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Film credit

Michael J. Fox

Also referred to as Fox

Stats

Episodes featuring their films
4
Movies in this archive
4

Rewatchables episodes featuring Michael J. Fox’s films

Teen Wolf

1985 film

Bill Simmons · Kyle Brandt

Aired August 6, 2020

Displaying all 4 episodes

Mentioned in discussions

Wall Street The Rewatchables
Wall Street

Casting What-Ifs

Warren Beatty or Richard Gere as Gecko; Tom Cruise as Bud Fox; Jack Lemmon as Bud's father

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:16Read transcript
  • Fox wanted Warren Beatty for Gecko, who wasn't interested; Stone wanted Richard Gear, who passed during a stretch of bad movies. — Brian Koppelman
  • Gear would have been good and looked great, as in Internal Affairs, but he does slow burn rather than the verbal pyrotechnics Douglas studies. — Brian Koppelman
  • Beatty holds months of conversations and then says no, as he did to Goldman on Misery. — Brian Koppelman
  • Gere's "I got nowhere else to go!" is praised, from a movie producer Craig has definitely never seen. — Brian Koppelman
  • An internet claim that Pacino turned down Gecko in a 1992 Barbara Walters interview is called bullshit; the guess is that his agent passed on a script Pacino never really wanted. — Brian Koppelman
  • Tom Cruise wanted Bud Fox and lobbied Stone, who was committed to Charlie; they later made Born on the Fourth of July. — Brian Koppelman
  • Stone gets chippy on the commentary about Bright Lights, Big City shooting at the same time; Michael J. Fox was a miscast there and Downey Jr. would have been a home run. — Brian Koppelman
  • Stone offered Charlie the choice of Jack Lemon or Martin Sheen as his father, and he picked his real father. — Brian Koppelman
  • Per Stone, Hannah was not happy in the role and he should have let her go; Sean Young almost got fired and a Bud affair storyline was cut. — Brian Koppelman
The American President The Rewatchables
The American President

Apex Mountain

USA Today

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:42Read transcript
  • No for Michael Douglas (Wall Street), probably not for the Sidney actress (American Beauty Oscar), and no for Fox and Sheen. — Bill Simmons
  • No for Sorkin, with The West Wing or The Social Network suggested instead. — Bill Simmons
  • USA Today is a yes: breaking presidential romances before the internet knocked it out. — Bill Simmons
  • Presidential movies may peak here, paving the way for Independence Day, Armageddon, Deep Impact and Haysbert on 24; it feels like yes but only "could be". — Bill Simmons
  • A case is made for Rob Reiner, though A Few Good Men is still preferred. — Bill Simmons
  • Sorkin did win the Oscar for The Social Network, so this is definitely not his apex. — Bill Simmons
The American President The Rewatchables
The American President

Half-Assed Internet Research

Sorkin crack-cocaine claim; White House set origin; Spin City origin; Fox hiding Parkinson's; Reiner shadowing Clinton

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:18Read transcript
  • The hosts report that Sorkin later admitted writing the screenplay high on crack cocaine, locked in the Four Seasons in LA while also developing Sports Night. — Bill Simmons
  • The news is met with shock and the joke that it explains why nobody finishes a sentence in his movies; he is still called a fantastic writer. — Van Lathan
  • Two participants say they already knew; his substance issues are described as documented and continuing for a while. — Van Lathan
  • The hosts say sources conflict on whether the White House set was built for Dave or for this movie and reused for Nixon and Independence Day; the bedrooms are said to match The West Wing but not Dave. — Bill Simmons
  • The hosts say Spin City came out of someone seeing this movie. — Bill Simmons
  • The hosts report Fox kept his Parkinson's secret, hiding his shaking left hand in his pocket. — Bill Simmons
  • The hosts report Reiner followed Bill Clinton around the White House for two days for research. — Bill Simmons
The American President The Rewatchables
The American President

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:53Read transcript
  • Dreyfuss is eligible because he is barely in the movie, with two scenes and some speeches; John Mahoney is considered. — Bill Simmons
  • Fox and Sheen are in the movie too much to qualify. — Bill Simmons
  • Dreyfuss on the talk show insinuating about Sidney makes the award his to lose.
  • That TV appearance is likened to the blueprint of what Trump did over the last five years.
The American President The Rewatchables
The American President

Most Rewatchable Scene

Andrew Shepard's final speech

In the discussion (15)
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:15Read transcript
  • The short lonely-widower moment is important because it sets up the movie.
  • The first pool scene with Martin Sheen ("Call me Andy") is enjoyable; two people playing pool always works in a movie, as in Boomerang and Mystic Pizza. — Bill Simmons
  • Douglas clearly worked on his pool game because the scene uses a full wide shot. — Bill Simmons
  • The president calling Sidney for a date, which she takes for a prank, uses a rom-com trope said to appear at least 10 times.
  • Agrees the trope is common, but this one is special because his solution is to have her call the actual White House number. — Amanda Dobbins
  • The dance scene is well done; Douglas appears to do his own smooth dancing, the spark between them is real, and the reaction shots show everyone moved by the widower's first date.
  • The morning after, staff barge in because the president's day has started while Sidney is still getting dressed; it could have gone badly in the wrong hands.
  • Michael J. Fox challenging the president is a favorite scene; it inspired a college political essay about no longer recognizing genuine leadership, and its drink-the-sand line feels prescient in late October 2020.
  • The second pool scene gets heated with the University of Wisconsin history professor line; the film is said to have negotiated three uses of the f-word, with a fourth meaning an R rating.
  • That scene explains why Sheen is the consigliere: he hitched his kite to Shepard. — Bill Simmons
  • Douglas's big speech taking it to Bob Rumson is the best, most rewatchable moment; the stretch from the Fox challenge through Sheen to the speech is a fantastic 15 minutes. — Bill Simmons
  • The small limo scene ("No hopping, sir") is a favorite, and Fox is loved in this movie. — Van Lathan
  • A line from the limo scene became a personal dating mantra: all plans are soft until confirmed 30 minutes ahead. — Van Lathan
  • Fox's Danbury prison line still comes to mind; he was a moral compass on screen, and it is sad this was effectively his last movie. — Bill Simmons
  • Before picking the speech, the flower-ordering scene is added: the dogwood tree-or-flower exchange and the Virginia ham conclusion show affection in the workplace and are top-grade rom-com material. — Amanda Dobbins
Teen Wolf The Rewatchables
Teen Wolf

Apex Mountain

Back to the Future is Fox’s apex; the movie is considered for most supporting actors, van surfing, werewolves, and human-wolf sex.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:01Read transcript
  • Bestiality is proposed as an apex because the wolf encounter is treated as human-wolf sex. — Kyle Brandt
  • Back to the Future decisively wins Michael J. Fox's apex despite the two movies arriving together. — Bill Simmons
  • Most other speaking actors are placed at or near their career apex here, with Doug Savant an exception. — Bill Simmons
  • Van surfing is proposed as peaking here before real-world danger curtailed the stunt. — Bill Simmons
  • A run of early-1980s werewolf movies, Thriller, and Teen Wolf supports the werewolf-apex case. — Bill Simmons
  • Twilight is the counterargument because of its large later werewolf audience. — Kyle Brandt
Teen Wolf The Rewatchables
Teen Wolf

Half-Assed Internet Research

The basketball double, Fox sequel reports, an IMDb hoax, cast careers, memorabilia, a deleted Carson appearance, and Stiles shirts

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:11Read transcript
  • Fox's basketball double is identified as Jeff Glosser, a college player who spent long days in wolf makeup during the short shoot. — Bill Simmons
  • Conflicting reports that Fox hated the movie are rejected after a later reunion account says he greeted the cast remotely. — Bill Simmons
  • A 2004 internet hoax falsely identified Mike Piazza as Mick and reached IMDb. — Bill Simmons
  • Jerry Levine reportedly remained recognizable as Stiles long after release. — Bill Simmons
  • Mark Arnold reportedly arranged for his soap character to die so he could promote Teen Wolf. — Bill Simmons
  • Wiesmeier, Linda, is identified as a July 1982 Playboy Playmate appearing in the party Jell-O gag. — Bill Simmons
  • Fox's jersey was sold to a Beverly Hills pawn shop for $30,000, with its later location unknown. — Bill Simmons
  • A scripted Tonight Show appearance for the wolf was cut for expense and convenience. — Bill Simmons
  • Stiles's five shirt slogans are catalogued as memorable artifacts. — Bill Simmons
Teen Wolf The Rewatchables
Teen Wolf

Recasting Couch

Lori Loughlin or Elisabeth Shue as Boof and Eric Stoltz as Scott

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:52Read transcript
  • Loughlin is proposed as a stronger Boof. — Bill Simmons
  • Shue is proposed as a stronger Boof, with darker hair separating her from Karate Kid. — Bill Simmons
  • Eric Stoltz replacing Fox as Scott is proposed as poetic compensation for losing the Marty McFly role. — Kyle Brandt
Teen Wolf The Rewatchables
Teen Wolf

What’s Aged the Worst?

Basketball execution, the driveway scene, effects, representation, party material, romantic conventions, song lyrics, and soundtrack

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:49Read transcript
  • Michael J. Fox's basketball form and the unseen hour of discarded sports footage are the first answers. — Bill Simmons
  • Mr. Howard and Boof's strangely intimate driveway basketball scene is judged more inexplicable than the supernatural events. — Bill Simmons
  • Looped basketball edits and a shot in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh are cited as examples of poor sports continuity. — Bill Simmons
  • Scott's mirror transformation closely resembles the prior year's Terminator mirror scene. — Kyle Brandt
  • The lead actors read substantially older than high-school students. — Bill Simmons
  • The only Black student's appearance is tied immediately to a break-dancing gag, a choice described as dated even for 1985. — Bill Simmons
  • The excessive claw marks on Boof are called hard to justify now. — Bill Simmons
  • The party's unexplained floor game is called hard to justify now. — Bill Simmons
  • The familiar 1980s plot in which a boy overlooks his loyal friend for a more glamorous girl is compared with several other teen movies. — Bill Simmons
  • The 'Win in the End' verses are read as unexpectedly bleak and suicidal beneath an upbeat sports montage. — Bill Simmons
  • The soundtrack is criticized for lacking the recognizable contemporary songs heard in other 1980s teen movies. — Kyle Brandt
Displaying discussions 13 - 24 of 35 in total

Films in the archive

Back to the Future

1985

Back to the Future Part II

1989

Teen Wolf

1985

The American President

1995