Episode 63: Digger

Digger is a satirical black comedy film directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu who co-wrote with Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Nicolás Giacobone. Tom Cruise stars as oil tycoon Digger Rockwell who triggers a catastrophic global environmental disaster and scrambles to control the narrative in its wake. Costarring Riz Ahmed as Dr. Nirav Ganesh, Digger's head of environmental safety, John Goodman as President Compson, Sandra Huller as Emma Rockwell, Digger's half sister and business partner for a environmental friendly company, Michael Stuhlbarg as Vice President Eddie, Jesse Plemons as Kenny, and Emma D'Arcy as Lina, Digger's assistant.

Timestamps:

• (0:03:03) Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone, 1989)
• (0:28:50) Risky Business (Paul Brickman, 1983)
• (0:48:06) Digger (Alejandro Iñárritu, 2026)
• (1:27:00) Spoilers for Digger
• (2:04:37) Next time: The Social Reckoning (Aaron Sorkin, 2026)

Works Cited:

• Asteroid City (Wes Anderson, 2023)
• Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone, 1989)
• Burn After Reading (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2008)
• Christian Bale's American Psycho Inspiration Was Tom Cruise (Ben Hardwick, 2021; the current version was updated June 21, 2025 with a conspicuously pro-Cruise disclaimer and counterpoint.)
• The Death of Stalin (Armando Ianucci, 2017)
• Digger (Alejandro Iñárritu, 2026)
• 'Digger' review: Tom Cruise swings big and misses in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's latest (Kristy Puchko, 2026) 
• Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
  Four Lions (Chris Morris, 2010)
• I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Charlie Kaufman, 2020)
• In the Loop (Armando Ianucci, 2009)
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2001)
• Review: 'Digger' Is a Brazen Act of Self-Sabotage (Bilge Elbiri, 2026)
• Risky Business (Paul Brickman, 1983)
• "Risky Business" Remains One of the Most Daring Films of the '80s (Daniel Joyaux, 2024)
• Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)
• Thief (Michael Mann, 1980)
• The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Wes Anderson, 2023)
• Zoolander (Ben Stiller, 2001)
• Email us at Miseenscreenpodcast@gmail.com! Find us elsewhere!

Ben Verschoor

• https://cinema-purgatorio.ghost.io/
• https://letterboxd.com/jamn4sure/ 
• @benverschoor.bsky.social
• https://swvadcta.org/ 

Steven Santana

• https://breakingarrows.ghost.io/
• https://letterboxd.com/number8axel/ 
• @number8axel.bsky.social‬

Opening music is "Root Beer Rag" by Billy Joel

Closing music is "G-Spot Tornado" by Frank Zappa

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