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What’s the latest news on the small screen?

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Cool, I hadn’t realised they’d finished shooting. Glad to see it’s not being impacted by Corona.

Trailer looks very good. It’ll be interesting how they adapt the structure of the book into a season – I would’ve thought they’d stick to the first of the novellas for the first season, but there was a moment in the trailer that I think belongs to one of the other stories?

Anyway, this is probably the series I am most looking forward this year.
Okay, next to Fargo.

I assume they are dumping the structure of the book (and rightfully so). I expect this to be an in-spirit adaptation rather than a faithful one.

Nicolas Cage to Play Joe Exotic in Scripted Series About Tiger King Star

Todd wrote:

Nicolas Cage to Play Joe Exotic in Scripted Series About Tiger King Star

Hmmm. I’m wondering if Cage can play has the experience to play a character as bat-shit-crazy as Joe Exotic. 

Maybe Christopher Walken can give him some tips…

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Todd

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Reboot Lands Showrunner

NBC’s Peacock streaming service has found a showrunner for its upcoming re-reboot of Battlestar Galactica.

Assassin’s Creed screenwriter Michael Leslie has signed on to helm the show, which will reboot the continuity of the venerable franchise, marking its third separate iteration on TV following the original 1970s series and the early 2000s SyFy series.

“I am beyond excited to be taking on this iconic and inspirational show. As a lifelong devotee, I know that the possibilities of Battlestar Galactica’s world are infinite and that each iteration has raised the bar for epic and intelligent sci-fi storytelling,” stated Leslie. “The teams at Esmail Corp, UCP and Peacock are second to none, and I already know that we are going to honour Glen A Larson and Ronald D Moore’s landmark series and break new boundaries with our own vision. It’s a dream come true – one I just can’t wait to share with fans, new and old alike. So say we all.”

No premiere date for the reboot has been announced.

In both cases, I have to wonder if anyone wants to see this?

A fictional Tiger King show is probably not a bad idea, but this is too soon to the documentary; right now, it feels like there is little this can add to the experience of watching the real thing.

And BG also feels too soon – it ended ten years ago and I think the memory of it is still pretty fresh.
But sure, go for it. I wasn’t really all that big a fan of the last iteration; maybe this one will be for me.

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Martin Smith

Go Tiger King (come on its Nicolas Cage playing Joe Exotic! I mean, that’s as watchable as Jim Carrey playing Keith Moon)

Fuck B G.  So say we all.

Now I am just disappointed we can’t get a crossover series of Tiger King Galactica, with Nicolas Cage playing Joe Exotic on a spaceship.

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Todd, njerry, Christian

saga wrote:

Now I am just disappointed we can’t get a crossover series of Tiger King Galactica, with Nicolas Cage playing Joe Exotic on a spaceship.

How do you know that’s not this is?

I mean how do you know that’s not what both of these things are?

Battlecat Galactica

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saga wrote:

Now I am just disappointed we can’t get a crossover series of Tiger King Galactica, with Nicolas Cage playing Joe Exotic on a spaceship.

Dude, spoilers!

This will be… interesting…

‘The Blacklist’ Uses Graphic Novel-Style Animation To Finish Season 7 Finale Cut Short By COVID-19 Shutdown

Like many other broadcast series, NBC’s The Blacklist will not be able to air a full season because of the coronavirus pandemic-related production shutdown. But the Sony Pictures TV-produced drama has found an innovative way to complete one more episode, which will now serve as a season finale.

The Blacklist Season 7’s 19th episode, titled “The Kazanjian Brothers,” was midway into filming in New York when TV production across the industry was halted due to COVID-19.

Brainstorming ways to finish the episode and close out the season, the series’ producers came up with an idea to add graphic novel-style animation that would incorporate with the already filmed live-action scenes.

Cast members, led by James Spader and Megan Boone, recorded dialogue from their homes for the animated versions of the unshot scenes in the script, with editors and animators completing their work remotely.

The season finale of The Blacklist‘s seventh season, originally set to span 22 episodes, will air May 15. The week before, the series, which already has been renewed for an eighth season, will air its 150th episode.

The Blacklist studio Sony TV also is working on an animated special for another of its series whose production was suspended by the pandemic, Pop TV comedy One Day at a Time.

The Blacklist stars Spader, Boone, Diego Klattenhoff, Amir Arison, Hisham Tawfiq and Harry Lennix. John Eisendrath, Jon Bokenkamp, John Davis, John Fox, James Spader, Lukas Reiter, J.R. Orci, and Laura A. Benson serve as executive producers. The Blacklist is a production of Davis Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television and Universal Television.

Here is the Season 7 finale logline: The Task Force investigates an accountant who works for lucrative criminals in order to find the violent and thuggish brothers hired for his protection. Liz must make a momentous decision. Presented in a unique hybrid of live-action and graphic novel-style animation.

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njerry

Todd wrote:

graphic novel-style animation

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Will_C, Todd, DavidM, njerry, Uncle Retrospective

Because they’re too embarrassed to say “cartoon”.

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd, Dave

Louis Leterrier Making Netflix Deal To Direct Will Smith & Joel Edgerton In ‘Bright 2’

I enjoyed the first one well enough. Hopefully this one will flow a bit better, but I’m intrigued on how they choose to expand the world?

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Yeah, the first movie was a bit of a mixed bag, but then I don’t love Ayers – and I did like general concept and the world-building in the script a lot, so I’m there for the sequel.

I tried to watch Bright and kept falling asleep. I don’t think I ever got to the end of it. It felt like there was potential there but they didn’t capitalise on the most fun parts of it.

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Christian

Sounds like the cast of Community are reuniting for a virtual table read of the Cooperative Polygraphy episode on YouTube later this month. Donald Glover is on board. Chevy Chase, of course, is not and the episode in question deals with his character’s death. Harsh.

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd

CBS picks up ‘Equalizer’ remake, ‘Silence of the Lambs’ sequel and Chuck Lorre comedy

JRCarter wrote:

CBS picks up ‘Equalizer’ remake, ‘Silence of the Lambs’ sequel and Chuck Lorre comedy

If that was the description of just ONE show, it would be the most awesome show on television EVER!!

Unfortunately, it sounds like more of the same cookie-cutter stuff from network TV.

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Martin Smith, Todd, Dave

Queen Latifah is the new Equalizer. Pretty big shoes to fill following Denzel and Edward Woodward

I am pretty sure there was a Silence of the Lambs sequel already.

Also, after Hannibal, there really is no point anymore going back to any of this.

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Dave

Christian wrote:

there really is no point anymore

There’s this new totally rad thing they call “money”, could be something about that.

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DavidM, Todd

Christian wrote:

I am pretty sure there was a Silence of the Lambs sequel already.

There was, called Hannibal. It had Sir Tony feeding sections of Ray Liotta’s brain to him at the dinner table.

In both the books and movies there was a sequel (Hannibal), prequel (Hannibal Rising) and also obviously a precursor in the form of Red Dragon (with the novel coming before the Silence of the Lambs novel and movie adaptations coming both before and after the movie in the form of Manhunter with Brian Cox and then Red Dragon with Hopkins).

The recent Hannibal TV series had access to pretty much all that material but not anything that originated in Silence of the Lambs, due to rights issues, which always felt like a shame. It would have been interesting to see what they made of Clarice, who had a sort of analogue in the TV series but without ever doing the Silence of the Lambs story.

Hannibal was a really good TV series and, although it ended well, there felt like there was a huge gulf in the narrative due to Fuller not having access to the Silence of the Lambs.  I vaguely recall that it was due to a licencing issue because Harris had licensed out the character of Clarice (and therefore the plot of the Silence of the Lambs) to a different studio.

Yeah, it was elsewhere at the time. As I remember, Fuller was hopeful of maybe getting access to the rights at some point, but in the end it never happened.

Dave wrote:

Manhunter with Brian Cox

“It’s four hundred million million million million watts. That is a million times the power consumption of the United States every year, radiated in one second, and we worked that out by using some water, a thermometer, a tin, and an umbrella. And that’s why I love physics. Now shut up and let me finish this fried spleen.”

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njerry, Todd

American Horror Story Spinoff: Ryan Murphy Announces ‘One-Hour Contained’ Offshoot

Ryan Murphy is expanding the American Horror Story universe to include a limited attention span-friendly spinoff series.

The uber producer announced early Monday on social media that he is moving forward with American Horror Stories, an offshoot of the FX anthology franchise that would consist of “one-hour contained episodes,” per Murphy. It’s unclear if the new series will air on FX. TVLine has reached out to the cabler for comment.

Murphy first broke the news to his primary American Horror Story cast members in a Zoom call, during which he also revealed “when we will start filming the next season of the mothership…and other stuff I cannot print.” (Murphy did not make the actual AHS Zoom reunion public.)

This looks very good.

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Oh that’s the adaptation of James McBride’s book about John Brown and “Bleeding Kansas.” McBride is one of the writers on the show along with Ethan Hawke. The humour of the book could prove tricky to get right. Should be very good indeed.

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SteveUK

The trailer definitely had an interesting sense of humour to it.

It looks like it’ll be a good show.

It’s being reported today that BBC 4 isn’t likely to survive the year, somehow because of coronavirus costs. Its budget and/or transmission space will be transferred to BBC Three, apparently.

Frankly, I still think the Beeb made a huge mistake in moving BBC Three online to chase the supposed “yoof” audience there. They should have fold 4 into 2 (which has been a shell of itself for years, having ceded so much ground on arts, documentary, kids shows to other BBC channels) and kept 3 on air. 4 has a niche but loyal audience that could slot into 2 whereas 3 always seems to have surprise hits (Killing Eve, This Country, Normal People) that then have to be found graveyard slots on BBC 1 to accommodate everyone who doesn’t want to use the iPlayer as Netflix.

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Todd

‘The Lost Boys’: The CW Boss On “Passion” Project’s Fate After New Pilot Was Rolled

I forget who here was vehemently opposed to the Lost Boys pilot.

Chris S is a big Lost Boys fan.

Well it’s one of the most emblematic 80’s movies… so yeah, a remake is probably a terrible idea, but you know it’s just a matter of time…

They’ll probably do something really dumb like have some of them be girls

 

DavidM wrote:

They’ll probably do something really dumb like have some of them be girls

 

Lost Girls is a very different story.

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Uncle Retrospective

Umbrella Academy, Season 2, lockdown trailer!

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Sean Robinson, RonnieM, Rocket

Ah, that’s cool, glad to see it’s coming out!

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/05/stephen-kings-the-stand-exclusive-first-look

‘The Stand’ may or may not be a tough sell in the middle of an actual pandemic, we’ll see?

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Christian

Yeah, depending on where things stand when it’s released, it may get a huge push or the opposite.

I hope it’s good. That novel still has a special place in my heart.

[Tobias Radesäter]

The Stand might be the novel I have the most mixed feelings about. I thought the first half (with random people having survived the plague) was totally amazing, and the second half (where it turns into a battle of good versus evil) boring as hell.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Tobias Radesäter.

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I loved both parts, and how they went together. Thought the empty world post-pandemic first part of it was completely enthralling, but as a fantasy geek I loved how this traditional fantasy story (with its Lord of the Rings parallels) was then built on top of that. And of course, these days, that part fits coherently into the Dark Tower universe, in which Randall Flagg is one face of a multi-dimensional antagonist.

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njerry

Yeah, The Stand remains my favorite Stephen King novel, and the best of that sub-genre of horror/fantasy/science fiction.

Adult Swim swoops in to save Tuca & Bertie for second season

Great news, S1 was excellent.

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Todd, Ian Smith

Yeah, I came to the first season late because Netflix didn’t promote the bloody thing at all. But I thought it was fantastic. Totally mental, but it’s got real heart to it.

What We Do in the Shadows Renewed for Season 3 at FX

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See, the hat isn’t cursed at all!

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Uncle Retrospective

By comic standards, Rucka’s The Old Guard wasn’t his best work, but looks like it’ll be a fun Netflix movie

Ben wrote:

By comic standards, Rucka’s The Old Guard wasn’t his best work, but looks like it’ll be a fun Netflix movie

Old Guard always seemed to be a rework/remix of a lot of a lot of Rucka’s tropes.  Always seemed to be a bit of a “What if Wonder Woman was Tara Chase?”  So it didn’t seem like much new in comic form but will likely work incredibly well in the absence of a Queen & Country film and hopefully scratch that itch.

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Ben

Now Cobra Kai is leaving YouTube and the upcoming season will be streamed either on Netflix or Hulu…

Which one is better?

Al-x wrote:

Now Cobra Kai is leaving YouTube and the upcoming season will be streamed either on Netflix or Hulu…

Which one is better?

I doubt it’ll be either of those.

Perry Mason looks good. But didn’t Perry Mason used to be, like, an attorney and not a private dick?

He looks more like Columbo.

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Todd

SteveUK wrote:

He looks more like Columbo.

That’s my Perry Mason.

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Todd

Christian wrote:

Perry Mason looks good. But didn’t Perry Mason used to be, like, an attorney and not a private dick?

He’s still a lawyer, just one who’s trying to figure out whodunnit. I think that was always the case; this is just leaning into the film noir style.

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Christian

[paul f]

BAFTA TV Nominations: ‘Chernobyl’ Leads The Way After Being Recognized In 14 Categories

COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM
THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW – So Television/BBC One
THE LAST LEG  – Open Mike Productions/Channel 4
THE RANGANATION  – Zeppotron/BBC Two
TASKMASTER – Avalon Television/Dave

CURRENT AFFAIRS
GROWING UP POOR: BRITAIN’S BREADLINE KIDS (DISPATCHES) – True Vision East/Channel 4
THE HUNT FOR JIHADI JOHN – Nutopia, Livedrop Media, HBO/Channel 4
IS LABOUR ANTI-SEMITIC? (PANORAMA) – BBC/BBC One
UNDERCOVER: INSIDE CHINA’S DIGITAL GULAG (EXPOSURE) – Hardcash Productions/ITV

DRAMA SERIES
THE CROWN – Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television/Netflix
THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD – Clerkenwell Films, Dominic Buchanan Productions/Channel 4/Netflix
GENTLEMAN JACK – Lookout Point, HBO/BBC One
GIRI/HAJI – Sister Pictures/BBC Two

ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE
FRANKIE BOYLE – Frankie Boyle’s New World Order – Zeppotron/BBC Two
GRAHAM NORTON – The Graham Norton Show – So Television/BBC One
LEE MACK – Would I Lie to You – Zeppotron/BBC One
MO GILLIGAN – The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan – Expectation, Momo G/Channel 4

ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM
THE GREATEST DANCER – Thames, Syco Entertainment/BBC One
THE RAP GAME UK – Naked TV/BBC Three
STRICTLY COME DANCING – BBC Studios/BBC One
THE VOICE UK – ITV Studios, Talpa/ITV

FACTUAL SERIES
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT – 72 Films/Channel 4
DON’T F**K WITH CATS: HUNTING AN INTERNET KILLER – Raw TV/Netflix
LEAVING NEVERLAND – Amos Pictures/Channel 4
OUR DEMENTIA CHOIR WITH VICKY MCCLURE – Curve Media/BBC One

FEATURES
JOE LYCETT’S GOT YOUR BACK – Rumpus Media, My Options Were Limited/Channel 4
THE MISADVENTURES OF ROMESH RANGANATHAN – Rumpus Media/BBC Two
MORTIMER & WHITEHOUSE: GONE FISHING – Owl Power/BBC Two
SNACKMASTERS – Optomen/Channel 4

FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAM
GBEMISOLA IKUMELO – Famalam – BBC Studios/BBC Three
PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE – Fleabag – Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three
SARAH KENDALL – Frayed – Merman, Guesswork Television/Sky One
SIAN CLIFFORD – Fleabag – Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three

INTERNATIONAL
EUPHORIA – The Reasonable Bunch, A24, Little Lamb, DreamCrew, Content Agency, HOT, TCDY Productions, HBO/Sky Atlantic
SUCCESSION – HBO, Project Zeus, Hyperobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions/Sky Atlantic
UNBELIEVABLE – CBS Television Studios, Timberman-Beverly Productions, Katie Couric Media, Escapist Fare, Sage Lane Productions/Netflix
WHEN THEY SEE US – Participant Media, Tribeca Productions, Harpo Films, Array Filmworks/Netflix

LEADING ACTOR
CALLUM TURNER – The Capture – Heyday Television, NBC Universal/BBC One
JARED HARRIS – Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games, HBO/Sky Atlantic
STEPHEN GRAHAM – The Virtues – Warp Films, Big Arty Productions/Channel 4
TAKEHIRO HIRA – Giri/Haji – Sister Pictures/BBC Two

LEADING ACTRESS
GLENDA JACKSON – Elizabeth is Missing – STV Productions/BBC One
JODIE COMER – Killing Eve – Sid Gentle Films/BBC One
SAMANTHA MORTON – I Am Kirsty – Me and You Productions/Channel 4
SURANNE JONES – Gentleman Jack – Lookout Point, HBO/BBC One

LIVE EVENT
BLUE PLANET LIVE – BBC Studios Natural History Unit, Open University, BBC Learning/BBC One
ELECTION 2019 LIVE: THE RESULTS – ITV News, ITN/ITV
GLASTONBURY 2019 – BBC Studios/BBC Two
OPERATION LIVE – The Garden Productions/Channel 5

MALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAM
GUZ KHAN – Man Like Mobeen – Tiger Aspect Productions, Cave Bear Productions/BBC Three
JAMIE DEMETRIOU – Stath Lets Flats – Roughcut TV/Channel 4
NCUTI GATWA – Sex Education – Eleven Film/Netflix
YOUSSEF KERKOUR – Home – Jantaculum, Channel X/Channel 4

MINI-SERIES
A CONFESSION – ITV Studios, Urban Myth Films/ITV
CHERNOBYL – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games, HBO/Sky Atlantic
THE VICTIM – STV Productions/BBC One
THE VIRTUES – Warp Films, Big Arty Productions/Channel 4

NEWS COVERAGE
HONG KONG PROTESTS – Sky News/Sky News
ITV NEWS AT TEN: ELECTION RESULTS – ITV News, ITN/ITV
PRINCE ANDREW & THE EPSTEIN SCANDAL (NEWSNIGHT) – BBC News/BBC Two
VICTORIA DERBYSHIRE: MEN WHO LOST LOVED ONES TO KNIFE CRIME – BBC News/BBC Two

REALITY & CONSTRUCTED FACTUAL
CELEBRITY GOGGLEBOX – Studio Lambert/Channel 4
HARRY’S HEROES: THE FULL ENGLISH – Talkback/ITV
RACE ACROSS THE WORLD – Studio Lambert/BBC Two
RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK – World of Wonder Productions/BBC Three

SCRIPTED COMEDY
CATASTROPHE – Avalon Television, Birdbath, Merman/Channel 4
DERRY GIRLS – Hat Trick Productions/Channel 4
FLEABAG – Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three
STATH LETS FLATS – Roughcut TV/Channel 4

SHORT FORM PROGRAM
ANYWHERE BUT WESTMINSTER – The Guardian/The Guardian
BRAIN IN GEAR – BBC Studios/BBC iPlayer
SOON GONE: A WINDRUSH CHRONICLE – Douglas Road Productions, The Young Vic/BBC Four
TONI_WITH_AN_I (BORN DIGITAL: FIRST CUTS) – Plimsoll Productions/BBC Four

SINGLE DOCUMENTARY
THE ABUSED – Brinkworth Productions/Channel 5
DAVID HAREWOOD: PSYCHOSIS AND ME – Films of Record, Open University/BBC Two
THE FAMILY SECRET – True Vision Yorkshire/Channel 4
THE LAST SURVIVORS – Minnow Films/BBC Two

SINGLE DRAMA
BREXIT: THE UNCIVIL WAR – House Productions, Baffin Media/Channel 4
ELIZABETH IS MISSING – STV Productions/BBC One
THE LEFT BEHIND – BBC Studios/BBC Three
RESPONSIBLE CHILD – Kudos, 72 Films/BBC Two

SOAP & CONTINUING DRAMA
CASUALTY – BBC Studios/BBC One
CORONATION STREET – ITV Studios/ITV
EMMERDALE – ITV Studios/ITV
HOLBY CITY – BBC Studios/BBC One

SPECIALIST FACTUAL
8 DAYS: TO THE MOON AND BACK – BBC Studios, PBS/BBC Two
SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET – BBC Studios Natural History Unit, BBC America, Tencent Penguin Pictures, ZDF, France Télévisions, CCTV9/BBC One
THATCHER: A VERY BRITISH REVOLUTION – BBC Studios: The Documentary Unit/BBC Two
YORKSHIRE RIPPER FILES: A VERY BRITISH CRIME STORY – Wall to Wall Media/BBC Four

SPORT
2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP FINAL: ENGLAND V SOUTH AFRICA – ITV Sport/ITV
ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP FINAL – Sky Sports, Sunset+Vine, ICC TV/Sky Sports Cricket
FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2019 SEMI FINAL: ENGLAND V USA – Input Media/BBC One
WIMBLEDON 2019 MEN’S FINAL – BBC Sport/BBC One

SUPPORTING ACTOR
JOE ABSOLOM – A Confession – ITV Studios, Urban Myth Films/ITV
JOSH O’CONNOR – The Crown – Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television/Netflix
STELLAN SKARSGARD – Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games, HBO/Sky Atlantic
WILL SHARPE – Giri/Haji – Sister Pictures/BBC Two

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
HELEN BEHAN – The Virtues – Warp Films, Big Arty Productions/Channel 4
HELENA BONHAM CARTER – The Crown – Left Bank Pictures Sony Pictures/Netflix
JASMINE JOBSON – Top Boy – Cowboy Films, Easter Partisan Films, DreamCrew, SpringHill Entertainment/Netflix
NAOMI ACKIE – The End of the F***ing World – Clerkenwell Films, Dominic Buchanan Productions/Channel 4

VIRGIN MEDIA’S MUST-SEE MOMENT (voted for by the public)
CORONATION STREET The Death of Sinead Osborne – ITV Studios/ITV
FLEABAG Confessional scene – Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three
GAME OF THRONES Arya Kills the Night King – Bighead, Littlehead, Television 360, Startling Television, HBO/Sky Atlantic
GAVIN AND STACEY Nessa Proposes to Smithy – Baby Cow Productions/BBC One
LINE OF DUTY John Corbett’s Death – World Productions/BBC One
LOVE ISLAND Michael recouples after Casa Amor – ITV Studios, Motion Content Group ITV2
 

Below are the nominations in full for the main Craft Awards:

BREAKTHROUGH TALENT <br>
AISLING BEA (Writer) This Way Up – Merman TV/Channel 4
ANEIL KARIA (Director) Pure (ep 3) – Drama Republic/Channel 4 & Top Boy (ep 10) – Cowboy Films, Easter Partisan Films, Dream Crew, SpringHill Entertainment/Netflix
LAURIE NUNN (Writer) Sex Education – Eleven Film/Netflix
SEAN BUCKLEY (Writer) Responsible Child – Kudos, 72 Films/BBC Two

COSTUME DESIGN
CAROLINE MCCALL His Dark Materials – Bad Wolf/BBC One
JOANNA EATWELL Beecham House – Bend It TV/ITV
MICHELE CLAPTON Game of Thrones – HBO, Bighead, Littlehead, 36 Television, Startling Television/Sky Atlantic
ODILE DICKS-MIREAUX Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic

DIRECTOR: FACTUAL
ARTHUR CARY The Last Survivors – Minnow Films/BBC Two
DAN REED Leaving Neverland – AMOS Pictures/Channel 4
MARK LEWIS Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer – Raw TV/Netflix
ROBIN BARNWELL Undercover: Inside China’s Digital Gulag (Exposure) – Hardcash Productions/ITV

DIRECTOR: FICTION
HARRY BRADBEER Fleabag – Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three
JOHAN RENCK Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic
SHANE MEADOWS The Virtues – Warp Films, Big Arty Productions/Channel 4
TOBY HAYNES Brexit: The Uncivil War – House Productions/Channel 4

DIRECTOR: MULTI-CAMERA
BRIDGET CALDWELL The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance – BBC Studios/BBC One
JANET FRASER CROOK Glastonbury 2019 – BBC Studios/BBC Two
MATTHEW GRIFFITHS Six Nations 2019 – Wales v England – BBC Sport/BBC One
PAUL MCNAMARA ITV Racing: Cheltenham Festival – ITV Sport/ITV

EDITING: FACTUAL
ANDY R. WORBOYS Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein – Lightbox/BBC Two
JULES CORNELL Leaving Neverland – AMOS Pictures/Channel 4
KIM HORTON 63 Up – MultiStory Media/ITV
MICHAEL HARTE Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer – Raw TV/Netflix

EDITING: FICTION
DAN CRINNION Killing Eve (Episode 4) – Sid Gentle Films/BBC One
ELEN PIERCE LEWIS Giri/Haji – Sister Pictures/BBC Two
GARY DOLLNER Fleabag – Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three
SIMON SMITH, JINX GODFREY Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic

ENTERTAINMENT CRAFT TEAM
AMBER RIMELL, BRONSKI, MISTY BUCKLEY, TIM ROUTLEDGE Glastonbury 2019 (Stormzy) – BBC Studios, Tawbox/BBC Two
DAVID BISHOP, VICKY GILL, ANDY TAPLEY, PATRICK DOHERTY Strictly Come Dancing – BBC Studios/BBC One
MARK BUSK-COWLEY, STEVE KRUGER, IAIN STIRLING, JAMES TINSLEY Love Island – ITV Studios, Motion Content Group/ITV 2
NIGEL CATMUR, PATRICK DOHERTY, KEVIN DUFF, ANDREW STOKES The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance – BBC Studios/BBC One

MAKE UP & HAIR DESIGN
DANIEL PARKER, BARRIE GOWER Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic
INMA AZORIN The Trial of Christine Keeler – Ecosse Films, Great Meadow Productions/BBC One
KIRSTIN CHALMERS Catherine the Great – New Pictures, Origin Pictures/HBO/Sky Atlantic
LOZ SCHIAVO Peaky Blinders – Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect/BBC One

ORIGINAL MUSIC
ADRIAN JOHNSTON Giri/Haji – Sister Pictures/BBC Two
ANDREW PHILLIPS War in the Blood – Minnow Films/BBC Two
DAVID HOLMES, KEEFUS CIANCIA Killing Eve – Sid Gentle Films/BBC One
HILDUR GUDNADÓTTIR Chernobyl- Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic

PHOTOGRAPHY: FACTUAL 
BERTIE GREGORY, HOWARD BOURNE, JOHN SHIER Seven Worlds, One Planet – BBC Studios/BBC One
DOUG ANDERSON, ROGER HORROCKS, GAVIN THURSTON Our Planet (Coastal Seas) – Silverback Films/Netflix
JAMIE MCPHERSON, HECTOR SKEVINGTON-POSTLES, BARRIE BRITTON Our Planet (Frozen Worlds) – Silverback Films/Netflix
PATRICK SMITH, NEIL HARVEY Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein – Lightbox/BBC Two

PHOTOGRAPHY & LIGHTING: FICTION
ADRIANO GOLDMAN The Crown – Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television/Netflix
JAKOB IHRE Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic
JOE ANDERSON Top Boy – Cowboy Films, Easter Partisan Films, Dream Crew, SpringHill Entertainment/Netflix
SUZIE LAVELLE His Dark Materials (Episode 3) – Bad Wolf, BBC Studios, HBO/BBC One

PRODUCTION DESIGN
LAURENCE DORMAN Killing Eve – Sid Gentle Films/BBC One
LUKE HULL, CLAIRE LEVINSON-GENDLER Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBOSky Atlantic
MARTIN CHILDS, ALISON HARVEY The Crown – Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television/Netflix
SAMANTHA HARLEY, MIRI KATZ Sex Education – Eleven Film/Netflix

SCRIPTED CASTING
DES HAMILTON Top Boy – Cowboy Films, Easter Partisan Films, Dream Crew, SpringHill Entertainment/Netflix
LAUREN EVANS Sex Education – Eleven Film/Netflix
NINA GOLD, ROBERT STERNE Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic
YOKO NARAHASHI, SHAHEEN BAIG, LAYLA MERRICK-WOLF Giri/Haji – Sister/BBC Two

SOUND: FACTUAL
GRAHAM WILD, KATE HOPKINS Seven Worlds, One Planet – BBC Studios/BBC One
GRAHAM WILD, KATE HOPKINS, TIM OWENS Our Planet (One Planet) – Silverback Films Production/Netflix
NICK FRY, STEVE SPEED, JAMES EVANS, NICK ADAMS Formula 1: Drive to Survive – Box to Box Films/Netflix
SOUND TEAM Battle of the Brass Bands – Two Four/Sky Arts

SOUND: FICTION
DILLON BENNETT, JON THOMAS, GARETH BULL, JAMES RIDGEWAY His Dark Materials – Bad Wolf, BBC Studios, HBO/BBC One
IAN WILKINSON, LEE WALPOLE, FRASER BARBER, STUART HILLIKER A Christmas Carol – FX Productions in association with the BBC, Minim UK Productions, Scott Free, and Hardy Son & Baker/BBC One
Stefan Henrix, Joe Beal, Stuart Hilliker, Vincent Piponnier Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic
SOUND TEAM The Crown – Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television/Netflix

SPECIAL, VISUAL & GRAPHIC EFFECTS
BEN TURNER, CHRIS REYNOLDS, ASA SHOUL The Crown – Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television/Netflix
FRAMESTORE, PAINTING PRACTICE, REAL SFX, RUSSELL DODGSON His Dark Materials – Bad Wolf, BBC Studios/HBO/BBC One
LINDSAY MCFARLANE, CLAUDIUS CHRISTIAN RAUCH, JEAN-CLÉMENT SORET, DNEG Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic
MILK VISUAL EFFECTS, GARETH SPENSLEY, REAL SFX Good Omens – Amazon Studios, BBC Studios, Narrativia, The Blank Corporation/Amazon Prime Video

TITLES & GRAPHIC IDENTITY
ALEX MACLEAN The Durrells – Sid Gentle Films/ITV
ELASTIC Catherine the Great – New Pictures, Origin Pictures/HBO/Sky Atlantic
ELASTIC, PAINTING PRACTICE His Dark Materials – Bad Wolf, BBC Studios, HBO/BBC One
LIGHT CREATIVE Ghosts – Monumental Television, Them There/BBC One

WRITER: COMEDY
DANNY BROCKLEHURST Brassic – Calamity Films/Sky One
JAMIE DEMETRIOU Stath Lets Flats – Roughcut TV/Channel 4
PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE Fleabag – Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three
SAM LEIFER, TOM BASDEN Plebs – Rise Films/ITV2

WRITER: DRAMA
CHARLIE COVELL The End of the F***ing World – Clerkenwell Films, Dominic Buchanan Productions/Channel 4
CRAIG MAZIN Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/HBO/Sky Atlantic
JESSE ARMSTRONG Succession HBO, Project Zeus, Hyperobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions/Sky Atlantic
SHANE MEADOWS, JACK THORNE The Virtues – Warp Films, Big Arty Productions/Channel 4

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by paul f.

paul f wrote:

MALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAM GUZ KHAN – Man Like Mobeen – Tiger Aspect Productions, Cave Bear Productions/BBC Three JAMIE DEMETRIOU – Stath Lets Flats – Roughcut TV/Channel 4 NCUTI GATWA – Sex Education – Eleven Film/Netflix YOUSSEF KERKOUR – Home – Jantaculum, Channel X/Channel 4

That’s got to be a first. Majority BAME candidates (maybe all – I’m not sure if Cypriot counts).

I suspect Fleabag and Chernobyl will clean up the big awards, which is fine because they were both excellent.

A big clean up would be appropriate for Chernobyl.

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DavidM, Todd

The cast and crew will certainly be glowing if they win.

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DavidM, Todd

Bloody hell, that’s a long list of awards categories…

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njerry

They need the awards ceremony to last several days because there’s nothing else new on TV at the moment.

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Todd

Law & Order: SVU Will Address the George Floyd Killing and Coronavirus Pandemic in New Season

“I can’t make every episode about a bad cop … I think we’re trying to depict how justice should be handled for victims and for perps,” Law & Order: SVU executive producer Warren Leight said

The new season of Law & Order: SVU will address the horrific death of George Floyd and the nationwide protests in response to police brutality.

Showrunner Warren Leight opened up about how SVU plans to tackle the current state of the world, explaining during The Hollywood Reporter podcast TV’s Top 5 that Floyd’s killing “has to come up and it will.”

Floyd, 46, was killed last Monday in Minneapolis when former officer Derek Chauvin pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck; an independent autopsy showed he died from asphyxia. (On Wednesday, all four fired Minneapolis police officers present during the killing of Floyd learned they would face prosecution for their alleged roles in his homicide.)

“There are ways, we will find our way in to tell the story. Presumably our cops will still be trying to do the right thing but it’s going to be harder for them and they’re going to understand why it’s hard for them,” Leight shared.

Leight explained on the podcast that changes are being made in the SVU writers’ room in an “effort to bring in new voices, fresh voices, different voices.”

In addition to making efforts to diversify, Leight shared that SVU has “tried really hard in the last year to show how class and race affect the outcomes of justice in society, but I’m beginning to suspect ‘really hard’ wasn’t enough.”

“This has to be a moment where people make themselves uncomfortable — where people in power have to make themselves uncomfortable,” Leight said on the podcast.

While Leight explained, “[We] can’t make every episode about a bad cop,” he added that, “Olivia makes mistakes … but she’s empathic, which is I think what separates the cops on our television show from a lot of what we’re seeing these days on our livestreams.”

“I’ve been made uncomfortable by a number of shows that glorify the use of violence in interrogation or the use of threat,” Leight continued.

The upcoming season of SVU will also explore the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re going to reflect New York in the pandemic. What happens to someone who is sexually assaulted during the height of the coronavirus outbreak,” Leight said.

New ‘Looney Tunes’ Cartoons Ban Elmer Fudd From Having A Gun – But Other Mayhem Is Okay
By Bruce Haring

June 6, 2020 2:00pm

Warner Bros Animation
Elmer J. Fudd will have to find another way to bag that wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny, during hunting season. Because in the updated Looney Tunes cartoons streaming on HBO Max, he won’t be allowed to have a rifle, according to a report.

In the new versions of the classic cartoons, Fudd will still be hunting, but will use a scythe. That’s a modification in response to US gun violence, according to a report.

In response to US gun violence, the showrunners will not include firearms in Fudd’s arsenal. That is not to say that he has given up hunting Bugs Bunny, though – he just uses a scythe instead.

“We’re not doing guns,” said Peter Browngardt, executive producers of the series, in an interview with the New York Times. “But we can do cartoony violence – TNT, the Acme stuff.”

Browngardt added that the cartoons will stay true to the originals. “I always thought, ‘What if Warner Bros had never stopped making Looney Tunes cartoons? As much as we possibly could, we treated the production in that way.”

The modern versions will reflect modern sensibilities, he said.

“We’re going through this wave of anti-bullying, ‘everyone needs to be friends’, ‘everyone needs to get along’. Looney Tunes is pretty much the antithesis of that. It’s two characters in conflict, sometimes getting pretty violent.”

HBO Max’s just-launched kids and family programming includes new Warner Bros Animation-produced cartoons Looney Tunes based on the iconic animated shorts. The service includes the catalog of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and their pals that aired from 1930–1969, encompassing some 250 shorts in all.

Warner Bros Animation will produce the new Looney Tunes Cartoons. The new series will include 80 eleven-minute episodes, each comprised of animated shorts that vary in length and include adapted storylines for today’s audience. Pete Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa) and Sam Register serve as executive producers.

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Todd

JRCarter wrote:

In response to US gun violence, the showrunners will not include firearms in Fudd’s arsenal. That is not to say that he has given up hunting Bugs Bunny, though – he just uses a scythe instead.

I hope they reverse the policy for the UK market. Because I don’t have much chance of emulating Fudd if he uses a gun, but I do know where to get a scythe…

 

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Rocket

I was wondering why it disappeared. You’re welcome to it, David.

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DavidM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52983319

Little Britain pulled from iPlayer and Netflix because ‘times have changed’

Little Britain has been removed from BBC iPlayer, Netflix and BritBox as objections resurfaced to some of the sketch show’s characters.

Netflix pulled the Matt Lucas and David Walliams series on Friday, along with their other comedy Come Fly With Me.

The BBC and Britbox took Little Britain off on Monday. Both outlets said “times have changed” since it first aired.

Both shows include scenes where the comedians portray characters from different ethnic backgrounds.

“There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer, which we regularly review,” a BBC spokesperson said.

“Times have changed since Little Britain first aired so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer.”

I never loved Little Britain but I think pulling it is an overreaction. It’s not mean-spirited in its humour like some old racist comedies were, it’s absurd and deliberately extreme and silly, albeit making use of some crude stereotypes along the way.

But it was always quite deliberately grotesque, and that element of revulsion and boundary-crossing was part of the point.

It’s tricky one. I agree it never went out with any intent to be racist, like the 1970s comedians. However that’s true of something like Curry and Chips and Mind Your Language which are difficult watches to varying degrees and have also been removed from repeats and archives.

I do think there is context to wearing black makeup, a few comedians did it in the 90s and early 2000s without the same intent of exaggeration and mockery of the minstrel shows but more usually to imitate a specific person. There’s a LB sketch I found really funny where Matt Lucas goes to a gym dressed exactly like Mr T in the A-Team –  mohawk, tons of gold jewellry and yes, blacked up face. A guy comes up to him and says you look exactly like Mr T and he says he’s never heard of him, then the extra punchline comes as he drives off in a van exactly like the A-Team one.

The point of that joke is that Mr T has such a unique look you couldn’t possibly look like that by coincidence. There’s no ill intent but in the intervening time it has become the dominant view that we just shouldn’t do it at all and it’s hard to argue with that. Every time Lucas or Walliams or David Baddiel express an anti-racist view on social media someone immediately posts images of them in blackface for sketches.

As a sketch show though they do have the option to repackage it and cut the blackface ones out. It’s not as if there’s a narrative to spoil.

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Todd, Dave

That’s true and a fair point, they could easily edit out the offending sketches.

I guess part of my concern is that the offensiveness and discomfort is part of the point – these techniques haven’t been used innocently or naively, they’ve been used provocatively and deliberately.

Another good example is something like Papa Lazarou in the League of Gentlemen, a character that is deliberately grotesque and unpleasant and uncomfortable and throws back to awful entertainment stereotypes with the minstrel facepaint etc. Will LoG be dropped from screens now? And Psychoville which features similarly uncomfortable techniques?

I think there’s a risk that by simply removing the offending shows you might be cutting off the ability to make material that deliberately sets out to offend and discomfit.

Don’t get me wrong, I think being offended by this stuff on principle is a valid reaction. But I think blanket erasure of these shows is not the best way to handle it.

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Todd

Just saw this:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/10/gone-with-the-wind-dropped-from-hbo-max-over-depiction-of-slavery

Gone With the Wind dropped from HBO Max over depiction of slavery

HBO responded with a statement, which said: “These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”

The US civil war epic Gone With the Wind has been dropped from HBO Max, the streaming service recently launched by Warner Bros as a rival to Netflix and Disney+, after protests over its depiction of slavery.

 

The move followed an article in the LA Times by John Ridley, Oscar-winning scriptwriter of 12 Years a Slave, in which he described it as “a film that, when it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery, pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color”.

…

The streaming service added that the film would return to the platform accompanied by “a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions”, but would remain unaltered “because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed”

I support the idea of presenting this kind of thing unaltered but accompanied with some acknowledgement of its historical context, which seems to be what HBO Max is planning here.

It’s kind of similar to what they did with Tintin In The Congo.

 

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Uncle Retrospective, DavidM

Along similar lines, there was a version of Huckleberry Finn published a few years ago with a certain offensive word omitted.

I get the need to avoid offence, but if it comes at the expense of hiding uncomfortable historical truths then I don’t think it’s helpful. (Though as I’m not the target of the word in question, I’m not sure my opinion is valid.)

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Todd, Dave

Is it still cool to watch Police Academy?

saga wrote:

Is it still cool to watch Police Academy?

It never was

 

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lorcan_nagle, Todd, Dave

DavidM wrote:

I get the need to avoid offence, but if it comes at the expense of hiding uncomfortable historical truths then I don’t think it’s helpful. (Though as I’m not the target of the word in question, I’m not sure my opinion is valid.)

Well, you know. You can always go with the Robot edition of Huck Finn.

When it comes to these altered edition, my stance is, it’s fine if you’re a parent reading to a younger child and you want to postpone this discussion for a while. But using the original and having that discussion is the better option, to my mind.

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DavidM, Uncle Retrospective

1. Dave wrote:

   Just saw this:

   https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/10/gone-with-the-wind-dropped-from-hbo-max-over-depiction-of-slavery

   Gone With the Wind dropped from HBO Max over depiction of slavery

   HBO responded with a statement, which said: “These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”

   The US civil war epic Gone With the Wind has been dropped from HBO Max, the streaming service recently launched by Warner Bros as a rival to Netflix and Disney+, after protests over its depiction of slavery.

    

   The move followed an article in the LA Times by John Ridley, Oscar-winning scriptwriter of 12 Years a Slave, in which he described it as “a film that, when it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery, pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color”.

   …

   The streaming service added that the film would return to the platform accompanied by “a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions”, but would remain unaltered “because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed”

   I support the idea of presenting this kind of thing unaltered but accompanied with some acknowledgement of its historical context, which seems to be what HBO Max is planning here.

   It’s kind of similar to what they did with Tintin In The Congo.

   

    

I support messages which contextualize media and give fair waning of offensive imagery, but I think the blurb in red is pretty weak sauce.  Tintin in the Congo is pretty fucking racist. I mean, does it really matter that Herge was young when he wrote it? It sounds like justifications

I say employ a bit of Death of the Author with those types of messages.  The media lives on in a new context today in light of increasing recognition of racist portrayals.  Make that your message, don’t make it about Herge!

It’d be like saying on Gone With The Wind that Hatty McDaniel was an inspirational figure to young black women who aspired to be Hollywood starlets.  It ignores what she meant to the NAACP and the point that for most if her career all she was ever permitted to do was play maids!

Anonymous wrote:

I mean, does it really matter that Herge was young when he wrote it? It sounds like justifications

I don’t think that’s the intention behind mentioning that he was young, and I don’t think it’s seeking to excuse the racism in general, just acknowledge it.

I think it’s more to put this book in the context of the larger body of work on Tintin and to make the period of its creation a little more clear, as well as to distinguish the main writing period from the period in which the book was revised later.

Here’s the full foreword with that section in context (and without the edit in the middle):

Still, I think this demonstrates that even when you do have these acknowledgements there’s bound to be argument over the exact wording and intentions behind what is being added to a work.

Maybe it is best to just let art speak for itself and let the audience do the research work of putting it in historical context for themselves.

But then that would leave the corporations more open to claims of association with racist works, which is obviously what they’re trying to avoid here. (And if we’re being honest, this is a brand-management exercise as much as anything else.)

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Todd

I think that’s even worse,  to be honest Dave. You’re right, though, it is a brand management exercise, which is a little shameful.

If you’re going to put a message acknowledging something is racist, I think you should be direct, but perhaps mileage may vary.

Curious to see how HBO handles Gone with the Wind.

Anonymous wrote:

Curious to see how HBO handles Gone with the Wind.

Seems to me we already know how HBO is “handling” it. If their primary concern was the potential offensiveness of the film due to its cavalier portrayal of slavery, they could have just dropped it from their library of available titles without any press release or fanfare. Seriously, who would have noticed?

Instead, HBO has made a public display of their decision in this matter, probably after many Zoom meetings with their publicity and public relations teams because, as we all know, any publicity is good publicity. THAT’S how they are “handling” Gone With the Wind.

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DavidM, Dave

Never mind.

Anonymous wrote:

I think that’s even worse,  to be honest Dave.

I think the full version at least has Hergé himself recognise and take responsibility for the racist elements, rather than it seeming like someone else excusing him.

But this stuff goes way beyond Tintin. Lord of the Rings is a classic example of ‘fashionable racism’ that largely gets a pass but which I could see becoming increasingly seen as “problematic” in the years to come.

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lorcan_nagle

That’s part of the reason why I dont like it and it once again makes it about Herge and not the content.

There is lots of stuff out there… but Tintin in the Congo does not get a pass.

I don’t think anyone is trying to give it a pass. The whole point is that it’s clearly objectionable by today’s standards, but we’re still able to access it, and it’s presented in a way that addresses the racism head-on but encourages us to consider it in historical context.

I don’t really know what more can be done in cases like this.

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lorcan_nagle

I think if the goal is to preserve our history and not “burn the books” and instead include warnings on why the content may be offensive, then you need to talk about why the content is offensive, not the history of how the book ended up consequently making offensive content.

I think if we’re using these things as talking points for our children, then messages that actually make the racial issues known and explain the history of why they were sidestepped in that book and why they should not be today.  That’s all my point is really; just take a harder line with this stuff and leave no outs.

I just don’t like that blurb because it talks about “paternalistic’ which feels like it’s speaking to that particular panel where Snowy talks about “two of them” and “may find offensive” gives people an out to say they are not (and then it just talks about big game hunting as if they’re comparable?).  The images are objectively offensive and should be classified as such.

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Martin Smith

To be clear, this reprint wasn’t intended as a book for children but for adult collectors and Hergé/Tintin enthusiasts who want to be able to view this piece of history and appreciate it on that level.

If it was presented in a book for children I would expect the messaging around the racist elements to be far more direct and clear. But to be honest I wouldn’t personally see it as content fit for presenting to children at all.

Like I say, you’re probably always going to get quibbles over wording but in my experience it’s pretty standard for TV broadcasts and online news etc. to note content that “viewers may find offensive” rather than “will find offensive”.

If the language outright stated “this content is offensive” then you’d equally get people saying “how dare you tell me what to find offensive,” and so on.

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lorcan_nagle

HBO should have spent more time on their statement, as the “wrong then” bit, at a time when there were lynchings, isn’t going to stand up to scrutiny.  Addressing racism requires change, HBO is going for ‘it was always wrong’ line, but if it was how did the film get made? The answer being skated over is that the studio saw nothing wrong with it.

Dave wrote:

To be clear, this reprint wasn’t intended as a book for children but for adult collectors and Hergé/Tintin enthusiasts who want to be able to view this piece of history and appreciate it on that level.

If it was presented in a book for children I would expect the messaging around the racist elements to be far more direct and clear. But to be honest I wouldn’t personally see it as content fit for presenting to children at all.

Like I say, you’re probably always going to get quibbles over wording but in my experience it’s pretty standard for TV broadcasts and online news etc. to note content that “viewers may find offensive” rather than “will find offensive”.

If the language outright stated “this content is offensive” then you’d equally get people saying “how dare you tell me what to find offensive,” and so on.

I think you would say something like. “Today the imagery is widely considered to be an extremely offensive depiction of African people and those people with an African heritage generally.”  Take a hard line, leave no outs.  They are proofreaders and copywrighters and marketers and editors.  They’re masters at hedging their bets with words, but these are examples when they should not, in my view.

Anonymous wrote:

I think if the goal is to preserve our history and not “burn the books” and instead include warnings on why the content may be offensive, then you need to talk about why the content is offensive, not the history of how the book ended up consequently making offensive content.

I agree with Tim, that introduction is absolute cobblers. It wants to be something putting the inherent racism of the Tintin story in context, but instead it’s mostly just dry info about where it was published and then a couple of lines saying “yeah, the guy knew it was racist when it made, but it was the style of the time”. The ultimate in shrugged hand-waving.

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Anonymous wrote:

Dave wrote:

To be clear, this reprint wasn’t intended as a book for children but for adult collectors and Hergé/Tintin enthusiasts who want to be able to view this piece of history and appreciate it on that level.

If it was presented in a book for children I would expect the messaging around the racist elements to be far more direct and clear. But to be honest I wouldn’t personally see it as content fit for presenting to children at all.

Like I say, you’re probably always going to get quibbles over wording but in my experience it’s pretty standard for TV broadcasts and online news etc. to note content that “viewers may find offensive” rather than “will find offensive”.

If the language outright stated “this content is offensive” then you’d equally get people saying “how dare you tell me what to find offensive,” and so on.

I think you would say something like. “Today the imagery is widely considered to be an extremely offensive depiction of African people and those people with an African heritage generally.”  Take a hard line, leave no outs.  They are proofreaders and copywrighters and marketers and editors.  They’re masters at hedging their bets with words, but these are examples when they should not, in my view.

“Widely considered” still leaves outs though, doesn’t it.

Ultimately I don’t care as much about the specific wording (“is racist” versus “may be considered racist” or whatever) as much as I care that there is a clear acknowledgement of the racist elements. But leaving some leeway for the reader’s own interpretation doesn’t seem unreasonable for a book aimed at informed adults.

Well, I prefer my condemnation then the one they went for.

I’m sure someone who’s actual job it is to write these things could do better.

Martin Smith wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think if the goal is to preserve our history and not “burn the books” and instead include warnings on why the content may be offensive, then you need to talk about why the content is offensive, not the history of how the book ended up consequently making offensive content.

I agree with Tim, that introduction is absolute cobblers. It wants to be something putting the inherent racism of the Tintin story in context, but instead it’s mostly just dry info about where it was published and then a couple of lines saying “yeah, the guy knew it was racist when it made, but it was the style of the time”. The ultimate in shrugged hand-waving.

Anonymous wrote:

Well, I prefer my condemnation then the one they went for.

I’m sure someone who’s actual job it is to write these things could do better.

I guess the intention is for the foreword to cover more than just the racist aspects but also the publication history of a book that was unavailable for a long time, so that readers know how it fits into the chronology of Tintin.

I don’t know, it reads like a pretty reasonable introduction from a historian’s perspective to me, but I can understand why that dry and deliberately removed perspective might seem unpalatable for people who want the foreword to be a more assertive rebuttal of the book’s racism.

Maybe it should just say “you have bought a racist piece of shit book” and be done with it.

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Todd

Works for me?

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Dave

Dave wrote:

Maybe it should just say “you have bought a racist piece of shit book” and be done with it.

That is essentially what the red band around the book is for.

‘Paw Patrol’ Feels Fan Pressure to Give Chase The Police Dog The Boot

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Todd

Ben wrote:

HBO is going for ‘it was always wrong’ line, but if it was how did the film get made?

The same way  Mickey Rooney was hired to play the “hilarious” neighbour in Breakfast at Tiffany’s?  It didn’t magically become a hateful and offensive stereotype in the intervening decades.  The movie’s producer wanted a Japanese man to play the character but the director insisted on Rooney and has said that he’s come to regret that decision.

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njerry, Todd

[saga]

https://www.nme.com/news/tv/the-sopranos-creator-accidentally-confirms-tonys-fate-2686253

Spoilers, I guess?

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by saga.

So, it was on the news today that the Fawlty Towers episode “The Germans” has been pulled from UKGold’s streaming service because it includes racial slurs.  They went on to describe the episode as the one where Basil gooseteps around and shouts “don’t mention the war” – which is an accurate description of the episode and its most iconic scenes.

But those aren’t the racial slurs in the episode, it’s actually a conversation between Basil and The Major earlier in the episode where he uses a couple of terms that were barely socially acceptable at the time. That particular scene has been censored at least once by the BBC in the past.  And it strikes me – why was that part not mentioned in the report?  There are reasonable reasons – the news update is short and they only have so much time, so it’s more appropriate to establish which episode it is, but at the same time if you’re not so familiar with the episode, it creates the image that the episode was banned because of the gooseteps.

And like, there’s a copy of Manufacturing Consent sitting just over there on my bookshelf…

Yeah, it’s really an episode that needs to be fully discussed and talked about to understand the objections, which I think are valid.

There’s the German stuff with the Hitler impression and goose-stepping, which is crude and crass but basically silly.

There’s also the conversation with the Major, which is clearly presented as mocking his racist views but which does so by using strong language that (by today’s standards at least) completely overwhelms the point and focuses all attention on such an offensive word suddenly being deployed in a usually fairly ‘safe’ sitcom.

And then there’s the part of the episode which is hardly ever mentioned in these conversations where Basil goes to the hospital and reacts negatively to being treated by a black doctor. To me this aspect is just as bothersome as the rest of it as it isn’t exaggerated and absurd like the Hitler stuff and it isn’t clearly couched as laughing at the racism like the major. It’s just Basil being weirded out by a black person.

As ever, I think it’s an important piece of comedy history that deserves to be preserved intact, but if I was a broadcaster I would almost certainly decide that the content now makes it unsuitable for broadcasting in a regular comedy slot with the other episodes (which aren’t all free of potentially offensive jokes either – whether it’s Manuel in general or the Irish stuff in The Builders episode – but in my view don’t contain anything as bad as The Germans.)

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lorcan_nagle