Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Writer-Director-Producer Charles Sturridge ("Fairytale", "Longitude", "Shackleton") will commence principal photography on Lassie on May 23rd. The seven-week shoot will film on location in Ireland and the Isle of Man. Charles Sturridge wrote the script, based on Eric Knight's classic 1938 novel Lassie Come Home.
Legendary actor Peter O'Toole has signed on to star as the Duke of Rudling, Samantha Morton ("Minority Report", "In America") has been cast as Sarah Carraclough. Additional cast members include Peter Dinklage (Elf, The Station Agent), Steve Pemberton (League of Gentlemen) John Lynch (Sliding Doors, In the Name of the Father) Jemma Redgrave (Howards End) and Gregor Fisher (The Merchant of Venice, Love Actually). Odyssey Entertainment will handle the worldwide distribution rights for Lassie.
The film is set on the eve of WWII in a Yorkshire mining town. After falling on hard times, the Carraclough family is forced to sell Lassie, their beloved dog, to the Duke of Rudling. When Lassie finds herself transported five hundred miles away to live in the Duke's remote castle on the northern coast of Scotland, she is determined to defy the odds and return to her home. So begins an incredible adventure, set against a stunning series of British landscapes, that sees Lassie facing dangers natural and human and finding help in unexpected places as she makes her way across the country, to reach home in time for Christmas. This re-telling of the classic story promises all the love, trust and heroism a family audience could ask for.
Lassie is one of entertainment's most successful franchises with ten feature films and more than 675 half-hour TV episodes to her credit. The original Lassie movie was followed by a series of sequels with Hollywood legends Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Roddy McDowell and Jimmy Stewart. Lassie's two-time Emmy Award-winning TV series is one of the longest running programmes in television history and has been seen in more than 50 countries around the world.
Thanks to 'Biccies'.
