The Deal (2003 film)

The film was commissioned in 2002 by ITV's head of drama Nick Elliott, who encouraged Peter Morgan to put aside any other projects and start work on a script as soon as possible.[2] Granada was initially sceptical of producing it; the company's executive chairman and chief executive—Charles Allen and Simon Shaps respectively—believed that Blair would be forced to resign as Prime Minister over the impending war in Iraq, consequently leaving the story outdated.[3] The project was believed to be "too cerebral" and attempts were made to persuade Morgan to develop a television series to replace Cold Feet, another Granada production.[4] John Whiston and Andy Harries convinced Allen and Shaps otherwise, citing Granada's history of producing ground-breaking drama and film as reasons for why The Deal should be made. ITV's director of channels, David Liddiment, who supported the production, resigned in December 2002 and was replaced by Nigel Pickard, who shared the concerns of Allen and Shaps.[5] Peter Morgan wrote his first script draft in the three weeks preceding Christmas 2002. Recent events such as the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak and the contention surrounding the September Dossier made him believe that the perceived adversity between Brown and Blair was no longer in the public consciousness. His opinion was changed when he watched the 2002 Labour Party Conference and saw a "thunderous expression" on Brown's face as Bill Clinton praised Blair in his speech; Morgan realised that the rivalry was not over.[6] This draft was extremely sympathetic to Brown, focusing on what Morgan called "Gordon's heartbreak". Subsequent rewrites toned down this approach, though Brown still remained the "main character".[4]

The relationship between Brown and Blair as depicted in the script was based on that between Aaron Altman and Tom Grunick, the characters portrayed by Albert Brooks and William Hurt in Broadcast News. Morgan wanted to set the entire film in the 12 days following the death of John Smith, but the time frame was widened because the Labour Party's disastrous result at the 1992 general election was "absolutely crucial" to the relationship and motives of the main characters; Morgan had to show the moment Blair decided to aim to become leader of the party.[4] Morgan and the producers engaged in a lengthy research process during script writing and editing, interviewing 40 to 50 of Brown and Blair's closest friends and advisors, as well as aides involved in the 1992 and 1997 elections. Significantly, many of the facts in the film are based on the first three chapters of James Naughtie's book The Rivals: The Intimate Portrait of a Political Marriage.[7] The film briefly adopted The Rivals as a working title, but soon reverted to The Deal. Another title considered by Frears was Bambi and Stalin, based on a line in a speech given by Blair in 1995.[7]

Scenes set in the House of Commons chamber and committee rooms use the actual words as recorded in Hansard. In other scenes Morgan utilised dramatic licence, conceding that there was no evidence to suggest that any of the lines spoken elsewhere in the film were ever said in real life.[4] The relationship between Brown and Blair received many thematic analogies; Morgan likened Brown's story to a "tragedy of an over-qualified Scot, who the Labour Party probably rightly felt at the time that it could not have as its leader."[2] Despite the quote at the head of the film referring to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Frears wryly likened Brown and Blair to Beavis and Butt-head.[7] Producer Christine Langan alluded to both Shakespearean and Biblical themes, painting Brown and Blair as Cain and Abel.[8]

At the time of commissioning, Douglas Henshall and Daniel Craig were considered for the parts of Brown and Blair respectively, though David Morrissey and Michael Sheen were eventually announced as the leads in March 2003.[2] Morrissey gained two stone for his role and had his hair permed and dyed. He researched Brown's background by travelling to Kirkcaldy—where Brown grew up—and reviewing numerous biographies and information about the Treasury.[9] In comparison to his preparation for the BBC thriller State of Play, Morrissey discovered that no politicians wanted to help him with his research, so he turned to journalists Jon Snow and Simon Hoggart.[10] Director Stephen Frears was unfamiliar with his previous work and had to be convinced by other production staff to cast him.[11]

Michael Sheen made his first of three appearances as Tony Blair in The Deal

Sheen worked with an accent coach to effectively mimic Blair's speech style, although he and Morrissey avoided doing simple impersonations of the men they played.[9] Sheen cited Will Smith's title performance of Ali as a basis for his part; despite playing a real-life figure, he treated the role as if it were any other character.[12] Sheen had made his film debut in Frears' Mary Reilly (1996), and although he was unsure whether his minor role had "burned into [Frears'] brain", Frears confirmed that he had remembered Sheen from that.[11][13] Frears' casting director approached Sheen in the audience of a play, inviting him to appear in "a love story about Tony Blair and Gordon Brown". An informal meeting was scheduled between Frears and Sheen, at the end of which Sheen was cast as Blair.[13]

Paul Rhys studied Donald Macintyre's 1999 biography of Peter Mandelson and gained an appreciation of the politician's work on the Northern Ireland peace process, and of his sexuality. Rhys portrayed Mandelson with a "myopic loyalty" and identified him as "remain[ing] preposterously loyal to Blair" after his defection from Kinnock and Brown.[14] The representation of Mandelson was compared to both Iago and Pandarus.[2][7] Other people associated with Blair and Brown who appear in the film are Anji Hunter, Blair's assistant (played by Glenna Morrison), journalist Sheena McDonald (played by Valerie Edmond), and Sue Nye, Brown's assistant (played by Joanna Scanlan).

Stephen Frears directed The Deal

In March 2003, shortly before filming began, ITV abandoned its plan to screen the film, citing fears that such a politically sensitive film could affect the Granada-Carlton corporate merger, which was due to go before the government's Competition Commission.[3][5] Within 24 hours, Channel 4 backed the production.[4] A £2 million budget was assigned to the film.[5] Filming was postponed until May to accommodate Sheen's rehearsal schedule for the play Caligula. Frears ended shooting at 6 p.m. each day, so Sheen could leave the set-in time to appear in the play at the Donmar Warehouse.[11][14] The shoot was scheduled for five weeks. Set design was carried out by Michael Pickwood, a longtime production designer for Granada.

The Blairs' house in Sedgefield, Myrobella, was "played" by a house formerly owned by Lord Hailsham, Kettlethorpe Hall in Lincolnshire. The Maughan Library was used as the Houses of Parliament, along with the real-life scene in London. The scene in which John Smith eats with Brown was filmed on Blackfriars Bridge on the River Thames. The prologue and climactic scene in the Granita restaurant were shot on location in the restaurant itself.[14]

Certain personal effects of the characters that were familiar to the public were added to the sets.[14] Frears subdued Berrington's performance to avoid portraying Cherie as too much of a Lady Macbeth figure; in the scene where Cherie encourages Blair to stand for the leadership, Frears had Berrington stand with her back towards the camera.[15] Editing and post-production went on until September. Some historical events—such as the Sheffield Rally and footage of the 1997 general election—were too costly to refilm so archive footage was used instead.[7] Adam Curtis assisted in the editing of the archive footage.[7]

Frears had a clause in his contract that allowed him to direct any sequels.[7] The success of The Deal prompted the production team to consider a new film, possibly surrounding Britain's commitment to the war in Iraq. In 2004, production was announced that the first follow-up would be produced for a theatrical film release in 2006, The Queen; that dramatises the weeks following the death of Princess Diana on 31 August 1997. Langan described the film as not being a direct sequel, only that it reunited the same creative team.[30]

A second follow-up was written by Morgan, The Special Relationship chronicles the "special relationship" between Blair and US President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.[31] The film was first proposed by Morgan as the third chapter in a "Blair trilogy", shortly after The Queen was released and Blair's resignation, and would have covered Blair's special relationship with Clinton and also George W. Bush.[32] There was early speculation that Left Bank Pictures and BBC Films would be involved in production, as Morgan had "promised" the script to Christine Langan and Andy Harries.[33] By December 2008, it had been announced that Kathleen Kennedy would be producing and Morgan would be directing.[31] In March 2009, it was announced that Dennis Quaid would play the role of Clinton and Hope Davis would portray his wife Hillary.[34][35] Morgan pulled out of directing the film in June 2009 and was replaced by Richard Loncraine.[36] Filming on location in London ran from 20 July to 4 September 2009.[37] The film, a Rainmark Films production for HBO Films and BBC Films was first broadcast on the HBO networks in North America on 29 May 2010.

In a radio interview with Kate Silverton in August 2010, Andy Harries spoke of early plans for a television film about "the Brown exit", though explained that such a film was "two or three years away".[38]