DIVINE 5

Top 5 episodes – Reel Feedback

Published on October 17, 2020

Spotted a podcast you want to try from a Pod Bible recommendation, but not sure how to dive in? In our regular Divine 5 columns we ask podcast hosts to share five of their favourite podcast episodes and tell us why they’re worth checking out for new listeners…

Reel Feedback started when host Kevin Dawson hit forty and decided to embark on a new creative endeavour. He already had a love of the format but had never heard a podcast that spoke in detail with the unknown names from the TV, film and music industries. Editors, producers and make-up artists have a huge wealth of information, both technical and anecdotal, that anyone who loves sound and screen would love to hear. Here are five episodes we’d love you to check out…

Terry Ackland-Snow The Art Director invited Kevin to the infamous Pinewood Studios to talk in depth about his incredible body of work on movies like Tim Burton’s Batman, Labyrinth and Aliens. The anecdotes come thick and fast as Terry talks being on the hedonistic, wild set of Tommy, taking James Cameron to Heathrow Airport to find a suitable Alien smashing vehicle and casually mentioning working weekends with Kubrick on 2001 to help build the lead character’s space pod. Humble, modest and engaging, Terry was Kevin’s first guest to work on such beloved, well-known movies.

Adrian Bushby The Grammy-winning engineer/producer’s career has been colourful, and he talks about it in ear-pleasing, often profane (once he finds out he’s allowed to swear) detail. Hear how he convinced Dave Grohl he was the man for the job which then resulted in his first Grammy win, working in close quarters with Muse and any Spice Girls story that starts ‘I’m not sure if I should tell this one’ will always be good. (Whisper) he tells it.

Christine Blundell Another Oscar-winner, this time for her make-up artistry on Mike Lee’s Topsy-Turvy. As well as all of Mike’s other films, she has also put her skills to Wonder Woman and Sunshine. Recorded at another home location, Christine spoke with Kevin in her kitchen, which was also the spot where she aided Benedict Cumberbatch in breaking a clause in his BBC contract. Other tales include how as a new mum, she had to ignore Brad Pitt calling after her at the Oscars to pump breast milk and working on the wonderful Paddington set.

Jon McCoy Kevin’s personal favourite episode is his talk with the Concept Artist for Blade Runner 2049, Avengers: Age of Ultron and most of the recent Star Wars flicks. He talks about his path into the industry and his work on World War Z (that big zombie pile up the wall was his idea), Tom Cruise’s exo-suit in Edge of Tomorrow and, alongside director Gareth Edwards, his work in creating that Darth Vader scene in Rogue One. He then tops up Kevin’s envy even more by revealing that he watched it being filmed.

Geoff Pesche Abbey Road Studios has been a mecca to many for years, but what about the staff behind the scenes? Mastering Engineer Geoff has kept the seat warm in his room at the studio for over a decade, and has worked his final polish magic for the likes of Kylie Minogue, Black Sabbath and Ed Sheeran. An absolute pulls-no-punches guy, Kevin warmed to Geoff in seconds with his affable nature, hilarious, honest tales of his time working on classics like New Order’s Blue Monday and Pulp’s Different Class, before merrily revealing the new Coldplay album, title and all (at the time unannounced).

Reel Feedback is relaunching big with a new season on October 23rd, the new format will incorporate familiar names from the industries as well as those behind-the-scenes. Already lined up are American actor/comedian Ben Schwartz (Parks & Recreation, Sonic the Hedgehog), actor/ writer Andy Nyman (Ghost Stories, Judy, Derren Brown) and Grian Chatten, frontman with Irish rockers Fontaines D.C who recently got pipped to the UK No.1 album slot by Taylor Swift. Links to Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts and Stitcher can be found at www.reelfeedback.co.uk