Now, I didn't catch it live as I was doing a bit of broadcasting of my own on Saturday night (I have a brand new show called Saturday Hits from 6 - have I mentioned that? A brand new show?) Anyway, I digress - I didn't catch the IFTAs live on Saturday so I sat down to watch the repeat yesterday. But it wasn't on the TV as scheduled. That was probably a big enough hint at how the show went on Saturday night, but nonetheless, I logged on and caught it on Player.
The witty banter! The camera work! The noise! The PRODUCTION AS A WHOLE - all a big fat fail.
BUT - there were some good bits, and they should be acknowledged. Firstly, Amy Huberman and Colin Farrell did a lovely job introducing Michael D Higgins and presenting him with his award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts. They quoted a few lines from some of his poetry - however, reading from the autocue, Colin did react to another terrible pre-written "quip". SO CLOSE!
Philomena Lee was there with Steve Coogan, and she looked sensational. They picked up the award for Best International Film, and Steve gave a very eloquent speech, with Philomena on the stage beside him. It truly was a lovely moment.
Michael Fassbender picked up the award for Best Supporting Actor for 12 Years a Slave - having missed out on the Oscar, it was great to see him acknowledged for being, well, super.
But it's clear that the IFTAs needs to have a complete overhaul where production management is concerned. I'd hate to be in the room for the de-brief of THAT debacle...
