MGM Amazon Prime’s Fallout: Keep a safe distance

PR Agency Moe’s Art warmly invited us for an exclusive screening of Prime Video’s ‘highly-anticipated global hit, Fallout Season 2’— a wild, wicked and wonderfully wasteland-chaotic journey into New Vegas.

It asked us to “Step out of the Vault and into an evening crafted for the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. ones — an immersive escape into the world of Fallout, packed with its signature grit, humour, and post-apocalyptic charm. Gear up, vault dwellers. The wasteland awaits.” We waited. Exactly two hours after the scheduled time, a compere took over and indulged in then usual applause and noise squeezing. He also conducted a quiz, promising rewards to those who answered correctly. All the questions were answered by one or the other members of the audience, at PVR Icon, Infiniti Mall, Andheri. I did not have any answers as I have not seen this OTT “hit” at all. There was a video message from the lead actress, Ella Purnell, who sounded distinctly British. It was short and sweet. And then, Fallout rolled out.

A suave ‘gentleman’ gets into an argument with the customers at a bar about a Senator (or was it the President?) of the USA, who the others hate but who the Clark Gable wannabe adores. They step out. Mr. City Slicker invites the ‘heavy’ of the group to punch him in the face, saying that he would like it. The man obliges. Mr. Millionaire takes it lightly. Then he opens his car boot with a remote and shows the group stacks of dollars, “31 million dollars. And it is yours, if you let me put this little thing at the back of your neck (showing them a contraption shaped like a mini walkie-talkie. Mr. Heavy is not impressed. He decides to carry on punching. But, in the scuffle, Mr. Moustache manages to plant the device on his neck.

This turns him into a slave of Mr. Greenbacks, and he asks Mr. Burly to take a baseball bat that he offers him, and beat the daylights out of his friends. Which he does, as ordered. Then, Mr. Slave Driver pumps-up the volume on the dial he is carrying, to its limit. Boom. Mr. Baseballer explodes. End of scene.

A middle-aged man sings merrily, plays with a yo-yo, rides on a year 2225 version of a golf cart, and carries a tiny white mouse, who it pets as he drives along. He enters what appears to be a lab, puts the same device that Mr. Bar Buster had clamped on the back of a customer’s neck on the mouse’s back, drops him in something like an aquarium, and then….turns the dial. There is a minor explosion, and the remains of the mouse are splashed on to the glass of the container. You don’t see the explosion, but you are served the delightful sight of the mouse’s bloody remains. Quite happy at what he has achieved, the man moves on to another lab, with another mouse, and repeats the act, with…the same result. This calls for an encore, and there you go. Another mouse, another explosion.

After he has done it half-a-dozen times, he picks up a year 2225 phone and talks to somebody who might be his boss, and is not sure whether the man at the other end is alive or dead. He says he is happy with the cat and mouse game, but complains that the mice are too small. He then raises the issue of a raise…a promotion, and threatens the Supremo (dead or alive) that he would not he, the mouse-bomber, is indispensable. Elsewhere, the ‘father searching’ leading lady of the series is walking along with The Ghoul (a nose-less Walton Goggins), when they hear a woman’s desperate cries for help. Ghoul ignores th

Bhay trailer launch: PR Agency Moe’s Art hits record low, gags senior-most journalist

As a journalist writing about various media events and reviewing content, I am usually contacted by PR agencies via WhatsApp, when something is coming up. Some of them even send WhatsApp reminders, or even call me, to confirm my attendance. Not all journalists are favoured by all agencies. Some are boycotted and never invited, obviously because they do not agree to play ball or get manipulated, and, perhaps, as the grapevine goes, refuse to sell their souls. Luckily, I have never been approached with a ‘proposition’, but there are a few PR agencies who do not invite me, for reasons unknown, and kept as tight secrets. Be my guests. I only go when I am invited. And I always write about the events I attend. It is rumoured that not all media-persons attending events write about them.

At 95% of events, the media is provided with some snacks and drinks. YashRaj Films lays out a full lunch buffet. Some others also extend the invitation to include dinner, or snack boxes. One of the smallest agencies that always invites me, which would be a fraction of Moe’s Art in terms of financials, makes it a point to serve us a boxful of snacks, along with tea/coffee. After all, many media-persons spend up to seven hours, travelling to and fro, and attending the event/film show, which may last for up to three hours, and may start up to 150 minutes late.     

It is common courtesy to offer refreshments at such events, and downright mean not to do so. The quantity or quality of the menu might vary, and that too reflects on the regard the agency has for media-persons. Media budgets for films, TV, OTT and related events, these days, are, in tens of crores. Any sane agency should not “save” a few thousand rupees, by denying the media these little necessities that kill hunger pangs. Anybody attending an event is more likely to engage with it if he/she does not have to go hungry. But…surprise, surprise, sometimes, they do have to go hungry. A small minority of PR agencies, on occasions, either do not arrange for any eatables, or do not stock enough to cater to the numbers that attend, and some have to grin and bear it. I have had the occasion of attending two such events, organised by the agency Moe’s Art. Once before, a couple of years ago, I guess, from memory, and once below, yesterday.

For the launch of the trailer of the film Bhay: The Gaurav Tiwari Mystery, produced by Amazon MX, they chose the picturesque Band Stand Amphitheatre, Bandra, as the venue, and 6 pm as the time. Since I live close by, I managed to leave at 5.30 pm and reach by 6 sharp. The venue was practically empty. I was greeted with ear-shattering, ominous, eerie music, that played on and on, and was heard as loudly, wherever you chose to sit. From 6.45 to 7.15, a compère, who called himself an entertainer, kept adjusting his microphone sound levels and filters, telling the sound team to raise or lower the treble, bass and mid frequencies, time and again. He also kept telling the audience that the show would start in “a few minutes”, every five minutes, for half-an-hour. It started, at 7.15 pm and ended at 8.30 pm. Bad, but I have had much longer waits at some other events.

Bhay, directed by Robbie (sometimes spelt Robby) Grewal, a man who believes in ghosts and had met Gaurav, stars Karan Tacker, Jennifer K Preston, Kalki Koechlin, Mansi Chawla, Saloni Batra, Priyankka Beia, Ed Robinson and Nimisha Nair. Kalki could not be present, so she sent a video message, apparently shot on a flight. And she did a good job of it. It was screened before the trailer. Robbie’s credits include Romeo Akbar Walter, MP3: Mera Pehla Pyaar and Samay: When

QUICK POST FOR THANKSGIVING DAY: MTFB FIRST OSCAR NOMINATION PREDICTIONS FOR FOUR CATEGORIES

Welcome to MTFB  and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  Today we have a short post due to the holiday.  But and important post it is as I begin to expand the breadth of MTFB's Oscar predictions.  Todo so I'm adding first predictions for four categories including the newly added category of Best Casting.  Additionally, we'll take a first shot at Best International Film, Best Documentary and Best Animated Film.  As always TFF #52 (and #51) are indicated in Bold.  Here we go!

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