Tony Soprano meets Alan Partridge in the Loop

James Gandolfini and our very own Steve Coogan are to team up in a new black comedy from the man behind The Day Today and The Thick Of It, Armando Iannucci.

According to reports in showbiz newspaper Variety, the pair will star in Iannucci's directorial debut, In The Loop, a biting political satire on US-UK relations.

The film will centre on the efforts of an American general (Gandolfini) and a British politico (Tom Hollander of Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) to prevent the US president and British prime minister from starting an ill-advised war. Where do they get their ideas?

The Thick Of It pair Chris Addison (clueless advisor Ollie Reeder) and Peter Capaldi (maniacal spin doctor Malcolm Tucker) are also signed up to appear, along with Gina McKee of Brass Eye.

Iannucci previously worked with Coogan on The Day Today and subsequent spin-off series Knowing Me, Knowing You With Alan Partridge and I'm Alan Partridge. More recently, he wrote and produced spoof history series Time Trumpet.

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