What about Gates of Fire?

Actually, George Clooney bought the rights to "Gates of Fire" and a screenplay is being re-worked, but unfortunately, I hear Micheal Mann has been signed to direct. Has he done anything of good note since Miami Vice? He'll probably have the Spartans wearing hot pink instead of red. And, what about Stallone to play Leonidas? He doesn't have to say much, close to the same age, and he's got the body for it. I also hear through the grapevine that someone is working on Miller's "300". To try and beat Clooney and Mann. Interesting side note, Bruce Willis wants in this movie real bad.

.....Gates of Fires or even better (what I would call it)...
"Three days at Thermopylae". John Milius or Ridley Scott would be my director. Writer if still alive would be Robert Wise. I believe that M. Mann could do a very good job. That beautiful Gladiator field music played also in this Epic movie.

You guy's are very good on the subject, Credit to you!! Myself also believe two movies will probably be done over this fantastic human adventure...that related these bygone events...Bear in mind, these Athletics warriors were trained since aged seven (in average) they where superb Athletes...they could run ten miles (Remember the Battle of Marathon) fight and win a major battle!

Now, the Actors would have to be (like these Spartans) beautiful specimen of men
Tall, muscular (bring on these six packs) and most of all; suntanned with some
of them with their long blondish hair (not many beards here please, think of the female audience).

Here are my (and you would probably agree here) choices of actors...

Yes, Jim Caviezel has Xeones (the survivor, telling the account).

King Leonidas......(Too bad Clint Walker is not 40 anymore;-)Liam Neeson or
Tom Selleck either vice-versa with the role of Dienekes

Polynice goes to the Handsome Viggo Mortensen...the perfect gardian Warrior!

Alexandros......Antonio Sabatino (Calvin Klein)

Big Suicide....yes....Ralf Moeller (Six ten, 330lbs.) and the famous allied Thaspian General played by none other than Mr. Brad Pitt...and is great feathered helmut with piercing blue eyes gazing out of them...)

Famous Battle scene film in real life epic...no special effects here....scene has real and brutal has Braveheart! It will come soon enough....Yes indeed, an important event was lived back them that did change the course of history.
Au Plaisir, Esher45

Finally, nameless directors aren't always a bad thing - look at the job Peter Jackson did of LOTR. Nobody had heard of him before then, but he stayed down in New Zealand, away from interference from Hollywood, and made the biggest three movies of the past five years.

"Christopher Lee? you're joking, right?

For the Greeks, being tanned and buff was more than just a point of pride, it was a religious duty. A scrawny, pale old man like Christopher Lee makes a great Dr. Frankenstein, but as a greek warrior king (of the SPARTANS no less), he's about as good a casting choice for the role as Paris Hilton would be"

He never played Dr Frankenstein, he played Dracula.

I agree though, he would be mis-cast nowadays in the role.

He is a good actor, should be a sir, I think he should play a Greek eldar or maybe the other King from Athens rather than Leonidas.

...Aldo, we have to think that Ralf Moeller at 330 lbs that jump (in the end when the rain shadows of hundred of arrows come flying) on the back of one of his warrior collegue...imagine that! the poor guy already exausted by all the fighting would just drop when Suicide (Moeller) jump on is back in order to save him from the flyimg arrows...

Matthew McConnehey or Viggo Mortgensen (either way in Polynice or suicide role)would probably be a better role actor for this Suicide caracter!

Looking forward for the (two) new version of Gates of fire!
esher45

Polynikes- Brad Pitt

What do you guys think?

Thanks for the reply. The main reason I mention Alexander Siddig is because he's one of the few middle eastern actors I am aware of. He did good work in Star Trek Deep Space Nine and was excellent in Kingdom of Heaven. I think the Syrian actor who played Saladin in Kingdom of Heaven (Ghassan Massoud) would also make a great Xerxes. Perhaps we could perform a big old switcheroo and make Massoud "Xerxes" and Siddig "Mardonius" mirroring their roles in KOH. This time, Massoud plays the overconfident, overbearing king, and Saddig the cunning and manipulative warrior general Mardonius.

About combining the characters of Rooster and Xeo: This is what the makers of the movie will HAVE to do in order to create a compelling character. Xeo alone as portrayed in the book, is completely unfilmable in a motion picture. In the book he has a very interesting backstory, but wouldn't serve the actual thrust of a film at all. Rooster's story is much more compelling as the half Spartiate-half Helot, at once loving and hating his ancestry. Rooster actually has growth as a character whereas Xeo remains starry eyed about Spartan society the whole book, not once making one critical argument against his harsh masters. Dienekes and Olympias (both Spartiates) even say this themselves about Xeo: That he's an unwaivering servant that doesn't know what's good for himself. The only way to salvage this dillema is to give Rooster the major reason for Xeo even existing: the job as thematic narrator of the film.

As for Arnold Vosloo, I think he'd make a great EGYPTIAN MARINE CAPTAIN - a sort of wink at his previous role in The Mummy. In The Gates of Fire, before the war the Spartans have this wonderful meeting with a group of Egyptians (Egypt being part of the Persian Empire) while on a diplomatic mission. The Spartans almost befriend these men, their captain most of all, knowing full well they might have to face them in battle sometime in the coming war...



*SPOILER*

And sure enough, they do meet the Egyptians again at Thermopylae - in battle.

*END SPOILER*

Leonidas should definately remain a background figure. He'd be a powerful father-like figure to be sure, but still background until the very end. He's more like the untouchable goldike being these warriors all worship. When he dies, we really see the anguish and despair on our main character's faces, and truly FEEL their need and struggle to retrieve his body from the throngs of Persians. We'll see images and scenes of Leonidas walking among his troops and being the consumate soldier's general. All of thise has to build throughout the movie though. Leonidas as a character should be built up the entire movie as a super-human, but near the end humanize him.

One thing I hope the portray in a possible movie is the effect such teriffying battle did to men mentally. The book describes how enemies of the Spartans peed themselves, trembled, and even shrieked in terror even without wounds. The book even goes so far as to describe the Spartans themselves overcome with a sort of euphoria after battle... their knees giving way and crying together. All of this needs to be portrayed.

Lastly, the HUMOR... wow, the HUMOR needs to translate from the book to the movie. So many horrifying images need levity, and the book provides it. The harsh language, dry wit of the soldiers, and vulgar jokes told amongst the troops before they went into battle are all priceless.

There are a couplke of people in Hollywood who do believe in the sacrifice of others. If anyone were to be interested in it, hope it would be the pair of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, although Mr. Spielberg screwed the pooch with "Munich". Very slanted in the direction of the Palestinians.

"By Way of Deception Thou Shall Make War"