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Front Row this week; Interview with Emma Thompson and Celia Imrie
Topic Started: Apr 13 2014, 03:13 PM (942 Views)
nancyjeanbeach

Interesting interview promo for the new film, The Love Punch on Front Row this week. But was Mr. John Wilson the right man for this assignment? Did he actually say, Emma Thompson starred in "Howard's Way" during the introduction?

Along with Mr. Wilson's stock questions about women actors and their age being an issue in getting roles in films, his point that writers and creators may not favor their latter career stages for inspiration and productive output was particularly inept. Ms. Thompson was entirely justified in taking issue with him on this point. I don't know how this was perceived in the UK, but on this North American side of the pond it came off as middle school boy's locker room banter that these two actors gamely batted back in the most professional way possible, given the circumstances.

Note to Mr. Wilson and the BBC for possible future gigs : throw out your standard playbook of new movie-release interview prep for this level of actor -- and writer. You risk betraying just how rushed and unprepared you are, in addition to being really out of your depth in conducting such interviews.
Nancy Beach
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rumbaba
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I heard a little bif of this, not enough to comment really. 'Howard's Way' <laugh>
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Mobson
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I'm a regular listener of Front Row which has recently been in a state of flux after it's main presenter for the past sixteen years, Mark Lawson, left the programme in February amid accusations by colleagues of "horrendous" bullying...apparently a petition signed by 15 members of the Radio Arts unit was delivered to Graham Ellis, the deputy director of BBC Radio, making claims against Lawson and a BBC producer. Eventually a statement from the BBC said that Mark Lawson had left Front Row for a month on medical advice. Lawson said the decision for him to leave had been reached jointly with the BBC and he hoped to return to Radio 4 in the future ...a new series of his BBC4 television interview show, Mark Lawson Talks to...started last month.

I think this is relevant to your criticisms regarding John Wilson, who until Lawson's departure, mostly covered the music scene and the occasional art exhibition or play review, along with another presenter, Kirsty Wark; both seemed to fill in when Lawson wasn't available. Now he and Kirsty are currently presenting alongside other guests such as Tom Sutcliffe and Razia Iqbal.

John Wilson's style of interviewing can certainly sound rushed and sometimes domineering - it can also be quite banal - hence he's good with rock stars! He talks slick and fast and certainly did say 'Howard's Way' in the introduction to his piece prior to interviewing Emma Thompson...& Celia Imrie...but he did correct it at the end of the programme - and lets face it, it could have been edited out when the mistake was spotted before broadcasting...he also went on to describe the film they were promoting as an art heist and apologised shortly after saying it was a jewel heist; but the biggest faux pas in the interview was after Emma had been in full flow about the age question in relation to big screen roles for older actresses and how young people perceive these kind of films; when she finished John Wilson said "Celia Imrie's very passionate about this issue, do you share her concern?"...to which Celia Imrie answers "Totally!" I was almost shouting at the radio when he was being ageist, throwing writers and painters into the mix, but I was listening on a train so kept quiet but nevermind Emma took issue with him over that herself.

The presenter the programme makers should really purloin to replace Lawson is Francine Stock who presents The Film Programme...She was one of the original presenters of Front Row; really knows her stuff and asks the right intelligent questions after putting her interviewee/s at ease...and more importantly she has the perfect voice for this form of media...relaxed, inquisitive and welcoming...
Edited by Mobson, Apr 14 2014, 03:10 PM.
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nancyjeanbeach

Thanks Mobson, for this information about Front Row's production situation. Obviously, allowances should be made during this transition period. I hope the permanent host/interviewer status gets settled soon.
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