ITV

Tag: Andrew Scott

  • Audible Original adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 starring Andrew Garfield & others, out now

    Audible Original adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 starring Andrew Garfield & others, out now

    Mumbai: Audible, a leading provider of spoken word entertainment, has launched its new audio thriller based on George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984, featuring an all-star cast.

    Oscar nominated, and Golden Globe and Tony award winning actor, Andrew Garfield leads the adaptation as Winston alongside Grammy, Emmy and Tony award winning, Oscar nominated actor Cynthia Erivo as Julia.

    BAFTA and Olivier award winning Andrew Scott plays the alluring, mysterious and dangerous O’Brien, while Oscar nominated actor Tom Hardy voices the infamous Big Brother.

    The cast also features Romesh Ranganathan as Parsons, Natasia Demetriou as Mrs Parsons, Chukwudi Iwuji as Charrington, Francesca Mills as Syme, Katie Leung as Ling, Alex Lawther as Ampleforth alongside a full ensemble.

    Andrew Garfield, playing Winston in Audible’s 1984 said: “I’m very grateful to Audible to be a part of this new incarnation of Orwell’s radical, political classic, 1984. A classic that, disappointingly, humanity seems to need to be constantly engaged with. To keep ourselves awake and remembering that we each have a soul. And that that soul is full of beauty and value. And how vital it is for each of us to resist the forces that wish to subdue and strangle that collective soul. The cast and crew is clearly the best of the best of British and Irish talent. It was truly a joy to tell this story for an audience hungry for their own liberation.”

    Cynthia Erivo, playing Julia said: “It has been a truly wonderful experience getting the chance to share my interpretation of the incomparable Julia. Her wit, grit and determination, her passion for life and her want to LIVE has been a delight to play, this adaptation has allowed all of the beautiful qualities she has, to shine bright and it has been a pleasure to have been able to work with such wonderful artists. I think we have created something quite special together.”

    Transporting listeners into the dystopian world of 1984, Matthew Bellamy, Muse’s songwriter, guitarist and frontman, and award-winning composer Ilan Eshkeri have created an original score performed by London Metropolitan Orchestra at Abbey Road studios. The production is underpinned by a visceral, haunting soundscape, and mixed in Dolby Atmos.

    Matthew Bellamy and Ilan Eshkeri, co-creators of 1984’s soundtrack jointly shared: “The music we created is more than a soundtrack; it’s a haunting echo of a future that Orwell warned us about and a reflection of our current societal trajectories. It stands as a poignant, musical testament to the enduring power of art to mirror, and challenge, the world we live in.”

    Directed by BAFTA award winning Destiny Ekaragha, this Audible Original adaptation, penned by Olivier Award nominated writer Joe White stays faithful to the original text, leaning into the horror of the dystopian setting, whilst going deeper into Winston and Julia’s love story. In a world where love and sex are forbidden, Winston and Julia are the last lovers on earth.  

    The adaptation has been officially authorised and endorsed by the Orwell Estate with Richard Blair, George Orwell’s son, calling it “sensational” with a “brilliant cast”.

    George Orwell’s 1984, an Audible Original, releases globally on 4 April, exactly 40 years after the date of Winston’s first diary entry.

    Available now exclusively on Audible here. Audible membership may be required.

  • Sir Martin Sorrell says ta-ta to WPP, Roberto Quarta becomes exec chairman

    Sir Martin Sorrell says ta-ta to WPP, Roberto Quarta becomes exec chairman

    MUMBAI: A first gen entrepreneur of Ukrainian descent, he rose out of nowhere to build the world’s largest advertising group.  And late last night  – amidst investigations into charges of personal misconduct by the WPP board – Sir Martin Sorrell packed up his things and shockingly announced that he was saying ta-ta to the CEO’s position and moving out of the corner office.

    “Obviously I am sad to leave WPP after 33 years. It has been a passion, focus and source of energy for so long,” stated Sorrell in an emotional note to WPP staff.  “However, I believe it is in the best interests of the business …in your interest, in the interest of our clients, in the interest of all shareowners, both big and small, and in the interest of all our other stakeholders, it is best for me to step aside….the current disruption is putting too much unnecessary pressure on the business.”

    He added: “We have weathered difficult storms in the past. And our highly talented people have always won through, always. I leave the company in very good hands as the board knows… Nobody, either direct competitors or newly-minted ones can beat the WPP team, as long as you work closely together, whether by client and/or country or digitally.”

    WPP released a statement stating that the change would become effective immediately and that the advertising behemoth’s chairman  Roberto Quarta would become executive chairman until the company could appoint a new chief executive. Sir Martin would of course assist with the transition.  It added that the 73 year old  would be “treated as having retired” and that his share awards would be “pro-rated in line with the plan rules and will vest over the next five years, to the extent group performance targets are achieved.”

    WPP’s corporate development director and chief operating officer for Europe Andrew Scott and , Wunderman CEO Mark  Read would don the mantle of co-chief operating officers. Said Sorrell in his note: “We have had a succession plan in place for some time. A new generation of management, led by Mark Read and Andrew Scott , are well qualified and experienced in the board’s opinion, to deal with the geographic and technological opportunities and challenges our industry faces”

    “The previously announced investigation into an allegation of misconduct against Sir Martin has concluded,” the WPP statement read. “The allegation did not involve amounts that are material.”

    Born to Jewish parents who were from Kiev, Sorrell began his career in the renowned and trendy ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi (which fashioned winning electoral campaigns for Britain’s conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher) in 1975. He worked closely with the brothers Saatchi (Charles and Maurice) and helped fashion its rapid growth, before going solo and acquiring a shopping basket manufacturer Wires & Plastic Products (WPP).

    He used that firm as a vehicle to gobble up various other global ad icons such as Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam and another 18 other advertising service providers over three years. WPP today has  130,000 employees in 112 countries, and a market valuation of around 22 billion pounds, or about $31 billion.

    Along the way as his legend grew – so did the amounts he took as payments for his hard labour which caused heartburn to investors and shareholders.  In 2016 when he took a pay packet of 70 million pounds and the empire struck back with protests amongst the community about all his financial excesses.

    And last month  amidst slowing down of revenues and income and the growing clout of the FANGS  – the board commenced an investigation charging Sorrell with personal misconduct and misuse of the company’s assets.

    Sorrell’s last few words in his farewell note will not only tug at WPP staff’s heartstrings but almost anyone’s.

    Said he: “I shall miss all of you greatly. You have given me such excitement and energy and I wanted to thank you for everything you have done and will do for WPP and me. As some of you know, my family has expanded recently, WPP will always be my baby too.As a Founder, I can say that WPP is not just a matter of life or death, it was, is and will be more important than that. Good fortune and Godspeed to all of you … now Back to the Future.”

  • British-American film ‘Locke’ shot in just a week

    British-American film ‘Locke’ shot in just a week

    NEW DELHI: ‘Locke’, a British-American drama thriller written and directed by Steven Knight and featuring the harrowing experience of a man locked in a car for one night, was shot in just one week.

     

    The film stars Tom Hardy as the main lead sitting in the car and talking on the mobile with other people. The voices are those of Tom Holland, Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott, Ruth Wilson, Ben Daniels and Alice Lowe.

     

    Released recently in the United States and the United Kingdom, the film was shown out of competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival. It has now been acquired for the Venice Film Festival.

     

    The film is the story of a single eventful night in the life of Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy, using a Welsh accent), a man on the verge of losing it all (his job, his wife, his sanity), It is entirely set within the confines of a souped up BMW driving on the M6 motorway in England. Locke is a construction foreman who leaves an important job in Birmingham and drives down to London. Along the way, he tries to settle stressful personal and professional problems on his mobile phone while having imaginary conversations with his long deceased father.

     

    Shot in just a mere week after one week of rehearsals, Knight had Hardy acted out the 90-page script in its entirety for every take with cameras stationed both inside and outside the vehicle that was being pulled along on the back of a low-loader, where Knight was stationed.

     

    Those who – as part of the script – called in to talk to Locke, including Olivia Coleman as Locke’s mistress and “Sherlock” star Andrew Scott as his work subordinate did so in real-time from a conference room nearby.

     

    Knight revealed in a media meet that the short shooting schedule was not a fun challenge they set for themselves — the crunch was out of necessity. The two had wanted to work with each other for four or so years before Knight pitched “Locke” to Hardy. But by the time the opportunity arose for the two friends to collaborate, Hardy’s schedule was jam-packed (the “Dark Knight Rises” star currently has three films in post-production phase, including George Miller’s eagerly anticipated “Mad Max: Fury Road”). Hardy could only spare two weeks.

     

    Despite the tight shooting schedule and challenging nature of the shoot, Knight called the film “charmed from the beginning.”

  • BBC iPlayer Radio app scores high on downloads

    BBC iPlayer Radio app scores high on downloads

    MUMBAI: BBC has announced its iPlayer Radio app, launched in October this year, has been downloaded more than a million times. The most popular activity to date in the app has been listening live to The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw.

    BBC iPlayer Radio, the new dedicated home for BBC radio, has seen record-breaking audiences since launch, with around six million UK unique weekly browsers, an increase of 30 per cent compared to October 2011 and nearly a third of traffic from mobiles and tablets. Audiences can now wake up to their favourite BBC station and listen on the move, discover the full breadth of BBC content across PC, mobile and tablet, and catch-up on programmes, clips and videos when they want.

    On the BBC iPlayer Radio app:
    – The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw tops live listening in the morning, with Radio 2’s Chris Evans Breakfast Show and Radio 4’s Today in joint second place

    – The most popular on-demand programme to date is Radio 4’s ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue‘, with comedy the top search category

    – On-demand listening increases in the evening, with dance music shows by Radio 1’s Annie Mac and Pete Tong performing strongly

    – After 10 pm, Radio 4 overtakes Radio 1 for live listening, with programmes like Book at Bedtime proving popular

    Since launch, the BBC has released a number of updates to BBC iPlayer Radio including the optimisation of the app for iPhone 5 devices, together with improved programme search and the ability to favourite a specific series on the website.

    BBC Future Media head of radio and music and audience facing services Andrew Scott said, “With over one million downloads of the app and record-breaking audiences to BBC iPlayer Radio, we are thrilled that more and more listeners can take BBC Radio with them whenever and wherever they want. We’re looking forward to bringing even more exciting features over the coming months, and to launching the app on other mobile platforms in 2013.”

  • WPP buys stake in motorsports marketing company

    WPP buys stake in motorsports marketing company

    MUMBAI: Two months after forming a joint venture with IMG Worldwide, WPP is again propelling its sports-marketing capabilities.

    WPP, the world‘s largest communications services group, has made a strategic investment in a motorsports marketing company, Just Marketing International (JMI).

    WPP also owns a London-based sports-marketing firm Prism, and may look at other deals in the sector down the road.

    JMI represents a broad portfolio of global brands with an established presence in all key international series, including Formula 1, NASCAR, IndyCar, The World Rally Championship and the major sportscar categories.

    The financial details of the agreement are unknown, but Just Marketing has been valued at $100 million.
     
    According to an official communiqué, the investment represents a strategic affiliation by both parties to leverage expertise and elevate client insights and solutions. JMI will have access to WPP‘s global network while providing a direct route for WPP clients to be introduced to motorsports.

    Spire Capital, which took a majority stake in JMI in 2008, remains the principal shareholder and Brown the second largest shareholder. WPP takes a minority equity stake and has representation on the board of JMI, with the Credit Suisse Customised Fund Investment Group completing the shareholder group.

    JMI CEO Zak Brown commented, “I am thrilled with WPP‘s investment in JMI. It represents a significant development for the company and an endorsement of our expertise from the biggest global player in the industry. The benefits to JMI, its people and most importantly our clients, will be substantial and I am excited by the potential of this alliance.”

    WPP Director of Corporate Development Andrew Scott added: “We are strong believers in the marketing power of international motorsports for global brands. JMI is a leading company in the sector so this investment is a natural fit for WPP and will help to offer our clients exciting new opportunities in the field of motorsports.”

    Last year, WPP reported revenue of $14.8 billion. The company has 146,000 employees in 2,400 offices.

    WPP owns a number of the world‘s best known and most powerful advertising, public relations and market research networks, including Grey, Burson-Marsteller, Hill & Knowlton, JWT, Ogilvy Group, TNS and Young & Rubicam.

    According to company officials, WPP handles $70 billion in advertising annually and does business with 340 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list.