Thriller
Michael Clayton 2007
First overall pick, no hesitation. Tilda Swinton's Oscar-winning turn; Clooney's fixer is his favorite cinematic lawyer even though he never sets foot in a courtroom.
The Big Picture · Draft
The Lawyer Movie Draft With Griffin Newman and David Sims of 'Blank Check'
October 24, 2023/ 135 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Chris Ryan · Griffin Newman · David Sims
Sean and Amanda expand a legal-thrillers draft into a full lawyer-movie draft with Blank Check's Griffin Newman and David Sims: a five-way snake draft across six categories for thirty movies, plus a running argument over what actually counts as a lawyer movie.
30 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.
The Lawyer Movie Draft drafting lawyer movies
Griffin Newman
Comedy
Legally Blonde 2001
His backup once My Cousin Vinny went off the board. Argues Reese Witherspoon should have gotten an Oscar nomination for it.
Oscar Winner
Philadelphia 1993
Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks as opposing lawyers in a discrimination suit. Says the movie has quietly slipped out of the culture since its sweep of Oscar wins.
John Grisham Adaptation
The Rainmaker 1997
His true number-one Grisham pick, held back because he figured no one else would fight him for it. Coppola directing, with DeVito, Mickey Rourke, and Claire Danes.
Movie Lawyer
Spotlight 2015
Takes Stanley Tucci's Mitchell Garabedian over any lead. World-weary, eating a sandwich on a bench, is his real idea of a lawyer worth hiring.
Drama
Bridge of Spies 2015
His last pick. Tom Hanks negotiating a Cold War prisoner swap; Mark Rylance's quiet performance beat Sylvester Stallone's Creed for the Oscar that year.
Sean Fennessey
Movie Lawyer
A Few Good Men 1992
Drafts Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee rather than the movie itself, to keep the category open for someone else's film. Cruise's cross-examination of Jack Nicholson closes the case.
Comedy
My Cousin Vinny 1992
Cites lawyers who've told him it's the most procedurally accurate courtroom movie they've seen, funny as it is.
Oscar Winner
The Social Network 2010
Argues it counts as a lawyer movie because the entire structure is deposition and negotiated settlement, even with no courtroom scene.
John Grisham Adaptation
A Time to Kill 1996
Last of the four major Grisham adaptations left on the board. Schumacher directing Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, and Matthew McConaughey.
Thriller
Fracture 2007
Off his own letterboxd list of lawyer movies, sorted by popularity: the highest-ranked one he hadn't seen yet. Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling.
Drama
Anatomy of a Murder 1959
Re-drafted here after an earlier attempt to take it as a thriller got contested by the table. Preminger's Jimmy Stewart courtroom drama.
David Sims
John Grisham Adaptation
The Firm 1993
Admits he'd never seen it before prepping for this draft. Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, and what he calls the deepest character-actor bench in the genre.
Drama
The Verdict 1982
His favorite movie in the whole category. Paul Newman's best performance, and, he argues, the best screen depiction of Boston despite being shot entirely in New York.
Movie Lawyer
To Kill a Mockingbird 1962
Takes Gregory Peck's Atticus Finch as the classic movie lawyer, the version before Go Set a Watchman complicated the character.
Thriller
The Devil's Advocate 1997
Calls it the best elevator pitch in movie history: a young lawyer's new boss turns out to be Satan. Pacino and Reeves.
Comedy
Intolerable Cruelty 2003
One of his favorite, most underrated Coen brothers movies. Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones dueling over a prenup.
Oscar Winner
Chicago 2002
Takes the musical as the broader lawyer-movie play. Notes director Rob Marshall never made a good movie again after it.
Chris Ryan
John Grisham Adaptation
The Pelican Brief 1993
Drafts this exact movie against Amanda for the second time, to her visible frustration. Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, though he comes to it for Stanley Tucci.
Thriller
Primal Fear 1996
A heavy HBO-rotation favorite from childhood. Richard Gere's Martin Vail gets fooled by a fake stutter and a sob story.
Oscar Winner
JFK 1991
Takes Kevin Costner's Jim Garrison for the closing argument alone. The summation runs something like forty minutes.
Comedy
Defending Your Life 1991
Albert Brooks's afterlife courtroom comedy, with Rip Torn and Lee Grant as opposing counsel. Says Brooks has turned down the podcast six times.
Drama
In the Name of the Father 1993
Jim Sheridan's Guildford Four film. Cites the closing courtroom scene, with Emma Thompson and Daniel Day-Lewis, as one of the more cathartic endings in the genre.
Movie Lawyer
Inherit the Wind 1960
Spencer Tracy's Scopes-trial stand-in for Clarence Darrow, taken over Orson Welles playing the real Darrow in Compulsion.
Amanda Dobbins
Thriller
Presumed Innocent 1990
Pakula directing Harrison Ford at peak stressed-out-early-90s Ford. Says she was actually eyeing Raul Julia's lawyer for the Movie Lawyer category.
Oscar Winner
Erin Brockovich 2000
Julia Roberts, Soderbergh directing. Points out it was a box-office hit and an Oscar winner the same year Soderbergh also released Traffic.
John Grisham Adaptation
The Client 1994
Hasn't seen it in twenty years but calls it her favorite Grisham behind The Firm. Susan Sarandon, Brad Renfro, peak Joel Schumacher.
Drama
Marriage Story 2019
Noah Baumbach's divorce film, picked for Laura Dern's shark of a divorce lawyer, who sets off most of the plot's damage.
Comedy
Miracle on 34th Street 1947
The original only. Santa on trial for being Santa; was on The Big Picture's own courtroom-movies list.
Movie Lawyer
Adam's Rib 1949
Katharine Hepburn's Amanda Bonner, opposite Spencer Tracy as her husband and opposing counsel in a domestic-violence case.
On the board, undrafted honorable mentions
A Civil ActionA Fish Called WandaA Man for All SeasonsA Matter of Life and DeathAnatomy of a FallCompulsionConsenting AdultsDark WatersFind Me GuiltyGone GirlJagged EdgeJudgment at NurembergKramer vs. KramerLiar LiarMargaretOn the Basis of SexReversal of FortuneRoman J. Israel, Esq.The BurialThe Caine Mutiny Court-MartialThe Lincoln LawyerThe Paper ChaseThe People vs. Larry FlyntTwo Weeks NoticeWitness for the ProsecutionYoung Mr. Lincoln
Also mentioned raised along the way
Ruled ineligible for the draft 12 Angry MenLincolnAbraham Lincoln: Vampire HunterThe Last Duel
Earlier adaptations, discussed but not drafted The Caine MutinyThe Caine Mutiny Court Martial
In passing RatatouilleBasic InstinctMolly's GameHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1Dances with WolvesOpen RangeTrafficSlyThe FabelmansNineMemoirs of a GeishaPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesInto the WoodsMary Poppins ReturnsThe Little MermaidWorking GirlPrivate BenjaminWalk the LineSo I Married an Axe MurdererJulie & JuliaThe Devil Wears PradaThe League of Extraordinary GentlemenCreedOppenheimerJawsJurassic ParkRaiders of the Lost Ark
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Ally McBealBreaking BadBetter Call SaulThe Good WifeThe Morning Show
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Podcasts The Wedding ScammerBlank Check