Shooting starts this month on Netflix feature Scoop, a film that goes behind the scenes of Prince Andrew’s notorious Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis.
Rufus Sewell will play Prince Andrew with Gillian Anderson on board as Maitlis.
Scoop is based on Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s book, Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews. McAlister has also written the script for the feature.
The cast also includes Keeley Hawes as Amanda Thirsk, former private secretary to Andrew; and Billie Piper as McAlister.
The Lighthouse Film & TV – launched in 2020 by Hilary Salmon, Radford Neville and Nick Betts are producing the film alongside Voltage TV.
The Crown and Catherine the Great director Philip Martin will direct. Hilary Salmon and Radford Neville (Luther, The Night Of, MotherFatherSon) are producing for Lighthouse Film & Television alongside Sanjay Singhal (Bin Laden: The Road to 9/11, Trouble at Topshop) for Voltage TV.
“It is beyond my wildest dreams, especially as a first-time writer, to end up working with this extraordinary cast, Netflix, and the amazing teams at The Lighthouse and Voltage,” said McAlister. “Watching Billie Piper, one of my favourite actresses, play “me” will be a pinch myself moment and I’m truly thrilled to be involved in this film.”
“I’m thrilled to be directing this film for Netflix and – together with an extraordinary cast – to be bringing Sam McAlister’s revelatory insider’s account to the screen,” said Martin “Uptempo, immersive and cinematic, I want to put the audience inside the breath-taking sequence of events that led to the interview with Prince Andrew – to tell a story about a search for answers, in a world of speculation and varying recollections. It’s a film about power, privilege and differing perspectives and how – whether in glittering palaces or hi-tech newsrooms – we judge what’s true.”
Jon Creamer
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