Bill

Bill (2015)

London is not going to know what hit it!

What really happened during Shakespeare's 'Lost Years'? Hopeless lute player Bill Shakespeare leaves his home to follow his dream.

Date of release
2015-03-27
TMDB
6.8 / 10 (89)
Runtime
1h 34m
Genres
Comedy, Family
Director
Richard Bracewell

Casting

  • Mathew Baynton — William 'Bill' Shakespeare / Lord Burghley / English Messenger / Customs Official
  • Simon Farnaby — Earl of Croydon / Juan Domingo / Sausage / Dmitri Alexandrovitch / Fur Seller
  • Martha Howe-Douglas — Anne Hathaway / Molly / Spanish Courtier / Body Collector
  • Jim Howick — Christopher Marlowe / Gabriel Montoya / Cynical Jester / Palace Doorman / Mysterious Man / Even Grubbier Thief / Party Planner
  • Laurence Rickard — Sir Francis Walsingham / Lope Lopez / Stand-Up Jester / Chatty Guard / Slightly Late Courtier / Ian / Hanging Criminal / Chicken Drumstick
  • Ben Willbond — King Phillip II of Spain / Earl of Southampton / Grubby Thief / Alexander Dimitrievitch / Head of Guards
  • Helen McCrory — Queen Elizabeth I
  • Damian Lewis — Sir Richard Hawkins
  • Justin Edwards — Sir Francis Drake
  • Rufus Jones — Sir Walter Raleigh
  • John Henry Falle — Miguel
  • Jamie Demetriou — Sergio

Interesting facts

Bill is a 2015 British family adventure comedy film from the Them There theatrical collective, famed for being behind children's TV series Horrible Histories and Yonderland. It was produced by Punk Cinema, Cowboy Films and BBC Films and was released in the UK on 18 September 2015 by Vertigo Films. The film is a fictional take on the young William Shakespeare's search for fame and fortune, as written by Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond and directed by Richard Bracewell who co-produced with Tony Bracewell, Alasdair Flind and Charles Steel.

Production

BBC Films announced Bill on 13 May 2013, as a co-production with fellow UK production companies Punk Cinema and Cowboy Films. Head of BBC Films Christine Langan said that "we’re thrilled [to be] making the first film starring this team of incredibly talented and popular British comedy writers and performers." In November of the same year ScreenDaily.com reported that the BFI (British Film Institute) Film Fund had invested £1 million in the produc…

Principal filming began on 10 February 2014 at locations around Yorkshire, including York Minster, Skipton Castle, Marske-by-the-Sea, Bolton Castle and Selby Abbey. Other filming locations included Stowe School, Caroline Gardens Chapel in Peckham, London, and Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex.

Former Horrible Histories co-stars Rickard and Willbond are credited with the Bill screenplay, and are also the top-billed performers along with the four other members of the HH starring cast (Baynton, Howe-Douglas, Farnaby and Howick). Despite this connection, and sharing a similar subject matter, the film has no official affiliation with the earlier TV series.

In contrast to the conscientious grounding in accuracy that was the trademark of Horrible Histories, Bill is by design a purely imaginary tale. In the initial press release for the film, the co-writers noted that "We're playing with history, just as Shakespeare did, for the entertainment of the audience." Commenting on the choice of subject, Rickard added that in fact "the joy of the "lost years" is we can tell a fun story without trampling on th…

The first full-length trailer for the film was released in December 2014, at which point the film's theatrical release date – originally scheduled for late February 2015 – was confirmed to have been delayed until 27 March the same year. This was subsequently revised again – with no official explanation – to 21 August.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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