Helen Vs Peter Lorre: Dawn Of Justice (ft. guest, Dave Green)

25:57Chris Hewitt:I don't remember being ubiquitous for weeks on it Years really and Dolly took, by the way, the money that she got from that recording and investit in black communities, apparently, in Memphis. But yeah, her reading initiative for kids, off the charts, she had her own theme. She has her own theme park. She recently opened her own museum. She's worked on musicals. I mean, she's kind of just... It's an incredible life that she lived. She even had her own cake mix. My God, she's living the dream for all of us. I should have worn more rhinestones today. I nearly put on my shirt with the rhinestones et je ne l 'ai pas And it was only after I left the house that I was like, shit, I should have done it in memory of Dolly.

26:41Chris Hewitt:You are an absolute disgrace. I am. I've let her down. She was 80 when she passed away. As I said, first and foremost, a music star, but her contribution to movies should not be overlooked either. No, TV. You mentioned her business savvy. She played a key role in bringing Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, to screens. Yeah, her production company was one of the ones behind Buffy. Mais oui, elle a film career Elle a été Je pense que c 'est small mais mighty Il y a de Joyful Noise Quelle-ci, qui était en ça ? Mais ça c 'était vraiment très bien 9 à 5 était très bien Best Little Whorehouse in Texas C 'est un magnolias Un absolu de la belle C 'est un film de la plus Guaranteed weepies Une de mes amis S 'est -à-dire à la fin de la fin which I thought was a bold move because that is a film that will make you cry at the best times and to watch it in memory of Dolly I thought was quite a flex but then her character in it I think is probably quite close to her so she played a beauty store owner and a lot of the kind of witticisms that come out of her character's mouth are very much Dolly-isms you know she talks about I haven't left these hips haven't left the house without Lycron in you know 25 years or something Daryl Hannah She posted online about Working with Dolly obviously in that film She was kind of her assistant at the beauty parlor And she asked Dolly How long does it take to do your hair every morning And Dolly's like Oh I don't know, I'm not there when they do it She was just amazing So many witticisms So smart, so savvy And like I say, such a good person She didn't mind Being called a dumb blonde because she knew She also knew she wasn't blonde.

28:30I mean, all that kind of stuff comes straight from her mouth. And she will be hugely, hugely missed. But what an incredible, incredible life to have lived. She lost her husband of 59 years early last year. And that must have hit her very hard. She had been ill for a little while. She'd been talking about trying to get her health back and, you know, return to performance. And obviously it wasn't to be. But just, yeah, she really, really left a mark on the world for the better. il y a un vrai il y a un film la Will Ferrell la Christmas Carol movie

29:04Chris Hewitt:Spirited Spirited il y a un vrai joke si vous avez ils ont le hall de gens qui ont été scrooged en la movie tous les qui ont été trés par la trois ghosts process elle est dans la l 'ombre parce que si vous voulez une exemple de someone qui est living la la way Dolly Parton I had not noticed that Spirited is actually my favourite film of all How often do you watch her? Every three days. Very good. Good lord. In fact, I'm watching it right now. Oh yeah, you're right. There she is. Oh, now there's some hijinks with Will Ferrell. What a time. Oh, Tracy Morgan as the ghost of Christmas yet to come.

29:43Chris Hewitt:You tickle me. Anyway, I do genuinely like that film. Anyway, so... Good afternoon to you, James Dyer. Good afternoon. Hi, Chris. It's from the film, Spirited. That was a very funny joke. Je ne suis pas vu que ça. Vous n 'avez jamais vu que ça. Et vous n 'avez pas vu que ça. Vous n 'avez jamais vu que ça. Et je ne devais pas. Et je devais pas. Vous devais. Bonne soirée. Bonne soirée. Bonne soirée. Il ne doit pas. Il ne doit pas. Il ne doit pas. Il ne doit pas. Scully ne doit pas. Oh, très bien. Now, You're a Tripney. Il est en fait mon favourite film et je watch it every year. Yeah, so everyone has a favourite film.

30:23Chris Hewitt:Mais ce que c 'est votre favourite film? Non, c 'est le ron. Yeah, my favorite film is Evil Dead 2, but it's really spirited. James' favorite film is Aliens, but it's really known as in the run. Amon's favorite film is Into the Spider-Verse, but it's really... Space Jam. Space Jam. You said it, not us. I did vince that movie back in the day. Oh my God. Everybody get up, it's time to slam now. You got a real jam. Amon, I can reassure you it's absolutely not time to slam now. I'm so sorry. We're going back to James' Aliens' Day. A little bit. It's game over, man. It's game over. Apoch just died.

31:03Chris Hewitt:It's time to slam now. Spunkmire? No. No, come on. Spunkmire? God damn it. Housebells, what's your favorite film? Maybe Serena de Bergerac, but what's your real favorite film? Serena de Bergerac is funny. Sex Lives of the Potato Man. Oh, that is insulting. Ou est-ce que Helen, d 'Ali G movie, qui a juste a sequel? What a segue. Merci. Je ne pense pas que c 'est un hall de fame, si je suis honnête. Je pense que c 'est un «Ali G ». Don't you become spirited again, je swear. Good afternoon to you. Good afternoon. Yes, there is an Ali G sequel that somebody must have asked for. Ali G colon who is I is spelt with a Z Zed Zed's dead baby yeah he's English though so be a Zed yeah I put it to you I put it to you Your Honour that Ali G was not funny in the early noughties and now in 2026 it's just borderline unwatchable that's one of those ones where this was a courtroom drama and you said that le attorney would get out of his seat and start to say objection and then go nah he has a point yeah or the judge would be like I'd like to see where this is going I'll allow it objection overruled can I overrule my own objection your honour yes so this is a new film from Sacha Baron Cohen who is not in any way having a midlife crisis and don't you say that carry on well thanks for making that clear yeah so oh look we heard he'd been filming it in secret it was kind of announced after filming was completed right that was the whole kind of thing and so the storyline to the extent that there is one seems to be that he's staging a comeback and also dealing with his girlfriend's surprise question mark pregnancy I didn't like the trailer I didn't think anything about it was funny some of Some of his films have not had funny trailers to me and have ended up amusing me.

33:22I will not rule out the possibility that that could happen again. But Ali G was not a character I loved even back in the day. So it will be a bit of an uphill battle, I think, this time.

33:33Chris Hewitt:Yeah. Personally. Okay. What's your favourite SBC film? It's a Borat. Is it? Yeah. Is it a Borat? I don't know if it's the first or second. I thought both of those were very good. I think the first one's better. I don't know I think he's very good in Trial of the Chicago 7 He is very good Of course you say the Aaron story I can't think why I think that but I definitely think that the four star masterpiece that it is in Trial of the Chicago 7 is a very good performance He can act, that is a very good film He's a brilliant actor What he does in these roles where he's improvising with people is genius level improv it's just le funniness seems to have dissipated somewhat over the years with this character I would argue never like Borat there's a healthy dose of satire to Borat which kind of works I mean it's borderline offensive let's not fuck him out oh it's very offensive Ali G is offensive on another level but again it's just it's extremely pure art look maybe I am scarred to death because I interviewed him in character as Ali G at the premiere of Ali G in Da House where he turned up wearing a crown and a kind of an ermine lined robe surrounded by des femmes en des femmes je ne sais pas je ne sais pas c 'est pas donc je ne sais pas pas qu 'on a dit c 'est pas qu 'il y a qu 'on a qu 'on a quelque chose en la world de movie news oui oui oui oui c 'est technically TV news donc on the pilot TV podcast but we already recorded that Vision Quest on last week's episode podcast by the way I'm here to chastise you all ok fair enough we didn't but before we do that Let's say that Dan Stevens is going to be Alex Murphy in the Prime Video TV series of Robocop, which is produced by James Wan and it is showrunner by Peter Oko.

35:20And yeah, I don't know quite what to make of this, but it's Dan Stevens, so that's good news. I have concerns about it as a concept. Look, just because we've been scarred by one Robocop remake, that doesn't mean that every Robocop remake will suck. Le truc, le truc, c 'est que Robocop qui fonctionne sur so many levels. Il embodies l '80s spirit in so many ways, mais c 'est aussi archly satirical et extrêmement funny. Et je pense que Joel Kinnaman version strips tout de suite et il y a un très très très très techno-thriller. Et il est juste très duré à la résulte. Mais, James Wan a parlé de cette histoire.

35:59Et il y a l 'a dit Verhoeven et il apprécié pour ce que c 'est. Mais je ne sais pas comment que ça Verhoeven-e-ness qui translate. Je pense que vous aurez à être careful. Je pense que un peu de ça. C 'est anti-corporate, isn't it? Il y a beaucoup de choses. Il y a beaucoup de choses. Et tech malfeasance. Et tech being used à impinge on people's lives. I mean, le Flock cameras in the US sont getting spray-painted et effrayed on a daily basis on a pretty industrial scale. You know, big tech has never had lower ratings in sort of opinion polls than it does right now. 70 % of young people in the US disapprove of what tech is doing.

36:39Young people. Down with tech. Young people, this is crazy. So, I think this is actually incredibly fertile ground and the problem is going to be, you know, making the satirical points without everybody going, yeah, we know. So, you know, the thing is going to be almost introducing some nuance that does not currently exist in real life to the situation. I've got my fingers crossed Dan Stevens, I'm always in the tank to see him on screen and I think James Warren's a great director and producer so I'm hanging my hat on that because initially when I heard Robocop I was like I don't know how much more juice there is to squeeze out of this IP but we shall see There is always juice in every IP There will be juice until forever

37:29Chris Hewitt:Is it confirmed he is playing Murphy? Is it that much of a remake or are you just assuming? I believe so. I believe he posted about it, but I haven't checked his actual posts. He posted something on Instagram, but I don't know. He's trying to play Robocop. Maybe he is playing a different Robocop, it's hard to say. But I had certainly just assumed that he'll be Alex Murphy. He unhaöhnt de la tête. Why wouldn't he be? Me too. You posted on Instagram, along with the news, like dead or alive, you're coming with me, which made me think Murphy. It's just the confidence with which you said que il était à jouer Alex Murphy.

38:03Chris Hewitt:Je pensais que ça a été confirmé. Chris, c 'est un peu de nonsense avec la confiance. C 'est un peu de mon truc. C 'est comme ça. C 'est comme ça. C 'est comme ça. C 'est comme ça. C 'est comme ça. Opposite me, un idiot. All right. Well, that is potentially exciting. Yeah. I wonder how many American men he a de beat off to get that role. I wonder. Yes. One of the great British TV moments. Serve the public trust. Protect the innocent. Uphold the law. Et beat-off Americans. Et beat-off American men. That's why it's classified. Dead or alive, you're coming with me. You have 13 seconds to comply.

38:48Good times.

38:49Chris Hewitt:I'd buy that for a dollar. Deary me. All right. Make Robocop sexy again. Chris, Robocop never stopped being sexy. Never stopping. Yes. What a helmet. All right. What the fuck is this Ryan Gosling Flintstone story? I don't know, but I'm so delighted by it. I don't understand how you make a Bam Bam movie when Pebbles is right there. Because they don't make films about women when they can make films about men? Ooh! Ooh, satire! Women vs. Hollywood, available in all good bookstores. With a kernel of truth! But yeah, this is the story that Ryan Gosling est développé un live-action Flintstones reboot centré sur un adult Bam Bam Rubble.

39:37Chris Hewitt:Qui le fait est Bam Bam? Je ne sais pas beaucoup de Flintstones. Il est un petit peu. Oh, vous yabba dabba d 'aune. Je ne sais pas. Je ne sais pas. Je vois pas de Flintstones. Je ne sais pas. Je ne sais pas. Le Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. They're a modern stonage family. From the town of Bad Rock They're a page right out of history. Don't go into the next bit. I've never really seen the Flintstones. I certainly couldn't sing the theme tune. But no, Bam Bam, I know Barney. I know Betty. I know Wilma. Everybody knows Wilma. Oh yeah. Steady. That's slut shame Wilma. I'm not. How's that slut shaming Wilma?

40:17I think that's what was funny. Oh, you've implied that everyone knows Wilma. That's right. Everyone was sleeping with Wilma. That was, I thought, implied. No, I'm just saying everybody remembers Wilma because everybody fancied Wilma. Although in fairness, a lot of people also fancied Wilma.

40:27Chris Hewitt:Je vais pour les deux. Willa et Betty ? Yabba dabba doo. Maintenant nous savons qu 'à la fin. Il est temps pour le bon age. Il est Betty's son. Je n 'ai pas de la fin. La seule façon que ça me fait, c 'est une façon de mettre à la fin, c 'est si c 'est un peu comme ça, c 'est un peu comme Barbie vibe. So it's this very heightened, very weird Stone Age world. And you've got essentially Ryan Gosling, not a million miles away from Ken as a character, I think, being Bam Bam. I guess looking for love in all the wrong places. Surely he'll end up with a girl across the street, Pebbles. We'll see. But look, it sounds bonkers.

41:17If this is genuinely a thing that's happening, I don't know where he's fitting it around the Starfighter, Star Wars movie and Ghost Rider. mais god bless him Ryan Gosling having fun doing weird shit is one of my favourite genres and I'm absolutely here for it It does just intrigue me Ryan Gosling has reached a level especially recently where he can kind of write his own ticket and he decided to do this It reminds me a little bit of Daniel Kaluuya after having won his Oscar He says, okay, I'm going to do a Barney movie So yeah, it's intrigue I have no idea what it's going to look like mais fair play to Ryan Gosling pour utiliser his power pour bring something he clearly must have loved from childhood to screen.

42:01Chris Hewitt:Now he's like this huge star. It is interesting to me that he's aligning himself with all these big blockbusters and he's not using his power to get say half Nelsons made or more Lars and the real girls. He's really just kind of going yeah I'll do a Star Wars. Yes I'll do an MCU. Yes I'll reboot the fucking Flintstones. Which all could be very very good et très très entertaining et surtout Project Hail Mary c 'est great et nous avons eu l 'ai vu et je suis juste que il peut faire plus indie films c 'est ce que je dis peut -être il peut -être il peut -être il peut -être il peut -être il peut -être ce qui est ce qui est ce qui a commencé à faire et il peut -être il peut -être 16 indies back-to-back je pense qu 'il estle -même une de ces strange qui a vraiment enjoys money et peut -être il il peut -être il peut -être pour goods et services je ne je ne No, parce que je suis un journaliste.

42:50Chris Hewitt:Mais oui, c 'est apparemment le truth. Comment vous spellillez, MONEY ? Je suis très entrayée par ça. M-U-N-N-Y. Duh. Comme William Money. Deserves, n 'ont rien à faire. C 'est vrai. C 'est pour damn sure. We don't deserve it, and we don't get it. Yeah. Actually, I would argue we do deserve it, but we don't get it. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. One last thing to talk about, the new issue of Empires and Sale. Tomorrow, as we're recording, yesterday, as you're listening to this, si vous êtes en friday etc etc etc What's on the cover? Digger Digger Who wrote that story again Chris? Do you remember?

43:28Chris Hewitt:I think we're realising now why I don't deserve the money It was me It was you Excellent So that's exciting I spoke to Tom Cruise Alejandro G. Iñárritu Riz Ahmed John Goodman star of Kong Skull Island and King Ralph of course il est un star de quite a few things Sandra Huller star de Project Hail Mary spoke to all those people about this movie the secretive movie and you can read more about that in the pages of Empire Magazine there's other stuff in there as well I'm sure I'm told there absolutely is we have Andrew Garfield talking about Uprising The Uprising, yes I apologise Marc McDonough's Wild Horse 9 Oh, that's exciting, I'm hearing good things about that The first eight were great There's some talk about whale fall which I'm still just fascinated to find out how to do that Diehard in a whale Well, yeah I mean, if you read the book I don't know how they're going to do it Anyway, Saoirse Ronan talking about bad apples and why she wants to be a Bond villain I would pay real money à voir Sir Sharonan as a Bond villain.

44:43Honestly, I think it's a great idea and they should 100 % get in touch with her and have a chat. So, yeah, she'd be amazing. I think there's also my Vision Quest feature in the new issue, which is really fun to do. I was on set of Vision Quest last year in the Mind Palace, I guess, the Mind Space that Vision keeps all the AIs in. And that was really, really fun. et cool, nice work to Paul Bettany and James Spader and the showrunner as well What are features, if not Amon, persevering?

45:21Chris Hewitt:I like this line There we go, lots of great stuff inside the issue we'll be doing a deep dive into the chorus with Nick the Semillon in the shameless plug in a couple weeks time, but right now, rush out to your nearest news agent be it good or evil or virtual and buy the new issue of Empire Magazine it is imperative que vous faites. Can I do that? Yes. It's mandatory. That's legally binding. No, no. No, that is binding. All right. I'm taking my legal advice from James these days, Helen. I'm sorry. That's a terrible idea. It is mandatory. By law. No. No? Let you go out immediately and buy the new issue of Empire Magazine.

46:02Chris Hewitt:Shall we have a guest? Let's do it. This is a guest that if Warner Brothers had had their way a couple of years ago would not have been on the Empire Podcast right now because he is Dave Green the director of Coyote vs Acme which was a film that was earmarked for deletion deletion by Warner Brothers in the same way that they deleted Batgirl and of course the biggest loss of them all Scooby-Doo Haunted Holiday was it Haunted Holiday? was it Halloween? Haunted Halloween? Halloween holiday Scooby-Doo Anyway Either way It was Scooby-Doo Yeah Turned into more of a Scooby-Doo In the end Very very sad And Coyote vs.

46:48Chris Hewitt:Acme In which Will Forte Plays a lawyer Who is recruited by Wiley Coyote To sue the Acme Corporation For selling him a pup With all the shit That they've sold him Over the years That have led to Knocks in the noggin And what not It was meant to be deleted But A company called Ketchup Entertainment I believe it was Intervened saved the movie and is now being released this week in cinemas and Helen here Hello spoke to Dave Green the director of the film A Man of Great Perseverance and Forbearance and you spoke to him about a great many things but hopefully this movie and the journey Yeah, I mean mostly this movie and the journey A little bit about what he's got maybe next Okay, excellent So I am looking forward to hearing that as indeed are you right now Enjoy Dave Green Welcome to the Empire Podcast.

47:39Congratulations on Coyote vs Acme. So pleased to see it. I have dressed especially in the kind of shirt that Bugs Bunny wears when he suddenly decides he's on holiday in tribute to the film. I love that. Yes, it's like he's not taken his wrong turn at Albuquerque and he's gotten to go on vacation. I love it. Exactly. So did you intend to make the little kid's first courtroom drama? Was that part of the attraction of this one for you? Great question. I would say maybe a little bit. Looney Tunes has always been a little bit of the entry point into teaching kids sophisticated ideas. It was always...

48:25I think it was the first time maybe I saw opera was through Looney Tunes ou je crois que j 'ai vu la parodye de Casablanca avant que j 'ai vu la actual Casablanca. Donc, je pense que Looney Tunes a toujours été... Oui, c 'est très confortable avec la parodye et les spins sur tropes, et ça a toujours été un peu de la fabrice de ce que Looney Tunes est en IP. Nous avons à parler de ce film, c 'est extraordinaire, et je suis sûre à l 'heure, extraordinaire, un peu difficile de la journée à l 'écran. I wanted to start sort of way back. I believe you once had Barbie's release date. So would it have been Weilenheimer or Oppen-Odie?

49:09Like, what would the portmanteau have been if that had stayed in place? I love that pitch. Yeah, I would have had... I mean, we would have had probably a problem, you know, because we were a desert movie, and then Oppenheimer's very desert-y. So, like... So true. You know, it could have really hurt both movies. You never know. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. We actually shot not too far away from where they were filming Oppenheimer at the time. And we remember there was a rumor of like, oh, Matt Damon's staying at that hotel. And like, you know, they're shooting at Ghost Ranch down that way. And they're building a whole town.

49:50Anyway. And you probably used as many sticks of TNT, actually, across the course of the film. That's right, yes. Yes, yes. Yeah, absolutely. But then there was this awful period where we thought we would never see this. So, I mean, I don't want to put you back in those days, but, you know, how long did that last? And how did you finally know, how long did it take before you finally knew that people were going to get the chance to see it? Well, I lived it, you know, just as long as everyone else lived it, having to read about it in the press for that long. I think, yeah, I mean, we heard that news, I believe, in the November of 2023.

50:29And, you know, now the movie's coming out in August, which is amazing. And it's a miracle. So, yeah, it was about that long. And I honestly, over that ride, I did not have much more information than what the general public did. Et, vous savez, je lis quelque chose et je sais, je sais, c 'est ce qui n 'est pas vrai. Et c 'est le plus, vous savez, c 'est la même chose. C 'est comme vous ne pouvez pas réacte à tout ce qui est écrit. Mais c 'est OK. C 'est un voyage et nous sommes très heureux, évidemment, à tous les voix qui ont été misqués par notre behalf. C 'est vraiment un miracle que nous sommes ici aujourd 'hui.

51:14yeah because there was this immediate upswell of people going no this is a really good film you are missing out on this film this is going somewhere and you know the same with with batgirl i remember around the same time people who had seen it going this is worthy of being seen um it's a it's a it must have been just horrendous to live through but i'm i'm glad i mean it must have taken a titanic effort on the part of i don't know if it was you your producers just to get this to this point and you know thank you all for that oh that it's real the thanks it has to be reflected back at the audience and the voices online like everyone who spoke up and spoke out and didn't give up and you know Will Forte was amazing every once in a while he'd be interviewed for another show and he would say something spicy and it would you know make headlines so it was really like a group effort and it came down to the voices online just being so supportive.

52:15The internet finally uses this power to annoy people for good. This is amazing. That's right. You mentioned Will Forte. Tell me about casting this because you've got, I guess, two different casting challenges. You've got to cast human actors, but you also have to choose which tunes you want for which roles. Totally. Will plays Kevin Avery, a lawyer who is very smart, but he joie p798 un homme 6 varying

53:10une la and persistent and won't take no for an answer and is very persistent and maybe sometimes annoying but is admirable for his want and his drive and so Kevin meets Wiley one day is kind of the beginning of the movie and I think when we were casting the idea Will came up And we had heard that Will responded to it. And we were just thrilled because Will is, as a person, he is truly like one of the kindest, most charitable people you will ever meet. He's just like so absolutely nice. et je pense que c 'est de la et de la affaiblité quand même avec ce qui peut peut -être peut -être un je ne veux pas un sciezy mais il est un ambulance chaisant lawyer qui est taking advantage de cartoon characters quand you meet Will's warmth avec that character trope you end up still liking and rooting pour ce personnage, qui était so important pour nous.

54:30Nous avons été heureux que Will a dit yes et était dans le cas. Et puis, commentaire-y, l 'aise de Lana Condor et John Cena et avoir cette titanic courteur-in-battle, vraiment? Oui. Again, c 'est un sérieux de lucking out sur chaque role. Lana really, really Responded to the script And saw herself In it, and the role Reminded her of her mom And she told me that when she started And she's really like The ray of light in the movie And the one who is Truly so hopeful In a much brighter way Than even Wiley And John Responded as well Just thrilled because he's like I've never seen John play a role like this.

55:27John does zero body slams in this movie. He has not relied on for his physical strength at all. I think that really drew him to this project. He's incredible. He's so on top. He memorizes the entire script top to tails. He knows everyone's lines. It's so well rehearsed. And I'm just absolutely thrilled with his work in this movie. Et juste watching it again pour le premier temps a few weeks ago, I was just like, ce sont mes moments de la musique où John just cuts Will off at the knees ou is passive-aggressive. I think they're really great together. Yeah. I think his capacity for legal body slamming kind of is reflected in his ability to physically body slam people.

56:17That kind of works for the character. And what about the tunes? I mean, obviously, why Lee is built in, but he's not the only one here. So how did you decide who to put where? Was that already done at the script stage? Or was that something you were still working on as you came aboard and started bringing this together?

56:38I'll try to make a long story short, but I had pitched the studio on a new take on scripts that had existed. Jeremy Slater wrote a draft of the script a long time ago That was super solid. And I had this pitch to base it a little bit more in courtroom dramas and thrillers and to center the story as much as possible on Wiley and to tell the story through his lens. And so in that process, we brought on Sammy Birch, who had Oscar-nominated screenwriter for May-December. But at the time, May-December was just a spec sample that was floating out there. et nous avons lu que l 'on a dit et pensé que l 'on a fait et très très intelligent et sophistiqués et adulte et funny et Sammy vient de la casting background et son père est une légendeuree casting director qui a fait qu 'elle a fait The Breakfast Club et Die Hard et toutes ces belles 80s et 90s movies.

57:44And so Sammy looked at this kind of array of Looney Tunes characters as this fantastic casting opportunity and knowing that we were going for a character-driven story that was based in Wiley and Roadrunner and Wiley's want for Roadrunner. We looked at the rest of the Looney Tunes as more as a landscape for doing cameo casting. en disant, dans la monde de courtrooms et thrillers, où vous voyez un grand-mère, une neurone, potentiellement, un peu de la musique. Et on est, oui, c 'est animé de Peter Lorre. Et où vous voyez une personne qui est de ses marbles, mais passionnée et qui est en train de donner un message.

58:37Et on est, oui, c 'est Daffy. Et donc, c 'est super fun, juste à commencer de mettre des personnages dans les rôles et en place des tropes que nous avons et des vies en tant que dans tous ces court-rômes et thrillers. Qu 'est-ce que court-rômes ont été regardés et regardés avant de faire ça ? Le Insider était le premier source, mais aussi Le Verdict et A Few Good Men. Classic. Yeah, Aaron Brockovich Ah A few more, yeah, Dark Waters even Oh yeah, the Mark Ruffalo Yeah Amazing There's a little bit of all those movies in the movie somewhere Yeah, I can see that There's a whole conspiracy thread running right through this As well as the stuff in the actual courtroom How fun is that as a director?

59:28Is it difficult to do? Because I've talked to directors who, for example, hate doing dinner scenes They say dinner scenes take a really long time they're really complicated it's a very difficult thing is a courtroom drama like that or is that the more fun end of the dialogue scene? I would probably say it's a little more fun than a dinner table scene because there's so much room and potential for escalating drama but yeah it's a similar challenge in that there is so much going on in a courtroom with exchange of eye contact et moments between people et les exchanges sont vraiment le meal de la courte scene donc je ne pas pas de couverture mais il can be a lot de pieces et moments et you constantly flipping the 180 line to tell different stories that are little side bars that are non verbal between character to character so yeah but it was at the same time it was insanely fun and i got to i got to learn how to make courtroom scenes so that was yeah and and you're doing it with a high degree of difficulty as well because you had so you had some puppets on set is that right to kind of get you know people used to exactly where the characters are and what the eye lines are and everything else and then you had to i think remove those is that right for the final short.

1:00:59Exactly. Yeah. So, for a lot of shots, yes, there's a puppeteer that you're just not seeing with a Wile E. Coyote puppet and he's just been erased. And then for other moments, we're just leaving an empty chair. So, like our jury box that has a couple of animated characters in it is just an empty chair and then we're later putting in Miss Prissy, I think, who's in the jury box. So, it's kind of like a combination of approaches. But, yeah, Et ce qui est super, super fun. parce que la speaking version de Wiley a l 'objectif est horrifié. Mais nous aussi aimons le challenge de la fin de l 'arrivée avec un pied -à-vis un arme et de l 'arrivée.

1:02:15Et si on se trouve, c 'est -à-dire que si c 'est pas crutch, c 'est -à-dire que c 'est juste qu 'est -à-dire qu 'est -à-dire qu 'est -à-dire qu 'est -à-dire qu 'est -à-dire qu 'est -à-dire qu 'est -à-dire et qu 'est -à-dire qu 'est -à-dire et move à un point où les signes ne sont pas besoin à l 'heure et ces personnages peuvent communiquer non-verbaux. Donc, oui, je veux dire, c 'est un potentiel spoiler, mais il y a une scène où Wiley et Kevin sont en argumentant, et ils sont allés en train de l 'hôtel room dans cette fight. Et Wiley a un certain nombre de signes dans la scène, mais le dernier end de la scène doesn't have signs and Wiley and Kevin the argument is still afloat and And I was so thrilled with the final result of that scene because you are really seeing these two characters in dialogue.

1:03:12And sure, one of them doesn't talk traditionally, but it's still a real fight, you know, and they can still argue and voice themselves. So that was like a, it was a big challenge, but it was, yeah, I was so happy with the final result and all the work the animators did to bring that to life. People may have seen online that Chuck Jones's rules for Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, you know, pop up certainly on my Twitter feed all the time or Blue Sky feed, whatever. I mean, how much did you guys discuss those? Because I guess you've got to, again, no spoilers, you've got to bend a couple of rules a little bit.

1:03:50They have to go to a courtroom and not be in the desert the whole time. I don't think that's a spoiler. So did you have to kind of debate those kind of rules and kind of figure out what are your rules for this movie? Yes. Well, I would say that they did come up and we did discuss them. And I was also working with an animation team that was this kind of motley crew of folks who were from all over the world. Some of them were in the UK and some of them were here in LA. And some of them had worked on the Looney Tunes cartoons, the show that Pete Brownguard created. And I personally felt like that show was the funniest version of Looney Tunes that had existed since the originals.

1:04:36And so when I first started this job, I called Pete and got some advice from him. And he very kindly kind of lent me and or suggested two of his favorite animators. And they were Ryan Kramer and David Gemmel. and they're both story artists, but also they direct and they're just so funny. So they had formal Looney Tunes training in that they had been under WB's supervision in making those cartoons. And those cartoons in a way sometimes play with modern ideas in a way that our movie doesn't, but they were just as joke makers. Those guys were so, so funny. And so I was kind of working with them and then working with artists like Carlos Lutterbach, who's a formally trained 2D artist who's incredible, worked on The Simpsons.

1:05:36It's just amazing. And so he would deeply study the traditional model, Chuck's model of these characters. And we very much preferred the Chuck model of who Wiley is, because I think that character is also like, if you look, he's kind of softened and changed over the decades. He's become less aggared and he's become a little nicer, friendlier looking in his illustration style. So anyway, Carlos would kind of make sure that our Wiley was looking and behaving right as well. So it was really a team effort. And yes, with that list, definitely looming over us the entire time, for sure. I love the idea of formal Looney Tunes training.

1:06:30Just visions of doctorates in Looney Tunes are amazing to me. Very finally, just to sort of wrap up. what's next for you i've read there's a project called hex is that is that what's next on your to-do list can you say any more about that or what's up um that's a movie that i'm super excited about it's we're we're still working on it um early days still but it's um it's definitely a step in a uh a darker direction like i i grew up making short films that were like very there were like horror comedies that were violent and funny and weird and dark and that was like the kind of thing I loved making as a kid and I think Hex will provide all of those things and more and I'm really excited about it but yeah we'll see I'm excited for whatever it is next well best of luck with it and may it have a much smoother journey to the screen than this one did thank you so much thank you so much okay that was

1:07:36Chris Hewitt:dave green director of coyote versus acme and now it is time to dig deep into the refuse section of the podcast talking about the films that are out this week in the multiplex and indeed on your sofa plex jimbo hello coyote versus acme yeah um i'm worried about this because everyone says it's brilliant you don't like comedy i don't but or hijinks or locks do you like looney tunes no So you really were not the target audience. But, you know, I watched this film. Are you glad this movie exists? Yes. That it was saved? I am glad that it exists, but mainly as a fuck you to people who think it's a good idea to take art and write it off for tax purposes.

1:08:15So, I mean, I am delighted that we're getting to see it, and I think, honestly, everyone should go and see it, if only to show David Saslav that it was a terrible idea to try and delete it from existence. But look, it's an odd setup. It's a kind of hybrid mixed reality cartoon live action courtroom drama, which is a weird pitch on paper. But the idea of this, of course, has kind of already been covered, is that Wile E. Coyote has spent his entire career chasing the Roadrunner using Acme products which inevitably blow up in his face. And so, as is the way in America, he takes a litigious path and he goes to find a law firm where he discovers Will Forte as a man who will take on cases for cartoon characters.

1:08:55and thus begins a lawsuit against the Acme Corporation for their malfunctioning technology. Their counsel, Buddy Crane, which is a great name, not quite Denny Crane from Boston Eagle, but... Denny Crane. Denny Crane. Denny Crane.

1:09:08Chris Hewitt:Med cow. Played by the incomparable John Cena, decide to defend the Acme Corporation and a conspiracy, we should say, is unraveled. A conspiracy that involves... And Helen, I can only apologise for what's about to happen. I'm playing my fingers for my ears. involves Dr. Peter Lorre. Oh, no. What is happening? You mean Peter Lorre is in his film? Well, yes. Does he play a significant supporting role? I mean, he's a pivotal character, I would say. A pivotal character in Coyote vs. Acme? He's in the prologue. The prologue, you say? Tell me more. Don't like it. Let the record show that Helen is plugging her ears and trying not to listen.

1:09:56I'm so wrong. Anywho, it's quite surprisingly touching at times. You really kind of feel for Wile E. Coyote, which I think is actually very impressive. And there's a really quite, you know, I'm not saying it necessarily brought a tear to my eye, but I understood the concept of emotion when the bond between Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner is kind of explored in a courtroom setting. It's quite fun. you know it's a little bit of digs at you know big corporations but for me the gold standard of this format is and will always be who framed roger rabbit and it it kind of annoys me a little bit when a lot of people saying it's the new who framed it is not fit to lace who framed roger rabbit's toon shoes however i had a really good time with this film that's like saying like oh this drama is good but it's not a citizen kane therefore i'm gonna ding it like just like yes they're both films that involve tunes and people, but I don't think there's any other real...

1:10:54But to be fair, most of the reviews have referenced Roger Rabbit when they're talking about it. Because that's how you explain to people what it is. They could have referenced Pete's Dragon. No one's saying they shouldn't. Nobody's referencing Pete's Dragon. That's not a known reference.

1:11:07Chris Hewitt:Bedknobs and broomsticks. Bedknobs and broomsticks. That would have been fine too. The sequel should have been Bedknobs versus Broomsticks. Just saying. Absolutely. Porn version, Big Knobs and Huge Dicks. This honestly is such a good film. And Mr. I Hate Comedy and cartoons and also Joy over here. Yeah, accurate. Don't let him put you off. Yes, you should go to say fuck you to the people who wouldn't release it, but you should also go see it because you will have a really good time watching it. That is the main reason to go see it. I think it is such a clever use of a courtroom drama, and I am all for weird combinations of genre.

1:11:42That is what we need more of in this world, and not just the same, you know, stuff over and over again. but a Looney Tunes legal drama? Yes, abso-fricking-lutely. This is a great My First Legal Drama for any kids out there, right? You get your kids along to this, within like six months to a year, they'll be watching 12 Angry Men and A Few Good Men and all the John Grishams. This is their way in.

1:12:07Chris Hewitt:You can't handle 12 Angry Men. I can't. You nearly walked straight into that. I'm not going to. We're moving on. The point is, it's a genuinely good legal drama, and it's a genuinely good, and I can't believe I'm saying this, it is a genuinely good character piece about the coyote. Yes. Yeah. It is a genuinely interesting dissection of his character, what makes him tick, how he thinks. It is really, really effective, despite the fact that they stick with the character as he is in the cartoons. He does not speak. He occasionally holds up a sign with a word on it. Yeah. But that's it. And yet you understand so much about him.

1:12:50And I also think Will Forte's character, this incredibly hangdog, underdog of a lawyer, is a great foil for him. Kevin, his name is. And you've also got Lana Condor as his niece, who's like interning with him, who is so peppy and fun and upbeat and enthusiastic and positive and just everything he's not anymore. And it's a nice dynamic between them all. and great use of the other Looney Tunes characters in various supporting roles. Not everybody's in there. They haven't kind of bent over backwards to just throw people in at the screen, but they've sort of found ways to use people in interesting ways.

1:13:29I think it's terrific. I think it's really, really good. And this is genuinely one of the films of this year that I'm likely to watch over and over again, I think. Completely concur. I think this is absolutely brilliant. and just to add to what you're saying about Wile E. Coyote, I love what this film has to say about failure and trying again after failure. And Wile E. Coyote, he's...

1:13:54Chris Hewitt:Don't, basically. When it comes to bouncing back, he is undefeated at that. And that is part of what the message of this film is. And that fully resonates with me especially. So, yeah, I think this film's great. Fantastic. Four stars? Four stars. Four stars for Coyote vs. Acme. That's right, Helen. I'd forgotten how much you don't like that impression. I can tell by the shape of your mouth. I know you can. That's exciting. So there we go. Four stars for Coyote vs. Acme. I cannot wait to see this movie. I hope people do go see it. Because one of the reasons why WB thought it would be okay to delete was that they didn't think it would make much money.

1:14:41Chris Hewitt:and I hope they're proof. I think that's the thing. It's that mid-budget range that studios have kind of stopped working in. It's not that it was super, super expensive. It's just that it's that level that it's really hard to make a big hit on. But it should be good. Like, go see it. It's really good. You won't regret it. Four stars, nine for Coyote versus Acme. And next up, we go from Coyote to Dogs with Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars. Amon? Yes. Directed by Ridley Scott, who I believe has directed a film or two that you like. Is this correct? This is correct. Someone to watch over me and... A good year.

1:15:18Chris Hewitt:Gladiator 2. Also Gladiator, that one, which I love when he was actually on stage. Oh, you mean Maximus versus Commodus? Sure, that one. When he was actually on stage at the premiere the other night, I did say strength and honorably in combination of Gladiator, of course. Anyway. Thank you for explaining that. That was helpful. I got nothing from him so I was wondering what was going on. When you say you shouted, did you shout it across the room? What happened? It was more for me and my plus one's benefit and anyone within the shot. I'm not sure if you heard it. I did not hear it. I should have said it.

1:15:57Why are you not entertained at the end of the film? I did not. Did you say? Probably best. Welcome to the new world of gods. Also, I did not say that, no. We'll get into... Jesus, Amon, will you re-review the film already? Honestly. I'm trying. The Dog Stars, directed by Whitney Scott. And yes. I love him. Come on. We're never going to get out of here.

1:16:24Chris Hewitt:Come on, Amon. Come on. Game face. So this takes place, don't do it, I can see your face, in a post-apocalyptic world. You've got Jacob Elordi. He is just hanging out in an airplane hangar with his very, very good dog and a gunman played by Josh Brolin. And he hears this mysterious transmission that comes through on the radio. And he's like, I want to go and find the source of this. That is what this film is about. I mentioned the dog. It's a very, very good dog. Probably the highlight of the film in the first half, especially. The second half picks up with some, I think, well-staged action sequences.

1:17:03because the first half of the film was especially dull. But the film overall, this takes place in another post-apocalyptic dystopian world. We've seen a lot of that recently. This film doesn't feel like it's really adding anything new to that genre. And I will also say, Jacob Elordi, who was very, very good in Frankenstein just last year, I don't think he was very, very good in this. I like the themes of this movie, especially the one about humans always wanting for connection and striving for that. You need a really good performer to help take you on that journey. And for me, Jacob Lordi, in this film, I just thought it was bland and dull.

1:17:42So overall, this film didn't quite work for me, unfortunately. It's been a while since I've really loved the Ridley Scott movie. I was hoping this would be it. It was not. Oh, wow.

1:17:53Chris Hewitt:No strength and honor here, Hells Bells. Do you concur? I kind of do. I think, to be fair to Lordi, I don't know that it's a bad performance so much as it's very hard to build a movie around a character who is depressed, maybe even more than that, and doesn't really have very many people to talk to for large sections of the running time. And when he does, he doesn't say much because he's not that kind of guy. So it kind of leaves you with this gap at the heart of the movie. And again, I don't think it's a performance issue so much as just like a story structure kind of script issue. that kind of thing can work on the page because you get somebody's internal dialogue but it's very very very difficult to make that compelling on the screen uh this was shot in italy and if i'm being picky and you know i am i don't think the mountains look like the rockies the dolomites have a very particular kind of jaggediness to them that doesn't feel rockies-ish to me but that's okay but it does look beautiful it looks really cool i think the other problem with it is uh the threat.

1:18:56So, you know, most of the population has been wiped out, but there are still these people, these Mad Maxian types running around the place causing havoc. It's very badly defined. It's not clear what they want, what they're doing. You know, they're not zombies. They're maybe a bit more Mad Maxi, but some of them are maybe just stragglers. No. It's viral. In the book, there's actually a virus and a blood disease and it's kind of the combination of the two that wipes so many people so so effectively and so fast um the the film to my recollection didn't make that distinction between two different things going on it just sort of seemed to be a sort of viral thing um but it sort of leaves some people obviously just like preying on others and that's the real threat but it's not it's not just very clear the limits of that and for example you have all these people who keep like lighting fires on mountains willy-nilly despite knowing that there are bad people out there and it just you know that kind of stuff just seems like survival 101 like you maybe don't like fires unnecessarily you you know you hoard your fuel you try and preserve your resources and and that kind of thing just didn't it looks cool on the screen but it doesn't make a lot of sense and I think that kind of stuff in this really kept pulling me out of it I just find a bit of a mess.

1:20:18I felt there was interesting meat there but the execution wasn't 100 % for me. He can still shoot action like nobody's business. The aerial photography is beautiful but I just didn't think it quite hung together.

1:20:31Chris Hewitt:Two stars in for Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars. Let's get back on track with another auteur shall we Hells Bells? Pedro Almodovar is back with Bitter Christmas. Is this a Christmas film? It kind of is. Is it a Christmas film? It starts at Christmas. I know what Bahumbug is here again yeah so this is uh it it's of a piece with some other recent uh Almodovar films because it sort of plays with the you know the artist as a creator and the way the artists draw from life and sometimes kind of steal almost from life um so we have uh two timelines two kind of plots going on at once and uh first of all there's the story of Elsa who is a sometime film director and currently advert director in Spain who is having terrible um migraines over Christmas has to go to hospital with it um she's played by Barbara Lenny um and then 20 years that's in 2004 that story and then in 2025 essentially nowadays um we have Raul who is a celebrated, much more successful filmmaker who is working on his next script.

1:21:46And it turns out the script he's writing is the one about Elsa. He's played by Leonardo Sparaglia. So, and he's Raul. So it's really about this, again, this idea of what is okay to be inspired by from life and what is kind of cannibalizing from life and impinging on your friendships and impinging on those around you. And how do you kind of create, I guess, I don't think this is Almodovar's most successful version of that kind of idea. I think it's something he's been kind of exploring for the last several years. I think Pain and Glory, if I remember correctly, touched on it. You know, you had Antonio Banderas playing a filmmaker in that as well.

1:22:32But this one feels a bit meandering. It's like he started out writing one script, which is kind of what happens to Raoul. He starts out writing one script and then he goes in a different direction. He kind of changes focus halfway through. And so you're kind of like, well, this doesn't all really hang together. But I do find it just really soothing to be in his world. I find it really interesting to kind of hang out with his characters. They've always got little interesting stories about them and tell each other interesting things and have the most glorious kitchens. Genuinely, you could have a sort of kitchen off between Almodovar and Nancy Mayers.

1:23:09and it would be very close. It really would. So colorful. Oh my God, the interior design is off the charts. But yeah, they are interesting people, but this is a very meandering story. So for me, it's not up there with his absolute best work, but I still just quite enjoy going to Almodovar land every couple of years and seeing what he's up to now. But it's very much, it's quite self-critical, I think. It's basically saying you can't trust filmmakers. They will steal from you.

1:23:44Chris Hewitt:Oh, that's true. So that was an interesting, I guess, approach. Yeah, they're always half-inching stuff. He's 76 years old. Yeah, I mean, look, Sir Ridley is 88. Yeah. You know? It's no spy. Who is the winner in this scenario? What did we give this one, Bitter Christmas? Solid to high three. Three stars in for Pedro Amadovar's Bitter Christmas. How exciting. Next up, Hell's Bells. Yep. Not very often for legal reasons I'm going to say this, but I want your sex. Oh, no. Thank you. It's the name of the film I would like you to review next. Yes, this is the new film from Greg Araki, who's a mere stripling of 66, by the way, after the other two.

1:24:31Chris Hewitt:Is Greg Araki 66? Yeah, just checked. Get out of town. Shut the front up. I will not. So this stars Cooper Hoffman as a young... Who's also 66 now, I'm guessing. People are just aging differently. Are we on the interstellar planet? What's going on? God, I hope not. No, he was born this century. Oh, thank God. It's worse the other way. He's a youngling. He's 23. He's 23. Crazy. Anyway, Cooper Hoffman plays Elliot, who is just out of college and is very excited because he has landed a job with a hot, talked about artist, Erica Tracy, played by Olivia Wilde. And he is one of her team who is kind of executing her concepts and making her art for her and generally doing whatever he's asked to do around the gallery as she prepares for her latest exhibition.

1:25:25And she calls him into her office one day and basically says, don't think I haven't noticed you looking at me. This is completely inappropriate and um can't believe you're sexualizing me like this and he's a bit like oh my god i'm so sorry i wasn't aware of it and she goes although if you would like to have sex with me we can totally have a no strings attached relationship and he's like wait what um and so begins an assignation a series of assignations between them um which uh go into some unexpected directions, at least from Elliot's point of view. So this is kind of an exploration of the, like, Gen Z's maybe timidity, or certainly perceived timidity with sex.

1:26:09You know, studies have shown that young people are having less sex than they ever did, that they are much more apt to, you know, talk about informed consent and make sure everybody's on board with everything they're doing and be very very careful with sex and treat it almost as something very fragile and precious rather than the maybe slightly older generations of just get on with it and see what works just dive in and have a go you know you never know and and so there is a kind of generation gap element to this relationship there's also elements obviously given her much greater institutional financial social power there is there are elements of just power and abuse and things like that in the relationship between them even before you get into any bdsm issues that they may be doing among themselves consenting adults and all the rest so um so yeah so it's kind of an exploration of all these ideas it's also about the way that sex can be commodified that uh prurians can be commodified that people act in ways that are maybe contrary to their best interests it just it just raises a lot of questions and get in gets into a lot of stuff and is also very funny and quite sharp.

1:27:20It didn't quite end up where I expected it to, but I really enjoyed this, and I thought it was clever. It's 90 minutes as well. You can't really go wrong. And great, great performance, obviously from, well, both from Cooper Hoffman and from Olivia Wilde. This and the invite makes a really interesting where are we at with sex right now as a species double bill. I will say that.

1:27:43Chris Hewitt:Amon, where are we at right now with sex? That is a question for maybe a different podcast. That could last a lot longer than this podcast. But yeah, I... Blimey. Promises, promises. I could last, okay. I thought he said I could last. I was like, wow. Okay. Yeah, no, I was going to say the invite would be a good double bill with this. I would also say Baby Girl and Pillion would be, make it a quadruple bill. Those films would also pair well with this. I had a good time. I think the performances are just incredible. Olivia Wilde especially, what a year she's having. And they are both very, very game to do all the kinky stuff that Gregor Aki shows in this film.

1:28:37It's very interesting. I watched I Want Your Sex and One Night Only within one day of each other.

1:28:43Chris Hewitt:he must have been exhausted it's like we got on the one hand I want your sex it's very much like we're going to show all the sex you know right in your face and then one night only which we're about to talk about which is very chaste when it comes to that but yeah I had a good time and it's quite funny I think the supporting cast as well is solid Daveed Diggs gets a lot of laughs just by staring and his delivery at certain points which I really enjoyed so yeah a good time incredible costumes as well yes There we go. What did we give this one? I think this is a four. Four stars. Four stars then for I want your sex.

1:29:21Chris Hewitt:Next up, Amon, tell us about One Night Only. Yes. So this is directed by Will Gluck of Anyone But You and Easy A fame with a screenplay by Travis Bourne. And it asks, what if a fascist government decreed that unmarried people have sex on just one night of the year? What? Sounds like my life. What? It's the dumbest premise in history. It's just like The Splurge. Yes. This is the thing that bothers me. So this is The Purge with sex, right? Yes, essentially. But The Purge works because it's called The Purge. It's quite catchy. One Night Only is the most generic title. It would have killed them to call this like The Fuckening or something.

1:30:03Honestly. Yeah. Yeah, it would have, I think. Okay, carry on. It's interesting. I watched this movie with Helen, and they basically, the opening sort of text is basically them saying this rule and Helen had a very vocal reaction to it. No, to be fair, Will Glock does something quite interesting which is he basically puts up the, you know, the sort of the title card saying, you know, okay, a government has put in place this rule that you can only have sex. Single people can only have sex one a year. But he does it against the most poppy, upbeat, rom-com tune you've ever heard in your life. it was just the juxtaposition I was just like what is going on here and to be fair I think he was trying something and he does it a few times through the film where he'll have the most upbeat poppy music over this objective dystopia but yeah I don't know well you talk first and then I'm going to correct you yeah okay you don't know what I'm going to say yet I know I know what you're going to say go on I'm on So you've got Ali, played by Monica Barbaro.

1:31:10She's a singer with Stage Flight to record very funny advertising jingles that are reworks of popular tunes like Vanessa Carlton's A Thousand Miles. I had a lot of fun with that. You've got pizzeria owner Owen, played by Callum Turner. And they are on the hunt on this very night and meet each other. And sparks fly. But there are many hurdles that we'll have to jump over in order for that spark to blossom into something more. let's get into the negative stuff that I'm sure has a rant very ready to go on because the premise is very bonkers it doesn't really make any sense and the film is very incurious about wanting to explore and give us answers to that probably because it knows the answers that it has won't really satisfy because there's a lot of questions like how is this enforced are people informing on each other what led to the ban in the first place why don't shop stock up on condoms all these questions that are not really answered within the film but i have to say i did not hate this because a romantic comedy especially relies on its stars if the stars have that chemistry and you're rooting for them i think that goes a long way and i did feel that with this film i think monica barbara especially is great in this and the chemistry she has with calum turner is really really fun and you are rooting for them through the meet cute through all the hurdles some of which are more ridiculous than others that they ultimately get together i had a solid time helen what did you think downloading helen rat i i genuinely i agree with some of that i don't think calum turner or monica barbaro are bad in this i think they do what they are asked to do pretty well um it makes not a fucking lick of sense it could not be a dumber idea for a movie it could not be worse executed as a world the world building i think in this is appalling i think they're trying to be satirical they're like ho ho you know the way this country is going they're totally on the verge of banning sex but the idea in this movie is that they have banned sex for straight people, all straight people, all the time, that gay people can somehow get around this ban because they have long experience of getting around bans, you know, on their identity.

1:33:32So this really only applies, as we're told in this movie, to straight people and that there is some way of measuring if you're having sex and not just a good time next to someone, that they're measuring various hormones in your body at any one time. It is so stupid. What's allowed? Let's talk bases. Yeah, no, not very many bases. This is the idea. No bases at all. So over the shirts. Also, I'm sorry, if it's measuring like oxytocin and all these kind of like hormones released during sex, most women would be fine because like most men don't know what they're doing. So like it would just look like a guy was just, you know, having some private time, some alone time, and nobody else was affected.

1:34:13Most of the time it'd be fine. It's so dumb. It makes no sense. And I just, the more the movie went on and the more they said about it, the less sense it makes. So stupid.

1:34:28Chris Hewitt:We've done it. We have found something Helen loaves more than my Peter Lorre voice. It's close. When I saw the trailer for this, I was like, I'm going to enjoy this film. I can't quite pin down why, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it. I mean, look, Monica Barbaro's dress will ensure that many people enjoy this film. but like it's not enough I just look they are doing their best God bless the pair of them but they cannot with this stupid dumb material what did we give this one then? two stars two stars but sounds Helen that you are actually in the one star camp which I think makes this a must see I think so too and I'm going to be watching it while playing Helen's rant on a loop in my headphones do you think you can only watch this film on one night of the year every year.

1:35:17That sounds like a sentence I don't want to live with.

1:35:20Chris Hewitt:What if you had to watch one night only? Yeah. One night only a year. Hells Bells, what would you do? How would you get out of this? I just like fall asleep, I guess. But you can fall asleep. Why not? They have machines that measure whether you're falling asleep. You have to watch one night only on one night. So like it's playing in front of me, but can I be second screening? No. 17 stars says Helen O 'Hara for one night only that is very very exciting indeed there we go and on that note that is it for this week's Empire podcast join us next week for more film related fun we'll be joined by I think Willem Dafoe Willem Dafoe I think for his film Late Fame which is very very exciting oh by the way I completely forgot to mention this in terms of our live show that is not being released as a podcast by the way That is a live show just for people in the room at King's Place as part of the London Podcast Festival.

1:36:20So, there you go.

1:36:21Chris Hewitt:If you want to hear what happens at that podcast, and it's not going to be like I want your sex or one night only, then come along. It might be 90 minutes of me just doing Peter Lorre. Oh, no. To Helen. Oh, I'm busy that night. What a shame. I'm afraid the law has been changed, Helen. You now have to come along to the podcast. It's legally binding. Anyway, it's not. It's not. But until then, until we meet again, until that auspicious occasion, it is goodbye from my three colleagues of such lethal cunning. Goodbye, Amon Warman. Peace. Goodbye, James Dyer. Goodbye, Chris. See you, you know, next time.

1:37:00Chris Hewitt:Okay, thank you. Goodbye, Helen O 'Hara. Toodaloo. And it's goodbye from me. I am off. We fought and we prevailed in the good battle to save Coyote vs. Acme. I'm off to try and save Scoob Holiday Haunts for that is what it was of course it was Scoob Holiday Haunts who's with me? let's go we ride a dawn there are dozens of us dozens thanks for listening see you next time bye bye