Sandra Bullock was supposed to play Karen Sisko; a quote from the director says she and Clooney had great chemistry but for the wrong movie, not Elmore Leonard energy, so they landed on Lopez; the pair later made Gravity. — Bill Simmons
The film was offered to Barry Sonafield first; he dropped out to do Men in Black, and his Get Shorty shows how different the tone would have been. — Bill Lawrence
Luck matters: a different director can make a movie great, and Eddie Murphy almost got fired from 48 Hours. — Bill Simmons
Chemistry screen tests are explained as a last hurdle in couple-driven romantic comedies; rumor says Lopez's test was shot at Clooney's house, and TV shows sometimes rewrite when leads lack chemistry. — Bill Lawrence
Danny Davidow and Garris Shandling were considered for Ripley; Shandling as Ripley is an intriguing what-if, though he might have glanced at the camera and needed a different edge for the office scene.
Shandling never found the right movie part; his Mike Nichols movie was a legendary disaster. — Bill Simmons
The holiday itself peaked in the early 90s when people cared whether the groundhog saw its shadow; global warming is an even better reason, and it seems stupid now. — Bill Simmons
Andy McDowell draws "I would say yes" and "Hard no", with Sex, Lies, and Videotape offered instead; 130 episodes in, Apex Mountain is still unsettled. — Bill Simmons
After Sex, Lies, and Videotape she was put center frame in mainstream films like Green Card, but she vanishes from memorable movies after 1996. — Sean Fennessey
The rebuttal about raising a family is answered with research saying she had her first kid in 1986, before being in a movie. — Sean Fennessey
The hosts say her youngest daughter is Margaret Quali from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, born in 1994, and that she did not stop working but made bad movies. — Sean Fennessey
A theory: female leads had four-to-five-year shelf lives until the mid-2010s (Madeline Stowe in Stakeout and Revenge), with Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock and Reese Witherspoon outlasting it; MacDowell was in that mix and the theory is called 100% legitimate, with a wish to bring Issa back. — Bill Simmons
She could have moved into supporting parts but made unfamiliar 2000s movies; Sex, Lies, and Videotape is promised for a future episode and is one participant's mom's favorite movie. — Bill Simmons
I Got You Babe was obviously at its apex on the 70s variety show, but lives on through this movie for anyone under 40, a belated apex; whether Cher got the joke leads to her Letterman appearance. — Bill Simmons
Asked whether it is Ramis's apex, the answer is "Probably, yeah," as the culmination of a 17-18 year run starting with National Lampoon. — Bill Simmons
A personal apex for him is the first 20 minutes of Stripes, called the best start of any comedy. — Bill Simmons
Michael Keaton is said to have turned it down as too confusing, regretted it, and ended up in Multiplicity with Ramis and Andy McDowell. — Bill Simmons
Eddie Murphy would have wanted the part in the mid-to-late 80s but not by 1993 after Boomerang; a circa-1990 Murphy would have been really good, Keaton also would have been good, but Bill Murray ended up perfect. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Andy McDowell almost did not get the role because it was going to Tori Amos, amid a groundswell, before they played it safe; Sex, Lies, and Videotape is named as her breakthrough. — Bill Simmons
The Sarandon case: more mustard on the fastball playing off Bill Murray, the right age, and believable as an ambitious TV producer. — Sean Fennessey
The Sarandon idea draws pushback that she always feels older and was probably too old in 1993. — Sean Fennessey
Meg Ryan is floated and described as very sweet and so blonde. — Issa Rae
If Eddie Murphy were the lead, Whitney Houston is floated; the early 90s are called a tough era for actresses, Sandra Bullock too young though great, and Julia too big a star; the role is called a prop. — Bill Simmons
After the break, the guest's Eddie Murphy idea is revisited as an awesome 80s Eddie Murphy, with doubt he pulls it off in the 90s. — Bill Simmons
A case exists for Bill Pullman because he finally gets the girl, but his apex is the megaphone speech in Independence Day the following year. — Amanda Dobbins
It is a great movie but no one's apex; Bullock's breakthrough needed the one-two punch of Speed and this film. — Juliet Litman
Coma Guy working title; gender-flipped premise; original New York setting; train-track electricity precautions; improvised Oreo moment; Gallagher's real head injury
The hosts report the working title was Coma Guy. — Juliet Litman
The hosts report the premise was originally a man in love with a woman in a coma, flipped as too lecherous and creepy; the hosts think the movie could not be made now at all because of Google. — Juliet Litman
The hosts report the film was originally set in New York with Joe Jr. an over-the-top Brooklyn Italian, which a host calls a stereotype. — Juliet Litman
The hosts report that, shooting on location in Chicago, the crew turned off the track electricity and, worried about conduction in the platform rescue, filmed the train in reverse. — Juliet Litman
The hosts report Bullock is allergic to cats despite Lucy's cat, and say dunking her Oreo in the cat's milk was her improvised idea, echoing Two Weeks Notice. — Amanda Dobbins
The hosts say Peter Gallagher really hit his head filming the train scene, recounted in both the Washington Post and Vulture pieces. — Amanda Dobbins
Only Lucy is recast; it is hard because asking an actress to be universally likable is no longer how female actors are thought of. — Amanda Dobbins
Florence Pugh is floated in bangs and a beanie; she would be more aggressive, a "fire hose" in a Big Picture colleague's phrase, committing to the intensity and the slapstick. — Amanda Dobbins
Victoria Justice is suggested as a Nickelodeon star who might have remade herself five years ago, though probably not a good enough actress. — Juliet Litman
Rachel McAdams brings the same antic, determined energy seen in Morning Glory, a shared favorite, and could sell the implausible elements; the choice amounts to recasting for Bullock herself. — Amanda Dobbins
Elizabeth Olson (as transcribed) is raised but rejected, since the role needs someone who fills the space of doubt and goes on offense. — Amanda Dobbins
Emma Stone is floated for physical comedy, but her wryness would make the audience too aware that the circumstances are wrong; "it's just a no." — Amanda Dobbins
A second closing "final answer" is garbled in the transcript ("I'm going on a stone") and may name Emma Stone; the speaker and choice are unresolved. — Juliet Litman
Julia Roberts is rumored to have passed; one of the writers is quoted saying lots of big actresses passed, which a host believes he told BuzzFeed UK in 2015. A host thinks it is described as one of her most regrettable decisions, but the hosts doubt she was ever seriously considered. — Juliet Litman
The hosts say the Vanity Fair article reports Demi Moore was wanted, which would have been her first rom-com; she would have made it more serious and anxious. — Juliet Litman
The Washington Post oral history is cited for Davis passing, funny because she and Pullman were married in A League of Their Own; when the director signed on, Harrison Ford and Davis were attached and both backed out. — Amanda Dobbins
Harrison Ford would have been great, if more of a jerk and less believable as the spare brother. — Juliet Litman
The hosts cite the Washington Post as saying Dennis Quaid was rumored for Jack; a host speculates he and Meg Ryan shared representation. — Juliet Litman
Patrick Swayze, also mentioned for Jack, is a no: too much charisma for a reticent role, leading into a tangent about Dirty Dancing and Ghost. — Amanda Dobbins
Matthew McConaughey was reportedly a top choice for Jack until his Texas accent got in the way; a host calls it a hard yes and invents a Texas-family fix, noting the grandmother's British accent goes unexplained. — Amanda Dobbins
The hosts report Pierce Brosnan was rumored for Peter; his accent hardly matters since Peter is asleep, and Peter Gallagher plays a yuppie better than almost anyone. — Juliet Litman
James Spater (as transcribed) was mentioned somewhere on the list, probably for Jack, but a host thinks he should have been Peter. — Amanda Dobbins
The Jack role could have worked with several actors, which is a testament to the writing; Jack is probably the best-written character even if Bullock sells hers best. — Juliet Litman
The casting is strong enough that the film does not miss a best friend; Lucy only has coworkers, making hers one of the sadder rom-com heroine backstories. — Amanda Dobbins
Her clothes nail an Eileen Fisher aesthetic; the sweaters, jeans and boots feel current, though the muddy long belted skirts at the family house are an exception. — Juliet Litman
Her deep red velvet New Year's Eve outfit echoes Meg Ryan's Christmas Eve outfit in Sleepless in Seattle, and the coat is back in style. — Juliet Litman
The handcrafting furniture maker played by Bill Pullman is an artsy boyfriend ahead of its time, a forerunner of Aiden in Sex and the City, and his furniture has aged better than Aiden's. — Juliet Litman
Walk-up apartments sucked in 1995 and still do. — Juliet Litman
The simple engagement ring is loved and likened to the ring Aiden gives Carrie; it also has to fit under the token slot. — Amanda Dobbins
The film is aspirational but not out of touch with how normal people live. — Juliet Litman
Jack's reversible jean jacket is loved; the hosts cite Ashley Spencer's Washington Post oral history, in which Bill Pullman is quoted as still having and wearing it. — Amanda Dobbins
The ranking settles on casting first, fashion second and the furniture boyfriend third. — Juliet Litman
Per the hosts, Ebert gave the film three stars and, in his review, agreed that viewers know every beat the movie is going to hit. — Juliet Litman
The review is quoted as saying there are few movie actors audiences simply like, Marilyn Monroe being one, and that on the basis of Speed and While You Were SleepingSandra Bullock may be another. — Juliet Litman
A host defers to Ebert as a man of Chicago but counters that Monroe is remembered partly for her sex appeal, alongside her screen presence. — Amanda Dobbins
Kurt Russell first, with the reminder that the question is the highest point of his career, not the favorite: one case is The Thing in 1982, after Escape from New York and with Silkwood, Swing Shift and Big Trouble in Little China coming; a no is cast because Escape from New York was only later a cult hit, raising whether apex is judged at the time or on reflection.
Reading about Tombstone makes it sound like Russell was able to finance the movie coming off Backdraft, a relatively big hit he starred in, likened to LeBron in the 2018 Finals; a controversial case is made for Tango and Cash, when after the well-liked Tequila Sunrise with Michelle Pfeiffer a hit with Stallone, an absolutely ridiculous movie only those two could pull off, left him looking like an A plus list star.
Tango and Cash was not a huge hit, costing $55 million and making $66 million, though $55 million in 1988 is like $160 million today, and it is not that good; the counter is that it opened up Backdraft and his ability to finance Tombstone; the actual answer may be that there was no apex at all, a range of rolling hills, which is what is cool about his career.
Russell was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Silkwood, which is why his Apex Mountain is around The Thing in 1982 or 1983, when Escape from New York was becoming a cult movie. — Sean Fennessey
Whether Russell was ever Oscar-nominated is disputed, Miracle floated and rejected, until the Silkwood nomination is recalled; the host who forgot it concedes, a 180 the others tease.
Russell could have had a different career as a serious dramatic actor rather than leaning into the masculine hero; he and Harrison Ford are cut from the same cloth, smart throwbacks to Paul Newman charisma, but Ford got two franchises while Russell alternates three good films and three bad; he is also just a good-looking dude, at his most handsome here, a man who should be on a poster.
Val Kilmer: a no, with Top Gun imagined as his apex, since coming out of it people saw him neck and neck with the star, though another calls that the star's movie and goes Heat, where as De Niro's wingman in the biggest mid-90s movie he is the next wave; his pre-Batman run is traced through True Romance, Tombstone, The Real McCoy, Thunderheart and The Doors.
1987 right after Top Gun is floated, when Willow was hopefully going to be his Han Solo and did not work out; one host's personal apex for him is The Doors, where he was out of control, and a Doors rewatchable is wanted, though JFK would have to come first among the Oliver Stone movies.
Jason Priestley is a thousand-percent yes: 90210 was never bigger, he is in a movie with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer and has a couple of heat-check scenes, the steepest mountain of all time, very high with a precipitous drop on either side; a caution that a later show (transcribed 'Natuna') was big for three and a half years does not change the view that this literally was his Apex Mountain and his first dabbling in movies.
Dana Delaney's apex has to be China Beach, which was probably already gone by this point, so she is not a yes; nobody else is proposed except George Cosmatos as ghost director, already covered, with the joke of a Ringer video secretly directed by someone else.
The late Bill Paxton: this is not a Mount Rushmore Paxton performance next to Aliens, Near Dark, One False Move, Weird Science, True Lies and Twister, though it may be his sweetest spot while figuring out how to be Bill Paxton; in Aliens Sigourney Weaver is the hero but Paxton and Biehn would in any other world have been the stars, and One False Move is incredible though arguably Billy Bob's movie too.
Twister was Hollywood's first concerted effort to make Paxton a major star, marketed with Helen Hunt and Philip Seymour Hoffman as people who were going to be stars rather than actual stars; the shift from needing a movie star to needing a tornado, meteor or alien invasion is traced to Speed, where Keanu was the guy and Sandra Bullock turned out to be one of the biggest stars of the next twenty years.
Paxton is one of the all-time great number two or three guys: here he sets picks and makes a couple of corner threes, telling Wyatt he is the one, spits a lot, works the scorer's-table handshakes at the start, and gets the 'hey' when Doc responds to Wyatt's description of his new wife with 'pure as the driven snow'.
Asked whether this is the Apex Mountain of rom-coms, the first answers are a flat no, twice, before the hosts call it essential to the genre, top five for one, the first to twist the rom-com gimmick and the last place the genre could go; whether it is the apex before the genre went downhill draws only a maybe, a case could be made, and a flat not convinced.
The twist and the respect for the rom-com form are liked, since it gets the impulse to see people together before twisting it; Notting Hill in 1999 is raised as a further meta-commentary that is really Julia Roberts' life, with her playing a bad person there too.
Rupert Everett is a 100 percent yes, an iconic performance and the breakout element the movie needed alongside the comeback star and the second star; he went on to the Madonna movie, which has not aged well, had James Bond talk about whether he could be the first gay Bond, and this remains his most mainstream and most fun performance beside period pieces like Madness of King George and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Cameron Diaz is not at her apex here, though she is really good; her apex is There's Something About Mary, a massive movie that arguably deserved an Oscar nomination and made her a gigantic star, after which she dated Matt Dillon and entered the Us Weekly stream.
Her dating history is called rough by one host because it never worked out, and impressive by another: Justin Timberlake, the baseball player known as A Rod, a broken nose surfing; the JT age gap is compared to Sandra Bullock and Ryan Gosling.
Julia Roberts is a yes: Pretty Woman blew her up, but this movie re-established her as the most bankable, A plus list actress, set up the next five years and led to her Oscar, so it righted the ship; one voice finds that reasonable, and Ocean's Eleven is floated for her astonishing but not lead role.
Chicago as an Apex Mountain is rejected as insulting; Dermot Mulroney is a yes for sure, since it never got better, or worse, for him.
An early aside calls 1997 and this film arguably the apex of rom-coms, the top of the crescendo, after which the genre went off a cliff a little.
Before the categories, one host previews that Cameron Diaz's Apex Mountain is There's Something About Mary, a role nobody else could have played as likable, funny and slapstick.
