Aug. 26, 2024

Top 5 Courtroom Movies

Top 5 Courtroom Movies

On this special episode, Jeff heads to trial with James Buckley for a riveting conversation about the tension, legal maneuvering, and powerful storytelling found in our top 5 courtroom movies! Join us as we dissect these films and explore what makes them so compelling. Will your favorite make the list?

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Welcome to this special episode. We're going to take a

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break from our usual format and talk about our top

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five picks for courtroom movies. Hello, and welcome back to

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a film by podcast. I'm Jeff Johnson and I am

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thrilled to introduce my guest today. He spends his days

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in a courtroom in the South, bringing the guilty to justice.

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He spends his nights rocking out as the drummer for

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rock band Hidden Tracks. James Buckley, you are more or

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less you are a John Grisham character come to life.

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Yeah. Fortunately, Tom Cruise will never be playing me in

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any movie. For one thing, I'm too tall. I mean,

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come on that much.

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But still, James has appeared numerous times on the show

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You Keep Me Serious podcast with our friends Jason and Dee,

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going track by track on some incredible albums, and as

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one of our Patreon producers, he's been responsible for several

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great episodes we've done both on our Patreon as well

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as our regular show. So, James, I definitely thank you

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for that your suggestions. Every time I get the message

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from you, like hey, guys, how about this episode, how

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about this this director, how about this movie? We love it.

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We're happy to jump on it.

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Well, I look forward every week to this. I mean

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all your episodes. I'm not exactly a tricky but I

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even enjoy those. I can tell David guys have a

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blast with those episodes.

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So you're well listen, man. I was like a casual

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fan of Star Trek at Best and the guys at

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Phaser Set to Stune. They've they're winning me over. So

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if you're if you're already listening to them, you know

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it might not be long before you start catching yourself

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watching certain episodes of television or certain movies, and you'll

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you'll be among us. James, when when we invited you on,

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we asked for your top five, but we didn't specify.

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My question is your top five? Is this? Is this

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what you consider to be the best courtroom movies? Or

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are you sharing your favorites or is it a combination

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of the two.

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It's a combination. It was tough when you first told

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me the category. I was having a hard time designed

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to do I want courtroom movies? Do I want movies

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featuring lawyers as characters? So what ultimately decided to do

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was I was going over the list in my head.

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I found the movies that I thought showed at least

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a slight trace of the realistic side of the legal profession,

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something that I can actually resonated with me a little,

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maybe something i'd experienced or someone on you had. And

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I think we've come up with a pretty fun list here.

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I gotta asked, how long have you been practicing law?

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Let's see and practicing because obviously we never get it right.

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I was a member of the LSU PolyAm Abert School

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of Law class of two thousand and five. I spent

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a year as a quirk in East and West Flisian

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appearancers in South Louisiana. East Fortiana is where they had

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just shot the Dukes of Hazard remake before I came

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along in downtown Clinton, I think. And while I was

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in West Flishianna as a court for a judge there,

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they were shooting that Hillary Swant masterpiece, The Reaping. Yeah,

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it was fun to walk my dogs at night and

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see them shooting the film, seeing how the sausage was made,

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so to speak. Then I spent about nine years working

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in a couple of civil firms in North Louisiana. Realized

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that that was just not me and for the past gosh,

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close to a decade now. It's been nothing but criminal law.

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I spent about six years as a criminal defense lawyer

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and a public defense in the past gosh, almost four

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years now, I've been an assistant district attorney and what

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we call the third Judicial District of North Louisiana, which

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includes two parishes, our parishes county, same thing as you

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guys have. So yeah, about eighteen years. Man, I can't

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believe it. Time flies when you're in a perpetual state

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of panic.

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Eighteen years. It sounds like you've been on both sides

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of the courthouse. I have to imagine you have seen

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some wild stuff. And I don't want to put you

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on the spot, but anything come to mind where you're like, man,

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this was the craziest day in court. I've ever ever

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had something like that come to mind.

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We had a guy on video being arraigned. He was

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at a local rehab facility, had got into a fight

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with another resident. It was minor misdemeanor charges, but we

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had him on video for arraignment where you basically plead

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guilty or not guilty. The first guy came up, the

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judge said, you were charged with disturbing the peace by fighting,

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and the guy says, without missing a beat, I'm guilty,

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you're honor. I slapped that guy like Will Smith slapped

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Chris Rock. I've never seen a judge fight so hard,

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straight face.

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Oh wow, that's fantastic.

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No, there are some other more that I can't go

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into for either parental ratings reasons or confidentiality reasons. But yeah,

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you see sometimes it's pretty mundane stuff, but every now

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and then you'll see some wild and crazy stuff. As

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Steve Martin would have said, well.

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I'll tell you what before this trap begins. I have

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a couple more questions for you. Stuff you can you

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hopefully you can share. James, I want to know when

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you when you look at these type of these types

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of films, what do you what would you say is

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the best performance from an actor or actress in the courthouse.

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This I'm gonna go one that's not on my list.

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It was very close. I think the movie Philadelphia Denzel Washington. Yeah,

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Joe Miller, I think was his character. Denzel is a

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national treasure anyone. I don't think he's ever been anything

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I didn't like. Yep. And if we ever were to

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discuss our best our favorite war movies. You and I

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can talk about Devil in a Blue Dress. But anyway,

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I thought his performance and that was really good. He

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starts off as kind of a sleazy personal injury lawyer.

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He doesn't really have any interest in representing Tom Hanks's character.

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But by the end of the movie, he's come around

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a lot and he's developed a real sense of empathy

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and just and his performance is felt real.

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He is fantastic in that. I'll tell you you know,

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because I've been on a Costner kick lately, ever since

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Horizon came out. If I'm gonna make a choice for

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best performance, I think I might go Kevin Costner and

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JFK because that movie is all over the all over

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the map. But when we when we dial it down

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to the trial, I just he's amazing. His monologue at

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the end of that is is incredible. So I'm gonna

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I'm gonna go Costner. But listen, you can't go wrong

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with Denzel either. You know, both masters at their craft.

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Now on the flip side, let's talk about UH, talk

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about film. Let's talk about a film that you would

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hold in contempt.

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Uh.

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Let's talk about the worst courthouse film that you've seen.

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This isn't necessarily the worst courthouse film, but had one

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of the worst courthouse segments while you're just cringed and

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there's a constaner connection. Oh okay in The Untouchables, Yeah,

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fantastic movie. I love that movie. It's such a great film.

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But at the end, when they realize that the jury

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that they're trying to fix has not been fixed. Mhm,

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the poem's lawyer just without even consulting his client, just

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stands up, shut we're changing our plague. Guilty. Guilty. That

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violates so many ethical guidelines. There's no way that could

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have happened. The guy deserved to be punched by Capone

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like he was in the film.

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As I say, Capone, uh, you know de Niro just

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he jumps up and say, what you know? Gives in

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the business? I remember watching obviously, you know, I know

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they took a lot of liberties with the with that story,

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but even at a young age, just like, wait, can

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can the lawyer make that call? Because it doesn't seem

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like you can.

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And that actor was I think williams zarn or Zon

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or something, and he's in one of my all time

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favorite movies, La Confidential. But I'll tell you whoever wrote

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this part this kind was making up the law on

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the fly.

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One last question and then we'll get going. How about

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one courthouse film that we'll say is inadmissible today, And

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by that I mean a movie that you love but

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knew it wasn't gonna win the case for you today,

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Like something you had to leave off your list.

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What do you got by way of introduction, I'm a

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North Louisiana redneck, so I'm kind of a meat and

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potatoes guy when he comes to movies. Yeah, I'm going

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to be giving you some French expressionist classic for nineteen twenty.

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No for this, it's the movie Liar Liar with Jim Carrey. Okay, Yeah,

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it touches on some serious parts about how the stress

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of the job can affect your family life. But honestly,

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there's not a single lawyer on either on the defense

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side or the prosecution side who has it weren't to

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look at a client one time and said stop breaking

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the law. Ahle. I mean, that's I think universally accepted.

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If there was one I wanted to have on my list,

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but I just I left it off. I'm gonna go

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with the verdict Paul Newman film, and that's one. You know, Actually,

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I have you to think for seeing that because it's

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something it's a film I've never seen before. It's always

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on my list. It's like, I'll get around to it someday.

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Everyone has always talked about how amazing he was in it.

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And then we start talking about this episode, you know,

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let's do our top five courtrom movies. And I was like, well, wait,

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there's a bunch that I haven't seen. So I saw it,

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I loved it. Have you to think for that, James?

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But without further ado, let's talk about what is going

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to make the list. And I imagine there's gonna be

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a little over overlap here today, so we'll go. We'll

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go five to two, we'll stop for honorable mentions, and

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then we'll share our number one picks. Are you ready,

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counselor ready ready, your honor? All right, well tell me

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what are you going to enter into evidence? As Exhibit

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five A.

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Your honor? At this time, I would ask that the

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following the offered filed introduced into evidence. That is the

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nineteen ninety film Presumed Innocent with Harrison Ford.

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Harrison Ford is a brilliant prosecuting attorney.

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It's gonna be so seduced.

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By a beautiful woman.

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Carolyn Palamis was murdered last night, suspected of her murder.

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Your prints all over the bar glass five feet from

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where the woman was found dead.

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She's dead and you're still obsessing from the best selling

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novel You Killed It? Harrison Ford, How can you think

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that I could do anything like that?

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Resumed in situation where we're not sure do we like

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Harrison Ford? Do we not like him?

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Well? On all things pop culture, I'm a nineties god,

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whether it's TV, music or movies. In the nineties was

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kind of the decade of the surprise twist ending and

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boy did this have one all the twists and Harrison

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Ford's here also inspired pretty much how my hair looked

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all through the nineties. That was more by genetics than

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actual choice. Yeah, I really enjoyed this film. The American

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Bar Association has a list of its top twenty five

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films they think represent the legal career and legal industry,

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legal field, professional, whatever you want to call it, and

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this was actually ranked number eleven. It was based on

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a novel by Scott Turou from like the late eighties,

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It's been a couple of years in developmental hell before

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it landed with Warner Brothers. And I just really enjoyed

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this film. I really enjoyed also discovering that was produced

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by Alan J. Pacula, whose name will come up later

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most likely who was a producer or director for The

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Kill a Mockingbird.

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Yeah, I could see that that one maybe making an

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appearance on these lists. Presumed us. It's a fantastic film,

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and if I'm not mistaken, we have this film to

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think for the new Jake Jonhall series. Presumed us, right,

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and it like a reboo of the of the film.

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You know. I saw the ads for that and I

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was wondering. I mean, with that title and being a

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legal drama, pretty much has to be I really need

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to see that now.

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Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna put it on the list

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because I've heard nothing but rave reviews about it. So

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we'll have to check that one out. Meanwhile, Exhibit five

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B my first choice from nineteen ninety seven, directed by

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Francis Ford Coppola. We got to have a John Grisham

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movie on here, and I'm going with The rain Maker.

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I'm asking you the jury, just.

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Do what you think is right in your heart. If

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you don't punish great benefit, you could be their next victim.

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Yeah. Matt Damon plays an underdog lawyer taken on a

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fraudulent insurance company as his first case. James, I absolutely

239
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love this cast everywhere. I can't imagine anyone else in

240
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any of the roles. How about how about you.

241
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It's been a while since I've seen it, but yeah,

242
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I remember I was Matt Damon. I don't think he

243
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gets near enough credit for his pure acting ability. The guys.

244
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It's such an excellent actor. I remember seeing what the

245
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talented mister Ripley and thinking, my god, this guy's more

246
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than just Ben Affleck's best buddy, extremely stilled actor, and

247
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I thought he did a really good job here as

248
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a overstressed, underappreciated a lawyer in a pretty tight situation.

249
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Damon's fantastic in this. I love the I love the

250
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irony here too, because, as you and I know, he

251
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lost the lead role in Primal Fear to Edward Norton

252
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in nineteen ninety six, and a year later, Norton loses

253
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the lead role in The rain Maker to Matt Damon.

254
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Poetic justice, I guess but I'll tell you who else

255
00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:59.600
loves this one, John Grisham. I found I was looking

256
00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:03.039
at I was looking up Grisham stuff. In a two

257
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thousand and four interview with Entertainment Weekly, Grisham praised the film, saying,

258
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quote to me, it's the best adaptation of any of

259
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my books. I love the movie. It's so well done.

260
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I tend to agree with him. This might be one

261
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of one of the better Grisham movies, one of the

262
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better adaptations in my opinion.

263
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It's great. I'm a big fan of A Time to

264
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Kill But I think the question that rain Maker is

265
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also a fabulous film. I'm not the biggest Grisham fam

266
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I'll go ahead and submit that Devin to try now, okay,

267
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but there have been some really great films made from

268
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his books.

269
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I got a question for you, you know, and forgive me,

270
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but I think I think throughout this episode, we're gonna,

271
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we're gonna, we're gonna lean a little on your legal expertise.

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Damon is playing Rudy Baylor. He has just passed the bar,

273
00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.519
but he doesn't have his license yet, and we get

274
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this opening scene like when he's gonna try to try

275
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the case Mickey Rourke's the boss right brewisers Stone he

276
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leaves town because he's got an arrest warrant, and then

277
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Dean stockwell, our judge is like, you know, blows up.

278
00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:14.159
I mean, get out of here until you get a license.

279
00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:17.159
And then they do this crazy thing where John Vood's like, hey,

280
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I'll stand for him. You can swear in right now.

281
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Is this I mean, is that a possibility or is

282
00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:25.799
that just movie? That movie's taking the liberties with it again.

283
00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:28.360
No, I think that in some states that is a

284
00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.279
definite possibility. Some states require you to be a fully

285
00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:34.360
licensed attorney before you can go before the bar, but

286
00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.960
there are other states which incorporate kind of a I

287
00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:39.519
guess a mentor model or something. If you've taken the bar,

288
00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:43.799
you're waiting for results and someone else is willing to

289
00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:45.480
stand for it. I don't think that's a problem in

290
00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:49.159
some states. Okay, of course, reminds me when I took

291
00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:52.480
the bar. It was in late summer of two thousand

292
00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:55.399
and five. We take it. We're supposed to have six

293
00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:58.879
weeks for the results. I'm nervous. The six weeks approaches,

294
00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:03.080
and a little thing called Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans well,

295
00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:04.639
a lot of the people doing well, A lot of

296
00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:07.480
the people's doing our grades and evaluating our exams were

297
00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:10.120
down there, so a lot of grades were lost, which

298
00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.559
made another month or so before we found out we passed.

299
00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.840
That was the most effective weight loss program I've ever

300
00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:15.240
been on.

301
00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.799
Yeah, this one's a fantastic one. Danny de Vito playing

302
00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:25.360
Dex Schifflet again. Here's a guy who's he's almost like

303
00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:30.360
a vincent Gambini. He's he's been practicing for years and

304
00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:32.519
years he's but he's still studying for the bar. Has

305
00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:33.639
it taken the bar? And he's like, I don't know

306
00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:36.919
if I over will He's fantastic in this one. Claire

307
00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:41.600
Danes seventeen years old, James. You know, and I know

308
00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:45.440
she's playing like a mid twenties, but you know she's

309
00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:49.000
she's hot off of a ninety six Romeo and Juliet.

310
00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:51.480
I think she's doing an amazing job here too.

311
00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:54.320
Yeah, that's gosh. I remember seeing that one of the

312
00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.840
theaters in my previous career. Now, I really, I really

313
00:16:57.919 --> 00:16:59.200
have fond memories of that one.

314
00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:03.240
James. Let's talk about what you'd like to enter into

315
00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:07.839
evidence Exhibit four A. You're a fourth pick.

316
00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:12.759
Sar Okay, if the Honorable Judge Johnson will allow at

317
00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:15.799
this time, we will offer file submitted to evidence is

318
00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:19.119
our fourth selection, the nineteen ninety two classic A Few

319
00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:20.000
Good Men's.

320
00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:23.799
Marine Corps Ps. In exchange for my transfer off the base,

321
00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:25.359
I wanted to provide.

322
00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:28.160
You to mention about legal fence line shooting that occurred

323
00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:32.640
the night of August the Second. Who the fuck is

324
00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.160
PFC William T. Santiago?

325
00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.400
I'm private Santiago is a member of Second with Tom Bravoser.

326
00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:39.680
Yeah.

327
00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:43.079
Well, apparently he's not very happy down here at Shanger

328
00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:46.319
Law because he's written letters to everybody but Santa Claus

329
00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:50.000
asking for a transfer, and now he's telling tales about

330
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.759
a fence line shooting. Matthew, what polls her?

331
00:17:56.039 --> 00:18:00.680
You're appalled. Now, let me preface this of what happens

332
00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:05.079
in this movie is unrealistic. Yeah, I can't see it

333
00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:07.680
really happening in the courtroom, but there are some aspects

334
00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:10.119
of it that a lot of lawyers could relate to.

335
00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:13.079
And you've got that Aaron Sorkin dialogue, But you know

336
00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:16.720
it's real snappy, crisp, and I think this is one

337
00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:20.519
of Jack Nicholson's best performances. I've never seen someone who's

338
00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.759
contempt quite as well as he does when he's on

339
00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:26.240
the witness stand. And I was equally fascinated while researching

340
00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:28.680
this movie to discover it was based on a real

341
00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:30.279
story that blew me away.

342
00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:33.559
Wait, well, so it's based on a real code read.

343
00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:38.599
Sorkin's sister was in a law student and she was

344
00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:43.079
a sign to represent some marines down in Guantanama. You

345
00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:45.000
had a marine who had written a letter to a

346
00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:48.559
Texas senator I think his name was Alvarado, saying that

347
00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:52.640
conditions weren't safe or weren't very good on Guantanamo at

348
00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:55.359
the base, and that there had been some illegal activity,

349
00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:57.720
including shooting over the line into Cuba, which you know

350
00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:00.839
they mentioned in the movie MH. They reported to his

351
00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:04.720
commanding officer, and he had no intention of sending the

352
00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:07.440
guy to another base. Well, a group of men they

353
00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:11.400
called the ten, decided to administer a code read. Thankfully,

354
00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:15.599
there was a much happier ending. They take the guy up,

355
00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:17.960
wrapped his face up, and we're about to take him

356
00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.000
out when he started bleeding to the nose and all.

357
00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:25.559
So they stopped right then called help. They were all

358
00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:30.359
faced various charges. Seven of them pled out to lesser

359
00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.599
charges so they wouldn't be court martial, but three of

360
00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:38.079
them went to trial. They fought it, and they were

361
00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:42.000
actually convicted of lesser offenses. They were allowed to remain marines,

362
00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:44.720
and they were honorably discharged. This would have been in

363
00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:48.359
the late eighties, and it came down to it eventually,

364
00:19:48.359 --> 00:19:52.160
when the movie came out, five of those guys, five

365
00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:55.279
of the ones who were you know, sentenced to lesser

366
00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:58.319
offenses at plea bar agains, they filed a ten million

367
00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.160
dollar lawsuit against Rob Ryner production company. What was that

368
00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:01.880
Castle Rock?

369
00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:02.880
Wow?

370
00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.599
And yeah, And I don't know whatever came of it.

371
00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.640
I dug around a while trying to figure out their

372
00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:12.519
suit ever witneywhere? And they said it misrepresented their stories

373
00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:15.440
and their lives. But what's interesting is there was a

374
00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.160
guy named David Cox who was one of the three.

375
00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:21.240
He went to trial. He didn't join in the lawsuit,

376
00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.000
he said he didn't want to. But in early nineteen

377
00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:30.079
ninety four, Cox disappeared. Some guy was canoeing up in

378
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.000
Massachusetts and he saw a foot underneath some brush along

379
00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:35.920
the river. It was Cox's body. He'd been shot three

380
00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.759
times in the side once in the head. It was

381
00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:40.559
still wearing was dressed up in like one of his

382
00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:44.680
marine sniper jackets. So that's still a cold case up

383
00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:48.000
in Massachusetts. When I was reading this, I was thinking,

384
00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:49.960
that's sad, and I was also thinking, boy, we have

385
00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:51.599
a chance for a few more good men.

386
00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:56.119
Make a sequel to the sequel, a few more good men. Yeah,

387
00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:59.039
I'm with you for that one. This happens to be

388
00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:02.119
my fourth pick as well, so I'll jump in here

389
00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:05.680
with you. You mentioned court martials, I got I got

390
00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:08.359
something fun here for you, James. While doing location scouts

391
00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:13.599
for the film, Reiner discovered two things. So first, actual

392
00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:17.599
military courtrooms are just playing offices, which means films showing

393
00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:21.400
military court martial scenes like Crimson Tide, Top Gun and

394
00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:24.200
Iron Eagle, they got it. They get it right, but

395
00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:26.559
because Reyner wanted a more cinematic look, they used an

396
00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:31.519
empty courthouse. The second discovery he made was Wolfgang Bodison.

397
00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.359
And if that name doesn't doesn't, well you're not so

398
00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.079
you know who Wolfgang Bodison is. Initially, he was working

399
00:21:38.119 --> 00:21:42.440
as a location scout until Reiner notices him and thinks, man,

400
00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:45.000
that guy looks like a Marine and then he chooses

401
00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:47.559
the cast him as Lance Corporal Harold Dawson. How about

402
00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:48.680
that just doing your job and then all of a

403
00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:50.960
sudden you become a become an actor. I think that's

404
00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:51.880
fantastic for that guy.

405
00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:54.839
Well, he stood out so much in that film. I mean,

406
00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:57.480
you've got a great cast. You've got Tom Cruise, You've

407
00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:01.079
got Kevin Pollock, you've got Jimmy Moore.

408
00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:04.519
Yeah, so this is this is nineteen ninety two. Demmy,

409
00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:09.079
her asking price is three million dollars. She undercuts herself

410
00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:14.000
by a million because she's got a couple other people

411
00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:17.720
breathing down her neck. I think it was Michelle Pfeiffer

412
00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:20.880
for one. Like they're talking to Michelle Pfeiffer and she's like, hey,

413
00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.079
you know what I need? I need this job, taking

414
00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:25.359
this job. She know, she just she's just coming off

415
00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:28.799
of I think Mortal Thoughts, that thriller with Bruce Willis,

416
00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:31.519
you know, the Butcher's Wife with Jeff you know, I

417
00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:33.559
think it was Jeff Daniels in that one. She's not

418
00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:35.559
she doesn't have a good track record at this point,

419
00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:38.559
so to me, takes a slash on her own. You know,

420
00:22:38.599 --> 00:22:39.839
does does does her own thing.

421
00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:40.039
You know.

422
00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:43.240
It says, hey, i'll take a I'll undercut myself and

423
00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:45.440
and I'm glad because I could imagin anyone else playing

424
00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:46.039
Joe Gallaway.

425
00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:50.000
Truthfully, no, I thought she was great. You know Cruz

426
00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:52.640
I left Tom Cruise. I'm gonna go ahead and tell

427
00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:55.559
you now, I'm a joke about his height in the movies,

428
00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:58.799
But that's another story altogether. I loved him in this one.

429
00:22:58.839 --> 00:23:02.400
He starts off he's just young guy who's more interested

430
00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:06.119
in doing plea bargains than actually going to court. Yeah,

431
00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.839
and actually by the end of the movie you can

432
00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:10.960
tell he's developed into a whole different person. His approaches chain,

433
00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:14.200
But his character was somebody I related to almost from

434
00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:17.440
the start. When the guy is when he's playing softball

435
00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:20.319
at the beginning, in between swings, he's negotiating a plea

436
00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:24.039
deal with another officer and a lot of public defenders.

437
00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:26.319
That's the name of the game. A lot of times

438
00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:28.079
you already have a good idea in your mind how

439
00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:30.960
the case is going to end, even before you've seen

440
00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:33.279
the facts and talk to your client. And I think

441
00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:35.559
Crews got sucked into that trap. And once he was

442
00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.279
already talking twelve years before he met Dawson and his

443
00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:41.640
co defendant, and once you realize there was a lot

444
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.319
more to this story, I mean, his whole perspective change.

445
00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:45.559
I really enjoyed watching that.

446
00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:48.240
Would it surprise you to know that Tom Cruise was

447
00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:51.000
not the first Tom to play the role of Lieutenant

448
00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:56.559
Daniel caffe It would so you you know, we know

449
00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.559
this is this by own Sorkin. When Sorkin's play was

450
00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:04.319
on broad Way, the role was played by Amedeas himself,

451
00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:07.240
Tom Holts. Think about that for a second.

452
00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:10.079
I just can't picture that, I guess because I never

453
00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:12.319
saw the play, and Tom, I thought Cruise did such

454
00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:15.079
a good job in this film, was to picture somebody else.

455
00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:17.839
We'll have to check with Jason Colvin and seeing the

456
00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:21.200
Calvin alternate cinematic universe, how he would cast this film.

457
00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:24.119
See if Jason Colvin would would cast Tom Hols. I

458
00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:27.400
don't think he will, but if he was going to

459
00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:29.079
recast a few good men, I would be curious to

460
00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:32.480
see who's played Daniel Caffey. We might find out. You know,

461
00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:34.680
we get the Colvin cuts, we get the Colvin Castle

462
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.160
a lot lately. So in the meantime, let's let's move on.

463
00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:41.720
James Exhibit three A.

464
00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:46.440
Exhibit three A. It's one of my all time favorite

465
00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:48.440
movies and I originally wanted to place it in the

466
00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.559
number one or number two spot, but after looking at

467
00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:55.799
my criteria, it went down to number three. It's the

468
00:24:55.839 --> 00:24:57.720
Lincoln Lawyer from twenty eleven.

469
00:24:58.440 --> 00:25:02.200
Not a word you get my kid out and Champ Heller,

470
00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.880
you are one messed up son of a bitch.

471
00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:09.279
First you get your client off for assault only to

472
00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:10.640
burn him for murder.

473
00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:13.440
You don't have enough to charge him with the ntry

474
00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:14.720
and murder to ya, and.

475
00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:18.480
They've got enough to screw with him. There's no way

476
00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:20.839
that DA was letting Roulet walk out of here and

477
00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:24.759
that after what just happened. I don't get you, Heller.

478
00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:26.880
Whose side are you on?

479
00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:27.400
Anyway?

480
00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:31.079
I love this movie. There are some parts of it

481
00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:34.160
which you know Conley before he became a writer of

482
00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:37.240
the Bosh books and everything else, and he spent a

483
00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:40.440
lot of time as a court reporter in in California

484
00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:43.200
and Florida back during all the cocaine wars of the eighties,

485
00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.440
so you can tell that he has a pretty good

486
00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:48.720
idea how the system works, and that translates well from

487
00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:50.519
the pages to the screen, because a lot of the

488
00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:54.519
things McConaughey does in this movie just felt right like

489
00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:56.880
someone who actually knew how the system worked had watched

490
00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:00.240
it and incorporated into his character. The little thing like

491
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:03.680
when he shows up at his first courtroom scene when

492
00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:06.640
he asks the bailiff to maybe bump his client up

493
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:09.400
a little quicker in the rotation, and when he talks

494
00:26:09.400 --> 00:26:12.519
about mister Green. You know, attorney's around here don't necessarily

495
00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:15.640
refer to as mister Green, but if they're still negotiating

496
00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:18.160
a client, they'll say, your honor, the client is still

497
00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:20.519
trying to retain me, or something like that. But it's

498
00:26:20.519 --> 00:26:23.079
the same thing. You're still waiting to get paid go

499
00:26:23.160 --> 00:26:26.319
on the line for this person, all the conflicts that

500
00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:28.920
came up with representing a guy who he knew well,

501
00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:30.920
hope I'm not giving away the spoilers, but who needs

502
00:26:30.920 --> 00:26:34.759
his spat with some marble things. I just really love

503
00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:37.759
this movie. It starts off kind of gives you the

504
00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:40.759
feel almost of a seventies film with a soundtrack and

505
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:43.680
a lot of the close up shots. I thought McConaughey

506
00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:47.839
did a great job. Several things that stick out, like

507
00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:51.839
when the first time when trace Atkins motorcycle gang pulls

508
00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:53.680
them over on the side of the interstate to discuss

509
00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:57.559
one of their clients. Yeah, Trace may be family. By

510
00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:01.839
the way, my wife's make Dame is Atkins and her father,

511
00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:05.839
who was an incredible attorney rest his Saul, just a

512
00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:08.039
great man, a huge influence on me as well. He

513
00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:10.680
was from that part of North Louisiana where Trey Satkins

514
00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:12.799
is from, and he always joked that Trace was probably

515
00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:16.759
his cousin. But anyway, I digress. When Trace says, this

516
00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:20.400
guy's our best farmer, and Matthew McConney says, I don't know,

517
00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:22.400
and I don't want to know. That's how a lot

518
00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:24.960
of defense guys are. You don't necessarily want to know everything.

519
00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:26.599
You just want to know what facts the state can

520
00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:29.400
prove and how we can get around him when he

521
00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:32.720
shows up for arrangements. That was right. That felt right,

522
00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:34.920
because you know, arrangement's just guilty or not guilty. You

523
00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:36.480
don't have time to go into the facts or the

524
00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:41.000
whole story. The bond hearing for his clients, I mean

525
00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:42.720
a lot of states do that, but it's a domestic

526
00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:45.880
abuse case particularly, they'll have a hearing before they set

527
00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:47.640
bond and a lot of times they'll give him ankle

528
00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:51.680
monitors or request substance abuse, eve auation and treatment prior

529
00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:54.799
to coming back to court. Things like that. I just

530
00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:56.960
loved it. You could tell Michael Conley it's been a

531
00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:00.319
lot of time in this courtroom and I say, oh, man,

532
00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.559
I thought McConaughey really slipped it into this role. Well,

533
00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:08.039
he was smooth, but he was not greasier. You know,

534
00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:10.559
you didn't see anything shady about his character. It's just

535
00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:13.200
a real smooth lawyer. And there are a couple of

536
00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:15.599
sinister terms like when he comes home and finds his

537
00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:18.319
client waiting in his house and his client plays the

538
00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:22.599
confidentiality card, and that's accurate. If a lawyer finds out

539
00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:25.319
his client is guilty, I mean, there's very limited circumstances

540
00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:26.839
where he can report that to police.

541
00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:29.640
So there's no loopholes with that.

542
00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:33.480
There are two loopholes, like if you find out if

543
00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:36.000
your client is trying to use your legal services in

544
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:39.079
an effort to carry out in another crime, then yeah,

545
00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:42.119
you can report that in most cases. Also, if you

546
00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:44.559
know that your client is about to do something, you

547
00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.920
have a reasonable suspicion that's going to result in somebody

548
00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:49.960
else getting hurt, then you can report that. But yeah,

549
00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:52.440
a lot of times it's pretty fairly ironclad.

550
00:28:53.400 --> 00:28:57.440
I just see that blows my mind because we grew

551
00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:00.640
up on these television shows, in these movies that have

552
00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:03.440
you know, always put the whole thing out there, you know, uh,

553
00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:06.960
attorney client privilege. And I've always thought like, well, what

554
00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:11.440
you know, if if a guy confesses to be in

555
00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:14.480
the Zodiac Killer, you're telling me there's no way for

556
00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:18.160
his his attorney to to share that like it, I

557
00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:20.839
don't you know, it blows mind. You're saying that that's

558
00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:22.519
that's that's accurate, that's the real deal.

559
00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:26.319
Ye can't believe it, man, or She'll notice at the end,

560
00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:29.799
after McConaughey has gone through the whole trial experience with

561
00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:34.240
his client, he quits, he's fired, he's discharged, and things

562
00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:37.279
take another interesting turn at that time when it wasn't

563
00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:41.480
Michael Perrey shows up. That was that was, by the way,

564
00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:42.880
that was one of the elements of this movie that

565
00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:48.119
bothered me. Michael Perray was so antagonistic toward Mickey Harror. Yeah,

566
00:29:48.279 --> 00:29:50.200
when I was on the defense side and now on

567
00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:52.799
the other side, we deal with law enforcement. So much.

568
00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:55.480
It's like a job. They don't take it personally. They

569
00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:58.039
very rarely take it personally. We don't take it personally,

570
00:29:58.599 --> 00:30:01.359
and usually outside of the courtroom we have pretty good relationship.

571
00:30:01.759 --> 00:30:03.799
But other than that, I thought that maybe was great.

572
00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:06.319
I gotta be honest with you. You and I have

573
00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:09.559
been We've been circling this episode for quite a while,

574
00:30:09.799 --> 00:30:13.440
you know, and in that time we've disclosed quite a

575
00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:16.240
bit of information. We've talked. We've talked about a lot

576
00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:19.839
of these movies, and in the past you had brought

577
00:30:19.880 --> 00:30:22.799
up Lincoln Lawyer quite a bit. So I'm surprised that

578
00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:26.839
it only ranks as high as three. But I'm also

579
00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:31.079
glad because, uh, I'm going to offer into evidence Exhibit

580
00:30:31.160 --> 00:30:35.200
three B. My choice happens to be the other Matthew

581
00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:39.440
McConaughey lawyer film you already mentioned it, James nineteen ninety six,

582
00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:42.960
A Time to Kill, directed by Joel Schumacher.

583
00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:48.200
An innocent child now when't had to protect an outraged father.

584
00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:52.279
He's taking justice out of your hands. Two lawyers fighting

585
00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:53.279
for justice.

586
00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:56.960
From the author of the firm and the client comes

587
00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:01.400
a time Audiences will always remember a riveting thriller.

588
00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:03.079
The best Grisham yet to go.

589
00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:06.359
It now an artist for nothing, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson,

590
00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:09.559
Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Stacy, Fuck time to kill.

591
00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:12.680
We got McConaughey. He's a free spirited lawyer in Mississippi

592
00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:17.039
defending Samuel Jackson's vengeful father character accused of killing two

593
00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:19.160
white men who raped his ten year old daughter.

594
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:22.440
I'll join in that stipulation. It's an amazing movie.

595
00:31:23.640 --> 00:31:27.599
It's it's it's it's incredible. Don't be surprised if that

596
00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:30.119
doesn't show up on our limited nineteen ninety six series

597
00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:36.480
one way or another. But McConaughey's he's electrifying, he's he's so,

598
00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:41.440
he's just so engaging, like you want to believe in him,

599
00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:42.880
you want to you want to hang out with him,

600
00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:44.480
you want to have you want to have crawfish and

601
00:31:44.519 --> 00:31:47.839
beer with him at that place. He's he's having a

602
00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:50.119
lot of fun here. And it blows my mind that

603
00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:53.119
he almost doesn't get the role because this is nineteen

604
00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:56.720
ninety six. McConaughey hadn't done a whole lot, and it's

605
00:31:56.759 --> 00:31:59.960
only after Schumacher offers the lead role to Val Kilmer.

606
00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.960
While they were working on Batman Forever in nineteen ninety five.

607
00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:06.319
You know, Kilmer declines the offer based on their strained

608
00:32:06.359 --> 00:32:11.359
working relationship, and McConaughey, who had initially MI understanding is

609
00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:14.000
he initially goes into uh to read for Freddy Cobb,

610
00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:17.200
who played who's played by Keith for Sutlin. He doesn't

611
00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:20.440
feel good about that that role and he he kind

612
00:32:20.440 --> 00:32:22.599
of lobbies Schuemaker says, hey, man, give me a chance.

613
00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:24.759
Shoemaker says, I'll tell you what I'll I'll give you

614
00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:29.200
an audition. Let's let's see what you got, and he uh.

615
00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:30.519
He makes Schumacher a believer.

616
00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:34.519
The guys in both roles, whether it's Mickey Harror or

617
00:32:34.599 --> 00:32:38.440
in Time to Kill, McConaughey just, I don't know, it's charisma.

618
00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:40.640
There's something about his performance. It just sucks you in.

619
00:32:41.039 --> 00:32:41.519
I loved it.

620
00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:45.000
I'll tell you there's a co star that that sometimes

621
00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:50.000
gets mentioned when we're talking about Time to Kill and

622
00:32:51.240 --> 00:32:55.079
I'm actually talking about Sweat because you know, you gotta

623
00:32:55.079 --> 00:32:58.480
remember this is John Grisham's first novel, and upon seeing

624
00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:00.319
the film for the first time, he was quoted as saying,

625
00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:04.480
doesn't Joel Schumacher know that they have air conditioning in Mississippi.

626
00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:07.359
This is this is like the sweatiest film ever man.

627
00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:11.000
And I mean I dig it, Like Ashley Judd is,

628
00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:14.000
she's hotter than the a firecracker on the fourth of July.

629
00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:18.000
To quote Max Katie Matthew mcconaughead, I mean everyone is

630
00:33:18.119 --> 00:33:20.920
just they're sweaty down there in Mississippi.

631
00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:23.880
Yeah, we're right there beside him. And I spent a

632
00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:27.480
lot of time in rural courtrooms all over the state,

633
00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:29.240
and yeah, they all have air conditioning.

634
00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:34.920
James, I gotta ask, how often you know A Time

635
00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:39.079
to Kill has some great moments where someone brings in

636
00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:44.119
an expert witness to give testimony, and then whether it's

637
00:33:44.799 --> 00:33:47.920
whether it doesn't matter which side of the that we're on,

638
00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:52.960
the other lawyer has some dirt, tears, the tears the

639
00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:55.200
guy down, and all of a sudden, it's like, we're

640
00:33:55.240 --> 00:33:59.759
not gonna you know, you know, Jerry, disregard the testimony.

641
00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:03.480
There is that Is that something that you've seen in uh,

642
00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:05.240
in your time in the courthouse.

643
00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:08.400
More so in my years when I was working for

644
00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:09.960
civil law firms.

645
00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:10.840
Mm hmmm.

646
00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:14.639
A lot of personal injury or medical malpractice cases, both

647
00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:17.760
sides will try to present experts. This is what we'll

648
00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:20.719
We'll discuss this a little more later, but there's a

649
00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:24.840
Supreme Court decision of Dull Bear d A U B. E. R. Team,

650
00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:28.920
which basically sets the criteria for determining someone's expertise, and

651
00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:30.679
both sides get to go at them. You get to

652
00:34:30.719 --> 00:34:32.760
grill them and find out if your credentials stand up,

653
00:34:33.519 --> 00:34:36.039
and it ultimately comes down to the judge making that decision.

654
00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:37.320
But yeah, that's not unusual.

655
00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:41.519
I see again. I watch these movies and I just think, ah,

656
00:34:41.880 --> 00:34:44.320
this is just you know, they're they're they're taking a

657
00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:46.599
lot of liberties because it doesn't you're not gonna see

658
00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:49.559
this in the court uh court of law. But we

659
00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:51.519
you know, we have our own expert right here. You're

660
00:34:51.559 --> 00:34:53.599
you're telling us like, yeah, don't don't be surprised if

661
00:34:53.639 --> 00:34:56.000
you see that happen, if you're if you're there, that's that.

662
00:34:56.880 --> 00:34:59.639
It's fascinating to me, man, It honestly is very fascinating

663
00:34:59.679 --> 00:34:59.840
to me.

664
00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:03.679
But I enjoy it because a lot of times, you know,

665
00:35:03.800 --> 00:35:07.559
movies condensed things the timelines considerably, or you have things

666
00:35:07.639 --> 00:35:09.599
like law and Order where everything's over and done within

667
00:35:09.960 --> 00:35:16.000
forty minutes. Yeah, sometimes some actual, true legal, some true

668
00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:18.440
legal elements will surface in some of these movies. Always

669
00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:19.320
appreciate seeing that.

670
00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:22.519
Well. And then another thing, and this is another reason

671
00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:24.960
I you know, that's another thing I love about A

672
00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:29.239
Time to Kill. Samuel Jackson is clearly guilty. He murders

673
00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:33.559
two guys in front of everybody, and because of the

674
00:35:33.639 --> 00:35:38.360
emotions that are that are at play here, he's acquitted. Like,

675
00:35:39.400 --> 00:35:43.440
you know, is this one of those things where like, uh, justice,

676
00:35:43.599 --> 00:35:45.360
you know, like, yeah, we got we have our laws,

677
00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:48.519
but sometimes justice has to prevail regardless.

678
00:35:49.400 --> 00:35:53.159
Yeah, there's a concept called jury nullification, where if the

679
00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:56.320
jurors believe strongly enough in something, they can ignore some

680
00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:58.159
of the elements of the crime that's been presented to

681
00:35:58.239 --> 00:36:01.079
them and reach a decision that might not have seemed obvious,

682
00:36:01.159 --> 00:36:02.079
like kind of what they did here.

683
00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:05.880
Okay. That makes me happy though, because I you know,

684
00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:10.719
I don't know what father isn't gonna take Carl Lee's

685
00:36:11.039 --> 00:36:15.199
stance and go after some you know, some vigilanta justice.

686
00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:17.920
But it makes me happy to know that that's you know,

687
00:36:18.880 --> 00:36:19.960
it's possibility out there.

688
00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:24.159
Well, speaking as another father, Yeah, totally agree.

689
00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:28.639
So then you agree that yes, they deserve to die,

690
00:36:28.679 --> 00:36:29.639
and you hope they burn in.

691
00:36:29.639 --> 00:36:32.559
Hell allegedly off the record.

692
00:36:32.679 --> 00:36:37.119
Yeah, yeah, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We're going

693
00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:39.039
to take a short recess to hear from some of

694
00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:44.800
our sponsors and we'll be right back. We're getting to it, James.

695
00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:49.480
Let's talk exhibit number two. What do you got for me?

696
00:36:50.400 --> 00:36:52.400
As I said this one, the top three were tough

697
00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:57.440
for me. For number two, I have them film in

698
00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:00.559
nineteen ninety three, comedy classic, my cousin Vinnie.

699
00:37:01.320 --> 00:37:05.280
When you viewed the defendants walking from their car into

700
00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:08.079
the sack of SuDS, what angle was your point of view?

701
00:37:08.599 --> 00:37:11.400
They was kind of welcomed toward me when they entered

702
00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:11.960
the Star.

703
00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:14.800
And when they left, what angle was your point of view?

704
00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:16.519
It was kind of walking away from me.

705
00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:19.199
So would you say you got a better shot at

706
00:37:19.239 --> 00:37:21.400
him going in and not so much coming out?

707
00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:24.119
You could say that, I did say that.

708
00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:25.000
Would you say that?

709
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:25.719
Yeah?

710
00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:31.599
Is it possible to two utes to what?

711
00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:40.280
What was that word? What word to what? What did

712
00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:40.679
you say?

713
00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:41.159
Utes?

714
00:37:41.679 --> 00:37:41.880
Yeah?

715
00:37:41.960 --> 00:37:42.519
Two utes?

716
00:37:43.280 --> 00:37:44.079
What is a ute?

717
00:37:44.760 --> 00:37:47.199
I mean? This movie is a comedy classic. There are

718
00:37:47.239 --> 00:37:50.239
so many funny things about this from you know, Joe

719
00:37:50.280 --> 00:37:52.960
Peshy's wig. He had to been pushing fifty at this time.

720
00:37:53.079 --> 00:37:54.519
She always laugh when I see his hair.

721
00:37:54.880 --> 00:37:57.239
He's forty nine. You're right, he's pushing fifty.

722
00:37:57.960 --> 00:38:01.840
But there's in them in This film was so well done.

723
00:38:02.760 --> 00:38:05.320
I read somewhere that the screenwriter originally based of any

724
00:38:05.800 --> 00:38:09.360
Joe Pesty's character on Sam Kennison, So that explained some

725
00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:14.000
of his the way he treats people, which that joided immensely.

726
00:38:14.559 --> 00:38:18.599
That explains a lot, and it also explains something that

727
00:38:18.719 --> 00:38:22.039
I discovered and Jay again, listen, man, if we were

728
00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:24.360
trying to case together, I think I think we'd be

729
00:38:24.440 --> 00:38:27.480
dynamite because we're we're in sync here. This also is

730
00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:32.199
my number two and you're talking about Kennison. This movie

731
00:38:32.639 --> 00:38:36.119
begins as a starring vehicle for Andrew dice Clay when

732
00:38:36.119 --> 00:38:40.199
he's a whoa yeah. It was in his twenty fourteen

733
00:38:40.199 --> 00:38:45.559
autobiography called The Filthy Truth, he says, after the Adventures

734
00:38:45.559 --> 00:38:48.440
of Ford Fahlane bombed at the box office in nineteen ninety,

735
00:38:49.039 --> 00:38:52.920
Fox drops him, I mean they drop him flat. And

736
00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:56.119
he even goes on to say, and I'm quoting him

737
00:38:56.119 --> 00:38:59.000
here in from his book, if I wasn't going to

738
00:38:59.119 --> 00:39:02.239
do it. To have Joe Pesci played the role was incredible.

739
00:39:02.679 --> 00:39:05.079
I don't get mad at that stuff. That's show business.

740
00:39:05.480 --> 00:39:09.480
Can you imagine that, though Dickery Rocket that has me

741
00:39:09.599 --> 00:39:14.400
on his docket? Whoa, oh man?

742
00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:19.559
The movie doesn't work with Dice. I loved, I was.

743
00:39:19.679 --> 00:39:21.760
I was always a fan of Dice back in the day.

744
00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:25.639
But I don't think this movie works with him now.

745
00:39:25.679 --> 00:39:29.239
I think Peschi's role was the Italian, the Italian tough

746
00:39:29.320 --> 00:39:32.559
guy who's gonna completely fish out of water down South.

747
00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:34.840
I don't think anyone could have handled as well as

748
00:39:34.880 --> 00:39:38.559
he did. No, this movie has so many it was

749
00:39:38.639 --> 00:39:41.840
based I think Dale Lonner maybe in the screenwriter had

750
00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:44.239
read a story about a lawyer who finally passed the

751
00:39:44.280 --> 00:39:46.679
bar on his thirteenth to ten. He thought that'd make

752
00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:48.559
a great idea for a story. He also spent some

753
00:39:48.679 --> 00:39:50.760
time down south where he got stuck in the mud.

754
00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:55.400
He met Southern District attorney and had a you know,

755
00:39:55.599 --> 00:39:57.400
some long talks with him. I think all that was

756
00:39:57.480 --> 00:40:00.519
incorporated in the final screenplay. And then you get who

757
00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:01.880
is the director? Jonathan Lynn?

758
00:40:02.400 --> 00:40:03.039
Jonathan Lynn.

759
00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:06.440
He graduated law school in Cambridge over in Mary Old

760
00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:09.199
England and said he wanted everything to be as legally

761
00:40:10.039 --> 00:40:12.599
accurate as it could be. And when you watch this film,

762
00:40:12.719 --> 00:40:15.400
I mean, there are law schools which have classes which

763
00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:19.119
mentioned when introduction of evidence and experts in all how

764
00:40:19.239 --> 00:40:23.039
well this movie handled it. There's a judge, a federal

765
00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:26.559
judge from up in South Carolina, who wrote a blog post.

766
00:40:26.639 --> 00:40:29.880
I looked it up today. It's called ten things Every

767
00:40:29.960 --> 00:40:34.199
Trial Lawyer could learn from Vincent LaGuardia Gambini, and I

768
00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:36.880
read it today. That should be required reading for every

769
00:40:37.000 --> 00:40:39.760
lawyer out there. Man. He uses specific examples of things

770
00:40:39.880 --> 00:40:45.599
Vinnie did, like changing his technique for different witnesses, how

771
00:40:45.639 --> 00:40:48.239
to introduce experts. I mean, there's so many great things

772
00:40:48.280 --> 00:40:51.760
in this movie. The judge fred Wynn, you know, probably

773
00:40:51.840 --> 00:40:52.599
his last role.

774
00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:55.239
I believe this was the final role that he that

775
00:40:55.320 --> 00:40:57.119
he played. He's awesome.

776
00:40:57.199 --> 00:41:00.199
Though he's awesome. He's like a lot of the old

777
00:41:00.239 --> 00:41:04.360
school lawyers. They're really picky about decorum in the court.

778
00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:07.000
And I understand if you behave like Vinnie did early on,

779
00:41:07.639 --> 00:41:10.159
you're gonna get contempt. I mentioned earlier, I was a

780
00:41:10.280 --> 00:41:13.079
court for a judge in the town of Saint Francisville

781
00:41:13.119 --> 00:41:16.599
and West Filichiana Parish, which is where Angola State Prison

782
00:41:16.760 --> 00:41:20.559
is located. By the way, It's another story, but we

783
00:41:20.679 --> 00:41:23.480
were in court. I was sitting beside the judges bench.

784
00:41:24.280 --> 00:41:26.400
A guy from out of town was that came in late,

785
00:41:27.320 --> 00:41:30.119
barely walks in the door and his cell phone rings

786
00:41:30.559 --> 00:41:32.360
and he picks it up and answers it in the courtroom.

787
00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:35.400
This judge did not hesitate before putting that man in

788
00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:37.760
contempt and having the bailiff take him off and put

789
00:41:37.840 --> 00:41:39.760
him in the holding cell to can pay for get

790
00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:43.400
a few hundred dollars. Wow. Yeah, they do take it seriously.

791
00:41:44.119 --> 00:41:47.199
But again it's all the little things. His office looked

792
00:41:47.239 --> 00:41:50.199
just like every judge's office. I've ever been in papers everywhere,

793
00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:54.760
law books filling the bookcase behind him. But you tell

794
00:41:54.760 --> 00:41:56.719
you the attention of detail. You may remember the part

795
00:41:56.719 --> 00:42:00.199
where the judge is telling Vinnie how important procedure is

796
00:42:00.280 --> 00:42:04.840
to him. The book he gave him. Forget the exact

797
00:42:04.920 --> 00:42:08.119
title of it. It's the Alabama Criminal Procedure Book and

798
00:42:08.199 --> 00:42:10.159
it was if you freeze frame it you can see

799
00:42:10.199 --> 00:42:14.880
it says by Hu Maddics. Hu Matics was the longest

800
00:42:15.159 --> 00:42:17.840
one of the longest serving justices on the Alabama Supreme

801
00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:21.360
Court from nineteen sixty nine to two thousand and one.

802
00:42:21.480 --> 00:42:24.920
He wrote over fifteen hundred opinions and was evident one

803
00:42:24.920 --> 00:42:27.159
of the gurus for criminal procedures. So you know that

804
00:42:27.320 --> 00:42:29.679
was that wasn't just a random book they gave Vinnie.

805
00:42:29.760 --> 00:42:30.719
That was the real deal.

806
00:42:31.559 --> 00:42:36.719
I'll tell you one uh one actor that doesn't get

807
00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:40.559
near enough recognition for my cousin Vinnie, and I honestly

808
00:42:40.760 --> 00:42:45.000
I think he steals the show is Austin Pendleton as

809
00:42:45.079 --> 00:42:50.719
the stuttering public defender. He originally turned the part down

810
00:42:51.239 --> 00:42:54.360
because he has an actual stutter in real life, and

811
00:42:54.760 --> 00:42:57.199
he only did the He only did this movie as

812
00:42:57.239 --> 00:43:00.519
a favor to Jonathan Lynn because they happened to buddies.

813
00:43:01.639 --> 00:43:03.800
I laughed so hard at that. But it also you

814
00:43:03.880 --> 00:43:07.199
sympathize for the guy. I mean, particularly in rural areas

815
00:43:07.320 --> 00:43:11.679
like this town, the public defenders are so burdened down.

816
00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:14.760
They have so many cases they barely know which one's

817
00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:17.559
coming up next. And so yeah, I understand the stress.

818
00:43:17.679 --> 00:43:19.800
I mean, I would have probably resulted in me stuttering

819
00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:23.119
as well being thrown into a capital murder trial right

820
00:43:23.159 --> 00:43:23.920
off the bat.

821
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.320
After that brilliant display that he puts on. I love

822
00:43:29.440 --> 00:43:31.880
that he's still the character, still has the confidence at

823
00:43:31.920 --> 00:43:38.000
the end and just go no more questions. He's fantastic.

824
00:43:39.079 --> 00:43:42.519
I'll say something. Yeah, I'll tell you something that really

825
00:43:42.960 --> 00:43:47.440
caught me by surprise. And actually I learned this we're doing.

826
00:43:47.599 --> 00:43:49.599
We did a Jonathan Lynn episode not too long ago.

827
00:43:50.639 --> 00:43:54.639
They had a sequel to My Cousin Vinny in the works,

828
00:43:55.679 --> 00:44:00.280
and granted, this movie works on multiple levels, but one

829
00:44:00.280 --> 00:44:01.920
of the things that works really well for it is

830
00:44:02.079 --> 00:44:05.039
it's that classic fish out of Water story. You know

831
00:44:05.159 --> 00:44:08.880
you mentioned Lynn, you know, was at Cambridge. The idea

832
00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:12.360
was going to be that he Vinnie finds himself in

833
00:44:12.519 --> 00:44:16.280
Britain trying a case, and they were trying to line

834
00:44:16.320 --> 00:44:20.039
up the schedules. Marissa Tomy is on board. They kind

835
00:44:20.039 --> 00:44:21.840
of drag their feet a little bit. She backs out

836
00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:25.119
of the production. It goes through several rewrites and then no,

837
00:44:25.239 --> 00:44:29.559
Marissa Tomey oscar winner for My Cousin Vinnie, no movie,

838
00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.559
and it goes, uh, you know, it goes in admissible,

839
00:44:34.920 --> 00:44:38.079
as you guys like to say, But imagine that, Imagine

840
00:44:38.119 --> 00:44:39.199
that My Cousin Vinny sequel.

841
00:44:40.079 --> 00:44:42.400
Was there ever anybody cuter than Marissa Tomey was in

842
00:44:42.480 --> 00:44:42.920
this movie.

843
00:44:43.320 --> 00:44:48.519
No, not at all, you can't. You know, she's she's amazing,

844
00:44:48.639 --> 00:44:52.599
she is, you know, she she absolutely win. You know,

845
00:44:52.760 --> 00:44:56.719
she absolutely deserves the Oscar that she wins for her

846
00:44:56.840 --> 00:44:58.199
role as Miss Mona.

847
00:44:58.239 --> 00:45:03.079
Lisa Vito, I just love My wife will sometimes still

848
00:45:03.119 --> 00:45:09.079
say yeah, you blend if I'm questioning, yeah, not team

849
00:45:09.159 --> 00:45:11.000
this movie. And again it goes down to all the

850
00:45:11.039 --> 00:45:15.199
little details that got right during the raiment. For Vinnie's clients,

851
00:45:15.199 --> 00:45:17.920
they start trying to tell the whole story, and fred

852
00:45:18.000 --> 00:45:20.519
Wynn stamps down that quickly said, now this is a raiment.

853
00:45:20.599 --> 00:45:22.360
This is not time to discuss the facts. Is this

854
00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:25.559
guilty or not guilty? A lot of times you will

855
00:45:25.639 --> 00:45:27.480
see people who do want to go into the story

856
00:45:27.519 --> 00:45:29.800
in the facts wrapped in No, that is not the

857
00:45:29.840 --> 00:45:30.719
time or place for that.

858
00:45:31.639 --> 00:45:35.079
I love the idea. You know, we're talking about my cousin, Vinnie,

859
00:45:35.880 --> 00:45:39.000
and this is basically Vinnie's first case, and fred Wynn

860
00:45:39.239 --> 00:45:43.320
is just hammer hammering on him the entire time. But

861
00:45:43.639 --> 00:45:44.920
you know, then when you look back at a movie

862
00:45:44.960 --> 00:45:47.840
like The rain Maker, you know, Matt Damon it's his

863
00:45:47.960 --> 00:45:52.559
first big case. And meanwhile, Danny Glover's kind of helping

864
00:45:52.639 --> 00:45:55.360
him along, you know, And I love that. I love that.

865
00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:57.159
I love the contrast there. When I was watching a

866
00:45:57.199 --> 00:45:59.679
bunch of these movies recently, I was like, man, I

867
00:45:59.679 --> 00:46:03.360
would have to get Danny Glover try my case. Not

868
00:46:03.480 --> 00:46:05.639
so sure about Fred Winn. Yeah, I'd be a little,

869
00:46:05.639 --> 00:46:08.360
a little intimidated by Fred Winn. I know we didn't

870
00:46:08.400 --> 00:46:12.400
do this on the other other choices, James, but let's

871
00:46:12.519 --> 00:46:15.559
let's talk your favorite moment from my cousin, Vinnie. Do

872
00:46:15.559 --> 00:46:18.039
you have a whether it's your favorite moment, the funniest moment.

873
00:46:18.880 --> 00:46:21.119
Well, there are lots of funny moments, but my favorite

874
00:46:21.159 --> 00:46:24.159
moment and I guess this is just the legal side

875
00:46:24.199 --> 00:46:28.840
of my brain. When he introduces moment Lisa as his expert. Okay,

876
00:46:29.480 --> 00:46:32.480
Jim Trotter the district attorney, which I thought Lane Smith

877
00:46:32.519 --> 00:46:36.360
did a great job. It's Smith's fantastic and I related

878
00:46:36.400 --> 00:46:39.760
to that character a lot. But Lane Smith has just

879
00:46:39.800 --> 00:46:43.000
spent all this time introducing his expert, going over all

880
00:46:43.079 --> 00:46:47.920
his credentials. And then Vinnie gets up there, brings his fiance,

881
00:46:48.119 --> 00:46:49.960
who is not happy with him in the slightest to

882
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:55.400
introduce his mechanics. What's funny is man, this was uh,

883
00:46:55.639 --> 00:46:58.440
I guess they're predicting the future. Up until that time,

884
00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:00.599
A lot of times when he had experts, all guys

885
00:47:00.639 --> 00:47:04.880
with a bunch of letters after their name PhD. All this. Well,

886
00:47:05.119 --> 00:47:08.159
Mona Lisa gets up there and during the witness the

887
00:47:08.239 --> 00:47:11.079
expert verification process, she proves that she has just as

888
00:47:11.159 --> 00:47:14.440
much knowledge as some guy with the PhD. In nineteen

889
00:47:14.519 --> 00:47:17.039
ninety nine, there was a US Supreme Court case called

890
00:47:17.159 --> 00:47:22.119
Koombra Tire versus Carmichael, and that redefined the whole standard

891
00:47:22.159 --> 00:47:24.920
for bringing experts. It allowed you could have a layperson

892
00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:28.039
to come in as an expert if you established their credentials.

893
00:47:28.079 --> 00:47:29.960
And this movie saw that one come in six years

894
00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:30.519
in advance.

895
00:47:31.079 --> 00:47:34.039
How about that. I can't I can't think of anyone

896
00:47:34.920 --> 00:47:38.599
that would be more of an expert than Mona Lisa

897
00:47:38.639 --> 00:47:41.920
detail when it comes to auto mechanics.

898
00:47:42.280 --> 00:47:44.039
I think her posit traction.

899
00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:48.000
Yeah, I think for me and you like, you're right, man,

900
00:47:48.079 --> 00:47:52.079
This movie is just it's packed with comedic moments. But

901
00:47:53.559 --> 00:47:56.519
I would have to go with the biological clock scene.

902
00:47:57.480 --> 00:47:58.960
Well, I hate to bring it up because I know

903
00:47:59.079 --> 00:48:02.400
you got enough pressure on you already, but we agreed

904
00:48:02.440 --> 00:48:04.800
to get married as soon as you won your first case. Meanwhile,

905
00:48:05.039 --> 00:48:08.119
ten years later, my niece, the daughter of my sister,

906
00:48:08.280 --> 00:48:11.559
is getting married. My biological clock is taking like this,

907
00:48:12.039 --> 00:48:14.079
and the way this case is going, I ain't never

908
00:48:14.159 --> 00:48:14.880
getting married.

909
00:48:15.800 --> 00:48:16.719
Beasaid, I don't need this.

910
00:48:17.480 --> 00:48:20.400
I swear to God, I do not need this right now. Okay,

911
00:48:21.079 --> 00:48:23.320
I got a judge that's just aching to throw me

912
00:48:23.400 --> 00:48:26.880
in jail, an idiot who wants to fight me for

913
00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:32.599
two hundred dollars, slaughtered pigs, giant loud whistles. I ain't

914
00:48:32.639 --> 00:48:35.920
slept in five days. I got no money, a dress

915
00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:39.400
code problem, and a little murder case which in the

916
00:48:39.519 --> 00:48:42.639
balance holds the lives of pooh innocent kids. Not to

917
00:48:42.840 --> 00:48:44.079
mention your.

918
00:48:45.480 --> 00:48:50.000
Biological clock, my career, your life, a marriage, and let

919
00:48:50.079 --> 00:48:52.639
me see what else can we pile on? Is there

920
00:48:52.679 --> 00:48:55.159
any more shit we could pile on to the top

921
00:48:55.360 --> 00:48:56.679
of the outcome of this case?

922
00:48:57.800 --> 00:48:59.000
Is it possible.

923
00:49:00.199 --> 00:49:01.599
It was a bad time to bring it up.

924
00:49:01.880 --> 00:49:03.920
I'll tell you another funny. You know you didn't mention it,

925
00:49:04.079 --> 00:49:06.199
and it's not it's I don't think it's the funniest scene,

926
00:49:06.239 --> 00:49:10.639
but it's it definitely is a funny scene. Is the

927
00:49:10.719 --> 00:49:15.679
moment when Vinnie goes to meet uh, you know, meet

928
00:49:15.719 --> 00:49:18.840
the boys in prison, and there's that there's that miscommunication.

929
00:49:20.239 --> 00:49:21.800
Gratitude will not be out of line.

930
00:49:22.280 --> 00:49:29.280
Yeah, I can't believe this, but Jonathan Lynn almost cut

931
00:49:29.360 --> 00:49:33.039
that scene. And the reason for it is because he

932
00:49:33.119 --> 00:49:34.960
is such a he was such a stickler to details

933
00:49:35.400 --> 00:49:38.960
and making this an authentic trial. He pointed out. He's like,

934
00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:41.719
you know what, that would never happen. They would never

935
00:49:41.760 --> 00:49:43.800
put the he would never have access to the prison.

936
00:49:43.880 --> 00:49:46.559
He would meet them in like an interview room. And

937
00:49:46.679 --> 00:49:51.320
he almost cuts it just on that technicality until the

938
00:49:51.639 --> 00:49:54.280
editors were like, dude, this is a funny moment. You're

939
00:49:54.320 --> 00:49:56.679
gonna You're not gonna get this back, so you got

940
00:49:56.800 --> 00:49:58.400
to keep it. And he's like, he's all right, I'll

941
00:49:58.480 --> 00:49:59.679
keep it in and.

942
00:50:00.280 --> 00:50:03.679
Accurate as far as this goes. That's accurate. But man,

943
00:50:03.840 --> 00:50:06.800
that taking that scene out would have reduced the comedy

944
00:50:06.880 --> 00:50:08.599
value so much. It's so funny.

945
00:50:09.360 --> 00:50:11.920
I agree with you. Well, I'll tell you what that

946
00:50:12.119 --> 00:50:16.119
we listen, we have gone through four of our picks here.

947
00:50:17.119 --> 00:50:19.199
I know we talked about it at the beginning. We said, uh,

948
00:50:20.320 --> 00:50:23.840
we'll take a break for some honorable mentions. But here's

949
00:50:23.840 --> 00:50:26.199
the here's the kicker. I'm not going to offer any

950
00:50:26.199 --> 00:50:31.000
honorable mentions. James, You're not going to offer any honorable mentions,

951
00:50:31.800 --> 00:50:36.079
but we will. Here from the the honorable James D.

952
00:50:36.199 --> 00:50:38.400
Graves of the show You Can't Be Serious Podcast. He

953
00:50:38.960 --> 00:50:41.840
happens to practice law too, and I thought who better

954
00:50:42.639 --> 00:50:46.400
to uh to hear honorable mentions from than James D. Graves.

955
00:50:47.079 --> 00:50:49.239
All rise for the Honorable James D. Graves.

956
00:50:50.960 --> 00:50:51.480
Honorable.

957
00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:56.159
All right, you all maybe seated. We have been presented

958
00:50:56.360 --> 00:51:01.480
with defendants exhibits five through four and plintiffs exhibits five

959
00:51:01.840 --> 00:51:07.280
through four, and everyone is anxious to hear each party's

960
00:51:07.519 --> 00:51:11.400
exhibit number one. But before we do, thank you guys

961
00:51:11.519 --> 00:51:13.519
very much for having me in to give you my

962
00:51:13.760 --> 00:51:18.239
top five list. I really appreciate getting to see a

963
00:51:18.400 --> 00:51:21.719
sneak preview of your lists because I.

964
00:51:21.840 --> 00:51:23.360
Was able to eliminate some of mine.

965
00:51:23.719 --> 00:51:25.599
I was having a little trouble getting it down to

966
00:51:25.800 --> 00:51:30.239
just five. But without further ado, here are my top

967
00:51:30.360 --> 00:51:32.920
five courtroom movies.

968
00:51:33.639 --> 00:51:34.199
Number five.

969
00:51:35.199 --> 00:51:37.639
How could I, as a man from the Shirley You

970
00:51:37.719 --> 00:51:41.840
Can't Be Serious Podcast, pick any movie that's not an

971
00:51:41.920 --> 00:51:44.800
eighties movie for my first choice out of the box,

972
00:51:45.360 --> 00:51:50.159
so of course I pick David Kelly's first big movie

973
00:51:51.119 --> 00:51:54.639
from the hip. Here we have not one, but two

974
00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:58.840
fantastic courtroom scenes, one a bit of a show and

975
00:51:58.960 --> 00:52:05.000
another lay on an old joke or urban legend if

976
00:52:05.039 --> 00:52:06.760
you will, but I don't want to give away too much.

977
00:52:06.960 --> 00:52:11.320
Stars Jed Nelson as young Stormy, the attorney he goes

978
00:52:11.320 --> 00:52:13.760
from bender to be and Stormy. It was directed by

979
00:52:13.920 --> 00:52:17.880
our friend Bob Clark from a Christmas story. So Bob

980
00:52:17.960 --> 00:52:20.800
Clark's son is having an auction at his school and

981
00:52:21.159 --> 00:52:24.840
Bob Clark offers as a prize to the highest bidder

982
00:52:25.039 --> 00:52:28.840
a behind the scenes peak at this particular movie. But

983
00:52:28.920 --> 00:52:31.400
as it turns out, he makes the winning family extras

984
00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:34.440
in the movie, so that's pretty cool. David Kelly, of

985
00:52:34.480 --> 00:52:36.519
course a big hero and influence in me and my

986
00:52:36.639 --> 00:52:41.039
decision to become a lawyer. And that brings me to

987
00:52:41.440 --> 00:52:46.199
my exhibit. For my number four pick, we're going back

988
00:52:46.199 --> 00:52:51.760
to nineteen fifty seven's Witness for the Prosecution. It is

989
00:52:51.920 --> 00:52:57.159
a Billy Wilder directed and written piece based on the

990
00:52:57.280 --> 00:53:02.639
story by Agatha Christie, starring Tyrone Power, Marlena Dietrich, and

991
00:53:02.800 --> 00:53:07.159
Charles Lawton. This one has a fantastic twist ending and

992
00:53:07.679 --> 00:53:10.679
is one for the ages, one of the highest IMDb

993
00:53:10.840 --> 00:53:15.400
ranked movies in existence, and a fantastic movie. I encourage

994
00:53:15.400 --> 00:53:16.440
everybody to check it out.

995
00:53:16.840 --> 00:53:18.760
Now for my exhibit.

996
00:53:18.800 --> 00:53:23.840
Number three, for which I am jumping ahead fifty years

997
00:53:24.239 --> 00:53:26.639
from Witness for the Prosecution all the way up to

998
00:53:26.719 --> 00:53:31.519
two thousand and seven for a movie called Fracture. The

999
00:53:31.679 --> 00:53:35.880
stars Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, and they are both

1000
00:53:36.480 --> 00:53:38.079
at their finest.

1001
00:53:37.840 --> 00:53:38.519
In this movie.

1002
00:53:38.920 --> 00:53:41.760
This isn't a who done it? This isn't even a

1003
00:53:41.960 --> 00:53:46.079
why done it? This is a how is he going

1004
00:53:46.159 --> 00:53:49.239
to get away with this? Because just when you think

1005
00:53:49.280 --> 00:53:52.760
there's no chance that he will, he just might do it.

1006
00:53:53.800 --> 00:53:56.480
Great movie. I encourage everybody to watch it. I don't

1007
00:53:56.480 --> 00:53:58.239
think it's on a lot of people's radar, but it

1008
00:53:58.360 --> 00:54:02.800
is a fantastic movie, all right. Coming in for exhibit

1009
00:54:03.239 --> 00:54:08.199
number two, we have Jim Carrey coming in as one

1010
00:54:08.239 --> 00:54:13.719
of the greatest roles I've seen him play a liar,

1011
00:54:13.960 --> 00:54:18.519
I mean lawyer. Sorry, this movie is nineteen ninety seven's

1012
00:54:19.159 --> 00:54:22.119
Liar Liar. I literally watched this one two nights ago

1013
00:54:22.239 --> 00:54:25.559
with my daughter because this list was in my head

1014
00:54:25.599 --> 00:54:27.280
and I thought, I need to check this one out.

1015
00:54:27.719 --> 00:54:31.159
And since you guys just both knocked cousin Vinny off

1016
00:54:31.239 --> 00:54:33.559
of my list, I needed another comedy to come in.

1017
00:54:33.679 --> 00:54:38.000
But this is well worthy, great great comedy and a

1018
00:54:38.159 --> 00:54:43.079
fantastic courtroom scene featuring Missus Jennifer Tilly herself.

1019
00:54:44.360 --> 00:54:44.880
Great movie.

1020
00:54:45.400 --> 00:54:48.800
Everybody should go watch it. Now we are to my

1021
00:54:49.079 --> 00:54:53.199
number one pick, and as it turns out, I got

1022
00:54:53.239 --> 00:54:55.360
to have a sneak preview of what you guys are

1023
00:54:55.400 --> 00:54:57.119
picking for your number one and I will tell you

1024
00:54:57.800 --> 00:55:00.599
all of those movies were on my list, but since

1025
00:55:00.639 --> 00:55:02.519
you had them, I don't want to spoil anything, and

1026
00:55:02.840 --> 00:55:04.960
I definitely have one that was going to fit finish

1027
00:55:05.039 --> 00:55:10.599
above those. My final number one pick, Exhibit number one,

1028
00:55:11.280 --> 00:55:17.639
I give you Inherit the Wind, originally a play based

1029
00:55:17.719 --> 00:55:23.079
on the true case nineteen twenty five Scopes Monkey Trials,

1030
00:55:23.199 --> 00:55:27.079
where a teacher was convicted of a crime for teaching

1031
00:55:27.239 --> 00:55:32.239
evolution in his class, and as a result, one of

1032
00:55:32.440 --> 00:55:36.280
the most famous, if not the most famous attorney in

1033
00:55:36.440 --> 00:55:39.679
the country came to defend him, which then prompted the

1034
00:55:39.800 --> 00:55:43.519
town to hire the second most famous attorney in the

1035
00:55:43.960 --> 00:55:49.320
country as a special prosecutor. This was Powerhouse versus Powerhouse.

1036
00:55:49.440 --> 00:55:52.760
It was national news. This was the biggest event of

1037
00:55:52.920 --> 00:55:56.880
nineteen twenty five. It became a play, which then became

1038
00:55:57.000 --> 00:56:01.960
a movie in nineteen sixty, starring Spencer Tracy, Frederick Marsh,

1039
00:56:02.480 --> 00:56:07.719
Gene Kelly, Dick York Yes be Witched Dick York as

1040
00:56:07.800 --> 00:56:12.119
the teacher, and Harry Morgan from Mash as the judge

1041
00:56:12.159 --> 00:56:15.639
and good Old Claude Aikins from BJ and the Bear

1042
00:56:16.039 --> 00:56:20.519
as Reverend Jeremiah. This movie is my number one pick

1043
00:56:20.639 --> 00:56:25.320
because back in the year nineteen ninety eight, I happen

1044
00:56:25.400 --> 00:56:30.880
to catch a stage production of this play and it's

1045
00:56:30.920 --> 00:56:35.360
what inspired me to become an attorney. So how could

1046
00:56:35.400 --> 00:56:39.559
I possibly pick any other movie than this movie. Guys,

1047
00:56:39.840 --> 00:56:42.039
thank you for letting me come on and do This

1048
00:56:43.159 --> 00:56:46.760
been a fun ride and I'm so excited for everyone

1049
00:56:46.840 --> 00:56:50.559
to hear what your number one picks are. Court will

1050
00:56:50.599 --> 00:56:53.159
be in recess until such time as the parties are

1051
00:56:53.199 --> 00:56:55.199
ready to present their final arguments.

1052
00:56:55.880 --> 00:56:59.039
Well, there you have it. James D. Graves from the

1053
00:56:59.320 --> 00:57:02.280
Surely You Can Be Serious Podcast come in with some

1054
00:57:02.639 --> 00:57:07.599
excellent picks. Fracture for one, one of my favorites. Love

1055
00:57:07.679 --> 00:57:11.320
Fracture and James, We thank you for taking the time

1056
00:57:11.480 --> 00:57:15.360
to pass judgment on this episode and offer up your

1057
00:57:15.719 --> 00:57:20.840
honorable mentions. All right, it is time we have reached

1058
00:57:21.719 --> 00:57:25.840
the number one spot, the number one picks. Mister Buckley,

1059
00:57:26.800 --> 00:57:30.599
your last piece of evidence that you're going to offer

1060
00:57:31.000 --> 00:57:34.239
Exhibit one A. What is your top pick?

1061
00:57:35.039 --> 00:57:36.920
If I had my drum set setup right now, I'd

1062
00:57:36.960 --> 00:57:37.800
give you a drum roll.

1063
00:57:38.599 --> 00:57:39.360
I might put one in.

1064
00:57:40.239 --> 00:57:44.000
Hey, this I mentioned the earlier the American Bar Association

1065
00:57:44.159 --> 00:57:47.639
list of top twenty five legal films. My cousin Vinnie

1066
00:57:47.760 --> 00:57:51.480
was number three, but this movie is number one. Nineteen

1067
00:57:51.519 --> 00:57:53.599
sixty two is to Kill a Mockingbird?

1068
00:57:54.559 --> 00:57:56.320
How old are you when you got your first gun?

1069
00:57:56.400 --> 00:58:02.280
After thirteen fourteen? I remember when my daddy gave me

1070
00:58:02.360 --> 00:58:05.760
that gun. He told me that I should never pointed

1071
00:58:05.800 --> 00:58:09.480
anything in the house, and that he'd read i'd shooted

1072
00:58:09.599 --> 00:58:12.519
tin cans in the backyard. But he said that sooner

1073
00:58:12.599 --> 00:58:15.119
or later you supposed the temptation to go after birds,

1074
00:58:15.159 --> 00:58:17.840
it'd be too much, and that I could shoot all

1075
00:58:17.960 --> 00:58:20.760
of the blue jays I wanted if I could hit them,

1076
00:58:21.440 --> 00:58:24.239
to remember it was a sin to kill a mocking bird.

1077
00:58:25.400 --> 00:58:30.079
Hum Well, I reckon because mocking birds don't do anything

1078
00:58:30.159 --> 00:58:31.920
but make music for us to enjoy.

1079
00:58:32.920 --> 00:58:35.920
This movie has probably inspired more people to become lawyers

1080
00:58:35.960 --> 00:58:39.000
than pretty much anything else. I read the book when

1081
00:58:39.039 --> 00:58:41.480
I was in the eighth grade, and I told my

1082
00:58:41.559 --> 00:58:43.880
mom how much I loved it, and she said, oh,

1083
00:58:43.880 --> 00:58:46.400
you should see the movie. Of course, this being the

1084
00:58:46.519 --> 00:58:48.000
early eighties, I had to wait a while if I

1085
00:58:48.039 --> 00:58:50.519
could track it down to the local VHS place, But

1086
00:58:51.559 --> 00:58:54.639
when I finally did see the movie, it became a

1087
00:58:54.719 --> 00:58:57.679
perpetual favorite. I mean, you've got a coming of age

1088
00:58:57.760 --> 00:59:01.800
story from the point of view Scout watching her dad.

1089
00:59:01.960 --> 00:59:05.800
I mean, with an incredible performance from Gregor Repeck. I mean,

1090
00:59:05.840 --> 00:59:10.000
it's just such an amazing performance Atticus Finch defending Tom Robinson.

1091
00:59:10.079 --> 00:59:14.159
He comes across as such a dignified, honorable man, and

1092
00:59:15.079 --> 00:59:19.159
even though the times and the culture of the times

1093
00:59:19.199 --> 00:59:21.320
were against him, he still put everything on the line

1094
00:59:21.320 --> 00:59:23.840
to represent a man that most people were ready just

1095
00:59:23.880 --> 00:59:26.800
to ship off to the prison at the time. And

1096
00:59:27.000 --> 00:59:29.840
I remember reading with the author Harper Lee said that

1097
00:59:29.960 --> 00:59:32.760
this movie would not have worked without Gregory Peck that

1098
00:59:32.880 --> 00:59:36.559
basically played himself. I was around lawyers a lot coming up.

1099
00:59:36.679 --> 00:59:39.079
My mom was a paralegal for lawyers. I was always

1100
00:59:39.119 --> 00:59:43.280
in around courthouses and her office. But that was the

1101
00:59:43.360 --> 00:59:44.920
first of the book and Ben the movie with the

1102
00:59:44.960 --> 00:59:46.440
first things that make me to think that you know

1103
00:59:46.960 --> 00:59:49.159
you hear a lot of lawyer jokes, and today were

1104
00:59:49.320 --> 00:59:52.920
bombarded by personal injury billboard attorneys all over the interstate.

1105
00:59:53.840 --> 00:59:58.000
But Atticus showed that you could be an upstanding human

1106
00:59:58.039 --> 00:59:59.679
being and try your best to do the right thing

1107
00:59:59.760 --> 01:00:02.800
as a lawyer, and that just it inspired me, and

1108
01:00:02.880 --> 01:00:04.840
I didn't think so much about it until years later

1109
01:00:04.960 --> 01:00:07.519
when I was in law school. Some students are doing

1110
01:00:07.559 --> 01:00:11.719
a documentary on To Kill Mockingbird, and they asked me

1111
01:00:11.760 --> 01:00:13.800
if I wanted to talk, so I rambled for a

1112
01:00:13.840 --> 01:00:15.559
few minutes. When I was talking to him, I realized

1113
01:00:15.559 --> 01:00:18.440
that that movie really had been a big initial inspiration

1114
01:00:18.559 --> 01:00:20.800
that I guess ultimately got me where I am today.

1115
01:00:21.400 --> 01:00:25.400
I'll tell you another person right for the role. It's

1116
01:00:25.480 --> 01:00:27.800
incredible because I think he's only on screen for maybe

1117
01:00:27.920 --> 01:00:31.679
seven or eight minutes. We get a very young Robert

1118
01:00:31.719 --> 01:00:37.480
Duvall playing bou Radley. Doesn't even speak. It's amazing, and.

1119
01:00:37.519 --> 01:00:39.400
I loved how bou Radley had been made out to

1120
01:00:39.480 --> 01:00:41.119
be some sort of neighborhood boogieman.

1121
01:00:41.599 --> 01:00:44.199
Oh yeah, you know, I'm reading the book the first time.

1122
01:00:44.559 --> 01:00:47.480
I'm terrified of bou Radley and then until you see

1123
01:00:47.480 --> 01:00:47.920
who he is.

1124
01:00:48.719 --> 01:00:53.480
That was Deval's first film. Yep. Oh wow, that's a

1125
01:00:53.559 --> 01:00:54.800
hell of a way to start your career.

1126
01:00:55.280 --> 01:00:59.599
I think. So, yeah, this is this is a situation, James.

1127
01:00:59.639 --> 01:01:02.480
I could be wrong, but I don't think they've ever

1128
01:01:02.519 --> 01:01:06.159
done a remake of this film, and I hope that

1129
01:01:06.280 --> 01:01:09.400
they never do, because I just couldn't imagine. You know,

1130
01:01:09.440 --> 01:01:12.400
there's certain classics that you just don't touch. I feel

1131
01:01:12.440 --> 01:01:13.920
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of them.

1132
01:01:14.639 --> 01:01:17.039
Yeah, some movies you can see you need to update it,

1133
01:01:17.119 --> 01:01:19.760
but movies like this, I mean, it's perfection right out

1134
01:01:19.800 --> 01:01:22.000
the gate. There's no need to go back and alter anything.

1135
01:01:22.840 --> 01:01:25.320
But I mean, this movie the accolades. A got what

1136
01:01:25.480 --> 01:01:29.199
three Academy Awards were, including Best Actor for peck Yep.

1137
01:01:29.719 --> 01:01:32.480
In nineteen ninety five, the Library of Congress declared the

1138
01:01:32.519 --> 01:01:35.840
movie in national treasure and put in its archives. Two

1139
01:01:35.920 --> 01:01:39.000
thousand and three, the American Film ins that you Atticus

1140
01:01:39.119 --> 01:01:42.760
is the number one greatest hero of the twentieth century. So,

1141
01:01:42.840 --> 01:01:45.199
I mean, for a book written in nineteen sixty it's

1142
01:01:45.239 --> 01:01:46.400
still resonating today.

1143
01:01:47.199 --> 01:01:50.840
It absolutely is. I gotta tell you, man, we've been

1144
01:01:50.920 --> 01:01:55.639
in sync this whole episode. And I have a different

1145
01:01:55.719 --> 01:01:59.880
choice for my number one. But I noticed, you know, like,

1146
01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:02.400
look at your list, looking at my list, a lot

1147
01:02:02.480 --> 01:02:04.960
of modern films, a lot of a lot of contemporary

1148
01:02:05.000 --> 01:02:07.119
films that we've we've we've chose, and then your big

1149
01:02:07.199 --> 01:02:10.400
number one draw was to kill a mockingbird. I don't

1150
01:02:10.559 --> 01:02:12.000
you know. I don't know if I get away with

1151
01:02:12.039 --> 01:02:14.480
this in in your Court, But I've been I've been

1152
01:02:14.559 --> 01:02:18.079
zigging this whole episode. I'm about to zag my number one.

1153
01:02:19.039 --> 01:02:22.119
Nineteen fifty seven, twelve Angry Men.

1154
01:02:23.559 --> 01:02:24.400
Was Buddy not guilty?

1155
01:02:24.960 --> 01:02:25.159
One?

1156
01:02:25.840 --> 01:02:28.360
Right? Eleven guilty one?

1157
01:02:28.480 --> 01:02:29.079
Not guilty?

1158
01:02:30.400 --> 01:02:31.840
Well, now we know where we are.

1159
01:02:32.920 --> 01:02:34.840
Oh boy, there's always one.

1160
01:02:36.719 --> 01:02:37.679
Oh what are we doing now?

1161
01:02:39.400 --> 01:02:43.559
I guess we talk? Oh boy, you really think he's innocent?

1162
01:02:45.400 --> 01:02:45.800
I don't know.

1163
01:02:47.079 --> 01:02:52.360
Directed by Cidy Lamette in his feature directorial debut. And look,

1164
01:02:53.599 --> 01:02:58.880
technically we're not inside the courtroom, but technically we are

1165
01:02:59.800 --> 01:03:03.800
in the court. In the courthouse. You know, the entire film,

1166
01:03:04.039 --> 01:03:06.199
save for I think three minutes, is shot inside a

1167
01:03:06.239 --> 01:03:10.440
confining jury room measuring sixteen by twenty four and James.

1168
01:03:10.480 --> 01:03:12.360
When you watch it, you can feel the heat, you

1169
01:03:12.440 --> 01:03:16.239
can feel the claustrophobia, just just boiling to the surface.

1170
01:03:17.159 --> 01:03:21.480
Not always it my number one pick for courtroom film.

1171
01:03:22.440 --> 01:03:24.079
This is a I would say this is definitely on

1172
01:03:24.159 --> 01:03:27.000
my top ten of all time. It's just amazing, you know,

1173
01:03:27.239 --> 01:03:29.199
and you know, I know some of our listeners might

1174
01:03:29.239 --> 01:03:30.920
not have seen it. You know when sometimes when we

1175
01:03:31.000 --> 01:03:34.079
talk about older films, we get people going, I don't

1176
01:03:34.079 --> 01:03:36.599
know if I've seen that one. The jury in a

1177
01:03:36.679 --> 01:03:40.199
New York City murder trial becomes increasingly agitated by a

1178
01:03:40.360 --> 01:03:44.800
single member played by Henry Fonda, whose uncertainty of the

1179
01:03:44.840 --> 01:03:48.199
outcome forces them to carefully consider the evidence before rendering

1180
01:03:48.280 --> 01:03:53.679
a speedy verdict. Absolutely amazing film, mesmerizing film. I don't

1181
01:03:53.719 --> 01:03:56.039
I don't know, for my money, you don't do better

1182
01:03:56.119 --> 01:03:57.519
than an ensemble cast like this.

1183
01:03:59.199 --> 01:04:02.280
The jury, I mean, it's not the courtroom, but the

1184
01:04:02.400 --> 01:04:06.360
jury room, the final deliberations, that's the culmination of everything's

1185
01:04:06.400 --> 01:04:09.599
going before. So you know, it's incredibly ripe for drama.

1186
01:04:09.639 --> 01:04:12.079
I'm surprised there haven't been more movies made about that.

1187
01:04:12.880 --> 01:04:13.280
Mm hmm.

1188
01:04:13.719 --> 01:04:15.800
That's when when I was discussing with my family, my

1189
01:04:15.920 --> 01:04:19.079
daughter watched this in a class in school last year,

1190
01:04:19.599 --> 01:04:21.599
and that's that was her first suggestion when I was

1191
01:04:21.639 --> 01:04:24.239
mentioning best court room or legal films. Yeah, I said,

1192
01:04:24.599 --> 01:04:26.920
I did have that one. It's just been so long

1193
01:04:27.000 --> 01:04:29.599
since I've seen it, but I watched it in a

1194
01:04:29.639 --> 01:04:32.920
film appreciation class a long time ago. But yeah, I

1195
01:04:32.960 --> 01:04:37.280
mean the tension, the fact that one juror is delaying

1196
01:04:37.320 --> 01:04:39.599
all these people from carrying on with their lives. Yeah,

1197
01:04:39.920 --> 01:04:42.320
fantastic film, excellent choice, you know.

1198
01:04:42.559 --> 01:04:45.360
And here's the thing, like you talked about, you know,

1199
01:04:45.519 --> 01:04:49.159
she watched it for school. This film is routinely shown

1200
01:04:49.320 --> 01:04:53.039
in business schools and workshops to illustrate team dynamics and

1201
01:04:53.119 --> 01:04:55.960
conflict resolution. And I, you know, I don't know about you,

1202
01:04:56.159 --> 01:04:58.800
but I've been with my career, I've been in many

1203
01:04:59.559 --> 01:05:02.639
you know, uh, team building events and con you know,

1204
01:05:02.880 --> 01:05:06.440
conflict resolution and how to work together. And this movie

1205
01:05:06.519 --> 01:05:10.960
is the epitome of a group of strangers at odds

1206
01:05:11.039 --> 01:05:13.159
with each other, but then learning to come together and

1207
01:05:13.400 --> 01:05:16.880
and and working together to get the to get the

1208
01:05:16.960 --> 01:05:20.880
right the right outcome. I absolutely love it, man, Henry Fonda.

1209
01:05:21.199 --> 01:05:24.280
I know he uh, he stars in this movie. He

1210
01:05:24.360 --> 01:05:26.800
also produces this. I think United Artists asked him to,

1211
01:05:26.960 --> 01:05:28.239
you know, hey, we want to we will put this

1212
01:05:28.280 --> 01:05:30.920
one out there. He's the one that hires Sidney Lamette

1213
01:05:31.119 --> 01:05:33.800
for it. And it's just a I don't know, how

1214
01:05:33.800 --> 01:05:34.880
do you how do you get a cast like this?

1215
01:05:35.000 --> 01:05:39.440
Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsom, E. G. Marshall,

1216
01:05:40.480 --> 01:05:43.639
Jack Klugman. I mean, it's a it's a who's who

1217
01:05:44.360 --> 01:05:48.519
of a of classic talent here, I think, And it's amazing.

1218
01:05:49.280 --> 01:05:51.519
Yeah, you wouldn't think just a group of strangers in

1219
01:05:51.559 --> 01:05:53.599
a room for a while could make for such drama.

1220
01:05:53.719 --> 01:05:55.880
But wow, yeah, incredible.

1221
01:05:56.760 --> 01:05:59.159
Yeah, this one, this one is tense from the get

1222
01:05:59.239 --> 01:06:02.840
go right up to the end. Cob. I don't know

1223
01:06:02.880 --> 01:06:05.320
how Cobb doesn't win the you know, the Academy Award

1224
01:06:05.360 --> 01:06:09.199
for this one. His breakdown at the end, and you know,

1225
01:06:09.440 --> 01:06:11.719
guy's been he's been a jerk the whole the whole movie.

1226
01:06:12.679 --> 01:06:16.480
And then once you realize how he's projecting his own

1227
01:06:17.599 --> 01:06:22.239
emotional trauma into the into the case, all of a sudden,

1228
01:06:22.280 --> 01:06:24.199
it's like, you know what, I feel bad for this guy.

1229
01:06:24.280 --> 01:06:27.639
He's breaking my heart A little bit, but fantastic film.

1230
01:06:28.480 --> 01:06:32.119
I've talked to a few jurors after trials. In some cases,

1231
01:06:32.320 --> 01:06:35.519
I mean, it's easy, the evidence is that incontrovertible. But

1232
01:06:35.639 --> 01:06:38.960
in some cases, particularly murdered, when you were replacing such

1233
01:06:39.039 --> 01:06:42.559
a stress on these people, their decision will result. I

1234
01:06:42.599 --> 01:06:45.360
mean that determination of what happens to someone else's life.

1235
01:06:45.960 --> 01:06:48.239
And I think, in a microcuse of this movie pretty

1236
01:06:48.280 --> 01:06:50.000
much perfectly represented.

1237
01:06:49.480 --> 01:06:53.280
That I'm inclined to agree with you, man, I think

1238
01:06:53.320 --> 01:06:56.559
that's going about do it for us? Uh, listeners, what

1239
01:06:56.719 --> 01:06:59.679
did you think of our top five choices for courtroom movies?

1240
01:07:00.360 --> 01:07:03.199
Which ones made your list? Which ones did we miss?

1241
01:07:04.199 --> 01:07:06.840
You can offer your expert testimony or hold us in

1242
01:07:06.920 --> 01:07:11.880
contempt at www dot a film bypodcast dot com, email

1243
01:07:11.960 --> 01:07:14.320
us at a film by Podcast at gmail dot com,

1244
01:07:15.039 --> 01:07:17.199
or hit us up on social media. You'll find us

1245
01:07:17.280 --> 01:07:21.760
on Facebook, Instagram, and x Information. I'd like to thank

1246
01:07:22.320 --> 01:07:25.559
my guest James Buckley for joining me today to share

1247
01:07:25.639 --> 01:07:29.239
his top five courtroom movies and his legal expertise. James,

1248
01:07:29.280 --> 01:07:33.119
this was a blast. I'm glad we finally cleared the

1249
01:07:33.199 --> 01:07:37.320
dockets to get this one done. I can't thank you enough, sir,

1250
01:07:38.400 --> 01:07:38.760
it's been.

1251
01:07:38.719 --> 01:07:41.119
An absolute pleasure. Jeff. I'm glad that we're finally able

1252
01:07:41.159 --> 01:07:43.119
to do it, and hey, let's do it again. Sometimes

1253
01:07:43.159 --> 01:07:45.079
maybe we can discuss why there does not need to

1254
01:07:45.159 --> 01:07:46.400
be a sequel to Gladiator.

1255
01:07:48.440 --> 01:07:50.280
That's a hot take all of a sudden, man, and

1256
01:07:50.679 --> 01:07:53.000
this coming from the guy that said, hey, Denzel can

1257
01:07:53.079 --> 01:07:55.559
do no wrong, and you know, so we might have

1258
01:07:55.599 --> 01:07:58.519
to talk about that, James. We haven't done a lot

1259
01:07:58.559 --> 01:08:02.960
of back to the box office this season. However, it

1260
01:08:03.039 --> 01:08:05.320
come November, I think I think if you can get

1261
01:08:05.360 --> 01:08:08.000
yourself out to the theater opening weekend, I'll definitely do

1262
01:08:08.119 --> 01:08:12.000
that and we'll let the listeners know our thoughts whether

1263
01:08:12.079 --> 01:08:15.519
we should see it, stream it, or skip it as

1264
01:08:15.840 --> 01:08:17.039
as we tend to say.

1265
01:08:17.840 --> 01:08:20.039
I hope they proved me wrong. The original is just

1266
01:08:20.199 --> 01:08:22.239
it's one of my top ten favorites of all time,

1267
01:08:22.359 --> 01:08:24.640
so yeah, I may be biased.

1268
01:08:25.760 --> 01:08:28.760
We'll see, we will see. And to those of you

1269
01:08:28.880 --> 01:08:31.479
out there in the jury listening every week following us,

1270
01:08:31.720 --> 01:08:35.520
rating us, and subscribing to our Patreon, much like James Buckley,

1271
01:08:36.399 --> 01:08:38.720
we thank you. Courts adjourned