‘The Program’ With Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo, and Kyle Brandt
December 8, 2020 · The Program (1993) · Action · Drama · Romance · 1:54:32 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill SimmonsFirst practice scene, including Darnell's fumble, the coach's 'are you hurt or are you injured' question, Guns N' Roses Welcome to the Jungle sequence, and Latimer in the weight room pressing 465▶ 36:55
Kyle BrandtEnthusiastically agrees with the first practice scene, emphasizing the contrast between exhausted players using pads as pillows after practice and Latimer doing 24 reps of 315 overhead press in the weight room▶ 41:48
Ryen RussilloAgrees with the first practice scene, focuses on Latimer's weight room sequence (clean and jerk, throwing down 315, getting mad at the weights) and discusses the dive bar scene showing Joe's drinking▶ 39:24
Dion Waiters Award
Bill SimmonsMentioned multiple rewatchable scenes including Darnell losing football, Latimer's 'place at the table' moment, and Alvin Mack's performance, but didn't declare a winner▶ 44:35
Ryen RussilloDiscussed Kyle's pre-game speech scene and Alvin Mack's trash-talking performance, but didn't give a definitive pick▶ 42:53
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill SimmonsHow do the fans not charge the field after the big win - what was going on, was it not safe, how did they miss that▶ 50:22
Kyle BrandtWhat is the deal with Alvin Mack's injury and why is it so bad that he will never play football again when it wasn't violent contact and other players like Jerry Rice came back from reconstructive surgery▶ 48:18
What's Aged the Worst
Bill SimmonsA violent scene that's tough to watch (compared to James Gandolfini scene), James Caan's performance as the coach, and the ridiculous rainstorm in the first game▶ 1:10:16
Kyle BrandtJoe Kane being 32 years old (actually 33) playing a college junior - wins the 'Gabriel Carteris award'▶ 1:15:15
Ryen RussilloThe violent scene but argues it was important and accurate for the character development, showing the main character is actually a monster▶ 1:11:06
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsJohnny Depp — Johnny Depp was considered for Craig's role but turned it down because he wasn't a sports fan▶ 1:26:04
Ryen RussilloJohnny Depp — Commented that Depp not being a sports fan is unsurprising, focused more on critiquing Sheffer's casting story▶ 1:26:18
Joey Pants Award
Bill SimmonsCharles S. Dutton — Two picks: the offensive lineman who became the medical assistant on ER, and Elmo the chef from Vision Quest (who played Joe Kane's dad)▶ 1:29:24
Ryen RussilloJ.C. Quinn — Agrees with and praises Elmo the chef, calling him an incredible actor who outshines the room in bit pieces▶ 1:29:55
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill SimmonsPresents multiple trivia facts including cast connections (Latimer/Alvin Mack in Necessary Roughness, Omar Epps/Christy Swanson/Andrew Brianarski in Higher Learning), filming details (16 minutes to film three games at South Carolina vs Tennessee), character inspirations (Latimer based on Tommy Chalkin, quarterback on Tom Bill), and questions Dwayne Davis's claim about stuntmen injuries▶ 1:33:22
Kyle BrandtDiscusses Dwayne Davis as 'that guy' actor who played football players in three movies (Necessary Roughness, Beetlejuice, this film), praises the quarterback passing shots, and analyzes the final play as actually being an incomplete forward pass that should have been called differently▶ 1:33:30
Ryen RussilloDefends the possibility of injuries during filming given the intense physical contact, clarifies USC references (South Carolina vs Southern California), discusses the final play editing decision to keep the fumble/recovery sequence, and comments on the preposterous nature of the play▶ 1:35:13
Apex Mountain
Bill SimmonsOmar Epps — Omar Epps (yes), Halle Berry hair extensions (yes, because she never did it again), Craig Sheffer (yes), and steroids in movies (yes, peak representation)▶ 1:40:00
Kyle BrandtThe Program — Agreed on steroids apex mountain, calling the movie 'steroids porn for two hours' and 'an infomercial'▶ 1:42:01
Who Won the Movie
Bill SimmonsAndrew Bryniarski — Latimer - he has the biggest influence and is the first thing anyone remembers from the movie▶ 1:53:24
Kyle BrandtAndrew Bryniarski — Latimer - makes you want to take steroids and paint your face like a skeleton, also gives shout out to Iowa football▶ 1:53:10
Ryen RussilloAndrew Bryniarski — Latimer - because it's the first thing you think of when you think of this movie▶ 1:52:56
Movies Referenced (39)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chef (2014) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:29:46 |
| A Time to Kill (1996) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Kyle Brandt | ▶ 1:42:42 |
| Any Given Sunday (1999) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Ryen Russillo, Bill Simmons | ▶ 31:04 |
| Dazed and Confused (1993) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:32:18 |
| Friday Night Lights (2004) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 14:05 |
| Rocky IV (1985) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Kyle Brandt, Ryen Russillo | ▶ 1:42:06 |
| Spider-Man (2002) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Ryen Russillo | ▶ 1:02:38 |
| The Longest Yard (2005) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 9:54 |
| The Other Guys (2010) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Kyle Brandt, Ryen Russillo | ▶ 2:56 |
| Welcome to the Jungle (2013) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 38:23 |
| 21 Jump Street (2012) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:26:09 |
| American History X (1998) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:03:36 |
Directors Referenced (4)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Affleck | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons | Argo, Gone Girl, The Town | ▶ 1:32:13 |
| Glenn Danzig | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Kyle Brandt | The Hangover | ▶ 53:45 |
| John Colorado | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Hancock | ▶ 36:48 |
| William Friedkin | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | To Live and Die in L.A., The French Connection, The Exorcist | ▶ 10:21 |
Actors Referenced (56)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Kane | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 31 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt, Ryen Russillo | ▶ 19:16 | |
| Omar Epps | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 17 | Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo, Kyle Brandt | Love & Basketball | ▶ 6:31 |
| Craig Sheffer | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 14 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | A River Runs Through It | ▶ 20:53 |
| Chris Berman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 13 | Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo, Kyle Brandt | The Longest Yard, Draft Day | ▶ 1:22:56 |
| Halle Berry | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo | Die Another Day | ▶ 1:04:36 |
| David Ward | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo | ▶ 10:58 | |
| Bo Schembechler | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Kyle Brandt, Ryen Russillo, Bill Simmons | The Program | ▶ 15:50 |
| Bill Parcells | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Ryen Russillo, Kyle Brandt | Any Given Sunday | ▶ 37:44 |
| James Caan | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo | Thief, Rollerball, Misery | ▶ 16:35 |
| Brett Favre | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo | There's Something About Mary | ▶ 1:47:38 |
| Darin Necessary | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt | Venom, Black Panther, Vanilla Sky | ▶ 1:03:14 |
| Jeff Speakman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Ryen Russillo, Kyle Brandt | ▶ 1:01:41 |
Writers Referenced (2)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Kahn | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Kyle Brandt, Ryen Russillo | ▶ 12:13 | |
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 34:07 |