NBC‘s newest series Dracula has a trailer out. The show-runner and lead writer is Dan Knauf, creator of HBO’s Carnivàle. That man knows how to write creepy. The trailer is also quick to point out the Downtown Abby and Tudors background of the talent working on the show. It’s not the Dracula story we all know and expect, so I’m not sure which side of the fence I’ll land. It’ll watch a few episodes before I sharpen the pitchfork and light the torch.
Dracula comes to London, posing as an American entrepreneur who wants to bring modern science to the Victorian city. In reality, Dracula seeks revenge on those who betrayed him centuries earlier. As Dracula’s plans move toward fruition, he falls hopelessly in love with a woman who may be a reincarnation of his deceased wife.
The series stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Dracula/Alexander Grayson), Jessica De Gouw (Mina Murray), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Jonathan Harker – a gauche journalist who’s desperate to climb the ranks of aristocracy.), Katie McGrath (Lucy Westenra), Nonso Anozie (R.M. Renfield - Dracula’s loyal confidante and keeper of secrets.), Victoria Smurfit (Lady Jane – fashionable woman who is immediately enticed by the King of Vampires.), Thomas Kretschmann (Abraham Van Helsing), and Michael Nardone (Hermann Kruger).
An interesting side note is thatKretschmann played Dracula in the 2012 Italian horror film, Dracula 3D. Now he gets a chance to play the other side of the iconic conflict.
Just because the world needs yet another vampire film and fast, Universal Pictures has decided to put together one more adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic tale of Dracula. Currently the show has cast Luke Evans and Sarah Gadon and today it looks like they’ve added someone new to the list – Dominic Cooper.
For those of you that don’t recognize the name (i.e.: most of you), Cooper is the guy that played the in-the-past version of Howard Stark in the first Captain America flick. No word yet on who he’ll be playing in this one, though I do wonder if maybe his involvement in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter may have gotten him typecast.
Given the mediocre talent level that this film is collecting and the predictably recycled subject matter, I’m guessing the new Dracula is going to be one hell of a turkey.
If you feel the need to mark your calendar, it’s scheduled to release on August 8th of 2014.
After a great turn as Huntress on the CW’s Arrow, Deadline is reporting Jessica de Gouw has been cast as Mina Murray in NBC and Sky Living‘s ten episode mini-series, Dracula. The titular vampire is being played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, star of HBO’s The Tudors, which is convenient since the series is being billed as “Dangerous Liaisons meets The Tudors.”
Here’s how Deadline summarizes the show,
It centers on Dracula, who arrives in London posing as American entrepreneur Allen Grayson, who maintains that he wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. In reality, he hopes to wreak revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier, but he falls hopelessly in love with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife.
That “woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife,” is Mina Murray, de Gouw’s character. She’s described as “a striking medical student who is engaged to Jonathan Harker but upon meeting Grayson both are instantly mesmerized by the other’s uncanny resemblance to someone from their past.” Yup, sounds like Dracula to me, I look forward to many scenes of Dracula and Mina staring at one another, transfixed. I do like the tweaks they’ve made, though, like Dracula posing as proponent of modern science and Mina being a medical student.
This doesn’t sound half bad to me, what do you think? I do wonder if this will interfere with de Gouw appearing on Arrow again. Hopefully not, she’s one of the better parts of that show.
He brought life to Henry VIII, and now Jonathan Rhys Meyers will give life to the undead. Dracula to be specific.
NBC has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order for Dracula, a new series from producers Tony Krantz and Colin Callender and writer Cole Haddon. The series is co-production between the U.S. network and the U.K. based Sky Living. NBC bought the concept last fall on a “script-to-series” deal, meaning that if the network liked the script it could skip the shooting of a pilot episode and go straight into production. It’s a similar deal that spurred the network’s Hannibal series which will also premiere midseason.
This new Dracula is set in the 1890s and has been described as “Dangerous Liaisons meets The Tudors.” According to Deadline, who broke the story:
Dracula (Meyers) arrives in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who maintains that he wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. In reality, he hopes to wreak revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier but falls hopelessly in love with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife. “It is a timeless tale with relevant, surprising twists and turns with the exquisite Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the marquee role,” said Universal TV Executive Vice-President Bela Bajaria.
The decision to go with a Meyers’ starring Dracula is a no-brainer. Current NBC head honcho Bob Greenblatt greenlit The Tudors starring Meyers while he was head of Showtime, and the series went on to be an international success. Of course, a network Dracula can’t indulge in the same type of sex and nudity The Tudors did, but between this, Hannibal and the Munsters in Mockingbird Lane, NBC seems willing to try anything to get them out of fourth place.
Eli Roth, perhaps best known for his Hostel series, is a multi-talented Hollywood renaissance man who fills roles as producer, director, actor and writer. Even though he’s got seven films he’s currently involved with in a production capacity, he may be taking on a new project soon. Currently, Roth is in talks to potentially direct Warner Brothers’ new Dracula adaption, Harker.
Supposedly, Harker will but a new spin on the old vampire myth. Casting has started strong, with Russell Crowe signing on as none-other-than Dracula himself. This would not be the first time the two have worked together, as they just got done filming an action flick called The Man with the Iron Fists. WB had originally planned for Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown) to direct, but scheduling issues killed that plan and now they want Roth to take over.
So far there’s no leading man for the titular role of Jonathan Harker and details on the story are still sketchy. Perhaps if Roth signs on, they’ll be able to get him to put in a little work-over on the script as well? Of course, Warner Bros. is looking to franchise the film, which means it will likely end up being either very cool or very ‘safe’.
Though I’ve always been skeptical of vampire films and find 9-out-of-10 of them to be almost completely unwatchable, I’m eager to see some more details on this one. With Roth at the helm, it could turn out to be an interesting piece of work.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter, a spin-off from the classic Bram Stoker Dracula storyline, has been in the void of off-and-on development for some time now. At one point director David Slade was set to helm the flick with Noomi Rapace and Ben Kingsley attached as the leads, but that went south. Now Millennium Films is trying to get it going again, with Neil Marshall set to direct, Kingsley maybe still onboard as the ship’s captain and the possible addition of Viggo Mortensen in one of the lead roles.
The story will detail the events that take place aboard the titular ship, The Demeter as it makes its journey from Transylvania toEngland carrying the resting body of Dracula. The viability of such a project leaves one in doubt, however. We already know how the movie will end, with Dracula killing the crew and the ship running aground off the coast of England. What happens in between sounds like so much kill-by-numbers cliché.
If they manage to spin this in a different direction, something that will challenge the minds of viewers rather than just their patience, the combination of Mortensen and Kingsley could be quite the dramatic event.
What do the Nerdreaders think? Can such a cut-and-dry premise be made into a character driven flick that will capture your interest?
It looks like another name brand-brand remake is going to be joining the NBC line-up next fall along with Hannibal, The Munsters, and Frankenstein.
The title this time is Dracula, and Deadline is reporting that the show will be set in the 1890s, and is described as “Dangerous Liaisonsmeets The Tudors and as a big, sweeping international soap opera that is young, sexy and supernatural.”
The series is being developed by producers Tony Krantz (24) and Colin Callender (Tsunami: The Aftermath) and is being written by Cole Haddon (who has a single IMDb credit for a “Special Thank You” for the short film Death of An Agent). What’s more interesting is that NBC has given the concept what’s called a “script-to-series” commitment, which means that it if the network suits like the script then they won’t even proceed with the bother of a pilot and go straight into making the series.
So that’s confidence, because not even the infamous David E. Kelly, who has launched numerous successful series and has won several awards in the process, doesn’t get a free pass (see: Wonder Woman). Problem #1: Does it bother anyone that the two things the Dracula show is begin compared to can’t be shown on their network without some serious editing? Problem #2: Isn’t the vampire bandwagon full yet? Tell us your thoughts on the subject below.
I always liked to draw but the best I could do was make a superhero with a basketball as a head and named him Boom-Shaka-Laka Man, yeah… too much NBA JAM one night. Anyways, Tom Whalen has been making awesome poster art, and like the Star Wars one you see above, he has done a lot others that most of ya’ll will recognize and also appreciate as well.
Check out more poster art after the jump. Did I also mention that Boom-Shaka-Laka Man also had a pet dog that had a basketball as its body… yea, sorry, here are some more poster art (more…)
When you go to college, you do so with the understanding that you’ll have to take hours and hours of sleep-inducing history and math classes. But did you know that there are courses that not only are interesting, but that also encourage your nerdosity? Below, check out 7 college courses that help you get your geek on.
While not BREAKING news, this is massive in the world of our Vampire NB’s. And Vampire news is extremely important. Christine and myself are huge fans of the works of Anne Rice, and I’m a major True Blood junkie. Yes, I will admit, Vampire shows and movies and Hot Topic products are suffocating all of us. Even the (no pun intended) die hard fans are getting feelings of vilification towards their beloved groove, so it is a nice blast of blinding, white sunlight to a Vamp’s open coffin to hear this news.
Dracula: The Un-Dead is the work of Dacre Stoker the great grandson of guess who? Bram Stoker! 112 years ago in 1897 the original Dracula was published, and on this past tuesday, October 13th 2009, the LONG awaited followup was released at bookstores everywhere and here at Amazon. Although I have yet to read it, I am extremely excited and while I occasionally read books to review, me or Christine will have a something for you guys to read soon enough.
It is garnering warm reviews and has a cool plot line, taking place 25 years after Dracula “Crumbled into dust.” I also think that the idea of a family member taking up the torch in the same vein as JRR Tolkien’s lineage, is a much classier way to write in the footsteps of a legend. At this rate, we will have a trilogy by 2121!!
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