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The master: Ingmar Bergman 1918 - 2007
By Paul Schrader, film director and screenwriter of 'Taxi Driver'


I would not have made any of my films or written scripts such as Taxi Driver had it not been for Ingmar Bergman.

His death, at the age of 89, may not have been a surprise. He was an old man. But what he has left is a legacy greater than any other director. He made film-making a serious and introspective enterprise. No one had been able to pull that off until he showed up. I really wasn't that interested in being a film-maker, except in the way that Bergman redefined what you could be as a film-maker.

I think the extraordinary thing that Bergman will be remembered for, other than his body of work, was that

he probably did more than anyone to make cinema a medium of personal and introspective value. Movies by nature are, of course, very commercially driven and very accessible. No one really used cinema as private personal expression in that way. Bergman showed that you could actually do movies that were personal introspections and have them seen by general audiences.

For an entire generation, starting in the 1960s, it was a whole new way to see the very nature of cinema. It is impossible for anyone of my generation not to have been influenced by Bergman. That is just a matter of fact. He cut too wide a path down the history of cinema not to influence everybody. I can remember vividly my first taste of a Bergman film. Through a Glass Darkly, the first of Bergman's trilogy of films with Winter Light and The Silence, when I was about 17, at our local little cinema in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while I was at college. It was probably the fourth or fifth serious film I had ever seen and it just took me unawares. I had no idea that movies could be a serious enterprise.

He has a handful of masterpieces, but the film that stands above all the others is Persona. He has done a lot of visceral, painful work - even his last film, Saraband, is extraordinary - but Persona really brings together all his personal demons, as well as his relationships with women.

It's not like we have lost an ongoing voice. His body of work was completed. So we are losing one of the saints in the pantheon, which is sad to note, but it is actually an occasion to appreciate what has been left behind.

Not all his films were great. I'm not a big fan of the family reminiscence stuff which is Fanny and Alexander. I wasn't knocked out by the early domestic comedies such as Smiles of a Summer Night. After The Virgin Spring in 1959 and Through a Glass Darkly in 1961, then it really starts getting interesting. Persona was the pinnacle of that. Coming as it did in 1966, it was the great seminal film during the great seminal years of the acme of cinema. Once you got into that trilogy of Persona, The Hour of the Wolf and The Shame, it's just incredible. He reinvented himself in 1973 with Scenes from a Marriage, then he went back to the theme for Saraband, another major piece of work, in 2003.

Time magazine had a wonderful opening line in its review of Saraband. "He's old. He's old fashioned. He's out of date. How dare Ingmar Bergman make a great movie."

There are a lot of directors who are poets behind a camera. Bergman is more of the metaphysician behind the camera. Persona was his boldest film - and the Swedish cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who was shooting the films, did a lot of very interesting work in that film such as over exposures, letting stuff burn out, the way that light and dark contrasted in ways that were previously considered unacceptable and breaking some of those rules.

I was a big Bergman fan so I would tend to see each of his films the first day they were released if I was in a city where they were being shown. I do remember the anticipation of going to that first show the first day. He obviously played a role in my choice to be a critic and then to be a film-maker, and in my decision to take film seriously.

Last of the greats

* Woody Allen: "He was a friend and certainly the finest film director of my lifetime."

* Richard Attenborough: "The world has lost one of its very greatest film-makers. He taught us all so much throughout his life."

* Lars von Trier" "I am proud to say he treated me exactly like his other children - with no interest whatsoever."

* Bille August, Danish director: "He was the last big director left. The three big ones for me were Kurosawa, Fellini and Bergman. The two others had already passed and now Ingmar has also left us. He leaves a big vacuum behind. He was such an incredible, unusually bright person."
guardian

The Simple Life cancelled



The E! Network have announced that The Simple Life, their reality show starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie (you might have heard of them, they’re slightly famous) will not be picked up for another season. The show which follows the two ladies being ‘normal’ and working in ‘the real world’ helped propel both to international stardom, though now appears to almost be a victim of its own success.

Since The Simple Life introduced the twosome to television audiences, they have simply lapped up the media coverage and now are huge stars in their own right. They no longer need the show to gain magazine covers and so this overexposure has spelt the end for the programme. An E! source elaborated: "We felt like the real life drama of their lives overshadowed anything happening on the show. Viewers would see Paris all day long on the news about her going to jail, so they didn't care about seeing her camping with kids. It just was too played out."
Click here to find out more!

The unnamed blabber was also keen to badmouth Nicole, labeling her “a diva” with Paris left “to carry the show. She was the one willing to do anything."

It’s not really bad news for E!, as with flagship shows The Daily Ten and E! News they discuss Nicole and Paris almost constantly anyway. And, with one having completed a jail sentence and the other preparing for one, maybe there was little time to fit in a reality show anyway.
tvscoop

60 SECONDS: Eric McCormack


Canadian actor Eric McCormack is best known for playing Will in gay sitcom Will & Grace, which surprisingly managed to last eight series. Don't be fooled, though. Eric isn't gay in real life – he's married with a child. He's also become a producer and his first show, Lovespring International, an improvised sitcom set in the hilarious world of a dating agency, starts on Sky One on Sunday.

What has been your own worst dating experience?
I was 18 in high school. I was dating a slightly older girl who seemed so smart and political. She wanted to go to a political rally at the school and a Canadian politician called Joe Clark was talking. I thought that sounded really intellectual. We showed up and she immediately began heckling, really loudly. She started shouting: ‘F*** you, Clark’. When that was finished, she said: ‘Come on, let’s go smoke dope.’We got to her parents’ house, where her father kept a huge garbage bag in the garage filled with weed. That was the end of that. I don’t know where she is now… probably prison.

Is Lovespring International all improvised?
It is. The scenarios are written but all the dialogue is improvised by the actors. We did 13 episodes. I’m a guest star in one and so is Sean Hayes [Jack in Will & Grace].

Was it a relief to finish Will & Grace?
It wasn’t a relief – I just loved doing it. It was our decision to finish it. We loved it but knew that it had to end. A ninth series might have diminished the legacy of the show. The characters were old enough; it was time to move on. In that gay man/straight woman scenario, someone has to get married and move on. There has to be an ending eventually or it gets pathetic.

Were there any particularly ridiculous things that you remember doing?
We did a live show for America. We did it twice – one for the east coast and one three hours later for the west coast. There was a huge food fight and a bathroom brawl scene and a whole pill gag where we opened Karen’s medicine cupboard and hundreds of pill bottles came out. It worked fine the first time but it all went wrong the second. Sean and Debra [Messing, who plays Grace] were never good at keeping a straight face and the audience love that. When the pills didn’t come out, Megan [Mullally, who plays Karen] got down on her knees and chanted and begged them to come out. I broke character and said: ‘They can make King Kong but we can’t get some pills to come out of a cupboard.’

Who were your favourite guest stars on the show? I always loved it when
I always loved it when Sydney Pollack would come in and play my dad. I loved the Michael Douglas episode and when Gene Wilder played my boss.

I sang a song at Elton John’s stag party called Blow Me A Kiss which is pretty dirty when you put the right pauses in

You went to school with David Furnish. Was it a swanky posh school?
Not at all. He discovered his swanky posh side much later on in life. We were in theatre class together. We did Godspell and a whole bunch of musicals. We lost touch and, the next thing I knew, he was dating Elton John. That was a surprise. When Will & Grace started, we were invited to Elton’s Oscar party in LA and we caught up again.

Are you always popping around to their mansions?
I’ve been a few times and I went to the wedding. I sang at the stag party as well. I did a song called Blow Me A Kiss, which isn’t rude on paper but is pretty dirty when you put pauses in at the right places. It went over very well.

Do you still get confused gay men trying it on with you?
I think at this point everyone’s figured it out but, once in a while, someone will give it a try – and thank God. You don’t want to be too old for someone to at least give it a try.

What’s the best thing about being Canadian?
George Bush doesn’t run our country.

How’s the acting going?
I hadn’t acted for a year until just now. I’m filming a mini-series version of The Andromeda Strain. It’s very different from Will & Grace. There are helicopters blowing up and it’s more action-orientated, which makes a nice change
Metro

New Supernatural Drama For BBC One

BBC One has commissioned a new supernatural drama called Apparitions, which will star Martin Shaw.

Made by Lime Pictures, Shaw head the cast of the drama

Lime Pictures has been commissioned by BBC One to produce a two-part supernatural drama called Apparitions starring Martin Shaw as Father Jacob an exorcist battling demons.

Written and directed by Joe Ahearne and created by Joe Ahearne and Nick Collins, Apparitions will start filming later this year and is expected to be screened on BBC One in early 2008.

Anne Mensah, BBC Head of Drama, Scotland, said: "We are delighted to be working with Lime Pictures on their first drama commission for BBC One. Apparitions is an incredibly bold piece which examines the eternal battle between good and evil.

"Father Jacob is a new iconic character for television: a force for good and yet a very modern mixture of humanity, belief and integrity. It's fantastic to have an actor as great as Martin Shaw in this role."




Spot Ads Get Dropped On Heat

Traditional spot advertising will be banished when Emap's Heat radio is relaunched in September.

The commercials will be replaced with sponsorships, promotions and ad-funded programming centred around a small group of key advertisers.

The new advertising format for the celebrity gossip and music station will be rolled out across other magazine-led lifestyle radio stations, including Closer Radio, which will launch on the second national digital multiplex next year.

Andria Vidler, who is heading the Heat radio team, said: "Traditional spot advertising and rigid day-parting are dead for Heat radio. Consumers told us they wanted more Heat, and advertisers also told us they wanted more Heat, so we've created a station that offers the flexibility to create content that listeners want and the flexibility to give advertisers what they want."



Virgin 1 To Screen The Riches

Virgin 1 is to show the Emmy-nominated US satirical drama The Riches when it launches this autumn.

The 13-part series is executive produced by British comedian Eddie Izzard, who stars alongside Minnie Driver as the Malloys, a pair of con artists who pose as Doug and Cherein Rich, a well-off couple in the suburbs.

The Malloys, along with their children, uncover the dark side of suburbia while posing as the Riches at work and at home.

Celia Taylor, Virgin 1's director of programming, said: "The Riches embodies the spirit of Virgin 1 perfectly, by being unconventional and challenging to the viewer yet authentic and believable."
waveguide.co.uk

Jono Coleman Suspended

Jonathan Coleman has been temporarily suspended by Australian Channel 7's Sunrise programme after he reportedly made children cry by telling them this morning how the newly-released Harry Potter + The Deathly Hallows ends.

Angry parents complained about Coleman's remarks, inundating station bosses with emails and jamming the network's switchboard.

Sunrise executive producer Adam Boland said he felt compelled to suspend Coleman immediately.

Viewers will now decide whether Coleman will keep his job as part of a poll which will feature on the breakfast show tomorrow.

Coleman told the Sydney Daily Telegraph: "As far as I'm concerned I'm not fired, I'm suspended, and if the 30 or 40 emails I have received this afternoon mean anything I think people knew it was a joke and I'm sure I'll be reinstated.



The Antony Cotton Show

Waveguide - The Antony Cotton ShowCoronation Street's Antony Cotton's new chat show makes its ITV1 debut on Monday, August 13.

The hour-long Monday to Friday shows will be broadcast from the Granada studios in Manchester and will occupy the 17:00 slot.

The show will run for an initial five weeks and during this time, viewers will continue to see Cotton in his regular Coronation Street role as Sean Tully.




Neighbours Latest

Waveguide - NeighboursIconic Australian actress Joan Sydney is returning to Neighbours as the ultimate troublemaker Valda Sheergold.

She has been filming scenes for the past few weeks and these will be seen by UK viewers later this year.

Also returning to the revamped Australian soap is Anthony Engleman as Stonefish Rabecchi - who will be stirring up trouble for younger brother Toadie.

Kym Valentine is reprising her role as Libby Kennedy: daughter of Susan and Karl. Libby moved to Shepparton with her partner Darren and her son Ben and now, three years later, she is coming home.

Todd MacDonald will be returning as Darren Stark.

Meanwhile, it looks like the production of Neighbours will be moved from the current studios in the Melbourne suburb of Nunawading to a purpose built set.

waveguide.co.uk

Tony Blackburn Signs Off

Tony Blackburn signed off for the last time this morning on Classic Gold with Sugar Baby Love by The Rubettes and Dionne Warwick's All The Love In The World.

Blackburn is leaving the station after over four years as the presenter of its breakfast show.

Tonight the GCap station relaunches as Gold.
waveguide.co.uk

60 SECONDS: Richard Gere
e

Actor Richard Gere came to fame thanks to his roles in 1980s epic films American Gigolo and An Officer And A Gentleman. He went on to star in Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts and had a short-lived marriage to Cindy Crawford. His new film the Hoax is out now.

The Hoax features a presidential scandal. Did that appeal to you given the current unpopularity of George W Bush?
Absolutely. This film resonates way beyond a caper, beyond the fact that it’s about a guy who made up a story. The difficulty was finding the tone that would allow for both the small and big stories. Some of it is very slapstick, very goofy, and some is deeply emotional stuff. There are dark forces in the universe. The president we have is a liar. Everyone in the government lies. It is totally unthinkable and insane that a war had to happen and the public had to be misled so maliciously. VIDEO: Watch the Hoax trailer here

Howard Hughes also features prominently in the film. What are your thoughts on him?
One of the fascinations of Howard Hughes was that he was a great puppeteer. I keep trying to think of a modern equivalent and I can’t. He was an eccentric. He essentially founded the oil and the aviation business. He funded Hollywood movies. These are huge power sources. Put that together with his famous affairs with the beautiful actresses of the time and you get an amazing man: sex, money and power, together with a deep eccentricity no one could fathom. He ran the show without selling anything and I can’t think of anyone who fits that in our world.

Some of your films haven’t done as well as others. Are you philosophical about failure?
Some films just aren’t as good as others. Then again, I’ve made good films that didn’t have an audience. I thought Robert Altman’s Doctor T And The Women was a terrific film but it didn’t have an audience. I don’t know why. When you’ve made as many films as I have, you’re bound to have some that just don’t connect.

You were called a sex symbol in the 1980s. Did that bother you?
What bothered me was the attention. I didn’t want anyone to pay that much attention to me. I would have been happy just to do my work and I thought maybe I could do movies and not be noticed.

Is being attractive necessary to have a long career?
I really have no idea. I’m incredibly fortunate. I thought I was good at being an actor way back when in my acting classes. I felt good about what I did but there were lots of other people as good as me and it didn’t happen for them. Somehow, I’m still here and they’re not. I’m not sure how it works.

There are dark forces in the universe. The president we have is a liar

Did you ever think about stopping acting and doing something else?
Sure. There were millions of possibilities. Music was always of interest to me.

You juggle Buddhism with Hollywood superstardom. Do you feel any sort of conflict?
The practice of Buddhism is just exploring your mind. And certainly what one faces as an actor is no different from what everyone faces in their lives. It’s just a little bigger and more colourful. We work hard doing what we do and there’s a whole dance around it but I know the reality of it. So exploring the nature of the mind, with all these forces that potentially can throw you off-base, just makes you stronger. I don’t see any conflict at all. If anything, it feeds the exploration. It shows you those dark crevices that you really have to work on, whether it’s anger, hatred, jealousy, envy or ignorance.

Do you sell Buddhism through your celebrity?
Well, of course it’s all related. My foundation is funded by movie money; it’s much easier for me to make a film than to make a hundred phone calls and have a hundred dinners. Secondly, I actually like making films. I work with good people on interesting stuff. Plus there’s a time limit, maybe three months, and we have something we have made at the end of it.

Buddhists aren’t supposed to kill anything but everyone kills ants, don’t they?
Worse! I killed cockroaches when I lived on the Lower East Side. There were thousands of them and I didn’t know what else to do about them.


Metro

Casualty 1907

Cherie Lunghi and Sarah Smart head the cast in the medical drama Casualty 1907, a new three-part series on BBC One this autumn.

Following Casualty 1906, shown in December 2006, thhe new series again takes viewers into the various medical crises in London's East End 100 years ago.

Each hour-long episode of Casualty 1907 uses case notes, ward reports, autopsy records and diaries to bring actual doctors, nurses and patients at The Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, vividly back to life.




Sky Offers Mobile Football

Waveguide - Sky MobileSky Sports is to offer live coverage of Barclays Premier League football on mobile phones for the first time later this month.

The Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3 channels will be simulcast as part of the Sky Mobile TV service on Vodafone and Orange from August 11.

All 92 Premier League matches on Sky Sports this season will be made available.




BBC Apology For Rupert Everett

The BBC were forced to apologise today after Hollywood actor Rupert Everett spoke on BBC One's Breakfast programme about indulging in sexual activity.

While discussing his youth with hosts Susanna Reid and Charlie Stayt, the 48-year-old star recalled visiting provincial cinemas.

At this point, he made a lewd comment about things that would take place there.

A BBC spokeswoman said the comment was "inappropriate", but added that it "sometimes happens on live broadcasts".

She said the rest of the interview was been "fine" and that there had been four complaints from viewers.

waveguide.co.uk

Newsmaker: Cross-country Segway rider hits film circuit news.com.

60 SECONDS: Christopher Meloni


Actor Christopher Meloni is best known for playing bisexual serial killer Chris Keller in grisly prison drama Oz and for starring as Det Elliot Stabler in channel Five cop show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He's also popped up in such diverse offerings as comedy show Scrubs and films Harold & Kumar and Twelve Monkeys. Series three of Law & Order: SVU is out now on Universal Playback.

Did you know you’d be in nine series of Law & Order: SVU when you signed up?
No way. As an actor, you believe anything you do will last one scene for one episode. If it should go to a season, it’ll last one season and that’ll be it. You get used to doing short-term gigs and moving on. I signed an initial contract for six years but I didn’t think it would last that long. Once you get into the minutiae, you realise that you hadn’t anticipated the stamina required or what you can do with a character over the course of a seasonal story arc.

How much longer do you plan to stick with it?
I’m contracted until season ten and I guess we’ll see after that. I still enjoy doing it. It’s been a great education for me beyond the boundaries of acting. It’s about different ways of storytelling and how the camera moves to tell the story. It’s that old adage: ‘I’m an actor but what I really want to do is direct.’

Are you hoping to direct?
You’ll find more work the more skills you’ve got. They have a rule that they don’t allow actors on the show to direct any episodes. I’ve discussed it with them numerous times. What can I do? It’s the school’s rules.

What’s the wackiest plot you’ve done? Some of them are quite improbable.
We had a couple of growing pains in season one. I thought some of them stretched the boundaries of credulity but even the wackiest stuff is very often based on an actual event. There was one where a guy suddenly became a paedophile because he had a tumour growing on his brain that triggered it. That actually happened in real life. They did the surgery and the guy never did it again.

You played a bisexual serial killer in prison drama Oz. Was it fun?
Yeah, everyone wants carte blanche to do whatever they want. It was great. I’ve always been interested in the dark side of human nature. I was a big fan of True Detective magazine as a child and I’ve been to autopsies and crime scenes.

I’ve always been interested in the dark side of human nature. I’ve been to autopsies

Who is your ‘favourite’ serial killer?
Coral Watts in Houston, Texas, because there wasn’t a single picture of him. He was that strange and paranoid. Maybe he’s my favourite because it gave him a sense of mystery.

You took your clothes off quite a lot in Oz. Was it a problem?
No. I’ve got parts in plays where they’ve asked for nudity but I’ve refused to do it because there was no reason for it in the plot. With Oz, there were the right reasons for nudity, so I did it.

Did that attract any crazy fans?
Yeah, I got sent a lot of crazy stuff. My favourite was a ten-page rambling letter from a guy telling me he was the son in a Mafia family and he couldn’t come out as gay and told me the various things he’d done to himself while watching Oz. I suppose you have to take it as a compliment.

What’s the worst job you’ve had?
I was a bouncer at the Bitter End Club in New York City. It was a dive with pedigree. All the old folk singers, such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, used to play there. It paid $40 (£20) a day. I defy anyone to live on that amount in New York City. I had to find other jobs to make ends meet.

Have you ever been attacked by a wild animal?
No but I was attacked by a St Bernard dog when I was ten. I needed seven stitches in my head.

Do you have any unlikely showbiz pals?
Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of Tool, is a friend. He’s a rock star/wine entrepreneur. I met him through [comedienne] Janeane Garofalo. We have dinner when he comes through town on one of his rock tours. We have the wine in common more than the music. When we get together, he doesn’t want to talk about all that rock s***.

What films are you making?
I have four films in the can. They are in various states of post-production. One is called Carriers, which is a sci-fi horror thing; another is Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. I’m looking to do all sorts of different films. I started out wanting to be an actor and I’m glad to be a hireable guy. Metro

London Stage Tribute To John Inman

A tribute show in memory of Are You Being Served? actor John Inman is to be staged in the West End on September 30.

The tribute, which will be held at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, is being jointly organised by The Grand Order of Water Rats and The Entertainment Artistes Benevolent Fund.

Performers who have agreed to take part include Barbara Windsor, Danny La Rue, Johnnie Casson, Barry Cryer, Julie Rogers, Norman Wisdom, Jess Conrad, Frank Thornton, Craig Douglas and many others.

Inman, who died in March, aged 71, was best known for his role as the camp Mr Humphries in the long-running BBC sitcom.

Tickets for the tribute show are on sale at the Lyric Theatre.




Jono Coleman Will Be Back

Waveguide - Jono ColemanJono Coleman is likely to be back on screen in Australia on Thursday after Channel 7 asked viewers to vote if they wanted him back on screen.

Coleman fell out with station chiefs after he gave away what he claimed to be the ending of the new book Harry Potter + The Deathly Hallows.

Coleman is film critic on the channel's breakfast show Sunrise. Angry parents complained about Coleman's remarks, inundating station bosses with emails and jamming the network's switchboard.

Sunrise executive producer Adam Boland said he felt compelled to suspend Coleman immediately but said the presenter could be back on screen following a telephone poll.

Waveguide understands that 71 per cent of viewers wanted Coleman back.




Mike Reid Show On Hold

An ITV reality show featuring former EastEnders actor Mike Reid have been put on hold following his death.

The 67-year-old star, who suffered a suspected heart attack last week, competed to become the baron of a Scottish town in ITV1's The Baron.

It was due to be aired this autumn, but an ITV spokesman said "no decision" had been made about the show's future.

He added that ITV would speak to Reid's family about the "very sensitive" subject before making plans.

For the programme, celebrities were filmed competing to convince residents of Gardenstown near Banff in north-east Scotland that they would make the best baron.

Reid took part alongside former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and ex-Hear'Say singer Suzanne Shaw.

y


Pirate Radio Essex Is Back
BBC presenters will be taking to the sea later this week on board a former lightship to mark 40 years since the Marine Offences Bill became law.

Johnnie Walker of BBC Radio 2, Emperor Rosko, Norman St John and John Kerr are just four of the DJs taking part.

Programmes from the LV18 start on Thursday August 9 and continue 24-hours a day until 15:00 on Tuesday August 14 – 40 years to the day and time that nearly all the original pirate stations went off air.

The vessel will be moored half-a-mile from the coast.

Tim Gillett, Programmes Editor for BBC Essex, said the original pirate DJs were queueing up to take part in this unique radio event, legally broadcasting from the bridge of the LV18.

"We did a similar thing in 2004 when we celebrated 40 years since the start of pirate radio, when pirate radio, led by Radio Caroline, broadcast off the Essex coast," he said.

"It was phenomenally popular, with thousands of emails and hits to the website from all over the world.

"Johnnie Walker sent us a recorded message of support then – now he's here in person, taking up the 9pm-midnight slot he broadcast in way back in the 1960s.

"He is also looking forward to a 'flashing' session when people in their cars on shore communicate with him by flashing their car headlights."

The presenting team, which also includes BBC Essex presenters, will be heading out to sea this week along with the supplies they need for their sojourn which starts at 06:00on Thursday.

As well as by tuning in to Pirate BBC Essex on 729, 765 and 1530 MW, the shows can also be heard via the BBC Essex.

waveguide.co.uk

China Bans Fortunetelling Telly

The government in China has banned televised fortunetelling schemes, saying they promote superstition and overcharge customers.

The order by the Ministry of Information Industry, bans the advertising programmes that generally run late at night or on weekday afternoons, urging people to text message or call a special pay-per-call phone number to have their fortune told.

The programmes claim to be able to determine a person's fortune based on family name, or reveal marriage prospects as well as career and health futures.

Other programs urge viewers to send a text to a special number for a chance to win cash or prizes such as MP3 players or digital cameras.

Both kinds of schemes overcharge customers by placing callers on hold to increase the length of the call or requiring numerous text messages, the ministry said in the order posted on its website.

The ministry said telecommunications companies are required to investigate their own operations by the end of the month. State officials will conduct an investigation into the industry at a later date.

Those who fail to meet the requirements will be "punished severely," the order said, without providing specifics.

Superstitious beliefs and practices were banned under Communist China's founding leader Mao Zedong, who considered them a relic of the country's feudal past.

However, fortunetelling and other ancient traditions are experiencing a resurgence as people grasp for direction and meaning amid the country's rapid economic growth and wrenching social changes.



Bob Harris Has Cancer Treatment
BBC Radio 2 presenter 'Whispering' Bob Harris has started radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer.

The 61-year-old, who was diagnosed with cancer in February, should complete the treatment by the end of September.

Harris hosts two shows on Radio 2 - The Bob Harris Show and Bob Harris Country.

The veteran radio host said he has found the support of colleagues and listeners "very strengthening".

Harris described his team as "wonderful", adding that he had received lots of support from "people who have been through it before".

He told the BBC: "Johnnie Walker was in touch straight away, and Jeff Griffin, who was my producer at Radio 1."

Harris aims to be in Nashville in time for the Country Music Association awards in early November, which he has presented for Radio 2 for the past three years.

"I'll have to play it by ear, but that's my target," he said.



Virgin Loses Subscribers

Virgin Media managed to add just 2,200 net new cable television customers in the three months to the end of June, and has admitted that the removal of Sky's basic channels in March had resulted in the loss of 40,000 customers across its services.

The cable TV, broadband, landline and mobile phone operator described the performance of its TV arm as "resilient" and ahead of original City analysts' forecasts of the negative impact on subscriber numbers from the loss of Sky's channels.

Overall, Virgin Media lost 70,300 subscribers across its four cable and mobile services in the second quarter.

Net broadband additions for the quarter were 48,500, down from 87,900 in the first three months of 2007.

"The second quarter results show encouraging broadband and mobile contract growth, a resilient performance by our TV business and signs that our fixed-line telephony business is starting to react to renewed management focus," said the Virgin Media chief executive officer, Steve Burch.

Operating income for the three months to the end of June was £3m, compared with an operating loss of £15.3m in the first quarter.

Total revenue for the second quarter was £995m, down from £1.2bn in the first quarter this year.

The company posted a net loss of £119m - a slight gain over the £120.3m loss of the previous quarter - and a marked improvement over the £195.8m loss in the same period last year.




EastEnders - Bobby Davro Joins Cast
Comedian Bobby Davro is joining the cast of EastEnders. He is to play loveable rogue Vince, who begins a romance with bad-girl Shirley Carter.

His character is being described as the new Alfie Moon, who was played by Shane Richie.

He said: "I'm really chuffed and looking forward to becoming a soap opera luvvie."




Arqiva Wins Big Contract

Arqiva has won a £1bn contract from Digital 3 & 4, to build and operate a new high-powered digital terrestrial television (DTT) network carrying ITV and Channel 4's main channels.

The deal means that Arqiva now has responsibility for digital networks for all public service broadcasters, having previously announced deals with the BBC and ITV-owned SDN, which broadcasts Five.

The three contracts cover the roll-out of a network to all 1,154 UK terrestrial transmitter sites in preparation for digital switchover.

Under the latest deal, the network will supply 98.5 per cent of the UK population and will carry ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, Channel 4, E4 and More4. The contract is set to run until 2034.

Digital 3 & 4's project director Mike Hughes said: "This all-important contract will mean that ITV's and C4's terrestrial transmission costs will fall compared to today's levels as we transition to a fully digital network.

"This is a complex deal and we have total confidence that Arqiva will deliver according to our needs."

Digital 3 & 4 is a consortium of regional ITV companies and Channel 4.




Brucie's Birthday Bash

The BBC is to screen a tribute to mark the 80th birthday of Bruce Forsyth in February, according to reports.

Forsyth's agent Ian Wilson said: "Several broadcasters expressed an interest but the natural choice is the BBC where he is currently working."

He added: "We are in preliminary discussions."

Forsyth made his TV debut as a child in 1939 on the BBC's start-up television service, singing and dancing on a talent show.

He marked his 70th in 1998 with a live ITV show at the London Palladium.




The Secret Life Of The Motorway

A new three-part BBC Four documentary pays homage to Britain's motorways – the people who built them, the people who use them and the people who risked their lives to stop them.

The series runs on three consecutive nights, starting on Tuesday, August 21.

At just six miles long, the first stretch of motorway, the M6 Preston Bypass, was opened in 1958. For the first time, people could travel further, more easily and quicker than ever before, thanks to this groundbreaking "road revolution".

The programme charts the beginning of Britain's love affair with motorways, meeting the engineers and builders who designed and built this first motorway, through to those who toiled to complete the most complex road intersection in the country – Birmingham's Spaghetti Junction.

The bizarre and often thrilling experience of driving on these new, fast roads is described by the people who were among the first to drive and work on them.

But with no speed limit, no crash barriers between the carriageways and cars that weren't built for high speeds, the risk of accidents was high. To combat the dangers, the Motorway Code was introduced – along with some rather amusing public information films to explain the "dos and don'ts" of motorway driving.

waveguide.co.uk

Green Group Withdraws Sky Bid

Environmental group Friends of the Earth said today it had withdrawn a controversial bid to become a charity partner of BSkyB.

Friends of the Earth said in a statement that the bid had been withdrawn "after fully exploring the opportunity and consulting with stakeholders".

The charity added that it would have been difficult for it to match its own five-year planning processes with Sky's timetable.

A spokeswoman for Friends of the Earth would not comment on whether the internal petition had prompted the withdrawal.

BSkyB said more than 160 groups keen on reaching 8.6 million British subscribers had applied to be the broadcaster's preferred charity for the climate campaign.

It said the partnership could be worth the selected charity around £1m pounds of cash and in kind.

Around 77 Friends of the Earth staff, including senior campaigners, signed the petition last month, citing concerns over Sky's environmental record, according to the Guardian.

Friends of the Earth, however, said Sky had been taking positive steps to tackle climate change.

"A number of businesses are, Friends of the Earth believes, making genuine attempts to make their operations environmentally sustainable and to engage their consumer bases and it believes Sky is a good example of this," the environmental group said in its statement.

Sky, which brands itself as "carbon neutral", has recently raised its green profile and says that it uses 100 percent renewable energy at its sites in England.

The broadcaster said it was disappointed that the Friends of the Earth bid had been withdrawn.



OFT May Look At Sky/Amstrad Deal

SkyThe Office Of Fair Trading (OFT) said today it could refer BSkyB's purchase of electronics company Amstrad to the Competition Commission.

The OFT called for written representations about "any competition or public interest issues" surrounding the purchase.

Sky announced last week that its subsidiary Sky Digital Supplies would buy Amstrad, maker of many of its set-top boxes, for £125m.

In a statement, the OFT said it was considering whether the acquisition would "result in the creation of a relevant merger situation" in the set-top box sector under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002.

"Should it be found to be a relevant merger situation, the OFT will further consider whether the creation of that situation may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services that warrants reference to the Competition Commission for investigation and report," the regulator said.

The OFT has called for submissions to be made by August 22.




Spanish Tenor On The Simpsons

Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has confirmed he'll be the latest celebrity making a guest appearance on an upcoming episode of animated TV series The Simpsons.

In the episode, called The Homer Of Seville, the opera great takes singing lessons from Homer Simpson.

Domingo's spokeswoman Nancy Seltzer said: "He's had such a wonderful time doing it... He had a ball."

The episode is scheduled to air in the US on September 30.


GCap No Phone-Ins For Profit

GCap LogoGCap Media said today it will no longer run premium rate phone-in competitions for profit after being reprimanded by regulator Icstis over a competition it ran on its One Network stations in January.

Icstis has fined GCap £17,500 and issued a formal reprimand after ruling that the company's Secret Sounds competition contravened its rules.

Listeners were asked to call or text to enter the competition, which would ask randomly selected listeners to identify a sound on air.

Those who entered by text message were not required to include what they believed the answer to be, although some mistakenly did.

These entrants were then deliberately selected to appear on air to provide their wrong answers. By selecting these entrants the competition broke the Icstis code.

GCap said it was an isolated incident and management took swift and decisive action to tighten up procedures to prevent any similar breaches occurring in the future.

It said it now had a "robust system" in place and issued a statement from Simon Cooper which said: "As radio industry leaders, we have also reviewed the future role of premium rate services at our stations. Such services allow for robust management of high call volumes and while we will continue to use them, we will ensure that any charges are commensurate with the cost to the business. As such, we will not profit from any future premium rate contesting."

Listeners who took part in the Secret Sounds competition in January can apply for arefund

The competition ran on 31 of the company's 42 One Network stations.




Fine For Deal Or No Deal Phone Operator

The phone operator for Channel 4 show Deal or No Deal has been fined £30,000 for misleading viewers.

Premium rate services regulator Icstis has also reprimanded iTouch for breaching its code of conduct.

Viewers were led to believe that by entering the phone-in competition, they were in with a chance of winning one of three cash prizes.

Producers knew which amount would be won because the show is pre-recorded.

In its adjudication Icstis said "at the point of calling viewers will consider that any one of the three amounts is available to be won and will enter the competition on this basis."

Icstis ruled that although its code of practice had been broken, "the detriment to consumers from this specific breach was not high".

The regulatory body also said the competition's promotion "increased the perception that the programme was live.

"This may have led some viewers to participate in the competition when they might otherwise not have done so."

In a statement Channel 4 said: "Legal advice reassured us of its compliance with the Icstis code of practice and earlier this year, we discussed the mechanics of the competition with them."

Although names of potential winners were selected before lines closed, it was discovered those who called earlier in the show had a "higher probability of winning".

Icstis said internet entries greatly outnumbered premium rate entries and the number of potential winners selected did not "reflect the ratio of entries received".

Therefore not all entries stood the same chance of winning the competition.

Channel 4 said problems with premium rate services were uncovered during its own review.

A new series of Deal Or No Deal starts on August 13.




Sitcom For ITV2

The story of a group of eight off-duty superheroes is the subject of the first original sitcom to be commissioned by ITV2.

No Heroics, to be made by independent producer Tiger Aspect and is part of the digital channel's move towards more original programming.

The sitcom has been created and produced by Drew Pearce, whose credits include ITV2's magazine reality show Deadline, and will be directed by Ben Gregor and executive produced by Sophie Clarke-Jevoise.
waveguide.co.uk

Forty Years Of Gardeners World

Gardeners' World celebrates its 40th year with an hour-long special on August 31 looking back at the UK's longest-running gardening TV series.

The show charts the gardening trends which have changed from decade to decade and looks at how Gardeners' World has reflected them all.

It all started with Percy Thrower, the nation's head gardener, with his trademark tie and tweed jacket. Through anecdotes and interviews with his family, the programme traces the career of a man who became so famous that he could cause traffic chaos whenever he turned out to host an event.






Concerns Over TV Gambling Ads

Doctors are concerned over a surge in the addiction to gambling when the first television commercials for casinos and bookmakers appear next month.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists attacked the "crazy" decision to lift restrictions on gaming commercials.

They said planned safeguards went nowhere near far enough and called on ministers to think again.

Culture Secretary James Purnell insists that the commercials must not be linked to sexual success or "enhanced attractiveness", feature people under 25 or encourage behaviour that could lead to "financial, emotional or social harm".

They will not be shown before the 21:00 watershed - except during sporting events such as horse racing.

But the Royal College said there was clear evidence that advertising would "result in an increase in excessive gambling and consequent harm" and called for the deregulation to be postponed.

Dr Emanuel Moran, the Royal College's specialist adviser on pathological gambling, said: "Why are promoters so keen to spend all this money unless it will ensure they increase their takings?"

Some forms of gambling, including the National Lottery, are exempt from the current advertising ban.

But from next month, there will be no restriction on the number of TV commercials from casino operators, online gaming sites and bookmakers.

Dr Moran said: "It's quite a simple equation. The more the industry takes, the more gambling is going on. The more gambling that's going on, the more people there are who are going to play to excess.

"The more people who play to excess, the more damage there is to the individual, to the family and to society at large." He said it was "crazy, really" to go ahead without establishing whether it was possible to regulate online gambling based overseas.



Alan Carr To Host Channel 4 Game Show

Waveguide - Alan CarrThe Friday Night Project co-host Alan Carr is to host his first solo Channel 4 show, it has been announced.

Celebrity Ding Dong will see a team of five celebrities up against members of the public in a contest featuring a wide variety of tongue-in-cheek questions.

Carr will chair the quiz and perform a celebrity-themed stand-up routine at the start of the show and a series of comedy studio items between rounds.

Channel 4 entertainment commissioning editor Andy Auerbach said: "Tonally, it'll be more Shooting Stars than Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and will be played for laughs."

The six-part series will be made by Open Mike Productions and filming starts in November. It is expected to be broadcast in a Friday night slot early next year.

Carr will continue to host The Friday Night Project with Justin Lee Collins and C4 is keen to broadcast some Christmas specials ahead of a further series next year.

August 10 2007 - waveguide.co.uk

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Doctor Who Guest Stars

Details have been announced of the guest artists set to appear in Doctor Who when it returns in 2008.

Filming on series four has already begun, with comedian Catherine Tate becoming the Doctor's latest companion.

Stars David Tennant and Freema Agyeman both return, and other guests include former Blackadder actor Tim McInnerny.

Actress Felicity Kendal will play Lady Clemency Eddison. Kendal is best known for her role as Barbara Good in the Seventies sitcom The Good Life.

Over the course of the series, the time-travelling hero will revisit his old enemy The Ood - a race of squid-like humans - and drop in on legendary crime novellist Agatha Christie.

Producer and leaf writer Russell T Davis said: "Visiting Agatha Christie has been on my wish-list for ages now, and for the Doctor, it's a real meeting of minds."

Agatha Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard, said it was a "brilliant idea" to introduce her to the show.

"As far as I know my grandmother never saw Doctor Who, but I am sure she would have been intrigued, excited and above all flattered by all this attention in 2007," he said.

Christie's role will be played by actress Fenella Woolgar, who was recently seen in BBC One's Jekyll.

Before the new series begins, Doctor Who returns with a Christmas special set on the Titanic and co-starring Kylie Minogue.

waveguide.co.uk

60 SECONDS: Jeff Bridges


Actor Jeff Bridges made his big-screen debut as a baby, thanks to the showbiz connections of his dad, Lloyd Bridges. Notable film appearances have included his turns in Tron, The Fabulous Baker Boys and as The Dude in The Big Lebowski. He can be heard as the voice of Big Z in animated penguin caper Surf's Up, which is on release now.

Surf’s Up is the third penguin film in three years. What’s going on in the movie world?
It’s a conspiracy, they’re taking over. Pretty soon, there will only be penguin movies. This movie was conceived about four years ago, before any of the penguin films came out. So it’s just one of those things. Something’s in the air.

Can you surf?
Yes. I still do it on a good day when my back’s holding up. At first, the thing I feared was the temperature but, with a wetsuit, the cold is no problem. It’s the paddling that’s tricky – I have about ten paddles in me and then I have to rest for a while. I just love it, though. It’s like fishing. Even if you don’t catch anything, you’re out there on this beautiful water. Normally, you’re looking out at the ocean but being on the ocean and looking back at the mountains is really something.

How competitive are you?
I’m not that competitive. I don’t like to get into that position. One of the great things about what I do is it’s like being on the same team. It’s not really a competition. It’s about making your own game better.

Have you ever fought for a role you wanted?
I don’t know about fighting but I did write [Martin] Scorsese a letter once because I really wanted to play Judas in The Last Temptation Of Christ. I just loved that book by Nikos Kazantzakis. I didn’t get the part. He did write back to me and I sent him another wonderful book by the same author called The Saviors Of God. Kazantzakis is such a great writer.

Surf’s Up has a reality TV component. Do you watch any of those shows?
The one I really like is Curb Your Enthusiasm – it’s not really a reality show but they’ve borrowed that feeling. They have an idea for a sketch and then they just turn the actors loose.

When I first started acting, I thought I got jobs because of who my father was. I’m a product of nepotism

You still seem to be enjoying your career. What’s the secret?
My mum would often say: ‘Remember, don’t take it too seriously.’ Whenever I go off to work and I’m kind of anxious, my wife will say: ‘Remember to have fun.’ Sometimes we forget that. We take it all too seriously and there’s a lot of joy to be had wherever you are. Tap in and kind of get out of your own way and there it is. That’s what I like to think.

You have lots of other talents – music, photography, painting…
I’ve been promoting an album I made a couple of years ago called Be Here Soon. I formed a record label with some old friends and I’ve started really having fun with my website. It’s kind of like having a canvas. There are photos and paintings on there too and I’ll probably have another album out soon. Plus I was in a film called Tideland, which was made by Terry Gilliam. It’s the most bizarre film I’ve ever been involved in but one of the pluses was that I got to sing and be a rocker.

You’ve been called ‘the most underrated actor of your generation’. How do you feel about that?
I take it as a compliment. It’s nice to think anyone reckons I deserve more appreciation. I feel like I’m appreciated by my peers. I’ve had four Academy Award nominations. Lots of movies I do aren’t huge blockbusters – I never really went down that movie star path. Maybe the films I like aren’t necessarily the ones that people like to go and see.

Your father was a famous actor. Would you have acted if it wasn’t for him?
Well, I’ve enjoyed it and have had a wonderful life because of it but I went through a period where it was awkward for me. Whenever you’re the child of a famous person, you get judged in odd ways because of that. I remember when I first started my acting, I thought: ‘I just got this job because of who my father is.’ I’m a product of nepotism, I’ve got to say. I don’t think I would have got into it if my father wasn’t so enthusiastic about acting.
Metro