Page 36 - Doing It News Today

Was on her way out. it was before tony blair, before the era of some prosperity. and i just didnt see a future for myself. i didnt know what to do. and i did have friends who were in the media business at that time, and i thought it was very intriguing, but i had absolutely no idea how to make an entree into that place. and when i had the opportunity to come to los angeles — and i saw that its a very different culture, you know, its certainly about who do you know, but its also about how hard ...

But i think in the case of some of these films, whether it was mamma mia or straight 0utta compton, or others that we could talk about, theyre films that i did not see as inherently risky. and i know thats easy for me to sit here with you today and say that when the proof is in the pudding. but again, they sort of checked the boxes in terms of that relatability and universality. fair enough. i mean, lets go back to the beginning right now. you were born in the uk — which is very exciting to us...

And it was just a wonderfully free place to grow up. were you into cinema, do you remember going to the movies? do you remember the first film you saw, or was it more about storytelling? it was much more about storytelling, i think. i think we all know, as brits, we grow up with a deep love of literature, and english literature in particular. but no, i think my first film experience in the movie theatre was fantasia, which was terrifying. but to go back to abba, one of my favourite early experie...

Werent seeing yourself reflected back in many of the people on the island. no, i think i was what they would describe me as "exotic". and so, yeah, you know, i think it gave me a great sense of independence. and, you know, i was bullied a little bit in school, as well, so i had to really tough it out and stick up for myself. ifound humour and comedy as a great buffer, and a great, you know, a great antidote to some of those tougher moments. you know, if you could make something laugh or somebody...

In the movie business. did you feel you needed to leave the uk to make a success of yourself? yes. why was that? i dont know. i mean, honestly, i knew i needed to leave the isle of wight, but then i found myself in london. and i dont know if it was the time — tou know, when i left college, margaret thatcher was on her way out. it was before tony blair, before the era of some prosperity. and i just didnt see a future for myself. i didnt know what to do. and i did have friends who were in the me...

And i can speak really specifically about my own company. first of all, our younger workforce are holding us accountable. were holding ourselves accountable. and weve seen, you know, when you put positive change into action and you become very intentional about about workplace culture, it makes a positive difference. you know, the sort of level of loyalty to the company or enjoyment of working at the company really goes up. so thats one area of change i see. again, as we just talked about, i thi...

At universal. how do you attract those big names, what are you saying to those directors? well, steven has a long history with universal, obviously, and he did go and make films for other studios. and as a director, he works all over town. but his spiritual home is at universal — its where he made his first movie, jaws, of course. and so, you know, when steven wants to make a movie with us, were just thrilled and ecstatic that thats the case. does he have free reign? i mean, do you have to say...

A can on behalf of greenpeace, or cnd up in the local high street, it was deeply embarrassing, you know, at 12 years of age. but looking back on it, i do actually give her a tonne of credit. you know, she was a vegetarian before it was popular to be, so she was into all kinds of things that really made the world a better place. she was thinking about the environment and environmental issues. she was involved with international health for children — we fostered children growing up. so i think t...

For a studio called new line, and i was trained to find stories and make films that were aimed at a specific audience, primarily so we knew who to market to — so when we were spending those marketing dollars, we knew who to target. but what i learned back then is that, you know, appealing to particularly underserved audiences — whether it be women or people of colour — its good business. you know, you could really excite an audience by making by telling stories like that and making films l...

But make the marathon the unique spectacle london marathon the unique spectacle it has become. tomorrow morning when it is live on bbc tv, i will be watching on my sofa at home, i will be looking out at the wonderful people doing it in costumes. especially the pencil. she cannot bend her knees. all those little steps you have to take in the heat as well. that has brought me so much joy. heat as well. that has brought me so muchjoy. you look so ridiculous in that panda costume. ! look so ridiculo...