This week on Team Deakins Podcast, Tim Robbins stopped by to talk to Oscar-winner Roger Deakins and his wife, James. In an hour-plus long interview, Tim spoke about the demise of record stores and cinema's possible demise. Also, he gave an interesting tidbit about a possible Bob Roberts sequel.
Team Deakins Podcast has become THE place for movie lovers to hang out. From amazing behind the scene specialists to professional actors, everyone is happy to talk tradecraft with one of the most talented cinematographer ever. Tim Robbins, who worked with Deakins before, stopped by to talk to the couple and provided some interesting news.
Bob Roberts Sequel - Is it Happening?
Bob Roberts is a beloved satire movie about the political situation of America. The film was Tim Robbins' directorial debut with him playing the titular character. The main theme of the movie was the role of media in electing a president.
Bob Roberts follows a folk singer, Robert "Bob" Roberts Jr., who is running for the President of the United States. He is well funded and carries right-wing political opinion, and is not afraid to play dirty to win.
The movie saw some renewed interest in the past couple of years, as Tim Robbins stated, "'Bob Roberts' came true," drawing comparison to the character and Donald Trump. The movie was a satire for its time, but even after two decades, it was relevant.
It seems the rise of Donald Trump has inspired Tim Robbins to dive back into the character. Tim revealed he was working on something in the podcast, as James asked her about being hopeful.
Tim revealed that before the pandemic, he was working on a satire movie. He spoke of a Bob Roberts sequel, but not that exactly. A combination of Bob Roberts character and Ubu The King from the play.
The director/actor mentioned he was working with Adam McKay to find funding for the film. Then the pandemic happened, and now instead of making the movie, he chopped up the script into six podcast lengths and will soon begin recording.
He did mention the movie is not exactly going to be a Bob Roberts sequel, but the character will be in a similar vein. Tim also joked about radio possibly being the future after the recent pandemic causing cinemas to shutter and the world grinding to a halt.
Cinemas May Die, According to Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins is afraid that cinema will not recover after the pandemic.
Source: Google
As the podcast was winding down, the current situation became a topic. Not only did The Shawshank Redemption actor spoke about the pandemic, but he also mentioned how record stores, books stores are nowhere to be seen now because of the rise of Amazon.
Tim did not mention Amazon by name, but that is probably what he meant. He spoke of how movies are not curated by people who have seen the film, but instead ones who equate big as being better.
Before, video stores had people who loved movies recommending different things, record store owners turning shoppers towards rare gems. But that is all gone now as Amazon as all but swallowed the retail store business.
Roger also spoke on the topic, saying he didn't know if there were any books stores left in his area. Tim also equated how the demise of record stores and video stores have resulted in a more political divide as the buffer for everyone, a place where new ideas were explored, are all replaced by home shopping.
Tim also had some things to say about the slow demise of cinema. As people are locked in their homes, there is fear among artists that cinema may die off as streaming has made its way into almost everyone's home, and there is no need for people to go out of their homes to watch a new movie.
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Movies have moved further away from its roots as more high budget flicks are all the studios care about. It is probably one of the reasons why Tim had some difficulties securing funding for his Bob Roberts sequel. But no matter the state of cinema, Tim is proud of his work, especially Dead Man Walking and The Shawshank Redemption.
Tim Robbins Talks About the Importance of Dead Man Walking and The Shawshank Redemption
Dead Man Walking was a movie starring Sean Penn with Tim Robbins directing. Talking about the death penalty, the movie was a look into a person on death row and those looking to save him.
Showing both sides of the issue, the movie was not as partisan as Bob Roberts of the Bob Roberts sequel will be, but it was simply a look into the morality of killing people in prison. The movie was critically acclaimed, and Tim was nominated for a directorial Oscar.
The Shashank Redemption, on the other hand, was a massive flop, which later found its home in the video stores. Then, it went on to become the number one movie in the fan review site IMDb. The Shawshank Redemption needs no introduction.
The film is one of the greatest human stories ever put on film, and Tim Robbins is proud of both. In the Team Deakins Podcast, he mentioned that people still come up to him and talk about how the two movies changed their lives, made them better humans, helped them get out of bad relationships.
Tim Robbins truly has had an illustrious career. And we are extremely excited to head the Bob Roberts sequel type podcast soon.
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