Rewatchables Reference

• Van and Bill: The teacher scene where Mantegna explodes: 'My son has a gift. He's better at this than I have ever been at anything in my life. He's better at this than you'll ever be at anything.'
• Charles: Josh reuniting with Vinnie (Fishburne) at the park – 'gets me every single time.'
• Also discussed: Josh not wanting to beat his dad; beating Tony Shalhoub and giving him candy; Ben Kingsley's certificate scene.

• The opening narration: 'Bobby Fischer made the most unoriginal and unexpected move of all. He disappeared.'
• Chess parent tournament culture – 'still pretty grim.'
• Fishburne's first scene with Joan Allen at the park.
• The villain kid's look – 'He either could have been in this movie or Damien Omen for the remake.'
• Josh's Reebok Pump shoes.
• The movie as a great New York City movie.

• Everything about Bobby Fischer – his anti-Semitism, his deterioration, his ugly return.
• Joan Allen's character being visibly nervous about Black men in Washington Square Park.
• The movie title itself, given Fischer's legacy.

Josh moving through the tournament – the villain kid looks over and Josh's seat is empty, then he's at another table, then empty again. 'They're telling the story that he's winning but they do it in a cool way.'

The music kicking in during the Fishburne scene when Josh gets his mojo back.

• Bill: Fishburne needed 15 more minutes of screen time; he's only in about 4 scenes.
• Charles: The little sister character (mute, no-purpose sibling).
• Van: The rival professor/trainer character needed more development.

• Charles: 'Bruce is fucking right. You need contempt for your enemies.' Called the movie 'patient zero for participation trophy culture' when Josh offers the draw instead of going for the kill. 'This is the anti-Kobe movie.'
• Van: The mom and Vinnie (Fishburne) definitely ran away together.

• Laurence Fishburne's role was originally offered to Ice-T.
• Max Pomeranc was chosen because he was a real-life chess player.

The professor/villain kid's trainer – 'the only one who's kind of like a cartoon character in this movie.'

• Tony Shalhoub (though he since became a big star with Monk).
• All the 'that guys' in this movie graduated to bigger careers: Laura Linney, William H. Macy, David Paymer, Dan Hedaya. A 'that guy training camp.'

• Samuel L. Jackson as Vinnie – in Fresh (1994) he essentially plays the same role.
• Charles's pick: Danny Trejo as Vinnie.

• Josh Waitzkin left chess, became a Chinese martial arts champion and BJJ black belt.
• Jeff Sarwer (the real 'villain kid') quit chess, became a poker player, had a potentially abusive family situation.
• Bobby Fischer's tragic later life and the HBO documentary about him.

• Chess movies: Yes.
• Joe Mantegna: No (probably Godfather III commercially).
• Ben Kingsley: No (Gandhi).
• Laurence Fishburne: No (The Matrix, because of Morpheus).
• Washington Square Park: Yes.
• Live-action kids' movies (1993): Pitched alongside 'The Sandlot', Cool Runnings, Hocus Pocus.

• Bruce being invited to Chicago after the wife kicked him out.
• Josh instantly knowing how to play chess with no learning montage.
• Josh is supposed to be a great athlete but his running form in the baseball scene is terrible.
• The Laura Linney teacher scene happening in front of 40 people instead of a private parent-teacher conference.

Charles's pitch: A24 limited series on Netflix. Adam Driver as Bruce, Lakeith Stanfield as Vinnie. Same story but expanded to include the villain kid's twisted backstory.

• Did the villain kid choke in the final game?
• The future of Josh's parents' marriage – both Bill and Van suspected divorce.
• What was Fishburne's character's job/life story?
• Did the mom hook up with Vinnie in Chicago?

• Charles: The knight chess piece Josh keeps going back to; Josh's Reebok Pump kicks.
• Bill: The framed chess master picture Bruce gives Josh before the final match.
• Van: The chess board/furniture piece they play on.

• Charles: 'Have contempt for your enemies.'
• Make your child a multi-sport athlete; never force them into just one sport.

Charles: Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle HBO movie).

• The Waitzkin family / Josh. If forced to pick an actor: Joe Mantegna.
• Also suggested: Chess itself won the movie – more likely to make someone want to start playing chess than stop.

Craig (age 29, no kids, never saw it as a kid) 'couldn't quite get there' – found it slow, didn't pass the phone test. 'The lessons and the themes of this movie are better than the actual movie.'