Podcast Summary: The Rest Is Entertainment

Episode: Should Children Watch The Shining?
Date: September 10, 2025
Hosts: Richard Osman & Marina Hyde

Episode Overview

This Q&A edition dives into hot questions from listeners about the entertainment industry. Richard and Marina tackle topics including the adaptation of classics (spotlighting a controversial new "Wuthering Heights"), the persistent popularity of Stephen King adaptations, and an entertaining ethical debate: should children be allowed to watch horror masterpieces like "The Shining"? The discussion blends industry knowledge, parenthood anecdotes, and pop culture asides, offering both critical insight and personal confessions.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Sexy Classics: Adapting Wuthering Heights for Today (02:31–07:51)

• Trigger: Listener Annie asks about the sexed-up trailer for the new "Wuthering Heights", whether the Bronte estate has any control, and how studios predict audience tastes.
• Studio Control:
  • The Bronte estate has no control; "[Copyright] expires 70 years after the author's death. So we're well past that." (Marina, 02:59)
• Modern Adaptation Freedom:
  • Anyone can adapt public domain classics. This is why there are so many versions of things like Sherlock Holmes.
• Emerald Fennell's Provocative Approach:
  • The director (of "Saltburn", "Promising Young Woman") is known for pushing boundaries.
  • Early screening leaks: "The first thing you see is a hanging. And there's the person being hung ejaculates just before his death. And then a nun sort of gropes his corpse... It's all seeping out after what I've just said, but it is." (Marina, 04:36)
• Audience Tastes:
  • Studios employ test screenings and feedback cards; provocative marketing generates free press.
  • Modern audiences enjoy transgressive classics, and controversy can boost interest: "Anything that can make newspapers write free articles about it... is very, very helpful for filmmakers." (Marina, 06:55)
• On Artistic Freedom:
  • "The question is not what would the Bronte estate make of it, it's what would Emily Bronte make of it? ... I would have thought she'd be delighted beyond words." (Richard, 05:00)
  • "If you think it goes against the spirit of the book, well, I have good news: the book is still available." (Richard, 07:25)

2. Why So Many Stephen King Adaptations? (08:07–15:47)

• Listener Asks: Why do we get so many Stephen King adaptations every year?
• Reasons for King's Popularity:
  • He writes prolifically; stories have strong narrative and imagery.
  • Generations of filmmakers inspired by his work.
  • King oscillates between being hands-on and hands-off with adaptations.
• Dollar Baby Program:
  • King lets student filmmakers adapt short stories for $1, fostering industry connections and nurturing young talent.
  • "[He] will grant any student filmmaker the right to make a movie out of any short story I have written... so long as the film rights are still mine to assign... and that they send me a videotape."
    (Richard, 09:05)
• Frank Darabont's Rise:
  • Started as a Dollar Baby, then adapted "The Shawshank Redemption".
  • King gave Darabont adaptation rights for $5,000, didn't cash the check; sent it back with, "In case you ever need bail money." (Richard, 11:25)
• Current and Upcoming Adaptations:
  • Four Stephen King movies in 2025: "The Long Walk", "The Life of Chuck", "The Monkey", "The Running Man."
  • Glen Powell and Edgar Wright announced for new projects.
• Listener Update: Frank Darabont will return to direct episodes of "Stranger Things" final season. (12:22)
• Favorite Adaptations:
  • Marina: "The Shining, which [King] hated." (12:56)
  • Richard: "Shawshank Redemption. Shining wouldn't be anywhere close to the top three because you've got Misery and Stand By Me as well." (14:58)
  • Marina finds "Shawshank" trite: "Yeah, I think it's trite." (15:20)

3. Should Children Watch The Shining? (13:02–14:58)

• Parental Confessions:
  • Marina’s husband saw "The Shining" at age nine: "Kieran's dad took him to the world premiere of The Shining when he was nine... incredible parenting there." (Marina, 13:13)
  • Marina let one child see it at nine: "I allowed my child to also see it when he was nine..."
  • She’s more cautious with her daughter: "Not letting my daughter see it at night. She’d have an absolute... she gets scared from a lot of things." (Marina, 13:58)
• Life Impact:
  • Marina jokes about childhood exposure: "Has very little impact on children because your husband could not be more level headed. He's not like a man who saw ‘The Shining’ when he was nine years old." (Richard, 13:32)
• Tongue-In-Cheek Disclaimer:
  • Marina (sarcastically): "I'm not advocating showing The Shining to nine year olds, by the way." (14:06)
• Call to Listeners:
  • "If you have let your child watch something more inappropriate at a younger age, do let us know." (Richard, 14:48)
• Memorable Moment:
  • Richard gently mocks Marina for her own parental choices:
    “You told a cautionary tale... then literally within 30 seconds he’s saying I remember the payoff to the story – I let mine watch The Shining at nine as well.” (14:12–14:27)

4. Behind the Scenes: Football Audio Technology (18:33–23:13)

• Listener Asks: How is the sound of football games—like the iconic ball "thwack"—captured so clearly?
• Sound Engineering Today:
  • Multiple types of microphones: boundary mics on sidelines, pressure zone mics on goals, corner flag mics, ambisonic mics for general stadium atmosphere, beauty shot and Steadicam mics, and shotgun mics for specific directional sounds (e.g., technical area, tunnel).
  • "You’ve got three mics on every side, like sideline, which are boundary mics... two mics on each goal... pressure zone mics... one mic at each corner flag... 360 degree microphones for crowd sound..." (Marina 19:23)
  • Real skill lies in the OB truck, with sound mixers dynamically boosting or dipping channels to follow the action.
• COVID Era Soundscapes:
  • During empty stadiums, soundtracks were created using audio from the FIFA videogame series to simulate real atmosphere.
  • "They went to EA Sports and they got all the individual stuff for individual teams... to make it seem less horrific." (Marina, 22:05)
  • Research shows audience excitement relies on subtle crowd noise cues.
• Fun Fact:
  • Tony Pastor (Goalhanger boss) trick: The sound of a curtain being opened rapidly was once used to mimic the ball hitting the net for "Match of the Day". (Marina, 21:19)

5. Is It OK to Quit Bad Books? (24:40–32:02)

• Listener Damien asks: Is life too short for bad books? When is it okay to quit?
• Richard: Advocates for quickly letting go:
  • "By and large, it’s not always the story hooking me, it’s how am I enjoying this writing?... If after two pages of hedgerow description, like a car comes through the hedgerow... count me in. If not, I switch off." (25:09)
• Marina: Can’t quit—a completist:
  • "I don’t think I’ve ever not finished a book in my life. ...I really want to stop doing it. ...It’s almost, you know what I have? I have that psychological feeling, you know, say you’ve got a chocolate digestive and you eat half..." (26:17–26:42)
• Why Perseverance?
  • "All psychological half chocolate digestive biscuits. Even if they're like 800 pages on something I'm not very interested in." (Marina, 26:43)
  • Richard likens Marina to Shackleton—"but for books."
• On Missing Out:
  • Richard: “Some of the best books in the world, I did not enjoy. ...I'm not giving them up because they're badly written. I'm giving them up because... I know the sort of books I like.” (32:01)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "The Shining, which [King] hated." – Marina Hyde, on her favorite King adaptation (12:56)
• "Has very little impact on children because your husband could not be more level headed. He's not like a man who saw ‘The Shining’ when he was nine years old." – Richard Osman (13:32)
• "Anything that can make newspapers write free articles about it... is very, very helpful for filmmakers." – Marina Hyde (06:55)
• "All psychological half chocolate digestive biscuits. Even if they're like 800 pages on something I'm not very interested in." – Marina Hyde (26:43)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Sexy Wuthering Heights Adaptation: 02:31–07:51
• The Stephen King Adaptation Machine: 08:07–15:47
• Children Watching The Shining—Parental Anecdotes: 13:02–14:58
• Football Audio Technology Explained: 18:33–23:13
• Skipping Bad Books: 24:40–32:02

Tone and Style

The tone throughout is witty, knowing, self-deprecating, and incisive: casual but full of sharp cultural observation.

For Listeners

If you’re curious about the ethics of showing horror films to kids, or you love stories of Hollywood and TV behind-the-scenes—especially controversial modern spins on the classics—this episode is for you. Richard and Marina’s unique blend of industry insider info and unfiltered personal stories makes the discussion both funny and enlightening.

End of Summary