The Silence of the Lambs
1991 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Mallory Rubin
Aired October 15, 2024
‹ All people
The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs
True Lies
Forrest Gump
Panic Room
Panic Room
Panic Room
Inside Man
Film credit
Jodie Foster
Also referred to as Foster, Joey Foster
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 5
- Movies in this archive
- 4
Rewatchables episodes featuring Jodie Foster’s films
Displaying all 5 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 02:05:34Read transcript
- Three participants explicitly choose Hopkins. — Bill Simmons
- The rationale distinguishes Foster’s deserved Oscar from Hopkins’s career-transforming cultural impact. — Bill Simmons
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Anthony Hopkins
- Speaker not identified
- Anthony Hopkins
- Speaker not identified
- Anthony Hopkins
Just One Oscar
Split: Jodie Foster; Anthony Hopkins; Best Picture
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:56:58Read transcript
- Jodie Foster is selected because no rival Best Actress performance has a stronger case and this is judged her career-best work. — Chris Ryan
- Anthony Hopkins is selected by another participant. — Chris Ryan
- Best Picture is the third choice. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:20Read transcript
- Gene Hackman reportedly partnered to adapt the novel and considered directing and playing Lecter or Crawford before withdrawing. — Bill Simmons
- Paul Verhoeven reportedly turned the film down and later expressed regret. — Bill Simmons
- Jonathan Demme reportedly wanted Sean Connery for Lecter, but Connery declined. — Bill Simmons
- Michelle Pfeiffer declined Clarice; the panel prefers Foster because Pfeiffer’s overt glamour would shift the character’s closed, professional center. — Bill Simmons
- Meg Ryan reportedly rejected the material as too gruesome, and Molly Ringwald auditioned but was considered too young. — Bill Simmons
- Ed Harris reportedly declined Jack Crawford because the role was not interesting enough. — Bill Simmons
- Reported Lecter possibilities include Daniel Day-Lewis, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Derek Jacobi, and Forest Whitaker; the panel openly doubts some unsourced casting lists while noting Whitaker publicly discussed auditioning. — Chris Ryan
What’s Aged the Worst?
The mishandled sequel/prequel franchise, opening typography, profiling pseudoscience, political appropriation of Lecter, Foster’s accent, and trans implications
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:38Read transcript
- The Hannibal novel’s Clarice–Lecter relationship repelled Jodie Foster; the later film rewrite and aging Hopkins prequel are treated as franchise mistakes. — Bill Simmons
- The large opening-credit typography blocking faces is criticized as an early-1990s aesthetic problem. — Bill Simmons
- Criminal profiling is described as much less reliable than the film assumes. — Chris Ryan
- Donald Trump’s 2024 references to Hannibal Lecter are identified as a degrading later association. — Bill Simmons
- Jodie Foster’s accent remains an explicit weakness. — Chris Ryan
- Serial killers communicating through neat anagrams is judged dated, though the panel misses the puzzle theatricality.
- The film’s failure to make Demme’s intended distinction between Gumb and trans identity clear enough is preserved as a serious contemporary criticism. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Foster rumor; Curtis; Tom Arnold; Lombard replacement
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:15Read transcript
- A rumor that Jodie Foster declined Helen to make Nell is explicitly unconfirmed and doubted. Cameron’s familiarity with Curtis through Kathryn Bigelow’s Blue Steel is offered as context. — Bill Simmons
- Schwarzenegger reportedly initially opposed Curtis, then accepted Cameron’s insistence that she was right for Helen. — Bill Simmons
- Tom Arnold reportedly auditioned mainly to meet Cameron, displayed chemistry with Schwarzenegger, and won the role after joking he could beat him up. His failure to repeat this career peak is discussed; uncertainty about McHale’s Navy is corrected. — Bill Simmons
- Carrere reportedly said she replaced Karina Lombard after shooting began; Lombard is identified through her role in The Firm. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:33Read transcript
- Warren Beatty and Steve McQueen reportedly declined Buttermaker before Matthau; their glamour and coolness are considered wrong for the role, though a down-on-his-luck Beatty might work. — Bill Simmons
- Jodie Foster reportedly left Amanda for Taxi Driver, and Kristy McNichol was offered the role before O’Neal. — Van Lathan
Casting What-Ifs
Harry Anderson, John Travolta, Sean Penn, several Bubbas and Jennys, Terry Gilliam, and Joe Pesci form the casting tree.
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:53Read transcript
- Zemeckis reportedly wanted Harry Anderson, who was unavailable, while John Travolta declined Forrest and later called that a mistake. — Bill Simmons
- Travolta’s later Michael and Phenomenon are read as attempts to recover the benevolent-simple-man role; Sean Penn claimed he was a second choice. — Bill Simmons
- David Alan Grier, Dave Chappelle, Ice Cube, and Tupac Shakur connect to Bubba; Chappelle later sought Hanks collaboration after regretting the miss. — Bill Simmons
- Jodie Foster, Demi Moore, and Nicole Kidman reportedly declined Jenny, and Terry Gilliam declined directing.
- Joe Pesci as Lieutenant Dan is embraced as an extraordinary visual and comic alternate.
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:10Read transcript
- Hackman reportedly declined Jessup for Unforgiven, a decision endorsed because it won him the Oscar. — Bill Simmons
- James Woods reportedly lost the offer when Nicholson accepted; Woods is considered a strong alternative performer. — Bill Simmons
- Jodie Foster and Linda Hamilton competed for Jo; Hamilton is imagined as a tougher, more confrontational version. — Bill Simmons
- Jason Alexander was initially cast as Weinberg but reportedly withdrew after Seinfeld’s second-season renewal. — Bill Simmons
- Alexander is preferred over Pollak by one participant and rejected by two others; his Seinfeld association and squirmier screen persona are debated, with Larry David offered jokingly.
Apex Mountain
The panic-room concept and propane explosion
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:21Read transcript
- David Fincher is rejected as being at his apex — Bill Simmons
- Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart are rejected as apex choices
- Diabetes as a plot device is compared with Steel Magnolias and Dog Day Afternoon without a firm result
- Jared Leto is rejected as an apex choice
- Chugging wine in a bath while sad about divorce is proposed as an apex
- Raoul as a character name is discussed without agreement — Bill Simmons
- Forest Whitaker is rejected as an apex choice
- The panic-room concept is treated as an unequivocal apex because the film is built around it — Bill Simmons
- Girl power is placed in the discussion but challenged because Burnham saves the mother and daughter — Bill Simmons
- Dwight Yoakam is discussed without a firm apex conclusion
- Tool is rejected as an apex choice — Bill Simmons
- Propane explosions are accepted as a strong apex choice — Bill Simmons
Half-Assed Internet Research
Production facts cover Stewart’s growth, repeated takes, the set, camera work, cinematography, home-video release, and a Runaways connection
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:38Read transcript
- Kristen Stewart reportedly grew more than three inches during production — Bill Simmons
- The medical bag floor-slide is jokingly estimated to have required many takes
- The brownstone set is reported to have taken 15 weeks and $6 million to construct — Bill Simmons
- The film’s camera movement combined previsualization, animation, and shot footage — Chris Ryan
- Darius Khondji reportedly left as cinematographer and Conrad Hall took over — Sean Fennessey
- A Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie, Kristen Stewart and Joan Jett casting connection is traced across Foxes, Panic Room, and The Runaways — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Nicole Kidman originally played Meg before injury led to Jodie Foster
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:59Read transcript
- Nicole Kidman began filming as Meg but aggravated a knee injury and was replaced by Jodie Foster — Chris Ryan
- Fincher is said to have reshaped Meg from Kidman’s more glamorous reading toward Foster’s practical, political portrayal — Bill Simmons
- Foster reportedly became available after Russell Crowe’s injury halted a film she was directing, then her pregnancy complicated this production — Bill Simmons
What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?
Ransone's jacket; Gold Digger ringtone; Jodie Foster's power suit; Denzel's hat
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:41Read transcript
- Ransone's jacket and Peter Hammond's Gold Digger ringtone are named.
- Clive Owen's Yankees hat is suggested as a Christmas gift, and the intended recipient refuses to own one. — Sean Fennessey
- Jodie Foster's power suit and Denzel's City Hall outfit and hat are named.
- The diamond ring would be normal, but its legacy makes it unwanted.
Displaying discussions 1 - 12 of 27 in total
