By Casey Lewis
"Romeo and Juliet" has it all. First loves, nail-biting suspense, dudes in tights—there's really nothing not wonderful about it (except, of course, the tragic ending). The latest iteration of the classic Shakespeare play, hits theaters this weekend and happens to star two of our favorite actors in Young Hollywood, which makes it extra wonderful.
We debuted the incredibly romantic, seriously gut-wrenching movie poster what feels like forever ago, and the flick has finally arrived! There are a gazillion reasons you should see the movie this weekend (just think how thrilled your lit teacher will be!), but this is why we're so excited (and why you should be too!).
Hailee Steinfeld is simply the best... ...And we're not just saying that because she's on our October cover. She may be young (17!), but this girl has major acting chops—and an Academy Award nomination to prove it. "I really wanted to make Juliet more than just a damsel in distress," she told us in the issue. And you can bet she succeeded.
Could Douglas Booth be any dreamier? Nope. Maybe you remember him from LOL, the last movie Miley Cyrus starred in before writing off acting forever (with the exception of her A+ performance on Saturday Night Live)? Like the pop chanteuse, Douglas has come a long way since the 2012 flick. Not just any up-and-coming actor can snag the role of Romeo, though being a Burberry model--who really, really knows how to smolder—certainly can't hurt.
Ed Westwick is back, finally! We haven't seen this British dreamboat on screen since "Gossip Girl" came to a close last year (like you, we're still acclimating to life without Chuck Bass). But this time around, he'll get to use that charming English accent of his, which is reason enough to watch the flick.
The Renaissance-era costumes are gorgeous. Costume designer Carlo Poggioli said at least 1,000 super ornate costumes were created for the flick, and we bet they're super accurate because the producer-slash-screenwriter-slash-brains behind the movie is Julian Fellowes, best known as the creator of everyone's favorite (and perhaps only) Edwardian-era soap, "Downton Abbey."
It's only the most classic love story of all time. This release of the storied tale marks the first screen adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" in 16 years, which makes it an obvious can't-miss. Can you believe it's been that long since Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes starred in Baz Luhrmann's pop culture-infused modern-day adaptation? (Related: You should totally watch said adaptation pronto, because nothing beats a 22-year-old shaggy-haired Leonardo.)
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