This is the season when billions honour the Birth of Jesus Christ.

Before any film was made, before any story was told, Jesus Christ created the world.

There is a curious phrase in The Bible in which Jesus says ‘I have come to bring the good news to the poor, to tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more, to tell blind people that they can see and set the down trodden captives free’. Jesus also says ‘ If The Son of Man sets you free, then you are free indeed’.

Britain is a nation in urgent need of setting its artists free; of  setting its staggering creative movie making passion free.

To get this  requires intense prayer and worship. It is not well enough known that this is how Hollywood started (as a Christian worship centre) as did Pinewood Studios. Very many of the original Jewish Hollywood Studio owners and artists knew The Old Testament inside out and were immensely devout in prayer. If it worked before, it can work again. In 2012 The UK film industry needs a miracle.

Christmas is a time of Peace, Joy, Love, Cheer, Wonder, Inspiration and Hope.

So as it is the Christmas Season, come let us adore Him (and at least hope for a miracle).

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

Jonathan Stuart-Brown at Save The British Film Industry.

Max Keiser is easily the best financial journalist in the media.

http://maxkeiser.com/

Max Keiser brings truth into a massively important field. Max follows the truth without fear or favour.

The BBC have fallen far behind this gold standard.

http://maxkeiser.com/

The BBC have lost independence -with their pension fund invested in schemes which will be worthless if global warming is disproved and not believed by the masses- and although they still have some great journalists and news readers, the news editors and senior management and some of The Trust Board wish to indoctrinate the nation with their naked distorted agenda.

The BBC Light Entertainment and Sport programmes rightly engender love and affection.

The  BBC News Department under present news editors and senior bosses only engenders distrust even from its strongest supporters.

Greg Dyke and Gavyn Davis were far better Director General and Chairman than the regimes post 2004. The great days of Judeo-Christian Lord Reith era which gained the BBC reputation are long gone, but so are the still great days of the 60s, 70s and early 80s.

With large parts of The Midlands now seeking to opt out of a BBC Licence fee altogether - with calls from Bectu, Equity, NUJ  Union and BBC staff voices to do just this – then sadly the end of the BBC is on the cards.

A post BBC world will be sad because of its great Light Entertainment. But the loss of its anti-Christian, anti-Israel propoganda will be no loss.

Max Keiser, turning up on RTV News, the coming local TV in cities in the UK, and other developments in Digital TV provision mean we can now look to a post BBC future.

http://maxkeiser.com/

A reformed BBC News  -purged of the atheist dominated staff – would be welcome. But the most likely outcome is its total demise. We will survive and prosper with or without it. No one believed in January 2011 that The News of The World -an immensely profitable paper with 7 million readers – would go out of business. The BBC may not survive 2012. Like the Titanic in April 1912, it has been warned but is too arrogant to listen.

Max Keiser listens, researches, reports the truth, questions himself, and has been a great blessing in 2011.

http://maxkeiser.com/

God bless Max Keiser.

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

http://maxkeiser.com/

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.

Christopher Booker exposes the corruption, dishonesty and incompotence at the BBC.

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2011/12/triple-betrayal.html

It could be a great News Institution. It could under much better leadership. It still has a few great journalists but only a few.

It is still a great light entertainment and  drama organisation.

But as regards news it is erratic, biased, unprofessional, slow, and has regularly been outshone by RTV News on Freeview Channel 85.

RTV is not perfect, but it has reported stories The BBC bosses tried to crush.

If the nation – which has certainly paid for The BBC for over 80 years- also prayed for a trustworthy  BBC, then we would have one.

http://www.thegwpf.org/press-releases/4520-new-report-the-bbc-and-climate-change-a-triple-betrayal.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2071358/BBCs-bias-global-warming-An-inconvenient-truth-climate-change.html

Then again at least we have Booker and North.

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.

A new one stop information website for the UK film industry has launched.

We wish it every blessing.

http://www.filmnav.co.uk/m1-showreel/

http://hungryeyemagazine.com/hungry-eye-newsfilmnav-offersone-stop-shop-for-british-film-industry/

Alongside Raindance it is a great starting point for anyone in the UK trying to get on the film industry ladder.

www.raindance.co.uk

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/calendar-of-film-courses-London

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/dov-simens-2-day-film-school-london

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/the-anatomy-of-story-screenwriting-class-London

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/99-minute-film-school-london

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/film-directing-essentials-directing-class-london

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/Raindance-Film-Festival-indie-tips-for-independent-filmmakers

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=479,5315,0,0,1,0

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/how-to-articles-for-screenwriters

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/tips-for-film-directors

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/tips-for-film-producers

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?id=478,5314,0,0,1,0

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com

Dolly: Basil D’Oliviera, Denzel Washington and Will Smith.

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.

A British based screenwriter was penning a draft film screenplay on the life of  Basil D’Oliviera who in 1968 was in every sense Britain’s Mohamed Ali (Cassius Clay).

D’Oliviera was in many respects far greater than Mohamed Ali. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Ali was advocating apartheid.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/15804126.stm

http://www.thebirminghampress.com/2011/11/20/basil-d%e2%80%99oliviera/#comment-2709

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/8902753/Basil-DOliveira-was-a-lovely-man-who-helped-to-change-the-course-of-history-says-Geoffrey-Boycott.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2063979/Ian-Wooldridge-Basil-DOliveira-changed-course-history.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/8901783/Basil-DOliveira-far-more-than-a-cricketing-hero.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2065367/Basil-DOliveira-thanksgiving-service-Worcester-Cathedral-January-27.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15854510

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_D’Oliveira

http://basildoliveira.com/the-doliveira-affair/a-view-from-damian-doliveira/

http://basildoliveira.com/the-doliveira-affair/a-view-from-basil-doliveira/

http://basildoliveira.com/

http://basildoliveira.com/the-doliveira-affair/a-view-from-john-arlott1/

http://basildoliveira.com/testimonials/

http://basildoliveira.com/gallery/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-15856996

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/15792086.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/gallery/2011/nov/19/basil-d-oliveira-cricket?newsfeed=true

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/8910674/Nelson-Mandela-and-Desmond-Tutu-want-to-pay-their-respects-to-England-all-rounder-Basil-DOliveira.html

http://www.iol.co.za/blogs/john-scott-1.2499/the-day-free-staters-jumped-for-joy-when-dolly-was-banned-1.1185644

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/11/23/why-basil-d-oliveira-showed-that-sport-and-politics-can-t-be-kept-separate-115875-23583179/

http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=268670&sn=Detail&pid=71616

http://www.cricket365.com/news/story/7326469/The-book-on-D-Oliveira-is-not-yet-closed

http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=268670&sn=Detail&pid=71616

http://www.cricketcountry.com/cricket-articles/Basil-D-Oliveira-a-man-who-encountered-adversity-with-a-smile/8199

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2011/11/race-and-cricket

http://basildoliveira.com/about/biographies/basil-doliveira/

Despite his heroic stance over not fighting and killing men, women, children, babies and elderly people in a war which he did not believe in, despite his giving up his sporting career at his peak and facing poverty and jail, despite his humour, yes despite these Ali misguidedly used many public platforms (such as TV interviews with Michael Parkinson) at the peak of his fame to preach black and white should live in separate communities. This was especially unhelpful given that in 17 US States it was a criminal offence for black and white to marry until declared unconstitutional in 1967. It gave great succour to Apartheid in South Africa.  Mohamed Ali eventually saw that he was being badly misguided by his spiritual svengalis, but his stellar fame was already in decline.

Meanwhile a modest Basil D’Oliveira with quiet dignity made his Test cricket debut aged 38, played a heroic innings aged 40 in 1968 which demanded he be selected to play against South Africa, and took the bitter disappointment of his unjust exclusion with even greater dignity. When he was eventually reinstated (due to overwhelming public pressure who recognised the injustice based purely on his skin colour), he took the rejection from his home country South Africa Apartheid regime with even greater dignity. This led to the global Sport Boycott of racist South Africa and led to the Apartheid regime falling. It gave great succour to the non-racists in South Africa and most of all to the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. The first black South African President made it a priority to meet D’Oliveira and thank him.

Dolly did not make nor squander the mega-millions which Mohamed Ali did make. Although Dolly did not get in a boxing ring (where the deal is to injure an opponent more than he injures you), he did aged 43 and 44 without any helmet face 100 mile per hour bowling aimed at his head.

Dolly was a brave man both morally and physically. He was never allowed to play when he was in his prime (because of his skin colour). Even when he knew he was well past his best, when he was finally allowed to show what he could do, what was left in his body and spirit was an excellent sporting record by any measure.

The screenwriter who was working on The D’Oliveira story could not decide whether Will Smith or Denzel Washington was the best choice to play the heroic role.  These magnificent actors (and big box office movie stars) are no less than Dolly deserves.

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com  

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for  Save The British Film Industry.

Patrick Pacheco of The LA Times has a highly readable interview with Alan Rickman.

When British Film was in a real mess, and British actors did not habitually get cast in the lead in Hollywood blockbusters, THEN Alan Rickman’s iconic turns as the baddies in ‘Diehard’ and ‘Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves’ kept the flag flying. 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-alan-rickman-20111120,0,5786750.story

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.

We told you it was going to be called ‘Skyfall’ and that the cast list included several former Oscar winners and nominees.

Sam Mendes has a mere 18 Oscar nominations so far for his films.

Of course 007 has been nominated for Oscars before, not least Peter Lamont set design and art direction over 30 years ago. Peter Lamont did a mere 18 James Bond 007 movies but retired after ‘Casino Royale’. 

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.

http://www.acwitness.org/psalm83english.html

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.

Oscar winning Production Designer Peter Lamont  has worked on 18 excellent 007 movies (bowing out with Casino Royale),  Fiddler On The Roof,  Aliens, Titanic,  True Lies,  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and very many more movies.

Peter kindly put his hand in his pocket for a Film Designers bash at Pinewood Studios today.  Very nice it was too.

There was a screening of his son Neil Lamont’s latest movie.

British based film makers are superb.

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com

Jonathan Stuart-Brown for Save The British Film Industry.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/279086/Ah-Mr-Bond-time-for-some-proper-acting

Now rumours abound that yet another Oscar favourite is being added to the cast.

Albert Finney is apparently going to be unveiled on Thursday with the rest of the cast.

Jonathan Stuart-Brown

www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com