Latest news with #ColinButfield
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Sir David Attenborough's new film Ocean earns a huge £2.5million at the global box office - becoming the highest grossing documentary of 2025 in landslide achievement
Ocean: With David Attenborough has grossed £2,526,000 at the global box office - the most of any documentary in 2025. The new production, which was released on the British icon's 99th birthday on May 8, has captivated audiences across the globe. Dubbed the 'greatest message he's ever told', the movie sees Sir David delve further than ever before into 'the most important place on earth' - its oceans. The environmentalist argues that our seas are at a crossroads after being damaged by pollution and bottom trawling, but Sir David affirms that 'they can bounce back'. And the film has been as popular as its producers anticipated, grossing £1.16million in the UK and Ireland and a staggering £2.5million globally. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The film has broken into the top 25 grossing theatrically released documentaries of all time. Following its success, directors Paul Newman, Keith Scholey and Colin Butfield said: 'We're incredible proud to see Ocean: With David Attenborough embraced by audiences worldwide and making box office history. 'This film was created for the big screen - to immerse viewers in the beauty and fragility of our ocean as never seen before seen - and its success shows this timely story resonates. 'As the UN Ocean Conference approaches, we hope the film and David Attenborough's powerful message continue to inspire global conversation and action for the ocean.' Produced by Silverback Films and Open Planet studios, the film displays never-seen-before footage of the damage that bottom trawling - a common fishing practice around the world - has done to the seabed. The footage shows how the chain that trawlers drag behind them scours the seafloor, forcing the creatures it disturbs into the net behind. The process also releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the sea, something which contributes to global warming. Sir David examined inspirational stories of ocean recovery in areas where destructive fishing is banned - such as the Isle of Arran, Scotland and Hawaii. The broadcasting icon contends that 'the ocean can recover faster than we can ever imagine'. But 'we are running out of time', he argues as he candidly admitted he may not be around to see our oceans saved as he 'nears the end of his life'. During the heartbreaking admission, he shared: 'When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity. 'Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true. After living for nearly a hundred years on this planet, I now understand that the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.' 'Today, it is in such poor health I would find it hard not to lose hope were it not for the most remarkable discovery of all,' he continued. 'If we save the sea, we save our world. After a lifetime of filming our planet, I'm sure nothing is more important.' Sir David further made a reference to his years on Earth as he opened up about the extraordinary ocean discoveries from over the decades and how important it is to preserve the health of the oceans. He said: 'My lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Over the last hundred years, scientists and explorers have revealed remarkable new species, epic migrations and dazzling, complex ecosystems beyond anything I could have imagined as a young man. 'In this film, we share some of those wonderful discoveries, uncover why our ocean is in such poor health, and, perhaps most importantly, show how it can be restored to health. This could be the moment of change. 'Nearly every country on Earth has just agreed, on paper, to achieve this bare minimum and protect a third of the ocean. 'Together, we now face the challenge of making it happen.' The Discovery+ series also features historical footage, including scenes from back in 1957 when the animal lover first attempted scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
Arab News
15-05-2025
- Science
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: Ocean
Authors: David Attenborough, Colin Butfield Drawing a course across David Attenborough's own lifetime, Ocean takes readers through eight unique ocean habitats, through countless intriguing species, and through the most astounding discoveries of the last 100 years, to a future vision of a fully restored marine world, even richer and more spectacular than we could possibly hope. Ocean reveals the past, present and potential future of our blue planet.
Times
09-05-2025
- Science
- Times
How the ocean has changed in David Attenborough's 99 years (it's not all bad)
In 2007 a group of Inuit hunters pulled an old harpoon out of a bow head whale they had caught. The harpoon looked strange, so they passed it to experts who dated it to about 1890. For a bow head whale 120 is not that great an age. They can live to 200. The point of the story, and of this book, is that the whale would have lived through extraordinary environmental change. David Attenborough, who is merely 99, has also lived through extraordinary environmental change. This book tells the story of the oceans in one lifetime and what science has discovered in that period. Co-written with the nature documentary maker Colin Butfield, it stands alongside their documentary Ocean, which had its premiere this
The Independent
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
David Attenborough Ocean directors reveal what 99-year-old broadcasting legend is really like to work with
Sir David Attenborough has released what he has described as one of the most important films of his career — Ocean. Ocean features filming firsts, including the biggest mass coral bleaching event in history and showing the realities of industrial bottom trawling fishing. Directors Kevin Scholey and Colin Butfield reflect on what it's like to work with the broadcasting legend and predict what his lasting legacy will be as Sir David enters his hundredth year. Ocean With David Attenborough is releasing as a global cinema event from Thursday, 8 May.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Science
- Winnipeg Free Press
Book Review: David Attenborough takes readers to ‘Earth's Last Wilderness' in ‘Ocean'
British biologist Sir David Attenborough will celebrate his 99th birthday two days after the publication of his latest book, 'Ocean: Earth's Last Wilderness,' co-written with long-time BBC collaborator Colin Butfield. And I'm willing to bet instead of a cake or any gifts, he'd appreciate it if every nation would sign on to the U.N. High Seas Treaty and stop exploiting the ocean for short-term gains. 'Ocean' is the complementary book to a National Geographic film of the same name available on the Disney family of streaming services. It will no doubt be an amazing look at the watery world that makes up two-thirds of this planet's surface and '99% of its habitable area.' But if you don't want to wait for the main course -— Attenborough's dulcet tones narrating over stunning high-definition images from the deep blue — the book serves as a fine appetizer. Covering eight unique salt-water habitats, 'Ocean' transports readers to coral reefs, the deep, open ocean, kelp forests, the Arctic, mangroves, oceanic islands and seamounts, and the Southern Ocean. Attenborough begins each chapter with a story from his lifetime of exploration, including his first scuba dive in 1957. ('I was so taken aback by the spectacle before me that I momentarily forgot to breathe.') Butfield picks up the baton from there, offering a wealth of scientific facts and history about each habitat. This cover image released by Grand Central Publishing shows "Ocean: Earth's Last Wilderness" by David Attenborough and Colin Butfield. (Grand Central Publishing via AP) Trivia buffs or people who just like to learn new stuff will delight in all the data. The end of each chapter can prompt a fun game of 'Did You Know?' with friends and family. For example: The average depth of the ocean is 3,500 meters (11,483 feet), phytoplankton absorb 40% of the carbon monoxide produced by human activity, and a blue whale's tongue weighs two tons. Despite detailing the impact of global warming throughout the ocean ecosystem, the book is not all doom and gloom. The authors present a case study in hope near the end of most chapters, like the coral reefs of Cabo Pulmo, off the coast of Baja California. Once teeming with life, unrestricted commercial fishing decimated the region in the 1980s. But after a local fisherman teamed up with a marine professor to convince the Mexican government to declare a no-fishing zone and create a marine preserve, Cabo Pulmo recovered over the next decade, a sign, they write, that 'simply leaving parts of the ocean alone creates the capacity for it to regenerate.' Here's hoping that reading or watching 'Ocean' will help raise the level of global awareness required to protect this last wilderness. ___ AP book reviews:
