that.

[David Sims]

But he's leaning and standing.

[Joe Reed]

Does he stand okay?

[David Sims]

Yeah, he's going like, okay, Joe.

[Griffin Newman]

It's there in the name. They could not be more seated. There have to be zero qualifiers in this performance.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Nuremberg, I've pointed out already. But Crow, I mean, he does do, like some push ups in one scene. But, you know, Crow is largely either lying down or sit.

[Joe Reed]

He's a spiritually seated actor.

[David Sims]

He did a whole serial killer movie where he's in the car the whole time. You know what I mean? Where they were like, you have to play like a crazy guy. Just like, can I sit in the car, not get out?

[Joe Reed]

And another one where he's just like, what if I was sitting on this Vespa? For most of his.

[Griffin Newman]

The Pope's Exorcist. Different than what was the other one he did? He did another movie called the Something Exorcism.

[David Sims]

The Exorcism, yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, right.

[David Sims]

That almost felt like they were like we just. We sort of cgi. A little a different haircut on you from, like, deleted scenes from the Other Exorcist.

[Griffin Newman]

But isn't that one about, like, he's a guy who played an exorcist or something?

[David Sims]

Troubled actor begins to exhibit disruptive behavior. I don't see how Russell would vibe with that character.

[Joe Reed]

Am I not wrong? While shooting a horror film is in some sort of middle space between, like, real movies.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

And, like, Bruce Willis depressing red box, like slop.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

You know, kind of stuff.

[Griffin Newman]

They're more legit, legitimate than that.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, it's.

[Griffin Newman]

It's an interesting zone he's in. But once again, this category, which exists and is open to you gentlemen for all years going forward.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Is not for the spiritually seated.

[Joe Reed]

No.

[Griffin Newman]

And if Russell Crowe is getting up and doing push ups in one scene, then unfortunately, I have a note. There is a way that you could be more seated. It's simply not doing the push ups.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

It has to be someone who does not get up from the chair once.

[Joe Reed]

The rigorousness of your parameters really, like, dissuades me from, like, picking something on the fly. I will have to punt until next year. But next Year I'll come. Locked and loaded.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Just think about it. All right. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

All right. Mine is so on my podcast, this. This had Oscar buzz. On our Patreon, we have been taken to doing what we call superlatives awards, which is all the weird detritus movie awards from various places. The nbr, whatever, tribute to integrity and, you know, filmmaking or whatever.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, of course.

[Joe Reed]

Best kiss from the MTV Movie Awards. The can palm dog, things like that. And sometimes you make up our own category. And as soon as we were done, I texted Chris and I said I forgot the one category I wanted to do, which is best wife on phone. Because the trope of the wife on

[David Sims]

phone, Catherine Keener and Sully.

[Joe Reed]

Sully is me. Absolutely. Naples.

[David Sims]

No, she's in Captain Phillips.

[Griffin Newman]

Correct.

[David Sims]

Okay, that's.

[Joe Reed]

Sorry. I knew it was Laura Lydia, but the two. Yeah, those are your twin pillars of, like, exactly what I'm talking about.

[David Sims]

I hope no pirates get you today, honey. All right, I'll see you later.

[Griffin Newman]

Diane Lane in the Perfect Storm.

[David Sims]

Diane Lane in the Perfect Storm is on the CB radio.

[Joe Reed]

Yes. She's his wife on C. They're all

[Griffin Newman]

in but Mary Elizabeth Master Antonio's in a boat.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Joe Reed]

She's in the war room.

[Griffin Newman]

She's in the war room.

[Joe Reed]

Like, she's the one on the horn, I think, like, barking out instructions.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

You know who's in the war room is Tracy Letts.

[Griffin Newman]

This is true.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Now, he could be more seated.

[David Sims]

Joe.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Who is your nominee this year?

[Joe Reed]

My nominees are.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay, you have a full five.

[Joe Reed]

I did with some creative accounting.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Rene Elise Goldsberry in House of Dynamite. Who is FLOTUS on phone wearing full Brian Fellows safari get up.

[David Sims]

Obviously the funniest cut in that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

She's gonna be tough to beat this year. She's gonna be tough to beat. This might be a Jesse Buckley run. So funny for an Ailey Square Cold Berry.

[Joe Reed]

Greta Gerwig. And J. Kelly, who has multiple wife on phone scenes with Adam Sandler.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Melanie Diaz and Roofman, an actress I

[David Sims]

was so happy to see.

[Griffin Newman]

Same.

[David Sims]

But she didn't have a ton to do in a good way.

[Joe Reed]

I don't know if that character gets done wrong. The movie doesn't not make the claim of like. And he was much happier when he wasn't saddled with this family.

[David Sims]

I.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay, can I just say this quickly now?

[Joe Reed]

Yes. Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Not to interrupt your category. No.

[Joe Reed]

We'll put a pin.

[Griffin Newman]

But I was pumping Roofman really hard.

[Joe Reed]

I like Roofman. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And I saw some blankies Be like, I don't get it.

[David Sims]

Really?

[Griffin Newman]

Well, in specifically saying I think this character is kind of a bad guy in the movie, wants me to root for him and is trying to turn it into like a charming romantic comedy. And once again I'm like, I think the movie is a portrait of a complicated man.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I think what it is digging with is that this guy abandoned his daughters and now is like, yes, over like parenting. Right, right. He's being too trans to be the surrogate daughter.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

But you know that it's like he's going to fudgeing do this again and that like the ending of the film is not some like their love was true kind of thing.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

It's like speaking to this guy's feelings are genuine and yet he can't stop fudgeing this up and hurting.

[Joe Reed]

This is a thing I talked about a bunch with my vulture colleague Roxanna Haddadi, who is a huge Derek C. And France fan. We're like the two most enthusiastic place beyond the pines people that I know. And there is a degree to which we're like, we're not gonna tell you you have to see another movie before you see Roofman. But knowing the whole Derek C. In France thing really helps you get more out of Roofman because like it is the bad dad thing. It is the sort of like the terminal fuck up kind of a guy. And it really plays into that.

[Griffin Newman]

And because it's at a more comedic, I think people and I think some of this is a training from decade a decade plus of very kind of. How would I put this didactic characterization, especially from tv, but from a lot of studio films of just like characters are really clean cut, good or bad. And if you're wrestling with someone who is complicated, that has to be a heavy dramatic movie. And to see a complicated comedy in which a character is complicated and like can do things that are both a

[David Sims]

light like it felt like a 70s comedy. It felt like analysis anymore kind of

[Griffin Newman]

it feels like a 70s light drama. Five easy pieces like this guy is equally captivating and nauseating.

[Joe Reed]

My thing was, if the Golden Globe comedy categories weren't so crowded with fake

[David Sims]

comedies, great comedies, rip roaring comedies, then

[Joe Reed]

Channing Tatum would have been an ideal nomination.

[David Sims]

Derek Cfrance Lee looks like an AI of Ryan Gosling. That kind of went wrong. You know what I mean?

[Joe Reed]

It's Ryan Gosling and it's got his face. Clark Greg. Yeah, right. Sort of like melded the two, but

[Griffin Newman]

like in Blue Valentine where Gosling shaved the hairline back and he had the big aviator sunglasses. And I was like, this is a cool look for Gosling. And then I saw my first interview with Derek C. In France and I

[Joe Reed]

was like, oh, okay, got it.

[David Sims]

He just took a picture.

[Griffin Newman]

Got it.

[David Sims]

Yeah, yeah. Okay.

[Joe Reed]

Two more wives on phone. I had Renee, Elise Goldsberry, Greta Gerwig, Melissa Melanie Diaz, Christian Slater. And if I had Lex, I'd kick you.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah. But God, the reveal reveal is very strong.

[Joe Reed]

The classic. I know this voice. I know this voice.

[Griffin Newman]

Right. But he's not playing into his go to so hard.

[Joe Reed]

He's not doing the fake jacket.

[Griffin Newman]

Well, obviously. And the reveal of that's who it is. And the way he's dressed and what you now understand about the character in his profession. Yes, I will not spoil for people, but is incredibly fine.

[Joe Reed]

So my winner is Grace Gummer in Springsteen, who plays Jeremy Strong's wife.

[David Sims]

Who?

[Joe Reed]

Somebody. Somebody said this.

[David Sims]

I fucking forgot about that.

[Griffin Newman]

And does have a real easy time. She's married too.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Jeremy Strong. But somebody said this and I can't for the life of me remember it. And if. If you are out there and I've been quoting you all award season, please let me know. Described it as a wife on phone performance where the wife is in the room with the guy. Because it very much is just like she's serving that function.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, classically.

[Joe Reed]

But like she's not on the phone. She's right there in person.

[Griffin Newman]

I mean, that's what's also interesting about Gerwig is that like a good chunk of her performance is husband on phone, wife standing next to husband being like, talk to me.

[Joe Reed]

Yes, yes. In a. In a different movie, she's dealing, juggling the kids or whatever. And he's husband. He's Kristen Slater.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

It is interesting that we had a robust slate of new releases between September and January where we're like more of a scheduling hassle than it's ever been.

[David Sims]

Yeah, yeah, right. For movies that didn't.

[Griffin Newman]

Almost all them blank.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

They're all coming about avatar.

[Griffin Newman]

Got two noms. Right. But otherwise, no other choice. Zero noms.

[David Sims]

Bit rude.

[Griffin Newman]

House of Dynamite. Zero noms.

[David Sims]

Yes. Not rude.

[Griffin Newman]

Ella McKay. Zero noms. Despite being.

[David Sims]

I'm told that it's re eligible for next year and they're going to keep making it eligible until it gets a nom.

[Griffin Newman]

Considering only played in theaters for five days.

[Joe Reed]

J. Kelly rental family. Like all of these ones that like

[David Sims]

coming into the first book is Ellen McKay the first movie to lose money on Hulu. They're like I don't. It's somehow gross. Negative dollars. I don't know what happened here.

[Griffin Newman]

Is this thing on y0noms? Yeah. And is there one other one I'm forgetting?

[David Sims]

That might be it. I mean, there's plenty. You know, the. The three in a row for us. Was the Avatar. Is this thing on? And no other choice? I think that was it.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, you're.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh.

[Joe Reed]

Especially, like, for your purpose.

[David Sims]

So Die My Love.

[Griffin Newman]

Sorry.

[David Sims]

Sort of counts.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

You know, because we did Ramsey.

[Griffin Newman]

Admittedly, the big strategy behind doing Die My Love and doing it at the top of 2026 was like, oh, can we do, like, a Campion thing?

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[David Sims]

Because these are lesser known films.

[Griffin Newman]

But it, like, had such a big, like, explosion at Cannes and movies putting so much money behind it. Can we line up a series to what presumably will be the first Lynne Ramsey movie to break through at the Oscars? And then, like, zero.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

So.

[David Sims]

And you know what? We did a Mission Impossible. The Final Reckoning. Did that kind of visual effects on. Sneak into somewhere?

[Griffin Newman]

It didn't stop. No.

[Joe Reed]

Mission Impossible did not.

[Griffin Newman]

It didn't.

[Joe Reed]

Not on my.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay.

[David Sims]

Yeah. It's not. And then. And then we did, of course, do a Honey don't episode, and I think that only got like six or seven knobs.

[Griffin Newman]

Superman did not get a nom. Or did it get a visual effect?

[David Sims]

Did it get a visual effects? It's crazy.

[Joe Reed]

Jurassic World. Sure did.

[David Sims]

They. They kind of just don't give the superhero movies VFX noms ever anymore. I think they've just decided, like, you that's too easy.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Weirdly, the dinos slip through. I mean, that mov. The Jurassic movie. The VFX were good.

[Joe Reed]

The VFX were a lot better than I anticipated. The story was much, much worse.

[Griffin Newman]

I mean, I don't know, guys. There was a. There's a shot in that movie in which a camera that feels vaguely handheld struggles to pan up and down. A large creature being illuminated only by a red flare gun. I've never seen Gareth Edwards come up with such an image before.

[Joe Reed]

There. That's fair.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. No, we just. Our. Our slate of new releases was almost entirely this ad. Oscar buzz.

[Joe Reed]

Yes. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Well, we're. Give us a year and we'll get to all of them. So,

[Griffin Newman]

David. Yep. You and I have a lot of shared interests.

[David Sims]

Sure.

[Griffin Newman]

Common interest film, dumb movies, comedy podcasts, life, New York City, bagels, sandwiches.

[David Sims]

These are all true sleep. Oh, I love sleep so much.

[Griffin Newman]

Sleep rules so much. It is kind of wild how sleep is constantly underrated. I don't think people give it enough credit.

[David Sims]

And he gets truly. And it gets credit.

[Griffin Newman]

And nonetheless, even when it's bad, it's good.

[David Sims]

Well, I don't know. I don't think anything could really change how I sleep, though. Like, I don't have any problem.

[Griffin Newman]

Wrong.

[David Sims]

What?

[Griffin Newman]

Wrong.

[David Sims]

What product could change my nights?

[Griffin Newman]

Lisa. Lisa can change your nights. Switch to a Lisa mattress.

[Joe Reed]

Griffin.

[Griffin Newman]

What?

[David Sims]

I mean, it's just so true.

[Griffin Newman]

It's true.

[David Sims]

I am living proof right now.

[Griffin Newman]

You are.

[David Sims]

Because Lisa spoke, sponsored the show. And when they sponsored the show, they said, would you like a mattress sent

[Griffin Newman]

over a big honking mattress.

[David Sims]

And I was like, it's time. I'm switching to a king mattress.

[Griffin Newman]

You're a king.

[David Sims]

I'm getting a bigger bed. My kids sometimes will pile into it. I need this much. I need as much square footage as possible on this sucker.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. You need hop on pop space.

[David Sims]

I do. And so I got a Lisa. A mattress from Lisa. That is my. My favorite place to be. It is my favorite. I say this so David.

[Griffin Newman]

Big time.

[David Sims]

It is so nice.

[Griffin Newman]

It is. It really.

[David Sims]

I'm laughing, but I'm emotional.

[Griffin Newman]

It sues the soul. It's. It's everything. It's everything.

[David Sims]

So good to be there.

[Griffin Newman]

Lisa owns my days and my nights.

[David Sims]

Now listen. I mean, Lisa, they've got this lineup of beautifully crafted mattresses. They're all tailored for different sleep positions, different feel preferences, but they've all got premium materials. They've all got full body support no matter how you sleep. They're all designed and assembled in the USA. They've all got a free shipping, easy returns, 120 night sleep trial that you can go by. Awarded the best hybrid mattress by wirecutter at the New York Times. Exclusively featured by West Elm. They're the go to mattress provider over there. It's good for stuff.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

And they donate thousands of mattresses each year to those in need.

[Griffin Newman]

That's huge.

[David Sims]

Partner with organizations like Clean Hub to remove harmful plastic waste from the ocean.

[Griffin Newman]

It's nice to hear that they care and it's nice to hear all those endorsements. But really, I. I think there is no stronger endorsement than David Sims, the sleepy king. The most tired man in America saying that Lisa hit the just right.

[David Sims]

I love it and I use it. And this is a true endorsement.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, boy.

[David Sims]

They're all endorsements. But this is about as endorsement as an endorsement gets. I don't know what to tell you. Go to Lisa.com for the President's Day extended sale 25% off mattresses, plus get a extra $50 off with promo code blank check. Exclusive for our listeners. That's L E-S8.com promo code blank check for 25% off mattresses, plus an extra $50 off. Support our show and let them know we sent you after checkout. That's Lisa.com promo code blank check.

[Griffin Newman]

And David, just because we invoked President's Day in this ad read, I do think we need to show our support for our president. Rolk Thunderbolt Ross. The Red Hulk.

[David Sims]

Is he in prison? Yes. Is he no longer the president? Maybe in Letter of the law, but not spirit.

[Griffin Newman]

But here's the good news. While stuck on the raft, Marvel's high tech sea jail.

[David Sims]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

He's sleeping on Elisa.

[David Sims]

I sure hope so.

[Griffin Newman]

A mattress fit for a roll.

[David Sims]

Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the OG it kicked off this

[Joe Reed]

whole zero sugar energy drink thing.

[David Sims]

But Ultra is a whole lineup now. You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian Sunrise and Vice Guava. And they all bring the monster energy punch.

[Joe Reed]

So if you've been living in the

[David Sims]

white can branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe. And every single one is zero sugar.

[Joe Reed]

Tap the banner to learn more.

[David Sims]

We're back, baby.

[Griffin Newman]

It's the blankies.

[Joe Reed]

Wanna do putters and murmurs now?

[Griffin Newman]

I mean, it's cliffhangers.

[David Sims]

I think it's time to do putters. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Okay.

[David Sims]

But are there any other contenders?

[Griffin Newman]

Give me some others. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

So before I get to the proper putters and murmurs.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, yeah. You like to throw on a couple others.

[Joe Reed]

Lakeith Stanfield in Die My Love Smolder and Sexers.

[Griffin Newman]

Huh?

[Joe Reed]

Not a whole lot of talking. He's just sort of, you know.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

He's leering. Rebecca Holland. Peter who Jars Day Murmurs, but no putters.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Her. She's. She's digging into that accent.

[David Sims]

It's really a close miss for me.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Emory Cohen and Roofman. Chunkers and Shamers.

[David Sims]

And Marty Supreme.

[Joe Reed]

And Marty Supreme. I love him in Roofman, though, because he is the moral center of that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

And

[Joe Reed]

he gets the shaft for it. The kids, parents and weapons.

[David Sims]

I thought you beat me to that one.

[Joe Reed]

There's not a lot of puntering because they're mostly just stock still get the actress's name. The one who's not Marin Ireland. But certainly I don't think at least but resembles. Maybe it is Marin in weapons.

[Griffin Newman]

I will look it up.

[Joe Reed]

Tom Waits in Father, Mother, Sister, Brother.

[David Sims]

A movie I have not seen Same A Blindside and I Figured I wanted

[Joe Reed]

to like that movie going in.

[Griffin Newman]

And I don't like Cali Shattero and Whitmer Thomas are the. The Alex, remember? Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Former winner Timothy Spall in Goodbye June.

[Griffin Newman]

Timothy sp.

[David Sims]

I haven't seen Goodbye Jude on account of I'd rather not. Yeah, I don't want to be doing that.

[Griffin Newman]

Is that a movie about something incredibly depressing?

[David Sims]

No, it's Kate Winslet directorial debut straight to Netflix. It's just one of those things like,

[Joe Reed]

their mom is dying. Like.

[David Sims]

Yeah, I know. It's also like, grim. It's grim in Britain kind of shit. But like, that I can handle. It just seemed like a bit of a nothing.

[Joe Reed]

Look, I. I mean, nobody saw it. I'm like the only person who saw it.

[Griffin Newman]

I often think it is not a productive discourse, even if the sentiments behind it are valid. Yeah, but Kate Winslet coming out in defense of her children saying, I really don't like this Nepo label. My children had to work hard for what they've gotten in this industry. I'm like, your daughter was cast in a Wes Anderson movie that you were not in. Catherine, your son slipped you a screenplay and you said, I'll direct this and call my friends to star. You have to admit there's a pipeline.

[David Sims]

I think her. Your daughter is clearly has some talent and is very good in Phoenician scheme. Yeah, the. My son slipped me a screenplay thing. There's no. Come on now.

[Griffin Newman]

Like.

[David Sims]

Like just this. That's family business stuff. Just cop to it.

[Griffin Newman]

That's the thing. Fine, just cop to it.

[David Sims]

It's what's always happened.

[Griffin Newman]

It's fine.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, right.

[Griffin Newman]

But Wall, that she directed, she was saying, look, he got here on his own. And I'm like, you can say that you think his script is legitimately very good.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

But you then decided to direct it.

[David Sims]

I just. Yeah, I can't get drawn into it because I am always just like, look, you know, it's. It's just how it works. It's always worked that way. It's. There's things about it that are so unfair. Obviously there's real talent that emerges who are nepotistic, that grew up in the business. It's not surprising.

[Joe Reed]

It is also. It's just like. It is just kind of human nature. Like.

[David Sims]

Right. This is true in a lot of.

[Griffin Newman]

I also think there's a large or whatever, like, barrier for access issue that has to do with wealth and class,

[David Sims]

social strata since ancient Greece. If you were rich, you could be a poet. You know what I mean?

[Joe Reed]

Somebody made the like case of like, you know, whatever butcher's children used to follow their parents makes that case.

[Griffin Newman]

But I also. I.

[David Sims]

You know what?

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

I'm sick of these butcher Nepo babies actually. Get them the out of here. Arthur and Sons. Yeah. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Maybe.

[David Sims]

No, no. My whole thing is.

[Joe Reed]

I'm like.

[David Sims]

Right, let's not do a debate, guys. You don't want to invite the debate.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

You want to tip.

[Joe Reed]

You want to tip the cap. Acknowledge it and.

[Griffin Newman]

Absolutely. And it's. There is a degree to which it does feel. Feel like these things. Course. Correct. If the person is not good and the public does not like the thing they do.

[Joe Reed]

Right, Right.

[Griffin Newman]

Like this industry is so sociopathic.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

That like whatever connections and favors exist only go so long. They will kick you to the curb if you don't make them money.

[Joe Reed]

On a completely different topic.

[Griffin Newman]

Anyway. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Frank Delaine and Urchin.

[Griffin Newman]

Who.

[Joe Reed]

The character sort of moves into different modes, but some of those modes have puttering and murmuring. Not. Not an ideal.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Idris Elba and House of Dynamite just for doing fuck. All I feel like is it's.

[David Sims]

It's murmuring.

[Joe Reed]

Relatively Murmuring and puttering because, like murmuring about podcasts.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Everyone in EFIs. Yeah. Who putter and murmur their way through an entire baseball.

[David Sims]

Incredible movie.

[Joe Reed]

And then my number one choice was Benicio who. Yeah. Does a lot of puttering and a lot of murmuring. As is his wants. In one battle.

[Griffin Newman]

He's never.

[David Sims]

We are missing Josh o'. Connor. Connor. In the Mastermind.

[Griffin Newman]

Well.

[David Sims]

And just that movie. Just like, look, I'm sure. But I mean, like in Potters and

[Joe Reed]

Mermaids, John Magaro is kind of a lifetime achievement murmurer at the very least.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. And Mastermind is kind of like an original Kings of Comedy of.

[David Sims]

Exactly. That's what I'm saying.

[Griffin Newman]

Our best young rising putter.

[Joe Reed]

Sure. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Let me think if there are any others I'm sort of scanning around like that we haven't brought up. But I mean, it's a fairly solid list. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I. I just think like Eddington is a movie that a. Uses the Clifton College junior character as like a puttering and murmuring Greek chorus.

[Joe Reed]

Remind me where he emerges in that movie. It has been such.

[Griffin Newman]

The movie opens with him wandering in the desert. Desert. Puttering and murmuring to himself.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

And you're like, who is this man? Is he ins. Or does he see everything clearly? Or is it a mix of both and the whole film he's like puttering under his breath. Yes. Yes. But he runs throughout the entire film. He's kind of like an emotional spine of the movie. Most of the third act kind of like plot hinges on him.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

And he's also. He's a great actor who. This is not his standard mode. I think he can speak very clearly when he. He wants to. He's a character actor with great sort

[Joe Reed]

of versatility, but so underrated in Capot, I thought.

[David Sims]

I agree. Anemy. An anemone. That one that's heavy on most of.

[Joe Reed]

Did me dirty. And I never saw Anem.

[David Sims]

Oh, boy. Does it exist? All right, I. I saw every existing moment of it. Okay, whatever. I'm moving us on to, I guess, the big stuff. Is there anything else? The big four before the big Four. Four. No. Right?

[Joe Reed]

I don't think so. No.

[David Sims]

Yeah. I mean, I can tell you the Blankies thought that one battle had the best editing of the year and Marty supreme the best production design. Like, that's fine, you guys. Are you guys mad about that? I'm not best actress or best Actor. Come on, who do you want to.

[Griffin Newman]

I want to do best actor first because I've already said that. Josh o', Connor, Mastermind.

[David Sims]

You know what? Kick us off.

[Griffin Newman]

Best Actor.

[David Sims]

You've got Josh o' Connor in the Mastermind. I had a dream last night, Griffin, that I became good friends with him. Lucky it's a good dream. It was a weird dream because it was quite mundane. It was basically like I had to interview him or something. And then we just became friends, and we're hanging out all day, and then I woke up, and I was like, I've never met him. Where did that come from?

[Joe Reed]

I had a stress dream.

[David Sims]

I haven't even seen him in a movie recently.

[Joe Reed]

I had a stress dream recently that I was supposed to do a Q and A with John Lithgow and Brian Cox, and I was thoroughly unprepared for it.

[David Sims]

Chill qa and, like.

[Joe Reed]

And they sent a car for me with Lithgow in the car being like, where have you been? And, oh, yeah. God, it was.

[Griffin Newman]

So do you guys. Maybe I'm just far deeper in the. The. The pool of mental illness, but do you guys ever have the thing where you wake up from a dream and it takes, like, four hours into your day to be like, right, I don't know. Josh o'. Connor.

[Joe Reed]

Right. You know? Well, I famously. I had a dream one time many, many, many years ago, that the dream itself spanned, like, 10 years, and I, like, had, like, full, like, fictional character, like, relationship and whatever. That took me the better part of

[Griffin Newman]

a day when they back feel like that and also when they're kind of mundane, where you're like, oh, right. Yeah, right. Okay. When I got text Josh back, I

[Joe Reed]

barely remember my dreams.

[Griffin Newman]

Josh o' Connor in the Mastermind had a fucking unbelievable year. This is the guy right now, in my opinion.

[David Sims]

Totally. I mean, down to that. He's in a Spielberg movie this year.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes. Like, so exciting.

[David Sims]

Trophy.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm so into all the disclosure day trailers, posters, everything.

[Joe Reed]

Are you being facetious? Are you being, like, genuine?

[Griffin Newman]

Genuine?

[Joe Reed]

Okay, me too.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm like.

[Joe Reed]

I was worried that. I was like, are we. Do we not, like.

[Griffin Newman]

No. I feel like people are being a little like, I don't know. And I'm like, this looks awesome.

[Joe Reed]

I think there was a reaction to Emily Blunt's face that has been.

[Griffin Newman]

Here's what I would say to that. When the trailer cuts to her doing the weather.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

I was like, oh, her face makes sense for this character. She is a television weather person.

[Joe Reed]

And then the devil wears Prada 2 trailer happened right after that.

[David Sims]

Sure. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

It also makes sense.

[David Sims]

The Devil wears Prada 2 trailer is one of those things where I'm like, I'm so nervous. It's plausible that, yes, of course, this haughty character who employed Anne Hathaway for. For six months might not really remember her. Like, we all remember her because we watched the movie. But you cannot release a trailer where everyone's reaction is, does Meryl Streep's character have a brain injury? Is she demented? What's going on? Why doesn't she know anyone?

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

That was just everyone's reaction to that trailer.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Somebody made the case to me that it was. And this is. I know the reaction this is gonna get, but it's an allusion to Milton, because in Paradise Regained or whatever. One of the things that. One of the things about the devil is that the devil never remembers anything that's ever happened.

[Griffin Newman]

I hope that is explicitly what the movie.

[Joe Reed]

I do kind of hope it is. But I could not be more not certain about a movie than I am. Like, I'm. I do think it could be very, very.

[Griffin Newman]

Does that not almost feel like Avengers end game, though, where you're like, they don't even need to release a trailer, right?

[Joe Reed]

Well, no, you're the original. Original movie. Their trailer was just like Meryl walking into the building.

[Griffin Newman]

One of the greatest trailers of all time.

[David Sims]

So good.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

These trailers are nothing but confusing. And yet it doesn't matter. This is gonna make so much goddamn money.

[David Sims]

Yeah. No, the movie could just be Meryl Streep looking at the camera, being like, I endorse Donald Trump. I'll see it.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm not sure even De Niro's like, she raises some points.

[David Sims]

Maybe it's time for us to take another look. Okay. You've named one of your best actors,

[Griffin Newman]

Josh o' Connor for the Master Mastermind.

[Joe Reed]

Got it.

[Griffin Newman]

It's fascinating because I. I love Kelly Riker. I love her movies so much.

[Joe Reed]

This is the star of Kelly record. Wow.

[Griffin Newman]

I would not say star, but it's fun. When I do my Kelly Riker rankings, I just forget to include that movie because I disqualify because I'm in it. I'm not even consciously doing it. I'm just like, oh, right. And then there's that one she made. That doesn't count because I muddied the waters. But I think when she works with movie stars, she is usually asking them to do just like strip everything back and come to her as just my

[David Sims]

friend Ellen's letterbox review. The Mastermind. I just want to shout it out. I love a movie where everyone looks like a guess who card. That is. That is exactly the punters and murmurs ensemble thing.

[Griffin Newman]

I just think, like, you know, Michelle Williams wants to work with her because it's just like, reduce me to just raw clay.

[Joe Reed]

Right. Strip it back.

[Griffin Newman]

Josh o' Connor's the most. I've seen someone bring their movie star energy into a Kelly Riker film and have it harmonize and you're just like, oh, right. In theory, someone who's this kind of like off kilter and innately interesting should be vibrating too hard for a Reichert film. It should throw it off its ballads. And yet the movie is just so locked into like, it is just fascinating to watch this guy do anything.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. You put him in any shade of like beige brown or like off white. Like put him in a linen thing or like a. An old cream colored button down.

[Griffin Newman]

It's just also smart because the guys got the juice so hard. And the title leads you to believe, oh, this is going to be a movie about. It's a heist movie, right?

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And it like, wrong foots you in its casting of this guy surely must know what he.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Lee Byung Khan in no other Choice.

[David Sims]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

He did Channing Tatum in Roofman. More like charming Tatum in Raise the Roofman. An incredible movie star performance.

[Joe Reed]

Got it.

[Griffin Newman]

Like, it just feels like the perfect. Here's the whole Channing Tatum Thing.

[Joe Reed]

Oh. And like, after a little bit of a wilderness for him, right. Where it just felt like it's.

[Griffin Newman]

He's always in and out. It's found fascinating. He, like, has a comeback every four years.

[Joe Reed]

This is true.

[Griffin Newman]

And I thought this should have been like, you know, a career high for him. Instead it got kind of slept on. Liam Neeson in the Naked Gun.

[David Sims]

Yep.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Very good call.

[Griffin Newman]

And.

[Joe Reed]

And for general politics and statements and everything.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Yeah. Especially in the 60s and 70s. And my fifth nominee I. The one I think they're gonna look back. Back on and actually be embarrassed with themselves. Dwayne Johnson and the Smashing Machine.

[Joe Reed]

I couldn't agree more.

[David Sims]

This is.

[Griffin Newman]

He is unbelievable. Without fighting in that it's a film.

[David Sims]

It's a great performance.

[Griffin Newman]

It is. Is an incredible performance. I think that movie so suffered from them trying to market it as a more conventional film.

[David Sims]

It did suffer from that. I think it also just suffers from being a not very pleasant movie to watch. Like. So it's just a tough festival watch, a tough, you know, whatever. It's not a big winning movie.

[Griffin Newman]

No. I mean, the biggest thing I tell people about the movie, which I just feel like most people didn't even bother to engage with, is like his entire kind of recovery from addiction basically happens in between edits. Yeah. I think the trailers made people believe this was going to be a movie

[Joe Reed]

that's 60% triumph of the human spirit. Totally sports movie. It's like. It's a sports movie that does not structure itself along the sports movie.

[David Sims]

It's a sports movie in which, as I said, I think my piece about it or whatever, like, his major triumph is the first thing we see and it's all downhill from there. And it's about him accepting that he does not have it anymore and the industry is leaving him behind.

[Griffin Newman]

So this is why I think the performance is so extraordinary, is there is a specificity to it that just actually could not be achieved unless Dwayne Johnson has actually come to extreme realizations in the dark night of his soul. You know, like, he is finally, like, popping the balloon of all the shit that's been driving me crazy about him for or 15 years. I worry that him jumping straight into Jumanji 5 and whatever, that he's just now going to like, zag back into, like, his safe zone. But this is the movie where it's all about, like, the scene where they ask him, are you worried at all about losing and breaking your streak? And he, like, starts short circuiting and he can't answer the question, yeah, is him leaking the fucking financial documents on Black Adam being like, I just refuse to let anything framed as a failure.

[Joe Reed]

Sure.

[Griffin Newman]

I, I, I cannot let this happen. And even, like, his biggest dramatic scene plays out with him covering his face with his hands the entire time. He is, like, avoiding all the obvious showy moves, and he really is clearly, like, interrogating himself. And there was a thing that Benny Safdie said during the press that I thought was really interesting where he was like, you know, Dwayne, like, loves being famous and he loves, you know, like, what he's been able to accomplish now. He's been able to help other people. But what I connected with him on when we started talking about this process project is just how exhausting it has been to maintain that for 30 years, that he has just had to be on and be this guy for everyone for 30 years. And clearly was getting to a point where it was driving him fucking insane. And he had become like a hollow husk of a human being pissing into voss bottles on the sets of Breadwin. And this performance just feels like him, like, laying everything bare, everything.

[David Sims]

I know about how Benny made that movie because I, I wrote a profile of Benny like this that they were very into. Like, let's talk about ourselves, about our feelings. Like, talk about the worst shit we've been through. Like, let's all lay it out together, blah, blah, blah.

[Griffin Newman]

Not a performance that a director can trick an actor into giving. You have to give him full credit for that. And I, you know, but whatever.

[David Sims]

Nobody liked it. No one made no money.

[Joe Reed]

My question is, like, isn't MMA supposed to be this, like, the, the crypto biggest sport in America that nobody wants to acknowledge? It's the thing that all real Americans, like, whatever, yeah, where were they for this movie?

[David Sims]

But the whole thing with him was he pinned people down and beat their heads. And the people who ran MMA were like, this is horrible television, right? And so they basically banned the thing he was good at, which is what happens to him in the movie, because he was just really good at, like, getting on top of people and just hurting people. And people were like, well, okay, he did get them out, but that's boring.

[Griffin Newman]

This sucks.

[David Sims]

So, like, he can't do that. So that's illegal now.

[Joe Reed]

So has MMA kind of, like, disagreement avowed this guy?

[David Sims]

He's mma. I don't think MMA has a good relationship with a lot of people who've done mma, because it's not very good for you.

[Griffin Newman]

He was part of the trial and error Figuring out the version of it that everyone 30 years ago and his thing of being like, you know what? I need to, like, be okay losing. I need to step away. I need to be done with. This happens right before they crack the code and it becomes the biggest as their starts its journey.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

And like to get in the vague spoiler territory, it is just fascinating. The story sort of like dialogue between Marty supreme and the Smashing Machine. And one movie is about a guy at the inflection point right before the sport that he's at the absolute earliest stages of breaks free, and he needs to accept that he needs to walk away. And the other one is the guy fucking convinced that his thing's about to explode and that he's going to be the champion and he's willing to ruin everything in order to prove that point. And he ruins his life by refusing to lose. And then you're like, for what? It's ping pong. It's not going anywhere.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

This is the ceiling on it.

[Joe Reed]

It's also big guy, Little guy.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, big guy, little guy.

[Joe Reed]

Big guy, little guy.

[David Sims]

All right, my nominee. Say, come on, I got to do mine. You did yours, right?

[Griffin Newman]

I did my.

[David Sims]

You did your.

[Griffin Newman]

Channing Tatum. Josh o'. Connor, Liam Neeson, Dwayne Johnson.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

All right, Joe, you do yours. Okay, go ahead.

[Joe Reed]

Timothy Chalamet, Marty Supreme.

[David Sims]

That's very good.

[Joe Reed]

Ethan Hawk in Blue Moon, Michael B. Jordan in Sinners, Josh o' Connor in Wake Up D, Dead man, and Teodor Pelerin in Lurker.

[David Sims]

Oh, Lurker.

[Griffin Newman]

I like that movie.

[David Sims]

That movie's pretty good.

[Joe Reed]

It's really good. I really liked it.

[David Sims]

He's. Yeah, he's. He's creepy.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, he is, yeah. Quite. Quite good.

[David Sims]

Look out for him.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Cool.

[David Sims]

You got three of the Oscar nominations.

[Joe Reed]

Three of the Oscar nominees, Yes. I. I flirted with maybe, you know, having a couple of them on the bench so I can move up somebody like Everett Blun and Griffin and so Summer.

[David Sims]

Right, well. Oh, because I'll do mine. Leonardo DiCaprio. One battle. Yes. Dwayne Johnson in the Smashing Machine. Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon, Everett Blunk in Griffin and Summer, and Ben Whishaw in Peter Hojar's Day.

[Joe Reed]

That's a good pick.

[David Sims]

And Everett Blunk is one of those things when you see Griffin in Summer where you're like, well, maybe they just found this kid who's this, like, swishy little hilarious child, and then you see the Plague and you're like, oh, this is just a very talented.

[Joe Reed]

He's a very talented.

[David Sims]

Who just did two crazy good performances in completely different tones. Like.

[Joe Reed]

Yep.

[David Sims]

But. But Griffin and Summers is one of those movies where the first scene, obviously, is him. What, freaking about. For freaking out about Virginia Wolf or whatever.

[Joe Reed]

He's doing the, like, monologue from his

[David Sims]

play, but, like, where he's like, you know, And I was just like, yeah, this is. This is great. I get it. I get this right away.

[Joe Reed]

The kid has good comedic instincts, too, in that movie.

[David Sims]

But, like, that's a really sweet movie. That. And I like how, you know how it is not just about a silly guy. It is about this kid needing to recognize what a poisonous creature.

[Joe Reed]

Yes. Yes, yes.

[David Sims]

Oh, God.

[Joe Reed]

And they have him sort of latch onto this, like, straight guy who's this, you know, wannabe, very, very funny, artistic type.

[David Sims]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

And yet. Right. Yes. The kid is still the poisonous one in that relationship.

[David Sims]

I know. I mean, he's an idiot. But, like. Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm sure it would hit me too hard. It's like middle school Rushmore, sort of. But, like. But, like, not today.

[David Sims]

But if he was a theater gay.

[Joe Reed]

But if he was. Yes, he was a theater gay. More so than just like a megalomaniac, like, in that.

[Griffin Newman]

But it's obviously why Rushmore is one of the most important movies in my lifetime to me is that it's all about this guy being like, oh, I'm insufferable. I'm a nightmare.

[Joe Reed]

Abby Ryder Fortson also Shout out is very good in that movie. From. From. Are you their God? And Katherine Newton, who is an actress I've been resistant to.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Has, like, one or two scenes where she just, like, knocks it out of the park. It's so funny.

[David Sims]

It's just really funny that both Katherine Newton and Every River Abby Ryder Fortson are in it because they are the two Cassie Langs.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, yeah, right.

[David Sims]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, wait, when is Abby Ryder?

[David Sims]

She's Cassie Lang in the original Ant Man.

[Griffin Newman]

She's little girl in the first two movies. And in Endgame, there's the weird middle actress, Right.

[David Sims]

Who's just giving her the adult one.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

That's who comes. He comes back home.

[David Sims]

And then in Quantumania, Katherine Newton shows up. He's like, of course, I'm famously your daughter. We all know me. And it's one of those things like when they put Willa Holland in for Shailene WOODLEY in the O.C. where they're like, yeah, Shaleen's just not glam enough. We're gonna sub her out. And then it's Shaleen just goes on to have a career.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[David Sims]

And like, Abby Reibert, Fortune's like, I don't know why you fired me. I'm doing great over here.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, she's great.

[David Sims]

I know. They had a time jump or whatever.

[Griffin Newman]

Wait, did you get all five out?

[David Sims]

I did. I got him out. I got him out there.

[Griffin Newman]

Did Joe get all five out? He did.

[David Sims]

He did.

[Joe Reed]

We're good.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay, sorry, sorry, sorry. Who are your winners?

[David Sims]

Ethan Hawk. I'm sorry, Ethan Hawk.

[Griffin Newman]

You're sorry?

[David Sims]

I love him so much in that movie.

[Joe Reed]

He's so good.

[Griffin Newman]

I. So I think about what her buddy, host of Critical Darlings, Richard Lawson, said when. When he was talking to me about that film in August, we met up for drinks. It was to talk about the idea of Critical Darlings for the first.

[Joe Reed]

When you were Griffin in summer, when

[Griffin Newman]

I still could lay claim to that title. And he was like, it's a shame that Ethan Hawke isn't going to get nominated. If he gave this performance on Broadway, they would hand him the Tony before the curtain.

[Joe Reed]

Before the curtain.

[David Sims]

Call it.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Yes.

[David Sims]

Margot Cawley would come on stage with the toilet being like, by the way, they got this done.

[Griffin Newman]

They give him another trophy every night. And it's so nice that that performance, like, punched through. It's incredible. It's astonishing.

[Joe Reed]

I filled in for my colleague Nate Jones for our Gold Rush column while he was on paternity leave this year for a few months. And I put Ethan Hawke in my Best Actor predictions almost as a defiant, like, come on, like, shame the devil kind of a thing. Like, it so sucks that this isn't going to happen. But, like, whatever. Like, I'm just going to put it out there. And the fact that, like, that ended up happening, I'm like, what a weird, like, miracle that, like, now that it's happened, we're just like, well, Ethan Hawke, yeah, he got nominated. But, like, think about that. When I first saw Blue Moon, it was like a pipe dream that that would have been nominated.

[David Sims]

It just felt like a niche movie. Like, I know it's Linkflighter. I know it's Sony Pictures Classics.

[Joe Reed]

Like, it's had another movie that seemed like it was more of an Oscar kind of a thing.

[Griffin Newman]

But also, like, I. It's my. The most fascinating thing about the season to me.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Was going in. It was like, man, Best Actor is going to be a bloodbath. Right. Everyone was correct about DiCaprio and Chalamet. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

That's why Mescal hightailed it to Supporting Actor.

[Griffin Newman]

Absolutely. But From a distance, it was like, okay. But we have Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen, Dwayne Johnson in the Smashing Machine,

[Joe Reed]

Brendan Fraser and Rental Family.

[Griffin Newman]

George Clooney and Jason Kelly.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Like, you were like, this is like the cup overfloweth.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Our biggest movie stars are rising stars, past winners, people who are overdue. What fucking chances Ethan Hawke have. Like, almost everyone wiped out.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

If you look at the predictions, like, eight of the 10 that people were predicting in August just died.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

On the Vine.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

It's fascinating.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, it is.

[David Sims]

I agree.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And we ended up with, like, a perfect five, arguably, because I had some

[Joe Reed]

people being, like, incredible, you know, excellent lineup. One of the best ones ever.

[David Sims]

Like, someone was like, I really wanted Joel Edgerton to get it in there. And I'm like, I hear you, but for, like, for who? Like, that's a really, really tough five

[Joe Reed]

to train dreams as much as anybody loves train dreams. And I love Edgerton, and he's maybe in my top 10 for actor this year because it's such a good. Like, leaving Wagner Mora off of my list is stupid.

[David Sims]

And yet, like, me too. That's a performance that I think is insanely good.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

So good. And he was so hot at the New York Film Critics.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, I believe.

[David Sims]

Oh, my God.

[Joe Reed]

I believe. Believe it.

[David Sims]

And I think Michael B. Jordan is fantastic, and I love that he got the nom.

[Joe Reed]

I still think of the Nikki B. Jerkin joke from Golden Globes. It's so fucking good. It's so good.

[Griffin Newman]

It's really good. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

No, yeah. Like, I normally wouldn't want to put, like, three Oscar nominees in my blankie lineup because I'm like, that's boring. But, like, what am I going to do? Like, not nominate Chalamet? Like, he's. He's my winner, by the way.

[David Sims]

He's great.

[Joe Reed]

That New York Film Festival performance. And I know, festival fever, whatever. There was no better venue to see that movie than that moment in that time. But, like, I love that performance so much. It's so perfectly both tailored to him. And yet the way that, like, Josh Softy is like, what if we make him pockmarked and gawky and, like, it's great.

[Griffin Newman]

I want to throw that out. That's a best makeup underrated, best makeup snub.

[Joe Reed]

Yes, it is.

[Griffin Newman]

And it happens in, like, multiple areas of the film. It's some of the most subtle work I have I've seen. I really.

[David Sims]

Noms this year are fine. Although I don't know anything about the Ugly Stepsister.

[Joe Reed]

I heard that film's excellent, good and gnarly. And it's like, I like that gnarly things get nominated.

[David Sims]

It's like, what if Cinderella had people cutting people's noses?

[Joe Reed]

It was like Cinderella, but with like. Yeah, but with botched surgery.

[David Sims]

What if Cinderella was a girl boss? Oh, gosh.

[Griffin Newman]

I was watching Marty supreme and thinking, oh, have they just been putting makeup on Chalamet this whole time? And he had Miles Teller esque scars skin. Truly. It's so realistically done and it's so subtle. And even like Mr. Wonderful's hairpiece.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Which is like, oh, what if this guy's like 20% less balding than he really is? You know, these things that are like, really hard to dial in. I also thought that Ann Lee had some of the best.

[David Sims]

Anley is just one of those, again, things where I'm just like the craft given I. The scale of the production is very impressive. Yeah, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

But also just like really small things where I'm just like, oh, they dialed in the difference of like five years around the eyes.

[Joe Reed]

Also, it seems more obvious, but I mentioned this to. I was. I said this to Katie Rich on our text chain Weapons as a makeup nominee.

[Griffin Newman]

Kind of crazy.

[Joe Reed]

It's kind of crazy that it is crazy.

[Griffin Newman]

They.

[David Sims]

They sort of snubbed Weapons at the end of the day and it's not

[Joe Reed]

just Aunt Gladys, but like, there's a lot of, you know, really good makeup, different venues.

[David Sims]

The fucking Benedict Wong job is so memorable, you know?

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, and also the. The parents.

[David Sims]

Yeah, the parents.

[Griffin Newman]

The multiple stages of their.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, my God.

[Griffin Newman]

Am I wrong in thinking that it was left off the hair and makeup shortlist? But it was on the casting short list.

[Joe Reed]

You know, it definitely. I believe it was on the casting short list. And I think you're right that it was not on the makeup, but it

[Griffin Newman]

ended up only getting the Madigan performance. Yes.

[David Sims]

Should have gotten that.

[Griffin Newman]

Yep.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Screenplayers.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Picture.

[Joe Reed]

I don't know.

[Griffin Newman]

It was interesting. I was, I was double checking yesterday

[David Sims]

because of the casting and nothing else.

[Griffin Newman]

Critical Darlings conversation. But PGA this year was 9 out of 10, overlapping with the Best Picture lineup.

[David Sims]

And was Weapons.

[Griffin Newman]

It was Weapons in over Secret Agents.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

Which, you know, and I think by the week of the nominations, people were starting to think that Weapons was going to stay in and that Secret Agent would sub in for F1. Yeah, I was going to say that in the PGA lineup.

[David Sims]

Right, right.

[Griffin Newman]

So people were like, F1's the kind

[Joe Reed]

of thing that the PGA puts in, is it? It Was just an accident. Accident. Like. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Anyway, my winner is. My winner is Dwayne the Rock Johnson.

[David Sims]

There you go.

[Joe Reed]

What an evolution. I mean, it's truly.

[David Sims]

It's like to make up a word for Black Adam. Just admit it.

[Griffin Newman]

It is. It's another. Like, I would have given him best supporting actor for that year, which was prior to us doing these on mic awards. So I haven't had to hand him an award since then. That's when I was like, this guy has, like, yeah, fully come in to his power. And then part of why I've been so hard on him for the last 10 years is because I'm just like, dude, you have so much power. Why aren't you applying it to anything interesting? Also, you don't seem happy to. What do you say?

[David Sims]

I was hearing. I'll say off mic, but I was hearing some stories about him that. Of what a sweetie pie he can be and how he's very good at, like, knowing everyone's name and like, you know, blah, blah, in that kind of slightly.

[Joe Reed]

Politician. I was gonna say a little politician.

[David Sims]

Yes, right, right. But still basically, like, you know, very positive reviews and may. Maybe he enjoyed that one.

[Joe Reed]

He had like a good reputation in wwe too. He wasn't like, I feel like if he was a shit in wwe, that

[Griffin Newman]

would have gotten the best. Right. But I. It's what I was saying earlier that, like, Benny was like, he. He was telling me how tired he was of having to do that all the time. Not because he wasn't actually a nice guy, but it was tough. The self imposed responsibility to be that version of himself all the time. And this is this rare case of a performance that is like, silencing the haters by also admitting that they were correct. I'll just. You can only like, shut me up by being like, you were right about me up until now. And I'm gonna give the performance about

[Joe Reed]

that when my ranking for all of the Oscar nominees publishes. Just like, skip past the first 10 or whatever and then you'll be fine.

[David Sims]

Yeah, I will. Also, I need to point out that these awards are being handed out by Marianne Jean Baptiste.

[Griffin Newman]

Of course.

[David Sims]

Marianne Jean Baptiste, of course.

[Joe Reed]

And triple winner. Oh, sentimental choice.

[David Sims]

Yes, sentimental choice.

[Griffin Newman]

Who your. You say your winner? Ethan Hawk. Ethan Hawk. There we go.

[David Sims]

Best actress. My best actresses are Jennifer Lawrence for Die My Love, Roseburn for if I had Legs I. I'd kick you. Kiki Palmer for One of them Days.

[Griffin Newman]

Great call.

[David Sims]

Xiao Tao for Caught by the Tides. One of my favorite actors, obviously Love her. Julia Roberts for After the Hunt.

[Joe Reed]

I almost put Julia on.

[Griffin Newman]

She made it for me twice. Great in that film.

[David Sims]

It's a movie that I had a lot of problems with. It didn't really come for me.

[Joe Reed]

This had Oscar buzz movie that six months into the air people were putting that on.

[Griffin Newman]

Absolutely.

[David Sims]

And I just think she really brings the thunder in it. And I truly wish everything had worked. Worked to support that performance better or whatever, you know, like. But I think she's so.

[Griffin Newman]

It came up in some other.

[David Sims]

The scene where she chews the kid out in the. In the. In the class.

[Joe Reed]

Her big tar scene.

[David Sims]

One of those things where, like, the movie had basically lost me by that point. I wasn't really invested in what was going to happen. But then I was just like, God, she's crushing this.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, Joe.

[Joe Reed]

I also thought the scene turned Garfield towards the end when they're in this secret house. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

Garfield's just so subtle and nuanced in that film.

[Griffin Newman]

Beautifully shot. But, you know, I. It's a good movie. Yeah. It's a very frustrating movie.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

We have this conversation in some already recorded episode that will come out in the next couple of months that I can't remember what prompted this, but I just want to throw it to you quickly because you're a bit of an expert in this field.

[David Sims]

Sure.

[Griffin Newman]

We were discussing how bad Julia Roberts last 20 years have been. It's tough considering that on paper, almost all of the choices are commendable. And within. In that run, she has had quite a few genuine box office hits and has another Oscar nomination. And yet you're like, has she not made a good movie in 20 years?

[Joe Reed]

I am.

[David Sims]

We can't go too deep on this because we did go deep on this. We are a defender of which Ben is back. Oh, no.

[Joe Reed]

A great performance.

[David Sims]

And I think I won't be going there with you. Yeah, she's good.

[Griffin Newman]

This is why I want to throw it to you. I want to see if there was one you would defend.

[Joe Reed]

That's the one, Okaso. Sage county is a island. Just a quagmire. That would take a longer time.

[Griffin Newman]

She got an Oscar nomination for that

[Joe Reed]

and for a lead role in supporting. So that was somewhat irksome. That was also the year of the selfie, which is a haunted photograph that has had its tentacles throughout history since then. But yeah, Money monster. Not a good movie. Lot of talent there. Wonder is a success.

[David Sims]

Big hit made money.

[Joe Reed]

Big hit tickets.

[David Sims]

Apparently.

[Joe Reed]

Paradise. We shall never speak of it.

[David Sims]

Some money. But let's not speak of it.

[Griffin Newman]

It's the most frustrating. How is this not a gentleman 6

[Joe Reed]

movie leave the world behind I think is watchable junk. A lot of people just lop off the watchable and secret in their eyes. A movie I have actually seen maybe one of the we did it for

[David Sims]

our podcast and that is a crazy boring movie.

[Joe Reed]

It's so bad. I've seen that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

But this is the other crazy thing.

[David Sims]

Sleeping pill.

[Griffin Newman]

She is really good in almost all of these shows.

[David Sims]

She is never the problem. She's never the strongest ass.

[Griffin Newman]

And you're just like, why can't she catch a break?

[David Sims]

She's stick. I know. Julia Roberts, you know, she just can't catch a break.

[Joe Reed]

She was going to give her a moment really good. On the Sam Smile TV show Homecoming.

[David Sims]

Yeah, let's not, let's not come on now.

[Joe Reed]

But, but I say this because her next movie is a Sam.

[David Sims]

I know she loves the guy. Yeah. Which is fine. I mean I, I someone's got it.

[Griffin Newman]

We threw out show.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Can Wes Anderson please get his hands on nothing more.

[David Sims]

I would really not be nothing more.

[Griffin Newman]

Right.

[David Sims]

But the problem with that is there's probably like a list of 20 actors where I'm like, wes, could you do this guy a favor? And Wes Anderson's like, you know, I don't just like randomly come up with shit. I take a while generating projects. Also everybody who works with me a Julia vehicle. Quickly, quickly.

[Joe Reed]

Well, and everybody who works with him, he retains he loves. So that's why they experience. Yeah. So it's tougher to get people.

[Griffin Newman]

He also says he's been saying that he's like five plus plus times written a role explicitly for and offered it to Jodie Foster who keeps turning him down.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, she would be great.

[Griffin Newman]

And you can fill in some of the gaps of like, oh, did Tilda start to get some of those roles which are the ones that were written for Jodie Foster. I feel like Julia has gotten into a Jodie Foster adjacent spiky territory.

[David Sims]

I have this age.

[Joe Reed]

I wonder if Rumberton could get her mom into one of those movies on a connection. Oh, he's sort of reversing. Excuse me.

[Griffin Newman]

She's going to have to work hard and get the role.

[David Sims]

Have to read for it, audition for Wes.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, that's how it goes.

[David Sims]

Okay, come on. Give me your best actresses. Joe Reed.

[Joe Reed]

All right. Jesse Buckley in Hamnet.

[David Sims]

Heard of it.

[Joe Reed]

Rose Byrne and if I had Legs I'd kick you. Susan Shardy in Unbecoming a Guinea Fowl.

[David Sims]

I love that movie.

[Joe Reed]

Kate Hudson in song. Song Blue.

[Griffin Newman]

Wait, Joe, I think you. That doesn't sound like the kind of thing you would die.

[Joe Reed]

It's not a thing I would have

[David Sims]

kind of performance you'd vibe with four months ago.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. And I mean Amanda Seyfried and Testament

[David Sims]

Amanda, who's very, very.

[Griffin Newman]

I. I texted you nomination morning congrats. And you texted back.

[Joe Reed]

I was so wary. I was like, are you making fun of me?

[Griffin Newman]

I did it. And then you in parentheses said, like, is this about Kate Hudson? I. I've seen a lot of people, mostly in relation to the perceived Amanda Seyfried snub.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, blaming Kate. Yes. Yeah, I have.

[Griffin Newman]

And I'm like, that's not the performance I would knock out of the five.

[Joe Reed]

I would not. Which be.

[David Sims]

Would you knock out?

[Griffin Newman]

I would not get Emma Stone.

[David Sims]

Buggy.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, little buggy.

[Joe Reed]

I don't dislike Emma Stone and I just don't. I have problems with Bonia, but I don't hate it.

[David Sims]

She's fine in Bonia. It's.

[Joe Reed]

And it's like sort of a performance.

[Griffin Newman]

I think Kate Hudson is legitimately pretty phenomenal in Song S Blue. She. I. The only reason I cut her is because I knew you were going to put her in. She's a bubble.

[David Sims]

It's also she worked her tail off Vietnam and all that.

[Joe Reed]

It's a bonkers movie. Movie that I find to be better than a lot of people get it credit for. But like, on that level, it's still a bonkers movie.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Jackman is not up to her level. I think she. I genuinely think she really kills it with that.

[Griffin Newman]

I agree. I agree. No, I agree.

[Joe Reed]

And I love her. Of course. She was my supporting actress winner for Glass Onion.

[Griffin Newman]

Of course. We all remember she's my favorite. It felt like a real we did a show moment. I was. I was like, genuinely happy for you.

[Joe Reed]

I was so wearing. I was like, griffin's making fun of me.

[David Sims]

I know.

[Griffin Newman]

I wasn't.

[David Sims]

I just, you know, it's one of those things where Kate Hudson. I know you like her.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[David Sims]

So I'm being nice here where Letterbox, you know, sees her on the red carpet and they're like, can you name your favorite movie? Like, you know what. What. What's your top favorited movie on Letterbox? And she's like, almost Famous. I'm like, yeah, yeah. And then. And then she's like, I don't know what else? And she's like, I mean, some people like Skeleton Key. You can see her being like because I don't really know what would even.

[Griffin Newman]

Not a great pocket. Right.

[David Sims]

Like, I think she's like how to lose a guy in 10 days. Skeleton. Skeleton key. And then she even. She starts to run out of ideas.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

She's like some people like Something Borrowed. And I wanted to say like, yeah, some people do.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Didn't you also did you nominate that? I know that's Lost.

[Joe Reed]

I like that movie. But that's Richard.

[Griffin Newman]

She's really excellent. Also.

[Joe Reed]

Every gay guy loves her in nine. Loves her specifically.

[David Sims]

I find that performance to be I. Disgraceful.

[Griffin Newman]

But she loves cinema Italian.

[Joe Reed]

My secret. My secret is great in nine Person is Fergie. That makes everybody crazy. But like I think Fergie's scene in nine is the one good scene in nine. I think everything about that movie is bad.

[David Sims]

Yeah. I find that movie unspeakable.

[Joe Reed]

It's really bad.

[David Sims]

It's really bad.

[Joe Reed]

But I like. But if I'm at a gay bar, music musicals night or whatever and I'm requesting something from the TV guy, I'm like put on friggin nine.

[Griffin Newman]

I believe I tapped out on nine after 45 minutes because I did not wish to die in seven days.

[David Sims]

You tapped out nine out around four.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

I saw the girl coming out of the well and I was like, I need to get out of this curse before it sticks to me.

[Joe Reed]

So the Rob Marshall miniseries is still not happening.

[David Sims]

That is. That is a. That's our. We're driving the Cliff Helman Louise moment.

[Joe Reed]

Let's see.

[David Sims]

Rob Marshall. I guess Trump's about to block us up.

[Griffin Newman]

My best actress lineup, please.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Sally Hawkins and bring her back.

[David Sims]

Yes. She's really good in that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

Amanda Seifried. I feel like I'm told on always getting it wrong. No way of knowing. I think it's ciphered in the testament of an Lee. But let's also acknowledge she rules in the housemaid.

[David Sims]

A lot of.

[Joe Reed]

I still have to. That's another one I still have to.

[Griffin Newman]

A lot of my people this year had a double performance thing going on.

[David Sims]

A fun one on the side.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean Josh o' Connor just narrowly.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Mastermind. Wake up. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Beaten out by. By Dwayne in that category for me. Roseburn and if I had legs I'd kick you. It's a good performer. Jennifer Lawrence and Die My Love. And son Ye Jin in no other choice.

[David Sims]

Yeah. She's really good.

[Griffin Newman]

And because of my last minute rejiggering to spread the wealth and giving screenplay to. If I had Legs, I'd kick you. I cleared the path to give my award to Amanda Seyfried and Testament of Anley, which also feels like the place to honor that movie, that she's the powerhouse for sure.

[David Sims]

I love her. Roseburn's my winner, certainly. Yeah. That performance stuck with me all year.

[Griffin Newman]

Rose Byrne is another Rose Burns, a very close number.

[David Sims]

And it's also another one kind of like the Ethan Hawke thing, where when I saw it, I'd be like, yeah. A world where she sneaks a nom for this, like, really hostile movie would is a real nice world to imagine. And now it's kind of like she's the runner up.

[Joe Reed]

Like, you know, like, that was another one where. That was a Sundance premiere that didn't screen online. So I didn't see it until tiff. And then when I saw it on Tiff, I was like, well, first of all, everybody at Sundance kind of undersold how great she is in this movie. How great. I really loved the movie, too, but it was another one of those. I was like, boy, it'd be really good if she could maybe sneak in an Oscar nomination. It seemed for a while that she and Seyfried were sort of, like, jostling for what would have been a fifth slot. And then all of a sudden, it's like, oh, no. Rose is just winning every single critics award. And rightly so. She rocks.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. I thought it could maybe be a bit of an upset, but it does feel like Buckley's the most locked.

[David Sims]

Buckley is just also the classic thing of, like, we've noticed you've been bubbling along. We gave you an earlier nom.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

And you screamed and cried and were very impressive. And I don't think it's a bad performance. Like, I think she's really good for

[Joe Reed]

the screaming and crying. Like, I think she's just, like, really good.

[David Sims]

I love Jessie Buckley.

[Griffin Newman]

I disproportionately like the first half more than the second half, which I think you bodied me by saying, what a surprise. You like the movie about a sad boy falling in love with a witchy woman in the woods. But I was like, the second they have a kid, I'm. I'm out on that movie. It just lost me. Not in any, like, intellectual.

[David Sims]

Just when the movie begins, be kind of, like piled up suffering. Like, you know, sort of different phases of suffering. I think it's also disease.

[Griffin Newman]

There's. There's a sense of inevitability. Right. Suddenly you're on the rails and you're like, we know what this is heading towards and this is just going to be an endless series of body blows.

[Joe Reed]

Hamnet is my materialist. And that. Everything that people don't like about Hamnet, I'm like, that worked for me. Like, that really worked for me.

[Griffin Newman]

I did not dislike it, but it. It definitely. I. I don't know. It lost me somewhere in there. And I. I thought, well, everyone says the ending is such a undeniable knock at a win me back.

[Joe Reed]

I say.

[Griffin Newman]

And it. It just didn't do it for me.

[Joe Reed]

Well, and that's a. If that doesn't do it for you, then you're.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, it was. I. I don't have anything intellectually against that movie. I love Jesse Buckley.

[David Sims]

It'd be weird if you had something. No, I get you. I get you. I love her too.

[Joe Reed]

For the last 18 months, I've been telling people about On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. That was a movie that another screened.

[Griffin Newman]

Embarrassing Blind Spot screened.

[David Sims]

It's on HBO, I think.

[Joe Reed]

Reviewable festivals last year in a 24. For some reason. Did that bullshitty qualify it and then push it to March or whatever?

[Griffin Newman]

It didn't qualify.

[David Sims]

They put it in the main.

[Joe Reed]

I think they were slow playing it, thinking that it would be submitted for international feature consideration. And then no country kind of claimed it.

[David Sims]

But the problem I think is it's like it's sort of a Zambian movie.

[Joe Reed]

It's a Zambian movie that had UK financing was the.

[David Sims]

But it's quite critical of like sort of patriarchal cultures or what?

[Griffin Newman]

I don't know.

[David Sims]

Like. Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Anybody listening to this? Like, if that is a. Is new to you hearing about it, like, go check it out. It rules. It's so good.

[Griffin Newman]

We all said are winners.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Who's your winner?

[Joe Reed]

Burn.

[David Sims]

I'll just give you the 10 blanky lead performances.

[Griffin Newman]

You said your winner.

[David Sims]

Roseburn.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, no, just. This feels like the space to honor Tesman Van Lee for me. But I also think it's an astonishing performance.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, I also didn't. Sorry to derail us for like half a second. I put o' Connor for Wake Up Deadman for. You had mentioned in Materialists or Not Materialist Mastermind. So many M movies. He's doing something so different in Wake Up Deadman.

[David Sims]

So fucking good.

[Joe Reed]

And he's so. He's like, you know, the almost like nebbishy quality he has to that character, I think is incredibly funny. He's so locked in in that movie. And then you hit the Bridges Everett

[David Sims]

scene and it's like that Scene is like a masterpiece of craft. The way that he makes the sun set during it, even though you're inside. I love that scene when he. One of the best scenes when he's like, right, this is what I do.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. Like, yeah, yeah. No, I. I think I. I remember when they announced that he was going to be in the. The new Benoit Blanc, and it was like, he's going to play a priest. And people were like, is he gonna be a guy pretending to be a priest? Like, isn't the whole thing with Crush o' Connor the scuzzy. And if it's not a guy pretending to be a priest, then are they gonna clean him up? And isn't that what we don't want from him?

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

And then you're like, no, the idea is hyper earnest Josh o' Connor type is a priest.

[Joe Reed]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Right. Which is such an interesting.

[Joe Reed]

It's the first time anybody's taken the movie away from Daniel Craig. I think Craig sort of most definitely sits in the backseat in that movie.

[David Sims]

Someone did a screenplay. I adore Craig in that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

I do too.

[David Sims]

But I. I think.

[Joe Reed]

I think o' Connor is much the more main character.

[David Sims]

He is. But I think Craig gets it.

[Griffin Newman]

I think it's the best of his Belblanc performances.

[Joe Reed]

He's great.

[Griffin Newman]

But I also saw that someone did a screen time clock and it's like 35 minutes.

[David Sims]

Sure.

[Joe Reed]

You know, Hannibal Lecter esque.

[David Sims]

He takes a while to show up.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

But it's really Josh o'. Connor.

[David Sims]

Him and Josh o', Connor, like, being like silly guys together. Just really funny. The blankies. I'll just give you their 10 to 1. We're not REINZ for who we all love. None of us nominated her, but we

[Joe Reed]

all love watching that movie a second time. As I said on Critical Darlings, really, she really emerged for me.

[Griffin Newman]

I thought she was so good. You know, my thing with that performance is I. I think that it's borderline category fraud.

[Joe Reed]

Oh.

[Griffin Newman]

I kind of think three women, I think, have about the same real estate in the story.

[Joe Reed]

I think Stellan and Renata are your leads and everybody.

[Griffin Newman]

I think so.

[David Sims]

Stellan is not in as much much as you think.

[Griffin Newman]

And putting Stellan and supporting makes her being the only lead feel.

[Joe Reed]

It makes it feel imbalanced.

[Griffin Newman]

But like.

[David Sims]

Yeah, yeah, it's still her.

[Griffin Newman]

She's excellent.

[David Sims]

Her.

[Griffin Newman]

Her opening scene is like, unbelievable.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

All right, so Renata, 10. Jesse Plemons, 9. Another performance I really like. Jesse Buckley, 8. Lee Young Hung, 7. Ethan Hawk, 6. Chase infinity from one battle. 5, Michael B. Jordan. 4 Roseburn. 3. Leo 2. Timmy won. That was their. Okay, that was their list. Best director. My best directors are.

[Griffin Newman]

Give them to me.

[David Sims]

Paul Thomas Anderson, Jafar Panahi, Zach Kreger, Ja Junke for Caught by the Tides and Ryan Coogler.

[Joe Reed]

I gotta see Caught by the Tides. I just want to see if it's worth.

[David Sims]

It's for the job, boys. Because it's literally like him assembling stuff. He's been filming for 25 years.

[Joe Reed]

Avengers Endgame for Jenk.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

My best Richter lineup is Ari Aster, Mona Fastfold, Park Chan Wook, Mary Bronstein and Paul Thomas Anderson.

[David Sims]

There you go.

[Joe Reed]

Mine are.

[Griffin Newman]

Thank you.

[Joe Reed]

Good five. Paul Thomas Anderson. One battle after another. Mary Bronstein. If I had legs, I'd kick you. Brian Coogler, Sinners Klaber, Manonka Philho for the Secret Agent and Jafar Panahi for It was Just an X Accident.

[Griffin Newman]

Who's your winner, guys?

[David Sims]

Paul Thomas.

[Joe Reed]

Paul Thomas Anderson.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, I'm giving it to Paul.

[Joe Reed]

I mean, did a good job.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, he, he did, he did in fact do a good job of directing a movie.

[Joe Reed]

And I've been an annoying sort of flower for a lot of me.

[David Sims]

And go. Josh Harden and Justice Smith. Wow, forgot to mention that.

[Joe Reed]

Sorry.

[David Sims]

Carry on.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, okay.

[Joe Reed]

Justice Smith was mine, I imagine. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah, I was, I was heart knit.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And I, I was Coleman Domingo for. Yeah. Um, yeah, no, I, I, I might be very wrong about this, but I, I just really feel like there's a director picture split coming this year. I, I feel like snitchers.

[David Sims]

Snitchers.

[Griffin Newman]

I was going to say I feel like Sinners is going to snatch it, but Snatchers might also sin it.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

But the Paul Thomas Anderson, the best director feels like Ang Lee broke Pack Mountain in style. Nothing is like veering.

[Joe Reed]

This off course picture is very much up in the air, but director seems solid.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. You can't argue with it.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Which is interesting because generally lately when there's a director picture split, director tends to go to the movie that is also going to clean up in the craft awards, which I think is gonna be sinners.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

With a few exceptions. I think one battle will probably win Editing and Cinnamon Target.

[David Sims]

I mean, look, I'm ready to be wrong, but no, I think one battle is, is winning. I think it's just one of those.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

Just one of those rare years. Kind of like the Oppenheimer year where everyone's just like, we're not gonna fuck around like like, these movies don't come along that often. Like, you know. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

And I also think, like, a lot

[David Sims]

of no country, it feels like no country as well. Their views hit September, and everyone's just kind of like, think this is the movie everyone's gonna remember.

[Griffin Newman]

My question, though, is like, if in the no country year, there Will Be Blood had made like, six times as much at the box office.

[David Sims]

That's a fair point. The.

[Griffin Newman]

The.

[David Sims]

But I just don't know if it

[Griffin Newman]

does anymore similar to those two movies in that year.

[Joe Reed]

But one battle, like, the imbalance is there, but it's not like, one battle is like a Moonlight style. Like, no, it's not $12 million.

[David Sims]

I think it's like Sinners is going to win elsewhere, and they'll just be like, yeah, we check the boxes.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

But I mean, pga, this is to. Not to go all big picture Nate Jones, but PGA will. Will show because that's the preferential ballot.

[Griffin Newman]

And I think it'll probably win SAG as well. Right.

[David Sims]

Although, no, I think Sinners is winning.

[Griffin Newman]

No, that's. I'm sorry. That's what I mean. I. I thought you were saying, oh, I think one Battle is going to

[David Sims]

win pga and everyone will be like, right, it wins the preferential ballot, which is what matters when it comes to best picture.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Because I just think most people like one battle.

[Joe Reed]

Like, I will say, though, at every turn, Sinners is proving to be more broadly popular. I mean, it made so much money, but, like, I think within, like, industry circles and within, like, people, like, there's just like, nobody seems to be, like, truly tripping up on the genre thing of it or the sort of, you know.

[Griffin Newman]

No. And it's such a triumph. And it's like, you know, it's. It's a real, like, throwing up the gauntlet for, like, no, fuck, this still matters. I can make big movies. I love how big people give a shit about.

[Joe Reed]

I love how bold it is.

[Griffin Newman]

If I.

[Joe Reed]

If I have a snag on that movie. It's a little bit like, I think sets up a lot of vampire movie stuff, and then it's just sort of like. And then the vampire stuff happens. But I think that so much else that's great about the movie that, like, it.

[Griffin Newman]

It.

[Joe Reed]

It mostly levels up for me.

[Griffin Newman]

Critical darlings. We did a Oscar villain episode on Hamnet, and then I saw people going, like, right, well, like, going into the season, it was seen as, that's the villain. But it's clearly become Sinners versus one Battle.

[Joe Reed]

And Hamnet is an actress that's very online, but that's.

[Griffin Newman]

That's what's interesting is you're like, it's a year where we kind of don't have a villain, and it.

[Joe Reed]

We don't have to create a villain

[Griffin Newman]

just because it's a binary. Feels like the last time just two different tastes of.

[David Sims]

But also Hamnet is a villain because it's like the Oscar narrative could have been a villain. I think Hamnet's probably out of the, you know, out of the top three or whatever. But like, the Oscar narrative of, like, they like arty movies about making art, you know, like, versus, like big, you know, popular stuff. And Chloe Zhou has an Oscar.

[Griffin Newman]

Chloe Zhou has.

[Joe Reed]

So it's like not to be like the Hamnet. There is a perception, I think, a little bit that's a little bit overblown of this idea that, like, Shakespeare stuff always wins Oscars. Costume dramas only win Oscars. Like, Big Picture was on that train, I think. And I'm like, that's actually just not the case. Like, it just like, not lately. Not in the last 25 years.

[David Sims]

Not so much lately. But when we're talking about Oscar villains, what we're really talking about is Harvey Weinstein. Yes. And, like, we're talking about the machine he created. It's what people remember the most. And the thing where you look back, where you're like, why did Chuck a. Why did Cider House Rules? I don't understand it. Is why did all these movies that don't exist.

[Griffin Newman]

I was thinking about this the other day.

[David Sims]

I mean, that's what that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

I see.

[David Sims]

Swear.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

Which just set Britain back a thousand years culturally by mistake. Is like one of those Weinstein movies. Yes. Like, I know it to be clear to not to impute.

[Joe Reed]

Literally, I haven't seen it that.

[David Sims]

You know, it's not this movie's fault, really. But it has the vibe of those Y and C movies of like, let's convene a congressional hearing on Tourette's after you saw this small indie movie. You know, like, it's like pushing a. Yes. Pushing a. But also, like, sort of discussion. It's.

[Griffin Newman]

It's a 3 million Epstein file documents get released. 1 million of them are about the campaigns for different Weinstein company Best Picture contenders.

[Joe Reed]

Right. Right.

[Griffin Newman]

Including Peggy Siegel saying, I don't care how many members I have to. I'll. Whatever it takes to get to vote for the King Speech.

[David Sims]

Relax. Yeah. King Speech is being a good. But the I swear thing, it's like, it's one of those things where it's like, I've said this to you how happen? You're like, yeah, it's genuinely upsetting that that happened. And it's very bad. It's also like a faulty towers esque insane sitcom incident of like them being like, okay, the BAFTAs, who have a horrible track record in a race have finally, finally given sinners lots of acknowledgment there's going to be winning. It's going to go great. Now where have we sat there? I swear guy, he's. Where. Where are we putting him? Oh, why is he in the seat labeled microphone? I don't understand. You know like where it's like it just sounds like something you made.

[Griffin Newman]

It does.

[Joe Reed]

What this update BBC put all that of the volume up as hard as it could go.

[David Sims]

Like, what's it just so like British, like in this like dumb BAFTA way.

[Griffin Newman]

You know, this movie had this kind of like miracle underdog run in the UK and had a release there and was a hit and then was sort of overperforming at every step and like whatever the wind up to this. And then the. The lead actor beats Timmy.

[David Sims]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

And the like, you know, the terminally online like Oscar step fat brain people are like, does this mean that this is immediately now the front runner for next year's best act?

[Joe Reed]

Oh, that.

[David Sims]

Yeah. No.

[Griffin Newman]

And I'm like, certainly not now. I was like, this is like the inverse of the King Richard thing.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Where the first moment we're becoming aware of this performance is inextricably tied to

[David Sims]

a national disgrace for a country and an academy of film.

[Griffin Newman]

But they're just gonna put this movie in theaters in four months and people are gonna be like, nice movie.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Without thinking about certainly what they were hoping to do and they're still hoping to do anyway.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[David Sims]

Sorry, I don't mean to beat up on. I swear.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. I just think like almost every season us and our friends and everyone we follow and talk to is sort of going like, I'm going to be so angry if X xyz.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Right. And then you have people who are like, I kind of like 1917. But you're saying it embarrassed because you know.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

And this year it's just like, if sinners beats one battle, no one's like,

[Joe Reed]

I. I guess if one battle beats sinners, I think a lot of people will be like. Like, I think that's. I. But. But in very online circle. You know what I mean? Like, I think like, I don't think I really don't think that that stuff penetrates as as widely as some people are quite possibly.

[David Sims]

I I can tell you that the blankie director not nominees are PTA number one, Ryan Coogler, Park Chenwook, Josh Safdie, Danny Boyle. Those are their five wonderful, wonderful.

[Joe Reed]

Back to the blankies after these messages. Get in the game with the college

[Griffin Newman]

branded Venmo debit card.

[Joe Reed]

Rep your team with every tap and

[Griffin Newman]

earn up to 5% cash.

[David Sims]

Cash back with Venmo Stash a new

[Griffin Newman]

rewards program from Venmo. No monthly fee, no minimum balance, just

[Joe Reed]

school pride and spending power.

[Griffin Newman]

Get in the game and sign up for the Venmo debit [e-mail] collegecard the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank NA Select Schools available Venmo stash

[Joe Reed]

terms and exclusions apply at venmo me

[Griffin Newman]

stashterms max $100 cash back per month.

[David Sims]

Best Picture all right, my top 10 of the year is right now at least. It's always changing one battle after another. Number one, it was just an accident. Number two, weapons. Number three, sinners. Number four, caught by the tides five, secret agent six, Marty supreme seventh, 28 years later eighth, blue moon ninth Eddie. I'm already looking at it being like, yeah, I want to mess with that a little bit, but that's my 10.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, yeah, I, I, yeah, I got like a year a 15 or 20 that I'm pretty strong about and I, I just made like seven changes to my ten. But what I have, I'm gonna count up, I'm throwing it in here at 10. I, I swapped this in at the last second because I didn't call it out in any other area.

[Joe Reed]

I also just swapped in my 10 at the last second.

[Griffin Newman]

The shroud's at number 10. A movie I, I still haven't seen it.

[Joe Reed]

I heard interesting things.

[Griffin Newman]

I mean just peak whatever you call

[David Sims]

it mur there no one's really puttering and murmuring I guess even though it's sort of that tone.

[Joe Reed]

Shrouders and obscures possibly, but I think,

[Griffin Newman]

I think an excellent movie Phoenician scheme. Number nine. People are just going to be embarrassed like 30 years now at how many west movies got slept on and we're seen as like not one of his best. And then like six months later people are like was that maybe his best? Yeah, materialist of course. At number eight, Sinners at seven, West Weapons at six. My top five lined up with my best director. But the order is Testament of Anley at five. If I had legs. I'd kick you at four. No other choice at three. One battle after another at two. And my number one movie of the year is Eddington.

[David Sims]

Yes. That's been your favorite for such a long time.

[Joe Reed]

I thought I was alone on Eddington. I'm glad to hear. I always like coming to blankies and seeing I'm not alone.

[David Sims]

Eddington's got its fans out there. A lot of them are on this website, x.com Interesting.

[Joe Reed]

It's.

[Griffin Newman]

Look, it's very turning point, what the people talked about. This is a year where it does feel like there were like two dominant thematic strains that ran through most of the high level movies.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[Griffin Newman]

And it was like Bad parents. Uhhuh. And is reality collapsing.

[Joe Reed]

And 2020 broke our. Broke our brains. Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Right, Right. Are things broken? Can we fix them? Is it all over? How did things break? Kind of.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And yeah. I don't know. It probably just speaks a little more to my worldview that. That Eddington has totally stuck in my craw in a way beyond one battle. Which I think is excellent and love. And even like seeing it the third time in theaters. When it started, I was like fuck. The opening, like three seconds of this movie already feel iconic.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

And then everything that happens after this point already feels iconic. Yeah. It already feels like a movie we'd been studying for 1550 years. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

It's a text.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

My list. I'll start also from the bottom. Number 10, Blue Moon. Number 9. Eddington. Number 8 Sinners. Number 7 On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. Number 6 Hamnet. Number 5 Lurker. Number 4 Train Dreams. Number 3 Marty Supreme. Number 2. One Battle After Another. And my number one movie is. It was just an accident.

[David Sims]

It was.

[Joe Reed]

It was in fact just an accident.

[David Sims]

Rocks.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Me and the.

[Griffin Newman]

The.

[Joe Reed]

The can jury all theing up the

[David Sims]

top 10 from the blankies. I'll just do an order. One battle. Sinners Marty Supreme. 28 years later weapons. No other choice. Sentimental value. It's just an accident. Secret Agent Eddington. And now I'd like to turn it to Ben.

[Joe Reed]

Got anything here what we're all here for? Well, yes, of course.

[David Sims]

I just feel we both. We've reached that part of the episode.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[David Sims]

Before I do my original cat categories, I need to do kind of a In memory.

[Griffin Newman]

Absolutely.

[David Sims]

In memorandum. What do they call it?

[Joe Reed]

Memorial.

[David Sims]

Memorial would be like writing for notes. Which is fine.

[Joe Reed]

I like this.

[David Sims]

Yeah. But sadly, my beloved cat Pig. Yes.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[David Sims]

Who we all love. Who. Yeah. I had for 17 years. The greatest was the Best cat there was. And she was a pig in the city. She was a pig in the city.

[Griffin Newman]

She ran this city.

[David Sims]

Um, and so, yeah, I'm gonna miss her a lot.

[Griffin Newman]

But she passed away recently. Oh, yeah.

[David Sims]

Yes. Yeah. Pass away recently. And so, yeah, I don't know.

[Griffin Newman]

Very recently. You're in a raw state, Ben. This is the first time we've recorded since. Yeah. About half an hour into our episode, Ben texted BC group text max plus, which is the kind of all hands on deck group text. And he just wrote, guys, I'm sad and we're recording blankies right now, and I need to think of wet movies. So I just want to know.

[David Sims]

Ben's been on Grief island and he hasn't been thinking about AT or T. And if you have to choose now or any of his other great, you know. So, yeah, I think also I wanted to start there. Just.

[Joe Reed]

Well, that's why we went extra long, is because we got to give Ben enough time to think of wet movies.

[Griffin Newman]

That's also why. Why I bought Ben a violator who's got bendy arms and legs and is now wrapped around Ben's microphone arm.

[David Sims]

Yeah, there he is. That's where he belongs.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

So anyway, wanted to give that context because I am, yes, sad, feeling a little bump, but still, let's. Let's have some fun. Have a little fun. Okay, so here we go. The weddies. Okay. Few. The golden mop. Right. The slickest flicks of the year. The movies that sort of through.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

What splished, what splashed.

[Griffin Newman]

We're so lucky to have you, Ben.

[David Sims]

Okay. Number one, Frankenstein. Old timey dampness.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

It is actually some wet labs. You're right. It's a wet movie.

[Joe Reed]

The big rain.

[David Sims]

A lot of rain.

[Joe Reed]

There's a perma moistness to the creature. I feel like a lot of ice.

[Griffin Newman]

Which we should acknowledge.

[Joe Reed]

Yes. Which is frozen.

[Griffin Newman]

The hardest water of all.

[David Sims]

Yeah, indeed. Number two, sinners. Blood soaked. Yeah. And also a big fight in the. In the lake or whatever at the end there.

[Joe Reed]

Sweaty. A lot of sweat. Lot of slick bodies.

[David Sims]

Very sweaty. Spit, spit, bodily fluids.

[Joe Reed]

Other bottle fluids. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Liquor.

[Griffin Newman]

Sure. How would you spell that Liquor?

[Joe Reed]

Like K A H. The liquest flicks of the year.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

And may I say it? Mike makes me horny, baby. Oh, interesting. Okay, so I'm getting a little wet down there.

[Joe Reed]

Sure, sure.

[Griffin Newman]

Michael B. Jordan. I thought we were going back to Mike Myers and his cut body in the awesome powers. The.

[David Sims]

I know him as Mike getting wet.

[Joe Reed]

Okay, well, you know what?

[David Sims]

Let's just keep going.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Number three, Last Breath. Yeah. I told you. I suggested by Sims. It's a movie that's set underwater. It's set underwater.

[Griffin Newman]

Or as I like to call it, underwater. Yeah.

[David Sims]

It is a deep wet movie. It's. It's about the people whose job is to go all the way down there.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yep. Number four, Magellan, suggested by J.J. nice set entirely at sea. Or as I like to call it, the sea.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, that is what you'd like to call it. Yeah.

[David Sims]

And number five, it's wetland. I.

[Griffin Newman]

Okay. It's.

[Joe Reed]

It's the wettest version.

[Griffin Newman]

That's a good alt. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

Number five. Sorry, baby, for all the tears ejected from my face. Also there's a bathtub scene in that one.

[Griffin Newman]

That's true.

[Joe Reed]

I adored that movie.

[David Sims]

But what really got me was when the lead character adopts the kitten cuz they poster. Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

And I guess I kind of knew that was coming from the poster, but. Because when I first got pig, it was a very similar moment in my

[Griffin Newman]

life of like a.

[David Sims]

A close friend passing away. I was very depressed and a kitten will really make your life a lot better.

[Griffin Newman]

Ben. Sorry, if I can just interject briefly.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

You reminded me of cat category that I forgot.

[David Sims]

Oh yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Just throw it out quickly, please.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Truly one I've been working on all year.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

And I. I hope that this is not a one off trend this year. And this is a category that can sustain and fill out three nominees for every year to come.

[Joe Reed]

Okay.

[Griffin Newman]

It's the Babe Award for best fake hog.

[David Sims]

Oh yeah, sure. There were a lot of them this year.

[Joe Reed]

Is this a trend that is trending? Yes, increasingly.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

I'm now distrustful of all cinematic penises because they do feel like that so many of them are fake.

[Griffin Newman]

Alexander Sgard in Pillion.

[David Sims]

Yep. Prince Albert.

[Griffin Newman]

I'm forgetting which guy it is in Splitsville.

[David Sims]

One of them.

[Griffin Newman]

Kyle Marvin.

[Joe Reed]

Right. One of the guys. The one who comes out of the shower and is really hanging it.

[Griffin Newman]

Big fake hog.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Obviously the first, the inaugural winner of the Babel War.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah. Samson.

[Griffin Newman]

Samson. Biggest fakest hog I've ever seen.

[David Sims]

For sure.

[Griffin Newman]

Sorry, Ben. Just had to get that out.

[Joe Reed]

Grass stains on it from walking.

[David Sims]

Another wet movie that I did suggest to you was Dangerous Waters. The movie in which Jack Courtney feeds people to sharks.

[Joe Reed]

Right.

[David Sims]

Oh, pretty fun movie.

[Joe Reed]

All right.

[David Sims]

Yeah. Quite a bit of sharks. Dangerous animals here too. Sure seems like dangerous animals. Yeah. Into the deep.

[Joe Reed]

My nephew would love Secret Agent.

[David Sims]

Yeah. A lot of shark stuff. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Moving on. Next category. The no thank yous.

[Griffin Newman]

We love to hear.

[David Sims]

Number one, Blue Moon. A movie absolutely. Packed with references that I don't care about. What mid-50s theater that. Okay, okay.

[Griffin Newman]

S.L.

[Joe Reed]

stuart Little. Apocrypha.

[Griffin Newman]

E.B.

[Joe Reed]

white.

[David Sims]

I'm. I'm not a fan. Fan of his style.

[Griffin Newman]

I gotta say I'm surprised to hear that. Because if you cracked open Stuart Little, like today, the moment we finished recording, you would be texting us in 30 minutes. Guys, I'm rooting so hard for Stuart. He mouse trying to make it in the city.

[David Sims]

It is about being obnoxious at a bar. And I feel like that does kind of strike you, but. No, I. I see what you're saying. You know, like, you don't really care about Oscar and Hammerstein and all that. No, that's just. Yeah, not my jam. Okay, number two, War of the Worlds. I would rather spend that half an hour, hour and a half rather, with Stephen Miller.

[Griffin Newman]

Oh, watch that film. Have either of you.

[Joe Reed]

It's a tough choice.

[Griffin Newman]

Have either of you seen Mercy?

[David Sims]

No.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, no. AI justice?

[Griffin Newman]

No spoilers. First 90% of that movie, Chris Pratt felt like he was anglin for that Iowa Deborah award. And then he it up.

[Joe Reed]

Oh, Chris.

[David Sims]

Christopher. Number three, Deliver me from nowhere. I'm good.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Despite your jersey ness. Yeah. Send me somewhere else. Anywhere else.

[Griffin Newman]

Ben, that was a great impression of humanity at large.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Yeah. That decision was made.

[Griffin Newman]

Global viewing public.

[David Sims]

True.

[Griffin Newman]

Spot on impression.

[David Sims]

They were like, we need to call this movie Springsteen delivery. And audiences are like, no, it doesn't matter. Not going to work.

[Joe Reed]

That's doesn't help. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Number four, how to train your dragon. I was able to return to skipping this one in live action. Okay. A rebound skip. There you go.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

But, Ben, would you be excited to hear that they're now making a sequel to the liveaction remake, which is a remake of the animated sequel in which they are now recasting another actor who had voiced the character in the animated films to now play their liveaction equivalent as well.

[David Sims]

What a nightmare.

[Joe Reed]

Now I'm the fantastic Mr. Fox character with the spiral eyes after.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes. Yep.

[David Sims]

God. Number five. Jurassic World Rebirth. Ass is right there in the title.

[Griffin Newman]

There we go. Our finest film critic.

[David Sims]

Do we really need to be reborn, though? Let the dinosaurs rest.

[Griffin Newman]

Yep. Ben, great take.

[David Sims]

And yet, I think they're being reborn again as we speak.

[Joe Reed]

There is a moment in that movie where a very tight dinosaur has wandered out of Cobble Hill Park.

[David Sims]

That's right.

[Griffin Newman]

It's taken a nap and it's just sort of chilling.

[Joe Reed]

By the bridge.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

It's like. Oh, man.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. The one good idea the movie has. And so we should get this out of the way. Let's get as far away as possible.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Sims]

Some honorable mentions, please. The Bone Temple for achievement and bone temples.

[Joe Reed]

I mean temple.

[Griffin Newman]

And you know what? It might have this category nomination.

[Joe Reed]

Like they melt the whole bone temple. I.

[Griffin Newman]

We really. The. The. This is why we can't have nice things with those two movies. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Violator achievement award goes to Tessa Thompson as Hedda for being a delightfully evil little stinker.

[Griffin Newman]

This is a great take. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Very good stinker movie.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. We have one of our superlatives categories is homophobic enemy. And despite the fact that she is queer in that movie, that character, she is a homophobic enemy because she makes a lot of trouble for queer people in that movie.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Weapons for its great stick work. Not often are sticks showcased in cinema.

[Griffin Newman]

What are we talking about here?

[David Sims]

Sticks.

[Griffin Newman]

Sticks.

[Joe Reed]

She's snapping those sticks.

[Griffin Newman]

Snapping the sticks.

[Joe Reed]

She's snapping that stick.

[Griffin Newman]

Snapping the stick.

[Joe Reed]

You know, snapping a stick. Bon.

[David Sims]

Branches are. You know.

[Griffin Newman]

Are you stop looking at a picture of her anger. I snapping the stick on. In your head.

[David Sims]

Branches are so often seen. Leaves plenty. Give sticks their due.

[Griffin Newman]

Give sticks a chance.

[David Sims]

Yeah. And lastly, Pavements for achievement and featuring Griffin Newman on screen.

[Griffin Newman]

This is true.

[David Sims]

Not enough movies dare to do it. I know. I want to see it more.

[Griffin Newman]

Turn me on.

[David Sims]

It was nice to see technical qualifies this year.

[Griffin Newman]

Last year was it 2025.

[David Sims]

I got a SE. Turn me on.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. I. I recommend people. Michael Tberski film Bell Poy, Nick Robinson, Julia Ship, Nesta Cooper, Justin and myself.

[David Sims]

IMDb is saying it hit the Internet in 2024.

[Joe Reed]

In what month?

[David Sims]

I. September.

[Joe Reed]

So that was Griffin.

[David Sims]

Sorry.

[Joe Reed]

November, Griffin and Autumn.

[Griffin Newman]

I let me double track that. I think it did not go on to vod. And then it got an illegal hidden theatre theatrical release.

[Joe Reed]

The best kind of theatrical release.

[Griffin Newman]

I think it was not until January, but I. I count as a 2025 release.

[David Sims]

Fair enough.

[Griffin Newman]

And there is a movie that I think it would be very difficult to cut me out of. On the schedule for 2020.

[David Sims]

Damn right, baby.

[Joe Reed]

Hell yeah.

[Griffin Newman]

What will be my final film role? Oh, I'm retiring again. No, I'm sorry. It's over.

[David Sims]

As long as you're doing this, you know, you're. You're in the money forever, baby. Until people get sick of us. Which could be tomorrow.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah. It could be yesterday.

[David Sims]

Right.

[Joe Reed]

I just I've got an in with Mia Threpleton. She can get you in another movie.

[David Sims]

I'll just say, look, there's.

[Griffin Newman]

There's a curse upon me being optimistic about anything in my career outside of this podcast. But. But I. You know, I shot this thing in December and I was like, this thing's got a guaranteed theatrical release.

[David Sims]

That's true.

[Joe Reed]

Can I also tell you, it would

[Griffin Newman]

cost millions of dollars to cut me out of it at this point. Not because of my contract, because continuity.

[Joe Reed]

The buzz that whipped around my circles at the sight of you in a Muppet audience, by the way, was significant. So the juice is still there. So it was.

[Griffin Newman]

Well, that was. That was just Seth Rogen being a real mensch. Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Pretty great. But, yeah, that. That's it for me. Wow.

[Griffin Newman]

What a year.

[David Sims]

Good job. Thanks.

[Joe Reed]

What a year. It was. Well done.

[Griffin Newman]

Looks like we made it. Yeah. Joe, this had Oscar buzz.

[Joe Reed]

Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

I have not been on.

[Joe Reed]

We've been around for a while. I know, I know.

[Griffin Newman]

Because of my overwhelming phobia.

[David Sims]

Yeah, me too.

[Griffin Newman]

To Zoom.

[David Sims]

I struggle with Zoom.

[Griffin Newman]

I did recently reach out to you and say, we've gotten to a place of just enough healing that I think it's time. Can we say what the movie is?

[Joe Reed]

Yes, we can. If that's the movie you want to do, that is the movie I wanted you to do.

[Griffin Newman]

I've had the pin in it for so long. Igby Goes Down.

[David Sims]

Very good.

[Griffin Newman]

Would you believe that movie meant a lot? Yes. To one 13 year old.

[Joe Reed]

I'm so excited. We've been holding that.

[David Sims]

The family in that movie is so functional. So I don't really see.

[Griffin Newman]

I. I have been too terrified to watch that movie for at least 15 years.

[David Sims]

I haven't seen.

[Griffin Newman]

We'll see. Yeah, we'll see.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah. I'm very excited, very excited to have you back. David will have to have you back as well. You were around for our 70s miniseries a couple years ago.

[David Sims]

What did I do? You did.

[Joe Reed]

Don't look now.

[David Sims]

I love that movie.

[Joe Reed]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah. But what should I do? Oh, yes.

[Joe Reed]

That was. That was very early.

[Griffin Newman]

You just did Sentimental Value episode on.

[Joe Reed]

On Critical Darlings.

[Griffin Newman]

I finally.

[Joe Reed]

Darling.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes.

[Joe Reed]

At long last.

[Griffin Newman]

Thank you for doing that. You're great. Unsurprisingly, great.

[Joe Reed]

Co hosts you got there. Hey, Richard and Allison, my friends.

[Griffin Newman]

Proud of these kids. I think these kids got a big future.

[David Sims]

I think we really did a good job hiring two very established, smart film critics who are good on Mike. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm going to go see Project Hail Mary.

[Griffin Newman]

I going to the same screening.

[David Sims]

Well, then I got invited to Project H. Mary.

[Griffin Newman]

Well, well, well, what a twist.

[Joe Reed]

I'm going to Mohand train station.

[Griffin Newman]

You did bring your luggage here. Thank you for being flexible with your.

[Joe Reed]

Did I tell you also that. Yes, two days ago when I came here and of course I slipped on ice and fell and hurt my knee

[Griffin Newman]

and then David hurt his butt.

[Joe Reed]

Did you also fall?

[David Sims]

Oh, nice. Yeah. But two weeks.

[Joe Reed]

And then on the cab right here because I wanted to be in a cab because my knee hurts. Yes. The cabby had to stop short and I lurched forward and banged my knee into the back of the seat in front of me. So it's been a couple of days, but we're doing all right.

[Griffin Newman]

Let me also just clarify. David didn't hurt his butt slipping on ice. He hurt his butt because his wife whacked him with a rolling pin.

[David Sims]

Cuz he was looking at a picture in the.

[Joe Reed]

A snapping a stick.

[Griffin Newman]

She snapping a stick on his tush. You want to stop looking at the picture of Aang. We got the three babies. Are you looking at the picture of the.

[Joe Reed]

We're going to get some kind of anti defamation league on our ass about this one. But you know what

[Griffin Newman]

men do Be looking at pictures of a ring. If I.

[Joe Reed]

If I know men, I know they look at the pictures of a.

[David Sims]

If I know I can see you.

[Joe Reed]

No babies.

[Griffin Newman]

I know I joke and I whack with the stick, but I know men and the men they look at the pictures of,

[Joe Reed]

you know. You know why you've been looking at a picture of a.

[Griffin Newman]

You know,

[Joe Reed]

I don't tell this to everybody, but between you and me, I'd be looking at the picture of a man.

[Griffin Newman]

They are simple. All they want is to look at

[David Sims]

a picture of the.

[Griffin Newman]

Ben, we love you.

[Joe Reed]

I'm so proud to come up.

[David Sims]

Love you guys.

[Joe Reed]

I love it. Yes.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yeah.

[Joe Reed]

Tribute to pig.

[Griffin Newman]

Yes. Who. Who's been such an important part of this podcast across all the years. We recorded in her home for two years close to. Yeah. Yeah.

[David Sims]

Yep.

[Griffin Newman]

So she's. She's been a. She was a silent participant in so many episodes and. And we miss her dearly. And our thoughts are with you.

[David Sims]

Thanks so much.

[Griffin Newman]

Thank you all for listening. Please remember to rate, review and subscribe. Next week, crack of the bat, start of a new miniseries. That's right. Peter Weir. Peter.

[Joe Reed]

Very exciting.

[Griffin Newman]

We're making it weird.

[David Sims]

Paris. Enjoy.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, duh.

[Joe Reed]

What a great miniseries.

[Griffin Newman]

Cars that I. Paris. Guest list.

[David Sims]

Yeah. No guest.

[Griffin Newman]

Yeah, we got it. We got it's it. I think it's a good miniseries. Majority in the cam, almost all. We got some great returning guests and people who haven't been on in too long. Yeah, we have a couple exciting first timers.

[David Sims]

New face.

[Griffin Newman]

Got some new faces.

[Joe Reed]

I'll have to rewatch Fearless before you do your episode on that. I haven't seen that one since the 90s. That movie is on. I want to say Isabella Rossellini is known for. Is that not something.

[Griffin Newman]

No spoilers. But that movie made David buy new sunglasses.

[David Sims]

Yes, it did. That's right.

[Griffin Newman]

That's all.

[Joe Reed]

Go listen to this. Had Oscar buzz, folks.

[Griffin Newman]

It's a good test. Igby episode coming soon. And as always, RIP Pig. We stand a legend.

[David Sims]

We love you, pig.

[Joe Reed]

All right.

[David Sims]

Love you, pig. Blank Check with Griffin and David is hosted by Griffin Newman and David Sims. Our executive producer is me, Ben Hosley.

[Griffin Newman]

Our creative producer is Marie Barty Salinas and our associate producer producer is AJ McKeon.

[David Sims]

This show is mixed and edited by AJ McKeon and Alan Smithee. Research by JJ Burch. Our theme song is by Lane Montgomery and the Great American Novel with additional music by Alex Mitchell, artwork by Joe Bowen, Ollie Moss and Pat Reynolds. Our production assistant is Minick. Special thanks to David Cho, Jordan Fish and Nate Patterson for their production help. Head over to blankcheckpod.com for links to

[Griffin Newman]

all the real nerdy shit.

[David Sims]

Join our Patreon Blank Check special features for exclusive franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us on social at blank checkpod. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Checkbook on Substack. This podcast is created and produced by Blank Check Productions.