The unnamed newsroom friend who tells Iris nobody is friends with an ex who cheats on them is liked for extreme real talk; Ed Burns, Cameron Diaz's ex, is added to the list with an explicit 'I would say he wins it', and Eli Wallach is also chosen as so great in the movie.
The award is explained as the heat check, coming in for a short time and going off; Kate Winslet has three men, the ex Jasper (Rufus Sewell, a waste of time), Arthur and Jack Black, but Jack Black is billed as a star and Eli Wallach is not on the poster, which becomes the new eligibility definition.
Dustin Hoffman is questioned since he is in for five seconds, and it is hard because these people are in it so briefly; one pick lands on Lohan out of a soft spot for her.
The guest's pick is Katherine Hahn, out of love for her: the character name Bristol Farms is such an L.A. name, and her small part here looks tiny next to all the later work; there are a lot of great small roles for extremely famous people. — Kari Simmons
There are few casting what-ifs because Nancy Meyers insisted she wrote it with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz in mind and cast Jack Black very early; her quoted reasoning is that he is not Clark Gable but adorable and lovable, what most guys look like if they are lucky, and deserves a great girl, so she fixed him up with Kate Winslet.
The reply is that all of that is true except why make him sing weird movie scores like Driving Miss Daisy in a Blockbuster with goofy faces, which is a turn-off and lowering standards rather than everyman; if he were not coming off Tenacious D and School of Rock, when his persona was a guy who sings in movies, it might have been different.
The character is annoying, with a little overacting, a friend rather than someone to kiss; one host rooted for Kate Winslet to end up with Arthur, since Miles believes he is in a relationship with a dumb actress (played by 'Shannon Sossman' as transcribed, of 40 Days and 40 Nights) until five minutes before the end.
Counterpoint: the Cameron Diaz movie is better than the Kate Winslet movie, but a pretty, smart, funny girl liking a guy who seems to have no business dating her makes one host like them more; the objection is restated as the character and the lack of chemistry, not Jack Black's looks, and Kate Winslet, who is very good and makes acting look easy, is made to settle for the friend.
Interviews all insist Meyers had the two women in mind and wanted a character for someone like Jack Black; for Jude Law some things were changed, and the way Cameron Diaz and Nancy Meyers talk about him taking the role carries the subtext of whether Jude Law can play a good, appealing, endearing guy.
Writing a script for Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black and simply getting them says a lot about Meyers's power, rare for any director let alone a woman director; or she is very good at controlling the narrative and would not let other names into the conversation.
The newspaper; Blockbuster and the DVD collection; the BlackBerrys and international calling; the Coffee Bean frappuccino; the decor of the Los Angeles house; Jack Black as a romantic interest
The newspaper, Blockbuster, the DVD collection and the BlackBerrys have aged the worst, though one host misses her BlackBerry Curve from 2009, great for texting and email and not the internet; BlackBerry peaked in 2008 so 2006 was slightly early.
The phones raise questions about international dialing rates, especially when Kate Winslet is going between Cameron Diaz and Jude Law on the phone, though these are unbelievably wealthy people in perfect mansions who fly off on a whim; the international plan is seamless now but was not 13 years ago.
Jack Black handing Kate Winslet a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf frappuccino as the best drink in town, remembered from Mary Kate and Ashley tabloid coverage around 2003 and 2004, is funny now that Coffee Bean has pulled out of many places and people are more health conscious; his two dollops of whipped cream show she does not care either.
The director's commentary says the Cotswold house was dressed with lots of candy to make Iris warm and less concerned with being a size two, which the frumpy L.A. outfits confirm.
The decor of Amanda's home has aged the worst: bowls of spray-painted dried artichokes, not pine cones, around the exterior and real artichokes inside, couches like office hotel chic, Pier 1 dressing, built-ins but nothing rich or luxurious, unlike the lived-in house in It's Complicated.
The commentary confirms the interior was a built set, including a bathroom for the bed-jumping scene (Kate Winslet's idea to jump on the bed) that was never used; the budget was $85 million against about $200 million worldwide, pretty well for a rom-com in 2006.
The England house is far more memorable: the little staircase, the mini fireplace, the coziness three L.A. residents long for; Cameron Diaz wearing her hat and mittens inside is a very L.A. thing since nowhere is well heated. In general the movie aged well.
A bomb is thrown in: Jack Black as a romantic interest does not stand in 2019, even if he was having a School of Rock moment and offers something for everybody next to Jude Law.
The video store scene is the obvious nominee but nobody on the panel loves it: it is Jack Black's signature scene, at a Blockbuster that looks like the west side, explaining movies to Kate Winslet through their scores while Dustin Hoffman stands annoyed in the same row; the 'Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio' clip is played, in which the dialogue says it was written for the movie as a score.
The key objection is that he is singing the scores rather than playing them, with vowels no other human has made; on a date it would be an absolute pass, yet it is still an iconic scene in the movie.
Graham and Amanda's first morning after is nominated with a clip: Cameron Diaz absolutely shines, a little awkward, doing the screwball thing she is good at, although the cadence of the banter is a bit odd, and her trying not to seem too into him is a relatable position.
Diaz's power is the very physical, goofy comedy, so the together control freak is not funny Cameron Diaz and it feels more natural once she is allowed to be weird; the scene is also uncomfortable because Jude Law is so hot, in the greatest glasses ever, early to the plastic-glasses trend before Warby Parker, a hot dad who is a distraction in every scene.
The scene where Cameron Diaz goes to Jude Law's house and learns Sophie and Olivia are his daughters, not other women, is another nominee: the two British girls are the cutest kids and call both adults out, though they seem too well adjusted a year after their mother died; it is summed up as 'Jude Law as a dad', doing the napkin face, crafted in a lab to appeal to a certain type of person, with a nice house too.
On the Kate Winslet side, Iris picking up Arthur to go to the WGA, helping him walk in the pool, the Hanukkah dinner with his old friends, and the last scene where he gives her a corsage (clip played) are liked, with the Arthur plot line preferred to Winslet's other plot lines as a real L.A. story of befriending a neighbor; still, nothing contends with Jude Law and Cameron Diaz.
Cameron Diaz driving to the town, terrified of hitting cars, just missing Jude Law on his bike and pulling up at the little grocery store, then alone in the cottage swigging wine in a beanie hat and reading, is called a favorite and solo funny Cameron Diaz.
Was Stanley Tucci's character gay?; Who should have played Adrian Grenier's role?; Was this Meryl Streep's greatest role?; Who else could have played Miranda?
Was Stanley Tucci's character gay? Called unanswerable even after googling; one online claim that he looks at male models an extra second is dismissed. — Bill Simmons
One panelist cannot remember that character in the book. — Amanda Dobbins
Adrian Grenier's role: they should not have gone white male in 2006; John Cho or young Dave Chang are suggested, making a Korean dish instead of mac and cheese. — Bill Simmons
Was this Streep's greatest role? One says yes; another says Sophie's Choice, and Julia Child is also mentioned. — Bill Simmons
Nobody else would have made the panel even 70% as happy as Streep; in the spirit of the podcast Candice Bergen is offered, but she was too old in 2006. — Amanda Dobbins
Julia Roberts with aged hair is where it could have gone most wrong; Sandra Bullock could do it now or later, with doubts about whether she is mean enough. — Amanda Dobbins
Kate Winslet was approached for Mal before the part went to Marion Cotillard; the hosts think Cotillard, who often plays a stormy femme fatale, is a very different actress, and that a French rather than English woman is what the crazed dream wife needed, since Winslet would not have been as frightening.
Nolan's films are said to keep returning to a dead woman who lets the leading man discover his emotional vulnerability; the casting is seen as letting him pretend something more complex was going on with the character, and a joke in a producer voice notes that Kate with Leo would have added twenty million.
For Ariadne the considered names were Evan Rachel Wood, Emily Blunt, Rachel McAdams, Emma Roberts, Jesse Schramm (as transcribed), Taylor Swift and Terry Mulligan (as transcribed), to disbelief around the table; Ellen Page is judged perfect for combining intense intelligence with wide-eyed vulnerability, something clinical and nurse-like, where Evan Rachel Wood would be too tall, beautiful and imperious.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Arthur was also offered to James Franco, who turned it down over scheduling; JGL's blankness and deadpan are liked for the part.
Don Johnson was considered for Peter Browning, the part Tom Berenger took; Johnson's ruined-man quality might have worked, Berenger was a shock to recognize, and Browning is not an essential character so Johnson would have been fine.
Asked whether Kate Winslet won the movie, the host who could not take their eyes off her says she definitely wins it, she and the iceberg, which is called the big boss of the movie.
Another says you have to go with Leo: not peak Leo, which is Romeo and Juliet, but close; he is charming, and the role made him so famous he can do whatever he wants.
The third host is torn after both cases, wanting to say Winslet to support a breakout but swayed by Leo's charm; reminded that her breakout was Sense and Sensibility, the host is absolved to like Leo; someone then says that ultimately, for them, it is the chemistry, since the romance is all they care about.
Calling it a toss-up between Kate and Leo, the wrap-up turns to 'Doesn't James Horner win?', answered 'You're right, James Horner. And Celine Dion', whom the hosts have barely discussed.
Asks, with open waters in mind, why no one is seasick. — Amanda Dobbins
Cruise liners supposedly rock less, which another host disputes from experience; the film Brooklyn is cited for its portrayal of a transatlantic crossing where the heroine is sick all night.
Why make Rose an American when Kate Winslet is British and there were plenty of British heiresses? A host reasons that it was usually titled British men marrying American heiresses for money, as in Downton Abbey, so maybe that is why, though a British Rose could have been plausible.
If the ship makes it to New York, what does Rose do and how long until she realizes she made a mistake? One answer is half the time she has known Jack, a day and a half.
Another answer: without the sinking she never sees that Cal set Jack up, the moment behind her spit, and she would remember her mother cinching her corset, decide she does not want her mother to be poor, so the practical outcome is not going with Jack.
A later reading cuts the other way: even without the sinking, she would not want her mother to almost kill her again.
The corset scene is called an unimaginative American-epic trope for conveying class, as in Meet Me in St. Louis and Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, very James Cameron.
Kate Winslet's makeup clinging through the water; Leo's hair never out of place; Rose jumping off a lifeboat for a man she met three days ago; the heart of the ocean never falling out of the coat
The hosts combine picking nits with probably unanswerable questions, saying the two go hand in hand.
Kate Winslet's styling raises questions: very red lips and pasty makeup that cling to her through all the water, dark eyeliner exaggerating the paleness, and the hats, starting with her entrance from a carriage the hosts call a buggy.
She looks great in the first half and realistically soggy after two and a half hours of running through a sinking ship, except the makeup stays; one host prefers the second-half look, with the long red hair, the soaked dress and the big overcoat with the necklace that never falls out.
Leo, by contrast, barely has a hair out of place, even frozen; the only explanation offered is wanting the handsome man to look as handsome as possible, while Winslet was not yet famous enough for the same treatment, even though hers is the real emotional journey.
Rose jumping off a lifeboat for a man she met three days ago is questioned, with a joke that their earlier encounter went well; others read it as a callback to her wanting to jump off the ship, and as her choosing Jack at all times, just as her spit at Billy Zane echoes Jack teaching her to spit.
Earlier, a host noted the heart of the ocean never falls out of the jacket at any point in all that water, a bigger problem than whether Jack fit on the board.
Asked whether anyone who has spent extended time with Cameron has spoken well of him, the hosts can name only his current wife, met on this film and cast as old Rose's granddaughter, and the studio executives he made rich; Catherine Bigelow (as transcribed) is remembered for beating Avatar with Hurt Locker.
James Cameron's reputation has aged the worst: from the visionary of Aliens, True Lies, Titanic and Terminator to the wacky maker of a movie about blue people, with four sequels already written; one host would have liked another Avatar movie, and its realistic water drops are praised.
The boat is a fake-looking boat, though loved anyway: a film sold as a technical feat no longer holds up because the CGI sky and the ship are visible, and the sky might blend in better in a planetarium.
The last hour is a technical feat, but mostly an excuse to keep sending the leads back into the water to almost drown; one host likes the last hour precisely because it is so stupid, and another sees the feat as stretching the film longer than the actual sinking.
Some of the dialogue is laughable and wooden, Cameron never understood how two people interact, and even Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio cannot always sell it.
In dissent, one host found on rewatch that it had not aged that badly: the boat always looked a little fake, like a theme park ride, and such practical effects should age better than the CGI of Avatar.
Rose describing the Titanic as a slave ship at the start is offered as what has really aged the worst, though the speaker adds 'that was already bad', alongside a complaint that the script's mechanics and every beat are visible.
Robert De Niro was offered Captain Smith but declined over a gastrointestinal infection (unverified IMDb); Winslet improvised spitting at Billy Zane instead of stabbing him with a hairpin (unverified); the film was Cameron's pitch to get a studio to pay for dives to the wreck; Cameron was difficult on set and Winslet swore never to work with him again (unsourced IMDb); the 2h47 runtime matches how long the ship took to sink (unverified); the drawing scene was Winslet and DiCaprio's first scene together and Cameron did the drawing
An unverified IMDb item says Robert De Niro was offered Captain Smith but turned it down because of a gastrointestinal infection; the hosts find the specificity absurd and say there is no way De Niro would have taken the role.
The scene in which Kate Winslet spits at Billy Zane was reportedly improvised: he did not know he would be spat at, and she was supposed to stab him with a hairpin; the hosts hope it reflects on-set tension.
Billy Zane is called fantastic in the film and perhaps the best pure acting performance, with the most to work with, believable as a man with everyone in his pocket; the necklace, Le Coeur de la Mer, is recalled as the propulsive force of the plot.
The whole movie was a pitch to get a studio to pay for James Cameron to dive to the Titanic, and he ended up spending more time with the ship than anyone who rode its one voyage.
Research on how difficult James Cameron was during filming: Kate Winslet, studio executives and everyone on set describe him as demanding and cursing a lot, Winslet had a horrific experience, Leo seems to have hated it too but is more diplomatic, and an IMDb item the host could not source says Winslet swore never to work with him again.
Unverified half-assed trivia holds that the film's runtime, two hours and 47 minutes, matches how long the Titanic took to go down (the transcript has 'save'); the hosts find it tacky but very James Cameron, like the iceberg hitting exactly mid-film.
More trivia: the first scene Kate and Leo shot together was the nude drawing scene, James Cameron made the drawing, and the shot was reversed so the left-handed Cameron would look right-handed, setting the tone on day one of principal photography.
Kate Winslet had to do a screen test, watchable online, opposite Jeremy Sisto, Elton from Clueless, who auditioned but probably was not in contention; the major name in contention for Jack Dawson was Matthew McConaughey.
Stephen Dorff is the verified one: a New York Daily News piece headlined 'actor is thankful he didn't get Titanic role' has the Blade co-star saying he wanted a career like Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and Jack Nicholson and an Oscar, which Titanic would have made impossible, and that Leo will always be the guy on the boat.
One host disagrees that Leo is the guy on the boat, since he has been in so many hits and everyone has a favorite Leo, whereas Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are more locked into their 90s work; Sofia Coppola is said to have made Somewhere with Dorff because he never blew up, and Titanic will be in the first line of DiCaprio's obituary, and of Billy Zane's.
Billy Zane has not done much anyone has heard of since, though he has been in three times as many films as Kate Winslet.
Chris O'Donnell, named on Wikipedia for Jack, would have been a great and adorable Jack given his Batman movies and a season-two television arc, but could not have taken the film past a billion dollars; Leo is singular and the chemistry is enduring, though he seems strikingly innocent and little in it.
Rob Lowe was in the mix for Cal and is a great asshole, as in St. Elmo's Fire; pre-West Wing he might not have pulled viewers out of the film, though one host says he would have a little, and the leads mostly had blank or clean reputations at the time, which the hosts think mattered.
