'On my signal, unleash hell'

The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an Empire'. That was the impressive tag line to 2000's Gladiator starring Russell Crowe. Apologies. Make that, Gladiator-Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2000. Have you ever noticed that when a film wins an award such as the Oscar or Golden Globe, the press immediately have to attach that award to the film every time it's mentioned? I have always wondered why they don't do that for the really bad films. The films that end up as Razzy winners. (For those who don't know what a Razzy is, it's like the Oscar, but for films that....well....suck). Just imagine, you're watching Entertainment Tonight like any normal human being, and you're suddenly introduced to the stars of the multi Razzy award winning picture, 'Dude, where's my car?'

Did you know that the real life Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix in the movie) was the only Emperor to actually fight as a gladiator in the arena? He actually did it more than once, and indeed, he was not killed in the arena as seen in the film. The real Emperor Commodus was strangled in his dressing room by an athlete named Narcissus. As a matter of fact, in the earliest drafts of the film, Russell Crowe's character was called Narcissus. Perhaps that hit too close to home for those Hollywood actor types, so it was changed to...Maximus.
Ok then.


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