First guest Kim Newman and Mark talk about the BBC4 series Secrets of Cinema which they co-wrote, and starts on television the next day.

Next Mark interviews Taiwanese writer-director Jenny Lu and actor-producer Chen Shiang-chyi about their film The Receptionist (2016), released in the UK this week. Inspired by a true story, this powerful film in English and Mandarin delves into the lives of five Asian migrant women who came to London with dreams of a better life but end up taking jobs in an illegal massage parlour to survive. It’s a rarely seen examination of the underbelly of British society which captures the individuality of each of its five strong female characters, and the strength of the bonds they forge.

Writer-director Deborah Haywood together with its star Lily Newmark come to talk about the dark fairytale Pin Cushion (2017). This colour-saturated film explores the travails of a teenage daughter and her out-of-step mother trying to fit in and make friends. This film about bullying and, less explicitly, about human frailty and mental health is another female-led film based on the experiences of the writer, is as unsettling as it is compelling.

This month’s List-O-Mania is inspired by the Blu-Ray release of Von Ryan’s Express (1965), and the imminent release of the Dodge Brothers’ new album Drive Train: Mark takes a twelve-stop journey past his favourite films Set on Trains, from Snowpiercer (2013) to Silver Streak (1976), from The Beggars of Life (1928) to Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993).

We close on a Sound & Vision celebrating the joy that is Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia! (2008), as tonight is the eagerly-awaited premiere of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018).

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In last night’s MK3D, first off, comic genius and delightful person Richard Ayoade graced the stage to talk about one of his all-time favourite films Road House (1989), which he introduced at the Prince Charles Cinema later that evening. Mark and he talked about the two films he directed, Submarine (2010) and The Double (2013), and about Garth Marenghi, the spoof pulp horror author Richard developed for the TV series with Matthew Holness. We were tickled to hear the look of the character was based on William Friedkin.

Fenella Fielding, who has just been awarded an OBE for services to the arts and to charity, was due to join us next but was not well enough to come. Mark wished her well and we hope to welcome her on a next show.

Cult hit Hackers (1995) releases on Blu-Ray soon, featuring a commentary by Mark and director Iain Softly. One audience member said: Hackers is a cult film to everyone in computer science, so Iain Softley is pretty much God to us.” Mark and Iain talked about the computers, the aesthetic, and the sparks that flew on set between Angelina Jolie and Johnny Lee Miller, and the film’s fantastic soundtrack – which, we found out, features an uncredited David Gilmour. Another of Mark’s favourite Softley films is Inkheart (2008) starring Paul Bettany, and we had the joy of watching some of it.

In the news section Mark highlighted the reports that last month’s guest Terry Gilliam is being sued, and he might end up losing the rights to his film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) – as yet to be settled. It inspired this month’s List-O-Mania of Mark’s Top Ten films involving Legal Battles. This was a great opportunity to watch a couple of pivotal scenes from Philadelphia (1993) with Denzel Washington and Legally Blonde (2001).with Reese Witherspoon.

Our final guest was Rob Brydon, who is in the upcoming Swimming with Men (2018), which was a chance to share some stories about The Trip (2010) and Cock and Bull Story (2005). His Guilty Pleasure was Superman 2 (1980), for the exquisite cool of Christopher Reeves and Margot Kidder.

Explaining why he chose this film – and that it wasn’t actually ‘guilty’ – he said to Mark: “Your people asked me to choose a film that…” To which Mark exclaimed: “People? People? I have one Person! That’s Hedda – she’s over there!”

Ace Producer Hedda Archbold – that’s me.

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Last night saw a double bill of MK3D & MK4D.

Our first guests were director Terry Gilliam and producer Lucy Darwin. Two days before the show, Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) had been the closing film at the Cannes Film Festival.  It will be released alongside Lucy Darwin’s second documentary chronicling the 29-year long gestation of Gilliam’s ill-fated project: after 2002’s Lost in La Mancha (2002), Lucy is just finishing its follow-up He Dreams of Giants (2019).

Next up was Nora Twomey, Irish director of Oscar-nominated animation The Breadwinner (2017), about a girl who dresses as a boy when her father is arrested and imprisoned for owning the ‘wrong’ books so that she can rescue him. Exec. produced by Angelina Jolie, the film was created by workforce consisting largely of Afghanis to reflect the origins of the storyline.

Our final guest of the evening was Sir Michael Caine who came to talk about his rock documentary My Generation (2017). He proved that star quality does not fade with age. Charismatic, wise, warm and witty, he received a standing ovation.

In MK4D, Skyfall director Sam Mendes introduced his Guilty Pleasure: Christopher Guest’s mockumentary Waiting for Guffman (1996). The screening was followed by a Q&A in which Mendes talked passionately and thoughtfully about why the film is so important to him.

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Our first guest was Charlie Brooker, Show Runner of the hugely popular and influential series Black Mirror, who came to talk about the enduring appeal of his favourite film, Dougal and the Blue Cat (1970). Mark is equally devoted to the film and the two attempted to out-do each other in their proclamations of love for it – with hilarious results.

Next, Jessie Buckley and Johnny Flynn came to talk about their leadroles in Michael Pearce’s film Beast (2017), released this week – and about being musicians. They’d never played music together but treated us to an unrehearsed duet accompanied by Johnny on guitar and Mark on harmonica.

After the MK3D Charlie Brooker returned for our first ever MK4D, to talk about his Guilty Pleasure: Stone Cold (1991) starring Brian Bosworth as a tough cop who the FBI blackmail into an undercover operation in a violent biker gang.

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Our first guest is photographer and film-maker Mitra Tabrizian, whose eloquent and unsettling film Gholam (2017), centring on a minicab driver in London’s Iranian community during the Arab spring of 2011, releases in the week of the show.

Next, the delightfully entertaining and erudite Professor Sir Christopher Frayling returns to the show to talk about the 50^th anniversary of the release of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Frayling’s BBC radio 4 documentary, produced by Nick Jones who projects all the clips on our show, and broadcast shortly after the show, contains some eye-popping new revelations about Kubrick’s script, which throw astonishing new light on the film.

Christopher stayed on to discuss his Guilty Pleasure, Deathline, known in the US as Raw Meat – Gary Sherman’s little-seen 1973 British horror film set largely in London’s Tube tunnels, starring a particularly nasty Donald Pleasance.

Mark talks about the BFI’s Ingmar Bergman season, part of the global celebrations of the illustrious director’s centenary. We celebrate the master by showing a clip from one of Mark’s favourite pastiches: the scene in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) in which our titular teenagers encounter the Grim Reaper – and challenge him to a game of Twister.

You Were Never Really Here (2017) was released the Friday before our show and director Lynne Ramsay came on to talk about it. One of Mark’s favourite films is Ramsay’s early work Morvern Callar (2002). Mark welcomes its star Samantha Morton onto the stage and they talk about Samantha’s extensive back catalogue of films. Samantha promises to come back to introduce a Guilty Pleasure in a future show.

Released soon is Journeyman (2017), a passion project of our fifth and final guest Paddy Considine, who wrote, directed and stars in this drama about a boxer who suffers a head trauma after what was supposed to be his last fight.

We close the show to the haunting strains of Also Sprach Zarathustra over the famous clip in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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This is the first MK3D since the BAFTAs, the most interesting category at which, this year, was Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Previously on MK3D, actress Florence Pugh had talked about her lead role in Lady Macbeth (2016); director Lucy Cohen about her debut The Kingdom of Us (2017) and writer/director Rungano Nyoni about her first feature I am not a Witch (2017). The latter won the gong and Rungano returned to MK3D to talk about her experiences of the red carpet, and how winning a BAFTA might impact her next projects.

Guillermo Del Toro won the BAFTA for best director for The Shape of Water. Mark took the opportunity to do a List-O-Mania of his Top Ten films about Mermaids or Creatures from the Lagoon: 10. Siren of the Sea (1911). 9. Miranda (1948). 8. Waterworld (1995) – with Kevin Costner as a fish. 7. The Little Mermaid (1989). 6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). 5. The Lure (2015), a comedy drama horror musical directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska, about twin, man-eating mermaids who emerge from the water and perform in a nightclub. We got a clip to illustrate this one. 4. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). 3. Song of the Sea (2014). 2. Local Hero (1983). 1. Splash (1984) – we also got a clip of this classic.

Dark River (2017) directed by Clio Barnard was released the Friday before MK3D. It stars Olivier Award-winning actress Ruth Wilson who joined us for our Coming Attractions segment to talk about her role as a farmer’s daughter in this harsh drama. She enjoyed learning how to look like she had been skinning rabbits and shearing sheep all her life – by doing it a great deal. There is little she doesn’t know about shearing now.

Our Guilty Pleasure this month came courtesy of Timothy Spall, who talked first of all about his film Stanley a Man of Variety (2016) – in which he plays all the parts – and the difficulties finding a distributor, before regaling us with stories about his long-standing love of Mary Poppins (1964). Nothing guilty about that!

Tonight’s showstopper was The Greatest Showman grand finale.

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In Here’s The Thing Mark regaled us with stories of his trip to Tromsø to play at the TIFF with Neil Brand and the Dodge Brothers, to accompany a silent movie. He also announced his upcoming BBC Series Mark Kermode’s Screen Stories, coming in April. He is joined on stage by guest Lucy Cohen, who comes to talk about her debut The Kingdom of Us (2017). In Coming Attractions, Mark heralds the release of Early Man (2018). Mark proudly announces that he has a writing credit on Friedkin’s film The Devil and Father Amorth (2017). Mark loves the stunt work in films and to honour it does a List-O-Mania on Top Ten Stunt Sequences in films. Another Coming attraction is Nightshooters (2018), a low budget martial arts film, its star Jean-Paul Ly comes to talk about and demonstrate his skills. Alex Cox comes to talk about his back catalogue Repo Man (1984) and Sid & Nancy (1986), and his love of The Prisoner television series. Tonight’s showstopper was My Way sung by Gary Oldman – now nominated for playing Churchill – here playing Sid Vicious in Sid & Nancy.

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In Here’s the Thing, Neil Brand came to talk about the Cinema Museum, formerly the workhouse where Charlie Chaplin lived and currently under threat of closure. Neil stayed on to play the piano throughout the show. Mark and Neil played the Get Carter (1971) theme tune on the piano and double bass, to introduce our next guest, director Mike Hodges, here to talk about Get Carter, Flash Gordon (1980), and about Nick Triplow’s book Getting Carter. In List-O-Mania Mark gave us a list of Christmas Movies That You Don’t Think Are Christmas Films. Gemma Arterton joined us to talk about her Guilty Pleasure, the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, a childhood favourite. She also talked about her upcoming projects, Vita and Virginia (2019) and The Escape (2017). She closed the show by singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas as a homage to Judy Garland in Meet Me In St Louis (1944), accompanied by Neil Brand on the grand piano.

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In Here’s The Thing Amma Asante came to talk about what it was like to receive an MBE, and about the hold-up of the release of her film Where Hands Touch (2019).

In List-O-Mania, Mark listed his Top Ten Mad Movie Moustaches, partly because of the Movember awareness-raising campaign but mostly because of Kenneth Branagh’s extravagant moustache in Murder on the Orient Express (2017), released this week.

In Coming Attractions, Robert Ziegler returned to talk about the upcoming concert at the Royal Festival Hall, for which Mark was rehearsing a harmonica solo in Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (Hands Off The Loot -1954). Mark showed us how far he had got with practising his solo – which was not very far.

Mark then introduced actress and singer Hannah Waddingham, most famous for Game of Thrones, and one of the soloists at the concert at the RFH. Accompanied by Ziegler, Hannah sang Put the Blame on Mame, made famous in Gilda (1946) by Rita Hayworth.

Next, Mark welcomes James and Dave Franco to talk about their Guilty Pleasure: The Room (2003) as well as their upcoming film The Disaster Artist (2017).

In Sound & Vision Mark flagged up his up-coming Celluloid Jukebox series on BBC Radio 2 by highlighting one of the films talked about in that show, Magic Mike (2012) featuring Channing Tatum. Mark also invites Johnny Greenwood up on stage to discuss his career as both lead guitarist and keyboardist for Radiohead as well as composing for films, such as We Need to Talk about Kevin (2011) and Phantom Thread (2017).

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Simran Hans returned once more to look back on her LFF recommendations in Here’s the Thing. For Coming Attractions, Rungano Nyoni joined Mark to talk about I Am Not a Witch (2017). On the back of the release of Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Mark gave us his Top Ten Sequels That Are Actually Good. In One from the Vaults, Legendary actress Sylvia Syms discussed Victim (1961). Actor and Writer Julian Barratt came to talk about his new film Mindhorn (2016), set on the Isle of Man, and about his Guilty Pleasure, Die Hard (1988). In Sound & Vision Mark talked about the opening credits of Hitchcock’s 1959 North by Northwest (1959) to mark the film’s re-release.

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