Is announcing that you're developing a drama about Boris Johnson and his response to the Covid crisis the very definition of "too soon"? Michael Winterbottom is hoping not, as he'll be working on a series about that very subject.
Winterbottom is aiming to co-write and direct the series, which will follow Johnson's story from his rise to the job of Prime Minister, the Coronavirus outbreak, his personal struggles with the illness and his latest child's birth. Given the director involved (plus Tim Shipman, whose book spurred Brexit: The Uncivil War) as a consultant, we doubt it'll be particularly laudatory, especially with Britain put through the wringer with one of the worst case and death rates in the world.
A co-production between Freemantle, Passenger and Winterbottom's Revolution Films, there's no channel or streaming service attached yet, but we can see this being of interest... Even if we'd rather not think about the whole situation while watching TV.
And talking of painfully timely projects, The Big Short and Bombshell writer Charles Randolph is looking to make his directorial debut with an untitled film that tracks "the dramatic weeks in China as the heroic medical community confronts a mysterious virus, soon to be come a global pandemic." Aiming to film in China and other international locales with local crews, it will, in the filmmaker's words, take a close look at the topic: "The deeper we dig, the richer the story of Wuhan becomes. It’s one thing to fight a monster. It’s another thing to fight a monster in the dark."