Filming Begins on ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’

Hyde Park on Hudson
Bill Murray in ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ (Photo © 2012 – Focus Features)

Focus Features announced filming is now underway on the historical tale Hyde Park on Hudson starring Bill Murray and Laura Linney. Roger Michell (Morning Glory) is directing the film from a screenplay by Richard Nelson, with Focus Features aiming for a 2012 release.

Hyde Park on Hudson is being shot in the U.K.

In addition to Murray and Linney, the cast also includes Olivia Williams, Elizabeth Wilson, Elizabeth Marvel, and Eleanor Bron.

Focus CEO James Schamus said, “Filmgoers will be intrigued by this unique exploration of the all-too-human side of one of history’s great men. Roger is an actor’s director who will guide Bill and Laura through their playing of Richard’s script, which beautifully encompasses satire and drama.”

Film4’s Tessa Ross added, “This promises to be an extraordinary film; we have our dream cast and a great crew on board, we’re partnering anew with our friends at Focus, and we’re working once again with the exceptional Roger Michell. What a privilege for Film4 to be on this journey with them all.”

The Plot: In June 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (played by Murray) and his wife Eleanor (Williams) host the King and Queen of England (Samuel West) for a weekend at the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park on Hudson, in upstate New York – the first-ever visit of a reigning English monarch to America. With Britain facing imminent war with Germany, the Royals are desperately looking to FDR for support. But international affairs must be juggled with the complexities of FDR’s domestic establishment, as wife, mother, and mistresses all conspire to make the royal weekend an unforgettable one.

Seen through the eyes of Daisy (Linney), Franklin’s distant cousin, neighbor, and intimate, the weekend will produce not only a special relationship between two great nations but, for Daisy – and through her, for us all – a deeper understanding of the mysteries of love and friendship.