Lawrence of Adoria (film)

Lawrence of Adoria is a 2024 epic biographical adventure drama film parodying the film Lawrence of Arabia. It was directed by King Adoria and produced by King Adoria and distributed by Sábado Entertainment. The film stars Lawrence as Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence with Valeryon playing Sharif Valeryon. It is based on the events of Operation Albion from March 2020 with creative liberties taken.
== Plot ==
Lt. Colonel Lawrence is a shy monarchist recruit sent to Acridistan as a liaison officer in hopes that his extensive knowledge of the Acridistani people will help turn the tide of the war Operation Albion in favor of the Monarchist forces. Along the way he forms allies but soon discovers the life of sand has created different rules of life that will be challenged like never before.
== Cast ==
* Lawrence as Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence - an introverted shy army recruit with a peculiar interest in Acridistani culture and rocks. Lawrence was casted on the basis of his likewise asexuality, monarchist values, and namesake.
* Valeryon as Sharif Valeryon - an aggressive hotheaded de facto leader of the Harith Tribe. He serves as a foil to Lawrence's character often serving as the bad cop and willing to take the hard choices by instinct. Valeryon was casted on the basis of his Moroccan ancestry and aggressive temperament.
* Generic_CF10 pkae as Prince Generic - the leader of the Harith tribe. He has grown old in his later years and serves largely symbolically as his nephew Valeryon carries out his decisions for him. He resents the Second Republic of Adoria for its colonization of his homeland and wishes for Acridistan to rise to a higher standing overcoming its sand-based society. Generic was casted on the basis of his Pakistani ancestry and ancient OGness.
* Sinpar as Commander Sinpar Abu Tayi - a local unofficial leader of the Howeitat tribe his strong community connections and popular personality have accumulated him strong militia support as no proper defense or leadership for his tribe exists. His motivations are financial and pragmatic. He takes pride in being Acridistani and rejects Adorian influences on Acridistan and supports a fundamentalist society oriented solely around sand. He serves as a foil to Generic's character. Sinpar was casted on the basis of his Egyptian ancestry and anti-republican values. Gio was originally set to portray this role based on his Islamic faith but due to scheduling conflicts with Promised Land was unable to join the Lawrence of Adoria production. Rommel was also considered for his Turkish ancestry but did not have a picrew or memorable legacy in Adoria.
* Big Ben as General Big Ben - a monarchist General directing Adorian Monarchist forces stationed at Port Royale. His sole prerogative is winning the civil war to end the 2nd Republic and establish the Adorian Empire. Big Ben was casted on the basis of his Turkish ancestry and Monarchist values.
* Titanium as Titanium Tafas - a local guide drafted by the Adorian Monarchist networks to assist Lawrence in Acridistan. Titanium was casted on the basis of his Kosovar ancestry.
* Ali B as Ali B - a local poor Acridistani boy who willingly wants to be a servant for the stability it provides. Ali B was casted due to his leadership of the Salafi Shepherds in 2020.
* Sim V as Sim V - Ali B's best friend who is also a local poor Acridistani boy wishing to be a servant. Sim V was casted due to his deputy leadership of the 1st Islamic Democratic Movement.
Additionally Al-Far Desert is named after former IDMA Leader Andefar and Al-Seafoxi City is named after former IDMA member Seafox. Both have used these Arabizations as nicknames in the past.
== Historical accuracy ==
Lawrence of Adoria is based on Operation Albion but is largely fictionalized as Acridistan was no longer canonically recognized as existing by that time and so played no role during the civil war. Lawrence himself did not join Adoria until 2021, a year after the events of Operation Albion. Karl Schmidt is also depicted as being Emperor despite Dr. Kookoo leading the House of Kookoo at the time. This change was made to be compatible with Promised Land which originally took the creative decision. The first scene mentions ''Vástos'' and ''Adafaccio'' despite 2020 Adoria operating under Portuguese names and not Italian at the time; this is also in line with Promised Land continuity.
== Production ==
The idea for Lawrence of Adoria was originally conceived in mid-March 2024 as an inventive surprise for the upcoming April Fools' that year besides just making a wiki page like past years. The idea was inspired by Promised Land which officially began airing around the same time. Lawrence of Arabia being a famously good film and Adoria having its own Lawrence well known to both OGs and Non-OGs made it a golden opportunity. Filming would officially begin on March 24th 2024 and would last 8 days. Almost instantly production time would move at a much slower pace than expected with the Front page taking 2 whole days. A decision was quickly made to maintain the slow process in order to effectively capture the art and story of the film. Production would wrap on March 31st 2024 with 8 pages filmed instead of 13 pages, the original plan. The original release would be distributed by Sábado Entertainment serving as an unofficial prequel to Promised Land however such continuity is yet to be confirmed. The film would debut on April 1st 2024 seeing a limited release debuting only at an Adorian domestic film festival. The budget for the first cut of the film would be 22 hours across 8 days.
A 2nd release would be planned immediately to cover the remaining material. An April 15th theatrical release would be considered but would soon be scraped as unrealistic since filming in the desert for prolonged periods is cumbersome. The film would be postponed indefinitely due to production difficulties and budget shortfalls. In June 2024, a new filming window would open and production would resume on June 24th and last until July 1st, totaling 7 days since no filming occurred on June 26th. 5 new pages of footage would be captured which would be considered a splendid success especially as it resorted to less stick figures. The June plan originally envisioned capturing 7 new pages to end the story at a total of 15 pages but due to script rewrites this scheme would be abandoned to instead allow smoother transitions between scenes extending the page count due to this however the finished film would have to be delayed even further setting up a 3rd and final release for the future. The Theatrical release would debut on July 2nd 2024, the 5-year anniversary of Adoria. It would again be distributed by Sábado. The budget for the additional footage would be 32 hours across 7 days. Totaling the whole film up to that point at 54 hours across 15 days.
Production for the Director's Cut began on August 1st 2024 and was finished late on August 12th 2024 just as planned. Filming occurred on all 12 days with no break days. 7-9 new pages were expected to be filmed but this would be greatly surpassed with 12 new pages being filmed. The extended length of time allowed some pages to take 2 days to be finished allowing for higher detail. Budget projections were set between 40-60 hours but this would be massively surpassed with the 12 new pages taking a combined 70 hours. Ultimate Edition and Extended Edition were names considered for the final release but in the end Director's Cut was decided. Realizing how big the file had become a Pocket Edition would be developed compressing the file size by compiling screenshots of the real pages. This version of the film is 60% smaller than the definitive version and serves to provide an easier experience for mobile phone readers. A black and white version of the Pocket Edition named Minus Color was also developed as a novelty towards classical cinema. The Director's Cut would be the only version of the film to have its production details published ahead of time, all other 4 versions were filmed in secret. The Director's Cut would debut on August 13th 2024, the 5-year Bacon Nuke anniversary. It would again be distributed by Sábado. The budget for the additional footage would be 70 hours across 12 days. Totaling the whole film to a final count of 124 hours across 27 days.
== Release ==
* Original Release - original debut of the first 8 pages. Debuted April Fools' 2024.
* Theatrical Release - expanded debut featuring 5 new pages to a total of 13. Debuted 5th Adorian Anniversary
* Director's Cut - a definitive version of the film featuring 12 new pages to a total of 25. Debuted Bacon Nuke Anniversary.
* Pocket Edition - a reduced file size version of the Director's Cut for an easier smartphone experience.
* Minus Color - a version of the Pocket Edition in grayscale for cinephiles.
== Reception ==
Reception to the Original release would be widely positive but brief. Sábado would release a positive review applauding the film as the peak of classic Adorian humor. The Original Release had been filmed in secret and had no built up promotion with only Matthew V and Tomi learning of its existence before release. The Theatrical Release would mirror this also being filmed in secret with no public information given. Tomi and Zeppa would receive the first tapes of the theatrical release. The theatrical release would also be positively received as it now began to show the length and prose of a proper graphic novel making the original look like just a preview. Only the Director's Cut had its production details publicized. Tomi and Linus were the first to receive tapes of the Director's Cut. Reception would be well received but short lived for each release.
== Gallery ==
File:Lawrence of Adoria Movie Poster.png
File:Lawrence in Officer Uniform.png
File:General Big Ben.png
File:Lawrence Desert Uniform 1.png
File:Sharif Valeryon.png
File:Camel Rider.png
File:Compass in Hand.png
File:Prince Generic.png
File:Lawrence on Camel.png
File:Lawrence pointing.png
File:Rock.png
File:Lawrence Desert Uniform 2.png
File:Commander Sinpar.png
File:Lawrence on Camel again.png
File:Page 16.png
File:The Acridistan Trio.png
File:Lawrence with Gun.png
File:Lawrence with knife.png
File:Lawrence with Gun again.png
File:Camel Army.png
File:Sharif Valeryon ending.png
File:Lawrence ending.png
File:Backcover.png
== See Also ==
* Promised Land - another Sábado Entertainment production
* Battle of Ashenwood - the April Fools' 2022 surprise page
* Marcel's Syndrome - the April Fools' 2023 surprise page
* First Galactic Imperial Party - the other April Fools' 2023 surprise page