INTO BATTLE
JUST A FEW weeks before the cameras were set to roll on Gladiator, director Ridley Scott and his leading man Russell Crowe sat down for a pre-production meeting with high-powered Hollywood executives. The clock was ticking and there was trouble ahead.
Released in May 2000 to a fanfare of critical acclaim, the film would, later, dominate the Oscars: nominated for 12, it won five, including Best Picture and Best Actor. But before taking its place in cinematic history, there was a long, arduous road to navigate. It would involve changing up everything, from the lead character’s name (originally Narcissus) to major story beats. It would, tragically, include the demise of Oliver Reed (cast as grizzled gladiator trainer Proximo), who died from a heart attack in a pub on a day off from filming. It would see Crowe producing remarkable levels of snot while sobbing holding onto a rubber leg, grappling with an unruly barnet, and filming opposite real — and dangerously unpredictable — tigers.
The conceit is as striking now as it was then: a Roman general who becomes a slave, then becomes a gladiator, seeking vengeance for the murder of his wife and son. Starting off with an original screenplay by David Franzoni, and then input from heavyweights John Logan and William Nicholson, the rewriting process would continue throughout, and it was the director and actor who shaped, honed and rewrote many of the scenes they were about to film. This, then, is the, a movie still referred to by both Scott and Crowe as the greatest bullet-dodging in the history of cinema.
