Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Emma Stone and Ramy Youssef, Poor Things, The Disappearance of Shere Hite & The Boys in the Boat

Episode Date: January 12, 2024

OK, now we are really back! Mark and Simon are firmly back in their seats and ready to shepherd you through a new year in cinema. This week, Simon sits down with Emma Stone and Ramy Youssef to discuss their roles in Yorgos Lanthimos’ wild new science fantasy black comedy ‘Poor Things’, which tells the story of a young woman in Victorian London, who, after being crudely resurrected by a scientist following her suicide, runs off with a debauched lawyer to embark on an odyssey of self-discovery and sexual liberation. Mark also offers his thoughts on the film, as well as reviewing ‘The Disappearance of Shere Hite’, a documentary narrated by Dakota Johnson, which follows the life of American-born German sex educator and feminist Shere Hite; and the George Clooney-helmed ‘The Boys in the Boat’, a biographical sports drama about the University of Washington rowing team that represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!): 08:39 The Disappearance Of Shere Hite review 17:44 Box Office Top 10 33:41 Interview with Emma Stone and Ramy Youssef 49:43 Poor Things review 58:21 Laughter Lift 01:02:37 The Boys in the Boat revew 01:08:53 What’s On You can contact the show by emailing [e-mail] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To advertise on this show contact: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With banking packages from Scotia Bank, you can put money back in your pocket. That's how Marcus was able to invest in everything he needed to launch his podcast about his pets. Welcome back to PetGasd! Visit ScotiaBank.com slash welcome offer. Scotia Bank conditions apply. Do you remember how this works, Mark? I don't remember how this works Mark? I don't remember how this works. Do we just...

Is it two people talking in a room? That's what it is, isn't it? We've been away so... How have we started? I think we started. I've been away. Is the magic begun? Can you not tell?

I can feel the balloons metaphorically are falling from the ceiling even as we speak. I learned to the new language. what we've been off so long. Right. I haven't learned the language, but I learned of a new language which I had never ever heard of. Now I realize that we have listeners in many, many different countries around the world. But have you, this may well just be me, have you ever heard of the language which is called this is not a Thought a joke. It's not a hub and it's also not Lord of the Rings or anything like that

Okay, have you heard of a language called Elf Dalyon or possibly Elf Dalyon, but it starts with the word Elf is that one word Elf Daly Elf Dalyon. I haven't It does sound like you're about to talk Elvish. Yes exactly. It's a northern Germanic language spoken by some people in Sweden. Okay. Just some people. Just some people, not that many, a couple hundred thousand, from a place called Alphdalen. Anyway, I was just astonished. Because how unlike Swedish is it?

Have you heard it spoken? Yeah. Well, only in a few words. So I can say some words. Go ahead. So the word snow is it. Have you heard it spoken? Yeah, well only in a few words. So I can say some words. Go ahead. So the word snow is snow. This is a good word boy. Is it pu? The word dog is raka. Raka is sort of old Norse. Anyway, I found this really quite exciting. Did you find this out because child one came back from Copenhagen saying you'll never guess. No, no, I found I was on threads and there's a guy who turned on, you were on threads? Yes, wow! Yes, I was. There's a guy on there. I've never met somebody who was on threads.

And he's a Norwegian bloke, I think, and he turns up and he says a word in English like dog or boy or milk or something like that. And then he says the same word in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, which is completely different. In fact, that in Greenlandic, completely different. And then he does this thing, this flag comes up and I go, what is that? And next is the flag, it says, elf dalian. So I'm just wondering if there is, do we have any listeners, which I think is in the elf dalian area ofere of Sweden, who speak Alftar Lenn? I'm always surprised by the reach of this nonsense that we do.

You can almost certainly put some of us into what's it called chat, GPS, TBT, into what's it called chat, GPS, TBT, and ask it to translate it into it. Because apparently now there is software that's based on that in which they're doing translations of movies, and rather than getting them to be redubbed by somebody in a different language, they just say to the computer, here is George Clooney speaking in American. I say that because it's George Clooney thinking coming up later on, although he's director, he's not in the film. You know, please translate it into Swedish. And then it sounds like George Clooney think coming up later on, although he's director, he's not in the film. You know, please translate it into Swedish and then it sounds like George Clooney speaking fluently.

It's great. But my guess is, this Google Translate hasn't got Elf Dahlian on it, so I haven't, I can't do anything else. But if there is anyone who knows anything more or in fact speaks it or if there any movies in Elf Dahlian, if you do speak it, can you send us a voice mail? Yes, you know, it's like when we do the what's on thing, send us a recorder on your phone and send it to us of you

saying something in Elf Dali. And then translate it. And then translate it. But don't do the thing about saying something rude like, you know, even if you said like the worst, I suppose legally it might be problematic. If you said, for example, no, can't even say that. You can't even say that. But if you said something that was reprehensible legally, saying it in Elf Dali and it would be much of a difference. Like, prone for nylons, for example, no, I can't even say that. I can't even say that. But if you said something that was reprehensible legally,

saying it in Elf Dali in, oh, I see. It'd be much of a difference. Like, brain-fenylon's, for example. Yes, that story that I told you, rep, rep, renfenylon's. If you said that in Elf Dali in, I suppose most people wouldn't get it,

but there might be, there might be someone, or I ladies, Elf Dali, and maybe that's where they are. For people who owned bread-fenylon's, maybe that's where they've gone. Anyway, outdated reference.

What we're doing in this particular thing. We're going through, we're viewing some films, including the disappearance of sheer height, They are. The people who owned Bread for Nile aren't supposed to be, maybe that's where they've gone. Anyway, outdated reference. What we're doing in this particular thing. We're going to be reviewing some films, including The Disperience of Sheer Hight, which is a documentary and The Boys in the Boat, which is a new film directed by George Clooney and reviewing poor things with our special guests. Yes, with our special guests, I've forgotten who are our special guests. Oh, yes, that's right. That's right. It's been a

long time. Our special guest Emma Stone and Rami Yusuf and when we get there I'll explain a little bit about the interview, but it's one of my... You've explained a little bit. I've seen the interview. What's... No, I need to explain a few things about the interview before we play it out. Oh, okay. Okay. In our Extra Takes podcast, another 90 minutes of this kind of rubbish. Also take it, I'll leave it you decide. It's going to be on and also a new feature called Plot Smash, where Smash has to guess what three films have been smashed together. It's going to be hilarious.

Did you have too much time in your hands over the holiday Simon pool? One frame back is in Spine. Michael Dale. Who's Michael Dale? I was speaking to Michael Dale. I know who he is. Hannah. He's the new Hannah. Okay.

We will have to refer to as Hannah. Yes. Do you know anything about horses? He's come up with plots, Mesh. Anyway, one frame back is inspired by poor things. He's going to be talking through the best films in both black and white and color. You can access this fire apple podcast, or head to extratates.com for non-fruit related devices.

And if you're already, remember get the tone right. Yes. A Vanguard East, as always, we salute you. No, that was too much from you, I think. I had it just right. Try again.

We salute you. That's good, that's very good. Dr. Pots of London Town, the Eboody and Doherr, having been intrigued by Mark's description of watching Thundercrack at the Scala. Mummy about the Thundercrack. It was one of the films that the Scala showed regularly. It's three hours long. It is an experimental exploitation art, polo mash up. And when I watched it in the

Scarlett, I did think this cannot be legal. We are all going to get arrested. Thunder thunder. Crack crack. Yes. Okay. Anyway, my wife and I sat down to enjoy it that evening. Enjoy it. Okay. Good luck with that. What can I say? Well, it's definitely a film, a moving picture. There was certainly a series of still images giving the impression of movement, but Jaime Charlie will not be showing this one to the children. I'll reach up.

Keep up the good work. No, it's not for the kids. There's a lovely anecdote. I think this was in the clip we played in the Scholar documentary Scholar exclamation mark, exclamation mark, in which Stuart Lee recounts being at the Scholar and who's showing thunder crack. And somebody was sitting at the front

and he kept turning round and going through all these, why are you watching? What are you, what are you all doing here? And then he would sit down and watch some more of it. He would say, Chris with a Y, CHR, Y, S. Okay. Simon Mark, are there any movie lines? I'm going to throw this out. Okay. Okay. Unless you can think of anything. Are there any movie lines that when you hear them for the first time or in the context of a film, you thought, oh, that's a good line. Oh, only later to realize after digesting it a bit, that they're actually quite off.

For me, quite off. Yes, so, Ryan O'Neal, love story. Love means never having to say, I'm gonna say you're sorry. Surely that can't be right. If you really, I mean, the, love story. Love means never having to say you're sorry. Surely that can't be right. If you really, I mean, the opposite is I'm not going to say you're sorry a lot. You'll have the courage to say you're sorry when you make a mistake or do wrong by them, even when the other person does not need your apology.

So down with bads and up with good. So I think that's quite, but that is clearly something that maybe in the moment in the movie, you go, oh, that's so love means that is clearly something that, maybe in the moment in the movie, you go, oh, that's so, that means never having to say you're sorry, or, I'll put that on a poster, or is it a peanut strip cartoon or something? And then you think about it, you go, that is complete problem.

From start to finish. I mean, it is true that that's a very good example, because that thing about Love Me is never having to say, which I think it was all, I think it might even have been the tagline for the movie. And I assume it's in the original book which I haven't read. But it is one of those things, yeah, you go, oh, and then you go,

yes. It doesn't mean that. If there is anything, any line like that that you say, oh yeah, yeah, that's true. I thought at the time it was great, but actually Waterload of Rush. Correspondence, a Curbidome.com, that's Correspondence, at the time it was great, but actually what a load of rubbish. Correspondence at curbadermao.com. That's correspondence, correspondence,

however you want to spell it, or even with a T, I think we got that covered as well, at curbadermao.com. So with a discussion of Frank and adult matters, what's our first film? The disappearance of Shereheit, which is a documentary by Nicole Nuneum,

who made the Oscar-nominated crypt camp. So this follows the story of Shereheit, which is a documentary by Nicole Nuneum, who made the Oscar-nominated crypt camp. So this follows the story of Shereheit, who shot the fame in the 70s with the Hight report, which was the best-selling investigative report on female sexuality, which famously foregrounded the idea, I mean, not completely novel idea, although not in popular parlance, that female sexual pleasure was centered on the clitoris and not on penetration. And the book became a huge talking point hit. It was on television shows and interviewed everywhere. The book sold out, it's first from really, really fast. But as we see,

The book sold out, it's first run really, really fast. But as we see, it also started to spark a backlash, a vitriolic backlash from men, some of whom felt threatened and disempowered by, in fact, one of the people in the documentary says, well, aren't you at risk of making men feel like they're not important anymore? They don't have a function to serve. And then later on, she published another book, which was a report on male sexuality, again, which was done with sending out questionnaires and lots of questionnaires and getting them back. And after that, she was effectively hounded out of America, ended up going to live in Europe, because her findings were so alarming to many of the male population in America specifically, that she was on television

shows in which she was pilloried and her research was called not scientific and she was a cues of a number of bad things. So the documentary uses archive footage, which there is plenty. I mean, there's a lot of archive footage of height, with narrated sequences from her own writings read by Decades of Fanning, who also gets an exact producer credit. Here is a clip. Plan for not being a stereotyped creation of your society.

Number one, spend three days alone. Number two, take yourself seriously. Number three, take yourself seriously. Number three, whenever caught in a situation where you are made to feel girlish and helpless, bitchy and aggressive, or any other stereotype, leave immediately and do any action which you enjoy and is yours. So you can see if you saw that clip which you just did. So there's a lot of footage of Shea Height. I mean, she's very, very striking figure. And that was her putting a record on.

Putting record on and then lounging. Yeah, exactly. I think the film is a very timely reminder of someone whose work was, you know, was received as groundbreaking despite the fact that what she was saying was, look, you know, it's almost as if culture has hidden the idea of even female anatomy. We've sort of pretended that we can't talk about any of that. And now I'm saying something out in public. The people have known for ages and ages and ages,

but I'm saying it in public and I'm getting pilloried for it. And was then sort of run out of town by a reactionary. Is there, we see her on TV shows in which the male hosts patronizer, we see at one point sitting alongside David Hasselhoff, who's sort of smirking and, you know, what she's talking about. We hear her surveys being called into question by people who just don't like the results she got.

We see men squirming with uncertainty about this kind of new world in which the thing that they do is no longer the most important thing. However, we also hear at one point of the responses to her male questionnaires. One of her associates said, you know, I was at one point looking at the original questionnaires also. And he said, it's the most depressing reading I ever had because they talk about loneliness. People talk about, you know, filling on, like not knowing what they're meant to be doing, not

having any kind of intimate content, not being able to talk to people. So there is a whole kind of vast hinterland of sort of, you know, male worry and anxiety, which manifests itself unfortunately in anger. We also see how when it emerges later on that she'd done a lot of modeling. She's to put her way, earned her keep through modeling, and she did modeling for things like Playboy, and then once people found this out, oh well then she's a bimbo, therefore she's an airhead therefore, you know, why should we take anything that she says seriously. It may all seem kind of, you

know, quaint and retro 70s 80s. It's also weirdly contemporary. You know that phrase that we were talking about recently, that history doesn't repeat, but it rhymes. So we see news footage of the Christian right, basically putting her in the same bracket as all the things that they despise, campaigning against gay rights, campaigning against women's rights, campaigning against reproductive health rights.

We hear of the appointments of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court amid allegations of harassment. Of course, Thomas is still there. He's admired in corruption allegations. He's the husband of the insurrectionist, Ginny Thomas. And yet he is somehow sitting in judgment on whether or not Trump should be allowed to run. So I mean, there is a weird sense of, okay, this may be in the past, this may be historical,

but it's very, very contemporary. So many of the battles that we hear about are still playing out today. And it's also an all portrait. It doesn't in any way deify its subject. This is just, it says she can be difficult. We see her walking out of TV interviews. We see her getting frustrated with the press coverage when she can't control it. Because if she disappears, well, what she does is she goes to Europe, which of course

is there. But where? I mean, well, Germany. But the significance of the end of the empires as well, the significance of this is how was it? Somebody who was such a prominent person and who did such groundbreaking work literally disappeared off the publicity and the reason was because she was met with such hostility that she just said, I'm not having anything to do with this and she, you know, in the language of the title of the thing, she disappeared, meaning that she,

you know, she left America and went to sort of, you know, to find a new life in Europe. And I, I mean, I thought the documentary was really interesting, it was really well made, really well argued, lots and lots of great archive footage, very good interviews. And somebody says in it that they were talking to one of their younger colleagues or a student, something, and they mentioned the height report. And the guy said, what's that?

And she went, I can't believe that we've got to the point that people are going, what's the height report? I mean, if you were our age, it was probably, there were copies of it everywhere. It was a really, you've never seen it. You've never seen the height report? No. Oh, okay.

All right. Well, that maybe says something about me. And in the end, it's always about me. Is it a cinematic? It is. And I thought it was, you know, I think it's, I really liked it. If you don't know anything about,

so the hype report is well worth checking out. And is sheer height still with us? Do you know? No, she's not. Okay. So that is the disappearance of sheer height. Still to come, what are we gonna be talking about? The boys are just started.

Yeah, the boys in the boat, which is a new movie directed by George Clooney, and I'll do this again, Paul things with our special guest. Emma Stone and Ramiya. They're just the names of it, your finger tips. Absolutely. Now, before the break, wise, wise words in which Mark and I in alternating weeks, although

you'll have noticed that Mark really remembers when it's... No, I remembered. ...have to guess the artist in terrible song during the break. So we'll be back before you can say, there are times when a woman has to say, what's on her mind, even though she knows how much it's going to hurt. And I chose that specifically because of when you forget, well, the butthole surface. That's the name you don't hear that often. That's a John Hill band. I give in. Oh no, you have to wait.

Oh yeah, I have to wait. You've forgotten how the whole show works. Really? Roll the ads. Mark, who would you say is our biggest fan? Well, we do always have the LTLs and the long-term listeners who email, they tweet the Instagram us, but I know, a hard pick one. If I gave you a clue, you might get it. If you think of a sound that a cow makes...

Moon. Oh, I see, movie, very funny. Anyway, guess what they are supporting us right in not just now, not just now, but right into 2024. So while we're here, do you want to update the fans with the very latest on movie? Yes, so they have Priscilla, which is a new film by Sophia Coppola, which is in cinemas from the first of January. This is telling the story of Priscilla Presley, very interesting, particularly in the wake of

Baz Lerman's Elvis. This is a complete different take on the story. And how to have sex is streaming on movie in the UK from 29th of December reviewed that and when it came out, I thought it was really powerful one of the best films of the year. You can try movie free for 30 days at movie.com, slash Kermit and Mayo, that's M-U-B-I dot

com slash Kermit and Mayo for a whole month of great cinema for free. Sam and I mark here with another message from our good friends at NordVPN. They are a great punch those NordVPN folks. They are indeed and they're back with another handy tip for making your hectic life. That bit easier. Yes, because if you're thinking of booking a holiday this January, then NordVPN can help you save money. Yes, you can save money on booking flights, hotels, car rentals with NordVPN by switching your devices virtual location.

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The link is in the podcast episode description box, so head there right away. And just before the break, unless you're a van Gogh Easter, in which case time just sort of disappeared Mark, performed these words. There are times when a woman has to say what's on her mind, even though she knows how much it's going to hurt.

Suddenly it occurred to me it's the Dodge Brothers Christmas single. It isn't. Oh. I've had four guesses. But thank you for your Christmas card, which is incidentally referenced all four of the Dodge Brothers tracks. I'm very, very proud of. I'll give you the next line.

So before I say another word, let me tell you, I love you. Let me hold you close and say these words as gently as I can. It's Mary McGregor's torn between two lovers. I love that record. I love that record. There's an old person. I love that record. Loving both of you has broken all the rules.

It also includes the line, you mustn't think you failed me just because there's someone else. What? I failed you because you found someone else. Thought I hadn't crossed my mind. No, not at all. Anyway, very good contribution. So, Box Office Top 10, at 28, Scarlett, with three exclamation marks. Which, you know, we've already talked about briefly. I just think it's terrific. And I think that anyone could enjoy it, whether you'd ever been to the scholar and experience the majesty of it first, how, and if you'd never heard of it, we said we did a screening at XT University to students who were in their

early 20s. Some of them from overseas never heard of the scholar cinema, loved the documentary, went down like a house on fire. Down like a house on fire. Down like a house on fire. And presuming they're a scarler equivalent in most countries. Yes. They'll have their own. Yeah, and also in many towns, I mean, you know, in Manchester, we had the Arb and, for example, but the scarler was kind of, I mean, there's a bit with, you know, John Water says, you know, I've seen my movies in lots of cinema.

The scarler was the wildest I ever saw. Number 10 in the UK 11 in the state hunger games, the ballad of songbirds and snakes, which has done pretty decently, although I have to say I did find it underwhelming. I mean, I do think that the whole of the Hunger Games series sort of declined over the time. So number nine in the UK number two in the state

is night swim. Now, I haven't seen this. Um, we were off last week It is a review from Tony Allen. Thank you. It's incredibly boring and already in my worst films of the year. Wow. Okay. I mean that can't be much of a list Can it given given January. Yes. And everything. Okay. Well, I look forward to catching up then. Number eight is Ferrari. I think I like Ferrari more than many people. We've had some correspondence with people saying, oh, chunky special effects, which I didn't think at all. I'm a big Michael Mann fan, despite the fact that they are speaking English in the Italian. You know, it's not the full house of Gucci,

but I thought it was well told and I'm not a motor racing fan, but I thought it was gripping. Wish is at number seven. I wish it was better than it is. It is just like a, you know, it's like if you said to chat GBT, make me a generic Disney movie that references the history of Disney over the last, you know, century, and it went, okay, there you go, it's called Wish. Boy in the Heron is it number six, number 12 in the States? I really liked this. I thought it was absolutely terrific. It's very disturbing as it's meant

to be. I saw the subtitled version, I haven't seen the dubbed version, and I know that people have said the dubbed version, which features the voice of Rob Pattinson, is actually very good. So I would like to see it again in the dub. But the animation is great. It's lovely to have another Miyazaki. I know people, some people will kind of slightly lukewarm about it when it first came out, but I I think it's really something. Speaking of which. Oh, okay. I was just thinking when you talk about subtitles, that email that we had a couple of episodes ago, from someone who said, I genuinely prefer a film to be dubbed because if you are reading, you do miss some of the action.

And I thought, okay, that's a legitimate point because you do spend a lot of your time at the bottom of the screen, or occasionally at the top of the screen. But anyway, his email from Michael, having just watched Hayam Miyazaki's final final version 2A finish, definitely last movie, my thoughts. To preface this and by no means a die-hard studio Ghibli fan, while I've enjoyed many of their films, the total number I have seen can be counted on more than one hand, but less than two full hands. You could just say like eight. The boy and the heron started off fairly

strong. The striking animation style during the films opening fire scene gave me flashbacks of the runaway scene from the tale of Princess Caguyya. I got that right. Caguyya, but yes, I agree. A game movie which I adore. However, as the movie progressed, there were ever increasing plot points that evoked past Miyazaki films to the point where I started. However, as the movie progressed, there were ever increasing plot points that evoked past Miyazaki films to the point where I started to question if I was actually watching a new movie or just a recycled one with new packaging. The re-trodden plot points of the young protagonist moving to Pastry's new, finding nuggets of a fantastical world being fully swept up in this new world, meeting random strangers who they immediately

and implicitly trust an obey, helping random strangers who they immediately and implicitly trust an obey, helping said strangers without jobs, then cue the cute money-printing creatures out of the dog of the dog like Kadoma. It all felt too familiar. As we were approaching, the last act Miyazaki seemed so intent on maintaining the momentum that the protagonist, Mahito, is barely even given more than five seconds to emotionally react to any situation, delivering his lines with a deadpan sternness, and scenes are rushed along, allowing neither

the situations nor our characters to chance to breathe. It's probably due to this that my emotional engagement towards the end had waned, to the point where I admittedly started to doze off just before the film's climax. As the film finished and the credits rolled, I couldn't help but laugh at the contrast between me, almost falling asleep and a fellow patron behind me, who I could tell the film had had a profound effect on, as I could hear them sniffing quietly. Right, yes. Well, that would have been me. This by no means takes away from the genius of Miyazaki and despite my personal grievances,

still a fine swan song or heron song to end on. One other point I'm adding here, courtesy of child one, who said, he thought, how do you live is a, the original title is a much better title. And the boy in the hair and makes it sound like a children's film, which it is not. But I, I think how do you live does feel like a, yes, title. Yeah. I mean, there's the thing about titles changing, you know, throughout different territories is, is one we can go into in great detail, but yes, I agree with, it was child ones at the other chart. Yes, okay, fun.

He's a givenly fan. Yes, I agree. I'm surprised that, well, no, I'm not surprised. I'm saddened that the film didn't have more of an emotional resonance with you. I mean, when you list those things and say, well, it sounds, you know, it's retreading this that the other, I mean, it is, it is a late period Miyazaki in which of course, all those elements are, you know, they're, they're there in his body of work.

I mean, I remember when we were talking about the wind rises and people were saying, well, it's, you know, it's the, it's the beautiful closure to his career, which of course it then turned out not to be because he did carry on working. But I think when you're at this point in your career, the fact that you're taking influences and elements from the whole of the rest of your filmography, I don't have a problem with that. However, if it didn't engage you emotionally, if you did find yourself in that, you know, to ticking things off,

then it didn't work for you. And I'm sorry that it didn't. It did work for me. I found it disturbing and moving. Number five, number three in the states, Aquaman, the lost kingdom. So the poster and I thought, well, what did you think when you saw the poster? That looks rubbish. Yeah. Okay. You know what? That's a great poster because it is rough. I mean, Okay, you know what? That's a great poster because it is rough. I mean, he's, firstly, I think we've all got to the point of really, I mean, really, Jason Mamoah seems to be enjoying himself, but then it's his franchise. Everyone else looks like they're just kind of, you know, picking up the check. As I was watching it, I was trying to think of, you know, how would you sort of pithfully sum this up? I came up with this. If this watched, if this washed up on a

beach, you wouldn't try and resuscitate it. You just leave it there to die. Number five, I know we've done that. Number four is anyone but you. Which I haven't seen, but it's the new film by Will Glock. It's apparently an update of much to do about nothing. And of course, Will Glock is a bit of a hero on this program because he came on the show after we had kicked the living and funny and and for his corner and he was and I he he just shot up in my estimation. So I'm looking forward to seeing that. Number three is Priscilla. Um, you and in Norwich. Yes. My partner and I went to see Priscilla after Robby's review peaked our interest. Neither of us are very aware of the subject. After my review, peaked your interest. I'm afraid that's what you and his I reviewed it first. I've to were both left pretty disappointed in the good say thanks to the production team for leaving that in Welcome back Mark. Did you have a nice Christmas? Yeah, did you miss me apparently not carry on I think

Yeah, I'm sorry. I just said I should say this have you seen the pictures that Robbie Colin posted on Social media now of himself with his shirt off. I would he do something because he looks like Superman should say this, have you seen the pictures that Robbie Colin posted on social media of himself with his shirt off? I would do something like that. Because he looks like Superman. Okay. He's been working out in the gym for however many years, he's printed two pictures, one of them of him looking like most human bit and another one, he's, he's oiled, he's oiled,

he's buffed, is that the reason for this reaction? He's hench, apparently, he's hench. We don't, I don't think we can get away with that. So is that the reason why you're annoyed? No, it's because I reviewed Priscilla first, but a carry-on. We were both left pretty disappointed in the film. It starts very strong. From the first scene, there is a sense of discomfort as Elvis begins the process of grooming a 15-year-old girl.

Kaley Spani does a great job of conveying excitement of being Elvis's chosen one, but also the fear of being a child preyed upon by a grown man 10 years older than you. Great setup and you get the sense that this is all going to end very badly. As the film goes on, however, the threat of abuse gives way to a quiet abandonment and emotional immaturity. Brief flashes of anger, but unfortunately the film fails to escalate from its initial setup. The film is sometimes stylish, but not always.

No amount of nostalgia will make the beehive stylish again. I'm left with a sense that the film pulls its punches. Is this a flaw or the authorised by a pick in general? I totally understand why Priscilla Presley wouldn't want the film to escalate in that way. I was at a tell-off, at least twice my age, for talking throughout the whole film. That's really annoying.

He was telling his friend about the time he went to Graceland and saw the amazing carpets. And his wife kept on saying, what's going on? How old is she? What was the age of consent in West Germany? I mean, you and you'd be forgiven for being annoyed by that and also not knowing off the top of your head

what the age of consent was in West Germany. Can I say, I'm be being presumptuous, but I think that that thing that you've just added about that annoyance probably didn't do the film any favors at all. It is a very, very finely judged film, I think. I think the fact that it's not that it pulls its punches, it's the fact that, so for a couple of, it asks you to make your own decisions about this without sensationalizing, without, without, avertly judging, it just says this is how the situation is. I think from what I know about Elvis and Priscilla, it is a pretty accurate portrait. And I would contend that having that annoyance

going on in the cinema might be enough to derail your enjoyment of the film. I'm not saying, look, go back and watch it again, you're wrong, because I'm an older person than I was when I used to say those sort of things, which I still think it. No, I don't think what I think is, I was trying to figure out why somebody would have

that kind of negative reaction and the fact that that thing about people talking in the cinema would be, I think that might be enough to derail it because I think it is a film which is kind of got some a thin apparently but actually has depth but you have to let it float. I have to let it float. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, you know, it, it, I think it has grace and, you know, and I think it flies, but I think it could be quite easily grounded by somebody going, oh yeah, I went to grace it and incidentally, I've been to grace them. The carpets aren't anything to write home about. I don't know why he wanted to talk about the carpets. People are weird. Anyway, I mean, yeah, I can understand someone saying, what's going on?

How old is she? And someone, but you're pretty, it's kind of like, you've gone to see a movie about Priscilla Presley. Surely a little bit of background, anyway, number two in the UK is one life. It's a very, very moving adaptation of a real-life story, which has been described as a kind of echo of Shindler's list. Two very good performances by Johnny Flynn playing Nicholas Winton in Young Life and the Hopkins playing him in older life directed by James Horser, I think does a very good job of telling a story that is very moving and

unexpected, particularly in its sort of later movements. Did people like it? Someone who's calling himself or herself, Glen Gary Glen Ross 7127. Okay. Glen Gary Glen Ross I get, but yes, I do. I, but it's, it sounds like a bot. I'm sorry, Glen Ross, I get it. Yes, I said it right, but it's made me sound like a bot. Anyway, this is the first film I can ever remember watching where no one moved for 30 seconds after it ended. Oh, okay. It's like no one wanted to show disrespect

by being the first one to stand up and leave. Yeah, I can understand that. I can understand that. That's partly to do with the subject matter. Yeah. Green Giant 2007, this is also our YouTube channel. Even though I saw the original, that's life episode from the 1980s. Which of course is in the film. Yeah. And I knew what was coming. I still shed a tear at the end as did many people in the cinema with me today. It was both

uplifting and incredibly depressing. Uplifting because Wynton with the help of his team made a huge difference to the people of Czechoslovakia and saved 669 children, which the filmmakers estimated to equate to 6,000 people who are alive as a consequence. It was depressing because looking at the terrible scenes of refugees displaced by war, I was reminded how little we have learned from history. And again, I would cite that thing I said before, history doesn't repeat, but it rhymes. I said before, history doesn't repeat, but it rhymes. Jonathan Friedland of the Guardian on his podcast, which he does, called Unholy with the innate levy, making the point that he had enjoyed the film, but he was giving a black mark to the marketing people who can speculously avoid it, saying that it was Jewish children

who were saved. That was just not mentioned. And really? Yes. And which he obviously attributed to the fact that that would, maybe they would feel that that wouldn't play well in the current media climate. But it is true that in the marketing there was no reference at all to the fact that it was Jewish children overwhelming who were who were.

Yes, I mean, yes, very, very much larger. Anyway, so that thought hadn't even occurred to me, but, um, okay. And the UK number one and the US number one is Wonka. It is what it is. Excellent. But I mean, but you know, no, it's a good thing. It's a good thing. And I was talking to, I was talking to a friend of mine whose partner has now seen it four times.

Well, it's doing what it is doing what it is to do. And Christmas in you, you know, number one, I hear and in the States. And I also think that it is one of those things, which is, you know, people want something that's uplifting, and touching, I love the songs, obviously. And it's, you know, it does what it says in the tin and it's made by people who know how to do that stuff. So we're going to be talking about poor things

in just a moment. With banking packages from Scotiabank, you can put money back in your pocket. That's how Marcus was able to invest in everything he needed to launch his podcast about his pets. Welcome back to PetGas. Visit Scotiabank.com slash welcome offer. Scotiabank conditions a fly. Gently used, barely sanitized. The skate's might smell funky, but the comedy is always fresh.

Catch DJ Demaris, starring in the brand new second-hand, sporting goods workplace comedy, one more time. New episode Tuesday on CBC Gem. And we're back, unless you are a fan god, these in which case, we never were away. Never were away. Never were away. But they were great commercials. I love those very many. And we're back, unless you are a Van Gogh, in which case we never, never, never, never away. Never away. But they were great commercials. Love those very many. Which was your favourite one. The one that we voiced. And in fact, anything that we

voiced. Because if we voice it, it's like it's true. It's certainly, instantly true. I guess today I Emma Stone and Rami Yusuf who both feature in your Goss Lanthimos' new movie which is called Poor Things. Now what I should say before we start is at the beginning of this interview I shake hands with Rami and then I go to shake hands with Emma and she says I'm not very well forgive me if I don't shake hands I said that's absolutely fine. So we do the interview and I think you can hear in the interview that she's not, you know, that she's either got cold or cough. Anyway, discovered later on that after this interview, that was it. There were no more interviews because

she was feeling, because she was feeling so poor. Because once she'd been interviewed by you, she thought, that's it. Well, that's another way. That's why watermark has been reached. Well, it was so terrible. I'm not, I've not firing my publicist. That's the best way to do this. Anyway, so it's a little bit underpowered, but I think, so this is the last interview that Emma Stone did on this particular day because she was feeling so bad. It was also the first interview. So it was like 10 o'clock and it was the first thing. So as she walks in, she's feeling rubbish, but Rami fortunately is feeling fine.

Anyway, you'll hear the interview with Emma and Rami after this clip from Poor Things. These two are fighting and ideas are banging around in Bella's head in heart like lights in the storm. Oh. You're always reading now, Bella. You're losing some of your adorable hips, peaking. I'm a changingable feast.

As are all of we. Apparently, according to Emerson, disagreed with by Harry. Come, come, just come. You were in my son. What? That is a clip from Poor Things. I'm delighted to say I've been joined by Emma Stone,

Ramy Yusuf, two of the stars of the movie, Welcome. How are you? Well, I know Emma. You're not very well-occu- Well, no, I'm fine, I'm delighted to say I've been joined by Emma Stone, Ramy Yusuf, two of the stars of the movie, welcome. How are you? Well, I know, I know you're not very well. Well, no, I'm fine. I'm fine. Which clip was it? Cause we were, we're in the room here. We didn't see the clip. Yeah. Me neither. Talk to me about it. You don't even know. We had depends what we give them. It's in the dark. We don't know each clip. But I'm sure it was. But what did you think of the clip anyway?

I fell. I fell. It felt it was powerful. And I felt it was feminist. Did it sum up the movies, as far as your consent? I think that clip kind of says it all. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell.

I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell.

I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. I fell. introduces to your character, Emma. And also to us just how you got involved with this project, because you were a producer on the project as well. Yeah, I was, Yorgos told me about this right after we had shot the favorite in 2017. So I,

he just gave me like a little bit of an overall view and I just loved it so much. And what did he say? He just gave me like an outline of the book but I think it wasn't very long. I don't remember specifically what he said. I just remember immediately saying that sounds incredible. That sounds like something I would love to be a part of. And eventually I was and we would talk about everything and then he asked me to be a producer on it a couple of years later because we had been talking about it the whole time and It took about four and a half years from the first time we talked about it to actually making it. But yeah, I was Tony had begun adapting it and Tony wrote the favorite obviously so I just wanted to be back in that world again. So, Remy, when did you get involved? When did you step up here?

when did you step up here? Probably incredibly late in the process, but I think that by the time I heard about it, I knew obviously that your ghost and Emma had been working on it and had this great conversation with your ghost, he had seen my stand-up, he'd seen my show, and then kind of said, hey, you know, we're doing this film and walk me through it and then said,

why don't you read it, let me know if you want to be in it. And then I said, I don't need to read it, I'll be there. And at the time I was shooting my show and he was like, does it work with your schedule? And I was like, I'll just stop doing my show. That's how much I wanted to do. So he's based on the novelist by Elastair Gray.

And does it, Emma, did you go back to that first when you were just pitched it to you? You didn't want to, you didn't want to see that. No, no, I just, I, I wanted to read the script as it was. I knew that the novel was very different. He had explained that and he kind of said, you don't really need to, because I have a tendency. Here goes to Dapsalot of material, you know, either from short

stories or you know, if it's whatever, maybe. And he typically has said to me, to me, don't look at it because you're gonna get an idea in your head that it needs to be like the book. So read the script and let's build it on our own so that it feels like yours. And I've had experiences like that also in the past like doing crew LR or something.

I didn't wanna watch old versions or anything like that because it sort of sits with you in a way that you think that's the right way to do it or the right descriptors. So yeah, I was I was relying on the script. So when we did this film, I refused to watch 101 Dalmatians. I said, I can't have that. Even I told you you should. For a poor thing. So many times. I just wanted to have a kind of a clean, poor thing. I think that's fair. I don't even think out of Dalmatians.

So when you saw the script, I mean, because I'm intrigued because so much of this is coming out of the screen, it's so visual, it's so stylized. What did you, what was it that made you think, no, no, I'm going to drop everything and I'm going to be in this film? Yeah, well, it was so funny. And I think I'm such a fan of Yorgos,

and I can't imagine that I would, as a fan of watching the films, I didn't think I would ever really understand a Yorgos script. I thought that he was gonna send me something that looked like a manifesto or something. Because killing a sacred deer, dog tooth, these are movies that are such a huge part

of why I love film. But part of why I love them is because they kind of transcend the page and they become this experience that you can feel. So he said he sent me a script and I'm like I don't even know what this is going to look like. And then I read it. I was just like white pages with writing. It was with writing. So it didn't look like it actually looked like a script. And I was like I'm sure it's going to be on parchment, but it was not parchment. But it was so funny. It was so clearly a comedy.

And that really excited me. We have to talk about better backstaff. So just how do you begin to explain this role? People haven't seen this film and how you built this character. I don't really. Because we try to keep it. I mean, it's very important to Yorgas that people know as little as possible.

Obviously, and previews and things you can kind of get the gist that would be really simple just to think. Okay. So what can you tell us about Bella Bexta? Oh, nice. I can basically, it's, she's a woman who is building herself from scratch. She is both

creator and creation ultimately. It means that she has never had these life experiences, and she is without shame, without self-judgment, and she's sort of approaching everything in life, whatever it may be, travel, food, sex, dance, politics, with a sort of brand new curiosity, and she's a creature unlike anything else. Would it be fair to say she's a full grown baby at the beginning? I guess that would be fair. Yes, it would be fair.

But she's also developing in a way that no baby would ever develop. I mean, she's, she's, what do you say? She's, she's gaining 25 words a day. Her hair is growing rapidly. She, she's kind of more of a, of a creature than a literal baby. In my mind, I see her as like a metaphorical sort of, you know, people have compared it to Frankenstein, like a kind of, you know, the way she walks, the way she talks. I guess does feel like a toddler in the beginning, but then it sort of evolves into a place where she's just kind of her own inspiration. Well, I guess it would have been a faux-looks Frankensteinian, I don't know if that's in a word. And he's the guy who's put you together. So that'll be why they end up. So from Max's point of view,

you do most, an awful lot of your work is with Willem DeFoe, who I was about to come up in the lift with just a moment ago and the door shut in his face and I had to apologize. But anyway, that's the end of the video. But what is it that your character sees in Bella? that your character sees in Bella? You know, I think Bella is like, I would describe her as curiosity uncaged, just that pure feeling of curiosity that has no inhibitions. And I think he's this budding, you know, doctor, scientist.

He's obviously incredibly curious, but his work is so fact-based and data-driven, and then he sees the other flip side of curiosity. She's all emotion. And so I think she's kind of, it's this Yin-Yang thing that everyone's looking for where he's just his head is in the books, but then he sees her and she kind of provides even more possibility than anything he's been looking at. I'm bearing in mind, Emma, that you can't tell us anything about the film or what happens later on. So you're a fully grown baby to start with, but you gain sentience as we go through

the film. Yeah. And it's almost as though as you as you are gaining sentience, the men in your life go crazy. Yeah. In different ways. Yes, they can't stand the fact that you're not the person that they thought you were. Well, I think that Rami, it's such a good answer to this yesterday about the mirror

and the mirror on men, like what, you know, that she is herself in every circumstance. She's forthright. She's honest. She says exactly what she wants and needs, she sees no reason not to. And the reactions of the different men in her life to her agency, her growing sense of agency, is very interesting and kind of like a,

I don't know, a study on, what did you say? Like how they react is... Yeah, I mean, I think the belly character and the film, it's like very mirror like where, what you get out of it is kind of where you're at. She's just curious and she's growing and then these men are kind of seeing where they're at with their own desire for control and how they are with. And he goes and yeah, need to possess.

What is rehearsal like with Yorgos? That's the most scary. Yeah, it's scary. Yeah, it's scary. Yeah, it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, I felt, scared, I felt fear. Why? A lot. Because you got some nauseous?

Yeah, I got dizzy, because we did a lot of spinning stuff. I get dizzy easily. And so he wrote a fake doctor's note. I wrote a doctor's note. He was no longer allowed to do the spinning exercise. From a doctor that doesn't exist, but I thought maybe Yorgos wouldn't know

and sent it to him, brought it in, and then he made me spend more, despite the very real doctor's orders. Yeah, so. Is that when the Dalmatians come in at that point? No, no, he can't watch that. This Dalmatian free, yeah. It's a lot of theater games.

It's a lot of kind of, you know, we're saying our dialogue in certain, you know, context of games, but then we're not using it in a sort of straightforward rehearsal way where we're blocking and discovering things about our characters. We're really just discovering each other and bonding in that way. So by the time we get to set, I think it's really useful. By the time we get to set, we just feel kind of free and open with each other and then we can experiment and discover as we're shooting. There is a phrase which comes up

a lot, Emma, which is furious jumping, which I think is original to this story. And you do a lot of furious jumping. And so you work with an intimacy coordinator. That's the correct title. Do you work with one before? I had worked in just small bits with intimacy coordinators, but I had never obviously done a project at quite the scale of furious jumping. So, Elm and Kelpine was our intimacy coordinator and she was amazing. She really, she really created an environment that felt very secure and safe and comfortable. She also was great at choreographing things to make them look very realistic when they're not.

So it was completely imperative to have her there. Was there was there any stage where you where you said it maybe not when you were filming, but before you got to that stage, where you were, no, I got even with all the precaution and the security that I feel I don't think we can do that. Not really because we had talked about it for so long. Also, I can talk to Yorgos about all of that. If there were certain things that I was like, I really don't want to do this. I don't want to do that.

That would only be if there was an idea that we were adding in, it would be like, well, let's do this thing this way. But we always, I mean, we talked through absolutely everything. And all of the scenes that you see on screen were in the script. So nothing was a surprise. When I spoke to Margot Robbie about itonia, because she produced that, and I said, what kind of a producer are you? And she said, I'm going to be ringing up to find out what the box office take is in Iceland. That's the kind of producer I am. So what kind of a producer are you? I think it depends on the project because we have a production company now and it's different when you're not in the film or when with this one, I felt very welcomed in by Yoros and I think that my job as a producer on this one was to collaborate, talk through

everything that had to do with Bella when we were talking about, you know, I would see everything coming in from production, design, costumes, casting, all of that. But for the most part, it was my favorite thing about producing is getting to support an artist's true vision and be kind of a, you know, a sounding board. And it was much more of a creative producer on this than it was, you know, a, what's happening with the box office. So you're gonna be really careful about Iceland though. I think you're very, she's very Iceland-focused producer.

So Reykjavik Sinema shouldn't be waiting for a call from Emma. I don't think I'm gonna call call them directly, but I will send Ramy. But also Ramy, so you're talking about your TV show, which you created and devised and star in, and hands on running everything, compared that with turning up and being in this film, where you have a script and you do what you're told. Well, maybe. Yeah, no, I mean, I think, well, to speak just about Emma's producing incredibly

impressive to watch her deal with a lot of the high level creative stuff with Yorgos and then step into various versions of Bella, depending on how that was being built and tracked, as Bella's growing the whole film. And so I thought it was so impressive the way that she was able to handle all that and then step into a true character. For me, yeah, going from running a show that I direct and write and do all that and I'm in and to just kind of have to, you know, I mean, first off, from film the TV, it was amazing. I'd show up and be like, we're only doing two scenes today. We usually do like four scenes before lunch, you know. And so in a way, I was really, I love the pace of it. And I also just love the level that I trust,

your ghosts and Emma, obviously, they're truly the best. And I'm like, I'm with one of the best filmmakers. I was just, it kind of felt like a vacation. It was so cool. I was like, I don't have to make a decision other than just learn this accent, commit to this, and kind of like cut open lamb hearts with Willem Defoe. I mean, this is learn this accent, commit to this and kind of like cut open lamb hearts with Willem Dafoe.

I mean, this is, this is, how much fun is it possible to have on a film? You can't have more, actually. I think I peaked. I'm Rami Yusufamastan. Thank you so much for talking to us. Thank you. Thank you so much.

So it was, I think she seemed in pretty good shape. Yes, she also had makeup, but we would all look much better if we could have hair and makeup. But no, can I just say I don't think you and I would look like good man. No, no, that's true. Well, she is fantastic. I hadn't met him before. I don't think he, I think this is his first like major film role. Yes, I wasn't aware of his work. But they were great

together. They were. And they were, you know, they were very good company and they're very excited about the film. Great. so let's hit the review. So, as you said, new film from Yugoslantimos, Dogtooth Lobster, killing of a sacred deer. First work with Emma Stone on the favourites, which got ten Oscar nominations, seven after wins. They have since then made the short film Bleed. They've shot an entire other feature, kind of kindness, since doing this.

And so they're obviously... They like each other. They like each other, they work very well together. And as you mentioned, in the interview, this is adapted from a celebrated 1992 novel by Alster Gray, who was a Scottish writer who won both the Wipbred Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize for poor things, worth saying that the book is said in Glasgow. And I interviewed Yugoslán

Themos about this a while ago. He said that part of the book is a philosophical essay about Scotland and its relationship to England and the rest of the world. And he said, and I didn't think that as a Greek director, I was able to do this. So I took that out of the thing. I know there's been some, you know, complained about moving the location and changing. But his argument was this not something that I could do. What he did tell me was that he kept the essence of the story, which has been described, you know,

various, he's a twisted science fiction romantic comedy, which I think is, you know, with politics and jokes. So Stone plays Bella Baxter. As you heard in that interview, she didn't want to say much about the character, but I just think basic coordinates. A reborn 19th century woman under the paternalistic care of the,

yes, it is a real word, Frankensteinian. I'd never said it. No, it really is, yeah. Surgeon, Godwin Baxter, played by Willem Dafoe with lots of Frankenstein makeup, whom she calls God, short for Godwin, but obviously God works both ways. Far the God is going on, okay.

He appears to have gifted her with the rapidly developing brain of a baby. In the novel, there are different tellings of the story. There are all these kind of competing accounts. And many of them are sort of, the story is a toll in a way that makes you think, that can't possibly, but you know, you doubt at the narrator.

The film changes that and it makes it solely her perspective. You see the world through her eyes. And I think that one of the ways that you see this most clearly is that the film exists in an artificial world. It's all shot on sets. I mean, brilliantly shot by Robbie Ryan. Fantastic productions. I mean, breathtaking production design. They have created a world which is not quite, I mean, it's surreal. I mean, there are surreal creations in it. You know, there are there are animals with different heads and all that stuff going on. But the world itself is it's kind of everything slightly off-kilter,

everything slightly as if you're seeing the world through the eyes of the central character. So it's a sense of artifice and it is, it's set within sets. And I think that works really well. Do see it in the cinema because it looks breathtaking. It is, it is a Narcic, it is comedic. It's often hilariously twisted and very baldy. I was pretty, a couple of people trying to sort of get their heads round, how to describe it.

And there was an American publication which said, well, it's all these things. And then Empire used the phrase bat. It's just like, on some levels, it is, like, as I things. And then Empire used the phrase bat, you know, which is just like, yeah, you know, on some levels, it is like, as I said to you after I'd seen it, it's absolutely bonkers. Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of Duncan Mediburn, which I think everybody thinks is a very, very strong

contender for an Oscar, is laugh out. I mean, he's one of the best comic performances, this kind of pompous, prattling idiot who takes Bella off and an upper-class Brit. Yeah. And I don't think I've seen him do that before. No, but also just the sheer pomposity of the way he's like, oh, you know, I have to take Bella backstrived, take a new one. And you know, and you've been made loved to by the best in the business and all that stuff. And then of course, she goes off and finds it is worth saying. It is one of the features that is remarkable for the fact that in no way villainizes or vilifies its central heroine character for having an adventurous sex life entirely

on her own terms. I mean, it is such a trope of sort of monsoon or a monstery storytelling that if that's the case, you know, somehow you will be judged for it. She absolutely isn't. She absolutely isn't. I mean, she may leave a trail of broken idiots like the Mark Ruffalo character because he can't cope with the fact that she doesn't think he's the most wonderful thing in the world. This actually relates weirdly enough to the disappearance of Shea Height. His character is the kind of person who would have thrown the Height report in the river, because as he throws her books in the river, because how dare she be reading? And he would have felt emasculated.

He would have felt seriously emasculated. And there is a serious thing going on. Emerson said in that interview, you know, it's a woman, you know, who doesn't have shame. And she said this before, the woman who doesn't have to deal with shame When I asked Lanth him what's about it? He said it's about a woman who has a second chance a human being who has a chance in the world Someone who hasn't been molded in a very specific manner to perceive the world in a certain way And he described it as a story of somebody who's a 28 year old woman who lived a life that obviously hadn't been fulfilling, who is basically given a clean slate, this relates to what Emma

Stone said, the chance to start again, the chance to be creator and created, the chance to write your own destiny. And I think the fact that it does all of that stuff in a way that is anarchic and baudi and ironic, but also it's funny and it's moving because despite all the absurdity, you get emotionally involved. And I think one of the reasons you get emotionally involved is that the score by Justin Fendrix is absolutely brilliant.

Are you featuring it a lot? I am featuring it a lot. I mean, as you all know, because you've seen the film, there are many cues on the score for poor things. You know, you say, here we go, and now I'm going to play you a score. Boom, boom, boom. I mean, it's a lot better than I expected.

Very, very, but it's brilliant, because what it does is it absolutely captures the kind of, sort of semi-steampunk, fantastical, mythological, you know, Frankenstein, all that stuff. And yet, at the heart of it, there is an emotional story about somebody when you, I mean, it was so fascinating when you asked her, like, she said, she's like a fully functioning grown up baby. And she said, well, yes, obviously, that's how the, when we first meet Bella back, so that is what she said. But then you sort of see

her grow before you. And as she grows, and as she becomes more agile, both mentally and physically, the men become more and more infantilized. I mean, Mark Ruffalo, when you first meet him, he's all, you know, he's all raycation everything. Halfway through the movie, he's turned into a gibbering schoolboy. And it's sort of like their paths, you know, cross like that. And there's this recurrent theme that men in her life keep forgiving her. For the, I forgive you for the should, I don't want forgiveness. What are you forgiving me for? I just, I, you know, I, so I thought it was, I mean, I really, really enjoyed it. I've now seen it three times.

And the first time I saw it, I was a bit like, what on earth is, is going on? I think, you know, it was like really? Wow. And then the second time, I think I thought, you know, okay, now, you know, I'm getting more of the sort of the serious undertone and all that stuff. The most recent time I watched it, I just thought it was hilariously funny. And it was very interesting that he says in that interview,

you know, I mean, I read it, I knew it was a comedy because all of Lantz and Mossy's stuff, you know, even killing of a sacred deer, these are darkly comedic in their form. They have to hit you on an emotional level. They have to elicit a response that you can't resist. I mean, I thought it was terrific. Simon?

I had my idea. I mean, I had my idea tonight. Lantzimos' films aren't for me, basically. No, it was. But I agree my it. I mean, I admired it. And I it's not. Lentimos, these films aren't for me, basically. But it was, but I agree with them, you know, it was uncomfortable. It was awkward. It was, it was people. And if, and if Lentimos is your thing, then you're going to absolutely love it. But it's a bit like listening to some hardcore jazz. I can, I appreciate it and admire the musicianship.

But it's just, it's not what I would spend my time. Lantin was told this thing to me. I said, what makes you laugh? And he said, the awkwardness of human interaction, which is precisely charged with what you just said. And inevitably lots of award chats. So that's going to be a... Or in a way.

Anyway, Mark, I know that you need a bit of a pick me up. This time I haven't got any Japanese whiskey, but I have got the laughter left. So let's enjoy it one more time for the new year. Just the one. Just the one. Okay, good. Very good.

And here you go. Yeah. I don't know about you, Mark. I had an eventful break. Did you? Yes. You know, I was cheered to make my attempt to be the first person to cross Antarctica in Crocs

I didn't know that yeah, I didn't work out. I got cold feet Undeterred I decided to climb Sagamatta or Mount Everest as it's more traditionally Referred to I got to Tensing Hillary Airport and the guy said welcome to Nepal, Mr. Mayo I just need to collect the final balance of 90,000 pounds for your climb of Everest. No chance, I thought that's far too steep. See, do these come out of crackers?

Hey, well the Himalayas aren't just funny, they're hill areas. This is a written joke, because you can come out of crackers. Back after this, unless you're a van Goddienst, in which case we have just one question, name one thing that's older than Saturn's rings. I feel motivated.

I feel capable. I feel included. Resilient. At ease. I feel strong. I feel confident. These are just a few of the things you'll hear our members say when you join the YMCA. The Y is not like other gyms and not all benefits of being a member are visible, but you'll surely feel them. Try the Y-Free for seven days

and feel how the Y is way more than just a gym. Learn more at trythewhy.ca So one thing is older than satan's rings. I thought this might answer was going to be satan or something. Yes, it was created first and then the rings came out. Yes, well sure that is true, isn't it? The answer is sharks and also trees. It's generally accepted that sharks first appeared between 450 and 400 million years ago, based on the most recent data, sands rings formed between 10 and 100 million years ago, and trees

are 390 million years ago. So that's the answer, sharks and trees are older than sands rings. Wow. That's one of the old jokes, a walking nature by Theresa Green. That's like, you know, 10 years in the saddle, one major bomb saw and all of those, you know. David Grantham in Vancouver. This is on sort of typos and misheard movie titles and things like that. I once mis typed Master and Commander

as Ampster and Commander. Master. AMSTER. So my circle in now we always refer to it as hamster and commander. We actually could be quite a good friend. Barney says as we are approaching the new year, as we've since emerged in the other side, I've decided to set myself a challenge. Nothing to do with fad diets and the like, but rather a more appropriate film-related one. Okay.

As Mark recommends a film of the week, I have taken it upon myself to watch everyone that Mark select. For the whole year. Yikes. I have laid some ground rules. Okay. One. All of Mark's films need to be watched by the 31st of December 2024. Very good.

Preferably the week he recommends it, but circumstances could arise that will prevent it. Yes. Two, if Mark selects a film, the same week another film I would rather watch, then I have to watch both films. Very good. Mark selects, Mark selects will take precedence.

Excellent. Three, I like this. If possible, the film will need to be watched in a cinema. Sometimes this won't be possible, such a streaming release. But if it has a theatrical release, I will aim to see it there. Okay. Four. For subs such as Robbie, their choices are optional. But I will endeavour to see you may be buffed, but you're optional now, Collins. I will endeavour to watch their picks as well, albeit not essential.

I will email you next year and let you know if this was a wise decision to make. Good night and good luck, says Barney. Wow. Well, thank you. Wow. Well, that's quite a challenge. You can give us an update every few months and then we'll find that fun. Thank you, Barney. Correspondence at carbonamay.com.

What else is happening? Can I just show you if the thing is here, the Robbie Collin Buff photograph? No, I don't want to see that. No, honestly, it's just, I can't wait Simon, just Simon put somebody find it and send it to us. It literally took a picture of himself in the gym. And it was, I thought at first

that what he'd done was he had superimposed his head onto the body of Wolverine or something. I have filters on my phone, which take out that kind of content, which is probably why I haven't seen it. Yeah, but I think it is actually Robbie Collin and his bod. And it was anyway.

So what else is there? On the subject, stop talking about Robby Colin. On the subject of Buff Young Men. Yes. The Boys in the Boat, which is the new film from director George Clooney, written by Mark L. Smith

from the nonfiction book by Daniel James Brown, which had previously inspired a PBS documentary, American Experience, The Boys of 36, which I haven't seen. So this is the true story of the University of Washington, Eight Man Boat Crew that set out to represent America in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin to compete to do that. So Calentona, who was in the fantastic beasts movies, and he was also in Emma Fullstop, is Joe Rantz.

We meet Joe living in an old, broken down car among a community of hobos, is the word that we'll be using. In fact, at one point, that kind of that provokes almost a fight when somebody says that word. He's studying engineering, but he needs money and lodging and lodging, so he doesn't have either. He finds out that you can get money and lodging if you make the rowing team. So he tries out for the rowing team, just by having never rode before. He gets along with the guy who makes the boats. He impresses the coach played by Joel Edgerton, who has a, Joel Edgerton has an old-fashioned face. And I mean that as a compliment. In period dramas, Joel Edgerton is, there's

something about his face that lends itself to a former age. He makes the treat by the idea of an old face. You know, I know, and I find it hard to explain exactly what I mean by that. Maybe you just know it when you see it. Yes. Write it and tell me whether you think John Edgeden has an old-fashioned face. Anyway, so he makes the team, but he has issues at one point, somebody calls him Hobo Joe, and he gets into a fight with them. And those issues get into his head and they get in the way of his rowing and they get him thrown off the boat and he wants back on the boat. Here's a clip. Can I do it for you Jo?

I'm going to see that. Why? All the time I spent in it. The work we all did together, that boat, saw I got the boys and saw I got my camera's there. And so he gets the seat back because it's all he got. No, no, you thought the same thing as I did, but I could just hear Zach Mayoke going,

I can't know where else to go. I can't know where else to go. That moment in an office or in a gentleman, I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, in which he's, you know, and that's when Lou Gossett Jr goes, okay, you can get back in the boat, you can get back on the training program.

Now, I didn't know this story beforehand because I know I've had sport, again, postage stamp. I can see why it would appeal to George Clooney. This is one of those serious mid-budget films that David Potnum stopped making movies because he said you couldn't make anymore. And then in that lovely speech that he gave at the BAFTAs when Clooney was doing Good Night and Good Luck,

said George Clooney is now making the kind of movies that I thought you couldn't make anymore. They're not huge, big, spectacle movies. They're not tiny, little indie movies. They're intelligent mid-range movies with something to say. There is a lot of stuff about the hard, scrabble Washington boys competing against teams

who have money, who have privilege, who have unfair advantages. It is absolutely a let's root for the underdog against the overlords tale. When it moves to Berlin and the Olympics, we have these kind of glimpses of an almost comedically angry Hitler. You know, it is one of those things

whenever you do any portrayal of Hitler on screen. It's, you know, particularly if you're doing the Berlin games and him being cross about Germany, not winning absolutely everything. In fact, there's a character when they're walking through the thing and he turns to me and goes, oh, Jesse Owens. You must be Jesse Owens.

He's like, oh, I am Jesse Owens. He goes, you're gonna get out there and show all those Germans and Jesse Owens says, no, I'm gonna get out there and show the people back home, which is kind of a little, okay, fine, nicely done. The races are done really well. I don't know anything about rowing, other than it looks like incredibly hard work and very, very, very, I mean, you know, it's, and you get the sense during the races, which is shot really well, incidentally. You get the sense that they races, which is shot really well, incidentally. You get the sense that they're just dragging this boat through this water and okay, fine,

I know the thing is designed, so it's a, I kept thinking of that phrase, you know, skipping over the ocean like a stone. These boats don't look like they're skipping over anything like a stone. They look like the, you know, people, and I didn't know that. Because there's not watching Mark is acting out the ring. Acting out the rowing, in a buff way that will make Robbie Colin feel embarrassed. Anyway, the thing is, it's always that thing, but if a drama can make you invest in it. Yes, but invest in a sport that you don't know anything about, then it's doing its job.

And although I didn't know the story, but I kind of knew that it goes to the Olympics. And I kind of thought, you probably wouldn't be telling this story if there weren't some moments of triumph, over adversity, but I don't know how it plays out. And I found myself during the racing segment is going, come on, come on, come on, there are two boats behind, come on, you know.

And partly that's because Alexander the Splat score is doing everything it can to ring every moment of emotion and tension out of the thing. But it's, you know, it tells its story well. I mean, there are very few surprises. It is, I suppose, rather like the boat itself, it's solidly made. I remember a filmmaker once said to me that a chair was like a piece of good furniture. You can sit on it. And this is what they say, it's like a piece of good furniture.

You can sit on it. It's a solid story, perhaps unsurprisingly told, but solidly told, and it did have me going, come on! You can do it. You can do it. Is the Hitler portrayed in this movie, the kind of guy who would say, why don't they make movies like Gone with the Wind anymore? Because what kind of gorilla would say something as stupid as that?

So, boys in the boat, thank you. We're going to do some correspondence in just a second. Before we get there, an email from Wee, John. Okay. Simon and Mark, hope this finds you well. It does. Firstly, thank you very much for playing my voice note during the episode featuring the interview with Peter Sone.

I must say that I almost fell out of my chair when I heard Mark declare I want to see Hungry Ghost Diner on the show. Yes, I remember. This is Woo, John, writer, director of Hungry Ghost Diner. Yes. Since my last correspondence, some developments. One, we've managed to secure a licensing deal with Netflix.

Hungry Ghosts, Diana, will appear on said platform come 90th January. Wow. 2024. Our licensing deal is geo-blocked to Southeast Asia, but I suspect that wouldn't be a problem for most listeners of the podcast with the NordVPN. Yes, well done. As they presumably can switch NordVPN. Yes, it's all good.

As they presumably can switch regions over to Singapore, Malaya, Thailand, Vietnam, or Indonesia. And two, we will be traveling to the upcoming International Film Festival in Rotterdam, 25th of January to the 4th of February, where the film is selected for the Harbour program. In the small chance that either of you might be there, please allow us to buy you drinks,

taking you the opportunity to wish you both a great 2024. And I'm CCing my creative partner can produce a bengie, just in case anyone from the show would like to preview the film. I'm sure you can send over a screener link. Warmest links from Malaysia, Wee, John, writer, director of Hungry Ghost Diner, you speak it in here, it comes back to us. Yeah, well send us a link, I'll give it a watch. So Correspond at KermitantMail.com, who knows where your voice note will lead here this week's. Hello Simon and Mark, this is Judith Lanyon from No Holdsbad, the life and art of Matthew Lanyon.

This stunning documentary made in West Cornwall screens on Thursday, January the 18th at Bertha.com, that's Curzon Bloom, Spring London WC1, 6.30pm Q&A after with directors Barbara Sande and myself and the music is great too. Hello Simon and Mark, this is Victoria from the Riders and the Remorick Film Club in Belfast. We host monthly screenings of public demand horror films to raise money for local charities. From January to April of this year, we're going to be having a Vincent Price season featuring House and Haunted Hill, the Tomb of Lake Year, the Tingler and the Haunted Palace. All the details can be found over on our Instagram

at readers in the Remorg film club. Thank you. Thank you. Fantastic. Toria telling us about charity screenings and Vincent Price horror films at Belvvast, Judith promoting her documentary showing at the Bertha Dockhouse on the 18th of January.

But we work in Matthew Lennon, fantastic. Send your audio trailer, please, whatever it's about, wherever you are, correspondence at Curbinamo.com. That's it for the end of tape one, and this has been a Sony Music Entertainment production. This week's team was Lily, Gully, Vicki, Zackie, Matty, Bethy, Michael and Simon. Mark, what is your film of the week?

Oh, things. Don't forget, take two has landed adjacent to this particular podcast. Lots of extra stuff. It's one of that joke for this year. And take three will be here and with you on Wednesday. There are over five million podcasts globally, covering topics from wall etiquette to amateur dentistry, a podcast for every person, every interest, and every lifestyle. So if anyone knows the importance of choice, it's podcast listeners, like you, and Toyota,

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