Listen "Offices on screen"
Episode Synopsis
Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take a look at offices and office politics on screen. Mark is joined by director Terry Gilliam who, back in 1985, created one of the most influential and iconic depictions of an on-screen office - Brazil. They discuss the Stanley Kubrick film which inspired Brazil's set design, Terry's own experience as an office drone and why his cult classic film still resonates today.And Ellen investigates office politics in two very different comedy films, made nearly four decades apart - 1980's 9 to 5 and 2018's Sorry To Bother You. First, she speaks to legendary screenwriter Patricia Resnick, who co-wrote 9 to 5 in her mid-20s. Patricia discusses how she came to work on the seminal satire of sexism at work, and reveals the real-life stories that influenced her script. Ellen then talks to musician, activist and filmmaker Boots Riley, whose visionary debut film Sorry To Bother You focuses on a black telemarketer who achieves success when he discovers he can use his 'white voice' on sales calls. They discuss how the film was inspired by Boots' own successful stint in telesales, and why absurdist humour is so well suited for office-set stories.Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
More episodes of the podcast Screenshot
Frankenstein
31/10/2025
The Naked Civil Servant
24/10/2025
Translation
17/10/2025
Death
10/10/2025
Painters and Painting
03/10/2025
Yuppies
26/09/2025
Twin Peaks
08/08/2025
Police Procedurals
01/08/2025
Remakes
25/07/2025
Scotland
18/07/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.