Armando Iannucci - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)

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Armando Iannucci on IMDb

Armando Iannucci was born in Glasgow in [y]1963[y], and after studying at St. Aloysius' College, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow, he secured a place at University College, Oxford, where he studied English Literature. He thought quite seriously about becoming a Roman Catholic priest, and even began a DPhil on 17th-century religious language, with particular reference to John Milton, but abandoned this in order to pursue a career in comedy.

Iannucci's earliest work saw him making shows such as No' The Archie McPherson Show and Armando Iannucci for BBC Radio 1, in which he collaborated with many other comedians who would feature alongside him throughout his later career, including Rebecca Front, Steve Coogan, and David Schneider.

Soon he collaborated with British satirist Chris Morris on the radio series On The Hour, which was later transferred to television as The Day Today. This was where the character of the bumbling, vulnerable, yet charming Alan Partridge, a radio presenter for Radio Norwich, was born. Here Iannucci also brought together comics such as Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. His comic creation Alan Partridge would soon feature in a number of Iannucci's own television and radio programmes, including Knowing Me Knowing You With Alan Partridge and I'm Alan Partridge.

Next, Iannucci continued his success by fronting the satirical Armistice review shows and creating his most personal work to date, The Armando Iannucci Shows, broadcast on Channel 4 and written with Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil.

After singing the praises of Yes, Minister during the BBC's television documentary Britain's Best Sitcom, Iannucci came up with the idea of a mockumentary-style, political sitcom of his own, loosely based on the parliamentary machinations of the day. This became The Thick Of It, a faux cinéma-vérité exploration of the inner workings of government in which an incompetent cabinet minister, Hugh Abbott (Chris Langham, is exploited and manipulated by his cynical Press Officer, Malcolm Tucker (/p]Peter Capaldi]). It premiered on BBC Four in 2005, but was awarded two hour-long specials, with an extended cast, to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's appointment as prime minister in 2007. Its third series, released in 2009, was broadcast on BBC Two, and a fourth series followed in 2012. The sitcom is renowned for the foul-mouthed volleys of abuse hurled by Malcolm Tucker at those in his immediate vicinity, with certain words and phrases such as 'omnishambles' entering mainstream political discourse.

Once The Thick Of It had come to an end, Iannucci began work on his spoof documentary series Time Trumpet, a satirical comedy set in the year 2031 that retrospectively reflects on the first thirty years of the 21st century. One sketch involving a jumbo jet crashing into Parliament and the subsequent assassination of Tony Blair, was pulled in the wake of the 2006 terrorist plot. In 2009 his first feature film In The Loop premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with many of the best-loved cast members from The Thick Of It returning. Shot in a farcical, rapid-fire manner, the film focuses on the run-up to a possible war, a thinly-veiled satire of the Iraq conflict.

Next Iannucci turned his attention to American audiences, creating the HBO political satire Veep (2012-2019, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, fictional vice-president, of the United States who, despite being a heartbeat away from the leader of the free world, still feels undervalued and underappreciated in her role. Filmed in the quick-fire, sharply intelligent manner of Iannucci's other work, it has won 17 Primetime Emmy Awards and two Critics' Choice Television Awards, amongst other accolades.

In 2017, Iannucci released his second feature film, The Death of Stalin, a satirical look at the intense struggle for power following the sudden death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. The film is well-known for its sharp dialogue and absurd situations, but also for recreating genuine moments that occurred in history. For instance, in real life Stalin, having listened to a live concert on the radio, ordered that its recording be sent to him. No such recording had been established, so the entire concert had to be hurriedly repeated, with the audience forced back into their seats.

Iannucci is planning a science fiction sitcom set in space, entitled Avenue 5.

He was awarded the Writers' Guild of Britain Award at the 2011 British Comedy Awards.

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