Guardian News & Media launches the Guardian Film Awards

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guardianfilmawardsExciting news for film fans. Guardian News and Media (GNM) today launches the inaugural Guardian Film Awards, a brand new celebration of contemporary cinema which rethinks the categories from the ground up and puts the movie-goer at the heart of the experience.

 

In a fresh twist, alongside the traditional big hitter categories like best film and best director, readers can vote for their favourite marketing campaign, film festival and movie scene. And instead of the usual gender divisions of best actor and best actress, in the Guardian Film Awards, both sexes battle it out in the same categories.

 

Unlike traditional awards like the Oscars or Golden Globes, the Guardian Film Awards give readers the chance to have their say in the matter every step of the way – from shaping the shortlists to having a vote at the final judging stage.

 

The way it works is simple. Readers vote for their favourites in the main nine categories from the longlists chosen by Guardian film editors and writers. The votes cast will decide the shortlist, which will then be considered by a panel of six expert judges – including Guardian and Observer critics Peter Bradshaw and Xan Brooks, editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, film editor Catherine Shoard, award-winning film-maker Adam Curtis, and critic and presenter Claudia Winkleman. The invisible seventh judge at the table will be the reader, whose vote will help shape and guide the panel’s final decision.

 

The shortlists will be announced on 19 February. The winners will collect their awards at a ceremony on 6 March.

 

The full category list includes:

Best film (this can be in any genre and includes documentaries and foreign-language films)

Best actor (male or female)

Best supporting actor (male or female)

Best director

Best scene

Best line of dialogue

Best film festival

Best marketing campaign

Biggest game-changer

Best cinema (wholly voted by readers)

So-bad-it’s-good film (wholly voted by readers)

Lifetime achievement (special judges’ award wholly nominated and voted by the panel)

Guardian & Observer film critic and judge Peter Bradshaw said: “The Guardian Film Awards will offer a new slant on the awards season; they will be enjoyable, unpretentious, and user-friendly and let the reader and moviegoer connect more directly with the glittering prizes themselves.”

 

Judge Claudia Winkleman said: “I’m thrilled to be one of the judges for the Guardian Film Awards. I’m particularly excited as the readers are voting too. Also, I think it’s common knowledge that I’d follow Peter Bradshaw anywhere.”

 

Readers can vote and participate on the Guardian Film Awards 2014 website: theguardian.com/guardian-film-awards. Voting closes midday February 16 2014.

 

Read more on the longlists here.

Burn’s Night At Seven Park Place By William Drabble Review

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Situated in the luxurious St James Hotel and Club, Seven Park Place is a Michelin-starred venue with all the class you would expect. I joined a fun and varied group of women for a Burn’s Night Preview; a six-course meal with matching wine that finishes with a glass of Highland Park 18-year-old whiskey. This is what we had:
haggis ravoli Seven Park Place
scallops(Sorry about the pictures. They were taken on my Blackberry so I could be discreet)
Uig Lodge smoked haddock soup with whiskey
Seared hand-dived Scottish scallops with garlic puree and parsley oil
The wine we had with these courses: Solo Quinta, Cramele Recas, Romania, 2012
I have never had soup with whiskey before but what a clever idea. This soup is just stunning, with perfectly cooked smoked haddock. I love scallops and these seared scallops with garlic puree and parsley oil were perfect on every level.
scottishfood haggis
Poached Scottish langoustine with buttered cabbage, foie gras sauce and truffle
Ravioli of haggis with confit of turnip, whiskey and thyme jus
The wine served with this course: Riesling Trocken Qba, Sybille Kuntz, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany 2010
The poached langoustine was just superb, one of my fellow diners called it a ‘posh prawn cocktail’. It just tastes like some sort of heaven. The ravioli of haggis is a stunning invention from William Drabble. It is such a smart idea and it tastes amazing, as does the sauce which sounds like a weird combination but really works.
venison
Saddle of Scottish highland venison with beetroot
Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon Royale, Koyle Estate, Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2009
The venison is perfectly cooked and the whole meal just works amazingly.
cheese
Selection of British cheese by Paxton & Whitfield
A wonderful selection of cheese. Very tasty.
souffle
Souffle of Scottish raspberries with dark chocolate sauce
Wine: Coteaux-Du-Layon Saint-Aubin, Domaine Des Barres, Loire Valley, France, 2012
This souffle is impressive not just because it tastes delicious, but also because it was huge and arrived from two floors down still  beautifully risen. It is the best souffle I have ever had and the dark chocolate sauce is perfect. The texture of the souffle is great. A wonderful dessert. Seven Park Place is a Michelin-starred venue and even if you didn’t know this before you went, it would soon be obvious. The food will be some of the best you have ever tasted and the imagination of the chef is truly impressive.
truffle
Chocolate and Apple Truffles

These truffles were unbelievable. And the one in the middle was like a very posh apple fruit pastel. I could eat these everyday and not even care if I got fat. Wow and wow.

And to finish….
highlandparkwhiskey
A glass of Highland Park 18-year-old Whiskey
What to say? Great whiskey: true luxury.After the meal we got to have a chat with William Drabble and I promptly made him an honoury Scot. I complimented William on his cooking and he swept away the compliment by saying it was the good, Scottish, ingredients. He is far too modest and also said that the food is simple as you have to realise that the other people in the kitchen cannot cook as well as you. William manages to make food heaven in a small kitchen, two-floors down, with a staff of only six. Both impressive and surprising. Williams mantra is, “Make it simple, think about it and make it idiot-proof.” Sounds like the perfect system. In the kitchen they drink tea in the morning and water to clean their palette so they can taste the food properly.During the evening sommelier Marco Feraldi told us about each wine. Marco really knows his stuff and every single wine was amazing. I am very fussy about wine but I loved it all. Especially the Solo Quinta, Cramele Recas, Romania, 2012. I had never tried Romanian wine before but I am now hooked.I had a wonderful evening, the food truly was stunning. The perfect place for the perfect Burns Night.

You can catch the Burn’s Night Menu at  Seven Park Place between January 20-26.

Seven Park Place, St James Hotel and Club, 7-8 Park Place, SW1A 1LS.

£72 or £126 with paired wines. (£13 supplement for cheese selection) Phone:020 7316 1615

stjameshotelandclub.com

Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Announce First Ambassador

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Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby has welcomed its first Ambassador to the sport that captivated the nation at London 2012.  Harlequins and England rugby star Mike Brown will take on a role that continues the rugby links GBWR has made recently – partnering with the RFU and with Harlequins, Saracens, Gloucester, Leicester and Woodbridge rugby clubs – involving him in the GBWR military programme, supported and funded by Help for Heroes.

wheelchairrugby

(From left to right: Alan Ash, GBWR Captain, Mike Brown, Harlequins and England and Kylie Grimes, GBWR)
Mike – who has amassed 21 caps for England and had a starring role in England’s recent Autumn Internationals picking up the coveted QBE Player of the Series Award – comments,  “I enjoy playing rugby because it is physical and I enjoy wheelchair rugby for the same reason.  The sound they make with the hits they put in is unbelievable.   It is a fast-paced, high-action game and the physicality and skill they show with the ball is brilliant.  I look forward to my new role and hope I will get a chance to join them for a game.”
David Pond, Chief Executive of GBWR, comments “I’m delighted that we have the support of Mike for this initiative.  We have been working closely with the charity Help for Heroes and Battle Back to provide opportunities for wounded and injured service men and women to try wheelchair rugby for the first time. The programme started with a series of sessions at Headley Court and I’m pleased it is to be part of the rehabilitation programme rolled out to support Help the Heroes run Recovery Centres at Colchester, Tidworth, Catterick and Plymouth.”
Mike Brown met with GBWR squad players (including Alan Ash [Captain] and Kylie Grimes) at Headley Court, the Ministry of Defence Medical Rehabilitation Unit, to announce the appointment and joined them in a demonstration match against the patients.
The programme, funded by Help for Heroes, along with Sport England, will be available to wounded, injured and service personnel and veterans at UK Recovery Centres across 2014.”
 

Channel 4 commissions Benefits Street live

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After only one episode Benefits Street became one of the most controversial television shows, sparking debate and a slew of articles. After the controversy (which included a petition for Channel 4 to stop broadcasting the show attracting 17,000 signatures after only one episode, so much for free speech), Channel 4 has commissioned a live debate.

BenefitsStreet_logo_wChannel 4’s Head of Special Programmes, Ed Havard, has commissioned Mentorn Media to produce a 1 x 60 live debate around the issues brought to the fore by the observational documentary series Benefits Street. This series, filmed over the course of 12 months, documents the reality of life on a street in Birmingham where the majority of households are dependent on benefits and in an area of Birmingham that has had the highest rate of unemployment in the country for the last eight years. It has attracted a great deal of attention – generating tens of thousands of responses on Twitter, press headlines and questions raised in parliament.

Channel 4 Head of Factual, Ralph Lee, says: “This is a series which reflects the reality of day-to-day life for some of the residents of a single street who, for the most part, rely on benefits to survive. It does not and never has set out to reflect the experiences of every person who receives benefits yet it has triggered a national debate about state welfare at a time in which further welfare reforms are being proposed. We feel it is timely to provide a forum in which these issues can be raised and discussed.”

The programme will be live and interactive allowing viewers to submit questions; it will be chaired by broadcaster Richard Bacon. The panellists will be confirmed closer to transmission but will represent the views across the political spectrum – and crucially those who claim benefits.

It will be broadcast at 10pm on Monday 10th February, directly after the final episode of the five-part documentary series airs. The Executive Producer is Mentorn Media’s Director of Current Affairs Hayley Valentine, she says: “It is vital that voices on all sides are heard, and we are pleased to be providing a forum for both public figures and viewers to debate the series that has brought a pertinent political issue to life so vividly.”

 

The Good Wife Season 5: Robert and Michelle King Interview

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the good wife series 5.4_A2ROBERT and MICHELLE KING – Co-Creators / Executive Producers

How does it feel to be on Season 5 of “The Good Wife”?

Michelle King: It’s tremendous. We’re coming up on our 100th episode. It’s really exciting for us.

Robert King: And exhausting. We end the year very tired and ready to collapse and then start reading the news and go ‘that’s interesting, this is fun, Anthony Weiner, really?’ So, all this starts to get you excited about going the year again.

2. How does the Season 4 finale set the stage for Season 5?

Sometimes it’s great to swerve left and then you swerve right, but I thought thematically it worked for us, in that you thought it was going to romance when in fact it was going to career-end romance. That sets up the next year, as we get to see how Alicia and Cary follow through. If they’re going to start a firm together, what is that going to look like – and they’re going to start the year saying it’s going to be the most ethical firm – and how are they going to be able to follow through? What will that do to Alicia and Will, especially if they take clients along with them? If you’re stealing money from the other firm, which is the way Will and Diane might interpret it, it’s not going to end well. The year for us is about civil war through seeing these characters we’ve embraced in a family and the wedge go in the middle of the family – and how will that renew itself or will it ever?

3. More on setting the stage for Season 5

Michelle King: I feel like we set ourselves up very nicely at the end of Season 4 so I am really excited with the stories we get to tell in Season 5.

Robert King: There is a certain inevitability from the way we left it in Season 4. I would say each year we start with this real excitement and fever pitch to do well, except you have to stretch it out over a marathon and not over a sprint. There can’t be just one burst of energy. There has to be this constant renewal and burst of energy.

4. How has Alicia’s attitude towards Cary changed since Season 1?

Robert King: Julianna’s character over the years has grown respect for Cary, because he wasn’t the yuppie suburban boy that you expect. He has gone through a lot of turmoil. He was fired. He went to the state’s attorney’s office then he came back. He was overlooked for partner, so I think Jules’ character has a real respect for how he keeps bouncing back and that is different from the very first year where everybody thought he was the cliché.

5. How have the fans reacted to the direction the show has taken in Season 5?

Michelle King: What has been nice with the fan reaction is people seem very genuinely excited to see what’s going to happen next professionally with Alicia. With these two firms splitting and starting up I think people see the possibilities and are excited about it.

6. More on fan reaction…

Robert King: I think fans embrace anything new – seeing new versions of relationships, different ways to click people together – and so it’s fun to see Alicia and Cary try to be the new Will and Diane. Everybody knows what that means, all the fans know what that means, and are they going to be up to it.

7. What challenges will Peter and Alicia face going into Season 5?

The bottom line is Alicia and Peter have agreed to recommit to each other and that played into Alicia wanting to move away from Will. The difficulty is that Peter now has moved into a position of power in the governorship and as much as he has sworn over the years to be a changed man, now the test is really going to be put to a test because our theory is that the closer men get to power – and women probably too – the more it becomes that Henry Kissinger like aphrodisiac to women. He is also tempted by using his power as we saw with Anthony Weiner. Power comes with some sense of sexual loosening, so that’s difficult for Alicia and Peter – it’s not that Peter necessarily even acts on it – but that kind of divide in the marriage is difficult and it’s happening at a time when Alicia is feeling her own roots in a way. She has got her own firm, she’s got power, and she may not need Peter as much anymore, so that is a tension in that relationship.

8. Can we expect more big name guest stars in Season 5?

Robert King: It’s still early days but there are people – we’re building a little further ahead so we know Carrie Preston is coming back – she is lovely as Elsbeth Tascioni, and was nominated for an Emmy. We know that Gary Cole is coming back. He plays Kurt McVeigh who is in this relationship with Diane. We know America Ferrera is coming back. She was with us the second year and she has this odd relationship with Eli Gold. Melissa George who is this wonderful actress who is the Ethics Committee Commissioner in the governorship and causes Peter many problems and…

Michelle King: Jeffrey Tambor.

Robert King: Jeffrey Tambor who plays a judge on Arrested Development and Larry Sanders Show. He plays a judge in two of our episodes and is going to cause troubles for Alicia in the future, and then there is Juliet Rylance who plays the romantic interest to Kalinda and we couldn’t be more excited. I mean, there is an intent on our part to focus on our cast – the civil war going on in our cast – but it’s always wonderful to get these people back.

9. What are your plans for the 100th episode of “The Good Wife”?

Robert King: We are intending for it to be a blowout episode. We want the 100th episode to be one of the best we’ve written, but we don’t know what we’re doing yet. There is a movie called Drowning By Numbers that had a countdown in the movie from a 100 to 0. We were thinking about that but then our shows rely on the ability to edit out scenes that aren’t quite working, so you’d throw it off. I think it will come down to a real turning point in Julianna’s life and a case that just blows everybody away.

 

Interview thanks to Channel 4.

An interview with the star of The Good Wife, Julianna Margulies, is here.

24’s Back! New Series Announced

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24 fans can start getting excited: Jack’s back and this time he is in London.

Star Kiefer Sutherland said: “I’m about as anxious and wound up as I’ve been in a long time. There’s a great impetus for all of us to create something new with the show.”

24-logo

Dexter star Yvonne Strahovski, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe), Kim Raver (Audrey) and William Devane (James Heller) will all star alongside Sutherland. The series will air in the states from May 5 2014 with a two-hour special to start.

A movie is also in the works. Sutherland said: “If this ends up rebooting the show or causing a film to be made, so be it, The film is sort of an ongoing situation.”

The Good Wife Season Five: Julianna Margulies Interview

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the good wife series 5 interview How does it feel to be on Season 5 of The Good Wife?

Julianna Margulies: It doesn’t feel like the fifth season. I have more excitement about this season than I have any season. The first season I was so overwhelmed by it all and the second season you’re trying to keep the momentum going, and then all of a sudden you’re in year five and the writing is even better. I feel like I just landed in a pot of gold.

What was your reaction to the Season 4 finale?

When I read the script of the season finale I was like, oh, we’re still doing this triangle and then all of a sudden you realize how smart they are, these writers are just so smart.

How does the Season 4 finale set the stage for Season 5?

Basically what happens is Alicia chooses to leave her firm because she knows as long as she is there, her heart will always be with Will and she can’t live like that – not after recommitting to her husband. And she starts her own firm or talks about starting her own firm with Cary.

More on setting the stage for Season 5?

It picks up on the exact same night. We open up the episode and you see Alicia and Cary on their second bottle of wine – in her kitchen, getting a little drunk and realizing this could be the best thing that’s ever happened.

Are Alicia and Cary the new Will and Diane?

Cary sells it to her by saying we’re the new Will and Diane. She starts watching how Will and Diane work because when Season 5 starts they’re still there, they have to transition, they have to get offices, they have to figure this all out before they abandon and she’s watching Will and Diane work on a death row case with her and then she’s watching how Cary conducts himself and she is realizing this ain’t no Will and Diane.

What challenges does Alicia face at the start of Season 5?

Her husband is elected governor, so she is now the first lady, and is going to figure out how to leave the firm. They have to steal some clients, it’s ugly and it gets really ugly, and it’s going to be a very tense season because of it.

Are there advantages to being the Governor’s wife?

Being the governor’s wife gives her tremendous status as a lawyer and it has completely opened the door for her. It made her partner at Lockhart & Gardner. They could have chosen anyone, however she was much more valuable to them as the governor’s wife.

What damage will Alicia’s new firm create for Will and Diane?

The three biggest clients that she is taking with her are a blow to Lockhart & Gardner. She takes Chumhum, the drug kingpin Lemond Bishop and Sweeney. That’s at least $44 million a year in business for Lockhart & Gardner. So it’s not just that she is leaving the firm to start her own, she is stabbing them in the back and, even though I truly believe that Alicia doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, it’s the cruellest thing she could ever do to two people who were there for her when she had no-one.

More on the damage Alicia’s new firm creates…

It’s a bloodbath. If we were Game of Thrones, there would be a lot of actual blood, but because we’re lawyers in pretty clothing, there are just a lot of really smart words and emotions.

How will Alicia’s move affect her relationship with Diane?

It’s going to get horribly tense and it’s going to be pretty devastating, but then, and I can’t express it because it will ruin it for everybody – in fact no-one on the show knows except for me and the Kings, Brooke Kennedy and David Zucker – but we take a very big turn and through an event that happens Diane and Alicia are brought closer. This is what I’ve always wanted because they’re two such strong women that women connect to, and I hated that the two strong women on the show weren’t friends.

Why is Alicia’s relationship with Eli important?

The only people that know about Alicia and Will are Eli Gold and Diane. Then Eli becomes Chief of Staff of the governor’s office and as he knows all my secrets, it elevates their friendship as well. I think it’s going to be pretty beautiful and pretty devastating.

How does it feel to reach 100 episodes in Season 5?

It’s a milestone to shoot that many episodes and I remember the feeling on ER thinking a 100 episodes, that’s crazy. We’re talking 84-page scripts, so if you look at a feature length film, they’re usually about 125 to 130 pages, and we shoot that amount in eight days -and it’s quality writing and work. It’s definitely something to be proud of and I’m over the moon that we’ve made it this far. I think that audiences really have responded in an incredibly positive way to the show and I do think it’s just getting better and better.

Interview thanks to Channel 4.

An interview with the creators of The Good Wife is here.