Netflix has released the official trailer and key art for Scoop, the upcoming film based on former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister’s memoir, Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interview.
Scoop, directed by Philip Martin from a script by Peter Moffatt and Geoff Bussetil, will be available on Netflix on April 5, 2024.
Inspired by real events, Scoop is the inside account of the tenacious journalism that landed an earthshattering interview – Prince Andrew’s infamous BBC Newsnight appearance.
From the tension of producer Sam McAlister’s high-stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace to Emily Maitlis’ jaw-dropping, forensic showdown with the Prince, Scoop takes us inside the story of the women who would stop at nothing to get it.
The cast includes Billie Piper, Gillian Anderson, Keeley Hawes, Romola Garai, and Rufus Sewell.
Hilary Salmon and Radford Neville produced the film for The Lighthouse Film & TV. Sanjay Singhal and Sam McAlister executive-produced it for Voltage TV.
“The interview is so significant, but it’s 5% of the story,” McAlister told Netflix‘s Tudum. “What we do is we take you on the journey to how this all began.”
“I want to put the audience inside the breathtaking 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,” Martin said. “It’s a film about power, privilege, and differing perspectives and how — whether in glittering palaces or high-tech newsrooms — we judge what’s true.”
“It was something I cared about tremendously,” Piper told Tudum. “When you watch that interview, you think, ‘How did this get onto the screens? How was this signed off on? Who was part of this?’ Getting this close to a royal? That level of exposure — don’t know that I’ll ever see anything like it again.
“In my lifetime, I’ve never seen an interview like it. And there are a number of incredible women behind this moment, and telling their story is a gift as an actor, to be honest.”
McAlister is our guide into the world of the BBC. “I was a maverick in an organization that does have quite rigid ways of doing things. A single mom from a working-class background, she feels like she has something to prove at a time when the journalism industry is in crisis.
“With the BBC facing ever-increasing competition, Newsnight’s continued existence is in question, and the pressure to bolster ratings with audience-grabbing interview subjects is at an all-time high.”
“Billie really encapsulated that mix between seriousness and the lighter side of my character,” McAlister commented. “To watch her literally transform, change her voice, [and wear] the extraordinary wig, my nails, the makeup, the roster of black clothing — it’s exactly the same. So meta and surreal.”
McAlister said that recreating the interview was a surreal experience. “It was like being there all over again. The level of detail, putting together exactly the same room, the camera angles, the lighting, the specifics of the table, the cables, the types of cameras, the carpet — everything is so ridiculously close.”
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.