Summary: Armando Iannucci (director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Scott Mantz. Film synopsis: The one-liners fly as fast as political fortunes fall in this uproarious, wickedly irreverent satire from director/co-writer Armando Iannucci (In the Loop, “Veep”). Moscow, 1953: when tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin drops dead, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to be the next Soviet leader. Among the contenders are the dweeby Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), the wily Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), and the sadistic secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale). But as they bumble, brawl and backstab their way to the top, just who is running the government? Combining palace intrigue with rapid-fire farce, this audacious comedy is a bitingly funny takedown of bureaucratic dysfunction performed to the hilt by a sparkling ensemble cast that also includes Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Olga Kurylenko, Michael Palin and Andrea Riseborough.
