There’s a popular showbiz story about Tom Stoppard turning down an offer to write a movie for Steven Spielberg because of a prior commitment to the BBC. “Oh, you don’t want to miss this for a television script,” insists the director, to which the playwright replies: “Actually, it’s radio.” – Mark Lawson – The Guardian
For the British, it’s a self-congratulatory anecdote turning on Hollywood incredulity that anyone could be bothered with the wireless. The assumptions behind it are overturned tonight when Johnny Depp makes his Radio 2 debut, hosting a documentary about James Dean. With Martin Scorsese making his BBC TV directing debut last night – with the Bob Dylan films for Arena – the corporation may soon be putting palm trees in its gardens to make all the tinseltown visitors feel at home.
