Donald Trump tell-all Fire and Fury to be adapted into TV series
Journalist Michael Wolff’s explosive account of Trump’s White House might be headed for the small screen
If the success of series like House of Cards, Scandal and Designated Survivor have proven anything it’s that viewers eat up preposterous tales of White House lunacy like delicious germ-free Big Macs – so perhaps it should be no surprise that someone’s already snapped up the TV rights for Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.
According to Variety the rights to Michael Wolff’s tell-all account of Donald Trump’s presidency (which has attracted the online ire of the President and been questioned by some journalists over accuracy) have been bought by recently-created US outfit Endeavor Content. While there’s currently no studio attached it’s likely to be a hot ticket for writers, executives and stars if such an adaptation is ever made.
Depicting Trump’s first year in office as chaotic, unprepared and downright dangerous, Wolff’s book has become a publishing sensation since its release earlier this month, selling out at bookshops around the world on its first day of release.
Based on more than 200 interviews (according to Wolff) including regular access to the White House, Fire and Fury is particularly notable for its inclusion of on-the-record quotes from former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who called a meeting between Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer “treasonous”.
Trump’s response to the book’s revelations has been characteristically extreme, with the President disputing Wolff’s account of events on his Twitter account and suggesting legal action in an official statement.
“We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about a person, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts,” he said.
Meanwhile, for the rest of the world just one question remains – if this TV adaptation does get made, who should play Trump himself? Depending on how these next few years go it could be the role of a lifetime, or a portrayal mainly put across by firelight puppet show in our post-nuclear war cave society. Either way, Alec Baldwin must be on the shortlist.
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
