Month: October 2017

Categories
Activities Education

Puttnam to reflect upon changing world of the media

The University of Leicester will be bringing a bit of Hollywood magic to its lecture theatres as one of the great names of cinema history and an honorary graduate will speak on the challenges faced by media today.

Whether it is the strains of Vangelis from Chariots of Fire or the sight of ‘splurged’ gangsters in Bugsy Malone, or others, many will have fond memories of the popular and award-winning films that Lord Puttnam helmed during his substantial career as a film producer.

Now, he will be visiting the University of Leicester to deliver its Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture. His lecture, entitled ‘The times they are a’changin’, will take place on Tuesday 7 November from 6pm in the Peter Williams Lecture Theatre.

The lecture is free and open to the public, but tickets must be booked via www.le.ac.uk/distinguished-lectures.

In his talk, David Puttnam will draw upon his experience as a Life Peer and his role as chair of the joint scrutiny committee on the Communications Bill in 2002. He will consider the developing social responsibilities of online media in the digital age, along with the challenges posed for policy-makers by the immense power, ‘intelligence’ and influence of the major platforms.

In particular, he will consider their impact on conventional media, on attitudes to issues as disparate as climate change and Brexit, as well as the political implications of recent developments in the technologies that drive these services.

This will not be the first time that Lord Puttnam has visited the University of Leicester, having received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University in 1986. He later gave the second annual lecture for the then Richard Attenborough Centre, now Attenborough Arts, in 2001 and Graduates’ Association Lecture in 2004.

Lord Puttnam is the Chair of Atticus Education, an online education company founded in 2012 that delivers audio-visual seminars to students all over the world. In addition to this, he is a member of the House of Lords where he pursues an active role in a variety of areas, from educational and environmental issues to digital skills.

He spent thirty years as an independent producer of award-winning films including The Mission, The Killing Fields, Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone and Local Hero. Together these films have won ten Oscars, ten golden globes, twenty-five Baftas and the Palme D'Or at Cannes. From 1986 to 1988, he was Chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures. He returned to the UK to produce The Memphis Belle, The War of the Buttons and My Life So Far. From 1994 to 2004, he was Vice President and Chair of Trustees at the British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA) and was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship in 2006. He is also a Fellow of the British Film Institute.

Inaugurated in 2015, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Lecture Series is the University of Leicester’s flagship programme of public events. Free and open to the public, these talks are given by high-profile speakers who either have an existing link to, or relationship with, the University, or who are notable in fields that align with the University’s values and aspirations.

The Rt. Hon. Lord Grocott is the sixth Chancellor of the University of Leicester, having originally studied here as an undergraduate. He twice served as a Labour MP, 1974-1979 and 1987-2001, after which he was named a Life Peer. He took up his position as Chancellor of the University in 2013.

Lord Grocott said: “I am delighted that my friend David Puttnam has accepted our invitation to speak for the University's  Distinguished Lecture Series. David communicates his passions whether they be film, education, parliamentary democracy or the media, with great knowledge and infectious enthusiasm. No wonder he is such a popular and admired member of the House of Lords. We can all look forward to what I know will be a stimulating and entertaining evening.”

Source: The University of Leicester Press Office

Categories
Activities Media

Anthony Simonds-Gooding 1937-2017

Anthony Simonds Gooding, advertising executive, 1937-2017

A few thoughts on my friend Anthony Simonds-Gooding.

The most infuriating thing about this incredibly quick-witted Irishman was that, no matter how hard you tried, it was impossible ever to be as great a friend to him as he was to you!

At his zenith there was a scale to his generosity of spirit that dwarfed everything around him.  In fact Anthony was in every sense a ‘big’ man; throughout an era in which so much else was allowed to shrink.

After a seemingly effortless rise to the top as the very youthful Marketing Director of Whitbread he found himself absorbing a fair number of mid-career body-blows.

These included trying to pull together the various warring elements of ill-matched acquisitions made by the Saatchi Brothers in the mid-eighties; followed by his brave attempt to make a success of the Thatcher Government’s ‘hospital pass’, as Chief Executive of British Sky Broadcasting.

I’m not sure he ever fully recovered from the level of duplicity and betrayal displayed by the then Tory Government in its determination to cement an over-close relationship with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

The fact that a subsequent Labour Government choose to pursue a similar path came as no surprise to him – by then he’d given up on the notion that the principles he’d been brought up with might, in some way, extend to the political sphere.

Rather than look back in anger, he threw his immense experience and energy into transforming the fundraising ambitions of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Throughout all these vicissitudes he was underpinned by pride in his incredibly close family; his relationship with the love of his life, Marji, was the stuff of which a thousand novels have been written.

He later discovered serious aptitude for painting – a family trait that had earlier established the brilliant career of his sister Maria.

In 2010 his extraordinary contribution to public life was finally recognised by the award or a richly deserved CBE.

There was one additional piece of wonderful circularity

At Whitbread he became the client every ad agency dreams of – always seeking more and better work.

In 1992 all of that passion and expertise morphed into his work in effectively ‘re-inventing’ D&AD, establishing its now global reputation as the organization that best celebrates and symbolizes one of the great success stories of his lifetime – the British Advertising Industry.

For that alone, Anthony deserves to be long remembered.

David Puttnam

October 2017

Categories
Activities Education

NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD CHAIRED BY LORD DAVID PUTTNAM

Lord Puttnam speaking at Nord Anglia Event

On 16 October 2017, Nord Anglia Education announced the establishment of its Education Advisory Board, which will have Lord Puttnam as its inaugural Chair.

Nord Anglia Education is the world's leading premium schools organisation. Its 47 international schools are located in China, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Americas. Together, they educate approximately 45,000 students from kindergarten through to the end of secondary education. The schools deliver a high quality education through a personalised approach enhanced with unique global opportunities to enable every student to succeed.

Nord Anglia’s new Education Advisory Board will provide external perspective and vision to further the development of the organisation. Specifically, the Board will work closely with Nord Anglia’s leadership team to support the continuous development of Nord Anglia’s programmes and curricula, teachers and learning environments.

Andrew Fitzmaurice, CEO of Nord Anglia Education said he is “delighted to announce the formation of Nord Anglia’s Education Advisory Board which will offer strategic insight and advice on a broad range of topics to support us in addressing the opportunities and challenges of education today,” adding that “two thirds of students starting school today will work in a job that doesn’t currently exist and it is our responsibility as educators to prepare students to succeed in these roles.”

Lord Puttnam has also accepted the role of Chairman of the School Advisory Board for Nord Anglia International School Dublin which is expected to open in September 2018. “After twenty five years working in various capacities in the field of education, I’m delighted to join Andrew and his colleagues in attempting to redefine what 21st century excellence in education can come to look like. It’s a really exciting challenge,” said Lord Puttnam. Over the coming months, Lord Puttnam will work with Nord Anglia CEO, Andrew Fitzmaurice, in gathering a small group of other respected educators to join them on the Board.

In this clip, which was filmed at the launch of Nord Anglia International School Dublin in May 2017, Lord Puttnam discusses some of the challenges facing today’s educators. Specifically, he points out the difficulty in training students for a future workforce that is currently undefined and uncertain. Young people today need to be prepared for jobs that might not yet exist – this is an unprecedented situation in the history of education. Institutions like Nord Anglia International School Dublin are leading the way from this perspective and will facilitate a greater plurality of choice for students in Ireland, and around the world.  The launch of this school also raises the bar for its Irish counterparts to engage in partnerships, such as those enjoyed by Nord Anglia with Unicef and MIT (among others). Lord Puttnam also speaks about how much Nord Anglia has expanded the vision of education – what it is, and what it could be. 

www.nordangliaeducation.com

Categories
Activities Film

Cinema great delivers public lecture at Griffith

Source: Louise Crossen for Griffith University News, 11 Ocotber 2017. 

David Puttnam with his Students at Griffith University 2017

 One of the most celebrated figures in world cinema, Oscar-winning Lord David Puttnam, kept a sell out audience enlivened with the leading film-maker delivering a public lecture  at Griffith Film School.

Lord Puttnam, whose career as an independent producer includes classic films such as Midnight Express, The Killing Fields and Chariots of Fire will look at creative criticism in filmmaking and other business models.

Creative Collisions – It’s never easy but it’s worth it reflects on his recent time at Pixar animation studios to consult on their creative culture and processes.

“Change is tough, but you have to set the bar high and ensure that you keep pushing to create the best project possible,” he said.

“That means being open to criticism, recognising your strengths and weaknesses and fostering your creative relationships.”

Lord Puttnam will also discuss his return to the film industry. After many years as a film educator and a member of the House of Lords, he is set to produce his first film in 30 years.  Arctic30 is a drama about the real-life detention of Greenpeace activists.

Lord Puttnam has a long-standing relationship with Griffith Film School, delivering a series of live interactive seminars from his home in Ireland over the past five years that cover everything from movies and money, the use of sound and music and the evolving role of the author and producer.

He nominates classics including Breaker Morant and The Castle as his favourite Australian films and argues that the big end of town should be giving back to film education in this country – creating scholarships and grants for emerging filmmakers.

“There is a lack of faith and investment on behalf of the big corporations and studios – they should be putting money into film education to ensure that new talent comes through the pipeline.”

Lord Puttnam welcomed advances in technology that has allowed young filmmakers to create their own work and distribute it online.

“The amount of content being produced has increased sixfold in the past 30 years,” he said.

“When I was a young filmmaker, you were limited by the cost of film stock and the expense of hiring cameras and equipment.

“Now Griffith Film School is better equipped than most major studios were a few decade ago.

“The barrier to entry into the industry has dropped and there are great opportunities to show your work.”

Lord Putnam’s films have won 10 Academy Awards, 25 BAFTAs and the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

Producing for Screen and Society 2017 – Griffith Film School from Griffith Film School on Vimeo.

 

Categories
Activities Film

The Citizen Kane of British Pop Music!

Slade in Flame, the 1975 film that charts the rise of a fictitious pop group, and co-produced by Lord Puttnam, has been described by film critic Mark Kermode as “the Citizen Kane of British pop movies”! Watch the clip below to see why! 

 

 

Categories
Activities Film

We need regulation to curb data capitalism

Source: RTS.co.uk – Written by Steve Clarke

Lord Puttnam has warned that the growing power of the US tech behemoths poses a threat to democracy.

In a high-concept, passionate RTS lecture, illustrated by film clips and quotes from such 20th century giants as John Maynard Keynes and Bob Dylan, Puttnam mounted a passionate case for media regulation to curb the excesses of “data capitalism.”

“Tech monopolies (Google, Amazon, Facebook) are taking over the internet. A pernicious form of corporatism could, under the wrong set of circumstances, replace democracy as we have known and enjoyed it,” he said.

It was “nonsense” that these companies were too big to regulate.  

“As democracy struggles data capitalism could well be proved to be uncontrollable. This is a very, very serious issue,” Puttnam claimed.

He said: “What on earth allows us to believe that the corporate state and corporatism left unchecked is going to provide for us a world that we actually want to live in? 

Lord Puttnam insisted that as a nation we are “sleep walking” to a world in which companies like Cambridge Analytica have the ability to manipulate public opinion via algorithms.  

He argued that only by exposing the lies of politicians by robust journalism and extending media regulation could citizens operate in a fully functioning democracy.

It was vital that companies like Facebook and Google accept they are media companies and the responsibilities which this entails.  

Once that happened, it would be easier to regulate these platforms.

Ofcom’s powers should be clarified and, if necessary, extended to avoid the rise of ‘phoney’ journalism online.

Digital literacy was paramount in an internet age, but to date Ofcom had not taken its responsibilities in this area seriously.

He said: “In the 2002-3 Communications Act we went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that one of the statutory responsibilities given to Ofcom was digital literacy.

“I have to say they have failed miserably. I don’t think it was ever taken seriously. It may well be that it was under-funded. But if it was somebody should have come back and told us.

“Digital literacy is now at a crisis point. We’ve got to address this.”

Impartial, accurate broadcast news was a fragile medium that needed to be protected.

He welcomed the BBC’s recent introduction of the Reality Check series, which aims to debunk fake news.

But Lord Puttnam asked why the corporation had taken so long to introduce it.  

“We all have a personal responsibility to question the facts offered to us. It’s a challenging but necessary discipline,” he said.

The reporting of the EU referendum had not been the BBC’s finest hour. “They were tortured over apparent balance,” he said. “A lot of things that should have got said weren’t.”

Lord Puttnam cited how the BBC had failed to show a clip of Boris Johnson giving his unqualified support to the EU.

“On a BBC programme five or six years ago Boris said: ‘It is absolutely vital that Turkey finds its rightful place in an ever-expanding Europe.’”

Puttnam wanted to know why during the referendum campaign Johnson wasn’t confronted with this on Newsnight.    

The Oscar-winning film director and educationalist predicted that Brexit would be a disaster for the British people.

He said that removing the protection the EU gives the UK to stand up to the giants of “data capitalism” was asking for trouble. 

On Brexit, he told the RTS how the Chinese think the UK is mad to leave the EU.  

Most of China’s population regard Europe as a place of stability in a troubled world, according to research Lord Puttnam quoted.     

“They think that this group of 28 nations can get together and work together and create peace in a region that has been tortured by war is a remarkable achievement and it gives them hope.

“Why on earth would we not wish to be part of that extraordinary global experiment? Believe me, they think we are mad,” he said.  

He insisted it was possible to avoid the excesses of the internet giants, but only if “every single one of us” upped our game.  

In a subsequent question and answer session, chaired by ex-culture minister Ed Vaizey, Lord Puttnam hailed the Financial Times as a beacon of journalistic excellence.

“If the FT is untruthful, it goes out of business. There is nowhere else for it to go. It is totally reliant on people’s belief in it.”

He added; “It’s trapped, if you like, in its own truth. Why shouldn’t that be true of other forms of communication?”