Drama pilots Casanova and Sneaky Pete will be made available for viewing on Amazon Instant Video in the U.S., UK and Germany on August 7. The first, which stars Diego Luna as the famous playboy, was greenlighted by Amazon, while the second, from Bryan Cranston and David Shore, was originally ordered by CBS from Sony TV this past season. Amazon took it in after CBS passed on the Giovanni Ribisi-starring project in May and commissioned some reshoots.
Casanova, shot on-location in three European countries, was directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet (Amelie), written by Stuart Zicherman (The Americans) and executive produced by Jeunet, Zicherman and Electus’ Ben Silverman (Marco Polo). It|stars Luna, Bojana Novakovic, Miranda Richardson and Ben Daniels.
Sneaky Pete, a co-production with Sony Pictures TV, stars Giovanni Ribisi, Marin Ireland, Margo Martindale, Peter Gerety, Libe Barer and Shane McRae. The pilot is directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses), written by Shore from a story by him and Cranston and executive produced by Shore, Cranston, James Degus and Erin Gunn.
“We’re delighted to bring one of history’s most fascinating periods to life in Casanova and a world-class performance by Giovanni Ribisi in Sneaky Pete,” said Roy Price, VP, Amazon Studios.
As usual, Amazon will take in consideration feedback from viewers, along with other data, in determining which pilots go to series.
Casanova and Sneaky Pete are the first of a slew of pilots Amazon has in the pipeline, including The Good Girl Revolt, also from Sony, Trial, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Edge, The Patriot and Zelda.
Casanova chronicles a little-known period in the life of one of 18th century’s most famous playboys. Exiled from his beloved Venice, Giacomo Casanova (Luna) flees to Paris at the dawn of the Enlightenment in hopes of putting his reputation behind him. But old habits die hard, and temptation is everywhere as Casanova finds a wealth of new opportunity…and trouble.
Sneaky Pete revolves around a con-man (Ribisi) who, after leaving prison, takes cover from his past by assuming the identity of his cellmate, Pete. He moves in with Pete’s unsuspecting family and is roped into the family’s bail bond business. In order to keep the charade up, he plays the part of a skip tracer, taking down criminals worse than himself—and discovering a family life he’s never had.
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