ROMEO & JULIET Starring Hailee Steinfeld & Douglas Booth
So I’ve been following this film since I heard about it. And I’ve been working on this particular blog post since the full cast was announced. And well, it’s a good thing I waited until Valentines Day to finally post this right? So this will be long but it will be filled with tons of photos and information that you might not have known. So Enjoy!
The first I heard they were going to do this was back in 2010 (Wow has time flown! o:/). And back then Lily Collins was suppose to play Juliet, the Capulet half of the ill fated star-crossed lovers of William Shakespeare’s famous play “ROMEO & JULIET.” They originally wanted to go into production October of 2010 in Italy. But for some reason that didn’t happen. o:/ And in many ways that’s a good thing! o;P
It’s a good thing because the delays gave time for The Coen Brothers version of Charles Portis’ “TRUE GRIT” to come out. And for it’s newcomer Hailee Steinfeld to WOW audiences as the 14 year-old revenge seeking Mattie Ross. Hailee Steinfeld’s performance in “TRUE GRIT” won many Awards Season awards & nominations. Steinfeld’s notable nominations include being the youngest actress ever to get a BAFTA nomination in Leading Actress. Also being the youngest individual nominee of the 17th Annual Screen Actor’s Guild Awards and the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. Although Steinfeld was a lead in “TRUE GRIT” she was given a SAG & Oscar nomination in Supporting Actress for her debut Feature Film. Not bad for a rookie who came out of nowhere!
It’s also a good thing for Lily Collins as the reason she had to drop out of “ROMEO & JULIET” was likely or in part due to scheduling conflicts. One of which is her film with Julia Roberts in Tarsem Singh’s “MIRROR MIRROR” due to hit theaters March 30th. Lily Collins will portray Snow White. So it’s not like Lily Collins lost out on anything here.
Admittedly, I think Hailee Steinfeld is the more superior actress of the two. And I think of the two Hailee Steinfeld could do more justice to the iconic character of Juliet. She’s proven she can handle complex dialogue and do it with ease and convincingly. But that’s not to say I don’t dig Lily Collins. She got my attention when I saw her on Academy Nominated “THE BLINDSIDE” starring Sandra Bullock.
But it wasn’t Lily Collins that drew my attention to this project. It was the involvement of Academy Award winner Julian Fellowes. Fellowes won the Academy Award for his original screenplay “GOSFORD PARK.” In some ways this delay also helped Julian Fellowes. He has emerged yet again as a critically acclaimed scribe with his work on the award winning “DOWNTON ABBEY” which you can watch on ITV1 in the UK and PBS in the US. And thus gaining him more fans as well as clout.
See? I told you in many ways these delays were a good thing for everyone currently and previously involved. o;P
Now I know people will say, “They’re going to make this again?” Well, the last time it’s been done was back in 1996 and Baz Luhrmann’s version was modernized. So the Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes version wasn’t the classic way of telling the story. That version was intended for my generation (Oh Lord! I’m aging myself. o:/ I’m still sexy so deal with it! o;P). Although Baz Luhrmann’s “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” is a cult classic & has many fans including myself it’s not a classic telling of the play.
The last great classic cinematic telling of the play was Franco Zeffierelli’s Academy Award Best Picture Nominee starring Leonard Whiting & Olivia Hussey back in 1968.
Furthermore, how many adaptations, reboots and films based on comic books has Hollywood done since I could remember? Batman, Superman, Spider Man, The Avengers, X-Men etc. etc. etc! How many times are they going to do those? Yet no one complains about those. And I’m not going to complain because I like some of those. o;P
By the way, Baz Luhrmann is doing a version of “The Great Gatsby” starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Carey Mulligan. That’s due out later this year. The last time that was made was back in 1974 starring Robert Redford & Mia Farrow. But nobody was bitching and whining when that project was announced now was it? And I don’t hear people complain every year when productions of “Romeo & Juliet” come to the stage in various professional and school theatrical productions. When it comes to film it hasn’t been done nearly as much as people might think.
Which brings me to “ROMEO & JULIET” starring Hailee Steinfeld & Douglas Booth. Now I know people might say, “Isn’t Hailee Steinfeld too young for this role?” Well, if anything she could be considered too old for this role as she is 15. And Juliet is suppose to be 13 years old (CAPULET: My child is yet a stranger in the world; she hath not seen the change of fourteen years.). But I think she’s perfect for the role considering she’s the youngest of her predecessors (Olivia Hussey was in her mid to late year as a 15 year-old & Claire Danes was 17) and age appropriate. And I know some might say, “Isn’t Douglas too old to be portraying Romeo?” Well, according to the play one will have to infer that Romeo is in his late teens to early 20s. So Hailee Steinfeld & Douglas Booth are by all accounts the most age appropriate cinematic cast to date.
The rest of the cast was announced in the Hollywood Reporter. So let me present to you the major cast of Carlo Carlei’s “ROMEO & JULIET” with some interesting factoids. And after you’ll see some behind the scenes photos.
OUR STAR-CROSSED LOVERS!
Interesting Factoid: Douglas Booth says of his first meeting Hailee Steinfeld, “We first saw each other at the met ball in New York.” He continues, “Our eyes met from across the room. It was surreal, like something out of the play - Life imitating art.”
Romeo portrayed by Douglas Booth
Interesting factoid: Douglas Booth beat out Logan Lerman, Josh Hutcherson, Xavier Samuel, Sam Claflin, Michael Angarano, Jaime Campbell Bower, Benjamin Gur & 300 others for the role.
Juliet portrayed by Hailee Steinfeld
Interesting Factoid: Producer & Screenplay writer Julian Fellowes said, “I wanted Hailee because she is the perfect age. Juliet is at that stage of what you might call a child/woman. Just like Hailee herself is.”
THE HOUSE OF CAPULET
Lord Capulet portrayed by Damian Lewis
Interesting Factoid: His Showtime’s “HOMELAND” co-star is Claire Danes who last portrayed Juliet in Baz version.
Lady Capulet portrayed by Natascha McElhone
Interesting Factoid: She stars in Showtime’s “CALIFORNICATION” and is a “network mate” of her on screen husband in this production, Damian Lewis. Also she co-starred with Stellan Skarsgard (The Prince of Verona) in the 1998 film “RONIN.”
Tybalt portrayed by Ed Westwick
Interesting Factoid: Ed says his on screen cousin Hailee Steinfeld is, “An amazing young actress.” He also says he believes that “Romeo & Juliet” is, “A story that every generation deserves to hear.” Ed also co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in “J.Edgar”. Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed Romeo in Baz’ version.
THE HOUSE OF MONTAGUE
Lord Montague portrayed by Tomas Arana
Interesting Factoid: He portrayed Jeff Evans in “The Roommate” starring Ed Westwick’s “Gossip Girl” co-star Leighton Meester.
Lady Montague portrayed by Laura Morante
Interesting Factoid: Laura Morante is the only one among the major cast members of this film to be entirely from Italy where the film is being produced. 
Benvolio portrayed by Kodi Smit-McPhee
Interesting Factoid: Kodi & Hailee are the youngest members of this cast. They’re both born in 1996 which happens to be the year that Baz Luhrmann’s version came out.
THE RULING HOUSE OF VERONA
The Prince of Verona portrayed by Stellan Skarsgard
Interesting Factoid: Steallan co-starred with Natascha McElhone in the 1998 film “RONIN.”
Mercutio portrayed by Christian Cooke
Interesting Factoid: Like Natascha and Damian he has a show on premium cable with his forthcoming show “Magic City” on Starz.
Count Paris portrayed by Tom Wisdom
Interesting Factoid: Tom tweeted in December of 2011 “Just watched The Coen Bro’s ‘True Grit’… loved it. Hailee Steinfeld was excellent.”
THE OTHER MAJOR PLAYERS
Friar Laurence portrayed by Paul Giamatti
Interesting Factoid: Like Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) he is an Oscar Nominee for his work on the 2005 film “Cinderella Man.”
The Nurse portrayed by Lesley Manville
Interesting Factoid: She and Hailee Steinfeld won Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Awards last year (2011).
Apothecary portrayed by Leon Vitali
Interesting Factoid: Like the majority of this cast he is from the UK. 
And there you go Ladies & Gentlemen. Looks like a pretty good cast don’t you think?
Anyways, here are some behind the scenes photos I got from here.
The funeral of Juliet and her Romeo.
Lord Capulet & Lady Capulet mourn their Juliet.
Hailee Steinfeld getting a wardrobe adjustment & there’s her Mom holding her jewelry.
Looks like Hailee had to cough.
Douglas Booth & on screen cousin Kodi Smit-McPhee share a laugh.
Looks like everyone is listening to Douglas Booth as he warms up.
Douglas doesn’t want to play dead anymore.
The Production Dude obviously tells Douglas he has to.
Hailee getting more wardrobe adjustments.
Academy Award Nominees Paul Giamatti & Hailee Steinfeld.
Benvolio, The Friar & some Production Chick!
Lord Montague, The Friar, The Prince & some Production Dude!
Look, there’s Lady Capulet! I mean Natascha McElhone
Awe… Natascha and her three kids in between takes.
Lord Capulet and Lord Montague about to get schooled by The Prince.
