Vincent beating Julian and Eddie shutting down Carmen are nominated — Chris Ryan
The entire Chalkies sequence, including Werewolves of London and Eddie’s speech, is selected — Chris Ryan
Eddie and Carmen posing as a couple, the money-player battle, Amos hustling Eddie, Eddie’s comeback montage, and the tournament are nominated — Chris Ryan
Eddie’s dinner demonstration and Balabushka bar sequence are nominated — Bill Simmons
Grady Seasons and Amos are selected for Scorsese’s visual and editing choices — Sean Fennessey
The Werewolves sequence is explicitly selected when a participant is asked for his choice — Bill Simmons
Pushback: the question is who won the movie, not who made the best movie, and Leo wins it.
The Scorsese case: a $300 million movie, the two biggest movie stars playing opposite each other, and the long-awaited Best Picture and Best Director. — Sean Fennessey
Still Leo: one of the most important actors of a lifetime, who proved in two and a half hours that he could do anything. — Bill Simmons
Thought experiment: Leo needed this movie for his stretch but was already Leo; without it Scorsese likely never wins Best Picture or Director and becomes Charles Barkley.
The Dropkick Murphys are a yes: Papelbon used "Shipping Up to Boston" as entrance music and it became the Red Sox song; the Bosstones missed with "The Impression That I Get". — Bill Simmons
"Comfortably Numb" as a song had bigger moments on its original release, but this Van Morrison live-album version is a yes.
After not knowing "Comfortably Numb", quizzed to name a Pink Floyd song and answers The Wall. — Craig Horlbeck
Combat Zone porn theaters are raised, but the area had been cleaned up years before 2006, making them an anachronism; memories of the Combat Zone and a porn theater near the Boston Garden. — Bill Simmons
Alec Baldwin, no (30 Rock); Southie and extended Boston, no, done better; Vera, no (Conjuring, Up in the Air). — Bill Simmons
Kevin Corrigan is the apex mountain of being a cop-magnet cousin; the back porch view recalls Charlestown.
The "Thief's Theme" drive is called a rare great Scorsese hip-hop moment that should have been put in Apex.
On-set friction; Whitey Bulger basis; The Wire offer to Ray Winstone; Scorsese's surprise at winning; Wolf of Wall Street yacht; X motif; Ballhaus's last collaboration; tax credits; Monahan sequel idea; F-word count; VHS; Psycho shower homage
"Him and Nicholson" reportedly did not get along on set (the referent is unclear in the transcript). — Bill Simmons
Nicholson wanted it to be more than a gangster film, so Monaghan based Costello on Whitey Bulger; the window view behind the rat nods to Little Caesar, Scarface and White Heat. — Bill Simmons
Ray Winstone was supposed to play Jimmy McNulty but turned it down because he did not want to move to Baltimore. — Bill Simmons
Reportedly the director was surprised the film won and never thought about awards, finding it too nasty and violent and a remake; the yacht behind Frank is the same yacht as in Wolf of Wall Street. — Bill Simmons
X motif sightings: airport walkway crossbeams, taped windows where Queenan is thrown, behind Costigan in the elevator, and the carpet when Damon returns. — Bill Simmons
This was the last Scorsese-Ballhaus collaboration; an early attempt to shoot with more Infernal Affairs-style whip pans was dropped; later films with Robert Richardson and Rodrigo Prieto look totally different.
Shot mostly in New York for its 15% tax credit, the film prompted Massachusetts to adopt a 25% credit and 15 years of movies filmed there. — Bill Simmons
Monahan described a sequel set before, during and after the first film, showing off-screen actions; the reply from Scorsese was no thanks; Walberg talked about a Dignam sequel, and Ted Sarandos is urged to make one.
The count of the F word is given as 112 and 238 (unclear which is the answer) with a sense it is undercounted; it was the first Best Picture winner not released on VHS.
The shower shots before Madeline listens to the Costigan tape repeat the three shots of Psycho's shower scene. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Costello is raised early: this is not a good Nicholson performance given expectations, and failing to get an Oscar nomination at his stature means something went wrong.
The part needs real weight and prestige, a Brando Godfather type; Daniel DeLois and Sean Penn are too young, Jimmy Con and Duval too old, and Gandalfini is not Irish.
Nicholson was at the tail end of his career, like Magic Johnson in 1996; the movie might be tighter without his indulgences, but it is hard to conceive without him; in A Few Good Men every choice was perfect, here he is all over the place.
Hackman is proposed and liked: imposing, has played bastards, never worked with Scorsese, though he may have checked out by then; one participant would rather roll the dice with Hackman.
James Badge Dale was not famous enough to register as the guy from earlier; the counterpoint is that it works because it is someone the audience does not know. — Bill Simmons
Ryan Gosling is rejected; Jake Gyllenha and Keith Ledger are floated, but a star disappearing for two hours would be distracting, and Badge Dale is legit good. — Sean Fennessey
The casting what-ifs are called probably the best for any movie they have done, a whole alternate Departed. — Bill Simmons
Pitt bought the producing rights, planned to play the Damon part, then decided he might be too old and went to do Babel. — Bill Simmons
Debate over Pitt: good instincts about roles and a great producer, but miscast himself in Meet Joe Black and The Devil's Own; Damon was the better choice.
Ray Leota was the original choice for Dignam but declined over other commitments, his 2006 films including Comeback Season, Local Color and Even Money. — Bill Simmons
Dennis Leary was the second choice for Dignam but had to make season three of "rest of me" (as transcribed); he would have been great, though Walberg is perfect. — Bill Simmons
Ellerby was offered to Mel Gibson, who was starting Apocalypto; Queenan was supposed to be De Niro, who made The Good Shepherd; the Anthony Anderson role was meant for "the Rizza" (transcript form, unresolved), who was too old or had conflicts. — Bill Simmons
Leo was in The Good Shepherd but dropped out to play Billy Costigan, and Damon then took The Good Shepherd role; The Good Shepherd is called an unexamined movie with a dynamite cast.
The alternate cast (Leo, Pitt, Pacino, Leota, De Niro, Mel Gibson and the Riza) is called pretty loaded and preferred by one participant; Pacino would lose Costello's lumbering physicality but gain CR doing Pacino.
Would-you-rathers: Walberg over Ray Leota, Baldwin over Mel Gibson 100 out of 100 times, and De Niro over Sheen since he can underplay.
Opening background montage; the final rat; Gimme Shelter reuse; blind pocket texting; microprocessors plot device; cocaine opera scene; bad Boston accents; Nicholson's race monologue, dildo and Red Sox hat refusal; confusing final shootout; New York standing in for Boston; nonexistent State House view
The opening background montage is held for this category: it does not work, feels like a different movie, and could be cut from a two-and-a-half-hour film since a later line does the work. — Bill Simmons
Nicholson is saved for last; Nicholson running has aged both best and worst.
The rat is disliked, and the body on the floor in the reverse shot is not Damon; nobody told Scorsese no in 2006, likened to their own Miami Vice pod.
A requested defense of the rat, not fully believed: in a maximalist movie it is the final maximalist note, meaning corruption rises to the top and betrayal lives on in institutions; the reply is that a cool crime movie does not need a grand statement. — Sean Fennessey
Flip phones as a central character are listed, but also called a nice time capsule. — Bill Simmons
Walberg's hair: joking speculation that this was the last movie before he found a hair guy, with a Tom Brady comparison, explicitly labeled speculation; a defense of Irish hair becoming a bouffant applies to the character, not Walberg. — Bill Simmons
Gimme Shelter used a third time after Goodfellas and Casino, looped three times here; it is defended as an intentional sonic-barrage motif as in Wolf, but his earlier uses were more precise and the song became a cliche and crutch.
Damon texting blind in his pocket on T9 would never happen with an iPhone.
The microprocessors plot device is questioned; it should have been a drugs and guns movie, though it may exist to justify FBI interest, as in early The Wire.
The cocaine opera scene is bonkers with no explanation, possibly Nicholson wanting to have fun, or showing Costello as Satan and a pure hedonist.
Bad Boston accents: Leo is okay, Baldwin is a Long Island-Boston hybrid; the bad ones include Vera, who abandons hers after an hour, and Martin Sheen, whose lifer character needed it.
Nicholson items: the race monologue should have been cut, the porn theater dildo is inexplicable, and he refused to wear a Red Sox hat and banned them on set in a Boston gangster movie despite killing people onscreen. — Bill Simmons
Whether Whitey Bulger wore a Red Sox hat is questioned; Nicholson may wear a Yankee hat in one scene; a joke that someone in Costello's crew would shoot him over it. — Bill Simmons
Found a photo of Whitey Bulger wearing a Red Sox hat. — Craig Horlbeck
The shootout that kills Costello is spatially confusing, and some cutting misfires, such as blood exploding from Sheen before he hits the ground. — Chris Ryan
It is not really Boston: they shot only a couple weeks there, and the Chinatown chase is obviously New York.
Costello's scheme to confirm Billy is not the rat is unimpressive, a plot flaw. — Sean Fennessey
John Lennon's "Well Well Well" plays and then Nicholson opens a John Lennon speech, called ridiculous though entertaining. — Sean Fennessey
The State House view from the condo in the last shot does not exist, since Beacon Hill is surrounded by buildings and trees; tied to an old Blown Away complaint about bastardized Boston geography. — Bill Simmons
Leo versus Damon; Damon's villain performance; Damon's Boston accent; Damon's contempt for firemen; Baldwin and Wahlberg running SIU; Baldwin's 'go fuck yourself'; Nicholson's death scene; Scorsese's highball-glass record; the 'black guy in Boston' line
Leo versus Damon as generational rivals, like LeBron and Durant, with Walberg compared to James Hardin and then Anthony Davis; the movie catches both at their peaks. — Bill Simmons
Leo and Damon reportedly barely saw each other during production, shooting nights and days respectively, like Heat.
Damon's performance is called underrated: an effortless, unlikable, insecure villain; many of his best roles (School Ties, Ripley, The Informant, early Good Will Hunting) are good jerks.
Damon versus Walberg for the goat Boston accent in a movie, and Damon wins: here it is the accent of someone trying to hide it while climbing, slipping out in the wrong spots; one participant says he knows nothing about the Boston accent. — Bill Simmons
Damon's real contempt for firemen, and the credits arriving 18 minutes in. — Bill Simmons
Baldwin and Wahlberg running SIU with no HR department; questions about why it is state troopers rather than Boston PD, perhaps speaking to trooper incompetence; Baldwin's "go fuck yourself" is great.
The Nicholson death scene is really good, prompting an impromptu best Nicholson death scene: Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining and Batman join The Departed as a Mount Rushmore; Witches of Eastwick is pitched; The Shining maze death is preferred by one participant. — Bill Simmons
His shirt reading Irish in the death scene; Nicholson's own choices (the dildo, the cocaine, the opera) suggest he had carte blanche.
Scorsese officially breaks the record for characters hitting another character over the head with a highball glass, and no bar scene ever works out in a Scorsese movie. — Bill Simmons
The line to Anthony Anderson that as a black guy in Boston he does not need help to be completely fucked is called a subtle, smart Boston touch. — Bill Simmons
Wahlberg and Baldwin grilling DiCaprio; driving range scene; rooftop triple cross and elevator; Frank meets Billy to 'Let It Loose'; Queenan's fall and Dignam quitting; French and Frank's 'reliable' talk; Madeline and Billy's first session and Comfortably Numb scene
The first pod handled this category loosely; this time they are doing it correctly, likened to the third Seinfeld plot when they had figured out how to incorporate Elaine, but not really.
First pick: Walberg's Dignam, with Baldwin, grilling Leo ("lace curtain motherfucker", "double kid", different accents), treated as one long scene that could be watched on YouTube for hours.
Walberg is really good here even if he dials it up; it is called the second best use of him after Dirk Diggler, and his character makes no sense, which the movie turns into a trick that pays off in the last shot; James Badge Dale's character works similarly.
The cranberry juice scene, missing from the last episode: Ray Winstone's "guys you can hit" monologue, the bar patron's "natural diuretic" line, and the later Nicholson callback; the sarcastic reaction is called exactly what would happen in a Boston bar. — Bill Simmons
Borderline pick: Damon's first date with Vera, well written and acted. — Bill Simmons
Leo meets Costello in the bar: a favorite character introduction via the two middle-aged ladies and "Mr. French", like Satan or Michael Myers arriving, then the back-room scene where the undercover cop's pushback leaves Costello wondering what is wrong with this kid.
The "spilled guineas" line is called a weird line that got greenlit and the first 35 minutes pretty racist.
DiCaprio called filming a one-on-one scene with Jack one of the most memorable moments of his life; it is unclear whether he meant the bar scene or the table scene with the drawing and rat noises, which feels improvised.
The Chinese surveillance scene, picked for Walberg's "I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy," called one of the great movie lines, plus Baldwin fired up about the Patriot Act as a snapshot of the time.
The driving range scene: Baldwin's theory on marriage and Damon's "working overtime"; the golf swing is bad; the scene is nearly shot for shot from Infernal Affairs, which had no humor.
The porn theater scene is well constructed, with Nicholson's dildo, leading into the "I got this rat" scene.
344 Washington: Sheen falling to his death was shocking in the theater; the van drives over the body and blood spatters Leo; it leads straight to Walberg quitting ("two weeks with pay") and Boggs as Delahunt. — Bill Simmons
Also listed: Damon calling a dead man's phone, Costello's death scene with Jack running, Mr. French killing himself just before the car blows up, and Leo versus Damon. — Bill Simmons
Adds the random French and Frank scene about who is reliable, with the cutaway to Frank murdering his wife called anachronistic. — Chris Ryan
Adds two Madeline and Billy scenes: the first session ("two pills... give me a bottle of scotch and a handgun") and the Comfortably Numb sex scene, one of the very few good love scenes in a Scorsese movie. — Chris Ryan
Another answer: the movie is most fun when Wahlberg or Baldwin gives someone shit, especially the first Walberg sequence with Leo and Baldwin on the driving range; the rooftop confrontation, triple cross and elevator is the best executed sequence. — Sean Fennessey
Favorite: Frank meets Billy with the Stones' "Let It Loose" playing; the most enjoyed combination is Sheen falling to his death followed by Walberg quitting.
The triple shooting is among the best action Scorsese has shot, shock after shock from Anthony Anderson to Barrigan, forcing viewers to reprocess Barrigan as a Costello mole; seeing it next to Tarantino would be even more fun. — Bill Simmons
