"Empire" is a sweeping new limited drama series from the executive producers of the Academy Award-winning "Chicago." The period drama focuses on Julius Caesar's nephew, Octavius, who is forced into exile after Caesar's murder, and a fictional disgraced gladiator, Tyrannus, who has sworn to protect him. The series is slated to air during the 2004-2005 season on the ABC Television Network.
The series has faced considerable problems since originally developed including an incredible $50 million budget. This has apparently been cut with the reduction of 8 planned to 6 actual shows, but financial problems as well as executive overhaul within the ABC environment have continued to threaten 'Empire'. It seems that the series is back on course to compete with the HBO-BBC co-production of 'Rome' in mid summer 2005.
The one-hour, six-episode series, which features a stellar international cast led by Jonathan Cake ("First Knight," Hallmark's "Noah's Ark") and Santiago Cabrera ("Haven"), with guest and recurring stars including Dennis Haysbert ("24")and Trudie Styler ("Friends," "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister"), will be one of the most lavish and technically complex ever to air on ABC in primetime. "Empire" is being executive-produced by award-winning producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," "Meredith Willson's The Music Man," "Brian's Song," ABC's "Annie," "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," "The Reagans" and ABC's comedy series "It's All Relative"), Tony Jonas ("Queer as Folk," "Leap Years"), Chip Johannessen ("24," "The X-Files,") and Thomas Wheeler ("The Prometheus Project," "The Mission"), who is also series creator.
The time is 44 B.C. and the Conqueror Julius Caesar (Colm Feore, "Chicago," "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself") returns from triumphs in Spain to a neglected Republic and a corrupt Senate, drunk with power. Though he's hailed as a hero by the masses, the Senate is wary of Caesar's plans that might place him in a position of ultimate power. Brutus (James Frain, USA Network's "Spartacus," "Arabian Nights") and Cassius (Michael Maloney, Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet," "Painted Lady") attempt to enlist the assistance of Marc Antony (Vincent Regan, "Troy," "Joan of Arc") in overthrowing Caesar, but Antony is loyal to Caesar and refuses. A terrible conflict looms and the fate of an empire will fall to one man - a gladiator named Tyrannus.
Tyrannus (Jonathan Cake), Caesar's bodyguard and confidant and Rome's finest warrior, is undefeated in the arena and considered a champion among men. A slave since he was a young man, Tyrannus impresses Caesar with his fighting prowess and his popularity, and with his dedication to Rome. Caesar offers him freedom in return for his service and friendship. However the Senate puts up a vicious fight for power and manages to separate Caesar from Tyrannus' protective grasp by sending the gladiator to one last match to the death. Cassius and Brutus have Tyrannus' son, Piso, kidnapped. Tyrannus rushes to his son's rescue and kills his kidnappers only to realize that the abduction is a diversion. He hurries to Caesar's side, but it is too late. His absence results in Brutus successfully leading a group of conspirators in assassinating the great conqueror. As he is drawing his last breath, Caesar swears Tyrannus to an oath to protect his successor, Octavius (Santiago Cabrera), his 18-year-old nephew.
Tyrannus and Octavius are forced into exile to protect the young man from those who want to sever Caesar's bloodline once and for all. They are joined by Agrippa (Chris Egan, Australian series "Home & Away"), a young soldier, and Camane (Emily Blunt, "Warrior Queen"), a Vestal Virgin from the powerful religious Order whose members are being hunted down for trying to save Octavius. Together they will help Octavius fulfill his destiny. He leaves Rome an impetuous boy, but will Octavius return an Emperor?
Related Pages on UNRV.com for Reference
Production Notes
Production scoured south-central Italy for locations to represent Caesar's Roman Republic, including the ancient roads of the Appian Way, Aqua Appia, the 2,000-year-old aqueduct responsible for the first running water, Romulus' fourth century tomb, the pine trees and marketplaces of Ostia Antica and the beachside caves of Anzio, a famous disembarkation point during World War II. On the 270-acre back lot behind the once famous Dino DeLaurentis Studios (now Roma Studios), the production re-created a piazza/arena for the gladiator fights, the Forum, including the Senate, piazza and various roads, and the interior of Marc Antony's villa, which boasts 72,000 fake Roman bricks, 11,000 roofing tiles and 16,000 square feet of mosaic floor covering.
Over 6,000 yards of fabric were gathered from India, Germany and Italy and painstakingly colored with 320 pounds of dye from fresh herb extracts, replicating the process from ancient Roman times. The small army of wardrobe and props personnel also provided 150 sets of handmade women's jewelry, 700 pairs of boots and sandals from Pompeii and Tunisia and breast plates originally used in the productions of "Cleopatra" and "Ben Hur."
Additionally, award-winning sword masters, husband-and-wife team Dan Speaker and Jan Bryant ("Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Hidalgo," "Hook") took on the challenge of duplicating the brutish style of the Roman gladiators of over 2,000 years ago, working one-on-one with the stars of "Empire," especially Jonathan Cake, who portrays Tyrannus.
"Empire" stars Jonathan Cake as Tyrannus, Santiago Cabrera as Octavius, Emily Blunt as Camane, Chris Egan as Agrippa and Vincent Regan as Marc Antony.
Recurring or guest stars include Dennis Haysbert as Magonius, Trudie Styler as Servilia, James Frain as Brutus, Colm Feore as Julius Caesar, Michael Bryne as Cicero, Michael Maloney as Cassius, Orla Brady as Atia, Graham McTavish as General Rapax, N'Deaye Ba as Nila and Fiona Shaw as Fulvia.
Empire" is being directed by John Gray ("Brian's Song," "Helter Skelter," "Martin and Lewis"), Kim Manners ("X-Files") and Greg Yaitanes ("Line of Fire," "Cold Case," "CSI Miami"). Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Tony Jonas, Chip Johannessen and series creator Tom Wheeler are the executive producers. The series is produced by Taranus LTD. in association with Storyline Entertainment and distributed by Touchstone Television.
Cast
Character - Actor
In no particular order
Octavius - Santiago Cabrera
Tyrannus - Jonathan Cake
Brutus - James Frain
Julius Caesar - Colm Feore
Gabriella Cochrane - Laura Harring
Panza - Roger Ashton Griffiths
Atia - Orla Brady
Camane - Emily Blunt
Nila - N'Deaye Ba
Agrippa - Chris Egan
Marc Antony - Vincent Regan
Servilia - Trudie Styler
Magonius - Dennis Haysbert
Cicero - Michael Bryne
Cassius - Michael Maloney
General Rapax - Graham McTavish
Fulvia - Fiona Shaw
Executive Producers
CRAIG ZADAN and NEIL MERON, executive producers
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, under their Storyline Entertainment shingle, are the producers of critically acclaimed and award-winning feature films, television movies and series. All totaled, their productions have garnered six Academy Awards, five Golden Globes, ten Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, the TV Critics Association Award, the HRC Corporate Award and two GLAAD Awards. Their outstanding television work also has amassed 66 Emmy nominations.
Among the heralded movies and miniseries they have executive-produced are "Meredith Willson's The Music Man," starring Matthew Broderick, Kristin Chenoweth and Victor Garber; "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," starring Judy Davis; the historic lesbian custody drama, "What Makes a Family"; "The Three Stooges"; ABC's "Annie," starring Kathy Bates; "The Beach Boys: An American Family"; "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," starring Brandy and Whitney Houston; ABC's new version of the classic "Brian's Song"; "The Reagans," starring Judy Davis.
Davis and James Brolin, which received seven 2003-2004 Emmy nominations; "Martin and Lewis," starring Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam; "Lucy," the story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz; "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story," starring Glenn Close and Judy Davis; "Double Platinum" with Diana Ross; and "Gypsy," starring Bette Midler. The pair's first sitcom, "It's All Relative," premiered this past season on ABC.
The powerhouse team executive-produced the critically acclaimed and Academy Award-winning feature film, "Chicago," starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere. They also produced the film "My Fellow Americans," starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner, and Mr. Zadan produced the feature hit, "Footloose," starring Kevin Bacon. Their next feature is "Fahrenheit 451," which will be written and directed by Frank Darabont and produced with Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey for Castle Rock. They have also signed on to produce "Damn Yankees" for Miramax, will remake "Footloose" as a musical for Paramount, and will produce two comedies for Revolution Studios, "Ice Breakers" and "In the Pink." They will also produce "The Banshee," an upcoming family film, for The Walt Disney Company.
TONY JONAS, executive producer
A veteran of over 20 years in the business, Tony Jonas now heads up his own production company, Tony Jonas Productions, which presently has a multi-year development deal with Touchstone Television. The company will begin production on the fifth season of the hit Showtime drama series, "Queer as Folk." The company also produced the critically acclaimed Showtime drama, "Leap Years." Prior to executive-producing "Empire," he served as executive producer on the ABC mid-season comedy, "Lost at Home."
Jonas most recently served as president, Warner Bros. Television, a position he held since 1995. Under his leadership Warner Bros. Television was the largest supplier of network primetime programs for four straight years, featuring such projects as "ER," "Friends," "The Drew Carey Show," "The West Wing," "Third Watch," "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," "The Norm Show" and "Murphy Brown." Off Network, WBTV produced USA cable's signature "La Femme Nikita," TNT's "Bull," and "Witchblade." Jonas joined Warner Bros. (then Lorimar Television) in 1989 as senior vice president, Drama Development. He supervised development on the multi-Emmy Award winning dramas "I'll Fly Away," "Homefront," "Reasonable Doubts," "Gabriel's Fire" and "Sisters."
In June of 1991 Jonas was promoted to executive vice president, Creative Affairs. He supervised development that ultimately resulted in the hits "Living Single," "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper," "Step by Step" and "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." The subsequent re-signing of producer John Wells, coupled with Michael Crichton and the retainer of high-profile producers Bright/Kauffman/Crane and Bruce Helford, resulted in not only "ER," "Friends," "Veronica's Closet" and "The Drew Carey Show," but also the series "Jesse" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
CHIP JOHANNESSEN, executive producer
Chip Johnannessen began writing series television on the long-running Fox hit, "Beverly Hills, 90210," and went on to become executive producer of Chris Carter's "Millennium." His series producing credits also include the award-winning hit series "The X-Files" and "24." Johnannessen's big screen writing credits include "Crow: The Salvation," starring Kirsten Dunst.
Prior to working in television, Johnannessen was a rock guitarist in New York City and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon.
TOM WHEELER, executive producer and creator
"Empire" marks Tom Wheeler's debut as a television writer. However, as a screenwriter, he has written for nearly every major studio, including 20th Century Fox's "The Prometheus Project" for Jan DeBont, Columbia's "The Mission," Touchstone's "Simeon's Code," The Walt Disney Company's "Meg," New Line's "Black Hole," Universal's "Hard Knox" and MGM's "Supernova."
Wheeler's first novel, "The Arcanum," a supernatural thriller from Bantam Books released in May 2004, earned praise from both author Clive Barker and filmmaker Wes Craven. He is currently working on the sequel.
