WAR & PEACE and TV
A just-released trailer gives a taste of the lavish new adaptation of Leo Tolstory War and Peace. The result of the first-ever collaboration between the Weinstein Co. and the BBC, it is set to air on the BBC in early 2016 and some time later on A&E in the U.S. (UPDATE: it is now scheduled to premiere on all three A&E networks on Jan, 18).
After seeing previews at the major TV marketplace Mipcom last month, Deadline called it “one of the most ambitious event series ever made for the BBC” The sic-part series stars a familiar face from Downton Abbey, Lily James who co-stars with Paul Dano and James Norton. Gillian Anderson, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Rea and Rebecca Front are also in the cast.
Harvey Weinstein has a librarian to thank for discovering the source material. Reports Deadline, “As a child undergoing repeated eye-surgery, [Weinstein] was left with few entertainment options until aproaching a librarian neighbor who handed him the book. ‘It was so beautiful. It captured the lonliness I was feeling and the exuberance.’ ”