VIKINGS: VALHALLA
CASTS FLORIAN MUNTEANU
The famous Romanian boxer is the latest addition to the popular historical series that did really well last month over at Netflix. With the second season
already shot and third just starting, VIKINGS: VALHALLA have cast Florian Munteanu as George Maniakes, a real life general of the Byzantine Empire who answers only to The Emir and leads revolt against the emperor. As you know, set in the early 11th century the series chronicles the legendary adventures of some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived – Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), Harald Hardrada (Leo Suter), and the Norman King William the Conqueror. They blaze a path as they fight for survival in the ever changing and evolving world. The first season ended with massive battle twists in favour of our heroes.
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| Florian Munteanu will join Valhalla |
GUY PEARCE TO LEAD
MAORI EPIC THE CONVERT
In news coming from Cannes movie market, Lee Tamahori has cast Guy Pearce as the lead star of his new historical epic movie THE CONVERT which has the story set in early 19th century New Zealand and should start
shooting later this September according to Deadline.
In the film, Australian star Guy Pearce will play Thomas Munro, a lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand. His violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Māori tribes. It speaks of the early contact between Europeans and Maori, when European settlers were outnumbered by several hundred to one and Māori had just acquired muskets. Tamahori and Pearce have been planning to work together for nearly twenty years now.
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| Guy Pearce will lead The Convert movie |
THE LEOPARD SERIES
SET OVER AT NETFLIX
After opening official Italian offices, Netflix has ordered a project that was in the game some five years ago but is now happening under the helm
of Tom Shankland for Netflix. Inspired by the novel THE LEOPARD or IL GATTO PARDO, by Giussepe di Lampedusa, which is considered number one Italian classic novel and has been made before into a cinematic masterpiece by Visconti, the series will bring a modern perspective to the story of Prince of Salina and his family, going deeper into characters and stories from the book. Translated into more than 40 languages, it will be adapted into a lavish
epic series that chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society
during the 19th century unification of Italy known as the Risorgimento.
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| The Leopard will become a costume TV drama |
Guy Pearce looks hot.
ReplyDeleteHe is becoming a silver wolf.
DeleteSo we are moving to Byzantium in Valhallah? That is exiciting. Il Gattopardo is a masterpiece of modern literature. Visconti did a beautiful job adapting it to the silver screen. I shiver to think what garbage Netflix will drum up to besmirch the original
ReplyDeleteYou remember that we read some history on Harald before Valhalla started and that we found out that he spent some long years in Kievan Rus and also in Byzantium as a general, so it seems Leo Me Some Suter will go south in the new season.
DeleteI actually read Gattopardo (I prefer the Italian title LOL) a few years ago when it was supposed to be adapted again and thought it was an utter borefest, nothing really happens in it, hope the series will stick more to the film than to the book LOL Netflix will probably turn Gattopardo into a black panther or puma for wokish reasons.
You are right. There is little action in Lampedusa’s novel. Its greatness lies in Prince di Salina’s meditations on society, marriage, love, society, politics, etc. Visconti managed to combine it with Tancredi and Angelica’s romance that is the core of the film. If they are to turn into a series, they are bound to create more arches, develop secondary characters like Concietta. That is where they should tread carefully because Netflix is anything but subtle. Yes, Black Angelica most probably, using as excuse “but Cardinale ( Angelica in the film) was born in Africa.” Duh!
DeleteWhat has poor Cumberbatch done to you?
Harald will go to Byzantium and probably drag his bro Leif with him. Hope they leave dull Fredjis behind.
We are yet to see anything from Netflix Italia, first up are Lidia Poet and Brigantti series from them. Both will be utterly and totally woke.
DeleteI wonder if, in second season that is already shot, we will have a grand prince of Rus in the series, given that Harald gets imprisoned there for years if I remember correctly.
It is also tragic how Byzantium is not covered in shows and films even though it was the centre of the world and height of civilisation back then. But it is not Rome and West so they always neglect it, same goes for Balkan history of that and later time. We had two empires back then that were among the biggest in Europe (Tzar Dushan and king Milutin) and nobody ever mentions it in Western shows and films of that period.
When it comes to historical data whether it comes from Western academicians or period pieces, Easter Europe and The Balkans are the greatest casualties . If we know so little about that part of the world in the last three hundred years, imagine how it is when we touch Middle Ages! It is why I’m trying to gather info on that part of the world through their series.
DeleteYes, you would expect a chronicle on the first female lawyer of Italy or a tale of bandit girls to be MeToo enough, but il Gattopardo? It’s written from the perspective of a reactionary nobleman. Are they going to turn Fabrizio Di Salina into a villain?
I knew that Harald was exiled and became a commander of the Varingian Guard in Constantinople. I didn’t know he had been imprisoned. I know he marred Elizaveta of Kiev, Yaroslavl’s sister. The problem is that all this happened when he was a teenager before joining Canute’s army. But let’s trust Hirst changing history. If he does it well, and it’s fun, we’ll forgive him.
They have just made Dr Who a black man (a very cute one, admittedly, and sweet too) so they might make Salina dark too, or a female? LOL
DeleteNetflix is in such dire straits that the company should consider a makeover and that includes its agendas. Miscasting of any kind can kill a film or show, and I don’t see ethnic minorities clamoring for representation in roles that have nothing to do with their heritage. It is only a small (but vociferous) group that demands color blindness. I wonder if it should be heard at all.
DeleteThey did lose a terrible number of subscribers this year so far.
DeleteNetflix has lost two million subscribers and it expects to lose more. That translates into billionaire losses and the company’s shares are exceptionally low in the market. they are genuinely scared and are coming up crazy schemes. Charge more for extra household account, include paid publicity, create cheaper game, reality and children shows, and lower the original production concentrating more in ‘quality.” Whatever they mean for quality. According to Elon Musk the unsubscribing wave has to do with the woke content, so Netflix may have to deal with that. You saw that they sent Meghan and her fool of a husband packing.
DeleteThe idiots lost 700.000 just in Russia with the ban on Russian users. That is what Disney did to our kids back in the 90s, during the civil war (started by the west, of course) they stopped distributing Disney cartoons and movies to Yugoslavia. One day my ten year old self was enjoying his Mickey and Minie and Donald weekly comics, the next week we were banned from it.
DeleteIt is fun how Netflix is acting like losing so much users is not alerting LOL And with their war on password sharing they will alienate even more. Not to mention there is nothing for us on it next two or three months maybe even longer. Yes, MeAgain losing her Pearl project was the one good thing about it LOL Now the two of them are packing to visit the queen and then sell the granny to Netflix like they already did last time LOL Daft idiots. And queen is the idiot too for allowing it. But she does not want to die in bad relations with her 'grandson' (we all know he is Hewitt's son).
It is May already and the only two things we got from Netflix were Last Kingdom and Valhalla and Heirs to the Land. Inventing Anna could have been better if it wasn't done for Netflix who has no standards.
Something annoying about the way media covers the Netflix crisis is to insist on the company not having lost this number of viewers since 2011. That was when Netflix was still in diapers (it became a streaming company only in 2007 and went international in 2012.) The unsubscribed loss comes from 2019 (I’m not playing down on the Russian cuts, but Netflix is still losing viewers per day). It was the “Cuties” scandal that turned into public knowledge the fact that conservative America (and we still don’t know how large it is as a group) was turning off Netflix. In fact, Variety and USA magazine spoke of millions of subscribers running away from the streaming company So did many Conservative Canadian after the “Anne with an E” fiasco. It was the pandemic that saved Netflix, but now that people are no longer quarantined at home, the platform’s prices and lack of fine entertainment are to blame for the flight of subscribers.
DeleteI saw Valhalla and Pera Palace in February, I just finished watching “Russian Doll” and waiting for The Queen of Beauty.” Compare it to Autumn 2018 (when I just subscribed) that I watched Peaky Blinders, Babylon Berlin, The Crown, The Road to Calvary Call the Midwife”” “Gossip Girl” and I don’t know what else. I kept a blog diary of my monthly journeys into Netflix library. Most important, I enjoyed those programs, but with the exception of The Crown, they were not Netflix material.
The Sussex idiots have to realize they are yesterday’s news, nobody cares about them. They are boring. Correction, don’t say “we know.’ Diana’s affair with James Hewitt began in 1986, a little after they met. Harry was almost two years old. But even if Harry was not a Windsor-Mountbatten, The Queen’s devotion to him speaks volumes of her capacity to love her family (blood ties or not). Again, it shows how disgustingly wrong Peter Morgan was in his distorted view of Elizabeth II, something else we have to blame on Netflix.
Let’s not even start with Disney. Such a disappointment, for decades it has made wrong moves, mistakes based on trending moods, and splattered mud all over Walt Disney’s dreams.
Talking about password ban, it’s not really a ban because they’ll be charging for it. Nobody knows how much, since so far they are only imposing it in the Southern cone (in my country is about $36 per year). The joke is that Netflix says it was illegal to share, but they never said so, and people have been doing it publicly for a decade. Moreover, no other streaming company is protesting against sharing accounts in different households.
Did you see that Netflix is now coming up with some cheaper add supported version, desperate mucho?
DeleteI would not really depict The Queen as someone who loves her family, more as someone who feels guilt. When they were little she used to see them just an hour a day, the work was more important to her. They would bring them to have lunch with her a few times a week and she would see them short time at night before going to sleep, but that also just a few times a week when she did not have balls and evening events. Charles spoke of this many times, how unloved he felt, especially as Philip was a cold old school man and Queen Mother was not enough to replace maternal figure. This is why Elizabeth today forgives Harry, Andrew etc. Guilt, not love. If she loved them she would have been there more often to raise them and nurture them with care. The 1986 number is just something they launched as a cover-up, Harry is the spitting image of Hewitt and looks like nobody else in the family. That all being said, I am happy for Charles becoming the king, he deserves it. Hope he lives at least thirty more years so that his little brat William cannot enjoy the royal throne so quickly as he is still too immature for it. Long Live king Charles and Queen Camila :)
Consensus, you, and I want Charles on the throne. Let’s hope when the time comes the Brits agree with us.
DeleteThe jury is still out on the debate of what constitutes a good mother. Spending a lot of time with their kids can be counterproductive. People say Diana was a better mother than Elizabeth, and certainly she spent more time with her sons than her mother-in-law or any woman of the Queen’s generation did, but having lived with a mentally unstable mother, I can tell you, it’s better they keep away from their kids. Will has said that his loving mother suffocated him, so being with your mother all day long is not always a pleasant experience.
On the other hand, I have seen plenty of women who couldn’t spent time with their children, either because they were ill, or they had to work to support their families, or even had to go to war. I wouldn’t say they didn’t love them. The trick is to leave their children in the best hands. Elizabeth did. She left them with Philip (he was Mr. Mom) and her mother. Even Margaret before her marriage, spent time looking after Charles and especially Anne. The problem is that Philip and Charles were totally different. On the other hand, Charles loved his Granny, his Nanny, and Aunt Meg. The huge mistake (and there Elizabeth was to blame) was sending Charles to Gordonstoun, that was the traumatic event that drove a wedge between the Prince of Wales and his mother. If the Queen was such a lousy mother, how come none of her other children are complaining?
You can love and feel guilty simultaneously, but Elizabeth dotes on her grandchildren because that is what grandparents do. She doesn’t forgive Andy out of guilt. It’s a known fact, he’s her favorite child. She spoiled him rotten, and it’s also known that she was much more involved in her younger children rearing. In fact, she had a crib made in the same wood to match her desk so she could have Andrew and Edward with her when she was working in her office.
The Queen’s guilt plays a part in her devotion towards Harry, but it has nothing to do with her children, it has to do with Diana. She feels she should have done more for her daughter-in-law. We always feel that way with the mentally ill in our midst.
The advantage of having been a Diana freak since her engagement is that you read everything about her, you kept up with her itinerary, you check what she was doing. So, I remember her taking riding lessons in 1986. There was no way she could have met Hewitt at the time of Harry’s conception. They didn’t move in the same circles; he wasn’t even an officer yet. He became a captain in October 1984, about a month after Harry was born. Lady Hazel West, Diana’s lady in waiting, introduced them at a party in 1986, because she knew her Princess was looking for a cavalry officer to improve her riding skills (no pun intended).
Harry looks a lot like his maternal uncle, he has the Spencer’s red hair. Diana used to call him “my little Spencer baby.”
Yes, but we are not talking about spending time with your kids all day long, but about them having just a few hours a week with Lizzy. That is the other extreme. Diana was, we will agree, a godawful momsie, with Wills said himself. When asked if he is embarrassed by his father, he said "No, daddy never embarrassed me, but mommy always did". Even her friends admit that she was schizophrenic.
DeleteThe other kids are not complaining, because Anne is like Philip, she never complains, Andrew was spoilt for the same reason Harry was - guilt. And Edward got more of mommy than the others as she was already experienced as the queen when she had him and knew how to delegate business and duties better. I would quite like for Edward and Sophie to be second to the throne after Charlie and CaMillie.
I still do not buy your story about Harry not being a Hewitt, what proof more do you need that the spitting likeness that they share. Like seeing Hewitts clone.
I would be so glad if so, someone could publicly prove Harry to be illegitimate so he could be erased from the throne lineup forever.
DeleteI don’t know if Diana was a schizo, but she was definitely borderline.
Yes, Edward ad Sophie are so pleasant, and their children seem nice too.
Little lady and viscount, so weird giving kids titles especially when not all of her grandchildren have them. Like how stupid is that Eugenie and Beatrix are princesses and Peter and Zara and Edward's kids aren't. I'd be pissed if I was Anne's kid and did not get a title like other cousins. So rude. Did you hear that our prince Petar of Serbia abdicated (an imaginary throne) in favour of his brother prince Filip? Their father prince Aleksandar apparently did not know it, the ceremony happened in their mother's cassa in Seville, Aleksandar was pissed LOL We had a fun media cirkus about it for days. We see them as clowns. Aleksandar is under dark spells of Catherine who apparently rules the court with her daughter from the first marriage Allyson. I wish the mob would guillotine them, chop chop.
DeleteWow, that shirtless guy should be on one of the romance reads I like to read.
ReplyDeleteHe is really pumped indeed.
DeleteOh, I can totally get on board with a lavish epic Italian series!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Guy Pearce is a silver fox, indeed. I am sure many will swoon over muscles up there, but give me a Guy Pearce over that any day of the week.
Should be a really fun epic shot at NZ
DeleteI wasn't too excited until you mentioned the famous Romanian boxer. LOL
ReplyDeleteRomanians are very hot often. I love their music. They are currently involved in a Eurosong scandal, because Eurosong erase their 12 points for Moldavia and gave it secretly to Ukraine, something they did with six other countries as well to make Ukraine win. Such rotten business.
Delete