So here's what I did on my class trip to London: shoot a video featuring people on the street discussing whether they preferred Pirate Radio or The Boat That Rocked as the title of the latest Richard Curtis film; interview some of the stars of the film itself; and eat British airport pizza. Two of those things were a helluva lot of fun, and one of them was an ungodly plummet into the depths of Hell. I'll leave it to you to figure out which is which (hint: glad I brought some Pepto tablets with me).
The three actors featured in this first installment of our special, two-part Pirate Radio coverage form something of a romantic triangle in the film. Tom Sturridge plays Carl, the teenager who is sent by his mother (Emma Thompson) to spend some time on Radio Rock, the notorious pirate radio ship that in 1966 was beaming rock and roll from international waters into a United Kingdom whose own BBC couldn't be bothered with the form. Talulah Riley is Marianne, the young woman that Carl's godfather and Pirate Radio owner and captain Quentin (Bill Nighy) brings on-board to alleviate some of the boy's sense of isolation. And Nick Frost is Doctor Dave, the sexually unquenchable Radio Rock personality whose interference in the kids' first meeting proves to be something of a distraction for Marianne -- because true love may be forever, but getting nailed by a DJ nets you serious street cred.
The conversations in this ep ranged far beyond the topic of Pirate Radio itself, covering as they did the legendary 007 water tank, the Cirque du Soleil, Steven Spielberg's on-set attitude, and Rupert Everett in drag (but, then, don't all conversations eventually wind up there?). Click the player below to hear the show.
MMP on Pirate Radio:
(Almost) Live from London: Pirate Radio vs. The Boat That Rocked
Pirate Radio Part 2: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Richard Curtis
More MMP on HuffPost:
Michael Aimette and John G. Hofmann on Turning Green
Ti West on House of the Devil
Lars von Trier's Antichrist: A Conversation
Check out the Mighty Movie Podcast homepage.