The Casual Vacancy Mini Series that aired on HBO earlier this year is now available for pre-order on Amazon in the US and UK! It will be released on August 4th 2015 in the US and you can get it on DVD or Blu-Ray. UK fans can get their hands on the DVD or Blu-Ray a bit earlier, June 15th.
The Casual Vacancy centers on Pagford, a seemingly idyllic English village with a cobbled market square and ancient abbey. Behind the pretty facade, however, is a town at war: rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils. The story begins with the death of beloved Parish Councillor Barry Fairbrother, leaving a seat on the council vacant. Those running for a place soon find their darkest secrets revealed on the Parish Council online forum, ruining their campaign and leaving the election in turmoil.
In a new interview in The Sunday Times, Michael Gambon revealed he will no longer be doing any stage acting due to his failing memory and inability to remember lines.
The 74-year-old, who as a young actor trained with Sir Laurence Olivier, now avoids roles with “lots of words”, he admitted in an interview.
He finally took the decision to bow out from stage work after an experiment involving lines read to him via an audio headset proved a failure.
Sir Michael explained: “There was a girl in the wings and I had a plug in my ear so she could read my lines. And after about an hour I thought, ‘This can’t work. You can’t be in theatre, free on the stage, shouting and screaming and running around, with someone reading your lines.
He added: “You know, when you’re there in front of an audience, that you’re not as good as you could be.
“It’s a horrible thing to admit, but I can’t do it. It breaks my heart. When the script is in front of me and it takes me forever to learn, it’s frightening”.
He will continue to act in television and films.
But Sir Michael said he has no plans to put his film and screen career on hold, he announced, amid glowing reviews for his work on hit polar drama Fortitude.
He appears as Private Godfrey in a forthcoming cinematic remake of television’s Dad’s Army. And he is booked to spend two weeks filming in New York and Canada after agreeing to take on “whatever comes along”.
The project, Gambon said, is directed by an unnamed Frenchman “who was talking to me on the phone the other day
“I didn’t understand a word he said. I kept saying, ‘Oh yeah, yeah – that’s great, alright, see you then. Bye.’
“I don’t know what it’s all about. I expect my agent will tell me”.
Additionally, BBC has released a new clip from The Casual Vacancy which will begin airing on BBC One next Sunday, February 15th at 9pm GMT. It will also air in the US on HBO from April 29th through the 30th.
BBC has released the first trailer for J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy miniseries, which will be airing on February 15th in the UK. The show stars Harry Potter’s Michael Gambon.
Also, HBO announced that it will be airing the miniseries at the end of April.
HBO has confirmed the debut dates for the HBO Miniseries/BBC adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s global bestseller THE CASUAL VACANCY, with parts one and two scheduled to debut back-to-back WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29 (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), followed by the debut of part three the next night, THURSDAY, APRIL 30 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT).
THE CASUAL VACANCY centers on Pagford, a seemingly idyllic English village with a cobbled market square and ancient abbey. Behind the pretty façade, however, is a town at war: rich vs. poor, teenagers vs. parents, wives vs. husbands, teachers vs. pupils.
The cast includes Michael Gambon, Keeley Hawes, Rory Kinnear, Monica Dolan and Julia McKenzie, and introduces Abigail Lawrie.
HBO Miniseries presents in association with BBC a Bronte Film and Television Production; executive produced by Neil Blair, Paul Trijbits and Rick Senat; directed by Jonny Campbell; written by Sarah Phelps; produced by Ruth Kenley-Letts.
BBC have announced the premiere date for ‘The Casual Vacancy’ television series based on J.K.Rowling’s novel of the same name. It will air on BBC ONE on February 15th at 9PM.
The BBC TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s global bestseller The Casual Vacancy will begin on Sunday 15th February 2015 on BBC One, and will air in three one-hour episodes over consecutive Sundays.
The cast for the BBC and HBO mini-series includes Michael Gambon, Keeley Hawes, Rory Kinnear, Monica Dolan, Julia McKenzie, and Abigail Lawrie.
BAFTA Award winning actor Michael Gambon (“Quirke”, “The Singing Detective”) is set to play Howard Mollison, owner of the Pagford delicatessen, with Julia McKenzie (Notes on a Scandal, Shirley Valentine) playing his wife Shirley. Howard’s son Miles is being played by Rufus Jones (Bill, “W1A”) with his wife Samantha Mollison being played by Keeley Hawes (“Line of Duty”, “Ashes to Ashes”). Rory Kinnear (Skyfall, “Penny Dreadful”), who recently won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his role as Iago in Nicholas Hytner’s production of Othello at the National Theatre, is to play Barry Fairbrother, Keeley Forsyth (“Coronation Street”, “Emmerdale”) is playing Terri Weedon with newcomer Abigail Lawrie cast as her daughter Krystal Weedon.
Monica Dolan (Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Sightseers), who won a BAFTA Award for her portrayal of Rose West in Julian Jarrold’s “Appropriate Adult”, will play Tess Wall with Simon McBurney (Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, Last King of Scotland) playing her husband Colin Wall. Richard Glover (A Field in England, Sightseers) has been cast to play Simon Price alongside Marie Critchley (“In The Flesh”, “Emmerdale”) playing his wife Ruth Price. Michelle Austin (Secrets & Lies, Another Year) will play Kay Bawden.
A paperback edition designed to tie in with the miniseries of The Casual Vacancy is available now.
The Daily Mail has revealed some of the cast members for BBC’s adaption of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. Potter alum Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) and Simon McBurney (Kreacher) are set to star.
Michael Gambon will play local council leader Howard Mollison with Julia McKenzie as his wife Shirley. Keeley Hawes will play their troubled daughter-in-law, Samantha. Simon McBurney will portray deputy headteacher Cubby Wall.
The BBC is creating a three-part mini-series around the book and will be aired some time in 2014.
It has been revealed today, by The Wrap, that HBO and BBC will be co-producing the tv series based on J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. We posted way back in December 2012 that the BBC would be producing the series and now have some more details. The episodes will be one hour each with both HBO and BBC airing the three-part mini-series,.
The production, which will air in three one-hour installments, will begin production this summer in South West England, HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo announced Wednesday. The BBC announced plans for an adaptation in 2012, the same year the novel, Rowling’s first post-”Harry Potter” book, was released.
The miniseries is being produced by Bronte Film and Television, the independent production company run by Rowling and Neil Blair, who is executive producing with Paul Trijbits (“Saving Mr. Banks” Golden Globe winner “”Dancing on the Edge”) and Rick Senat.
It is written by Sarah Phelps (“EastEnders,” the BBC’s “Great Expectations” and “The Crimson Field”) produced by Ruth Kenley-Letts (“The Tunnel,” “The Hour”) and directed by Jonny Campbell (“In the Flesh,” “Eric & Ernie”).
The story centers on Pagford, a seemingly idyllic English village with a cobbled market square and ancient abbey. But behind the pretty exterior is a town in conflict between rich and poor, teenagers and parents, husbands and wives, and students and teachers.
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