NEW YORK — Enter into the world of fantasy and imagination with Hogfather, a humorous and satirical miniseries based on the best-selling novel by Terry Pratchett. RHI Entertainment, a leading television production and distribution entity, announced today that Hogfather will make its U.S. television debut during the RHI Movie Weekend on ION Television, Sunday, November 25 (7/6c).
Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather is part of the best-selling fantasy book series that has sold over 41 million copies worldwide. The series takes place in Discworld, a flat world, perched on top of four elephants standing on the shell of a giant turtle that is drifting in space. Here, reality is stretched to its limit, but it’s still populated by humans, just like you and me…almost. Hogfather marks the first novel of the series to be adapted as a live action film.
It’s the night before Hogswatch (Christmas) in the parallel universe of Discworld. The Hogfather (Santa Claus) has gone missing in a plot by the evil Auditors to destroy human belief and make Discworld their own. With the Hogfather nowhere in sight, the character called Death takes his place to deliver presents to all the good girls and boys at the mid-winter festival. Will the presents be delivered? Will hope be restored so that the sun can rise tomorrow? Who will be able to save Discworld?
“Terry Pratchett is among the most prominent authors of our time,†said Robert Halmi, Jr., President and CEO of RHI Entertainment. “We are honored to work with him and are pleased to be the first to unveil Hogfather to a U.S. audience.â€
The four-hour holiday miniseries event—which will air in its entirety on November 25, stars David Warner (Titanic, Star Trek), Marc Warren (Band of Brothers), Michelle Dockery (Fingersmith), Joss Ackland (K19 –The Widowmaker), and the voice of Ian Richardson (Bleak House). Hogfather was directed and screen-written by Vadim Jean, and produced by Rod Brown and Ian Sharples. Robert Halmi, Sr., Robert Halmi, Jr. and Elaine Pyke served as executive producers on the project.
“We are thrilled to continue fulfilling our brand promise to our audience with this latest quality original film for RHI Movie Weekend on ION Television,†said Brandon Burgess, CEO of ION Media Networks. “Through the addition of this kind of great content, ION Television can continue to accelerate its recent gains in viewership and attract a wide variety of consumers to our programming.â€
RHI is currently filming Terry Pratchett’s, The Color of Magic, which follows the story of inept wizard Ricewind, and is slated to make its U.S. television debut in 2008. Pratchett’s Hogfather will also hit DVD shelves this winter at local Borders retailers.
About RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment, LLC develops, produces and distributes new made-for-television movies, miniseries and other television programming worldwide, and is the leading provider of new long-form television content in the U.S. Under the guidance of Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., RHI has produced and distributed thousands of hours of quality television programming, and RHI’s productions have received more than 100 Emmy® Awards. During 2007, RHI expects to develop, produce and distribute approximately 45 new television movies and miniseries to broadcast and cable networks around the world. In addition to the development, production and distribution to new content, RHI owns rights to approximately 1,000 titles, or over 3,500 broadcast hours, of long-form television programming, which are licensed to broadcast and cable networks and new media outlets globally.
About ION Media Networks
ION Media Networks, Inc. owns and operates the nation’s largest broadcast television station group and ION Television, reaching over 94 million U.S. television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems. ION Television currently features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Television and CBS Television, among others. ION Media has also partnered with RHI Entertainment, which owns over 4,000 hours of acclaimed television content, to provide weekend primetime programming consisting of exclusive original programming and quality library titles. Utilizing its digital multicasting capability, the company has launched several digital TV brands, including qubo, a television and multimedia network for children formed in partnership with several leading media and entertainment companies, and ION Life, a television and multimedia network dedicated to health and wellness for consumers and families. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.tv.
Is this the same as the UK version which aired last year on Sky One or have they completely re-made it??
When I read the 3rd paragraph in this article, all I could think was, Dr. Suess!! This has already been done! And they’re giving this author kudos?
TB163 …
You’re mistaken … not Dr Suess and not ‘already been done’ … at least, not in the sense you mean. This is the Sky One UK movie and it’s very well done. The story is entertaining and the movie worth watching (if you like the genre). Don’t leap to judgement based on reading the 3rd paragraph.
They had me at “…a flat world, perched on top of four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle that is drifting through space.” Wow, what an image.
That being said, it sounds more Douglas Adams-esque to me.
I’ve heard reviewers say that Terry Prachett does for the fantasy genre what Douglas Adams did for science fiction, so you’re pretty spot on there. I haven’t read Hogfather, but I’ve read other Discworld books, and they’re definitely worth a giggle or two if you like fantasy.
I’ve seen the film in its entirity as a friend was good enough to figure out a way to record it to a region 1 DVD from Sky One. I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to having a “legit” copy in region 1 DVD form. My husband has been reading Pratchett for years and got me hooked. This bears (bares?) no resemblance to either Adams or Suess. This is much, much darker than anything Suess or Adams would do and has its own particular twist on things. Very British but with that wicked, nasty dry wit that rarely translates across the pond (more’s the pity).