TOBY REGBO IS PRINCE FRANCIS IN EPIC SHOW "REIGN"! RYAN MCPARTLIN IN "DO IT YOURSELF" SITCOM! MATT LANTER & AIMEE TEEGARDEN IN SF SHOW "OXYGEN"! BEN CHAPLIN IN BBC WW1 FILM "THE WIPERS TIMES"

It's that period of the year when networks are hiring actors for their upcoming shows and pilots and CW's new historical show REIGN has

new cast members. Described as GAME OF THRONES meets MARIE ANTOINETTE, and directed by Brad Silberling (LEMONY SNICKET), the new epic show will see Adelaide Kane playing Mary Queen of Scots at the time when she arrived to France as the future wife of Prince Francis. Beside depicting her stay at the court with her three ladies in waiting amidst terrifying foes, mysterious forces, and a world of sexual intrigue, REIGN will also show Mary as a "warrior queen" with a "girl posse" who fought to gain the throne of Scotland after spending her childhood at the French court!  The new info is that young Toby Regbo will play prince Francis, while Megan Follows (WORLD WITHOUT END) will play Queen Catherine, the Queen Consort of France, who is willing to do anything to mantain her own standing and power at Court, as well as that of her children. The show has also added yet another Australian star Caitlin Stasey to the cast. NEIGHBOURS actress will play Kenna, a free spirit who serves as one of Mary's ladies-in-waiting together with Celina Sinden who will play Greer.

  "AGATHA" MOVIE & "DO IT YOURSELF" SITCOM 

For all of you who like Agatha Christie, "Deadline" reports that Will Gluck will direct AGATHA, a film which will try to solve the mystery about what happened during those legendary 11 days when the famous novelist disappeared back

in December 1926. After a massive search for the beloved author, she was found at a hotel in Yorkshire registered as Mrs. Teresa Neele from Cape Town, South Africa. The author never explained her unusual disappearance. This action adventure will be a mix of Sherlock Holmes and "Romancing the Stone", using the event as a backdrop. The same site also reports that our beloved Ryan McPartlin from LIVING WITH FRAN and CHUCK will star in new sitcom DO IT YOURSELF at TBS which follows a 20-something laid-off math teacher (Ben Rappaport) who finds himself thrust into the blue collar world when he gets a job at that most American of retail institutions: the big box home supply store. McPartlin will play will play Tyler, a handsome Home Time employee who works in the paint department where he gives several paint demonstrations a week. The John Barrymore of paint, Tyler considers himself an actor and an artist, and really throws himself into his “shows”.

  "OXYGEN" SF SHOW AND "WIPER TIMES" MOVIE

In TV news today,  another of CW's sf shows OXYGEN has found its lead stars in Matt Lanter (BH 90210) and Aimee Teegarden (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) who will play Emery, a human girl and Roman, an alien boy who is, together with eight others of his kind, integrated into a suburban high school 10 years after they and hundreds of others landed on Earth and were immediately consigned to an internment camp where they’ve been imprisoned ever since. Meanwhile, over at BBC they have a new project THE WIPERS TIMES according to "Deadline"! Based on the true story of the creation of a satirical magazine that was published in the trenches during World War I, the film stars Ben Chaplin as Captain Fred Roberts who discovered a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium in 1916 and began publishing the blackly comic Wipers Times for troops on the Western Front. The cast also includes Michael Palin and Emilia Fox!

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VIN DIESEL IS "THE LAST WITCH HUNTER"! "MERRY MEN" EPIC ON SHERWOOD BOYS! "NORTHERNMEN A VIKING SAGA" EPIC! TOUCHING TRAILER FOR "WHAT MAISIE KNEW" WITH JULIANNE MOORE & ALEXANDER SKARSGARD

 Here's something with the right timing: with THOR movie and History Channel's new VIKINGS epic series scoring success, we shall also be able to watch a Viking film coming from the home of the blonde barbarians!

Titled NORTHMEN - A VIKING SAGA, the film will see Tobias Santelmann, star of the Oscar nominated KON-TIKI, playing Viking leader Asbjörn, stranded behind enemy lines on the coast of Alba with his band of Vikings. Their only chance of survival is to find a path to the Viking settlement, Danelag, traversing an unfamiliar and hostile land. The journey becomes a race for their lives when the King of Alba sends his most feared mercenaries after them. But when the Vikings meet a Christian Monk who also preaches with his sword, the hunters become the hunted as the Vikings set deadly traps, mercilessly decimating their pursuers one by one, culminating in a final and deadly encounter. The English language film should start shooting this Autumn!

  MERRY MEN & THE LAST WITCH HUNTER 

And that's not all from the info on new epic movies! "Empire" reports that we shall watch another take on famous Robin Hood! But this time it will be a different take on the famous Sherwood legend! Dreamworks 

will put focus on MERRY MEN, the brave bunch that followed Robin Hood through his adventures! To be written by Brad Ingelsby, this big budgeted historical movie will be an ensemble effort that will give an Ocean’s Eleven-style reboot to Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian and Will Scarlet. The film's director will be Scott Waugh (ACT OF VALOR, NEED FOR SPEED). Don't forget that CW is developing SHERWOOD show in which the focus will be on a female vigilante who teams up with Robin and his gang against Normans in order to save her jailed boyfriend. Deadline reports that Vin Diesel might take the lead role in Breck Eisner's THE LAST WITCH HUNTER a film about an immortal witch hunter who partners with his natural enemy, a female witch, to stop the covens of New York City from unleashing a plague on humanity.

  WHAT MAISIE KNEW? 

I have a touching trailer for you today. It is the first clip for new drama WHAT MAISIE KNEW starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgard, Steve Coogan, Joanna Vanderham and little Onata April. Contemporary

 movie adaptation of Henry James 19th century novel premiered at Toronto Film Festival and will hit cinemas later this year. The critically acclaimed movie depicts the complex inner workings of a family struggling through divorce as seen through the eyes of their 7-year-old daughter Maisie. Julianne Moore portrays Maisie's mother, Suzanna, an aging rockstar engaged in a nasty custody battle with art dealing ex-husband Beale (Steve Coogan). In a play to win the court's favor, Beale weds Margot (Joanna Vanderham), Maisie's nanny, inciting Suzanna to rope bartending pal Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard) into holy matrimony as well. As Maisie is bounced between parents who seem more interested in provoking vicious arguments rather than caring for their child, it becomes clear her pseudo stepparents may be the family Maisie truly needs.

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STEVEN SPIELBERG'S "NAPOLEON" EPIC MINI SERIES! ELIZA TAYLOR IN "HUNDRED" SF SHOW, MICHAEL MALARKEY IS SF PRINCE IN "THE SELECTION" TV EPIC! TAYLOR KITSCH & JIM PARSONS IN "THE NORMAL HEART"! MICHAEL EALY IS ROBOT IN J.J. ABRAMS NEW SF SHOW

Since your trusted HOLLYWOOD SPY is one of web's leading places for all things historical, we are ever so excited with the number of epic

 movies and series which await us in the future. Another one on this list is a television series on NAPOLEON! According to "Digital Spy" legendary Steven Spielberg will helm this new show based on the materials which are deemed to be Stanley Kubrick's unfinished life's work! Instead of a movie, the material on the infamous French general and ruler who covered half of Europe with blood and death, will be turned into TV series! Kubrick wrote the script back in the 1960's but didn't produce it due to high costs so this will now be second of his projects to be finished by Spielberg since Steven also directed and finished Kubrick's last film A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE after Kubrick died in the 90's!

  HUNDRED & SELECTION SF SHOWS CAST ADDITIONS 

In other TV news today, CW's upcoming sf pilot THE HUNDRED has found its lead star in Australian actress and beauty Eliza Taylor. In the show set almost a century after a nuclear war devastated the Earth she will play a young rebel who is part of a 100-strong spaceship crew sent back to the planet to rebuild the human race. I've reported earlier last week that Australian boys Bob Morley and Eli Goree will also play members of the spaceship crew! They are just some of the many Australian actors who are scoring roles in new US TV pilots, and you already know that

another Oz girl, Adelaide Kane will play Mary Queen of Scots in CW's new historical drama REIGN! CW has also found their male lead for another sf teen project - THE SELECTION which is set 300 years in the future and follows an epic romance centring on a young woman named America Singer (I reported last week that Israeli actress Yael Grobglas has been picked for the role) chosen by lottery to participate in a competition with 25 other women for the Royal Prince Maxon's hand to become the nation's next queen.

Balancing her loyalty to family, true love and the kingdom, she must attempt to remain true to herself as she navigates the cutthroat competition and palace intrigue, all while a budding rebellion threatens to topple the crown. The update is that young Michael Malarkey will play prince Maxon, the charming, self-serving and untrustworthy son of the king and queen who are not pleased with his reckless behaviour. He's thrilled to have a group of young women competing for his affections and is intrigued by the feisty labor class girl America. Another cast member is Lucien Laviscount who will play Aspen Leger, a handsome and brave man from the servant class who is having a secret and illegal relationship with America!

  J.J. ABRAMS ROBOT SERIES 

Meanwhile, over at HBO their upcoming mini series THE NORMAL HEART which already has Matt Bomer, Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo in the cast, has just added JOHN CARTER's Taylor Kitsch and BIG BANG THEORY's Jim Parsons. The series tells the story of the AIDS crisis in New York City during the early 1980s! THR reports that Fox has also found an actor for their upcoming sf pilot! Michael Ealy will star in the untitled robot drama produced by J.J. Abrams. This action packed buddy cop show set in the near future, when all LAPD officers are partnered with highly evolved humanlike androids, will see Ealy playing Dorian, the android partner of LAPD officer John Kennex who understands humanity more than his human counterpart.

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AMAZING NEW "GAME OF THRONES 3" POSTERS & NEW TRAILER! PAUL BETTANY & JOHNNY DEPP IN "TRANSCENDENCE"! DANIEL RADCLIFFE IN "FRANKENSTEIN"! SF SAGA "TUNNELS" MOVIE ADAPTATION

Upcoming 2014 sf thriller TRANSCENDENCE in which Johnny 

Depp will play the lead role has added Paul Bettany to the cast as well. Johnny Depp will play a scientist who tries to create artificial intelligence by uploading his brain into a supercomputer. Another project to get first cast members is the new version of FRANKENSTEIN: "Variety" reports that Daniel Radcliffe is in talks to take the role of Igor. The sf version of the old horror tale to be directed by Paul McGuigan will bring a new look upon the Mary Shelley story focusing on topics such as friendship and redemption.This is just one of the many of the upcoming projects on the famous monster. Later this year we shall watch I, FRANKENSTEIN with Aaron Eckhart, Jai Courtney, Miranda Otto, Yvonne Strahovski and Bill Nighy. In that one, Frankenstein's creature finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries old war between two immortal clans.

  TUNNELS FANTASY FILM 

Relativity Media is preparing their movie adaptation of bestselling YA saga TUNNELS by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. Translated into 40

different countries and sold in millions, the six tomes of the saga  bring a thrilling, epic fantasy adventure for all ages. Beneath the streets of London, two teenage boys discover an incredible, hidden underground world where a secret civilization has been desperately waiting for a hero to save them all. The deeper they go, the closer they get to unearthing an evil that could destroy the world above and put an end to the lives they once lived. The film will be directed by Mihael Hafstrom and produced by famous Mark Canton who brought us legendary epics 300 and IMMORTALS!

  NEW GAME OF THRONES POSTERS AND TRAILER 

And your main treat for today are  new extended trailer and amazing character posters for the third season of popular and overly dark epic show GAME OF THRONES. Portraying the main characters from the

series, posters show each of the heroes with face half in light and half shadowed in darkness. I am guessing the meaning of that is clear once you remember that the previous season ended with the outbreak of some strange looking zombies, with winter setting upon the kingdoms and with the war raging across the land! The posters show Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Robb Stark 

(Richard Madden), Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), and Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright). The new season will be based upon George R.R. Martin's book A STORM OF SWORDS from his SONG OF ICE

AND FIRE saga. The new thing is that each of the ten new episodes will last a bit less than an hour as opposed to the episodes of 52 minutes from the previous seasons. The third run of GAME OF THRONES stars March 31st in USA and next day in numerous other countries around the world.

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HOLLYWOOD SPY EXCLUSIVE SPOTLIGHT ON HISTORY CHANNEL'S LAVISH NEW HISTORICAL MINI SERIES "THE BIBLE" AIRING THIS MARCH IN TEN EPISODES

Well, people, it seems History Channel is trying to get into some serious game with their productions of scripted series beside their well known documentary shows. With their gala premiere of epic show VIKINGS this Sunday, they are also launching their historical saga THE BIBLE which will air throughout March in five two hour episodes. Shot in Morocco and numerous other locations around the world the historical series also used researchers, academic consultants and theologians in order to verify accuracy of the stories that will be told within the episodes.

THE BIBLE STORY

Television’s highly acclaimed producer, Mark Burnett ("The Voice", "Survivor", "The Apprentice"), and his wife, Roma Downey ("Touched by An Angel") are bringing the most widely-read book of all time to life on the screen, with breathtaking beauty and the use of dramatic live action and cutting-edge CGI technology. The series will cover "Genesis to Revelation" within five two-hour parts, each containing two or three biblical stories told through live action and computer generated imagery. The stories told will include Noah's Ark, the Exodus, and the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Five

episodes will be based on the Old Testament and the other five on the New Testament. THE BIBLE spans hundreds of years of biblical history, beginning with the sacrifice of Isaac and ending with the meeting between Pontius Pilate and Jesus and Ananias's baptism of St. Paul. In between, viewers will see Samson destroy the pagan Philistine temple, David fight Goliath, the Baptism of Jesus and Christ walking on water, among other scenes. The final episode of the series will air on Easter Sunday and will feature the death and resurrection of Jesus. The producers' goal was to retell the stories in a way which is appealing to the young audience as well.

THE BIBLE CAST

When it comes to the ensemble starring in the epic mini series, the names included are mostly unknown to the wider audience with Roma Downey (from TOUCHED BY ANGEL) playing Mother Mary, one of Portugal's top actors Diogo Morgado is Jesus Christ, Darwin Shaw is Peter, Sebastian Knapp plays John, Amber Rose Revah portrays Mary Magdalene, Greg Hicks will appear as Pilate, Simon Kunz is Nicodemus, Joe Wredden is Judas, Andrew Scarborough is Joshua ... It is also very interesting that the music for THE BIBLE mini series was composed by legendary Oscar winner Hans Zimmer who did music for THE LION KING, GLADIATOR, PEARL HARBOUR, MADAGASCAR....

  OTHER BIBLE PROJECTS 

History Channel's epic series is not the only Biblical project awaiting us ahead. Last year Steven Spielberg has entered negotiations with Warner Brothers to helm GODS AND KINGS, which is being described as a Braveheartish version of the Moses story in which the Jewish leader will be shown as the warrior to beat all warriors. You also know that Darren Aronofsky is finishing the lavish production on his science fiction epic NOAH which will follow the famous Biblical character but in an adventure much darker and more futuristic than in the Bible. The cast includes Anthony Hopkins who will play Methuselah the world's oldest living man, who dies seven days before the great flood that Noah survives with his ark full of animals. Russell Crowe is Noah, Douglas Booth and Logan Lerman are his sons, Jennifer Connelly is Noah's wife, and Ray Winstone is also in the cast.

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HOLLYWOOD SPY EXCLUSIVE SPOTLIGHT ON NEW BBC EPIC SERIES "THE MUSKETEERS" WITH LUKE PASQUALINO, SANTIAGO CABRERA, HUGO SPEER AND TOM BURKE

As you know, your Hollywood Spy simply adores the ongoing trend of new epic shows on television, and BBC is preparing quite a lot of those for us: beside ATLANTIS which is ready to replace their MERLIN, and THE WHITE QUEEN and WOLF HALL, which will go medieval and royal, sometime ago I also announced that BBC is planning their television adaptation of THE MUSKETEERS! The good news is that the project in the form of a ten episode show is ready to start shooting this month and we also have the cast revealed with TV heartthrobs Luke Pasqualino and Santiago Cabrera leading the cast!

  MUSKETEERS STORY

Set on the streets of seventeenth century Paris, where law and order is more an idea than reality, the series follows MUSKETEERS Athos, Aramis and Porthos. They are far more than King Louis XIII’s personal bodyguards. They stand resolutely for social justice, for honor, for valor, for love – and for the thrill of it. D’Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino), a skilled fighter from rural Gascony, meets the three Musketeers while on a mission to right the wrong of his father’s death. Although he meets the men in unfortunate circumstances, he finds kindred spirits in the other soldiers. Athos (Tom Burke), who has rejected his noble roots to become a Musketeer, has a past shrouded in mystery. He quickly befriends D’Artagnan, but is prone to getting in trouble. Porthos (Howard Charles) is a larger than life character, who has come from humble beginnings to become a soldier in the most elite regiment in the land, finding a family in the other Musketeers. Never short of admirers,

Aramis(Santiago Cabrera) has an effortless charm which leads him in and out of love. Despite this, he is a shrewd pragmatist who is ferocious in battle and commands a key place in the brotherhood. Constance Bonacieux (Tamla Kari) leads a dull but comfortable life married to a cloth merchant, but her life is turned upside down when D’Artagnan tumbles into her life, and she becomes involved with The Musketeers. Cardinal Richlieu (Peter Capaldi), while striving to achieve his vision of a thoroughly modern France, is a shadowy character who will stop at nothing to

achieve his objectives. Milady (Maimie McCoy) is the Cardinal’s secret weapon, the most mysterious and beautiful of villains whose motives are often concealed. The King relies on the advice of The Cardinal, his shrewd wife Queen Anne and also Captain Treville (Hugo Speer), the brave and respected commander of The Musketeers who keeps an eye on the soldiers to ensure they stay out of trouble. The series bursts with escapism, adventure and romance and is set to thrill audiences with cracking stories!

MUSKETEERS CAST

Created by Adrian Hodges from MY WEEKEND WITH MARILYN and PRIMEVAL, and scheduled to premier on the small screens in 2014, THE MUSKETEERS show will have dashing Luke Pasqualino ("Skins", "The Borgias", "Battlestar Galactica Blood and Chrome") playing the lead role of D’Artagnan alongside Tom Burke ("Great Expectations", "The Hour") as Athos, charismatic Santiago Cabrera (whom you remember as amazing Lancelot in BBC's "Merlin") as Aramis and Howard Charles (Royal Shakespeare Company) as Porthos. They all play a crack-team of highly trained soldiers. Meanwhile, Peter Capaldi ("The Hour", "The Thick of It"), Tamla Kari ("Cuckoo", "The Inbetweeners Movie"), beautiful Maimie McCoy ("Loving Miss Hatto"), and Hugo Speer ("Bedlam") will also star in this thrilling ten-part, fresh and contemporary take on the classic characters created by Alexandre Dumas in his much-loved novel.

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LEE PACE IN AMC 80'S COMPUTER SHOW "HALT AND CATCH FIRE"! TOM MISON & NICOLE BEHARIE IN "SLEEPY HOLLOW" SHOW! DEVIN KELLEY IN ABC SF SHOW "THE RETURNED"! BOB MORLEY & ELI GOREE IN SPACESHIP SHOW "HUNDRED"! DAREN KAGASOFF IN SF SHOW "DELIRIUM"

We shall have tones of casting news for new shows and pilots today starting with our favourite Lee Pace whom you watched as mesme-

rizing Elven king Thranduil leading his elven armies while riding his royal elk in THE HOBBIT. He is returning to TV after PUSHING DAISIES a few years ago. Now he will lead the cast in AMC's HALT AND CATCH FIRE! Set in the early '80s, the drama revolves around the personal computing boom and is told through the eyes of a visionary and an engineer and prodigy whose innovations directly confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Their partnership will be challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie. THR reports that Lee Pace will play Joe MacMillan, who is often the smartest guy in the office and two steps ahead of both friends and enemies. Once a superstar salesman at IBM, he recently departed under mysterious circumstances only to resurface at an also-ran Dallas tech company. He arrives in Dallas with a plan to force the company into the new era of the PC boom. Mackenzie Davis will play a punk computer programming grad student whose aggressive behaviour covers a vulnerability. Her ambition is a magnet for MacMillan!

  SLEEPY HOLLOW & THE RETURNED CAST STARS 

Over at FOX they are preparing television show based on famous SLEEPY HOLLOW legend and the casting is under way!  Dashing British actor Tom Mison from PARADE'S END and SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN has been cast in the lead role as Ichabod Crane, joining Nicole Beharie ("Shame"), Orlando Jones ("Evolution") and Katia Winter ("Dexter")! Produced by STAR TREK's Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, SLEEPY HOLLOW will see Crane time-warped from the Revolutionary War to the present, where he teams with Detective Abbie Archer (Beharie) to thwart his returning foe, the Headless Horseman. Kate Beckinsale's husband

Len Wiseman is directing the pilot! Meanwhile, ABC has cast COVERT AFFAIRS star Devin Kelley for the lead in their new drama THE RETURNED which investigates what happens  when the people you have buried and mourned suddenly appear on your doorstep. Devin will play a tough, attractive and smart doctor at the local clinic in Arcadia with an inquisitive nature. Daughter of the local sheriff, her mother Barbara died 30 years ago in the same accident that killed an 8-year-old boy. Against her father's wishes, she teams up with Agent Martin Bellamy (Matt Craven) to get to the bottom of the mystery.

  SF SHOWS HUNDRED & DELIRIUM CASTING 

When it comes to CW's pilots, they have gathered the cast for sf show HUNDRED which, set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization, follows a spaceship housing the lone human survivors which sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth to investigate the possibility of re-colonizing the planet. Australian actor Bob Morley will play one of the delinquents - a manipulative, strong and crafty one. Eli Goree will play one of the young delinquents on the space station who is disliked by the others because many of their parents have been imprisoned, or worse, by his father, the chancellor of the space station. Fox has also found an actor for their own teen sf show DELIRIUM! Daren Kagasoff will star opposite Emma Roberts in the adaptation of Lauren Oliver's novels. The show is set in a world in which love is deemed illegal and is able to be eradicated with a special procedure. With 95 days to go until her scheduled treatment, Lena Holoway (Roberts) does the unthinkable: she falls in

 love. Kagasoff will play Alex, the object of Lena's affections, a police officer who on the surface appears tough, smug and a rigid enforcer of the government's rules but he is actually a member of an anti government group which opposes government's plan to eradicate love!

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