'True Blood's' Stephen Moyer to Co-Star in NBC's 'Sound of Music'

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
10:42 AM PDT 8/23/2013 by Philiana Ng

True Blood's Stephen Moyer will star in NBC's The Sound of Music. 

Carrie Underwood to Play Maria von Trapp in NBC's 'Sound of Music'

The British actor will appear opposite Carrie Underwood in the Dec. 5 live holiday production, NBC announced Friday.

Moyer will portray decorated World War I hero Capt. Georg Von Trapp, the single father of seven children. Living in Austria on the cusp of World War II, the militaristic but warm-hearted Von Trapp engages a young governess, Maria (Underwood), whom he hires to take care of his children.

Moyer's casting comes after the actor-director wrapped a three-night July run at the Hollywood Bowl in the musical production of Chicago, where he played lawyer Billy Flynn.

The three-hour production is based on the original 1959 Broadway production of The Sound of Music,
which starred Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel. The play won the Tony Award as best musical, with Martin winning as best actress. The 1965 Sound of Music film adaptation starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, going on to win five Academy Awards, including best picture.


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Tom Hardy prepares for Capone role

(UKPA) – 6 hours ago

Tom Hardy has already started preparing for his upcoming role as mobster Al Capone, to find his inner gangster.

The Dark Knight Rises star is set to play the Depression-era Chicago crime boss in Cicero, directed by David Yates.

"I've been working with Warner Bros, watching their gangster films - the ones with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G Robinson. It's interesting to get them, and a bit of Capone into the bloodstream," he told the Daily Mail.

"You look at pugnacious James Cagney in The Public Enemy and see how this guy rises up to become a kingpin in Chicago."

The forthcoming film, which was written by Harry Potter director David Yates, is based on Walon Green's original screenplay and focuses on Capone's rise to power.

"The idea isn't to remake those films but to get a flavour of them as we explore Capone's career as a racketeer," Tom continued.

The 34-year-old - who will play villain Bane in Christopher Nolan's third Batman film and is set to start filming the new Mad Max movie in Namibia with Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult - hinted that Cicero could be the first of a series.

"The idea at the moment is of doing a trilogy of films, but nothing is set. Everyone is just talking and exploring," he added.

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Downton Abbey to be hit with fatal Spanish flu in season finale (spoilers)

Metro

The residents of Downton Abbey will be hit with the fatal Spanish flu in the show's season finale next Sunday - and not all of them will make it out alive.

 

Not all of the Downton Abbey cast will escape the perils of the Spanish flu in the costume drama's season finale (Picture: ITV)

 

The Spanish flu pandemic killed between 50 and 100million people between 1918 and 1920 and the Crawley family and their servants is set to fall victim too.

Several characters will encounter the deadly virus including Cora, Countess of Grantham, played by Elizabeth McGovern and the butler, Carson, played by Jim Carter.
It is not clear how the illness arrives at the aristocratic household but it initially rears its ugly head as the cast prepare for a dinner party.

Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville, declares that 'everyone is falling like ninepins'.

Downton's housekeeper Mrs Hughes then remarks that 'we are quite the hospital again', in reference to the fact that Downton Abbey nursed bloodied officers during the Great War

At one point Sarah, Cora's devoted lady's maid, even keeps vigil at her mistress' bedside.
And even more heartbreak is on its way in the Christmas special which will include both a funeral and a wedding

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/880189-downton-abbey-to-be-hit-with-fatal-spanish-flu-in-season-finale#ixzz1ckNx2hVS

Man Of Steel begins Chicago shoot as Michael Shannon reveals role nerves

Michael Shannon, one of the stars of the Superman: Man of Steel film, has confessed to being nervous about taking on the role of General Zod.

 

Shooting has now wrapped in Illinois and moved to Chicago for a ten day stint, but the Boardwalk Empire actor told MTV that he's 'still getting his foot in the pool'.

Michael Shannon says he will reinvent General Zod in the Superman reboot

He insisted he would not imitate the performance of Terence Stamp - the last person to don the robes of General Zod - but would re-imagine the character as his own, minus the 'British accent'.
'I just started working on it and all I can say is it's very well written and there are a lot of great opportunities to reinvent it for myself. The challenge is for me to do that,' he said.
'There's nothing holding me back and I think they're counting on me to give my interpretation so I'll do the best I can.'

Christopher Nolan, who is responsible for the rejuvenation of the Batman franchise, is producing the new Superman film, which many are hoping will see the tale of the popular superhero receive a psychologically dark makeover.
Henry Cavill will be squeezing into the lycra catsuit to tackle the role of Superman, with Enchanted star Amy Adams starring alongside him as Lois Lane, and Diane Lane and Kevin Costner starring as the eponymous hero's adoptive parents.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/film/874860-man-of-steel-begins-chicago-shoot-as-michael-shannon-reveals-superman-role-nerves#ixzz1XPSCS4wV