The Big Picture · Interview
November 7, 2018/ 48 min/ Bill Simmons
A Bill Simmons interview, rerun on the Big Picture feed: Greg Kinnear on the road from cable-access host to Talk Soup to acting, and the films that got him there.
5 films across 1 segment.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
In conversation
His first movie: Sydney Pollack's remake opposite Harrison Ford and Julie Ormond, which he landed off a Talk Soup tape after the studio's other choices passed. He calls the remake worthy but a little strange, and thinks Audrey Hepburn's original made it a hard swing.
The James L. Brooks film with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt that got Kinnear his Oscar nomination, in the same year as Titanic. Originally titled Old Friends. He grants the years-long gay-bashing plays rough under a 2018 lens.
Paul Schrader's Bob Crane biopic, with Willem Dafoe as Carpenter. The dark one he tells his kids never to watch; Schrader was convinced Crane's friend killed him and Scottsdale police botched the case.
Nearly fell apart as Abigail Breslin kept aging out of Olive, until a producer wrote a $7 million check to make it. Kinnear says it only clicked for him at the read-throughs, and needed a clean five-for-five cast.
The Farrelly brothers' conjoined-twins comedy with Matt Damon. Hours in a shared silicone prosthetic a crew member warned could rip their skin if either tripped; Damon still calls it the most fun he's had on a set.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Harrison Ford's run WitnessPresumed InnocentThe FugitiveClear and Present Danger
In passing Star WarsTitanicManchester by the SeaPrimal FearThe RainmakerHow the Grinch Stole ChristmasHow Do You KnowThe Princess BrideAndre the Giant
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV House of CardsHogan's HeroesFamily TiesTalk SoupLaterMovie Time / E!The Tonight ShowSaturday Night Live
Podcasts The Bill Simmons PodcastThe RewatchablesBinge ModeJam SessionThe Recapables