On Cinema

On Cinema at the Cinema (or just On Cinema) is an American comedy web series and podcast starring Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington as amateur film critics. The duo appear as fictionalized versions of themselves. The show started as an independently released podcast from 2011 to 2013, before being picked up as a professionally produced web video series by Thing X in 2012, continuing after the site merged with Adult Swim's website in 2013. The show moved to HEI Network, an independent service, in 2021, with funding from user subscriptions and special event ticket purchases.

On Cinema at the Cinema is the hub of a metafictional universe which includes the original podcast, 16 seasons of the web video series, yearly live Oscar specials, a spin-off limited series entitled "The Trial", the spin-off series Decker, a movie review app, an On Cinema Live! tour, and a film entitled Mister America.

On Cinema also features guest actors, some of whom play fictionalized versions of themselves, most notably actors Joe Estevez and Mark Proksch. The show and fictional universe have a dedicated cult following of fans who play along with the storylines via social media, often by taking sides in Tim and Gregg's frequent arguments by self-identifying as "Timheads" or "Greggheads". Heidecker and Turkington also started Decker-Con, where they appear in character and interact with fans.

Premise

Tim and Gregg "review" films without actually providing any meaningful information or critical insight. Beginning with the video series, they each give a rating from one to five "bags of popcorn". Almost every film gets a score of "5 bags" or higher from both reviewers. Many episodes also include special segments, such as Gregg's "Popcorn Classics", in which he showcases a VHS tape from his personal collection.

Episodes of On Cinema are often interrupted by petty arguments. Tim tends to derail the show with issues from his personal life, especially his problematic romantic entanglements and bizarre medical problems, much to the chagrin of Gregg, who prefers to focus on the movies. Gregg produces low-quality segments like "On Cinema On Location" which provoke anger and harsh criticism from Tim.

Major characters

Tim Heidecker

Played by Tim Heidecker as a fictionalized version of himself, Tim is the creator and host of On Cinema. He appears to know very little about the films he is discussing, and in some episodes has clearly not bothered watching them, although he is a fan of Tom Cruise and Jack Reacher. Tim often uses his show to discuss his conservative views, his personal problems, and to promote his other projects, like his action series Decker, his band Dekkar, and his company HEI Inc.

Tim is an aggressive and egomaniacal alcoholic; he tends to drink heavily during the Oscar specials and begin ranting and berating his costars. He has faced multiple family problems throughout the show. Heidecker has an estranged teenage son from his first marriage, which ended after he underwent brain surgery against the wishes of his wife. He then met Ayaka while she was staying with his family as a foreign exchange student. The two eventually marry and have a child called Tom Cruise Jr. Heidecker. Tom Cruise Jr. died shortly after birth after Heidecker refused to have him vaccinated, and his death led to their marriage rapidly spiraling apart. After they divorced, Heidecker married Juliana, the sister of fellow Dekkar band member Axiom, which was short-lived. Heidecker then began a relationship with Toni Newman, the sole juror who refused to find Heidecker guilty and Heidecker's aide for his political campaign. They married twice, but following an affair and a trip to rehab, a newly sober Toni divorced Heidecker. Later, after Toni’s son Matt is shot and killed, they reconcile, with Heidecker taking the name of "Newman Heidecker" owing to a misunderstanding while getting his marriage license certified.[citation needed]

Gregg Turkington

Played by Gregg Turkington as a fictionalized version of himself, Turkington is a frequent guest of On Cinema, sometimes acting as host when Heidecker is away. Turkington is a film buff and self-described movie expert, with a large amount of unimportant, uninteresting and often incorrect trivia to share about films discussed on the show. Despite his obvious lack of critical insight Turkington believes that On Cinema should be devoted exclusively to "the movies" rather than Heidecker's personal life and views. Turkington has an extensive collection of VHS cassettes located in Victorville, California, which he refers to as the Victorville Film Archives, boasting that it's one of the largest film archives in North America, though its exact size is unknown and has been destroyed on multiple occasions by Heidecker. Turkington's favorite film is The Hobbit and he describes himself as a "Hobbithead", campaigning every year for the Academy Awards to recognize Peter Jackson and give the Best Picture award to The Hobbit trilogy, believing that the academy has "a write-in section". Turkington produces many of the show's recurring segments, including "Popcorn Classics" and "On Cinema On Location", and plays Special Agent Jonathan Kington on Decker. Despite his clear antipathy towards Tim, as well as the constant abuse he suffers under him, Turkington repeatedly returns to On Cinema in the hopes that he will be made co-host.[citation needed]

Recurring characters

• Joe Estevez (as himself): Joe is an actor, frequent guest on On Cinema and close friend of both Heidecker and Turkington. He is friendly and forbearing and often supports the show's side projects. He portrays President Davidson and President Davidson Jr. on Decker.
• Mark Proksch (as himself): Mark is an aspiring celebrity impersonator, hired by Tim and Gregg to do impersonations of famous actors, such as W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, and the Three Stooges for the Oscar specials. Mark is a poor impressionist, reciting biographic information instead of imitating his subjects and doing a similar voice for every impression. He has taken various odd jobs related to Tim's and Gregg's projects, and frequently faces verbal and physical abuse. He also played various roles in Decker.
• Ayaka Ohtani (portrayed by Ayaka Ohwaki): Ayaka was a foreign exchange student who stayed with Tim's family. She dated Tim briefly before being deported back to Japan and giving birth to their son, Tom Cruise Jr.
• Dr. San (portrayed by Zac Holtzman): Luther Sanchez, more commonly referred to as "Dr. San" was a con-man and practitioner of alternative medicine, serving first as Tim's acupuncturist and later as his family physician with the birth of Tom Cruise Jr. Dr. San tricked Tim out of large sums of money for dangerous medical treatments, convinced him not to vaccinate his child, and provided him with toxic vape pens that poisoned him and killed 19 people at Tim's music festival. He was arrested along with Tim and committed suicide while in custody.
• Tom Cruise Jr. Heidecker (portrayed by an unknown child actor): Tim's and Ayaka's son, named by Ayaka after Tim's favorite actor Tom Cruise. He died of an undisclosed illness as an infant, likely due to Dr San's poor medical treatments.
• Alessandro "Axiom" Serradimigni (as himself): Axiom is an Italian guitar player who became the second member of Dekkar after meeting Tim at Guitar Center. Loyal to Tim, Axiom at one point donates his hand to Tim via a hand transplant. He has a sister, Julianna, who Tim was briefly married to.
• Manuel Giusti (as himself): Manuel is the third member of Dekkar, and is also a friend of Axiom. Overwhelmingly loyal to Tim, Manuel donates skin from his buttocks to repair Tim's burned face and perjured himself at Tim's trial by presenting a falsified suicide note that Tim wrote and had Manuel claim came from Dr. San.
• Toni Newman (portrayed by Terri Parks): Toni first appeared in Mister America as manager for Tim's district attorney campaign. Toni is more competent than Tim, but is equally disorganized and doesn't hesitate to employ illegal means to achieve her ends. Tim and Toni have married multiple times and she struggles with alcohol abuse.
• Matt Newman (portrayed by Tobias Icasatti): Matt is Toni's son from a previous marriage. He is lazy and seemingly only interested in playing video games. Matt doesn't show much love for Tim when he is married to Toni. Matt was shot and killed during a botched home invasion during the events of season 14.
• Michael "LaRue" Matthews: LaRue originally appeared as a bit actor from Decker, and was later hired by Tim as his bodyguard and private detective. Michael is a right-wing militant who believes in various right-wing conspiracies theories typically found on the Internet and is regularly sent by Tim on errands to stalk and obtain personal information on his supposed enemies. He's also a gun enthusiast, the host of Xposed on the HEI Network, and an amateur rapper that performed with Tim's band DEK4R. Since Gregg ran him over during the eighth Oscar special, LaRue uses an electric mobility aid vehicle.
• Hank Friedmann: Hank is a restaurateur who has worked for many different franchises catering the Oscar specials over the years, usually serving chili.
• John Aprea (as himself): An actor best known for appearing on The Godfather Part II, John first appears on the first Oscar special and later serves as a guest host of On Cinema. He also appears on Decker as General Jeffrey Cotter. John tends to maintain a professional composure lacked by many of the other characters.
• James Dean (portrayed by Ralph Lucas): A famous actor that many believed died in 1955, until Gregg revealed in 2015 that he had faked his death, bringing him out as a guest in the third Oscar special. Tim refused to believe it was him until a DNA test performed by Dr. San confirmed he was in fact James Dean. He plays Dracula on Decker.
• Wendy Kerby (portrayed by Jessica Ruth Bell): Wendy is a singer who frequents Tim's and Toni's church and first appeared in the eighth Oscar special. She joins Tim's band, D4, replacing Axiom. She appears as co-host in the Wendy Kerby Valentines Day Special, but after an awkward attempt by Tim to stage a kiss between her and Manuel, she runs off set and doesn't return.
• Gabriel "G." Amato (portrayed by Carlos Barbouth): G. Amato was a mysterious investor and owner of The Amato Group, which funded production of On Cinema season 13 and 14. He unofficially adopts Tim as a son in the tenth Oscar special. Later, Amato steps down from his role at the company and is placed in a retirement home. Amato dies in season 16, after eating a long-expired can of soup from the 1950s used as a movie prop in the Ma and Pa Kettle franchise.
• Kaili Amato (portrayed by Marie Gibeault): Kaili is the daughter-in-law of G. Amato. In On Cinema season 13, she co-hosts, and provides updates on Hollywood gossip in season 13 and 14. She is a widow, after her husband Chris Amato was killed in a carjacking. In On Cinema season 14, Gregg develops an unrequited attraction towards her, culminating in a failed marriage proposal.
• Joey Patrocelli (portrayed by Eddie Alfano): Joey is an employee of The Amato Group and co-host of On Cinema on Demand during season 14. Joey is an athletic, composed, and well spoken man with a fondness for mafia movies. He often comes into conflict with Gregg over his pre-recorded segment, "Joey's Take," and his use of a four star rating system, as opposed to Gregg's five bags. He ends AmatoCon by assaulting Tim and Gregg, resulting in Gregg getting a settlement from The Amato Group.

Series overview

Podcast

The On Cinema podcast was produced independently by Heidecker and Gregg. The podcast consists of Heidecker, along with Gregg as a "special guest" for almost every episode, covering movies poorly and with little insight, and often engaging in arguments. Gregg later developed a more pretentious "film buff" persona, and Tim took a turn to being obnoxiously political, sometimes devoting entire episodes to conspiracy theories, much to the chagrin of Gregg.

Production

Heidecker has stated that On Cinema was started out of a desire to mock the podcasting community. The first episode was recorded on the set of The Comedy, where Heidecker and Turkington were working together, after Heidecker proposed the idea between takes. In April 2017, On Cinema initiated a Patreon page for funding, most of it going to the Oscar specials, with some of the higher options including receiving producer credits, walk-on roles for the Oscar specials, or live custom Skype reviews from Gregg Turkington.

In 2013, the On Cinema Film Guide app was released, featuring the voices of Turkington and Heidecker reviewing over 17,000 films.

The series moved premieres to Adult Swim's online live streams in 2017, with the series continuing to be posted on YouTube on a delay. The Adult Swim streams later picked up a fan-show series, Big Unhappy Family, in 2019, as a companion to season 11 and Mister America. However, in late 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic and layoffs that shuttered the Adult Swim streams, it was announced that the show would move from Adult Swim's platforms to HEI Network, an independent streaming service created for the series.

Reception

The show has a dedicated cult following of fans who interact with the storylines via social media, often taking sides as "GreggHeads" or "TimHeads" in the frequent personal conflicts between the hosts which are often only tangentially, if at all, related to films or cinema. During the annual live Oscar special, Tim and Gregg both frequently provide interactive elements via online polls for fans to vote on. This cult following is especially found on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, the latter through Gregg and Tim's respective profiles, of which Gregg has completely devoted to the persona of his alter-ego. Heidecker and Turkington have also appeared in character on the podcasts Kreative Kontrol with Vish Khanna and The Best Show in 2015 and 2017.

Heidecker and Turkington also started Decker-Con, where new episodes of Decker are shown to fans and the cast appears as their On Cinema characters to field questions.

For "The Trial", Heidecker and Turkington upended the traditional review aspect of the series, and staged a mock event where Tim's character was on trial for murder, which lasted over a week. It received acclaim from observers, some of whom called it "brilliant" and "ambitious."

Touring

In 2018 and 2019, Heidecker and Turkington initiated a nationwide On Cinema Live! tour with special guests from the On Cinema/Decker universe such as Joe Estevez and John C. Reilly, the band Dekkar and special content created only for the tour, such as live reviewing various major release films, including Superfly, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Ant Man & The Wasp. In 2026, Heidecker and Turkington again toured On Cinema Live! nationwide, starting March 21 in Chicago and making stops in Toronto, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and other cities. The tour ended in Los Angeles on April 17.

External links

• atIMDb
• first website via Tumblr (no longer maintained)
• via YouTube
• (redirects to Adult Swim's Decker webpage)
• 2018-05-29 at theWayback Machine