HOLLYWOOD is coming to Neath for the UK premiere of a major TV series filmed in Swansea Bay.
Batman and Blade scriptwriter David S Goyer will be at the star-studded event to celebrate the launch of Da Vinci's Demons at the Gwyn Hall in Neath on Thursday.
Tom Riley, who takes on the role of the young Da Vinci, will also be on the red carpet, along with TV producer Julie Gardiner and Swansea-born Doctor Who production designer Ed Thomas.
Other cast members are yet to be confirmed for the special night.
It will be screened in Neath the day before the eight-part historical fantasy hits UK screens.
The series saw South West Wales transformed into Florence, with Margam Park turned into the Medici Palace and Swansea and Port Talbot becoming the backdrop for the much talked about new show. Filming has also been centred at the former Visteon site, which is now known as Bay Studios in Fabian Way, Port Talbot.
David S Goyer revealed he had always been fascinated by the life of Leonardo Da Vinci. He said: "I had always had a fascination with da Vinci and I was amazed there had never been a movie specifically about him or a TV show, which strikes me as kind of crazy.
"I don't know anyone who has ever achieved or mastered all the things that he did. And he was a colourful character.
"His life was filled with a lot of controversy, which is always good."
The series is the first co-production between Starz and BBC Worldwide and features Upstairs Downstairs star Laura Haddock who plays Lucrezia Donati, the mistress of Lorenzo Medici.
It has already been premiered in Florence, Cannes and Phoenix and the show is being screened right across the world. There will be a preview show, Da Vinci's Demons: Genius in the Making, on Fox at 10pm tonight. And the series will have its UK on-screen premiere on Fox TV on Friday, April 19.
Fantasy drama brings renaissance to South Wales — pages 20&21
