What people are saying.

  • Each new miniseries in this long-running podcast focuses on a different director’s filmography, from their first movie through the “blank check” moment when they produced such an undeniable hit that studios let them pursue their passion projects. Since 2016, Atlantic film critic David Sims and actor Griffin Newman have analyzed the careers of dozens of filmmakers, from Tim Burton to Jonathan Demme to Kathryn Bigelow. The best episodes are often the ones that zero in on directors’ worst or most plagued films. Think: Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown, Colin Trevorrow’s The Book of Henry, or Steven Spielberg’s War Horse (not technically a bad film, but the Blank Check episode is better than the movie). The co-hosts spend hours chatting with other film critics, culture writers, and filmmakers on how the artistic process paired with studio angst can lead a movie awry. The show has earned a die-hard fanbase (who call themselves “Blankies”) exactly because it is long, full of tangents, a little bit nerdy, and always funny.

    - Time, The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time, Jul 23, 2025

  • "Tracking film history through its greatest auteurs could be a recipe for hagiography, but Newman and Sims reveal themselves as connoisseurs of context in engaging, discursive conversations"

    — The New Yorker, May 15, 2023

  • "I don’t mind long podcasts, like, you know, the Blank Check guys. I’ve been on that show a couple of times, too. They do a good job with the epic two- or three-hour podcasts"

    — Vulture, October 12, 2022

  • "it’s comforting to know #TheTwoFriends (Blank Check) are still here to provide goofs and, more importantly, context to Blankies in need."

    — The AV CLub, March 30, 2020

  • David Sims and Griffin Newman’s deliriously long filmographic deep dives embark on a new adventure.

    — To Do, The Culture Pages - New York Magazine - Print Issues - September 25th - October 8th, 2023