lindsay duncan

HBO has several original movies coming out in 2007, and the first of them will be Longford in February, which stars the versatile Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as Lord and Lady Longford -- both of whom campaigned in the UK for the release of Myra Hindley, a notorious child murderer. It's based on a chilling true story about Hindley who assisted Ian Brady in brutally murdering five young boys and girls in the 1960s. Longford and his wife both believe that she had been reformed, and petitioned for her release.

The Hitler-obsessed Ian Brady is portrayed by Andy Serkis (who unfortunately wasn't here for the panel) and he looks eerily perfect in this role. This story hasn't received widespread attention in the United States, but what they've shown here looks really intriguing. Jim Broadbent looks great as Lord Longford, and Samantha Morton, who plays Hindley, deserves to win an award for her portrayal. It's creepy, but extremely well done, like most of the offerings from HBO Films.

HBO announced that the second season of Rome will be the last. Apparently, Rome was originally planned as a mini-series but HBO was so blown away by the quality of the first episode that it picked up an entire season. HBO says logistics of shooting overseas and a very high price tag--first season topped out at $100 million--were reason enough to shut down the show.

Season two is currently filming at the Cinecitta Studios in Rome and it premieres January 7 on HBO.