Bill | |
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Directed by | Richard Bracewell |
Screenplay by | Laurence Rickard Ben Willbond |
Story by | Laurence Rickard Ben Willbond |
Produced by | Richard Bracewell Tony Bracewell Alasdair Flind Charles Steel |
Starring | Mathew Baynton Simon Farnaby Martha Howe-Douglas Jim Howick Laurence Rickard Ben Willbond Helen McCrory Damian Lewis |
Cinematography | Laurie Rose |
Edited by | Gary Dollner David Freeman Billy Sneddon |
Music by | Andrew Hewitt |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Vertigo Films (UK) |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes [1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | Unknown |
Box office | $968,534 [2] |
Bill is a 2015 British family adventure comedy film from the principal performers 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. [3] 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. It features the six lead performers playing several different roles each including Mathew Baynton, Martha Howe-Douglas, Ben Willbond, Simon Farnaby, Jim Howick and Laurence Rickard. Bill has received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed $968,534 [2] worldwide. The film also received nominations for the Evening Standard British Film Award for Award for Comedy and the Into Film Award for Family Film of the Year.
Bill is set during Shakespeare's "lost years"—the crucial period, long a mystery to scholars, covering his rise from obscurity in Stratford-upon-Avon to fame as a playwright in London. According to the official synopsis, the film will tell the "real story" of what happens when "hopeless lute player Bill Shakespeare leaves his family and home to follow his dream. It’s a tale of murderous kings, spies, lost loves, and a plot to blow up Queen Elizabeth I." [4] Writer Rickard further explained that in this "very different" version of his life, the future Bard has already tried "everything from contemporary dance to playing lute in a band. He's never found his calling." [5]
The six members of the starring troupe were announced as playing 40 total roles, in the manner of the Monty Python films. [4] [6] Their full list of roles [7] is below:
It was confirmed at the 2014 Cannes film festival that Homeland star Damian Lewis would be joining the cast as Sir Richard Hawkins. [8] [9] [10] Other supporting actors include:
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." [4] In November of the same year ScreenDaily.com reported that the BFI (British Film Institute) Film Fund had invested £1 million in the production, with further undisclosed amounts coming from BBC Films, LipSync and Screen Yorkshire, through its Yorkshire Content Fund. [6]
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. The closing scenes were filmed at Shakespeare's Globe, a modern recreation of the theatre where many of Shakespeare's plays were first performed. [14] [15] [16]
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). [4] Despite this connection, and sharing a similar subject matter, the film has no official affiliation with the earlier TV series. It is the second project (after Yonderland) created by the sextet as a means to continue working together as a troupe after Horrible Histories ceased production in 2012, while maintaining the familiar character-and-costume driven comedy style. [17] Making the move to film was "a bit scary," Willbond said, "but we cooked up a really nice plot." [16] Rickard described the overall tone of the new project as "a hundred different brands of idiocy, really... We staunchly defend the idiocy." [5]
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." [4] 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 the facts—it gives us licence to take William Shakespeare on a truly ridiculous caper, yet end with him becoming the man the world knows." [14]
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. [18] This was subsequently revised again – with no official explanation – to 21 August. [3]
Vertigo Films announced on 12 August 2015 that it would be releasing Bill in the UK after previous distributor Koch Media had closed its UK film distribution business. Vertigo Films co-owner Rupert Preston told Screen International that “The film is really good fun and plays well with both adults and kids. It’s clever, bright and great British entertainment.” [19]
Bill: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 18 September 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2015 | |||
Genre | Soundtrack | |||
Length | 58:43 | |||
Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
Producer | Mark Lo | |||
Andrew Hewitt film scores chronology | ||||
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The film's score was composed by Andrew Hewitt. The soundtrack was released on 18 September 2015 by Varèse Sarabande.
Bill was released in the UK on 18 September 2015 by Vertigo Films. [3] It was released on DVD in the UK on 15 February 2016. [20] It was shown on a one-time basis in the United States on 11 April 2016 through Fathom Events.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 90%, with an average rating of 6.3/10 based on 20 reviews. [21] Elliott Noble said 'the gags keep coming in a madcap tale that's Bard to the bone.' Alys Keys said 'Those who are unaware of their previous work will find just as much to enjoy in this iconoclastic approach to the bard as the most dedicated fans. No matter what your age or fan-status may be, it is simply a joy to watch.' [22] Mark Kermode said in The Guardian , 'Nicely balancing its historically literate gags with broad knockabout slapstick, Bill is a crowd-pleasing treat that should tickle audiences young and old alike.' [23] The film grossed $968,534 [2] worldwide.
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
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2016 | Evening Standard British Film Awards [24] | Award for Comedy | Richard Bracewell Laurence Rickard Ben Willbond | Nominated |
2016 | Into Film Awards [25] | Family Film of the Year | Bill | Nominated |
Jim Field Smith is an English film and television director, writer and producer.
Benjamin Thomas Willbond is an English actor and screenwriter best known as a member of the British Them There collective, for which he has written and starred in productions including Horrible Histories, Yonderland, and Ghosts.
Daniel Renton Skinner is an English actor and comedy writer, working in stage, film and television. Skinner often performs as the character Angelos Epithemiou, and is also one half of the Brian and Roger podcast.
Martha Howe-Douglas is an English actress and writer. She is most famous as a member of the Them There collective with which she wrote and starred in productions including Horrible Histories, Yonderland, and Ghosts. She also played receptionist Donna Parmar in the BBC One daytime soap Doctors.
Richard Bracewell is an English film director best known for directing 2015 British comedy feature film Bill, which he also developed with writers Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond . Bill was Bracewell's third feature film following The Gigolos and Cuckoo.
Simon Farnaby is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his work with the Them There collective where he has written and starred in productions including Horrible Histories, Yonderland, and Ghosts.
Horrible Histories is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more.
Mathew John Baynton is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. He is best known as a member of the Them There collective in which he wrote and starred in shows including Horrible Histories, Yonderland and Ghosts. He was also the co-creator, writer and star of the comedy-drama The Wrong Mans. Other major television roles include Deano in Gavin & Stacey, Chris Pitt-Goddard in Spy, Simon in Peep Show, William Agar in Quacks and twin brothers Jamie Winton and Ariel Conroy in You, Me and the Apocalypse. He has appeared in several films, including Wonka (2023) and Bill (2015), and is due to appear in the upcoming TV adaptation of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.
James Howick is an English actor and writer, known for his appearances in television series such as Sex Education, Peep Show, Stag, and Here We Go, as well as his ongoing association with the creative collective Them There with whom he has written and starred in productions including Horrible Histories, Yonderland and Ghosts.
Laurence Rickard is an English actor, writer, and comedian best known as a member of the Them There collective, with whom he both wrote and starred in productions including Horrible Histories, Yonderland, and Ghosts. In 2022, along with fellow Them There member Ben Willbond, he co-wrote the feature length television comedy We Are Not Alone.
The Wrong Mans is a British comedy drama television series, produced by BBC Television and Hulu. It premiered on BBC Two on 24 September 2013 and in the United States on 11 November 2013. Considered a critical and ratings success, it was co-created and written by Gavin & Stacey alumni James Corden and Mathew Baynton as an attempt to combine the situation comedy format with the intricate plotting and storytelling tropes of an action-adventure series.
Yonderland is a British sitcom television series that was broadcast on Sky One from November 2013 to December 2016. It was produced by Sioned Wiliam, and was created by, written by and starred the main performers from CBBC's series Horrible Histories.
Horrible Histories is a British children's live-action historical and musical sketch comedy television series, based on the bestselling book series of the same name by Terry Deary. The show was produced for CBBC by Lion Television with Citrus Television and ran from 2009 to 2014 for five series of thirteen half-hour episodes, with additional one-off seasonal and Olympic specials.
There has been more than one Horrible Histories Prom in the BBC's annual Proms concert series. The Horrible Histories entertainment franchise is aimed at children, and these concerts have introduced children to classical music.
Horrible Histories is a British sketch comedy children's television series, the second live-action iteration of the book series Horrible Histories written by Terry Deary.
Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English playwright and poet, has appeared in works of fiction since the nineteenth century. He was a contemporary of William Shakespeare, and has been suggested as an alternative author of Shakespeare's works, an idea not accepted in mainstream scholarship. Marlowe, alleged to have been a government spy and frequently claimed to have been homosexual, was killed in 1593.
Ghosts is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from April 2019 to December 2023. It follows a group of ghosts from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing it with its new living occupants. It is written and performed by the collective group Them There, who had previously worked together on productions including Horrible Histories and Yonderland.
Them There is a theatrical production collective made up of a group of comedy writers and performers, notable for working on a range of projects together including Horrible Histories, Yonderland, and Ghosts. They are also informally referred to as the Horrible Histories troupe and The Six Idiots.
We Are Not Alone is a 2022 British science-fiction comedy television film co-created and co-written by Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond. Starring Declan Baxter, Georgia May Foote, Bruce Mackinnon, Evelyn Mok, Rickard, Joe Thomas, Willbond, Mike Wozniak, Vicki Pepperdine and Amanda Abbington, it was broadcast on Dave on 28 November 2022. It follows a group of aliens who have invaded and conquered Earth as they try to maintain control with their new subjects.