An idea stolen from Shakespeare class at school

One of my high school courses, as a replacement for English class, is Shakespeare studies, and we are currently studying Richard III. Naturally, I raised quite an issue over this, and my teacher got quite annoyed every time I snorted derisively or opened my mouth in protest over a badly skewed detail. Fortunately, I am not without Ricardian supporters (a friend of mine annoyingly calls us the Middleham Irregulars, or worse, the Gloucester Girls), so our teacher presented us with a challenge: If you were to create a historically correct film about Richard, who would you cast? Who would write the screen play? (As can be expected from the average high school class, the general thought hasn't progressed much beyond Johnny Depp as Richard.)

But what would you do?

I have thought about it many times, about an actor to play the historical Richard I mean. I must confess that my idea of his physical appearance is very much like Sharon Kay Penman's description... Last year, when I went mad about Elijah Wood's Frodo, I thought he would be perfect, except that he's not tall enough (in my opinion).
About the screenplay, I have no idea about who to write it, but I think it would be easier not to follow the line of a scholar biography but that of a Ricardian fiction. What do you think?
Cecilia

Megan Lerseth <megan_phntmgrl@...> wrote:
One of my high school courses, as a replacement for English class, is Shakespeare studies, and we are currently studying Richard III. Naturally, I raised quite an issue over this, and my teacher got quite annoyed every time I snorted derisively or opened my mouth in protest over a badly skewed detail. Fortunately, I am not without Ricardian supporters (a friend of mine annoyingly calls us the Middleham Irregulars, or worse, the Gloucester Girls), so our teacher presented us with a challenge: If you were to create a historically correct film about Richard, who would you cast? Who would write the screen play? (As can be expected from the average high school class, the general thought hasn't progressed much beyond Johnny Depp as Richard.)

But what would you do?






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On Jan 9, 2005, at 09:10, Cecilia Latella wrote:

> About the screenplay, I have no idea about who to write it, but I
> think it would be easier not to follow the line of a scholar biography
> but that of a Ricardian fiction. What do you think?
>
First non Ricardian I showed my screenplay to asked why the birth
mattered. I included the line from one character saying "Richard still
lives". Try to include historically accurate details and this is what
happens!
I persevere though!
Paul Trevor Bale

Megan Lerseth wrote:
> One of my high school courses, as a replacement for English class, is Shakespeare studies, and we are currently studying Richard III. Naturally, I raised quite an issue over this, and my teacher got quite annoyed every time I snorted derisively or opened my mouth in protest over a badly skewed detail. Fortunately, I am not without Ricardian supporters (a friend of mine annoyingly calls us the Middleham Irregulars, or worse, the Gloucester Girls), so our teacher presented us with a challenge: If you were to create a historically correct film about Richard, who would you cast? Who would write the screen play? (As can be expected from the average high school class, the general thought hasn't progressed much beyond Johnny Depp as Richard.)
>
> But what would you do?
>

I'm intrigued by your teacher's reaction (unless you were seriously
disrupting the class). Richard III is an absolute gift to the
Shakespeare teacher, since it's the best text for discussing so many
issues that arise around his work, especially the all-important one of
"above all else, keep the monarch happy". (Macbeth is the other text -
Banquo is specifically disassociated from the murder of Duncan because
James I was descended from Banquo, and the fact that the historical
Macbeth was a king very much in the Richard III mould, except that he
reigned for 20-odd years is ignored.)

But then I actually like the Shakespeare play - as a play. After all,
the "Richard" of the play is a fantastic character - even if no-one can
take him seriously as a real person.

Jenny

Last year, when I went mad about Elijah Wood's Frodo, I thought he would
be perfect, except that he's not tall enough (in my opinion).
About the screenplay, I have no idea about who to write it, but I think
it would be easier not to follow the line of a scholar biography but
that of a Ricardian fiction. What do you think?
Cecilia


I'm still on board with Johnny Depp -in my mind, Richard is not tall. A
few years ago, a movie version of "Angels and Insects" came out, and the
main character was played by Mark Rylance. He was born in 1960, which
might make him just a bit over the age limit, depending on what he looks
like these days, but when I saw him in "Angels and Insects", my first
thought was: "That's Richard!"

Maria
elena@...