Why haven't they...

[beloitpiper]

Hollywood always has a crying need to get as many Americans as they can into a movie about WW2.

To play the Devil's Advocate, Hollywood is a business, and their main audience in Americans. Most Americans want to see American triumph in WWII films. And look what happens when the Brits decide to make a WWII film--they make it about Russian snipers (Enemy at the Gates)!!

[beloitpiper]

Any guy running around with a longbow and a broadsword in WW2 is something I would pay to see.

Don't forget about the bagpipes he played in the face of the advancing Germans!

[macwilkin]

To play the Devil's Advocate, Hollywood is a business, and their main audience in Americans. Most Americans want to see American triumph in WWII films. And look what happens when the Brits decide to make a WWII film--they make it about Russian snipers (Enemy at the Gates)!!

Of course, you're forgetting the globalization of the movie industry...it's not just Americans who go to movies these days...or star in them, produce them, etc.

Ironically, at the Memorial Day service yesterday, the two other fellows in our colour guard and I were discussing Peter Jackson's plans to remake the story of Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, The Dam Busters. It was our opinion that he should leave it to Richard Todd, a real WWII veteran.

T.

[Jack Daw]

I dunno. Sounds like a Chuck Norris role to me...((cough))

[Dan R Porter]

I dunno. Sounds like a Chuck Norris role to me...((cough))

Or Steven Seagall!!!

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Any guy running around with a longbow and a broadsword in WW2 is something I would pay to see.

That makes you an audience of one... Hollywood, and by Hollywood I mean the entire film industry, is driven by numbers. And the PRIME NUMBER is the number of tickets sold. If a million people each bought a ticket for $10, that would represent a Box Office gross of ten million dollars. Of that ten million 50% is retained by the cinema owner. Of the $5 million left, a minimum of one million goes for prints of the film and advertising (and that's a tiny P&A budget). The distributor takes between 30-50% of the remaining $4 million, which leaves the studio $2 million. Now if the movie cost $5 million to produce (about one third of the average cost of a film) the studio loss is $3 million.

Carl Stucke was head of the story department at Warner Brothers back in the 60's. On his desk were two signs. One said, "So many good books, so few good movies" and the other one said, "The bucks start here".

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

To play the Devil's Advocate, Hollywood is a business, and their main audience in Americans. Most Americans want to see American triumph in WWII films. And look what happens when the Brits decide to make a WWII film--they make it about Russian snipers (Enemy at the Gates)!!

ENEMY AT THE GATES cost $68 million to produce. It grossed $96 million world wide, which means it netted about $30-40 million. In other words, the studio lost about $30 million on the picture.

Hollywood bean counters being the brave lads that they are, I rather doubt they'd toss money at a project that didn't feature a strong American hero. Hence Hollywood will make a film like Back To Bataan, but give Seven Graves To Cairo a pass.

While people in other countries may complain about Hollywood war movies always being about the Americans, when was the last time you saw a British war film that featured the Yanks in anything other than a sometimes uncomplimentary stereotype?

[george7]

That's the first connection I've had to my hobbies... archery, surfing, bagpipes, fencing. What a Renaissance man.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Hollywood always has a crying need to get as many Americans as they can into a movie about WW2.

That's because 16.5 million Americans served in the military during WWII, as opposed to 3.5 million Britons. In terms of sheer box office numbers (never mind defeating fascism in Europe and crushing Japanese Imperialism in the Far East) Hollywood perceives the American involvement in WW II to have greater audience interest.

[ghostlight]

That's the first connection I've had to my hobbies... archery, surfing, bagpipes, fencing. What a Renaissance man.

Do you act? You might be one of the few qualified to play Mad Jack!