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Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Most controversial opinion.
Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award has run in 165 episodes. The most recent 40 are listed below — open any episode at its timestamp to hear the segment.
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| Episode | Host | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| ‘L.A. Confidential’ | Bill Simmons | Pierce Patchett's business idea of high class call girls cut to look like movie actors was actually pretty awesome and brilliant - ahead of its time and could work today |
| ‘L.A. Confidential’ | Chris Ryan | This is the perfect modern period film - has all the superficial 1950s elements but feels like a 1990s movie in its editing, acting style, and performance while combining it with classic LA noir |
| ‘L.A. Confidential’ | Sean Fennessey | LA Confidential is the second best adaptation of The Wizard of Oz of all time - Bud is the cop with no brain, Ed has no heart, Jack has no courage, Lynn wants to escape back to Arizona, and Dudley is the wizard |
| ‘The Nice Guys’ | Bill Simmons | Russell Crowe was the Shaquille O'Neal of actors |
| ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ | Bill Simmons | Agrees with the take about Petersen's missed opportunities, citing specific roles he turned down: Henry Hill in Goodfellas (for Young Guns 2 and Kennedy's miniseries), a major role in Heat, and Platoon. Could have been Costner-level star |
| ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ | Chris Ryan | Supports the hottest take by acknowledging the missed opportunities in Platoon and other films, agreeing that Petersen had the potential for much bigger stardom |
| ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ | Sean Fennessey | William Petersen is two movie choices away from being in the Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Jeff Bridges, Richard Gere, Bruce Willis tier of stardom - could have been in the Mel Gibson zone of fame if he had made different choices in 86-87 and 89-90 |
| ‘Fargo’ | Bill Simmons | If the 1997 Fargo TV pilot starring Edie Falco had been picked up, there would be no Sopranos because Falco wouldn't have been available to play Carmela |
| ‘Fargo’ | Chris Ryan | This movie is in direct conversation with No Country for Old Men - both feature a bag of money, character in over their head, sacrificial wife, and cop trying to make sense of extreme violence |
| ‘Fargo’ | Kyle Brandt | The craziest thing Grimsrud does isn't the murders or wood chipper - it's calling for a second pancake meal in the same day |
| ‘Sicario’ | Bill Simmons | Josh Brolin has the second best career of any 80s child actor, behind only Christian Bale |
| ‘Sicario’ | Sean Fennessey | Remove Sly Stallone and Tom Hardy from Best Supporting Actor nominations, add Harrison Ford for The Force Awakens and Benicio del Toro for Sicario |