medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The Washington Post this morning has a story about a flood of movie projects
leaning toward "the heroic, the comforting and the inspirational." Two are
about the Crusades, explained in this excerpt (from "Now Showing: The Flag
Hollywood Is Storming Out of Its 9-11 Foxhole with a Barrage of Patriotic
Flicks," Feb. 6, 2002,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29627-2002Feb5.html):
Prominent producer Mike Medavoy has just bought the rights to a book about
the Crusades -- "Warriors of God," by James Reston Jr. -- with plans to make
a big-budget epic about the Third Crusade, a battle over Jerusalem in the
12th century.
The main characters are the Christian warrior-king Richard the Lion-Hearted
and his noble Muslim nemesis, Saladin. At one point when Richard falls ill,
Saladin sends his personal doctor to his enemy.
"At its core, it harkens to what's going on today," Medavoy said. As he read
the book, "it's like the light bulb goes off and you go, 'Wow, here's an
interesting approach to what's going on in the world, but at a different
time.' How similar things are. And it's about humanity, about how human
beings can help each other."
It's also about a lot of bloody battles between Christians and Muslims,
which may put off some audiences, but that doesn't deter Medavoy, who is
looking for a writer to turn the book into a screenplay.
Nor is it deterring interest in yet another Crusades project, this one a
script that has come close to being made several times in the past decade.
"Crusade," by screenwriter Walon Green, was optioned by Arnold
Schwarzenegger in the early 1990s but was ultimately denied a green light
because studios deemed it too expensive.
Now there is talk of reviving the project, an epic tale set during the First
Crusade in the 11th century. The underdog hero of this story is a thief who
maneuvers his way into joining the Crusade but is ultimately conflicted
about the justice of the war.
"In the end, you see the stupidity of the Crusades," says screenwriter
Green. "The theme is about the danger and amorality of war anytime you
attach a holy aspect to it. . . . It's absolutely the right subject for
now."
And whether or not Schwarzenegger does the project -- his spokesman would
not comment -- Arnold's fans have certainly revved up their interest in his
doing so. Schwarzenegger's official fan site has buzzed with questions about
"Crusade" since September, along with a couple of other long-languishing war
projects, "Commando II" and "Sergeant Rock."
---------
Speechless,
Al Magary
[xposted Medieval-Religion and Mediev-L]
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