The Tempest (2010 film)

The Tempest is a 2010 American film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, featuring Helen Mirren in the principal role of Prospera. The film is directed by Julie Taymor and premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2010.

Prospera, the duchess of Milan, is secretly denounced as a sorceress and usurped by her brother Antonio, with aid from Alonso, the King of Naples, and is cast off in a small boat to die with her threeyearold daughter Miranda. They survive, finding themselves stranded on an island where the human beast Caliban is the sole inhabitant. Prospera enslaves Caliban, frees the captive spirit Ariel and claims the island. Afteryears, Alonso sails back to his kingdom from the marriage of his daughter to the prince of Tunisia, accompanied by his son Ferdinand, his brother Sebastian and Antonio. Prospera, seizing her chance for revenge, with Ariels help causes a tempest, wrecking the ship and stranding those on board on her island.The film, based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, is written and directed by Julie Taymor. The plays main character is Prospero, and Taymor changed the characters gender to cast Helen Mirren as Prospera. Taymor explained the casting decision, I didnt really have a male actor that excited me in mind, and yet there had been a couple of phenomenal females Helen Mirren being one of them who made me think My God, does this play change? What happens if you make that role into a female role? Taymor held a reading and found that the story could accommodate the change of gender without being gimmicky. ........

Source: Wikipedia