The Princess of Wales’s absence after abdominal surgery in January sparked uncontrolled speculation on the Internet that intensified first with the publication of a doctored photo, then eased by a video message from Kate revealing that she is being treated for cancer.
It’s a reminder that when the privacy of the palace clashes with curiosity and public interest, things can get complicated.
Such is the case of Scoop (The great exclusive)a drama Netflix about the disastrous interview that he gave prncipe Andrs in 2019 in response to allegations of sexual misconduct. It premieres on Friday, April 5, and stars Rufus Sewell as Andrew and Gillian Anderson as journalist Emily Maitlis, who interrogated the prince for the show. Newsnight from the BBC.
The feature film is a return to real issues for Anderson, star of The X-Files y Sex Educationwho played a leading role in the fourth season of The Crown, although as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, not as a member of the House of Windsor. Anderson indicated that the complex relationship between royalty and the media needs a reassessment.
Whether it’s (Prince) Harry and his legal cases against the tabloids and all the truths around that that have come to light, or other aspects that are becoming more public knowledge, it probably needs a proper rethinking. Anderson told The Associated Press.
Prince Andrew agreed to be interviewed to address reports about his friendship with American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in a New York prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and amid the accusations from a woman who claimed she had sexual relations with Andrés when she was 17 and had been trafficked by Epstein.
Scoop is based on a book by Sam McAlister, the tenacious producer who got the interview. Played by Billie Piper, she promises the palace an hour of television that could change everything.
That turned out to be grimly true for Andrés.
Under Maitlis’ kind but determined questioning, the prince denied all accusations, showed no empathy for the exploited girls, and said that Epstein had behaved in an inappropriate manner, which struck many viewers as an understatement.
He claimed he could not have been at a nightclub with his accuser on an alleged date because he was at a suburban Pizza Express restaurant with his daughter, Princess Beatrice. He couldn’t have sweated on the dance floor either because an overdose of adrenaline during his time as a helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War had left him unable to sweat.
McAlister recalled the extraordinary experience of being in the room, as the interview was recorded inside Buckingham Palace.
As a journalist and former lawyer, she knew deeply that she was doing something that would change the course of her life and the course of the lives of all members of the royal family, she said at the London premiere.
Andrés initially thought the interview had been a great success, and even gave Maitlis a tour of Buckingham Palace after it was recorded.
But he withdrew from his public duties days after it aired, and has not resumed them. In 2022 he reached an out-of-court settlement with her accuser, Virginia Giuffre, paying her an unspecified sum without admitting her guilt.
Sewell, who spent up to four hours a day transforming himself into the prince with makeup and prosthetics, said he tried to find all the contradictions in Andrew. He saw a man whose self-image was forged through a lifetime of deference from those around him, and who played up to the sensationalist image of him as a mischievous rascal.
Recreacin de Netflix
Sewell said that he felt that Andrew’s self-image depended on the other party accepting the idea that he is the prince.
To maintain his sense of self, he needs someone to play along, said the British actor, recently seen as the spouse of an ambassador who gets into mischief in The Diplomat and Netflix.
And the interview is the process by which this fish finds itself out of its tank, swallowing air, because Emily Maitlis doesn’t even need to be rude or aggressive, she just needs to not accept her part of that contract. And suddenly it’s a creature that can’t receive oxygen.
The show’s reenactment of the explosive interview is notably tense, even for viewers who have seen the real interview.
“We prepared completely separately and there was no rehearsal,” Anderson said. So when we got together to film the interview, it was our first day of work together and we started the day sitting, facing each other, in those chairs and the cameras rolled. And then there was tension in itself.
Scoop is the first of two television dramas based on the interview. Amazon’s rival miniseries A Very Royal Scandal will be released at the end of the year, with Michael Sheen as Andrés and Ruth Wilson as Maitlis.
Anderson is proud that Scoop is a story with four strong female leads in the cast, which also includes Keeley Hawes as Andrew’s private secretary, Amanda Thirsk, and Romola Garai as the head of NewsnightEsme Wren.
As for what the palace can learn from it, he said: If this tells us anything, it will be that the royal family should never do an interview. But actually, I think what is surprising and what stands out is the importance of independent journalism, to hold authority accountable and at least try to get some semblance of the truth, he added.
FUENTE: AP
