King Henry the VIII is sexy

Everybody knows that most Hollywood screenwriters have little to no talent. I can handle when they retell the same stories over and over again, or remake movies and claim they have updated and modernized them, but something that I will never understand is why they take history and change it so drastically. Usually, in the end, the only fact that remains is the name of the characters.

What got me thinking about this was an advertisement for the television show The Tudors. In the commercial King Henry the VIII is shown as a young slender man. In actuality King Henry the VIII was rather over weight, and short-hence, his love affair with high heels. I realize that a handsome, young man is more pleasing to watch then a fat, gluttonous man, but that is history.

Now, I have never bothered to watch the show, since I know it would just anger me, so I can not say much about the content, but I am almost 100% positive that nothing in the show has anything to do with historical fact. I really believe that they just wanted to make a period piece, but were too ignorant to formulate the characters and basic events on their own.

While on this subject, I also hate when screenwriters, and other Hollywood big shots, think it is okay to bastardize classic novels. I just do not understand why someone would call a movie Pride and Prejudice but not follow the story line of the book. I guess they think that since the title is so well known, it will help gain an audience. Maybe they believe by adding special effects and Tom Cruise will help distract from the butchering of great literature.

Of course I am looking at this from my standpoint. Unfortunately, I think that most people are too oblivious to notice, or so ignorant that they have never read the book, or learned the history being distorted and retold. I would not be surprised if a lot of people take what they see in movies, or TV shows as fact. After all, looking at dots of lights on a screen is much easier than reading.