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"Fawlty Towers" (1975) More at IMDbPro »
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2005 | 2004 | 2001 | 2000
1-20 of 29 items from 2012 « Prev | Next »
TV comedy writers must be paid more, warns veteran producer
15 hours ago | The Guardian - TV News | See recent The Guardian - TV News news »
Former head of BBC Comedy, Jon Plowman, said that increased demand for shows means that pay rates will have to rise
Jon Plowman, one of the UK's most experienced TV comedy producers, has warned that there can be no sustained "golden age" for the genre, despite Sky, ITV and Channel 4 ramping up their commissions, unless writers are paid more.
The former head of BBC comedy, whose producer credits include Absolutely Fabulous, French and Saunders, The Office, The League of Gentlemen and The Thick of It, said that the rate for writers working for the corporation, both new and relatively experienced, is about £6,000 per half hour episode. Plowman now works for the BBC as a freelance, producing shows including Twenty Twelve and Roger and Val Have Just Got It.
"Rates for writers are not terrible but they are by no means great for those starting out, £6,000 per episode or £36,000 per series. »
- Maggie Brown
Deja view: why television is addicted to remakes
2 May 2012 9:14 AM, PDT | The Guardian - TV News | See recent The Guardian - TV News news »
As the Us remake of The Killing returns to Channel 4 and a British version of The Bridge is mooted, Mark Lawson asks why broadcasters are so attracted to remaking foreign-language shows
A Scandanavian wind is blowing into English language television. With reports that Spooks production company Kudos is exploring a possible remake of The Bridge, there has also been talk in the corridors of both the BBC and Channel 4 about the viability of a "British Borgen". If made, these series would join a broadcasting smorgasbord that already includes the American version of the first of the great Dane dramas, The Killing. The second series of that Am-Scan hybrid – billed as The Killing Us – begins on Channel 4 on Wednesday night at 10pm.
TV remakes are motivated by a combination of envy and xenophobia: a foreign broadcaster recognises the brilliance of the idea but fears that subtitles and suspicion »
- Mark Lawson
Five Youtube Experiences to Brighten Your Week
22 April 2012 2:10 AM, PDT | Shadowlocked | See recent Shadowlocked news »
This fortnight I’ve brought you a group of pointless clips, and one not-so-pointless clip.
There is not one, but two pointlessly funny road incidents; a pointless but astonishing clip recorded on a toy plane; a video demolishing five pointless historical factoids and lastly; a beautiful, but sadly not pointless, piece of cinematic art.
Woof!
5. Towing Failed
The music appears out of place at first, but its inclusion is a masterstroke. The slow, and subtle escape of the guilty party is also phenomenally hilarious.
It creeps up on you, the laughter. At first you don’t know what to expect as the chaos unfolds, like a Fawlty Towers episode, but before you realise it you’re in fits of laughter.
It’s short and sweet and brilliantly funny. Enjoy!
4. Unbelievable [Nsfw]
Steve knows his rights. How can I be so sure? Well, he screams it in a drunken rage numerous times, »
Your next box set: Ripping Yarns
29 March 2012 4:06 PM, PDT | The Guardian - TV News | See recent The Guardian - TV News news »
Charming, insightful and very silly tales of Englishness, empire-building and high adventure from Michael Palin and Terry Jones
After their groundbreaking BBC series Monty Python's Flying Circus wound down in 1974, the Python team pretty much ceased to be an entity on TV. While their disbanding led to more film work (and their masterpiece, Life of Brian), they all continued small-screen work freed from the restrictions of the sketch show. From this period we get such classics as John Cleese's Fawlty Towers and Eric Idle's The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash. Equally funny, if a little less famous, is Michael Palin and Terry Jones's Ripping Yarns.
Palin and Jones had worked together since their student days in the Oxford Revue, and they regularly paired up to write for Python. Ripping Yarns sprang from a one-off, half-hour parody of Tom Brown's Schooldays, mixed in with the duo's own »
- Phelim O'Neill
Interview: Matt Lucas Talks "Small Apartments" and Walking Around In Tighty Whities
29 March 2012 11:31 AM, PDT | AfterElton.com | See recent AfterElton.com news »
You may recognize comedic actor Matt Lucas from his work in the U.K.- based sketch comedy show Little Britain or as Kristen Wiig's passive aggressive roommate in Bridesmaids. His comic chops are top notch, but he recently test drove his American accent and his dramatic acting skills in Small Apartments, which made its World Premiere at this year's South by Southwest Film Festival.
Set in the grimy, hyperreality created by music video auteur Jonas Åkerlund (the man responsible for creating Lady Gaga and Beyonce's technicolored "Telephone" video as well as many-a-Madonna vids) , Matt stars as Franklin Franklin, a man who has an affinity for Switzerland, orange soda, blowing into his Ricola alphorn, and has an extensive collection of wigs. While living in his dilapidated apartment, his tyrant-of-a-landlord (Peter Stormare) pays him a visit and then Lucas' character "accidentally" kills him. The rest of the movie follows »
- Dino-Ray
Fun Facts On Doctor Who's New Companion
22 March 2012 9:31 AM, PDT | Huffington Post | See recent Huffington Post news »
Actress Jenna-Louise Coleman was named as Doctor Who's new companion on Wednesday by executive producer Steven Moffat.
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The 25-year-old isn't exactly a newcomer. Coleman has appeared in several British projects, including the soap Emmerdale and Waterloo Road. »
- www.hollywoodreporter.com
Global BBC iPlayer: 'Canada loves our crime dramas' - interview
12 March 2012 4:40 AM, PDT | digitalspy | See recent digitalspy news »
The BBC launched its global iPlayer app in 11 western European markets in July last year, and has since expanded the service into Scandinavia and Australia. Although the platform is exclusive to iOS devices while in its pilot phase, the broadcaster's programming has been causing quite a stir overseas. Subscribers worldwide can stream or download an extensive on-demand archive of content that comprises everything from Doctor Who to episodes of the classic Fawlty Towers.
Digital Spy caught up with global BBC iPlayer general manager Matthew Littleford at this year's BBC Worldwide Showcase to discuss the challenges of creating a subscription-based version of the platform, and his plans for taking it forward. How has the global version of iPlayer been performing since its launch?
"Really well actually. We set ourselves a whole host of key performance (more) »
- By Mark Langshaw
Mark Lawson on TV commissioning
4 March 2012 4:05 PM, PST | The Guardian - TV News | See recent The Guardian - TV News news »
What's occurring? Does David Cameron really want 236 episodes of Gavin and Stacey?
He might be thought to have bigger things to worry about (the NHS, Syria), but last week the prime minister intervened in a recurrent televisual controversy. Meeting Welsh actor Joanna Page at a Downing Street reception to mark St David's Day, David Cameron revealed himself as a "huge fan" of Gavin and Stacey, lamenting that "like all sitcoms in the United Kingdom, it was much too short. We need more episodes."
Under a more Stalinist political system, James Corden and Ruth Jones, the show's writers, would be diverted from their respective roles in One Man, Two Guvnors on Broadway and Stella on Sky One and locked in an office at the Ministry of Culture until they delivered series four. Still, even if his request is unlikely to produce results, Cameron has touched on a tension in British TV between supply and demand. »
- Mark Lawson
The Televerse #25- Spotlight on Justified/Fawlty Towers with Michael Rice
21 February 2012 7:51 AM, PST | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »
It’s another in-person Televerse, as Simon’s down in Chicago this week. After talking through a somewhat mixed week in TV, Simon and Kate settle on Justified’s “Thick as Mud” as this week’s spotlight episode. Then we welcome Michael Ryan from the OperaNow! podcast to the DVD Shelf to discuss, well, certainly not the war!, but the classic British comedy, Fawlty Towers.
This week, we cover New Girl, the Cougar Town premiere, Suburgatory, Happy Endings, Top Chef: Texas, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, Archer, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Fringe, the finale of The Fades, An Idiot Abroad, the Life’s Too Short pilot, the Eastbound & Down premiere, Downton Abbey, the premiere of The Amazing Race, The Good Wife, Luck, Lost Girl, The Voice, and Smash.
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- Kate Kulzick
Morgan Spurlock: 'I wasn't the best looking kid – I was just tenacious'
20 February 2012 1:32 AM, PST | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »
At one of his regular New York haunts, the film-maker explains why he loves risk-taking and the British sense of humour
Arriving at Balthazar in New York's SoHo, there is a lunchtime crowd hovering near reservations, a combination of wide-eyed tourists who want a glimpse of real New Yorkers, and the pushy New Yorkers who want to avoid the tourists. Being a pushy New Yorker, I squeeze my way to the front. I mention Morgan Spurlock and the maître'd nods. "Yes," he says, handing over menus to the hostess. "His table is ready."
I follow the hostess through the cavernous room which is modelled after a Parisian café – deep red banquettes and shiny brass rails. I'm told Spurlock likes the large, circular booth and yes, he comes in often. Later, he'll explain his emotional connection to Balthazar; it's where he celebrated the success of Super Size Me, his 2004 documentary about »
- Ariel Leve
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Star Dies Aged 82
16 February 2012 11:26 AM, PST | The Hollywood News | See recent The Hollywood News news »
While the world mourned the passing of music legend Whitney Houston this weekend, it was reported that another great talent had passed on.
The Irish actor, David Kelly, sadly died at the grand age of 82, after 49 years in the acting business. Probably most well-known for his role as Grandpa Joe in Tim Burton’s adaptation of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005), he was also in films such as Stardust (2007), The Calcium Kid (2003) and Mean Machine (2001). As well as recent cinema, Kelly also had a role in the original The Italian Job (1969) and had an impact on the small screen, with roles in Ballykissangel (1998) and Fawlty Towers (1975).
He earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his role in Waking Ned (1998), a film in which he rode naked on a motorbike in. More recently, he won the Irish Film and Television Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and earned himself a Best »
- Jazmine Sky Bradley
David Kelly – Irish Character Actor Dead at 82
15 February 2012 12:40 PM, PST | WeAreMovieGeeks.com | See recent WeAreMovieGeeks.com news »
Best known to mainstream audiences as ‘Uncle Joe’ in Tim Burton’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and to arthouse snobs as the naked old guy on the motorcycle in the 1998 hit Waking Ned Devine, David Kelly’s been acting for 60 years. Other interesting credits include a bit in Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1956), the Fawlty Towers TV show, Mike Newell’s Into The West (1992), and Stardust (2007). Kelly died Sunday at age 82. The cause of death has not been announced.
From The Washington Post:
Irish character actor David Kelly, who played Grandpa Joe in .Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. and motorcycled naked in .Waking Ned Devine,. has died. He was 82. His family and friends said Kelly died Sunday in Dublin after an acting career on stage, film, TV and radio that spanned a half-century. His cause of death was not announced. Kelly was best known in Ireland for his 1980 depiction »
- Tom Stockman
Irish Actor David Kelly Dies at Age 82
15 February 2012 9:55 AM, PST | Reelzchannel.com | See recent ReelzChannel news »
Actor David Kelly, who played Charlie's Grandpa Joe in 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, died on Sunday at the age of 82 in Dublin after a short illness. Called the "grand old man of Irish acting" by the Irish Times, Kelly had a career that spanned 50 years and included work on television, movies, and on the stage.
The actor starred in a broad range of movies including Stardust, Waking Ned Devine, and Into the West. Ned Devine garnered the actor a SAG nomination and was also the movie he jokingly credited for making him a sex symbol, due to the fact that he was featured nude on a motorcycle. His television roles included the Irish mini-series Strumpet City, as well as a small but memorable part in the series Fawlty Towers.
Kelly was the recipient of the Irish Film and Television Academy lifetime achievement award in 2005, and was nominated for »
- Mandy McAdoo
David Kelly obituary
13 February 2012 4:05 PM, PST | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news »
The distinctive and beguiling Irish actor David Kelly, who has died aged 82, was as familiar a face in British television sitcoms as he was on the stage in Dublin, where he was particularly associated with the Gate theatre. But he was perhaps best known in recent years for playing Grandpa Joe in Tim Burton's movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), an engaging performance that was honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Film and Television Academy; Johnny Depp, who played Willy Wonka, paid a touching tribute on a video link from Hollywood to Dublin.
Kelly was a tall and flamboyant figure who was often cast as a comic, eccentric Irishman, notably as Albert Riddle, an incompetent, one-armed dish-washer in the late 1970s British sitcom Robin's Nest; he »
- Michael Coveney
David Kelly obituary
13 February 2012 4:05 PM, PST | The Guardian - TV News | See recent The Guardian - TV News news »
Irish stage and screen actor who was a familiar face in many British TV sitcoms
The distinctive and beguiling Irish actor David Kelly, who has died aged 82, was as familiar a face in British television sitcoms as he was on the stage in Dublin, where he was particularly associated with the Gate theatre. But he was perhaps best known in recent years for playing Grandpa Joe in Tim Burton's movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), an engaging performance that was honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Film and Television Academy; Johnny Depp, who played Willy Wonka, paid a touching tribute on a video link from Hollywood to Dublin.
Kelly was a tall and flamboyant figure who was often cast as a comic, eccentric Irishman, notably as Albert Riddle, an incompetent, one-armed dish-washer in the late 1970s British sitcom Robin's Nest; he »
- Michael Coveney
Daily Briefing. Clips from Miguel Gomes's "Tabu"
13 February 2012 2:41 PM, PST | MUBI | See recent MUBI news »
With special thanks going out to Adrian Martin, we begin with a bit of viewing, not-so-strategically embedded here throughout today's Briefing. The buzz leading up to tomorrow's world premiere of Miguel Gomes's Tabu at the Berlinale has been next-to-unprecedented, at least to this Berlinale veteran. Critic.de has posted three clips, and yes, they are extraordinarily promising. Hopes are high.
Reading. "It seems likely that digital projection has, in unintended and unexpected ways, put the history of film in jeopardy." David Bordwell explains.
New York. "Chicago-born Andrea Callard, among the first wave of Tribeca artist-settlers in the early 70s, loved to find the country in the city," writes Melissa Anderson in the Voice. "Several of her Super 8 short films from that period on view at her Maysles tribute (which also includes slide shows of her hand-colored print collages) reveal nature's splendor in the most unlikely places." Through Sunday. »
David Kelly Dies
13 February 2012 7:13 AM, PST | EmpireOnline | See recent EmpireOnline news »
Irish actor David Kelly has died in hospital after a short illness. The Dubliner, who was best known for his roles in Waking Ned and as Grandpa Joe Bucket in Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, was 82. Kelly's first break on the screen came with two small role but noteworthy roles: the vicar presiding over Great Aunt Nelly's funeral in The Italian Job and inept builder O'Reilly in Fawlty Towers. He went on to combine work on the stage with stalwart TV turns in Ballykissangel, On The Buses and Emmerdale Farm. Samuel Beckett's one-man play Krapp’s Last Tape, in which Kelly played the title role to great acclaim, was a high-water mark for his career in theatre. Kelly also scored notable sucesses on the big screen. As elderly chancer Michael O'Sullivan in Kirk Jones' knockabout comedy Waking Ned, he landed a SAG award nod and »
Irish Actor Kelly Dies
13 February 2012 12:11 AM, PST | WENN | See recent WENN news »
Waking Ned star David Kelly has died at the age of 82.
The Irish actor passed away in hospital on Sunday after a short illness.
Kelly's career spanned five decades on stage and screen - he racked up credits in films including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Stardust and The Italian Job, and was nominated for a Screen Actor's Guild award for his performance in Waking Ned.
He also made TV appearances with roles in Fawlty Towers and Robin's Nest, and played in Beckett and Shakespeare productions onstage.
Kelly also received a lifetime achievement honour at the Irish Film and Television Awards. »
What's German for funny?
12 February 2012 4:05 PM, PST | The Guardian - TV News | See recent The Guardian - TV News news »
What makes Germans laugh – and why is it so different from what amuses the British? The answer may lie in a slapstick English comedy that became a TV favourite in Germany
The sketch is called Dinner for One, and it is easily described. The curtain opens on butler James laying a lavish dinner table. The lady of the house, Miss Sophie, wearing an elegant evening dress, descends a flight of stairs, and sits at the head of the table. We soon realise that it is her 90th birthday, and that something is not quite right. "Is everybody here?" Miss Sophie asks. "They're all here waiting, Miss Sophie, yes," James says, gesticulating towards the empty seats around the table. "Sir Toby?" Sophie asks. "Sir Toby is sitting here," James says, patting the back of the chair on Miss Sophie's right, and continues to assign seats to the imaginary guests named by »
- Philip Oltermann
David Kelly Dies Aged 82
12 February 2012 1:40 PM, PST | FlicksNews.net | See recent FlicksNews.net news »
Very sad news, the great Irish actor David Kelly has died in hospital after a short illness. He was 82. He was one of the most recognisable voices and faces of Irish stage and screen, playing everything from Beckett to Shakespeare.
He was best known in Ireland for his performance as 'Rashers' Tierney in Strumpet City. His memorable appearance in Fawlty Towers, as the builder O'Reilly, brought him to a British and wider audience.
He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for his role in Waking Ned and also received an Ifta lifetime achievement award and a Helen Hayes award for Moons for the Misbegotten. In 2005, he appeared as Charlie's grandad in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where he formed a close friendship with Johnny Depp who declared Kelly as his hero.
He is survived by his wife, Laurie, his son David and daughter Miriam.
»
- noreply@blogger.com (Flicks News)
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