Tales From The Television - Part 7

This one might sound like the Chipmunks but it should put a smile on your face as we look at more classic children's TV from Grange Hill, Byker Grove and Marmalade Atkins for this episode of robmacca's Tales From The Television .......

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Tales From The Television - Part 6

Getting home from school and putting the TV on was tradition we grew up with. Cartoons provided hours of entertainment and captivated our imagination from both the UK and US, as this tale looks back at the unforgettable Dangermouse and He-Man.

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Tales From The Television - Part 5

A trip to a Birmingham nightclub and a certain children's programme provide the entertainment in this episode of robmacca's Tales From The Television, with clips from two classic shows we grew up loving. Take a strange trip down memory lane and enjoy the nostalgic footage from Rainbow and Button Moon......

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BAFTA Awards 2012: Full Nominations List

Silence may indeed be golden as The Artist looks set to sweep up at the BAFTA Awards  on Sunday 12th February 2012 at London's Royal Opera House. The silent film is up for a total of twelve awards at the British ceremony next month but faces tough competition from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which is nominated for eleven awards this year.

Here are all the BAFTA Award Nominations for 2012:

Best Film:


The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


Outstanding British Film:


My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin


Leading Actor:


Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Michael Fassbender (Shame)


Leading Actress:


Bérénice Bejo (The Artist)
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)
Viola Davis (The Help)


Supporting Actor:


Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady)
Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Ides of March)


Supporting Actress:


Carey Mulligan (Drive)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Judi Dench (My Week with Marilyn)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)


Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer:


Richard Ayoade (Submarine)
Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur)
Joe Cornish (Attack the Block)
Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus)
Will Sharp (Black Pond)


Film Not in the English Language:


Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In


Documentary:


George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna


Animated Film:


The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango


Director:


Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)
Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin)


Original Screenplay:


The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris

Adapted Screenplay:


The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


Original Music:


The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse


Cinematography:


The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse


Editing:


The Artist
Drive
Hugo
Senna
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy


Production Design:


The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


Costume Design:


The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy


Make Up & Hair:


The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
My Week with Marilyn


Sound:


The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse


Special Visual Effects:


The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
War Horse


Short Animation:


Abuelas
Bobby Yeah
A Morning Stroll


Short Film:


Chalk
Mwansa the Great
Only Sound Remains
Pitch Black Heist
Two and Two


Orange Rising Star Award:


Adam Deacon
Chris Hemsworth
Tom Hiddleston
Chris O'Dowd
Eddie Redmayne


BAFTA Fellowship:

Martin Scorsese

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Tales From The Television - Part 4

Dr Who has entertained generations and become iconic, thankfully the BBC revived the programme for a new worldwide audience.

We've all got a favourite Doctor, and this latest video reveals mine along with a little tale about the Dr Who theme music!

*Red Rob - a view from the left side

Brit Awards 2012: The Nominations

The full nominations have been revealed for the 2012 Brit Awards, with Adele and Ed Sheeran set for an award or two at the glitzy music event at London's O2 on Tuesday 21st February 2012. JLS will have to battle it out for British Single of the Year against other new boys on the block - One Direction and The Wanted.

Full list of Brit Award nominations:

BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST
Ed Sheeran
James Blake
James Morrison
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Professor Green

BRITISH FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
Adele
Florence & The Machine
Jessie J
Kate Bush
Laura Marling

BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Anna Calvi
Ed Sheeran
Emeli Sandé
Jessie J
The Vaccines

BRITISH GROUP
Arctic Monkeys
Chase & Status
Coldplay
Elbow
Kasabian

BRITISH SINGLE
Adele Someone Like You
Ed Sheeran The A Team
Example Changed The Way You Kissed Me
Jessie J Ft B.o.B. Price Tag
JLS Ft Dev She Makes Me Wanna
Military Wives / Gareth Malone Wherever You Are
Olly Murs Ft Rizzle Kicks Heart Skips A Beat
One Direction What Makes You Beautiful
Pixie Lott All About Tonight
The Wanted Glad You Came

MASTERCARD BRITISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Adele 21
Coldplay Mylo Xyloto
Ed Sheeran + Atlantic Records / Warner Music
Florence & The Machine Ceremonials Island

INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Bruno Mars
David Guetta 
Ryan Adams

INTERNATIONAL FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
Beyoncé
Björk
Feist
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

INTERNATIONAL GROUP
Fleet Foxes
Foo Fighters
Jay Z / Kanye West
Lady Antebellum
Maroon 5

INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Aloe Blacc
Bon Iver
Foster The People
Lana Del Rey
Nicki Minaj

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC AWARD
Blur

CRITICS’ CHOICE
1st - Emeli Sandé
2nd - Maverick Sabre
3rd - Michael Kiwanuka

BRITISH PRODUCER
Paul Epworth
Flood
Ethan Johns

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Tales From The Television - Part 3

Media has changed so much over the past 30 years, but back in the 'old' days we had to rely on television for most of our screen entertainment. ITV was made of many smaller regions, like Thames (and London Weekend Television) and I loved watching the Thames/LWT logo at the start of some programmes.

I also remember going to bed quite scared after watching a certain programme at about 8.30pm on some school nights - this episode of 'Tales From The Television' reveals that TV thriller......


Tales From The Television - Part 3: The Scary TV Titles and More TV Logos

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Top 10 DVD Chart 2011

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows topped the DVD sales chart for 2011, but overall DVD sales dropped 7.2% in the UK last year. Total DVD units sold in 2011 were 207m, continuing the decline from 253m total sales in 2008.

As physical DVD sales continue to drop, it is downloads and online streaming that are propping up the entertainment industry, but this was not enough to stop a 3.4% year on year drop (includes all digital and physical retail sales, plus physical rental transactions, consumers spent an estimated total of £2.25b).

It was a good year for British films, with eight out of the top ten films for 2011 earning a place in the end of year chart. The year to come is expected to see physical DVD sales continue in their free fall, while at the same time customers move online to more subscription download content. This will increase the pressure on retailers like HMV, as previously discussed HERE.

Top 10 DVD Sales 2011:

1. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
2. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 1
3. The Inbetweeners Movie
4. The King's Speech
5. Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides
6. Despicable Me
7. Paul
8. Tangled
9. Peter Kay – Live – The Tour That Didn't Tour
10. Transformers – Dark of The Moon

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Tales From The Television - Part 2

Ever wanted to watch a 'naughty' programme on TV  but you knew your parents would never let you view it?

This was the situation robmacca found himself in when OTT was first broadcast on Central TV. Today's 'Tales From The Television' explores what happened....

Tales From The Television - Part 2: OTT, Bullseye and the Central TV logo

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US Top Selling Albums And Singles 2011

British singer Adele had the best selling album and single in the US with her album '21', according to figures released by Nielsen SoundScan. Adele sold 5.8m copies of her second album that went on sale in March 2011 - selling 352,000 copies on the first week. The single 'Rolling In The Deep' topped the biggest selling singles chart for the year, also selling 5.8m copies in the US.

The Spice Girls and Elton John were the last British acts to top both album and singles best sellers list in 1997. Album sales in the US were up 1% in 2011, reaching a total of 330m by the end of the year - the first increase since 2004 and bucking the trend we have seen in the UK, where album sales fell 6%.

US Best Selling Albums 2011:

1.Adele - 21 - 5.8m
2.Michael Buble - Christmas - 2.4m
3.Lady Gaga - Born This Way - 2.1m
4.Lil Wayne - The Carter IV - 1.9m
5.Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party - 1.6m

US Best Selling Singles 2011:

1.Adele - Rolling In The Deep - 5.8m
2.LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem - 5.5m
3.Katy Perry - E.T. - 4.8m
4.Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger - 4.1m
5.Pitbull - Give You Everything - 3.9m

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