Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn & Rachel Griffiths to Star in "Comanche Moon" Miniseries 1/13/08

VAL KILMER, STEVE ZAHN AND RACHEL GRIFFITHS STAR IN "COMANCHE MOON," A NEW SIX-HOUR MINI-SERIES, BASED ON THE NOVEL BY LARRY McMURTRY, AND THE FINAL CHAPTER IN THE "LONESOME DOVE" SAGA, TO BE BROADCAST JAN. 13, JAN. 15 AND JAN. 16 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

Karl Urban, Linda Cardellini, Elizabeth Banks and Wes Studi Also Star

Six-Hour Mini-Series Introduces Fans to Young "Gus McCrae" and "Woodrow Call"

From Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-Winning Writers of the Feature Film "Brokeback Mountain"

Val Kilmer ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"), Steve Zahn ("Rescue Dawn"), Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Rachel Griffiths ("Hilary and Jackie," "Six Feet Under"), Karl Urban ("The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"), Linda Cardellini ("ER"), Elizabeth Banks ("The 40 Year Old Virgin") and Wes Studi ("Into The West") star in COMANCHE MOON, a new six-hour mini-series based on the book by Larry McMurtry, and the final chapter in the "Lonesome Dove" saga to be made into a movie, to be broadcast Sunday, Jan. 13, Tuesday, Jan. 15 and Wednesday, Jan. 16 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT, each night) on the CBS Television Network. Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winners Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, the writers and executive producer and producer, respectively, of the feature film "Brokeback Mountain," are the executive producers and writers.

COMANCHE MOON, the prequel to McMurtry's bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Lonesome Dove," which was the basis for the multiple Emmy Award-winning mini-series "Lonesome Dove," follows Texas Rangers Augustus "Gus" McCrae (Zahn) and Woodrow F. Call (Urban), now in their middle years, as they continue to deal with the ever-increasing tensions of adult life - Gus with his great love, Clara Forsythe (Cardellini), and Call with Maggie Tilton (Banks), the young prostitute who loves him and bears him his son, Newt (Joseph Castanon). Kilmer plays Captain Inish Scull, a Yankee aristocrat and hero of the recently concluded Mexican War. Griffiths plays Inez Scull, the Captain's sexy wife who doesn't hesitate to fill her time with other men when he's away from home. Wes Studi plays Comanche Chief Buffalo Hump.

Two proud but very different men, McCrae and Call enlist with a Ranger troop in pursuit of three outlaws: Buffalo Hump, the great Comanche war chief; Kicking Wolf (Jonathon Joss, "Into the West"), the celebrated Comanche horse thief; and Ahumado (Sal Lopez, "The Astronaut Farmer"), a deadly Mexican bandit king with a penchant for torture. Assisting the Rangers in their wild chase is the renowned Kickapoo tracker Famous Shoes (David Midthunder, "Into the West"). They are joined by their comrades-in-arms, Deets (Keith Robinson, "Dreamgirls"), Jake Spoon (Ryan Merriman, "The Ring Two") and Pea Eye Parker (Troy Baker, "Striking Range"), in the bitter struggle to protect an advancing western frontier against the defiant Comanches who are determined to defend their territory and their way of life. The Rangers also encounter Buffalo Hump's violent outcast son, Blue Duck (Adam Beach, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit").

Val Kilmer is well known to movie audiences for his role as Jim Morrison in the feature film "The Doors." His other feature film credits include "Batman Forever," "Tombstone," "The Saint," "Heat," "True Romance," "Willow," "At First Sight," "Thunderheart," "Alexander," "Mindhunters," "The Missing," "Blind Horizon," "Stateside" and "Wonderland." During the production of "Wonderland," Kilmer began a photography project which yielded a behind-the-scenes pictorial book. His photographs were also exhibited in several cities in the United States. His television credits include the series "Numb3rs," on the Network, and "Entourage."

Steve Zahn's extensive feature film credits include "Rescue Dawn," "Happy, Texas," "Out of Sight," "Riding in Cars with Boys," "That Thing You Do!," "Sahara," "Bandidas," "SubUrbia," "Shattered Glass," "Daddy Daycare," "National Security," "Hamlet," "Joy Ride," "You've Got Mail" and "The Object of My Affection." On television, he guest starred in an episode of "Friends."

Rachel Griffiths was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the feature film "Hilary and Jackie." She was nominated for Emmy Awards for the television series "Six Feet Under" and "Brothers and Sisters," and won a Golden Globe Award for "Six Feet Under." Her additional feature film credits include "Muriel's Wedding," "My Best Friend's Wedding" "Among Giants," "Blow," "Very Annie Mary," "Me Myself I," "The Rookie" and "Ned Kelley." Her additional television credits include the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation "Plainsong," on the Network.

Karl Urban's feature film credits include "The Bourne Supremacy," "The Chronicles of Riddick," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "Ghost Ship." His television credits include the series "Xena: Warrior Princess," "When Fates Collide," "Lifeblood" "and "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys."

Linda Cardellini is well known for her role as Nurse Samantha Taggart on the long-running series "ER." Her other television credits include "Freaks and Geeks," "The Twilight Zone," "Boy Meets World" and "Step by Step." Her feature film credits include "Brokeback Mountain," "American Gun," "Grandma's Boy," "Scooby-Doo" and "Legally Blonde."

Elizabeth Banks can be seen in a recurring role on the series "Scrubs." Her additional television credits include the series "Without a Trace," on the Network, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Sex and the City" and "Third Watch." She appeared as Betty Brant in "Spider-Man," "Spider-Man 2" and "Spider-Man 3." Her other feature film credits include "The 40 Year Old Virgin," "Catch Me If You Can," "Daltry Calhoun" and "Sexual Life."

Adam Beach first garnered critical acclaim in the 1998 Sundance Film Festival favorite "Smoke Signals," based on the book by Sherman Alexie. Over the past year, Beach has won raves for his performances in Clint Eastwood's "Flags of our Fathers," for which he received a Broadcast Film Critics Award nomination, and for "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." He currently can be seen as a series regular on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

Keith Robinson has starred in two critically acclaimed television series, Stephen Bochco's "Over There" and "American Dreams." I 2006, Robinson had his breakout role as C.C. White in Bill Condon's "Dreamgirls" with Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. He recently completed filming "This Christmas," and is currently in production on the television series "Canterbury's Law."

Wes Studi's television credits include the mini-series "Into the West" and "Streets of Laredo" as well as the television movies "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," "A Thief of Time," "Coyote Waits," "The Lone Ranger," "Crazy Horse" and "The Broken Chain." His feature film credits include "Road to Redemption," "Christmas in the Clouds," "The Killing Jar," "Heat," "The Last of the Mohicans," "The Doors," "Dances with Wolves" and "Powwow Highway."

Larry McMurtry was nominated for an Academy Award for his 1971 screenplay for "The Last Picture Show." The feature films "Hud," which won three Academy Awards, and "Terms of Endearment," which won five Academy Awards, were both adapted from his novels. He won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for "Lonesome Dove." With Diana Ossana, he recently won the Academy Award (Adapted Screenplay) and Golden Globe Award (Best Screen Play Motion Picture) for "Brokeback Mountain."

Director Simon Wincer and producer Dyson Lovell, who directed and produced "Lonesome Dove" respectively, served in those roles on COMANCHE MOON. Wincer's previous works include "Into the West," "Ponderosa," "Crossfire Trail" and "P.T. Barnum," for television, and the feature films "The Young Black Stallion," "Free Willy," "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man" and "Quigley Down Under."

COMANCHE MOON is a co-production of CBS Paramount Network Television and Sony Pictures Television. Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana ("Brokeback Mountain") and Paul Frank, Adam Shulman and Julie Yorn of Firm Films ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose," "Criss Angel: Mindfreak") are the executive producers. Dyson Lovell ("The Lion in Winter") is the producer. Simon Wincer directed from a script by McMurtry and Ossana.

Source: CBS Press Release