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Inside 195 Piccadilly & Reviews
AMANDA
THE PENGUIN TV COMPANION
By Jeff Evans (Penguin, £12.99)
Yes, it’s
there. Wedged
between Bachelor Father and Bagpuss, BAFTA gets 13 lines, more than Zoe Ball or Barry Bucknell, in this enjoyable and exhaus- tive new softback companion to the small screen.
So just how thorough is it? Of the Top Twenty recently showcased in Channel 4’s 100 Best Kid’s Shows, only two (Knightmare and He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe) don’t rate a mention.
There was also some personal sad- ness that neither Whirligig nor To Serve Them All My Days were on parade among some 2,600 listings in all.
But half the fun with these kind of volumes is to discover the inevitable omissions and then grumble. The other half is for it to act as a kind of time- warp into the past for a deliciously nos- talgic wallow.
Whatever turns you on, but I found particular pleasure in memories of
BRITISH FILM STUDIOS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY
BY PATRICIA WARREN (Batsford, £17.99)
With its convenient geo- graphical listing - from A for Alexandra Palace to W for Whetstone - a laudably up-to-date revise (from 1995) of an invaluable companion which demands space on every film buff’s shelf.
More than 70 studios are covered, though, as the author points out, she touches on “over 90” nationwide,
BACKING INTO THE LIMELIGHT: THE BIOGRAPHY OF ALAN BENNETT
BY ALEXANDER GAMES (HEADLINE, £18.99)
Bennett has written at length about himself and aspects of his life and times in volumes of diaries and in, of course, more than thirty years of award- laden plays and television, begin- ning triumphantly with Forty Years On in 1968.
This author, an unashamed fan, tried desperately to get the rather studiedly reclusive
“baftalk”
BOOKREVIEWS
BY QUENTIN FALK
Bernie The Bolt from The Golden Shot, Bill Maynard’s
manic ‘Magic, our Maurice!” from Oh, No, It’s Selwyn Froggitt, and a 20-year-old pre EastEnders Wendy
Richard in The Newcomers.
But it’s not just about remem-
brance of things past. There’s hard info here too. Hands up who knew
that it was the success of the then twice-weekly Coronation Street helped prompt ABC’s soap opera Peyton Place in the States? Or that Kathy Staff’s real name is Minnie Higginbottom?
Or that the final Z is for one Zworykin, Vladimir K, a Russian-born American engineer who produced an all-electronic (as opposed to Baird’s electromechanical unit) television sys- tem in the 1920s?
Now that Top Twenty in full: From the top - The Simpsons, The Muppet Show, Dangermouse, Bagpuss, Grange Hill, Mr Benn, Rainbow, Scooby Doo, Doctor Who, He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe, The Magic Roundabout, Rentaghost, The Clangers, Tom & Jerry, Wallace & Gromit, Knightmare, Hong Kong Phooey, The Wombles, The Flintstones and Worzel Gummidge. ■
including Glasgow and Port Talbot, in this lav-
ishly illustrated survey. Everyone knows
something about the biggies like Pinewood, Shepperton, Denham, Elstree (various) and, latterly, Leavesden, recent host
to Harry Potter.
But hands up who knew that
Holmfirth, West Yorks – perhaps best known as the location of TV’s long-run- ning sitcom Last Of The Summer Wine – housed the Winky series of silent British comedies around 1914? ■
Bennett onside but signally failed, as an hilarious Postscript detailing a wild goose chase around Yorkshire testifies.
But even without
official approval,
and thus some
reluctance by some
of the usual suspects
to cooperate too, this remains a rather valuable, certainly well-researched but, above all, readable overview. What it lacks in authorisation, it makes up for with often useful analysis. ■
BERRY
As the summer holiday memo- ries fade, we enter exciting times at the Academy. On the awards front, we are a matter of weeks away from both the Interactive and Children’s Awards, and BAFTA LA honours George Lucas with a Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for excellence in Film on November 10.
The Interactive Entertainment Awards take place at the Grosvenor House on Thursday,
October 25. Hosted by
Phill Jupitus for the
second year running, it
promises to be a fan-
tastic event.
Further informa- tion and tickets from Joy Barrett and Duncan Best (020 7292 5822/23).
Unfortunately, we
didn’t find an overall
sponsor for the awards
but have received a
great deal of interest in
individual category
sponsorship. If you are interested in sponsoring a category please call Julia Bennett on 020 7292 5822 without delay.
We have received tremendous industry support for the awards. I must particularly thank Channel 4, our media partner for the ceremony, who will be webcasting the event and our trade press partners MCV, Develop, CGI, Creation and EDGE who have actively promoted and supported the event.
The Children’s Film and Television Awards will take place at the London Hilton on Sunday, December 2. We had to move from our original date of November 4 as we clashed with the worldwide premiere in London of the mighty Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.
I must thank Lego for their ongoing sponsorship of The Children’s Awards and, in particular, their additional sup- port of the Lego/BAFTA Kids vote which means that this year the audi- ence vote goes out to a much wider national audience.
For further information please see www.legobaftakidsvote.com
’S
I am just back from LA after a week of meetings with broadcasters and studios. The film companies both in
the UK and USA are very supportive of the Film Awards. They are extremely committed to BAFTA and now treat British Academy members in the same way as American Academy members, supplying tapes, DVDs, CDs, screen- ings, free entry to cinemas and support literature to film voting members.
If you are registered to vote for the Film Awards it is essential you use your vote - if you don’t, these bene- fits could stop! I must also take a moment to thank the film trade press for their constant support of BAFTA. I know they already have exciting plans around the awards next year.
Amy and Juliet in the membership department are just recovering from the
extremely busy renewal period. Once again membership in London is up with over 700 new members in 2001.
We are now using the fantastic space at 195 to its full advan- tage with regular industry relat- ed exhibitions. The Jack Cardiff exhibi- tion has been particularly popular and we have exciting plans for future dis- plays covering all genres.
On the BAFTA staff front, Amanda Page has now taken over from Peter Allen as Financial Controller but Peter continues to work with us on a part time basis. Gemma Miles has started work in the Corporate Hire department and Charlie Stewart joins the awards team. Francine Solley is now part of the Roux team and Jeanne Craig is the new face in the bar.
I finish with a very important thank you to Lorraine Heggessey, Controller of BBC1. Lorraine chose BAFTA and our Annual Lecture on September 12 to give her first major speech since taking over as Controller. Thanks also go to Bea Ballard, Amy Minyard and our sponsor The Hollywood Reporter
for making the Annual Lecture such a terrific event. ■
Amanda Berry Chief Executive
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