News - Pupils make boardroom bid for IT
Posted on November 8, 2007
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| Original article School pupils are to deliver a business pitch to company bosses for 25,000 worth of computer equipment.
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News - Taking on the Hollywood machine
Posted on November 6, 2007
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The two gigolos in question, played by Sacha Tarter and Trevor Sather, cater for women including rich, over-60s clients played by British screen legends Sian Phillips, Anna Massey and Susanna York.
Pitching The Gigolos at AFM was surreal.
Distributors rent suites in a Santa Monica hotel. Filmmakers wander from floor to floor, meeting and pitching.
It was like purgatory. Or speed dating.
Less than five minutes in each room to sell the movie it took two years to make.
How can you tell if you’re making progress? Most conversations were hard to read. That’s the LA way.
Susannah York is a wealthy client for the gigolos
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You expect people to tell you what they think of the film: they never do. You leave the meeting and ask yourself: “What happened there?”
So, we took matters into our own hands. Everyone in Hollywood talks about what’s “hot”. We decided to create our own “heat”.
We spotted Paris Hilton flouncing out from a nightclub at 3am and chased her, trying to position Sacha next to her and capture it all on camera phone.
“Shameless” was one word to describe it. “Improvised publicity moment” is a phrase we coined afterwards.
But Paris, bless her, was too drunk to play ball. Bang went the “Paris Hilton out with top London gigolo” headline.
Anna Massey also features in the film
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Actor Andy Garcia came to our rescue, posing with Sacha for the cameras. He was also premiering his new film in LA. Suddenly, we were in with the in-crowd.
The LA Times reviewed the movie and called it a “subtly film”, just before our Sunday premiere.
The was standing room only. We’d handed out 200 flyers during the day. Admittedly, much of that was done round the hotel pool.
But the audience really got the film. The Gigolos is edgy, modern British comedy and Sunset Boulevard loved it.
A week of meetings with Hollywood execs followed. We’re not after tens of millions.
But as one exec said, you can ask for $5m or $0.5m and they’ll treat it the same - they’re both low-budget.
Tarter’s co-star is Trevor Sather
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It seemed that only horror movies were getting distribution. Gigolos director Richard Bracewell co-hosted a radio show, interviewing other filmmakers at the festival.
None of them had distribution either. And these are great movies - real talent.
Everyone tells you Hollywood is for new ideas. We read in the press that The Gigolos was one of the freshest films around. But would this translate into action? The phone was silent.
Finally, Hollywood woke up to the fact we were leaving. The phone started ringing.
We haven’t closed the deal yet, but we’ve achieved a lot. Hollywood now knows who we are. We’re talking to some pretty big names - not just Andy Garcia. Best of all, no one has anything but praise for the film.
Taking The Gigolos to LA was just the start. Now we’re waiting for Hollywood to call us back…
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News - School tests: who takes what
Posted on November 2, 2007
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| Read more on site A guide to the varied pattern of testing around the UK.
Ages are approximate: tests are taken mainly in May and many children will not reach the age in question until later in the year.
Age 7: Key Stage 1 national tests available in English and maths, marked in school and used to inform assessments by teachers, who decide the level achieved
Age 10: new “skills tests” in numeracy, literacy and problem-solving being piloted from 2006 and mandatory from 2008 Northern Ireland
Age 11: Transfer tests in English (or Irish*), maths and science and technology for those seeking grammar school places, marked externally, results private. Due to end in 2008
Ages 5-14: national tests (now called assessments) in reading, writing and maths, corresponding roughly to Key Stages 1 - 3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland except pupils are not tested at a specific age or stage, but “when ready” at teachers’ discretion. Marked internally, results private
Officially they aren’t, according to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) - which does not stop many people using the term.
* in schools where Welsh or Irish is the main language of instruction.
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News - School Day 24: Iranians prepare
Posted on October 31, 2007
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A boy said we should give the authorities credit that things had got a lot better for young people in Iran in the past decade; what he meant was that a boy and a girl can walk down the street together without being stopped and questioned about their relationship.
Then a girl complained about parties - how there are often drugs and alcohol available and their parents worry and they themselves can’t have fun because they think they could be arrested at any moment.
A boy behind her jumped in and asked: “Why do we define fun in terms of parties - you can go mountain climbing.”
Indeed a girl said she plays tennis and goes to the cinema to see Iranian films that reflect accurately the social problems of young Iranians.
Fun is clearly a big issue here. Another student complained that to have fun in Iran you had to have money and time.
War
We talked about the Iraq war and it brought up very strong statements from all of the students about how they are against war and how Iran is a peaceful country.
One boy said everyone in the class had been affected by the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. A girl explained how she had lived in Khuzestan near the Iraqi border and how she remembered her cousin dying at the front and what an awful day that was.
Everyone said that for them war was tangible and real - and that is why they were so against it.
Then it developed into a discussion about whose war is right. “What’s the difference between a suicide bomber and a stealth bomber,” said one boy who blamed the media for giving a false impression of Iran. Questions the students want to put to the schools in the US and the UK.
The Islamic Azad University has 300 branches across Iran
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The issue of marriage and dating was lively - with a lot of discussion about whether men and women are really equal in Iran.
One boy quoted George Orwell, saying: “Everyone is equal but some are more equal than others.”
A girl complained that in the workplace women are not paid the same as men - if the men have a family to support they get more money for the same job.
But the students were also keen to point out how much things had changed for this generation of women in Iran and they thought people abroad would be surprised to know there are more girls in their university classes than boys.
They think most foreigners assume young Iranian women just stay at home and have children.
One girl pointed out that education is segregated until university level so the first time they really meet the opposite sex is only at university.
All said they would never dream of an arranged marriage but many said they thought semi-arranged marriages where couples are introduced to each other were not a bad idea.
I am not sure how the students will react when a camera is pointed in their faces but in the preliminary meeting I sometimes had a hard time getting them to speak one at a time: they were so enthusiastic and argumentative and had so much to contribute.
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Newsround - Authors on the spot: JK Rowling
Posted on October 28, 2007
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Read more about .
JK Rowling is one of the best-selling authors ever, having broken records for sales around the world.
Her Harry Potter books have spellbound kids and adults everywhere.
It changed weekly, because I read at least a book a week!
I usually date the ambition from the age of six, at which I wrote my first complete ‘book’ (about a rabbit called Rabbit), but I know that I wanted to be an author before then. In fact, I couldn’t really understand why anybody would want to do anything different.
The best way to learn about style, characterisation and plot construction is to read as much as you possibly can.
You will probably find that you start to imitate your favourite authors, but this is a good learning process and your own style will come eventually. Always plan your work; writing aimlessly sometimes throws up a good idea or two, but it is no way to produce a whole story.
Write what you know: your own interests, feelings, beliefs, friends, family and even pets will be your raw materials when you start writing. Develop a fondness for solitude if you can, because writing is one of the loneliest professions in the world!
And finally: perseverance is absolutely essential, not just to produce all those words, but to survive rejection and criticism. However, the utter joy of seeing a book you wrote sitting in a bookshelf is a prize worth striving for!
The power of the printed word unites the author’s and the reader’s imaginations to create a unique vision. Entire worlds can be carried around inside these small, cheap, paper objects that don’t need plugs, modems or speakers. Books have survived for centuries; cinema is an upstart by comparison!
The ideas just come; I don’t really need much external inspiration. Just give me a quietish half hour, and perhaps a nice cup of tea, and I’ll probably be able to dash off a paragraph or two.
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