Scoop is a must-watch for all journalists, conscience or not

Hollywood has produced a number of excellent films about journalistic ethics (not Filmistan, unfortunately). Among them are notable shows like Spotlight, Network, Broadcast News, and All The President’s Men.

The blandly named Scoop, directed by British filmmaker Philip Martin, is on par with the greatest documentaries on journalistic ethics. It cuts into a single segment of a major media event: Prince Andrew’s 2019 BBC televised interview with celebrity journalist Emily Maitlis.

You might think you’re chewing off too much with this. With this once-in-a-lifetime interview, however, director Philip Martin and screenwriters Peter Moffat and Geoff Bussetil have tackled a variety of topics, such as the complex newsroom hierarchy and the notion of putting a controversial celebrity in a difficult situation—in this case, allowing the interviewer to shoot himself in the foot.

The 2022 book Scoops by former Newsnight editor Sam McAlister served as the inspiration for the brilliant script written by Peter Moffat and Geoff Bussetil. It’s easy to observe how the original written information has been transformed so seamlessly.
A sensitive but nuanced sense of detail captures the hustle and bustle of the BBC newsroom. Even the tiniest parts are convincingly portrayed by actors in journalistic positions. Who knows, maybe they really are!

There is a subtext about a younger journalist named Sam McAlister (Billie Piper) not giving star journalist Emily Maitlis (Gilian Anderson, looking suitably somber) the credit she deserves for the important interview, even though the main emphasis is on Emily.

As a kind of Overworked Professional, Ms. Piper portrays the unrecognized genius behind the (s)coup de chance. The efforts to pry into Sam’s private life seemed a little laborious to me.

One particularly awkward instance occurs when Sam’s little kid confesses that the girl he’s crushing on is “not in his class.” When the impoverished kid meant that he and the girl were not in the same class at school, the work-hastily mom gave him a lesson on class equality.

Hehe. Going on, the otherwise sharp, fast-paced, nearly thriller goes quickly and leaves little room for deviations.

The scene in the interview when Prince Andrew tries to justify his relationship to sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein and ends up seeming like a total idiot to the public is so masterfully portrayed that it’s easy to overlook and forgive the few mistakes.
Indeed, Rufus Sewell’s portrayal of the disgraced Prince of York is very remarkable.
Rufus Sewell delivers the well-known statement, “I don’t sweat,” which ultimately drove Prince Andrew to his knees, with a tone that suggests disaster is approaching.