VIKINGS Returns To Ireland for Second Season as MISS JULIE Starring Colin Farrell Begins Production in Co. Fermanagh
The coming months are set to be busy for the Irish film and television industry as VIKINGS, produced by World 2000/Octagon Films for HISTORY will return to Ireland to film a second season in Wicklow and Dublin. MISS JULIE, co-funded by the IFB, and starring Colin Farrell (Seven Psychopaths; Crazy Heart; In Bruges), has also begun principal photography on location in Co. Fermanagh.
"We welcome the return of VIKINGS to Ashford film studios, and Colin Farrell's return to Ireland for the making of MISS JULIE. With Irish Film Board support, world class film and television continues to be made in Ireland, driving inward investment, creating jobs, and promoting a positive image of Ireland abroad," Said Mr. Naoise Barry, Film Commissioner BSÉ/IFB."¨
Created and written by Michael Hirst (The Tudors, Elizabeth), VIKINGS is the first scripted series for HISTORY and is an international co-production between Ireland and Canada. The series was developed and produced by Irish producers Morgan O'Sullivan and James Flynn's company Octagon Films, with MGM Television bringing the series to a global audience as it serves as the international distributor outside of Ireland and Canada. 8.3 million total viewers watched the series premiere when it was broadcast on HISTORY in the US on March 3, making it the number one new cable series launch of the year up to that date. "¨"¨"¨The first series contributed aproximately E20 million to the Irish economy in terms of spend on local goods and services.
With episodes in the first season directed by Irish director Ciarán Donnelly (The Tudors, Titanic: Blood and Steel), Johan Renck (Breaking Bad) and Ken Girotti (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), the series of VIKINGS, starred Irish Golden Globe Award winning actor Gabriel Byrne and filmed on location in Ashford Studios in Wicklow for 18 weeks last summer. The series received production funding from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) and benefited from Section 481."¨"¨"¨
Irish crew involved in the first season were the Emmy-winning Irish production designer Tom Conroy (The Tudors) and the three-time Emmy-winning Irish costume designer Joan Bergin (The Tudors) along with IFTA winning and Emmy nominated Dee Corcoran and Tom McInerny in charge of the hair and make-up departments respectively.
MISS JULIE is directed by Liv Ullman and produced by Teun Hilte and Oliver Dungey of The Apocalypse Films Company, Synnøve Hørsdal of Maipo Film, and co-produced by Rita Dagher of Senorita Films and Irish producers Tristan Orpen Lynch and Aoife O'Sullivan for Subotica. MISS JULIE is the latest film adaptation based on the play of the same name by Swedish playwright August Strindberg. "¨"¨"¨
MISS JULIE received funding from Bord Scannan na hEireann/the Irish Film Board and Northern Ireland Screen fund. MISS JULIE also stars Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty; Lawless; The Help), Colin Farrell (Seven Psychopaths; Crazy Heart; In Bruges), and Samantha Morton (Cosmopolis; John Carter; Elizabeth: The Golden Age). All of the post-production on the feature film will be carried out in Windmill Lane, Dublin. "¨"¨"¨
ABOUT VIKINGS
While VIKINGS is filled with conflict, warfare and bloodshed - for these were extreme times - it is a family saga at heart. It follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel, The Beast, Baytown Outlaws), a curious, compelling man who is always looking to break through barriers and discover new worlds to conquer. Ragnar is deeply frustrated by the unadventurous policies of his local chieftain, Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment, Usual Suspects, Millers Crossing), who continues to send his Vikings raiders east every summer, to the Baltic states and Russia, whose populations are as materially poor as themselves.
Joining Fimmel and Byrne are Katheryn Winnick (Bones, Love and Other Drugs, The Black Marks) as Lagertha, a fierce shield maiden and Ragnar's wife; Jessalyn Gilsig (Glee, Heroes, Nip/Tuck, Friday Night Lights) as Siggy, Earl Haraldson's beautiful wife; George Blagden (Les Miserables, Wrath of the Titans) as Athelstan, a young, innocent Christian monk captured by Ragnar on his first raid on England, Clive Standen (Camelot, Robin Hood) as Rollo, Ragnar's impulsive, wild, care-free brother and Gustaf Skarsgard (The Way Back) a ship builder who designs the new generation of Vikings ships.
ABOUT MISS JULIE
Originally set in Sweden in 1888, the film will transfer to Fermanagh in 1890, where, during the course of a midsummer night, Julie (Jessica Chastain), the troubled daughter of an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, encourages her father's valet, John (Colin Farrell) to seduce her, while he is already engaged to the cook (Samantha Morton). The story examines themes of sex, greed, power and manipulation and a battle for control swings back and forth between Miss Julie and John, culminating in a shocking and dark end.