Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Timing: 2:4 (124 min)

6.839/10
3148

7.404/10
37596

7.1/10
242000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 34

Actors and characters

Release date

1998-12-11

Country

United States

Production

Universal Pictures, Miramax, Bedford Falls Productions

Genre

Romance, History, Comedy

Budget

$25 000 000

Revenue

$289 317 794

Website

Director

John Madden

Actors

Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Simon Callow, Steven Beard
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard

Producer

Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick, Marc Norman, David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Bob Weinstein, Julie Goldstein

Operator

Richard Greatrex

Composer

Stephen Warbeck

Artist

Audition

Michelle Guish

Editing

David Gamble
All team (30)

• Judi Dench received an Academy Award for her role as Queen Elizabeth, which appears on screen for approximately eight minutes in four scenes. This is one of the shortest roles among Oscar winners, second only to Beatrice Straight's role in 'Network' (1976), which had only 6 minutes of screen time.
• The play performed for the Queen at the beginning of the film is titled "Two Gentlemen of Verona".
• Besides Gwyneth Paltrow, Meg Ryan, Jodie Foster, Winona Ryder, and Kate Winslet were also considered for the lead female role.
• Judi Dench was so impressed with the full-scale replica of the historic London Rose Theatre, built for the film's shooting, that after filming wrapped, Miramax Studios gave it to her entirely and allowed her to take the disassembled structure home.
• Six years before work on the film finally began, Universal Studios signed Julia Roberts for the lead female role. Daniel Day-Lewis was approached for the lead male role, but he declined, preferring "In the Name of the Father" (1993). Ultimately, after failing to find a suitable alternative, the studio decided to abandon plans to make the project.
• With seven Academy Awards, "Shakespeare in Love" holds the record for the most Oscars won by a film not awarded Best Director.
• For the first and only time in the history of the American Film Academy, two actresses were nominated in the same year for the role of the same character, British Queen Elizabeth. Judi Dench was nominated for and received an award for Best Supporting Actress for "Shakespeare in Love," while Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress for the historical drama "Elizabeth."
• Producer Edward Zwick was originally intended to direct the film when it was being prepared by Universal. Later, when the project gained momentum, he was occupied filming the thriller "The Siege" (1998), and the Miramax studio, which took over the film, was forced to look for other candidates for the director's position. At the same time, Edward Zwick's production company, Bedford Falls, still participated in the project.
• The idea for the film came to screenwriter Mark Norman when his son Zachary called him from Boston University and suggested he write something about Shakespeare's early years in the Elizabethan theatre. It took the author another two years to develop this idea.
• After the final scene of the film received a mixed reaction at test screenings, it was decided to reshoot it just weeks before the scheduled premiere in early December 1998. In November 1998, a new version of the final scene with Will and Viola was filmed, forcing Joseph Fiennes to interrupt his work on a play in a British theater, and Gwyneth Paltrow was specially flown in for a few days from the set of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999).
• During the numerous delays in the film's production, Kevin Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh were contenders for the director's position.
• In one scene, Viola asks Will, "Are you the author of William Shakespeare's plays?" This is a reference to numerous modern theories and speculations that question the authorship of William Shakespeare.
• The unattractive street urchin John Webster, shown in one scene playing with mice, was a real historical figure. He later became a famous writer, whose plays were distinguished by a large number of bloody scenes and violence.
• Kate Winslet, after the colossal success of "Titanic," turned down the role offered to her, preferring Jane Campion's drama "The Portrait of a Lady" (1999).
• Although "Shakespeare in Love" contains numerous phrases and fragments from "Romeo and Juliet" along with quotes from other Shakespearean plays, the famous playwright and writer himself was not credited among the screenwriters.
• The role of Philip Henslowe was originally intended for Simon Callow, but after the film's production was resumed after a long break, it went to Geoffrey Rush. In return, Simon Callow received a smaller, but very significant role as Tilney. Mel Gibson was also considered for the role of Philip Henslowe.
• Ben Affleck was not considered a potential candidate for the role until the very last moment, receiving it only after Gwyneth Paltrow sent the producers a tape of their joint audition material.
• Julie Andrews could have played the role of Queen Elizabeth.