Battle of Hastings to be Hollywood film

[Aemma]

Battle of Hastings to be Hollywood film
Three rival films are being made about the Battle of Hastings, after being overlooked by the film industry for decades.

By Nick Allen
Last Updated: 3:41PM GMT 21 Dec 2008

Other crucial battles in English history have been given the big screen treatment before but Hastings has always been ignored. Photo: JULIAN SIMMONDS
The pivotal moment in English history will now be the subject of a trio of big-budget productions and among those involved in the various projects are the screenwriter of Gladiator, the producer of US medical drama ER and the producer of The Duchess, which starred Keira Knightley.

Other crucial battles in English history - including Agincourt, Waterloo and Trafalgar - have been given the big screen treatment before but Hastings has always been ignored, despite its historical importance.

The new films will focus on the characters of King Harold and William the Conqueror before the battle in 1066.

Harold is thought to have been killed when an arrow hit him in the eye, although some historians dispute the manner of his death.

A £67 million US blockbuster is being planned with the working title William the Conqueror.

Producer Pamela Koffler said: "I know a lot of people in the US might not have heard of William and 1066 but he was a dynamic, charismatic figure while the battle was a defining moment in history."

Michael Kuhn, producer of The Duchess, is working on a different version for a British company.

He said: "It's about the friendship and trust between two men who then become great rivals.

"Harold was a dashing figure who had numerous girlfriends and many children before he eventually married, while William had this very happy marriage."

The third film is being made by a team which worked on the BBC series Spooks and Merlin.

Screenwriter William Nicholson said: "In Hollywood terms, it is a buddy movie about two men which ended in tears."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/c...wood-film.html

[GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS]

I'd bet my last dollar they'll cast Will Smith as either William or Harold.

[Aemma]

I'd bet my last dollar they'll cast Will Smith as either William or Harold.

LOL!! So far I've heard one person elsewhere suggest perhaps Morgan Freeman as Harold Hardrada and Hugh Grant as William the Conqueror. Oh and Tom Cruise was thrown into the fray for good measure. LOL!

Good Gods!

Cheers!...Aemma

[Beorn]

I wonder if this is the same film production that caught my eye a year back?

http://www.1066themovie.biz/characters.htm

[Aemma]

I wonder if this is the same film production that caught my eye a year back?

http://www.1066themovie.biz/characters.htm

It might be BeornWulfWer. I think that there are 3 movies in the making though so I'm not sure which one this article that I posted would be referring to. It should be interesting to follow each film's developments though that's for sure.

Cheers!...Aemma

[Hildolf]

No doubt it will all be historically incorrect and the battle will of been won by an american armed norman army! Wellll the americans re-write the rest of history, most kids these day's probably know nothing about the battle of hastings. Apparently most kids in England think Churchill is a bulldog!(And not even a real one) So what hope have we for kids knowledge of history further back in the past?

But I hope I'm proven wrong.

[Beorn]

Just be glad that it doesn't have Mel Gibson starring as William the Bastard, out to seek bloody revenge upon the hated English for years and years of violence, rape, murder and oppression upon....? Um? Upon somebody or other.

I'm sure old Mel would find an excuse.