Hollywood
Mike Leigh awarded at Reykjavík International Film Festival
NEW DELHI: Internationally renowned British film director Mike Leigh has received the Reykjavík International Film Festival´s Puffin Lifetime Achievement Award.
Born in February 1943 in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, Leigh is a director and writer, known for Secrets & Lies (1996), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) and Vera Drake (2004).
His films frequently centre on the British working class. Most of his work in theatre and film is done without any initial script. He and the actors improvise their characters and the scenes under his overall control.
He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid-1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s his career moved between work for the theatre and making films for BBC Television, many of which were characterised by a gritty ‘kitchen sink realism’ style.
His most notable works are Naked (1993) for which he won the Best Director Award at Cannes, the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated Palme d’Or winner Secrets & Lies (1996) and Golden Lion winner Vera Drake (2004).
He has also served as Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and is the chairman of The London Film School. Additionally, he was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film and television culture.
His play, ‘Abigail’s Party’, performed at the New Ambassador’s Theatre, was nominated for a 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Revival of 2002.
His films include Bleak Moments (1971), Hard Labour (TV, 1973), The Permissive Society (BBC Second City Firsts), Knock for Knock, Nuts in May, High Hopes (1988), Life Is Sweet (1990), A Sense of History (1992) – short, All or Nothing (2002), and Mr. Turner (2014)
He has also received an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1993 Queen’s Honours List for his services to the film industry.
Hollywood
Iger’s final act: Disney boss wraps up epic saga with a new captain at the helm
After 15 turbulent years, two stints in the c-suite, and billions spent on blockbuster acquisitions, Bob Iger is stepping away from the Magic Kingdom.
CALIFORNIA: The 75-year-old chief, hailed as one of the most transformative leaders in modern media, officially hands over to former parks chief Josh D’Amaro on 18 March. And this time, he’s getting the succession right.
Iger’s legacy glitters with big bets and epic wins: the $7.4bn Pixar buy, $4bn Marvel swoop, and the colossal $71bn 21st Century Fox deal. He dragged Disney into the streaming age, fought off activist investor Nelson Peltz, and saw off a political scrap with Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
But it hasn’t all been pixie dust. The forced return of Iger in 2022—after the short, shaky reign of successor Bob Chapek—tarnished an otherwise stellar run.
Now, D’Amaro takes the wheel with a streamlined leadership team and Disney firing on all cylinders. The firm’s streaming business is in the black, theme-park attendance is soaring, and five global films have hit $1billion at the box office in the past two years. Not bad for a firm that was on the ropes just months ago.
D’Amaro’s first move? A slick reorg under new president and chief creative officer Dana Walden, folding film, tv, streaming and gaming into one punchy unit. Sean Shoptaw, heading up the gaming division, now reports directly to Walden—bringing Fortnite and Epic Games collaborations closer to Disney’s creative heart.
Iger isn’t sailing off into the sunset just yet. He’ll keep busy with Angel City FC, the women’s football club he owns with his wife. And as Ann Mooney Murphy of Stevens Institute predicts: “A guy like that never truly retires.”
One era ends. Another begins. And the House of Mouse bets big on a future beyond the king.
