Starz and GK-TV announced today that Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green, Jamie Campbell Bower and Tamsin Egerton have signed on to the upcoming series "Camelot."
"Camelot" will take a fresh approach to telling the Arthur Story, and casting Fiennes as the wizard Merlin and Eva Green, in her first television role, as the powerful sorceress Morgana will help set the tone for the series. The essential roles of Arthur and Guinevere will be played by Jamie Campbell Bower and Tamsin Egerton, respectively.
Fiennes was most recently lead in the ABC series "Flash Forward" but is probably best known for playing the title role in the Best Picture Oscar(R)-winner Shakespeare in Love and as Robert Dudley in the acclaimed Elizabeth. Green is best known for her role as the mysterious Bond girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, Sybilla in Ridley Scott's saga Kingdom of Heaven and as Serafina Pekkala the beautiful, good witch in The Golden Compass. Her role in Casino Royale earned Green the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2007. She recently concluded filming Benedick Fliegauf's Womb and The Last Word starring alongside Ewan McGregor.
Bower gained notice playing the role of Anthony in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, as well as his performance as Caius Volturi in Twilight: New Moon, and is generating buzz for his role in the upcoming two-part conclusion of the Harry Potter saga, when he plays Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Parts I and II. Egerton has had notable roles in such features as Keeping Mum and St. Trinian's and got her first taste of the Arthurian legend playing the young Morgaine in the mini-series "The Mists of Avalon."
"With Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green, Jamie Campbell Bower and Tamsin Egerton in the cast, we've got actors who can bring real passion and intensity to their roles," Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht said.
Starz Media Managing Director Carmi Zlotnik added, "All of the best TV shows were marked by great actors in the ideal parts, and that is certainly the case with the talented cast on 'Camelot.'"
"We couldn't be more thrilled with this world class cast for 'Camelot,'" said Graham King. Added GK-TV President Craig Cegielski, "This announcement further solidifies GK-TV's mandate of being the premier destination for cinematic-quality TV programming with a global appeal."
Production is slated to begin later in June with the 10-episode series premiering in the first part of 2011. "Camelot" is a co-production between the Irish Production Company Octagon and Take 5 Productions in Canada, developed in association with the UK's Ecosse Films.
Camelot will be broadcast on Starz in the US, and on the CBC in Canada, and will distributed internationally by GK.-TV.
About Starz Entertainment
Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service provider operating in the United States. The company offers 16 premium channels including the flagship Starz(R) and Encore(R) brands with approximately 17.1 million and 31.1 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Starz (NASDAQ: LSTZA), a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.
About GK Films
King launched his independent Production Company GK Films in May 2007 with business partner Tim Headington. The just wrapped production on The Tourist directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp and will soon begin shooting The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which will be directed by Martin Scorsese. GK Films recently completed shooting The Rum Diary starring Johnny Depp, which is also produced by Depp's Production Company, Infinitum Nihil and the crime drama London Boulevard starring Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley, and written and directed by Academy Award(R)-winning screenwriter William Monahan. In addition, GK Films produced The Town written and directed by Ben Affleck set to be released by Warner Bros. in September 2010 and the animated tale Rango directed by Gore Verbinski and produced with his Blind Wink Productions for Paramount Pictures for a March 2011 release. Recent GK Films releases include Edge of Darkness starring Mel Gibson and the three time Academy Award(R) nominated The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt. Most recently Graham King and Tim Headington launched a new division of GK Films, GK-TV. Run by President Craig Cegielski, GK-TV is dedicated to the development, production and worldwide distribution of television programming.
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