NationMaster - Encyclopedia: The Other Boleyn Girl (film)

The Other Boleyn Girl is the 2008 film adaptation of the novel of the same title by British author Philippa Gregory and a remake of a BBC television film of the same name also based on Philippa Gregory's novel. It is a romanticised account of the life of the 16th-century aristocrat, Mary Boleyn, who was the sister of Queen Anne Boleyn and one-time mistress of King Henry VIII of England. The film was directed by Justin Chadwick from a script by Peter Morgan (who also wrote a two-part television drama on Henry VIII in 2003). Scott Rudin (born July 14, 1958) is an American motion picture producer and theatre producer known for his award-winning films and Broadway plays and also for his legendary temper. ... Alison Owen is a British film producer and mother of pop singer Lily Allen with her ex-husband, comedian Keith Allen. ... Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is a British novelist, mainly associated with the historical fiction genre. ... Born 1919, in a house next to the companys factory in Worcester Road, Malvern, where his father, HFS Morgan, had established the business 10 years earlier. ... Natalie Portman (â€Ž; born June 9, 1981) is a Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated Israeli-American actress. ... Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. ... Eric Bana (born Eric Banadinovich on August 9, 1968) is an Australian film and television actor. ... Jim Sturgess (born May 16, 1981) is a British actor most famous for his role in Across the Universe (film), portraying Jude, a paternally shorn young man who travels to the U.S. amid the raging throes of the late 60s and falls in love with sheltered American teenager Lucy... Mark Rylance (born January 18, 1960) is an internationally well-known actor and theatre director. ... Kristin Scott Thomas OBE (born 24 May 1960) is an Academy Award-nominated English actress. ... Ana Torrent BertrÃ¡n de Lis (born July 12, 1966) is a Spanish actress. ... Edward Shearmur 1966 - Present Ed Shearmur was born in 1966 in London England and is famously known as a composer of music for film. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... Focus Features is the art house films division of Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distrubutor for foreign films. ... February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 in film is expected to feature another battle of the sequels, as many properties release new installments, including: Ace Ventura Jr. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 2008 in film is expected to feature another battle of the sequels, as many properties release new installments, including: Ace Ventura Jr. ... Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. ... For the 2007 film based on the novel, see The Other Boleyn Girl (film) The Other Boleyn Girl is a historical novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat Mary Boleyn. ... Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is a British novelist, mainly associated with the historical fiction genre. ... Mary Boleyn (c. ... Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of England, 1st Marchioness of Pembroke[1] (ca. ... Henry VIII redirects here. ... Peter Morgan (born April 10, 1963 in London) is an English Academy Award nominated screenwriter and playwright. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 â€“ 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ...

The world premiere was on 15 February 2008 at the Berlin International Film Festival.^[3] is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... One of the A festivals in Europe. ...

Plot

The movie is about the sisters, Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson), who are both fighting for the affection of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). Although initially reluctant to become Henry's mistress, Mary comes to fall for the King, while Anne is only interested in securing her own status. Their father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, and uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, engineer the sisters' coming to Henry's attention in the first place, capitalizing on his dissatisfaction with his wife, Catherine of Aragon, who has failed to bear him a living son. The ambitious men seek their own gain in having a female relative as the King's mistress. First they select Anne, who is older, more ambitious and unmarried, and arrange for her to catch Henry's eye, but when Henry is injured in a hunting accident, indirectly caused by Anne, they have Mary nurse him. Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of England, 1st Marchioness of Pembroke[1] (ca. ... Natalie Portman (â€Ž; born June 9, 1981) is a Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated Israeli-American actress. ... Mary Boleyn (c. ... Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. ... Henry VIII King of England and Ireland by Hans Holbein the Younger His Grace King Henry VIII (28 June 1491–28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... Eric Bana (born Eric Banadinovich on August 9, 1968) is an Australian film and television actor. ... Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormonde (c. ... Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk holding the baton of the Earl Marshal. ... Catherine of Aragon (16 December 1485 â€“ 7 January 1536) (Castilian Infanta Catalina de AragÃ³n y Castilla), was the Queen of England as the first wife of Henry VIII of England. ...

Rebellious Anne then marries nobleman Henry Percy secretly and confides in her brother George. George then tells Mary, but is confused as she is not happy about the marriage. Worried that Anne will ruin her reputation in marrying a nobleman without the King's consent, she tells her father and Uncle. They tell Anne that the marriage has to remain secret as Henry Percy is also betrothed to another and is set to marry another woman. The marriage of a nobleman is to be decided by the state. Anne argues that what is done before God cannot be undone, and that the marriage had been consummated. This angers Anne's father and uncle and she is sent away in exile to France.

While Anne is sent to France in disgrace, Mary becomes the King's lover; the Boleyns' fortunes seem secure when she becomes pregnant. But when Mary nearly miscarries and is confined to bed rest to protect the baby, Norfolk recalls Anne from France to keep the King's attention from wandering to another rival (such as Jane Seymour). Anne embarks on a successful campaign to attract Henry, showing herself to be more sophisticated and accomplished than she seemed before. By withholding her sexual favors, she ensures Henry's continued interest, finally making him promise never to bed his wife or speak to her sister in exchange for her giving him hope of eventually possessing her. Anne exacts this promise just after Mary gives birth to the much-anticipated son, making her sister's triumph hollow. For the actress, see Jane Seymour (actress). ...

The ambitious Anne continues to refuse Henry's advances, until at last he obtains an unpopular divorce from Catherine and promises to marry her instead. The scandal of her brief, secret marriage to the young nobleman Henry Percy threatens the alliance, but Mary, out of loyalty to her family, returns to court and vouches for Anne. Despite the removal of this final obstacle, Anne's manipulations have pushed Henry to his breaking point. He blames Anne for England's schism with the Roman Catholic Church and rapes her. Confused and hurt by the attack, a now-pregnant Anne still goes through with her marriage to Henry and becomes Queen of England. The sisters reach a reconciliation and Mary stays by Anne's side at court. Despite the birth of a healthy daughter, Elizabeth, the royal marriage is unhappy. After Anne miscarries her second child, she becomes desperate and asks her brother, George Boleyn (Jim Sturgess), to try to impregnate her. Disgusted and horrified by Anne's request, Mary again leaves behind the intrigues of court. Anne and George are unable to go through with incest. Nonetheless, George's neglected wife, Jane, sees enough of their encounter to make her suspicious. Her testimony sets off the arrest, trial and, eventually, the execution of both Boleyns. Mary returns to court to plead for her sister's life, and although Henry seems to soften, he permits Anne's beheading to go on. He even warns Mary never to come to court again, because her family's disgrace could result in danger to her as well. Mary fulfills her last promise to Anne and takes care of her infant daughter, who will grow up, the film's epilogue notes, to be the strong and successful heir that Henry always wanted: Elizabeth I. Catholic Church redirects here. ... George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (c. ... Jim Sturgess (born May 16, 1981) is a British actor most famous for his role in Across the Universe (film), portraying Jude, a paternally shorn young man who travels to the U.S. amid the raging throes of the late 60s and falls in love with sheltered American teenager Lucy... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 â€“ 24 March 1603 ) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ...

Cast

Natalie Portman (â€Ž; born June 9, 1981) is a Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated Israeli-American actress. ... Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of England, 1st Marchioness of Pembroke[1] (ca. ... Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. ... Mary Boleyn (c. ... Eric Bana (born Eric Banadinovich on August 9, 1968) is an Australian film and television actor. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 â€“ 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... Jim Sturgess (born May 16, 1981) is a British actor most famous for his role in Across the Universe (film), portraying Jude, a paternally shorn young man who travels to the U.S. amid the raging throes of the late 60s and falls in love with sheltered American teenager Lucy... George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (c. ... Mark Rylance (born January 18, 1960) is an internationally well-known actor and theatre director. ... Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire and 1st Earl of Ormonde (about 1477 - 12 March 1538/9), was a Tudor diplomat and politician and the father of Anne Boleyn, the second Queen of King Henry VIII. was born and buried at the family home, Hever Castle. ... Kristin Scott Thomas OBE (born 24 May 1960) is an Academy Award-nominated English actress. ... Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire, née Lady Elizabeth Howard (ab. ... Juno Temple (born in June of 1989) is an English actress. ... Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (~1505 - February 13, 1542) was the sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn and lady-in-waiting to Catherine Howard, along with whom she was executed. ... Eddie Redmayne (born January 6, 1982[1]) is an English actor. ... Benedict Cumberbatch is a British actor, best known for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama, Hawking, for which he was nominated for the Best Television Actor BAFTA award. ... Sir William Carey (?1490 - 1528) was a courtier and favourite of King Henry VIII of England. ... Ana Torrent BertrÃ¡n de Lis (born July 12, 1966) is a Spanish actress. ... Catherine of Aragon (16 December 1485 â€“ 7 January 1536) (Castilian Infanta Catalina de AragÃ³n y Castilla), was the Queen of England as the first wife of Henry VIII of England. ... Bill Wallis (born 1937) is a British actor and comedian who has appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as the theatre. ... Thomas Cranmer (July 2, 1489 â€“ March 21, 1556) was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of the English kings Henry VIII and Edward VI. He is credited with writing and compiling the first two Books of Common Prayer which established the basic structure of Anglican liturgy for centuries and... David Morrissey (born June 21, 1964) is an English film, television and stage actor. ... Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk holding the baton of the Earl Marshal. ...

Production

The film was made in late 2006 ^[4] and was released in February 2008 in the US and March 2008 in the UK ^[5].

The costumes were designed by Academy Award-winner Sandy Powell, whose credits include Shakespeare in Love, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Mrs Henderson Presents, and The Departed. Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Sandy Powell (born April 7, 1960) is a British costume designer who has been nominated for several Academy Awards in the 1990s and early 2000s. ... Shakespeare in Love is an award-winning 1998 romantic comedy film. ... Gangs of New York is a 2002 film set in the middle 19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. ... For other uses, see Aviator (disambiguation) The Aviator is an Academy Award-winning 2004 biographical drama film, directed by Martin Scorsese, and based largely on the book Hughes by Richard Hack. ... Mrs Henderson Presents is an Academy Award-nominated comedy film of 2005 directed by Stephen Frears. ... The Departed is an Academy Award winning 2006 crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. ...

Filming locations included Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire; Penshurst Place, Knole Park, and Dover Castle in Kent; the City of Bath; and Bude in Cornwall. Front of Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral (in full, The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely) is the principal church of the diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Ely. ... Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. ... The Great Hall at Penshurst Place, circa 1915 Penshurst Place is an historic building near Tonbridge in Kent, 32 miles (50 km) to the south east of London, England. ... Knole House in 1880. ... Dover Castle is situated at Dover, Kent and has been described as the Key to England due to its defensive significance throughout history. ... For alternate meanings see Bath (disambiguation) Palladian Pulteney Bridge and the weir at Bath Bath is a city in south-west England, most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. ... For the town in the United States, see Bude, Mississippi. ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ...

The music used in the film's trailers is Nara by E.S. Posthumus, which is also the theme from the television drama series Cold Case. Movie trailers are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown; they are commonly known as previews of coming attractions. ... E.S. Posthumus is an independent music group that produces cinematic style music. ... Dramatic programming is television content that is scripted and (normally) fictional. ...

Critical reception

The film received negative to mixed reviews from critics. As of February 29, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 40% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 90 reviews — with the consensus being that the film was "more like a soap opera than a historical drama."^[6] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 51 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.^[7] February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows, DVDs and books. ...

In addition to the criticism the novel received for its presentation of Anne Boleyn, there was further criticism from some sections of the British press for the decision to cast two Americans (Johansson and Portman) and an Australian (Bana) in the main roles, all historical British figures. Critics included veteran academic and broadcaster David Starkey, author of several best-selling factual accounts of the Tudor royals. Johansson dismissed these criticisms,^[8] stating her only reservations about the filming were about its melodramatic storyline. Anne Boleyn, Queen Consort of England, 1st Marchioness of Pembroke[1] (ca. ... David Robert Starkey (born January 3, 1945) is one of Englands best-known historians, and a specialist in the Tudor period. ... Poster for The Perils of Pauline (1914). ...

Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl, was employed as a historical consultant for the movie. She was especially impressed by Johansson's commitment to the historical accuracy of her role. "When I got on set it was like a reading group. The whole cast and set were reading not just The Other Boleyn Girl but the rest of my Tudor novels, too. Scarlett's copy of the book is broken-backed and it's marked on every page. She's continually going to the writer and director and saying, 'Let's look at this, let's do it this way.'" ^[9] For the 2007 film based on the novel, see The Other Boleyn Girl (film) The Other Boleyn Girl is a historical novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat Mary Boleyn. ...

References

^ Charlotte Higgins. Johansson to play Boleyn who escaped Henry's wrath. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
^ The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) at Box Office Mojo
^ Filmdatenblatt (German). Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (February 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
^ Scarlett Johansson Set As 'The Other Boleyn Girl'
^ The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) - Release dates
^ The Other Boleyn Girl - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
^ Other Boleyn Girl, The (2008): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
^ Bamigboye, Baz. "Scarlett's Royal scandal", Daily Mail, 1 September 2006. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
^ "Scarlett Johansson committed to accuracy on The Other Boleyn Girl set", Thaindian News, 2008-01-08. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ... Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows, DVDs and books. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Daily Mail is a British newspaper and the oldest tabloid, first published in 1896. ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Contents

Plot

Cast

Production

Critical reception

References

External links