‘Cobra’ With Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt
October 12, 2021 · Cobra (1986) · Action · Crime · Thriller · 1:20:46
Categories
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill SimmonsExtensive trivia including: Stallone rewrote Beverly Hills Cop script but it was rejected; cinematographer Rick Waite called out Stallone for delays due to 'fooling around with Brigitte Nielsen'; supporting cast and extras were forbidden to talk to Stallone on set; Brian Thompson (Night Slasher) was told by Stallone the character backstory was just 'the guy's just evil'; rough cut was over 2 hours long with 40 minutes of additional footage; movie was edited to under 90 minutes to compete with Top Gun at box office▶ 7:21
Kyle BrandtAdded commentary and reactions to SPEAKER_00's research, including jokes about Peter Schrager, comparisons to bachelor party excess, sympathy for Brian Thompson's lack of character development, and observations about Western movie influences and 1980s cop movie tropes▶ 9:09
Most Rewatchable Scene
Kyle BrandtAgrees the supermarket scene is entertaining and discusses why Stallone's dialogue is hard to hear▶ 28:06
Apex Mountain
Kyle BrandtCobra — Suggests this might be apex mountain for product placement, specifically citing the extreme Coors banquet beer placement scene▶ 28:21
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsNo casting what-ifs - not enough research about alternate casting decisions for this movie▶ 55:09
Picking Nits
Bill SimmonsBrigitte Nielsen being cast as a fashion model is a stretch - she had the height but it's not believable▶ 1:10:23
Bill SimmonsCobretti takes Brigitte to a safe house even though he knows there's a mole, but then lots of police know where the safe house is, defeating the purpose of protection▶ 1:10:32
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill SimmonsSix questions: How did you join the axe-clanging serial killer cult? Did this movie invent the nitrous boost? Did it invent Hero Ball? Did it foreshadow evil LA cops? Has any movie star been shot at more by people with terrible aim than Stallone? Does the Night Slasher check the most boxes as a horror villain?▶ 1:12:39
Kyle BrandtIs there anything less safe than a safe house? - noting it's a classic genre trope where safe houses always become slaughterhouses▶ 1:10:47
Who Won the Movie
Kyle BrandtSylvester Stallone — Sly Stallone, but offers curveball pick of 'the knife' as what won the movie, calling it the indelible image and star of the movie▶ 1:19:21
Movies Referenced (38)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dirty Harry (1971) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 10 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 3:18 |
| Safe House (2012) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 9 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 14:09 |
| Halloween (1978) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 34:02 |
| Rambo (2008) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 2:33 |
| Rocky IV (1985) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons | ▶ 58:18 |
| Beverly Hills Cop (1984) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 7:31 |
| Field of Dreams (1989) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 56:07 |
| Frozen (2013) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 30:54 |
| Nightcrawler (2014) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 32:54 |
| Psycho (1960) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 46:11 |
| Back to the Future (1985) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:08:13 |
| Citizen Kane (1941) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons | ▶ 4:47 |
Directors Referenced (1)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Penn | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking | ▶ 55:22 |
Actors Referenced (41)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvester Stallone | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 49 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | Rocky, Rocky IV, Creed | ▶ 3:30 |
| Bill Belichick | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 25 | Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:34 | |
| Brian Thompson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons | The Terminator, Cobra | ▶ 9:31 |
| Brigitte Nielsen | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | Beverly Hills Cop II | ▶ 6:21 |
| Dolph Lundgren | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons | Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe | ▶ 1:03:46 |
| Norm MacDonald | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Kyle Brandt | Dirty Work, Billy Madison | ▶ 17:18 |
| Robert Tepper | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | Cobra, Get Hard | ▶ 48:57 |
| Art LaFleur | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | The Sandlot, Cobra, Field of Dreams | ▶ 56:00 |
| Eddie Murphy | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | The Nutty Professor, Beverly Hills Cop II | ▶ 7:49 |
| Eli Manning | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Kyle Brandt | ▶ 1:27 | |
| Flavor Flav | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Kyle Brandt | End of Watch, Three Kings, Friday Night Lights | ▶ 1:07:35 |
| Fred Savage | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | The Princess Bride | ▶ 56:17 |
Writers Referenced (2)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Lucas | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, American Graffiti | ▶ 8:29 |
| Paula Gosling | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Cobra | ▶ 1:04:31 |