Before Sunset
2004 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Mallory Rubin
Aired February 4, 2025
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Before Sunset
Before Sunset
Before Sunrise
Before Sunrise
Before Sunrise
Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction
American Gigolo
Film credit
Julie Delpy
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 2
- Movies in this archive
- 2
Rewatchables episodes featuring Julie Delpy’s films
Displaying all 2 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
Who Won the Movie?
Julie Delpy; shared Hawke–Delpy win proposed
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:32Read transcript
- Whether this film belongs more to Delpy or Hawke is debated through whose perspective frames the other. — Bill Simmons
- Delpy receives an explicit choice because the ending depends on the waltz working. — Sean Fennessey
- The counterargument credits Hawke’s listening reaction equally and concludes that both should share the win.
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:45Read transcript
- Delpy is the choice; an imagined fair distribution would give Linklater Sunrise, Delpy Sunset and Hawke Midnight. — Bill Simmons
Apex Mountain
Julie Delpy; movie couples; romantic sequels (qualified); Nina Simone’s posthumous peak (qualified)
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:50Read transcript
- Delpy receives an affirmative answer because of the Academy Award nomination and beloved film; Hawke’s earlier discussion is not settled anew. — Bill Simmons
- Paris and Paris movies are rejected, with Ratatouille, Breathless, An American in Paris and other alternatives.
- Romantic sequels receive tentative support as a small field. — Bill Simmons
- Film endings spark a large unresolved comparison with Casablanca, There Will Be Blood, The Godfather, RockyII and The Shawshank Redemption. — Bill Simmons
- Movies set in one day is a competitive field; this belongs on the list without a firm apex selection.
- Nina Simone’s lifetime apex is rejected, but a posthumous apex through the film’s longevity receives support. — Bill Simmons
- Paris bookstores and boat rides are proposed; the couple receives affirmative support among movie romances, with the whole trilogy strengthening the case. — Bill Simmons
- Alternatives for great movie couples include Alvy and Annie, When Harry Met Sally, Casablanca and An Affair to Remember; the Jackie Brown pairing is a joke. — Bill Simmons
Flex pick · Chris Ryan
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:40Read transcript
- Julie Delpy wins the explicit Chris Ryan flex for smoking at the cafe, though more actual puffs are desired. — Bill Simmons
- Jesse taking a drag, getting his own cigarette and lighting it from hers is admired as authentic smoker behavior. — Bill Simmons
Apex Mountain
Eurail trains; Austrian palm readers; littering; Kath Bloom; Cemetery of the Nameless; listening booths disputed
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:54Read transcript
- Hawke's apex is debated as Reality Bites followed by a re-apex at Training Day. — Bill Simmons
- Boyhood and the Purge/Sinister period are proposed as a third Hawke wave strengthened by his public storytelling. — Sean Fennessey
- Julie Delpy's apex is placed at Before Sunset. — Sean Fennessey
- Eurail trains, Austrian palm readers, and the film's conspicuous littering are easy answers. — Sean Fennessey
- Vienna is compared with The Third Man and a Billy Joel song as a cultural apex.
- The first date is compared with Neil and Eadie in Heat and Colin Farrell and Gongley in Miami Vice.
- The film is called a powerful date movie that can expose a weak relationship.
- Gen X is placed around 1994–95, with Reality Bites and Kicking and Screaming as reference points. — Bill Simmons
- The listening booth is compared to Philip Seymour Hoffman hearing jazz in The Talented Mr. Ripley. — Sean Fennessey
- Kath Bloom and the Cemetery of the Nameless receive direct apex answers. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Worst?
Screenwriting-credit and pay disputes
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:02Read transcript
- Julie Delpy's later dispute over screenwriting credit is the only serious negative raised. — Bill Simmons
- A pay-gap discussion is acknowledged but not treated as a flaw in the movie itself. — Bill Simmons
- The phone-free wandering and asking strangers for help would unfold very differently now. — Sean Fennessey
- The lack of navigation apps makes the movie feel more fantastical today than in 1995. — Sean Fennessey
- A younger viewer finding the movie too talkative is offered as a contemporary reception example, not a settled defect. — Bill Simmons
Jesse in Before Sunrise Award for the Character Who Should Have Smoked but Didn’t
Jesse; probably Céline too
The panel proposes a new category here.
Flex pick · Chris Ryan
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:37Read transcript
- Chris explicitly selects the category as his flex after Bill invites him to restore a cut category. — Chris Ryan
- Chris remembers Jesse as a smoker and argues that Hawke's real-life smoking makes the omission puzzling. — Chris Ryan
- The 1995 European setting and the smoking poet make the absence of cigarettes especially conspicuous.
- The lack of smoking now makes the movie feel unexpectedly modern.
- Julie Delpy is also proposed as someone who would plausibly smoke. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:27Read transcript
- The podcast explicitly states that Roger Ebert gave Before Sunrise three stars. — Bill Simmons
- Ebert calls the story a nicer, sweeter, gentler version of a scenario that has happened millions of times. — Bill Simmons
- Ebert frames the film as a Generation X love affair whose leads stand outside their generation's insistence on boredom. — Bill Simmons
- Ebert describes Julie Delpy as beautiful, warm, and matter-of-fact. — Bill Simmons
- Ebert says Linklater is interested in ordinary time, people crossing paths, conversation, and uncertain philosophies.
- Ebert’s age of 53 prompts discussion of whether an older critic would grasp this Gen X romance; it is said to work for older viewers now. — Sean Fennessey
Recasting Couch
Salma Hayek or Julie Delpy as Fabienne
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:55Read transcript
- Hayek and Delpy are favored alternatives, followed by joking hometown versions of the film set in Philadelphia, Boston and Long Island. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Casting notebook alternatives
In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:52Read transcript
- The original notebook already wanted Keitel, Walken, Roth and Plummer; Fishburne was Jules before Jackson, with Murphy another listed possibility rather than a confirmed offer. — Bill Simmons
- Murphy’s move toward family films makes accepting this material uncertain, although it might have been a valuable career choice. — Bill Simmons
- Madsen committed to Wyatt Earp instead of Vincent, and later Vega-brothers speculation linked his Reservoir Dogs character with Vincent.
- Miramax reportedly resisted Travolta and pushed Day-Lewis; the panel imagines his unusual contemporary-hitman interpretation while strongly preferring the actual casting.
- Dillon reportedly asked for a day before accepting Butch, during which Willis became available; the lost role might have changed Dillon’s trajectory despite later successes. — Bill Simmons
- A competing Dillon story says he wanted an onscreen boxing match rather than merely asking for time to decide. — Chris Ryan
- Virginia Madsen was an early Mia choice. — Bill Simmons
- Miramax preferred Meg Ryan or Holly Hunter before Tarantino won the argument for Uma Thurman. — Bill Simmons
- Max Julien and Sid Haig reportedly declined Marsellus; Jackson was another backup while Fishburne remained the intended Jules. — Bill Simmons
- Cusack and possibly Oldman were considered for Lance, followed by Tarantino and then Stoltz; Buscemi’s unavailability led Tarantino to Jimmie, a preferable outcome to replacing Stoltz. — Bill Simmons
- Irène Jacob and Julie Delpy were considered for Fabienne. — Bill Simmons
- Delpy’s perceived intelligence makes the panel more interested in that version. — Bill Simmons
- Phil LaMarr read for Jules and Brett before being cast as Marvin. — Bill Simmons
- Courtney Love’s claim that Cobain would play Lance and she would play Jody is explicitly doubted. — Bill Simmons
Half-Assed Internet Research
Production; casting; cinematography; nudity; fashion; locations; music; title origins
In the discussion (17)
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:46Read transcript
- Schrader’s background is described as a repressed Calvinist upbringing followed by film criticism and Los Angeles exploration of guns, sexuality, fashion and self-development. — Sean Fennessey
- Bret Easton Ellis’s White is cited for the film’s bright, ominous Los Angeles and influence on men’s magazines, fashion advertising and Armani; athletes imitating Gere are recalled. — Bill Simmons
- Schrader’s explanation credits Italian collaborators Moroder, Armani and Scarfiotti with refreshing Los Angeles; sleek synthesizer scores are compared with Thief, Risky Business and Blade Runner. — Bill Simmons
- Travolta reportedly kept the Armani suits after withdrawing two weeks before filming. — Bill Simmons
- Travolta also reportedly declined An Officer and a Gentleman, giving Gere another defining role. — Bill Simmons
- The score reportedly received a Golden Globe nomination, Blondie’s song became a major number-one hit, and the film grossed 52 million dollars on a 5 million budget. — Bill Simmons
- John Bailey is identified as cinematographer and later Academy president; this early major assignment was followed by Ordinary People. — Sean Fennessey
- The prominent male-star nudity is said to have been unscripted according to Gere and then used in marketing. — Bill Simmons
- A reported perk supposedly lets Gere take clothes from any Armani store because of the film’s impact. — Bill Simmons
- An Air Mail oral history describes Sunset Plaza residents including Teri Garr, Robert Forster and George Hamilton, with its pool and beige carpet emblematic of the era. — Bill Simmons
- Debbie Harry reportedly wrote Call Me after seeing the opening footage; the song stayed number one for six weeks. — Bill Simmons
- Schrader liked Julian being called Julie because it reinforced the character’s gender ambiguity and traditionally female narrative role. — Bill Simmons
- The final window scene is a direct Pickpocket homage, an ending Schrader later reused in The Card Counter. — Sean Fennessey
- Stevie Nicks reportedly declined the song because her record contract barred the side project, leading Moroder to Blondie. — Bill Simmons
- Nina van Pallandt’s past connection to Clifford Irving is linked to Gere later portraying him in The Hoax, where Julie Delpy portrayed her. — Bill Simmons
- Schrader’s unverified account says he forced Diller’s hand by offering Gere the role and framing continued production as a better public story than collapse after Travolta’s exit. — Bill Simmons
- Schrader is said to have conceived the title and premise while listing jobs to a classroom, including gigolo; the anecdote fits the film’s emphasis on mood over plot. — Sean Fennessey
Displaying all 11 discussions
