- Paquin joins Zachary Levi and Sarah Gadon in six-part miniseries from Sarah Polley and Halfire Entertainment -
Halfire Entertainment, CBC and Netflix today announced that Academy Award-winning Canadian-born actress Anna Paquin ( True Blood, Roots) has signed on to play Nancy Montgomery in the screen adaptation of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace. The six-hour miniseries is inspired by the true story of Grace Marks, who was convicted of murdering Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear.Alias Grace is written and produced by Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz, Away from Her) and directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warho l). The mini-series began shooting in Ontario on August 15, 2016. Alias Grace will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and globally - everywhere outside of Canada - on Netflix.
Alias Grace follows Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery (Anna Paquin) in 1843. Nancy is Kinnear's housekeeper and lover, and while she initially befriends Grace, she begins to resent Grace and becomes increasingly jealous of Kinnear's affection for her. Nancy eventually fires Grace in a fit of rage and is later found brutally murdered.
"Anna is an incredibly versatile performer who always makes complex, unpredictable and fascinating choices in her work," said Sarah Polley, Executive Producer. "It's always a marvel to watch her and we're thrilled to have her join the cast."
A CBC and Netflix original production, ALIAS GRACE is produced by Halfire Entertainment, written by Sarah Polley, and directed by Mary Harron. The executive producers are Sarah Polley, Mary Harron, and Noreen Halpern. Producing alongside Polley is D.J. Carson.
About Halfire Entertainment
Halfire Entertainment was founded in 2013 by seasoned TV executive Noreen Halpern to develop, produce, and finance television series and miniseries for the Canadian, U.S., and international marketplace. The company produces exceptionally creative and commercial programming and employs non-traditional financing resulting in straight-to-series orders. Halfire is currently in production on Aftermath for Space and Syfy and is in pre-production on the Sarah Polley-penned six-part mini-series Alias Grace for CBC and Netflix, with principal photography set to begin on August 15. Halfire has a robust development slate with projects set up at Showtime, ABC, NBC, CBC, Bell Media, and Corus. Halfire produced the half-hour comedy, Working The Engels starring Andrea Martin for NBC and Shaw, marking the first time a prime time comedy had been co-produced by US and Canadian broadcasters.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada's trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective.
About Netflix
Netflix is the world's leading Internet television network with over 83 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
CONTACTS:
Free Publicity for Halfire Entertainment
Gabrielle Free, 416-220-0201, gabfree.publicity@gmail.com
CBC
Tanya Koivusalo, 416-205-6863, tanya.koivusalo@cbc.ca
Katherine Wolfgang, 416-205-2772, katherine.wolfgang@cbc.ca
Netflix
Karen Barragan, 310-975-8664, kbarragan@netflix.com
