Looks like the Baz Luhrman interpretation, William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, starring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio is taking a backseat to the latest version of the most famously tragic love story of all time for the newest generation of teenagers. Young English actor Douglas Booth and Oscar nominee Hailee Seinfeld (True Grit) are cast in the titular roles of Romeo and Juliet, respectively.
In a recent press release from Swarovski Entertainment, the movie is currently beginning production in Italy, under the direction of Italian Golden Globe nominee Carlo Carlei (The Flight of the Innocent). The cast includes, “Damian Lewis (Homeland) as Lord Capulet, Natascha McElhone (Californication) as Lady Capulet, Lesley Manville (Another Year) as the Nurse and Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl) as Tybalt; with the rival Montagues played by Tomas Arana as Lord Montague, Laura Morante as Lady Montague and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In) as Benvolio. Other actors include Paul Giamatti (Sideways) as Friar Laurence, Christian Cooke (Cemetery Junction) as Mercutio, Tom Wisdom (300) as Count Paris, Leon Vitali (Eyes Wide Shut) as the Apothecary and Stellan Skarsgard (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) as Prince of Verona.”
Acclaimed writer Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) is behind the script and explains, “Every generation is interested in love… I mean, there is something about young love that is heartbreaking, and I think every teenager in the world would agree. All of that is very powerful. The point about teenage love is it’s before cynicism comes in to reshape one’s attitudes. You love when you’re young in a way that you’ll probably never love again.”
Not only is Swarovski Entertainment involved, but they are also working in conjunction with partners in Amber Entertain UK and Echo Lake Entertainment bringing the timeless story of star-crossed love back to life once again.
Steinfeld is certainly due for an encore to her career-making 2010 performance in True Grit, and this will surely help bring Booth’s name to heartthrob level since teenagers just can’t get enough of those British imports.
Do you think the story of Romeo and Juliet is played? Can there really be anything else done with it? Are you excited to see Steinfeld in the role of Juliet? What do you think of the impressive supporting cast?
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