The Bedford Falls Company

The Bedford Falls Company is the Mr. Fennyman of Shakespeare In Love. They're the producers, or as Fennyman calls himself, "the money."

They're known for Academy Award-winning films with big-name talent, like Legends of the Fall (1994) with former Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow Brad Pitt, and Traffic (2000), with too many stars in its cast to list. They also produced family dramas for TV, like thirtysomething and Once and Again.

The film was distributed by Miramax, making studio head Harvey Weinstein the equivalent of the guy who hangs fliers advertising Romeo and Juliet. And Weinstein passed out a ton of fliers.

Shakespeare in Love cemented Miramax's reputation as being the premiere Oscar-bait studio in Hollywood. Shakespeare's Best Picture win at the Oscars in 1999 is considered by many as the biggest upset in Oscar history, and some insiders speculated the result was because of campaigning by Weinstein, not the quality of the film. In fact, it took home 7 Oscars in total—Best Picture, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Musical or Comedy Score (source).

Whatever the reason, the truth is this: like Will and Viola, all the parts of this movie worked together to create something that many people found magical, like Shakespeare's plays themselves.