Seeking Films for the End of the World

An Idiot on ‘Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace’

As the COVID-19 pandemic rolls ever onwards, the arts industries continue to suffer, with no clear guidance from the government as to when theatres, comedy clubs and live music venues can reopen in a way that is both safe and profitable. To pay my mortgage, I work in a box office for a currently dormant theatre. On the one hand it’s been scary as we’re faced with uncertainty over the future of our industry amidst cancelled shows and refund requests. On the other, at least a quarter of the calls and emails we’re getting are from lovely, supportive people who are so desperate to get back inside the theatre, happily donate tickets for cancelled shows and wish us all the best.

Whilst Hamilton going up on Disney+ a year early, the National Theatre and Andrew Lloyd Webber uploading a show to YouTube every week are all lovely, lovely things there is nothing that truly replicates the live experience in the comfort of our homes. As the filmmaker and writer Mark Cousins tweeted recently “I’m myself at home. Going to the pictures makes me not myself, makes me bigger than life – more agog, receptive, happy, vulnerable. I’m craving that.”

So was I.

Step forward Nick Cave with “Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace” – a concert movie of such stripped back beauty that is far and away the greatest thing to come out of lockdown and may prove to be the defining film of 2020.

Finding God at the Movies

“The best way to see religion is as humanity’s response to the puzzle of its own existence.”

Richard Holloway, Waiting for the Last Bus: Reflections on Life and Death

A few days into lockdown, I heard a tapping on my window which began gently then became more rapid. Okay, I thought, first a plague, now hailstones – the order’s a bit off but biblically apocalyptic nonetheless. So far we’ve avoided the locusts but have had to contend with Krakatoa kicking off, and a raging forest fire dangerously close to the abandoned Chernobyl plant. These are confusing and uncertain times, and I’m rather envious of religious people who have their faith and the perceived certainty of the words of God. Which is all a rather florid way of saying that I’ve been watching a lot of films about religion and faith since all of this started. I’m not entirely sure what that means. I’m fairly certain that I’m not about to give myself over to God in the face of the devastating, epoch shifting Covid-19 pandemic in a sort of pre-deathbed conversion.

A Castle in Lockdown

Few directors understood the raw power of the communal cinema experience like William Castle. His gimmicks were legendary – delighting directors like John Waters, Joe Dante and John Landis during their childhoods. Indeed, Dante would pay affectionate homage to Castle in his 1993 film Matinee, a nostalgic tribute to a bygone era of monster movies and apocalyptic anxiety.

Watching a William Castle film was like stepping into a fairground attraction and it’s no surprise that the director titled his autobiography Step Right Up, I’m Gonna Frighten the Pants off America. When a cinema booked a new Castle production, they wouldn’t just receive some film cans, on top of those were hovering glowing skeletons, ghost viewers, buzzing chairs and all manner of additional instructions and equipment. It was as much about the experience in the auditorium rather than the film that was playing on-screen.

So it seems perverse for me to extoll the virtues of this “Hollywood Barnum” and his cinematic showmanship at a time when all the cinemas are closed down and studios are releasing their films directly into our homes for viewing in isolation. And yet, with his regular fourth wall breaking addresses to the audience it’s impossible to feel isolated whilst watching a William Castle film. He clearly relishes the chance to add something new to the cinemagoing experience and if the films that I’ve selected here prove anything it’s that his love of movies and cinema audiences is infectious.

Programmes

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.