"Aaron Stockard Set to Write Ben Affleck’s ‘Bunker Hill’..." Topic

…Movie.

"Warner Bros. has signed Aaron Stockard to adapt "Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution," set up three years ago as a possible directing vehicle for Ben Affleck.
Producers are Affleck and Matt Damon through their Pearl Street company along with Jennifer Todd.

"Bunker Hill," written by Nathaniel Philbrick, details the events leading up to 1775's bloody Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston. More than 200 British soldiers were killed and the battle was a turning point in the Revolutionary War as it gave encouragement to colonists by demonstrating that the local militias could stand up to British troops.

Philbrick's book focused on 33-year-old physician Joseph Warren, a leader of the Patriot cause (who died at Bunker Hill), along with Paul Revere, Warren's fiancée Mercy Scollay, George Washington, British General Thomas Gage and his successor William Howe…"
See here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Should be Breed's Hill

Tell it to history. :)

While it's likely to have Affleck rolling barrels of gunpowder down the steep slopes into the waves of thousands of Redcoats, it might not be bad. "Argo" was an excellent movie, even if they dramatized some of the last moments of the escape.

You nailed it darth, and all of the rebels will have on the blue coat.

I will say that I am not as historically knowledgeable as many that post here but wasn't Bunker (Breed's) Hill more of the start of the Revolutionary War and less of the turning point? I guess the shot heard round the world was apparently not the first shot. Hmmm this could be a wait and see movie for me.

It does say "a" turning point.

"The" turning point: Saratoga.

Discuss.

I will watch it before I decide to bash it or not. lol

Yes, but a few of the British leaders present at the battle always would remember what happened here. Militia behind earthworks gave as good as they got, and those militia could dig like gophers. So anytime the British came up against earthworks they got real cautious and started to look for another way to solve the problem.

"A" Turning Point, as in the context of what the article explained it being as.

"gave encouragement to colonists by demonstrating that the local militias could stand up to British troops."

But it should have added, militia could stand up to British troops, as long as the militia were behind defensive positions. lol Out in the open…. not so much.

'iconic', surely?

It might be good, I think that the team of Damon/Affleck is probably more reliable historically than Mel Gibson would be. Also they are working from a good book.

If two guys had a fist-fight on the corner, the local plaque will say it was decisive or a turning point. Or else it was one of the bloodiest, etc.

That said, Howe was impressed thereafter with entrenched rebels. It may even have been PTSD, since his uniform was splattered with someone else's blood during the battle. I thinl it was the highest count of dead and wounded British at a single battle, including battles that had far more crown troops.

I am willing to give it a try. Damon can be a bit hammy with his politics in flims(Even if I agree with some of his positions) but Argo was a really nice film, and Affleck has shown some good thespian spirit.

… likely to have Affleck rolling barrels of gunpowder down the steep slopes into the waves of thousands of Redcoats…

That could explain why the rebels ran out of gunpowder.

Affleck is a good director. I have much more respect for him after several of his directing efforts.

Given that George Washington is in the book how much does anyone want to bet that in the movies he will be at Bunker Hill?

That said, Howe was impressed thereafter with entrenched rebels.

To the extent that he mainly left the Germans to deal with them thereafter (Fort Washington, Chadd's Ford (Brandywine), Red Bank, etc).

"Chadd's Ford", shome mishtake, surely?

Out of interest, in so far as it was the case, why do you think Howe would have favoured the Germans for such service; stolid effectiveness or expendability?

Considering the "death bonus" in their contract, they weren't all that expendable.

The Rebels put up some earthworks at the ford, didn't they? That said, I think some British regiments tried to cross first, and were fought off.

Possibly because no matter how slowly they marched, fixed defences could never get away from them?

It was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek remark primarily, but it is interesting that British troops didn't attempt to force a major position again during Howe's command. Or Clinton's, come to that; although Arnold did it at Fort Griswold – but that was Arnold for you.

Ah, I thought it was the 4th King's Own and 5th Regiments carried the positions at Chadd's Ford, albeit in brigades under the German general Knyphausen, who commanded the Left Wing of Howe's army.

The Germans reported very light casualties after Brandywine.

I was trying to think of other opportunities to assault prepared defences after Brandywine and could only come up with Clinton's operations against Fort Montgomery & Fort Clinton in Oct 1777 (an all British?Loyalist affair apart from a detachment of Emmerich's 'chasseurs') and of course Charleston, which was not carried by an assault as such.

Does the capture of Stony Point in 1779 count, given that it was held by a token force?

Back to "Bunker Hill", I loved the book and am glad it is being made into a movie. Who is making it a movie is a cause for concern with me. I can only hope that Ben will be more true to Philbrick's book than he is to himself. He recently had some genealogy accomplished for him via Louis "Skip" Gates, as part of Gates' show on PBS titled "Finding Your Roots", where Gates researches the background of celebrities. It turns out the Gates uncovered a long lost ancestor of Ben Affleck who was a slave owner. Ben apparently talked the producers of the show to omit that fact from Ben's past highlighting and polishing his SJW pedigree, when it was discovered that the show complied, PBS suspended the show. I thoroughly enjoyed the book ( as I do much of Philbrick's library), but I hope Ben and fellow SJW Matt Damon ( also affiliated with Ben's production Co) don't try to unring the bell on the past. <sigh>

Wouldn't it be more accurate to say the Battle of Bunker Hill took place on Breed's Hill? After all quite of few battles did not take place exact location it is named after. If that was the case we would have the Battle of Mont-Saint-Jean instead of the Battle of Waterloo.

Fair point. Bunker Hill was a geographical feature that dominated Boston and its harbour. Breed's Hill was a subsidiary 'top' where the Americans dug their field defences to resist the anticipated British attack to dislodge them.

For those of you who didn't already know.

American Revolution, a war of independence waged to overthrow the authority of Great Britain.

Well, if you have to explain it…

"While it's likely to have Affleck rolling barrels of gunpowder down the steep slopes into the waves of thousands of Redcoats, it might not be bad. "Argo" was an excellent movie, even if they dramatized some of the last moments of the escape."

I'll only watch it if the British wear bandannas over their faces…

Kenneth Robert's _Oliver Wiswell_ would make an awesome miniseries. Or even _Arundel_. Unlikely to happen, though.