Blank Check with Griffin & David
Blank Check with Griffin & David is a film podcast following the career output of directors who have had significant success and are then offered a figurative blank check to pursue their passion projects. Most episodes focus on a single movie from the director's filmography, and the show is grouped into "miniseries," in which some or all of the director's films are reviewed. The show is hosted by The Atlantic film critic David Sims and actor Griffin Newman.[1] As of October 2023, the podcast is discussing the films of David Fincher.
| Blank Check with Griffin & David | |
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| Presentation | |
| Hosted by |
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| Genre |
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| Language | English |
| Updates | Weekly |
| Production | |
| Production |
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| Theme music composed by | Layne Montgomery and The Great American Novel |
| Audio format | Podcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3) |
| No. of episodes | 445 (as of October 1, 2023) |
| Publication | |
| Original release | March 23, 2015 |
| Provider |
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| Related | |
| Website | Audioboom/BlankCheckPod |
Series overview
The Blank Check website describes the podcast as:
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.[2]
Origins: Griffin and David Present
The podcast was originally entitled Griffin and David Present, and assessed the Star Wars prequel films as if in a universe where the other Star Wars films did not exist. Originally planning to spend 50 episodes on each film, producer Ben Hosley convinced the hosts to only do ten. Having used a lengthy analysis of a filmography as a means of discussing the films' director, Newman and Sims decided to use a similar approach in reviewing the works of other directors, and retitled the show Blank Check with Griffin and David.[3][4]
| Title | Title reference | Director | Initial Release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes | First episode | Last episode | ||||
| 1 | The Phantom Podcast | Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | George Lucas | 11 | March 23, 2015 | June 1, 2015 |
| 2 | Attack of the Podcast | Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | 10 | June 22, 2015 | September 8, 2015 | |
| 3 | Revenge of The Podcast | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | 10 | September 21, 2015 | November 30, 2015 | |
| 4 | The Star Wars Sequels | — | 6 | December 6, 2015 | January 11, 2016 | |
Blank Check with Griffin & David
Each miniseries is given a loosely comedic title which combines the word "podcast" with either a title of a film or the director's name. If a director they've previously discussed releases a new film, they will work it into their schedule of upcoming shows.
| Director | Title | Title reference | Initial Release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes | First episode | Last episode | ||||
| 1 | M. Night Shyamalan | Pod Night Shyamacast | Name of director(s) | 11 | January 25, 2016 | April 12, 2016 |
| 2 | The Wachowskis | The Podchowski Casters | 9 | April 18, 2016 | June 10, 2016 | |
| 3 | Cameron Crowe | We Pod A Cast | We Bought a Zoo | 10 | June 23, 2016 | August 26, 2016 |
| 4 | James Cameron | Podinator: Judgment Cast | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | 11 | September 18, 2016 | December 3, 2016 |
| 5 | Steven Spielberg (The DreamWorks Years)[note 1] | Pod Me If You Cast | Catch Me If You Can | 15 | January 28, 2017 | May 20, 2017 |
| 6 | Christopher Nolan | The Pod Knight Casts | The Dark Knight Rises | 10 | June 25, 2017 | August 13, 2017 |
| 7 | Kathryn Bigelow | Pod-19: The Widowcaster | K-19: The Widowmaker | 10 | September 17, 2017 | November 19, 2017 |
| 8 | Paul Verhoeven (English language films)[note 2] | Podship Casters | Starship Troopers | 8 | January 7, 2018 | March 4, 2018 |
| 9 | James L. Brooks | Podcast News | Broadcast News | 7 | March 18, 2018 | April 29, 2018 |
| 10 | Brad Bird | The Podcastibles | The Incredibles | 7 | May 13, 2018 | June 28, 2018 |
| 11 | Ang Lee | Podback Mountcast | Brokeback Mountain | 13 | July 1, 2018 | September 27, 2018 |
| 12 | Nancy Meyers | Something's Podda Cast | Something's Gotta Give | 7 | October 14, 2018 | November 25, 2018 |
| 13 | Tim Burton | Podward Scissorcast | Edward Scissorhands | 17 | December 9, 2018 | April 28, 2019 |
| 14 | Michael Mann | Michael Mannsplaining/Cast of the Podhicans | Mansplaining/The Last of the Mohicans | 12 | May 19, 2019 | August 4, 2019 |
| 15 | Hayao Miyazaki | Howl's Moving Podcastle | Howl's Moving Castle | 12 | August 11, 2019 | November 7, 2019 |
| 16 | Jonathan Demme | Stop Making Podcasts | Stop Making Sense | 16 | November 10, 2019 | March 19, 2020 |
| 17 | George Miller | Mad Pod: Fury Cast | Mad Max: Fury Road | 10 | March 29, 2020 | May 28, 2020 |
| 18 | Nora Ephron | You've Got Podcast | You've Got Mail | 9 | June 7, 2020 | August 2, 2020 |
| 19 | Gina Prince-Bythewood | Pod & Basketcast | Love & Basketball | 4 | August 9, 2020 | August 30, 2020 |
| 20 | Robert Zemeckis | Podcast Away | Cast Away | 20 | September 6, 2020 | January 31, 2021 |
| 21 | Ron Clements/John Musker | The Poddle Mercast | The Little Mermaid | 7 | February 7, 2021 | March 21, 2021 |
| 22 | Elaine May | The Podbreak Cast | The Heartbreak Kid | 4 | April 4, 2021 | April 25, 2021 |
| 23 | John Singleton | Podz n the Cast | Boyz n the Hood | 9 | May 9, 2021 | July 4, 2021 |
| 24 | John Carpenter | They Podcast | They Live | 18 | August 7, 2021 | December 5, 2021 |
| 25 | Jane Campion | The Podcastiano | The Piano | 9 | January 9, 2022 | March 6, 2022 |
| 26 | Sam Raimi | Podcast Me to Hell | Drag Me to Hell | 15 | March 20, 2022 | June 26, 2022 |
| 27 | Bob Fosse | Pod That Jazzcast | All That Jazz | 5 | July 3, 2022 | July 31, 2022 |
| 28 | Stanley Kubrick | Pods Wide Cast | Eyes Wide Shut | 12 | August 7, 2022 | November 13, 2022 |
| 29 | Henry Selick | Ben Hosley's The Podmare Before Castmas | Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | 5 | November 27, 2022 | January 15, 2023 |
| 30 | Danny Boyle | Trainspodcasting | Trainspotting | 13 | January 22, 2023 | April 30, 2023 |
| 31 | Buster Keaton | Podcast Jr. | Sherlock Jr./Steamboat Bill, Jr. | 6 | May 7, 2023 | June 11, 2023 |
| 32 | Park Chan-wook | I'm a Podcast, But That's OK | I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK | 10 | June 18, 2023 | September 3, 2023 |
| 33 | David Fincher | The Curious Pod of Benjamin Buttcast | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | 12 | September 10, 2023 | November 26, 2023 |
Notable guests
Over the many years there have been a variety of guests on the podcast. Below is a selection of some of them.[5]
Actors
- Rachel Zegler
- Tatiana Maslany
- Peter Serafinowicz
- Jamie Bell
- Lola Kirke
- Michael Cerveris
- Paul Scheer
- Jason Mantzoukas
- Julio Torres
- Janet Varney
- Zach Cherry
Broadcasting personalities
- Roman Mars
- Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy
- Paul Rust and Matt Gourley
Comedians
- Bowen Yang
- Patton Oswalt
- Colin Quinn
- Demi Adejuyigbe
- Chris Gethard
- Scott Aukerman
- Ayo Edebiri
- Paul F. Tompkins
- Nicole Byer
- John Hodgman
Critics
- Karina Longworth
- Richard Lawson
- Emily St. James
- Dana Stevens
- Bilge Ebiri
- Alan Sepinwall
- David Rees
- Jamelle Bouie
Directors
Blank Check: Special Features
On January 1, 2019, Newman and Sims created a Patreon page, Blank Check: Special Features, where fans could pay a monthly amount in exchange for extra content. Blank Check Special Features focuses primarily on audio commentary about films that are part of franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Toy Story, Mission: Impossible, The Santa Clause, and Alien.[6][7] The Patreon feed also offers monthly bonus episodes and other content related to the current miniseries or general interest.
As of September 2023, the Blank Check Patreon was ranked 16th in the podcast category and 35th overall based on the number of paying supporters, with an estimated 17,021 subscribers.[8]
| Franchise | Initial Release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episodes | First episode | Last episode | ||
| 1 | Marvel Cinematic Universe | 23 | January 1, 2019 | December 1, 2019 |
| 2 | Star Wars[note 3] | 8 | January 1, 2020 | April 21, 2020 |
| 3 | Toy Story | 5 | May 11, 2020 | June 21, 2020 |
| 4 | Mission: Impossible | 6 | June 30, 2020 | September 21, 2020 |
| 5 | Alien | 6 | October 1, 2020 | December 21, 2020 |
| 6 | Crocodile Dundee | 3 | January 1, 2021 | February 1, 2021 |
| 7 | Star Trek[note 4] | 6 | February 21, 2021 | May 1, 2021 |
| 8 | Twilight Saga | 5 | May 21, 2021 | July 21, 2021 |
| 9 | The Chronicles of Riddick | 3 | August 1, 2021 | September 1, 2021 |
| 10 | The Mummy | 5 | September 22, 2021 | November 11, 2021 |
| 11 | The Santa Clause | 3 | November 21, 2021 | December 21, 2021 |
| 12 | Ghostbusters | 4 | January 1, 2022 | February 21, 2022 |
| 13 | The Matrix | 4 | March 1, 2022 | April 21, 2022 |
| 14 | Live Action Batman[note 5] | 7 | May 1, 2022 | August 1, 2022 |
| 15 | Roger Moore Bond | 7 | August 21, 2022 | November 21, 2022 |
| 16 | National Treasure | 2 | December 1, 2022 | December 21, 2022 |
| 17 | Qatsi Trilogy | 3 | January 1, 2023 | February 1, 2023 |
| 18 | Men in Black | 4 | February 21, 2023 | April 1, 2023 |
| 19 | Planet of the Apes[note 6] | 5 | April 21, 2023 | June 21, 2023 |
| 20 | Ocean's | 5 | July 1, 2023 | September 1, 2023 |
| 21 | Brosnan Bond | 4 | September 21, 2023 | November 1, 2023 |
Blank Check: March Madness
Every March since 2018 there has been a March Madness style bracket pitting thirty-two directors against each other allowing listeners to vote and decide a director to be covered later in the year.[9] Until 2022, the votes were cast through Twitter polls, but were later moved to the Blank Check website following use of bots to influence match-ups.[10] Since 2020 there have been brackets exclusive to the Patreon to decide a franchise to cover.
| Year | Theme | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | N/A | Nancy Meyers | David Fincher |
| 2019 | N/A | Jonathan Demme | George Miller |
| 2020 | Oscars vs. Razzies | Robert Zemeckis | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| 2021 | Hosts vs. Guests | John Carpenter | Gore Verbinski |
| 2022 | 20th Century Filmmakers | Stanley Kubrick | Orson Welles |
| 2023 | World Cup/International | Park Chan-wook | Bong Joon-ho |
Reception
Blank Check has been positively reviewed by Paste Magazine,[11] Decider,[3] and The A.V. Club.[12] The show was included in Esquire's list of the best 21 podcasts of 2018,[13] as well as on Paste Magazine's list of the top 30 podcasts of the decade.[14] It has also been featured in Vulture and Entertainment Weekly as a selection of the week.[15][16] In May 2023, Luis A. Gómez of The New Yorker wrote about the podcast, stating that "Newman and Sims reveal themselves as connoisseurs of context in engaging, discursive conversations" and are "a positive, authoritative voice in the film-podcasting landscape."[17]
Notes
- Only films directed by Spielberg after he co-founded DreamWorks Pictures in 1994 are reviewed.
- Only English-language films directed by Verhoeven are reviewed.
- Only films that take place chronologically after the Prequels.
- Only films based on the original Star Trek series are covered. Any subsequent Trek films would be covered in their own miniseries.
- Only Batman movies not previously covered on the podcast are covered. Also covered is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
- Only the original five films from 1968-1973 are covered,
References
- "Blank Check with Griffin & David". Audioboom. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- "Podcast". Blank Check with Griffin and David. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- Reid, Joe (January 28, 2016). "'Blank Check' Is the Movie Podcast You Need to Be Listening To (Especially If You're Into M. Night Shyamalan)". Decider. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ""GRIFFIN AND DAVID PRESENT" IS DEAD!". Twitter. January 27, 2016. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- David, Blank Check with Griffin &. "Blank Check with Griffin & David". Google Podcasts. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- "Toy Story". Patreon. May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- "Spider-Man: Far From Home". Patreon. December 1, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- "Blank Check with Griffin & David". graphtreon.com/top-patreon-creators. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- "March Madness". Blank Check with Griffin and David. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- "We're declaring John Carpenter the winner". Twitter. April 1, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- Techler, Graham (July 5, 2018). "Blank Check and the Intersection of Comedy and Criticism". Paste Magazine. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- Vanderbilt, Mike; Bulnes, Rebecca; James, Becca; Colburn, Randall; Brooke, Zach (August 14, 2017). "Griffin and David tackle Inception this week on Blank Check's podcast-in-a-podcast". A.V. Club. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- "The 21 Best Podcasts of 2018". Esquire. December 27, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- Jackson, Josh; Paste Staff (October 28, 2019). "The 30 Best Podcasts of the 2010s". Paste Magazine. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- Wright, Megh (August 31, 2018). "This Week in Comedy Podcasts: A Blank Check–Las Culturistas Crossover". Vulture. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- EW Staff (September 8, 2017). "This Week's Must List: Top of the Lake, The Deuce, and Le Carré's Latest". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- Gómez, Luis (May 15, 2023). "Blank Check". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 6, 2023.