1 hour 16 minutes | Thursday, 20 August 2026
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Our special guest this week is Johnny Flynn, who stars in & Sons—A dysfunctional family drama with a twist. His character Richard is one of three long suffering sons to Billy Nighy’s A.N. Dyer, a mega-successful novelist turned alcoholic recluse and personal disaster zone. Johnny chats to Simon about the movie, its unusual filmmaking process, and working alongside Nighy, Imelda Staunton, George McKay and Noah Jupe as part of its all-star ensemble cast. Plus we hear a little about his upcoming performances as Paul Simon in South-African-set drama The Road Home, as a beleaguered sheriff in western A Prayer For The Dying, as Dostoevsky in The Idiots, and as Lucuis Malfoy (i.e. Jason Isaacs) in Harry Potter. I do wish someone would give this lad a bit of work, he must be desperate for something to get his teeth into…
Mark reviews & Sons, as well as two more of the week’s most exciting titles. First up, Coyote vs Acme, a live action animation hybrid that sees Looney Tunes’ murderous canine Wile E. Coyote return to the screen in a meta legal drama with the suppliers of his ever-malfunctioning gadgets. Plus, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (one film not two), a meta-slasher starring Gillian Anderson in which a film director becomes obsessed with casting her ‘final girl’ in a classic horror sequel. The most Mark film evz? We’ll find out.
All that plus the Laughter Lift, the return of Simon after Sanjeev’s super subbing last week, and of course your witty, erudite and delightful correspondence. Keep the postbag full please gang!
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Our Christmas Movie Spectacular is back! It’s in Bristol this year on Sunday 6th December. Don’t miss it!
Here’s the link for tickets:
https://www.fane.co.uk/kermode-and-mayo
Timecodes:
00:06:25 Coyote vs Acme Review
00:14:25 Box Office Top Ten
00:26:58 Johnny Flynn interview
00:42:43 & Sons review
00:59:09 Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma review
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