You’ve Been Trumped, but not in the political fashion…
British independent film and television producer, Vertigo Films announces it has attached Hollywood heavyweight and veteran film writer and director, Kirk Jones as writer and director on its highly anticipated drama series, You’ve Been Trumped. Jones has completed the scripts on the series, which is his first television drama.
Based on Anthony Baxter’s award-winning 2011 documentary of the same name, the dramatisation marks the first television project for Jones, who will use his skilful black humour and deep-rooted emotional sensibility to explore the events of how a small Scottish community stood up against Goliath a.k.a Donald Trump and his Golf Course development.
Set on one of Europe’s most environmentally sensitive stretches of coast on Scotland’s Northeast coastline, the new drama series charts the unbelievable true story of what happens when everyday people take on one of the world’s most famous, divisive, and powerful families. When brash US multi-billionaire Donald J. Trump decides to build a luxury golf course in the middle of a treasured Scottish nature reserve in Aberdeenshire and the Scottish Government overturns its own environmental laws to give him the green light, it’s the locals who are forced to pick up the fight to preserve their way of life and their homes.
Told through the eyes of farmer Michael Forbes, his family, and a core group of residents, we see the dramatic events unfold and follow key figures at the heart of the story – from former SNP First Minister Alex Salmond and Councillor John Swinney to Guardian journalist Annie Baxter and the entire Trump family. As the locals make themselves an ever-present thorn in the side of Trump and his developers, they find themselves in unchartered territory, in their efforts to save the ‘Amazon Rainforest’ of Scotland.
You’ve Been Trumped is a powerful allegory of decency versus indecency and the chaos that ensues when entitlement and exploitation come crashing into the lives of ordinary people. Ten years on from the events in Scotland the series will not only enthral audiences but serve to examine how we best safeguard our planet against the devastating environmental impact of large corporations and challenge their role and impact on the world. Can we learn any lessons from this small Scottish town and put a stop to the irreversible damage that we’re doing to the landscape, people’s health, and livelihoods?
Kirk Jones, writer and director:
“There was a reason why the worlds media was drawn to this story in 2006 and why there was such a determined effort to prevent Anthony Baxter’s excellent documentary of the same name, being released in 2011. A special site of scientific interest was stripped of its status and a community of decent people faced an unwanted aggressor. This is a story that needs to be told to a wider audience and I am thrilled to be working with this team on what we plan to be a humorous, dramatic and emotionally engaging TV series set in one of the most stunning locations in the British Isles.”
