Hands over the City is unforgettable. What an inspired bit of casting. Up there with Burt Lancaster in The Leopard.

Rod Steiger: 10 essential films One hundred years after he was born, we salute the fury and intensity of Rod Steiger’s presence on screen, from On the Waterfront to In the Heat of the Night.

BOTD Rod Steiger!!
MCCT5: 5)Heat of the Night (Jewison) 4)Hands over the City (Rosi) 3)Innocents w/Dirty Hands (Chabrol) 2)Pawnbroker (Lumet) 1)Waterfront (Kazan)
More:
Interview: brightlightsfilm.com/confessions-...
@chlopinions.bsky.social: www.bfi.org.uk/lists/rod-st...

Bernie vs. Claude YouTube video by Senator Bernie Sanders

Worth a watch: m.youtube.com/watch?v=h3At...

Micky One is an extraordinary film - a unique mix of ideas and themes. I wrote a 10,000 word chapter about it during COVID that was included in my second book.

Jo speaking to Newcastle

A clear message from the hundreds who turned out yesterday: we are not having it.

At Northumbria University, staff are refusing to be forced into worse pensions or pay cuts.

This is organised resistance to an organised attack.

Where to begin with Spike Lee A beginner’s path through the films of pioneer and provocateur Spike Lee.

HBD Spike Lee!!!
MCCT5: 5)Summer of San 4)She’s Gotta Have It 3)Malcolm X 2)25th Hour 1)Do the Right Thing
More:
@amonwarmann.bsky.social: www.nme.com/features/fil...
@roryjdoherty.bsky.social: www.menshealth.com/entertainmen...
Grace Barber-Plentie: www.bfi.org.uk/features/whe...

Jürgen Habermas Dies at 96; One of Postwar Germany’s Most Influential Thinkers In dozens of books, he rejected postmodern cynicism about truth and reason, arguing that rational communication was the best way to redeem democratic society.

Jürgen Habermas, a philosopher and public intellectual who was one of the most influential and cited thinkers in postwar Germany, died on Saturday. He was 96.

Jürgen Habermas, influential German philosopher, dies at 96 German philosopher Jürgen Habermas has died at age 96. Habermas' work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figur...

A true giant. I was lucky enought to meet him and spend an evening around him and Rorty in Chicago many years ago. RIP

apnews.com/article/juer...

Half of academics view teaching-only roles as ‘career-limiting’ Early career academics most likely to express negative views about teaching culture at their institution, survey finds

In global survey of more than 12,000 academics, half agreed that teaching-focused roles were "career-limiting" at their university www.timeshighereducation.com/news/half-ac... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social

Netflix walks away from Warner Bros deal, paving way for Paramount victory Streaming service says ‘deal no longer financially attractive’ at price required to match Paramount Skydance offer * Business live – latest updates Netflix has walked away from its planned takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, declining to raise its offer for the media conglomerate’s storied Hollywood studios and streaming business after it determined a sweetened rival offer from Paramount Skydance to be “superior”. In a statement on Thursday evening, Netflix co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said that “at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive”. Continue reading...

Netflix walks away from Warner Bros deal, paving way for Paramount victory

Why You Should Be Watching the Film ‘Z’ Right Now Costa Gavras’s classic antifascist thriller reminds us that the moment of reckoning constitutes not the end of the story, but the beginning.

2/26/69: Z
D: Costa-Gavras W: Jorge Semprún DP: Raoul Coutard
w/Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jean-Louis Trintignant ++
More:
@nschager.bsky.social: www.avclub.com/best-picture...
@trylon.org: www.perisphere.org/2023/08/11/f...
Margaret Spillane/ @thenation.com: www.thenation.com/article/cult...

Listen! @mivich.bsky.social talks to @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about the fantastic The Division of Rationalized Labor newbooksnetwork.com/the-division...

Great book. Ive references it in plenty of chapters and lectures

Number of academics working in the UK falls for first time Some universities reduce staff teams by more than a fifth after year of cutbacks and job losses, new data show

Number of academics working in UK higher education institutions has fallen for the first time on record after thousands of jobs were axed, official figures reveal www.timeshighereducation.com/news/number-... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

See you in Bournemouth!

BAFTSS Conference 2026 Welcome to the Homepage of the 2026 edition of the annual conference of the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies. This year's conference takes place at the Highcliff Marriott...

We are pleased to announce that the conference website, including the schedule is now live: www.baftss.org/conference-2...

Places are limited - register early to avoid disappointment.
Deadline: 8th March 2026.

Queries can be directed to baftss2026@gmail.com

My author’s copies arrived recently from Bloomsbury 📚 Another great cover design from Eleanor Rose! Thanks to NBC for permissions.

Still one of the best cover images I can imagine. Wish I could use it for more than just one book.

Oh my.

Universities commissioner needed ‘to oversee mergers and cuts’ Call for government to create new position mirrored on role that already exists in further education, to help steer sector while avoiding excessive regulation

A higher education commissioner should be appointed to take responsibility for supporting universities before crisis strikes, says Lifelong Learning Institute www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers... via @helenpacker.bsky.social

I am delighted to share that my monograph ‘Women and Amateur Cinema: Redefining Authorship within the Archive’ is under contract to be published with Edinburgh University Press in 2027. 📚 #womenfilmmakers #amateurfilm

Still one of the best cover images I can imagine. Wish I could use it for more than just one book.

Out now in hardback from @edinburghup.bsky.social

Zootropolis 2 becomes Hollywood's biggest animated film ever The film has overtaken the previous record holder, Inside Out 2, after making $1.7bn (£1.3bn) worldwide.

Always worth pointing these news stories out for those who dispute the economic value of the creative industries and the degrees that sustain them: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

My author’s copies arrived recently from Bloomsbury 📚 Another great cover design from Eleanor Rose! Thanks to NBC for permissions.

Over the holidays, I’ve finally been getting to know this production. I’ve attempted a few Ring DVDs in the past, but this Met version from 1990 seems to get it right. The staging is one Wagner would have recognised, and the performances are all very strong; especially James Morris’ Wotan.

go.bsky.app/35LVzZ4

The Winter book sale at Bloomsbury Academic is over, but a more affordable paperback of "Culture, Capital and Carnival: Modern Media and the Representation of Work" will be available in 2026. Stay tuned 📚

Excellent! I’ve yet to receive my editor’s copies, but I’m glad to see they’re getting out there. Many thanks again, Kevin, for your great contribution!

cover of ReFocus: The Films of Lindsay Anderson

picture of first two pages of my chapter The White Bus and Townscape

excited to receive my contributor copy of ReFocus: The Films of Lindsay Anderson, edited by @willkitchen.bsky.social. Pleased to have finally had a chance to write about The White Bus. Nice thing at the end of the year.