Dear Alumni Chapter Officers,
Gods and Generals, the major motion picture
from Warner Brothers,
opens this weekend. As many of you may
already know, our very own
James I. Robertson, Jr., served as the primary
historical consultant
for the film, and we are immensely proud of his
association with the
project.
Ron Maxwell, producer and director for Gods
and Generals, recently
came to Virginia Tech for a private reception,
followed by a public
viewing of a 30 minute montage of the upcoming film.
An estimated
1300 people attended the public event, and
nearly 200 more were
turned away because of potential capacity
violations. Mr. Maxwell
was greeted by a standing ovation before he even
spoke to introduce
the film.
Dr. Robertson and Mr. Maxwell have indicated
that Hollywood believes
this movie will fail. Needless to say, the
first week is crucial to
its success. It cost nearly 60 million to
produce, and if this film
is successful the third part of the trilogy, The
Last Full Measure,
will be produced.
The main character in Gods and Generals is
Stonewall Jackson, played
by the talented Stephen Lang. Lang also
portrayed George Pickett in
Gettysburg, the first film in the series
produced by Maxwell. When
asked how he prepared for the role of Jackson,
Lang replied that he
"had the Bible in one hand, and Robertson's
book in the other."
We encourage you to see this movie over the
weekend, and we urge you
to pull everyone in your Hokie Community
together to show our support
for Alumni Distinguished Professor James I.
"Bud" Robertson.
For more information, check out http://www.ronmaxwell.com/ggenerals.html.
Sincerely,
The Virginia Tech Alumni Association
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Barry Doyle
Publications Manager
Virginia Tech Alumni Association