mahak on movies

[Guest guest]

Haribol, whats with all these yesterdays, mel gibson, arnold, even crowe. We need to see the new stuff to makew casting decisions.

 

Like the actor who plays legolas in the lord of the rings, why not him as arjuna (I actually casted him as laxmana in ramayana). Too skinny, well, arjuna was not overly large like bhima, he was the archer, no need for the physical prowess like a mace wielder or a spearchucker.

 

Also, the actress who played lola is the perfect draupadi.

 

A good "enemy" has to be christopher walkin, and his bud johnny depp must be the hero, even KRSNA, but maybe Yudhisthira would be okay.

 

will smith and lawrence fishburn have a part in my production. Same with samuel jackson, angela bassett (perhaps as kunti).

 

The macho boys of action flicks can be relegated to enemies if they can still be respected as formadible.

 

Clint eastwood might make a good Drtarastra, tough on the inside but feeble and useless. Only the woman in his life makes him valid, so gandhari must be played by a very special actress of internal beauty.

 

haribol, fun project here. ys mahak

[livingentity]

yes, excellent choice - good actor - creepy but good actor. I also, like your vote for Samuel Jackson. Believe it or not, I was also thinking of Clint Eastwood for Drtarastra just yesterday. I was looking at video covers when I saw him.

 

So now we have three (I think) nominations for Johnny Depp.

[stonehearted]

as Shakuni--that I could see. Orlando Bloom as Arjuna would be cool, and I like Viggo Mortenson for Yudhisthira (Aragorn is togh and cool!). I wonder if Will Smith could cut his wise-ass Fresh Prince stuff long enough to play one of these warriors. I could see Jackson--the guy got gravitas. Fishburne, too (he's come a long way from "Clean" in Apocalypse Now). Meryll Streep for Gandhari, especially if you cast Eastwood as Dhritarastra.

[Guest guest]

Haribol. For entertainment only, as the war and religious factioning has to take a rest now and then.

 

So, we start with my daughter, tulasi's, suggestion for musical score and soundtracks, shes the expert, and I agree fully with her choice of Donavan and Skinny Puppy.

 

Now we get to Krsna and Arjuna. We have to see (and assess) the movie with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom presently released, about pirates. Regardless, I vote for Krsna as Johnny Depp, Arjuna as Orlando Bloom. From there, we need a budget and director. Francis Coppola can do it for about 250 million.

 

Now we cast the great demons which make a movie. I vote for definitely Walken (check out his headless horseman role in the johnny depp sleepy hollow movie.) and also, due to performance in fight club, gotta get norton in there, call his agent and free him up.

 

Any narration, the voice of Janamajaya or the sages at Naimasayana, go with James Earl Jones. And Tommie Lee Jones makes a perfect Dronacarya, good friend and excellent enemy.

 

Mo latah, for light entertainment.

 

Also, in my top three listed in the beginning of this topic, I forgot a movie that is interchangeable with aNY OF MY TOP THREE, AND jAYA rADHE HAS ALREADY AGREED WITH THIS AS A FINE FLICK, ESPECIALLY THE LAST SCENE, jOHNNY dEPP (AGAIN AND AGAIN, THIS IS WHY HE SHOULD BE kRSNA), the movie is titled, Dead Man.

 

haribol, mahak

[livingentity]

Skinny Puppy????

 

Donavan is an interesting choice. What about Neil Young or has he burned himself out too much?

[atma]

Just saw "Pirates....."and we agree with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom like before, but Bloom as one of the twins and I can see Crowe as Karna. Karna was very special and loyal to his friends.

[gHari]

There are really only a few roles in this film, The Song of God. We can perhaps use poetic/cinematic license to bring Sanjaya into it a bit more for continuity, but really most of these heroes might blow a conch and then they are mute. Perhaps, like The Ten Commandments we can get superstars to just accept minor roles, but that will take some selling.

 

We would need characters to illustrate the modes of nature, the divine and demoniac natures, and all of Lord Krishna's lessons. That opens the cast up tremendously, with dark dungeon effects for tamo guna goons, and brilliant busy colours for rajo guna frizzies, and blue and saffron and white for sattva guna.

 

Of course for the visual feast of the Universal form, there is no limit to the length we could shoot, with screens and screens of sounds and images rolling in and out. I don't see ten minutes as too much; well maybe five. No ten, with sounds flying from side to side of the theatre, thousands of images and sounds fading in and out. Like the ultimate acid trip, dude.

 

Okay. This is how we open up purports: the whole story of the Gita is being told by an old Spiritual Master in the forest to a western seeker (some cool drama will get him there). Then this can be the continuity, plus it can separate chapters with sermonizing about the application to the modern world, etc. The master can tell of the background from the Mahabharata, just to make all you war-mongers happy, and the action lovers in the audience. And setting up the ultimate conflict of good versus evil.

 

So now we have a story within a story within a story, the old master describing Sanjaya describing the fateful conversation.

 

This may happen, folks. Keep it rolling. Just freeform Paramatma rambling is what we need; brainstorming I think they call it business.

 

gHari

[gHari]

Our hero, dressed in a tux is on business in India. A swank party, high society at the corporate head quarters. Somehow he is kidnapped by thugs who take him to the jungle. A tiger chases the thugs away and finally getting free, and fed up with life, our hero stumbles into a clearing and hut where an old guru lives.

 

The hero relates how he is frustrated with his life of seeming success, etc. and decides he doesn't want to continue (I will not fight). The guru sets up the Gita and begins telling the story of how Sanjaya describes the beautiful conversation between Arjuna and Lord Krsna, the Supreme charioteer.

 

All the lessons are illustrated using flashbacks to our hero's life, his happiness, sadness, alcohol, passion, ignorance, even goodness, etc.

 

Well, maybe yes, maybe no? It sounded good for a while. Maybe someone can finish it?

 

But merging enough of these glimpses may produce the winning screenplay.

[gHari]

I was afraid the flashbacks would steal from Krsna's words. But He can speak and then we can periodically cut away to our hero's mind, superimposing Krsna's just spoken words into situations that led our hero to this dilemma, which also demonstrate the modes of nature and all the lessons, etc. Perhaps very short flashbacks could work.

 

We can even use the jungle scene to illustrate things like how Krsna rides in the elephant's heart, and the various types of yogis will be just down the river, as our hero and the master stroll about.

[gHari]

Can the hero also play Arjuna? Or perhaps Arjuna will eventually morph into the hero by the final chapter. And the film ends with the hero, now Arjuna, standing in full armour in the jungle clearing alone, looking into the sunset, as Sanjaya says "Wherever there is Krsna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion."

 

Alternate DVD additional ending footage: Then the old guru repeats as though reading the end of the Gita "Then Sanjaya said: 'Wherever there is Krsna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.'" Following that the hero who is now Arjuna says (or we hear an echo of) some of the last Arjuna lines from the 18th chapter like "O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions."

 

Now the sunset scene goes panoramic and the world opens up. After a while the credits come up slowly, listing all members of the Audarya Fellowship who helped create this blockbuster classic masterpiece. And then .... All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

Morphing Arjuna: this, I guess, is more a philosophical question.

[Govindaram]

Hare Krishna

 

Why don't some of the Iskcon prabhus/matas star in the Epic, with very nice special effects, and an unbelievable score<<a must, it would cost 'big' but the effect of karmis seeing it would be good.

 

I'd love to see CC turned into a movie epic like Mahabharta, but it would never happen. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Guest guest]

Sivarama's close relative,his cousin,who he grew

up, they are very close, is a big time movie producer in canada, he sold his movie company for hundreds of millions of dollars, and is always making new movies,

i read an interview by a movie magazine in canada,

and this guy was full of praise for Sivarama,

calling him his closest friend since childhood,

maybe he can become involved, a nice movie showing

Krsna book , using state of the art digital effects,

now is the time it can be pulled off.

[Govindaram]

Hare Krishna

 

The Krishna Book movie version would not work on mass public--only on Gita devotees, Mahabharata would have to be made first as it contains items which are easy to understand, then maybe Krishna Book,

 

ps talk about living in a dream world, if I had the funds I would MAKE IT HAPPEN! /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[theist]

People like war and intrigue. Arrows flying, heads rolling, Duryodhana coniving, mystical weaponry, competition for women and wealth with sage advice interpersed throughout. And the good guys win in the end.

 

These bonkheads in Hollywood. The script is already written.

[I_love_krishna_]

The series star wars is called "the greatest movie ever" . Also, didn't george lucas try to take a movie on Mahabharat.

 

I wonder what happened to that.

[Guest guest]

YOU GOT IT BACKWARDS

 

puh lease, the Mahabharata is so dense and

long it would be impossible to get a world audience

interested, and no one would spend the exhorbitant

cost to make a good version.

 

on the contrary, Krsna lila is the perfect movie,

action,romance,myth, war, humour, everything

needed, and it would cause an interest ,

Krsna's pastimes are specifically to attract

humanity , what better way, what better form,

then a movie a la "the lord of the rings " ?

 

[Govindaram]

Hare Krishna

 

You said

"the Mahabharata is so dense and

long it would be impossible to get a world audience

interested"

 

I say

"the krishna book contains pasimes with Gopis, which would only make people lustful, not knowing is true nature"

 

[Guest guest]

that is the point of krsna pastimes with the gopis,

in the second canto of the bhagavatam, Prabhupada

writes that Krsna performs his pastimes with the gopis

here on earth specifically to attract the conditioned souls, by lusting for entrance into that divine realm the person will engage in devotional service, bhakti yoga,

but then again you knew that right ?

[Govindaram]

Hare Krishna

 

Imagine..popcorn,coke/pespi/peanuts, Krishna pastimes with Gopis, people will only feel lustful, forgetting about Lord Krishna's previous pastimes, and the point of Mahabharata is at the end 'The Song of God', so first you see Krishna/Arjuna talking, and get that in your mind, then buy Gita maybe, then read about 'high' pastimes after understanding Gita a bit, thats my opinion /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

well your opinion would be wrong.

 

when Krsna book first came out, Prabhupada had everyone distributing that book every where, some complained as you do, Prabhupada said as I have, the whole point of Krsna lila is to attract the lusty conditioned souls by

the performance of Krsna's pastimes with the gopis,

the higher inner truth of that lila of course will not be understood by them, that is not its function for them,

it is simply to attract them to desire to enjoy with

Krsna ,and the gopis in Vraja, by this desire they will

by inquisitive about bhakti yoga, and gradually

develop all the qualifications they lack.

[Govindaram]

Hare Krishna

 

I'm NOT talking about the book, just a 'movie version' of The Krishna Book, reading a book is a lot different from watching a film, thats why you have both!, reading requires more concentration, whereas a movie you just tend to pick up on the 'good' bits, thats only my opinion /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

it depends on the film maker , a good director

will make it all interesting, are you saying

that a movie on Krsna's life would be a bad thing ?

[Govindaram]

Hare Krishna

 

I would personally like the western world to see a movie version of mahabharata first and then the krishna book, what higher prabhus think is best, and i would except that.

[stonehearted]

One of my all-time favorite films (sorry, this one ain't just a movie) is Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Bhakta Peter sellers stars in three roles, and everyone is magnificent. I've read that when Ronald Reagan became president of the US, he asked to see the War Room he saw on Dr. Strangelove. That War Room never existed, of course, since it was a set for Kubrick's film. When I heard this, I laughed and cried at the same time. In 1962 we were about 15 minutes away from nuclear war with the USSR. Then a few years later we get this character in the White House, joking about how to take care of the Soviet problem ("The bombs start falling in five minutes. tee-hee") I can't believe sometimes that we've lasted this long.

[Govindaram]

Hare Krishna

 

heard that song "uh war never been so much fun /images/graemlins/shocked.gif"

 

I would love to see a movie about Krishna looking over material nature all /images/graemlins/cool.gif and impregnating it with living entities with a wry smile on His face, but at the same time looking /images/graemlins/smile.gif...

 

Special effects galore /images/graemlins/grin.gif