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The Rewatchables ·

Ocean's Eleven

year 2001decade 00sdirector Steven Soderberghgenre Drama
host Chris Ryanhost Juliet Litmanhost Sean Fennesseyhost Amanda Dobbins
All 13 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 19:47

The poker scene

The category is hard for this film because it is defined by flow rather than individual scenes, and the heist itself goes on without distinguished scenes, so the nominees are top-heavy: the poker scene including Danny Ocean's entrance and banter, Ruben's introduction with the three Vegas robbery attempts scored to Take My Breath Away, Clooney's this-is-how-we're-gonna-do-it monologue, and the Claire de Lune montage of the guys looking at the fountain.

Claire de Lune has been one host's alarm sound for ten years, a beautiful way to wake up thinking about the eleven career criminals staring at a fountain; it is called the most iconic scene, very still with few faces, the band breaking up, a beautiful end note on a well-executed heist; a running bit insists the show will not be celebrating a movie about bad people.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 55:47

"does he make you laugh?"

The Danny and Tess exchange, does he make you laugh answered with he doesn't make me cry, with an incredible line reading by Julia; Danny's house-always-wins speech, joked to be headed for Sean's tombstone, with Rusty's did-you-practice-that follow-up as part of its greatness.

The film

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh · Drama

116 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Cast credits have not been imported yet.

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

12:44

Casting What-Ifs

Luke and Owen Wilson as the Malloy brothers; Joel and Ethan Coen as the Malloys; Ralph Fiennes as Terry Benedict; Ala...

Luke and Owen Wilson as the Malloy brothers; Joel and Ethan Coen as the Malloys; Ralph Fiennes as Terry Benedict; Alan Arkin as Saul; Mike Myers attached; Johnny Depp as Linus; Mark Wahlberg as Linus; Bruce Willis as Danny Ocean

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:44Read transcript
  • Luke and Owen Wilson were originally slated to play the Malloy brothers, eventually played by Scott Kahn (as transcribed) and Casey Affleck; they could not do the movie because they had to shoot Tenenbaums, and two of the hosts spent ten minutes on this the day before.
  • The Wilsons would have been an infusion of Bottle Rocket, but more twee, with more emphasis on the pitter patter of their speech; they also had bigger profiles in 2001 than Kahn and Affleck and might have taken shine from the top three, like needing an Iguodala and a David West on the roster.
  • Owen can play dumb better than Luke; the Mormon twins' gags are supposed to be stupid so you laugh at and with them, and the Wilsons might have made it too pretentious or arch; this is the only what-if one host would have been okay with, since the brothers are comic relief, and the hosts are glad Tenenbaums got made.
  • Joel and Ethan Coen were reportedly also up for the Malloy brothers; one host wants documentation because the Coens in front of the camera seems implausible, while another likes it given the stories of them living with Holly Hunter and Frances McDormand after college, but agrees it is too inside-joke.
  • Ralph Fiennes, whom one host presumed was up for Basher on the strength of In Bruges, was actually one of three possible Terry Benedicts; he has done villains, including he who shall not be named; as Benedict it would scramble the allegiances because it is too close to English Patient and you might want Julia to be with Ray Files (as transcribed), when you need to be on Danny's side.
  • Alan Arkin was originally going to play Saul, the role played by Carl Reiner, which would have been fine; Mike Myers was attached to the cast; one of the earliest articles about Brad Pitt circling the film, a 2000 Hollywood Reporter Variety piece, has Johnny Depp playing Linus.
  • One host is against Depp, enjoying him only in What's Eating Over Grape (as transcribed) and finding the rest overacting; another was a fan in 2000, before Willy Wonka and Pirates of the Caribbean, but not at the right frequency for this movie: a darkness, the same handsome vibe as Pitt, and impossible to picture in glasses, a baseball hat and a parka in Chicago getting dunked on, since he never wants to blend in and would want to be bald with a snaggle tooth.
  • Mark Wahlberg was also attached to play Linus and had a weird reaction after the fact; a question to Amanda about the Julia Roberts role turns up no other what-ifs.
  • Bruce Willis was reportedly, on specious evidence, in contention for Danny Ocean, which would be an entirely different movie because Clooney anchors the whole thing; his absence set up a favorite Ocean's 12 cameo, where he arrives mid-heist while Julia Roberts' Tess is pretending to be Julia Roberts, with a SpongeBob pillow, as commentary on 2000s celebrity; the hosts are glad he turned the role down, and Ocean's 12 made one like Julia Roberts even more.
  • Earlier, in the intro: Mark Wahlberg, initially slated to play Linus, was salty after release, saying he went off and made Planet of the Apes and The Truth About Charlie, which both sucked, rather than sit around patting George on the back.
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19:47

Most Rewatchable Scene

The poker scene

The poker scene

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:47Read transcript
  • The category is hard for this film because it is defined by flow rather than individual scenes, and the heist itself goes on without distinguished scenes, so the nominees are top-heavy: the poker scene including Danny Ocean's entrance and banter, Ruben's introduction with the three Vegas robbery attempts scored to Take My Breath Away, Clooney's this-is-how-we're-gonna-do-it monologue, and the Claire de Lune montage of the guys looking at the fountain.
  • Claire de Lune has been one host's alarm sound for ten years, a beautiful way to wake up thinking about the eleven career criminals staring at a fountain; it is called the most iconic scene, very still with few faces, the band breaking up, a beautiful end note on a well-executed heist; a running bit insists the show will not be celebrating a movie about bad people.
  • Asked for a most rewatchable scene, she has a list of about twelve that includes everything already mentioned; the one actual standalone scene is Danny and Tess at dinner the first time, which is Julia Roberts on eleven. — Amanda Dobbins
  • The dinner scene shows the level of the writing and their chemistry; the House Always Wins speech is loved because every Clooney-and-Pitt aside is a delight, it is the one with actual proper nouns, and the 'been practicing that' deflation sums up the charm of the movie: something cool that gets punctured by a sarcastic joke; the clip is played.
  • Linus doing recon and presenting Terry Benedict's whole day, ending with Julia Roberts' entrance, is almost as good as Clooney coming up the escalator as she walks down, with Brad Pitt eating his shrimp cocktail, a favorite of his foods.
  • Rewatching the night before, Bernie Mac is very funny: every line, the encounter with the van dealership guy that feels like a different movie, and the stage showdown with Linus in front of Terry Benedict.
  • The poker scene gives a contact high: being in on a joke the others are not, the patter, the Incan matrimonial head mask market and fencing, a peek at their career criminal nature; it is visually distinct, dark with lighting that breaks the screen around the round table against the sun-drenched Vegas, and shows why Brad Pitt, bored and staring at mermaids in LA bars, wants this; the car shot on the way to Musso and Franks is loved, and the poker scene is picked out of affection.
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25:55

What’s Aged the Best?

The tone

The tone

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:55Read transcript
  • Three candidates cover it: the tone, George Clooney's suits, and the heist.
  • A sartorial question asks whether Clooney here invented the open shirt collar with a suit; invent is a strong word, he popularized or cemented a Vegas rich-guy cool look; his reserved navy, gray and white contrasts with Pitt's loudness and the Ted Nugent's shirt line, showing the alpha and omega of the pair; perfect frame, height, hair and tailoring for 2001, turning a look that can go Vegas lounge rat into Cary Grant; it may have started in Out of Sight after the Jennifer Lopez encounter.
  • Swingers, seen coming out of high school, is try-hard and stressful about Vegas: get the suits, drive six hours; this is effortless, as if everyone is at a spa though it was probably 101 degrees and everyone needed moisturizing cream; iridescent, shimmery clothes on Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts; one host loves Soderbergh and calls The Knicks (as transcribed) a favorite show.
  • The getting-a-gang-together sequence was reinvented here and has been ripped off for fifteen years, patently absurd like the Greaseman setup observed at Barnum's and the travels to Florida to get Saul; the tone is named as what aged best, encapsulating it all.
  • The heist, almost twenty years later, could have been technologically dependent and silly, but the mechanics still seem entirely plausible, a vault working that way and cutting a phone line, with no cheesy CGI or made-up words; smart or lucky, maybe both.
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29:58

What’s Aged the Worst?

Brad Pitt's clothes, especially his ties; the film's Rat Pack-era view of Las Vegas rather than the pool-party era

Brad Pitt's clothes, especially his ties; the film's Rat Pack-era view of Las Vegas rather than the pool-party era

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:58Read transcript
  • Only Brad Pitt's suits and clothes, specifically his ties; everything else is for a character, and it is Brad Pitt; a collar joke gets no comment.
  • Asked what aged the worst, she picks that view of Las Vegas: it does not capture the pool party vibe advertised on billboards in LA for DJ Pauly D, and speaks to a Rat Pack Frank Sinatra vision rather than the 2018 version where you will see Wayne Rooney at the pool. — Juliet Litman
  • In Vegas in the last five years you can have both: avoid the pool excess at 2 a.m. and still have the version where you wear a suit and feel cool, so it has not expired, though the Bellagio is not as powerful as the movie makes it seem; a version made now would need a celebrity chef endorsement, given Pitt's eating, and maybe a Golden Knights game.
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31:33

Half-Assed Internet Research

Soderbergh considered shooting in black and white; the code names (Boski, Jim Brown, Miss Daisy, two Jethros, Leon Sp...

Soderbergh considered shooting in black and white; the code names (Boski, Jim Brown, Miss Daisy, two Jethros, Leon Spinks, Ella Fitzgerald) all appear in the movie; Clooney sent Julia Roberts the script with a $20 bill; Don Cheadle is unbilled after a billing dispute, resolved in 12 and 13

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:33Read transcript
  • Soderbergh considered shooting the film in black and white; one host would have liked that, but it would lose pops of color like her jacket at the boxing match, would not have been as mainstream successful since it is a popcorn flick, and would change the commentary on celebrity and make it more moody.
  • The code names in the we're-going-to-need speech are all represented in the movie: a Boski (as transcribed), after the Wall Street fraudster, is Reiner's con man Saul; the Jim Brown is the Bernie Mac bit; Miss Daisy is the getaway vehicle; the two Jethro's are the Molloy's (as transcribed); Leon Spinks refers to doing something during a boxing match; the Ella Fitzgerald is the videotaped robbery, after her 1970s Memorex commercial with the tagline is it live or is it Memorex; credit to Ted Griffin.
  • Roberts, coming off Aaron Brogovich (as transcribed), was probably the biggest movie star in the world making $20 million a movie; when Clooney sent her the script he attached a note reading I hear you're getting 20 a picture now, with a $20 bill inside, and of course he called it a picture.
  • Not much drama surrounds the movie, but Don Cheadle was not psyched about his placement and billing; he has said he would have done it for free but is glad he did not; he is famously unbilled, his name absent from the credits, which was resolved in 12 and 13 by placing him alongside Damon, Clooney and Pitt; as one of two black actors in the film, his fight for recognizability is interesting.
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34:33

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Elliot Gould

Elliot Gould

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:33Read transcript
  • Clooney, Pitt and Damon are set aside as the stars; the nominees are Elliot Gould (as transcribed), the preseason number one pick, Cheadle, Scott Kahn, Casey Affleck, Julia and Topher Grace.
  • Gould, no question: a beautiful, perfect, smart casting choice to evoke cool, funny, slick, jazzy 70s heist thrillers, really funny, and the character who says what a normal human would say about robbing a casino being blatantly absurd; Arkin would have been great too.
  • Another pick is Julia: she is this close to hating everyone on any set, and under the America's sweetheart smile there is an undercurrent of disdain and impatience that Soderbergh understands and that animates the whole performance; on screen about eight minutes, electric, and parceled out well.
  • One host wanted more Tess and how she and Danny came together; the counter is the rule of Jay Z and Beyonce that less is more, and that teasing out why Tess is with either man makes it fall apart; Julia Roberts is never outside in sunlight, probably shot over three nights, raising the question whether a curator of her taste would consent to a sunless, air-conditioned Vegas life, though she was married to a thief and precious art cannot see the light either.
  • Another vote goes to Bernie Mac, for the table scene, though he was not nominated, which draws a Jill Stein write-in joke.
  • Gould is interesting because people the hosts' age know him as Monica's father, so the godfather role here throws him back toward what he was truly famous for; a second vote for Gould as connective tissue to the 70s films Soderbergh references and as what the Rat Pack guys would be if they got old and stinking rich, living off the strip in a house they cannot afford, selling remaindered furniture with a butler; Gould is the pick.
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38:54

Apex Mountain

Brad Pitt; George Clooney (vote split); Steven Soderbergh (vote split)

Brad Pitt; George Clooney (vote split); Steven Soderbergh (vote split)

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:54Read transcript
  • Brad Pitt is a 100 percent yes: never loved more than as Rusty Ryan, not close, met with a wow and a to-each-their-own aside, and a third voice agrees with both.
  • This is the closest anyone will get to hanging out with Brad Pitt, the hoped-for good version, a shrimp cocktail chewing joke machine, as opposed to a man at a party talking about his architecture and a fancy table; one host likes a few performances more but calls this his most charming and least actory; he is scaling the mountain.
  • Clooney draws a no and a yes; one case is for ER and The Perfect Storm, which catapulted him to movie stardom while he filmed an ER episode; another says this is who he is supposed to be, Clooney at his essential, with Clayton and Out of Sight heard but not preferred.
  • He is better at this than capital-A acting; he channels Nick Clooney and essentially hosts a TV show in the how-we're-going-to-do-the-job monologue; per the director's commentary the monologue was shot about a hundred times over two nights for coverage of nine people, timed to the blueprint video, with his close-ups last; his athletic side fits, since good athletes nail repetition, and he was drafted by the Reds and plays basketball.
  • Another yes for Clooney: when he goes serious like Siriana (as transcribed) he grits his teeth and overdoes it, and in comedy he goes wide-eyed and hammy like Buster Keaton, even in the jokey Out of Sight with Steve Zahn; this is one of the only movies where preternatural cool is the whole point; another is torn between Out of Sight, more honest about a career criminal and schlubby, and this, so the vote is split.
  • Matt Damon is not: no chance; candidates are The Martian, Good Will Hunting (incredible despite being so early), Bourne (not enough talking) and Ripley, a great movie but Paltrow's apex and Jude's rather than his.
  • Soderbergh gets a nope, with Behind the Candelabra guessed; the case for this film is that it is the last time he was concerned with relevance, forgoing experimentation to work inside a studio system he has openly said he hates, which he did three times, underwriting his liqueur business; another loves his small movies, would watch The Limey every day, and thinks Out of Sight is his best; there is adoration for the Nick (as transcribed), provocative and beautifully shot, canceled because no one else cared.
  • Ocean's Eleven is chosen as Soderbergh's apex and seconded, against the earlier nope and the preference for Out of Sight, so that vote is split too.
  • Ocean's Twelve belongs to the experimental side of Soderbergh, commenting on the idea of a sequel better than anyone could; he is an accomplished technical filmmaker who, unlike most auteurs, understands the enjoyment of going to a movie, visible in his year-end culture diaries watching Social Network twenty times; she is here to have fun, and this film is the thesis statement for that attitude. — Amanda Dobbins
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47:33

The Big Kahuna Burger Award for Best Use of Food and Drink

Nachos outside the LA bar; shrimp cocktail; candy in the hotel room; the burger on the freeway

Nachos outside the LA bar; shrimp cocktail; candy in the hotel room; the burger on the freeway

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:33Read transcript
  • There is little unintentional comedy in an intentionally funny movie, so the award becomes favorite Brad Pitt snack; the list: nachos outside the LA bar, popcorn at the circus, a frozen fruit parfait or custard at the racetrack, a salad in the hotel room, a lollipop outside the strip club, shrimp cocktail (over 100 shrimp eaten across takes), ice cream at the casino, a burger or gyro outside the prison, and candy in the hotel room.
  • Picks: nachos, for the way he shuttles things into his mouth; shrimp cocktail with the little bowl of sauce in the lobby, a way one host would love to live; candy, from one with a self-described unhealthy relationship with it; and the burger on the freeway, because the moment of heartburn grounds the movie in realism.
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48:34

Picking Nits

How the heist works, walked through; the rebuilt vault sits within sight of the Bellagio fountains; the bouncer pound...

How the heist works, walked through; the rebuilt vault sits within sight of the Bellagio fountains; the bouncer pounds on Clooney for 30 to 40 minutes; the casinos would never allow filming inside, so vaults cannot work this way; casino cash disperses quickly; no casino would call a SWAT team or trust one British consultant; only about three security guards; Lyman Zerga's access to Benedict is debated; the heist still stands up under the stress test

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:34Read transcript
  • One host never completely understood how the heist worked and paid closer attention the night before than in thirty other viewings; the walkthrough begins: they rebuild what they presume is the Bellagio vault in a warehouse from captured footage and the blueprints.
  • First nitpick: the rebuilt vault appears to be no more than 300 feet from the actual Bellagio, with the fountains visible behind it, which Vegas surveillance would catch; the counter is that this is pre-boom real estate, the Strip is less than two miles with open land everywhere, and in any case it is a movie and movie logic is accepted.
  • The rebuilt vault is a misdirection, since the audience thinks they are practicing; they stage their own heist on film, carrying bags marked with an X, the technician cuts that loop into the security system during the blackout on fight night, Terry Benedict presumes it is live, a SWAT team is called, the call is intercepted and the eleven arrive as the SWAT team and rob the vault while Benedict believes the robbers are still inside.
  • The blackout exists to change the footage the security team sees, hence the Ella Fitzgerald, and to kill the lasers while Clooney and Damon go down the real elevator shaft with the guy in the cart; Basher needs the electromagnetic pulse machine underground; a favorite rediscovery is Pitt talking to Terry Benedict while wearing a SWAT uniform.
  • The entire heist depends on Matt Damon pickpocketing Terry Benedict in the interrogation room and on the specific bouncer selling a beating on George Clooney for what seems like 30 to 40 minutes without anyone asking how he is not dead; if any of it goes differently the whole thing is off.
  • The ultimate nitpick: the movie only exists because casinos agreed to let it film inside, so this cannot be how casino vaults work; nobody knows what is inside one, and the money is dispersed quickly to many locations; no casino would entrust its security to one cool British guy, none would call a SWAT team rather than its own people, and there are essentially three security guys, the same one manning cameras, watching the vault and calling the doctor who turns out to be Brad Pitt.
  • In Vegas now you have to show a room key to reach the elevator bank at night; sneaking through doors like Scott Kahn and Casey Affleck, or hacking a casino's computer system, would probably end your life.
  • The Lyman Zerga part is confusing, and someone with no credentials or known identity getting that much time with a casino owner is doubted; the counter is that Vegas is vapid enough that pretending to have money gets you where you want, but Terry Benedict is established as handling every matter himself and knowing every whale, so would he delegate an unknown object entering his vault from a possible arms dealer, and Google existed in 2001; still, the heist stands up under the stress test, its confusing nature helps it, and it never gets too deep in the weeds.
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55:47

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

"does he make you laugh?"; "he doesn't make me cry"; "because the house always wins, play long enough, you never chan...

"does he make you laugh?"; "he doesn't make me cry"; "because the house always wins, play long enough, you never change the stakes, the house always takes you, unless when that perfect hand comes along, you bet big and you take the house"; "once you're out the front door, you're still in the middle of the fucking desert"; "You think we need one more?"; "longest hour of my life"; "I'm running away with your wife"

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:47Read transcript
  • The Danny and Tess exchange, does he make you laugh answered with he doesn't make me cry, with an incredible line reading by Julia; Danny's house-always-wins speech, joked to be headed for Sean's tombstone, with Rusty's did-you-practice-that follow-up as part of its greatness.
  • Ruben's warning that stealing from Terry Benedict is no longer civilized, he will kill you and then go to work on you, and his reminder that once you are out the front door you are still in the middle of the desert, which one host relates to, hating the desert.
  • It is hard to get past the George and Julia exchange; the you-think-we-need-one-more exchange, all Clooney and Pitt with Pitt slumped over his gimlet, is likened to Bill talking about adding another podcast feed.
  • Rusty and the bartender, longest hour of my life, answered with I'm running away with your wife; and Topher Grace realizing his business manager and his manager are both named Bernie.
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57:46

Is This Movie Better With…?

No, it's perfect; or Trejo as Bruiser, the man who beats up Clooney

No, it's perfect; or Trejo as Bruiser, the man who beats up Clooney

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:46Read transcript
  • One answer is absolutely not, the movie is perfect; another has Danny Trejo playing Bruiser, the guy who beats up Clooney.
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57:46

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Don Cheadle's accent

Don Cheadle's accent

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:46Read transcript
  • Asked for a candidate, she questions whether it counts as overacting: Damon is the one not quite comfortable performance; he is supposed to be the squirrely younger guy who wants to fit in, but he plays the discomfort a little and looks too confused, the opposite of Ruffalo screaming. — Amanda Dobbins
  • Damon trying a little too hard for the banter and rhythm is called the same thing in a way; Cheadle's accent is legit terrible, really bad, and the choice, perhaps why he was not top billed; he reportedly agreed it was bad and tried to change it in 12 and 13.
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1:01:31

Who Won the Movie?

Brad Pitt vs. George Clooney (1-1 on explicit ballots; a further Pitt endorsement may be a second voice)

Brad Pitt vs. George Clooney (1-1 on explicit ballots; a further Pitt endorsement may be a second voice)

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:31Read transcript
  • The candidates are Clooney, Pitt, Damon or Soderbergh; the first pick is Brad Pitt, as much as that host loves George Clooney, called a plot twist: effervescent, understated, perfect, and also so hot.
  • A further endorsement of Pitt, not counted as a ballot because it may be the same voice as the first pick: watching every second of him, his voice and that suit; Clooney gets to play this character in life and movies all the time, including at Harry and Meghan's wedding, while Pitt rarely gets this role, so it is good for his legend; he is an astonishing sidekick for a guy who otherwise has to carry Meet Joe Black, standing to the side eating snacks and delivering one-liners; he won easily.
  • The case for George Clooney: his biggest hit except Gravity, which does not really need him; the only real franchise he has been part of, since people forget the Batman movie; he has stayed one of the most famous people in the world for 25 years without doing what stars do to stay huge, and this was the one time he leaned into the center of his celebrity, and the movie does not work without him; the argument is liked, since after Michael Clayton there are few signature Clooney performances, but he found love so he is fine.
Podcast choices
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Brad Pitt
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George Clooney
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More from the conversation

Framing: released in 2001, directed and shot under a fake name by Steven Soderbergh, a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film with Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. replaced by Clooney, Pitt, Damon and Cheadle; ex-con Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan rob the Bellagio, Mirage and MGM Grand, owned by Terry Benedict, who has Danny's ex Tess, on fight night; it made $450 million worldwide, is a cable staple, spawned Ocean's 12 (called the best sequel) and the underrated Ocean's 13, with Ocean's 8 opening this week.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:19Read transcript
Soderbergh was among the biggest directors in Hollywood after Out of Sight, The Limey and the Oscar-winning 2000 pair Traffic and Erin Brockovich; Clooney came off Out of Sight, Three Kings, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Perfect Storm and ER; Pitt off Fight Club, The Mexican, Spy Game, Snatch and Friends; Damon was in the worst shape after Rounders, Dogma, Bagger Vance and the debacle of All the Pretty Horses.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:27Read transcript
The film is a movie about cool kids made by an outsider, with Soderbergh the perfect observer of a Masonic club of cool guys who find a shared tone and humor, the movie you most want to spend time with.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:50Read transcript
Asked first why it is rewatchable, he calls it a right place, right time movie, with Soderbergh ready to make people happy after the weighty Erin Brockovich and Traffic, timeless, everyone put in a position to succeed, the right version of Damon and Clooney, and his only wish is more Julia Roberts.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:22Read transcript
She agrees and calls it the ultimate movie-star movie, understanding the charisma and presence of everyone on screen as a value of its own; Damon does not get to shine the way he does in Ocean's 12, which she loves and thinks the show should do; Julia Roberts is extraordinary just by showing up; movie stars have since been lost to capes, franchises and brands, and this is peak movie star.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:08Read transcript
Soderbergh telegraphs the celebrity ideas in the first ten minutes with Rusty's poker game of soapy TV actors, Joshua Jackson, Holly Marie Combs and Topher Grace, setting the dichotomy between them and real movie stars and establishing prison, the poker game and Vegas as playgrounds; the paparazzi gag where Clooney and Pitt wander off untailed is an in-joke; whether those actors knew they were being made fun of is doubted, though Topher Grace has made several films with Soderbergh; Barry Watson, Shane West and Cheadle extend the ER connected universe, and Clooney asking about the transition from TV to movies is noted.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:10Read transcript
This was one of the first times a host remembers the meta narrative around a production, the cast openly enjoying themselves; underneath, Soderbergh deploys hyper-modernized 70s caper tricks, wipes, zooms and montages, on a traditional robbery movie like The Hot Rock, and the bits still feel fresh and self-effacing rather than chauvinistic or privileged.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:43Read transcript
The film keeps its power because almost all these people still look the same; movie stars are kept in amber with better products and surgery; the George Clooney escalator entrance and the shots of Pitt show Soderbergh's appreciation of what people find attractive about them.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:25Read transcript
Clooney is the best movie star because he is effortless, with grace and ease; Danny Ocean conflates with the real Clooney, infamous for on-set pranks and camaraderie, the LeBron of movie stars, and there is never doubt he gets the girl; the movie would not be the same without Julia, and everyone is irreplaceable; one host names Clooney a hair icon and another the love of their life.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:27Read transcript
One host, Vegas-agnostic and the only one on the podcast never to have been there, says this is the movie that would make them go, while Swingers and the LA billboards are why they never have.
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:33Read transcript
A question whether a Frank Sinatra song was ever considered, since the music is so important and interesting; a separate music discussion is floated but Apex Mountain comes first.
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:54Read transcript
Andy Garcia, best known for The Untouchables and Godfather Part 3 or the Meg Ryan movie, is judged right for the part because you never root for him or see his side, blank or rude enough to keep you with the Eleven; it makes you question what Tess is doing, but the rom-com conclusion is foretold; he is a quiet, low-toned villain; on the director's commentary Pitt and Damon roast Clooney and talk pranks while Garcia earnestly praises the experience, outside looking in on the prank-a-rama.
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:19Read transcript
Vladimir Klitschko and Lennox Lewis hit their marks; the hosts wonder whether boxers would fight on in the dark, recall arguing about momentum at a host's house when the power went out during the Super Bowl, and suspect many people thought of Ocean's Eleven when the lights went out.
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:00Read transcript
Sign-off thanking Sean, Amanda and Juliette; next week is expected to be Jurassic Park.
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:40Read transcript