Forum post gets a movie deal

[rangerpl 13]

It started as a hypothetical question, one of countless musings proposed by frequenters of the social news and conversation site. Soon, though, users at Reddit.com were enthralled by the equally hypothetical answer, and soon, Rome was hypothetically under siege.

Now, it's going to be a movie, nothing hypothetical about it.

Variety reports that Warner Bros has bought the rights to produce a film out of James Erwin's story, "Rome Sweet Rome," which began as a response to a Reddit pondering over whether a Marine unit could take down the entire Roman empire. The story, which Erwin will pen in screenplay form, brings a Marine Exploratory Unit to Rome in 23 BC, as a conspiracy to overthrow Caesar grows. They alter history, then have to put it back on track to return back to the present, where they were fighting in Afghanistan.

Erwin is an experienced writer, having penned encyclopedias and other manuals over the past decade. He received help and lots of ancillary material from Reddit users; as he told Screen Rant last month, as heat on the project was building, he feels quite lucky to be in this position.

"Here's the thing. I was very, very lucky to post what I did at the moment I did," he said. "It wasn't just the idea of coming up with just the right answer - if I'd posted the same text an hour later, everyone would already be bored with the question. They wouldn't have seen it and it wouldn't have blown up. So that was definitely a lightning-in-a-bottle situation."

For more, click over to Variety. To read the entire story Erwin created on Reddit, click here to download the PDF for free.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/rome-sweet-rome-reddit-thread-movie_n_1010758.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_Sweet_Rome#Plot

TL;DR: Someone from reddit asked if he could take on the entire Roman Empire with a Marine Expeditionary Unit. Someone else wrote a story based on that and a Hollywood studio approached him with a movie deal.

I think this is mind-blowingly awesome. The fact that a freelance writer on the internet gets to write a movie screenplay based on a forum post is incredible.

The movie doesn't sound bad either.

[eble 3]

Sounds interesting.

I like the idea, the Marines would have a massive advantage in shock and awe, but once it came down to hand to hand fighting they would be slaughtered in pretty much no time.

If the Romans didn't ran from the field first, think the spanish and the Americas, heavly armed troops very few in numbered wiped out massive native armies.

[rangerpl 13]

Sounds interesting.

I like the idea, the Marines would have a massive advantage in shock and awe, but once it came down to hand to hand fighting they would be slaughtered in pretty much no time.

If the Romans didn't ran from the field first, think the spanish and the Americas, heavly armed troops very few in numbered wiped out massive native armies.

Yep, the problem is that in real war, the marines have a supply pipeline behind them that goes all the way back to the States. They would kick ass for a week or so until they burned up their fuel and used up their ammunition. But once they ran out, they would be reduced to the Romans' level of technology and slaughtered.

[froggyluv 2136]

By Marine Unit do they mean the 2200 strong MEU? Thats heavy firepower and Romans would be devasted by WMD's tho in the end -Romans win by massive Marine contracted STD's.

[ziiip 1]

Lol what? Some marines travel back in time and shoot Ceaser in the nuts? Greeeeeeat idea.......:D:icon_neutral:

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

There's already a thread about this, I think. I remember a fairly long discussion of it somewhere in Offtopic. The whole idea is interesting, and the stories were awesome, until Warner Brothers told him to stop writing it.

[Tonci87 163]

I think the MEU would win.

After the first battle, where they slaughter countless romans, nobody would dare to fight them again. They would be welcomed as thunder bringing gods riding on steel beasts that breathe fire.

[Beagle 684]

I see another nonsense movie on the horizon. This time it's not aliens but time travellers attacking earth. Bullshit. There is a ot of braindrain going on in Hollywood when they grasp at such hollow grounded forum stories.

Compared to this even Perry Rhodan is high literature.

Whats next, a USMC MEU vs. Sauron's dark army...or better...vs. the smurfs

[Dead3yez 0]

Need some more info first, before determining whether it'd be a completely brainless action-packed shooter or not.

Not expecting much so far, since a forum poster was chosen as the screen writer.

[KEVINMGXP 20]

Not expecting much so far, since a forum poster was chosen as the screen writer.

Then you need to read better, the forum poster it selves is a professional Free lance writer :D the story build evolved trough answers and questions of other forum participants. The writer is not chosen the story evolved and WB got interested, I have been reading the entire thing and in fact if WB keeps the original nature of the story this might get somewhere but we will have to see how far they keep it as the original.

I wonder why people need to tear down everything around here these days, criticism is something else if you ask me ...

kind regards

Edited December 18, 2011 by KBourne

[celery 8]

It has to be either a very deep and interesting hypothesis on multiple levels brought to a film story form, or mindless carnage where the marines open a can of whoopass on everyone. Anything in between would be astonishingly stupid.

[NoRailgunner 0]

Well maybe just an WB action-drama like 300 US Elite Marines vs Immortal Praetorian Guards? Movie makers and entertainment industry are doomed to make profit...somehow. :D

[hellfire257 3]

I read this a while back (the story). Was actually surprisingly good!

[mr burns 132]

I already cringe thinking of the obligatory "Marine falls in love with roman temple beauty" story branch :rolleyes:

Mindless carnage & can of whoopass sounds about fine, just won´t believe it until it´s out.

[mrcash2009 0]

Seems odd you would need to go back in time to defeat Rome, its crusades are happening all around us this very day. :bounce3:

As a story and idea for film, he got a result on that one for sure.

[rangerpl 13]

I don't think the idea is that the USMC would go on a mindless carnage. If you read the story, the Colonel in charge handles the matter in a very intelligent way and meets with the Romans peacefully.

Plus, the story mentions something about them messing up history and trying to fix it, so...

[ryguy 10]

This has the potential to be incredibly awesome. I approve.

[Dead3yez 0]

Wonder if they're gonna make us learn latin.

[Beagle 684]

Ceasar already tought us latin, we never forget "Gallia in partes tres divisa est..."

The story is old and reminds me of this: "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain."

But I guess it will lack both, the humanism and the humor of Samuel Clemens.

Another btw you can't kile people in the past without harming yourself.

For every roman killed 2000 years ago 80 generations of descendents will simply dissapear in the present...including those of the killers...I see a temporal paradoxon.

[Hans Ludwig 0]

I guess this means Hollywood has officially ran out of ideas and creating sequels.

[ryguy 10]

But I guess it will lack both, the humanism and the humor of Samuel Clemens.

Another btw you can't kile people in the past without harming yourself.

For every roman killed 2000 years ago 80 generations of descendents will simply dissapear in the present...including those of the killers...I see a temporal paradoxon.

Did you read the outline, or are you just making assumptions? Also, that paradox may just be being ignored as they are in some sort of alternate dimension of some sort. After all, both realities would still exist (ones where no romans are killed and one where many are killed).

[Beagle 684]

Did you read the outline, or are you just making assumptions? Also, that paradox may just be being ignored as they are in some sort of alternate dimension of some sort. After all, both realities would still exist (ones where no romans are killed and one where many are killed).

In that case, what would be the use of the whole carnage? Well it#s o.k. I can remembewr that long long years ago I was a fan of movies like american fighter and iron eagle...I was 14 when I remeber right. In that age yiu dont care much amout stories that make any sense...a consumer group must exist otherwise there would not be movies like Transformers or just another remake of Alien vs. Preadator.

Alternate reality, thats usually a excuse for a vwry very bad plot with lots of logic holes.

Thats like computer games: "Look I can do all kind of stupid things and there are no consequences"

Well and really good plot would be when the last of those Marines overtrow the roman republic and claim to be emperors...and that would make sense.

Btw the germanic troops under Arminius did not need a MEU to defeat three roman legions in a few days in year 9 A.D....the simply did not fight wthin the rules of that time. After this defeat the romans left all their colonial settlements and never came back.

This was done without e MEU so what again is the story about?

A MEU defeating a few Legions and auxiliarii (6000 soldiers)...thats no a new story that just happened 2002 years ago more then oncve unti rome fellto the goth, just another germanic tribe.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Beagle

[ryguy 10]

So I'm assuming you didn't read it at all, or you would have seen that the plot doesn't even mention carnage at all (although a future battle is suggested). Also, I like the passive aggressive suggestion that I'm 14. Well placed.

I don't think you understood my alternate reality argument. You could say "if you kill 80 soldiers, 8400 people won't be alive today!" or something along those lines, and while it would certainly be true, there would still be another 2011 in which those 8400 people still exist. So ultimately they're only changing reality within their own world. It may very well not have any effect on us.

[rangerpl 13]

ITT: People being cynical and judgmental about a movie that hasn't even been announced yet.

[st_dux 26]

What a ridiculous premise for a film. It sounds like something that was cooked up on an internet forum.