Griffin Newman

Shows

Episodes

  1. Critical Darlings: Train Dreams, And Netflix’s Quest For Best Picture

    JAN 29 · BONUS

    Critical Darlings: Train Dreams, And Netflix’s Quest For Best Picture

    On today’s show, Richard and Alison hop on a boxcar and stare wistfully as the 20th century passes them by with Best Picture nominee Train Dreams. They discuss director Clint Bentley’s lush, if somewhat sanded-down take on Denis Johnson’s novella about a lumberman haunted by his past, starring a very quiet Joel Edgerton. Train Dreams is one of Netflix’s Best Picture nominees this year, but the film was not an original production. It was acquired by the streamer at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. On the occasion of this year’s festival (which is happening as we speak) we also discuss how Sundance works, and what, exactly gives a movie that ineffable Sundance flavor we have come to associate with small-scale American indies like Little Miss Sunshine.  We also discuss Netflix’s seemingly endless quest to win Best Picture, why the Academy is so resistant to giving them the big prize, and why the most popular streamer in the world is so desperate for Academy validation in the first place. Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m
  2. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs with Paul Scheer & Jason Mantzoukas

    11/16/2025

    The Ballad of Buster Scruggs with Paul Scheer & Jason Mantzoukas

    Six segments. Four legendary movie podcasters. Three and a half hours of keeping David Sims away from his family. Welcome to our Ballad of Buster Scruggs episode! How Did This Get Made’s Paul Scheer and Jason Mantzoukas join the Two Friends to talk about the Coens’ final film together (as of this recording), a grab bag of western vignettes that could have been titled “A Million Ways to Die in the West” if Seth MacFarlane hadn’t already claimed it. We’re picking our favorite segments, chatting about the “wild west” of Netflix projects back when Scruggs was greenlit, and ranking the Coens’ filmography before we cover their solo directorial efforts. Oh, and Jason has a few bones to pick with Griffin and David about a certain section of the True Grit episode. Listen to How Did This Get Made - Grizzly II: Revenge w/ Jake Johnson Listen to the Coens on Fresh Air Check out the Parker Novels Check out the Darwyn Cook Parker novels graphic novel adaptation Listen to Telly Savalas’ Album Listen to Tim Blake Nelson on WTF Read Joshua Pease piece on Buster Scruggs Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    3h 30m
  3. Ratcatcher

    JAN 18

    Ratcatcher

    We need to pod about Glasgow. We need to pod about the arresting inner lives of these complicated protagonists. We need to pod about every incredible project Lynne Ramsay has been attached to over the past 25 years that never actually happened. So yeah, WE NEED TO POD ABOUT CASTVIN! Join us as we discuss Ramsay’s debut film Ratcatcher, a striking study of a young boy on the precipice of adolescence in the slums of 1970s Glasgow. Ben discovers that he adores this movie. Griffin discovers that he can make “Lin Manuel Ramsey” a bit. And everyone discovers that Scottish accents are not that easy to imitate. Watch the Characters Welcome Sketch from Tristan Griffin Watch Timmy on Fallon Check out Meshes of the Afternoon Watch The Mother Project Check out Notes on the Cinematograph Watch Barry Jenkins in the Criterion Closet Listen to the Top 21 Sports movies of the 21st century episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    2h 5m
  4. Introducing Critical Darlings

    JAN 1 · BONUS

    Introducing Critical Darlings

    Welcome to Critical Darlings, a new podcast miniseries from Blank Check: A conversation about the awards season conversation, one contender at a time.  On Critical Darlings, critics and Blank Check alumni Richard Lawson and Alison Willmore guide you through the state of the Oscars race, from the precursors, to the campaigns, to the nominees themselves. To get things started, we begin with a discussion of the festival circuit and the curious state of this year's race; where many promising films have floundered upon their public release. Sidebars include the host's Oscar history, watching festival features on no sleep, Brazilian film Twitter, The Oscars on Youtube, Leonardo DiCaprio at Cannes, and Allison's shocking Il Postino experiment.  Critical Darlings is crashing the Blank Check feed every Thursday through the end of Oscar season. Starting next week we'll have video clips to share produced by our friends at Vulture, stay tuned.   Subscribe to Richard's newsletter, Premiere Party, and read Alison's work at Vulture. Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Follow @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or DiscordFor anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 26m
  5. True Grit with Stavros Halkias

    10/19/2025

    True Grit with Stavros Halkias

    We love to pull the cork. Comedian (and probably the biggest Greek-American entertainer of our time) Stavros Halkias joins us to chat about 2010’s True Grit, the Coens’ true attempt to cash their post-Oscar blank check. We’re talking about Hailee Steinfeld’s incredible performance. We’re talking about Jeff Bridges’ distinctive mumbly delivery. We’re talking about how this film is a considerable upgrade over the John Wayne original in possibly every way. We’re also talking about how everyone probably smells awful in this movie. And we’re talking a lot about the Morris Chestnut network TV show “Watson” for some reason. Join us by the campfire, it’s a fun time! Check out Bugonia Read David’s Interview with Yorgos Check out the profile of the owner of Panathinaikos B.C. Check out Charles Portis’ other books Watch Booboo Kills Yogi" ending See Stavvy Live Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won’t want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    2h 58m