EXCLUSIVE: We Are Mentioned in a Book!!! Interview with Mary Guillermin on Rapture, JG & More [Talking Images]

[St. Gloede]

Hi all,

John Guillermin, the director of forum top-favourite Rapture, as well as The Towering Inferno, King Kong, Never Let Go, Guns at Batasi and a long line of other films is best known for his bad temper, and there have been no comprehensive books on his work.

This has changed: His wife Mary Guillermin has launched a large project to do John's work justice, and the book: John Guillermin: The Man, The Myth, The Movies is now out.

We sat down with her before the release, and had an absolutely fantastic chat about John's life and work: and learned so much!

Did you for instance know that Patricia Gozzi did not know English when she played the lead in Rapture and learned all her lines phonetically?

Or that he really did not want to do King Kong 2, and tried to talk his producer out of it.

We get the answers to several of your listener questions, leaned why he seemed to accept any movie (he really did!) and heard so many stories, including why he disliked Paul Newman but loved Steve McQueen.

I know we all had so many exciting moments here - including some films we had no idea we would discuss.

Even better, we, and the forum as a whole, actually managed to get mentioned in the book:



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You can listen here:

Sounder: https://talking-images.sounder.fm/episo ... the-movies

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/12O4IYshigQAFcnWVY30W5

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Oh, and join in the conversation with any thoughts and views on the interview, JG, his films, etc.

[Fergenaprido]

I was wondering if I'd missed the release of this episode. Very cool to have been mentioned in the book, congrats on that Adam and Chris!

[St. Gloede]

I was wondering if I'd missed the release of this episode. Very cool to have been mentioned in the book, congrats on that Adam and Chris!

Cheers, and it is really Tom/Filmbantha who deserves the credit for setting all of this up. It was his review of Rapture that caught Mary's eye and started the conversations that made this happen.

It is also absolutely incredible that the forum has finally made its way into a published book. Imagine someone picking it up and thinking "wow, never heard of ICM Forum before - let me give them a look".

[Teproc]

Very curious to finally listen to this one. And the podcast being mentioned in her book is indeed amazing.

[shugs]

Woah, that mention is super awesome. Will listen to this episode after I watch some more of his films. Only seen King Kong.

[pitchorneirda]

I'm not one of these fans of Rapture, but I'll listen to the podcast with pleasure.
Well done guys, that's a huge deal!

[AdamH]

I watched Rapture in July (having only previous seen The Towering Inferno as a kid) and ended up watching 22 of John's films this year.

It was a real pleasure to get to speak to Mary Guillermin and it is my favourite episode so far. Honestly, I feel quite proud that we managed to do this episode. Thanks so much to Tom/filmbantha for making this happen (because Mary posted on his review and contact was made). I would love to do more episodes like this in the future so if anyone knows anyone with connections, please let us know.

I had a very fun journey through so many of John's films and it showed me there's always a few gems out there.

To see our forum mentioned in a published book feels pretty incredible as well. You can buy the book for just £8.44 on Amazon so please do buy it if you are at all interested. It has different chapters about different films and written by different people and I want to try to advertise it as Mary was kind enough to come on the podcast and speak to us for a couple of hours (I think I made her late for meeting people as I kept asking questions after the recording finished...)

There are three chapters on Rapture (one written by Mary and two written by others). I haven't read it yet but had a flick through and it looks impressive.

[AdamH]

I should add that I asked Mary if she knew Patricia Gozzi (star of two forum favourites and two of my own personal favourites - Rapture and Les Dimanches de Ville d'Avray) but sadly she didn't. Was hoping to line up our next guest haha.

[St. Gloede]

Yes, I almost wanted to give you and Sol a shout out for essentially doing 20+ Guillermin films for the prep (I only did about 10 I think) I have never seen Adam so energetic about a film project - and we all talked about them, trades recommendations, etc. as we were watching them. Even though most of the smaller films didn't come up, at least not in detail - that was such a great part of this - and made speaking to Mary about John so much more valuable.

And yes, can't wait to have the book on my shelf. In my basket already, just need to collect a larger order before finalised.

[St. Gloede]

I remember how excited you got when you found out she loved Les Dimanches de Ville d'Avray though

[filmbantha]

I love the backstory behind this episode and I'm excited that we can now share the interview with the rest of the forum.

I watched Rapture a few years back due to its inclusion in the 500 <400 list and fell in love with it immediately. This interview would never have happened were it not for those who championed Rapture early on which shows how important it is for us as a community to keep on promoting films that slip under the radar. It was one of the first reviews I wrote for my ongoing project '100 essential films that deserve more attention' that I publish on my blog every time I stumble upon films that I feel fit the criteria (most of which are recs from this forum )

When I realised that it was John Guillermin's wife who had commented on my review I was incredibly humbled and I have to hand it to Adam who suggested I reach out to Mary to see if she would join us for a podcast episode.

It was so nice getting to know Mary and learning all about John and his work through the stories she shared with us. I also enjoyed working through his filmography, and still have plenty of his films left to explore. I hope that those who appreciate Rapture will extend their gaze to some of his other lesser known works such as Guns at Batasi, Thunderstorm and Never Let Go.

I haven't finished reading Mary's book yet but what I have read is fascinating, particularly her perspective on Rapture which paints the film in a whole new light. I would encourage others who take pleasure in listening to Mary's anecdotes in our interview to seek it out.

[St. Gloede]

Oh, and if anyone want to buy the book note that the current price is a special deal.

You can get it for $11,11 in the US (John's birthday) and £8.44 in the UK.

It will go up to a standard new book price at the end of this month (Mary messaged us about it). It is only at this low price due to John's birthday.

[outdoorcats]

Major score for you guys (and the iCM Forum as a whole)! Congrats!

[Angel Glez]

Congratulations to all involved with this matter.

[GruesomeTwosome]

That's really, really cool that Mrs. Guillermin gave props to the ICM Forum in her book!

[Torgo]

Even better, we, and the forum as a whole, actually managed to get mentioned in the book:

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

[mightysparks]

Not that interested in Guillerman, but having the forum mentioned in a book is pretty awesome. And I still think it’s great that Mary was so enthusiastic about being involved in the podcast.

[St. Gloede]

Not that interested in Guillerman, but having the forum mentioned in a book is pretty awesome. And I still think it’s great that Mary was so enthusiastic about being involved in the podcast.

I think it was just how great the conversation with Mary was (as well as the build up watching JG's films) that made this so special.

Purchased the book yesterday, looking forward to reading it.

Of course, getting a mention is a massive incentive - nice conversation starter.

[Knaldskalle]

Even better, we, and the forum as a whole, actually managed to get mentioned in the book:

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

So we're immortal... Now what?

[joachimt]

Even better, we, and the forum as a whole, actually managed to get mentioned in the book:

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

So we're immortal... Now what?

We need to be mentioned in a movie, which is on an official list.

[St. Gloede]

Baby steps. Baby steps.

Maybe Prodigal can help us make this possible.

[Dolwphin]

I expected to see a meme, but actually being featured in a book is pretty cool too. I have never heard of Guillermin before, but I might watch Rapture this week-end.

[Fergenaprido]

I was wondering if I'd missed the release of this episode. Very cool to have been mentioned in the book, congrats on that Adam and Chris!

Cheers, and it is really Tom/Filmbantha who deserves the credit for setting all of this up. It was his review of Rapture that caught Mary's eye and started the conversations that made this happen.

It is also absolutely incredible that the forum has finally made its way into a published book. Imagine someone picking it up and thinking "wow, never heard of ICM Forum before - let me give them a look".

Ah, kudos to Tom then!

Just finished listening to the podcast. I really enjoyed hearing Mary talk and the stories she had to tell, and how she let a lot of herself shine through and not just talk about John the whole time. And she might have convinced me to give Rapture another go, as I didn't really care for it the first time round. I do want to see more of his films, but most of those were because of the film not because of him (Towering Inferno, Death on the Nile, etc.), but now I'm interested in more of his earlier films based on the conversation.

[72aicm]

I couldn’t find the proper place to ask this, but is it possible to get Talking Images into Apple Podcasts? Would subscribe in a second!

Have not listened to this episode but I’m looking forward to it. Keep up the good work!

[PeacefulAnarchy]

It seems like that should be possible: https://support.sounder.fm/article/4-ho ... e-podcasts

[St. Gloede]

Looked into it. Seems relatively straight forward except that it needs to be created from iTunes.

Downloading iTunes and will set it up now.

[St. Gloede]

Successfully submitted for review.

[Cippenham]

Great. I use Apple podcasts so am more likely to listen from there. You would also get a lot more listeners.

[72aicm]

Nice, thanks!

[St. Gloede]

I couldn’t find the proper place to ask this, but is it possible to get Talking Images into Apple Podcasts? Would subscribe in a second!

Have not listened to this episode but I’m looking forward to it. Keep up the good work!

We were approved!

We'll start adding the Apple Podcast link in the opening posts as well.

https://podcasts.apple.com/mt/podcast/t ... 1542580739

[72aicm]

Sweet. Subscribed and rated.

[St. Gloede]

Sweet. Subscribed and rated.

I am worried about the /mt/ tag and if it will be harder to find - but it seems forced in, unfortunately.

[St. Gloede]

Great. I use Apple podcasts so am more likely to listen from there. You would also get a lot more listeners.

Great to hear, Cipp! Hope that's the case. We are are live now.

[Dolwphin]

I have now seen Rapture which truly is an amazing and unique film. It was quite interesting and entertaining listening to your interview with MG as well.

There was a squarish cut which I thought signaled the film was completely entering Agnes dream world. What followed was that poetic/romantic beach sequence. The film then returned to reality mode which contradicted my notion. But the question of what constitutes reality is obviously debatable. The subjective camera-work when Agnes is experiencing "panic-attacks" is really intense. The cinematography is obviously gorgeous and contains many striking images. Fascinating portrait of coming-of-age and sexual awakening.

(When listening to a commentary track also I noted a similar film maybe worth checking out, Whistle Down the Wind)

[AdamH]

Thanks for the positive comment Dolwphin.

In case anyone misses it, we asked a few forum questions to Mary towards the end of the podcast. Questions were from:
-blocho
-Angel Glez
-insomnius
-Roger
-OldAle
-Cippenham

[St. Gloede]

I have now seen Rapture which truly is an amazing and unique film. It was quite interesting and entertaining listening to your interview with MG as well.

There was a squarish cut which I thought signaled the film was completely entering Agnes dream world. What followed was that poetic/romantic beach sequence. The film then returned to reality mode which contradicted my notion. But the question of what constitutes reality is obviously debatable. The subjective camera-work when Agnes is experiencing "panic-attacks" is really intense. The cinematography is obviously gorgeous and contains many striking images. Fascinating portrait of coming-of-age and sexual awakening.

(When listening to a commentary track also I noted a similar film maybe worth checking out, Whistle Down the Wind)

Really happy you enjoyed the conversation, Dolwphin!

Don't remember the squarish cut offhand, but you really are absorbed into Agnés' world, and I could not agree more on the camera work.

I can also see the comparisons with Whistle Down the Wind.

[Dolwphin]

I have now seen Rapture which truly is an amazing and unique film. It was quite interesting and entertaining listening to your interview with MG as well.

There was a squarish cut which I thought signaled the film was completely entering Agnes dream world. What followed was that poetic/romantic beach sequence. The film then returned to reality mode which contradicted my notion. But the question of what constitutes reality is obviously debatable. The subjective camera-work when Agnes is experiencing "panic-attacks" is really intense. The cinematography is obviously gorgeous and contains many striking images. Fascinating portrait of coming-of-age and sexual awakening.

(When listening to a commentary track also I noted a similar film maybe worth checking out, Whistle Down the Wind)

Really happy you enjoyed the conversation, Dolwphin!

Don't remember the squarish cut offhand, but you really are absorbed into Agnés' world, and I could not agree more on the camera work.

I can also see the comparisons with Whistle Down the Wind.

It was actually a tasteful and gentle super-imposition. But it did feel like a sudden change of tone. I don't think the scarecrow had answered Agnes romantic advances positively before this moment. Then all her dreams comes true, at least for awhile.