My favorite line from The Death of Stalin, the horrifyingly hilarious and prickingly relevant satire directed by Armando Iannucci.
“There are nightmares that make more sense than this,” reminds you of….?
Years ago, when I was working in the film business, I had a chat with a friend, an upper level executive (I was lower level, or basement level), about what actually sells a film. What makes people go to a film?
I was dubious about the amount of money we (Paramount) spent on publicity and advertising, guessing that every dollar of ad money brought in maybe a dollar of box office revenue.
Warren had worked it out. I think he said one dollar brought in a dollar and ten cents, or something like that. Then he said, “You know, what really makes a person go to a movie? It’s when a friend grabs him by the collar, and shakes him while saying, ‘You must must must MUST see this film!!!'”
Take this as me grabbing your collar and shaking you and saying…
And by the way, my first experience with Iannucci’s work was thanks to my late, invaluable video store, The World Of Video, which provided me with a DVD of In The Loop, an insanely, obscenely fictionalized take on how the Brits joined the Bushes in launching the lie called the Iraq War.
I mentioned it to my brother — my companion at the Death of Stalin — suggesting he try to find it somewhere. Netflix? Somewhere like that?
He told me Netflix — at least the streaming service Netflix — does not have it.
Boo hiss. So after you’ve all stormed the theater to die laughing over Stalin’s sudden demise, demand Netflix make In The Loop deliverable, either by DVD or streaming or whatever else these companies do nowadays.
By the way, Iannucci is a Scot. I mention this because Scotland is my dream country — I’ve been there twice — and my desktop always displays a photo of Scotland.