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Newspaper article dealing with issues mentioned above, is in the Sunday Mail today, which I thought would be of interest.

Gerard Butler (Leonidas in '300') is to star in a film about Robert Burns, to be shot on location in Ayrshire and Edinburgh.

Most of the �5million budget, including investment by Scottish Screen, is already in place, the remainder will be raised by signing up 250 'subscribers'.

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Sheldon

May I ask if Ian could please expand on the part of his e-mail, which says he was hired to write the script ?

I wasn't aware this was a possibility, that a script could have been written by him, for a Zulu War project to show on the big screen.

I'll 'push my luck' a tad further, to also enquire how much such a commission would be, for him to draft an Isandlwana and/or Rorke's Drift script ?

I find this fascinating, as it is the first time I've heard of someone, especially the fact he is an expert on the campaign, who actually was going to make progress with this idea.

I'll understand if Ian doesn't wish to respond to my questions.

Thankyou.

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Haydn Jones


Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 124
Location: Gloucester
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I must say that IK's mention of the potential use of "scottish or Welsh landscapes" did raise a smile. The image of hundreds of "zulus" charging over the Brecon Beacons did hit me with a great sense of irony!

But on a more serious note, it seems to me that all this talk of a film re-make assumes that such a project would be viable. Personally, I am not convinced. "Zulu" was - is - an acknowledged classic and I find it difficult to see what added value there could be in any re-make of it - or of "Zulu Dawn" come to that. One could not possibly hope that either/or could be re-made solely for the sake of historical accuracy for you can be sure that artistic licence would come into play somewhere along the line.

Moreover, I believe that part of Zulu's great success was also due to it being a "film for it's time" - when the school atlas was still mostly pink and, rightly or wrongly, a sense of "empire' still prevailed. Certainly, I know that I, for one, came out of the ABC in Gloucester (at the age of 8 back in 1964) feeling very proud of our red coats and that was all part of the magic of "Zulu" for me (even a steam engine that used to run on our local railway line was called "South Wales Borderers"!). But those days are long gone. Arguably, "Zulu Dawn" had already missed the boat in terms of best timing when it was eventually released. In short, I don't think that in this day and age the "colonial" theme would carry the sort of weight that it once did in films of the past (unless it were done, in the case of the AZW, from the black perspective perhaps?).

TV documentaries are a different matter and several do exist - most with excellent input by IK - and oft repeated on the satellite channels. But even those documentaries, it is plain to see, have been done on a small budget which to my mind only serves to demonstrate how much (how little?) film makers are prepared to invest in the AZW. The interest generated by the dedicated enthusiasts on this and similar forums is a far cry from that of the wider cinema and TV audience I would suggest. I genuinely believe there is little mileage in a film re-make. Sorry.

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Haydn

I understand what you are saying, but I'm really just trying to put forward ideas for a 'feasibility study', as in, who might be best to write a screenplay, the creation of an album containing photographs of possible locations (in this case - Scotland), costs, how to obtain funding, contacts, etc.

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I've been trying to remember the mini-series which was filmed in the U.K., far from where it was supposed to be set - 'Beau Geste'.

In a topic from way back, it was stated it was filmed in a quarry in Wales(?)

May be jarring to the eye for military history enthusiasts, but sometimes improvisation is required, making it necessary to work with what you've got or can - much like using mealie-bags as barricades when the post isn't surrounded by stone walls.

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The Scorer


Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 338
Location: Newport
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Coll wrote:
I've been trying to remember the mini-series which was filmed in the U.K., far from where it was supposed to be set - 'Beau Geste'.
In a topic from way back, it was stated it was filmed in a quarry in Wales(?)
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Is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beau_Geste_(BBC) the one? If so, it says that Dorset was the location ... although, as it's from Wikipedia, it could be wrong, of course!

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Scorer

It might be me who is wrong, but as long as it was in the U.K.

I've also been thinking of the Zulu War sets, using the eyes of a small-scale modeller/wargamer and the concept of 'scratch-building' - being the using of a specific model(s) to create something different, more suited to the era, but in full-size.

Therefore, I checked the net for timber buildings made in the U.K., and was surprised to find a few that could represent those buildings at Rorke's Drift, with the addition of/and weathering of stone/brick effect cladding to the outside, as well as a layer of thatch on top.

Mealie-bags could just as easily be bags filled with soil/sand or even straw, depending on their location and strength necessary.

And other props made in such ways, using available resources.

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Sheldon Hall


Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 377
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The BBC sandpit, as I think the quarry was known, did service in a number of other series requiring similar desert-like landscapes, including BLAKE'S SEVEN and THE TALISMAN as well as BEAU GESTE. Rather like the 20th Century-Fox ranch in Malibu (wherein was shot many a Western and PLANET OF THE APES), albeit a bit less glamorous, I imagine.
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rich


Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 897
Location: Long Island NY USA
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haydn...

Regarding the remake, I think you've hit it with the comment of it working if perhaps it was looked at from the Zulu perspective. Now that would be interesting and fascinating. We'd also be playing a game of seeing some history from the "other guy's" nest. That can do wonders in assessing the motivations and behavior of "enemies". With me, bring the remake on if it's done with diligence, intelligence and yes with entertainment thrown in.

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I'm thinking that 'Shaka Zulu' may be the only version to show a Zulu perspective of events, albeit pre-Zulu War 1879.

That said, Ian Knight's book, apparently from the Zulu perspective is released this year, which may give encouragement for such an idea, although maybe more likely to be a drama/documentary than a film.

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Mark Hobson


Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 106
Location: Halifax
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Let's not forget about the Sergeant Booth documentary from a few years back. That, I believe, was filmed in Britain with a river in the midlands standing in as the Ntombe.

Small scale but reasonably effective.

Mark Hobson.
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Damian


Joined: 12 Aug 2007
Posts: 105
Location: Pietermaritzburg KZN
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Did Stanley Kubrick not film "Platooon" in a converted London dockyard?
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Simon Rosbottom


Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 287
Location: London, UK
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