William & Kate: The Movie is the first of two unrelated American television films about the relationship between Prince William and Catherine "Kate" Middleton (now The Prince and Princess of Wales), directed by Mark Rosman and written by Nancey Silvers. The film was a ratings success, despite the negative reception from critics. The second film William & Catherine: A Royal Romance was produced by the Hallmark Channel and released in August 2011.
| William & Kate: The Movie | |
|---|---|
 DVD Cover (Region 2) | |
| Written by | Nancey Silvers |
| Directed by | Mark Rosman |
| Starring | Nico Evers-Swindell Camilla Luddington |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Eileen Fields Lina Wong |
| Cinematography | Anthony B. Richmond |
| Editor | Charles Bornstein |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Lifetime |
| Release | 18 April 2011 |
Produced by Lifetime, the filming of William & Kate took place mostly in Los Angeles, with some second unit location filming in the United Kingdom, and the release date was 18 April 2011.[1][2] This came eleven days before the wedding of William and Catherine on 29 April 2011.[3]
Kate Middleton is played by Camilla Luddington, an English-born actress, while the part of William was taken by Nico Evers-Swindell, a New Zealander.[4]
Cast
edit- Nico Evers-Swindell – Prince William
- Camilla Luddington – Catherine Middleton
- Samantha Whittaker – Olivia Martin
- Jonathan Patrick Moore – Ian Musgrave
- Richard Reid - Derek Rodgers
- Ben Cross – The Prince of Wales
- Calvin Goldspink – James Middleton
- Serena Scott Thomas – Carole Middleton
- Christopher Cousins – Michael Middleton
- Justin Hanlon – Prince Harry
- Trilby Glover – Margaret Hemmings-Wellington
- Mary Elise Hayden – Pippa Middleton
- Charles Shaughnessy – Flight Instructor
- Louise Linton – Vanessa Rose Bellows
- Stephen Marsh – Professor Durham
- Theo Cross – Trevor
- Victoria Tennant – Celia
Reception
editThe film received negative reviews, with The Guardian calling it "awful, toe-curlingly, teeth-furringly, pillow-bitingly ghastly",[5] the Daily Mirror saying it "contains moments so royally ridiculous they could only have occurred in the mind of a third-rate script writer" [6] and the London Evening Standard saying its only positive was that "it is recognisably a film, in that it takes place on a screen. Events run in a forward direction."[7] The film has also been criticised for its use of American actors, for some of its images, and for first unit filming taking place in the United States.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ "'William & Kate' Actors Dish About Their Royal Wedding TV Movie". tvsquad.com. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ "Lifetime movie "William & Kate" to premiere in U.S. on April 18". xinhuanet.com. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ "Royal wedding set for Westminster Abbey on 29 April". BBC. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ "Wills and Kate: the inside story". iol.co.za. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ Bates, Stephen (14 April 2011). "William and Kate: The Movie – so bad it'll probably be a smash". The Guardian. London.
- ^ "Royal wedding film review: Will and Kate the movie royally ridiculous". Mirror. 14 April 2011.
- ^ "FIRST REVIEW - William & Kate: The Movie is a classic". The Evening Standard. 10 April 2012.
- ^ Gardiner, Stephanie (15 April 2011). "Critics pan 'pillow-bitingly ghastly' William and Kate film". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ Gilbert, Matthew (18 April 2011). "Lifetime's 'William & Kate' is a royal bore". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 27, 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.