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Film credit
Don Simpson
Also referred to as John Simpson
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 1
- Movies in this archive
- 1
Rewatchables episodes featuring Don Simpson’s films
Displaying 1 episode
Mentioned in discussions
Apex Mountain
Mello Yello and car-racing movies; several near-apex cases
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:23Read transcript
- Tom Cruise is placed near, but not definitively at, his apex. — Bill Simmons
- Robert Duvall and Nicole Kidman are rejected as being at their apex; Cruise's hair and teeth are accepted. — Bill Simmons
- NASCAR and Don Simpson production stories are proposed as apex cases. — Bill Simmons
- Michael Rooker is assigned Cliffhanger; Cary Elwes is assigned The Princess Bride. — Bill Simmons
- Hans Zimmer and Simpson–Bruckheimer are rejected as apex cases. — Bill Simmons
- Car-racing movies are debated against Talladega Nights. — Bill Simmons
- Mello Yello is accepted as an apex case. — Bill Simmons
- Cruise is accepted in the Cruise-or-Hanks comparison. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Kurt Russell, Robin Wright, Tom Sizemore, Dale Earnhardt, Paul Newman
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:32:26Read transcript
- Kurt Russell is discussed as the initial Rowdy Burns choice before Backdraft. — Bill Simmons
- Robin Wright as Claire Lewicki, Tom Sizemore as Tim Daland, Dale Earnhardt as Rowdy, and Paul Newman as Harry are proposed or reported alternatives. — Bill Simmons
- Dale Earnhardt's refusal to play a perceived villain is questioned because Rowdy is not ultimately the villain. — Bill Simmons
- Don Simpson's self-casting as Aldo Bennedetti and the cutting of most of his performance are discussed. — Bill Simmons
The most 1980 thing
Police cars; $10 suit; celebrity album; R&B car-chase musical
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:48Read transcript
- Destroyed 1970s police cars and an expensive suit costing ten dollars mark the era. — Bill Simmons
- Don Simpson reportedly sought the project for Paramount, inspiring a joke about an even more drug-heavy production. — Chris Ryan
- Fame enabling an album and an R&B car-chase musical about two white felons on a divine mission feel characteristic of 1980. — Chris Ryan
The Andy and Red – Zihuatanejo Award for What Happens the Next Day?
A dark Hollywood future for Lana; Princeton and finance for Joel.
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:59Read transcript
- One dark forecast sends Lana to Hollywood and a destructive relationship with Don Simpson, while Joel attends Princeton and becomes a Michael Milken-like financier; the other host hopes for a better Lana future. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Worst?
Opening; Gossett double; Lynette’s hair and rejection; Simpson’s song judgment; side business; teenage flirting; pregnancy strategy
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:43Read transcript
- The opening scene's editing, visible Gossett fight double and Lynette's haircut are aged-worst choices. — Bill Simmons
- Don Simpson reportedly wanted Up Where We Belong removed in favor of On the Wings of Love, a judgment considered badly wrong after the song's success. — Bill Simmons
- Lynette rejecting Sid is considered brutally painful; the compressed sequence from pregnancy worry to panic, proposal, rejection and suicide suggests missing development, though family pressure and his brother's death provide context.
- The abruptness of Sid's late arc is proposed as a possible weak link after the initial inability to name one. — Chris Ryan
- An earlier script reportedly gave Mayo's father a larger role and a visit during training, prompting a hypothetical appearance at graduation. — Bill Simmons
- Byron Mayo is jokingly proposed as an addition to the Wayne Jenkins impression category, built around the disturbing opening encounter.
- Mayo's side-business margins are questioned as too small for the risk, and Paula's teenage sister openly flirting at dinner is considered especially dated.
- Trying to secure a future through pregnancy with a pilot is criticized as an implausible life strategy, while Lynette's desire to escape to Hawaii is acknowledged.
Apex Mountain
Post-prime Cruise, the 1973 Porsche 911, and Joseph Kosinski: yes
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:14Read transcript
- Both agree on post-prime Cruise, distinguishing it from his earlier overall peak — Bill Simmons
- The 1973 Porsche 911 receives an emphatic yes — Bill Simmons
- Connelly’s late resurgence is compared with her A Beautiful Mind Oscar — Bill Simmons
- Kosinski is an emphatic yes — Bill Simmons
- Teller and Powell may still have higher peaks ahead — Bill Simmons
- Whiplash is contrasted with Teller’s new fame — Bill Simmons
- Anchorman is preferred for San Diego — Bill Simmons
- Posthumous Don Simpson, Mach 10 and the hard-deck rule are jokingly considered — Bill Simmons
- Hamm is not at his overall peak — Bill Simmons
- The original film is preferred as the Top Gun institution’s peak — Bill Simmons
Half-Assed Internet Research
Cruise’s earlier refusal, cockpit filming and a beach-scene reshoot
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:20:47Read transcript
- Cruise reportedly dismissed a sequel as irresponsible in 1990 — Bill Simmons
- Kosinski pitched the Rooster relationship and Darkstar storyline to Cruise — Bill Simmons
- A professor’s records research is cited about military input in the film — Bill Simmons
- The hosts report hourly Navy aircraft fees — Bill Simmons
- Actors handled aspects of makeup and camera operation while airborne — Bill Simmons
- They note that extensive practical filming does not make all mission details realistic — Bill Simmons
- The flight-jacket Taiwan/China flag controversy is briefly discussed without resolving every claim — Bill Simmons
- Cruise’s own P-51 appears in the final flight — Bill Simmons
- The beach montage was reportedly reshot after Cruise found the first version insufficient — Bill Simmons
- The cast reportedly returned to training after celebrating the original shoot — Bill Simmons
- The sailing sequence reportedly used a J-125 in San Francisco Bay without doubles — Bill Simmons
- Bruckheimer restored a Don Simpson credit as a tribute — Bill Simmons
- Teller reportedly learned the piano performance — Bill Simmons
Half-Assed Internet Research
TV-series idea; 2GAT123 license plate; Richard James alias; Rambo and Cobra jabs; Axel gives away money; Don Simpson’s trunk guns; Nielsen’s romances
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:12Read transcript
- Paramount wanted a TV series, which Eddie turned down. — Bill Simmons
- The film’s license plate is reportedly a recurring placeholder plate, like 555 phone numbers, seen in L.A. Story, Go, Pay It Forward, Traffic, Drive, and Two and a Half Men. — Bill Simmons
- Axel’s gun-club alias Richard James is linked to Rick James. — Bill Simmons
- Taggart swears at Rambo while firing a rocket launcher and Rosewood has a Cobra poster, while Tony Scott reportedly had an affair with Stallone’s wife. — Bill Simmons
- Axel never keeps money, handing $20 to Billy, $50 to Chris Rock’s valet, and $200 to the mayor’s charity dinner. — Bill Simmons
- Rosewood’s trunk of guns was reportedly based on Don Simpson keeping guns in his trunk. — Bill Simmons
- Nielsen’s reported romances with Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Tony Scott, Flavor Flav, and others are recounted as quite a list. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:57Read transcript
- A research tidbit delivered early: Cage showed Bay and Bruckheimer Richard Dreyfus scenes from Jaws, wanting to channel them in the bomb-dismantling scene. — Bill Simmons
- So many writers worked on the script that it went to Writers Guild arbitration: Aaron Sorkin and Quentin Tarantino involved, David Weisberg and Douglas Cook on the story, Mark Rosner granted credit, Bay backing Jonathan Hensley, and two British screenwriters Connery brought in who were fired; about nine writers. — Bill Simmons
- Cage's idea that his character would never swear produced lines like "gee whiz"; some Navy SEALs were real SEALs; Don Simpson created Hummel from a 60 Minutes piece on the government not acknowledging soldiers who died on covert missions. — Bill Simmons
- Per Bay, the car chase was inserted after early screenings revealed a big flat hole, to appease younger filmgoers. — Bill Simmons
- On Cage playing guitar naked: Bay thought Cage wanted to show off his body, while Cage wanted to show his character's comfort at home; the takeaway is how hairy he is. — Bill Simmons
- Connery's contract had his coverage filmed first, then he left for his cabin on Alcatraz. — Bill Simmons
- The balcony scene was shot on location at the Fairmont, and people called about a person dangling from the balcony. — Bill Simmons
- Bay's unmade sequel idea: Goodspeed has the microfilm, nowhere to turn, and enlists Mason in a role reversal, likened to National Treasure. — Bill Simmons
- An internet theory holds that Mason was James Bond, but his answer of Army rather than Navy blew the wink. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Best?
Alcatraz; San Francisco car chases; Simpson-Bruckheimer logo card; characters who don't exist; former That Guys; Claire Forlani what-if; Connery's Alcatraz cabin; the film's politics
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:50Read transcript
- Alcatraz: no movie using it has failed to be cool. — Bill Simmons
- San Francisco car chases are one speaker's pick, over the others' disagreement. — Bill Simmons
- The "losers always whine about their best; winners go home and fuck the prom queen" line is raised: it seemed the coolest thing at 13 but now reads as bizarre and very 90s. — Bill Simmons
- The Simpson-Bruckheimer logo card, and RIP to Don Simpson, whose last film this was; a 1996 EW piece quoted Connery that Simpson did not look right on set, and his legendary appetite for cocaine is noted.
- Action-movie characters who "don't exist" because their records were wiped clean are a winner every time. — Bill Simmons
- The cast list of former that-guys who graduated: David Morris, John C. McGinley, Philip Baker Hall, John Spencer, William Forsyth and Michael Bean, whose fan following is joked about as the "Bean Hive" and who always plays military men, as in The Abyss and Terminator. — Bill Simmons
- Claire Forlani's what-if: after Mallrats it seemed she would happen until Meet Joe Black; the belief that it still could happen has aged best. — Bill Simmons
- Too good for half-assed internet research: Connery made the producers build him a cabin on Alcatraz rather than travel to the mainland, compared with Arnold's private-plane demands on T2.
- The politics have aged well, unusually for Bay: a nuanced view of government and patriotism in the Hummel-Mason conversation, where Connery cites Oscar Wilde; the bluff ending, where Hummel refuses to kill a million people, keeps the film resting on whether he would do it. — Mina Kimes
Casting What-Ifs
Dana Carvey and Lovitz; Arsenio Hall; Laurence Fishburne
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:30Read transcript
- This is a Don Simpson-Jerry Bruckheimer movie, and the hosts say Simpson was unraveling with substance issues at the time. — Bill Simmons
- The hosts say Dana Carvey and Lovitz were first wanted in a film written for them called Bulletproof Hearts; Carvey backed out after a Vegas trip with Simpson, and the project moved from Disney to Columbia. — Bill Simmons
- Bay wanted Will Smith, and Arsenio Hall reportedly turned down Mike Lowry and calls it his worst mistake; nobody can picture Arsenio in the opening or the open-shirt run.
- Martin Lawrence reportedly told a magazine that Fishburne also turned down Lowry; Fishburne is said to have turned down Jules in Pulp Fiction and Die Hard 3, about seven iconic roles in five years.
- Fishburne would have made this a different movie; he was born to play Jules, a cold pill to swallow until Morpheus. — Van Lathan
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:15Read transcript
- Washington, who establishes himself as a movie star at another level, still discussed 25 years later.
- A case for Hackman or Scott is considered, but it has to be Denzel supercharging into mainstream stardom.
- Don Simpson and Denzel are joked about as a tie. — Bill Simmons
- Denzel as well, since his part was a little harder. — Bill Simmons
- Without A Few Good Men there is a case for Hackman, but his performance carries Jessup fumes, and Nicholson did it better with a higher ceiling. — Bill Simmons
- Al Pacino is joked to have won this podcast. — Bill Simmons
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Denzel Washington
- Speaker not identified
- Denzel Washington
Displaying discussions 1 - 12 of 19 in total
