Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

Film Making is a fascinating craft. And making a film about a subject like the Dark Ages must be quite an experience!

Have you ever wondered what it was like to make a movie? Have you ever thought about how great it would be to make a movie grounded in research and fact? I have.

And I have been given the opportunity to ask some questions of the Director of the upcoming History Channel film called The Dark Ages. His name is Chris Cassel and he lends us some interesting insights into the making of this film.

In particular I wanted to ask him questions that you might be interested in, and seeing as this blog is all about medieval times with a big focus on weapons and castles I thought it would be interesting to find out what happens to all the weapons, armor and other stuff that is used to make a film. So my interview in entitled :

“ The Making of a Medieval Film: The Dark Ages or “What do they do with all those swords?” 

Here is the beginning of the interview:

Will: Hi Mr. Cassel, You have just completed a project for The History Channel called: The Dark Ages. Could you tell us a little bit about this project?

Chris: It’s a two-hour special that delves into the chaos that reigned in Europe between the sacking of Rome in 410 AD and the First Crusade in 1095 AD. It’s a period that is usually glossed over in history books, if it’s addressed at all, yet it contains some of the most compelling characters and events in world history. And this period, perhaps more than any other, really shaped the course of modern Europe and through it, the world.

The film was shot in Lithuania for The History Channel, by Kralyevich Productions, Inc. (KPI) in association with Baltic Film Services. We had a total of about 850 actors and 70 horses that participated. Our locations were mainly medieval structures and sites in the area of the capital, Vilnius. We shot it over the course of five weeks.

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He gives us some interesting insights into where and how the film was shot (They did a lot of shooting in a very famous Medieval Castle), how they procured all the weapons, armor and other things and I ask him the big question of “What do they do with all those swords after the shooting is done!” Read the interview to find out his answer! 

Here is a link to the complete interview:

“ The Making of a Medieval Film: The Dark Ages or “What do they do with all those swords?” 

I also have lots of other interesting stuff about the Film and about the Dark ages including a look at the main characters of the period and you can play the official Dark Ages game right on my website. Learn more About the Dark Ages! 

I am a big advocate of self-published fantasy books. It is where you can find the freshest and newest works of fantasy. The nimbleness of self-publishing allows some great works to make it into print. The big publishing houses often overlook great works because of the risk involved. Here are two books to come out of the self-publishing realm that you may want to take a look at.

The Fate of Avárel: Book One: The Quest for Truth Mountain

In a bygone era of a forgotten land, the saga begins. A world in chaos. Twins warriors of destiny arise in this epic fantasy novel.

An ancient evil spawned beyond the known world emerges from the shadows, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. In the forgotten land of Avárel, the king is slain and his Palace of the Ancients is in ruins. Endowed with a mysterious magic, twin warriors Alric and Aidan Godfrey of Avárel are destined for greatness—if they can survive the deadly perils in their path. The brothers learn that a ruthless warrior has been unleashed from the shadows with the sole purpose of annihilating their family. With their trusted companions and Alric’s magical dog, Bane, they embark on a treacherous journey to the fabled city of Truth Mountain. But the quest takes an unforeseen turn as creatures of legend and emanations from the darkest recesses of the mind continuously assault them. Fate intervenes as the intrepid heroes uncover a mystical race of elves and a religious military force whose origins are shrouded in secrecy. Yet what awaits them at Truth Mountain is more terrifying than they can imagine. Will the young twins survive to see their destiny fulfilled? The fate of Avárel hangs in the balance.

Aubrey Gravier grew up in Pearl River, New York and graduated from SUNY at Buffalo with a degree in psychology. He lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife, Carolyn, and daughter, Grace. Visit him online at http://www.myspace.com/avarel

Curse of the Lyrestone: A Kingdom of Zhavahn Novel

The thirteen repulsive sculptures rose from floor to ceiling, part statue and part pillar. Twelve of them were identical, with their hideous depictions of ancient evil, in the form of a terrible mixture of wolf and elf.

The Ancients, Ainsley despaired.

Behind her was a half circle carved into the stone wall, a portal edged with silver and engraved with runes that glowed a sickly green. Directly opposite the portal, on the other side of the room, the thirteenth statue hulked, larger than the rest, and more horrific.

Ainsley gasped as she gazed upon the nightmarish face with its fang-filled maw. The haughty expression and the supercilious stance were familiar to her, dredging terror from the darkest recesses of her memory. The bat-like wings and the curling horns were new, but she remembered clearly the ugly creature from their battle at the palace of Oben-Odi. The thirteenth statue was a near likeness to the creature that Velinor had become, and the deep indentation that looked like a gaping wound in the approximate place where its heart should rest, was filled by the Lyrestone in the chest of the former Lord of Kopeth. The Books Official Website curseofthelyrestone.com

THe History Channel is premiering the film “The Dark Ages” on Sunday, March 4th 9PM/8C

They are also making available a lot of fun and interesting stuff for you to learn about the film and the Dark Ages. One of the things they have done is release a game to a limited audience and we are part of that limited release. The game is fun and informative and has a lot of different things you can do. See behind the scenes footage, Play the Puzzled by the Dark Ages Game, Make your own Medieval Character or enter the Contest. ( The Grand Prize is a Sony Playstation 3)

Here is a screen shot of the game. I have it on my website for you to play! The Dark Ages game

Today I received an email from a person who owns this gorgeous Medieval Chest. It belongs to his father and it is a 13th Century piece that was donated to a museum by William Randolph Hearst. The gentleman who sent me the email is hoping to recognize the castle on  the front and give this information as a gift to his father - which is quite a wonderful gift!

I have looked over several of the photos and the best I can come up with is that it looks a lot like Castle Coch which was built in the 13th or 14th century. But this chest may predate that castle!

Can you Recognize the castle? I could very well be wrong about the castle and maybe you can recognize it. If you think you know the castle carved on the front of this chest either post a comment or send me an email - Let’s make this birthday wish come true! More View more photos on my medieval castle website

 Look at more pictures of this beautiful 13th century medieval chest. Can you solve the mystery?

If you like Medieval things you probably read epic fantasy novels. And if you are like me you probably have a serious love/hate relationship with the epic fantasy genre as a whole. Mostly because the genre is loaded with enormous multi-tome doorstopper epics which are fun but can be a real labor to get through. Especially if you are waiting for the next book in a series and are not even sure if it will resolve anything.

Dungeons & Dorks is creating a series of comics for my websites that take a look at epic fantasy and medieval things. Their first comic pokes some good fun at the whole doorstopper syndrome in epic fantasy. Here it is.  

If you like gaming be sure to check out their website: dndorks.com