Here’s timely authoritarian-related news for you. Political satirist Armando Iannucci, the filmmaker behind “In the Loop,” “The Thick of It,” and the creative mind behind HBO’s “Veep,” has a new project centering on Russian despot Joseph Stalin. Titled “The Death Of Stalin,” IFC Films picked up North American rights for the film over the weekend and apparently they bested rivals A24 and The Orchard according to Variety. And here’s a first look at Jason Isaacs in the title role.
The actor stars alongside Steve Buscemi, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Paddy Considine , Simon Russell Beale, Rupert Friend, Michael Palin, and Jeffrey Tambor, in the adaption of the French graphic novel by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin, that takes a comedic look at the Soviet dictator’s last days, and depicts the chaos of the regime after his death in 1953 following 30 years of iron-fisted rule over the Soviet Union.
Iannucci wrote the screenplay with David Schneider and Ian Martin “In The Loop” earned an Oscar nom for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2009. So “Downfall” with laughs? Perhaps “The Death Of Stalin” is one we’ll see during the fall film festival season. Keep your ears and eyes out.