FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STARZ TO PREMIERE “THE MISSING” SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH AT 9PM ET/PT
Dramatic Thriller Features International Ensemble Cast Led by James Nesbitt (The Hobbit Trilogy), Frances O’Connor (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence) And Tcheky Karyo (Goldeneye)
Beverly Hills, Calif. – August 7, 2014 – Starz announced today that the limited series, “The Missing,” will debut Saturday, November 15th at 9pm ET/PT on STARZ. The eight-episode dramatic thriller, directed by Tom Shankland (“Ripper Street”) and written by Harry Williams and Jack Williams, centers on the psychological fallout and ensuing years-long manhunt resulting from the sudden disappearance of five-year-old Oliver Hughes while on holiday with his parents in France in 2006.
“The Missing” is a gripping dramatic thriller that goes inside the mind of a father, Tony Hughes, played by James Nesbitt (The Hobbit trilogy), desperate to locate his lost son. With help from local police detective, Julien Baptiste, played by Tcheky Karyo (Goldeneye), Tony embarks on an obsessive quest to find his son and those responsible for his disappearance. A gripping puzzle with twists and turns at every stage, Tony’s exhaustive search fractures his relationship with his wife, Emily, played by Frances O’Connor (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence), and threatens to destroy his life. Told through a delicate and complex narrative, “The Missing” unfolds over two time frames simultaneously.
Shot in Brussels, Belgium, “The Missing” is produced by New Pictures and Company Pictures in association with Two Brothers Pictures and Playground and will air on BBC One in the UK in fall of 2014. all3media international retains all US rights not obtained by Starz.
In addition to James Nesbitt (Tony Hughes), Frances O’Connor (Emily Hughes) and Tcheky Karyo (Julien Baptiste), the international ensemble cast also includes Emilie Dequenne (Laurence), Arsher Ali (Malik Suri), Titus De Voogdt (Vincent Bourg), Ken Stott (Ian Garrett), Said Taghmaoui (Khalid Ziane), Anamaria Marinca (Rini), Jean-Francois Wolff (Alain) and Astrid Whetnall (Sylvie).
For more information, follow @TheMissing_STZ on Twitter.
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About Starz Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of June 30, 2014, STARZ and ENCORE serve a combined 55.9 million subscribers, including 22.0 million at STARZ, and 33.9 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ® and ENCORE®, along with Starz Networks’ third network MOVIEPLEX®, air more than 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through STARZ PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY. Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television. Starz Distribution’s home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties. Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.
About New Pictures Established in April 2013 by Charlie Pattinson New Pictures already has two greenlit shows: The Missing for BBC One and Indian Summers – a ten hour period series set in India for Channel 4. The senior management team includes Elaine Pyke and Willow Grylls and Tommy Bulfin is script editor for the company.
Charlie Pattinson launched Company Pictures in 1998 with George Faber and grew it into one of the UK’s largest and most awarded Independent Production Companies.
New Pictures has a first look distribution deal with All3Media International.
About Two Brothers Pictures A new independent company established in late 2012 by Harry and Jack Williams, joined by their Development Producer Sarah Hammond. They recently produced C4’s animated sit-com six part series ‘Full English’, animated by Rough Draft Studios (Futurama, The Simpsons Movie). Last year they made ‘The Guardians’ as a pilot for C4 and are currently shooting ‘Fried’, a comedy pilot for the BBC. They are increasingly moving into drama as well as comedy, with a number of original drama commissions already on the slate. They currently have a first look deal with 4DVD.
About Playground Playground, a New York based film, television and theater company, was founded by award winning producer Colin Callender in 2012 committed to producing quality drama for the stage and screen bringing together the finest US and UK talent from the worlds of theatre, film and television. Since its inception Playground has produced 36 hours of primetime television in the UK and US including Dracula (NBC/Sky), and The White Queen (Starz/BBC) and Dancing on the Edge (BBC/Starz) garnering 6 Golden Globes® including a win for Jacqueline Bisset in the Best Supporting Actress category. Playground is currently in production with two new series – the eight part thriller The Missing (Starz/BBC) and the six hour mini-series Wolf Hall (BBC / Masterpiece Theater) based on Hilary Mantel’s best-seller starring Mark Rylance.
On stage Playground recently produced Nora Ephron’s record-breaking Broadway hit Lucky Guy starring Tom Hanks and directed by George C. Wolfe garnering six Tony® Award nominations and two wins. Upcoming productions include Casa Valentina the new play from four-time Tony® Award winner Harvey Fierstein to be directed by Tony® Award winner Joe Mantello opening at MTC’s Friedman Theater in April 2014. And in June this year Kenneth Branagh makes his much anticipated New York stage debut in the U.S. premiere of his thrilling new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at The Park Avenue Armory, following its acclaimed sold-out run in the UK.
In addition, Playground is in development on a rich slate of film, television and theater projects that draw on the company’s deep relations in the NY, London and LA creative communities including Ken Lonergan’s television adaptation E.M.Foster’s Howards End and Chris Hampton’s series adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons both for the BBC. Recently, Playground also announced an agreement with author J.K.Rowling, alongside London stage producer Sonia Friedman, to produce an original stage play based on Harry Potter.
About Company Pictures Company Pictures is one of the UK's largest independent film and television drama production companies. Established in 1998 by Charlie Pattinson and George Faber, television production highlights include Elizabeth I (winner of three Golden Globes), all nine series' of Shameless (Channel 4: BAFTA and RTS awards), seven series' of Wild at Heart, six series' of Skins (E4/Channel 4), seven George Gently films (BBC 1), Generation Kill written by the creators of The Wire (HBO), The Devils Whore (Channel 4: 3 RTS and 2 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards), an adaptation of Martina Cole's best-selling novel The Take starring Tom Hardy and Brian Cox (Sky 1: Best Multi- channel Programme, Broadcast Awards 2009), The Silence (BBC1: AMI Award for Best Television Drama, 2 IFTA Awards and a Crime Thriller Award), The Shadow Line starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Ecclestone and Rafe Spall (BBC1); The Village starring John Simm and Maxine Peake (BBC1); Philippa Gregory’s The White Queen (BBC1) and the upcoming Wolf Hall starring Mark Rylance, directed by Peter Kosminski (BBC2). In spring 2013 George Faber and Charlie Pattinson left Company and were replaced by John Yorke as managing director.
In the past Company Pictures has produced The Lakes by Jimmy McGovern, A Young Person's Guide to Being a Rockstar (RTS award Best Serial) for Channel 4 and Warner Bros, North Square (Channel 4: winner Best Series Press Guild), Not Only But Always... (Channel 4: BAFTA winner: Rhys Ifans Best Actor), The Rotters' Club (BBC), and Life and Death of Peter Sellers (HBO: winner of two Golden Globe Awards for Best TV Movie and Best Actor for Geoffrey Rush and 15 Emmies). Company has also made five feature films with some of the UK's leading directing talent including films by Roger Michell, Stephen Hopkins, Penny Woolcock, Shane Meadows and Lynne Ramsey. Amongst its numerous awards Company Pictures won Best Independent Production Company at the 2005 and 2008 Broadcast Awards and the European Producers of the Year Award at the 2004 Monte Carlo Awards.
Since October 2004 Company Pictures has been a part of the All3 Media group.
About CZAR TV CZAR TV is the fiction department of Brussels based production company CZAR BE. CZAR BE was founded in 2000 by Koen Mortier and CZAR NL, the Dutch head office. It represents a range of very successful directors and soon became one of the most creative production companies on the Belgian advertising market, generating many awards including twenty Lions at the prestigious advertising festival in Cannes. CZAR BE also produced the acclaimed commercial TNT Push to add drama, directed by Koen Mortier, that won 9 Cannes Lions that year. Together with their Dutch, German and French partners they continuously keep working on their international reputation. In 2010 Eurydice Gysel became executive producer of the company and conjointly leads the department of CZAR TV. She
produced the feature films Ex Drummer and May 22nd, both directed by Koen Mortier. In addition she produced the short films A Gentle Creature, Rivers Return and Perfect Drug, of which the latter is currently partaking in competitions at numerous renowned international film festivals.Together with Graniet Film (NL) and Angel Films (DE), Eurydice produced Borgman, the new feature film by Alex van Warmerdam, that premiered in the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival. Additionally she co-produced Supernova by Tamar van den Dop that will have its international première at the GENERATION in the Berlinale 2014 and L'étrange couleur des larmes de ton corps by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, selected in official competition of the International Film Festivals of Ghent, Locarno and Toronto. Her latest project Waste Land by Pieter van Hees, starring Jérémie Renier, is currently in post- production and set to be released spring 2014. The BBC series The White Queen, a historic drama, is the first CZAR TV production and was aired during Spring 2013. Recent project in development that are supported by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund is Coureur by Kenneth Mercken. That took part in the prestigious Binger and Torino Film Labs.
# # # Contact: Theano Apostolou Shannon Buck Starz Starz (424) 204-4052 (424) 204-4173 [email protected] [email protected]