We have word from the northern winds that a new Viking movie is in the works. Menno Meyjes wrote and will direct the the project named Last Battle Dreamer. We get the news from Variety:
The Dutch-born, U.K.-based writer/director has confirmed that his next film will be “Last Battle Dreamer,” a $20 million love story set in 9th century England, against the backdrop of the Viking invasions.
Meyjes plans to shoot “Last Battle Dreamer” on location in the U.K. this fall. He’s currently casting, and expects to find an American star for the male lead, a Viking warrior, and a British actress for the role of the English noblewoman he falls in love with.
“When I moved to England 10 years ago, I was struck by the countryside, how verdant it was and how tempting it must have appeared to invaders, what a ripe piece of fruit it was,” he said. “I thought it would be amazing to do a film about a guy who comes from a barren, flinty landscape, and who falls in love with a woman and at the same time with a certain idea of civilization.”
I yearn for Viking films. Quality, entertaining, Viking films. I was disappointed greatly with Pathfinder and hope that in time proper takes of viking conquest will be told on the silver screen. This project is promising, but it does have the Viking hero falling in love with a lady in the land of plunder. Normally I would throw a tizzy and scream about bullshit romance in action films (as I should) but I will give this fellow the benefit of the doubt. Menno Meyjes did after all write the screenplay for The Color Purple and was on the writing team with George Lucas for The Last Crusade.
All this being said, I hope the film is full of Viking onslaught. As far as war films go, a Viking movie is cheap to make. You do not need hundreds of extras in amour, you need an unshaven motley crew of dudes on a longboat. Give these guys proper period gear and have them: raid towns, plunder monasteries, smite the enemy and rape freshly made widows.
This is where the movie could get awesome. If the female lead in the film is raped by the male lead, and then they fall in love through the act of rape, we could have a new type of romantic genre on our hands. It will be known as the ROM-RAPE genre. Finally we will have something to rival the inappropriateness of nun rape movies.
