geeman
01-21-2003, 01:42 PM
Here`s an article that a few folks on this list might find interesting:
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Spielberg puts the Legend of King Arthur to the Sword
by Catherine Milner
Steven Spielberg is to demolish the "myth" of Camelot in a television film
series about King Arthur that does not feature a round table, Excalibur,
Merlin or knights. The series, which is due to be shot in Britain next
year, will oppose the traditional view of Camelot as a cloud-covered city
of towers and battlements by portraying it as a simple Roman fort.
Perhaps most contentiously, King Arthur will be a humble blacksmith who
does not become king by drawing the sword Excalibur from a stone, as
depicted in legend - instead he is feted because he can create steel from
iron ore. "At that time a blacksmith who could cast iron skillfully was
regarded highly and would have had the same funeral honours as a king,"
said David Leland, the film`s scriptwriter and director. "The process of
casting iron and creating good weapons was a secret and the blacksmiths
kept their secrets very close to their chest. I think the idea of how you
get iron from a stone - how you get a good sword from a stone - was one of
the secrets that explains the Excalibur legend."
Mr Leland said that the series, which will cost £85 million to make, will
be filmed in the West Country next spring. It will "de-evolve", he says,
the story that has captivated writers and artists since the early Middle
Ages. It will attempt to recreate the "historical reality" of what life
was like in ad500, when King Arthur is thought to have reigned. "I am not
interested in mysticism. I am not setting out to create magic. There`s no
point in making this film unless you get under the skin of it and to the
reality as it would have been at that time." As a result, there will be no
round table in the series, nor any Excalibur scene, Mr Leland said, and he
was circumspect about the fate of Merlin, the magician.
King Arthur will be known as Artos, Sir Lancelot as Bwyr and Guinivere as
Gwenever in keeping with the Romano-Celtic translations of those
names. "Sir Lancelot is an invention of medieval poets so we wouldn`t have
a Lancelot figure, but maybe have some essence of who he was instead," said
Mr Leland, who is known for his work on the Second World War series Band of
Brothers. Instead of the knights there will be a "brotherhood of
companions" wearing leather jerkins and woolly cloaks rather than the
armour of the Crusaders in which they are usually portrayed.
Spielberg will come to Britain next spring to oversee the project, which is
backed by the American production company HBO. Negotiations are under way
to show it the BBC. Casting will start in January.
The legend of King Arthur is primarily based on Le Morte D`Arthur by Sir
Thomas Malory, written in the 1400s. Malory`s works were the inspiration
for a number of paintings, particularly those by the Pre-Raphaelite
brotherhood in the 19th Century.
However, Spielberg has competition: Jerry Bruckheimer, another Hollywood
director, is starting work next year on his film King Arthur, which he is
shooting in Ireland, and Warner Brothers are bringing out a film based on T
H White`s book The Once and Future King. Like Spielberg, Bruckheimer has
stated a desire to concentrate on historical accuracy rather than legends -
even though his grasp on the history of the period seems slightly
askew. Describing his film recently, he said: "It happened much earlier
than movies or the English have put it. They changed the way it was told.
Arthur was really Roman and the Knights of the Round Table were Russian and
great horsemen."
************************************************** **************************
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----------
Spielberg puts the Legend of King Arthur to the Sword
by Catherine Milner
Steven Spielberg is to demolish the "myth" of Camelot in a television film
series about King Arthur that does not feature a round table, Excalibur,
Merlin or knights. The series, which is due to be shot in Britain next
year, will oppose the traditional view of Camelot as a cloud-covered city
of towers and battlements by portraying it as a simple Roman fort.
Perhaps most contentiously, King Arthur will be a humble blacksmith who
does not become king by drawing the sword Excalibur from a stone, as
depicted in legend - instead he is feted because he can create steel from
iron ore. "At that time a blacksmith who could cast iron skillfully was
regarded highly and would have had the same funeral honours as a king,"
said David Leland, the film`s scriptwriter and director. "The process of
casting iron and creating good weapons was a secret and the blacksmiths
kept their secrets very close to their chest. I think the idea of how you
get iron from a stone - how you get a good sword from a stone - was one of
the secrets that explains the Excalibur legend."
Mr Leland said that the series, which will cost £85 million to make, will
be filmed in the West Country next spring. It will "de-evolve", he says,
the story that has captivated writers and artists since the early Middle
Ages. It will attempt to recreate the "historical reality" of what life
was like in ad500, when King Arthur is thought to have reigned. "I am not
interested in mysticism. I am not setting out to create magic. There`s no
point in making this film unless you get under the skin of it and to the
reality as it would have been at that time." As a result, there will be no
round table in the series, nor any Excalibur scene, Mr Leland said, and he
was circumspect about the fate of Merlin, the magician.
King Arthur will be known as Artos, Sir Lancelot as Bwyr and Guinivere as
Gwenever in keeping with the Romano-Celtic translations of those
names. "Sir Lancelot is an invention of medieval poets so we wouldn`t have
a Lancelot figure, but maybe have some essence of who he was instead," said
Mr Leland, who is known for his work on the Second World War series Band of
Brothers. Instead of the knights there will be a "brotherhood of
companions" wearing leather jerkins and woolly cloaks rather than the
armour of the Crusaders in which they are usually portrayed.
Spielberg will come to Britain next spring to oversee the project, which is
backed by the American production company HBO. Negotiations are under way
to show it the BBC. Casting will start in January.
The legend of King Arthur is primarily based on Le Morte D`Arthur by Sir
Thomas Malory, written in the 1400s. Malory`s works were the inspiration
for a number of paintings, particularly those by the Pre-Raphaelite
brotherhood in the 19th Century.
However, Spielberg has competition: Jerry Bruckheimer, another Hollywood
director, is starting work next year on his film King Arthur, which he is
shooting in Ireland, and Warner Brothers are bringing out a film based on T
H White`s book The Once and Future King. Like Spielberg, Bruckheimer has
stated a desire to concentrate on historical accuracy rather than legends -
even though his grasp on the history of the period seems slightly
askew. Describing his film recently, he said: "It happened much earlier
than movies or the English have put it. They changed the way it was told.
Arthur was really Roman and the Knights of the Round Table were Russian and
great horsemen."
************************************************** **************************
The Birthright Homepage: http://www.birthright.net
Birthright-l Archives: http://oracle.wizards.com/archives/birthright-l.html
To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM
with UNSUB BIRTHRIGHT-L in the body of the message.