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Inside 195 Piccadilly & Reviews
AMANDA
BERRY
If someone had said to me when I first started working at BAFTA a little over two years ago that in February 2001, not only would I be writing BAFTALK in ACADEMY (a magazine that didn’t exist), but I
would be writing the article as Chief Executive, I truly would- n’t have believed them. And, what a phenome- nal two and a bit years I’ve had.
In my short time
at BAFTA we have
been through a time
of great change, not
only the obvious
changes to the build-
ing but a time of
exciting change for
what we stand for at
BAFTA. We now have
five hugely successful
award ceremonies and
have more screenings and member- ship events than ever before.
Amy Minyard has some terrific plans for events and during the next few months will be updating our mem- bership database, redesigning the membership forms and announcing additional benefits for members. The website is crucially important to BAFTA and Joy Barrett has taken over responsibility for the site. She and Ruth Grenville are working towards a site that we can all be proud of and one that serves all our needs.
We have made tremendous steps for- ward with our new film voting system. As with all new systems it has taken a while to get it right but I hope you agree that the end result is terrific. A huge thanks must go to Doreen Dean and Judith Parkinson for working every hour in every day to ensure the voting process worked. Also thanks to all the BAFTA staff who gave up evenings and weekends to make the film voting folders, collate papers and stuff envelopes.
Special thanks to new member Beverly Price-Fox who filled in her film voting form perfectly and made some wonderful comments about the voting procedure – it gave Judith and Doreen a rare moment of joy as they struggled ever onwards in the voting bunker (aka the room with no windows where the voting hardware and printer are housed).
It is an exciting but frantic time at the Academy as we are only a matter of days from The Orange British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, February 25.
And, at noon on Friday, the giant posters featur- ing our wonderful mask go up high above the Odeon and the magic really begins.
The ceremony is fol- lowed by dinner and a party at the Grosvenor House. Moving the Film Awards pre-Oscars lost us six weeks of planning time but the response from the film companies and voting members has been absolutely terrific. Sincere thanks must also go to our sponsor Orange, broadcaster Sky, produc- tion company Initial and
“baftalk”
BOOKREVIEWS
BY QUENTIN FALK
This should be care- fully remembered when later absorbing Shubik’s intriguing if increasingly
bitter account of how she began (but was unable to
complete) the long process of turning Paul
Scott’s Raj Quartet into The Jewel In The Crown,
arguably ITV’s finest hour. How she ended up with the
singularly token credit of ‘deviser’ makes for chilling reading.
Despite some extraordinary sub-conti- nental adventures – especially with her eccentric director - Shubik managed to cling on more firmly to the award-winning Staying On, which in the event would serve as a kind of trailblazer for Jewel.
This was still the all-powerful time of the unions and Granada’s apparently decreed that the filming in India should start at 9am. The cinematographer and his operator quickly realised that the best, and most appropriate, light was much earlier in the day.
Since, writes Shubik, “the quality of the scenery in the early morning mists was absolutely magical, it was also a tragedy not to be able to capture it on film. We asked our man to request Manchester to authorize an earlier start. He replied that the matter could only be decided if the Manchester shop steward came out and saw the conditions himself ...” Some gilt off the gold. ■
CONVERSATIONS WITH WILDER
BY CAMERON CROWE (FABER, £12.99)
In between Jerry Maguire and his lat- est film, Almost Famous, the author spent almost a year enjoying on-off chats with the Greatest Living Hollywood Director (who’ll be 95 this year). This inexpensive, picture-strewn, softback account of their close encoun- ters is an even more painless way of enjoying, or re-visiting, one of best books of the new millennium year. ■
the editor’s equally comprehensive overview of UK film,
television and
video which doesn’t flinch from positing the weaknesses
as well as the strengths of
those industries – backed up by
some revealing charts. ■
’S
Amanda Berry Chief Executive
Once again, we are at the Odeon in Leicester Square. At midnight on the Thursday, the production company move in and the construction of a public grand- stand (twice the size of last year) begins.
PLAY FOR TODAY
BY IRENE SHUBIK (MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS, £16.99)
Subtitled ‘the evolution of television drama’, this is a fascinating and still timely revise/update of her 1975 book by one
of TV’s most distinguished-ever
drama producers whose classic credits include Edna – The Inebriate Woman, Rumpole Of The Bailey and Staying On.
Suffice it to say that the original edi- tion – can it really be a quarter of a centu- ry ago? - quickly became a standard work in media studies.
But don’t let that put you off, for far from being the kind of dry tome so often associated with university/college ‘meeja’ courses, Shubik’s survey is a riveting, and often splendidly gossipy, account of a ‘Golden Age’ and well beyond.
In her Preface to this edition, Shubik notes the sea, or rather ocean, change between the two channel TV world in which she first started and the multitudinous choice now confronting couch potatoes.
Way back then, there was also – and this rather rueful aside is much further explored in her new material – “still the semblance of a code of morality when it came to appropriating other people’s ideas, and a duty to acknowledge letters and phone calls.”
party sponsor InStyle.
Thanks to Donna Bell and Lisa Prime,
we are also well into the voting process and our plans for the Television Craft Awards (April 22) and the Television Awards spon- sored by Radio Times (May 13).
Iam delighted to announce that Kevin Price, our new Director of Finance and Administration joined us on February 1 and Julie Chadwell has been promoted to Commercial Director. Julie has been at BAFTA for over 10 years and has built an extremely successful corpo- rate hire business.
Duncan Best moved from a temporary contract to full-time staff and is working for both Film and Interactive, Shannon Kane-Meddock has rejoined the Corporate Events department, Juliet McCulloch is working with Amy in Events and Membership and Terry Buegg started work as our evening receptionist.
Iwould finally like to take this opportu- nity to thank John Morrell for all his support and encouragement (and for making me laugh) over the last year and half. I am delighted that John has agreed to stay on as a consultant. I would also like to sincerely thank Simon Relph and everyone at BAFTA for their tremendous support during my first few months as Chief Executive. And thanks also to
Tim Angel for hiring me in the first place! ■ Amanda Berry
THE BFI FILM AND TELEVISION HANDBOOK 2001
EDITED BY EDDIE DYJA (BFI, £20)
s the most comprehensive contact list for all industry matters, this splendid annual is always within
easy reach. But especially
recommended this time round is
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