New BBC Biopic about Hannibal coming January 2006

Alexander Siddig (Kingdom of Heaven) will play the legendary Carthaginian in a 90 minute BBC 'Docu-Drama' (if you saw Genghis Khan you'll have some idea) that will also air in Germany and the US at some point. This is a translated article I found (I didn't translate it BTW):

Quote:

Hannibal crossed the alps together with 37 elephants to catch the Romans off-guard. Then there was Cato whose memorable saying "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" became true some time. We don't know anything else. That is where the BBC benefits from: not in the alps, a suburb of Tunis or Rome but in a quarry near the Bulgarian capital Sofia. There they are filming "Hannibal", together with "Prosieben" as a co-producer. The elephants come from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the snow from a canon and the leading actor originally from Sudan. Alexander Siddig plays Hannibal in that - what actually is it?

"It's a Bio-Pic", says the actor who endures the burning sun dressed in his leather-tanned and fur-trimmed armour. The genetically enhanced doctor Dr. Julian Bashir from "Deep Space Nine" looks wild wearing the costume of the [Karthager ], his amber eyes gleaming. "When I wear my costume the women react totally different", he laughs. But there is only one woman in the film, Hannibals wife Himilce. The story is based on facts only, nothing is added or exaggerated. Two researchers and an expert team of university professors were consulted to reconstruct Hannibal's life.

"There are only two sources, Polybius and Livius. The history of Hannibal was only retold by his enemies, the Romans", says Serena Davis the BBC-Researcher. "We'd liked to write some more women into the story. But history is setting us some limits", describes Thomas von Hennet ("prosieben"). That means the film has to do without sex and certain dramatic elements like treachery of his own people because the official sources don't tell anything about it.

The facts are included in dialogues. Hannibal explains his strategies also in retrospect from his exile in Bithynien. That means the viewers won't notice that they are "fed with information", like producer Ailsa Orr says. The ancient Romans also don't told anything about any descendants of Hannibal. "I don't think he didn't have children. I in his place I would have had a lot.", says Siddig, grinning in the Bulgarian quarry.

"It is a factual drama - a film which shows a scientific area to the viewers." That's how Ailsa Orr sees her project. She is at home in the area of facts and also made the BBC-productions "Pompeii" and "Supervolcano". Now it's Hannibal who crossed the alps 218 before Christ with 37 elephants and 55000 soldiers. "I'm in love with this guy since I was six years old", says the serious, beautiful young woman who seems relaxed despite of the stressful filming. "He was so passionate in everything he did." In 28 days 90 minutes of film material are produced and everything with an unusual low budget between three and four million Euro.

Bulgaria is cheaper than the alps but money has to be saved everywhere. There are a lot of Bulgarians working on the set and there are often communication problems. They pave the way to the set in wild costumes with artificial snow in their beards and bristly hair. The "snow" is coming from a shabby fire engine, the costumes are made at the location. "I have only 40000 pound for making the costumes of 400 people including stuntmen and weapons. But I'm a flexible person.", says Isolde Sommerfeldt the costume designer with an optimistic smile. The three elephants were equipped with impressive leather and iron head-pieces.

"I hate to work with animals when you have to use a whip. But here it works the other way around: If the elephants doing something right they get a reward", explains Phil Dolling, the Science Executive Producer of BBC. It was important to Ailsa Orr while searching some elephants that "the animals are being loved", and she didn't spare no expense.

To spent a moment with Sonni Frankello from Platschow in Vorpommern is enough to understand why those three huge animals cope so well with the situation. When Mala, Timba and Kenia get impatient he talk with calm voice and gives them a piece of sugar. It took three days to get the elephants in a truck to Bulgaria. As for Hannibals plan to cross the alps with African elephants he says: "He was crazy. The animals must have suffered a lot." Actually only one elephant survived the torture. They probably froze to death. But Frankellos elephants like it in Bulgaria. "Elephants love changes. Yesterday we visited a source and a mountain. They like that. If something repeats to often they get bored." But with the speed the BBC production is progressing that shouldn't happen.

"Why don't we call it "One of the biggest stories in history?", says director Ed Bazalgette. He already made "Ghenghis Khan" for the BBC a 60 minutes film. Siddig says that Miramax want to have the guy for a Hollywood Blockbuster because he is able to make very authentic films with a very low budget. "I looked closer at "Troy" and "Alexander" to understand how they could spend 80 million dollar on it", explains Bazalgette. And he is proud on his "Hannibal": "We can make big, epic stories with little money". If he is right? We won't have proof until next year when the "Factual-Bio-Pic-Drama" will air on TV.

And here's some pics from the set:

http://www.sidcity.net/gallery/album...hannibal-1.jpg

http://www.sidcity.net/gallery/album...hannibal-2.jpg

http://www.sidcity.net/gallery/album...hannibal-3.jpg

http://www.sidcity.net/gallery/album...hannibal-5.jpg

Sounds good - should be better than Vin Diesel's effort anyway!