ABOUT IN THE LOOP

A bumbling British government minister (Tom Hollander) makes a verbal snafu during a TV interview, inadvertently backing a U.S. war in the Middle East. The Prime Minister's venomous communications chief (Peter Capaldi) attempts damage control as tensions quickly escalate on both sides of the pond. Soon the Brits are in Washington, where a U.S. General (James Gandolfini) thinks war is a crazy idea and the beleaguered U.S. Assistant Secretary for Diplomacy (Mimi Kennedy) scrambles to infiltrate the elusive and very hawkish War Committee. Meanwhile, the hapless minister responsible for the mess fuels more flames by attempting to gatecrash various corridors of power while his well-connected young spin doctor (Chris Addison) sleeps his way into diplomatic high jinks with a sexy young intern (Anna Chlumsky), culminating in a feverish United Nations Security Council vote that makes war seem as "unforseeable" as the slip of the tongue that ignites this crackling, fast-talking political satire showcasing some of the most rollicking wordplay since the heyday of screwball comedy.

From writer and director Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It, The Day Today, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge). The team of Iannucci, Capaldi, Addison, producer Adam Tandy and other cast and crew of In the Loop previously collaborated on the award-winning BBC television series The Thick of It, which ran for six half-hour episodes and two specials from 2005 to 2007.

35mm print provided courtesy of IFC Films.

Not Rated. Running time: 106 minutes.

Opening in theaters on Friday, July 24, 2009.

To learn more about the film and to view the trailer, click here.

This June through August, 2009, the SCA Alumni Screening Series will host a wide array of film screenings and filmmaker Q&As, highlighting new blockbuster and independent American films, international and documentary features and recent work by our SCA Alumni. These screenings will be hosted in various SCA venues, including Norris Cinema Theatre, as well as SCA 108 and SCA 110. All screenings are free to the public but will require an electronic reservation, which can be made through the website for each individual screening. Many screenings will be overbooked to ensure that capacity is met in the theater. Some screenings will be run from digital sources.