ITV commisions Beowulf series

A few weeks back it was announced that ITV were moving forward with an adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde, today we are hearing news that they have also commissioned another classic Horror story. They are adapting Beowulf, which is being described as "an epic re-imagining of one of literature's greatest and most enduring heroes" this series is being created by James Dormer, Tim Haines and Katie Newman. Filming will start in April 2015, no casting has been made as of yet.

ITV have said about the series "a western set in the Dark Ages of Britain’s mythic past, the story unfolds on a huge canvas, filmed amongst the breathtaking beauty of England’s North East."

"Hundreds of years ago our ancestors listened to the story of Beowulf because it was a great adventure story – it scared them, thrilled them, made them laugh and cry," Dormer who will write and executive produce the series went on to say, "But they also listened because they recognized themselves and their fears in it. By holding a mirror up to them this story helped define them and thus – us. So it’s incredibly exciting to have the opportunity to make it relevant again for a wide audience – to let them own it again. To let them see themselves in it."

"Beowulf is a series with a charismatic protagonist at its heart," Director of Drama Steve November said. "Equally it’s a spirited and fascinating ensemble drama with each character taking their own emotional and sometimes perilous journey. We’re delighted to be commissioning Beowulf and to be working with Tim Haines and his production team,".

Detailed synopsis for Agent Carter

"Agent Carter" will hit our screens in January next year, the show will air on ABC who already have "Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D." on their card. Now we have an extended plot synopsis for the upcoming show from an official release;

Years before Agent Coulson and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team swore to protect those who cannot protect themselves from threats they cannot conceive, there was Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), who pledged the same oath but lived in a different time when women weren’t recognized as being as smart or as tough as their male counterparts.

But no one should ever underestimate Peggy.

It's 1946 and peace has dealt Peggy a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy finds herself stuck doing administrative work when she would rather be back out in the field; putting her vast skills into play and taking down the bad guys. But she is also trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life, Steve Rogers – aka Captain America.

When old acquaintance Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper, Captain America: The First Avenger) finds himself being framed for unleashing his deadliest weapons to anyone willing to pony up the cash, he contacts Peggy - the only person he can trust - to track down those responsible, dispose of the weapons and clear his name. He empowers his butler, Edwin Jarvis (James D'Arcy, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), to be at her beck and call when needed to help assist her as she investigates and tracks down those responsible for releasing these weapons of mass destruction. But Jarvis, who is a creature of habit and sticks to a rigid daily routine, is going to have to make some major life changes if he’s going to be able to keep up with Peggy.

If caught going on these secret missions for Stark, Peggy could be targeted as a traitor and spend the rest of her days in prison – or worse. And as she delves deeper into her investigation, she may find that those she works for are not who they seem, and she might even begin to question whether Stark is as innocent as he claims.

“Marvel’s Agent Carter” stars Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter, James D'Arcy as Edwin Jarvis, Chad Michael Murray (“One Tree Hill,” “A Cinderella Story”) as Agent Jack Thompson, Enver Gjokaj (“Dollhouse”) as Agent Daniel Sousa and Shea Whigham (American Hustle, The Wolf of Wall Street) as Chief Roger Dooley.

Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Chris Dingess, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Alan Fine, Joe Quesada, Stan Lee and Jeph Loeb are executive producers. “Marvel’s Agent Carter” is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television.

Lyndsy Fonesca joins Agent Carter

The beautiful and talented Lyndsy Fonesca has joined the upcoming Marvel Television Show "Agent Carter", Fonesca will be playing Angie Martinelli an aspiring actress who befriends Peggy Carter during the turmoil of post war America.

"'Marvel's Agent Carter' opens up an exciting world of new characters for us," said Jeph Loeb, Marvel's Head of Television. "Lyndsy brings a warmth and humanity to Angie, who'll be the friend Peggy needs if she's to survive the dangers that lie ahead."

Charlie Cox talks Daredevil

Charlie Cox has recently spoke to TheHollywoodReporter about the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Marvel's Daredevil, which I assume we are all looking forward to, here is what he had to say;

"It's great fun, but it also comes with a great deal of responsibility," Cox said of playing Daredevil. "I wasn't really aware of how vast the comic book world was until I became part of the Marvel universe. I went to Comic Con last week, and it's really important to a lot of people. It really is. I'm having a great time." 

"I've read comics after comics after comics - I've never read so many comics in my life, and we're finding moments from the comics to reference in the show," Cox explained. "We're trying to make a show that's new and much, much darker than anything I've ever seen Marvel do before. The concept that he can't stop. He's going out and he's taking the law into his own hands, and he doesn't know if he can stop. He might be addicted to it." 

Todd McFarlane reveals animated Spawn concept

Anybody else a HUGE Spawn fan like myself? If you ever get pumped, according to Mr. Spawn himself Todd McFarlane the show is still in the works and he took to Facebook to post about some concept art.

For ALL of you that have been asking...here's a SNEAK PEEK at some NEW SPAWN ANIMATION that is in the works!!!!!! Don't tell anyone I showed you because you're the FIRST to see it!!!!!!

At every convention and in every interview I do I am asked a couple of repetitive questions: "When is the new Spawn movie coming and when are we going to see more Animation like we did on HBO years ago?" (I also get a lot of 'when are you going to draw The Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel again?'...)For those of you that don't know, the original Spawn Animation was aired on HBO for three years and won a couple of Emmy Awards. Ever since it went off the air, fans have been bugging me to bring it back. Well, for your eyes only, here are some early images of a few key characters and a rough of a city street in black and white and in color.

If you all seem interested there is LOTS and LOTS more I can show you!!!!!! I may even put up some of the voice tracks for you.

Oh...and just wait until you see SPAWN himself!

Enjoy, Todd

FOX orders modernised Frankenstein pilot

Yet another revival of a classic Horror story for TV, this seems to happen A LOT in recent years, Horror seems to be the go to now-a-days and I for one am kind of happy it is my genre. According to Deadline, FOX have ordered a pilot from Rand Ravich ("Life") which is simply title "Frankenstein";

The new show, described as a "grounded sci-fi drama" loosely inspired by Mary Shelley's classic 1818 novel, centres on Adam Tremble, "a morally corrupt FBI agent who is given a second chance at life when he is brought back from the dead. Now younger and stronger, Tremble will have to choose between his old temptations and his new sense of purpose — dealing with threats beyond the FBI’s capabilities. All the while navigating the complicated relationship with his “creators”: an antisocial Internet billionaire and his bio-engineer twin sister."

There is truly something about this shows concept that I REALLY like and I can't seem to put my finger on what it is. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this concept progresses.

Potential actress for "Supergirl" TV Show

With Laura Vandervoort coming out to have a brief talk about the potential "Supergirl" show, I thought it would be fun to do a little bit of fancasting. Here are some actress I would like or wouldn't mind seeing take over as Kara with her potentially being added to the every growing DC Cinematic Universe. As always when I do my "fancasting" these picks will not be in order of who is more suitable, just in the order in which they pop into my head.

Amber Heard - Amber has been on a steady incline over the past few years, even though she does a lot more film than television roles. She has been known to dabble in the ever growing television market. She has had roles in "Criminal Minds", "Californication" and "Playboy Club" so she has some television pedigree, however I still think she is perfect for the role of Kara.

Yvonne Strahovski - Opposed to what I said about Amber, Yvonne is well versed in the television world, she had big roles in "Heartland", "Chuck" and most recently "24: Live Another Day". Plus she is mainly here because she rocks! I mean there has been talk for years about her playing Supergirl or even Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers or ANY other strong female superhero since her days as Sarah on "Chuck". She may be a bit old for the role considering they are going for a younger woman, however, she just fits the bill and I think most would agree.

Laura Haddock - Laura is a current favourite of mine, in recent years she has been very versatile in her acting from Comedy in "How No To Live Your Life" to all out Drama in "Da Vinci's Demons". It would be weird seeing her make the switch to DC already having two different Marvel roles under her belt, however her work in "Da Vinci's Demons" really showcases her acting ability, plus being a Brit would be great to see another one of us playing a superhero ha.

Lyndsy Fonesca - Lyndsy is well versed in the same way that Laura Haddock is she has jumped across many genres, mostly known for her work in "Kick-Ass" films and playing Alex in CW's "Nikita", which lends to her ability to pull of good fight scenes and execute some well acted scenes.

Aly Michalka - Michalka may not even be a possibility due her recent joining of CW's upcoming show "iZombie", however is that is cancelled or doesn't work out, then she is pretty close to perfect for the role she played a great role in the short lived "Hellcats" Drama a couple of years ago. So if they were to go younger not long out of High School Aly would be high up my list.

Alexandra Daddario - Daddario has already played a Demigod in the recent Percy Jackson film series and she has also shown her acting ability in "True Detective" and proven she's a pretty good "scream queen" due to her Horror roles in the past years. It's not fair to base a casting on just looks, however that is a main reason in which I picked her she is unbelievably good looking also talented, plus look at those eyes! I MEAN COME ON!

Hayden Panettiere - Is Supergirl that dissimilar to Claire from "Heroes" really? Well I know she is, just saying Panettiere is has done a very similar role, one that really helped propel her into the A-lister she is right now. She has all the talented need, she looks the same age as she did in "Hereos", she has a dedicated fanbase and she is pretty perfect for the role.

Nicola Peltz - With Peltz only being born in 1995, she may be the perfect age for the role if they plan to go on a nice long run like CW done with "Smallville". Peltz is relatively new to the acting game, but her recent addition to the "Transformers" franchise will make her a HOT property in the coming months.

Jessica Nigri - VERY OUTSIDE CALL, not even a serious call, just a pure fanboy casting considering her dedication to the nerd world and cosplaying. She probably can't act to save her life, however, she has made a HUGE dedication to the nerd world and comic related everything for years.

David S Goyer talks DC future

We already have two DC new shows this year, and they are both off to a great start Gotham and Flash are both getting great reviews from fans (critics views do not matter if the viewers keep up and the fans are happy). Just around the corner we have the "Constantine" television series, and show runner/developer David S Goyer has recently done an interview with ScreenRant.

SCREEN RANT: Speaking of storylines, we all know that Constantine…with other characters like Zatanna, or any of the other DC magic people. Would it be possible to see Justice League Dark in any way, shape, or form? Would you want him to be a part of something like that?

GOYER: Yeah. I think you’ll see some of those…If the show takes off…even within the first 12 episodes we’ve introduced two or three characters from the broader DC universe that are not just exclusively from Hellblazer. Corrigan has been mentioned, but there’s a couple of other characters we haven’t talked about that will show up as well. If the show takes off and we get our back nine and come back a second season, we sort of have access to that whole corner of the occult universe. So, hopefully we’ll be introducing those characters as is appropriate.

SCREEN RANT: I know a lot of fans have a question about the structure of the master, just via TV or as it’s shaping up as a whole. You’ve got shows like Arrow, like Flash, like Supergirl from CBS. You’ve got Titans on TNT. You have Constantine on NBC. Different networks but all one studio company. I think a lot of fans are wondering is there room for movement even though these characters are on different networks, because they are under one master house? Could we see them interact?

GOYER: You know, never say never. There aren’t any immediate plans, but it would be interesting to try that, to do kind of an internetwork crossover. I think anything’s possible. But we have to get our sea legs first. We’ve gotta premiere in a couple of weeks, and hopefully the audience likes what we’ve got and then we’ll see.

SCREEN RANT: I know one of his biggest confrontations that everyone would love to see adapted on the screen was Constantine and Swamp Thing. Is that something that has been thrown around at all?

GOYER: It’s been thrown around. It’s not something I think we’d attempt in the first season. We need to make sure that we can pull off the special makeup effects. We don’t want to do a cheesy version of Swamp Thing. It’s a lot easier to do Dr. Occult or Satana or Jim Corrigan than it is to do Swamp Thing. So we’ll see.

Laura Vandervoort talks upcoming "Supergirl" show

The beautiful and talented actress that portrayed Kara Zor-El in "Smallville" has given her words of wisdom for the woman to take over the role in a recent interview with IGN.

"Make sure you have some Nike soles in there. Just kidding! So you can run. Just make it your own. Everyone has an idea of how she should be, which I was concerned about when I played her, but when you find a way to relate to her and then bring your own self into it, I think people appreciate it. You can’t make everything the same. So, just make it your own."

Top 3 TV Shows

So I decided to do a feature on what I think are the best TV Shows currently airing, this is no way me saying "oh you're wrong, these are the best shows". These are just the shows that I love watching the most every week. This list will not include Sitcoms, well because that is just a whole other list for a whole other day. Thought I would mix it up an only name my top 3 shows, everybody does a top 5 or even a top 10 but when you're going as far as naming 10 you are naming a good 80% if not more of the shows you watch. It is easy to just name them an not put any thought into it. I was also thinking about including an honourable mentions section, but after I wrote this piece I put a list of all the shows I'd put in my "honourable mentions" section. I turned out to be every other show I watched ha ha, I just couldn't pin down shows. I'd love to hear what you guys/girls are watching give me some ideas of what to watch next, so just leave a comment below an let me know.

1 - Sons Of Anarchy

Obviously it had to be "Sons Of Anarchy", Kurt Sutter is an absolute genius. Sons combines every genre we all love, it has something for everybody. There isn't a single thing about this show that I don't like, all the characters are well defined, there is twists to keep you coming back for more, the intensity of the story will keep you on the edge of your seat every episode. The show is so gritty at times you feel like looking away to avoid seeing something you feel you shouldn't but you know you have to.

 "A man in his early 30s struggles to find a balance in his life between being a new dad and his involvement in a motorcycle club."

2 - The Walking Dead

Another show from a small network, "The Walking Dead" I originally heard about "The Walking Dead" a couple a few years ago when it was just a comic book series. But when I heard it was being made into a TV Show I was apprehensive to say the least I mean we hadn't seen a zombie TV Series, but my apprehension were completely off. "The Walking Dead" turned out to be by far the best Horror/Drama show there has ever been. I have watched countless Zombie-related films, the show is even better than all of these combined.

"Police officer Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies."

3 - Supernatural

Supernatural is easily my favourite show on Television right now I've been watching it since 2006/2007. Just because it is my favourite it doesn't obviously make it the best at times the story lacks the intensity of the above two shows. Its kind of hard to review this show its overall story changes each season, but even admitting that I'm hung on every word uttered in this show. Its kind of like "X-Files" in a way but more of a Horror version. This isn't the only show that revolves around supernatural events as its main theme "Grimm" & "True Blood" (much more vampire than supernatural, but you catch my drift).

"Two brothers follow their father's footsteps as "hunters" fighting evil supernatural beings of many kinds including monsters, demons, and gods that roam the earth."

Cobie Smulders could feature in "S.H.I.E.L.D"

Cobie Smulders is set to reprise her role as Agent Maria Hill in Marvel's upcoming "Captain America The Winter Soldier", Smulders has been speaking about her possible addition to the TV adaptation of "S.H.I.E.L.D".

"The commitments to ['How I Met Your Mother'] don’t affect it," 
"and I can’t really say but there are definite talks about it… I will do Maria Hill until they fire me and hire someone else to do it."

"S.H.I.E.L.D" TV Series has begun filming

I know this is a movie blog, but I do enjoy keeping up with everybody Television related too. In the past few days Joss Whedon's television adaption of Marvels S.H.I.E.L.D begun filming, its not really that exciting news nor is it really "news" it was inevitable.

Joss is a dab hand when it comes to TV Series, how good was "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" plus the famous "Firefly" which was tragically cut short. So, we all know that Joss has the credentials to take the TV world by storm again. Who isn't excited about Clark Gregg returning to us with Phil Coulson, I was devastated when they killed him off in "The Avengers". The only other confirmed actors that I have heard about are Ming-Na Wen (from "A Town Called Eureka" & "Stargate Universe"), Elizabeth Henstridge (from "Tooting Broadway"), Ian De Caestecker (from "Coronation Street" & the upcoming "In Fear") and Brett Dalton (from 1 episode of "Blue Bloods").

"The whole point of the show is that even with all these big things, the little things matter. It’s about people who don’t have super powers. There will be some people with powers, there will be FX, and there will be the spectacle of science-fiction storytelling — but all played on a very human, small level. That’s the appeal of the thing." 

"Zombieland" TV Series?

It's looking more and more likely that a "Zombieland" sequel is not going to happen, which I personally believe is heartbreaking I loved the original. But, the Zombieland TV Series that has been rumoured since I'd say 2011 appears to be on the up and up. Back in October 2011, it was announced that Fox and Paramount Pictures were discussing bringing onto the TV scene.

Back then Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick the original screenwriters for the movie were working on scripts for to be developed as 30 minute episodes. For those that were unaware, like myself "Zombieland" was originally developed as a TV Pilot which was written by Reese and Wernick so these guys have had the basic layout for a TV Series set up for a long time.

It's being reported that the project is moving onto the casting stages an the production company has sent out casting call sheets for the main characters. It's looking likely that the characters are going to differ a bit from the film, below we have some apparent information on what the characters are going to be like.


“Tallahassee is still kind of a snarky weirdo, but he seems to have a much less spiky relationship with Columbus. He and Columbus have a pretty amusing thing where they riff on the fact that Steven Seagal movies always have three-word titles like “Marked for Justice” or “May Cause Diarrhea.” But Tallahassee also dispenses homespun wisdom about how to feel happy with your life. He also tells a weird story about being in a trailer park with a perpetually nude Matthew McConaughey. He also has a somewhat heartwarming scene where he tells Columbus that he’s been wandering aimlessly for a long time, but maybe he’s been put here for a reason — to help Columbus and the others.

Columbus is much the same, except that he tracks down his grandma and grandpa (Bubbie and Peepaw) only to find them recently zombiefied. Also, Columbus is trying to deal with his newfound relationship with Wichita, after their first kiss. He has started calling her “Krista,” her real name — but there are some problems, especially after she finds him reading a book about fatherhood. He tries to organize a romantic scavenger hunt for her in the IKEA they’re camping out in, but it goes kind of horribly.

Wichita is still trying to look after Little Rock, trying to teach her math with problems about someone stealing from a liquor store and jumping on a train going 42 miles per hour, with a cop chasing in a car going 88 miles per hour. We also learn a lot more about Wichita’s backstory, including how she ran away from her father after he had her stealing people’s Christmas presents — and later, she found out she had a sister who was also being a grifter with her dad.

Little Rock seems actually kind of excited about meeting Columbus’ grandparents, before they turn out to be zombies. And she shares some of her own backstory, about how her dad parked her at a school while he went off grifting on his own — and then yanked her out of school right before a dance that she was looking forward to.”

Bare in mind that none of these details have been officially announced, with that being said what television station wouldn't want this on their network. Look at the success of some of the other Horror related shows on television now "Supernatural" has reached its 9th Season, "Walking Dead" is one of the favourite shows in the US and the UK plus the likes of "True Blood" and "American Horror Story".

New posters "Bates Motel"

The first episode of "Bates Motel" is set to air March in the US, so take a look at the new posters for the upcoming Thriller.


“Bates Motel” serves as a prequel to the most famous fright film of all-time, “Psycho.” …“Bates Motel” will give viewers an intimate understanding of how Norman Bates’ psyche developed from his childhood through his teen years. Fans will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn first hand how his mother, Norma, and her lover damaged Norman, helping forge the most well-known serial killing motel owner in history.”

 

"Sleepy Hollow" TV Series in production

It's great news that Sleepy Hollow is being made into a Television Series because I personally didn't like the film, as you may already know I dislike Johnny Depp a lot. But, the good news is people bringing more Horror and Science Fiction to the small screen with "Hannibal" also being produced. According to a new report the genius' behind "Fringe" and "Hawaii Five-0" Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

Len Wisemen ("Underworld") is reportedly already set to direct the pilot, with the series described as "a modern–day supernatural thriller based on the legend of Sleepy Hollow. It follows Ichabod Crane as he partners with Sleepy Hollow’s local female sheriff to solve the Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil."

According to another report, the project is being pitched to CBS, ABC, NBC and FOX. However Kurtzman and Orci's production company K/O Paper Production is already involved with 20th Century Fox, so it wouldn't surprise me if the show ended up on FOX. This project is in very early stages, so we'll have more information when the project moves forward.

"Hannibal" TV series details

Bryan Fuller's new approach at one of the scariest characters of all time in my opinion. His show has been commissioned for a 13 episode first season, we now have details of what to expect from the upcoming series. How Hannibal is set to be portrayed and what to expect from future seasons.
Here are some of the major details that came from the recent interview that was done with Entertainment Weekly;

• The first two seasons will be based on the "Red Dragon" novel.
•  The series will involve: "Lecter teaming to solve crimes with empathic FBI profiler Will Graham… For the first time, viewers will spend quality time with Lecter while he’s at large and before the world knows his secrets, working side by side with a similarly brilliant man who is destined to catch him."
• Fuller mentions that his Hannibal won’t be the same we’ve seen in the movies: “There is a cheery disposition to our Hannibal. He’s not being telegraphed as a villain. If the audience didn’t know who he was, they wouldn’t see him coming. What we have is Alfred Hitchcock’s principle of suspense — show the audience the bomb under the table and let them sweat when it’s going to go boom. So the audience knows who Hannibal is so we don’t have to overplay his villainy. We get to subvert his legacy and give the audience twists and turns.”
• Entertainment Weekly describes the show as a: “crime procedural featuring two very smart investigators — but one of them is a serial killer”. They also say that the show format will change once it is discovered who Hannibal really is.
• Seven seasons are planned: “Doing a cable model on network television gives us the opportunity not to dally in our storytelling because we have a lot of real estate to cover… I pitched a seven-season arc including stories from various books.”