<p>300 is a great action movie and deserves all its success, but in lieu of some of the minor (or major) controversies it has created, I'm going to pitch two movies, in the vein of 300's historical fantasy, ideas to Hollywood execs. I want you guys to tell me what you think.</p>
<p>KHAN</p>
<p>Pitch: See Mongolian keshiks kick the **** out of knights!</p>
<p>The Mongol Horde was perhaps the greatest fighting force ever in the history of mankind, bred and trained for one purpose only: to conquer and destroy. They were like the horsemen of the apocalypse, and they amassed the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world, fighting foes from all corners of the world. "Khan" is a fantastical re-telling of how frightening and thrilling it must have been to see two fundamentally different soldiers like the lightning-quick horse archers from Asia fight the armoured knights of Eastern and Central Europe. The movie will romanticize Genghis Khan as handsome and charismatic, while simplifying his European foes as hairy brutes. And an actual Asian person will portray Genghis Khan.</p>
<p>Potential cast:</p>
<p>Genghis Khan - Chow Yun Fat
Subotai - Takeshi Kaneshiro
Borte - Ziyi Zhang
Batu Khan - Jang Dong Gun
King Bela - Ian McKellen
Prince Henry II - Tyler Mane (Sabretooth, from X-Men)
Grand Prince Yuri II - Brendan Gleeson (Menelaus, from Troy)</p>
<p>1453</p>
<p>Pitch: Revel in the greatest victory the Muslims achieved against Christianity!</p>
<p>At the height of the Ottoman Empire, the great Sultan Mehmet II ordered a siege against Constantinople, the capital of the great Byzantine Empire and Christian Europe's bulwark against the powerful Muslim empires. With the most advanced gunpowder technology in the world, the Ottomans rained hell on Constantinople until it was beaten into submission. "1453" is a fantastical re-telling of a curious and fascinating age of warfare when the advent of gunpowder was not yet fully realized, and the remnants of the old way of fighting were still around. Swords and sandals clash against mammoth cannons, and everything in between. </p>
<p>Potential cast:</p>
<p>No immediate names come to mind, but I suppose a bunch of Bollywood stars and Kal Penn could pass for Turks. The Byzantine rabble could be played by, I don't know, a bunch of C-listers? </p>
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<p>Anyway, even in a time of contention with China and Middle Eastern violence, I hope nobody feels too uncomfortable. They're only movies after all.</p>