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Scoop (2024 film)

Film by Philip Martin From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scoop (2024 film)
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Scoop is a 2024 British biographical drama film directed by Philip Martin, starring Gillian Anderson, Keeley Hawes, Billie Piper, and Rufus Sewell. It is a dramatic retelling of the process of securing and filming the 2019 BBC television interview of Prince Andrew by presenter and journalist Emily Maitlis and the production team at the BBC Two news and current affairs programme Newsnight. The screenplay by Peter Moffat and Geoff Bussetil is adapted from the 2022 book Scoops by former Newsnight editor Sam McAlister.

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The film is a behind-the-scenes story of the women who negotiated with the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the "scoop of the decade.” Their televised interview, which focused on Prince Andrew's relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of Andrew's sexual assault of a minor, was the public catalyst for the downfall of the Duke of York. The interview was later described as less a car crash than "a plane crashing into an oil tanker, causing a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion."[2][3]

The film was released on 5 April 2024 on Netflix.

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Plot

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In 2010, New York City paparazzo Jae Donnelly stakes out the private Manhattan home of Jeffrey Epstein for an exclusive shot. After a chase through Central Park, he manages to get photographs of Prince Andrew walking with Epstein.

Nine years later, directly after major staffing cuts are announced, BBC Newsnight producer Sam McAlister comes across the photo in an article amid the resurfacing of allegations against Epstein. Often at odds with her coworkers for her outspokenness, her criticism of Newsnight host Emily Maitlis, and her unconventional methods for chasing down stories, Sam reaches out to Jae for more information about the circumstances surrounding the photo, and contacts Prince Andrew's press team about the possibility of arranging an interview.

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew's private secretary, Amanda Thirsk, bemoans the lack of positive attention on Andrew's charity work due in part to his relationship with Epstein. PR representative Jason Stein encourages Amanda to reach out to several "friendly" reporters to conduct one-on-one interviews to improve Andrew's image. Amanda agrees to meet with Sam and negotiate terms for an interview, ostensibly discussing his charity work.

Jae gets back to Sam, sharing photos of young girls going in and out of Epstein's Manhattan home. He insists that Epstein has been trafficking girls for many years and his reputation as a predator is an open secret in his circles.

The next day, Amanda invites Sam to have tea at Buckingham Palace. They share stories about their bosses, and Amanda quickly reveals herself to be unusually close with Prince Andrew. Sam convinces Amanda to leave the palace grounds for a drink. While Sam makes an impression by promising honesty from Newsnight, no deal is made.

Later that night, Sam receives a call from Jae to let her know that Epstein is about to be taken into custody by the FBI for child sex trafficking. After informing programme editor Esme Wren of the situation, Sam rushes to Amanda's house to convince her to give Newsnight a TV interview when the story breaks. Amanda holds off, but after the story blows up in the press and Epstein is found dead in his jail cell, rumours circulate about the nature of Andrew's friendship with Epstein.

Sam secures a negotiation meeting in Buckingham Palace and brings Emily to meet with Amanda, Prince Andrew, and his daughter, Beatrice. Sam tells Prince Andrew that the old method of staying silent in the wake of scandal is no longer effective, and that an exclusive with them will be an opportunity for him to tell his side of things. Jason encourages Amanda to turn down the interview as they have made no conditions about its release, but Amanda is convinced that Prince Andrew's old-world charisma will win over viewers. Jason quits in frustration and Newsnight secures the interview.

Feeling that they are sitting on the "scoop of the decade," Emily, Esme, and the segment producers begin preparations. While most of the team encourage Emily to attack Andrew and get him on the defensive, Sam tells her to get Andrew to open up by letting him talk and feel heard.

On 14 November 2019, the Newsnight crew go to the Palace for the interview, and Emily takes Sam's advice to let Andrew talk and feel comfortable. Andrew, Amanda, and the Palace staff are thrilled with the results, and the televised interview is broadcast a few days later on 16 November 2019. In it, Emily focuses on Andrew's relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell and convicted sex offender Epstein, and allegations of Andrew's sexual assault of a minor named Virginia Giuffre, which Andrew denies.

The interview is a disaster for Andrew: his apparent lack of remorse and accountability on-screen – along with erratic statements about visiting a PizzaExpress in Woking and an apparent inability to sweat – are poorly received and widely ridiculed. It quickly turns into a major PR crisis for the Royal Family; soon afterwards, Amanda is fired and an announcement is made that Prince Andrew has chosen to step down from his royal duties. The Newsnight team, meanwhile, receives great acclaim for their efforts, and Sam is praised by Emily and Esme for her time and hard work putting the story together.

An afterword reveals that the interview was Newsnight's most watched segment ever recorded, winning multiple awards. Prince Andrew was later stripped of his royal titles, and, despite not admitting guilt, in 2022 he settled out of court for £12 million for Virginia Giuffre's civil lawsuit for alleged sexual assault. Sam McAlister left the BBC in 2021 and now teaches negotiation at the London School of Economics.

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Cast

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Production

An adaptation of former Newsnight producer Sam McAlister's 2022 book Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interviews by Peter Moffat for The Lighthouse Film & Television and Voltage TV was announced in July 2022.[5] Moffat said the adaptation was concentrating on "how the BBC's Newsnight team got the scoop...[and]...Why did he agree to do it?" It would be directed by Philip Martin and produced by Hilary Salmon and Radford Neville for The Lighthouse and Sanjay Singhal for Voltage TV.[6] Anderson, Sewell, Hawes and Piper were announced as part of the cast in February 2023.[7] McAlister, who was in part responsible for negotiating and booking the Prince, said it was "a pinch myself moment" to be played by Piper. Hawes was cast to play Prince Andrew's former Private Secretary Amanda Thirsk.[8]

Filming

Principal photography commenced in early 2023.[9] Shots of Anderson in costume as Maitlis on set were revealed online in late February 2023.[10]

Release

The film was released on 5 April 2024 on Netflix.[11]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 84 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Scoop wrings riveting drama out of its real-life story, even if the actual interview footage remains an arguably superior watch."[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[13]

Accolades

It was nominated for the 2025 Broadcast Awards in the Best Single Drama category.[14] In March 2025, Billie Piper was nominated for Leading Actress at the 2025 British Academy Television Awards.[15]

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See also

References

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