Downton Abbey writer to retell story of the sinking of liner in mini-series
Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes's next ITV drama is to be a mini-series about the sinking of the Titanic.
Fellowes, who hit on a successful, Oscar-winning formula of interweaving the lives of upper and lower classes in the movie Gosford Park and repeated it for last year's ITV1 hit Downton Abbey, will take a similar approach in retelling the story of the sinking of the Titanic on 14 April 1912.
ITV promised that viewers will be "taken on a heart-wrenching journey through Titanic's last hours, as the drama reveals which of the characters they have come to know so well will survive ... and who does not".
"Interweaving multi-arc action, mystery and romantic plotlines and featuring fictional and historical characters, Titanic will focus on different characters ranging from steerage passengers to upper class guests," the broadcaster said.
"Each point of view will culminate in a cliffhanger as the ship begins to founder, building to an explosive conclusion which draws together each of the stories."
The sinking of the Titanic was a key plot point in Downton Abbey, with the heir to the title of Earl of Grantham going down on the "unsinkable" liner in the first episode, bringing the much-debated "entail" into play.
Filming will begin on the mini-series in Hungary in the spring and the drama has already been snapped up by foreign broadcasters including ABC in the US and Channel Seven in Australia.
Maria Kyriacou, managing director at ITV Studios Global Entertainment, said: "The fantastic pedigree of the production talent behind this major series has generated huge interest from our global broadcast clients and we are very pleased to announce these new partners today. Providing a vividly different experience of the ship's last hours alongside a definitive snapshot of what was a unique and uncertain moment in history."
Titanic is a UK/Hungary/Canada co-production and will be produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark and Chris Thompson.
The executive producers are Simon Vaughan (Lookout Point), Kate Bartlett (ITV), Jennifer Kawaja, Julia Sereny (both Sienna Films), Howard Ellis and Adam Goodman (Mid Atlantic Films), and David Collins (Samson Films).
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/21/julian-fellowes-itv-drama
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