:00:12. > :00:17.Tonight at Ten: The talking has started at the most important EU
:00:17. > :00:21.summit for many years. Their mission is to save the eurozone,
:00:21. > :00:26.under intense pressure because of the dealt crisis, but David Cameron
:00:26. > :00:28.arrives with concerns of his own. We need to get that stability in
:00:28. > :00:33.the eurozone which is good for European countries, good for
:00:33. > :00:35.Britain as well, and to protect Britain's interests. Those are the
:00:35. > :00:38.aims, that is what we are discussing.
:00:38. > :00:43.European leaders are urged to be constructive.
:00:43. > :00:46.What I expect from all heads of the government is that they don't come
:00:46. > :00:50.saying what they cannot do, about but what they will do for Europe.
:00:51. > :00:54.All of the world is watching us. We have the latest from Brussels,
:00:54. > :00:59.where the talking is expected to last into the early hours. Also
:00:59. > :01:04.tonight: A red alert from the Met Office as
:01:04. > :01:09.gale-force winds batter many parts of the UK.
:01:09. > :01:13.An urgent inquiry into the school exam system after two examiners are
:01:13. > :01:17.suspended amid claims they were caught cheating.
:01:17. > :01:23.We're cheating. We are telling you the cycle. Probably, the regulator
:01:23. > :01:30.will tell us off. And could this silent black and
:01:30. > :01:35.white French film be on course for an Oscar? I'm here with Sportsday
:01:35. > :01:45.later in the hour on the BBC News Channel as Wayne Rooney leaves
:01:45. > :01:57.
:01:57. > :02:02.Switzerland with good news after a Good evening.
:02:02. > :02:05.The talks has started, the bargaining is under way at the most
:02:05. > :02:09.important European summit for many years. Leaders including David
:02:09. > :02:13.Cameron are in Brussels tonight to consider a plan to ease the debt
:02:13. > :02:17.crisis and to save the single currency. The French and the German
:02:17. > :02:22.leaders want agreement on a new treaty. David Cameron wants a deal
:02:22. > :02:26.that will protect British interests. Or Europe editor, Gavin Hewitt has
:02:26. > :02:30.sent this report. Officials described this as the most critical
:02:30. > :02:34.sit in the EU's history with the whole world watching. The French
:02:34. > :02:40.President said that Europe had never been in such danger.
:02:40. > :02:44.TRANSLATION: Everyone knows that if there is no agreement by Friday,
:02:44. > :02:48.there will be no second chance. We need compromise and quick decisions.
:02:48. > :02:52.So, what are the French President and the German Chancellor after?
:02:52. > :02:56.They want to enforce greater budgetary discipline on the 17
:02:56. > :03:00.eurozone countries. There would be automatic sanctions
:03:00. > :03:07.against those who overspend. Such changes in their view require
:03:07. > :03:12.treaty change. Threading his way through Brussels'
:03:12. > :03:16.European quarter, David Cameron. He knows an EU treaty change needs a
:03:17. > :03:20.British signature. In the UK, he had said he would safeguard the
:03:20. > :03:23.British interests, especially the financial services and the single
:03:23. > :03:28.market. REPORTER: What are you going to
:03:28. > :03:31.say? These are important talks. We need stability in the eurozone it
:03:31. > :03:34.is good for Britain as well. Also we need to protect Britain's
:03:34. > :03:39.interests. The Prime Minister has a dilemma.
:03:39. > :03:43.He said today he would use his veto if UK interests were not protected,
:03:43. > :03:48.but block a deal and he risks further economic turmoil with
:03:48. > :03:52.Britain isolated in Europe. Agree the deal and he risks angering some
:03:52. > :03:57.in his party and possibly dividing his coalition.
:03:57. > :04:02.In a clear reference to David Cameron, Angela Merkel speaking at
:04:02. > :04:05.a pre-summit meeting, appealed for the help from those not in the
:04:05. > :04:09.eurozone. TRANSLATION: I believe that what
:04:09. > :04:15.unites us is that we all want to overcome this crisis, but I also
:04:15. > :04:19.ask for understanding from those who do not have the Euro.
:04:19. > :04:24.But there was hostility to meeting British demands.
:04:24. > :04:26.A key eurozone official here said that he would not accept any deal
:04:26. > :04:32.over financial services that favoured the UK.
:04:32. > :04:36.But David Cameron was not entirely isolated. Other leaders too had
:04:36. > :04:40.objections to treaty change. Treaty change or not, I think it is
:04:40. > :04:45.not at the heart of what we have to do here tonight.
:04:45. > :04:49.Before the dinner upstairs, David Cameron, Angela Merkel and Nicolas
:04:49. > :04:52.Sarkozy metaphor 45 minutes, but there was no coming together.
:04:52. > :04:58.Downing Street sources say that the Prime Minister was tough in setting
:04:58. > :05:02.out his demands and a long difficult night ahead was expected.
:05:02. > :05:05.Europe's leaders have made it clear that the future of the single
:05:05. > :05:08.currency depends on this summit, but Europe is being asked to commit
:05:08. > :05:13.to a big step towards closer integration.
:05:13. > :05:16.For the leaders arriving here, the proposed changes touch on deep
:05:16. > :05:24.issues like the sovereignty over national budgets. It is not only
:05:24. > :05:29.Britain that has concerns. Well, at the heart of any credible
:05:29. > :05:32.solution to the crisis, according to many observe sers the European
:05:32. > :05:35.Central Bank. Today it decided to cut interest rates across the
:05:35. > :05:42.eurozone, but played down the prospect of new financial support
:05:42. > :05:44.for countries in trouble. The markets were unimpressed by that.
:05:44. > :05:48.Our Economics Editor, Stephanie Flanders is here.
:05:48. > :05:53.Well, the European Central Bank offered some support to Europe's
:05:53. > :05:58.economy and to its banks, which the stress test revealed to be weaker
:05:58. > :06:00.than we thought, but it did not offer a lifeline to sovereign
:06:00. > :06:04.governments. The European Central Bank is
:06:04. > :06:06.offering support to the European banks, but it is not offering
:06:06. > :06:11.significant support to the sovereigns.
:06:11. > :06:16.As this is a sovereign crisis, the ECB is basically doing very, very
:06:16. > :06:20.little to address the crisis. To support the eurozone economy,
:06:20. > :06:25.the Central Bank cut from rates by a quarter of a percentage point to
:06:25. > :06:29.1%. That pushed up the European stock markets briefly, but they
:06:29. > :06:35.soon tumbled when the investors heard from the ECB's President. For
:06:35. > :06:40.Italy, it was enough to wipe out the effect of the US Treasury's
:06:40. > :06:45.warm words for the new Prime Minister and his tough budget. The
:06:45. > :06:50.Italian government's cost of brogue jumped up again to nearly 6.5%. So,
:06:50. > :06:57.what signals did the ECB send? There was green light on support
:06:57. > :07:01.for banks to ease the crunch in the markets now, the ECB is offering
:07:01. > :07:06.banks longer term financing, but it will not rush to buy the government
:07:06. > :07:11.debts in the markets to cut borrowing costs for countries such
:07:11. > :07:15.as Italy. Most disappointing was what the President said about using
:07:15. > :07:19.the Central Bank to produce a fire wall to protect troubled
:07:20. > :07:23.governments, for example by getting it to lend a lot to the
:07:23. > :07:27.International Monetary Fund. Mario Draghi stopped that scheming in its
:07:27. > :07:34.tracks. Yes a treaty that says no monetary
:07:34. > :07:38.financing to governments, so, the issue as to one could use the
:07:38. > :07:42.situation as a Khan 7/11 complex, but the point of fact is that there
:07:42. > :07:47.should be a respect of the spirit of the treaty. For many listening
:07:47. > :07:50.that seemed to roul autoa lot. This is a man -- roul out a lot.
:07:50. > :07:54.This is a man who must watch every word.
:07:54. > :08:02.I wish our leaders the best and the ECB is here. It does not mean that
:08:02. > :08:04.they will respond, by the way. Please, no! The ECB is there, it is
:08:04. > :08:09.not letting governments off the hook.
:08:09. > :08:13.But if leaders don't find a road from the crisis tomorrow, the
:08:13. > :08:16.Central Bank may have to do more to rescue the eurozone's sinking
:08:16. > :08:22.economy. Stephanie Flanders, thank you very
:08:22. > :08:27.much. Let's go live to Brussels to talk to our Political Editor, Nick
:08:27. > :08:31.Robertson. Gavin Hewitt or Europe editor. Gav Nick, what is the team
:08:31. > :08:34.telling you about the British position? I think that they know
:08:34. > :08:38.that the influence is limited. That Nicolas Sarkozy is not alone in
:08:38. > :08:43.arguing that none of this is much to do with Britain as we are not in
:08:43. > :08:48.the owe owe. Yet they know that the power could be great.
:08:48. > :08:52.If the European Union is determined to have a new treaty, involving all
:08:52. > :08:57.27 members, David Cameron has the power to say "no". Providing he is
:08:57. > :09:01.willing to use that power, he can demand quite a lot. What he is
:09:01. > :09:07.demanding, is this: That the City of London, that produces so much
:09:07. > :09:11.tax revenue for Britain is treatied -- is treated pretty much the same
:09:11. > :09:17.way as agriculture is in France. Special protection for it. He knows
:09:17. > :09:21.he has to deliver with the MPs in his party, comparing him with a
:09:21. > :09:23.pre-war appears, Neville Chamberlain, therefore the aides
:09:23. > :09:27.are predicting a fight and a long night.
:09:27. > :09:31.Gavin, what are you picking up from the European partners who take a
:09:31. > :09:36.rather different view of some of these things? They do, the French
:09:36. > :09:40.and the German leaders are making it clear. If they cannot get a deal
:09:40. > :09:43.on treaty change with all 27 members of the EU they will be
:09:43. > :09:46.satisfied to turn to the 17 members that make up the eurozone. What is
:09:46. > :09:49.interesting, during the day, is that many of those countries that
:09:49. > :09:54.are not in the eurozone have made it clear that they don't want a
:09:54. > :09:59.deal like that. Why? They believe that there will be a two-speed
:09:59. > :10:03.Europe. There will be ins and outs, that they will lose influence. They
:10:03. > :10:07.are fighting that. On one hand that puts pressure on David Cameron to
:10:08. > :10:12.come up with a deal. On the other hand, it gives him a very strong
:10:12. > :10:18.hand in these negotiations. There is one other factor here.
:10:18. > :10:21.David Cameron is a pressure is under pressure at home. So too is
:10:21. > :10:25.Chancellor Angela Merkel and also President Nicolas Sarkozy of France,
:10:25. > :10:29.who faces the accusation that in all of this he is handing over
:10:29. > :10:34.French sovereignty. Gavin, thank you very much. Nick, a
:10:34. > :10:40.final word to you, really, not maybe on the nitty-gritty of the
:10:40. > :10:44.negotiations, but to underline what is at stake at this summit? Well,
:10:44. > :10:49.for years, British governments of whatever colour have argued that
:10:49. > :10:54.they don't want a two-speed Europe, even after we stayed out of the
:10:54. > :10:59.single currency. The aim of Whitehall was to ensure we did not
:10:59. > :11:03.go slower than everything else. Yet, if the eurozone finds a way to
:11:03. > :11:08.coordinate its budgetary policy, its tax, the spending policies it
:11:08. > :11:13.will coordinate more than that. Whether you are a Euro Hayter or a
:11:13. > :11:16.sceptic or enthusiast, you have to recognise that this is a profound
:11:17. > :11:20.change in Britain's relationship with much of the rest of Europe and
:11:20. > :11:24.big questions will have to be asked. David Cameron has to make those
:11:24. > :11:29.decisions pretty much on his own here tonight. His aides are not
:11:29. > :11:33.allowed to anybody the room. He could adopt the tactic of John
:11:33. > :11:40.Major 20 years ago at the Maastricht summit, so nervous about
:11:40. > :11:44.the scale of the decisions he was about to take, that he secreted a
:11:44. > :11:47.senior Foreign Office diplomat underneath the table, who would
:11:47. > :11:53.pass UUP a note to suggest what to say next.
:11:53. > :11:56.Thank you very much. Scotland is suffering the effects
:11:56. > :12:02.of hurricane-strength winds. Buildings and cars damaged, schools
:12:02. > :12:05.have been closed, travel is disrupted and many homes are
:12:05. > :12:09.without power. Bad weather has affected parts of Wales and
:12:09. > :12:19.Northern Ireland and closed roads in Kim breer and North Yorkshire.
:12:19. > :12:22.
:12:22. > :12:27.This was Helensburgh, on the Firth of Clyde, as the storm rushed
:12:27. > :12:32.ashore. It's been a long time since I've seen it quite so bad.
:12:32. > :12:36.damage it does. And I was at work in Dumbarton and a big piece of
:12:36. > :12:40.signage came flying off and hit the window so we decided to call it a
:12:40. > :12:44.day and go home. The storm is peaking around now here on the
:12:44. > :12:50.River Clyde. It's quite difficult to stand up against this wind. You
:12:50. > :12:56.can really feel the full force of the gale. And, as it swept
:12:56. > :13:01.eastwards across the country, so the danger Rose. In Aberdeen, the
:13:01. > :13:05.Christmas decorations came down early that no shoppers were injured.
:13:05. > :13:10.The owners of these cars had a lucky escape, too. A collapsing war
:13:10. > :13:17.caused nothing worse than twisted metal and shock. We felt the
:13:17. > :13:21.rumbling and the bang of the building that collapsed. Very scary.
:13:21. > :13:25.Many children got a day off. This school closed at lunchtime, but
:13:25. > :13:29.hundreds were shot all day. It's such a shame that our councils
:13:29. > :13:35.didn't make a decision earlier in the day. The it's terrible. We
:13:35. > :13:40.should have been notified this morning. That was it. This is why
:13:40. > :13:43.schools were closed. The bus was empty, the driver and her to, but
:13:43. > :13:46.it could have been packed with pupils when it blew over. When you
:13:46. > :13:50.have the kind of information that the Scottish government was in
:13:50. > :13:53.receipt of last night from the experts, the Met Office and the
:13:53. > :13:58.police, then it was appropriate to act in the way we did and the
:13:58. > :14:04.decisions, in my view, were correct. For much of the day Scotland was at
:14:04. > :14:09.a standstill, as gusts on the mountain tops reached 165 mph. The
:14:09. > :14:14.police advised against all travel in central Scotland. The conditions
:14:14. > :14:18.were too harsh even for Scottish football. Hibs training session in
:14:18. > :14:23.Edinburgh was called off. Too harsh, too, for this wind turbines in
:14:23. > :14:26.Ayrshire, which failed in spectacular style. The waves and
:14:26. > :14:31.the wind have taken their toll today. Police say they've dealt
:14:31. > :14:36.with nearly 100 major incidents on Scotland's roads. And the storm is
:14:36. > :14:41.now being followed in the north of the country by snow. But tonight's
:14:41. > :14:46.biggest battle is to restore power. Engineers are struggling to
:14:46. > :14:53.reconnect more than 60,000 homes. After a tough day, it will be a
:14:53. > :14:57.cold night. Ministers have ordered swift action to restore confidence
:14:57. > :14:59.in the school exam system, after allegations of cheating. Two
:14:59. > :15:03.examiners have been suspended following claims that teachers were
:15:03. > :15:13.given advice about the questions likely to feature in a coming
:15:13. > :15:13.
:15:13. > :15:16.papers. - Matkin upcoming papers. The boards in charge of our
:15:16. > :15:20.children's exams cheating their own systems, telling teachers the
:15:20. > :15:23.answers to the questions they themselves have said? That is what
:15:23. > :15:28.seems to be happening in this undercover filming, done by the
:15:28. > :15:33.Daily Telegraph at a seminar for teachers run by the Welsh exam
:15:33. > :15:43.board, WJCE. Examiners are allowed to give support and guidance but
:15:43. > :15:47.here the examiner appears to go Examiners were apparently seen
:15:47. > :15:51.telling teachers which areas pupils were likely to the questioned on,
:15:51. > :15:55.and phrases to include in answers. The Welsh government is
:15:55. > :15:58.investigating the claims and the exam board has taken action. In the
:15:59. > :16:03.short term, those examiners have been suspended from their current
:16:04. > :16:08.duties pending the investigation being completed. The paper's story
:16:08. > :16:12.names English exam boards, too. Leading the Education Secretary to
:16:12. > :16:17.set up an inquiry and to threaten top action. It could be the case
:16:17. > :16:22.that exam boards lose the right to preside over exams. We want to
:16:22. > :16:26.ensure that our exams are respected, the best in the world. As far as
:16:26. > :16:34.I'm concerned, any powers that we need to invoke in order to get that,
:16:34. > :16:39.we will use. This year, 10 class at West London School is soon due to
:16:39. > :16:43.sit mock GCSEs. The exams watchdog, Ofqual, has warned it could pull
:16:43. > :16:46.papers drawn up for next summer. The exam sector is a multi-million-
:16:46. > :16:50.pound industry that is now under great pressure. The exam boards get
:16:50. > :16:54.paid by schools to set their papers and compete with each other
:16:55. > :16:59.fiercely. Meanwhile, head teachers need pupils to do well in the exams,
:16:59. > :17:04.so the school does well in the league tables. The head teacher
:17:04. > :17:09.here describe what influences a school to choose a particular board.
:17:09. > :17:14.If an exam board was felt to be easier, it may play a part in a
:17:14. > :17:19.school choosing that exam board. Because results matter and it may
:17:19. > :17:22.be that the results would be higher for the school. Tonight the
:17:22. > :17:27.Telegraph released more claims suggesting exam standards on to
:17:27. > :17:35.being upheld. With time running out to restore faith in the system, the
:17:36. > :17:45.watchdog has two week to report back. Coming up, protesting against
:17:46. > :17:47.
:17:47. > :17:52.corporate greed. And the top banker In Zimbabwe, President Mugabe, who
:17:52. > :17:55.is 87, has called for elections next year, as he attempts to win
:17:55. > :17:59.another term in office. He was speaking at the ruling party's
:17:59. > :18:03.Annual Congress in Bulawayo, where the delicate issue of who might
:18:03. > :18:07.succeed him was not discussed. Mr Mugabe has been in power for the
:18:07. > :18:15.past 31 years. But even after a power-sharing deal three years ago,
:18:15. > :18:21.there remaineds serious concerns in the country. -- there remains
:18:21. > :18:27.serious concerns in the country. He still has his fans here. President
:18:27. > :18:32.Mugabe's based on almost every surface. His loyalists party as
:18:32. > :18:34.Zimbabwe struggles. Imposing security, as the man himself but
:18:34. > :18:44.arrives to declare he wants elections and another term in
:18:44. > :18:47.
:18:47. > :18:53.office. We are saying time has come now for us to prepare for elections.
:18:53. > :18:58.We have to have elections next year. In a year of revolutions, President
:18:58. > :19:08.Mugabe has been mocked in this African fast food advert as the
:19:08. > :19:14.last dictator. Today he hit back. Only a dead imperialist is a good
:19:14. > :19:24.one. But after three decades, how much longer can the President keep
:19:24. > :19:27.this going? He is 87 and reportedly in failing health. Behind the
:19:27. > :19:31.scenes there is plenty of talk about life after Robert Mugabe. But
:19:32. > :19:37.you wouldn't catch anyone here talking about that in public.
:19:37. > :19:42.don't even imagines ZANU-PF without Mugabe. Because Mugabe, it is not
:19:43. > :19:47.just physical. He is an idea of the party. In the real world Zimbabwe
:19:47. > :19:52.is enjoying some stability, with a power-sharing government in place.
:19:52. > :19:57.But the fear has not gone. This is still the land of nervous laughter.
:19:57. > :20:04.Are you scared to talk about President Mugabe? I don't want to.
:20:04. > :20:07.Why not? And I don't know. uncomfortable with the subject.
:20:07. > :20:14.it difficult to talk about President Mugabe, what do you think
:20:14. > :20:19.of him? No. I'm not comfortable talking about that either. And that
:20:19. > :20:23.sense of political unease is hurting the economy, too. Business
:20:23. > :20:27.is terrible. We survive, I think we've been able to keep things
:20:27. > :20:34.going, but we are way below what the real potential of the economy
:20:34. > :20:43.is. But President Mugabe still insists the outside world is to
:20:43. > :20:46.blame, and only he can lead Zimbabwe to real freedom. A British
:20:46. > :20:51.soldier from the Royal Engineers has died from injuries he sustained
:20:51. > :20:55.in an explosion in Afghanistan on Tuesday. The soldier, from 35
:20:55. > :21:02.Engineer Regiment, was brought back to the UK from the Nahr-e Saraj
:21:02. > :21:05.district of Helmand province. He died in hospital in Birmingham. It
:21:05. > :21:10.will take several years for the British economy to grow again at
:21:10. > :21:13.the rate we enjoyed before the financial crash. That is the view
:21:13. > :21:16.of Business Secretary Vince Cable, whose spoken to the BBC about the
:21:16. > :21:20.lasting impact of the crisis. And the chairman of the Royal Bank of
:21:20. > :21:23.Scotland has admitted his surprise that the public protest against the
:21:23. > :21:30.big banks did not happen before now. Robert Peston has this exclusive
:21:30. > :21:35.report. We didn't all have a Ferrari or a Roller. But the 16
:21:35. > :21:42.years to 2008 was a golden age. Unbroken growth of 3% a year on
:21:42. > :21:47.average. A consumer boom fuelled by debt. Ended by the crash. Now over.
:21:47. > :21:51.Since then, we've had recession and near stagnation. How long do you
:21:51. > :21:58.think it will take to reconstruct the British economy so that we can
:21:58. > :22:03.have that kind of 3% growth on a sustainable basis? 3% growth and a
:22:03. > :22:07.sustainable basis is quite ambitious. We're talking most of
:22:07. > :22:11.that growth has got to come from innovation and technological change,
:22:11. > :22:16.and achieving that would be very substantial. It's not going to
:22:16. > :22:20.happen within months. We are talking years. Years. 5, 10 years?
:22:20. > :22:23.There is no point in artificially putting a deadline on it.
:22:23. > :22:27.transforming our economy into one in which we invest more and pay our
:22:27. > :22:33.way in the world by exporting more than we spend may mean they have to
:22:33. > :22:42.get used to flat or low growth. Would that be so terrible? 1% isn't
:22:42. > :22:45.so bad. It means we are still growing. People. Sometimes to the
:22:45. > :22:51.Japanese experience in the 1990s as having been shocking. How terrible
:22:51. > :22:55.it was that growth in Japan flatlined for the better part of
:22:55. > :22:59.the decade. But if you look at the Japanese population, they weren't
:22:59. > :23:03.especially unhappy with their lot, they were perfectly content. This
:23:03. > :23:07.arduous period of economic transition isn't universally
:23:07. > :23:13.popular. And it's not unusual for the banks to be on the sharp end of
:23:13. > :23:19.popular anger. What is your own view of the oche by Wall Street and
:23:19. > :23:23.related popular campaigns? -- Occupy Wall Street. I'm surprised
:23:23. > :23:30.it's taken so long. The financial crisis and the failure of banks and
:23:30. > :23:33.so on has been going on for three years. Most people think it's going
:23:33. > :23:37.on for a bit longer. I absolutely feel the sense of outrage about
:23:37. > :23:41.what happened in the banking sector. I think it is absolutely
:23:41. > :23:47.disgraceful that British banks for the first time in 300 years of
:23:47. > :23:50.British banking needed massive taxpayer bail-out. Austerity, maybe
:23:51. > :23:56.it's less a British base and more in the way of life. More grafting,
:23:56. > :23:59.less shopping. You can see more of those interviews this Sunday on
:23:59. > :24:02.BBC2 at 7pm in The Party's Over: How the West Went Bust, where
:24:02. > :24:11.Robert looks at the prospects for a stronger British economy in the
:24:11. > :24:17.coming decade. Among this year's more unlikely contenders for an
:24:17. > :24:20.Oscar nomination is a silent film, a French romance called The Artist,
:24:20. > :24:25.shot in black and white. What's more, the actors are mostly unknown.
:24:25. > :24:29.The story takes place in Hollywood in the 1920s and 30s, as silent
:24:29. > :24:33.movies slipped out of fashion. Our arts editor has been to see if all
:24:33. > :24:38.the praise is justified. It's a silent movie that has got people
:24:38. > :24:46.talking. The Artist has been a surprise hit of the festival
:24:46. > :24:51.circuit, winning awards and receiving applause. It is a loving
:24:51. > :24:54.pastiche of the silent movies made in Hollywood during the 1920s. An
:24:54. > :24:59.era that ended abruptly with the introduction of the talkies, films
:24:59. > :25:03.in which the audience could hear the actors speak. It was a way to
:25:03. > :25:09.make a modern movie. It was very important to me not to try to make
:25:09. > :25:15.a fake 1920s movie. The directors in the 20s, they didn't make silent
:25:15. > :25:20.movies. They made movies. They didn't have the option. The plot is
:25:20. > :25:24.simple. As the reputation of the unfashionable silent screen idol
:25:24. > :25:31.sinks, so the career of a glamorous new actress with talking talent
:25:31. > :25:38.rises. Of course the modern actors in the film had to take the reverse
:25:38. > :25:42.journey. How easy was it for new stars to learn old tricks? It is
:25:42. > :25:49.not intellectual, it is just instinctive. Your body does the
:25:50. > :25:59.work. I was happy because I had fun pretending to be a movie star in
:26:00. > :26:01.
:26:01. > :26:05.the 1920s. My energy, my movement, my face. This is the first and the
:26:05. > :26:14.last silent-movie to win the Best Picture Oscar, and that was back in
:26:14. > :26:24.1929. What chance then of The Artist repeating that feat nearly a
:26:24. > :26:43.
:26:43. > :26:49.It is a beautifully short movie. It is sophisticated clever and very
:26:49. > :26:53.funny. The plot is all about the rise and fall of the matinee idol.
:26:53. > :26:57.In these times of our celebrity obsessed culture, it really is