1.
British Academy Television Awards
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The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955 and it is the British equivalent to the Emmy Awards in the United States. The first ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories, until 1958, they were awarded by the Guild of Television Producers and Directors. From 1958 onwards, after the Guild had merged with the British Film Academy, in 1976, this became the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The Television Awards are usually presented in April, with a ceremony for the Television Craft Awards on a different date. The Craft Awards are presented for more technical areas of the industry, such as effects, production design. Individual performances, such as actors, can either be entered by the performers themselves or by the broadcasters. The programmes being entered must have been broadcast on or between March and February of the year to be eligible for the years awards. Entry is free, and entry forms are available between November and January each year. After all the entries have been received, they are voted for online by all members of the Academy. The programmes and performances attracting the most votes, usually four in each category, are shortlisted as the nominees for each award. The winner is chosen from the four nominees by a jury of nine academy members for each award. These Awards are suggested by the Television Committee and awarded by the Academys Council and they are not necessarily always given every year, but as and when appropriate. The Awards ceremony is broadcast on British television, usually the day after it has taken place, between 1998 and 2006, it was alternated between ITV and BBC One. But since 2007, it has been broadcast by BBC One, in 1991, a controversial selection was made in the Best Drama Serial category, when Prime Suspect beat G. B. H. to win the award. Following the ceremony, four of the seven voting members of the signed a public statement declaring that they had voted for G. B. H. to win. B. H. Price claimed that the papers could not be recounted as they had subsequently been destroyed. No blame was attached to Shubik by the four judges
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United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
3.
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
4.
Academy Awards
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The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by AMPAS, the awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953. It is now live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online. The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and its equivalents – the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording – are modeled after the Academy Awards. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2016, were held on February 26,2017, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th, the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16,1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel, the cost of guest tickets for that nights ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other participants in the industry of the time. The ceremony ran for 15 minutes, winners were announced to media three months earlier, however, that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11,00 pm on the night of the awards. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier, this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. With the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27,1957, until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies always end with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, see also § Awards of Merit categories The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. The five spokes represent the branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers. The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, sculptor George Stanley sculpted Cedric Gibbons design. The statuettes presented at the ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze
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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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Odeon Leicester Square
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Blue neon outlines the exterior of the building at night. It was built to be the flagship of Oscar Deutschs Odeon Cinema Circuit and it hosts numerous European and world film premieres including the annual Royal Film Performance. The site cost £550,000, the cinema took seven months to build at a cost of £232,755 with 2116 seats, the opening night was Tuesday 2 November 1937, the film shown that night was The Prisoner of Zenda. Until 1967, the interior was a magnificent art-deco auditorium, with a ceiling, concealing stripped lighting. Two bas relief sculptures of naked nymphs were positioned on the side walls, all the seats were covered in a faux-leopard skin material. The first wide-screen ever installed in Great Britain was premiered on 14 May 1953, the British debut of CinemaScope following soon after on 19 November 1953 with the quasi-biblical epic, The Robe. The first cinema to show cinemascope in London was the Odeon Tottenham Court Road which was also the venue for the first screening of Cinerama, the theatres Chief Engineer, Nigel Wolland, was awarded an MBE for services to the film industry in 2007. The theatres general manager, Chris Hilton, was awarded an MBE for services to the industry in 2010. After Nigel Wollands retirement in 2006, Mark Nice was appointed the cinemas Chief Engineer, Mark Nice has recently been promoted the position of Odeon Engineer with Toni Purvis assuming the role of Operations Manager Digital. The Odeon is the largest single-screen cinema in the United Kingdom and one of the few with its circle, the cinema is fully equipped to show films in 35mm, 70mm and digital on a large screen, as well as extensive stage facilities for the occasional live show. The cinema still has an operating Compton organ, its console lit from within by coloured lighting, two sets of tabs are also installed and used for most performances. The cinema houses all major digital sound systems, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, Dolby Digital and it had the UKs first wide-screen installed in 1953, and more recently, was the first to have a digital projector installed in 1999. There are 1683 seats – reduced from nearly 2000 to make way for greater leg-room – with a large circle bar, seating is divided between the Royal Circle, Rear Circle and Stalls. In March 2011, all the cinemas screens converted to Digital Projection equipment with 3D capability, up until 2009 the cinema and film distributors did not have faith in the reliability of digital presentations, so the cinema would run a 35mm print alongside. If the digital show failed the projectionist would switch to film, if that projector then failed, the performance would be abandoned. One 35mm /70mm projector has been retained, but is rarely used. A silver screen is used for 3D presentations, placed in front of the screen used for 2D presentations. The silver screen is a smaller and screen tabs are not used during 3D performances
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Leicester Square
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Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 and is named after the contemporary Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, the square was originally a gentrified residential area, with tenants including Frederick, Prince of Wales and artists William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds. It became more down-market in the late 18th century as Leicester House was demolished and retail developments took place, several major theatres were established in the 19th century, which were converted to cinemas towards the middle of the next. The square remains a popular tourist attraction, including hosting events for the Chinese New Year, the square has always had a park in its centre, which was originally Lammas land. The parks fortunes have varied over the centuries, reaching near dilapidation in the century after changing ownership several times. It was restored under the direction of Albert Grant, which included the construction of four new statues, the square was extensively refurbished and remodelled for the 2012 London Olympics, costing more than £15m and taking over 17 months to complete. The square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north, Charing Cross Road, to the east, Orange Street, to the south, and Whitcomb Street, to the west. It is within the City of Westminster, north of Trafalgar Square, east of Piccadilly Circus, west of Covent Garden, the nearest tube station is Leicester Square tube station, which opened in 1906. London bus routes 24,29 and 176 run on nearby Charing Cross Road, the land where Leicester Square now lies once belonged to the Abbot and Convent of Westminster Abbey and the Beaumont family. In 1536, Henry VIII took control of 3 acres of land around the square, the square is named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, who purchased this land in 1630. By 1635, he had himself a large house, Leicester House. The area in front of the house was enclosed, depriving inhabitants of St Martin in the Fields parish of their right to use the previously common land. The parishioners appealed to King Charles I, and he appointed three members of the council to arbitrate. Lord Leicester was ordered to keep part of his land open for the parishioners, the square was laid out to the south of Leicester House and developed in the 1670s. The area was originally residential, with properties laid out in a similar style to nearby Pall Mall. In 1687, the part of the square became part of the new parish of St Anne. The Jocelyn Sidney, 7th Earl of Leicester took ownership of the property in 1728 and it was briefly the residence of Frederick, Prince of Wales from 1742 until Leicesters death the following year. The poet Matthew Prior lived at what is now No.21 around 1700, the magistrate Thomas de Veil, later to found Bow Street Magistrates Court, lived at No 40 between 1729 and 1737, this location is now the Odeon West End
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Royal Albert Hall
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The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, which holds the Proms concerts annually each summer since 1941. It has a capacity of up to 5,272 seats, the Hall is a registered charity held in trust for the nation and receives no public or government funding. A further 400 events are each year in the non-auditorium spaces. In 1851, the Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park, the Exhibitions Royal Commission bought Gore House and its grounds on the advice of the Prince. Progress on the scheme was slow and in 1861 Prince Albert died, however, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite. The proposal was approved and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition, the Hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y. D. Scott of the Royal Engineers and built by Lucas Brothers. The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum. The recently opened Cirque dHiver in Paris was seen in the press as the design to outdo. The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs, the dome on top was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was an assembly made of the iron framework of the dome in Manchester, then it was taken apart again and transported to London via horse. When the time came for the structure to be removed from the dome after reassembly in situ. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch, the Hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870 and the Queen visited a few weeks beforehand to inspect. The official opening ceremony of the Hall was on 29 March 1871, a welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak. At some point, the Queen remarked that the Hall reminded her of the British constitution, a concert followed, when the Halls acoustic problems became immediately apparent. Engineers first attempted to solve the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome, in July 1871, French organist Camille Saint-Saëns performed Church Scene from the Faust by Charles Gounod, The Orchestra described his performance as an exceptional and distinguished performer. Initially lit by gas, the Hall contained a system where its thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall, full electric lighting was not installed until 1888, during an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times declaring it to be a very ghastly and unpleasant innovation. In May 1877, Richard Wagner himself conducted the first half of each of the eight concerts which made up the Grand Wagner Festival
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David Lean
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Sir David Lean, CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor, responsible for large-scale epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. He also directed adaptations of Dickens novels Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, Lean was born in Croydon, Surrey, to Francis William le Blount Lean and the former Helena Tangye. His parents were Quakers and he was a pupil at the Quaker-founded Leighton Park School in Reading and his younger brother, Edward Tangye Lean, founded the original Inklings literary club when a student at Oxford University. Lean was a schoolboy with a dreamy nature who was labeled a dud of a student, he left in his mid-teens. A more formative event for his career than his formal education was an uncles gift and you usually didnt give a boy a camera until he was 16 or 17 in those days. It was a compliment and I succeeded at it. Lean printed and developed his films, and it was his great hobby, at age 16, his father deserted the family when he ran off with another woman, and Lean would later follow a similar path after his own first marriage and child. He was taken on as a teaboy, promoted to clapperboy, by 1930 he was working as an editor on newsreels, including those of Gaumont Pictures and Movietone, while his move to feature films began with Freedom of the Seas and Escape Me Never. He edited Gabriel Pascals film productions of two George Bernard Shaw plays, Pygmalion and Major Barbara and he edited Powell & Pressburgers 49th Parallel and One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. After this last film, Lean began his career, after editing more than two dozen features by 1942. As Tony Sloman wrote in 1999, As the varied likes of David Lean, Robert Wise, Terence Fisher and Dorothy Arzner have proved, David Lean was given honorary membership of the Guild of British Film Editors in 1968. His first work as a director was in collaboration with Noël Coward on In Which We Serve and it has since become a classic, one of the most highly regarded British films. Two celebrated Charles Dickens adaptations followed – Great Expectations and Oliver Twist and these two films were the first directed by Lean to star Alec Guinness, whom Lean considered his good luck charm. The actors portrayal of Fagin was controversial at the time, the first screening in Berlin during February 1949 offended the surviving Jewish community and led to a riot. It caused problems too in New York, and after private screenings, was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League, to our surprise it was accused of being anti-Semitic, Lean wrote. We made Fagin an outsize and, we hoped, an amusing Jewish villain, the terms of the production code meant that the films release in the United States was delayed until July 1951 after cuts amounting to eight minutes. The Passionate Friends was the first of three films to feature the actress Ann Todd, who became his third wife, madeleine, set in Victorian-era Glasgow is about an 1857 cause célèbre with Todds lead character accused of murdering a former lover. The last of the films with Todd, The Sound Barrier, has a screenplay by the playwright Terence Rattigan and was the first of his three films for Sir Alexander Kordas London Films
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Alexander Korda
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Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British film producer and director. He first worked in Hollywood during the transition to talkies, from 1926 to 1930, the change led to divorce from his first wife, popular Hungarian actress María Corda, who could not make the transition because of her strong accent in English. From 1930, Korda became a figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films. Korda was the first filmmaker to have been officially knighted, the elder brother of filmmakers Zoltan and Vincent, Korda was born Sándor László Kellner to a Jewish family in Pusztatúrpásztó in what is now Hungary, where he worked as a journalist. After the death of his father Korda began writing film reviews to support his family, Korda changed his family name from Kellner to Korda—from the Latin phrase sursum corda which means lift up your hearts. Korda became an important film figure through his film magazines Pesti Mozi, Mozihét and this led to invitations to write film screenplays. Kordas first film script was for Watchhouse in the Carpathians, when the First World War broke out, Korda was excused from military service in the Austrian Army because of his bad eyesight. Korda went to work at the Pedagogical Studio in Budapest and co-directed three films with Gyula Zilahy, Korda established a film company named Corvin Film, building it into one of the largest in Hungary. After his release, he left Hungary for Austria, and never returned to his country of birth, during the next eleven years, Korda made films in several countries, working in Vienna, Berlin, London and Paris before moving to Hollywood in 1940. He worked closely with artists on his films, including his Hungarian friend, painter. After leaving Hungary, Korda accepted an invitation from Count Alexander Kolowrat to work for his company Sascha-Film in the Austrian capital Vienna. Korda worked alongside Kolowrat, who had attracted several leading Hungarian and German directors into his employment, on the 1920 historical epic The Prince, the film was a major international success and inspired Korda with the idea of making international films with global box office appeal. Kordas next two films, Masters of the Sea and A Vanished World, were both nautical-set adventures based on Hungarian novels. By that stage, Korda had grown irritated with Kolowrats interference with his work and left Sascha to make an independent film, Samson and Delilah, the film was made on a lavish scale, with large crowd scenes. The lengthy shooting schedule lasted 160 working days, the film was not a success. Unable to find backing for his film projects, Korda left Vienna. Korda raised funding for the melodrama The Unknown Tomorrow, with backing from Germanys biggest film company, UFA, Korda returned to Vienna to make Everybodys Woman. While there, he work on his next film, the historical Tragedy in the House of Habsburg
11.
Carol Reed
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Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out, The Fallen Idol and The Third Man. He received the Academy Award for Best Director, Carol Reed was born in Putney, south-west London. He was the son of actor-producer Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and his mistress. He was educated at The Kings School, Canterbury and he embarked on an acting career while still in his late teens. A period in the company of the thriller writer Edgar Wallace followed. Apart from acting in a few Wallace derived films himself, Reed became involved in adapting his work for the screen during the day while he was a manager in the evenings. The connection with Wallace ended with his death in Hollywood during February 1932, taken on by Basil Dean, Reed worked for his Associated Talking Pictures, successively for ATP as a dialogue director, second-unit director and then assistant director. His films in the later role working under Dean were Autumn Crocus, Lorna Doone and Loyalties and his earliest films as director were quota quickies. Of his experience making Midshipman Easy his first solo project he was harsh on himself. I was indefinite and indecisive, he said later, fortunately, I realised that this was the only way to learn – by making mistakes. Graham Greene, then reviewing films for The Spectator, was more forgiving, commenting that Reed has more sense of the cinema than most veteran British directors. Of Reeds comedy Laburnum Grove, he wrote, Here at last is an English film one can unreservedly praise, Reeds career began to develop with The Stars Look Down, from the A. J. Cronin novel, which features Michael Redgrave in the lead role. Greene wrote that Reed has at last had his chance and magnificently taken it and he observed that one forgets the casting altogether, he handles his players like a master, so that one remembers them only as people. The best known of these films are probably Night Train to Munich, with Rex Harrison, Kipps, again with Michael Redgrave, the later film, although historically inaccurate, is set during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. From 1942, Reed served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, he was granted the rank of Captain and placed with the film unit, for the latter body a training film, The New Lot, was made, recounting the experiences of five new recruits. It had a script by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, with contributions from Reed and it was remade as The Way Ahead. Reed made his three most highly regarded films just after the war, beginning with Odd Man Out, with James Mason in the lead and it is the tale of an injured terrorists last hours in an unidentified Northern Irish city. In fact, Belfast was used for the work
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Charles Laughton
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Charles Laughton was an English stage and film character actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Laughton was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, in 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester, with whom he lived and worked until his death, they had no children. He played a range of classical and modern parts, making an impact in Shakespeare at the Old Vic. His film career took him to Broadway and then Hollywood, but he collaborated with Alexander Korda on notable British films of the era. He portrayed everything from monsters and misfits to kings, among Laughtons biggest film hits were The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Mutiny on the Bounty, Ruggles of Red Gap, Jamaica Inn, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Big Clock. In his later career, he took up directing, notably in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. He directed one film, the thriller The Night of the Hunter, Laughton has been seen by one actor as one of the greatest performers of his generation. Daniel Day-Lewis cited him as one of his inspirations, saying and his generosity as an actor, he fed himself into that work. As an actor, you take your eyes off him. Laughton was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Eliza and Robert Laughton, a blue plaque marks his birthplace. He started work in the hotel, though also participating in amateur theatricals in Scarborough. Allowed by his family to become a student at RADA in 1925. Laughton made his first professional appearance on 28 April 1926 at the Barnes Theatre, as Osip in the comedy The Government Inspector and he impressed audiences with his talent and had classical roles in two Chekov plays, The Cherry Orchard and The Three Sisters. Laughton played the role as Harry Hegan in the world premiere of Seán OCaseys The Silver Tassie in 1928 in London. He played the roles in Arnold Bennetts Mr Prohack and as Samuel Pickwick in Mr Pickwick at the Theatre Royal in London. He played Tony Perelli in Edgar Wallaces On the Spot and William Marble in Payment Deferred and he took the last role across the Atlantic and made his United States debut on 24 September 1931, at the Lyceum Theatre. Laughton commenced his career in Britain while still acting on the London stage. He made an appearance as a disgruntled diner in another silent film Piccadilly with Anna May Wong in 1929
13.
Mitzi Cunliffe
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Mitzi Solomon Cunliffe was an American sculptor. She also produced textiles, ceramics, and jewellery, Cunliffe was born Mitzi Solomon in New York City. She attended the Art Students League of New York from 1930 to 1933 and read Fine Arts and Fine Arts Education at Columbia University from 1935 to 1940, receiving a BSc in 1939 and an MA in 1940. Upon graduation, she moved to Paris, where she studied at the Académie Colarossi for a year, after viewing the western side of Cathedral of Chartres, she settled on becoming an architectural sculptor. Following this she studied for a period in Sweden and her early works, of free-standing figures, were admired by Le Corbusier. She was awarded the 1949 Widener Gold Medal by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts for A Voluptuous Object, Cunliffe, then Solomon, was one of the sculptors who exhibited at the 3rd Sculpture International in Philadelphia in 1949. She is one of the sculptors identified in the 70 Sculptors photograph taken at that event, also in 1949, she met and married British academic Marcus Cunliffe, who later became known for his books about American history and literature. He was a lecturer at Manchester University, and she moved him to Didsbury. They had a son and two daughters and her first large scale commission was two pieces for the Festival of Britain in 1951. One, known as Root Bodied Forth, shows figures emerging from a tree, the second, a pair of bronze handles in the form of hands, adorned the Regatta Restaurant. She created a piece, in the form of knots. Heaton Park pumping station was built in 1955, for which Cunliffe was commissioned to design and it has been described as a remarkable piece of public art on. The building was listed in 1998 as a work of art. That year, she was commissioned to create the BAFTA mask for the Guild of Television Producers and Directors. She created a large pierced screen for the restaurant at Lewiss department store in Liverpool in 1957 and she bought the piece when the Restaurant closed in 1986, and moved it to her home at Seillans in the south of France. She also designed textiles for David Whitehead and Tootal Broadhurst, and she referred to them as modular sculptures. Some of these works were acquired by the University of Manchester, interestingly, in the same studio at 18 Cranmer Road, Greek artist Leda Luss Luyken explored a similar principle of variable modularity in the arts in her ModulArt paintings of the 1980s. Cunliffe developed a technique for mass-producing abstract designs in relief in concrete, as architectural decoration and she used the technique to decorate buildings throughout the UK, but particularly in and around Manchester
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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
15.
BBC America
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BBC America is a digital cable and satellite television network in the United States which is jointly owned by BBC Worldwide and AMC Networks. Consequently, BBC America operates as a channel and accepts traditional advertising. It is also funded by cable and satellite TV subscription fees, as of February 2015, BBC America is available to approximately 78,375,000 television households in the United States. BBC America was launched on March 29,1998, presenting a mixture of comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters including ITV and Channel 4. In the channels early days, it focused on repeats of popular shows such as Changing Rooms. BBC Americas head of television programming later stated that it was important for the channel to establish a niche since non-UK viewers found the shows appealing. Most of the newer programs appeared as part of BBC Americas evening schedule, after CEO Paul Lee was appointed president of ABC Family in 2009, the network appointed Bill Hilary from Comedy Central to serve as its chief executive officer. Hilary appointed Kathryn Mitchell to the new position of general manager, under Hilarys tenure, BBC America was restructured, it moved its main offices to New York City and had its programming budget increase substantially. The channel was led by Garth Ancier, who served as the president of BBC Worldwide Americas from February 2007 until 2010, meanwhile, Perry Simon serves as general manager. In 2014, AMC Networks acquired a 49. 9% equity stake in BBC America for $200 million, as part of the deal, AMC Networks also took on the responsibility of negotiating U. S. broadcast and advertising sales for the BBC World News channel. Some of the programs on the channel are edited either for adult content or to allow for commercials, additional series which have been previously broadcast may periodically return to the schedule as part of the networks rotation of daytime programming. In the mid-2000s, BBC America produced a few of its own shows along with some joint productions, the first original series produced solely by the channel was Copper, which premiered in the summer of 2012. BBC America has also branched into co-producing British series, including Robin Hood, The Musketeers, and, from its fourth series and they also co-produce the Canadian series Orphan Black. BBC America used to broadcast BBC World News each Monday through Friday morning from 6,00 to 8,00 a. m, all news programs now air exclusively on the BBC World News channel, also distributed by AMC Networks in the United States. The weekday morning simulcast used to include BBC World News bulletins, World Business Report, Sport Today, Asia Today, most of these were removed from the schedule without any announcement on April 6,2009. The weekend morning simulcast was also dropped on April 4,2009. According to BBC America, the simulcast was dropped because of disappointing ratings, from 2007 to 2011, BBC America broadcast BBC World News America, a live Washington, D. C. –based program anchored by Matt Frei. Katty Kay served as a Washington-based correspondent, an international edition of Newsnight debuted on February 29,2008, in the 10 p. m. time slot
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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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Orange (UK)
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Orange UK was a mobile network operator and a former internet service provider in the United Kingdom, launched in 1993. It was once a constituent of the FTSE100 Index but was purchased by France Télécom in 2000, Orange UK has since merged with Deutsche Telekoms T-Mobile UK to form a joint venture, EE. EE continued to operate the Orange brand until February 2015, when new connections, existing Orange customers who wish to upgrade must switch to an EE tariff when their contract term ends, or can choose to remain on their existing Orange tariff without renewing. The Orange brand, at the time a name for a telecommunications firm, was created by an internal team at Microtel headed by Chris Moss and supported by Martin Keogh, Rob Furness. The brand consultancy Wolff Olins was charged with designing the brand values and logo and advertising agency WCRS created the Orange slogan The futures bright, the team that launched Orange in the UK was led by Malcolm Way, and later Hans Snook who became the Chief Executive. A holding company structure was adopted in 1995 with the establishment of Orange plc, in April 1996, Orange went public and floated on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, majority owned by Hutchison, followed by BAe. In June 1996, it became the youngest company to enter the FTSE100, and by July 1997 Orange had gained one million customers. The stint as a company came to an end in October 1999. Mannesmanns acquisition of Orange triggered Vodafone to make a takeover bid for the German company. Shortly thereafter, in February 2000, Vodafone acquired Mannesmann for US$183 Billion, in May 2000, France Télécom announced the acquisition of the global operations of Orange from Vodafone for US$37 Billion, and the transaction was completed in August 2000. France Télécom subsequently rebranded all its mobile telecommunications as Orange, the company was initially 100% owned by France Télécom. In 2001 15% was sold in an IPO, but in 2003 the outstanding shares were bought back by France Télécom, the Orange brand was to be retained for the first eighteen months at least. On 11 May 2010 it was announced both the Orange and T-Mobile brands will remain on British high streets, although their new merged parent company will be called EE. Oranges broadband service was rebranded as EE Broadband on 30 October 2012, in 2014, Orange contracts could no longer be bought online, with the website providing news and entertainment articles only. New Orange connections were possible via EE stores and telesales. In February 2015, Orange UKs parent company EE announced that Orange tariffs were withdrawn for new, existing customers wishing to upgrade must sign up to an EE tariff. This marks the end of services under the Orange brand in the UK, starting in July 2015, Orange pay-as-you-go customers also had the ability to dial premium rate and directory enquiries numbers withdrawn. Those who need to such services being advised to transfer to an EE plan
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EE Limited
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EE is a British mobile network operator, Internet service provider and a division of BT Group. It was established in 2010 as a 50,50 joint venture between Deutsche Telekom and Orange S. A. through the merger of their respective T-Mobile and Orange businesses in the UK. It is the largest mobile operator in the UK, with around 30 million customers. EE is headquartered in Hatfield in the United Kingdom and also has offices in Bristol, Darlington, Greenock, North Tyneside, Plymouth, Leeds. In addition to telephone services, EE also provides an IPTV service through its EE TV Box. As of 23 November 2016, EEs 4G & 2G networks combined coverage reaches more than 99% of the UK population, Deutsche Telekom and France Télécom announced plans to merge their respective UK ventures T-Mobile UK and Orange UK on 8 September 2009. The initial planning suggested a joint revenue of around £7.7 billion for 2008 with savings via synergies expected to total around over £445 million annually from 2014 onwards, the two companies also announced an expected investment of £600 to £800 million in integration costs. The initial press release outlined a primarily clear vision for the two brands citing that the T-Mobile UK and Orange UK brands will be maintained separately for 18 months, the merger was cleared by the European Commission on 1 March 2010. The joint venture was announced as completed on 1 April 2010, the companies network sharing plans were released to customers on 11 October 2010. The switch-on was rolled out utilising an opt-in page on each brands website, however, the rollout did not initially include automatic network roaming mid-call or the two brands 3G services. On 18 July 2011, Tom Alexander announced unexpectedly that he would step down as CEO, Alexander had joined Orange in 2008 and had led the company since its formation on 1 July 2010. Alexander said that he would remain with the company throughout the remainder of 2011, on 2 November 2011 Everything Everywhere announced plans to cut a further 550 back office staff, with its sites in Bristol, Darlington, Hatfield, and Paddington affected. In April 2012, the T-Mobile network in Northern Ireland was switched off, however, later most T-Mobile sites were turned back on as EE has a mast sharing agreement with 3. Further speculation commenced on 7 September 2012 when the company announced details of a conference on the morning of 11 September 2012. Other commentators suggested that the HTC One XL would be the first handset to launch utilising Everything Everywheres 4G network. The handsets that the initially launched on EE are the iPhone 5, HTC One XL, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, Huawei Ascend P1, Nokia Lumia 920. The company also announced that they would be using two 4G mobile broadband devices manufactured by Huawei - the E589 Mobile Wi-Fi device and E392 mobile broadband dongle, the brand was described by EE as The Super Fast Brand. It was also confirmed that all ex-Orange and ex-T-Mobile shops would be re-branded EE overnight, the companys legal name changed to EE Limited on 2 September 2013
71st British Academy Film Awards
United Kingdom
