Spencer
What is Known About the New Diana Movie
Friedrichshof Palace in Kronberg becomes the set for "Spencer".
© imago images / focal distanceffm
In "Spencer" Kristen Stewart plays Princess Diana. The shooting even brings a touch of Hollywood to the Taunus.
With "Spencer" a film is dedicated to the late Princess Diana (1961-1997). "Jackie" director Pablo Larraín (44) will be working on the script by Steven Knight (62), which focuses on the fateful Christmas days of the princess at the Sandringham estate. So far this is known about the cast, the plot and the location.
Cast: Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana
"Twilight" star Kristen Stewart (30) will take on the role of princess – a great challenge for the actress. "I haven't been so excited to play a role in a long time," Stewart said in an October 2020 interview with InStyle. Diana's accent in particular is "intimidating as hell because people know this voice and it is so, so clear and special". She works with a dialect coach and has sifted through Diana biographies. "It's one of the saddest stories ever and I don't want to just play Diana – I want to know her implicitly." A first picture promises at least one successful optical transformation of the actress into Lady Di.
Stewart can be seen in the photo in a black bow tie blouse and red jacket. She wears a black hat with a mourning veil on her head, which she tilts to one side in characteristic Diana fashion. The otherwise cheeky hair of the actress now frames her face in an elegant hair dryer wave. The other cast include Timothy Spall (63, "Verwünscht"), Sally Hawkins (44, "The Shape of Water") and Sean Harris (55, "Mission: Impossible").
Synopsis: Fateful Christmas
The film is said to focus on a specific weekend in the life of the former wife of Prince Charles (72). On the very same day, it is said to have been the Christmas holidays with the royal family at the Sandringham estate, Princess Diana made the decision to separate from her husband and to get a divorce. The script was written by "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight. "It's a different perspective on a story that we all don't know well, but we feel part of it," Knight said in a recent interview with Variety and revealed that he was well aware of the royal Netflix series "The Crown "stayed away in order not to be influenced by Diana's portrayal.
Location: A castle hotel in the Taunus
As reported by the US industry portal "Variety", the shooting of "Spencer" has already started. They are to take place in both Great Britain and Germany, including in the Taunus. As the "Hessenschau" reports, Friedrichshof Palace in Kronberg has been offering a suitable counterpart to Sandringham since the end of January. It has been a hotel and conference center since 1954, the imposing building with many windows and dormers was the widow's seat of the German Empress Victoria (1840-1901), a daughter of the English Queen Victoria (1819-1901), from 1893. A collection of antiques and paintings from the private collection of the mother of the last German emperor convey "the authentic ambience of a palace from the imperial era", says the website of the hotel, in which the actors will also be accommodated during the shoot.
"Spencer" is produced by several international production companies, including the US company Neon and the German company Accomplizen Film. It is funded by the German Film Fund DFFF, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the FFA Film Fund and the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. The Hessen Film Funding, HessenFilm, supports the production with 250,000 euros. The theatrical release of "Spencer" is planned for autumn 2021 – shortly before Princess Diana's death in 2022 marks the 25th anniversary.