Director Armando Iannucci and actor Dev Patel talk about Charles Dickens, and broadening the mindset of casting, for 'The Personal History of David Copperfield'

A little behind-the-scenes story on writing about behind the scenes:

A couple weeks ago, I had the chance to be part of a “virtual roundtable” interview with Armando Iannucci and Dev Patel. They are, respectively, the director/co-screenwriter and star of “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” a comedy adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel, which is being released in U.S. theaters on August 28.

I learned, when the interview began, that “virtual roundtable” meant 20 reporters from various entertainment outlets on a Zoom call with Iannucci and Patel. We each got one question, in turn — and I wound up having to text mine, because my microphone was the one that didn’t work when I was called on. (There’s always one in every Zoom call, and this time it was me.)

Despite those limitations and frustrations, Iannucci (“The Death of Stalin,” “Veep”) and Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Lion”) said some fascinating things about the process of adapting Charles Dickens, casting an actor of color in a role usually reserved for white actors, and making something funny and heartwarming in the bleakest of times.

Read the story here, at sltrib.com. And you can read the review of “The Personal History of David Copperfield” here, also at sltrib.com.