Virgin Media

Richard Curtis’ 1994 blockbuster Four Weddings and a Funeral has been named the greatest British film of all time in a survey for Virgin Media Shorts.  Beating Monty Python’s classic Life of Brian by just one per cent, rom-com Four Weddings and a Funeral, starring Hugh Grant as hapless romantic Charles, topped the poll with 22 per cent of votes, making it the public’s favourite British film ever.

The Virgin Media Shorts survey, which today (30th June) marks the last day film makers can submit their short films to the competition, sees an eclectic mix of films make up the top ten.  The top five is completed with Danny Boyle’s cult classic Trainspotting (15 per cent), the latest James Bond Casino Royale (10 per cent) and gangster flick Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (eight per cent).  The remaining top ten includes a mixture of old and new including the 1962 classic Lawrence of Arabia (eight per cent)together with last year’s war romance Atonement (four per cent).

With almost one third of the votes, the poll revealed that Dame Judi Dench is the best British actress of all time followed by fellow Dame, Helen Mirren (14 per cent) and Julie Walters (14 per cent).  The best British actor was a closely fought contest with former Bond Sir Sean Connery and Hannibal hell-raiser Sir Anthony Hopkins receiving 22 per cent of votes each.  Hugh Grant, who became a household name after starring in Four Weddings and a Funeral, was in fourth place with 11 per cent of nominations behind Get Carter star Sir Michael Caine (12 per cent). 

James Kydd, managing director of brand and marketing at Virgin Media said, “The debate around the best British film of all time is always a great talking point and our top ten is no exception.  Seeing so many fantastic films in the list is testament to British film talent and that’s exactly why Virgin Media has set up the Shorts competition to champion undiscovered British film makers.” 

Virgin Media Shorts is the first ever short film competition to run across four screens (TV, cinema, mobile and the internet) and has already seen over 1,000 entries for the £30,000 prize since its launch on 1st May.  To mark the final day for submissions, today also sees the announcement of the judging panel who will be presiding over the competition.  The confirmed line-up includes:

• Oscar-winning stage and film actor, Kevin Spacey
• Founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson
• Bend It Like Beckham director, Gurinder Chadha
• Confetti and Green Wing actor, Stephen Mangan
• Oscar-nominated short film director, Daniel Barber
• Film critic, James King
• Total Film editor, Nev Pierce
• Head of the New Cinema Fund of the UK Film Council, Lenny Crooks
• Chairman of the panel and Virgin Media’s CEO of Content, Malcolm Wall

To submit a short film for Virgin Media Shorts, or to simply watch and rate the films, visit www.virginmediashorts.co.uk

Ends

Notes to Editors

Breakdown

Best British Movie:

Best British Actor:

Best British Actress:

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Onepoll.com.  Total sample size was 1,000 adults.  Fieldwork was undertaken between 25th and 26th June 2008. 

Media contacts

Toby Steele, Frank PR, 020 7693 6999 or virginmedia@frankpr.it

David Fraser, Frank PR, 020 7693 6999 or virginmedia@frankpr.it

Judging Panel

Biographies of the Virgin Media Shorts Judging Panel:

Kevin Spacey
Award-winning stage and film actor and currently the Artistic Director of the Old Vic Theatre, Kevin Spacey began his career as a stage actor in the 1980s, before being cast in a plethora of film and TV roles. Kevin has become one of the most distinguished character actors of our time, creating memorable roles both on stage and in film. Kevin gained critical acclaim in 1995 with his first Oscar for his supporting role in The Usual Suspects, followed by an Oscar for Best Actor in 1999 for American Beauty. Kevin has his own production company called Trigger Street, which has most recently produced 21 for Sony Pictures. His latest appearance is in Recount, a co-production between Trigger Street and HBO, which reveals the behind-the-scenes account of the 36-day battle for the Presidency in 2000 between George W Bush and Al Gore.

Sir Richard Branson
Richard Branson was born in 1950 and educated at Stowe School. It was here that he set up Student Magazine when he was just 16. By 17 he'd also set up Student Advisory Centre, which was a charity to help young people. In 1970 he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer, and not long after he opened a record shop in Oxford Street, London. During 1972 a recording studio was built in Oxfordshire, and the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded Tubular Bells which was released in 1973. The Virgin Group has now expanded into air travel, mobile, broadband, TV, home phone, financial, retail, music, drinks, rail, hotels and leisure, with around 200 companies in over 30 countries. Richard launched Virgin Media in February last year, which is the UK’s leading entertainment and communications company with almost 10 million customers across the UK.

Richard’s top tip for up and coming film makers: “My advice is simple - don't give up and believe in yourself.

Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha is a British director, best known for her award-winning films Bhaji on the Beach, What’s Cooking?, Bend It Like Beckham and Bride & Prejudice.  Born in Kenya, Gurinder’s films often explore the lives and experiences of British born Asians with humour and affection.  Gurinder began her career as a news reporter for BBC Radio and directed several award-winning documentaries for the BBC, BFI and Channel Four, including the groundbreaking I’m British But… Gurinder’s next film, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, based on the international bestselling novels by Louise Rennison, will be released in the UK on July 25.

Gurinder’s top tip for up and coming film makers: “Find something you really want to say, have a clear vision for why you want to make a film and keep working at it until you can tell your story exactly the way you want to.” 

Stephen Mangan
Best known for his role as Guy Secretan in the BAFTA winning series Green Wing, Stephen Mangan is regarded as one of the country's finest comedy actors. Stephen’s breakthrough TV performance was as Adrian Mole in the BBC TV series Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years and his film career kick-started with a role in Billy Elliot. He went on to appear in several British films, including Confetti, Birthday Girl and the award-winning Festival. He will be playing the title role in The Norman Conquests at Kevin Spacey's Old Vic Theatre this autumn and his new film Beyond The Pole is due for release next year.

Stephen’s top tip for up and coming film makers: If you want to make films, just get on and do it! It has never been easier, or cheaper, to shoot and edit video. You'll learn what works and what doesn't by trial and error.

Daniel Barber
British director, Daniel Barber, was nominated for an Oscar earlier this year for his short film The Tonto Woman – a 35 minute-long Western based on a short story written by Elmore Leonard. The film also won the Best of Festival award at LA Shorts 2008 and Best Film at Palm Springs 2007. Daniel started out studying Graphic Design at St Martin’s School of Art, before joining Lambie-Nairn & Co where he designed and directed an array of title sequences. Daniel also created new channel identities for BBC One and BBC Two, for which he won a BAFTA and a D&AD Award, and later he went on to win a D&AD Award for his BBC Four campaign. Daniel went on to direct commercials full time, showcasing his work at Cannes International Advertising Festival and was named as a Creative Face of the Future by “Campaign” Magazine. More recently Daniel won a British Television Advertising Awards for his BMW Science, Toyota “Illogicaland” and Becks Naturally ads. His most recent work includes commercials for Adidas, Audi, Estée Lauder, Mercedes, Shell and Sony – to name just a few. Plus, Daniel has recently finished directing an ad for British Airways for the launch of Terminal 5.

Daniel’s advice to up and coming film makers: “Never ever, ever, give up”.

James King
James is the voice of film on Radio One, reviewing the latest movies with Edith Bowman every Wednesday and Friday. He's also presented the Early Breakfast show, Bank Holiday soundtrack specials and several all-night Oscar programmes. His work on Radio One was nominated for a prestigious Sony Award in 2004. James can be seen talking cinema every week on ITV1's London Tonight. He is also a regular face on film documentaries, including The 100 Greatest Films, The 100 Greatest Music Videos and has appeared as a film expert on shows as varied as Richard & Judy (C4), The Daily Politics (BBC2) and BBC Breakfast News (BBC1) reviewing Star Wars. He was also a panelist on the BBC2 gameshow Nobody Likes A Smartass.

James’ advice to up and coming film makers: “Wear your heart on your sleeve and show me who you are.  I want to see your personality in the plot, the dialogue and the style.  Tarantino never made it by being coy!”

Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce is the editor of movie magazine Total Film.

Lenny Crooks
Lenny Crooks is the Head of the New Cinema Fund at the UK Film Council. The New Cinema Fund aims to support emerging film makers and established film makers working outside of the mainstream. Recently supported projects supported include Shane Meadows’ This is England, Sarah Gavron’s Brick Lane,James Marsh’s Man on Wire and Michael Winterbottom’s Genova. Prior to working at the UK Film Council, Lenny was the Director of Glasgow Film Finance, Scotland’s first venture capital fund dedicated to feature film investment. Executive Producer credits during this period include Gaby Dellal’s On A Clear Day and David Mackenzie’s Hallam Foe, awarded a Silver Bear at the 2007 Berlinale.  In 1993 he founded, and later became Executive Director of the Glasgow Film Fund (GFF) with investments including Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave, Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar and Terence Davies’ House of Mirth. As Director of the Glasgow Film Office, Lenny part financed over 30 films with including Andrea Arnold’s Red Road (Winner of the Prix du Jury, Cannes 2006). Lenny has a strong background in developing new talent both in the UK and internationally, and serves as a jury member of the Balkan Film Fund.

Lenny’s advice to up and coming film makers: Watch Spike Jonze's 'How They Get There'.

Malcolm Wall – Chairman on the Panel
Malcolm Wall is the CEO of Content at Virgin Media and is responsible for the day to day running of the Company’s content business. Prior to joining Virgin Media, Malcolm was COO at United Business Media where he was responsible for managing the company’s business publishing, news distribution and market research businesses as well as being on the board of Channel Five. Prior to this he was Chief Executive Officer of United Broadcasting and Entertainment Ltd, the division of United Business Media responsible for the management of television and consumer internet businesses. Before joining United Broadcasting and Entertainment Ltd, Malcolm held a variety of senior management positions at broadcasters including Granada Television, Anglia Television, and Southern Television.

Malcolm’s advice to up and coming film makers: “Take every opportunity that comes your way to showcase your talent, no matter how small – you never know where it might lead.”

Virgin Media

Virgin Media is an innovative and pioneering UK entertainment and communications business. For the first time consumers can get everything they need from one company - the UK's only quad-play of TV, broadband, phone and mobile, plus the most advanced TV on demand service, all delivered through its unique fibre-optic cable network.  Virgin Media launched the UK’s first high definition TV service, is the only TV platform to carry BBC iPlayer, and offers a high-specification, HD-ready V+  personal video recorder. Virgin Media is the UK’s largest residential broadband provider, the largest virtual mobile network operator and the second-largest provider of pay TV and home phone.
Virgin Media owns two content businesses - Virgin Media Television (VMTV) and sit-up. VMTV owns seven entertainment channels – Virgin1, Living, Living 2, Bravo, Bravo 2, Challenge and Trouble - and is a 50% partner in UKTV which consists of nine channels including Dave, UKTV Gold and UKTV History. sit-up runs retail TV channels bid tv, price-drop tv and speed auction tv.
Virgin Media has been voted the sixth Most Loved Brand in Britain in a Marketing magazine poll, as well as having been voted the Most Trusted ISP Brand 2008 by Reader’s Digest magazine.  The Sunday Times also awarded Virgin Media its 2008 Best Buy awards for broadband and movies on demand.
Virgin Media is the largest Virgin company in the world and has almost 10 million customers.  To find out more visit www.virginmedia.com/presscentre.