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Confidentialand penned a new genre-defying film he would also direct for the studios Columbia imprint.
Then he said, And I get to page 50 or whatever, and now Im dancing.
He goes, You had me at singing, but now Im dancing?
Plus, stadium sports like jousting required stadium music.
And whether set in the 1370s or the 1970s, he says, the 70s are always the 70s.
I wasnt throwing it in there for a gimmick, Helgeland adds.
Some people might think its a gimmick, but in my head, it was never a gimmick.
UnlikeMoulin Rouge!, which also premiered in May 2001,A Knights Taleisnt an all-out song-and-dance extravaganza.
William bumbles through a few opening steps before Jocelyn rescues him with her dancing prowess.
Soon, everyone is diligently copying a series of pretty but staid medieval steps.
And then David Bowies Golden Years kicks in and magic unfolds.
Sossamon waves her billowing bell sleeves and shimmies across the disco floor.
But Ledger had another idea.
During rehearsals, Ledger asked Helgeland if they could change the song to Golden Years.
And wouldnt choreographer Stuart Hopps have to create entirely new steps if they switched it up now?
Heath got this big grin on his face.
He goes, Its the same tempo.
Its going to work, Helgeland says.
He said, Dont come to rehearsal today.
Let us get it right and then come down.
Well do both of them and you decide.
He just laid it all out like a legal case.
For Sossamon, the dancing scene, like most of the film, is a blur.
I have not seen the movie since [it came out].
Before casting Ledger, Helgeland considered several other actors for the role of William, including Paul Walker.
But he wasnt convinced an American could pull off the requisite British accent.
They thought everything else I would be able to just figure out, Sossamon says amusedly.
I didnt know who Heath was.
I hadnt seen that movie [10 Things I Hate About You], and I wasnt following Hollywood.
I only knew who the really famous people were.
Nothing against Hugh Grant, the director says, but I dont see him fitting in with the boys.
Plus, theyd need access to the original 24-track tapes to separate the individual sounds and fulfill Burwells vision.
I guess Mr. Bowie was intrigued by the whole idea, Burwell says.
The process was like a walk down memory lane with Tony Visconti and David Bowie.
They just sat there shooting the breeze about how they recorded the song.
Theyre talking about, Do you remember when we recorded that?
And how we ran out of tracks to do this?
It was really a big highlight for me.
There was no one breathing down our necks, saying, Whats it going to look like?
costume designer Caroline Harris says.
All those crazy little nitpicking things that can really take the life out of something.
We kind of ran at this with pounding hearts and screaming enthusiasm, all of us, Harris says.
Everything was made from scratch.
There was so much beer-drinking, Sossamon says.
We were just trying to drink beer as fast as we could.
Everyone was just trying to get drunk, Helgeland says.
Echoes Sossamon, We were a funny team in that way.
We just all felt really comfortable going there.
Im a little bit embarrassed now.
WhenA Knights Talehit theaters on May 11, 2001, most critics didnt know what to make of it.
Was it a historical romance, a buddy comedy, a sports story, a musical?
Im not like an avant-garde filmmaker or something.
And as the years passed,A Knights Talemaintained its cherished place in the hearts of viewers.
Set in the 1380s, that film, naturally, would have had an 80s soundtrack.
Of course, she cant take her helmet off because shes a woman.
The music would be in the late 90s.
We can still do that.
Sossamon says she wouldnt need to be asked twice.
I would be so down, she says exuberantly.
For now,A Knights Taleremains cemented in nostalgia and a point of pride for those involved.
Its all fond memories, Sossamon concedes.
I met two of my dearest friends.
Brians a great friend to this day, and Heath obviously is in spirit.
Every scene, he could remember what funny stuff happened that day and whether we did this scene hung-over.
He said that he really wanted to play the older brother, who was 35.
He said, Well, then wait for me.
I said All right and then, obviously, he never got there.
I never saw someone like that.
Everyone just fell in love with him guys, girls, everybody, Helgeland says.
Just everyone loved him, and he loved you back.
