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How did The Weekly get the set for At the Movies?

Margaret Pomeranz parody reviews are a social media hit, but was the set really kept on ice for a decade?

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At the Movies ended on ABC a decade ago, but much-loved reviewer Margaret Pomeranz has become a sensation all over again with her parody reviews on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering.

But how did they replicate the set?

“I think we managed to find her actual chair somewhere in storage and then managed to replicate the backdrop and the set exactly. There might have been some opaque curtains that were still there that we use, but we had to match the picture behind it. It took a little bit of work,” Charlie Pickering tells TV Tonight.

“It’s pretty uncanny how well the team did to match that.”

Pickering also credit Margaret Pomeranz’s  sense of humour “…to absolutely understand why what we’re doing is funny and why it’s hilarious having her, for all intents and purposes, seriously review, trash television. The faith that she’s put in us has been pretty remarkable. It’s just one of my absolute joys at the moment.”

Pomeranz’s reviews are also generating huge social media for The Weekly.

“If your job is actually making a TV show, to then have things do really well in social media, is an interesting challenge.

“To have something that really cuts through, news websites want to put online and people want to share on social media, is really great for us.

“It’s been well documented that social media at the ABC is fairly highly regulated. It’s nice to have something that can go out that isn’t gonna get anyone in trouble but absolutely fits the bill as far as people wanting to share it.”

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering screens 8:30pm Wednesday on ABC.

14 Responses

  1. Would be great if the ABC would put the entire series up on their site. Such a shame that shows like this are basically unwatchable these days being hidden away in vaults never to be seen again.

  2. David and Margaret were a great duo for SBS’ Movie Show and ABC’s At The Movies. A shame that there’s no more “movie review shows” out there anymore, despite more and more movies appearing (albeit more on streaming sites than the traditional cinemas).

    It’s great seeing Margaret doing these tv review (sketches) on The Weekly. She’s been a great addition.

  3. This just makes me miss the real thing that much more. If I had my way, I’d bring it back with Marg & Dave for a stint and then they could pass the baton to Marc Fennell (who imo is languishing asking ho-hum trivia on Mastermind) and a partner. There is more content to consume than ever before, so they could broaden to include both cinema and streaming releases. Movie lovers and the casual viewer are missing out on a wealth of important analysis.

    1. I think someone might have had those ideas before.
      When Margaret and David moved to the ABC for At The Movies; the Movie Show continued on SBS for a brief period, with Marc Fennell involved in the new iteration.

      Separately, a few years ago, there was a similar format show called Screen on Foxtel, which involved Margaret and Graeme Blundell reviewing movies/tv/streaming.

      1. I was going to say, I remember reading somewhere just before Xmas that he was retiring as an academic and reviewer. I thought it was simply age, and hadn’t considered his health. Ah damn.

  5. I love Margaret’s reviews. But she has forgotten one important detail:
    Serial killers are celebrities too. Has Network Ten ever thought of placing a serial killer on the show? And the celebrities have to work out who it is…as they disappear one by one…
    Imagine how huge the ratings would have been if Ivan Milat had been a “special guest” in the Big Brother House.

  7. Where do we go for an honest review of movies? All I see now everywhere is t**** polished by PR. I haven’t been to the movies for a long time because it’s a disappointing experience and then going home feeling ripped off. That’s without the price of popcorn etc.

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