03. Black Dynamite with Kobi Omenaka Transcript
[90 Mins or Less Film Fest Music]
SAM: 0:20 Hello, I'm Sam Clements and welcome to the 90 Minutes or Less Film Fest. This is a podcast that celebrates films with a 90 minute or less runtime and is entirely curated by guests on this podcast. Today, we're joined by fellow podcaster, fellow podcast maker, a podcast entrepreneur, Kobi Omenaka, co-host of Flixwatcher and The Wire Stripped podcasts. Hello Kobi.
KOBI: 0:44 Hi guys! Very nice introduction there. Dunno what a podcast entrepreneur is!
SAM: 0:48 What you do is, you're Mr. Podcasts, you've got two podcasts on the go. The very long running and well respected Flixwatcher and The Wire Stripped in my mind is still new but that must be a couple of years old now?
KOBI: 1:00 Well season two started last week as we record this, but the, I guess the kind of formulation and how we kind of pull it together there's been it's been well over a year it's not quite two years though.
SAM: 1:08 Nice, and a nice mix of TV and film always good.
KOBI: 1:12 Pop culture! I need to move on to music I think next
SAM: 1:15 Well maybe next year, then you would be a podcast entrepreneur.
KOBI: 1:17 Only then.
SAM: 1:18 So what I find quite interesting is on this podcast our guests are curating our film festival and on Flixwatcher guests curate the podcast, that sort of viewing. I'm basically, I'm looking for some advice.
KOBI: 1:28 Sure.
SAM: 1:28 How is it handing over the reins to your guests to decide your viewing over the last few years of doing that Flixwatcher podcast?
KOBI: 1:35 It's been totally interesting seeing what people choose from the point of view of you know, a future listener you kind of want them pick a film that a) they've heard of, that they want to watch as a result of listening to your show but the person who chooses the film often they want to pick something that's like, this is kind of smart and bringing something to the table that you haven't thought about before so when we've had people on of particular note and they've chosen a film that not many people have seen, it's kind of like, yay they're on the podcast but could they have chose something a bit more interesting for other people to listen to? But nowadays we do try and steer people to like 6.5 and above on IMDB to give at least a bit of a chance of being a good recording which is one of the main things as a podcast maker, you want to make an interesting recording.
SAM: 2:15 You're a huge film fan, you go to the cinema a lot, what sort of films do you like to watch when you when you can choose a film yourself?
SAM: 2:21 I am super eclectic in film choices I really have no particular style. I will tend to stay away from horror films so things like The Nun, not interested in any of The Conjuring, stuff I'm not interested in. But then when you have things like Get Out or The Guest or A Quiet Place I'm that kind of when when there's an interesting story behind it being a film and it happens to be a horror film. I'm super interested in that. Documentaries I love to bits, foreign language films love to bits, even though foreign language film isn't a genre it's just in a different language. But I'm happy to watch the big blockbusters but also super super keen on seeing like the small independent films and seeing those kind of things. And one thing I love a lot is like seeing like Ryan Coogler directing Fruitvale Station and then going on to Creed and then going on to Black Panther and seeing the progression of people and the actors and also the production staff and production team is brilliant.
SAM: 3:08 We got in touch with you Kobi because big fan of the podcast, big fan of your cinema going, we thought Kobi's going to choose an interesting film. How did you approach the brief of from all the films out there that are under 90 minutes, how did you whittle it down to your choice?
KOBI: 3:21 I've been thinking about rewatching this film and I thought when you when you posed the question I thought I'm sure this is less than 90 minutes. So for me it was quite quite simple but I can imagine for a lot of people will be quite a torturous thought process.
SAM: 3:33 So Kobi, what film did you settle on?
KOBI: 3:35 I've chosen Black Dynamite.
DY-NO-MITE! DY-NO-MITE [Sting]
SAM: 3:41 It's impossible to watch Black Dynamite and not end up humming that.
DY-NO-MITE!
SAM: 3:45 Black Dynamite is a spoof blaxploitation action comedy from 2009, directed by Scott Sanders and developed by Scott Sanders and the star of the film Michael Jai White. After his brother is murdered in the ghetto, Vietnam vet and former CIA agent Black Dynamite sets out on a supercharged one man mission to clean up the streets and avenge his brother's death. He soon becomes embroiled in a corrupt and far reaching crime operation involving top politicians, drug dealers, and crazed scientists as he battles his way tirelessly from the blood soaked city streets to the highest corridors of power. Why Black Dynamite Kobi?
KOBI: 4:22 Because, man, this film is so much fun. And it's hard, it's hard to make a film that is so much fun all the way through. This is a spoof film of which they haven't gone down so well of late. I can't think of a decent spoof film that I've enjoyed.
SAM: 4:36 No, you're right. It's one of those. I mean, it was his highest I think maybe in the 80s with The Naked Gun films and
KOBI: 4:41 Airplane! before that.
SAM: 4:43 Absolutely. But lately, we've had the Seth MacFarlane Western and...
KOBI: 4:47 A Million Ways to Die In West
SAM: 4:48 And the Scary Movie franchise had diminishing returns.
KOBI: 4:50 Yes, I mean, the first, I mean a lot of people hate on the Wayans brothers but legitimately Scary Movie was fantastic. They had the spoof of Menace To Society, Boyz n the Hood, I can't remember what it's called, but it's a great title. That was a good film. I think the worst offenders are the Meet the Spartans people. Hey, remember that thing from a film you saw once? We put it in this film! Hahahaha. Funny? Not really. We've all seen Avengers we all know who Tony Stark and the Hulk are, do you know what I mean it's not it's just not funny.
SAM: 5:18 They're so throw-away as well, they're made to be watched that year.
KOBI: 5:21 Yes.
SAM: 5:21 And I don't think they've got the longevity whereas with Black Dynamite it's it's talking about like such a movement of films I think it's sort of ageless which is kind of nice.
KOBI: 5:30 It is, and those Naked Guns and a lot of people like Top Secret, I haven't seen it that much, I mean Airplane! I can watch that time and time again. I think that was potentially one of the choices I was thinking of. I would have been for this had Black Dynamite not been under 90 minutes but there's what you can watch them again and again and that's that's that's a good thing about a film generally but a spoof of thing has to stand on its own merits outside of, you know, the six months before and after it came out.
SAM: 5:53 Did you see this in the cinema first time round?
KOBI: 5:55 No I didn't know it existed until one podcast I listened to quite a lot, but I don't listen to now because the host has fallen a bit out of favour.
SAM: 5:55 I think I know the one!
KOBI: 6:04 Him and his friends were talking about and it's like, I never heard of this film and they talked about a few more times. And I think it's one of the things because it is a spoof film if you've seen a poster you would have thought, nah not now I can't be bothered, but because him and then a few other people I respect as film reviewers said it was a good film, I bit the bullet and watched it and from the start is was great. From the start it's amazing and it continues at a good pace all the way through. The reason I chose it for this is because I don't think still enough people have seen it and it's just literally one of the best films of the past 10 years. Best comedy films, certainly, probably is the best spoof parody film I can think of, over the past 10 years. More people need to watch it because I need to be able to scream DYNOMITE and have people join in on the tube.
SAM: 6:45 It really reminds me of the the TV show Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
KOBI: 6:49 Oh really?
SAM: 6:49 I don't know if you saw that but as it was sort of made in the style of the shows it was parodying. This is shot on 16 millimeter film, they use vintage film lenses in this, in Black Dynamite, and they do all of the maybe less good things around the edges, the jump cuts, shoddy camera work, the very shoddy acting but on purposely shoddy. It's it's quite masterful really.
KOBI: 7:10 I've only seen Garth Marenghi once, the whole season and I thought it was great, haven't seen it again. I perhaps wasn't as film or pop-culture literate at the time to understand the references though. But I purely enjoyed the pastiches that they're playing on. Like they had a female doctor in the first episode and Garth Marenghi was like 'you're a woman!' playing on the on that kind of trope of not many female characters in positions of authority. I thought yeah, it was was great. And it's good to have that kind of similar thing here in films in blaxploitation films, where the lead star is a pimp/a gangster, and female characters aren't portrayed that well, but they made a point of like, really playing on how badly the characters are played, are treated in those films and I think that's a great way to do it.
SAM: 7:50 Blaxploitation is quite a well known genre.
KOBI: 7:52 Yeah,
SAM: 7:52 But I don't think many people have actually seen a lot of the films that are in that genre. Is it something that you've you've watched like previously before this film?
KOBI: 8:00 Generally not. Generally, I haven't seen, I don't think I've ever seen Shaft or Superfly. I might seen a Pam Grier film like Coffy. It's just something I'm not sure in the UK particular how big they were. And maybe now with the advent of Netflix and Amazon Prime, they're easy to get hold of but they're just simply weren't things that were a) on TV much in the UK growing up, b) available in your local video store. So I just never got around seeing them. But for me, I think one, they have the blaxploitation side of things here, but also, I'm a big fan of kung fu, and martial arts films, and this film pastiches that, you know, to the hilt. Enter the Dragon is one legitimately, one my favourite films ever made. And there's so many callbacks to Bruce Lee, that kind of film in this I think it's, it's equally a party of blaxploitation and kung fu martial arts films in one, which augments it for me totally.
SAM: 8:47 I quite like it when, the guy plays, he's a Vietnam vet, who's a cop, and he can do kung fu.
KOBI: 8:51 Yeah!
SAM: 8:51 And you're like, sure, why not?
KOBI: 8:56 One of my favourite scenes, there's so many favourite scenes. I'll never do it justice. But he's an ex-CIA agent. But then he goes back to his ex-CIA boss and his boss just pulls out from his drawer, "Here's your license to kill again" gives him the CIA ID, underlined is the 'license to kill', you've got your license to kill back. It's just nonsense but great.
SAM: 9:14 There's a lot of little really fun exchanges like that in the film and I think you're right you don't need to know the film's it's parody necessarily just need to be aware that this type of film was made. And is it was a phenomenon and I think people generally, it's like with Tarantino films, you know, like with the Grindhouse movies, people didn't really watch those Grindhouse films in the UK necessarily, but they're aware that there were these type of exploitation films, this shoddy sort of similar, the B-lists of the cinema.
[90 Mins or Less Film Fest Opening Jingle]
SAM: 9:44 I think the real super weapon behind the film is Michael Jai White. And the fact that he, the story goes that, you know, this is a film that he had the idea for was listening to some music whilst on a shoot for another movie. And he was just like, this could be fun. So he made a trailer himself before the film was made to raise the funds and with this $500 trailer, they got funding to make a whole feature film, based on his idea.
KOBI: 10:09 That's, that's great. I didn't know that. But Michael Jai White is fantastic in this film, and I'm, I'm kind of disappointed it's 2009 I haven't really seen them do much since then. But he's funny in this film, he does the bad acting amazingly well and his martial arts are fantastic, legitimately really good martial arts. I'm a former martial artist myself as well so I'm watching it with like, intention and knowing what's good and bad. I read that he's got he's got black belt, or very high up in seven different martial arts and the moves he does are fantastic. But also in terms of like, he does the acting badly but he also does the martial arts, like in a goofy way as well. Properly sending up all these different moves and stuff like that. So for me, it's just like, it just works in so many different levels. He came up with a story, he got the funding, and this went to Sundance.
SAM: 10:56 Yeah, it had its world premiere in Sundance.
KOBI: 10:58 Yeah, 2008/2009 and then had a bidding war as a result, so it's great to know that $500 trailer then emerged into like a $7 million distribution deal.
SAM: 11:08 It's funny, isn't it? It's that it's that really romantic idea of you know, taking your passion project to a festival, it being really well received, having that famous bidding war with the distributors and and yeah, and then actually distributors not knowing what to do with it. And you're right, I think it is a bit under seen, I think I first discovered this film on streaming.
KOBI: 11:24 Sure.
SAM: 11:24 And I completely missed it in a cinema and I'm a cinema obsessive. Like where was I in 2009? Why didn't I see this on the big screen?
KOBI: 11:31 I don't know what release it would have gotten the UK, I'm sure it would have got very miniscule one. So it probably takes the Curzon and the Picturehouse type chains to give it some kind of visibility. I really do like the kind of Sundance phenomenon where people you know, put their heart on their sleeves, make a film and they go there and hopefully gets the bidding war. And also 2009, Netflix was in a different format and had this been, had the bidding war then I'm sure Netflix would have been in the mix to buy it and it would have a bigger release then. It did come to Netflix, but just, it's just one of those things suddenly there's a trailer on there, by the way we've got Black Dynamite now, watch it if you want.
SAM: 12:06 You're right over Michael Jai White, he is, why hasn't, this was made in 2009, why isn't he a marquee name? Why isn't he leading more films because after this, at the same time he had a very small role in The Dark Knight, prior to that he was the lead in Spawn.
KOBI: 12:20 I tell you I;ve never seen Spawn. I saw that, I was doing my research for this. Was it a good film Spawn?
SAM: 12:25 No, it was terrible. But he was the lead in it. So prior to that he worked with Jean-Claude Van Damme. He trained with Jean-Claude Van Damme and he was in a lot of those straight-to-DVD action movies just doing pure martial arts. And then he moved into acting, became a leading man probably thought he you know, quids in with Spawn, lead in a superhero movie, sadly, probably about 15 years too soon. And and it was a shoddy film. That was my first because I loved the Spawn comics and I had Spawn toys. And when the film came out I was like, yeah, they're making a film of Spawn! And it was before I really knew what a bad film was.
KOBI: 12:56 Sure.
SAM: 12:56 So I was just happy to see that, you know, the sound and the colours. I didn't really think about him at all until this film came out and like, Oh, yeah, like he was the lead in Spawn. In my eyes, that was a huge film in the 90s. Maybe not in anybody else's. But I feel like after showing off his talent in this film, where he's behind the camera, he's in front of the camera, he's on camera, he's doing comedy, doing action. Why isn't he a lead in a film now? It's a waste.
KOBI: 13:21 It's an absolute waste! Not just as a black actor. Ryan Coogler's doing amazing, I would have thought maybe put him in Black Panther because that was a great opportunity for someone with his kind of talents, that would have been great to have him in there. But just other films generally I think he would augment a lot of action films, films where you need that kind of big presence. And hey, you know what, why not do a few more comedies with people, I'm sure I'm sure Adam McKay could use him in even, even if it was like The Big Short or the next Anchorman type film I'm sure Adam McKay can make use of someone like Michael Jai White.
SAM: 13:52 If you're doing action, like a lot of feature comedies are usually like a hybrid genre, so if you doing an action comedy, he's your guy.
KOBI: 13:59 Yeah exactly!
SAM: 14:00 He can do everything! I think he's currently on TV. He's in Arrow, the DC Arrow show. I don't know if he's a big part in that he seems to have been in a lot of episodes. And he has been working on a sort of follow up to Black Dynamite. I just feel like this film is a showcase. And if I was a talent agent, I'd be like, get him in my movie!
KOBI: 14:16 Hopefully, he's a cool guy to work with. Before we started recording we were talking about people like Tom Cruise who effortlessly gets cast in films and films again. And a huge part of that is that as you say, when Picturehouse Central opened he went in shook the hands of every single member of staff in the in the cinema, no need for him to do that whatsoever. But you have people who are notoriously, like, hard to work with, and you have people who absolute pleasure to work with like Tom Cruise. So I'm hoping Michael Jai White is a pleasure to work with. Maybe he's not maybe that's the reason why he hasn't progressed. But based on what we've seen on screen and what his production capabilities are, I think, I want to see him in more things.
SAM: 14:55 Doing research for the show, he sounds like a really cool guy. He used to do movie nights showing blaxploitation films. And the fact that he's a film fan, as well as an actor basically makes me fall in love with him, what a dream!
SAM: 15:08 So we mentioned earlier about the fighting in this film, I think that can be a really great source of comedy and one of my favorite moments in this film is towards the end of the film, Richard Nixon is obviously involved in the dastardly plot.
KOBI: 15:19 When you're talking about Vietnam, you can ignore obviously Kennedy was involved in Vietnam and all those predecessors, anyone doing a film that mentions Vietnam in bad light has to focus on Richard Nixon so it was not a surprise at all that he's the big bad.
SAM: 15:32 And when he pulls out the nunchucks!
KOBI: 15:34 Brilliant! Richard Nixon with nunchucks and he's good! I can imagine it, I can imagine Richard Nixon in the in the, in the Oval Office saying, 'guys empty the room, I want to practice my nunchucks for a couple of hours'. I totally believe that happened!
FILM CLIP from Black Dynamite 16:06
Black Dynamite: Who the hell is interrupting my Kung Fu? Who the hell is this?
Aunt Billy: Black Dynamite? It's your Aunt Billy.
Black Dynamite: Now Aunt Billy, how many times have I told you not to call here and interrupt my Kung Fu!
SAM: 16:13 What bits of the film stand up for you? Are there any sort of highlights that you look forward to when you were doing your rewatch?
KOBI: 16:19 This film is packed with them, and I know we won't do them justice. One of the early ones, well, first of all, Baron Vaughn who plays his brother Jimmy. The start of the film starts off one of the best starts ever. You've got three pimps, gangsters, you don't know who they are. There's a shadowy figure in the car and says 'Hey guys, we're going to make a lot of money together apart from the fact that one of you is a mole!' Baron Vaughn who is best known for playing a lead character in Grace & Frankie on Netflix plays a guy called Jimmy and the focus on him becomes like a super hammy like, jive-talking 'Hey, you suckas I'm the real deal. Hey guys'. Which instantly casts him out. All the hoods like shoot him down. Again not doing it justice but it just starts on such a great note and continues on.
In terms of like the fighting scene, one scene I was really looking forward to watching was when he's training with the guys in his own house, I don't know where it was, or dojo, and it's just Michael Jai White who's topless and is ripped to bits, and is fighting like between 5 and 10 people. And that fight scene it's just one of the best things I've ever seen. It's just jump cutting around, him moving around the scene in impossible ways, and then the phone rings just about the time he is about to smash through three bricks and he goes 'who's interrupted my Kung Fu?' That line for me has me in stitches. That's one of the lines I think about, and of course it's his Aunty. And one thing I should say is I think he's christened Black Dynamite, it's not an alias. As a kid he's called Black Dynamite, his mum refers to him in flashback as Black Dynamite, his aunty calls him Black Dynamite. Richard Nixon knows him as that, he's not called John Smith, this guy is called Black Dynamite. That's what he's christened, his parents thought about what he was going to be called, and that, all the way through the film is immense.
SAM: 17:56 I love the flashback scenes in this film. Flashback to him as a kid being called Black Dynamite. It's something that will always make me laugh if there's a flashback in a film and the actors they cast look exactly like them as grown-ups. I think the costumes are even the same as his costume when he's a grown-up. So it's such a silly, it's just beautiful, love that.
KOBI: 18:13 There's two other standout parts of the film. One's when he's with the other pimps. where he comes in and the pimp meeting and you see Arsenio Hall, and you have that pimp, I think he's called Chocolate Giddy-Up. The names are immense throughout the whole film. But Chocolate Giddy-Up and Black Dynamite comes in and says 'Hey guys, I'm avenging anyone who's selling drugs in the community'. And this guy goes 'but Black Dynamite, I sell drugs in the community!' which is just nonsense and brilliant. And that whole kind of setup when they're meeting together is great. And then there's another set-up in the restaurant whether they all unpick the conspiracy, starting out with Black Dynamite realizing that somehow it focuses on M&Ms.
SAM: 18:48 Yes.
KOBI: 18:49 And then it's like M&Ms, made by who? The Mars corporation, and who is Mars? He's the Roman god of war. Now, who's the Greek equivalent? Aries! and this whole kind of unpicking of the conspiracy, like literally one of the best things I've seen in any film whatsoever. Everyone joins in, everyone picks it as their contributions these and these are like Black Panthers, these are pimps. These are people who have no business knowing when Greek astronomy was founded. But it all comes together to unravel this ridiculous conspiracy. It's just beautiful.
SAM: 19:18 Oh, that feels like it's taken a bit out of The Naked Gun and Airplane! book. I know like, the character is an average sort of guy but he has immense knowledge about this one subject. And you're right, the delivery in that scene is beautiful as well, the really quick back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And like, again, all of the actors in here are great comic performers. But I think again, Michael Jai White really holds court in that and he can bounce between all these people and it's it's so good
FILM CLIP from Black Dynamite 19:44
Tasty Freeze: To what do we owe this pleasure?
Black Dynamite: I just got one thing to lay on you cats then I'll split, that I'm declaring war on anyone who sells drugs in our community.
Chocolate Giddy-Up: But Black Dynamite! I sell drugs to the community!
SAM: 19:58 The star of the show, for me, I think is the sort of form of this film, like we talked about how it was shot on original 16 millimeter film like these blaxploitation films, that the editing and how the actors are aware that they're in a, sort of a shoddy film as well. Like when they move too quick for the camera, and bump into a boom mic. That's the stuff that still makes me laugh and laugh and laugh, just thinking about it. The first time you see that, and it sort of breaks the fourth wall, he just puts the phone down real quick, and he stands up, he walks into the boom mic, then the boom mic slowly moves out of shot. Got it! That's the tone of the film. Yeah, it's quite hard, I think because you're basically making two films, when you're doing that. You're making the film the actors are acting in and you're also making the film, the characters are in. And again, the behind the camera, they must have such a good crew to, to juggle that balance.
KOBI: 20:43 There's one prime example of that, where they're fighting in the pool hall and then he slaps the actor, and the actor breaks character say 'motherf-', and it jump cuts to a different actor to finish off the fight. So it's like, we're supposed to expect a big fight happened and an actor walked offstage, and they jump cut, couldn't be bothered to refilm the whole scene again. And it's just put together so beautifully. Yeah, so things like that where you're talking about they have the film that they're making but they also have the film that the characters have to be aware of around that, they’re not allowed to break. Yeah, like when the boom mic comes into shot, you see Michael Jai White looking up at it but still talking at the same time! Absolutely brilliant stuff.
SAM: 21:20 And Michael Jai White made up a backstory for the actor that he's playing who's playing Black Dynamite. So he's a former quarterback from a football team who had an injury and he's gone into acting. And I love that sort of the process. So you're Michael Jai White, you're getting into this film playing a guy who was a quarterback who's now an actor who's playing Black Dynamite in this film. And you see that in his performance, like he's playing two characters.
KOBI: 21:41 It's like he's trying to be what OJ Simpson was, in a way or The Rock nowadays, I guess. Yeah. Well, that's a great way to think about it. Like yeah, totally, totally see that in how its portrayed in how the film goes forward.
SAM: 21:52 One of the stars of this film, the whole film is the music. And we've I think we've we've maybe alluded to this already.
DY-NO-MITE
SAM: 21:59 What did you make of the soundtrack to this movie?
KOBI: 22:01 I'm sure it's completely faithful to the blaxploitation side of things. But that kind of DYNOMITE ident which pops in it in and out every now and again, at the most convenient points, like, there's a flashback to when he's in the orphanage and I think people mock him and then suddenly goes to an exterior scene and then you suddenly hear 'DYNOMITE' as three orphans are being thrown out the window. It just instantly augments how the film works. And then you've also got some kind of soundtracks, like when it goes into his brother Jimmy's apartment. And it's like [singing] 'going to Jimmy's apartment, probably some people there, we don't know yet'. The kind of soundtrack really lifts the film in a fantastic way. And then you have the kind of wah-wah guitar, all of it really has been thoroughly thought of all the way through the the production I think.
SAM: 22:45 In an 84 minute long film, like there's a lot of music, but it all it punctuates jokes and it helps you, helps ease along the film the transitions and yeah, I forgot about the songs that set up certain locations. It's really efficient, really. You don't have to have characters saying that stuff. The guy who did the soundtrack for this, he did this quite early in his career, Adrian Younge . He played all the instruments and did all the voices for a large portion of the soundtrack.
KOBI: 23:10 Has he got on to do better things?
SAM: 23:11 He's now working on the Luke Cage TV show on Netflix.
KOBI: 23:14 Okay, that's cool.
SAM: 23:15 Which must be quite a big gig really.
KOBI: 23:16 Michael Jai White should be in Luke Cage.
SAM: 23:18 He's, he's got an in! His buddy is doing the music!
KOBI: 23:21 Well I guess if he's in the DC TV universe, maybe he’s not allowed to go into Marvel.
SAM: 23:25 That's true the contracts are probably a nightmare. But like the film was shot using these original cameras and lenses, the soundtrack was recorded on analog tape and original microphones and just a level of attention in this indie film that you can tell the idea must have really struck a chord with the people working on it, to go out of their way and make their jobs harder, to get this authentic sound authentic camera look.
KOBI: 23:48 One of the things we asked about on Flixwatcher is is this film good on, you know, on a home viewing platform, we call it our small screen score. This is kind of a perfect thing because Black Dynamite, I've only ever seen it on a small screen and it's been great. But I want, when the 90 Minute Film Festival has its big event I want this to be like, on the big screen because, as you were saying it doesn't, there's no real special effects that needs to go to big screen per se. But the communal experience I think with this would be fantastic. Plus there are so many so many details in the set and each image and each scene that would help immensely and also the soundtrack as well I think would it would be fantastic on the big screen even though I think works great on a smaller screen. Whenever this curation goes out guys I hope to be there and I'll you know I'll introduce it if Michael Jai White is not available.
SAM: 24:38 Well it's an important you know, because we we do we're going to bring all these films to the film festival and we want to, screen them in a packed auditorium with an audience who are really up for it. But how would you make that event even more special even more special than seeing Black Dynamite on the big screen, for maybe the first time for a lot of people. You know you've you've got carte blanche to do whatever you want to heighten this screening.
KOBI: 24:57 I think Michael Jai White would have to be there and maybe do some kind of kung fu demo with with the guys there. And they wouldn't have to be, I think it would be best if people didn't know what's going to happen so maybe in the foyer or the lobby of the cinema there's suddenly this martial arts demo that people didn't know about, that happens before the screening that kind of thing. So a fight breaks out in the restaurant beforehand and it's all been choreographed and flying through the air like a bar fight type thing and he's there with his you know, his ridiculous phrases and, and bad acting and throwing the adversaries like 50 meters across the room. I mean, just think about all these different things, all these different best bits of the films, of the film. That bit when he kicked the grandmother across the room!
SAM: 25:40 I like it! So your pitch is, we're going to get to the cinema early, you're gonna have like a faux intro maybe and then the real Black Dynamite, Michael Jai White in character, and he starts tearing the venue up?
KOBI: 25:51 Yes, exactly. He has a fight with someone who's selling maybe tries to sell drugs to a youngster and he's like, No, I'm not gonna have that in my cinema! Yeah, that kind of that kind of set up. I like that.
SAM: 26:01 You've got full Secret Cinema on this.
KOBI: 26:03 Yeah absolutely.
SAM: 26:04 Which means I think I'm going to charge £50 per ticket for this event know. And I think I might also need to take out additional insurance.
KOBI: 26:10 The heightened admission charges for extra insurance and reality inclusion.
SAM: 26:17 Sold, easy. I mean, there's a part of me that thinks this would be a great event and there's a part of me that thinks this is going to be a nightmare. But I think it's worth it.
KOBI: 26:23 Make sure all the glass is sugar glass, and all the furniture is the breakable stuff before. You don't want people getting too carried away and smashing real chairs and glass into people's faces.
SAM: 26:32 No, no, that's true. Again, just from the organizational point of view, a nightmare.
SAM: 26:39 This film is 84 minutes. Beautiful runtime. Do you think this film could or should be longer?
KOBI: 26:44 No, I don't know how long the Scary Movies films are, the worst of the Scary Movie films are. Generally as a carte blanche I don't think comedies should be more than 90 minutes. If this is one minute longer, it would be a worse film so definitely not any longer. And I understand there's lots of cut scenes and I'm glad they've had the kind of wherewithal to not include them into the film and realize that this is the final piece, an 84 minute masterclass.
SAM: 27:08 So Kobi, Black Dynamite is in the 90 Minutes or Less Film Fest.
KOBI: 27:11 Fantastic.
SAM: 27:11 Thank you very much for your suggestion.
[90 Mins or Less Outro Bed]
SAM: 27:21 So thank you Kobi for joining us for the 90 Minutes or Less Film Fest. Where can people hear more of your voice?
KOBI: 27:28 So you can hear more of my voice should you want to, at Flixwatcher podcast, type in Flixwatcher F-L-I-X watcher into Google and you'll find us there with my co-host Helen, where we get podcasters on such as Sam who's been on, your good self. What film did you choose?
SAM: 27:43 I chose The Edge which sadly would not be eligible for the 90 Minutes or Less Film Fest, but it is worth seeking out on Netflix.
KOBI: 27:50 And you can also hear me on The Wire Stripped with my co-host Dave, where we talk about each episode of the HBO show The Wire, scene by scene.
SAM: 27:58 Very good TV show, sadly not eligible for the 90 Minutes or Less Film Fest. And thank you listeners for listening to us you can contact us on Twitter and Instagram @90minFilmFest. The show is produced by Louise Owen and me Sam Clements. Our music was by Martin Austwick. The show was edited by Luke Smith and artwork is by Sam Gilbey. Kobi if people want to tweet to you, where can they do that?
KOBI: 28:19 I am @Kobestarr, @Flixwatcherpod on Twitter and also @TheWireStripped. You'll hear from me or Dave or Helen.
SAM: 28:28 Listeners, tweet them all at the same time. Thank you so much Kobi. And thank you for listening.
KOBI: 28:32 Thank you.
SAM: 28:33 Goodbye
KOBI: 28:33 Bye.
Partially transcribed by https://otter.ai