The Eagle of the Ninth | |
---|---|
Directed by | Kevin Macdonald |
Written by | Jeremy Brock (adaptation) Rosemary Sutcliffe (novel) |
Produced by | Duncan Kenworthy |
Distributed by | Focus Features |
Release date | 2010 |
Countries | United States United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Eagle of the Ninth is a forthcoming film adaptation of the 1954 historical adventure novel of the same name by Rosemary Sutcliffe. Directed by Kevin Macdonald from a script by Jeremy Brock, the film is set in the second century AD and tells of a young Roman officer's search to discover the truth about the disappearance of his father's legion in the north of Britain. The story is based on the legend of the Ninth Hispanic Legion.
The film stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland and Mark Strong. Filming began on August 24, 2009 and will take place in Hungary and Scotland. The film is an United States – United Kingdom co-production and is intended for release in 2010, through Focus Features.
Premise
In 140 AD, a young Roman centurion attempts to restore his father's reputation by uncovering the truth about the disappearance of his legion—the Ninth—in the north of Britain twenty years previously. The centurion, Marcus Aquila (Tatum), travels with a British slave, Esca (Bell), beyond Hadrian's Wall into Caledonia, where he must confront the tribes to recover the legion's standard.[1]
Cast
As of August 2009, the cast includes:[1]
- Channing Tatum as centurion Marcus Aquila
- Jamie Bell as Esca, a British slave
- Donald Sutherland as Aquila, Marcus' uncle who is living retired in Britain
- Mark Strong as Guern, "an ex-soldier who holds crucial information about the Ninth"
Production
Principal photography began on August 24, 2009; filming will take place in Hungary and Scotland. The Eagle of the Ninth is being made by producer Duncan Kenworthy's Toledo Productions for co-financiers Focus Features and Film4. Kevin Macdonald is directing from a script by Jeremy Brock, who adapted the 1953 historical adventure novel of the same name by Rosemary Sutcliffe. The director of photography is Anthony Dod Mantle, production design is by Michael Carlin, the costume design is by Michael O'Connor and Justine Wright will edit the film—her fifth for Macdonald.[1]
Macdonald intends the film to be historically authentic, but as little is certain about the tribes that the Romans encountered—they were probably Celts, but some may have been Picts—he has made concessions. For example, the tribespeople will speak Gaelic, even though the language probably did not enter widespread use in the region until the fifth century AD. "It's the best we can do," Macdonald said, "All you can do is build on a few clues and trust your own instincts. That way, no one can tell you you were wrong.” In August 2009, Macdonald held auditions in Glasgow for a Gaelic-speaking boy, "to play the young tribal hero of the movie". The Romans will be played by Americans "to achieve a little contemporary symbolism".[2]
The novel details a tribe called the "seal people"; Macdonald "has his own [interpretation]" of the tribe:[2]
They were a more indigenous folk than the Celts, who were from further south ... They were probably small and dark, like the Inouit, living off seals and dressed in sealskins. We are going to create a culture about which no one knows much, but which we will make as convincing as possible. We are basing it on clues gained from places like Skara Brae and the Tomb of the Eagles in Orkney, so that we will have them worshipping pagan symbols, like the seal and the eagle.
The reason they have seized the emblem of the Roman eagle from the legion is because to them it as a sacred symbol.
Achiltibuie, a village in north west Scotland will be the filming location for the "seal people"; Macdonald intends to use locals as extras. The "clash of cultures" between the Romans and the tribes is the main theme of the film, as Marcus Aquila "comes to realise that his imperial view of the world has to be reconciled with the beliefs and traditions of other people".[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Staff (August 24, 2009). "The Eagle of the Ninth Starts Principal Photography". ComingSoon. CraveOnline. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
- ^ a b c Magnus Linklater (August 3, 2009). "Kevin Macdonald will bring to film pre-Celtic clash of the cultures". The Times. Retrieved August 25, 2009.