“ANONYMOUS” Exclusive at Ayala Mall Cinemas on April 18

Columbia Pictures' Oscar-nominated thriller “Anonymous” will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma) starting Wednesday, April 18.


Directed by Roland Emmerich from the script by John Orloff, “Anonymous” stars Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Xavier Samuel, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall, Edward Hogg, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Derek Jacobi. The film speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Sigmund Freud, namely: who actually created the body of work credited to William Shakespeare?

Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. “Anonymous” poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when scandalous political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles lusting for the power of the throne were brought to light in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.

It might not seem that Roland Emmerich – best known as the director of the epic blockbusters “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and “2012” – would necessarily choose as his next project a story set in Elizabethan England. However, for nearly ten years, he has wanted to make a film with the Shakespeare authorship question as a backdrop – a yearning that is fulfilled with “Anonymous.”
Screenwriter John Orloff says he had been fascinated by the Shakespeare authorship question since first learning about the controversy as a 25-year-old graduate student 20 years ago. “My first thought was, ‘Why had no one told me this?!’” he says. “My second thought was that this would make a fantastic film. It had everything – murder, sex, lies, betrayal – truly the stuff of Shakespearean drama.”