Attention Professors Wyke, Solomon, etc.

[quislibet]

The sword-and-sandals revival continues.

This has me both interested and worried. I'd like to think the movie will be less problematic than the write-up on the PBS website, although they seem mostly to follow Tacitus with admittedly necessary embellishments.

(But "Murdered ... by the madman Nero" my ass!)

Also, a Trojan war movie is coming out next spring with Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, Sean Bean as Odysseus, and Orlando Bloom as that scamp, Paris. Oh, and Peter O'Toole as Priam! But one dares not hope that the cast will make it a good movie.

(After initial disdain, I've come to respect Mr. Pitt over the years. -- But, vaguely on this topic, I'm not ready to accept DiCaprio as Big Alex.)


In other news, it's time to face the fact that I probably can't credit myself for drinking half-caff. coffee if I make it double strength.

Comments

[alonewiththemoon]

I think Alex Kingston will rock as Boudiccea. Them Romans will never know what hit them.

Brad Pitt is one of those actors who, like Bruce Willis, will sign on to godawful tripe in order to make lots of money so that he can afford to do good movies that won't do well at the box office, in my opinion.

[quislibet.livejournal.com]

Your Pitt (and Willis) theory has much to commend it.

I am unfamiliar with Kingston's oeuvre, however, so I must reserve judgment there.

[alonewiththemoon]

Alex Kingston plays a feisty british doctor on ER, the sort of doctor who can be brusque and blunt but her heart is in the right place and she'll break the rules if it's the morally right thing to do. That sounds awful, but it works. Also she is very funny on talk shows.

[emperor-nero.livejournal.com]

(But "Murdered ... by the madman Nero" my ass!)

Base calumnies! My first family murder was months away!

[canonfire.livejournal.com]

i'm hoping that that movie goes well. but that's HOPIN'.

i'm very curious about this Luhrmann vs. Stone battle for Alexander.

[quislibet.livejournal.com]

I have more hope for Luhrmann's; it should at least be entertaining. Too bad he probably won't be able to work in the neon "l'amour" sign.

[rojagato.livejournal.com]

And Gladiator II will apparently have no gladiators. Says director Ridley Scott: "Roman history is so exotic that any part of it is really fascinating. History is far more exotic than anything you can dream up. The film will take the next step, which is the son. Lucilla's son, Lucius."

[quislibet.livejournal.com]

Woah! That's even fresh news (http://www.imdb.com/WN?20030912#7), it seems!

You heard it here second or third or something, folks.

There are other fascinating snippets of information on that imdb.com page, like the one about Britney just below. And I'd missed somehow that Ethan Hawke split with Uma, much less that the Thurman family wants to kill him! Zounds!

Seems odd, though, not to have any gladiators in the movie, what with the name and all.