Three and Out take on London Underground

Just when you thought the stories about the much talked about "Tube Suicide" film Three and Out, couldn't get better, something else happens. Last week a commenter calling themselves "Keith & Barry" left a comment which purported to show in full, an internal memo from LU MD Tim O'Toole apologising to staff for upset the film may have caused them and I added an update to my initial post on the whole ASLEF protest thing here. At the time I was a little sceptical as the memo could have been a spoof, but I reckoned it wasn't. Looks like I was right - it wasn't.


The makers of Three and Out are now running full page adverts where they show the process of how they got approval from senior staff within the London Underground - including - Occupational Health, Employee Communications & Counselling & Trauma Support. They paid London Underground £200,000 to film the parts that were filmed on the Tube. Not surprisingly they are now more than a bit miffed that Tim O'Toole is now "back peddling" because of ASLEF and RMT's protest and is saying to staff "the film does not reflect reality and is in poor taste in attempting to make a suicide event ‘funny.’ "

How many films do reflect reality I'd like to ask - but that's by the by. If I don't have the brain power to distinguish between reality and fiction I'd consider myself more than a bit challenged.

I love the headline to this ad, referring to London Underground's whole attitude to the film 1 was deliberate (LU giving them approval & taking their dosh), 2 was bad luck (the whole ASLEF slamming Three and Out without even seeing it part), 3 was his way out - (Tim O'Toole's back peddling to appease LU staff). It's genius and running the day before the film opens to the public is also genius. I imagine it will be in Metro this morning too.

Take a look at the whole ad, it's not only funny but shows the loops you have to go through to get anything approved by the London Underground. It's also interesting to see that one of the film's screenwriters had been a firefighter for 20 years and faced a lot of fatalities in his job, including death on trains.

One of my colleagues yesterday asked me if it was as crass as it appears, which shows that the union's manipulation of the public has been working. I told him it wasn't. I've said many times now, that I didn't think it was hysterically funny. I didn't think it should have been billed as a rom-com. I still stand by all of my initial comments when I saw the whole film.

As ever the London Underground has proved to be a subject that everyone has an opinion on. I can't wait to hear other people's thoughts when they go to see the film for themselves. Good luck with the nationwide screening Three and Out - you deserve it.

Update - I didn't see this until someone mentioned it in my comments, but according to the BBC - the film makers at Three and Out plan to sue London Underground. Although my blog isn't mentioned by name, like others say in the comments below, I'd be surprised if it was anyone else's. The BBC report:

"Mr O'Toole's memo, posted on a blog, said: 'Clearly the film does not reflect reality and is in poor taste in attempting to make a suicide event 'funny'.

'We cannot control the script or scenes shot elsewhere.

'In hindsight, we may have been better off refusing co-operation... LU has provided no endorsement for the film, and there is no doubt that it would have been made and released whether or not LU had co-operated.'

A WBE spokeswoman said it had taken the first stage of legal action by notifying Mr O'Toole and LU of its intention to sue." read the BBC report in full here. Incidentally I didn't "post" it on my blog, it was submitted to my comments!