EE Launches BAFTA Red Carpet Robot Selfies
At this year’s EE British Academy Film Awards, EE will be helping thousands of film fans get closer to the stars by giving them the chance to have a ‘virtual selfie’ taken on the red carpet. This will be made possible thanks to innovative custom-built camera technology featured in the EE Roboselfie: a high-tech, selfie-taking robot.
By submitting a headshot on Twitter using the hashtag #EEBAFTAselfie, lucky film fans will have the chance to be featured in one of the superfast selfies that the EE Roboselfie will be creating at record speed whenever an A-lister stops by for a picture.
In a red carpet world first, EE’s bespoke robot uses facial detection, built-in time codes and custom software to synchronise the camera to its display, simultaneously capturing fan images next to real-life celebrities to capture five different fan selfies per second.
The EE Roboselfie intelligently pairs the new images, once complete with an A-list cameo, to the @handle of the person who submitted the original photograph and even includes a personalised message — all live on the night.
EE’s red carpet host Laura Whitmore will be introducing the EE Roboselfie to this year’s nominees and high-profile guests as they flock to the prestigious ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 12 February, encouraging them to take part in as many selfies as possible as hundreds are snapped every minute.
Laura Whitmore said: “I can’t wait to be a part of this year’s EE BAFTA red carpet and introduce the brilliant EE Roboselfie to this year’s nominees. Make sure you tune in to the red carpet action on EE and BAFTA’s social media channels from 4:30pm on Sunday 12 February to see how I’m getting on.”
The EE Roboselfie was designed by BAFTA-winning costume designer Jany Temime (Spectre, Skyfall, Gravity, Harry Potter, Passengers) whose inspiration behind the creation was to develop a timeless robot that grabbed the attention of the public.
Jany Temime said: “It is the combination of iconic form and innovative technology that makes the EE Roboselfie so exciting. One of the movies I have been most inspired by this year is La La Land and I wanted to capture the public’s imagination in a similar way. On the one hand, the design plays upon the traditional robot form, it feels familiar, fun and inviting. On the other hand, I wanted the robot to play with the norms, adding new references such as the latest connected camera technology from EE in order to go beyond expectations.”
Mat Sears, Director of Communications & Sponsorship at EE said: “At EE, we’ve always tried to bring the magic of the movies a little closer for film fans and our customers through our BAFTA partnership. As this year marks the 20th anniversary of our long-standing relationship with the Film Awards we wanted to do something for the public, that’s quite unique and creates those exciting and shareable moments, without the need to be there. Hopefully the big stars attending on the night will have some fun with it.”
Be right in the heart of all of the action by tuning in to the EE Twitter feed and Facebook page from 4.30pm on Sunday 12 February as BAFTA and EE join forces to live stream the action from the red carpet. Highlights from EE’s red carpet show hosted by Laura Whitmore will also be available across EE’s social channels from 9am on Monday 13 February.
To be in with a chance of appearing on the EE Roboselfie, participants can tweet a front-on colour headshot (no sunglasses) using the hashtag #EEBAFTAselfie.
For more information on EE’s partnership with BAFTA – including details of how to vote for this year’s EE Rising Star – visit BAFTA Rising Star.
Damien Chazelle Wins Director’s Guild Award
Damien Chazelle the Oscar nominated director of instant musical favorite La La Land has won the top prize at the Directors Guild of America Awards ahead of the Oscars later this month. The 32 year old used his acceptance speech to profess he intended to celebrate the act of dreaming and to express his political displeasure with new president Donald Trump. An increasingly common political theme dominated the night as it sadly has done at all recent awards ceremonies.
The ceremony also saw Sir Ridley Scott, director of films including Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, receive the 35th Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.
The DGA win for Damien Chazelle will most certainly boost his Oscar hopes as the Best directing Oscar has a reliable history of following the guilds voting patterns. Yet another success following La La Land breaking the record for the most Golden Globe Awards last month, winning seven prizes.
James Cameron Filming Four Avatar Sequels
James Cameron has confirmed that long delayed filming on Avatar 2 will now finally be starting because he has now finished writing the script for Avatar 5. Cameron had initially promised fans a trilogy before insisting he needed to take four films to finish his increasingly epic saga. Now adding a 5th installment the visionary director has confirmed insanely ambitious plans to film all of the sequels in one go…
“The thing is, my focus isn’t on Avatar 2. My focus is on Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5 equally. That’s exactly how I’m approaching it. They’ve all been developed equally. I’ve just finished the script to Avatar 5. I’m now starting the process of active prep. I’ll be working with the actors in the capture volume in August, so I’m booked in production every day between now and then.”
While studios increasingly do combine filming on major franchises to minimize costs and maximize cast availability it’s safe to say that Cameron’s plans to film four sequels at once are entirely unprecedented. Though many may question how sensible it is to gamble on the success of a franchise to such an extent in truth there may be some logic in Cameron’s madness.
While Avatar was a painfully long developed breakthrough in special effects that took over a decade to produce, given the massive strides in CGI over that past 8 year since the release of Avatar the actual costs of filming motion capture have decreased exponentially. By doing all the motion capture and vocal work for all his planned sequels at once Cameron effectively sets himself up to churn out his massive saga at relatively low cost later, having taken full advantage of the studios enthusiasm for what today remains one of the highest grossing films of all time.
RBS Rugby Six Nations 2017 Interviews
The RBS Six Nations 2017 starts this weekend with England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and France doing fierce battle for national pride on a rugby field.
Check Out in depth Interviews below with Coaches and Captains ahead of the big kick off:
Denis Villeneuve Directing Dune Reboot
Dune author Frank Herbert’s son Brian Herbert has confirmed via twitter that much acclaimed Arrival director Denis Villeneuve has been signed to direct Legendary Pictures’ upcoming Dune reboot.
Villeneuve is already responsible for the forthcoming Bladerunner sequel starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling. Positive reactions to early production art and teaser footage for that classic sci-fi reboot clearly makes him a very sensible choice for the studio.
Dune has already been brought to the big screen and the small screen in a whole range of formats, but remains a landmark work in the genre with considerable fan enthusiasm for yet another big budget retelling.