Friday, September 2, 2011

The W.E. Couple of the Century



Long before the invention of the celebrity power couple and 24/7 scandals, the controversy of the W.E. couple of the century occupied the news and rocked the British monarchy during the 1930s. The W.E. couple in question is none other than Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, the American socialite/divorcee and the man who would be king. In the event an explanation is needed, the Prince of Wales was in line for the throne and had an affair with the very married Mrs. Simpson and abdicated his title....all in the name of love. They eventually married and lived out their days as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The saga has been told in countless books and Wallis has been portrayed on both the small and big screen by everyone from Faye Dunaway, Jane Seymour, Joely Richardson and even Gwyneth Paltrow in an episode of Glee. Most recently, the couple was featured in the Academy Award winning film The King's Speech (Guy Pearce played a wonderful Prince Edward) in scenes that left audiences wanting more.

Guy Pearce as Edward in The King's Speech....
and Eve Best as Wallis Simpson 

Enter the Material Girl turned director who just debuted her latest entry on the subject at the Venice Film Festival. W.E. (Weinstein Company) tells the story of the "greatest love story of the century" and marks the former Mrs. Sean Penn/Guy Ritchie's second directorial effort. Perhaps she picked up a thing or two from her former director/husbands.

Riseborough and Madonna at the Venice Film Festival
The film tells the story of Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish), a New Yorker obsessed with the love story in l998, intertwined with tales of the glory days of the Duke and Duchess (James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough) and spans six decades. W.E. debuts December 12th and has already received its share of reviews -- ranging from mixed to damning. On a lighter note, the style obsessed will enjoy lots of eye candy (Portofino and Cap d'Antibes), Schiaparelli gowns and Cartier jewelry. The film does offer one of my favorite quotes of the day when Wallis says, "Your Majesty, you know your way to a woman's heart," and he replies, "I wasn't aiming that high."

No word yet if Madonna sings the title song:)









Happy Labor Day and end of the summer to all.

Photo Credits: Weinstein Company
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5 comments:

  1. The Devoted ClassicistSeptember 2, 2011 at 4:32 PM

    Although I expect the film to be the ultimate Hollywood version rather a true story, all evidence so far is that it is a visually beautiful film.

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  2. vicki archerSeptember 6, 2011 at 7:50 AM

    I really enjoy your emails Cathy and just wanted to say that....thank you. This post is another fab one....xv

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  3. Cathy WhitlockSeptember 6, 2011 at 7:51 AM

    Thank you!

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2011 at 9:21 PM

    Only Americans would see this as romantic,but really everyone sees the contrary: she was not yet divorced when she caught her prey, and convinced him to throw commitment to family out the window. She's what you would call a hussy.

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  5. Cathy WhitlockSeptember 20, 2011 at 9:43 PM

    I would also add the word opportunist too!

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