Kate Winslet receives two Golden Globe awards
KATE Winslet needs new material now. Not when it comes to movie scripts, as the acclaim surrounding her performances in The Reader and Revolutionary Road suggests she’s making all the right moves when it comes to picking roles.No, it’s just that for years the actor has been poking fun at her record of an award nominations-to-losses ratio, which would impress even Susan Lucci, who was nominated for 19 daytime Emmys for outstanding actress before she won one in 1990.
"Most nominated loser" is how Winslet jokingly described herself in a recent interview. But if there’s any validity to the Golden Globes’ reputation as a litmus test for the Academy Awards, she may in fact be a winner come Oscar night, as she grabbed both the leading and supporting actress statues at yesterday’s ceremony. "I’m so sorry Anne, Meryl, Kristin – and who’s the other one? Angelina … Now forgive me, is this really happening?" asked a clearly emotional Winslet during her acceptance speech.
With her five Oscar and five previous Golden Globe nominations and no wins, it’s understandable she was a little flustered. As comic actor Ricky Gervais noted when presenting an award, one of Winslet’s wins proved something she uttered when parodying herself in an appearance on his show Extras back in 2005: If you do a film about the Holocaust, you’re guaranteed an Oscar.
Winslet’s supporting actress award was for The Reader in which she plays a teenager’s older lover in post-war Germany, who is later tried for war crimes. Her best actress award, however, is Holocaust-free. In Revolutionary Road, she plays one half of a couple disaffected by 1950s American suburbia. The movie teamed Winslet with Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time since Titanic, which in 1997 was showered with awards (although most of them missed her).
Befitting a ceremony for awards voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the 66th annual Golden Globes was something of an international, not-so-Hollywood affair. Apart from the British-born Winslet, the night’s other big winner was Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Brit Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) and co-directed by India’s Loveleen Tandan.
Based on Vikas Swarup’s novel Q&A, the film follows a poor teen who competes on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and features actors mostly unfamiliar to Western audiences. It won in all the four categories in which it was nominated: best picture (drama), best director (Boyle), best screenplay (Simon Beaufoy) and best original score.
But the night proved bittersweet from an Australian perspective, with the late Heath Ledger taking out the best supporting actor award for his portrayal of demented Batman nemesis the Joker in The Dark Knight, an announcement that was met with a tearful standing ovation. "Heath created something entirely original. It’s stunning, it’s captivating," director Christopher Nolan said as he accepted the award.
There was more cheering for the moments that showed certain stars had returned from the wilderness. Mickey Rourke, one of the most promising actors of the 1980s who flushed his career down the toilet with bad boy antics, took the best actor statue for his portrayal of a washed-up has-been in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. In accepting, he said he wished Robert Downey Jr could come up and speak for him, presumably because he also knows a thing or two about promise, bad boys and toilets. Or maybe it’s just because they both share a love of wearing sunglasses at indoor awards ceremonies.
Also cementing his comeback status was director Woody Allen. The legendary New Yorker may have long overcome the dark cloud that descended on him once his affair with Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his then partner Mia Farrow, became public in 1992, but his more recent work had struggled to attract the attention of audiences, let alone those handing out awards. Given that Vicky Cristina Barcelona took out the award for best musical or comedy motion picture, it may just mean the slump is over. Of course, the Golden Globes are unique in that they are not just about films but television as well.
On that front, Mad Men, 30 Rock and the miniseries John Adams continued their Emmy runs, taking out best drama, comedy and miniseries respectively. The awards also cemented Tina Fey’s status as a comedy powerhouse, with 30 Rock, the series she writes and stars in, also taking best comedy actor for Alec Baldwin and actress for Fey. She took her acceptance speech as an opportunity to single out her internet detractors and tell them to "suck it". But jabs at faceless internet critics were about as controversial as it got for the Golden Globes, one of the last big award shows to take place while George W. Bush is still in the White House. In his eight years in office, award shows have often been highly politicised affairs, with performers such as Sally Field and Michael Moore using acceptance speeches to criticise the Bush administration’s policies and failings. With the more liberal president-elect Barack Obama preparing to take the reins next week, there was no official enemy to rail against and the mood at the awards ceremony was much more hopeful.
In accepting the best TV comedy award for 30 Rock, African-American co-star Tracy Morgan joked that in this spirit, he is the one who should take centre stage as the show’s spokesman. "I’m the face of post-racial America, deal with it Cate Blanchett," he said. It’s possible the Golden Globes producers were hoping for something a little more contentious that would reel in viewers. Last year, the Globes ceremony was one of the biggest casualties of the Hollywood writers’ strike, with the usual three-hour extravaganza cancelled in favour of a no-nonsense press conference when the winners were announced. Not only did this development make frock designers weep at the lack of a red carpet to pimp their wares, but US broadcaster NBC took a disastrous hit in the ratings. Only about a quarter of the 20 million viewers who had watched the previous year’s ceremony tuned in and nervous executives are no doubt anxiously waiting to see if there is any lingering effect in yesterday’s figures.
Not that this is a concern in Australia. Perhaps because by the time the delayed prime-time broadcast of an American awards ceremony hits the air, the winners have already been plastered over the internet and viewers have lost interest. They have proved to be ratings poison in recent years. Even the Academy Awards attracted only 934,000 viewers last year, soundly beaten by Desperate Housewives. No wonder, then, that the Emmys were pushed back to after 10pm when they aired on Ten late last year, while the Golden Globes yesterday didn’t even make it to free-to-air at all. Australian viewers keen to catch the ceremony had to rely on the pay-TV channel Arena.
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OPERA POINT EVENTS NEW SIZZLIN SUMMER MENU
As the popularity of outdoor celebrations heats up with the weather, Opera Point Events has released its latest seasonal menus for special events at and around The Sydney Opera House this spring and summer.
Head chef, Simon Sandall has drawn inspiration from seasonal produce – such as raspberries, starfruit and globe artichokes – to deliver his latest culinary collection, once again bringing the best elements of fine dining to event catering. Simon’s experience as head chef in some of Sydney’s best restaurant is at the fore of this fresh menu of canapés, mains and desserts and demonstrates why Opera Point Events stands apart from other special event companies.
“Spring and summer are fantastic times of year for light, refreshing and versatile flavours. We’ve also had a lot of fun with this menu, playing around with ingredients and using them in ways guests may find surprising,” Simon said. For example, Simon has introduced blooms to such dishes as Persian fetta, herb and white cabbage salad and the entree of cured petuna ocean trout with peas and mint, adding discreet bursts of flavour that rise above the creaminess of the fetta and are the perfect complement to the trout dish’s garden flavours.
Seasonal fruits feature across the new menu, used in savoury dishes such as seared tuna with confit fennel, olives and preserved lemon, and sweets such as the stand-out lemon curd tuille with fresh berries. Simon has also delivered his own interpretation on classic dishes, with his lemon meringue pie with candied lemon and pineapple and passionfruit trifle with coconut foam adding new flavours and textures to old favourites.In doing so however, Simon has been careful to ensure the freshness of his seasonal ingredients comes to the fore.
Dishes such as the baked globe artichoke with white bean salad deliver the unadulterated textures and flavours of the season. The new Opera Point Events menu balances the quality of dishes normally found in a white table dining setting with the practicalities of special event catering.
The versatile range of wagyu beef, chicken, seasonal seafood and vegetarian dishes can be delivered for sit-down meals or as single-hand dining options for cocktail events. “Unlike a restaurant, we’re always creating special menus for clients, matching the themes and styles of cuisine with the local ingredients we have on hand.
This new seasonal menu is very much a starting point in that process, to give customers a taste of what we can offer. “I’ll make anything the client wants, whether it’s on the menu or not. But if they see something on the menu like the entree of springs’ smoked salmon with quail egg, cucumber and radish salad and get inspired to use something different, like the quail eggs, then that’s fantastic.
Ingredients like quail eggs are so great right now and our clients appreciate being able to hold an event where their guests will taste such good produce.” To view the complete menu or for more information about Opera Point Events visit www.operapointevents.com.au or call 02 8274 9600.
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The Big Apple is getting a taste of bush tucker.
Indigenous tourism ventures will for the first time showcase their wares at one of America’s biggest trade conferences. Eleven operators nationwide, including two from the Northern Territory, will feature at this month’s highly-successful annual G’day USA: Australia Week.
The festival, now entering its sixth year, promotes Australian culture, food, fashion, film, trade and tourism. It will run in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York from January 13 to 24. Baz Luhrmann, Eric Bana, Rachel Griffiths and tennis legend Rod Laver will be honoured at the event but Australia’s A-listers could be upstaged by the Indigenous Tourism Roadshow. Americans will be asked to "Come Walkabout", with a range of holidays on offer from basket weaving, to bush tucker walks and nature trails.
The ventures are part of a new government focus on Aboriginal people starting their own businesses, creating sustainable jobs for their families and young people. "This is the first time indigenous tourism operators have had the opportunity to promote their products at G’Day USA Australia Week," said NT Tourism Minister Kon Vatskalis. Farewelling the operators of Batji Tours and Kakadu Culture Camp at Darwin airport yesterday, Mr Vatskalis said 80 indigenous tourism ventures were now up and running in the NT. "I want to promote the extensive range of NT tourism products featured in their travel promotions to ensure North Americans include the NT in their holiday plans," he said.
The festival will feature 25 Australian flavoured events across the three US cities, including financial seminars, a golf day hosted by British Open champion Ian Baker Finch and food displays by celebrity chefs. Jimmy Barnes and Gabriella Cilmi will also perform at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at LA’s Royce Hall.
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Changing the perceptions of PR ‘darrrrling’
For an industry that specialises in creating positive profiles for its clients, PR seems to suffer from some image problems of its own. With the popularity of sitcoms such as Absolutely Fabulous and Absolute Power, public relations practitioners come across as fashion-obsessed booze hags or amoral spin kings whose ultimate goal is column space, air time and an inflated pay packet.
While this may be true for a tiny fraction of the industry, for the most part, PR professionals are extremely hard-working, dedicated and down-to-earth. Think on this for a moment: PR people deal with high-flying business people, skilled media personnel and talented creatives on a daily basis. If they were really so vapid, would these people really tolerate them; let alone work towards a mutually beneficial outcome?
Over the past year, there has been talk of changing the job title to ‘communications specialist’ so perhaps when this comes into play, industry professionals will be able to shake off the constraints of the PR ‘darrrrrrling’ myth and concentrate on what they know best: communicating!
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IMS Launches IMSTVOnline.com
Bringing Powerful Analysis Tool to Television Marketers Infomercial Monitoring Services, Inc. (IMS) of Philadelphia launches IMSTVOnline.com, a tool for television marketers, broadcasters and producers to obtain and analyze expenditures, media buys and details of infomercials. Philadelphia, PA, January 13, 2009 –(PR.com)– Infomercial Monitoring Service, Inc. (IMS) of Philadelphia has announced the launch of IMSTVOnline.com, a robust and elegant interactive resource for the direct response television industry.
Like the industry standard IMS Report weekly print edition, IMSTVOnline.com is a decision-making tool that enables television marketers to make confident decisions based on a powerful database of accurate and current information, including weekly reports on top infomercial airings and expenditures, historical trends, production reviews and full-form video of paid programming
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IMSTVOnline.com offers marketers free access to the site during the month of January as they fine-tune planning and budgets for the first quarter of 2009, traditionally the year’s biggest quarter for advertising expenditure and direct response product sales.
IMS CEO Sam Catanese said: “Knowledge is power, but only if you use that knowledge. IMSTVOnline.com not only makes more information available to our subscribers, it also makes the information much easier to access and use. At IMSTVOnline.com, IMS reports can be arranged in a great variety of formats, tailored to whatever metrics the user wants to explore. Our clients are looking for hard data and trendlines that enable them to identify competitive patterns, and plan future media buys and product development.”
Going beyond the print version of the report, IMSTVOnline.com creates a forum for exchange of a goldmine of multimedia information. Features include:
Password-protected access to IMS Report data, sortable by time period, rankings, product and network type and dozens of other metrics
A directory of industry resources and key players in TV production and marketing
Free classified ads and job listings
Access to a library of current infomercials and spots, each clickable to deliver streaming video of the new products
Social networking amenities like customizable individual user pages and an industry blogsite
IMSTube with user-supplied original content relating to the direct response industry.
CEO Sam Catanese believes the array of offerings will make IMSTVOnline.com a daily must-visit site. “IMSTVOnline.com is social, sophisticated, streamlined, and sustainable,” Catanese said. “The site provides a huge amount of data in a logical, intuitive interface. We think that our clients will also be glad to have instant electronic access to the data, rather than having to thumb through hundreds of pages in our traditional paper reports.”
Leveraging IMS’s Core Business
IMS monitors the 46 leading national cable and satellite networks airing paid programming, 24 /7 – more than 30,000 hours each month. Based on this monitoring, the weekly IMS Report includes summaries of the frequency of airing and gross media value of leading infomercials and short-form spots, along with grids providing extensive breakdowns of media buys and schedules for each of the top 25 infomercials and top 50 spots weekly. Monthly IMS reports rank the top 100 short-form spots and long-form programs.
The IMS report is an unbiased, scientific digest of information whose subscribers include virtually all major US marketers, media buyers, retailers, and producers of paid programming, as well as a growing number of subscribers in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. IMS also develops standard and custom reports in response to client inquiries, analyzing trends and strategies based on combinations of show data.
The new website is at IMSTVOnline.com. During the month of January, users can gain free entry to the site by providing their email addresses to log in. Customer service and other inquiries can be directed to IMS by phone at 610-328-6902 and by email to online@imstv.com.
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Twitter Hooks the Media
For anyone in the PR and marketing industry who doesn’t believe Twitter serves any purpose and is confined to a small contingent of ’geeks’, then check this out – it’s a list of journos and newspapers using Twitter.Note, the list is American but it will give you an idea as to how Twitter is spreading throughout the realm of traditional media.
In Australia, newspaper organisations such as News Limited as well as individual papers including The Age use Twitter, as well as an increasing number of journalists (although to my knowledge they seem to be more specialist writers and freelance reporters, but this is a very topline observation only).
While media outlets tend to ’blast’ the headlines into the Twittersphere (very one way, which is to be expected – old habits die hard – and some Tweeps don’t like it), there are others such as John Grey, editor of the Courier Mail couriermail.com.au in Brisbane, who totally ’gets it’. John – aka @jg_rat on Twitter – gets involved, has a point of view as well as a bit of fun. If you want to see Twitter in action, at its most powerful and effective, check out this guy.
Thanks to Graphicdesignr who compiled the US media list. Awesome effort!
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There’s Never Been a Better Time to Be a Savvy Marketer
Okay, let’s get the grumbles out of the way first.Who in the hell would want to be a marketer? I mean, the economy has gone down the crapper. Consumers aren’t spending. Businesses have stopped buying goods and services. Marketing budgets are being slashed willy-nilly by short-sighted senior managers. And let’s not forget the ever-evolving media and marketing landscape. Change, change, change!
What’s with all this social networking, Facebooky, Twittering stuff anyway? Blogging and podcasting – too bloody hard! Whatever happened to straight brand advertising, you know, whack a zany ad on TV, buy up spots everywhere and voila, SUCCESS!
And consumers! My goodness…bloody ungrateful people don’t even watch TV anymore, and when they do, they’re (a) turning away during the ads, (b) watching the ads but dismissing them anyway, or (c) using a digital recording device to skip through the TVCs. They’re online more than ever and playing video games when they should be glued to the box, and listening to their damn iPods when they should be tuned into the radio.
AND…they distrust government, media and big corporations. They hate being marketed to and they’re quickly turned off by over-hype and the hard sell. As I said, would want to be a marketer?
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS. Okay PR Warrior – take two tablets and have a lie down! Whaddya talkin’ about, ’good news’?? HERE IT IS: There’s never been a better time to be a savvy marketer – i.e. a marketer who truly ’gets it’! Someone who sits within an organisation and thrives on steering a brand that treats people with respect and which in turn is respected by the public…a brand that year-on-year becomes more successful as people warm to it and help spread the word in a positive way.
Why then is now a good time to be a marketer? Let’s think counter-intuitively for a moment and look at the reasons (stated above) for not wanting to be a marketer and * Presto * – there’s (some of) your answers. TIMES ARE TOUGH, IT’S ALL TOO HARD – When your average marketer starts jumping at shadows and is increasingly scared to ’have a go’, that spells O.P.P.O.R.T.U.N.I.T.Y for the savvy marketer.
Famed investor Warren Buffett has a saying along the lines of: "When people are greedy, be fearful; when people are fearful, be greedy". It’s a contrarian way of thinking, but hey, Buffett is the best in the business so he must be doing something right. The same goes for marketing. When companies start pulling their heads in, that’s when the savvy marketer gets down to business because it means a whole lot of opportunities are about to open up.
MY BUDGET KEEPS GETTING CUT – Okay, so learn to do more with less (see next point). Savvy marketers will become even more daring; they put in the ’hard yards’ and experiment where necessary to devise smart, longer term communication strategies. Average marketers, on the other hand, will continue to use the same old boring/safe/ineffective short-term marketing tactics they’ve always used, only now they will in all likelihood put the ’hard word’ on suppliers and marketing partners in order to save some dosh. Clearly, it’s not sustainable because it’s a short term ’solution’ to what is probably going to be a long term problem.
MAINSTREAM ADVERTISING IS BECOMING LESS AND LESS EFFECTIVE – Yes it is, and what a fantastic opportunity! Now you don’t have to have deep pockets to compete with the ’big guys’. The savvy marketer who is decisive, clever, creative and willing to take a risk now has a veritable vista of marketing options available to them. The average marketer will continue to complain without bothering too hard to try and find viable alternatives.
CONSUMERS ARE CYNICAL AND DISTRUSTFUL – Do you blame them? How about taking an empathetic approach towards consumers. Is your company or brand wholly transparent in its dealings with customers? Do you treat the public like idiots? Do you blast mindless one-way drivel at them? Do you ’push’ irrelevant advertising via the web? Do you speak corporate gobble-gook and continue to spin and polish every sentence when communicating with consumers (this involves PR and corporate affairs people as much as the marketing department)? Do you make it easy for the public to buy goods and services from your company, or converse with you when things go wrong?
Savvy marketers are open and honest with their customers; they communicate with spirit and conviction, they have a point of view, they get involved in the marketplace conversation. Average marketers don’t know what a marketplace conversation is and fuel consumer distrust by continuing to do what they’ve always done.
CONSUMERS ARE THE MEDIA – social media and online communities are having a profound effect on the way we communicate and connect with each other (as well as with companies, brands and organisations). Consumers have always had a voice, it’s just now they also have the tools to amplify that voice, and it’s scaring the heck out of companies. Not hard to understand why.
Companies are used to controlling the message via one-way communication tactics. Guess what, it’s getting harder to control the message and two-way communication is becoming the norm (in fact, it’s expected). Savvy marketers are on to this paradigm shift and are busily trying to keep ahead of the curve. Average marketers continue to stick their heads in the sand despite the incessant change that’s occurring locally and globally.
Today’s savvy marketer understands and continues to monitor the ever-changing media and marketing landscape. They’re constantly updating their knowledge, looking at new ideas and learning to adapt where necessary. They’re bold but not reckless, preferring to take calculated risks because they know that being ’safe and boring’ is perhaps the biggest risk of all. The average marketer, on the other hand, does none of those things and in all likelihood will pay the price in the year ahead.
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