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Narratives, fiction and nonfiction are often concerned with the path to success, but it’s often what happens after that offers a far more compelling story.

“Blank Check with Griffin & David” is a podcast dedicated to the movie directors who received the metaphorical “blank check,” the filmmakers who leveraged tremendous commercial success early in their careers for passion projects that may or may not resonate with audiences. Does a director use their newfound cachet to springboard into a permanent state of respectability and profitability? Or do they get churned out by the Hollywood machine, a victim of either audience disinterest or studio neglect?

Hosts Griffin Newman and David Sims organize into distinct miniseries, each one taking a film-by-film overview of a director’s career. The pair mostly focus on directors from the past 40 years, but they cast a wide net in the filmmakers they cover, which include Robert Zemeckis, John Singleton and Nora Ephron.

My problem with podcasts is that they’re often too long, talk radio without the constraints of broadcasting. “Blank Check” is no exception, with some episodes spanning three hours. But when trying to fight through the daily drudgeries of life — washing the dishes, a long commute — listening to a group of funny, thoughtful people talk about the movies of M. Night Shyamalan isn’t the worst way to while away the time.

— Antonio Sierra, East Oregonian reporter