Mark Kermod (film critic) and Simon Mayo (audio host) appear simultaneously in a video link in appropriately themed rooms. Mayo’s is his free bedroom, which boasts some excellent wallpapers with graphic versions of 7-inch singles. “Each individual record label, band and identification mark has been removed,” he said. “But if you’re a veteran like me, you can spot a single from Fontana or CPS or Epic.” Kermod is in a small room in a house he moved into only yesterday. Not surprisingly, it’s not a great background (unpacked boxes and something that looks like a bunk bed), but somehow he managed to get his computer camera to reveal it in dark black and white. “Oh God, how did I do that? “I can’t rule it out now,” he said. “Lots of bait,” Mayo said dryly.
Hanging out and quarreling over film (and often music) is what Kermod and Mayo have been doing since the 1990s, when Kermod first appeared in a movie slot on Mayo’s Radio 1. When Mayo retired, first on 5 Live and then on Radio 2, their relationship continued on air as Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review, a two-hour 5 Live Friday afternoon radio show and podcast. Even after the rather irritating departure of Mayo from Radio 2 in 2018 (he was put in a difficult position as a co-host with Joe Wiggy; he left after six months), Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review remained exactly where he was, providing informed fun, “what to go see this weekend” fun. Or “wittertainment”, as fans of the show call it.
Much of the communication is that I’m watching him and he’s not watching me Mark Kermod
And there are many, many fans. (We received hundreds of questions about this feature.) One of the first podcasts from the BBC, Kermode and Mayo … has long been one of the most popular. He won the Listeners’ Choice at the British Podcast Awards in 2017 and 2018 and has avid, communicative listeners, as well as an impressive list of interviewed high-ranking directors and actors, many of whom have returned to the show several times. All correspond to the wit, honesty and knowledge of the hosts. Mayo interviews celebrities (excellent: light but informed); Kermode provides critical opinions (in the same way, but more passionately: they turn into sentences from time to time). No curiosity in the personal lives of celebrities: chat is entirely job-based, although it often turns into jokes, about etiquette in cinema, or about Jason Isaacs, or something like the movie they intervene for. time. The key to the show is: both men love movies and get along with each other.
Kermod and Mayo’s film review seemed fully embedded, part of the BBC’s equipment and gear, until March this year, when the couple announced their departure. Maybe he always came, given the way he treated Mayo. “We both received a very nice email from the CEO thanking us for our service and how much he liked the program, and I’m in the process of thinking about what to say in response, which is essentially ‘Thank you very much,'” Mayo said diplomatically. So, they left and took a few weeks off, and when they return, on Friday, it will be in the form of a podcast like Kermode & Mayo’s Take. It will be released twice a week, and there will also be a spin-off show, Take 2, for paying subscribers (which sounds like more of the same, but without celebrities and more listener input).
So what can we expect from these new podcasts?
“Well, you’re catching us in the interregnum between the BBC and the glorious new future,” Mayo said, “and we haven’t really done anything yet. It’s hard to say too much, except that in essence, although there will be exciting differences, Mark and I talk about movies, and we talk to actors and directors, and we read emails. We only have one way to work. “
The big difference seems to be that they will watch TV shows as well as movies, but, Kermode insists, this is not a major new feature. “To be clear, I’m a film critic who happens to be watching TV,” he said. “None of us pretend to be stepping on the great shoes of people who watch TV professionally.”
Quick guide
The five best moments from Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review
show
Sex and the City 2 goes viral
“You won’t get jealous of that,” Kermod said, embarking on a 10-minute tirade against the “disgusting and rotten and vomiting” sequel. After punching the table and singing “The International,” he called the film “consumer pornography – an orgy of dripping wealth that made me sick.”
Mark wakes someone from a coma
In 2010, another Kermode statement on Ron Howard’s adaptation Angels and Demons “Stupid in ways you can’t imagine” had unexpected consequences. An email from a listener revealed that her friend Andrew, in a coma after a cardiac arrest, regained consciousness after listening to Kermod’s annoyed examination.
Wittertainment Code of Conduct
In response to reports of misbehavior in the cinema, a set of etiquette rules was drawn up for listeners to follow. No talk. No snoring. No hobbies (including knitting, drug trafficking and assembling an airplane model). And memorable: “You can’t eat anything harder than a soft roll without stuffing.”
Tom Hanks shares his wisdom
Regular and soothing presence on the show, whether discussed or not Toy Story 4 or his love for Aston Villa, Hanks provided some much-needed consolation in early 2020, sharing his favorite phrase: “This, too, will pass. Do you have a bad day? Have a great day? And that will pass. It is leveling off. ”
Naomi Watts leaves
During a 2013 interview for the biographical film about Diana, in which he starred, Watts made an exception to something said by Mayo, and ended the conversation prematurely. “I think we’re getting over it, I’m sorry,” she said, ending the conversation. Listening to him, Simon was “a little confused as to why she was so uncomfortable.” Catherine Bromwich
Thank you for your feedback.
“Ten years ago,” says Mayo, “there was a movie theater and a television station. And now there is so much cross-fertilization that TV shows will be obvious, I think. The ones our audience would hope we could handle. Not, say, a new story about EastEnders. If they were recently, they would be discussing The Thief, His Wife, and the Canoe, or Ron Howard’s documentary about Paradise in California. They will definitely be in Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistols series: “It’s clear he’s a charming guest and the Sex Pistols are a fascinating topic,” Mayo said. “And that means I can sing Danny Boyle to Danny Boy’s tune,” Kermod said.
It seems that although podcasts are a new endeavor, many will remain the same. Kermod, naturally more passionate, will still be poured out and rejected; Mayo, sharper but also more sensible, will continue to present a more popular opinion. In addition, they bring with them their live production team of 5 and will record together, in the same room that many prefer to Zooming, as they did during the blockade.
“It lasted about a year,” Kermod said. “And the moment we went back to the studio together, it was a lot easier. The way you talk to each other is completely different. So much of the communication is related to the fact that I watch him and he doesn’t watch me … ”
Of course, they have other jobs: Mayo’s radio host sees him on the air six days a week, for Scala and Greatest Hits Radio; Kermode writes reviews for this article and talks about movies for various publications. But you have the feeling that being together, discussing movies every week, is an anchor for them. Or maybe a swing – a toy that doesn’t work without the other person being there.
“It’s true,” Kermod said. “Wherever we are, whatever we do, we will be two old boys in the same room talking to each other, with a few movies in between.
Tandiv Newton, actor
Who are your favorite three female directors, each?
Mark Kermod: Real women directors? Carol Morley, because her films are brilliantly adventurous. I had the great pleasure of watching her films and wondering about the many things that are happening. I watched Out of Blue three times in a row, and every time I watched it, I saw new things in it. My favorite female director who is currently working is Céline Sciamma. The girlhood was so brilliant, and not only did she have those great performances and that great environment you believed in, but the movie landed just when everyone was saying, “Oh, wow, this raises all these questions.” And I love Petite Maman, my favorite movie from last year, just perfect. Then Julia Ducurno, because I thought Raw, followed by Titane was…
Agatha Russell in Julia Ducurno’s Titan: “It was like a boom.” Photo: BFA / Alamy
Simon Mayo: She’s having sex in a car, Mark. Come on…
MK: When I saw Raw, I remember ending my review with the words, “The world is her oyster, watch her swallow it whole.” And then Titan appeared and it was like a boom. This surge of excitement and energy, you can feel how she stains her nails. I would add Joanna Hogg. I love her movies.
SM: She didn’t have sex in a car, she had sex in a car … I would add Catherine Bigelow. What Mark says, plus Catherine Bigelow.
How did you meet and what were your first impressions of each other? Hazel, Dublin
SM: I had just moved from breakfast to work on Radio 1 in the morning. And Matthew Bannister had taken over, and I remember telling him, “I think the movie reviews will be a good part of the show.” “Well, Mark does that for Mark and Lard. Why don’t you try it? “So we had a rehearsal and everything went great. As for the first impressions, I just thought it was a very good five minutes of radio.
MK: I remember saying, “This is Simon Mayo from the top of …
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