Bet you weren’t expecting the eyebrow-raising TV news of the day to involve a new adaptation of beloved children’s author Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. But the surprising twist in the BBC’s announcement today didn’t concern the bestselling series of whimsical, jolly-hockey-sticks children’s adventure novels from the 1940s-1960s – rather the creator behind this new series: Nicolas Winding Refn.
Considering this Danish director is famous for stylish but graphically violent films like The Neon Demon, Only God Forgives and Drive, The Famous Five will be somewhat of a left turn for him.
The series will have three 90-minute episodes drawing on Blyton’s 21 Famous Five novels, which detailed the adventures of five daring young explorers – Julian, Dick, Anne, George and their dog Timmy – as they spend their school holidays gallivanting around the English countryside and coastline, solving mysteries, finding treasure and catching criminals. Filming...
Considering this Danish director is famous for stylish but graphically violent films like The Neon Demon, Only God Forgives and Drive, The Famous Five will be somewhat of a left turn for him.
The series will have three 90-minute episodes drawing on Blyton’s 21 Famous Five novels, which detailed the adventures of five daring young explorers – Julian, Dick, Anne, George and their dog Timmy – as they spend their school holidays gallivanting around the English countryside and coastline, solving mysteries, finding treasure and catching criminals. Filming...
- 6/26/2023
- by Lauravickersgreen
- Den of Geek
When you think of films and TV series by filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, you think of dark, gritty stories. These are stories where anyone can die at any moment and the lines between good and bad are awfully blurry. What you probably don’t imagine from the filmmaker is a TV series aimed at children about fun adventures. Well, it appears that’s what Refn is working on next with “The Famous Five.”
Read More: Nicolas Winding Refn Says His Spy Script With Famed ‘Bond’ Writers Is The “Endeavor Of His Soul” & “Grand Finale Of His Life”
According to THR, Nicolas Winding Refn is serving as creator and producer of a new TV series, “The Famous Five,” which is being made for the BBC and German public broadcaster Zdf.
Continue reading ‘The Famous Five’: Nicolas Winding Refn Working As Creator & Producer On Upcoming Children’s TV Series at The Playlist.
Read More: Nicolas Winding Refn Says His Spy Script With Famed ‘Bond’ Writers Is The “Endeavor Of His Soul” & “Grand Finale Of His Life”
According to THR, Nicolas Winding Refn is serving as creator and producer of a new TV series, “The Famous Five,” which is being made for the BBC and German public broadcaster Zdf.
Continue reading ‘The Famous Five’: Nicolas Winding Refn Working As Creator & Producer On Upcoming Children’s TV Series at The Playlist.
- 6/26/2023
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Series is billed as ”modern, timely and irreverent” take on classic childrens’ books.
Nicolas Winding Refn has teamed with the UK’s Moonage Pictures on a “modern, timely and irreverent” series adaptation of Edith Blyton’s classic children’s book The Famous Five for the BBC in co-production with Germany’s Zdf. TF1 has pre-bought the series for France.
The 3x90-minute series has begun filming and has been created and is executive produced by Winding Refn through Nwr Originals and Matthew Read through Moonage Pictures, based on Blyton’s 21 stories. Filming takes place across the South West of the UK.
Nicolas Winding Refn has teamed with the UK’s Moonage Pictures on a “modern, timely and irreverent” series adaptation of Edith Blyton’s classic children’s book The Famous Five for the BBC in co-production with Germany’s Zdf. TF1 has pre-bought the series for France.
The 3x90-minute series has begun filming and has been created and is executive produced by Winding Refn through Nwr Originals and Matthew Read through Moonage Pictures, based on Blyton’s 21 stories. Filming takes place across the South West of the UK.
- 6/26/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
It’s safe to say that no one saw this one coming. Danish enfant terrible Nicolas Winding Refn, director of Drive, The Neon Demon and the Pusher trilogy, has been tapped to reboot The Famous Five, based on Enid Blyton’s classic series of children’s books.
Blyton wrote 21 books on the adventures of the group of four children — Julian, Dick, Anne and George, along with their dog Timmy — beginning with Five on a Treasure Island, first published in 1942. The books have been adapted for television multiple times.
Refn will act as creator and producer on a new The Famous Five limited series adaptation, which has begun filming across the southwest of the U.K. The Danish director is executive producing through his byNWR Originals company together with BBC Studios-backed Moonage Pictures (Amazon Prime’s The Pursuit of Love) for the BBC and German public broadcaster Zdf. Tim Kirkby,...
Blyton wrote 21 books on the adventures of the group of four children — Julian, Dick, Anne and George, along with their dog Timmy — beginning with Five on a Treasure Island, first published in 1942. The books have been adapted for television multiple times.
Refn will act as creator and producer on a new The Famous Five limited series adaptation, which has begun filming across the southwest of the U.K. The Danish director is executive producing through his byNWR Originals company together with BBC Studios-backed Moonage Pictures (Amazon Prime’s The Pursuit of Love) for the BBC and German public broadcaster Zdf. Tim Kirkby,...
- 6/26/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Playmaker Munich has signed with producer Ulysses Films to handle international sales for its upcoming family animation project “Pirate Mo & the Legend of the Red Ruby,” which has a planned release of early 2026.
Ulysses produced animation box-office hits such as “The Amazing Maurice” and “Niko & the Way to the Stars.”
The script for “Pirate Mo,” which is based on Kirsten Boie’s bestselling novel, was written by Richie Conroy, and the director is Florian Westermann, co-director of “The Amazing Maurice.”
The Playmaker team will present “Pirate Mo” at the Marché du Film in Cannes, and will deliver the first teaser presentation at their booth, and at their upcoming highlights market screening on May 18.
Emely Christians, one of the film’s producers, and CEO of Ulysses, said: “I’m really happy that we’ve found a great ‘world sales port’ for our ‘Pirate Mo’ film. The project is very close to my heart.
Ulysses produced animation box-office hits such as “The Amazing Maurice” and “Niko & the Way to the Stars.”
The script for “Pirate Mo,” which is based on Kirsten Boie’s bestselling novel, was written by Richie Conroy, and the director is Florian Westermann, co-director of “The Amazing Maurice.”
The Playmaker team will present “Pirate Mo” at the Marché du Film in Cannes, and will deliver the first teaser presentation at their booth, and at their upcoming highlights market screening on May 18.
Emely Christians, one of the film’s producers, and CEO of Ulysses, said: “I’m really happy that we’ve found a great ‘world sales port’ for our ‘Pirate Mo’ film. The project is very close to my heart.
- 5/8/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Over here in the UK, we know how to make great writers. We gave the world J.K Rowling with her Harry Potter series and, among many others, we gave the world the author that Rowling is often compared to – Enid Blyton. We are also, apparently, about to give the world Blyton’s work on film, as Working Title has acquired the theatrical rights to The Famous Five. You’re welcome.
With global sales estimated at over 600 million books, Enid Blyton is one of the biggest-selling children’s authors in history. The Famous Five series first appeared in 1942 – with the first book entitled Five On A Treasure Island – and eventually ran to 21 full-length novels. The stories focus on a group of children and the adventures they have during each school holiday, when they return from boarding school. The group – comprising of three siblings, their cousin and her dog – find themselves...
With global sales estimated at over 600 million books, Enid Blyton is one of the biggest-selling children’s authors in history. The Famous Five series first appeared in 1942 – with the first book entitled Five On A Treasure Island – and eventually ran to 21 full-length novels. The stories focus on a group of children and the adventures they have during each school holiday, when they return from boarding school. The group – comprising of three siblings, their cousin and her dog – find themselves...
- 7/25/2014
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
Working Title looks to be developing a live-action film franchise based on famed British author Enid Blyton's iconic "The Famous Five" book series.
Working Title has acquired theatrical rights to the full library of twenty-one novels which follow a group of four young children and their dog Timmy who get involved in an adventure whilst on summer vacation from boarding school. Think a "Goonies"-style tone.
The project is now out to directors and on a fast-tracked development schedule. Star cameos are likely to be sought for the various adult roles, while Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan will produce.
The first novel debuted in 1942 and Blyton released a new one annually (aside from 1959) right up until 1963. The property was previously adapted into two films in 1957 & 1964, and two TV series in 1978 and 1995.
One of the biggest selling children’s authors in history, Blyton's books have racked up over 600 million in sales.
Working Title has acquired theatrical rights to the full library of twenty-one novels which follow a group of four young children and their dog Timmy who get involved in an adventure whilst on summer vacation from boarding school. Think a "Goonies"-style tone.
The project is now out to directors and on a fast-tracked development schedule. Star cameos are likely to be sought for the various adult roles, while Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan will produce.
The first novel debuted in 1942 and Blyton released a new one annually (aside from 1959) right up until 1963. The property was previously adapted into two films in 1957 & 1964, and two TV series in 1978 and 1995.
One of the biggest selling children’s authors in history, Blyton's books have racked up over 600 million in sales.
- 7/25/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Exclusive: Enid Blyton has been called the Jk Rowling of her time. The English writer who was born in 1897 is one of the biggest selling children’s authors in history with global sales of over 600M books. One of her most iconic series is The Famous Five, and I hear Working Title has just acquired theatrical rights to the full library. That includes over 20 novels which center on the adventures of a group of four young children and their dog Timmy. I understand the plan is to launch a live-action franchise based on the books, the first of which […]...
- 7/25/2014
- Deadline
Market screening for The Physician, two competition titles among slate.
Beta Cinema’s Berlinale slate includes competition titles Station of the Cross and Jack as well as Panorama Special entry Stereo.
Move director Dietrich Brueggemann’s competition entry Stations of the Cross, produced by Ufa, follows a 14-year-old girl from a fundamentalist Catholic community who undergoes her own 14 ‘stations’.
The company’s second competition entry Jack, directed by Edward Berger, is the story of a boy of ten who embarks on a journey to find his disappeared mother.
Maximilian Erlenwein’s thriller Stereo, about a mysterious stranger who forces his way into an ex-gangster’s life, stars Juergen Vogel and Moritz Bleibtreu, while also on the slate are The Famous Five III, tragicomedy Back on Track and Global Player.
Beta will continue to sell flagship production The Physician, which gets a market screening. The adventure-drama has already taken €32m in Germany and Spain alone.
Beta Cinema’s Berlinale slate includes competition titles Station of the Cross and Jack as well as Panorama Special entry Stereo.
Move director Dietrich Brueggemann’s competition entry Stations of the Cross, produced by Ufa, follows a 14-year-old girl from a fundamentalist Catholic community who undergoes her own 14 ‘stations’.
The company’s second competition entry Jack, directed by Edward Berger, is the story of a boy of ten who embarks on a journey to find his disappeared mother.
Maximilian Erlenwein’s thriller Stereo, about a mysterious stranger who forces his way into an ex-gangster’s life, stars Juergen Vogel and Moritz Bleibtreu, while also on the slate are The Famous Five III, tragicomedy Back on Track and Global Player.
Beta will continue to sell flagship production The Physician, which gets a market screening. The adventure-drama has already taken €32m in Germany and Spain alone.
- 1/28/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Interview Juliette Harrisson 24 Sep 2013 - 06:50
Juliette chats to Atlantis actress Jemima Rooper about what to expect from Medusa in the new BBC One series...
You might know her from Hex, Lost in Austen or perhaps as George from the 1990s adaptations of The Famous Five, but this autumn Jemima Rooper will be appearing in a rather more exotic role, as the soon-to-be cursed Medusa in BBC One’s Atlantis. We met her at the set to quiz her about what we can expect.
When we first meet Rooper’s Medusa on screen, she won’t yet have her famously dangerous barnet of snake-hair. “She comes into the lives of the three protagonists and has a lovely romance with one of them… unless the curse sets everything off on a completely different course,” Rooper tells us. “I now know how the curse comes about and what happens, but we’ve yet to film it.
Juliette chats to Atlantis actress Jemima Rooper about what to expect from Medusa in the new BBC One series...
You might know her from Hex, Lost in Austen or perhaps as George from the 1990s adaptations of The Famous Five, but this autumn Jemima Rooper will be appearing in a rather more exotic role, as the soon-to-be cursed Medusa in BBC One’s Atlantis. We met her at the set to quiz her about what we can expect.
When we first meet Rooper’s Medusa on screen, she won’t yet have her famously dangerous barnet of snake-hair. “She comes into the lives of the three protagonists and has a lovely romance with one of them… unless the curse sets everything off on a completely different course,” Rooper tells us. “I now know how the curse comes about and what happens, but we’ve yet to film it.
- 9/22/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
One Direction have debuted their new video 'Little Things' showing the boys in far more reflective, soulful mood than usual.
Watch Them In Action Above - Who do you think gives the best performance? (Fans may have to watch this up-close-and personal look at Liam, Harry, Zayn, Niall and Louis a few hundred times to decide.)
The famous five have been filmed in a London recording studio, and the romantic atmosphere is helped by using black and white film, as they perform 'Little Things' written by Ed Sheeran.
Fans' reactions to their favourite tousle-haired teenagers came thick and fast on Twitter, with #LittleThingsOnVEVO going straight to top position on worldwide trends, where it stayed for two hours.
See the first reactions on Twitter below - with some fans unable to hide their enthusiasm...
Little Things will be released on 2 December. Check out the first reactions from fans below.
Watch Them In Action Above - Who do you think gives the best performance? (Fans may have to watch this up-close-and personal look at Liam, Harry, Zayn, Niall and Louis a few hundred times to decide.)
The famous five have been filmed in a London recording studio, and the romantic atmosphere is helped by using black and white film, as they perform 'Little Things' written by Ed Sheeran.
Fans' reactions to their favourite tousle-haired teenagers came thick and fast on Twitter, with #LittleThingsOnVEVO going straight to top position on worldwide trends, where it stayed for two hours.
See the first reactions on Twitter below - with some fans unable to hide their enthusiasm...
Little Things will be released on 2 December. Check out the first reactions from fans below.
- 11/2/2012
- by The Huffington Post UK
- Huffington Post
The Twenties were an incredible decade which saw political scandal, decadent fashions, a rise in illegal gambling and the birth of the speakeasy. While it may not be the ideal time period in which to live, we’re most certainly loving living it vicariously through the HBO phenomenon that is Boardwalk Empire.
To celebrate the Blu-ray and DVD release of the second season, the fine folks at Premier PR held a 1920s Grooming Event at Tommy Guns salon on Regent Street. Ladies were treated to makeovers and hair styling while the men received hair-cuts and a shave to gain that unmistakeably distinguished 1920s look.
My favourite feature of the night (other than the man serving delectable canapés leading me to intermittently pounce on him all evening like a grizzly bear on a salmon) was Diy cocktail bar. Here you could mix your own Cutty Buck cocktail containing Cutty Sark whisky...
To celebrate the Blu-ray and DVD release of the second season, the fine folks at Premier PR held a 1920s Grooming Event at Tommy Guns salon on Regent Street. Ladies were treated to makeovers and hair styling while the men received hair-cuts and a shave to gain that unmistakeably distinguished 1920s look.
My favourite feature of the night (other than the man serving delectable canapés leading me to intermittently pounce on him all evening like a grizzly bear on a salmon) was Diy cocktail bar. Here you could mix your own Cutty Buck cocktail containing Cutty Sark whisky...
- 7/26/2012
- by Kerenza Evans
- Obsessed with Film
Award-winning production company Kindle Entertainment are set to bring Enid Blyton's classic childrens book series, The Famous Five, back to our TV screens.
Kindle, the production company behind Leonardo, Some Dogs Bite and Dustbin Baby, will co-produce a new TV series based on the books, with Hachette Books who have acquired the rights to the Enid Blyton literary estate (excluding Noddy).
The reimagining of Blyton’s much loved children’s stories, in which four young children and their dog have adventures while on school holidays, is planned as a family series, rather than a kids-only show, with Kindle targeting the early Saturday primetime slots filled by the likes of Doctor Who and Merlin.
The pilot follows tomboy George, now a modern girl, tand her dog Timmy, being transported back in time to Kirrin Bay in 1954 where she meets the rest of the gang. Through each episode George will gradually...
Kindle, the production company behind Leonardo, Some Dogs Bite and Dustbin Baby, will co-produce a new TV series based on the books, with Hachette Books who have acquired the rights to the Enid Blyton literary estate (excluding Noddy).
The reimagining of Blyton’s much loved children’s stories, in which four young children and their dog have adventures while on school holidays, is planned as a family series, rather than a kids-only show, with Kindle targeting the early Saturday primetime slots filled by the likes of Doctor Who and Merlin.
The pilot follows tomboy George, now a modern girl, tand her dog Timmy, being transported back in time to Kirrin Bay in 1954 where she meets the rest of the gang. Through each episode George will gradually...
- 7/12/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
The Spice Girls are set today to make their first public appearance together since they cut short their reunion world tour in 2008.
The famous five - Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, the two Mels and Victoria Beckham - will be coming together in London to launch Viva Forever, the stage-show based around their many hits.
The Spice Girls haven't been together in public since 2008
The appearance of all five was only confirmed at the last minute, with Mel B and Victoria Beckham the latest names to be added.
Jennifer Saunders, who is writing the book to the musical, will also be present to announce the show, set for the stage in December.
More: Spice Girls - From Perky Popsters To Yummy Mummies
Getting all five in one place these days is a military achievement in itself, with everyone carving out distinct professional identities.
Both Mel B and Geri Halliwell have entered the reality show world,...
The famous five - Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, the two Mels and Victoria Beckham - will be coming together in London to launch Viva Forever, the stage-show based around their many hits.
The Spice Girls haven't been together in public since 2008
The appearance of all five was only confirmed at the last minute, with Mel B and Victoria Beckham the latest names to be added.
Jennifer Saunders, who is writing the book to the musical, will also be present to announce the show, set for the stage in December.
More: Spice Girls - From Perky Popsters To Yummy Mummies
Getting all five in one place these days is a military achievement in itself, with everyone carving out distinct professional identities.
Both Mel B and Geri Halliwell have entered the reality show world,...
- 6/26/2012
- by The Huffington Post UK
- Huffington Post
London – A fresh one-off episode of cult British comedy show The Comic Strip Presents has been greenlight by British pay TV platform UKTV to air on its channel Gold. The Comic Strip Presents debuted in 1982 with Five Go Mad in Dorset, starring Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders and Alexei Sayle, in a parody of storyteller Enid Blyton's British children's classic series The Famous Five. UKTV, a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and Scripps Networks International, has also given the go-ahead for a two-hour
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- 6/14/2012
- by Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
British screenwriter Richard Carpenter has died at the age of 78.
Carpenter, best known as the creator of kids' TV series Catweazle, passed away after suffering a heart attack on Sunday.
He worked as an actor in the 1960s, before going on to write all 26 episodes of 1970s cult show Catweazle, for which he scooped a Writers Guild award for Best Children's TV Drama Script.
Carpenter went on to write the 1980s TV show Robin of Sherwood, which starred Michael Praed and then Sir Sean Connery's son Jason in the title role.
His credits also include work on The Adventures of Black Beauty, The Famous Five, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, and a TV adaptation of The Borrowers.
Carpenter was honoured with a Children's Bafta award in 2000.
Carpenter, best known as the creator of kids' TV series Catweazle, passed away after suffering a heart attack on Sunday.
He worked as an actor in the 1960s, before going on to write all 26 episodes of 1970s cult show Catweazle, for which he scooped a Writers Guild award for Best Children's TV Drama Script.
Carpenter went on to write the 1980s TV show Robin of Sherwood, which starred Michael Praed and then Sir Sean Connery's son Jason in the title role.
His credits also include work on The Adventures of Black Beauty, The Famous Five, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, and a TV adaptation of The Borrowers.
Carpenter was honoured with a Children's Bafta award in 2000.
- 3/1/2012
- WENN
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