Podcast appearances and mentions of jd amato

Good morning! And in case we don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night! JD Amato - often the Christof of Blank Check - joins us for a super-sized episode about Peter Weir's The Truman Show. We're getting into the history of reality entertainment, the implications of Christof's methods, the insanity of this movie's Oscar snubs, Jim Carrey's historic 1990s, and Matt Gaetz's childhood. Did you know that Matt Gaetz grew up in the Truman Show house? Really makes you think. Anyway - we hope you join us for a spirited conversation, but not before you pour yourself a mug of Mococoa Cocoa. ⁠Read David's article with Ed Harris - A New Way of Looking at To Kill a Mockingbird ⁠ ⁠Buy J.D.'s Book The Endless Game⁠ ⁠Watch The Undercovers ⁠ Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won't want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Reading With Your Kids, we spend most of our time in the joyful, high‑energy world of JD Amato and Sophie Morse, the creative team behind the middle grade graphic novel The Endless Game. JD shares how the story grew out of his own childhood in the Chicago suburbs—moving around a lot, finally landing in one neighborhood where kids knocked on his door and pulled him into a world of street games, friendships, and long summer evenings. That sense of kid freedom and community became the heart of the book's epic, town‑wide game of capture the flag. Sophie explains how the manuscript instantly clicked with her own memories of neighborhood play in Boston, especially capture the flag, and how that nostalgia drove her visual storytelling. She talks about the challenge of illustrating a nearly 250‑page full‑color graphic novel over four and a half to five years, keeping the art consistent and dynamic, and collaborating closely not only with JD but also with colorist Sarah Calhoun. Together, JD and Sophie describe a highly collaborative process—unusual in traditional publishing—where they constantly bounced ideas, problem‑solved scenes, and supported each other through creative highs and lows. We also meet Jacquelyn Boylan, whose picture book A Broken Twig Can Sprout draws on her own profound losses in childhood to comfort kids facing trauma and adverse experiences. Finally, Christine Ricci McNamee returns to the show with Logan and the Disappearing Document, the latest in her Logan series, sending a magic‑bone‑powered pup on a patriotic, cross‑country mystery adventure.

Five curious tones. A mountain of mashed potatoes. Bob Balaban with a beard speaking french. After the industry-changing success of JAWS, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND feels like a classic “blank check.” But it's a little more nuanced than that! JD Amato returns for his 10th mainfeed appearance this week, and we're getting into all of the production drama, real nerdy practical effects shit (cloud boxing!), and the complicated feelings we have towards the behavior of the adults in this movie. Seems like young Stevie Spielberg has some divorce trauma he's working through! Has anyone ever made that observation before? Decade of Dreams Theme and sound design composed by Alex Mitchell Sign up for Check Book, the Blank Check newsletter featuring even more “real nerdy shit” to feed your  pop culture obsession. Dossier excerpts, film biz AND burger reports, and even more exclusive content you won't want to miss out on. Join our Patreon for franchise commentaries and bonus episodes. Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter, Instagram, Threads and Facebook!  Buy some real nerdy merch Connect with other Blankies on our Reddit or Discord For anything else, check out BlankCheckPod.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It took seven years for Hayao Miyazaki and the artists at Studio Ghibli to make THE BOY AND THE HERON. What better way to honor that lengthy process than to invite JD Amato back for another clockbusting, context-loaded episode?! For a rather bit-free THREE-AND-A-HALF HOURS, we are diving into Miyazaki's personal history, his creative process, the differing animation styles between the Ghibli greats, and the thematic implications of this beautiful new film. Because this is Blank Check, we've also got lots of thoughts on Robert Pattinson's vocal performance, and a lot to say about some other, less-successful animated films released this year. This episode is sponsored by: Stamps.com (CODE: CHECK) Mubi (mubi.com/blankcheck) Masterclass (masterclass.com/check) Join our Patreon at patreon.com/blankcheck Follow us @blankcheckpod on Twitter and Instagram! Buy some real nerdy merch at shopblankcheckpod.myshopify.com or at teepublic.com/stores/blank-check

The ultimate connoisseur of context, the guru of camera gear - our friend JD Amato makes his triumphant return to the main feed to walk us through the magic and genius of Henry Selick's masterpiece CORALINE. For listeners who never had the chance to catch this film in its original 3D release, we attempt to describe Selick's absolute mastery of the form. We go long on the history of Laika studios, from Will Vinton's California raisins, to the ultimate “nepo baby” Travis Knight's (aka “Chilly T”) ascension to the throne. Plus - JD discovers a tiny door in our new recording studio… This episode is sponsored by: MUBI (mubi.com/check) Stamps.com (CODE: CHECK) HelloFresh (hellofresh.com/check21 CODE: CHECK21)

Film Inquiry's Shawn Glinis, Arlin Golden, and Soham Gadre are joined by special guest, JD Amato. Keeping with the nature of Episodes V and VI, this podcast is more "stream of consciousness", diving into a multitude of topics leading into other topics. We touch on The Knicks v Bulls rivalry, JD's history of being a Bulls fan, Arlin's little rendezvous to MJ's mansion, and what it means to be Michael Jordan.

This week, JD Amato, comedy bon vivant impresario, host of the 12 Hour Podcast, and Executive High Commander of the Chris Gethard Show comes to life in our little magical cabinet and we talk about some KILLER (wink wink) ideas. Sneaky taxes, the new profane lexicon, Yakkity Dogs, and of course, growing up in graveyards w/ Ghoulie Pappas. Next stop DARKTOWN. All aboard.

Episode 6 ends with JD Amato's audio cutting off due to technical difficulties. Using magic we were able to kinda salvage what comes next. The sound quality is absolutely terrible and very very quiet, but hey it's a bonus episode what more can you ask for?

JD Amato, Producer and Director of The Chris Gethard Show joins the podcast and immediately turns the table on the teenz as he asks the teens about their lives. Don' t miss this podcast that the teenz' future children will certainly be embarrassed to hear. BONUS: Half the episode was lost due to technical difficulties, so stayed for Episode 6.5: The Lost JD Episode.

An episode specially made for JD Amato. Griffin Newman, star of Blue Bloods and Law and Order, appears on the podcast to talk TCGS and his teenage years. Andres continues his oversharing and the gang has a whale of a time in this supersized podcast that clocks in at nearly 2 hours.

So, we had a catastrophic hardware failure and lost today's episode with JD Amato, which was going to be called "Abel Hanovers". Until we come back next week with all new episodes, please enjoy this re-broadcast of our lowest-rated, but most beloved episode from nearly a year ago. This comes from way back, so you'll notice the echo in the sound, the general sense of confusion, and Ryan sounding like he's scared to be in the same room with Taylor.