Between Screenings
Between Screenings is a film podcast hosted by Neil Jeram-Croft and Tom Percival — two critics who live for cinema and the conversations it sparks.
Each episode dives into what’s new on screens big and small — from festival discoveries and arthouse standouts to the biggest blockbusters and hidden gems. Expect honest reviews, spirited debates, insider perspectives from the festival circuit, and the kind of film chat that usually happens in the lobby, between screenings.
New episodes every fortnight. Join us, and keep the conversation going between screenings.
Between Screenings
Disclosure Day, more Obsessions and Backrooms plus Odessey, Toy Story 5 and Supergirl previews.
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In this episode, Neil Jeram-Croft and Tom Percival discuss recent films including 'Disclosure Day', 'Obsession', 'Backrooms', and upcoming releases like 'Odyssey' and 'Supergirl'. They analyze the filmmaking, storytelling, and box office prospects, offering insights into the industry and film critique.
Hello and welcome back to Between Screenings with myself and Tom Percival for all your bi-weekly film chat. How are you, Tom?
SPEAKER_00I'm very well, Neil. I'm excited to talk about some movies today because there's a Steven Spielberg picture in cinemas, and I love nothing more than Steven Spielberg, I'll be completely honest with you.
SPEAKER_02Fair enough. And also, I've seen a horror that you hadn't seen, and you've seen a horror that I hadn't seen.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so we can compare notes because you've now seen Obsession and you can understand why it's a phenomenon. And I have now seen backrooms, and I, to be completely honest, am at a slight loss why it's a phenomenon. But we can get into that when we start, when we start talking.
SPEAKER_02Yep, cool. Um, so where would you like to start? Should we start with Steven?
SPEAKER_00Let's start with Steve. Biggie big Stevie S.
SPEAKER_02So uh give your review of disclosure day, and then I'll give my very uh recent feedback because I went this afternoon.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so I'll do I'll do a brief prelude for those who haven't seen it, but this is starring Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Colin Domingo. And it's basically uh a mishmash of conspiracy theories and sort of like alien, like urban legends from across American history. And the idea of the film is all of those things were true and they've been kept from the world by this mysterious, not even governmental, is it? Like this mysterious agency, basically. Yes. And the ail and it is the day that you know um we are humanity is going to find out about aliens, is sort of the movie, isn't it? Like it's the lead up to the reveal that aliens exist. They walk amongst us. Um this agency has been using their technology for years to help advance humanity and keep them out of the light. Um I really like this, Neil. And I think I can pred I don't need a weird alien device to predict that you maybe didn't. I will say that I think this is a weird film in that I think that the actual play itself is quite weak. And I don't necessarily think promise of, hey, you're gonna find out what happens when humanity finds out about aliens in any way, shape, or form. However, I did not care for a second because I think it speaks to the difference to what a sorry, no, it speaks to the what a skilled director Steven Spielberg is that I was charmed throughout this film. I just think that he understands pacing, I think he understands how to balance humour, action, all those types of things. So, although, yes, I did have big issues with the movie, I was just really, really impressed by the acting, the direction, and the fact that I didn't care about how weak the story is because I was just so caught up in everything that Steven Spielberg was trying to do. That said, those CGI deers look terrible, and I don't know how the man who brought dinosaurs to life couldn't do deers. Or a fox. Or a fox, yeah, or a or a what's the bird in it?
SPEAKER_02Red bird. Red admiral. I think it was a red animal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's it. Like all the all the animals look terrible in it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I thought Emily Blunt was absolutely fantastic in it. I think it's one of the best things I've seen Emily Blunt in for a long time. Yeah, other than Devil Wars Prada 2. Obviously, she was sort of amazing in that as well. Um, but yeah, I thought Emily Blunt was absolutely fantastic in it. I liked a lot of bits of it. Like I liked the the early bit where her and her boyfriend stuff, where she sort of he thinks she's going mad or that she's having some sort of nervous breakdown. I liked all of that stuff. I thought the Josh O'Connor and his girlfriend storyline was pretty weak. Um we sort of just binned his girlfriend off pretty quickly. Um went, see you later. Gave her an incredibly important thing to look after, even though she was an absolute liability. Um yeah, I think I had fun with it. It I it was fine. I think my sort of resounding feeling when the credits rolled was meh. Um I thought it was fine. Um I think I I enjoyed enough that I would have liked some more big action set pieces. Um I also found it odd that the the security guys that were chasing Josh O'Connor were that bad that he could sneak up on basically about 40 of them, but none of the because they were all looking at a farmhouse, not one of them looked behind them.
SPEAKER_00Yep, it was absolutely terrible. And they don't go they even at the start of the film, they say, Oh, he was just a guy who sat at a desk basically for the last 10 years. So they don't even say he's got field experience, they were just that incompetent. He literally was it was sort of hiding behind a hedge that was dead.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. That was walking through a field. Yeah. Uh and then managed to steal a car. It was that that that just annoyed me a bit. And then also when they sort of uh spoilers coming. So if you've not seen it, don't you know? They drive a car off a cliff and then hide behind a rock. But while everyone's still there, then sneak away. And you're like, they would hear you, they would they're gonna do a sweep of the area, sh no, no. So there were lots of little bits like that that frustrated me. Uh sort of I'm not sure what Colin First's character was.
SPEAKER_00No, I I would say of everything, he is the character who I think the film probably needed to spend another 10 minutes sort of on. Because, again, spoilers at this point, in the end, he sort of just gives up. Yes, he does. He just goes, he yeah, they they they arrive at a TV studio to tell the world about aliens, and he spent the entire day, uh like 48 hours chasing them, basically. And he finally catches them at the end, and admittedly, at this point, Emily Blunt sort of has alien powers. Yes, yeah. And it's a little bit like, oh, like he can't stop her, but he doesn't really try. And his second in command essentially goes, Well, why aren't you trying? and leaves with all of his soldiers. It's it's it does feel, and in fact, funnily enough, I was talking about this with another critic, and we we were talking, we were saying it how that ending feels like such a cop-out, except for the fact that then you get the disclosure, and I just had full-body chills watching it. You know, like when the journalists are like so absorbed by the footage and sharing it with the world. And I I was like, I don't think another director could do certainly sorry, uh, other directors could do this, but that was for me was like Vintage Spielberg, the man who can make people watching monitors into one of the most riveting things I've seen in cinema in ages.
SPEAKER_02It does kind of bypass the fact that there would be a shitload more skepticism nowadays than was displayed when the disclosure happens.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I mean, yeah, but I I forgive the film for that because, you know, at the end of the day, it just it for narrative efficiency, it needs the film. The film needs to end. Like we couldn't just have someone come up and say, well, what if it was AI or all that stuff? The film is there to do, you know, aliens are real, just accept it. Um, we move past it. Like it that doesn't bother me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I was slightly disappointed we didn't get a little bit more of the sort of aftermath of that. So, so how does humanity now deal with it? But it just leaves that up to you, I suppose.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, uh I I agree, and equally as well, I thought the design on the alien, who you do see, like sorry again, spoilers, they they wheel an alien in, it turns out, is been common Domingo's friend the whole time. Um, he basically has a chat with Emily Blunt, and then Emily Blunt goes to tell the world what the alien told her, and we don't find out what what uh what the alien said. The film does credits.
SPEAKER_02No, no, the alien also came out sort of in a wheelchair wrapped in bubbles, bubble wraps. Yes, he said. Yes, in a in a weird shower curtain. Yeah. Which was slightly odd, because again, that's not explained why it needs to be in this weird sort of cryochamber type plastic thing. No. And then suddenly it opened up. And also it was very large compared to the aliens we saw in the footage. So were they like teenagers? Were they is that why they kept crashing everywhere? Because they were joy-riding teenagers? Like like I j I always think with any alien thing, and this isn't just a disclosure day thing, I always think with any sort of alien thing, it's like they've traveled light years across space, but they can't cope with flying on Earth and they crash. Like, I I it seems unlikely.
SPEAKER_00No, agreed. But again, I I just didn't care. I'll be honest with you.
SPEAKER_02Like that stuff's more of a gripe with sort of the the sort of alien uh conspiracy stuff. It's like, but why would they crash?
SPEAKER_00I did my I'm I'm such a pedant. I did say when we left, I was like, why were the aliens like two foot tall when we saw them with like Nixon and stuff? And like, why is that one like eight foot tall?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's like yes, and you know, I do think this has turned out to be quite divide. Like, it's been a little bit divisive with critics. I've seen everything between two and four. I think four is probably a little charitable, to be completely honest.
SPEAKER_02I think it's fun and it's original and it's you know, Spielberg doing a Spielberg y film. I just I think the I think he needed to be served with a better script. I think that would have would have helped. Um it's an okay opening weekend, but it's gonna it's gonna have to stick around to hit 300 million, which it needs to do to to be to sort of break even.
SPEAKER_00So I mean, and is it realistically when we've got I mean we'll talk about it in a bit, you've got Toy Story 4, sorry, Toy Story 5 coming out like in a few days. Like I I have my doubts. Who knows though? Like, um, you know.
SPEAKER_02Hopefully it can stick around, hopefully it can make some money. I mean, he's he's pretty reliable, isn't he? At the international box office, he is still a draw, so it'll probably do okay internationally. Um yeah, I just I'd have either liked more action or more aliens, I think.
SPEAKER_00I I agree. I've not actually is it it's David Coke who wrote it, isn't it? And yeah, yeah, like it's so it's I mean he wrote Dial of Destiny and Jurassic Park, or Jurassic World Rebirth recently. And like, you know, he's not a he's not a vintage screenwriter for me. I'm sorry. I know he's worked with uh I know he did like, did he do the initial um Jurassic Park and like all that stuff with Spielberg back in the day? I think he's gone slightly off the boil in recent years. But yeah, I I I would agree. Like, I think I think the thing with it is, because uh like I saw it with friend of the podcast, uh Clarice Locke. And she just loved, like, she loved it. She thought it was great. Like, I don't know, it's very difficult to. I think Steven Spielberg just does a magic to him. But and maybe it is that critics just like you know, are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that they won't give other filmmakers. But I thought it was pretty I I really enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_02Good. And I I mean I got to see the Odyssey trailer while I was there, which made me quite excited. Um so yeah, that was uh that was good. I saw another trailer, but uh the other trailers I've forgotten what other trailers are. Oh, I saw the Toy Story 5 trailer. Of course you do.
SPEAKER_00Um we'll be talking about the Odyssey in a bit, because that has been uh that's it since a fun a fun morning. A very fun morning, don't we? Right.
SPEAKER_02Let's finish off let's finish off the the current films we've seen, chat. So Odyssey, the box office behemoth that is still going and is is about to cross 300 million at the box office. It's about to get where Disclosure Day needs to. Um but it didn't need to get that far because it only cost a million pounds. Although a million dollars. Although there's been a lot of discourse around um should the people working on it have been paid more uh with its subsequent um You're a filmmaker.
SPEAKER_00You've made films. I and I'm gonna sound like a you know, maybe I've been late-stage capitalist pilled here, but like, you know, you see um what's her face? Indy uh Navarrett, who plays, who played Nikki. She only got 20. Again, these are all like rumoured figures. She apparently only got 20, $20,000 for a pairing it. The production designer, I think, got $6,000 for a pairing. Yes, around that line. They joined a very, very small movie. Like, like genuinely.
SPEAKER_02Curry Baker Barker had no idea that this was going to sell for $15 million to working title in the first place, and no idea that it was going to go on and make this much of the box, obviously. What I would say is, you know, in terms of India, you've got to blame her agent. Like either they just point blank said, look, we're not offering points, or the agent never asked for any. Because it's a fairly standard thing for an actor at least to to ask for a a cut of the back end. So either they didn't think it was gonna make any money because most indie movies don't, so they didn't bother putting it in, or they asked for it to be in and the team said no, which seems unlikely. Um so yeah, I don't I I don't know which way uh and again the same with the the same with the all the HODs and people. Like it is sort of kind of standard to have an a bonus structure or a amount on the back end. They obviously signed up without that in their contracts. Should he maybe if he's got a windfall, should he maybe say, Well, actually, no, I've got a windfall here, I'm gonna reward the crew that came on the film. That's kind of up to him. But I it is surprising that those things weren't already in in the contracts. Because you can have things like if it, you know, if we set if it makes this much money, everyone gets this bonus. It doesn't have to be a percentage, because people get people like, oh, can he like percentages are difficult because it ends up being like 0.1%, and then you're like, well, what's the point? It's probably gonna make nothing. Um because you can't give everyone 1%, because 1% is a lot when you times it by sort of 50 people that are working on the film.
SPEAKER_00So well, I I don't have the exact quote to hand, but I know he has said that like he wishes he could have paid people more, but he's like the people who are getting the first cut of that money are the people who took on the financial burden. And I don't know, again, I do I don't know how they finance this movie. Like $750,000 is not nothing for you know an independent film. It's not a huge, like again, it's not silly money, but it's it's not certainly bigger than some of the budgets, you know, um you see at films that come to Manchester Film Festival. But I imagine there'll be people asking, right, well, I put in, you know, a couple, like maybe $100,000, but I am expecting my cut. And, you know, there'll be the studio, like there'll be, you know, marketer, marketing, all of that. And again, I'm not gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_02You're gonna say 50% of that $300 million goes to the cinemas. Yep. At least 50% of what's left then goes to working title. You've then got to take off, but that's actually you haven't taken off working titles marketing, and they will have spent quite a lot marketing, and they will probably spend quite a lot more marketing because they may well do an Oscar campaign for it. So, you know, there's a lot of expenses to come out of it. Like you say, your finances and your other people have got to take the money, and then finally you start looking at at bonuses. It's not like unless you've literally got lines in the contract that are if it hits this box office milestone, you get this much, then then it it it is it does become difficult. So I don't know the ins and outs of it, but everyone knew what they were getting into when they got into it. Plenty of people work on indie films, and indie films make absolutely no money. Like no one's asking them to give their fees back if it makes no money. So I think it is I think the crew should be compensated if the film does well. Um, I mean, the the lead actress, she's she's gonna get bigger things now. So you know, that's kind of her reward for it if she doesn't get anything else financially from this film. Her next job is gonna pay a lot better.
SPEAKER_00Focus Features have said they're gonna put her forward for they're gonna do a best supporting actress campaign for her. Like, you know, regardless of I I personally I don't know whether she'll get nominated, but it doesn't matter. She is the girl from Obsession. She is for I mean, I'll I'll ask you what you thought of the movie, but I think she is the best thing in the movie. Like, I, you know, I think she doesn't have anything to worry about. And again, I do know what Curry Barker has said. Again, you know, this is a harsh, the harsh part of filmmaking. The idea is that this is now a call-in card for you. I was the production, I was the head of production on obsession. Oh, that is a movie I know. I think it's gonna make your next getting your next job a little easier, or you'd hope so. Certainly that's the way it's meant to work. I don't know if it is. So, yeah, uh a shame for those who don't feel that they've been adequately compensated, but again, like you say, they knew what they were getting into.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So let's actually talk about the film. So I saw it a few a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed it, I had a good time with it. Um, it's not, you know, there's a few bit elements of sort of your proper horror in it. Um, there's some bloody moments, uh, things like that. But it almost plays, I think, because it's got the slightly supernatural element, that's what makes it lean a lot more horror. But it is almost like a psychological thriller. It's like um single white female or something.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, it's definitely like that.
SPEAKER_02In in kind of that respect. She is brilliant in it. Like if if her performance wasn't as strong as it was, that film would struggle. Because I think he's a bit wet.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_02Both bizarre.
SPEAKER_00Like, because but by the bizarre.
SPEAKER_02But he is meant to be. He is meant to be, to be fair. Um, but he is a bit because he needs to be kind of a bit naive and a bit wet around the the gills. Um, but she's so strong and feisty early on, and then the the sort of slight tur the turn when she um becomes obsessed is is really good. And some of the some of the facial expressions, the the weight, her tone of voice when she's delivering certain eyes, I just I thought she was absolutely brilliant in it. Um, and I really like the ending. I thought the ending was fantastic.
SPEAKER_00I I love the ending. I think my favourite scene in the entire thing is when he wakes up in the night and she's not there. Um you can see her in the like he's looking around the room and you can't see her in the initial shot, but you can hear her. And then there's just that little you can just about make out her face, and she is pulling some horrific expressions as she's doing it. I also I just love the way she moved. I love the I love everything about that character. I like how she manages to make Nikki and Wish possess Nikki, if that's the sort of if you what we want to call her, the differences between them. I just I think it's remarkable. I really do. And I do, I mean, again, spoiler warning, I think that there are two scenes that will stay with me basically forever now, which is of course the brick scene, which is when Nikki uh uses a brick to smash in her rival, her love rival's face. Uh, but for me, the scariest scene in it is when he rings the helpline for the uh one with Willow, and he's like, uh, yeah, well, like it worked. And the guy's like, Do you want me to undo it? And he's like, No, yeah. And he's like, can't. And then he's like, Do you want to speak to the real Nikki? And he's like, Whoop. Horrendous. And then it's just her screaming, and I yeah, that that was horrible.
SPEAKER_02Well, the bit the bit for me was when early on, uh, where she's first snogging him, and then real Nikki comes back just briefly, and is just screaming and screaming and screaming away from him, and he's like, What the fuck is going on? But then she comes sort of wish Nikki takes over, and um yeah. I mean, he obviously has to suspend disbelief quite a lot, but he's got what he wanted. Like he's just wanting to believe that this is real and it's not the wish thing, that that's just a coincidence. Obviously, that didn't work, that would be nonsense. Like, she just does like me, like something's going on. Obviously, his mate's very skeptical. And obviously, her behavior then ramps up and up and up. I think there were people in the cinema with me, there's people behind me in the cinema who were like, just go and get another one. Yeah, yeah. Because it takes him quite a while to make to decide to do that. Whereas I think I probably would have made that decision a bit sooner.
SPEAKER_00I agree, but I also think the film does explain it when he wakes up in the night and she real Nikki, she's like, can talk to him for a bit, and he's like, Would being with me be so bad? And you he's just such a selfish dick. Like at that point, he's well aware of what's happened. It's only when she kills Sarah, is it Sarah, that you know, he's then like, oh shit, I should probably undo this. Like Bear is the villain of the movie. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um he's just a very wet villain.
SPEAKER_00He is, yes, he is.
SPEAKER_02Um essentially an incel though, realistically, isn't he? He's an incel in plain sight.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, basically. Like, um, I've seen Curry Barker come out and say the idea for the film, like, so often with these like monkey paw movies, you know, where you get a wish but the the item warps what you want. Curry Barker said now, like that guy, uh his his mate just uh wished for a million dollars. And sorry, and got a billion dollars. Like, Bear made an evil wish. That, you know, bear took away someone's free will. It's nothing to do with like the one wish willow being evil.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, just be careful what you wish for.
SPEAKER_00Uh speaking of things that are evil though, I went to see the Backrooms. Um, a movie you'd already seen and I believe quite enjoyed. I did. Enjoy it, yeah. I I don't know if I don't know if I was less keen. I definitely think Obsession is the better, more interesting movie of the toe. Um I think that backrooms make such a massive mistake in that it has, I think, one of the most effective cold openings to a movie ever. Like, you know, when you say again, spoilers, like the scientist trap, the it opens with a scientist like video camera filming himself trapped in the backrooms, and it is so scary, it's so creepy. And I was like, oh my god, is it gonna be like this for the whole like 50 minutes, uh, hour 50? Because this is gonna be too intense for me. And the answer is, no, it's not.
SPEAKER_02No, we're gonna not do any of that really at all again.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and then it gets really good again when they go, when he takes uh Qtel Edu4, takes two of his shop assistants. He finds the back rooms, takes two of his shop assistants into the back rooms, and that's when it gets really good again, and you're like, oh my god, what is here? Like, what is this? And then very quickly, and then it swaps characters and like it puts the brakes on the entire thing to then follow his psychologist who finds the backrooms, and then he's he kidnaps her because he's gone insane, and he explains what he thinks the backrooms is. And this is all like I'm making I'm sounding a bit glib because I do think everything around it is really effective. But I was a bit like, oh, we keep on stopping the scary bit, which is just imagine being lost in here. Like, I know that's a difficult thing to make into a two-hour nearly two-hour-long movie, but it doesn't need to be two hours. It could have just should have just been 90 minutes of these like you're lost, and there are things after you. Uh, that said though, you promised the weirdest horror movie villain of the year. And I did not expect you didn't expect that monster. No, I didn't expect a nine-foot-tall pirate. Um, which I am horrified to find out wasn't CGI. Nice. Yeah, that is um have you seen Alien Romulus? So you know the alien human hybrid at the end that uh when she thinks that's the same actor wearing a that pirate costume and like a mask. Obviously, like it then enhanced with CGI to make the face move. But yes, that's him back. And I realized when the pirate was walking after the um whatever the psychologist is called, because he's got very unique shaped hips. And I was like, oh my god, it's him. He's bat and to terrify me. Um I I think this is good. I thought this was a bit more workman-like. Like you could see the um James Wan. Uh, James Wan's, he was a producer on it. I could, but I was like, yeah, I get where he was. He he maybe had notes. Um, but yeah, good enough. Like a three-star for me compared to the four, I'd probably give obsession.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, it's not hung around as much, has it? It was very much an early um weekend success. Um it's still going, but it's not had that longevity that the obsessions had. Because I don't think you're coming out of it and going, oh my god, you've got to go and see this. Well, I think like I did really enjoy it though. I I th I'm interested in the sequels. Um I think they're gonna lean more into the um scientists and what they're up to in looking into the backrooms. Um, I liked all the weird faces on people. Um I liked to randomly just eating them. Yep, they're made of food, apparently. They're made of food. Uh which was odd. Um but yeah, it was it I I think there's a lot to unpack in it, and I think, like you say, I think there's lots of ways it could have gone. And it ends up not going the way you expect it to. Um because like I say, when he takes the two, there's a really great, quite scary chase scene when he takes the two assistants in with him. Um but then it sort of just hard cuts to the to a few weeks later.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Uh when his psychiatrist's just sort of trying to figure out where he's gone.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and at that point he's comfortable in the backrooms. Like he literally says he likes them. Um I don't think you do yourself any favors, like when you've got like a an evil location like the backrooms, to have uh someone who's happy to be there.
SPEAKER_02Or you know, it's it's they've corrupted him though, haven't they? They've corrupted him and he's become part of the fabric of the backrooms.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, I I I suppose. I don't know. I I I I'm interested, like it was a I mean, we're definitely getting a sequel. So, you know. So we'll learn more, no doubt.
SPEAKER_02DuPlace will hopefully have more to do in the sequel. Yes, I imagine he had nothing to do in this film. He got to watch TV with his family. He did get to watch TV with his family and chat to her at the end a bit.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Um, very quickly then. Should I talk about the last new movie I've seen? Oh, wait, no, sorry, I've seen two. I've I've seen two, I've got two more movies, but I'll do them both very quickly. So I saw uh Office Romance, which is uh the new movie out on Netflix uh with Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein. He plays her lawyer. Uh she's the CEO of an airline, and basically it's a rom-com. They fall in love, but they can't be together because they're employee and boss. Um it is incredibly charming. Like, I am not a big rom com guy. Uh I was just, I really like JLo. I like I think she's I think she's underrated as an actor, and she's fantastic in this. I think Brett Goldstein is just very funny. Like, he is doing Roy Kent to an extent, like, but it's it works. Like it's charming enough. It's the type of thing you've put on a Friday night, you're not gonna be annoyed you watched it. Like streaming fodder, perfectly good fun.
SPEAKER_01Good stuff.
SPEAKER_00And finally, Masters of the Universe, the new He-Man movie. And I expected to hate this, I'll be completely honest. It felt like it was master, you know, Mattel trying to get in on the Barbie trend of like, oh, we've got a top popular toy. Let's make a movie about that. You know Mattel make Barbie. Did they? Oh, well, I'm in fact, in that I thought it was Hasbro. In that case, then it's Mattel maybe perhaps going, well, we need one for the boys now. Um, regardless, absolute like I I love this. I watched this on the same day I watched Backrooms and I thought it was remarkable. Like, just really funny, really camp, really self-aware. It's very much in the same vein as the Lego movie. You know, like you have super low expectations and it knocks it out of the park. Um, the best thing in it, and this is a very rare thing for me to say, Jared Leto.
SPEAKER_02Right, well, there you go. As uh unrecognizably a skeletal, though.
SPEAKER_00And 100% not on set, which I think made all the other actors very happy. Yes. In my opinion, because uh to say otherwise would be libeless. Uh, but no, he is very, very funny in this. He's a good skeletal. Um, yeah, and it's not just me being a geek who liked it. Emily also liked it. So there you go.
SPEAKER_02I think the problem with it I have with it is I'm probably I'm not gonna see at the cinema, I may watch it when it comes out on stream or something. But I who who's it for? Like, who is in the audience? Because I am the age where I grew up with He-Man. Like, He-Man was a big part of my childhood. But I'm now 44, so well, I'm not 45. Uh, I have no desire to go and see it at the cinema. Maybe if I had 10-year-old boys, I'd be up for taking them to see it. But I don't think the younger kids are that bothered by it because they've not grown up sort of with it. So it would be a dad taking his kids, I suppose, to relive his childhood and show them, hope they got the enjoyment he did out of it. Um, or just grown men who haven't grown up going to see it.
SPEAKER_00Well, I would say that when I went to the theatre, it was a 50-50 split between uh people your age taking their sons to go see it, and people my age who looked exactly like me going to see it by themselves. Um, and a group of boys who clearly been given some pocket money to go watch something in the cinema because and sat at the back talking throughout it until uh one brave customer stood up and told them to be quiet. Um, yeah, no, I mean that's why it's made 87 million, isn't it? Let's be completely honest. Like it's not.
SPEAKER_02There's not a big enough market for it, basically.
SPEAKER_00No. It's and I don't think like I would say that I'm the target demographic for this. Like I had He-Man toys growing up. I do not like He-Man enough to go. Um, like this was something I was quite content to wait to watch on streaming. And it was only word of mouth that you know convinced me, oh, you should go see this. Uh, because I missed the press screening and I was like, I don't want to pay to see a He-Man movie in 2026. But the word of mouth was so strong on it, I was like, yeah, I'll go. And I think it's a shame that it's not done well because I know that the director had plans for a sequel. I just I just don't think it's gonna happen. Um yeah, I just I don't think enough people care about He-Man at this point.
SPEAKER_02No, I mean there's been a She-Ra series on Netflix, hasn't there? Like they've they've sort of have resurrected it slightly, but uh yeah, I just don't know if the younger generation are into He-Man enough for it to work.
SPEAKER_00No, and I mean I mean Netflix also did a He-Man series, like I think it's done two in the last five years, and both of them have been cancelled. I just again, who cares about He-Mar?
SPEAKER_02Well, this film is with Netflix for a while. It's been with Sony, it's been net with Netflix, it's been with quite a few studios. Like it's been in development for a long, long time, and it's finally ended up with uh MGM um slash Amazon. So, you know, it's it is one of those films where it's been knocking around a while, gone through a lot of directors, um, and then finally, you know, finally ended up where it's ended up. So I you know, it's I'm not sad to see it struggling at the box office, to be honest, because I just don't think we need these film films anymore. I think we need Hollywood to learn lessons that people are up for original uh storytelling. What we don't need them to learn is that everyone loves original horror, so we just get an absolute glut slew of horror movies. Floppy done horror movies over the next two years, but that probably is what will happen.
SPEAKER_00Well, I mean, yeah, 100%. I mean, like, what is it? The lessons learned from the Minecraft of Mario were that people like video game movies now, so we're gonna get Minecraft and then we're gonna get Mario 2 and still is the same. Which has now crossed a billion. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Oh, how's that? Mario Galaxy has now crossed the billmark.
SPEAKER_00Well done, Mario. Congratulations. I'm very surprised you didn't do that in the first two weeks, to be completely honest.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, just says how says that you weren't great because you didn't do it in the like in the first two weeks. I mean, we have got another couple of billion dollar movies coming up soon. This weekend will be the first of them. We have Toy Story 5. Yeah. I've already got my tickets booked to go see them on Friday afternoon.
SPEAKER_00Have you? Are you excited? Because the yes, the the reviews have been positive.
SPEAKER_02I am excited. It looks to me more like the Toy Story movie we wanted when Toy Story 4 came out. I was I personally was a bit disappointed with Toy Story 4. I think it's hard because the first three are so good. Like the first three are like a perfect trilogy. So anything then coming out after that is going to struggle. I just think the storyline of Yeah, I just think the storyline was not the best. Uh, and they also didn't treat Buzz Lightyear very well, suddenly made him thick and only following his button, which I think I've talked about before. Um so yeah, but this one, we're back predominantly what looks like in a child's bedroom with the toys dealing with a new toy arriving that there is gonna take uh Bonnie's affection away from them. So we're back to the sort of original arc of um Toy Story 1, really. Um and we've got Forky with his crazy quips. You do you are such a Forky fan. Like I The best thing that came out of Toy Story 4 was Forky. And if you've not seen Forky Asks a Question on Disney Plus, you need to go and watch Forky Asks a Question on Disney Plus.
SPEAKER_00You are evangelical about Forky Asks a Question. This is like the fifth time I think you've recommended it at all. Have you watched it yet? No, I've not. They're like four minutes long each. So I will say, I like it has I think it's got 92, uh 92% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Um it is, um, I know quite a few people who've seen it already and said it's really like it's just good. Like it's just, it's undeniably just just just good. Like it's except for Lone Dissenting Voice, Clarice Lockery, who gave it two stars in her independent review and basically said, it's a soulless cash grab.
SPEAKER_02Um I think the problem with it is, I think the problem is you do just think it's because the first this the fourth one felt like a cash grab, because the first three were so good and tied everything up so nicely that it's like, well, why are we back here? And you're like, well, we're back here because this will make us a billion dollars. I think it can be a cash grab because Disney will just be like, we're making a fifth one, we want the cash, it's gonna make cash. But then the filmmakers involved can still care deeply about the characters and the story, and it can still be really, really good. I think I think it has the ability to be a cash grab and be good at the same time, unlike uh the live action Moana, which will just be a cash grab, and I don't know who's gonna go and watch it, and I hope it dies a death. Because every time I see a trailer for it, it looks worse.
SPEAKER_00So I thought that the Moana Toe was the worst thing that Disney had ever made. Like, because I you could you could see literally where they'd sewn the episode because it was meant to be a Disney Plus series, and they decided hang on a minute, there's essentially a potentially a billion dollars. But Biger came back and Big Bob went, there's cash on the table here, let's take it. Yep, exactly. So, and you know, it did well, but I will say that the the first Moana is exceptional, like such a good movie, like great songs, great characters, really, really um, really, really good in animation with an impeccable story. And this the second one is a turd, like it's an actual turd.
SPEAKER_02The second one still did over a billion at the box office.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I know, and I know that, and I will say I've been watching the Junkit stuff that and uh Andrew Stanton, is it the director on this? Um yeah, Andrew Stanton, the director. He does seem to have something to say with this movie. Like he's been thinking about, you know, oh, um, like screen time with his kids and stuff like that, and like what it means. Um, you know, it came out 10 years ago. Who's going to see it? It came out 10 years ago. I mean, no, sorry, I'm talking about Toy Story 5, not Toy Story 5, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I do not I watched the trailer for the Moana remake, and as I went to the when I went to the cinema the other day, there was a stand-in of uh Dwayne the Rock Johnson, and I was like, this has just been stripped of all its charm. Like, you know, like this does not look good.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I don't get who you're for it. I don't get it. Like my kids are now I went with my kids to watch the first Moana when they were uh five and well, six and four, and now they're 16 and 14, they're not going to want to go and watch a live-action Moana. But then they're also not old. Even if they were even if they were 12 and 10 when we went to see the Moana the first time, they'd now be 22 and 20. Yeah. So they're not old enough to go, oh, I remember this from our childhood. Let's take our kids, like we would have been with, say, Aladdin or Little Mermaid. Um, and then so I just yeah, I just don't, I don't get I don't get who it's for and it looks terrible. But yeah, Toy Story, like you say, I think the the the director of Toy Story 5 and the the the people behind Toy Story 5 care about the story they're telling.
SPEAKER_00Yes, that much is true. And I I always have faith in Pic Tab, because even their worst films, there's always something to like in them, with the exception of Lightyear, which might be the worst thing they've ever made.
SPEAKER_02Lightyear was a travesty. Yes, I agreed. Lightyear was an absolute disgrace of a film.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I should have loved Lightyear, and I absolutely loathed it.
SPEAKER_00Lightyear in I th I stand by Lightyear in theory is a is an interesting idea. Yes. But God almighty did they butcher it. It's terrible again.
SPEAKER_02That is not the film that would have made um Andy love Buzz Lightyear.
SPEAKER_00No, it is not.
SPEAKER_02No, it it definitely isn't.
SPEAKER_00Because no one would love Buzz Lightyear after watching Lightyear.
SPEAKER_02Uh no, it was yeah, but it I'd just like to forget that film exists. Um but yeah, I mean most of the, you know, even the the stuff that ended up going straight to Disney Plus, like Luca, I really enjoyed. Yeah. Uh Turning Red, really enjoyed. Soul was alright.
SPEAKER_00Oh no, Soul's gorgeous.
SPEAKER_02Like Elemental started slow at the box office, but then ended up doing really well. You know, they Hoppers was great recently.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I I in fact uh I saw Hoppers the other day and was I'm really pleased that there is now a generation of animators working in Hollywood who clearly grew up watching anime and are bringing interesting animation techniques to Western animation. Because I'm like, oh, look, you could that's from uh that's that's something from Dragon Ball, or that's something from this anime series. Like, I like that about uh Pixar stuff recently.
SPEAKER_02I thought Hoppers was very funny as well, which was good.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes, it is. Like the uh Dave Franco's evil moth, evil butterfly, uh taking over the mayor, great stuff.
SPEAKER_02Um, right, we've got sidetracked. So Toy Story 5, we've done. Is it Odyssey time?
SPEAKER_00It is indeed time for Odyssey, which has become like is it the first time?
SPEAKER_02I booked my 70mm IMAX tickets for eight o'clock in the morning on the Friday of release.
SPEAKER_00Have you actually?
SPEAKER_02I'm not a mentalist. I'm not going at one minute past midnight.
SPEAKER_00So I am engaged to a mentalist who would quite. I think if I said, should we go at one minute past midnight, she would go. Oh. Absolutely nailed on she would. Yeah, my fiance is the biggest Christopher Nolan fan in the world and has met and interviewed Christopher Nolan and like run a Christopher Nolan podcast. She is obsessed. She on Monday woke me up at 7 a.m. and was like, I have to go to work. You have to sit on these two laptops and get us tickets to the BFII Max for the opening weekend. And I was like, I will do what I can. And she was like, No, you have to get us tickets. So we are going at 4 10 on Sunday the 19th, because I work Saturdays and we couldn't get we couldn't get in for the Saturday. And Em is also very much like, yeah, but you have to get press tickets. Like you just have to. And I was like, but we've already paid like £26 each now to go see it in the BFR. And she was like, yeah, no, I want to see it twice. At least.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, minimum.
SPEAKER_00But it is already doing incredibly well, just off like just off pre-sales. Uh I think it's already brought in sort of like God, I'm gonna quickly double chat. The Odyssey IMAX sale. Yeah, breaking Smashers BFI IMAX records for the in the first day of sale. Um it's sold 28,000 tickets so far just on the IMAX alone. And that means this is the UK, this is the BFI IMAX in the UK, it's already made 750,000. But it's not even it's not even it's not even out. We got the second trailer today. It's not even out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, mad. Um and that's one screen.
SPEAKER_00It's going to Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That's one screen.
SPEAKER_00I don't know if you follow IMAX on Twitter, but it is very funny to watch because this is going up against Spider-Man, which is out the same, I think maybe the week before, maybe another, maybe two weeks before. And people have been saying, why aren't you selling Spider-Man IMAX tickets? Like, why are you only selling Odyssey? And IMAX is basically replying saying, We're not showing sp we're not showing Spider-Man in IMAX. Why would we? This is this is selling like hotcakes, basically. Like we we are s people cannot wait for this movie.
SPEAKER_02I think the Spider-Man must be out afterwards. Is it? Yeah, it must be out afterwards. Just look, unless it's out at a different time in the States. Moana is out the week before.
SPEAKER_00Why is it?
SPEAKER_02Well says which no one wants to see. Um Spider-Man is out two weeks after. Why is that?
SPEAKER_00Well, it doesn't make a difference because people will still be watching the Odyssey. You heard it her first.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and the thing is, Odyssey is the first film ever filmed entirely on IMAX cameras. Although I was, I did watch a reel on Instagram the other day pointing out that it is shot entirely on IMAX cameras, but they then knew that they would need to, it would need to also fit other formats. So what you often end you might end up with, because the IMAX formats like that, you'll end up with the center of the frames there. That's what they need the important information to be in, because that's what everyone will see on every single format they watch it in.
SPEAKER_00Right, okay.
SPEAKER_02Where uh so you end up with maybe quite a lot of dead space and stuff that isn't as important in the rest of the frame. But I trust that Nolan and his cinematographer will have made it look absolutely amazing in IMAX.
SPEAKER_00I have no doubt that it's gonna look absolutely incredible. Like, of course. Course, it's gonna look incredible. It's Christopher Nolan, the man doesn't miss.
SPEAKER_02No, and I must say, I watched the trailer again today and uh I am excited. And our patz, he is a he's a he's got that sort of really good period baddie going on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he does. Yeah, he does. I mean, like, uh again, love Matt Damon, love Tom Hart, love Ralph Pattinson, love the Peter Nongo. Like, I just it's it's gonna be great. Like, it's gonna be epic.
SPEAKER_02I know that's a cliche to say, but it just is it is an epic, so it better be epic.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, very true. Very true. Um I yes. I I can't wait.
SPEAKER_02Is it going to get him his second Oscar?
SPEAKER_00No. Don't be greedy. He's got he's got a lot of.
SPEAKER_02Sorry, he's already had he has already had two, sorry.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he's not having another. He's he's Oppenheimer, I mean, uh like will it be better than Oppenheimer? Will it be, you know, will it be better than Interstellar? Will it be better than Inception? I think these are all I don't care, to be honest. Like, I just I'm gonna take this as it is. I think uh even when Christopher Nolan makes even the worst Christopher Nolan movie, which as we all know is Tenor, like I it is still good. Like, it's still great. Tenant was fun.
SPEAKER_02I'd like to uh Tenant, again, it was pretty much it was just a non-stop actioner. Yes. It was the worst bit of tenant was when they had to then explain everything in the army training camp and you got like 10 minutes of them just explaining what was going on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, temporal, I do not need to know the mechanics of a temporal pincer movement. Thank you very much, Christopher.
SPEAKER_02Like it was just get on with it and I'll figure out.
SPEAKER_00I'm sure we've said this before, but I'm can I'm convinced that was his his audition for Bond. That was him going, like, I could do it.
SPEAKER_02Insane that he would he'll probably never get a crack at Bond would be.
SPEAKER_00No, he won't. He's much like Steven Spielberg, who we started talking the podcast with, dreamt of it all his life and never got the opportunity. Which is mad.
SPEAKER_02Why wouldn't you give these people a chance at these things?
SPEAKER_00It was because of the broccoli's, wasn't it?
SPEAKER_02Like the broccoli's just gone now, so maybe, you know, Amazon like money, so um Nolan and Bond would be ludicrous.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but he have you heard what he wanted to do with Bond? He had like a really, really solid concept for it, which the broccoli were like, no, we can't do that. And I see why, because he wanted to he wanted to make it a period piece set in the 60s.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00And I can see why Amazon would be like, no, it has to be contemporary. Like, I do understand from uh like from a franchise point of view why you'd want it to be something set in the noun.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but as we've seen with the DCU, two things can live together at the same time in different timelines. That is very true. I can love our Pats Batman, and our Matt Reeves can make uh Batman the Batman 2, yet we can still have the James Gunn Cinematic Universe version of Batman as well.
SPEAKER_00Yes, when they eventually get round to casting him.
SPEAKER_02When they eventually get round to casting him. Um oh that's another so Supergirl, are you excited for Supergirl?
SPEAKER_00Actually, obligated right now to say yes, because I haven't seen Supergirl and I'm waiting to find out whether I get uh I get press tickets. I actually am looking forward to Supergirl. It's adapting one of my favourite comics. Um I really like Millie Elcock. I think she's great. I think the trailers look really fun, and it's got that Guardians of the Galaxy style edge to it. That um it's clearly, I know James Gunn's not directing it, but it's the guy, I think it's the cinematographer from Guardians who's what who's directing it, and I I think he's definitely trying to bring that sort of punky aesthetic to it. And I'll be completely honest, I'm just a sucker for crypto. Like anytime crypto's on screen, I'm like, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Love that dog. It'll be interesting. I'm assuming reviews will start dropping next week, so that will be interesting. I mean, I must say, my daughters are interested in it from the trailer. Uh, they're not normally interested in any superhero type fair, but they're interested in it from the trailer. But I must also say I saw a poster the other day on a bus stop, and flipping hell, that is one ugly poster.
SPEAKER_00I haven't seen the poster, but I can imagine.
SPEAKER_02It's too bright blue. It looked cheesy as hell.
SPEAKER_00I don't know what's happening with posters at the moment. They're just very ugly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it wasn't a good one. It wasn't a good one. But you know, I I will go and see it. There's no doubt about it. I'll go and see it. Will it? It'll be interesting to see what happens when the critical reviews drop. And it'll be interesting to see how it fares at the box office.
SPEAKER_00Yes. I so I know Superman did what, 650, maybe 675 off the top of my head. No, no, not a bill. Not a bill, but equally decent to j well enough to justify the investment in the DCU. I think they'll be hoping with this. I think it probably tops that around 300, 400, and they'd be happy with that.
SPEAKER_02I think they'd be happy with 400.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, let me let's see if it's.
SPEAKER_02I mean, Mandalorian and Grogu's absolutely tanked.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, again, we've spoken about this, haven't we? We, you know, like you've made a ticket. Yeah, so apparently according to um Wikipedia, the budget for Supergirl, 170 mil. So if it did 400, I think they'd be quite happy. Wow.
SPEAKER_02It has to do 400.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, basically. Wow, that's a mad budget. Bigger than I expected. I would have thought about 100.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I guess um Jason Momoa doesn't come cheap. No. He's the only I know Sue I know David Corranswet's in it, but he's not a huge name, is he? So I'd imagine it's gotta be Momoa who's uh taking home a healthy chunk of that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean it's I I think it's I I think that that budget really hampers it. I think if he'd made it for I think if he'd made it for 100 mil and it just needed to do 200, 250 to to sort of break even, you'd be alright. But uh uh 175 it's needing to push 400. I think it may struggle.
SPEAKER_00So deadline have repor d deadline have reported that it needs 315 to break even.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00So uh I could see it doing three I think I could see it doing 400.
SPEAKER_02Well we will have to see. We will it'll have some of my money because I think I'll take my daughters to see it.
SPEAKER_00Well that's something. It just looks fun. Yeah, it looks like a good romp. Like that's all I basically want from s from uh these types of movies, to be completely honest.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Just a bit. Like, don't I think the good thing with Gunn and the way he's moving with the the sort of DC is it doesn't take itself too seriously.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Oh 100% not. He's like apart from Clayface.
SPEAKER_02The trailer for Clayface actually looks quite good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but that's far more in line with what I was expecting sort of like the budget to be on these types of movies. Like, I think that's super cheap. Like, what is it? I'm gonna have a quick look.
SPEAKER_02But that looks more like a proper dark um DC type thing.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it definitely does. And of course, filmed in Stockport. Was it really? How on earth did I not know that? Did you not know that? Yeah, it was, you know, what's the fit what's the fancy cinema called in Stockport?
SPEAKER_02Um the shh my word, that's gonna annoy me. How do I not know where what the fancy cinema called? It's time for everyone to that's annoying.
SPEAKER_00It was filmed in Liverpool. Plaza.
SPEAKER_02The plaza.
SPEAKER_00The plaza in in uh Stockport. Wow. That's amazing. And I imagine that that when that comes out much later this year, in October, it's gonna do very well because it cost $40 million to make.
SPEAKER_02Yes, that's what you need.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_02But again, it's it's uh it'll be it'll be a 15 minimum, I would have thought, and it's leaning into the older side of DC. And I think that's always that's the part of DC I've always enjoyed. I've always sort of liked the DC films more than the Marvel films because they're a bit more grown up and a bit more dark. And I mean, Nolan did three of them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that that that does help, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_02Um and then obviously Snyder kind of ruined everything.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, by taking completely the wrong lessons from Nolan and thinking dark for the sake of dark was good. And no, it's not. You need some substance.
SPEAKER_02We can have fun as well. I fell asleep in uh Man of Steel.
SPEAKER_00I didn't fall asleep in Man of Steel, but I must have told you this before that I had to watch um Batman v Superman three times before I made it all the way through.
SPEAKER_02Nice.
SPEAKER_00Because the the first time I was so drunk I fell asleep uh during the midnight screening. The second time I was so hungover from the night before that I fell asleep, and the third time I is when I finally made it through, and I was like, this was not worth the money. So you have seeing it three times.
SPEAKER_02Am I right in thinking that you were such a big fan of um Justice League, though, and the Snyder Cut that you watched both the colour version of the Snyder Cut and the black and white?
SPEAKER_00You might be right. It's very possible that I have watched both versions just to see whether it was good, you know. You never know.
SPEAKER_02I d I'm glad we've moved away from this weird thing that happened a few years ago where we just re-released the film in black and white as if that was somehow a different version of the film. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It was was it Mad Max that started that with um the black and chrome version?
SPEAKER_02And then Parasite randomly was re-released in black and white.
SPEAKER_00Parasite, Parasite, because Bang Jun-ho wanted that to be in black and white to begin with, and then they re-released Logan behind uh the poster for which is behind me now. They released that in black and white. At that point, I was like, we need to stop this now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like no one, no one, it's not needed.
SPEAKER_00No, completely.
SPEAKER_02Let's stick with that.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02We've seen The Wizard of Oz, it's great. It is, and I have to remind my children when we watched it. I was like, just so you know, this was the first film in Technicolor, so they made it black and white at the start just for the contrast and to really blow people's minds.
SPEAKER_00And you know what? It still blows my mind away now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, love it. Right, on that amazing piece of cinema history that obviously no one knew. Uh we will wrap up for today because we've witted on for long enough. Um, when we speak next, we will have both seen uh I think we'll have both seen Toy Story 5, and we'll probably have both seen Supergirl.
SPEAKER_00I think so, yeah. I'm seeing I can't say when I'm maybe seeing Supergirl, I realise, but I'm seeing Supergirl next week, hopefully, and I'll definitely be seeing Toy Story.
SPEAKER_02Well, I'll probably go again next Friday to the cinema to see Supergirl. Hopefully it'll be on the Super Screen at my local Cineworld, because I like the biggest screen with the best sound. You like the big you like the big screens. Yeah, the big one with the best sounds always the best one. Yes, please. Right, nice one. We'll join us again when we are next between screenings. Bye. Bye bye.