Brexit took the UK, and for that matter the entire world, by surprise. The political back story behind its success is now being considered for a major motion picture.
It is a story of political high drama, as a handful of scrappy anti-establishment politicians took on Europe’s political elite in the name of protecting UK independence — and won. The “inevitable” march of history toward a centrally-controlled Europe with a US-style federal government at the center was quite suddenly derailed. The unexpected success of Brexit, built on an anti-establishment groundswell in the British population that had gone largely undetected by pollsters, presaged a comparable shock election in the US, with Trump winning the presidential election against all odds.
The series of events behind Brexit’s success was told in the book The Bad Boys of iBrexit: Tales of Mischief, Mayhem & Guerrilla Warfare in the EU Referendum Campaign. That book, which tracks the ups and downs of the campaign, is now being considered by Warner Brothers for the big screen. Per the Daily Telegraph, an agent for the book stated: “We have had some very serious Hollywood people in touch with us who are going to buy the rights to the book. They want to buy the option on it.”
Reaction from opposition anti-Brexit politicians was harsh. “It promises to be a horror flick found in the bargain bins,” said Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Amazon describes the book as “an honest, uncensored and highly entertaining diary of the campaign that changed the course of history.” The book’s author, Arron Banks, has generously offered to give any proceeds from the film to charity.