I år fyller Ridley Scotts mångfalt belönade mästerverk Gladiator 20. Många minns säkert det skoningslösa slutet för Russell Crowe i rollen som gladiatorn Maximus, där han bitterljuvt fick återförenas med sin familj i paradiset. Men tanken var ursprungligen radikalt annorlunda.
När Empire nyligen intervjuade Russell Crowe, berättade han att Ridley Scotts ursprungliga plan var att låta Maximus överleva. Russell Crowe och Ridley Scott valde att ändra i manus först under filmatiseringen, och Crowe förklarar:
"That 'My name is Maximus...' speech is basically a suicide note. I remember Ridley coming up to me on set saying, 'Look, the way this is shaping up, I don't see how you live. This character is about one act of pure vengeance for his wife and child, and, once he's accomplished that, what does he do?' And my joke used to be, 'Yeah, what does Maximus do? Does he end up running a fucking pizzeria by the Colosseum?' He has a singular purpose, which is to meet his wife in the afterlife and apologise for not being there for her. And that's it."
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