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The Young Victoria was filmed on location in England and at Shepperton Studios during a ten week shoot from August 2007. The film is directed by the critically-acclaimed French-Canadian Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.) from a script by Academy Award winning Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park).
The Young Victoria has a distinguished ensemble of actors that includes Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Rupert Friend (Pride and Prejudice), Paul Bettany (The Da Vinci Code), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Jim Broadbent (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Mark Strong (Body of Lies) and Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong).
Supporting cast is provided by Jesper Christensen (Casino Royale), Michael Maloney (Babel), Julian Glover (Troy) and Harriet Walter (Atonement).
The Young Victoria features an all-star production team that includes director of photography Hagen Bogdanski (The Lives of Others), production designer Patrice Vermette (C.R.A.Z.Y), Academy Award winning costume designer Sandy Powell (The Aviator, Shakespeare in Love), Academy Award winning make-up and hair designer Jenny Shircore (Amazing Grace, Elizabeth) and editor Jill Bilcock (Moulin Rouge!, Elizabeth). Music is composed by Ilan Eshkeri and the music supervisor is Maureen Crowe.
Vallée made his feature film debut with Black List, a strikingly stylish thriller honored with nine Genie Award nominations (Canada's "Oscars"). His next feature C.R.A.Z.Y., a beguiling coming of age tale won 11 Genie Awards including Best Motion Picture and Best Director as well as 15 Jutra Awards, the Best Canadian Film prize at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005, the Golden Reel Award as Canada's top box office performer and screened at some 20 international film festivals around the globe.
Vallée directed The Young Victoria from a script penned by Academy Award winning writer Julian Fellowes. Fellowes' screenplay for Gosford Park earned him numerous accolades including an Academy Award received in 2002. His other screenwriting credits include Mira Nair's Vanity Fair and his directorial debut Separate Lies starring Tom Wilkinson.
Introduced to the project by Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, The Young Victoria is a GK Films production, produced by Graham King, Martin Scorsese, Tim Headington and Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York. King and Scorsese won Best Picture and Best Achievement in Directing Oscars respectively for their recent collaboration on the box office hit The Departed. GK Films' Colin Vaines is Executive Producer and the company's Denis O'Sullivan is the film's co-producer.
PRODUCTION STORY
Academy Award winning British producer Graham King was in production on The Departed, when the idea for The Young Victoria was presented to him.
"A mutual friend arranged a meeting with Sarah Ferguson and she pitched several projects to me. She was full of ideas and she had one about Queen Victoria. She said she always wanted to show the queen in a different way to how she was commonly perceived, as always in mourning. The idea stayed with me and I talked to Marty (Scorsese) about it and he pointed out it had never been done before. I've been trying to make a film in the UK for 15 years and I'd never found the right script or even the right material. I'd never had the emotion or the passion to make a film in the UK before now. But this felt right."
Oscar winning screen-writer Julian Fellowes heard about the project early on and contacted King about writing the script. Having been interested for a long time in the life of Queen Victoria, it was a dream project for him. "I was very keen. It's always a great advantage when a subject comes to you that is already in your life. I thought if someone else writes this film I'll have to kill myself!" Fellowes says. "I met Graham and Scorsese in Martin's trailer when they were shooting The Departed, which in itself was an iconic day."
King and Scorsese were so taken with Fellowes' ideas they immediately commissioned him to write the script. Six months later it was completed. King was impressed. "His first draft was close to a shooting script, I knew as soon as I read it we had a movie. It's very rare to get a first draft that is as good as this was, but as he said, he was born to write this."
For Fellowes it was the early life of the young queen that fascinated him. "Ninety nine per cent of the public don't know anything about the story of her early life and will be surprised." The film is set in the period from 1836, the year before Victoria ascended the throne, to 1840 the year she married Prince Albert and sets out to revise the widely held picture of Queen Victoria as an elderly widow dressed in black. "The Queen Victoria everyone knows is the older Widow of Windsor with the handkerchief on her head, a rather fat woman in black looking depressed. Very few people know about the other side of her, her early life: that she was young, that she loved dancing, that she loved music and that she was very romantic. Some girls like to have fun and she was certainly one of them," explains Fellowes. "But the extraordinary story at the beginning of her reign is how everyone tries to control her. I was convinced we should begin the film before her succession and her marriage to Albert. That way you can see her struggle with her mother, the Duchess of Kent, who tried to devise a role for herself so she could get more control. The business of instant celebrity is also interesting," Fellowes continues. "One minute Victoria was living under virtual house arrest, the next she was the most famous woman in the world."
The early part of the film presents Victoria living in a virtual prison. Fellowes explains Victoria's early life. "Before her 63 year reign began, Victoria had a horrible childhood. Her father died before her first birthday, leaving her mother, the Duchess of Kent, to raise the sole heir to the throne. The Duchess can never have another child who is in line for the throne because her husband is dead. She's just got this one frail little squib who will be Queen if only she doesn't die. This created in her a kind of neurotic protectionism, a smothering childhood where Victoria could not have her own room and had to sleep on a little cot next to her mother's bed until she was 18. She wasn't able to go up or down stairs without holding an adult hand. She had almost no friends. It was a terribly lonely childhood."
The film charts Victoria's journey to the throne. It was a difficult one as her own mother the Duchess of Kent, in league with Sir John Conroy, controller of her household tried to get power over Victoria by being named Regent. This would allow the Duchess to effectively be Queen until Victoria was old enough to rule if she was to take the crown before her 18th birthday. But King William IV survived until his niece was 18. "The death of William IV changed everything," says Fellowes. "Victoria ascended to the throne and emerged from her mother's shadow."
At the heart of the film is the love story of Victoria and Albert, who she married in 1840. This happy and fulfilled chapter is the focus of the film. "Prince Albert was purposefully chosen for Victoria over his less attractive older brother, by his uncle King Leopold of Belgium," explains Fellowes. "Leopold was using Albert to jostle for power and influence over the British throne and considered him ideal for a woman who was determined to marry for love. What is interesting is that Albert fell for her completely. He came from a very dour German court and suddenly he was with this girl who was out for a good time. She loved dancing, music, riding. Everyone had overlooked the possibility that they would fall in love with each other."
What appealed to King about the story was the romance. "It is a pure love story to me. It is a human story, a story that people can relate to rather than just being a standard period film or film about royalty. I didn't want it to be a conventional period film, but something a bit hipper and a bit edgier."
With the screenplay underway, the producers' attention turned to who would direct the film.
Graham King explains how director Jean-Marc Vallée came on board. "Jean-Marc's film C.R.A.Z.Y landed on my desk and I took it home one night and watched it. I was really impressed by it. I immediately called Marty and told him he had to see the film as I thought Jean-Marc had real talent; not only visually, but how he dealt with the characters was fascinating to me. I actually thought it was Scorsese-ish. Marty watched it and also loved it." King met with Vallée and found they had the same approach to the material. "We both wanted to make something with an edge to it, with amazing visuals, but with characters that the audience could relate to. Jean-Marc was a hot property in Hollywood after C.R.A.Z.Y, and he had a lot of scripts thrown at him, but this was the only script he felt passionately about. I was really excited about his vision for the film."
Co-producer Denis O'Sullivan adds, "Graham and I watched C.R.A.Z.Y. in late 2006 and immediately felt that Jean-Marc had such a sympathetic feel for a young protagonist caught in conflict with himself and his family. That dynamic is much the same for the young princess Victoria. The important thing for all of us was that The Young Victoria be first and foremost about the characters. Our aim has always been to have people forget that they're watching a "period film" after the first fifteen minutes, and just have them completely invested in Victoria and the very human family around her."
Director Vallée was won over by the strength of the story, Fellowes' writing and the complexity and integrity of the characters, but it was the girl at the heart of the story who really inspired him. "It's rare to read a good script and I loved this one. It was character driven and was a beautifully observed piece about family and human relationships and I wanted to understand more about these characters. I'm moved by beautiful stories and this is one - of the young girl who became the Queen of England at 18 years old. It touched me. It's also a family drama and I like to explore those relationships, to show what goes on under the surface. Thematically it's similar to C.R.A.Z.Y, but in a completely different culture, class, period and setting, but family relationships are a universal subject."
The romance of Victoria's marriage to Albert also caught Vallée's imagination. "Victoria was lucky enough to find her soul-mate in Albert. There was a mystical quality to their relationship. They were born three months apart and the same mid-wife delivered them both. They wrote the same things in their diaries and although their marriage was arranged, they really fell in love."
Vallée identified a rebellious streak in the young Victoria which also appealed to him. "She was really quite a rebel. She was a woman in a man's world and despite being tiny, she had balls! She was very confident for someone of her age and she wanted to show her mother and all those men she was surrounded by that she wasn't too young, she could be Queen. She had grown up effectively like a prisoner in Kensington Palace, where she couldn't do anything on her own. She shared a bedroom with her mother, and she couldn't even walk down stairs without holding someone's hand. As soon as she had the opportunity to taste freedom, when she became Queen, she wanted to show everyone she could do it alone. She didn't want to be told what to do."
Julian Fellowes was delighted by the producers' choice of director. "I think Jean-Marc is a great director, I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that. I was mad about his film C.R.A.Z.Y and I was thrilled when he was chosen for this. Jean-Marc conceives the narrative in a visual way that makes a scene much clearer. What's extraordinary about him is he's so relaxed. This was his first big English-speaking film and yet he looks as if it's his thirtieth, which is very impressive as there are a lot of big scenes: operas, balls and the coronation. It was a lucky day for me that he got the job. He also knows the film he wants to make, so you have a wonderful feeling of security that there is someone at the helm who's got both hands on the wheel and believe me that is not always the case!"
Emily Blunt was cast to play the title role. "Before I had really had time to think about who would play Victoria I got a call from Emily Blunt's agent saying she would like to meet me," says Graham King. "She came over and said she had read the script and she was desperate to play this part. She had a huge passion for the role. After that I watched everything she'd been in and realized she was perfect. She's the real deal as an actress. Shortly after my meeting with her, Marty and I were at the Golden Globes and as we watched Emily accept her Globe (for Gideon's Daughter), Marty said "that's Queen Victoria".
For Vallée it was a matter of serendipity. "It was perfect timing that this script and Emily came together. There was some hype around her in Hollywood and after seeing her in My Summer of Love you could see she was a wonderful actress on the rise. At my first meeting with her I knew that she understood the character. Casting is very instinctive and you have to trust in the performance you're going to get. After I saw the first dailies, she more than matched my expectations. She's so talented, she brings such nuances to the performance that she makes us care about the character and the camera adores her."
Emily explains her passion for the role. "I couldn't help but be attracted to this remarkable, high-spirited, feisty girl. The script was very exciting, as the public and private Victoria are very different and you realize what a performance it was to be a queen." Blunt found herself identifying with Victoria. "I identify with her hugely. We all know what it is like to be a teenager, to stubbornly think we know it all and to actually be in a job which is way over your head, not to mention being deeply in love for the first time. She had such zest for life at a young age and would talk with such passion about the people she loved, opera even food."
Blunt also welcomed the chance to challenge the common view held about Victoria. "I was blown away by how remarkable she was and she seemed like a very modern character, a very 21st century sort of woman. It appealed that it was an opportunity to play someone who is a contradiction to people's preconception of what she was like. Everyone knows her as the mourning Queen who was wheeled around in black with a hanky on her head and was kind of repressed, but she was just the polar opposite when she was younger. That was exciting to me, that I could change people's opinion of what Victoria was like."
Blunt was also enthused by the vision for the film of her French-Canadian director. "I've never met a director as passionate about a project as Jean-Marc before. I think he was the perfect choice, because he has the most beautiful eye. I can't even begin to compliment him on his vision for this film. It's good not to have an English or European director, because he doesn't hold this period in too much reverence. I think we all have a tendency to do that here and then it becomes stuffy and unapproachable. I think that Jean-Marc brings this very modern approach to it and he's sees her as a rebel. When he said that to me at our first meeting I was completely taken aback at first, and then I realised he's so right it's scary! We couldn't have asked for a better guy for this."
The filmmakers next turned to the casting of Albert. Graham King explains how Rupert Friend was an easy choice. "We looked at a lot of young European actors for Albert; the most important thing was for there to be chemistry between the actor and Emily, without that there wouldn't be a movie. We knew of Rupert from Pride and Prejudice and as soon as he came and sat in a room with Emily it was a done deal. I think he's an up and coming star. We were really lucky with the casting of both Emily and Rupert."
Vallée adds. "I had an image of Albert in my mind, before we cast Rupert, and how the actor might play him and when Rupert came on board he was just right. He had a very good understanding of the character and he did a lot of research to get him right, with the accent and his deportment. He really looks the part, he looks so romantic!"
Rupert Friend's knowledge of Albert before playing him was limited. "I was aware of him, partly as I would see his statue in Hyde Park every day. But when I started to read about him I realized what a huge force he was in the marriage and what a huge influence he had over Britain and I started to realize that he was one of the great under-sung heroes of British history. Victoria's love for him after his death is almost the biggest testament to the man that he was. One of the most moving things about the script and then reading about his life, was that it really broke her in half when he died and for that to happen they have to have had an extraordinary bond. This film explores the beginning of that bond and what Julian has done brilliantly is to make it human. It's not a gooey love story, they had huge rows at the beginning and it wasn't an easy road by any means."
Friend was also taken with Victoria's character. "The common perception is the dowager in black, but we mustn't forget that even people we know as old women were once sixteen-year old girls who liked dancing, and Victoria was definitely one of those. I think audiences will be surprised by the force of her passion, her vivacity and hunger for life and her refusal to be told what to do which gave her an immense dynamism as a young woman." Continued
READ MORE ABOUT THE CASTING, SHOOTING THE FILM, THE LOCATIONS AND COSTUMES, THE MUSIC, FILMING THE CROWNIG SEQUENCE AND THE TIMELINE OF QUEEN VICTORIA'S LIFE
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
JEAN-MARC VALLƒE - Director
Montreal filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée made his ground-breaking feature debut with Liste Noire (Black List), in 1995. The strikingly stylish erotic thriller was a first in its genre in Quebec cinema, and was honored with nine Genie Award nominations. Ten years later, he returned to French-language features with the internationally acclaimed hit, C.R.A.Z.Y. Blending a beguiling coming-of-age tale with a magical ode to outsiders of all ages, the powerful yet poignant C.R.A.Z.Y.'s intensely personal story embraces universal themes. The picture became a phenomenon: distributed in over fifty countries and winning some twenty international festival awards - including the prestigious "Best Canadian Film" prize at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, 11 Genie Awards, 15 Jutra Awards, and the Golden Reel Award as Canada's top-performer at the domestic box office.
Jean-Marc has also flirted with Hollywood (Strangers -.1996, Los Locos - 1997), as well as completing the first two installments of his short film trilogy devoted to father-son relationships; a theme very close to the filmmaker's heart. Les Fleurs Magiques (Magical Flowers, 1995) and Les Mots Magiques (Magical Words, 1998) are individual pieces unified by a dream-like quality, and an eye for their subject that is both tender, and tortured. Both shorts were awarded numerous festival prizes at home and abroad. He has also made a name for himself as the director of numerous music videos and commercials.
JULIAN FELLOWES - Writer
Julian Fellowes, actor, writer, director, producer, was educated at Ampleforth, Magdalene College, Cambridge and The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. He worked in repertory at Northampton and Harrogate before appearing in the West End production of "A Touch of Spring" by Sam Taylor at the Comedy Theatre. As an actor, he is probably best known for his portrayal of the incorrigible Lord Kilwillie in the BBC's popular Sunday night series, "Monarch of the Glen." On the big screen, he has been seen in many films, including Shadowlands, with Anthony Hopkins, Damage with Jeremy Irons, Place Vendome with Catherine Deneuve and Tomorrow Never Dies with Pierce Brosnan. As a writer for television, he is responsible for the scripts of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (winner of an International EMMY, 1995) and "The Prince and the Pauper" (nominated for a BAFTA, 1997) which he also produced. His first script for the cinema was Gosford Park, directed by Robert Altman, which won a plethora of prizes, not least the OscaR for Best Original Screenplay.
He worked on Vanity Fair, starring Reese Witherspoon and, since then, he has written the book of the stage musical of "Mary Poppins" for Cameron Mackintosh and Walt Disney, the recipient of several prizes and nominations. His debut as a film director, Separate Lies, starring Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson and Rupert Everett, which he adapted from Nigel Balchin's novel, received critical acclaim in both America and the UK, winning nominations from the London Critics' Circle as well as the award for the Best Directorial Debut of 2005 from the National Board of Review in New York. Later this year, he will direct a second feature, From Time to Time adapted by him from the novel by L. M. Boston. He has several other feature scripts at varying stages and he has adapted his own novel, "Snobs," (a best seller in both Britain and America) for the small screen. He recently presented the BBC drama-documentary series, "Most Mysterious Murders" and hosted a game show about language, also for the BBC, "Never Mind the Full Stops." Julian is married to Emma, nee Kitchener, and they have one son, Peregrine, a dachshund called Humbug and a collie called Meg.
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