Scoop producers explain why it's the right time for Prince Andrew drama
"Why not try and tell those stories more quickly?"
Next week, Netflix will release its new film Scoop – which tells the behind-the-scenes story of how Prince Andrew's infamous 2019 Newsnight interview came about.
The film is one of two upcoming dramatisations of the interview – alongside the Prime Video miniseries A Very Royal Scandal – and some commentators have questioned whether the events are still too fresh in the memory to warrant multiple adaptations.
But speaking to RadioTimes.com on the red carpet at the film's world premiere last night (Wednesday 27th March), Scoop's producers explained why they thought now was the right time for the film.
“I think there's such a big appetite for factually based dramas now, factual based stories," said Sanjay Singhal. "There's so many of them, you look at Mr Bates vs The Post Office and many, many others that are connecting with audiences.
"And I think probably the feeling is, as that appetite grows, why not try and tell those stories more quickly? Because sometimes if they're great stories, they can still connect with you at the moment and I think that appetite is driving a need to tell those stories probably faster than we used to do before."
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Meanwhile Singhal's fellow producer Hilary Salmon said that there isn't necessarily an "ideal time" when it comes to recreating real-life stories and added that the themes of each individual story are more important than how much time has elapsed.
"I mean, one of the dramas that went before us and inspired us was A Very English Scandal, which was the Jeremy Thorpe affair, which was decades and decades before," she explained. "And it still felt extremely relevant for them to dramatise that case.
"There was a reason to tell the story now, and I think that's probably more important than how many years have passed, how many decades have passed – why are you retelling it for a contemporary audience?"
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Radford Neville, another of the film's producers, added: "I think it would be really difficult to make it in 2020. You need a little time to have passed. But I don't think there's some kind of written rule about when you can and can't wait."
Scoop stars Rufus Sewell as Prince Andrew, Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis and Billie Piper as Newsnight's guest booker Sam McAlister – the woman who was responsible for making the interview happen and who wrote the book on which the film is based.
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The official synopsis reads: "Inspired by real events, Scoop is the inside account of the tenacious journalism that landed an earth-shattering interview – Prince Andrew's infamous BBC Newsnight appearance.
"From the tension of producer Sam McAlister's high stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace, all the way to Emily Maitlis's jaw-dropping, forensic showdown with the Prince, Scoop takes us inside the story, with the women who would stop at nothing to get it.
"To get an interview this big, you have to be bold."
Scoop will be available to stream on Netflix from Friday 5th April 2024. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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