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All In A Day’s Work
AmmaAsanteisacomparativelynewBAFTAmember. 24 Nevertheless she is already so involved in the Academy that she
planned, produced and obtained sponsorship for “Funding the Feature”, one of the main events in the January programme. Ronald Allison has been finding out more.
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AMMA ASANTE’S
The sub-title of Amma’s event was “Diversity and new opportunities in film” and the word “diversity” is one that crops up frequently in her conversations. With her hus- band of eight years, the television produc- er and director Charlie Hanson, she runs Hanson Television, which has as one of its aims the development of talent wherever it may be found.
“Quirky” ideas are also welcome as the Hansons seek to encourage writers, actors and producers no matter what their background... Amma has no doubt that there will be opportunities for this talent in the near future – “it’s not a ques- tion of if, only of when”.
Amma was born 31 years ago in London, where her Ghanaian parents had settled nine years earlier. By eleven she was at stage school, by 13 she was play- ing Cheryl Webb in Grange Hill and was a
heroine to millions of youngsters. Presentation work on the Children’s Channel was followed by Channel Four’s Desmond’s and, significantly for her per- sonal life, a role in a Birds of A Feather
Christmas special. The producer/director on the show was Charlie Hanson.
Almost by accident, Amma found that as well as being able to act she could also write. What started as a hobby began to take over as the ideas and the words just flowed. Developing them into programmes was another matter but develop them she did, as her entertainment extravaganza New Year Jam Down for Channel Four and 18 episodes of Brothers And Sisters testi- fy. For the latter Amma wrote half the scripts and produced the series.
Looking back on those who have inspired her – not necessarily knowingly – Amma cites Antony Minghella, when he was a script editor on Grange Hill, Paul Mayhew Archer, co-writer of The Vicar Of Dibley, and Mick Pilsworth, Chief Executive of Chrysalis Visual Entertainment – “he gave me time to develop ideas. It was wonderful”.
Amma was delighted when Jill James invited her to join the Academy’s Events and Education Committee and she quickly put forward her “Funding the Feature” proposal. It was even more quickly accepted and it would be a safe bet that there will be more Amma-inspired events at BAFTA in the months to come.
What Amma wants to get across is that racial background need not be a factor – talent will out – and that it is not necessary to be pigeon-holed – actor, writer, director or whatever. She herself still does get asked to write about black people in particular; she looks forward to, for instance, a commis- sion involving Cardiff as a setting and a Welsh family as the characters. She knows her own background would be irrelevant - as it should be. ■
NI CK FI SHER’ S
SIX OF THE BEST
SIX OF THE BEST
BEST FILM
Working as a film critic, I see so many films, I get celluloid punch-drunk. I’m not a buff, I’m a punter. I go to the cinema to be entertained. I love a touching comedy. And like a goldfish I have no long-term memory. And no desire to revisit some- thing I’ve already seen. No matter how good it was. The last good comedy I saw was Meet The Parents.
BEST SOFTWARE: FINAL DRAFT
Professional Screenwriting Software. I’m not a techno-buff. And I type like an elk. My two fat stubby fingers stomp around the keyboard like pork sausages on strings. Scriptwriting is the most painful. Formatting and repeatedly typing the same character names is excruciating tor- ture. Final Draft does all the boring stuff and let’s me concentrate on writing. It should be industry standard.
an expert. Catching fish with one of these nets is such a trip. It’s all very biblical.
BEST NEWSPAPER: LOOT
I’m sick of the written word. I deal with it everyday, all day. Although I work for newspapers and magazines, I never read them. Can’t stomach it. Reading for me is work. Occasionally, on holiday I read books for pleasure. My real passion is small-ads. Classified columns get me hot. I love to chase a peculiar bargain. There’s a two-man coracle for sale in Fakenham this
week, for a hundred quid. Can you believe it? I’m already on to it, so back off, OK.
BEST GADGET:
THE FENN MK IV RAT TRAP
During my teens we lived in Norfolk and I worked for a game- keeper. Vermin extermination was my job. The Fenn Mark IV was a
60s invention which
revolutionised vermin trapping. These are the scariest, snappiest, pressure-plate triggered traps in existence. They’re so vicious, I used to break into a sweat just sliding one gingerly into a rat run. Last week I ordered four from a trap supplier.
I don’t have a rat problem. But in this business, you can never be too careful. ■
Nick Fisher, film critic of The Sun, pre- senter of Radio Five Live’s weekly fish- ing show Dirty Tackle, screenwriter, agony uncle and author of five books, including the once banned bestseller Your Pocket Guide To Sex, is also the writer of a new BBC1 comedy-drama pilot Manchild, starring Nigel Havers.
Industry personalities hand out their very own BAFTAs
BEST SPICY SAUCE: TABASCO PEPPER
“My name’s Nick and... and... I’m a spice addict”. There, I said it. I’m powerless over my addiction. I grew up in Glasgow which even in the 60s was full of great Indian restaurants. My mum got me hooked on vindaloo. I’ve flirted with every hot sauce on the market since. But I always come back to Tabasco.
BEST FISHING AID: BETT’S 9FT ‘OLD SALT’ CAST NET
Any travel show documentary about the Far East always has a shot of a little brown guy in a boat, wearing a
straw hat, while chucking a huge circular net into the sunset. This
is a cast net. They are incredibly difficult to use. Takes tons of practice. I was taught how to throw one in the swamps of southern Florida by a tobacco chewing toothless redneck. It took forever to learn. But now I’m
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Photos: Nick Fisher and Meet The Parents