Showing posts with label ADAPTATION. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ADAPTATION. Show all posts

FX ADAPTING JAMES CLAVELL'S HISTORICAL SAGA 'SHOGUN' SET IN FEUDAL JAPAN INTO EPIC MINI TV SERIES!

 'SHOGUN'
EPIC TV SERIES AT FX!
More than five years ago, your spy has informed you that Fox was planning this project but it did not happen and now it is FX that has ordered a series based on James Clavell's SHOGUN! The production of the ten episode mini
Shogun will be a ten episode limited series
will be done on an international scale.

Tim Van Patten is directing the story set in feudal Japan, which charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne, a risk taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonourable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance. The novel, sold in more than 30 million copies worldwide, was adapted 40 years ago into a series with Richard Chamberlain. Aired on four consecutive nights in 1980 at NBC it started the format of mini series!

FIRST TRAILER FROM ITV'S PERIOD SET SERIES 'VANITY FAIR' WITH OLIVIA COOKE, TOM BATEMAN, CHARLIE ROWE, SURANNE JONES, FRANCES DE LA TOUR, MICHAEL PALIN

  'VANITY FAIR' TV SERIES
 FIRST TRAILER  UNVEILED!
After a number of photos and a teaser, we finally have the first trailer and character photos from ITV's new period set series VANITY FAIR which will
Olivia Cooke the star of Spielberg's Ready Player One takes the lead
start airing this September in United Kingdom! Brand new costume drama based on William Thackeray's famous novel, has the story set in the
First look at the lead cast of the new Vanity Fair series!
Napoleonic era following the destiny of resourceful Becky Sharp played by Olivia Cooke. Check out the trailer below and first cast photos!
 
NEW VANITY FAIR  
The seven part drama coming from Poldark's and Victoria's Mammoth Screen, is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and follows
After airing on ITV in UK, Vanity Fair will air on Amazon too in US
modern heroine Becky Sharp as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English Society. Her story of villainy, crime,
The saga is based on William Thackeray's classic novel
merriment, lovemaking, jilting, laughing, cheating, fighting and dancing, takes her all the way to the court of King George IV, via the Battle of Waterloo, breaking hearts and losing fortunes as she goes.

A RATHER STELLAR CAST INDEED
Her main love interest daft Captain Rawdon Crawley is played by Tom Bateman with Charlie Rowe as poor soldier George Osborne, Johnny
Claudia Jessie is Becky's confidante Amelia Sedley
Flynn as Dobbin, Martin Clunes as Sir Pitt Crawley, Frances de La Tour as Miss Matilda Crawley, Suranne Jones as snobbish Miss Pinkerton and
Charlie Rowe as George Osborne and Johnny Flynn as William Dobbin
Michael Palin as Thackeray himself. Claudia Jessie will play Becky�s confidante Amelia Sedley, with Simon Russell Beale and Claire Skinner
Vanity Fair will air in seven hourlong episodes
as her parents, and David Fynn as her brother Joss.Shot on locations around United Kingdom and Hungarian capitol Budapest, the series will later on also air on Amazon in USA!

NEW EPIC PROJECTS AT NETFLIX: 'LETTER FOR THE KING' MEDIEVAL ADVENTURE NOVEL TO BECOME TV SERIES! 'ROMAN EMPIRE: MASTER OF ROME' JULIUS CAESAR SERIES WITH JESSICA GREEN AS CLEOPATRA! 'MEDICI: THE MAGNIFICENT' 2ND SEASON TEASER IS HERE!

 'THE LETTER FOR THE KING'
 DITCH CLASSIC TO BECOME ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SERIES
Epic projects produced by Netflix today, people, starting with their adaptation of THE LETTER FOR THE KING  Tonke Dragt�s medieval
It will be an English language epic series
adventure novel which they will turn into family adventure series!
How to Train Your Dragon and Puss in Boots' Will Davies will adapt the story set in a fantasy world of three kingdoms, following 16 year old squire Tiuri. When he answers a desperate call for help, he finds himself on a perilous mission that could cost him his life. He must deliver a secret letter to the King who lives across the Great Mountains. Tiuri must abandon his home, break all the rules and leave everything behind � even the knighthood he has dreamed of for so long. The future of the entire realm depends on the letter and Tiuri must trust no one and keep his true identity secret. Above all, he must never reveal what is in the letter.

 NETFLIX 'ROMAN EMPIRE'
 MASTER OF ROME 2ND SEASON!
You probably remember that last year I presented you with Netflix docu series ROMAN EMPIRE: REIGN OF BLOOD which was set in Ancient
The second season will also three episodes on Caligula
Rome when Marcus Aurelius brought a century of Roman triumphs and victories to an end, transferring power to his spoiled, unprepared son Commodus (Aaron Jakubenko). Netflix has now prepared a new season
Jessica Green is Queen Cleopatra of Egypt in the second season
which starts July 27th titled ROMAN EMPIRE: MASTER OF ROME! The second season is set to follow the rise and eventual fall of Julius Caesar and his famed dynasty. Jessica Green plays Queen Cleopatra in the series! Check out the trailer here!

  'MEDICI: THE MAGNIFICENT'
1ST TEASER FROM FLORENCE
Italian RAI has, meanwhile, released the first teaser for the second season of their historical saga MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE this time titled
You can watch the first season on Amazon Prime as well
THE MAGNIFICENT which starts in Italy this October with Daniel Sharman as Lorenzo Medici and Bradley James as his brother Giuliano. Read more here.

JASON CLARKE IS HELEN MIRREN'S POTEMKIN IN 'CATHERINE THE GREAT' EPIC TV SERIES! MATTHEW GOODE, MICHAEL CAINE, PAULA PATTON JOIN 'FOUR KIDS AND IT' FANTASY MOVIE

 'CATHERINE THE GREAT'
 JASON CLARKE JOINS HELEN MIRREN IN EPIC NEW TV SAGA
We haven't heard much about Sky's and HBO's new mini series on CATHERINE THE GREAT ever since Helen Mirren was announced as
Jason Clarke will be Prince Grigory Potemkin
the lead star, but now she is being joined by Jason Clarke as her lover Potemkin after he starred with Mirren in Winchester! Written by Elizabeth I's Nigel Williams the four part saga is set against the politically tumultuous and sexually charged court of Russian empress Catherine the Great who wielded supreme power throughout Russia for nearly half of the 18th century; strong minded, independent, brilliantly intelligent and sexually liberated! 

CATHERINE THE GREAT will depict the end of her reign and her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin (Clarke), a Russian military commander who became Catherine�s lover, favoured statesman and life long friend. Amid scandal, intrigue and immense conflict, they develop a unique and devoted relationship, overcoming their adversaries and together serving as the architects of modern-day Russia.

 'FOUR KIDS AND IT' ADVENTURE
MATTHEW GOODE,MICHAEL CAINE
Matthew Goode will be the father of the family
LEAD THE CAST
Great cast in Andy De Emmony's British family adventure movie FOUR KIDS AND IT which will have Michael Caine, Matthew Goode, Paula Patton and Russell Brand. It follows four children who are horrified to learn that their beach holiday is in fact a bonding trip with their potential future step siblings engineered by new couple Alice (Patton) and David (Goode). During an argument, the kids accidentally find a Psammead, a magical, sandy, grumpy creature called It (voiced by Caine) who can grant them one wish a day. Brand will be the local oddball villain Tristan bent on capturing the Psammead for his own gain in the big screen adaptation of the novel Four Children and It by best-selling author Jacqueline Wilson!

FIRST PHOTOS OF DOMINIC WEST AND LILY COLLINS FROM BBC EPIC TV MINI SERIES 'LES MISERABLES' ARE HERE!

    'LES MISERABLES' MINI SERIES
1ST PICS FROM BBC ADAPTATION
A few weeks ago the spy showed you some set pics from BBC and Masterpiece's mini series LES MISERABLES and now we have the first
Les Miserables will air sometime next year
official ones showing Dominic West as Valjean, Lily Collins as Fantine and David Oyelowo as Javert. Airing next year on BBC, without musical numbers and singing, the series' distinguished British cast will also includes Adeel Akhtar and Olivia Colman as Monsieur and Madame Th�nardier, Ellie Bamber as Cosette, Joseph Quinn, Josh O�Connor as Marius and Erin Kellyman as �ponine.

LES MISE- RABLES six-part drama adaptation of 19th century classic will delve deep into the many layers of Victor Hugo's story, revelling in Jean Valjean and Javert's cat-and-mouse relationship, against the epic backdrop of France at a time of civil unrest. It
Dominic West is taking over the role of Valjean from Hugh Jackman
will explore the struggles and triumphs of the underclass and the quest for a better life as Valjean evades capture by the unyielding Inspector Javert. The six part television adaptation of the renowned book will vividly and faithfully
Lily Collins is Fantine who has to become a whore to survive
bring to life the vibrant and engaging characters, the spectacular and authentic imagery and, above all, the incredible yet accessible story that was Hugo�s lifework. Andrew Davies, who said Hugh Jackman's version was a
David Oyelowo is persistent inspector Javert who obviously likes big guns
travesty although he himself has made a superficial travesty out of the iconic depths of War and Peace which he criminally robbed of any Russian soul and essence, is directing, sadly. PS you can see glimpses into Les Miserables, War of the Worlds, Long Song and Gentleman Jack in the BBC upcoming dramas trailer below

ITV TO TURN JANE AUSTEN'S LAST NOVEL 'SANDITON' INTO 19TH CENTURY TV SERIES! 'FAVOURITE' QUEEN ANNE MOVIE TRAILER WITH RACHEL WEISZ, OLIVIA COLMAN, EMMA STONE, NICHOLAS HOULT

'SANDITON' EPIC SAGA
ITV TO TURN JANE AUSTEN'S LAST NOVEL INTO TV SERIES
Beside Victoria and upcoming Vanity Fair, British ITV and US Masterpiece are giving us a new 19th century series! Jane Austen's last novel SANDITON written just a few months before her death will be turned
Austen wrote Sanditon months before dying
into an eight part drama.
It tells the story of the joyously impulsive, spirited and unconventional Charlotte Heywood and her spiky relationship with the humorous, charming (and slightly wild!) Sidney Parker. When a chance accident transports her from her rural hometown to the would-be coastal resort SANDITON, it exposes Charlotte to the dalliances of a seaside town on the make, and the characters whose fortunes depend on its commercial success. The twists and turns of the plot, which takes viewers from the West Indies to the rotting alleys of London, exposes the hidden agendas of each character and sees Charlotte discover herself� and ultimately find love. Andrew Davies, the man who superficialised War and Peace at BBC, is adapting!

'THE FAVOURITE' TRAILER
RACHEL WEISZ AND EMMA STONE FIGHT FOR QUEEN'S LOVE
Meanwhile, the first trailer was finally released yesterday for period set movie THE FAVOURITE but I cannot say I like Yorgos Lanthimos' aesthetics at all! Out November in USA and in January around Europe, it is set
The Favourite hits cinemas in USA this November
in early 18th century. England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel
Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn, James Smith and Mark Gatiss lead male cast
Weisz) governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail
Olivia Colman is the crazy Queen Anne of England
sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. As the politics of war become quite time consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen's companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to
Rachel Weisz plays the queen's favourite Lady Sarah
fulfil her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way. Nicholas Hoult and Joe Alwyn also star!

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON NETFLIX 'GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY' WITH GLEN POWELL, MICHIEL HUISMAN, MATTHEW GOODE, PENELOPE WILTON, TOM COURTENAY, JESSICA BROWN FINDLAY

  AUGUST 10TH ON NETFLIX FOR
STELLAR GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
Guernsey hits Netflix next Month!
Now, this one already played in cinemas this April in May around Europe and Asia, but it is hitting Netflix August 10th so I don't want you to miss it! THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY is a big screen adaptation of the popular novel by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer starring our dearest hunks Glen Powell, Michiel Huisman and Matthew Goode next to acting legends Penelope Wilton, Tom Courtenay and actresses Jessica Brown Findlay and Lily James.


THE GUERNSEY STORY
Directed by famous Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Prince of Persia, Love in the Time of Cholera), historical romance THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY follows young writer
Kenneth Branagh was the original director of the movie
Juliet Ashton who begins a correspondence with the 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 catches
Kate Winslet and Emily Blunt were originally in the run for the lead role
Juliet she goes to visit the island, making lifelong friends and taking life changing steps along the way by becoming an adulteress who cheats on her
The movie was produced by our beloved StudioCanal
loving fiancee with one of the locals. It is a beautiful story of love, friendship and the sadness of friends lost in the aftermath of World War II.

FIRST TRAILER FOR SKY'S EPIC NEW DRAMA 'A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES' WITH MATTHEW GOODE, TERESA PALMER, ALEX KINGSTON, LINDSAY DUNCAN

  'A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES'
WITCHES AND VAMPIRES IN SKY'S EPIC SHOW FIRST TRAILER
It's love and also war between vampires and witches in the television series adaptation of Deborah Harkness fantasy novel A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES which just got its first full length trailer below! British Sky will air
Alex Kingston plays one of Teresa Palmer's aunts in the new series
the series in UK this Autumn with Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer leading the cast! She will be Diane Bishop, and he will play vampire Matthew Clairmont!  Alex Kingston and Valarie Pettiford play her aunts, Alex will be the lesbian one. A lesbian witch indeed!
A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES
follows a science historian who also just happens to be a witch with a troubling past that has led her to suppress her magical tendencies. When her research
The series will air at Sky this Fall in United Kingdom. No US broadcaster yet
leads her to uncover a mysterious missing manuscript in Oxford�s Bodleian Library, she sets in motion a series of events that will lead her on an adventure across time and continents to discover the secrets of her past and the truth
Matthew Goode plays charming vampire scientist Clairmont
about the origin of magical beings (which includes witches, vampires, and demons). Along the way, Diana also encounters and falls in love with Matthew
The series is a small screen adaptation of Deborah Harkness novel
Clairmont, a scientist and vampire with a murky past of his own. Lindsay Duncan will play Ysabeau de Clermont, the vampire mother of Matthew Clairmont who hates all witches.

PERIOD SET DRAMA WEDNESDAY: 'MARY ANNING & THE DINOSAUR HUNTERS' ON WORLD'S GREATEST FEMALE PALEONTOLOGIST AND NEW 'WUTHERING HEIGHTS' MOVIE ADAPTATION!

 'MARY ANNING' 
AND THE DINOSAUR HUNTERS!
Sharon Sheehan is directing the movie
Hollywood is kinda sleeping today, people, so I shall entertain you today with two low budgeted but still interesting period set movies. The first one is
actually based on a true person! MARY ANNING AND THE DINOSAUR HUNTERS should arrive into cinemas sometime this year!
The film reveals the life, plight and loves of the eminent Mary Anning (Katharine Hamilton), an 1800's fossil hunter - navigating her career and research in a male dominated society at a time when women's research was largely unrecognised. Predominantly unknown despite her spectacular finds, including Icthyiousauri, a Pterodactyl and
Katharine Hamilton plays England's female palaeontologist Mary Anning
Plesiosaurus, and notwithstanding the fact that Darwins' 'Origin of Species' was largely influenced by her work. She is at last becoming the most celebrated paleontologist of all time.

 'WUTHERING HEIGHTS' 
 THE LATEST MOVIE ADAPTATION
Now, I must admit that the casting for this one looks terrible or hilarious (admittedly the budget is just 100,000 pounds) to say the least, but who
The movie should hit cinemas this November
knows, maybe you'll like the latest movie adaptation of WUTHERING HEIGHTS scheduled for opening in UK cinemas this November.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a wild, passionate tale of the intense and demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw (Shaori Morris) and Heathcliff (Paul Eryk Atlas), allegedly a Gypsy foundling adopted by Catherine's father. After Mr Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is degraded and humiliated by Catherine's brother Hindley (Marcus Churchill) and wrongly believing that his love for Catherine is not reciprocated, leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return years
Shaori Morris and Paul Eryk Atlas play the lead roles
later as a wealthy and polished man to find he is too late and that Cathy has married Edgar Linton (Richard Dee Roberts). He proceeds to exact a terrible revenge for his miseries. Unable to bear being parted from his love he curses her on her deathbed to never rest and always be with him and so begins
Elisaveta Abrahall is directing the latest adaptation of Emily Bronte's novel
20 years of her haunting his every waking and sleeping hour. A tale of love, hate, horror, haunting, but most of all a story about human nature. Emily Bronte wrote the greatest , most terrifying love story of all time.

HERNAN CORTES BESTSELLER 'CONQUISTADOR' BY BUDDY LEVY TO BECOME EPIC TV SERIES! WERNER HERZOG TO BUILD A TOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF AMAZON JUNGLE IN PERIOD SET 'FORDLANDIA' TV SERIES!

 'CONQUISTADOR' MINI SERIES
 ON INFAMOUS HERNAN CORTES
Epic news people! Overbrook Entertainment and Motor (they did Knightfall) have bought TV series rights on best selling book
The series will be based on Buddy Levy book
CONQUISTADOR Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs by Buddy Levy with intention to turn it into mini series. It brings the tragic tale of conquest and defeat, of colonization and resistance, of empires won and civilizations lost and of the violent confluence of two empires previously unknown to each other. It�s the epic account of Hernan Cortes, one of the greatest conquerors history has ever known, and Montezuma, the complex leader of the ancient civilization that he would oppose. Their stories culminate in the cataclysmic battle that would be the end of one world and the making of a new one.
SIMILAR ANNOUNCED PROJECTS
The spy has informed you that Spielberg is preparing CORTES series with Javier Bardem for Amazon, and that  Roland Emmerich is preparing a movie MAYA LORD set at about the same time.

  'FORDLANDIA' SERIES
 WERNER HERZOG TO DIRECT AMAZON JUNGLE 1920'S SHOW
The Non Fiction book almost won Pulitzer in 2010
Another book to be turned into a possible TV series is Greg Grandin's FORDLANDIA to be directed by famous Werner Herzog and written by Oscar nominee Christopher Wilkinson. The book, which almost won Pulitzer Prize back in 2010, tells the extraordinary true story of the richest man in the world in the 1920s, Henry Ford, and his attempt to re-create small town America deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle. This won't be the first Amazonian adventure project for Herzog, as he already directed Amazon set Fitzcaraldo back in the eighties!

NEW PHOTOS FROM ITV'S PERIOD SET SERIES 'VANITY FAIR' WITH OLIVIA COOKE, TOM BATEMAN, CHARLIE ROWE, SURANNE JONES, FRANCES DE LA TOUR, MICHAEL PALIN

  'VANITY FAIR' TV SERIES
 NEW PHOTOS UNVEILED!
Vanity Fair will air in seven hourlong episodes
The only thing I have for you today are a few new photos from ITV's new period set series VANITY FAIR published at 'Radio Times'! We still don't know when is ITV planning to air the costume drama based on William Thackeray's famous novel, whether in Autumn or maybe even during summer. Set in the Napoleonic era it follows the destiny of resourceful Becky Sharp played by Olivia Cooke.
 
The seven part drama coming from Poldark's and Victoria's Mammoth Screen, is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and follows modern heroine Becky Sharp as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English Society. Her story of villainy, crime, merriment, lovemaking, jilting, laughing,
Olivia Cooke the star of Spielberg's Ready Player One takes the lead
cheating, fighting and dancing, takes her all the way to the court of King George IV, via the Battle of Waterloo, breaking hearts and losing fortunes as she goes.

A RATHER STELLAR CAST INDEED
Her main love interest daft Captain Rawdon Crawley is played by Tom Bateman with Charlie Rowe as poor soldier George Osborne, Johnny
After airing on ITV in UK, Vanity Fair will air on Amazon too in US
Flynn as Dobbin, Martin Clunes as Sir Pitt Crawley, Frances de La Tour as Miss Matilda Crawley, Suranne Jones as snobbish Miss Pinkerton and
The saga is based on William Thackeray's classic novel
Michael Palin as Thackeray himself. Claudia Jessie will play Becky�s confidante Amelia Sedley, with Simon Russell Beale and Claire Skinner as her parents, and David Fynn as her brother Joss.

SPOTLIGHT ON PETER JACKSON'S 'MORTAL ENGINES' FANTASY ADVENTURE WITH NEW TRAILER AND POSTER STARRING ROBERT SHEEHAN, HERA HILMAR, HUGO WEAVING!

   'MORTAL ENGINES'
FIRST TRAILER IS FINALLY OUT!
It is definitely this year's most anticipated movie! Earlier last winter I showed you the teaser for Peter Jackson's MORTAL ENGINES and now we finally
The Engines will roll this December!
have the exciting trailer and poster for the fantasy extravaganza which will tumble into cinemas around the world December 14th ahead of Christmas Holidays! As you know the movie is the big screen adaptation of Philip Reeve's super popular novel saga which is finally getting its film version.
 
MORTAL ENGINES has the story set thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, and humankind has adapted and a new way of living. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns on which they feed upon as they need the supplies and metal to keep on moving. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan), who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of
Tom and Hester begin their adventure in the track holes left behind London
London, finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future.
WHO IS IN THE CAST?
The main villain is Hugo Weaving who plays Thaddeus Valentine, London's chief historian and explorer who actually hides a dark secret: he is looking for a deadly weapon that would give London power upon all other cities.
Coming to rescue Tom and Hester after they fall out of London is Jihae as Anna Fang (above) who will take them with her flying ship to Airhaven, a city floating above clouds. Leifur Sigurdarson (above) plays another flying captain Nils Lindstrom who also helps them.
The cast also includes one of our fave Irish boys Ronan Raftery as another London apprentice Bevis Pod, Leila George as his love Katherine Valentine, Thaddeus' daughter! Patrick Malahide is the ruler of London evil Magnus Crome while Stephen Lang plays robotic soldier Shrike.