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PODCAST

Blank Check with Griffin & David

Blank Check Productions

Not just another bad movie podcast, Blank Check reviews directors" complete filmographies episode to episode. Specifically, the auteurs whose early successes afforded them the rare ‘blank check’ from Hollywood to produce passion projects. Each new miniseries, hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims delve into the works of film’s most outsized personalities in painstakingly hilarious detail. Produced by Ben Hosley.

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

155:38

Yesterday with Zach Cherry

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/04/30

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 of

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139:40

T2 Trainspotting with Scott Aukerman & Shaun Diston

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/04/23

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 the

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178:45

Steve Jobs with Olivia Craighead

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/04/16

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 fashion

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125:46

Trance with Nia DaCosta

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/04/09

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 unforgivable

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157:10

127 Hours with Sean Clements

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/04/02

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

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137:34

Slumdog Millionaire with Siddhant Adlakha

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/03/26

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 Patreon

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144:42

Sunshine

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/03/19

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, and

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127:12

Millions with Adam Kempenaar

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/03/12

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

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152:18

The Eighth Annual Blank Check Awards with Joe Reid

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/03/05

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 at patreon.com/blankcheck Follow us @blankcheckpod on

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160:11

28 Days Later with David Rees

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/02/26

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

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146:38

The Beach with Emily Yoshida

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/02/19

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

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122:07

Knock at the Cabin with Marie Bardi

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/02/12

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 at patreon.com/blankcheck Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter and Instagram! Buy some real nerdy merch at shopblankcheckpod.myshopify.com or at teepublic.com/stores/blank-check

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142:55

A Life Less Ordinary with Janet Varney

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/02/05

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 at

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157:32

Trainspotting with Charles Rogers

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/01/29

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 Patreon

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131:11

Shallow Grave

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/01/22

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 with

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135:18

Wendell & Wild

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/01/15

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

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190:06

Coraline with J.D. Amato

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2023/01/08

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”)

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190:41

Avatar: The Way of Water with Marie Bardi

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2022/12/18

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 cocktail

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148:28

Monkeybone with Justin McElroy

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2022/12/11

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 coffin

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155:53

James and the Giant Peach with Emma Stefansky

Blank Check with Griffin & David ·

2022/12/04

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 at patreon.com/blankcheck Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter and Instagram! Buy some real nerdy merch at

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