Great Britain Celebrates Oscar® Nominees for the 84th Academy Awards® in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The United Kingdom’s worldwide GREAT campaign comes to Hollywood to congratulate British nominees for Academy Awards® and entertainment industry VIPs at a reception hosted in Los Angeles on Friday, 24 February by the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and British Consul-General, Dame Barbara Hay.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

In addition to celebrating British Academy Award® nominees, this year’s prestigious event in the awards calendar will mark the Los Angeles launch of the GREAT Campaign, which showcases UK excellence in business, creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation.

A never-before-seen piece by David Hockney, one of the most influential British artists of the 20^th Century and a Brit who called Los Angeles home for more than three decades, will be unveiled at the event in a celebration of British artistic creativity.

Attending the annual Oscar® celebration will be British luminaries in Hollywood including actors, directors, producers, screenwriters, distributors and key players in the technical branches who connect the two most globally successful filmmaking hubs - Hollywood and the United Kingdom.

UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, said:

“The UK has a truly world-class film industry, with amazing people both in front of and behind the camera. This not only contributes to the enormous success of Hollywood film studios but has a hugely positive impact on the British economy. As the UK gears up for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there’s no better time to celebrate the best Britain has to offer in film and creativity.”

HM Consul General, Dame Barbara Hay, said:

“The wealth of creative talent in Los Angeles is well-known. Our GREAT campaign, which this event launches in Los Angeles, will highlight the breadth and depth of the creative talent in Britain, as well as offering a fantastic opportunity for the world to re-discover the unique qualities that make Britain such a compelling destination – for business and tourism, for innovation and entrepreneurship, and for study and culture.”

Notes to Editors

At this year’s Academy Awards®, Britain is represented by nominees in such films as “Hugo,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,” “War Horse,” “Jane Eyre,” “The Iron Lady” and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” in such varied and esteemed categories as Best Picture, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Editing, Visual Effects, Adapted Screenplay and Documentary Short Subject.
British success has always been part of the Academy Awards®. Last year, "The King's Speech” alone won a total of four statues®, including Best Picture. The long list of British award winners over the years includes GREATs such as Charles Chaplin, Julie Andrews, Ben Kingsley, Daniel Day-Lewis, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet. In the coming years, Britain will continue this success by ensuring that its film industry retains its global competitiveness and remains a top choice in attracting ambitious, big budget film productions from all over the world.
About the GREAT Campaign - The GREAT campaign is designed to promote the UK abroad and aims to deliver long-term economic benefits deriving from the unprecedented level of interest generated by Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The campaign has been developed by Department for Culture, Media and Sport on behalf of the Prime Minister, working with colleagues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK Trade & Investment, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, VisitBritain, and the British Council. The campaign offers a chance for the whole world to discover everything that the UK has to offer as one of the best places in the world to visit, study, invest and do business.
About the British Film Commission: The British Film Commission (BFC) is the national body in charge of attracting, encouraging and supporting the production of international feature films in the UK. With offices in the UK and the US, where it also partners in the GREAT Campaign, the BFC provides free professional advice to help make productions in the UK a reality. US Studios spent over £1bn (US $1.5bn) in 2011—a record breaking year for inward investment in film in the UK.