‘Conclave’ Screenwriter Peter Straughan Talks Adapting Robert Harris’ Bestseller, Season 2 Of ‘Wolf Hall’ And Bringing The Beatles’ George Harrison To The Screen
deadline.comOver the past 20 years, screenwriter Peter Straughan has become British cinema’s go-to guy for adaptations. That might sound like a back-handed compliment, but his protean talent makes it hard to pinpoint what exactly constitutes a typical project for the UK-based writer: is it Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), his masterly adaptation of John Le Carré’s classic Cold War spy thriller; is it Frank (2014), which stars Michael Fassbender as a struggling indie musician sporting a papier mâché head; or is it Our Brand Is Crisis, a satirical Sandra Bullock comedy based on a deadly serious political documentary?
Straughan is currently sailing into awards season with his take on Robert Harris’ 2016 bestseller Conclave, a darkly witty conspiracy drama starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.
Directed by Edward Berger, following hard on the heels of his award-winning drama All Quiet on the Western Front two years ago, it starts with the death of the Pope and concerns the efforts of his right-hand man, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes), to find a suitable successor.
As with any election, however, there are dirty tricks afoot. Even in the Vatican, as Lawrence soon finds out. After Conclave hits U.S.
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