Do blank cheques make good films? (Showgirls, Southland Tales, The Last Temptation of Christ)

<<<spoiler alert>>>
We’ll be trying our best not to give away too many spoilers, but if in doubt, watch the films before listening.

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In series two we're going thematic - that means more ideas, more movies, and more bad movies.

To kick us off, we're talking about blank cheque films - what happens when a studio cuts a cheque and gives the director total creative control...


Films referenced: 

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) dir. by Martin Scorsese 

Showgirls (1995) dir. by Paul Verhoeven

Southland Tales (2006) dir. by Richard Kelly 

You Don’t Nomi (2019) dir. by Jeffrey McHale

One from the Heart (1982) dir. by Francis Ford Coppola


Film Pharmacy

Babylon (2022) dir. by Damien Chazelle

Thelma & Louise (1991) dir. by Ridley Scott

The Banger Sisters (2002) dir. by Bob Dolman


Sources and resources:

Richard Kelly is working on a sequel to Southland Tales - Interview for Vanity Fair by Christopher Rosen.

“God Bless Dwayne Johnson”: Richard Kelly on Southland Tales, 15 Years Later by Erik Luers for Filmmaker Magazine.

‘Southland Tales’ at 15: An Oral History of the Cannes Cut Nobody Saw Coming by Eric Kohn for IndieWire. 

The Last Temptation of Christ’ As a Testament to and an Exploration of Scorsese’s Own Faith by Koraljka Suton for cinephiliabeyond.org.

Roger Ebert’s review of The Last Temptation of Christ.

How Showgirls exposed the rot of our misogynistic culture by Hugh Montgomery for BBC.

Is This The End of Netflix’s Blank Check Art House Films? by Anna Menta for decider.com.

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Edited and produced by Lily Austin and James Brailsford
Original music by James Brailsford

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