TMC Entertainment Announces Start of Photography on its $7.5m Miniseries’ For PBS, Walking the Bible, a Journey through the Five Books of Moses and Abraham, A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths
PBS Station KQED Public Television- San Francisco Signs on as Presenting Station - BAFTA Award Winning David Wallace Set to Direct on High Definition Digital Video
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 21, 2004 -- Emmy Award-winning producer Drew
S. Levin’s TMC Entertainment announced today that principal photography will
begin late September in Turkey and Israel on its two highly anticipated PBS
miniseries, Walking the Bible and Abraham. Both miniseries are based on the
bestselling books by author Bruce Feiler and will be hosted by Feiler and Avner
Goren, one of the leading biblical archaeologists on both the old and new
testaments. Walking the Bible and Abraham will be broadcast on PBS as a
primetime event tentatively scheduled for Fall 2005. KQED Public Television, the
San Francisco PBS station, has signed an agreement with TMC to be the presenting
station. The ambitious projects will be filmed on three continents, in ten
countries, including one of the most volatile areas of the Middle East, Iraq,
the birthplace of Abraham, the father of the three great modern religions.
Feiler and Goren will travel 10,000 miles to bring these epic journeys to
life.
In a further development, TMC Entertainment has signed a long-term
production and licensing deal with Bruce Feiler, which provides the rights to
produce all of the upcoming Walking the Bible books as major event miniseries.
Working with Feiler’s publishers Harper Collins, TMC is also planning to produce
a special one-of-a-kind photography book utilizing state-of-the-art digital
technology to capture the incredible journey and its historical locations on
special high resolution paper with 3-D maps of ancient and modern Biblical
sites.
Both series will be executive produced by TMC Entertainment’s
Drew S. Levin and his long-time associate, Jim Coane. Levin and Coane each won
an Emmy for their critically acclaimed PBS series, Future Quest, hosted by Jeff
Goldblum. Levin has assembled an impressive international production team which
includes renowned British producer Rebecca Dobbs, who is best known for the
BBC/PBS mini-series, Conquistadors and In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great.
Also joining the production are Alex Gregory, a multiple Emmy Award winner (The
Living Eden and The Secret Life of 118 Green Street), who will co-write the
mini-series with Feiler and BAFTA award-winner David Wallace (In Search of
Shakespeare (2003), Conquistadors (2000), In the Footsteps of Alexander the
Great (1998) who is set to direct both projects.
“It has been very
rewarding to see Feiler’s epic journey translate into a fully scripted 6-hour
primetime event for PBS. We are thrilled to have signed David Wallace to direct
Walking the Bible and Abraham. His skill as a film maker will add enormous
visual appeal to this historic event and its pursuit to further educate
viewers,” said Levin. “The Bible is not only a book of history, of stories and
of faith. It’s also a guidebook – the greatest guidebook ever written,” added
Levin.
“All of us at PBS are delighted that production has commenced on
these two timely series, and we look forward to offering our viewers a
compelling exploration of the Bible’s origins and the world’s three great
religions through Feiler and Goren’s eyes,” said Jacoba Atlas, Sr. Vice
President, PBS Programming.
“KQED is honored to be associated with this
monumental television project and pleased to present these two fascinating
miniseries to PBS stations nationwide. Walking the Bible and Abraham are just
the type of intelligent, beautifully produced and timely programs that draw
broad PBS audiences. Filming in HDTV is also a plus as more and more
broadcasters seek out state-of-the-art digital content,” said John L. Boland,
Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer at KQED.
Filming on
the two miniseries will commence in Turkey at the foothills of Mount Ararat
where Noah’s journey commenced in the Ark. It will continue in Israel, Egypt,
Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and even Iraq, as Feiler traces the origins of
Abraham. Walking the Bible and Abraham will be filmed on high-definition digital
video utilizing state-of-the-art CGI and 3D animation for historical
geographical maps and reenactments. A 12-hour version will also be released on
DVD for on-air, retail and home distribution. TMC plans to provide a sneak
preview to international buyers at the upcoming MIPCOM festival in Cannes,
France in early October.
TMC Entertainment was founded in 2002 by Emmy
Award-winning producer Drew S. Levin. TMC Entertainment has an impressive track
record in developing and producing some of the most creative television projects
to date. In particular, the firm has established an international network for
collaboration and co-production on major event projects. From its headquarters
in Los Angeles, TMC Entertainment, along with sister offices in New York and
London, handles a full spectrum of television projects ranging from scripted and
unscripted drama and comedy to reality programming and documentaries. www.walkingthebibletv.com / www.tmcent.tv
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria,
Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the
nation's 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 90 million people each
week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and
education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media.
Additional information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, the leading dot.org website.
KQED Public
Broadcasting operates KQED Public Television 9, one of the nation's most-watched
public television stations during prime-time, and KQED's digital television
channels, which include KQED HD, KQED Encore, KQED World, KQED Life and KQED
Kids; KQED Public Radio, the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation
with an award-winning news and public affairs program service (88.5 FM in San
Francisco and 89.3 FM in Sacramento); KQED.org, one of the most visited station
sites in Public Broadcasting; and KQED Education Network, which brings the
impact of KQED to thousands of teachers, students, parents and media
professionals through workshops, seminars and resources.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb169843.htm