Treasure Island prequel coming to Starz

[Sawyer]

Deadline:

Starz Greenlights ‘Treasure Island’ Prequel Pirate Series Exec Produced by Michael Bay
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: Starz is heading out to the high seas with a straight-to-series order for a pirate adventure drama executive produced by Michael Bay. The series, tentatively titled Black Sails, was created by Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine. The eight-episode drama is set 20 years before the events in Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island and chronicles the adventures of fabled buccaneer Captain Flint and his men. Flint, the most brilliant and feared pirate captain of his day, takes on a fast-talking young addition to his crew who goes by the name John Silver. Threatened with extinction on all sides, they fight for the survival of New Providence Island, the most notorious criminal haven of its day — a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers, a place defined by its enlightened ideals and stunning brutality. “Starz is excited to be working with a visionary like Michael,” said Starz CEO Chris Albrecht. “Along with the high-octane action that is a hallmark of a Michael Bay production, it has the elements that Starz originals are striving to bring to the premium landscape: epic, larger-than-life, cinematic storytelling. The series is also a property we believe will appeal to the global content marketplace with broadcasters around the world.” The latter is important to Starz because, like with the Spartacus franchise and Magic City, Starz owns all domestic and international rights to Black Sails.

This marks the first series for Bay, director-producer of such blockbusters as the Transformers and Bad Boys movie franchises, who over the past couple of years has focused on expanding his brand to television through his Platinum Dunes banner. “I’m excited to branch out into television, especially doing a long-form series for Starz, a network known for supporting cutting-edge programming,” Bay said. And like his brand of big-budget, high-octane movies, Black Sails too is expected to be an elaborate, high-end drama in the vein of HBO’s Game Of Thrones. While he will not direct the series, Bay has developed the visual idea for what the show would look like. He is executive producing Black Sails with his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. On the unscripted side, WME-repped Bay has a series in development at A&E.

Black Sails is one of four high-profile pirate drama series projects in the works. But while it had been kept under wraps until now, Black Sails was actually set up at Starz in December 2010, months before any of the other three projects: NBC’s The Republic Of Pirates produced by Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, Fox’s Port Royal produced by Graham King and Gale Anne Hurd, and Fox’s Pyrates produced by Ridley and Tony Scott. After Jericho co-creator and Human Target developer Steinberg and Human Target writer Levine wrote the pilot script based on an idea by Steinberg, Starz ordered a second script. The two also put together an outline for the season and assembled a writing team, while Starz hired a line producer and began scouting locations, settling on South Africa. With a significant amount of prep work already done, the series is on track to shoot at Cape Town Studios later this year and be the first of the four pirate projects to hit the air.

In addition to Black Sails, WME-repped Steinberg has pilot Beauty And The Beast in contention at ABC.

This marks a return to the fantasy/adventure genre for Starz, which started off its original scripted series efforts with Spartacus and Camelot before moving on to contemporary political drama Boss and the 1960s Miami drama Magic City.

 

[Lencho01]

I'm sure it'll be full of sex and violence.

 

[rayc1971]

so this is a long john silver prequel

 

[Bruce Malone]

It would be great if they could ever make a deadwood type/caliber show set in the world of pirates...but it's not going to be this.

 

[Sawyer]

There's a pirate series in the works at FX called Port Royal, by one of the writers of The Shield, that would probably be much more like that.

 

[Sawyer]

Deadline:

Neil Marshall To Direct Starz’s ‘Black Sails’
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: Feature writer-director Neil Marshall (The Descent) is set to direct the pilot episode of Starz’s upcoming pirate drama series Black Sails, executive produced by Michael Bay. The eight-episode series, created by Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine, is set 20 years before the events in Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island and chronicles the adventures of fabled buccaneer Captain Flint and his men. The series is currently in pre-production in Cape Town, South Africa, with Starz brass eying it for a launch in early 2014, possibly inheriting the Spartacus slot.

Marshall recently made his TV debut directing the Blackwater episode of HBO’s fantasy series Game Of Thrones, which received a lot of praise for its depiction of the Battle of the Blackwater, described as one of the best battle sequences ever done on television. Marshall, repped by ICM Partners and Principato-Young, is currently developing the features Hellfest for Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla and CBS Films and The Last Voyage of the Demeter for Phoenix Pictures and Millennium.

Things just got interesting.

 

[Shifty]

Hopefully it succeeds as the success rate at Starz is pitiful. Time to stop premiering episodes on Friday nights.

 

[Sawyer]

Toby Stephens is Captain Flint

 

[Lencho01]

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a...jessica-parker-kennedy-joins-black-sails.html

'Secret Circle' star Jessica Parker Kennedy joins 'Black Sails'

Published Monday, Oct 1 2012, 11:59am EDT | By Morgan Jeffery | Add

© WENN / Ivan Nikolov


The Secret Circle star Jessica Parker Kennedy has won a lead role of Starz series Black Sails.

The pirate drama - starring Toby Stephens as buccaneer Captain Flint - serves as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Kennedy will play a beautiful and capable French prostitute named Max, according to Deadline.

The Canadian star recently landed a role on The CW's teen drama 90210 and has also appeared in episodes of Smallville, Brothers & Sisters and Fairly Legal.

Merlin star Tom Hopper has also been confirmed to star in Black Sails, which will be executive produced by Michael Bay.

Neil Marshall (Game of Thrones, Dog Soldiers) will direct the first of eight episodes, with the show expected to launch in early 2014.

 

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=97077

Full Cast Announced for the Michael Bay-Produced Black Sails

Source: STARZ
November 15, 2012


Starz has just announced several new cast members for the upcoming Michael Bay-produced original series "Black Sails." The eight episode freshman season of the drama series is set to air on Starz in 2014. The pirate adventure tells the story of Captain Flint and his men, and takes place 20 years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island."

Luke Arnold will star as the classic character, "John Silver," in the years before his well-known feats. Arnold is a native of Australia, where he began working in television on series including "McLeod's Daughters," "Rush" and "Rescue: Special Ops." He also went on to star in the feature film, Broken Hill. Zack McGowan will be featured as "Captain Charles Vane," a rival pirate captain to the brilliant and feared "Captain Flint," played by Toby Stephens. McGowan is most recently known for his role in the series, "Shameless." Hannah New will be stepping into the role of "Eleanor Guthrie," a beautiful and determined young woman who runs the smuggling operation on New Providence. She is a promising London-born actress who starred in the miniseries, "El Tiempo Entre Costuras (The Time Between Seams)," the feature Fuga De Cerebros 2 and most recently was filming Maleficent, a Sleeping Beauty tale told from the alternative perspective of the villainous sorceress, starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning. Rising star Jessica Parker Kennedy has been cast in the role of "Max," a tortured young prostitute who sees the dark side of New Providence. She is known for her work in the television series, "The Secret Circle," and has appeared in the films 50/50 and In Time.

Additional casting includes classically trained UK actor Hakeem Kae Kazim playing "Mr. Scott." He recently appeared in the TV series, "Strike Back," and has had film roles in Hotel Rwanda, Black November and the upcoming, Half a Yellow Sun, to name a few. Toby Schmitz, who had appeared in the Australian series "Crownies," and the miniseries "The Pacific," will take on the role of "Rackham." Clara Paget has been cast as, "Anne Bonny," a female member of Captain Vane's crew. Paget was in the film, One Day, and can be seen in the upcoming feature, Fast & Furious 6.

"Black Sails" will be executive produced by Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) and his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (producers on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and Nightmare on Elm Street (2009). The series is created by showrunner and executive producer Jon Steinberg (creator "Jericho," "Human Target") and co-executive producer Robert Levine ("Touch").

The production is set to shoot at Cape Town Studios in Cape Town, South Africa later this year.

 

[Lencho01]

Saw the trailer for this. I guess it'll be the Spartacus replacement next year.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Where did you see it?

 

[Lencho01]

They showed it tonight.

 

[Lencho01]

Here's the trailer...

[YT]yVaQE6KHGHM[/YT]

 

[Kaleb]

a while back my mom was wondering what they were filming near her house, she mentioned a big black pirate ship. I guess it was this show

 

[Lencho01]

a while back my mom was wondering what they were filming near her house, she mentioned a big black pirate ship. I guess it was this show

Where did they shoot it?

 

[Kaleb]

Where did they shoot it?

near the Water Front in Cape Town

 

[Lencho01]

near the Water Front in Cape Town

Thanks.

 

[godisawesome]

I'm really hoping they get the power structure of the pirates and rise of Silver down correctly. Silver was the quartermaster in the original book, meaning he had the same standing in the crew as Flint: same pay and shared responsibilities between the two would favor the quartermaster during peace and the captain during battle. And one of the things I don't think ever gets emphasized enough is that Silver is probably the best politician in the book.

We should see a character who can play two sides against each other in his sleep and maintain control of rowdy drunken thieves in even he worst situations. Remember, the only man old Flint ever feared was Barbecue, Long John Silver himself.

 

[Lencho01]

http://collider.com/black-sails-trailer/

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[Shifty]

Well if it is half as good as Game of Thrones then Starz should have a hit.

Definitely will check the pilot out.

Shame Crossbones is on NBC.

 

[Sawyer]

Well if it is half as good as Game of Thrones then Starz should have a hit.

Definitely will check the pilot out.

Shame Crossbones is on NBC.

If they get the freedom that Hannibal gets, it can be every bit as great, just with cable-level numbers.

 

[Shifty]

True, if it can be on the same level as that and just be a cable series on NBC. They do get to air before Black Sails, they do have that advantage.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Well if it is half as good as Game of Thrones then Starz should have a hit.

Definitely will check the pilot out.

Shame Crossbones is on NBC.

Half is probably setting the bar too high but i'll be interested to check it out.

 

[Bad Superman]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=97077

http://collider.com/black-sails-trailer/

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YYYYEEEEEHHHHHHH!!!!!!