New Sorrentino papal drama in the works

Rome, May 17 (IANS/AKI) Oscar-winning Italian director Paolo Sorrentino will next year begin filming "The New Pope" - a follow-up to his ambitious 2016 drama "The Young Pope" which starred Jude Law, Sky and HBO announced on Tuesday.

Auditioning has began to pick the actor who will play the successor to Law's Pope Pius XIII in the drama as well as the rest of the cast, Sky and HBO said. There is no world yet if Law will appear in the new series.

"The New Pope" is written by Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello and produced by Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani for Wildside, in co-production with Spain's Mediapro.

Filming is due to begin in late 2018.

Sorrentino, a Neapolitan, won the 2014 Best Foreign Film Oscar for his florid comedy "The Great Beauty" which some critics have compared to Fellini's masterpiece "La Dolce Vita".

--IANS/AKI

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