CASABLANCA REMAKE STARS SIGNED UP

It's been a tightly guarded secret but it's now public knowledge in Hollywood circles that a remake of Casablanca is in pre production. The rumor mill has been buzzing with talk of the cast but three stars have been confirmed for the film. Vin Diesel will play the role of Rick while Anne Hathaway will play the role of Ilsa. Chances are that Steve Buscemi will play the role of Signor Ugarte given his eery resemblance to the late Peter Lorre.

There is still a debate as to who will direct, so far the names out there are Michael Bay and Baz Luhrmann. The current script calls for flashy musical numbers and lot's of sequence. They are calling the new Casblanca a classic remake with Guys and Dolls flare. If Michael Bay directs the film chances are that there will be more explosions and some sort of spacial connection that will see the Nazis in the film turn into outer space creatures. It's also rumored that Dwayne Johnson will serve as executive producer given his love of classic cinema. 

It was reported that Diesel will like be paid over 35 million dollars while Hathaway will be paid 22 million. James Cameron is said to have invested 56 million dollars in an effort for some creative control. Multiple sources indicate that Cameron wants to do part of the film in CGI and create an Avatar and Beowulf mix. This project has shaken the foundation of Hollywood's power structure and it's being hailed as the next movie making revolution. 

Hollywood has been struggling to find a way into a new golden age which has been stolen by indie films. With this project chances are that dialogue driven master pieces will become the center piece of Hollywood filmmaking once more. If you have read this far and believe even a third of this, shame on you.

WHY A WRITER NEEDS TO KNOW HISTORY

I have always loved history because when you really get into the description of it it's almost like you can see it unfold once more in your mind's eye. My favorite subject through my primary education was history because I felt like I knew the players. I recently realized that history lessons are the first stories we are ever told. Sometimes we hear the tall tales of Americana and other times we read key literary works such as The Great Gatsby which serve as a glimpse into specific periods. The fact is that history reveals that the greatest stories told are told by each and every individual.

I never met the founding fathers but I feel as though they were truly civilized gentlemen with enormous skills in the art of diplomacy, otherwise known as bullshit. A historical document such as the declaration of independence reveals an ardent desire for a new identity, great concern for proper linguistic correctitude, and a fierce need to prove intellectual superiority in certain respects. Then there are works like the bible which is referred to by many as the key work in literature. A story can either be an approximation of the truth, a play on fact, or a total fabrication of the imagination. Honestly it's history that serves as a basis for all of that.

George Orwell wrote 1984 over sixty years ago and while his concepts seemed to far fetched to be real they were realized and validated over the years. While Orwell's work was fiction there can be a safe assumption made that Orwell felt through research that Big Brother was not an unreal and purely fictional idea. Everyone has a view of the future but those that express it in print base it on certain historical study. I am not saying that every person that desires a career in writing must be a history bookworm but it helps to know history in order to avoid sounding like a complete jackass.