> Now why does this make me think Jack Vance? Dying Earth > style gaming in Glorantha anyone?
NB: some aspects of the Carmanian Great Houses of Jhor (elite inbred aristo's preserving secret lore from bygone ages, following obscure heresies that are irrelevant to outsiders, and living up in the draughty castles on their inherited wealth while the cosmopolitan life of the Empire and the cities passes them by) were written with a Vancian twist. (By me). More evocative of Marune / The Last Castle / Lyonnesse's "Ska" than the Dying Earth, though, so you can keep the silly plumed hats in Rinliddi.
>> Gandhi. Gandhi becomes a martial artist to force the British
>> out of India. Famous for the Armistar miracle in which Gandhi
>> personally punches or kicks away every bullet from its target.
> I recall a made-for-tv movie with Danny Devito in which Devito's > character made a movie like this. Can't remembet the title.
Sounds great! Reminds me of the Comic Strip casting Al Pacino as Arthur Scargill in "The Strike". Here's a synopsis I found on the Intarweb thingie: "Alexei Sayle plays a Welsh miner who has just finished a screenplay about the 1984 miners strike, which is bought by an American producer. They of course ask, "for a few rewrites," then cast Al Pacino and Meryl Streep in the leads. Pacino likes the script but he feels that the character he plays (Arthur Scargill) "is a loser." Sayle tries to explain that's the whole point of the film, the strike failed, crushed by the Thatcher government. But Sayle gives in, slowly at first, and the finished product is a glorious example of the excesses of American "upbeat" filmmaking. Now the Pacino character rescues his daughter who is trapped in a mine cave-in, rides to Parliament on a motorcyle, and makes a heart-rendering speech which doesn't leave a dry eye in the house. It's so outrageously phony, yet we've all seen films like this: the little guy always winning in the end. Whether it's "Rocky", "The Karate Kid" or "Listen to Me," we know how artificial and manipulative these endings are, yet we support them. When's the last time you went to an American film that had a downbeat ending or was about a depressing subject? Strike was perfect satire, showing Hollywood runs roughshod over any historical accuracies in the name of "entertainment.""
(NB: "The Strike" was better than the follow-up, "G.L.C.", which cast Charles Bronson as Ken Livingstone and Lee Van Cleef as Tony Benn).
Cheers, Nick
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