Buster Keaton released two features in 1924 - “Sherlock Jr.”, a film that was considered a commercial disappointment at the time but has grown in stature over the past century, and “The Navigator'', a colossal box office hit that hasn’t aged nearly as well. Actor and lover of old-timey things James Urbaniak makes his long-awaited debut on the pod (originally promised back in our Shyamalan days!) and we’re getting into the billiards bits, boat gags, razor puns, and movie magic that make this doub...
May 14, 2023•2 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Great Stone Face…The Little Boy Who Couldn’t Be Damaged…whatever you call him, Buster Keaton is one of the most important figures in film history, and we couldn’t be happier to be spotlight him in our latest series PODCAST JR. Our beloved Dana Stevens - writer of the fantastic Keaton tome “Camera Man” - joins us to set the table as we dive into the filmography of one of Griffin’s favorite artists. We’re going into Buster’s start as a vaudeville child star (sometimes in “Irish face”), the qua...
May 07, 2023•3 hr 40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our Danny Boyle series comes to an end with a mind-bending movie that dares to ask the question, “What if The Beatles didn’t exist?” Severance’s Zach Cherry makes his long-overdue first appearance on the pod to profess his love Boyle’s most recent film, while David nearly has a stroke from trying to wrap his brain around all its logic loops. We’re asking all the big questions - if the Beatles never existed, would Charles Manson? If cigarettes never existed, how would that change the colonization...
Apr 30, 2023•3 hr 42 min•Transcript available on Metacast First they were addicted to heroin, now they’re addicted to *nostalgia* (but also still heroin)! Danny Boyle returns to the squalid Scottish world of Renton, Sick Boy, Spud, and Begbie for T2: Trainspotting, and Scott Aukerman and Sprague (aka the Artist Formerly Known as Shaun Diston) join us to talk about this under-seen legacy sequel. How did Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor’s real-life feud influence this film? Is Spud’s arc in this basically just Bubbles’ arc in season 5 of The Wire? Which is ...
Apr 23, 2023•2 hr 26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Calling all Sorkinistas - we’re walking, talking, and putting 1,000 songs in your pocket! Based on Walter Isaccson’s best-selling biography of the original Apple Genius, STEVE JOBS puts Danny Boyle in David Fincher’s shoes. What did we learn about this movie from the notorious Sony hacks? Is Michael Fassbender too hot to play Steve Jobs? Would it surprise you to learn that Ben Hosley is a life-long Mac user? Olivia Craighead returns to the pod and joins the Five Timers Club in spectacular fashio...
Apr 16, 2023•3 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Probably the only film in history to hinge on the shaving of pubic hair as crucial plot point, Danny Boyle’s 2013 film TRANCE is…certainly something! Filmmaker Nia DaCosta takes a break from post-production on THE MARVELS to return to the podcast as we peel back the layers of this twisty hypnosis thriller. What is this movie actually trying to say? We don’t know. However, we *do* know that Vincent Cassel is wayyyy sexy, and that the film’s notorious electric razor sound effect was an unforgivabl...
Apr 09, 2023•2 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to another installment in the “If This Happened to Ben Hosley, It Wouldn’t Have Gone Down Like That” series of films - it’s 127 HOURS! Hollywood Handbook’s Sean Clements returns to the pod as we all discuss what we would do if, like real-life outdoorsman Aron Ralston, we got literally “stuck between a rock and a hard place.” What is gnarlier - cutting off your own arm, drinking your own pee, or hosting the Oscars the same year you get your first acting nomination and completely self-sabo...
Apr 02, 2023•3 hr 43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Danny Boyle is about to win the Oscar. How did he do it? A) He Cheated, B) He’s Lucky, C) He’s a Genius, D) IT IS WRITTEN. Critic Siddhant Adlakha joins us to dissect the improbable success of Boyle’s 2008 Dickens-by-way-of-Mumbai hit SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. We’re getting into everything, from the film’s reputation in India to the 2009 Oscar ceremony with Hugh Jackman, from UK teen TV sensation “Skins” to the unexpected success of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” in primetime. Jai Ho! Join our Patr...
Mar 26, 2023•2 hr 22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The time has come for us to board the Icarus II (awful name for a spaceship) and stare directly into the sun. First mentioned as a movie that rules way back when we were only a podcast about the Star Wars Prequels, Griffin and David finally get to cover Danny Boyle’s 2007 Science Fiction flop SUNSHINE. We’re getting into everything - the iconic score, the brilliantly restrictive use of colors, the hot scientist named Brian Cox (not Logan Roy) who served as a model for Cillian Murphy’s character,...
Mar 19, 2023•3 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast How did Danny Boyle choose to follow up the ultraviolence of 28 Days Later? With a winsome kid’s movie about morality and currency conversion, of course! Filmspotting’s Adam Kempenaar joins us to revisit 2004’s Millions, which he originally covered in the second episode of Filmspotting back in 2005 (!) Why did Danny Boyle want to make a family-friendly film? Should this have been a musical? Was there ever a point in time where it seemed like Britain would adopt the Euro? Plus, the most important...
Mar 12, 2023•2 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Once again we gather together to celebrate excellence in the motion picture industry - but rest assured, we have our own Blankies Crisis Team standing by to avoid any catastrophes after last year! Joe Reid of “This Had Oscar Buzz” joins us for our eighth ceremony, and we shine a spotlight on all the best performances, wettest films, and putteringest murmurs of 2022. Plus - a very special top ten list from a surprise guest. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us...
Mar 05, 2023•3 hr 36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fast zombies, a deserted London, and potato-quality digital cinematography - 28 DAYS LATER proved to be a genre-defining hit for Danny Boyle after the disappointment of THE BEACH. Humorist and Blankie favorite David Rees returns to the podcast to take us back to the immediate post-9/11 period, a mood and time which this film conjures instantly. Join us for a deep dive into the zombie canon, a tangent on the famed “Young British Artists” of the 1990s, a primer on Canadian anti-capitalist band God...
Feb 26, 2023•3 hr 44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mother is back, and she’s taking us all to THE BEACH! Emily Yoshida makes her long-awaited return to the pod to speak about her experience in the writer’s room of the still-unproduced TV version of Alex Garland’s titular novel. We’re asking all the big questions - when did Leonardo DiCaprio stop being “baby” and become a big boy on screen? Why is no one practicing ethical non-monogamy or doing heroin on this island? Is it cool to like Moby again after that weird Natalie Portman thing? How would ...
Feb 19, 2023•3 hr 33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Knock knock! Who’s there? M. Night Shyamalan, of course! We’re answering the door and ushering in the apocalypse with a look at Night’s latest offering. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and X! Buy some real nerdy merch. Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 12, 2023•2 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast After the smashing success of TRAINSPOTTING, Danny Boyle reteamed with star Ewan McGregor and writer John Hodge to…make a movie where Dan Hedaya plays the Archangel Gabriel, Stanley Tucci plays a cuck dentist, and Ewan has one of the worst haircuts in the history of cinema? Shockingly, 1997’s A LIFE LESS ORDINARY was not a hit. Actress and comedian Janet Varney (The Legend of Korra, “The JV Club”) joins us as we attempt to make sense of this bizarro road trip romance. Join our Patreon for franch...
Feb 05, 2023•2 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The UK’s answer to PULP FICTION, Danny Boyle’s TRAINSPOTTING exploded into theaters and became a global phenomenon, thanks to an iconic marketing campaign. Who *didn’t* have this poster up in their dorm room? “Search Party” creator Charles Rogers returns to the pod to talk about how his own dorm TRAINSPOTTING poster contributed to his coming out at college, and how Danny Boyle’s radical empathy and fearlessness makes this film so much more than a movie-of-the-week cautionary tale. Join our Patre...
Jan 29, 2023•3 hr 44 min•Transcript available on Metacast UK house music, a *very* active camera, and Ewan McGregor looking like a SNACK…that’s right, folks - we’re covering Danny Boyle! With the England bit retired, we’re finally giving dual citizen David Sims the time and space to actually reminisce about his very British upbringing. A sensation in the UK upon release, SHALLOW GRAVE introduced Boyle as the cinematic voice of “Cool Britannia” - yet the film remains an under-seen gem in the States. In this episode, the boys discuss what they would do w...
Jan 22, 2023•2 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Henry Selick waited thirteen years to make his follow-up to CORALINE, and it feels like we’ve been waiting even longer to hear David’s TIFF Airbnb story - a yarn that finally gets unspooled with the help of friend Shirley Li. After that business is taken care of, we try our best to describe Selick’s WENDELL & WILD - a film that ranks among the more convoluted of the movies we’ve covered on the pod. Yet - we still find a lot to love about this tale of demons, hair creme, and private prisons! Stop...
Jan 15, 2023•2 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast The ultimate connoisseur of context, the guru of camera gear - our friend JD Amato makes his triumphant return to the main feed to walk us through the magic and genius of Henry Selick’s masterpiece CORALINE. For listeners who never had the chance to catch this film in its original 3D release, we attempt to describe Selick’s absolute mastery of the form. We go long on the history of Laika studios, from Will Vinton’s California raisins, to the ultimate “nepo baby” Travis Knight’s (aka “Chilly T”) ...
Jan 08, 2023•3 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast The gang went to see AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER and we all got soaking wet. Fully submerged. Drenched! We’re communing with space whales, chugging coffees with Edie Falco, and learning how to hold our breath for long stretches of time to commemorate the release of James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to the biggest movie of all time. Are we one with Eywa now? How does Kate Winslet’s Na’vi accent stack up against her previous linguistic efforts? Is the Regal Cinemas Agave Aquarita the perfect cockta...
Dec 18, 2022•3 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Just in time for Brendan Fraser’s big comeback, we’re taking a look back at his misguided collaboration with Henry Selick - 2001’s bizarro flop MONKEYBONE. Justin McElroy (no relation to Bridget Fonda’s Dr. Julie McElroy) returns to the podcast after having watched this film a whopping seven times (!!) to unpack all the madness. Why are there no rules or logic to the film’s “Dark Town” underworld? What was the appeal of Chris Kattan’s “Mango” character on SNL? Was this film the nail in the coffi...
Dec 11, 2022•3 hr 34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bugs! So many bugs! And…Richard Dreyfuss?? The Bug Queen Emma Stefansky returns to the podcast to celebrate all the creepy crawlies in 1996’s JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. We’re talking about stone fruit, Randy Newman, and cinema’s sexiest spider in this episode. Plus, we rank our favorite bugs AND our favorite Roald Dahl adaptations, and we learn about how Ben got his scar. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and ...
Dec 04, 2022•3 hr 42 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re wearing our Hot Topic sweatshirts and enunciating every dramatic syllable to pay tribute to one of the greatest animated films of all time - Tim Burton’s (but really Henry Selick’s) THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Academy Award-nominated animator and Blankie Michael Rianda (THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES) joins us to talk about this multi-holiday classic, which is basically just a movie about a creative weirdo trying to fit in at Disney. Is this the boniest movie we’ve covered on the podca...
Nov 27, 2022•3 hr 47 min•Transcript available on Metacast For the first time in years, both Griffin and David are in agreement on a new Steven Spielberg film - what a picture! We’re playing both film critics and armchair psychologists in this episode as we unpack THE FABELMANS, a movie that is less sentimental and more complex than one would assume based on the poster. What sets this film apart from the ever-growing stack of filmmaker origin stories? Is this the de-facto Best Picture frontrunner? Why the hell was Griffin shooting on super 8 in the earl...
Nov 20, 2022•3 hr 40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cruise. Kidman. Kubrick. Ehrlich. We’re concluding our Stanley Kubrick series with 1999’s EYES WIDE SHUT and a trip to cinema’s most famous masked orgy. Indiewire’s David Ehrlich joins us as we discuss liminal spaces, the late-90s ABC sitcom “Dharma & Greg,” Nick Nightingale’s skills as a piano player, and Sydney Pollack’s barrel chest. Are there “more Christmas lights in this movie than there are in an NYU student’s dormroom?” What is the platonic ideal of a Tom Cruise hairstyle? Did making thi...
Nov 13, 2022•3 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alright, maggots, listen up! We’ve got the Action Boy himself - Jon Gabrus - back on the podcast to talk about Kubrick’s bifurcated Vietnam War classic FULL METAL JACKET. We’re retiring the “retired bit” in order to talk about Matthew Modine as Private Joker. We’re getting into the etymology of “poontang.” We’re attempting to articulate what makes a movie feel like an “80s movie” and why this film absolutely doesn’t. And - we’re gonna end up on a very long tangent about the talking head comedy s...
Nov 06, 2022•3 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Just in time for Halloween, we’re checking into the Overlook Hotel - a haunted place not unlike the Beachwood, Ohio, Homewood Suites that Griffin and guest Timothy Simons stayed in while they were filming DRAFT DAY! Is THE SHINING about Native American genocide, or is it about how Stanley Kubrick thought ghosts were kinda nice? Is Shelley Duvall the MVP of this movie? Would Ben absolutely thrive as the hotel’s caretaker - taking inspiration from the stocked kitchen pantry to whip up some delicio...
Oct 30, 2022•3 hr 54 min•Transcript available on Metacast NASA-quality lenses, a himbo canon-worthy performance from notoriously “chill and normal guy” Ryan O’Neal, and some flirty ribbon games all combine to make what we consider to be Kubrick’s warmest and most sumptuous film - 1975’s “Barry Lyndon.” Karina Longworth of “You Must Remember This” makes a long-awaited first appearance on the pod to wonder - did Barry actually end up sleeping with his cousin? What are the rules of dueling? Should children be allowed to ride horses? And more! Join our Pat...
Oct 23, 2022•2 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Attention all droogs: grab your Nadsat dictionaries and your bowler hats, it’s time to drink some drug-milk! We’ve got our very own Alex - Ross Perry, that is - on the pod to go long on Kubrick’s controversial X-rated dystopian nightmare, 1971’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. We’re reminiscing about our rebellious teenage years, which for Alex included a trip to New York to see The Prodigy in concert, and for David included a “Pinter phase.” Did you all know that David grew up in England? Plus - Ben learns...
Oct 16, 2022•3 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Open the pod cast doors, HAL - it’s time for us to talk about one of the most important movies in cinema history. Jordan Hoffman - the friend of the pod who best represents both the “diamond-hard Sci Fi” and psychedelic head-trip factions of 2001 fandom - returns to Blank Check, and we’re doling out the knowledge *and* the giggles. When is the ideal moment to “partake” in order to get the trippiest experience from 2001? Is Griffin starting to change his mind about Kubrick not being funny? Do Art...
Oct 09, 2022•3 hr 38 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
