Attempted Assassination Of Margaret Thatcher To Be Made Into A Film

In 1984, an assassination attempt was made against British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The attempt to take the life of one of the world’s most iconic leaders is to now be made into a film. Pulse Films and Addictive Pictures have acquired the rights to Jonathan Lee’s High Dive novel, which is based on the IRA hotel bombing that took place in 1984 in an attempt to assassinate Margaret Thatcher.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the dramatization of the attack against Margaret Thatcher, one of the world’s most iconic leaders, will be made by the producers of Beyonce’s Lemonade. As it stands, details around the production are thin on the ground, but the film has been confirmed to be a thriller and has already attracted some pretty big names. Brian Kirk has already been attached as the film’s director, best known for his work on Game of Thrones and Luther. Thomas Benski and Lucas Ochoa will be responsible for producing on behalf of Pulse Films, whilst John Schoenfelder and Russell Ackerman will be producing for Addictive Pictures.

Since its release last year, the novel High Dive has received critical acclaim. It follows the story of a young IRA volunteer as he plants a bomb in his hotel room in the British seaside town of Brighton, the same hotel where Margaret Thatcher was staying with the rest of her key team for the Conservative party conference in 1984. The attack saw Margaret Thatcher herself narrowly escape injury, whilst five others were killed, including two members of her Conservative party.

According to List, whilst High Dive is largely based on reality, the story has been weaved with fiction for the purpose of dramatisation. It’s currently unknown how close to the novel this film adaptation will keep, but it’s worth noting that the production will be based on the book rather than the attack on Margaret Thatcher directly.

Speaking about the film, Thomas Benski said “We’re very interested in great literature, and High Dive is a brilliant work of literature. It’s thrilling, it’s cinematic. It feels very much up our street. It’s a very interesting story and with that there’s what we think is the ability to attract talent… big talent that will make the movie easier to make. So for us it fits exactly on what we’re looking for.” For the film’s producers, this definitely looks to be an exciting production, especially considering the significance of Margaret Thatcher as a political figure in the United Kingdom.

Margaret Thatcher became Britain's indefatigable, and controversial, leader #onthisday 1979 https://t.co/IfmwBWAX09 pic.twitter.com/LVdEo77H3Z

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) May 4, 2016

Margaret Thatcher is regularly seen as one of the most significant world leaders of the 20th century, despite the fact that she still splits opinion in the United Kingdom, where she was Prime Minister between 1979 and 1990. Margaret Thatcher’s life has been depicted several times through film and TV, where she was most regularly represented as a hate-filled, miserly figure. However, it was the Oscar-winning 2011 film Iron Lady that saw Meryl Streep depict Thatcher in a favourable way, contributing towards widespread admiration for Margaret Thatcher across the world.

It’ll undeniably be interesting to see how Margaret Thatcher will be depicted in this upcoming film that was announced at the Cannes Film Festival. Whilst previous films based on the British Prime Minister have largely focused on her life as a whole, this upcoming production will take a largely different approach, focusing on arguably one of the most difficult moments of Margaret Thatcher’s tenure as Prime Minister. Following her death in 2013, Margaret Thatcher continues to split opinion in the United Kingdom. Whilst many still see her policies as controversial, she left behind the concept of Thatcherism, an ideal that has changed politics across the world and films like this show that Margaret Thatcher’s legacy isn’t set to die anytime soon.

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