11-02-2009, 05:36 PM
I've often wondered how it would look on the big screen. I mean, come on! Plataea has two armies of approximately 100,000 men a piece squaring off against each other. And then there's Salamis. No Hollywood production has adequately captured such a naval battle, in my opinion. And then there is the cast of characters -- so many people to pick from. The war itself is so big, it would be better to focus on a set of characters and how the war affected them or how they altered the course of the war. And then there's the consideration -- do we focus on Spartans? Athenians? Persians? Everybody?
Well, after being a member of these boards for a few years and gleaning excellent information from the many discussions here (and enduring many a tongue lashing for my naiveté), and after hours and hours of my own research into the Histories and into the art and science of screenwriting: I have written a screenplay. I am an amateur at this point and have written this on "spec," which means no one has commissioned me to write it, but rather I wrote it of my own accord and will be shopping it around. I thought I'd run it by you guys for your enjoyment and any good natured feedback you might have.
If you've read this far, then I can assume you're interested and will give my disclaimer: This is first and foremost a dramatization of the events. It is historical fiction. I have intermixed real historical characters with characters of pure imagination. This is not a documentary or anything of the sort. My first duty is to story and characterization and to creating something that has a chance of selling. A distant second is historicity. Sorry. I will immediately dismiss criticism about historical accuracy or anything like that, unless it is a glaring error that might make the script stronger or reveal a good character trait of one or more of the characters. One historical character, particularly, I have given attributes that at the least exaggerate his historical traits, and possibly might constitute character assassination in the minds of some people here. If you get offended because he is your favorite Greek of all time, then I don't apologize.
Also, at one point I used all kinds of Greek words, like kranos, dory, dorata, osthimos, etc., but cut down on such technical language and in the latest draft use more generic words like helmet, spear, etc., to ease the reading for potential industry folk (who are laymen compared to the people on this board).
The screenplay is registered with the Writers Guild of America (West). You can read it here:
Athens: The Cradle of Western Civilization (PDF - 410 KB)
Enjoy! Criticism is welcomed.
PS: If anyone has seen the movie "The 300 Spartans" then you might recognize a scene about 1/3 through.
Well, after being a member of these boards for a few years and gleaning excellent information from the many discussions here (and enduring many a tongue lashing for my naiveté), and after hours and hours of my own research into the Histories and into the art and science of screenwriting: I have written a screenplay. I am an amateur at this point and have written this on "spec," which means no one has commissioned me to write it, but rather I wrote it of my own accord and will be shopping it around. I thought I'd run it by you guys for your enjoyment and any good natured feedback you might have.
If you've read this far, then I can assume you're interested and will give my disclaimer: This is first and foremost a dramatization of the events. It is historical fiction. I have intermixed real historical characters with characters of pure imagination. This is not a documentary or anything of the sort. My first duty is to story and characterization and to creating something that has a chance of selling. A distant second is historicity. Sorry. I will immediately dismiss criticism about historical accuracy or anything like that, unless it is a glaring error that might make the script stronger or reveal a good character trait of one or more of the characters. One historical character, particularly, I have given attributes that at the least exaggerate his historical traits, and possibly might constitute character assassination in the minds of some people here. If you get offended because he is your favorite Greek of all time, then I don't apologize.
Also, at one point I used all kinds of Greek words, like kranos, dory, dorata, osthimos, etc., but cut down on such technical language and in the latest draft use more generic words like helmet, spear, etc., to ease the reading for potential industry folk (who are laymen compared to the people on this board).The screenplay is registered with the Writers Guild of America (West). You can read it here:
Athens: The Cradle of Western Civilization (PDF - 410 KB)
Enjoy! Criticism is welcomed.
PS: If anyone has seen the movie "The 300 Spartans" then you might recognize a scene about 1/3 through.
Michael D. Hafer [aka Mythos Ruler, aka eX | Vesper]
In peace men bury their fathers. In war men bury their sons.
In peace men bury their fathers. In war men bury their sons.
