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'Good Will Hunting’ With Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey

January 25, 2018 · Good Will Hunting (1997) · Drama · Romance · 1:42:58

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Most Rewatchable Scene

Chris Ryan▶ 22:14The Pudge Fisk story scene
Shea Serrano▶ 25:02The ponytail/Clark scene in the bar

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 38:12Leonardo DiCaprio — Discusses Castle Rock wanting Leo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt instead of Damon/Affleck, mentions Mel Gibson as producer/director would be weird, and reveals Michael Mann wanted to direct and make them car thieves while replacing Matt Damon
Chris Ryan▶ 38:38Jeff Bridges — Williams is more replaceable than Damon/Affleck, suggests Jeff Bridges would have been good alternative, mentions Dustin Hoffman and Judd Hirsch as possibilities, but notes no one else could deliver Williams' comedy classroom scenes
Sean Fennessey▶ 38:23Michael Mann — Questions whether other actors were considered for Sean character, asks if Michael Mann's car thief version related to CIA story, notes Mann's car thief concept would be very characteristic of his style

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 40:15Multiple elements including the friendship/buddy bonds, Elliott Smith's music, Casey Affleck's 'I Hate LA' shirt, Boston accents (except Robin Williams), 'How about them apples' scene, the ending, and Robin Williams' and Ben Affleck's costume choices
Chris Ryan▶ 43:13The friendship stuff and interpersonal relationships between Damon and Affleck and Damon and Williams - timeless elements that could work in movies from 1940 or 2018
Sean Fennessey▶ 44:11The dialogue - every line was memorable and burned into your brain in a way most movies can't achieve
Shea Serrano▶ 43:24The friendships, mainly because of everything that happened afterward with Damon and Affleck staying connected, though could be talked into the 'How about them apples' scene

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 48:09The movie is too long, especially the scene where Skyler meets Will's buddies with the two long jokes

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 51:08Casey Affleck
Chris Ryan▶ 55:15Discussed Casey Affleck's nepotistic advantage and praised the screenwriting choice of naming a character Carmine Scarpaglia as a heat check move, but didn't declare a specific winner
Sean Fennessey▶ 51:22Stellan Skarsgård — Stellan Skarsgård (Professor Lambeau)
Shea Serrano▶ 52:20Cole Hauser

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:03:42Collection of trivia facts including: Boston Public Garden bench is now a Robin Williams memorial, he lived 6 minutes from Bunker Hill Community College, screenplay had a fake gay sex scene to test if people were reading it, Robin Williams ad-libbed the wife farting scene and suggested L Street Bar, 'Son of a bitch he stole my line' was ad-libbed, Robin Williams' character based on mix of Damon's mom and Affleck's dad, Gus Van Sant painted the office painting, Damon and Driver dated during filming and broke up after Oscars
Chris Ryan▶ 1:08:18Terrence Malick suggested changing the ending so Will chases after Skylar instead of them leaving together, which became the final ending of the movie

Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 1:17:38Chucky and Cole Hauser would have immediately beat the shit out of Ponytail Guy - in real life that guy has a broken jaw and concussion
Bill Simmons▶ 1:17:52Nobody in the MIT class could figure out either equation - not one of the best people we have was even close
Bill Simmons▶ 1:19:14Sean's a fake Red Sox fan who didn't really care about the team that much
Chris Ryan▶ 1:18:29It's strange that Chucky enables Will's bad behavior but wants him to leave - why drive around and get into gang fights if you want him out of Southie?
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:16:50Why would the NSA try to convince a felon who's been arrested 15 times in two years to come work for them - it's incredibly unreasonably illogical
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:18:52The Danny Elfman score sucks and feels like it's from a completely different movie, like Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Shea Serrano▶ 1:19:24When Affleck picks up Damon, he brings the coffee to him instead of leaving it in the car - that's not happening, it's weird

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 1:19:49Multiple quotes including 'Son of a bitch, you stole my line' and 'It's a good engine'
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:19:53I had a double burger
Shea Serrano▶ 1:20:13Put your sandwich on layaway

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:25:45Will and Skylar break up within three weeks after Will beats up a Stanford kid who makes fun of his accent, gets arrested, and Skylar bails him out
Chris Ryan▶ 1:24:40Will and Skylar last about a semester - three or four good weeks before falling apart when she confronts him about telling her he didn't love her
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:26:21Will becomes a tech billionaire Steve Jobs-type figure in Northern California during the late 90s tech boom
Shea Serrano▶ 1:27:04Will realizes the relationship won't last, returns to Boston after Sean dies of a heart attack, and goes back to construction work - that's just his life

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:40Matt Damon — Matt Damon - other people could have played Williams' part well, but no one else could have made Damon's part work the same way
Chris Ryan▶ 1:38:54Matt Damon — Matt Damon - he has to do dumb, smart, physical, romantic lead and be believable as both tough guy and genius
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:37:52Robin Williams — Robin Williams - because it's his best performance and the 'It's Not Your Fault' scene will be the centerpiece of any posthumous Oscar montage
Shea Serrano▶ 1:38:43Robin Williams — Robin Williams - he was never beaten in any scene and was always the best in a movie full of great actors

Movies Referenced (60)

Boogie Nights (1997)

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 1:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Town (2010)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:27:58IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Den of Thieves (2018)

5 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey▶ 11:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Departed (2006)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 46:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 1:30:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

School Ties (1992)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 34:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Titanic (1997)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 10:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Armageddon (1998)

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 36:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

As Good as It Gets (1997)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 12:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Courage Under Fire (1996)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 34:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Finding Forrester (2000)

3 mentions · Shea Serrano, Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons▶ 1:23:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jackie Brown (1997)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey▶ 13:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (10)

Ben Affleck

10 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Argo, Gone Girl, The Town▶ 25:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Mann

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for The Insider, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans▶ 39:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Gus Van Sant

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Shea Serrano · Known for Drugstore Cowboy▶ 29:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Kevin Smith

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Clerks, Chasing Amy▶ 2:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rob Reiner

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for This Is Spinal Tap, The Wolf of Wall Street▶ 3:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Terrence Malick

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Days of Heaven, The Tree of Life▶ 1:08:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mel Gibson

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Braveheart, Conspiracy Theory▶ 6:58IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Woo

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons · Known for Hard Boiled▶ 3:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chris Corner

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Saint, Open Your Eyes▶ 1:03:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sean Penn

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking▶ 1:34:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (72)

Matt Damon

97 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Good Will Hunting, The Martian, The Departed▶ 2:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cole Hauser

30 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Chris Ryan · Known for Dazed and Confused, Good Will Hunting▶ 25:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robin Williams

30 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Mrs. Doubtfire▶ 9:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Casey Affleck

21 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Sean Fennessey · Known for Manchester by the Sea, Light of My Life▶ 25:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Minnie Driver

13 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Good Will Hunting▶ 9:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Castle Rock

11 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey▶ 3:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Danny Trejo

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn, Predators▶ 1:10:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mark Ruffalo

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Chris Ryan · Known for Spotlight, The Kids Are All Right, The Avengers▶ 1:11:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jack Nicholson

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Shea Serrano · Known for Chinatown, As Good as It Gets, The Departed▶ 12:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brad Pitt

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Mr. & Mrs. Smith▶ 5:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Forster

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey · Known for Jackie Brown, The Descendants, Mulholland Drive▶ 13:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Amy Ryan

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey · Known for Gone Baby Gone▶ 34:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (6)

Harvey Weinstein

11 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for Shakespeare in Love, The Hateful Eight▶ 2:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

William Goldman

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Shea Serrano · Known for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, The Princess Bride▶ 4:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Patch Adams

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Patch Adams▶ 13:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Harold Ramis

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Stripes▶ 1:01:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Cameron

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Avatar, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day▶ 13:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jon Favreau

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Chef, Iron Man, Swingers▶ 1:09:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗