Playing in theaters now is director Tom Hooper’s THE DANISH GIRL. The film has been nominated for 5 Critics’ Choice Awards, 3 Golden Globe Awards, and 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
In her review, Cate Marquis says the movie “is a visually beautiful film, with fine, moving performances and a little-known historical story, which will make it a winner for its story of transcendent love.”
Eddie Redmayne is one of the five nominees in the Best Actor category on the AWFJ‘s recently released nomination list for the 2015 EDA Awards.
Focus Features’ has launched a new initiative in tandem with the recent wide release of THE DANISH GIRL.
Inspired by the remarkable true story of Lili Elbe, they’re recognizing influential members and supporters in the LGBT community with the #CourageToBeYourself project. Rhys Harper, a transgender photographer, captured the various individuals in their chosen personal space – wherever they felt represented their true self.
Each photo is accompanied by their personal story of courage. The collection of their extraordinary experiences hopes to celebrate and inspire others to find the courage to be themselves. Focus will continue to highlight each profile in the coming weeks.
For more info on the #CourageToBeYourself initiative, see the album.
The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne [“The Theory of Everything”] and Alicia Vikander [“Ex Machina”]), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech,” “Les Misérables”).
Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
THE DANISH GIRL is a film about a transsexual pioneer, played by Eddie Redmayne and directed by Tom Hooper. Hooper has demonstrated his skill with lush period drama in THE KING’S SPEECH and Redmayne’s performance as Stephen Hawking in THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING impressed but THE DANISH GIRL is as much a story of the power of love, with Alicia Vikander delivering a strong performance as the wife facing a difficult change.
The story opens in the 1920s with a happily married couple, a pair of Danish artists, Einar (Redmayne) and Gerda (Vikander) Wegener, who seem like soul mates. Einar having some success with his landscape paintings, while Gerda is still struggling for recognition for her portraits. One day, Gerda’s model does not show up, and in order to complete the commissioned work by deadline, she asks her husband to dress up as a woman and take the model’s place. He resists at first, but then relents. The feel of women’s clothing awakens something in Einar. Their actress friend Ulla (Amber Heard) dubs Einar’s female alter ego “Lili.” As Einar feels the pull of being Lili, everything changes for both artists.
The film is based on a novel that was inspired by the first transgender person to undergo sex-reassignment surgery. While a lot of attention will be focused on Redmayne, who does a fine job, the really impressive performance, the one that might grab audiences, is Vikander’s heartbreaking one as Gerda Wegener. Gerda truly loves the husband she is losing as she helps him through this transition. This may be Vikander’s year, following up her striking performance in EX MACHINA with this moving one.
THE DANISH GIRL is one of the season’s two Oscar-bait period dramas focused on persons with a sexual nature that were taboo in their era. The other, CAROL, an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel, is set in the repressive 1950s and is a love story about lesbian couple. THE DANISH GIRL is set in the free-wheeling 1920s and is based on a novel inspired by real people and events, about a married pair of artists whose lives are transformed when the husband comes out as a transgender person. It too is a love story, as the wife’s devotion to her husband transcend the changes that are causing her heartbreak. Both films are gorgeous and filled with fine period details and costumes but CAROL is garnering higher critical praise. This is due in part to strong performances but also perhaps because it is set in the repressive 1950s, a time period once called the “little Victorian Age.” “The Mad Men” ’50s seems to speak more to current tastes than the Roaring Twenties, a period of rebellion, experimentation and artistic creativity that followed the actual Victorian Age and the devastation of World War I. Or maybe it is because THE DANISH GIRL is a different kind of tragic love story.
THE DANISH GIRL is lushly beautiful, of course. Hooper is known for the visual beauty and stylishness of his films. THE DANISH GIRL is no exception – quite the contrary. Set in the European art world of the ’20s and ’30s, when gorgeous fashions and decor abounded – and at the film’s height, in Paris no less – gives Hooper an abundance of riches with which to work. But all that visual beauty might work against the very serious, tragic drama unfolding.
The assumption one might make is that the title “The Danish Girl” refers to Redmayne’s character but a line of dialog actually links it to Gerda Wegener, whose heartbreak is mixed with a tireless devotion to her husband as he pursues his dream of transitioning into a woman, the first to attempt sex reassignment surgery. Vikander’s performance is moving and strong, providing such a powerful presence that the film seems diminished when she is not on screen. Redmayne makes a valiant effort but his freckled, masculine face and lanky frame are never fully convincing as a woman, although that works in a way.
Redmayne and Vikander are wonderful together, and the film has nice supporting roles played by Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard and Matthias Schoenaerts. While the look is entrancing and the acting moving, the film suffers a bit from lack of focus. Primarily, the story is about the marriage but occasionally it wants to be about transgender issues, and even hints at the possibility that Einar was intersex. The film deviates from the historical facts for dramatic purposes, which might displease some. Regardless, a clearer focus might have helped lift the film, particularly in its later scenes.
Still, THE DANISH GIRL is a visually beautiful film, with fine, moving performances and a little-known historical story, which will make it a winner for its story of transcendent love.
THE DANISH GIRL opens in St. Louis on Friday, December 18th, 2015.
THE DANISH GIRL is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, portrayed in the film respectively by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech).
In 1926 in Copenhagen, artist Einar Wegener is married to Gerda Wegener and is revered for landscape paintings. Gerda is also an artist, less renowned but steadily working as a portraitist of prominent citizens. Theirs is a strong and loving marriage, yet personal and professional epiphanies have eluded them both. That all begins to change one day when, on deadline for a portrait, Gerda asks her husband to fill in for a model by putting on a dress so that she can finish the painting. The experience is transformative, as Einar soon realizes that being Lili is an expression of her truest self, and she begins living her life as a woman. Gerda unexpectedly finds that she has a new muse, and renewed creative ferment. But the couple soon brush up against society’s disapproval.
They leave their homeland for the more open-minded world of Paris. There, it is Gerda’s career that continues to flourish. The couple’s marriage evolves -and not without strain. But again and again Gerda supports Lili during her journey as a transgender woman. Through the other, each of them finds the courage to be who they are at heart.
The film is based on the book by David Ebershoff.
The Danish Girl was David Ebershoff’s debut novel. First published in 2000, the book won the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction, among other honors. It has been translated into nearly 20 languages.
WAMG is giving away FIVE (5) copies of the book to celebrate the film’s release.
ENTER YOUR NAME AND E-MAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE A WINNER.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.
2. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.
This week’s episode of our podcast WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is up! Hear WAMG’s Michelle McCue, Jim Batts and Tom Stockman discuss the weekend box office. We’ll review THE HEIST, DON VERDEAN, THE DANISH GIRL, CHI-RAQ, KRAMPUS, and MACBETH. We’ll preview THE REVENANT, CONCUSSION, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA, and the new Chipmunks movie. We’ll talk about some older movies playing in St. Louis this week and talk about the film critics awards that are rolling in. WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is a weekly podcast and can be heard streaming at ONStl.com Online Radio.
THE DANISH GIRL is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, portrayed in the film respectively by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech).
In 1926 in Copenhagen, artist Einar Wegener is married to Gerda Wegener and is revered for landscape paintings. Gerda is also an artist, less renowned but steadily working as a portraitist of prominent citizens. Theirs is a strong and loving marriage, yet personal and professional epiphanies have eluded them both. That all begins to change one day when, on deadline for a portrait, Gerda asks her husband to fill in for a model by putting on a dress so that she can finish the painting. The experience is transformative, as Einar soon realizes that being Lili is an expression of her truest self, and she begins living her life as a woman. Gerda unexpectedly finds that she has a new muse, and renewed creative ferment. But the couple soon brush up against society’s disapproval.
They leave their homeland for the more open-minded world of Paris. There, it is Gerda’s career that continues to flourish. The couple’s marriage evolves -and not without strain. But again and again Gerda supports Lili during her journey as a transgender woman. Through the other, each of them finds the courage to be who they are at heart.
THE DANISH GIRL opens in St. Louis on December 18, 2015.
WAMG invites you to enter for a chance to win a pass (Good for 2) to the advance screening of THE DANISH GIRLon Wednesday, December 16 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
We will contact the winners by email.
Answer the following:
Which two projects have Tom Hooper and Eddie Redmayne previously worked on together?
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWER AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
Focus Features has released the first clip from Tom Hooper’s upcoming film, THE DANISH GIRL.
THE DANISH GIRL is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, portrayed in the film respectively by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables). Trailer
On Monday, November 23, the White House will recognize nine individuals from across the country as “White House LGBT Artists Champions of Change.” These individuals were selected by the White House for their artistry in advocating for the LGBT community. The program will feature remarks by Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and Secretary for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, and screenings of the show Transparent from Amazon Studios and the Focus Features film THE DANISH GIRL.
The event also marks an important day in the LGBT community, Transgender Day of Remembrance, observed on November 20.
The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The event will be live streamed on the White House website.
To watch this event live, visit www.whitehouse.gov/live on Monday, November 23, at 1:00 PM ET. To learn more about the White House Champions of Change program, visit www.whitehouse.gov/champions. Follow the conversation at #LGBTChamps.
Marco Castro-Bojorquez—Los Angeles, California
Marco Castro-Bojorquez is the Community Educator in Lambda Legal’s Western Regional Office in Los Angeles, California. Marco is responsible for the coordination and implementation of Lambda Legal’s various educational and advocacy efforts. He has produced and directed several short films and documentaries, including the award- winning documentary Tres Gotas de Agua (Three Drops of Water, 2013), a short film about Latina immigrant mothers and the impact of their children’s coming out process. In 2015, he premiered El Canto del Colibrí(The Hummingbird’s Song), a documentary about Latino immigrant fathers and their LGBT children as they come out of the closet.
Fiona Dawson—Silver Spring, Maryland
Fiona Dawson established TransMilitary to promote transgender equality through media that educates, entertains and inspires. The project intimately shares the lives of U.S. transgender military personnel who served under the threat of discharge. Having co-directed and produced the short opinion documentary Transgender, at War and in Love, commissioned by the New York Times, she is now working on the feature length version of the film. An American immigrant, Fiona lived in Houston, Texas, for more than ten years working in the nonprofit sector and was voted the city’s Female Grand Marshal for the 2010 LGBT Pride Parade. She is a proud member of the bisexual community and has served on the National Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Fiona is currently on the Board of Directors for the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA).
Jess Dugan—St. Louis, Missouri
Jess Dugan is an artist whose work explores issues of gender, sexuality, identity, and community. She has been photographing within LGBT communities for the past decade and is deeply committed to the transformative power of photographic portraiture. Her work is regularly exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collections of several major museums. Her current project, To Survive on this Shore, combines photographs of transgender and gender-variant older adults with interviews about their life experiences in regards to gender, identity, age, and sexuality, and provides a nuanced view into the complexities of aging as a transgender person in the United States.
Joanna Hoffman —Brooklyn, New York
Joanna Hoffman is a 12-year veteran of slam poetry. Her full-length book of poetry Running for Trap Doors was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and featured in the American Library Association’s list of recommended LGBT reading for 2014. She has performed her one-woman poetry show, The Personal is Political: These Simple Truths, on topics of bullying, homophobia, racism and mental health, and conducted poetry workshops with youth at LGBTQ community centers, performance venues, high schools and colleges across the country. She works at the nonprofit organization Peace is Loud.
AJ King — Washington, District of Columbia
AJ King serves as the Founder of Breaking Ground. Formerly known as “Brother 2 Brother,” this program targets men and trans youth of color in Washington, D.C., to tell their life stories through musical theatre, and identify non-violent conflict resolution. The program began as a fellowship project and blossomed into a full program presented at the national HIV/AIDS conference, NAESM. This program incorporates social justice trainings, leadership development, and a safe space for the participants to disclose their life stories and then present those stories onstage. This program concluded its last cycle with two sold-out shows at the Anacostia Arts Center in October 2014.
Pidgeon Pagonis—Chicago, Illinois
Pidgeon Pagonis, M.A., is an intersex activist. They are the former Communications & Operations Manager and Youth Leadership Coordinator for Inter/Act, an intersex youth project, at Advocates for Informed Choice–an organization that fights for the legal rights of intersex children and their families. Since 2006, they have made an effort to expand the visibility of issues related to the intersex community by facilitating workshops and presentations around the world.
Lee Levingston Perine — Washington, District of Columbia
Lee Levingston Perine is the Founder of Makers Lab in Washington, D.C. Through Makers Lab, Lee has built and supported queer communities by creating spaces that celebrate life, art, and queer culture. Since launching in August 2015, the Lab has produced and been a collaborator in the production of 35 cultural events in the region. The Lab recently received a grant for the Last Night Project, a story-collecting project that explores Black queer space in Washington, D.C. Previously, Lee founded and ran Lovebus Events & Design, a boutique event planning company that specialized in wedding planning for LGBTQ couples.
LJ Roberts—Joshua Tree, New York
LJ Roberts is a visual artist who creates large-scale knitted installations, detailed embroideries, screen prints and collages. Their work investigates overlaps of queer and trans politics, activism, protest, craft and the ongoing AIDS epidemic through an intersectional feminist lens. Among their upcoming projects are a collaboration with Visual AIDS to create a sex-positive woman-centered safer sex kit as part of the forthcoming show Agitprop! at The Brooklyn Museum .
Steven Romeo—Birmingham, Alabama
Steven Romeo is the founder, executive director and primary artist for The Change Project based in Birmingham, AL. The Change Project is an arts and storytelling organization that seeks to transforming discrimination against all LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) people into acceptance through the art of photography, social media campaigns, educational resources and partnerships with social justice organizations. Steven’s first fine art installation is “Our Bodies. Our Lives,” which engages viewers to consider what LGBTQ people want to be called versus the labels that society places on them. Steven currently studies at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, working towards his master’s degree in Public Administration with a focus in non-profit management.
OPENING IN SELECT NY/LA THEATERS ON NOVEMBER 27, IN ST. LOUIS ON DEC. 18 AND IN ADDITIONAL CITIES DECEMBER 2015.
NEW YORK THEATERS
AMC Loews Lincoln Square
1998 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
Regal Cinemas Union Square
850 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
LOS ANGELES THEATERS
The Landmark 12
10850 West Pico,
Los Angeles, CA, 90064
Arclight Cinemas Hollywood 14 & Dome
6360 Sunset Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Focus Features has released photos of Eddie Redmayne and Laverne Cox at a special screening of THE DANISH GIRL in New York this past Saturday night.
One of 2015’s must-see movies, THE DANISH GIRL is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, portrayed in the film respectively by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables).
The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, November 27th, and in additional cities in December.
Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Eddie Redmayne, Hannah Bagshawe
Eddie Redmayne, Cuba Gooding Jr.
In 1926 in Copenhagen, artist Einar Wegener is married to Gerda Wegener and is revered for landscape paintings. Gerda is also an artist, less renowned but steadily working as a portraitist of prominent citizens. Theirs is a strong and loving marriage, yet personal and professional epiphanies have eluded themboth.
That all begins to change one day when, on deadline for a portrait, Gerda asks her husband to fill in for a model by putting on a dress so that she canfinish the painting. The experience is transformative, as Einar soon realizes that being Lili is an expression of her truest self, and she begins living her life as a woman. Gerda unexpectedly finds that she has a new muse, and renewed creative ferment. But the couple soon brush up against society’s disapproval.
They leave their homeland for the more open-minded world of Paris. There, it is Gerda’s career that continues to flourish. The couple’s marriage evolves -and not without strain. But again and again Gerda supports Lili during her journey as a transgender woman. Through the other, each of them finds thecourage to be who they are at heart.
Director Tom Hooper says, “I can’t overemphasize how courageous she was to have the surgery at that time. This was before antibiotics, before penicillin, where the risks of infectionwere acute and the treatments were in their infancy and very dangerous. Lili was extraordinarily brave in facing these risks.”
Eddie Redmayne adds, “Her bravery is unlike anything I can imagine. One friend of mine described it as that Lili would give anything and everything to live a life authentic.”
Screenwriter Lucinda Coxon says, “It’s an honor to bring this story to a wider audience, back to the world’s consciousness.”
Principal photography on THE DANISH GIRL was completed in April 2015. Post-production was finished in September 2015, marking the culmination of the story’s 15-year odyssey to the screen.
Alicia Vikander says,”I don’t think anyone will walk out of the theater after seeing this movie not being touched by Lili’s journey. It’s a love story between two people but above all a love story of learning how to love yourself.”
Eddie Redmayne concludes, “Whilst this is a very specific story about a very specific woman undergoing her own journey to be herself, I feel like all of us have barriers put up infront of us. Do we confront them? Get rid of them? Or – worst-case scenario – live with them? The bravery and courage that it takes to be yourself shouldn’t be underestimated.”
The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne [“The Theory of Everything”] and Alicia Vikander [“Ex Machina”]), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech,” “Les Misérables”). Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
The film also stars Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, and Matthias Schoenaerts.
THE DANISH GIRL opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, November 27th, and in additional cities in December 2015.
One of the most anticipated films of 2015, Focus Features has released the first poster for Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper’s THE DANISH GIRL.
Come back for a look at the first trailer on Tuesday, September 1st.
Credit: Focus Features
The remarkable love story is inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander) and directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (THE KING’S SPEECH, LES MISÉRABLES).
Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
The film also stars Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, and Matthias Schoenaerts.
THE DANISH GIRL opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, November 27th, and in additional cities in December 2015.
Working Title Films’ THE DANISH GIRL, directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables) and starring Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything, Les Misérables) and Alicia Vikander (A Royal Affair, Anna Karenina), will be released domestically by Focus Features in exclusive engagements in New York and Los Angeles beginning Friday, November 27th, 2015, and by Universal Pictures International overseas. Focus CEO Peter Schlessel made the announcement today.
THE DANISH GIRL is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Einar and Gerda Wegener (being portrayed, respectively, by Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander), whose marriage and work are cast into the unknown when Einar begins a groundbreaking journey to become one of the world’s first transgender women, Lili Elbe.
THE DANISH GIRL has been adapted into a screenplay by BAFTA Award nominee Lucinda Coxon, based on the novel of the same name by David Ebershoff.
The film’s cast also includes Matthias Schoenaerts (The Drop), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall), and Amber Heard (The Rum Diary).
The film’s producers are Gail Mutrux (Kinsey) through her Pretty Pictures production company, Anne Harrison (Two Family House) through her Harrison Productions, Working Title co-chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, and Tom Hooper. Linda Reisman is executive-producing The Danish Girl with Ulf Israel of Senator Global Productions.
Mr. Schlessel commented, “In the tradition of Focus’ history of epic and moving love stories, The Danish Girl promises to be unforgettable. Tom Hooper is an extraordinary storyteller who always elicits beautiful performances from his actors. We are so pleased to be working with Eddie Redmayne again after our shared success with Working Title on The Theory of Everything.”
Working Title’s The Theory of Everything, for which Mr. Redmayne last month won the Best Actor Academy Award and which last month won three BAFTA Awards including Best Actor, was released by Focus domestically in November 2014 and subsequently by Universal Pictures International overseas. The movie was nominated for four additional Academy Awards including Best Picture, and has grossed over $100 million worldwide.
Universal and Working Title’s Les Misérables, for which Mr. Hooper was a Directors Guild of America Award nominee and in which Mr. Redmayne costarred, won three Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway) and was nominated for five more including Best Picture. Mr. Hooper won the DGA Award and the Academy Award as Best Director for The King’s Speech, which won three more Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor (Colin Firth), and was nominated for eight additional Academy Awards.
Working Title Films, co-chaired by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner since 1992, is one of the world’s leading film production companies. Founded in 1983, Working Title has made over 100 films that have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide. Its films have won 11 Academy Awards, 38 BAFTA Awards, and prizes at the Cannes and Berlin International Film Festivals.
In addition to The Theory of Everything and The Danish Girl, current and upcoming releases from FOCUS FEATURES include Leigh Whannell’s Insidious: Chapter 3, the newest chapter in the terrifying horror series; Tarsem Singh’s Self/less, starring Ryan Reynolds and Ben Kingsley; Sinister 2, directed by Ciaran Foy; London Has Fallen, the sequel to the worldwide smash hit Olympus Has Fallen, starring Gerard Butler and directed by Babak Najafi; Juan Antonio Bayona’s visually spectacular drama A Monster Calls, starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, and Liam Neeson; Kubo and the Two Strings, the new family event movie from animation studio LAIKA, directed by Travis Knight with a voice cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes, Brenda Vaccaro, and Art Parkinson; and Stephen Hopkins’ Race, starring Jeremy Irons, Jason Sudeikis, and Stephan James as the legendary athletic superstar Jesse Owens.
