Best in Show: At the BAFTAs, Banshees’ Carter Burwell and a Naatu Naatu afteRRR paRRRty
This week on Best in Show, Ella Kemp has all the gods from the BAFTAs. We’ve also got The Banshees of Inisherin’s composer, Carter Burwell, diving deep into his Twilight memories and we are having an after parRRRty, those are RRR’s with Naatu Naatu songwriters MMK, Chandrabose and RRR star Ram Charan!
[theme song ramps up, plays alone, fades out]
MIA Hi and welcome to Best in Show, a limited podcast series brought to you by The Letterboxd Show. I am Mia Vicino, the West Coast Editor here at Letterboxd and Best in Show is all about awards season: the noms and gongs, the contenders and insiders and what the Letterboxd data tells us about the winners throughout the years. It is all in service of doing what we always do here at Letterboxd, celebrating cinema. And here once again to celebrate cinema with me are my Best in Show besties: Hollywood veteran and our editorial producer, Brian Formo.
BRIAN Kia ora!
MIA And our Editor-in-chief, Gemma Gracewood.
GEMMA Kia ora, kia ora!
MIA Also on our team outside in the broadcast van with their roadie and their mango juices, are our resident Fact Finder, Jack’s Facts And the man with the tape deck himself, our editor Slim. Thank you as always to these silent gents. First up, the news! And we have so much news.
BRIAN So much news.
MIA Definitely Guild Awards handed out their trophies this week, and we will get to them soon. But right now we are crossing straight to London to our BAFTA. Bestie and London editor, Ella Camp fresh from the British Academy of Film Awards. Welcome, Ella.
ELLA Hi. Thanks for having me!
GEMMA Last time we saw you was on our Instagram Stories waving on the BAFTA red carpet. Have you slept since then?
ELLA I've slept so well. And a bit too much since then. It was quite an energy consuming Day Night moment in my life. Yeah, it was quite a lot. So we’ve had a very slow day today.
MIA So All Quiet on the Western Front. Ha ha, what's the vibe on that best picture?
ELLA I like the film. I think it’s a good film. But I think many war films are good films. And I don’t want them all to win Best Picture. I think a good war film can just be a good war film and be in its own category without the kind of qualifier of the war film, making it leapfrog above every other film to be a shoo in to win the biggest award for everything. And you could tell that the team of All Quiet on the Western Front had no idea what was going on. Every time someone else from that team came into the winner’s room. There was like a tiny little bit of them being apologetic because they were coming in like us again, though, why we’re here. So I think everyone was a bit staggered by this turn of events.
GEMMA So then Ella and Brian is a Hollywood and inside Can you both shed a little light on hip then so that as we talk about the other winners, we’ve got a little bit of context around who has voted for it. The burger remake of All Quiet on the Western Front is the best film.
ELLA So I mean BAFTA hip is interesting. And I have to say it’s from an outsider perspective, because I’m not a member of BAFTA, but BAFTA hip. That’s what you have to pay for BAFTA hip, there is a ing fee, and there is an annual fee to remain a member. And both of them are triple figures. So I think that there, there’s that which kind of keeps a lot of people out from being , you know, you can kind of only be a member of BAFTA if you can afford it. And a lot of people who work in the film industry in the UK, like in Britain and Ireland can’t afford it. So there’s that. And I think it’s also I mean, BAFTA obviously is immensely prestigious, and means a lot in a lot of different ways. But I do fear that some of that doesn’t really move with the times and you’re kind of stuck with what certain who have been for a very long time and deserve their places there but with what they thought made for the best film quite a bit of a while ago, which doesn’t necessarily match up with you know, people in the working people in the film community across the UK and Ireland who deserve to have that say and I’m not part of this organization and it does kind of it It frustrates me a bit as you know I’m English i i live in London, I work in LA And and when I talk about the BAFTAs, to people who are not in this country, I kind of want to apologize because I feel guilty, but I have nothing to do with it. And it’s just, I just feel like, you know, the BAFTA Awards. To me, I feel like it says, Okay, this is what the UK and Ireland think is good. And I’m like, No, it doesn’t. I wait, so many of us disagree. Like it’s such a small subsection of the film community.
BRIAN But one thing that I know that BAFTA and the Oscars share is there is a lot of overlap between actors and producers in particular, I wanted to just kind of highlight a couple things that I’ve found interesting regardless of how one feels about All Quiet on the Western Front. It is now the 10th film that is not in the English language to win Best Film at the BAFTA so Bicycle Thieves was the first all the way back in 1949. It was their second, second or third ceremony, and they recognized world cinema as they should many times in the 50s, 60s and onward. This is the first time that a non-English language film has won a BAFTA since 1987 For Jean de Florette. However, now, for context pericyte, obviously was the first and so far the only non English language movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars. And by that point, that was 2019 or sorry, the films of 2019 2020 20 BAFTA already did that nine times prior so but they actually didn’t give Parasite into 2020 Either they gave to another war film 1917 That one from their homeland industry. Personally, what I love about this is that it stands out as kind of like marching to its own drum. And we could see that when they announced their long list like All Quiet on the Western Front was everywhere on the long list and we’re like, oh, wow, this is going to be a thing for every award ceremony going on forward, like the BAFTA is announcing this film as a major player. And I think that it’s always exciting when it’s, I might say thrilling to have orbs have unique winners. They’re ionate about this German war movie. Last industry note, I’ll just note that Netflix has now won the last two BAFTA best films because they did give The Power of the Dog best film last year. So Netflix is two for two and the past two years,
MIA the last two wins have been pretty masculine films, and also pretty white films. So let’s get into it. Hashtag BAFTA is so white.
GEMMA I mean, it was so obvious in the room. You know, there were some pretty extraordinary artists and we’re not. I’ve seen some bitching from NT work decades ago. I’m just gonna say it on Twitter. Every time anyone says better. So while they’re like, Well, you can’t reward representation, you have to reward the craft and it’s like, Yep, cool. I’ve got a couple of things to say about that. You’ve got Darrell McCormack right there. He did two things: he was up for leading actor and he was up for a rising star. Both of those awards nominations for giving Emma Thompson her first, orgasm and Good Luck To You, Leo Grande if that is not craft, the invaders. While we’re talking about Darryl, I feel like in a way you also can’t overlook England’s relationship with, let’s say domination over Ireland. So in some ways, years are better. So wait, but also, it’s good to see films like An Irish Goodbye from Northern Ireland, it must be noted, but winning Best Short and Banshees, friends winning many things. And but again, you’ve got Darrell McCormick right there people and fulfill not in the English language, you’ve got The Quiet Girl right there, the first film, and the long suppressed Irish language to make it all the way to the Oscars, and BAFTA gives it to all quiet, which is also going to get best film and many of the other craft awards. Yeah, it gets weird.
ELLA I mean, I agree it is very weird. And what I think it boils down to is the hit the things that jump out voters to watch, which isn’t a BAFTA exclusive thing. But if somebody sees a steal from a war film or a book that they know the name of or a genre that they know that you know their community has rewarded before they’re gonna watch that first, even if it’s an hour longer, even if it’s two hours longer, like films not in English languages and the kind of you know, broader film community that we’re rewarding in the UK in London. I find it both telling and strange that the [The Banshees of Inisheer] have in a Sheeran is basically kind of the only villain from like Britain or Ireland that really one big On the night, it’s like, you know, Aftersun did when one award shot it was one outstanding debut from a British or Irish writer, director or producer. And I said that without looking at the official name, but like, you know, After Sun was up for an award, and I didn’t win anything else, and also, I think it should have been up for more awards. Blue didn’t win anything else. There are just a lot of British and Irish films apart from branches that didn’t get recognized whatsoever, which again, is a completely different conversation to ask her. So why am I representative but I just find it really weird because it’s been such an amazing year for British and Irish film and I love [The Banshees of Inisheer. But like I found it quite telling that when Martin McDonough was collecting his I can’t what number award but when he was collecting for outstanding British Irish film that he had to say in his speech, oh, my Irish cast and crew would say to me best what film because by default, people shorten it to Best British film. So the whole thing is just a bit like it’s just a bit uncomfortable. And I just I don’t know, I don’t really know how you get around that like this shorthand that people have. Which kind of alienates Ireland a little bit and British film is not really being celebrated. And then out of there, it’s just a bit weird. Like we’ve made some great films.
GEMMA Well, not weird. You are on the red carpet chatting to a few of our besties Yes, film bases and you were in the winner’s room watching these winners come through. What were your highlights? Who did you meet? Who did you love so
ELLA on the carpet, I caught up with a couple of letterbox faves and I spoke to Kiwi Kwan who from Everything Everywhere All at Once who came over to me. And the second he pointed in my direction said with his energy that we know and love. I love letterboxes and it was such a thrill that after waiting on the carpet for hours nobody stopped, because you know, they were very busy. It was very chaotic. But the key to come over and say that I was just like, this is all worth it. Oh, and so it was lovely to chat with him. He was very excited, very happy to be there. Very grateful. And I also spoke to Aftersun superstar Frankie Coreio. She’s just like, she’s just such a delight.
GEMMA She really is and her white tux. I thought it was
ELLA gardening. It was fabulous. Yeah, yeah, it was fabulous. And I mean also it really complimented her mom Leona’s beautiful blue dress. I love that they’ve been doing the whole award season together and also like they’ve been turning up to every event. Like they haven’t just kind of been showing Frankie’s picture. They’ve been going everywhere. And she’s been enjoying meeting absolutely everyone. She told me that she wanted to meet Florence Pugh, and that she met her like the second she got on the BAFTA carpet. And Frankie was saying she said cool. I was like, Yeah, correct. You do. I love that this happened for you. And then yeah, and then I mean, I’ll go through the last few people I spoke to very briefly because I spoke to four people in total on the carpet. I spoke to Triangle of Sadness, stand out dolly De Leon. He was just sensational. In every way. She’s just, she's so funny and kind of in command of herself and her energy and her presence and so thoughtful, like she’s a real cinephile. Like her, she’s seen everything. And she describes everything just so smartly and so succinctly. I was just like, you found the words that I’ve been searching for for these films for months. She’s fabulous. I love talking to her. I mean, just listen to what she had to say about banshees.
I loved it so much. It was funny, but at the same time, morbid. It had a sixth sense of humor, and I love films like that, and I loved bromances so there was a clear bromance between Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. I loved it so much beautiful film
MIA Oh wow. Oh my god give that woman a podcast now. Can she us as a co host? Can someone do that? Somehow? Added a vest to show me Yeah.
GEMMA Don’t Don’t speak too soon. Maybe Dolly de Leon will be hosting a Fest and show next season.
MIA I would gladly give my job over to her. She could do it.
GEMMA I have a question. So you were in the winner’s room, which is where the people go after they get their beffta Mask trophy and they come through right. So Cate Blanchett one leading actress for time as she should every single one of those actresses as Kate herself said could and should have won that award but her work as Lydia Tao was astounding it was to penis but it was a weird energy in the room when she won the reaction shots of all of the other nominees they were less than enthusiastic probably disappointed and you know, it’s it’s fair to show your feelings I think let’s not pretend and Kate has Self onstage was sort of subdued. She seemed maybe even a little shy or embarrassed. What was she like when she came through to the winner’s room?
ELLA To be honest, she was the same. I mean, she was kind of she was asked again about what she’d said on stage about her fellow nominees and asked to elaborate particularly about Michelle Yos performance, but then came at a point of kind of saying how great all of her fellow nominees were. And I mean, we can talk about this forever, but I find awards like this one in particular really interesting because I just don’t think that anyone was not going to watch her or that anyone was not going to watch a new Cate Blanchett film. And for me, the awards that I find most exciting are when, for example, people might not like a film might have not been on people’s radar like I don’t know. For example, Daniel Detweiler, Intel. I don’t know if everyone has seen till like I haven’t heard as much buzz around Tiller as I have everything else. And Daniel Detweiler, as Mamie tells it, is unbelievably good. She is sensational and she was nominated, deserving me so but this isn’t in moments like this where I’m just like the nomination is just not enough. Because if Daniel dead white his name until a knot in every single news report, the day after the BAFTA is people are not going to go back and do their homework on the films that were nominated but didn’t win. I just don’t think they will. I’d love to be wrong. But I just think you see the list of winners. And if you haven’t seen TÁR, you’ll go and watch TÁR but like, people know and love Cate Blanchett because she’s the best already. And we’ve known that for so many years. And of course, she deserved to win. Like, nobody could argue and say, Oh, Cate Blanchet wasn’t very good. That was a bit weird. I just feel like Cate Blanchett's energy onstage in the winner’s room says to me, I know what this could have meant for someone else. I know that somebody else could have been platformed in a different way. I’m not worried about me. That’s what her energy said to me. She’s, she’s wondering what yeah, this is another thing. It’s like, TÁR is so much about how much of a genius Todd Field is. And nobody above her cared about that. Which is not great. Like, I yeah, like her energy felt to me like this is great, but you should have given it to him. And my ward, you should have given it to her, which is strange. It’s a strange thing to notice from where I’m sitting. Like, I’d love to be wrong, but it’s a strange thing to be pretty confident about. why there was such an uncomfortable energy in the room.
MIA Speaking of deserving actresses, Ella, you took the photos for our new girls on top collabo Michelle Yeoh tt. Can you tell us about that?
ELLA Oh, I can. Indeed I am absolutely thrilled about that. It is such an honor. And the two favorite things in my life are working for girls on tops and working for letterboxes. This was a dream for me. And we also enlisted letterbox bestie Iona Murray and her sister Kelsey to model the T-shirts for us, which was just such a joy because I just feel like I don’t know. I think it just spoke to the kind of maximalist love at the heart of everything ever all at once like to have to be in a room with AON and Kelsey and, you know, I take I take a lot of photos, I take photos of a lot of people who are not professional models wearing girls on tops t shirt, and I just needed to you’ll see this in the BTS of the shoot, there just needs to be no direction. It was such a joy. It just, you know, we were shooting on backdrops that were the colors of the letterbox logo and just everything just felt like it fell into place and was just right. And I didn’t know I hoped we did Michelle justice. It was so much fun. I’m so proud of this collaboration.
GEMMA I’m wearing mine right now.
ELLA Mine on the red carpet and key pointed at it again and told me how much he loves the show and loves Michelle so that’s what I wanted from the rafters
GEMMA and you got it. So I feel quite jealous that Brian you and Allah you have both had your little moments with key. Maybe Mia and I may be I don’t know, maybe. Maybe we might rub shoulders with ki but I know that there’s someone else Mia you’d rather be rubbing shoulders with on this red carpet season. Shall we go there? Do we need to talk about the Leading Actor category? I think we do. Just get it off your chest. Ella’s got it. I’ve got a date with ever to get to so we
MIA needs to talk about Colin because I am becoming very nervous about His Best Actor Oscar race. So [The Banshees of Inisheer] has won both of the ing categories. So yay for Barry Keogan And Carrie Condon. It is also one outstanding British Irish film but Austin Butler won best leading actor for Elvis and I’m very happy for him. Of course it’s very well deserved. He gave a great performance. But Collins not winning in his homeland is a little bit scary to me
ELLA that will gossips in the winners room when we were watching, you know, when we were watching the livestream, everyone thought that Colin was going to win like we weren’t, you know, we were all team again, we love Austin, but it just didn’t feel like it was his time and his place once he was in the winner’s room. He was fabulous. And you know, he had his power pose while he was holding his BAFTA and it was fabulous. But yeah, like we were all expecting your Colin Farrell speech, Colin Farrell gives the best speeches as we know and it was so late in the night that we were like, he’s going to be a little tipsy, and it’s going to be the best TV that the BBC has ever put out. And and I just feel like we’ve let the whole world down like that that we’ve kind of deprived you know audiences who are not in the UK like you’re not in Britain and Ireland I’m just like we owed this to everyone
MIA and he was your responsibility your national responsibility maybe
GEMMA it’s gonna be one for one maybe the Oscars will give it to Colin Mia and and you will get your moment betters give it to Austin Oscars give it to Colin, everybody who backwards
ELLA may or we live in a society,
MIA is a backward society. But okay, wait, let me say something nice about Elvis. Yeah, we were in good Elvis news though. I was very happy to see our buddy Catherine Martin when Best Costume Design for her fabulous work on Elvis, even though it was at the expense of our other bestie Mrs. Harris. That’s okay. That’s okay. I’m just happy that Mrs. Harris is going to Paris. Got to go to the BAFTA is
BRIAN my bestie, my first girl on top, T Sandy Powell. She won. She made history by becoming the first costume designer to win BAFTA his highest honor, the BAFTA Fellowship, and she did not disappoint with her own wavy, wavy outfit. I love the picture. You took Ella backstage of her. Oh my god.
ELLA
Thank you so much. I was absolutely thrilled. Fun fact, Brian, Sandy Powell were the first girls on tops that I ever owned as well. She’s still my fave. And yeah, I mean, so starstruck. She’s, she’s stunning. She’s an incredible presence. I kind of loved her energy in the winner’s room. She was like, not standoffish, but kind of any questions that she’d be asked by journalists, when we didn’t get much of a concrete answer, you know, about, like, favorite people she has worked with or wants to work with or anything. And I kind of respect that, because I just think you’ve done enough. We know why you’re here. And you can just go and enjoy yourself like you’ve done the work we don’t need. We don’t need any more from you. And what an honor to be in the same room as her.
MIA Well, thank you so so so much, Ella. I believe you’ll be back later because you’re coming to our after power or tea. That’s three hours each with the one and only Ram Duran so we’ll see you again soon.
ELLA Thank you so much for having me. I cannot wait for the party ROM and I already were born ready.
MIA Brian, back in LA. It’s been a very busy week with the first lot of Guild Awards taking place. And, you know, in fact, Katherine Martin sent bars to the Baptists in her place because her own guild, the Art Directors Guild had their awards the very same night.
BRIAN Yes, you and baz were both winning special awards from the Art Directors Guild for a contribution to cinematic imagery. I know that you both agree with that. I do too. Yeah, there are so many Guild Awards. So hold onto your butts. There are directors who bestowed awards upon Jason keys bar day for everything every while at once for fantasy film lawrencium Martin for Babylon for period film, and Rick Heinrichs for [Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery] for contemporary film. It was a big day for working with Guillermo del Toro as well, because anyone lucky enough to work with GDT they’re already lucky but his production designers on both his limited series cabinet of curiosities and his animated film [Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, Tamara devil, Morel and gay divas, they both won Chima meow, did y’all wanna tease something? Oh,
MIA Gemma, Gemma, can we please please, please? Can we?
I mean, why wouldn’t we?
MIA Okay, okay, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do it. We were lucky enough to chat with Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafsson for this very podcast, and it will be live next week on The Next Best in Show.
GEMMA And it’s such a good chat.
BRIAN It’s a good chat. Now let’s keep going. Here’s the Art Directors Guild. They give the awards to production designers and the Oscar for production design goes to both the production designer and the set decorator. But since set decorators are left out of the art director Guild Awards, the set decorator Society of America, they have their own awards, because it's only their third annual so it's full of so many ties, so I can’t list all the names of Jim Ibia. Could you in awe wherever you deem appropriate safer
GEMMA lately,
BRIAN Brian contemporary film winners For set deck where tar and Top Gun: Maverick tide, ooh, the
MIA tar maze.
GEMMA Oh the Air Force VA. I want to go to
BRIAN I want to go there too because Jennifer Connelly is the bartender. Yeah, that doesn’t go into the set deck but there were no ties for period and fantasy films as Elvis and Everything Everywhere All at Once they won those themselves. They didn’t share it with anybody but there was a tie also in comedy set decoration. Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent to both one
MIA oh wow, big win for Nick Cage memorabilia, I suppose. The Directors Guild also had their awards. So we are not through all the guilds yet we’re gonna keep on tracking. I personally am interested in how Everything Everywhere All at Once did there because it only picked up one award at the BAFTA for editing.
BRIAN happy to report that the top prize went to Daniel Kwan and Daniel shiner it for everything everyone wants. They won Best Director.
GEMMA What does that mean for the Yeah, I was gonna say what does this mean for the Oscars?
BRIAN Yeah, this was kind of their first big hurdle to see if they could topple Steven Spielberg outside of critics groups, and it’s pretty major because we got some facts, don’t we? Me?
MIA Oh, yes, we do. So Jax facts has informed us that in their 75 year history, only eight winners did not win the Best Director Oscar.
BRIAN I’m still stinging from the fact that David Fincher lost because he won everything for The Social Network, including BAFTA and DGA, and he lost the Oscar to Tom Hooper for The King’s Speech as one of those eight and thanks for that. I hate the reminder but it’s
GEMMA the director of Cats.
MIA There's a Tom Hooper industrial complex thing going on. That we will dig into a separate miniseries.
BRIAN He knows how to work the room. Speaking of the rooms, that’s where they give out these awards and I’m sprinting DGA, they also gave out like all these gills they give out multiple multiple multiple awards for different crafts. They get
GEMMA is quite granular don’t they be compared to the Oscars which are very Yeah, it’s good. And
BRIAN so there’s a documentary director of the year and Sara dosa one for Fire of Love, Charlotte Wells, one first time theatrical film feature director of the year for Aftersun. A category that the Oscars are really should adapt like the BAFTA already has. And so we can insert the searcher Ronin women meme. Let’s mention another one. Helen Schafer won an episodic Award for directing Station Eleven, that’s the actress from Desert Hearts everybody Wow women which women
MIA women can we insert her saying women
BRIAN women like the Oscars. That's the only time we have for women. Let's move on.
GEMMA time check. Let’s move on to makeup here.
BRIAN Respect and risk Britain. Elvis received both makeup and hair artist skills for period Everything Everywhere All at Once landed Best Contemporary makeup and Black Panther would conduct forever as it should. Yeah. Black Panther Wakanda forever. Also one for contemporary hair. Yes, it did.
GEMMA Yes, it did.
BRIAN But now you’re gonna want to boo Jim. Because the whale has makeup effects for prosthetics, which Jim has ranted about here before but I’ve heard I had a little document that told me that Gemma has a different rant for a different guild that goes around. So let's hear this.
GEMMA It’s true. I do visual effects. But me I’ll let you name the winners first and then I’ll have my little rant.
MIA Thank you, Gemma. So to nobody’s surprise, Avatar: The Way of Water cleaned up a lot of awards here. So the visual effects society gets as granular as the other guild if not more. So really go into town on acknowledging many, many, many of the different elements that go into VFX. So you’ve got [Avatar: The Way of Water, winning the overall outstanding visual effects in a photo real feature prize and for virtual cinematography, outstanding model for the sea dragon, outstanding created environment for that reef and outstanding animated character for Curie. That’s the Sigourney Weaver teenager. Yeah, and for a film titled The Way of Water, I guess it is a relief that they won several prizes for effects simulations for the literal water for the integration of the water via compositing and lighting. And let’s not forget those practical effects [Avatar: The Way of Water] won that two for the current machine and wave pool and wait, wait, wait, there is one more golf for water is the Emerging Technology Award for the water toolset? Wow
GEMMA man so much water and speaking of water, great to see Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives get a nod here for Outstanding ing visual effects because that cave work was magnificent. Speaking of Colin Farrell by the way, there are a lot of names attached to the awards a lot a lot of names and I feel bad for not having the time to read them aloud because you VFX artists who work long hours under truly punishing conditions, basically the VFX industrial complex needs its day in court. Some of my best friends are and have been and are no longer with us VFX artists, the hours are long and mental health is thin on the ground. GQ have just published a very good story about this by Simon Parkin the link as an episode notes and I really want you all to read it especially, especially if you like a superhero movie, a 70 hour working week as blue shirt and I just really want everyone to please think twice before you write things like the visual effects for shit in your reviews. Because there’s a reason for that. visual effects artists don’t wake up in the morning. I’m gonna make some shit effects to Jay in the front
MIA excellent rant as always Gemma, but in happier news, our friends Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, [Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio picked up some gongs from visual effects too. Yay, yay, yay, yay. So speaking of Pinocchio, let’s move on to the society of composers and lyricists where the very sweet song Ciao Papa, one outstanding song for a musical or comedy sunlux was rewarded for their score for Everything Everywhere All at Once at the independent level as well. The
BRIAN Society of composers and lyricists sounds like I’m looking at a picture like the Magic Castle. It sounds like a great society to . Do
MIA you think Lydia Tarr is in that society? I think she’s
BRIAN breaking news Lydia Tar society. So the Society of composers and lyricists, they have independent level and they have studio level awards. So at the studio level, a big win we got to highlight it because the guild’s and the Oscars did not highlight it enough. Nope had a win there. That’s Michael April’s who’s been doing the scores for all of Jordan peels films. He had a very well deserved win. Full of this mentioned though I am personally rooting for our new bestie Carter Burwell the Oscars were April’s was not nominated which
GEMMA to pay for not nominated meantime though my favorite 14 time Oscar nominee but not winner except for her Honorary Oscar. Diane Warren. One outstanding song for drama or documentary with her song applause from Tell It Like a Woman. Will Diane Warren get her first Oscar or is she not to not going to win yet again? Please somebody stop me.
MIA Gemma, Gemma, I will volunteer. Let me stop you right there because the rest of the show is all going to be about music composers and songwriters. And there’s even a bonus interview with Women Talking and Tara composer Hildur Guna. Doctor, the first woman to win a solo Best Original Score Oscar for Joker. And that interview will be part of my Best in Show column as well as more of these guild winners with names. And it’s time now to step behind the curtain of original movie music.
BRIAN We talked to composer Carter Burwell, who famously composed Twilight and films with Todd Haynes and Spike Jones. His first feature film was The Coen brothers Blood Simple and he’s done every one of their films except for O Brother, Where Art Thou??
MIA We will wait so does that mean that he did Intolerable Cruelty, which by the way, has only a 2.9 rating on letterboxed and deserves better because it’s George Clooney and Catherine Zeta Jones and they’re being so mean to each other like
GEMMA 1.9 it’s it’s an embarrassment that it’s an embarrassment
BRIAN Yeah, it needs a reevaluation Do your thing letterbox especially especially if you ed us last week and watch Down With Love because it's in a similar wheelhouse of early 2000s rom com That deserves a fresher set of eyes and that rating should go up.
GEMMA Rom comm by the Coen Brothers what’s not to love there it’s a no brainer anyway anyway. Synopsis everyone’s hot I mean, just like Best in Show, I love it. It’s great. Anyway, Back to Carter Burwell. He has one precisely zero Oscars. Not even care is kind of not even fuck Carol. Yeah, but that might change this year as he is up for Best Original Score for the benches of inner Sharon directed by his old mate Martin McDonough, whom he has composed every film for so it is time to talk [The Banshees of Inisheer] and Bella’s lullaby
You are
MIA you’re very well known for your incredible Coen Brothers scores, your Todd Haynes scores, your Spike Jones scores. But Carter, I gotta tell you, my very favorite is your twilight score. 100%. So I promise, I promise we’re going to talk about what you’re here to talk about [The Banshees of Inisheer]. But first I just really quickly have to ask about fellas' lullabies. Are you aware that that tune is just all over the internet these days, racking up millions and millions and millions of views and videos?
CARTER My daughter has shown me some tic TOCs using it and, and stuff like that? No, I would, I would assume it’s out there. I love it. There’s a younger generation discovering it, too, which is great.
BRIAN What, uh, was there a particular Tik Tok video that she showed that kind of blew your mind how it was interpreted?
CARTER Well, he asked me these from a few years ago, so I don’t the specifics, but they had nothing to do with Twilight. They’re really just dancing to the music. And which is cool. I mean, I love that, to me, that’s one of the things about music is that it can go out, leave the film and have its own life, which isn’t really true of any of the other aspects of the film, or the or the hair can’t go off and, or the, you know, the sets or the screenplay, they don’t typically go off and have their own life. But the music does, which is fascinating.
MIA Yeah, so So for our listeners who may be new to music theory and the art of composing, could you tell us about how you even begin the herculean task of scoring an entire film, because that overwhelms me just to think about it?
CARTER Well, um, so I throw out a few of the steps that I start with. So the first one is that I actually watched the film. And then I try to think of what’s missing in that film, what I could bring to it that’s not already there. So that doesn't actually specifically have to do with music. It’s just really about the drama shown in the cinema. What can I contribute? Then I go away from the film and sit at the piano. And say, I have an idea, like, for instance, for [The Banshees of Inisheer. My final concept that I, you know, I focused on was to turn it into sort of more of a fairy tale than a depiction of real people doing real things. And so I sat at the piano and I tried to come up with two, I think it’s the best word to put up a tune that will suggest that and for [The Banshees of Inisheer, I wanted to have some sweetness because Colin Farrell’s character is so sweet and so innocent, but I also want it to be a little twisted because the story is going to take you, you know, if you’re expecting a sweet story, you’ll you’re going to be really upset. These notes are going to take you in these unexpected directions. So I have to put aspects in the structure of the melody and the harmony. That will be a little bit off, you know, that’ll play the actual dark directions that the story takes. And so that’s those are my first step sitting at the piano and thinking well, I wanted to and also I wanted to be a little catchy something that I’ll when I you know, if someone leaves this film, they it
BRIAN part of this because you already brought up Colin Farrell, we have to ask How did his expressive eyebrows affect your scoring? How are you reacting to those
CARTER live expression vibrates to? Yeah, definitely the music plays to the extent that you could say the music plays any character in the movie. It’s a movie that starts with him. And the music starts with him. And I don’t think I ever particularly played the music under Brandon Gleason’s character. I do play some under control sister’s character, but by and large, the music travels with Colin Farrell’s character, and, you know, he, with those expressive eyebrows, he’s, he’s getting pulled left and right now and it’s all over the map. Basically, you get the impression from the way the movies introduced that he had a great life until about two minutes into the movie, and suddenly it all goes wrong, right. So the music just follows him on that journey and takes us along with him. And of course, it ends up in a pretty dark place. But one of the nice things about the music is that it doesn’t, it doesn’t change that much. I mean, when you’re at the end of the film, you’re still hearing basically the same melodies that you heard at the beginning, but they’re playing those eyebrows sort of ironically now like they're playing this loss in a sense, instead of the actual innocence out at the beginning. So obviously Brendan
MIA Gleason’s character is represented by a fiddle but I’m curious about what instruments you associate with Collins character carries and berries.
CARTER Well Collins is definitely an instrument called a cellist which is basically like if you took a glockenspiel will belt and played it with a keyboard put a keyboard on it. It was probably first used famously in Um, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker that you hear it for the dance of the sugar plum fairies. It's a very childlike, very magical sound. And it plays that you know the very beginning of the movie you see this rainbow behind them and these lips in this beautiful place with all his animals that he gets along with almost as though he’s a Disney character and, and I think the Celes plays all those things pretty well. For when we get to his sister who we see pretty early on in the film as well. The woodwinds come in which in the case of the show is mostly alto flute and bass flute. And that that typically plays her for it’s also when she’s leaving the island that comes in at the end of that scene, sort of the most emotional scene in the movie maybe. And interestingly I want to talk about that if you know, I don’t really use a lot of strings. Normally in a situation like that, where his heart is breaking, you would think that’s where we could cue the strings. But in this film, most of the music has a pretty cool tone to it, as opposed to warm. It's mostly cooler instruments. And it depends on the actors to convey the emotion. The music isn’t like holding your hand and telling you how to feel about the sittings.
MIA I’m sorry. And I also have to ask Jenny the donkey, What would her instrument be?
CARTER Oh, well, she’s the belle of course. There is almost a sound for her because we so often in the movie see her walking alongside Colin Charles' character, and there are some drums with drums, marimba and other long drums, that they’re not very loud. But they play this, this traveling spirit or sound that happens fairly often in the film, because they don’t there’s no motorized vehicles, right? And people spend a lot of time. The pace of the film is sort of the pace of someone walking from one place to another. You see that quite a bit. Michelle,
MIA I think it’s so interesting and innovative and effective, how you pulled from Bulgaria and Indonesia and regional folk music rather than, you know, just sticking with Ireland. And I’ve, I’ve read that Martin really pushed you to ditch these Irish influences. And I was wondering if you could tell us about this challenge?
CARTER Well, when I first heard the script, you know, we don’t have to have specific musical ideas. At that point. I don’t usually write the music until they shoot the film. But I read the script well before the film was shot. And Martin wants to talk for one thing about the fiddle tune. Brendan’s fiddle tune. But we also talked about the score a little bit. And I said, I didn’t really have any really strong ideas at that point about what should be and I said, Well, maybe it should just have something to do with Irish music. And he was very insistent that it not be that he said, I hate that detail. D you know, old world Irish film music. In retrospect, I think so much of the film is so Irish, even though the island itself is made up, it was shot on these real islands, and you get a very strong sense of location, and of the clothing people were in at the time. And I think with all that specificity, in those areas, I think he wanted the music to be something that carried you a little bit away from the island, and maybe generalize the story a little bit more, I made it less specific to that place. In the end, I came to this idea of playing, playing and more like a fable, almost. I think, you know, it begins nicely that way with Colin and his animals, right? It does sort of seem like you’re beginning like Cinderella or something, you know, with all the animals in the house and, and the way he relates to nature, and all the shots of nature. And actually, I was reading Grimms fairy tales to my daughter about what I had already begun doing the composition but, and quite solidified my ideas by this greeting Cinderella tour. And it got to the point where the evil step mother has her daughter cut off parts of their feet to fit into the slipper. And I thought wow, that reminds me of something that I’m working on. And I began to realize that one of the reasons like the bells and the harp, I think sort of worked in this film, even when it got very dark was that it did play it as a fable. And so then I just after that realization, I just went all in with that, that approach for
BRIAN our last round of questions because you’ve had such an amazing, illustrious career. We kind of wanted to dive a little bit into your filmography. One question that just wanted to ask because you’ve worked with so many interesting filmmakers in so many different types of movies. What musical score of yours do you feel like was the hardest to crack the code? Well, they’re
CARTER the ones that are the hardest, where I don’t feel actually that I ever cracked. And one of those would be The Hudsucker Proxy, which is one of the Coen Brothers movies where it was just very difficult. In the end, we used a lot of music by Aaron King, a vegetarian , this Georgian composer, which is made just Armenian, by the way, is beautiful. And suits for some reason suits this very American movie for some reason. But I, yeah, I worked very hard to try to do something better than the catch attorney and I, by and large, I never succeeded. So that would be one where, yeah, I tried to crack the code and I just don’t think I ever quite did. But the ones the happier for me have your stories would be something like, like Fargo where, you know, I felt when I read the script, you know, all the characters have these Scandinavian names. And I thought, if there’s some way for me to write a score, that would be both a film noir score, but also a Scandinavian, somehow bring the two things together, bring together like Scandinavian music, like use some Scandinavian instruments, but also use the the low winds and timpani of of a film noir. You know, like one from the 50s Dimitri Tiomkin, the score. That was my little challenge, I said to myself, and in that case, it actually worked. I think it came out really, really well, that hybrid that I that I made. So that’s actually one of my favorites.
MIA How hard was Bella’s alibi, please tell me, okay, I
CARTER has Bella’s lullaby story. Or in a different way, do you want the whole story to be like a 10 minute story?
MIA Do you have the time if you have the time? I am all ears.
CARTER Okay. I’ll do it. That’ll be our final fact. Yes. Thank you. Catherine. Hardwick was trying to convince me to do the movie. And I, I wasn’t sure you know, a teen romance with vampires. I wasn’t sure it was really my cup of tea. So she brought me out to Portland, where she was shooting, and Portland, Oregon, and showed me some of what she was shooting just to convince me that it’s not whatever you think, you know, a T vampire romance is going to be, it's going to be better than that. And, and she was right. It was she who convinced me. And she’s wonderful, you know, the way that she shoots. Fur like that age is amazing. So I was out there in the editing reaction when she got a memo from the film company saying, we’ve been following the blogs. So this would have been social media back at that time, our blogs, and following the blogs showed all the people who love the Twilight books, they all want to know what Bella’s lullaby is going to sound like in the movie. And as it so happens, they hadn’t put it in the script at all. It was a love story. I didn’t appear anywhere in the film adaptation of the book . The script just didn’t include it because it didn’t seem to be important for the story, right? So they weren't there. And they sent her a memo and said, the fans want this. So we’ve got to add a bellows Lullaby and in the movie, so we’ll give you half a day to shoot Rob Pattinson sitting at the piano. But you can’t see his fingers. If you don’t know what Bella is, Bella Philippi is really going to be shot that way. And, and she said, you know, if you do this film, you’re gonna have to come up with a bill for it's all about. So I knew. From that moment, there was a lot of pressure on me to have something that would be good for that. And the pressure only grew because honestly, as you in the movie began, it was not expected to be a big thing. But over the course of the year, or something that it took to go from writing a script to shooting a film to editing it and scoring it. Twilight just got bigger and bigger and bigger. And the books did too. So that in the end, there was luck, the pressure only increased. And I was trying to come up with a belt lullaby tune. And I didn’t have anything I really thought was great. But in that situation, I go back and I listen to other stuff that I’ve written that I have lying around to see if it’s inspiring or if it’s something that I can use. And I found a tool that I actually wrote once for a girlfriend, who had left me and I was so strong, rather than I. I wrote this, the only way I can express my feelings, she wrote this to him, and I mailed it to her. Because I knew she wasn’t going to like it, she didn’t want to talk to me. So it’s just I mailed her this tune. If we, if we jumped ahead, that woman is now my wife and into the shop. And I went to her and I said, you know that the tune that I wrote for you back then I think it would actually work for Bella’s lullaby. It’s got a lot of angst in it, but it’s also kind of hopeful. And it’s got, you know, just got a lot of different emotions in it. And can I show you the movie and see if you think it would be okay to use it, because obviously, because I really wrote it for you. I showed her the movie as it existed then. And she said, Oh, yeah, sure. It’d be great. Go ahead, use it. So those were the two that’s where I came from. Actually I’d written it years before for Christine. And I played it for Katherine Hardwick and she loved it. Editors loved it. And so we started using it all through the film as the main theme of the film. And then when finally we were playing the music for the executives in the phone company, or through all the different cues, we got to the big one bell lullaby when we played that for him, and afterwards he didn't seem to love it as much as everyone else. And he goes, that first note, is that is that a dissonance? And he’s right it’s very different from the very first eighth note and it is very much a dissonance and immediately resolves, but it is the little pang of the first note is, is what you call this sentence. And if you’re for musicians who are listening, it’s an A, B flat over an A and a B. So it’s very, three notes don't really go together comfortably. And he said, Well, I don’t think our audience is going to go for that. Because in his mind, the audience is 12 year old girls, and he’s got some idea about what trofeo girls will accept and a piece of music, right? I personally would say he was under estimating 12 year old girls, but he is I don’t think they’re going to accept that. But I, you know, I did what I used to do in those situations, I get a note like that I write it down. So you can see that I’m taking the note down. And I say, okay, and then I just didn’t change. I figured he’s gonna go on. He’s gonna go from this meeting to a meeting about special effects, and then a meeting about some other movie. You know, he’ll forget about this, because everyone else loves the tune. But as it so happens, he didn’t forget about it. And like, a week later, he called and said, How are we doing with that note? Well, everyone else here love said, it’s all through the score at this point. And I don’t, I don’t really think it’s going to change. And he said, I’m not approving the recording if we don’t change that now. I actually had been doing the writing out here in Los Angeles and was getting on a plane like the next day going back east for live. And then we’re going to record in London in a week. I didn’t know what to do, honestly, the whole flight going back as I did I just left the production. I’m not going to you know, I wrote this tune for Christie, and I’m not going to make it worse, you know? Or this. And yeah, I didn’t know it was good, a good melody by the time I landed on the East Coast, and I thought, well, what I’ll do is I’ll send some alternatives over to Kathryn. And maybe if those get approved, I could bear I’ll bury them somewhere else in the two weeks just will Yeah. Anyway, I'll do the best that I can. And I said some things that I didn’t particularly like, in the hope that nobody would listen. And I think in the end, no one did. Listen, no one ever sent me any notes after that. And when it got to London to record it, and not only from the phone company was there. So it was just me and Katherine. And so Bella by winning, you know, the way it is, but it was a close call. And to be fair, that executive has called me since then and apologized. And he said he now has kids that were like, you know, a daughter was like, you know, teenager and and he said that when she started playing bills or buying saw how she felt about it. He really felt kind of bad about what he had said before. But
BRIAN speaking of close calls and feeling bad, I would feel bad if I didn’t get to ask a very quick question at the end, which is because I love Carol. I love the Coen Brothers. So I love that you’re returning to the lesbian road trip genre with Ethan, I know I know. You probably haven’t seen imagery yet but through discussions how what can we expect from this score? I read that it was described as similar to*Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!*, which I’m so excited about.
CARTER That’s right. I mean, it’s kind of a comedy. I have seen I’m actually starting to work on it right now. Amazing. And, yeah, it’s very much of a comedy kind of a from everything you’ve just said you can probably match it’s not easy to compare it to anything else. It but you’re right, it has a little bit of the Russ Meyer, there occasional, like, you know, camera angles, and just the amount of you know, it’s suffused with sex like a Russ Meyer movie, but it’s also because Ethan is also very, has really silly sense of humor. There’s a lot of that too.
BRIAN You’ve already cracked the code, right? I haven’t know
CARTER I’m working on it right now.
MIA Every award season event has that moment when the security guards are hurting us to the exit across a floor littered with feathers and biodegradable glitter. When someone says there’s room in our car and suddenly we’re winding up the curves of Mulholland Drive to a house with views for days and a steady supply of coke. God coli. Yes, it is. It is time for the after party. That's three R’s each by the way.
GEMMA There's a lot of us and there are no two men who put the RR into after a repairer at this season more than him taking care of Annie and Chandra boasts the Oscar nominated songwriters of the global hit now to Nathu.
BRIAN You put it that so much better than I could have
GEMMA IRAs. Can anyone else roll them out? Can you roll your hours?
BRIAN After? You’re sounding like
GEMMA oh my god, can I just go, I want to say something about natto natto. So a few weeks ago, we were talking about original songs and movies and which ones get Oscar nominated and how there are those that are part of the story. And then there are those that turn up at the end credits, and how I have this really complicated relationship with the end credits ones because I believe truly deep in my heart, that the only original song that should win an Oscar is one that plays a role in the story. And this year, several songs are up for, you know, for playing that role. But the best one of all, I think it’s Natalie, Natalie.
BRIAN Yeah. And actually, I mean, you to that point, it’s actually when you’re on the shortlist that they only send you the songs so you only judge the songs so there’s no context of where it comes in the movie or anything. It's really the best system but it’s what the branch decided to do. We’re in the after party, but this after party is different. So Mia and Jim instead of watching a movie from awards history this week, we decided to let you to on the loose to find out more about these men and the song that’s brought so much joy to parties ever since Ram Sharan and NT are hooked step their way to victory over the British in RR RS power DC
MIA what was the first award you ever won even as a child and what was it for
The first our first ever award was presented to me for my father's violin I played and one award for my singing as a singer and as a violinist I received an award from my school actually when I was studying in the school. Same thing happened. Same thing happened in my village school. So I got an award for my singing skills.
MIA Oh two award winning singers.
GEMMA So Chandra voce, the lyrics to Natuna two are a beautiful ode to the art of dancing and your wife as a choreographer Suchitra in what ways does she inspire your songwriting your lyrics
M.M. KEERAVANI is not the only song. It means she's an inspiration . She inspires me for every song. She gives me strength and gives her some confidence to write any song of mine. So for this not not for this song, she gave me time she gave me space to write whatever I have to write. So give me more space, more time, and more encouragement. She gave me the song because the song tonight she has. I wrote this song for almost one year and seven months. It took a long time, or 719 months , so she’s very patient to help me swim. She’s so kind to help me with all my other work or other things. So she gives me a lot of space. That’s so sweet.
GEMMA Yeah, it’s gorgeous. It’s that’s a long time for songwriting and for such an important song that plays such a huge role in the story of our our our I would love to hear you talk a bit about the lyrics because they’re in Telugu but they have also been translated into many other languages. And there are arguments on the internet about what the song means. Could you tell us in your words what it means.
M.M. KEERAVANI So Nattu Nattu means very primitive to things pertaining to nature into activities that relates with an on one word, it can be different as the indigenous the countryside, the village side activities village site things can be defined as not so I born in and brought up in small village even Carolyn we’re all born and brought up in a small village so me know the countryside things countryside activities, so whatever we experienced whatever we learn from our village so all together I could all i altogether I put me in the song. So that made it easy for me to write 90% of the song. It took only 45 minutes to write. It took only 45 minutes, the remaining 10 percent of the time. So the remaining 10% It took a long time because of a pandemic on everything. And the shooting got canceled. So the 10% took a long time, but the main portion of the song 90%, it took only 45 minutes to write the song. So that was a memorable experience for me. And we will carry on myself, we had a long term relationship from from past 28 years we are working together,
MIA not to not to is in six, eight times and for our listeners who may be new to music theory and not know what that means. Could you talk to us a little bit about six eight time and what emotions and inspires
M.M. KEERAVANI is a tree that connects to human rhythm. I mean, you know, an animal with a normally an animal with a mammal with four legs, be it a cow or goat or a lion, tiger, buffalo, all these animals, they work well when they walk, the walk with four legs is 1234123412341234 that will be dead and walking straight. Now a human has two legs. He won’t be common, he or she won’t be comfortable walking in, for that is for count I mean, you say you have two legs to work. When the beat happens that's the normal pace known when you walk on the road. And this beat cannot be 12341234 you try to walk thinking about 1234 you feel uncomfortable. But whereas you are at the 12312312312312 table, you feel very comfortable 3311 side three and left and three and by wantedly 12312 etc you try it at home. You see 12341234 Is discomfort 123123123123 you can be sure you can take a stone for whichever light you want. So when this six eight thing here has six crotchets six divisions in and in a bar in a unit. So that gives a great level of comfort for humans to walk or to take a stroll or to dance. So that's how it happened. I don’t mean to say that two four is unfit for dancing but instinct said you feel more comfortable. When you feel more comfortable, you will have scope to bring out the more stamina within you. So the more stamina the more energy and more sustenance you can show in the song that’s what is required in this song. So we decided to six eight beat
MIA you both made history at the Golden Globes because not to not to was the very first Indian song to win Best Original Song and we were rooting for you. We cheered from our living rooms when you won. And we’re wondering if you could tell us how that special moment felt for you.
M.M. KEERAVANI But on my side, I could not attend the function that after hearing the news, I call Cara Juana guru to appreciate to congratulate take care of one girl and he got he congratulated me and he sang one song not not not not to. It is not not to. He sang one song, which I wrote. That is the first song I wrote for Caronia for a team, so I wrote one small jingle kind of song that he ed. After 29 years he ed the song and he sang that song. Officially I just congratulated him with the song of our first first ever Association.
GEMMA It is so exciting for you both. We know that you had a very long day yesterday and that you have very long days ahead of you. We couldn’t be prouder. We would love to know what you would like to say to the film fans around the world, especially on letterboxed who have embraced our art are so fully
M.M. KEERAVANI as I like to say to the world audience, just like they embrace the word cinema and word music. I want them to embrace Indian cinema and Indian music as well. Indian we Music is very rich in heritage values and its big classical art light, whatever genre, but Indian India has got to offer rich music rich in culture rich in scales and all and Indian cinema has to offer versatile plots and stories, because India is a country with unity and diversity. So, there are so many cultural differences, and there are so many agronomical differences in the country. So, all these create meal stories every day every day, that is a story in India to tell. So, these stories are nicely crafted and they’re presented by many talents, young, young and veteran talent in India, which is a big attention hereafter. So, that’s why I suggested the word guardians to embrace Indian culture, Indian music and Indian literature as well and are mainly Indian cinema. That’s my wish
GEMMA I so we got the wrap up. Those men were so tired. They had been running on fumes after 18 hour days of press and you know, pre Oscar patties. So we didn’t get to ask the big question. Will we see our hooks tip at the Oscars?
BRIAN Well, we’re in luck because Ella put that question to our star Ram Sharan, when she got him to read some thirsties and very, very thirsty letterbox reviews last week for Valentine’s Day, I had a Thursday letterbox review for RAM. Let’s hear what he had to say about whether he wants to go to the Oscars.
We would love to do not to not do anywhere, where we are being appreciated, but not every place accommodates us, for us to you know, perform. But if we are at the Oscars, and if there is a request, and if there is time, why not? We will be more than happy to entertain our audience and who have given us so much. I would love to do that step. Again. And again. For my audience.
MIA Hey, Academy, Ram Taran and NTR are free on Thursday and Sunday and every day I want to see Mitski and our boys tearing it up on that stage and an epic montage. Please, please, please.
GEMMA Oh my god, that would be amazing. Please, please, please let that be the plan.
BRIAN Paging Bill Kramer. Our buddy Bill Kramer
MIA our Best in Show bestie Bill Kramer. Can you make this happen? We only have one thing left to do this week. And that is to nominate a player of the season. Brian Do you have a nomination?
BRIAN Yes. I’m gonna nominate because Okay, let’s have Ella camp on here, in the spirit of the BAFTA carpet and her other life as a photographer, including taking photographs for our girls on Tops T. This week’s nomination is Jamie Lee Curtis. I love Jamie Lee Curtis so much because she's a talker. She’s but she’s been waiting in the wings for a player this season because she has been out of the season but we’re choosing to highlight that after the Santa Barbara International Film Fest where she was honored with the mountain modern master award. Jamie Lee posted a pic on Instagram of when she jumped the velvet rope and climbed into the media pit for a photo with all the press photographers where she wrote when in the fishbowl of show off business. I feel like we are all in it together. Which is true.
GEMMA It is so true. I love Jamie Lee Curtis and also the world of celebrity as mayor and I well know every time we step out the door is a complicated one and paparazzi bikers see? Thank you, Brian. I needed that. Yeah, I’d say then Pfeiffer’s in the service of you know clicks but they also bring us audiences so many special moments. And for an actor a lot of their worth relies on how flexible and giving and fun they are on those noisy and fast carpet. So I like what she posted and I liked that she wrote that. When actors and in an official capacity, it can be an intrusion and you know, their private lives have value but that in her words, we can’t do what we do without them and they can’t do what they do without us. In Me and Brian, I can’t do what I do without you.
BRIAN It’s still Valentine’s right.
[theme song ramps up, plays alone, fades out]
MIA Thanks so much for listening to Best in Show, a limited award season series brought to you by The Letterboxd Show. We would love for you to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and don’t forget that our girls on top Michelle Yeoh tee collab is now available online at girlsontoptees.com with photos by Ella Kemp.
GEMMA Oh yeah, you can follow all of us and Ella and our HQ page on Letterboxd using the links in our episode notes. Thanks to our crew: Jack for the facts, Slim for making us sound amazing. Sophie for the episode transcript and Letterboxd member Trent Walton for the music and to all of you for listening.
BRIAN I don’t have a lot to add to what I said earlier. Thanks. Best in Show is a Tape Deck production.That’s funny because that was Ethan Cohen accepting the best director Oscar for No Country for Old Men but his previous speech that night for adapted screenplay, all he said was: "Thank you very much for that." He said, *"I have nothing to add."
GEMMA Thank you, Brian.
[Tape Deck bumper plays] This is a Tape Deck podcast.