Nancy Updike

So, I was trying to blow my nose and blow the clot out, and it took me some time to realize that as I was doing that, unsuccessfully, I was spraying tiny droplets of blood all over. The sink, the toilet seat, the floor, the mirror, the wallpaper, the wallpaper. I started wiping everywhere, like it was a crime scene.

So, I was trying to blow my nose and blow the clot out, and it took me some time to realize that as I was doing that, unsuccessfully, I was spraying tiny droplets of blood all over. The sink, the toilet seat, the floor, the mirror, the wallpaper, the wallpaper. I started wiping everywhere, like it was a crime scene.

And I rolled up a tight little roll of toilet paper and stuck it up my right nostril to catch the blood. That's what I do at home when I have a bloody nose and no one's looking. And the little roll of toilet paper filled with blood and fell on the floor as I was wiping the floor. Had to roll up another one. That filled with blood. Roll up a new one. Take out the old one. Repeat. Repeat.

And I rolled up a tight little roll of toilet paper and stuck it up my right nostril to catch the blood. That's what I do at home when I have a bloody nose and no one's looking. And the little roll of toilet paper filled with blood and fell on the floor as I was wiping the floor. Had to roll up another one. That filled with blood. Roll up a new one. Take out the old one. Repeat. Repeat.

I went through an entire roll of toilet paper and had to start a new one. So I was pacing around this little bathroom with toilet paper in my nose, looking for tiny blood drops and muttering to myself, you gotta wrap this up. Wrap it up. Wrap this up. And time was passing. So I started thinking, maybe I could interview Armando Iannucci with rolled up toilet paper sticking out of my nose.

I went through an entire roll of toilet paper and had to start a new one. So I was pacing around this little bathroom with toilet paper in my nose, looking for tiny blood drops and muttering to myself, you gotta wrap this up. Wrap it up. Wrap this up. And time was passing. So I started thinking, maybe I could interview Armando Iannucci with rolled up toilet paper sticking out of my nose.

Or, or maybe I could stick a really tiny bit of toilet paper far enough up my nose that he wouldn't see it, but it would still block the blood. This nosebleed went on for half an hour. It was a full-on anxiety dream come to life. And Armando Iannucci's movies and TV shows are full of awkward scenes that happen on the job.

Or, or maybe I could stick a really tiny bit of toilet paper far enough up my nose that he wouldn't see it, but it would still block the blood. This nosebleed went on for half an hour. It was a full-on anxiety dream come to life. And Armando Iannucci's movies and TV shows are full of awkward scenes that happen on the job.

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.