The controversy. The incredible Peter Gabriel score. The Last Temptation of Christ. This week, Jamelle Bouie returns to Blank Check to talk about Scorsese's long-gestating passion project, and David gets to geek out about the history of Christianity. None of us are particularly religious - yet we all find this movie profoundly moving. God bless Marty, man. Get your tickets to the LIVESTREAM of Bla

Famously, 1986's The Color of Money was a money gig for Scorsese after a bunch of big-budget bounces. But it sure as hell doesn't feel like one! Chris Ryan joins us to talk about the original legacyquel, which passed the torch from Newman to Cruise. We're also chatting snooker, Atlantic City, and Warren Zevon this week, so grab your balabushka and chalk. It's in the way that you use it. Get your t

1985's After Hours - It's the ultimate "one crazy night in New York City" movie. It's also the ultimate Griffin movie (both Dunne and Newman). But is it the ultimate cool person choice for the best Scorsese movie? Let's discuss. The lovely Ali Sivitz (also known as Bald Ann Dowd) joins us to talk about this deliriously entertaining slice of prime SoHo history. Apologies to everyone who hates when

This week we're covering Scorsese's The King of Comedy and we've got the real King of Comedy on to talk about how Rupert Pupkin should have done some open mic nights. The great Stavros Halkias returns to talk Marty, Bobby, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard, the Klumps, and his billion-dollar pitch for a new action franchise character named Fuccio Pussighetti. Plus - we all apologize to Jason Mantzoukas

Did you pod my cast? DID YOU POD MY CAST? Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull is often cited as one of the greatest films of all time - one of the greatest boxing films, one of the greatest biopics, one of the greatest screen transformations and lead performances of all time. It's also one of the greatest uses of repetitive dialogue. The great David Krumholtz joins us to talk about Robert De Niro, Joe P

Start spreadin' the news, we're podding today... Broadway icon (and newly minted Disney Legend!) Lin-Manuel Miranda joins us to talk about what is possibly Scorsese's biggest bounce - 1977's New York, New York. Cocaine, unchecked ambition, and a misguided attempt to try and get Liza Minnelli to do improv led Marty to some dark places. But hey - at least Robert De Niro learned how to play the saxop

You poddin' to me? Well, listener, actually - we are podding to you. For nearly FOUR HOURS. The great Tracy Letts joins us to talk about Scorsese's monumental Taxi Driver , a film that is both fully ingrained in the American psyche and completely surprising and effective on every rewatch. Of course we're gonna spend our longest episode ever talking about it! This week, we discuss Paul Schrader's "

"Martin Scorsese doesn't make movies about women" - WRONG. "Martin Scorsese doesn't make movies that would work as a long-running workplace sitcom" - ALSO WRONG. Katey Rich joins us to chat about Scorsese's unexpected follow-up to Mean Streets , 1974's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore . We're talking diners, Ellen Burstyn, parenting strategies, "women's pictures," and far more Hootie & The Blowfish

We're heading to Little Italy's San Gennaro festival this week with Griffy Parm, David Bags, and the great Miriam Bale as we chat about 1973's Mean Streets - a major breakthrough for both Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. Join us as we chat about the seismic impact this film had on American cinema, DeNiro's screen persona, those iconic needledrops, and the ways racism and misogyny permeate the fi

Knock knock! Who's there? MARTY, THAT'S WHO! Welcome to the first installment in PODCASTFELLAS - our supersized series on the films of short king and Italian-American asthmatic Martin Scorsese. This guy made some pretty good movies, huh. This week, Griffin, David, and Ben discuss Scorsese's Little Italy upbringing and his two first features - 1967's Who's That Knocking at My Door? and 1972's Boxca

Surprise! In a first for Blank Check, we’re dropping a bonus main-feed episode featuring a conversation with the Academy Award-winning director of the films we just covered. The great Andrew Stanton joins us for a delightful conversation about Pixar, what happened to scatting, and how Elmo messed everything up for everyone. He answers many questions from Griffin (the Pixar nerd formerly known as F

Woody, Buzz, and Jessie are back - and they're making us freak out about social media! Join Griffin, David, Ben, and Marie as they discuss Andrew Stanton's latest film - this summer's blockbuster hit Toy Story 5. David gets to talk about being a parent. Marie and Ben get to talk about wanting to be parents. And Griffin gets to talk about his special interest - the Toy Story franchise. Special than

Did you know that Andrew Stanton released TWO movies this year? Toy Story 5 , of course, but also the centuries-spanning sci-fi yarn In the Blink of an Eye ?! This episode is dedicated to the latter - kind of. Theater critic and brother of the show Joey Sims joins us to chat about a BUNCH of things, not limited to In The Blink of an Eye; Off-Broadway plays, caveman movies, Power Rangers, and the s

Sing in us, O Muse, and let us tell the story of four cunning podcasters, wanderers who gained entry into three different large format screenings of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey across three cities and two continents. This week, we defied the gods to record an episode with missing King of Ithaca himself, Griffin Newman, as he continues his own mythical journey of trying to survive this European

Have you seen Dory? We have! Zach Cherry joins us to talk about 2016's Finding Dory , a film that made a kajillion dollars and set off a run of four Pixar sequels in a row. In this episode, we're talking about Ellen DeGeneres, animating characters without mouths, the success of Modern Family, live action remakes of already live action films, and Zach's proposed future spinoffs for the Nemo franchi

We are going to Barsoom with 2012's John Carter - a film that bounced almost as much as the titular hero bounced around on Mars! Matt Singer joins us to talk about this legendary flop - the cursed marketing campaign, the year of Taylor Kitsch, and Disney's acquisition of Marvel and Star Wars, which effectively made John Carter irrelevant almost immediately. Plus, we spend a lot of time talking abo

Put on your pod-day clothes, there's lots of world out there! We're joined by David Ehrlich to discuss WALL-E this week - a film many consider to be Stanton's (and Pixar's) crowning achievement, and a film David Ehrlich's son has watched upwards of a million times. Join us for a long-ranging conversation that includes context around Disney's 2006 acquisition of Pixar, discussion about the film's d

Welcome to PODD-C , our series on the films of Pixar stalwart Andrew Stanton! This week, we're kicking off with 2003's Finding Nemo , a film that ushered in nearly two decades of Ellen DeGeneres supremacy and made millions of children remember the exact address of one "P. Sherman." Writer Rebecca Alter joins us to chat about Nemo's immaculate screenplay, the Finding Nemo attractions within Disney

This is "Spielberg Face: The Movie." This is radical empathy. This is Emily Blunt Supremacy. This is DISCLOSURE DAY . Griffin, David, Ben, and Marie break down Steven Spielberg's latest offering, his first sci-fi film and his first contemporary-set film since War of the Worlds in 2005. It's bound to be divisive. We mostly love it. We've got trains, Fableman dynamics, car chases, Janusz Kaminski po

We're talking about a very long walk this week as Alex Ross Perry joins us to discuss Peter Weir's final film, 2010's gulag escape drama The Way Back . Remember those couple of years when Jim Sturgess was everywhere? Remember when Peter Weir could barely get distribution for his follow-up to Master & Commander ? Dire times. As is the case with most ARP episodes, expect some wild takes about everyt