~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
entertainment.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=544320~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drawing from Homer's The Iliad, director Wolfgang Petersen's Troy tells the epic story of the 12th century Trojan War. After a beautiful Greek woman named Helen (Diane Kruger) is wooed away from the king of Sparta by Prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) of Troy, the Greek army unleashes a violent attack upon Troy. For years, the two states wage a gruesome war against each other, with the Trojans led by Hector (Eric Bana) and the Spartans headed by Achilles (Brad Pitt). Written by David Benioff (25th Hour), Troy also stars Peter O'Toole, Brian Cox, and Julie Christie. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
There is a trailer there too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GATES OF FIRE
Release Date: Unknown; that will depend upon when (if) filming actually does get started.
MPAA Rating Note: (2/3/01) Nothing's official until the MPAA sees the final cut, but an R is likely for the sheer graphic nature of the battle scenes. Actually, there's another graphic reality that this film may not portray (but is seen in Frank Miller's 300), which is that Spartans often did not wear clothing over their genitals.
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Company: Maysville Pictures (Clooney), Forward Pass (Untitled Howard Hughes Biopic) (Michael Mann)
Cast: None announced yet, but it's a good bet that George Clooney will have a role, possibly as King Leonides, since he's producing as well.
Cast Notes: (2/3/01) The central character of Zeones will require a young, teens/20's-ish actor. Clooney also told Movieline that Bruce Willis is interested in a role (he might play King Leonides?).
Director: Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, Manhunter, The Last of the Mohicans, Ali; his next film before this will be Collateral)
Screenwriter: David Self (The Haunting, 13 Days; next up are Road to Perdition and The Bourne Identity, which he cowrote); rewrite by John Orloff (debut; he wrote episode 2 of Band of Brothers)
Based Upon: The 1998 novel of the same title by Steven Pressfield, based upon the true story of 300 Spartans who, along with about 7,000 allied Greeks, held back an army of over 2 million Persians (you read that right) for several days in 480 B.C. at the Battle of Thermopylae. Though they lost the battle, they held back the Persians long enough for the Greek states to rally together. The key to success were the "Gates of Fire", a narrow pass in the mountaintops where the Spartans positioned themselves, acting like a valve, keeping the Persians from passing, even as their own dead served as shields.
Not Based Upon: Pressfield's novel is not the only recent book about the Battle of Thermopylae. Many fans know the tale from Frank Miller's excellent graphic novel, 300, which is highly recommended for anyone looking for a beautifully rendered (though violent) historical read.
Competing Project: (6/13/02) Michael Fleming of "Variety" reports that 20th Century Fox has hired screenwriter Erik Jendressen, who wrote three episodes of the "Band of Brothers" HBO mini-series, to work on the script for a remake of the 1960 film, "The 300 Spartans", about the same battle, creating a "dueling project" situation. My hunch is that "Gates of Fire" is still likely to be the first one to theaters, though having to wait for a slot on Michael Mann's calendar *does* slow it down a bit. (10/5/03) Screenwriter Michael Gordon, who is also working on the G.I. Joe movie, is the latest screenwriter to be hired to work on that other '300 Spartans' project.
Thermopylae Note: The pass known as Thermopylae, which hung over the sea in 480 B.C. is now over a mile away, due to 2,000+ years of silt build-up. Also, the name, which means "hot gates" (aka, "gates of fire") comes from the hot sulfur springs found nearby. Thermopylae is a narrow pass, four miles in length, that went on to be integral in battles against the Celts in 279 B.C. and Romans in 191 B.C. (source: Britannica.com)
Premise: This is the Battle of Thermopylae ("Gates of Fire") as seen by the only survivor, Zeones. Told in flashback, the film follows the story of the young slave (aka, a "helot", a servant), starting with his childhood, through his Spartan military training, ending with one of the most famous battles ever, as the relatively tiny band of Spartans holds back an army of thousands of Persians. Facing armies that numbered over in the millions, the Spartans obviously knew they would ultimately lose, but they fought on, regardless. If the Persians had conquered Greece that early on, Western culture as we know it probably would never have happened...
Filming: There is no production start date for this project yet. With Michael Mann committed to directing Collateral for a 2004 release, it's likely not going to happen any sooner than 2005 or so.
Premise Note:
4/21/01 - Apparently, one of the details that was changed from the novel is that in the draft of the script reviewed by IGN, Zeones was a helot, but in the book, he was not. It's quite possible this might all change again by the time the film actually starts production.
Genre: Action, Based on a Book, Eye Candy, Historical, War
Script Review: IGN FilmForce
Book Review: SlashDot.org (Not only a good review, but the dozens of talkbacks at the bottom are interesting as well)
Read About the Wars: Dr. J's Illustrated Persian Wars
Status: In Development
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go Tell The Spartans... Again
Hollywood's monopoly on Thermoplyae.
June 13, 2002 - According to Variety, Hollywood has gone ape for the ancient Greeks. In addition to Universal's long-in-development epic Gates of Fire, which is based on Steven Pressfield's novel and has Michael Mann attached to direct, another project about the Battle of Thermoplyae is in the works. 20th Century Fox will remake its 1962 cult classic The 300 Spartans, which is "about the elite Greek warriors who held off a million Persian invaders in the Battle of Thermoplyae." Novelist/playwright Erik Jendresen (HBO's Band of Brothers) will script the remake, which the trade claims will be "more ambitious" than the 1962 film.
Fox honcho Jim Gianopulos told Variety that films "like Gladiator, Braveheart and the fantasy Lord of the Rings demonstrated the enormous appeal of strong characters fighting epic battles on grand scales, and this has all those elements. ... We've already done much preparation and planning to get under way next year and we're relying on Erik to give us the compelling characters to bring that period to life."
Jendresen is also at work on Crisis in the Hot Zone, the Fox-based ebola virus pic previously beat to the theaters by Outbreak; Explaining Hitler, co-written with Bruce McKenna for director Jim Sheridan; an adaptation of Sebastian Junger's book Fire; biopics of both Daniel Boone and Jacques Cousteau; and the stem cell research pic Immortals for director Ridley Scott.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Principal Photography Begins on "Alexander"
Los Angeles, CA - September 22, 2003
Principal photography began in Morocco on the new IM Internationalmedia AG /IMF 3 film about Alexander the Great. The film, directed and written by Academy Award winner Oliver Stone, charts the life and legend of one of the greatest figures of world history and will be shot on various locations, including London and Thailand.
Sponsored Links
Executive Producers
Script P.I.M.P.'s database lists executives accepting new material.
www.scriptpimp.com Animals for filming & TV
premier prod co for animal filming Casting, Commercials, Features
www.animalsonblue.com The main cast includes Colin Farrell (Alexander), Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie (Alexander's mother Olympias), Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins (Ptolemy) and Val Kilmer (Alexander's father Philip).
The film is produced by Thomas Schühly, IM Internationalmedia Chairman Moritz Borman, Jon Kilik and Iain Smith. Co-Executive Producers are Fernando Sulichin and Gianni Nunnari of Cecchi Gori.
The film project is an epic that is as daring, bold and ambitious as its subject, a relentless conqueror who by the age of 32 had amassed the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Past and present collide to form the puzzle of the protagonist, a tapestry of triumphs and tragedies in which childhood memories and Alexander's rise to power unfold side by side with the later day expansion of his empire, its gradual decline and ultimate downfall.
Stated producer Moritz Borman: "There's been so much talk over the past few years of bringing Alexander the Great's story to the screen, and here we are in Morocco with the cameras finally turning, and Oliver Stone-with an incredible cast and crew-behind them. Alexander's story is so ambitious and complex, but Oliver has written an extraordinary script which captures the man in all of his myriad facets. Oliver Stone's movie will combine great spectacle with riveting, intimate drama."
The film will be presented by Warner Bros. Pictures in North America. I.S. Film Distribution, Intermedia's international sales joint venture with Summit Entertainment, is selling the film in international territories. Constantin Film is the distributor for Germany.
<--->
