L.A. Confidential
1997 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Andy Greenwald
Aired March 31, 2026
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13 Going on 30
L.A. Confidential
Working Girl
Independence Day
Skyfall
The Social Network
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 7
- Movies in this archive
- 7
Rewatchables episodes featuring Kevin Spacey’s films
Displaying all 7 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
Top Ten List
Body-switch comedies
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:24Read transcript
- The ranking covers only comedies, excluding horror and science-fiction versions such as Face/Off, Freaky (called actually really liked), Nine Lives with Kevin Spacey trapped in a cat, and The Cobbler with Adam Sandler. — Bill Simmons
- The list builds from one out of ten, The Hot Chick with Rob Schneider and Rachel McAdams, joking she should make a Notebook sequel to buy up all copies. — Bill Simmons
- Two out of ten is Dream a Little Dream with the Corys, a rare four-person switch that somehow got a sequel. — Bill Simmons
- Three out of ten groups the father-son versions: 17 Again, Like Father Like Son with Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore, and Vice Versa with Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage, the best of the three. — Bill Simmons
- Four out of ten is The Change-Up with Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, not a very good movie. — Bill Simmons
- Five out of ten is Prelude to a Kiss with Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin, called the Juliet stratosphere. — Bill Simmons
- Asked for thoughts, the reply places it in the latter days of Meg Ryan's arc, a film that felt like a favor but was enjoyable; it made the playoffs but is not a round-two movie. — Juliet Litman
- Six out of ten is All of Me with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin; seven is the 2003 Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, called rock solid, with a tangent on Lohan's Parent Trap to Mean Girls run. — Bill Simmons
- Eight is 13 Going on 30, nine Being John Malkovich as the highbrow version, and ten Big, called the best one ever and the icon everything else derives from. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Worst?
Spacey’s reputation and reported conduct toward Pearce are raised; Ellroy’s shifting opinion of the adaptation is noted.
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:55Read transcript
- Kevin Spacey’s reported behavior on set toward Guy Pierce is discussed alongside James Elroy’s shifting assessments of the film. — Bill Simmons
- Patchett’s house is again criticized as insufficiently extravagant.
- The opening promise of abundant jobs, cheap land and homeownership, plus downtown-to-beach travel in twenty minutes, feels dated. — Bill Simmons
- Bud’s beating should have killed Exley or caused more damage.
- Using photos of Lynn and Exley to provoke Bud seems unnecessarily elaborate when the villains could simply kill Exley.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:44:20Read transcript
- The Kevin Spacey role is proposed. — Amanda Dobbins
- The Oliver Platt role is proposed and receives agreement. — Amanda Dobbins
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:43Read transcript
- Joan Cusack is proposed as eligible. — Amanda Dobbins
- Carly Simon is ruled ineligible. — Amanda Dobbins
- Olympia Dukakis, Kevin Spacey, and Robert Easton are proposed. — Amanda Dobbins
- Nora Dunn is the likely answer. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:28Read transcript
- Kevin Spacey is selected for overacting. — Bill Simmons
Kevin Spacey Limo Scene Award for Craziest Foreshadowing of a Real-Life Event
The podcast proposes Kevin Spacey’s limo scene as foreshadowing of later real-world events.
The panel proposes a new category here.
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:05Read transcript
- The podcast proposes the sexually harassing limo scene as uncanny foreshadowing of later real-world events; this is an opinion, not a verified claim about real events. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Kevin Spacey as the president; Ally Walker for Margaret Colin's role; Jada Pinkett for Vivica Fox's role; Matthew Perry as Jimmy Wilder
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:39Read transcript
- Kevin Spacey was supposed to be the president, but Fox refused because he was not a big enough star; the part was written for a Bill Pullman type. — Bill Simmons
- Relief is expressed that Spacey is not the president in this movie. — Bill Simmons
- Ally Walker was supposed to play Margaret Colin's character; Colin jokingly told a casting assistant she was 22, it was written down, and she nearly lost the part. — Bill Simmons
- Jada Pinkett was supposed to have the Vivica Fox role but had a Nutty Professor conflict, and ended up with Will Smith anyway. — Bill Simmons
- Matthew Perry was reportedly offered Captain Jimmy Wilder and pulled out, though this could not be confirmed; a Chandler version is imagined. — Bill Simmons
- The end-of-the-world song was originally supposed to be Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World. — Bill Simmons
- There were fewer casting what-ifs than expected because they knew who they wanted. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:06Read transcript
- Spacey is deemed eligible despite the importance of his four scenes. — Bill Simmons
- Schiff’s lawyer, Roundtree’s press conference, the coroner report and the police captain are alternatives. — Sean Fennessey
- Paltrow’s diner performance is praised before the final Spacey vote. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Sean Connery was in discussions to play Kincaid; Kevin Spacey was approached for Mallory; the discarded Peter Morgan script
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:54Read transcript
- Sean Connery was in discussions to play Kincaid before the producers decided the stunt casting would take people out of the movie, which the hosts agree was right; Kevin Spacey was originally approached for Mallory, Mendes having directed him in American Beauty.
- Ralph Fiennes as Mallory is loved: in a sedate movie where everyone operates at a mild level he chews the scenery in every scene, and he has gone on to be M.
- Connery would have been distracting, nobody wants five seconds of fading Connery, who has not been seen in public for a few years, and it would have been the Marvel interconnecting universe, which Bond movies are not.
- A behind-the-scenes what-if: release the Peter Morgan cut, though a Morgan disciple sees plenty of his DNA in the finished film; the making-ofs describe a collaborative effort rather than a writer's version being ruined.
What’s Aged the Worst?
The Zuckerberg portrayal, Facemash, Christy plot, and Kevin Spacey credit
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:17Read transcript
- Eisenberg’s Zuckerberg is compared with the real Zuckerberg’s public persona.
- Ranking girls with a hot-or-not app has aged badly and was objectionable at the time. — Bill Simmons
- The Christy relationship and bed-fire plot are criticized as poorly motivated.
- The panel ties the Christy problem to Sorkin’s thin female characters.
- Executive producer Kevin Spacey’s credit is singled out. — Chris Ryan
- Christy is defended as showing the founders newfound glamour and introducing Parker, though that does not justify the bed-fire episode. — Sean Fennessey
Displaying all 10 discussions
Films in the archive
A Time to Kill
1996
Glengarry Glen Ross
1992
L.A. Confidential
1997
Margin Call
2011
Se7en
1995
The Usual Suspects
1995
Working Girl
1988