"Moby Dick" on August 1
Posted at 8:35 AM (PDT) on Thursday, July 14, 2011



By Tim Kenneally at TheWrap
Jul 13, 2011
Reuters

Encore, Starz's sister channel, has officially thrown its hat into the original programming ring.

It will be launching its Encore Originals slate with three projects including an adaptation of the Herman Melville classic Moby Dick.

This three-hour miniseries, which stars William Hurt, Ethan Hawke and former "X-Files" star Gillian Anderson, will premiere on Aug. 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and conclude the following evening.

Hurt will play the whale-plagued Captain Ahab, while Hawke will portray Ahab's first mate Starbuck, and Anderson will play Ahab's wife, Elizabeth. Donald Sutherland also stars in the RHI production.



"Like the music of Mozart, "Moby Dick" connects us to our ancestors, reaching across the generations as few things can anymore. Watching this production with the same thoughts and emotions as they did: Who could ask for more?" - Full Review (Wall Street Journal)

Gillian, about her character (Ahab's wife) - ""He carries a painting of her; he places it in a drawer. I think that's a profound decision, and there's a lot of emotion that we see Ahab make the decision to put it in the drawer and then pursue his passion, which is the big white whale." - Full article (Los Angeles TV Insider, Examiner.com)

Photos taken during The Television Critics Association 2011 Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Friday, July 29, 2011. (First 4, AP Photo/Dan Steinberg; the rest, REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)