As a young boy I discovered the book "Der Raxkönig" by Ottokar Janetschek in the library of my grandmother. The story still concerns me until this day. The pathetic tone and glorification of the nature boys in general and the lumberjacks in particular has the connotation of home and plaice and glorifies the natural as the only real thing. As a boy this didn't bother me, today I feel like the writing style is only understandable in context of the time of production. The preoccupation with the historical background of the figure of Georg Hubmer, stripped of all pathos, produces a figure that is still revered today.
Georg Hubmer was much more of an entrepreneur, in the modern sense of the word, than just a lumberjack. The memory of him lives on to this day, his achievements have set standards in the pre-industrial era. The tunnel in which he floated the wood through the Gscheid (from 1821) was an engineering achievement that was and still is unique then and now.
For the filming project we have done a lot of research, also with regard to the feasibility. The nature, the forest, old huts and houses, yes, even aristocratic chamber offices and law firms are not in short supply in the Vienna of today, the costumes for them hang in three floors distributed at Vienna's biggest costume rental company, there is no lack of it. Lumberjacks are simply dressed, this can also be done. The scenes of beating and flooding pose a challenge, but it can be solved as well, as there are still wood flooding plants in operation and the Höllental and the Rax area offers enough viewpoints for a filming.
Also the representation of the Wr. Neustädterkanal is technically solvable, parts of the canal exist, the surroundings will probably have to be represented with VFX, the wooden ships will be recreated. Only the big flood will be a big challenge and will probably only be possible with a mixture of VFX and real images, like the views of old Vienna.