This appeared several weeks ago. In case you missed it … or in case you want to review again … well worth reading. Here’s the link followed by a few paragraphs.
Our film Anonymous asks viewers to think for themselves about Shakespeare
Criticism of Anonymous has been vitriolic. But scholarship about Shakespeare’s life relies on smoke and mirrors
John Orloff
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 27 October 2011 11.00 EDT
As the screenwriter of Anonymous, I’ve watched the reactions to the film both here in the UK and in the US with great interest and not a little surprise. The film-makers, myself included, expected controversy – one does not take on sacred cows naively – but I must confess that the vitriol of our critics has been impressive.
One American Ivy League professor, James Shapiro, has insinuated that our film is like Nazi propaganda. The county of Warwickshire allowed the Shakespeare Trust to temporarily remove Shakespeare’s name from public signs – an act of protest against our film that seems counter-productive; anti-Stratfordians couldn’t agree more with that act.
Throughout the run-up to the film’s release, I have been reminded that one does not take on people’s livelihoods lightly.
While our little film not only does not disparage the genius of Hamlet and Lear, but rather honours, rightly, the genius of the work, it does challenge two Bard-related industries – tourism and, perhaps more provocatively, Shakespearean scholarship itself.
