Any wittertainee's out there..?

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Well. Where are you? I've got the official iwittr app that makes a tonne or money for kermode and mayo that tells me there's loads of ye in Ireland....

Hello to Jason Isaac's.

thisistough

How do you find a fellow Wittertainee...?

The Black Oil

thisistough wrote: »

How do you find a fellow Wittertainee...?

Get tickets for the cruise, of course.

mrsdewinter

I'm not even a movie buff and I'm a wittertainee. Love the show. Its appeal has very little to do with movies.

tigger123

Am a wittertainee!

Goodshape

thisistough wrote: »

How do you find a fellow Wittertainee...?

Well, clearly, you just find a fellow Wittertainee.

pinkypinky

Wassup....

Dont be at yourself

Used to listen to it religously years ago but then it slowly became consumed by in-jokes, too much time given to reading listeners' letters about how great they are, and the dreaded live shows.

pinkypinky

I think it would be quite impenetrable these days for new people. Listening about 4 years. Am two weeks behind at the moments so watch the spoilers please!

S.M.B.

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Used to listen to it religously years ago but then it slowly became consumed by in-jokes, too much time given to reading listeners' letters about how great they are, and the dreaded live shows.

This.

They extended the format and padded it with relentless in jokes. I can't think of any other media offering that I turned my back on so quickly.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Used to listen to it religously years ago but then it slowly became consumed by in-jokes, too much time given to reading listeners' letters about how great they are, and the dreaded live shows.

I think that's the whole point of it... Well it's what I enjoy about it anyway, the in jokes, the jokes that go on from one week to another and on for weeks and months afterwards... Genuinely think kermode is a brilliant critic and he nearly always gets it right. It's a movie podcast that's not really about movies. I've gotten my gf to listen to it for the last few months and now she asks for me to put on the podcast with "the two boys having the craic" . It's light entertainment of the highest order.

doubledown

I am a long-time listener. Love it. Kermode is my favourite film critic by far.

Noise Annoys

Yeah, been listening for a couple of years now. Although I tend to listen to the podcast in bed and fall asleep after about 20 minutes, so it takes a few nights to get through it.

I usually skip the interviews with Hollywood stars.

The Black Oil

With the hour format I think they struggled a little to fit in all of the reviews. In doubling that there's the padding, as mentioned above. But, imo, the letters, backslapping, etc, are driven by the audience more so than the producers. The email address isn't mentioned all that often, at least not on the podcast.

Also, I think Mayo is a very good interviewer.

FunLover18

The cruise was so good this year!!

Arghus

When I first started listening to podcasts, a good few years ago, I wouldn't have missed a single episode of the show. I listened to it every week for three or four years.

It happened gradually, but I eventually came to tire of being told to say hello to Jason Issacs, by that stage I irrationally hated Jason Issacs, especially the sound of his name. And the phrase "listener's e-mails" used to get my gag reflex going bad. All that "wittertainment" became too much. I wanted to hear them talk movies - not about the fate of listener's cats. Or children. Or anything to do with listeners at all.

This wasn't the single pivotal moment when I said "that's enough now" but I do remember them interviewing John Landis at some stage, either 2011-2012. He and Kermode were talking about the horror trope of society breaking down and riots in the street or such. I remember Kermode and Mayo then both, laughingly and - it must be said - condescendingly, chiming together with a remark of "like in GREECE!" - in the manner of a smug punchline. Landis, to his credit, was quick to remind them that, even if they'd completely forgotten all about it, Britain had it's own spell of widespread looting, burning and rioting only a few months previously. Ouch. Not that I expect every show to be totally a hundred percent up to date with current affairs, but I thought, that's this show for you: in it's own little cosy world, self-regardingly saying hello to Jason Issacs and oblivious to it all. And then, occasionally, they might talk films.

I'm sure they'll continue to motor on quite well without me, somehow. They still seem to be mighty popular. It just wasn't for me any more. I still like the two boys: in between dropping names, Kermode still is an knowledgeable and insightful critic and Mayo has a nice understated style.

I've had emails read out once or twice and even had their then-guest star say hello to me.

Also. I walked past the studio in which they record their shows and stood there looking in through the window. It wasn't on a Friday, sadly, so they weren't there, but it was still really cool seeing the production booth and their room in person.

FunLover18

Deleted User wrote:

Also. I walked past the studio in which they record their shows and stood there looking in through the window. It wasn't on a Friday, sadly, so they weren't there, but it was still really cool seeing the production booth and their room in person.

Please tell me someone was there and you weren't staring into wistfully into an empty room.

FunLover18

FunLover18 wrote: »

Please tell me someone was there and you weren't staring into wistfully into an empty room.

I may have been staring wistfully into an empty room. The person I knew in the BBC knew I was a fellow Wittertainee and brought me to the studio to look in.

On the most recent show they had someone from the catering company emailing up to tell them about the food in the restaurant and how good it was. I can confirm - the food is pretty damn amazing.

BoJack Horseman

Listened every week, but fell out of love a couple of years ago and moved to the Empire podcast but became annoyed with Chris Hewitt thinking he's gods gift to comedy and have since moved back to Wittertainment.

FunLover18

BoJack Horseman wrote:

Listened every week, but fell out of love a couple of years ago and moved to the Empire podcast but became annoyed with Chris Hewitt thinking he's gods gift to comedy and have since moved back to Wittertainment.

I still listen to Empire but agree Chris tries way too hard. I also feel they could do with more interaction with listeners and ask for questions, answer them and then say 'if you have your own suggestions, let us know via Twitter or Facebook', if they read out the question a week in advance they could address listeners' suggestions in the pod.

Ciaran_B

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Listened every week, but fell out of love a couple of years ago and moved to the Empire podcast but became annoyed with Chris Hewitt thinking he's gods gift to comedy and have since moved back to Wittertainment.

That's a bit harsh on Chris, I think. He does acknowledge his lames jokes. I really like the Empire pod except for the amount of time they spend on Super Hero movies and talking about that Hamilton thing which isn't even a film. I am a little bit in love with Helen O'Hara though.

S.M.B.

I've never listened to the Empire podcast. I moved away from using empire as a resource before the dawn of the podcast. I'd be interested to hear what it's like as I used interact with those guys back in my heavy foruming days.

Now all my film podcasts are US based. Shame.

The Black Oil

Generally mixed feelings on Chris Hewitt. Have never tried the Empire podcast, mind you. Thought the video blogs he used to do, before podcasts were really a thing, were alright. Helen was good at interacting on Empire's forums, back in the day. The rest of the staff didn't seem to care.

cml387

Long time listener no time emailer.

I am a bit worried that they're getting more self indulgent.

Mind you the reviews are still worth it and then there's always the possibility of a Kermodian rant.

Whereas I think Simon Mayo's a great presenter (catch his drivetime program if you can, it's very good) I don't rate him as an interviewer, I think his questions can be a bit jaded and formulaic. Guest presenters, especially the likes of David Morrissey, have done better interviews.

The Black Oil

Kermode: Have you ever see that film The...
Mayo: No

MilesMorales1

I think my sig says it all.

Roar

Any female pipe smokers here?

Utopia Parkway

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Used to listen to it religously years ago but then it slowly became consumed by in-jokes, too much time given to reading listeners' letters about how great they are, and the dreaded live shows.

Pretty much my exact thoughts. Used to listen to the podcast every week a few years but it just became a bit smug and self-satisfied somewhere along the way. There's a lot of crap they could cut out to improve it. The in-jokes became seriously grating and the reading out of listeners long grovelling emails. Had to fast forward through large sections just to hear some reviews.

MilesMorales1

If you don't want to listen to the in jokes or the podcast, surely thats what the youtube reviews are for.

S.M.B.

Or you just find an alternative which is what I did.

Liam O

It's rare that i enjoy listening to someone who i disagree with on an awful lot of things but Kermode welcomes all opinions even if he doesn't agree with them (well, to a point). His self professed tin ear for comedy and sometimes bizarre need to comment on gender balance can grate on occasion but despite that i still find time to listen to it.

The Black Oil

I see Simon Mayo is throwing more criticism at the use of certain music in films. He's probably right.

Optimalprimerib

I only started listening to to it about a year ago, and I am still trying to find this famous iwitter app. I think that you will quickly catch up with the in jokes, even though they are not hilarious ll funny anyway so you can take or leave them.

The reviews are generally solid, but I think that if they have a guest they like on, talking about a film they are in , they tend to go easy on the film. Michael Fassbender and assassins creed is a case in point.

I really enjoy it, it's light and amusing, and they introduced me to my favorite song last year, (disturbs version of sound of silence).

Evac101

Listen to both the Kermode/Mayo podcast and the Empire podcast (which recently started making references to getting the first two in as guest hosts). Both are good, in very different ways and both sometimes irritate, in very similar ways.

Kermode and Mayo are in no way restricted by commercial concerns in expressing their opinions however Kermode is quite ardent about allowing his own political agenda informing his reviews. When this coincides with mine he's right (tots obvs), however sometimes it does come across as quite evangelical. He and Mayo's interview with the creators of Anomalisa really frustrated me with their, apparently clueless, baiting of Kauffman and friend regarding Inside out, a film which had already beaten theirs in a number of awards. S&M apparently couldn't fathom why their interviewees grew increasingly taciturn and hostile, when they were the instigating factors. They've subsequently turned the incident into an amusing anecdote of how the Anomalisa pair were uncouth, impolite and condescending towards them rather than a cautionary tale of not poking a bear when you know it's already in a bad mood. So fun, but sometimes is right up it's own arse.

Empire does wander but it's vastly more trustworthy than the magazine has become (I feel like the pressure to write positive reviews in exchange for exclusives and set access has poisoned the magazine 'well' entirely). They'll regularly disagree with ratings given in the magazine and go on wild tangents, which I enjoy, but which I imagine could be irritating to someone with a different sense of humour.

cml387

Evac101 wrote: »

Kermode and Mayo are in no way restricted by commercial concerns in expressing their opinions however Kermode is quite ardent about allowing his own political agenda informing his reviews. When this coincides with mine he's right (tots obvs), however sometimes it does come across as quite evangelical. He and Mayo's interview with the creators of Anomalisa really frustrated me with their, apparently clueless, baiting of Kauffman and friend regarding Inside out, a film which had already beaten theirs in a number of awards. S&M apparently couldn't fathom why their interviewees grew increasingly taciturn and hostile, when they were the instigating factors. They've subsequently turned the incident into an amusing anecdote of how the Anomalisa pair were uncouth, impolite and condescending towards them rather than a cautionary tale of not poking a bear when you know it's already in a bad mood. So fun, but sometimes is right up it's own arse.

Yes but it does add a bit to the spice of life.
Ditto Simon Mayo's interview with Naomi Watts where she walked out.
Ditto Kermode's baiting of Danny Dyer (Other actors "...have a sense of humour, and a career").

It turned out that Danny Dyer did have career, but the remark was in the context of his starring in Run For Your Wife, regarded as the worst British film of all time.

Goodshape

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

I only started listening to to it about a year ago, and I am still trying to find this famous iwitter app.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.ct14.wittr

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/iwittr/id1084218610?mt=8

The Black Oil

Evac101, maybe put that in a letter.

I'm hoping audio remixes from listeners are kept to a minimum...

gmisk

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

The reviews are generally solid, but I think that if they have a guest they like on, talking about a film they are in , they tend to go easy on the film. Michael Fassbender and assassins creed is a case in point.

This I agree with big time.
I am an LTL, but it seems to have gotten worse recently.
"Friends of the show" like Amma Assante and Danny Boyle seem to get a very easy ride.

Hello to Jason Isaacs

RE Empire Podcast I listen to it as well, but the main guy Chris Hewitt with his stupid intros and laughing at his own "jokes" can grate a tad.
I do really enjoy the spoiler podcasts though, but tend to skip the interviews as they are a bit bland.

Ciaran_B

Ah, that's a bit harsh on Chris. I quite like his 'two colleagues of such lethal cunning' bits. I think I prefare the Empire pod to Kermode and Mayo now.

FunLover18

Ciaran_B wrote:

Ah, that's a bit harsh on Chris. I quite like his 'two colleagues of such lethal cunning' bits. I think I prefare the Empire pod to Kermode and Mayo now.

I love the empire spoiler podcasts, wouldn't mind if Wittertainment did more spoiler discussions at the end the pods. One thing I think the Empire pod could do better is if they read out questions a week in advance and then they could do listeners suggestions as well as their own next on the next pod.

pinkypinky

I think Wittertainment is coming around to spoiler podcasts - they've done a few in the last year.

blue note

I listen to it. I usually skip the intro though and go straight to the top 10. I listen to a couple of the reviews and a lot of the interviews.

I don't mind the banter stuff, it's grand. But I wouldn't miss it. I do enjoy listening to their opinions on movies though. Particularly because they always come across as guys who love film. Even for some pretty bad films they'll still find ways to enjoy them.

The staple criticism of Kermode that he doesn't get comedy is quite true - you have to take his comedy reviews with a pinch of salt. Similarly with reviews of musicals (and this is true of virtually all movie reviewers), somehow they seem to be able to look past whether or not the actors can sign the musical and review it with that as a relatively unimportant factor. For my enjoyment of a muscial, whether the cast are up to the singing required is a prerequisite for me to enjoy it. For that reason I found Sweeney Todd pretty awful, but it got okay reviews. Les Mis I found pretty good (but dear God Russell Crowe was brutal), but it got fairly flat reviews I thought.

The Black Oil

How do you time off a blood vessel? You just tie off a blood vessel...

The Black Oil

The email about losing a baby (Aug 7th ep) was beautifully written.

expectationlost

The Black Oil wrote: »

The email about losing a baby (Aug 7th ep) was beautifully written.

its f ****ing film podcast wish they wouldn't do this!

gmisk

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/11/well-be-back-stay-tuned-kermode-and-mayos-bbc-radio-5-live-film-show-to-end-after-21-years?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

A bit gutted....this is the best film podcast about for me :(

pinkypinky

Yeah, I just saw the Guardian article. I'm a couple of weeks behind due to illness (and mainly listening in the gym). Will be sad to see it go. Haven't missed an episode in well over a decade (does that make me MTL or LTL?)

~Rebel~

Aww, that's absolutely gutting! One of the few pods I never miss an episode off (at least, the Prime crew episodes), even if sometimes I fall behind.

Wonder who they'll choose to replace them. Hopefully Ben Bailey Smith/Doc Brown in Simon's place anyway... for Mark's spot, anyone except Robbie Collin!

pixelburp

Their talk suggested they'll still be producing something. It's entirely possible they'll just continue the podcast on their own - they wouldn't be the first to do that; and a big chunk of theirs already wasn't on the BBC5 show anyway.

Still, a shame. Shouldn't be a surprise given the budgetary purge the Beeb are on at the moment. Gotta be honest and nobody of their intermittent replacements come close to the same humour and entertainment so I won't bother continuing to tune in. Hard to replace the kind of "bickering old couple" chemistry Mayo and Kermode had going.

FunLover18

I actually haven't listened since Christmas but I would still look at Mark's reviews on YouTube. Still sad though, I always skipped it when the subs were on.