“Lost” King Richard III movie arrives in theaters this weekend

We discussed the surprising find of the burial place of King Richard III–the monarch made famous if not immortal by William Shakespeare in his drama–a decade ago here at borg. Back in 2012 an “ordinary British citizen” after researching medieval documents, books, and maps, prompted a legitimate archaeological dig, and a team dug into a nondescript parking lot in Leicester. On the first day they uncovered the body of the last king to die in battle, in 1485 after only two years on the throne (check out the documentary we discussed here in 2013 for some interesting follow-ups on Richard’s legacy in the 21st century). The woman who prompted the dig was Philippa Langley, who would go on to document her efforts in a book, The Search for Richard III (available here at Amazon). Directed by Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, The Queen, The Grifters, High Fidelity), and written by and co-starring Steve Coogan (The Other Guys, Hot Fuzz), The Lost King tells Langley’s story. It arrives in theaters in the U.S. this weekend, with Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) as Langley and Counterpart co-star Harry Lloyd as the ghost of King Richard–so this is part true, part fantasy–and it looks like fun.