Blank Check with Griffin & David

Those Soggy Bottom Boys really know how to carry a tune! Emily St. James joins us to talk about O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a wonderful film whose reputation was ultimately eclipsed by its octuple-Platinum soundtrack of “old timey” bops. When we’re on track, we’re talking peak Clooney, digital color correction, T. Bone Burnett, and the history of Southern politics. When we’re off track in this episode? Expect some discussion around Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory and the Emmy-winning run of The Practice. “Blank Check Theme (Sirens version)” Performed by:Amy Irving Olivia Ellen Lloyd Maggie Feldman Recorded and Produced by Gabe BarretoMixed by Alan Smithee Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

It’s the episode you’ve all been waiting for - Seth Rogen joins us to talk about the Coens’ 1998 stoner classic The Big Lebowski. It should come as no surprise that Lebowski has loomed large over Seth’s work as a writer and director, and we’re going in depth on the influence and lasting impact of The Dude. Make yourself a White Russian (but maybe take a Lactaid first), turn off The Eagles, and settle in for a hilarious three hours of film analysis and Hollywood anecdotes. Oh, and if you were wondering - in this episode, someone is made to answer for his crimes against Sammy Fabelman. Finally. Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Did we get the director of Weapons, another “true story,” on our Fargo episode? You betcha. Zach Cregger joins the Blank Check crew to discuss the Coens’ 1996 masterpiece and we’re going SCENE BY SCENE dissecting this perfect movie. “Minnesota nice,” “Dark Marge,” the Mike Yanagita scene, the origins of Jerry’s overwhelming debt, the inner life of Gaear Grimsrud, and the operatic score are just a few of the topics discussed. Did you know that Ben Hosley’s first car was an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera? YOOU BETCHA. Note: This episode was recorded before we saw Weapons, so no spoilers here.  Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

(Gestures at a circle) You know, for kids! Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger of the Doughboys join us for a freewheeling, gut-busting episode about the time Joel Silver gave the Coens a bunch of money to make a “commercial film” and then it ended up being 1994’s The Hudsucker Proxy. A sampling of topics discussed: Paul Newman being hot up until the day he died (and possibly after), whether or not this movie has a Sturges protagonist in a Capra film or vice versa, whether or not the previous question even matters, the fact that Griffin has never seen The Wire yet has watched every episode of Greg the Bunny, the amount of baby wipes David has to buy in a month, the extent to which the style of humor in Hudsucker overlaps with that of The Simpsons, and a whole bunch of Yaddle talk for some reason. Read Caity Weaver’s Mozzarella Sticks piece from 2014 Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Is John Goodman the devil? Is the studio system good, actually? Is it better to be the director of a bomb than it is to be the director of a film that doesn’t exist? Filmmaker (and part of a DGA-sanctioned directing duo) Chris Weitz joins us to talk about Barton Fink, possibly the greatest film ever made about the “art vs. commerce” divide inherent to the movie business. It’s not easy to make a picture, folks. Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

It’s a movie about hats, and a movie about giving folks the high hat. It’s also a movie about how Jon Polito is the greatest actor in the world. It’s Miller’s Crossing! Filmmaker Ari Aster (go see Eddington!)  joins Griffin and David to discuss the Coen Brothers’ knotty homage to the gangster genre, a film overloaded with memorable characters and witty lines of dialogue. We’re doing a deep-dive on Gabriel Byrne, litigating Marcia Gay Harden’s surprise Oscar win for Pollock, and once again examining the Coens’ body of work through the lens of Jewish identity. Don't watch Tino's Dick Fart Read Faber Screenplay Books Check out Straight Time See Eddington Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Jesus Cock, that’s a hot new episode! John Hodgman returns to Blank Check to chat about Raising Arizona, the Coen’s swerve of a follow-up to Blood Simple that trades in the hallmarks of noir for the hallmarks of Looney Tunes. We’re talking about Nic Cage’s sad eyes, Holly Hunter’s year of iconic crying performances, rest stop public pomade, and people we are glad are dead. It’s a fun time. And yes, there’s yodelling. Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Gather round, folks - it’s time to embark upon a journey through one of the most sterling filmographies in American cinema. Our Coen Brothers series - Pod Country for Old Cast - kicks off with Joel and Ethan’s remarkably assured 1984 debut Blood Simple. Coen experts and hosts of the To The White Sea podcast Ray Tintori and Jordan Fish join us to do some serious tablesetting for the odyssey ahead, offering some context that JJ didn’t even manage to dig up. Speaking of digging - Ben Hosley has some thoughts on the subject. Listen to the To the White Sea Podcast Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Our Amy Heckerling series comes to an end with 2012’s Vamps, a film produced too late to have an appropriate budget, and too early to be a streaming series. However - we find it charming! Caroline Framke returns to the podcast after 6 years (an eternity for us, but probably a blink for a vampire), and we talk about the pitfalls and pleasures of eternal youth, the B in Apartment 23, and how if Heckerling never makes another film, this one would serve as an appropriate career coda.  Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Michelle Pfeiffer stars as Amy Heckerling and Paul Rudd stars as ????? in a totally normal movie that might actually be a voodoo curse made against Amy’s enemies. Oh, also Saorise Ronan makes her FILM DEBUT. What a picture! The incomparable Karen Chee joins us to talk about 2007’s I Could Never Be Your Woman, a movie that was financed by a French scoundrel, released directly to Blockbuster, and features some of the most dated cultural references we’ve ever come across. Is the film good? No. Is it fascinating? We sure think so! Watch A Man on the Inside on Netflix  Listen to Yo-Yo Ma Check out Paul Rudd’s trick Follow Karen on Letterboxd  Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Blank Check is going back to the British Isles with Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, and one extraordinarily well-endowed zombie this week as they discuss 28 Years Later. This movie has so much to love in it – wet bones, third-act Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer doing a thing, the Angel of the North, Teletubbies, the aforementioned well-endowed zombies, mind-bending digital photography, and did we mention THE WET BONES??? Be prepared for David to get REAL British, for Marie to cry on mic, for Griffin to bring up the manosphere, and for Ben to learn about Operation Yewtree. Gosh, we love this movie so much. Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

The song. The hat. The…casual date rape?!!? In what should have been Amy Heckerling’s “blank check” after the success of Clueless, 2000’s Loser is a real LOSER. Filmmaker Chandler Levack joins us to chat about this technically-not-a-remake-of-The-Apartment “comedy” that gets college surprisingly wrong. Come for the Wheatus talk, stay for the in-depth power ranking of every American Pie cast member’s post-Pie career. Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Okay, so you’re probably going, “Is this like a Noxzema commercial or what?” But seriously, this is actually a way normal podcast about one of David Sims’ favorite movies! SNL’s Heidi Gardner (a total betty) joins us to talk about Amy Heckerling’s beloved Jane Austen adaptation, and we’re rolling with the homies. Join us for Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd career discussion, a lot of local Kansas City lore, and Ben’s takes on Cher’s iconic fits.  Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Griffin, David, Ben, and Marie accepted the mission. They live and pod in the shadows, for those they hold close, and for those they never meet. They also have a few notes for Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie with regards to Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Join the crew as they break down all the problems of this latest (and final???) installment of the beloved franchise. Join them as they rave over some of the most incredible sequences ever to grace the silver screen - ALSO in this movie. It’s a mixed bag, folks. But speaking of bags - we still love popcorn. And movies. If you’re in NY check out the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—Story and Spectacle at the Museum of the Moving Image Read Owen Gleiberman’s Review Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

The Ubriacco family are back and - can you believe it? - they’re still talking! Actor and filmmaker Max Minghella joins us to talk about Look Who’s Talking Too, the contractually-obligated, quickly produced sequel to Amy Heckerling’s surprise hit. We’re talking about Mr. Toilet Man (he eats your pee pee and poo poo), Elias Koteas’ Mr. Scary Uncle Man (he has a gun), and Mr. English Man (David Sims, who grew up in London). Plus, Ben continues to flesh out his “Look Who Hath Talked” prequel, and Griffin becomes the first person with the courage to ask, “Who was the first baby?” Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

In perhaps the spermiest film we’ve ever covered, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley hang out with a baby voiced by Bruce Willis and Amy Heckerling gets revenge on Harold Ramis. As David Sims says early in this episode - Look Who’s Talking is a VERY RICH text. Vanity Fair’s Hillary Busis joins us to talk about this 1989 “forgotbuster,” a film that made a bozo amount of money and dared to ask the question, “What if baby talked??” We’re going deep on Travolta lore, grappling with Kirstie Alley’s later career, and following numerous tangents on everything from the rules of the Rugrats universe to advancements in crib safety. Look who’s podcasting! Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Congratulations! You’ve won an all-expenses-paid vacation with Griffin, David, Ben, and Jon Gabrus to Europe! Only downside is…well, you have to watch this movie. From the strange cultural stereotypes to the unfortunate lack of jokes, Amy Heckerling’s sequel to National Lampoon’s Vacation isn’t the smoothest trip. But, it certainly gives us an excuse to talk about one of the most beloved franchises of the 1980s! Join us for Stonehenge stories, a deep dive into Beverly D’Angelo’s incredible biography, travel talk, and a whole lot of Chevy chat. Listen to Action Boyz and Staying Alive Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

He’s the nicest bad guy in town. His last name is an adverb. And he’s got some pretty wacky bits! Sweetie pie comedian Josh Gondelman joins us to talk about 1984’s Johnny Dangerously, Amy Heckerling’s loving homage to 1930’s gangster pictures. Things we attempt to understand in this episode: the cultural legacy of Joe Piscopo; the actual joke that’s being told in the “Your Testicles and You” animated reel / is there one?; Marilu Henner’s insane memory thing; if the Danny DeVito bull scene is a parody of anything; why does Richie Rich have cent signs in his name if he’s so rich?; and most crucially - why is this movie so damned hard to see in 2025?!?! Real fans know that Blank Check started off as an investigative podcast. Maybe it’s time to bring that element back! Subscribe to Josh's newsletter If you haven't been able to find the movie maybe watch the Internet Archive version. Buy Mattie Lubchansky's Book Simplicity Listen to Griffin on The Michael Keaton Movie Mount Rushmore episode of The Big Picture Read Coolio's Obituary Watch the end of Disaster Movie Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

We’re grabbing our Vans slip ons and heading to the mall as we kick off our Amy Heckerling series - Pod Times at Ridgemont Cast - with Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Fresh off her appearance in Sinners, actual high school friend of Griffin Newman Lola Kirke returns to the pod and things get pretty bogus. Like, David Lynch was supposed to direct this movie!!! David Sims has three performances from this on his 1982 Oscar Ballot! We develop sympathy for Mr. Hand! Griffin used to own a pair of fully black Converse sneakers! And, of course - Ben orders a pizza. Listen to An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba See Lola in Sinner and check out her other projects Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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

Our Early Spielberg series concludes with a movie that is a super fun time and not at all distressing to watch in our current political climate! David Ehrlich joins us to discuss 1993’s Schindler’s List, the film that defined the visual language of the Holocaust and finally got Spielberg his Oscar. We’re getting into the critical debates about this film’s “watchability,” the fact that this was only Ralph Fiennes’ second screen performance, and our (likely controversial) definitive ranking of Spielberg’s full filmography.   Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  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