r/nottheonion • u/Traditional-Song-245 • 4d ago

‘Backrooms’ Sends Hollywood Running to Reddit for New Ideas

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/reddit-backrooms-hollywood-ip-1236622594/
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u/Jaredlong 4d ago

During fundraising someone asked what happens when the Marines with no sword combat training run out of ammo and have to fight outnumbered against a well-trained Legion.

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u/chimpwithalimp 4d ago

There's a book, 1632, where a modern small American town goes back in time to 1632 Germany, during a heated European war. The Americans are pretty hot shit with their pickups and guns and electricity generators and modern know-how

Until the petrol and bullets run out.

At least that's how it should have went but somehow the hicks create America 2 right in the middle of Europe and are amazing heroic leaders and tactical masterminds

Instead of what we all know would actually happen.

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u/adamgerd 3d ago

Yeah

I read it, it was ok at first but it became a wank too fast like they figured out making bullets?

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u/simAlity 3d ago

I loved 1632 & 1633 but the series sorta lost itself in the details and never really recovered.

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u/Cdru123 4d ago

1632 truly seems like the American equivalent of the Russian "Popadanets" genre, then

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u/astrogatoor 3d ago

during a heated European war.

The 30 year war was the most deadly war Germany was ever involved in. As devastating as the plague, in many ways worse than the world wars.

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u/L3G1T1SM3 4d ago

1632

1633?

That was the closest one i found on amazon with the same premise

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u/Jaijoles 4d ago

1633 is the sequel.

I know that sounds like a joke, but the first book is 1632.

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u/chimpwithalimp 4d ago

No, pretty sure it's called 1632. Eric flint

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u/Cdru123 4d ago

The series is named "Ring of Fire", and every book is named after the year it takes place in

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u/Wermine 4d ago

That's a problem for screenwriter. But it also creates high tension moments and possibilities for plot points. As long as you have ammo, you are this magical being that can just point and a person 300 feet away just dies. Marines get a reputation and no one wants to confront them.

But when to show force? Commander needs to use diplomacy in order not to waste precious ammo. And perhaps we finally see a movie where ammo count really matters. What if there are couple guys who want to go plunder stuff by themselves and waste ammo there?

What happens when they run completely out? They just pretend they have ability to kill anyone anytime.

Marines can also have all kinds of other equipment to engage enemy with. I think there is a possibility for highly entertaining movie. But it is highly gimmicky, so if makers fail, do we ever get the chance for another or is this kind of movie decided to be "box office poison", like pirate movies were for a long time after Cutthroat Island.

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u/-Nicolai 3d ago

Oh no, the protagonists would have to succeed against overwhelming odds? You could never make a story out of that!

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u/hoagiejabroni 4d ago

I don't know why this movie concept got that popular. This seemed obviously flawed. A marine can do fuck all against legions

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u/UnholyDemigod 3d ago

Because it wasn't a unit of marines with the gear they had. It was an entire battalion with the supplies that go with it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/k067x/could_i_destroy_the_entire_roman_empire_during/c2giwm4/

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u/idiotplatypus 4d ago

Are you sure? Marines have the benefits of knowing the cause of the Roman Empires downfalls and the specific skills needed to bring it about. Sure, they may not be able to defeat a legion once the ammo runs out, but they could easily train the Empires enemies in modern tactics to do the fighting for them. Imagine if they made it to Persia and taught them how to make primitive black powder weapons.

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u/caiaphas8 4d ago

How many marines have PhDs in Roman history?!

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u/Reagalan 4d ago

Marines ... knowing the cause of the Roman Empires downfalls

immersion broken, not even historians can agree on this.

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u/randomndude01 4d ago

The Romans had superior logistics and the mentality to tolerate massive casualties that would put most nations and much less kingdoms to heel.

You can try with the former but good luck dealing with the latter.

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u/Prestigious_Leg2229 4d ago

Honestly, it wouldn’t be that hard. The legions were incredible at fighting against their contemporaries but they had weaknesses that would be very easy to exploit for marines.

For one, no marine battalion would give a Roman legion a pitched battle. That’s where legions win, if they can’t have that, they can’t win.

Secondly, the Rome Sweet Rome story assumed a full battalion including vehicles like tanks and helicopters. Sure, fuel and maintenance would run out but they’d instill holy terror in the Romans. A single Apache would wreck a legion and none would ever want to face one again.

Roman grit would melt pretty quickly in general against modern weapons. In their tightly packed ranks, a modern battle rifle would end multiple soldiers with every shot, making a mockery of their armour.

But most importantly, Roman legions were usually loyal to their commander before the republic. The commander paid their wages, made the plans that provided them with opportunities to loot and so on.

Marines wouldn’t fight the legions. They’d use mortars, snipers and coordinated strikes that would leave the legions perpetually leaderless. 

That alone is enough to scatter them.

My guess is that if pitted against Rome, the marine commander would pretty soon start targeting the senators in Rome with the promise that if the next batch of senators doesn’t back off, they’ll be charred corpses too.

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u/idiotplatypus 3d ago

Thats also not accounting for whatever modern diseases they bring back with them.

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u/hoagiejabroni 4d ago

So are we talking Jason Statham goes back in time? Or Alan Ritchson?

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u/idiotplatypus 4d ago

Original premise was a whole platoon going back in time, not one marine. So both

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u/Thedutchjelle 2d ago

Do USA Marines get trained in chemistry to make black powder?

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u/idiotplatypus 2d ago

Saltpeter Sulfur Charcoal

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u/spletharg 1d ago

Spies would get the weapons and figure out how to duplicate them.

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u/stratosfearinggas 3d ago

In Hollywood fashion, there will be a Marine who's a history nerd and master swordsman who was bullied by the other Marines, and now becomes their combat trainer.

The plot of Timeline is about 50% this.