Tuesday, January 3, 2012

1ST TRAILER FOR JULIAN FELLOWES' "TITANIC" MINI SERIES! "ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS" GETS A FILM VERSION! "MERLIN" SEASON 4 STARTS ON SYFY THIS WEEK!

 Since Hollywood still hasn't waken up from New Year's Eve parties, we shall have a British day here at HOLLYWOOD SPY today, so you better
put on your bowler hats and put on your posh British dialects, and bow to her Royal Majesty Judi Dench, although we are not mentioning her here today in any of the projects :) For all of you who love BBC's planetary hit show MERLIN, the good news is that it is starting its fourth season this month in USA too on SyFy (January 6th) starring Colin Morgan and Bradley James. The season has just ended here in Europe with the last 13th episode and it was darker than the previous ones with Morgana becoming the main villain constantly plotting against Arthur who became the king of Camelot after King Uther died at the beginning of the season. Although I'm a huge fan, I must admit I thought this was
the weakest season so far, since it had bad stories, weak plots and it lost its charming atmosphere. The good thing is that Arthur now has his knights of the round table so at least the cast was refreshed a bit. The fifth season was already ordered before the premiere of this one.

HOLLYWOOD SPY HEADLINES
 I'm not sure how much the people over in USA are familiar with ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, but it was one of the most famous
sitcoms ever here in Europe, following two utterly crazy, but absolutely fabulous, ladies celebrity PR agent Edina Monsoon and her chain-smoking best friend, Patsy Stone, in their boozed up escapades :) Well, it seems that the crazy duo, who just had a 20th anniversary Christmas special over at British BBC, will hit the big screens too in 2012. Starring two amazing British comedians Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, the film will be set at the French Riviera and will see the two of them waking up in the middle of the ocean on a Russian oligarch’s yacht following a party that everyone else has long since departed. Fabulous, absolutely fabulous, dahling :)

 With the success of  DOWNTON ABBEY it seems that period series are trendy again, which means that you might like the new TITANIC mini series by famous Julian Fellowes (THE YOUNG VICTORIA, GOSFORD PARK) which will be aired this spring in four parts marking the 100th Anniversary of the ship’s sinking in the Atlantic Ocean.
You can check out the first trailer released for the project which should not be mixed with another similar mini series in the making TITANIC BLOOD AND STEEL, which was shot in Serbia for $30 million and stars Derek Jacobi, Chris Noth, Neve Campbell and Kevin Zegers and is an international co production. The last half minute of the trailer is especially beautiful but it seems that the series won't have
any dominant nor leading stars, at least judging from the clip which doesn't offer any appealing face to cling to. TITANIC will follow different characters ranging from steerage passengers to upper class guests. Each point of view will culminate in a cliff hanger as the ship begins to founder, building to an explosive conclusion which draws
together each of the stories. Viewers will be taken on a heart wrenching journey through Titanic’s last hours, as the drama reveals which of the characters they have come to know so well will survive…and who does not. The cast includes Toby Jones, Linus Roache, Maria Doyle Kennedy... The series airs in April in 50 countries around the world, including ITV in UK and ABC in USA.

47 comments:

  1. I'd love to watch titanic again in 3d :)

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  2. I think it opens in 3D soon, the famous Cameron version in a new edition :)

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  3. Love AbFab! Can't wait to see the movie!

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  4. Julian Fellowes is a genius at this stuff. He has such a knack for these kinds of "class" stories. He really gets you invested in the characters and I love him. Love. Him. :))

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  5. yep, he is a wizard for all of us who love period things on TV and on film :) I hope the other TITANIC project will also be successful since it was shot here in Serbia ;)

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  6. @Debs
    AbFab was sooo AbFab :) Who was your favourite, Pats or Eddie? :)

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  7. All these are just delicious! I cannot wait. Ab Fab is THE BEST!! Edina and Patsy are my goddesses.

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  8. whom do you like better, Melsy: Eddie or Patsy? Or Saffy? :) Or maybe crazy Bubbles :)

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  9. O.o... I'm looking forward to Merlin season 4 here in the states. But now that you've gone and said it is terrible maybe I shouldn't be looking forward to it. Meh. I'm blogging about it tomorrow. Great minds think alike.

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  10. no, no, Michael, it's not terrible, it just isn't as good as it could've been. It had its nice moments, but as I said, they need to find better writers who will bring better plots and they should bring back humour.

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  11. Eddie for sure. I think about all her crazy fads and just laugh. Though Patsy and Saffy are close. Bubble is such a loveable airhead.

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  12. awww, me too, Melsy, Eddie is such a crazy darling :) Love her inferior relationship towards Patsy :) Have you heard that this Christmas special which just aired, begun with Saffy coming out of the jail in which she apparently spent two years LOL :) I wonder what for...

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  13. Think it will be more poignant with no defined stars. I'll be watching for sure.
    Thanks for the tip about Blogger.

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  14. Merlin is one of my guilty pleasures. My hubby laughs at me, shakes his head and goes into his office while I watch it. And Ab Fab! Been watching that from the beginning. These 2 on the big screen will be amazing.

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  15. Yes, I do wonder what that smart-mouthed Saffy was up to. Eddie is my darling. I love the enthusiasm she shows no matter how crazy the scheme.

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  16. Never have watched Merlin, have it on my list of shows to be watched, will get around to it. And how many times can the Titanic sink? haha

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  17. An Abfab movie! I LOVED THAT SHOW! "Darling sweetie, sweetie darling. How did all that start?" "You couldn't remember my name, mom."

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  18. From your responses, it looks like I need to see AbFab. In fact the whole family would probably enjoy it. Off to check your fb page :)

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  19. Merlin is not at good name. I think of Berlin then.

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  20. ha i'm actually watching an episode of Downton Abbey right now! Trying to refresh before season 2!!
    I'm a sucker for period dramas, so I'm sure I'll be watching this Titanic mini series. Thanks for the heads up!

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  21. I guess some story concepts never die . .

    I've watched a few of the Merlin's, not bad. The new season previews look good.

    ........dhole

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  22. I still really enjoyed this season of Merlin, though I do agree that the stories from each episode seemed a bit repetitive. I think it's time Arthur found out about Merlin's gift so that the show can move in a new direction.

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  23. OMG, Titanic? Again? And in 2 different TV shows?? When will they stop exploiting the tragedy? Not that I'm over sensitive, but some time they might realise how ridiculous this is...

    Btw, thanks for introducing me to a new Metal band, and a Serbian one! Do you listen to them? I'll try to do that as soon as possible ^^

    HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LONG LIVE HOLLYWOOD SPY :)

    Lucinda

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  24. I've watched a little bit of Merlin and I think it's a pretty interesting show.

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  25. Happy New Year my friend!!

    AB FAB A Film? Sign me up!!

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  26. The new episode of Absolutely was good....

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  27. @Mary
    be welcome, hope it helped :)

    @Anne
    MERLIN is such a cute show, I adore the chemistry between Merlin and Arthur. The only thing I can't stand is that Gwen wench. Horrid casting.

    @Melsy
    he he do you remember an episode when Eddie and Pats kept repeating GABON GABON GABON for no apparent reason :) I loved that one, and I still use GABON as a greeting with one of my friends

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  28. @Pat
    apparently it will sink a few more times :))

    @Libby
    aha hah hah, that Eddie is such a marvelous mother :)))

    @Lizzy
    oh, Lizzy, AbFab is a bit on the naughty side, so don't watch it if you have small kids :)

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  29. @Tonkow
    LOL :)

    @Kristin
    yep, I don't know what we would do without BBC and ITV. It is so lovely watching their shows and period series in today's world of crime and action American shows

    @Donna
    glad you liked MERLIN, Donnzie :)

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  30. @Peeps
    yep, it should hit cinemas this winter I think in 3D version

    @Jamie
    yep, that is what I've been saying, Merlin really needs to reveal his magic and start using it alongside Arthur in wonderful new stories, this is getting boring. Hope the fifth season will bring us that

    @Lucinda
    nope, I don't listen to metal at all :) but I thought you might like that one, since the video is amazing and the music is also great, especially the instrumental parts in the end of the song :)

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  31. @Rgers
    it is very interesting and cute :)

    @Scott
    happy new year, Scottie!

    @Lurk
    it was? You watched it? I hope I will manage to catch it somewhere

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  32. Why are they doing titanic again! For the love of...I couldn't sit through it the first time. However, interested in Merlin.

    Also, love your side bar. Great links. Thanks.

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  33. and two different projects :)
    You mean my blogroll? :) I love promoting my friends with the pic and the title of their latest post, wish more people would do that at their blogs, I think it is nice when we promote each other like that :)

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  34. first off yay for merlin! i'm about halfway through the second season right now. i love merlin and arthur, but it seems like nearly every lady was picked for her face and not her acting ability. so, i can only take it in small doses.

    but
    TITANIC
    wow.
    the leo-kate titanic movie drove me nuts. because it focused so much on a fictional love story between two characters, when part of what really hits you about the tragedy is the grand scale of what took place. the huge amount of loss of life. in a quest to tell those people's heart-breaking stories, (imo) it doesn't do it justice to micro the story down to one storyline. the film's name, boat, and tragedy were all TITANIC- and large scale is the way to go, imo.

    the parts of the leo-kate film that wrenched my heart were the shots without the pair- the mama tucking her babies into bed, the elderly couple embracing, the band playing on... that's where the true heart of that film was...

    so, i'm excited about the stragedy this miniseries is taking! i hope it become available in the usa.

    by the way, i'm still tearing up from the preview. now, that's good trailer making!

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  35. An Absolutely Fabulous film! Now that is good news..!

    The Titanic mini series baffles me. I'm watching the trailer and feel a strange sense of deja vu. Not only is it treading the same water (literally) but it looks like James Cameron's film in every way too. Waste of money for me.

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  36. Dezzy - I'm so excited for Merlin! It's one of my favorite shows of ALL TIME. And it's all because of you, my friend. I didn't know Merlin existed until you blogged about it. So, thanks!

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  37. I've heard quite a bit about Merlin but I don't think I'd watch it. Titanic is something my parents may enjoy though.

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  38. Making TITANIC into a mini-series seems unnecessary, especially given that A) it will be much longer than the movie, and B) the end is known. What's the point since there's nothing fresh to do with it? It's a doomed voyage, so let's make another long-ass thing out of it.

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  39. greaaat blogg ,interesting post =)hope you had really good begginig of the year =)

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  40. @Vics
    thanks for such a nice comment, Vics, and I must say that I couldn't agree with you more on both points, especially on what you said about TITANIC focusing on a love story which is offensive to the tragedies that happened there. But I guess Cameron always was a bit superficial like that, AVATAR also has a love story and an eradication of a whole race in the background instead of it being the other way around. I think that the second show BLOOD AND STEEL, the one shot in Serbia, might go the other way, since it will follow the making of TITANIC and the whole background story

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  41. @Dan
    I think all such projects will always look alike, the topic and the setting is just to specific.

    @Shells
    I'm always happy when I hear that Shells :) A lot of people have started watching MERLIN and many other shows thanks to HOLLYWOOD SPY and that's the thing that fills my heart with happiness :)

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  42. @DWei
    they might

    @Josh
    I think they wanted to honour the 100th anniversary of the day when more than thousand people died in the ocean. If nobody made anything on it, people would say that we forgot about the tragedy

    @Damon
    thanks :)

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  43. Quero assistir estes lançamentos,
    beijos

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  44. beijos para você também, obrigado por visitar HOLLYWOOD SPY :)

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  45. It's raining Titanic all of a sudden?? Don't forget there's James Cameron re-release of the movie TITANIC in friggin' 3D!! That's just an insult to people who have families who actually died in that tragedy :(

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  46. yep, as if seeing Leo without 3D wasn't horrid enough...

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