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Written by Troy Kennedy Martin and starring Bob Peck
and Joanne Whalley, the six-hour story began as a
murder mystery.
A detective's daughter is gunned down in front of
him -- then the story veers into the subject of the
illegal harvesting of plutonium. Campbell, who just
completed 'Beyond Borders', said the subject matter
has particularly strong resonance now.
Of course, Martin just has to veer off into planet
lefty when he states: 'What makes it so contemporary
is the Bush administration and their nuclear and military
policies. The original story concentrated on the policy
of the Margaret Thatcher regime, at the time of the
miners' strike, when she broke the back of the union.
'Part of the story is the discovery of an underground
storage facility which is illegally manufacturing
plutonium and is about to be privatized by an American
company'.
Campbell said the BBC Films project will be based
in the U.S. and will make political points, which
he and screenwriter Andrew Bovell ('Strictly Ballroom',
'Lantana') are still working out.
'Edge of Darkness' becomes a candidate for Campbell's
next slot. He's overseeing development of 'Zorro 2',
with plans to reunite Antonio Banderas, Catherine
Zeta Jones and Anthony Hopkins. Campbell also has
come aboard a remake of 'El Cid'.
The feature turn for 'Edge of Darkness' is comparable
to the adaptation of the British miniseries 'Traffic',
which was turned into an Oscar-winning film about
the drug trade.
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