42   I can talk about films

A    Film awards

The BAFTAs are the British equivalent of the Oscars. The highest award, the Academy Fellowship, is a prize given for an individual’s work and achievements during their career; previous winners include Hitchcock and Fellini. There are awards for the outstanding film of the year, and for special achievement by a British director, writer, or producer in their first film. There are also awards for best actor and actress in a leading role and in a supporting role. Achievements are also recognized in editing, lighting, and so on.

Glossary

the equivalent  of sth  sth that has the same value, amount, meaning, or importance as sth else. equivalent ADJ.

award  You get or win an award when you do very well in a competition.

prize  sth of value that you get when you are successful in a competition, race, etc.

individual  one person who is seen separately from others or a group.

achievement  sth you have done successfully that was difficult. achieve V.

winner  a person who wins a competition, game. etc.

outstanding  extremely good; excellent.

director  the person who tells actors what to do in a film, play, etc. direct V.

producer  the person who is responsible for the business side of a film, play, etc. produce V.

leading role  the most important role (or part) in a film or play (a supporting role is the next most important role).

role  the part an actor plays (e.g. the role of Julius Caesar),

editing  the process of deciding which parts of a film to show and in which order. edit V. 

4     Test yourself. Look at the glossary words and cover the meanings. Can you remember the meanings?

 

B    Opinions

Love it or hate it?

An extraordinary and moving performance by a great leading actor.

A gripping and entertaining thriller, and full of drama - I loved it.

I’m usually a fan of Jan Loos, but this movie had such a weak plot. Very disappointing indeed.

Very violent and too much swearing - totally unsuitable for children. Disgusting!

 

Glossary

extraordinary  very unusual or much better than usual. SYN incredible. OPP ordinary.

moving  causing strong feelings, especially of sadness.

performance  the act of playing a role in a film or play.

gripping  very exciting; holding your attention.

entertaining  interesting and fun.

drama  exciting things that happen: an exciting event. dramatic ADJ.

fan  sb who really likes and is enthusiastic about a person or an activity.

movie  (especially in US English) a film, plot the series of events that form the story of a film, novel, etc.

disappointing  not as good as you had hoped.

swearing  rude language that may upset people. swear V.

unsuitable (for sth/sb)  not right or appropriate for sth/sb. OPP suitable.

disgusting  very unpleasant.

 

spotlight  indeed

Use indeed after very and an adjective or adverb to emphasize a statement.

The film was very boring indeed.

I liked it very much indeed.

8     ABOUT YOU Replace the underlined names and titles with your own examples of films and actors in the ‘About you’ column. Compare with another student if you can. 

Answers from a Spanish person

1     The Bourne Ultimatum is a really entertaining film.

2     Nicole Kidman gave an extraordinary performance in The Others.

3     I thought Music and Lyrics was very disappointing indeed.

4     I’m a fan of Brad Pitt.

5     Life is Beautiful was very moving.