February 16, 2006
Bully, Not
Yips! to GroovyVic for this one. Now comes the rather alarming news that Martin Scorsese is directing a movie called The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, with the lead going to none other than this pretty-boy bozo:
I wish I had a way-back machine just so I could bring Teddy forward in time and let him personally beat the crap out of Leo. That I would pay ten bucks to see.
Incidentally, here's a piece of interesting trivia picked up from my recent reading of Edmund Morris' Theodore Rex. Did you know that the Roosevelt Administration became tangled up in the jostling between Britain and Germany over German expansionist efforts in South America and that the Kaiser actually had contingency plans to invade Long Island if things came to a crisis?
UPDATE: Here is some information on Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, his policy that the United States had sole responsibility for maintaining order and freedom in the Western Hemisphere and the European Powers could get lost. It contains a brief overview of the South American conflicts which nearly became a flashpoint between the United States and Germany.
And here is what Edmund Morris himself says about the Venezuelan Crisis of 1902 and its possible escalation:
Baron Speck von Sternburg, a German diplomat and a longtime friend of the president’s, had given TR over the years a shrewd idea of the worldview of Germany’s militaristic ruling class. Expansionists like Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow regarded the Monroe Doctrine as an insult, at most a hollow threat. Naval secretary Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz made no secret of his desire to establish naval bases in Brazil, where three hundred thousand Germans lived already, and in the Caribbean. Germany, therefore, had TR’s particular attention as he braced himself for foreign intervention in South America.Posted by Robert at February 16, 2006 09:54 AM | TrackBackHe could not have known that even then, strategists on the Wilhelmstrasse—which is to say, in Germany’s foreign ministry—were working in the deepest secrecy on a plan for the possible invasion of the United States. This plan called for Tirpitz to dispatch his fleet to the Azores at the first signal of transatlantic hostilities. From there, the fleet would steam south, take Puerto Rico, and then launch surprise attacks along the American seaboard. German troops advancing on New York City would march within a few miles of the Roosevelt house in Oyster Bay, Long Island.
Lord, no. A rallying cry against this abomination is needed, along the lines of Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead. Suggestions?
Posted by: MCNS at February 16, 2006 10:44 AMLeo as TR? Come on. Not even remotely possible.
On your last point, after reading Edmund Morris's abomination, "Dutch", I can't trust a word he says about anything. He is clearly insane.
I know the TR book won all kinds of awards and is regarded as a solid work of history, but I'll be damned if I'll pick up anything of his after his "Zelig-Meets-Reagan" performance. It was truly unf orgivable. Yes, I know it was written before the creature laid ten million eggs in his brain, but still. I don't trust him.
Posted by: The Colossus at February 16, 2006 11:06 AMI'm not a Leo fan, but don't sell him short on the assumption that he's just a "pretty boy" (your words). I was shocked at the heft he brought to the role of Howard Hughes in The Aviator. He could pull this off, I think.
One can be a good actor but still seriously miscast. (The point of the linked article was that Scorsese seems to believe DiCaprio can play anybody.) I just cannot envision this guy nailing the Roosevelt character.
Coloss - Heh. I'm reasonably sure that Morris footnoted that bit from German Imperial Archives sources. I happened to remember it because the landing supposedly would take place not far from Roosevelt's own house.
Posted by: Robbo the LB at February 16, 2006 11:24 AMInvade Long Island? Back Then?
The 122nd Potato Cannoneers would have blown them out of the Sound.
Posted by: TC@LeatherPenguin at February 16, 2006 11:47 AMSo, Theodore Rex is a recommendable bio on Mr. Roosevelt? I recently listened to an interesting spot on NPR about Roosevelt and his affinity for South America and the Amazon. It included a near-death experience on one of his trips with his son.
He intrigues me greatly. I think it began when I heard that if he had set aside time to spend with his son, it mattered not what famous dignitary was in appointment with him, Mr. Roosevelt would keep his appointment with his son, even if it meant cutting short the meeting with the Bigshot.
Posted by: Rae at February 16, 2006 12:02 PMA little perspective here, people. IWatchStuff's source for this rumor is "[a]n informant, whose mother works as a curator for the Theodore Roosevelt birthplace...." This person probably hasn't even slept with anyone in Hollywood, so how credible can he/she be?
If it happens, I'll give Scorsese and DiCaprio the benefit of the doubt. DiCaprio is a talented actor, and Scorsese's track record is a lot more impressive than, say, Steven Spielberg's.
As long as I'm on a hot streak of annoyance: yes, Theodore Rex is a terrific biography. I avoided Dutch because I admire Edmund Morris, and the book just sounded sad and embarrassing. It would have been like meeting Norman Mailer at a party where he was stumbling around drunk with his fly undone. Except that I don't admire Mailer, and that kind of behavior would be par for the course.
Posted by: utron at February 16, 2006 12:20 PMGuys, This film will NOT be based on
"Theodore Rex" but on "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" which only covers the youngers years of his life.They need at least three films
about his whole life. Seriousley, as long as
DiCaprio gain some weight everything will
be fine.
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