Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Over the last 50 years, Hollywood has produced precisely ONE big budget war epic about the American War of Independence--The Patriot. Today on Little Wars TV we ask...why? Why does Hollywood seem so averse to colonial America and the revolution? Is the lack of big budget epics in this period a coincidence or can we unearth other explanations? Today, on America's 249th birthday, join Greg for his latest Hollywood production breakdown.
Starring Mel Gibson and a young Heath Ledger, The Patriot was an extremely expensive gamble for Sony and Columbia Pictures when it went it filmed on location in South Carolina in 1999. How did the studio select a German science fiction director to helm the movie? Why did an Oscar-winning screenwriter seem to struggle with the burdens of historical accuracy? In this video you'll hear directly from Mel Gibson, Jason Issacs, and a legendary Hollywood producer.
This summer is the 25th anniversary of The Patriot's premiere and in those 25 years Hollywood has never returned to the revolution again. Let's see if we can figure out why!
To watch the full FilmSpeak interview with Jason Issacs for the 20th anniversary of the movie, check that out here:
youtube.com/watch?v=oy9rxMMnncs
Over the last 50 years, Hollywood has produced precisely ONE big budget war epic about the American War of Independence--The Patriot. Today on Little Wars TV we ask...why? Why does Hollywood seem so averse to colonial America and the revolution? Is the lack of big budget epics in this period a coincidence or can we unearth other explanations? Today, on America's 249th birthday, join Greg for his latest Hollywood production breakdown.
Starring Mel Gibson and a young Heath Ledger, The Patriot was an extremely expensive gamble for Sony and Columbia Pictures when it went it filmed on location in South Carolina in 1999. How did the studio select a German science fiction director to helm the movie? Why did an Oscar-winning screenwriter seem to struggle with the burdens of historical accuracy? In this video you'll hear directly from Mel Gibson, Jason Issacs, and a legendary Hollywood producer.
This summer is the 25th anniversary of The Patriot's premiere and in those 25 years Hollywood has never returned to the revolution again. Let's see if we can figure out why!
To watch the full FilmSpeak interview with Jason Issacs for the 20th anniversary of the movie, check that out here:
youtube.com/watch?v=oy9rxMMnncs
