JONAH RENCK TO HELM 'IN THE GARDEN OF THE KING' MOVIE ON THE BUTCHER KING LEOPOLD II OF BELGIUM AND HIS ATROCITIES IN 19TH CENTURY KONGO

'IN THE GARDEN OF THE KING'

FILM ON KING LEOPOLD II's BRUTAL GENOCIDE IN KONGO

A dark topic today, but one that was long over due to be covered on the big screen, although it was somewhat mentioned in last year's Tarzan. As 'Deadline' reports, Jonah Renck is set to helm IN THE GARDEN OF THE KING movie about the genocide of the Congolese people by

The face of pure evil - Leopold II of Belgium

King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885 -1908. The story is told through the eyes of three protagonists, each living in different parts of the world in different eras: a present day Belgian aid worker; a Victorian shipping merchant and a colonial Congo girl warrior. Their fates are intertwined by their unexpected involvement in history’s greatest forgotten atrocity — the Belgian genocide in the Congo.

DEZZY'S HISTORY LESSON
The atrocities of Belgian king Leopold II have been largely hidden in Western world even though he was one of the greatest villains the world has ever seen who launched a shockingly brutal genocide of millions of black people after he conquered the Congo as his own colony in the 1880s! He also left millions of people maimed with their hands cut off if they failed to reach the daily rubber picking quota. Countless holes were dug out later on with dozens of thousands of severed limbs. His soldiers used to burn down whole villages, cutting of the heads and genitals of men and hanging women and children on the village palisades. The number of dead people in the exploited Congo was over ten million! That number bought Leopold's personal fortune which was estimated to be close to $500 million, a number that made him the richest man in the world of that time.

FELICITY JONES TO LEAD 'SWAN LAKE' FAIRY TALE MOVIE ADAPTATION! NEW 'GEOSTORM' TRAILER WITH GERARD BUTLER, JIM STURGESS, DANIEL WU, ED HARRIS

FELICITY JONES TO LEAD

'SWAN LAKE' MOVIE ADAPTATION

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.

BBC CASTS BILL NIGHY, MATTHEW GOODE, ELEANOR TOMLINSON, ED WESTWICK IN AGATHA CHRISTIE'S 'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE', ANGELA LANSBURY, EMILY WATSON, MICHAEL GAMBON FOR 'LITTLE WOMEN' MINI SERIES

'ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE' 

 BBC SETS STELLAR CAST FOR NEW AGATHA CHRISTIE SERIES

'Poldark' star Eleanor Tomlinson

While we're waiting to watch Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express movie with Judi Dench, BBC One will again grace us with some Agatha Christie this Christmas! After the huge success of And Then There Were None in 2015 and the absolute flop of the ghastly horrid and painfully unwatchable Witness for the Prosecution last year, they are now doing ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE which was published back in 1958, and the cast has been announced as well! It will include Bill Nighy and Catherine Keener in the lead roles, joined by Matthew

Matthew Good is no stranger to period set drama

Goode, Eleanor Tomlinson, Anthony Boyle, Ed Westwick, Luke Treadaway, and Alice Eve.

Christmas 1954. Wealthy philanthropist Rachel Argyll is murdered at her family estate Sunny Point.Her adopted son Jack Argyll, a young delinquent, is arrested for her murder. He vehemently protests his innocence. Eighteen months later, Dr Arthur Calgary, a scientist, walks onto the velvety lawns of Sunny Point claiming to have just returned from an expedition to the Arctic. Even more extraordinary is his claim to hold the alibi that can prove Jack’s innocence. But Jack died in prison before

Ed Westwick and  Alice Eve

the case could come to trial, and the Argyll family is reluctant to dig up the secrets of the past. Rachel’s widower Leo is about to remarry his secretary Gwenda and none of Rachel’s other adopted children Mary, Mickey, Tina or Hester, nor long standing housekeeper Kirsten, is

Anthony Boyle and Luke Treadaway

willing to reopen that most horrendous chapter of their lives. However, the shattering implications of Calgary’s story are too big to avoid; if he is telling the truth then the wrong person was arrested for Rachel’s murder. And if Jack was not the killer, then it must have been somebody else at Sunny Point.

'LITTLE WOMEN' BBC SERIES

ANGELA LANSBURY AND EMILY WATSON TO LEAD THE CAST

BBC's been busy today, also revealing the cast for another of their upcoming three part mini series, a new small screen adaptation of

Emily Watson will be the matriarch

Louisa May Alcott’s LITTLE WOMEN which will also air on PBS! Angela Lansbury has been cast as Aunt March, Emily Watson as Marmee, the matriarch of March family, and Michael Gambon as benevolent neighbour Mr Laurence. The March sisters will be played by Maya Hawke as willful and adventurous Jo; Willa Fitzgerald as eldest daughter Meg; Annes Elwy as Beth; and Kathryn Newton as youngest sister Amy. Jonah Hauer King will play Laurie Laurence, the charming boy next door.

Willa Fitzgerald, Annes Elwy and Jonah Hauer King

LITTLE WOMEN are set against the backdrop of the Civil War, and the story follows the four sisters on their journey from childhood to adulthood. With the help of their mother Marmee, while their father is away at war, the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from gender roles to sibling rivalry, first love, loss and marriage.

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON STEPHEN KING'S 'THE DARK TOWER' WITH MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, IDRIS ELBA! BRAND NEW POSTERS!

'THE DARK TOWER' 

STEPHEN KING FANTASY MOVIE

Dark Tower will rise this August

It certainly does not feel like it, due to poor marketing and tons of delays in the production, but the big screen adaptation of Stephen King's famous eight book fantasy saga THE DARK TOWER is just around the corner: it will storm European, Asian and American cinemas from August 3rd and then throughout the month. The $60 million fantasy adventure changed a number of lead stars and directors before finally settling on Nikolaj Arcel behind the helm and Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba as the lead duo in front of the cameras.

King got $20 million for movie rights

THEIR WAR IS COMING TO OUR WORLD 
Jake Chambers is an 11-year-old adventure seeker (Tom Taylor) who discovers clues about another dimension called Mid-World. Upon following the mystery, he is spirited away to Mid-World where he encounters a Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), who is on a quest to reach the DARK TOWER that resides in End-World and reach the nexus point between time and space that he hopes will save all existence from extinction by Hell. But with various monsters and a vicious

Christian Bale and Javier Bardem were in the run for Gunslinger role

sorcerer named Walter Padick, the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) hot on their trail, the unlikely duo find that their quest may be difficult to complete.

A TV SERIES COMING AS WELL

The project has been envisioned as three movies and two seasons of a TV series, following the release of the first film, a TV series set within the same continuity is scheduled to be released in 2018. Both Elba and Taylor are set to reprise their roles as Roland and Jake respectively.

King was inspired by Browning's poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came

Reportedly the series will potentially fill in the backstory to the film, being based on King's The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, and star a younger actor playing a young Roland. This, of course, depends on the success of the first movie this summer. 

BROMANCE TUESDAY: BEAUTIFUL TRAILERS FOR 'FINAL PORTRAIT' WITH GEOFFREY RUSH, ARMIE HAMMER AND 'GOD'S OWN COUNTRY' WITH JOSH O'CONNOR, ALEC SECAREANU

'THE FINAL PORTRAIT' TRAILER

STARRING GEOFFREY RUSH AND ARMIE HAMMER

Two drama trailers for you today, both depicting unusual male relationships in a very interesting way, starting with the first one for THE FINAL PORTRAIT which Stanley Tucci both wrote and

His "Pointing Man" was sold for ridiculous $126 million

directed, out August in UK and Germany.

Geoffrey Rush plays Swiss painter and sculptor Alberto Giacometti who, back in Paris, 1964, bumps into his old friend, the American critic, James Lord (Armie Hammer), and begs that he sits for a portrait because he has an interesting face. It'll just take a couple of days in his studio. Lord is flattered by the request and as the days go by and turn into weeks and weeks seemingly with no end in sight he realises his entire life has been hijacked by this erratic genius. The portrait continues to ebb and flow. Veering between frustration and joy, Lord ultimately sees logic in the artist's chaotic mind and together we witness a genius complete one of his last masterpieces.

'GOD'S OWN COUNTRY'

GORGEOUS FIRST TRAILER OUT!

Another beautiful drama, out September 1st, just got its first trailer too - GOD'S OWN COUNTRY! Spring. Yorkshire. Isolated young sheep farmer Johnny Saxby (Josh O'Connor) numbs his daily frustrations

Both actors lived on a farm for several weeks before shooting the film

with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu), employed for the lambing season, ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path. 

DRAGON FUN MONDAY: TRAILERS AND POSTERS FOR EPIC ACTION MOVIES 'KNIGHTS OF THE DAMNED' AND 'I AM DRAGON'

'KNIGHTS OF THE DAMNED' 

FIRST EPIC TEASER IS HERE!

We all about dragons and knights today to spark up the boring beginning of the week. First up, a poster and a very quick teaser trailer for  KNIGHTS OF THE DAMNED  which should storm its way into

The full trailer should come soon!

British cinemas this Autumn - September 25th! Based on a story by Ben Lloyd Holmes who also stars in the movie, this epic action is directed by Simon Wells.

After relentless attacks on his castle, the King sends his best Knights to defeat the Dragon besieging them. Along their epic adventure they encounter malicious water sirens, a race of warrior women on a mission of revenge and an unstoppable army of the undead. Do they have what it takes to complete their mission and will they uncover the mysterious truth behind their journey?

'I AM DRAGON' EPIC TRAILER

IN LOVE WITH A FIREBREATHER?

Equally epic and adventurous is another historical fantasy action movie which has already played in cinemas around Europe but is currently opening on DVD market around the world as well. I AM DRAGON (or ON - DRAKON in native Russian) was produced by famous Hollywood film-maker Timur Bekmambetov  and stars Matvey Lykov and Mariya Poezzhaeva.

In the midst of the wedding princess Miroslava is kidnapped by a dragon and carried away into his castle on the remote island. Mira left everything behind in the past - family, friends and groom. Now the only things she had were a stone cage and a mysterious young man named Arman ... but who is he and what is he doing on that island? Miroslava will know the truth too late: loving a dragon will reveal the bitter truth - love is scary.

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON SUPER DYNAMIC 'WILL' TV SERIES ON SHAKESPEARE'S PUNK ROCK YOUTH WITH LAURIE DAVIDSON!

'WILL' EPIC TV SERIES

PUTS THE BARD IN A PUNK ROCK 16TH CENTURY SETTING

Laurie Davidson plays the lead role

I'm really hoping this one will bring some light into ghastly boring summer of 2018 which hasn't brought us anything fun so far, especially in the deeply unsettling and tragic aftermath of the spring series cancellations and pilot rejections! TNT is ready to start airing their new hip epic series WILL from Monday July 10th (it will be a two hour premiere, but I think the first episode is already available at their app and I also believe TNT will air the show around the world too on its regional cable channels) mixing

Will broke onto Elizabethan theatre scene as a kid from a poor sheep town

the setting of the Elizabethan London with modern punk rock music soundtrack because that is what it was back then: theatre scene with its

Laurie Davidson is the shinning star of the new series

crazy adoring crowds and actors as superstars with tons of sex, booze and parties. The wild, rowdy story of young William Shakespeare

The series was originally meant for HBO before they got their GOT

(played by super lovely and sinfully cute Laurie Davidson) aims to expose all of Shakespeare's recklessness, lustful temptations and tortured brilliance.

BEFORE HE WAS SHAKESPEARE HE WAS KNOWN AS WILL

'Will' starts July 10th on TNT

As Will opens, a young William Shakespeare has just arrived onto the punk-rock theatre scene in 16th century London. It is in this seductive, violent world that his raw talent faces rioting audiences, religious fanatics and raucous sideshows. Attracted to Will's naïve genius is Alice Burbage (Olivia DeJonge), the talented, beautiful and rebellious daughter of James Burbage (Colm Meaney), the carpenter whose vision led him to build the first theatre in London since Roman times. Despite being the daughter of an impresario, Alice is forbidden by society from pursuing a

Laurie prepared for the role reading Shakespeare's work

career in the theatre. Her brother Richard Burbage (Mattias Inwood) is innately talented as well, but too much in love with himself and

Shakespeare was a great rival with Christopher Marlowe

prone to overact. But a chance encounter at the theatre leads him to team up with Will in what would soon become the greatest actor-writer partnership the world has ever seen.

DIRECTED BY SHEKHAR KAPUR!

The very dynamic, roving shooting style in which the ten episode series was shot in order to make the viewer a part of the 16th century

Caroline McCall did the punk rock costumes for the series

theatre audience, is the work of famous director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, Four Feathers) who is helming this series.  The rest of the cast also includes always under performing and weak Jamie Campbell

Olivia DeJonge plays Will's love interest Alice Burbage

Bower as playwright, poet and chief Shakespeare rival Christopher Marlowe and Ewen Bremner as wealthy and notorious law enforcer Richard Topcliffe. 

'YELLOWSTONE' TV SERIES ON A RANCHER DYNASTY CASTS KEVIN COSTNER, WES BENTLEY, KELLY REILLY, COLE HAUSER

'YELLOWSTONE' TV SERIES

KEVIN COSTNER TO RULE A MASSIVE RANCH EMPIRE

Kevin Costner is the head of the family

Here's a rather interesting cast: Paramount Network (which will replace Spike channel next January) has ordered, straight to series, YELLOW STONE  produced by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan, with Kevin Costner leading the cast which will also have Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes and Cole Hauser.

YELLOW STONE follows the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Kevin Costner), who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, under constant attack by those it borders

Wes Bentley will be the oldest son

— land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park. It is an intense study of a violent world far from media scrutiny — where land grabs make developers billions, and politicians are bought and sold by the world’s largest oil and lumber corporations.

The ten episode summer 2018 series will see Wes Bentley play John’s son Jamie, a polished lawyer considering a career in politics who continues to seek approval from his father despite his love for the limelight. Kelly Reilly will play John’s daughter Beth, a smart and powerful woman who is always prepared to fight alongside her father. Luke Grimes will appear as John’s youngest son Cory, an emotionally reserved ex-Navy SEAL who

Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes and Cole Hauser will play siblings

lives with his Native American wife and seven year old son on the reservation. Cole Hauser will be Rip Wheeler, a tough and merciless wrangler from Yellowstone Ranch who will stop at nothing to get the job done.

NEW POSTER AND PHOTOS FOR 13TH CENTURY EPIC ACTION 'PILGRIMAGE' WITH TOM HOLLAND, STANLEY WEBER, RICHARD ARMITAGE, JON BERNTHAL

'PILGRIMAGE' EPIC MOVIE

WITH TOM HOLLAND, STANLEY WEBER, AND RICHARD ARMITAGE

Shot in Ireland and Belgium

Not much to report at the end of the week, just some exciting mediaeval shenanigans for you today, people! I've recently showed you the first trailer for historical action adventure movie PILGRIMAGE starring Tom Holland (as novice brother Diarmuid), Jon Bernthal (as The Mute), Richard Armitage (as knight Raymond de Merville) and Stanley Weber (as the Cistercian brother Geraldus) and now we have some more new photos and a gorgeous new poster!

 ON A PERILOUS JOURNEY
Coming to theatres in August,  it is set on the Irish coast on an island on the edge of the world, in A.D. 1209, where a group of monks and knights reluctantly set out on a quest to bring a legendary artefact with biblical origins to Rome, where they believe their holiest relic will be

The soundtrack features the largest male choir ever assembled in Ireland

safe from those who seek to wield its power. Their journey, told through the eyes of a pious young novice and a mute lay-brother with a violent

Richard Armitage plays knight Raymond de Merville

past, quickly turns into a perilous one, with all manner of military men and scoundrels attempting to snatch their cargo, because they've

Armitage, Holland and Bernthal have all starred in Marvel movies

entered a territory that’s been torn apart through centuries of tribal warfare and the growing power of Norman invaders. That is when the true value of the bejeweled relic becomes dangerously apparent! The

The movie is out in August in USA, on DVD in Europe in July

monks belatedly realize that in this wild land of ancient superstitions, the faith that binds them together may ultimately lead to their destruction.

1ST TRAILER FOR MARVEL'S 'INHUMANS' TV SERIES IS CRAZY GOOD! SUPER FUN 'JUMANJI WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE' TRAILER WITH DWAYNE JOHNSON!

'JUMANJI' SEQUEL TRAILER

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE!

All kinds of exciting stuff rule in the first trailer for the sequel of JUMANJI titled WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE which lands in cinemas this Christmas starring Dwayne Johnson, Nick Jonas

The adventure starts this Christmas

 and Karen Gillan.

JUMANJI, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE, directed by Jake Kasdan, sees four high school kids discover an old video game console and get drawn into the game's jungle setting, literally becoming the adult avatars they chose. What they discover is that you don't just play Jumanji - you must survive it. To beat the game and return to the real world, they'll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, discover what Alan Parrish left 20 years ago, and change the way they think about themselves - or they'll be stuck in the game forever. Their avatars are Dr Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Moose Finbarr (Kevin Hart), Professor Shelly

The movie will also pay tribute to Robin Williams!

Oberon (Jack Black) and Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan)! The movie will pay tribute to Robin Williams who starred in the original hit movie.

'INHUMANS' SF SERIES

FIRST TRAILER IS HERE!

With September 29th scheduled at ABC for the premiere of their new Marvel series INHUMANS (with two episodes the same evening after

Trailer is possibly arriving this Thursday?

they finish playing in IMAX cinemas from September 1st) the first trailer has been released today as promised!

INHUMANS  explores epic adventure of a royal family lead by Black Bolt (Anson Mount) the enigmatic, commanding King of the Inhumans, with a voice so powerful that the slightest whisper can destroy a city. After the Royal Family of Inhumans is splintered by a military coup, they barely escape to Hawaii where they are greeted with surprising interactions with the lush world and humanity around them. Now they must find a way to reunite with each other and return to their home before their way of life is destroyed

The first two episodes are so massive they'll first air in Imax cinemas

forever. Also starring are Iwan Rheon as evil Maximus, Serinda Swan as Medusa, Eme Ikwuakor as Gorgon, Isabelle Cornish as Crystal, Ken Leung as Karnak, Sonya Balmores as Auran and Mike Moh as Triton.