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Set in 1814, 'Taboo' follows James Keziah Delaney, a man who has been to the ends of the earth and comes back irrevocably changed. Believed to be long dead, he returns home to London from Africa to inherit what is left of his father's shipping empire and rebuild a life for himself. But his father's legacy is a poisoned chalice, and with enemies lurking in every dark corner, James must navigate increasingly complex territories to avoid his own death sentence. Encircled by conspiracy, murder and betrayal, a dark family mystery unfolds in a combustible tale of love and treachery.
Los Angeles, Calif. January 9th 2017
1. Logos on step & repeat
2. Wide shot of red carpet
3. Wide shot of red carpet, tilt down
4. Britt Lower
5. Cuba Gooding Jr.
6. David Hayman
7. Michael Kelly
8. Franka Potente
9. Kristoffer Nyholm
10. Oona Chaplin
11. Tom Hollander
12. Panning shot of crowds at screening
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Kelly
“When you do something and you feel like it’s great and you actually see the finished product and you’re like, ‘Oh my God it’s really good!. It was an incredibly gratifying feeling”.
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Kelly
“Very interesting man (laughs). Many of the characters that I play I’m like, well he’s a good guy but he does some really bad things. This is a man who believes in his country and what he’s doing and he’s there in London as an American there in London and he’s doing some rather devious things. I swear that’s what I always play but he’s an incredibly complex fella that I enjoy playing a lot.”
15. SOUNDBITE (English) (English) Michael Kelly
“I was given the script and I was given the offer along along with knowing that it was with Tom Hardy and I was just like, almost like I don’t even have to read it really. I want to work with Tom Hardy so badly. He’s such—I think he’s one of the greatest actors certainly of our generation.”
16. SOUNDBITE (English) David Hayman
“It’s a wonderful piece of work, it’s a great piece of television. It’s dark, it’s down and dirty, it’s intriguing. It’s surprising, it turns on a sixpence so you’re never sure where you’re going to be next. No, it’s a great piece of television. Really proud to have been part of it.”
17. SOUNDBITE (English) David Hayman
“Brace has been in the family for all of his life. He was the family servant so he knew Tom’s character since he was a little boy and in effect he was his big brother. So they grew up together I looked after him they played together and then he went off to Africa his father sent him to Africa and I continued to look after his father until he sadly passed away with a little help from his friends.”
18. SOUNDBITE (English) David Hayman
“Completely unlike anything and between you and me is the anecdote to Downton Abbey (laughs). That’s what I’m holding onto!”
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Oona Chaplin
“It’s dangerous because the name says it all really it’s taboo so it’s all the things that make you kinda go, ‘Ooh no! Ooh that’s not possible! (laughs).
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Oona Chaplin
“I think that voodoo I mean I love magic. Anything that’s magic is just makes me excited and this show has a lot of magic in it and it’s black magic as well which is even more exciting.”
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Oona Chaplin
“Showing exploring the dark side of humanity is essentially forgiving all of us for having dark thoughts. We can’t be perfect. We have to honor the fact that we’re imperfect and messed up and still wonderful”.
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Hollander
“My character is called Mr. Cholmondeley and he’s a crazy person really, he’s a crazy chemist.”
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Kristoffer Nyholm
“It’s an adventure, it has to be. So it’s a big journey and there are a lot of mysteries and I won’t reveal any of them here but you know it’s a—hopefully people will join in and take the long walk together with.”
24. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Knight
“I spoke to Tom about this project quite a while ago and the original sort of brief was quite different burt as we developed it, I was particularly interested in London 1814 when Britain was at war with the United States, at war with France. Lots of conflict going on, it was as if London was this huge explosion and I just wanted to cast this character into that explosion.”
25. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Knight
“When he’s on the screen he’s the person you look at and I don’t know whether that’s learned or is something that you’re born with but also I think there’s an element of unpredictability about him and his performance because I always feel like he’s walking a tightrope and he manages never to fall off which is good.”
26. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Knight
“Even if you look at Pride & Prejudice, of its time was quite controversial and I think that Jane Austen is about, a lot of her stuff is about and individual establishing themselves as an individual and separating themselves from their congregation, from their loyalty to their class and to their family and I think that’s what this is about as well.”
9 January 2017
