Boudicca Queen of the Iceni

[Darren]

Mel Giobson is planning to make a version of Boudicca in the wake of his Passion success. And not only that but Hollywood have another three Boudicca projects lined upo. Fan-bloody-tastic! Julie Roberts rumoured to be the lead role in one of them...

I remember several years ago I came across an article about an Anglia TV version which was screened last year and told some guys on the web thta were historical re-enacters about it. It was being filmed in Prague. I wish I could have gone. It's a passion of mine, all things Celtic. It's why I liked your Corum books so much.

But alas when it was screened I was a bit disappointed. No mention of certain facts, for example that JC was surprised that the insular Celts were still using Chariots because it had gone out of fashion on the continent several centuries earlier. And Jack Shepherd played Claudius.

Also my mum when she recorded it missed the first five minutes (Aaaaargh!). It's a shame really as I live near the place where she is reputedly buried. Mums, huh? But then again I have made similar mistakes when there was a two part documentary on the Celts I recorded all well and good but forgot I had it the VCR and wiped out about 10 minutes accidentally. It was the most interesting part as well about them sacking Delphi and ravishing Rome. I really love that story. How Brennus and his people marched on Rome going through all the villages between saying we don't have no trouble with you and when he got there and got justice his famous quote of "Vae Victi"; woe unto the vanquished.

Still I can contact the co and see if they'll have a copy to hand. So perhaps when Elric comes to the screen there'll probably be a spate of Celt-inspired movies as well.

:roll:

[krunky]

Do you refer to the Alex Kingston version?

Yeah, that was crap.

[Michael Moorcock]

I'm determined to avoid Celtic imagery in the Elric movie. Readers might be a trifle surprised to see how we've done Melnibone and the Melniboneans and their history in the forthcoming DC graphic novel.
I didn't think much of the Boadicea TV movie, I must say. Interestingly, some of the Iceni used to live at the top of the hill ('mountain') that I used to live on in Yorkshire. They built a hill fort and waited for the Romans to attack.
The Romans just went round the hill to Carlisle... After a few years the Iceni drifted back down and got themselves Romanised.

[Michael Moorcock]

I meant to add that the best Boadicea book I've read is Red Queen, White Queen by Henry Treece. Could be copies are still in print from Savoy. Three projects ? Hmmm. I wonder if it's time to revive my old Guinevere script (the movie I was working on when I wrote Letters From Hollywood). The director didn't at that time like the idea of Guinevere being the main focus and dynamic of the film.

[Anonymous]

I read that Mel Gibson was planning on making a movie about Boudicca. However, I did not know Hollywood was planning making movies about it too. I am going to put my money on Mel Gibson since he directed BraveHeart and The Passion of the Christ. (Hollywood: I heard Mel is making a movie about Boudicca. We better make one too :lol: )

[Michael Moorcock]

I'd guess he's not big on real history, our Mel, since Braveheart is in itself a Hollywoodised bit of mythology, just as, you could argue, The Passion is, too. So while he might be a good movie-maker, I doubt if his Boudicca/Boadicea is going to be any more 'authentic'. At least with her he goes closer to Passion than Braveheart, which was ludicrous guff, like The Patriot, as far as I'm concerned, having little to do with the historical reality. Though Gangs of New York probably takes the prize for warped history, especially since it's so easily verifiable. Maybe it's something about a certain sort of Catholic ? Though few of my Catholic friends seem to have that capacity for distorting the record. Maybe all those conspiracy theorists were right and Mel and Co are tools of a secret Opus Dei plot to warp the minds of our youth ? :)

[Jerico]

I believe I remember the following correctly:

There was one of those cable programs I believe on A&E channel where they have History Vs. Hollywood. There was one on Braveheart.
It said in the actual history, a bridge was a key factor in Wallace's victory. In the movie, they had no bridge at all. I believe the film-makers said it was because of budget and time restrictions, they could not recreate the bridge. DOH!!!!

[Elven]

Why does the British film Industry 'carry on' making pathetic love films/ comedies or stories about working class people from up North when it could be making films such as Boudicca and all without Hollywood intervention! :?

Perhaps it's because Channel 4 and the BBC are too busy paying executives to come up with new reality TV shows?

[Michael Moorcock]

I thought the Boudicca movie WAS British. And if that was the standard, maybe they should stick to making Richard Curtis movies (though LOVE ACTUALLY seems to indicate he's rung the changes once too often).
To be fair, half the people in Hollywood or on Broadway are, in fact, British. They're there, presumably, because the UK can't raise the kind of money they need to make the best of their talents (though Broadway
production standards are oddly worse than West End, which is hard to explain).

[DeeCrowSeer]

To be fair, half the people in Hollywood or on Broadway are, in fact, British. They're there, presumably, because the UK can't raise the kind of money they need to make the best of their talents (though Broadway production standards are oddly worse than West End, which is hard to explain).

It is also the case with comic books of course, with most of the best writers and artists working for DC or Marvel (even if they did rise up out of 2000 AD or Deadline). More power to them, of course, but it's a shame we can't keep the talent "in house".

We seem to be getting a lot of American actors coming to the West End at the moment and claiming that it's always been their ambition to tread those boards, so Britain (or London at least) still has something to offer!

I have absolutely no desire to defend the British film industry because Richard Curtis makes me want to hurt myself with rusty pliers, but Shaun of the Dead was a pretty decent effort, and contained almost everyone who is making a splash in British comedy at the moment. It was, as far as I'm aware, largely the result of the writer/star and director working together on a sitcom (Spaced) together, and if more of the cinematically-inclined comedy teams were to produce films, we might be able to build up some momentum.

Why I say "we", I'm not sure. I may be experiencing a flicker of patriotism... I'd better go and lie down until it passes.

D...

[Michael Moorcock]

Isn't someone like Kevin Bacon running the Old Vic at the moment ?
We supply our skills, they supply their drawing power. That seems to be the deal. Americans are often astonished at the names of stars doing half-hour programmes on Radio 2, for instance. One of the reasons is that there's greater liberty to do what you want to do in the UK, pretty much across the board. So it works well for all parties -- the Americans are willing to work for crap wages because of the prestige of the British institutions and the experience they get. The Brits need the Americans to put bums on seats (or ears to receivers) and are thus able to continue doing the sort of innovative work Americans can't easily do at home.
It seems to me to be a pretty workable situation. And, not to put those American actors down, it gives 'stars' a chance to expand their range in front of reasonably sophisticated audiences, so they get job satisfaction and the audiences can judge their acting skills (often far more impressive than movies allow them to show). And sometimes, of course, American visitors can go to a British play and see just how drunk it's possible for an English actor to get and still give a reasonable performance...

[Doc]

I think it's Kevin Spacey.

[Michael Moorcock]

That's him! I get all my Kevins mixed up. As Terry Pratchett might say (he claims all his fans are called Kevin). I've a terrible memory for names at the best of times. Even been known to introduce my closest friends by the wrong names. Must be all those years of making so many up...

[Corum]

lol Mike you have quite a few real friends as well!

[Doc]

As long as you don't get your children's names mixed up, I think everyone will forgive you.

When I was young and gave my mother trouble, she would call me all of her brothers' names (and sometimes my sister's) before she actually got my name right. The good part was that by that time she forgot why I had frustrated her. :) This was good for getting out of trouble, but horrible for the identity issues of a six-year-old. Sometimes I felt like I had one long name made of three or four other names.

And, for what it's worth, I think Kevin Spacey is a much better actor than Kevin Bacon. After all he was the Kaiser in The Usual Suspects. :D