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Galla Placidia: Why no movie?

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Perhaps we should try to remember this is a Roman forum - and not drift into ancient Greece.

 

LastRoman

 

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Perhaps we should try to remember this is a Roman forum - and not drift into ancient Greece.

 

By the way: Theodosius wasn't really a religious fanatic, and the man he bowed to, because if he hadn't the Church would have opposed his rule, wasn't the pope, but Bishop Ambrose of Milan.

 

LastRoman

 

You might be right, but let's ask the OP of this thread.

 

Hey, wait a minute, that's me. :lol:

 

And I say, "Let's include any information, no matter how tangential, that enhances our understanding of Ancient Rome." Being no Grecophile apologist, I still recognize the contributions and influences of the Ancient Greeks on Ancient Rome.

 

So, I feel it's better to maintain a dynamic and thought-provoking forum rather than a rigid and narrow one that would not interest anyone.

 

Finally, your remarks about Theodosius are so far off the mark that they deserve a separate post later.

 

 

guy also known as gaius

Edited by guy

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Perhaps we should try to remember this is a Roman forum - and not drift into ancient Greece.

No, I don't feel that the fact of GP not having been the subject of a Shakespeare play has anything to do with her not having been the subject of a movie. Nero hasn't been portrayed by Sh. either... It may, however, be that portraying strong women while yet realizing that a decent/true treatment would also mean not unduly romanticizing such a person and, in the case of roman empresses, also accepting there will be elements in her life we would rather not hear about may well be the main reason.

By the way: Theodosius wasn't really a religious fanatic, and the man he bowed to, because if he hadn't the Church would have opposed his rule, wasn't the pope, but Bishop Ambrose of Milan.

 

LastRoman

 

Nero wasnt written about by Shakespeare; he was, however, one of the Julio Claudians, written about by Seutonius and close enough both to the time of Christ and the height of the Empire ( my other two conditions ) to be well known in popular culture. Regarding Theodosius: Fair enough.. I got the name and title of the cleric wrong, but my minor error does not render the salient points invalid. NOT a religious fanatic? He ordered the dissolution of the vestals, the destruction of the Serapaeum and the end of the Olympic Games, because they were at odds with his own preferred religion. Are the Taliban not viewed as religious fanatics on account of destroying the Bamiyan Buddhas ( and other outrages ) in the name of their religion? Also, I believe Theodosius is not called 'The Great' because he actually was, but on account of his patronage of the Church.

 

But back to Galla Placidia, how then do we explain why no movie has been made about her, if you dispute the other points raised? I accept the point about the struggle film makers might have regarding unsavoury aspects of her life, but aren't such things usually just glossed over, or missed out in commercial movies? One fine example being the omission of Robert the Bruce's betrayal of Wallace in Braveheart. How do we explain the absence of films about other great Romans such as Cincinnatus, Diocletian and Justinian?

Edited by Northern Neil

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I'm at present finishing a novel on Galla Placidia - and I fully agree with all those who feel she (also) deserves a movie. She has been portrayed not once but twice, though, both by Alice Krige and by a French actress in a 1950's film. Marketing her may be a bit more difficult than, say, Cleopatra, but in view of all the topics her life touches on, and given a catchy title - e.g. "The Empress and the barbarians"? - it should not be impossible.

 

Petrus

 

 

Hi,

When is the release of your novel?

And maybe, could you tell us already what the focus of the story is about?

 

Very interested in the life and times of Galla Placidia, roots all over the mediterranean world outside the Italian peninsula, key figure in the succession of the Western Throne, Queen of the Visigoths for short but in mind for long and Empress in a very turmoiled period of history.

 

Jeroen de Lange,

Amsterdam

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