Culture, controversy and cutting edge documentary: ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ FOUR prepares
to launch
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Four, British televisionÂ’s boldest new investment in cultural
programming for a generation, is fired up for launch with a rich
mix of intelligent, enriching and diverse programming.
Tracey
Emin in the definitive history of Britart, Eddie Izzard
on stage in the West End hit A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, the
television premiere of Ian CurteisÂ’s controversial The Falklands
Play, and the worldÂ’s biggest ever concert of African music,
hosted in Senegal next month by Youssou NÂ’Dour, are
just some of the highlights of the channelÂ’s launch season
confirmed today. And it was announced that the whole of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ FourÂ’s
launch night schedule on Saturday 2 March 2002 will be simulcast
on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ TWO.
Outlining
the channelÂ’s plans, Roly Keating, Controller of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four,
said today: "ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four is outward-looking and global-minded.
ItÂ’s for people who want more from television - more depth,
more range, more stimulus for the mind. We want it to surprise,
delight and challenge, but above all to offer something satisfyingly
different from the mainstream."
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
FourÂ’s programme mix ranges from specially commissioned drama
and adaptations of plays and music performance, through thought-provoking
documentaries to global news and cinema. The channel will have regular
space for cultural debate around the complex issues of the day -
covering the worlds of science, business, the arts, current affairs,
history and politics.
A key
part of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½Â’s portfolio of subscription-free, licence fee-funded
channels, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four will transmit daily from 7.00pm until at least
1.00am.
The
launch season includes
·
Ewen Bremner, Katrin Cartlidge and Stephen Fry star in Surrealissimo,
an inventive drama-documentary that brings to life the notorious
‘trial’ of Salvador Dali by his fellow surrealists. Written
by Matthew Broughton, the supporting cast includes Vic Reeves, Mark
Gatiss and Matt Lucas.
 Goya:
Crazy Like A Genius. Critic and broadcaster Robert Hughes makes
his first documentary on visual arts for five years, as he goes
on the trail of the elusive Spanish painter whose terrifying images
haunted HughesÂ’ dreams after his near-fatal car-crash in 1999.
Britart How did Britain transform itself in 15 years from
an artistic backwater to one of the global capitals of art? This
revealing and entertaining series uses testimony from all of the
key players of the era to tell how it really happened. And in The
Man Who Destroyed Everything, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four explores the world of
artist Michael Landy, who one year ago pulped all of his worldly
goods in the name of art.
·
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg Heartbreaking and horribly
funny, Peter NicholsÂ’ masterpiece about living with a handicapped
child has been triumphantly revived in a new West End production
starring Eddie Izzard and Victoria Hamilton. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ FourÂ’s cameras
were there to capture a classic production.
· Seventeen years after it was commissioned by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, Ian
CurteisÂ’s controversial The Falklands Play, receives
its television premiere. The Falklands Play is a gripping account
of how Margaret ThatcherÂ’s government handled the biggest crisis
in foreign affairs since Suez.
·
Directed by the legendary Peter Brook and starring Adrian Lester,
Hamlet comes to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four. Filmed at BrookÂ’s Bouffe du
Nord theatre in Paris, this pared down, taut and mesmerising version
is dynamic, compelling and modern Shakespeare at its finest.
·
Of Apes and Men ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four devotes a week of programming to
the relationship between the three great primates of Africa: gorillas,
chimpanzeesÂ… and mankind. Is mankind intent on the genocide
of its closest relatives in the animal kingdom? Science, politics
and drama combine in a lively and thought-provoking week, including
an adaptation of JM CoetzeeÂ’s novella The Lives of Animals,
starring Eileen Atkins.
·
The Trials of Henry Kissinger With newly declassified US
government documents and previously unseen footage, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four scrutinises
the career of one of the worldÂ’s most famous diplomats and
disputed figures of the 20th century. Do his critics have a serious
case that he should be arraigned for war crimes for his role in
US policy in Cambodia and Latin America?
· Secrets of the Black Diaries When Roger Casement
was sentenced to hang for treason for his role in Ireland's 1916
Easter Rising, appeals for clemency were thwarted by diaries that
revealed a promiscuous homosexual life. But were the diaries faked?
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four sponsors a series of ground-breaking forensic tests at
GoldsmithÂ’s College, London, to prove - once and for all -
whether he actually wrote the diaries.
·
Africa Now: Music of a Continent - An African "Woodstock"
for a new generation, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ FourÂ’s cameras bring exclusive coverage
of the greatest ever pan-African music event - a two-day festival,
which brings together stars from all over the continent in the football
stadium in Dakar, Senegal, under the Music Directorship of the acclaimed
Youssou NÂ’Dour.
· Fidelio in Birmingham. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four goes live to the
opera event of the season, as Graham Vick and Birmingham Opera follow
up last yearÂ’s extraordinary promenade production of Wozzeck
with an ambitious new version of Beethoven masterpiece staged in
a circus big top in the grounds of Aston Hall. Cast includes Jane
Lesley MacKenzie (Leonore/Fidelio), Ronald Samms (Florestan), Jonathan
Best (Rocco) with the participation of local community, drama and
youth groups.
·
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four introduces televisionÂ’s only year-round dedicated
books programme, as writers come face to face with audiences of
inquisitive readers in the ReadersÂ’ and WritersÂ’ Roadshow,
hosted by Orange Prize founder Kate Mosse.
 ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Four News puts a refreshingly global perspective on the issues
of the day every week day at 8.00pm and will be presented by George
Alagiah and Kirsty Lang.
·
The pleasures of intelligent discussion and debate on topical themes
can be found in the Talk Show; and some of the worldÂ’s
most eloquent people - writers, thinkers, scientists, business leaders
- are featured in the Profile slot.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Four also launches a world first - an art exhibition brought direct
to viewersÂ’ homes via interactive TV - with Painting The
Weather. It features 110 paintings on the theme of weather by
more than 80 artists from public collections throughout the UK.
The web exhibition curated by the National Gallery and interactive
television elements combine to create a unique experience [see separate
press release for further details].
Roly
Keating says: "Painting The Weather is the kind of thing that
only the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ could stage, using the pioneering skills that created
interactive Wimbledon to bring a complete art exhibition direct
into peopleÂ’s homes.
"With
a launch budget of £35 million, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four is well placed to
deliver the kind of edgy and sometimes risk-taking programming that
the digital world needs. ItÂ’s a world-class cultural centre
bringing the best in contemporary documentary making, music, theatre
and international cinema to the heart of the schedule and at primetime."
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Four schedule.
To
view a full ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four press pack in click
the link below:
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Four press pack
To obtain a copy
of Adobe Acrobat PDF viewer, click .
Notes
to Editors
·
Approval was given in September 2001 by the Secretary of state for
Culture, Media and Sport for three new digital television and five
radio channels to be launched by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in 2002. In addition to
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four, plans were approved for two new childrenÂ’s television
channels and five new digital radio stations.
· ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four joins ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ ONE, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ TWO, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ CHOICE, CÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and CBeebies
(launched on 11 February) as part of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½Â’s portfolio of
television channels.
· A new proposal for a public service youth channel aimed
at 25-34 year olds, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Three, is currently awaiting approval by
the DCMS. Public and industry consultation was completed at the
end of January.
· ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Four and the other ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ digital channels are free-to-air,
i.e. with a set-top box or integrated digital TV set these channels
are non-subscription. However, they can also be received by satellite
(through Sky), aerial (ITV Digital) or cable (NTL and Telewest).
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