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, 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 and Jeremy Bolt.
Directors: Sir Alan Parker, Beeban Kidron, Robert Young, John Irvin, Stuart Baird, Waris Hussein, Roy Ward Baker, Vic Armstrong, Jack Cardiff, Ronnie Neame, Lewis Gilbert, John Glen, Guy Hamilton and Ray Harryhausen.
Executives: 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), 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);
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, Bruce Montagu, Brian Capron, Victor Spinetti, Richard Kiel, Madeline Smith.
Writers: Dick Clement, Sir Ronald Harwood, Rob Sprackling, Jimmy Perry, Brian Clemens, Raymond Allen, Jimmy Sangster. …. 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!
Recipient of the largest production award from the BFI in 2022 (£1.15 million) and named by Screen Daily as one of the 16 UK titles to tempt festival directors in 2023, Chuck Chuck Baby premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival in August ahead of a Toronto screening and an upcoming national UK cinema release.
Jointly financed by BBC Films, BFI and Ffilm Cymru Wales, whilst being sold internationally by The Yellow Affair sales company, it is a film of love and loss set amongst the falling feathers of a chicken factory in industrial North Wales and featuring the inspiring music of Neil Diamond, Janis Ian, Minnie Riperton and others. With a cast including Louise Brealey (Brian and Charles, Sherlock), Annabel Scholey (The Split), Sorcha Cusack (Mrs Brown’s Boys), Celyn Jones (The Almond and the Seahorse) producer Anne Beresford and writer/director Janis Pugh, armed with a winning script, brought together all of the elements and partners to fully finance their first feature together.
Anne is previously known for producing Mouth to Mouth (2005) with Elliot Page, plus many live cinema versions of stage shows such as opera Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh Beach (2013), the west-end production Hamlet (2015) starring Maxine Peake, Attrition (2018) along with two dozen short films, and several TV mini-series and TV movies from 1992 onwards making her one of our most versatile and experienced producers.
