Blank Check Productions
401 episodes listed below
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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.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Griffin Newman and David Sims turn close scene reading, performance detail and friendly disagreement into film criticism that stays alive after the credits.
Griffin Newman and David Sims build film criticism from close observation and spirited disagreement. Their conversations move easily between performance choices, production context and the strange tonal problems that make a movie worth arguing over.
Matt Damon's half-McConaughey becomes your doorway into an argument about what makes True Grit work.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A hammer-heavy Joe discussion that turns a moody poster into sharper film criticism.
Blank Check uses this conversation about You Were Never Really Here to linger on the film's hardest-to-sell surface: the last line, the moody poster, the "taxi driver for a new century" pull quote, and the running joke that Joe does things a little differently.
A lively film argument that finds real heat in one very strange scene.
The episode turns one odd movie choice into a brisk argument, with Griffin, David, and Ben circling a breakfast scene, a strange emotional gesture, and the larger question of when Cameron Crowe's precision feels sharp or simply off.
A joke-heavy Coens coda that keeps circling the film's real subject.
The episode treats Honey Don't as a final Coens-series stop, and the talk moves with a comic looseness that never fully loses its target. Mattie Lubchansky keeps the pace sharp as the hosts move from anatomy jokes into a reading shaped by power over women, detective work, and…
A funny conversation that settles into the film's jokes, setting, and the practical work behind getting it made.
This episode keeps circling back to why Drive Away Dolls gets treated as more serious than the setup suggests. It moves from Holly Hunter impressions to the 1999 setting, the lesbian-bar road-trip logic, and the financing hurdles behind a movie like this, and the conversation…
Macbeth gets treated like a quote page, a curse, and a very serious joke.
The piece is strongest when it stays close to the concrete details: the IMDb quote page with only five quotes, the careful attention to small textual choices, and the running joke that saying Macbeth in a podcast studio is a curse.
A loose but sharp Coen discussion that folds Hollywood business, clowning, and religion into one running joke.
Blank Check treats Hail, Caesar! as a long Hollywood argument about movie people, the business around them, and the Coens' steady interest in faith and religion.
A shaggy Inside Llewyn Davis discussion that finds its best footing in the cat and the casting stories.
It starts in dog noise and half finished jokes, then settles into Inside Llewyn Davis and the film's stubborn orbit around Llewyn. The cat, The Incredible Journey poster, and the stray creature's sure footed path through the story all get real attention, and the segment keeps…
A fast, funny conversation that turns the movie into myth, joke, and film-school argument.
The conversation treats the film as both a mechanics lesson and a comic argument about why it feels so odd in motion. It keeps returning to a few clear pressure points: Matt Damon's half-McConaughey swagger, Jeff Bridges' Rooster Cogburn, John Wayne's legacy, and the way the…
Solo-narrated video essays decoding film and TV endings, symbolism, and cultural meaning.
Kim Masters and Puck's Matt Belloni break down Hollywood's dealmaking and executive shake-ups.
Film culture, festival heat, awards nerves.
Story analysis with jokes still attached.
Richard Lawson, Alison Wilmore, and Griffin Newman use the New York Film Critics Circle dinner at Tao Downtown as a live test of awards-season credibility.
The hosts discuss the movie Morvern Callar, Scottish accents, and humorous anecdotes about loud keyboards during COVID.
Griffin and David discuss the Coen Brothers' 1992 Cannes-sweeping film Barton Fink with guest Chris Weitz, who draws parallels between the film's depiction of Hollywood writer's block and his own career struggles.
Griffin and David are joined by director Zach Cregger to break down the Coen Brothers' 1996 film Fargo, which they consider one of the rare perfect movies in cinema history where not a single element is out of place.
Griffin, David, and guest Caroline Framke discuss Amy Heckerling's 2012 film Vamps, a low-budget vampire comedy starring Alicia Silverstone that reunited the Clueless director with her former lead.
Critical Darlings opens with Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore defining the show as 'a conversation about the award season conversation,' with Ben Frisch producing.
Critical Darlings uses Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore to test whether the Golden Globes still function as a real awards event after the HFPA scandal, the Penske Media takeover, and the new Polymarket gimmick.
Critical Darlings with Richard Lawson, Alison Wilmore, and guest Marie Bardi-Salinas starts with a Sundance report about the festival's last Park City year, weak premieres, and branded moments like Charlie XCX's The Moment and brat hats.
The hosts and guest Joe Reid analyze Joachim Trier's Oscar-nominated film 'Sentimental Value', exploring why filmmakers often receive major Academy attention for a later, more conventional work rather than their initial critical breakthrough.
Hosts Griffin and David are joined by film critic Alison Willmore to analyze Jennifer Lawrence's challenging film 'Die My Love', directed by Lynne Ramsay.
Hosts Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore discuss The Secret Agent's unexpected awards success and the politics of international film distribution.
Hosts Griffin and David are joined by guest Sean Clements to analyze Lynn Ramsey's 2017 film 'You Were Never Really Here', starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Hosts Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore are joined by film critic Bilge Ebiri for a deep-dive analysis of Guillermo del Toro's 2024 Frankenstein adaptation.
Hosts Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore analyze the Oscar-nominated film 'Train Dreams', tracing its journey from the Sundance Film Festival to Netflix and the Academy Awards.
Hosts Richard Lawson and Alison Wilmore break down the surprises, snubs, and record-breaking nominations from the recent Oscar announcement, analyzing films like Sinners, One Battle After Another, and the unexpected inclusion of F1.
The hosts of Blank Check launch a miniseries on filmmaker Lynne Ramsay with an in-depth discussion of her 1999 debut, 'Ratcatcher'.
The hosts review Park Chan-wook's film 'No Other Choice,' discussing its themes of masculinity, unemployment, and capitalism, while also tangentially covering Stranger Things, Chevy Chase, and AI's impact on jobs.
Blank Check with Griffin and David opens with an extended argument between Griffin Newman, David Sims, and producer Ben about whether the episode should begin, triggered by Ben producing an enormous crunchy sandwich from Caputo's Italian specialty store in Cobble Hill at the exact moment Griffin called for the recording to start.
Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims, with guest Mattie Lubchansky, critically analyze Ethan Coen's film 'Honey Don't', discussing its tonal inconsistencies, weak ending, and how it compares to the Coen brothers' better works.
The hosts and guest mxmtoon discuss Ethan Coen's film Drive Away Dolls, exploring its queer themes, 1999 setting, and silly premise involving a briefcase of plaster penises.
Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims are joined by guest Dana Schwartz to dissect Joel Coen's film 'The Tragedy of Macbeth,' starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand.
Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims, with guest Shirley Li, delve into the Coen brothers' film Hail Caesar!, exploring its themes of Hollywood magic, star careers, and the film's overlooked depth.
Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims are joined by actress Rachel Zegler to discuss the Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis.
The hosts review Catherine Bigelow's new film 'A House of Dynamite,' critiquing its clunky dialogue, repetitive structure, and unsatisfying ending.
Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims, with guest Stavros Halkias, dive deep into the Coen brothers' film True Grit, analyzing its faithful adaptation of Charles Portis's novel, Hailee Steinfeld's breakthrough performance, and comparisons to the 1969 John Wayne version.
Blank Check with Griffin and David hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims discuss the Coen Brothers' 2009 film A Serious Man with comedian and podcaster Marc Maron, a longtime dream guest they describe as one of the show's great white whales.
Blank Check hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims welcome returning guest Fran Hoepfner for a deep dive into the Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading, a pitch-black comedy about Washington DC idiots accidentally causing a CIA incident.
Griffin Newman and David Sims, joined by guest Leslye Headland, analyze the Coen Brothers' film No Country for Old Men, focusing on its adaptation from Cormac McCarthy's novel, key scenes like the coin toss, and its themes of fate and morality.
Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims, with guest Connor Ratliff, analyze the 2004 Coen Brothers film The Ladykillers, discussing its flaws, Tom Hanks' career impact, and the film's racist elements.
Griffin Newman, David Sims, and guest Katey Rich make the case for reappraising the Coen Brothers' Intolerable Cruelty, a 2003 screwball comedy that audiences and even Coen fans dismissed on release.
Blank Check covers the Coen Brothers' 2001 black-and-white noir The Man Who Wasn't There with guest Jordan Hoffman, debating Billy Bob Thornton's claim to being Hollywood's best working actor in the late 1990s and how the film's post-9/11 release buried what won best director at Cannes.
The O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack sold over 8 million copies, beat OutKast's Stankonia for Album of the Year at the Grammys, and became one of the most disproportionately successful film soundtracks in American pop culture history.
Blank Check hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims are joined by Seth Rogen to discuss the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski, covering everything from Sam Elliott’s strange narrator arc and the film’s reputation for spawning a devoted cult following to how it compared to the 1998 comedy landscape dominated by There’s Something About Mary.
Griffin and David are joined by Doughboys hosts Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger for their first-ever in-person crossover to discuss The Hudsucker Proxy, the Coen Brothers' 1994 screwball comedy that flopped commercially but became a cult favorite.
Griffin and David of Blank Check are joined by filmmaker Ari Aster to discuss the Coen Brothers' 1990 gangster film Miller's Crossing as part of their Coen Brothers miniseries.
Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims are joined by John Hodgman to discuss the Coen Brothers' 1987 film Raising Arizona as part of their ongoing filmography series on Joel and Ethan Coen.
Griffin Newman and David Sims launch their Coen brothers miniseries with Blood Simple, joined by filmmaker guests Ray Tintori and Jordan Fish, who have spent years deep in Coen research for their own podcast To the White Sea.