Robert Downey Jr beats George Clooney in Black Mirror film rights showdown

Alice Jones' Arts Diary

Thursday 14 February 2013 08:14 EST

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Robert Downey Jr has beaten George Clooney in a bidding war for the film rights to an episode of Channel 4’s Black Mirror.

Downey Jr will produce a sci-fi thriller based on The Entire History of You, the final instalment of the first series of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian drama which first screened in 2011.

Written by Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show; Fresh Meat; In the Loop), it imagines a future in which humans are implanted with a memory chip which records everything they do, see or hear. “I always thought this idea could be a film so when I did a deal to write my episode I asked to reserve the film rights”, Armstrong tells me. “A few people were interested... including in the UK, which was very tempting, but in the end I thought we’d done a great version here so [it would be] interesting to see what could be done in the US.”

The Hollywood version will be a “whole new story”, says Armstrong, who will write the screenplay. Downey Jr will produce with Team Downey, the company he runs with his wife, Susan and Warner Bros. In the original, a husband uses his chip to reveal evidence of his wife’s affair; in the new version, he will use it to relive his time with his dead wife, uncovering a major conspiracy in the process. “I developed it here with Charlie [Brooker] and producers Annabel [Jones] and Barney [Reisz] to fit the house style of the Black Mirror and because of budgetary restrictions it became a sort of chamber piece. This will be on a bigger scale.”

As yet, there is no news on casting or release date. “Although I am assured that all scripts that are developed do get made. Hollywood abhors waste”, quips Armstrong.

Also in the Arts Diary

Adam Riches goes from Daniel Day Lewis to Andy Warhol

The thrill of solving an in-the-round conundrum; a small world for the workforce at Moscow's Garazh

@AlicevJones