I’ve got some totally awesome news today, guys! Emily has landed a role in the big TV miniseries remake of the classic Academy Award winning film Ben-Hur! According to multiple sources, Emily will play the part of Esther, Judah Ben-Hur’s love interest, so this is no bit part for Emily! The movie is scheduled to air on TV some time in 2010, and stars little-known British actor Joseph Morgan in the title role. Here’s some more info on the upcoming project, with a little mention of Emily:

“The two 90-minute TV films will be shot on location in Morocco and Spain, with filming starting next month for nine weeks. The new version will not ‘copy’ the Oscar-winning film; instead, it will be more in the mould of the movie Gladiator. ‘The overall message is revenge and forgiveness,’ producer Simon Vaughan, of Alchemy TV, said, adding: ‘It’s designed to be fun and sensational’.
The story concerns a Jewish prince (Ben-Hur) who is betrayed and sold into slavery. He then seeks revenge against his one-time Roman friend Messala, who will be played by Stephen Campbell Moore. Love interest will be provided by Emily VanCamp, who appears in the superior U.S. soap Brothers & Sisters.” Source: Daily Mail

‘Ben-Hur’ rides again as miniseries
David Wyler to remake pic as TV series
David Wyler is dusting off the family chariot to remake “Ben-Hur.”

Wyler, whose father William Wyler helmed the 1959 Oscar-winning feature starring the late Charlton Heston, is producing the new version as a miniseries with Alchemy TV.

Steve Shill (“Rome,” “The Tudors”) will direct the $20 million project, which will start lensing this year.

Announcement was made at Mip TV, four days after Heston’s death. Thesp won the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of the prince who becomes a slave but wins his freedom in time for the memorable chariot race sequence.

“We’ve got a joke that this is the family business,” Wyler told Daily Variety. “In my mind, this is dedicated to my dad and Chuck. We think it’s a great way to keep his memory alive.”

Alchemy has already sold the miniseries to Spain, Germany and Canada, and Wyler is in negotiations with two networks and a cable channel for the U.S. rights.

The new version will be based more closely on the 1880 Lew Wallace novel than either the 1959 version or 1925 silent adaptation.

Wyler intends to skew the lead role younger, placing Ben-Hur in his mid-20s. New version will also downplay the religious aspects of the source material.

“We want to look at the spirituality within the piece rather than directly relating it to a specific religion,” Wyler said. “It’s a very complex story. It’s been 50 years since my father’s version, and we think we can bring something new and contemporary to it in the same way that ‘Gladiator’ did for that genre.”

Source: Variety