We’ve an actual, bona fide Hollywood movie star on the podcast this week: Professor X himself, James McAvoy. At this year's Glasgow Film Festival, the PR gods granted us ten meagre minutes with McAvoy to discuss his directorial debut, the boisterous stranger-than-fiction tale California Schemin’, about two lads from Dundee who convinced the London music industry they were a rapping duo from LA. McAvoy is joined by one of his film’s stars, Lucy Halliday, and they discuss the Scottish accent, McAvoy's filmmaking influences and how he goes about directing his fellow actors. 

On the review front, meanwhile, we discuss two very different new features. One is Orwell: 2+2=5, Raoul Peck’s serious-minded essay film on George Orwell and how his writing predicted the double-speak of the modern world. The other is Fuze, David Mackenzie’s fat-free thriller set in contemporary London starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James trying out a rather silly accent. Don’t say we don’t have range on this pod!

TIMESTAMPS:

What We’ve Been Watching: Project Hail Mary, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Netflix documentary The Dinosaurs (02:24)
Fuze review (21:08)
The Good Boy review (32:34)
Interview with James McAvoy and Lucy Halliday (45:57)

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Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod  (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-