1ST TRAILER FOR WW2 DRAMA WAITING FOR ANYA BASED ON WAR HORSE AUTHOR'S BOOK IS HERE WITH ANJELICA HUSTON, JEAN RENO, THOMAS KRETSCHMANN!

     'WAITING FOR ANYA'

FIRST TRAILER IS HERE
I guess I did not really expect such bad acting and so many terrible accents in this one, but here is the first trailer for the big screen adaptation of Michael

Stay tuned for the first trailer soon!

Morpurgo's (War Horse) WAITING FOR ANYA which will arrive into British cinemas next Valentines and has been sold for Northern America too. The World War II tale has a rather strong cast (at least on paper) led by Anjelica Huston (who obviously has time to put fresh tacky make up on her face in the middle of war and poverty), Jean Reno, Thomas Kretschmann, Sadie Frost. The story revolves around Jo Lalande (judging by the trailer a rather unconvincing Noah Schnapp), a 13 year old shepherd, and a widow, Horcada (Anjelica Huston), who help smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain during the war. Ben Cookson both wrote and directed the movie.

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON MEDIAEVAL EPIC ADVENTURE NARCISSUS AND GOLDMUND BASED ON HERMAN HESSE'S LEGENDARY HISTORICAL NOVEL

   'NARCISSUS AND GOLDMUND'

LAVISH HISTORICAL ADVENTURE

I promised you at the very beginning of the year that this month will be filled with reports on international period set projects and I'm keeping to

The movie hits cinemas this March

that promise today as well by taking you over to Germany where a new historical adventure is ready to hit the big screens March 12th! NARCISSUS AND GOLDMUND is the movie adaptation of Narziss und Goldmund a famous novel by Nobel Prize winner Herman Hesse! Magnetic German superstar Jannis Niewohner, whom we fell deeply in love with a few years ago in their stunning historical mini series Maximilian, takes the lead role of a young man  Goldmund who wanders aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany after leaving a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as

Jannis Niewohner takes the lead role

"the meaning of life". Oscar winning Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky is helming the expensive production. The novel itself was first published back in 1930 and was translated into more than 40 languages!

  What Is The Story About?
The young Goldmund (Jannis Niewohner) is sent by his father to study in the monastery Mariabronn and meets there the religious monastic student Narcissus (Sabin Tambrea, whom you might remember from their historical series on their crazy emperor Ludwig II).

Sabin Tambrea takes the role of Narziss in the movie

Narcissus has dedicated himself to the ascetic and austere life in the monastery with heart and soul and Goldmund first tries to imitate him. An

Emilia Schule is Julia in the movie adaptation of Hesse's novel

intimate friendship soon develops between the two, but the boisterous and fun-loving Goldmund soon realizes that the life perspective the convent offers does not match his ideas of freedom and, emboldened by Narcissus, embarks

Henriette Confurius plays Goldmund's love interest Lene

on a journey full of adventure in which he finally meets his great love Lene (Henriette Confurius). But years later, Narcissus and Goldmund meet again under dramatic circumstances.

EPIX TO MAKE EPIC TV SERIES OUT OF BERNARD CORNWELL'S ARTHURIAN SAGA THE WINTER KING AND A COLUMN OF FIRE SEQUEL TO KEN FOLLETT'S PILLARS OF THE EARTH AND WORLD WITHOUT END

   EPIX TO MAKE EPIC SERIES

OUT OF THE WINTER KING AND A COLUMN OF FIRE NOVELS

Epix has announced a number of new projects that they will be developing in the future and among them is TV series adaptation of A COLUMN OF FIRE Elizabethan Era set novel from Ken Follett which follows his previous

Bad Wolf is producing The Winter King

two epic adaptations The Pillars of the World and World Without End, and also a TV series adaptation of THE WINTER KING Arthurian novels from another great epic writer Bernard Cornwell on whose works The Last Kingdom saga is based on.

Bad Wolf will produce the adaptation of Cornwell's trilogy of novels The Warlord Chronicles which consist of three books set in Arthurian Britain mixing history and legends THE WINTER KING, Enemy Of God and Excalibur. The protagonist of the series is Derfel Cadarn, a Saxon brought up as a Briton by Merlin, the greatest of all Druids. In the course of the story, he becomes a

A Column of Fire will be produced by Snowed In

great warrior and one of Arthur's warlords in his war against the Saxons. Derfel is one of Arthur's closest advisers and friends.

Meanwhile, A COLUMN OF FIRE from Ken Follett follows the romance between Ned Willard and Margery Fitzgerald beginning in 1558 and spanning half a century of political intrigue and turmoil as well as the political intrigue of the royal courts of England, France, and Scotland, and the oft-times violent conflict between supporters of the Catholic Church and the rising Protestant movement in the late 16th century. Unlike the two previous novels in this series, a large portion of the plot takes place outside the town of Kingsbridge, utilizing such far-flung settings as Paris, Seville, Geneva, Antwerp, and the Caribbean, and involving many major characters who have no direct connection with the town.

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON NEW STAR TREK: PICARD SERIES WITH PATRICK STEWART! ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW CREW!

   'STAR TREK: PICARD'

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW AND OLD CREW

Are you ready to engage the engines full speed ahead, trekkies? Because that is what Patrick Stewart is about to do next week when his new STAR

The new series will air on Thursdays from next week

TREK: PICARD sf series starts January 23rd on CBS All Access which has so much faith in the new show that they've already ordered a 2nd ten episode season as well! Amazon Prime will air the show around the world a day after.

Produced by Alex Kurtzman,  it will be the eighth series in the Star Trek franchise following now retired captain Jean Luc Picard. Set at the end of the 24th century, the storyline is affected by the destruction of the planet Romulus, as well as the death of Data. Much to the joy of Star Trek fans, his old Enterprise crew members Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Data (Brent Spiner) and Commander Ryker 

The new series was created by Alex Kurtzman

(Jonathan Frakes) who is also directing some of the episodes) will all appear in the series together with Jerry Ryan's Seven of Nine! Troi and Ryker are married now and have kids.

Admiral Jean Luc Picard

Patrick Stewart is playing the famous Enterprise captain and an admiral in his older years, breaking his retirement (which he enjoyed producing vine and playing with his new dog) and going on a new interstellar adventure. Stewart agreed to join the series only if there were no uniforms and no Enterprise for him in it.

Pilot Cristobal Chris Rios

In the more contemplative series with one storyline, instead of episodic plots, Santiago Cabrera will play Chris Rios, the pilot of Picard’s ship who is also a skillful thief and a former Starfleet officer.

Intelligence Officer Raffi Musiker

Michelle Hurd has been added to the cast as Raffi Musiker, a former intelligence officer who is a brilliant analyst with a terrific memory that has not been affected by her drug and alcohol abuse.

Dahj Who Starts The Action

Isa Briones will star in the brand new science fiction series as Dahj, a young woman who comes to Picard for help  which puts the show into action.

Doctor Agnes Jurati

Alison Pill will play Agnes Jurati, a doctor who shares a common goal with admiral Picard. She is also Rios' love interest in the series.

Romulan Agent Narek

English actor Harry Treadaway will appear in the series as Narek, a Romulan agent who joins Picard's crew in investigating what his people are doing to former Borg drones!

Romulan Warrior Elnor

Evan Evagora will play Elnor, a Romulan refugee who is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and is fiercely loyal to Picard.

Seven Of Nine

Jeri Ryan returns as legendary Seven of Nine: a fan favourite former Borg drone liberated from the Collective by the crew of Voyager. She has changed and is much more human now.

Hugh The Borg

Jonathan Del Arco returns from previous series as Hugh: a former Borg drone who appeared in a few of the Next Generation episodes.

JACK LOWDEN TO PORTRAY A POET SOLDIER IN WW1 DRAMA BENEDICTION! HOPE GAP TRAILER WITH BILL NIGHY, JOSH O'CONNOR, ANNETTE BENING IS HERE

   JACK LOWDEN TO LEAD

 BENEDICTION WW1 BIOPIC

Jack Lowden will take the lead role

Wonderful news for all of us who positively adore Scottish star Jack Lowden. Not only that he has booked himself a new lead role, but it is also a period set project! As Deadline reports, he will portray World War One poet Siegfried Sassoon in BENEDICTION biopic from Terence Davies. Davies, who also directed A Quiet Passion on another poet - Emily Dickinson, will now helm the movie about English soldier and poet Sassoon, who was decorated for bravery on the Western Front, and is best remembered for his poems about the First World War, which brought him public and critical acclaim. Sassoon became a focal point for dissent within the armed forces when he made a lone protest against the continuation of the war.

  'HOPE GAP' TRAILER

WITH BILL NIGHY, JOSH O'CONNOR AND ANNETTE BENING

Hope Gaps opens next March

You can also check out the first trailer for family drama movie HOPE GAP starring Bill Nighy, Annette Bening and Josh O'Connor. In the film which will open in cinemas around the world next March,  Bill Nighy portrays a man who leaves his wife (Annette Bening) for another woman after 29 years of marriage.The film follows  the ensuing emotional fallout the dissolution has on their only grown son, and also how she, unravelled and feeling displaced in her small seaside town, ultimately regains her footing, and discovers a new, powerful voice. William Nicholson, who wrote scripts for Gladiator and Elizabeth:Golden Age, both wrote and directed the movie.

HULU RELEASES FIRST TEASER AND PREMIERE DATE FOR HISTORICAL COMEDY MINI SERIES ON CATHERINE THE GREAT WITH ELLE FANNING, NICHOLAS HOULT

  'THE GREAT' TRAILER

The series will stream from May 15th

FROM CATHERINE THE NOTHING TO CATHERINE THE GREAT

Hulu has released the first teaser and also the premiere date for their period set three part mini series THE GREAT on Russian Empress Catherine, but the unexpected element is that it was done in a form of comedy,  they say it is genre bending anti historical series! Not sure I like that. Anyhows, the series features Elle

Elle Fanning takes the comedic role of Catherine the Great

Fanning playing a royal woman living in rural Austria during the seventeenth century who is forced to choose between her own personal happiness and the

Nicholas Hoult plays the crazy Russian emperor Peter II

future of Russia, when she marries future Russian Emperor Peter played by Nicholas Hoult. It will premiere May 15th! Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley,

The mini series will have only three episodes

Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge and Sacha Shawan also star. Check out the unusual trailer below and tell us what you think, is it what you expected?

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON HIGH END EPIC DOCUMENTARY SERIES RISE OF EMPIRES: OTTOMAN ON MEHMED THE CONQUEROR STARTING THIS MONTH ON NETFLIX

  'RISE OF EMPIRES: OTTOMAN' 

 ON MEHMED THE CONQUEROR

Ottoman starts January 24th on Netflix

We already had an epic series on this particular Turkish sultan two years ago but it wasn't overly successful and got cancelled after five or six episodes, but now Turkish Netflix is ready to launch new series RISE OF EMPIRES: OTTOMAN which is a mix of docu series and a scripted one. Starting on Netflix from January 24th in 190 countries around the world, this new historical documentary will follow Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II who wages an epic campaign to take the

The six part series is a mix of documentary and scripted scenes

Byzantine capital of Constantinople and shapes the course of history for centuries. This event is celebrated in Turkey as the highlight of their history,

Cem Yigit Uzumoglu plays one of the darkest figures in mediaeval history

but in Europe it was a dark moment when the last barriers against their invasion fell announcing many centuries of Ottomans' bloody rule in Southern Europe, a rule marked by death, rape, slavery, genocide and gruesome tyranny.

What's The Story About? 
Directed by Emmy Award winning Emre Şahin and written by Celal Şengör, Liz Lake, Kelly McPherson and Emrah Safa Gürkan, the series sees young Turkish superstar Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu portraying the infamous

The sultan was just 21 years old when he conquered Constantinople

sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, while Tuba Büyüküstün appears as famous Serbian princess Despina Mara who, as one of sultan Murad II's wives, took care of him after his mother died and then helped him later on secure the

Tuba Buyukustun plays Serbian princess Mara who was forced to marry her country's mortal enemy Murad II in order to become a sultana and secure peace for her country threatened by the Ottoman empire

throne for himself. Tommaso Basili plays Emperor Constantine XI, while Tolga Tekin portrays Mehmed's father Sultan Murad II! Charles Dance is narrating the six part documentary which launches on the streaming service

Tomasso Basili plays Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI

next week bringing the epic 15th-century story of Mehmed II, known as Mehmed the Conqueror, which chronicles his astonishing and fabled rise from 13-year-old Child Sultan to toppling Constantinople in 1453 at the age of 21

The series was shot in English, although not very good as you can hear in the trailer

and becoming the ruler of the Ottoman Empire. The series also features historians including Roger Crowley and Jason Goodwin who give their in-depth analysis.

AMAZON REVEALS THE MAIN CAST FOR LORD OF THE RINGS EPIC TV SERIES! SHOOTING STARTS NEXT MONTH!

  'LORD OF THE RINGS' SERIES

MAIN CAST OFFICIALLY REVEALED

Just a few days ago we announced Robert Aramayo as the lead hero Beldor in Amazon's LORD OF THE RINGS series, and now they've announced that Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan

Nazanin Boniadi and Daniel Weyman have joined the cast

Smith, Charlie Vickers and Daniel Weyman are rounding up the main cast. Mostly names we've never heard of. Amazon has already ordered the second season of the new epic show, the most expensive project ever seen on the small screens (the are rumours that the whole series will cost more than

Tom Budge and Charlie Vickers will also star in the epic saga

one billion dollars), but the production will go on a few months hiatus after filming first two episodes of season one so that the writers could map out the story and prepare it for season two as well. The only thing that is known of the plot so far is that it will be set in Middle Earth, exploring new storylines

Ismael Cruz Cordova and Dylan Smith will also take part in the new series

preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. We have already announced Maxim Baldry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh (as female lead Tyra), Joseph Mawle (as villain Oren) and Morfydd Clark (as Elven queen Galadriel) in the cast of the series that will have 20 episodes in the first season.

19TH CENTURY TV SERIES ON FREUD TO PREMIERE AT THIS YEAR'S BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL! FIRST PHOTOS RELEASED!

'FREUD' TV SERIES

TO AIR GLOBALLY ON NETFLIX

It has been announced today that among the series that will have its premieres at  Berlin Film Festival this year is also eight part period set series on FREUD  coming from Austrian ORF and Netflix. Today you can

The series will air globally sometime later this year

check out the first photos from the series directed by Marvin Krenand starring  Robert Finster, Ella Rumpf, Georg Friedrich, Christoph

Young Robert Finster takes the lead role of the famous psychiatrist

Krutzler, Brigitte Kren, Anja Kling, Philipp Hochmair, Noah Saavedra. Austrian German production shot in Czech capital Prague and Austrian Vienna will stream this year globally at Netflix.

Crime Thriller Series Freud 
blending a period setting with a contemporary style, will be a modern, sexy and suspenseful take on the life of the celebrated doctor. FREUD tells the

The series will first air in Austria on their national television ORF

story of the young psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (Robert Finster) in Vienna in 1886, just as Freud's revolutionary theories are being met with strong

Ella Rumpf plays the infamous medium Madame Salome

opposition from colleagues and wider Austrian society. It is at this time he meets the war veteran and policeman Alfred Kiss (Georg Friedrich) and

Georg Friedrich, right, is policeman Alfred Kiss

notorious medium Fleur Salomé (Ella  Rumpf) and unwittingly becomes part of a nerve-racking investigation into a murderous conspiracy.

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON NEW OUTMATCHED SITCOM IN WHICH JASON BIGGS & MAGGIE LAWSON PLAY DUMB PARENTS OF GENIUS KIDS

  'OUTMATCHED' SITCOM

STARTS JANUARY 23RD AT FOX

What better way to cheer you up on Monday than with some comedy: we finish our announcements of new TV comedies with OUTMATCHED which starts airing January 23rd as the new sidekick to Tim Allen's Last Man

Outmatched starts January 23rd on Fox

Standing at Fox on Thursday evenings. It is a multi camera sitcom about a blue collar couple in Atlantic City trying to raise four kids - three of whom just happen to be certified geniuses.

It's Dumb Luck They've Got Such Smart Kids
For most parents, parenting is hard. But for Kay (Maggie Lawson), a caustic, take-no-prisoners casino pit boss, and husband Mike (Jason Biggs), a handyman and uncultivated guy's guy, parenting may as well be advanced calculus. Dealing with the demands and egos of three high-IQ children would be tricky for any parent,

The sitcom will join Last Man Standing on Thursday Evenings

but it's especially hazardous for two working stiffs who barely got through high school. Mike and Kay are committed to bringing some normalcy to their kids' hectic, unconventional childhoods, but these geniuses don't make it easy.

Leading the charge is Brian (Connor Kalopsis), a condescending and pretentious 16-year-old math whiz, who thinks he already knows more about the world than Mike and Kay ever will, even though he's never actually been out of New Jersey. His 15-year-old sister, Nicole (Ashley Boettcher), is a

Jason Biggs leads the sitcom as the dad of the family

deceptive and fiercely competitive language prodigy who can manipulate her parents into getting anything she wants. The youngest and most recently anointed child prodigy is Marc (Jack Stanton), a 10-year-old music savant. Introverted and idiosyncratic, he just wants everyone to leave him alone, so he can become the next Beethoven in peace. The only child not driving their

Maggie Lawson leads the sitcom as the mother of the family

parents crazy is eight-year-old Leila (Oakley Bull), who is decidedly not a genius. In fact, she might be kind of dumb. She's the only kid Mike and Kay even remotely understand. Additionally, the couple's childhood friends, Rita (Tisha Campbell) and Irwin (Finesse Mitchell), provide a sounding board for their daily parenting struggles.

Outmatched Takes An Honest 
and heightened look at every parent's worst fear - that they're "ruining" their kids. When you have children with the type of gifts that can change the world,

Mike and Kay usually find a refuge from their progeny by fleeing to basement

the pressure is really on. Raise them right, and these kids could cure cancer, stop global warming or invent time travel. But screw it up, and you could unleash three new super villains into the universe - good luck!