PBS Masterpiece and BBC have announced new TV series adaptation of Henry James' classic novel THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY with Nell Tiger Free leading the cast as Isabel Archer, a vivacious New World ingénue who leaves America for Old World Europe, keen to experience all that life has to offer. A young woman with charm and an innate intellectual curiosity,
Gemma Arterton, Jim Sturgess, Hugh Skinner will star
Isabel rejects a series of marriage proposals, but when she inherits an unexpected fortune that promises to grant her freedom, she falls prey to two American ex-pat schemers: the elegant Madame Merle (Gemma Arterton), and the charming but calculating Gilbert Osmond (Jim Sturgess). Bill Nighy plays Mr. Touchett, who is enamored with Isabel’s youth and spirit and
Bill Nighy, Nell Tiger Free and Hamish Frew will also star
hopes to help her in her quest for freedom, while Miranda Richardson is Mrs. Touchett, Isabel’s fantastically eccentric aunt, who takes her to Europe in search of a husband. Jack Wolfe is Ralph Touchett, Hugh Skinner is Lord Warburton, Hamish Frew is Casper Goodwood, Thomas Coombes is Mr Bantling, Lydia Leonard is Countess Gemini and Edward Rosier will be played by Dean-Charles Chapman.
After the final season of The Newsreader, The Last Anniversary and the second season of Ten Pound Poms, the latest new series to come from Australia is MIX TAPE, a new original from their streamer Binge who will launch it June 12th. The four part mini series based on the popular novel by Jane Sanderson has the cast led by Teresa Palmer and Jim Sturgess starring as a couple who fell in love in the late 1980s and then reconnect decades later whilst on opposite sides of the world. Our dear Australian star Ben Lawson also stars as her husband.
THIS BRAND NEW ROMANTIC SERIES
follows
the passionate teenage romance of Daniel and Alison, and is as packed
with emotion as it is with beloved pop hits from the 80s. Having met in their hometown of
Sheffield in 1989, the pair fall hard and fast. But as we fast forward
to the current day, we find them living completely different lives with completely different partners on opposite sides of the globe. How did
they get there? And what happens when they reconnect through their
shared love of song? Will the old mix tape he gave her when they were
young rekindle the old flame? Check out the romantic trailer below:
Disney Plus has released first images from their new British original mini series THE STOLEN GIRL a small screen adaptation of the book The Playdate by Alex Dahl. The series tells the story of fascinating, relatable and complex women in an unimaginable situation. A seemingly ordinary decision turns the world of Elisa (Denise Gough), mum to two young kids, upside down in this tense thriller.
When her 9-year-old daughter Lucia excitedly asks to go on an overnight playdate with her new best friend Josie, Elisa agrees. After meeting Josie’s mother, Rebecca (Holliday Grainger), she’s put at ease by her charming nature and their impressive house. But when she says goodnight to her daughter, she has no idea that she is about to be thrust into every parent’s worst nightmare.
The next day, when Elisa goes to pick up Lucia, she discovers that the beautiful house is a holiday rental. Lucia is missing. Rebecca and Josie have vanished. What started out as her daughter’s first sleepover has turned into an abduction.
As an urgent manhunt unfolds across Europe, Elisa and her husband, Fred (Jim Sturgess), find themselves the object of police and public scrutiny. Elisa’s perfect family begins to unravel under the pressure, and long-buried secrets come to light. Rebecca took Lucia for a reason. And as viewers learn more about the tangled lives of these women, we will wonder if Rebecca was justified in kidnapping the little girl – and whether she might be better off staying hidden. The series will air sometime later this year also starring Bronagh Waugh and Michael Workeye. The series is not to be confused with All Her Fault which has a very similar plot and will star Sarah Snook over at Peacock.
Casting news today, beginning with the latest cast addition to the ultra stellar cast of BERLIN, I LOVE YOU! Young top model and actor Nolan Gerald Funk is joining the massive ensemble cast that includes Helen Mirren, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna, Orlando Bloom, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Sophie Turner, Jack Huston, Patrick Dempsey and Renee Zellweger. Just like all the previous movies from this movie series, this one will also feature a bunch of romantic short stories set in the capital of Germany. Each story has a different director among them some actors such as Til Schweigger and Diana Agron. The films already visited Paris, Rio and NY!
'TREMORS' SF SERIES
HUNTER PARRISH, SHILOH FERNANDEZ JOIN KEVIN BACON
Hunter Parrish is ready for some ground worms
Over on the telly, SyFy keeps on casting actors for their small screen adaptation of sf classic TREMORS which originally starred Kevin Bacon. The killer Graboid worms that nearly destroyed the town of Perfection 25 years ago are back, and the town’s only hope for survival is Valentine McKee (Kevin Bacon), who beat them once. But to do it again he’ll have to overcome age, alcohol and a delusional hero complex. P.J. Byrne will be a survivor of the original Graboid attack obsessed with reinventing Perfection! Hunter Parrish will play a magnetic leader of the Millenials who’ve moved to Perfection to soak in its unique spiritual energy. The cast will also include Ebonée Noel, Brandon Jay McLaren, Haley Tju, Emily Tremaine as Valentine's daughter, Megan Ketch as a doctor and Shiloh Fernandez!
Here's a fairy tale for you at the end of the week: 'Variety' reports that Luca Guadagnino (A Bigger Splash) will turn famous SWAN LAKE
Felicity Jones will turn into a swan
tale, upon which the famous classic ballet was based, into a big screen movie! And he already found his lead: apparently Felicity Jones is already attached to star, moving from Star Wars to a more refined setting.
A bidding war has, allegedly, started among several major studios a
few days ago when the project was brought onto the market. The story of
SWAN LAKE follows Odette, a princess that is turned into a swan by an
evil sorcerer’s curse and that plot is the basis of a movie which is
viewed as a possible tentpole project and which won't, actually, have
any ballet in itself.
NEW 'GEOSTORM' TRAILER
WILL COOL YOU DOWN!
Meanwhile, a crazy new trailer has been released for Gerard Butler's action movie GEOSTORM which hits cinemas this October directed by Dean Devlin! The cast also includes Abbie Cornish, Daniel Wu, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Amr Waked and Andy Garcia.
When the network of satellites designed to control the global climate
start to attack Earth, it's a race against the clock to uncover the
real threat before a worldwide GEOSTORM wipes out everything and
everyone.
AT CHRIS HEMSWORTH AND CATE BLANCHETT AS THOR AND HELA
Now here's a delicious or shall I say thorlicious treat for you today: the first look at THOR: RAGNAROK epic adventure from the cover of the brand new 'EW' offering the first images ofChris Hemsworth in the lead role of the Asgardian hero and Cate Blanchett as the main villainess Hela, Goddess of Death freed from a prison after a whole millennia and ready to wreck some galactic havoc! As you can see the Norse prince and hero has a brand new haircut too, ready to fight not only Hela, but also the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) when they find themselves on a desolate planet called Sakaar where he ends up as a gladiator thanks to Hela's revenge. He gets surrounded there by all sorts of people with super powers who can easily match his abilities. The cover also shows Tessa Thompson as Asgardian warrior Valkyrie controversially portrayed by a Black woman even though she's a blonde Viking. The movie will also feature Karl Urban as Skurge and Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
'GEOSTORM' TRAILER
GERARD BUTLER VS CHAOS
A whole set of natural catastrophes attacking different cities around the world clips have been released last night and you can see them all today together in the first trailer for GEOSTORM starring Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Daniel Wu, Ed Harris. It is out this October.
THE WORLD WILL BE DESTROYED After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the
planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network
of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But
now, something has gone wrong, the system built to protect the Earth is
attacking it, and it's a race against the clock to uncover the real
threat before a worldwide GEOSTORM wipes out everything... and everyone
along with it.
News coming from Hulu today for you, beginning with the newly announced pre–apocalyptic crime drama HARD SUN which they will produce in six episodes together with BBC!
Set in contemporary London, it centres on detectives Robert Hicks
(Jim Sturgess) and Elaine Renko (Agyness Deyn), partners and enemies who
seek to enforce the law and protect their loved ones in a world that
every day slips closer to certain destruction. Hicks is a family man and
a great, committed officer. He’s also profoundly corrupt. Renko is a
difficult and damaged, but utterly incorruptible officer. Thus, the two
cops stand on different ends of the social and moral spectrum and also
seriously distrust one other – and for good reason. But they must
somehow learn to work together if they’re going to survive until the end
of the world.
'THE HANDMAID'S TALE'SERIES
ALEXIS BLEDEL JOINS JOSEPH FIENNES IN THE CAST
Hulu has also cast Gilmore Girls star Alexis Bledel for their April 26th dystopian sf series THE HANDMAID'S TALE where she will play Ofglen, a pious rule follower, loyal to the oppressive Gilead system, who turns out to be daring and subversive.
DYSTOPIA OF GILEAD The adaptation of Margaret Atwood novel is the story of life in the
dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what formerly was part of
the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism regime that
treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining
fertile women, Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander’s
(Joseph Fiennes) household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual
servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world.
Two period set series for you, spylings, coming to us at BBC before the end of the year, both describing the tough times of World War 2! Premiering November 14th at BBC 2 CLOSE TO THE ENEMY will have seven episodes set in a bomb damaged London hotel in the aftermath of the Second World War. Jim Sturgess, Alfred Molina and Alfie Allen lead the cast!
CLOSE TO THE ENEMY follows intelligence officer Captain Callum Ferguson (Jim Sturgess), whose last task for the Army is to ensure that a captured German scientist, Dieter (August Diehl),
starts working for the British RAF on urgently developing the Jet
engine. Callum uses unorthodox methods in his attempt to convince Dieter
to work with the British and eventually a friendship develops between
the two men, but soon tensions arise.
Over the course of the series, Callum encounters a number of other
characters whose stories all intertwine. These characters include Victor
(Freddie Highmore), Callum’s younger brother, struggling to deal with psychological trauma caused by his experience in the fighting; Harold (Alfred Molina), a Foreign Office official who reveals some startling truths about the outbreak of the war; Rachel (Charlotte Riley), an Anglophile American married to his best friend, and Kathy (Phoebe Fox),
a tough, young woman working for the War Crimes Unit, fighting to bring
war criminals who have escaped prosecution to justice. All these
characters are trying to rebuild and move their lives forward in the
aftermath of the war, a war that scarred them all so deeply.
'MY MOTHER AND OTHER STRANGERS' TV SERIES
FAMILY, LOVE AND WAR!
Starting next Sunday on BBC One after the shocking finale of Poldark is another World War 2 series MY MOTHER AND OTHER STRANGERS consisting of five hourlong episodes set in the Northern Ireland!
MY MOTHER AND OTHER
STRANGERS
written by Barry Devlin, who wrote legendary British classic series
Darling Buds of May with young Catherine Zeta jones, is set in the fictional village of Moybeg on the shores of
Lough Neagh during World War Two exploring the impact of a large United
States Army Air Force (USAAF) airfield on the neighbouring community. In
the focus are the Coyne family and their neighbours as they struggle to
maintain a normal life after the airfield with 4,000 service men and
women lands in the middle of their rural parish in 1943.
Hattie Morahan takes the lead role of Rose, who is torn between her husband Michael (Owen McDonnell) and charming US Air Force liaison officer Captain Dreyfuss (Aaron Staton)! The cast also includes Eileen O’Higgins, Des McAleer, Ryan McParland, Kerr Logan and
Charles Lawson!
Now here are most exciting news for you, spylings: as latest rumours from United Kingdom suggest, Game of Thrones star Kit Harington could go back to costume drama again (to which he is no stranger because he also starred in Pompei and Seventh Son) as the lead in BBC's new epic series
GUNPOWDER! He will also produce the three hour long episode mini
series on the 17th century Guy Fawkes from the famous gunpowder treason
in which he and his Catholic supporters were planning to set the
explosive powder under the House of Parliament and thus assassinate King
James I! The plot gave birth to the famous saying 'Remember, remember
the 5th of November, the gunpowder, treason and plot?' Michael Fassbender played the part in 2004. TV movie
'CLOSE TO THE ENEMY'
BBC WW2 JIM STURGESS DRAMA
Another period set drama coming from BBC and Acorn TV in USA, ready to air later this year is CLOSE TO THE ENEMY! Seven part series will star Jim Sturgess, Alfie Allen, Alfred Molina, Angela Bassett and Freddie Highmore in a story set in a bombed London hotel in the aftermath of WWII following intelligence officer Captain Callum Ferguson (Sturgess) whose last task for the Army is to ensure that a captured German scientist, Dieter urgently starts working for the British RAF to develop the jet engine. Callum uses unorthodox methods in his attempt to convince Dieter and the two form a friendship. But tensions soon arise, as all is not as it seems.
Beside the news that David Bowie's LABYRINTH is getting a reboot and that McG might direct new MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, other news comes from the TV world! FRIENDS' David Scwimmer and movie star Jim Sturgess will lead new AMC's series FEED THE BEAST!
Based on Danish series BANKEROT, the ten episode series will see the
two of them playing best friends, Tommy Moran (David Schwimmer), and
Dion Patras (Jim Sturgess), who take one last shot at their dream of
opening a restaurant. They push each other, welcome love into their
lives and overcome their demons. They also betray, backstab, manipulate
and coerce each other into the most dangerous situations imaginable!
'STILL STAR CROSSED'
GETS PILOT ORDER BY ABC Meanwhile, a project I've announced last year has been officially
ordered for a pilot by ABC! Shondaland and ABC will try to turn Melinda
Taub's bestselling book STILL STARCROSSED into potential TV series. As a
sort of a Romeo and Juliet sequel and set in 16th century Verona, it
picks up where Shakespeare’s story left off, charting the
treachery, palace intrigue and ill-fated romances of the Montagues and
Capulets in the wake of the young lovers’ tragic fate. In the book, to end the family feud,
Prince Escalus orders the most eligible Montague bachelor, Benvolio,
Romeo’s best friend, to marry Juliet’s older cousin, Capulet maid
Rosaline, the girl Romeo first loved.
NBC'S NEW TV COMEDIES
'CROWDED' & 'GOOD FORTUNE'
Beside moving THE CARMICHAEL SHOW and new sitcom CROWDED into Sunday evenings from March, NBC has also ordered a pilot for multicamera sitcom GOODFORTUNE an ensemble comedy that focuses on a hyper structured young woman whose life is upended when she starts taking advice from a mysterious fortune teller. CROWDED is also a multicamera sitcom: After 20 years of parenting, empty nesters Mike (PatrickWarburton) and Martina (Carrie Preston) are finally reclaiming their wild side. Yet when both of their two grown daughters unexpectedly move back in, and Mike’s parents scratch their plans to spend their golden years in Florida, their roost is full again.
From executive producer Sean Hayes, this new (and very timely) family comedy proves that life is crazy with a full house, especially the second time around.
I'm a bit late with this one, but then again it's never really too late to post anything on magically stunning Emily Blunt! After getting a Golden Globe nomination (her fifth in total) for her performance in INTO THE WOODS she might go into epic waters again since rumour has it that she might be the new villain in THE HUNTSMAN prequel to the SNOW WHITE, which has ditched Kristen Stewart and will focus on Chris Hemsworth's character's origins. This would also mean that Charlize Theron might not return as evil queen Ravenna either. Frank Darabont has left the director's chair last week due to creative differences with the studio, but it seems that Universal already has another helmer in mind. April 2016 is the release date! Emily is also wanted for CAPTAIN MARVEL!
'A LITTLE CHAOS' POSTER
GARDENING WITH KATE WINSLET Gorgeous first poster has been released for Alan Rickman's
directorial debut A LITTLE CHAOS which opens in cinemas this April! Kate
Winslet plays a female landscape gardener who is awarded the esteemed assignment to construct the grand gardens at
Versailles, a gilt-edged
position which thrusts her to the very centre of the court of King Louis
XIV. Matthias Schoenaerts is the rival gardener, while Rickman also
stars as the king himself!
'KIDNAPPING MR HEINEKEN'
TRAILER WITH ANTHONY HOPKINS, RYAN KWANTEN, SAM WORTHINGTON & JIM STURGESS
Meanwhile, your trailer for today is for a movie with an almost unbelievably charming cast: KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN in which dashing Australian superstars Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten and Jim Sturgess are trying to kidnap Anthony Hopkins! It is the inside story of the planning, execution, rousing aftermath and ultimate downfall of the kidnappers of beer tycoon Alfred "Freddy" Heineken, which resulted in the largest ransom ever paid for an individual. Opening this spring around Europe and in March in USA, the movie is directed by Daniel Alfredson!
