Mark Lawson
No image available
/ 28 March 2008

Embroidered memories

The most psychologically intriguing possibility regarding Hillary Clinton’s recollection of coming under sniper fire in Bosnia is that, for her, the memory is entirely accurate. Regardless of what the conditions on the ground objectively were, she was frightened about going there and felt apprehensive throughout a tour which she hoped/feared might have to be abandoned.

No image available
/ 1 September 2006

Too batty for the box office

In Hollywood movies, a single plot twist is no longer considered sufficient: the first surprise is the down payment on a more amazing revelation. Off-screen events now follow the same logic: Mel Gibson’s drunk, anti-Semitic rant simply began the widening of eyes that now gape fully with the news that Viacom-Paramount is abandoning its production […]

No image available
/ 18 August 2006

How many Oscars has the British government won?

If you’re ever stuck for a tie-break question to decide a pub quiz, try this: How many Oscars has the British government won? This is not a joke about Tony Blair’s thespian tendencies; the answer is two. In 1944, the ministry of information’s Desert Victory won the first-ever Academy Award for documentary; and two years later the trophy was shared with the United States government for The True Glory.