We opened on a sad note this episode during Here’s The Thing. We lost many great people in the couple of weeks before the show. During the segment we paid tribute to Marvel comic book writer Stan Lee,  Douglas Rain, most famous for voicing HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and screenwriter William Goldman who gave us great works such as Marathon Man (1976), The Princess Bride (1987) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

Next we had Rita Orsei on to talk about Bliss! (2018). 

Then we had Ben Wheatley on to talk about his upcoming projects Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018) and Rebecca. Mark and Ben also talked about Taxi Driver (1976) in the The Film That Changed My Life segment.

To celebrate the release of Bros: After the Screaming Stops (2018), Mark gave us his top 10 Rock Documentaries in List-O-Mania. 10. What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015) 9. The Punk Singer (2013) 8. Heavy Load (2008) 7. Am I Black Enough For You? (2009) 6. Decline of Western Civilization Part II (1988) 5. Searching for Sugar Man (2012) 4. Amy (2015) 3. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006) 2. Dig! (2005) 1. Anvil! The story of Anvil (2008)

Next, we had Lenny Abrahamson on to talk about The Irish Film Festival as well as his some projects; Adam and Paul (2004), Frank (2014), Room (2015), and The Little Stranger (2018).  To close this segment we asked Lenny about his Guilty Pleasure: Dumb and Dumber (1994).

To end the show we payed homage to the late William Goldman. Mark invited Freya Parks and Robert Ziegler onto the stage to play Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

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During our Here’s The Thing segment, Mark welcomed Hayley Squires on to the stage to talk about Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018).

Seeing as this episode is so close to Halloween, Mark jumped on the opportunity to share his top 13 Halloween films in List-O-Mania. 13. Get Out ( 2017) 12. Near Dark (1987) 11. Ganja & Hess (1973) 10. Raw (2016) 9. Dracula, the Spanish version of course! (1931) 8. Nosferatu (1922) 7. Suspiria (1977) 6. Dark Water (2002) 5. Kwaidan (1965). 4. Onibaba (1964). 3. Possession (1981) 2. Halloween (1978) and naturally 1. The Exorcist (1973).

In Coming Attractions, Mike Leigh came on to talk about his project Peterloo (2018). Peterloo tellls the story of the 1813 massacre where British forces attacked a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Manchester.

Next, we welcomed Hugh Grant to the stage to talk about his career-best work in A Very English Scandal (2018).  Starring Grant and Ben Whishaw, the film tells the story of when British Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe is forced to stand on trial in 1979 after being accused of killing his gay ex-lover. Mark and Hugh also looked at some clips from Grant’s first major roles in Maurice (1987), Lair of the White Worm (1988), Love Actually (2003) and Florence Foster Jenkins (2016). As if that was not enough, we also asked Grant what his Guilty Pleasure was; Inspector Clouseau (1968).

To celebrate the re-release of Some Like It Hot (1959) we ended the show with a clip from Running Wild in Sound & Vision.

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I loved producing last night’s show at the BFI Southbank! Mark Kermode Live in 3D’s first guest was Artistic Director of the London Film Festival Tricia Tuttle, who told us about the LFF’s highlights (10 – 22 October). She raved about the opening film: the poignant, riveting thriller Widows (2018), directed by Steve McQueen. The closing film is Stan and Ollie (2018), the biopic about the stellar comic duo starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly, directed by Jon S. Baird. Tricia’s own personal recommendations for the festival included Tom Harper’s  Wild Rose (2018) starring Jessie Buckley with Julie Walters and Sophie Okonedo, about a young troubled Glaswegian mum who dreams of becoming a Country singer in Nashville; Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria (2018) which she insists is not a remake but a response to Dario Argento’s original, this one featuring Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton; and finally Burning (2018), directed by Chang-dong Lee following some time out as a film-maker to be South Korea’s Culture Minister.

Our next guest was the venerable Terence Davies, whose Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) 30^th anniversary was celebrated by the BFI with a 4K restoration. He talked about his passion for film-making and the difficulties of getting funding as he gets older. Mark pointed out that he despite that, he has been remarkably productive in his later years. Terry nominated his Guilty Pleasure, The Robe (1953) with Jean Simmons and Richard Burton, in which he particularly enjoyed the performance by Jay Robinson as Caligula.

Our next guest Suzanna Hamilton talked about her role opposite the late Sir John Hurt in Michael Radford’s dystopian 1984 (1984), which was released on Blu-Ray last August. Suzanna talked about the atmosphere of fear around the subject of the film – and the making of it, too. She found more joy on the set of the enchanting 2016 feature My Feral Heart by writer Duncan Paveling and director Jane Gull.

Next Desiree Akhavan took centre stage: writer and director of recently released feature The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018), and of upcoming six-part television series The Bisexual, in which she also stars alongside Maxine Peake and Brian Gleeson. Desiree and Mark talked about the films that influenced her work, and what, for her, constitutes success as a filmmaker.

Finally, we welcomed Paul Greengrass who came to share his thoughts on his best-loved childhood film, Bryan Forbes’ Whistle Down the Wind (1961) starring Alan Bates and Hayley Mills, which he watched countless times with his own children, too. He talked about the enduring impact the film had had on the formation of his political views, as well as the way he constructs his movies. As well as his Bourne films, Mark and Paul touched on Bloody Sunday (2002), United 93 (2006) and Captain Phillips (2013) – before discussing Paul’s new feature 22 July (2018), released on Netflix next month, about the extremist shooting on Utøya island, and how its aftermath affects the lives of the young Norwegians.

After the MK3D, Paul Greengrass stayed on for an MK4D, to introduce a screening of Whistle Down the Wind.

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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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