Such was the case for Konrad Kay, the co-creator of the new HBO and BBC drama Industry. After three years at a top American investment bank, Kay was ultimately sacked for being ‘the worst salesman the bank had ever seen’.
“I think my boss actually said that to me almost word for word,” he laughs, “but I didn’t leave under a cloud, we were really good mates. I thought it was totally fair”.
Thank you to RTS Cymru Wales for inviting me to give this year’s lecture. It’s a privilege to be with you all here tonight, particularly as we’re here in this shiny building – the new home for Cardiff University’s prestigious school of journalism, media and cultural studies as well as, of course, BBC Wales.
Opportunities such as this give a rare chance to reflect publicly on what has been an incredible few years - a constant and glorious work in progress that myself and the other Bad Wolves are passionately driven and obsessed by.
The Welsh Government should stop “throwing money” at short term ventures by producers from outside Wales and instead invest in home-based companies was the hard-hitting message by Jane Tranter in this year’s RTS Cymru Wales Annual Lecture.
Having commissioned Doctor Who to be made out of Cardiff, she continued to invest in network drama made here, with series such as Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
After she left the BBC she co-founded BAD WOLF, a global drama production company based in Cardiff that grew out of a long term collaboration with the creative community of Wales.
Before 2005 and the production of Doctor Who in Cardiff, Wales was always seen by the BBC – including me – as the “problem child”. But, just as with a “problem child” in a classroom, alarmingly, the problem is more often with the teacher/adult than the child; invariably, “problem children” are the most interesting in class and mature into the best of adults.
The broadcaster announced in November that it had commissioned the adaptation from Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema.
Philip Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy has sold close to 17.5 million copies around the globe and has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Philip Pullman's award-winning fantasy trilogy - Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - will be brought to BBC One as part of a New Line Cinema/Bad Wolf joint production.
The books, published between 1995-2000, follow the life of the orphan child Lyra and her adventures travelling through parallel worlds. They have been praised for their imagination, epic scope and masterful inclusion of broad, often adult themes including religion, conscience, puberty, innocence and knowledge.
