HLA Agency

UK talent agency representing broadcasters, writers and presenters

Mark Kermode Live in 3D | Show 92 | 17 June 2024

This month saw the 92nd MK3D, our 4th at the IMAX. Mark welcomed four brilliant guests to the stage to discuss their careers and some exciting new films.

The show began with Mark’s Here’s The Thing segment, where he talked about his trip to the Midnight Sun Festival in Sodankylä, Finland and performing with The Dodge Brothers. He also flagged up the launch of the London Soundtrack Festival to be held 19–26 March 2025.

Mark then welcomed his first guest onto the show, the legendary cinematographer Robbie Ryan. Robbie talked about working on Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness, which is due to be released on 28 June 2024. Robbie spoke about his and Lanthimos’ shared love of working with celluloid, and reflected on his past collaborations with directors including Ken Loach and Andrea Arnold.

Next, the brilliant producer and writer-director Rachel Ramsay was welcomed onto the stage to discuss her documentary on the little known women’s World Cup, Copa 71, which she co-directed with James Erskine. Rachel spoke about capturing the collective experience of the women in her film and the ethical considerations involved in documentary-making. Rachel also talked about the technical side of making Copa 71, including working with silent archival footage and building the sound from scratch. Copa 71 and is available to stream.

Finally, Mark welcomed legendary, multiple oscar-winning film editor and sound designer Walter Murch onto the stage. His documentary, Her Name Was Moviola, which premiered at Sheffield DocFest, is a record of the celluloid film editing process, and Walter spoke about how he sees editing and sound design as two sides of the same coin.

Then the discussion moved onto The Conversation, which is re-released this month in restored 4k for its 50th anniversary. Two months ago, sound designer Johnnie Burn cited Murch’s work on this film as a seminal influence on his carieer, and we invited Johnnie back onto the show to join Mark and Walter in conversation about, well, The Conversation. Johnnie talked about the importance of sound in conveying the psychological state of the characters and about how Walter’s influence translated into his own work on sound in his films with Yorgos Lanthimos.

All in all, another great HLA Agency production by Hedda Archbold with Charlotte Matheson, Nick Jones and Jade Evans. Thanks to the BFI’s Matt Noble and Josh Glen for making it all run so smoothly. And of course, to Julie Edwards Photography for the fabulous photographs.

Girls On Film | Episode 177 | 11 June 2024

In this episode of Girls On Film, Anna Smith highlights some feminist favourites from Sundance London Film Festival. She catches up with director Shuchi Talati, whose debut feature Girls Will Be Girls follows headgirl Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) as she strives to get As in the classroom and the bedroom, and struggles with a third-wheeling mother (Kani Kusruti). Anna is joined by Shuchi as well as lead actress Preeti Panigrahi as they reflect on women’s filmmaking in India, reveal how they tackled intimacy on set together, and share Shuchi’s initiative Undercurrent, a scheme to train women to work in the lighting department on film sets in India.

Next up, Anna hears from the singer turned actress Maisy Stella, who stars opposite Aubrey Plaza in Megan Park’s My Old Ass. The pair chat about what attracted Maisy to the role of 18 year old Elliott, who meets her 39 year old self while tripping on magic mushrooms and has to deal with the consequences of knowing how her teenage decisions will impact her later life. Maisy recalls the refreshing nature of Park’s script, which portrays a queer lead without feeling tokenistic or trite.

Finally, Anna chats to Vicky Krieps about starring in Viggo Mortensen’s new feminist western, The Dead Don’t Hurt. She talks with Anna about ‘becoming your own department’ when your co-star is also the director, and Viggo speaks about the inspiration behind the character of Vivienne. Vicky also dispels some of the myths of progress in the film industry, while acknowledging the importance of portraying women like Vivienne in The Dead Don’t Hurt in order to move towards a more feminist cinema, but also a more feminist film set.

The Dead Don’t Hurt is in UK and Irish cinemas now.

Girls Will Be Girls will be in UK and Irish cinemas on 20 September 2024.

Follow Girls On Film on social media to see release updates for My Old Ass.

Other films mentioned:

Flowervale Street (David Robert Mitchell)
The Fallout (Megan Park)
Corsage (Marie Kreutzer)
Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson)
The Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson)
Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg)
Falling (Viggo Mortensen)

Find out more about Undercurrent below:
www.undercurrentfilmlab.com/

You can listen to the podcast here.

Mark Kermode Live in 3D | Show 91 | 26 May 2024

At the 91st MK3D show and the third in the BFI IMAX, Mark welcomed three stellar guests onto the show to discuss some exciting upcoming releases.

Mark opened the show by welcoming iconic director Richard Linklater, whose highly-anticipated Hit Man comes to Netflix on 7th June 2024 and is in cinemas now. Richard talked about his easy-going approach to filmmaking and the importance of teamwork, as well as his experiences of making Hit Man and two of his previous films, School of Rock and Me and Orson Wells.

Next, Mark discussed the Cannes Film Festival and some of the award-winners this year. Mark then welcomed Charlotte Matheson onto the show to share her festival highlights, which included the Girls On Film party.

Mark then welcomed his next guest onto the show, Abi Morgan, the creator of the new series Eric, which is released on Netflix on 30th May 2024. Abi discussed the conception of Eric, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch, and spoke about her experience of working with Steve McQueen on Shame.

Finally, Mark welcomed Samantha Morton on stage to discuss her BAFTA Fellowship and her career on screen as well as her more recent musical career. Samantha spoke openly about her early life, and some of the challenges she has faced working in film, noting how she was told early in her career that she would never work in period dramas due to being “too common”. Samantha also discussed her work on The Serpent Queen, as well as on her films Morvern Callar and Minority Report. Finally, Samantha and Mark discussed The Exorcist and its enduring appeal.

Another great HLA Agency production by Hedda Archbold with Charlotte Matheson, Nick Jones and Jade Evans. Thanks to the BFI’s Lilia Pavin-Franks and Johnathan Parkins for making it all run so smoothly. And of course, to Julie Edwards Photography for the fabulous photographs.

Mark Kermode Live in 3D | Show 90 | 29 April 2024

At the 90th MK3D show and the second in the BFI IMAX, Mark welcomed five guests and one Oscar onto the show, to discuss some exciting upcoming releases.

First up was Rose Glass, whose hotly-anticipated second feature Love Lies Bleeding hits UK cinemas on Friday 3 May. Rose spoke about casting Kristen Stewart opposite bodybuilder Katy M. O’Brian and confessed to never having seen Stewart’s performance in Twilight. She also shared some of her screen inspirations, including John Waters’ Pink Flamingos.

Next, Mark welcomed Luna Carmoon, Hayley Squires and Saura Lightfoot Leon onto the show to discuss Hoard, which comes to UK cinemas on May 17. Carmoon, the writer and director of Hoard, spoke about the genre-bending nature of her debut feature, and shared how her upbringing in South East London had a great influence on the dialogue and character in the film. Hayley and Saura star in the film, alongside Joseph Quinn and newcomer Lily-Beau Leach. They both shared their positive experiences on the set of Hoard, Hayley citing the superhero-like costumes worn by her character as a highpoint.

Finally, Oscar-winning sound designer Johnnie Burn came onstage to discuss his work on Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, as well as Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things and the upcoming Kinds of Kindness. Johnnie spoke about the different styles of the two directors, and gave the audience an insight into the way he thinks about sound and how he went from ten years of work in commercials to producing sound on narrative features. At the very end of the show, he revealed the final guest of the night: his Oscar for Best Sound at the 76th Academy Awards.

With thanks to Hedda Archbold, Charlotte Matheson, Nick Jones, Elspeth North, Hannah Greenwood and Josh Glenn for making it all run so smoothly. And of course to Julie Edwards Photography for the fabulous photographs.

Mark Kermode Live in 3D | Show 89 | 11 March 2024

At the 89th MK3D show and the first in the BFI IMAX, its new home for the next four months. Mark celebrated BFI Flare which opens today, March 13 and runs until March 24, by welcoming three guests on the show to discuss films showing as part of the LGBTQIA+ festival this year.

But firstly, fresh off the back of the Oscars, where Oppenheimer took home seven awards, Mark opened the show by playing the trailer for Nolan’s 2023 film in all its IMAX glory. He spoke about his enjoyment of this year’s Academy Awards mostly due to their shorter running time, before welcoming his first guest onstage.

First up was Vicky Knight, who stars opposite Esmé Creed-Miles in Sacha Polak’s new film Silver Haze. Vicky spoke about working with Polak the second time around, having starred in the 2019 film Dirty God, and reflected on a newfound confidence that emerged since making her acting debut four years ago. She touched on the vulnerability of being in front of a camera, and cited Lady Gaga’s performance in the 2018 version of A Star Is Born as an impactful portrayal of growing in confidence when you’re in the spotlight.

Next, Mark welcomed Amrou Al-Kadhi and Bilal Hasna, the director and star of Layla which will open BFI Flare this year for its UK premiere. Amrou reflected on Layla’s success at its world premiere at Sundance, and spoke to Mark about the tragedy and comedy that is implicit in drag, commenting on Bilal’s character who is a non-binary drag queen trying to figure out their place in the queer scene. Bilal spoke about the feeling of liberation he felt when dressed in drag in the film, even when shooting at 7am on Ridley Road fish market. Mark also asked Bilal and Amrou about a moment from a film that had a profound impact on them, and while Bilal chose one of Tom Cullen’s understated monologues in Andrew Haigh’s 2011 film Weekend, Amrou chose a scene from the 2017 Portuguese film Body Electric, where the often marginalised gender queer figure is put centre stage in a night club scene.

In his Q&A with the audience, Mark answered questions on topics ranging from Curb Your Enthusiasm, to the inspiration behind the soundtrack in Todd Haynes’ recent film May December.

Welcoming his final guest of the night, Eddie Marsan to talk about his upcoming role as Mitch Winehouse in Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to Black, and about his previous work, Mark revealed that he and Eddie share the screen in the upcoming biopic on Brian Epstein, in which Mark’s band, The Dodge Brothers, make a cameo appearance.

Eddie reflected on the varied roles he played throughout his career, referring to Stanislavsky and his Russian drama teacher’s idea of the actors’ tool kit, which he compared to a mechanic’s tool kit, allowing him to work in a huge range of circumstances.

He picked out Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance in the Todd Solondz’ 1991 film Happiness as hugely influential, and shared some stories about the difference between acting in the US and the UK.

Mark finished the evening with a Sound and Vision segment to celebrate Judy Garland as Esther Hoffman in the 1954 version of A Star Is Born, closing the very first Mark Kermode Live In 3D at the BFI IMAX.

With thanks to Hedda Archbold, Charlotte Matheson, Nick Jones, Elspeth North and Sophie Kendrick for making it all run so smoothly. And of course to Julie Edwards Photography for the fabulous photographs.

Mark Kermode Live in 3D | Show 88 | 12 February 2024

The second MK3D of 2024 was the 88th edition of the show at the BFI Southbank, hosted by Mark Kermode and we kicked off the show with the Here’s the Thing segment, to talk about some Awards Season news.

Our guests were:

Ellen E Jones for her book Screen Deep.

Phoebe Dynevor for her EE Rising Star Award nomination for Bridgerton and Fair Play.

Lorna Tucker for Someone’s Daughter, Someone’s Son.

Finally Olivia Colman, Anjana Vasan, Jessie Buckley and director Thea Sharrock for Wicked Little Letters.

With thanks to Julie Edwards Photography for stunning photos.

Girls On Film | Episode 176 | 22 May 2024

This episode of Girls On Film comes from Cannes, where Anna Smith speaks to Jane Crowther and Wendy Mitchell about their Film Festival highlights. Anna hosts the very first Girls On Film party at The Members Club, and speaks to some of the guests about their work at the festival and which films they’ve enjoyed.

First up, Anna takes us through the soundscape of Cannes and walks the red carpet for Emilia Perez. Anna joins the Women in Film and TV yacht party, to hear CEO Katie Bailiff’s speech, before heading to MUBI’s beach party. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Then Anna invites film journalists Jane Crowther and Wendy Mitchell to discuss the films they’ve seen in Cannes so far, which include Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Megalopolis, The Girl With the Needle and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, as well as Andrea Arnold’s Bird, Wild Diamond, and feminist comedy horror The Balconettes.

Jane talks about her new role as editor-in-chief of Hollywood Authentic, a new luxury, glossy magazine, and Wendy discusses her portfolio of projects including the upcoming Sundance London, and San Sebastian Film Festivals.

Wendy and Anna are both on the Palm Dog judging panel for Best Canine on screen, so naturally the conversation turns to the various dogs in films at Cannes. They also discuss the impact of #MeToo and Time’s Up, and recent changes at the Cannes Film Festival, including the arrival of signs stating that harassment won’t be tolerated.

Finally, we join Anna at The Members Club for Girls On Film’s own Cannes party. We hear from a few of the guests, who include Akua Gyamfi of The British Blacklist and Dame Heather Rabbats of Time’s Up, who talk about the launch of their new initiative around appropriate hair and makeup for diverse requirements on set. Anna also speaks to Nicole Weis of IFC Films, producer and comedienne Ronni Ancona, director Rachel Ramsay, and The Girl With the Needle co-writer Line Langebek Knudsen, and our wonderful supporter, IMDb founder Col Needham.

With special thanks to our sponsors for the party, Rebecca Hawkes at Elstree Studios, HLA Agency, Col Needham at IMDb, and JoJo Dye at JJD Consulting.

And with gratitude to our lovely partners for this episode, Vanessa Smith and Peter Brewer, for their continuing support of the podcast.

Other films mentioned in this episode:

Anatomy of a Fall. (Justine Triet, 2023)
Black Dog (George Jaques, 2023)
Saltburn (Emerald Fennell, 2023)
Santosh (Sandhya Suri, 2024)
The Second Act (Quentin Dupieux, 2024)
The Surfer (Lorcan Finnegan, 2024)
When the Light Breaks (Rúnar Rúnarsson, 2024)

You can listen to the podcast here.

Girls On Film | Episode 175 | 30 April 2024

In this episode of Girls On Film, Anna Smith talks about the recent Cinema for Gaza auction with two of the women behind the initiative, Helen Simmons and Julia Jackman, and she reviews some imminent releases with film critic Rhianna Dhillon and film journalist and programmer Cici Peng.

First up Anna speaks with Rhianna Dhillon about Italian box-office hit C’è ancora domani or There’s Still Tomorrow. They discuss the representation of domestic violence in this neorealist-style debut from Paola Cortellesi, and pick up on the film’s surprisingly hopeful feel. Next up they discuss The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling as a stunt-double and Emily Blunt as a blockbuster director, which is out in UK cinemas on 2 May 2024.

A recent auction raised over £260,000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians or MAP, a charity currently working in Gaza to provide immediate medical aid to those in great need. The auction was an initiative led by film critics Hanna Flint, Leila Latif, and Sophie Monks Kaufman who teamed up with publicist Hannah Farr, and filmmakers Julia Jackman and Helen Simmons. Anna talks with Helen and Julia about the initiative, who also share some insights into the highest-earning lots, which included Annie Lennox’s handwritten lyrics to 1983 hit Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).

Finally, Anna is joined by film journalist and programmer Cici Peng, who shares her thoughts on Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding, and Léa Seydoux’s performance in the upcoming film The Beast. Cici also speaks about her recent archival work to create a programme of hidden gems at Queer East Festival, which showcases queer cinema from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora.

Films mentioned in this episode:

There’s Still Tomorrow / C’è ancora domani (Paola Cortellesi, 2024)
The Fall Guy (David Leitch, 2024)
Jungle Cruise (Jaume Collet-Serral, 2021)
The Devil Wears Prada (David Frankel, 2006)
Ordinary Angels (Jon Gunn, 2024)
Hoard (Luna Carmoon, 2024)
Abigail (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, 2024)
Bonus Track (Julia Jackman, 2024)
Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass, 2024)
The Beast / La bête (Bertrand Bonello, 2024)
The River / He liu (Tsai Ming-liang, 1997)
Bye Bye Love / Baibai rabu (Isao Fujisawa, 1974)

You can buy Cinema for Gaza merchandise until 7 May 2024 via the links below:
www.weareprintsocial.com/campaigns/ci…a-for-gaza-2
www.weareprintsocial.com/campaigns/cinema-for-gaza

You can listen to the podcast here.

Girls On Film | Episode 174 | 12 March 2024

In this episode of Girls On Film we give you a flavour of the third Girls On Film Awards, our annual celebration of women in film which this year took place at our new home, Regent Street Cinema in London.

We launched the awards to celebrate excellence in women-focused films, and to honour women and non-binary filmmakers.

Girls On Film provides an inclusive platform for the voices of diverse women and people of marginalised genders, and we have a mission: to bring about industry-wide change, and to work toward equal representation of women in the film industry: on screen, and behind the camera.

As the saying goes: “if she can see it, she can be it”, and that’s why shining a light on the great work women are making can make a real difference.

Girls On Film host Anna Smith and co-founder Hedda Lornie Archbold hosted the awards together, and were joined by a stellar group of presenters to give out the awards, including Monica Dolan, Ronni Ancona, Sarah Gavron, Mia Bays, Col Needham, Mark Kermode, Nitin Sawhney and more.

The mics didn’t pick up all the sound as well as we’d hoped – but the pod conveys the great atmosphere in the room.

We hope you enjoy the awards!

For a full list of the nominees and winners, you can find the press release on the HLA Website:
hlaagency.co.uk/category/projects…s-on-film-awards/

Contributors to this episode include:
Ronni Ancona
Anthony Andrews
Teanne Andrews
Blair Barnette
Mia Bays
Suzie Davies
Charlotte Dirickx
Monica Dolan
Jacqueline Durran
Melanie Iredale
Ayo Edebiri
Kathryn Ferguson
Jo Fernihough
Kerry Fox
Sarah Gavron
Sarah Greenwood
Priya Kansara
Mark Kermode
Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
Molly Manning Walker
Nida Manzoor
Col Needham
William Oldroyd
Rose Ryan
Nitin Sawhney
D. Smith
Katie Spencer
Holly Waddington
Paris Zarcilla

Films and television series mentioned in this episode are:
ALL OF US STRANGERS
AMERICAN FICTION
ANATOMY OF A FALL
ANOTHER BODY
BARBIE
THE BEAR
BOTTOMS
BRICK LANE
EILEEN
THE ETERNAL MEMORY
FAIR PLAY
THE FALLING
FILMSTARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL
HOW TO HAVE SEX
JOY RIDE
KOKOMO CITY
LADY MACBETH
MR BATES AND THE POST OFFICE
NOTHING COMPARES
NYAD
PAST LIVES
POLITE SOCIETY
POOR THINGS
THE POWER
PREVENGE
PRIDE
PRISCILLA
RAGING GRACE
RETURN TO SEOUL
ROCKS
RYE LANE
SALTBURN
SCRAPPER
SUFFRAGETTE
TILL
TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING
W1A
YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
THE ZONE OF INTEREST

You can listen to the podcast here.

Girls On Film | Episode 173 | 1 March 2024

In this episode Girls On Film is at the 20th edition of Glasgow Film Festival. Anna Smith sits down with Festival Director Allison Gardner, then has an exclusive interview with the director of Love Lies Bleeding Rose Glass, with Oscar-nominated director of The Teacher Farah Nabulsi, and with BAFTA-nominated director of Edge of Summer Lucy Cohen.

First up, Director of GFF Allison Gardner picks out some of her festival highlights, from Ava DuVernay’s Origin to Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt which she describes as a ‘feminist western’. Allison talks about the unique programming at GFF with 126 films included at the festival this year. She picks out the ‘Love is sweet oh!’ strand programmed by Tomiwa Folorunso, the ‘Gestures of Memory’ strand programmed by Natasha Thembiso Ruwona, and ‘What Will the Men Wear?’ programmed by Rosie Beattie.

Next up Anna welcomes back Rose Glass to Girls On Film, who first appeared in Episode 60 to discuss her debut Saint Maud, which also showed at GFF in 2019. This year Rose is back with her hotly-anticipated second feature, Love Lies Bleeding, which had its UK premiere as the Opening Gala film at GFF. With Anna, Rose talks about the ‘dream’ casting of Kristen Stewart as moody heartthrob Lou, who meets amateur bodybuilder Jackie when she turns up in Lou’s sleepy hometown. The pair fall hard for one another and Rose describes crafting their fantastical love story, with co-writer Weronika Tofilska, which has ‘one foot in reality, and one foot somewhere stranger’…

Anna also speaks to Oscar-nominated director Farah Nabulsi, whose debut feature The Teacher is showing at GFF. Anna asked Farah about her journey into filmmaking, from a background in business to directing her first short The Present, which went on to be nominated for the 2021 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

Finally, Anna speaks with BAFTA-nominated director Lucy Cohen, whose coming-of-age film Edge of Summer tells the story of 11-year-old Evie on holiday in Cornwall in the early 1990s. When she meets local boy Adam, a mysterious discovery down an old tin mine changes everything. Lucy talks to Anna about her influences in exploring childhood on screen, citing Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999) and Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1771), and about her excitement to be showing the film at Glasgow Film Festival.

Thank you to our partners for this episode, Glasgow Film Festival.

The festival runs from 28 February to 10 March.

To buy tickets visit the Glasgow Film Festival website glasgowfilmfest.org/home/

Love Lies Bleeding is in UK cinemas from 3 May 2024.

You can watch The Teacher in Glasgow on Monday 4 March 2024 at 6pm and Tuesday 5 March 2024 at 3.15pm.

You can watch Edge of Summer in Glasgow on Friday 8 March 2024 at 8.30pm and Saturday 9 March 2024 at 3.45pm.

Other films mentioned in the podcast:
The Mask (Charles Russell, 1994)
Origin (Ava DuVernay, 2023)
The Dead Don’t Hurt (Viggo Mortensen, 2024)
Lousy Carter (Bob Byington, 2023)
The Teacher’s Lounge (Ilker Catak, 2023)
Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)
Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1971)
Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999)
The Present (Farah Nabulsi, 2021)
Saint Maud (Rose Glass, 2019)
Girl (Adura Onashile, 2023)
Daisies (Vera Chitylova, 1966)

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the organisation or its affiliates.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Contact HLA Agency

T: +44 (0)7801074181
E: hedda@HLAagency.co.uk

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