Scoop's Billie Piper: Working with Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell!

well look at this British actor Billy Piper stars's journalist Sam McAllister a new biographical drama film scoop coming to Netflix this Friday April the 5th and she's with us now hey how are you I'm good well what a lot of fuss this is causing isn't it um did you anticipate it to be to have so much demand from the world you off to America in a minute aren't you talk about it I am for five days New York on my own all right so obviously the original interview the newsight interview actually can you just frame it for us what goes on yeah so I guess this story is about the unsung heroes behind the infamous um prince Andrew news night story so it's about how that interview found its way to our screens and the level of work that went into clinching it and I play Sam mallister who's the booker on news night and she is unlike anyone I've ever met you would love her um she's yeah she's amazing she's formidable she's this force of nature I I don't think I've ever met anyone like her she's she's like a living example of someone who can get stuff done with warmth and um kindness and good nature that's why I think you'd like her she's so vulnerable and Brilliant at the same time and her vulnerability is her superpower and she she works on news nights as a sort of Booker producer so what what's a Booker for people who don't know what is a Booker I guess it's the person who uh suggests famous names or celebrities or high-profile people and then goes about trying to get them on the show yeah and on news night that's a double-edged sword because obviously she has one foot in the popularity or populism camp and then she has to have another foot in the news camp and sort of um shows like newsight um they want their cake and be able to eat it at the same time but they they they wanted they need to do the showby stuff to say not show stuff but they need to do the more popular stuff to say in vogan get an audience but they still have to have the news or the news agenda foundations underneath it and she understood that but they didn't they didn't really get the fact that she understood it is that about right you think yeah I I think so I think she I mean it's it's why prince Andrew is a perfect um person for that show because he is U you know Royal a person of um huge profile and someone who has to be held accountable for his behavior so he kind of he he he kind of covers all those things so that's the ideal sort of booking otherwise it's like you know people in cultured stuff but also with a political agenda so it's it's a really hard job and it's made so much harder sort of ping ponging between those two huge British um institutions yeah yeah there's red lines everywhere and she says um you know your character says you know you playing this real life lady says in your amaz this drama is unbelievable get on to how good it is in a moment or two by the way if you don't know already because we're pre-recording this interview um before the weekend this has being broadcast today on Tuesday April um the 2nd but there will have been so much now that you may already have read about this and seen on the in the newspapers uh but during it all Sam permanently thinks she's going to get f doesn't she and she says it in in the drama your character says you know I spend half my life thinking I'm going get fired worrying to death worrying myself sick I'm going to get fired and then the other half wishing they just get it over and done with because they can't stand it anymore who hasn't felt like that yeah welcome to show business I know come on Sam that's it that's that's it that's that's where we are and so and she said obviously she she does exist she did exist she does she since left the BBC she works for the London School of Economics she does and she goes around doing TED talks and I mean to be honest I think she'll be doing a lot more a lot more this is her day in the summer and she has such an iconic energy that I think she's probably going to become a huge star yeah I mean America want yeah they love her she's coming with me to New York all right okay so so this is I mean all it couldn't be any more exciting from a professional um point of view as far as you guys are concerned so we know that obviously we know who Prince Andre Andrew is and ruus plays Prince Andrew I I know Rufus I've been out with Rufus have you yeah yeah lots what's he like on a and in a social context as you might imagine right I could tell from the expression on your face you are Imagining the right thing and um but I didn't know it was him well no it's so good it's unbelievable it's so good I didn't know he was playing prince Andrew and then until about halfway I I think it's re because I purposely don't look who's in I know you're in in then key H is obviously very recognizable as Prince Andrew's private secretary um so so we don't know what she looks like but you sort of get a A vibe of of what she how she might be that particular person having met those kind of people and again she's a real person really exists and then and then Jillian Anderson's Emily matless now I don't know Emily but I've met her a few times you know I've been at various literature festivals with her I mean come on she's amazing unbelievable she's amazing tell tell us about Julian Anderson and Emily matless well I mean what's so weird is I don't think they spend any time together before this happened but obviously there's so much material out there for her to do a sort of Deep dive on and she's just that actor Now isn't she just does that so well it's not impersonations but it's it's it's a representation yeah of real people I think she found this one more stressful because um Emily's alive um and and she's doing her own version of the story and we she didn't have the access to her that I had Sam um but my God I watched them do that interview from beginning to end three times it's like it was like watching a play they were amazing and they didn't rehearse so Sam your character is the one that we don't know um and therefore you know how does that play in between Rufus prince Andrew and Jillian's Emily matless yet your character is the main character of the show there's no question about it it becomes more of a two-hander between you and Jillian as the as the as the drama develops it's an hour and 40 minutes long you cannot take your eyes off it it's so tense it's and also we know what's going to happen I know I know so how does that how do you do that I don't know and it's Testament to Philip our director because that was my biggest concern about coming on board with this which was why why if everyone knows the outcome where are the stakes where's the drama where's the conflict and then I read the script and I was like oh that's great and then I saw it for the first time and I thought he's coasted that line so beautifully of being so invested in something that you know is about to happen but I suppose you're following real people and that's what keeps you connected to the journey to that interview there's an there's like an emotional in which you wouldn't otherwise have I suppose that you just have the interview and I suppose there something about the sort of Sisterhood of them more even though their relationships are quite uh sticky you know then it's not smooth sailing and that that journalistic world is so dog but sticky doesn't mean bad does it sticky doesn't mean bad sticky is sticky it is what it is everyone has that in a a dynamic at work it's individuals at their strongest as far as their own character is concerned exactly and they had to work together to get that interview yeah I mean apparently it wasn't all plane sailing for lenon and McCartney from what I read you know what I mean I do I've seen it I've read it um and so so this I know I think one of the Fascinations or the fascinating things about it is and the reason it is tense is because it's the story behind the story yeah you know and it's the story how did this interview come to be on news night because we all you know in a way because we're there we're there during the fact and after the fact yeah of course of course prince Andrew is going to give his one and only interview to news night no no of course he's not not necessarily how do you swing that these things don't just happen does he give an interview at allour why would he do that what does he think he's doing um how does it how does it metam metamorphosize enough from a a sort of uh if you like take a break kind of hello whatever story to a new story there's a purposeful moment we won't say I don't want to ruin it for people when the it's the FBI moment at the you know and then it's it's like within a second it flips and this is the biggest news story in the world and because Sam has been working on it for so long saying you need this is the interview we need she's she's got a head start on everybody else trying to get this interview um tell us about the scene where she goes and knocks on Prince Andre's private secretary's door oh yeah that's a great moment where she's where um Amanda th has been resisting doing the interview with newsight even though her agenda is to change the perception of prince Andrew because what's happened is she's become slightly as as is true a mesed with the person that she's spending every day of her life with she sees something quite different and she wants the world to experience what she's experiencing but she's pushing back pushing back pushing back and then you know the news comes through that Epstein's about to be arrested and there and prince Andrew is you know in part of that story and and so she goes to her house knocks on the door and says you've got to do this you uh and she's I think she says an hour of um television can change everything it's like magic it's like magic and that's you saying that is you you saying it as her wow um and and where does she come from Sam what's her how did she get to this job on new this is where we're quite alike she's from a workingclass family um her parents were Market stall guys um I can't remember what they what they sold but they were they had the art of negotiation and haggle and that's where she learned that from Savvy very Savvy very bright um and then did the things that everyone thought were impossible went to um I think she went to Edinburgh and studied law became a criminal Barrister so she she has the art of negotiation down she has that amazing poker face so kind of unreadable and yet really warm as well which doesn't really make sense she's the reason he said yes because she's so likable and so persuasive and also so transparent like she's not she's she's very clear about what they're doing from the get-go it's not it doesn't feel snaky or Shady you know and it's not a gcha it's not it's just it just turns out that he did that interview that was what was out of his mouth which was the thing that but it was never a setup it was never a hatchet job ever um it turned out as it turned out but the questions were asked and the space was given which is all that was requested and all was promised from newsight to the palace and all that the palace expected from newsight yeah but they were clear about their in and following the meeting of Sam going to see Prince Andrew's private secretary there is another meeting with the prince himself at Buckingham Palace which Sam is also I mean she she doesn't take the lead but she ends up having the lead in that particular it's a pitch isn't it it's a pitch to him and did that happen yeah that happened and what was amazing um was in the prein interview he which you don't you don't um you don't see that in the film it's but the the chat part of the chat that they had before the live interview he was giving those sort of answers about pizzza Express not sweaty all the stuff that everybody was like what um um and they were like okay well this is gold but he's probably not going to say that on the day and he said it all on the day it's kind of amazing and the rehearsal Emily's rehearsal yeah for the interview that's real so we see we see that we see that side of things and then we see the mirror the mirror image of what he might be doing as far as rehearsal is concerned we know that the the Emily re Emily rehearsed for the interview with all the questions changing the questions framing different questions different Rhythm to the interview maybe moving questions around to do with where the interview might go might not go do we know that he rehearsed yeah right yeah I mean everything in that film is factual I think no it says at the beginning based on real events but some things are have been add of a dramatic effect yeah but I don't think those things could be um disingenuous all right and um where was your booking and Palace then oh yeah um in one of those like industrial Studios on the M4 I knew you're going to say that it's so disappointing isn't it but well how did you do the how the shots where you're driving through the gates I mean that is Bing C what CGI really yeah do you do you was it good of course you can't tell you've seen on the big screen I know I know but um I mean I've been there I think because I know you've been there yeah I've never been i' probably never go now yeah there's a there's a whole my MBE is out the window or OB or whatever there's a whole dish of discussion there that we could go to how the BBC been reticent to to engage with PR around this um I think they've been pretty good have they yeah sorry I thought I thought there was a bit of push back maybe um in some places but also access in other places all right so the world is already going mad for the story about the story of the interview yeah and the story about the story being you guys doing press yeah um what kind of request have you had how big do you think it's going to be um we've now had the Press which we'll talk about in a second or two and we've had the initial response from the critics Etc just speak to that if you don't mind um sorry what what what I feel about it no no no so so what is can you sense a clamor around this yeah I can a bit and it's really exciting I think people are so interested in it in the Royals um and it's got the sort of best platform for that really in Netflix how was the premiere it was really really fun it was great and actually I saw it for the first time with an audience which I've never done before I'm just way too controlling for that it was so liberating I loved it I really really loved it it was a good night because it is a feature film it is yeah um and so it was a big red carpet thing um everybody was there what was your sense of the response of the audience from the opening frame to the closing credits and can you tell us was there an emotional J for you could you could you could you sense this sort of um empathetic oxytocin filling the room yeah yeah I I well I thought was I thought it was amazing that you could go from kind of laughing hysterically at how surreal and um absurd his behavior is to them being engaged immediately literally 3 seconds later with the pain and the sadness of the victims and that's really a really hard line to Coast so it's like it's funny but it's not it's not gross or insensitive it it's kind of doing a bit of everything so I really felt a a big sort of motion throughout the um the the cinema everyone seemed to be moving in the right direction and it was very moving towards the end and I definitely got a sense of that people really really positive broadly but you know we'll see and what did what happened afterwards after the m uh we went for a few drinks did you exchange conversations and opinions and people's or were you with the crew with the cast uh we were yeah we were just talking about how happy we were with the outcome and um I I really wanted to speak to the makeup Department because I think it's so hard to get that stuff right and if you don't get it right it can ruin a film you know imagine if that prince Andrew get up was just useless it' be over so it was amazing to talk to them and just congratulate them on their hard work cuz it's it was a big body of work that yeah 100% 100% um and so you go to America yeah does America have a different flavor of narrative with this subject that's a good question I don't know you I should probably start thinking about that what are you being told I don't know which way in we're going to go with it I I guess I have to consult with the Americans wow great hair like you're saying oh yeah oh it's the best hair which hair this hair no no that's no you bill today you have great hair referring back to your dramatic production that we're here to great hair or gray hair great great and great yeah well um does is that what Sam looks like yeah she looks identical to that wow she come she wears the the same outfit every single day like a uniform and she's really uncompromising on her look that's her thing and why should she be and to fit in you know at the BBC or whatever but she is yeah she's she is that that's what she looks like every single day and she come to set dressed like that I was going to say dressed like me but I was dressed like her um and yeah people would get confused so um booking a palace for CGI you quite close to the BBC at times we were very much outside the BBC okay was that gorilla filming or did you get permission and things like that we got permission so the BBC gave you permission to make so to be fair to the BBC they gave us permission that's fair enough yeah and did you got you got I think I think is a bit that the film is a big love in for newsight and journalism at the BBC without question yeah and what about the producer the main female producer of new at the time so what do she cuz Emily left Sam left they all left they all left interesting do you want to talk about that what' you know about that um that you want to talk about well I think they all just you know they they be I don't know actually I don't really know the truth of that so I can't speak to it without making something up but I I guess they wanted to go on to new work pastures new or green new and green newer Greener feels um of pasture land pasture yes and but it is interesting isn't it because it became the most watched episode of newsight ever obviously one would say now you see it no I didn't see it I didn't see it then yeah but you've seen it seen it since yeah I didn't see it then didn't see it around the time what did you think well what everybody else thought um why but but seeing it back again it feels like cuz the your film is 1 hour 40 minutes long and doesn't show all of the interview but coming away from the I feel like I've seen all the interview do you know what I mean yeah yeah yeah that that's clever as well yeah they took 10 minutes from what was a 50-minute interview and um I guess used the the punchier lines from him yeah but to be honest it was all pretty Punchy yeah and and so awkward so awkward and also just that he felt that it had gone well they all they all felt like it had gone well and there's such a question mark over that for me like how how could you how did this get signed off is the bit right is the bit where he says at the end of the interview to Emily well Emily I think that went rather well would you like a tour is that all true that's all true and he not only said it to Emily mes he said who else would like a tour I know this is like immediately after the interview I know I think went rather well don't you anyone want to okay oh it's so funny that bit it's so funny I mean it's funny cuz it's awful um but it's great watch it yeah yeah um there's not I don't know what else to say really about yeah is there anything I've missed out that other people have have talked about I don't think so is any any more fun stuff I mean because you do because it's a great crew you're also good at your craft can I just say that I mean clearly the production the script the direction the production the the the the location booking it the hair and makeup it's all 10 out of 10 isn't it it's all it has to be for this kind of thing I think so and then your Ensemble because it it is you are the main character you're in it most Jillian's probably a close second as as as Emily um Rufus is Rufus does that thing that Michael Crawford did in Fantom the the Opera he's hardly in it on the watch you know what I mean but he's ever presentent obviously which is really clever as well you're clever and annoying ke's brilliant she's always brilliant she's so lovely as well and to I mean it is just off the chain as a as a as a as an ensemble piece but what was so funny is there aren't really any like crazy Tales From set because it the filming of it was actually it just felt very British so when you texted me and you said can I talk to you about the BBC cuz I think I'm doing something to do with and I thought you were in w1a or something I thought yeah little did I know yeah and and this is what you were trying to you're trying to find out what it's like by the way I'm only guessing here what it's like for a Maverick to work at the BBC because she very much is I know that's not that's probably a Hackney phrase but it's all I can think of at the moment but she very much was I think that's a really good phrase and and it's you know it's often the Mavericks that that help big old heavy you know overweight establish like the BBC to to to to remain relevant yeah totally and she's all about that and also she doesn't care about taking a meeting with the daily mail or she's not a snob you know what I mean she understands the value of being available to all of it yeah um that's what's going to generate the best work yeah meet the meet anybody where they need to be met in order to get the job done yeah basically did she have any other Scoops or was it yeah there's a whole book you should read the book there's loads of stuff on there it's really what else did she land uh what else did she land um God I can't remember Ian they all pale I suppose no matter how big they are compared to this story she did Emma Thompson didn't she she did um I can't remember the list there's loads of them all right have you become friends yeah because it's good to be around people like that yeah she's so posit positive she's so energized is that it's it's a good choice to be around people like that yeah yeah you know and she's in awe of everything which is such a nice thing to watch it's like yes of course you find this amazing you know we're a bit long in the tooth but she's like this is great well cuz the movie cuz it's a movie about her life and she's finally getting seen and she had been unsung and she deserves to be very very very much public facing she's almost the perfect person to be famous she could handle it do you think she would like an a sort of Oprah character could she could she host you think or something like that I definitely I said to her you should definitely you should be interviewing people because you would get some great stuff out of people because she's so nice it's a really really good skill and she does she really drink Vodka martinis she loves Maris I didn't had a martini until I met her is that with the twist or how do they say she has them dirty dirty that's with the olives in with the olive yeah um pet what life skills have you learned from her yeah that's a good question um and she from you I I don't know what she's learned from me if anything but I feel like from her I've I don't know she just she's just a constant reminder to be yourself she's a constant reminder to be open warm loving grateful um and yeah uh she's just she's Joy so I guess it just rubs off so she was she she's a Booker for the news night with a journalistic Not Bent but with a flavor of Journalism in her yeah yeah definitely she feels like a journalist to me a truth teller yeah truth Seeker both educator teacher is this a rap but you mean like is it the end no I'm me you rapping no I know what you mean um I think we I think it is a rap actually think is a rap yeah that's it what else can we talk about what else you doing what else you got in the pipeline come on you old slacker tell me about what's this whisper I've heard about something called chaos I can't talk a great deal about it because it's you know it's that whisper um so yeah there's uh there is a production um being made featuring Jeff blo and um I'm in it as well and it's based on um Greek mythology and um uh that's probably all I can say that was a bit disappointing why it's all right it promised so much but deliver so little well there's nothing I can I can't say is it is it a series it's a series it's a series it's a series it's it's dark it's loud it's it's vibrant it's dramatic because you know it's Greek mythology so there's a wealth of stuff there contemporary uh it's a sort of '90s take yeah there's a lot of '90s references my favorite era based where uh well it's different worlds because it's the underworld and all of that '90s parallel universes awesome we actually filmed in no the were Italy Spain Europe and people said to me cuz I said the reason we're pre-recording the interview is cuz you're going to go to America and do loads of press for this americ for this amazing feature scoop out this Friday 5th of April on Netflix and they said but surely Billy's done press in the US before um have you I've done a bit but I haven't done as much as I'm about to do what are you booked on all the big shows those morning shows which ones oh I can't remember what you on no annoyingly I'm not on The View I'd love to be on The View you're on Good Morning America it something like that and you late nights no not yet though no but it could happen it could happen couldn't it in between now and you getting there let's hope so these things tend to have a momentum um You' you've comic comed in the states yeah not on the number which is not it's not the same no it's not the same no it's not the same at all so people but do because of do people know who you are yeah such a strong following out there yeah and still still and other shows that have traveled well that you've been in are you asking me what they are yeah um I think iho suszie had a niche crowd out there which was quite cool yeah a really cool crowd as well with nail and II actually it's definitely got that sort of um subculture no but everybody in the industry watched it yeah industry people love it I guess cuz it's largely about the industry which is important yeah no it's good it got it look it's critical a claim it's just it wasn't seen by as many people as we had hoped but that's the way it goes sometimes seen by the Jay Dog Jay dog yeah it was seen by the Jay dog who's the Jay dog J Appel oh yeah wasn't it yeah say how's that going um do we not talk about that no I cut it out um it's out it was seen by George Clooney oh the g dog the g dog yeah how' you know that cuz he commented on it on one of the on one of the radio shows he said my name did he yeah well he lives around the corner doesn't he from who just everybody around the temps oh is he yeah he lives um just he lives very close to he airport do you know that as a 100% he lives close to Heath yeah I don't know why you think he could afford somewhere else not under the flight path no he does he just right under the flight path if he Airport maybe it's maybe it Comforts him helps him get to sleep sound of the planes I don't know well he travels a lot probably yeah all right I think we're done we're running out of steam I am anyway I've been 64 um anything else come on no nothing else stage stage Mage no not working on the no more Yas no more Yas oh how good was ymer best ever yeah all right good luck thank you you're the best thank you thanks you're the best

Channel: Virgin Radio UK

Views: 54,811

Keywords: virgin radio, virgin radio uk, virginradiouk, chris evans, chris evans virgin radio, chris evans breakfast show, graham norton, graham norton virgin radio, Ricky Wilson Virgin Radio, Ricky Wilson, The Graham Norton Radio Show, netflix film, scoop, scoop netflix, billie piper, gillian anderson, rufus sewell, prince andrew film

Id: bKu2CF_m1Lg

Length: 30min 43sec (1843 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 02 2024