(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Veep creator Armando Iannucci revealed he’s been struggling to get a project related to President Donald Trump funded because studios and financiers fear retribution.
Iannucci said at a Creative UK event this week that his project is based on Trump’s speeches and he’s been warned no funding will be found in the United States. Iannucci’s Veep ran for seven seasons on HBO.
“I got a lot of, ‘Yeah, you wouldn’t get the money for that at the moment, I’m afraid.’ So I said, ‘Why not?’ [They replied] ‘Well, you know, if you want what comes with it…’” he said, according to Deadline.
The producer and writer added, “[I’ve been] talking to journalists out there who say, ‘If you’re on the list, your life is made miserable.’ [The message was], the inland revenue will come calling, you better lawyer up, you will spend the next four years just weighed down by legal issues you have to get through.”
The president has had an adversarial relationship with some Hollywood figures and media companies.
“I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do,” Trump recently said after late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel returned to his show following an “indefinite suspension” over comments related to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In his post, Trump also referenced a $16 million settlement he received after suing Paramount over a 60 Minutes segment with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump’s FCC Chair Brendan Carr had weighed in before the suspension, leading critics to accuse the administration of pressuring the agency.
Iannucci did not provide specifics on his Trump project, but suggested he could get it financed solely through foreign sources. He also blasted Trump’s tariffs, claiming they have stalled film productions in the UK.
“Nobody knows how it works, but that’s not the point,” he said. “The point is, there will be financiers in America about to give money to a project going, ‘Do you know what? Let’s just see how this plays out before I hand that over.’ And so you’ll have another project sitting there.”
The post Veep Creator Claims He Can’t Get Trump Project Funded Because Backers Don’t Want to Land On a Revenge ‘List’ first appeared on Mediaite.
