Ripper Street star Matthew Macfadyen, Hayley Atwell from Marvel's Agent Carter and comic Tracey Ullman have all been cast in a new big-budget TV adaptation of EM Foster's classic Howards End.
The novel was previously a hit film for Merchant Ivory and memorably won an Oscar for Emma Thompson for her starring role opposite Anthony Hopkins.
The Oscar nominated writer director of Manchester By the Sea, Kenneth Lonergan is adapting Forster's turn-of-the-century novel about the English class system into a four-episode run.
In a statement a spokesperson for the BBC described Lonergan as "one of our truly great contemporary voices" ans said that his adaptation would "surprise and delight a whole new audience with its timely and relevant themes."
The story is told focusses on the triumphs and tragedies of the Schlegel, Wilcox and Bast families, with Hayley Atwell playing the intellectual Margaret Schlegel and Matthew Macfadyen the widower Henry Wilcox. Tracey Ullman appears as the ailing Aunt Juley.
The 1992 film adaptation of Howards End bagged Emma Thompson an Oscar for her performance as Margaret Schlegel, and earned nominations for co-star Vanessa Redgrave and director James Ivory.
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch will be celebrating his birthday and Emmy Award nomination in Spain this weekend (19-21Jul13) after he was invited to officiate his friend's wedding in Ibiza.
The Star Trek Into Darkness hunk turned 37 on Friday (19Jul13), one day after he was nominated for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his period drama Parade's End, and now he is capping off his eventful week by conducting his pal's civil ceremony off the coast of Valencia on Saturday (20Jul13)
The first trailer has been released for "The Fifth Estate," the upcoming film about the early days of WikiLeaks.
Benedict Cumberbatch ("Star Trek Into Darkness," "Sherlock") stars as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, with Daniel Bruhl as Assange's former partner Daniel Domscheit-Berg. The cast also includes Laura Linney, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis and Dan Stevens.
Alert! Today Deon Meyer revealed to his fans on Twitter the news that Sean Bean (aka Boromir) is tipped to play detective Benny Griessel in the movie adaptation of Thirteen Hours, for which Meyer won the 2011 Barry Award for “best thriller”.
Though best known for his role in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Sean Bean more recently appeared as Eddard Stark in HBO’s hit show Game of Thrones, based on GRR Martin’s epic series A Song of Ice and Fire. While Bean’s role in Thirteen Hours has not yet been confirmed, Meyer tweeted, “Producer says negotiations are ‘advanced’”.
Getting ahead on the Sean Bean jokes, Charlie Human referenced the “one does not simply walk into Mordor” Boromir meme, tweeting, “One does not simply walk into Benny Griessel”. Another Meyer fan tweeted that “it doesn’t seem right” for “a Brit to play Benny”, although we certainly think Bean can hold down the role as far as looks are concerned (anyone else think Meyer and Bean could be kinsmen? Stranger things have happened in Westeros). We’ll just have to wait and see how Bean tackles the ultimate thespian challenge – the South African accent.
Meyer has been routinely dropping news about the film on Twitter today, saying that principal photography on Thirteen Hours will begin in Cape Town around March and that former 007 director Roger Spottiswood is attached to the project. There is also a good chance that Bean will continue in the role of Griessel for adaptations of Devil’s Peak and 7 Dae.
With Christmas over Sunday and Chanukah by Wednesday, most of us are gifted out. But not this TV critic.
There's a bag of coal over my shoulder with some choice lumps that are waiting to be gifted to some richly deserving TV dud out there.
So without further ado, here are my choices for the dumbest, oddest, silliest, most misbegotten moments and shows and what-have-you of the 2011 TV season.
Sincere apologies to those overlooked, and a ho ho ho humbug to those who are not…(And scroll down, sports fans, to some choice clips...)
1.) The Great Kardashian Wedding hustle: Not a dance, a con. Kim K. and Kris Humphries walked down the aisle Aug. 20 and hired the divorce attorneys Oct. 31, just 72 romance-free days later. No one really expected this would last, did they? The wedding was basically just a big sloppy promotional wet kiss for a few dozen companies, which provided everything from the ring to the napkins, not to mention the and the Kardashian brand. Phooey!
2.) Charlie Sheen: Not merely the deranged online show, or delusional interviews, or final rupture with "Two and a Half Men" or ridiculous $100-million lawsuit. "The Violent Torpedo of Truth Tour" - yes, that's what this special lump of coal is for.
3.) "Jersey Shore: The Italian Fiasco:" In a drunken rage, Mike Sorrentino charges a wall and nearly knocks himself out. Beautiful Americans! Go home! (They have, but Italy will never be the same.)
4.) Terrible shows we could really have done without, thankyouverymuch: "Man Up," "The Playboy Club," "Charlie's Angels"...
5.) "Real Housewives of New Jersey" fistfight. At a Christening, no less. Teresa's brother Joe goes obscenely berserk--as Bravo helpfully offers a closeup of a cross.
6.) ABC daytime, for bumping off "All My Children." Bad enough the show still had fans. Bad enough we never found out who J.R. shot. Bad enough it was replaced by "The Chew."
7.) Violent deaths we didn't see coming and still don't quite approve of: Sophia Peletier (played by Madison Lintz), "The Walking Dead;" Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt), "Boardwalk Empire;" Ned Stark (Sean Bean), "Game of Thrones;" Tom Walker (Chris Chalk), "Homeland; Piney Winston (William Lucking), "Sons of Anarchy," Violet Harmon (Taissa Farmiga.)
8.) Nicole Scherzinger supremo flubbo on "The X Factor:" She refuses to vote for child contestant Rachel Crow who then gets thrown to the wolves--the voters in the viewing audience. Crow loses then flops wailing on the stage; Nicole comes to the stage and wails too.
9.) The Blah-scars: Who knew the Oscars telecast could be so soporific. Host James Franco was chief sandman for the night, aided and abetted by Anne Hathaway.
10.) "The Bachelor" villain Bentley Williams. He quits the show. Then comes back to the show. Still loathed by everyone, even Chris Harrison. .
The Oscar nominated writer director of Manchester By the Sea, Kenneth Lonergan is adapting Forster's turn-of-the-century novel about the English class system into a four-episode run.
