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'Apollo 18' Writer Reworking 'Rome, Sweet Rome' Time Travel Film

by Ethan Anderton
January 15, 2013
Source: Variety

Funnily enough, I just suffered through the found footage horror film Apollo 18 for the first time last weekend. Now the writer of that atrocious film has been hired to do a rewrite of a time travel film called Rome, Sweet Rome, a story based on an idea that started on the popular website Reddit. It sounds a bit silly, but the pitch from first-time screenwriter, author and Jepoardy champion James Erwin started from several posts on the site asking the question, "What if a unit of U.S. Marines are transported back in time and forced to do battle with Roman legions?" The answer is they get a motion picture deal at Warner Bros.

Variety reports Brian Miller is rewriting the film from scratch since the first run by Erwin didn't seem like it was exactly what the studio wanted. This time, Miller's take (which is as fresh as can be since he's not being given the original) will follow a group of U.S. Special Forces soldiers instead of Marines. The title seems a bit hokey, but then again, so does the idea. Of course, this could make for some cool action and a great dramatization of what it might be like if some of history's finest warriors went up against our military. The guns would give them a slight advantage, but I'm betting they won't have they all the time in order to make it a little more challenging. Hopefully we'll hear more about this intriguing project down the road.

Filed under Development, Movie News

From around the web:

Eaglewing

Well there goes a good idea, to the place where they die. We will never see that film. Hope the original author publishes the story as a novel.
http://twitter.com/cwdestroy Christopher Dean

Slow news day? Anyway kinda sounds like something Syfy and The Asylum would produce. I'll till watch it on home media prolly.
http://twitter.com/jlerwin James Erwin

Cue Pollyanna theme, but I'm still optimistic about it myself.
http://www.cafepress.com/bulliesforromney Bullies For Romney

Sounds like a lame vamp on "The Final Countdown." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080736/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7YGEVuJ4mM Carpola

Guns in the past? Naeeee, it'll break the time thing.
Poopy pants

Sounds like a spin on an old Twilight Zone, A marine unit ends up in the time of Custers last stand, Although they never played on the actual conflict, I always thought it would be a cool concept
Maverick

son of a....I had this idea once. Only I was daydreaming and instead of a movie I was thinking wouldn't this be cool if it was my life.
mirth

So, is no one aware of Jonathan Hickman's awesome comic "Pax Romana"?
hammy

O.k...well,if they kept it realistic in spite of the whole time travel thingy it could be interesting...modern weaponry runs out of bullets, fuel and batteries die eventually so their advantage would be in knowledge I guess ...also as far as I know not an expert, roman military tactics is still thought in military schools so that angle should be interesting...how does modern military knowledge stack up against roman genius ? ...but they will probably go with a cheap cheesy approach..shoot em up action syfy...
Chris

Something VERY similar G.I. Samurai (戦国自衛隊, Sengoku jieitai (Time Slip) and Sengoku Self Defense Force?) is a 1979 Japanese feature length film focusing on the adventures of a modern day Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) team that accidentally travels in time to the Warring States period (戦国時代, Sengoku jidai?). Samurai Commando: Mission 1549 (remake 2005)