Blank Check with Griffin & David

Episode: “True Grit” with Stavros Halkias

Date: October 19, 2025

Guest: Stavros Halkias

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the Coen Brothers’ 2010 film "True Grit"—a rare Hollywood blockbuster in their otherwise eclectic career. Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims are joined by comedian Stavros Halkias as they break down the making of the movie, Hailee Steinfeld’s breakout performance, the film’s literary origins, and its unique success as both a faithful Western and a deeply Coen-ized adaptation. The conversation takes characteristically sprawling detours—into ancient TV-watching habits, failed action stars, Greek basketball, and more—while always looping back to the extraordinary craft behind "True Grit."

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Coens’ Approach to Adapting “True Grit”

Attachment to the Book: The Coens remade "True Grit" because they “love the book so much,” considering author Charles Portis to be “American Shakespeare." (03:02)
- Griffin: “If you just literally put the book on screen and transcribe every line of dialogue, people will be firing pistols up in the air in the audience.”
Language-Focused Adaptation: They aimed for fidelity both to Portis’ dialogue and to the book’s perspective—centered on young Mattie Ross rather than the John Wayne version’s Rooster Cogburn focus.
- David: “Their pitch was, hey, the language in the book is really great. We want a more faithful adaptation.” (22:41)

Notable Quote (03:02)

"We think Portis is, like, American Shakespeare. And, like, if you just literally put the book on screen and transcribe every line of dialogue, people will be firing pistols up in the air in the audience."
— Griffin Newman

2. Hailee Steinfeld: The Miracle of Casting Mattie Ross

Miracle Find: The production struggled to find an age-appropriate actor who could handle Portis’ language—Steinfeld wasn’t cast until three weeks before shooting.
- David: "They saw a tape of her four weeks outside of production. They cast her three weeks before they actually started." (70:03)
Breakout Performance: Steinfeld’s strength, maturity, and command of language—at age 13—stunned cast and crew.
- Griffin: "Second she's on screen, I'm like, what the— I didn't even consider the kid actor being a part. I thought that would be the worst part of the movie." (25:16)
Career Trajectory: The hosts track Steinfeld’s career, noting her detour into pop stardom and a recent resurgence (notably her role in "The Sinners").
- Stavros: “It's so great when somebody that good—well, you know, a director that good just is like, this is an underutilized talent. I’m going to just fucking line something up for her.” (74:06)

Notable Quote (27:48)

“They were like, yeah, but she could read the language. Like, that's the whole thing immediately. Like, it's like, it's this complicated weird language. Yeah. And she's just nailing it.”
— David Sims

3. The Men of “True Grit”: Unlikely Heroes and Losers

Rooster Cogburn as Unsentimental: Bridges avoids John Wayne’s sentimentalism, instead playing Rooster as "a grotesque… aggressively unsavory."
- Griffin: “He’s like, unpleasant. He smells bad… This guy's kind of a monster. And not only that, he's, like, aggressively unsavory.” (48:51)
LaBoeuf as Comic Fraud: Damon’s LaBoeuf is all pomp and few credentials—a perfect fit for the Coens’ love of Western buffoons.
- Stavros: “To me, Leaf feels so much like… is he good at any of this? Is he a complete fraud?” (51:12)
"Every Guy in This Movie Rocks": The supporting cast in both major and minor roles contribute color, danger, and Cohen-style comedy.
- David: “Every guy in this movie rocks… This is a movie, though, about how being a guy back then was pretty weird.” (04:55)

Notable Quote (42:44)

“Guy who doesn't give a shit about anything or anyone. And then at the end, he won't say it. But he'll do something that shows… The end of this movie gets me so worked up every time.”
— Griffin Newman

4. The Film’s Themes: Cost, Loss, and the End of Childhood

Mattie’s Precocity as a Burden: The film's structure—bookended by adult narration—emphasizes how Mattie’s hard-won "adulthood" comes at irreversible personal cost.
- Griffin: “She basically is frozen in amber for the rest of her life. Like the, the sadness of the end of this movie is that you're just sort of like, well, she's just, she never grows past this.” (124:20)
Cost of Revenge: The violence Mattie seeks brings no solace, only trauma—most literally in the pit-of-snakes climax and her lost arm.
- Stavros: “At the core, this movie is one of my favorites of, like, I'm a big revenge movie guy. And the lesson almost always is it's not worth it.” (149:27)
Bittersweet Denouement: Adult Mattie’s inability to reconnect with Rooster or recapture her formative adventure underscores the film’s meditation on time and memory.
- Griffin: “She clearly thinks if I get to have one final emotional conversation with Rooster… this will all come together for me. And she gets there and they're like, no, just by happenstance, he died three days ago.” (156:07)

Notable Quote (149:40)

“It's not worth it. Never worth it. It always fucks your life up more. And this is, in-the-moment, the most on-the-nose. The gun you fire to kill the guy backfires and leaves you in a pit of dead bodies and snakes.”
— Stavros Halkias

5. The Film’s Box Office and The State of Theaters

A Blockbuster Outlier: "True Grit" grossed $170 million, easily outpacing other Coen Brothers films (the next closest, "No Country for Old Men," made $70 million).
- Griffin: “This is their only like four quadrant smash.” (21:53)
The Christmas Sweet Spot: Its success stemmed partly from a perfect Christmas release window when the competition ("Little Fockers," "Tron Legacy") fizzled and families were seeking all-ages fare.
- David: “This is a movie teenagers can see… because it's about a teenager or it's about a child.” (68:11)
- Griffin: “There is like this 10 day corridor when basically everyone's off from work and school and families are together and it's a PG13 movie.” (109:59)
Would It Be a Hit Now?: The group doubts such a film could hit as big in today's streaming-focused marketplace.
- Griffin: “Today you'd be like, I heard Focker sucks. I guess we stay home and watch YouTube.” (173:05)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

On Portis’ Dialogue:
“You must pay for everything in this world one way or another. There's nothing free except the grace of Pod.”
— Griffin Newman (00:15)
On Hailee Steinfeld’s Casting:
“He was like helping his little daughters get ready for school… I just put three [hairbands] around my tongue.”
— Griffin (01:54, recounting Matt Damon’s prosthetic for LaBoeuf)
On American Masculinity in ‘True Grit’:
“This is a movie... about how being a guy back then was pretty weird because it's like if you're the coffin guy in like the Wild west, that's a weird job.”
— David Sims (05:00)
On The Film’s Ending & Mattie’s Fate:
“It was the most alive she ever was… The only alternate path for her is if they successfully talk her out of going on this mission in the first place and go, now you got to go to finishing school. Put down the gun in the hat.”
— Griffin (154:32)
On Bridges’ Rooster Cogburn:
“He's not doing the obvious thing you would do to try to do sweetheart. Which is also like... this guy's kind of a monster.”
— Griffin Newman (48:51)

Timestamps for Key Segments

Opening Banter & Steinfeld Casting (00:00–03:00)
Western Language & Coens’ Intentions (03:00–08:00)
On Supporting Cast, Guy-World Weirdness (05:00–08:30)
Stavros on Tour-Life & Discovering the Coens (06:13–10:00)
The Mattie/Steinfeld Miracle (25:45–29:00, 36:43–38:00)
Coen Brothers’ Directorial Decisions (21:40–24:45)
Analysis of Rooster, LaBoeuf, and “Guy-ness” (42:44–52:04; 53:05–56:12)
Thematic Coda: Loss, Time, and Mattie’s Fate (124:20–156:54)
Box Office Context (109:08–112:14, 160:01–173:11)
Hailee Steinfeld’s Career Since (70:03–77:45)
Topical Tangents: Greek basketball, Steven Seagal, TV viewing nostalgia (29:02–38:00, ~53:05–57:07, scattered)

Memorable Moments

On Making “True Grit” PG-13:
“They need a couple of, like, Criterion To Be-like channels… my big idea and someone's gonna steal it is just essentially a hard drive and you load it up with a hundred bangers and it's just random absolute bangers. And of course for me it would be, like, you know, dumb guy core.”
— Stavros (13:48)
On Damon’s LaBoeuf:
“His French name… He looks like a Toy Story cowboy, right? Like, like everything about him is, like, a little too performative…”
— Griffin (51:50)
On The Harshness of the Old West:
“All of them are so realized. They're so real. And there's. And everyone is disgusting. Everyone is what a guy in that time. They're all sweaty. Everyone looks like shit.”
— Stavros (49:00)

Tone & Style

The episode maintains the hosts' trademark mix of erudition and irreverence—meticulous film-geek detail, contagious enthusiasm, and a willingness to spiral off into honest, hilarious tangents. Stavros is infectiously funny, adding not just bits but a real appreciation for the text and performances. The tone is equal parts admiration and bemusement at the film, its era, and the sorry state of male hygiene in frontier America.

Summary for New Listeners

If you haven’t watched “True Grit” or listened to this episode, expect a lively deconstruction of how the Coens transformed an oft-misremembered Western into one of the most humane, linguistically rich, and bittersweet adventures of the 21st century—powered by a truly once-in-a-generation performance by Hailee Steinfeld. The hosts (and Stavros) dissect every facet: from the miracle of Steinfeld, Bridges’ anti-John Wayne pivot, Damon’s fraudulent Texas Ranger, and the spiritual cost of vengeance. All this is interwoven with anecdote-rich asides on tour life, TV and movie-watching nostalgia, and the peculiar joy of filling a hard drive with “dumb guy core.”

Endnote

“And as always, time comes for us all.”
— Griffin Newman (185:56)

Next Episode: Inside Llewyn Davis (or possibly coverage of Katherine Bigelow’s “House of Dynamite,” depending on release dates)

Blank Check with Griffin & David

Episode: “True Grit” with Stavros Halkias

Date: October 19, 2025

Guest: Stavros Halkias

Episode Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Coens’ Approach to Adapting “True Grit”

Attachment to the Book: The Coens remade "True Grit" because they “love the book so much,” considering author Charles Portis to be “American Shakespeare." (03:02)
- Griffin: “If you just literally put the book on screen and transcribe every line of dialogue, people will be firing pistols up in the air in the audience.”
Language-Focused Adaptation: They aimed for fidelity both to Portis’ dialogue and to the book’s perspective—centered on young Mattie Ross rather than the John Wayne version’s Rooster Cogburn focus.
- David: “Their pitch was, hey, the language in the book is really great. We want a more faithful adaptation.” (22:41)

Notable Quote (03:02)

"We think Portis is, like, American Shakespeare. And, like, if you just literally put the book on screen and transcribe every line of dialogue, people will be firing pistols up in the air in the audience."
— Griffin Newman

2. Hailee Steinfeld: The Miracle of Casting Mattie Ross

Miracle Find: The production struggled to find an age-appropriate actor who could handle Portis’ language—Steinfeld wasn’t cast until three weeks before shooting.
- David: "They saw a tape of her four weeks outside of production. They cast her three weeks before they actually started." (70:03)
Breakout Performance: Steinfeld’s strength, maturity, and command of language—at age 13—stunned cast and crew.
- Griffin: "Second she's on screen, I'm like, what the— I didn't even consider the kid actor being a part. I thought that would be the worst part of the movie." (25:16)
Career Trajectory: The hosts track Steinfeld’s career, noting her detour into pop stardom and a recent resurgence (notably her role in "The Sinners").
- Stavros: “It's so great when somebody that good—well, you know, a director that good just is like, this is an underutilized talent. I’m going to just fucking line something up for her.” (74:06)

Notable Quote (27:48)

“They were like, yeah, but she could read the language. Like, that's the whole thing immediately. Like, it's like, it's this complicated weird language. Yeah. And she's just nailing it.”
— David Sims

3. The Men of “True Grit”: Unlikely Heroes and Losers

Rooster Cogburn as Unsentimental: Bridges avoids John Wayne’s sentimentalism, instead playing Rooster as "a grotesque… aggressively unsavory."
- Griffin: “He’s like, unpleasant. He smells bad… This guy's kind of a monster. And not only that, he's, like, aggressively unsavory.” (48:51)
LaBoeuf as Comic Fraud: Damon’s LaBoeuf is all pomp and few credentials—a perfect fit for the Coens’ love of Western buffoons.
- Stavros: “To me, Leaf feels so much like… is he good at any of this? Is he a complete fraud?” (51:12)
"Every Guy in This Movie Rocks": The supporting cast in both major and minor roles contribute color, danger, and Cohen-style comedy.
- David: “Every guy in this movie rocks… This is a movie, though, about how being a guy back then was pretty weird.” (04:55)

Notable Quote (42:44)

“Guy who doesn't give a shit about anything or anyone. And then at the end, he won't say it. But he'll do something that shows… The end of this movie gets me so worked up every time.”
— Griffin Newman

4. The Film’s Themes: Cost, Loss, and the End of Childhood

Mattie’s Precocity as a Burden: The film's structure—bookended by adult narration—emphasizes how Mattie’s hard-won "adulthood" comes at irreversible personal cost.
- Griffin: “She basically is frozen in amber for the rest of her life. Like the, the sadness of the end of this movie is that you're just sort of like, well, she's just, she never grows past this.” (124:20)
Cost of Revenge: The violence Mattie seeks brings no solace, only trauma—most literally in the pit-of-snakes climax and her lost arm.
- Stavros: “At the core, this movie is one of my favorites of, like, I'm a big revenge movie guy. And the lesson almost always is it's not worth it.” (149:27)
Bittersweet Denouement: Adult Mattie’s inability to reconnect with Rooster or recapture her formative adventure underscores the film’s meditation on time and memory.
- Griffin: “She clearly thinks if I get to have one final emotional conversation with Rooster… this will all come together for me. And she gets there and they're like, no, just by happenstance, he died three days ago.” (156:07)

Notable Quote (149:40)

“It's not worth it. Never worth it. It always fucks your life up more. And this is, in-the-moment, the most on-the-nose. The gun you fire to kill the guy backfires and leaves you in a pit of dead bodies and snakes.”
— Stavros Halkias

5. The Film’s Box Office and The State of Theaters

A Blockbuster Outlier: "True Grit" grossed $170 million, easily outpacing other Coen Brothers films (the next closest, "No Country for Old Men," made $70 million).
- Griffin: “This is their only like four quadrant smash.” (21:53)
The Christmas Sweet Spot: Its success stemmed partly from a perfect Christmas release window when the competition ("Little Fockers," "Tron Legacy") fizzled and families were seeking all-ages fare.
- David: “This is a movie teenagers can see… because it's about a teenager or it's about a child.” (68:11)
- Griffin: “There is like this 10 day corridor when basically everyone's off from work and school and families are together and it's a PG13 movie.” (109:59)
Would It Be a Hit Now?: The group doubts such a film could hit as big in today's streaming-focused marketplace.
- Griffin: “Today you'd be like, I heard Focker sucks. I guess we stay home and watch YouTube.” (173:05)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

On Portis’ Dialogue:
“You must pay for everything in this world one way or another. There's nothing free except the grace of Pod.”
— Griffin Newman (00:15)
On Hailee Steinfeld’s Casting:
“He was like helping his little daughters get ready for school… I just put three [hairbands] around my tongue.”
— Griffin (01:54, recounting Matt Damon’s prosthetic for LaBoeuf)
On American Masculinity in ‘True Grit’:
“This is a movie... about how being a guy back then was pretty weird because it's like if you're the coffin guy in like the Wild west, that's a weird job.”
— David Sims (05:00)
On The Film’s Ending & Mattie’s Fate:
“It was the most alive she ever was… The only alternate path for her is if they successfully talk her out of going on this mission in the first place and go, now you got to go to finishing school. Put down the gun in the hat.”
— Griffin (154:32)
On Bridges’ Rooster Cogburn:
“He's not doing the obvious thing you would do to try to do sweetheart. Which is also like... this guy's kind of a monster.”
— Griffin Newman (48:51)

Timestamps for Key Segments

Opening Banter & Steinfeld Casting (00:00–03:00)
Western Language & Coens’ Intentions (03:00–08:00)
On Supporting Cast, Guy-World Weirdness (05:00–08:30)
Stavros on Tour-Life & Discovering the Coens (06:13–10:00)
The Mattie/Steinfeld Miracle (25:45–29:00, 36:43–38:00)
Coen Brothers’ Directorial Decisions (21:40–24:45)
Analysis of Rooster, LaBoeuf, and “Guy-ness” (42:44–52:04; 53:05–56:12)
Thematic Coda: Loss, Time, and Mattie’s Fate (124:20–156:54)
Box Office Context (109:08–112:14, 160:01–173:11)
Hailee Steinfeld’s Career Since (70:03–77:45)
Topical Tangents: Greek basketball, Steven Seagal, TV viewing nostalgia (29:02–38:00, ~53:05–57:07, scattered)

Memorable Moments

On Making “True Grit” PG-13:
“They need a couple of, like, Criterion To Be-like channels… my big idea and someone's gonna steal it is just essentially a hard drive and you load it up with a hundred bangers and it's just random absolute bangers. And of course for me it would be, like, you know, dumb guy core.”
— Stavros (13:48)
On Damon’s LaBoeuf:
“His French name… He looks like a Toy Story cowboy, right? Like, like everything about him is, like, a little too performative…”
— Griffin (51:50)
On The Harshness of the Old West:
“All of them are so realized. They're so real. And there's. And everyone is disgusting. Everyone is what a guy in that time. They're all sweaty. Everyone looks like shit.”
— Stavros (49:00)

Tone & Style

Summary for New Listeners

Endnote

“And as always, time comes for us all.”
— Griffin Newman (185:56)

Next Episode: Inside Llewyn Davis (or possibly coverage of Katherine Bigelow’s “House of Dynamite,” depending on release dates)

True Grit with Stavros Halkias

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Summary

Blank Check with Griffin & David

Episode: “True Grit” with Stavros Halkias

Date: October 19, 2025

Guest: Stavros Halkias

Episode Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Coens’ Approach to Adapting “True Grit”

Notable Quote (03:02)

2. Hailee Steinfeld: The Miracle of Casting Mattie Ross

Notable Quote (27:48)

3. The Men of “True Grit”: Unlikely Heroes and Losers

Notable Quote (42:44)

4. The Film’s Themes: Cost, Loss, and the End of Childhood

Notable Quote (149:40)

5. The Film’s Box Office and The State of Theaters

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

Timestamps for Key Segments

Memorable Moments

Tone & Style

Summary for New Listeners

Endnote

Summary

Blank Check with Griffin & David

Episode: “True Grit” with Stavros Halkias

Date: October 19, 2025

Guest: Stavros Halkias

Episode Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Coens’ Approach to Adapting “True Grit”

Notable Quote (03:02)

2. Hailee Steinfeld: The Miracle of Casting Mattie Ross

Notable Quote (27:48)

3. The Men of “True Grit”: Unlikely Heroes and Losers

Notable Quote (42:44)

4. The Film’s Themes: Cost, Loss, and the End of Childhood

Notable Quote (149:40)

5. The Film’s Box Office and The State of Theaters

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

Timestamps for Key Segments

Memorable Moments

Tone & Style

Summary for New Listeners

Endnote