Sunday, March 18, 2007

Tudor Mania

The 16th century is so hot. Hollywood thinks so.

I've had Blanchett-brain of late (how can I help it?) so I thought it was worth mentioning that 453 years ago today Elizabeth I, while still Princess, was imprisoned on account of Wyatt's Rebellion against her half-sis' Queen Mary. I think --but I could be wrong since palace intrigues and political dynasties hurt my head -- that that event was the kick off to the first Elizabeth film. I haven't seen it since 1998 so my memory is cloudy.

The sequel, The Golden Age, arrives later this year and should prove as heavy with royal position jockeying. They'll also be jockeying for Oscar position. Though the film is largely about QEI's relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) it's safe to assume that politics will interfere. We can expect another Elizabeth vs. Mary round, too. A different Mary but same as it ever was --arguments about who, exactly, should be running England. I'm excited to see whatever throwdown occurs between Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth since the former is played by the one and only Samantha Morton. If Morton's past work can be trusted she'll be as formidable an opponent for Cate Blanchett as Mary was for Elizabeth... um, only without armies, religious divides and mass bloodshed. Whew.

I normally don't assign homework but I'm thinking we should all study up on the Tudors pronto just to make it through 2007 [tudor history blog or wikipedia to start] since the Tudor dynasty is all the rage in Hollywood.

Showtime launches their new series The Tudors on April 1st (I'll have a mini review soon). October 5th brings us the return of Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth in The Golden Age and October 26th brings us Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn and Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl. I'm betting one of those release dates doesn't stick. Two actress heavy Tudor-centric costume dramas with A list stars in the same month? Unlikely.


Will audiences and critics be tudored out by the end of the year or will tudor mania sweep awards season for both television and film? Only time will tell.

What's your best guess?

8 comments:

Glenn Dunks said...

I have no idea what you're talking about right now.

evermoon said...

Both films look potentially stunning, in visual (i.e., costumes, sets, etc.) and acting aspects (i.e., Blanchett, Morton, Portman), and I generally like this genre, so I'm really hoping for the best. Blanchett should have won the first time she portrayed Elizabeth, so a win for this one would be sweet.

adam k. said...

Haha, Glenn, you are reminding me of Florence in BJM: "I have no idea what you're saying to me right now." So hilarious.

So could Golden Age snag a supporting nom for Morton? And/or Owen? That would be sweet. If it has three actors in play, it might actually be more of a player across the board than I thought.

I am so excited to see Blanchett, Owen, and Morton in the same film.

Anonymous said...

Adam, from what I've gathered through the grapevine Owen is aces in TGA as is Abbie Corninsh while Morton who I'm sure is superb has a pretty non-existant/cameo role.. (which would kinda make sense seeing how Mary and Elizabeth never met). I'd put my money on Cornish and Blanchett at the moment and maybe Owen (who has a meaty role and could even be campaigned for lead).

-Eli

Anonymous said...

early screenings reports claim Morton is great - SPOILER ( for those who know nothing about Tudor history lol) since Abby Cornish plays Lizzies lady in waiting and ultimate lover/wife of Raleigh I'd
bet she gets lots of screen time - so she could definitely be a contender - early reports are that the film is great - that Blanchett's Liz is very different from her younger version - sooo - guess we'll have to wait and see which Tudor movie tickles the critics

Anonymous said...

Blanchett Rocks!

RC said...

i really enjoyed posting post about elizabeth I, sir walter raleigh, boleyns, etc. last week.

--RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com

Glenn Dunks said...

I'd love for Abbie to get some Oscar buzz. She's pretty great.