the media lunch club was established in 1994, by producer Martin Cahill, as a non-profit making, and politically neutral, networking society and has grown to become the film, tv and media industry's premiere café du commerce.
Monthly lunches are held in London's West End (and a Brighton away-day lunch during the summer), with an invited guest speaker. Some of our previous speakers include:
Producers: Tim Bevan, Stephen Evans, Rebecca O'Brien, Nick Manzi, Richard Holmes, Jeremy Thomas, Duncan Kenworthy, Michael Kuhn, Nik Powell, Marc Samuelson, Richard Holmes, Michael Deeley, Simon Channing-Williams, Simon Oakes (Hammer films), Paul Brett, Anne Beresford and Jeremy Bolt.
Directors: Sir Alan Parker, Dame Beeban Kidron, Stuart Baird, Waris Hussein, Roy Ward Baker, Vic Armstrong, Robert Young, Jack Cardiff, Ronnie Neame, Lewis Gilbert, John Glen, Guy Hamilton and Ray Harryhausen and John Irvin.
Executives: Daniel Battsek (former Film4 and Miramax), Duncan Reid (Ingenious), Greg Dyke (TV), Ian Hutchinson (Silver Reel), Lord Michael Grade, Amanda Nevill (BFI), Stewart Till (former UK Film Council Chairman), Lenny Crooks (formerly of New Cinema Fund, UK Film Council), David Thompson (formerly BBC Films), Steve Christian (Pinewood Films), Peter Bennett-Jones (Tiger Aspect), Dave Bishop (Protagonist), John Woodward (former CEO, UK Film Council), Jane Lighting (former CEO Channel 5), Simon George (Ealing Studios Productions), Lorraine Heggesey (ITV/BBC), Dr Kim Howells MP & Shaun Woodward MP (former Film Ministers), Sara Geater (all 3 media) and Robert Duval, David Cooke & David Austin (directors of BBFC), Mia Bays (BFI), Anna Higgs (Facebook) and Elliot Grove (Raindance).
Sales agents: Hilary Davis (Bankside), Mike Goodridge (Protagonist), Martin Myers (Miracle Communications), Andrew Loveday (Carnaby), Maura Ford (7 & 7), Alex Hamilton (former E One, now Pathe), David Grumbach (Juliette Films, Luxembourg), Michael Ryan (formerly J&M, now independent).
Actors: Sir Roger Moore, Britt Ekland, Honor Blackman, Judy Cornwell, Jenny Hanley, Sally Geeson, Virginia McKenna, Ray Brooks, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Bruce Montagu, Brian Capron, Victor Spinetti, Richard Kiel, Madeline Smith and Dame Virginia McKenna.
Writers: Dick Clement, Sir Ronald Harwood, Rob Sprackling, Jimmy Perry, Brian Clemens, Raymond Allen, Jimmy Sangster, Allan Scott, Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran and Dominic Minghella.
And others including: lyricist Don Black CBE, broadcasters Tony Blackburn OBE and Dame Joan Bakewell, director of photography Phil Méheux BSC, Ossie Morris OBE and composer David Arnold. …. to name but a few!
The media lunch club also hosts occasional evening networking events, from 2009 additional and occasional 'Briefing Lunches', (to focus on a more specialised subject in an intimate board-room setting) and during the Coronavirus pandemic switched to online podcasts, with guests in discussion with committee member and broadcaster Olly Smith.
Membership is inexpensive and open to all in the media business.
On April 19th 2013 Sir Alan Parker joined us for our 200th lunch, and cut the special birthday cake!
Robert Powell is perhaps best known for the title roles in Mahler (1974) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in The Thirty Nine Steps (1978) and its subsequent spinoff television series Hannay. Other major screen roles have included Tobias "Toby" Wren in the BBC science-fiction programme Doomwatch (1970), David Briggs in the sitcom The Detectives (1993–1997) with Jasper Carrott, and Mark Williams in the medical drama Holby City (2005–2011).
His first film part was in Robbery (1967), which starred Stanley Baker and was followed by a role in the original The Italian Job (1969) playing one of the gang.
Having been killed off in Doomwatch at the end of series one, at his request, Powell became a pin-up and a household name with starring roles in several BBC serials, including television adaptations of the novels Sentimental Education (1970) and Jude the Obscure (1971). In 1972–1973 he portrayed Charles Rolls in the miniseries The Edwardians and starred in the first episode of the British series Thriller. He also appeared in the 1975 series Looking for Clancy, based on the Frederic Mullally novel Clancy.
In Ken Russell’s Tommy (1975) he had few lines, speaking only during the overture with Ann-Margret, but is primarily seen through the mind of his son as played by Barry Winch (Young Tommy) and Roger Daltrey.
Powell then agreed to a request from his friend and golf partner, comedian Jasper Carrott, taking the part of an incompetent detective. The Detectives proved to be hugely popular comedy hit series for the BBC running 31 episodes.
Many TV roles and film parts have followed ranging from The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (1993), to Dalziel and Pascoe, Agatha Christie’s Marple, Colour Me Kubrick (2005) and his distinctive voice has become well known as a narrator of documentaries and in animation films and TV series.
On 29 October 2001, a state-of-the-art theatre named after him was opened at the University of Salford.
Robert was nominated for a Best Actor BAFTA TV Award for Jesus of Nazareth in 1978 and won a Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in the film Imperative in 1982.
