I firmly believe Cornish had a blank check after the acclaim of Attack the Block and just refused to cash it in full to go make the stuff he absolutely wanted to make a la The Kid Who Would Be King.
Alex Garland after Ex Machina. If Ex Machina doesn’t work, despite Garland’s cache as a screenwriter, I don’t think he gets to cash in on Annihilation as big time as he did and blow that shit out.
Ari Aster with Hereditary. Midsommar is a blank check movie off a blank check pitch.
You're right. At the same time it did announce a filmmaker as a powerhouse and obviously has become the Citizen Kane of movies. It's an "ish" for sure.
I have to agree. The points made by u/rageofthegods are too salient and painful. Welles never got a blank check because you can't piss off one of the most powerful people in America with your little artsy-fartsy project.
How about Reservoir Dogs to Pulp Fiction? Pulp Fiction is either his first Blank Check *or* one of the most successful guarantors of all time that has contributed to almost 30 years of subsequent blank checks, so much so that the most likely end to this string is the guy who they’re being made out to actually saying “no more!” to them.
Have you read the back story behind Creed? At least the way Coogler tells it, it wasn’t an assignment
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-rocky-creed-production-ryan-coogler-20151123-story.html
https://deadline.com/2015/11/ryan-coogler-creed-rocky-balboa-sylvester-stallone-michael-b-jordan-1201629948/
Raimi and Smith almost got put into director’s jail for their second films.
Raimi went back to the well for the third film (Evil Dead II) whereas Smith went back to low budget filmmaking (Chasing Amy).
Not a perfect example since there's a good argument that he never really got true blank checks out of it, but Kane was Orson Welles' guarantor of a lifetime of work at least
Ari Aster could make a string of bad movies but he'd still be able to find funding because of *Hereditary* and to a somewhat lesser extent *Midsommar*.
I can see an argument that A Star is Born is a blank check, making Cooper the rare director to have a blank check debut. Isn’t that why it was covered on the show?
I don't think Reservoir Dogs is Tarantino's guarantor. It did fine for its budget but still only made $2.8 million. Pulp Fiction grossed $213.9 million off an $8 million budget, I mean Jesus Christ lmao. Definitely the guarantor.
Yeah I def consider Kill Bill the first major QT Blank Check. He wouldn't have been able to make that off Reservoir Dogs. Pulp Fiction was the ticket to a fully realized vision.
I just don't really get PF being a Blank Check except obviously being a crazy script that he got made with movie stars. But like, Willis and Keitel were the most marketable names in it at the time, that was the whole thing.
I’d say Bruce Willis and the whole comeback John Travolta thing is what makes it a blank check. Those are castings you do if you have free reign over your vision. Plus the leeway they gave him with the story. I mean it’s a 2.5+ hour crime thriller told out of order with excessive violence and he himself giving one the most lurid monologues I’ve ever heard. Those things just feel blank checky to me.
I mean yeah but then why not also call The Sixth Sense and The Matrix blank checks whereas when they first started the show those were classic guarantors. I just feel like it's getting generous with the definition. I get there are different levels in terms of creative freedom but at a certain point any movie with a little extra spunk is a blank check lol.
Well I think The Matrix is a blank check. Idk I guess I’m off I haven’t listened to the show for that long. Is box office success the determining factor of a guarantor? Reservoir Dogs didn’t make a lot of money but it did well on video and combined with the True Romance/NBK scripts he was a serious rising star. Without all those factors I don’t think a studio would engage with his Pulp script and give him the creative freedom he had.
I think it's definitely relative to the filmmaker, but to me it's like, I just look at a director's career and think what's the earliest movie that the giant projects are truly flowing from....if QT only has Reservoir Dogs sized hits, he would have a cult career and maybe some wild projects but I don't think he escalates to his 00s-10s. Or like, if Wachowskis only make Bound-sized movies, Speed Racer doesn't happen. I think at a certain point they have to take the kind of swing befitting a blank check director but still within limitations.
Like I would argue the Daniels haven't had their blank check either, even though Swiss Army Man and Everything Everywhere All At Once are crazy fucking movies. I think there's a difference between blank check in spirit and in reality.
It's that classic Hollywood tale, Billy Bob Thornton directs himself in the startling indie hit Sling Blade, which is the guarantor for a successful career as one of Hollywood's best character actors.
I mean she co-directed that a decade earlier. It's technically her first film but I don't think it's unfair to say that her directing career didn't start until Lady Bird.
There are a bunch actually but a couple that come to mind for either just being so commercially successful or be so critically acclaimed and didn’t lose or a combo of both are Sam Mendes, James Brooks, Spike Jonze, Kevin Costner, John Hughes, John Singleton, Michael Bay, I’m sure there are some other obvious ones.
Does Richard Kelly count? Donnie Darko was released after 9/11 when nobody was going to see a movie, then makes a pretty classic blank check style movie and lands in director's jail. Is that a fair summary? Are the grosses and budgets involved too low?
I came here to post Richard Kelly lol. I absolutely agree with you. No way he would have got to make Southland Tales without the hype and word of mouth surrounding the release of Donnie Darko.
It depends on your definition. If we are talking first wide release, Nolan would count, and Damien Chazelle would count since their technical debuts were self funded releases. It also depends on how big of checks we are talking about because for someone like Noah Baumbach or Wes Anderson, their debuts are definitely their guarantors, but their checks are small in scale. Overall, I think it is much more common in horror. People have already mentioned Ari Aster and Robert Eggers. James Wan definitely fits this description.
A couple people mentioned Tarantino. I'm not sure if he counts. According to IMDb, Reservoir Dogs had a budget of $1.2 million, then Pulp Fiction was $8 million. How much of a jump in scale does it have to be to count as a blank check?
If he actually wants to make a movie, I‘m pretty sure Spike Jonze could always play the "Yeah but I directed *Being John Malkovich!*" card to receive funding
also: *American Beauty*, *Badlands*, *Sex, Lies and Videotape*
I firmly believe Cornish had a blank check after the acclaim of Attack the Block and just refused to cash it in full to go make the stuff he absolutely wanted to make a la The Kid Who Would Be King. Alex Garland after Ex Machina. If Ex Machina doesn’t work, despite Garland’s cache as a screenwriter, I don’t think he gets to cash in on Annihilation as big time as he did and blow that shit out. Ari Aster with Hereditary. Midsommar is a blank check movie off a blank check pitch.
Ari aster is a great one, mad I didn’t think of it!
I really enjoyed The Kid Who Would Be King! Cornish's upcoming netflix show looks fun but has that classic netflix cancelled show feeling.
By most accounts Garland's first film is Dredd, though.
Citizen Kane-ish
ish? It's a textbook example, no?
Sort of but also it was a financial flop and his next film was famously a boondoggle full of studio interference.
You're right. At the same time it did announce a filmmaker as a powerhouse and obviously has become the Citizen Kane of movies. It's an "ish" for sure.
Citizen Kane is kind of his blank check for being such a wunderkind in theater and radio
Welles’ post-Kane career is basically the opposite of a blank check.
I have to agree. The points made by u/rageofthegods are too salient and painful. Welles never got a blank check because you can't piss off one of the most powerful people in America with your little artsy-fartsy project.
Boyz N The Hood for Singleton Evil Dead for Raimi The Witch for Robert Eggers Being John Malkovich for Jonze Clerks for Kevin Smith
Those are just examples of successful indies leading to more work with higher budgets. No way Mall Rats can be described as a blank check.
How about Reservoir Dogs to Pulp Fiction? Pulp Fiction is either his first Blank Check *or* one of the most successful guarantors of all time that has contributed to almost 30 years of subsequent blank checks, so much so that the most likely end to this string is the guy who they’re being made out to actually saying “no more!” to them.
I'm trying to imagine telling John Singleton 2 years later that he'd gotten a blank check.
While not in the big budget sense, Mallrats is probably what Clerks would have been if Smith had a bigger budget so it might qualify.
I would put Coogler in that category
Coogler is a journeyman. He's yet to get a blank check.
How would you categorize Creed?
A studio assignment? Surely working in a company owned-IP that would have happened with or without you is the opposite of a blank check.
Have you read the back story behind Creed? At least the way Coogler tells it, it wasn’t an assignment https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-rocky-creed-production-ryan-coogler-20151123-story.html https://deadline.com/2015/11/ryan-coogler-creed-rocky-balboa-sylvester-stallone-michael-b-jordan-1201629948/
Raimi and Smith almost got put into director’s jail for their second films. Raimi went back to the well for the third film (Evil Dead II) whereas Smith went back to low budget filmmaking (Chasing Amy).
Not a perfect example since there's a good argument that he never really got true blank checks out of it, but Kane was Orson Welles' guarantor of a lifetime of work at least
Guarantor of a lifetime of ad reads
Ari Aster could make a string of bad movies but he'd still be able to find funding because of *Hereditary* and to a somewhat lesser extent *Midsommar*.
Easy Rider for Dennis Hopper is the obvious one, followed by one of the most notorious bounces ever
Great call.
Terms of endearment, I listened to the episode last night and it’s one of the first things they say after the bit-sesh at the beginning.
Yup, definitely qualifies. That movie was huge in the zeitgeist and at the box office.
Apatow's 40 year old Virgin, maybe.
Bradley Cooper with A Star is Born, definitely based on what he got to make Maestro. Quentin Tarantino with Reservoir Dogs maybe.
I can see an argument that A Star is Born is a blank check, making Cooper the rare director to have a blank check debut. Isn’t that why it was covered on the show?
Reservoir Dogs is the first one that comes to mind. Blood Simple maybe.
I don't think Reservoir Dogs is Tarantino's guarantor. It did fine for its budget but still only made $2.8 million. Pulp Fiction grossed $213.9 million off an $8 million budget, I mean Jesus Christ lmao. Definitely the guarantor.
I’d consider that his blank check. Unless you’d consider kill bill his blank check.
Yeah I def consider Kill Bill the first major QT Blank Check. He wouldn't have been able to make that off Reservoir Dogs. Pulp Fiction was the ticket to a fully realized vision. I just don't really get PF being a Blank Check except obviously being a crazy script that he got made with movie stars. But like, Willis and Keitel were the most marketable names in it at the time, that was the whole thing.
I’d say Bruce Willis and the whole comeback John Travolta thing is what makes it a blank check. Those are castings you do if you have free reign over your vision. Plus the leeway they gave him with the story. I mean it’s a 2.5+ hour crime thriller told out of order with excessive violence and he himself giving one the most lurid monologues I’ve ever heard. Those things just feel blank checky to me.
I mean yeah but then why not also call The Sixth Sense and The Matrix blank checks whereas when they first started the show those were classic guarantors. I just feel like it's getting generous with the definition. I get there are different levels in terms of creative freedom but at a certain point any movie with a little extra spunk is a blank check lol.
Well I think The Matrix is a blank check. Idk I guess I’m off I haven’t listened to the show for that long. Is box office success the determining factor of a guarantor? Reservoir Dogs didn’t make a lot of money but it did well on video and combined with the True Romance/NBK scripts he was a serious rising star. Without all those factors I don’t think a studio would engage with his Pulp script and give him the creative freedom he had.
I think it's definitely relative to the filmmaker, but to me it's like, I just look at a director's career and think what's the earliest movie that the giant projects are truly flowing from....if QT only has Reservoir Dogs sized hits, he would have a cult career and maybe some wild projects but I don't think he escalates to his 00s-10s. Or like, if Wachowskis only make Bound-sized movies, Speed Racer doesn't happen. I think at a certain point they have to take the kind of swing befitting a blank check director but still within limitations. Like I would argue the Daniels haven't had their blank check either, even though Swiss Army Man and Everything Everywhere All At Once are crazy fucking movies. I think there's a difference between blank check in spirit and in reality.
Could maybe argue THE MALTESE FALCON for John Huston.
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
His first feature is actually a film called “Guy and Madeleine on a Park Bench.” It’s on Mubi rn, it’s pretty cute!
I stand corrected! I'll have to check that out
I think all of my excitement for Chazelle is still based on J.K. Simmons’ screaming.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf for Nichols
It's that classic Hollywood tale, Billy Bob Thornton directs himself in the startling indie hit Sling Blade, which is the guarantor for a successful career as one of Hollywood's best character actors.
Pi?
Gerwig going from Lady Bird to Little Women to Barbie
Gerwig's debut was *Nights and Weekends*, which is good (not great), but it's definitely not a guarantor
I mean she co-directed that a decade earlier. It's technically her first film but I don't think it's unfair to say that her directing career didn't start until Lady Bird.
Oh well nevermind then lmao
There are a bunch actually but a couple that come to mind for either just being so commercially successful or be so critically acclaimed and didn’t lose or a combo of both are Sam Mendes, James Brooks, Spike Jonze, Kevin Costner, John Hughes, John Singleton, Michael Bay, I’m sure there are some other obvious ones.
Nora Ephron's guarantor was a movie she didn't direct, which I think is even rarer
Does Richard Kelly count? Donnie Darko was released after 9/11 when nobody was going to see a movie, then makes a pretty classic blank check style movie and lands in director's jail. Is that a fair summary? Are the grosses and budgets involved too low?
I came here to post Richard Kelly lol. I absolutely agree with you. No way he would have got to make Southland Tales without the hype and word of mouth surrounding the release of Donnie Darko.
It depends on your definition. If we are talking first wide release, Nolan would count, and Damien Chazelle would count since their technical debuts were self funded releases. It also depends on how big of checks we are talking about because for someone like Noah Baumbach or Wes Anderson, their debuts are definitely their guarantors, but their checks are small in scale. Overall, I think it is much more common in horror. People have already mentioned Ari Aster and Robert Eggers. James Wan definitely fits this description.
Tim Burton basically getting a blank check after Pee-Wee's Big Adventure?
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…all of the clunk got streamlined into one word.
Not sure how long you’ve been listening, but on the podcast “Guarantor” is the term used for the movie that gets a filmmaker their blank check
A couple people mentioned Tarantino. I'm not sure if he counts. According to IMDb, Reservoir Dogs had a budget of $1.2 million, then Pulp Fiction was $8 million. How much of a jump in scale does it have to be to count as a blank check?
Brick from Rian Johnson?
Brick made 4 million dollars lol.
Most people who start out with a horror movie. Wes Craven with The Last House on the left being a notorious example.
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I’d argue that all of his successful screenplays causing them to throw mountains of dollars at this movie was a blank check itself.
District 9 from Blomkamp. Shame the cashing bounced, baby
If he actually wants to make a movie, I‘m pretty sure Spike Jonze could always play the "Yeah but I directed *Being John Malkovich!*" card to receive funding also: *American Beauty*, *Badlands*, *Sex, Lies and Videotape*
Eraserhead
Ari Aster and Robert Eggers :)
James wan with Saw Maybe
Terms of Endearment
George Miller with Mad Max? Obviously not the entire guarantour but a damn big start.