Jim Field Smith

He’s back.

Here's to the solo dads and the fatherless;
to the bereaved, the bereft;
to those who are struggling to be a dad
or struggling with their dads.
Happy Day to all of you.
👊🏻

Just saw Robert Jenrick in one of those weird Turkish barber shops. His ears must have been burning.

We need @labouruk.bsky.social and DCMS to make a far more substantial public investment into the arts in general and specifically into the film & TV industry, already proven to be an incredibly lucrative source of national income and a substantial provider of employment. 🧵 5/5

The international productions, particularly the US streamers, will ultimately run out of experienced talent to call upon if all we do is focus on servicing them rather than nurturing the people and the stories that brought them here in the first place. 🧵 4/5

These talents were founded and honed in PSB shows, and with those commissions declining not only is the work drying up but also we are losing the all-important training ground for actors, crew, production and post-production folk. 🧵 3/5

And that’s because we have a tradition of making high-quality HETV drama that far predates the dawn of the streamers. Cracker. Prime Suspect. Red Riding. Before you even mention comedy, which we once led the world in. 🧵 2/5

UK TV industry hit by ‘perfect storm’, says Elisabeth Murdoch Crisis within British television is leading to an exodus of production talent, media executive says

The reason the UK is such a popular production base for international shows, aside from financial incentives, is that the skill set here is second to none... 🧵 1/5

Day 133 of shooting season 2 of Hijack, and we wrapped the big man. The end is nigh.

This is an unsustainable crisis. An epidemic which we have the ability to curtail if we become more realistic about timescales, budgets and the health and happiness of those we work with.

Please consider supporting this charity, and perhaps more importantly please think about what you can do in your role, whether that is reducing stressors that are adding to this mental health crisis, or simply being honest about your own mental health and reporting it.

The results of the 2024 Looking Glass survey conducted by @filmtvcharity.bsky.social are horrifying but sadly unsurprising. We have to get better at looking after each other.

SOMEBODY STOP ME

Bless you Rhodri x

Donate to Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2024, organized by Rhodri Marsden Unbelievably, it's the 14th year of this thing. What is it? Improbably, the nig… Rhodri Marsden needs your support for Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2024

So I'll be back around then. We'll be trying to raise a bit of money for Centrepoint, bearing in mind that there are a bunch of people who have nowhere to go this evening. gofund.me/637d21d0 ENDS FOR NOW 🎄🛏️

Okay NOW it’s Christmas:

Eh?

Dieting advice in the 1980s was a vibe.

I think my autocorrect is trolling me?

Getting ready for the final push on Season 2 of Hijack, with our third (and hopefully last) pre-production meeting.

It takes an army.

What a lot of people said at the time about that day, was that the real work was happening on a motorway overpass two hours outside of Madrid.

Fair play to The Telegraph for perfecting the art of self-parody.

Now share your camera map for a 4 page dialogue scene with 8 characters sitting around a fucking dinner table.

Let’s normalise lying in bed for twenty minutes

(More facetious commentary will return shortly.)

Look after each other, and yourself, and go home safely - pleased and proud to come back for more make-believe the next day.

If your production doesn’t take active steps to reassure you, or the workplace culture has disempowered you from speaking up, then you should already have been made aware of ways of reporting anonymously. If not, ask why not.

If you’re on set, or in a production office, or a writers room, or an editing suite, and you see or feel something — anything — that could affect the physical or mental health of you or your colleagues, please speak up immediately.

Brutal hours, tyrants and chest pains: a freelance producer on the reality of British TV ‘TV industry would not exist without freelancers, yet it bullies us “lucky” ones into fearing about future work if we complain’

It’s a privilege to do what I do, but I’m always stunned by how many people think it’s a badge of honour to kill themselves in the name of make-believe.

Okay that’s it you’re fired