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‘Independence Day’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Shea Serrano

July 5, 2021 · Independence Day (1996) · Action · Adventure · Sci-Fi · 1:25:41

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Categories

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 22:53Bill Pullman — Discusses Bill Pullman's career trajectory after Independence Day, noting he seemed destined for A-list stardom but it never materialized despite strong performance
Chris Ryan▶ 23:03Bill Pullman — Agrees Pullman seemed like he would become a major movie star after Independence Day but never reached full movie star status, remaining more of a journeyman character actor
Shea Serrano▶ 24:31Bill Pullman — Analyzes Pullman's unique acting strengths in subtle moments and quick humor, explaining why he works well in certain roles but may have limited shelf life as leading man

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 36:12The speech by Bill Pullman - 'Today, we celebrate our Independence Day'
Chris Ryan▶ 34:16Agreed with Will Smith sequence, particularly the desert dragging scene as the moment 'Will Smith becomes Will Smith'
Shea Serrano▶ 33:21Will Smith's sequence - punching the alien and dragging it through the desert ('Welcome to Earth')

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 57:09Kevin Spacey — Shares multiple casting what-ifs: Kevin Spacey was originally supposed to be the president but Fox refused; Allie Walker was supposed to play Margaret Colin's character; Jada Pinkett was supposed to be Vivica Fox's character but had scheduling conflict with Nutty Professor; Matthew Perry was originally offered Captain Jimmy Wilder role but pulled out
Chris Ryan▶ 58:37Matthew Perry — Thinks Matthew Perry made the right choice pulling out of the Captain Jimmy Wilder role, questioning if he would have done it the same way as Harry Connick Jr.

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 59:53Leland Orser
Chris Ryan▶ 59:51Leland Orser

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:01:16Harry Connick Jr. — Harry Connick Jr. - considers it 'a category of one' with his loud nine-minute performance including pretending to kiss Will Smith's ass, doing a Jesse Jackson impersonation, and dying
Chris Ryan▶ 1:01:25Harry Connick Jr. — Agrees with Connick Jr. pick, emphasizing his memorable scenes of pretending to kiss Will Smith's ass, doing Jesse Jackson impersonation, then dying
Shea Serrano▶ 1:02:04The alien working shuttle intake on the mothership - describes him as his favorite character, working in a cubicle like it's a regular Tuesday while world-ending events happen around him

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:00Presented extensive trivia including film's origin story from Stargate promotion, military backing out due to Area 51, 3000+ special effects shots, White House model destruction, Bill Clinton screening, VHS marketing success, and Robert Loggia airplane/airport confusion incident
Chris Ryan▶ 1:07:22Participated in Oscar nominees guessing game and provided commentary on various trivia points, particularly engaging with Will Smith career discussion
Shea Serrano▶ 1:07:22Participated in Oscar nominees guessing game, correctly guessing Will Smith and engaging with trivia discussion

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:17:22Multiple questions about logistics: Chicago's status after not getting a spaceship, how Jeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch could travel from Manhattan to DC in six hours during apocalyptic traffic, and whether Margaret Cullen should have ended up with Bill Pullman instead of Jeff Goldblum
Chris Ryan▶ 1:17:07What are we looking at after this? What's he the president of? How fast can we get America propped up again?
Shea Serrano▶ 1:19:09I didn't see one single net that needed to be picked when I rewatched this. Everything lined up perfect.

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:24:23Will Smith
Chris Ryan▶ 1:24:29Will Smith — Will Smith - acknowledges Bill Pullman has the best scene but Will Smith makes this movie what it is

Movies Referenced (48)

Men in Black (1997)

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 5:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Lake Placid (1999)

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Shea Serrano▶ 23:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bad Boys (1995)

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 4:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

White House Down (2013)

7 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 21:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Armageddon (1998)

6 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 12:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jurassic Park (1993)

6 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 2:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Godzilla (2014)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 12:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rushmore (1998)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 19:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

2012 (2009)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 42:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Deep Impact (1998)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 9:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Game (1997)

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 48:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

War of the Worlds (2005)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 1:14:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (7)

Roland Emmerich

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Chris Ryan · Known for Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow▶ 8:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Colorado

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Hancock▶ 29:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Mann

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Insider, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans▶ 19:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Clint Eastwood

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, Unforgiven▶ 38:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jill Goodacre

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:12:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Soderbergh

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Traffic▶ 1:22:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Spielberg

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Schindler's List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Saving Private Ryan▶ 8:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (64)

Will Smith

37 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Chris Ryan · Known for Men in Black, I Am Legend▶ 4:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jeff Goldblum

27 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Shea Serrano · Known for Jurassic Park, The Fly, The Grand Budapest Hotel▶ 3:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Pullman

20 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Independence Day, Spaceballs▶ 11:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Betty White

13 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Chris Ryan · Known for The Proposal, Lake Placid▶ 9:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Rebhorn

8 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Independence Day, The Game, The Talented Mr. Ripley▶ 44:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Randy Quaid

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Independence Day, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation▶ 28:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Vivica A. Fox

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Shea Serrano · Known for Independence Day, Kill Bill: Vol. 1▶ 7:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Demi Moore

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Striptease, Indecent Proposal▶ 1:05:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mary McDonnell

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Margin Call, Donnie Darko▶ 1:00:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Loggia

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Big, Independence Day, Lost Highway▶ 44:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Adam Baldwin

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Serenity, Independence Day, Full Metal Jacket▶ 35:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Al Pacino

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Dog Day Afternoon, The Godfather▶ 48:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (4)

Jackie Files

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 14:58IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Sayles

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Lone Star▶ 1:05:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Julie Siege

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 10:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 28:58IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Other Guys▶ 26:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗