Latest news with #Paddingtonin
BBC News
30-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Leeds: Restored Victorian bear pit in Headingley officially reopens
A restored 1840s bear pit has been officially reopened in Leeds, with local residents now asked how they would like it to be Grade II listed structure in Headingley once housed a brown bear as part of Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens and is now owned by Leeds Civic an event on Saturday, members of the trust unveiled the refurbished building on Cardigan Road along with an information board explaining its director Martin Hamilton previously said the non-profit organisation was "very open to how it be might used in the future". "We want to give people the opportunity to see what happened there," he said."This project is something people can appreciate in the future as part of Headingley." The trust purchased the pit in 1966 for £128 and undertook an initial restoration project in the same Saturday, members of the public were invited to take part in guided tours and plant wildflowers in the site's garden.A consultation has now been launched for ideas and feedback to make the space somewhere "everyone can enjoy", the trust to the restored bear pit would be shared with partner organisations in the area to keep it as accessible as possible, it celebrate the opening, the nearby Hyde Park Picture House cinema invited children to take part in a "bear hunt" and watch a screening of Paddington in Bank community arts centre hosted a family crafts event to mark the day. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
If Paddington is all English values amount to, we're really in trouble
Now look, I have nothing against Paddington Bear. But if I did, just hypothetically, would it change my moral standing in the world? Would it cast my failings in a new and sinister light? Would it indicate, even, a nascent treachery against the values of my country? I submit, your honour, that it would not. And I put it to you, therefore, that the belovedness or otherwise of this fictional bear should have had no relevance in the case of the Crown versus Daniel Heath and William Lawrence. These young men, both RAF engineers, spent the day at Newbury Races, in Berkshire, and emerged several sheets to the wind. Walking back through town, they spotted a fibreglass model of Paddington Bear sitting on a bench, and – like all too many boozed-up blokes before them – felt moved by the spirit of vandalism. After much heaving, they managed to pull away the front half of the model and take it home to RAF Oldham, where it was later discovered hidden in Lawrence's car. Both men pleaded guilty this week to criminal damage. Quite right too. But this somewhat dry, technical – you might say legalistic – term did not seem to satisfy the lawyers at Reading Magistrates Court. They wanted the court (and the press) to know just how offended they were by this particular offence. 'Paddington Bear is a beloved cultural icon with children and adults alike,' said judge Sam Goodze. 'He represents kindness, tolerance and acceptance in our society. His famous label attached to his duffel coat says, 'Please look after this bear.' Your actions were the antithesis of everything Paddington stands for.' All of which, aside from being revoltingly twee, is either inaccurate or irrelevant. If criminal damage is the antithesis of anything, it is (at a stretch) civic conservation. But in any case, it's a crime, and that should be enough. Or is vandalism only to be deplored when it affects a 'beloved cultural icon'? If Heath and Lawrence had spray-painted an un-iconic wall, or smashed an un-beloved shop window, would that have been less reprehensible? Jamie Renuka, the prosecuting barrister, seemed to feel that an attack on Paddington – or his fibreglass likeness, which was installed as part of a marketing campaign for the film Paddington in Peru – was an attack on us all. 'Paddington is a national treasure,' he opined. 'When you think about England, you think about two things: Paddington Bear and the Royal Family.' Even if this somewhat depressing claim is true – in which case, hats off to the marketing team – what is its legal relevance? This was not, at least not officially, a trial for high treason. I realise this is hardly the most important news story of our times. But it bothers me to see such saccharine populism deployed in a court room. It bothers me to hear a judge anthropomorphise a fictional bear, describing the damaged statue as 'him'. It makes me worry that these legal professionals are just as foolish, sentimental and easily swayed as the rest of us. The law is supposed to be evidence-based, dispassionate, clearly-defined. That's how you know you can trust it. And the people who dispense the law must demonstrate those qualities themselves. If they are to sit in judgment over us, they ought to be cleverer than us. Or at least pretend to be. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
BBC News
02-03-2025
- BBC News
Newbury's Paddington Bear statue has been stolen, police confirm
A Paddington Bear statue, celebrating the children's character as part of a UK-wide trail, has been damaged and stolen from a bench in a Berkshire town, police have sculpture was taken from his seat in Northbrook Street, Newbury, overnight on Saturday, according to Thames Valley force said officers were "out exploring CCTV opportunities" on urged anyone who witnessed the theft or saw suspicious activity to contact police. The statue of the Peruvian bear, holding one of his beloved marmalade sandwiches, was unveiled in the home town of Paddington creator Michael Bond in was one of 23 unveiled across the UK last year as part of the Paddington Visits trail, ahead of the StudioCanal film Paddington in in the town have expressed their dismay at the theft, saying he was "a lovely addition to Newbury". Christopher Gibbins said he had seen the damaged remains of the statue at about 08:00 GMT on Sunday while out on a walk."Very sad to see it had happened as he made a lot of people in the town very happy," he locals took to social media, sharing pictured they had taken with Paddington."To some it may not seem like a big deal but he was such a little ray of sunshine, walking to work or taking my small kids into town he just brought a smile to people," Whitney Burnett Curtis said: "I find it especially sad as Newbury is the home town of the author Michael Bond. How upset he would have been." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paddington in Peru's use of previz turned a London studio into a jungle
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Paddington in Peru's visual effects are beautifully real, often vert subtle, and occasionally bamboozling – you'll rewatch Paddington's perilous adventure to find Aunt Lucy and wonder, 'how was that done?'. Well, I caught up with Sylvain Degrotte, VFX Supervisor at Framestore London to uncover how some of the best shots were made, but importantly how previz and techviz made recreating jungles in London. Sylvain has also shed light on how how the team animated Paddington in a previous feature, and VFX colleague Mark Curtis, a VFX Supervisor from Framestore Montreal, shared how the ruined Citadel was created for the film's finale. Here Sylvain lets us in on how previz and techviz connected London's studio team to that in the beaches and jungles of Columbia. If you're inspired, read Framestore's career advice, and our guide to the best 3D modelling software, but read on to discover how Framestore created the visuals for Paddington in Peru. Sylvain begins by telling me the Framestore team had limited input into the creative choices when it came to previz and techviz, because a lot of the work was done at the storyboard stage by Pablo, Alexis (Wajsbrot, Production VFX Supervisor), but says "our involvement was limited to the cherries on top", meaning Framestore got to work on the key shots and sequences. Key to making things work for Paddington in Peru was the dynamic between location filming, work on-set in London and compositing elements. Sylvain explains that, 'On this movie previz was essential: we were shooting plates in Colombia and plates in London. So the previz and the techviz, in particular, were very important for planning the shoot and for planning work in both locations". Highlighting the set-build on the beach sequence Sylvain says the team first visited Colombia to get lidar scans. This information was given to techviz, which then goes to the prop builder who analyse it and creates the physical build. Then the beach can be inserted digitally into the Colombian plate. "Previz also helps when you have limited time in a hard-to-access location," says Sylvain who explains: "We did previz for the river rapid sequence that was shot in Columbia, because it helps you lock down your sequence, identify the necessary cameras, the speed of the boat and so on." Using previz for the project, Sylvain tells me the previz informed how the team would be shooting elements in Colombia and London in a cohesive way. "To start with, our previz team built their 3D environment based on real-world data," begins Sylvain, who then adds: "FPS then converted their previz into techviz that gave useful information for the on-set supervision team regarding the focal length, position and speed of the boat, cameras and actors. All of this contributed to the planning and efficiency of the shoot, which benefited the VFX team immensely." He adds: "Additionally, FPS helped in a novel way to replicate drone motion for the last shot of the Browns on the beach going in the forest. It was shot with a drone in Colombia, and we needed to shoot the same camera movement in London with the actors. "We worked closely with our on-set supervisor Rob Duncan and the drone company (Helicopter Girls) to send them some useful data so that they could position and reproduce the same camera motion that was done weeks before in a completely different part of the world. The two pieces of footage that we received tracked really well with each other so we were able to assemble a first version of the shot quite quickly.' Have you seen Paddington in Peru? What did you think of the film's visual effects?
