Release
SHOWTIME Deals A Pair Of Kings
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SHOWTIME DEALS A PAIR OF KINGS
SHOWTIME To Encore CBS's Award- Winning ELVIS And
New Original Series THE TUDORS - Both Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers
LOS ANGELES (March 12, 2007) -- Beginning on Saturday, March 31st from 8 :00-11:00 pm PT/ET, SHOWTIME will offer subscribers a royal weekend March 31-April 1 by spotlighting Jonathan Rhys Meyers in two extraordinary performances: one as King Henry VIII and the other as the King of Rock & Roll. As the kick off to the network's highly anticipated April 1st premiere of the new Original Series THE TUDORS, SHOWTIME will also feature the premium TV debut of the Golden Globe®-winning and Emmy® Award-nominated miniseries Elvis.
Originally broadcast on CBS in 2005, Elvis received wide critical and audience acclaim, as well as Emmy® and Golden Globe® nods for Outstanding Miniseries. Rhys Meyers received the Golden Globe® for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television.
"I had the pleasure of producing Elvis for CBS and that's where I first saw the force of Jonathan Rhys Meyers' brilliant talent," said Robert Greenblatt, SHOWTIME President of Entertainment. "He so submerged himself in the iconic character of Elvis Presley, I thought he would be the perfect person to do the same as Henry VIII. I'm thrilled to showcase his uncanny performance as Elvis followed by the premiere of his very different -- but no less sterling -- take on Henry."
The following day, on Sunday, April 1st from 10 :00-11:00 pm PT/ET, SHOWTIME will premiere the sweeping, sexy new dramatic series THE TUDORS, starring Rhys Meyers as a young, virile King Henry VIII. The ten-episode series, filmed entirely on location in Ireland, spotlights the tumultuous years of Henry's early reign. Rhys Meyers stars alongside an international cast including Sam Neill (Cardinal Wolsey), Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn) and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Queen Katherine of Aragon) and Jeremy Northam (Sir Thomas More).
Elvis, a three-hour television event, is a fact-based drama with music about the life of Elvis Presley, showcasing Rhys Meyers' tour-de-force performance as the King of Rock ‘n Roll and one of the greatest and most popular entertainers of the 20th century. With the full cooperation and participation of the Elvis Presley Estate, his electrifying yet tumultuous story, from his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise to fame, is set against a backdrop of Presley's greatest hits including "If I Can Dream" and "That's All Right (Mama)." Elvis marks the first time that these master recordings were featured in a biographical film. Camryn Manheim, Randy Quaid and Rose McGowan costar.
ROYAL WEEKEND
Saturday March 31
ELVIS
8:00-11:00 pm PT/ET
Sunday April 1
THE TUDORS
10:00-11:00 pm PT/ET
For downloadable hi-res image click following link:
http://www.st-photoservices.com/press/TheKingHIGH.JPG
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNELTM and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME® TOOTM, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HDTM, SHOWTIME ON DEMANDTM and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMANDTM. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL, a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME® PPV.
CONTACTS:
Faye Katz
Showtime Networks
(212) 708-1406
Morgan Fouch
Showtime Networks
(310) 234-5219
