Director Ridley Scott talks behind the scenes of the movie “Gladiator.''
Scott said Joaquin Phoenix almost refused to play the villain Commodus in the 2000 action film.
“He put on a prince costume and said, 'I can't do this.' I said, 'What?' “Gladiator” director told The New York Times.
Russell Crowe almost quit 'Gladiator' because the script was 'completely crap'
Joaquin Phoenix played Commodus in Gladiator. He was in his mid-20s at the time of filming. (Universal)
Scott added that Russell Crowe said, “This is horribly unprofessional.”
When asked by the director on the set of the movie, “How do you convince someone to stay?'', Scott replied, “I can play the role of an older brother or father, but I'm quite a friend of Joaquin's.'' “Gladiator'' was Joaquin's baptism.'' Light the fire for both of us first. ”
His comments come in the wake of Phoenix's recent exit from director Todd Haynes as production was about to begin.
Barry Keoghan was cast as the villain in the upcoming film Gladiator II, but dropped out at the last minute. Scott compared Corgan to Phoenix.
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Russell Crowe played Maximus in the original film Gladiator. (Universal)
Director Scott said, “Barry fell in love with “Saltburn.'' I think it's probably the best movie I've seen this year.'' Anyway, Barry is one of the best people on the same level as Joaquin Phoenix. …Barry is so complex that he actually controls it. I know he's a little difficult, but it's worth it. Just like deciding on Joaquin, it’s worth it.”
Representatives for Scott, Phoenix and Crowe did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
'Gladiator' Russell Crowe reveals he's 'jealous' of sequel
The sequel stars Paul Mescal as Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who witnessed Crowe's Maximus die in the gladiatorial ring in the first film, and then seeks revenge for his family and the cruel Emperor Commodus (Phoenix). ) (also Lucius's uncle).
Last year, Crowe admitted that he almost quit Gladiator because he thought the script was “completely crappy.”
Russell Crowe believed the original script for Gladiator was “complete crap”. (Universal)
“'Gladiator' was a movie for me when I was in my 20s. I was confident in my abilities as a leading man. What I wasn't confident in in 'Gladiator' was the world around me.” he told Vanity Fair at the time.
“There was a great concept at the heart of what we were doing, but the script was crap. It was total crap. And there were all these weird sequences…one of them… One was about tanks,” he shared.
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Director Ridley Scott won the Best Motion Picture/Drama Award for “Gladiator'' at the 58th Golden Globe Awards. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Although all of the storylines were based on fact, Crowe worried that nothing would resonate with viewers.
“It wouldn't resonate with a modern audience. They'd say, 'What the hell is this?'” he said.
Crowe nearly quit Gladiator, but previously admitted that the film changed his life and that he was “a little jealous” of the new movie.
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“All I really feel about this is just a little bit of jealousy. … I was obviously a lot younger, so it was a huge experience in my life,” Crowe told Collider at the time. spoke.
“It really changed my life. It changed the way people saw me and what I do for a living. … I've been very fortunate to work on a lot of big movies. But the legs in that movie were incredible.”
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Gladiator was nominated for 12 Oscars, winning five, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.
