BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.,
March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- STARZ,
in partnership with the BBC, will produce and air the original
limited drama series "The Missing." Filming has begun on the
eight-episode run in Brussels,
Belgium. Written by Harry and Jack
Williams (Honest) and directed by Tom Shankland ("Ripper Street"), "The Missing"
will be produced by New Pictures and Company Pictures in
association with Two Brothers Pictures and Playground. It
will air on BBC One in the UK and STARZ in the U.S. in fall of
2014. all3media international has funded development of THE
MISSING and retains all US rights not obtained by
Starz.
"The Missing" follows Tony, played by James Nesbitt (The Hobbit trilogy,
Jekyll), as a man devastated by the abduction of his young
son, Oliver, during a family vacation in France. He becomes a
man obsessed, unable to accept that his child may be dead and
spends years searching for him. Tony's exhaustive search
fractures his marriage to Emily, played by Frances O' Connor ("Mr. Selfridge," A.I.:
Artificial Intelligence) and threatens to destroy his
life. Tcheky Karyo (Goldeneye, The Patriot) plays
Julien, the French police detective who launched the initial search
for the child. Even though he is retired in present day, he
too cannot shake the small belief that the child may still be
alive. Told using a fascinating narrative puzzle, "The
Missing" explores the impact of a child's abduction, the emotional
cost of obsession, hope and finding when to let go. This
gripping thriller is told simultaneously over multiple time frames
and set in France and
London.
Nesbitt,O'Connor and Karyo are joined by an international cast
including; Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking
Barrels, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) plays Mark, the British
police officer who travels to France to help in the search and comfort the
devastated young parents. Also joining the cast are
Ken Stott (The Hobbit
trilogy, Rebus); Arsher Ali (Four Lions, The
Guilty); Said Taghmaoui; Emile
Dequenne; Anamaria Marinca;
Eric Godon; Anastasia Hille and Johan Leysen .
Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director
of Starz, said, "'The Missing' is a powerful and poignant story
about a father's determination to find his missing child, and that
is something any viewer can understand. The Williams' scripts
gripped us on every page, and we are glad to be working in
partnership again with the BBC, Charlie
Pattinson and Colin Callender
on this very special project."
Charlie Pattinson, Executive
Producer for New Pictures, said "Harry and
Jack Williams have created a wonderfully complex and mature
emotional thriller, and I am delighted that New Pictures' first
series highlights their work. It's great that two writers who are
new to long form drama have attracted such an exciting, high
caliber cast."
John Yorke, Managing Director,
Company Pictures, said "It's rare to find a new take on the
detective drama, so it's a real pleasure to be involved with a
project that both embraces the genre while finding incredibly
exciting new ways to play with it. Great writing and a fantastic
cast add up to something very special."
Polly Hill, BBC Head of
Independent Drama, said, "We are pleased to announce such an
exciting cast, that brings together the best of British and French
actors, led by James Nesbitt,
Frances O'Connor and Tcheky Karyo,
in this powerful new drama for BBC1."
Louise Pedersen, Managing
Director, all3media international, said, "We are delighted to be
representing New Pictures first venture, as well as building on our
long-standing relationship with Company Pictures, for global rights
on this prestigious commission. We are thrilled that we can build
on our relationship with Starz, with their success and expertise in
launching drama to American audiences, in this major co-production
that features strong talent both on and behind the screen. We will
be launching the show officially at MIPCOM and we are confident of
other major presales in the near future."
The executive producers are Charlie
Pattinson, Willow Grylls and
Elaine Pyke for New Pictures,
John Yorke for Company Pictures
(part of the all3media group), Harry and
Jack Williams for Two Brothers Pictures, Polly Hill for the BBC, Colin Callender for Playground and Eurydice
Gysel for Czar TV. Producer is Chris
Clough. It was commissioned by Controller BBC One,
Charlotte Moore and Ben Stephenson, Controller BBC Drama
Commissioning. "The Missing" is co-produced with Fortis Film Fund,
Czar TV Productions and VRT and is filmed with the support of the
Belgium federal government's Tax
Shelter scheme. all3media international has funded development of
THE MISSING and is handling global rights including USA secondary.
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading
integrated global media and entertainment company with operating
units that provide premium subscription video programming on
domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global
content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television
and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription
video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV
networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to
U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators,
satellite television providers, and telecommunications
companies. As of December 31,
2013, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 57.1 million
subscribers, including 22.2 million at STARZ, and 34.9 million at
ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels
in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks'
third network MOVIEPLEX®, air more than 1,000 movies monthly across
17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated
online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX
PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires
entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on
DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz
Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution
business units distribute original programming content produced by
Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third
parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie
content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences
worldwide.
New Pictures
Established in April 2013 by Charlie Pattinson New Pictures
already has two greenlit shows: Eden for BBC One and Indian Summers
– a ten hour period series set in India for Channel 4. The senior management
team includes Elaine Pyke and
Willow Grylls and Tommy Bulfin is script editor for the
company.
Charlie Pattinson launched
Company Pictures in 1998 with George
Faber and grew it into one of the UK's largest and most
awarded Independent Production Companies.
New Pictures has a first look distribution deal with All3Media
International.
Two Brothers Pictures
A new independent company
established in late 2012 by Harry and Jack
Williams, joined by their Development Producer Sarah
Hammond. They recently produced C4's animated sit-com six part
series 'Full English', animated by Rough Draft Studios (Futurama,
The Simpsons Movie). Last year they made 'The Guardians' as a pilot
for C4 and are currently shooting 'Fried', a comedy pilot for the
BBC. They are increasingly moving into drama as well as comedy,
with a number of original drama commissions already on the slate.
They currently have a first look deal with 4DVD.
Playground
Playground, a New
York based film, television and theater company, was founded
by award winning producer Colin
Callender in 2012 committed to producing quality drama for
the stage and screen bringing together the finest US and UK talent
from the worlds of theatre, film and television.
Since its inception Playground has produced 36 hours of
primetime television in the UK and US including Dracula (NBC/Sky),
and The White Queen (Starz/BBC) and Dancing on the Edge (BBC/Starz)
garnering 6 Golden Globes® including a win for Jacqueline Bisset in the Best Supporting Actress
category. Playground is currently in production with two new series
– the eight part thriller The Missing (Starz/BBC) and the six hour
mini-series Wolf Hall (BBC /
Masterpiece Theater) based on Hilary
Mantel's best-seller starring Mark
Rylance.
On stage Playground recently produced Nora Ephron's record-breaking Broadway hit Lucky
Guy starring Tom Hanks and directed
by George C. Wolfe garnering six
Tony® Award nominations and two wins. Upcoming productions
include Casa Valentina the new play from four-time Tony® Award
winner Harvey Fierstein to be
directed by Tony® Award winner Joe
Mantello opening at MTC's Friedman Theater in April 2014. And in June this year Kenneth Branagh makes his much anticipated
New York stage debut in the U.S.
premiere of his thrilling new adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth
at The Park Avenue Armory, following its acclaimed sold-out run in
the UK.
In addition, Playground is in development on a rich slate of
film, television and theater projects that draw on the company's
deep relations in the NY, London
and LA creative communities including Ken
Lonergan's television adaptation E.M.Foster's Howards End and Chris Hampton's series adaptation of Dangerous
Liaisons both for the BBC. Recently, Playground also
announced an agreement with author J.K.Rowling, alongside London stage producer Sonia Friedman, to produce an original stage
play based on Harry Potter.
Company Pictures
Company Pictures is one of the UK's
largest independent film and television drama production companies.
Established in 1998 by Charlie
Pattinson and George Faber,
television production highlights include Elizabeth I (winner of
three Golden Globes), all nine series' of Shameless (Channel 4:
BAFTA and RTS awards), seven series' of Wild at Heart, six series'
of Skins (E4/Channel 4), seven George Gently films (BBC 1),
Generation Kill written by the creators of The Wire (HBO), The
Devils Whore (Channel 4: 3 RTS and 2 Broadcasting Press Guild
Awards), an adaptation of Martina
Cole's best-selling novel The Take starring Tom Hardy and Brian
Cox (Sky 1: Best Multi-channel Programme, Broadcast Awards
2009), The Silence (BBC1: AMI Award for Best Television Drama, 2
IFTA Awards and a Crime Thriller Award), The Shadow Line starring
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Ecclestone and Rafe Spall (BBC1); The Village starring
John Simm and Maxine Peake (BBC1); Philippa Gregory's The White Queen (BBC1) and
the upcoming Wolf Hall starring
Mark Rylance, directed by
Peter Kosminski (BBC2).
In spring 2013 George Faber and Charlie
Pattinson left Company and were replaced by John Yorke as managing director.
In the past Company Pictures has produced The Lakes by
Jimmy McGovern, A Young Person's
Guide to Being a Rockstar (RTS award Best Serial) for Channel 4 and
Warner Bros, North Square (Channel 4: winner Best Series Press
Guild), Not Only But Always... (Channel 4: BAFTA winner: Rhys
Ifans Best Actor), The Rotters' Club (BBC), and Life and Death of
Peter Sellers (HBO: winner of two
Golden Globe Awards for Best TV Movie and Best Actor for
Geoffrey Rush and 15 Emmies).
Company has also made five feature films with some of the UK's
leading directing talent including films by Roger Michell, Stephen
Hopkins, Penny Woolcock,
Shane Meadows and Lynne Ramsey. Amongst its numerous awards
Company Pictures won Best Independent Production Company at the
2005 and 2008 Broadcast Awards and the European Producers of the
Year Award at the 2004 Monte Carlo Awards.
Since October 2004 Company
Pictures has been a part of the All3 Media group.
CZAR TV
CZAR TV is the fiction department of Brussels
based production company CZAR BE. CZAR BE was founded in 2000 by
Koen Mortier and CZAR NL, the Dutch
head office. It represents a range of very successful directors and
soon became one of the most creative production companies on the
Belgian advertising market, generating many awards including twenty
Lions at the prestigious advertising festival in Cannes. CZAR BE also produced the acclaimed
commercial TNT Push to add drama, directed by Koen Mortier, that won 9 Cannes Lions that year.
Together with their Dutch, German and French partners they
continuously keep working on their international reputation. In
2010 Eurydice Gysel became executive producer of the company and
conjointly leads the department of CZAR TV. She produced the
feature films Ex Drummer and May
22nd, both directed by Koen
Mortier. In addition she produced the short films A Gentle
Creature, Rivers Return and Perfect Drug, of which the latter is
currently partaking in competitions at numerous renowned
international film festivals.Together with Graniet Film (NL) and
Angel Films (DE), Eurydice produced Borgman, the new feature film
by Alex van Warmerdam, that
premiered in the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival. Additionally she
co-produced Supernova by Tamar van den Dop that will have its
international première at the GENERATION in the Berlinale 2014 and
L'étrange couleur des larmes de ton corps by Hélène Cattet and
Bruno Forzani, selected in official
competition of the International Film Festivals of Ghent, Locarno
and Toronto. Her latest project
Waste Land by Pieter van Hees,
starring Jérémie Renier, is currently in post-production and set to
be released spring 2014.
The BBC series The White Queen, a historic drama, is the first
CZAR TV production and was aired during Spring 2013. Recent project
in development that are supported by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund
is Coureur by Kenneth Mercken. That took part in the prestigious
Binger and Torino Film Labs.
PRESS
CONTACTS:
|
For
Starz
|
Theano
Apostolou
|
Dorothea
Macmanus
|
Theano@starz.com
|
Dorothea.macmanus@starz.com
|
424-204-4052
|
424-204-4135
|
|
|
For Company
Pictures
|
Jeni Ayling –
jeni@ianjohnsonpublicity.co.uk / +44207836 3030 / +447825
293232
|
Ian Johnson –
ian@ianjohnsonpublicity.co.uk
|
Logo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080522/LATH063LOGO-b
SOURCE Starz