The hosts say a sequel was announced in May 2022 with Kurt Wimmer returning, Butler producing and producer Lucas Foster calling the premise more relevant than ever, but three years later it was said not to be happening. — Van Lathan
Sequel idea: Nick finds Clyde set booby traps in case he died, and Billy Bob Thornton plays a former associate who must get into Clyde's head. — Bill Simmons
The traps could include the basketball bomb or a bomb in the cello. — Bill Simmons
Butler's law training and firing as a trainee solicitor; the film's toll on Butler; filming in Philadelphia; the near-NC-17 cellmate killing; Nomos meaning law in Greek; Bruce McGill's two car-explosion deaths
The hosts say Butler graduated from law school in Glasgow, was a trainee solicitor, got fired and became an actor. — Craig Horlbeck
The hosts report Butler's own account that the film messed with him, and he went away to hike and then to India; he is called one of the most interesting people and a wished-for podcast guest.
They filmed in Philadelphia; the hosts quote Butler that veteran crew were stunned by the cellmate killing and the ratings board said it would be rated NC 17, so it was cut down. — Bill Simmons
Nomos, Clyde's janitor identity, is said to mean law in Greek. — Bill Simmons
The hosts note Bruce McGill has two car-explosion deaths, the other in The Last Boy Scout; a website tracking actors' movie deaths is pitched. — Bill Simmons
The hosts wonder whether he is even meant to be American, as a CIA operative. — Bill Simmons
A speaker says actors should just keep their normal accent, citing Chris Hemsworth's Brooklyn accent in Blackhat and Costner in Robin Hood. — Bill Simmons
Casting what-ifs opens with 'we mentioned the Butler Fox thing'.
Foxx was first set to play Clyde and Butler the lawyer until Butler pushed to flip, as the hosts said earlier.
The hosts say Frank Darabont was supposed to direct and left over creative differences, joking he could not do another movie with tunnels to jail cells; they say he later sued AMC over The Walking Dead.
One participant did not prepare a take because he did not know he would be in that chair. — Bill Simmons
Take: Sarah deserved to die; the hosts joke she was headed for a relationship with Nick.
Hottest take: Gerard Butler should have been James Bond instead of Daniel Craig 20 years ago, at a similar career point, in Casino Royale or Skyfall.
The take is called entertaining 'total bullshit' and a 'dazzling putrid take' given Craig's success; without Bond, Butler might not have made Den of Thieves, and Daniel Craig could have been in this film.
Objections: Butler's brand is brutality while Bond needs suaveness, and his Scottish delivery; he does fit the Sean Connery man's-man Bond, but the objector concludes it is terrible. — Van Lathan
For Philadelphia law movies Philadelphia still holds it; for vigilante movies it is Death Wish; for 'Eminence Front' it is probably still the first episode of Entourage. — Bill Simmons
Del Frisco's Steakhouse: 'definitely'. — Bill Simmons
Butler's character is Clyde Shelton and Foxx's is Nick Rice; the hosts say the names flipped along with the roles. — Bill Simmons
Few white men in American history are named Clyde, and Foxx does not look like a Nick Rice; Darius Jackson is joked about as the original. — Bill Simmons
The hosts say Foxx was first set to play Clyde and Butler the lawyer until Butler pushed to flip; they quote Butler saying he was seduced by the other role and asked if Jamie would take the lawyer.
The flip is judged right: Butler as the lawyer would be a worse movie, while it is a better role for Foxx.
Butler's naked arrest adds him to the white leading men who show their butts on camera (Kevin Costner in Robin Hood, Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise); the hosts joke that hairy actors' butts are always waxed. — Bill Simmons
Philadelphia is an underrated, confined movie location; the Rocky statue or the Liberty Bell should have been threatened.
Regina Hall brings gravitas to a role of a few scenes, which is three scenes too short.
Another character explaining the hero's special set of skills is a favorite device; here it comes from 'the House of Cards guy' in a tunnel. — Bill Simmons
Nitpick: Scottish Gerard Butler as a South Torrance football star is questioned, though his accent concealment and Bill Romanowski-like presence are defended. — Chris Ryan
The fourteen-mile Hawthorne-to-Wilmington ride raises a Los Angeles traffic and distance objection. — Chris Ryan
Donnie's failure to request a lawyer after waking in the hotel is questioned; One participant compares real interrogation videos in which suspects similarly fail to ask for counsel.
Merrimen’s access to so much Federal Reserve information is questioned.
The Chinese-food courier’s freedom to enter the Fed and roam the cafeteria is questioned; a front-desk handoff would make more sense. — Bill Simmons
One participant objects to Donnie silently accepting Nick's insult about his penis size, proposing embarrassed or defensive replies rather than allowing the conversation to move on. — Van Lathan
The hosts calculate the weight of thirty million dollars in hundred-dollar bills at roughly 661.5 pounds and question Donnie moving it so quickly in small bags; this is their cited internet calculation. — Chris Ryan
Donnie reconstructing ventilation plans from bar information requires accepting his exceptional intelligence.
A defense imagines far more accumulated conversations and incidental information over time than the brief scenes show; no duration in years is specified.
The Chinese food stored above the bathroom for days prompts questions about spoilage, temperature, smell, and what dishes the women could plausibly accept. — Chris Ryan
Merrimen's running looks too slow for his football reputation to one participant; others propose past injuries, military wounds, and heavy protective gear as possible explanations. — Chris Ryan
The long escape route and traffic are questioned; a closed lane is defended as quintessential Los Angeles, and the robbers expected to leave undetected. — Chris Ryan
Merrimen's objection to Nick's behavior is called hypocritical because he sends his girlfriend to sleep with Nick as a distraction. — Bill Simmons
