By Iain Blair

As a Brit I’m chuffed about the current success of Brit talent in U.S. films ,TV – and especially comedy these days. Let’s face it, America has always embraced British comedians, starting with Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, and on through a long line of varied descendants, from Bob Hope, Monty Python and Benny Hill to Sasha Baron Cohen and Ricky Gervais. A (sort of) shared language and culture obviously help.

This year’s been particularly good for us Brits. Recently BAFTA/LA hosted its first-ever British Comedy Awards, brainchild of Nigel Lythgoe, who has a couple of little shows here called American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Then last night I went to the 2008 Breakthrough Brits reception, held at the ritzy new London West Hollywood Hotel by the UK Film Council and MC’d by Nigel. The Breakthrough Brits program gives the filmmakers an inside track on film financing, new distribution models, international co-production, sales, marketing and script development, and this year’s honorees are Actor/Playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah, Actor/Director/Writer Noel Clarke, Producer Esther Douglas, Director John Giwa-Amu, Director/Writer Kara Miller, Producer Rita Osei, Producer Karlene Page, Producer Barrington Robinson, Producer Zoe Stewart, Co-Producers/Directors Sunandan Walia and Yugesh Walia, and Documentary Writer/Director Florence Ayisi.

I was chatting with Nigel before the event began and he made a great point about Brit talent in Hollywood, saying, “The only Brits that complain about L.A. and head back home are the ones who don’t succeed.” The packed event was well-lubricated by plenty of booze - another very Brit. aspect of the evening! – and I ended up talking at length with honoree Kara Miller. She was the winner of the Hitchcock Award, the Screen Nation ‘Best Emerging Talent’ award and shortlisted for the BBC’s New Filmmaker Award, and told me she’s currently developing two feature film projects: Killer Miller (a thriller set in Jamaica & USA) and Boobs (a coming of age comedy drama).

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