Transcripts For BBCNEWS Talking Movies 20201105

The house of commons has approved the four week lockdown in england started at midnight. People must stay at home except for valid reasons including work, education, essentialshopping, exercise and medical reasons. While the majority of mps backed the restrictions. The government faced a sizeable opposition from its own backbenches as our deputy Political Editor vicki young reports. In bristol today the queueing started early. Shoppers making the most of the final few hours before lockdown. Its crazy. Got up at half past six just to get here. Maybe more than a month, more than the second of december. We dont like it but its probably sensible. Another period of Strict National measures across england was not the plan. Boris johnson measures across england was not the plan. Borisjohnson headed to the commons to tell mps that he was once again ordering tight restrictions on life, liberties, and business. All members feel the pain and anxiety were all going to share in the month ahead. As Prime Minister, when im confronted with data that projects our nhs could even collapse, with deaths in the second wave potentially even exceeding those in the first, i can reach only one conclusion. Im not prepared to take the risk with the lives of the british people. He assured mps that the restrictions would be time limited, legally expiring on the second of december. The labour leader supports this lockdown but says it should have happened earlier, as he and many scientists had called for. There have been huge m ista kes for. There have been huge mistakes made in recent weeks during this pandemic stop we have been told so many times by the Prime Minister, often on wednesday afternoon, there is a plan to prevent the second wave, its working. Well, there wasnt and it didnt. And now, less tha n wasnt and it didnt. And now, less than four months after the Prime Minister told us this would all be over by christmas, we are being asked to approve emergency regulations to shut the country down. And many conservatives arent convinced. The Business Case against it is overwhelming. For me, deputy w madam speaker, it is not proportionate and icon vote for them. We are putting down legislation how people live their lives in legislation how people live theirlives in their legislation how people live their lives in their private homes. That is not a space we should enter easily. Madam deputy speaker, it stinks. Whatever the problem, collapsing the economy and destroying people both myjobs and livelihood can never be the right solution. Although the government easily wanted as though, some conservative mps are already anxious about what might happen in december and beyond, these regulations will disappear, but is not clear what will replace them in some mps fora what will replace them in some mps for a return to a return to normality is a long way off. Borisjohnson is to normality is a long way off. Boris johnson is confident tighter measures will get virus numbers down and says he is more optimistic than he has been for months. Businesses forced to close tonight may not share that sentiment. Heeyoung, bbc news, westminster. Now on bbc news talking movies is looking ahead to the forthcoming 2021 Academy Awards race as it begins to unfold. With reports on the venice, toronto, and new york Film Festivals. Hello from new york im tom brook and welcome to our special talking movies programme, where we look forward to award season. Normally at this time of the year, the awards season is taking shape but because of the pandemic, everything has changed, with the oscars now shifting to april. But some potential awards contenders have emerged, especially at the Venice Film Festival. From venice for talking movies, emma jones reports. To the astonishment and the acclamation of the film industry, the Venice Film Festival took place in 2020. It even had, behind the masks, instantly recognisable faces. But this year, with only two American Films in competition, it was undoubtedly a european event. And given its timing, thats unusual. This is one of the most beautiful places on the planet but coming to venice in september and its festival usually means the start of autumn awards season because this place has a habit of spotting oscar winners. But in 2020, by necessity, it has been a very different kind of festival. Venice shows us that award season, if it has a physical form, will involve socially distanced carpets, masks and temperature checks. And british actress Vanessa Kirbys best actress prize for pieces of a woman makes her a serious contender to be part of it, having already made a name for herself as Princess Margaret in the crown and in the Mission Impossible franchise. I got us something. Oh, my god that is so cute directed by hungarian kornel mundruczo, the independent film now bought by netflix co sta rs shia labeouf. It is about a woman, martha, who loses her baby. It features an unbroken 30 minute labour scene. When i read it, ithought, 0h, my god, we havent. We havent seen anything on screen like this before. Havent seen an uninterrupted birth like that. The more women that i spoke to, all the research i did and the more i spent time with, all of them said theres just not that much awareness around it, people dont talk about it. Some talents had to zoom into the festival, including teenage environmental campaigner greta thunberg, who found her school clashed with the event. Thank you, everyone. And now i need to get back to. School . Class, yeah. I am greta, released in cinemas this month, is a film like michelle 0bamas becoming, seeking to discover the personality behind the icon. Made by swedish film maker nathan grossman, who met her alone on one of her very first school strikes. Hes prepared for controversy, given the many conspiracy theories about her that have sprung up as her fame has grown. I must actually say that, in many ways, i dont i dont even, like, understand and have read all the conspiracies, but, of course, i have always been interested to kind of see how she reacts to it and a lot of the idea with the film is to see how much i could kind of go behind the facade and, you know, she has done so many interviews and speeches and i wanted to see how does she react to the hatred . If social distancing demands gifted, unusual interview locations in the middle of a festival, the crisis has also presented critics with the most unusual award season for yea rs. I do think awards season is going to be maybe a less glamorous affair. Certainly a cheaper affair. It has become a bit of a circus and maybe something on its merit will come through. Sings good news has been in short supply for cinema in 2020, yet one story reverberated around venice. A survivor of the 2015 bataclan murders in paris had his first film zanka contact in the 0rizzonti sidebar competition. With no sales agent and no publicist, moroccan film maker Ismael El Iraki managed to sell his film and win a prize. Its incredible to be in venice this year. There have been so many cancelled festivals, there has been so many demand for movies to be here, there has been whole parts of the selection that have been cancelled and so, there is a lot of demand, theres very few slots, and were here venice may have been a rare event this year but it was also a moment of hope to hold onto. Moving on from venice, there were the toronto and new york Film Festivals, which were both largely Virtual Affairs although both did each have a bit of a physical presence. Here in new york, some of the films were shown ata drive in, like this one here. But i watched most of the festival movies at home on my laptop, and there was one picture in particular that made a great impact on me. Its called nomadland and it stars frances mcdormand. Nomadland, already a strong 0scar contender, transfixed audiences at this drive in showing new york Film Festival movies. It is the story of fern, a nomadic woman, with a cast that boasts real life nomads. Directed by chinese film maker chloe zhao, it shows rootlessness set against the backdrop of the american landscape. We wanted fern to be a guide, to be able to bring us into this vast, really rich world of nomadic living. What ive learned is you have to anchor the audience in one persons intimate experience so they can feel, you know, comfortable, to be able to experience Everything Else and without getting lost. Fern, played by frances mcdormand, is a woman who left her home town of empire in nevada after economic collapse. Theres a childlike quality that we were really interested in for fern, that shes had a very prescribed set of rules living in empire. And once she hits the road, the possibilities become open and her sense of self sufficiency is tested. Frances mcdormand is being widely tipped for a best actress 0scar nomination for her work in nomadland. Another possible best actress candidate emerged at the new york Film Festival michelle pfeiffer, for her highly praised performance as frances in the satire french exit, in which she portrays a new york socialite who flees to paris with her son. Its this sort of, you know, odd world filled with these odd people who are sort of, in some ways, likened to people marooned on an island who end up finding each other. French exit is directed by azazeljacobs, whos clearly smitten with his leading lady. For me, what michelle does is near impossible on the film. Like, ive been watching it, ive been living with this film now for the past year since i shot it and watching it, as you do, backwards and forwards and frame by frame, and i still cannot get over what she brought to frances. The new york Film Festival, as have several other festivals, showed the indian film the disciple to great acclaim. Its a story set in the world of indian classical music. The central character is a young vocalist in mumbai who is trying to master the art form. The film is called the disciple but i think the protagonist is not only a disciple of his teacher but is also a disciple of his father, his musical heroes and then, ultimately, also of life in a way, you know . The way he adapts to the real world and when life happens to him in his mid life. The disciple could become indias official submission for the oscars for best International Feature film. India, despite the richness of its movie industry, has never won a best Foreign Language film academy award. Talking movies reporter and film director Tariq Vasudeva in delhi believes it would be a big deal if the disciple prevailed at the oscars. I think that it would be a matter of great pride because its a story that is very original. It hasnt been done by anybody else. It doesnt have any kind of a hollywood trademark to it, in all facets in the way that it has been shot, in the way the performances have taken place, in the way the music is such an integral part of the story. And that to indian classical music, and i think it is really important to see from an indian perspective, to see a story that is so specific to india be accepted at the global stage and also be awarded for it. Cassius Marcellus Clay is the new heavyweight champion of the world yes, he is other pictures with an oscar buzz include actress regina kings directorial debut one night in miami, which revolves around four black icons coming together in 1964, and the trial of the chicago 7, based on the real life story of countercultural figures in 1969 facing off against government prosecutors. One nomination that seems inevitable is a best actor nod for sir anthony hopkins, starring opposite Olivia Colman as a man succumbing to dementia in the father. Its being touted as his best performance ever and thats certainly saying something. I am not leaving my flat you would think with all the tumult in the world right now the pandemic, economic meltdowns and, here in the us, a very intense president ial Election Campaign that audiences would be seeking out escapist movie entertainment. Well, surprisingly, the real world, by way of documentaries, is very much in demand. As Tristan Daley reports, several strong documentaries have awards heat. Some films that are focused on recent events seem to rank high in the list of possible contenders for the oscars 2021 best documentary category. Welcome to chechnya follows a network of activists who attempt to smuggle lgbtq people out of the country to avoid prosecution. The documentary features gripping scenes of people trying to escape the chechen governments widely reported campaign to silence their lgbtq population by means of abduction and violence. A documentary shot in china called 76 days is also seen as a strong contender. It chronicles the first 76 days of lockdown in wuhan during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. This whole discussion about covid has been primarily focusing on geopolitics, numbers. With my film, were really trying to bring viewers in hospital to witness and to watch how the Human Experience has been in this pandemic. Documentaries racing to address Current Events have been popular, but so have films that deal with history. Among them was possible oscar nominee crip camp. The film focuses on a summer camp in upstate new york catered specifically to disabled teens. Crip camp shows how that experience had a positive impact on their lives, and how the sense of community at the camp fed into the American Disability Rights Movement of the 705. We will no longer allow the government to oppress disabled individuals. And i would appreciate it if you would stop your head in agreement when i dont think you understand what we are talking about. A documentary that premiered at the largely virtual Toronto International Film Festival this year was mlk fbi, and it unveiled the inner workings of fbi director j edgar hoovers campaign of character assassination and disinformation against civil rights leader dr Martin Luther king jr. He was killed in 1968, but this film is no period piece. It touches on several topical matters. Some of the themes that i expect to resonate with oscar voters will be the same themes that are in our headlines right now, themes that reflect on systemic racism and trying to fight that. Lets start walking. Just start walking to me. Thats fantastic. There are other docs that may be in the running for an oscar that focus on more personal topics. Dickjohnson is dead is a documentary about film maker kirsten johnsons father, who was suffering from dementia. In order to deal better with his passing in the future, johnson made a film in which he acts out his death in different ways. The tragicomic scenes in the film are bittersweet and may seem irreverent at times, but the director felt it was important to find a way to face her dads condition. To acknowledge that certain people have been through terrible things, or are going through terrible things, is meaningful in and of itself. I dont know what it is to experience dementia, i dont know what my father is going through, but i dont want to abandon him. I want to keep him at the centre of my thoughts and conversation. I dont want to sideline him as a person who is ageing and who is less mentally lucid than he was. A pool of strong documentaries have definitely emerged this year, and so far, non fiction films have been making a powerful impact with audiences and critics. When it comes to the oscars race, the pandemic has thrown everything into disarray. At this point, the ceremony is scheduled to take place on april 25 two months later than planned. And the eligibility window has been extended to the end of february. These changes by the academy raise some questions, as noah gittell reports. You have a cow . First cow in the territory. Before the pandemic forced cinemas to close in the us, the first few months of 2020 saw a number of independent films released, including first cow and Never Rarely Sometimes Always that were critically acclaimed and, to many, worthy deserving of the academy attention small films rarely receive. Wheres the rest of the money . With so many studio movies pushed to 2021, this would have been a great opportunity for the oscars to honour a smallerfilm. But the academys decision to extend the eligibility period seemed to some like it was designed to keep lower profile titles out of contention. It does behove the academy to continue to promote films with its awards that a lot of people have seen. And there is a relationship there that works in both directions. The show tends to be more successful when they honour films that more people have seen and the films tend to be more successful when they are honoured by the Academy Awards, and so you have this dovetailing interest between these two parties who are essentially the same people theyre the people who make movies and theyre celebrating themselves. Of course, it hasnt worked. As the pandemic rages on, cinemas in the us may not all be open by the february deadline and studios could be largely shut out at the oscars. The biggest beneficiary may be netflix, which is releasing several major films this autumn, including the trial of the chicago 7 and ma raineys black bottom featuring the final performance from the late chadwick boseman. Typically, streaming films are only eligible for the oscars if theyre also released in cinemas, but the academy made a temporary change this year, allowing only streaming films which were planning on having some distribution in cinemas to be eligible. The new rules definitely allows for some negotiation and it represents something of a truce between the academy, which has long fought to preserve cinemagoing, or the theatrical experience, and the streaming services, all of which covet oscars to legitimise their platform. I think that was kind of a bowing to reality of saying, we cant fight this war for the theatrical experience if the theatrical experience doesnt exist. I think it was a way for them to not concede the larger battle, in defence of seeing movies in theatres, but it was a recognition of, this year, thats not going to fly. You need netflix, you need amazon, you need hulu, because these are the only places people are going to be seeing movies. And if, like the academy, your mission is essentially to get people to interested in the movies, youve got to go to where the movies are. What we define as cinema seems to change a little bit every day, but these changes from the academy represent a more structural shift. If a streaming service wins big at an Academy Awards held in april, it will feel like a significant change in an institution that has always clung tightly to its traditions. Hollywood has ever been slow to change, but this year, it may not have a choice. Like many institutions, the academy of Motion Picture arts and sciences has been accused of being too white, both in terms of its membership and its preferences. Its new Diversity Initiative has been winning praise and attracting some criticisms from those who believe it infringes on artistic freedoms. Kizzy cox has been exploring the debate. The new Diversity Initiative aims to increase inclusion for all under represented groups a goal that april reign, creator of oscarssowhite, shares. Inclusion is the goal. And for me, its inclusion not just based on race because oscarssowhite is not a binary black versus white thing it is all traditionally under represented communities. The new initiative applies to films competing for best picture starting in october 2020 and is made up of four standards. The first is having diverse representation on screen. The second is having diverse representation behind the scenes. The third is providing training or internship programmes to under represented groups. And the fourth is having diverse marketing and distribution teams. Now, the standards are meant to be flexible, and films competing for best picture only need to meet two out of four of the standards in order to qualify. Yet the backlash against the initiative was swift. In a series of tweets, Academy Member Kirstie Alley said. While others said that the new criteria would basically result in participation oscars, where anyone could get an award solely because it is diverse. This move really smacks of Political Correctness, but the problem with Political Correctness is, once you open the door to it, there is no limit to it, theres no way you can appease people enough. They keep saying, we want more diversity, we want more of this category of people. There werent enough south asians in this movie. There werent enough gay people in this movie. To say that diversity diminishes excellence just makes no sense when we see that, given the opportunity, we shine. Read the standards, look at them. Youll see it doesnt restrict creativity, it enhances creativity, and it also, once and for all, hopefully, will begin a plan that not only will be the academys plan but become the industrys plan on how to create more equity and representation and inclusivity in our business once and for all. Real inclusion in hollywood faces a few barriers. For example, the academy is still largely white and male. Reign thinks this restricts the type of films that the academy considers because were all limited by our own perspective, especially since the Academy Members dont have to watch the films they award, resulting in choices that are already familiar. I call these new initiatives window dressing on a condemned house. Its. The fact that you can drive through the loopholes of this new initiative tells you that its not enough. Those that say we didnt go far enough, theyre correct. We believe you have to walk before you run. And its very hard for those on the outside to understand the magnitude of this change on the inside. This organisation, the academy, has been around for over 90 years. 90 years the best picture award is almost like the symbol of what the academy represents, and to make a step in the direction to say, we want this symbol to represent inclusivity, not exclusivity, that is a massive step in a direction that this organisation has never taken. So, absolutely, the progress started with a step not a sprint, a step. Well, that brings this talking movies award season lookahead to a close. We hope weve given you some idea of the possible contenders in the forthcoming oscars race. Please remember you can always reach us online at bbc. Com talkingmovies, and you can find us on facebook and twitter. So from me, tom brook, and the rest of the talking movies Production Team here in new york, its goodbye, as we leave you with the official music video for the possible oscar contender the trial of the chicago 7. Hear my voice. Hear my dreams. Let us make a world. In which i believe. Hello there. Its pretty cold out there at the moment across more southern parts of the uk. Wednesday started with some frost quite widely in england and wales. What followed was a generally dry and sunny autumn day. But, for scotland and northern ireland, we saw more cloud moving in during the afternoon and the evening. You can see that clearly on the satellite picture from earlier on. That cloud moving very slowly southwards. We actually have weakening weather front bringing some damp and drizzly weather and lowering the cloud onto the hills. But weve got High Pressure across the south, this is where weve got the clearer skies and weve got those lower temperatures as well. Milder in the north, but colder in the south. Maybe some frost around for mid wales, midlands and southwards. Notjust some frost, some mist and fog too. Thats going to be dense in places in the morning. Gradually through the morning that will tend to lift and break. May take a while in the home counties, mind you. Then we get sunshine coming through. But, for north wales, Northern England it looks quite cloudy, damp and misty over the hills. Further north, weve got more of a breeze from the atlantic. Thats significant. Its blowing in a lot of cloud but the cloud breaks to the east of the high ground in a bit of scotland. And a bit of warm, 15 or 16 degrees. Elsewhere ten to 12. Similar to what we had on wednesday. This time in the morning weve got much more mist and fog around. And into friday morning, again there will be dense patches of fog. Again its more likely for the midlands southwards. This time on friday that fog will tend to lift more readily. The breeze will pick up a little bit more and we should see sunshine developing. Further north, some low cloud around, misty over the hills. Cloud tending to thin, some sunshine coming through away from the northwest. The temperatures ten to 12 degrees again. A little bit milder perhaps towards the south east, but the winds are picking up in the far southwest. The wind direction is changing just in time for the weekend. Thats going to be quite significant because thats going to draw up some milder air and push it very slowly northwards. Instead of the High Pressure thats keeping it quiet at the moment, itll be quite cold. Thats moving away towards continental europe. And lowering pressure from iberia means weve got the threat of some rain coming up from the south. Maybe the odd shower around on saturday rain across northern and Western Areas on sunday. Temperatures gradually rising. Higher temperatures towards the south possibly up to 16 or 17 c. Welcome to bbc news. Im mike embley. Our top stories joe biden says hes on course to win the us presidency but the vote counting continues. Im not here to declare that we have won but im here to report that when the counties finished, we believe we will be the winners. The Trump Campaign launches legal action to try to stop the counting in michigan, pennsylvania, and georgia and wants a recount in wisconsin. And we visit one so called swing state, where the Record Number of postal votes mean theyve got a lot on their plates