Prince of Persia Movie is “Kind of” Like Shakespeare

“…It’s kind of a Shakespearean story we tell about these three brothers. One grew up on the streets and gets adopted by the king because in those days, when you had sons, they were inclined to assassinate the father to become king,” Prince of Persia producer Jerry Bruckheimer said. “By having this kid who could never be king in the palace, he was always protected. If the father died, they’d throw him out. That’s the kind of Shakespearean part of our story,” Bruckheimer said.

Ummm…ok?  That’s about as Shakespearean as any other “kings had a tendency to get assassinated” storyline.  And Shakespeare didn’t really make that up.  Which brother is the hero? What’s his flaw?  Help me out here, Jerry. 

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99953-New-Prince-of-Persia-Movie-is-Kind-of-Like-Shakespeare

P.S. – Insert joke here about Earl of Oxford having two brothers, one of whom gets adopted by the king ….

2 thoughts on “Prince of Persia Movie is “Kind of” Like Shakespeare

  1. ben kingsley plays the villain in the prince of persia movie. in an interview, he says that he used his experience in playing iago and brutus in preparing for the villain role (interview in the may 23, 2010 issue of The Philippine Star).

  2. Yes. See this post :

    http://blog.shakespearegeek.com/2010/05/come-not-between-ben-kingsley-and-his.html

    Where Sir Ben defends his practice of bringing Shakespeare to every role he plays, no matter how cheesy.

    Thanks for reminding me that I'd already done a "Prince of Persia / Shakespeare connection" post. I'd be willing to bet that the director got the idea of calling it Shakespeare based on something Kingsley likely said to him during filming, now that I've seen both stories.

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