Bates, Curry join 'Alice' cast

NEW YORK, June 9 (UPI) -- Kathy Bates, Tim Curry and Colm Meany have joined the cast of "Alice," a four-hour TV movie being shot in Vancouver, SCI FI said.

The contemporary re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy stories "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" is set to premiere on the channel in December.

Bates will play the Queen of Hearts and Caterina Scorsone will portray Alice, SCI FI said in a release.

Curry has been cast as Dodo, Colm Meaney as the King of Hearts, Philip Winchester as Jack of Hearts, Matt Frewer as the White Knight, Andrew Lee Potts as Hatter, Alessandro Juliani as 9 of Clubs, Timothy Webber as Carpenter, Alex Diakun as Ratcatcher, Zak Santiago as 10 of Clubs and Eugene Lipinski as Doctors Dee and Dum.

The movie was written and is being directed by Nick Willing, who helmed SCI FI's popular 2007 miniseries "Tin Man."

"We are thrilled that this exciting project has attracted a stellar cast that will further elevate this production to one of the year's most anticipated television events," executive producer Robert Halmi, Sr., said in a statement.

"An incredible creative team has been assembled to re-interpret this familiar tale in an imaginative and innovative way," added Mark Stern, executive vice president of original programming for SCI FI. "This exciting new vision is one of the reasons we've been able to attract such high-level talent."