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Rose to star in CASANOVA ? replied on: 10/16/2004 12:38:09 AM Passions run high in pursuit of Casanova By PAUL HORTON 4 October 2004 The Western Mail The Welsh creator of the new Doctor Who has gone back in time for his next TV series - to the life and loves of legendary lover Casanova. Writer Russell T Davies has turned the clock back nearly 300 years for his next big production. Davies, who penned controversial drama Queer as Folk, will start filming the life story of the celebrated lover with an all-star cast. He is determined to show the sensitive side of the 18th-century lord who famously notched up hundreds of sexual conquests. The three-part series will star legend Peter O"Toole as an older version of Casanova and David Tennant, who has a lead role in the next Harry Potter film, as the younger man. Independent film company Red Production will begin shooting in October in locations including Dubrovnik, Venice and Manchester. Casanova will also feature Rose Byrne as Edith, Rupert Penry-Jones as the Duke of Grimani, Casanova"s arch- rival, and Laura Fraser as his great love, Henriette. Davies said, "I took this as a chance to reinvigorate period drama, and to tell a dazzling and very funny story. "We"re bringing back to life, for three hours, a truly remarkable man, and a genuine legend. When I sat down to read Casanova"s autobiography - all 12 volumes of it - I discovered that our modern-day impression of a lascivious, misogynist man is hopelessly wrong. "I wanted to rescue him, to show what he was really like. He genuinely loved women and respected them with an astonishingly modern mentality. I also discovered that outside his love life Casanova was a wonderful, barmy, inventive man. And what a fraud - like an 18th-century Jeffrey Archer, but funny. "He wasn"t born an aristocrat. He lied his way into jobs and positions of power with charm and cheek. He"s just irresistible." Davies is lead writer and executive producer of the revived Doctor Who, scenes from which have been filmed around South Wales, for screening next year. Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was born in Venice on April 2, 1725, and his parents - Gaetano Giuseppe Casanova and Zanetta Farussi - were actors, although Casanova would later claim his true father was the Venetian nobleman Michele Grimani, whose family owned the theatre where his parents were employed. In 1734, while studying in Padua, he had his first liaison and, after several further encounters, joins the church only to be swiftly expelled. He continued travelling around Italy, becoming involved in a series of sexual relationships, before unmasking a supposed male soprano as a woman in 1745, and the pair plan to marry. But they later split and Casanova lives the life of a young nobleman devoted to pleasure for the following three years. His wild life brings him to the attention of the State Inquisitors, and he leaves Venice. In Cesena, he meets the mysterious adventuress Henriette, then accompanies her to Parma and then Geneva. In the 1750s, Casanova moved to Paris, and gained his reputation as a lover, dying in 1798.: Dramatist"s development shows flair for the small screen:Russell t davies was born in Swansea in 1963. His only screen appearance was as presenter of Play School for a single episode in 1987. From 1988 to 1992 he was the producer of Why Don"t You? After writing Breakfast Serials for children"s TV, he wrote his first television drama, a six-part serial called Dark Season for BBC1 in 1991, most noteworthy for introducing Kate Winslet. After writing Century Falls, and a Bafta-winning episode of Children"s Ward, he worked on Families. He continued working on Children"s Ward and some other programmes, including Coronation Street until 1997, when he created The Grand for ITV, followed by the ground-breaking Queer as Folk, which caused much comment and drew much praise when screened on Channel 4 in early 1999. He followed this up with Bob and Rose, and The Second Coming, starring Christopher Eccleston. He is currently working on the screenplay for a film version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?

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