League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Screen Grabs from the trailer
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July 8th 2002 Sky
News - The "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - the big screen adaptation of the comic book series about
some of nineteenth century literature's most famous
characters coming together to combat a world threatening villain - began shooting a week later than expected. The
cameras started rolling in Prague last Wednesday instead of the previous week because of an undisclosed illness
suffered by leading man Sean Connery, who plays an aging Allan Quartermain, the hero of H Ryder Haggard's "She.
News June 19th 2002 - LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) Peta Wilson has nabbed
the lead female role in the Steve Norrington-directed "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" for 20th Century
Fox. Shooting is scheduled to start Monday. Wilson is in Prague prepping for the start of the shoot. She'll play
Mina Harker, a beautiful British scientist who used to work with her husband to rid the world of Count Dracula.
Monica Belluci had been negotiating for the part but had to drop out after the dates couldn't be worked out with
her current project, Revolution Studios' "Man of War," which is in production.
Scripted by James Robinson, "Gentlemen" is based on the Alan Moore-penned, Victorian era-set comic book
about various literary protagonists -- including Tom Sawyer, Capt. Nemo, Dr. Jekyll, Allan Quatermain and Harker
-- called upon by Queen Victoria to thwart an evil madman. Sean Connery toplines, and Shane West, Stuart Townsend,
Jason Flemyng also star. Columbia-based producer Don Murphy is producing through his Angry Films with executive
producer Mark Gordon. Fox senior vp production Michael Andreen is overseeing the project for Hutch Parker's TCF
division. Wilson, best known as the star of USA Network's "La Femme Nikita," is repped by ICM, manager
Michael McLean and attorney Greg Homer.
Reuters 7th May 2002 - West in "League" with Connery NEW YORK (Variety)
- Shane West, who recently starred with Mandy Moore in the sleeper hit "A Walk to Remember," is negotiating
to join Sean Connery in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," whose superpowered protagonists are
figures from classic fiction. Based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, the Fox actioner revolves
around the explorer Allan Quatermain (Connery), who's empowered by the queen of England to stop a villain bent
on taking over the world. He puts together a crime-fighting ensemble that includes Tom Sawyer (West), Dr. Jekyll,
Captain Nemo and the Invisible Man. While a deal's still being worked out by his reps, the film likely will be
the next role for West. He also co-starred in the ABC series "Once and Again," which recently ended its
run. He now plans to concentrate on feature work. West had several offers before he was approached for the "League"
slot.
It's 1898 and Britain on an alternate Earth requires specialized assistance in matters most important to the Crown.
An anti-gravity element has been stolen by parties unknown, and a team of agents is chosen to uncover the mystery
and recover the material. As for the agents that make up this League, they should be very familiar to readers on
our world... Based on the comic by Alan Moore.
Proposed Cast so far: Sean Connery (Allan Quartermain), Monica Bellucci (Mina Harker), Jason Flemyng (Dr. Henry Jekyll), Richard Roxburgh (Campion Bond), Stuart Townsend (Dorian Gray), Shane West (Detective Tom Sawyer);
Filming: Production is scheduled to start in June, 2002 in Prague, Czech Republic, on a budget of $80 million. Filming will last there for 12-13 weeks, before moving on to Morocco and Iceland.
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