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Post by david on Jun 26, 2018 6:18:54 GMT
According to the Digital Spy website, Benedict Cumberbatch and Rory Kinnear are currently filming a new tv drama by James Graham examining the Brexit campaign from the POV of the key strategists from both the remain and leave camps. The drama is to be shown on Channel 4. No air date as of yet.
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Post by lynette on Jun 26, 2018 11:15:44 GMT
The Thick of It meets Game of Thrones? Lots of swearing I expect and Kinnear does that very well.
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Post by dramallama on Jun 26, 2018 11:17:52 GMT
Oh, that sounds interesting. Cannot stand Benedict Cumberbatch's face, though, so might have to block the screen whenever he's on.
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Post by foxa on Jul 19, 2018 15:31:42 GMT
James Graham has sent a Tweet saying that someone leaked an early draft of his TV script for this on a website (I don't know which one) and he's (understandably) upset/annoyed. People are commenting on its (apparent) inaccuracies, etc. He says what was leaked is not what will be filmed.
A bit nasty of whoever did it.
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Post by n1david on Jul 19, 2018 15:34:58 GMT
Yes, it sounds like someone has had a go at the content - he says it was first draft and 8 months old, so please judge the final product before making accusations about balance and content.
Meanwhile Carole Cadwalladr is encouraging him to pull the drama given that police investigations into Vote Leave participants are still underway...
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jul 20, 2018 22:46:04 GMT
The Daily Beast journo who leaked the stolen script is the same charmer who created a fake Grindr account so he could write an article outing gay athletes during the Olympics. Nasty piece of work. I read somewhere Brexit was tentatively scheduled for October. The Thick of It meets Game of Thrones? Lots of swearing I expect and Kinnear does that very well. Yes I did hear it has dragons in it. |
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Jul 21, 2018 7:09:56 GMT
The Daily Beast journo who leaked the stolen script is the same charmer who created a fake Grindr account so he could write an article outing gay athletes during the Olympics. Nasty piece of work. I read somewhere Brexit was tentatively scheduled for October. The Thick of It meets Game of Thrones? Lots of swearing I expect and Kinnear does that very well. Yes I did hear it has dragons in it. Lots of tits too |
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Post by lynette on Jul 21, 2018 21:47:08 GMT
The Daily Beast journo who leaked the stolen script is the same charmer who created a fake Grindr account so he could write an article outing gay athletes during the Olympics. Nasty piece of work. I read somewhere Brexit was tentatively scheduled for October. Yes I did hear it has dragons in it. Lots of tits too And macaroons. |
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Post by david on Dec 15, 2018 22:32:30 GMT
The trailer for the tv film is now online -
Though with everything that has been going on, I’m sure James Graham has enough material for a a few sequels.
There is currently no air date in the UK as if yet. Maybe March 29th 2019 might be appropriate?
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Post by lynette on Dec 15, 2018 23:17:37 GMT
You are kidding me. This is for real? Wot with our Rory aswell? Heaven.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2018 23:23:30 GMT
John Heffernan *and* Kyle Soller! I guess one good thing is going to come out of all this nonsense after all!
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Dec 16, 2018 0:04:33 GMT
James Graham tweeted sounded very upset earlier about receiving abuse because of the trailer. I looked at his twitter and he's being called a Nazi and Brexiteer propagandist. Which must make a nice change from being called a liberal leftie elite Remoaner propagandist. Can't fathom this depth of hatred over a TV film. Brexit turns everything toxic.
Airs 7th Jan on C4.
Baemax, ditto. Can take or leave Cumberbatch. Give me Heff and Soller.
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Post by n1david on Dec 16, 2018 0:15:28 GMT
There's been a lot of abuse on Twitter against James Graham. I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt as he requests. After we've all seen it we can judge if it's inappropriate. Channel 4. Jan 7, 9pm-11.05pm.
PS feeling very sorry for Twitter user @jamesgraham who has the name "James Graham did not write that Brexit film" and starts his bio "This is not the James Graham you're looking for"
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Post by lynette on Dec 16, 2018 12:22:41 GMT
I would be amazed it Graham didn’t present something balanced however difficult. People these days sadly lacking in understanding of nuance, irony and soon so maybe he should plan a holiday for January. Of course we don’t know what is going to happen post Xmas so the play might be 'too raw' for many.
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Post by n1david on Dec 18, 2018 12:44:29 GMT
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Post by david on Jan 2, 2019 22:49:39 GMT
Brexit: The Uncivil War - Monday 7th Jan, 9-11.05pm Channel 4.
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jan 4, 2019 1:37:16 GMT
I saw this at a screening and it’s utterly brilliant.
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Post by kathryn on Jan 5, 2019 15:27:03 GMT
I am not sure I can bring myself to watch it. I’m sure it’s very good and everything, but I don’t think my blood pressure can take it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 15:57:25 GMT
I am not sure I can bring myself to watch it. I’m sure it’s very good and everything, but I don’t think my blood pressure can take it. Same, same. I like Graham. I like most of the cast. But as Marian Keyes put it on twitter earlier, i spend most of my time avoiding hearing any more about Brexit than I have to, and I'm not sure I can take the rage this will induce! |
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Post by lou105 on Jan 5, 2019 16:28:04 GMT
James Graham was on BBC Breakfast this morning talking about this. (Approx 8.50am if anyone wants to find it on iPlayer). He very much takes the view that it's important for art to reflect current events and not wait until it's history, but I'm also in the Not Sure I Can Take It camp ..I expect I'll watch in the end.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jan 5, 2019 18:03:59 GMT
I’ve just seen a small and scruffy group of gilet jaune wearing pro Brexit supporters they made me sad
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jan 5, 2019 18:26:51 GMT
I am so fed up with the whole subject that I shall be avoiding this as much as I possibly can.
No side in the debate has behaved well. The issue has descended into pointless hyperbole, name-calling and lack of respect.
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Post by Latecomer on Jan 5, 2019 21:12:07 GMT
You see I am quite curious to see this. I feel like this, and to some exten,t the last election were fought on totally different rules. Old elections had posters, TV campaigns (election broadcasts) and of course newspapers. Brexit and the last election had dark messages targeted at audiences that we do not know about and with no regulation (the only way to see some of these adverts was to actually set up fake Facebook accounts in marginal areas for the election for example). By the sounds of it this is what the film concentrates on. Friends of mine swear they are not influenced by advertising (i always ask them if they have Heinz, Kellogg’s and other brands at home and if so why?) so i will be watching with interest.
No matter what your view I still find it INCREDIBLE that we are allowing the result to stand despite clear and undisputed fraud in terms of funding. Do we just not care about democracy?
Will be watching despite fatigue....
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Post by lynette on Jan 5, 2019 23:14:28 GMT
There has always been chicanery in elections. We had the so called postal votes in Bethnal Green. In my area we had missing lists. It goes on. How can you check for example how much personal favours count and so on? IMO we need an overhaul of the voting system. A referendum is not the same as a GE because the arguments cross party lines. But it was a mess. And I bet it will be the last for many a year in British politics.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jan 8, 2019 10:11:05 GMT
You see I am quite curious to see this. I feel like this, and to some exten,t the last election were fought on totally different rules. Old elections had posters, TV campaigns (election broadcasts) and of course newspapers. Brexit and the last election had dark messages targeted at audiences that we do not know about and with no regulation (the only way to see some of these adverts was to actually set up fake Facebook accounts in marginal areas for the election for example). By the sounds of it this is what the film concentrates on. Friends of mine swear they are not influenced by advertising (i always ask them if they have Heinz, Kellogg’s and other brands at home and if so why?) so i will be watching with interest. You have indeed pinpointed much of what this film is about. I too feel saturated by brexit but I am a sucker for political dramas and cannot stop myself poring over the drawn-out car-crash of brexit, so it was a no-brainer I'd watch this. And yes the focus is on the traditional campaign approach being mercilessly outdone by Cummings's online targeting and digital assault tactics. As a Remainer, it made me cringe not because I thought Remain was being misrepresented, but because I felt it was being probably truthfully depicted. I already thought at the time the Remain campaign was woeful for various other reasons anyway. There's probably a bit too much breathless editing in this film but it kind of fits. The performances are all good, though poor Liz White only gets about a minute of screen time which was disappointing because I like looking at her. I've seen some daft obsessive picking-over of it by commentators who probably can't help themselves but it's stated clearly that it's fictionalised. To the waverers here, I'd say it's worth giving it a go. |
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Post by Backdrifter on Jan 8, 2019 10:24:38 GMT
Friends of mine swear they are not influenced by advertising (i always ask them if they have Heinz, Kellogg’s and other brands at home and if so why?) On a tangent, this is an interesting question. I too feel superficially that I'm largely unaffected by advertising but accept I probably am influenced by it in some ways. To take the Heinz and Kellogs examples, for instance I prefer Wilkins ketchup to Heinz because it tastes nicer and found this out purely by seeing it on the shelf and deciding to give it a try, and I prefer Tesco own honey-nut cornflakes to kellogs for the same reason. The supermarkets I get those from are nearby so I use those. When TV ads come on, I mute them, channel-surf, pick up something to read and wait for the programme to re-start. When scrolling advertising boards started appearing in towns it infuriated me because they're eyesores and make the streets look ugly. I don't recall ever remembering anything on them, just my irritation they're there. I get impatient when reading a magazine and having to flip through full-page ads. Etc etc. All that springs to mind when I think about advertising is impatience and irritation. I can't consciously think of what influence it has on me, but instinctively I feel it must be there somehow. |
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Post by n1david on Jan 8, 2019 12:03:20 GMT
All the protests to the electoral controllers after that, I concluded, were the displeasure of the establishment at being beaten by ordinary folk whom they had ignored for years. That might have been what motivated the protests but the bottom line is that it has been found that they broke electoral law. I enjoyed the film, it was based very heavily on Tim Shipman’s book “All Out War” so not many surprises (it’s a great book, but depressing if you supported Remain, for much the reasons Backdrifter alluded to above). One key point for discussion seems to have been how many people didn’t realise that the opening “inquest” scene was set in the future, in 2020, given that Cummings has so far refused to attend any formal inquiry, including that of the Electoral Commission. I think that’s an interesting point and the film could have better emphasised that this was a wholly speculative event, as it gave the character a story arc leading to regret and frustration which doesn’t exist in real life. |
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Post by Backdrifter on Jan 8, 2019 12:16:25 GMT
One key point for discussion seems to have been how many people didn’t realise that the opening “inquest” scene was set in the future, in 2020, given that Cummings has so far refused to attend any formal inquiry, including that of the Electoral Commission. I think that’s an interesting point and the film could have better emphasised that this was a wholly speculative event. Yes even Carole Cadwalladr has been griping about that scene as though it's a major inaccuracy, when the opening card made clear there is fictionalising and the dialogue in that scene includes the line "...the EU referendum 4 years ago." Graham says he included that scene as a way of conjuring up the idea of Cummings being held to account seeing as he has not so far attended any such formal session - a perfectly reasonable dramatic device in my view. (By the way, in case anyone's worried or irritated by this, mentioning that scene doesn't serve as a spoiler and we haven't referred to anything the Cummings character says during it). |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 13:10:05 GMT
Once it's been on TV, I think it's on spoilerphobes to avoid the clearly labelled thread in question. I've not watched it yet, but if I didn't want to be spoiled, then I wouldn't be in here!
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Post by sf on Jan 8, 2019 13:43:00 GMT
I expected watching it to be an exercise in masochism, and it wasn't. It didn't send my blood pressure skyrocketing, but it also didn't tell me anything much I didn't already know.
In terms of the way it set out Cummings's strategy and made the point that advances in technology mean it's game over for old-style campaigning, I thought Graham's script did a very good job. He also found an effective way to communicate that voters who felt left behind by the political classes were encouraged to use the EU as a target for all their frustrations, and he didn't belittle those frustrations, or say they were just about racism. Overall, I thought it was typical James Graham, though: very good at distilling a few key talking-points into effective drama, but surface cleverness is not the same thing as depth. It carefully doesn't touch on the fact that the law was broken, and that's understandable - there's an electoral commission ruling but no convictions, so I imagine Graham and Channel 4 would have found themselves in hot water if they'd started pinning decisions about electoral overspending on named individuals - but it also inevitably means part of the picture is missing. The film as a whole suffers from the fact that what it depicts is too big and too complex for a two-hour television slot, and the four-years-later scene at the end doesn't work at all.
It is brilliantly directed, and Benedict Cumberbatch is superb in it. The characterisations of Banks, Farage, BoJo and Gove were pushed too far towards caricature, I thought - they were made into buffoons, which effectively neutered them and diminished the significant contribution Johnson and Farage's personal charisma made on the Leave side (yes, I just threw up in my mouth a little typing that, but it's true). I did, though, enjoy the (accurate) portrayal of the odious Bernard Jenkin as a glib, pompous arse with the intellect of toast.
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