Untitled OTTO SKORZENY project (D. Lundgren, 2008-13) (dev)

[Darling]

Hi Guys,now I`m back in my Town and I have News about Dolph`s next Project.
If nothing will be intervene,Dolph will come to Germany/Berlin End of August for Pre- Production to shoot there a World-War 2 Movie.The Script is ready and the Writer of the Script is a german Author and also an Actor.Dolph`s Role is Hitler`s Commando Leader in World-War 2.
I think it will be a very interesting Project,but it`s not public yet!
WOW,Dolph soon in Germany!

[Tom]

Sounds intriguing. Do you know what size production we're talking? Would Dolph be support player in a theatrical release, or is he the lead in a STV film? Dolph has often talked about doing war films so hopefully this comes about. It sounds interesting, and it'll make a change for him to film in Germany for once. Personally, I'd love it if this was a full German language film, with an all German cast. The film industry over there is very good now, and they've an excellent standard of actors. It'd be great for him to work with a good calibre of cast.

[Jox]

There light be another one before that (western action flick) but this is one of Dolph's two war projects (the other one is set during WWI)

If you could play any real-life person in a movie, who would it be and why?
Otto Skorzeny - very interesting life of Hitler’s favorite SS commander who was acquitted of all war crimes and even the Allies admired him as a soldier. He is the man who supposedly hid the Nazi fortune in gold never recovered after the war.

Do you have a dream project?
The life of Otto Skorzeny, "the man with the scar’

from http://www.variety.com/article/VR111798 ... 1&nid=2562

How did you hear about it Darling?

[Darling]

I do not know yet anything about the Production.I hope also it will be a german Production, with a lot of German Actors.I think it will be a big Production in Berlin.But we must have a little bit patience!Maybe I can give you some Information in couple of Weeks.
I got this Information from the Author,because I know him personally.He live in Berlin and I have there my second Home.

[Moltisanti]

Sounds like an interesting project. Different from everything else he has done of late which would be another smart move on Dolph's part. Hope it happens.

[Tom]

Dolph playing a badass soldier with a scar. It sounds an interesting idea indeed, and I just wonder whether The Expendables and buzz of CP and Icarus, has meant he's been able to finance this one himself. Might it be that Dolph will direct this one?

[Mosquito]

If it will be filmed in Berlin please let me know where to apply for a role as an extra. Maybe "dead person no. 17" or something. Or if it's a WW2 movie, maybe the inevitable middle aged dragon with a thick accent who walks around with a whip.

[Darling]

A part of the movie will be filmed in Berlin,that`s sure. And it is a WW 2 Movie.
It is a funny Idea, you as a middle aged dragon,who walks around with a whip:)
I hope your dream will be come true,I will see you there:)
But to be serious, it is really your first Chance to meet Dolph

[Warchild]

Ohhhh pleassseeee let it be true, that would be just awesome, this is surelly something different, i always wanted to see Dolph in a WW 2 movie, but i always though it was impossible because usually you need a big budget to make such a movie in that time period.

Now i'm more excited than ever, because it's a different role for Dolph and a true life story, i Think Dolph can pull it off better than Tom Cruise did with Valkyre.

[MikeR]

Hmmm this is a tricky one. It's obvious that the German armed forces contained some of the most brilliant military leaders in the Second World War and fought incredibly bravely. HOWEVER, many of them were committed to one of the most repellent ideologies ever dreamt up.

Otto Skorzeny WAS a Nazi - he joined the Austrian party long before the Anschluss, and he was a member of the Waffen SS, which you didn't join unless you were a committed Nazi. Worse still, he was one of the founders of ODESSA which helped war criminals such as Eichmann escape justice, he connived with the likes of Franco's fascist regime and helped organise other European paramilitary far right groups in the so called Operation Paladin. Skorzeny only recanted his belief in Nazism late in his life, well after his fighting days were over.

Even if you allow for the fact he was an extremely brave man, an incredible leader and dedicated soldier, is he the sort of person who should be the sympathetic subject of a film? After all there are still plenty of losers out there on the modern far right that would like nothing more than a heroic SS action hero.

Claus von Stauffenberg (the lead character in 'Valkyrie') is a much more sympathetic character, but his routine anti-semitism caused serious unease when the movie was announced - was this the sort of person who could be portrayed in the modern era? A real member of the SS? We could see the 'Red Scorpion' controversy all over again- only worse. This could be a public relations disaster.

The only way I could see this being done would be an elderly Skorzeny regretting his past and the movie being done in flashback. But even then, ouch - I wouldn't like to be the publicist.

One thing - Big D is the right size for Skorzeny who was 6'4" and built like the proverbial brick outhouse.

http://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=133

M.

[Warchild]

I just read the bio, man did this guy had a handfull of battles and secret assigments and survived
I don't see nothing wrong with Dolph playing the part, what does Dolph has to lose, we will always be his fans, besides Dolph is not going to lose his status as a DTV action hero.

[dolphage]

Mikey,

First off, they might very well clean up Skorenzy´s character and make him a loveable, gentle giant in the project. As is the custom...

Were you this upset when Denzel Washington played Rubin "Huricane" Carter like he was some kind of hero when in fact he was a hardened, violent criminal (guilty or not guilty of the murders he was sentenced for)?

Secondly, audiences are suposedly smart enough these days to be exposed to more complicated personal motives than "good" and "evil", in movies. Antagonists are routinely given some redeeming features to make them more beleivable. They no longer have to wear black and laugh maniacally to be the bad guy. So you CAN create a "good guy" character who is quite flawed.

Having said that, I doubt they´ll delve to deep into his ideology if he IS the protagonist.

I´m saying: the filmmakers would probably play down his nazi ideology, and if they DIDN`T he´s either a bad guy OR we would be presented with a more complicated "good guy" than what was the custom 20 years ago (Red Scorpion).

The latter would be a brave choice and, yes, a possible PR disaster, but it strikes me as quite an unlikely route to go with the project.

I put my money on "cleaning him up " and making him a very likeable and politically correct character, because that´s the usual way to go.

[Tom]

They should play the character as is. A bastard he might have been, but an interesting bastard none-the-less. Say what you will about Hitler, but he makes for a very complex character in the films about him. This could be good for Dolph to get away from playing a hero, and still lead the movie. However, if they just go into this with a DTV action movie mentallity, it'll suck. They need to seriously make a good film, that does justice to reality, bad, and good. That's why I hope there's money in this, and a good production team. Ideally there'll get a good profile director (I'd love Tom Tykwer, or the dude who did Counterfeiters), if not the best logic is to have Dolph do it himself.

[MikeR]

Mikey,
First off, they might very well clean up Skorenzy´s character and make him a loveable, gentle giant in the project. As is the custom...

Were you this upset when Denzel Washington played Rubin "Huricane" Carter like he was some kind of hero when in fact he was a hardened, violent criminal (guilty or not guilty of the murders he was sentenced for)?

Hmmm I think 'upset' isn't the word I'd choose so much as 'wary'; the Nazis carry so much baggage and did so much harm that it's very hard, almost impossible, to do the subject justice in a two hour movie. I'm really wracking my mind for movies which feature the German forces in World War 2 in a realistic manner AND which show the actual heroism many of them displayed. I'm coming up with James Mason in 'The Desert Fox' and the more recent 'Stalingrad' and that's about it.

Where a Skorzeny movie differs is that 'Stalingrad' was about the Wehrmacht's Sixth Army under Paulus and Rommel was notably apolitical if not hostile to the Nazis (he committed suicide after being linked to the von Stauffenberg revolt). The SS were *not* a normal army, they were a political force deeply steeped in Nazism and that's utterly inescapable if the movie is to be any more than a name-check for Skorzeny. His two most famous activities? Whisking Mussolini away from justice and helping crush the 1944 revolution which almost overthrew Hitler. Propping up fascist governments doesn't make for audience pleasing film making.

After that, you've got movies like the awesome 'Downfall' which starts off with a remarkable portrayal of Hitler choosing a new secretary. When she screws up her interview you expect him to rant and rage, but he's surprisingly kindly. That was a very clever trick by the filmmakers to build complexity into our view of Hitler which has become something of a cartoon thanks to so many actors putting their spin on the role. It's only after the film has shown that Hitler was, after-all, human you see the collapse into madness and it makes for an even more powerful story.

Brilliant movie.

Secondly, audiences are suposedly smart enough these days to be exposed to more complicated personal motives than "good" and "evil", in movies. Antagonists are routinely given some redeeming features to make them more beleivable. They no longer have to wear black and laugh maniacally to be the bad guy. So you CAN create a "good guy" character who is quite flawed.

I agree with you there (although I'm not so sure audiences are as smart as you'd like to think - 'The Da Vinci Code' being the classic example of a whole lot of crap that's been believed by millions). And then there was uproar in the UK when 'U571' effectively turned all of the Bletchley Park code breaking into an American adventure. The movies can produce a very lop-sided view of history, and sadly it's that view which tends to stick amongst the public.

I put my money on "cleaning him up " and making him a very likeable and politically correct character, because that´s the usual way to go.

Which risks becoming an apologist for Skorzeny. Like I said, the only way I can see this being anything other than wildly controversial and condemned to oblivion, would be for an elderly Skorzeny at the time of his denazification recounting his stories and recanting his views.

Now it's worth saying that Skorzeny, although charged with war crimes, was discharged on all counts (and they were extremely minor charges regarding wearing enemy uniforms - something the Allies had also done) and AFAIK he has never been connected to any of the atrocities committed by his regiment. He's somewhere in the league of Werhner von Braun rather than Amon Goethe or Eichmann.

But if I was involved in this movie in any way I would spend a LOT of time preparing the public relations assault that will be needed confront the inevitable 'Go see this, an Aryan superhero' publicity it will get on the far right bulletin boards across Europe. The movie mustn't become a recruiting tool for the modern day fascists and the makers must have a good response to those who want to make it so.

M.

[Jox]

I'm glad we have an interesting debate here that goes far beyond the "Dolph is the man" and movies subjects. Until further notice and as far as I know this project is still in the only development stage so we'll see (and I'm sure these issues are discussed and thought through)... I doubt the project is gonna be big enough to stir huge controversy but let's wait for more infos first before getting on our high horses...