Monday, March 4, 2013

HOLLYWOOD SPY EXCLUSIVE SPOTLIGHT ON HISTORY CHANNEL'S LAVISH NEW HISTORICAL MINI SERIES "THE BIBLE" AIRING THIS MARCH IN TEN EPISODES

Well, people, it seems History Channel is trying to get into some serious game with their productions of scripted series beside their well known documentary shows. With their gala premiere of epic show VIKINGS this Sunday, they are also launching their historical saga THE BIBLE which will air throughout March in five two hour episodes. Shot in Morocco and numerous other locations around the world the historical series also used researchers, academic consultants and theologians in order to verify accuracy of the stories that will be told within the episodes.

THE BIBLE STORY
Television’s highly acclaimed producer, Mark Burnett ("The Voice", "Survivor", "The Apprentice"), and his wife, Roma Downey ("Touched by An Angel") are bringing the most widely-read book of all time to life on the screen, with breathtaking beauty and the use of dramatic live action and cutting-edge CGI technology. The series will cover "Genesis to Revelation" within five two-hour parts, each containing two or three biblical stories told through live action and computer generated imagery. The stories told will include Noah's Ark, the Exodus, and the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Five
episodes will be based on the Old Testament and the other five on the New Testament. THE BIBLE spans hundreds of years of biblical history, beginning with the sacrifice of Isaac and ending with the meeting between Pontius Pilate and Jesus and Ananias's baptism of St. Paul. In between, viewers will see Samson destroy the pagan Philistine temple, David fight Goliath, the Baptism of Jesus and Christ walking on water, among other scenes. The final episode of the series will air on Easter Sunday and will feature the death and resurrection of Jesus. The producers' goal was to retell the stories in a way which is appealing to the young audience as well.

THE BIBLE CAST
When it comes to the ensemble starring in the epic mini series, the names included are mostly unknown to the wider audience with Roma Downey (from TOUCHED BY ANGEL) playing Mother Mary, one of Portugal's top actors Diogo Morgado is Jesus Christ, Darwin Shaw is Peter, Sebastian Knapp plays John, Amber Rose Revah portrays Mary Magdalene, Greg Hicks will appear as Pilate, Simon Kunz is Nicodemus, Joe Wredden is Judas, Andrew Scarborough is Joshua ... It is also very interesting that the music for THE BIBLE mini series was composed by legendary Oscar winner Hans Zimmer who did music for THE LION KING, GLADIATOR, PEARL HARBOUR, MADAGASCAR....

  OTHER BIBLE PROJECTS 
History Channel's epic series is not the only Biblical project awaiting us ahead. Last year Steven Spielberg has entered negotiations with Warner Brothers to helm GODS AND KINGS, which is being described as a Braveheartish version of the Moses story in which the Jewish leader will be shown as the warrior to beat all warriors. You also know that Darren Aronofsky is finishing the lavish production on his science fiction epic NOAH which will follow the famous Biblical character but in an adventure much darker and more futuristic than in the Bible. The cast includes Anthony Hopkins who will play Methuselah the world's oldest living man, who dies seven days before the great flood that Noah survives with his ark full of animals. Russell Crowe is Noah, Douglas Booth and Logan Lerman are his sons, Jennifer Connelly is Noah's wife, and Ray Winstone is also in the cast.

34 comments:

  1. well I guess it's better than a dumb UFO show

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  2. It's like being back at church on a Sunday when I was younger!

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    1. yep, and it is creepy that they are giving away dvds and set kits to churches around USA like some kind of fanatical sect.... Jeepers creepers....

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    2. Though I can't handle the Jeepers Creepers movies.

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  3. Well, I guess it was inevitable that the Bible would be mined for its action-adventure stories. Maybe people are getting sick of Greek myths and ancient warrior history.

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    1. which people are those? :) I'm not among them... brings us more myths and history :) Preferably not Bible related :)

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    2. Oh, I agree! Me, I'm not watching The Bible. I'm watching Vikings, which comes on right afterwards!

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    3. According to official reports BIBLE had around 13 million viewers while VIKINGS had double less than that :( I'm not surprised given in mind how church fanaticism is spread in USA

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  4. It is an interesting move on the part of History Channel to get into scripted shows. I think it could get tricky sometimes maintaining historical accuracy and presenting a dramatic program at the same time, so I hope it works out. I am so excited for Vikings tonight I may go jump the fence and invade my neighbors yard just to get it out of my system. :P

    And, yes, I actually ordered cable just so I could watch. :))

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    1. I'm guessing they have to step into the game and fight for money and viewers and don't forget that these kind of epic shows are extremely marketable and bring money when sold to other countries unlike more modern contemporary set shows.

      Oooh, hooray for the cable :) Now you will be able to watch Starz too! And HBO!

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    2. PS I feel US cable system should pay me some money :) since a number of people have ordered cable after following HOLLYWOOD SPY for a longer time :)

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    3. It's true, you inspired me to get cable again. But I did not get Starz or HBO. They are more expensive than butter here. And I"m not willing to spend that much on television. :)

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    4. Ah, so Starz and HBO are a part of special packages, yes? Kinda like here... we have History Channel Europe on regular cable and Fox International Channels and TLC, but if you want HBO Europe here, you also have to pay separately :( so I also don't have it.

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    5. "expensive than butter" LOL :)
      Butter really is expensive here and so is cream and many other things that would shock you, such as lemons and most tropical fruit .... And Americans are usually shocked when they hear that here Nike and Reebok and other famous brands of sneakers are up to $200 while I hear they can be bought in USA for $20 or $30. It is really sad since average salary here is maybe 300-400 dollars a month :(

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  5. It looks to me like they are presenting this as a book, not as doctrinal fact. So really, they shouldn't be giving the material to churches.

    Also, if they are presenting it as a book, it is a book written by Jewish people about Jewish people (and some horrid invading peoples from other countries). So once again I must ask, why is Jesus being played by a white man who looks like one of the Bee Gees?

    All the politics aside, there are some great stories to be told and if the budget was high enough, it could be a good watch.

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    1. I'm in agreement. I think this is a terrible Christian fanatical right-wing production to get us all to convert. I refuse to watch.

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    2. Their idea is to organize Biblical month around USA through the net of churches and religious organizations by giving them DVDs and set kits and some books or whatever for group discussions.... Creepy if you ask me...

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  6. Sick of Bible stories already. This is schlocky, poor attempt like those godawful Left behind books to make people convert. TV's answer to Passion of Christ, that Mel Gibson horror fest with Jim Caveziel as a really creepy looking Jesus. And while were at it Roma Downey as Mary, are you kidding me? She's far too old and hasn't been relevant in 20 years same as her silly show. Wasn't Touched by an Angel canceled in like 1992?

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    1. they did say that they are making this series with the idea to show extreme suffering and pain and not like some old Biblical fairy tales.... so kinda like what Crazy Mel did when he raped us all through that horrid horrid horrid movie of his. Both Mel's and Tarantino's films are kinda like you are forced to watch a violent masturbation of some immature teenager or something...
      Amen to what you said on Roma... I had difficulties remembering who the woman was ... :)

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  7. Yeah, Jesus looks far too Caucasian in this production so I'm already disinterested.

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    1. he is from Portugal, so I'm guessing he is a Mediterranean type...

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  8. I've got Viking's waiting for me the DVR and I'll be recording The Bible too.

    You never know, I may learn something.

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    1. you never know :) Hope VIKINGS were good, I will have to Torrent them later on this week....

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    2. I hope Vikings is good too! The trailers looked great. You and I will probably be watching it around the same time with the way hubby's schedule has been. =)

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    3. I first have to watch the last two episodes of SPARTACUS WAR OF THE DAMNED before I move on to VIKINGS. I have to Torrent everything within the airing weeks since we have GOT and DA VINCI'S DEMONS coming up this spring too and I mustn't lose track ...

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  9. I might try it, but not sure. I'll have to check out VIKINGS. I've never heard of it.

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    1. you have a spotlight on VIKINGS in my right sidebar, it was even tweeted and retweeted by some of VIKINGS stars :)

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  10. I'm so glad to see someone update the classic stories in the Bible. Thanks for spreading the word.

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  11. I can't wait to watch the next episode!

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