tv Talking Movies BBC News January 2, 2021 1:30pm-2:01pm GMT
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of what went wrong. in a crowd that's packed to the levels of density that eyewitnesses were commenting on at ibrox, and on a slope, then you get the gravitational force added to the fall, and as each person falls onto others then you get a cascade dynamic. in the wake of the disaster, rangers rebuilt the stadium, making it one of the safest in europe. across scotland on january 2nd, people will mark the 50th anniversary of the ibrox disaster. andrew picken, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello there. it's going to be a cold weekend, the first weekend of 2021, thanks to north or north—easterly winds. today, we've seen a widespread frost. some of us have also seen some snowfall, particularly across eastern scotland and north—east england, and this snow is going to be pushing southwards across other parts
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of yorkshire, maybe lincolnshire, but perhaps towards the east coast there's a tendency more for rain and sleet. same is true, really, across wales and south—west england. rain, maybe a little bit of sleet and snow mixed in over the high ground. but it will be cold wherever you are. overnight tonight, we'll continue to see showers for east scotland, eastern england, clearer skies for west scotland and northern ireland. that's where we'll see the lowest temperatures, down to about minus seven, minus eight degrees in the coldest areas. then tomorrow, well, it's another chilly day. the north—easterly winds dragging plenty of showers in across east scotland, eastern england, pushing across the midlands, wales and southern counties with time. the best of the dry weather and sunshine for northern ireland and western scotland, but another cold day, temperatures between four and six degrees.
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hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... pressure grows to shut more schools. unions are demanding a two—week closures of all primaries and secondaries in england. a new warning over hospitals in parts of the uk. the president of the royal college of physicians says some are now facing a worse situation than at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. india begins a nationwide mock drill to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid—i9. french police make arrests after more than 2,500 people break virus restrictions at an illegal rave near the city of rennes that began on new year's eve, in defiance
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of coronavirus precautions. now on bbc news, talking movies looks back at what has been one of the most tumultuous years in the history of the film industry. hello and welcome to this special review of 2020 edition of talking movies. i'm tom brook. i don't have to tell you that 2020 was an extremely difficult year. a worldwide pandemic, economic meltdowns and, here in the united states, an extremely vitriolic presidential election campaign.
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obviously the movie industry was affected. amid all the mayhem, it was easy to lose sight of the fact that some excellent cinema did emerge during the year. instead of giving you our customary list of the top ten films of the year, we asked movie critics and movie journalists around the world to tell us what was for them the best film of the year. so i'm going to kick things off and tell you that for me, the best movie of the year was a documentary that revolved around a very beautiful pig. gunda is a great observational documentary. set on a farmyard for much of its 90 minutes, the camera is trained mostly on gunda, a pig, and her many piglets. it's a film that manages to show animals as they really are, not with any imposed human—created personality. their beauty is breathtaking, as is the calmness of their daily routines which, for me, was so refreshing to witness in the midst of our pandemic stresses. gunda is also brilliant cinema.
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it's shot in pristine black and white, it has no narration and great natural sound. it made me think quite differently about farm animals and how i want to treat them in the future. it connected me to them emotionally. cinema can talk directly to your heart and then after this can go to your brain. first you have to feel something and then you have to understand something, and that is opposite. normally if you are making things go to your brain, give you information, and probably you feel something. this is why i'm trying to come back to the source of cinema, how it was born. well, the amazing gunda was definitely my pick for best movie of the year. but what about my fellow film journalists and film critics around the world? let's get the global verdict. my favourite film of 2020
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is a south korean film called house of hummingbird. this movie observed a young ordinary person's life in seoul 1994. it works as a universal coming—of—age tale packed with small but powerful moments. and this is surely one of the best south korean films during the last several years. to be frank with you, i put it a bit higher over parasite. my favourite movie of the year is identifying features, a mexican movie called sin senas particulares in spanish. it's based on real cases, portrays a dark atmosphere around the drug cartels, violence in mexico, but it's a movie that portrays all this with sensitivity and even elegance. my favourite film of this year is a movie called servants.
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it is set in the czechoslovakia of the early 805, just a few years before the collapse of the communist regime, and it's about two young seminarians facing the pressure and brutality of the infamous state security, striving to overpower the catholic church. i like this movie for the precise and very well advised compositions, where every position of every character or object in the frame is thought of in every detail. remember this face? she was one of spotlight magazine's 30 under 30 playwrights to watch. we watched, but where'd she go? my favourite film of 2020 was the 40—year—0ld version. it's a netflix film by first—time film—maker radha blank. she plays a playwright nearing her 40th birthday and she's trying to figure out what to do. she commits to rap and hip—hop which no—one wants to believe in, no—one thinks is a great idea, but she embarks on this journey. it's hilarious, it's about trying new things and following your dreams,
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it's just a beautiful film. my favourite movie of 2020 is the personal history of david copperfield. armando iannucci's adaptation of the novel by charles dickens. as a book, it's a big bullet stopper, charting the rise and fall and rise of the title character. iannucci very playfully truncates what really captures the spirit of the book and the author's sense of humour and all the things we love about dickens. and dev patel leads a marvellous colour—blind cast in a movie that's consistently delightful and very, very funny indeed. this is a donkey freezing, move it! a remarkable woman, very kind... every day for most of this year, i have been riding my bike around new york city, including though times square where i'm standing right now. very often i go past cinemas and there's one near where i live which has been closed since march.
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in fact, many in the city have enclosed since that time. in fact, many in the city have been closed since that time. it pains me, it looks like it's dying. recently it was boarded up. emma jones reports on whether cinema, as we've known it, is now over. i know you want to fight... there was nothing big about the screen in 2020 because its biggest films are mainly on hold. profits were puny in comparison to the billion—dollar bonanzas of 2019. from bollywood to hollywood, cinemas stayed closed for months. christopher nolan's tenet was a brave attempt at a summer blockbuster reopening, but its $350 million box office disappointed, as other big hitters from disney's mulan, about a young chinese female warrior, to pixar‘s latest feel good offering soul, went straight to streaming. spend your precious hours doing what will bring out the real you.
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other potential box office hits are being held by nervous film companies. the time a movie as eagerly awaited as bond's no time to die should be released in april 2021, some cinemas may be beyond resuscitation. come on, bond... hamish, your company was the first to release a film back in uk cinemas after lockdown. russell crowe‘s unhinged. but has the problem generally been that there's been a shortage of content that will tempt audiences back to cinemas? we're really talking about these famous very few blockbusters that have moved back and i can understand that — if a film cost $250 million to make, and these are huge projects that need to make their money across the world, it's a huge endeavour. but the nuance to the story is that there are plenty of other films besides those, smaller films, but very good films, that could have been released when cinemas were open and during that period i think the supply chain did fail cinemas.
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there's an obvious beneficiary to forced entertainment at home. and that's the streaming services. warner bros will release wonder woman 1984 and all its 2021 films in cinemas and on a streaming service in the us. robert. sylvie? tessa thompson stars in romantic drama sylvie‘s love, released on amazon. it was so incredible to screen this film at sundance and i think there's real beauty and value to people being able to watch it at home. it's not helped that the spectacle of film has been missing. the european film awards, usually the last awards ceremony of the year, is normally a glamorous affair. in 2020, it was online and film—makers pointed out the industry was sickly long before the pandemic struck. films became, frankly, not courageous enough or not original enough, or not provocative enough, or not attractive enough.
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so the main thing is we have to make better films. those seeking hope for the big screen point to asia where cinemas are functioning and independent productions are enjoying a boom as hollywood is absent. china overtook the us in 2020 as the world's biggest movie market. the 800, about a group of chinese warriors holding out against the japanese army, is likely to be 2020's highest grossing film of the year making half a billion dollars. some film—makers hope the tide will turn, including iranian director marjane satrapi — she accepted a career award from the evolution majorca international film festival in october. how else but over zoom, as she couldn't travel. so after months of living life digitally, do you think there's going to be less enchantment with it as time goes on and the situation improves? you know, people, they would love to watch the film in the house, but at one point, you are sick
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of being in your pyjama and getting fat more and more every day and watching the same things. you need to go out, make experience with others, because this is a common experience. it's something that you share. in other signs of hope, covid—secure film production has resumed, such as this production in iceland. while the sight of drive—in cinemas all over the world has become normal. stephen fry: it's the magic that supports more than 20,000 jobs across the country. but as the industry launches campaigns like this one to remind governments of the jobs film provides, as well as the magic of the big screen, even harry potter would find it hard to transform the current situation. in america, one of the most disturbing events of 2020 was the death of george floyd, an african—american man, while he was being restrained by a white police officer in minneapolis. it sparked outrage around the world and it prompted many individuals and institutions to reflect on how they may contribute to racism.
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for the movie industry, it was definitely a moment of reckoning. black and brown people have so much to contribute to the culture, now we need more agency. white people tend to think that they're kind of a blank slate. chanting: black lives matter! start packing miss scarlet‘s things, mammy. i'll go write the necessary letters. atla nta. savannah would be better for you, you'd just get in trouble in atlanta. what trouble are you talking about? you know what trouble i's talkin' about. i was talkin' about mr ashley wilkes. you'd be coming to atlanta when he gets his leave and you sat now waiting for him, just like a spider. the studio response to george floyd
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was a reckoning with many of the gaps in terms of the way that projects were being greenlit, the kind of talent that was being supported, the lack of awareness for black talent in the entertainment industry is something that has been a continual problem and this was another factor that helped bring it to light. black and brown people over index, you know, we buy more tickets, we spend more money so we need to see more content that speaks to us. and the other thing is this, you know, there's a lot of back and the other thing is this, you know, there's a lot of black stories that white people want to tell, right? which is fair, artists can talk about anything, but, if you're going to do that, you better make sure that people behind—the—scenes are black. it'sjust so, so important.
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i think it's always much more valid to have storytellers come from the community that the story's being told by. i think that if i'm telling a story of the black community, i have the ability to dive deep into that story but white people tend to think they're kind of a blank slate and they can make a film about whatever they want and that's ok, and don't think about the fact that's a form of cultural racism. there's movement afoot throughout the industry, from black folks, from white folks, from brown folks, saying, how do we take this moment and really make it count? if these were normal times, then we'd be in the midst of awards season but all that has changed, because the oscars has been shifted from february to april and that
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isn't totally 100% certain. but this year's race has greater diversity but very little predictability, as emma jones reports. it's on, and hopefully it won't be online. by april 2021, it's reported that academy award organisers hope it's on, and hopefully it won't be online. by april 2021, it's reported that academy award organisers hope that the usa and the rest of the world will get an oscars red carpet experience. although it's more likely to look like this, as the venice film festival in september showed, with masks, a socially distanced carpet and a half—full theatre. and how will campaigning season work without the usual parties, lunches and photo calls? take a contender like florian zeller‘s the father. where's anne? sorry? anne, where is she? i'm here. the movie has anthony hopkins and olivia coleman starring in an acclaimed story about a man with dementia. how does it feel promoting
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a film from your office? it's not exactly what i was expecting, but you have to expect nothing precise because it's always surprising. now i hear that the film is well received by people that have seen it, and it's such a joy but i'm not expecting more than the joy from my office. the academy has diversified in 2020, more than 800 new members, 45% of them women and 36% aren't white. plus from 2024, a movie that wishes to qualify for best picture has to measurably promote diversity in front of and behind the camera. i'm very proud of the academy for stepping up because, you know, because hollywood is a liberal kind of place, i think people were taking it for granted that, because we were liberal, there would be more fairness and equity, but in fact it was not true at all,
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and so i think you have to take big decisions and they were way overdue. but these are not revolutionary changes. from moonlight to crash, an investigation by the washington post found 73% of best picture winners over the last 15 years would still be eligible. the overall demographic of the academy is still 84% white, 68% male. it's very hard for those on the outside to understand the magnitude of this change on the inside, and i would rather us move too slowly and take the criticism that we're moving slow than to move too fast and we don't give ourself enough of our foundation to socialise these standards and for people to really start thinking about how to meet them. i have to warn you about the conditions on earth. what's likely to be revolutionary about the 2021 oscars is not the kinds of films getting picked,
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but who funded them. netflix has serious contenders including goerge clooneys' sci—fi the midnight sky, david fincher‘s black and white take on the making of citizen kane — mank, and spike lee's da five bloods. welcome back to vietnam. the streamer also has the international distribution rights for tom hanks' news of the world. however, the favourite for best picture is nomadland, directed by chloe zhao, starring frances mcdormand, which started its campaign on the traditional festival route. are we basically talking about nomadland versus netflix at the oscars? i think really it is nomadland versus netflix, and actually i think nomadland is going to win out, not because anything other than the fact that it is by far the best film, in the same way that parasite was the best film last year. we're really seeing the cream rise to the top, no matter where it comes from nomadland might be able to beat the big power studio which netflix has become.
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the unpredictability of this pandemic means april feels a long way away. with so much focus on small screen stars recently, could the oscars shrink in relevancy and prestige in 2021? or will it be a welcome injection of glamour, announcing that film is back in business? 2020 was definitely a year of loss as the epidemic took its toll around the world, but one notable heartbreaking loss in the film industry came about not through covid—19 but colon cancer, which took the life of chadwick boseman, an extremely gifted young actor. kizzy cox has been taking stock of his career. his death was a gut punch in an already bruising year, as boseman had made a huge impact in a short time. his big break came in 2013 with the movie 42, playing jackie robinson, the first black player in major league baseball. from there, he went on to portray
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other black icons on screen, like the godfather of soul, james brown, and thurgood marshall, the first black supreme courtjustice. but when boseman became black panther, he went from star to superstar. the novelty of a black superhero made nine—year—old rachel cooper's eyes light up. my favourite one was obviously chadwick boseman because there aren't a lot of black comics and if he's one of them, then it's going to be one of my favourites. when black panther premiered in 2018, black film—goers flocked to movie theatres like this one, many of them dressed up in africa—inspired outfits. it was all to revel in the opportunity to see black people as royalty and africa as a vibrant and powerful place. boseman led the film as king t'challa, the dignified superhero. fans and the people who knew him best say that is boseman‘s legacy,
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embodying roles that exemplified black excellence. black pantherjust entered the lives of children and adults everywhere cos it was the first time we could actually see ourselves represented in a positive way that didn't have to just be at the end with racism as a pillar of our narrative drawing. now, him not being here, knowing that he was sick during it, he left the entire black community a gift that no matter what, for your craft, for what you love to do, your passion, you do it no matter what. and his legacy resonates around the world. for nyota parker, a south african, it was remarkable seeing boseman lead a heroic film based in africa. i think what was really special about it was the symbolism, i really like that they incorporated so many small details that meant a lot to us as africans so i really appreciated that. boseman‘s star continues to shine. his finalfilm, ma rainey‘s black
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bottom, was unveiled in december and its performers received critical acclaim. david thinks he may become one of the few actors to receive an oscar posthumously. he could well be nominated for his 2020 roles in ma rainey‘s black bottom and spike lee's picture da 5 bloods. i don't want to say it's definite, but it looks really good right now. it would be the first black posthumous nominee for acting, could be the first double—nominee, because he could be nominated for lead for ma rainey, and supporting for da five bloods, and after seeing ma rainey, everything that he had in his acting arsenal, he throws it all on the screen and it is a performance for the ages. whether boseman wins the oscar or not, he made his mark playing towering historicalfigures and inspirationalfictional ones, all while battling a terminal illness. boseman‘s proved that he was a hero with or without his black panther suit.
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well, that brings this special talking movies review of 2020 edition to a close. we hope you've enjoyed the show. please remember, you can always reach us online at bbc.com/talkingmovies and you can find us on facebook and twitter. so from me tom brook and the rest of the talking movies team, here's to better times ahead and let's hope we all get to see some excellent cinema in 2021. we're going to leave you with the official music video for the trial of the chicago 7, one of the better films of 2020. # hear my voice... # hear my dreams... # let us make a world in which i believe.
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# hear my voice #. hello there. we've got a cold weekend coming up. today, a day of sunshine and showers, but for some of us, we've already seen some snowfall. this was dunbar in east lothian, the eastern side of scotland seeing the snow this morning. those snow showers have been tracking across fife, also bringing a covering of snow before working across east lothian, the scottish borders and into north—east england. now, i wouldn't be too surprised if some areas got around two to perhaps as much as five centimetres of snow. certainly risk of icy stretches here. and through the rest of the day, we'll see those snow showers move southwards into parts of yorkshire, perhaps lincolnshire too. although around the coastline, there's probably a tendency, really, to see them turn to rain and sleet around the east coast itself. showers across wales, moving into south—west england. many of these will be rain, but there could be a bit of sleet and snow mixed in the high levels. and we'll continue to see some snow showers across northern scotland.
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overnight tonight, showers will be widespread across east scotland, eastern areas of england. the clearest skies will be where we have the lowest temperatures, west scotland and northern ireland potentially seeing those down to about minus seven, minus eight degrees celsius. but a frost is going to be widespread. and, again, there's a risk of icy stretches to take us on into sunday. sunday, well, we've changed the wind direction, it's going to come in from the north—east, but we've not really changed how the weather feels. it's going to be another cold day. showers widespread, east scotland, eastern areas of england, pushing westwards across the midlands, into wales and south—west england with time. the best of the dry weather and sunshine for northern and western scotland and northern ireland. but even in the sunshine, it is still going to be cold. temperatures four to six degrees celsius. now, on into next week, we've still got an area of high pressure sat across scandinavia steering in these cold north—easterly winds. again, we'll see further showers,
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widespread showers at that, across east scotland, eastern areas of england, potentially merging together to give some longer spells of rain into kent. the best of the dry weather and sunshine, again, further north west for northern ireland and western areas of scotland. but it's going to stay cold. temperatures, again, four to six degrees celsius, feeling particularly chilly around those eastern coasts with the onshore winds. beyond that, well, it's going to stay on the cold side really throughout the week, but it's certainly not going to be a dry week. there will be some showers around and potential for some snow for some of us later on in the week. that's your latest weather.
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hello, good afternoon. this is bbc news with the latest headlines... pressure grows to shut more schools. unions are demanding an immediate two—week closure of all primaries and secondaries in england. we don't want to have to say the schools will close, but our fear is if we don't do something now they are going to have to be closed for much longer, for a much longer period, later on this month. india begins a nationwide mock drill to test its preparedness for mass immunisation against covid—19. french police shut down an illegal rave that had been under way since new year's eve — with more than 2500 partygoers. and wham's last christmas has topped the uk singles chart for the first time, 36 years after it
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