Let me begin this by making a modest, tame little statement: to my mind Armando Iannucci is the greatest political satirist working in the world today. He outclasses absolutely everyone else out there, he does it without even breaking a sweat, and this is coming from someone who is a big fan of both Canada's Rick Mercer and America's own Jon Stewart. They're fantastic - yes, yes and so's Colbert - but Iannucci is in a class all his own, his satiric television series The Thick of It standing as one of the sharpest bits of work I've ever come across. Yes, he really is that good.
Thus, this is very, very good news. Iannucci, along with his key Thick of It writing team, is making the jump to the big screen. It won't be a Thick of It film but, due to the very topical nature of the piece, may very well include some characters from the show in secondary parts. So, what is it? Titled In The Loop the film will follow characters in the US State Department and British Foreign Office in the build up to war. The film is in the script stage now and is tentatively slated for release in late 2008.
