‘She was an unsung hero’: Billie Piper on playing producer Sam McAlister in a new drama about Prince Andrew’s Newsnight fiasco

In Scoop, the story behind the prince’s disastrous TV appearance, Piper plays McAlister, the woman who landed the interview. They discuss their unlikely alliance, the pitfalls of fame and the extent of Andrew’s delusionsThe Netflix film Scoop, which retells the story of how Newsnight landed its infamous, eye-popping 2019 interview with Prince Andrew, has a strong Working Girl vibe, which may be one reason why I enjoyed it (I’m talking about the Oscar-winning 1988 movie, in which Melanie Griffith plays a girl from Staten Island who dreams of climbing the corporate ladder). In part, this is thanks to the blond wig worn by one of Scoop’s stars, Billie Piper, which comes with a powerful whiff of the late 1980s. Mostly, though, it’s because Peter Moffat’s screenplay pitches Piper’s character, Sam McAlister, as a plucky outsider surrounded by somewhat toffee-nosed types who only finally begin to take her seriously when she lands the TV exclusive to end them all. One minute, her lip is trembling with the unfairness of it all. Why do her bosses disdain all her brilliant ideas? The next, she’s at Buckingham Palace telling the queen’s favourite son to his face that his brand is distinctly grubby and could do with a generous spin in the Newsnight washing machine.Was it really like this? When I meet Piper and the real life McAlister at Netflix HQ in the weeks before Scoop has its premiere, I hope vaguely to get to the bottom of some of the gossip that trails it; there’s talk, for... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-03-31 06:00:30 UTC ]
News tagged with: #meet piper #netflix hq #hope vaguely #ultimately delivered #netflix film #loosely based #executive producer #rival depiction #royal scandal #netflix production #unusual combination #piper plays #ten minutes #recent book

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘She was an unsung hero’: Billie Piper on playing producer Sam McAlister in a new drama about Prince Andrew’s Newsnight fiasco'


Profile MD Andrew Franklin Eschews Publishing Mysticism

Andrew Franklin of London’s Profile Books doesn’t believe in publishing mysticism, just good business: "It always comes down to authors and their books." The post Profile MD Andrew Franklin Eschews Publishing Mysticism appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Playing Hot Potatoes With Ad Blocking

Everyone’s to blame for the state of digital advertising, but ad blocking is a problem that’s landed right in publishers’ laps. The post Playing Hot Potatoes With Ad Blocking appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2015-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad blocking #digital advertising


Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Sequel play to pick up where final JK Rowling book left off

A new play will pick up the story of Harry Potter where the seventh and final volume of JK Rowling's saga left off, with a plot involving a grown-up Harry and his youngest son, Albus. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter #cursed child #final volume #jk rowling


'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child': Here's how the play fits into the 'Potter' universe

'Potter' fans now know what the upcoming play will be about and it involves more of the characters from the book series than they may have thought. The show is set to open in London in the summer of 2016. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harry potter #cursed child #upcoming play #book series


Tartans created for comic book heroes

A kiltmaker unveils tartans for superheroes Superman and the Hulk and plans another potential range for female characters. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2015-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC's McMafia drama to focus on global organised crime

Producers of globe-hopping series created by Drive screenwriter Hossein Amini from Misha Glenny’s book hope it will have international appealBBC1 will look to rival The Godfather and The Sopranos with a globe-hopping drama set in the world of organised crime inspired by the best-selling book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Get the Android Marshmallow Quick Start Guide free from the Play Store

Doing the reading before class may not have been the highest priority while you were in school. But here’s some text you may actually want to dive into: a primer on all the cool, new features of Android Marshmallow. Google just published its Quick Start Guide, a free eBook that anyone can grab... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Picture Books Still in Play on Audio

Recordings of longer works usually get the most attention in the audiobook world, but two recent splashy releases are reminders that picture books can also make for quality audio productions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Check It Out with Andrew Richard Albanese: How To Make the Orphan Works Problem Worse

The U.S. Copyright Office is soliciting public comments on a massive 234-page report and legislative proposal dealing with one of copyright’s central problems—orphan works. But with a week left in the comment period, librarians and archivists—groups that once supported orphan works... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams to play ‘dirty old’ dinner lady in BBC Christmas special

BBC1 adaptation of comedian’s book Billionaire Boy will star Cold Feet’s John Thomson and The Thick of It’s Rebecca FrontBBC1’s adaptation of David Walliam’s best-selling book Billionaire Boy will star Cold Feet’s John Thomson, The Thick of It’s Rebecca Front and Walliams as a “dirty old” dinner... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers bring Radium Girls play to West End

Two publishing professionals have brought a production of Melanie Marnich’s 'These Shining Lives' to the Pleasance Theatre in London. Kate Moore, a former PRH editorial director who now works as a freelance writer and editor, is directing the play, while Anna Marx, commissioning editor at John... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #west end #publishing professionals #freelance writer #john blake #leading role


My Job In 5: Sam Eades, Senior commissioning editor/associate publicist, Orion Publishing Group

Describe your role I have an unusual role in that I am a publicist and an editor, two jobs in one. As well as putting together PR campaigns, I also commission fiction for the Orion Fiction list and am looking for crime, speculative and reading group fiction for the commercial and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Latest James Bond scribe says Idris Elba 'too street' to play 007 - and later apologizes

First of all, Anthony Horowitz may be a bestselling author in England, but he's not Ian Fleming. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Helena Bonham Carter to star in Nick Hornby drama on BBC1

Love, Nina will go out over five half-hour episodes in Fever Pitch writer’s first television outing to be based on Nina Stibbe’s award-winning bookHelena Bonham Carter is to star in writer Nick Hornby’s first TV drama – Love, Nina – based on the memoirs of a nanny who worked for some of the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When the agent is the author: Andrew Lownie

'A lot of new material' "Being an author myself again has made me a better agent I believe," Andrew Lownie tells me. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sign of the times: how Show Me a Hero captures our political mood

Despite being set in the 1980s, David Simon’s new show seems spookily topical. It’s not the only TV series that has turned up in the right place at the right time...David Simon’s new series Show Me a Hero provides everything you might expect from a TV-maker with The Wire, Homicide: Life on the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Heroes are no zeroes

How do the numbers stack up in Graphic Novels? Superhero movies have had a grip on Hollywood since Marvel Studios broke all box office records with “The Avengers” in 2012 and, during the summer, hardly a week has gone by without the release of another big comic book adaptation, crowded with... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spy The Unsung Psychedelic Pop-Art Landscapes Of Roy Lichtenstein

A new exhibition chronicles the iconic artist's lesser known fascination with sea and sky.Roy Lichtenstein was once derided as the "worst artist in America," but time has proven him to be synonymous with 1960s Pop Art and cemented him in the annals of art history. After all, good art typically... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gollancz partners with Prince Charles cinema

Science fiction and fantasy publisher Gollancz has partnered with London's Prince Charles cinema and mobile video game library the Gamer’s Bus on the second Gollancz Festival. The festival takes place at Waterstones Manchester Deansgate on 16th October and Waterstones Piccadilly in London on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Starz renews 'Black Sails,' plans Cuba-set drama called 'Havana Quartet' starring Antonio Banderas

Starz has renewed its Michael Bay drama "Black Sails" for a fourth season and announced it is developing "Havana Quartet," a drama based on the Leonardo Padura detective book series that will star Antonio Banderas. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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