Lana Del Rey's Born to Die is the third biggest-selling album of the year so far The head of the UK arm of Universal Music, the world's biggest record label, has urged radio stations to take more risks and play more new artists.David Joseph said nine acts have broken through with 100,000 album sales in the UK this year - down from 27 in 2007.Just three of those - Emeli Sande, Rita Ora and Gotye - had been "supported well" by radio stations, he claimed.The others had "very, very little" support from BBC and commercial radio stations, he went on.Of those, Labrinth is 49th on the list of the most-played artists on UK radio so far this year.Lana Del Rey is 107th, Michael Kiwanuka is 248th, Maverick Sabre is 260th and Ben Howard is 262nd.Seven of the nine breakthrough artists were signed to Universal, Mr Joseph said. He did not give airplay details for the Military Wives choir."Lana's [got] the third biggest selling album next to Emeli and Adele, and she's the 107th most supported act on UK radio," he told delegates at the Radio Festival in Salford."So the question that I throw out there is - is there a responsibility that UK radio has towards supporting exciting new emerging UK-signed talent?"He said the BBC did an "amazing job" with initiatives like BBC Radio 1's In New Music We Trust.But he added: "On commercial radio, I often think we have to create the hits first before commercial radio want to play them."I do believe there's a whole audience out there who want to hear things first, not 10 weeks later. So I would love to see commercial radio take a few more risks."Two or three more debut albums may break the 100,000 barrier before the end of the year, Mr Joseph said. But the number of breakthroughs is not likely to reach last year's figure of 19."Considering that this is our lifeblood and it creates the new artists of tomorrow, this is something that's of concern to us. It's something we focus on every day, and I hope that you can turn your attention to."'Important platform' A BBC Radio 1 spokesman said the station "prides itself on supporting new artists and at least 45% of the music in our daytime schedule is new with a focus on new and emerging artists"."All of this year's breakthrough acts, bar the Military Wives, have featured on the Radio 1 playlist and been supported across our programming," he said."BBC Introducing also provides an important platform for unsigned and undiscovered acts to gain exposure both across BBC Radio and at major UK Festivals."Commercial radio trade body RadioCentre declined to comment.Looking ahead to next year, Mr Joseph predicted a resurgence in guitar music."I've started to hear more of four-piece guitar bands again," he said. "It feels like we're at the start of a market that's going to break and explode again."Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Radio 'should play more new acts'
14 November 2012 Last updated at 17:02 GMT Lana Del Rey's Born to Die is the third biggest-selling album of the year so far The head of the UK arm of Universal Music, the world's biggest record label, has urged radio stations to take more risks and play more new artists.David Joseph said nine acts have broken through with 100,000 album sales in the UK this year - down from 27 in 2007.Just three of those - Emeli Sande, Rita Ora and Gotye - had been "supported well" by radio stations, he claimed.The others had "very, very little" support from BBC and commercial radio stations, he went on.Of those, Labrinth is 49th on the list of the most-played artists on UK radio so far this year.Lana Del Rey is 107th, Michael Kiwanuka is 248th, Maverick Sabre is 260th and Ben Howard is 262nd.Seven of the nine breakthrough artists were signed to Universal, Mr Joseph said. He did not give airplay details for the Military Wives choir."Lana's [got] the third biggest selling album next to Emeli and Adele, and she's the 107th most supported act on UK radio," he told delegates at the Radio Festival in Salford."So the question that I throw out there is - is there a responsibility that UK radio has towards supporting exciting new emerging UK-signed talent?"He said the BBC did an "amazing job" with initiatives like BBC Radio 1's In New Music We Trust.But he added: "On commercial radio, I often think we have to create the hits first before commercial radio want to play them."I do believe there's a whole audience out there who want to hear things first, not 10 weeks later. So I would love to see commercial radio take a few more risks."Two or three more debut albums may break the 100,000 barrier before the end of the year, Mr Joseph said. But the number of breakthroughs is not likely to reach last year's figure of 19."Considering that this is our lifeblood and it creates the new artists of tomorrow, this is something that's of concern to us. It's something we focus on every day, and I hope that you can turn your attention to."'Important platform' A BBC Radio 1 spokesman said the station "prides itself on supporting new artists and at least 45% of the music in our daytime schedule is new with a focus on new and emerging artists"."All of this year's breakthrough acts, bar the Military Wives, have featured on the Radio 1 playlist and been supported across our programming," he said."BBC Introducing also provides an important platform for unsigned and undiscovered acts to gain exposure both across BBC Radio and at major UK Festivals."Commercial radio trade body RadioCentre declined to comment.Looking ahead to next year, Mr Joseph predicted a resurgence in guitar music."I've started to hear more of four-piece guitar bands again," he said. "It feels like we're at the start of a market that's going to break and explode again."
Lana Del Rey's Born to Die is the third biggest-selling album of the year so far The head of the UK arm of Universal Music, the world's biggest record label, has urged radio stations to take more risks and play more new artists.David Joseph said nine acts have broken through with 100,000 album sales in the UK this year - down from 27 in 2007.Just three of those - Emeli Sande, Rita Ora and Gotye - had been "supported well" by radio stations, he claimed.The others had "very, very little" support from BBC and commercial radio stations, he went on.Of those, Labrinth is 49th on the list of the most-played artists on UK radio so far this year.Lana Del Rey is 107th, Michael Kiwanuka is 248th, Maverick Sabre is 260th and Ben Howard is 262nd.Seven of the nine breakthrough artists were signed to Universal, Mr Joseph said. He did not give airplay details for the Military Wives choir."Lana's [got] the third biggest selling album next to Emeli and Adele, and she's the 107th most supported act on UK radio," he told delegates at the Radio Festival in Salford."So the question that I throw out there is - is there a responsibility that UK radio has towards supporting exciting new emerging UK-signed talent?"He said the BBC did an "amazing job" with initiatives like BBC Radio 1's In New Music We Trust.But he added: "On commercial radio, I often think we have to create the hits first before commercial radio want to play them."I do believe there's a whole audience out there who want to hear things first, not 10 weeks later. So I would love to see commercial radio take a few more risks."Two or three more debut albums may break the 100,000 barrier before the end of the year, Mr Joseph said. But the number of breakthroughs is not likely to reach last year's figure of 19."Considering that this is our lifeblood and it creates the new artists of tomorrow, this is something that's of concern to us. It's something we focus on every day, and I hope that you can turn your attention to."'Important platform' A BBC Radio 1 spokesman said the station "prides itself on supporting new artists and at least 45% of the music in our daytime schedule is new with a focus on new and emerging artists"."All of this year's breakthrough acts, bar the Military Wives, have featured on the Radio 1 playlist and been supported across our programming," he said."BBC Introducing also provides an important platform for unsigned and undiscovered acts to gain exposure both across BBC Radio and at major UK Festivals."Commercial radio trade body RadioCentre declined to comment.Looking ahead to next year, Mr Joseph predicted a resurgence in guitar music."I've started to hear more of four-piece guitar bands again," he said. "It feels like we're at the start of a market that's going to break and explode again."
Retired detective becomes TV cop
15 November 2012 Last updated at 01:54 GMT By Ian Youngs Entertainment reporter, BBC News 
Jane Antrobus also appeared in the BBC documentary Girl Cops As a detective chief superintendent with Greater Manchester Police, Jane Antrobus was in charge of some of the force's most challenging and high-profile cases.Now, two years after retiring, Antrobus has swapped real-life drama for a role as a fictional detective in new ITV1 police drama Crime Stories.The 20-part, semi-improvised series sees Antrobus portray Detective Inspector Jane Preston - a part she won after producers embarked on a search for former officers who wanted to give acting a go.The show, made on The Bill's old set, is filmed in the style of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, with former Hollyoaks actor Ben Hull playing Detective Sergeant Ben Shaw.Antrobus has used her three decades of police experience to give the producers advice on making the show realistic - and says she now wants to continue her acting career beyond crime shows.
Antrobus corrected the show's producers on the details of police procedure How much of Jane Antrobus is in Jane Preston?A lot of it is me but I've gone back to a few ranks lower than I finished in the police. I was detective inspector back in 1998. [But] yes, a lot of it is done with my personality, my style and my knowledge of how to do things.Did you have any input into the storylines?No, but I certainly advised if something wasn't true to life or was factually inaccurate. When I read the script or if something on set didn't quite work, I would say, 'why don't we try it this way?' because in real life that's how it would be.What did you have to correct them on?Just small things. If, for example, we're in a scene and we're interviewing a suspect, if that suspect's in an interview room, they don't have watches and belts and jewellery on because that's already been taken off them when they're booked in at the custody desk on arrest.So a couple of times I said, 'No, hang on, she's still wearing a watch or her earrings. That wouldn't happen, let's spend a couple of minutes getting it right.'How have you found being in front of the cameras?It certainly was a different challenge. I'm not inexperienced in front of the cameras. I've done quite a lot of high-profile media stuff in the senior detective role I had with GMP. But it's a different style of working.I come from 30 years of policing and Ben comes from 20-odd years of acting, so we learned from each other.How much was scripted and how much did you improvise?Me and Ben got the whole episode breakdown and we are in the majority of the scenes. But it's not a verbatim line-by-line script - a lot of it is improvised.The guest actors, of which there are four in every episode playing experts, witnesses and victims - they only got their part. So they don't know where they fit into the equation properly or what anyone else is going to say.
Antrobus stars alongside former Hollyoaks and The Royal Today actor Ben Hull Is it realistic?The vast majority of the guest actors were very, very nervous. I said, 'That is natural because you're used to doing it differently and having scripted lines which you've learned and you're used to knowing how it's all going to unpick from start to finish'. But those nerves are good feelings to harness. In real life, unless you're a very hardened criminal, it's a harrowing experience for a suspect going into a police station. Likewise for a victim and a witness.So for an actor to have those feelings in reality comes over on camera as genuine, and you really can tell that the performance of the actor is enhanced.Is it right that you were the inspiration for DCI Gill Murray, played by Amelia Bullmore, in Scott & Bailey?I firmly believe that she is based on me - one of the co-creators of Scott & Bailey actually worked for me as an inspector when I was detective superintendent on the major incident team. When people watch it they phone up and say, 'That's just you, that's just you'.Which are the best and worst police dramas on TV?I love Scott & Bailey. I always used to like Prime Suspect. I watched The Bill for years - very watchable and good stories and procedurally quite good.The one thing I know people love but doesn't float my boat is Midsomer Murders. It's in a village with a population of 500 or less, five people die in an episode and two cops solve it all within two hours. It might be watchable and nice easy television but realistically it's very off the mark.Would you like to do more acting?I would, yes. I'd like to get into the crime drama advisory field where I'm behind the scenes advising producers or writers on procedures.I'm realistic. I don't see myself at the Royal Shakespeare Company next week. But I do feel I could play any role, not necessarily a cop role, where a northern actress is required.Crime Stories is on ITV1 every weekday at 14:00 GMT.
Jane Antrobus also appeared in the BBC documentary Girl Cops As a detective chief superintendent with Greater Manchester Police, Jane Antrobus was in charge of some of the force's most challenging and high-profile cases.Now, two years after retiring, Antrobus has swapped real-life drama for a role as a fictional detective in new ITV1 police drama Crime Stories.The 20-part, semi-improvised series sees Antrobus portray Detective Inspector Jane Preston - a part she won after producers embarked on a search for former officers who wanted to give acting a go.The show, made on The Bill's old set, is filmed in the style of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, with former Hollyoaks actor Ben Hull playing Detective Sergeant Ben Shaw.Antrobus has used her three decades of police experience to give the producers advice on making the show realistic - and says she now wants to continue her acting career beyond crime shows. Antrobus corrected the show's producers on the details of police procedure How much of Jane Antrobus is in Jane Preston?A lot of it is me but I've gone back to a few ranks lower than I finished in the police. I was detective inspector back in 1998. [But] yes, a lot of it is done with my personality, my style and my knowledge of how to do things.Did you have any input into the storylines?No, but I certainly advised if something wasn't true to life or was factually inaccurate. When I read the script or if something on set didn't quite work, I would say, 'why don't we try it this way?' because in real life that's how it would be.What did you have to correct them on?Just small things. If, for example, we're in a scene and we're interviewing a suspect, if that suspect's in an interview room, they don't have watches and belts and jewellery on because that's already been taken off them when they're booked in at the custody desk on arrest.So a couple of times I said, 'No, hang on, she's still wearing a watch or her earrings. That wouldn't happen, let's spend a couple of minutes getting it right.'How have you found being in front of the cameras?It certainly was a different challenge. I'm not inexperienced in front of the cameras. I've done quite a lot of high-profile media stuff in the senior detective role I had with GMP. But it's a different style of working.I come from 30 years of policing and Ben comes from 20-odd years of acting, so we learned from each other.How much was scripted and how much did you improvise?Me and Ben got the whole episode breakdown and we are in the majority of the scenes. But it's not a verbatim line-by-line script - a lot of it is improvised.The guest actors, of which there are four in every episode playing experts, witnesses and victims - they only got their part. So they don't know where they fit into the equation properly or what anyone else is going to say. Antrobus stars alongside former Hollyoaks and The Royal Today actor Ben Hull Is it realistic?The vast majority of the guest actors were very, very nervous. I said, 'That is natural because you're used to doing it differently and having scripted lines which you've learned and you're used to knowing how it's all going to unpick from start to finish'. But those nerves are good feelings to harness. In real life, unless you're a very hardened criminal, it's a harrowing experience for a suspect going into a police station. Likewise for a victim and a witness.So for an actor to have those feelings in reality comes over on camera as genuine, and you really can tell that the performance of the actor is enhanced.Is it right that you were the inspiration for DCI Gill Murray, played by Amelia Bullmore, in Scott & Bailey?I firmly believe that she is based on me - one of the co-creators of Scott & Bailey actually worked for me as an inspector when I was detective superintendent on the major incident team. When people watch it they phone up and say, 'That's just you, that's just you'.Which are the best and worst police dramas on TV?I love Scott & Bailey. I always used to like Prime Suspect. I watched The Bill for years - very watchable and good stories and procedurally quite good.The one thing I know people love but doesn't float my boat is Midsomer Murders. It's in a village with a population of 500 or less, five people die in an episode and two cops solve it all within two hours. It might be watchable and nice easy television but realistically it's very off the mark.Would you like to do more acting?I would, yes. I'd like to get into the crime drama advisory field where I'm behind the scenes advising producers or writers on procedures.I'm realistic. I don't see myself at the Royal Shakespeare Company next week. But I do feel I could play any role, not necessarily a cop role, where a northern actress is required.Crime Stories is on ITV1 every weekday at 14:00 GMT.Skyfall soars at US box office
12 November 2012 Last updated at 15:35 GMT 
Skyfall is Craig's third outing as James Bond, after Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace James Bond's Skyfall has taken a record $87.8m (£55m) in its opening weekend at the North American box office.The third instalment starring Daniel Craig outperformed the $67.5m (£42m) US debut of 2008's Quantum of Solace, the franchise's previous best opening.Skyfall took over the top spot from Disney's animated comedy, Wreck-It Ralph, which earned $33.1m (£20.7m).In third place, Denzel Washington's Flight earned $15.1m (£9.4m).Skyfall was the weekend's only new wide release but Steven Spielberg's Lincoln had a huge start in a small number of cinemas.Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th President, it earned $900,000 (£566,000) in just 11 locations with average ticket sales of $81,818 (£51,501) per theatre.By comparison, Skyfall earned an average of $25,050 (£15,765) at each of the 3,505 locations at which it was screened.Skyfall has now earned $518.6m (£326.5m) worldwide since its release at the end of October. The 23rd Bond film also more than doubled the $40.8m (£25.6m) debut of Craig's first Bond movie in 2006, Casino Royale.Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony, which produces the Bond films along with MGM said: "It's quite a testament to Bond, considering it's the 50th anniversary. "What a great anniversary present," he added.Continue reading the main story
Skyfall is Craig's third outing as James Bond, after Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace James Bond's Skyfall has taken a record $87.8m (£55m) in its opening weekend at the North American box office.The third instalment starring Daniel Craig outperformed the $67.5m (£42m) US debut of 2008's Quantum of Solace, the franchise's previous best opening.Skyfall took over the top spot from Disney's animated comedy, Wreck-It Ralph, which earned $33.1m (£20.7m).In third place, Denzel Washington's Flight earned $15.1m (£9.4m).Skyfall was the weekend's only new wide release but Steven Spielberg's Lincoln had a huge start in a small number of cinemas.Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th President, it earned $900,000 (£566,000) in just 11 locations with average ticket sales of $81,818 (£51,501) per theatre.By comparison, Skyfall earned an average of $25,050 (£15,765) at each of the 3,505 locations at which it was screened.Skyfall has now earned $518.6m (£326.5m) worldwide since its release at the end of October. The 23rd Bond film also more than doubled the $40.8m (£25.6m) debut of Craig's first Bond movie in 2006, Casino Royale.Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony, which produces the Bond films along with MGM said: "It's quite a testament to Bond, considering it's the 50th anniversary. "What a great anniversary present," he added.Continue reading the main story 1. Skyfall $87.8m (£55m)
2. Wreck-It Ralph $33.1m (£20.7m)
3. Flight $15.1m (£9.4m).
4. Argo $6.7m (£4.2m)
5. Taken 2 $4m (£2.5m)
Source: Hollywood.com Bond, one of Hollywood's most-enduring franchises debuted 50 years ago with Dr No and over the last two decades the films have earned an average of around $200m (£125m) each domestically in inflation-adjusted dollars.While Skyfall marks a new high for Bond's opening-weekend revenue, it is still a way off the biggest audiences 007 has ever drawn. Adjusted for inflation, Sean Connery's 1965 Bond adventure, Thunderball would have taken in an estimated $508m (£319.8m) domestically in today's dollars, while Goldfinger released in 1964 was close behind, earning $444m (£279m), according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.It was an impressive weekend at the US box office with overall domestic revenues at $172m (£108m) - a 26% increase on the same weekend last year.So far this year, domestic revenues are at $9.1 billion (£5.7b), up 4.3% from 2011, according to Hollywood.com.
Moffat honoured by Writers' Guild
15 November 2012 Last updated at 10:05 GMT 
Moffat has already won several awards for both Sherlock and Doctor Who Sherlock creator Steven Moffat has been handed the top prize at this year's Writers' Guild Awards.Moffat, who also oversees Doctor Who, was honoured with the special award for outstanding writing. Accepting the award, he told the London ceremony: "Write what you love. I've never loved anything as much as Doctor Who and Sherlock." However he and Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss lost out to ITV1's Appropriate Adult for best TV short-form drama. Screenwriter Neil McKay's Fred West drama also beat This is England '88 writers Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne to the prize.Starring Dominic West, Appropriate Adult has already been honoured with TV Baftas, RTS and Broadcasting Guild Awards. BBC3's Being Human won the Writers' Guild award for TV drama series, while Hollyoaks writer Nick Leather won best continuing TV drama.BBC4 comedy Holy Flying Circus, written by Tony Roche, won best TV comedy.Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, written by Phil Ford, took the prize for best children's TV script for its episode The Curse of Clyde Langer. Other winners included Dexter Fletcher's directorial debut Wild Bill, which won best first feature film for him and co-writer Danny King. 
Appropriate Adult stars Emily Watson and Dominic West won TV Baftas for their performances We Need to Talk About Kevin won best screenplay for Lynne Ramsay and Rory Stewart Kinnear. The awards were handed out in London on Wednesday night by The Writers' Guild of Great Britain, which supports writers across every media, from books, theatre, TV and radio.Rachel De-lahay won best play for The Westbridge, a Royal Court production that ran at Peckham's Bussey Building, while best play for children and young people went to Brendan Murray for Hare and Tortoise.There were also two awards for radio writing, with Radio 4's Pandemic, by John Dryden, winning the drama category and Matt Berry's I, Regress winning best radio comedy.Best fiction book went to Patrick McGuinness' The Last Hundred Days, and best videogame script was won by Paul Crocker's Batman: Arkham City.
Moffat has already won several awards for both Sherlock and Doctor Who Sherlock creator Steven Moffat has been handed the top prize at this year's Writers' Guild Awards.Moffat, who also oversees Doctor Who, was honoured with the special award for outstanding writing. Accepting the award, he told the London ceremony: "Write what you love. I've never loved anything as much as Doctor Who and Sherlock." However he and Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss lost out to ITV1's Appropriate Adult for best TV short-form drama. Screenwriter Neil McKay's Fred West drama also beat This is England '88 writers Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne to the prize.Starring Dominic West, Appropriate Adult has already been honoured with TV Baftas, RTS and Broadcasting Guild Awards. BBC3's Being Human won the Writers' Guild award for TV drama series, while Hollyoaks writer Nick Leather won best continuing TV drama.BBC4 comedy Holy Flying Circus, written by Tony Roche, won best TV comedy.Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, written by Phil Ford, took the prize for best children's TV script for its episode The Curse of Clyde Langer. Other winners included Dexter Fletcher's directorial debut Wild Bill, which won best first feature film for him and co-writer Danny King. Appropriate Adult stars Emily Watson and Dominic West won TV Baftas for their performances We Need to Talk About Kevin won best screenplay for Lynne Ramsay and Rory Stewart Kinnear. The awards were handed out in London on Wednesday night by The Writers' Guild of Great Britain, which supports writers across every media, from books, theatre, TV and radio.Rachel De-lahay won best play for The Westbridge, a Royal Court production that ran at Peckham's Bussey Building, while best play for children and young people went to Brendan Murray for Hare and Tortoise.There were also two awards for radio writing, with Radio 4's Pandemic, by John Dryden, winning the drama category and Matt Berry's I, Regress winning best radio comedy.Best fiction book went to Patrick McGuinness' The Last Hundred Days, and best videogame script was won by Paul Crocker's Batman: Arkham City.Merchant Ivory film composer dies
13 November 2012 Last updated at 12:03 GMT 
Robbins was nominated for a Bafta for his A Room with a View score Richard Robbins, the US composer who scored such Merchant Ivory films as A Room with a View, Howards End and The Remains of the Day, has died aged 71.The two-time Oscar nominee died on 7 November of Parkinson's disease at his home in Rhinebeck, New York.Robbins scored almost every film made by director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant from The Europeans in 1979 to The White Countess in 2005.He is survived by his longtime partner, composer and artist Michael Schell.Born in December 1940 in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, Richard Stephen Robbins began studying music at the age of five.He later taught the daughter of screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who introduced him to her collaborators Merchant and Ivory.In 1976 he wrote and directed Sweet Sounds, a documentary short about gifted music students that Merchant produced.That led to a long creative relationship that saw him score both period pieces and contemporary works for the independent film company.They included EM Forster adaptation Maurice, for which Robbins was recognised at the 1987 Venice Film Festival.The same year saw him nominated for a Bafta for his score for A Room with a View, also based on a Forster novel.
Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson played domestic servants in The Remains of the Day Robbins received consecutive Oscar nominations in 1993 and 1994 for his Howards End and The Remains of the Day scores.Speaking about the latter film in 2000, the composer said his inspiration had come from a single scene featuring actress Emma Thompson."I find myself very involved with characters' movements in a scene, and I become more and more attached to the characters, and maybe that brings up feelings no-one else intended or considered," he said in an interview on the Merchant Ivory website."I know when that moment arrives that the hard part of writing the score is over, because I know how I feel about a character. It can be as simple as watching one of the characters enter a room or walk down a hallway."In The Remains of the Day, it happened when I first saw the shot of Emma Thompson walking down the hall toward the camera. That did it."Robbins' work was celebrated at a 1996 benefit concert held at New York's Carnegie Hall that raised funds for Aids research.The composer did not work on 2009's The City of Your Final Destination, the only Merchant Ivory production to be made since Merchant's 2005 death.
Robbins was nominated for a Bafta for his A Room with a View score Richard Robbins, the US composer who scored such Merchant Ivory films as A Room with a View, Howards End and The Remains of the Day, has died aged 71.The two-time Oscar nominee died on 7 November of Parkinson's disease at his home in Rhinebeck, New York.Robbins scored almost every film made by director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant from The Europeans in 1979 to The White Countess in 2005.He is survived by his longtime partner, composer and artist Michael Schell.Born in December 1940 in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, Richard Stephen Robbins began studying music at the age of five.He later taught the daughter of screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who introduced him to her collaborators Merchant and Ivory.In 1976 he wrote and directed Sweet Sounds, a documentary short about gifted music students that Merchant produced.That led to a long creative relationship that saw him score both period pieces and contemporary works for the independent film company.They included EM Forster adaptation Maurice, for which Robbins was recognised at the 1987 Venice Film Festival.The same year saw him nominated for a Bafta for his score for A Room with a View, also based on a Forster novel. Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson played domestic servants in The Remains of the Day Robbins received consecutive Oscar nominations in 1993 and 1994 for his Howards End and The Remains of the Day scores.Speaking about the latter film in 2000, the composer said his inspiration had come from a single scene featuring actress Emma Thompson."I find myself very involved with characters' movements in a scene, and I become more and more attached to the characters, and maybe that brings up feelings no-one else intended or considered," he said in an interview on the Merchant Ivory website."I know when that moment arrives that the hard part of writing the score is over, because I know how I feel about a character. It can be as simple as watching one of the characters enter a room or walk down a hallway."In The Remains of the Day, it happened when I first saw the shot of Emma Thompson walking down the hall toward the camera. That did it."Robbins' work was celebrated at a 1996 benefit concert held at New York's Carnegie Hall that raised funds for Aids research.The composer did not work on 2009's The City of Your Final Destination, the only Merchant Ivory production to be made since Merchant's 2005 death.
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