‹ All people
Sneakers
Sneakers
Sneakers
Toy Soldiers
National Lampoon’s Vacation
My Cousin Vinny
Singles
Saving Private Ryan
Unforgiven
Parenthood
Parenthood
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 3
- Movies in this archive
- 4
Rewatchables episodes featuring River Phoenix’s films
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1989 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey
Aired June 20, 2023
Displaying all 3 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
What role would Philip Seymour Hoffman play?
Carl preferred for a young Hoffman; Mother initially proposed
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:32Read transcript
- Aykroyd’s role is initially suggested, but the panel accepts River Phoenix’s part when considering early-career Hoffman.
Apex Mountain
Scrabble tiles and evading motion sensors qualify; the major actors mostly do not.
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:33:18Read transcript
- Redford is rejected for Apex Mountain here. — Bill Simmons
- River Phoenix is probably rejected; Stand by Me, My Own Private Idaho, and Running on Empty are alternatives. — Bill Simmons
- Poitier is rejected, with 1967 identified as his stronger period. — Bill Simmons
- Aykroyd is rejected, and Species is preferred for strange Kingsley performances. — Bill Simmons
- The slow walk to evade security sensors is accepted. — Bill Simmons
- Scrabble tiles are accepted. — Bill Simmons
- Seinfeld wins for the name Cosmo. — Bill Simmons
- Geese sounding like a cocktail party is discussed, but its use in another unidentified film prevents a clean claim of originality. — Joanna Robinson
- Sneakers is preferred to Blue Chips for a Mary McDonnell character being pursued by an old flame. — Bill Simmons
- Dances with Wolves is preferred for McDonnell herself. — Kyle Brandt
- Braille Playboy is suggested as an Apex candidate. — Bill Simmons
- Helium-voice humor is enjoyed but not given its Apex here.
- A later tangent awards ceiling-vent crawling to John McClane after considering Jurassic Park. — Joanna Robinson
Mallory Rubin Award: Did This Movie Need a Better Sex Scene?
Carl and Mary should have had a sex scene.
Flex pick · Kyle Brandt
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:09Read transcript
- Chooses the better-sex-scene flex category for Carl and Mary, rather than Bish and Liz. — Kyle Brandt
- Carl is inducted into a joking horny-character hall of fame alongside other film characters. — Kyle Brandt
- The panel jokes that promising a River Phoenix sex scene could have improved the marketing. — Joanna Robinson
Half-Assed Internet Research
Novel; budget; auditions; improvisation; locations; Yogurt nickname; careers; eighteen deaths
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:54Read transcript
- A feature reportedly said Wheaton wrote a character biography and watched The Godfather films; he recalled improvising the requested accent without studying a specific one. — Bill Simmons
- The film is reported to adapt William P.Kennedy’s 1988 novel, directed by Beverly Hills Cop writer Daniel Petrie, with a $10 million budget and $15 million gross. — Bill Simmons
- The banana-peel exchange was reportedly improvised and Gossett continued the scene. — Bill Simmons
- Helicopter footage was reportedly filmed in San Antonio; the fictional Virginia school differs from the real Manhattan Regis. — Bill Simmons
- Shawn Phelan reportedly acquired the Yogurt nickname after spilling yogurt in a van, and the film adopted it. — Bill Simmons
- Petrie reportedly blamed the R rating for box-office trouble; Astin and Coogan knew each other growing up, and Astin had wanted the River Phoenix role in Stand by Me. — Bill Simmons
- Coogan’s later career trouble is attributed in the cited research to a billing dispute and firing his agent after Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. — Bill Simmons
- The body count is corrected from a guess of 12 to 18. — Bill Simmons
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Hall as greatest teen actor, disputed; salesman was right; Clark’s infidelity defended, disputed
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:02Read transcript
- Anthony Michael Hall is proposed as the greatest teenage actor based on Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science within three years. — Bill Simmons
- River Phoenix and Leonardo DiCaprio are preferred by an opposing view; Robert Downey Jr., Jon Cryer, and Molly Ringwald are also raised, with Ringwald criticized as less varied. — Bill Simmons
- DiCaprio’s This Boy’s Life, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Romeo + Juliet, Growing Pains, and The Basketball Diaries are compared, with uncertainty about whether some fall within his teenage years.
- Phoenix’s case includes Stand by Me, The Mosquito Coast, Running on Empty, The Last Crusade, My Own Private Idaho, and Little Nikita.
- The Hall claim is softened toward most successful or beloved rather than best; his consistently welcome presence remains the defense. — Bill Simmons
- Hall’s teenage SNL membership underscores his stature, while later Vacation-series child casting is criticized as inferior. — Bill Simmons
- The salesman was right about the family truckster because it completes the trip and survives an enormous crash.
- Clark’s attempted infidelity is provocatively defended as a response to repeated rejection; the claim of a sexless marriage is disputed and the pool-waitress excuse remains indefensible. — Van Lathan
- Hall’s characters in Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science are defended as distinct, and he can serve as Chase’s straight man. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Wil Wheaton; unnamed young Henry Hill actor; Feldman, Downey and Phoenix questioned
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:32Read transcript
- Corey Feldman as Stan is considered too much; Downey is judged too established or difficult to fit at this point.
- Wil Wheaton earns agreement; River Phoenix is probably too much, and the actor who played young Henry Hill is suggested without a name. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Mathis as Linda; Cusack or Stoltz as Steve; Hamilton considered
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:23Read transcript
- Cusack initially seemed the obvious post-Say Anything Crowe avatar, though affection for Scott has grown. — Chris Ryan
- Samantha Mathis as Linda is welcomed as a younger alternative to Sedgwick. — Bill Simmons
- Josh Hamilton as Steve is considered but may be young and would make the film resemble Kicking and Screaming. — Bill Simmons
- River Phoenix is rejected as too handsome; Slater is considered too young. — Bill Simmons
- Cusack or Stoltz are proposed as stronger Steve options, though Stoltz may seem too cool. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Damon as Miller
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:39Read transcript
- Reiben is imagined as a role for mid-2000s DiCaprio, a surviving River Phoenix, or Heath Ledger in a version ten years later. — Bill Simmons
- Phoenix is also proposed for Wade, prompting joking reshuffles of Ribisi and Davies; Reiben is characterized as the film’s best straightforward movie-star part.
- The original 1998 casting is retained; for a modern Miller, Clooney is considered too old and Reynolds too youthful-looking. — Bill Simmons
- Reilly is rejected as too old and Driver is doubted despite his military service because he lacks the desired reassuring Hanks quality; Dave Franco is briefly floated. — Bill Simmons
- DiCaprio and Gyllenhaal are discussed, with Gyllenhaal considered too handsome and nervy; Ledger is mourned as someone who could have filled this type of role. — Bill Simmons
- Damon is the accepted modern replacement for Miller. — Bill Simmons
- Swapping Sizemore with Giamatti is proposed as a test of how essential he was, though Sizemore is credited with improving the film. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
River or Joaquin Phoenix; DiCaprio; young Cruise; tentative Gooding or Wahlberg
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:27Read transcript
- The Kid’s cowardice and lack of heroic scenes are defended as difficult material for a young star. — Chris Ryan
- The Kid’s admission of never killing anyone is singled out as a major performance opportunity. — Sean Fennessey
- River Phoenix is proposed as the Schofield Kid. — Sean Fennessey
- Leonardo DiCaprio is another possibility, compared with his later Quick and the Dead appearance. — Sean Fennessey
- An early1980s Tom Cruise is imagined as a strong Kid. — Bill Simmons
- River Phoenix is reaffirmed as a Schofield Kid alternative. — Bill Simmons
- Joaquin Phoenix is a Schofield Kid alternative. — Bill Simmons
- DiCaprio is reaffirmed as a Schofield Kid alternative. — Bill Simmons
- Keanu Reeves is considered a poor fit despite affection for him. — Bill Simmons
- Cuba Gooding Jr. is proposed, with concern the timing may be early. — Bill Simmons
- Kiefer Sutherland is rejected as too old. — Bill Simmons
- Mark Wahlberg is proposed for the brash, dishonest energy, though perhaps two years early. — Sean Fennessey
- Sam Rockwell is considered too young. — Sean Fennessey
What’s Aged the Best?
Joaquin Phoenix; Kanye West lyric; Keanu Reeves; overlapping young cast; thumb trick; helium grandmother; Phoenix and DiCaprio rivalry; Garry’s room; the boyfriend’s arc; Grazer nude-photo backstory; Cure poster; Kevin’s tense face; Harley Jane Kozak; money realism
In the discussion (16)
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:29Read transcript
- Joaquin Phoenix, then credited as Leaf, gives a performance that forecasts an Oscar winner, especially when his face breaks while asking his father if he can live with him. — Bill Simmons
- One participant did not realize the actor was the boy from Parenthood until after Gladiator, when a sister pointed it out. — Van Lathan
- A Kanye West lyric from Gone about a new wife and “now you’re Jennifer Aniston” is said to borrow from the film’s line about a new wife and family. — Van Lathan
- Keanu Reeves in his pre-Speed, Bill and Ted phase is fun and owns the boyfriend role, compared with David Arquette taking it in the TV series. — Bill Simmons
- The cast captures an era of overlapping young actors, with Reeves and River Phoenix making a Gus Van Sant film and Martha Plimpton dating River Phoenix; Plimpton is also praised. — Bill Simmons
- Gil’s thumb trick still delights small children. — Bill Simmons
- The grandmother inhaling helium is favored, as any helium scene is funny. — Bill Simmons
- Per the research, there was a rivalry in which DiCaprio sought the Garry role, Phoenix got it, and the two competed for parts, with Phoenix measuring himself against DiCaprio. — Bill Simmons
- Garry’s chaotic room is praised as a horror show compared with a real teenager’s room. — Bill Simmons
- The boyfriend character as every parent’s nightmare who turns out decent is a favored concept. — Bill Simmons
- The nude-photo discovery reportedly happened to producer Brian Grazer; developing such photos in the 1980s is joked about. — Bill Simmons
- The Cure's Boys Don't Cry poster in Julie's room is appreciated. — Bill Simmons
- Kevin’s tense face became a recurring reference in an early sports column, seen in a head coach during the Super Bowl and in LeBron James. — Bill Simmons
- Harley Jane Kozak, also Helen in When Harry Met Sally, is appreciated as an actor who never quite broke through. — Bill Simmons
- The film’s candid treatment of money, including Larry’s debts, Gil’s worries about private school, and summer-school pay funding a vacation, is more relatable than shows where money is no object. — Chris Ryan
- The car sex-act gag is raised but deferred to Apex Mountain.
Half-Assed Internet Research
Failed 1990 NBC series; Blonde Goddess tape; Wiest and Steenburgen friendship; Florida location; Plimpton wig and mohawk; Helen Shaw’s final film; cast murder game; Martin’s late fatherhood
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:39Read transcript
- Brought forward from internet research: NBC ordered a Parenthood series from a rough cut, per Bill Carter in The New York Times, and the 1990 show was canceled after twelve episodes. — Bill Simmons
- The 1990 series cast David Arquette and a young DiCaprio in the Garry role, part of a late-1980s wave of failed movie-based shows such as Ferris Bueller, Working Girl, Uncle Buck and Dirty Dancing. — Bill Simmons
- The later Parenthood series is considered good by those who watched early seasons; Friday Night Lights is an outlier because it reworked the premise. — Bill Simmons
- The Ferris Bueller TV show’s joke about a poster of Matthew Broderick playing him is recalled as hacky. — Van Lathan
- The adult tape Helen finds was reportedly Blonde Goddess, a 1982 film whose opening parodied Indiana Jones. — Bill Simmons
- Dianne Wiest and Mary Steenburgen were reportedly best friends who worked as waitresses together at the Magic Pan before being cast as sisters-in-law; both won Oscars. — Bill Simmons
- The film is set in St. Louis but was shot in Florida, with palm trees and a Publix visible. — Chris Ryan
- Martha Plimpton dated River Phoenix for nearly five years and began the shoot bald from a prior role, wearing a wig until Ron Howard had her shave her head into a mohawk. — Bill Simmons
- Helen Shaw, who played the grandmother, made her final film here and died in 1997 at age 100. — Bill Simmons
- During filming the cast became obsessed with a Mafia-like murder game played through eye contact, including during the dinner scene. — Bill Simmons
- Steve Martin did not become a parent until age 67 in 2012 despite starring in two iconic parent movies of his generation. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Leonardo DiCaprio as John Connor; Michael Biehn as the T-1000
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:18Read transcript
- A recasting-couch pick moved into aged-worst: two years earlier, Leo could have played John; earlier still, River Phoenix or Christian Slater. — Bill Simmons
- DiCaprio as John would work by making him 13 and nudging the war to 2000, countered that the first film fixed the date.
- Michael Biehn as the T-1000, out of respect for an under-appreciated glue-guy actor who was the hero of the first film and was off shooting Tombstone while everyone returned.
- The pick is called porn for Chris, president of the Biehn fan club, and Biehn's appearance in The Mandalorian is celebrated.
Displaying discussions 1 - 12 of 19 in total
