Andrew Garfield To Play Virgin Atlantic Founder Richard Branson in 'Hot Air' Limited Series
justjared.comAndrew Garfield is lining up his next big project. The 38-year-old Under The Banner of Heaven star is in current talks to star as aviation giant Richard Branson in Hot Air. Click inside to read more about the series… According to Entertainment Weekly, the limited series would be based on investigative journalist Martyn Gregory‘s book “Dirty Tricks”, which chronicled a massive scandal in the early ’90s in which British Airways attempted to ruin Branson’s airline, Virgin Atlantic.
Here’s some backstory on the scandal: When it launched in 1984, Virgin Atlantic sought to reignite the glamour and excitement of air travel, making itself everything its competitors weren’t, which posed a bit threat to British Airways.
They then sought to launch a secret mission to destroy the brand. The “dirty tricks” campaign had spies that hacked into Virgin’s computers and impersonated Virgin employees, calling staff members to obtain information on them.
The team would even reach out to Virgin passengers and try to persuade them to switch their flights. Richard eventually found out about the plot and sued, leading to a high-profile court case that forced British Airways to pay Virgin almost £3 million in damages.
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