Old Movies

On this week's Old Movies, Radiance producer, Animus founder and Peter Weir truther Elena Lazic joins Paul to discuss his 1998 masterpiece The Truman Show. We discuss Weir's unique directorial genius, why he's currently having 'a moment', the film's debt to Frank Capra and It's A Wonderful Life, Jim Carrey's dominance of the 1990s and the film's miraculous timelessness despite the rapidly changing media landscape of the following decades.

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Transmission Presents All-Nighter at Picturehouse Central - tickets here: https://www.picturehouses.com/movie-details/000/HO00018052/all-nighter-transmission-presents/0000000120?filter=

Come and see Transmission's events at the Prince Charles Cinema - Vampire's Kiss and La cabina/El televisor: https://princecharlescinema.com/seasons-events/tx/

In this week's episode of Old Movies, longtime friend of the show Paul Vickery, head of programming of the legendary Prince Charles Cinema in London, joins other Paul to discuss all manner of topics - his unusual route into programming, the changing nature of film fandom in a digital world, the erosion of cultural spaces in London, and the PCC's ongoing rent dispute with its billionaire landlord, Asif Aziz. But lest you think it's all old men yelling at cloud while also raging against the machine, we also find the time to discuss how an existential crisis during the pandemic led Paul V to the work of Mike Leigh and in particular his Old Movie of choice, 1997's Career Girls. It's a film about two old friends taking a wistful look back at their shared history in London, and this podcast, it turns out, is about the exact same thing.
Support the pod on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/oldmoviespodcast
Watch and share the video version here: https://youtu.be/YlC45AT_4MU
Subscribe to the Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/@OldMoviesPodcast
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/oldmoviespodcastFollow us on ‘X’: x.com/oldmoviespodcastFollow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/oldmoviespodcast.bsky.social

July 12th is MIKE LEIGH DAY at the Prince Charles Cinema - buy tickets to SECRETS AND LIES, CAREER GIRLS, NAKED and TOPSY TURVY now: https://tinyurl.com/39dyrzvr

Come and see Transmission's events at the Prince Charles Cinema - Vampire's Kiss and La cabina/El televisor: https://princecharlescinema.com/seasons-events/tx/

FURTHER READING/WATCHING:

It's Personal: Paul M on the Prince Charles and Criterion Capital: https://moviesaredead.substack.com/p/its-personal-the-prince-charles-cinema

The billionaire philanthropist making hundreds of Londoners homeless: London Centric on Asif Aziz: https://www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-mass-eviction-billionaire-landlord-criterion-capital

‘The city is being hollowed out’: the billionaire landlord locked in a David v Goliath battle for London’s West End - Guardian article on PCC vs Asif Aziz https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jun/14/the-city-is-being-hollowed-out-the-billionaire-landlord-locked-in-a-david-v-goliath-battle-for-londons-west-end

Mike Leigh on WTF (no link but I have faith you can find it)

In the first episode of Old Movies - the world’s first film podcast - novelist Julia Armfield joins Paul to discuss the most infamous horror movie of all time: The Exorcist. In a wide-ranging chat on the film from two card-carrying Exorcist nerds, topics covered include the creative and ideological tension underpinning the between Williams Peter Blatty and Friedkin, the heroic portrayal of the priesthood, its complex treatment of women both on and off screen, and much more besides. There’s even a space for Julia to get off some scorching hot takes on modern horror movie darlings towards the end (with some spoilers along the way). Expect a lot of enthusing, plenty of not-so-subtle Simpsons references, and good evil vibes.
Support the pod on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/oldmoviespodcast

Watch and share the video version here: https://youtu.be/YlC45AT_4MU

Subscribe to the Youtube channel:http://www.youtube.com/@OldMoviesPodcast

Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/oldmoviespodcast
Follow us on ‘X’: x.com/oldmoviespodcast
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FURTHER READING/WATCHING:
Julia’s essay ‘Guts’: https://www.thewhitereview.org/feature/guts/
Friedkin and Blatty’s 1998 interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_N2497Puec
The infamous French and Saunders Exorcist parody (DO NOT WATCH): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BczGvH60a38
Julia’s Substack on Weapons: https://substack.com/home/post/p-172717459
Tickets to Julia’s event with M. John Harrison at the London Review of Books Bookshop: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/m-john-harrison-julia-armfield-the-end-of-everything-tickets-1987073081076
Buy Highway to Hell from Radiance Films: https://www.radiancefilms.co.uk/products/highway-to-hell-le

Coming very soon to podcast apps everywhere: Old Movies! It's a film and conversation podcast. Join curator and programmer Paul Martinovic as each week he welcomes a special guest to the show to enthuse about an old movie they love, oftentimes for well over an hour. It's like Desert Island Discs, basically, except it's one movie instead of several, uh, discs. Like and subscribe now to ensure you never miss an episode of Old Movies!