AS a student at the New York Film Academy taking up a one-year crash course in filmmaking, I applied and was granted to be included in an exchange student program at London Film School on the basic course in filmmaking from a United Kingdom point of view. I have never been to the United Kingdom although my parents are both full Irish and Ireland has never been part of the current United Kingdom. We come from New Canaan, a very popular town in Connecticut which has been the subject of many episodes of Commander-in-Chief, Fools Rush In and Will and Grace.

I have long fascinated the United Kingdom film industry because it’s more prolific and can even compete with Hollywood mainstream. The best United Kingdom television series that I like is Spooks. Spooks is the United Kindgom’s answer to Hollywood’s The Unit. While the latter talks about a CIA covert team, Spooks tells about the dealings of MI5, the same unit where the famed James Bond is an agent of. Spooks – the television series – has been widely criticized by human rights groups in the United Kingdom and in the United States and Canada as well (where it is also airing) because of the highly unconventional methods MI5 is using which are bordering on the illicit but I believe that Spooks merely expresses what the filmmakers think is true and does not necessarily represent the view of the government of the United Kingdom.

Another thing that I like in the United Kingdom film industry is its constant portrayal of River Thames as backdrop. Although films such as Thunderbirds, National Treasure: Book of Secrets and Rise of the Silver Surfer are Hollywood productions, their portrayal of River Thames in London is fascinating. In Thunderbirds for instance, the beautiful Tintin played by a then 13-year-old Vanessa Anne Hudgens jumps to River Thames to rescue passengers from a monorail which had fallen down deep into the river. In Rise of the Silver Surfer, Jessica Alba who plays the Invisible Woman has to hold the London Eye all by herself so it can’t fall down on River Thames. In National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Nicolas Cage’s character has to throw away a relic to the River Thames to detract his opponents.

Still another thing that fascinates me in the United Kingdom film industry is its portrayal of James Bond. This early, I cannot already wait to see Quantum of Solace, the next James Bond installment starring Daniel Craig. But beyond that, I’m really craving to study how British film directors such as Guy Richie and Danny Boyle strut their stuff. I also admire how adept film actresses such as Keira Knightley and Kate Winslet are in throwing their performances. Beyond Pride and Prejudice and beyond Atonement, Keira Knightley has already carved herself a niche in the British film industry by making films such as The Hole. Gee, I’m already salivating learning all about the movie and television productions there.

THE United Kingdom is one nice place to visit this year. This is where most people in the world want to learn driving at the left side of the road. This is also where most people from continents all over want to learn English spoken in the non-rhotic accent. That’s why there are many English language schools splashed in the United Kingdom. Actually, their English is the original English in the world. English adapted later by the Americans and the Canadians are the rhotic version of the language – meaning the letter r is sounded.

This year, the government of the United Kingdom is following the footsteps made by former United States Vice President Al Gore in his film The Inconvenient Truth. They are now reducing their emission gases by -12.5 percent. But today, we know that people in the United Kingdom still get those hangovers from the holidays. The nice thing about the post-holiday season is retailers which have lots of supplies left in their shelves will give them away at hugely discounted prices. That’s up to 80 percent off on all items so if you’re craving for an iPhone, this may be your chance to own one.

Meanwhile, there is an international conference about to happen in the United Kingdom by March. It’s called the Service Oriented Architecture conference and from the word itself, we can deduce that it’s a convocation of architects who are more concerned on building infrastructures that will benefit the majority of the people rather than benefiting the owners of the infrastructures. And some of these British architects are actually working in impoverished nations like the Solomon Islands or Cameroon. Another conference that is taking place in the United Kingdom will be the Society for Technical Communication annual dinner. It’s not just a dinner; there will also be lectures on various topics from XML to content management and collaborative writing. This conference is aimed for highly technical writers who are employed by highly technical corporations. Speaking of technical companies, 3M is eyeing an increase in growth in the UK market by 2008.

In another development, it is not just the common people who are visiting the United Kingdom. Even heads of state and celebrities visit the United Kingdom every year. For example, the president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, will visit the United Kingdom for two days from March 26 to 28. This will be a jolly time for paparazzi and celebrity watchers as Nicholas Sarkozy would have been married by that time. He is currently engaged to model Carla Bruni. He will be in the United Kingdom on the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II herself.

And we certainly know that the United Kingdom is home everything Shakespearean. This early, all plays at the Shakespeare Globe Theater for the rest of the year has been set already. For 2008, there will be more focus on Shakespeare’s comedies rather than tragedies. Some of the plays already on schedule are King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.