Our Blog: WEEKLY BLAST

IANNUCCI AT THE OSCARS

Heard first on twitter, the news that Iannucci and his team were to be in the running for an Oscar surprised everyone. Most of all, Iannucci expressed his shock, taking leave of his usual pithy posts to say, “Bloomin heck. In The Loop nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. Bonk me purple.” To gain best adapted screenplay they must beat the likes of District 9 Fantastic Mr Fox, and Precious. Although Jesse Armstrong, Iannucci and co. wouldn’t like to admit it, we say they’ve got half a chance of scooping the award, especially considering they gained this accolade at the New York Film Critics Circle awards and British Independent Film awards. Watch this space and see what Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have to say on March 7^th.

In other Iannucci related news, the rumour that there will be an election night Thick of It special has been scotched. Damn.

ROSS RETURNS?

He’s becoming somewhat of a fixture in this corner of FoD, and here he is again. Jonathan Ross is being talked about again, this time because it is rumoured he is set to return to Channel 4. Comedy Central reports on how Julian Bellamy, head of programming for the channel, has spoken to the Independent, confirming he is a ‘huge fan’. We’ll have to see how this develops...whatever happens; we suspect he’ll be keeping well away from answer machines.

BRAND IS BACK

 Chortle has the news that Jo Brand’s dark, moving and downright hilarious ‘Getting On’ is being re-commissioned. Last year it benefitted from the acting of ‘The Thick Of It’ stars Peter Capaldi and Joanna Scanlan, as well as a sterling performance from Brand herself. The half hour show took a realistic and sometimes uncomfortable look at life on an NHS ward, with a fantastic script and utterly believable characters. We can’t wait for this one, especially as it’s set to run for 6 episodes as opposed to the previous 3. Take heed of the Guardian’s words and look out for it: ‘Who would have thought a sitcom set in an NHS ward could be so tragic, moving and hilarious? We want more.’