UK Radio Blog
Oscar Predictions/Walk The Red Carpet/Sky Feature/Twittering
By Douglas McFarlaneInside this update
- Sky/Wrist/Network
- Doug’s Radio Blog
- Oscar Predictions
- Walk Along The Red Carpet
- Sky News Feature
- UK Theatre Reviews
- Facebook/Twitter Links
Hope you had a good week. I was contacted at the last minute this week to appear on Sky News. It all went very smoothly and you can see my nice blue plastercast on screen. It’s off now, and my wrist is slowly starting to heal. I have started typing again with two hands with this newsletter. Slowly but surely does it.
It’s nice to see the social networks starting to get a few hundred people posting, blogging and connecting on theatre and film. If you haven’t already, take a couple of minutes to join, it’s simple and quick.
http://www.ukfilm.tv
http://www.uktheatre.tv
Have a great week ahead.
Douglas McFarlane
>>>>>
Tune In to Doug’s Radio Blog at 12 noon on Saturday’s.
This week’s show includes David Bowie, George Michael, Simon And Garfunkel, Kraftwerk and Savage Garden.
http://www.nevisradio.co.uk
>>>>>
Oscar Predictions
Here are my predictions for tomorrow night’s Oscar’s with a link to all the nominees and printouts for you to make your own choices. I’ve also included a link to a bit of film footage I took in 2007 to share the experience of walking along the red carpet with you. I choose not to go this year for a change, but I’m keeping in touch via twitter as Jon Gripton, who introduced me to Sky News in October 2007 and who I subsequently bumped into on the red carpet last year. His tweeter id is listed at the bottom with some other tweeters for you to follow.
Actor In A Leading Role - Brad Pitt
Actor In A Supporting Role - Heath Ledger
Actress In A Leading Role - Kate Winslet
Actress In A Supporting Role - Penelope Cruz
Best Documentary Feature - Trouble The Water
Directing - Danny Boyle/Slumdog Millionaire
Best Picture - The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
http://www.oscar.com/nominees
Walk Along The Red Carpet
A short walk I took along the red carpet at the Oscars 2007 in order to share the experience. A section of this footage is used in the film Making It In Hollywood, currently being submitted to film festivals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFeBMgkbKH4
>>>>>
Sky News Feature
Top Web Stories: A YouTube Symphony, Friends Reunited Try To Meet Buyer And More Popular Internet News
In this edition of Sky.com Movers Douglas McFarlane from uktheatre.net introduces a woman caught on camera having a tantrum at a Thai airport, a YouTube symphony and more popular stories from the internet.
http://tinyurl.com/cqgpdg
>>>>>
Regional Premiere of Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll at Manchester Library Theatre
Rock ‘n’ Roll
Library Theatre, Manchester
17 February 2009
Abba has Mamma Mia; Queen has We Will Rock You; Madness has Our House; now Pink Floyd has Rock ‘n’ Roll, a jukebox musical which weaves the band’s greatest hits into a narrative about The Prague Spring and the eventual collapse of Communism in 1990.
http://www.uktheatre.tv/magazine/read/regional-premiere-of-tom-stoppardand39;s-rock-and39;nand39;-roll-at-manchester-library-theatre_35.html
The Last Resort
The Customs House, South Shields, Tyne & Wear
Strangeface Theatre’s production, The Last Resort, is an interesting concept that combines actors wearing half-masks, puppetry, original music and songs to tell the folk-tale of a remote town on the brink of ruin.
http://www.uktheatre.tv/magazine/read/the-last-resort_34.html
Cabaret
UK National Tour – Reviewed at Darlington Civic Theatre
Berlin 1930: The Kit Kat club is a place of decadent and flirtatious celebration, presided over by a sinister Emcee (Wayne Sleep). Sally Bowles (Samantha Barks) is a young British singer who performs there. Cliff Bradshaw (Henry Luxemburg) is an American writer who arrives in Berlin with the hope of finding inspiration to complete his latest novel.
http://www.uktheatre.tv/magazine/read/cabaret_33.html
>>>>>
TWITTERS
Jonathan Ross
http://twitter.com/Wossy
Stephen Fry
http://twitter.com/stephenfry
Fearne Cotton
http://twitter.com/Fearnecotton
Jon Gripton, reporter for Sky News, at the Oscars
http://twitter.com/JonGrip
Sara Bareilles
http://twitter.com/sarabareilles
Barack Obama
http://twitter.com/BarackObama
My twittering link
http://www.twitter.com/ukfilm
>>>>>
FACEBOOK GROUPS
Making It In Hollywood – Documentary film project currently submitting to Film Festivals
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2434134276&ref=ts
UK Film Network – Social networking for filmmakers and their audience
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2475992114&ref=ts
UK Theatre Network – Social networking for theatre performers and their audience
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3122300275&ref=ts
The Big Picture – Feature film project currently in script selection
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26318483196&ref=ts
The Time Project – Documentary film project currently in pre-production
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=47590808842&ref=ts
Inside The BAFTA's
By Douglas McFarlane- Happy Valentine's
- At the BAFTA's
- Working with BAFTA
- Stephen Fry Follows Me
- Acting at Royal Opera House
Links We Love
http://www.nevisradio.co.uk - click on Tune-In at 12pm-2pm today
http://www.lovetheatre.com/uktheatrenet - Buy West End Tickets
http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/film-training-london-UK - Contact me for discounts
- Happy Valentine's
Happy Valentines Day to you. I hope you got lots of love coming your way, if not, I'm sending some out to you right now. Big UK Theatre hugs from me to you.
- At the BAFTA's
My heart was alight last week at the BAFTA Film Awards. It was a fantastic night, and I watched the full ceremony this time as a guest, instead of the excitement of last year where I was filming on the red carpet for my first feature documentary, Making It In Hollywood. This time the pace was pleasant as I walked down the red carpet with my daughter. We casually chatted about how I was on the other side last year and looked confidently over at the array of cameras pointing in our direction. We noticed the lovely Fearne Cotton, who was waiting expectantly for some of the A-listers to arrive.
The Royal Opera House is a grand place and Jonathan Ross hosted events nicely and kept the flow going. It was strange seeing Kate Winslet sitting watching events, as you would've seen on TV, with three cameramen and sound technicians rushing around in front of her for the entire 2 hours.
Grosvenor House is where the after awards event is held and it was alive with the energy of those who won their awards as well as those, like me, who were pleased to be part of such an elite company. Mickey Rourke was being filmed at the entrance as we entered, Christian Slater walked passed me at the gents, Kate Winslet was still "gushy" when she walked downstairs to her dinner table, Meryl Streep casually allowed some guests to take her photograph and then it happened.
As I was getting ready to go and get our car home, I almost walked into an entourage of people coming towards me from the right. I glanced around and became almost fixed to the spot as Penelope Cruz was staring at me. It was a fiery, moody stare, I was clearly in her path. I quickly stepped forward and received a warm smile which made my brain all putty-like. My head turned 360 degrees to follow her and I noticed how slim she was, from the open back of her dress, as she glided in mid-air towards the Lancome stand to get a bit of facial pampering. My head stayed in that state for the next 48 hours. Sigh !
- Working with BAFTA
I also got great news on Tuesday. Following a meeting last year with the Chairman of BAFTA, David Parfitt, and a subsequent follow up chats with a few board members, I will be working with them to help delivering their strategy for 2009. To start with, I'll be producing a report over the next 4 weeks on all things online, social networking, new media, and events. Not just for filmmakers, but audiences as well, around the UK and the world. You can help too, and I will let you know next week where I would appreciate your support and input. I'm excited to be able to help make a difference.
- Stephen Fry Follows Me
It's true, I joined the twittering twits who titter as they twitter all twinkling day. http://twitter.com/ukfilm - one of the good things is that any of our reviewers magazine article on UK Theatre or UK Film, gets automatically uploaded. Spreading the reach even further. It must've prompted that well known twitterer Stephen Fry to click "follow" on my profile.
- Acting at Royal Opera House
Right, back to reality and there's a great article from Grainne Gillis who shares what it's like to be performing on the very stage where the BAFTA's were held. There's also some new reviewers who have published to the magazine this week.
Have a great week where you are.
Douglas McFarlane
http://www.ukfilm.tv/magazine.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Being an actor – in opera
By Gráinne Gillis
It actually came about by chance that I auditioned for the Royal Opera House. One Friday afternoon, I got a call from the assistant chorus manager, Ruth Mulholland, asking me if I would be interested in attending an audition for an obscure (to me) opera called Die tote Stadt
Read on.....
http://www.uktheatre.tv/magazine/read/being-an-actor-�-in-opera_29.html
