Yahoo Movies Anger brews over HBO and Channel 4's Brexit drama with Benedict Cumberbatch
Anger is brewing following the first look at Benedict Cumberbatch in the forthcoming HBO and Channel 4 movie about Brexit.
Black Mirror director Toby Haynes has helmed the drama, which finds Cumberbatch playing Vote Leave campaign director and political strategist Dominic Cummings.
Cummings came under heavy criticism after he refused to appear in front of a Parliamentary inquiry into the use of fake news in the Vote Leave campaign.
“Everyone knows who won. But not everyone knows how.”
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, #BrexitHBO premieres January 19 on #HBO pic.twitter.com/JD7UNODoRI
— HBO (@HBO) December 14, 2018
It also stars Rory Kinnear as David Cameron’s former director of communications Craig Oliver, John Heffernan as Vote Leave strategist Matthew Elliott, Richard Goulding as Boris Johnson and Paul Ryan as Nigel Farage.
But the production has been blasted by some of the strongest voices in the Brexit debate.
Among them is journalist Carole Cadwalladr, who has broken numerous stories about the Brexit campaign’s links to the now shuttered data and political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which is under investigation for its role in the misuse of data on platforms like Facebook.
Cadwalladr tweeted: “F**k off @HBO. Imagine if we did this for Trump right now. You are literally interfering in our criminal justice system.
“You’re heroicising a man in contempt of parliament. We don’t know the facts still. Because he refuses to tell parliament. But this character with the ‘software’ is bullshit. The ‘physicists’ are still unknown. The work was not declared. Electoral commission refused to investigate.”
You’re heroicising a man in contempt of parliament. We don’t know the facts still. Because he refuses to tell parliament. But this character with the ‘software’ is bullshit. The ‘physicists’ are still unknown. The work was not declared. Electoral commission refused to investigate
— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) December 15, 2018
I've deleted my tweets. I meant no criticism of James Graham. I'm just hugely frustrated by ongoing cover-up by govt & opposition. Fiction difficult in absence of basic facts. But seems film funded by Trump donor & Putin chum is closest we will get to a public inquiry, so enjoy https://t.co/tOLdqxntG2
— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) December 15, 2018
Others have also chimed in.
Dear HBO – it’s a bit irresponsible to release a disaster movie when we’re still in the middle of the disaster.
Regards,
The U.K.#BrexitHBO
— Scott Free (@shrimperbhoy) December 15, 2018
Oh god, I genuinely thought you were all joking about Brexit, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, but it turns out it's real?!
— Caspar Salmon (@CasparSalmon) December 15, 2018
For those of you who don't understand how insulting and dumb the idea of "Brexit: Starring Benedict Cumberbatch" is, try to imagine if HBO made "9/11: Starring John Travolta" a literal day after 9/11 happened
— Jimmie Dimmick (@JimmieDimmick3) December 16, 2018
In a statement, Channel 4 said: “Brexit: The Uncivil War is a drama based on extensive and in-depth factual research from a myriad of sources and is an accurate, duly impartial and fair examination of the events of the time and of the people involved.
“The biggest political moment of recent British history, Brexit is legitimate territory for a Channel 4 drama to explore and, as our remit calls for, we expect this film to stimulate debate and discussion.”
The drama will air on Channel 4 in January.
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