Ep. 894 - Primetime

David Chen (0:20)

Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Filmcast, the podcast about movies. I'm David Chen, and I'm very similar to Chris Hansen in the movie Primetime, in that when I podcast, after I'm done, I often ask myself, what would have happened if I hadn't been here?

Joining me today is Devindra Hardawar.

Devindra Hardawar (0:40)

This week, I watched Robert Pattinson use brutal vigilante techniques to take down criminals, all the while becoming obsessed and becoming a monster himself. Ultimately, are they letting down his underlings? But enough about Batman.

David Chen (0:51)

Boom goes the dynamite.

Nicely done, Devindra. Those are, of course, all vague and oblique references to the fact that today on the podcast, we'll be reviewing Primetime, newest film by Lance Oppenheim, starring Robert Pattinson. You might be wondering, where is Jeff Cannata? For scheduling reasons, we had to record our review with Jeff and also Jeff's what we've been watching separately than me and Devindra here. You're going to hear from Jeff very, very soon.

In fact, the whole podcast is basically going to be building up to that. But in the meantime, it's just me and Devindra Hardawar got a little bit of what we've been watching for you. But first, let's get to this email from Andy D writing into slashfilmcast.gmail.com from Melbourne, Australia.

This is Slashfilmcourt, but not all of us are here, so I'm just going to read the email. We've gotten questions like this one before, but I think it's always good to hear from people who are asking these questions and it's on their mind.

This isn't something which has happened to me personally, but I've always wondered about the consequences. However, I do think it's somewhat topical given the recent firing of Jim Thornton after brazenly engaging in different form of disturbing material on plane flight. Many times I've been on a plane and started scrolling through the in-flight entertainment options for something to watch and invariably there are a couple of horror films available. Now, I like a good horror film, but I do generally prefer to enjoy them in the privacy and comfort of my own home with the appropriate atmosphere. Still, I've often been tempted to watch one on a flight. Most recently, I was on a flight which offered Lee Cronin's The Mummy, which I've been interested in seeing. However, I'm wary of the discomfort I might cause to those people around me, who might decide to catch a glimpse of my screen during a particularly gory, gruesome or similarly explicit scene, especially if there happen to be children in the surrounding seats. Some consideration could be posed to something especially raunchy as well. It's one thing to fire up something truly heinous on the private laptop I brought with me. But the fact that these films are available at all with the in-flight entertainment suggests that perhaps I'm being overly sensitive to the judgment of strangers. Either way, I don't think I could enjoy a spooky flick with the thought that anyone around me could also be watching and disturbed by what they're seeing. Is it okay to watch content with potentially and likely explicit content in an arguably public place like a plane flight, especially if it's a film or show made available on the in-flight entertainment? Or should I be free to watch whatever I want, social stigma be damned and expect people to mind their own business? Would appreciate your thoughts on the matter. I only found the podcast two years ago and I've absolutely loved it ever since. I haven't listened to every episode, so forgive me if you've covered this topic already. Well, we have covered the topic a little bit. A little bit, yeah. But let's readdress it and I think this is a very focused question, which is, is it okay to watch inappropriate material on the in-flight entertainment system on a Delta flight or what have you?

Devindra Hardawar (3:52)

It depends on where you're sitting.

David Chen (3:54)

It used to be, back in the old days, that when you watched a show or a film on a plane, they would show you an edited version of it.

It used to be that there would be one TV, and everyone would watch the one TV. There would be a screen in the front of the cabin, and everyone would watch that, and it would be an edited appropriate for plane version.

Devindra Hardawar (4:21)

You would see a one-inch square, basically. That's what you'd ultimately actually see.

David Chen (4:27)

Remember those TVs that they also have on buses? It's like a small TV that they mount every three seats. But since technology has advanced with silicon chips and such, they now are able to have a little in-flight entertainment in every seat, and it's amazing.