Author: pixel2coding

Lord Puttnam calls for a wider definition of “Duty of Care”

Speaking at Merton College for Oxford University’s annual Equality Conversation lecture, film maker and educator Lord Puttnam said more people had “a duty of care” to the world they lived in, and in particular to disabled people. His talk was followed by comments by the chief executive of Leonard Cheshire, Neil Heslop OBE.

Lord Puttnam said:

“Leonard Cheshire’s life offers a model for the type of self-sacrificing leadership needed to educate and inspire. He gave us, the entire global community, a way of providing sense of inclusion – a civil society with roots. He showed the possibility Neil Heslop OBE, CEO of Leonard Cheshire (left) and Lord Puttnam (right) that we can all broaden our horizons in such a way as to develop and expand our ambitions for society.”

Neil Heslop OBE, CEO of Leonard Cheshire, said:

“Leonard worked tirelessly around the world to improve the lives of disabled people with humanity and respect. His inspirational spirit guides our work today to overcome cultural and practical barriers to community inclusion, learning, work and independence for disabled people. Whilst the world is a far more inclusive place than it was in 1948 when he started our charity, much remains to be done. The centenary of Leonard’s birth inspires us to redouble our efforts to reach disabled people around the world to support them in realising their full potential.”

Lord Puttnam and Mr Heslop were invited to speak as guests of Merton College, Oxford, where philanthropist and disability advocate Group Captain Leonard Cheshire was a student in the 1930s.

This year marks 100 years since Leonard Cheshire’s birth, and the charity founded by him is holding events around the country to celebrate his birth.

For more information please go to www.leonardcheshire.org/centenary

Activities Recent Activities

Lord Puttnam warns of erosion of trust

Festival of British Advertising: Lord David Puttnam warns over erosion of trust

The media industry has a "colossal job" on its hands as it seeks to rebuild trust, Lord David Puttnam said at the IPA's Festival of British Advertising on Wednesday, where he expressed his concerns over the most "alarming change" to have occurred in recent times.

Lord Puttnam

"Every one of us has a colossal job on our hands in the process of recreating trust – not in the system, which in many ways has only discredited itself – but in some kind of a system which we feel comfortable to gather around and support," Lord Puttnam said as he marked the IPA's 100th anniversary.

"For me the most alarming 'change' to have occurred is the seeming collapse of 'Trust' – trust in institutions of all kinds, including Government, trust in the Media, and pretty well all other sources of information – most alarmingly 'trust' in what's referred to as 'the system'."

As the IPA moves into its second century, Lord Puttnam, who began his film career as a messenger more than six decades ago, called on the entire industry, as human beings, to stop making excuses and start "walking the talk".

"Building trust is a human activity, and is very unlikely to be achieved solely through the use of analytics and algorithms," he said.

"We have to dig very deep, uncynically analyse what's gone so badly wrong, and throw this sector's undoubted muscle into finding what I'd describe as a new, and far more sustainable, 'social settlement'."

Source: Mediatel newsline

Written by Ellen Hammett

Activities Europe

U.K. Lawmaker Pulls Fox-Sky Proposal in Bid to Gain Support

U.K. Lawmaker Pulls Fox-Sky Proposal in Bid to Gain Support

(Bloomberg) — Film producer and lawmaker David Puttnam withdrew amendments to the U.K. Digital Economy Bill, a tactical move to build support for measures that would hamper Rupert Murdoch’s bid to join 21st Century Fox with Sky Plc.

Puttnam withdrew the amendments in a standard process in the U.K.’s unelected House of Lords that allows the government to make changes to the bill itself to meet its opponents halfway. The shift avoids an immediate political fight, and gives Puttnam time to refine his arguments and try to sway key ministers to adopt a tougher stance toward the 11.7 billion-pound ($14.7 billion) deal.

Puttnam and his supporters, who include the media lobbying group Hacked Off, want those who buy into a substantial media group to pass the same fit-and-proper tests that are applied to existing television license holders. He said he hopes Karen Bradley, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, will incorporate his views into her decision on whether to send the transaction to regulator Ofcom for review, and what standards to apply.

“When it comes to the issue of media ownership and any suspicion of undue pressure, this House will again vote overwhelmingly in favor should I press these amendments,” Puttnam said Wednesday in the House of Lords. “I would infinitely prefer the government to come back and offer the sense of security that I seek.”

The government now has a couple of weeks to consider making changes to the bill before Puttnam decides whether to bring revised amendments to the House of Lords.

Puttnam, 75, is a Labour Party member. He’s best known for 1978’s “Midnight Express” and “Chariots of Fire” in 1981.

Ed Miliband, a member of Parliament’s House of Commons and former Labour leader, sent a letter to Ofcom Thursday asking the regulator to apply a new fit-and-proper test to Sky’s ownership in light of Fox’s bid for full ownership.

Source: Bloomberg Quint

Activities Media

Puttnam on Murdoch’s Sky deal

Film producer's plan threatens Murdoch's Fox and Sky deal

Film director and lawmaker David Puttnam is proposing measures in the UK's House of Lords aimed at frustrating Rupert Murdoch's £11.7bn (€13.69bn) plan to merge his US media company, 21st Century Fox, with pay-television broadcaster Sky.

The amendments to the proposed Digital Economy Bill would subject media acquirers to a so-called fit-and-proper test in order to hold a broadcasting licence. The test would look at any past criminal wrongdoing and corporate-governance failures – ensuring Murdoch and his son, James, who is chairman of Sky and ceo of Fox, would face new scrutiny over their handling of a hacking scandal that derailed an earlier offer for Sky.

Puttnam's proposals mark one of the first concrete moves by political opponents who argue the deal, which would unite the Murdochs' TV empire, would threaten UK media plurality.

British culture secretary Karen Bradley is under pressure from the opposition Labour party to have regulator Ofcom review the deal on public-interest grounds. Campaigners include Hacked Off, a media-accountability advocacy group formed during the phone- hacking scandal.

"These amendments would provide the necessary safeguards to ensure the public interest is protected as the bid for Sky by the Murdochs is scrutinised," Evan Harris, joint executive director of Hacked Off, said in a statement.

Fox already holds a 39pc stake in Sky. Uncertainty over whether it will succeed in buying the rest has led traders to discount Sky stock, which fell 0.2pc to £10.04 on Wednesday and remains about 6.6pc below the offer price of £10.75 per share.

The difference shows traders are concerned that political obstacles may block the deal, said Neil Campling, head of global tech, media and telecom research at Northern Trust Securities.

Officials at Sky and Fox declined to comment.

Puttnam also called for safeguards to protect editorial freedom in broadcast acquisitions, and restrictions related to influence over cultural expression.

Another clause widens the fit-and-proper test that would be conducted by Ofcom, asking the media regulator to look into past conduct, including corporate-governance failures.

"We don't think this is going to derail the bid at all," said Alice Enders, director of research at Enders Analysis, citing difficulties of getting the amendments passed through both houses of Parliament.

"It's not going to interfere with the process of regulatory clearance at the European Commission."

The Lords proposals, which Puttnam has secured cross-party backing for, are unlikely to be voted on until March. (Bloomberg)

DP for Murdoch

Activities Media

Lord Puttnam Launches LCC Screen School

Film Producer Lord Puttnam launches LCC Screen School with a message for Creatives in Brexit and Trump Era

Lord Puttnam, acclaimed film producer (Chariots of Fire) and author (Movies and Money: The Undeclared War Between Europe and America), officially launched LCC Screen School with a Q&A and lecture on his career and the future of the UK’s film and TV industry in the Brexit and Trump era.

Lord Puttnam

To mark the launch of LCC Screen School, Lord Puttnam, acclaimed British producer of classic films like Chariots of Fire, Bugsy Malone and The Killing Fields, opened the inaugural annual ‘LCCScreen School Presents…’ lecture series.

Talking to students, staff, press and screen indsutry professionals, Lord Puttnam spoke about the global film industry going through huge successes over the last 100 years with a focus on the UK as a creative leader.

The impact of Brexit and Trump

Lord Puttnam had a message for LCC Screen School students as the future generation of the creative industry in light of Trump’s inauguration and Brexit negotiations:

“The UK’s film industry is a remarkable, but fragile story. The special effects business exists because in the 1960s, a migrant named Stanley Kubrick came to the UK and made 2001 [A Space Odyssey]. 45% of key employees in the special effects business aren’t British nationals, they come from the EU.”

With UAL’s Stanley Kubrick Archive based at LCC, Lord Puttnam’s nod to the legacy of Kubrick was an important reference in inspiring LCC Screen School students who have the iconic filmaker’s scripts, props and set designs at their fingertips.

Collaborate, unite and remain outstanding

Supportive of LCC Screen School’s collaborative ethos, he suggested “team-writing” as the solution for better screenwriting in the UK. He said:

“Our screenwriting is weak because our TV and theatre is so strong. We’re good with words, but we’re not a naturally visual nation, so we tend to overwrite scenes. Screenwriting is still regarded in the UK as an act in isolation.”

Lord Puttnam continued:

“It’s a fantastic time to be entering the business. We’ve just got to remain outstanding. We must stand our ground and continue to drive forward talented people. This is why what UAL is doing here, is so important. There are poetries out there, all waiting to be written by you.” Lord Puttnam- LCC

Read the full article here

Activities Recent Activities

Elite kids are disadvantaged too

Puttnam: Elite kids as deprived as the poorest

Some behave like spoilt brats, but for the Labour peer and film producer David Puttnam, the children of some of the super-rich need help because they may be “as disadvantaged” as the very poorest in society.

“It’s a mistake to think that deprivation exists only with the very poorest in society: there are other forms of deprivation that go right through to the top,” Puttnam said.

He added: “Many people will find this a totally counter-intuitive ‘first world’ problem — but check with the principals of many of our most expensive schools and most desirable universities, and you will hear the same story: mental wellbeing is a significant and growing problem.”

His intervention in the debate about a phenomenon sometimes described as “affluenza” is significant because Puttnam is more usually concerned with tackling the problems of poverty.

He chairs the Cultural Learning Alliance, an umbrella group of 10,000 cultural organisations and leaders that launched a report last week on the value of art to empower underprivileged children. It said taking part in arts activities boosted children’s cognitive abilities by 17%, made young offenders 18% less likely to reoffend and made low- income children twice as likely to volunteer.

However, he told The Sunday Times that he was also keen to use the arts to help the offspring of the top 0.1%, who have an annual income of more than £600,000. “It is very difficult for people who have unlimited wealth to help their kids to lead moderated and engaged lives,” Puttnam said.

“There are any number of kids in London who I worry do not necessarily have directed lives. You have 18 to 22-year-olds whose idea of life is . . . the next party. People at the opposite end of the spectrum might think this is slightly barking: ‘How can it be? You are very wealthy — what do you mean you have a problem making sure your kids are engaged with the real world?’ But it’s true there is a real problem.”

The phenomenon has troubled Puttnam since the late 1970s, when he was producing Foxes, a film about four privileged California valley girls. The cast included Jodie Foster.

The script had one of them commit suicide, but this was changed to a car crash, Puttnam said, when real life overtook fiction in the form of a string of suicides among the offspring of movie stars. “That was the first time I was confronted with the reality that there were some very awkward facts relating to the children of privilege, which people of privilege did not really want to talk about,” he said.

Pictures of rich kids flaunting their lifestyles have become a social media phenomenon, but Puttnam suggests we look beyond the photographs shot in the cabins of their private jets to understand their antics. Their lack of empathy may spring from seeing little of their parents, he suggests, and being spoilt when they do see them.

One pioneer in the study of this field, Suniya Luthar, professor of psychology at Arizona State University, found that children of affluent parents who earned more than £100,000 had twice as much risk of developing mental problems as their poorer peers.

She pointed to the pressures on them as their childhoods were devoted to being groomed for success in a winner-takes-all economy. “The children of the affluent are becoming increasingly troubled, reckless and self- destructive,” she said.

Tanya Byron, a chartered clinical psychologist and professor in the public understanding of science at Edge Hill University, said: “Sometimes I meet these kids in their teenage years and they remind me of burnt-out executives in their fifties. They are so overwhelmed and stressed by the expectation — the pressure to hit these markers of success.”

Written by Nicholas Hellen

Source: The Times

Activities Environment

Lunch With Lord Puttnam

Let’s Do Lunch With Lord Puttnam

Over coffee and cream cakes in Skibbereen, LORD PUTTNAM reveals a SURPRISING NEW PROJECTand waxes emphatic on BREXIT

Lord Puttnam’s father, Leonard, has an extraordinary place in the annals. A photojournalist, he covered the hell that was Dunkirk, a bloody defeat and massive evacuation. But Churchill decided differently: he sent Puttnam’s father and another photographer straight back to Dunkirk to change the narrative. Literally. They set up pictures of heroic soldiers and brave little fishing boats. The myth of Dunkirk was born, the spirit of a nation saved and the course of the war changed. This double Dunkirk DNA is clear in his son: the ability to see the bigger picture, to tell story by lens and light, and above all the ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

David Puttnam’s insistence on finding the silver lining is striking. Like the way that discovering Cisco technology after a bad car crash in Italy in 2011 got him thinking,“Maybe I can do that [digital] for Ireland.” Or the way his unhappy period as head of Columbia Pictures led to his living in Skibbereen. I am certain its kaffeeklatsch culture, where farmers and film stars gather for coffee and gossip and cakes exploding with cream, was part of the attraction.

It was in Field’s coffee shop on August 28 1997 that the Oscar-winning film producer discovered he had a new title. “A couple of days after Blair’s Mayday victory, education minister David Blunkett rang to ask me to work with him. I was delighted. A little while later, another call came. Would I accept a peerage? I explained there might be a complication [Blunkett]. ‘Leave that to us,’ came the reply. But nothing happened. May, June, July, most of August came. Then I opened my paper. I was Lord Puttnam of Queensgate.”

It may seem paradoxical, the direct line from the House of Lords to a far-flung Irish café. But paradox is just another word for an exciting life. A producer of 27 films – ten Oscar-winning – may dedicate 20 years to public duty; a movie mover and shaker can be happily married to the same woman for over half a century; an Englishman may be an Irish patriot, by becoming Ireland’s Digital Champion, promoting a tech-savvy nation.

We are in Kalbos Café, around the corner from the Ludgate Hub, brave new blueprint for other towns, on the day the Supreme Court in London began to deliberate Brexit. Skibbereen café society is mad for chat with him about Making Ireland Click, his four documentaries, aired recently on RTÉ, and he is happy. But I know he has watched in horror the unfolding of Brexit. I steel myself for the serious stuff which will dominate discourse in 2017. Which just proves how easy it is to forget that David Puttnam doesn’t do predictable. Ever.

Surprise number one: Puttnam is making a movie – his first in nearly 20 years. “It’s the story of the Arctic 30, who were jailed by Putin. The script is three-quarters there and I’m looking for a Jennifer Lawrence or Emma Stone.” Although he downplays it – “I prefer to say I’m causing a movie to be made” – he is clearly excited. This film gets right to his essence. “I believe young people today should be activists.” He describes himself is an “issuist” and agrees many of his films are too.

Surprise number two unfolds in action: he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card. “This is for you. It might be worth a few bob in Sotheby’s sometime. It’s my last one.” The card proclaims him UK Trade and Culture envoy to Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma and Laos and he is still jetlagged from an intense seven-week trip there. He has resigned. “I spent the last five years arguing for the rule of law, how you build an independent state on an independent judiciary – something which my own government were not prepared to preserve. The thing that did it was the newspaper headline “Traitors” over the High Court judges who ruled that Parliament would decide on Brexit.” The card gesture was dramatic, but when he tells me his father “always slipped a ten-bob note into my pocket – even when I was 30”, I’m touched by tradition.

And the silver lining? “I taught film there.” He reaches for more pocket treasure – pictures which run the gamut of enraptured students in small classes to enormous
floodlit gatherings. His satisfaction is apparent. “You are so lucky,” I remark.

“That’s exactly what Patsy said to me at four o’clock this morning.” Four o’clock in the morning chats after all these years? What is the secret? “I married my best friend from school who I knew since she was 13 and I was 16.” He talks about their family and her sensational cooking but knows the clincher is: “ She’s always been able to make the adjustments.”

And she has had adjustments to make. Perhaps the biggest was the move to Hollywood in 1986, where his efforts to change the system at Columbia made him powerful enemies and caused him to resign after a year. The stress left him with ME, which means bouts of depression. “You’re always afraid the next one will be the big one.” But It was the ME which led them to Skibbereen, which ultimately became home.

He is angry. At Brexit, at Boris Johnson, at the BBC. “Brexit is a denial of everything my generation stood for. The Brexiteers seem to have been lobotomised about history between 1927 and 1937. They used the Goebbels playbook: grab power, own a couple of newspapers, identify the Other [Jews or Immigrants] fan the flames of disquiet.” There are huge problems to be surmounted. Like “the problem of finding good people to take responsibility. What percentage of the 48 per cent who voted to remain in the EU will be called upon to drive Brexit? My fear for society is we have lost the wisdom to anticipate the consequences of our actions.”

Who knows? If anyone can find a way to change the story, he can.

Written by Anne Harris

Source: The Gloss- LTB

Activities Film

Brexit & the Creative Industries

David Puttnam: Brexit must not end our star role on world’s screens

OUR screen industries, like the broader creative industries, have been among the great economic success stories of the past two decades, so it becomes imperative that we do everything in our power to minimise any harm that might arise from the Government’s decision to leave the EU single market.

My first concern is the so-called ‘country of origin principle’. It sounds intimidatingly technical but in truth it is very simple and is driven by the fact that internet and satellite TV signals cross national borders.

The country of origin principle allows broadcasters to transmit across the entire EU, provided they comply with the rules of the country in which they originate. It is an excellent example of the way in which sensible EU regulation can reduce red tape and not add to it. By common consent, the UK is Europe’s most vibrant broadcasting hub, thanks to our attractive and successful regulatory regime.

According to the Commercial Broadcasters Association, some 1,100 television channels are based here in the UK – around three times as many as in our closest EU rival, France. Of these, up to 55 per cent are non-domestic channels, broadcasting from the UK to other countries, meaning that international channels are key to the UK’s competitive advantage.

Literally thousands of jobs are at stake here. A significant portion of the 12,000 people who work in the multi-channel sector are employed at the European or international headquarters of media groups located here in Britain. Indeed, the number of international channels based in this country has been rising by around 17 per cent every year.

The screen sector, supported by the regulator Ofcom, strongly believes that the country of origin principle must continue to operate in the UK after Brexit, so that media companies based here do not feel compelled to move their operations to other European countries.

Not only could that result in a loss of skilled jobs and of significant and hard-won investment, the repercussions could be far greater than that. Needless to say, continuing as before will require the agreement of the remaining 27 member states, all of which would love to grab this asset. To retain it will not be easy and will require particularly skilful negotiation.

I also want to focus on a vital but rapidly growing subsector, the visual effects and animation business. This relatively new sector has an annual turnover of £2.25bn and employs in excess of 25,000 people. This all came about because in the late 1960s, a migrant named Stanley Kubrick came to London to make his film 2001: A Space Odyssey. There was no suitable special effects business for his purposes so he had to invent one. That film’s success attracted the makers of the first Star Wars film – and the rest is history.

Over the past few years, as a result of continuing investment in technology, which in turn attracted creative talent from all over the world, we have emerged as the global leaders in a rapidly growing business. In the visual effects category at last year’s Oscars, five of the six nominees, including the eventual winner, were British.

We employ the very best talent from around the world, regardless of nationality, and in very large numbers. Of the total workforce in the sector, depending on their grade, between 31 and 35 per cent are EU nationals, and a further 12 per cent are from non-EU countries.

In our largest companies, the figures are even starker, ranging between 41 and 45 per cent from the EU alone. Even these percentages increase, topping 50 per cent, when you focus on ultra-high-end jobs in 3D and virtual reality. Are we seriously going to jeopardise a pre-eminence that has taken 50 years to build by requiring up to half the workforce to leave?

Here is a flat-out plea to Ministers. As well as the economics, there is a huge moral issue at stake here. Let us be clear: we, Britain, caused this rift. Europe is the injured party. In such a situation surely we should seek to retain a little of the moral high ground by clearly and unequivocally guaranteeing the right to stay to those hundreds of thousands of hard-working, taxpaying, economically active people who add so much to the vibrancy of London in particular and the nation in general.

At present we appear to be subjecting them to some form of prisoner exchange programme, treating them as high-stakes bargaining chips. Surely as a nation we are better than that? Surely we should generously embrace them in the hope that Europe will see the good sense of doing likewise, which I suggest it unquestionably will? In her Brexit speech, the Prime Minister said “we will continue to attract the brightest and the best”, ensuring that immigration continues to bring benefits in addressing skills shortages where they exist. Here is her golden opportunity, without delay, to put her words into action.

David Puttnam

Edited from HOL debate on Brexit: Creative Industries – 19th January

Read the full debate here

Activities Education

Wake up call for the Arts

Darcey Bussell and Lord Puttnam issue ‘wake-up’ call over children excluded from the Arts

Leading arts figures including Lord Puttnam and Darcey Bussell have warned that a decline in the number of children taking arts subjects in schools could condemn a generation of young people to poverty.

“It is essential that access to arts is a right and not a privilege.” Lord Puttnam, chair of the Cultural Learning Alliance The filmmaker and the Strictly Come Dancing judge presented a report which detailed how access to the arts at school, currently in decline, can drastically improve the life chances of the four million UK children estimated to live in poverty.

Actress Fiona Shaw and the artist Grayson Perry also attended the launch at Parliament for the Imagine Nation report, published by the Cultural Learning Alliance.

‘Wake-up call’ for the arts

The report found that students from low-income families who take part in arts activities at school are three times more likely to get a degree. Participation in structured arts activities can increase cognitive abilities by 17%, boosting attainment in Maths and English whilst also developing skills and behaviour that improve a child’s school performance.

Lord Puttnam said the report was a “wake-up” call for the importance of protecting the arts curriculum for children living in poverty.

The Alliance noted that Theresa May’s interventionist Industrial Policy announced this week made no direct reference to the arts, although it did make the creative industries – from film to music and computer games – a key pillar in the new strategy.

Decline in children taking arts

Lord Puttnam, Chair of the Alliance, warned: “There has been a decline in the number of children taking part in arts subjects in schools, a reduction in arts teaching hours; and fewer arts teachers employed in schools in England.

“We are calling for everyone to work together to ensure more commitment, more focus and more action to protect and expand the arts curriculum in schools.”

The Oscar-winner added: “This is a wake-up call. More than a quarter of all children live in poverty in the UK and for 1.7 million children that poverty is severe.” “This report clearly demonstrates that the arts empower children, create a culture of citizenship and help them to achieve their true potential. It is essential that access to arts is a right and not a privilege.”

Ms Bussell spoke to the audience of MPs and ministers about the power of the arts to transform the lives of children and families.

The Cultural Learning Alliance represents more than 10,000 organisations and individuals concerned with cultural education across the UK and is campaigning for the right to culture for every child as a cornerstone of national policy.

The report was endorsed by figures including former arts minister Ed Vaizey, David Lan, Director, The Young Vic and Robert Peston, ITV Political Editor.

Source: iNews

Written by: Adam Sherwin

Activities Education

Lord Puttnam launches LCC Screen School with lecture

London College of Communication (LCC), part of University of the Arts London (UAL), is leading the way with a new Screen School launched in response to the growing dominance of screen-based cultures in everyday lives.

Going beyond traditional film school models, LCC Screen School brings film and television together with the disciplines of games, animation, sound arts and design and live events.

The Launch
Introducing LCC Screen School, Dean of Screen and filmmaker, Larra Anderson, spoke about the growing dominance of screens in people’s daily lives and how it has changed society’s interactions with film and TV. She said, “we cannot be at home, on the train or on the street without being aware of the symbiotic relationship that our culture now has with screens and sound.”

Discussing the proposition of LCC Screen School, Larra explained “we create new experiences for our audiences and through this, we create memories. By this, I mean, we create our identity for the audience. By creating memories and identity, film seeks to make lives better. An entertainment that enlivens the soul. This is our business. We are preparing [students] for viable lives in our artforms.”

The launch opened with LCC Screen School showreel featuring work from across all LCC Screen School subjects.

Lord Puttnam
To mark the launch of LCC Screen School, Lord Puttnam, acclaimed British producer of classic films like Chariots of Fire, Bugsy Malone and The Killing Fields, opened the inaugural annual #LCCScreen School Presents lecture series.

Talking to students, staff, press and screen industry professionals, Lord Puttnam spoke about the global film industry going through huge successes over the last 100 years with a focus on the UK as a creative leader.

The impact of Brexit/Trump
Lord Puttnam had a message for LCC Screen School students as the future generation of the creative industry in light of Trump’s inauguration and Brexit negotiations “The UK’s film industry is a remarkable, but fragile story. The special effects business exists because in the 1960s, a migrant named Stanley Kubrick came to the UK and made 2001 [A Space Odyssey]. 45% of key employees in the special effects business aren’t British nationals, they come from the EU.”

With UAL’s Stanley Kubrick Archive based at LCC, Lord Puttnam’s nod to the legacy of Kubrick was an important reference in inspiring LCC Screen School students who have the iconic filmaker's scripts, props and set designs at their fingertips.

Collaborate, unite and remain outstanding
Supportive of LCC Screen School’s collaborative ethos, Lord Puttnam suggested “team-writing” as the solution for better screenwriting in the UK. He said “our screenwriting is weak because our TV and theatre is so strong. We’re good with words, but we’re not a naturally visual nation, so we tend to overwrite scenes. Screenwriting is still regarded in the UK as an act in isolation."

Lord Puttnam continued “It’s a fantastic time to be entering the business. We’ve just got to remain outstanding. We must stand our ground and continue to drive forward talented people. This is why what UAL is doing here, is so important. There are poetries out there, all waiting to be written by you.”

Source: The Fan Carpet

#LCCScreen

@LCCLondon

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