'Rome' Movie Moves From Rumor to Reality?
Filed under: Action, Drama, RumorMonger, Scripts, Newsstand, War
Remember a little story we ran back in December where Rome writer Bruno Heller revealed plans to bring the series to the big screen? According to Ray Stevenson and MovieWeb, it's actually gone from "a smoke and mirrors rumor" (his words) to something that's actually happening: "The script is in full development. As you are probably aware, this is a pretty strange process. We could go into production in a year, or it could be as quick as six months. Who knows? It will happen. At least it is no longer a rumor. From what I have heard, they are nearing the end of script development. We shall see. We shall see."Granted, scripts are written every single day and never ever filmed, but they're supposedly eying a release date of 2010. Even without Heller's script in hand, Stevenson is aboard and ready to play Titus Pullo again. "I can't wait to dust off the cobwebs of old Pullo. The guy is going to come in with a high body count. I love Pullo. I love him to pieces. I had such a great time playing him. And I got to do it in Italy and Rome. He is very special to me. He is a very special part of my history. I was very blessed to get that part."
I would love it if this became a reality, but I'm perplexed as to what it would tackle historically, as the rest of Augustus Caesar's reign was relatively calm. Titus Pullo could certainly help expand the Empire (and the gory mischief he would get into would be a movie in and of itself) but it would lack the political punch of the series. Perhaps they can fudge the years a bit (hey, it's Hollywood history) and put Pullo in Palestine after all ...
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-18-2009 @ 2:02PM
Filmhass said...
"as the rest of Augustus Caesar's reign was relatively calm"
That's not quite right. As there was actual peace in italy, there were also a lot of wars at the boundaries of the roman empire. For example the war against the germans (lasted about 30 years). The famous victory of Arminus over Varus would make a great movie. Many say the german (and english) language would have never been developed without it. It was a real disaster for the roman empire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminius
Reply
3-18-2009 @ 2:18PM
Farrison Hord said...
SECOND. great show, that.
Reply
3-18-2009 @ 2:28PM
Nathan said...
HBO had absolutely no Idea what to do with this show. Let's hope they correct their mistake by making a good film.
Reply
3-18-2009 @ 3:39PM
DanJack said...
Great news! Rome is still one of the best shows to ever hit television (far better than The Sopranos in my book).
Now if only someone can convince HBO to bring us those promised Deadwood movies they don't want to do, everything would be fabulous.
Reply
3-18-2009 @ 4:32PM
Midnight13 said...
I heard that after HBO cancelled it had more to do with budget issues more then the creator and the writers not having more stories to tell with its characters. I heard "Rome" was meant to be a 5 season series, so the idea of having a lack of stories to tell for a movie doesn't seem like a soild argument. "Rome" was a great show, I liked it more then "Deadwood".
Reply
3-18-2009 @ 7:37PM
morphs said...
I'm very glad to hear this. I really enjoyed Rome and can't wait for a movie.
Reply
3-19-2009 @ 1:36PM
Jennifer said...
HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
5-10-2009 @ 6:16PM
kathy said...
"Rome" was one of my husband's and my all time favorite series. We were really disappointed that it did not extend for more seasons. We love ancient history, found the series to be reasonably historically true, and we frequently travel to Italy and the areas of the ancient Roman Empire. We own the series on DVD, and would definitely welcome and see "Rome" the movie!
Reply
6-16-2009 @ 2:23PM
dave said...
Rome was cancelled because half the set burned down in a freak accident. Which also burned the first cuts of season 3 footage. Bruno Keller was interviewed regarding this a few months after Rome was cancelled.
Regarding Ray's statements of a peaceful time during Augustus' reign, he's right. there was very little political intrigue and all roman action revovled around continued efforts to expand the empire.
war just for that sake of filming war would be a boring movie. there needs to be some dramatic aspect, even in a hollywood movie. i'm very curious to see how Keller spins a new yarn.
Reply