Post by Teddy Bear on Aug 5, 2013 23:05:18 GMT
As if to echo yesterday's report by a friend of Tony Hall who was asked to do a review of the BBC's failures in their creative process, today the BBC interviewed actor Steven Berkoff.
You may remember him as the actor who played General Orlov in the 1963 James Bond film Octopussy.
He was being interviewed by Johnnie Walker on Radio2 while at the Edinburgh film festival.
Steven took the opportunity to really lay into the BBC on a host of subjects. He was clearly very frustrated and disappointed at how it had degraded itself over the years, and at the age of 76, as well as witnessing its demise, he wasn't holding anything back for fear he might not be asked to do another interview.
Simply Brilliant!
You may remember him as the actor who played General Orlov in the 1963 James Bond film Octopussy.
He was being interviewed by Johnnie Walker on Radio2 while at the Edinburgh film festival.Steven took the opportunity to really lay into the BBC on a host of subjects. He was clearly very frustrated and disappointed at how it had degraded itself over the years, and at the age of 76, as well as witnessing its demise, he wasn't holding anything back for fear he might not be asked to do another interview.
Simply Brilliant!
BBC 'decaying art' by trying to compete with 'silly old tarts in costume', says Steven Berkoff
The BBC is “decaying art” by trying to compete with “a lot of silly old tarts in costume” on ITV, actor Steven Berkoff has said as he criticised the salaries of corporation bosses.
By Hayley Dixon
The 76-year-old, known for villainous roles such as General Orlov in the 1983 Bond movie Octopussy, accused them of broadcasting “garbage” as he rallied against the modern world during an interview at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.
Speaking to BBC Radio 2 presenter Johnnie Walker, Berkoff said that as a teenager he was inspired and educated by BBC shows, but he is now almost reduced to tears by scheduling.
"Last year, I was trying to watch the BBC on Saturday night," he said. "They had Strictly Come Dancing and Bruce Forsyth. And I watched almost with tears because I remembered when I was 17, 18 I used to see Hamlet and Death Of A Salesman on a Saturday night. That educated me."
He criticised the "decay of art" in the BBC and theatre and said that the corporation should not be competing with ITV.
"The BBC is meant to represent values, honesty, decency, values, ITV is not,” Berkoff said.
“Why should they compete? ITV does that stinking, sodding Coronation Street until you get brained out. Then the BBC comes out with that stinky, slobbing, clichéd, mindless moronic EastEnders."
The interview, part Johnnie Walker's Guest Night, saw him attack popular BBC series Luther and describe ITV's Downton Abbey, which attracts up to nine million viewers, as "a lot of silly old tarts in costume".
"It says nothing to us,” added Berkoff.
In spite of just having come off stage from his role in An Actor’s Lament, Berkoff talked practically non-stop during the stage tête-à-tête, in which he said BBC bosses were paid too much.
But his criticism was not reserved for the corporation as he claimed that in the last 30 years the theatre has not produced a single actor of worth and there is more talent in street performing.
He accused some Hollywood stars of not wanting to tread the boards for fear of drying up on stage, including Johnny Depp, who appeared alongside him in 2010 film The Tourist.
Berkoff also reserved criticism for the “cringing banality” of Twitter, claiming that Stephen Fry is a fan “because this man loves attention. He has a million, million and half dopes listening to the utterly crawling banality of this man's mind.”
The BBC is “decaying art” by trying to compete with “a lot of silly old tarts in costume” on ITV, actor Steven Berkoff has said as he criticised the salaries of corporation bosses.
By Hayley Dixon
The 76-year-old, known for villainous roles such as General Orlov in the 1983 Bond movie Octopussy, accused them of broadcasting “garbage” as he rallied against the modern world during an interview at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.
Speaking to BBC Radio 2 presenter Johnnie Walker, Berkoff said that as a teenager he was inspired and educated by BBC shows, but he is now almost reduced to tears by scheduling.
"Last year, I was trying to watch the BBC on Saturday night," he said. "They had Strictly Come Dancing and Bruce Forsyth. And I watched almost with tears because I remembered when I was 17, 18 I used to see Hamlet and Death Of A Salesman on a Saturday night. That educated me."
He criticised the "decay of art" in the BBC and theatre and said that the corporation should not be competing with ITV.
"The BBC is meant to represent values, honesty, decency, values, ITV is not,” Berkoff said.
“Why should they compete? ITV does that stinking, sodding Coronation Street until you get brained out. Then the BBC comes out with that stinky, slobbing, clichéd, mindless moronic EastEnders."
The interview, part Johnnie Walker's Guest Night, saw him attack popular BBC series Luther and describe ITV's Downton Abbey, which attracts up to nine million viewers, as "a lot of silly old tarts in costume".
"It says nothing to us,” added Berkoff.
In spite of just having come off stage from his role in An Actor’s Lament, Berkoff talked practically non-stop during the stage tête-à-tête, in which he said BBC bosses were paid too much.
But his criticism was not reserved for the corporation as he claimed that in the last 30 years the theatre has not produced a single actor of worth and there is more talent in street performing.
He accused some Hollywood stars of not wanting to tread the boards for fear of drying up on stage, including Johnny Depp, who appeared alongside him in 2010 film The Tourist.
Berkoff also reserved criticism for the “cringing banality” of Twitter, claiming that Stephen Fry is a fan “because this man loves attention. He has a million, million and half dopes listening to the utterly crawling banality of this man's mind.”