Cate Blanchett to be guest on BBC Radio 4 new programme ‘This Natural Life’; Rumours at TIFF; & Borderlands UK Trailer

Cate Blanchett will be the first guest in the new radio programme, This Natural Life, by BBC Radio 4. The programme is hosted by Martha Kearney who interviewed Cate recently to promote Warwick Thornton’s THE NEW BOY. Guy Maddin, Evan and Galen Johnson’s RUMOURS will have its North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, Cate is set to receive the TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award.

Thank you to Jenny, Lindy, Meryl, and Katie for their donation.

We’re one month away from hosting renewal and we’ve raised US$ out of US$ 400 for this year’s renewal. We need your help or we can’t keep the site running. We hope that you can support the site by donating — we highly appreciate any amount. You can click on the donate button at the end of this post or on the left side bar (when viewed on desktop).

This Natural Life on BBC Radio 4

After six years at the helm, this morning Martha Kearney presented her final edition of Today, Radio 4’s flagship morning news programme, alongside Amol Rajan.

Martha bid an emotional goodbye to her colleagues, and Radio 4 Today listeners and left the studio to a round of applause.

Having worked at the BBC since 1988, Martha launches her new Radio 4 interview series later this year, This Natural Life, which celebrates her love of the outside world. The upcoming series from BBC Audio Bristol will celebrate nature and the amazing power of the natural world to give us hope, wonder, solace and awe. In one-to-one interviews with nature lovers on location, Martha will explore how nature has become an important part of their lives – perhaps as a source of inspiration, a place to unwind, or just their passion.

Her first guest will be actor Cate Blanchett, and other names joining her across the series include chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, broadcaster Hamza Yassin, actor and director Martin Clunes and nature writer Richard Mabey, with more names to come. In This Natural Life, Martha will share the joy that nature can bring to everyone.

Martha’s own love of nature can be seen through TV programmes she has presented including The Wonder of Bees and The Great Butterfly Adventure.

Martha Kearney says: “After more than four decades in the news jungle, I’m escaping to the wild world of nature programmes. I’m hugely excited to be sharing my own passion with some fascinating guests in my new series This Natural Life. Of course I will miss being at the heart of breaking stories, our amazing production team and all the listeners who say they wake up with me. The 3am alarm call… not so much.”

Director of Speech and Controller of BBC Radio 4, Mohit Bakaya, says: “Martha is a brilliant journalist and presenter, who has navigated us through important news stories over the years, and led Radio 4’s coverage for significant national events, including the Queen’s funeral and King’s coronation. I am delighted that she is staying with Radio 4, bringing her considerable knowledge, passion and experience of the natural world to Open Country and our exciting new interview show, This Natural Life.”

Editor of Today, Owenna Griffiths, says: “It’s been my great privilege to be Martha’s editor both at The World at One and Today. She’s a journalist with great tenacity, insight and a wonderfully broad range of interests. Above all she’s a warm and generous colleague who will be missed by me and the team.”

This Natural Life is a BBC Audio Bristol production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

Rumours

RUMOURS is part of TIFF’s Special Presentations. The festival’s full schedule for Toronto International Film Festival this year will be unveiled on 13 August, TIFF Tribute Awards will be held on the evening of 8 September.

Cate Blanchett (The New Boy, TIFF ’23) joins a strong ensemble cast and plays the German chancellor in Rumours, an absurd satire of a G7 world leaders meeting that spins wildly out of control — the latest from co-directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson.

More on RUMOURS here.

Borderlands UK Trailer & Spots

There’s nothing like barreling toward almost certain peril with your best friends!!! pic.twitter.com/kyDn3x2IeG

— CLAPTRAP (@BorderlandsFilm) July 18, 2024