Meeting People Is Easy covers the promotion and tour for Radiohead's third album, OK Computer. The tour began on 22 May 1997 in Barcelona, Spain, and ended 104 performances later in New York's Radio City Music Hall. Most of the film comprises footage of the band working on music and performing filming promotional material, and giving interviews. It includes footage of the filming of the "No Surprises" music video, the failed studio session for the song "Man of War", and performances of unreleased songs including "Follow Me Around".
Production
According to director Grant Gee, Radiohead sat in hotel suites for days giving interviews. To film each interview, Gee " around, leaving a microphone in one room, going and filming something in another". He placed surveillance cameras in the band's dressing room, which Gee said foreshadowed the rise of reality television: "We were doing it in a slightly more arty way, but it's the same as Big Brother, what we were doing with that band, seeing them locked in their bubble. Radiohead Big Brother is what I think of that film in a way."
Release
Meeting People Is Easy was released on VHS on 30 November 1998 in the United Kingdom. It was released on DVD on 12 June 2000. It was released in both formats on 18 May 1999 in the United States. In subsequent years EMI and other record labels had released countless DVDs to promote pop and rock acts, as the format has become dominant over VHS in most parts of the world. In 1999, the film became the first DVD ever released by Radiohead's record label EMI/Parlophone/Capitol Records. Several television channels broadcast Meeting People Is Easy after its release. In the UK, Channel 4 broadcast the film on 6 May 1999. In the US, MTV broadcast a premiere of the film on 16 May 1999, and The Sundance Channel broadcast the documentary nine times during May 2000.
Reception
Reception for Meeting People Is Easy was positive. The film received an average rating of 6.5/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, giving it 71% freshness. Reviewer Jessica Brandt of theshrubbery.com gave 5 out of 5 stars. Film criticDaniel Fletcher named Meeting People is Easy one of his ten favourite films. Troy Patterson, a critic for Entertainment Weekly, gave the film a B+, calling it "an expressive mood piece creepy with cosmopolitan paranoia and bracingly somber bombast". Bart Blasengame gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating: "Instead of taking the usual tour documentary approach and dwelling on individual concerts or behind-the-scenes banter between the band, Gee's film focuses on the absurdity of being an important rock band in the current musical landscape—the shallow marketing of the band, the endless stream of redundant interviews, the blinding photo shoots and awkward television appearances." Kevin Archibald of IGN gave the film a rating of 8/10. The film has sold over half a million copies on DVD/VHS.
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for the "Best Music Film" category at the 2000 Grammy Awards.
