Tag: Henry VIII

  • Cannes 2023: Alicia Vikander on playing Catherine Parr in Henry VIII drama ‘Firebrand’

    By Associated Press

    CANNES — It’s widely known that Henry VIII, the Tudor king, had a particularly grim batting average when it came to matrimony.

    His litany of wives, of course, is the subject of the current Broadway show, “Six,” and many other productions. The wives’ succession of fates — two beheadings and three other deaths — has long loomed in the historical imagination.

    The new film “Firebrand,” which premiered over the weekend at the Cannes Film Festival, takes a different approach to a much-dramatized chapter of 16th-century British history. The film, directed by the Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz, stars Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry and the only one to outlive him.

    “Catherine Parr, out of all of the six wives I probably knew the least of,” Vikander said in an interview on a Cannes hotel terrace. “And it seemed like that was the general feel from everybody that I talked to. The one woman who survived was the least interesting to know about.”

    “Firebrand,” adapted from Elizabeth Freemantle’s novel “The Queen’s Gambit,” has all the accoutrement of a lush period drama (Jude Law grandly co-stars as Henry), but it’s animated by a twist in perspective and a feminist spirit. “History tells us a few things, mostly about men and war,” a title card announces at the movie’s beginning.

    The film follows Parr as she negotiates a coarse, abusive husband while trying to have some role in shaping national affairs. She’s friends with the controversial Protestant preacher Anne Askew (Erin Doherty), a relationship that poses grave danger to Parr if found out. Meanwhile, some members of the king’s court, including the bishop Stephen Gardiner (Simon Russell Beale), conspire to have Parr follow in the footsteps of Henry’s prior wives.

    For Vikander, the preternaturally poised 34-year-old Swedish actor, investigating Parr was full of discovery. Parr penned several books in her life and spoke openly about Protestantism, the Reformation and then-controversial English translations of the Bible. That led to accusations of heresy and increasing distrust from Henry.

    “The first Wikipedia search I did when I was sent the script, I saw that she was the first queen who’s ever been published under her own name in British history,” said Vikander. “I thought: That’s really a huge feat to do that with the kind of views that she’s tackling whilst being married to a man known to be the most terrifying and dangerous man with quite different beliefs.”

    “I thought: When did I read a text that’s older than 100 years from a woman?” added Vikander.

    Alicia Vikander, left, and Jude Law at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France (Photo | AP)

    Vikander has often been at home in costume dramas. She starred in “A Royal Affair” and “Anna Karenina” before winning an Oscar for her performance in 2015’s “The Danish Girl.” But some of her best performances — the robot android of “Ex Machina,” the miniseries “Irma Vep” — have been more contemporary.

    “Firebrand,” which doesn’t yet have a release date, speaks to both past and present. To stretch the point, the film ultimately relies on some speculative fiction to imagine what might have happened behind closed doors.

    “Jude and I said even if we sat with 20 history books in front of us, they all have the same pillars of points and have different ways of interpreting what’s in between,” says Vikander. “That’s what we were doing, too, with artistic choices we made.”

    Shot on location at Haddon Hall, Vikander and Law had dressing rooms in the castle cellar. The clothes, too, were transportive.

    “Between takes sitting with the other women, in those costumes you don’t sit up straight. We were all lying on the floor in those corsets,” said Vikander. “It gave me a real image. This is what it was like.”

    CANNES — It’s widely known that Henry VIII, the Tudor king, had a particularly grim batting average when it came to matrimony.

    His litany of wives, of course, is the subject of the current Broadway show, “Six,” and many other productions. The wives’ succession of fates — two beheadings and three other deaths — has long loomed in the historical imagination.

    The new film “Firebrand,” which premiered over the weekend at the Cannes Film Festival, takes a different approach to a much-dramatized chapter of 16th-century British history. The film, directed by the Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz, stars Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry and the only one to outlive him.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Catherine Parr, out of all of the six wives I probably knew the least of,” Vikander said in an interview on a Cannes hotel terrace. “And it seemed like that was the general feel from everybody that I talked to. The one woman who survived was the least interesting to know about.”

    “Firebrand,” adapted from Elizabeth Freemantle’s novel “The Queen’s Gambit,” has all the accoutrement of a lush period drama (Jude Law grandly co-stars as Henry), but it’s animated by a twist in perspective and a feminist spirit. “History tells us a few things, mostly about men and war,” a title card announces at the movie’s beginning.

    The film follows Parr as she negotiates a coarse, abusive husband while trying to have some role in shaping national affairs. She’s friends with the controversial Protestant preacher Anne Askew (Erin Doherty), a relationship that poses grave danger to Parr if found out. Meanwhile, some members of the king’s court, including the bishop Stephen Gardiner (Simon Russell Beale), conspire to have Parr follow in the footsteps of Henry’s prior wives.

    For Vikander, the preternaturally poised 34-year-old Swedish actor, investigating Parr was full of discovery. Parr penned several books in her life and spoke openly about Protestantism, the Reformation and then-controversial English translations of the Bible. That led to accusations of heresy and increasing distrust from Henry.

    “The first Wikipedia search I did when I was sent the script, I saw that she was the first queen who’s ever been published under her own name in British history,” said Vikander. “I thought: That’s really a huge feat to do that with the kind of views that she’s tackling whilst being married to a man known to be the most terrifying and dangerous man with quite different beliefs.”

    “I thought: When did I read a text that’s older than 100 years from a woman?” added Vikander.

    Alicia Vikander, left, and Jude Law at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France (Photo | AP)

    Vikander has often been at home in costume dramas. She starred in “A Royal Affair” and “Anna Karenina” before winning an Oscar for her performance in 2015’s “The Danish Girl.” But some of her best performances — the robot android of “Ex Machina,” the miniseries “Irma Vep” — have been more contemporary.

    “Firebrand,” which doesn’t yet have a release date, speaks to both past and present. To stretch the point, the film ultimately relies on some speculative fiction to imagine what might have happened behind closed doors.

    “Jude and I said even if we sat with 20 history books in front of us, they all have the same pillars of points and have different ways of interpreting what’s in between,” says Vikander. “That’s what we were doing, too, with artistic choices we made.”

    Shot on location at Haddon Hall, Vikander and Law had dressing rooms in the castle cellar. The clothes, too, were transportive.

    “Between takes sitting with the other women, in those costumes you don’t sit up straight. We were all lying on the floor in those corsets,” said Vikander. “It gave me a real image. This is what it was like.”

  • Alicia Vikander joins psychological horror ‘Firebrand’ after Michelle Williams’ exit

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Oscar winner Alicia Vikander has replaced Hollywood star Michelle Williams in “Firebrand”, a psychological horror tale set in the bloody English Tudor court.

    The film, directed by Karim Ainouz, will focus on Queen Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, and the only one to avoid banishment or death.

    According to Deadline, Vikander will feature opposite Jude Law, who will play Henry VIII in the movie.

    Ainouz, known for “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao”, will direct the film from a script by “Killing Eve” writers Jessica Ashworth and Henrietta Ashworth.

    “Firebrand” is told through Catherine’s singular point-of-view of the psychological horror of living with a monster — and the remarkable will to not only survive but thrive. The movie will be produced by Brouhaha Entertainment.

    Vikander, who won an Oscar for best-supporting actress for her 2015 movie “The Danish Girl, most recently starred opposite Dev Patel in David Lowery’s “The Green Knight”.

    She will next feature in filmmaker Olivier Assayas’ HBO limited series “Irma Vep” and the sequel to her 2018 action movie “Tomb Raider”.

  • Michelle Williams, Jude Law team up for period drama ‘Firebrand’ 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Michelle Williams and Jude Law are teaming up for “Firebrand”, a psychological horror tale set in the bloody English Tudor court.

    The film, directed by Karim Ainouz, will focus on Queen Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, and the only one to avoid banishment or death.

    While Williams will essay the role of Catherine, Law will play Henry VIII, her notorious husband.

    Ainouz, known for “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao”, will direct the film from a script by “Killing Eve” writers Jessica Ashworth and Henrietta Ashworth.

    According to Deadline, “Firebrand” is told through Catherine’s singular point-of-view of the psychological horror of living with a monster — and the remarkable will to not only survive, but thrive.

    The official logline of the film reads: “By the time young Catherine Parr (Williams) married the deteriorating, increasingly despotic King Henry VIII (Law), she had no assurances of a happy marriage; in fact, she had no assurances of surviving this marriage at all.

    Of her predecessors, two were thrown out, one died in childbirth and two were beheaded.

    While Catherine tried to keep her head about her to navigate the politics of her position, she brought a secret agenda.

    “She was Protestant, believed it her duty to marry Henry, for it would be the only position in which she could convert him — and the kingdom — from his pro-Catholic position. That faith was tested when the church resisted granting his divorce from his first wife so he could marry Anne Boleyn, who would later be beheaded. With arrests, torture, and executions of Protestants on the rise, Catherine invited a dangerous game that would leave one of them dead before long.”

    Ainouz, the Brazilian-born filmmaker, describes Parr as a “ferociously brilliant, enlightened, and emancipated woman whom I am inspired by deeply, a woman who has been largely disregarded, or certainly under-represented in English Tudor history”.

    While much is known about Henry VIII’s tyrannical reign, the King himself, and about those who perished at his hands, the director said “Firebrand” will offer a modernistic look at the classic trope of the woman trapped in a castle with a monster.

    “Henry was a most interesting person, but he was uber-violent, which was in tune with the times. Jude will not play him as the cliched fat man eating the turkey leg. Jude got how complex this guy was, not a loveable character but as a most powerful man of his time. And Michelle immediately came to mind. I so admire her choices, going back to Brokeback Mountain, and there is something fascinating about her each time I rediscover her in a performance,” Ainouz said about his lead cast.

    Williams was recently seen in “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” and Law will reprise his role of Albus Dumbledore in “The Secrets of Dumbledore”, the third chapter in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise from J K Rowling’s “Harry Potter” universe.