New poll - The Battle of King Leonidas

There is a poll on the following blog whose results I am very curious about as far as the favorite actor to play King Leonidas. The actors are as follows -

Richard Egan - The 300 Spartans
Gerard Butler - 300
Brian Danner - Last Stand of the 300 - (Documentary)
Sean Maguire - Meet the Spartans - (Parody)

'300' prequel/sequel to star Gerard Butler???

After the huge box office returns of Warner Bros. 300, there has been quite a bit of speculation about either a prequel or sequel to the Frank Miller comic book series based on the Battle of Thermopylae. If either one of these projects come to fruition, one thing is pretty certain and that is ........Gerard Butler will NOT be reprising his role as King Leonidas.

The reasons for this are quite simple!

A prequel to Thermopylae would be the Battle of Marathon which was an Athenian/Plataean victory over the Persians, 10 years earlier in 490 BCE. The Spartans arrived after the conclusion of the battle due to the strict adherence of their religious beliefs which prevented them from marching during the festival of Carneia.

The sequel would be the Battle of Plataea which was the ending scene after King Leonidas (Gerry Butler) is killed in 300, in one of the great last stands of all time.

Of course something ludicrous could be contrived (raised from the dead, for example), however, I believe that Butler has too much respect for the heroic Spartan king to be used in a money-making vehicle which makes a mockery of his death.

John Trikeriotis
http://300spartanwarriors.blogspot.com/

'Bringing Back the Blog'

This blog has been relatively dormant over the last several years as all new materials with the respect to the Battle of Thermopylae have been posted to the 300spartanwarriors.com website. The main function has been to serve as an educational tool and to bring awareness to the Leonidas Expeditions.

A derivative of the website and probably one of its most gratifying functions is our group 'The Warriors of Thermopylae'. Photos from our appearances and announcements of future demonstrations and presentations will be posted there.

Therefore, due to the expansion of the website, along with increased activity for our Living History Group, it's been decided to 'Bring back the Blog'!!!

Warner Bros. '300' pays homage to a defining moment in Greek history

On March 25th, our fellow Greeks and Philhellenes will observe Greek Independence Day, not only in our ancestors' birthplace, but throughout countries all around the world. This event holds much significance for many of us, as it honors Greece's declaration of independence on this day in 1821 against the Ottoman Empire's 400-year occupation and oppression. Kolokotronis, Bouboulina, Nikitara, Karaiskakis, Mpotsaris and the countless freedom fighters from the land of the Hellenes are honored and revered for their struggle which led Greece to be the proud independent nation which she is today.

Equally as important in the annals of our beloved Greece's modern history is OXI Day (phonetic, aw-hee), which is observed on October 28th of every year. This holiday is celebrated in commemorating General Ioannis Metaxas' defiant reply of 'oxi', to Benito Mussolini's ultimatum to allow Italian troops into Greece. This one word response precipitated Greece's formal entry into World War II and which culminated in the Hellenic forces repelling the invading Italian army all the way back into Albania.

Coincidentally, it is another laconic phrase in the Warner Bros. movie based on Frank Miller's '300' which will echo throughout cinemas around the world starting this week. The words Molon Labe (phonetic, Maw-lon Lah-veh), which spoken by King Leonidas of Sparta in 480 B.C., have resonated throughout history over the last 2,500 years. The translation which means 'Come and get them' will be spoken by Gerard Butler who portrays the legendary Spartan king who spearheaded the defense of Thermopylae.

According to Herodotus and other historians, the Greek garrison which consisted of approximately 7,000 hoplites, 300 of whom were King Leonidas' fellow Spartiates, held off the numerically superior Persian army for several days. Several scholars, researchers and contemporary historians have conservatively estimated the invading force of Xerxes I at 200,000 warriors, comprised from a multitude of nations from the east.

For two days, the 300 Spartans and their allies inflicted heavy losses on the invaders before their position was compromised by a Malian traitor. On the third day, rather than surrender, the remaining Spartans and the remnants of the Thespian contingent which originally numbered 700, fought to the death so that their countrymen could withdraw safely. It was their heroic self-sacrifice which inspired their Greek countrymen to subsequent victories at Salamis, Plataea and Mykale.

Therefore, this movie pays homage to not only King Leonidas and the heroic '300' and their fight for freedom, it also pays tribute to Greece, the birthplace of democratic principles.

John Trikeriotis
www.theleonidasexpedition.com
www.300spartanwarriors.com

Blog Number 8 - Sienna Miller as Queen Gorgo in '300' movie???

As reported initially by 'The Daily Mirror', Sienna Miller was cast as Queen Gorgo, the wife of King Leonidas of Sparta in Frank Miller's '300'. However, it seems that Sienna Miller (no relation to Frank) won't be playing the role as originally reported. This was the first major cast announcement, which just goes to show how volatile the movie industry is and how things can change so quickly. I for one and I'm sure many others are hoping that the 2006 premier will still hold true!

Incidentally, the role of Queen Gorgo in 1962's 'The 300 Spartans' was played by the Greek actress, Anna Synodinou.

The role of Queen Gorgo in 'The 300 Spartans' was a minor one. Do you think that the role will be more significant in '300'?

Blog Number 7 - Warner Bros. '300' movie screen test

According to an interview which appeared at UGO.com, Tyler Bates who is the composer of '300' said that the screen shot that was submitted to Warner Bros. by Zack Snyder was a single unedited shot which was over a minute and a half in length.

Bates also said: 'We see a line of the Spartans line up against the army of 10,000 Persians ready to invade. It was really fantastic. I was really blown away and, like I said, there were no edits in the whole shot, so it was really cool.'

After reading this part of the interview, the screen shot which was submitted seems to be the clash between the 300 Spartans and the 10,000 Persians known as 'The Immortals.' This was also a pretty memorable seen in 'The 300 Spartans' when the elite of the Persian army met up with the elite of the Greek army.

The battle between the 'Immortals' was the highlight of 'The 300 Spartans'. Do you think it will be once again?

Blog Number 5 - Zack Snyder '300' movie interview

According to a November 2004 undergroundonline (UGO) interview, Zack Snyder who will be directing Frank Miller's '300' had this to say about the movie; 'We are about to shoot a test for Warner Brothers because they want to see how the comic book comes to life and what it looks like.' Hopefully, the execs like it which I'm sure they will (HOW CAN THEY NOT!).

The last time a movie based on the battle of Thermopylae was released was in 1962, therefore, this is a long time coming. Hopefully this rendition of the brave 300 Spartan warriors and the other Greek hoplites comes to fruition and if it does, I'm very curious as to who will be chosen to portray some of the major characters.

Are you happy with the cast of actors that have been chosen so far?

Blog Number 4 - '300' movie vs. 'The 300 Spartans'

I was looking through the Frank Miller '300' hardcover recently and thinking about how his rendition of the Battle of Thermopylae will be perceived by the viewers who have seen the movie 'The 300 Spartans'.

Let's suppose that with Zack Snyder's direction, '300' conforms to Miller's version as depicted in the 5-part comic book series. Much has changed over the years in the way war has been presented on film and in my opinion there is no better way to illustrate these differences than to compare 'The Longest Day' with 'Saving Private Ryan'.

The 'Longest Day' which coincidentally was released in 1962 as was 'The 300 Spartans' was filmed in black and white and was based on the true story of the D-Day invasion during WWII. Now we fast-forward to several decades later and we have 'Saving Private Ryan' which is a fictional account of the D-Day invasion, loosely based on the Sullivan brothers who perished during WWII while serving in the Navy. Much of the movie was filmed with muted tones, perhaps to minimize the impact of seeing all the blood and limbs strewn over the Omaha beach head, however, it was still an extremely graphic movie, especially the first several minutes.

The 'Longest Day' and 'The 300 Spartans' were sterilized accounts of the battles of D-Day and Thermopylae, respectively. In keeping with the times, the wounded and dead were shown in sanitized versions, without any limb dismemberments, nor with any blood spewing from wounds. In other words, these visuals were conforming to the standards that had been set by the motion picture industry for the early 1960's.

'Saving Private Ryan' which premiered in 1998, on the other hand, showed several of the GI's with ghastly wounds and other horrific scenes with which I had never seen in other WWII movies. It also showed the aftermath of the battle which for several seconds focused on the bloody tide gently cascading over the American dead. In other words, the battle scenes were very realistic and extremely explicit even in these times of relaxed movie standards.

Therefore, I believe that the movie '300' will parallel and perhaps surpass 'Saving Private Ryan' in its depiction of the brutality of war. 'Braveheart' and the 'Gladiator' are other examples that show how gruesome war can be, so I suspect that based on Zack Snyder's track record, '300' will be as bloody, if not bloodier.

Would you rather see an accurate depiction of the battle, or would you rather see a movie with very little blood and gore?

Blog Number 3 - Zack Snyder '300' movie & the 'Dawn of the Dead'

Zack Snyder will be at the helm for Frank Miller's '300' and since I was unfamiliar with his work, I had had to check out what other movies he's directed. I learned that he had directed the 2004 remake of the cult classic 'Dawn of the Dead' which I hadn't seen and according to the reviews, had more than its fair share of gore and violence.

There will always be the inevitable comparisons made between an original and the remake(s) that follow(s), and of course, 'Dawn of the Dead' is no exception. According to the majority of the critics and viewers, it seems as if Zack Snyder did a pretty credible job which bodes well for those who are fans of the '300' comics. I believe that with Snyder directing, his adaptation of Miller & Varley's '300' will be brought to the big screen with the same amount of graphic detail as the comics.

If you've seen 'Dawn of the Dead', do you think '300' will be a R-rated movie for the depiction of the battle?

Blog Number 2 - Zack Snyder to direct 'Frank Miller's '300' movie

Several months ago, I read that Zack Snyder would be directing '300' which would be based on Frank Miller & Lynn Varley's 5-part eponymous comic book series. Since '300' is based on the Battle of Thermopylae, I was very much elated, to say the least.

After being disappointed numerous times about the constant speculation surrounding Steven Pressfield's excellent book 'Gates of Fire', it was terrific to hear that a movie would be made once again about the 300 Spartans. The way I looked at it was, whether or not a movie about the 300 Spartans was based on fact or fiction, it didn't concern me as long as it brought the story of the heroic Spartan warriors to the big screen.

If you've read Frank Miller's '300' would you rather have it stay truthful to the author's version, or would you rather see a historically accurate movie of the battle?

Blog Number 1 - The '300' Spartans

Exactly one year ago today, I started a web log about my favorite movie 'The 300 Spartans' entitled 'King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans of Thermopylae'. This movie had such an impact on me when I first saw it in Australia as a six year old, that as I grew older I started buying books, art, statues, basically anything that I could find about King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans of Thermopylae. I also started collecting memorabilia from the movie which I had posted on the aforementioned web log so that others who share the same passion could see what is available. Did this collecting turn into an expensive habit? YOU BET!!!

Then along came Frank Miller's '300' ............. and the resumption of spending more money, which culminated in the purchase of the rare signed Frank Miller & Lynn Varley limited edition lithograph!!!

When I started my web log back in September of last year, I started posting twice every week about the legendary warriors known collectively as the 300 Spartans. However, with all the news regarding Frank Miller's '300' movie, I found that I was blogging much more frequently. In addition, I was occasionally posting about Steven Pressfield's excellent book on the Battle of Thermopylae, 'Gates of Fire'.

Therefore, I thought I would start new web logs which would focus only on matters relative to Frank Miller's '300' & Steven Pressfield's 'Gates of Fire' while still continuing to post about the movie 'The 300 Spartans' on my other blog.

With that being said, you have just read my 1st blog of 300!