Hey folks, Harry here with a few Blue Chi Chis poured down his throat by the infamous Annette Kellerman and her wild pals at Ego's... Fingerpaint capital of Austin. Meanwhile, on THE PATRIOT front, Father Geek, the resident historian, has been reading the final draft of Robert Rodat's screenplay for THE PATRIOT and contrary to popular fears... the violence and ferocity of the American Revolution has not been toned down... In fact earlier today he came in all excited and exclaiming that one scene between Mel and his sons down at the river was more intensely described than he remembered it being in the first draft. This is one film that I'm really looking forward to. Rodat's script is incredible. And whether or not you like Emmerich and Devlin's screenplays is not important here... I do like their ability to capture on film the visuals they capture. And here... with an actor of Mel Gibson's quality at the forefront... Well... I have faith in this project.
Centropolis has tons of "normal folks" from York County working on Emmerich and Gibson's "The Patriot." Seamstresses, carpenters, computer people, you name it. A local caligrapher was hired to write out authentic late 1700s documents for the film. The biggest was a letter that, in the movie, is sent to Gibson's character, inviting him to an assembly in Charleston, S.C., to discuss what the Colonies are to do about a tax-happy England.
Two hundred extras who will play the movie's soldiers have also just finished two weeks of training drills. They learned how to authentically use their muskets and fake fight like real Revolutionary War soldiers. Some with prior riding experience learned to battle from horse-back. The soldiers aren't sure which side they'll be fighting on in the movie, but they've been told that they'll have to be ready to work 12 hour days, 6 days a week for the next two months.
Won't it be incredible to see Mel once again engaging in epic battle scenes?
You can call me Zak Chase.
