Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Ryan Gosling on PROJECT HAIL MARY

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

Some exciting news—The Take is now on Patreon: www.patreon.com/kermodeandmayo. Become a Vanguardista or an Ultra Vanguardista to get video episodes of Take Two every week, plus member-only chat rooms, polls and submissions to influence the show, behind-the-scenes photos and videos, the monthly Redactor’s Roundup newsletter, and access to a new fortnightly LIVE show—a raucous, unfiltered lunchtime special with the Good Doctors, new features, and live chat so you can heckle, vote, and have your questions read out in real time. On this week’s episode of Kermode and Mayo’s Take, Ryan Gosling is with us to talk about his new sci-fi epic Project Hail Mary. From the challenge of bringing Andy Weir’s beloved novel to the screen to the peculiar pressures of carrying a space-set survival story (often alone), Gosling reflects on the film’s mix of brainy science, cosmic peril and unexpected heart. This week it’s Mark he’ll be chatting to, and they get deep on sci-fi gems from Silent Running to The Abyss—plus some behind the scenes gossip on Project Hail Mary’s epic karaoke scene. Keep an ear out for Mark’s review next week, and in the meantime there’s a trio of new releases on this week’s review slate. First up is Scarlet, a swashbuckling anime revenge drama based on the story of Hamlet. Then there’s How To Make A Killing, a darkly comic crime caper starring Glen Powell, and loosely based on the Ealing Comedy classic Kind Hearts and Coronets. And finally, One Last Deal—where a sports agent (played by he who shall not be named) battles to land a big contract and save his career. In Mark’s eyes though, the lead actor’s career is way beyond saving. Rant on the horizon, folks! We’ll also be shouting out our favourite women directors for this Women’s History Month; Plus all the usual Take treats: the box office top 10, a Laughter Lift that may (or may not) restore your faith in humanity, and your ever-splendid correspondence. Thanks for listening! Timecodes: 00:00:00 Show starts 00:11:51 Scarlet review 00:19:01 Box Office Top 10 00:39:08 Ryan Gosling interview 00:51:28 How To Make A Killing review 00:57:36 Laughter Lift 01:02:08 One Last Deal review You can contact the show by emailing [e-mail] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo Please take our survey and help shape the future of our show: https://www.kermodeandmayo.com/survey 🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code [Take] at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/Take ⛵ 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

This episode is brought to you by Mooby, the global film company that champions great cinema. From iconic directors to emerging otters, there's always something new to discover. Yes, and coming to Mooby in the UK, this February, we have the brilliant sentimental value by Yoakim Trier. We reviewed this when it came out. He's the guy who directed the worst person in the world. Film did really well at Cam, won the Grand Prix, a bunch of European awards, and he's now nominated for nine Academy Awards and eight BAFTAs. I think it's fantastic. I think it's really moving, really exciting, really funny, but also insightful. And I think Yorkshire is one of the finest directors working today.

It's definitely one of the best films around at the moment. To stream the best of cinema, you can try Mooby free for 30 days at Mooby.com slash curmode and mayo. That's Mubi.com slash Kermud and Mayo for a whole month of great cinema for free. Hey Simon, how was your trip to Copenhagen with the family? Well, it was very nice. Thank you very much. Great. How come you never call when you're away?

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I'm sorry, what is that? Taxman. Oh, I see. Sorry, fine. It's the beginning of taxman. It's the beginning of taxman, yes, you're right. Or equally, you could say it's the beginning of start by the jam, because start. It is Taxman.

It is. It is. I don't think there's any, but I don't think there's any kind of embarrassment about that, you know, thinking, yeah, it's on homage,

Your Honor. But what's the phrase is, you know, talent, borrows genius steals. There is something about Start just going, okay, I'll just do Tax Man,

we'll just change the words. You know that line? That's very good. Yeah, they're both, they are both fantastic. And the most wonderful thing about Taxman is wondering, because obviously I wasn't listening to American radio at the time,

as they go through, aha, Mr. Wilson, aha, Mr. Heath. Who are these people? The Beatles are singing of, Mr. Heath, come on. Anyway, here we are again, doing another thing, and Mark has a few things to say. Look, I just want to begin by saying. So I was, I was, the good-day professor of her indoors

was doing the field trip, and a colleague of hers said, I heard your review of the bride. I just need to tell you that you do know that Peter Sarsgaard is not related to Sallon's Garland's guard. And I laughed. And then I realized that he was actually correcting me. And I went, I can't believe you're actually correcting me on that. It was a joke.

And then I went to the YouTube page and I discovered an absolute welter of comments beneath the bride review of people explaining to us that Peter Sarsgaard is not related to Stelland Skarsgaard, to which I would just like to say, yes, I know. Yes, that was the point. That was the point. We also, can we play the clip from the review that prompted this welter of comments?

Meanwhile, Peter Sarsgaard, who of course, you've had the whole conversation about, you know. Yes, who's Maggie Gillenhold's other half. Yes. and of course is the son of Stellanskars. They're all part of one big, happy family. They all love it.

They all love it. So the clue there is that we're laughing, as we say, they're all part of one family. Yes, and after that, I bring in Peter Sarsed. Peter Sarsed, who sang, where do you go to, my lovely? Yeah, in like 1968 or something like that. But the clue there being, it sounds like they're roughly related. Yes. Also, the clue there being that they are laughing.

Now, I refer back to a previous conversation that you had with Peter Sars God for regular listeners in which, Simon. So, yes, so this is for the fantastic September 5, which I really thought was an exceptional film and he was great in it. And he said, and we put this on the show, he said he has given up correcting people when they come up to him and say, for example, I saw your dad in that film, isn't he great? And he just goes, yes, he really is. and he just goes along with the one big happy family because he can't be bothered to correct people anymore, which we said a number of a times, hence the joke,

hence the fact that this has come up an awful lot. So if you're going to lose your mind over it and then type something onto YouTube, you might as well just check out the facts first of the point. So just to be absolutely clear, we both understand that Peter Sarsgaard and Stelan Scarsgaard, who have names,

that are not the same. And all the other scars guards, are not related. It was a joke. I mean, honestly, I know there are a number of running jokes in the show that every now and then we can't remember where they stop. But in this particular case,

we can remember exactly where it started. I once had an arrangement, you know, Mark Cousins, the filmmaker. And Mark Cousins and I, people used to do this all the time, they used to come up to me and go, I loved you on movie drone. I got, not me, Mark Cousins. And Mark Cousins said that people would come up to him

and go, I like your documentary in The Exorcist. he'd go, not me, Mark Kermann. After a while, we just had an agreement, which was if they said something nice, we would just say, yes, that was me. And if they said something bad, we'd go, that wasn't me, that was the other person. But anyway, so just,

just to be absolutely clear, we do understand that people with different surnames that are not the same name. Come from different countries. Come from different countries. Are not related. That was the point of the joke. Also, check out the picnic film,

Pillion when Alexander Scars Gars where it comes up again. And we talked and we mentioned Peter Sarsga. He said, yes, I met up with Peter and we had a good laugh about it because they just get it all the time. Somebody actually wrote on the YouTube, you'd think that people doing a program this important would know the difference. Yeah. Because we do.

Yeah, you would think that, wouldn't you? You'd think of people posting online might have checked things through. Anyway, that's all sorted out. Yeah. Also, Robin Sarsed, who was Peter Sarsed's brother, he did a song called, I'll buy you one more frozen orange juice. He was also in the 60s known as Eden Kane, and he had a hit as Eden Kane. And he's also, Eden Kane, so actually he's, I think he's Stelan Scarcega's father. He's related to Killer Kane, isn't he? Yeah, something like that. And Killer Queen. I think they're all one. That's right. Killer Queen was his mother. Killer Kane was his dad.

Yeah. It's all, let's call the whole thing off. Anyway, so keep up, people. Keep up. Yes. What's coming up in this air pod? We've got loads of reviews. We have a review of the anime film Scarlet, which is the new film, well, there's a new anime film, but I'll talk to, I'll tell you about it when we get to it. One Last Deal, which is a film about a football agent trying to make one last deal, and how to make a killing, which is kind of, kind of a remake of Kind Hearts and Coronet. And we have a special guest, Mark. Tell us more, because I didn't do the interview for this, because I was in Copenhagen.

You were in Copenhagen Airport. So I got to interview Ryan Gosling about Project Hail Mary, which is a film that I like very, very much, because it's a science fiction movie that owns a certain debt to silent running. Look, I've shown you this. Look, I've got right here and think this is my silent running drone thing. Anyway, so yes, I am talking to Ryan Gosling about Project Hail Mary, which opens next week.

And in Take 2, what's going on there? Reminders of Him, which is a new romantic movie. And Lord of the Flies, which is on Eye Player, all of it is on Eye Player. It's been there for a few weeks now, but I binge-watched the entire thing in one go. And also in Take 2, you get even more of all the good stuff, including five-question film club. Three questions, Your Majesty. Last week, it was with Neil and I, and since kicking it off last month, we've had the Red Shoes, Fargo, Heather's, Blue Ruin, Jean Dealman, the Elephant Man.

This week's choices were misery, Jason and the Argonauts, or Silence of the Lambs. Mark will provide answers to the five questions. Three questions, emergency. We ask every week to give you a little introduction into the film. Plus, as Mark mentioned, one last deal is out this week. So we're asking for different movies featuring the world of sports representation. That's a niche category. Is that agents? I suppose that's agents.

Yeah, agents. Agents in movies. Jerry McGuire, you know, that sort of thing. Yeah. And in question, Schmessians, we answer the question. This is a genuinely good question, I think. Why do we, the public, get to know what a film costs at all? Why do studios tell us how much they spent making a feature when this would be considered commercially sensitive in most other industries? Okay, very good.

That's a very good question, Smetian. So our first email is going back to the long-running Claire Foy and her dad, David thing. Excellent. So I think this starts with a British Airways High Life magazine interview with Claire. By the way, I was reading the V&A magazine as it arrived. And there was a very entertaining piece on Wallace and Gremitt written by your good self. Thank you very much. Yes.

I really enjoyed writing that piece. I used to write for High Life magazine as well, actually. Yes, I think that's what I lost that. So this is an interview with Claire Foy from BA High Life magazine. Yeah. Her parents now retired are both proud and amused by her work. Her dad even emails into his favorite film podcast, Kermud and Mayer's take, to suggest that they have his daughter on as a guest.

Oh, God, she puts her head in her hands when I mention this. Dad, what are you doing? You do realize this is my job, she laughs. I actually took him to an event that I knew Mark Kermud would be at so they could meet, but then he tried to act cool, like, oh, hi. Anyway, so then David Foy, Claire's dad, has been in touch. Dear Biggles and Algae, it seems to me, even BA are mentioning your seminal podcast. As usual, Claire has distorted the facts to suit the story.

See, that's what actors do. Still, all publicity. I didn't realize that when I met Mark, I was being cool. perhaps I should have asked for an autograph. Have either of you seen The Institute? This is, I think, the point of the email, on MGM. I recently read the Stephen King book and was surprised to see a new adaptation. I enjoyed both, even though the plot was changed.

It's a bit dystopian, but it's difficult to tell dystopia from real life these days. It is. Which is certainly true. Debbie, thank you very much indeed. I haven't, so I've... No. MGM Plus is like one streamer too many. Yeah.

I mean, I've got lots because obviously he's part of the job. but when it came along, I thought, okay, well, that looks like quite a good show, but no, I'm not going to share it again, because it's like hundreds of pounds, just to keep up with this stuff. But anyway, you know, it's a Stephen King product, so it's going to be good, isn't it? Yes, I mean, I haven't seen it. I don't have MGM Plus. I feel the same way as you.

It's like, you know, you sit down in front of the television. You can't remember which stream or what was on. And in the end, you just go to Now TV. But if you are an MGM plus person, Could you get in touch? Is it worth it? You know, if you've got everything else, do you actually need MGM Plus? Yeah.

I think Sky are now including Disney Plus. Oh, really? In their package, I think so. Anyway. And Sky are related to Stellan Skars God, aren't they? Yes. Yes, they're all part of the same family. I think, I think Sky was just like a nickname that Stellan had when he was at school.

That's right. And that's the kind of inspiration. So he's put some of his, many other. siblings in charge. I think that's correct. Correspondence at curbinamare.com. Why did you go below the line and look anyway? I know, I know.

But yeah, but there is a whole feature which is based on going below the line and looking on this show. So I was kind of doing research. And also, as I said, it was like when this person who's a friend of mine, somebody I know very well, and there's a very smart person,

genuinely corrected me. I was like, hang on. What, seriously? And then I looked below the line and then I felt dirty. Yes, not for the first time. Tell us about a movie that's out and cool and interesting. Okay, Scarlett, which is a new anime from Mamora Hesoda, who made The Girl Who Left Through Time and Bell, which I really, really liked,

which was Oscar nominated. So this is a gender-swapped reimagining of the story of Hamlet. I mean, at the moment, we've got Hamlet and Hamnut still playing in cinemas, and now this. In this, it is a titular princess rather than a prince who swears vengeance on her uncle for killing her father and marrying her mother. So the story begins in 16th century Denmark,

but soon moves to this otherworldly setting after Scarlett is poisoned by Claudius and wakes up in this world, which is a kind of purgatory. It's somewhere between this world and the next. Here, the living and the dead seem to coexist, as do past and future, as she discovers when her path crosses with that of a modern-day paramedic. It's all very, very matter. I'm going to play you a clip. The clip is not in the English language. I'm just going to tell you what you're going to hear. You're going to hear Scarlett saying, I will take revenge. Then the king says,

chosen warriors, pledge your loyalty to me. Do not fear. Fight. Capture the princess. And Scarlett says, my uncle took everything from me. My father, my people, my homeland, I will find him and take my revenge. And then the third voice says, wait, don't you want to know? At that moment, I heard the king's whisper. Here is the clip. Definitely, catakio-wut. Terabandish, senes of me,

truce of me, give you, fear not. Katakui. Odie, take you. Oji was a bitch, So, the people, co-goyal, what kind of whatever cover of So the king's whisper, was the

definitely, to get back to the matter of the question. I don't know? That I was,

I'm a old's stubriac you heard. So the King's whisper was the king's

last words before execution. His last words to his daughter which she couldn't hear over the

side of the crowd, but this character has heard. And the last thing he said, and this is kind of

crucial, it's not plot spoiler, is forgive. So, but forgive what, forgive who, in what context? And that really is the subject of the film, which is the battle between vengeance,

because the whole thing with, as we all know, we talked about, is Hamlet dithering about whether or not he can carry out the vengeance that the ghost of his, the ghost of the deceased father has told him that he needs to enact, or whether an act of grace is better, and more importantly, whether an act of grace sometime in the past can affect the future, and the fact that we're all going to end up fighting wars forever and ever and ever.

So these are big themes, these are big subjects, these are quite big metaphysical issues, but told in a way which is fairly popular. The film took over four years to make, and it combines old-school 2D animation with modern CG, and this is most notable in, there are several scenes in which you've got astonishingly rendered and often quite jaw-dropping, almost photorealist backdrops of raging oceans, vast deserts, huge sort of crumbled societies.

And then the characters themselves, who are more conventionally 2D animated, certainly in the way that they move. There's also this absolutely massive lightning-breathing dragon, which appears at various intervals. And honestly, deserves to be seen in something like IMAX, because even at the screening room that I saw it in, which is a fairly small screening room, is pretty awe-inspiring. So visually, it is kind of breathtaking, eye-catching fare.

If you're a 2D purist, you might blanche at the use of CG. And when the film premiered in, I think it was Venice, and it got like a 10-minute standing ovation, but then one always has to say everything gets a 10-minute standing ovation nowadays at festivals. And then when it opened in the real world, outside of the festival circuit, the response was much more muted. In Japan, I think it went top three, but didn't go to number one, which is remarkable for something of this scale.

And its box office has been soft to very disappointing. And then in the US it hasn't actually fared much better. And I was trying to figure out why. I think part of the problem is that the narrative, which despite the fact that, you know, this is the retelling of a fairly familiar story, although albeit a very changed version of that, it does manage to get quite muddled, particularly in the thing about the other world.

Because it's like, okay, what is this other world? How come there are people who are in it that are dead and people in it who are clearly alive? And what's the deal with the dragon, which is really impressive, but I'm not entirely sure what the dragon is? And how come there's only one character from the future? Because if time really doesn't matter, surely everyone would be from different periods. And I'm thinking that whilst I'm thinking these things, there is a fundamental flaw in the storytelling, the fact that I'm even raising these issues. because heaven knows, I mean, I was referring to silent running. Some of the best stories don't make any sense, but you're swept up in them, and that does.

So there's a certain sense of detachment. The general feeling from, because I read some reviews of it from people who were sort of, you know, whole-core anime fans, they thought that it was kind of messy narratively and stylistically. I mean, I have to say, I had gone in knowing that the film hadn't kind of struck the nerve that they wanted it to. So therefore, I had slightly lowered expectations. And sometimes that is the best way to see a film, because I did enjoy. it. I did think it was visually very, very impressive. And there are certain things in it, particularly the whole thing about forgiveness and revenge, and the idea that it may be possible

to stop a cycle of war by simply turning your back on the vengeful part of human nature. I thought that was kind of interesting. Then again, I am the person who liked Garum Miyazaki's Earthsea, which you remember I reviewed when it came out. And that was received very, very sniffly so much so. In fact, Hayao Miyazaki, who is the director's father, walked out of a screening of it. He said he was going out for a smoke, but he didn't talk to his son about it for ages,

and then said afterwards, he's coming was, you shouldn't make a picture based on your emotion. So I don't have a great track record of being particularly purist about this stuff. But I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to, having gone in with lowered expectations, but I do think that even the most charitable assessment of it is

it is not up there with the director's best work. There are things in it that are arresting, but it is kind of all over the place. Still to come, How to Make a Killing, one last deal, and the box office top ten, also the laughter lift, and Mark's chat with Ryan Gosling. Carvana's so easy, just a click,

and we've got ourselves a car. See? So many cars. That's a click-tastic inventory. And check out the financing options. Payments to fit our budget. I mean, that's... Clickonomics 101. Delivery to our door? Just a hop, skip, and a click away.

And bought. No better feeling than when everything just clicks. Buy your car today. On... Delivery fees may apply. Mark, you know that scene in a beautiful mind where Russell Crowe plays John Nash and he's got intense mathematical scribblings on the walls of his shed. I do. He wasn't bad in that, Russell.

Well, that's what my head feels like when I try to remember all the passwords and login details for my online shopping accounts. It's just why I never get any birthday presents from you, which is very convenient. One of the reasons. Anyway, you need to look out for the purple button at the top of the payment options. No need to log in. You can just complete your checkout with the tap of one button. Easy. And it's brought to you by Shopify.

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with Shopify and their shop pay button. Sign up for your £1 a month trial today at Shopify.com.com. Go to shopify.com. co.uk. So here we go, with the UK and US box office for this week. In the UK at number, I mean, who knows, Peky Blinders, the Immortal Man. This is obviously, as you said last week, a limited release and then it's going to turn up on Netflix.

Yeah. Which is why the who knows thing, because we don't know because they don't return box office figures. There you go. Gene says, I was quite surprised about two things. Yeah. First, Lee that Mark had never watched Peaky Blinders and secondly that even so, you didn't feel in any way that it detracted from the story.

But I wondered, did it cross your mind as the film started? How did a man get to be there? Why is he suffering alone? I can heartily recommend the Peaky Blinders series. It will shed light on that all-important question to say nothing of the performances of the actors really is worth the watch. Treat yourself, says Jean.

Yeah, I mean, to reply to that, yes, I am going to watch Peeky Blinders, as I said in the review, after having seen the film, I thought I really, really want to watch the series. But actually, I thought one of the things to the film's credit was, yes, I mean, how did he get it? But the film just sets up, as I said, everyone's got a basic knowledge of Peaky Blinders because it's in the culture. You just know vaguely what it's about.

And I thought it did a really good job of just assuming you'll keep up from here. So I know terrible things have happened. and one of those things is revealed during the course of the thing. But that's all you need to know. Terrible things have happened. He is now isolated. Fine. Okay, on we go.

And I think it's absolute proof that you really don't need to explain everything. The ability for the audience to keep up. I remember William Friedkin once said that the thing that annoyed him most about filmmaking was when the film was behind the audience, because the audience is smart enough. And so, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's testament to the fact that, I mean, I suppose they had to make it as a standalone piece. Yes.

So it sounds though they got the balance absolutely right that it makes you want to go back and watch the TV series if you haven't. But if you haven't, it works anyway, you know, completely. Yeah, precisely. So I thought that was very impressive. Number 10, a new entry, again, sinners. I mean, how about that? Yes, which is, you know, this is obviously because there's been all this awards interest. and we are coming up to the Oscars.

We're going to do a morning after Oscars broadcast. So first thing on broadcast, podcast, sorry. So first thing on Monday morning, you and I will be talking about the Oscars because I'm staying up all night in a premiere in London in order to watch it, and then that will be available very, very shortly afterwards. So Cynicent number 10,

the Secret Agent, is at number nine, number 26 in America. Yeah, I thought it was fabulous. One of the best things about it is how it moves between genres so effortlessly, and it's got a great central performance. I think it's a really brilliant film. I encourage everybody to go and see it in the cinema. Number eight here six in the States is Crime 101.

Excuse me, Crime 101. I mentioned Freakin before, and I said, you know, Crime 101 is a great heist movie, and it sort of looks back to those films from the 1970s that I really, really love. But I think it also does something to reinvent the genre. I thought it was terrific. And I interviewed the director on stage and we had a bit of a geek out about all those films from the 70s that we really love. Seven here, seven over there. Epic, Elvis Presley in concert.

I think the best thing about this is that I think you liked it as much as I did because you're not a hardcore Elvis devotee. But I think you really had a good time with it, didn't you? Yeah, I mean, in a way, exactly the same as Peaky Blinders. You can come to it at whatever stage of even if you don't like Elvis or even if you just like some of his stuff, you go and watch this movie and you go, okay, right, that's what it's about. Yeah, yeah. And how brilliantly made

and I think, I thought it was extraordinary. Yeah, and the musicianship is amazing, and we read out a message that Sanji had sent us, and Sanj is really kind of, you know, the most hardcore of Elvis fans. I think whatever your relationship with Elvis is, go see this and go see it on the biggest screen possible. Number six here.

Number three in the States is goat. Yeah, it's just kind of passable animation, but no more than that. This isn't in the American box office top ten, but I don't think they expected it to be. But look at that, a new entry at number five, Mother's Pride. Mother's Pride. A film which, you know, from the people who brought you fishermen's friends, I believe you have an email about this. Yes, but I'm just, they'll be pleased with that, weren't they? I mean, Martin Clunes is on the show last week.

Listen, that's a very decent showing. And I don't think it's a film that's going to have international legs. No. I mean, I think it is very much a British product, don't you think? Yes, it's not four weddings, and it's not the full Monty. And it is just going to be of... It's the Mild Monty. Yes, the Moul Monty is good.

Rob says, I wasn't intending to see this, partly due to Mark's lukewarm review, but saw it by chance as I turned up a week early to what I thought, I was going to see. And this was on. Anyway, I loved it. Yes, it's corny and predictable, but it was heartwarming and funny in several places, very enjoyable and a perfect afternoon film. There you go. I mean, that's what it is. As long as you know, everybody knows what they're going to see. They've seen the trailer and they thought, okay, that. I'll have some of that. But also, they said, it's a perfect afternoon film that you stumbled into by mistake, right? And you said, when I reviewed it, you said that thing that I've quoted, I mean, it goes down nice,

with a cup of tea and a bickie, you know, misses. And that is absolutely the definition of a perfect afternoon film. And a lot of people agree, because it's at number five. Yeah, good for it. Number four here and number four over there is the bride. Yes. So the bride exclamation mark has had a rough ride. It's both in terms of critical response and box office.

I have now seen it twice because the Good Lady Professor was doing, taking the extra students on the field trip, the London part of the field trip, and part of that was to go see a film at the BFI IMAX, which is this massive screen, and I'm part of sheepdogging them around. So I went along and saw it again, and

I enjoyed it all over again the second time around. I mean, it is a hot, hot mess, but I thought it was really good fun. One thing I would like to say is, as I was doing my below-the-line stuff, which I apologize, guys. There was some stuff on the YouTube thing saying, well, Maggie Gillenhauls disowned this

version of the film and it's been completely messed up by the studio. No, that's not the case. What happened was that there were test screenings of the film, Maggie Gillen was talked about this and there were certain things that the studio did ask for. One of them was to tone down some of the sexual violence. But this is a quote from Maggie Gyllenhaal. The fantasy of the test screenings being a horrible thing is inaccurate. Me and Pam, the producer, we love each other with partners here. So try to make whatever you want, but you can talk to us. We'll tell you what it's like. For instance, in the beginning, in the early screening in

New Jersey, I hadn't framed Mary Shelley at all. Many people are like, we don't know who that is. You don't have to know much about Mary Shelley in order to watch the movie. All you need to know is that she wrote Frankenstein. So I was like, cool, let's make it super clear. Let's just tell them. So I loved the test screenings, honestly. They were super vulnerable, so vulnerable, so scary, so living on the edge. but I was like, okay, let's go. So the idea that Maggie Gillenhall has disowned this version,

and this is the studio, is completely fallacious. All she did was go through the test screening process and took notes from it. And she did indeed, one area of clashing was the thing about the sexual violence and just how dark the dark, like the black vomit thing could be. But that's it. It's her film. Anyway.

Email from Peter in Folkston. I saw the bride on the opening day. The look, design, sound, choreography and style of the 1930s update is amazing. Oscar winning. But the script, what a monster. I felt like I was watching a patchwork of drafts stitched together to make the final cut of the film. Why didn't the cops that pulled the monsters over recognize these two quite distinctive people when they were America's most wanted criminals?

Yet a cinema full of people did recognize them at the beginning of the film. Why did the mob chasing them just stop so they could perform a dance sequence? How did they escape from a room surrounded by police even after being shot? The script and characters didn't seem to make sense. It was a patchwork of scenes with no unifying thread or consequences. Even the final scene undoes every previous consequence in the film. It looked and sounded amazing, but a surgeon needs to take a knife to that script. Peter, thank you.

This is from Nick in Leeds. Dear Pretty Penny and Frank, I watched The Bride Last Night and terribly behaved Saturday matinee crowd aside, loved the film. I thought it was stuffed to the neck bolts with rare originality in Zing. The two lead performances crackled. The period setting was delectable

and as a study of loneliness, it ached with the pain of being different whilst being a clarion call for the dispossessed. It wasn't exactly subtle with its messaging, but as a society, I think we are long past subtlety and need the sort of short, sharp shocks this film provides.

I think Shelley would be proud. She is in this one, after all. At one point, viewers of a delicate nature should be warned to watch out for the most gruesome curb stump scene since American History X,

which I have to say is one of the worst things I've ever seen in a movie ever. And would definitely put me off. But it's an interesting point from Nick. He says that we're long past subtlety. There is, you know, subtlety is getting us nowhere.

It needs to be short-sharp. One more point before you come back. Christian Mole in Chislehurst. It was immensely entertaining and anarchic viewing. Buckley's performance couldn't be more different from the Hamnick Grieffest if it tried, whilst Bale was also excellent. However, whilst Mark made a reference to the film's feminist leanings,

in retrospect, Ida's character, similar to Bella in Poor Things, a film which seems to share a lot of its DNA, feels like a bit of the next stage of evolution from the manic pixie dream girl male fantasy. Slightly depressingly, we were the only two people in the screen, and a screening of Mother's Pride, which finished at the same time, seemed to have attracted a sizable audience. There really is no accounting for taste.

The trailer for Mother's Pride told me all I wanted to, or rather didn't want to know about the film, that comes from being a big, unbearded, real ale fan. Well, different audiences, maybe. but they're the emails on the bride. What's good about that is, I mean, I do think that thing about it, the film has proved very, very divisive. And as I said, it had some really, really major critical maulings. And I agree that it is all over the place.

As I said, it is a hot mess of a movie. But I think those three emails pretty much sum it up. You'll either go with it or you won't. And even if you love it, you'll still think there are things, I mean, I know what they've been about the script. I kind of, those things about, how do you get out of that scene when you're surrounded by the police

and then they suddenly run away and the dance numbers? The dance number thing is it just suddenly turns into a musical. Suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, it turns into a musical. And they do put it on the rits. They literally do put it on the rits. And I kind of, and then it ends with Monster Mash. So I like that level of anarchy about it. And that brings me back to what I said about.

It's very much, the film that Mackey Gillen Hall was making because no group of executives sat down and said, let's make this because this will tick all the boxes, because it doesn't. When they did their song and dance number, did they then sit down and make some nice shake of furniture? They did, yes, yeah, absolutely, yeah,

because they're all part of the extended, because, of course, Amanda Wright said Fred, is the cousin of Peter Stastard. That's right, because it begins with an S and sounds like the foreign. Exactly, exactly the case. Wuthering Heights is at number three here, number five over there. I feel like Wuthering Heights should have an exclamation mark. It's actually got inverted commas.

So the bride exclamation mark, Wuthering Heights, inverted comments. I think the bride is a better film than Wuthering Heights. But obviously it's had nothing like the populist success of Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights is, we'll come to this in question, Schmesters on the question of box office and how much we know about box office. But Wuthering Heights is paying its way in a way that the bride won't. Scream 7 is at number two here and there. Number one here and there is hoppers.

So just a couple of emails here. Gavin Parry Jones, Tim and May it concern, Patreon subscriber here, first time emailer. I took the daughter to see hoppers over the weekend. As with any kids film, the rules that we all follow. somewhat relaxed. I need not have worried the film had them engrossed from the start. But it's the parents I want to mention here. You get out of a film what you put in, the laughing at times very loud, the awe and sniffling at the end of the film means us adults got more than we bargain for. It won't be easy for kids films this year, with Toy Story 5 on the way, but Hoppers might be the

one to beat this year. And Ashley in Malmo, just over the bridge from that there, Copenhagen, Just got out of seeing Hoppers or Operation Beaver, as it's called in Sweden. Okay, thank you. And after hearing Pete Doctor on your show talk about the film so enthusiastically a few weeks back, I'll admit I went in with a bit of optimism. Knowing Doctor's previous work particularly Up and with my six-year-old daughter Ella, very keen to see it, it felt like the sort of family cinema trip that should be a safe bet, how wrong I was.

For me, the film felt like a blend of the worst bits of Up, Avatar, and a bug's life. Arpa's some fantastic moments, but its weaker stretches are not great. I don't think Avatar is a particularly good film overall, and a bug's life has always struck me as one of Pixar's weaker efforts. Unfortunately, Hoppers felt like a strange mash-up

of those elements without the strengths that make any of them work. Ashley and Malmo. Yeah, I mean, my feeling was it's Pixar and therefore there's a certain guarantee baked into that. I didn't think it was one of their classics because I think that narratively

doesn't have the classic simplicity of their very best work, but I did enjoy it. It's nice to hear that somebody was kind of very emotionally moved by it because they do, you know, the Pixar movies do have a way of getting under the skin of the grown-ups,

which is one of the things that makes them kind of... So I don't think by any means it's one of Pixar's best works, but I do think that I've never, I've never seen a Pixar film that didn't have enough in it to warrant going to see it. Anyway, Hoppers is the UK number one and the US number one.

Still to come, Mark will talk about one last deal, how to make a killing. You get the laughter lift and you get Ryan Gosling. Infamous is the gossip show that's smart. We talk about Tyra Banks and bringing down top model. We talk about Jenna Jamison and how she dominated the 90s. You know, she's horny and she's in charge. She just was very smart about marketing herself. We talk about celebrities who maybe shouldn't be celebrities, like the Beckham guy.

Brooklyn is their first kid. He's had a little bit of the Nepo baby curse. We investigate orgasm cults. A woman's erotic power can unlock many other powers in her life. And, of course, we discuss people who have gotten into lots of trouble. My name is Molly McLaughlin. I am one of Jen Shaw's many victims. She was defrauding the elderly and, And her tagline was the only thing I'm guilty of is being shamazing. Listen to Infamous, the gossip show that's smart.

The show's called Infamous. Okay, it's Ryan Gosling time. It began his acting career when he was 13 on the Disney Channel's The All New Mickey Mouse Club. And since then, he's, I bet you didn't mention that in the interview, did you? He's come a long way since then, isn't it? So since then, Blue Valentine, all good things drive the odds of my. March, crazy stupid love, the place beyond the pines, only God forgives, the big short, the nice guys, La La Land, song to song, Blade Runner, 2049, first man, fracture, half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl,

the notebook Barbie, and the Fall Guy. Wow. But I spoke to him about Project Hail Mary, which is his new film, which is a science fiction film from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. It's based on a book by Andy Weir, who is the guy who wrote The Martian, which of course was made into a film that we both liked very, very much. And the story is, basically he is a lone astronaut out in space on a Hail Mary mission to save the Earth, and on his mission he ends up meeting an extraterrestrial called Rocky, not least because he looks like he is made of rocks. And I just love the film, partly because it's very much for me in the mode of silent running.

It's a very, very sort of emotional science fiction film. So you'll hear my conversation with Ryan Gosling after this clip from Project Hail Mary. The sun is dying. I have 347 other biologists and 21 countries mobilizing as we speak. I am a teacher at Grover-Cleveland Middle. You have a doctorate in molecular biology. If we do nothing, everything on this planet will go extinct. I'm not an astronaut.

I get sick on an elevator. A perfect. There's no elevator on the ship. This is Captain Rylan Grace reporting from the Hail Mary. What is that? Ryan, welcome to the show. Thank you. Let me begin by saying, I came out of the film with a huge smile on my face,

which is really what I needed at the time. So first of you, thank you for that. Thank you for saying that. So your relationship with the book goes right back to manuscript stage. Why did you love it so much? I mean, it's brilliant. It was obvious. I think for so many reasons,

but also it was, you know, Andy has a really unique way of having something feel escapist in a way, but also actually being a reminder of what we're capable of as human beings. And it felt like this opportunity to pivot away from fearing the future and maybe seeing it as something not to be afraid of, but rather just to figure out. And that we're capable of, as human beings, we make the impossible all the time. It's kind of our thing. And so there's something there, especially in the time that I received it, which is during the pandemic. Yeah.

And theaters were closing and film sets were closing. For him to send me the most ambitious thing I've ever read or will ever do, just felt like a Hail Mary in its own right. I saw it on the IMAX screen, and obviously it's visually wonderful. But the thing that I like most is the thing that you take away from it is it's not really about all that stuff. It's about the story of friendship. And it reminded me of a movie that I love called Silent Running, which is a science fiction film from the 1970s, which I have got a great sentimental attachment to. Yes.

And I think this isn't really a science fiction film. It has science fiction, but it is about friendship, isn't it? It really is. It's a sort of like on a cosmic scale, but it's very intimate and it's as, yeah, it's as human as it is alien and it's as intimate as it is vast and epic. You know, it's really got this balance to it that's hard to achieve and it's special. Your director said it raises the question of can men be friends and the answer is yes, but only if the future of humanity. depends. You agree with them? I guess I don't disagree. I don't know.

That's such a Phil point of view. Tell me about working with Rocky and the person who is the person behind Rocky. James Ortiz. There's layers of metadness to this process that I won't bore you with. But one of the important ones is that it was very difficult to do this practically.

It would have been much easier and much cheaper to shoot it with a tennis ball or do it all in post. To design Rocky, to make him practical, it took like five puppeteers at all time in order to work him. And to get him into these spaces, the sets that we designed were so authentic. I mean, I don't think anyone told our production designer that this thing didn't have to actually go to space.

So it was like very impractical in lots of different ways, but so is their relationship, right? They don't share the same, they can't live in the same atmosphere, and they don't speak each other's language, and it's all hard-earned. So as hard-earned as it was in the story, so it was in the filming. And then the sort of more important layer of all of that is Rocky's voice.

A lot of the film was about finding a voice for him and getting to know him and developing this relationship. And what was happening behind the scenes was James Ortiz, who came in to be the puppeteer, was very graciously offering to read lines with me off camera. So I wasn't just completely acting alone because I think I spent like 100 days alone on camera or something. So he was like, as a fellow actor and just a good person was like, hey, I'll act with you, you know, it gave you someone to talk to. And he became, you know, then he just became Rocky's voice. And he also took such an ownership of the character.

It became to a point where he was like, Rocky would never do that, he would never say that, he would never go over there, he would do this. And then he could improvise for hours as Rocky way off the script, because sometimes we were locked in these sets for hours at a time. And on harnesses or in spacesuits or behind glass. So he just, I was discovering Rocky as I was discovering, James and that whole thing is very real and you can feel it on camera. Sandra Hiller, who I've loved since the days of Requiem, I have never, ever seen her do

karaoke before. And that was one of the great joys of the film that was seeing that. She is the most brilliant actor. She is the most brilliant actor. She had to be strat. I think in all of the cases of this film was like it had to be who it is, right? It had to be Chris and Phil. I knew it had to be them. And I actually would I was doing some award show stuff at the time that we were trying to cast this, and I was seeing Sandra at a lot of these events. And it just, she is this character, you know, because she's so brilliant and serious about what she does, but there's such a warmth there and humor, and she just, she has all of the things.

But we didn't know is that she had this voice, and we were sharing, we were on an aircraft carrier and her dressing room was down the hall from mine, and I heard her singing. And I came down the hall, and I said, you can sing like that? And she was like, yeah. And I said, will you sing in the film? And she said, I don't think so. And I said, please sing in the film.

You know, I know that you have to sing in this film. You have to. And she was like, well, let me think about it. So she came in with this one song, which was Harry Stiles' sign of the times. She said, this is the only song I'll sing, but I'll sing this song. And we were like, could you pick something

that might be easier to clear? Or, you know, and she said, no, it has to be this. She just smashed it out of the park. And that became, I think, one of the best scenes in the film. I know it is. And then the heart of the whole, really the anthem of the film. Yeah. So it's just to say it's a long story and you can cut it all out.

But she's, that's what you get when you work with Sondry. You get all the things that you kind of hope to get, but then you get all of these unexpected gifts. Are you a big science fiction fan? Yeah. What are your favorites? You know what film I really like, which is The Abyss? Oh, yeah.

I thought of that a lot while I was making this film. I thought, like, I wanted to take the costume design in a lot of a similar direction where it felt very practical. and like because we were going to the edges of the universe that we would have something that was like we had to actually design the helmet so that it was similar to that. There's a scene in that movie

when they have to, she makes the decision to drown and that he'll revive her on the other end. And this is where they finally let themselves show each other how much they care about one another. that I think is a perfect piece of movie. That's a really interesting. I mean, I haven't heard anyone mention the Abyss for a long time because it kind of gets forgotten.

It does, but I think it's a really special movie. That whole first context thing where it's a great film. So let me ask you a final thing quickly. So you've been in space more than once. We have Star Wars coming up next. I remember when I was a kid watching movies about going into space and thinking that is what I want to do more than anything. Is there any part of you that thinks I'd actually really like to do?

that properly? Not at all. No. I want to pretend to go. I want to talk to people who've gone, but I don't want to go. No, I like to pretend. I like to stay here and look up.

Okay. Well, congratulations on the film. I said it's really, it's really charming. Thank you. You know, sent me out with a big smile, and frankly, that's what we need at the moment. Thanks a lot. You love Ryan.

Ryan loves you. It was a fascinating conversation. I thought, when you asked him about science fiction, he was almost going to be, you know that moment when Donald Trump was asked for his favorite verse in the Bible? Oh, yes, and he said all of them. He didn't want to mention them because he just loves all of it. But then he came up with The Abyss, the Abyss.

Which is a really, that was a really interesting reference point. Because as I said, people don't talk about The Abyss. I mean, James Cameron's career has got so many big movies in it, but people don't talk about The Abyss, and they had the whole kind of trouble with the ending. But it was fascinating. It would not have occurred to me. But when he mentioned it, it absolutely made sense.

So yeah, it was a very, very astute choice. I think he's just, he's very thoughtful. He doesn't give off Pat answers, does he? And I think the last time I spoke to him was for first man. When he again, he was in space being Neil Armstrong and married to Claire Foy. Hello to Claire's parents, obviously, particularly. And to all the Scars Gods who are all part of the same family. That's right.

But I am absolutely intrigued by this because I interviewed Andy Weir when the book came out. Oh yeah. And was really intrigued by it. Child 1, in fact, was telling me just a couple of days ago when I was over there, that the audiobook, which is narrated by Ray Porter, is one of the great audiobooks and won lots of awards when it came out a few years ago. So that's worth looking at. So are you going to, is the review next week for this?

The review will be next week. I will tell you this, that when we're in the waiting room to do the interview, which is very much like in Notting Hill, you know, I'm the person from horse and hounds, you know. You're Hugh Grant, basically. That's what you're saying. I'm Hugh Grant. That's right, in my dreams. But in the holding pen with me before we're going to do the interview was Brian Cox. Not Brian Cox, but Brian Cox, you know, the universe is amazing. And I've met him a few times before because obviously he was the advisor on Danny Ball's Sunshine. And he's a really lovely guy. And I did say to him, just tell me, how does the science of Project Hell Mary hold up? And he said, surprisingly well. So that was. Okay. Yeah, which was good to hear. Which is very reassuring.

So you'll review Project Helmarie. The film next week. Next week. Yeah. Yeah, but I mean, I will tell you in advance. I didn't, I wasn't just saying that to blow smoke as the phrase that, Heather, who works on the show just used earlier on. I just, it really made me happy.

And frankly, things that really make you happy at the moment are in, you know, desperate need, I think. There was one line that Ryan, said, in answer to one of your questions, he's, I think this is right, he said he spent a hundred days alone on camera. Yeah, because basically it is, it is him, his character alone, for reasons which would be explained during the course of the film. And then he makes contact with this creature who is Rocky, who is, who is the puppet. And I, that's an astonishing trial for any actor to do. But that is one of the reasons why it reminded me of science. Because for most of Silent Running, it is Bruce Dern alone on that ship.

In fact, the tagline for Silent Running was the loneliest journey of all. And I think there is something about loneliness and space, which gets right to the heart of what is so awe-inspiring about the idea of space travel. So, anyway, like I said, I'm preempting myself. I'll review it next week. But I did like it very, very much. All right. Okay. So that's coming up on next week's take one.

All right, the fabulous laughter lift is on the way an exceptional edition I think this week. Before we get there, what else is out? How to make a killing? You remember some years ago, the Cohen brothers made the absolutely ridiculous decision to remake one of the greatest and darkest

ealing comedies of all time, the lady killers. I do. The story to America, all-star cast headed up by A-lister Tom Hanks, right? And the results were not pretty. So now, writer-director John Patton Ford has made the equally foolish decision to remake decision to remake one of the greatest

and darkest, and darkest ealing comedies of all-time, Kind Hearts and Coronet, moving the story to America, and featuring an All-Star cast, this time, headed up by A-List and Glenn Powell, and the results are not as ugly as you might have expected. So, I mean, technically, it's not really a remake.

It's inspired by, I mean, obviously, Kindheart and Coronet itself, based on Roy Hornemann's novel, Israel, Rank, the autobiography of a criminal, which was the inspiration for the film and also for a Broadway musical. But the basic setup is the same. A man who is the distant heir to a fortune set about killing off the relatives between him and succession.

Here is a clip from the trailer of How to Make a Killing. Since the day I was born, my mother told me we were different. Yes, she had been disowned by her family. But someday I would become the sole heir. I just had to wait for all of them to die. There were seven of them. Seven rich. between myself and $28 billion.

Well, call me when you've killed them all. So that voice at the end, call me when you kill them all, that's the voice of Flirty Femphotel Julia, played by Margaret Qualley, who our main character, played by Glenn Powell, has had a thing about since childhood

and has her own fatal agenda. So in the Ealing... You've seen Kind Hearts and Corrists, right, the Ealing comedy. Like years ago, yes. Yeah. But it's kind of... It's just in the blood, isn't it?

Everyone's sort of seen it. But famously, Alec Guinness played eight members of the Gascoen family, and that was kind of the gimmicks. None of those gimmicks here. Glenn Powell is Beckett Redfellow. We meet him in a prison cell just before his execution. A priest comes to visit him, and he's in very good spirits. And he starts to recount his story,

his story that he was the son of Mary, he was dispossessed by her wealthy family, after becoming pregnant, you know, by the wrong sort of chap. In adulthood, he then realizes that, the only way, I mean, his mother's wish was that he gets what's coming to him, that he gets his due, don't let anybody stop that. And then he realized that the only way to do this is to kill off the relative standing between him and his inheritance, starting with his obnoxious cousin, Taylor, and after the first mud, he finds it surprisingly easy. He suffers very little remorse. In fact, he goes to Taylor's funeral, meets his dad, who feels sorry for our hero, and then offers him a job in the family finance firm. So he starts to make money, he starts to make his way up the greasy pole. and the killings continue. Now apparently the script for this was on the blacklist. We mentioned this quite a lot.

This is basically a list of the best unproduced screenplays. So this was a way back back in 2014. John S. Baird was signed on to direct it in 2019 with Shilabuff and Mel Gibson starring apparently. And it's impossible to imagine what that unlikely pairing would have brought to this project, which was then retitled Huntingdon. but this version, now Helmed by Ford, the thing that it mainly has coming for it is that its central star is incredibly likable. Glenn Powell cemented his credentials in Richard Linklater's hitman.

You remember that, which he basically plays this unlikable slub who somehow comes to wow audience. You like that film, right? And it was an interesting idea. Yeah, I think Richard came on the show to talk about it. He did, he did. And so, you know, Glenn Powell's got this. kind of megawatt smile that makes people really like him. And then, of course, in Edgar Wright's the Running Man, he's the main guy. And again, he plays this guy. He's very unlikable. He's got

anger management issues and he's very unreliable, but it's him. And so therefore, you like him. So here, he's this social climbing serial killer with no moral qualms, but he wins us over because it's him. And I honestly can't imagine a film starring Shail Abuff and Mel Gibson, and bringing any of that to the screen. So the result of this is likable and at times entertaining, which is fine until you start thinking that it's a sort of remake, loose, loose, of a film that was really funny and really dark all at the same time, and this isn't in the same ballpark.

I remember really well that when the Cohen's Lady Killers came out, I was on a program that used to exist, News Night Review, and it was on after Newsnight, and it would be a panel of people talking about film, and Tom Paulin was on it. And Tom Paulin had found the Coen brothers' lady killers really funny. But crucially, he didn't know anything about the originally. He hadn't seen it.

So if you know nothing about Kind Hearts and Coronet, although I think we've established that most people sort of do... I'm not sure that that's true anymore. Okay, fine. All right. Well, in that case, to give it the benefit of that, if you've never... If you don't know Kind Hearts and Coronets, you might find this passably distracting and entertaining,

but you would be so much better off watching the original, because whatever is right with this, it can only walk in the vast, overpowering shadow of a film that is so infinitely better than this, that it's impossible to get that out of your head. Also, it is worth mentioning, Margaret Qualley has got two registers, the brilliant one,

and the one that's not brilliant, which is the driveway dolls. Sadly, this is in the not brilliant category, but then in her defence, I think her role is not very well written. So if you know nothing about Kind Hearts and Coronets, go and watch Kind Hearts and Coronets. You might find this perfectly fine.

But you really should be watching another film. Okay, so that's how to make a killing correspondence at COVID-Mirder.coms. And speaking of timeless comedy, It's the laughter lift. Staying with a little bit of science fiction here. Hey Mark, what do the Daleks say when they get on the 44A bus in Honiton? I don't know what do the Daleks say

when they get on the 44 bus in Honiton. Exeter, mate, Exeter, mate, Exeter, mate. That's good. It's very poor. It's very, very poor. If you've got a better Doctor Who and Exeter, to joke. Anyway, if you think that's poor, you wait for this. Okay.

Hey, Mark, I was walking home in Showbiz, North London last night. I saw a massive cheesecake, a mad-looking enormous trifle, and a funny-looking Battenberg. Yes, you're right. The streets were strangely deserted. Yay! This one will go down badly. I went to the doctors this week, Mark, with a suspicious-looking mole. I mean, you know exactly.

as I was told to buy my doctor and the doctor said they all look like that Mr. Mayo please put him back in the garden where you found him I mean how telegraph indicator here we go I mean

Extermate was good and the strangely deserted also worked anyway what are you doing next Mark still to come review of one last deal The moment you've been waiting for is here GMC's truck month is on. For a limited time, get 0% financing for 72 months on the 2026 GMC Sierra 1500

crew cab pro graphite. Feel the strength of GMC Sierra's 5.3-liter V8 engine. Elevate your confidence with a factory 2-inch lift and off-road suspension. Ready for whatever lies ahead. Power, capability, confidence, all at 0% during GMC's truck month. Don't wait. Visit your local GMC dealer today and make it yours. Getting ready for a game means being ready for anything. Like packing a bear stick. I like to be prepared. That's why I remember 988, Canada's suicide crisis helpline. It's good to know, just in case. Anyone can call or text for free confidential support from a train responder anytime. 988 suicide crisis helpline is funded by the government in Canada. Okay, an email here from Simon and Leoncy to correspondence at covenombo.com.

Dear Crash and Crash, no, not that one, the weird one. I just listened to your great extra show about women in film and heard again Mark berating Simon for mentioning the sex with cars thing. I think it's light-hearted banter. Yeah, light-hearted bant. It reminded me that when Crash, the weird one, came out, J.G. Ballard was asked probably frequently, what is this sex with cars thing all about?

It's a bit weird. To which he would point out, have you heard men talk about cars? To which I would say, not particularly. Down with the Nazis, whatever uniform or suit, they're trying to distract us with, with weirdness, openness, and compassion. Very good. I mean, I guess, you know,

there is that men and motors, top gear kind of way, can you hear the throb of the engine? Yeah. I just have never been, you know, you can love driving a car without being a part of all that nonsense.

No, I know, but I think it's, you know, it's the whole thing with the ballad and cars thing is it's to do with the culture around them. It's not to do with, I mean, you and I don't feel like that about them, but you are aware of the fact that other people do.

And also, as far as the baller thing is concerned, it's to do with people in hermetically sealed bubbles. You know, people moving around in hermetically sealed bubbles, not actually kind of interacting in any other way. It's to do with a bunch of other things. Jen, your friendly Edinburgh tour guide says, Dear Gardy and Lou, forgive me for correcting the good doctor, but as an Edinburgh tour guide, who daily talks about Gardy Lou, alas, this is not the origin of the word Lou. We actually don't know the origin of the word Lou. One theory is Waterloo, as many chamber pots were made in Waterloo and stamped with the name. Or it's from the French Leur, meaning place,

as a subtle way of indicating the need to go to the toilet. Gardi Lou is another theory, but unlikely. In Edinburgh, when we heard Gardi Lou from above, we would reply in Scots, hold ye hand to indicate to the person to wait and give those beneath them time to get out of the line of fire. Technically, you could only do Gardilu at 7am and 10pm, but given that hold your hand exists, people probably ignored this time constraint. Jen signs off. Lang may your lumreak, which obviously means long may your chimney smoke. Jen, you're friendly Edinburgh talk about it. Very good. Well, I'm, yes, it does. Thank you for correcting me. I'm sorry, that's one of those things that I had always taken to be true, and I am very, very happy to be corrected on that.

So thank you for that. Lang may your Lumreak. I like that. That's very good. Long may your chimney smoke. Very good. Jen, thank you very much. Correspondence at codemone.com.

Right. That's one last deal. Should we do that? One last deal. So this is the new film from Brennamald Downey, whose CV includes the Tom Holland medieval flock pilgrimage and the straight to shudder, supernatural horror, the seller.

So the script is by Peter Howlett, about whom I could find nothing online. I think this is only IMDB credit. The script does read very much like a kind of like a one-man stage play. So it plays out in one room, one day one character on screen who makes phone calls, feels emails, watches TV. This is old school football agent Jimmy Banks. Now we know he's old school because he's wearing kind of pantomime trousers and comedy braces. Oh my goodness me.

He dressed like an old school football manager. and he swears a lot. Indeed, the film is rated 18 for very strong language. So Jimmy is a recovering addict who's estranged from his wife and daughter. He's desperately trying to close a deal on his player client who is awaiting a verdict in a rape case. If the client is found not guilty, the money will flow in. If he is found guilty, everything will fall apart. So the entire film, as I said, plays out in this office with him fielding phone calls from the client who wants the deal close. and also from another potential client who he is trying to snare to sign up to a foreign team is a clip.

You're making the payment up front? Most of it. Some in add-ons. How do you want to proceed? Well, if me and you could come to some sort of common ground, I'll get Roberto on the call and then you can complete it. He'll then send you the offer by email. Listen, let's get this done today, all right?

Let's get these sheets lodged. I don't want no one getting wind of it. 100 cash and 20 add-ons. So no foreplay. Okay. 80 cash, 30 adorns. 90 and 30. 90 and 10?

90 and 20. What does it feel like to have the biggest balls out of all the CEOs in the Premier League? Uncomfortable in women's underwear. Ha ha. Ha ha. So also on the phone, he's a lawyer. And I said, more importantly, his daughter, whose birthday he's forgotten, and who wants him to help her out and her mom.

his ex. And they know that he's got money stashed away from a dodgy property deal that he hid in the divorce settlement. Then there's also on the phone a blackmailer whose voice-altered identity is so shockingly obvious that Jimmy must be the only person in the room who doesn't realize who it is. The blackmailer has got evidence that Jimmy's client is guilty. And moreover, they know that Jimmy has the money to pay them off, even though he says he doesn't. So at the centre of all this is a very beloved British soap star and presenter, who recently won a BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance and is now widely considered to be a national treasure,

which is a remarkable comeback for somebody who spent decades starring in increasingly dismal Britpicks and leaning into this kind of football hooligan hardmail. Man Act, the zenith of which saw him fronting, and people do need to be reminded of this, a zoo magazine advice column in which he advised people. The way this column was, and he fronted it, and they would ring him up and he would tell them, you know, what he thought, and then they would write this up as a column. He didn't physically write it, but he would narrate it. And so it was a heartbroken reader wrote in and said, you know, I've broken up with my girlfriend, and what should I do?

And the column that appeared under this gentleman's byline said, I'd suggest going out on the rampage with the boys, getting on the booze and smashing anything that moves. Then when some bird falls for you, you can turn the tables and break her heart. Of course, the other option is to cut your ex's face, and then no one will want her. Now, unsurprisingly, this led to a huge backlash,

and the actor in question said, I didn't intend that. I, you know, they shouldn't, and there was a whole bunch of just nonsense about it. So he had later spent a long time insisting that his hard man act was just an act, and he was a really, really lovely guy. And to prove the point, but what a lovely guy was, he spent the next several years threatening to break my nose because I laughed at him. And that went on for absolutely years.

So very good way of demonstrating that you're actually really, really lovely, is to threaten physical violence against people who find you ridiculous. The main grievance seems to be that this actor is not given credit for the fact that decades ago, he had a fairly promising stage career, which was a career that you then torch with all these awful Brit picks. He's desperate to be taken seriously as an actor. And in this film, he is the only actor on screen, and he has given the opportunity to take an overdose of acting pills. I mean, there is so much acting going on in the film. He has actually described this as kind of my hamlet. And I think that is the best way of describing it. So in cinemas at the moment,

you have Scarlet, you have Hamlet, you have Hamlet, and you have one last deal. I mean, I have to say that it is an expansion, to quote an old critic referring to another movie actor, he runs the gamut of emotions from A to B. He gets to play both sober and drunk, both sweary and very sweary and sweaty and very sweaty. He also gets to play a ukulele very badly and to sing a chorus of lime in the coconut, which you can barely hear over the sound of Nilsen spinning in his grave. And then there is an impromptu dance sequence, which I think is probably an audition for strictly. Most importantly, there is an awful lot of very close-up mouth acting. You know, lots of emotions registered through the bearing of teeth and the stretching and scratching

and scratching of a beard. He also does an annoying thing, which is that the character, before they do any major phone call, takes three quick breaths. In fact, this was so central to the character that the film was originally called three quick breaths, and then it ended up being called One Last Deal. Crucially, he also gets,

during the course of the thing, to realize how terrible violence against women is, which honestly is a subject which I think neither the film nor the actor have got any handle on whatsoever. The visual style is overwrought. I mean, the whole thing is it is like spending 90 minutes up the nose of the lead actor. It's close up, extreme close up, very extreme close up, and then occasionally just a little bit further away so that you can see that actually the art directors,

the production designers have done quite a good job of, you know, evoking the office. It's 88 minutes long. It felt much longer than that. And it will be coming soon to a streaming service near you. Correspondence at covenomere.com should you've seen the film and wish to comment, or even if you just want to comment. Dear Fly Girl and Fly Boy

says Simon Borowski Renouf in the New Forest. So you probably, you probably know him. Do you know Simon Varovsky? Yeah, we were having a drink with Stellan Scarsguard. Peter Starrsted, Amanda Safe Red. Anyway, Simon says, Dear Fly Girl and Fly Boy, the year was 1980, I was seven. My father's birthday was on New Year's Day, and this year my parents

were going to a party at a hotel run by their friends. As the hoteliers had a child the same age as me, I came along to be babysat upstairs by the older teenage brother. Said brother then proceeded to load up a VHS copy of Romero's Dawn of the Dead. I was transfixed and terrified. The experience of discovering real horror and a zombie apocalypse for the first time we'd have a life changing effect on me. Bear in mind that Simon was seven. The immediate effect, of course, was a month of nightmares, but over time through movies like Jaws, The Thing, Nightmare on Elm Street and the Lost Boys, my love of horror grew

to the point of obsession. Just ask anyone who has ever tried to tell me that the infected in the 28 franchises zombies, brackets, in capital letters, they are not. Except that. Damn with, anyway. Simon signs off down with illegal wars, up with humans like the good doctor, singular, Kim Newman and the Fright Fest and Fangoria crews for continuing to shine a light on independent horror. I'm clearly excluded from this, that's fine, and I am over it already.

But, Simon, thank you. But in general, it's not a good idea to show seven-year-olds at dawn of the dead. No, it absolutely is not. No. That's the general point. Simon, thank you very much indeed. That is it for this week. This has been a Sony music entertainment production. This week's team was Jen, Eric, Josh, Heather and Dom. The redactor is Simon Paul, and if you're not following the pod already, please do so wherever you get your podcast. Come and join us on Patreon for all the great stuff,

magnificent stuff and wonderful stuff. Mark, what is your film of the week? Well, it's not the best of weeks, but I think on the strength of the visuals, it's scarlet. Thank you very much indeed for listening. I am going to bestow a year's ultra-membership to our correspondent of the week, who I think I'll give it to Jen, our friendly Edinburgh tour guide

for just telling us more about Gardilu and all that stuff. Jen, thank you very much. Indeed, if you'd like to get in touch with the show, it's correspondence at covenomere.com. Take two has landed where this one has in a very healthy and fecund field. So please feel free. That's a word that's not used enough. Okay, I'm going to try and say it a bit more often then.

Anyway, thank you for listening. Be-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a...