STEFANIE MARTINI IS YOUNG HELEN MIRREN IN 'PRIME SUSPECT' TV PREQUEL! 1ST 'KEEPING UP APPEARANCES' TV PREQUEL SPECIAL PHOTOS! NEW 'MAGNIFICENT SEVEN' TRAILER WITH CHRIS PRATT, DENZEL WASHINGTON, ETHAN HAWKE

 'PRIME SUSPECT' PREQUEL

STEFANIE MARTINI & SAM REID

We're going British today, people, and first off news coming from the sequel or prequel of Helen Mirren's popular TV series PRIME SUSPECT in which she played police officer Jane Tennison for almost ten years. ITV is preparing a prequel series TENNISON in which lovely Stefanie Martini, whom we loved this spring as the star of DOCTOR THORNE, will play the young Tennison. Our equally beloved Sam Reid (Hatfields and McCoys, Belle) and Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners) will also star in the six episode series as her superiors. The story portrays the young Tennison at the beginning of her career, revealing how and why she became such a complex and formidable character in the Metropolitan Police. We shall also watch Martini in Tarsem's EMERALD CITY TV series next year.

 'KEEPING UP APPEARANCES' 

PREQUEL TV SPECIAL PHOTOS
Meanwhile, BBC has revealed the first photos for another prequel to an all time classic - for their TV movie special on legendary TV sitcom KEEPING UP APPEARANCES which will air probably in the festive season. This time Kerry Howard will play the young Hyacinth Bucket who was originally so utterly masterfully played by beloved Patricia Routledge! One of Europe's favourite sitcom's followed the snobbish Hyacinth whose opinion of her own standing in the society, much higher than it ever should've been, kept her getting involved in all kinds of hilarious every day situations. The one hour special follows Hyacinth as a young maid in the 1950s, as she attempts to prove that she's better than her lower-class family. Katie Redford, Katherine Pearce, Mark Addy, Kerry Howard and Tamla Kari also star in the prequel.

 'THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN' 

SECOND TRAILER IS HERE!

Sony has released today the second trailer for yet another remake, this time for famous western classic THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN which will bang its way into cinemas at the end of September.

With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns - played by Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia Rulfo and Martin Sensmeier. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money!

NEW DRAMA SUNDAY: WW2 'COME WHAT MAY' WITH MATTHEW RHYS, 'THE HOLLARS' WITH JOHN KRASINSKI, ANNA KENDRICK, 'FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE' WITH DIANNE WIEST, DAVID OYELOWO

  'COME WHAT MAY' 

WW2 MATTHEW RHYS DRAMA

I've a number of new drama movies to show you today, people, beginning with new World War II drama COME WHAT MAY which arrives to cinemas this September starring Matthew Rhys! 

May 1940. To escape the imminent German invasion, the inhabitants of a small village in northern France flee their homes, like so many millions of their compatriots. Max, a German boy, travels with them. His father, Hans, opposed the Nazi regime and was imprisoned in Arras for having lied about his nationality. Hans is eventually set free and sets off to find his son, accompanied by a Scottish soldier who is trying to get back home.

  'FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE' 

DIANNE WIEST & DAVID OYELOWO

Another drama arriving to us, a bit sooner as it will grace the cinemas around you this August, FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE boasts a cast lead by Dianne Wiest and David Oyelowo. 

The touching drama sees Oyelowo playing a young African American man, reeling from the tragic loss of his wife, who travels to rural Maine to seek answers from his estranged mother-in-law, played  by Wiest, who is herself confronting guilt and grief over her daughter's death.

  'THE HOLLARS' 

 JOHN KRASINSKI STELLAR DRAMA

The last one for today arrives to cinemas late August and it is the directorial effort of our beloved John Krasinski who also takes the lead role in THE HOLLARS as an aspiring NYC artist John Hollar who returns to his middle America hometown on the eve of his mother's brain surgery. Joined by his girlfriend, eight months pregnant with their first child, John is forced to navigate the crazy world he left behind as his dysfunctional family, high school pals, and over-eager ex flood back into his life ahead of his mother's operation.  Sharlto Copley, Anna Kendrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Charlie Day, Richard Jenkins and Josh Groban are just some of the well known names and faces that round up the stellar cast around Krasinski.

NEW COMIC CON PHOTOS OF TOM HIDDLESTON FROM 'KING KONG: SKULL ISLAND' AND BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IN 'DOCTOR STRANGE'

  TOM HIDDLESTON 

 IN THE FIRST 'KING KONG: SKULL ISLAND' PHOTO

Some Comic Con photos that I forgot to show you yesterday, starting with the first one from KING KONG: SKULL ISLAND showing Tom Hiddleston in front of a very big skull, since it has been confirmed that the ape will be bigger in this movie than ever before, more than 30m tall! Brie Larson and John Goodman also go on an expedition with Hiddles after a satellite shot reveals an unknown island in the 70s! The Kong is back next March!

  BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH 

NEW 'DOCTOR STRANGE' PHOTO

There is also a new promo poster for Benedict Cumberbatch's DOCTOR STRANGE in which he plays the famous man of magical powers from the comic books. Out next November it will also see Mads Mikkelsen as villain Kaecilius with Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Rachel McAdams as the Night Nurse!

NEW 'STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE' POSTER IS HERE! NEW 'WONDER WOMAN' GAL GADOT, CHRIS PINE AND 'THE DARK TOWER' IDRIS ELBA, MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY PHOTOS

 'WONDER WOMAN' 

 NEW PHOTOS REVEALED!

Photos from Comic Con are arriving big time, people, and we have a bunch of them today from EW! First of WONDER WOMAN which will ride into cinemas earlier than expected - June 2nd, 2017! The freshly released new photos show Gal Gadot in her stunning costumes and also next to Chris Pine who plays Colonel Steve Trevor, her love interest in the movie.

PRINCESS OF AMAZONS
Diana, princess of the Amazons, was raised on a sheltered island and trained to be an unconquerable fighter. After an American pilot (Steve Trevor) crashes on the island and tells her about a world war that is happening, Diana leaves her home to try to stop the war. As you know Connie Nielsen will be Amazonian Queen Hippolyta, a revolutionary leader, who struggles to shelter her only daughter from the outside world. Robin Wright is Antiope, who trains Wonder Woman to fight preparing her to deal with that world. Lisa Loven Kongsli is Antiope's lieutenant, Menalippe! The movie will have three settings with the second part of the movie set in War World One London, and the third part in modern days.

 'THE DARK TOWER' 1ST PHOTOS

 WITH MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY AND IDRIS ELBA

EW has also uncovered new photos from the greatly anticipated Stephen King movie adaptation of THE DARK TOWER featuring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba which is still under production. Idris Elba plays Roland Deschain, also known as The Gunslinger who crosses paths with a teenage boy named Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), who lives in our world and possesses a powerful psychic gift known as The Shine. The Man in Black, played by Matthew McConaughey, (on his quest to find and destroy THE DARK TOWER which serves as a hub at the centre of many dimensions) wants to exploit this power to find new worlds to destroy, with Roland finding new purpose in protecting this boy!

 'STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE' 

 GETS A TROPICAL NEW POSTER

Meanwhile, Disney has released a new poster today for this year's biggest sf movie STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE which features Stormtroopers and Rebels fighting under the Death Star on the exotic planet of Jedha - a pilgrimage place for people with faith in the Force! The movie will follow Rebels trying to steal the plans of Death Star.

1ST JUDE LAW PHOTO FROM 'KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD'! STAR STUDDED 'RULES DON'T APPLY' TRAILER WITH LILY COLLINS, ALDEN EHRENREICH, WARREN BEATTY!

1ST JUDE LAW PHOTO

FROM 'KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD' MOVIE

Now, here's a delight for you: EW has revealed in their latest issue the first look of Jude Law as the villain in KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD which is out next spring, telling a new story of Arthur. Jude Law plays his tyrannical uncle Vortigern who, as the murderer of his brother and Arthur’s dad Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana) and the usurper of the throne, has done more than enough to earn his nephew’s wrath, but backing him is a set of deadly magical powers that give him the upper hand. As you know, from our massive spotlight, Charlie Hunnam plays the lead role.

'RULES DON'T APPLY' TRAILER

WITH LILY COLLINS, WARREN BEATTY AND ALDEN EHRENREICH

Your trailer for today comes from Warren Beatty star studded film RULES DON'T APPLY set in Hollywood, 1958. Small-town beauty queen and devout Baptist virgin Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins), under contract to the infamous Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty), arrives in Los Angeles. At the airport, she meets her driver Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich), who is engaged to be married and is a deeply religious Methodist. Their instant attraction not only puts their religious convictions to the test but also defies Hughes’ No. 1 rule: No employee is allowed to have any relationship whatsoever with a contract actress. Hughes’ behaviour intersects with Marla and Frank in very separate and unexpected ways, and as they are drawn deeper into his bizarre world, their values are challenged and their lives are changed. Matthew Broderick, Annette Bening, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Candice Bergen, Ed Harris, Steve Coogan and Oliver Platt also star.

'LA LA LAND' MUSICAL MOVIE TEASER WITH EMMA STONE, RYAN GOSLING! ALYSSA SUTHERLAND JOINS STEPHEN KING'S 'THE MIST' TV SERIES ADAPTATION

ALYSSA SUTHERLAND JOINS

'THE MIST' TV ADAPTATION

In TV news, Spike has announced that Vikings' star Alyssa Sutherland has joined their TV series adaptation of Stephen King's THE MIST about a foreboding mist that arrives in a small town ushering in a terrifying new reality for its residents, putting their humanity to the test. What will people do to survive when blinded by fear?

Alyssa Sutherland will play Eve Cunningham, a wife and mother who fights to protect her teenage daughter from unknown dangers lurking both inside and outside the mist while facing down her past. Frances Conroy will play Nathalie, a modern day ecological martyr.

'LA LA LAND' TEASER

FOR EMMA STONE AND RYAN GOSLING MUSICAL MOVIE

The first interesting movie clip to be released this week is for musical movie LA LA LAND out this December starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. He is Sebastian, a dedicated jazz musician who struggles to cope with life in Los Angeles. Emma Stone is his girlfriend, the aspiring actress Mia. Together, they attempt to crave a niche out for themselves in Hollywood while the pressures of making it big weigh down on their blossoming relationship. Will they make it in the big city? Or will Tinsletown crumble their dreams, aspirations and their love for one another? Josh Pence and John Legend also star! As you can hear in the song from the trailer, Gosling is no Ewan McGregor that's for sure!

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.

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.

FIRST PHOTOS FROM THE SETS OF PERIOD SET VICTORIAN MYSTERY MOVIE 'MY COUSIN RACHEL' WITH SAM CLAFLIN, RACHEL WEISZ, IAIN GLEN, HOLLIDAY GRAINGER

1ST 'MY COUSIN RACHEL' PHOTOS

WITH RACHEL WEISZ AND SAM CLAFLIN AND IAIN GLEN

We are continuing our weekend of photo reports from the sets of upcoming period set drama movies, today, with new pictures taken from the production of Roger Michell's (Notting Hill) big screen adaptation of MY COUSIN RACHEL, the famous Daphne Du Maurier classic novel! The first photos from the sets in England and Italy reveal a glimpse of what you may expect to see from the costumes, gowns, hats and suits, when cousin Rachel's comes a knocking to your cinema sometime next year.

A GOTHIC MYSTERY
With one of the most delightful casts we've seen in a long time lead by Rachel Weisz, Sam Claflin, Iain Glen and Holliday Grainger, this gothic romance will see our dearest Samwise playing a young Englishman called Philip who inherits his guardian's estate and manor in Cornwall. Philip soon finds himself falling for his mysterious, beautiful and beguiling cousin Rachel (yes, Rachel Weisz plays her), but his feelings are complicated when evidence suggests that she murdered Philip's guardian and is only showing an interest in Philip to steal his inheritance.

DID YOU KNOW?

Probably the most famous adaptation of the mistress of suspense Daphne Du Maurier's book (whose other famous books include Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, which both have their own adaptations) was the one from 1952 starring Richard Burton and Olivia de Havilland! Although Daphne got the title of Dame from the British Queen in the 60's, for her work, she did not tell about it to her children who had to learn about it from the newspapers :) She thought of acting ill and not going over to receive the honour from Her Majesty.

1ST 'EMPEROR' CHARLES V EPIC MOVIE PHOTOS WITH ADRIEN BRODY, RUTGER HAUER, TOMAS KRETSCHMANN, OLIVER PLATT, PAZ VEGA! 'POLDARK' GETS 3RD SEASON WITH AIDAN TURNER

1ST 'EMPEROR' EPIC PHOTOS

ADRIEN BRODY IS CHARLES V!

Since your trusted spy is one of web's leading places for epic and historical projects, here's one, with a fresh poster, that I have to announce and it is currently in production: Lee Tamahori's 16th century epic movie EMPEROR, set for a next year release, will see Adrien Brody playing legendary Emperor Charles V, with Paz Vega as Queen Mary of Hungary, Oliver Platt as Pope Clement VII, Bill Skarsgard as Philip II of Spain, Eddie Marsan as Martin Luther, and with German superstar Thomas Kretschmann and movie legend Rutger Hauer also in the stellar cast!

LEE TAMAHORI'S EMPEROR 
 is an action epic about a young girl who seeks revenge on the holy Roman Emperor Charles V for the death of her father by infiltrating his royal court. It happens in a world of wealth, debauchery, violent retaliations, sex, manipulation and treason in which Charles V is trying to hold together a fragmented empire... it's the 16th century revisited!

DEZZY'S HISTORY LESSON

Charles V was a Duke of Burgundy and Holy Roman Emperor who ruled a massive Empire in which the sun never set including the Spanish Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Netherlands and extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia where he sanctioned the conquest by Castillian conquistadors of the Aztec and Inca empires. Although the four decades of his rule were marked by many wars (mostly against France, German princes and the Ottoman Sultan) in the end he abdicated in order to live and then die in a monastery instead on a battle field. 

BBC'S 'POLDARK' GETS 

 3RD SEASON WITH AIDAN TURNER

Meanwhile, while we're waiting for BBC to air, beginning of September in UK and end of it in USA, the 2nd season of popular period set series POLDARK, it has been announced that the 3rd has been ordered too! The 2nd season, starring Aidan Turner will be set in year 1794: Ross Poldark must traverse new family, new loves and new battles, as the French revolution casts a shadow over life in Cornwall. Eleanor Tomlinson returns as his wife Demelza!