SPEAKER_01 0:08

Hello and welcome back to Between Screenings. It's been a little while because uh I'd been away on holiday and Tom's not been away on holiday. Isn't that right, Tom? No, I've not. Some of us are saving for a wedding deal. Yes. Well, I did that a while ago. So uh I don't need to save for a wedding anymore, apart from my daughter's weddings, which I probably should start saving for now.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Yeah, I mean, it won't hurt if you make a head start on it.

SPEAKER_03 0:33

Uh how have you been?

SPEAKER_02 0:35

I've been very well. Uh keeping busy, you know. Hanging out with celebrities like my good friends uh Donald Gleason, I can say, um, and a couple of other people who I can't say. So, you know, it's not been too bad here in sunny England.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

What were you hanging out with Domino Hall for? The paper?

SPEAKER_02 0:56

We were talking about the paper.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Not about the incomer.

SPEAKER_02 1:00

Not about the incomer, unfortunately. No, although I am excited for that. Although, very bizarrely, I was talking during that same interview, I was speaking to Greg Daniels, who created The Office, Parks and Rec, basically name a common, you know, a great comedy from the last 10 years. He's worked on it in some ways or uh way, shape, or form. Jumped onto the call with him and he goes, You're from Salford. In the first two minutes of the interview. I was like, sorry? And he was like, Yeah, you're from Salford. And then he was like, I've I've been to Salford. Uh he was like, uh, Stephen Moffat, my friend, invited me over there to do a panel. Um, I spent a day in Manchester in Salford. And I was like, this is really quite surreal. I didn't expect the creator, well, the creator of the American Office to know anything about Salford. Although, Greg, if you are listening, I should tell you now, it is Salford, not as you kept saying, Salford. But you know what? I can forgive you.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Yeah, we'll let him off. Yeah, good. We'll let him off. Um, so have you been have you so we'll talk about uh what we've seen since we were last spoke. We'll also talk about uh what's going on at Venice, and we can talk a little bit about the LFF lineup and what people have got to look forward to there. Um and I've looked over it and I've already seen half of it. So um, spoiler alert, I've already seen a lot of it. Um yeah, so what have you been viewing since we last spoke, Tom?

SPEAKER_02 2:24

Well, I do think we should very quickly touch on something I saw a long time ago now, um, which was uh oh my god, I'm blanking on Camp Miasma, a film you've been talking about since you saw it at was it Can in Can that you that you first saw it?

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Yeah, we literally went straight pretty much straight from the airport to that screening.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

I mean, I can see I cannot imagine what it was like leaving the airport to go watch that. Um I thought it was sensational, and I am not normally one for like so like sometimes horror with a whiff of pretense turns me off. I can find it a little bit like, oh, it thinks it's too good for the genre. This was just really weird, really gory, and really entertaining. Did I always know what was going on? Absolutely not. Sometimes at some point I was like, I've not got a fucking clue what's happening here, but it didn't matter. Like I genuinely just I I was I was rapt, it had my attention. I thought I I thought it was fantastic. I thought it was such a brilliant love letter to uh you know the AT slasher genre. I thought Jill uh Gillian Edison was amazing in it, and I think having thought on it now for about four weeks, I do understand what it's about, and I do think it's a not only is it about it's fine to be a lesbian, it's also about um it's fine to have problematic favorites. So you know what? If you've been terrified of admitting to people that you can't get enough of American Pai Toe, it's absolutely fine. Cat Miasma says you're allowed to like movies that are slightly problematic 20, 30 years after they were initially made. You are also allowed to like sweets. You are allowed to like sweets. That is very I right. It m uh it made me so hungry. Like when you know when they were in the uh convenience store buying all the sweets and talking about the gummies and the buying the cookies, I was like, I need to like I I'm annoyed that I've not bought popcorn and got, you know, like you can get like mini eggs poured in your popcorn these days. I was really irritated at myself.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Yeah, there's so many things I liked about like the painted bat cloths as well when they arrive at the camp. Actually, sort of practical sets for painted bat cloths and stuff were just nice sort of nods and yeah, great. It's still in cinemas now, so you know, I think we both strongly recommend people check it out.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

100%. Uh, but other than that, I did catch two other movies, uh, one of which I think is out now, uh, and the other which is out tomorrow. Uh I saw Oasis Don't Look Back in Anger at the UK premiere the other day at the BFI IMAX. Um, I can't lie, I am an Oasis fan. I wasn't tremendously excited for this because um partially because music documentaries don't always interest me, but I was really surprised by this. Um it's it follows them from the rehearsal process to the end of the recent tour they did. And it's sort of it tracks the reconciliation between Noel and Liam, I would say, is the loose sort of you know story that they're telling. Um you learn absolutely nothing about the Gallagher's in this. I mean, everything you thought you knew about them, that Noel thought Liam was a twat, and Liam thought Noel was a twat, you get shock horror, they both hated each other. At the start of it, Liam's coming in, he took coming into rehearsal, he literally walks in, drops his bag off, he says, We're doing this, makes them start, they start, they do the full two-hour concert, and as they're singing uh Champagne Supernova, he finished like they're still um still playing their instruments, he walks off stage, picks up his bag, and goes out the door. And Noel's like, what? Like um, and that then as I say, it sort of tracks how you can like it's not said, but you can you can feel like Noel is clearly doing this early on because he needs the cash. And as it goes on, you can see him starting to fall back in love with it, and they and Liam starts to fall back in love with Noel, and it's really quite sweet. I would say the vibes are immaculate. Um, you get to see some incredible songs, it goes all around the world. It's interesting seeing they obviously do like you see Cardiff, Manchester, London. Um, you know, like you see like people, like them jumping the fence at Heaton Park and Noel and Liam encouraging that. Um, but then they cut to like Seoul in South Korea, and you see South Korean fans, and like there's a guy in a business, like in a suit and tie, absolutely losing his mind, and it's very funny. And it is interesting seeing like how the Argentinians react to Oasis and what the Argentinian Oasis fans are like. It was very, very sweet. It was very wholesome. Don't go in thinking you're gonna learn anything about Oasis. They don't even name, like they name Liam Nolan Bonad, and they don't name the other two members of the band. They sort of get a very brief sort of like, oh, that's Dave and Chaz or whatever they're called. Um but as I say, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained. I would recommend seeing it in IMAX as well, simply because the sound, just for the sound, like when you hear the concerts play in through the IMAX sound system, it is crazy that you can feel the you know, the bass in your chest. Really, really impressive. Um if you're an Oasis fan, do not wait for it on Disney Plus. I just don't think you're gonna get as much out of it. I don't think it's gonna have that same punch. Uh that would be what I would say. And do you want to go or should I talk about pressure?

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Uh let's go. Let's get you out of the way, Tom. Let's let's talk about pressure, which which I've seen the trailers for. Came out yesterday, so I could go and see this weekend. But I've I I unless you convince me otherwise, I have seen a lot of World War II movies, and personally am bored to tears of World War II movies and don't want to watch any more World War II movies. So this needs to be offering something completely new to the World War II movie genre for me to want to go and see it. So uh I will be interested to hear your take.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Well, you've seen World War II movies where they fought the Japanese, where they fought the Germans. You may even have seen World War II movies where they fought the Russians. But have you ever seen a World War II movie where they fight the weather? Because that's what pressure is about. Uh, this is based on the real life story of J Captain James Stagg, who basically was the meteor, Churchill's meteorologist who said, who was put in charge of working out whether it was safe to land on D-Day. And he comes up against um Dwight Eisenhower, the general leading um the D-Day landings. And basically it's set over the course of 72 hours as they sort of build up to the D-Day landings. Um, I would say it is definitely worth seeing. Like it is very much within that vein of World War II dramas, you know, like the bravest men, like it's all uh we're the bravest men you'll ever meet, doing the most incredible thing uh men will ever do. Uh however, it is really interesting to see, because Andrew Scott plays Stag, and he is arguably one of the leaders. If you thought Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer was too like too soft and cuddly, well, James Stagg is the cinematic protagonist for you because he is a grade A bell-end from start to finish. And the only thing he's got going for him is that boy oh boy, can he predict the weather? And he's he's clushing up against Eisenhower, as I say, played by Brendan Fraser, who's doing this really, I'd say quite I don't know if it's against type, but it's very bellicose, it's very sort of like authoritarian, which I wouldn't necessarily expect from Fraser. I think he's fantastic in it, and they have such a good dynamic. I think for that alone, it is worth seeing. And as an added sweetener, it is only 100 minutes long, plus you do get a rather nice D-Day set piece at the end. And you can definitely feel while you're watching it, because a lot of it is sort of people drawing, you know, bar charts and isographs and checking the pressure on things. You can sort of feel like, oh, the film's definitely gonna give us some pudding at the end, and they're gonna show us um the D-Day landings. And they do. Is it as good as, you know, the the best D-Day landings ever depicted in cinema, which of course is saving Private Ryan? No, however, it does bring us one step closer to eventually being able to live out all of World War II from 1939 until 1945 in cinema. We are getting there because I did think, right, you could cut this now and go into saving private Ryan and you wouldn't miss a beat. It would just flow imperfectly. So I recommend it if you're, especially if you're an Andrew Scott fan, if you're interested in Brendan Fraser, it might not be one for you, Neil. I can't lie. I think if you're really burnt out by World War II, it's not doing anything that's gonna make you go, oh wow, that this is I really needed to see this in cinemas. But I was entertained.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

I think the last World War II movie I watched was Dunkirk, and I think even that I was a bit like, oh, it's just I can't, I just I'm bored.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

Dunkirk, I like Dunkirk, but Dunkirk is a lot of people sitting on beaches waiting while nothing happens. This genuinely does have, you know, people arguing.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Right, okay. But it's the what if if it's if it's this or um Oasis this weekend.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Ooh, go see Oasis. I think you'd have go see Oasis in the cinema. I think you'll have a funner time.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

Um and so since we've lost in, I've seen two films. Um I went with Amy last weekend, she wasn't feeling very well. We went to the cinema on Friday to watch One Night Only. Uh, the rom com starring Calum Turner and Monica Babaro as Owen and Ally. Um, and it is unashamedly a rom-com. Uh it's from the director of um oh what the one with Sidney Sweeney and Glenn Powell.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Good. Uh anyone but you?

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Anyone but you, yes. Yeah, yeah. So I believe it's from the director of anyone but you. It's a rom-com. The two leads. The main thing you need in a rom-com, as far as I'm concerned, is you need two really likable leads who you're kind of rooting for. And I think this has got that. Monica Babaro is great in it. I think she's fantastic as Ali. Um, she is a singer who just happens to um not have made it quite where she wanted to, because she's afraid of actually performing in front of people, but she kind of sings jingles for uh things like Vajasil and uh things like that. But so like a modern song, but they've just adapted the words to include Vajasil or something like that within the within the name. Callum Turner is Owen, who is a um pizza shop worker, so he he he runs his own pizza place. But that's the main conceit of the film is what you have to get over. So as a rom com, it's between the two of them, they kind of meet on this night, they have a sort of will they won't they thing going on throughout it. Um obstacles get in their way, and they finally realise that actually they want to be with each other. Standard Rob romcom sort of thing. The conceit of the film is that this happens on the one night of the year single people are allowed to have sex.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

Yeah, it's the purge, isn't it, for sex, basically.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Yes. Essentially. So you basically have to buy into this conceit uh and just go with it. Um and if you do, I think you'll have a fun time. Like it's silly. Um the way they you know, there's the the obvious questions they kind of answer, like how how on earth would you even police this? Well, they all have biotrackers in their skin. Of course. Like Logan's Run. Yeah, so they have biotrackers in their skin that let them know the police know if anything's happening, and the police will rage your house if it's if they find two people canoodling when they're not meant to be. Um, there's even a scene where she's in a police station, it's like, why do you haven't you got better things to do? And the policewoman's like, no, yeah, but I want to collect my pension, and this is the I uphold the law, I don't make the law. What do you want from me? Um so but I think most of what I the the the sort of negative reviews I've seen of it have been around the conceit and around it not, you know, people not liking that conceit. And I think, you know, it's just a construct for this vehicle for the two of them to have obstacles in their way and want to be together and be able to set it over one night and it to be a kind of fun.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

It has got very like I think it's only in the low 40s, like Unrotten Tomatoes, and I have I've read the reviews I read certainly were like this is the the conceit is more interesting than the people, but I sort of think at that point you're not taking the film on its own on its own terms, if you know what I mean. Like the film wants to tell a story about these two, and you're like going, No, I want to watch the film about the dystopian future with the sex purge. And it's like that's not the wrong the you're here for a rom-cum.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So a lot of the reviews are like, it's meant to be satire, it doesn't work. The premise of a romantic comedy can get in the bin. Um, you know, it a one night only places attractive, likeable stars in a world where neither the people nor the politics make much sense. It's like, but it's not, don't worry about that. Just get over it. Yeah, why are you getting that? It's a rom-com. It's not saying it's it's not meant to be a political statement. It's meant to be this is a fun idea for a rom-com. Imagine if you there was only one night of the year single people could have sex. What would that world look like?

unknown 16:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Well, they'd all go mad. Everyone would be shagging like crazy. Um, you know, it's it it's it's just a silly, you know. In my opinion, probably most people would go to Canada for the weekend, because I'm assuming Canada haven't enacted this law. You know, there's loads of things. You can start picking it apart if you want. But the two leads are the two leads are great in it. Um, they have great chemistry, they're likable. It was fun for it was an hour and a half. Uh, yeah, it was fun. It sounds like it's heading for a three-star review in your letterbox. 100% three stars all the way. Yeah. It's not gonna be anyone's favourite film of all time, but is it is it fun for for an hour and a half in the cinema? Yeah. Are you gonna come away going that was absolutely god awful? No, it was fun. It was fine.

SPEAKER_02 17:18

So it's very so you're saying it's very unfair that people I mean, I noticed on its Wikipedia, someone has mentioned that it made less money than even the Melania movie. Which just feels mean. Uh I don't think it's come out. Has it been released in the States yet? I don't actually know, to be completely honest. No, I don't f yeah, no, uh yeah, it has. August 7th it came out in the US.

SPEAKER_03 17:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

I I think it's not got what the thing, what the thing it doesn't have that anyone but you had, is Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

I was gonna say the two.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

Like the two leads are great, but they're not Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in terms of getting people out to watch a film.

SPEAKER_02 17:58

Well, I like I like Callum Turner, but like I don't know. I I'm yet this isn't meant as a dig at Callum, but I'm yet to buy him as leading man in the same way that I immediately thought, well, Glenn Powell's clearly a leading man. And it's interesting I did see my wife doesn't really get the attraction.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

She sort of doesn't quite get the attraction with him.

SPEAKER_02 18:22

Um, it's it's very strange that he is like can you know considered the front runner for the next James Bond, considering he's been around for a while, and like bef until now, arguably his biggest role is in the fantasti the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which just uh I don't know. Like I know Bond they want sort of like a relatively smaller name, so they're not bigger than the franchise, but it's I don't know. I don't I don't believe I don't I'm not I'm not seeing the vision quite yet.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

No, well I mean uh Jack Loudoun's now the favourite, isn't he?

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Oh well with Jack, there's a man with the there's a man with the charisma to lead a picture, a motion picture. He's not bonded. No, he's definitely not.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

I mean supposedly if you listen to Gary Alderman says he is.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

Gary, yeah, listen. For real like we're not allowed to say, but we know he's not bonded.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Uh but I I'd be very surprised if it was Jack Loudman. I i I like him in Slow Horses, I just don't see him as having quite the gravitas that Blanc Bond needs.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

Maybe I'm not seeing again, maybe I'm wrong, but if to me, you can't have him in two spy things. You couldn't do slow horses and then have him be Bond, because Riv like he plays an incompetent spy. So having him then be the greatest spy ever is just a bit I don't know. I don't think audiences would like it.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

But yeah, so and the other film I've seen, because I'm doing my research on who should be the next Bond, the other film I've seen stars Jacob Lordy. Um excellent who also shouldn't be Bond. Um stars Jacob Lordy and uh Margaret Qually and uh Guy Pierce and Josh Brolin uh and is the dog stars by directed by Ridley Scott. So I I again I'm kind of going against the reviews on this one. It's not had the best reviews. It's had stinkers, Neil.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

It's it's it's people have told me this is an absolute steamer, I'll be honest with you. I d I think that's harsh.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

Again, the positive it's it it's a maybe a bit long, it's two hours instead of an hour and a half, it could have been an hour and a half. Um I if you look on Rotten Tomatoes, it's like 40% critics and 70% audience. So the audience have actually quite liked it. Um it is slow, it is a slow-paced film. So if you're after an action movie, like the poster kind of makes it look like an action movie because you've got all four stars on there, all with guns in their hands, walking through uh grass with a wing and a uh a beer. Those four characters at no point in the film are together in that attire, all with guns. Classic. That doesn't happen. So that poster is purely let's get all the stars on the cover. Um Jacob Alordy lives with Josh Brolin, the world's essentially ended. A flu pandemic has ravaged the world and must have killed like 99.99% of humanity. Like it has it's not just killed like 90% of people, it's taken out almost everyone, and there are handfuls of survivors left in each city. So we open with him flying from his sort of wilderness location where he's living with Josh Brolin into Denver, where there basically is about three people left, one of whom he comes across when he's going there to get supplies. So he goes to old supermarkets or old uh pharmacies and uh to gather supplies to take back to their compound that they're living on, and they need to. Live on a compound because the humans that are left have all turned against each other, um, of course, and are not friendly, and you shoot anyone who comes on your land regardless of who they are, because they might shoot you first. Um which again makes me glad that if this does ever happen, I don't live in America so that I don't have to worry about getting shot because I'm wandering around somewhere I shouldn't be. Um so you just again you kind of have to buy into that premise. Uh Jacob Alordi, though, doesn't want to just live his days out um as a recluse with Josh Brolin. Um I imagine he probably wants uh to meet another lady. His wife passed away during the pandemic, probably wants to go meet another lady. So he hears a voice on the radio ask saying that come and come to Grand Central. Um so he then goes to investigate, crashes his plane because something goes wrong, meets Margaret Qually. They get on quite well. Um Guy Pierce isn't that happy though because he's Margaret Qually's dad. They then all end up having to flee in the plane together, the three of them, because um, I don't know what looks like a bunch of Native Americans turn up uh and start shooting them on horses. Uh and then they end up at Grand Junction and it all goes a bit wrong. Um, everything's there is not what they expected. Uh, led by Alison Janney, who is great, has a bizarre bizarre character in it. Um and then they basically, after that, they go home and go, Yeah, okay, let's just go live with the religious people who seem to be quite happy.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

I mean, I saw I actually wanted to see this, right? Because despite the fact that Ridley Scott, I mean, since basically the last I like I hated the House of Gucci. Um, yeah, don't put it on the House of Gucci was great. House of Gucci is terrible.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

What the wrong with it?

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Well, it was a fantastica. I mean, so you've got the House of Gucci, you've got Napoleon, you've got seen Napoleon. Terrible. I mean, available to watch now on Apple, you know. Uh Gladiator 2, which is fine, but nothing particularly special.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

No, I did not like Gladiator 2.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

And before that, you've got all the money in the world. And like, so weirders, he's on a bit of a he's not on a winning streak for me. I've got to be completely honest. But yeah, because he made Alien, I'm willing to give him so much of the benefit of the doubt that I was like, when the when the invite came for the dog stars, I was like, of course we're gonna go. And then I was very quickly informed by my fiance, we shall not be going to the ball on this particular occasion. Um and when I saw the review.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

I enjoyed it. I think you should have gone and seen it. I think it's okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:49

I mean, yeah, can I say three stars? Three-star Neil strikes again. Look at him, sat on the fence. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you know what? It's definitely something that it's it's got streaming watch ran all over it for me. It's because it sounds like the type of thing when Em's busy, I'll pop it on and give it a go. So you didn't like The Last Jewel? Oh, I like The Last Jewel, but I mean, again, like you're looking at this for Jesus. Alien Covenant? I like Alien Covenant. I actually I have a lot of time for Alien Covenant. I like Prometheus as well. I am less fond of Exodus gods and kings. That can get in the bin.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

The Martian, though, is good. Martian's good. Um It is amazing how once you've had a really what I always find amazing um with Hollywood is if you have one absolute banger of a movie that makes $500 million or whatever, you can then have 10 stinkers in a row. Well, but people will still back you thinking it might this one, the next one might be the 500 million one again.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

I would say the qualification for this is if you're a white guy, then you get that. But if you're, you know, like if you're a woman or a person of colour, then you get one chance after making you can you you can make a plot you can make a huge movie, uh, but if you make a mistake, then you go into movie jail. Um M. Night Shaman gets away with it. Oh no, he was in movie jail. Hang on. Right. He He's out of movie jail now, he's been making loads. No, yeah, he's got another one on the way, hasn't he? Yeah, yeah. Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dinama. Have I ever told you about the time I got drunk and tweeted M-Night um Shaman?

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Did he reply?

SPEAKER_02 26:34

No, he didn't, but for several years he refused to let me interview him, and I've always wondered whether it was because I kept on S tweeting him, saying, was the kid in the sixth sense an enhanced human like Bruce Willis in Unbreakable? And because I was like, maybe, you know, because he started to link all the things to get like split and unbreakable. So I was like, oh, maybe, maybe that's that. Anyway, he never answered. And then a few years ago, a friend interviewed him while I was that while I was his editor, and um, I asked him to, I got him to ask M. Knight Shamelin this question in person, and apparently he got cool, he wasn't very happy with the question and put it, he was like, What are you talking about? So that's my feud with M. Knight Shamelin. Yeah, because he's had some stinkers.

SPEAKER_01 27:20

I suppose he had a run of, I suppose difference is he didn't just have one big film, did he?

SPEAKER_02 27:24

He had a run of So he had The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs Village, Signs, and then so he he basically from 1999 till I know some people don't like The Village, but they're wrong, till 2005. The Village is great. Yeah. He had a run, like everyone was on board with him, then the Lady in the Water, yeah, Stinker. Then The Happening, absolutely one of the worst films I've ever seen in my life, and then quite literally the worst movie ever made, The Last Airbender.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

Yeah, bad.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

Uh, sorry, Dev Patel. Oh, no, the real worst movie ever made, After Earth, which so bear in mind, until the last airbender, he was making a movie every two years. Then he makes the last airbender, and he has to wait three years for Will Smith to say, right, you can you can leave movie jail now, but you I need you to make my son Jaden into a superstar, which did quite.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

I didn't realize I knew After Earth was bad, and I knew obviously the Will Smith connection. I didn't realise it was M. Night.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was like, I got to imagine that that was like his my god. Because he made again three stinkers in a row, then after Earth, and he had to think, I'm making a blockbuster with Will Smith. This this has to be my thing. Absolutely stunk the place out. Oh, terrible. And then he gets back onto his, you know, he's got the visit, split, glass, old, knock at the cabin, trap, all of which, not not a main not quite up to, you know, the Sixth Sense Unbreakable levels, but No, but back to that, basically back to his his type of movie. Yeah, I would say so. Sort of like making these pulpy thrillers that you don't mind watching, even if you are sat there thinking, what's the twist gonna be?

SPEAKER_01 29:09

Yeah. Uh yeah, because I mean Six Sense made back in 1999, made 673 million at the box office off a 40 million budget.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Jesus Christ. Yeah, you get that buys you a fair amount of credit in Hollywood.

SPEAKER_01 29:24

Yeah, I mean, uh Unbreakable only did 250 and Signs did 400 and then The Village did 257. So all of them did all of them did like four, a minimum of four times your budget. But then he did Lady in the Water, which only just did its budget. The happening actually did alright. Happening 48 million budget did 163.

SPEAKER_03 29:50

Well, I mean that's a payment.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

Yeah. I mean, like you look at so his most recent one, Trap, he made that for 30 million and he turned uh around 83 on that.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

So to be fair, I want to agree with that. Actually, I apologize, Terminant Shaman, because even his box office bombs at least made their box office, made their budgets back at the box office. He's never had a film do less than its budget at the box office. So even after Earth did 250 million on a hundred and thirty million budget.

SPEAKER_02 30:22

Well, okay, you know what? Show again, shows what we know.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

The last deader, 319 million on 150 million budget. And that's in 2010 money. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I suppose you can't fault him. So maybe he's not had stick, like he's not stunk it up like Ridley has at the box office.

SPEAKER_02 30:40

No. But no, maybe we've judged him too harshly.

unknown 30:44

God no.

SPEAKER_02 30:45

I mean, I can't I genuinely can't believe how much did Exodus Gods and Kings make? I mean, still 260 million.

SPEAKER_01 30:52

Yeah, but what was the budget? I bet the budget was 260 million.

SPEAKER_02 30:55

200 between 140 and 200 million. Anyway, let's conclude everyone's favourite part of the podcast, Tom and Neil, Google numbers.

SPEAKER_01 31:03

It's always fun. But yeah, I think, you know, it um it is I'd still do fun. He'll again, he'll get loads of money to make his next film now, even though this one stunk the box office out.

SPEAKER_02 31:13

Yeah, I mean you always will. Um but there is actually a film festival on right now, isn't there? There is one on right now. Which does surprise me.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

Venice is currently happening over on the Lido in the lovely city of Venice. Uh and lots of stuff's coming out of it. Elon Musk's not come out well. Apparently tried to pay off his ex-girlfriend $40 million to not be in the documentary about him. But then the documentary is apparently pretty hard because no one will talk about him.

SPEAKER_02 31:42

Well, he's not in it. Um, it is three hours 50 minutes long. Um, and someone I know who is at the festival said they put the screening on around about 6 p.m., which meant most people had to sort of leave early because the boats were leaving Venice. Um so it's not got up to an auspicious start. Uh meanwhile, uh oh my god, Danny Boyle uh has been has used AI in his new movie. Is Inc. his new movie? Yeah, which they opened with, and then he immediately it got clocked that they'd used AI and people to tuck against it. And he's like confessed now that yes, he did use AI in it. What did he use AI for specifically? I'm unsure because I absolutely love Danny Boyle and I didn't want to prejudice myself against um against him. So I refused to read any of the negative reviews until I'd seen it for myself and I could make my own mind upon it. Um I mean, it's got Jack O'Connell in it, so and it's about journalism. So I'm gonna absolutely love this film because I love films about journalists. They always make me feel really sort of like ashamed that I went into entertainment journalism, though, rather than, you know, like actual meaty exposing corruption. So that's one that I'm particularly excited for, even if it does apparently have some AI in it.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

Um apparently there's a Gaza docs just got a ridiculous standing ovation, uh, 24 and a half minutes.

SPEAKER_02 33:13

Yeah, I've heard about this. And if I mean you've been to loads of these festivals. Well, what's going on with the standing ovations?

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Uh, can they very much I think I've said this on a previous thing, they very much can sort of decide because they're they have a big screen, they've the the cinema screen flicks to video footage of the cast and crew, and kind of how long they want to stay on the cast and crew during the the standing O will if they decide no, I've had enough now. Um but then the audience again, you know, every time you go to a new member of the cast and crew, the audience can just go nah, I'm alright. Uh so it is it's partly the audience and partly it's um how much the organisers want to keep it going.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

Right, fair enough. So and this this this new duct this documentary got 25 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Yeah. Which is the previous which is insane.

SPEAKER_02 34:12

Which beats the 15 minutes which the bunker got, which is the Penelope Cruise and Javier Bar Dam uh film, apparently, that I got 15 minutes, which was considered, and I'm quoting the independent here, mammoth. So this must be Titanic.

SPEAKER_01 34:27

Yes, this is indeed. Um also there's been prime time with um RPATs, which looks really good.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

I can't my my my thing with that is right, so you know the real Chris have you heard about the real Chris Hansen and his reaction to it? So he's basically said that you know the movie, like he he was never approached for the movie. Uh he was offered to see an early cut of it and refused because um, let me double check this, but I'm pretty sure it was because they refused um he had to sign an NDA. And he has now said that he's going to take out uh adverts ahead of every screening of the movie, basically saying that he didn't agree for this movie to be made. Which you've got to think, essentially I wouldn't pay to put it in front of the film that people have already paid to see. Like, you know, put it in front of Coyote versus Acme, because you know, then you know, you people have already paid them the money, Chris. They're not gonna leave the cinema just because you've not been um you've not got any money from this. Yeah, um he has, yeah, Chris Hansen calls Prantim an insult and has no regrets about um some of this, some of the work he did. Uh so apparently, yeah, not very happy with it. But the film is meant to be very good. Um, Robert Pattinson is being really weird with the press about it, which I always enjoy. Uh have you heard of him saying that he walked around town like talking to himself, doing the Chris Henson voice and saying, like, why not just sit over there?

SPEAKER_01 36:00

Nice. Uh, but I it it looks great.

SPEAKER_02 36:02

Yeah, I mean, it looks really trippy. Like, the trailer for it is magnificent. It looks really trippy and really surreal. I'm very excited for it. Is it it's it's not is it out before LFF or is it showing at LFF?

SPEAKER_01 36:17

It's not on the uh Gala's list for LFF. So I don't think it must be out pre-LFF. Yeah, it must be out no, hang on, no, it is playing. It looks like it is It's either playing at LF, yeah, it is playing LFF, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:38

Okay. Right. Well that's probably when I'll see it then. Well, I'll at least try and see it then.

SPEAKER_01 36:42

Yes, which brings us on to LFF. Uh, and if there's anything you have missed it, uh Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, or Berlinale, it is playing at um, it is playing at the BFI London, which is not a bad thing. There's also, you know, there's also a slew of world premiers and up-and-coming movies in there, but there I was looking through the the lineup today, and because I went to Cannes and Berlin, I've seen an outrageous amount of um the lineup already.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

Well, we you know, you have all you organise a festival, and I have got to imagine that there is just like as great as it would be to go to Toronto, as great as to Venice, to Cannes, to Berlin Ale, like people can't do that. So I do think it does have a place, you know, like within the scene for like, you know, UK film fans who want to go see these things but can't necessarily like they've that look, they've specifically put themselves as a best of the fests festival.

SPEAKER_01 37:39

They kind of, I think it was under Trisha Tuttle, um, essentially went, look, we're not Cannes, we're not Berlin, we're not Venice, we're not gonna compete with them, we're not gonna become those festivals. It doesn't make any sense to try and raise ourselves to that level because it's just not gonna happen. But what we can be is the best of the best of the fests. So we just showed the absolute best stuff that comes out of all of them. And what it, as we talked about last year, what it's made them become is this mad award season kickoff event. So actually, the the studios now put loads of money into it, and I will get inundated with BAFTA screening requests um during LFF because they want to court the BAFTA voters who there are the majority of them who live in London, and there's also a huge number of academy of voters who live in London or in Europe who can come over for LFF. So I think it it looks great. I mean, the the lineup, you know, looks fantastic. But I can tell you a load of films in it that you definitely want to go and see. Like Paper Tiger's really good, stuff that played Can that I saw that's really good, Paper Tiger, definitely worth seeing. Uh Minotaur, definitely worth seeing. Fjord, I didn't see it, but Carl saw it, uh, won the Palm Dor. Obviously, you're gonna want to check that out. Fatherland was won awards, Club Kid was my favourite film from Can. La Bola Negra, absolutely fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

And that's I've not even got into there's more that I've seen that have made the lineup here that um I mean I I saw I saw today um the cute because tickets went on sale um to the general public, and the cue apparently at the South was outside the door, quite literally, you know, like at the South Bank. People get really excited about this. And it's it is, I do like, like I do enjoy this time of year. I, you know, when you do get to go down to you get to go to the South Bank, the chairs aren't the comfiest, uh, I will say, in some of the screening rooms, but I don't know, it's got a vibe to it as well. Like, you know, and when like you get to see George Clooney walk out on stage with Adam Sandler and them have a little bit of a laugh together and all sorts. I do think, I do think it's impressive. And it's interesting what you say as well about it being like the kickoff for award season, because obviously you're a member of BAFTA, but I've been I've already been to two BAFTA screenings, and we're in September at this point.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

And I've not been invited to those, Tom. What's going on?

SPEAKER_02 40:05

Well, what can I say, Neil? You need to know some, you need to know some more important, more powerful people.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

Or I've just not been paying attention to my email inbox for the last couple of weeks.

SPEAKER_02 40:12

Well, yeah, I'll be completely honest, it's gonna be that. Yeah. Um, but no, I'm very excited for this because I haven't got to, as we mentioned earlier, I've not had a chance to travel this year because I'm saving for a wedding. So I'm very excited about Elsinore, especially after seeing Andrew Scott in Prussia. You know, you I know you are you fear it might be a little pretentious. It looks mildly pretentious, yeah. It does, but you know, I think as we said before with uh Cat Miasma, we don't mind a little bit of pretense if the movie itself is good.

SPEAKER_01 40:45

Yeah, true.

SPEAKER_02 40:47

Um, I'm also excited to see that Tony Gilroy, the guy behind um oh my god, uh, Andor, has got a movie in the festival with Pedro Pascal and Olivia Wilde in it, which again sounds super pret pretentious because it's about a prolific cellist who returns to LA to um do film scores. That sounds up my street. Um and I've just I have seen that, and again, you will you'll left because it showed it South by Southwest, because it's the best of the first. Uh Boots Riley, who did uh Oh my god, sorry to bother you a few years ago, has a new film in that. And I love Sorry to Bother You, as weird as that film is. So I think there's some exciting stuff there. I mean, also Ray Gun by Brad Bird, who was one of the geniuses at Pixar, so I'm very excited for that. And best of all, Wildwood, the new Leica stop motion movie, uh, which is which I love the Leica movies in general, but I always it's always great to say that did you know that Leica is basically funded by Knight, the trainers company.

SPEAKER_03 41:56

Really?

SPEAKER_02 41:57

So, I mean, again, so Travis Knight founded the stop motion company, Leica. Right. And he uh is the son of Phil Knight, the guy who Ben Affleck plays in the movie Air. Right, wow.

SPEAKER_01 42:13

Did you not know that? No, I did not know that. Well, now I've educated you. Now I'm aware of the link with Nike. So kind of Nike money.

SPEAKER_02 42:23

Yeah, basically, Nike Money is essentially paying for um for all of these stop motion. If you've ever wondered who's funding these stop motion movies, Nike is. Nice. But they yeah, like you say, they're always good. Oh yeah, no, they're fantastic. Like I love like I don't think they've got they've made a bad movie.

SPEAKER_01 42:40

Was have are all of their movies uh stop motion? Was Kubo in the two strings?

SPEAKER_02 42:47

Kubo was. So they start with Paranormal, then it was Box Trolls, Kubo, Missing Link, and then there's Wildwood. I think I might have missed one there, but all of them like mine, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 42:58

Obviously, you mentioned Caroline.

SPEAKER_03 43:01

Is Caroline like her?

SPEAKER_01 43:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:04

Is it?

SPEAKER_02 43:05

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it is. Yeah, I've missed loads. But you know what? I never pretend I what am I without Wikipedia? Yeah. Um and of course, Travis Knight did direct the recent He-Man movie, which I've already whacked lyrical about, so I won't do it again. But has proven if that he's a directing genius in my mind. Still not watched it, son. I'm still not gonna watch it.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

It's available on Amazon Prime now. I know, but I could be watching uh what could I be watching instead? Pretty much anything. I mean uh literally anything. I could be watching season two of uh Chad Powers, which I've just finished, which was Mint. Uh I've got House of Dragons season three to get through yet.

SPEAKER_02 43:50

Yeah, you don't need to worry about that.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

I'm also doing Widow's Bay, which I've just watched episode two of and very much enjoy. There's a lot to get through.

unknown 43:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:00

I mean, you've got You know TV as well as film, there's a hell of a lot to get through.

SPEAKER_02 44:03

There is an awful lot of TV. Uh have you and oh no, I've already asked you this. You don't watch Ted Lasso, dear. So I'm not.

SPEAKER_01 44:09

I've got no interest in Ted Lasso. It's too cheesy.

SPEAKER_02 44:11

Have you got you've you've been watching the has Slow Horses started yet? So I I think I can now say that I have seen all of Slow Horses season six. In fact, no, I know I can because the review embargo lifted the other day, and I can tell you. I think it's meant. Don't listen to those naysayers.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

Uh I I will enjoy it. The thing I like about it is it's a nice six-f- I like these six-ep series.

SPEAKER_02 44:33

I like that they make it every single year. Like just, you know, Jack Lurder and Gary Oldman just go to work every single year. Can you imagine?

SPEAKER_01 44:43

I also like the fact that I it will come out next Wednesday, I will watch it next Wednesday, and then I have to wait a week.

unknown 44:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:52

It's good as I.

SPEAKER_01 44:53

I like TV not dropping all in one go.

SPEAKER_02 44:56

Well, so do I, because it gives me time to digest things and I get excited waiting for the next one.

SPEAKER_01 45:02

I think I like because I I've just watched Chad Powers and I binged it. I watched it in two days. And I think I sometimes I think I enjoy it less when I do that. If I'd watched one a week for six weeks, I think I would have enjoyed it more. But I do not when the next episode's there and they're only half an hour, I don't I don't have the self-control to not just watch it.

SPEAKER_02 45:24

To just bit No, I listen, I'm equally as bad. Like if I've got them, I'm gonna watch them. But I do think you're right. Like, and I I think it's a bit like, you know, it's a bit like having a takeaway. You love it, everyone loves a takeaway, but if you have one every single night, it does lose its sheen. Uh what we're doing the pit right now on HBO Max. Um I can't always watch it because it's so gross. Have you seen it? Yeah, I imagine that's quite relentless to do in a wanna.

SPEAKER_01 45:50

I've not watched it.

SPEAKER_02 45:51

It's it's really good, and the characters are great, but like every five minutes, someone's like we were watching the first season last uh like two weeks ago. Um, someone comes in and they've been de-gloved, which I learned is when all the skin on your hand has been removed. No. Uh and they you see it, and I was just like, oh, oh, so there's an awful lot of this. Like watching, watching Noah Wild, oh, this is brilliant. Oh, no, he's walked into the room. Nope, looking at my phone. Can I look at it? Nope. Okay, back in front of you.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

Anywhere else, and now I can watch again. Yeah. Uh yeah, which it which probably gets a bit much when you do a four-hour binge.

SPEAKER_02 46:28

No, we don't binge it for that very reason. It's this is very much like uh the pit is very much uh you can watch one episode a night, maybe two, but you need Do you ever do you ever do that when you'll watch something scary or tense and then you'll be like, right, I need a comedy now. Just to you know, just like sort of diffuse the tension after that.

SPEAKER_01 46:49

Yeah. But it's also that um that anticipation you then get for the for the week of like, oh, and then the day it comes out, you're like, yes, I get to watch it today. You just miss all of that.

SPEAKER_02 47:01

So I think I've come, you know, get out your world's smallest violin, but I get to see stuff quite early sometimes. Um I miss the conversation around things. Like, so someone at work has been, I've like, I said to them, they they would they did some of the press for uh Slow Horses. And I said to them like three months ago, have you seen Slow Horses season six yet? And they were like, not yet. And I'm like, and now they've seen it and they've started talking to me about it, and I can't remember and I'm like Yeah, yeah, like I saw this like a year ago. Yeah, I was like, I'm sorry, I watched this like so long ago now, I don't know what you're on about. So yeah, I'm a big fan of the one week model.

SPEAKER_01 47:38

Yeah, I think also is uh when when you've got them all, the interesting thing is I So we're doing only murders in the building at the moment with my daughters.

SPEAKER_03 47:46

Yes, you mentioned that.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

So it's funny, an episode will end and you get the cliffhanger at the end of the episode. So even if you've decided I'm only gonna watch one episode, so often we'll get to the end of the episode, there'll be a cliffhanger. So we'll just watch the first five minutes of the next episode just to know what happened next. But then you'd like to do that. So that we can then go to bed. But you're diffusing the tension for the Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:07

Yeah, but it's just but you just want to know. And you know you can. I mean, yeah. Listen, the number I can't remember the number of times uh like I think it was with Silo. Like again, I won't get into spoilers, but quite often they'll end on a cliffhanger or just like a little tease, and we'll be like, Oh, just watch 10 minutes of the next one. Just, you know, just so we know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01 48:26

Yeah. Which, yeah, uh again, we don't have the self-control. Although I've now just plum in Googled slow horses and know that Olivia Cook's back in apparently.

SPEAKER_02 48:36

Well, she she was in the trailer, which was a baffling move, I must say. Like, I uh again, I won't go into spoilers because but like why would they put her in the trailer?

SPEAKER_01 48:47

I've been waiting for her to come back since season one. Yes. Well I could assume she'll be back at some point. And here she is. And here she is. Because I never believed she were dead. No. Well, she disappeared from a hospital bed, didn't she? She did indeed.

SPEAKER_02 49:01

I suppose the mystery really is how does she return?

SPEAKER_01 49:05

Yes. And and who is she and and how does she factor into whatever story they have this time?

SPEAKER_02 49:10

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 49:11

Right, I think we've probably waffled on long enough.

SPEAKER_02 49:14

I mean, we could do some more, we could scroll through Wikipedia for another fucking minutes. We can pick another director and see what their box office is for all their films. Who's sh who are we wrong about this week? And just pick another director and be like, oh, actually, it turns out that's the way.

SPEAKER_01 49:27

And we didn't even talk about my watching Mandalorian and Grogu.

SPEAKER_02 49:30

Well, did you watch Mandalorian and Grogu? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:33

Oh, yeah. Two episodes of The Mandalorian. Yeah. Glued together in, you know. I swear, literally, halfway through the film, the screen goes black after episode one finishes, and then it fades back up to episode two. It's so of it's so like the film is split into two, into two. It's just two hour-long episodes of The Mandalorian, which isn't a bad thing. I love The Mandalorian, but it's not a film.

SPEAKER_02 49:56

It's not a movie. And I there is part of me as like I remember when I saw it coming out, I'm thinking exactly the same thing that like, well, that was fun, but that ain't a movie.

SPEAKER_01 50:05

That's I also kind of feel like I've been jipped slightly out of season the next season of The Mandalorian. Like, this should maybe have been six hours and you've rammed it into two, you bastards.

SPEAKER_02 50:15

Yeah, completely. Like, you kind of feel like, you know, he beats the huts. Um, you think, right, what's he gonna do next episode? Oh, nothing, because the movie is over and they're not making a fourth season because we were all mean about season three. Also, why did they pay for Jeremy Alan White to do that voice? I do I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

I d I you can't even tell it's him. They've put so much distortion on it.

SPEAKER_02 50:36

We were playing a fun game of is that Pedro Pascal at this moment or not? And we were like, we do not think Pedro Pascal is in much of that movie.

SPEAKER_01 50:47

Um also found uh hench jabber too weird.

SPEAKER_02 50:55

Oh, it's too disconcerting. I didn't like it when the jabbers fought and were like moving in fast.

SPEAKER_01 51:01

Yeah, no, didn't like that. Quick moving jabber. They they just sit there being slothy. They don't yeah, I didn't. But uh I really buff one. No, I wasn't I wasn't I wasn't.

SPEAKER_02 51:13

You think Jeremy Allen White was like, if I'm playing a jabber, I want to be a buff jabber.

SPEAKER_01 51:18

Yeah. I mean, my daughter's never seen any of Mandalorian and she enjoyed it. So that's you know what? She enjoyed it. She loved Grogu. She loved the little uh mechanic guys. She got really panicky when Grogu was all on his own and um the Mandalorian was in a coma. Um so she had fun with it. And she now wants to watch Mandalorian, so I get to watch Mandalorian again.

SPEAKER_02 51:37

Well, that's something. You get to uh live through the highs of seasons one and two and the lows of season three.

SPEAKER_01 51:44

And throw in Book of Boba Fett halfway through there as well.

SPEAKER_02 51:48

I genuinely again, this really has become Tom and Neil complain about stuff from 2021. Like I I genuinely think the Boba the Book of Boba Fett is one of the worst things I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_01 51:59

Well, it's Mandalorian season two and a half.

SPEAKER_02 52:01

Yeah, it no, that bit's kind of interesting, but I'm here for the Boba Fett, and you've just not you're not even interested in finishing Boba Fett's story. It was mad.

SPEAKER_01 52:09

There was a whole episode with no Boba Fett in it.

SPEAKER_02 52:11

Yeah. They should they should have, you know what? I'm not gonna sit here actually and fix the Mandalorian. But they should have The Mandalorian should have been the it should they should have just called it the Mandalorian, and Boba Fett is the Mandalorian in this season of The Mandalorian, and the next season you can have what's her face, um Katie What's her face? I can't. No, that you're thinking of um you know what? I'm not gonna look on resisting the urge to Google it because we're better.

SPEAKER_01 52:43

We promised we were gonna let people leave. Yeah. Maybe we should. We'll take this, we'll take this conversation offline. Uh thanks everyone for joining us and join us for more just pointless chatter about films uh and festivals next time on Between Screenings. Bye