Julian Fellowes

DOWNTON ABBEY Creator Set to Write GYPSY Remake for Producer Joel Silver; Barbra Streisand Will Star

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 13th, 2012 at 11:58 am

The feature film remake of the popular Broadway musical Gypsy is back on. Over a year ago we learned that Barbra Streisand was in talks to star in an update of the Tony Award-winning musical from Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents, and today it was announced that producer Joel Silver has set Julian Fellowes to write the screenplay for the remake, with Streisand officially onboard to play Momma Rose. The musical is based on the memoirs of burlesque dancer Gypse Rose Lee and centers on Lee’s relationship with her mother, the OG “stage mom” prototype now prevalent in pop culture. Hit the jump for more on Fellowes and Gypsy.

Damian Lewis Cast in ROMEO AND JULIET

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: February 1st, 2012 at 6:05 pm

Television’s Homeland star Damian Lewis has been cast in the adaptation of Romeo and Juliet directed by Carlo Carlei (The Flight of the Innocent). Production is currently underway in Italy, with Paul Giamatti recently joining as Friar Lawrence and with Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth playing the star-crossed lovers. Lewis has been cast as Lord Capulet in the strict adaptation written by Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes of Gosford Park and Downton Abbey fame. The film, aimed at drawing in a younger audience, also stars Ed Westwick as Tybalt and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Benvolio. Hit the jump to see who else has recently joined the cast of Romeo and Juliet.

First Synopsis and Promo Image for Paul W.S. Anderson’s Volcano Disaster Flick POMPEII

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 2nd, 2011 at 2:57 pm

Straight from AFM, we’ve got the first synopsis and promo image for Paul W.S. Anderson’s (Resident Evil) disaster film Pompeii. While Anderson is best known for sci-fi action pics like the Resident Evil films and Alien vs. Predator, the director took a bit of a departure recently for The Three Musketeers, and he’s set to take on another period flick with Pompeii. The film takes place in ancient Rome and centers on a young slave who races to save the woman he loves and his best friend from the violent eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, which threatens to destroy the entire city.

Anderson is directing from a script by Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler (Batman Forever), and Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park). If you missed Steve’s interview with Anderson where he spoke about his plans for the film, click here. Hit the jump for the first full synopsis and promo image for the film.

Director Paul W. S. Anderson Talks POMPEII, Reveals Julian Fellowes Is Rewriting the Script; Plus 5 Things to Know About the Film

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 17th, 2011 at 7:21 pm

With Paul W. S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers opening this weekend, I recently got to speak with the busy director during the London press junket.  While I already posted what he said about Resident Evil 5 (Resident Evil: Retribution), I was also able to get an update on his disaster film, Pompeii.  As we reported in May, Anderson has signed on to direct the film and he’s planning on making it after RE5.  For those that don’t know their history, “Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in the year AD 79. The eruption buried Pompeii under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1749.”  Via Wikipedia.

During the interview, Anderson told me that Pompeii is in pre-production and Julian Fellowes (Downtown Abbey, The Young Victoria) is rewriting the script.  He also said his team is scouting for locations for where they can shoot and unlike his R-rated Resident Evil movies, Pompeii will be PG-13.  In addition, he talked about the similarities to James Cameron’s Titanic since both movies are based on historical events that end in disaster.  He hopes to achieve what Cameron did, engaging the audience in the story enough so they briefly forget about the impending doom.  Hit the jump for more.

2011 Primetime Emmy Award Winners Announced; Winners include Peter Dinklage, Kyle Chandler, and Martin Scorsese

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 18th, 2011 at 9:46 pm

Tonight was the 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards and the winner’s list included some great names.  Perhaps the best win of the night was Peter Dinklage picking up Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Game of Thrones.  Not far behind was Kyle Chandler finally picking up an Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series for the final season of Friday Night Lights (the show also picked up an Emmy for Best Writing in a Drama Series).  Martin Scorsese picked up an award for his direction of Boardwalk Empire‘s pilot episode, and ubiquitous character actor Margo Martindale won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Mags Bennett on FX’s Justified.

The top awards for Best Drama, Best Comedy, and Best Variety, Music or Comedy Series went to last year’s winners Mad Men, Modern Family, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, respectively.  Best Miniseries or TV Movie was awarded to  PBS’ Downtown Abbey while CBS’ The Amazing Race picked up another Emmy for Best Reality-Competition Program.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

Hailee Steinfeld May Star in Indie Adaptation of ROMEO & JULIET

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 7th, 2011 at 1:22 pm

Oscar-nominee Hailee Steinfeld has recently become attached to the upcoming novel Forgotten and a re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty, and now she has a third project on her slate.  THR reports that Steinfeld is in talks to star in an indie adaptation of Romeo & Juliet.  Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) wrote the screenplay and Italian director Carlo Carlie (Flight of the Innocent) will direct with Gabriele Muccino (Seven Pounds) attached as a producer.  There are currently no details on how Carlie plans to differentiate his Romeo & Juliet from the countless other adaptations, but the budget is in the $15 million range and shooting is expected to begin in Italy later this spring.

AFM Coverage: New Images, Posters and Synopses for THE HORSEMAN, THE CUP, THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE, More

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 23rd, 2009 at 11:51 pm

By now you’ve probably noticed that Steve got an ungodly amount of material from this year’s American Film Market (AFM).  The place where buyers and sellers do business to bring you the films you’ll hopefully be seeing in the near future, AFM has tons of artwork and synopses which are used to promote films but which we will use to bring you news on these films.

Below you’ll find images and synopses for From Time to Time, Love Hurts, The Cup, The Devil’s Double, The Horseman, The Steal Artist and Wedding Bros. Hit the jump to check them all out. Also, all the synopses are copied down directly from the original materials with no editorial alterations. You can read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6 by click on their respective links.

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