Rumors of this have been circulating about this for some months now (as have rumors of a Captain Blood Remake.) What worries me is – aside from Hollywood’s ability to hose up even the best of ideas – is the description of Blackbeard being a “ruthless, vicious killer”, which actually goes against most historical accounts. Blackbeard, in fact, was a showman who appreciated the value of a fierce reputation, and its ability to prevent the need for bloodshed.
Now, I’m not trying to say the man was a saint, I’m just pointing out that there’s strong evidence that he wasn’t nearly the brute his reputation implied. And why does it matter? In a nutshell, if they can’t get that right, what else will they botch up?
Or maybe it will be brilliant. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again…Blackbeard needs to be portrayed by Will Farrell.
I can’t say I’m entirely doubting the studio’s ability to not screw it up *too* much. I mean, with all the other historical inaccuracies and other forms of humiliation Blackbeard has suffered over the years (Robert Newton can hardly be described as accurate, nor can the Hallmark miniseries that came out a few years ago), how bad can it REALLY be?
On second thought, don’t answer that.
Speaking of which, can you vouch for the not-suckiness of the Blackbeard musical? It sounds fun, I guess, but too zany and show-tunes-y. We need a historically-founded, bloody Grand Guignol pirate opera STAT!
That Hallmark channel movie was horrid. A network that runs nothing but horrible old lady flicks, and Walker Texas Ranger should definitely leave it alone.
However the National Geographic film was pretty good. I highly suggest it.
The National Geographic was decent – what made it hard for me was that they changed and added things that they didn’t need to, such as the inclusion of “Frenchy”, the cabin boy/girl. With many entities I’ll give some due for creative license, but not with National Geographic.
As to the musical, I can’t say. I can say that the soundtrack has its moments of perverse genius. And other moments of oddness. My guess is that BlackBeard the Musical is great fun if you can laugh with it at the right times, and laugh at it the other times. As to what the percentages would be between the two, can’t say.
I’m just hoping it’s a good one. Remember that all TV has to be commercial and stiff ties rule what airs. Sad but true.
I dunno, I’m pretty excited for this one. Apparently the bonified pirate nut, Pat Croce, is producing. With him in charge, I can’t see the movie turning into too terrible of a travesty. And the guy who wrote Gladiator is supposedly penning the screenplay, so that also sounds promising to my ears.
If the script and casting are decent, and they attach a talented director, I think this may be one of the best pirate movies ever!
‘Course, as you’ve pointed out, this is Hollywood, so all bets are off.