HULU RELEASES NEW TRAILER FOR HISTORICAL COMEDY SERIES ON CATHERINE THE GREAT WITH ELLE FANNING, NICHOLAS HOULT. PLUS NEW ITALIAN PERIOD SET SERIES HERESY ON HOLY INQUISITION

     'HERESY' NEW PERIOD SET

TELEVISION SERIES FROM ITALY

German superhunk Rudolf Martin will star in Heresy

After Medici, Name of the Rose, Luna Nera and Romulus, a new Italian historical TV series has been announced, but this one will be a co-production with the United States. Nucleus Media Rights has hired Butch Kaplan (The Notebook, Fear The Walking Dead) as showrunner on upcoming drama HERESY which will start production on its eight episodes at the end of the year with Rudolf Martin already cast as one of the stars. Created by Mark Melville, the story of the new historical series will revolve around a young woman who fights the Holy Inquisition. The producers promise a daring and innovative new series planned to air in the first quarter of 2021.

     NEW 'THE GREAT' TRAILER

POKES FUN WITH THE EMPRESS

And our suggestion for today on what to watch during the corona virus quarantine (which might easily last till the end of summer) is THE GREAT a new historical comedy series that will start on Hulu May 15th starring Elle

Elle Fanning takes the lead role in this offensive mockery

Fanning as Russian empress Catherine the Great and Nicholas Hoult as her husband Petter III of Russia. Hulu has released a new trailer which you

The Great hits Hulu from May 15th this year

can watch below and tell us what you think. Unlike most other series that depicted the longest reigning Russian monarch, this one will do it with a touch

Nicholas Hoult plays crazy Russian Emperor Peter III

 of comedy incorporating historical facts only occasionally. The mini series will describe the beginnings of their arranged marriage and how, in order to leave

Elle Fanning has been chosen to wear the Russian imperial crown

her mark in history, 'all' she had to do was kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military, and get the court onside. The ten episode series also stars our dearest Gwilym Lee from Jamestown and Sebastian de Souza from Medici! 

HULU RELEASES FIRST TEASER AND PREMIERE DATE FOR HISTORICAL COMEDY MINI SERIES ON CATHERINE THE GREAT WITH ELLE FANNING, NICHOLAS HOULT

The series will stream from May 15th

'THE GREAT' TRAILER

FROM CATHERINE THE NOTHING TO CATHERINE THE GREAT

Hulu has released the first teaser and also the premiere date for their period set three part mini series THE GREAT on Russian Empress Catherine, but the unexpected element is that it was done in a form of comedy,  they say it is genre bending

Elle Fanning takes the comedic role of Catherine the Great

anti historical series! Not sure I like that. Anyhows, the series features Elle Fanning playing a royal woman living in rural Austria during the seventeenth

Nicholas Hoult plays Tzar Peter II in the three part historical comedy

century who is forced to choose between her own personal happiness and the future of Russia, when she marries future Russian Emperor Peter played by

Gwilym Lee plays Grigor Dymov in the series

magnetically gorgeous Nicholas Hoult. It will premiere May 15th! Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, our dearest Jamestown star Gwilym Lee, Charity

In one of the juicy scenes, Medici star Sebastian De Souza will show his willy and peachy bums in front of the crazy emperor

Wakefield, Douglas Hodge and Sacha Shawan also star. Check out the unusual trailer below and tell us what you think, is it what you expected?

HULU'S CATHERINE THE GREAT SERIES WITH ELLE FANNING, NICHOLAS HOULT CASTS PHOEBE FOX! GLORIOUS TRAILER FOR SERBIAN EPIC WW1 MOVIE KING PETER I!

   CATHERINE THE GREAT SERIES

HIRES PHOEBE FOX AS COURTIER

Phoebe Fox will be Catherine's right hand lady

Although most of the attention is on Sky and HBO's Catherine the Great series with Helen Mirren, let us not forget that Hulu is also preparing THE GREAT limited series in which Elle Fanning is supposed to play (or at least try) the famous Russian tzarina at the time when she, as a very young Prussian princess, got married to Russian prince Peter (to be played by Nicholas Hoult) although she will mostly detest him later on, throw him over and kill him in the end. The latest name to join the cast is Phoebe Fox who will play her court lady Marial. Catherine and Peter's explosive relationship, filled with insanity and adultery, ended up with her organizing officers who admired her (or were her sex toys) and overthrowing him just six month after he took the throne from his aunt Empress Elizabeth. Actors Sacha Dhawan and Charity Wakefield have also been cast in unspecified roles!

   'KING PETAR I' TRAILER

FORGOTTEN TRAGEDIES OF WW1

Speaking of epic projects, first, deeply moving, trailer has been released for Serbian war epic KING PETAR I which, out next month in Serbia, depicts the tragic and heroic retreat of weakened Serbian army in 1915, after German,

The movie will be turned into TV series later on

Austro Hungarian and Bulgarian armies invaded the kingdom from all sides following Serbia's heroic efforts to stop the enemy in successful battles at Cer and Kolubara which were some of the first major battles of WW1 but have cost Serbia around 170,000 people even before the exodus. The Serbian army, lead by Serbian King Petar I (Lazar Ristovski), retreated through the frozen mountains of Albania in order to save its remains. During the long march, some 240,000 retreating Serbs died from the cold, starvation, disease and combat with Albanian tribesmen. The survivors who managed to get to the Greek island of Corfu either died there from weakness, hunger, wounds and illnesses, (which is why Serbs call the sea around the

The film also follows a Serbian mother who asks the king to take warm socks she knitted to her young son who is lost somewhere among hundreds of thousands of retreating soldiers. The king finds him too late, already frozen somewhere along the way but will ask to be buried in those very socks years later after his own death

island the Blue Tomb as the island is small and the dead had to be thrown into the sea, thousands of them) or moved to the Greek front where they will join the fights again. French and British allies sent ships to save the survivors only after Russian Emperor threatened that he would leave the war if they don't help Serbs.

ELLE FANNING AND NICHOLAS HOULT ARE CATHERINE 'THE GREAT' AND EMPEROR PETER OF RUSSIA IN HULU'S NEW EPIC MINI SERIES?

   'THE GREAT'

 HULU PREPARING MINI SERIES ON RUSSIAN EMPRESS CATHERINE

Elle Fanning will be Catherine the Great

Or not so great when you hear who wants to take the lead role. While Sky and HBO are preparing Helen Mirren mini series on the same topic, it seems Hulu is ready to order THE GREAT mini series on famous Russian Tzarina Catherine the Great starring Elle Fanning (Good Lord!) and Nicholas Hoult! She is, apparently, also producing the series which would describe the rise to power of Catherine the Great and her explosive relationship with husband Peter (Hoult), the emperor of Russia!

  A GERMAN PRINCESS ON THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL THRONE

Nicholas Hoult will play the crazy Tsar Peter

As Deadline reports, Catherine, born Princess Sophie of Anhalt Zerbst, was the daughter of a Prussian general, who was introduced to the prospective tsar Peter of Holstein Gottorp when she was only 10 as part of European Royal families’ use of marriages as a tool for strengthening (and weakening) political ties between countries. Though she admitted to finding him detestable at first, the two eventually married after she had turned 16. Their union was tumultuous, with both rumoured to have extramarital affairs, and Peter’s temper becoming unbearable. Only six months into him ascending to the Russian throne, Catherine organized his opponents to overthrow him to start her successful 34-year rule. He was later on assassinated.

PERIOD SET MONDAY: 'THE LITTLE STRANGER' TRAILER WITH DOMHNALL GLEESON, CHARLOTTE RAMPLING! 'MARY SHELLEY' NEW POSTER WITH ELLE FANNING, DOUGLAS BOOTH

  'THE LITTLE STRANGER' 

TRAILER WITH DOMHNALL GLEESON, CHARLOTTE RAMPLING 

First stop in our Period Set Monday is the first trailer for 1940's thriller THE LITTLE STRANGER which is out in cinemas this August and September

The Little Stranger arrives to cinemas this August

starring Domhnall Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling, Will Poulter and Ruth Wilson. 

THE LITTLE STRANGER tells the story of Dr Faraday, the son of a housemaid, who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor. During the long hot summer of 1947, he is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall, where his mother once worked. The Hall has been home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries. But it is now in decline and its inhabitants - mother, son and daughter - are haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life. When he takes on his new patient, Faraday has no idea how closely, and how terrifyingly, the family's story is about to become entwined with his own.

  'MARY SHELLEY' POSTER

HER GREATEST LOVE INSPIRED HER DARKEST CREATION

Meanwhile, a new poster (below) has been released for July costume drama MARY SHELLEY in which Elle Fanning plays the famous writer who is

The movie is out in USA, July the rest of the world

remembered as the writer of Frankenstein. But the real life story of Mary Shelley, and the creation of her immortal monster, is nearly as fantastical as her fiction.

Raised by a renowned philosopher father (Stephen Dillane) in 18th century London, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (Elle Fanning) is a teenage dreamer determined to make her mark on the world when she meets the dashing and brilliant poet Percy Shelley (Douglas Booth). So begins a torrid, bohemian love affair marked by both passion and personal tragedy that will transform Mary and fuel the writing of her Gothic work. Imbued with the imaginative spirit of its heroine, Mary Shelley brings to life

Mary Shelley is considered to be the mother of modern science fiction

the world of a trailblazing woman who defied convention and channelled her innermost demons into a legend for the ages. Ben Hardy, Tom Sturridge, Hugh O'Connor, Jack Hickey play other famous poets and writers of that time.

PERIOD SET FRIDAY: 'MARY SHELLEY' TRAILER WITH ELLE FANNING, DOUGLAS BOUTH, TOM STURRIDGE, BEN HARDY! FIRST 'TOLKIEN' SET PHOTOS WITH NICHOLAS HOULT, LILY COLLINS

  FIRST 'TOLKIEN' PHOTOS WITH

NICHOLAS HOULT & LILY COLLINS

We are continuing with our updates on period set projects today as well with 1st photos from the sets of TOLKIEN a biopic which will follow the young days of the author of world's favourite epic fantasy saga Lord of the Rings, starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins.

THE FATHER OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS AND HOBBIT 
The movie explores the early life of J. R. R. TOLKIEN as he finds love, friendship and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts. When the horrors of World War I envelope Tolkien's life, they threaten to tear this

Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins play Tolkien and his wife

"fellowship" apart, and he questions the very meaning and purpose of his art. Instead, he finds a way to use these experiences as inspiration for his famous works, among them The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Lily Collins is his love and wife Edith Bratt who inspired the elven princesses from his sagas. Derek Jacobi and Anthony Boyle also star!

  'MARY SHELLEY' TRAILER

THE MOTHER OF FRANKENSTEIN!

The movie is out next month in USA

The first trailer has been released after many years of waiting for the first English language movie directed by a female Arabian director, MARY SHELLEY previously known as A Storm in the Stars and I must admit it doesn't look very special. It portrays the famous love affair between poet Percy Shelley (played by Douglas Booth) and 18 year old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (played by Elle Fanning with the most horrible British accent we've heard in a long time), which resulted in Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein. Tom Sturridge is Lord Byron, with Ben Hardy, Maisie Williams, Jack Hickey and Joanne

Mary and Percy Shelley and Sturridge as Byron

Froggatt also in the cast which includes Hugh O'Connor as Coleridge! The movie is out May 25th in USA and in July in UK and around the world. 

HOLLYWOOD SPY'S GUIDE THROUGH 2018 TEENAGE FILMS + TRAILERS & POSTERS FOR ENCHANTINGLY BEAUTIFUL 'LOVE, SIMON' WITH NICK ROBINSON, DAVID LEVITHAN'S 'EVERY DAY' & 'PLEASE STAND BY' WITH DAKOTA FANNING, TONI COLLETTE

  HOLLYWOOD SPY'S GUIDE

 THROUGH 2018 TEEN MOVIES

You will see a lot of teenage novel big screen adaptations in the fresh 2018, people, from latest Maze Runner movie to the movie versions of Ernest

Jennifer Niven's book was translated by yours truly

Cline's Ready Player One from Steven Spielberg, Alexandra Bracken's Darkest Minds, Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places (with Elle Fanning), Garrard Conley's Boy Erased (with Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe), Jenny Han's To All the Boys I Loved Before and Peter Bognanni's The House of Tomorrow.

DID YOU KNOW?

  Emily Danforth's The MisEducation of Cameron Post with Cloe Moretz is out this month too! John Bellair's The House with a Clock in Its Walls will star Cate Blanchett! Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle will star Alexandra Daddario! Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines movie is out December!

  'LOVE, SIMON'

1ST BIG STUDIO GAY ROMANCE

Nick Robinson is Simon in love!

Probably the most anticipated YA adaptation to arrive this year is movingly beautiful adaptation of Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda called LOVE, SIMON in the movie version which is hitting big screens this April starring lovely Nick Robinson in probably the first big studio romantic drama ever with two gays as the pair in love. Directed by Greg Berlanti LOVE, SIMON also stars Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner as Simon's parents, alongside Colton Haynes and Katherine Langford as his friends.

Love, Simon is out in cinemas this April

LOVE, SIMON wants you to know that everyone deserves a great love story. But for Simon it's complicated: no-one knows he's gay and he doesn't know who the anonymous classmate is that he's fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, scary and life changing. The movie comes from the same producers who brought is The Fault in Our Stars! The actor who plays Blue, the boy Simon is in love, is being kept a secret!

  'EVERY DAY'

FROM DAVID LEVITHAN

David Levithan's Every Day is out April

Based on David Levithan's acclaimed New York Times bestseller, EVERY DAY tells the story of Rhiannon (Angourie Rice), a 16-year old girl who falls in love with a mysterious soul named "A" who inhabits a different body every day. Feeling an unmatched connection, Rhiannon and A work each day to find each other, not knowing what or who the next day will bring. The more the two fall in love, the more the realities of loving someone who is a different person every 24 hours takes a toll, leaving Rhiannon and "A" to face the hardest decision either has ever had to make. Also starring Colin Ford it is out this April!

  'PLEASE STAND BY'

 STARRING DAKOTA FANNING!

The first one out, as soon as next week January 26th is touchingly beautiful PLEASE STAND BY in which Dakota Fanning plays a young autistic

Enchantingly warm and beautiful Please Stand By is out next week

woman who runs away from her caregiver in an attempt to submit her manuscript to a "Star Trek" writing competition. Toni Collette also stars.

PHOTO WEEKEND: 1ST PHOTOS FROM HISTORICAL DRAMA 'OUTLAW KING' WITH CHRIS PINE, AARON TAYLOR JOHNSON, 'MARY SHELLEY' WITH ELLE FANNING, DOUGLAS BOOTH, TOM STURRIDGE, 'JOURNEY'S END' WITH SAM CLAFLIN, PAUL BETTANY, ASA BUTTERFIELD

  'OUTLAW KING'

 FIRST CHRIS PINE PHOTOS

Continuing our Photo Weekend, first up today, photos (from Daily Mail) from the British sets of Netflix' historical movie OUTLAW KING featuring the first look of Chris Pine as Scottish legend Robert the

Chris Pine rocks a strange new hairdo

Bruce! If you expected some handsome hero, you might be disappointed since he has the weirdest haircut in the role!

14TH CENTURY REBELS 
Set in the 14th century, the movie will follow Chris Pine's Robert The Bruce, the king who led his country to freedom from the oppressive rule

Robert and his faithful steed!

of England and their king Edward II in Scotland! Aaron Taylor Johnson is, meanwhile, set to portray his right hand man, another

Chris Pine and James Cosmo

14th century Scottish legend James Douglas! Robert and Douglas learned guerilla fighting tactics that led to years of surprise attacks,

Australian superstar Callan Mulvey

sacked castles and, finally, independence! Florence Pugh will play the female lead (probably  Robert's queen Elizabeth the Burgh), and as you

Alastair Mackenzie riding in the centre

can see from the photos the cast also includes James Cosmo, Billy Howle as the Prince of Wales, Alastair Mackenzie and Callan Mulvey as Lord John Comyn!

   'MARY SHELLEY'

NEW STELLAR CAST PHOTOS

Some new photos have also been revealed for a movie previously known as A Storm in the Stars and now just simply MARY SHELLEY! The first English language movie to be directed by a female Arabian

Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth and Tom Sturridge

director, has been pushed to summer 2018 release. It portrays the famous love affair between poet Percy Shelley (played by Douglas

Elle Fanning plays Shelley's wife Mary

Booth) and 18 year old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (played by Elle Fanning), which resulted in Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein. Tom

Boothe and Fanning play the legendary writing couple

Sturridge is Lord Byron, with Ben Hardy, Maisie Williams, Jack Hickey and Joanne Froggatt also in the cast which includes Hugh O'Connor as Coleridge!

  NEW 'JOURNEY'S END'

 PHOTOS FROM WWI TRENCHES

I've already shown you some of the first photos from the sets of World War I epic drama JOURNEY'S END but now we have three more! To

Always marvellous Sam Claflin leads the stellar cast

be out next February with a stellar cast lead by Sam Claflin, Paul Bettany, Tom Sturridge, Toby Jones and Asa Butterfield,  this

Asa Buttefield plays one of the youngest soldiers

historical drama is a big screen adaptation of RC Sherriff's JOURNEY'S END, the seminal British play about First World War. Set in a dugout

Saul Dibb is directing the WWI drama

in Aisne in 1918, it is the story of a group of British officers, led by the mentally disintegrating young officer Stanhope (Sam Claflin), variously awaiting their fate.

FIRST PHOTOS FROM THE SETS OF PERIOD SET MOVIES 'A STORM IN THE STARS' WITH ELLE FANNING, DOUGLAS BOOTH, BEN HARDY & 'VICEROY'S HOUSE' WITH HUGH BONNEVILLE, MANISH DAYAL, GILLIAN ANDERSON

'A STORM IN THE STARS' PICS

DOUGLAS BOOTH & ELLE FANNING

To end up our weekend (which created quite a buzz around the net, thank you very much) of photo reports from the sets of new period set movies, two more this Monday, starting with the pictures coming from the production of Haifaa Al Mansour's A STORM IN THE STARS historical drama starring teen stars Douglas Booth and Elle Fanning.

THE GREAT ROMANTIC POETS
The story of the period set drama movie brings the details of the love affair between 18-year-old Mary Godwin and legendary Romantic poet Percy Shelley, which resulted in Mary Shelley writing her famous horror novel Frankenstein. Elle Fanning plays Mary Shelley, Douglas Booth is poetical genius Percy Bysshe Shelley, while Bel Powley appears as Mary’s sister Claire Clairmon! Tom Sturridge portrays another great poet Lord Byron with Ben Hardy playing English writer John William Polidori and Hugh O'Connor is Samuel Taylor Coleridge!

1ST 'VICEROY'S HOUSE' PHOTO

WITH HUGH BONNEVILLE, MANISH DAYAL, GILLIAN ANDERSON

First, massive photo has been released for a moving political drama VICEROY'S HOUSE about the Partition of India set in the upstairs/downstairs world of Viceroy’s House, the Delhi home of Lord Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville), the last Viceroy of India.Our beloved Manish Dayal (right behind Hugh) also stars and Gillian Anderson will try to redeem herself after that appalling, fully amateurish performance in War And Peace.

BEST DRESSED AT OSCARS 2016! BEN HARDY JOINS DOUGLAS BOOTH, ELLE FANNING IN 'STORM IN THE STARS' PERCY SHELLEY MOVIE! 'LOUDER THAN BOMBS' TRAILER WITH GABRIEL BYRNE, JESSE EISENBERG, ISABELLE HUPPERT

'THE STORM IN THE STARS'

BEN HARDY JOINS DOUGLAS BOOTH AND ELLE FANNING IN THE CAST

A bit of Oscars, a bit of indie movies today, starting with the info on young Ben Hardy (Angel in X MEN: APOCALYPSE) joining the ensemble cast of Haifaa Mansour's drama THE STORM IN THE STARS! Douglas Booth is portraying a famous Romantic poet in this big screen dramatization of the love affair between poet Percy Shelley and 18-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft — who will later on become famous Mary Shelley that wrote legendary novel 'Frankenstein'! Elle Fanning is taking the lead female role, with Bel Powley also in the cast.

OSCARS 2016 RED CARPET

THE BEST DRESSED STARS
Yep, I agree with you, people, Oscars 2016 were probably the worst I ever remember . Almost all of them went to wrong hands. And fashion didn't vow us either. Who were your red carpet faves? I wasn't impressed by anyone, but I think Lady Gaga (you can see a lighter version of her outfit below at Vanity Fair party), Cate Blanchett in her flowery Armani gown, beautifully pregnant Crissy Tiegen, Saoirse Ronan in emerald green as her Ireland, and Sofia Vergara stood out.

'LOUDER THAN BOMBS' TRAILER

STARRING GABRIEL BYRNE AND JESSE EISENBERG

Our Monday trailer is the first one for festival movie from Joachim Trier LOUDER THAN BOMBS which follows Gene (Gabriel Byrne) and his sons Jonah and Conrad (Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid) two years after the death of their wife and mother Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert), an internationally celebrated photographer. As Gene takes the first steps toward a new relationship, Jonah has just had a baby of his own. Meanwhile, Conrad is a typically alienated teenager.

SF SATURDAY: SAM REID, MICHIEL HUISMAN IN '2:22' SF ROMANCE, ELLE FANNING, DIEGO LUNA IN 'IO' SF EPIC! 'DARKMOUTH' AND 'DESCENDER' SF BOOKS GET MOVIE ADAPTATIONS

'2:22' SF ROMANCE WITH

 SAM REID AND MICHIEL HUISMAN

Two new sf projects are looming over the horizon: first, new romantic sf thriller 2:22 will star shooting this year in Australia with charismatic Sam Reid joining Michiel Huisman (Game Of Thrones) and Teresa Palmer! Huisman will be Dylan Branson, a man whose life is permanently derailed when an ominous pattern of events repeats itself in exactly the same manner every day, ending at precisely 2:22 PM. When he falls for Sarah (Teresa Palmer), a beautiful woman whose life is threatened by these strange events, Dylan must solve the mystery to preserve a love whose second chance has finally come. Sam Reid will play the rival love interest.

ELLE FANNING IN 'IO' SF FILM
The second sf project also has a very short title IO and will star Elle Fanning as a teen surviving as one of the last people on an abandoned post cataclysmic Earth, who is racing to find a cure for her poisoned home world before the last shuttle off the planet to the distant human space colony leaves her stranded. Diego Luna will play a complicated and mysterious refugee on his way to the shuttle launch who makes her question whether she can really alter Earth’s fate. Clay Jeter is directing.

NEW BOOK ADAPTATIONS

DARKMOUTH SF ADVENTURE
Two pieces of into on new big screen adaptations for you today, starting with DARKMOUTH an upcoming series of comedic fantasy adventure novels written by Irish author Shane Hegarty out this April! The story is set in the last town on Earth where monsters (known as Legends) still invade. Finn, the 12-year-old son of the last remaining Legend Hunter, must follow in his father’s footsteps and prepare for an epic battle to defeat the Legends as their terrifying leader plans a major attack on Earth. Unfortunately, Finn is one of the worst Legend Hunters in history.
'DESCENDER' SPACE OPERA
Meanwhile, Sony will adapt forthcoming sf comic book DESCENDER from Jeff Lemire, a sprawling space opera describing cosmic odyssey about a little boy looking for home in a universe that fears him. The incredibly lifelike artificial boy, TIM-21, may hold the secrets deep in his machine DNA to the origin of robots that have decimated entire planets. As a result, he is the most wanted robot in the universe. Before long the entire galaxy is looking for TIM-21 and his rag-tag group of unlikely companions, as they make their way from one exotic planet to the next with new foes advancing on them at every turn.