GREAT BRITAIN CELEBRATES BRITISH ACADEMY AWARDS® NOMINEES & BRITAIN'S GREAT

February 2012, Hollywood CA: The British are coming...
the British are here!

The United Kingdom's worldwide GREAT campaign arrived in Hollywood to toast British nominees for Academy Awards® and entertainment industry VIPs at a reception hosted in Los Angeles by the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and British Consul-General, Dame Barbara Hay.

Great Britain has often played a starring role in some of the most celebrated and awarded films in history. In fact, hundreds of Oscars have been awarded British talent and films over the years.

In addition to celebrating British Academy Award® nominees, this year's prestigious event in the awards calendar marked the Los Angeles launch of the GREAT Campaign. GREAT is a global initiative that promotes everything Great Britain has to offer, from culture and sports to innovation and creativity, with events in both US cities (New York and LA) to other global capitals and cultural centers (Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Shanghai and Delhi) .

At this year's Academy Awards, Britain is represented by nominees in such films as "Hugo," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," "War Horse," "Jane Eyre," "The Iron Lady" and "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" in such varied and esteemed categories as Best Picture, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Editing, Visual Effects, Adapted Screenplay and Documentary Short Subject.

Among those on the red carpet included British Oscar® nominees Gary Oldman (Best Actor -"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"), Kenneth Branagh (Best Supporting Actor - "My Week With Marilyn"), Christopher Plummer (Best Supporting Actor - Beginners), Julia Ormond/ (My Week With Marilyn), and even Victoria Beckham graced the red carpet in celebration of Great Britain's contribution to films.

In celebration of GREAT British creativity, an unveiling of a new ipad drawing by David Hockney, one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century, and who called Los Angeles home for more than three decades, took place.