PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON 'BEN HUR' REMAKE WITH CHARACTER POSTERS STARRING JACK HUSTON, RODRIGO SANTORO, MORGAN FREEMAN, TOBY KEBBELL

'BEN HUR' EPIC REMAKE

 CHARACTER POSTERS ARE HERE!

We've been experiencing the biggest possible drought when it comes to movie news, people, and not just because it is the beginning of a week, so the only thing the spy has for you today are the new character posters for the remake of BEN HUR with Jack Huston! It should chariot its way into cinemas around the world from August 19th!

A PRINCE AND A SLAVE
Sticking to the Lew Wallace's classic novel, the rather cheap looking remake of the famous epic adventure movie BEN HUR follows a nobleman, Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), who is falsely accused of an assassination attempt by his childhood friend and adoptive brother Messala (Toby Kebbell). Stripped of his title, separated from his family and the woman he loves (Nazanin Boniadi), Judah is forced into slavery. After years behind galley oars at sea, Judah returns to his homeland to seek revenge, by challenging his adoptive brother in a grand chariot race while being forever changed after a series of encounters with Jesus of Nazareth.

RODRIGO SANTORO IS JESUS

In other roles, Morgan Freeman plays Sheik Ilderim, a sheik who trains Ben-Hur to become a charioteer to take revenge on his brother, Messala! Rodrigo Santoro portrays Jesus Christ! The story of Jesus Christ is told parallel to the one revolving around BEN HUR! Santoro received personal blessings from Pope Francis for his role of Jesus. Nazanin Boniadi appears in the film as Esther, a Jewish slave and the love interest of Ben-Hur! Sofia Black D'Elia plays Tirzah, Ben-Hur's sister, with Ayelet Zurer as Naomi, Ben-Hur's mother. As you know the cast was massively downgraded when Tom Hiddleston and Gal Gadot, the original choices for Ben and Esther,  opted not to play in the movie, which is directed by Russian helmer Timur Bekmambetov.

SECOND TRAILERS FOR 'BEN HUR' REMAKE WITH JACK HUSTON, RODRIGO SANTORO, MORGAN FREEMAN, 'PETE'S DRAGON' REMAKE WITH KARL URBAN, BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD, ROBERT REDFORD

NEW 'PETE'S DRAGON' TRAILER

SHOWS MORE GREEN BEAST

This August's two big movies have got their second trailers today, starting with the remake of PETE'S DRAGON which will wing its way into cinemas August 12th starring Karl Urban, Bryce Dallas Howard, Wes Bentley and Robert Redford!

SOME PETS ARE TOO BIG TO KEEP

For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales... until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete's descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham's stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.

NEW 'BEN HUR' TRAILER

WITH THE CHARIOT RACES

The second trailer has also been released for another movie that will storm into theatres on chariots the next weekend in August: remake of BEN HUR with Jack Huston in the lead role! It follows the epic story of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell), an officer in the Roman army. Stripped of his title, separated from his family and the woman he loves (Nazanin Boniadi), Judah is forced into slavery. After years at sea, Judah returns to his homeland to seek revenge, but finds redemption. The movie also stars Morgan Freeman and Rodrigo Santoro as Jesus himself.

CHARIOT RACES POSTER FOR 'BEN HUR' EPIC REMAKE WITH JACK HUSTON, RODRIGO SANTORO, MORGAN FREEMAN! 'HALCYON' HOTEL WW2 SERIES CASTS MATT RYAN, OLIVIA WILLIAMS, STEVEN MACKINTOSH

 'THE HALCYON' HOTEL

SERIES CASTS OLIVIA WILLIAMS, MATT RYAN, STEVEN MACKINTOSH

Earlier last winter I told you that ITV is preparing new period set series and now the cast has been revealed for the eight part 1940's set series THE HALCYON! The cast of the luxury hotel staff series will include Steven Mackintosh, Olivia Williams, Matt Ryan, Kara Tointon, Alex Jennings, Hermione Corfield and Mark Benton.

WW2 LONDON

The story of the series will reveal London life against the backdrop of WW2 and the impact it has on families, politics, relationships and work across every social strata. The story will unspool through the eyes of journalist Joe O’Hara visiting the bustling and glamorous five-star hotel! The series will be filled with music including a Beverly Knight performance.

'BEN HUR' EPIC POSTER

REVEALS THE CHARIOT RACE

New poster with the legendary chariot scene has been revealed for the remake of BEN HUR out this August! It follows Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell), a Roman army officer. Stripped of his title, separated from his family and the woman he loves (Nazanin Boniadi), Judah is forced into slavery. After years at sea, Judah returns to his homeland to seek revenge, but finds redemption! Morgan Freeman plays his mentor, while Rodrigo Santoro is Jesus Christ!

MAGNIFICENTLY EPIC FIRST TRAILER AND PHOTOS FOR NEW 'BEH HUR' WITH JACK HUSTON, RODRIGO SANTORO, MORGAN FREEMAN!

'BEN HUR' EPIC TRAILER

IS HERE WITH JACK HUSTON!

Now, here's something I've been wondering for a long time when it would finally arrive! First photos and trailer for this August biggest epic adventure BEN HUR with Jack Huston and Morgan Freeman!

A PRINCE AND A SLAVE
It follows Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala (Toby Kebbell), a Roman army officer. Stripped of his title, separated from his family and the woman he loves (Nazanin Boniadi), Judah is forced into slavery. After years at sea, Judah returns to his homeland to seek revenge, but finds redemption! Morgan Freeman plays his mentor, while Rodrigo Santoro is Jesus Christ! The story of Jesus Christ is told parallel to the one revolving around BEN HUR! As you can see from the first poster, the movie, based on Lew Wallace's classic novel and directed by Timur Bekmambetov, will include the glorious chariot races in the arena! What do you think? I personally think the movie is terribly miscast with zero star power in it!

SET PHOTOS FROM 'GODS OF EGYPT' EPIC WITH GERARD BUTLER, NIKOLAJ COSTER WALDAU, 'BEN HUR' WITH JACK HUSTON, RODRIGO SANTORO, 'THE CROWN' EPIC SERIES ON QUEEN ELIZABETH

 'GODS OF EGYPT' SET PICS

WITH GERARD BUTLER, NIKOLAJ COSTER WALDAU, ELODIE YUNG

We're having a movie set photos day today, people,  beginning with some new pictures and a poster for next year's biggest epic adventure GODS OF EGYPT. I've already shown you first photos of Gerard Butler in the costume of Set, Egypt's naughty God of Darkness and Storms, and of Elodie Yung as Godess of Love Hathor, and now you can also check out the first set photo of GAME OF THRONE star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Horus, a god of the sky and son of Osiris, who must defend himself from the wrath of his brother Set! Young actor Brenton Thwaites will appear in the historical spectacle as Bek, a human thief, Courtney Eaton as Zaya, a slave girl cursed by Set, legendary Geoffrey Rush plays Ra, a god of the sun and father of Set and Osiris, and Chadwick Boseman will portray Thoth, the god of wisdom! Rufus Sewell is also in the cast. The $150 million spectacle is currently being directed by Alex Proyas with the movie scheduled to open the blockbuster season in April 2016!

 'BEN HUR' SET PHOTOS WITH

JACK HUSTON AND RODRIGO SANTORO AS JESUS
 Then there are also the first pictures from the sets of the new big screen adaptation of famous BEN HUR scheduled for March next year under the helm of Timur Bekmambetov and based on the novel by Lew Wallace which follows a falsely accused nobleman who survives years of slavery to take vengeance on his best friend who betrayed him. Jack Huston (BOARDWALK EMPIRE, GREAT FIRE) plays Judah Ben Hur, HOMELAND's Nazanin Boniadi is the female lead as Esther, Rodrigo Santoro has the honour of playing Jesus himself, with Morgan Freeman also in  the cast, while Toby Kebbell plays the main villain Messalla. 

 1ST PHOTOS FROM 'THE CROWN' 

EPIC SAGA ON BRITISH QUEEN

And there are also the wedding photos from the set of Netflix's lavish historical series THE CROWN in which Claire Foy will be Queen Elizabeth II, John Lithgow is Churchill, while Matt Smith will play Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh! Stephen Daldry is directing the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. The $100 million expensive series will chronicle the Queen's reign from her ascent to the throne at the age of 26, right through to the present day!

RODRIGO SANTORO IS JESUS IN 'BEN HUR' REMAKE? 'PLAYING IT COOL' TRAILER WITH CHRIS EVANS, IOAN GRUFFUDD, TOPHER GRACE! JOHN RHYS DAVIS IN 'SHANNARA' EPIC SERIES! NOAH REID, PAIGE SPARA IN 'KEVIN FROM WORK', SHOSHANA BUSH IN 'TOUGH COOKIE' SITCOM

IS RODRIGO SANTORO

JESUS IN 'BEN HUR' EPIC REMAKE?

We did lost track of the casting process for BEN HUR remake after the choices have turned out to be rather bland, but now they have a very interesting choice for the role of Jesus: according to 'The Hollywood Reporter' 300's Persian Emperor Xerxes Rodrigo Santoro could take the role! The epic drama will follow Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince in Jerusalem who is betrayed and sold into slavery. The story of his redemption runs parallel to the life and crucifixion of Jesus!. Morgan Freeman will be Ildarin who teaches BEN HUR how to drive chariots, Sofia Black D'Elia will play Ben-Hur's sister Tirzah, Toby Kebbell is Messala who sells him to slavery, HOMELAND's Nazanin Boniadi is BEN HUR's love interest Esther, while GAME OF THRONES' star Pedro Pascal is Pontius Pilate.

TELEVISION UPDATES

JOHN RHYS DAVIES IN 'SHANNARA'
In TV news, first info is that LORD OF THE RINGS star John Rhys Davies has joined SHANNARA epic fantasy series in which he will play King Eventine, Amberle’s (Poppy Drayton) grandfather, who has ruled the Elvin kingdom of Arborlon for decades!
NOAH REID IS 'KEVIN FROM WORK'
Over at ABC Family they have found lead stars for their two new sitcoms. First up is KEVIN FROM WORK in which  Noah Reid will play Kevin, an adorable but lonely young man unlucky in love who professes his love to his beautiful and quirky co-worker Audrey (Paige Spara), thinking he’ll never see her again after he accepts a job offer overseas. But then that job offer is rescinded and now they have to continue to work with each other. Matt Murray will be his best friend and confidant who is also a bit of a prankster; he’s always giving Kevin the not smartest advice.
SHOSHANA BUSH IS 'TOUGH COOKIE'
The other one is TOUGH COOKIE centring around a young mother who isn’t ready to parent and her daughter who doesn’t want to be parented. Shoshana Bush will play the lead role of Lilla, a strong-willed, successful publicist who got pregnant at a young age by a man she loved who dumped her, and she gave her baby girl up for adoption so she wouldn’t have to be reminded of him ever again. Now, she learns that her daughter, Eleanor, is slated for another round of foster care unless Lilla gives her a chance in a three-day trial that neither of them is looking forward to. Definitely not mother material, Lilla is shocked to see so much of herself in the outspoken, confident, take-no-prisoners Eleanor, and to her surprise, she doesn’t want Eleanor to go. Arturo del Purto will be Mickey, one of Lilla’s roommates, a neurotic hipster and something of a neat freak.

'PLAYING IT COOL' TRAILER

CHRIS EVANS, IOAN GRUFFUDD, TOPHER GRACE, ANTHONY MACKIE, MICHELLE MONAGHAN

You can also check out new trailer for delightful romantic comedy PLAYING IT COOL in which our beloved Chris Evans plays a writer who wants to write action but his publisher (Anthony Mackie)Bryan wants him to write about romance first. The problem is, the narrator doesn't believe in love. But when he meets Her (Michelle Monaghan), he falls for her, only to find out that she is already engaged to Stuffy (Ioan Gruffudd).The rather star studded cast also included Topher Grace, Aubrey Plaza, Ashley Tisdale, Luke Wilson... 

'IN THE HEART OF THE SEA' EPIC TRAILER WITH CHRIS HEMSWORTH, CILLIAN MURPHY, BEN WHISHAW! GAL GADOT JOINS JACK HUSTON IN 'BEN HUR'! 'DARK MATTER' SF SHOW, JAMIE BAMBER IN CW'S 'MESSENGERS'

'BEN HUR' REMAKE GETS

GAL GADOT AND PEDRO PASCAL?

We did lose interest a bit in the new remake of famous epic spectacle BEN HUR after Tom Hiddleston didn't get the lead role which went to relatively unknown Jack Huston, but maybe you didn't, so here's an update: GAME OF THRONE's Pedro Pascal has entered talks to play Pontius Pilate the prefect of Judea who orders the crucifixion of Jesus, while WONDER WOMAN Gal Gadot is negotiating around the lead female role of slave Esther who is in love with Ben Hur! We already know that Toby Kebbell will ad to the low profile cast by playing Ben Hur's frenemy Messalla, while Morgan Freeman will teach BEN HUR how to drive chariots! Scheduled for February 2016 the movie is helmed by famous Russian moviemaker Timur Bekmbambetov. 

JAMIE BAMBER JOINS

CW'S 'THE MESSENGERS'
In sf news from the TV front, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's superhunk Jamie Bamber has joined CW's upcoming supernatural series THE MESSENGERS about five strangers affected when a mysterious object hits Earth. After collapsing, all five individuals come back to life just hours later with inexplicable powers, including strength and the power to heal. But once things begin to become more clear, those affected realize that they might be Earth’s only hope for stopping the Rapture … or perhaps, they’re causing it.
'DARK MATTER' SF SERIES
SyFy will produce DARK MATTER sf series from STARGATE scribes centring on the crew of a derelict spaceship who is awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board. Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, betrayal and hidden secrets.

IN THE HEART OF SEA TRAILER

WITH CHRIS HEMSWORTH, CILLIAN MURPHY AND BEN WHISHAW

An epic trailer comes to us today for Ron Howard's new sea adventure IN THE HEART OF THE SEA which sails into cinemas next March starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Holland and Benjamin Walker! In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story.  IN THE HEART OF THE SEA reveals the encounter's harrowing aftermath, as the ship's surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive.  Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.

TOM HIDDLESTON MOVES TO KING KONG'S 'SKULL ISLAND' LEAVING 'BEN HUR' TO JACK HUSTON! JOHN STAMOS GETS SITCOMS AT FOX & ABC. CBS'S BUYS 'LETTERS TO MY DAUGHTER'S FUTURE THERAPIST' SITCOM. 'INTO THE WOODS' POSTER WITH MERYL STREEP

TOM HIDDLESTON GOES TO

KING KONG'S 'SKULL ISLAND' LEAVES 'BEN HUR' TO JACK HUSTON

Both good and bad news, people, when it comes to our deeply beloved Tom Hiddleston. First of all, it seems that he won't be the new BEN HUR as we hoped, since, according to 'Deadline', director Timur Bekmbambetov has given the role to BOARDWALK EMPIRE's Jack Huston. He will star next to already announced Morgan Freeman, who will appear in the role of the man who teaches the title character to become a champion chariot racer. But Tom Hiddleston will take the lead in November 2016's SKULL ISLAND a jungle adventure of huge proportions which will explore the origins of famous King Kong over at the island of giant reptiles and dinosaurs. Jordan Vogt Roberts (KINGS OF SUMMER) is directing. On the other hand, I've announced before that you will watch Jack Huston in Nicholas Sparks adaptation THE LONGEST RIDE and in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES.  Rumours say that he originally tried out for the role of Messala in BEN HUR, but got the lead instead.

NEW TV COMEDIES

JOHN STAMOS SCORES TWO SITCOMS AT FOX & ABC
In TV news today, Fox has won a bidding war for new untitled sitcom to be produced by Dan Fogelman and starring John Stamos as a charismatic longtime bachelor whose life is upended when he discovers he’s a father — and a grandfather. It is interesting that Stamos will have two comedies on TV, since he is also leading ABC's midseason sitcom MEMBERS ONLY which, set at an exclusive Connecticut country club, follows the club’s leisure class members and the working class employees that make the place tick!
LETTERS TO MY DAUGHTER'S FUTURE THERAPIST
At the same time CBS has bought Jon Turteltaub's sitcom LETTERS TO MY DAUGHTER'S FUTURE THERAPIST, a multi generational family comedy in which the voice over reads the mother’s letters to her daughter’s future therapist, explaining her actions for when her daughter inevitably blames her for everything.

MERYL STREEP IS THE WITCH

IN 1ST 'INTO THE WOODS' POSTER

If you follow us at Facebook and Twitter you've already seen the first poster for INTO THE WOODS musical showing Meryl Streep as the wicked witch. Opening in cinemas this Christmas the film will see James Corden and Emily Blunt playing a baker and his wife who, in order to break the witches curse, venture INTO THE WOODS where they will meet all kinds of fairy tale characters from Cinderella and her prince (Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine) to Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood  and the Big Bad Wolf (Johnny Depp).

'SERENA' TRAILER WITH BRADLEY COOPER, JENNIFER LAWRENCE. MORGAN FREEMAN CAST IN NEW 'BEN HUR'! THEO JAMES TAKES OVER 'UNDERWORLD' VAMPIRE FRANCHISE!

THEO JAMES TO TAKE OVER 

'UNDERWORLD' FRANCHISE 

Earlier this week we found out that famous vampire franchise UNDERWORLD would be getting a reboot but now the info is that UNDERWORLD 5 will just expand the existing universe with Theo James now leading the saga instead of Kate Beckinsale. In 2012's UNDERWORLD AWAKENING he played vampire David and now his character will be in the focus of the story together with two new female heroines. As you know, Theo James has been acting for years now, but he became worldwide popular with his role in fantasy movie DIVERGENT and will star in its sequels.

MORGAN FREEMAN 

TO TEACH 'BEN HUR'
Meanwhile, Deadline reports that Morgan Freeman has landed the role of in new BEN HUR. In the historical epic he will play the man who teaches the title character to become a champion chariot racer. Tom Hiddleston was rumoured for the lead role.

'SERENA' TRAILER 

BRADLEY COOPER AND JENNIFER LAWRENCE IN 1920'S EPIC DRAMA

After a rather long wait the first trailer has been released for period set drama SERENA starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence alongside Blake Ritson, Sam Reid, Toby Jones and Rhys Ifans. Opening in UK next month, the movie, set in the North Carolina mountains at the end of the 1920s, follows George and Serena Pemberton, love-struck newly-weds, who begin to build their timber empire. Serena soon proves herself to be equal to any man: overseeing loggers, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving a man's life in the wilderness. With power and influence now in their hands, the Pembertons refuse to let anyone stand in the way of their inflated love and ambitions. However, once Serena discovers George's hidden past and faces an unchangeable fate of her own, the Pembertons' passionate marriage begins to unravel leading toward a dramatic reckoning. It's out in USA in November!