The Superhero Hollywood Still Needs

Marina, you are still away, but I think. it's your your final day. >> I'm very much enjoying talking to you, although I'll be back much happier when. we're back in the studio together. But, have you got some questions for me? >> Got loads of questions for you. Um, what is the buffet like at the hotel? >> No. >> No, I had loads of questions for you, but. let's let's let's have listeners'. questions, shall we? Or viewers'. questions, because, you know, that's the. kind of medium we're in. Graham R has a. question for you, and it concerns. Spider-Man, which I think we'd like to. talk about anyway, because it's.

it's been such a sensation. Graham R. says, "From listening to your show for a. long time, I'm concerned about. Spider-Man breaking box office records.". He's concerned about it breaking box. office records. "I want studios to be. investing in new IP, not superhero slop. that is now on its 10th outing." He sort. of has a point. It's an interesting. question. >> Well, yeah, it's So, this is Spider-Man. brand new day that came out whenever I. don't know. I saw it on that first. weekend. It's the biggest opening of all. time, even bigger than Endgame. The. second weekend, it was it was a 143.

million domestic, I think, which is. bigger than any other movie's opening. So, it's extraordinary. >> The Rest Is Entertainment is presented. by Octopus Energy. Now, show business is. full of people who start out as one. thing, but then take on some completely. new role that completely eclipses it. >> And before we get on to how Octopus. Energy has done that, a few examples. There are people who start out, you. know, in bands, as singers, as as. actors. A good example would be Victoria. Beckham. >> She started off in a band, Richard. She.

was in a band called the Spice Girls. >> Okay. You're going to tell me next that. David Beckham used to play football. before before he became an advertising. guy. >> They have earned far more from their. second careers, these businesses they've. built up, but that than they ever did in. their first ones. >> So, the idea that she's a singer, that. gets her through the door, gets her. known, the culture knows who she is. She. then thinks, "I'm going to see if I can. do something else." And she has the. audience who, if she does it well, goes. along with her. Uh, but you know what it. reminds me of a lot? >> Tell me. >> It reminds me of Octopus Energy cuz. Octopus Energy has also outgrown its own.

introduction. It's the UK's largest. energy supplier, but is now also one of. the country's biggest installers of heat. pumps, solar panels, and batteries. The. list even reaches the driveway with a. major electric car leasing business, as. well. >> I will say about this, I know what you. mean, Graham, and you know, I'm no fan. of like vast amount of the Marvel. output. And in this case, but remember. Sony made this. It is Marvel, but Sony. still have the rights to it and they. make the make make this. I think in.

general, you need and Hollywood. definitely needs some franchise stuff. It's the way world we live in. You need. You need stuff that kind of iterates and. goes on. I agree with you on originals, and it's great We've seen lots of. interesting originals. Um obviously many. more originals this year than we have in. any other um year recently. This genre. in general, superheroes, is not anything. like what it was back in say, you know, the late 20 um 2010s. Nothing like it at. all. I sort of love this story. I.

First of all, I think, you know, the. Spider-Man is just a brilliant. superhero. >> Mhm. >> Um for them to have had this, it's. lightning in a bottle. They've got these. two principals who were cast opposite. each other as Zendaya and Tom Holland. And then obviously re- in real life fell. in love. Um they've gone all the way. through this and they've just got. married. I mean, it's kind of. incredible. And everyone likes them, by. the way. These are stars that actually. are not polarizing that people really. like. >> I'd also be- behind the scenes, you. never hear a bad word against about. them, either.

>> Oh my god, I think people love them. Yeah. And it's interesting. various and it's it all is There's. something about Spider-Man. I was When I. was watching, I was thinking, it's so. weird. It always remains a kind of. coming-of-age. >> Mhm. >> even though, you know, he's coming of. age and we've they've been through um as. various episodes of this. Um but things. that big coming-of-age stuff like. Stranger Things that ended Very. cleverly, they brought in Sadie Sink to. play a character from Stranger Things to. play a character in this. And so, I. think it really it just sort of really. works.

And it was. it None of these things are, you know, slam dunks at all. I will say that when. something is this successful, it helps. cinema owners who take half the box. office. It There are huge Go and sit in the I. mean, that's why Marvel always put all. their, you know, trailers and stuff. They have a middle credits trailer at. the end and an end credits trailer. for something coming up. And in this. case, of course, it's all Doomsday, which is coming at the end of the year. But the amount of people who work on. these films, the huge numbers of.

creatives work on this. This is like a. windfall for the whole industry. As I. say, the genre is not where it was at. all, but it This is the best of it. I. really like the stars. >> Yeah. >> Um I think they did a great job on the. film. And. they preserve something of its essential. nature. And it's a great superhero. And. I So, I I just think that this is a. feel-good story for the industry. And of. course, I want originals. And we're very. lucky we've had many more originals this. year than we have in recent years. But I. think that you have to have some. franchise things in just to keep things.

going, because otherwise, you can't get. a payday this big. I have to say with an. original idea. I can't see I can't see. it happening. >> Yeah, I think that we you know, I think. we were in danger three or four years. ago, certainly post-pandemic, that the. Marvel Cinematic Universe had lost some. of its luster. And so, we were in the. stage where even the blockbusters. weren't really working. And people are. saying, "Okay, we need to invest in, you know, original IP." But the money wasn't. really there, because, you know, these.

studios do depend on these tentpoles to. bring in I mean, you know, this is going. to make over $2 billion, Spider-Man. And a lot of that is profit. And of course, some of that, you know, will go into the pockets of studio heads. and into the pockets of people involved. But a lot of that will go back into new. movie making. And I think we're we were. in danger a few years ago of. if these big tentpole movies weren't. working, they weren't about to start. putting money into smaller movies. anyway, that we were in danger of of.

cinema becoming. declining and dying industry. We talked. about it an awful lot, and there are. lots of think pieces about it. And as. you say, the shares of some of the. cinema chains were absolutely going. through the floor, and people are. thinking there there is no future here. The incredible thing we've seen over the. last few years is suddenly some of these. movies, Spider-Man particularly, but you. know, you look at Minecraft, you know, Mario Galaxy, all of those things are. making huge amounts of money, and that. is great for the whole infrastructure.

And people in Hollywood want to make. movies. They want to make great original. movies. And as you say, things like. Backrooms and Obsessions have been. incredibly useful to show that there is. money to be made in it. So, yeah, I. think it's a I think it's a huge. positive. I think, you know, the the the. more people go into the cinema is a huge. positive. Marina, cuz you you you are. something of a superhero expert. I've. always wondered. I know that Avengers is going to be. absolutely enormous, but Spider-Man. specifically. has seemed to grow and grow and grow and.

grow. And I know they've made great. movies. Is Is that why it is? Great. source material, then they make great. movies. >> It's interesting. I trying to work out. quite why. As I said, it's a bit. lightning in a bottle. You've got these. two um principal actors who are. brilliant and have this um real-life. romance. I do think Spider-Man is a. what like one of the absolute very best. superheroes, you know, it's it's so. relatable. So, I think that's a big part. of it. The way they've made these films, as I say, Sony makes these um for. Marvel. They're They're not They're not.

made by Disney Marvel. They've always. had a kind of. not So, they haven't had that overlaying. sort of irony, jokey-um that lots of the. other Marvel ones had. Yeah. There's. There was an earnestness to them because. of the character. I think the character. is very appealing and always has been. And I think that Yeah, I would say that. And there's been I mean, obviously. they've brought back other ones. There's. They've. older Spider-Man like Andrew Garfield. and Tobey Maguire and they've done that. very cleverly. I think the story just.

will always resonate. But the way. they've made them is brilliant. I. thought it was very I thought it was. great. I really I really liked it. I. really enjoyed it. And also the sort of the the sort of. little team that seems to have been set. up for the next Spider-Man movie as well. is really really really good. I mean, there's a No spoilers, but there's a. couple of characters in here who you now. think, "Oh, okay. I see that going. forward. Spidey's going to have these little. psychics." You think, "Oh, yeah. I'm in. Count me in." It's worth noting as an. aside that Zendaya may well have a 5.

billion. dollar year this year. If you take the. Odyssey and Spider-Man and Dune, I mean, she could have She could have. I think she's already possibly the had. the highest ever grossing year. And she's only going to add to that as. well. Isn't that I mean, that's That's. got to be healthy. >> Those three are And actually Jon. Bernthal, who's Frank Castle, the. Punisher, he's so good in the Odyssey. He's. Menelaus in the Odyssey and he's. absolutely brilliant. Really like. eye-catchingly brilliant in that. So,

yeah. I mean, it's I think in general it. it's really good for the industry is. what I would say. I understand your. reservations, but I didn't think this. was slop. Sam Stevens has a question for. you about Postman Pat. >> My god, you can't say we don't have. range. >> There's huge range here. Since you're. not allowed to gratuitously showcase one. particular company on TV, this is about. undue prominence, how did Postman Pat. get away with promoting or displaying. Royal Mail on his van for all those. years? Did the animators do a deal with. Royal Mail or the BBC or did he get away.

with it because he's a harmless and. friendly animated postie? >> You know what? Thank you, Sam. Some. Someone's finally called this out. It is. It is It is well Funny enough, when. Postman Pat started Well, firstly, when. Postman Pat started, he didn't have any. Royal Mail branding. Didn't have any. branding at all. He had like a red van. and stuff like that, but there there. wasn't Royal Mail on the side of it. But, I think very quickly, from from the. second series onwards, they did have. Royal Mail branding. But, that's cuz at. the time, Royal Mail was not a. uh you know, it was it was a publicly.

owned utility. So, that you know, there. wasn't it wasn't kind of. We didn't So, FedEx and all that back in the day, did. we? So, you you were allowed to put. Royal Mail on your thing because it. wasn't seen as a as a as a commercial. organization. They had more trouble when. they rebooted Postman Pat. You know, they rebooted Postman Pat? >> Yeah, in a privatized post office world. >> In a privatized post office world. And. there, they couldn't use Royal Mail. because by that point, you know, Royal. Mail was one of many um parcel providers. that you can use. So, in the um in the.

newer Postman Pats, he becomes It's It's. quite a big change. He becomes head of. the SDS, which is the um the Special. Delivery Service. And he moves to. Pencaster, which is uh you know, one of. the big urban centers. It's It's sort of. like, you know, when um when uh. Spider-Man grows up. In the new ones, so. there's no Royal Mail branding cuz he. works for SDS. He has a Jeep. He has a motorbike and sidecar. Jess. sits in the sidecar. He has a.

gyrocopter. Like, everything changes in. the new Postman Pat, but he has. >> Or is this or him being imprisoned. falsely by his post post post office. bosses, I guess? >> Oh my god, they should have done that. They should have done a Mr. Bates versus. versus Postman Pat spin-off. >> Yeah. >> That would be a mess. That's like. Deadpool and Wolverine. >> Yeah, that story remains developing. So, don't rule it out once we've got our. final judgment. >> And so, yeah, they basically it wasn't. undue prominence because it was a it was. a publicly owned utility. And perhaps in.

the next few years, there'll be more of. those so you'll be able to do that but. in the in the newer iteration. it is it is absolutely a commercial. organization called the SDS is is. playing off the SAS but for but for. Postman. They did an interesting um. we talked a number of times about. attention spans and we talked about. where our culture is going and you know. this need for you know 15-second. soundbites and things to be incredibly. sped up. One of the few really long form.

studies they've ever done on that about. kids attention spans and what's happened. to them was actually based on Postman. Pat. and they took a. a bunch of very young kids. and they split some Postman Pat episodes. into into slow ones and fast ones so. they had some very fast Postman Pat. episodes which. must have passed me by and they showed. these different episodes to kids cuz. it's obviously that's a control which is. it's always it's the same character it's. roughly the same storylines but one is. cut much faster than another and showed.

them to kids and watched their reaction. measured their brain waves all that all. that kind of stuff. and they concluded by this Postman Pat. study that it had zero difference it was. made zero difference to their. entertainment value zero difference to. their concentration and so listen. citation needed of course but one of the. the greatest studies on the on the. concentration span of very young. children is based on Postman Pat and. essentially said don't worry too much. about the speeding up of culture doesn't.

seem to make much difference. I I I. >> I love that. >> I I have no way of knowing. how rigorous that was but I I thought it. was an interesting conclusion and I. wanted to thank Pat for his service. I. remember one of the funniest. Okay we're going to have to get the beep. out. One of the funniest lines we ever. had on on 8 out of 10 Cats was when. Danny Dyer came on and I can't remember. why Postman Pat came out but he did. And Danny Dyer the Dyer just went, "He's. a busy isn't he?".

That's so unnecessary. Which is why it's so funny. I mean he can't he can't help himself, Danny, can he? >> That's what Jaap Stam called the Neville. brothers. >> Really? >> Busy busy little. >> Did he? >> Yeah. >> Huh. That's what they should call them. stick to football. That'd be that'd be a good title. >> Mhm. >> On that bombshell, shall we go to a. break? >> I think we better. >> Yeah. >> This episode is brought to you by. Lloyd's rewards. Now, a big mistake that.

people make is leaving the cinema as. soon as the credits roll cuz there might. be a bonus scene right at the end. >> Yeah, absolutely one of my favorite. things about Yeah, you never know. >> They used to be in Marvel's ones. There. used to be a mid-credit scene and then. there'll be an end-credit scene. >> I remember the first one I really. remember well two. I remember Ferris. Bueller's Day Off where where he tells. you to go home at the end, but also. Smokey and the Bandit with with Burt. Reynolds where where they would do. bloopers. It just feels like a secret. little glimpse. >> Yeah. >> Into a different world. >> have to be over. >> Yeah, exactly. And it's just a lovely.

little added bonus. You've done. everything. You've made your show. Right, you've given everyone everything. It's just a lovely little extra. >> Which is also the idea behind Lloyd's. rewards. Extra value appearing inside. something you were already doing anyway, your daily banking. From shopping to. streaming, you can bank on Lloyd's to. help your money go further. >> It's rewards like this that make 14. million people bank on Lloyd's. Search. Lloyd's rewards in your app. Eligibility. criteria, terms and conditions apply. Retailer offers and cashback amounts may.

vary. UK residents 18 plus. Welcome back, everybody. Marina, Natalie. has a question which I think you will. have a good answer to. She says Natalie. says, "I understand that some actors, instead of an upfront fee, will take a. percentage of the box office for a. movie. I have heard that Bruce Willis. made a lot of money from this for The. Sixth Sense and Marlon Brando lost a lot. of money from renegotiating his fee for. The Godfather. Who are some of the. biggest winners and losers from this?

>> Okay, good one, Natalie. Yes, The Sixth. Sense, Bruce Willis famously did really. well out of. I think that his salary at. the time was kind of he would have got. 14 million, but he instead took a back. end on it and he got 17% of the. worldwide box office and remember uh. home video. profits, DVDs were obviously such a huge. market then. Um so, I think he ended up. getting between 100 and 120 million. Um. >> That's amazing. >> Yes. Uh.

yes. Now, Keanu Reeves did one of the. greatest deals. He maybe took on The. Matrix, he took maybe 250 million across. the franchise. Unbelievable. Alec. Guinness, we've talked about this before. and I think maybe some of our bonus. episodes, that was an amazing deal he. did. He took 2.2.5%. of George Lucas's royalties and over a. lifetime on that, that was just beyond. beyond anything. >> By the way, that's that's the cleverest. way of doing it cuz quite often on. things, you know, projects and things,

you say, you you can have a piece of. this or you can have a piece of the back. end of this. But, the way that back ends. are calculated, some you know, there. there are people who say, "Oh, I've got. the some back end on this movie that and. it's made half a billion, but I've never. seen a penny because of the way it's. accounted, you know, there's so much. offset." Yeah. So, what Alec Guinness. has done there is he's not he's not. said, "I want 2 and 1/2% of the back. end." He says, "I want 2 and 1/2% of. what George Lucas makes." Because you. know that George Lucas. will be will be the first to be paid in.

a situation like that. So, that's that's. the clever Do you know what? I've never. heard that before and I'm going to. that's that's very very smart. >> Well, Tom Hanks did something similar on. Forrest Gump. Now, Tom Hanks, he got. something which I'm going to talk about. in a minute on that movie, but he got 70. million from that. Now, because he took. first day gross, which now only one. person gets, which we will talk about. But back then he Yeah, another time, exactly. And Winston Groom, who wrote the book, he had a net profit participation. And.

thanks to Hollywood accounting, as they. say, you know, like, "Oh my god, you. know, no, Forrest Gump has yet to make. any money, so you still You still don't. have any Anyway, there are lots of. people who do Jack Nicholson in Batman, they said he could have 10 million, and. he said, "Oh, I'll take 6 million, thank. you." And he I'll have back back end and. participation and merchandise, which he. did amazing. I mean, he must have got 80. or 90 million in 1989 money, which is. crazy. Um but talking about that first day. gross thing, Tom Cruise is the only. person really who still gets first day. gross, and he's just successfully always.

negotiated that. It's I mean, it really. is vanishingly rare now. A few people. used to get it. What that means is that. you start profiting from day one. So, whatever it's earning in the cinemas, you're getting a you're getting a. percentage of that. You're not waiting. for them to say, "Oh, yeah, well, we. we've now repaid back the marketing. spend, we pay back all of this. Now you. can start making money," which is what. most back end is. First day gross is now. this kind of vanishingly rare thing, as. I say. But even on Mission: Impossible. Final Reckoning, he was still getting. first day gross. And then, you know,

they've got sort of There's lots of. other ones that are sort of fun. But the biggest losers we will talk. about. James Cameron offered Matt Damon. the role of Jake in Avatar, and and he. also offered 10% of back end profits, which on Avatar is pretty good. But Matt. Damon was doing The Bourne Ultimatum, so. he and he lost out on however much I. mean, I think hundreds of millions. Now, Sean Connery is a classic Sean Connery's. done a couple of these. For In Lord of. the Rings, they wanted he was offered.

something like 15% of the worldwide box. office gross as well as standard salary. And he would have got hundreds of. millions from that. But he explained in. 2005 why he turned it down. He said, "Yeah, well, I never understood it. I. read the book, I read the script, I saw. the movie, I still don't understand it.". He also declined to be Morpheus in The. Matrix for the same reason, didn't. understand it. >> Wow. Yeah, I I read I read somewhere. that they reckon he maybe lost out on. 400 million dollars cuz of the Lord of. the Rings thing. >> Yes, so it you can you can lose out a.

lot if you don't deal with the Hollywood. accounting. Remember David Prowse, who. was the sort of physical body of Darth. Vader in Return of the Jedi. He He. agreed to his back end on net profits. This is a disaster, rather than gross. revenue, and Lucasfilm just, you know, they everything is charged back, and I. think he got no dollars. in in profit participation from Return. of the Jedi. So, it is quite hard to. arrange. >> Never ever accept a percentage of net. profits from anyone, ever, anywhere. Cuz.

it's the easiest thing to give you. because there there are, you know, in. any business it's very easy to make. something not make money because you can. borrow against it, offset against it, put all sorts of costs against it. And. so, if they're offering you, it's the. easiest thing to offer an actor cuz the. actor thinks, "Oh my god, this is. amazing. I'm getting a share of the back. end here." And the studio's going, "I I can pay him 2 million dollars less. because I'm offering him a share of of. net profits, and there are I guarantee. even if the.

film is the biggest movie ever made, there will be no net profits to Yeah. >> Yeah. Or just get like Tom Cruise's. agent to do it for you. >> It's a good idea. >> nearly done a great. >> Yeah. Isn't it amazing how so many of. the biggest actors in the world are. called Tom? >> Yes. >> Now Tom Holland's joined them. It's like Tom is like the male Olivia. Like our culture is absolutely run by. Olivias and Toms. Anyway, maybe there's. a question in that somewhere. >> Right, lots of people are interested in. this one. IMAX. Alfie Jackson says, "After the success of The Odyssey and. the high demand for IMAX viewings, will.

we see more IMAX films in the near. future? Who do you think will turn to. IMAX next?". >> I I think I think if funnily enough the. IMAX is sort of the tip of of of of a. slightly more interesting iceberg. So, IMAX is just is just, you know, one. format for showing movies. Obviously, you know, you can show it on a much. bigger scale and you know, it's an. extraordinary sort of cinema-going. experience and the Odyssey has made. nearly $300 million just in IMAX, you. know, so it's it's it's a huge deal. But. the the slightly more interesting story.

behind it is is what they call PLFs, which is premium large format cinema. So, IMAX would be a version of that, which is you go to a cinema, you pay a. bit extra, you see something slightly. more extraordinary. And across a lot of the cinemas in the. States and increasingly over here as. well, they are starting to roll out. these more premium versions. of cinemas. So, the Cinemark itself, which is one of the big cinema chains, has its own version of that, which is. XD. There is IMAX, of course, there's.

Dolby Cinema. There's AMC has got Prime. So, lot lots of these cinemas are. rolling this stuff out. You would think. of it more familiarly. as. you know, sometimes you'll go to one of. the multiplexes and they'll have. incredible reclining seats. You know, and that essentially is where cinemas. are going. They're going for bigger. screens, they're going for, you know, wider seats. They are going for this. stuff where they can really really. charge a premium and all of the cinema. chains are working out that this really.

really really works. So, you know, they. are slowly as quickly as they can, but. it is it is slow, converting an awful. lot of their screens to these bigger. formats. And there's all sorts of. companies that will provide that for. you. As I say, you know, you got IMAX. itself, you've got RealD who do 4DX, and. lots of the cinemas have their own kind. of. versions of this. And they are. discovering that more and more and more. of their income is coming from these. premium. seats and from these premium screens and.

from this premium experience. So, we are. definitely going to see an awful lot. more of it. We're going to see an awful. lot more cinemas that have incredibly, uh, luxurious seats that have, you know, bespoke refreshments, that have. incredible sound, that have, you know, extra bits on the edge of the screen, so. you can watch films in the way that, uh, directors want to make them. And they. absolutely just team up with the studios. right at the beginning and say, you. know, can you make sure this is shot in. this format, so that we can show it in.

these particular screens. But, yeah, we. are going to see a lot lot more of it. It's really going to save cinema in lots. of ways, because. it it'll be a fewer screens, but you. make you can make so much more money. each time someone comes into the cinema. if they're in a a PLF, a premium large. format cinema. It's something that the. younger generation absolutely flocks to. and loves, because if you are going to. go away from a big, big, big home cinema. screen or home cinema setup to just a. normal cinema, you can sort of see why.

they have avoided that, you know, over. the years. Whereas, if you're going to. go into something which is. extraordinary, and which has incredible. surround sound, and which you are. absolutely surrounded by the picture, and which your seats shake, and your. seats recline, and, you know, it's it's. it feels luxurious, then you absolutely. see why that, for a new generation of. cinema goes, would be a premium. experience that they're happy to pay a. bit more money for. So, yeah, the Trojan. horse of Odyssey, uh, and IMAX, which kind of shows you.

what's happening is is actually bringing. in a huge amount of other things. And. the. I sort of think it's rather nice that. cinemas are are going to become more and. more and more. luxurious. You will pay more, but not insanely more. You know, in the. in the States, it's it's four or five. dollars a ticket more than a a regular. ticket, which, if you're taking a family. of four, you don't particularly want to. do. But, if you're just a a couple of. mates going out, or it's a date movie or. something like that, you can see why. people are happy to pay that premium and. it's you know it's it's going to be the.

savior of the movie theaters and all the. movie theaters are rolling this out. They're rolling out their own versions. of it. They're absolutely asking for you. know. cuts of films in in those different. formats and it's one of the big drivers. now behind massive cinema and theater. growth in America and we funnily enough. we were talking literally just now about. how the cinema seemed to be really. really on its uppers and. having these big tentpole movies and. also having people happy to pay four or. five dollars more for a ticket to sit in.

an incredible cinema with incredible. sound. and incredible visuals is also something. that's going to save movies and mean. that you know we've got another 100. years of cinema to enjoy ahead of us. Let's finish with this one. This is a. cute one and I have a bone to pick with. someone when we talk about this as well. Another Gold Hanger alumni. James asks. over the years I've seen a fair few. competitions where the prize involves. meeting a celebrity or getting to have. dinner with them. Do these actually. happen? What are the logistics of doing.

such prizes? >> Well, yes, they are completely real. I. feel sure you're about to tell us one. that didn't happen but they are real and. they are organized normally by. specialist fundraising platforms, charity auctions, film studios. It's a. big thing like there's a company called. Charitybuzz that sells and auctions off. experiences and items and they raise. money for nonprofit. Celebrities by the. way used that as tax deductible. charitable giving so let me let daylight. in on magic but um so Charitybuzz will. have organized lots and lots of things.

so you might get joining Harrison Ford. as his co-pilot during a flight over. California. I just want to say he did. crash on a golf course but anyway it's. just. You remember he had that thing when he. did a crash landing on a golf course. I. think it was in California so. >> That's cuz he had a member of the public. in the in the co-pilot seat and then he. and he let him have a go. >> Let them have a turn. You're not. supposed to let them have a turn. >> You can crash with Harrison Ford onto a. golf course of your choice on any Sunday. in August. >> Yeah. Now, private 1-hour tennis lesson. with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, that.

would have been amazing. >> A cameo in Superman versus Batman, that. would have been pretty good. Pitching an. idea to Rupert Murdoch, I've got an idea. for him. Um but. >> We should We We should genuinely We. should bid on that. We should crowd fund. that from our listeners and we'll Yes, as you say, and then our listeners can. say which idea we should pitch to Rupert. Murdoch uh and then retype it. >> Mine would take literally 2 seconds. >> Two words. >> Winners, you don't get their personal. info. They're incredibly managed these.

things, by the way. And I've been. present with various people backstage at. different things when you're sort of. there for some other reason or you're. interviewing or whatever. It's. incredibly regimented and it doesn't. last long. And they've done a load of. background checks on you. You have all. these instructions on how to behave. You. know, you're not You don't touch them um. unless they touch you. All of it I know, but you know. >> Touch them unless they touch you. I'm. almost certain that's not in the. contract. >> Well, no, because otherwise people just. trying to have throw themselves and like. they want to hug Taylor Swift. You know, if she hugs you, that's great, but if. she doesn't hug you, you don't hug her,

that sort of thing. Um and there's a lot of restrictions all. around it. Everybody is background. checked because obviously you could just. be some crazy stalker who applies for. every single opportunity to meet the. celebrity in a at some point you'll get. close to them. >> I remember once at at a at a crime. festival and uh there was there was a. dinner with authors the night before and. you could bid to to to sit next to your. favorite uh crime author. I wasn't at. this dinner, but Richard Armitage was at. the dinner. And so normally they always. run this thing and they go, "Oh, that's. lovely." And I'll give some money and.

I'll sit next to him. I'm bidding him. and you know, so it's it's a it's a. really lovely thing. Uh and then the. year that Richard Armitage had written a. crime book and he was there, they said. it was absolutely insane. They said, "But it was It was like Sotheby's. Absolute carnage as people wanted to sit. next to him and to Richard Armitage at. this dinner. It went It went for a lot. of money in the end. >> Richard, I believe you have a celebrity. meeting story that you would like to get. off your chest. >> I do. I have I have to say I I I tend I. tend not to say yes to those things. I'm.

I'm slightly too introverted for it. I. just cuz. you know, what if I I would just feel. too awkward. The The charity thing I. always do is auction off um character. names in my books. That's the thing that. I really really love doing. Uh so I'll. I'll always do that as a um. as a charity thing. But yeah, I was I. was at this like a an industry news quiz. they hold every year where like you. know, all the kind of BBC news brands. and the Channel 4 news brands and the. all the newspapers. And they always have. an auction there. And the auction thing. is is is never that thing of.

"Oh my god, I've always wanted to do. that." It's you're there and it's it's. for Action for Children and you want to. give Action for Children some money and. it's a nice way to do that. So, you. know, I'll always bid on something at. the auction. And a few years ago. the thing you could bid on and this is. pre-podcast. um fame for this gentleman. You could. bid on having lunch with Anthony. Scaramucci. >> This was when he was primarily known for. his 11-day career in the federal. government, I believe. >> Exactly that. And you know, you he he. it's it's sort of appear on things. And.

I just thought, "Well, that you know, I'm going to bid on something. Uh you know, it's either that or. Coldplay.". And I thought I I would be fascinating. to talk to him. You know, you can. There's stuff you can imagine asking. Anthony Scaramucci. And you know, you. can you know, I can bring Ingrid. You. can you you know, you go somewhere nice. and you have lunch and you think, "Well, that's a That'd be a nice thing to do.". So, I bid on that and I won that. So, I. was I was at. >> did you pay him? >> I can't remember. But again, that's like. just saying I didn't want to spend that.

much money having. lunch with Anthony Scaramucci is the. magic, but I did want to give that money. to Action for Children. >> So, we've got a contract here is what. I'm saying. >> That's the way to do that. >> It's a significant sum and it's we've. got an agreement, haven't we? A. gentleman's agreement. >> We have an agreement and the Action for. Children people said, "Oh, we will will. arrange that and we you know we'll get. in touch with his people and you know. who who can they talk to?" I said, "Well, just let them talk to me. I don't. really have people.". And they go, "Okay, we'll sort that. out." And you know, then he went back to. America and it was. when I come back over. we'll go for lunch. We would definitely.

do that. And then he came back over. and I think there was like like one date. for about 17 minutes he could do and. like maybe maybe it was like kind of. 3:00 in the morning on a Sunday. He. said, "Oh, yeah, Anthony's free and we'd. love to meet you for and and so we. couldn't do that. And then over the. years, yeah, it just sort of went away. and it was it was it was accepted that I. wasn't going to have my lunch with. Anthony Scaramucci, which is absolutely. fine. You know, I I can I can I can get. a meal deal myself. But um yeah, never happened and then I.

think when when he he joined the. Goldhanger stable, I think there was. talk of saying, "Oh, we should we should. make that happen." I think he's aware. now that he that that. >> that he's watched on a deal. >> Yeah, but. genuinely my thought is. I don't particularly want to have lunch. with Anthony Scaramucci. I don't mind. If it if it was today and someone said, "Do you want to have lunch?" I'd be, "Yeah, I'm sure that'd be all right." I. don't need to. He doesn't need to have. lunch with me. So, I I sort of feel like everyone's a. winner really. But yeah, I would say.

what I would say to Anthony, I do not. need to have lunch with you, but you. know, maybe a matching donation to. Action for Children for for missing the. lunch would be uh would be a nice thing. to do. >> Right. Okay, that does wrap us up for. today. But by the way, the first episode. of our Bond series, which is really fun, is out for free for everyone. It's going. to be for members only from now on, but. the first episode is out for free. If. you want to join for ad-free listening. and all the rest and all these bonus. episodes, it's.

therestisentertainment.com. Otherwise, we will see you next Tuesday. >> See you next Tuesday. >> Hey.