International Cast Joins Jude Law And Diane Keaton In Paolo Sorrentino-Directed The Young Pope

A Joint Production of Sky, HBO and Canal +

Further details of the international cast of The Young Pope have been revealed following the announcement of two-time Academy Award® nominee Jude Law in the title role, and Academy Award®-winning female lead Diane Keaton.

Jude Law will play PIUS XIII, born Lenny Belardo, with Diane Keaton as Sister Mary, a nun from the US. Silvio Orlando is set for the role of Cardinal Voiello, the Secretary of State, and Scott Shepherd will play Cardinal Dussolier, from South America. Cécile de France will play Sofia, who is in charge of marketing in the Vatican City, while Javier Cámara is set to play Cardinal Gutierrez, the Master of Ceremonies of the Vatican City. Ludivine Sagnier will play Esther, the wife of a Swiss guard, and Toni Bertorelli has been cast as Cardinal Caltanissetta. James Cromwell  (pictured) will play Cardinal Michael Spencer, Lenny's mentor.

Additional cast members include: Guy Boyd, Andre Gregory, Sebastian Roché, Marcello Romolo, Ignazio Oliva, Vladimir Bibic and Nadie Kammalaweera.

Production on the series, which is a joint production of Sky, HBO and Canal +, began last week.  All eight episodes will be directed by Paolo Sorrentino, director of the Academy Award®-winning film “The Great Beauty” as well as the upcoming “Youth”.

The Young Pope tells the controversial story of the beginning of PIUS XIII’s Pontificate, born Lenny Belardo. A complex and conflicted character, so conservative in his choices as to border on obscurantism, yet full of compassion towards the weak and poor. He is a man of great power who is stubbornly resistant to the Vatican courtiers, unconcerned with the implications to his authority. During the series, Belardo will face losing those closest to him and the constant fear of being abandoned, even by his God. He is however not afraid of undertaking the millennial mission of defending that same God and the world representing Him.
 
Describing the series, Paolo Sorrentino said  ”The clear signs of God’s existence. The clear signs of God’s absence. How faith can be searched for and lost. The greatness of holiness, so great as to be unbearable when you are fighting temptations and when all you can do is to yield to them. The inner struggle between the huge responsibility of the Head of the Catholic Church and the miseries of the simple man that fate (or the Holy Spirit) chose as Pontiff. Finally, how to handle and manipulate power in a state whose dogma and moral imperative is the renunciation of power and selfless love towards one’s neighbour. That is what The Young Pope is about.” 

The series is being produced by Wildside, and co-produced by Haut et Court TV and MEDIAPRO. Executive Producers for Wildside are Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani together with John Lyons. Executive Producers for Haut et Court TV are Caroline Benjo, Carole Scotta and Simon Arnal.
 
The Young Pope is a major co-production for HBO and the newly merged Sky, representing the unique opportunity these pay-television platforms offer the creative community worldwide.
  
Contacts:

Sky Publicity
ITALY
Isabella Ferilli
+39 346 720 7561
isabella.ferilli@skytv.it

UK
Dominic Collet
+44 (0) 207 032 4892
+44(0)78 4560 3562
Dominic.collett@sky.uk
 
GERMANY
Birgit Ehmann  
+ 49 (0) 89 9958 6850 
+49 (0)162 298 76 03
birgit.ehmann@sky.de

International Publicity
Andrew Mitchell, TPF
+44(0)7946 286 586 
Andrew@tpf-london.com
 
Wildside Unit Publicity
Daniela Staffa
+39 335 1337630
press.staffa@gmail.com

Federica Ceraolo
+39 340 9172947
federica.ceraolo@gmail.com

 
HBO Publicity
Nancy Lesser
+1 310 382 3274
nancy.lesser@hbo.com

Mara Mikialian
+1 310 382 3276
mara.mikialian@hbo.com

CANAL+ Publicity
Danièle Maisonnasse
+33 1 71 35 24 71
daniele.maisonnasse@canal-plus.com

Delphine Huchet
+33 1 71 35 24 71
Delphine.huchet@canal-plus.com

MEDIAPRO Publicity
Emi Lozano
+34 93 476 15 51 (ext. 2242)
elozano@mediapro.es

Notes to editors:

About Sky
Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company. The group serves 21 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose. Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 30,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).
For more information visit www.sky.com/corporate

About HBO
Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and the world’s most successful pay TV service, providing the two television services – HBO® and Cinemax® – to approximately 122 million subscribers worldwide.  The services offer the popular subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand® and Cinemax On Demand®, as well as HBO GO®and MAX GO®, HD feeds and multiplex channels. In April 2015, HBO NOWSM, the network’s highly anticipated standalone premium streaming service, began providing audiences with instant access to HBO’s acclaimed programming in the U.S. HBO NOW is available directly through Apple or Optimum Online for a monthly subscription.  Internationally, HBO branded television networks, along with the subscription video-on-demand products HBO OnDemand and HBO GO, bring HBO services to over 60 countries.  HBO and Cinemax programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide.

About Canal +
CANAL+ Group is the leader in provision of premium-content and themed networks, as well as in bundling and distribution of pay-TV offerings. The Group is a benchmark player in free-to-air television broadcasting, too, with its three national channels and advertising sales division. Internationally, CANAL+ Group is expanding in high-growth markets. It is the top pay-TV broadcaster in French-speaking countries worldwide, notably in Africa. It is also a leader in pay-TV in Poland and Vietnam. With STUDIOCANAL, CANAL+ Group is also a European leader in production and distribution of films and TV series.

About Haut et Court TV
In 2007, Haut et Court Group created a television department and went on producing critically acclaimed series’ : XANADU for ARTE (8x52' broadcast in 2011), SILEX AND THE CITY (THE DARWINERS) a satirical animation series for ARTE ( 4 seasons between 2012 and 2015) and LES REVENANTS (THE RETURNED) for Canal + (8x52’ Season 1 in 2012, Season 2 shooting) its highest-rated original drama ever, winner of the International Emmy Awards for Best TV Series in 2013. Haut et Court TV is currently shooting THE LAST PANTHERS, a 20M€ mini series in co-production with Warp Films, for Canal + and Sky Atlantic written by Jack Thorne and Jérôme Pierrat.

About Wildside
Wildside was created in July 2009 with the objective of producing feature films, documentaries and TV series. The company combines Mario Gianani’s and Offside’s cinema experience with Lorenzo Mieli and Wilder’s television expertise. In cinema Wildside as an arthouse film tradition has worked with talents such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Saverio Costanzo, all present in competition in international festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin), as long as a number of very successful commercial hits. On the TV side Wildside is very active in indigenous and international productions such as "In Treatment" Season 1 and 2, “1992” and now Paolo Sorrentino’s television debut, the international co-production "The Young Pope".

About John Lyons
John Lyons is a producer who resides in New York City. As an independent producer, he produced HARD EIGHT, BOOGIE NIGHTS, PIECES OF APRIL, AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER, and the upcoming Universal film SISTERS. From 2003 to 2011 he was the President of Production at Focus Features, overseeing all aspects of production and shepherding the marking of a popular and award-winning slate of films, including Gus Van Sant’s MILK, Joel & Ethan Coen’s BURN AFTER READING and A SERIOUS MAN, Ang Lee’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Fernando Meirelles’ A CONSTANT GARDENER, Martin McDonagh’s IN BRUGES, Jim Jarmusch’s BROKEN FLOWERS, and David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES. The slate of films he oversaw was nominated for 55 Academy Awards and won 12 Academy Awards. John is the Board Chair and Founder of Edible Schoolyard NYC, as well as serving on the board of the New York State Council on the Arts and the Film Committee for the Museum of Modern Art.