This is the first MK3D since the BAFTAs, the most interesting category at which, this year, was Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. Previously on MK3D, actress Florence Pugh had talked about her lead role in Lady Macbeth (2016); director Lucy Cohen about her debut The Kingdom of Us (2017) and writer/director Rungano Nyoni about her first feature I am not a Witch (2017). The latter won the gong and Rungano returned to MK3D to talk about her experiences of the red carpet, and how winning a BAFTA might impact her next projects.
Guillermo Del Toro won the BAFTA for best director for The Shape of Water. Mark took the opportunity to do a List-O-Mania of his Top Ten films about Mermaids or Creatures from the Lagoon: 10. Siren of the Sea (1911). 9. Miranda (1948). 8. Waterworld (1995) – with Kevin Costner as a fish. 7. The Little Mermaid (1989). 6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). 5. The Lure (2015), a comedy drama horror musical directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska, about twin, man-eating mermaids who emerge from the water and perform in a nightclub. We got a clip to illustrate this one. 4. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). 3. Song of the Sea (2014). 2. Local Hero (1983). 1. Splash (1984) – we also got a clip of this classic.
Dark River (2017) directed by Clio Barnard was released the Friday before MK3D. It stars Olivier Award-winning actress Ruth Wilson who joined us for our Coming Attractions segment to talk about her role as a farmer’s daughter in this harsh drama. She enjoyed learning how to look like she had been skinning rabbits and shearing sheep all her life – by doing it a great deal. There is little she doesn’t know about shearing now.
Our Guilty Pleasure this month came courtesy of Timothy Spall, who talked first of all about his film Stanley a Man of Variety (2016) – in which he plays all the parts – and the difficulties finding a distributor, before regaling us with stories about his long-standing love of Mary Poppins (1964). Nothing guilty about that!
Tonight’s showstopper was The Greatest Showman grand finale.
