Far classier thanthe clumsy awards showthe following night.
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They looked away from Chukwus exploration of a mothers love.
You see, thats whatTillis about.
(L-R) Richard Hawley, Danielle Deadwyler in ‘Till’ and Barbara BroccoliChris Saunders/Everett/Getty
You dont see the vicious lynching.
I was there and it was extraordinary because he understood whatTillrepresents.
Broccoli salutes BAFTA for recognizing Deadwyler with a best actress nomination.
‘Till’Everett
They got it, she says.
Although BAFTA does not get away that easily.
There waszero diversity on Sunday night.
The awards are absolutely no reflection of the world we live in.
Theres a conversation to be had, she says.
A quiet conversation, with me, when the seasons over, she adds.
I put her on the spot the following day when I ask her on video the same question.
She chooses her words carefully.
BAFTA got it, she explains again, noting Deadwylers nomination andChukwus appearance on the BAFTA long list.
BAFTA has instigated change and she hears that there are conversations about change ongoing at the Academy.
Changes amounting to what?
Flummoxed, we both shake our heads.
Broccoli is a producer ofTillalong with Whoopi Goldberg and others.
Im passionate about this film.
More than anything I just want it to be seen, she implores.
Whatever Broccoli thinks about Riseboroughs best actress nomination for the filmTo Leslie,shes keeping it to herself.
I cant deny that I feel for Riseborough.
Shes a sublime screen and stage artist and I am fan of her work.
But the atmosphere is such that she stayed away from the BAFTA festivities.
Everyones very tense when Andreas name is mentioned, an industry executive tells me.
Theres a narrative out there that Riseborough stole Deadwylers Oscar slot.
This talk of slots is a crock.
There are no slots.
Its really about whether people have seen the movie.
What happens, the filmmaker explains, is that Deadwylers performance was rightly triumphed by critics and the punditry.
And then it becomes a thing.
Like, shes on her way to a nomination.
Like you, I thought she would be nominated because its an outstanding performance.
But the voters didnt watch it.
Thats the only explanation.
The idea that Riseborough somehow bumped her off the list is nonsense.
We dont know who was number six or number seven!
Voters didnt see it.
Rather, notenoughvoters saw it, my artist acquaintance suggests.
Look atAll Quiet on the Western Front, for instance.
Then they moved up a notch and made sure the wider industry saw it.
They screened it and screened it.
They had armies of people making sure it was seen.
Ask yourself this though: did theTillpeople do the same?
And the answer is, obviously not, the person of my acquaintance says.
Theres something else though: unconscious bias.
They may go back to the movie they passed on.
Only if theres time.
I let my acquaintance carry on talking without interruption.
I wasnt shocked, sadly.
Is their behaviour laziness?
Oh God, I dont know.
Im not so quick to charge someone as a racist because on occasion I look away, too.
However, I dont put movies into categories of Black films and white films.
I gravitate towards what I perceive to be more appealing films first.
Then I go back to the ones I looked away from.
I sort of have to see everything.
For starters its my job, plus I sit on various awards panels.
Once in a while theres a gem to be found in the ones I initially avoided.
And its good to be pleasantly surprised.
We are human beings; we all have biases.
Thats not to excuse those who looked away fromTillunder the mistaken impression theyd find it depressing.
Nor should people make the mistake of thinking that I am predisposed to likingTillbecause its a Black film.
Spike Lee calls the awards brouhaha a cancer.
Its a cancer the way sports and film people chase after awards, he says.
I push him to explain.
Whats best for the role that youre playing.
As simple as that.
I roll my eyes and say that its not as simple as that, Spike!
What and who are you referring to?
Im not naming no names.
Not helpful, really, Spike, I say to the back of his purple suit.
Spike, Spike, Spike.
I love his movies.
And yeah, I have known him a bloody long time.
I guess not enough people tell him to f*ck right off.
So yes, Barbara, we have a lot to discuss when the seasons over.
Thats when RED took out an option on the show.
It was revived in Sheffield late last year and its now enjoying a limited run at theNational Theatrein London.
Here was a great post-war opportunity: a place with your own front door and your own loo!
In fact some of the numbers are like mini plays in themselves.
And over the years those performances have gotten deeper.
From now on I shall forever associate Hawleys song Coles Corner with Omole.
Standing at the Skys Edgeis likePennies From HeavenmeetsOur Friends from the Northon aBilly Elliot picket line.
In fact, its the best British musical sinceBilly Elliotopened at the Victoria Palace 18 years ago.
It gets right to the heart of who we are good and bad in England, then and now.
Howley lives locally, as does Bush, and is hailed as the godfather of the Sheffield music scene.
The show has yet to be commissioned by any of the networks.
I rolled up at my home after 6 a.m. one morning.
My head was hurting though.
Then I remembered that she co-hosted the BAFTAs with Richard E. Grant.
They built The Bridge in the shadow of Tower Bridge.
Hockneys show is the inaugural production.
The place is a marvel.
I like his comment that everything in L.A. Is meant to be read at 25 miles an hour.
As Hytner says, its an amazing sensory journey.
So soothing, like balm for the soul.
Starr tells me that the show starts when you arrive.
Theres scattered seating and you just sit.
Stand if you want to or squat or well, whatever, as long as its decent.
You just lap it up.
Because of the staggered times throughout the day people will come and go.
Starr explains the every 15 minutes, 75 people will amble in.
I stayed well over my allotted time because my body required restoration.
My head needed to be fed with culture thats fun and invigorating.
I found it at Lightroom a mere six-minute walk from Kings Cross/St Pancras rail and tube stations.
It was a party for heavens sake.
Dogra graciously invited me to join her, creatives and execs at Kettners on Sunday night.
Baz was there and I paid homage to him.
I bowed and hailed him as Baz 1.
He greeted me as Baz 1 too.
Am I still Baz 1?
Can we both be Baz 1 at the same time, he wonders.
I become Baz 1 when the films had its release and awards-season run.
Poor Austin Butler, the best actor BAFTA victor for his sparkling turn as the king of rock.
He looked a little shook up as he tried to follow the Baz succession convo.
My colleague Joe Utichi was equally baffled.
We both chuckle because our most engaging person had had a good night.
