The Golden Age and The Other Boelyn Girl: Hollywood Still Love's 16th Century England

Anne Boelyn was Henry VIII's second wife and, as history buffs can tell you, was a major impetus behind Henry's fight with the Pope. Which eventually led to divorce, the severing of ties with Rome and, ultimately, the formation of the Church of England. Of course the tumultuous times continued after their marriage, ending with Boelyn's head in a basket and her daughter, Elizabeth, on a rocky road to the monarchy.

A stormy time in English history, replete with divorce, adultery, intrigue, murder, and marriage upon marriage, it culminated in the founding of a religion and the establishment of Elizabeth I as Queen, one of England's most venerated figures, who would preside over England's best incarnation of the Renaissance.

Naturally this has been ripe territory for Hollywood. Classics like Alexander Corda's The Private Life of Henry The VIII, with Charles Laughton absolutely wallowing in the role of the stout and redoubtable king. And then Bette Davis and Errol Flynn, appearing not quite sure what to do with one another as both visibly vied for top billing, in Michael Curtiz's The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, conflict not surprising since two stronger personalities at odds could hardly have been found.

The fascination with Henry and Elizabeth's England has continued right up to the present day, not even considering the continuous revenue generated by the field of Shakespeare filmography. The height of recent efforts was undoubtedly 1999's Elizabeth, Directed by Shekhar Kapur, with Cate Blanchett portraying the queen's early life, ascension to the throne and her rocky first few years at the job.

Since then Blanchett's star has risen. She's perfected her status as the, "other woman," the one no one ever sees coming. She always seems to show up in film as a harbinger of drama, a signal the plot has arrived, poking her long features around the corner and calmly addressing the room, as though she didn't notice that her presence had descended like a Kansas farm house on all present. Appropriate then that she's also had a turn at playing Katherine Hepburn on screen, in Scorsese's The Aviator, Hepburn being the perennial bolt from the clear blue.

And now this year's production and release schedule brings exciting new editions into the Henry and Elizabeth film legacy.

First up, this fall, will be a full blooded sequel to '99's Elizabeth, with Blanchett reprising her role as the queen. Along with Geoffrey Rush re-cast as Walsingham, her Machiavellian chief security officer whose hands are free to keep the queen safe, sort of like a one man homeland security department that answers to no one. New for this go is Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh, a mega-watt casting decision that, opposite Blanchet, recalls the heady days of Davis vs. Flynn.

The film is set around the war with Spain that eventually established England as a world power, specifically dealing with the battle of the Spanish Armada. The Director of the first film, Shekhar Kapur, whose efforts since then have been a bit deflating and is likely hoping to gain solid footing again with a bit more help from The Virgin Queen, returns this time as well. The Film is entitled The Golden Age and opens this fall (click the title for more info)

Currently in post production, but, unlike the reign of Elizabeth, a story as of yet unfilmed, so perhaps, "in production," for a bit over half a millennium now, is The Other Boelyn Girl. The story of royal consort Anne Boelyn and her sister Mary, the film supposes that there was rivalry between the two for the affections of King Henry.

Based on a novel by Philippa Gregory, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansen are cast as the Boelyn sisters. This a tandem so dangerously sublime one assumes God must be currently very lonely; Heaven having been emptied of its prize angels.

There's no release date yet announced for this film, but I'm personally watching for it in time for Oscar consideration.

If twentieth century high schools and sports fields have been the dramatic setting for film's most consistent embarrassments, the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I continue to generate robust and interesting cinema. Perhaps film makers will one day begin to learn from history as well as filming it and adjust their ratios of production dollars accordingly.

Then what?

Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson as King Henry and Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth?...maybe things are ok as they are.