Netflix has released the first official photos of what will undoubtedly become its next big hit Scoop – a new movie which dramatises the infamous Newsnight interview, in which Prince Andrew spoke to British journalist Emily Maitlis about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The film is based on parts of former BBC producer and author Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops. McAlister was the woman who secured the interview with the Duke back in 2019, and will be played by Billie Piper in the movie. The other significant woman in the story is Emily Maitlis, the British journalist who sat opposite and presented the questions to Prince Andrew. Maitlis is played by Gillian Anderson.
“It’s rare that you see a representation of women, all in their 40s and 50s,” Scoop’s director Philip Martin told the Sunday Telegraph. “This is an opportunity to see hard-working women behind the scenes at every stage.”
The attention to detail, and ability to recreate the interview is extraordinary, particularly the character likeness. Hollywood actor Rufus Sewell is unrecognisable as Prince Andrew. Sewell is known most recently for his role as Hal Wyler in Netflix thriller The Diplomat. But his look as the Duke of York is a world away from Hal, and is arguably one of the best character transformations we’ve seen.
“Rufus spent about three hours in the make-up chair,” Martin continued for the Telegraph. “He started really early in the morning, and had to go through this strange process of putting a bald wig on before the other stuff went on. We worked very hard to make all the prosthetics flexible and light enough so he could act through it all.”
In a similar vein, Gillian Anderson bears a striking resemblance to Maitlis, sporting the reporter’s trademark bob and, from the imagery, looks to have captured her demeanour and no nonsense approach perfectly.
“With Gillian, there are no prosthetics - it’s make-up, a wig and mannerism,” Martin said. Both actors are said to have spent hours watching the interview as part of their preparation, with Anderson also studying her on-screen character meticulously on Newsnight.
The room at Buckingham Palace in which the interview was filmed has been recreated in minute detail, to give authenticity and ensure the camera angles in which the interview was filmed match perfectly. The interview originally took place five years ago, in 2019, and was explosive at the time. And from the anticipation we’re already seeing around Scoop, the movie looks very much set to follow suit.
The release date for Scoop is yet to be announced.
