BFI statement and open letter to the film industry

Greg Dyke, Chair of the BFI, said: “This decision is a great vote of confidence in the BFI. It is a bold move to create a single champion for film in the UK and we welcome it. We want to achieve greater coherence across the whole film sector and to strike a balance between cultural and commercial. We see an opportunity to reduce overhead costs which in turn will allow us to put more of the Lottery funds into frontline activities and provide greater public value. It is our aim to increase the Production budget for film from £15 million to £18 million in the coming year. This is possible because of the cut in overhead costs.”

 

Note from Greg Dyke to the Film Industry

 

You will have heard that in a speech he gave this morning (29 November), Ed Vaizey has asked the BFI to take responsibility for film policy in Britain. Under this umbrella is the distribution of Lottery funding. Also included are certification, the MEDIA desk, support for film in the nations and regions, and education.

 

It is a bold move to create a single body to champion film across the whole of the UK and provide a clear focus internationally.

 

In his speech Ed also confirmed an ongoing commitment to the tax breaks and he reaffirmed that lottery funding is expected to increase from £27m currently to over £40m by 2014. We obviously welcome both decisions.

 

This move will mean a major transformation for the BFI. In the immediate term we will be working closely with staff at the UK Film Council to make sure that the skills, expertise and knowledge needed for this new world are retained. For some time we have deliberately held back from making new appointments to the BFI Board, but now that we understand the full scope of our new responsibilities, we can begin the process of recruiting the new Board members. In particular we will be looking to appoint new Governors who are active in the film industry.

 

Also in the short term, we hope to make more money available for film in the coming year, increasing the size of the Production Fund in 2011/12 from £15m to £18m – that’s an increase of 20%. This is possible because we will be making significant overhead savings.

 

We are looking forward to working even more closely with our colleagues in each of the Nations and with those across the English regions through the new 'Creative England'. We currently have a good relationship with Film London that is set to be come stronger and this announcement from Government has already become a catalyst for a new drive to promote British film, with initial pledged partnership commitments from BBC Worldwide, BAFTA and Odeon plus, we anticipate, many others.  

 

Of course all of this is subject to the inevitable process of due diligence which will take several months, but we aim to move quickly and to work in an inclusive and collaborative way to develop a new, exciting and coherent vision for film in Britain going forward. 

 

Best wishes

 

Greg Dyke

Chair, BFI

Jenny Eclair's Stand Up Tour 2011

STAND-UP TOUR RESCHEDULED FOLLOWING

'I’M A CELEBRITY GET ME OUT OF HERE!'

NEW DATES FROM 08 JANUARY TO 18 JUNE 2011

Whilst continuing to amuse the nation in the I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! jungle – the old dog is clearly toughening up; fearlessly taking on bushtucker trials, succeeding in the Starbugs challenge, beating the Dreaded Digger – all  whilst stirring things up as a jungle spy.  However, the time has nearly come for her to get back on the road and do what she does best.  Nearly a whole dress size smaller, the Perrier Award winner and self-appointed Grumpy Head Girl JENNY ECLAIR has rescheduled as well as extended her critically acclaimed Autumn 2010 tour Old Dog, New Tricks by a further 28 dates.  New shows have been added across the country and tickets are available now from www.jennyeclair.com.

JENNY ECLAIR has been a stand up comic since the last millennium: she was the first woman to win the covetedPerrier Award and hasn’t stopped banging on about it ever since.  She is also the Grumpy Old Women Team Captain, having co-written and starred in the live versions of the show.  Additionally she has done ‘acting’ on Skinsand The Bill, and is an acclaimed writer (sometimes it’s nice to just sit down), having just released her new book Chin Up, Britian, and being author of Camberwell Beauty and Having a Lovely Time and non fiction books including The Book of Bad Behaviour, Grumpy Old Couples and Wendy: The Bumper Book of Fun for Women of a Certain Age (the latter two were co-written with Judith Holder).

ends

What the press has said about Old Dog, New Tricks so far:

“Ruthlessly funny”

Clive Davies, The Times

“Every comic plays to their demographic, but the directness of Eclair’s confessions, crude but usually justified, will appeal beyond the target market… she deploys the well-established attitude and techniques to enjoyable effect. Good dog.”

Steve Bennett, Chortle

Charlie Brooker Gets ‘Wiped’ for BBC Two

·         ‘Charlie Brooker’s 2010 Wipe’ moves to BBC TWO

·        1 x 60 minute special to broadcast on 27 December at 10.00pm  

 

Zeppotron, a UK leader in entertainment and comedy programming, today announced that it has been commissioned by BBC Two to produce Charlie Brooker’s 2010 Wipe.

 

Previously broadcast on BBC Four, ‘Wipe’ returns for its annual Christmas shindig and will air for the first time on BBC Two.

 

Written and presented by Charlie Brooker, the programme looks back at the best and worst things that have happened in the world of news, television, games, and film over the past twelve months.

 

From the Chilean minders saga, the historic elections to the Pope’s controversial visit, Charlie will take an impertinent look at this year’s top news stories and how they were reported in the media.

 

Comedian Doug Stanhope gives his take on year’s BP disaster, Investigative Journalist Nick Davies examines the Andy Coulson affair, and Journalist Grace Dent takes a lathery look back at soapland’s key storylines of 2010. 

 

Plus there will be a splattering of topical poetry courtesy of Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Tim Key.

 

Charlie Brooker comments,“For those who don't have the patience to relive the entire year in real-time, 2010 Wipe will condense the whole of 2010 into one compact, easily-digestible package. Think of it as a souvenir, if that helps. We'll be looking back at the year before it's even finished, and pointing and laughing at various bits of it, like the repugnant animals we are.”

 

 

Charlie Brooker’s 2010 Wipe will be Executive Produced by Zeppotron’s Managing Director Annabel Jones. The Series Producer is Nick Vaughan-Smith.

Helen Mirren welcomes first ever UK Wii-habilitation study for Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s UK has awarded an innovation grant of nearly £35,000 to Dr Cathy Craig at the School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, to investigate the potential benefits of the Nintendo Wii for people with Parkinson’s.

The charity has invested in this research because it has received overwhelming feedback from 

people with Parkinson’s who are finding that using a Wii is a really good way to exercise at home and has helped them with their balance, movements and mood.  

Existing research shows that exercise could protect the nerve cells that are dying in Parkinson's, helping them work better and survive for longer. 

As Parkinson’s develops, many people experience slowed movement, rigidity and tremor, as well as lack of balance and co-ordination. These symptoms often get worse over time. Difficulty with memory and attention are also common for people with Parkinson’s.

In a recent snap poll¹ of people with Parkinson’s who use the Wii eight out of ten (81 per cent) respondents said that they use it for exercise and two thirds (68 per cent) felt that using the Wii helps them manage their symptoms. One in three (30 per cent) respondents said that they use the Wii every day, while 39 per cent use it at least once a week.

Karen Rose, 47, from Bristol, is currently being featured in one of Nintendo’s real story TV adverts. She started using the Wii a couple of years ago and uses the Wii Fit.  She said: “Keeping moving is really important because of the stiffness. By doing the Wii I find that you loosen up the muscles that are constantly spasming. 

“Most people with Parkinson’s find that they lose their confidence. So I tend to do exercise at home. I’ve got all the benefits of a gym, but I can do it to fit in with my lifestyle and my medication. It gives you a burst somehow, and it makes you feel better, and then you have a better day.”

Oscar winning actress Helen Mirren commented in the media this morning about how Parkinson’s affects the lives of people with the condition. She revealed that a good friend of hers was diagnosed with Parkinson's about 10 years ago. 

This personal connection to Parkinson’s is the reason that she’s interested in how the Wii could help people with Parkinson's with their balance and she welcomed our research.

Dr Craig’s team aims are to evaluate the benefits of existing games using Wii technology and harness the power of this movement based game technology to develop their own specially designed bespoke games to be used by people with Parkinson’s.

The research aims to address two questions:

• Does the use of the Wii system improve the physical abilities and lifestyle of people with Parkinson’s?
• How do the various games improve specific symptoms of Parkinson’s including tremor, slowness of movement and balance?

Two groups of people with Parkinson’s will take part in the research. One group will be asked to use the existing Wii system. The second group will try out new, specially designed bespoke movement-based games. 

Dr Craig said: “Our hope is to harness the benefits of the Wii technology to develop a system designed specifically for people with Parkinson’s. If the project is successful the benefits could be twofold. It could allow us to develop a simple way to assess Parkinson’s symptoms yet provide a safe and effective way for people with the condition to be more active and keep fit.”

Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research and Development at Parkinson’s UK, said: “Exercise can help people with Parkinson's to control movements, improve balance and improve their mood and we are hearing of more and more people who are finding it of benefit, and this research will explore the science behind it.  

“It could lead to more people feeling confident about using the Wii in the comfort of their homes. The Wii also has the potential to be used as a way of measuring the symptoms for Parkinson’s in future clinical trials of other treatments.

“This is just the kind of innovative research we like to fund to help improve life for people affected by Parkinson’s, while we search for that all important cure.”

To find out more about Parkinson’s and the Wii visit parkinsons.org.uk/wii.