Redford is a yes: one of the most bankable actors, at his handsome peak, and a Best Director winner who took down Scorsese; the Sundance Institute was formed in 1981. — Bill Simmons
Timothy Hutton is a probable yes, with Taps also considered, but the Oscar closes the deal.
Mary Tyler Moore is a no, followed by a tangent on attractive stars of earlier decades and her Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. — Bill Simmons
The 1981 Oscars are considered, but one host names 1994 as the Apex telecast and 1975's hosts are read; no Apex call is made for 1981.
Sutherland could be talked into Apex, but his peak is also placed at the 24-era moment when viewers learned he is Kiefer's father, and at JFK.
The name Buck is declared Apex Mountain by one voice, supported with Buck Henry, Buck Showalter, Magic Johnson's nickname Young Buck, Craig's suggestion of Uncle Buck and Bucky Barnes, while Yankee fans' Bucky Dent is waved off. — Bill Simmons
The name Ward belongs to Ward Cleaver, but Buck and Ward in the same movie is declared Apex Mountain. — Bill Simmons
Intense Chicago movies are becoming Apex but are not there yet, and fucked up family movies are a no. — Bill Simmons
The studio wanted Redford to play Calvin; he declined as too predictable, and the hosts think he would have overpowered or sunk the film. — Bill Simmons
Hackman as Calvin is intriguing, recalling his surprising turn in The Firm. — Bill Simmons
The EW oral history links Hackman to both the Berger and Calvin parts; research indicates it was the Sutherland part. — Bill Simmons
Per Redford, he wanted Richard Dreyfuss as the psychiatrist, but the reply was that Dreyfuss was having a nervous breakdown; Sutherland then said he wanted the husband rather than the psychiatrist. — Bill Simmons
Hackman was cast as Calvin but dropped out over compensation, per a Chicago Tribune article; Sutherland was told it was him or Hackman. — Bill Simmons
The strip joint stays open during the invasion; it is assumed everything would close and most people would want to be with family. — Bill Simmons
Everyone reacting happily to the alien arrival is explained by that pop-culture take-me-to-your-leader moment. — Chris Ryan
No nits at all: everything lined up perfectly, which is agreed as pretty solid. — Shea Serrano
It all made sense, except Judd Hirsch and Goldblum getting from Manhattan into the White House within six hours despite apocalyptic I-95 traffic. — Chris Ryan
An alternate script where they die on the highway is joked about.
The last-second squeeze out of the mothership was an early example of the move, the same as the Bad Boys ending. — Shea Serrano
The idea came while Emmerich promoted Stargate: asked about aliens, he imagined waking to a 15-mile-wide spaceship and told Devlin it was their next movie. — Bill Simmons
The U.S. military was originally involved and bowed out, apparently over Area 51. — Bill Simmons
There were 3,000-plus effects shots, with models such as a 10-by-5-foot White House blown up; the White House interior set was reused from The American President and Nixon. — Bill Simmons
In a game naming the six Oscar nominees in the cast, Will Smith and Pullman are named first. — Shea Serrano
Robert Loggia was told to watch Airplane instead of Airport, thought they were secretly making a spoof and refused to leave his trailer. — Bill Simmons
Rebhorn and Judd Hirsch are creative options, but it is Connick: he pretends to kiss Will Smith's ass, does a Reverend Jesse Jackson impression and dies, a loud nine minutes. — Bill Simmons
One other person offered: the alien handling ship intake on the mothership like a regular workday at a cubicle, a favorite character. — Shea Serrano
