ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
Nine has announced a new miniseries based on the OceanGate Titan submersible disaster, just in time for summer.
It’s a move that’s both angered and appalled many Australians; however, the network says it plans to forge ahead with production, which is set for next month.
The miniseries will be called “Subbie” and will star many of the same actors seen in other biopics made by the Nine Network in recent years.
Alex Williams, who recently played Shane Warne in “Warnie,” will play the role of Pakistani investor Shahzada Dawood, and Shane Jacobsen will portray British billionaire Hamish Harding. That’s all that Nine Chairman Peter Costello gave away during a shareholders meeting in Sydney today.
“Nine is running the ball up when it comes to producing quality Australian-made content for Australian screens,” he said.
“We tell stories that no other so-called streamer or television station won’t go near. We have 60 Minutes and A Current Affair. The Age. The Sydney Morning Private School Newsletter. The Brisbane Times. I think we still have that. We have Stan also,”
“Nine Entertainment tells the stories that people want to hear. Well, most of the time. If you think we will be consulting the families of the Titan Submarine, or whatever it was called, about this, then you are wrong. We are just going to plow on ahead and hope the backlash isn’t as bad as we expect it to be.”
The Advocate can reveal that Paul Vautin was slated to play Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the deep-sea explorer and Titanic expert killed in the accident but had to pull out due to conflicting arrangements. Footballer-turned-broadcaster Bryan Fletcher was due to play the role of Stockton Rush but also had to withdraw over concerns it would interfere with his professional commitments elsewhere.
More to come.
