Scaramanga
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Not sure how this would turn out, but I'll see anything Michael Mann does at least once...
http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/details/gatesoffire.html
Gates of Fire
Genre: Action/Historical.
Studio: Universal Pictures.
Production Company: Maysville Pictures.
Project Phase: In Development.
Who's In It: Unknown.
Who's Making It: Michael Mann (Director, attached); David Self (Screenwriter); based on the novel Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.
Premise: In 480 B.C., three hundred stood with their leader, King Leonidas of Sparta, at the "gates of fire": a narrow pass sandwiched between the mountaintops at Thermopylae. Against the Spartans ride the armies of King Xerxes, leader of the mighty Persian empire, his army hundreds of thousands strong. All that stands between the Persians and the Spartans' homeland is this small group of fierce warriors.
Among the Spartans stands Zeones, a young Greek slave who has risen through the Spartan army to become a respected archer. Now, standing with his friends and leader, facing almost certain death against 10,000 to one odds, Zeo and the Spartans are about to enter one of the greatest battles ever fought in the histroy of the world.
Release Date: Unknown. Mann's next film is the Ali biopic, so this film is, at its earliest, two or three years away from the start of filming.
Comments: Unknown.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
October 4, 2000... This week David Self's Gates of Fire screenplay was reviewed by IGN FilmForce's resident script reader, the sleuthful being known as Stax. As is traditional of the well-read Stax, his in-depth and thorough review covered what he liked and what he didn't like about Self's script. One of Stax's favorite components of the script was in the spectacular climax as the Spartans and Persians fight to the death; in fact, a whopping 40 pages -- a third of the script and nearly three times longer than the concluding battle in Gladiator -- are devoted to chronicling the three-day battle in-depth!
"With its harrowing recreation of the famous battle at Thermopylae, David Self's script lays the foundation for a grand spectacle," writes the Stax man. "Despite these impressive accomplishments, Gates nevertheless lacked a solid main character to anchor me emotionally in all the impressive goings-on. It reminded me of those star-studded World War II flicks from the 1970's where you get just enough of a glimpse at each character to get a handle on them but you never really know any of them. Like those WW2 films, you never forget that the real star of the movie is the war itself."
We highly recommend you read Stax's review of Gates of Fire for yourself. . [Script review by Stax; originally appeared on IGN FilmForce.]
January 9, 2001... Straight out of the rumor mill, another one of our scoopers fills us in on a few initial Gates of Fire casting rumblings. So far George Clooney and Bruce Willis are the first names to be thrown into the mix as potentials to star in this upcoming Spartan epic. Both actors had been previously mentioned in passing as being interested in this project in Stax's original IGN FilmForce script review. [Scooped by 'C'; reported by Reg.]
January 22, 2001... We've received a status report about the development of Gates of Fire from a reader that wanted their identity kept a secret. The reader also tells us their thoughts on David Self's screenplay and hints at what directions a rewrite may take.
"I just wanted to fill out a little more of your knowledge of Gates of Fire, a film that many, including Michael Mann, George Clooney, and Bruce Willis are extremely excited about making. They feel, as I do, that this would be a both a worldwide box office smash and major awards contender that would shame the much loved Gladiator. Unfortunately for progress George is determined to rework the script a lot more this year, before taking the necessary preproduction steps to get this up in running. The draft by David Self, while good, doesn't quite capture the excellence in portraying heroism and humanity that the novel did, and was forced to make changes or cuts, which leave some parts murky. It's said that Zeones, Xeones in the book, is a weak main character, and that the supporting characters are much more interesting. It is supposed to be that way, for he is merely an observer and admirer who comes to share, like the reader, in the ranks of the Spartan warrior, as Dienekes' helot squire. The supporting character form the drama of the story, and his actions, while compelling, is secondary. His back story has been changed too. Diomache in the book was his cousin, who he had hoped to marry, and there was a whole subplot to this, with her marrying another jerk in Athens, and becoming a priestess of Peresephone. The whole tale was related by Zeo (or Xeo) to a Persian Historian, who is the only character who technically stay with the entire movie, and had more of a part in the book. Thus even Xeo himself is not the clear main star. Obviously the writer's job is to translate the intention of the book as closely as possible to the screen, and perhaps Self has strayed a little too far, and concentrated more on the epic battle, which is not the true focus of the book, although it is the crux of it, it is it's psychological and physical impact on the Spartans, and the way they react, which is more important. Also, much time was spent on the women's role in their civilization, and how they are the truly brave ones, the mother's and daughters, and I think that more time should be devoted this.
"Overall though, the script is an A-level adaptation on the right track, and hopefully a final version will be ready by the latest this fall. Whether or not another writer will come in is unknown, as are many other details, and Gates of Fire is still in the very preliminary stages, with lots of informal discussion and second hand information being passed around. If the can translate Steven Pressfield's masterpiece to the screen without distorting it, and Mann brings everything he's got to the table, this will have a shot as one of the all time greats I hope, at least in my heart. Hopefully we'll be hearing more later."
[Name withheld.]
http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/details/gatesoffire.html
Gates of Fire
Genre: Action/Historical.
Studio: Universal Pictures.
Production Company: Maysville Pictures.
Project Phase: In Development.
Who's In It: Unknown.
Who's Making It: Michael Mann (Director, attached); David Self (Screenwriter); based on the novel Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.
Premise: In 480 B.C., three hundred stood with their leader, King Leonidas of Sparta, at the "gates of fire": a narrow pass sandwiched between the mountaintops at Thermopylae. Against the Spartans ride the armies of King Xerxes, leader of the mighty Persian empire, his army hundreds of thousands strong. All that stands between the Persians and the Spartans' homeland is this small group of fierce warriors.
Among the Spartans stands Zeones, a young Greek slave who has risen through the Spartan army to become a respected archer. Now, standing with his friends and leader, facing almost certain death against 10,000 to one odds, Zeo and the Spartans are about to enter one of the greatest battles ever fought in the histroy of the world.
Release Date: Unknown. Mann's next film is the Ali biopic, so this film is, at its earliest, two or three years away from the start of filming.
Comments: Unknown.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
October 4, 2000... This week David Self's Gates of Fire screenplay was reviewed by IGN FilmForce's resident script reader, the sleuthful being known as Stax. As is traditional of the well-read Stax, his in-depth and thorough review covered what he liked and what he didn't like about Self's script. One of Stax's favorite components of the script was in the spectacular climax as the Spartans and Persians fight to the death; in fact, a whopping 40 pages -- a third of the script and nearly three times longer than the concluding battle in Gladiator -- are devoted to chronicling the three-day battle in-depth!
"With its harrowing recreation of the famous battle at Thermopylae, David Self's script lays the foundation for a grand spectacle," writes the Stax man. "Despite these impressive accomplishments, Gates nevertheless lacked a solid main character to anchor me emotionally in all the impressive goings-on. It reminded me of those star-studded World War II flicks from the 1970's where you get just enough of a glimpse at each character to get a handle on them but you never really know any of them. Like those WW2 films, you never forget that the real star of the movie is the war itself."
We highly recommend you read Stax's review of Gates of Fire for yourself. . [Script review by Stax; originally appeared on IGN FilmForce.]
January 9, 2001... Straight out of the rumor mill, another one of our scoopers fills us in on a few initial Gates of Fire casting rumblings. So far George Clooney and Bruce Willis are the first names to be thrown into the mix as potentials to star in this upcoming Spartan epic. Both actors had been previously mentioned in passing as being interested in this project in Stax's original IGN FilmForce script review. [Scooped by 'C'; reported by Reg.]
January 22, 2001... We've received a status report about the development of Gates of Fire from a reader that wanted their identity kept a secret. The reader also tells us their thoughts on David Self's screenplay and hints at what directions a rewrite may take.
"I just wanted to fill out a little more of your knowledge of Gates of Fire, a film that many, including Michael Mann, George Clooney, and Bruce Willis are extremely excited about making. They feel, as I do, that this would be a both a worldwide box office smash and major awards contender that would shame the much loved Gladiator. Unfortunately for progress George is determined to rework the script a lot more this year, before taking the necessary preproduction steps to get this up in running. The draft by David Self, while good, doesn't quite capture the excellence in portraying heroism and humanity that the novel did, and was forced to make changes or cuts, which leave some parts murky. It's said that Zeones, Xeones in the book, is a weak main character, and that the supporting characters are much more interesting. It is supposed to be that way, for he is merely an observer and admirer who comes to share, like the reader, in the ranks of the Spartan warrior, as Dienekes' helot squire. The supporting character form the drama of the story, and his actions, while compelling, is secondary. His back story has been changed too. Diomache in the book was his cousin, who he had hoped to marry, and there was a whole subplot to this, with her marrying another jerk in Athens, and becoming a priestess of Peresephone. The whole tale was related by Zeo (or Xeo) to a Persian Historian, who is the only character who technically stay with the entire movie, and had more of a part in the book. Thus even Xeo himself is not the clear main star. Obviously the writer's job is to translate the intention of the book as closely as possible to the screen, and perhaps Self has strayed a little too far, and concentrated more on the epic battle, which is not the true focus of the book, although it is the crux of it, it is it's psychological and physical impact on the Spartans, and the way they react, which is more important. Also, much time was spent on the women's role in their civilization, and how they are the truly brave ones, the mother's and daughters, and I think that more time should be devoted this.
"Overall though, the script is an A-level adaptation on the right track, and hopefully a final version will be ready by the latest this fall. Whether or not another writer will come in is unknown, as are many other details, and Gates of Fire is still in the very preliminary stages, with lots of informal discussion and second hand information being passed around. If the can translate Steven Pressfield's masterpiece to the screen without distorting it, and Mann brings everything he's got to the table, this will have a shot as one of the all time greats I hope, at least in my heart. Hopefully we'll be hearing more later."
[Name withheld.]
