Loogal his only films to be buried with. Hello, and welcome to Films to be buried with. My name is Brett Goldstein. I'm a comedian, an actor, a writer, a director, an iheartradioer, and I love film. As George Santaniana once said, the Family is one of Nature's masterpieces. The other is Jurassic Park two The Lost World. It's wildly underrated, particularly the scene with the splintering windshield. Yes, George, you're right.
Every week I'm by a special guest over. I tell them they've died, then I get them to discuss their life through the films that meant the most of them. Previous guests include Barry Jenkins, Jamila Jamil, Mark Frost, Sharon Stone, and even Bred Clambles. But this week it's the excellent actor Himesh Patel. You can watch all of Shrinking on Apple tv Plus, and you can watch nearly all of Ted Lasso's seasons three so far. You can get episodes one to eight all on Apple tv Plus. Watch them
love it. Head over to the Patreon at patreon dot com forward slash Brett Goldstein, where you get an extra twenty minutes of chat with him. Ash, he tells me a secret. We talk about the best beginnings and endings of films. You get the whole episode, uncut, ad free and does a video. Check it out over at patreon dot com. Forward Slash Brett Goldstein. So himsh Patel, Himsh Patel is a lovely and brilliant actor. You know him from Yesterday, you know him from Tenet, and you know
him from his Emmy nominated performance in Station eleven. We recorded this on Zoom just a few days ago and one of the things we talk about a lot actually is his nine years on the show EastEnders. Now, if you don't live in England, you might not know where that is. It's one of the biggest shows in England, probably the biggest show in England. It's the soap that has been on forever, is on forever on at night. It's very well done, it's excellent. He was in it
for nine years. We talk about that, so when I'm talking about Easterners, that's what we're talking about. He's a lovely bloke and I really think you're going to love this episode. So that is it for now. I very much hope you enjoy episode two hundred and forty five of films to be Buried with. Thanks, Hello, and welcome
to Films to be Buried With. It is I Brett Goldstein, and I am joined today by an actor, a superstar, a film star, an eastender, a station elevener, an avenue fiver, a tenant, no numberer, a legend, a hero, a husband, a father, and a lover at least three times a week, according to the news, Please welcome, he's here. Can we believe it? An Emmy nominee, an award winner, a beautiful man. Here he is. I can't believe it. He's right to me. It's mister Himswn.
Hello, thanks for having me.
Hi.
What's the according to the news three times a week I'm a lover?
Is that? I think it was just a headline in the in the news that comes out every week that three times a week, at least three times a week, you make love.
I don't know what papers you read, but I personally make love.
Yeah.
Wow.
It was like in the you know, often in this sort of in other news like it's a positive thing. It's not.
Yeah, no, it's it's still a very interesting insight into my my personal life.
Pr people.
Yeah, but look, I mean it's just no comment that one.
Hes thank you for doing this. You're in England right now in your attic? Is that true?
I'm in my attic. Yeah, yeah, it's It's where i have my little office. It's not like I've been consigned to the attic to do.
This, no hims. Can we can I ask you a few questions about your life and career. Yeah, you are a movie star at alleged you started in these standards. I didn't realize how long you were in these standards. You're in the standards for all nine years?
Yeah? Nine years? Yeah? Basically. Yeah.
Can you in one sentence summarize what that's like.
One sentence? Did you say a word?
Yeah? It was.
I mean I'd have nothing without it, you know. I was sixteen, sort of plutch from obscurity in a little village and yeah, right time, right place, and definitely the right role, because I'll be honest, I was basically playing myself when I first started, right, you know, to some degree, and some may argue I'm doing it to this day, but I couldn't have imagined anything more at the beginning,
you know. So it's quite overwhelming really looking back on that, And that was half my life ago, and yeah, it is. It's an odd thing for me to think that I was there for nearly a decade. Yeah, it feels like a lot has happened since, obviously, But I did so much growing up there as a person as an actor.
I learned so much. I was so lucky to work with a lot of very very good actors who were there to work, you know, and make make it all as good as it could be, you know, because there's a huge workload, so many episodes every week.
You go every day every day, nine to five.
Basically, yeah, yeah, and there's a danger that you can start sort of spreading yourself thin. But I was just lucky that I was surrounded by people who they loved what they do, They love being actors, and they wanted to turn up to work every day and make it, make it great. And so I learned a lot about being an actor and my craft and actually the fact that it's hard work. You know, it's not about fame, it's about doing good work. And as I say it
and stills a hard work ethic. The areas I work in now of like you know, TV, different types of TV and film. The time you have was just such a luxury, you know, It'll always feel like a luxury to me though that You're like, Okay, well we've got to light the scene now, so i'll see you in an hour. I'm like, Wow, that's incredible that we'd have done an episode. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, So this side of it, it's interesting.
You say it's not about fame, and I agree, and I believe with you, But I also I am aware of these sort of side effects of being in EastEnders. In particular. I think it's a certain type of fame, right, You're you're very, very very famous in England if you're in these stenders, and you're famous in a way. I remember I made a short film with someone who was in these Stenders. I'm trying, we're trying to get a shot with him outside in the morning, and we couldn't.
We just couldn't because people just kept walking back. Yeah, we couldn't shoot. And I remember thinking, God, this is a certain type of fame that's actually quite I imagine it must be quite difficult, because not only are you very very form needs people, you're in the home all the time. You're like it seemed in a way that maybe it's different to if someone sees Brad Pitt, they
might be like, oh my god, Brad Pitt. Someone sees some of me senders they feel like their family or their friend, or there's something very very familiar where they go, yeah, how you doing, mate, Like how how was that? For nine years?
I think it's it's that it's yeah, the familiarity is one thing, but they're not familiar with you the person. They're exclusively familiar with the character. So you know, no one knew my name, they didn't know who Himesh was. They knew Tamoir, and so they were just that's what they'd say. As time war on, I got quite lucky that I looked very different to my character as a concerted effort. I was like, you know, I'm not gonna wear glasses life, and I'm gonna, you know, dress differently,
And in a way it was calculated. In a way, it was just me growing into my own person. But it just meant that I didn't as much as other friends of mine who were on the show, who you know, even even friends of mine who left the show years ago, who still they still feel a bit sort of insecure in the times because it's really expected and people it's a type of fame, a type of sort of way
that people approach you. That it's just different to what I've experienced since doing something like Yesterday or whatever where what I have with that, with being in films and that sort of thing now is I don't notice it because people aren't so ready to sort of come up to you and be quite informal, which people always will be with soap actors because of that familiarity thing and that they think a lot of them genuinely think you're
your character. They understand you're an actor, but they also don't they're not drawing enough of a line between the two things. And that's a very odd thing to experience. And I still, i'd say over here, I largely get recognized for EastEnders still more than anything in terms of people approaching me. Yeah.
And when you do the Stenders, is it all year? Is your contract a year or does it have gaps? Actually don't it?
Yeah? It's all yeah, I think if I unless it's changed. Now, I had like about two weeks of holiday I could take, and I had to book that in well in advance because obviously they're storylining, like you know, half a year and more in advance, so they've already got like a rough schedule out and they're like, and you could go to them and go, can I book a holiday? And you know, four months and they're like no, sorry, mate, Yeah, you're going to be You're going to be in solid
there's a big storyline coming in. So you know, it's a funny existence, but.
You're you're you're about to cheat on somewhere.
Fuck yeah, damn it. It was all I knew, of course. So then it's been funny sort of evolving away from that and going, oh, I can just just go on a holiday when I want to go on a holiday.
So when you I don't know your story, So did you did you choose to leave with you are like like nine years? How did you? How did it end?
I chose I chose to leave. Yeah, it was my choice. I was coming up, as I said, about nine years, and I think, you know, there's a thing that happens on soaps where a lot of it gets becomes like sort of heightened uber heightened sort of melodrama of like
buildings exploding and people killing each other and whatever. And the thing about my character and that show that I loved was that it just felt like he was sort of on the outside of the genre as it were, It felt like he was on the outside of everything, sort of going, this is all a bit weird, isn't it. And so I thought, eventually, you know, his time will come, and I don't know if I want it to be that.
At the time, the character was in a relationship and the actress, my friend Maddie, had made the choice to leave, and I was like, well, I'm going to leave too, because I want them to leave together and be happy. And so we left and we're happy since then Maddie went back to the show on her own and it turned out we'd gotten divorced off screen. So fuck, that's a show. But what's it like?
What's your goodbye like on these tenders when he's been there nine years every single day except for Yeah, it.
Was it was the emotion sort of caught me by surprise. Really. They threw this lovely, big old party at the BBC l Street Bar for me and Maddie and they played like a you know, as they do for everyone when they leave, like a montage of all your best bits, and you know, my family were there, and so many people showed up and you know, from the crew and the cast, and yeah, I sort of went to do a speech to say thank you to everyone, you just got caught in my throat and I remember going, oh, dear,
oh yeah, I'm not dead inside. It turns out, so yeah, it was. It was an emotional goodbye and also you know, scary. It was all all I'd known, and it was a leap of faith that I knew I had to take because I wanted to explore other things, and thankfully it worked out.
How long was the gap before you were then a massive movie start it?
It was less than two years that I was shooting Yesterday, Yeah, and then it was you know, amazing, but three years between leaving Extendards and Yesterday coming out. But yeah, it felt very quick, you know, less than two years between auditioning and getting the movie and going on that journey. Yeah, very lucky.
How was your mental health? If I may ask you finish these tenders, let's say two weeks later, when you're so used to this constant work and this constant thing and now you're you have a day free, what do you do?
Yeah? Some of it was sort of it felt quite freeing, you know, after so long of just being able to go I can just do what I like now. And again, I got lucky that things sort of came my way. I think if I'd been less lucky, then maybe I would have had to sort of have those dark knights of the soul and gone, what am I going to do? How am I going to figure it out? So actually
I kind of just got to enjoy it. But there were those moments of you know, I remember the day I left, drove out the gates for the last time and parked up outside my flat and just thought, BlimE me, okay, here we go. You know, as an adult, I've never known this. I've never known it, you know, And there I was a twenty five sort of first time just sort of going, now, I don't know what's going to happen. Hopefully I'll be okay, I've just.
Never Hopefully I'll be a mess with me. Yeah, don't worry about it.
Yeah, if only I had that sort of phrasing confidence. You do see some people who sort of go, yeah, i'm gonna I'm probably gonna make it, and some of them do and you're just like, wow, that's amazing, that's amazing.
Yeah. Well you're also very good. Thank you him as I've forgotten to tay so and I feel like an absolute.
On.
I feel awful. I should have I should have said it at the top actually, because we've gone really far back into your person. Should have said it. I'll say it all right. Look, yeah, you've died. You're dead dead, You're dead dead. Typical.
It's typical, isn't it. Yeah?
What what how did you die? Yeah?
How did I die? Yeah? Look, it was actually quite banal. I have this thing where I sort of trip on the pavement or on my own foot at least once a day. At least once a day, I'm walking down the street and I sort of lose my footing, and so I think it's going to be something that boring. I'd like to think that I've lived, you know, to a ripe old age, so that my kids are you know, what's that age, let's go, you know, eighty seven. Maybe there's nothing else wrong with me. I'm still I'm still
walking fine. And then I just sort of just I just trip on a as I do every day, except this day it was at the top of a flight of you know, concrete steps, and I just sort of go hurtling down them and break a few bones along the way and then smash my head on the bottom one and off we go. Yeah.
I think it's loads of loads of people around.
Yeah. Yeah, a lot of people who just sort of go, who's that? What a loser, right, you know what? What a crap way to die. I think some of them is slightly traumatized. I'd like to think some of them at least have a sort of shocked maybe like this seems funny until your face explodes and you're like a watermelon on them, and then they feel really bad.
Yeah, yeah, and then I shouldn't have I shouldn't have laughed. And if anyone knew that was and they're like, I can't. I mean there's no recognizable features. He's it's like a water melon. I don't know what.
Well, yeah, that's really good as well, just like that to be the case that you know, despite a lifetime hopefully a lifetime at that point of being in movies and TV and that I die.
Recognize. Yeah, was it the point of your death at the top as you first I went, yeah, then to the bottom went there's no way of no, there's no way of no.
That's ideal. That is yeah, that is my ideal death.
Yeah. Do you worry about death, Yeah, I do.
I mean more so in my own death. I worry about since I've had kids, I sort of I worry that, you know, because I think death can and are the worst times. It can be so sudden. Now my death has a real material effect on someone's life existentially. So yeah, I do worry about that. And I've always had a sort of odd maybe an obsession actually with death because some of my earliest memories I was in I was
in are being at my granddad's funeral in India. I was three when I went out there and he my mom took me out there because he knew he was going to he was going to pass away, and he wanted to meet me and met me. I met him and then like you know, it was very quick decline, and so I was out there for them for that and it was like, you know, a very traditional Hindu ceremony and you know, they had him sort of laid out in the house and stuff like that. So my
earliest memories was very much about death. So I think I've I've often realized I've had this sort of understanding of mortality for almost all my life in a way that maybe other people. You know, it develops over time.
Do you happen to remember you were only phrasing. I don't know if you would. Do you remember seeing his body and all of that? Do you remember that being sort of scary or comforting or apparently?
I was curious?
Was there any version of it that it was like a nice thing?
I think? My mom tells me I was curious. He donated his his eyes, but they you know, he was laid out so that they put cotton in his in his eye sockets. Such a such a grim thing to say that the meaning behind it, that's quite lovely. He donated his eyes. But yeah, so I remember obviously that was actually probably quite a traumatic thing for a three year old to be looking at. Yeah, but my mum dresses up sorry to us with the eyes open with like white I think, I think so. I think that's
probably the only reason I would have asked. Otherwise I would have been like his eyes. So yes, safe to say death it forms the baseline of perhaps all my trauma. Then you yeah, perfect, this is that's why I'm here.
Yeah, this is it. What do you think happens when you die?
As I think about it a lot, but I'm also not in Spirituality has played a part in my life, but ultimately I'm not someone who necessarily believes in a genuine sort of physical afterlife where we're all actually you know, present in some way. But I think maybe we don't necessarily understand you know, the sort of parameters of sort of consciousness and what you know, the way that people talk about sort of perceiving time and how that can change and depending on sort of how things are taken
along in your brain. My theory is that when one has that sort of final moment before you die, that maybe you actually perceive it as something really long, and so you create some sort of heaven in your head just before the lights go out, and it can last as long as you want it to last. So to all of us outside of it, we're watching it go.
They took their last breath and they're gone. But maybe in our our experience of death, that before we take that last breath, we actually get to, you know, have a sort of you know, long, long long time in this in this world we create in our head with all the people we love. For what, however, so you choose to sort of create something. That's what I like. That's that's what I use to comfort myself when I think about death, like a weird sort of bubble.
I've never I've never heard that before. I really like that, thank you. That is a brand new theory. I really like it. But so then, so then my question is, if that's the case, then I do like that. Yeah, but it's this sort of dreamscape that you make last as long as you want. When that reaches its end, then.
What then then, but you'd be on You'd be feeling more euphoric than you've ever felt before, So you'd feel accepting of it, you know what I mean.
But then it's like avoid, Then it's avoid.
Then it's yeah, we're all We're all done at that point. Yeah, So it's it's on one hand, really lovely, on the other hand, completely bleak.
Given your your pretty deep words about the perception of time and space and eternity, do you understand tenant.
I walked into that one, didn't know? Yeah? I do, actually to some degree. Good it actually did take it, did I did actually watch it twice and in the cinema, And but I think Chris's movies are designed to be that way, especially that one.
You have to I had to draw a map when I got home, and this was this was the Yeah, yeah, I get it.
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he himself has has this map in a notebook somewhere, you know. But yeah, it also seems to me that he just creates these concepts in it and that's his genius.
He just has it all. Yeah, he's like, it's obvious, isn't it, Like I guess. Yeah, Well I got news for you, buddy boy. There is a heaven, oh gay for you. Maybe for you it's when you've created in your dying seconds, maybe we'll see. And this heaven is filled with all your favorite things. It's filled with your favorite thing. What's your favorite thing.
Beyond my children and my partner, I'd say chocolate.
So it's filled with chocolate, you know what you know those like dairy milk, those squares that's what you sit on. But they're like the right temperature that they're just soft enough to not liquid, but they're just you know what I mean, perfect, And the walls are like liquid chocolate that just is like a fantin our time, sort of China chocolate factory style. Yeah, and there's a sort of flake that serves you, a giant flake, and it serves you trays of chocolate and dairy milk, buttons and shit.
And there's tablery mountains over there. And sure, I mean it's great. And there's them chunky kit kats, says like cars. Anyway, they're delighted to see you in heaven. Great and they but they want to talk about their big fans. They want to talk about your life. They want to talk about your life through the medium of film. And the first thing they ask you is, what's the first film you remember seeing? J Mespatel.
My initial thought was that it was the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie, and my only lasting memory of going to see that movie is not watching it, was being huddled into my mum from very early on. Something scared me. I was just basically refused to watch most of it and then turned around when they were winning at the end.
So I can't really I don't know if. But also that wasn't it transplis that wasn't necessarily the first movie I remember watching or not watching in that case, Actually the first movie I remember watching as a Bollywood movie called Hama ghekon, which I think translates to who am I to you? Or some I would say, which isn't necessarily a great.
Title from movie.
Yeah, I've got a memory of sort of the curtains parting, maybe during an intermission or something because Bollywood movies, and I don't know if still the case. I've sort of lost track over the last ten odd years of Bollywood, but you know I used to. It was what we watched as a family growing up. They were all well so back then in the nineties, well, you know, now you could probably go and watch most Bollywood movies at
your local multiplex. You know that it's got a pretty good distribution now, whereas back then it would be in those sort of metropolitan hubs where there was a big sort of South Asian community. So for us it was Leicester.
We would drive to Leicester and go and watch movies there, and you know it was it was more often than not a really fun experience because you've basically got this packed cinema full of everyone looks like you, they're more or less from the same background, and you're all digesting this movie and roughly the same way. No one's got expectations of it being you know, anything else, but also
everyone's probably talking throughout it or whatever. If I went into that situation now, I'd probably be driven up the wall. But back then it was again all you knew. So yeah, but this film was you know, I've not watched it in years. Growing up watching Bollywood, it was almost more about the songs than it was about the film. The songs the soundtracks were the things that ended up sort of making the movies the sort of all time classics
that they have sort of since become. But this is also one of those movies, and I think, you know, I only just sort of read up on it having realized it was probably the first movie I remember seeing. But I'm sure a lot of movies of that era you could look at now and go it's just a bit off. It's a bit The sort of the morality of this whole thing and the sort of gender stereotyping is is quite problematic. And this is sort of like it's like this big family and it's all but based
around a wedding. They're a very rich family, it would seem, but that you know, and there's a young guy and he's his brother's getting married, I think, But then his brother's wife dies. She falls down the stairs, and I
scammed through it recently. I mean that her falling downstairs was yeah, yeah, weird that hey, But I'd like to think that when I fall down the does and die, it would be slightly more dramatic and believable than what was presented in this movie, because I was openly laughing when I when I sort of revisited it recently, it was beyond absurd. It was like, you know, something from
Toast of London or something it was. It was just like, so's there's something funny, and watching it with a nostalgic eye, going this this stuff is just absurd. I mean, the songs are kind of great from a Bollywood musical point of view, but the story is all over the place, and the sort of the thing of going families and duty and all this stuff, which you know, on some level is a beautiful sort of bedrock of the culture
in which I grew up. There's also an element of going yeah, but also not necessarily doesn't have to be so simplified, like they've got this thing. Whether like the female leader sort of talks about working in computers. It's as simple as that she works in computers. But then you never see her do anything like that in the whole In the whole movie, she's just like cooking and dancing, being a good woman of the house. And you're like, that's just rubbish.
When you say everyone everyone's talking in the cinema, is it? Are they talking like catching up or are they talking at the film with their chat?
Like, like, you're probably right that it is. I think that in my head it was just people sort of interacting with the film, and there is a bit of that, but you're right, probably some of them is they're just catching up. They're just having a little chat, talking about you know, gossiping about about family stuff or whatever. So yeah, that's my that's my earliest memory of being in a cinema.
I feel sorry for your moment might two month in Power Ranges that you're not watching it and she's like, so I've got she's.
Got to sit through it.
Where what is the film that scared you the most other than Power Ranges?
Yeah, yeah, that was up there. I still think about it. I mean, they're the sort of predict answer for this one would be The Shining But I and I will give it a shout out it is a phenomenal movie. I think I had I had sort of had it sort of tarnished in my head because of the stories of sort of Kubrick and Are the way that he treated Shelley Duval, and I thought it was Jack Nicholson
as part of that. But then I sort of I think maybe recently Shelley Devol kind of said that Jack Nicholson was actually really good to work with, So maybe the jury's out on that. But it's still an amazing movie, and it's still it basically taught me what I love about the kind of horror that I like, which is that sort of drip feed of dread over you know a period of time. I'm not really that big on
jump scares. I prefer something that's just creepy, and so my choice is actually a film called It follows Ah.
It's a great film.
Yeah, I mean it's still I watched it about a year ago again and it's just it has it has got some jump scares, but married with that, it's just got this phenomenal concept of like, you know that if this sort of curse that gets asked on when you have sex with someone and then you basically you see this some someone basically slowly walking towards you, and when if they get to you, they will sort of kill you in the most gruesome way. But you can outrun them,
you can keep running away from them. They're never going to run after you. They're just going to keep and only you can see them. It was such a genius concept for a horror movie, I thought, And you know, since people have analyzed it and you know, talked about how sort of an allegory for sort of STDs and whatever that sort of thing, but I'm sure that there might be some truth to sort of that being the germ of the idea, but it just as as a
horror movie. It's really got just a brilliant concept cinematically, you know, you can just because there's a lot of these like panning shots. There's a shot in the in the school I think they're at where the camera just sort of is on a revolve, I think, and you're sort of and now you're aware of the concept. You're just watching everyone in the background going is that?
Is that?
Is that? Is that? And actually one of them kind of is I think, But you never then sometimes you don't. It cuts to another scene and you're like was it, and so I really loved it. I thought it was fantastic and it's oddly a horror film that I will happily watch again. Often with horror you kind of don't want to go back to it because it's too disturbing. Yeah, it's a really good one.
What about crying? Do you cry a lot? And what's the film that made you cry the most?
You cry it? Yeah? I think there are some films that can really hit me. But the one that most recently I watched and noted me for six was a film, an animated film called Song of the Sea. It's an Irish animated film. I know that the team behind it have made a film called The Book of Kels. I think it's cooled, but I haven't seen that. Actually, I've still only seen Song of the Sea. It's this beautiful
story about a family. The mothers died, I think the idea actually died giving birth to their second child, and so this dad is sort of raising these two children and they end up going on this sort of adventure altogether. It's at based on Gaelic sort of myths, and there was just that there's a point towards the end where you know, the little boy has never met his mum, and he gets to see her in this sort of spiritual form, and they have this option of sort of
bringing her back or something like that. And I just remember, I haven't watched it since, and I certainly haven't watched it since having kids with my own, because I just think it's going to destroy me, because even just thinking about it now, it's just like this, it's basically this idea that they have to they have to accept their loss, that she's gone, you know, and that they'll be okay, they'll be okay without it, and it's just I mean, I just remember going if I've never sort of openly
howled crying at a movie, but I was close with this, you know, and I was watching it at home. I could have if I wanted to, If I remember correctly, it was quite early on in my relationship and my partner had suggested watching this movie. And I think if I just sort of completely lost it, maybe I wouldn't be here today with two kids. But yeah, it's a beautiful, beautiful film. The animations gorgeous, the music stunning, and it's just so so heartfelt, and I recommend it. It's a beautiful movie.
But yeah, I was moments away from.
Just yeah, did you was your partner crying?
Yeah? You know? But okay, yeah she's dead inside. She's yeah, she couldn't care less.
She wasn't looking at you like what.
Yeah, she's a scrolling I said.
You watch it because I like cartoons. What's the film that people don't like it? It's not critically acclaimed, but you love it. You don't care what anyone says.
I'm picking a film that was picked by our mutual friend James McNicholas. I'm going with Batman Forever. Yeah, Batman Forever. Great yet great chat. My thing with that movie started because it came I think when I was five, and I remember I had some cousins who came over from abroad and we all went to the cinema. They got to go and watch Batman Forever because it was like a twelve or something, and I wasn't allowed to go with them. So it kind of took on this sort
of because I also loved Batman. I loved watching that sort of animated series as a kid, but I'd never seen a film Batman at that point, so it kind of took on this sort of legendary status in my head of this is the Batman film that I'm going to watch it, and then eventually I think we got it on video and I watched it sort of maybe a few years later, and was just obsessed with it. As a kid, I was obsessed with because a Batman, and I loved it and I thought it was genuinely great,
and I was largely obsessed with Jim carry as the Riddler. Right, But we watched it during lockdown as a sort of you know, stick it on, why not, we haven't got anything else going on, and it'll be fun to revisit it, and it in my head it actually it's obviously parts of it that's just awful and make no sense. But
I can't help but love it. I'll always love it, you know, because and I actually still really enjoyed like Jim Carrey is, like I think in a way it feels like he's the only one who knows what movies in to some degree or does it well enough.
I think. The problem with it it's got two faces in that one.
Right, Yeah, that's Tommy Lee Jones. Yes, yeah, and she's in the next one. Yeah, that was the next the next.
One, this is Nickel Kidman the good soundtrack, Well.
It's yeah, it's got Kiss from a Rose by Seal, which actually James McNicholas told me this recently. He's a bit of tid bit of trivia. The Kiss from a Rose a was on seals album from like two years before that, and then was also on the soundtrack for Never Ending Story three, but it didn't didn't didn't pick
up any attention from that that movie. And then it's this odd, odd sort of thing when you look back in the nineties and these huge blockbusters just had these like random soundtracks of assorted songs that they just sort of had kill me through but yeah by you too. Yeah, but it was so funny to me like this Erarell had already released this song on his album It Gained No Traction twice and then Yeah, and then it came out with Batman Forever and it won him a Grammy.
He won like three Grammys for that one song because of a Batman Move. Whereas now you just can't there isn't There isn't that same thing that there isn't a soundtrack album of pop songs for a Batman Moves.
It's weird, You're right.
But yeah, I sort of loved watching it. I believe Two Face gets defeated by some coins. I think Batman throws some coins at two Face and he falls over. That's how That's how he gets defeated.
So yeah, I remember loving Batman Fever because I was young. But I think the issue with it and it's it's worse than Batman and Robin. What Jim Carry's doing is sort of very loud and fast and high energy and crazy, but so is everyone else in that film. Tommy Jones is also everyone's everyone's gone mad. There's no there's no boundaries and no one's there's no boundaries of performance. No one's going maybe you could rain that, yeah, just a little bit. It's like they've all looked at Jim Carry
and gone, oh, we do that. We're going at that speed, are we. Tommy Jones is off his nut in that film.
He is, yeah, but he's really going for it. He's going for it, but he still just doesn't reach the height of Jim Carrey. In my book, like this is something, but I think it's something that I think I read that they didn't get on or something, or Tommy Lee Jones had just didn't have time for Jim Carrey, and I think it was that thing of like because I think he was doing it but maybe not enjoying it, whereas maybe Jim Carrey was doing it and genuinely enjoying it.
That's it. Yeah, I think that shows interesting. What about a film that you used to have but you've watched recently and you don't like it anymore?
And I'm glad that whatever holds out for you. Thank you, yes for this. I've gone for a movie called The Party. I don't know if you're familiar with this Peter Seller's movie.
The Peter Sellers. Yeah, yeah, I could see why one might have an issue with this for sure.
So it's a movie about Peter Sellers plays naturally. Peter Sellers plays an Indian actor by the name of go on by the name of I think his name is Hyundi v. Buckshee, and he has come over to Hollywood by some sort of machination I don't remember exactly why, and he's sort of that he ends up at this party and it's basically just in ninety minutes or whatever how long it is, of him just making an absolute
fool of himself, you know. But ultimately, and I remember watching because it was one of those movies that my dad was fond of, and it's so odd sort of looking back on that and going, Dad, why do you find this fun? I'm actually not asked in this. I think I might ask him this, now, what did you Where's what's the humor there? You know? But I think it's I think of going they can you know, you
can laugh at yourself, but it's where it's people. It's like the reason, Goodness gracious Me works as a TV shows because it's made by four brown people, and so they're allowed to do all the joke about brown people. Whereas watching a movie like this, you're like, everyone involved in it is white for sure. There's absolutely no where there's a single brown person on that set in nineteen sixty whatever, and so they're all just going, let's just
you know, brown face up. Peter Sellers just make him out like what we assume a stupid Indian man would be like if he came to Hollywood, And it was kind of odd sort of watching it again in prep for this. It was the first thing that popped into my mind, and I sort of scanned my way through it and just went the gags are on paper, great gags, you know, is it is funny, but it's not. None of it's okay. Really, Ultimately, it's very miss it's very misguided.
And to kind of imagine a bunch of people sort of going, this is great, this is so funny, what a great idea. We're brilliant, aren't we brilliant? You know?
Yeah?
Then I read something really odd that apparently, like I think, like someone really I mean, maybe it might have even been like sutage it ray or some like a very respected Indian filmmaker was a huge fan of it or something and just when and wanted to work with Peter Sellers. So there was an odd thing. I don't know. It kind of made me think about sort of the bar that one sets for oneself based on where you're sort of placed societal, you know, and you just kind of go, well,
what can I expect? I'm just going to laugh. I guess I'm a joke or we're getting into sort of deep psychological stuff here. But like, it's funny to me that like generationally it's you know, it maybe is accepted by a generation who go who I guess, in some twisted way feel represented.
Well maybe if it's if it's literally the only thing as well, Yeah, it must have been.
Yeah back then, I mean in that arena of on that side of the world, for them to even acknowledge that brown people exist, that South Asian brown people exist, would have been amazing, you know. But it just doesn't leave a good taste anymore. So, as much of a genius as Peter Sellers is very good answer, what's the film that means the most to you?
Not necessarily the film itself is good, but the experience you had seeing it will always make it meaningful to you. In Miss Bettel, what is it?
This is a sort of a bit of a wide ranging answer, and I guess you'll probably maybe picking one of them, But in my head it's sort of the Lord of the Rings films, because in it was a real a sort of turning point in my life on many levels, and it sort of those early years of sort of transitioning from primary school to secondary school and everything.
I didn't find it easy, I didn't enjoy it. But for those three years at Christmas there was a promise of this massive movie that I was going to love, and the first one I ended up seeing with my dad and a friend of mine, but because I didn't really know what it was, and then I was like, this is really good, and I read the books, and so the second one and the third one I went in to see with my sister, both of them, and I look back on them now and I think they're
amazing movies. I think there were real game changes in terms of blockbuster cinema, but there's just there was just something special about of the security of it and the comfort that it gave me. And I guess if I picked one out, I'll pick the last one, Return of the King, because it was the first time I remember being so excited to go and see a movie, you know,
just being like, this is it. It's all been building up to this one, and the cinema is going to be packed and we're all just going to be like, how is it going to play out? It's going to be amazing. And you know, I'm very close to my sister and so to have that sort of those memories of going to see those movies with her and just being so excited about it, and it was incredible as well. They weren't a disappointment at all. They were quite something.
Yeah that it was this event every Christmas? Yeah, it was a real thing. Yeah, that's nice.
So we'll go with I'll go with Return of the King. Let's go with that third one.
I'm actually gonna let you have all three because thank you, because the point of your answer is all three, and I don't normally do that. I'll let you have a different sort of heaven and this. I don't know what's going on here. I've gone stuff in.
Now it's good.
Is the film you most relate to?
Film I most relate to? I'm going with Boyhood again. I was so excited to see this movie because I'm a huge fan of Richard link Later and I was. I actually recently, within like a year, had seen that before Trilogy and just fell in love with that, you know, maze Yeah, and I've never seen someone do that with time, you know, tell a story over what was it eighteen years?
And then to know that he had this movie sort of coming down down the road, but he'd been shooting over twelve years, and I was just so excited for it. It felt like the kind of thing that's done in huge budget filmmaking, except it wasn't that tall in it. I knew it was going to be something really personal
and special. What I wasn't expecting was just how personal it would feel to me, because I was roughly the same age as the character in the movie, if maybe sort of five odd years off, but there was still a lot of the same sort of cultural touch points.
Well at the end of the movie.
Yeah, yeah, sort of you know that so you know, start shooting in two thousand and two, and a lot of those sort of touch points just that they really I was like, I remember like waiting in line to pick up a Harry Potter book, and then the sort of the music he was listening to, Like there was this one point where there was like this like Foo Fighters album track from like their two thousand and four album.
It was just playing in the background of a scene, and I, on one hand, I just appreciated the sort of detail of the sort of timeline of it all. But I was just like that I used to listen that's like one of those tracks that no one knows that I that I know, and it's in this movie,
you know. And then you know, stuff like he had this at the end when he's like driving I think to college and he stops off to take a picture and it was he was using the same camera as the one that I had at the time, you know, Canon sevent d. I think it was remember, go, this is really weird. And then the song that was actually then used in the trailer, and then at the end of the movie, this song called a Hero by the Family of the Year. I'd already heard it like two
odd years before. It's a friend of mine and maybe like this long like Spotify playlist, and it was there, and I remember going, some beautiful song there is. So there was this odd sort of confluence of stuff that was already sort of in my life and that wound up being in this movie. And obviously, naturally the movie is about about life and those those teenage years and how difficult and tumultuous they can be emotionally, and yeah, I just it was really moving and really masterfully done.
I thought, you know, it could easily have been so gimmicky and so sentimental. And actually, you know, there's something about Richard Linklater's sort of tone. He never he never gets too I'm never annoyed by the sort of he's sentimental, but it's it's it's such a truthful sentimentality. I find it.
Oh, Yeah, he's amazing. He loves people, he loves people and he but it doesn't You're right, he's not sentment. It isn't like cheesy. I think the fact that he really really gets time means that anything that's kind of moving is fully earned, because it's like, yeah, time has happened. Yeah, I mean it isn't sort of yeah, it's amazing. That's a great answer. What's the sexiest film I've ever seen?
I tell you the truth is that I didn't have an answer for this twenty minutes before we started recording, and I was like, I was like, what is going on and why am I struggling to find a sexiest movie? And I realized it, well, I haven't realized fully my hunches that are you know, growing up in a culture that more or less it goes or sex doesn't exist.
It doesn't exist. You know, every Bollywood movie will more or less either revolve around or end with a marriage, and it's romantic, there's love, but sexy and sort of the sex part of it was never present, and so you're sort of led to sort of go, well, I guess sex is something that is probably shameful him. I shouldn't I should never, I should never enjoy it. So it took me a minute to go sexiest film, because that's.
Why it's such big news. You have you do it three times a week. I think that's why it became.
I think that's what it is. Yeah yeah, yeah, so you need to find out how that got out there. Yeah, so, but I had to sort of go. Most recently, I think the sexiest film I saw was Hustlers. Fuck yes, Yeah, it's just undeniably you're never going to forget the first time j Loo turns up in that movie. You're just never going to forget it, you know.
And it's you're never get it. You're never going to forget that, and you're never going to get over her hugging in a big up third coat. Yeah, you're just never going to go over.
There's the initial thing of going, this is really sexy, just on primum and it's just really sexy, and then you're like, what's really sexy is that she's really good at everything she does, just good, pulls off this amazing performance in this movie, I think, and it just throws herself into this character that is also a very sexy thing, I think. But yeah, it's a very sexy movie. So that's why I'm yeah. I mean, it's a perfect answer. I can't believe it took you this long to get there.
It's obviously obviously the.
Subcategory to this question troubling boner is worrying why dunes, which maybe all of your boners I don't know.
Yeah, that's what do you have it? It really led me down that road of going every everything is a troubling.
Boner in my life, a film you found arousing that you weren't sure you should.
What came to mind on this one was there's a film called Disclosure, Michael Douglas more film, and it was one of those that we for some reason, the DVD was lying around. My parents used to have a shop where they would rent out films, you know, latest blockbusters and like some old films and whatever. And then every now and then they'd be like, I know, for some
reason didn't get returned or whatever it do. It end up coming into the house and it would just be lying around and this movie was there, this DVD, and I remember just kind of going, I wonder what this is.
And there's quite early on in the movie the sort of the crux of the whole thing is that Demi Moore's character sort of coerce is quite quite forcefully sort of coerce is Michael Douglas's character into sort of having sex, although I think the whole point is that they never really have sex, but there's, you know, some sexy stuff happens, and I remember going, this is kind of because it's kind of hot, and it's kind of like, you know, because then he kind of does get into it, and
it's a bit angry and you know, just like, oh, I think it's hot, but I don't think it should be, and it definitely shouldn't be because it's it's not really consensual, is it. And then the movie goes off in this weird tangent towards the end where have you seen it? It sort of winds up in some sort of weird nineties v It becomes like a corporate computed yeah, because
it's basically they're working for a tech company. And then he winds up in some VR space looking through files to prove that she did something or didn't do something. But it's like it's like you know, Windows ninety five virtual reality, and it's it's quite funny to look at now there's like this very odd moment where like Demi Moore's face is like sort of superimposed onto this very blocky three D figure, and it's just laughable. Maybe in ninety four or ninety five, whenever it came out, it
was like the peak of technology. Wow, Yeah, they couldn't have imagined Avatar back then, But now it just looks like a terrible video game.
Well, dad, what is the greatest film of all time? Objectively? The greatest film? Objectively?
Yeah, it's hard because we're saying objectively objectively, Yes, I'm going with two thousand and one, A space odys see it. I kept wanting to find something that might have a bit more sort of humor. But then I thought, when I think there is some humor, I think how.
Hall is kind of funny. That's funny, you know.
I think like The godfather sits alongside this in terms of films that changed Western cinema at least really worshipts, you know, And I think Godfather becomes that because I think it really it's about those actors, and you know,
for me, it was definitely like a game changer. But two thousand and one, I was like, this is astounding the scale of this is in a way more epic and tangible than anything I've grown up watching because it was literally, you know, it was all miniatures, and there's something about that that's just you're not going to get it with CGI and just the confidence of it tonally, you know, to make a movie that breeds like that, I don't know if you'd be able to do it today,
really would you. I mean, it's we're not used to that sort of movie that just sits on this sort of tone for that long. And there's an element of what I was talking about with sort of what I like about horror, where it just sort of this dread, this sort of thing just running underneath the whole thing, where you're like, what is happening? I'm not And what I love about it is the mystery of it. You know, you don't really get any answers. You had, so much
has left up to interpretation. It's saying so much existentially and running through the whole thing. You have this sort of very gripping narrative of this robot that's the sort of AI that's trying to sabotage everything, and so therefore it's also very prescient in everything but it got the year a bit wrong. We certainly weren't doing that in two thousand and one. We wish, yeah, but you know, everything else about it was so was so on point and yeah, and it's one I you know, love revisiting.
It's amazing that it wasn't that we hadn't been to the moon yet when that was made, and the way yeah, yeah, shows it's kind of amazing. It was amazing.
I watched this documentary called rum Yeah, and they were sort of apparently there was a theory that Kubrick shot two thousand and one as a sort of test run for faking the moon landings. That's sort of a conspiracy theory that goes around, which makes me like.
That he's acknowledging it in the Shining because the carpet, the.
Carpet, Yeah exactly, exactly, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It all makes sense. What is the film you could or have watched the most over and over again?
I avoided School of Rock. School of Rock is kind of the genuine answer, but I'm going to leave that to one side because everyone says it. I'm going I was also the going to go for Interstellar, but I think maybe that's a bit weird. I haven't watched it in a while. I feel like if I watch it next time, I'm going to be crying a lot because I now have children of my own, but I'm going
for Michael Clayton. Yeah, I absolutely love this movie. I think it's a masterpiece and the writing just it's the kind of movie that I will watch over and over again just because I love to hear that dialogue. It's just so brilliantly written. That opening monologue. I remember watching for the first time and I was just I was just in straight away. I was like, this is amazing. This is absolutely amazing. And Tom Wilkinson's performance, isn't it
on another level. I mean, everyone's just operating at the highest level, and it's again kind of quite It continues to be so relevant, and it's yeah, it's got that sort of lovely sort of Hollywood button on the end, sort of George Clooney gets to do his sort of charming sort of got ya at the end. But yeah, it's I just I love it. I could watch it over and over again. It's a great movie. I think kind of underrated, maybe quite underrated, or not as appreciated outside of sort.
Of maybe underscene. Yeah, yeah, people seen it. What's on the other end of the scale, and we don't like to be negative? Soon stay here too long? Yeah, the worst film you've ever seen.
Gone here with Cowboys and Aliens. This is the Yeah, I don't know. There was like a twenty ten movie. I think it's one of those that I went Daniel Craig, but it was it was What got me was how yeah, how did how did it go wrong? The people you've got involved in I believe Damon Lindeloff was involved somewhere down the line and writing it. But you've got Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, Paul Dano's in it, Sam Rockwell's in it, and yeah, John who you know, is one
of the great It's it's just an odd one. Like it's really not good and I'm still sort of trying to figure out how it how it happened.
I think the issue with it is I don't think it's bad necessarily. I think that it's a film called Cowboys and Aliens and it's not fun.
It's really serious, isn't it. Yeah, it's very serious, very earnest.
It's very serious and dramatic and like what if Cowboys and Aliens? And you're like, hang on, wait, wait, wait, it's called Cowboys and Aliens. That sounds like it's good, sounds like fun. Yeah, where's the fact there's no fun in it? I'm still not sure serious serious series.
Yeah, big fan actually of Cowboys and Aliens.
Yeah, but I think it's my memory of it is it's is. It's a good film as in, it's well done, it's just odd because it's not fun. It's like a quite heavy drama about cowboys and aliens.
Yeah. No, I think you're right. I think that's what it is. It's that I just couldn't take it seriously. But there are also like things in it that just make very little sense. And I mean one of the things for me is I think the way that the people get abducted by the aliens isn't that they just sort of get lifted up by a you know, invisible force. There's literally like lassus that come down. So it's like, hang on, so is it cowboys cowboys are aliens? Is
that what you're saying? Yeah, so yeah, cowboys or aliens.
What's the funniest film you see? What's the film that made you laugh? The most.
I'm going with Blazing Saddles excellent. It was one of those movies only my dad introduced me to and I'd never seen anything like it at that point. It was just so anarchic. I've never I'd never seen anything so a narcic and so but also watching it more recently and going it made so many great points that continue to be relevant. There's your moment of going, okay, maybe now if you make it now, there's bits and pieces
that maybe need to shift here and there. I think mel Brooks playing a Native American maybe not a good move, but it's brilliant. It really makes me laugh, and especially the way it sort of just falls apart at the end. I always enjoy it. It's a some degree. It always catches me by surprise that they just sort of they just it's because you're invested. Yeah, you are, actually because you.
Actually are invested. You're emotionally invested in it.
But I just love the idea of someone just going, well, I don't know how to finish this movie, so let's just this is going to happen. Then just let just let them do whatever they want to do and we'll just figure it out.
You know, we'll just run around a lot. Yeah, it's great. Yeah, who makes me tell? You've been wonderful? However, when you were eighty seven years old and you went through a walk and you got to the top of some steps, concrete by the way, and you and someone at the bottle of steps looked up. They were a fat They were like, I think that's much out and their friends gathered, I think that's him. And then you tripped on your own on a little step and you fell down down
concrete concrete. People. People giggled, oh cough, Oh god, they said. And then you fell the last six steps, landed on your head. Your head exploded like a watermelon, and the people that were laughing went, oh god, I don't think we should laughter. I think he I think he's dead. And then someone said, do you know who it was? And they looked home and it was just your particles, just blobs of blood. There's nothing to really say who
you are at all. It's just the torso of an eighty seven year old man and blobs of blood and brains. And someone goes, I thought it was him. Cut how can you tell? They say. Anyway, I'm walking along with a coffin you know. I'm like, I see this crag around and go, who's that? And they go he says it was him to tell it, And they're going, it can't be that. How can you tell? And I go, well, there's no way of telling anyway. I packed, I said, give me, and we start stuffing your body to think.
I'm like, could he you see any bits of bloob over there? Like we could any bit of him? Just grab it. People getting cheeking out, they're chapping in stones, all sorts of stuff as well. Anyway, coffee ends up rammed. Absolutely, there's it's jammed in there, there's nothing, there's no room. There's only enough room for me to slip one DVD into the side. You'd take across to the other side. And on the other side it's movie night every night.
What film are you taking to show the chocolate in Heaven when it is your movie night, mister hims Patel.
It's not one of the movies that I've picked so far? Is that okay?
Great?
It's Ali. I'm going with a yeah. It's a life affirming movie. I think beautiful. But the first time I saw it, someone had left film for on the telly and I was walking past, and I just have a memory of loking past the go up the stairs and then sitting down on the sofa and not moving for two hours, isn't it. I was just so taken away by this movie. So and it's just beautiful, you know, every time I watch it, I feel, you know, the world is a better place, you know, it's it's one.
It's really gorgeous. So it'd be nice to share that heaven.
Yeah, what a lovely man? Who is that? Ending people should look out for listen to watch? Coming up?
I mean coming up. I don't know everything I'm doing. I have no fixed date for when it's coming out. But you know, I did a series called Station eleven. I'm very proud of it. It's in the UK. It's on I think what's now called lions Gate Plus. I believe that's where it's not. You could watch that I did. I did get nominated for an Emmy. I don't know if you've heard of the Emmy's bread. They're pretty, they're pretty fun. It's a whole thing. Maybe you'll get invited
one day. But yeah, okay, yeah, so I did that. That's good. But I've done a couple of short films that I'm I'm quite proud. I did a short film called Enjoy, which is available on Disney Plus in the UK. I love that I did the short film called Two Dosas, which is on YouTube okay, and a short film called The Fox, which is also on YouTube. Three short films. You know, we're on a film podcast. I think giving shout outs to short films is quite nice, so check those out.
That's very nice. Give much Betel. Thank you for your time and for your excellent answers and forgetting completely correct the greatest opening. You are brilliant. Thank you, Thank you very much. Have a lovely death, and good night to you.
Thank you.
So that was episode two hundred and forty five. Head over to the Patreon at patreon dot com. Forward slash Brett Goldstein for the extra twenty minutes of chat, secrets and video with him. As we're remember to watch Ted Lasso and Shrinking on Apple TV Plus. You can guide to Apple Podcast give us a five star rating, but don't write about the show. Write about the film that means the most to you and why thing to read. And it always makes my neighbor Marien happy, and you
want to make her happy. Don't you. We all want to make her happy. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you're all well. Thank you to him us for doing the show. Thanks to Scrubius Pippen the Distraction Pieces Network. Thanks to Buddy Peace for producing it. Thanks to iHeartMedia and Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network for hosting it. Brand new to them, so thank you for having us. Thanks to Adam Richardson for the graphics and leads a Learning for the photography. Come join me next
week for the resurrection of Edgar Bloody right. I hope you're all well. Thank you for listening, and that's it for now. Have a lovely week, and in the meantime, please be excellent to each other.
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