THE Academy award-winning actor, director and producer, Kevin Spacey, has been named the keynote speaker at this year’s Edinburgh International Television Festival.
Spacey is to present the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at this year’s Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.
Say the organisers: “It has been a landmark year for Spacey, who executive produced and starred in the acclaimed break-out Netflix original drama series, House of Cards, which was co-produced by his production company, Trigger Street. House of Cards by-passed traditional TV networks and has been seen as heralding a major shift both from the traditional model of broadcasting and in the way viewers consume content.
Spacey is quoted, as saying: “As a newcomer to the TV industry I am honoured to be invited to give the MacTaggart Lecture. Clearly this has been an exciting period for me personally but also I believe this is a time of huge opportunity, innovation and creativity for all of us who live to tell stories and engage audiences. I’m excited to share my thoughts and meet players from across the media industry. I’m also an Edinburgh TV Festival virgin so have no idea what I am letting myself in for.”
The festival is taking place between Thursday August 22 and Saturday 24. Past MacTaggart speakers include Elisabeth Murdoch, Eric Schmidt, Mark Thompson, James Murdoch, Dennis Potter, Michael Grade, Verity Lambert, Ted Turner, Greg Dyke, David Liddiment, Peter Fincham, Charles Allen, Jeremy Paxman, John Mortimer and Rupert Murdoch.
For more details, visit www.geitf.co.uk.
