KATHY BATES JOINS TOM HUGHES, LAURA HADDOCK, DIANA AGRON IN ROBERT GRAVES 'LAUREATE' BIOPIC! GERARD BUTLER TO LEAD 'AFTERBURN' FUTURISTIC ADVENTURE!

  'LAUREATE' ROBERT GRAVES

FILM GETS KATHY BATES, TOM HUGHES, LAURA HADDOCK, DIANA

Laura has just had her 2nd child with Sam Claflin

AGRON

And even more movies about famous authors after yesterday's news! Although her lovely sitcom Disjointed has just been cancelled after just one season over at Netflix, Kathy Bates will not stay out of work! She has just been cast in period set drama THE LAUREATE  which will follow the life of British poet Robert Graves! And she will be in a stunning company as the cast will also include Tom Hughes, our dearest Laura Haddock and Diana Agron!

THE STORY OF THE MOVIE 
Set against the glamorous backdrop of Britain's roaring '20s, THE LAUREATE tells the story of young British War Poet Robert Graves (Tom Hughes), who is married with four children when he meets and becomes romantically involved with Laura Riding (Diana Agron), a writer from America. Defying the conventions of polite society, Riding moves in with Graves and his wife (Laura Haddock will play his wife

Victoria's Hughes will play poet Robert Graves

Nancy Nicholson who was a painter and fabric designer) living as a ménage a trois. Then with the arrival of strappingly handsome Irish poet Geoffrey Phibbs, the arrangement becomes a ménage a quatre. But soon tensions and rivalries become so fraught that Graves is a suspect for attempted murder. Kathy Bates will be Graves’ meddling mother who fears Riding will ruin the seemingly idyllic marriage as tensions in the household rise.

  GERARD BUTLER

TO GO ON A FUTURISTIC HUNT FOR TREASURES IN 'AFTERBURN'

This has been Gerard Butler's passion project for years

Deadline reports today that Jung Byung Gil will direct futuristic action adventure AFTERBURN with Gerard Butler! Five years after a solar flare disrupts all technology in Europe, a treasure hunter (Gerard Butler) goes to France to retrieve the Mona Lisa. Paired with a strong willed weapons expert with her own agenda, the two search for the famed painting and encounter unexpected enemies along the way. As the movie is being eyed as a potential start of a whole franchise,  the future story lines might see him searching for such treasures as England’s Crown Jewels, the Star of India, or China’s Imperial Treasures.

DEV PATEL TAKES THE LEAD IN 'THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD'! THEODOR GEISEL GETS HIS 'DR SEUSS' BIOPIC!

  DAVID PATEL 

 TAKES THE LEAD IN 'PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD'

Dev's last big role was in Oscar nominated Lion

Only a week or two ago your trusted spy informed you that Armando Iannucci will direct the big screen version of THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD based on Charles Dickens’ semi autobiographical chronicle of the life of the iconic title character, and now it has been announced by 'Variety' that Dev Patel will take the role of the titular hero. The story follows Copperfield as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, all the while on a journey full of life, colour and humanity. Dickens actually modelled the character after himself. The shooting should begin later this year with casting already under way!

  'SEUSS' BIOPIC

ON BELOVED CHILDREN'S WRITER

Dr Seuss wrote more than 60 books for kids

Speaking of films inspired by the lives of famous writers, beside the one in which Dan Stevens plays Dickens himself, the one about the author of Winnie the Pooh played by Ewan McGregor and the one in which Nicholas Hoult will portray Tolkien, we are now getting SEUSS, inspired by the life of Theodor Geisel. As 'Deadline' reports it will follow him in the 1920s as he struggles to find his voice as a writer before meeting his muse and future wife in Helen Palmer, who propels him into becoming Dr. Suess. Thirty years later, a sudden illness cripples Helen and Geisel’s career falters, until she ultimately inspires him to fulfil his destiny and create the iconic children’s book The Cat in the Hat. Wonder's Stephen Chbosky will direct.

ROLAND EMMERICH TO DIRECT 'MAYA LORD' 16TH CENTURY EPIC ADVENTURE! FINN WITTROCK, JESSIE BUCKLEY JOIN RENEE ZELLWEGER IN 'JUDY' GARLAND BIOPIC

  'MAYA LORD'

ROLAND EMMERICH TO DIRECT MAYAN EMPIRE ADVENTURE 

Roland Emmerich is directing Maya Lord

Some four years ago the spy informed you that Roland Emmerich got movie rights on MAYA LORD from John Coe Robbins and now it seems the production of the movie set in the 16th century is moving on! It will follow a solider, Guerrero, and a priest, Aguilar, who survive a violent shipwreck in the Yucatan Peninsula where they get captured by a fierce Mayan tribe. With no hope for escape, the brilliant and pragmatic adventurer Gonzalo Guerrero chooses to adopt the Mayan culture as his own, while the uncompromising Father Aguilar holds fast to his Christian faith. The conquistadors arrive and test the will of both men as they take different warring paths!

  'JUDY' GARLAND BIOPIC

FINN WITTROCK, JESSIE BUCKLEY JOIN RENEE ZELLWEGER

Finn Wittrock will play Judy's fifth husband

Deadline reports that Judy Garland biopic is getting new cast: Finn Wittrock will play her fifth husband Mickey Deans, while Jessie Buckley will be her assistant in JUDY which will see Renee Zellweger playing the famous actress in winter 1968, 30 years after The Wizard Of Oz. When she arrives in Swinging London to prepare for a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town, she battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on

Jessie Buckley will play in the movie which will also feature Judy's songs

 a courtship with Deans. And yet Garland is fragile. After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood and gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids.

DELIGHTFUL TRAILERS FOR 'BOOKSHOP' WITH BILL NIGHY, EMILY MORTIMER, 'GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY' WITH MATTHEW GOODE, MICHIEL HUISMAN, GLEN POWELL, JESSICA BROWN FINDLAY, 'BREAKER UPPERERS' COMEDY

  'THE BOOKSHOP' TRAILER

EMILY MORTIMER & BILL NIGHY

We have a bunch of delightful trailers for you, starting with the one for THE BOOKSHOP based on Penelope Fitzgerald's book! It is set in 1959,

Mike Newell is directing the movie!

Florence Green (Emily Mortimer), a free spirited widow, puts grief behind her and risks everything to open up a bookshop - the first such shop in the sleepy seaside town of Hardborough, England. Fighting damp, cold and considerable local apathy she struggles to establish herself but soon her fortunes change for the better. By exposing the narrow minded local townsfolk to the best literature of the day, she opens their eyes thereby causing a cultural awakening in a town which has not changed for centuries. Her activities bring her a kindred spirit and ally in the

The Bookshop has only been shown in Spain so far.

figure of Mr Brundish (Bill Nighy) who is himself sick of the town's stale atmosphere. But this mini social revolution soon brings her fierce enemies: she invites the hostility of the town's less prosperous shopkeepers and also crosses Mrs. Gamart (Patricia Clarkson)! 

  'THE GUERNSEY' TRAILER

FROM LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY IS HERE!

First trailer has also just been released for another adaptation THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY which is out this April starring Matthew Goode, Jessica Brown Findlay, Michiel

Michiel Huisman has become one of most popular romantic leads

Huisman, Glen Powell, Tom Courtenay, Penelope Wilton and Lily James. A correspondence begins between Juliet Ashton and members of THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY with them sharing their experiences of Nazi Occupied Guernsey. When an idea for a book

Matthew Goode in Guernsey movie

catches Juliet she goes to visit the island, making lifelong friends and taking life changing steps along the way. A beautiful story of love, friendship and the sadness of friends lost. 

  'THE BREAKER UPPERERS'

MAY WE BREAK UP FOR YOU?

There is also a rather hilarious trailer for New Zealand comedy THE BREAKER UPPERERS produced by Thor's Taika Waititi. Out in Australia this May, it follows two women who discovered they were being two-

The movie was produced by Thor Ragnarok's director

timed by the same man. Bitter and cynical, they became fast friends and formed THE BREAKER UPPERERS, a small time business breaking up couples for cash. Now they’re in their late 30s and business is booming, and

The film will be offered to distributors this year at Berlin

they keep their cynicism alive by not getting emotionally involved with anybody else. But when they run into an old victim, Mel (Madeleine Sami) develops a conscience and their friendship is put to the test.

EPIC MONDAY: MICHAEL HIRST & MARTIN SCORSESE PREPARING 'CAESARS' EPIC TV SERIES ON YOUNG ROMAN RULERS! ITV & MAMMOTH SCREEN MAKING ASIA SET WW2 SERIES 'THE SINGAPORE GRIP'!

  'THE CAESARS' EPIC SERIES

FROM TUDORS' MICHAEL HIRST AND MARTIN SCORSESE?

The series apparently already has the pilot written

We're all epic today, people, starting with the info coming from 'The Guardian' that Tudors, Elizabeth and Vikings creator Michael Hirst is preparing THE CAESARS series with Martin Scorsese which will cover the lives of some of Rome's most famous rulers. The series, expected to start shooting its first season next year in Italy, will tell the story of the early rulers of ancient Rome, beginning with the rise to power of Julius Caesar! Unlike other projects which used to depict him in his mature age, this series would depict him when he was young, ambitious and full of vitality. As you probably remember, Julius Caesar was indeed already shown as a very ambitious young soldier, filled with both political and sexual energy, in super popular Spartacus series.

  'THE SINGAPORE GRIP'

ITV & MAMMOTH SCREEN PREPARING ASIAN WW2 DRAMA

The book is a part of the Empire trilogy

Speaking of period set dramas, ITV is teaming up with Poldark's and Victoria's Mammoth Screen to turn J.G. Farrell's WW2 novel THE SINGAPORE GRIP into a six episode series. The story is based around a British family living in Singapore at the time of the Japanese invasion. As 'Deadline' reports, it follows rubber merchant Walter Blackett, his wife Sylvia, ruthless daughter Joan and spoilt son Monty, who live a life of luxury, seemingly untouched by the troubles in Europe. However, the story takes a turn when the son of his business partner Mr Webb becomes involved with his daughter Joan before falling under the spell of Vera Chiang, a mysterious Chinese refugee. Christopher Hampton (Atonement, The Quiet American), who won an Oscar for Dangerous Liaisons, is penning the script.

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON NEW EPIC TV SERIES 'TROY: FALL OF A CITY' FROM BBC & NETFLIX WITH TOM WESTON JONES, JONAS ARMSTRONG, LOUIS HUNTER, FRANCES O'CONNOR, DAVID GYASI

  'TROY: FALL OF A CITY'

STARTING NEXT WEEK ON BBC!

What better way to warm yourself up a bit during cold winter nights than with some scantily clad Greek warriors and princesses, starting next Saturday, February 17th, when British BBC will start airing TROY: FALL OF A CITY, eight episode brand new epic television series!

TROY: FALL OF A CITY
an epic tale of mortals and gods, has a psychologically rich and sweeping narrative which goes back to the story’s origins: to the judgement of Paris, his

David Threlfall is King Priam of Troy

scandalous love affair with Helen, and the ill-starred prophecy surrounding his birth. Told from the perspective of the Trojan royal family at the heart of

Tom Weston Jones is the heroic and tragic prince Hector of Troy

the siege, TROY: FALL OF A CITY is a rich story of love, intrigue, betrayal and belonging. Combining thrilling adventure with heart-breaking intimacy, it

Bella Dayne is flimsy Helen of Troy whose adultery starts the war

conveys the big themes of human existence and identity; of people battling to retain their sense of humanity and compassion amid the devastation and destruction of war.

THE CAST OF THE 8 PART DRAMA

The eight part saga, which will also air on Netflix after the run in UK,  will see Louis Hunter and Bella Dayne as Paris and Helen, the two lovers whose

Frances O'Connor is Hecuba, queen of Troy, Priam's wife

passionate affair plunges Greece and Troy into war, threatening to bring both empires to their knees. David Threlfall plays Paris’ father, King Priam of

Robin Hood's Jonas Armstrong is King of Sparta Menelaus

Troy, alongside Frances O’Connor as Hecuba, Queen of Troy, and Tom Weston-Jones  as their eldest son brave Hector. They are joined by a cast

From left: Joseph Mawle as Odysseus, Johnny Harris is Agamemnon, king of Mycenae

including Joseph Mawle as Odysseus the king of Ithaca, Chloe Pirrie as Hector's wife Andromache, Johnny Harris as Agamemnon the king of

Tom Weston Jones is the brave and heroic prince of Troy Hector

Mycenae who attacks Troy with his brother Menalaus, David Gyasi as Achilles (yes, for some reason he will be black and so will be his lover

For some reason BBC thinks Achilles was black, played by David Gyasi

Patroklus and also the almighty Zeus indeed), and Jonas Armstrong as Menelaus, the King of Sparta whose marriage to Helen is destroyed when

Australian actor Louis Hunter is the bratty prince of Troy Paris

Paris arrives in his city. Further casting includes Alfred Enoch as the Trojan general Aeneas the cousin of King Priam, David Avery as Xanthius, and Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Priam and Hecuba’s daughter, prophetess princess Cassandra. Check out the trailer below:

WHAT DID THE SPY THINK? 

Terribly miscast in almost all of the roles, with a lot of uninspired performances and lack of any appealing or likeable characters, the series

The princes of Troy with their partners Helena and Andromache

is excruciatingly slow paced and lacking in dynamics and spark. It is visually pretty, though, with BBC scoring high visual quality. Tom Weston Jones and Louis Hunter are the eye catching elements in the series.

SCARY FIRST TRAILER AND POSTER FOR SCIENCE FICTION ACTION MOVIE 'THE TITAN' WITH SAM WORTHINGTON AND TOM WILKINSON!

  'THE TITAN' SF TRAILER

 STARRING SAM WORTHINGTON!

I don't have much for you today, but what I do have is super scary! First trailer has been released for new science fiction action drama THE TITAN

The Titan was directed by Lennart Ruff

with Sam Worthington as a superhuman futuristic soldier! The movie which also stars Tom Wilkinson and Taylor Schiling should be out in cinemas this April.

Hotshot Air Force pilot, Rick Janssen (Sam Worthington), is chosen for a military experiment that will create a human being capable of surviving the harsh environments of Saturn's moon, TITAN. The experiment is successful, turning Rick into a super human, but it also creates deadly side effects which threatens the life of Rick, his wife and family, and possibly humanity itself.

Did you know that this is Sam Worthington's third film with Titan in its title after Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans! And all three were shot in the Canary Islands!

EPIC FRIDAY: TIMOTHEE CHALAMET IS 'THE KING' HENRY V IN NETFLIX EPIC MOVIE! ANGUS MACFADYEN IS SCOTTISH KING 'ROBERT THE BRUCE' IN BRAVEHEART SEQUEL

  TIMOTHEE CHALAMET IS

'THE KING' HENRY V FOR NETFLIX

Timothee is nominated for an Oscar this year

While we are waiting to see Chris Pine as a Scottish hero Robert the Bruce in Outlaw King later this year, it seems Netflix is preparing another royal project. THE KING will star Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet as king Henry V! Tom Hiddleston, Jude Law, Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier were just some of the actors who portrayed the king famous for the battle at Agincourt.

THE KING, directed by David Michod, will see Chalamet playing the king  who, after his brother is killed in battle before his coronation, takes over the crown in the early 1400s. The reluctant ruler wears the crown at a time when England was near a war with France, and the empire is teetering. He rises to the occasion, admirably.

  'ROBERT THE BRUCE'

ANGUS MACFADYEN TO PLAY THE LEGENDARY SCOTTISH HERO

Angus will repeat his role from Braveheart!

Speaking of Robert the Bruce, there is another projects currently in plan about him! As 'Deadline' reports, Angus Macfadyen will lead epic drama ROBERT THE BRUCE playing the famous warrior who took the Scottish crown. Richard Gray is directing the cast that also has Terror star Jared Harris, Black Sails star Zach McGowan, Vikings star Diarmaid Murtagh, Shane Coffey, Kevin McNally and Patrick Fugit. The movie will follow a widow Moira (Anna Hutchison) and her child (Gabriel Bateman), niece (Talitha Bateman) and nephew who save the King of Scotland, Robert The Bruce. It is interesting that MacFadyen has already played the hero back in Braveheart and this film continues its story!

SKY'S 17TH CENTURY EPIC DRAMA 'JAMESTOWN' RETURNS TOMORROW WITH THE 2ND SEASON STARRING STUART MARTIN, MAX BEESLEY, MATT STOKOE, JASON FLEMYNG, BEN STARR

Jamestown was renewed for third season in March 2018

 

  'JAMESTOWN' SEASON 2

STARTS TOMORROW AT SKY!

Just a reminder for you today that the second season of historical series JAMESTOWN starts tomorrow at British Sky One with eight new episodes

The second season should also have eight hour long episodes

(the first one will be a double one). Set in the 1600's Virginia it follows the inhabitants of one of the first towns to be build their by the colonists. While

Matt Stokoe is town's brooding blacksmith who now has hots for Jocelyn

the first season dealt with the arrival of new women there, the second season will deal with the arrival of Angolan slaves into their community and the

Rachel Colwell joins the cast as Winganuske who might be close to Henry?

changes that brings. The main stars will still be Alice (Sophie Rundle), Jocelyn (Naomi Battrick) and Verity (Niamh Walsh), three brave women

Naomi Batrick's Jocelyn will have to find her way in Jamestown as a widow

who were the first females to set foot in Jamestown for 12 years. The Native American tribes will again play a large part of the story. A terrible crime will

Our dear Stuart Martin returns as town's hunkiest hunk Silas

throw suspicion on the entire colony. Meanwhile, Jocelyn will forge a surprising connection when her position in JAMESTOWN comes under threat.

WHO RETURNS TO JAMESTOWN?
Max Beesley returns as the villainous farmer Henry, Stuart Martin as his kind hearted brother Silas who is having a baby with Alice, Gwilym Lee as

The second season was ordered even before the first one was aired

the recorder and Jocelyn's husband sadly dies and leaves her finding a new way to stay in the town on her own! Jason Flemyng and Claire Cox are the

Native tribes will again play a large role in the story of Jamestown

Governor and Governess of Virginia. Dean Lennox Kelly returns as drunken tavern owner Meredith, Verity's husband, Matt Stokoe as hunky

Niamh Walsh is again witty and wild Verity Bridges!

blacksmith James and Ben Starr as the dashing doctor Christopher who is flirting with Jocelyn. New faces include Abubakar Salim as Pedro, Rachel

Ben Starr is Jamestown's doctor Christopher Priestley

Colwell as Winganuske and Abiola Ogunbiyi as Maria. Check out the trailer for the new season below.

ANTONIO BANDERAS, EMMA THOMPSON, RALPH FIENNES, MICHAEL SHEEN JOIN 'VOYAGE OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE'! JOSEPH QUINN JOINS BBC'S 'LES MISERABLES', MICHAEL EMERSON JOINS RUPERT EVERETT, JOHN TURTURRO IN 'NAME OF THE ROSE' EPIC SERIES

  'VOYAGE OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE'

EMMA THOMPSON, BANDERAS, MICHAEL SHEEN, RALPH FIENNES  

 Universal Pictures is gathering a rather stellar cast for their live action adaptation of THE VOYAGE OF DOCTOR DOLLITLE which will see

Doctor DoLittle is set for April 2019 release!

Robert Downey Jr playing the famous doctor who can speak to animals. Antonio Banderas will apparently play his enemy, a pirate named Rassouli while Michael Sheen is set to play Mudfly! Meanwhile, British thespians Emma Thompson and Ralph Fiennes will lend their voices to some of the talking animals alongside young Tom Holland! An adaptation of Hugh Lofting's classic book from the 1920's the movie is viewed as the potential opening for a whole franchise.

  NEW EPIC SERIES CASTINGS

JOSEPH QUINN JOINS 'LES MISERABLES' AT BBC 

Les Miserables will air sometime next year!

Casting news from the period set TV series world today, starting with our lovely chap Joseph Quinn, whom we'd discovered in Dickensian and continued to love in that horrid borefest of Howards End. He has now joined another BBC production, the six part series on LES MISERAB- LES which already has Dominic West as Jean Valjean, Lily Collins as Fantine and David Oyelowo as Javert and Olivia Colman as Madame Thenardier. Quinn will play Enjorlas, a revolutionary who dies for his beliefs in the June Rebellion.

MICHAEL EMERSON JOINS 'THE NAME OF THE ROSE'

Italian Rai is preparing the new epic series

I've already told you that Italian RAI is preparing $30 million epic series based on Umberto Eco's THE NAME OF THE ROSE and that John Turturro (As William of Baskerville) and Rupert Everett (as Inquisitor Gui) will lead the cast, and now they're joined by Michael Emerson who will play The Abbot, an ambiguous, greedy, over sensitive and irritable prince of the Abbey! To start airing its eight episodes at the beginning of next year, it follows William of Baskerville, a 14th century Franciscan monk, as he investigates a series of unusual deaths at a remote monastery! Damian Hardung will be William's apprentice, Benedictine novice Adso.