The university said Tuesday it had written to producers of Britain's three leading soaps, EASTENDERS, CORONATION STREET and EMMERDALE, encouraging them to include Cambridge in their story lines.
Spokesman Greg Hayman said the approach to the shows — which are set in, respectively, a gritty London neighborhood, a gritty Manchester neighborhood and a farming village — was part of a bid to correct the perception that Cambridge was "not for young people from ordinary backgrounds."
"We're very keen to attract the brightest and best students regardless of their background," Hayman said. "One of the better ways of communicating directly with potential students is to talk to them through the soaps and other programs they watch."
Paul MacInnes weighs in on Cambridge in the Guardian
"To my mind, elite academic institutions would do well to simplify their message, to explain who and what they are and why a young person might want to study there. This would involve accentuating aspects other than several centuries of tradition, but also not trying to be in any way 'cool'. In actual fact, the best advocates for Oxbridge are often the students themselves, target officers who know exactly why getting access to a way of life and an education way above their expectations is something worth pursuing. Perhaps better to get them writing the letters. Or, alternatively, sending them to auditions for HOLLYOAKS."
DAYS Charles Shaughnessy is Fifth Baron of Montreal and Ashford
The Shaughnessy name is still one to be reckoned with, not only in Montreal but throughout Canada.
The newly minted Fifth Baron of Montreal and Ashford, Charles Shaughnessy, is a Hollywood actor who won an Emmy for being the voice of Dennis, a goldfish in the animated Walt Disney cartoon series, STANLEY, and is best known to soap fans from his years as Shane on DAYS OF OUR LIVES..
Just because he's an actor doesn't mean the latest aristocrat is frivolous. With a law degree from Cambridge University, he has all of the credentials to be a trusted and informed lord of the realm. Shaughnessy takes his lordly position as seriously as he does being an actor.
"There is pride in the title and how it all started," he said in a telephone interview from his home in Santa Monica, Calif., "To dismiss the honor is to dismiss a great family story. But it is not something I would include on my acting resumé."
He wrote a thesis on the House of Lords, when he took his law degree at Cambridge, and takes the peerage "very seriously.
FOX 411: The Juno Effect Strikes Again
In the year since Diablo Cody’s screenplay became Jason Reitman’s hit film, Juno, we’ve seen unmarried 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears, single 22-year-old Ashlee Simpson and now 17-year-old unmarried Bristol Palin all get pregnant and decide to keep their babies.
"I doubt the writer, Diablo Cody, a former stripper, had in mind to launch a new generation of pregnant unwed teens. But this summer, the soap ONE LIFE TO LIVE borrowed the story for its teen heroine, Starr Manning. It was only a coincidence that in real life, Jamie Lynn Spears, younger sister of Britney Spears, got herself pregnant by her boyfriend. Then Ashlee Simpson, who’s since married, got into the mix. Even though she was starting to show, she refused to admit what had happened."
OLTL's Nigel in a new play
Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Managing Director) is proud to announce that Peter Bartlett (Nigel, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) will star opposite two-time Tony Award® nominee David Pittu, in the world premiere production of "What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling," featuring original music by Randy Redd.
ABC bought out TV Guide, now CBS does the same in PEOPLE
CBS and PEOPLE jointly announced that CBS's fall programming ads will be featured exclusively in PEOPLE's Sept. 22, 2008 issue with 20 ads (consecutive right hand pages, spreads and gatefolds). In a special arrangement with the magazine, CBS will be the exclusive broadcast advertiser in the issue, on stands Sept. 12th during the key period leading up to the launch of CBS's new fall lineup.
Former Y&R music composer directing new film
David M. Matthews, a longtime composer who wrote the music for 750 episodes of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS before becoming a writer and producer on such programs as THE NANNY, CYBILL and LIVING SINGLE, has signed on to direct N-Secure, a film produced and co-written by Julius Lewis.
N-Secure, a drama with a cast of recognizable actors from the movies and television that begins shooting in Memphis a week from today.
Soap operas have become part of Ramadan tradition
For Muslims in Lebanon, there are many traditions associated with the holy month of Ramadan - and not all of them are religious. As well as fasting, praying and giving to charity, many are preparing for another less orthodox Ramadan custom; watching hours of dramatic Egyptian and Syrian soap operas.
Beirutis say that during Ramadan, they love to sit with their families and watch the stories of their favorite characters unfold on screen. The programs start after iftar, the breaking of the daily fast, when many families gather together to enjoy each one another's company. One of the most popular is the Syrian soap opera "Bab al-Hara," set in Damascus during the period of French rule. The characters may live in a world long vanished, but the problems they face are instantly recognizable to Lebanese viewers.
Southeastern Studios in Vero; a new chapter in the "Hollywood East" dream
"Our studio may change the way movies are made in Hollywood. The entertainment industry has been searching for a way to make movies more cheaply while maintaining quality, thus making their investments in feature films more likely to provide an acceptable return. We have the answer.
"Local investors, perhaps tired of their underperforming investments, will now have the opportunity to invest in a feature film that, because it can be produced for one tenth the traditional cost, has a chance to be very profitable. That gives local residents the chance to not only make a lucrative investment, but at the same time support the arts, experience the fun of show business, and get a movie made of precisely the sort they'd like to watch.
"Southeastern Studios can exactly replicate the look of a current show in a way that is indistinguishable to the viewers. For example, an underperforming network soap opera could be produced here, change from being on the verge of extinction to being extremely profitable due to the cost savings of our studio, and the viewers would never notice the difference."
'Playing' Around With ATWT's Marnie Schulenburg
"Throughout the year, I consistently do readings and new plays, and I do a little cabaret here and there with my friend's musical theatre company," explains the actress. "I pretty much try to keep those muscles working."
GL's Bruno on "Frankenstein" cast recording
Last season, Mary Shelley’s novel was reborn as a highly anticipated new musical opening at off-Broadway’s 37 Arts. This September, Frankenstein, a new musical, will release an original cast recording. GUIDING LIGHT star Mandy Bruno played Justine in the show and can be heard when the music becomes available online (iTunes, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody, etc.) today and in stores September 30th.
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