Tag Archives: LSQTV

Jogging in the Sunday heat with Johnny English Reborn…

5 Oct

Who needs to be excited about Bond 23 finally getting studio sign off (again!) when we’ve got the top spy in London town. Oh yes after 8 years of waiting, he’s back and with the biggest international opening of a film for Rowan Atkinson, Johnny English Reborn most definitely arrives with a huge bang!

Last Sunday – in the blistering October heat (I cant believe I just wrote that) I applied factor 30 suncream (even more ridiculous) as I eagerly awaited the start of my first major red carpet event. It didn’t disappoint. From around 1pm the crowd on the opposite side of the carpet were chanting for the comedian in what can only be described as a glorious geek off of fans dedicated to the British king of comedy. The atmosphere was buzzing in Leicester Square and for the film crews lined up in the press pen, let the elbowing begin!

Before the talent arrived I was graced with the presence of Cheska from Made in Chelsea, I can say for this job its a bonus if I watch trash TV, so in this case I was more than delighted to talk about the trials and tribulations of “London’s upper West side” – however to the crews beside me I could have been speaking in tongues for all they knew, Spencer, Caggie, Yah’s and Rah’s made no sense what-so-ever and for me and good old Cheska, we could have been life long pals – totes! But on to more important matters…

For my first ever film premiere I was delighted to see how receptive, enthusiastic and informative the stars of the film are – yes I know promotion is part of the job, however, it also makes my job easier when actors are actually really interested in their film and not just working the PR machine for the sake of it. One shining talent that I did speak to was Posh Kenneth from Skins AKA Daniel Kaluuya. He was genuinely funny, cool, in ore of his more established cast members and humbled by landing a role quite as big as Agent Tucker. Also a delight was Steven Campbell-Moore – he plays the Prime Minister in the film and was really open and honest about how little research he did into the role – made me chuckle!!

The big stars of the film Rowan Atkinson, Gillian Anderson, Dominic West etc all graced the red carpet too, but as they are incredibly sought after we have such minimal amounts of time with them we never get to ask enough questions. I was desperate to get an answer on the rumours of a fifth series of Black Adder and to find out how Dominic West was doing in Othello, plus seeing if Gillian Anderson’s kids would be allowed to watch Johnny English at such a young age. But the nature of the beast is that those stars are pretty busy so it was one question only if that.

So here you have it, a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon meeting a comedy legend, some well versed actors from a little old place called Hollywood, some great new UK talent and of course the odd reality star that just couldn’t keep away! All in a days work I say!

Thanks for reading, Johnny English is out in Cinemas on Friday here’s the trailer to give you a taster of what’s in store, so do go check it out!

The Wig Party 2011 – Giving to a good cause

2 Oct

This weekend, wowzas what a busy one! As I write this I’ve just returned from presenting on the red carpet for Leicester Square TV (follow them at @lsqtv) at the UK premiere for Johnny English Reborn – more on that tomorrow!

What I want to write about today is something which surprisingly really enlightened me. On Saturday night I presented at The Wig Party 2011. (http://www.wigparty.org/) At first I was slightly dubious, not a huge brief to go with this one, and being the stickler for detail that I am, I like to be prepared, never the less I thought lets give it a go… I’m glad I did.

The Wig Party is probably the most outrageous party of the year, its (as of this year) based in 1 Mayfair a fantastic church conversion turned party venue. It raises a huge amount of money for the National Aids Trust as well as raising awareness for HIV and Aids in the UK. Everyone involved is a volunteer, from the celebrity presenters (Tim Vincent) and judges (Jason Gardner, Boy George, Ben Cooke) giving up their time through to the dancers, bar staff, PR, Marketing and the wonderful Tattinger Champagne which sponsored the event!

The premise is simple: wear a wig to the event, enter yourself in the pageant, raise money, have a great night and embrace your inner drag queen – and boy there were plenty! It was fantastic. My role, was to go around, interview the organisers, the celebrities, the partakers and the guests and capture the essence of the evening. It was mad, bad and full of fun and something that I hope to do more of in the future. From a presenting point, I was in my element, everyone I talked to was in fantastic spirits, keen to raise as much cash as they can for a great cause and were dressed in possibly the most amazing fancy dress I have ever seen, the effort really made the atmosphere electric!

For now you’ll see I’ve posted a couple of taster picks, but as soon as the final edit is finished I’ll post again and I encourage you all to share the video, book your tickets for next year and give if you can to the National Aids Trust, a truly brilliant cause.

Many thanks for reading and if you need more information on this great cause, see below…

http://www.nat.org.uk/

https://twitter.com/#!/NAT_AIDS_Trust

http://www.facebook.com/pages/NAT-National-AIDS-Trust