Before the score is read, the guess is that Ebert liked it.
The review is read as three out of four stars, calling it not a terribly original idea, yet sweet, funny, and observant.
The "not a terribly original idea" line is rejected: the movie is called totally original, and the question is asked what it stole from.

Casting What-Ifs

Jason Priestley in Vaughn's role; Depp as Trent; Favreau as director

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 00:56:33Read transcript

Liman is quoted from the oral history that Jason Priestley wanted Vaughn's part and could have raised a million and a half; Livingston is quoted that Vaughn was the last approved because they wanted a poster name.
Priestley, though loved on his TV show, could not have played the part; that would have been a disaster.
The hosts say distributors or money people wanted Depp to play Trent.
Favreau is said to have pushed hard to direct but, like the Good Will Hunting guys, knew starring was their break; he became co-producer and let Liman direct.
They may have butted heads, with Liman called famously difficult; Favreau's storyboard sketches in the oral history closely match the film, and Favreau has been diplomatic.
The hosts say Heather Graham would not be interviewed for the Grantland oral histories of Boogie Nights or Swingers.

Recasting Couch

Casting left intact

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:02:39Read transcript

There are no parts to recast; they did a nice job across the board.
It is unknown what happened to Patrick Van Horn; research suggested he was not interested in this life.
For a recast at the level of Vaughn and Favreau, maybe Hamm as Sue, but Sue is still liked and good in the movie.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Script origins; table reads for buyers; music budget; real party scene; Vegas casinos; original ending; Sundance rejection and Miramax sale; Jaws theme and Spielberg; bear speech origin

In the discussion (12)

Approx. transcript time · 01:03:45Read transcript

Favreau is quoted that his dad gave him a screenwriting program and he wrote Swingers as an exercise, in two weeks.
The hosts say Livingston and Favreau became friends early in LA, Favreau knew Vaughn from Rudy, and Adam Scott lived downstairs and they all hung out.
The hosts say that after the script they held full-cast readings for potential buyers for a year, compared with Jason Reitman's readings.
Vaughn is quoted that buyers missed the universality: a breakup, coming of age, a journey with friends, wanting to meet someone.
The hosts say they paid most for Dean Martin, with half a million dollars in music licensing against a quarter-million production cost.
The party scene is said to have been a real party they threw for friends without explaining; Adam Scott and Mike White of Chuck and Buck were there.
The Vegas exterior is said to be the Stardust and the interior the Glitter Gulch; gulch never works.
Favreau is said to have taught Heather Graham to swing dance.
Favreau is quoted that the script ended on the Lorraine phone call and an unaffordable helicopter shot; Liman added the new ending, seeing a platonic love story between Mikey and Trent, and they scrambled to find a baby for it.
The hosts say Sundance rejected it; a screening at the Fairfax $2 theater for about 500 people, 490 friends and 10 possible buyers, crushed, and it sold to Miramax for $5 million, premiering at the Vista.
The hosts say they got the Jaws theme by sending scenes to Spielberg for approval, who asked about Vaughn and cast him in The Lost World.
Vaughn apparently really gave Favreau a version of the bear speech, and the story of leaving a girl behind is autobiographical for Favreau.

Picking Nits

Skipped

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:09:29Read transcript

Picking nits is announced, but the Vegas drive was already covered and no nitpicks are offered; a probably unanswerable question is held instead.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Most unrealistic part of the Mikey-Lorraine scene; Trent's after-school special story; whether Trent made it as an actor; why anyone hung out with Mike; salami for breakfast

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:10:49Read transcript

Most unrealistic in the Mikey-Lorraine scene: Heather Graham alone at a bar with no one circling, both swing dancing at a high level, her asking him to dance and being attracted to him.
The swing dancing is the most unrealistic, like figure skating, when Mike cannot get dressed.
Trent's after-school special story is judged embellished, since the oral history says the dialogue was drawn from their lives.
Asked whether Trent made it as an actor, the answer is no; guesses include the par three, waiting tables at the 101, and bartending back in Chicago after two or three years.
When was Mike ever fun? He had to be talked into Vegas, cannot gamble, is an unfunny comedian, throws friends under the bus, is stuck on an ex dating Pierre, cannot golf, is somehow an accomplished swing dancer, and cannot seal the deal with Heather Graham.
Pushback: that makes the others monsters, since Mike is homesick and relatable; the glory-days answer is a joke about the set of Rudy, and neither Cameron nor Mike is someone you would actually hang out with, though both are great characters.
Ron Livingston's character carries the burden of Mike's problems.
Is Ron Livingston's character unwrapping a roll of salami for breakfast the most unrealistic thing? One host defends it and fetches soppressata from his kitchen on air.

How Long Do They Stay Together?

Six months; nine months; a year

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:11:53Read transcript

Estimates are nine months, six months, the over, and a year.
She is joked to meet the real Ben Affleck with Good Will Hunting coming out and dump Mikey.