一個權力至上、物慾橫流的年代……
一對性格、命運迥異的姊妹……
一個愛恨交纏的故事……
改編紐約時報暢銷作家菲莉柏格力哥利熱賣同名小說
競逐柏林影展最高榮譽金熊獎參賽電影
《英女皇》《最後的蘇格蘭皇》威尼斯電影節金球獎BAFTA最佳編劇 彼德摩根
《娛樂大亨》《寫我深情》《無間道風雲》《紐約風雲》《天上人間》奧斯卡BAFTA 最佳服裝設計 珊狄鮑維爾
華麗孽緣
The Other Boleyn Girl
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/theotherboleyngirl/
《這個殺手不太冷》《星球大戰》三部曲《誘心人》《藍莓之夜》《V煞》
金球獎得主 妮坦莉寶雯
《迷失東京》《畫意私情》《迷失決勝分》《遇上塔羅牌殺手》
威尼斯影后 史嘉麗祖安遜
《變形俠醫》《木馬屠城》《黑鷹15小時》《慕尼黑》
澳洲影帝 艾力巴拿
領銜主演
5月1日 愛恨交纏
劇情簡介
電影改編自英國女作家菲莉柏格力哥利(Philippa Gregory)著名爭議小說《The Other Boleyn Girl》，由荷李活兩位一級年輕女星妮坦莉寶雯、史嘉麗祖安遜和澳州影帝艾力巴拿首度?手合作，上演一幕幕宮廷男女奪愛、權力角逐戰，集陰謀、背叛、情慾於一身。
在16世紀的英國，對一個家族來說，沒有事情比得上名望、權力與財富更重要。在充滿野心的父親與叔父的悉心計劃，安妮(妮坦莉寶雯飾)與瑪莉(史嘉麗祖安遜飾)兩姊妹生來是為了成為他們最大的籌碼，管教極嚴，並讓她們接受高等教育，只為叫價更高，為家族爭取最大的利益。而活潑外向的姊姊安妮更是他們的頭號金蛋。
豈料，亨利八世(艾力巴拿飾)卻先愛上已嫁?人婦的瑪莉。天性純品、崇尚自然生活的瑪莉，雖然不希罕后冠，為了家族，逼於無奈也自動獻身成為亨利八世的情婦。然而，當瑪莉對亨利八世動了真情，懷了他的骨肉時，機關算盡的安妮卻返回宮中勾引亨利八世。與單純愛著亨利八世的瑪莉不同，安妮的野心極大，把眼光放在更遠大的利益上 ── 成?皇后。
不久，安妮迷惑著亨利八世不顧教廷反對，即使危害國家安全也與髮妻離婚，安妮如願冊封?皇后，而曾經得到恩寵的瑪莉，也在安妮的花言巧語下被亨利八世放逐到宮外。以為皇后位置穩如泰山，卻因多次流產無子嗣而遭亨利八世拋棄，最終更因民心不服而被送上斷頭台。安妮至死方找到一生最為安慰的救贖 ── 與瑪莉骨肉不分離的血緣情誼。
關於The Other Boleyn Girl
本片在尊重歷史的前提下，以一對姊妹訴說一段鮮為人知的英國皇室秘史，充滿性與權力鬥爭的戲劇情節。電影改編自作家菲莉柏格力哥利(Philippa Gregory)的暢銷小說，書本在2002年推出時大賣，好評如潮，但亦由於內容牽涉皇室秘史、宗教、政治等問題，部份小說的主角與故事情節來自真實人物，同時加插了作者所引用的史料和說法，因此受到不少批判和歷史學家的質疑。
作者菲莉柏本想寫有關都鐸皇朝的故事，卻偶然在史料旁註發現亨利八世將一艘船命名為Mary Boleyn，於是著手進行研究。以美國史學家Retha M. Warnicke和英國的史學家Alison Weir 的資料為基礎，她開始動筆寫出《The Other Boleyn Girl》，仔細地描繪英國宮廷的生活--從為國王安排娛樂活動、美酒盛宴，以至複雜的階級統治和朝臣陰謀詭計等。布連(Boleyn)和侯活(Howard)家族在菲莉柏格力哥利的筆下均為追逐一己私利、慣耍陰謀手段、奸險不忠的操縱者，這反而能引起熟悉當朝歷史的讀者對書中角色及故事鋪陳的興趣。菲莉柏格力哥利充滿現場感的對白和熟練生動的敘事技巧，帶領讀者進入十六世紀的英國皇宮，書中無止境的政治陰謀和心機計算，比起當代政治而言毫不遜色。讀畢意猶未盡，熟悉當朝的她陸續撰寫了《The Queen's Fool》、《The Virgin's Lover》、《The Constant Princess 》以及《The Boleyn Inheritance》等以都鐸皇朝(Tudor)為背景的小說。
「在我寫此部小說以前，鮮有人提起瑪莉布連(Mary Boleyn)的存在，只因跟『千日皇后』安娜布連(Anne Boleyn)不同，她的存在與否無礙於都鐸皇朝的歷史，是以常被歷史學家忽略。但我看到她與安妮的性格對立，一位聰明邪惡，一位善良天真，這個強烈對比正好引伸至女性如何運用機會與抉擇的寫照。」菲莉柏格力哥利如是說。
小說曾先改編為電視劇，後才由哥倫比亞、環球影片及BBC出資製作拍攝成電影。要拍得比原著好看，對編劇與導演來說都是一項挑戰，這次電影劇本由曾撰寫《英女皇》而獲無數編劇獎、揚名國際的彼德摩根，與原作作者菲莉柏格力哥利共同編寫，並由來自英國的積斯甸查域執導這套充滿性與權力鬥爭的戲劇。
亨利八世的六段婚姻
亨利八世接受一流的教育，能操流利拉丁語、法語和西班牙語。他最重要的政績是使英國教會脫離了羅馬教廷長達幾個世紀的管轄，國王成為最高宗教領袖，英國皇室的權力達到頂峰，新教也最終成?英國宗教的主流。事實上，這位英國君主，?求子嗣先後有過六任妻子，還擁有無數情婦。
幕前演出
妮坦莉寶雯 飾演 安娜布連
1981年在以色列耶路撒冷出生的妮坦莉寶雯是家中獨生女，3歲時跟家人遷居美國，11歲時被星探發掘當小小模特兒。其後她在二千多名候選人中脫穎而出，被法籍鬼才大導洛比桑（Luc Besson）選中演出《這個殺手不太冷》，當年年僅13歲的她隨即一炮而紅，片約紛至如《火星人玩轉地球》、《幸福頂心杉》、《甜心伊人》、《星球大戰》三部曲等。
能操流利英語、希伯來語、法文及日語的她才貌兼備，在學期間只在暑假才拍攝電影。2003年在哈佛大學臨床心理學系畢業後，伊人才專心投入演藝事業，參演電影《亂世情天》、為她贏得金球獎最佳女配角以及奧斯卡和BAFTA最佳女配角提名的《誘心人》、王家衛執導的《藍莓之夜》、《V煞》及近作《大吉利是有限公司》和《玩具獎門人》等等。
史嘉麗祖安遜 飾演 Mary Boleyn
生於1984年的史嘉麗是當今荷里活最具潛質的女星之一。她出生在紐約市，打從3歲就對演戲產生興趣，長大後更進入專業演藝學校學習，從小便累積演出經驗。1996年，史嘉麗在《Manny & Lo》中扮演失去雙親的小女孩，表演大獲好評，不僅獲得當年「獨立精神獎」最佳女演員之提名，還獲大導演羅拔烈福的青睞，請她在其電影《情深說話未曾講》中演出，她的表演再次獲得廣泛讚譽。
2001年，史嘉麗接拍怪?導演泰利史維高夫的《黐孖妹》，在荷里活影壇嶄露頭角。真正讓她揚名海外的要數蘇菲亞哥普拉執導的《迷失東京》，史嘉麗更以僅19之齡獲威尼斯影后，前途一片光明。連同《迷失東京》，同年她的另一部電影《畫意私情》讓她於2004年的金球獎同時入圍劇情片和喜劇片最佳女主角，風頭一時無兩。
成名後的史嘉麗祖安遜成為名導活地阿倫的愛將，在其作品《迷失決勝分》及《遇上塔羅牌殺手》更見美艷迷人，成為新一代性感女神。這位具古典氣質的實力派美人將在電影《Mary, Queen of Scots》扮演瑪麗皇后，觀眾有幸可先在《華麗孽緣》一賭史嘉麗性感誘人的激情演出。
艾力巴拿 飾演 亨利八世
澳洲影帝艾力巴拿最為人津津樂道的演出為《慕尼黑》，他擔正飾演被國家徵召的殺手，細膩地表現出殺人的恐懼、對家人的思念、以及自我懷疑等內心掙扎。他的精湛演出讓觀眾留下深刻印象。
艾力巴拿其他作品包括《變形俠醫》、《木馬屠城》及《黑鷹15小時》等影片，高大英俊的他，常在電影迷倒不少女性觀眾。
占史杜哲斯 飾演 佐治布連
來自英國的影壇新晉男演員占史杜哲斯，1979年出生於倫敦。赴美發展以前活躍於英國電視圈。《戀愛心曲》是他的第一部電影，能唱能演的他備受賞識，在荷里活影壇冒起，接下來觀眾可在電影《21》裡看到他的演出。
幕後人員
導演 積斯甸查域
1968年生於英國曼徹斯特，積斯甸過去曾執導電視劇。最近執導改編自英國作家狄更斯著名小說《Bleak House》的同名劇集，更讓他榮獲艾美獎最佳導演提名及抱兩獎而歸，《Bleak House》同時橫掃BAFTA 5個獎項、金球獎2項提名以及其他頒獎禮不能盡錄的獎項。無怪乎《華麗孽緣》作為他的首部電影，已具大師風範。
編劇 彼德摩根
彼德摩根擅於改編英國皇室的貴族與政治電影，前作包括講述貝理雅、白高敦及新工黨的電視劇《The Deal》，以及為他拿下BAFTA最佳改編劇本獎的電影《最後的蘇格蘭皇》。
而最為人熟識的要數電影《英女皇》。電影在彼德真實的歷史背景與虛構的文本交織下，帶領觀眾回到十年前戴妃去世的歷史時空，充滿英式幽默的劇本，揶揄中包含同情與寬容。更有影評指他執筆的劇本堪稱是語句典雅的楷模，盡顯其非凡的寫作才能。那年彼德摩根幾乎囊括了當年全球所有重要頒獎禮的最佳編劇獎，包括金球獎最佳劇本獎、威尼斯電影節最佳劇本獎，以及奧斯卡及BAFTA最佳原創劇本的提名。《英女皇》讓彼德揚名國際，真正的英女皇更邀請他與女主角海倫及導演到白金漢宮用下午茶，他於編劇的非凡才華可謂毋庸置疑。
金像服裝設計 珊狄鮑維爾
曾憑《娛樂大亨》及《寫我深情》2度獲奧斯卡最佳服裝設計獎，及分別獲6次BAFTA提名及7次奧斯卡提名最佳服裝設計的珊狄鮑維爾，為本影片設計和製作了百多套適合都鐸皇朝的戲服，經驗老到的她最擅長以服飾說故事：「就溫柔善良的瑪莉和強悍進取的安妮，我們以服裝的用色方面來區分她倆的?異性格。至於姊妹倆的爸爸，我們首先安排他的衣著一套比一套華麗光鮮，因為隨著她的女兒一躍龍門，他就如暴發戶般喜歡向旁人炫耀財富。至片末，他的衣著也隨著家道中落，一件比一件粗糙。這些都是衣服如何幫助演員及觀眾更投入電影的技巧。」
珊狄其他前作包括《無間道風雲》、《篇篇情意劫》(Sylvia)、《紐約風雲》和《天上人間》，以及為她帶來BAFTA最佳服裝設計的《Velvet Goldmine》。
《The Other Boleyn Girl》演職員表
UNIVERSAL PICTURES INTERNATIONAL/哥倫比亞影片/
BBC FILMS/RELATIVITY MEDIA聯合呈獻
RUBY FILMS/史葛魯登製作
領銜主演: 《誘心人》金像女星 妮坦莉寶雯
《迷失東京》金球女星 史嘉麗祖安遜
《慕尼黑》艾歷賓拿
"華麗孽緣"
主演: 《別問我是誰》金像女星 姬絲汀史葛湯瑪士
麥克韋蘭士
《魔役》大衛摩烈斯
音樂: 《潛水鐘與蝴蝶》保羅康迪朗
服裝: 《娛樂大亨》金像得主 珊狄鮑維爾
聯合監製: 《寫我深情》麥克古柏
剪接: 保羅歷徹
《孽迷宮》卡路禮杜頓A.C.E.
美術: 《凶汽球》尊保羅基利
攝影: 奇雲麥喬根
執行監製: 《200萬奪命奇案》金像得主 史葛魯登
《跳出我天地》大衛湯遜
根據菲莉柏格力哥利原著小說改編
編劇: 《英女皇》金像提名 彼得摩根
監製: 《傳奇女王伊利沙伯》金像提名 艾莉遜奧雲
導演: 積斯甸查域
發行: 安樂影片有限公司
Production Notes
Based on the best-selling novel by Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl is an engrossing and sensual tale of intrigue, romance, and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in history. Two sisters, Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson) Boleyn, are driven by their ambitious father and uncle to advance the family's power and status by courting the affections of the king of England (Eric Bana). Leaving behind the simplicity of country life, the girls are thrust into the dangerous and thrilling world of court life - and what began as a bid to help their family develops into a ruthless rivalry between Anne and Mary for the love of the king. Initially, Mary wins King Henry's favor and becomes his mistress, bearing him an illegitimate child. But Anne, clever, conniving, and fearless, edges aside both her sister and Henry's wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon, in her relentless pursuit of the king. Despite Mary's genuine feelings for Henry, her sister Anne has her sights set on the ultimate prize; Anne will not stop until she is Queen of England. As the Boleyn girls battle for the love of a king - one driven by ambition, the other by true affection - England is torn apart. Despite the dramatic consequences, the Boleyn girls ultimately find strength and loyalty in each other, and they remain forever connected by their bond as sisters.
Universal Pictures International and Columbia Pictures present, in association with BBC Films in association with Relativity Media, a Ruby Films Scott Rudin production, The Other Boleyn Girl. The film stars Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, and Eric Bana. The film is directed by Justin Chadwick and produced by Alison Owen. The screenplay is by Peter Morgan, based on the novel by Philippa Gregory. The executive producers are Scott Rudin and David M. Thompson. The director of photography is Kieran McGuigan. The production designer is John-Paul Kelly. The editors are Paul Knight and Carol Littleton, A.C.E.. The co-producer is Mark Cooper. The costume designer is Sandy Powell. The music is by Paul Cantelon.
ABOUT THE STORY
To their father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, Anne (Natalie Portman) and her younger sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) are precious commodities whose personal lives must be carefully managed so as to yield maximum financial and social benefit for the family. Convinced that Anne has the potential to attract a suitor of superior standing, Sir Thomas turns down a marriage proposal from a merchant family and offers them Mary instead.
Sir Thomas soon sees a golden opportunity to exploit Anne's beauty and wit when his brother-in-law, the Duke of Norfolk, arranges a visit to the Boleyn household by King Henry VIII. Aware that Queen Katherine has been unable to produce a male heir and Henry is on the prowl for a mistress, Thomas instructs Anne to do her best to make a favourable impression on the monarch. Henry is immediately intrigued by the brazen young woman, but Anne proves too headstrong for the ruler who turns his attention instead to the sweet-natured and equally lovely - though recently married - Mary.
Deeply enthralled, the king summons the entire Boleyn family - including mother and father, Norfolk, both Boleyn sisters, and their brother George - to the Royal Court for the express purpose of making Mary his lover. Sir Thomas and the Duke of Norfolk are delighted at this turn of events - and even Mary's passive husband dutifully agrees to the dubious arrangement - but Mary, a simple country girl at heart, has no interest in the life of a courtier. Anne, still stinging from the king's rebuff, seethes with silent anger toward her sister. Anne, taking her future and fortune into her own hands, elopes in a forbidden, secret marriage, but this is quickly discovered by Mary, who informs the family. They send her to France, banishing her from Henry's court.
Despite her initial reluctance, Mary soon finds herself deeply in love with the tender and attentive Henry. She becomes pregnant with Henry's child, and all is well, until her difficult pregnancy confines her to bed rest and the king's romantic interest in her wanes. When Sir Thomas summons Anne to return to court to entertain the king, it is the moment Anne has been waiting for. Just as Mary and George find their positions at court starting to slip, Anne, still bitter, plots to seduce the king and to exact revenge for what she sees as her sister's unforgivable betrayal.
First, Anne taunts her sister over the long-held grudge and persuades Henry to cast Mary and the newborn child out of court and back to her destitute husband in the country. With Mary out of sight, Anne begins to play out her clever scheme to become not only the king's mistress, but his queen. She withholds sex from Henry, demanding that the king annul his twenty-year marriage to Katherine, send her away, and marry Anne. Henry demurs - because divorces are not allowed within the church, such a move would require a split with the Pope and likely spur an invasion by forces loyal to Rome.
When news of Anne's brief secret marriage surfaces, that one loose thread threatens to unravel the entire plan. The calculating Anne calls upon the only person she knows she can count on, summoning Mary back to court. Mary, seeking peace with her sister, tells Henry that he can trust Anne, and the king, convinced by the other Boleyn girl, marries Anne, who is now pregnant with his child. Anne has won - she is crowned Queen of England.
But Anne's victory comes at a high price. Henry's controversial marriage to Anne proves more than simply a scandal in court; the repercussions of Henry's split with Rome push England to the brink of war. The king is left feeling disgusted with himself and his new bride, and with the eyes of the world on his court, Henry knows he can avoid humiliation only if Anne produces a son. When Anne's first pregnancy results in a girl and she covers up the miscarriage of a second pregnancy, the king's patience with the Boleyn family reaches an end. Anne, Mary, and George, at the mercy of a vengeful king and a pitiless court, are stunned when their father and uncle sacrifice the children in an attempt to save themselves. In the end, with the executioner's sword waiting for Anne, there is no one but Mary willing to speak for her, and this time, even Mary's words cannot save her sister. Nevertheless, it is the unending bond between sisters that becomes Anne's final solace.
ABOUT THE FILM
In her bestselling novel The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory spins a new take on a very old story: the ill-fated romance between King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. With a twin focus on Henry's relationship with Anne as well as his illicit affair with Anne's sister, Mary, Gregory's novel portrays the court of the Tudors as a home for sex, intrigue, and power games.
"I think before I wrote the novel, hardly anyone knew about Mary Boleyn," Gregory says. "She was a character hidden from history, maybe because historians weren't interested in her, because she made no difference to the historical record. But I saw her story as a contrast between sisters, and that contrast was fertile ground. It becomes a parable for the way women make use of their opportunities."
For director Justin Chadwick, the central relationship in The Other Boleyn Girl is not necessarily the famous one between Henry and Anne but the one between Anne and her sister, Mary, who vied with her for the king's attention. "Anne and Mary do some terrible things to each other, there's rivalry and jealousy between them, but ultimately, they're sisters," he says. "You have a relationship with your sister that's different from any other person. You have conversations behind closed doors, talking to her in a completely different way. You can be completely open and honest with her. Like Mary says, it's like being two halves of the same person."
Of course, sisters can be horrible to each other as well. "This is like a mafia story in the court of the Tudors," says producer Alison Owen. "It's got sex, rivalry, jealousy, ambition, scandal - with sisters at the heart of the story."
Chadwick found his Boleyn sisters in two award-winning actresses, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. "They brought something to the roles, some sibling intimacy, some closeness, that meant we could take scenes further than the written page," he notes. "During the course of the film, the sisters' relationship changes, but they remain tied together as sisters. Natalie and Scarlett portray that beautifully."
Portman takes on the role of Anne Boleyn, who would replace her sister as the king's mistress, becoming his queen. "It's easy to see the story for its place in history, but at its heart it is a family story, a story between sisters," says Portman.
Johansson plays the "other" Boleyn girl, Mary, who would happily fade into history. "Sibling relationships are complicated," she says. "Everyone can understand that jealousy and competition. The bond is very strong; only your siblings can read you so well and know instinctively how you feel."
Of course, when a sibling rivalry is placed at a pivotal moment in history, the stakes are raised and the risks and rewards are both great. Chadwick notes, "We start with three innocent children, Anne, Mary, and George Boleyn, and chart their journey from a country field to the throne to the scaffold. Their lives go horribly wrong through ambition and greed. The nastiness and intrigue will speak to a modern audience, as a reflection on obsession with celebrity and a warning to be careful that you don't lose your head, in their case literally, over your ambition."
Peter Morgan, who was nominated for an Academy AwardR for his screenplay for The Queen, was eager to adapt Philippa Gregory's novel for the screen. "Though I'd already tackled Henry (for an award-winning television drama starring Ray Winstone), I became hooked when I realized that this was a story from a completely different perspective," he says. "It's written with such energy and gusto and the two sisters are such fantastic polar opposites. Anne is a proper 16th Century diva - strong minded, stubborn, and manipulative - who accomplishes one of the great historical seductions, and manages to withhold her favors from the most powerful man in her world till she gets what she wants. She is the family favorite, in pole position, and needs the limelight. Mary is much more complicated; she has a higher emotional intelligence, an inner spirituality and is quite feisty and unbending in her own way."
"Whichever sister becomes the more successful in their rivalry for the king's affections, the other one becomes the 'other' Boleyn," Portman says. "Anne totally buys into the whole competition, while Mary chooses a way to be happy without life in the court, and she ultimately wins by allowing Anne to have the victory that destroys her. It's a family story, with love and intrigue, about children who are corrupted by a world which pushes them to compete rather than support each other. Mary, the survivor, is the one who rejects that world."
Joining Portman and Johansson are Eric Bana as King Henry VIII, Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Elizabeth, rising star Jim Sturgess as George Boleyn, Mark Rylance as Sir Thomas Boleyn, and David Morrissey as the Duke of Norfolk.
To bring the motion picture to life, Chadwick called upon a team of specialists, including Emmy-winning production designer John-Paul Kelly and two-time OscarR-winning costume designer Sandy Powell. The film also employed an etiquette advisor, Noel Butler, to give special insight into the customs and mores of the royal court.
Summing up his experience, Chadwick says, "I want the audience to believe that there might be hope for Anne, even though everyone knows her fate. I hope they'll follow the twists and turns of the story and wish that Anne gets a reprieve."
ABOUT THE CAST
OscarR nominee Natalie Portman says she first approached the role of Anne Boleyn with research. Relying not only on the character as written in the novel but also on historical sources, she found that Anne was a woman both of her time and ahead of it. "Anne had a sense of self-respect that was uncommon for a woman of her time. She thought she deserved a status she was not born with, and this ultimately led to her demise," she says. "Marriage then was not about love; it was about uniting families to increase their power. Anne accepts this, but the unexpected thing is that Henry is charming, handsome and educated. She finds him an intellectual companion, and her way of attracting his attention is to challenge him."
As an only child, Natalie relied on her co-star for insight into sibling relationships. "Scarlett is one of four children. I felt like I had a co-conspirator - she's a wonderful actor and a very playful person. Peter Morgan agreed that in every scene there were twenty things going on between the girls - loving, fighting, feeling guilty, rivalry, but above all closeness."
Johansson also researched the period before playing the role. "It's interesting to read about life at the Tudor court," she says. "As the rest of the world was suffering, fighting religious wars and wars for land, the royal court was its own little world."
Still, Johansson's main research tool for background on her character was the novel. "Not much is known about Mary's life," she explains. "You can read different versions of how the affair with Henry came about and nothing is known about her personality. There were no articles written about her, no public interest in her. She was just another of the king's mistresses. So the best research material I had was Philippa Gregory's imagining of this person, and that was incredibly helpful to me.
"The Boleyn girls are written as two halves of the same person. I think that is always true of sisters of a similar age, even if they don't always want to admit it," she says. "What Mary admires and is repulsed by in Anne are traits that she wishes she had herself. Similarly, Anne comes to realize at the end of the story that she wishes she had some of Mary's traits."
Johansson was also gratified by the opportunity to work with Portman. "This can be such a competitive business, and it is rare to have two such strong roles for women in one film," she says. "Natalie is kind and generous, personally and in her performance. She is inspiring to work with."
For Chadwick, one of the exciting prospects of The Other Boleyn Girl was the opportunity to show King Henry VIII as Anne and Mary see him - powerful, charming, and sexy, so different from the way he usually appears, as an older man. "Philippa Gregory had written about Henry as the handsome and intelligent man he was before the madness set in," he says.
To portray the young king, Chadwick looked to Eric Bana. Bana has a well-established Hollywood career, but surprisingly, it was his background in improvisational comedy that appealed to the director. "Eric is a handsome movie star, but his improv experience allows him to show the warmth and humanity of this man who was king of England."
"My wife had read the book, as had many women I know, as I later discovered," Bana says. "I think women are so attracted to it because it shows two very strong sides of the female psyche: in modern terms, Anne is the professional, ambitious woman, while Mary wants love and family. I love Philippa's writing - it is very vivid, full of tasty and unsavoury characters.
"What appealed to me was the complexity of the man," he continues. "I felt that even when he behaved badly, there was logic to it that I could understand. By the end of the film we can see where he is headed - he's becoming a spoiled brat, unpredictable and dangerous. In a sense, he's leading a double life - he's one man in full view of the court, but behind closed doors, he is mesmerized by Anne."
Bana has high praise for Portman and Johansson, calling them "two freakishly great actors. They are two incredible wells of ability and emotional range. I was in awe watching them work. Having watched their careers progress, it seems bizarre that they are both so young. The sisterly relationship evolved so effortlessly."
OscarR nominee Kristin Scott Thomas plays Mary and Anne's mother, Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, who tries to protect her daughters while also ensuring their success in life. "The question of survival, for women, came down to marriage," she notes. "How 'well' you married meant that you would have somewhere to live, somewhere to get food from. At the same time, in the film, she's a religious woman - she wants the best for her daughters and fears to see them losing their way. She becomes a moral compass and stands in for the audience as the girls both get lost in the court."
"It's strange to describe the time, because the words we have are all modern. On the other hand, human beings haven't changed that much," she continues. "Obviously, behaviour has changed, but feelings, emotions haven't changed at all."
David Morrissey plays the Duke of Norfolk, uncle to Anne and Mary Boleyn. A man who would be the power behind the throne, the Duke plots to raise his family's profile in the court by any means necessary.
Morrissey notes, "Not only does he put both Mary and Anne in the king's path, but - and the film doesn't deal with this - the Duke of Norfolk was also the uncle of Katharine Howard, Henry's fifth wife. He was an operator, ambitious, ruthless, shrewd, and quite unscrupulous, at least as far as his nieces were concerned. Although now it's outrageous for us to think of somebody who would treat his relatives this way, at the time, women were a currency."
Jim Sturgess, who plays George Boleyn, describes his character as "a loveable rogue, with an energetic, wide-eyed love for the court and everything it has to offer. He immerses and indulges himself, but he's also as ambitious as his father and his uncle. He understands that he has a role to play in this strategic game, even if he's just a pawn."
In addition to the chance to work with Portman and Johansson, Sturgess was intrigued by the film Chadwick intended to make. "He really wanted to get to the grit and reality of what life was like in the court - showing the filth and madness that went on behind the gates," he says.
"George and Anne and Mary are definitely a group, those three," Sturgess says. "George is very much the mediator between the two girls. He has a very loving relationship with both of his sisters. I think he would side with Anne slightly more as she's the more mischievous of the two girls, but he loves both of his sisters dearly. In fact, his love and his loyalty for Anne is, in a way, what kills him in the end."
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The Other Boleyn Girl was shot in high definition. Says Justin Chadwick, "We shot 'Bleak House' on HD and really appreciated the different quality it gave to the final look of the film, so I was pleased that Sony was interested in us working on HD again. The huge advantage is that nothing is hidden - you can see every detail. In a close-up you feel you can reach in and touch the actor; you can see into the actor's eyes. It's not the obvious thing for a period movie, but I wanted to capture performances, not do wide shots of the beautiful locations we were using. The film will have its own unique look."
"Shooting in HD gave us a lot of options," says Kristin Scott Thomas. "We could do a lot of takes. Justin was a very generous, very sensitive director, and he gave us the opportunity to make a very passionate film."
Chadwick was determined to shoot as much as possible of The Other Boleyn Girl on location. "If the characters are at home in their real surroundings, it adds to the performances," he explains. In the end, the majority of the film's exterior shots were filmed in real castles and estates throughout England, but for some interior shots, the realistically weathered look that Chadwick envisioned required building sets in the studio. "We did visit lots of the real locations, such as Hever Castle where the Boleyn family lived for a time, but most of those places are now part of the tourist heritage industry and have been cleaned up for visitors. They just don't have the atmosphere they would have had during Henry's reign."
For John-Paul Kelly, the production designer, the initial approach to determining the design of the film was to do research on the Tudor period and to visit potential locations. "At first, I went on the road with Justin and Kieran McGuigan, the director of photography. We drove around possible locations and talked about how the film might look. Justin wanted the look to be relevant, modern, and alive. The Tudor period was incredibly energetic, a time of massive change in the world, and Henry's court was the beginning of the modern Britain we live in now. We wanted to keep the backgrounds alive and vibrant and interesting. Our starting point was to balance period accuracy with creating a modern and exciting story."
To create this unique mood, Kelly searched through old photographs from around the world for inspiration. He found ideas for his representation of the Tudor court in such diverse pictures as street scenes from India and nightclubs from Berlin. Kelly says that while it was important to the filmmakers not to have anachronistic elements in the film, at the same time, they looked for the film to "give you the essence of the period without bogging you down in details. I wanted to reflect the flavour and the excitement of the images that excited us."
Two of the critical settings in the film are the Boleyn family home and Whitehall Palace, the home of Henry's court. To shoot the Whitehall ball sequence, Kelly and his team built large areas of Whitehall Palace across two stages in the George Lucas Building at London's Elstree Studios. The scene is key, according to Kelly, because this is when "the Boleyn sisters experience the full exhilaration of Henry's court for the first time. And of course they both react in different ways; Anne totally buys into that world, and Mary would rather not be there."
Kelly's set highlights the moment. "We wanted a massively long corridor, which gives the scale of the Palace. We wanted the ball to feel more like a party, where you can ramble between rooms, with action in various corners, rather than look like one of those big set piece balls you often see on film. It looks nothing like a Berlin nightclub, but hopefully has that sense of excitement."
Kelly's favorite set was Henry's bedroom, also built on stage. He says, "I thought it would be interesting for Henry to bring Mary into a forest-walled room, so I decided to paint a mural all the way around, using colours which might have been used on a tapestry. Also, because there is very little furniture remaining from the period, we designed and made much of it. It was a fantastic moment of excess for me, to design and make a bed for King Henry VIII."
Whitehall Palace was burned down and then rebuilt, so there was little reference available for the original 1530s palace. "In reality, the palace probably had lots of long dull corridors, with bits of brown furniture. The challenge on a period film is to find a kind of reality that is true to history, but allows you to tell your story in the way you want to," says Kelly.
Both Kelly and costume designer Sandy Powell relied on the colour palette used by portrait painter Hans Holbein. "When Holbein painted Henry's court, he worked in a completely different way from his contemporaries," Kelly says. "His palette was very particular, including a lot of turquoises, strong blues, and deep greens. We've based our colour schemes on that palette and coordinated with each other, so that the furnishings and the clothes are complimentary. They tell the same story."
ABOUT THE COSTUME DESIGN
For Costume Designer Sandy Powell, who has been nominated for a total of seven Academy AwardsR, winning OscarsR for her work on Shakespeare in Love and The Aviator, the chance to work on The Other Boleyn Girl represented a great challenge: Powell and her team were responsible for designing and making hundreds of original costumes true to the Tudor era.
Like her colleague, production designer John-Paul Kelly, Powell turned to the paintings of Hans Holbein for inspiration for the costumes of Henry and the Boleyns. "He was the only artist of the time painting the Court of King Henry, and in such detail. The accepted image of Henry today is from Holbein's painting that hangs in the National Gallery, with the king standing hands on hips, his legs astride. Of course, in our film, we are depicting Henry at a younger age, so we have our own Henry."
According to Powell, capturing the authentic look of the period and while maintaining high levels of creativity and originality is a balancing act for any designer working in a specific period. "You always have to use artistic license; you can never be strictly authentic, and besides, no one knows what authentic is, anyway," she says. "We don't have complete information about the clothes, and we don't have the same fabrics. I do my research and then do my own version. I do what is right for the character, or the actor, or the scene, or the film as a whole. We have a story to tell."
One of the keys to the film is differentiating between Mary and Anne Boleyn. Powell explains, "There is not a great deal of variety in the shape or silhouette of a Tudor dress, and the girls shared the same life and moved mainly in the same circles, at home or at Court, so I used a difference in tone and shade to separate them. Mary's character is slightly softer and more romantic than Anne, who is seen as stronger and more forceful. So, without being as obvious as one girl in red and one in blue, I've dressed them in different hues."
Powell also used the costumes to subtly reflect the politics of the time. "For example, with the girls' father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, I've made each outfit a little bit grander than the last one, and finally a little bit vulgar towards the end. His power at Court is increasing, and with it, his wealth. Like a nouveau riche person today, he's got money and he wants to show it."
The designer does have one favourite costume: "Natalie wears the Lily Dress while riding a horse," she says. "It's bright green, with embroidered lilies up the front."
"Costumes are always very helpful," says Johansson, noting that it's especially true in a period piece. "The way you hold yourself, how grand you feel when you wear it. For Mary, her character changes as her costumes change. In the country, she has simple cotton dresses that are easier to work with. Later in the film, she becomes very motherly - a child on her hip - and in the huge court dresses, it's impossible. You feel the change of character."
ABOUT THE LOCATIONS
The house and grounds of Great Chalfield Manor, near Bath, was used by production as the country home of the Boleyns. The Manor served as the location for two key scenes: Mary's wedding to William Carey and the king's visit to go hunting with Anne and George. The manor house and the tiny parish church of All Saints within the grounds were rebuilt in the fifteenth century and the house has been continuously occupied since then, for the past 130 years by one family. The Fuller family restored the property in 1905 and donated the house and the grounds to the National Trust in 1943. The Manor is a splendidly preserved example of the architecture of its time - an amalgamation of medieval features, including a gabled entrance porch, oriel windows, and a central Great Hall, with the "modern" (16th Century!) addition of a parlour.
Nearby, the production used Lacock Abbey as the gardens, cloisters and rooms of Whitehall Palace, where Queen Katherine first confronts the Boleyn sisters and Anne plays with young Henry to remind the king of his desire for a son and heir. Lacock Abbey was founded in the thirteenth century by the Countess of Salisbury; at any time, it would house 15 to 25 nuns. The local village poor benefited from the Abbey, as the nuns distributed food and money to the needy. Most of the villagers who farmed the land were tenants of the Abbey, and paid their rents in grain, hides, and fleeces. Following King Henry's split from the Church, Lacock Abbey, like many other religious houses, was sold to a wealthy landowner; it has remained in the same family since the 16th Century.
Saint Bartholomew's Church in the Smithfield area of London was the scene of both the trial of Queen Katherine and the grim wedding of pregnant Anne Boleyn and King Henry. Adjacent to Saint Bartholomew's Hospital and Smithfield Market in an area increasingly popular for its bars and restaurants, Saint Bartholomew's is an active Anglican/Episcopalian Church, built in 1123 when Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, was king of England. It survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the bombs dropped during both World Wars.
The executions of Anne and George Boleyn, which took place within the Tower of London, were filmed in Dover Castle. Built high on the cliffs of the southeast coast of England, overlooking the shortest sea crossing between France and England, there has been a fortress in this strategic location since Roman Times. King Henry VIII appreciated the strength of this bastion when a Catholic invasion of England seemed inevitable, following the annulment of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon and the dissolution of a peace treaty between Spain and France. Henry ordered the strengthening of the country's defenses, commissioning a chain of coastal artillery forts. He visited Dover Castle to check on the progress of the work in 1539.
Knole House, a stately home in Kent in South Eastern England, is known as a calendar house because of its 365 rooms. The house was owned by Henry VIII after he took it from the Archbishop of Canterbury; he used it as a hunting lodge. Henry's daughter, Queen Elizabeth, gave the house and the 1000 acres of deer park surrounding it to her cousin Thomas Sackville, whose descendents, the Dukes and Earls of Dorset and the Barons of Sackville, have lived there ever since. Portrayed in the film as the exterior of Whitehall Palace, the house rooftops are also featured as the spires of London by night, as Mary Boleyn flees from court to return to William Stafford in the country.
Mary's journey on horseback takes her through the Derbyshire Peak District, showing the spectacular countryside around Dovedale and beneath Stannage Edge. As she arrives at the home she shares with William Stafford and her children, we see the exterior of North Lees Hall, which is reputed to have inspired Charlotte Bronte's description of Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr. Rochester in her novel Jane Eyre.
Rooms within Haddon Hall, also in the Peak District, were used as other interiors of the Boleyn home. Haddon Hall is one of England's finest medieval and Tudor houses, having been described as "the most perfect house to survive from the Middle Ages." It has belonged to the Manners family since 1567 and, after lying empty for 200 years, was restored by the Duke and Duchess of Rutland in the 1920s.
Penshurst Place, also in Kent, features in the film as the gardens and the grand dining hall of Whitehall Palace. The manor house is the most complete example of 14th Century domestic architecture that survives today. Henry's son, Edward VI, granted the estate to Sir William Sidney in 1552, and the family have been in occupation ever since. The previous owners were the Dukes of Buckingham, one of whom entertained Henry VIII in the Baron's Hall in 1519. Two years later, his royal hospitality forgotten, the Duke was beheaded for treason. In fact, three successive Dukes of Buckingham lost their heads during the Tudor monarchies.
ABOUT KING HENRY VIII
Henry Tudor was born in 1491, the second son of King Henry VII of England. His older brother Arthur died, leaving Henry to inherit his father's throne. He first married Katherine of Aragon, his brother's widow, a match only permitted under Roman Catholic law of the time because of the claim that Katherine and Arthur's marriage had never been consummated. With Katherine, Henry had one daughter, Mary. Henry divorced Katherine, after falling in love with Anne Boleyn. His need for a male heir played a large part in his desire to marry the pregnant Anne, but Anne gave Henry another daughter, Elizabeth. The marriage lasted only three years before Anne was beheaded for infidelity, a treasonous charge in the king's consort. Henry hastily married Jane Seymour, who died in childbirth, giving Henry the son and heir he longed for, Prince Edward.
Henry next arranged a marriage with Anne of Cleves, reportedly attracted to her after seeing Hans Holbein's beautiful portrait of her. But in person, he found her plain and the marriage was never consummated. Catherine Howard, another niece of the scheming Duke of Norfolk, was Henry's next wife but she was executed for infidelity within two years. His sixth and final wife was Catherine Parr, who outlived him. Henry died in 1547, at the age of 56.
Henry was succeeded first by his nine-year-old son, Edward VI, whose reign lasted for six years. When he died, he was succeeded by Lady Jane Grey, who was not in line for the throne and was forced to give up the crown after just nine days when Katherine of Aragon's daughter, Mary, rode triumphantly into London. Mary became known as Bloody Mary because of her intolerant attitude to non-Catholics. Upon Mary's death, Anne Boleyn's daughter, Elizabeth, was crowned Queen of England; she began a long and celebrated reign that came to be called the golden age.
As a young and vigorous king, Henry invaded France, defeated the Scots at Flodden Field and wrote a treatise against the reformation of the Church, for which the Pope rewarded him with the title "Defender of the Faith." However, his obsession with having a male heir to inherit the throne of England led to his divorce from Katherine, which was condemned by the Pope, who had refused to annul the union. Henry broke from Rome, separating the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church, and asserting the supremacy of the Monarchy, an event that greatly altered the politics of England and the whole of Western Christendom, fracturing the absolute power of the Church of Rome.
Since her debut at age 11 in Luc Besson's The Professional, NATALIE PORTMAN (Anne Boleyn) has appeared in the films Beautiful Girls, Everyone Says I Love You, Mars Attacks!, Anywhere But Here, Where The Heart Is, and the stage production of "The Diary of Anne Frank."
While completing her psychology degree at Harvard, Portman starred in the Star Wars prequels, Cold Mountain, the Public Theater's Central Park production of "The Seagull" opposite Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Garden State, and Closer, for which she was nominated for an Oscar Rand won a Golden GlobeR for Best Supporting Actress.
Portman most recently starred in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts, Wong Kar Wei's My Blueberry Nights, and V for Vendetta. She also appeared in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. She will next star in Brothers, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, for director Jim Sheridan.
With more than a decade of work under her belt, four-time Golden GlobeR nominee and BAFTA winner SCARLETT JOHANSSON (Mary Boleyn) has proven to be one of Hollywood's most talented young actresses. Johansson received rave reviews and a Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival for her starring role opposite Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, the critically acclaimed second film by director Sofia Coppola. Johansson also portrayed the title character in the much-admired Girl With a Pearl Earring, a film adapted from the novel of the same name about the painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Johansson also received Golden GlobeR nominations for her performances in A Love Song for Bobby Long and Woody Allen's Match Point.
At the age of 14, Johansson attained worldwide recognition for her performance as Grace Maclean, the teen traumatized by a riding accident in Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer. She went on to star in Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World, garnering a Best Supporting Actress award from the Toronto Film Critics Circle. Johansson was also featured in the Coen Brothers' dark drama The Man Who Wasn't There, opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Frances McDormand. She most recently starred in The Nanny Diaries, opposite Laura Linney; Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, opposite Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale; the critically acclaimed Weitz brothers' film In Good Company; and The Island, opposite Ewan McGregor for director Michael Bay.
Her additional credits include Rob Reiner's comedy North; the thriller Just Cause, with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne; and a breakthrough role in the critically praised Manny & Lo, which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination. A New York native, Johansson made her professional acting debut at the age of eight in the off-Broadway production of "Sophistry," with Ethan Hawke, at New York's Playwright's Horizons.
ERIC BANA (King Henry VIII) starred in Steven Spielberg's controversial and critically acclaimed drama Munich. Bana earned widespread praise for his multilayered portrayal of Avner, the Israeli agent chosen to lead an elite squad that has been ordered to track down and kill the men responsible for the terrorist attack that ended with the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics.
A native of Australia, Bana was first introduced to American audiences when he played the title role of Mark "Chopper" Read in the feature film Chopper. On the heels of its success in Australia, the film had its American premiere at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and was then released in select U.S. cities. For his performance in Chopper, Bana won Best Actor Awards from the Australian Film Critics Circle and the Australian Film Institute.
In 2001, Bana co-starred with Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore in Ridley Scott's war drama Black Hawk Down, playing one of a group of U.S. soldiers on an ill-fated mission in Somalia.
Bana then starred as Bruce Banner, a geneticist whose experiments turn him into the title character in the feature Hulk, based on the popular Marvel Comics series. Directed by Ang Lee, the film also starred Jennifer Connelly, Josh Lucas and Nick Nolte. In 2004, Bana portrayed Hector in Wolfgang Petersen's epic drama Troy, based on Homer's The Iliad and also starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom.
Most recently, Bana starred in Curtis Hanson's Lucky You, opposite Drew Barrymore. He may currently be seen in the Australian film Romulus, My Father. He next stars in The Time Traveler's Wife, an adaptation of the bestselling novel, opposite Rachel McAdams, and in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot.
DAVID MORRISSEY (Duke of Norfolk) is considered one of the most versatile British actors of his generation, having performed in an eclectic range of productions for film, television and stage.
Morrissey was most recently seen in The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. He has completed filming an adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility," playing the role of Colonel Brandon, which is due to be broadcast in two parts, on April 30 and May 6, 2008, on PBS.
Morrissey has appeared in some of the most popular and critically acclaimed British television dramas, including "Our Mutual Friend," "Clocking Off," "Holding On" (which earned him a prestigious RTS nomination), the six-part BBC political drama "State of Play" (a role for which he received a BAFTA nomination), and one of Channel Four's most controversial dramas, director Stephen Frears' "The Deal," in which he played Gordon Brown and for which he won an RTS Award. Last year, Morrissey starred in "Viva Blackpool," a 90-minute program for BBC1, which also aired in the United States on BBC America. The series received a Golden GlobeR nomination. Television audiences most recently saw Morrissey starring in "Meadowlands," a seven-part series for Showtime. This psychologically gripping drama follows a family as they enter into a protective custody program, and explores the true nature of identity.
Morrissey's accomplished television and stage performances brought him to the attention of the film world and he has gone on to play roles in a range of films including Hilary and Jackie, Some Voices, Born Romantic, Captain Correlli's Mandolin, Miramax's Derailed, Stephen Woolley's Stoned, and The Reaping.
In addition to his acting career, Morrissey has founded his own production company, Tubedale Films, through which he has directed short films, and television projects in the UK. Most recently, he directed his first feature film, The Pool, which is set in his home city of Liverpool.
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS (Lady Elizabeth Boleyn) is a truly international star. The English born actress has starred on film, stage and television in Hollywood, UK and France.
She first came to international attention starring opposite Hugh Grant in the blockbuster romantic comedy Four Wedding and a Funeral and went on to star opposite Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer (where she played the mother of Scarlett Johansson's character). She was nominated for the Academy AwardR for her performance in director Anthony Minghella's The English Patient and also highly acclaimed for her role in Robert Altman's award-winning Gosford Park. She most recently starred in The Walker and voices a role in The Golden Compass.
A fluent French speaker, she has worked with many French directors, including, most recently, writer-director Francis Veber's Le Doublure.
Thomas also starred in the successful production of "The Seagull" in London's West End. In 2004, she was nominated for the prestigious Olivier Award for her performance in Three Sisters.
In 2003, Thomas was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honors for her contribution to the Arts.
MARK RYLANCE (Sir Thomas Boleyn) was the first artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the replica theater built on the site of the original, holding that position from 1995 until 2005. He acted in every season over his ten-year stint, staging plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Rylance had previously been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared on stage to great acclaim in the West End, at the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Opera House, and the Royal Court. He has won an Olivier Award as best actor.
Rylance's film career includes the lead in Gillies MacKinnon's Grass Arena, for which he won BBC Radio Times Award as Best Newcomer; Intimacy, directed by Patrice Chereau; The Institute Benjamenta, by the Brothers Quay; Love Lies Bleeding, by Michael Winterbottom; and Angels and Insects, directed by Philip Haas, in which he co-starred with Kristin Scott Thomas. He most recently won a BAFTA for his portrayal of Dr. David Kelly in The Government Inspector.
He is at present playing "Peer Gynt" at The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and will soon be appearing on Broadway in "Boeing Boeing."
JIM STURGESS (George Boleyn) has quickly become one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading men.
Sturgess recently made his film debut in Julie Taymor's groundbreaking musical Across the Universe, opposite Evan Rachel Wood.
In March, Sturgess will star in director Robert Luketic's 21, starring opposite Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, and Laurence Fishburne. 21 is loosely inspired by five MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.
Sturgess most recently completed production on director Wayne Kramer's Crossing Over, starring opposite Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd and Sean Penn. Crossing Over is a multi-character drama about immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles. The film addresses the issue from the point of view of the immigrants, as well as the immigration authorities tasked with enforcing the nation's immigration laws. Crossing Over will be released by The Weinstein Company.
Sturgess resides in London, England.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
JUSTIN CHADWICK (Director) most recently directed "Bleak House," the multiple award-winning adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic novel. Acclaimed worldwide, the drama series won two Emmy Awards (among ten nominations, including Best Director) and five BAFTA Awards (among 14 nominations), including Best Drama Series. "Bleak House" was also nominated for two Golden GlobesR, four Royal Television Society Awards, three Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, three Satellite Awards, and the Television Critics Award.
Chadwick had previously directed contemporary drama for British television, including the popular series Spooks, Red Cap, and The Vice.
In 1991, ALISON OWEN (Producer) produced Peter Chelsom's Hear My Song, written by Peter Chelsom and Adrian Dunbar. Nominated for a Golden GlobeR and several BAFTAs, the film won Best Comedy Film at the Comedy Awards and earned Owen a nomination for Most Promising New Producer by the Producers Guild of America.
Following this she went on to produce The Young Americans (1993), directed by Danny Cannon and starring Harvey Keitel and Viggo Mortensen. In 1995 Owen completed Moonlight and Valentino, her first collaboration with actress Gwyneth Paltrow, written by Ellen Simon and directed by David Anspagh. The film also starred Kathleen Turner, Whoopi Goldberg and Elizabeth Perkins.
In 1998, Owen produced Elizabeth directed by Shekhar Kapur, written by Michael Hirst, for Working Title Films. Elizabeth proved to be one of the success stories of the year and having spent many weeks in both the US and UK Top Ten, went on to earn seven Academy AwardR and twelve BAFTA nominations, winning one and five respectively.
Following on from the success of Elizabeth in 1999, Owen established Ruby Films, under which banner she produced Is Harry on the Boat, and Happy Now in 2001.
After Happy Now came Sylvia in 2003 directed by Christine Jeffs, a film exploring the passionate, yet often turbulent, relationship between the poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig. Sylvia received critical acclaim in the US and closed the 2004 London Film Festival.
Alison continued working with Gwyneth Paltrow on Proof, the film adaptation of the play by David Auburn directed by John Madden starring Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal and Hope Davis. Finishing 2004 on a box office high Alison executive produced the internationally successful zombie-romcom Shaun of the Dead by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright.
In 2005 Owen completed the romantic comedy Love & Other Disasters, written and directed by Alek Keshishian (In Bed With Madonna), starring Brittany Murphy, to be released summer 2006.
Most recently, Brick Lane (Dir: Sarah Gavron) produced for Film 4, UKFC and Ingenious was released in 2007 to critical acclaim in the UK.
PETER MORGAN (screenplay) was nominated for the Academy AwardR and won the Golden GlobeR, honors from the film critics in New York, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, and Toronto, and the Osella Award at 2006 Venice Film Festival for his screenplay for The Queen. The film, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Helen Mirren in the title role, gained box office and critical success in UK and USA.
Morgan also won the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his adaptation of Giles Foden's novel The Last King of Scotland. The film was directed by Kevin McDonald and starred Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy.
In 2006, Channel 4 television broadcast Longford, which dramatized the controversial relationship between Lord Longford, an English peer, and Myra Hindley, the convicted child murderer serving a life sentence in English jail. The screenplay won Morgan the BAFTA television award.
Morgan began his script-writing career polishing Hollywood scripts and writing training films; he scripted his first film, Shalom Joan Collins, in 1989. Since then, he has written other television dramas including Micky Love, Metropolis, The Jury, and, in 1993, the Emmy Award-winning Henry VIII, starring Ray Winstone.
In 1993, his political drama The Deal, detailing the relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, respectively, was broadcast on Channel 4. For his work, Morgan was awarded a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay. The Deal was directed by Stephen Frears.
Morgan's latest play, "Frost/Nixon," made the move from London's West End to Broadway. Actor Frank Langella won the Tony Award for his portrayal of Nixon and Morgan was Tony-nominated. Morgan adapted his play into a screenplay for Working Title Films and Imagine Entertainment, which has been directed by Ron Howard and is due for release in late 2008.
SCOTT RUDIN (Executive Producer). Film: There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Margot at the Wedding, The Darjeeling Limited, The Queen (BAFTA Award), Notes on a Scandal, Venus, Failure to Launch, Freedomland, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Life Aquatic, Closer, Team America: World Police, I Huckabees, The Village, The Manchurian Candidate, The Stepford Wives, School of Rock, The Hours, Changing Lanes, Orange County, Iris, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Shaft, Sleepy Hollow, Angela's Ashes, Rules of Engagement, Wonder Boys, Bringing Out the Dead, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, The Truman Show, A Civil Action, In and Out, Ransom, Mother, Marvin's Room, The First Wives Club, Twilight, Clueless, Sabrina, Nobody's Fool, The Firm, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Sister Act, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Little Man Tate, Regarding Henry, Pacific Heights, Flatliners, Jennifer Eight, Mrs. Soffel and He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing (Academy AwardR - Best Documentary). Theater: Passion (Tony Award - Best Musical), Indiscretions, Hamlet, Seven Guitars, Skylight, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, On the Town, The Chairs, The Judas Kiss, Stupid Kids, The Blue Room, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Closer (London and New York), Amy's View, The Wild Party, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Copenhagen (Tony Award - Best Play), The Designated Mourner, The Caretaker (London), The Goat (Tony Award - Best Play), Medea, Beckett/Albee, Caroline, or Change, The Normal Heart, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Doubt (Tony Award - Best Play), Red Light Winter, Well, Faith Healer, The History Boys (Tony Award - Best Play), Shining City, The Vertical Hour, The Year of Magical Thinking, Deuce and Gypsy.
Upcoming Films: Kim Peirce's Stop-Loss, Alan Ball's Towelhead, Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, Ken Lonergan's Margaret, Stephen Daldry's The Reader, John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road, and Nora Ephron's Julie and Julia.
DAVID M. THOMPSON (Executive Producer) began his career at the BBC as a documentary maker. He began producing drama while working for the BBC's Everyman documentary series, where he produced the original Shadowlands, which won the British Academy Award for Best Drama and an International Emmy. Subsequent productions included the British Academy Award winning Safe, directed by Antonia Bird, Alan Clarke's The Firm and Road.
He was appointed Head of BBC Films in May 1997, overseeing a slate of films for cinema and television. Past BBC Films productions include the acclaimed Mrs Brown starring Judi Dench and Billy Connolly; Stephen Daldry's Billy Elliot (BBC Films' most successful film to date, taking in some $100m worldwide, winning three major British Academy Film Awards and nominated for three Academy AwardsR); the Academy AwardR-winning Iris, starring Dame Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent and directed by Richard Eyre; Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things; I Capture the Castle, from the novel by Dodie Smith; Roger Michell's acclaimed The Mother; Ken Loach's award-winning Sweet Sixteen; Sylvia, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig; Michael Winterbottom's BAFTA and Berlin Golden Bear winner In this World; Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar; Pawel Pawlikowski's Last Resort and My Summer of Love; the Golden GlobeR winner The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, featuring a star-studded cast led by Geoffrey Rush; Saul Dibb's critically-acclaimed debut feature Bullet Boy; Danny Boyle's enchanting family film Millions; Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins in Stephen Frears' Mrs Henderson Presents; Woody Allen's first UK set film Match Point, starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers; Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, Michael Winterbottom's brilliant and hilarious adaptation of the novel, starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; Michael Caton-Jones' powerful and moving drama Shooting Dogs, starring John Hurt and Hugh Dancy; and Confetti, featuring a host of Britain's leading comedic talent including Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson, stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr, and Alison Steadman.
Recent releases include The History Boys, adapted from Alan Bennett's award-winning stage play; the Cannes prize winner Red Road, Andrea Arnold's first feature, the OscarR-nominated Notes on a Scandal, starring Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench, directed by Richard Eyre, and David Cronenberg's new thriller, Eastern Promises, staring Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen.
Upcoming releases will include Meerkats from the world's pre-eminent natural history filmmakers telling the inspiring story of one family's resilience and fortitude; and Frequently Asked Questions About Time-Travel, an off-beat comedy from first-time feature director Gareth Carrivick and new writer Jamie Mathieson.
Films in production include Revolutionary Road, directed by OscarR winner Sam Mendes and starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio; a big screen version of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, directed by Julian Jarrold with emerging stars Matthew Goode, Ben Wishaw, and Hayley Atwell; Bright Star, also starring Ben Wishaw and Abbie Cornish and directed by Jane Campion; and The Edge of Love, by critically-acclaimed director John Maybury, starring Keira Knightley,
Thompson will be leaving his current role as head of BBC Films to set up a new independent production company. His new company will focus on film and television drama and will launch in 2008 with a first look deal with BBC Fiction. Thompson will also continue to executive produce for BBC films a slate of existing projects from development through to completion over the next few years.
KIERAN MCGUIGAN (Director of Photography) previously collaborated with director Justin Chadwick on the internationally successful drama series "Bleak House." For his work on the series, McGuigan won an Emmy Award and was nominated for the BAFTA and Royal Television Society Awards.
McGuigan's previous work includes popular UK drama series "Hustle," "Vincent," "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard," and "Murder Prevention."
JOHN-PAUL KELLY (Production Designer) recently collaborated with director Roger Michell on the award-winning feature film Venus, starring Peter O'Toole. It was his second collaboration with Michell, having previously worked with the director on Enduring Love, starring Daniel Craig.
His work will next be seen in Hippie Hippie Shake, directed by Beeban Kidron and starring Cillian Murphy and Sienna Miller.
Other feature film credits as production designer include: Lassie, directed by Charles Sturridge; Michael Winterbottom's Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, based on Lawrence Sterne's classic novel; I Capture the Castle, directed by Tim Fywell; Bloody Sunday, directed by Paul Greengrass, which won The Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002 and the Audience award at the Sundance Film Festival 2002; and TwentyFourSeven, directed by Shane Meadows and winner in 1997 of both the European and the International Critics prizes at the Venice Film Festival.
The first film that Kelly designed was Carine Adler's Under the Skin, winner of Best British film at Edinburgh Film Festival and the Critics Award at the Toronto Film Festival 1997.
Kelly's numerous television credits as production designer include such major BBC period costume dramas as "Byron," directed by Julian Ferino, for which Kelly was nominated for the Royal Television Award in 2004. Kelly also designed the highly acclaimed telefilm "The Lost Prince," for which he won the BAFTA Award for best production design and Emmy Award for art direction for a Miniseries or Movie. "The Lost Prince," which was directed by Stephen Poliakoff, also won the Emmy for best miniseries.
In 1999, Kelly was nominated for best production design by the Royal Television Society for "Shooting the Past," again directed by Stephen Poliakoff and winner of the 1999 Prix Italia and winner of best drama at the Royal Television Society awards.
CAROL LITTLETON, A.C.E. (Editor) left her native Oklahoma to study in a France on a Fulbright scholarship. It was there that she was first drawn to film editing after seeing the powerful docudrama The Battle of Algiers. Upon her return to the U.S., she settled in Southern California and began editing TV commercials. Her first screen credit was assistant editor on Alan Rudolph's first feature, Premonition.
Since then her films have included Body Heat, E.T., The Big Chill, Places in the Heart, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Swimming to Cambodia, The Accidental Tourist, White Palace, Grand Canyon, Benny and Joon, Twilight, Beloved, The Anniversary Party, The Truth About Charlie, The Manchurian Candidate, and, most recently, Margot at the Wedding, among many others.
For her work on E.T., Littleton received an OscarR nomination, a BAFTA nomination and an American Cinema Editors nomination. For her work on the telefilm "Tuesdays with Morrie," she received an Emmy award.
PAUL KNIGHT (Editor) previously collaborated with director Justin Chadwick on the award-winning BBC miniseries "Bleak House." He was awarded a BAFTA and a Royal Television Society Award for his work.
Knight's work for British television also includes the series "Spooks" (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA), "Murder Prevention," "Red Cap," the telefilm "Last Rights," and the upcoming HBO/BBC miniseries "The Passion." He also served as editor of the feature films Nine Lives and Ali G Indahouse. As an assistant editor, his many credits include Bridget Jones's Diary, The Beach, Best Laid Plans, Les Miserables, Sliding Doors, One Night Stand, and Leaving Las Vegas.
Winner of two Academy AwardsR for her work on The Aviator, for Martin Scorsese, and Shakespeare in Love, for director John Madden, SANDY POWELL (Costume Designer) had also been nominated five more times, for her work on Mrs. Henderson Presents, Gangs of New York, Velvet Goldmine, Wings of the Dove, and Orlando. She also won the BAFTA Award for Velvet Goldmine and been nominated a total of nine times. Other awards include honors from the Evening Standard for her work on Orlando and Edward II.
Powell studied at London Central School of Art and began her career in film collaborating with Derek Jarman, working on Caravaggio with the director. Other credits include Interview with the Vampire, Michael Collins, The Butcher Boy, and The End of the Affair, all with director Neil Jordan. She recently worked with Martin Scorsese on his Academy AwardR winner The Departed.
PAUL CANTELON (Composer) was born in Los Angeles, California and launched his musical career as a violinist, making his debut at the age of 13 at Royce Hall. But soon after hearing a performance by the reclusive pianist Donalee Reubenet, he changed directions and decided to embark on a path of intensive piano study.
At 15, he began his tutelage under legendary pianist Vlado Perelemuter at the Paris Conservatory and set out on what appeared to be a promising career as a concert pianist. However, after a very serious bicycle accident at 17, which left him in a coma for a month, he emerged with significant amnesia that stunted his development at the keyboard.
In the wake of this unfortunate incident, Paul refocused his energy from performance to writing, and began his remarkable evolution into the composer that he is today. In the early 90's, Paul formed the eclectic rock band The Wild Colonials with singer Angela McCluskey, recorded two albums for Geffen Records, and performed with such artists as Joe Cocker, The Kinks, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, Rickie Lee Jones, King Crimson, and Ry Cooder. In 1995, after composing a special centenary score for the Eisenstein classic silent film Battleship Potemkin, Paul finished a new collection of works for solo piano and piano trio, opening the Montreux Jazz Festival.
These works were met with much critical acclaim from artists as diverse as Pete Townsend, Chick Corea and Phillip Glass. Most recently, Paul composed a series of pieces for world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who joined Paul for an exclusive performance of these compositions, as well as works from the standard cello/piano repertoire.
Paul made his way into the film music world in 2005 with his ambitious score to the feature film Everything is Illuminated. He most recently composed the score for the award-winning film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
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