Entertainment
‘A prosecutor’s dream’: Inside the bombshell interview that brought down Prince Andrew
Round a desk with three BBC journalists in Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth’s second son was deciding whether or not to do a TV interview that may change his life.
Three months earlier, in August 2019, the billionaire intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein had been discovered lifeless in his New York jail cell whereas awaiting trial on sex-trafficking expenses. For practically a decade, Prince Andrew had been dogged by questions on their 20-year friendship — and now was dealing with allegations of his personal. Virginia Roberts, now Giuffre, alleged that Epstein had compelled her to have intercourse with Andrew when she was 17, one thing the Duke of York has all the time denied.
On the palace, Sam McAlister — “booker extraordinaire” on the BBC’s flagship present affairs present, “Newsnight,” who had been in discussions for a yr with a publicist working for Andrew’s initiative to help entrepreneurs and his non-public secretary — took her gamble.
Referring to his extravagant journey at taxpayers’ expense and his playboy picture, she informed him bluntly: “Sir, I’ve lived on this nation for over 40 years and, till now, I solely knew two issues about you. It’s that you just’re often known as ‘Air Miles Andy’ and ‘Randy Andy.’ And I can completely inform you that the latter actually doesn’t assist you in your present predicament.”
Everybody within the room held their breath; that isn’t how Britons communicate to royalty. “Then, all of the sudden, he laughs,” recollects McAlister in a central London restaurant. “There was no manner that he might misunderstand that he was coping with somebody who might communicate reality to energy and who wasn’t messing him about.”
Three days later, after mentioning in entrance of McAlister that he would seek the advice of “Mum,” Andrew did the interview. It could be described as “a airplane crashing into an oil tanker, inflicting a tsunami, triggering a nuclear explosion.” So damning had been his solutions that simply 4 days after broadcast got here the announcement he can be suspending his public duties. The 50-minute encounter had introduced down a prince.
In her new e-book, “Scoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Surprising Interviews” (Oneworld Publications, Sept. 13), McAlister reveals the tense discussions that secured her unique. Regardless of a perceived coziness between the nationwide broadcaster and the monarchy, to her data, her program had by no means spoken to a royal. When first provided entry in 2018 — to do what she calls a “puff piece” on his charity work — she turned it down, telling his PR individuals firmly: No preconditions, or no interview. Because the Epstein questions grew louder, McAlister persevered.
“One of many causes this interview occurred is I didn’t have any connections on this world,” she says. “And, within the nicest manner, I didn’t give a toot. I don’t assume it’s useful, frankly, to be deferential to establishments if you wish to get the reality.”
She saved in thoughts the “candy spots” that may encourage the prince to go forward: a need for vindication in time to rejoice his sixtieth birthday in type and to stroll his daughter Beatrice down the aisle.
She additionally shared her view with him straight: His silence meant “the general public was drawing conclusions on his guilt.” Lastly, she informed him, it was a “no-brainer” that any interview about sexual impropriety with girls must be carried out by a girl. “And, fortunate me, I had top-of-the-line feminine presenters within the nation” within the type of Emily Maitlis. (This system was additionally edited by a girl, Esme Wren.)
McAlister even ventured to make a number of jokes together with her royal interlocutor, although she demurs on the main points: “In all probability essentially the most banterous components wouldn’t be proper for me to disclose. However you heard a few of the issues that he was prepared to say on digicam, so you may most likely think about how frank a few of these exchanges had been.”
Sam McAlister, creator of “Scoops.”
(Oneworld Publications)
What he stated on the file left audiences aghast and, says McAlister, “modified the lexicon of the nation.” Andrew denied his accuser’s declare he was perspiring after they first met as a result of he had “a peculiar medical situation, which is that I don’t sweat.” His alibi was a youngsters’s birthday celebration on the chain restaurant Pizza Specific within the provincial English city of Woking.
He stated that after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, he had insisted on spending a number of days within the financier’s New York residence to interrupt off the friendship as a result of his judgment “was most likely coloured by my tendency to be too honorable, however that’s simply the way in which it’s.” And his description of Epstein having “carried out himself in a way unbecoming” managed to interrupt even the quietly forensic demeanor of Maitlis. “Unbecoming?” she interjected, her face contorted in disbelief. “He was a intercourse offender.” All of the whereas, the prince failed to precise any concern for the victims and, requested if he regretted the entire Epstein friendship, replied: “No, nonetheless not.”
But none of these was essentially the most jaw-dropping second for McAlister. Reasonably, it was “a really excruciating reply, the place he’s attempting to say that he couldn’t have had sexual relations with Virginia Roberts as a result of, as a person, sexual relations require ‘a constructive act.’ He was clearly speaking in regards to the royal member. We don’t wish to make mild of what clearly was an especially severe collection of allegations in opposition to him and Epstein, however to be in Buckingham Palace listening to him speaking about that was actually fairly unforgettable.”
It was all so arresting that the journalist spent a lot of the time staring on the ornately adorned ballroom carpet to hide her eye rolling, whereas attempting to inhibit her pure response to emphasize whereby, she writes, “My throat, charmingly, begins to make a form of burpy noise.” She has a last giveaway: “I sweat — irony of ironies!”
As a former legal protection barrister, McAlister knew full nicely the authorized ramifications of Andrew’s solutions, describing them as “a prosecutor’s dream.” She provides: “I used to be stunned that he gave these explanations, which for those who had been coping with litigation would have been comparatively straightforward to disprove in the event that they had been lies.”
Giuffre’s legal professional later revealed she and her group had examined the interview for inconsistencies. “Frankly, it was very useful for us,” she stated.
The revelations could clarify why Andrew was so eager to settle his U.S. civil sexual assault case with Giuffre in February this yr, paying a reported $16 million to a girl he informed Maitlis he had “no recollection of ever assembly.”
McAlister, who has since left the BBC after being denied a bonus, pay elevate or promotion, has already struck a deal to show her e-book about what she calls “our model of Frost/Nixon” right into a function movie, whereas Maitlis is having her story tailored for a TV drama. The producer says she believes Britain has a “blind spot, journalistically” with regards to holding the royal household accountable in the identical manner as others who spend public cash. However she nonetheless thinks the U.S. might study one thing about exacting interviews from throughout the pond — and cites the 2021 Oprah Winfrey unique with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry for instance.
“It was an extremely attention-grabbing dialog that they’d. However by no stretch of the creativeness was that an accountability interview.
“I feel that our custom of rigorous conversations actually does permit for accountability and that’s massively vital, notably on this technology of pretend information and diminution of belief within the media.
“As I’ve all the time stated, for those who can run a multimillion-dollar firm and you may run a rustic, then 10 minutes with a presenter isn’t any drawback, is it?” She checks herself. “Effectively, for some individuals it’s, clearly.”
Movie Reviews
‘The Scout’ Review: Modest but Accomplished Debut Brings a New York Location Scout’s Routines to Lovely, Low-Key Life
On paper, Sofia (Mimi Davila), the protagonist of Paula Andrea González-Nasser’s mellow debut The Scout, has an enviable job. She spends her days driving through New York, taking photos of building exteriors, cozy apartments and eclectic shops in service of her director’s vision. Sofia is a location scout, an occupation that conjures romantic images of one’s relationship to space.
The truth is that Sofia’s job can be taxing, and in The Scout, which premiered in June at the Tribeca Film Festival, González-Nasser, who was herself a location scout for six years, crafts a modest portrait of its complicated reality. The director reveals how location scouting involves an emotional deftness, a stultifying deference to a director’s vision and lots of patience. Sofia deploys these tools to broker deals between her team and the people from whom they want things. She must act with the urgency demanded by her bosses and be sensitive to the fact that these locations are homes to real people whose memories live in the furniture and on the walls. Often subsumed by other people’s needs and narratives, Sofia struggles to not become a background character in her own story.
The Scout
The Bottom Line
A discreet and confident debut.
Venue: Tribeca Film Festival (U.S. Narrative Competition)
Cast: Mimi Davila, Rutanya Alda, Max Rosen, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, Sarah Herrman
Director-screenwriter: Paula González-Nasser
1 hour 29 minutes
Working from a screenplay she wrote, Gonzàlez-Nasser structures The Scout around discrete interactions Sofia has throughout the day. The film confidently highlights the delicate relationship between people and their spaces, while also acknowledging the understated harshness of a job that requires you to assess, with a certain degree of remove, one of the more intimate elements of another person’s life. Parts of The Scout, in its contemplative tone and observational style, reminded me of Perfect Days. Like Wim Wenders’ poignant study of a middle-aged janitor’s routines in Tokyo, The Scout could find success in arthouse theaters and on the festival circuit.
When we meet Sofia, she is asleep in her own space — a compact, well-lit apartment somewhere in New York. The room resembles the dwellings of so many young people living in the expensive and bustling city. There’s the starkness of the walls, painted an impersonal white, and the minor touches — a standing fan, a gold framed mirror, a small drawing affixed to the wall — that suggest signs of a real life. Following this moment, the young location scout will almost exclusively occupy the shops and homes of other people.
Each space offers an opportunity for Sofia to remake herself. The transformations are subtle; the location scout tweaks her personality just enough to connect with the person living in the space so that they might be more amenable to letting a random crew of people take it over. Sometimes, as with an older woman (Rutanya Alda) who tells Sofia about her son who moved to London and rarely visits, the interactions are sweet and revelatory. It’s clear that Sofia’s presence — her kind eyes and encouraging responses — doubles as an invitation for lonelier people to share parts of their life with her. Other times, as with the pet shop owner (Matt Barats) who asks her to dinner or a father (Max Rosen) who follows her around the house with an air of menace, the encounters are fraught and a touch scary. Yet rarely does Sofia lose her cool.
The young woman, played with a quiet conviction by Davila (Problemista), navigates each situation with an understanding that her role in these people’s lives is merely temporary. Her approach differs from that of her colleagues, who barge into these homes with no consideration and much fanfare. They appraise each space with a callous indifference toward who lives there, commenting on ugly doors and unimpressive heirlooms.
Other elements of The Scout reinforce our sense of this transient atmosphere. Cinematographer Nicola Newton shoots each location — whether its Sofia’s room or a brownstone in Brooklyn — with the kind of attention reserved for places you know you’ll never return to. A spare score (composed by Dan Arnés) and the familiar melodies of a cityscape (birds chirping, engines running) soundtrack Sofia’s experiences.
Despite their meditative loveliness, low-key projects like The Scout can leave something to be desired in terms of narrative. The lure of a story built on vignettes can shortchange its principal characters and the constellation of supporting ones. As Sofia floats from one home to the next, I wondered about the texture of her life. Gonzàlez-Nasser offers some clues through an interaction between Sofia and her old friend Becca (Otmara Morrero), whose gorgeous apartment has been unexpectedly included on the list of the scout’s locations. Their reunion is brief but laden with the weight of history. Conversations about mutual friends and retired dreams are revealing of Sofia’s aspirations; Becca remarks on how Sofia always wanted to be behind the camera and how she, in a way, is a photographer now. The scout doesn’t completely agree and the ensuing silence suggests a history of compromise.
It also exposes a pattern in Sofia’s earlier interactions, underscoring how much the scout almost disappears into each story. When she finally has a moment of self-assertion, in a quiet moment on the beach, it’s a triumph I wish had come sooner.
Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey are now parents, and the arrival of their baby girl has them both feeling lucky.
Model-actor Culpo revealed Sunday that she and her NFL star husband welcomed their daughter earlier this month. She marked the beginning of her journey into motherhood on Instagram, sharing several pictures from her newborn’s first moments in the world. A carousel of black-and-white photos document tender moments between Culpo, McCaffrey and their baby at Cedars-Sinai.
Culpo’s Instagram post also included a name reveal. “Colette Annalise McCaffrey,” she captioned her photos, adding a white heart emoji.
Additionally, Culpo shared photos from baby Colette’s arrival to her Instagram stories, where she praised her San Francisco 49ers running back husband. “Colette is so lucky to have the best daddy in the world,” she wrote in an Instagram photo of McCaffrey tending to their newborn. “A love like no other.”
In another Instagram story on Sunday, Culpo recalled her labor as the “scariest and most rewarding of all experiences” and her husband’s calming effect. She shared a photo of McCaffrey holding her head during her delivery. In his Instagram story, McCaffrey reciprocated the sentiment, posting a photo of himself holding his baby girl.
“Luckiest man on the planet,” he captioned the photo. “I love you @OliviaCulpo.”
Culpo, 33, and McCaffrey, 29, were rumored to be dating as early as May 2019 and got engaged in April 2023. They married in June 2024 in Culpo’s native Rhode Island. Culpo, a former Miss Universe, announced in March that she and her husband were expecting their first child together.
“Next chapter, motherhood,” she captioned photos from her maternity photo shoot.
A representative for Culpo did not immediately respond on Monday to The Times’ request for additional information.
Hollywood never tires of telling certain stories. They’re always going back to the same well. Trust me, I’m a jerk, and I love to remind them of it. So, when DC announced Superman would once again be jump-starting their newly re-established cinematic universe, I was skeptical. Well, the comic book tentpole finally hit theaters this week. Does Superman leap to box office gold in a single bound? Or are we heading straight for another “Martha” situation? Read on.
Superman
Superman follows the titular superhero (David Corenswet), who finds himself struggling to match wits with supervillain, billionaire and all-around bad guy Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). Will “Supes” be able to rise up and meet the challenge? Rachel Brosnahan, Skyler Gisondo, Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi and Isabela Merced co-star in the movie. James Gunn directs Superman from his own script.
I was admittedly skeptical looking at the trailers. I desperately wanted to buy in, but something kept holding me back. Do we really, truly need yet another Superman?
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Kids, I could not have been more wrong. I should know this. Always trust in James Gunn. Few filmmakers feel quite as at ease with finding not only the heart but also the humor in a story. Gunn and Corenswet gel to find such a delightful sense of wonder in Superman, and this made the film for me.
Unassuming Sweetness
There’s a lot of pressure on Superman, and with that, a lot of focus on David Corenswet as he steps into the iconic titular role. Some should likely recognize him for his recent work in Twisters and Pearl. For most, though, this is the young actor’s big-screen breakout.
Corenswet brings an unassuming sweetness to the daunting part. As Superman, he’s a Boy Scout, and that’s okay. His sense of wide-eyed wonder is imperative to Gunn’s narrative vision and sells the story’s emotion. It’s easy to get caught up in Clark’s joy, and with that, his pain.
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David Corenswet is, however, only one member of a supremely talented cast. In truth, it would be impossible to call out all the stellar performances by both new and existing members of Gunn’s recurring acting troupe. With names like Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk in the cast, this felt like a return to a joyful old-school “Nerdvana,” the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long time.
A Crusading Reporter
However, there’s one more performance I’d be shirking my duties if I didn’t call out. Friends, I’ve been a Rachel Brosnahan fangirl going back to her days on Manhattan in 2014. It remains one of the best shows no one talked about, so call me biased. It’s probably true.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that I’m in love with Brosnahan’s portrayal of Lois Lane. Her’s is a rare comic book love interest that steps beyond the usual formula. She has her own voice, her own life and a story that could easily be told. I’m officially sending a plea to the DC TV programming team. Can we get an Agent Carter-like series featuring Lois Lane as a crusading reporter? I would watch the heck out of that. We need that spin-off. We deserve that spin-off.
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Doesn’t Break Its Stride
Gunn, meanwhile, is far from a newcomer to superhero films. We know this. I was pleasantly surprised to find, though, that Gunn avoids falling into the usual Superman traps. For one thing, this isn’t an origin story. We really didn’t need to see Smallville and what happens to Pa Kent yet again.
With that, I suppose, there are some light struggles with characterization. As the audience, we’re ushered into a fully established world. Gunn assumes (rightly so) that most already know Superman’s origin story. There’s some pointed narrative setup, but the film doesn’t break its stride to stop and fill in needless gaps.
Ultimately, though, Luthor’s “hands-off” villainy allows Superman to step into a different comic movie structure. The resulting film is packed to the gills with stunt set pieces. There’s plenty of comic action, but it never feels hurried or jammed, despite the fact that Lex Luthor throws a lot at our protagonist. With everything that happens, it’s hard to see where the next threat is coming from, and with that, there are stakes that often feel lacking in comic book movies. There’s a beautiful tension here.
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A Wide-Eyed, Wonderful Look
As the final credits rolled, I found myself with the biggest smile on my face. Superman restarts the DC Cinematic Universe with infectious joy. This doesn’t feel like the same old Superman origin story, and that’s how it should be. This is a wide-eyed, wonderful look at the complicated truth of humanity. Here’s hoping the rest of Gunn’s DCU follows suit.
Superman is now playing in theaters nationwide.
Movie Review: JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH
A film nerd from my earliest years watching Abbott and Costello, that eventually translated to a Master’s Degree in Film History. I spend my time working on my fiction projects in all their forms, as well as covering film and television.
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