First, I'd like to talk about this March's theme briefly, 'Out of the Office'. Never has a monthly theme caused so much confusion. PRs, writers, passers-by, no two people seem to have the same view of what TZ wanted to cover. And in a way, that's perfect. My initial idea was that it would be a more inclusive and original way of talking about remote working, but this has actually led to some unexpected features which will be interesting to publish in the coming weeks. Could it be about the general pros and cons of being a freelancer? Could it be about team building activities outdoors? Could it be about trainers on holiday? You'll have to stick around to find out.
Unlike this time a year ago, I started this week with a spring in my step. Last year a good friend of mine was - by association - sort of up for an academy award, as a film he had worked on, Wish 43, was nominated for Best Short Film. This year there was no marathon of glucose and caffeine consumption to prolong our Sunday night and shorten our Monday day only to see our hopes and dreams destroyed by the opening of a small gold envelope. Just a good night's sleep and a quick perusal of Twitter and bbc.co.uk in the morning. That The Artist swept the board in the big categories is no surprise if you look at trends from previous years, and I think Michel Hazanavicius's film is a worthy winner. As Andy Green says in our headline piece on site today, break your boundaries. Part of The Artist's success was down to its going completely against the grain of most contemporary film-making. I do worry that people who see it now will be bitterly disappointed, but there's nothing we can do about that is there?
