Eight years ago we first reported to you about the film project “Catherine, Lady reluctantly”. Back then, the TV series “Girls” and its leading lady and mastermind Lena Dunham were at the peak of their popularity. The New Yorker undoubtedly had a choice of what to do next. She chose a young adult novel by Karen Cushman, which she was dying to adapt and direct because she loved it so much as a young girl.
In early 2021, the script was finally complete and funding secured — still with Dunham on board. Which alone shows how much passion she must actually have for the source material. Because she really wasn’t lacking in offers and opportunities to realize other films and TV series. In March of the same year, filming began in the English county of Shropshire. These found in and around the Stokesay Castle Instead, an old manor house, the cornerstone of which was laid exactly at the time when the book, which has received numerous awards and is praised for its exquisite humor, is set.
» “Catherine, reluctant lady” on Amazon Prime Video*
In September 2022, the comedy celebrated its world premiere as part of the Toronto International Film Festival. Today, October 7, 2022, “Catherine, Lady reluctantly” starts worldwide and exclusively in the program of the streaming service Amazon Prime Video.
Written in the form of a diary, Cushman’s volume has received critical acclaim for its ability to make readers laugh as well as think. He also presents us with a rich, well-realized world in which the ambience is intriguingly vintage, but the authentic characters are relatable to today’s audiences. Judging by the entertaining trailer, Dunham managed to transfer these qualities to her film.
» The book “Catherine Called Birdy” by Karen Cushman on Amazon*
Bella Ramsey, world-famous as the young Lady Lyanna Mormont from the hit series “Game Of Thrones”, takes on the cheeky, cheeky title role of Catherine. Her parents are Andrew Scott from 1917 and Billie Piper (Penny Dreadful,Doctor Who”) to see. Other important parts are performed by Joe Alwyn (“Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots”), Lesley Sharp (“Fate: The Winx Saga”), Mimi Ndiweni from “The Witcher’, Archie Renaux (‘Shadow And Bone’) and Sophie Okonedo (‘The Wheel Of Time’).
In addition to Bella Ramsey, the cast also includes a number of other “Game Of Thrones” veterans. We’ve spotted Thoros of Myr actor Paul Kaye, Dean-Charles Chapman aka Tommen Baratheon, David Bradley aka Walder Frey, and Dagmer Cleftjaw mime Ralph Ineson on the cast list for you. This list alone should probably make “Catherine Called Birdy”, as the film and book are called in the original, a kind of must-attend event for “GoT” fans.
The year is 1290. 14-year-old Catherine, known as Birdy (Bella Ramsey), is growing up in a run-down castle as the daughter of the impoverished landed gentry Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott) and his wife Lady Aislinn (Billie Piper). In order to pay off his considerable debt, Lord Rollo plans to sell his daughter to the highest bidder as a suitor’s wife.
If the girl weren’t constantly on guard and would scare away all the applicants (including Russell Brand) one after the other, she would have been under the hood long ago and her little bit of hard-won freedom would be gone. Because she really doesn’t see herself as a lady in some boring castle with an ugly old husband. Birdy would prefer to go out into the world as a knight, minstrel or craftsman.
At least she can read and write, even if that is frowned upon by everyone. After all, she’s a girl. But this talent doesn’t help her much when her father thinks he’s finally found a rich guy for her who can’t be rid of as easily as his predecessors. It seems that this time her only option is to escape…
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