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The story behind this production would make a great movie

posted 12 years ago by Movie_map
6 replies | jump to latest

I was watching a documentary on the History channel (I think) about the making of this movie, and I kept thinking that a film about the making of this movie could be great. I'm surprised that no one has done so before now. You have the notion of the Nazi's attempting to use a great tragedy to their propaganda advantage, a writer turning the director into the Gestapo for making anti-Reich comments and the director 'committing suicide' while in custody. If that wasn't enough, what happened with the ship that was used to portray the Titanic was one of the greatest tragedies of the war. There haven't been very many movies made about the use of film itself as a weapon of war. A movie about this production would be a new take on an old genre, films about WW2.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

I'm upset I missed the History Channel program. I never heard anything about it till reading some comments on this site. Hope it turns up again, or shows up on DVD.

Anyway, as to making a movie about making this movie, it's an interesting idea, but if I may suggest, e-mlodik_deux, you should think of a different title for your project. "Ship of the Damned" would certainly be confused with the real 1976 movie Voyage of the Damned, and in any case this proposed film isn't about the ship, it's about the 1943 film itself. Besides, using the word "damned" is pretty much a cliche anyway.

Go for a title that reflects on the film and its creation, not on the vessel.

[–] Movie_map 12 years ago

If you have Comcast and OnDemand it's there. I think it was under H2, Specials.

As for titles, I hadn't even thought about that. The story itself is what I find fascinating. How about "Reichsfilmkammer" for a title? That was the entity that regulated films in the third reich.

[–] hobnob53 12 years ago

Thanks, Movie_map, I'll see if I can find it.

Immodestly, I'm not a bad writer, but I'm lousy at titles. Just as long as it isn't called "The Selpin Story" we can't go too far wrong!

[–] younngl 11 years ago

I agree the story is fascinating but it probably hasn't been done because it doesn't seem like it will translate well into a feature. Think about it, doing a story like this might be perceived by the public at large as downgrading the atrocities the Nazis committed.

Besides, making a movie about a movie would not go over well with producers unless you're talking to Syfy which would be a sure way to have a terrible film. Honestly making an entire film about this specifically is a bad idea, a better one would be to either write a biopic of Selpin, or write a film about Nazi Propaganda in general. That way you could include events that happened in the filming of Titanic and it would make for a much better film.

[–] stanleyhetz 9 years ago

I was watching a documentary on the History channel (I think) about the making of this movie, and I kept thinking that a film about the making of this movie could be great. I'm surprised that no one has done so before now. You have the notion of the Nazi's attempting to use a great tragedy to their propaganda advantage, a writer turning the director into the Gestapo for making anti-Reich comments and the director 'committing suicide' while in custody. If that wasn't enough, what happened with the ship that was used to portray the Titanic was one of the greatest tragedies of the war. There haven't been very many movies made about the use of film itself as a weapon of war. A movie about this production would be a new take on an old genre, films about WW2.

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