Tag Archives: TV

This Is An Ex-Parrot!

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GIANT DEAD PARROT INSTALLED ON LONDON’S SOUTH BANK AS MONTY PYTHON RETURN FOR FINAL LIVE SHOWS

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  • 15-metre long deceased “Norwegian Blue” unveiled to mark the screening of Monty Python live on TV channel Gold this Sunday 20th July
  • Dead Parrot Sketch voted the ‘nation’s favourite Monty Python sketch’

 

The dead parrot at the centre of the eponymous sketch performed by John Cleese and Michael Palin, first screened 45 years ago, has been recreated on a giant scale to celebrate the screening of the very last Monty Python live show on comedy TV channel Gold this Sunday, the 20th July.

The mammoth model of the ‘Norwegian Blue’ was commissioned by the comedy channel following a survey of 2000 comedy fans which named the surreal pet shop skit as the nation’s favourite Monty Python sketch of all time. The famous sketch was first broadcast on 7 December 1969 and remains a firm favourite with audiences who have been enjoying the live shows at The O2 this month.

The sculpture caused a stir amongst London commuters as it was hung upside down by a crane before being respectfully laid to rest on its back at Potters Fields on London’s South bank near Tower Bridge.

The model, which is made from fibre glass, took a team of three sculptors over two months to design, construct and paint.  The giant dead parrot measures 15 metres (almost 50 feet) from the tip of its tail to the top of its head, the equivalent to the height of five elephants standing on top of one another.

Lead sculptor Iain Prendergast says, “We are all Monty Python fans so we were delighted to receive the brief from Gold to recreate the mythical ‘Norwegian Blue’ on a giant scale. We watched both live and televised versions of the sketch and found that there have been a number of different incarnations of the parrot with a variety of different plumages.  Our sculpture provides a colourful hybrid of the dead parrots which have featured in the celebrated sketch. The key challenge for us was capturing the comedy value of the dead parrot, keeping the realism of the bird whilst also adding touches like the bloodshot, ‘stunned’ eyes.” 

The homage to the iconic Monty Python sketch will be taken to The O2 arena where fans attending the final run of live shows will be able to say their final farewell to the comedy troupe, taking pictures of the giant dead parrot and adding to the Twitter buzz using the hashtag #montypythonlive.

 

Gold will be screening the live broadcast of the final Monty Python Live (mostly): One Down Five To Go stage show on Sunday 20th July.

 

The top ten Monty Python Sketches according to 2000 Brits 

 

  1. Dead Parrot – 45%
  2. The Lumberjack Song – 28%
  3. The Ministry of Silly Walks – 23%
  4. The Spanish Inquisition – 16%
  5. Spam – 15%
  6. Four Yorkshiremen – 12%
  7. Nudge Nudge – 11%
  8. Fish slapping dance – 8%
  9. The Restaurant sketch (dirty fork) – 7%
  10. The killer joke – 6%

Just missing out on the top ten were the Silly Olympics, Hell’s Grannies and Gay Policemen (all with 6%).

 

 

Top Schools ‘Too Dominant’ In Acting

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Sir Peter Bazalgette, the chairman of Arts Council England, has said that the British film and TV industries are ‘too dominated’ by actors who have gone to private schools and that state school pupils have too few opportunities to have a career in the arts.

He told the Sheffield Doc/Fest: “I personally don’t see why all the male actors getting Baftas should come from Eton, Good for them, and great actors, but why should they all come from Eton?”

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Damien Lewis went to Eton.

 

Actors who went to Eton include Damian Lewis, Dominic West, Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Redmayne. Actors who went to other private schools include Rory Kinnear, who went to St Paul’s, Benedict Cumberbatch, who went to Harrow and Hugh Bonneville, who attended Sherborne.

 

12 Years A Slave actor Chiwetel Ejiofor went to Dulwich College – where Sir Peter went to school.

 

“Seven per cent of the population go to private schools, and in those private schools they get an absolutely, crackingly good education in the performing and visual arts. Ninety-three per cent don’t go to those private schools and, in some state schools, people get a wonderful education in visual and performing arts as well. But in quite a lot of them they don’t.

 

Visual performing arts have been marginalised in some areas in the curriculum as the curriculum becomes more instrumentalist and focused on what’s known as the Stem agenda – science, technology, engineering and maths. If there is one message, we say Steam, not Stem – put the ‘a’ for arts in.”

 

Dame Helen Mirren also recently warned that acting was becoming the “prerogative only of kids who have money”.

 

Check out Frost editor, Catherine Balavage’s, new book, How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming An Actorprenur, which tells you how to become an actor, no matter what your background.

 

What do you think?

 

Jamaica Inn DVD Review

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Jamaica Inn was all over social media and also got widespread media coverage concerning the sound quality of the transmission when it aired. Rather unfortunately this distracted from the show when it was aired. I didn’t watch it but saw the reaction on social media. Now you can watch it without any problems, as it has been released on DVD.

Jamaica Inn catches the period very well, the costume and tone really add to the story. I didn’t even recognise Jessica Brown Findlay until I looked up Jamaica Inn on IMDB. She is very brave, wearing no makeup and shapeless clothes. She still looks beautiful, but it is rare for an actress so successful to lack vanity so much, and it bodes well for her future career: it truly shows a dedication to the role.

Jamaica Inn is well shot, drawing you into the story. It has a good script. It is paced well and is an enjoyable, dark, gothic drama. Worth a watch.

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Set in 1821 against the forbidding backdrop of windswept Cornish Moors, Daphne du Maurier’s
Jamaica Inn is a dark, gothic tale of desire, survival and morality which has been brought to life in a stunning new TV adaptation by Emma Frost (The White Queen, Consuming Passion). Initially broadcast in three hour-long episodes as a major feature of BBC One’s prime time Easter schedule, the entire series will be released on DVD by FremantleMedia International on 26th

This new adaptation of du Maurier’s iconic novel is directed by BAFTA-winning director Philippa Lowthorpe (Call The Midwife, Five Daughters) and stars Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey, Labyrinth) as Mary Yellan, Matthew McNulty (The Paradise, Room At The Top) as Jem Merlyn, Sean Harris (The Borgias, Southcliffe) as Joss Merlyn, Joanne Whalley (The Borgias, Gossip Girl) as Aunt Patience, Ben Daniels (The Wipers Times, House of Cards) as Francis Davey and Shirley Henderson (Southcliffe, The Crimson Petal And The White) as Hannah.

Certificate: 15

Single disc DVD

Run time: 180 minutes

RRP: £17.99

Bonus features: Behind the scenes/making of featurette

Each episode is also available for download via iTunes for £1.29 in standard definition and £2.49 in high definition. A series pass costs £4.99 in standard definition and £6.99 in high definition.

Why House of Cards Is So Addictive

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As any other student, I suffer from procrastination. We all know the deadlines or projects are due soon, and yes it is always soon, but we keep doing everything but whatever we should. As a master student, assessments fill up my schedule, which means I spend a lot of time on my computer doing ‘research’. This particular research brought me to the American series House of Cards.

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House of Cards stars Kevin Spacey (American Beauty & The Usual Suspects) as congressman Frank Underwood in his pursuit of power at Capitol Hill, Washington DC. It features corruption, homicide and sex.

It sounds like many other dull political series produced for the supposedly politically interested audience; however, House of Cards captivates the audience on another level. It is not about politics, of course the premise is American politics, but ultimately the series is about power and how to use it.

Frank and his wife Claire, Robin Wright (Forest Gump), spare no means in their quest for political influence. Frank comes across as extremely calculated and ice cold when it comes to almost everything in life. Spacey’s controlled voice and persona is extremely manipulative and in many respects arrogant in his conversations with his peers. Furthermore, there are montages in every episode where Frank speaks directly to the camera, which sounds unusual and perhaps a bit intrusive, however, after a few episodes these montages quickly become favourites. These scenes give the audience the rare opportunity to understand how Frank actually considers and calculates his options and decisions.

Although Claire does keep an elegant and gracious façade as a beautiful career woman, she appears just as cold and ruthless as her husband. Despite her inhuman behaviour she shows a very few times that her almost cruel decisions touches her.

(Spoiler alert)

The marriage between Claire and Frank appears as calculated as their respective characters. Their relationship and its development will keep you wanting more even if you don’t find politics illuminating. They are both having affairs, and they are both aware of the other’s sexual encounters. If that is not unusual enough, their intimacy is never portrayed, although their affairs are heavily covered. This questions whether their marriage is based purely on reason and not on passion? That Frank is at least bisexual is insinuated several times during the two released series. Besides sharing loving memories with an old school mate and having a threesome with his wife and their bodyguard, Frank states the amazing statement after having sex with Miss Barnes, Kate Mara, that Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power. Read into it what you want.  (Spoiler ends)

As an audience, we never question the couple’s power to manipulate the people around them, and that might be why they are so interesting. How can Claire sack almost her entire staff she has worked with for many years without showing any emotions? How can Frank stand up to the President and go against his direct orders without showing any sign of insecurity? And how can a marriage possibly based purely on reason and not passion function in a world where emotions don’t exist?

Together they make many sacrifices to rise in power, but they never reconsider or look back. They are as a couple so focused and determined to reach the ultimate goal that their Machiavellian perspective leaves no time to be human.

They are fascinatingly not like ‘us’, but somewhere inside us, we want to be like them. It is this fascination with a mysterious political society hidden behind closed doors where very few powerful people are making world-changing decisions that makes this brilliant series so addictive.

 

House of Cards have been nominated for several prestigious awards, including Golden Globe’s Best Television Series (Drama), Best Actor, Best Actress (Winner, Robin Wright) and Emmy’s Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Actor, Outstanding Actress.

It is possible to watch House of Cards series 1 and 2 on Netflix.

Ricky Gervais: Women Are Treated Like Props In Film & TV

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Ricky Gervais has hit out at the way women are treated in the entertainment industry in an interview with the Radio Times.

He said that he loves to write complex female characters “because usually they’re props, particularly in comedy”.

“Even in Hollywood, they’re usually air heads or if they’re ambitious they’re straight away cold and need to be taught a lesson, They need to show that getting a man is more important than getting a career. Or they’re just props for men to do funny things.”

Gervais then talked about his childhood,

“People think that men rule the world but they don’t, really, That was never my experience growing up and certainly not at Broad Hill (the elderly care home in Derek). Men, when they’re together, revert to the playground.”

Derek returns for a second series on Channel 4 later this month.

Boris Entrup 10-Minute Make-Up Book Review

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Boris Entrup 10-Minute Make-UpBoris Entrup is the resident make-up artist on Germany’s Next Top Model and is the exclusive make-up artist for Maybelline. It is fair to say that he knows his stuff.

This rather excellent book has 50 gorgeous looks that give you everything you need to transform your image in 10-minutes. There is a good variety of looks, from natural to glamourous, that are all easy to recreate as there is before and after pictures and an easy step-by-step guide.

If that wasn’t enough; there is also masses of insider tips, techniques and tricks that all help you reveal your natural beauty.

The book starts off with an introduction from Boris, then some advice on skincare, beauty tools and products. I have read a lot about beauty and review a lot of products but I found that I learned a lot. I also love that the book shows all 50 looks at a glance over two pages. Very handy and useful.

The book also goes through the basic techniques of applying different products and different facial features. It also gives advice on different face shapes and different tips for each decade of your life, along with S.O.S tips at the end.

This is a brilliant beauty book. It has great advice and pictures. I highly recommend it.

Boris Entrup 10-Minute Make-Up

Romance In Modern Age: 52% of Women Would Contribute To Engagement Ring

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The New Engagement Etiquette in the Age of Equality

TV diamond expert, Vashi Dominguez, Founder and CEO of Vashi.com reports that in a recent survey, over 50 percent of women admit they would make a contribution to their engagement ring to ensure they got the ring of their dreams. 52 percent of women answered that ‘yes, I would probably consider [contributing to my engagement ring]’ or ‘yes, I would definitely consider it as it would mean I could have the style and size I want.’ A further 7 percent of women surveyed had already contributed to their engagement ring. The statistics also reveal that a quarter of women surveyed would partake in subtle hinting, such as comments to their partner when walking past jewellery stores, to ensure they received the engagement ring they wanted.

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Pear Cut 0.6 Carat D/VS1 18k Yellow Gold Diamond Engagement Ring | £1,899

The financial crisis of the late 2000s caused employment rates for men aged 25-44 in the UK to decrease by 3.2 percent. The employment rate of women in the same age range dropped by a lesser 0.7 percent. Consequentially, more couples now share the cost of living; large expense items such as a new car, holidays or an engagement ring are now more likely to be a shared expense. Couples’ finances in general are now so interlinked prior to engagement that an even higher percentage of women could be contributing to their ring subtlety through linked finances.

The survey results also strongly suggest that engagements in the UK are planned (more frequently than being spontaneous) due to men’s financial circumstances and budget constraints. However, a relatively large proportion of men did not plan romance around the planned engagement – this is according to 24 percent of women who revealed their partner did not plan anything specific for their engagement, with another 13 percent of women stating that their partner did not get down on one knee.

In light of the survey results, Vashi.com anticipates a growing number of sales will be a result of joint decisions made by a couple. Post-survey, Dominguez stated: “These results represent a welcome shift in the way couples approach engagement now. The team and I notice more women being involved in the process compared to previous generations. Traditionally, men were the breadwinners and often as a result, the decision makers. However, we’re beginning to experience a new engagement etiquette. Our male customers are relying on their partner’s input too, whether it be financially or at least from an aesthetic point of view. Not only this, now vashi.com is receiving an increasing proportion of business from female customers.”

Vashi Dominguez continued, “women know what they want and our survey shows they’re not afraid to contribute to ensure they get what they want!”

1000 women aged 20-50 were surveyed UK-wide.

Source re survey: Census Wide on behalf of vashi.com

Source re recession: The Labour Force Survey from 2007 Q1 – 2007 Q4

 

Benefits Street: Good TV, and Fair

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Amongst people who have actually watched Benefits Street, most say that it is good TV and that it fairly portrays life in impoverished communities

BenefitsStreet_logo_wA new YouGov survey finds the programme is a big hit with viewers, and amongst those who have actually watched it, the majority do not think it is unfair or in bad taste.

Read more here.

Here is some of the YouGov Survey.

Ever since it first aired on 6th January, Channel 4’s Benefits Street has caused outrage. After episode one, a number of James Turner street residents who appeared in the programme said they had been lied to about its intentions and wrongly portrayed; after episode two, Channel 4 said they would be given right of reply in a live TV debate; by episode four, it has received 1,700 complaints.

Now a new YouGov survey finds the programme is a big hit with viewers, and amongst those who have actually watched it, the majority do not think it is unfair or in bad taste.

A sizeable third (33%) of the population have seen at least some of Benefits Street on TV. Of those, 78% say they might or will definitely watch it again and only 20% say they probably or definitely will not.

Unambiguously, 62% of viewers say the programme is ‘good TV’ while only 30% say it is bad TV.

Most interestingly, amid claims that “[James Turner] street has been turned into a zoo and the residents feel like they are exhibits”, viewers who say the programme is fair outnumber those who say it is unfair two to one.

59% of viewers say Benefits Street “fairly portrays what life is like in impoverished communities and the difficult issues it brings up”, while 23 say it “unfairly portrays poor people and creates resentment towards people in real need”.

Further, people who are actually claiming some kind of benefits are more likely to say the programme is fair (34%) than unfair (24%). 28% of those not claiming benefits say the programme is fair, and 22% say it is unfair.

The series finale airs on Channel 4 on Monday 10th February.

Do you agree?