I know that everyone has pondered this.

[Valerian Pertinax]

Scenario: Hollywood calls you at your house to direct a Roman epic. You have a huge budget, can hire anyone, and have total creative control. How do you proceed?

[66kbm]

Who cares....not our scene really.
Kevin

[Domitia]

Alesia for the setting :woot:
But while I'd be happy to help with research, directing a film isn't in my skillset.

[Valerian Pertinax]

I would think that anyone on this forum who has ever had an opinion on how a Roman epic should be made, or how an existing epic *should* have been made would care.

[Theodosius the Great]

Hmm....avoid hiring movie stars and stick with real actors.

Hire some good, proven writers.

Go to Eastern Europe where I can hire a lot of extras on the cheap. (relatively speaking)

Spare no expense on manufacturing new, accurate costumes. :woot:

[Valerian Pertinax]

Roman history offers a multitude of storytelling opportunities, it would be hard to pin down a specific event. One thing is for sure: Latin speech with subtitles would be a must.

[Kegluneq]

Roman history offers a multitude of storytelling opportunities, it would be hard to pin down a specific event. One thing is for sure: Latin speech with subtitles would be a must.

With regionally appropriate accents and dialect? :whistle:

I'd like to see something shot in the style of an old Leone western. The wild, half-civilised open landscapes would translate well to pretty much any frontier province (complete with forts and new towns), and big stories could be told with non-famous characters. With budget no limit, I'd make sure every prop (from buildings to weapons) was as accurately made as possible, with room left over for creative reimagining to fill in the gaps.

Edit: Lyceum, that was great, had to thank you for that!

[Lyceum]

Wonder why a Homeric philologist was being asked to direct? I guess I'd try to get one of my friends in drama or the movies to take over.

I think though the kind of film made by a Classicist is not necessarily going to be something other people will want to see.

I would focus on early poets as part my theme, yes suck it. So I'd probably make 1/2 films about Rome's involvement with Carthage so that way I could justify having people like Naevius and Ennius appear, as well Fulvius Nobilior and the Scipii around them.

You get to play great social change alongside massive battles. I'd use actors exclusively from the Mediterranean region and pay them accordingly. Though there would be a random scene with Gary Busey in it. Something to give those media study kiddies something to think about years down the line.

[AK_Jenny]

First choice - a generational epic, tracing one or two lines down through several generations from the destruction of Carthage, the land reforms and civil strife, and military expansion - probably close the series with Sulla sparing Caesar and an ominous "you thought this was bad?" ending.

Don't know how much audience that would get though - so something probably more suitable to commercial success -

Second choice- I don't think I've ever seen the origin story done in film - something like a "Lord of the Rings voiceover prologue" for the brothers founding the city, the Sabine women, the line of kings - and then pick up the action with the revolt against the Tarquins, and place the climax at the Targuins trying to retake the city.

[richard robinson]

I would approach Coleen McCulloch and buy the film rights to her books. Failing that I would pay her to write the screen plays (we are making sequels).


regards
richard

[Marja]

I'd like to tell a story about someone overcoming trauma and finding love, but I'm not sure I could write it or translate it into film.

I'd also like an epic adventure story, in the vein of Spartacus - heroes one can deeply root for, a chance to tell moderately good history given time constraints, and a chance to offer another perspective on Roman society. Either one about the Bagaudae, or one about the Gothic revolt, or one about [another group of] refugees from one of the wars of late antiquity.

[Marcus Julius]

I would have trouble deciding between two stories. Either Octavian's civil war against Mark Antony, or telling Hadrian's story of solidifying and strengthening the Empire in a time of relative peace.

Octavian's story would be an epic war movie, beginning with the death of Julius. The final scene would be of the Senate granting him authority over the provinces, followed by a brief narration of the events that followed. The main body of the movie would be filled full of epic battles to rival the fight scenes of Braveheart culminating with the great naval victory at Actium.

Hadrian's story would be more of a drama showing his efforts to keep the Armies well trained and proficient, while also solidifying the interior of the Empire. It would touch on his reputation of being "Hadrian the builder" but emphasize his "peace through strength" aspects of military administration.

[Titus Manlius Verus]

I would make the movie about the debacle at Castra Vetera (Xanten). And I would use REAL reenactors in the movie. Although I would propibally have real actors to portray the main characters. My movie would prove that historical accuracy gives way cooler stories than these ficticious monstrosities hollywood has come out with these past few years.

[jkaler48]

The siege of Jerusalem; If you follow Josephus closely it would earn an x rating I am afraid. And the Italians would be burning the US Embassy in Rome. An edited version without the nudity might play well in Muslim countries who hate both the "West" Roman descendants and the Jewish people.

[Valerian Pertinax]

A few ideas that could make for some quality film: the Jewish revolt and Vespasian/ Titus's suppression of said revolt. There would be a lot of possibilities for that. It could be a straight up war epic, a human drama of increasing desperation, or (my personal choice) a biopic on Josephus and the things he witnesses.
Also, Marja might have something worth looking into. I don't think that there would be any shortage of romantic plots available to retell. Aside from the obvious ones (Cleopatra and Caesar/Antony), I think you could explore Ovid's affairs, the honorable return of Spanish nobility to their betrothed by Scipio, and even Queen Zenobia's transition from mortal enemy of Rome to Senator's wife. If you wanted to get kind of naughty, there's always the tale of Messalina