Game of Liberty

I'm a huge fan of HBO's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's "Game Of Thrones". Woven throughout all the epic, fantastical, bare, and bloody feats are various sorts of normal human beings, and its success makes me want to believe something:

People care about history. It's not about battles or boats or who's-who in powdered wigs - it's about people, and the same things that drive us also inspired humans tens of thousands of years ago. I'm also willing to bet the same holds true 10,000 years from now. Love, honor, lust, power, loss, greed, sacrifice; the cave becomes a house becomes a starship, and human nature persists.

Of course Westeros isn't real. But if millions could unknowingly care so much about the Knights Templar and the War Of The Roses, then why not something else overtly? Something equally epic, a tale with so many unlikely free-falls and crescendos that it pushes the limits of plausibility. Our very own legend replete with love, gallantry, perfidy and lust right out of central casting:

The American Revolution.

This is where eyes may begin to roll, but bear with me. Remember, this isn't high school history class with the clock that seemingly never moved. This is flesh and bone. It's never been more relevant, and compared to the lengthy histories of other nations, this happened at, like, 2:30.

Rather, than re-re-expounding on the tales of Washington, Jefferson, et al, I thought it would be intriguing to view things through the eyes of some lesser-explored figures, particularly in the South. Here's a first pass at casting:

Angus Macfadyen as Patrick Ferguson: The best shot in the entire British army, this chivalrous Scottish major had George Washington's back dead in his sights at Brandywine and refused to fire.

His propriety was such that he even arrested some of Banastre Tarleton's own dragoons for rape and ordered them to be hanged. Tarleton intervened, however, and the perpetrators were freed. The yin-yang between these two is like Pacino/DeNiro from the movie "Heat". Two halves of the same whole, dual aspects of the same nature.

Tom Hardy as Banastre Tarleton: A strong, rakish presence with just the right amount of smug prickishness. Tarleton was a snide, haughty, impetuous butcher of men. He and his raiders carried out a massacre of 400 Continentals at the Battle of Waxhaws, and this set the tone for the remainder of the war: Surrendering loyalists could often expect "Tarleton's Quarter" reciprocated.

There's no better candidate for this story's villain than "Bloody Ban".

Gabriel Casseus as Asher Crockett: I think it's important to stress the service and courage of African-Americans who fought in the Revolution. Crockett escaped his master, joined the Continental Army under an alias, fought at Cowpens and saved the life of Brig. Gen. William Washington.

This was George's cousin, by the way. In the heat of battle, he finally confronted Tarleton, only to have the prick shoot his horse out from under him and flee.


Mark Strong as Benedict Arnold: Conflicted, proud, petty, brilliant. He's quietly expressive and can go from vulnerable to volcanic in a blink. His actions won the Battle of Saratoga, where his leg was wounded, and his being overlooked again led to his fall. There's an unnamed statue of a boot at the battlefield, as that was the only part of his body deemed worthy of rememberance. 

James Corden as Henry Knox: A Boston bookeeper by trade, he pored over volumes of military works in his spare time. In true American fashion, he then snuck out of Boston during the siege, returned to direct the cannon fire from Bunker Hill, left again to haul 60 tons of captured Fort Ticonderoga artillery -- over the Berkshires, in the ice, for 300 miles -- back to Boston and finally end the British occupation.

I can already see the opening scene...