BAFTA Britannia Awards

Suited and Booted

Fresh off of watching a pre-release screening of the Sam Mendes* directed James Bond – “Spectre”, I was naturally inclined – being as I am a red-blooded Brit of the male persuasion – to snap up any opportunity to ‘suit up’ and give it the suave one. Large. It very well may be every man’s god-given right to role-play such farcical fantasy in our little minds after watching a Bond movie. I guess that’s how you explain the enduring popularity of Bond, Jimmy Bond, some 50+ years after his screen debut.

Just in time – as a BAFTA LA scholar, me and my only suit were invited to attend BAFTA’s marquee event in Los Angeles – the Britannia Awrds. And what a fun night it was.
Although my misplaced escapism unfortunately got me nowhere near close enough to remotely resembling any sort of 007 – donning a monkey suit and drinking good alcohol was nevertheless, fun as ever. Certainly when the mix of talking film and meeting celebrities all night is shaken, not stirred, into the mix too.

Honorees in attendance where the ever venerable Meryl Streep, Han Solo himself Harrison Ford, the aforementioned Sam Mendes, Amy Schumer (@amyschumer), and fellow Brit’s James Corden (@JKCorden) and Orlando Bloom.

Jack Whitehall (@jackwhitehall) brought it all together in the hosting role – and it was good to see him and Corden once again silly it up  and have some fun, having been away from shows such as A League of Their Own since coming over to California.

Among the honorees were a host of other talented folk, including the man-legend that is Bryan Cranston (@BryanCranston)  (sans Heisenberg Hat – that Bryan would have given a very different award presentation), and the soon-to-be household name John Boyega (@JohnBoyega), whom I spoke with about coming over to the States as a Brit, and also this little movie called Star…Wars. I think that’s how you pronounce it?

BAFTA Britannia Award Honorees – Amy Schumer, Sam Mendes, James Corden, Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, Orlando Bloom

BAFTA Britannia was an interesting and entertaining event, where I got to speak Film and most things Movie all night under the bright lights of Hollywood stars (and all accompanied by complimentary, high-quality Scotch courtesy of BAFTA. Marvelous. Would a martini be a little too on the nose…) I also caught a dream of driving this:-

Jaguar C-X75 concept car from Spectre

These type of nights are always fun, especially being new to LA. I’m only 3 or so months into my BAFTA scholarship and already it’s been such a great benefit to my burgeoning journey in this mad world of movies.

On a serious note, the generosity of such institutions that realize how hard it can be for someone to start something, can be invaluable. So for them to spend their time, money and effort acknowledging that in me, and importantly, giving a chance for someone to focus their creative vision into something  tangible – is definitely worth tipping my drink too. A fine scotch drink at that.

Tuft. Richard Tuft…
(hmmm, was worth a shot I guess)

**Check It Out – Spectre and Sam Mendes Q&A

Part of this website as it grows will hopefully encapsulate everything film, movies and of course, animation. And as one would expect, a big part of Film is watching the beauts! Watching and then talking about them. Because good films (and bad) evoke emotions and create discussion. Which can usually be quite fun, and sometimes even insightful. God-forbid even useful.

In future posts, some where down the line, these discussions will be more formal and perhaps incorporate studies of movies, scenes, actors and of course Movie Reviews. But in the meantime, i’ll just briefly mention that I was lucky enough to catch a screening of Spectre, followed by an insightful Q&A from the director Sam Mendes.

Sam Mendes is an articulate director, and a man who has a very clear vision when discussing his movie. It was clear he has a passion for telling stories with a character focus. And that direction comes off well in his two Bond movies to date. He was very particular with what he wanted, and he discussed these specifics in his Q&A. He also gave insightful anecdotes on making such a big production, from dealing with grand action sequences under the guise of less action-centric director, pushing and plussing everything including amping up multiple helicopter rigs, and of course crafting the symbolic Bond character himself (who if mismanaged could be antiquated or unappealing) .

The film itself was good. But fell just shy of being what Sam discussed. And I emphasize, just, as it was certainly good (a telling sign is the, on-paper, crazy long 2hr 30 mins runtime went by very briskly).

I felt he was able to describe the nuances of the characters and their choices in a more fulfilled fashion than the movie itself played out. Perhaps a by-product of a movie this big being made over such a period of time with so many moving parts to juggle. How does one wo/man maintain such a disciplined and strict vision of a movie from idea to script to production, on such juggernauts? An interesting discussion for another day perhaps.

Certainly worth watching in the Cinema. Here’s a trailer of the movie to tickle your little movie beans:

Oh, and on a side note – don’t faff around on these movie marketing trains pretending actors aren’t playing certain characters, especially when their reveal is not important to the plot in any way other than a marketing device. Can just imagine the PR people in the studios giggling away at their “genius” in creating such great speculation and interest in who so and so is playing in the movie. “oooo is he playing him or isn’t he – I better go buy movie ticket now. Me need find out”. Don’t be a cheap turd and treat audiences like idiots. OK, fair point – not massive idiots. It offers nothing. I’m looking at you too Star Trek 2.

#Blofeld #Khan. No, they are not spoilers. They are characters, in a movie.

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