1.
Royal Opera House
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The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is referred to as simply Covent Garden. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, originally called the Theatre Royal, it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented, a year later, Handels first season of operas began. Many of his operas and oratorios were written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there. The current building is the theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, the main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high, the main auditorium is a Grade I listed building. The letters patent remained in the possession of the patentees heirs until the 19th century, in 1728, John Rich, actor-manager of the Dukes Company at Lincolns Inn Fields Theatre, commissioned The Beggars Opera from John Gay. In addition, a Royal Charter had created a fruit and vegetable market in the area, at its opening on 7 December 1732, Rich was carried by his actors in processional triumph into the theatre for its opening production of William Congreves The Way of the World. Despite the frequent interchangeability between the Covent Garden and Drury Lane companies, competition was intense, often presenting the plays at the same time. Rich introduced pantomime to the repertoire, himself performing and a tradition of seasonal pantomime continued at the modern theatre, in 1734, Covent Garden presented its first ballet, Pygmalion. Marie Sallé discarded tradition and her corset and danced in diaphanous robes, george Frideric Handel was named musical director of the company, at Lincolns Inn Fields, in 1719, but his first season of opera, at Covent Garden, was not presented until 1734. His first opera was Il pastor fido followed by Ariodante, the première of Alcina, there was a royal performance of Messiah in 1743, which was a success and began a tradition of Lenten oratorio performances. From 1735 until his death in 1759 he gave regular seasons there and he bequeathed his organ to John Rich, and it was placed in a prominent position on the stage, but was among many valuable items lost in a fire that destroyed the theatre on 20 September 1808. In 1792 the architect Henry Holland rebuilt the auditorium, within the shell of the building but deeper and wider than the old auditorium. Rebuilding began in December 1808, and the second Theatre Royal, the Old Price Riots lasted over two months, and the management was finally forced to accede to the audiences demands. During this time, entertainments were varied, opera and ballet were presented, kemble engaged a variety of acts, including the child performer Master Betty, the great clown Joseph Grimaldi made his name at Covent Garden
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London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
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Stephen Fry
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Stephen John Fry is an English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist. While at university, he involved with the Cambridge Footlights. As half of the double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry & Laurie and also took the role of Jeeves in Jeeves. He was also the long-time host of the BBC television quiz show QI and he has also filmed commercials, including an advertisement where he explains the essence of British culture to foreigners arriving at Londons Heathrow Airport. Fry was born in Hampstead, London, on 24 August 1957, the son of Marianne Eve Fry and Alan John Fry, a British physicist and inventor. The Fry family originates in Dorset, at Shillingstone and Blandford, in the early 1800s, Samuel Fry settled in Surrey, Frys mother is Jewish, but he was not brought up in a religious family. His maternal grandparents, Martin and Rosa Neumann, were Hungarian Jews, rosas parents, who originally lived in Vienna, Austria, were sent to a concentration camp in Riga, Latvia, where they were murdered. His mothers aunt and cousins were sent to Auschwitz and Stutthof, Frys father is English, and his paternal grandmother had roots in Kent and Cheshire. Fry grew up in the village of Booton near Reepham, Norfolk, having moved from Chesham, Buckinghamshire and he has an elder brother, Roger, and a younger sister, Joanna. He was expelled from Uppingham when he was 15 and subsequently from the Paston School, at 17, after leaving Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, Fry absconded with a credit card stolen from a family friend. He had taken a coat when leaving a pub, planning to spend the night sleeping rough and he was arrested in Swindon, and, as a result, spent three months in Pucklechurch Prison on remand. While Fry was in Pucklechurch, his mother had cut out the crossword from every copy of The Times since he had been away, Fry later stated that these crosswords were the only thing that got him through the ordeal. Following his release, he resumed his education at City College Norwich and he scored well enough to gain a scholarship to Queens College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, Fry joined the Cambridge Footlights, appeared on University Challenge, Fry also met his future comedy collaborator Hugh Laurie at Cambridge and starred alongside him in the Footlights Club. Frys career in television began with the 1982 broadcasting of The Cellar Tapes, a second series, retitled Alfresco, was broadcast in 1983, and a third in 1984, it established Fry and Lauries reputation as a comedy double act. In 1983, the BBC offered Fry, Laurie and Thompson their own show, which became The Crystal Cube, undeterred, Fry and Laurie appeared in an episode of The Young Ones in 1984, and Fry also appeared in Ben Eltons 1985 Happy Families series. In 1986 and 1987 Fry and Laurie performed sketches on the LWT/Channel 4 show Saturday Live, forgiving Fry and Laurie for The Crystal Cube, the BBC commissioned, in 1986, a sketch show that was to become A Bit of Fry & Laurie. The programme ran for 26 episodes spanning four series between 1986 and 1995, and was very successful, in a 1988 television special, Blackadders Christmas Carol, he played the roles of Lord Melchett and Lord Frondo
4.
The Revenant (2015 film)
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It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter. Development began in August 2001 when producer Akiva Goldsman purchased Punkes manuscript, principal photography began in October 2014. Location and crew concerns delayed the film from May to August 2015, the film premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre on December 16,2015 and had a limited release on December 25, expanding on January 8,2016. It received positive reviews critics, with the performances, direction. In 1823, Hugh Glass guides Andrew Henry’s trappers through unorganized territory, while he and his half-Pawnee son, Hawk, are hunting, the companys camp is attacked by an Arikara war party. Glass recommends that the travel on foot to Fort Kiowa. After docking, the crew stashes the pelts near the shore, Glass is badly mauled by a grizzly bear and left close to death. Trapper John Fitzgerald, fearful of another Arikara attack, argues that the group must mercy-kill Glass, Henry agrees, but is unable to pull the trigger, instead, he offers money for someone to stay with Glass. When the only volunteers are Hawk and the young Jim Bridger, after the others leave, Fitzgerald attempts to smother Glass but is discovered by Hawk. Fitzgerald stabs him to death as Glass watches helplessly, the next morning, Fitzgerald convinces Bridger that the Arikara are approaching and they must abandon Glass. After they depart, Fitzgerald admits he lied, when Fitzgerald and Bridger meet Henry at the fort, Fitzgerald tells him that Glass died and Hawk vanished. Glass begins a journey through the wilderness. He performs crude self-surgery and eludes the pursuing Arikara who are looking for the Chiefs kidnapped daughter, Glass encounters Pawnee refugee Hikuc who says that revenge is in the Creators hands. The men share bison meat and travel together, after an hallucinogenic experience, Glass discovers Hikuc hanged by French hunters. He infiltrates their camp and sees the leader raping Powaqa and he frees her, kills two hunters, and steals Hikucs horse, leaving his canteen behind. The next morning, Glass is ambushed by the Arikara and driven over a cliff on his horse and he survives the night by eviscerating the horse and sheltering inside its carcass. A French survivor staggers into Fort Kiowa and Bridger recognizes his canteen as Glasss, believing it stolen, Henry organizes a search party. Fitzgerald, realizing Glass is alive, empties the outpost’s safe, the search party finds the exhausted Glass
5.
Brooklyn (film)
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Brooklyn is a 2015 British-Canadian-Irish romantic drama film directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby, based on Colm Tóibíns 2009 novel of the same name. The film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, set in 1951 and 1952, the film tells the story of a young Irish womans immigration to Brooklyn, where she falls in love. When her past catches up with her she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within them for her, Brooklyn premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. It opened in limited release on 4 November 2015 in the US, the film was nominated for three Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. In 1951, Eilis Lacey is a woman from Enniscorthy, County Wexford, a small town in southeast Ireland. She is unable to find employment, other than working weekends at a shop run by the spiteful Miss Kelly, nicknamed Nettles Kelly. Her sister writes to Father Flood, an Irish priest in Brooklyn, Eilis leaves Ireland but suffers from seasickness on the voyage and ends up being locked out of the toilet by her cabin neighbours. The woman in the bunk below her, a traveler, helps her, giving her advice. Eilis lives at a Brooklyn boarding house where she dines each night with the landlady and her fellow residents and she has a job at a department store but is shy and quiet when interacting with customers, garnering some criticism from Miss Fortini, her supervisor. Letters from her sister make her homesick, and Father Flood visits her, at a dance she meets a young Italian plumber, Tony Fiorello, who becomes her boyfriend. Over the next year, Eilis begins to more comfortable in New York City. Together, they enjoy dancing, movies, the beach at Coney Island, later Tony shares his familys dream of launching a suburban homebuilding business and having a new home on Long Island. She graduates from her course, doing very well. One day in July 1952, Father Flood informs Eilis that her sister Rose has died suddenly of an undisclosed illness, after a trans-Atlantic phone call reveals her mother is struggling to cope, Eilis returns home for a visit. Tony insists that before she leaves, they get married in a ceremony without telling family or friends. Once Eilis is back in Ireland, everybody seems to be conspiring to keep her from returning to America and her best friend is getting married a week after her scheduled return journey, and her mother has already accepted the invitation on her behalf. She fills in part-time at her sisters old bookkeeping job. She goes on dates with an eligible and well-off bachelor, named Jim Farrell, Eilis starts to feel that she now has a future in Ireland that did not exist when she left, and stops opening the letters she receives from Tony
6.
Leonardo DiCaprio
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Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He began his career by starring as Josh in Critters 3. He starred in the adaptation of the memoir This Boys Life. Since 2000, DiCaprio has received acclaim for his work in a wide range of film genres. Edgar, the western Django Unchained, and the period drama The Great Gatsby and he also won his first Academy Award and BAFTA Award for his performance in The Revenant. DiCaprio is the founder of his own company, Appian Way Productions. Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born on November 11,1974 in Los Angeles and he is the only child of Irmelin, a legal secretary, and George DiCaprio, an underground comics artist and producer/distributor of comic books. DiCaprios father is of Italian and German descent, DiCaprios maternal grandfather, Wilhelm Indenbirken, was German. His maternal grandmother, Helene Indenbirken, was a Russian-born German citizen, in an interview in Russia, DiCaprio referred to himself as half-Russian and said that two of his grandparents were Russian. DiCaprios parents met while attending college and subsequently moved to Los Angeles, DiCaprio was named Leonardo because his pregnant mother was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in a museum in Italy when he first kicked. His parents separated when he was an old, and he lived mostly with his mother. The two lived in several Los Angeles neighborhoods, such as Echo Park and Los Feliz, while his mother worked several jobs, DiCaprio attended Seeds Elementary School and John Marshall High School a few blocks away, after attending the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies for four years. However, he dropped out of school following his third year. DiCaprio spent part of his childhood in Germany with his grandparents, Wilhelm. He is conversant in German and Italian, DiCaprios career began with his appearance in several commercials and educational films. In 1990, he got his break on television when he was cast in the series based on the movie Parenthood. After Parenthood, DiCaprio had bit parts on several shows, including The New Lassie and Roseanne, as well as a stint on the soap opera Santa Barbara. His involvement in Parenthood and the daily soap earned him a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor each, released in 1991, the movie went direct-to-video
7.
Brie Larson
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Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers, known professionally as Brie Larson, is an American actress, director, and singer. Born in Sacramento, California, Larson was home-schooled before she studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater and she began her acting career in television, appearing as a regular on the 2001 sitcom Raising Dad, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award. As a teenager, Larson had brief roles in the 2004 films 13 Going on 30 and Sleepover. Her performance in the comedy film Hoot was praised, and she played supporting roles in the films Greenberg, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,21 Jump Street. From 2009 to 2011, Larson featured as a teenager in the television series United States of Tara. Larsons breakthrough role came with the independent drama Short Term 12, further success came in 2015 when she starred in Room, an acclaimed drama based on Emma Donoghues novel of the same name. In 2017, she starred as a war photographer in the adventure film Kong, Skull Island, Larson was born in Sacramento, California, the first daughter of Heather and Sylvain Desaulniers. Her parents were chiropractors who ran a practice together and her parents divorced when she was a child, and she moved to Los Angeles with her mother and her sister. She studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and her paternal grandparents were French-Canadians from Manitoba. Her paternal grandmother, Gabrielle Desaulniers, died in December 2015, growing up, Larsons first language was French. Brie stated in an interview with Glamour that she chose Larson as her name from her Swedish great-grandmothers maiden name. She later stated on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that she took her stage name from Kirsten Larson. Larsons first job was performing in sketches on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, soon after, she was cast in the television series Schimmel, which never aired because its star, Robert Schimmel, was diagnosed with cancer shortly before filming was to begin. After it was on hold for ten months, Fox canceled the show, Larson later auditioned for a new show for The WB called In Your Dreams, and landed the role of Bob Sagets characters younger daughter, Emily. The show was selected for the 2001–02 fall season, and was renamed Raising Dad and it was then canceled after 22 episodes. Larson was also cast in the pilot for the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith, in 2003, she starred alongside Beverley Mitchell on the Disney Channel original movie Right on Track. In July 2004, she co-starred with a large cast of teen actors in the film Sleepover and she also had a small role in the movie 13 Going on 30. Larson appeared in the 2006 film Hoot, opposite actors Logan Lerman and her voice is also featured in the film Farce of the Penguins as a teenage penguin
8.
Room (2015 film)
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Room is a 2015 independent drama film directed by Lenny Abrahamson and written by Emma Donoghue, based on her novel of the same name. It stars Brie Larson as a woman who has held captive for seven years. Their escape allows the boy to experience the world for the first time. The film also stars Joan Allen, Sean Bridgers, and William H. Macy, a co-production of Canada and Ireland, Room was shot in Toronto, with the eponymous Room set built at Pinewood Toronto Studios. The crew designed each part of the Room set to be removable to fit the crew, Larson researched trauma and nutrition for her part, while numerous children were considered for the role of Jack. Room premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 4,2015 and had a release in the United States on October 16,2015. Larson won multiple awards for her performance, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, Room also received three other Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. In Akron, Ohio, 24-year-old Joy Newsome and her 5-year-old son Jack live in a squalid shed they call Room and they share a bed, toilet, bathtub, television, and rudimentary kitchen, the only window is a skylight. They are captives of a man they call Old Nick, Jacks biological father and she tries to stay optimistic for her son, but suffers from malnutrition and depression. She allows Jack to believe that only Room and its contents are real, Old Nick tells Joy that he has lost his job and threatens that he may not be able to afford their supplies in the future. That night, Jack is overcome with curiosity and ventures out of the closet while Old Nick is asleep in bed with his mother, Joy is horrified when she awakens and sees their interaction, slapping Old Nick away. As punishment, he cuts their heat and power, Joy decides to tell Jack about the outside world, he reacts with disbelief and incomprehension, but also curiosity. She has Jack fake a fever, hoping that Old Nick will take him to a hospital where he can alert the authorities, Joy wraps Jack in a carpet and has him play dead in the hope that Old Nick will remove him from Room. Falling for the ruse, Old Nick places Jack in the back of his pickup truck, although stunned by his first exposure to the outside world, Jack jumps from the truck and attracts the attention of a passerby. The police arrive and rescue him, Joy is found and she and Jack are taken to a hospital. Old Nick is captured and imprisoned, reunited with her family, Joy learns her parents have divorced and that her mother has a new partner, Leo. She returns with Jack to her home where her mother. Her father cannot accept Jack and leaves, Jack struggles to adjust to life in the larger world, speaking only to his mother and expressing a desire to return to Room
9.
Bridge of Spies (film)
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Based on the 1960 U-2 incident during the Cold War, the film tells the story of lawyer James B. The name of the film refers to the Glienicke Bridge, which connects Potsdam with Berlin, the film was an international co-production of the United States and Germany. Bridge of Spies was shot under the title of St. James Place. Principal photography began on September 8,2014, in Brooklyn, New York City, the film was released by Touchstone Pictures on October 16,2015, in the United States and distributed by 20th Century Fox in other territories. It was a box office success, grossing $165 million worldwide, and received positive reviews, garnering praise for its direction, screenplay, acting, score, the film received six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and won Best Supporting Actor for Rylance. In 1957 New York City, Rudolf Abel is charged with spying for the Soviet Union, insurance lawyer James B. Donovan is prevailed upon to take on the unenviable task of defending Abel, so that Abels trial will be seen as fair. Donovan appeals the conviction to the Supreme Court based on the lack of a warrant for the seizure of Abel’s ciphers and photography equipment. For his principled stand Donovan and his family are harassed, including shots being fired at his home, meanwhile Gary Powers, a pilot in the CIAs top secret U-2 spy plane program, is shot down over the USSR. He is captured and sentenced in a trial to ten years confinement. Donovan receives a letter from East Germany, purportedly sent by Abels wife, thanking him and urging him to get in contact with their lawyer, the CIA think this is a back-channel message hinting that the USSR is willing to swap Powers for Abel. They ask Donovan to go to Berlin unofficially to negotiate the exchange, crossing in to East Berlin, he meets with a KGB officer in the Soviet Embassy and is then directed to Vogel, who represents the Attorney General of the German Democratic Republic. The CIA wants Donovan to forget about Pryor but he insists both Pryor and Powers should be swapped for Abel, in a message to the Attorney General he bluffs that they will either release Pryor with Powers or there will be no deal. As Abel and Powers are poised at opposite ends of the Glienicke Bridge, the next day, back in the United States, the government publicly acknowledges Donovan for negotiating the deal, rehabilitating his public image. During the end credits the audience learns that Donovan helped negotiate the release of fighters captured during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Bridge of Spies is an American-German co-production based on a written by the Coen Brothers. Studio Babelsberg co-produced and oversaw production services for the film, James Donovan wrote an account of the incident in 1964 under the title Strangers on a Bridge, The Case of Colonel Abel and Francis Gary Powers. Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel, who lived and operated in Brooklyn Heights and his arrest and history were discussed by Truman Capote, another Heights resident at the time, in his book A House on the Heights. Matt Charman became interested in Donovans story after reading a footnote about him in An Unfinished Life, John F. Kennedy, after meeting with Donovans son in New York City, Charman pitched the story to several studios and DreamWorks bought it
10.
Carol (film)
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Carol is a 2015 British-American romantic drama film directed by Todd Haynes. The screenplay, written by Phyllis Nagy, is based on the 1952 romance novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, the film stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy and Kyle Chandler. Set in New York City during the early 1950s, Carol tells the story of an affair between an aspiring female photographer and an older woman going through a difficult divorce. Carol had been in development since 1997, when Nagy wrote the first draft of the screenplay, british company Film4 Productions and its then-chief executive Tessa Ross financed development. The film had a development period, facing problems with financing, rights, scheduling conflicts. Number 9 Films came on board as a producer in 2011, the film is co-produced by New York-based Killer Films, which joined the project when co-founder and Hayness collaborator Christine Vachon approached Haynes to direct in 2013. Principal photography began in March 2014, in Cincinnati, Ohio, cinematographer Edward Lachman shot Carol on Super 16 mm film. Carol competed for the Palme dOr at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, the film opened in limited release in the United States on November 20,2015, and wide release on January 15,2016. It was released in the United Kingdom on November 27,2015, during the Christmas season of 1952, aspiring photographer Therese Belivet is working in Frankenbergs department store in Manhattan. She meets a woman, Carol Aird, who is searching for a doll for her daughter Rindy. At Thereses recommendation, Carol purchases a model train set, when Carol departs she leaves her gloves on the counter. Therese mails them to her using Frankenbergs sales slip with Carols name, Thereses boyfriend, Richard, wants her to go to France with him, hoping they will marry, but she is ambivalent about their relationship. A mutual friend, Dannie, invites Therese to his workplace, The New York Times, meanwhile, Carol is going through a difficult divorce from her neglectful husband, Harge. Carol calls Frankenbergs to thank the clerk who returned the gloves and invites Therese to lunch, Therese visits Dannie and he kisses her, but she becomes uncomfortable and leaves. Carol invites Therese to her home in New Jersey and she stops to purchase a Christmas tree and Therese takes candid photos of her. Harge arrives unexpectedly to take Rindy to Florida for Christmas, he becomes suspicious of Therese as Carol had an affair years before with her friend Abby, after Rindy leaves, a distressed Carol takes Therese to the train station so she can return home. Carol calls to apologize and they meet at Thereses apartment, where Carol surprises her with a Canon camera, Carol has learned that Harge is petitioning the judge to consider a morality clause against her, threatening to expose her homosexuality and give him full custody of Rindy. She decides to take a trip to escape the stress of the divorce proceedings
11.
68th British Academy Film Awards
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The 68th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 8 February 2015 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2014. The nominations were announced on 9 January 2015 by Stephen Fry, the ceremony was broadcast on BBC One and BBC Three. It was hosted by Stephen Fry for the time in the awards history. The ceremony opened with a number Stevie by a British rock band Kasabian, boyhood won three of its five nominations, including Best Film, Best Director for Richard Linklater, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Patricia Arquette. The Grand Budapest Hotel won five of its nominations, the most of any film. Jack OConnell won the Rising Star Award, the Theory of Everything, directed by James Marsh, was voted Outstanding British Film of 2014, while The Lego Movie won Best Animated Film and Citizenfour won Best Documentary. The telecast garnered more than 5.09 millions viewers in UK, with the viewing figures slightly higher than previous year ceremony
12.
British Academy Film Awards
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The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to honour the best British and international contributions to film. Between 2008 and 2016, the ceremony was held in central London at the Royal Opera House, the 70th British Academy Film Awards were held on 12 February 2017 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. British Academy of Film and Television Arts was founded in 1947 as The British Film Academy, by David Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, Charles Laughton, Roger Manvell and others. BAFTA stated charitable purpose is to support, develop and promote the art forms of the image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners. In addition to awards ceremonies BAFTA runs a year-round programme of educational events including film screenings. BAFTA is supported by a membership of about 6,000 people from the film, television, the Academys awards are in the form of a theatrical mask designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe, which was commissioned by the Guild of Television Producers in 1955. The ceremony previously took place in April or May and since 2002 it takes place in February in order to precede the Oscars. The awards are open to all nationalities, though there is an award for Outstanding British Film. Only UK films are eligible for the categories of The British Short Film, the Awards ceremony is delayed broadcast on British television the same evening, and across the world for example its shown on BBC America in the United States. It has been broadcast in colour since 1970, the award ceremony is held in London. From 2000 to 2007 the ceremonies took place at the flagship Odeon cinema in Leicester Square, between 2008 and 2016, the ceremonies took place at the Royal Opera House. The 70th Awards in 2017 were held at the Royal Albert Hall, until 2012, the mobile network Orange sponsored the awards and starting in 2013 Oranges parent company, EE, began sponsorship. British Academy of Film and Television Arts British Academy Television Awards Official website BAFTA Awards database Museum of Broadcast Communications, BAFTA IMDB, BAFTA
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British Academy of Film and Television Arts
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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image – film, television and game in the United Kingdom. David Lean was the founding Chairman of the Academy, the first Film Awards ceremony took place in May 1949 and honouring the films The Best Years of Our Lives, Odd Man Out and The World Is Rich. In 2005, it placed a cap on worldwide voting membership which now stands at approximately 6,500. BAFTA has offices in Scotland and Wales in the UK, in Los Angeles and New York in the United States and runs events in Hong Kong, amanda Berry OBE has been chief executive of the organisation since December 2000. Many of these events are free to online at BAFTA Guru. BAFTA runs a number of programmes across the UK, US. Launched in 2012, the UK programme enables talented British citizens who are in need of support to take an industry-recognised course in film. Each BAFTA Scholar receives up to £12,000 towards their annual course fees, since 2013, three students every year have received one of the Prince William Scholarships in Film, Television and Games, supported by BAFTA and Warner Bros. These scholarships are awarded in the name of in his role as President of BAFTA, since 2015, BAFTA has been offering scholarships for British citizens to study in China, vice versa. BAFTA presents awards for film, television and games, including entertainment, at a number of annual ceremonies across the UK and in Los Angeles. The BAFTA award trophy is a mask, designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe. Todays BAFTA award – including the mask and marble base – weighs 3.7 kg and measures 27 cm x 14 cm x 8 cm. BAFTAs annual film awards ceremony is known as the British Academy Film Awards, or the BAFTAs, in 1949 the British Film Academy, as it was then known, presented the first awards for films made in 1947 and 1948. Since 2008 the ceremony has held at the Royal Opera House in Londons Covent Garden. It had been held in the Odeon cinema on Leicester Square since 2000, the ceremony had been performed during April or May of each year, but since 2002 it has been held in February to precede the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy Awards, or Oscars. They have been awarded annually since 1954, the first ever ceremony consisted of six categories. Until 1958, they were awarded by the Guild of Television Producers and Directors, from 1968 until 1997, BAFTAs Film and Television Awards were presented together, but from 1998 onwards they were presented at two separate ceremonies. The Television Craft Awards celebrate the talent behind the programmes, such as working in visual effects, production
14.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
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Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha, known as Gugu Mbatha-Raw, is a British stage and film actress. Working in British television and stage productions, she gained prominence in a role on Doctor Who, playing Tish Jones. She garnered attention in American productions, beginning with a role in the Tom Hanks comedy Larry Crowne. She earned critical acclaim for her performances in the British period drama Belle, in 2015, Mbatha-Raw premiered the title role in Jessica Swales play Nell Gwynn, an actress and mistress of King Charles II of England. She was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance and her performance as Kelly in the critically acclaimed San Junipero, an episode in season three of the cult classic anthology series Black Mirror was highly praised. Mbatha-Raw was born in Oxford, England, in 1983 and grew up in the town of Witney in Oxfordshire, Mbatha-Raw attended the Henry Box School and participated in the National Youth Theatre, having been interested in acting, dance, and musical theatre from a young age. In 2001, she moved to London to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Mbatha-Raw played minor roles on television series such as Bad Girls, Doctor Who and Marple. One of her earliest breakthroughs in drama was in Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 2005, Mbatha-Raw was nominated for best actress in the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards for her portrayal of Juliet. She also appeared as Octavia in Antony and Cleopatra at the theatre in 2005. In 2009, Mbatha-Raw was cast as Ophelia in Hamlet on Londons West End and Broadway, in September 2010, she was cast on J. J. Abrams television series Undercovers, after he spotted her in Hamlet. The series was cancelled two months later, in June 2011, Mbatha-Raw was cast as the female lead on the Fox television series Touch opposite Kiefer Sutherland. She had a role in the romantic comedy Larry Crowne, written and directed by Tom Hanks. She was also named one of 42 Brits to Watch by the British Academy of Film, the film debuted at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival where it was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures. She was also nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress, in 2014, Mbatha-Raw also starred as a popular singer in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights. The film debuted at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, for her work in Beyond the Lights, Mbatha-Raw was nominated for Best Actress at the 2014 Gotham Awards. In 2014, Mbatha-Raw was recognized by Elle Magazine during the Women in Hollywood Awards and these awards span all aspects of the motion picture industry, including acting, directing and producing. In recognition of her body of work, Mbatha-Raw was nominated in 2015 for a BAFTA Rising Star Award and that year, she had a supporting role in the epic space opera Jupiter Ascending. She was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance, also in 2015, she appeared in the biopic Concussion, starring Will Smith
15.
Mark Rylance
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Sir David Mark Rylance Waters is an English actor, theatre director and playwright. He was the first artistic director of Shakespeares Globe in London and his film appearances include Prosperos Books, Angels and Insects, Institute Benjamenta, and Intimacy. Rylance won the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rudolf Abel in Bridge of Spies and he played the title role in Steven Spielbergs The BFG, a live-action film adaptation of the childrens book by Roald Dahl. He will appear in Christopher Nolans Dunkirk based on the British evacuation in World War II, after training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Rylance made his professional debut at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow in 1980. He appeared in the West End productions of Much Ado About Nothing in 1994 and Jerusalem in 2010, winning the Olivier Award for Best Actor for both. He has also appeared on Broadway, winning three Tony Awards for Best Actor for Boeing Boeing in 2008, Jerusalem in 2011, for Wolf Hall, he also received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Rylance is a patron of the London International Festival of Theatre and he is also a patron of the London-based charity Peace Direct which supports peace-builders in areas of conflict, and of the British Stop the War Coalition. He is also a supporter of British NGO Conscience, Taxes For Peace Not War. In 2016, he was named in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world, Rylance was born in Ashford, Kent, England to Anne and David Waters, both English teachers. One of his grandmothers was Irish, both his grandfathers were British POWs of the Japanese during World War II. Rylance has a sister named Susannah, a singer and author, and a brother, Jonathan. His parents moved to the US in 1962, first to Connecticut and then Wisconsin in 1969, where his father taught English at the University School of Milwaukee. He starred in the plays with the theatres director, Dale Gutzman, including the lead in a 1976 production of Hamlet. Rylance took the name of Mark Rylance because his given name. In 1980, he gained his first professional work at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, in 1982 and 1983, he performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and London. In 1988, Rylance played Hamlet with the RSC in Ron Daniels production that toured Ireland, the play then ran in Stratford-upon-Avon. Hamlet toured the US for two years, in 1990, Rylance and Claire van Kampen founded Phoebus Cart, their own theatre company. The following year, the company staged The Tempest on the road, Rylance played the lead in Gillies MacKinnons film The Grass Arena, and won the Radio Times Award for Best Newcomer
16.
Kate Winslet
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Kate Elizabeth Winslet, CBE, is an English actress and singer. Winslet is the recipient of an Academy Award, an AACTA Award, three BAFTA Awards, a BIFA Award, four Golden Globe Awards, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is the youngest person to receive six Academy Award nominations, with seven nominations in total, in addition, she has won awards from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and European Film Academy, among others, and the Honorary César Award in 2012. Brought up in Berkshire, Winslet studied drama from childhood and began her career in British television in 1991 and she made her film debut in Heavenly Creatures, for which she received praise. She garnered recognition for her role in Sense and Sensibility before achieving global stardom with the epic romance Titanic. Winslets performances in Iris, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, Little Children, Revolutionary Road, The Dressmaker, in 2008, film critic David Edelstein described her as the best English-speaking film actress of her generation. Winslets greatest commercial successes since Titanic include the romantic comedy The Holiday, the animated film Flushed Away, in addition to acting, Winslet has narrated documentaries and childrens books. She was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 2000 for narrating Listen to the Storyteller and she has also provided her vocals to soundtracks of her films, including the single What If from Christmas Carol, The Movie. Divorced from two directors, Jim Threapleton and Sam Mendes, Winslet is currently married to businessman Ned Rocknroll. Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born in Reading, Berkshire, England to Sally Anne, a barmaid, and Roger John Winslet and she has two sisters, Beth and Anna, and one brother, Joss Winslet. Winslet began studying drama at the age of 11 at the Redroofs Theatre School, a independent school in Maidenhead, Berkshire. At the age of 12, Winslet appeared in an advertisement directed by filmmaker Tim Pope for Sugar Puffs cereal. Pope said her naturalism was there from the start, Winslet made her television debut with a co-starring role in the BBC childrens science fiction serial Dark Season. This role was followed by appearances in the made-for-TV film Anglo-Saxon Attitudes in 1992, the sitcom Get Back, in 1992, Winslet attended a casting call for Peter Jacksons Heavenly Creatures in London. Winslet auditioned for the role of Juliet Hulme, a teenager who assists in the murder of the mother of her best friend, Pauline Parker. The film included Winslets singing debut, and her a version of Sono Andati. The film was released to reviews in 1994 and won Jackson. Winslet was awarded the Empire Award and London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year for her performance, the Washington Post writer Desson Thomson commented, As Juliet, Winslet is a bright-eyed ball of fire, lighting up every scene she’s in
17.
Steve Jobs (film)
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Steve Jobs is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin. Co-founder Steve Jobs, with each act taking place prior to the launch of a key product – the Apple Macintosh, the NeXT Computer. Jobs is portrayed by Michael Fassbender, with Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Katherine Waterston, Michael Stuhlbarg, development on the project began in 2011 after the rights to Isaacsons book were acquired. Sorkin wrote the screenplay with filming beginning in January 2015, a variety of actors were considered and cast before Fassbender eventually took the role. Editing was extensive on the project, with editor Elliot Graham noting that he was working on existing footage while the film was still shooting, daniel Pemberton served as the films composer, with a focus dedicated to dividing the score into three distinguishable sections. Steve Jobs premiered at the 2015 Telluride Film Festival on September 5,2015 and it opened nationwide in the U. S. on October 23,2015 to critical acclaim. Individuals close to Jobs such as Steve Wozniak and John Sculley would praise the performances, but the film also received criticisms for its structure. In 1984, the Apple Macintosh 128Ks voice demo fails less than an hour before its unveiling at Flint Center, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs demands engineer Andy Hertzfeld fix it, threatening to publicly implicate him in the presentations credits if he does not. Hertzfeld finally suggests faking the demo using the prototype Macintosh 512K computer, Brennan arrives with Lisa to confront him – she is bitter over his denials and his refusal to support her despite his wealth. Jobs bonds with Lisa over her MacPaint art and agrees to more money. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak asks Jobs to acknowledge the Apple II team in his presentation, by 1988, following the apparent failure of the Macintosh, Jobs has founded a new company, NeXT. Wozniak arrives and predicts the NeXT will be another failure, Jobs confronts him about his public criticism of him, and Wozniak questions Jobs contributions to computing history. Jobs defends his role as that of a conductor, who directs musicians like Wozniak, Jobs lambasted the decision and dared them to cast a final vote on his tenure, despite Sculleys warnings. After Hoffman and Jobs discuss NeXTs unclear direction, she realizes that Jobs has designed the computer to entice Apple to buy the company and reinstate him. By 1998, Apple has fired Sculley, purchased NeXT, and named Jobs CEO and he is delighted by Hoffmans strong commercial forecasts, but furious that Lisa has allowed her mother to sell the house Jobs bought for them. Hoffman reminds Jobs that he threatened to withhold Lisas college tuition – Hertzfeld admits that he paid Lisas tuition, Wozniak again asks that Jobs credit the Apple II team during the presentation, and again he refuses. Sculley arrives in secret and the two make amends, Jobs and Sculley discuss Jobs life as an adopted child, and Jobs admits that his need for control stems from his feelings of powerlessness in being given up. At the behest of Hoffman, Jobs apologizes to Lisa for his mistakes, Lisa watches her father take the stage to introduce the iMac
18.
Mad Max: Fury Road
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Mad Max, Fury Road is a 2015 action film directed and produced by George Miller, and written by Miller, Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris. The fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise, it is an Australian and American venture produced by Kennedy Miller Mitchell, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, the film is set in a future desert wasteland where gasoline and water are scarce commodities. It follows Max Rockatansky, who joins forces with Imperator Furiosa to flee from cult leader Immortan Joe and his army in a tanker truck. The film also features Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, Fury Road was in development hell for many years, with pre-production starting as early as 1997. Attempts were made to shoot the film in 2001 and 2003, but were delayed due to the September 11 attacks, in 2007, after focusing on Happy Feet, Miller decided to pursue producing the film again. He briefly considered producing it as a film but abandoned it in favor of live-action. In 2009, Miller announced that filming would begin in early 2011, Hardy was cast as Max in June 2010, with production planned to begin that November. Principal photography was delayed several times before beginning in July 2012. The film wrapped in December 2012, although additional footage was shot in November 2013, the film had its world premiere on 7 May 2015 at the TCL Chinese Theatre. It began a theatrical release on 14 May 2015, including an out-of-competition screening at the 68th Cannes Film Festival, in 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D. It has grossed over $378 million worldwide, making it the film in the Mad Max franchise. The film was ranked by critics as the best film of 2015, and is considered one of the greatest action films ever made, acclaim went to its screenplay, action sequences. Fury Road won multiple critical and guild awards, and received ten Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and it won six, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. Following a nuclear holocaust, the world has become a desert wasteland, Max Rockatansky, a survivor, is captured by the War Boys, the army of the tyrannical Immortan Joe, and taken to Joes Citadel. Designated a universal donor, Max is imprisoned and used as a blood bag for a sick War Boy called Nux. Meanwhile, Imperator Furiosa, one of Joes lieutenants, is sent in her armoured semi-truck, when she drives off-route, Joe realizes that his five wives—women selected for breeding—are missing. Joe leads his army in pursuit of Furiosa, calling on the aid of nearby Gas Town. Nux joins the pursuit with Max strapped to his car to continue supplying blood, a battle ensues between the War Rig and Joes forces
19.
John Crowley (director)
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John Crowley is an Irish film and theatre director. He is best known for directing Brooklyn and his film debut Intermission. He is a brother of designer Bob Crowley, Crowley earned a BA in English and Philosophy and an MA in Philosophy from University College Cork. Crowley became involved in theatre as a student, seeing it as a stone to directing film. He began directing plays in Dublin in the early 90s, reached Londons West End by 1996 and it won him the Best Director award at the 2008 British Academy Television Craft Awards. Additionally, Crowley was Tony nominated for the hugely successful London, in 2009 he directed the film Is Anybody There. Set in 1980s seaside Britain, written by Peter Harness and starring Michael Caine as a grumpy ex-magician, in 2010, Crowley teamed once again with McDonagh for A Behanding in Spokane on Broadway. On 20 July 2016 it was announced that Crowley will direct the adaptation of Donna Tartts Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Goldfinch for Warner Brothers. The Present on Broadway - Anton Chekhovs Platonov adaptation by Andrew Upton, starring Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh. A Behanding in Spokane on Broadway, love Song – Written by John Kolvenbach. This production, which was the UK premiere, starred Neve Campbell & Cillian Murphy, the Pillowman – Royal National Theatre. On An Average Day – the Comedy Theatre, London and it starred Woody Harrelson & Kyle MacLachlan. Tales from Hollywood – Donmar Warehouse, London, juno and the Paycock – Gramercy Theatre, New York. The Turn of the Screw – Welsh National Opera, juno and the Paycock - Donmar Warehouse, London. Into the Woods – Donmar Warehouse, London, how I Learned to Drive at the Donmar Warehouse, London. An Irish Trilogy, aka Shadows – Royal Shakespeare Company, fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards – Royal National Theatre. Double Helix – Dublin Theatre Festival/ Peacock Theatre, Dublin, six Characters in Search of an Author – Abbey Theatre, Dublin. The Crucible – Abbey Theatre, Dublin, true Lines – Dublin Theatre Festival/ Bush Theatre, London One for the Road – Gate Theatre, Dublin
20.
Sidney Poitier
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Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE, is a Bahamian-American actor, film director, author and diplomat. In 1964, Poitier became the first Bahamian and first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, for his role in Lilies of the Field. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Poitier among the Greatest Male Stars of classic Hollywood cinema, from 1997 to 2007, he served as the non-resident Bahamian ambassador to Japan. On August 12,2009, Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2016, he was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship for outstanding lifetime achievement in film. Sidney Poitiers parents were Evelyn and Reginald James Poitier, Bahamian farmers who owned a farm on Cat Island and traveled to Miami to sell tomatoes, Reginald worked as a cab driver in Nassau, Bahamas. Poitier was born in Miami while his parents were visiting and his birth was two months premature and he was not expected to survive, but his parents remained in Miami for three months to nurse him to health. Poitier grew up in the Bahamas, then a British Crown colony, because of his birth in the United States, he automatically received American citizenship. He mentions that the surname Poitier is a French name, Poitier lived with his family on Cat Island until he was 10, when they moved to Nassau. He was raised a Roman Catholic but, later became an agnostic with views closer to deism, at the age of 15, he was sent to Miami to live with his brother. At the age of 16, he moved to New York City, a waiter sat with him every night for several weeks helping him learn to read the newspaper. He lied about his age and enlisted in the Army during World War II in 1943, Poitier joined the North American Negro Theatre, but was rejected by audiences. Contrary to what was expected of African American actors at the time, determined to refine his acting skills and rid himself of his noticeable Bahamian accent, he spent the next six months dedicating himself to achieving theatrical success. By the end of 1949, he had to choose between leading roles on stage and an offer to work for Darryl F. Zanuck in the film No Way Out, Poitiers breakout role was as a member of an incorrigible high school class in Blackboard Jungle. Poitier was the first male actor of African descent to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award and he was also the first actor of African descent to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Poitier worked relatively little over the year, he remained the only major actor of African descent. He acted in the first production of A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway in 1959 and he also gave memorable performances in The Bedford Incident, and A Patch of Blue co-starring Elizabeth Hartman and Shelley Winters. In 1967, he was the most successful draw at the box office, Poitier was aware of this pattern himself, but was conflicted on the matter. For instance, in 1966, he turned down an opportunity to play the lead in an NBC production of Othello with that spirit in mind, in 2002, Poitier received the 2001 Honorary Academy Award for his overall contribution to American cinema
21.
BBC One
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BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service and it was renamed BBC TV in 1960, using this name until the launch of sister channel BBC2 in 1964, whereupon the BBC TV channel became known as BBC1, with the current spelling adopted in 1997. The channels annual budget for 2012–13 is £1.14 billion, the channel is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBCs other domestic television stations, and therefore shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. It is currently the most watched channel in the United Kingdom, ahead of its traditional rival for ratings leadership. As of June 2013 the channel controller for BBC One is Charlotte Moore, the BBC began its own regular television programming from the basement of Broadcasting House, London, on 22 August 1932. BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at 15,00, Jasmine Bligh, one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, Good afternoon everybody. Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh, the Mickey Mouse cartoon of 1939 was repeated twenty minutes later. The competition quickly forced the channel to change its identity and priorities following a reduction in its audience. The 1962 Pilkington Report on the future of broadcasting noticed this, and it therefore decided that Britains third television station should be awarded to the BBC. The station, renamed BBC TV in 1960, became BBC1 when BBC2 was launched on 20 April 1964 transmitting an incompatible 625-line image on UHF. The only way to all channels was to use a complex dual-standard 405- and 625-line, VHF and UHF, receiver. Old 405-line-only sets became obsolete in 1985, when transmission in the standard ended, although standards converters have become available for enthusiasts who collect, BBC1 was based at the purpose-built BBC Television Centre at White City, London between 1960 and 2013. In the weeks leading up to 15 November 1969, BBC1 unofficially transmitted the occasional programme in its new colour system, to test it. At midnight on 15 November, simultaneously with ITV and two years after BBC2, BBC1 officially began 625-line PAL colour programming on UHF with a broadcast of a concert by Petula Clark, colour transmissions could be received on monochrome 625-line sets until the end of analogue broadcasting. In terms of share, the most successful period for BBC1 was under Bryan Cowgill between 1973 and 1977, when the channel achieved an average audience share of 45%. On 30 December 1980, the BBC announced their intention to introduce a new breakfast television service to compete with TV-am. On 17 January 1983, the first edition of Breakfast Time was shown on BBC One, becoming the first UK wide breakfast television service and continued to lead in the rating until 1984. The first major overhaul was to axe the deeply unpopular Sixty Minutes current affairs programme and its replacement was the BBC Six OClock News, a straight new programme in a bid to shore up its failing early evening slot
22.
Greenwich Mean Time
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Greenwich Mean Time is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. GMT was formerly used as the civil time standard, now superseded in that function by Coordinated Universal Time. Today GMT is considered equivalent to UTC for UK civil purposes and for navigation is considered equivalent to UT1, consequently, the term GMT should not be used for precise purposes. Due to Earths uneven speed in its orbit and its axial tilt, noon GMT is rarely the exact moment the sun crosses the Greenwich meridian. This event may occur up to 16 minutes before or after noon GMT, noon GMT is the annual average moment of this event, which accounts for the word mean in Greenwich Mean Time. Originally, astronomers considered a GMT day to start at noon while for almost everyone else it started at midnight, to avoid confusion, the name Universal Time was introduced to denote GMT as counted from midnight. Astronomers preferred the old convention to simplify their observational data, so each night was logged under a single calendar date. Today Universal Time usually refers to UTC or UT1, in some countries Greenwich Mean Time is the legal time in the winter and the population uses the term. For an explanation of why this is, see GMT in legislation below, synchronisation of the chronometer on GMT did not affect shipboard time, which was still solar time. Most time zones were based upon GMT, as an offset of a number of hours ahead of GMT or behind GMT and it was gradually adopted for other purposes, but a legal case in 1858 held local mean time to be the official time. On 14 May 1880, a signed by Clerk to Justices appeared in The Times, stating that Greenwich time is now kept almost throughout England. For example, our polling booths were opened, say, at 813 and closed at 413 PM. This was changed later in 1880, GMT was adopted on the Isle of Man in 1883, Jersey in 1898 and Guernsey in 1913. Ireland adopted GMT in 1916, supplanting Dublin Mean Time, hourly time signals from Greenwich Observatory were first broadcast on 5 February 1924, rendering the time ball at the observatory redundant in the process. The daily rotation of the Earth is irregular and constantly slows, on 1 January 1972, GMT was superseded as the international civil time standard by Coordinated Universal Time, maintained by an ensemble of atomic clocks around the world. Indeed, even the Greenwich meridian itself is not quite what it used to be—defined by the centre of the instrument at the Observatory at Greenwich. Nevertheless, the line in the old observatorys courtyard today differs no more than a few metres from that line which is now the prime meridian of the world. Historically GMT has been used two different conventions for numbering hours. The long-standing astronomical convention dating from the work of Ptolemy, was to refer to noon as zero hours and this contrasted with the civil convention of referring to midnight as zero hours dating from the Romans
23.
"Heroes" (David Bowie song)
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Heroes is a song by the English musician David Bowie, written by Bowie and Brian Eno. Produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, it was recorded in July and August 1977, a product of Bowies Berlin period, the track was not a huge hit in the UK or US at the time, but has gone on to become one of Bowies signature songs. In January 2016, following Bowies death, the reached a new peak of number 12 in the UK Singles Chart. Heroes has been cited as Bowies second-most covered song after Rebel Rebel, inspired by the sight of Bowies producer / engineer Tony Visconti embracing his girlfriend by the Berlin Wall, the song tells the story of two lovers, one from East and one from West Berlin. Following Bowies death in January 2016, the German government thanked Bowie for helping to bring down the Wall, Bowie scholar David Buckley has written that Heroes is perhaps pops definitive statement of the potential triumph of the human spirit over adversity. The title of the song is a reference to the 1975 track Hero by German krautrock band Neu. whom Bowie and it was one of the early tracks recorded during the album sessions, but remained an instrumental until towards the end of production. The quotation marks in the title of the song, an affectation, were designed to impart an ironic quality on the otherwise highly romantic, even triumphant, words. The music, co-written by Bowie and Eno, has likened to a Wall of Sound production. Eno has said that musically the piece always sounded grand and heroic, the basic backing track on the recording consists of a conventional arrangement of piano, bass guitar, rhythm guitar and drums. However the remaining instrumental additions are highly distinctive and these largely consist of synthesizer parts by Eno using an EMS VCS3 to produce detuned low-frequency drones, with the beat frequencies from the three oscillators producing a juddering effect. Heroes was released in a variety of languages and lengths, despite a large promotional push, including Bowies first live Top of the Pops appearance since 1973, Heroes only reached number 24 in the UK charts, and failed to make the US Billboard Hot 100. In Italy, the song was certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry, writing for NME on its release, Charlie Gillett slated the record saying, Well he had a pretty good run for our money, for a guy who was no singer. But I think his time has been and gone, and this just sounds weary, then again, maybe the ponderous heavy riff will be absorbed on the radio, and the monotonous feel may just be hypnotic enough to drag people into buying it. In February 1999, Q Magazine listed Heroes as one of the 100 greatest singles of all time as voted by the readers, in March 2005, the same magazine placed it at number 56 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2004, Rolling Stone rated Heroes number 46 in its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and it was included in 2008s The Pitchfork Media 500, Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present. John J. Miller of National Review rated Heroes number 21 on a list of the 50 greatest conservative rock songs due to its political context. Uncut placed Heroes as number 1 in its 30 greatest Bowie songs in 2008, Bowie regularly performed the song in concert. It was used in Chris Petits film Radio On two years after its release, the song has become a mainstay of advertising in recent years, gracing efforts by Microsoft, Kodak, CGU Insurance, HBO Olé and various sporting promoters throughout the world
24.
David Bowie
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David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a figure in music for over five decades, regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music, during his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million worldwide, made him one of the worlds best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded nine platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, in the US, he received five platinum and seven gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, born in Brixton, South London, Bowie developed an interest in music as a child, eventually studying art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. Space Oddity became his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart after its release in July 1969, after a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single Starman and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, in 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. Heroes and Lodger followed, each reached the UK top five. He then reached his peak in 1983 with Lets Dance. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with styles, including industrial. He stopped concert touring after 2004, and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006, in 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar. David Robert Jones was born on 8 January 1947, in Brixton, south London and his mother, Margaret Mary Peggy, was born in Kent, and had Irish ancestry, she worked as a waitress. His father, Haywood Stenton John Jones, from Yorkshire, was an officer for the childrens charity Barnardos. The family lived at 40 Stansfield Road, near the border of the south London areas of Brixton, Bowie attended Stockwell Infants School until he was six years old, acquiring a reputation as a gifted and single-minded child—and a defiant brawler. In 1953, Bowie moved with his family to the suburb of Bromley and his voice was considered adequate by the school choir, and he demonstrated above-average abilities in playing the recorder. Upon listening to Little Richards song Tutti Frutti, Bowie would later say, presleys impact on him was likewise emphatic, I saw a cousin of mine dance to. Hound Dog and I had never seen her get up and be moved so much by anything and it really impressed me, the power of the music
25.
Valentine's Day
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Valentines Day, also called Saint Valentines Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14. According to legend, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius, the day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery. In Europe, Saint Valentines Keys are given to lovers as a romantic symbol, Valentines Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards, Saint Valentines Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church. Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine, the Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Galesius in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, other relics are found at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian in 273 and he is buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location from Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni, oruch states that abstracts of the acts of the two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe. The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, Saint Valentines head was preserved in the abbey of New Minster, Winchester, and venerated. February 14 is celebrated as St. Valentines Day in various Christian denominations, it has, for example, in addition, the feast day of Saint Valentine is also given in the calendar of saints of the Lutheran Church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. J. C. Cooper, in The Dictionary of Christianity, contemporary records of Saint Valentine were most probably destroyed during this Diocletianic Persecution in the early 4th century. The same events are found in Bedes Martyrology, which was compiled in the 8th century. It states that Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person, Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead, because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing Julia, the jailers daughter and his forty-six member household came to believe in Jesus and were baptized
26.
Kiss cam
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The kiss cam is a social game that takes place during arena, stadium and court sporting events in the United States and Canada. It is intended as a diversion to the main event during a timeout, television timeout. A kiss cam camera scans the crowd, and selects a couple, the couple are then invited to kiss one another, encouraged by the rest of the audience. A kiss is traditionally rewarded by cheers and whistles, whilst a refusal to kiss is booed, when the kiss cam is in action, the audience may be alerted by a known kiss-related song being played, and/or an announcer warning the crowd. The crowd attending then pay attention to the kiss cam video screen. Normally several consecutive couples are selected, and appear on the screen, as each pair appear onscreen, they are then expected to kiss. Also, sporting event staff would appear as couples who rejects kisses or proposals to entertain or surprise the attending audience, the couple focused on by the camera may not be in a romantic relationship. They may in fact be brother and sister, friends, or not know each other at all, a platonic, perhaps awkward kiss often then results. Sometimes a refusal can generate a humorous twist for those watching, the United Nations does consider it possible that unwanted kissing can fall under sexual harassment. The kiss cam screen often appears on television if the event is televised, the couple focused on may not wish their attendance together at the event to be widely publicized. Some couples, although not wishing to kiss, feel intimidated by the crowd reaction, other instances may find the couple not noticing themselves on the screen, and the resulting inaction can be humorous or embarrassing. Gay or lesbian couples may feel excluded from the Kiss Cam routine, or if included, kissing under such public scrutiny can be severely embarrassing for either or both members of a couple, who may not be comfortable with public displays of affection to that level. The first positive reaction by a gay couple caught on camera happened at AT&T Park in San Francisco in August 2011, the men embraced on the kiss cam without embarrassment. On May 2,2015, a gay couple was applauded after they kissed on the cam at Dodger Stadium. On The Tonight Show with Conan OBrien, OBrien parodied the Kiss Cam in comedy sketches, focusing on couples, such as a hunter. The Canadian group, the Arkells released a song titled Kiss Cam in July 2011, the Great Khali once hosted a weekly segment in his wrestling appearances called Khali Kiss Cam, in which he would kiss a female supposed audience member. He was preceded in this by the late wrestler Rick Rude, in Family Portrait, the finale of the first season of the US television comedy Modern Family, Phil is caught on a kiss cam, and reluctantly kisses Gloria, his step-mother-in-law
27.
Maggie Smith
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Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, CH, DBE, known as Maggie Smith, is an English actress. She has had an extensive, varied career in stage, film, Smith has appeared in over 50 films and is one of Britains most recognisable actresses. Smith began her career on stage at the Oxford Playhouse in 1952 and she received Tony Award nominations for Private Lives and Night and Day, before winning the 1990 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Lettice and Lovage. Other stage roles include Stratford Shakespeare Festival productions of Antony and Cleopatra and Macbeth, on screen, Smith first drew praise for the crime film Nowhere to Go, for which she received her first BAFTA Award nomination. She has won two Academy Awards, winning Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Best Supporting Actress for California Suite and she is one of only six actresses to have won in both categories. She has won a record four BAFTA Awards for Best Actress, a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, a six-time Oscar nominee, her other nominations were for Othello, Travels with My Aunt, A Room with a View, and Gosford Park. Smith played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series and her honorary awards include the BAFTA Special Award, the BAFTA Fellowship, and the Special Olivier Award. She received the Stratford Shakespeare Festivals Legacy Award in 2012, Smith was born in Ilford, Essex, but moved with her family to Oxford when she was four years old. She is the daughter of Nathaniel Smith, a Newcastle-born public health pathologist who worked at Oxford University, and Margaret, as a child, her parents used to tell Smith the romantic story of how they had met on the train from Glasgow to London via Newcastle. She has older twin brothers, Alistair and Ian, who went to architecture school and she attended Oxford High School until age sixteen, when she left to study acting at the Oxford Playhouse. In 1952, aged 17, under the auspices of the Oxford University Dramatic Society, in 1954, she appeared in the television programme Oxford Accents produced by Ned Sherrin. In 1957, she starred opposite Kenneth Williams in the musical comedy Share My Lettuce, in 1958, she received the first of her 18 BAFTA Film and TV nominations for her role in the film Nowhere to Go. In 1962, Smith won the first of a record five Best Actress Evening Standard Awards for her roles in Peter Shaffers plays The Private Ear and The Public Eye, again opposite Kenneth Williams. She appeared opposite Olivier in Ibsens The Master Builder and played roles in The Recruiting Officer. Her other films at this time included Go to Blazes, The V. I. P. s, The Pumpkin Eater, Hot Millions and Oh. Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the role of the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Vanessa Redgrave had originated the role on stage in London and Zoe Caldwell won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, the role also won Smith her first BAFTA Award. In 1970, she played the role in Ingmar Bergmans London production of the Ibsen play Hedda Gabler
28.
Twitter
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Twitter is an online news and social networking service where users post and interact with messages, tweets, restricted to 140 characters. Registered users can post tweets, but those who are unregistered can only read them, users access Twitter through its website interface, SMS or a mobile device app. Twitter Inc. is based in San Francisco, California, United States, Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams and launched in July. The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity, in 2012, more than 100 million users posted 340 million tweets a day, and the service handled an average of 1.6 billion search queries per day. In 2013, it was one of the ten most-visited websites and has described as the SMS of the Internet. As of 2016, Twitter had more than 319 million monthly active users. On the day of the 2016 U. S. presidential election, Twitter proved to be the largest source of breaking news, Twitters origins lie in a daylong brainstorming session held by board members of the podcasting company Odeo. Jack Dorsey, then a student at New York University. The original project name for the service was twttr, an idea that Williams later ascribed to Noah Glass, inspired by Flickr. The developers initially considered 10958 as a code, but later changed it to 40404 for ease of use. Work on the project started on March 21,2006, when Dorsey published the first Twitter message at 9,50 PM Pacific Standard Time, Dorsey has explained the origin of the Twitter title. we came across the word twitter, and it was just perfect. The definition was a short burst of inconsequential information, and chirps from birds, and thats exactly what the product was. The first Twitter prototype, developed by Dorsey and contractor Florian Weber, was used as a service for Odeo employees. Williams fired Glass, who was silent about his part in Twitters startup until 2011, Twitter spun off into its own company in April 2007. Williams provided insight into the ambiguity that defined this early period in a 2013 interview, With Twitter and they called it a social network, they called it microblogging, but it was hard to define, because it didnt replace anything. There was this path of discovery with something like that, where over time you figure out what it is, Twitter actually changed from what we thought it was in the beginning, which we described as status updates and a social utility. It is that, in part, but the insight we eventually came to was Twitter was really more of an information network than it is a social network, the tipping point for Twitters popularity was the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive conference. During the event, Twitter usage increased from 20,000 tweets per day to 60,000, the Twitter people cleverly placed two 60-inch plasma screens in the conference hallways, exclusively streaming Twitter messages, remarked Newsweeks Steven Levy
29.
88th Academy Awards
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During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by David Hill and Reginald Hudlin, Actor Chris Rock hosted the show for the second time, having previously hosted the 77th ceremony held in 2005. In related events, the Academy held its 7th Annual Governors Awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center on November 14,2015. On February 13,2016, in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, Spotlight won two awards including Best Picture, and Mad Max, Fury Road won six awards, the most for the evening. The Revenant earned three awards including Best Director for Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, brie Larson won Best Actress for Room, while Mark Rylance and Alicia Vikander won supporting acting honors for Bridge of Spies and The Danish Girl, respectively. The telecast garnered 34.42 million viewers in the United States, the nominees for the 88th Academy Awards were announced on January 14,2016, at 5,30 a. m. PST, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by directors Guillermo del Toro and Ang Lee, Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the Revenant led all nominees with twelve nominations, Mad Max, Fury Road came in second with ten. The winners were announced during the ceremony on February 28,2016. With two Oscars, Spotlight was the first film since 1952s The Greatest Show on Earth to win Best Picture with only one other award, Alejandro G. Iñárritu became the third individual to win two consecutive Oscars for Best Director. At the age of 87, Ennio Morricone was believed to be the oldest competitive winner in Oscar history, having previously won for Gravity and Birdman, Emmanuel Lubezki became the first person to win three consecutive Best Cinematography awards. Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger, gena Rowlands — Who has illuminated the human experience through her brilliant, passionate and fearless performances. Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award Debbie Reynolds — For her charitable contributions, the following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers. Due to the reception and lower ratings resulting from the previous years ceremony, producers Neil Meron. Shortly afterwards, actor Neil Patrick Harris announced that he would not host the Oscars for a second time, in an interview released from The Huffington Post, he said I dont know that my family nor my soul could take it. It was fun to check off the list, but for the amount of time spent, in September 2015, AMPAS recruited David Hill and Reginald Hudlin as producers of the ceremony. Were delighted to have this talented team on board, AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a release announcing the decision. His vast experience as an events producer, coupled with Reginalds energy, creativity. The following month, Hill and Hudlin selected actor and comedian Chris Rock to host the 2016 telecast and they explained their decision to hire Rock back as host saying, Chris Rock is truly the MVP of the entertainment industry
30.
Rebel Wilson
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Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson is an Australian actress, writer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, she began appearing as Toula on the Special Broadcasting Service comedy series Pizza, in 2008, Wilson wrote, produced and starred in the musical comedy series Bogan Pride. The following year, she won the Tropfest best actress award for her role in Bargain, shortly after moving to the United States, Wilson was cast as Brynn in the feature film Bridesmaids. Wilson also appeared in A Few Best Men, What to Expect When Youre Expecting and she then created and starred in Super Fun Night, a television comedy that aired for one season on the American Broadcasting Company. Wilson was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and her mother is a professional dog handler. Wilson grew up in the suburbs of Kenthurst, Parramatta and Castle Hill and she attended Tara Anglican School for Girls. She completed her Higher School Certificate in 1997, including place in the state in food technology. Wilson has three siblings, sisters Liberty and Annachi and a brother, Ryot, Liberty and Ryot appeared on the first season of The Amazing Race Australia in 2011, where they were the first team eliminated. Wilson has claimed that her great-aunt was Lillian Bounds, who was married to Walt Disney until his death in 1966 and this claim was proven false in 2016 by genealogist Dale Sheldon. Wilsons first career choice was mathematics and she told The Sydney Morning Herald, I was very academic at high school and was always good with numbers. She attended the University of New South Wales, graduating in 2009 with Bachelor of Arts, a former Rotary International Youth Ambassador for Australia, she was based in South Africa for one year, where she contracted malaria. She claims the malaria caused hallucinations where she saw herself as an actress who had won an Oscar, there has been some debate about Wilsons claims about her background. In May 2015, Australian magazine Womans Day published a story claiming that Wilson had been misleading about her name, age. The story was picked up by other publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, People Magazine, The Chicago Tribune. Most notably, Wilsons true birth date was revealed and confirmed as a result of business records filed with the ASIC, which were obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald. On 16 May 2016, Wilson said print and online articles in Womans Day, according to a defamation writ filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Wilson said her reputation and credit has suffered and she has been humiliated and embarrassed. She is also suing for damages, claiming she missed out on roles. Wilson studied at the Australian Theatre for Young People, in 2003 she moved to New York after winning the ATYP International scholarship, which was funded by Nicole Kidman
31.
Sacha Baron Cohen
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Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. A graduate of Christs College, Cambridge, Baron Cohen is most widely known for creating and portraying four fictional characters, Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, like his idol Peter Sellers, he uses a variety of accents and guises for his characters. In most of his routines, Baron Cohens characters interact with unsuspecting people who do not realise they are being set up for comic situations and self-revealing ridicule. His other work includes voicing King Julien XIII in the Madagascar film series and appearing in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Hugo and he made a cameo as a BBC News Anchor in Anchorman 2, The Legend Continues. In 2016, he played an English football hooligan brother of an MI6 spy in the comedy film Grimsby, at the 2012 British Comedy Awards, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award, accepting the award while reprising his Ali G character. In 2013, he received the BAFTA Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy, Baron Cohen was born in Hammersmith, west London. His mother, Daniella Naomi, who worked as a movement instructor, was born in Israel and his father, Gerald Baron Cohen, a clothing store owner, was born in London and raised in Wales. He is fluent in both Hebrew and English, Baron Cohens fathers family were Eastern European Jews who moved to Pontypridd, Wales and London, England, and his mothers family are related to Welsh, Iranian and German Jews. His paternal grandfather, Morris Cohen, had added Baron to his surname and his maternal grandmother, who lived in Haifa, Israel, trained as a ballet dancer in Germany. Baron Cohen has two brothers, Erran and Amnon. Erran is a composer and has worked on several of Sachas films, Baron Cohens cousin, Simon, is an internationally renowned autism researcher. Baron Cohen was educated at The Haberdashers Askes Boys School, an independent school in Elstree, Hertfordshire, Baron Cohen went on to the University of Cambridge, entering Christs College, Cambridge, where he read history, graduating in 1993 with upper-second-class honours. While attending the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, Baron Cohen acted in the plays Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano de Bergerac, after leaving university, Baron Cohen worked for a time as a fashion model, appearing in many fashion magazines. By the early 1990s, he was hosting a programme on Windsor cable televisions local broadcasts with Carol Kirkwood. In 1995, Channel 4 was planning a replacement for its series The Word, Baron Cohen sent in a tape of himself in the character of Kristo, an Albanian fictional television reporter, which caught the attention of a producer. Baron Cohen hosted Pump TV from 1995 to 1996, Peter Sellers, known for portraying a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, was referred to by Baron Cohen as the most seminal force in shaping early ideas on comedy. He took clown training in Paris, at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier, of his former pupil, Gaulier says, He was a good clown, full of spirit. In the late 1990s, Baron Cohen made his first feature appearance in the British comedy The Jolly Boys Last Stand
32.
Jamie Foxx
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Eric Marlon Bishop, known professionally by his stage name Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer, songwriter, record producer and comedian. The same year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the crime film Collateral, eric Marlon Bishop was born in Terrell, Texas on December 13,1967. He is the son of Darrell Bishop, who worked as a stockbroker. Shortly after his birth, Foxx was adopted and raised by his mothers parents, Esther Marie, a domestic worker and nursery operator, and Mark Talley. He has had contact with his birth parents, who were not part of his upbringing. Foxx was raised in the quarter of Terrell, which at the time was a racially segregated community. He has often acknowledged his grandmothers influence in his life as one of the greatest reasons for his success, Foxx began playing the piano when he was five years old. He had a strict Baptist upbringing, and as a teenager he was a part-time pianist and choir leader in Terrells New Hope Baptist Church. His natural talent for telling jokes was already in evidence as a third grader, Foxx attended Terrell High School, where he received top grades and played basketball and football. His ambition was to play for the Dallas Cowboys, and he was the first player in the history to pass for more than 1,000 yards. He also sang in a band called Leather and Lace, after completing high school, Foxx received a scholarship to United States International University, where he studied classical music and composition. Foxx first told jokes at a comedy clubs open mic night in 1989, when he found that female comedians were often called first to perform, he changed his name to Jamie Foxx, feeling that it was a name ambiguous enough to disallow any biases. He chose his surname as a tribute to the black comedian Redd Foxx, Foxx joined the cast of In Living Color in 1991, where his recurrent character Wanda also shared a name with Redds friend and co-worker, LaWanda Page. Following a recurring role in the comedy-drama sitcom Roc, Foxx went on to star in his own sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, Foxx made his film debut in the 1992 comedy Toys. His first dramatic role came in Oliver Stones 1999 film Any Given Sunday, in 1994, Foxx released an album entitled Peep This, which was not successful due to low album sales. In 2003, Foxx made a cameo in Benzinos music video for Would You, which features LisaRaye McCoy and Mario Winans. In 2003, Foxx featured on the rapper Twistas song, Slow Jamz, together with Kanye West, in 2005, Foxx featured on the single Georgia by Atlanta rappers Ludacris and Field Mob, which sampled Ray Charles hit Georgia on My Mind. Foxx would also portray Ray Charles in the biographical film Ray, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Foxx is the second male in history to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year for two different movies, Collateral and Ray
33.
Sydney Tamiia Poitier
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Sydney Tamiia Poitier is an American television and film actress. Born in Los Angeles, Poitier is the daughter of Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier and her mother is of Lithuanian Jewish and Irish descent. She has a sister, Anika. She also has four older half-sisters, Beverly, Pamela, Sherri and he mentions that the surname Poitier is a French name, and there were no white Poitiers from the Bahamas. Poitier attended Tisch School of the Arts where she earned a degree in acting. She also studied at Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Poitier began her career of acting in the late 1990s. In 2001, she landed her first role on television in the NBC drama series First Years, the series was canceled after three episodes. In 2003, she starred in the UPN sitcom Abby and that series was also canceled during its first season. Later that same year, she had a role in Joan of Arcadia, where she played Rebecca Askew. She was also a regular on the first season of Veronica Mars, however, she left the show after only appearing in four episodes because of budget cuts. In 2007, Poitier starred in Death Proof, director Quentin Tarantinos segment of the movie Grindhouse, the next year, she had a co-starring role in the new Knight Rider series, as FBI Agent Carrie Rivai. In 2011, she guest starred on two episodes of Private Practice, sydney Tamiia Poitier at the Internet Movie Database
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