Blank Check with Griffin & David
Episodes
Yentl with Jordan Hoffman
21 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Podcast, can you hear me?” We certainly can, Barbra! The very menschy Jordan Hoffman joins us to chat about Streisand’s official directorial debut...
A Star Is Born (1976) with Rachel Zegler
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hello Gorgeous! We’re kicking off our Barbra Streisand series (titled “Podcastl,” naturally) with a look at her version of the classic Hollywood...
Ferrari with Bilge Ebiri
07 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vroom vroom! Michael Mann is BACK. Bilge Ebiri is BACK. How do you say “we’re so back” in Italian? Join us as we talk about cars that go fast (F...
Wonkquaman with Marie Bardi-Salinas
31 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re closing out 2023 with two words - Wet. Chocolate. Join us as we bid farewell to the DCEU, say “hello fennel” to Timothée Chalamet, and br...
Maestro with Marie Bardi-Salinas
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The music! The makeup! The MAESTRO! We’re diving into Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic, the result of his post-A STAR IS BORN Blank Check...
The Boy and the Heron with J.D. Amato
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It took seven years for Hayao Miyazaki and the artists at Studio Ghibli to make THE BOY AND THE HERON. What better way to honor that lengthy process t...
I Love You to Death
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mamma mia! We’ve got-a some-a sleepy pasta for-a you to taste-a this-a week! In our latest, much-awaited installment of PORCH CLASSICS, we’re hand...
The Killer with Marie Bardi
26 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re wrapping up our Fincher series with his latest release - a stripped-down, gig-economy hitman thriller - THE KILLER. Is Michael Fassbender’s ...
Mank with Sean Fennessey
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nerts! Are you folks ready to get MANK-PILLED? We advise that you start by “mankro-dosing” David Fincher’s 2020 exploration of the life and time...
Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Amazing Amy” meets “Awkwardly-Smiling Affleck” in Fincher’s darkly comic masterpiece - an instant classic from that first shot of Rosamund ...
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with Fran Hoepfner
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? More like The Girl Who Go On Computer! The Girl with the Fruit Tattoo - Fran Hoepfner - joins us as we dive into Finc...
The Social Network
29 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Let us take a walk down memory lane to when the Metaverse was but a twinkle in Zuck’s eye, to when Aaron Sorkin was just a much-respected writer and...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Richard Lawson
22 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
2007’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is a film that dares to ask the question, “What if he baby but old?” Despite the meme-ification of Da...
Zodiac with Leslye Headland
15 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the Zodiac speaking. I have recorded this podcast episode with Griffin, David, and the genius Leslye Headland because I am tired of the tangen...
Panic Room with Eva Anderson
08 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re scootin’ through some wild Manhattan real estate this week and locking ourselves into David Fincher’s PANIC ROOM with the wonderful Eva An...
Fight Club with Alex Ross Perry
01 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The first rule of Fight Club? Don’t talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club? DON’T TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB. For those of you who like f...
The Game with Brendan Hines
24 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Congratulations! If you are listening to this episode, it means you’ve discovered the key in the mouth of the wooden clown we placed in your drivewa...
Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger
17 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Who loves Da Finchman? These guys do! MTV Movie Award-losing duo Mitch and Nick of the Doughboys join us to talk about David Fincher’s breakthrough ...
Alien³ with Matt Singer
10 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The time has come for us to talk about one of the most successful, most influential, most respected American filmmakers of the past 30 years. That’s...
Decision to Leave with Tatiana Maslany
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Decision to Leave? More like, decision to watch a good movie! EMMY AWARD WINNER (but more importantly, David Sims Best Supporting Actress Nominee of 2...
The Handmaiden with Emily Yoshida
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We couldn’t be more excited to talk about the film we consider to be Park’s masterpiece - the gorgeous, twisty, and ultimately moving THE HANDMAID...
Stoker with Emily St. James
20 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Remember when the star of TV’s Prison Break (Wentworth Miller, “human map”) wrote a screenplay that landed on the Black List and ended up servin...
Thirst with Hoai-Tran Bui
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Move over, Dracula. Eat your heart out Edward Cullen. A new sexy vampire is in town, and he just happens to be a PRIEST! Park Chan-Wook reunites with ...
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK with Karen Chee
06 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From the twisted mind of Park Chan-Wook, it’s…a surprisingly sensitive romance set in a mental hospital? Writer and Comedian Karen Chee joins us t...
Oppenheimer with Marie Bardi
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
DA MOVIESH ARE BACK, BABY! Film Director Barbie joins the gang to chat about Christopher Nolan’s latest and an historic weekend at the multiplex. Wh...
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One with Marie Bardi
23 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s 2023. An all-powerful AI program named “the Entity” is sewing chaos and threatening the fragile equilibrium of the world as we know it. It ...
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance with Karen Han
16 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Park Chan-Wook’s loosely-linked “Vengeance Trilogy” comes to a starkly satisfying end with 2005’s LADY VENGEANCE - a normal flick…that’s a...
Oldboy with Alison Willmore
09 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What is an Oldboy? How do you feel about Greek Tragedies? How did Choi Min-Sik achieve that iconic (and insane) hairstyle? Was giving the 2004 Palme d...
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance with David Ehrlich
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Park Chan-Wook kicks off his famous “Vengeance” trilogy and we kick off another episode where we talk about Ted Danson’s late 90s sitcom BECKER!...
Joint Security Area
25 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Park Chan-Wook’s 2000 breakthrough and Korean box office juggernaut - JSA (Joint Security Area) - is the rare international murder-mystery that dare...
The Moon Is…the Sun's Dream / Trio
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a brand new era for Blank Check - Griffin is in his “arriving early to work” era. Ben is in his “Bad Boy 2.0” era. And we’re all in o...
The Cameraman / Spite Marriage
11 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our Buster Keaton series comes to a conclusion as his period of creative independence does, with his first two features for MGM: THE CAMERAMAN and SPI...
College / Steamboat Bill, Jr. with John Hodgman
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After his “blank check” for THE GENERAL bounced, Buster Keaton found himself creatively and financially shackled. Thus, 1927’s COLLEGE lands o...
Battling Butler / The General with Jamelle Bouie
28 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of narrative cinema’s earliest training sequences, and one of cinema’s most famous trains - that’s right, we’re covering Buster Keaton’s...
Seven Chances / Go West with Jamie Loftus
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s Keaton double feature sees our unflappable hero chased by two types of terrifying crowds: angry would-be brides, and a herd of cattle. H...
Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator with James Urbaniak
14 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Buster Keaton released two features in 1924 - “Sherlock Jr.”, a film that was considered a commercial disappointment at the time but has grown in ...
Three Ages / Our Hospitality with Dana Stevens
07 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 hi...
Yesterday with Zach Cherry
30 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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’...
T2 Trainspotting with Scott Aukerman & Shaun Diston
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
First they were addicted to heroin, now they’re addicted to *nostalgia* (but also still heroin)! Danny Boyle returns to the squalid Scottish world o...
Steve Jobs with Olivia Craighead
16 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Trance with Nia DaCosta
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 somethi...
127 Hours with Sean Clements
02 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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!...
Slumdog Millionaire with Siddhant Adlakha
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Sunshine
19 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 wa...
Millions with Adam Kempenaar
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 co...
The Eighth Annual Blank Check Awards with Joe Reid
05 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Once again we gather together to celebrate excellence in the motion picture industry - but rest assured, we have our own Blankies Crisis Team standing...
28 Days Later with David Rees
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Beach with Emily Yoshida
19 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 wr...
Knock at the Cabin with Marie Bardi
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 o...
A Life Less Ordinary with Janet Varney
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After the smashing success of TRAINSPOTTING, Danny Boyle reteamed with star Ewan McGregor and writer John Hodge to…make a movie where Dan Hedaya pla...
Trainspotting with Charles Rogers
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The UK’s answer to PULP FICTION, Danny Boyle’s TRAINSPOTTING exploded into theaters and became a global phenomenon, thanks to an iconic marketing ...
Shallow Grave
22 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Englan...
Wendell & Wild
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Coraline with J.D. Amato
08 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Avatar: The Way of Water with Marie Bardi
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 cof...
Monkeybone with Justin McElroy
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
James and the Giant Peach with Emma Stefansky
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 JAME...
The Nightmare Before Christmas with Michael Rianda
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 - T...
The Fabelmans
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 critic...
Eyes Wide Shut with David Ehrlich
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 mask...
Full Metal Jacket with Jon Gabrus
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 cl...
The Shining with Timothy Simons
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just in time for Halloween, we’re checking into the Overlook Hotel - a haunted place not unlike the Beachwood, Ohio, Homewood Suites that Griffin an...
Barry Lyndon with Karina Longworth
23 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
NASA-quality lenses, a himbo canon-worthy performance from notoriously “chill and normal guy” Ryan O’Neal, and some flirty ribbon games all comb...
A Clockwork Orange with Alex Ross Perry
16 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 Pe...
2001: A Space Odyssey with Jordan Hoffman
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Dr. Strangelove... with Sean Fennessey
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, Sean Fennessey is finally on our podcast! The Big Picture Pod host joins Griffin and David to talk about Kubrick...
The Woman King
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It certainly feels great to cover a good movie again! Our mini-run of new releases ends with Gina Prince-Bythewood’s crowd-pleaser - the African fem...
Pinocchio (2022) with Podcast: The Ride
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The King of the Uncanny Valley - our boy Bob Zemeckis - is back with his spin on perhaps the most iconic un-real boy in cinema…it’s Pinocchio, bab...
Three Thousand Years of Longing
11 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
George Miller returns with a sweeping romantic fantasy and if we had a djinn, we’d wish that more people went to see this movie in theaters! Plus ...
Lolita with Fran Hoepfner
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did they ever make a podcast of LOLITA? Let’s just say that it wasn’t easy, but thankfully our guest Fran Hoepfner is in her “brave era” a...
Spartacus with Richard Lawson
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I am Spartacus! I am Spartacus! Heck, we’re *all* Spartacus today as we talk about the “sword-and-sandals” epic that solidified Stanley Kubrick’...
Paths of Glory with Sarah Marshall
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps the most humanistic of Kubrick’s films, PATHS OF GLORY is a blistering study of injustice, middle-management, and anti-war sentiment. We’r...
The Killing with Patton Oswalt
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If Stanley Kubrick’s previous two films were exercises in learning on the job, THE KILLING is where we start to see him put that knowledge into acti...
Fear & Desire / Killer's Kiss
07 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
He dominated the field in this year’s 20th Century March Madness competition, and now we’re celebrating with a parade and a big brass band…it’...
Star 80 with Julie Klausner
31 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Oof - this is a tough one. Incredibly divisive, is “STAR 80” a darkly cynical triumph about the perils of Hollywood and the failings of men? Or is...
All That Jazz with Lin-Manuel Miranda
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s SHOWTIME, folks - and boy, are we jazzed about this episode! Broadway icon and actual Blank Check listener Lin-Manuel Miranda joins us to talk ...
Lenny with Colin Quinn
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sure, Bob Fosse’s “Lenny” has beautiful cinematography, but does it effectively communicate that Lenny Bruce was funny? Is the narrative of stan...
Cabaret with Rachel Zegler
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wilkommen and Bienvenue to our “Cabaret” episode! Literal Disney Princess and musical theater superstar Rachel Zegler joins us to gush over Fosse’...
Sweet Charity
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The minute you walked in the joint…I could see you were a man of distinction, A REAL PODCASTER! “Pod That Jazzcast” - our series on the films of...
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with Patrick Willems
26 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our Sam Raimi series concludes with his most recent film - not to mention the first MCU film we’ve covered on the main feed - it’s time for Doctor...
Oz the Great and Powerful with Dana Schwartz
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ah, yes - we’ve arrived at the reason why we held off on covering Sam Raimi for so long…because we didn’t want to end our series on such a disma...
Drag Me to Hell with Jamie Loftus & Caitlin Durante
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After the massive box office success of his Spider-Man movies, Sam Raimi went “back to basics” - returning to the gnarly demonic possession genre ...
Spider-Man 3 with Jamelle Bouie
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If “Spider-Man 2” had the reputation of being the greatest superhero movie of all time, “Spider-Man 3” had the inverse - a bloated mess with t...
Spider-Man 2 with Chris Gethard
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For a while, “Spider-Man 2” was considered the high water mark for superhero movies - but does it hold up 14 years deep into the MCU? We’ve got ...
Spider-Man with Matt Singer
22 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Upside down kissing, Bonesaw McGraw, and a soundtrack featuring not just one, but TWO of Avril Lavigne’s ex-husbands…it’s SPIDER-MAN! Screen Cru...
The Gift with Starlee Kine
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Katie Holmes in a lazy southern accent asks, “What’s the matter? See somethin’ bad?” and we are immediately transported back to the year 2000 ...
For Love of the Game with Olivia Craighead
08 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is this not America? Is baseball not America’s favorite pastime? Is “For Love of the Game” a Sam Raimi movie? Technically speaking, sure! It’s...
A Simple Plan with Kevin Smith
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
$4.4 million, a murder of crows, and a cursed crashed plane…the ingredients for a real nail-biter of a fable! Filmmaker Kevin Smith (yep, THAT Kevin...
The Quick and The Dead with Roman Mars
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Considered a bit of a “blank check” for actress Sharon Stone (she used her clout to bring Sam Raimi, Russell Crowe, and a babyfaced Leonardo DiCap...
Army of Darkness with Eva Anderson
17 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
KLAATU BARADA NIKTO - did we get that right? Writer Eva Anderson (WeCrashed, You’re the Worst) joins us as we attempt to answer several questions re...
Darkman with Chris Weitz
10 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who’s Darkman? A man of a thousand faces! A walking fleshwound who probably smells awful! A dude who probably would be into night eggs! Filmmaker Ch...
Evil Dead II with John Hodgman
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the definitive Sam Raimi film - a “symphony of silly” with a bravura performance from Bruce Campbell, and a prevailing sense of, “the mor...
Crimewave with Brendan Hines
27 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Raimi directed a movie between “The Evil Dead” and “Evil Dead II” that was written by the Coen Brothers and no one ever talks about it…u...
The Evil Dead
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Sam Raimi time - groovy! Our new series PODCAST ME TO HELL kicks off with a banger - 1981’s ultra-low-budget horror classic “The Evil Dead”...
The Seventh Annual Blank Check Awards with Joe Reid
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Hollywood’s biggest night - that’s right, it’s the Seventh Annual Blankies! “This Had Oscar Buzz” host Joe Reid joins us as always to...
The Power of The Dog with Richard Lawson
06 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An unseen presence looming over the two friends, a man who has definitely ridden a dang horse, a larger than life character about whom many have specu...
Bright Star with Fran Hoepfner
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You may as well call this episode “Ode to a Whishaw” because we love that gentle gent! Fran Hoepfner joins us (and joins the Five-Timers Club!) to...
In the Cut with Jourdain Searles
20 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Want to hear us talk about how hot Mark Ruffalo is for two hours? Oooh boy, do we have a treat for you! Wikipedia-cited “In The Cut” stan Jourdain...
Holy Smoke! with Kyle Buchanan
13 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is it nobler to try to pee on camera and fail than it is to not try at all? Does Harvey Keitel’s performance in this film only work when he puts on ...
The Portrait of a Lady with Marie Bardi
06 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This lady might not be “on fire” but she IS wearing a 19 inch corset! Social media maven Marie Bardi joins the boys to dissect Campion’s tepidly...