We are thrilled to announce that Simon Sebag Montefiore's new screenplay titled, 'Winston & Joe', will be developed into a feature film by director Matt Reeves' company 6th & Idaho!

Montefiore is the bestselling historian of books such as The World: A Family History, Catherine the Great & Potemkin, Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, Young Stalin, Jerusalem: The Biography, and The Romanovs, as well as the forthcoming The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East, which will be published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson this summer 2026.

'Winston & Joe' is the story of the clash, crisis & conciliation of Churchill & Stalin at their August 1942 meeting.

On X, Montefiore wrote:

In our age of autocrats, it could not be more relevant. They almost fell out which would have destroyed the Grand Alliance. This is a study of power but it is also an unexpected love story between two tough warlords who meet, who argue and then charm each other. These are brilliant parts for great actors but the story also includes (unexpectedly) some wonderful female role including Stalin's teenage daughter and his mistress-housekeeper...

Read more about this exciting development in Deadline's press release.