Mel Gibson To Produce 'Boudicca' Film Epic

NewsScotsman ^ | 28 April 2004 | Mark Sage

[paleocon patriarch]

I hope that someday Mel tackles the story, of Hernan Cortez and the conquest of the Aztec empire.

[js1138]

Yes.

[Rebelbase]

"I am liking all of the movies with historical contextcoming out in recent years. [Braveheart, Patriot, Passion, Hidalgo, LOTR]"

Don't you mean historical and fantasy context? (Hidalgo and LOTR?)

[skeeter]

Celtic warriors fought completely nude,

If true, then a Celtic Skeeter would only be available for fighting June through August. It gets cold over there.

[mewzilla]

LOL. Click here for a quick backrounder on Boudicca.

[BJClinton]

Hmm...maybe Uma Thurman with red hair?

[isom35]

that's all well and good, but come on Mel, get to work on Mad Max IV.

[11th Earl of Mar]

I did say historical "context."

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

She would probably be covered with lots of blue war paint!

[Junior]

Her goals were never political and never went beyond avenging her slain husband and child.

I could've sworn it was because her two stepdaughters had been raped.

[goldstategop]

I love this new film. Mel Gibson has really found a new Patriot theme epic. It should quite well at the box office.

[Saturnalia]

Wait, does this mean the British are NOT evil in a Mel Gibson film?

[Hacksaw]

Speaking of this, did anyone watch "Spartacus"?

I thought it was good, but they managed to work in some digs at Bush - the manipulative and power hungry Roman senator taking command by saying "our national security is at stake" and saying "you are either with us or against us". It was so over the top that I doubt it will effect anyone.

[11th Earl of Mar]

Celtic warriors fought completely nude...If true, then a Celtic Skeeter would only be available for fighting June through August. It gets cold over there.

Do female Celtics know about shrinkage?

[VaBthang4]

Casting Calls:

Natasha Henstridge anyone?

[Hal1950]

Boudicca, Queen of the Celts In the days of Roman Britain, in the 1st century AD, there lived a warrior queen by the name of Boudicca. Flame-haired and proud, she ruled the Iceni, in a time when Rome wanted to rule everything. The lands she governed were located in what is now East Anglia; she had inherited them from her late husband, Prasutagus. When he died, he had left half his lands to Boudicca and her daughters, and the other half to the Emperor Nero, as a sort of payoff to encourage the Romans not to try and take any more -- perhaps not the most ideal package for a grieving widow, but Boudicca was willing to live with it if it meant peaceful coexistence for Romans and Iceni.

The rapacious Romans, however, had other ideas. With a style adopted in the next millenia by tyrants such as Hitler and Castro, the Roman governor stole the remaining Iceni lands, flogged Queen Boudicca, and raped her daughters (adding insult to injury). Needless to say, Boudicca was incensed. She took up weapons and rallied her people. Within a short time they had marched on the Romans -- and defeated them, in battle after battle. The fury of a Celtic people, led by an enraged queen, outmatched even the well-trained, organized Roman military. Boudicca's army was so effective, they burned and pillaged a swath of Roman lands ranging from Colchester all the way to Londinium (present-day London). With 100,000 pissed-off Celts behind her, Boudicca was a force to be reckoned with.

In 62 AD, Boudicca fought her last battle against the Roman scum. For once, Roman military strategy (with perhaps a good dose of luck thrown in as well) outfoxed the queen's forces, and she was defeated. Rather than suffer the humiliation of being led through Rome in the traditional triumphal procession, Boudicca and her daughters killed themselves (an act the Romans could respect, as they held that suicide was often preferable to capture).

Though her final battle was lost, Boudicca had proven that native tribes could sure give the Romans a run for their money. Indeed, the Romans never really conquered all of the British Isles. Scotland was never subdued (Hadrian's Wall was built to make sure the Scots didn't invade the Romans), and they never even set foot in Ireland (though they knew about it, and called it "Hibernia"). And to this day, Boudicca's name is commemorated by the adjective we use to describe a lively, spirited woman: bodacious. Source.

[KellyAdmirer]

Yes, that's exactly where the word comes from:

And to this day, Boudicca's name is commemorated by the adjective we use to describe a lively, spirited woman: bodacious.

[pepsionice]

Bluntly and purely...only Lucy Lawless of Xena can play this part. No one else could do this part justice. Boudicca was as bold and dominating as they come. And Lucy is the perfect one for the role.

[FairWitness]

The Masterpiece Theatre Version:

Boudica
Britain's warrior queen is beautiful and serene, but spirited and strong-willed. As the story begins she is full of pride and love for her people -- especially her two daughters and her jaded warrior husband, Prasutagus. After his death, her daughters are raped in front of her by jeering Roman soldiers and she herself is brutally flogged and humiliated. Her response, as she sets out to reap revenge, earns the unswerving respect of her Iceni warriors.

Alex Kingston
Alex Kingston (Dr. Elizabeth Corday on E.R.) grew up outside London, and made her stage debut at the age of five, playing the Angel Gabriel in a nativity play. She landed her first professional role at the age of fifteen on the British television series Grange Hill. Kingston won a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and then worked in repertory theatres across England before joining the acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company.

[11th Earl of Mar]

I saw Sparticus but was disappointed at how poorly it was edited.

We were left wondering at different times what happened. Sparticus was trapped by the sea... He did not know what to do... His adversary was ready to crush him...

And then you find out in an undramatic way five minutes later that Sparticus escaped over the commercial break, but the movie never showed it.