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Some tidbit's on Emmerich & Devlin's Mel Gibson film, THE PATRIOT
Hey folks, Harry here with a few Blue Chi Chis poured down his throat by the infamous Annette Kellerman and her wild pals at Ego's... Fingerpaint capital of Austin. Meanwhile, on THE PATRIOT front, Father Geek, the resident historian, has been reading the final draft of Robert Rodat's screenplay for THE PATRIOT and contrary to popular fears... the violence and ferocity of the American Revolution has not been toned down... In fact earlier today he came in all excited and exclaiming that one scene between Mel and his sons down at the river was more intensely described than he remembered it being in the first draft. This is one film that I'm really looking forward to. Rodat's script is incredible. And whether or not you like Emmerich and Devlin's screenplays is not important here... I do like their ability to capture on film the visuals they capture. And here... with an actor of Mel Gibson's quality at the forefront... Well... I have faith in this project.
Centropolis has tons of "normal folks" from York County working on Emmerich
and Gibson's "The Patriot." Seamstresses, carpenters, computer people, you
name it. A local caligrapher was hired to write out authentic late 1700s
documents for the film. The biggest was a letter that, in the movie, is
sent to Gibson's character, inviting him to an assembly in Charleston,
S.C., to discuss what the Colonies are to do about a tax-happy England.
Two hundred extras who will play the movie's soldiers have also just
finished two weeks of training drills. They learned how to authentically
use their muskets and fake fight like real Revolutionary War soldiers. Some
with prior riding experience learned to battle from horse-back. The
soldiers aren't sure which side they'll be fighting on in the movie, but
they've been told that they'll have to be ready to work 12 hour days, 6
days a week for the next two months.
Won't it be incredible to see Mel once again engaging in epic battle scenes?
You can call me Zak Chase.
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YAHOO! First post.
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Sorry, there's always some ass that does this... well, today, I am that proud ass. I'll leave the *real* comments up to the rest of ya.
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heheheheeheheheeheheheeheh. I guess those Rev. War soldiers aren't union, are they? Welcome to the glamourous world of movie-making, my friends.
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"stargate": fun. "ID4": good summer see-it-once-during-a-matinee movie. "godzilla": why, oh, why did i see that movie? an absolute waste of hank azaria and harry shearer and jean reno, and proved that matthew broderick needs a new agent. "patriot": sounds compelling. if it's indeed based on francis marion, who was pretty damn cool for an 18th century freedom fighter, it will be a good story. go read up on him. mel has a tendency to muck around with the directors. that could, in this instance, be a good thing. and i hope that it is authentic in its violence. i hate pg-rated war movies that just seem too hollywood.
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Let's play a game when this one comes out. It's called Lets-count-the-number-of-times-these-two-hacks-rip-off-Spielberg. In GODZILLA (only saw it once and that was one too many so I have no exact number) they ripped off the God of Spectacle about a dozen times. In PATRIOT, i bet they do it twice as many. Why do these guys have jobs?
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I think all you chuckleheads out there who can spew a mouthfull of venom without even blinking need to take a breather and consider a few things about this project. (1) Emmerich was hired to direct this film by the same producers of "Saving Private Ryan" (Mark Gordon & Gary Levinsohn). That's it. (B) Dean came on board as a producer because he and Roland are a team. (3) The original story changed more when Mel became involved (the whole character of Frances Marion, the Swamp Fox, was dropped for a "pacifist farmer who reluctantly becomes involved in the struggle for American independence") and is more in line with "Braveheart" than SPR, and MUCH different than anything the duo of Emmerich/Devlin have done before. Sure, there are going to be realistic bloody battle scenes (ever thought about how much bodily damage one 10lb. cannon ball does to a person's limbs?) but the real story here is the personal struggle of Mel trying to protect his family from the ravages of a war that is all around them. Emmerich is passionate about this film. He has assembled a great cast, the best crew, including cinematographer Caleb Deschanel ("The Right Stuff," "The Natural") and production designer Kirk Petruccelli ("Mystery Men," "The 13th Floor") and is going to bring huge, epic battle scenes to life using thousands of extras strewn across miles of the beautifully rolling countryside of South Carolina, where the battles actually took place. It's so easy to dismiss a filmmaker by lumping them into easily defined roles. Give the guys here a chance to prove otherwise.
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Can you do any better?
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If this movie have the same feeling and mood of the 1985 "Revolution" with Al Pacino, I
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Here's the thing. Devlin & Emmerich are horrifically bad screenwriters. I would be happy if they never sat down at a typewriter again. BUT. Emmerich is a more than competant director, and Devlin (as far as I can tell from what ends up on the screen) is a good producer. I mean, if nothing else, these guys are freakin' geniuses when it comes to casting. What's the major concern about these two? They steal sequences from other movies? That's the screenwriters' fault. Full of plot holes? Screenwriters' fault. Fail to flesh out the SF worlds they create? Partly screenwriter's fault, but also because they can't do SF. BUT. THEY AREN'T WRITING THE SCREENPLAY THIS TIME. And it's not SF. I thought to myself during ID4, and then again during Godzilla, "Man, these guys could be great, if they either stop writing their own films, or move away from SF." They're at least as good at creating quickly fleshed-out characters as Spielberg. They have a good sense of pacing, and they can tell a story (ID4 may have had more holes than the socks I'm wearing, but at least you could follow the narrative, unlike, say, Armageddon). D & E remind me of that old joke: "They're both good and original. Unfortunately, the stuff that's good isn't original, and the stuff that's original isn't good." But maybe, with the help of someone who's original, they can be good.
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Dev(i)lin and Emmerich are hacks. Always have been, always will be. Don't believe me? I'm not even talking about their track record of bad films so much as where G-d resides, the DETAILS of those films. Forget the screenplays--notice Emmerich's absolute tin ear for music, music which is both overbearing and hackneyed at the same time. Visuals? Mediocre to poor. Very stiff framing, bad and unnatural looking cinematography. He seems to think in terms of 'trailer' shots. You have these few scenes (ships flying over New York, feet crashing down on cars, etc.) that are eye-catching and look promising, but in context of the whole film are just meaningless eye-candy. And that brings me to editing. D&E films are f--ing BORING. Yes, BORING. They have these annoying, monotonous editing rhythms (not complimented by the actual cro-magnon content) that put me to sleep. Independence Day had to be the longest two hours I ever spent watching a summer blockbuster, and I could'nt even finish watching Crapzilla. They can have a great script (which I doubt in the first place), a great DOP, and a great cast, but with no vision, I'll be shocked if the film turns out to be anything above mediocre.
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It's impressive how angry people can get about impersonal text written by people they've never met. At any rate... I absolutely hate Devlin--he's about as shitty as a screenwriter can get--but as for Emmerich.. hell, the man can direct. He can direct like anything. There were some shots in Independence Day that were more beautiful and awe-inspiring than anything you ever see in a popcorn flick. He has a great sense of spectacle. He knows how to quickly slip the human element into an action scene. Technically, he's superb. So I gotta say, I'm looking forward to The Patriot. I can't say that I thought the screenplay for Saving Private Ryan was anything special, and I don't know much else of Rodat's work, but I'm quite excited about a movie with Emmerich's craftmanship and the wonderful grounded charisma of Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger. Whether it has any soul or intelligence is in question. But it'll sure as hell be grand to look at.
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Big T here. Well I gotta say I dont have much confidence in these two. Look how their films keep turning out, Stargate-Fun little different flick, ID4-Worth a cheap ticket, Godzilla-shitty, So you see the more films they make the worse they get. Although since they are not writing I put this somewhere in between ID4 and Stargate-which means slightly entertaining. Hell How bad can a Mel Gibson film get and yes i saw Ransom. Big T out.
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I just see this as another Braveheart. Period piece starring Mel Gibson as a pacifist. Then he is dissed and gets pissed and starts the fight for a free Scotland, er, Colony. Braveheart had gory, epic battle scenes and so will Patriot. Braveheart had touching personal drama, with Wallace losing his father and brother in the "troubles." Now, Gibson's character will lose some family.
THere was a love story in Braveheart and will be in Patriot, involving Joely Fisher as his former sister in law.
It will be Braveheart with Emmerich and Devlin's twists.
I loved Braveheart, so hopefully Gibson gets a lot of say in how things are done. -
Partriot might be OK. It's gonna rip off SPR and Braveheart really badly. I, too, have never liked a Emmerich/Devlin flick, so I am predujice. But they have given me reason to be. All they do, in each film, is connect parts of other films and give it a new name. Also, really, how many times is Mel gonna do the 'pissed-off-family-man' shit? It's getting old. I also predict that Patriot is going to have lots of MUD in it. Yup, MUD. Lots. If you want some REAL butt-kicking war action, go see Joan Of Arc, which I have decided will win Best Picture. Gee, too bad the AICN crew didn't get to tour THEIR sets, huh? At least Luc Besson is above the 'cheap internet publicity' stunt. Just wait, it WILL RULE!!!!
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Sep 02, 1999 5:35:32 PM CDT
lets accept it and just say wow...(make a better movie before I
by adnt13!
"It's so easy to dismiss a filmmaker by lumping them into easily defined roles" very true, yet even easier when not even lumped into any defined roles, you look at the work and its stinky like doo doo....man, all of those movies IN MY OPINION (for future sakes of defending myself I have to make that disclaimer so no one attacks me later for trying to "change everyones minds" or that "Im right and you are all wrong")STINK! I still dont get it, why are people always saying the same shit, "Well, it wasnt great, but it didnt totally suck", dont we know any better? Are things so bad that were supposed to accept crap because there isnt anything supposedly better? Fuck entertainment! What happened to Cinema and artistic vision? Arent those things marketable with the right spin? Cant someone make money and sell off a lot of merchandising and music and stuff? Seriously, do we just pay $ to be entertained for 2 hours? Why is it that big budget commercials that make it to big screen somehow validate as "blockbusters" and great movies? Jeez, I curse Kubrick for dying as early as he did, his death has spared so many in an education on what true art is on film (Or vice versa), no not every movie has to be 2001, but do they all have to be the Matrix? (Can I get an amen?) Ill give bad movies one thing, they give people like me more reason to get my ass and make a better movie before I DIE! (Can I get a halleluja?) well, heres to hopes that this movie stands far aside from all the earlier attempts that have had me wishing for a Japanese guy in a rubber suit, or H.R. Geiger to come in and sue for days.... someone please show me that they could be adults and move an entire culture with something more than a computer effect..please, cause if you make me put down this pipe and shoot my own damned movie........
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knock yourselves out with "saving private braveheart," otherwise known as the "patriot." id4 was the biggest pile of steaming rhea i've seen in my entire life. if you actually paid to see godzilla AFTER witnessing the id4 abortion, you fully deserved to be shat on like i'm sure you were. after id4, i will never subject myself to another "production" from the dumbshit macho twins. i was laughing so hard at the "president's speech" that i had to walk out of the theater. but wait, all you testosterone-fueled dimwits defending E & D probably got that spine-tingling feeling and maybe had a tear or two dribble down your cheek. and then you went home, turned on USA, and salivated while super cold steve austin flipped you off, grabbed his package, and drank a beer. congratulations, you must be proud of yourself. i'll see you at the NASCAR race this weekend, and then i'm sure you'll be jumping around a mosh pit at the limp bizkit concert with your "BIG JOHNSON" t'shirt wrapped around your head. michael bay, E & D, and bruckheimer are living off your huge sack of balls and pea-sized brain. good work fellas.
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I'm not exactly fond of Devlin and Emmerich either, but that's only because there is only so much trite summer fare one person can take. That doesn't necessarily make them into the incarnation of evil. As for The PATRIOT, this story does sound like BRAVEHEART (even though Braveheart seemed very much like Spartacus). If this movie has graphic, true to life battle scenes though, how is that supposed to make it a ripp off of SPR? Wasn't shocking realism first pioneered by ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT? Still, I will be doubtful of this thing until I see it. Oh, and if you think GODZILLA was ok because it was fun, what's wrong with you?! You have a strange idea of fun. (Oh, and to hell with anyone that has to mention for the millionth time that "we're all entitled to our own opinions." Don't you think I know that?! Can't we all just trust ourselves to disagree and be honest without fearing we'll hurt the other guy's feelings and send them into a spiral of childish rage?) Yeah, most of the Japanese Godzilla movies were terrible, but the original was quality 50's science fiction along the lines of FORBIDDEN PLANET, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (especially TDtESS). The original Godzilla was a story of humanity vs. a manifestation of nature gone mad due to humanity's folly. It had less in common with the cheesy Hollywood 50's era B class movies than it did with Frankenstein or even Moby Dick! The Japs in the movie feared Godzilla, but they understood what he represented and were in awe of his power the same way one might be of a tornado or hurricane. Devlin and Emmerich's New York Godzilla was just a big lizard that got killed the same way a policeman might shoot a circus elephant that got sick and tired of being abused and ran wild in anger and frustration. What's there to cheer about that? If you can't get past the man in a rubber suit frivolity but accept a flat, cardboard story if it has believable efx then shame on you.
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Sep 03, 1999 9:59:20 AM CDT
fuck saving private braveheart, STARSKY AND HUTCH IS WHERE ITS A
by adnt13!
let me just state for the record that I only paid to see ID4 and that's it! I too laughed at the speech along with everything else in that stinking movie! I really thought Mars attacks was a much better alien invasion movie except that they didnt steal HRGeiger designs straight from his sketchbook! Godzilla? shit, I saw that at a friends house on cable for free and I wanted my money back!!!!!!!!!!....there are not enough words to describe the utter crap that that movie was, down to the King kong death scene...I never paid to see Armagedon, I never paid to see Impact, or any of that crap, I know better and I wait for a friend to tell me just how terrible it was although its usually pretty obvious from the trailers where those movies are going...I'm ashamed, but I'll admit it, I did pay for the matrix and Im mad that that ticket did count as my vote, a vote I would take back in a second, you know...I shouldve asked for my money back when i left the theater on that one...fuck it. You know, its really sad that something as important to our culture as the revolutionary war can be left in the hands of these fucks, but at the same time its pretty representative of a big part of this culture now, its emphasis is on rehash and outright theft, no integrity only financial goals, momentary entertainment with no long term vision...I hope public schools have better teachers this year or American history will get a good slap, why dont they just leave the history telling to Animaniacs or hysteria? why dont these guys just remake starsky and hutch or something...stay away from our history, it doesnt need any more fucking with!
PS, the opinion disclaimer is a neccesity on some parts of this site, I was attacked for like the last week on the Matrix 2 and 3 are by a bunch of frantic fanatics who were into Korn and Limp biskit and supergrass and shit..so I didnt mean to insult the intelligent people who obviously understand what an opinion is, but I had to state it just in case. After all, this area is for the guys who did ID4 and a long list of other SHIT so I just naturally expected to be walking into the romper room..sorry. -
F... this a and f... that why is it that every ten year old that talks back on this site feels the need to spout every fout letter word they know in their vocabulary!? Does it get your point across any better?
In regards to the comment earlier about paying 7-9 bucks for a movie being your vote. I agree to a certain extent. I tend to see every movie that even mildly interests me now that I have a well paying job and can afford it. Lame highschool flicks with James Van Der Puke or anyone else from the WB network don't interest me but most scifi/action and dramatic flicks do. In my opinion that makes my vote pretty much neutral since in effect I vote for all of them. Hence, though I consider flicks like DE, Armageddon, and even Star Wars to a certain extent to be mostly eyecandy. They do still usually catch my eye and that's all (although I think Star Wars does tend to get my imagination going but the movies themselves are still not as good as my imagination of that universe). I also love the greater films like Pleasantville, Eyes Wide Shut, Matrix, Simple Plan, Shawshank Redemption, Sixth Sense, October Sky, Patch Adams, American History X, Sling Blade, Thin Red Line, Saving Private Ryan, Virtigo, Dirty Harry, How The West Was Won, A Bridge To Far, and many more... Here's a good analogy perhaps a good looking woman might attract you to screw her brains out for a while but if she has no brains to begin with would you stay with her forever? The same applies to an eyecandy movie vs. a highly intellectual plot-driven movie. The good movies you keep in your heart and watch over and over and the eyecandy ones you watch for effects and admire the technical aspects of it all but usually you don't keep them for multiple viewings. Yes it is unfortunate today that hollywood has chosen to put out more eyecandy than good fims like the aforementioned (I see it as about a 10 to 1 ratio- ten bad films for every good one). Not only that there are gems from the last 100 years of flim making to enjoy so go out and rent one of the AFI 100 best films or any of the other movies you know are good but have yet to see. -
I didn't say SPR was nothing special. It was quite the incredible movie, and about the sixth or seventh best of 1998. I said the script was nothing special, and I stand by that. SPR's greatness lay in the tight direction, the battle scenes, and Jeremy Davies. And whoever it was who called me a dick for saying so... check out the subject line of that post, man.
As for the other guy's bit about entertainment v. art, what's wrong with enjoying both? -
I heard a rumor that Peter Woodward (Galen from Crusades) has been cast for this movie. Do you know the truth of it?
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Roland Emmerich is a funny director:
He can make good scenes and good action, but what happens with the charakters in his movies?
The leading role in his movies always play the special effects.
A very good Example for that is Independece Day.
But when the screenplay
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