So, people, tell me how did you like the eight part $40 million historical mini series
THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH which aired back in 2010?
The poster of the show became one of the most Googled artworks HOLLYWOOD SPY
has ever done :) Beside giving us some of the currently hottest young stars from glorious
Eddie Redmayne (who later on scored amazing roles in
BIRDSONG and MY WEEKEND WITH MARYLIN and is shooting LES MISERABLES now),
David Oakes (who scored the lead role in
THE BORGIAS later on) and adorable
Sam Claflin (who later on became Hollywood's hottest good with roles in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN) to
Hayley Atwell (who ended up in CAPTAIN AMERICA), the show was also nominated for Globes and Emmys, and it was aired in dozens and dozens of countries around the world. Well, guess what, the series is getting a sequel, or not exactly the sequel but something like it(the story
is set 200 years after PILLARS), which is currently being shot in Hungary, Austria and Slovakia. The new series is based on another of
Ken Follett's novels
WORLD WITHOUT END, and is produced by the producers of
THE TUDORS and THE BORGIAS and
Ridley Scott and his brother
Tony Scott. The book itself has been a huge bestseller in more than 30 countries around the world!
WORLD WITHOUT END STORY
A paid assassin is sent to murder a king. A mysterious knight flees to the countryside, hotly pursued by the Queen's men. Two teenagers witness an incident in the woods that will change the course of a nation. In the thriving town of Kingsbridge, the latest marketplace gossip is the strange circumstances of the King's death. The civil war is over, Kingsbridge's economy is robust and merchant coffers are full.
All is well in Kingsbridge until the two noble young men bring their wounded knight to the Priory to be doctored. Sir Thomas Langley surprises all by buying his sanctuary in the Church as a humble monk using a dowry from the Queen. What could he possibly have on Queen Isabella to warrant such support?
Without warning, Kingsbridge seems suddenly under siege. The Queen's ardent supporter, Sir Roland, marches in and usurps the Earldom of neighbouring Shiring, condemning the reigning lord to death as a traitor. Roland's list of men, who supported the old King against Her Majesty is long – and they will all hang. The rest must pay dearly in taxes to support her claim to the French Crown - marking the beginning of the 100 Year War.
Caris, a visionary young woman, struggles to rise above the suffering and oppression in order to lead her people out of the dark times. In order to save Kingsbridge, Caris, along with her lover Merthin and Sir Thomas Langley, build a community that stands up to The Crown and The Church. Their courage inspires a nation and throughout Europe commoners and peasants stand up for their rights and revolt against their oppressors - a new age emerges.
WORLD WITHOUT END CAST
The mini series is being directed by famous
Michael Caton Jones from ROB ROY and BEYOND THE GATES. The rich and complex cast is being lead by a number of famous names as the story again mixes the
stories of the common people and the noble ones:
Cynthia Nixon from SEX AND THE CITY plays Petranilla, British star
Ben Chaplin plays Sir Thomas Langley, mesmerizing British actor
Rupert Evans whom
we remember from brilliant THE PALACE series plays Godwyn, while famous
Miranda Richardson plays Mother Cecilia. The cast also includes a bunch of extremely beautiful young actors:
Tom Cullen is
Wulfric,
Sarah Gadon is Phillippa,
Oliver Jackson Cohen is Ralph,
Nora von Waldstaetten is Gwenda,
Tom Weston Jones is Merthin,
Charlotte Riley is Caris,
Aure Atika is Queen Isabella. In
two of the above pictures you can see some of the costumes which will be seen in the show, and you can also visit
WORLD WITHOUT END official site.
CAROLINE BOULTON EXCLUSIVE
Your
HOLLYWOOD SPY has had the pleasure to talk with gorgeous and extremely dear British actress
Caroline Boulton (ROBIN HOOD), who also stars in
WORLD WITHOUT END, and here's what she exclusively told me
when I asked her how it was at the set, how did she like the costumes etc: "This sequel is set 200 years later and is based around the same town and descendants of the characters in the first Emmy winning series. It was a 6 month shoot but I had a truly fantastic time filming on the enormous sets. My costume was unbelievably detailed and would take a lot of help to put on each and every layer, I needed a lot of help each morning! Each and every costume was specially tailored to suit the characters traits. The beautiful attention to such thoughtful detail from the costume department was just mind blowing! The entire cast and crew were all absolutely wonderful, such total professionals in every department. I really am so excited and I just can't wait to watch it."
I loved Pillars of The Earth and didn't want the series to end. Like a good book, I wanted it to go on and on. I'm excited to hear about this new series. Those gowns are so gorgeous and the fabric so lush. I'd love to wear one sometime, but not for everyday as they look heavy and I couldn't run away if the big bad wolf was chasing me.
ReplyDeleteIt had some very nice young actors, and Ian McShane was truly amazing in his role. It is still beyond me how Eddie Redmayne didn't become a bigger star after the series :(
DeleteNever heard of the Pillars of The Earth. But I just added it to my list of stuff to watch. Always enjoy a good epic so I'm sure that and this will both be right up the cat's alley.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good one cat. You'll have to check it out.
Delete@Pat
Deletewhat? How is that possible? :) It was quite a talked about series back then. It was aired in a very unusual period of summer, which I never understood
@Anne
Deletehe does. The show had it weak moments, but it is worth watching.
I did have any spy telling me about it back then, the cat didn't even have a blog. Plus since it was summer I prob missed it as I rarely paid attention to summer shows because they usually weren't that good. But will be watching it.
Deletehe he, it really was a long time ago, two years time... it's nice remembering the old shows and how we covered them back then... I had less than a thousand visitors daily back in those days :)
DeletePfft you make it sounds so meager, I'm lucky if I get 600 visitors a day. I can get 1000 some days though.
Deletenot meager at all, but these days I usually make from 4,00O to 5,000 daily, even when me doesn't posts naughty pics :))
Delete1000 hits for a non celebrity and non sex site like yours is huge :) Off course, 50% of the number are Petsy, Irish Air and the Penguin man :)))
And here I am darling, viewing your page again. You're almost at 1.5 million pageviews. I remember when you got t.o 1 million. One day we'll look back and say "Dez I remember when you only had a million pageviews. We want thought that was a big deal. Now you're at 10 million" And we'll laugh
DeleteOh yeah...well I had 71 page views today and 163 yesterday....and that included ME =)
Delete@AnnZie
Deletethe scary thing is that we hit million at the very end of last year :) And I remember the days when I had just two or three followers and was over the top happy when I got the fourth and the fifth one ;)
@Elsie
DeleteLOL, well if you would put a few naughty pics in your posts .... :P
LOL yeah not bad for a rhyming cat, the pics work though, I get tons from Tarsier pics..haha...I may get to 1 million by the time you get to 20 million..haha
Deletethat will be sometime around the Mayan apocalypse, yes? When Sookie from JERSEY SHORE gets her baby :))
DeleteI've got to add Pillars to my TBWatched list too, since the 'sequel' looks freakin' awesome.
ReplyDeleteyou must, all epic series should be watched and enjoyed :)) /except the horrid CAMELOT/ :)
DeleteI watched Pillars of the Earth twice. Read it once. Haven't read World Without End yet, but it's on the list. The first novel/story was in my head the whole time I was touring the Cotswold region of England -- the old wool merchant towns from the middle ages.
ReplyDeleteAlso LOVE the costumes and quick interview. :))
glad you liked the little interview, Caroline is such a sweetheart!
DeleteI quite liked Pillars. I enjoyed the book (for the most part..some of the language was a little off for the time period it was set in). I've not read World though I'll likely watch the series.
ReplyDeleteyep, I hear that the opinions are quite divided on Follett as writer, I generally like him. Wouldn't mind translating WORLD WITHOUT END for my country if it hasn't been already :)
DeleteMe encantó la serie "LOS PILARES DE LA TIERRA" Y estoy deseando que estrenen "UN MUNDO SIN FIN", espero que esté a la altura. Los libros son geniales ambos, me encanta KEN FOLLET!
ReplyDeletecontenta de que le gustaba LOS PILARES DE LA TIERRA! Espero que la nueva serie será igual de bueno!
DeleteLike Pat, I haven't seen it too ~ I will tell my hubby to download it..he..he...
ReplyDeleteoh, you must, put hubby on the task :)
DeleteI haven't seen Pillars of the Earth either...but my hubby did and he was very happy to hear that there is a sequel (I guess) coming out.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised to see from the comments that so few people saw the series. Usually it's the other way around. Everybody has seen it, except me.
Delete@Elsie
Deleteglad that I made your hubs happy, that's a first one :))))
@Anne
Deleteme too, sister, I thought everybody knows about it, it was even nominated for some Emmy awards.
I'm shocked, really.
Delete@ Dezzie That's only because I didn't tell you how happy you made him the other day when I showed him the picture of the chick (one day I'll remember everyone's names) from Game of Thrones...blurred out nipples and all! hehehe Or when I told him about Walking Dead =)
Delete@ Anne-I'm surprised too; I usually see or at least have heard of the popular stuff. I must have been at the beach!
Delete@Anne
Deleteutter shock, even more shocking than most of Cat's misdeeds :)
@Elsie
ah, she wasn't from GOT, that was Anna Friel :)
And I think some people don't know about THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH because it was aired that year during summer. I bet you haven't heard of FALLING SKIES series either :) It was a hit last summer :P
Must download this as well...
ReplyDeleteaddress the Holy Torrents :)
DeleteI can't get the Reply button to work up there so I'm talking to you here. I saw Eddie in a few small parts here and there on BBC after the series wrapped, but he never seemed to "take-off" Sometimes the best get passed over.
ReplyDeleteI went to your friend Vics' page and left a comment. That was a lovely piece she wrote about you and I couldn't agree more with what she said. You're so sweet and delicious even the stars will talk to you.
when the reply thing happens try to upload the page a few times. It sometimes happens to me at Pat's blog :) but I always think that's just you messing with his place :))))
DeleteThanks for the lovely comments at Vic's place, I was touched both by what she did and by your comments :)
I fly in low under the radar and mess up the cats inner workings and then imagine him cursing at the computer and crying.
DeleteI can hear him weeping even here :)
DeleteRight! It happens to me at a few too, so Anne is screwing with more than just my zoo
DeleteLooks like a great movie. At first, when I saw the pictures with all the gowns, I thought they were all to represent decapitated bodies. Don't ask me why...
ReplyDeleteah, you will always see murder everywhere :)
DeleteI really like that these adaptations get made into mini-series. Sometimes people adapt something into a format that just doesn't do the source justice, either making the film too short or a tv series too long.
ReplyDeleteit's true, mini series are usually the best for these things, because they are best remembered after that. Even more than films, since there are too many films.
DeleteWith a game of thrones think im full up on my medieval shows.
ReplyDeletewhat? You can never be full up on medieval shows ;)
DeleteLot of love for Medieval things lately. Not my thing.
ReplyDeletesorry to hear that, Damian, it's my fave genre :) and HOLLYWOOD SPY is the top central for epic and historical projects :)
DeleteI heard so much about The Pillars of The Earth (book)but I didn't know it has been made into a series. I am curious about it but the thickness of the book scared me (I only read thick books if they were written by SK)...I think I better watch it rather than reading it :)
ReplyDeleteWorld without end sounds great...I do hope it won't be full with nudity like Game of Throne...let me know if you have watched it Dezz...I will find the DVD of the series is free of unnecessary nudity. Thx in advance :)
if I remember correctly there was no nudity in THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH series, so you are safe :) although I love me such things in GAME OF THRONES, SPARTACUS, TUDORS... :)
DeleteNot The Pillars...I meant The World Without End. Once it was released, I know you will watch it and by then let me know how it is ;)
Deletewowza! look at all the pretty dresses!!!!
ReplyDelete*swoon*
sounds super COOL!
ubber cool, dahling :)
DeleteRead Pillars and although it had some cheese-tastic moments, overall it was a good story! I have the sequel on my shelf... Need to get crackin!
ReplyDeletethe same was with the series, it had weak points, and wasn't as good as TUDORS, GAME OF THRONES, SPARTACUS, ROME... but it was nice enough and had some really lovely actors.
DeleteFantastic job with the interview Dezzy! Congrats. One day you will do David, I know it!
ReplyDeletePat
ooh, to do David, I like the sound of that, sister :PPPP
DeleteHa ha ha!! You are very naugty my Dezzy!!
ReplyDeletewhen was I not, sister? :)
Delete