Rome Sweet Rome - the movie based on an Internet comment

People joke that Hollywood is scraping the bottom of the barrel for movie ideas. Then they hear news that an online comment is being turned into the latest big budget blockbuster, and the joke suddenly doesn't seem quite so funny any more.

It's Blackhawk Down meets Spartacus. Maybe.

But that's the inspiration behind upcoming sci-fi extravaganza Rome Sweet Rome – the story of detachment of U.S. Marines thrown thousands of years back in time to face off against the armies of Augustus Ceasar.

The inspiration for this incredible idea was a question on an online forum - Could I destroy the entire Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus if I traveled back in time with a modern U.S. Marine infantry battalion or MEU?

Aspiring author James Erwin, writing under the name Prufrock451, decided to answer that question in the form of several chapters of flash fiction.

His short tale of a marine unit stationed in Afghanistan, getting hurled back in time to the heart of the Roman Empire, won instant fans on the forum Reddit.com.

The post's following popularity drew the attention of Madhouse Entertainment; who nabbed the rights and sold it to Warner Brothers for an undisclosed figure. Rome Sweet Rome will hit our cinema screens soon.

As most aspiring authors probably are, I'm a little envious of Erwin's success! But like with all tales of "overnight success", it's worth pointing out that it was proceeded by a lot of hard work.

James Erwin, from Des Moines, is actually a professional writer (read Declarations of Independence.) Years of writing honed solid storytelling skills - which eventually empowered him to make his interpretation of the forum question so instantly compelling.

For writers, the lesson is a simple one: Your big break could come from seizing the most innocuous opportunity; so make sure to put your writing out there as frequently as you can.

Also, be talented.

Overnight success doesn't happen… well, overnight. You have to plant a lot of seeds (as in, put a lot of writing in the public eye) before something eventually blossoms like it did for Erwin.

You also have to be a good writer.

James Erwin deserves every bit of his success. Good luck!

More Action Plan Excitement!

My WinFM buddy Laura Parish, over at her brand new blog, has titled her latest post "Roland Whipping Us Into Action!"

But there are no whips in sight. In fact, she's just filled in the Action Plan and posted it online.

Despite already being a bit of a radio guru, Laura's ambitions are quite similar to mine - especially the aspiring novelist one. So pop on over to her blog and see what other ambitions she has!

Stranger than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction promised to disappoint.

You might be surprised that I'd write that. After all, the movie was about a tortured writer meeting one of her characters - the sort of plot that would immediately appeal to an aspiring novelist like me. And it had Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson in the lead rolls, with support from lovable Dustin Hoffman. All recipes for success...

Except I had a feeling from the moment I saw the trailer that I'd be disappointed. Marketed as a comedy, I figured Stranger Than Fiction would be another terribly worthy movie with it's humour buried beneath a carpet of angsty character development. Think Royal Tennenbaums and you'll get the picture.

But as the saying goes, never judge a book by it's cover. Even if the book is actually a movie. About a book. In short, Stranger Than Fiction was brilliant.

From it's opening moments, Stranger Than Fiction was witty, sharp and a visual treat. It used a fantastic 'heads up display' to illustrate the utterly mundane thoughts of lead character Harold Crick, played absolutely deadpan by a brilliant Will Ferrell. As a friendless, loveless IRS agent in Manhattan, his life was utterly without purpose or pleasure until he started hearing this voice in his head, narrating his life; "accurately," he describes it, "and with a better vocabulary."

Seeking help from literary professor Dustin Hoffman, Crick soon discovers that he's living in a novel - being written by acclaimed writer Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson.) This doesn't bode well for Harold, since Kay's famous for killing off her lead characters.

With his sudden demise looming, Harold starts to look within himself, discovering hidden ambitions and feelings that only spring to the surface now he realises he'll never achieve them. He falls helplessly in love with a militant hippy baker (played by gorgeous Maggie Gyllenhaal) and learns to play the guitar, squeezing as much life out of his last few days as he can.

But while Harold is obsessed with living his life, Kay Eiffel is obsessed with ending it. She desperately tries to create the perfect ending for Harold's life totally oblivious to the fact that he's a real person... Until Crick picks up the phone and calls her, pleading with the novelist to spare his life now he's started living it.

It's a sharp, witty film. The dialogue is crisp and you'll be snorting with laughter at several points. But the movie's also sweet, sad and poignant. It's an immensely satisfying package, all wrapped up, and proof that when you have a great idea, a great director and great actors - Hollywood won't necessarily screw it up.