Blank Check With Griffin & David

David Ehrlich (IndieWire) returns to Blank Check to discuss 2008's polarized franchise reboot, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But are the rumors true that there is a superior early version of this screenplay? Is George Lucas to blame for the most of the criticism? And is it clear that Mutt Williams is a greaser type character? Together they examine, the new old Harrison Ford movies slated for release, the culture around the death of celebrities, the many follies of Shia LaBeouf and also explore Ray Winstone impressions.

Emily St. James (Vox) joins Griffin and David this week to discuss 2005’s Israeli espionage thriller, Munich. But is this movie’s lasting legacy being a reference in Knocked Up? What does it mean when Jeffrey Wells leaves behind his hat? What was with those sex scenes? Together, they go on the record with Oscar picks, examine Eric Bana’s career trajectory, ponder when Spielberg lost his virginity and go off on a tangent about the film Crash.

J.D. Amato (My Brother, My Brother and Me) makes his third appearance on Blank Check, this week discussing 2005’s sci-fi doomsday The War of the Worlds. Why would this film mark the conclusion of the Cruise and Spielberg partnership? How much of tangent does Griffin go off on while discussing McG? Are we to be convinced Tom Cruise is a blue collar guy? Together, Griffin, David and J.D. delve into Dakota Fannings’ preciousness, the movie Mystery Men, the history of the actress who jumped onto the villain and with their legs snaps his neck and more. Plus, J.D. reaches out from the future and Producer Ben records ADR.

This week’s guest, Jerah Milligan (Comedy Central), finally completes our trifecta of co-hosts from the excellent podcast Blank Men Can’t Jump In Hollywood joining Blank Check. The topic of discussion: 2004’s stranded at the airport dramedy The Terminal. But exactly how much Stanley Tucci does a movie need? What was behind the absurd Michael Douglas cancer story? Is it clear where exactly is Krakozhia? Together, Griffin, David and Jerah examine Catherine Zeta-Jones’ career trajectory, jazz photos, Shrek 3, saltine cracker sandwiches and more. Plus, Jerah shares a personal account of being trapped in the airport and Producer Ben is hungover AF.

For their 100th episode Griffin and David decided to celebrate the occasion and finally deliver on the their listeners pleas to get meta and review their namesake movie, 1994's kid flick: Blank Check. Music selection: "東京 HAZE (extended tape version)" from SANDRAWAVE by 猫 シ Corp. (https://catsystemcorp.bandcamp.com/track/haze-extended-tape-version) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/)

This week, Griffin and David discuss 2002's coming of age scammer drama based on a true story: Catch Me If You Can.

Joanna Robinson (Vanity Fair) joins Griffin and David to discuss 2002’s dystopian thriller: Minority Report.

David Rees (Going Deep with David Rees) joins Griffin and David to discuss 2001’s robot boy sci-fi: A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

On this week's special episode, Griffin and David are once again joined by Joe Reid (The Decider) to present their personal nominations for the upcoming 89th Academy Awards. This roundtable discussion looks to all the major categories and offers engaging criticism, as well as, references deep cut cinema from 2016 you may have missed. With the “Blankies”, some winners are picked, Oscar snubs deservingly defended, but AGAIN as always most of the personal grudges continue.

In our third episode of Spielberg: The DreamWorks Years mini series, Griffin and David are joined by Richard Lawson (Vanity Fair) to discuss 1998's war drama Saving Private Ryan.

Griffin and David look to Spielberg’s next film (also released in 1997) Amistad. But what are the glaringly problematic issues with this movie? Could a more suited director and screen writer have been brought onto the production? How long has Sir Anthony Hopkins been phoning it in exactly? Together they examine the career trajectory of Matthew McConaughey, Peter Firth receives comedy points and assess the cast in a performance review.

The debut of our new mini series on the filmography of Steven Spielberg begins with 1997’s Lost World: Jurassic Park. Post-Oscar wins for Best Director and Best Picture, Steven took four years off before directing this sequel. In that time he founded his own studio DreamWorks. Griffin and David would argue this level of creative control is the biggest blank check that any filmmaker has ever had. Presenting Pod Me If You Cast. But seriously what IS chaos math? Why does this film unfold similarly to a video game? What does Isla Nublar roughly translate to? Together #thetwofriends discuss the careers of Laura Dern, Vince Vaughn, Jeff Goldblum, convenient islands, life finding a way and a epic Pete Postlethwaite monologue.

On the week of it’s release in January of 2017, Griffin and David discussed the new M. Night Shyamalan film: Split. Together they examine James McAvoy’s career, horror troupes, the outstanding cinematography and ruminate on the movie’s HUGE twist.

Presenting a best of episode with all the favorite moments from our mini series on Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

Presenting a best of episode with all the favorite moments from our mini series on Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

Presenting a best of episode with all the favorite moments from our mini series on Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

On the day of it’s release in December of 2016, Griffin and David discussed the highly anticipated spinoff Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Together they examine the new planets, Darth Vader’s milk bath, Peter Cushing’s return and why Star Wars films require great jackets.

Our special episode this week: a discussion of 1997’s spy comedy The Man Who Knew Too Little. But how would you picture a Boris the Butcher to look? What are Producer Ben’s favorite bits? And why does Griffin know so much about box office stats? Together they examine the different phases of Bill Murray’s career, Peter Gallagher’s eyebrows, and Griffin’s access to the fabled Murray 1-800 number.

On September 11th, Blank Check & friends attended the Cirque du Soleil/Avatar crossover Toruk: First Flight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. But is this show more than just rope dancing? Was the Toruk app worth the download? Does this tie into the upcoming 4 sequels slated to be released? Join #thetwofriends, guest Rachel Lang and Producer Ben as they guide you through the live experience including reverse puppetry, how much they spent on their drinks, the condiment stands, election predictions and dangling.

This week the BC crew discusses 2009’s 3D sci-fi epic Avatar. But are trees nature’s internet? Is this the ultimate cultural appropriation movie? Does the public need four more Avatar movies? Together they examine the performances of the cast including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Giovanni Ribisi, breaking box office records, review the winners of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography over the last few years and argue about Coraline. Plus, another merchandise spotlight and announce the next new mini-series!