"RMS Lusitania" - is Hollywood not interested in this story? (1 Viewer)

[buttmunker]

After all the many Titanic films (and slant on story), would even one on the Lusitania be considered a "redundancy" pertaining to a sinking luxury liner?

True, the stories are very different (The Lusitania was sunk by a German Submarine's torpedo), but are we ready to have our hearts wrenched out after just 11 years viewing James Cameron's "Titanic?"

Apparently there's some reason, as there hasn't been one. Or maybe World War I isn't quite a big enough war?

 

[Andy Sheets]

Probably the reason.

 

[Patrick H.]

The Lusitania also sank in about 15 minutes, if memory serves. Not very cinematic, unless the movie's about the larger geopolitical picture of the time, in which case the actual sinking could end up seeming rather incidental. By contrast, the Titanic took a couple hours, which combined with the hubris behind it makes for a lot more dramatic potential (hence so many movies).

 

[SilverWook]

IIRC, there was a tv movie about the Britannic.

I'm surprised there hasn't been a movie about the Andrea Doria.

 

[todd s]

Also, wasn't their a big scandal that they were ferrying ammunition & weapons from "nuetral" America to England?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

As a lover of sea stories and most notably liners and ships i'd be very interested in seeing a good film done on the RMS Lusitania, and Britanic for that manner (not counting that lame TV movie from a few years ago).

There's also a very famous ship that no one seems to have heard of docked in Philadelphia called the SS United States that i'd like to see a film on. Sure it didn't sink but a sinking does not a good film make.

 

[Nick Martin]

Well it was covered in a 'Seinfeld' episode so that must have been enough.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Maybe they know they can't match the pseudo-documentary feel of Winsor McCay's stunning animated film The Sinking of the Lusitania from 1918.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

There's a documentary coming out very soon called Lady in Waiting: The SS United States (the title comes from the fact that no one seems to know exactly what to do with the ship, save it? scrap it?) that i'm definitely checking out and I urge anyone who is the least bit interested in ships to check it out, too.

 

[SilverWook]

Thanks for the heads-up on the documentary. I've been curious about the SS United States ever since I first saw stock footage of her used in Munster Go Home!

 

[townsend]

It's really hard to figure out why Hollywood will make one historical event into a movie, and not another. Probably a myriad of factors involved, but I'd think that $$$ drives the whole decision making process.

When an inexpensive movie makes a load at the box office, Hollywood behavior is reinforced to make another of the same kind. Hence, the current status quo of sequelitis.

I assume making historical epic movies cost much more, due to shooting at exotic locations, etc.

It was rumored that we get a movie entitled "Tripoli," but I think it got canceled.

Tripoli (2009)

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

No sweat, Silverwook.

Titanic was a project of passion for James Cameron, Hollywood tried it again with Pearl Harbor but it didn't work.

I think that the studios realized that the kind of box office and critical magic generated by Titanic comes along very rarely.

 

[mattCR]

Wasn't there some thought a few years back about a version of the Hindenberg?

Just disaster movies, I suppose.

Then again, when I hear Lusitania the first thing I think of is Piggies & Ender, not the ship

(some here will get that)