I just found out that Tom Hanks's Playtone production company will begin filming a six-part show about John Adams. Paul Giamatti is set to portray Adams in a film based on David McCullough's biography of John Adams. Production should begin in the next few months and a lot of the filming will be done in the Williamsburg Historic Area. Hanks visited Williamsburg about a year ago in order to scout locations for the film. Other locations which will be used are Richmond and Europe. I thoroughly enjoyed McCullough's book and anxiously await the HBO series! Regards, Pam
Pam, That does sound interesting. I enjoyed the first season of HBO's Rome and also Band of Brothers. Their period pieces are always interesting to me. Brett S.
I liked "The Crossing" it was an A&E production several years ago starring Jeff Daniels as General George Washington . Jeff Daniels has played Joshua Chamberlain , George Washington , was in Pleasantville and Terms of Endearment , and yes Dumb and Dumber . The History Channel also did a series "The American Revolution" . It was a week long series . Tony
I liked Jeff Daniels as Washington in that production. The interaction between him and the guy who played Glover was priceless. ;D One thing that irked me about the production, though, was them writing Alexander Hamilton into the script as a staff officer for Washington during the Crossing. Hamilton didn't come into the picture until 1777. I believe he was at the Crossing but he would have been manning a cannon and not putting Hessians to the sword as shown in the production. Why do people rewrite history like that? Tilghman was a major player and they left him out completely. Linda
Linda , What can you say about Hollywood other than they pick characters to promote and not let the facts get in the way . I'm surprised it wasn't Grant vs. Lee in the movie Gettysburg instead of Hancock vs. Lee . Who was the fellow Meade who made a cameo appearance "It's so damn dark out there I couldn't see a thing . I hope to God this is good ground is this good ground General ." Tony
I think that other good period movies would include: George Washington: a TV mini-series starring Barry Bostwick as George Washington; based on Thomas Flexner's book April Morning: starring Tommy Lee Jones; about Lexington and Concord Michael
Linda, I did a check on Amazon.com, and unfortunately neither the original miniseries or Part 2 are on DVD. Both were released on VHS, but can be pricey to obtain. Regards from the Garden State, Steve Basic
Well that sucks. :'( I'm curious to see that one because somewhere in the back of my mind I remember reading that parts of it were filmed on location here in Bucks County. Maybe some day they'll get it out on DVD. <sigh> Linda
I'm enjoying reading the Boston 1775 blog reports on the John Adams mini-series as it's now airing. Since I don't have HBO does anyone else have a perspective on the show, good, bad or indifferent? Regards, Keith
Keith, Two hours have aired so far. The first hour, which dealt with Adams' defense of the British soldiers from the Boston Massacre was kind of slow. The second hour, which ends with the reading of the Declaration of Independence, was terrific. It seems like that's how it's going to go. Giammatti is a terrific actor, and so is Laura Linney, but you are only as good as your script. It's nice to see John Dickinson portrayed accurately. Having graduated from the college named for him, I have a soft spot for the old boy, even if he did refuse to sign the Declaration of Independence. Eric
