Improving the cinema experience for audiences

Welcome to Real Talk with me, Honey Ros. And me, Jonathan Ross. This is the podcast where the two of us chat about the film and TV we've been watching, new releases that have just dropped at the cinema or on your streaming platforms, or things that have just come out recently, or maybe even occasionally, something from the past that we'd missed out And we discovered we thought you might like to hear about as well. So really, I don't even know why I bother describing the show of the talk because there are no real rules. It's basically us talking about stuff we've seen with our eyes Ask about what we'd like to talk about and that's what makes it fun. Well, thank you for sticking with us despite it being so vague. Today we're doing something a little bit different. We're going to do a little hybrid of a bonus and a main episode because we didn't want to leave you with nothing, but we didn't have time to do more. Imagine it's like when you go to a restaurant and you kind of want a starter You kind of want to main course, but you haven't got time for both you say, I'll have a little bit of the starter and a little bit of the main course at the same time. Exactly. That's what it is. So this is first of all, I want to ask you about the Iron Maiden film, which you saw and I didn't see, which I'd really like to go and see. How was it? It was really sweet. I mean, it's, you know, it's really interesting because I went in knowing fairly little about their history and their kind of origins. they are, you know, they seem like such sweet men. It's you know, it's an interesting documentary because there's very little ot of them now There's actually kind of no footage of It's all footage from when they were younger when they first formed the band and their early performanceces. It's all archival footage with them speaking over the top. They still perform now though, don't they? They still perform now. They're actually performing this year at Nbworth. Why Where do they end it then? They they don't bring up to date or they did They do bring it up to date. They bring it up to them now, again' There's no footage of them chatting. know so whereas most documentaries I can think of would cut away to someone kind of going, Yeahah, and then this was in the time in the nineties when I did X,Y, Z, and you see them present day talking about it It's all just overlaid over the top. So it's interesting. it keeps you very much in the moment in the moment of where they were at the time in their career But I did think it was an interesting choice. It's one I haven't seen deployed before in a music documentary. and there was part of me that was like, I would have really loved to have seen them as they are now reminiscing about the past rather than just hearing them reminis about the past One thing they do that I thought was lovely is so much of the documentaries is dedicated to the fans and the relationship the fans have with the music. kind of group people they do cut away to is individual fans, one of which is Javier Barder He is a major Iron Maiden fan and he's like he's got like tears in his eyes. He's so passionate and going like, this album changed my life. This is the best thing I've ever heard. L it's really quite touching, but they've got kind of amazing fan interviews from like people just from all different backgrounds, all walks of life, all different professions. And it's really lovely and really interesting to see And so even though they mean to that you are not an Ion Maiden fan per se. You may would have become one now but you still enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it and I came away with a massive amount of affection for the band and what they mean to people and what they do for people. And I also came away with a better understanding of they're actually about because I think I'd always been like they're kind of I don't know. I think I just so don't engage with metal. It's so you know like a musical theatre. loser. So I don't engage with that kind of thing and actually to hear it and to understand it and also I had had a kind of exposure to it because of bone temple using was it like six six six the sound of the Beast or whatever? Well the weird thing about Heavy Mat is this is one of his w' never really I like the sound of a lot of heavy meilk. And there are some obscure heavy metal bands I quite like. Like there was one band that no one really heard of and I mentioned it too You're Boyfriend Gavin, who was very excited because they hadd heard of them and B there were Welsh Wow. Anle Budgie that I ha't really heard of. And I mean said, Yeah, there' this really weird having by budgie. Oh, I know Budgie. That's not what Gf sounds like. Oh d I know Budgie. It kind straight in with that. Who's that? Oh Budgie Anyway, he said it was But he loved Budgie. and so I do like some sometimes like the sound of metal. I like some of the, you know, but I always found it a bit silly And you know and like Deaf Leopard, I quite like because they used to like pour some sugar on me, which is more like just a kind of big kind of harder pop song. But Iron Maiden had stuff, which is intrinsically quite silly, like brring your daughter to the slaughter, for example, I believe it was one of theirs. I'm sure. Yeah, you know what I mean for. So that kind of stuff, which was like silly Almost like comic strip approach to devil worship. Yes, which was I'm sure they de do that in the documentary book they de with it's really' not say. No, they're definitely not sayous. I think it's like, you know, it is almost like cartoonish and it's exploring a theme. and like it's like someone,'s like if you like Nightmare in Elm Street You're like Eddie and you're like Iron Maiden. Yeah's playfulness and it's really sweet. There's an interview likeike and Bruce Dickerson, the lead singer of the band was talking about In an interview, there's one of him like in his twenties going like, yeah, we don't want to wr songs about love, we don't want to write songs about that. We want to write about death. And it sounds feel like exploring a different avenue of kind of creative writing. I think it's really I found it really heartwarming. I think sweet. gl and I'm glad they weren't mocked. I mean because there's another brilliant documentary, of course and you know who I'm going talk about Anvil I had no idea you want to say anvil. Have you not seen thev? I have not se the Anvil documentary speak on this. Tell me You' never seenc.' never seen thevil document. It's one of the greatest single documententsies ever made. I tell Hu's a huge fan of the Anvil documentary. Gavin. Gavin. the accent he's feeling.. Here's the thing. And it's about a heavy metalband that never made it I think it came out around two thousand eight or nine, sometim around it was a long time ago. they came over. I interviewed them about it when they came over. I hadd never heard of them, but they were kind of this band who were on the verge of being big. They played a few big gigs in America and Canada where they supported or they were on the same bill as people like Bon Jovy And I think Guns and Moses maybe, and all the other bands went on to be huge. they didn't. had one album out and then they kind of disappeared. And it's a really, really sweet little documentary where you find them now and they're kind of getting back together. They're going to go out on tour again. This is, you know, they're all, I guess in their fifties or early sixties There is a sort of fan base, but not much, not enough. And it's one of those really lovely fly and the wall things where it's a bunch of kind of donkey Hote like characters tilting at the windmill is the big music industry I loved it so much when it came up. I even joined theiref Fang Club. Oh bless you. I've establed I'm not even a metal head No, but you know what? you are a story led person and if they've got a, you know, you'll root for an underdog. Oh, absolutely. I much prefer rooting for an underdog than a winner G it's much more interesting isn't it? Well that sounds amazing. Iven'ten I must watch it. Interesting, I much prefer being the underdog being on top. I think it's definitely nicer being the under Yeah. Yeah. I feel like if you're on top, people want you to not be on top anymore. if you're an underdog, you have somewhere to you're on top the only way iss down. Yeah. People are going lookook at their watch, come on. going like You've been there for long enough. something about it that's a bit annoying. You start to get on people's nerves when I'm not saying I necessarily I am on top now, but I'm saying I've certainly had periods in career where I was the underd dog and suddenly I wasn't anyone. I thought, hold on, why they talk about me this way? Becauseuse you still feel when you've been the underdog for years, you still feel like the underdog. Yeah. And then your top dog and people are, you know, not to talk about the big dog theory, but then suddenly actuallyually yes, it comes back to the big dog theory. It always comes back to the big dog theory. It's actually not nice to be the big dog. No one Be then everybody's trying to vote you out Everyone thinks they want to be the big dog until they are the big dog. Tntil you' the big dog. It's actually quite nice to be a small dog. Oh, it's lovely. Okay so let's have a look. We've had a couple of messag.' got one here. Would you like to read this one out from Lucy? Let's read it. It's a lovely email from Lucy Hi, Jonathonan and Honey, loving the podcast. My question to you is this, I can't even remember the last time I went to the cinema Whenever I fancy it, I end up opting for a streamer that s thereayss just so much choice and it's good enough I miss the days of excitement all week in the lead up to a Friday night cinema trip Do you think this is lost forever? orr will we revert back to the old ways? Thank you, Lucy. I mean, it's a good question, Lucy. I think it starts with us, though, doesn't it? It starts with you going, I want to feel that excitement to go to the cinema on a Friday. Like the good enough thing, I think we all feel that inertia of like there is such an ease with streamers. You have every option at your fingertips. and also sometimes there's nothing good out in the cinemas and it's very limiting. But I think it is good too When you know that there's a film coming out that you're excited about makeake a moment of it, get some friends together., book the tickets in advance, do the preordder and go right, we are building up to this moment. We're going to make it special. Maybe have a little drink before makeake a night or go for a drink after even better debrief after you've seen the film and make it special because you know what We make it magic. It's like it's what you bring to the table. It's how you complete the circle. Truthully if I'm to answer this, I need a full breakdown of Lucy's life. I need to know. What's your home set up like? How big is your screen? What's your sound system? I need to know whether you're in a relationship or not in a relationship, whether you want to be in a relationship or whet you happily, not in a relationship. I need to knowether that's a factor. I need to know what your dietary requirements are Social security, what more do you need? I'd like a bank details, please. Because look, here's the thing, I love going to the cinema But I've made my home set up too much like a cinema. You've made yours too nice. So I've got like proper cinema sound at home now and I've got a really comfortable cinema style seating. I've got a small pickamix stand I've set up. You goinging to your house is like going to cin. So therefore, going to the cinema, the only option, the only thing that you'd get going to the cinema you don't get my house is hot dogs But you could make a hot dog. Exactly. I've made hot dogs that you have. And this is why I've held back from buying one of those convenient hot dog makings that you can buy. I almost bought one. good dad, you'd never leave the house. I'd never leave the house and I'd be fat as butter. You'd leave the house to buy more hot dogs a. I'd like I'd do like the floating one in June. You know what every's name is's floating around ambassador B B I'll be Bowu Hark before in the cinema Id hot dogs for me Timitity Challamate. So I need to know that also, when I was younger, I went out to cinema because cinema was a date And you tend to go on dates when you're in the early stage of relationship. You still have date nights when you're together, but it's not a date anymore Whereas going out to the cinema when it was part of a date was fun because you put some effort into dressing up It actually makes a difference is I still go on dates with my partner to the cinema and we make it a date. we make it Yeah I'll give it a few months You haven't been together that long. That's why you're still in the early days. Come on. He's still courting me. Yeah, you're both still courting each other. Yes, we are. But I think courting, if I'm truthful, and we've digressed here from the actual question, but courting should last a lifetime Yeah, fine, whatever. Lvely, let's mouth some more platitudes. Love is when you don't mind looking at each other first thing in the morning. Love is when you both fight in front of each other and smile. Okay, here's the thing. So that's another option, but whyy do you need to know all of that about Lucy? Be because Lucy's doesn't wantan to go the cinema, why? I don't think it's just because the cinema isn't compelling enough in terms of what's on offer It might well be, but the problem as well is now is that you know that it will be on a streaming platform within three months. And the cinema's expensive. If you you already paid for your streamer. That's another thing I need. I don't think Lucy, don't worry about getting back to us and sending I will send you a questionnaire, Lucy. Your money after tag. I will send you a twenty four page questionnaire fill it in also the oven' like When you say good enough, you're absolutely right, Lucy of course. There's a lot of stuff which is kind of like Diverting enough, engaging enough, okay, I'll spend an evening watching that But you do need to go out a movie, sometimes you need a film to feel really like, okay, I don't want to miss this and I don't want to miss this now. And there's not enough of that. And you would think, you know, when you're making a movie, let's make movies that peopleeople have to get up off their backs and go see the cinema. whether you like it or not, films like F one And the mission imposser film I thought the last mission impposser film was pretty poor, to be honest with you. in terms of the script. It was all over the place. It didn't really make sense. They disappeared up their own backside with this kind of like two part big f that's basically AI, which is going to be the least interesting villain you could have in cinema right now. Yeah Having said that, still there was enough of a spectacle about it and enough of seeing the sort of stunts and seeing big, big stars on the screen that I felt like, yes, I want to see this at the cinema But you know, it's interesting. I think We are maybe being allured to the cinema different genres and For me, and I actually think you will agree with this, but like one that I was like, okay, I have to go to the cinema if this is spoiled to me was weapons Everyone was talking about weapons, there was loads of buzz around it and I went, okay, I've got to get in and I ideally see this at the iMax. Before it's too late before it's ranked. Same with the drama this year, I was like I'm going to see the drama first or second weekend of it being out so it's not spoiled for me. See see, I would quite like see the drama on a cinema screen. I haven't to see it yet because I suspect it's the kind of movie. it's almost like a bespoke film, I'm thinking of it as it's a small, lovely craft film with a very interesting idea at the heart of it. It feels like quite personal in a way. And I know that if I see it on the big screen, I will pay more attention to it then I will do something which feels quite small in many ways in terms of it being like, you know, it's not it's not a huge vistas It's not exciting action, it's not kind of like using every corner of the screen. Yeah the v the human condition. It's a chamber piece. and so therefore I'm tempted to think I could enjoy that just as much on a TV size screen. I think look with the drama, you would be gripped and you would enjoy it on a TV side screen, but there's something about seeeeing it with a crowd that can't be replicated at home, unless you like invite a bunch of people around and you allll sit around the TV and that's lovely. but it's still different. Seeing a film and feeling it out with a group of strangers is really special and it feels like tradition that we can't lose. It can be great. and also seeing a very bad film sometimes, which is a disappointing thing. that experience with others around you is very, very much enhanced, I think it's much more joyful have to see a bad, bad film when all of you in the audience are kind of on the same page and lots of people are also groan and going what? You know, I can't remember the last one. actually can, it was Borderlands, the one based on the video game. Yeah that we saw with a bunch of people and lots of them who we went with were fans of the game and we were all just sitting there thinking, o my giddy aunt. what a mess. But Lucy, I also need to know how tall you are the length of your limbs. You could be because one of the things that sometimes stops me going for the cinemas is I'm going to cema where there isn't en leg room. I't think you're being serious, but actually you really have to sit in the aisle so you can kick your leg out. Not not all cemas. some cinemas, there's enough le room. but if you go going some the older cinemas or the smaller cinemas, if my knees are touching the front seat or'm not . I'm not like Richard Osmond H. You know, I'm six well, I used to be six one and a half I'm now a more modest about about six foot now youve shrunk? Yeah, you shouldrunink becausecause you get older, your spine compresses thanks to gravity. Oh, what a treat.'t wait for. I to look forward. I' got to look forward to Thank God. I'm sure you can if I'd done a bit moreercise, I'm sure I wouldn't be, but I can't some yoga. But anyway, it hasn't really affected that, I think, I think I've shrunk from the waist up, from the hips down b that big, lovely leggy boy of mine down there, I' got a big old leggy coming out of there and that leg is still touching the seat in fun. And that' somet the seit where my legs veryow apart, which is not ideal spreading. You don't want to be man spreading. Give me in those context, or one leg out into the aisle, your w. Which I do think, as much as I respect it because look, you can't help it. You've got, as you said yourself, a lovely long legy lim You're gonna kick someone over. You're going to trip someone over like a cruel prank. someone's going to be in the dark fumbing with their hot dog. dog's in the dark. Then I turn the foot in. So I'm quite uncomfortable. so I need a more comfortable cinema seat. No, in that's. Some are lovely. Some are lovely. All of this to say, We must continontinue to support the cinema, go to the cinema, make an advent of it. I think Of course we all dabble in streamers because there's a coziness and an ease to it. But like you said, it's good enough, Whereas going to the cinema. When you have a good time at cinema, that's more than good enough. That's exceptional. But you know what? look, there's a lot they could do to improve the cinema experience for us and we are the customers. We should get together. we should form a pressure group You know we had that email in a few weeks ago about the level of illumination on the fire exercise. Yes. I met the guy who sent that in. He said No way. Yeah, yeah. and had a nice little chat with him about it. Oh. And I thought, Oh, you know, we agreed he was right I think we all agree that a cinema experience should be as seductive as possible to make you want to go. Obviously, it's a business. So I think we should get together and setll up little bit more legroom. takeake it out of our seats But then they're not selling as many tickets. How When was the last time you went to see a movie that was sold out? It's true. It's very true. There you go. And you know what? Maybe wasn't sold out because someone said, I'm staying at home because my knees can't take it anymore You've said your piece. Listen to the knees. Listen to the knees. the knees don'te. The knees don't lie Lucy, thank you for that. It took us in all sorts of unexpected directions. And what a beautiful question. I suppose the short answer for me would be I know what you're talking about we I think as we get older. staying at home and not putting the extra effort in something which isn't necessarily repaying in dividends the amount of effort you put in. It's not like are you getting as much back as you're putting in, to travel somewhere, to find somewhere to park, to walk in, to go to phancy, to be there early? All that stuff adds up and sometimes it is like, well maybe it's just nicer to stay at home. So maybe the answer is this getet a really lovely sound system at home, go out every so often to sw them. cinemas we should see them like charities this is the thing. The tickets are so expensive nowadays. I can see, you know If you forego going to the cinema and I'm not saying you should do this because I want to support cinemas and I want to keep cinemas alive. But if you were to forego going to like a bougie cinema for a year, you could probably buy a really nice sound system. What do you buy a cinema? get the new are you in cinema? We' come out of yours Lucy. When you set up your cinema, providing the leg will be sufficent, I'll out and watch your movie. We'll be there. Okay, than you for that. So that's it for this week Please write us some more mail. We love hearing from you. You can send us a message on Instagram. We are at Real Talk, Ross. and thanks as E everb for listening to the podcast Real Talk with me, honey. And me, Jonathan, Ross, you can listen and subscribe to Real Talk wherever you get your podcast from, of course. Keep listening, keepe going to the cinema Always. Keep going to the cinema. We would like to see cinema survive. We want cinema to live on. There won't be a bonus episode this week, but we'll be back next Monday with another show and business will resume as normal. By the way, did I tell you that I just sent an email to Tom Hanks about a type Why do I think you should bu? No way. I'll tell everyone of the next episode he gets back to you. If he gets back to me, well I've heard back from his people. Oh my god. Okay, well, this is huge. I'll look forward to. I'll show you a picture of us. but it's a very special. Wh to see. Okay, take care of yourselves, byye bye. Bye