W.E.: Difference between revisions

W.E
Directed by	Madonna
Written by	Madonna Alek Keshishian
Produced by	Kris Thykier Colin Vaines Sara Zambreno Scott Franklin (exec.) Nigel Wooll (exec.)
Starring	Abbie Cornish Oscar Isaac James D'Arcy Andrea Riseborough Richard Coyle
Cinematography	Hagen Bogdanski
Edited by	Danny Tull
Music by	Abel Korzeniowski
Production company	Semtex Films
Distributed by	Weinstein Company (US) Optimum Releasing (UK) Village Roadshow (AUS, NZ)
Release dates	September 1, 2011 (2011-09-01) (Venice Film Festival) December 9, 2011 (2011-12-09) (United States)
Country	Template:Film UK
Language	English
Budget	£18 million ($36 million)

W.E is an upcoming feature film co-written and directed by Madonna, starring Abbie Cornish, Oscar Isaac, Richard Coyle, James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough. It began filming on location in London, England, on July 5, 2010, and also shot in France and the United States. The screenplay was co-written by Alek Keshishian, who previously worked with Madonna on her 1991 documentary Truth or Dare (aka In Bed with Madonna) and two of her music video clips. The film was produced by Madonna's production company Semtex Films and will be distributed in the United States by The Weinstein Company and in the UK by Optimum Releasing.

Plot

W.E tells the story of two fragile but determined women - Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) and Wallis Simpson - separated by more than six decades. In 1998, lonely New Yorker Winthrop is obsessed with what she perceives as the ultimate love story: King Edward VIII's abdication of the British throne for the woman he loved, American divorcee Wallis Simpson. But Winthrop's research, including several visits to the Sotheby's auction of the Windsor Estate, reveals that the couple's life together was not as perfect as she thought. Weaving back and forth in time, the film intertwines Wally's journey of discovery in New York with the story of Wallis (Andrea Riseborough) and Edward (James D'Arcy), from the glamorous early days of their romance to the slow unraveling of their lives in the decades that followed.

Production

Development

"People have accused Wallis of all kinds of things. They've said that she put a spell on Edward. They've said that she was a hermaphrodite and that he was gay. They've said they were Nazi sympathisers. It's just the usual lynch-mob mentality that descends upon somebody who has something that lots of other people don't have."

—Madonna talking about the accusations on Wallis Simpson.

In October 2009, Daily Mail reported that Madonna will be directing W.E. She developed the script with director Alek Keshishian. Her then husband Guy Ritchie helped Madonna with the script and the screenplay, suggesting her to seek meetings with several well-respected actors such as Mark Strong and Toby Kebbell, who both had major roles in Ritchie's last film, RocknRolla. Madonna had in mind that W.E could establish her artistic credibility and give her success in the movie field after appearing in several critical failures in the past several decades. Madonna had started writing W.E after finishing the filming of her directorial venture, Filth and Wisdom (2008). W.E was actually an idea she had before Filth and Wisdom, but instead she filmed the latter, as she felt that she did not have enough experience to shoot a big-budgeted film like W.E. She described the whole film as a much bigger story:

There are more characters, and three of them basically changed the course of English history. King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to be with an American woman, Wallis Simpson, and that's part of my story, so I've had to do an enormous amount of research and interview people. So I have an enormous responsibility to that, and then I have a responsibility to the actual auction, which really happened. Then there's the new story, the point of view, which is this girl who has this obsession and is going to the auctions and stuff. So it's a much more layered, complicated piece than Filth and Wisdom.

Madonna's inspiration to direct a film based on Simpson and Edward's life came from the fact that both of them were controversial, and had a varied social circle. She told from her experience that if she brought up King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson at a dinner party or a social gathering, "it's like throwing a Molotov cocktail into the room. Everyone erupts into an argument about who they were. I mean, they were very controversial – and continue to be. So, of course, I'm very attracted to that." Madonna started writing the story on her own, but she realized that she needed help as the subject was vast. She enlisted the help of Keshishian, who was well-acquainted with Madonna after directing her 1991 documentary Truth or Dare (aka In Bed with Madonna) and two of her music video clips. The writing process was dynamic, with Madonna and Keshishian e-mailing their developed scripts to each other, or through telephone conversations and also by writing on the other person's laptop. Madonna also spoke to friends and associates of Simpson, such as socialite and designer Nicholas Haslam, to help gather more information on the subject.

W.E was initially reported to be a musical about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Edward and Simpson. However, Madonna confirmed that although they are in the film, the main story was not about them. It was about a woman called Wally Winthrop, a young married New Yorker in 1998 who is obsessed with what she perceived as the ultimate romantic love story—Edward's abdication of the royal throne for his love of Simpson. The character of Simpson acted as a spiritual guide for Winthrop, in the film. The timeline presented in the film ranges from pre-World War II England (1936–37) to New York in 1998, and the storyline swaps between these two eras. Madonna decided to use the Sotheby's auction of Edward and Simpson's estate in 1998, to flash backward from. After finishing the script and starting work on casting and production, Madonna realised that the budget of film was going to be pretty high. Simpson's character had around 80 costume changes with dresses by designers like Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Madeleine Vionnet and Elsa Schiaparelli. Most of the actual dresses were museum archives, hence unobtainable to Madonna. Instead, many of the couture houses offered to create the dresses for her. She also enlisted costume designer Arianne Phillips to create the dresses for the film. The costumes designed were a combination of real vintage pieces, others were remade based on patterns that were obtained out of the museum archives, and the rest had to be freshly made.

One of the first characters that Madonna developed for the film was a Russian immigrant living in Brooklyn and working in Manhattan, called Evgeni. The character was inspired by Eugene Hütz, who played the lead role in Filth and Wisdom. Madonna wanted to shoot the film in certain locations where the British Royal family reside. A representative from her commented: "Madonna is keen to make the film as authentic as possible and would be very grateful if we are allowed to film at certain locations, She loves the UK and holds the Queen in the highest regard." Madonna decided to move back to the United Kingdom as the film would take six months to shoot. While casting for the film, she asked for a Michael O'Connor wedding dress, in display at the National Museum of Costume in Scotland, for a scene where Riseborough would wear it. National Museum of Costume general manager Margaret Roberts said they were happy to send the dress to Madonna. "Our Marriage in the Movies exhibition is packed with fabulous gowns that tell a story not only about the history of the period they represent, but also of Hollywood glamour and style," she said. [...] This is a dress that was made for the movies, so when we received the request from Madonna's production company, we were only too happy to oblige." Other fashion designers working for the film included John Galliano and Issa, who provided clothes, Pierre Cartier the jewels, and Stephen Jones the hats. The budget of the film is £18 million ($36 million).

Casting

Cast list
Actor Role Abbie Cornish Wally Winthrop James D'Arcy King Edward VIII Andrea Riseborough Wallis Simpson Judy Parfitt Queen Mary Geoffrey Palmer Stanley Baldwin Oscar Isaac Evgeni Richard Coyle William Winthrop James Fox King George V Laurence Fox Bertie Natalie Dormer Queen Elizabeth Lourdes Leon Wally Winthrop (young)

Madonna started work on the casting of W.E, after coming back from Africa where she was working on her Raising Malawi initiative. She recalled how she found the task of casting actors for different parts as difficult, since many of them would deny to sign for a particular role. Madonna contrasted the process of film casting with her task of making a new album, where she can easily choose the people she wants to work with. Abbie Cornish was signed to play the part of Wally Winthrop, while King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson was played by James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough respectively. Winthrop's Russian love interest Evgeni was played by Oscar Isaac and her husband William will be played by Richard Coyle. Actress Vera Farmiga was initially asked for the role of Simpson. Farmiga commented:

Madonna approached me. We sat for a cup of tea and again for a cup of tea. Hopefully, it will all come together. I'm actually not familiar with her work, and I told her this flat-out. She sent a couple of films and I still haven't seen them... But no matter. I don't really go by that. I go by other things. I go by scripts. I go with what I think I can do with a character and if I feel a kinetic energy with someone and I feel we can uplift and challenge each other.

Farmiga later withdrew from the project as she had fallen pregnant with her second child, and Riseborough replaced her. Cornish commented on her role as Winthrop, "Madonna is a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man to define her – and that's admirable. She's studied every aspect of what happened with Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII. [...] It's a fascinating insight into class and romance. Madonna's created a contemporary woman—who I will play—called Wally, who is fascinated by what happened to Mrs. Simpson." Madonna's daughter Lourdes was offered a part, but Madonna decided against the idea. However, she later allowed Lourdes to appear for a minor role in the film. The part she played was later confirmed by Cornish in an interview in March 2011 as the younger self of her character Wally Winthrop.

Ewan McGregor was offered the part of King Edward VIII, but was later replaced by James D'Arcy. Additionally, producer David Parfitt and casting director Nina Gold also quit W.E, with sources claiming that the duo had "creative differences" with Madonna and found that she struggled to "collaborate and delegate". Actress Margo Stilley was to play the role of Lady Thelma Furness, but left the project, citing "artistic differences" with Madonna. Stilley said: "I had the role, but we had artistic differences. She (Madonna) is really something. I wish the cast luck because they are all really talented." Judy Parfitt joined the cast to portray Queen Mary and Geoffrey Palmer as Stanley Baldwin. Real-life father and son James and Laurence Fox were signed to the parts of King George V and his son, Bertie—Edward's younger brother. BBC reported that members of the London Welsh Center expressed interest in appearing for a scene in the film, which involves Edward being shocked at the living conditions in Welsh mining villages. A spokesperson for the centre, which was contacted by the film's casting agency, said: "I've had about 15 phone calls this morning, and yesterday was bedlam because everybody wants to be in a film with Madonna." The centre said Welsh-speakers were needed as extras to create scenes based on Edward's visits to the south Wales valleys in the 1930s. Actress Natalie Dormer was cast to play the part of a young Queen Elizabeth (Queen Mother). Dormer reflected on the role, saying: "This country tends to remember the Queen Mother as a rather wrinkly 97 year-old, but I am playing her when she was quite an enchanting, engaging twenty and thirty-something. [...] She was quite a savage and savvy game player." Dormer's assertion of the role was confirmed by royal historian Hugo Vickers, who was sought by Madonna to advise her on the characteristics of the different members of the royal family. He confirmed that Madonna was portraying Queen Mother as an unfavorable influence on the relationship between Edward VIII and Simpson.

Filming

The film started shooting on July 5, 2010, on locations in London and Home Counties, with forays in New York and France. The Daily Mail reported that Madonna chose a pub in Kensington in West London, on July 21, 2010, to shoot some scenes for the film. She chose the top two floors of The Abingdon Pub, and worked for almost five hours there. This was followed by shooting scenes in the Club Quarters of Trafalgar Square on July 26, 2010. Other places where filming took place include the Stoke Park Club Hotel and Spa in Buckinghamshire. Then filming moved to France, where on July 29, 2010, Madonna shot scenes with D'Arcy and Riseborough in Palm Beach in Marseille, south of France and on the port of Villefranche-sur-Mer on July 30, 2010. Scenes were also shot at the Hotel Le Meurice, with Cornish in a new look consisting of dyed black hair, pale skin and a fitted black dress. She shot footage of a ten second bath scene for the film. While shooting with Riseborough, Madonna and her team approached jewellery company Cartier to create copies of Simpson's extensive gem collection, which Riseborough had to wear during filming. However, one of the bracelets slipped off from Riseborough's arm while shooting, and was lost in the Mediterranean Sea. Madonna had to immediately order for replicating the jewellry.

In September, Madonna shot some scenes involving Lourdes. Shooting took place around Mayfair, outside the hotel Claridge's, as well as in a set of Downing Street, created in Aldwych. Lourdes' scenes required her to be dressed as a schoolgirl. The same month, filming moved to New York, where Madonna shot scenes in Brooklyn. A dance sequence was shot where D'Arcy had to do a ballet, but he did not know how to do it and was requested by Madonna to learn the steps. D'Arcy described the sequence as "this extraordinary beautiful dance with lifts and twirls and I can't do that, but you do because she [Madonna] somehow makes the impossible possible and it gives you amazing self esteem when you do these things." Although the dance scene did not make the final cut of the film, Madonna also asked D'Arcy to learn to play bagpipes in six weeks and to ride horses.

Release and promotion

In February 2011, Madonna held a private screening of the trailer for W.E at the Berlin Film Festival. The attendance included a Q&A session from Madonna and was intended to sell the film to distributors. The rights were acquired by Optimum Releasing for the UK market, The Weinstein Company for the US release and Village Roadshow for Australia and New Zealand. Weinstein promoted the film as Madonna's first full-length directorial venture, since her previous directed film, Filth and Wisdom, was considered a short film by them for its runtime of 81 minutes. Madonna had hoped to premiere the film at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, but could not do so since she was still making finishing touches to the soundtrack and there were three weeks more of post production to complete before the film was ready to be screened to an international audience. A representative for the film festival said that, "[w]hile the movie's distributors will attend the festival, they will preview select cuts to buyers at private screenings instead of showing the entire feature." The Daily Mail columnist Baz Bamingboye reported that W.E would be premiered at the 2011 Venice Film Festival, where it would be screened out of the competition. W.E was shown at the festival on September 1, 2011, with Madonna attending the premiere, along with the principal cast. Other film festivals where W.E was shown included the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival in the same month. Along with the film festivals, still images from W.E were released in the September 2011 issue of Vanity Fair magazine.

Madonna had secured backing from Indian billionaire Anil Ambani's IM Global film financiers. A correspondent for Madonna said that they were looking towards a London premiere late 2011 or early 2012 – the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year – which Madonna hopes will allow them to capitalize on its British Royal theme. A spokesman for Optimum Releasing, the film's UK distributor, said: "The film was not due to be shown in Cannes. It is in post production and will now be released early next year." Weinstein Company announced in June 2011, that they planned to release W.E on December 9, 2011, in the United States. It will open in New York and Los Angeles on the said date, expanding to additional markets throughout the month, before the wide release intended for mid-January. Harvey Weinstein, head of The Weinstein Company, said of the release date: "Madonna beautifully interweaves past and present in W.E, It's a very smart film, and a stunning directorial debut. I'm incredibly excited about this movie and I wanted to give it a prominent release date."

Reception

In June 2011, Alison Boshoff from Daily Mail reported that a test screening of W.E, that was kept under wraps, was said to have allegedly drawn up negative reception from its audience. Viewers believed the movie did not add up and seemed more like an advertisement than what its production values were. After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, it received mixed reviews. Some news sources reported that "critics were completely divided on their opinions". When nine reviews of the critics who had seen the film in Venice were tabulated, The Huffington Post gave the film the overall critical score of D. Steve Pond of Reuters theorized that W.E probably would not help in "turning Madonna's faltering movie career". Kyle Buchanan of New York wondered whether W.E would receive any significant film related awards, as predicted by industry prognosticators. He concluded that the film "still may [receive awards], but to judge from some of the vicious pans coming out of Venice today, it might have longer legs as a Razzie front-runner." Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye gave the film a mostly positive review, saying that "A lot of people will loathe it, simply because it’s been made by Madonna. But if people were to watch it with no knowledge of who directed, they would be pleasantly surprised. They might even find much of it enjoyable." David Gritten of The Daily Telegraph gave the film three stars and a mixed review stating that, "Madonna's W.E. is a bold and confident story about an American woman's obsession with the Windsors." Gritten complimented Riseborough and Cornish's acting but felt that the film looked like a commercial of expensive items, thus making it appeal to younger women for its fashion portrayal. This view was shared by Kate Muir of The Times, who complimented some of the funny scenes of the film and the re-creation of the 1930s setting. Referring to the surprise of the journalists at watching the film, Muir added "Madonna manages to create scenes which—perhaps to her surprise—had ’em rolling in the aisles at Venice."

Negative reviews came from Xan Brooks of The Guardian, who gave the film one star, describing it as "a primped and simpering folly, the turkey that dreamed it was a peacock. Brooks predicted that the film "may even surpass 2008's Filth and Wisdom, Madonna's calamitous first outing as a film-maker. Her direction is so all over the shop that it barely qualifies as direction at all." Pointing out a scene, he added that "Wallis bound on stage to dance with a Masai tribesman while Pretty Vacant blares on the soundtrack. But why? What point is she making? That social-climbing Wallis-Simpson was the world's first punk-rocker?" Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film resembled a documentary of a woman out on shopping. McCarthy felt that the storyline was especially dreary during the portrayal of the love affair between Wally and Evgeni. "For the audience, Wally, despite Cornish's gentle and warm presence, offers very little in terms of personal interest or as a key into the world of one of the last century's most discussed couples." However, McCarthy praised cinematographer Hagen Bogdaski's work. Oliver Lyttelton of indieWire also slammed the film stating that "the use of music is horrible" and "We’ve never looked forward to Madonna going back on tour more, if only because it means that we’ll know, for certain, that she won’t be using that time to direct another movie." Emma Pritchard from Grazia added that "Wallis Simpson was the kind of woman who was accused of being more style than substance – and that, alas, is what Madonna has recreated on screen with W.E." Mark Adams of Screen Daily singled out Riseborough's performance as a "highlight", but overall felt that the film was disappointing. Leslie Felperin from Variety was disappointed in the film, saying that it is "burdened with risible dialogue and weak performances". Felperin felt that the reason for the film's downfall was its script, which attended to the costumes and fashion more than the actual story, which she felt had much potential, but was unused.

Soundtrack

Initial reports claimed that Madonna had composed the score of the film with producer William Orbit with Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski assisting them.

Production credits

• Madonna – director, screenplay
• Alek Keshishian – screenplay
• Kris Thykier – producer
• Colin Vaines – producer
• Scott Franklin – executive producer
• Nigel Wooll – executive producer
• Hagen Bogdanski – director of photography
• Elaine Grainger – casting

• Lucinda Syson – casting
• Martin Childs – production design
• Huw Arthur – art direction
• Mark Raggett – supervising art director
• Celia Bobak – set decoration
• Arianne Phillips – costume design
• Jenny Shircore – make-up and hair designer

Production credits as per W.E press release from Madonna.com and The Weinstein Company.

External links

• W.E at IMDb