Rome Sweet Rome
Encyclopedia
Rome, Sweet Rome is an online
350-word, alternate history, military science fiction
short story
by American
freelance writer and military historian James Erwin. It describes what might happen if a United States Marine unit were somehow transported back to the time of the Roman Empire
under Augustus Ceasar.
about whether or not a modern U.S. Marine unit could wipe out the entire Roman empire
. Erwin responded to the question by offering online a short fiction account about how a unit of Marines accidentally travelled back in time and ended up battling with Roman legion
s during the reign of Augustus. Respondents to his post dubbed his story Rome, Sweet Rome and "demanded" more details. Erwin acceded to their wishes and expanded on his original story. A growing fan base mocked up book covers, movie posters, and posted related music videos to YouTube.
Erwin, an author from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
and two time Jeopardy champion, read a question on Reddit about how might US Marines might fare against the armies of ancient Rome, and offered a response to the question. His answer prompted many responses on Reddit and the creation of a sub-Reddit. Erwin continued responding and expanding, and through input from other Reddit users, eventually created the short story. Author James Erwin states he will finish current work on a military history encyclopedia and another book before taking a hiatus from his freelance work to concentrate on the screenpaly Warner expects by early 2012.
Time Magazine offered that this "is thought to be the first ever case of a forum post becoming a movie pitch," but that far more time is needed before a film based on the short story might actually be made, while The Province
reported that the online story has become an internet phenomenon,and screenrant.com stated that the story has "taken the Internet by storm".
spoke with Erwin about his story concept of a modern Marine unit confronting the Roman Legion in battle, and then discussed the concept with Adrian Goldsworthy
, an expert on Roman history. In comparing a Marine Mechanized Infantry Unit, typically containing about 2200 troops, along with associated artillery and vehicles, to that of the Roman Legion, which at that time consisting of nearly 300,000 men amored in either heavy leather or in metal, carrying swords and javelins as weapons, and operating catapults and crossbows as their long distance weapons, Goldsworthy stated "Obviously, there is a massive difference in firepower," noting that Roman armor would be useless against rifle rounds and grenades. He expanded that while Marines would begin with a huge advantage, their inability to be resupplied as they depleted their ammunition and fuel would result, after a few days of devastation on the part of the Marines, into a complete reversal of fortune. The original advantage of superior tecnology would vanish and the Marines would then have to deal with a massively supperior opposing force after themselves being reduced to that force's level of weapon technology. Goldsworthy concluded in his analysis, that without resupply and in lacking access to modern navigation aids such as GPS, the Marines would lose over the long term. He granted though, that modern knowledge of strategy and tactics could allow a knowledgable, mobile and quickly-moving Marine force to "destabilize the Roman Empire, encourage civil war, and initiate regional fracturing." But because of their lacking the neccessary manpower, the Marines could not expect to "control Rome itself—with a population of a million or so—let alone the wider empire."
Erwin is writing the screenplay. Gianni Nunnari, producer
of 300
and Immortals, has been anounced as co-producer of the project.
The film is to be produced by Kolbrenner and Gianni Nunnari ("Immortals") of Hollywood Gang, with Robyn Meisinger as executive producer. John Ridley
, also of Hollywood gang, is slated to oversee the project for the company.
reported that due to Reddit
's licensing terms, Erwin may not have had full ownership of the story he wrote, and may not have been able to fully transfer those rights to Warner Brothers. Concerns were raised due to Erwin's creation of the story in the Reddit forums occuring with and through participation and input from other Reddit users. The issues then became those of whether or not Erwin actually had the right to grant exclusivity to Warner, and that Reddit itself may itself own rights to those portions of the story created and shared on their website. While the concept of modern military forces involving themselves in conflicts with less advanced cultures is a common theme in science fiction, in order to claim exclusivity, Erwin may be required to rewrite the story to remove those portions created through input of Reddit users.
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
350-word, alternate history, military science fiction
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
freelance writer and military historian James Erwin. It describes what might happen if a United States Marine unit were somehow transported back to the time of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
under Augustus Ceasar.
Background
The book was inspired by a hypothetical question Erwin had read on RedditReddit
reddit is a social news website where the registered users submit content, in the form of either a link or a text "self" post. Other users then vote the submission "up" or "down," which is used to rank the post and determine its position on the site's pages and front page.Reddit was originally...
about whether or not a modern U.S. Marine unit could wipe out the entire Roman empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Erwin responded to the question by offering online a short fiction account about how a unit of Marines accidentally travelled back in time and ended up battling with Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
s during the reign of Augustus. Respondents to his post dubbed his story Rome, Sweet Rome and "demanded" more details. Erwin acceded to their wishes and expanded on his original story. A growing fan base mocked up book covers, movie posters, and posted related music videos to YouTube.
Erwin, an author from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
and two time Jeopardy champion, read a question on Reddit about how might US Marines might fare against the armies of ancient Rome, and offered a response to the question. His answer prompted many responses on Reddit and the creation of a sub-Reddit. Erwin continued responding and expanding, and through input from other Reddit users, eventually created the short story. Author James Erwin states he will finish current work on a military history encyclopedia and another book before taking a hiatus from his freelance work to concentrate on the screenpaly Warner expects by early 2012.
Time Magazine offered that this "is thought to be the first ever case of a forum post becoming a movie pitch," but that far more time is needed before a film based on the short story might actually be made, while The Province
The Province
The Province is a daily, tabloid format newspaper published in British Columbia by Postmedia. It has been a daily newspaper since 1898.According to a recent NADbank survey, The Provinces average weekday readership was 520,100, making it British Columbia's most read newspaper...
reported that the online story has become an internet phenomenon,and screenrant.com stated that the story has "taken the Internet by storm".
Plot
The book is a fictional account of what might happen were a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of 2,200 men to be somehow transported through time from their base in modern-day Kabul, Afghanistan to the time of the Roman Empire when being ruled by Augustus Ceaser, appearing near the Tiber River in 23 B.C. with their full allotment of equipment - M1 Abrams battle tanks, bulletproof vests, M4 rifles, and grenades, but with no way to resupply with fuel or ammunition when depleted.Plot analysis
Popular MechanicsPopular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
spoke with Erwin about his story concept of a modern Marine unit confronting the Roman Legion in battle, and then discussed the concept with Adrian Goldsworthy
Adrian Goldsworthy
Adrian Keith Goldsworthy is a British historian and author who specialises in ancient Roman history.-Biography:Goldsworthy attended Westbourne School, Penarth...
, an expert on Roman history. In comparing a Marine Mechanized Infantry Unit, typically containing about 2200 troops, along with associated artillery and vehicles, to that of the Roman Legion, which at that time consisting of nearly 300,000 men amored in either heavy leather or in metal, carrying swords and javelins as weapons, and operating catapults and crossbows as their long distance weapons, Goldsworthy stated "Obviously, there is a massive difference in firepower," noting that Roman armor would be useless against rifle rounds and grenades. He expanded that while Marines would begin with a huge advantage, their inability to be resupplied as they depleted their ammunition and fuel would result, after a few days of devastation on the part of the Marines, into a complete reversal of fortune. The original advantage of superior tecnology would vanish and the Marines would then have to deal with a massively supperior opposing force after themselves being reduced to that force's level of weapon technology. Goldsworthy concluded in his analysis, that without resupply and in lacking access to modern navigation aids such as GPS, the Marines would lose over the long term. He granted though, that modern knowledge of strategy and tactics could allow a knowledgable, mobile and quickly-moving Marine force to "destabilize the Roman Empire, encourage civil war, and initiate regional fracturing." But because of their lacking the neccessary manpower, the Marines could not expect to "control Rome itself—with a population of a million or so—let alone the wider empire."
Adaptation
Among those who read the story online was Adam Kolbrenner of Beverly Hills-based production company Madhouse Entertainment. Liking the story concept, he made a deal to represent Erwin and then optioned the movie rights to Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Erwin is writing the screenplay. Gianni Nunnari, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
of 300
300 (film)
300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant...
and Immortals, has been anounced as co-producer of the project.
The film is to be produced by Kolbrenner and Gianni Nunnari ("Immortals") of Hollywood Gang, with Robyn Meisinger as executive producer. John Ridley
John Ridley
John Ridley is an American film director, actor, and writer.Ridley got his start as a stand-up comedian. He eventually was hired as a writer for sitcoms such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Martin...
, also of Hollywood gang, is slated to oversee the project for the company.
Licensing Issues
TechdirtTechdirt
Techdirt is a weblog that reports on technology trends, and related business and economic policy issues, often focusing on copyright and patent reform. The website was started in 1997 by Mike Masnick and it was originally based on the weblog Slash. Techdirt has been named among the favorite blogs...
reported that due to Reddit
Reddit
reddit is a social news website where the registered users submit content, in the form of either a link or a text "self" post. Other users then vote the submission "up" or "down," which is used to rank the post and determine its position on the site's pages and front page.Reddit was originally...
's licensing terms, Erwin may not have had full ownership of the story he wrote, and may not have been able to fully transfer those rights to Warner Brothers. Concerns were raised due to Erwin's creation of the story in the Reddit forums occuring with and through participation and input from other Reddit users. The issues then became those of whether or not Erwin actually had the right to grant exclusivity to Warner, and that Reddit itself may itself own rights to those portions of the story created and shared on their website. While the concept of modern military forces involving themselves in conflicts with less advanced cultures is a common theme in science fiction, in order to claim exclusivity, Erwin may be required to rewrite the story to remove those portions created through input of Reddit users.