SEE SAM CLAFLIN IN THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO NEW TV SERIES ADAPTATION! GAL GADOT SAYS HER CLEOPATRA WILL BE MORE THAN JUST HISTORY'S MOST FAMOUS SEDUCTRESS!

 1ST LOOK AT SAM CLAFLIN 

AS COUNT MONTE CRISTO

Now, here is a totally secretive project, so secretive that we have not even heard about it before today even though we are the biggest fans of Sam Claflin. Digital Spy has found first set pic of him in new period set series THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO which is currently filming for unknown broadcaster in an Italian British co-production. French actress Ana Girardot is also filming with him in Paris. The project should not be confused with French movie Le Comte de Monte Cristo with Pierre Niney, which is out next year. 

 

 GAL GADOT'S CLEOPATRA 

IS STILL VERY MUCH ON

At least that is what Gal Gadot said in a recent interview. It does not have a premiere date nor the start of production one, but we know that new CLEOPATRA will

The movie does not have a launch date yet

be directed by Kari Skogland with Laeta Kalogridis writing the script and Cleopatra being shown as not just a seductress. She was the daughter of Ptolemy, ancestor of the leader of Alexander the Great’s army. When Rome’s ruler Julius Caesar’s mentor and rival Pompey fled to Egypt after a brutal war for control of the empire, Egypt became a fixation of Roman rulers. Two siblings battled for the throne of Egypt. After winning that internal struggle by appealing personally to Caesar, Cleopatra had a complicated relationship with Rome, becoming the lover of Caesar and later Marc Antony. The latter alliance would become the undoing of both Antony and Cleopatra. Gadot, who is producing the movie, said she wants to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honor this amazing historic icon!

PARAMOUNT AND PATTY JENKINS TO TURN GAL GADOT INTO CLEOPATRA! EMMA MACKEY IS NELL GWYNN KING CHARLES II 17TH CENTURY MISTRESS! 1ST EIFFEL POSTER WITH ROMAIN DURIS, EMMA MACKEY

 ACTRESS GAL GADOT

TO BECOME NEW CLEOPATRA?

The project was Gal's own idea

Yep, you heard it right, it was the central news this weekend: she will unite with director Patty Jenkins again after Wonder woman on a possible new CLEOPATRA movie project which Leata Kalogridis (Alexander, Alita) is set to pen! As Deadline reports, Paramount has won at the heated auction among the studios. 

 

  CLEOPATRA

  was the daughter of Ptolemy, ancestor of the leader of Alexander the Great’s army. When Rome’s ruler Julius Caesar’s mentor and rival Pompey fled to Egypt after a brutal war for control of the empire, Egypt became a fixation of Roman rulers. Two siblings battled for the throne of Egypt. After winning that internal struggle by appealing personally to Caesar, Cleopatra had a complicated relationship with Rome, becoming the lover of Caesar and later Marc Antony. The latter alliance would become the undoing of both Antony and Cleopatra.

 

 Of course we shouldn't raise our hopes up, this is the fourth or fifth such project in recent years: Amazon, Freeform, Abi Morgan, Denis Villeneuve, Angelina Jolie, even Lady Gaga, all planned Cleopatra projects in recent years. But resources say that Paramount is fast tracking this one. 

ACTRESS EMMA MACKEY 

TO PLAY NELL GWYNN THE MISTRESS OF KING CHARLES II

Speaking of ladies from history, English actress Emma Mackey has been set to portray NELL GWYNN the mistress of King Charles II. Based on a play by Jessica Swale, who is penning the adaptation, the film will also

Emma Mackey will be famous royal mistress Nell Gwynn

depict Nell's role in the 17th century theatre scene.  Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn will be directing the flick over at Working Title and they are currently searching for the male lead. 

EIFFEL PERIOD SET MOVIE

FIRST POSTER ARRIVES

 Speaking of Emma Mackey, check out the first poster for French period set movie EIFFEL in which she stars together with one of France's

Eiffel should arrive next February

favourite stars Romain Duris and Pierre Deladon champs. Scheduled for a February release and directed by Martin Bourboulon, the film's story line takes its cue from Eiffel's search for inspiration as he comes under pressure to design something spectacular for the 1889 Paris World Fair.

  Having just finished his collaboration on the Statue of Liberty, Gustave Eiffel is at the peak of his career. The French government wants him to create something spectacular for the 1889 Universal

Romain Duris and Emma Mackey play the lead roles

Exhibition in Paris, but Eiffel is only interested in the metropolitan project. Everything changes when he crosses paths with his youthful love. Their forbidden relationship inspires him to change the Paris skyline forever.

NEW EPIC PROJECTS AT NETFLIX: 'LETTER FOR THE KING' MEDIEVAL ADVENTURE NOVEL TO BECOME TV SERIES! 'ROMAN EMPIRE: MASTER OF ROME' JULIUS CAESAR SERIES WITH JESSICA GREEN AS CLEOPATRA! 'MEDICI: THE MAGNIFICENT' 2ND SEASON TEASER IS HERE!

 'THE LETTER FOR THE KING'

 DITCH CLASSIC TO BECOME ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SERIES

Epic projects produced by Netflix today, people, starting with their adaptation of THE LETTER FOR THE KING  Tonke Dragt’s medieval

It will be an English language epic series

adventure novel which they will turn into family adventure series!

How to Train Your Dragon and Puss in Boots' Will Davies will adapt the story set in a fantasy world of three kingdoms, following 16 year old squire Tiuri. When he answers a desperate call for help, he finds himself on a perilous mission that could cost him his life. He must deliver a secret letter to the King who lives across the Great Mountains. Tiuri must abandon his home, break all the rules and leave everything behind – even the knighthood he has dreamed of for so long. The future of the entire realm depends on the letter and Tiuri must trust no one and keep his true identity secret. Above all, he must never reveal what is in the letter.

 NETFLIX 'ROMAN EMPIRE'

 MASTER OF ROME 2ND SEASON!

You probably remember that last year I presented you with Netflix docu series ROMAN EMPIRE: REIGN OF BLOOD which was set in Ancient

The second season will also three episodes on Caligula

Rome when Marcus Aurelius brought a century of Roman triumphs and victories to an end, transferring power to his spoiled, unprepared son Commodus (Aaron Jakubenko). Netflix has now prepared a new season

Jessica Green is Queen Cleopatra of Egypt in the second season

which starts July 27th titled ROMAN EMPIRE: MASTER OF ROME! The second season is set to follow the rise and eventual fall of Julius Caesar and his famed dynasty. Jessica Green plays Queen Cleopatra in the series! Check out the trailer here!

  'MEDICI: THE MAGNIFICENT'

1ST TEASER FROM FLORENCE
Italian RAI has, meanwhile, released the first teaser for the second season of their historical saga MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE this time titled

You can watch the first season on Amazon Prime as well

THE MAGNIFICENT which starts in Italy this October with Daniel Sharman as Lorenzo Medici and Bradley James as his brother Giuliano. Read more here.

MICHAEL B. JORDAN TO SAVE MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN 'JUST MERCY'! NETFLIX ORDERS 'LUNA NEGRA' 17TH CENTURY ITALIAN WITCHCRAFT SERIES, ABI MORGAN WRITING 'CLEOPATRA' SERIES?

MICHAEL B. JORDAN 

TO STAR IN 'JUST MERCY' DRAMA

Well, he is currently certainly in massive demand over in Hollywood: super handsome, charismatic and popular, Michael B. Jordan will first burn some

Michael will play legendary activist Bryan Stevenson

books after his gig in Black Panter in HBO's new take on Fahrenheit 451, and then he will prove he has serious acting chops in JUST MERCY. Set for January 2020, the movie shadows world renowned civil rights defence attorney Bryan Stevenson as he recounts his experiences and details the case of condemned death row prisoner whom he fought to free.The focus will be on his first case, Walter McMillian, a young black man sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. Despite his airtight alibi, McMillian was convicted and spent six years on death row before being exonerated.

Michael B. Jordan is also expected to star in new TV series RAISING DION about a widowed single mom who discovers that her son has super powers and tries to figure out how to raise him safely and responsibly.

NEW EPIC TV SERIES

AMAZON'S 'LUNA NEGRA'

When it comes to possible new historical series, Netflix has announced development of Italian epic series LUNA NEGRA (Black Moon) which will be

None of Cleopatra projects has been realized so far

produced by Fandango set in the 17th century with the story based on an unpublished manuscript about women accused of witchcraft who find power in their unity.

NEW CLEO PATRA?
British 'Digital Spy' is meanwhile reporting on screenwriter Abi Morgan who is, apparently, gathering an all female team in order to develop a ten part series on CLEOPATRA which will follow the Egyptian Queen’s life from the age of 16 focusing on her and her sisters. They're trying to pitch the series to an USA streaming service. I also reported last spring that Black Sails team is also working on a CLEOPATRA series together with Amazon, but we haven't heard anything about it since. Earlier this January it was also announced that Freeform will also do a series on her. There we also stories that Denis Villeneuve will shoot CLEOPATRA film for Sony last Autumn.

BLADE RUNNER'S DENIS VILLENEUVE TO DIRECT 'CLEOPATRA' FOR SONY? AGE OF ADALINE'S LEE TOLAND KRIEGER TO ADAPT 'HOLD BACK THE STARS' SF ROMANCE

  'HOLD BACK THE STARS' 

TO GET A BIG SCREEN ADAPTATION BY LEE TOLAND

The book's been translated in 20 countries

KRIEGER

Here's another big screen adaptation of a science fiction novel for you: Age of Adaline's Lee Toland Krieger is to direct a movie based on Katie Khan's HOLD BACK THE STARS a romance that follows the story of a couple falling for each other on earth, juxtaposed against the story of them fighting for their lives in space while running out of oxygen. As the story lines play out, the mystery as to why they’ve gone into space becomes clearer. The book has been published in more than 20 countries around the world so far!

  'CLEOPATRA' TO GET

ADAPTED BY DENIS VILLENEUVE 
While he is preparing to premiere his Blade Runner 2049 in cinemas, Denis Villeneuve is Sony's new candidate for directing another big screen

Sony's been planning this project for 10 years now

  adaptation CLEOPATRA based on Stacy Schiff's bestselling novel. James Cameron was previous director attached to this high profile project. Unlike some other more glamorous projects, this one will focus on the truth about Cleopatra as a leader and not just a sex symbol, since she was a mother, leader and an intellectual who spoke five languages and whose upbringing also reflected her relationship with Rome. Earlier this year I also told you that Black Sails team is working on a Cleopatra series for Amazon but we haven't heard anything about it since.

NEW 'THE LEOPARD' EPIC MINI SERIES ON ITALIAN RISORGIMENTO! 'BLACK SAILS' TEAM & AMAZON TO MAKE 'CLEOPATRA' EPIC TV SERIES

NEW 'CLEOPATRA' TV SERIES

FROM 'BLACK SAILS' PRODUCERS

Two new period set series of epic proportions today! 'Deadline' reports that Amazon will be the latest to try and put legendary Egyptian queen CLEOPATRA on the small screens as they have put into development a series with Black Sails team.  Written by Robert Levine, it is described as a revisionist take on one of history’s most misunderstood women, The Godfather in Ancient Egypt. After nearly losing her life in a bloody coup, Cleopatra must use her natural wit and political genius to take back her throne and restore honour to her family and kingdom. None of the Cleopatra projects, both TV and the movie ones, we've announced in recent years, has reached the production stage, sadly.

'THE LEOPARD' TV SERIES

ON ITALIAN RISORGIMENTO
After we fell in love last season with Medici: Masters of Florence (which starts shooting its second season this September but without Richard Madden), we might be getting new English language period set series produced in Italy as Indiana Production is looking to turn Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel THE LEOPARD into mini series. They're currently searching for partners in Cannes for a rich and lavish epic series that chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the 19th century unification of Italy known as the Risorgimento. Translated into more than 40 languages, it was turned into a classic movie with Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon and Burt Lancaster, which was so lavishly opulent that it got an Oscar nomination for costume design.

INCREDIBLY STAR STUDDED 'MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS' TRAILER WITH SUSAN SARANDON, SHARON STONE, CHRISTINA RICCI, COURTNEY COX! ANGELINA JOLIE'S 'CLEOPATRA' EPIC MOVIE STILL ON AT SONY

  'CLEOPATRA' EPIC MOVIE

WITH ANGELINA JOLIE STILL BEING PLANNED OVER AT SONY

Many years ago I reported that Sony is preparing a big screen adaptation of Stacy Schiff's book CLEOPATRA: A LIFE with Angelina Jolie playing the lead role and now 'Deadline' reports that the project isn't dead and that David Scarpa has been brought to rewrite the script. At some point James Cameron was supposed to direct the story which will, unlike some other more glamorous projects, focus on the truth about Cleopatra as a leader and not just a sex symbol, since she was a mother, leader and an intellect who spoke five languages and whose upbringing also reflected her relationship with Rome.

  'MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS' 

SUPER STAR STUDDED TRAILER

Now here's a comedy drama we've never heard of before even though it is extremely, and I mean extremely star studded! MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS should open in cinemas in May 6th! Interwoven stories of what it is to be a mom star Susan Sarandon, Courtney Cox, Christina Ricci, Sharon Stone, Selma Blair, Mira Sorvino, Paul Wesley, Luke Mitchell, Ashanti!

SHEKHAR KAPUR WRITING & DIRECTING 'CLEOPATRA' TV SERIES! KEELEY HAWES TO LEAD ITV'S 'THE DURRELLS' PERIOD SET TV SERIES! 'VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN' TRAILER WITH JAMES MCAVOY, DANIEL RADCLIFFE.

  'CLEOPATRA' EPIC TV SERIES

FROM BRILLIANT SHEKHAR KAPUR

Now this is probably the best news of the week: not only that Slingshot Global Media has announced their work on CLEOPATRA epic TV series, but it has also been revealed today that our absolute favourite director Shekhar Kapur (ELIZABETH, ELIZABETH GOLDEN AGE, FOUR FEATHERS) will helm it and write it!  Instead of focusing on the arch seductress made famous by her affairs with men like Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, the show will highlight the opposite – that these men were famous because of her. It will follow the narrative of an 18-year-old girl who came to be a Pharaoh and a queen – a woman who was brighter, more intelligent, richer and a better ruler than the men of her time. The series will reinvent her as the modern woman, a woman that understood the power of myth and turned herself into a myth, constantly reinventing herself. It will highlight her great loves and her survival in the face of repeated assassination attempts, which made her one of the most dangerous, yet most powerful, thrones of all time.

  'THE DURRELLS' PERIOD SERIES

CASTS KEELEY HAWES, LESLIE CARON AND ALEXIS GEORGOULIS 
Earlier this year I announced that British ITV is making a television series out of MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS memoir by Gerald Durrell and THE DURRELLS now have the cast! Our beloved Keeley Hawes will lead it alongside legendary Leslie Caron and Greek star Alexis Georgoulis. The 1930's six part series focuses on Louisa Durrell (Keeley Hawes), whose husband died years before and his money has almost run out. Her four children Larry (Josh O'Connor), Leslie (Callum Woodhouse), Margo (Daisy Waterstone) and Gerry (Milo Parker) are running riot and making life very difficult. Louisa decides to escape from Britain for a new adventure in Corfu, taking her family with her. Alexis Georgoulis will play the dependable Spiro Halkiopoulos, while Leslie Caron will  be shrewd Countess Mavrodaki, who hires Margo as her companion.

  VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN TRAILER

AND POSTER WITH JAMES MCAVOY & DANIEL RADCLIFFE

20th Century Fox has released the first trailer and poster  for this November's horror drama VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN following radical scientist Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) and his equally brilliant protégé Igor Strausman (Daniel Radcliffe) who share a noble vision. They want to aid humanity through their ground breaking research into immortality. But Victor's experiments go too far, and his obsession has horrifying consequences. Only Igor can bring his friend back from the brink of madness and save him from his monstrous creation. Paul McGuigan from BBC's SHERLOCK is directing!