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Oxide Ghosts - UK screenings

Started by AzureSky, August 15, 2017, 07:28:42 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

JohnnyW

Quote from: checkoutgirl on October 29, 2017, 01:22:15 PM
That's very annoying for me because they are showing it in a 200 seat night club in Dublin. They added an extra show and then an extra day with two more showings and every time I go to get a ticket it's sold out. Short of going to Belfast there's no way I can ever see this. Fucking pissflaps to it anyway. I'm not trying to see U2 or something.

From what he said, Cumming seems happy to tour the film so long as people are willing to go see it, so you may still have some luck yet. Also, looking at the official site, it seems he may have already added a few more Dublin nights?

http://www.michaelcumming.co.uk/latest_news.html

Edit: These aren't sold out?
http://www.thesugarclub.com/listings/event/oxide-ghosts-the-brass-eye-tapes-evening-screening
http://www.thesugarclub.com/listings/event/oxide-ghosts-the-brass-eye-tapes2

checkoutgirl

Quote from: JohnnyW on October 29, 2017, 01:41:12 PM
From what he said, Cumming seems happy to tour the film so long as people are willing to go see it, so you may still have some luck yet. Also, looking at the official site, it seems he may have already added a few more Dublin nights?

http://www.michaelcumming.co.uk/latest_news.html

Also, these aren't sold out?
http://www.thesugarclub.com/listings/event/oxide-ghosts-the-brass-eye-tapes-evening-screening
http://www.thesugarclub.com/listings/event/oxide-ghosts-the-brass-eye-tapes2

I got 2 tickets!! Thanks man. Very happy now.

JohnnyW

Glad to hear it!

Quote from: TJ on October 29, 2017, 01:13:35 PM
That's interesting to hear, as one of the writers told me at the time that it was Brass Tacks and TV Eye... they were all something bloody 'Eye' around then so I'm not surprised they picked on that! Vague memories of Brass Tacks having a reporter who looked like Ted Maul too, though I've never been able to corroborate that.

Which writer? It's possible it was TV Eye and Cumming misremembered. It's much of a muchness, though.

I wonder why Cumming didn't come back for the special? A bit of a rude question to ask him, perhaps, but I enjoyed the original series more than the special, and maybe that was partially down to his absence?

TJ

Quote from: JohnnyW on October 29, 2017, 01:53:49 PM
Glad to hear it!

Which writer? It's possible it was TV Eye and Cumming misremembered. It's much of a muchness, though.

I was vague because I genuinely can't recall whether it was Quantick, Linehan or Mathews!

QuoteI wonder why Cumming didn't come back for the special? A bit of a rude question to ask him, perhaps, but I enjoyed the original series more than the special, and maybe that was partially down to his absence?

Someone asked that at the screening I was at - apparently it was largely because they had become friends during the making of the series and somebody more detached was needed for the special (which he seemed to have mixed, though predominantly positive, feelings about).

Solid Jim

Quote from: axel on October 29, 2017, 08:28:45 AM
Wish i had thought of asking about the opening titles on BE at Oxide Ghosts. It might even mean there is enough unseen footage to make an OG2.

I asked this. Apparently the "Tackling Drugs Together" bit was an event they went to but got nothing useful from. The scene of Chris as David Jatt tackling someone in the street was shot specifically for the opening titles. (I assume the same is true of the previous clip where he jumps up from his chair, but that wasn't specifically stated.)

TJ

Quote from: Solid Jim on October 29, 2017, 04:31:12 PM
I asked this. Apparently the "Tackling Drugs Together" bit was an event they went to but got nothing useful from. The scene of Chris as David Jatt tackling someone in the street was shot specifically for the opening titles. (I assume the same is true of the previous clip where he jumps up from his chair, but that wasn't specifically stated.)

Wow - mystery solved at last! There goes the rumour about Drugs having been a second pilot, then.

weekender

This thread has been very interesting, thank you everyone for posting.

The Giggling Bean

Quote from: JohnnyW on October 29, 2017, 12:58:15 PM
I've always wondered about this myself. What did he say? (I saw Oxide Ghosts at Crouch End, and we do see the audience break into the laughter the second the young actress does, so I guess they knew, although it would be interesting to know how Morris explained what he was doing.)

He said he was sorry to disappoint if I was looking for controversy but he said they were all extras paid to react which they did. I asked if there was any complaints etc that got back to him. He said there probably was when they finished filming but nothing that ever reached him. What was interesting is that the original take with the, much younger, girl had to be scrapped as Morris came down ill. When they went to remount it C4, who saw the rushes, said they had to recast the girl as the original one was too young.

TJ, were you the guy who had written the book about Radio 1 comedy? Are you also a native of Liverpool or did you travel to see it at FACT?

For everyone hoping for an Oxide Ghosts 2; this was asked at the Q&A and it doesn't sound likely that he wants to trawl through the tapes again. It would be nice, and at 70 hrs worth of tapes, there'd be enough material. However it sounds like this will be just a one off, so definitely go and see it if you can.

The Giggling Bean

Also, not really the place to discuss it, but it's funny how the Brass Eye Special has been re-apprised. I remember the night it went out, the next day a poll was taken on here to see who liked it and who didn't. The people who liked it outnumbered the people who didn't, but not by much. I was one who enjoyed it at the time and, while there's still bits of it that make me chuckle, it's not held up as well as the original series (indeed I was disappointed at the time they never used the original title sequence and music). Similarly I was unaware of the dispatches documentary or whatever real life accounts were used to base the show on. Perhaps the fact that they referred to actual cases and real people made it feel like the envelope was pushed a bit too far. As TJ mentioned Michael Cumming didn't return as he felt he'd become close friends with Morris and they did need that distance. However with a change of director and the lack of David Caan 2 of the main elements of the original show were missing which meant it was always going to feel different to the previous series.


TJ

Quote from: The Giggling Bean on October 29, 2017, 09:17:06 PM
TJ, were you the guy who had written the book about Radio 1 comedy? Are you also a native of Liverpool or did you travel to see it at FACT?

Yes, that's me - two whole chapters on Morris, also Iannucci, L&H etc. Won't link directly but it's not hard to find!

Also, yes - in fact I took part in the opening night of FACT!

Shoulders?-Stomach!

I enjoyed TJ's review but only up to the comments about BES which I thought were largely unjustified, point-missing (assuming what the intention of the creators were, wrongly, for instance, which then nullifies the opinions that follow) and weirdly trying to fight old and long -forgotten battles.

TJ

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on October 29, 2017, 10:47:15 PM
I enjoyed TJ's review but only up to the comments about BES which I thought were largely unjustified, point-missing (assuming what the intention of the creators were, wrongly, for instance, which then nullifies the opinions that follow) and weirdly trying to fight old and long -forgotten battles.

No, they were context for my anticipation of and opinion on Oxide Ghosts.

Plump Acreage

Are there any other Americans here that would eat their own spleen to have this screened Stateside?

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: TJ on October 29, 2017, 11:42:47 PM
No, they were context for my anticipation of and opinion on Oxide Ghosts.

You misunderstand and misapprehend the intentions behind some of the content of Brass Eye Special. That's why I thought that bit of your article was poor, and multiplied by the fact so much time has passed and yet, adamantine as ever, the opinion has not altered one iota.

TJ

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on October 30, 2017, 02:01:32 PM
You misunderstand and misapprehend the intentions behind some of the content of Brass Eye Special. That's why I thought that bit of your article was poor, and multiplied by the fact so much time has passed and yet, adamantine as ever, the opinion has not altered one iota.

Yes well it sounds like you're the one trying to fight old and long-forgotten battles to be honest, and I've got better things to do. Oxide Ghosts is good, people, go and see it if it's on near you.

Thanks for the article TJ - very interesting, and I largely agree with you about the BES (the art gallery bit is the standout for me, and that already overlaps somewhat with the David Sullivan / dildo outtake from the original series).

Was there any further discussion of the Decline / Religion episode in any Q&A sessions?  Or any religion-themed outtakes like this one you mentioned a million years ago?

Quote from: TJ on June 04, 2004, 09:54:06 AM
There's still some debate and confusion about exactly *what* it is. A good proportion of the material has a religious theme (and also 'Gun Priests' doesn't really fit in with the concept of 'Crime' terribly well, which suggests that it might have originated from a religiously-themed show, and there's at least one religion-related unused sketch that we know about), and that which doesn't either seems like setup material given a weird restructuring (the 'hospital bed' sequences, Blouse/"Sutcliffe!" etc) or else is clearly left other from other episodes (the 'Drug Office', for example; I'd also suggest that the Austin Tasseltine bits have very little to do with 'Moral Decline' per se and quite a bit more to do with 'Crime'). As Alan Strang says, we did go into all this in some detail in the as-yet-unpublished Edit News piece on the show, but it probably needs another lick of paint before it would be ready to go online...

TJ

Quote from: Darles Chickens on October 30, 2017, 06:31:30 PM
Quote

Was there any further discussion of the Decline / Religion episode in any Q&A sessions?  Or any religion-themed outtakes like this one you mentioned a million years ago?

Wow, that's like reading something written by someone else! What *was* that sketch?? I've a feeling Neil found some evidence of it somewhere....something about... nuns?

hands cold, liver warm

going to the lancaster showing next month!



MikeShaft

Got tickets. Didn't think I'd get to see this. Yay.

Quote from: Plump Acreage on October 30, 2017, 01:05:56 AM
Are there any other Americans here that would eat their own spleen to have this screened Stateside?

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Whenever something Chris Morris-related happens in the UK I always have to resist the urge to just say "Fuck everything" and book a flight.

DukeDeMondo

People heading to the Belfast show - I paid to have the tickets delivered to me rather than pick them up at the venue, for I'm always convinced that something will go wrong if I opt for the latter, but they haven't arrived yet. Has anyone else done the same, and have you got your tickets yet, or is it still a bit early?

Hello. I'm super desperate to get 1 x ticket to the 9pm showing in Brighton, on Thurs 16th. Can anyone help?

Life Glug

I saw Oxide Ghosts in Leicester last night. Absolutely fantastic and funny film, and an enjoyable cinema experience in a packed theater with a respectful crowd.
The Q&A was interesting, I wanted to share a couple if things in case they were unique to the screening I was at.

Quote from: bobloblaw on October 19, 2017, 12:59:08 PM

Only twinge of guilt he felt was towards Darcus Howe. The 'cocoa shunter' intro was recorded after 90 minutes of interview in which Chris tried and failed to get Darcus to say something stupid. Michael didn't know anything about the intro and suspected it was there in case he needed it at any time. Broke their unwritten code that if people didn't engage, they wouldn't use their stuff. Michael said only justification for this was that he and Chris both had an intense dislike of Robert Elms, so it felt more like a joke about him.


Yes, this is what I thought was particularly fascinating. The idea that Chris Morris had a kind of emergency fall-back bit of material that would have worked with any guest. Michael Cumming said that Morris vs Howe was like watching two heavy-weight boxers going at it, neither being able to get the upper hand.
He mentioned his other regret was the Buzz Aldrin interview. Buzz was a hero and had been very nice to him when Michael was younger, taking time to answer boring questions about the moon landing. He turned down the opportunity to direct the interview and meet Buzz again because he didn't agree with it. He regrets this because he would have made sure Aldrin and Morris where in the same shot. Apparently many people think it is faked and they just dubbed over someone else's interview.

Michael Cumming said that he first met Steve Coogan in Leicester. They were both making a corporate video in the Walkers Crisp factory. Cumming directing and Coogan in front of the camera.

Cumming directed the current Cravendale milk TV advert. He said that he thinks some of the things he learnt while making Brass Eye (asking the actors spontaneous questions instead of sticking to the script) helped make it better.

There is a lot of lost material which Cumming remembers and feels very frustrated about. This includes a recording of Channel 4 debate in which many of the celebrities (including Noel Edmonds) winge about being tricked but the audience turn on them saying that they are fair game. More lost footage is of Chris Eubank being confronted with a brilliant Fabric Of Society prop (a kind of material swatch pad in the shape of a hand).

Recently Chris Morris has found some more tapes and is going to hand them on to Michael Cumming so there may possibly be a longer version of Oxide Ghosts in the future.

another Mr. Lizard

A great night at Quad in Derby - well attended, about three quarters full in the main 'Sir John Hurt Cinema'. Michael got a bit annoyed that the projectionist didn't pause in the right place after the visual intro, running a few seconds into 'Oxide' itself, and was miffed that there wasn't a mic stand (but turned that into a gag - "the one thing I asked for on my rider...")

Our onstage interview went very well, especially when conversation turned to Gurney Slade and Robert Fripp (he seemed elated that I was a fellow fan of both), and the Q&A brought a good response from the audience, keeping the questions flowing - was it one of you who made the desperate plea for Michael to reteam with Mark Thomas? Bullseye got a good shout-out again (I used it as my back-up topic whenever things threatened to run dry), Michael comparing it to the work of Jean Cocteau...

pancreas

Just booked ticket for the 6:25 on Sunday in the Curzon London. Anyone else planning to be there?

Spoon of Ploff

Quote from: pancreas on November 16, 2017, 12:03:17 PM
Just booked ticket for the 6:25 on Sunday in the Curzon London. Anyone else planning to be there?

I am! I've just booked a ticket too.

weekender

I am really pleased that this is still going.  It proves there's an audience for the material and the Q&A, and that everyone is actually respecting the rules about not recording stuff.

Can I meekly ask that everyone who attends just posts their recollections of the evening after they've been?  I imagine Mr Cummins might be bored with the film itself by now, but little interesting facts keep coming out of each Q&A and it's great to read them.

If anyone's going to a screening in the near future, would you mind asking about how they dealt with gangsters?  I vaguely recall that after one of the Krays's interview from prison, that the Talkback offices - as then an unknown door somewhere in London - were visited by associates of The Krays who apparently recommended a cessation of activity.  How is it now that such occasions can be published?  Are they worried about this revelation?  What actually happened on that day?

It probably warrants a separate sentence - but was there any concern about other 'characters' like 'Mad' Frankie Fraser?  He came across fairly well in the broadcast show, but was there ever a point that the 'mad-ometer' set-up might have ended up with negative repercussions?

Life Glug

Quote from: weekender on November 17, 2017, 10:41:30 PM
If anyone's going to a screening in the near future, would you mind asking about how they dealt with gangsters?  I vaguely recall that after one of the Krays's interview from prison, that the Talkback offices - as then an unknown door somewhere in London - were visited by associates of The Krays who apparently recommended a cessation of activity.  How is it now that such occasions can be published?  Are they worried about this revelation?  What actually happened on that day?
This is covered in the film itself. We get to hear the interview and then Cummings' voice over mentions that they had to move to another office