Last week your trusted HOLLYWOOD SPY
informed you that
Michael Bay's new epic show
BLACK SAILS (which set 20 years before the events in Robert Louis Stevenson’s "Treasure Island", chronicles the adventures of fabled buccaneer Captain Flint and his men aboard the Walrus) got its first cast member in MERLIN's hunk
Tom Hopper who will play Billy Bones, the first mate of The Walrus who is caught in the middle of the power struggle between Flint and his main dissenter Singleton, and now the show has its lead star as well: according to "Digital Spy" British star
Toby Stephens (also known as Maggie Smith's son) will play Captain Flint in this eight episode pirate series which is currently preparing for production in South Africa and will air in 2014 at
Starz.You've seen Toby in ROBIN HOOD series and in DIE ANOTHER DAY.
TELEVISION HEADLINES
In other TV news today, BBC is preparing another epic saga titled THE VILLAGE. The sweeping saga will follow the residents of one English village across the 20th century and their turbulent lives. "Digital Spy" reports that newcomer Bill Jones will play Bert Middleton, the youngest child of a poor family whose parents John (John Simm) and Grace (Maxine Peake) struggle to provide for him. "Upstairs Downstairs" actor Nico Mirallegro will play their second son Joe, who works at the Big House and comes into contact with the troubled Caro (Emily Beecham). Charlie Murphy ("Misfits") will play village newcomer Martha Lane, who has a big impact on Bert's life, while Anthony Flanagan ("Being Human"), Annabelle Apsion ("Shameless"), Joe Armstrong ("Robin Hood"), Matt Stokoe ("Misfits") will also star. The six part series will air in 2013. Over in USA, Lifetime is planning WITCHES OF EAST END series, in which 
EMPEROR CLIP
Today I also have the first clip from historical epic by
Peter Webber EMPEROR, a gripping tale of love and honor forged between fierce enemies of war inspired by true events, of the bold and secret moves
that won the peace in the shadows of post-war Japan. The film describes the American occupation of Japan in the perilous and unpredictable days just after Emperor Hirohito's World War II surrender. As General Douglas MacArthur (
Tommy Lee Jones) suddenly finds himself the de facto ruler of a foreign nation, he assigns an expert in Japanese culture - General Bonner Fellers (
Matthew Fox), to covertly investigate the looming question hanging over the country: should the Japanese Emperor, worshiped by his people but accused of war crimes, be punished or
saved? Caught between the high-wire political intrigue of his urgent mission and his own impassioned search for the mysterious school teacher (
Eriko Hatsune) who first drew him to Japan, Fellers can be certain only that the tricky subterfuge about to play out will forever change the history of two nations and his heart.
20th century and their turbulent lives. "Digital Spy" reports that newcomer Bill Jones will play Bert Middleton, the youngest child of a poor family whose parents John (John Simm) and Grace (Maxine Peake) struggle to provide for him. "Upstairs Downstairs" actor Nico Mirallegro will play their second son Joe, who works at the Big House and comes into contact with the troubled Caro (Emily Beecham). Charlie Murphy ("Misfits") will play village newcomer Martha Lane, who has a big impact on Bert's life, while Anthony Flanagan ("Being Human"), Annabelle Apsion ("Shameless"), Joe Armstrong ("Robin Hood"), Matt Stokoe ("Misfits") will also star. The six part series will air in 2013. Over in USA, Lifetime is planning WITCHES OF EAST END series, in which 
