Really could not imagine a better director for it: as Variety reports, Stephen Frears is set to direct THE ANARCHY epic series, an adaptation of William Dalrymple's book “The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company”, a historical epic which chronicles how back in the 18th century the East India Company, described as a dangerously unregulated start-up operating from a small London office, executed the takeover of the entire Indian subcontinent, which at the time constituted more than one-fourth of the world’s GDP. The series will be shot in UK and Asia for Wiip global studios.
Channel 4 will release it sometime this year, but we have the first trailer from their two part mini series BRIAN AND MARGARET by Stephen Frears, which features Steve Coogan as Brian Walden, the much feared inquisitor and Harriet Walter as prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The series is based on Rob Burley’s book Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?: Searching for the Truth on Political TV.
THE STORY OF THE SERIES IS SET
in
1989. When Brian and Margaret came together for their last ever TV
interview, little did they know they were about to embark on one of the
most famous political exchanges of all time. The 45-minute showdown
became a national talking point and set in train a series of events that
ended with Margaret’s resignation. Afterwards, they never spoke again…
Channel 4 will release it sometime next year, but we have the first images from their two part mini series BRIAN AND MARGARET by Stephen Frears, which features Steve Coogan as Brian Walden, the much feared inquisitor and Harriet Walter as prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The series is based on Rob Burley’s book Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?: Searching for the Truth on Political TV.
THE STORY OF THE SERIES IS SET
in
1989. When Brian and Margaret came together for their last ever TV
interview, little did they know they were about to embark on one of the
most famous political exchanges of all time. The 45-minute showdown
became a national talking point and set in train a series of events that
ended with Margaret’s resignation. Afterwards, they never spoke again…
It will start its rule March 3rd, but after the teaser earlier in December Max has now given us the first full trailer for their new mini series THE REGIME which tells the story of one year within the walls of the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel. With the power being in the hands of Kate Winslet as madam chancellor, Matthias Schoenaerts plays her trusted and devoted and obviously psychotic chief of security, with Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton and Hugh Grant also in the cast! The six episode series was directed by legendary movie director and film maker from United Kingdom Stephen Frears. As the slogan of the series says - her love knows no mercy! Check out the trailer below:
It will start its rule March 3rd, but Max has given us the trailer for their new mini series THE REGIME which tells the story of one year within the walls of the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel. With the power being in the hands of Kate Winslet as madam chancellor, Matthias Schoenaerts plays her trusted and devoted and obviously psychotic chief of security, with Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton and Hugh Grant also in the cast! The six episode series was directed by Stephen Frears.
Although
it was the best viewed debut series on Epix in 2021, the wait for
DOMINA series season two will be long as it will start shooting in early
2023 with airing planned for the end of the next year. The series that
sees Kasia Smutniak playing Livia Drusilla who helped her husband Gaius
Julius Caesar (Matthew McNulty) reach and hold onto the imperial throne
of Ancient Rome, will see most of the old cast returning and we can
probably expect new cast announcements this Autumn. Season two will
plunge us back into the intrigue and corruption of ancient Rome, as the
indomitable Livia Drusilla fights to maintain her position in a world in
which the quest for power is pursued at any cost. This time Livia’s
hands will get very dirty, and the price will be higher than even she
can imagine.
THE LOST KING TRAILER
FOR NEW STEPHEN FREARS FILM
The film is out this October
After I thank you all spylings for helping us cross our 9,000,000th visitor last week, I will treat you for your help in achieving such a high number of page hits with the first poster for THE LOST KING, the latest movie drama from famous Stephen Frears who gave us Philomena, The Queen and Dangerous Liaisons. Out this October it stars Sally Hawkins, Harry Lloyd and Steve Coogan.
In 2012, having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King
Richard III were discovered beneath a carpark in Leicester. The search
had been orchestrated by an amateur historian, Philippa Langley, whose
unrelenting research had been met with incomprehension by her friends
and family and with scepticism by experts and academics. THE LOST KING
is the life-affirming true story of a woman who refused to be ignored
and who took on the country's most eminent historians, forcing them to
think again about one of the most controversial kings in England's
history. You can also check out the first trailer below!
Although she did star in a number of TV series now, I don't think we've ever seen Cate Blanchett on BBC before, but there is first time for
Blanchett will be pious Lady Marchmain
everything: she and Ralph Fiennes will lead the cast of BRIDESHEAD REVISITED mini series, but, sadly, the lead will go to Andrew Garfield (what a wildly dull casting choice). The adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel will be directed by Call Me By Your Name's Luca Guadagnino for Mammoth Screen. As Daily Mail reveals, it tells the story of Ryder (Garfield) and his friendship with aristocratic family, the Flytes (Fiennes and Blanchett), who live in the palatial Brideshead Castle.
Ryder has relationships with two of the Flytes: Sebastian (to be played by Joe Alwyn), who he befriends at Oxford University, and Julia (Rooney Mara), as the 1945 book explores themes of
Fiennes will be Lord Marchmain, Alwyn his son Sebastian
aristocratic nostalgia, Catholicism, and homosexuality. HBO will air the series in USA, apparently. The producers are currently casting other roles as well so that the shooting could start next spring in United Kingdom and also in Venice.
THE LOST KING MOVIE
TO SEARCH FOR RICHARD III
Speaking of Brits, Stephen Frears is set to direct Steve Coogan (again after Philomena) in British comedy movie THE LOST KING which Coogan also wrote inspired by the remarkable 2012 true story of finding Brit monarch King Richard III’s remains under a Leicester car park. As Deadline reports, Coogan will co-star in the Pathe's film as the husband of Philippa
The search is on for the lead actress in the movie
Langley, the woman who undertook the search for King Richard’s remains, which had been lost for more than 500 years. The movie will put a spotlight on Langley, whose obsessive search was derided by many. In 2012, she led the charge to exhume Richard’s skeleton, which she believed to be under a car park in the UK city of Leicester. In the global media circus that followed the discovery, Langley’s role was often overlooked.
We're sticking to the British waters today, starting with casting updates on THE FORGIVEN a John Michael McDonagh’s big screen adaptation of the best selling novel by Lawrence Osborne! To star Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Mark Strong and Said Taghmaoui, it will describe the
Mark Strong and Ralph Fiennes will lead the cast of The Forgiven.
dramatic fallout following a random accident on the lives of an English couple (played by Fiennes and Hall), their friends and the local Moroccans who all converge on a luxurious desert villa during a decadent weekend-long party.
'A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL'
TRAILER WITH HUGH GRANT & BEN WHISHAW AS HIS LOVER
BBC has released last weekend the first trailer from their new period set series A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL which will air May 20th
Famous Stephen Frears is directing the mini series
this year in three episodes and will also be aired by Amazon in USA directed by amazing Stephen Frears.
It is the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been decriminalised
and Jeremy Thorpe (Hugh Grant), the leader of the Liberal party and the
youngest leader of any British political party in a hundred years, has a
secret he's desperate to hide. As long as his ex-lover Norman Scott
(Ben Whishaw) is around, Thorpe's brilliant career is at risk. Thorpe
schemes and deceives - until he can see only one way to silence Scott
for good. The trial of Jeremy Thorpe changed society forever,
illuminating
The series was directed by legendary Stephen Frears!
the darkest secrets of the Establishment. The Thorpe affair
revealed such breath-taking deceit and corruption that, at the time,
hardly anyone dared
believe it could be true.Over in USA the series will start airing on Amazon Prime from June 29th! Check out the trailer below!
Yesterday we had Leopold II of Belgium, and today here's another shamelessly ruthless tyrant that hoarded undeserved wealth by exploiting and enslaving the brutally oppressed people in the humiliated colonies. British queen Victoria in VICTORIA AND ABDUL, a new period set drama coming from director Stephen Frears (Queen, Philomena, Dangerous Liaisons) with Dame Judi Dench playing the queen for the second time, twenty years after she played the greedy monarch in Mrs. Brown. The movie should arrive in theatres around Europe, Australia and America mid September.
A MOST UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP The movie tells the extraordinary true story of an unexpected
friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria’s long rule. When Abdul
Karim, a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen’s
Judi Dench is actually much older than Victoria was when she died
Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favour with the Queen herself.
As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the
two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another
Dench also played queen Elizabeth on the big screens
that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the
friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new
eyes!
HUNDREDS OF COSTUMES
The movie was shot in Scotland and England
Bollywood actor, whom you've seen in Furious 7, Ali Fazal takes the second lead role alongside Dame Judi, as the Indian clerk Abdul. Eddie Izzard joins the cast as Bertie, Prince of Wales who disapproved of the relationship and tried to drive Karim out of the Royal Household. Also joining the cast are Tim Pigott Smith as Sir Henry Ponsonby (it was his last role), Michael Gambon as Lord Salisbury, Olivia Williams as Baroness Churchill and others. Oscar nominee, costume designer Consolata Boyle had prepared more than 600 colourful costumes for Abdul, out of which only the best ones were chosen for the actual shooting to depict
Frears and Dench already worked together on Philomena
the fashion of the 19th century, while Victoria's wardrobe was even more numerous in items and richness. It took many months for the costumes to be prepared. When Abdul, after studying the etiquette for many months, arrived to English court, because the snobbish monarch
The movie was based on Shrabani Basu's book
was curious about her subjects in India as one might be about some exotic pets, he was actually made to kiss her feet, but later on he became her official clerk and trusted confidante.
Two British movie trailers for you today, first a delightful one for PADDINGTON 2 a sequel to the 2014 hit movie which now boasts an exquisitely strong thespian cast with Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Imelda Staunton, Julie Walters, Brendan Gleeson, Sally Hawkins, Jim Broadbent and Ben Whishaw! It is out November in Europe, January 2018 in USA.
PADDINGTONis happily settled with the Brown family in Windsor
Gardens, where he has become a popular member of the community,
spreading joy and marmalade wherever he goes. While searching for the
Julie Walters plays crazy aunt Lucy
perfect present for his beloved Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, Paddington
spots a unique pop-up book in Mr. Gruber's antique shop, and embarks
upon a series of odd jobs to buy it. But when the book is stolen, it's
up to Paddington and the Browns to unmask the thief.
'VICTORIA AND ABDUL' TRAILER
JUDI DENCH GOES ROYAL AGAIN
There is also a rather nice first trailer for September historical drama VICTORIA AND ABDUL in which Judi Dench plays one of English queens for the fourth or fifth time, methinks. Directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) it also stars Olivia Williams and Michael Gambon.
MOST UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later
years of Queen Victoria’s (Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul
Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in
the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favour with the
Judi Dench first played Victoria exactly 20 years ago in Mrs Brown
Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held
position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty
to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to
destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing
world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.
Believe it or not, dame Judi Dench will play Queen Victoria again after MRS. BROWN! She will play her in Stephen Frears' BBC Films' movie VICTORIA AND ABDUL, the true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of her dark and violent rule. When Abdul Karim, a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favour with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.
STEVEN LUND JOINS
'REIGN' EPIC SEASON FOUR Meanwhile, over at CW they've continuing casting for the fourth
season of their REIGN epic series about Mary Queen of Scots which will,
now, be set on three courts, the one in Scotland, Elizabeth's in London
and the one in France. I've told you that one of the new male roles will
be the role of lord Narcisse's (Craig Parker) son and it just went to
Steven Lund. He will be Luc, a sexy, highborn rogue who is also a plain
speaking realist. He’s a good guy who happens to have a morally
compromised and very powerful father: Lord Stephan Narcisse. But he is his own man, eyeing his own future, even as his
father pressures him to make lasting and permanent inroads with the
French royal family. Specifically, Narcisse wants his son at Princess
Claude’s (Rose Williams) side. His arrival will complicate Claude’s life
in ways she could never have imagined!
'ANTHROPOID' WW2 TRAILER
JAMIE DORNAN & CILLIAN MURPHY
Your trailer for the end of the week comes from World War 2 action thriller ANTHROPOID which arrives into cinemas this August starring Jamie Dornan, Harry Lloyd and Cillian Murphy! Based on the extraordinary true story of Operation Anthropoid, the WWII mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the main architect behind the Final Solution and the Reich's third in command after Hitler and Himmler.
Now, here's something we really want to see this year and the premiere is really close since it opens up in British cinemas this May (August in USA, summer in most of Europe)! FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS in which Meryl Streep plays the worst opera singer in history who wasn't aware of her utter lack of talent.
WORLD'S WORST SINGER Directed by Stephen Frears (THE QUEEN, PHILOMENA) this true
life story follows FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS, a wealthy woman from the
beginning of the 20th century New York high
society who used her relationships and her fortune to become an opera
singer. But the problem was that she had the worst voice ever. The voice
she heard in her head was
beautiful, but to everyone else it was hilariously awful. Hugh Grant plays
St Clair Bayfield, an aristocratic English actor and her trusted
manager and best friend who was determined to protect his beloved
Florence from the
truth, and Rebecca Ferguson is his long suffering wife. BING BANG THEORY's Simon Helberg
is Florence's pianist. The movie tells her story through to her 1944
Carnegie Hall concert
which sold some 3,000 tickets, but she died a month later. Jenkins
handled distribution of the popular tickets herself, in order to exclude
professional critics from attending her performances. She also designed
all of her wonderfully campy and gorgeously outrageous costumes!
century the East India Company, described as a dangerously unregulated start-up operating from a small London office, executed the takeover of the entire Indian subcontinent, which at the time constituted more than one-fourth of the world’s GDP. The series will be shot in UK and Asia for Wiip global studios. 
century the East India Company, described as a dangerously unregulated start-up operating from a small London office, executed the takeover of the entire Indian subcontinent, which at the time constituted more than one-fourth of the world’s GDP. The series will be shot in UK and Asia for Wiip global studios. 
