This interview contains a spoiler for, er, The Snowman.
Its a terrific ninety minutes; funny, acerbic and eventually horrifying.
Presumably you didnt have to go to those lengths to get Jon involved inBlack Mirror?
CB:No, I dont think I cut off any body parts.
I still want to know what happens in the nextMad Menbut Ive got to wait until 2015.
[To Jon]Youknow.
Jon Hamm:Its in the can.
CB:It was fortuitous, Jon Hamms involvement inBlack Mirror.
Hes probably better at telling how you got involved than I am.
And they said, actually, we just signed him.
And I said yes I would, and fortunately he had one and offered it my way.
Are you finding thatBlack Mirrors going global now?
It just went on US Netflix and were seeing all these US critics discovering it for the first time.
CB:It has travelled a lot more than I thought it would.
and I said Yeah.
[Laughing]
Charlie, how excited were you to hear that Stephen King was a fan ofBlack Mirror?
CB:That was great.Stephen King tweetedthat hed watched them all and really enjoyed it.
You cant get much better praise than that.
Im a big Stephen King fan.
I think I probably smiled?
Speaking of which, would you say thatBlack Mirrorisnt necessarily pessimistic about technology, just about people?
CB:I wouldnt say its pessimistic about people.
I think its sympathetic about people actually.
Really, its an excuse to explore fun what if ideas and technology is the playground for that.
I wouldnt say its pessimistic necessarily about humankind, its just thats the way its seen!
[Laughing]
JH:We do a pretty good job of being pessimistic all by ourselves.
Do you see similarities betweenMad MenandBlack Mirror, Jon?
If you could block anyone in real life, who would it be?
CB:Everyone [laughter].
I think people do that, dont they, when theyre commuting?
I think when youre commuting you just do it psychologically to get through the day in a city.
In everyday life I think it would be really destructive, thats kind of what happens.
We cant say too much about the story but [to Rafe] youre involved in a blocking incident.
I think theres no way back.
I dont know that I would block anyone particularly in person.
Im on Twitter, but I dont tend to block people unless theyre just unrelentingly unpleasant.
RS:I get a thrill out of even the most annoying of people.
Ill be like tell me about that, man [laughing].
I like it, I get a thrill out of it, I dont know why.
CB:Youre sick!
So you Rafe, would block no-one and Charlie would block everyone?
CB:Like the general Christmas feel-good fare that you get on TV?
I dont think so, not really.
I mean [the Sainsburys Christmas advert] is incredible.
I think its staggering.
JH:What am I missing?
For me, its a more evocative time, it gives us a slightly different spin on things.
RS:When you think aboutThe Snowman, theres a massive melancholy to it and a strangeness to it.
RS:Who then dies… spoiler alert!
Its a fucking flying Snowman, of course it is.
That always made me feel creepy.
[To Jon] I dont know if youve ever seen it.
JH:I have actually seenEastenders.
CB:But have you seen anEastendersChristmas episode?
CB:Well, you are missing out.
RS:Lots of divorce papers served and stuff.
I wouldnt say that theres necessarily a lesson in this one.
Well, I suppose there are moral conclusions you could draw.
Do people get just desserts?
I suppose they do within this story.
I think theres usually some sympathy involved.
But its not like A Very Special Christmas Episode with an issue at its core.
Its right there on my resume, its the first line under special skills.
RS:It was that close inMad Men, wasnt it, to it happening?
JH:It was so close!
Its how the show ends actually, me buried inside… except its a male pig.
[Everyone laughing] It ends with a squeal.
RS:I came to [Black Mirror] late so I did it purely on the script.
Charlie, do you ever fear running out of ideas for future episodes ofBlack Mirror?
Theres constant inspiration I guess you would say.
RS:Its timely.
JH:We were talking about it previously, the Sony hack, thats ahugething.
That could not have happened ten years ago.
JH:Thats a wrap!
It was a good ride!
CB:Yes, and how can you work out where the limit is?
So to sum up then, the world is a terrible place andBlack Mirrorcan run forever?
CB:Lets hope so!
[laughter]
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