The Oscar-nominated director Bruce Beresford is attached to direct The Inquisition, a 10-part mini-series set in 15th century Spain and structured as an international co-production.
The lush mini-series about the 15th century Spanish Inquisition is the first project from film and TV producer Lewin Webb (Casino Jack) after he launched a new division at Tricon, a Canadian factual TV producer and distributor.
The Inquisition was created and written by Mark Schwartz (Voyage of the Heart), and developed by Webb in partnership with Media Packer’s Victor Rodriguez, a veteran Canadian distribution executive, and Spanish producing partner Secundino Velasco of TOAC.
Beresford, who is also attached to direct the upcoming Sony Pictures TV film Bonnie & Clyde, is best known for his Oscar-winning film Driving Miss Daisy and the HBO TV Movie And Starring Pancho Villa As Himself, which starred Antonio Banderas as the Mexican revolutionary.
“I took a flyer, and I approached Mr Beresford through his management and agent, and, as always with material, he reacted very positively”,
Webb recalled when first approaching the Australian director in fall 2012. Webb has been working with European broadcasters to structure The Inquisition as an international co-production.
With Beresford on board, Webb will be pitching the mini-series in Los Angeles starting this week to possibly land North American broadcasters and financing.
The Inquisition follow the life of Diego Altas, the royal court doctor to Queen Isabella of Aragon (shares the family name with one of the two vilest Hispano-Italian families a bit after her time). Born Benjamin Levi, Altas is a converted Jew, forced to denounce his heritage. At the same time, Altas uses his powerful position to resist the destructive forces of the Inquisition as he tries to save the last vestiges of religious co-existence between the Moors, Christians and Jews.
The clash of court and papacy in 15th century Spain offers an abundance of the personal and powerful intrigue, sex and violence that’s typical of today’s global dramas and mini-series.
“The show is very much in direction and design has one foot in the world of The Tudors, another in The Borgias and another in The Game of Thrones,” Webb insisted.
Producer credits on The Inquisition, which is scheduled to be shot in Spain in late 2013, go to Webb, Velasco and Rodriguez, while Schwartz and Beresford will executive produce along with Andrea Gorfolova, president of Tricon Films & Television, which will distribute The Inquisition internationally.
I personally find the 15th – 16th Century Europe quite eventful and a fine source for historical fiction plots. There were some pretty good series set in that period, as well – if you might recall an excellent 2010’s The Pillars of the Earth mini-series, and then a grand-style The Borgias (season 3 of which premieres on April 8th, 2013), about the probably most intriguing and scandalous papal/crime family that ever was (if we omit the one that was a woman).
If you are a fan of historical fiction as I am, you’ll be probably looking forward to The Inquisition. In the meantime, you might want to check out the mentioned two – you won’t regret it!
