SPOTLIGHT ON "DRECK" SF THRILLER WITH "DA VINCI'S DEMONS" ELLIOT COWAN, "GAME OF THRONES" HARRY LLOYD, JONATHAN PRYCE & JAMES CALLIS!

As most of you have noticed HOLLYWOOD SPY has been mentioning brilliant British actor Elliot Cowan a lot in recent few years. Not only because he is such a great actor and a very kind gent whom we consider a friend of our site, but also because he is a creative man. Beside giving terrific performances in some of our favourite epic shows and films, from DA VINCI'S DEMONS, SINBAD, HAMMER OF THE GODS, THE GOLDEN COMPASS, ALEXANDER ... he is also a producer and one of his current projects needs you help and back  up over at Kickstarter: so click on the link to support Elliot's latest film DRECK.

  DRECK

BREAK OUT BRITISH SF THRILLER

In 2022, all classes of drugs have been legalised. Drecks are an elite unit created by an over-stretched police force to keep the black market dealers off the streets and the licensed drug companies rich. When Dreck and former addict Frank Grieves is called to investigate an unidentifiable corpse, he makes a connection to the biggest and most powerful drug company of them all: Ambro. But Ambro have friends in high places and as his corrupt superiors turn on him, Grieves finds himself cut loose by the law and separated from the people he loves. The only way to clear his name is to find the identity of the dead body and its connection to Ambro. But not even Grieves can predict what the future has in store. Beside HOLLYWOOD SPY's beloved Elliot Cowan in the lead role, the cast also has our other beloved creature Harry Lloyd from GAME OF THRONES, legendary actor Jonathan Pryce (Pirates Of The Caribbean), Elodie Yung (GI Joe: Retaliation), Robert Bathurst (Downton Abbey), Lenora Crichlow (Being Human) and James Callis (Battlestar Galactica). They all need your help to finish the post-production, so click the link and help them!

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MINDBLOWING TRAILERS FOR ASIAN EPIC "THE GUILLOTINES" & VIKING ACTION "HAMMER OF THE GODS" WITH ELLIOT COWAN & CLIVE STANDEN! NEW VIKING EPIC "SIGURD"

  VIKING EPIC MOVIE ON

SIGURD DRAGON SLAYER

We shall have an epic day today at HOLLYWOOD SPY :) First some Viking news: "Deadline" reports that we shall get a new international co-production on the Norse hero SIGURD. The large scaled fantasy epic from producer Basil Iwanyk (CLASH and WRATH OF THE TITANS, THE SEVENTH SON) will revolve around Sigurd's recruitment to slay the monstrous dragon Fafnir to ward off a generations-long curse. The hero is known from the 13th century Volsunga saga, from Wagner's famous opera and even from Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien. The new take on the story blends the traditional dragon-hunting plot with an original thread involving a fallen daughter of Odin (called Valkyrie) and her desire to retake a place in the heavens.The script is written by Nick Schoenfeld who just wrote ATTILA epic for Warner Bros.

  HAMMER OF THE GODS

 SECOND EPIC TRAILER

Continuing in the same tone, here's a new trailer for Viking adventure HAMMER OF THE GODS! Hitting cinemas July 5th the film is set in Viking Britain in 871 AD, and brings a visceral, intense tale set in a world whose only language is violence. A young Viking warrior, Steinar (Charlie Bewley), is sent by his father the king on a quest to find his estranged brother, who was banished from the kingdom many years before. Steinar's epic journey across terrifyingly hostile territory gradually sees him emerge as the man his father wants him to be - the ruthless and unforgiving successor to his throne. The cast also includes two gents known to us from epic shows - always brilliant Elliot Cowan from DA VINCI'S DEMONS and Clive Standen from VIKINGS. Big thanks to both of them for tweeting about HOLLYWOOD SPY!

  THE GUILLOTINES

 ASIAN EPIC TRAILER

Your second epic trailer for today is promoting new Asian adventure THE GUILLOTINES which is scheduled to start its cinematic live this June. With incredibly intricate costumes and weapons used in the fight scenes, this action epic follows an elite crime-fighting unit in the court of the Chinese emperor which relies on flying swords to defeat their enemies! During the Manchurian ruled Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yong Zheng established a secret assassination squad known as the Guillotines to eliminate all who opposed him. Once heavily favoured by the Emperor, the Guillotines are deemed expendable once Emperor Qian Long ascends to the throne and adopts Western ideas and technology. To consolidate his power under a new regime, the Emperor continues to use the Guillotines to persecute the conquered Han Chinese in a reign of terror and oppression.

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1ST TRAILER FOR "AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY" WITH MERYL STREEP, EWAN MCGREGOR, JULIA ROBERTS, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH! BENJAMIN WALKER & CHRIS HEMSWORTH IN "THE HEART OF THE SEA"! KARL URBAN'S "ALMOST HUMAN" SHOW GREENLIT!

  BENJAMIN WALKER

 JOINS CHRIS HEMSWORTH IN 'IN THE HEART OF THE SEA' EPIC MOVIE

Sometime ago HOLLYWOOD SPY has announced that Ron Howard is preparing to direct sea epic IN THE HEART OF THE SEA a 19th century set drama in which Chris Hemsworth will star as the first mate on board the Essex, a doomed ship whose encounter with an angry sperm whale was the inspiration for famous novel Moby Dick. The ship went down in the middle of the South Pacific after being rammed by the whale, and its crew drifted for more than 90 days, ultimately forced to turn to drastic measures in order to survive. According to fresh rumours from "Deadline" Benjamin Walker from ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER might play George Pollard, the privileged son of a whaling family, and the captain of the Essex who gets downgraded after the accident!

  ALL THE ORDERED NEW SHOWS!

ALMOST HUMAN, REIGN, SLEEPY HOLLOW, TOMORROW PEOPLE!  
In sad TV news - NBC has passed on sf western series THE SIXTH GUN which means it won't be made into a series, while Fox has decided not to greenlit Emma Roberts' DELIRIUM sf show but they did order fantasy show SLEEPY HOLLOW and Karl Urban's sf show ALMOST HUMAN from J.J. Abrams! TNT has forwarded Sean Bean's LEGENDS and Michael Bay's THE LAST SHIP into series! Over at CW space opera SELECTION has been passed over for the second time, but other of their sf pilots OXYGEN (now titled STAR CROSSED) and THE 100 along with TOMORROW PEOPLE will get whole seasons along with historical saga REIGN on the life of Mary Queen of Scots! The sad news is that ABC has decided not to make GOTHICA into series. Starring Tom Ellis as Dr Frankenstein with Dorian Grey and Grace van Helsing in the gallery too, the doomed project was to weave fantasy with present times.

  AUGUST OSAGE COUNTRY CLIP

 MERYL STREEP, EWAN MCGREGOR, JULIA ROBERTS

And here's an all star cast for you in the first trailer for family drama AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTRY which shall start its big screen life this November starring Meryl Streep, Ewan McGregor, Julia Roberts, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin, Sam Shepard, Juliet Lewis, Chris Cooper and Dermot Mulroney. The story of the film offers a  look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Meryl is the pill-popping  mother, Julia has Ewan for a cheating husband who had a fling with a student at his college.

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HOLLYWOOD SPY EXCLUSIVE SPOTLIGHT ON EPIC ADVENTURE "300 RISE OF AN EMPIRE" WITH SULLIVAN STAPLETON, EVA GREEN, LENA HEADEY, RODRIGO SANTORO

When back in 2006 Zack Snyder created one of the most influential epic movies ever - the Spartan historical action 300 - the impact was so huge that the success of the film not only revived the epic genre in cinemas but also gave birth to so many popular historical shows which have been showing on the small screens in recent years with mind blowing action scenes and breathtaking visuals. With 2013 the time has finally arrived for us to check out 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE the sequel to the outstanding blockbuster which earned almost half billion dollars in theatres worldwide bringing to fame some of today's most popular actors from Gerard Butler and Michael Fassbender to Dominic West, Rodrigo Santoro and Lena Headey! The sequel hits cinemas next March just like the original film did years ago!

  RISE OF AN EMPIRE

THE LEGENDARY STORY

After its victory over the famous Spartan king Leonidas' 300 brave warriors who sacrificed their lives to save the country, the Persian Army under the command of infamous tyrant Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) marches south towards the major Greek city-states. The Democratic city of Athens, first on the path of Xerxes' army, bases its strength on its fleet, led by admiral Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton). Themistocles is forced to an unwilling alliance with the traditional rival of Athens, oligarchic Sparta whose might lies with its superior infantry troops. But Xerxes still reigns supreme in numbers over sea and land. Based on Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel "Xerxes", and told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster “300” this new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield — on the sea — as Greek general Themistokles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. 300 RISE OF AN EMPIRE pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and Artemisia (Eva Green), vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

  SULLIVAN STAPLETON

IS BRAVE GENERAL THEMI- STOCLES 

Walking the line between savvy statesman and battle hardened soldier, this Greek general has no illusions about what motivates men, kings or gods. He knows well how the game is played. A master strategist, Themistokles holds an unflinching vision for the glory of Greece and will do whatever it takes to realize that vision — whether leading the charge on the battlefield or subtly working his influence behind the scenes. Now, facing the onslaught of the massive Persian navy, he may be outnumbered but not out-maneuvered. Knowing there's more at stake here than his life and the lives of his men, he will gamble everything on a daring plan that could seal the fate of Greece and the future of democracy.

  EVA GREEN

 IS VENGEFUL ARTEMISIA

A woman commanding armies in a man's world, this skilled and ruthless warrior — the real power behind Xerxes' throne — knows that the rules have never applied to her. And never will. Meeting Themistokles head-on with the Persian armada, Artemisia will set the sea on fire, assaulting Greece not only for power and glory but for vengeance, the roots of which are known only to herself … and for which she is willing to sacrifice thousands and alter the fate of nations.

  RISE OF AN EMPIRE CAST

LENA HEADEY IS QUEEN GORGO

Produced and written by Zack Snyder and directed by Noam Murro the action adventure will also see Lena Headey reprising her starring role from “300” as the Spartan Queen, Gorgo, Hans Matheson (“Clash of the Titans”) stars as Aeskylos, David Wenham returns as Dilios, and Rodrigo Santoro stars again as the Persian King, Xerxes. Jack O'Connell is Calisto, while Australian TV star Callan Mulvey plays Scyllias and Yigal Naor is King Darius! Absolutely brilliant costume designer Alexandra Byrne (THOR, THE AVENGERS) who won an Oscar for her stunning and deeply meticulous work in ELIZABETH THE GOLDEN AGE and was nominated for ELIZABETH and HAMLET too, is doing the costumes in the film!

  RISE OF AN EMPIRE TIDBITS

The film, shot in Bulgaria, was originally supposed to have a cameo from Gerard Butler but he refused the gig. The film was first titled XERXES and then 300 BATTLE OF ARTEMISIA and was  originally focusing mostly on the Persian king but the focus was then shift onto the Greek general.  Zack Snyder was supposed to helm the film but had to drop off due to MAN OF STEEL. A special team of top fitness experts who worked on the first film was brought again to train the actors and give them all six pack abs and ripped muscles.There will, apparently, be crazy sex scenes between Sullivan and Eva in the film!

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DOMINIC COOPER IS SULTAN MEHMED IN LUKE EVANS' "DRACULA"? RICHARD MADDEN IS PRINCE IN KENNETH BRANAGH & CATE BLANCHETT'S "CINDERELLA"! "GRAVITY" TRAILER WITH SANDRA BULLOCK & GEORGE CLOONEY

  RICHARD MADDEN IS

PRINCE IN CINDERELLA

It's official, my little freaks, HOLLYWOOD SPY's beloved epic star Richard Madden (Robb Stark, king of the North in GAME OF THRONES) has landed himself the role of the prince in the new live action big screen version of CINDERELLA! As I've been reporting throughout the last year, Cate Blanchett is taking the evil Stepmother role with legendary British actor and director Kenneth Branagh taking the directing job. DOWNTON ABBEY actress Lily James has got the title role, which is both good and bad: bad because she doesn't really look Cinderella, and good because they actually wanted to give the role to that talentless HARRY POTTER brat at some point! We shall also watch Richard Madden in A PROMISE next to Alan Rickman and Rebecca Hall: a romantic drama set in Germany just before WWI centring on a married woman who falls in love with her husband's teacher. Separated by the war, the pledge their devotion to one another.

  DOMINIC COOPER JOINS

LUKE EVANS IN DRACULA
  Another of HOLLYWOOD SPY's pet stars Luke Evans has a new mate in the cast for Universal's historical epic DRACULA scheduled for August next year. Dominic Cooper has just joined Evans, in the title role, and Sarah Gadon (from WORLD WITHOUT END epic mini series) and will possibly play Turkish sultan Mehmed who ruled the Balkan peninsula in the medieval period of prince Vlad the Impaler, the historical ruler who served as the inspiration for Bram Stoker's DRACULA. The film will weave both the historical and the fictional character. It is interesting that this won't be Cooper's first time around vampires, since he recently starred in ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER!

  GRAVITY SF TRAILER

WITH SANDRA BULLOCK & GEORGE CLOONEY

And here it finally is: the first trailer for science fiction drama GRAVITY which should open in cinemas this October with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in the lead roles! The Alfonso Cuaron directed film follows Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) a brilliant medical engineer, who is on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney). But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone, tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth...and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space!

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"THE LAST SHIP" APOCALYPTIC SHOW TRAILER WITH ERIC DANE, RHONA MITRA! BEYONCE'S "RISE UP" SONG FOR "EPIC" MOVIE! ANDREW GARFIELD IN MARTIN SCORSESE'S ASIAN EPIC "SILENCE"

  BEYONCE SINGS

 'RISE UP' SONG  FOR "EPIC" ANIMATED MOVIE

 I don't know about you but I really miss movie songs following new movies, some of the best pop songs have come to us that way from Celine Dion's TITANIC song "My Heart Will Go On" to Leona Lewis' "I See You" for AVATAR, to Enya's "May It Be" for LORD OF THE RINGS. Adele's recent "Skyfall" and Mariah Carey's recent hit "Almost Home" for OZ GREAT AND POWERFUL might bring back this lovely trend especially since Beyonce has just announced that this month she will release new song "Rise Up" to promote the upcoming enchanting animated tale EPIC which hits cinemas from May 24th! Beyonce has co-written this song with Sia, for the film in which she lends her voice to forest queen Tara, the ruler of the magical world of the leafmen! Also starring Collin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried and Jason Sudeikis the film tells the story of an ongoing battle deep in the forest between the forces of good and the forces of evil.

  ANDREW GARFIELD

IN SCORSESE'S 'SILENCE' EPIC
Now this is a strange casting choice: SPIDERMAN's Andrew Garfield is to ditch his modern geek looks and go to the 17th century. According to "Variety" he will join Ken Watanabe in Martin Scorsese directed epic movie SILENCE. The big screen adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel has a story set in the 17th Century, and following Father Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield), a Portuguese Jesuit priest who travels to Japan to confront his mentor, after rumours surfaced that he had abandoned the church. Ken Watanabe will portray Father Rodrigues' Japanese interpreter. Don't forget that another modern star whom we cannot imagine in ancient outfits, Keanu Reeves, will also go to ancient China in 47 RONIN epic later this year.

  THE LAST SHIP EPIC SHOW

 FIRST APOCALYPTIC TRAILER

One of this years pilots that I've announced a couple of times has been officially greenlit for the whole season: Michael Bay's THE LAST SHIP will get ten episode season at TNT! With the cast lead by dashing "Grey's Anatomy" star Eric Dane alongside stunning Rhona Mitra ("Underworld"), Adam Baldwin ("Firefly") and Tracy Middendorf ("Boardwalk Empire"), the story of the new show centres on a post-apocalyptic world, in which the global population is almost entirely destroyed. The crew and captain of the ship, who have not succumbed to the tragedy, must face life as some of the only survivors on Earth. Dane plays the captain, while Rhona is a scientist who is trying to find the cure for the virus which has destroyed the rest of the world. The show will hit small screens summer 2014! Check out the first exciting trailer:

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JEAN JACQUES ANNAUD HELMS SWEEPING ASIAN SAGA "WOLF TOTEM"! RIDLEY SCOTT PREPARING "THE TERROR" ARCTIC SHOW & "RAIDERS" WW2 SHOW! "BLACK SAILS" PIRATE SERIES POSTER!

  JEAN JACQUES ANNAUD

 HELMS WOLF TOTEM ASIAN EPIC

As some of you know your trusted Dezzy works as a book translator when not being HOLLYWOOD SPY and I must confess that one of my favourite translations in my career was of sweeping Asian saga WOLF 

TOTEM by Jiang Rong which took 30 years in writing and won famous Man Prize (that's Asian Booker). Click for the Serbian cover. Now amazing director Jean Jacques Annaud is adapting the novel for the big screen! According to THR Chinese stars Feng Shaofeng and Shawn Dou Xiao will take the lead roles in the French Chinese co production. Feng will play a student being sent down to work in the Inner Mongolian steppes during China's Cultural Revolution, and whose new way of life is thrown into chaos as an apparatchik orders the killing of all wolves living in the area. He saves one of the baby wolves and the saga then follows him raising the cub, learning to live with the nature in the traditional way of the steppes scorched by boiling summers and freezing winters with no electricity nor houses. The novel also depicts how the destruction of the steppes lead to today's Beijing being whipped by sandstorms coming from the deserts where once lush green fields were. This is also a chance for Annaud to redeem himself in China since he was banned there for many years due to his depiction of the Chinese people in his infamous film SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET!

  RIDLEY SCOTT'S SHOWS

TERROR & RAIDERS 

Meanwhile, over at AMC, according to Deadline, Ridley Scott's production company is preparing some great new shows! I've already written about THE TERROR which is set in 1847 and follows the crew of a Royal Naval expedition in search of the Arctic’s treacherous Northwest Passage. Instead, they discover a monstrous predator that stalks the ships in a desperate game of survival, which could threaten the region and its native people forever. Ridley is also preparing an untitled futuristic, dystopian, sci-fi saga from the producers of FRINGE and THE WALKING DEAD, and RAIDERS, a WWII drama about a rogue U.S. Navy commander who leads an unconventional warfare unit into the heart of Africa on a mission that will bend the arc of history. Ridley's company is also preparing VATICAN show for Showtime and CLONDIKE for Discovery Channel.

  BLACK SAILS

 NEW EPIC SHOW POSTER

Check out the first poster for Starz new epic show BLACK SAILS which will hit the small screens next January taking over the primetime from SPARTACUS. Produced by Michael Bay it is sort of a prequel to famous TREASURE ISLAND story and it revolves around Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his men with the whole plot being set 20 years before Robert Louis Stevenson's original story. The series will feature Flint, the most feared pirate of his day, as he expands his ranks and adds John Silver (Luke Arnold) to his crew. The eight part series also has MERLIN's Tom Hopper in the cast alongside Zach McGowan, Hannah New and Jessica Parker Kennedy! 

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