this is bbc news, the headlines. security forces in france remain on standby for more protests about president macron�*s retirement reforms. a state visit by king charles has been postponed. gwyneth paltrow has repeatedly insisted that she was the victim in a skiing accident that's the subject of a lawsuit in the us state of utah. giving evidence, the oscar—winning actress said she'd been hit from behind by terry sanderson, who claims he was the victim. and revelations from an mi5 spy who helped bring peace to northern ireland, he's told the bbc he met ira leaders in march 1993, despite talks being called off by the british government.

fragments of sculptures from the parthenon that had been held in the vatican for more than two centuries have been returned to greece. the greek government is hoping to recover all the sculptures from its most famous monument — including the elgin marbles in the british museum. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for talking movies: the changing face of hollywood. people were genuinely excited about the movies and about movie stars. on oscar night, it was a big deal. it was huge. everybody went to the movies and everybody cared. it is no longer true.

people are very comfortable now being outspoken about the sexism, the inequality that women have suffered through four decades. tonight, we broke the glass ceiling! hello from los angeles. i am tom brook and welcome to talking moves. in today's programme in the wake of the academy awards, we look back at the changing face of hollywood, the efforts being made to bring about greater diversity and inclusion. with the oscars now over, the film industry is reflecting on how it all went. the first academy awards ceremony took place in this landmark hollywood hotel in 1929. 95 years on, the oscars is facing challenges. wings was the very first

movie to win the academy award for best picture. a silent film, a story involving world war i combat pilots, in love with the same woman. the oscar ceremony that year was attended byjust 270 people at the hollywood roosevelt hotel and it lasted just 15 minutes. i arrived in los angeles to cover the oscars for the first time in the 1980s with the late great bbc film critic, barry norman. in subsequent years, american film reviewer david anderson, who wrote for newsweek, joined barry to comment on the oscars for the bbc. the biggest voting branch in the academy as actors. this veteran hollywood—based film critic and film festival programmer is still thriving. he remembers the 1950s when the oscars were a much larger cultural phenomenon reflecting perhaps america's superpower status. the big stars would always be there, the elizabeth taylors, kirk douglases, burt lancasters,

they would get enormous ratings in those days. hollywood had become the world's great empire and they were making great movies that were big and on great themes, the ten commandments. around the world in 80 days. in some ways it was a flattering self—portrait! because america was the new global empire. and the oscars reflected that? and the oscars reflected that. in the heyday of the academy awards, the oscars had such currency because it was one of the few windows giving movie fans the opportunity to gawk at their idols. there wasn't so much access to celebrity that you weren't looking at people's instagrams and twitter accounts and seeing every single red carpet played back on youtube and knowing exactly who was dating who. it was all controlled by the studios. and so when you got access

to the stars on oscar night, it was a big deal. everybody showed up and it was a big event. and the movies were in the popular culture. everybody went to the movies and everybody cared. that is no longer true. it has been a real crisis of relevance for the academy in part because i think the movies are less relevant. people go to the cinema is now to see big movies like avatar, top gun. there are much fewer movies that win the oscars to popular culture. when you think about the 80s and 90s, movies like terms of endearment, forrest gump, these big hits that weren't franchises, people went out and saw them. so when the academy nominations went out, people had seen those movies. if i get an interviewee, would you go to that instead of the package? i spent several years intermittently interviewing live from the red carpet. it was a thrill. and a privilege. but fraught with technical difficulties.

do you hear me? the red carpet had grown to become almost as important as the ceremony itself. a top fashion runway. my producers wanted me to ask questions like who are you wearing? versa ce. vera wang. tom ford for gucci. which only served to give the fashion brands free advertising. most of the stars were accommodating, but sometimes they just didn't want to talk to me about anything. when you were a little girl in australia, did you watch the oscars? i'm going to move on. i have my girlfriend here... i will not take it personally. please don't. it was also tough to keep the stars in position until a slot became available in our output so i could interview them live. jamie lee... actually one of the biggest thrills i had was working alongside the late joan rivers whose unique, often abrasive interview style, made her own red carpet fixture. i really liked her.

when you're on the red carpet, you talk to people and say quite rude things about what they are wearing. i say the truth. how did the british nominees size up? the british nominees today. it depends what they are wearing. ironically, the massive red carpet covered added to the growing media celebrities at the time, eroding their specialness and their power to transfixed, and making the oscars less of a draw. the great thing about the oscars is that it is live television and anything can happen, like when a streaker appeared at the ceremony in 197a. last year my colleague peter bodes broadcasting live on sunset boulevard when will smith suddenly shocked everyone watching the ceremony by slapping chris rock. we don't know what happened, but i feel very sad about it. this year i was back commentating on the proceedings with peter at the hollywood roosevelt hotel, the site of the first oscars.

i think we can both agree that it was actually a good awards show. the conclusion was that had been a pretty good academy awards. see you next year hopefully. but i was disheartened to see when the ratings came out, only 18 million viewers in the us tuned in to watch the ceremony, a bit higher than last year but audiences used to be routinely in the a0 million range. that is one of the biggest changes for the oscars, it has become a diminishing american spectacle. i think the academy is very concerned about the lower ratings. the tv rights to the academy awards fund the academy, they are worth millions and millions of dollars and the lower the ratings, the lower those fees are going to be. so they will be quite concerned. on the red carpet, it was extremely rare to come across openly gay participants like sir ian mccallum. there were very few people of colour. i hardly ever interviewed female film—makers because they were simply none there. but the academy has been

diversifying its membership. it is a work in progress, and those it nominates are beginning to look more inclusive, like the real world, and that could perhaps help them regain the cultural relevance. as much as there has been change within the academy, the membership is still largely white, older and male. but there are efforts under way to bring about diversity through initiatives and education. here in the academy museum, there is an impressive exhibition that shows off the historic contribution that black americans have made to cinema, and it is quite an eye—opener. i first came to the academy museum just prior to its opening in 2021. it's a striking new addition to la's cultural landscape, a definite destination for movie lovers. while it has popular mementos like the ruby slippersjudy garland wore in the wizard of oz and bruce

the shark from the blockbusterjaws, it has a mission to educate. with this in mind is this exhibition, celebrating black participation in the american film industry. the museum's president and direct the jacqueline stewart explained the significance of what was on view, including a special tribute to hattie mcdaniel, who was the first african—american to win an academy award in 1940. she is one of the most important figures in the history of american cinema. she is the first african—american to be nominated and to win a competitive oscar for her role as mammy in gone with the wind. now, you come on and eat itjust a little. that was a film that was really contentious. many african—americans were upset about the revival of this romantic vision of slavery and the role she played as a mammy, a servant, but she saw it as a role of great dignity, she played the role incredibly well and was rewarded for it,

and i think it is important for people to recognise the sacrifices and the hard work that she really demonstrated during this early period. hattie mcdaniel. while mcdaniel may have broken barriers in collecting her award, she was forced to sit at the back of the ballroom during the ceremony, away from her classmates because she was black. she gave a very dignified speech. i sincerely hope i shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. the exhibition features numerous works from over the decades including props, posters and footage of race films, films that had a black cast and were made mostly between 1915 and the 1950s for african—american audiences. in many ways, it is a prehistory to what many people think is the start of black cinema in the early 1970s. there were these blaxploitation films, i don't know if you remember. shaft... super fly... we wanted to demonstrate to people that there are 80 years of film

making that preceeded that moment. did it surprise you as you put the exhibition together about how much work had been done by black people in cinema going back decades? i think it is a real revelation to our visitors when you can bring people through that history with the use of posters and photographs and costumes and props. it really makes you feel the presence of these artists in the space. i think it is an exhibition that honours these film—makers and really does something to bring their work to life. ifound the exhibition had a big impact on me, opening my eyes to a huge body of work. cinema created by black americans, by some very talented individuals. i have to admit, sometimes i am brought to tears in that exhibition because these are people who never would have been recognised in this way during their lifetimes. and we bring it together in such an epic way, and people hear their voices and they see the quality of their acting and they see

the documentation of all the labour that they contributed to their craft. in a way it is heartbreaking that they made such a huge contribution in their lives and really were put down for it, almost. it's heartbreaking on one level but these were people who understood that they were part of a greater movement and they were notjust doing this work not just for themselves but for future generations and you hear these actors, these performers, express that sentiment all the time. women were involved in hollywood at the very start of the studio system but overall, they've been something of a rarity behind the camera. until, that is, the #metoo and time's up movement, which forced the film industry not only to conduct allegations of sexual abuse but also of gender inequality. so what's changed since then? with women in the film industry,

there has been change but it's often a story of two steps forward, one step back. a best adapted screenplay oscar for sarah polley. the writer—director of women talking... we know that we are bruised and infected and pregnant and terrified. a film gave a solitary voice to female film—makers at this year's academy awards. produced by frances mcdormand and with a nearly all—female cast, the film is a story of the rape of women within an isolated religious community. we will be excommunicated, forced to leave the colony in disgrace if we do not forgive these men. and the summits that women hold to decide on action. i would rather stand my ground and shoot each man in the heart and bury him in a pit than flee. sadly, i think this film will always be timely. there has never been a moment where women have not been having to fight for basic things or defend basic things that were hard—won. we've been preyed upon like animals.

maybe we should respond like animals. with its exploration of sexual violence, it could be described as another post #metoo era film. the arrest of hollywood producer harvey weinstein in 2017 for sexual offences precipitated the call for change within the industry. actress geena davis, the long—time campaigner for gender equality, says the biggest difference is that women are indeed talking about the injustices and inequality they've suffered. it's made it ok to talk about it finally, that people are very comfortable now being outspoken about the sexism, the inequality, the unequal pay, the unsafe working environments that women have suffered through for decades. while in the modern era, the number of female directors in hollywood has never edged much beyond the 10% figure, the drive for inclusion came with big gains.

chloe zhao became the first woman of colour and only the second female ever to get a best director oscar in 2021 for her film nomadland. then sian hedes�* film, coda about the hearing child of deaf parents, scooped last year's best picture oscar. despite the commitment made to get more women behind the camera, this year's oscars really seemed like a bit of a set back because none of the directing nominees were women. among the films critics they were overlooked was the woman king by gina prince—bythewood and starring viola davis, the story of historical female warriors. till by chinonye chukwuthe, the true story of a mother's struggle forjustice after the murder of her son... this was my boy! emmett till! and she said by maria schrader, the story of her female journalists at the new york times uncovered

harvey weinstein�*s abuses. if that could happen to hollywood actresses, who else is it happening to? and according to the director of a global think tank studying inequality on screen, we are looking at women behind the camera at the downturn. looking at the top films each year we saw an uptick right before the pandemic. for the first time since we've been doing this work. female directors were in the double digits, right? broke the 10% marker. the number now has started to come down and when we talk about directors in general, we're really talking about white women because if we think about women of colour, they rarely if ever get a bat behind the camera. when it comes to behind the camera in film, not as progressive as one might hope. but there are encouraging signs that we are in a new era for women in hollywood.

two women in their 60s won oscars this yearfor the acting in an industry notorious for ageism. but its visible success like this best adapted screenplay oscar for women talking that matters most in this industry and now, it's hoped all of the talking will lead to more action. beautiful, we got it, thank you. talking about sex is something that hollywood has had to get a lot better at since since the #metoo and #timesup movements but it had implications on film sets when sex scenes are part of a story line. it's led to a newjob in hollywood that many have barely even heard of. in los angeles, the intimacy co—ordinator has become part of the changing face of the industry. lady chatterley�*s lover by dh lawrence was famous for its sex scenes. the latest screen adaptation of the love affair between an arrest

aristocrat and her gamekeeper intimacy co—ordinator to make sure those scenes looked realistic but were choreographed. so, what is the day—to—day role of an intimacy co—ordinator? i met amanda blumenthal to find out. she has worked across hollywood on productions including the affair the white lotus... being the ricardas and euphoria. the job of an intimacy co—ordinator is to create a safe environment onset for performance are they doing scenes with intimate content, whether that is nudity, simulated sex... scenes where they are exposed such as medical scenes, childbirth scenes, while also helping the director to realise their creative vision. just how sensitive a topic sex scenes are is illustrated by frankie zeffirelli's 1968 film romeo and juliet. i have more care to stay than will to go. the teenage lovers, 15 and 16

respectively at the time of filming, pursuing paramount pictures. they allege they were coerced into doing the scene mood nude after they had originally agreed to wear flesh coloured bodysuits. they claim that zeffirelli told them the film would fail if they did not perform the scene nude. paramount has not commented on the case. has the industry changed beyond all recognition over the last few years? it's a completely different industry now. ithink, you know, than it was in the 60s or 80s or even the 90s or early 2000. there is a lot of behaviour that was allowed to happen and people were just looking the other way, it was considered normal. intimacy co—ordination is the by—product of the #metoo movement, of #timesup, of all of those movements that really came to a head in 2017 and i think without those movements, we would not be where we are today because i think it really put

a spotlight on the abuse and the problems that were happening in the industry. so how does that work on a day—to—day basis onset? we have a lot of prep work that has to happen, so that we make sure that everyone is on the same page, everyone has agreed and consented to what is going to be happening, what is going to be shown. from there, we are present on that during the shoot itself, we are part of what is called a closed set, to be a closed set we make sure that there is the absolute minimum number of people and we also check in with the performers every once in awhile to make sure are doing ok. shall we sit down for a while? there is a little bench up there. sean bean who played opposite julie richardson in a previous lady chatterley allocation in the 1990s recently declared that co—ordinators spoil the spontaneity of sex scenes. why on earth should be a bit afraid of being here with you? but richardson advocates the option of having one. in the old days it was like ok, get on with it.

and i think that what we've learned about the business, it's really great that is there. similarly, when people do feel safe, and they believe their voice is heard, then you perhaps don't need an intimacy co—ordinator. so it's like great to have it all in place everyone is protected. few actors would say intimate scenes are comfortable to shoot but hollywood is making progress in making sure they feel safer. well, that brings our special edition of talking movies to a close in which we've been looking at the changing face of hollywood. emma, it's really interesting in a way looking at the recording i've done and you've done in terms of the screen representation, you do get that there is positive progress being made. look at the oscars and all of the asian film talent doing well, but there is still a long way to go in the industry, isn't there? there is but it's been seismic over

the last few years if you think about the profound effects of oscars so white, #metoo, #timesup, so changes happening, maybe it's a bit slow but we're getting there. at least we're going in the direction and we will leave you with one of my favourite songs about hollywood, from one of my favourite british musicians, ray davis of the kings and the title of the song is celluloid heroes. # you can see all the stars as you walk down hollywood boulevard. # some that you recognise. # some that you hardly have heard of. # la la la. # i wish my life was a nonstop hollywood movie show. # a fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes #.

hello. another fairly changeable day ahead, but certainly our soggy march weather is continuing towards the end of the month. so we're going to see a mix of some sunshine, but also more of those showers. they won't be quite as heavy or as frequent as they were yesterday. and the blustery winds that we've seen of late, especially in the south, are going to be gradually easing through the day. low pressure is going to just drift its way out towards the north sea, towards the east and a smaller ridge of high pressure for a time — it was going to be building in from the south—west. so if you're stuck underneath that weather front today across parts of southern scotland, northern england, for a time for northern ireland as well, it's going to be quite grey with outbreaks of rain. into the afternoon, there is some sunshine across the bulk of england and wales. still a scattering of showers, you could be seeing one or two heavy ones, perhaps the odd isolated rumble of thunder towards east anglia, lincolnshire, could be a bit of hail, but generally they are not going to be as frequent

or as heavy as we have seen. and brightening up too for northern ireland, north wales. here we could see some sunshine, just one or two showers through the afternoon. but still staying damp and cloudy for much of northern england, central and southern scotland. a little bit of wintriness over the highest ground as that cold air cuts its way in from the north. now, overnight tonight, the next area of fairly heavy rain sweeps its way eastwards across the southern half of england and wales too. so a really soggy start to sunday morning in the south, but mild, five to seven degrees. colder conditions further north, particularly for the far north of england and scotland, where we're likely to see a bit of frost to start your sunday. so that colder air moving in from the north on sunday. further south, as low pressure drifts to the towards the east, we'll still see that mild airjust holding on for parts of southern england, perhaps south wales, but colder conditions working in for many of us through the day. some wintry showers, some snowfall for parts of northern and eastern scotland, perhaps the odd snow flurry across the pennines. further south, cloud and rain through sunday morning gradually easing away towards the south and the east through into sunday afternoon, hopefully drying up for the cambridge—oxford boat race

in the afternoon. temperatures in single figures for many of us, i think, on sunday, a cooler feeling day, but we'll just about hold on to double figures in the far south—west. and don't forget, saturday night into the early hours of sunday, the clocks are going to spring forward by one hour. so it's the arrival of british summertime from sunday onwards. the weather not looking particularly summery over the next few days, but monday brings us a bit of a drier, quieter interlude. turns unsettled from tuesday onwards, but things are warming up during the middle of the week. bye for now.

all all this is bbc news, broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. and around the globe. i'm annita mcveigh. our top stories... anger continues in france over president macron�*s pension reforms, with plans for more protests. a state visit by king charles has been postponed. we have a special report on the m15 spy who defied orders to help bring peace to northern ireland. indian opposition leader rahul gandhi says his disqualification from parliament is politically motivated. from the slopes to the stand — gwyneth paltrow gives evidence in a trial where she's accused of causing a skiing accident, but insists she was the real victim. i was skiing, and looking downhill, as you do, and was skied directly into by mr sanderson.