The Conception of Braveheart

Michael Medved and long-time friend Randall Wallace discuss the fortunes of the once robust business of movie entertainment and the current exodus of writers and directors toward television. The ensuing conversation revisits the birth of the idea of Braveheart in Edinburgh Castle, the initial meeting with Mel Gibson, and the importance of having the conviction to be faithful to one’s own heart.

A Great Heart

Nothing is more timeless than the mysterious, magnetic attraction of storytelling. Human beings are born storytellers, but few are as gifted as this episode’s guest. The renowned director Randall Wallace — a screenwriter and producer too — is known for his credits including Braveheart, Pearl Harbor, Heaven Is for Real, We Were Soldiers, and most recently, Secretariat.

Show Notes

Timestamps are approximate.

• 02:10 | The ever living, ever dying movie business
• 03:30 | Is the movie business in some kind of special crisis right now?
• 04:30 | Major studio productions then and now
• 05:30 | The perennial need for transcendent films
• 07:00 | The “born fighting” Scotch-Irish and the idea for Braveheart
• 10:30 | “He was one of our greatest heroes”
• 13:05 | Meeting Mel Gibson, praying to be “honest and straight”
• 15:08 | Every movie has a message
• 17:07 | Accolades and grading one’s own paper
• 18:50 | “Mansions of the Lord”, a hymn for We Were Soldiers

Resources

• Born Fighting by Jim Webb
• “Scots Wha Hae” by Robert Burns from Poetry Foundation
• “Mansions of the Lord“, performed by the Cadet Glee Club of West Point
• Wallace Entertainment