At the movies - with Sam Grant

This is Sim Movie Review and I'm your host, Rick Shawn.

Tonight I have three actors who have just finished filming what should be this year's holiday blockbuster, The Well Beyond Time. I'd like to welcome Marta Tomasi, Jack Harkness and Sam Grant to the studio.

Marta: I would like to say for all three of us that it's a great pleasure to be here.

Rick: Not a problem. Now, this movie is set in?

Marta: We filmed most of it in Egypt.

Marta:  My character is Professor Rhonda Masket, and my speciality is ancient languages including Egyptian hieroglyphs. The story starts with me finding a parchment of ancient hieroglyphs tucked in the back of an old book that I just purchased.

Rick: That seems convenient.

Marta [laughs]: We’ll get back to that. I manage to interpret the parchment and learn that there is a hidden treasure within the Sphinx. So I’m determined to find the treasure and retrieve it to put on display in a museum somewhere. I travel to Egypt and set up in the main tourist camp area.

Sam: Now what Rhonda doesn’t know is that my character, Gabriel Spinner, hide that parchment in a book that he knows she has been wanting to buy. He does this because he can’t find anyone else who could read it. [Evil chuckle] Spinner is not about to donate the treasure to a museum, he wants that treasure for his own.

Rick: So, Sam, you are playing the villain again?

Sam: Yes, that's right.

Rick: This is the third movie where you are playing the villain. Aren’t you tired of it yet?

Sam: Actually, it’s the fourth time I’ve been the baddy. But it’s better to be a villain than to be unemployed.

Marta: It’s that laugh of yours, Sam. Sends chills down my spine even when I know you’re not in character.

Sam: I must say is that it’s a good thing black suits me. Every director seems determined to make the villain wear black.

Marta: What else should a villain wear?

Sam: Canary yellow?  Shocking pink? [laughs] I don't know, but when you see someone dressed in black you should run the other direction.

Rick: Well, if Marta is our hero and Sam is the villain, that must make Jack the love interest.

Jack: Sort of. My character is Jonathan Hawk. He does become the love interest because…
well, here’s the clip.

[Clip starts]

Gabriel: So Jonathan, I need you to spy on the good Professor Rhonda for me. You'll be staying in the tent next to hers.

Jonathan: How would you expect me to spy on her?

Gabriel: My personal recommendation would be as her lover. Your looks do have their advantages.

Jonathan: I don't see why you don't do it yourself.

Gabriel: I fear I have a certain - reputation - amongst the academic community.

Jonathan: You mean this isn't your first time?

Gabriel: Correct. Now can I count on you? For an appropriate fee, of course.

Jonathan: Well, I guess that I can.

[clip ends]

Jack: But it doesn’t take long for my character to start falling for her wit, charm and determination.

Marta: It helps that I can read some of the warning signs left in the Sphinx. After I’ve saved his hide a few times, he is a little more reluctant to be a spy.

Rick: My understanding is the on screen romance isn’t the only one.

Marta: That’s true. Jack and I started dating part way through the filming.

Sam: They’ve been appalling. During the love scenes, the director would yell cut and they would just keep smooching. Plus we had to announce ourselves whenever we went around a corner, just in case they happened to be there.

Rick: Not a fan of true love, Sam?

Sam: True love is fine as long as you don’t force everyone else to put up with it. Coming around a corner to find the two of them slobbering on each other was getting old.

Marta: Sam, you are just an old grouch. No wonder you always play the villain.

Rick: So, are there wedding bells in the near future for you, Marta? Jack?

Marta: We haven't made any plans yet.

Jack: But we haven't ruled marriage out either. We both need a bit of time away from the set and the paparazzi before we can decide.

Rick: All right then. One last question for you. I've heard that this movie was cursed. Is that true?

Sam: Well, we did have an unusual number of equipment breakdowns. Almost every day, something didn't work right. Cameras, lights, vehicles and even our phones would just stop working for awhile, and then start working again for no particular reason.

Marta: At least you were out of the worst part, Sam. While you were stalking around outside muttering your plans, things down in the bowels of the set were dangerous. Sometimes the rigs we had set up for traps in the Sphinx would go off when they weren't supposed to. One of the stunt people had to be hospitalised after getting second degree burns from a fire trap.

Rick: Was that the worst injury? I'd heard that there were multiple deaths.

Jack: Thankfully, no one died. The burns were the worst injury anyone suffered on set. But the equipment failures made every day a pain in the backside. We had to do a lot more takes than usual and you had to worry whenever you went near any of the rigs.

Marta: But we are sure that the movie will be fun and exciting to watch.

Rick: Well, what we've seen of the movie looks fantastic. I would recommend that everyone go to see it in the 3D version while they can. I'm sure I'll see you all again when the sequel comes out. Thank you, Marta, Jack and Sam for coming.

Marta: Thank you, Rick. I've had a great time and I'm sure everyone will love the movie.

Rick: Special thanks to our audience. Next week, I'll be reviewing The Fantamic Sims. Be sure to watch.