RomanArmyTalk

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Be afraid. Be very afraid. 
 
 
Diesel fuels "Hannibal" biopic 
Reuters 
Jul 9 2002 3:51AM 
 
NEW YORK (Variety) - Sony-based Revolution Studios has set Vin Diesel to star as Hannibal, the third century B.C. Carthaginian general who rode an elephant across the Alps to attack Rome. 
Revolution has acquired screen rights to the Ross Leckie novel "Hannibal" for a film that Diesel and his One Race Prods. partner George Zakk will produce. 
 
While mounting an elephant seems easy in comparison to an ambitious period picture -- Fox has a good head start on a David Klass-penned Hannibal project that has caught the eye of Denzel Washington -- Revolution execs vow to hire an A-list scribe quickly and be in production by next year. They expect Diesel to make the film before its "XXX" sequel. 
 
In taking on Hannibal, Diesel joins the growing ranks of stars hoping history can do for them what it did for Mel Gibson with "Braveheart" and Russell Crowe with "Gladiator." Thesps going the historical route range from Tom Cruise (the Ed Zwick-directed 'The Last Samurai') to the Rock (the Greg Poirier-scripted biopic of Hawaiian warrior King Kamehameha). And after Heath Ledger stepped aside, a swarm of young thesps including "Minority Report" co-star Colin Farrell are circling Oliver Stone's Alexander the Great epic. 
 
In Hannibal, Revolution and Diesel have seized upon a noteworthy historical figure who was as crafty a battlefield tactician as "Braveheart" protagonist William Wallace. After swearing to his warrior father an oath of hatred for the Romans, Hannibal became by his mid-20s a Carthage general commanding an army 100,000 strong. He unleashed those forces on Rome and its allies, conquering such venues as Spain before engineering a surprise attack against Rome by trekking his armies over the Alps. 
 
Shepherded by Revolution partner Todd Garner, the pic will be scripted while Diesel stars in "Riddick," the David Twohy-directed "Pitch Black" sequel. 
 
 
Just thought you should know. 
Tim O'Neill / Thiudareiks Flavius
 

Visit 'Clades Variana' - Home of the Varus Film Project

..... AND he has other equally unsavory habits...acting not being within his grasp. Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/ugaiusmariusaquilus.showPublicProfile?language=EN>Gaius Marius Aquilus</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://images.honesty.com/imagedata/h/573/16/257626.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 7/13/02 1:41:34 am

I wonder if they'll soup up the elephants and race them, like in "Fast and the Furious"? "Remember, pillage first....then burn."

Disgusting! 
I dispise the (blank) in the movie business with all my innards. I left the blank because I do not want to offend true IDIOTs, MORONs, and IMBECILEs. Pig-dung-Heads! Thats it! Pig-dung-heads.

Who the f... is Vin Diesel? A tailor?

Remember the tough-talking guy who played Caparzo in 'Saving Private Ryan' (he was felled by a Nazi sniper's bullet), I think that's him. <a href=http://pub45.ezboard.com/fromanarmytalkfrm6.showMessage?topicID=53.topic>Rules For Posting

Don't waste your adjectives. THEY don't care what you think -- only what the boxoffice reports. Besides, in all frankness, it might be a fun flick (like Braveheart and Gladiator -- I enjoyed both emmensely!), but it WON'T be history. 
 
Really, people -- by now we should have all outgrown this naievte about Hollywood and historical accuracy. Don't expect it & you won't be disappointed. 
 
Hilaritas! 
John Jartwell

Yeah, I agree. Loved 'Braveheart'. Loved 'Gladiator' as well as 'Spartacus', 'Masada', 'Cleopatra', etc., etc. As I said in another thread, I'll take what I can get. It's good that 'Gladiator' did so well at the box office and studios are even acknowledging ancient history, at all. <a href=http://pub45.ezboard.com/fromanarmytalkfrm6.showMessage?topicID=53.topic>Rules For Posting

Yes I enjoyed Gladiator very much and saw it already twice. Spartacus (6 times), Quo Vadis (5 times) and Ben Hur (4) are my favorites. But that still does not mean I will refrain from spitting in the eye of anyone in the film business. I think they are jerks. 
 
 
Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/ugoffredo.showPublicProfile?language=EN>goffredo</A> at: 7/15/02 7:46:51 am

If I can have young men and women actually watch any movie with a historical connection, and then want to learn more about the period and history, I can teach them what was right and wrong about the films later. If they never are exposed then we can't develop that interest as easily. Think of all the young re-enactors and hobbiests who flocked to the standards after "Gladiator". Now we just have to teach them the difference between Hollywood and History. It gives re-enactors and living historians a reason to continually improve (and we have an excuse to see really bad films, so we can see what the kids are being told!) "Just before class started, I looked in the big book where all the world's history is written, and it said...." Neil J. Hackett, PhD ancient history, professor OSU, 1987

Caius brings up a good point. If it wasn't for Gladiator, I would never have run a search on "Roman Army" on the 'net and found Matt Amt's site, and the rest. So, take it for the ENTERTAINMENT it is, and enjoy. Besides, if Hollywood didn't make any cheesy, inaccurate historical movies, what would we have to pick apart? "Remember, pillage first....then burn."

I guess we would have to pick apart each other...E EM 
 
I have to agree there...My interest reached a peak after seeing Gladiator. However, Braveheart didn't do the same thing for me...I felt no inclination to re-creating an impression of a Scot, just isn't my thing. However I loved that film as well. Marcus Bruttius Romulus 
Optio 
Legio III Augusta

Yes, entertainment and tools! I often repeat it in this forum, pointing the importance of starting 
new "proselitism". 
 
I can do an example: few years ago, Microsoft released 
"Combat flight simulator" (CFS) a videogame about the airwar in the european skies during II WW. 
 
The game was a medium accurate one, the flyable aircraft were only few of the fighters planes attending 
the '39-'45 War and most of them were too much inaccurate about both the design of the planes and flight behaviour. 
 
A lot of people did not know anything about the aircraft, 
the weapons, and the historical facts, anyway they enjoyied a lot dogfighting and shooting. 
The result was (and is) a millions people community 
that, tired of inaccuracy, built loads of extremely accurate new add-ons planes, missions, sceneries, campaigns..., studying historical source with the same passion we have here for the roman Army. The level is now very high and it has allowed a lot of people to know about History for the first time. 
 
In the meanwhile a lot of new and always more accurate games about WWII airwar are released and the community grows... 
 
Of course Microsoft, riding the success, released CFS2 and very soon CFS3, always more perfect, but with a new wiliness: the game engine with just few and strangely chosen aircraft, a 3D program to do custom aircraft and a mission builder to do custom missions and campaigns, all in the same CD! So the clients will make the game! 
 
In my opinion this can be a right way if applied to the movies (and the events, sure...) and the results should be similar (even if the cost of legionary equipment is a little bit bigger than CFS2 CDs . 
 
So, unless some idiot make movies totally ridiculous, THEY'LL WORK! And in the future, they can just be better, because the standard level is forced to become higher by always more cunning public and so by the box-office rules. 
 
After the movies people search for places like R.A.T., and add add-ons to the movie atmosphere 
 
Ualete, 
 
Titus Sabatinus Aquilius

Man, I love CFS. What a fun game. 
 
Anyway, another positive to these historical blockbusters is the number of similar movies they spawn as a result of their success. I remember someone posting something about a movie based on Boudicca's revolt, with Rachel Weisz as the main star. As well, wasn't there supposed to be a movie starring Heath Ledger, about a young, Roman soldier of the early empire? Anyway, the point is, as long as it isn't a "B" grade film, they can't really hurt our reenacting industry, can they? "Remember, pillage first....then burn."

I agree that some historical(ish) movies are better than none at all. But unfortunately for every highly entertaining and well-made Gladiators there are quite a few woeful Attilas. Take Druids for example. I stupidly insisted to some friends that we rent that one the other weekend, talking them out of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. I wish we'd gone with Jay and Silent Bob - it was bad beyond belief. Pointless ahistoricism is silly and unecessary, but combined with appalling acting and completely fathomless script and cheap costumes and sets it all gets beyond a joke. 
 
I'm afraid I can't share the enthusiasm of others for Braveheart either. It's butchery of medieval history was far worse than anything Gladiator did to ancient history, but the fact that it was badly written, overlong, ponderous and pretentious didn't make it any more bearable. I'd seen Rob Roy the week before which was about as accurate (ie not very) but was a jolly romp and a ripping yarn. IMO, Braveheart was an ordeal of overblown wank that I wish I'd never suffered through. We'd gone to the pub for some drams of whisky beforehand, looking forward to cheering the stout Scots and booing the evil English. By the time they had bellowing Mel up on the scaffold howling about 'FRREEEDUUHHM' we felt like we'd been the ones who had been slowly disembowelled. "Oh for Christ's sake, kill the bastard so we can go home!" my girlfriend muttered towards the end. I was hoping the script writer was hanged drawn and quartered though I suspect he wasn't. 
 
I guess that one is a movie you either love or really, really hate. 
Cheers, Tim O'Neill / Thiudareiks Flavius
 

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