GDG- Re: The Last Full Measure

[Biggsk at aol.com]

Hello,


>>>>Has anyone heard anything about a group of  re-enactors deciding to fund 
Ron Maxwell's The Last Full Measure?  If so  where I can get any additional 
information?>>>>
A group of reenactors are going to come up with $20-$30 Million or more to  
make another lame movie???????  Why?????
 
While I like the fact that Ron Maxwell's heart is in the right place, he is  
a mediocre film maker and with the bar for war movies being set so high now,  
using someone else to do it would be much better, especially in the writing  
phase.
 
The other problem is that most American reenactors are too old and too out  
of shape to look like real Civil War soldiers, one reason that "Cold Mountain"  
was done in Romania.  That Sgt. Santa Claus scene from "Gettysburg" still  
rankles me!
 
The cold hard facts are, sadly, simple - Civil War movies, save for "Gone  
With The Wind," don't make money!  Even big time studio productions like  "Cold 
Mountain" with big stars don't make money and if a studio wants to sink  $30 
Million or more into a film they need to make over $100 Million to actually  
turn a profit (this covers production and promotional costs, etc.).  DVD  sales 
can help a lot, but even if the DVD tanks, they lose money.
 
Someone on an online forum and I debated Maxwell's second movie and she  
claimed that the DVD was selling like crazy and that its proceeds would allow  the 
film to turn a profit.  I did a bit of research on that (granted this  was 
some time ago) and found that this was not the case at all - the DVD did not  do 
that well either!  Basically, if it had, we would have the 2 DVD version  
with the Antietam footage in it, etc. by now and we do not.  Studios are  loathe 
to throw more bad money after original bad money - like any other  business 
they exist to make money, not lose it.
 
I think it would be a bloody miracle if the third film ever gets  made!  And 
if reenactors want to raise $20-$30 Million, that money would be  better spent 
giving it to CWPT to buy threatened battlefield land.
 
Just my two cents - rates may vary.
 
Greg Biggs



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