Shakespeare in Love

This script was nearly filmed once before. In 1991 sets and costumes were going up at Universal, Edward Zwick directing and Julia Roberts committed to Viola; she wanted only Daniel Day-Lewis as Shakespeare, and when he refused she left six weeks before shooting, costing the studio six million dollars. Miramax later took it, John Madden came in to direct, and Zwick, who had hired Tom Stoppard to rewrite Marc Norman’s draft, produced. The engine is not the romance but the writing of Romeo and Juliet, which changes while we watch, from comedy into tragedy. At the 71st Academy Awards it took thirteen nominations and won seven: Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role (Gwyneth Paltrow), Actress in a Supporting Role (Judi Dench), Art Direction, the name then in use (Martin Childs), Costume Design (Sandy Powell), Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score (Stephen Warbeck), and Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. It lost directing, cinematography, editing, makeup, sound and supporting actor, where James Coburn beat Geoffrey Rush. Powell held two of that year’s five costume nominations, the other Velvet Goldmine. A good fit if you take Romeo and Juliet’s famous lines being generated out of what happens to the characters as the game’s rule. Not for anyone hoping to learn about the Elizabethan period; there was no Viola.