Author Topic: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series? Part I  (Read 221685 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #420 on: July 15, 2012, 02:08:23 AM »
OK time to catch back up with Nicky & Alix. Below are a few loosely tied together scenes describing some other events that took place in 1897. As always I appreciate your feedback!

The words Tsarskoe Selo – 10, June 1897 appear on the screen as we hear the sounds of a crying newborn. The doors are pushed open by a nursing assistant and we see a doctor handing over to Alexandra, stretched out in bed, her second daughter. Nicholas approaches having momentarily stepped away to speak with a minister…

Doctor: A most beautiful child your majesty!
Alexandra (smiling): Thank you!

Nicholas stares for a moment and then issues a warm, rapturous smile to his wife and newborn…

Alexandra (holding the baby so as to face her approaching father): Tatiana Nikolaevna meet your father, Tsar Nicholas, the Emperor of Russia!

Nicholas kisses Alexandra on the forehead and the two immediately embrace their newborn as the scene cuts away.

Next scene shifts to a small gathering of family members getting their first look at the new baby. Olga is taking particular interest in her little sister. She gives excited looks and makes faces up close that baby Tatya returns with wide eyes and smiling approval. We begin the scene with a conversation between Konstantine Konstantinovich and Marie Feoderovna…

Marie: KR you have spoken with the rest of the family? What is the mood?
KR: Well you majesty we all welcome the arrival of a new child that will no doubt be a splendid addition to the Imperial Family…
Marie (smiling and interrupting him): Yes, I’m quite sure there has been some level of disapproval at the birth of a second daughter however.
KR (hesitantly): Yes Madame everyone has expressed disappointment by the news as they had been hoping for a son.
Marie (nodding her head while staring away briefly to look at the family of four being embraced by others across the room): I think we all were. But we’ll embrace this little one and what a darling beauty she is.
KR: Indeed your majesty!
Marie (smiling, turning back to look at KR): Tell the rest of the court not to worry. They’re a young couple still, with two healthy and beautiful daughters. An Heir will be arriving soon enough!

The two of them walk over towards Nicholas, Alexandra, the children and their other guests…

KR: Two enchanting little girls…if you don’t mind me asking why the name Tatiana your majesties?
Nicholas: Well I’ve always enjoyed the Pushkin novel in verse “Eugene Onegin”.
KR: Ah, but of course, the two sisters Olga and Tatiana!
Marie: Alix I must say I’m glad you had an easier labor with this little one than Olga.
Alexandra: Oh yes, well 8 ½ pounds is still rather large for a baby girl.
Marie: Still I feared the worst during the early and middle stages of your pregnancy. It’s delightful to see you feeling better finally. You ought to try eating raw ham in bed in the morning before breakfast. It really does help against nausea. I have tried it myself, and it is wholesome and nourishing too.
Alexandra (curious smile at MF and then looking back at her children): Yes, thank you mother dear.
Marie: Nicky darling may I have a quick word with you.
Nicholas (getting up a walking over to meet his mother while others begin to chat with Alix): It is your duty, my dear, to watch over her and to look after her in every possible way. To see that she keeps her feet warm.
Nicholas (nodding his head): I understand mother…thank you.

Next scene shifts to a brief conversation later that day. Alexandra is in the nursery lying down and rocking baby Tatiana to sleep…

Alexandra: That I was ill for a spell during this pregnancy certainly benefited your mother in some way, don’t you think?
Nicholas: I’m not sure I understand what you mean my dear.
Alexandra: Well only that it was again an opportunity for the vivacious Dowager Empress to wow the court arm in arm with her son the Tsar. This while his invalid wife lies in bed and spends all day and night tending to the needs of her children.
Nicholas: Oh Sunny darling it pains me think you’re not at ease with this arrangement. You understand that Imperial laws give my mother precedence at state functions…she really only wants what is best for us.
Alexandra: I do not doubt her love and loyalty toward us for a moment. But the laws are ridiculous. How am I to win the respect of the Russian people?
Nicholas (chuckling): Respect?
Alexandra: Just like the article brother Ernie sent with his letter to us from several months ago. Absolute rubbish the things that get printed.
Nicholas: Just the fabricated stories of a few idiotic newspapermen. I’d ban the publication if I thought any real sensible Russians were influenced by that garbage…I still will do it right now if you were to wish me too my dear.
Alexandra: It’s just hard to be certain sometimes. I feel cut off from the people I mean to rule. Raising children while playing the role of Empress can be an ordeal.
Nicholas: And still you play it so well my darling. Besides don’t you always tell me that I am their leader? They respect me because I am their Tsar, and the Tsar and his people are one in the same as decreed by God himself. I think the same can be said for my beautiful Empress wife, don’t you?
Alexandra (smiling): Oh Nicky. You do have such a way to turn my awful mood right around.
Nicholas: Don’t worry dear. Russia is your home and will always be a welcoming one at that.
Alexandra: Bless you darling!
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #421 on: July 15, 2012, 02:08:46 AM »
Next we are shown Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich who has just received a rather disturbing letter from the Tsar and reads it aloud to his wife Maria Pavlovna…

Vladimir: So apparently my nephew is of the opinion that we are tampering with protocol.
Maria: Pardon me dear?
Vladimir: Yes, it’s right here you see. Quite the nasty little letter from the Tsar…he’s displeased that we took the liberty of introducing our guests into the imperial box during the ball at the Mariinsky Theater last week.
Maria (gasping): Ridiculous. What does it say?
Vladimir (reading directly from the letter): “Nothing of the kind ever happened in Papa’s day, and you know how strictly I adhere to everything as it was then. It is also unfair to try and take advantage of the fact that I am young, and your nephew.” He then goes on to say, “In the future, please spare me the necessity of writing such letters which make me feel abominable.”
Maria: So typical of Nicholas’s behavior. He admonishes us one moment and then practically apologizes for doing so the next.
Vladimir: It’s time he starts to crawl from out of the shadow of his father. This little imitating act he’s been carrying on has grown tiresome now that he has been a Tsar for more than two and a half years.
Maria: Yes, and why do I get the feeling that some of these words are actually Alexandra’s? I wouldn’t be surprised if she was standing over his shoulder as he wrote.
Vladimir: I’m sure you’re correct dear.
Maria: You know it doesn’t bother me that we don’t get along. Really what’s there for me to like about Alix of Hesse? But respect is something different entirely. I could respect the woman more if she conducted herself in such a manner befitting an Empress…one really ought to know one’s job.

Scene cuts away quickly and we are shown the Tsar and Empress in Nicholas’s study receiving two ministers. They are being promoted and congratulated…

Nicholas: I congratulate you gentleman on your promotions. Count Baron Fredericks from Assistant Minister of the Imperial Court to head Minister…and Count Mikhail Muravyov to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs (shakes both you men's hands). I deem you fit to serve at the pleasure of the Tsar…loyal to your duties, the people of Russia and the throne. Ministers and plenipotentiaries.

Both men thank the Tsar and turn to exit the room. Muravyov is quickly halted however…

Nicholas: Minister Muravyov might we have a word?
Muravyov: Of course your majesties.
Nicholas: Is there anything new to report with our European allies or elsewhere?
Muravyov: Some news coming out of England, or more specifically India…
Alexandra (interrupts excitedly): Yes, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee! Do tell us what you’ve heard.
Muravyov: Well as you can imagine the festivities were said to be marvelous…I’m afraid there was a notable tragedy however, putting a slight damper on the celebration that has the potential of stirring civil unrest in India.
Nicholas: Go on.
Muravyov (speaking as though narrating a scene involving the following events): It seems that two British officers were on their way back from a Government house party celebrating their Queen's achievement…

The scene cuts away and we are shown the officers leaving the party late at night, joking with one another and clearly in a good mood. They proceed down a quiet street and begin to be followed by two suspicious looking characters. Suddenly a third jumps out into the middle of the street and fires a shot from a revolver hitting the one officer in the shoulder who tumbles to the ground. The shooter is grabbed and tackled instantly by the other officer who struggles to get the gun away from him. Just then the other two men have run up from behind, pull a gun and knife and tell the officer to let go of the man. He reluctantly agrees to do so throwing up his hands in the air and asking the following…

Officer: What do you want?
Assassin #1: The British gone from India!

The other assassin with his revolver points and fires two shots killing the officer. The third man equipped only with a knife then turns on he deceased officer's injured friend plunging the blade several times into his chest, subduing the victim. The three men flee the scene of the crime in a panic and we shift the scene back to resume Muravyov’s description of the events to Nicholas...

Muravyov: Fortunately the men were quickly apprehended. Two Indian brothers and a third man have all been identified and will hang for their crimes.
Nicholas: Awful news.
Alexandra: What would motivate these men to commit such a heinous act? Why target two innocent officers?
Muravyov: India is a powder keg your majesty. Many who choose to no longer be ruled by the Queen are struggling for their independence. Mostly radical young men or disenfranchised peasants I would surmise.
Nicholas: This sort of behavior cannot be tolerated. The Queen must root out even the slightest indications of civil unrest and smother any attempts at revolution.
Alexandra: The Queen will act swiftly I’m certain. The people of India will be made to understand that they cannot survive without England. They are like unruly children who constantly need the guidance of a stern parent. Victoria is their mother just as we are the father and mother of Russia.
Nicholas: Yes, your are most accurate my dear…thank you for that report Muravyov and I look forward to our future discussions. Hopefully with some happier news to report next time.
Muravyov: Of course your majesty and thank you again for this honor.

Scene fades out.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #422 on: July 22, 2012, 11:12:09 AM »
I haven't had much time recently so here is a short scene. I'm temporarily switching the focus back to Lenin and revolutionaries, as I've already devloped a scene involving Nicholas and the Hague Conference (circa 1898/99) and since there isn't a whole lot else going on during these years 1897-1902. Next I'll probably put together something for the death of Nicholas's brother GD Georgy (August, 1899) while touching on Marie's birth (June, 1899) and the growing frustration of not having yet produced an Heir. This will gradually lead us into Alexandra's depedence on mystism, Rasputin arrival to St. Petersburg (1903) and ultimately the birth of Alexei in 1904. For now...

Minsk - March 13, 1898 flashes across the screen as we are taken to the site of the "First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party". The meeting was held in secrecy in a large home of a railway worker named Rumyantsev...

Rumyantsev (shaking hands with various individuals): Gentleman welcome to my home, I trust you will find it suitable for these discussions...?
Vladimir Lenin (curteously smiling): It will more than do. If I may impose for a moment however we should keep your wood stove burning. I imagine much of what gets dicussed tonight will need to be written down, and you never know when in the instance of an emergency that we will need to destroy any evidence.
Rumyantsev: Good idea Illyich...Boris! (calling out)...light the stove in the other room if you would please and see to it that the fire keeps burning...thank you!
Julius Martov: Lenin so good to see you again!
Vladimir Lenin: Martov, a pleasure. I expect this to be a most productive discussion.
Julius Martov: Indeed, the first of many.
Vladimir Lenin: Oh there will be many more I would imagine, but this is hardly the first.
 
Martov smiles and nods...Rumtantsev then leads the two revolutionaries over to a table to be seated with other members of the "League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class"...
 
Rumstantsev: Gentleman it appears that we have all arrived so I suggest we begin. I'm glad to see that three of our groups have been well represented. Just to make sure everyone is familiar...seated to my left are members from the "League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class". Directly in front of me we have the "General Jewish Labour Bund". And to my right are a consortium of members of the the social democratic labour factions joined by the staff of the "Rabochaya Gazeta" newspaper. Unfortunately we are without representatives from the Kharkov socialists who find this assembly to be a premature step.

Rumstantsev pauses as hears some rumblings from the crowd...

Rumstantsev (loudly): But gentleman we do have...we do have several social democrats from Moscow and Yakaterinoslav ready and willing to offer their leadership to our struggle. We will select nine delegates to represent the three groups and other unaffiliated individuals before us...welcome to the "First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party"!
 
Lenin: I was chosen at random to introduce these proceedings. Allow me to extend my greetings to you all and introduce myself. For those of you who might be unfamiliar my name is Vladimir Ilyich Lenin representing the "League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class" (mild applause)...I'm happy to see among the crowd of loyal revolutionaries there are men that I recognize and had the chance to speak with briefly a short while ago. (pointing to each) Mr. Boris Eildelman, Stepan Radchenko, Alexander Kremer, and Peter Struve just to name a few.

Camera pans around the room and focuses in on the faces of the crowd of revolutionaries listening attentively...

Lenin: As we begin I think it important to recognize first and foremost what we are after. Two months ago while distributing revolutionary pamphlets some two hundred members of the workers union were arrested and have been imprisoned, still without trial. I think it approporiate to remember their sacrafice in the cause against the tyrannical oppression, of the people, by the autocracy and imperialist state. The idea of merging all democratic groups into one and selecting a name is ultimately essentially. But it is also imperative that we acknowledge this to be but the first step in a series of what I imagine to be both internal and external struggles. All the while secrecy is of the utmost importance...we will not be taking minutes for example. The movement is under the constant threat of the Okhrana and its director Sergei Zubatov...a man with a keen understanding of our inner workings and initiatives having himself been a former revolutionary, only to betray us later on. Let us begin...

Lenin walks down from the "stage" as other men begin milling about. The scene fades out...
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline JamesAPrattIII

  • Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 858
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #423 on: July 26, 2012, 07:00:55 PM »
Alexandra's pregnances and births from what i have read were all difficult and involved large babies. After each she couldn't get out of bed for quite awhile. For the actress playing Alexandra this is one of those your hair is a mess and you look awful/ no make up roles .Also having these children wrecked her health.
From the book Tide at Sunrise
A group of japanese army and naval officers along with foriegn minestry officials after a historic 29 may 1903 decide on war with Russia and make the following resolution: If the Empire does not make a great decision and does not restrain Russia's arrogance, even at the cost of war the future of the empire will be fraught with danger. if today's opportunety were to be lost, there  would never be an opportunity to recover the fortunes of the nation."

Colonel Akashi Motojiro the japanese military attache to St Petersburg is busy gathering intelligence on the russian military and penetrates the Russian war minestry: "He was busy one day in his small apartment with a Russian staff officer when to his dismay a Russian general rang his doorbell and dropped by for a chat. the apartment was very small, and before answering the doorbell Akashi pushed the officer cluthing a map of Siberia in his arms , into a lavatory. Akashi and the general had been talking for a few minutes when Akaxhi saw to his further embarrassment that a Russian military document marked SECRET lay on top of his desk.The general was unobservent, finished his talk, and went on his way. the alarmed young staff officer emerged from his lavatory and continued his treacherous breifing.

 I hope the above are usefull as they are historical even though they skip a few years.

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #424 on: July 26, 2012, 07:08:42 PM »
Hi James,

Certainly are and I thank you for that. I'm not up to the war yet, and am going to need some time to think about how to construct the several necessary scenes necessary to explain it. First thing to decide will be what characters I need to use. Not so many as to overwhelm the audience but obviously there are several key players in Nicholas's inner circle both advising him and fighting the battles themselves. Witte's memoirs ought to be very helpful for developing the "Treaty of Portsmouth" scene/s. Other than that I'm really going to have to read up on various sources and take some notes!
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #425 on: July 28, 2012, 10:07:17 AM »
OK time to introduce, and then pull the curtain over, brother Georgy. First I am making a little pit stop to introduce Miss Margaret Eager (Eagar?) nanny to the imperial children for a little less than six years through the fall of 1904.

We begin with the words February 2, 1899 – Winter Palace , St. Petersburg scrolling across the screen. OTMA’s eventual nanny Margaret Eager has arrived at the palace and she is being shown in to meet with the Empress for the first time...
 
Lady in Waiting (showing in Ms. Eager to Alexandra’s boudoir): Your Imperial Majesty Miss Margaretta Eager.
Alexandra (receives her by a hand shake and a bow): A pleasure Madame.
Eager: An honor your majesty!
Alexandra: Please sit Ms. Eager…I trust your journey to Russia wasn’t too difficult.
Eager: Oh not at all. But I’m so thrilled to finally be here.
Alexandra: Well you’ve come so highly recommended to us.
Eager (blushing): I'm humbled to be given this opportunity...to serve her majesty’s children with the best of care for however long my services are requested.
Alexandra (smiling): Very well…I must say one thing in particular that attracted me to your resume was not only your work at the orphanage in Belfast but that you are a trained nurse. I too should like to become a nurse someday if the situation were to present itself.
Eager: That would be marvelous your majesty…it’s such a wonderful and rewarding profession. Yet I find that it takes great courage as well. The kind of courage an Empress like yourself surely possesses.
Alexandra (smiling then pausing momentarily): I do not doubt that your upbringing and experience has made you into a fine aristocratic lady. But you must also learn the ways of custom and the Russian court if you're going to be an example to my children.
Eager: I understand and assure you that I am a quick leaner.
Alexandra: If I might offer you an example...take a look at my dress.
Eager: It is most beautiful your majesty. If I may say so you look stunning in mauve.
Alexandra: Does the color surprise you at all?
Eager (perplexed): Your majesty?
Alexandra: Well I'm just saying that the Queen of Denmark has recently passed away...
Eager: Ah yes. I guess I would normally expect to see you and other women dressed in black during this period of mourning.
Alexandra: And yet?
Eager: Would the change in appearance have anything to do with this evening's festivities?
Alexandra (nods in approval): Very good madame...it's the second of February and the "Purification of the Virgin Mother". A great feast is to be held this evening…and Russian’s never wear black during a festival.
Eager: I understand.
Alexandra: How about we continue this conversation while I guide you to the nurseries. I'll introduce you to your future charges.
Eager: Thank you your majesty that would be delightful.
 
The scene cuts to Alexandra introducing Ms. Eager to the three year old Olga and the year and a half old Tatiana...
 
Alexandra: Allow me to introduce my daughters…Olga Nikolaevna and Tatiana Nikolaevana.
 
Margaret leans over and softly shakes the hand of each while making pleasant remarks fit for young children…
 
Eager: Beautiful children your majesty, you must be very proud.
Alexandra: Thank you, indeed we are. You'll need to prepare yourself now. There is another child on the way. Nicholas and I of course are confident that this will be a son...the Heir to the Russian throne. I trust you are an capable nanny to both girls and boys.
Eager (smile and a slight bow): Most certainly your majesty. My full devotion is bestowed equally on each of my charges.
 
Scene cuts away.
 
Next scene shifts to a bewildered looking Nicholas arriving at Anichkov Palace . He steps into his mother’s study holding a telegram just received several minutes earlier. Marie Feoderovna is alone, reading...
 
Nicholas: Mother…
Marie: My God Nicholas what is wrong…you look like you’ve just seen a ghost.
Nicholas: Mama I have some dreadful news.
Marie: Oh dear…
Nicholas: I’ve just received telegram that while out on a ride yesterday evening Georgy fell unconscious. He was alone and sick. A peasant woman who found him came to his side but it was too late. He has died.
Marie (bursting into tears and clutching a pillow to her breast): Oh God not him…not my dear Georgy…my weeping willow!
 
She rushes from her chair and crosses the room collapsing into the arms of Nicholas. Still sobbing uncontrollably we see tears streaming down her son’s cheeks as well. A flashback sequence begins.
 
We shift to a meeting Alexander III and Marie Feoderovna are having with their two eldest sons nine years earlier in 1890…
 
Alexander III: My sons your mother and I have decided that it would be a wonderful experience for both of you to represent Russia on an extended tour of Japan in the fall.
 
Both Nicholas and George look at each other excitedly…
 
Marie: Yes and of course you will not be alone. You will stop on the way in Athens and be joined by cousin George of Greece.
George: Father, mother, this is wonderful news. I understand the desire to have Nicholas go abroad, but you allow me to join my brother?
Alexander III: Well we figured the two of you are inseparable anyway…and Nicholas this is a perfect way for you to complete your education and take an important step into manhood. To see something of the world.
Nicholas: Yes father I will certainly make the most out of this and represent our country well.
Marie: I will miss you both dearly. Having Misha and your sisters around to keep me company is the only way I could accept my two eldest sons being apart from me for so long.
 
Nicholas and George rush up to comfort their mother who is fighting through noticeable tears in her eyes with smiles.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #426 on: July 28, 2012, 10:08:09 AM »
Next scene shifts to Nicholas, Georgy and George of Greece aboard a ship. They have traveled from Egypt and docked at a port in Bombay India . Georgy in his cabin is battling a nasty cough and is feeling stiffness in his right leg that won’t go away…
 
George (between coughs, reclined in a chair and covered in a blanket): Well apparently a change in scenery has done little to improve my health dear brother.
Nicholas: Is it the tuberculosis you contracted several months ago?
George: That I believe and other ailments. My right leg has felt stiff since yesterday evening and I feel a bit weary.
Nicholas: What can I do to help?
George: I’ll need to rest for a while longer. You go ashore and tell everyone that I’ll catch up after dinner.
Nicholas: I hate the thought of being received without you at my side Georgy.
Georgy: Not as much as I hate being holed up here in this cabin instead of standing beside my brother, supporting him.
Nicholas: I’ll stay aboard the ship. George can go speak with the Indians.
Georgy: You must not. Nicky you are the heir. Russia will belong to you someday. It is important you show your face and appear strong and confident. I’ll be with you in spirit.
Nicholas (embracing his brother): I’ll send someone in for more tea and fetch the doctor.
Georgry: Thank you brother…(continues to cough as Nicholas exits his cabin).
 
Nicholas walks up to the deck to meet with his cousin George as the two prepare to head ashore…
 
George: Where is Georgy?
Nicholas: He’s fallen ill and won’t be joining us. A nasty cough and some issue with his right leg.
George: Oh dear, will he be recovered by later this evening do you think…?
Nicholas: I think I’ll go telegraph mother and father before we leave the ship. Excuse me George…
 
Nicholas walks away with a grave look on his face. His cousin George also looking on with concern follows his cousin with his eyes as he fiddles with his collar. Scene cuts away…
 
Next scene cuts to 1895. Georgy is escorting his mother Marie Feoderovna on a visit to her childhood home in Denmark . They stay in Copenhagen for an extended period, visiting relatives who they’ve not seen in a few years. We catch up with them sitting alone in a study at the Yellow Palace and taking tea in the afternoon…
 
George: Its been four years since we have seen our relatives here and that’s really too long.
Marie: Yes much has changed…and yet at the same time so little has changed (looking around the room).
George: Mama what was it like growing up here in Copenhagen ?
Marie (smiling and reminiscing): It is a sacred place. Of course in those days I was Dagmar of Denmark and just “Minnie” to friends and family. We were a close family. I was especially close with your aunty Alexandra. It’s funny to think that my older sister will become Queen of England someday…so many years after my tenure as Empress of Russia began.
George: Tell me more about Amama, won’t you please mother?
Marie: My parents are second cousins you see. My mother is a very intelligent woman and quite aware of her place in the succession of the crown. There were many eligible suitors to be considered. My father was seen a perfect match in that their marriage would combine two potential claimants to the throne. It strengthened the crown.
George: I remember you saying that grandpapa was not the original heir, yes?
Marie: Indeed. King Frederick VII had a son who he passed over. (laughing) Imagine what would have happened in Russia if your father and I had attempted to pass over Nicky, you and Mikhail and made one your uncles the new Tsar.
George: How did he manage to justify his decision then?
Marie: Things work differently here in Denmark . King Frederick’s lone surviving son had little in the way of solid marriage prospects. My father and mother on the other hand could give birth to dynastic sons. Father and mother always made a good team and that was not lost on the King.
George: Yes, he must have had the good sense to know that he would one day be turning over his empire to great and capable leaders.
Marie: Ah yes. My mother was a saintly woman too not just a great Queen. She was a patroness of many charities and even headed an organization where orphan girls could be brought up to a life as royal servants.
George: I always adored her paintings as a child.
Marie: She is a lover of art & music. So tragic that she’s losing her hearing in these later years…it deprives her.
George: Very sad…it must have been hard for you to leave here for Russia when you were still quite young.
Marie: It was a crazy time…a whirlwind of emotions. We were Lutherans and the Empress of Russia must be an Orthodox. Same as your Empress sister-in-law.
George: Nicky told me Alix was very much opposed to marrying him at first on the grounds of having to change her religion.
Marie: Oh dear Alix, always difficult. She wasn’t the first future Empress to convert. Even her own sister Elisabeth did so when marrying your uncle Serge.
George: Yes mother.
Marie: But of course my situation was a rather complicated one…being engaged to your uncle Nicholas that is. I had returned home here after his death. Then your father came calling. It was September of 1866 that I left here for the last time…we were married two months later.
George: An emotional day I would imagine.
Marie: Very much so. Did I ever tell you that the great author Hans Christian Andersen saw me off?
George (smiling & surprised): No, what did he say?
Marie: I never spoke to him directly but heard later he was very nervous for me leaving home. His concern was quite touching.
George: Denmark is filled with great people.
Marie: Indeed Georgy. Lets go now to see mother and father and your cousins.
 
Scene cuts to Georgy and mother Marie walking in the palace gardens a few days later. George seems to be enjoying himself but suddenly his health takes a turn for the worse. He begins coughing violently and rising up from a bent over position some blood can be seen leaking from his mouth. He is hurriedly escorted to bed by his mother and a couple of servants.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #427 on: July 28, 2012, 10:08:38 AM »
Next scene shows his mother and doctor standing over George as he is on bed rest…
 
Doctor: The Grand Duke must be confined to bed and no more smoking until he is fit enough to travel back Georgia .
Marie: We will get you home in one piece my dear Georgy…this will pass.
George: Thank you doctor. Could you now excuse me and my mother?
Doctor: Of course…your majesty (bowing to the Dowager Empress before quickly leaving the room).
George: I’m writing a letter to Nicholas
Marie (picks up his unfinished note from the nightstand and reads aloud): “Of course it was good to see the family after four years, but it did not really do me any good, as I lost more than five pounds which I had put on with such difficulty in May and June. I also get out of breath more easily. So these are the results of my trip. Very annoying.”
 
Marie looks back at her invalid son her eyes having moistened…
 
Marie: Oh Georgy it will get better. Once we get you back to Likani things will improve.
George: My health has been a struggle ever since I contracted tuberculosis. That was more than five years ago now. I’m resigned to feeling this way.
Marie: Please don’t speak like that. You frighten an older woman.
George: As long as I’m with you mama at least my spirits are always high.
 
The two embrace each other and the scene fades out.
 
We then shift to another scene. The words August 9, 1899 – Abbas Tuman, Georgia appear on the screen. We see George finishing up a letter to his brother Nicholas. The camera shows the top portion of a letter and focuses in on the following sentence; “I am terribly sad that I have not yet been able to see your daughters and get to know them; but what can I do! It means it's not my fate, and everything is the will of God.”
 
George is then shown putting on a pair of dark leather gloves and exiting near the front of his estate. A concerned homemaker notices the Grand Duke’s periodic coughing and pale complexion...
 
Homemaker: Is the Grand Duke feeling alright?
George (mild coughing as puts on his gloves): I’m alright, just feel as though I could use some fresh air.
Homemaker: Maybe you shouldn’t go for a ride though. How about a short walk and some relaxation on the porch?
George (smiling): I do appreciate your concern Sophie and promise I will be careful.
Homemaker: Do take care your majesty, I will see to it that dinner is prepared upon your return.
 
Next scene shifts to the Grand Duke tearing down the open road, alone, on his motorcycle. Suddenly he begins to suffer a severe attack of tuberculosis and starts coughing profusely. He struggles to handle his bike and then comes to a sudden halt having driven it off the road.
 
We shift to several hours later and catch up with a palace search party driving down the main roads and periodically calling out his name. Then we show a peasant woman carrying a basket in hand who spots George lying in the grass off to the side of the road next to his motorcycle...
 
Woman (rushing to his side): Mister! Mister! Can you hear me?
 
She cradles his head in her arms as he struggles to breathe and blood oozes from out of his mouth...
 
Woman (frantically and in all directions): Help! Help!
 
Next scene flash forward a few later and to the funeral of Grand Duke George Alexandrovich at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg . Many relatives are in attendance…
 
GD Paul Alexandrovich: What has been the mood of the rest of the family?
KR: Everyone was struck, as if by lightning, by this sad and unexpected news. It’s like we all lost a brother and a son, not just a nephew or cousin.
 
On the other side of the room Nicholas stands with Alix, his siblings and his mother. His younger brother Misha, now the presumptive heir to the throne has his arm around and is consoling their mother…
 
Nicholas: I received a touching letter yesterday from the Queen of England that I have been carrying around with me…(pulls it out of his pocket and begins to read aloud) “Pray and accept the expression of my sincerest sympathy in this great sorrow, for I know the affection you had for your poor brother Georgy, whose life was so sad and lonely.”
Marie (fighting through tears): I sent her a telegraph this morning thanking her for her kind sympathy in this sudden bereavement…I’m so heartbroken. My poor son died alone after struggling for many years. Promise me my children that no more of you will leave me. It is unnatural for a woman of my age to have to bury a husband and now two sons.
Nicholas: Well, there is nothing more to be done. We must as usual take courage and carry our cross patiently, as Jesus Christ bids us. No matter how overwhelmingly hard…Misha you are Tsarevich now, until I have a son. Keep yourself healthy and safe.
 
Next scene cuts to the service itself and the family standing beside the casket as the priest finishes his ceremony and blessings. Mother Marie stares petrified and without tears. She is standing next to her eldest daughter Xenia locked arm in arm. The coffin is then lowered down into the tomb…
 
Marie (turns to look directly into Xenia tear filled eyes): Lets go home! Lets go home! I cannot stand it anymore!
 
The Dowager Empress grabs Georgy’s old hat off of the cover of the coffin, takes her daughter by the arm and the two of them race out of the cathedral and into their carriage...
 
Marie (to the driver): Take us home…immediately!
 
Younger daughter Olga is shown leaping into the carriage just before it takes off. We are shown the rest of the attendees following close behind and the scene fades out…
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Rodney_G.

  • Guest
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #428 on: July 28, 2012, 12:52:51 PM »
Well, we know someone's been working overtime on this mini-series!  Very nicely done., Edubs!

Most would consider GD Georgiy a minor character in the Romanov saga,but I think it's a nice touch to include him. His troubles and early death add to the sense that the IF had experienced more than its fair share of grief over the years, not the  least of them Nicholas of course.

And the world cruise of 1890-1 had to be shown too. This should include some depiction of the Imperial travelers' more frivolous or irresponsible moments as well, to showcase Nicholas' immaturity or at least  his then unfitness to be Emperor. Not to rush you, but there really must be a scene of the Otsu attack on the Heir. Conceivably it could flash on his blood- soaked shirt or bandages as they will be used  about a century later for DNA comparisons in trying to confirm the Ekaterinburg remains as those of Nicholas and Family.

And a note: to his mother Empress Marie,that is within his family, Nicholas would more likely simply say  "grandmama" , rather than "the Queen of England". But yours is a fine first draft and these things are readily corrected quickly enough.


As I read these scenes I struggle to imagine them as an average moviegoer , not knowing diddly about almost anything of these people and that time,  would take them in. As a Romanov fan and history buff,I opt for the most possible. A more typical movie goer is going to want a "story" and it's hard  to create one without being too unsubtle.

Nice little note there with Georgiy's doctor worried about his smoking. A little Romanov leitmotif? And I hope historically accurate.

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #429 on: July 28, 2012, 02:39:11 PM »
Quote
Well, we know someone's been working overtime on this mini-series!  Very nicely done., Edubs!

Thank you sir!

Quote
Most would consider GD Georgiy a minor character in the Romanov saga,but I think it's a nice touch to include him. His troubles and early death add to the sense that the IF had experienced more than its fair share of grief over the years, not the  least of them Nicholas of course.

Yes, and none of my depictions of minor supporting characters are intended to be isolated to that character. The middle scene where he visits with Copenhagen with his mother gives me an excuse to let the Dagmar Empress describe some of her upbringing and how she came to the Russian court, etc. Georgy's illness and death does help show the grief the family endured through the years. It's also a good way to bring Misha the fore. He'll obviously play an important role down the line. The Tsarevich for now, and later the fallback option.

Quote
And the world cruise of 1890-1 had to be shown too. This should include some depiction of the Imperial travelers' more frivolous or irresponsible moments as well, to showcase Nicholas' immaturity or at least  his then unfitness to be Emperor.

Interesting. Anything specific you have in mind? I'll need to do a little more reading on their voyage. So far it's mostly the basic stuff I seen...where they went, who they met, the near tragic event that took place, etc.

Quote
Not to rush you, but there really must be a scene of the Otsu attack on the Heir.

Well you must have known I'd be getting to that at some point Rodney :-) I haven't worked a scene up for it yet but I do know exactly how I want to show it. The start of the Russo-Japanese war, Nicholas thinking back to his visit to Japan...initiate flashback sequence! Georgy was sent home by then on account of his health so it wouldn't seem as awkward as it would if he magically reappeared.

Quote
Conceivably it could flash on his blood- soaked shirt or bandages as they will be used  about a century later for DNA comparisons in trying to confirm the Ekaterinburg remains as those of Nicholas and Family.

What a great idea! Like something out of a TV crime drama. My only minor concern is that this scene would have to take place hours before the "viewer" got to our little epilogue, or however I might end up depicting the excavation of the remains from decades later...assuming that it would be part of the story in the first place.

Quote
And a note: to his mother Empress Marie,that is within his family, Nicholas would more likely simply say  "grandmama" , rather than "the Queen of England". But yours is a fine first draft and these things are readily corrected quickly enough.

Right you are, this was rather intentional though. I assume you are talking about the scene where he reads aloud her condolence letter, yes? First off he was surrounded by many family members and possibly some close unrelated associates gathering with the royal family to pay their final respects. But also this is again for the sake of the viewer. Don't forget that we just came from a scene where we had MF discussing life growing up in Copenhagen and talking about her mother. I guess I could easily enough have Nicholas say, "I received a touching letter yesterday from grandmama in England." But just using "grandmama" might come off as confusing. I can see the viewer asking, "wait, which grandmother are we talking about now...Queen Victoria or the one they just saw in Denmark?"

Quote
As I read these scenes I struggle to imagine them as an average moviegoer , not knowing diddly about almost anything of these people and that time,  would take them in. As a Romanov fan and history buff,I opt for the most possible. A more typical movie goer is going to want a "story" and it's hard  to create one without being too unsubtle.

Yeah and this might be the hardest part of all. It's one thing to come up with a bunch of scenes and place them chronologically like chapters in a history book. But where is the common theme...where is that "story" you talk about? I don't have a good answer to this question at this point but I do think that compiling enough scenes to work with, knowing full well that several could end up being cut for the greater good of the flow, is a good way to start.

Quote
Nice little note there with Georgiy's doctor worried about his smoking. A little Romanov leitmotif? And I hope historically accurate.

lol, well I'm not sure about a leitmotif but I did read that Georgy was confined to bed rest and instructed not to smoke until he was well enough to return home. Thanks for the feedback Rodney!


« Last Edit: July 28, 2012, 02:41:27 PM by edubs31 »
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline blessOTMA

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 2527
  • Tell me the truth, monsieur
    • View Profile
    • Stay at Home Artist
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #430 on: July 28, 2012, 04:50:18 PM »
 I'm enjoying the writing and the feed back! But I'm now thinking about George as I've never done...thinking in terms of his fate  and his attitude as a prefigurement of his elder brother's....a unstoppable drift/gallop towards a certain fate but also  courting it too.  one can equate George's struggle with his health   with Nicholas's captivity ( or even  rein really )  and each having a certain stance once in the jaws of these conditions etc....very interesting

"Give my love to all who remember me."

  Olga Nikolaevna

Offline Vecchiolarry

  • Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 759
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #431 on: July 28, 2012, 09:40:51 PM »
Hi,

"Time to introduce and then pull the curtain over poor George"  Great expression - I love the writing!!!
It does sort of bring to mind - '15 minutes of fame'......  And very apt for this Grand Duke.

A small jolt to correctness:-
Alexandra would not use the terms "Ms." and "Madame" for the governess.  She was unmarried, so Madame is incorrect.  Also, Ms. is a modern term from the '60s and unknown in the 19th century.
She would be termed "Miss" or "Miss Egar"....

I am enjoying your play overall.  Please don't take my corrections as negative or derogatory;  I am just a fussy old stickler for correct address, even today......

Cheers,
Larry

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #432 on: July 28, 2012, 11:05:26 PM »
Larry) Thanks a lot for the nice compliments, I really do appreciate it and your helpful advice. I didn't even think about the "Madame" discrepancy. Someone else straightened me out on the "Miss", "Ms." confusion and I just didn't make the change.

Anne) Well I guess I'm happy that I could help inspire these thoughts on Georgy, the man, and his fatalism. Very interesting and almost too bad I don't have more time to try and better develop his character.

Next scene will probably deal with the birth of Marie and the major anxiety that starts to grip the Imperial couple.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline Kalafrana

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 2912
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #433 on: July 29, 2012, 06:32:09 AM »
Nicholas might describe Queen Victoria as 'Alix's grandmother', which would make it clear whom he meant.

Ann

Offline edubs31

  • Velikye Knyaz
  • ****
  • Posts: 1014
    • View Profile
Re: New Nicholas & Alexandra Video - Mini Series?
« Reply #434 on: July 30, 2012, 10:38:59 AM »
Alright moving on...here I'm just touching on Maria's birth and the general dismay of again having failed to produce and Heir. The following scene discusses Nicholas's illness about a year and a half later in the Crimea and the growing concern over succession. Keep in mind that these two scenes will probably come after or be wrapped around the "Hague Convention" scene that I've already posted.

June 26, 1899 – Tsarskeo Selo, St. Petersburg

Next scene shows Nicholas pacing back and forth up and down the main hallway of Alexander Palace. He’s smoking a cigarette and joined by brother-in-law Alexander Mikhailovich. He’s recently exited the nursery where Alexandra has just given birth to his third daughter Marie…

Nicholas: Well Sandro I guess Russia won’t be sleeping easy tonight, but at least I will.
Sandro: Congratulations Nicholas. Everyone is thankful too for Alix’s health.
Nicholas: Thank you, yes, this was her hardest labor yet. There was much anxiety. Little Olga was struggling through her typhoid until recently as well.
Sandro: Have you received any congratulatory telegrams?
Nicholas: Some…grandmamma in England seems to be echoing the sentiment shared by all. Disappointment at the birth of another daughter prefaced by her concern for Alix.
Sandro: For all the talk about producing an Heir people often lose sight of the fact that you are now the father of three beautiful Grand Duchesses’s. One day they will marry into royalty and strengthen Russia’s bond with her allies.
Nicholas (smiles and nods): You must see this little one. I should be worrying that she’ll sprout wings and fly away.

Scene shifts to a brief conversation between Nicholas’s sister Xenia and GD Konstantine Konstantinovich…

KR: I understand that this daughter is even more beautiful than her sisters.
Xenia: Oh you must see this baby KR. Divine! What a joy that everything has ended safely and the anxiety of waiting is over at last…but what a disappointment that it isn’t a son.
KR: Yes, the whole of Russia will be disappointed by this news.
Xenia: Yes, poor Alix! But we of course are delighted either way…whether it’s a son or a daughter.

Scene shifts to a year later. Nicholas has fallen seriously ill with typhus in the Crimea. Rumors spread that his life could be in danger and talk of who would inherit the throne begins to circulate. We catch up to a discussion between Alexandra and Minister Sergei Witte. The Empress has taken a short break from her husband’s bedside as he is sleeping...

Sergei Witte: How is the Tsar feeling today your majesty?
Alexandra: No better, no worse. There has been little change in his condition.
Sergei Witte: Let me assure you that all of the ministers are fervently praying for a full and speedy recovery.
Alexandra (starring away): Thank you Witte…Witte I must ask you your opinion on a sensitive subject. Should the Tsar be taken by the Lord before he produces an Heir, what options are there?
Sergei Witte: Your majesty I’m not entirely certain I understand you, but there is but one option.
Alexandra (turning her attention to him): It should be our eldest daughter Olga who inherits the throne.
Sergei Witte: I’m afraid that’s not possible.
Alexandra: And why not? There are female monarchs elsewhere in Europe. My own grandmother has sat on the throne of England for many decades.
Sergei Witte: That is England, not Russia. With Grand Duke George gone Michael must rule your majesty. Such were the laws of Paul I on succession.
Alexandra (flustered): It isn’t right. But no matter. Nicholas will live a long life and our son will sit on throne.

Scene shifts to Alexandra sitting bedside with Nicholas…

Alexandra: Oh darling I wish you'd feel better soon. I’m tired of seeing so many ministers coming in and out of Livadia. Witte is practically renting a room at the palace these days.
Nicholas (chuckles then coughs): I can’t stand being a burden to my family like this…that’s the worse part…worse than being sick.
Alexandra: Oh never mind that dear. I’m bound to you. When it is I who am ill who always looks after me?
Nicholas: I spoke with Nicholas Nikolaevich briefly when you stepped out.
Alexandra: You should have been resting.
Nicholas: It’s alright, it was a quick meeting. Nikolasha was telling me of a developing situation in Japan.
Alexandra: That can wait.
Nicholas: I am cutoff from the outside world. It’s helpful to have his council. It cheers me up to feel useful…(sitting up with assistance from Alix) he mentioned that his wife Stana and Peter Nikolaevich’s bride Militsa are planning to visit next month. They’ve returned to Russia from their visit home to Montenegro.
Alexandra: Very well...I have something that might cheer you up…a newspaper clipping given to me from one of the ministers. Would you like me to read it to you?
Nicholas: Sure my dear.
Alexandra: From The Times in Vienna; “The Tsar’s illness has caused genuine and profound regret among all classes in the country. Seldom has a foreign Sovereign excited such universal sympathy. His exemplary private life, no less than his well-known love of peace, has made him one of the most popular members of European Royalty. In conversation, as well as in the press, he is always spoken of with the utmost respect. Fervent hopes are entertained that he may speedily recover and that his reign may yet be a long one.
Nicholas: That was lovely. Thank you!
Alexandra (sarcastic humor): It then goes on to talk about his loyal and dedicated wife and how beautiful she is…
Nicholas (laughing through coughs): Yes, I demand to speak with the editor. An addendum must be included!
Alexandra (smiling): You see darling, the prayers of the world are with you. God has blessed us but he has also tested us over these past six years. It’s a sign of his love and mercy.
Nicholas: Yes dear.

The couple embrace and the scene fades out...
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...