Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Four, has commissioned Tiger Aspect Productions to produce Crooked House, a haunting tale of three sumptuous ghost stories woven together for a spooky Christmas treat.
Written by Mark Gatiss ([Wikipedia ] [The League Of Gentlemen]) and directed by Damon Thomas (Beethoven), the duo last collaborated on 2007's critically-acclaimed BBC Four drama The Worst Journey In The World.
Shot in HD, Crooked House boasts a wonderfully diverse cast which includes Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing), Mark Gatiss, Philip Jackson (Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk To Finchley), Lee Ingleby (George Gently), Jean Marsh (Sense And Sensibility), Samuel Barnett (Beautiful People), Daniela Denby-Ashe (My Family), Anna Madeley (Brideshead Revisited) and, in his debut dramatic role, illusionist Derren Brown as the mysterious Sir Roger Widdowson.
In addition to writing and co-producing the drama, Gatiss takes the role of a museum curator with an in-depth knowledge of the fictional Geap Manor, stretching through Tudor, Georgian, the Twenties and contemporary times.
When school teacher Ben unearths an old door knocker in the garden of his new home, the curator suggests it may come from the now-demolished house. A house reputed to be haunted...
Intrigued, Ben prompts the curator to tell him some of stories about the house and so begins a journey through time.
A corrupt Georgian businessman finds something unexpected in the woodwork of his new home.
In the Twenties, a young couple's happy engagement party is spoiled by the spectre of a ghostly bride.
And, back in the present day, Ben soon finds himself in darker, more dangerous waters than he could possibly have foreseen...
Paul Frift produces Crooked House and Jamie Laurenson is Commissioning Editor for BBC Four. Richard Fell is Executive Producer for Tiger Aspect.
Janice Hadlow says: "There's nothing quite like the thrill of a spooky yarn to warm up a chilly winter evening and BBC Four is the natural home for Mark's clever and witty story."
Mark Gatiss says: "Ever since I was a child and thrilled to the BBC's classic MR James adaptations, I've dreamt of sending a festive shiver down the nation's spine.
"I'm delighted to finally have the opportunity. A fantastic cast and crew have worked incredibly hard to fulfil this long held dream."
Richard Fell added: "The ghost story at Christmas is a much cherished BBC seasonal tradition that Mark's wonderful story has brought back to life.
"Like the best Christmas fare it is replete with rich and sumptuous treats – and not the odd skin crawling surprise."
Jamie Laurenson added: "Evoking the richest traditions of the genre where suspense and suggestion fray our nerves far more than violence or gore, Mark Gatiss's brilliant script plays on the strange compulsion to watch or listen to stories that scare us."
Crooked House was commissioned by Ben Stephenson and Janice Hadlow, and follows in the tradition of BBC Four Christmas ghost stories which include The Haunted Airman, Number 13 and View From A Hill in previous years.
Crooked House joins the stellar canon of drama on BBC Four which includes the Curse Of Comedy season, Marie Lloyd and Margaret Thatcher: Long Walk To Finchley.
Showing posts with label bbc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bbc. Show all posts
08 October 2008
11 August 2008
BBC2 ventures into the supernatural with Moses Jones
Moses Jones: Joe Penhall's first original drama for BBC Two starts shooting
Category: TV Drama; BBC Two
Date: 11.08.2008
Moses Jones, Joe Penhall's first original series for BBC Two, made by BBC Drama Productions, begins shooting this week in London, it was announced today.
Penhall's TV credits include BBC Two's critically-acclaimed adaptation of Jake Arnott's novel The Long Firm and the Olivier award-winning play Blue/Orange.
His film credits include Ian McEwan's Enduring Love and the forthcoming adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road starring Charlize Theron and Viggo Mortensen.
Kate Harwood, BBC Controller, Series & Serials, says: "Joe Penhall is an amazing writing talent, and this is an incredibly exciting project for BBC Drama Production.
"Moses Jones is a vibrant and atmospheric thriller set in the heart of London, which will capture the imagination of the BBC Two drama audience."
The story, told over three 60-minute episodes, begins when a wave of violence hits London following the discovery of the bizarrely mutilated body of a man in the Thames.
First appearances suggest a witchcraft killing. But the dark reality is more complicated – and even more frightening.
Assigned to the case is young, hopeful DS Dan Twentyman (Matt Smith) and his senior partner DI Moses Jones (Shaun Parkes), seconded from Scotland Yard due to cultural links with the local community.
But, confronted by a wall of silence, Jones and Twentyman become increasingly confused as they grapple with the various complexities.
All roads lead to the Afrigo Club, where kingpin band leader Solomon (Eamonn Walker) plays with his band.
As the search deepens, the violence escalates and the investigation grinds to a halt.
But one name crops up again and again – a mysterious godfather figure rumored to have both terror links and supernatural powers.
Forced to ask himself tough questions about his own sanity and cultural identity, Moses Jones embarks on a frightening quest to track down his man and redeem himself before the community implodes... and the killer strikes again.
Joe Penhall says: "Moses Jones is about the complexity of humanity and the assumptions that make us who we are – and who we aren't.
"Cultural assumptions are blunt instruments, they tend to be simplistic and dangerous – yet still we cling to them, particularly in this country.
"With much of the world at war, life is increasingly cheap. Life is now as cheap here as it is in the third world. But every act of violence, however banal, has its own complex, often unfathomable origin."
Filming in London this summer, Moses Jones is directed by Michael Offer (The Passion, The State Within). The producer is Cameron Roach (Bad Girls, Life on Mars) and executive producers are Hilary Salmon (The Passion, Criminal Justice, Maxwell, The Long Firm) and Joe Penhall.
Moses Jones was commissioned by Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction.
______________________
Fingers crossed Australia's ABC1 or ABC2 picks up Moses Jones
Category: TV Drama; BBC Two
Date: 11.08.2008
Moses Jones, Joe Penhall's first original series for BBC Two, made by BBC Drama Productions, begins shooting this week in London, it was announced today.
Penhall's TV credits include BBC Two's critically-acclaimed adaptation of Jake Arnott's novel The Long Firm and the Olivier award-winning play Blue/Orange.
His film credits include Ian McEwan's Enduring Love and the forthcoming adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road starring Charlize Theron and Viggo Mortensen.
Kate Harwood, BBC Controller, Series & Serials, says: "Joe Penhall is an amazing writing talent, and this is an incredibly exciting project for BBC Drama Production.
"Moses Jones is a vibrant and atmospheric thriller set in the heart of London, which will capture the imagination of the BBC Two drama audience."
The story, told over three 60-minute episodes, begins when a wave of violence hits London following the discovery of the bizarrely mutilated body of a man in the Thames.
First appearances suggest a witchcraft killing. But the dark reality is more complicated – and even more frightening.
Assigned to the case is young, hopeful DS Dan Twentyman (Matt Smith) and his senior partner DI Moses Jones (Shaun Parkes), seconded from Scotland Yard due to cultural links with the local community.
But, confronted by a wall of silence, Jones and Twentyman become increasingly confused as they grapple with the various complexities.
All roads lead to the Afrigo Club, where kingpin band leader Solomon (Eamonn Walker) plays with his band.
As the search deepens, the violence escalates and the investigation grinds to a halt.
But one name crops up again and again – a mysterious godfather figure rumored to have both terror links and supernatural powers.
Forced to ask himself tough questions about his own sanity and cultural identity, Moses Jones embarks on a frightening quest to track down his man and redeem himself before the community implodes... and the killer strikes again.
Joe Penhall says: "Moses Jones is about the complexity of humanity and the assumptions that make us who we are – and who we aren't.
"Cultural assumptions are blunt instruments, they tend to be simplistic and dangerous – yet still we cling to them, particularly in this country.
"With much of the world at war, life is increasingly cheap. Life is now as cheap here as it is in the third world. But every act of violence, however banal, has its own complex, often unfathomable origin."
Filming in London this summer, Moses Jones is directed by Michael Offer (The Passion, The State Within). The producer is Cameron Roach (Bad Girls, Life on Mars) and executive producers are Hilary Salmon (The Passion, Criminal Justice, Maxwell, The Long Firm) and Joe Penhall.
Moses Jones was commissioned by Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction.
______________________
Fingers crossed Australia's ABC1 or ABC2 picks up Moses Jones
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