blankcheck

Stoker with Emily St. James

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 serving as the material for Park Chan-Wook’s only English film to date? What a time to be alive! Mia Wasikowska superfan Emily St. James returns to Blank Check to offer her take on 2013’s Stoker, a movie that is not NOT about vampires. Join us as we fawn over Park’s stunning directorial choices (that shot where Nicole Kidman’...

Thirst with Hoai-Tran Bui

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 the wonderful Song Kang-ho to put his own stamp on the popular genre with 2009’s THIRST. Inverse’s Hoi-Tran Boi joins us to chat about this darkly funny (and devilishly sound-designed) film, an adaptation of Emile Zola’s classic novel Thérèse Raquin. How do the rules of vampirism translate to a culture where everything is cooked with gar...

The Little Drummer Girl with Whitney McIntosh

For our Park Chan-wook bonus ep Griffin, David and Ben are joined by writer and reporter Whitney McIntosh to discuss Director Park’s 2018 thriller TV series “The Little Drummer Girl”. Topics include: Florence Pugh and Alexander Skarsgård career trajectories, plenty of Big Chicago talk and a massive Ben earring update.

Guest: Whitney McIntosh

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK with Karen Chee

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 to chat about 2006’s I’M A CYBORG, BUT THAT’S OKAY - a real outlier in Park’s career, and a commercial disappointment after the global success of his Vengeance Trilogy. Would it surprise you to learn that this film was inspired by, of all things, TOY STORY? Is this the best Park film to remake with a cast of Muppets? Are any of the film�...

Blank Check presents...Congratulations

Blank Check will be presenting a very special live event on Wednesday, September 13th at 8pm at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY.

The exclusive presale starts on Saturday, August 5th at 12pm ET

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blank-check-presents-congratulations-tickets-691834695197

Ocean's Twelve

Grab your passport because in this third installment of the Ocean’s commentary series—BC:SF is going European! Together, Griffin, David, and Ben discuss the despised 2004 sequel film, Ocean’s Twelve. Topics include: why Soderbergh’s challenge to himself proved unsuccessful, gentleman thievery, flashbacks within flashbacks, the word ‘chuffa’ and more.

Movie starts at…8:48

Oppenheimer with Marie Bardi

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. What’s the best format for seeing OPPENHEIMER? Which of the many character actors in this film makes the biggest impression? Will David make his sexy Christopher Nolan voice a new recurring bit? Plus - we address the SAG strike (solidarity!), the social media discourse around this film (so dumb!), and Ben admits that science used to seem cool. 2023-07-30 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One with Marie Bardi

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 is also throwing sick parties. Meanwhile, over at Blank Check HQ, the BENTITY has a few tricks up his sleeve to surprise Griffin, David, and Marie with a mission of their own as they break down Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie’s latest big-screen extravaganza.

Special thanks to IMF team members Teo Rapp-Olsson and Patrick ...

Ocean's Eleven

Bum bum bum-bum-bum start spreading the news because its time for the second installment in our Ocean’s commentary series! This time on BC:SF the gang discusses Ocean’s Eleven (2001). Topics include: the star-packed casts' different career trajectories leading up to this film, the filmmaking touchstones of director Steven Soderbergh, heist lingo, cufflinks opinions, and more.

Movie starts at…3:22

PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE!

You voted for it, and now the winning Blank Check Pictures Logo tee is available for pre-order!

Patreon subscribers - use the code FANFARE at checkout for a special discount.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance with Karen Han

Park Chan-Wook’s loosely-linked “Vengeance Trilogy” comes to a starkly satisfying end with 2005’s LADY VENGEANCE - a normal flick…that’s all we have to say! Just kidding - we have LOTS to say about this one, with its stacked cast of lady convicts and grief-stricken parents. Our beloved Karen Han returns to the pod to correct our terrible Korean pronunciations and to tell us about “Jump Like A Witch” - a Korean reality series wherein famous female celebrities attempt to form a ...

Spreadmaster’s Delight (Bite Free Version)

Note this version of the episode does NOT include eating on mic

This different cut of July’s bonus ep is also a special one! Checkmates you finally get a glimpse into David’s master spreadsheet with all of his personal nominees for the Academy Awards in every category going back to the 1940’s. Using a random Oscar’s generator, Griffin and David jump throughout film history and discuss all their faves! And there is zero eating on mic.

Spreadmaster’s Delight (Uncut Version)

Warning this version of the episode includes eating on mic

July’s bonus ep is a special one! Checkmates you finally get a glimpse into David’s master spreadsheet with all of his personal nominees for the Academy Awards in every category going back to the 1940’s. Using a random Oscar’s generator, Griffin and David jump throughout film history and discuss all their faves! Plus, Ben presents a roster of spreads to sample! Yum.

Oldboy with Alison Willmore

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’Or to FAHRENHEIT 9/11 over this film one of the greatest mistakes in the history of arts and culture? All those questions answered and more as critic Alison Willmore joins us to talk about OLDBOY, the first major Korean breakthrough in the American filmbro canon. 

Guest Links: 

2023-07-09 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance with David Ehrlich

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! Critic, friend of the pod, and Crystal Skull-apologist David Ehrlich joins us to chat about Park’s “Sympathy for Mister Vengeance” - a film that shows that revenge is not a dish best served cold, but is actually kind of sad and futile. Come for Ehrlich’s story about his teen trip to Seoul (when he had lunch with Director Park!), stay fo...

Ocean's 11

Ring a ding ding! BC:SF kicks off a new commentary series with the winner of the March Madness 2023 tournament: the Ocean's franchise. Leading off is the original 1960 film starring the Rat Pack, Ocean's 11. So grab your best fedora and add a few cubes to that glass of scotch cause you're gonna need it baby! Topics include: whether Elizabeth Taylor won a pity Oscar, Thomas the Tank Engine, 1960's fashion, and more! Plus, a surprise guest drops in.

Movie starts at...6:46...

Joint Security Area

Park Chan-Wook’s 2000 breakthrough and Korean box office juggernaut - JSA (Joint Security Area) - is the rare international murder-mystery that dares to ask the question…”what if the real smoking gun was FRIENDSHIP??” Join us as we unpack this poignant and twisty thriller, and maybe some of you can unpack on your own time why Griffin chooses to bring up THE LITTLE RASCALS when talking about Korean geopolitics.

2023-06-25 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Battle for the Planet of the Apes

BC:SF has reached the final film in the original Planet of the Apes series! Join along with Griffin, David, and Ben for the theatrical cut of 1973's Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Topics include: noticeable budget limitations, the songwriting of Paul Williams, club random, the looming influence of this franchise, and more!

Movie starts at...8:56

The Moon Is…the Sun's Dream / Trio

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 our WORLD CINEMA era as we kick off our series on South Korean master (and March Madness champion!) Park Chan-Wook. Join us as we offer a brief overview of the evolution of Korean cinema - from 1960’s landmark THE HOUSEMAID up through decades of government censorship - and introduce the career of one of our finest filmmakers. However - we’re ...

BLANK CHECK PICTURES: Favorite Logo?

Hello Friends!

If we were to release a piece of merch based off of one of Teddy Blanks' insane logo designs for BLANK CHECK PICTURES (as shown in our Fanfare Live! show), which would you want?

1930s:

1970s:

1980s:

2023-06-15 18:02:53 +0000 UTC View Post

Fanfare 3: LIVE

🎵 Let’s all go to the…. Brooklyn Opera House 🎵 for Blank Check Live! Recorded on Thursday March 23, 2023 to mark the 8th Anniversary of Blank Check; Griffin, David, Ben and Marie are joined by special guests (J.D. Amato and Fran Hoepfner) and phantoms?!?! (John Hodgman) to share and discuss their favorite movie theater promos and pre-roll.

Reference this companion play...

The Cameraman / Spite Marriage

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 SPITE MARRIAGE. The former? Debatably a meta-masterpiece, with a Chinatown setpiece for the ages and one very adorable monkey. The latter? Well, you can see the downward spiral start to take shape. In this episode, we fill in the later years of Buster’s life and career, give our final Keaton rankings, and attempt to cheer Ben up after a very demo...

College / Steamboat Bill, Jr. with John Hodgman

After his “blank check” for THE GENERAL bounced,  Buster Keaton found himself creatively and financially shackled. Thus, 1927’s COLLEGE lands on the lesser end of the quality spectrum (not to mention a very difficult watch with Buster putting on blackface for a scene - yikes). But, his follow-up STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. features some of the most memorable and dangerous stunts of Keaton’s career, and acts as a beautiful send-off to his period as a self-sufficient filmmaker. The wonderf...

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

June kicks off with the fourth installment of the OG Planet of the Apes series. Join Griffin, David, and Ben for the Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.

Movie starts at…6:30

Battling Butler / The General with Jamelle Bouie

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 1926 films BATTLING BUTLER and THE GENERAL. Gentleman, scholar, and action movie aficionado Jamelle Bouie joins us to unpack this week’s double feature, providing some essential historical context for THE GENERAL’s unfortunate Civil War  setting. Plus, Ben starts researching how one buys a train.

Guest Links: 

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

We've reached the third installment in our OG Planet of the Apes series! Join Griffin, David, and Ben for the Escape from the Planet of the Apes!

Movie starts at...11:02

Seven Chances / Go West with Jamie Loftus

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. How does he outrun them both? Jamie Loftus joins us to chat about Buster Keaton’s tremendous on-screen running (up there with Tom Cruise), his enduring sex appeal (we love a hot tired guy), and his compassion for animals (giving the bovine star of GO WEST a week off to have sex). Plus, because Jamie is THE Hot Dog Queen, we get into a very invo...

Sherlock Jr. / The Navigator with James Urbaniak

Buster Keaton released two features in 1924 - “Sherlock Jr.”, a film that was considered a commercial disappointment at the time but has grown in stature over the past century, and “The Navigator'', a colossal box office hit that hasn’t aged nearly as well. Actor and lover of old-timey things James Urbaniak makes his long-awaited debut on the pod (originally promised back in our Shyamalan days!) and we’re getting into the billiards bits, boat gags, razor puns, and movie magic that m...

Buster Keaton Shorts with Dana Stevens

For our Keaton bonus episode Dana Stevens rejoins Griffin, David and Ben to provide important context for Buster Keaton’s theatrical features by highlighting some of his best shorts. Shorts discussed include: The Cook (25:02), The High Sign (41:22), One Week (52:11), The Playhouse (1:12:57), Cops (1:22:43) and The Balloonatic (1:38:46). 

To make sure you’re a member, be sure to do the “high sign” at 42:30.

2023-05-11 04:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Three Ages / Our Hospitality with Dana Stevens

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 history, and we couldn’t be happier to be spotlight him in our latest series PODCAST JR. Our beloved Dana Stevens - writer of the fantastic Keaton tome “Camera Man” - joins us to set the table as we dive into the filmography of one of Griffin’s favorite artists. We’re going into Buster’s start as a vaudeville child star (sometimes in �...