Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Mark Gets to Legitimately Rant About Donald Trump Because He’s Reviewing a Film About Him

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

This week, Mark is joined by Ben Bailey Smith to give you the lowdown on the week’s cinematic releases. Ben chats to Naomi Scott about her tour-de-force performance in ‘Smile 2’, the second outing for the smash-hit horror-thriller franchise. It’s a big week for Mark as two of his favourite interests converge – reviewing films and Donald Trump – in ‘The Apprentice’, the Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong-starring story of how a young Donald Trump started his real-estate business in 1970s and ‘80s New York with the helping hand of his infamous lawyer Roy Cohn. He also gives his take on ‘The Wild Robot’, a starry animated sci-fi survival film, which sees a robot shipwrecked on a deserted island and forced to adapt to its new surroundings, developing a parental bond with an orphaned gosling in the process. Strap in for some stellar takes! Plus, get your tickets to our Live Christmas Spectacular here: https://www.fane.co.uk/kermode-and-mayo Timecodes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!): The Wild Robot Review: 07:21 Naomi Scott Interview: 24:35 Smile 2 Review: 39:49 The Apprentice Review: 52:02 You can contact the show by emailing [e-mail] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To advertise on this show contact: [e-mail] And to find out more about Sony’s new show Origins with Cush Jumbo, click here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, Simon and Mark here. This show is brought to you by NordVPN. I'm feeling a bit spooked, Simon. Why is that, Mark? Bad actors. Ah, you've been watching The Room again. No, not that kind. I'm talking about the kind that hang out online and steal your data. Oh, well, it's completely coincidental, but Nord have just the solution for that. Sure, public Wi-Fi can leave your computer wide open for snoopers, trackers, hackers and all those others to

get your data, but Nord helps you keep them at arm's length by linking you to VPNs and so hiding your data and location. Even while I'm watching Exodus Believer. Take the bad actors you like while blocking out the ones you don't. To get a huge discount Mike, if you had to hold a crowd for 38 minutes without speaking, what songs would you play out of your phone? I definitely do Ave Maria four times. I think that's a banging party playlist. I'd probably have a version of Hallelujah that even I find hard to listen. Yeah. I mean, it's just, yeah. Wow. Wow. What a country. Fortunately, we won't be filling the following hour with Mark

shuffle. The tippiest, toppiest film reviews and the tippiest toppiest chat and the charts and hello, Mark. Sorry. No, just just because I'm really good. It's lovely to see you again. Yeah, this, just, just because I'm really good. It's lovely to see you again. Yeah. This is becoming a habit. It is a little bit, isn't it? I'm so, I'm so used to like jumping on this show when both of you are missing

MIA, you know, so it's, it's, uh, it's nice to feel the warm. They don't allow me to go missing. No, they don't. They don't allow me to go missing. Simon's allowed off and all of them. I'm not, I'm literally shot in this cupboard from when the show finishes, I just stay here and they pass food through the balls. And I get to enjoy the warmth that Simon leaves behind in his seat, which you guys named one

week. Shoo-bree-ness. What's it called? Shoo-bree-ness. We didn't name it. It's from it. Shoo-bree-ness. Apparently it's from a book called The Meaning of Lift by Douglas Adams. And I thought the word was scrumbugly, but actually it's Schubert-ness, which of course is a real, is a place and that's the gag on it. There's a friend of mine when I was at college who he was in a band, well, we were in a band together and he wrote a song called

Scrum Bugly Cakes. And it was about that as far as I remember. But anyway, it was Manchester of the eighties. It was a strange, it was a different time. Quite a different time, a different time. What we got to look forward to today. We have reviews of the wild robot, which I keep accidentally calling the wild Robert, the apprentice, which is the Donald Trump biopic about which there's been a lot of news and Smile 2 with our special guest.

Yes, Naomi Scott. I met her. She was great. And you can hear that interview a little later on. We got some premium reviews as well. There's a terrific documentary about Scottish girl bands called Since Yesterday. And there is a 4K theatrical reissue of Brian DePalma's original Carrie. Now have you seen Carrie? Yes, but not for a long, long time. Okay. I will definitely watch it on the big screen. I've never seen on the big screen. So that's, you know, amazing opportunity. Yeah. Well, it's really worth seeing on the big screen. Anyway, we'll be revisiting that.

Awesome. And we've also got our recommendation feature, a weekend watch list, we cannot list where we tell you where to find the best and worst movies to watch over the next three Awesome. And we've also got our recommendation feature, a weekend watch list, we can not list, but we tell you where to find the best and worst movies to watch over the next three days. Plus your questions answered as best we can in questions, smessions. And you can get all of that via Apple podcasts or head to extra takes dot com for non fruit related devices. Oh, you can get a seven day free trial on there. I highly recommend it. Some people might say I've undersold it in the past Mark, but this week and from here on in, I can tell you it's one of the greatest offers. One of the best offers. Great. I'm going to do the Trump hands and everything. So the best offers you're ever going to possibly

get. Yeah. And if you're already a Vanguard, you start, you know this. So as always, we, we salute you. like this, you know this. So as always, we, we salute you. We salute you. All right. You're going to like this one. I love this email, Mark. Um, this is from, uh, Muhammad and, uh, and his wife as well, Abida, um, it says, uh, dear melancholia and Antichrist LTL bird time emailer, which I hope will be read out and a member of game show corner

will become apparent in due course. I start this email with a huge thank you for your podcast, both in its former guys on the BBC and currently it is primary primarily responsible for the good lady who are indoors and I winning the game show pointless. We filmed our episode last September. Yeah. And it was broadcast in May this year. This is actually amazing. I love this. We give thanks to you for the knowledge you have inadvertently inadvertently passed onto me. We were grateful and lucky enough to reach the final round to play for a

sizable jackpot for the show. And whilst we could have chosen the ferry islands of Scotland, e-sports or Dua Lipa as a potential final topic at my urging and much to my wife's chagrin. Is that how you say it? Chagrin? Oh, chagrin. Chagrin. We opted for Scandinavian film directors with a focus on the films of Ingmar Bergman and Lars Von Trier with the aim to get a film title that would score a pointless score. Listen, this is pressure. So he says, it was true well and truly on me. This pressure is my wife did

not have a clue about either director. I still to my shame have only seen the seventh seal and wouldn't be able to name any other Bergman film that could have been pointless. But by listening to your show and through osmosis, I knew my fair share of Vontrea films, at least in name only. And we actually have a clip of Mohammed and Abida using this wit and knowledge. They picked Antichrist, Melancholia, and Nymphomaniac volume two. I just love that these on pointless daytime TV show, Antichrist, Melancholia, and Nymphomaniac Volume 2 should not be together, but we actually have a clip of them. Check this out. Your first answer was Nymphomaniac Volume 2.

In all three cases we're looking for films directed by Lars von Trier. Let us find out for £6,000 if Nymphomaniac Volume 2 might be pointless. It's right. That wasn't controversial. We knew it was right. The question is how far down the column will it go? If it goes down to zero, you leave here with £6,000. We're into single figures. Still going down, still going down. You have done it! Very well done indeed.

Huge congratulations, Nymphomaniac, Volume 2. This is the most times I've said Nymphomaniac on nearly prime-time television, but it is a pointless answer, which means you are taking home that jackpot of £6,000. Pointless nymphomania. Could be a Rufus Wayne song. Somebody has to send that clip to Lars Von Trier.

Isn't that incredible? Because that is probably... That's fantastic. It's the fact that they went for volume two. I mean, that's real thinking on your feet genius. Beautiful stuff. And you are sort of, you know, inadvertently a part of this, Mark. You've fed this knowledge into people's heads and people know stuff now over all these years that they don't realise they know until they're out of need. It's just wonderful. So any other stories like that or anything else you got,

you know where to send it is correspondence at Kermode and Mayo.com. All right, let's get into our first film review. This guy, Robert, what can you tell us about Robert and his Wilderness, Mark? Okay, so this is the Wild Robot, which is it's going to be, it's the last DreamWorks animation done in-house. It's based on the 2016 novel by Peter Brown, written and directed by Chris Sanders, who's directorial credits. He's got credits on Lilo and Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon.

Very starry voice cast, Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Conner, Bill Nye, you know, Uncle Tom Cobbly and all. Scored by Chris Bowers, of whom I'm a big fan. Um, this is his first animated feature. I think he took over from Henry Jackman. So, Lupita Nyong'o is the voice of Rosam Unit 7134. He's a robot who is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. And there's sort of like a domestic robot to make things better, but it dropped in the wrong place, must adapt to her surroundings and build relationships with the local wildlife who name her Roz. And through a plot contrivance

becomes the adoptive mother of an orphaned, gozzling chick whose family she accidentally destroyed. So here's an early scene in which Roz meets a family of, I think they're possums, I think they're possums, of which the mom has had so many letters that she can't even remember who's who. Here's a clip. Bartlett! Stop jamming your tail in your sister's eye! I'm Rowan. Bartlett with laugh letter? Are you sure? Who are all of you? Go away!

Where are your children? Except for him. This is what I get for taking a walk. Where's your mommy, little guy? The monster! Ah! Whoa! Ah! Ah!

You've got to die faster. Meningitis takes a while. What did you pick? Grape leaves. Spontaneous combustion. Nightshade salad. Sepsis. Hey!

I picked sepsis! None of you are doing it right. We talked about this. Dead things don't have to explain why they're dead. Now we're gonna get killed for real. Sorry, mom. Sorry. That's quite funny.

I like that. So the film's got, it's a healthily upbeat attitude to death or the circle of life as you know, Disney would have it. So early on we learned that nature is very dog eat dog. You know, This is a world in which everything is in danger of getting eaten by everything else. It's all part of the natural cycle. And it then becomes a story about how this robot or monster, as she's referred to, must learn about parenthood and emotion and also must bring peace. She must teach the young girls the language she's now inherited to

fly. Her mission is now to make sure that it can fly off, but also she keeps secrets about how it got there. Anyway, it goes on and I looked at the BBFC rating. It's rated you for very mild threat, violence, language, and rude humor. I actually thought some of the humour was darker than that, but it's used to be a good film. And it's got lots of lovely life lessons. It's about how you deal with being bullied and how you deal with emotions versus rationality. And there are things in it like sometimes to survive,

we must become more than we're programmed to be and kindness is a survival skill. That's kind of the message of the film. It's got this very hand-painted aesthetic, which is sort of referring to Studio Ghibli and the old classic Disney's, I think, My Neighbor Totoro and Bambi with two of the big influences. The characters are, they're done through these CGI matrixes, but they've got this sort of hand-painted look to them. The filmmaker said it's as if a Monet painting was in a Miyazaki forest. It also drew inspiration from the work of Sid Mead, who was one of the futurists who worked on Blade Runner, whose work is really brilliant for the science fiction element. So anyway, so robot in nature, so touches of Wally, therefore

touches of Silent Running, story about lonely robots, so reminders about the Iron Giant, and also in terms of the robot design, everything from Forbidden Planet to R2-D2. But at the center of it all is this thing which is very metropolis. It's the thing about the mediation between the heart and the head. And also there's a bit of Frankenstein in there. I thought it was really charming. I thought it was really, really charming, really lovely to look at very, very sweet nature despite all the jokes about death. And there are a lot of jokes about death. And, uh, and I, you know, I, I think it'll be, I think it'll work well with a family audience because whereas, you know, the kids will enjoy it because it, you know, because it looks nice and it's got a sort of, you know, very heartwarming

story. I think even from an adult's point of view, you can enjoy it as well. So it's called the Wild Robot, not the Wild Robert. And I liked it. Is it unfair to say that that sounds to me like a bit of a positive departure for DreamWorks? I can't think of a DreamWorks film that has that sort of level of, I guess, philosophy and life and death stuff. I mean, DreamWorks themselves may argue differently. I'm sure they would. But I mean, this is, this is, I mean, Dreamworks themselves may argue differently. I'm sure they would. But I mean, this is, this is, I mean, it's a, there's an interesting thing that on the BBFC description, they say this is, this is a lovely, they say a robot, this is how they describe the film, okay, the BBFC. A robot's programming is challenged by the natural world when it crash lands on an island rich in wildlife in this warm hearted animated sci-fi adventure,

dealing with love, loss, identity and friendship. And then it says that, you know, there are things in it, a goose is bullied and characters are in danger and he says, however, the film focuses on love and friendship and there are reassuring outcomes. And actually, as always, the BBFC review is perhaps the most accurate. It focuses on love and friendship and there are reassuring outcomes and I think they should put that on the post reassuring outcomes because right now a reassuring outcome would be a lovely thing. Absolutely also we should make it clear it is incredibly dangerous to bully a goose I really wouldn't recommend it. Yeah my dog my dog have you

ever done my dog's hard way I've seen my dog learn the hard way thinking, thinking she can take on geese. What happened? Well, she's, she doesn't like water birds and she doesn't understand the range of skills that they've got. You know, they can fly, they can, they can sit on water, which she can't do. So that she's quite baffled and annoyed by their existence. Once in a Clisall Park in Chobis, North London, she went for a couple of geese and you know

how they start hissing and they started nipping at her. She was terrified, bit off more than she could chew, got bullied back by about five of them. Now she doesn't go near him. What have we got still to come, Mark? Still to come, a review of The Apprentice, which is the film about Donald Trump, and Smile 2 with our special guest. Naomi Scott, who you'll hear me speaking with in the not too distant future. Right. Let's get into the box office top 10. Uh, as often we do, we start outside it with number 14 gladiator, the re-release.

Yeah. It's back in cinemas because gladiator two is coming to cinemas next month. So this is if you, if you haven't seen it on the big screen, it is worth seeing on the big screen. We'll talk about this when we talk about Carrie, but I imagine there's, there is a generation of people who have only ever seen gladiator on the small screen. It was designed to be seen in cinemas. Yeah. I mean, I never saw it in the cinema. I never saw it in the cinema first time around. So I'm definitely going to go to it. Because you are so young.

It's one of those films that makes more sense, isn't it? Like, you know, I was in Rome in the summer and went to the Colosseum and, you know, it just feels wrong even taking a photo of it on my phone, you know, spectacle like that needs to be on the biggest screen possible. Absolutely. Number 10 is The Outrun. Which I really liked, great performance by Saoirse Ronan and the fact that it's, it's shot, you know, off Orkney. So is it Papa Westry? I thought, I thought it worked really well and I thought it was a very moving story about overcoming addiction. Yeah and I loved how um in-depth that interview was that Simon did uh but what I took away was

what a big how happy Papa was to be on your show it was great I was like oh he's a massive fan you just can't hide it it felt like felt like kin to me you know it was a lovely thing and number nine um Speak No Evil, which is another one you liked, isn't it? Yeah, I think it's great. I mean, it's, as I said, it's a remake of a Danish film, which is slightly darker in its conclusion, but I thought this had its own identity. And, and I think James McAvoy is really having a good time playing this character who's, who's smiling, but is also very dangerous, which is something that we'll return to later on in the show. And then speaking of danger, number eight is the substance,

which is still going pretty strong. Have you seen this, Ben? I mean, how could I not after hearing your review of it? I mean, I didn't know much about it until hearing your review. And then I was like, oh, it's like a must watch. And I'm like Simon, I can't do horror, but I just thought I have to watch this from the way that Mark's talked about it. And you know, I'm an LTL as many people know, and I've got used to

the like, chermodean language around films and body language and the sounds even, you know, like I know, just like Simon, I know a movie that's that preceded by one of your size is not something I'm going to go and pay money for. But if there was ever a Blimey Charlie movie, like the number one Blimey Charlie movie of all time, it's gotta be this one. I mean, I couldn't believe what I was seeing at times. It's one of the most memorable cinematic experiences I've ever had. And there was a strange moment actually, because halfway through three 15 year olds snuck in three 15 year old girls, I'd say roughly 15.

They looked younger than 16, which disturbed me massively. And they came in with their phones on and everything. I thought, Oh, this is going to ruin the whole experience. And it's halfway through the movie. They were like your man in clockwork orange with matchsticks in their eyes. They were just immediately shut up into silence, sat back in their chairs, mouths open in front of me and they were silent from the halfway point to the end. And they've only got themselves to blame. That was an amazing

movie. Amazing. Maybe a little heavy handed with the messaging towards the end. But other than that, I thought it was incredible. And Demi Moore is just wow. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And I'm so glad you had that jaw dropped experience. Well done. Number seven is Buffalo Kids. Mid-range Spanish CG animation. Sweet enough, but hardly a classic. Right. Passed me by. Six is Salem's Lot, which I think you spoke about last week, didn't you? Yeah. So this is, I mean, the release of this was held up for a long time in America. It went straight to streaming. Stephen King tweeted, you know, I don't know why they keep

holding up. I mean, it's not like it's an embarrassment or anything, which is like somebody said they should have that on the poster. Like it's an embarrassment or anything. I mean, it's fine, but it's, it's, it's not, you know, it's not an embarrassment. It's okay. Yeah. And I think that's, that's reflected in the correspondence as well. Like Lauren Aids said on our YouTube channel said, the major difference between the two films is the era in which it was made. Because back in the seventies, there used to be this war grittiness in horror films

that you just can't emulate in the horror films of today. Although, you know, substance, but anyway, it says the Toby Hooper version will always win out for me. So yeah, I think there's a general sense that it's neither here nor there, you know, it's one of those. Yeah. And also, I mean, because the Hooper version is a mini series, it gives the story room to breathe. This is, you know, because it's two hours long, everything is very, very compressed. And yeah, it doesn't feel like we needed to have it. I don't think it was terrible.

I read some reviews that said it was complete. I don't think it was completely lame. I just don't think it's, you know, it's certainly not an improvement on the Hooper. Yeah. And when you've got like Smile 2 and the substance out there doing their thing, it's going to be a tricky battleground. And number five.

Precisely. Vetyan, Vetyan? Yeah, this wasn't press screened. This is an Indian Tamil language action drama. Not press screened here, but I looked at the Times of India review and they called it a predictable investigative thriller come social drama. So if anyone's seen it, let us know. Yeah, give us a shout.

Number four is Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, which is still hanging in there. Yeah, I liked it. It's doing well. This is sixth week, still in the top five. And despite some sniffiness from some critics when it opened, not me, it's done well. And actually, I know a few people who've been to see it twice because they've really enjoyed it. I think it's like Tim Burton back being Tim Burton.

I think it's one of the best things he's done for a while. Which is amazing. I mean, I've been terrified to watch it until I heard your review and I'm going to check it out now because it just felt, you know how it is where you fall in love with a film as a kid and then they do these kind of reboots or sequels years and years later, it's very rarely works. So yeah, I am actually going to take the risk. I think this does. And number three is terrifier three. See, this is, I mean, never was a film sort of more misnamed. The Terrifier series aren't terrifying. They're gross out. And this has done, you know, it's done very well. It's in at number

three. So it's done well considering that this started as an absolutely kind of DIY, you know, little thing made on the Quiet. But I'm not a fan, just partly because I sort of think, okay, you know, I like all the sort of, I like squishy body horror stuff. There's a certain point after which is just seeing somebody else get their face, you know, pulled off while a clown laughs is, it is what it is. The thing is, if you go and see Terrifier 3, you know exactly what you're going to get. But you know, hey, it's, it's, it has achieved exactly what it's set out to achieve. And it's done, it's done well at the box office. So there we go. I can't say that there's any part of me that wants to watch any more terrifying films ever,

but there we go. But there probably will be one. Number two, and again, masses of correspondents still coming in for this. I've not seen it yet, but there's the Joker sequel, Joker, folly adieu. The more I think about this, the more I think I'm right. I like the film and I think it's better than Joker. And I think that the history will actually prove that to me. I'm starting to get a bit of a kind of Twin Peaks Fire Walk with Me vibe about the reaction to it, because so many people were so, so averse to Joker Folly Adieu.

And I think I'm right. I think it's a better film than The First Joker. And I think time will be kinder to it. It is weird how much it has really annoyed some people. And there are things about it that don't work, but it's very audacious. And oddly, it has stayed with me. And it's certainly stayed with me longer than the first film. Yeah. I think it's better than the first film. And I think it's an ambitious and genuinely surprising and daring thing to have done with that franchise. I think that's why I annoyed so many people. At number one, pipping that is of course, Transformers 1 in its rightful home, one at one.

My second favorite Transformers movie. Quite enjoyed it, quite enjoyed it. I mean, you know, Bumblebee is still my favorite role. But no, I like this. I mean, this is what a Transformers movie. Quite enjoyed it, quite enjoyed it. I mean, you know, Bumblebee is still my favorite all the, but no, I like this. I mean, this is what a Transformers movie should be like. Transformers are kids' toys. And this is a, you know, robot smashy action movie that isn't directed by Michael Bay

doing closeups on people's bottoms. So yeah, this is what a Transformers movie should be like. Right. I mean, the correspondence is overwhelmingly positive. You know, there's one from Dara Doyle who says, he says, I saw this with my eight year old boy this morning. We both laughed at the jokes. There was gut busters in there.

Genuinely the biggest surprise of recent years. Feltz five just says, go and watch this movie. It's awesome. Great story. Wonderful animation. Glorious storytelling. There's another one here. Who's this from? Paul Ledbury, who says, I would like to address an incorrect us. Acetation Mark has made many times over the years in which he states

transformers is for kids. That would be correct in 1984. When I was indeed a kid, I'm now 50 and still follow the robots in disguise. Okay. I just want to say this, it is possible to be a kid well into your 50s. Absolutely. But what I mean when I say it's for kids, I mean, I mean, you engage with it at that point. It is a kid's toy. Yeah, you can love kids to it. I mean, I'm 62 and I've still got, you know, silent running models everywhere.

So I think you I think that makes you and I say this in a as a compliment that makes you a big kid. Yeah, absolutely. And I think your point, you know, I say this as a compliment, that makes you a big kid. Yeah, absolutely. And I think your point, you know, I always listen to the show, I think your original point was that, you know, this thing is being marketed mainly to kids and yet there are sort of almost pornographic feels

to some of these movies. Yeah. Which just felt, you know. Yeah, I think in the Michael Bay films, it's not even almost pornographic. I think his entire sensibility is pornographic. As I've said many times, I think Michael Bay's entire direction technique consists of him going, whoa, hey, whoa.

And I just got no interest in that. No. Well, pretty gross. Means in the wrong business. All right. Well, we've got some actually good directors to talk about in the next section of this show. We're going to be right back after the ads with Naomi Scott, plus reviews of these films. Plus reviews of Smile 2 with Naomi Scott and The Apprentice.

Yes. So yeah, join us after the break unless you're a Vanguardista, of course, in which case no time will pass. See you in a sec. See you in a sec. anytime anywhere. So Mark, what can people find on Mubi this October? Well, one of the highlights in October is Occupied City, the Steve McQueen film. This is an extraordinary portrait of World War II Amsterdam, which uses testimony from World War II, but interspersed with footage from modern day Amsterdam to create this really kind of strange disparity. I really like the film. I think you did too. That is Occupied City, which is on Mubi UK from October the 11th. You can try Mubi free for 30 days at mubi.com slash Kermade and Mayo. That's m-u-b-i dot com slash Kermade and Mayo for a whole month of great cinema for free. Hey, it's Ben here with a word from our sponsors at Better Help. Now,

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you can switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. Now with over 5,000 therapists in the UK already, it means BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a wide variety of expertise. So take off the mask with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash Kermode today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash Kermode. Hey Mark, I find that I've been thinking recently about merch. Merch? Yes, merchandise, especially all those goodies we have for sale online, you know, branded mugs, t-shirts, water bottles, you name it. The torch, the director's chair, the full works. I wish someone had told me about

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All lowercase. All lowercase. I mean, what is wrong with Curmode and Mayo? Why can't it be Mayo just for once? Easier to spell Curmode. They've gone for Shopify.co.uk slash, let's say it together, Curmode. All right, and we are back. Now, this week's guest is Naomi Scott. She's the star of Smile 2, where she plays this pop star haunted by murderous forces. And it's quite a step change from Jasmine in Aladdin, but a sign that she's establishing quite a name for herself in my opinion and you can hear my chat with her after this clip What did you say? Gemma? I keep seeing his face everywhere.

This thing feeds off all the bad shit in her head. No! Stop smiling at me! Huh? No! Stop smiling at me! You're not in control! I am! I've been waiting for you. That was a clip from Smile 2 and I'm incredibly excited to be joined by a star, Naomi Scott. Hi. How you doing? I'm great.

Good morning. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling fresh. First of the day? First of the day. You are first of the day. How are you feeling this morning? Well, I'm feeling a lot better now day. How are you feeling this morning?

Well, I'm feeling a lot better now because I think if you do this as part of your job, probably the most annoying part of your job, by the time you get to the end of the day, you don't know what you've said, whether you're saying the same thing a million times. Oh no, I'm saying the same thing. Exactly. I don't know. Yeah, to be honest though, this is going to sound so cheesy. But when you're promoting something and you love it

and you're so proud of it and people put so much hard work into it and you like the people you work with, it's kind of like, it's a real blessing because you get to be promoting something that you love. Absolutely. And hard work is the name of the game here because I was exhausted for you watching this movie. You got a kick butt.

You got to get your butt kicked. You got to sing. You got to dance. You got to be terrified. I remember interviewing Elizabeth Moss for Invisible Man. Oh, yes. And she's terrified for 100 minutes. Yes.

Yes. Different levels of terrified. And I just thought, how do you keep doing that and keep me feeling this is scarier than the last scene is scarier, scarier again? You've got to do that plus all this other stuff. Honestly, I've really, I've been wanting a challenge and it's funny because I do think God has a bit of a sense of humor because God was like, here's all the challenges in one movie. But I do love hard things. And in terms of how did I manage my energy in terms of something like that,

you almost have to... I kind of approached it as if I was like an athlete, which I think any performer really... You know, I think... Sorry, what were you... No, it's just like when you said athlete, it reminded me. I thought I read somewhere that you know, I think, sorry, what were you gonna say? I was gonna say. No, it was just like when you said athlete, it reminded me, I thought I read somewhere that you were like a black belt in karate. Girl, where did you read that?

I don't know. Absolutely not. Is that complete nonsense? No, but I think I've heard this before. I feel like, was it on my Wikipedia? It's probably Wikipedia. Guys, that is so hilarious to me. Worst place to research.

Not a black belt. I literally got up to a yellow belt. That's what I'm saying. Black belt always sounds like a lie. Absolutely not. Yeah, yellow belt's respectable. Yeah, I mean, it's a bit, yeah. So you're physically trained?

I mean, by the way, this was when I was a kid. I can't remember. I remember like a kata. Did you ever do karate? You. No, okay. I remember some things, but no. Did you ever do karate? You. No, OK. Like, I remember, like, some things, but no. And also karate's like...

It's so different to, like, fight training. It's a discipline. Yes, exactly. So, no, is the answer. I would love to be a black belt in karate, that'd be dope. I'm not that cool. But yeah, I think... I don't know how I got through it, to be honest.

I think... How did I get through it? Not me being like, wait, what was it? I blacked out. The whole two months I was just blacked out. There were certain things, for example, tools that I would use when it came to how do I ramp up to a very intense emotion, but efficiently because there's not time

to wait for your body to kind of get there. You don't have time to do that. A lot of the time in a movie, you might have one or two scenes that are kind of that intense. But first of all, my body, who knew, can produce so much snot and so many tears. And I don't know how my body did it. It's definitely a bit drooling, yeah.

Well, because I thought, oh, like three days in, I'm going to dry up and there's going to be nothing because I I thought, oh, shit, like, three days in, I'm going to dry up and there's going to be nothing. Because I was like, oh, no, there's going to be no emotion left. But actually, no, my body just, I don't know what it was. It just started. It was able to produce all the things. So that was kind of great.

But also, I would let Parker know when I was ready. So it wasn't him calling action. And I just had to, I took a moment, everyone's set, camera's set, and then I would take maybe 10 seconds just to kind of like get myself into a head space. And so it was almost... That's what I mean about being an athlete. It was almost like a breathing technique or a thing. Especially if I had to come in on the scene

and it had to be at very high intensity. Yeah, I was just going to say, because like, how chronologically were you shooting? Because there must be that concern of like, well, I've got to take it to 11 here, but actually, should I be at seven? No, that's a very good point. Do you know what I mean?

And that's where Parker is obviously my collaborator. And we were really partners in crime on this. And I have to say, one of the things I am most proud about, weirdly about this movie, is to go through something that intense. It feels like we were partners in crime at the start and at the end of the movie. And I think doing something that hard,

sometimes it's hard to maintain that kind of communication, and we really did. And he's who I leaned on for that, that hard. Sometimes it's hard to maintain that kind of communication and we really did. And he was, he's who I leaned on for that because he literally knows this, like he lives and breathes this movie. He understood, he really knew exactly what he was shooting when he was shooting it. I mean, there's not a scene in the movie. I think there's maybe like one small scene that we shot that isn't in the movie. Like he really see, he edits, he knows what the movie looks like.

So in that way he could say, hey, we're maybe a bit too, you know, he could help me in terms of where we're at because we're not shooting chronologically. Yeah, it gives you so much more confidence to do your thing and scope to do your thing. Oh my gosh, yeah. And someone knows exactly where you are and where you're supposed to be. Yeah, and I can to an extent,

but sometimes you're just like, maybe you're way off, right? We were talking off air about how neither of us are horror buffs. Right, yes, yeah. Had you seen the first one? Had you seen small one? So strangely enough, I had. And I watched it in the cinema and that's because I'd seen the short film in 2020. So he did like a proof of concept thing.

Called Laura Hasn't Slept. And I got sent that. I'd seen the short film in 2020. So he did a proof of concept thing. Yep, called Laura Hasn't Slept. And I got sent that and I was like, this is so cool. It's like, what a great concept. How has this not been done before? Like, it's so smart, so well done. Cut to a couple of years later and then, you know, I was like, oh my gosh, seeing the promo everywhere and being like, oh, that's the short film that I saw.

Oh my gosh, I have to see this movie. And so we went to the cinema, we watched it, and we had so much fun, but also, what really stood out to me was like, the performance of Socie Bacon and Kyle and the filmmaking. Those were the two things, and I guess maybe I go into a movie and maybe sometimes I'm watching and I'm, you know, you're watching maybe the performance or the filmmaking or there are things maybe that you see that you and I was still drawn to. Yeah. And I was still kind of like immersed

in it, but I was so blown away by his like just the visual storytelling and he was just, it just felt like he was, wow, this is like a, this is a real filmmaker. Same. That's exactly what I felt, because like I said, I'm not a big horror guy. Right. So I go in there expecting it's going to be, you know, quiet, quiet, bang, jump scares, all the kind of cliche, but actually I was just like, this is just a great movie.

Oh, that's so cool. And your performance, I mean, this isn't a question, it's just, it's like mind blowing, because of the amount of things that you're balancing. And obviously you are a singer, right? And you're a songwriter. Yeah, yeah. But you're playing a pop star.

To me there's basically two types of horror going on. For me, okay? Because I just watched The Substance and then Smile 2 is a double bill. So obviously gibbering wreck for like days. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. But the one thing that I linked between them was, okay, it's terrifying to be possessed by a demon or to have this injection, this drug that, you know,

splits you in two, but it's also terrifying being famous. Like there's a scene that I found as scary as anything else in Smile 2, which is when you're in the hoodie talking to Maurice in the bar bar and you suddenly get recognized. Yeah. At your lowest ebb. Right. I was like, that's a nightmare.

Like I say, you sing a song right in real life. Obviously you're an actor. Fame is a scary thing as well, right? Can be. I mean, I, it's interesting because I feel like my relationship to kind of being, I guess, public-facing, I'm very blessed and very privileged and lucky I can just go about my life in relative obscurity. And someone... And that's the difference, right?

Skye is a character who the level of fame that she's operating in... Yeah, a cap's not gonna cut it. It's not gonna cut it, right? She can't go to a bar, she can't... And with that, it's a concoction of things, right? Because I think fame is like fuel to the fire. If there are things that are unresolved and there are issues, then fame, it creates an environment that is not conducive to necessarily dealing with those things because of expectations, because of maybe,

maybe they're not having people around you who can keep you accountable and can speak honestly into your life, maybe because they're on, you know, they're on your, what do you call it? Your gravy train. Thank you. Yeah. Even your own mum.

Payroll. Thanks, babes. Payroll. They're on your payroll. And also then you, and then that person feeling more and more isolated, they're getting more insular and it's kind of a little bit of a, it can be a bit of a vicious cycle. So I think that you're right, that that is part of what's so horrifying about watching it and the loneliness.

And yeah, but I would say these are things that maybe I've observed from a short distance, but not things that necessarily I've had to deal with. And I do believe that obscurity is very important for us as human beings. And I also think that there's a level of fame and being perceived that is not good for us. I agree. And you don't have to answer this, but I'd be annoyed if I didn't squeeze it in there. Like the nature of your character

and also what you, Naomi, have to bring to it, all these different things, the fear, the physical strength, the vulnerability, the singing, the dancing, there's a chameleonic quality to it. And I'm of mixed heritage, I mean, you are too. And I just wonder if there's something you feel like almost innate from, perhaps from your youth or growing up trying to fit into all these different brackets that has brought anything to you as a performer, as an artist? That is such an interesting question. And I don't think I've been asked that. And I don't think I've thought about it. Something that I find really interesting that I do think is a conversation

right now in culture is like, people who haven't had to code switch before are now discovering that it exists. And they're like, what? And it's like, yeah, it's a thing. And it's just part of certain people's existence where it's also a superpower. And it's a necessity and it's a superpower. And it's like, for some people, survival thing, and it's a superpower. And it's like, I'm not saying that it's my superpower

or anything to do with me. I'm just saying as a concept, as an idea, and I think that that's a very good point. And I think maybe you're right. I think maybe that's a part of it in terms of, I don't know, I guess the ability to transform, I think. Huh, do you know what? I haven't thought about it. the ability to transform, I think, huh. Do you know what, I haven't thought about it. And I think that that's-

Don't worry about it, it's something to think about. No, and I think that's, but I think there's real merit to that, and the more I think about it, the more I'm like, oh, I think that's, actually I think that's, probably there's something to it. What do we see you in next, because we've got to wrap it up. Wait, wait, are you producing something? We did, yes, me, yeah, my husband and I, we have a production company

called New Name. And we produced a movie last year. We also have the New Name Fund, which is just in terms of kind of barriers to entry, in terms of young people who want to go to drama school or want to get into the business. It's not set up necessarily as this kind of level playing field for so many different reasons.

So we kind of work with people who are, you know, maybe from lower socioeconomic situations or to kind of help them get, not have to think about finances when they're trying to be creative, which I think is a lot of the time barriers to a lot of young people who want to kind of get into this business. And that's something that's super important to us. So that's also the New Name Fund that we're very proud of and very excited about.

What a beautiful way to round it off. I wish you were there when I was 19. Listen, we can still be there for you now. Naomi Scott, thank you very much. Thank you so much. That was great. Ah, babes. I think she actually early on in the interview, she called me girl as well. She's like, girl, where did you read that? Yeah, that's right.

Never do your research on Wikipedia. There's no point. Well, I know that from my own page. It's littered with- No, but that was terrific. I mean, firstly, yeah, I know Wikipedia is one of the greatest works of fiction in with. No, but that was terrific. I mean, firstly, yeah, no, Wikipedia is, you know, it is one of the greatest works of fiction in English language. But yeah, no, I mean, the fact that you know that you're on a home run when somebody says, I haven't been asked that before, when they've been doing the PR tool for a big movie, it's like being able to ask a question that somebody hasn't been asked before. And it did genuinely sound like that was a great interview, Ben. Very, very good. Thank you. I mean, the best ones are always where it's just

sort of, you know, just descends into a chat really, like a back and forth, rather than trying to crowbar in what you think should be asked. So I think, you know, she just fit really comfortably into that. She came through the door chatting. We had an interesting chat before the mics were even on. So I just thought, this one's going to go just fine. But it is amazing, isn't it? Like how many things she does in that movie. I didn't even mention the accent.

You know, the things that she has to maintain for that couple of hours is bonkers. Well, what did you make? Well, okay. So after the love fest of that interview, Babes. Come on Babes, let's not. Yeah. Unlike you, I am a horror fan. I'm often disappointed by modern horror, but as you said in that interview, so the first film was an expansion of the short film, Laura Hasn't Slept by Parker Finn. Incidentally, Parker Finn is apparently currently working on a remake of

Andrzej Zawofsky's Possession, which is a terrifying thought because Possession is like one of the strangest movies ever made. And I don't know that I want anyone to go near it, but apparently that's happening. So in the first one, the idea of the curse being passed by witnessing death and the smart wasn't the most original idea, but I jumped or jolted a good three times in that first one. And I really enjoyed the anxiety of where the next job was going to come from.

I was surprised by how well it worked. So in this one, again, written and directed by Parker Finn, Chris Bautabia de Vera is back as the composer. So just quick plot thing, only Scott is pop star Sky Riley. A year ago, she was in a car crash that killed her partner. Now she's back, recovered, rehabbed, you know, clean and ready to rock. But she has a bad back, which she puts out during dance practice.

She calls a dealer friend, an old friend from before, because she wants Vicodin for her pain. She goes to his apartment only to find him in the grip of the smile demon and then to become its next victim. Rosemary DeWitt is her pushy mum who thinks the show must go on. It doesn't matter what's going on ahead, the tour is everything. And Drew Barrymore is Drew Barrymore, as I think you heard in that little clip. So firstly, she's terrific. I mean, I actually think it's an awards-worthy performance. I agree. It won't happen because horror movies don't get

awards. But I really thought, wow, you are doing everything, and you are doing everything completely convincingly. And as you said, I mean, just in terms of the sheer amount of stuff to do, I thought it was genuinely an awards-worthy performance. And when it doesn't get nominated, it'll be because horror films don't get nominated. I think the conceit of her being a famous singer works, not least because she can actually do all that stuff. And you know, when you see movies that have a pop star and you don't for one minute believe that they are a pop star, none of that. Okay. You see the completely different hands on the piano keys, big beefy blokes

hands playing the piano. Yeah. Yeah. Well, incidentally in Steve McQueen's new film Blitz, they need a grandfather who plays the piano. He cast Paul Weller because Paul Weller isn't a musician. So he's Paul Weller. Anyway, so I think that it's visually smart. I mean, there are echoes of things like George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. There's a scene when there's the loads of hands all sort of reaching out to smother her. There's that dance

troupe hallucination when they're all closing in, the kind of forest of hands. That's definitely very Romero. I love the thing that you touched on, which is the idea of no matter how bad things are, the horror is that there's a whole team of people depending on her and she's famous. Therefore, even when she's in a bar, at any moment, everyone may suddenly turn on her and she's famous and therefore even when she's in a bar it's you know at any moment everyone may may suddenly turn on it. Now here's the thing in terms of the film itself. Okay it does use the quiet quiet bang thing but it does it well. There's a scene in which she hears a noise in her apartment and she's looking for the source of the noise and I was really reminded of John Carpenter's work on Halloween. Simple tricks, well executed can be a really effective

thing. The jumps worked and there were more of them this time. I mean, there was about five times I genuinely jumped in my seat, starting with the opening scene, which has got real black humor. And then that really, I don't want to give it away, but there was an unexpected moment in the opening scene in which very early on I went, you know, which I was, and then everyone looked around and went, yeah, I'm sorry. And then I did that a few times. I like the original, which it's got a kind of nicely nasty sting in its tail. I think it's very entertaining Friday night, crowd pleasing, you know, give you the shivers fair. I thought her performance was terrific and I really enjoyed the movie. And I think the key to it really is that thing

about a gag can be simple. If you do it well, a simply executed gag is a wonderful thing. When I say gag, I mean like a scare, like a jump, like a, you know, what they used to call the bus. Those things, when they're done well, there is a real pleasure in them. And I really enjoyed Smile Too, and not least because I thought she was fab. Yeah, I just agree with every single thing you said. I'm always apprehensive going into horror because I'm such a scaredy cat with that stuff. But I just thought it worked on every level. It just worked as a movie. My anxiety was up. I was constantly on edge. The scares really terrified me. And again, not giving anything

away but forget sharp things. Blunt instruments in this movie. I mean, blunt instruments should not be forced into these parts of the body. And it just, every blunt instrument used just messed with me more and more and more from start to the very, very final frame. Yeah. No, it's, it's, it's well, it's well done. It's well done. You know, it packs a punch and it's well done. And it's honestly, as I, and I mean, this is a compliment.

It is perfect Friday night popcorn sit there and jump fair. And, and it's given a real sort of solid, uh, kind of, you know, route by her performance, because you completely believe I've never seen anybody drink so many bottles of water in one point that I started to think, are those bottles of water fake? Because that's an amazing feat. She really guzzles them, doesn't she? Those really heavy glass bottles. Really gusles. Yeah, isn't it ironic? Are you dehydrated? Yeah. Isn't it ironic then that it's this perfect Friday night popcorn jumpscare fair, perfectly executed and that's almost like the same reason that she won't win an Oscar or even be nominated.

It's the same as comedy. It's just never going to happen. Sad, but true. Yeah, no, it's never. It's absolutely no sense. I remember seeing Fire Walk with me, the David Lynch thing and thinking, everyone hates this film. But if you think that that doesn't deserve an Oscar for that central performance, which is one of the most brilliant operatic performances I've ever seen. Anyway,

that's how it works. Jara films don't win awards generally. I think you know what time it is. It's time to bounce joyfully like a South African billionaire onto a rally stage into our infamous laughter lift. Yeah. Hey Mark. You know, I had a terrible accident this week and had to go to the doctor's and to keep it traditional. I said, doctor, doctor, I broke my arm in two places and he said well you know my advice

would be just don't go to those places anymore yeah that's the standard we're dealing with this week. I'll tell you I got pulled over by the police this week which was deeply concerning and the PC said to me and Mr. Smith, your driving license says you should be wearing glasses. As you know, you need to be able to read a car number plate from 20 meters. I said, officer, honestly, it's fine, I've got contacts.

He said, I don't care who you know, Sonny Jim, get out of the car. Hey, is that the joke that needed to be explained before the show? No, that's this one. That's this one. That's another one, okay. Okay, here we go, here we go. My German friend Hans was over this week, Mark and asked

him if he knew the square root of 81. He said he didn't. No, I don't get it either. Yeah. There you go. That's why I said he tried to me and say what the hell are you talking about? Yeah so The reason is that this joke didn't work for me is it's pure mass. I don't know square roots No, but the square root of 81 Square root of 81 which some people will be screaming right now is nine. Oh, I see rather than Did did Paul write nine or did he write, he said he didn't? No, he didn't.

He just put, he didn't. He didn't. So I was just like, what the, anyway, this is like that Barry Quiet thing right now, isn't it? You know, explaining jokes like dissecting a frog, no one laughs when the frog dies. So let's just end with this one. You know, if, if I could have one superpower, it would be invisibility. I just want to make myself clear. Okay, and that you see, that's it, that's it, set up

punches, not funny, but you know, but actually functions as you know, it's smart. Grief. I mean, what can you hope for from the laughter? This is the one bit I can never wait to hand back to Simon. I like his warm chair, but he can keep laughter lift. Alright, what have we got coming up after the break, Mark? Well, on the subject of leaping South African millionaires, we have The Apprentice. Oh, great. Well, we'll be right back with that after this. After decades of shaky hands caused by debilitating tremors, Sonnybrook was the only hospital in Canada who could provide Andy with something special. Three neurosurgeons,

two scientists, one movement disorders coordinator, 58 answered questions, two focused ultrasound procedures, one specially developed helmet, thousands questions, two focused ultrasound procedures, one specially developed helmet, thousands of high intensity focused ultrasound waves, zero incisions, and that very same day, two steady hands. From innovation to action, Sunnybrook is special. Learn more at sunnybrook.ca slash special. Metrolinx and Crosslinx are reminding everyone to be careful as Eglinton Crosstown LRT train testing is in progress. Please be alert as trains can pass at any time on the tracks. Remember to follow all traffic signals, be careful along our tracks and only make left turns where it's safe to do so.

Be alert, be aware and stay safe. Welcome back. Before we get into the apprentice, I got an email here from Roy in Croydon who says Dear Bradford and Bingley. It's a partnership I've not heard for a while. He's actually put in the picture like the bowler hats. That's all I can kind of remember. It's Mr. Bradford and Mr. Bingley. Yeah. And I like how in brackets he's put Mark and Simon. I mean, just in case we weren't aware who he was writing to. Longtime listener, circa 2000. Oh, that's my era. I'm indeed one of the last surviving BlackBerry users and mobile user with opposable thumbs.

We were talking about this on the show last week, right? Though sadly my BlackBerry Android Key 2, brilliant phone, was smashed accidentally on my bathroom tiles and I can't yet replace the screen and therefore have a Motorola replacement. I still use my previous, previous BlackBerry passport, non-Android, which is still intact, to type out longer documents on word and use

Bluetooth to zap it over to my Motorola to send out. I can't type on flat keyboards without physical buttons. I love the Blackberry passport and trains, et cetera, to write long documents with ease. I can't imagine writing a long document on that. Up with physical keyboards, down with flat screen keyboards. Blackberry users shall rise again. By the way, physical keyboards are now sold for iPhone users. So there he goes. And he puts sincerely Roy and Croydon, and it does feel sincere. It does. It does. That feels like dedication. Just look after your thumbs, mate. Yeah. The Blackberrys seem mad now, like the whole Qwerty keyboard, tiny. It just seems mad, like you should have thimbles on your thumbs or something to try and do.

I just can't get my head around it. But as long as you're happy, Roy, as long as you're happy. And speaking of happiness, let's talk about two lovely joyous characters in Roy Cohn and Donald Trump. Two of your faves, Mark. Yes, The Apprentice. So this is directed by Ali Abassi, who's an Iranian Danish filmmaker, whose credit, it worked on The Last of Us, but also made The Holy Spider, which is a really, really good film. We reviewed it here on the show. Written by Gabriel Sherman, who's a journalist and author who wrote a biography of Roger Ailes,

which was then turned into a mini series. So the story follows Donald Trump played by Sebastian Stan, who's also in the current release of Different Man, from the early 70s desperate to build Trump Tower, but along with his father, in mired in a federal investigation about discrimination that they won't rent their properties to black people. He then meets lawyer and prosecutor Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong, who many people will know from a succession, who prides himself on being the person who sent the Rosenbergs to the electric chair, who believes that all morality is bunk, and who calls himself a patriot who will break any rules for his country. Here's a clip of the two of them in the back of a very expensive car.

Listen, Judy, about a hundred reporters were crawling up my ass to get this interview and I gave you the exclusive. Yes, hello, Judy. This is Donald Trump. Very excited, very excited to talk to you. So city, maybe the country, in the world. Judy, in the world, it's going to be the finest building in the world. It's going to be a spectacular hotel. So basically what happens is that Roy Cohn takes Donald Trump under his wing and in the film wins the Trump case by essentially blackmailing the judge. And then throughout the drama, we see him using illegal unethical means to get what he wants. And first Trump is sort of scared of this, but soon gets the bug

and then transforms basically into someone with an equally disdainful attitude toward the law. The writer of the film says, the inspiration for the movie came about thinking about the ghost of Roy Cohn inhabiting the body of Donald Trump. So on one level, it's a ghost story. It's called The Apprentice. It's about somebody who is the underling who then becomes almost more admired, more talented, more skillful at that kind of amoral, illegal, corrupt way of life. He builds his tower. He starts to take slimming pills, which are basically speed. He starts to become the monstrous narcissistic bully that we're now faced with. He meets Ivana, played rather brilliantly by Maria Baklova, who was Oscar nominated for Borat's subsequent movie film.

If you remember, she was the person who was in that film when Rudy Giuliani was caught in compromising position. So on Monday, Donald Trump truthed that it's a fake and classless movie cheap and defamatory, a politically disgusting hatchet job put right out before the 2024 election. So the 2024 election, so sad that human scum like the people involved in this hopefully unsuccessful enterprise are allowed to say and do whatever they want in order to hurt a political movement which is far bigger than any of us. Okay. So blah, blah, blah.

Here's the thing. So one of the main problems that he seems to have is there is a scene in it in which Ivana calls Trump fat and balding, after which he rapes her. Trump truthed, that's how you call it, my former wife Ivana was a kind and wonderful person. I had a great relationship with her until the day she died. The writer of this pile of garbage gave Sherman a low life and talentless hack, who's long been widely discredited, knew that and chose to ignore it. Well, here's the thing, that scene is a toned down version of a court deposition that Ivana gave

under oath during the 1990 divorce proceedings. She did later recant, but not under oath. And as they said, you choose which of those statements you want to believe. Also, there are, of course, as everyone knows, numerous accusations of sexual assault by Trump. There's the Access Hollywood tape in which she talks about grabbing women by the pussy. In July 2023, Judge Kaplan clarified that the jury had found that Trump had raped E. Jean Carroll according to the common definition of the word. And in August 2023, Kaplan dismissed a counter suit against that and wrote that Carroll's accusation of rape is substantially true, adding it accordingly is the truth as relevant here that Mr. Trump digitally

raped Miss Carol. So that's legal. He's also currently on bail awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of 34 felony counts by a jury of his peers. So he is a convicted felon and known sexual assaulter. Also his former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley recently referred to him as fascist to the core and said, no one has ever been as dangerous to this country. The reason I say all this is because

the complaints that Trump has about the movie misrepresenting him, I'm sorry, they don't hold up legally. Legally, he is all of those things. Most of the rest of the film checks out as well. There are scenes of him having liposuction and scalp reduction, which has been described by the filmmaker as the Frankenstein scenes, the actual, the birth of the monster. His mentorship, by and betrayal of Roy Cohn is well known. His sexual incontinence, his cheating, his bullying, his predation, his absolute lack of any form of morality. I think Samasty and Stan gets the change from rich kid chancer to slimy reptile well. He only really falls into the speech and mannerisms that we now know in the later stages.

Maria Bukhlova does a very good job of making Ivana a three-dimensional woman whom Trump comes to loathe because she's smarter than him and she tells him what to do. But the standout is Jeremy Strong, who is utterly magnetic as Roy Cohn is. A vampiric performance starts out as the kind of embodiment of callous evil, but ends up actually sort of sympathetic and pitiable when placed next to his monstrous prodigy, who has absolutely outstripped him in terms of amorality. The reviews when the film played in, I think it was Cannes, were kind of lukewarm. It's better than those reviews suggest. It's created with an aesthetic that allows it to blend

news footage from the time rather well with the drama. It reminded me a little bit of Pablo Lurain's Oscar nominated No. Smart use of pop songs. Yes Sir, I Can Boogie is now tainted for all eternity in the same way that Stuck in the Middle with You was tainted for all eternity by Reservoir Dogs. So I think it's a better film than I had expected with a fantastic performance

by Jeremy Strong and all of the complaints about it misrepresenting Trump are legally nonsense. Well, that's, you know, that's really surprising. I wasn't sure which way that review was going to go because I think in my head, very unfairly, I think I had just from watching the trailer, I had the sort of, um, since there might be a bit of a wiggy, bit of a wiggy mess, but clearly it sounds like it hits, hits on a lot of, uh, obviously very controversial points, but does it quite effectively? Yes.

I mean, I would argue not controversial. They're not, they're not controversial. We know these things about Donald Trump. Sure. Because I mean, you, you pointedly never used the word allegedly in anything that you were listing there because it's all been backed up legally. And it's when you hear it plain, plainly spoken like that, it is incredibly shocking that someone with all of those things could do anything like just get a normal job, let alone be in heavy air quotes, the leader of the free world. I mean, it's, it's been on a time to be alive. Not a politics show. What's

the time to be alive? Yeah. And as they said in that clip, it's good. Whatever happens, it's going to be spectacular. So we're coming to an end of another Sony music production. Thanks to the incredible production team. Mark, what is your film of the week? My film of the week is Smile 2, which is, as I said, really good Friday night popcorn fare. Agreed, agreed.

I'm never going to watch it again because it was a mess afterwards, but I can highly recommend it to all horror fans out there. Mark, thanks a lot. I'll see you again when I see you, I guess. See you then. I'll see you in tech too. Ta-da.