It was a surprising move that worked out for everyone involved: creator Armando Iannucci left Veep after season four because “every show can benefit from new energy and new names and new ideas,” and Veep hasn’t lost a beat. In fact, season five might have been the show’s best (and season six gave us this cackling classic). Such is the power of Richard Splett. Iannucci also cited his desire to work on other projects, including The Death of Stalin. It’s his second directorial feature, following the beautifully vulgar In the Loop.
Here’s the premise.
On the night of March 2, 1953, a man is dying. The man is Joseph Stalin, dictator, tyrant, butcher as well a Secretary General of USSR. A terrible stroke is wracking his entire body. He is drooling. He is pissing himself. He is about to kick the bucket and if you play your cards right, his job is yours for the taking. (Via)
Yup, sounds like an Iannucci joint, even without the cursing (there’s plenty of that in the trailer, though, including Steve Buscemi warning, “I’m the peacemaker, I’ll f*ck up anyone who gets in my way”). The Death of Stalin — which stars Adrian McLoughlin as Joseph Stalin, Jeffrey Tambor as Georgy Malenkov, Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev, Olga Kurylenko as Maria Yudina, Michael Palin as Vyacheslav Molotov, and Rupert Friend as Vasily Stalin (they’re all based on real people) — opens in theaters this fall.
