PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Nov. 17, 2011 — The new movie "Anonymous" claims that Shakespeare was a fraud.
He was. But not because of the arguments in this film released by Sony Pictures.
The plot is based on the centuries-old conspiracy theory that the actor Shakespeare was not the playwright Shakespeare.
"Anonymous" has, however, ordained a controversy the likes of which moviedom hasn't seen in decades.
Consequently, one week before the movie's release, the number of screens showing the film was reduced from 2,500 down to 265.
One of the major criticisms of the film is that it is not historically correct.
But a second film on the same subject, presently being prepared in Canada, claims that every recorded fact or person named in this upcoming movie is historically accurate.
It's entitled "The Shakespeare Conspiracy," produced by the Motion Picture Hall of Fame Corporation and Barone Films. The script is taken from a new novel of the same name, by Ted Bacino. (http://www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com)
This film contends that England's prior leading playwright, Christopher Marlowe, was the actual author, noting the similarities between the writings of Marlowe and those of Shakespeare. (That would explain the almost 100 lines in the works of Shakespeare which are basically identical to writings by Marlowe.)
The claim that Shakespeare was a fraud, however, has always had powerful supporters, like Sigmund Freud, Mark Twain, U.S. Supreme Court members, and a host of Shakespearean actors.
Although many historians believe that the actor did not write those works, they disagree on who did write them. "Anonymous" purports it was Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.
In 1593 Christopher Marlowe was to appear before the Privy Council on charges of treason, the penalty for which was death.
Days before the trial, Marlowe was conveniently "murdered" by friends over the "reckoning" of the dinner bill in a small pub outside London. The men then "unceremoniously buried" England's foremost writer in an unmarked grave – a grave never to be located since.
Almost immediately, an unknown actor named Shakespeare, who reputedly "held horses for the gentry while they watched plays," began turning out magnificent dramas, sonnets and poems.
The conspiracy theory is that Marlowe faked his own death and continued to write while in hiding, using Shakespeare as a front.
Many historians believe Marlowe was gay – exemplified in his works like Edward II and the phrase he sprinkled all over town, "All they that love not boys and tobacco are fools."
On the other hand, Shakespeare the actor was known for his bordello affairs and illegitimate children. He certainly was not gay and yet so much of his writing indicates that he was — giving credence to the argument that Marlowe was the actual writer.
The movie, a comedy-drama, billed as "the greatest literary deception of all time," concerns Constable Maunder's search for the fugitive playwright.
(A stage version of the movie has recently had its first performance.)
Contact:
Ted Bacino
Email
760-778-1030
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