Cool News
Bigus Dickus reports from the set of GLADIATOR!!!
Oooooooooh Maaaaaaaaan.... when does this film come out... tell me it's this year... Wow... ya know, we might actually get both this and Besson's JOAN OF ARC out within months of each other. Can they both rock? Will they both suck? Sheeshus I hope these two are gold. I'm probably most jazzed by this GLADIATOR flick though because I'm a strong fan of that period in history, and can't wait to see the 'glory of Rome' as well as all of it's horrors. Now I turn you over to Bigus Dickus... (a warning, he details what sort of things have been shot thus far, and does have one spoilerish sort of thing... but it's soooooo cool)
I wrote to you during the christmas break telling you of my fortune of
being picked to be an extra in "Gladiator".
Well as you've posted some pics up I'll give you some quick news. My
full report will come very soon. But let me tell you from the start...
This movie is going to rock. The sequence being shot is the opening
battle. Romans vs Germans!!
First to comment on those pictures. The first one of the two german
guys!! I was lying down just ten feet away when that one was taken. The
photographer took one of me but I guess I didn't make the cut.
The second pic was obviously taken during a break. I know the romans
arent that bright but I didn't see any of them fighting each other
during a take.
The third is of the roman fort which faces the german camp shown in pic
four ( although I'm not sure what them darned romans are doing there).
The shoot has been running since last monday. So much has been shot.
Here are a few tiny bits to get you panting for more.
I have friends who are playing romans and one shot that they were
involved in had them marching over from the roman fort through thick
smoke towartds the german camp while hundreds of burning arrows were
being fired over head.
A major take I was in had our german archers firing at the romans while
stood only 30 feet away.
On saturday, close hand to hand combat was being shot. A horses leg was
cut clean off. So was a troops. Heads were exploded. More burning
arrows. Catapults!!! More smoke. Big flames!!! Trees on fire ( yes they
are real trees!!)Lots of screamimg and shouting:)
Last thursday Ridley shot this scene: the romans send a messenger over
to the germans to ask them to surrender. Us Germans don't take too
kindly and cut off the messengers head. Our leader holds the cut off
head into the air calling out to the Roman fort!!! I think he's trying
to pick a fight. Then the messenger is sent back on the horse he rode in
on sans head!! Cool stuff harry.
There is so much to tell you about this but I'll leave that for later!!
keep up the good work:) I'm going back to set right now.
Bigus Dikus
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I once had a gweat fwiend in Wome named Biggus Dickus...
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Dear Biggus Dickus:
(Pardon me for snickering like a Centurion when I say your name.)
You sound like you're having a blast. Good for you!
My only problem with the film (and I've not seen the script) is that someone thought it was a good idea to name a major character "Commodus." That's just begging for a catapult-load from the critics. -
I really love the subject matter of ancient Rome, so I've been following closely the information on the flick, 'Gladiator' at this web site. I wanted to comment on two or three things. One, isn't the subject matter similar to a movie made in 1964 called 'The Fall of the Roman Empire' with Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, James Mason and Alec Guinness? I hope this movie isn't simply a rehash although the gladiator aspect is novel. Wouldn't it be cool if Alec Guinness would reprise his role as Marcus Aurelius in 'Gladiator'?? Second, someone commented that the Romans had beards and that it was inaccurate. No, the time period of the movie, which is the late second century A.D. circa 170 to 180, Romans customarily had beards. Prior to the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, 117-138 A.D., Romans traditionally were clean shaven. It was only until Constantine the Great in the early fourth century that Roman men began shaving. Perhaps it was a way to differentiate themselves from the barbarians swarming across the frontiers. As you can tell, beards in the late second century posed no such ideological hazards. Romans were convinced, rightly, that they were superior to the barbarians. At that time, anyway. (I'm not going to get into the crisis of the 3d century, and the decline of the fourth.) Third, someone commented about the name, Commodus. It is a real name, the son of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Commodus was a dissipated SOB, up on the level of Tiberius, Nero and Domitian. One of the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was Marcus Aurelius' acceptance of his son, Commodus, as his successor. Prior to that, the emperors had adopted, and it provided a relatively stable regime. But after Commodus, the civil wars started, which could be why the Romans are swinging at each other in one of the pictures. Russell Crowe, as far as I can determine, plays a possible successor to Marcus Aurelius, but Commodus cheats him out of the throne. So, R.C. becomes a gladiator which, I don't think, is accurate unless R.C. went in disguise. I mean, a notable general and a potential successor to the imperial throne as a gladiator?? Not very historically realistic, but enjoyable. I'm looking forward to Ridley Scott's interpretation, Russell Crowe's acting (loved him in L.A. Confidential), and all the carnography, i.e. gladiatorial games. Morituri in te salutamus. (We who are about to die salute thee -- a traditional gladiator greeting.)
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Gordianus is right on most points, particularly the Romans facial hair issue. Looking at the picture posted by Harry yesterday, I would say that this period must be sometime after Gaius Marius (note the rectangular shields from the Marius reforms and the clean shaven legionaries) but prior to the reign of Marcus Aurelious (when beards were the fashion, check out M.A.'s column). Someone else noted yesterday that the Romans in the posted picture aren't using their pila correctly. I concur. The pila were a shock weapon, but not for hand-to-hand combat, rather to break up an enemy formation immediately prior to melee by throwing them like javelins at short range. Roman history is exciting enough already; I hate it when hollywood distorts it for no reason other than they are too lazy for proper fact-checking.
NO! I AM SPARTACUS! -
MAN am i jealous of biggus dickus...not becuase of the 9' part, but because he gets to be an extra in such a cool damn film...
MAN! i actually thing im looking forward to this movie more than i am for star wars...please, dont hurt me because of this. i dont like blood. unless its from a headless corpse riding a horse... mouahhaha!
gory epics are our friends. -
January 23, 2000
Dear Bigus Dikus,
My boyfriend was also an Extra on the film Gladiator, and I was wondering if you knew him.
Tragically my boyfriend died 2 months after returning home from filming, 4 weeks after our daughter was born.
His name is Ken Scotland, and he was quite good friends with Djimom Hounsou. He also made some really good friends with some of the other Extra's; Gordon and Ian were the main ones I think.
I would really appreciate some of your time if you do remember him and could possibly have some photos of him. When Ken returned home he had literally hundreds of photos from the film but his family have claimed them and I don't have any photos of him to show our Daughter. Chloe, our Daughter, is still only 6 months old so she doesn't understand yet but i'm sure it will help her when she is bigger to see some photos of her Daddy.
Thanks in advance
Katie Oliver-Taylor
koliver-taylor@handbag.com
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