Grays Almanac

Home/Episodes/The Bourne Identity

‘The Bourne Identity’ With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan

December 23, 2020 · The Bourne Identity (2002) · Action · Mystery · Thriller · 1:24:16

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Categories

Overacting Award

Chris Ryan▶ 16:33Chris Cooper — Chris Cooper as Conklin - praising his animated performance that reveals character details without explicitly stating them

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 34:08Bourne opening the security box ('My name is Jason Bourne'), Bourne escapes with the red bag (climbing down the wall), and Bourne's apartment scene with the machine gun guy
Chris Ryan▶ 35:17Discussed the diner scene where Bourne's training kicks in and he explains his situational awareness, and praised the apartment scene's shock value

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 56:12Brad Pitt — Discusses the casting history: Universal planned Burt Reynolds in 1983, then Brad Pitt turned it down for Spy Game (calls this a 'big miss'), Russell Crowe was approached and would have done well, Arnold Schwarzenegger was too old, Tom Cruise declined due to Mission Impossible, and Sarah Polley was wanted for female lead but turned it down
Chris Ryan▶ 58:28Matt Damon — Notes that Damon feels 'every man-ish' compared to Russell Crowe who would have felt like a superhero after Gladiator, making Damon the better choice for the character

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:02:10Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje — Adebisi (the actor who plays Wambosi)

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:04:08Nicky Naudé — Castile, the machine gun agent
Chris Ryan▶ 1:03:59Clive Owen — Clive

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:48Shared extensive trivia including: Damon did his own stunts after 3 months training in Eskimo martial arts, climbed walls, did hand-to-hand combat; red bag becomes a planter in Marie's shop; 7-8 people died; Chris Cooper's character modeled on Oliver North; filmed in Prague not Switzerland; detailed story about Gilroy's contract dispute over Born Ultimatum script that Damon called 'unreadable'
Chris Ryan▶ 1:08:22Engaged with trivia by asking questions about Swiss banks anonymity, minimum deposits, and discussing the Damon-Gilroy relationship and Bourne movie rankings (Supremacy, Identity, Legacy, then Ultimatum)

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:11:21Matt Damon — Argues Damon has multiple Apex Mountains but there's a strong case for this movie because it sets up the next 20 years of his career, gives him a franchise, and turns him into one of the three biggest stars in the world
Chris Ryan▶ 1:11:03Matt Damon — Agrees there's a case for Damon, noting this is when he becomes a global action star

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:09Is it more fun to watch thinking Josh Hamilton's character is actually Grover from Kicking and Screaming working for the CIA?
Chris Ryan▶ 1:16:31Did they mess up by killing off Clive Owen instead of keeping him as a recurring antagonist like Darth Vader for the Bourne series?
Chris Ryan▶ 1:22:36Is Matt Damon the greatest actor of all time when it comes to saying the words 'fuck it'?

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:23:31Matt Damon

Movies Referenced (54)

Jason Bourne (2016)

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 2:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Identity (2003)

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 2:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Country Strong (2010)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 3:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Taken (2008)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 11:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Wick (2014)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 9:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Good Will Hunting (1997)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 6:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 6:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Before Sunrise (1995)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 9:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Inside Man (2006)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 1:17:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Spy Game (2001)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 56:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Town (2010)

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 18:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

All the Pretty Horses (2000)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 7:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (9)

Doug Liman

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Edge of Tomorrow, Swingers, Fair Game▶ 9:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mike Nichols

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for The Graduate▶ 22:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Paul Greengrass

3 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for United 93, News of the World▶ 12:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Bay

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Armageddon▶ 12:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Frank Marshall

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Raiders of the Lost Ark▶ 20:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Gus Van Sant

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Drugstore Cowboy▶ 9:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Woo

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Hard Boiled▶ 30:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Soderbergh

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Traffic▶ 9:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Zack Snyder

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Wonder Woman▶ 59:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (74)

Matt Damon

46 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Good Will Hunting, The Martian, The Departed▶ 2:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Clive Owen

25 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Children of Men, Gosford Park▶ 14:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chris Cooper

13 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for American Beauty▶ 14:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brad Pitt

9 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Mr. & Mrs. Smith▶ 7:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Casey Affleck

5 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Manchester by the Sea, Light of My Life▶ 18:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Gerard Butler

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Law Abiding Citizen, The Phantom of the Opera▶ 1:19:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Josh Hamilton

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Alive▶ 14:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Moby

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for The Next Three Days, The Saint▶ 49:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Cruise

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Top Gun, Minority Report▶ 8:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brian Cox

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Troy▶ 14:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jeff Bridges

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart, True Grit▶ 1:14:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Belushi

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers▶ 42:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (8)

Tony Gilroy

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Michael Clayton, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story▶ 18:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Ludlum

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Legacy▶ 13:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Sayles

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Lone Star▶ 16:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Aaron Sorkin

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for A Few Good Men▶ 55:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Cameron

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Avatar, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day▶ 12:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Luc Besson

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Fifth Element, Lucy▶ 30:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Connelly

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Lincoln Lawyer▶ 14:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 22:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (2)

JC Conklin

8 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for The Next Three Days, Warrior▶ 16:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Grantland

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Other Guys▶ 28:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗