Movie Title: Anonymous
Country / Region: UK / Germany
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Filming Locations:
Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
Release Date:
2011, Germany
April, 29, Taiwan
September 30,2011, UK
September 30,2011, USA
Plot:
A political thriller about who actually wrote the plays of William Shakespeare - Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford - set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her.
Trivia:
The first major full-length motion picture to be shot with the Arri ALEXA high-definition digital-video camera.
Rafe Spall's father Timothy Spall appeared in Hamlet (1996).
Screenwriter John Orloff (Band of Brothers, A Mighty Heart) penned the script back in the late 1990s, but it was shelved after Shakespeare in Love came out in 1998.It was almost greenlit as "The Soul of the Age" for a 2005 release, with a budget of $30 to $35 million. However, the financing proved to be "a risky undertaking," Emmerich advised Screen Daily at the time. "It's very hard to make get a movie like this made, and I want to make it in a certain way. I've actually had this project for 8 years. It's always supposed to be my next movie, but this time I'm really going to do it because I'm already set to shoot on March 22 [2010]."
A press conference on the set at Studio Babelsberg — the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, where such classic German films as Josef von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis were made — was held on April 29, 2010. Emmerich noted at the conference that the success of his more commercial films made it possible for him to do this one, and that he got the cast he wanted without the pressure to come up with at least two A-list American actors.
Elizabethan London is recreated for the film with more than 70 painstakingly hand-built sets at Studio Babelsberg. These include a full-scale replica of London’s imposing The Rose theatre. The remainder of the Elizabethan setting will be created and enhanced via CGI.
The film is said to be the first major motion picture to be shot with Arriflex's new Alexa camera, a competitor to the RED One.
In response to the inception of the film, James Shapiro, Columbia University English professor and author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?, wrote an April 11, 2010 op-ed article in the Los Angeles Times titled "Alas, Poor Shakespeare." He acknowledged recent substantial worldwide support for Oxfordian theory, including three Supreme Court Justices quoted in a 2009 Wall Street Journal article.Shapiro said that 25 years ago, support for Oxfordian theory was not strong, and that in a celebrated moot court in 1987, Supreme Court Justices John Paul Stevens, Harry Blackmun and William Brennan had "ruled unanimously in favor of Shakespeare and against the Earl of Oxford." Shapiro asserted that "Emmerich's film is one more sign that conspiracy theories about the authorship of Shakespeare's plays have gone mainstream," and also against Anonymous in an April 2010 Wall Street Journal interview.
Screenwriter John Orloff's published response in the same newspaper noted that "Shapiro has, at best, oversimplified the facts," and quoted U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens as saying in 1987: "'I have lingering concerns.... You can’t help but have these gnawing doubts that this great author may perhaps have been someone else.... I would tend to draw the inference that the author of these plays was a nobleman.... There is a high probability that it was Edward de Vere [the Earl of Oxford].'"
On the other hand, Orloff can be accused of deceitful editing. For example, he claims Justice Stevens said, "There is a high probability it was Edward de Vere." Orloff's quote strongly implies that Stevens thought that de Vere was the actual author of Shakespeare's works. However, in the full quote, Stevens actually said, "And I would say, also--perhaps departing from my colleagues--that I am persuaded that, if the author was not the man from Stratford, then there is a high probability that it was Edward de Vere."
In a June 2010 post-filming interview with the Washington Post, Derek Jacobi, who plays the Narrator of Anonymous, noted that he is not neutral in the Shakespeare authorship debate. "I'm on the side of those who do not believe that the man from Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the plays. I think the name was a pseudonym, certainly. [Anonymous] puts the authorship question firmly and squarely on the big screen. It's a very risky thing to do, and obviously the orthodox Stratfordians are going to be apoplectic with rage."
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| Roland Emmerich |
Roland Emmerich
Writing credits(WGA)
John Orloff (written by)
Cast
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| Rhys Ifan |
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| Vanessa Redgrave |
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| Derek Jacobi |
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| Joely Richardson |
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| David Thewlis |
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| Jamie Campbell Bower |
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| Xavier Samuel |
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| Mark Rylance |
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| Edward Hogg |
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| Tom Wlaschiha |
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| Tony Way |
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| Sebastian Reid |
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| Michael S. Ruscheinsky |
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| Anna Altmann |
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| Joachim Paul Assböck |
Rhys Ifans ... Edward de Vere
Vanessa Redgrave ... Queen Elizabeth I
Derek Jacobi ... Prologue
Joely Richardson ... Princess Elizabeth Tudor
David Thewlis ... William Cecil
Jamie Campbell Bower ... Young Oxford
Xavier Samuel ... Southhampton
Rafe Spall ... William Shakespeare
Mark Rylance ... Gloucester
Edward Hogg ... Robert Cecil
Sebastian Armesto ... Ben Jonson
Henry Lloyd-Hughes ... Bear Baiter
Tom Wlaschiha ... Captain of the Guard
Julian Bleach ... Sir Richard Pole
John Keogh ... Philip Henslowe
Ned Dennehy ... Interrogator
Tony Way ... Thomas Nashe
Paula Schramm ... Bridget de Vere
Alex Hassell ... Spencer
Sebastian Reid ... Essex
Amy Kwolek ... Young Anne de Vere
Robert Emms ... Thomas Dekker
Vicky Krieps ... Bessie
Alexander Yassin ... Javanese Nobleman
Isaiah Michalski ... Robert Cecil
Trystan Gravelle ... Christopher Marlow
Patrick Diemling ... Oxford's Apprentice
Martina Ysker ... Young Lady in Waiting
Michael S. Ruscheinsky ... Elizabeth's Personal Guard
Mike Maas ... Betting Man
Luke Thomas Taylor ... Boy Oxford
Ulrike Brandt ... Robert Cecil's Wife
Anna Altmann ... Lady Cecil
Carsten Berger ... Lord of Court
Elisabeth Milarch ... Dancing Lady
Andreas Frakowiak ... Nobleman with feathered Hat
Claudia Funke ... Young Lady in Waiting
Antje Thiele ... Lady de Vere
Joachim Paul Assböck ... Prison Guard (uncredited)
Oliver Kube ... Stage Player (uncredited)
Hendrik Maaß ... Young Lord Of Court (uncredited)
Gesche Picolin ... Lady-in-waiting (uncredited)
Produced by
Roland Emmerich .... producer
Volker Engel .... executive producer
Christoph Fisser .... co-producer
Larry J. Franco .... producer
Robert Leger .... producer
Marcus Loges .... line producer
John Orloff .... executive producer
Marc Weigert .... executive producer
Kirstin Winkler .... co-producer
Charlie Woebcken .... co-producer
Original Music by
Thomas Wanker
Cinematography by
Anna Foerster
Film Editing by
Peter R. Adam
Production Design by
Sebastian T. Krawinkel
Art Direction by
Stephan O. Gessler (supervising art director)
Stefan Speth
Bryce Tibbey
Set Decoration by
Simon-Julien Boucherie
Costume Design by
Lisy Christl
Makeup Department
Heike Merker .... makeup department head
Björn Rehbein .... makeup department head
Daniela Skala .... make-up/hair artist
Production Management
Christopher Berg .... post-production supervisor
Miki Emmrich .... production manager
Suza Kohlstedt .... assistant production manager
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tobias Asam .... additional assistant director: crowd
Christopher Doll .... first assistant director
Lisa Hauss .... crowd second assistant director
Janina Huettenrauch .... third assistant director
Ellie Kemps .... assistant director: theatre scenes
Tommy Kreiselmaier .... additional assistant director: crowd
Corinne Le Hong .... second assistant director: crowd
Rickie-Lee Roberts .... trainee assistant director
Ronny Schröder .... crowd second second assistant director
Sibylle Schuster .... trainee assistant director
Mara Fiedler .... additional assistant director: crowd (uncredited)
Art Department
Robert Blasi .... art department coordinator
Katharina Boehm .... art department assistant
Katharina Boehm .... theatre prop maker
James Cowley .... theatre prop maker
Klaus Eckmann .... set dresser
Axel Eichhorst .... conceptual artist
Axel Eichhorst .... storyboard artist
Enzo Enzel .... standby painter
Gizem Ersavas .... art department assistant
Michael Fechner .... property master
Kim Frederiksen .... digital art director
Dierk Grahlow .... construction manager
Matthias Haase .... property master
Sebastian Hanusch .... stand-by props assistant
Brita Hofmann .... supervising plasterer
Jan Jericho .... graphic artist
Jennie Konrad .... art department assistant
Oliver Kuhlmann .... property master: on-set
Oliver Kujas .... assistant art department coordinator
Christoph Lanksch .... leadman
Alexander Liebenthron .... property buyer
Robert Makolies .... head of department sculptor
Angel Pedro Martinez .... theater sets and props
Nadin Meyer .... construction secretary
Tarnia Nicol .... draftsperson
Benjamin Palmer .... prop maker
Stephanie Rass .... draftsperson/modelmaker
Cindy Schnitter .... art department assistant
Tobias Schroeter .... theatre sculptor
Julia Smola .... paint intern
Sascha Strutz .... set dec buyer
Ilona Vovchyk .... theater sets and props
Sound Department
Manfred Banach .... sound recordist
Rodney Berling .... adr editor
Simon Diggins .... adr recordist
Robert Edwards .... adr mixer
Pit Kuhlmann .... dialogue editor
Simon Price .... supervising adr editor
Philipp Sellier .... sound effects editor
Andy Stallabrass .... adr recordist
Philip Young .... adr recordist
Special Effects by
Nils Bleeck .... special effects senior technician: daily
Gerd Feuchter .... special effects supervisor
Rolf Hanke .... special effects project manager
Till Hertrich .... special effects set foreman
Wolfgang Higler .... special effects foreman
Gonzalo Outeda Giménez .... special effects senior technician
Monty Ploch .... special effects technician
Claudius Rauch .... special effects senior technician
Marcus Schmidt .... pyrotechnician
Visual Effects by
Sandra Balej .... digital compositor
Martin Bohm .... visual effects artist
Jon R. Brown .... plate coordinator
Gregory Chalenko .... assistant compositing technical director
Gregory Chalenko .... digital compositor
Timm Dapper .... massive technical director
Ante Dekovic .... digital compositor
Ante Dekovic .... on-set assistant
Volker Engel .... visual effects supervisor
Brian Fisher .... digital compositor
Robert Freitag .... lighting td
Jack Shahram Ghoulian .... senior IT manager
Philip Hartmann .... visual effects artist
Katharina Koepke .... visual effects project manager
Wing Kwok .... digital compositor
Thomas Lautenbach .... digital compositor
Knuth Möde .... senior texture artist
Christine Neumann .... digital modeling and texturing artist
Hannes Poser .... lighting technical director
Sebastian Schütt .... digital compositor
Julia Smola .... compositing intern
Ryan T. Smolarek .... lead compositor
Greg Strasz .... visual effects art director
Caroline Weidenhiller .... digital compositor
Marc Weigert .... visual effects supervisor
Stacey Weigert .... vfx production manager/controller
Patrick Wolf .... lead pipeline developer: pre-production
Robert Zeltsch .... compositing technical director
Stunts
Menyhért René Balog-Dutombé .... stunts
Sandor Czirjak .... horse master
Balázs Farkas .... stunt double
Kinga Gavalda .... riding double: Joely Richardson
István Kiss .... stunt double
László Kósa .... stunts
Akos Lenkei .... stunt performer
Zsolt Viktor Magyari .... stunts
Ferenc Novinecz .... stunts
Armin Sauer .... assistant stunt coordinator
Levente Tamási .... stunt double
László Ujvári .... stunt double
György Ulrik .... stunts
Rainer Werner .... stunt coordinator
Camera and Electrical Department
Isabelle Arnold .... camera operator: additional
Reiner Bajo .... still photographer
Yoshua Berkowitz .... camera technical support
Birgit Dierken .... first assistant camera
James Eggleton .... digital lab supervisor
Johnny Feurer .... first assistant camera: "b" camera
Christoph Hoffsten .... alexa support and techinical supervision
Martin Mecko .... hd video assist operator
Sebastian Meuschel .... camera operator
Philip Peschlow .... camera operator: c-camera
Christian Scheibe .... a cam dolly grip
David Sinfield .... gaffer: UK
Jonathan Smiles .... red camera supervisor
Martin Smith .... gaffer: re-shoots
Vladimir Subotic .... camera operator
Vladimir Subotic .... director of photography: second unit
Thomas Thiele .... rigging electrician
Alexander von Wasielewski .... first assistant camera
Alex Zeihn .... electrician
Casting Department
Sebastian Alten .... extras casting assistant
Abigail Barbier .... adr voice casting
Salvadore Brandt .... extras casting assistant
Jessika Eisenkolb .... casting: children
Louis Elman .... adr voice casting
Anton Ludwig .... extras casting assistant
Johanna Ragwitz .... extras casting director
Johanna Ragwitz .... extras casting
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Daniela Backes .... key costumer
Dietke Brandt .... set costumer
Simon Brindle .... principal costume armours
Urs Dierker .... additional costumer
Lisa Spengler .... wardrobe daily
Editorial Department
Christoph Strothjohann .... first assistant editor
Music Department
Tilo M. Heinrich .... music preparation
Steve Parr .... music recording engineer
Transportation Department
Marcel Ahrens .... driver
Florian Haeger .... transportation captain
Martin Kuschan .... transportation coordinator
Tim Lemke .... property driver
Other crew
Alex Boden .... researcher: UK
Gero Brugmann .... legal counsel: for Studio Babelsberg
Kathryn Donovan .... unit publicist
Gabriela Dumitrescu .... choreographer
Piers Dunn .... location consultant: UK
Giles Edleston .... location manager
Gisela Emberger .... stage manager
Susanne Fischer .... production coordinator
Anne C. Ford .... production controller
Sabina Friedland .... assistant: Larry Franco
Gabriella Gobber .... script supervisor
Brendan Gunn .... dialogue coach
Ayuko Koresawa .... script supervisor: splinter unit
Tobias Lauterberg .... accounts services: German payroll
Paul Meyer-Gerlt .... production accountant
Nick Oliver .... assistant location manager: uk
Paul Pawlowski .... post-production accountant
Johannes Schwerdt .... assistant controller
Marco Shepherd .... assistant: Mr. Emmerich
Eva Von Malotky .... assistant: Roland Emmerich
Eike Wolf .... production publicist
Christian Wöltche .... first assistant production accountant
Sonja B. Zimmer .... production executive
Production Companies
* Entertainment Film Distributors (2011) (UK) (theatrical)
* Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures
Distributors
* Audio Visual Enterprises (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
* Columbia Pictures (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
Special Effects
* Chris Creatures (plant props)
Other Companies
* Arnold & Richter Cine Technik (ARRI) camera equipment provided by (Captured by Alexa)
* Chris Creatures prop makers (rosa damascena)
* Codex Digital digital recording equipment
* De Lane Lea ADR recording
* Digilab Services digital film workflow
* Dolby Laboratories sound mix
* Mecon Media Concept extras payroll
* Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg funding
* Studio Babelsberg sound stages
* Translux facilities
