BAFTA AND WARNER BROS. TO SUPPORT NEW PRINCE WILLIAM SCHOLARSHIPS IN FILM, TELEVISION AND GAMES

New scholarships announced at today’s inauguration of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the presence of HRH The Duke of Cambridge, President of BAFTA

London, 26 April: On the day the state-of-the-art film and television production facility, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is being inaugurated by TRHs The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Warner Bros. announce the creation of the Prince William Scholarships in Film, Television and Games.

The three annual Prince William Scholarships, applications for which open today, will assist talented people in need of financial support to study a post-graduate course in one of the three industries. Successful applicants will each receive up to £10,000 to cover their course fees and receive mentoring support, free access to BAFTA events around the UK, and a funded work placement within the Warner Bros. group of companies.

The partnership between BAFTA and Warner Bros. is a demonstration of both organisations’ commitment to investing in future talent. The Prince William Scholarships form a key part of Warner Bros. Creative Talent, a multi-layered nationwide investment programme in skills and training for the UK’s creative industries, and build upon BAFTA’s successful BAFTA Scholarship Programme, which began in 2012.

Applications for the Prince William Scholarships in Film, Television and Games, supported by BAFTA and Warner Bros., are now being accepted a bit.ly/BAFTAScholarships. The deadline for applications is Monday 17 June 2013.

Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, said: “BAFTA is delighted to be partnering with Warner Bros. on the Prince William Scholarships in Film, Television and Games. Working together, we can provide vital financial support and industry experience to individuals whose talents might otherwise be lost to our industry. BAFTA’s President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge believes that everyone deserves a chance to shine, and we are immensely proud he has chosen to be associated with this initiative, which builds upon the existing BAFTA Scholarship Programme. We hope that the scholarship recipients will become the mentors of the future, and be in a position to give back to others from similar backgrounds.”

Josh Berger CBE, President & Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain, said, “To ensure continued success for the UK’s creative industries, we’re determined to play a key role in finding, funding and nurturing talent from all backgrounds. This exciting partnership with BAFTA will help us to do just that by providing opportunities for talented young people to not only learn about, but also experience the broad range of sectors that both organisations are renowned for.”

Aardman Animations and STUDIOCANAL to partner on SHAUN THE SHEEP

STUDIOCANAL are to team up with Aardman Animations who will produce the movie debut of one of their most popular animated characters - SHAUN THE SHEEP.

First seen in the Oscar winning short film A CLOSE SHAVE, the world’s most famous sheep and his flock have been enthralling TV audiences in over 170 countries and has proved to be one of the studios most popular and endearing characters.

The film will be shot in Aardman's trademark style of stop motion animation and is written and directed by Richard Starzak (aka Golly) and Mark Burton.

STUDIOCANAL is financing and will distribute the film in UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand and handle international sales.

Synopsis: When Shaun’s mischief inadvertently leads to the Farmer being taken away from the farm, Shaun, Bitzer and the flock have to go into the big city to rescue him, setting the stage for an epic adventure.

Olivier Courson, STUDIOCANAL Chairman and CEO said ”We are so thrilled to join the Flock! Shaun is a character you love at first sight whatever your age. We are really happy to work with Aardman, it’s such a talented team!”

David Sproxton, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Aardman says “Shaun and his friends have a massive global following and we very excited about being able to put them into a bigger adventure for the big screen. We are naturally also very excited about partnering with STUDIOCANAL for this project, their track record and expertise in international film financing and distribution seems a perfect fit.”

Bait 2D Short Review

 3.5 Stars of Jaw snapping fun.
This is a film that bites far up the evolutionary chain.

The newly engaged Josh (Xavier Samuel - The Twilight Saga; Eclipse) to Rory's sister Tina (Sharni Vinson - Step Up 3D) heads out on a jet-ski to warn Rory (Richard Brancatisano - Things to Do 2011) when suddenly boom; you get why this film was made for 3D as a massive shark springs from the water destroying the board and throwing Rory into the sea along with the Great White Shark, Josh frantically tries to save him, but to no avail.

See the full review at Road Rash Reviews

Ultraviolet TV series DVD Short review

4 Stars of Class TV viewing. 
 It's the day before Detective Sergeant Michael Colefield's (Jack Davenport - Pirates of the Caribbean) best friends wedding, but Jack (Stephen Moyer - Priest 2011) disappears leaving Michael very interested in finding his friend as his fiancé Kirsty (Collette Brown - Doctors, Holby City) is thrown into turmoil, but not as much as Michael's life is about too.
Vampires and carbon bullets don't mix.

See the full review at Road Rash Reviews

Penguins Spy In The Huddle DVD Short Review

This is a highly entertaining BBC series and I have given it 4.5 stars.

Penguins Spy In The Huddle documents the amazing and crazy lives of three different types of penguin as they struggle to survive in their entirely different yet equally extreme habitats.

Read the full review here 

Star Trek character posters

A set of character posters has just hit my in-box. They show all the major cast with the exception of Scotty...

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Beaming into UK cinemas May 9, 2012

Fast & Furious 6 gets a brand new featurette

A nice new featurette from the still named Fast & Furious 6. I'm still amazed that that's going to be the name. The feature is a look into the psyche of the characters and what happened between the end of 5 and this film.

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of all-stars as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed races to its next continent in Fast & Furious 6. Reuniting for their most high-stakes adventure yet, fan favourites Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Elsa Pataky are joined by badass series newcomers Luke Evans and Gina Carano.

Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian’s (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin’s empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe.  But their inability to return home and living forever on the run has left their lives incomplete.

Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organisation of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.

Building on the worldwide blockbuster success of Fast Five and taking the action, stunts and narrative to even greater heights, Fast & Furious 6 sees director Justin Lin back behind the camera for the fourth time. He is
supported by longtime producers Neal H. Moritz and Vin Diesel, who welcome producer Clayton Townsend back to the series.

Coming to UK cinemas May 17, 2013

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