A film about Harold Wilson
A film about United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who led the government from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976, will be the first film to be shot in the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament. It was reported by The Guardian newspaper.
According to The Guardian, the film's makers had to be "assertive and determined to approach the Speaker of the House Sir Lindsay Hoyle directly, as well as some MPs" who personally knew the former prime minister, in order to obtain special permission to shoot.
It is worth noting that each of the politicians was offered a cameo appearance in the film, as well as a guided tour of the set, but MPs "showed no interest" in the idea.
The film, to be called The Ghost of Harold Wilson, will be a political thriller and will explore the circumstances that led to the Prime Minister's resignation during his second term as head of government in the United Kingdom. As Harold Wilson himself claimed in a series of exclusive interviews with journalists, which he began giving a few weeks after leaving office, the British secret service MI5, together with US and South African intelligence agencies, "spread rumours" that he and some of his party associates were carrying out "spying activities in favour of the USSR".
The film's script is based on actual transcripts of conversations between journalists and the prime minister that went on for 18 months in an "off the record" format. According to director Samuel Martin, viewers will find in the film "a lot of parallels with today's day".
We also know that British actor Shaun Dooley will play the title role. He said that it was an "absolute privilege" to walk in Wilson's shoes, "and doing it inside the camera is incredible. It's going to be our first day of shooting, and it's the first time I'm going to play Harold, what a place for that."