Nancy Updike

A person trying to do a serious thing and getting thwarted by something dumb and embarrassing, like a pair of squeaky shoes. In one of his movies, an assistant secretary of state starts bleeding from her teeth in the middle of a meeting. And what usually happens in these scenes is the person just gets pounced on, mocked without mercy by their colleagues or rivals or the press.

A person trying to do a serious thing and getting thwarted by something dumb and embarrassing, like a pair of squeaky shoes. In one of his movies, an assistant secretary of state starts bleeding from her teeth in the middle of a meeting. And what usually happens in these scenes is the person just gets pounced on, mocked without mercy by their colleagues or rivals or the press.

Any vulnerability or misstep is noticed and weaponized. But Armando Iannucci, the real person in real life, did something completely different. I walked out of the bathroom, not even sure the interview was still possible. So much time had been lost. And he said, with perfect grace, I'm not in a rush. He and the publicist, Nada, simply put the whole thing behind us.

Any vulnerability or misstep is noticed and weaponized. But Armando Iannucci, the real person in real life, did something completely different. I walked out of the bathroom, not even sure the interview was still possible. So much time had been lost. And he said, with perfect grace, I'm not in a rush. He and the publicist, Nada, simply put the whole thing behind us.

Nada said, look, he's got a photo shoot in half an hour, but he can come back after that. Armando said, we'll talk for a while, and then I'll go and come back, and we'll talk more. It was like he waved a wand over me and said, you had a nightmare and now it's over, which is the opposite of what happens in his new play.

Nada said, look, he's got a photo shoot in half an hour, but he can come back after that. Armando said, we'll talk for a while, and then I'll go and come back, and we'll talk more. It was like he waved a wand over me and said, you had a nightmare and now it's over, which is the opposite of what happens in his new play.

I wanted to interview Armando because his work is so good at capturing things about now, about the present. And I saw that he was doing a stage version of an old Cold War film, Dr. Strangelove, by Stanley Kubrick. And I found it alarming that this was his next project. I mean, it's a comedy, but the last scene is nuclear Armageddon and the end of the world.

I wanted to interview Armando because his work is so good at capturing things about now, about the present. And I saw that he was doing a stage version of an old Cold War film, Dr. Strangelove, by Stanley Kubrick. And I found it alarming that this was his next project. I mean, it's a comedy, but the last scene is nuclear Armageddon and the end of the world.

So what did he see in it that spoke to him about now? Why choose that particular story out of all possible stories at this moment? Well, part of the answer to why now is someone asked.

So what did he see in it that spoke to him about now? Why choose that particular story out of all possible stories at this moment? Well, part of the answer to why now is someone asked.

Ladies and gentlemen, Armando Iannucci. He got a call from the director and co-adapter of the play, Sean Foley, who asked Armando, did he want to work on it with him? And Armando quickly said, yes.

Ladies and gentlemen, Armando Iannucci. He got a call from the director and co-adapter of the play, Sean Foley, who asked Armando, did he want to work on it with him? And Armando quickly said, yes.

Us as a species being unable to save ourselves from our own behavior. is the plot of Dr. Strangelove. The entire story lives in the minutes right before the world pivots from a planet full of life to a deathscape of ashes and poison. The story is an American general goes quietly nuts. He's a conspiracy theorist who believes commies are poisoning America through fluoridation.

Us as a species being unable to save ourselves from our own behavior. is the plot of Dr. Strangelove. The entire story lives in the minutes right before the world pivots from a planet full of life to a deathscape of ashes and poison. The story is an American general goes quietly nuts. He's a conspiracy theorist who believes commies are poisoning America through fluoridation.

To stop that, he sends U.S. bombers off to start a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. When reasonable people on both sides realize what's happening, they try to stop it. The U.S. president gets so desperate that he gives the Soviets the information they need to shoot down the planes.

To stop that, he sends U.S. bombers off to start a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. When reasonable people on both sides realize what's happening, they try to stop it. The U.S. president gets so desperate that he gives the Soviets the information they need to shoot down the planes.

But one bomber gets through anyway, triggering a cascade of nuclear bombs to fire automatically, destroying the world.

But one bomber gets through anyway, triggering a cascade of nuclear bombs to fire automatically, destroying the world.

More than any one-to-one correspondence with the news now, there's a feeling to Strange Love that I found familiar. A sense that enormous danger is looming, but we're also wading through a sludge of ridiculousness. I feel some level of dread all the time, for a while now. And I had a hunch, based on Armando's work, that he might have a similar feeling.

More than any one-to-one correspondence with the news now, there's a feeling to Strange Love that I found familiar. A sense that enormous danger is looming, but we're also wading through a sludge of ridiculousness. I feel some level of dread all the time, for a while now. And I had a hunch, based on Armando's work, that he might have a similar feeling.