HBO\'s "Rome" to present more realistic look at the

[Tarbicus]

Thanks Luca.<br>
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Actually, I am anal at times. <p></p><i></i>

[Paullus]

Yeah, prob is those Gallic helmets are from the time of Brennus and the sack of Rome LOL! Montefortinos, Agens, and Ports would be more appreciated<br>
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I'll watch it for fun, but I'll probably criticize it to death <p></p><i></i>

[Ebusitanus]

I found some more info...Spoilers included..beware!<br>
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deadwoodstage.proboards34...1100200809<br>
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'Rome' will premiere December 2005 (source: HBO press release)<br>
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'Rome' season 1 episode names:<br>
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1.1 - The Stolen Eagles<br>
1.2 - How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic<br>
1.3 - An Owl in a Thornbush<br>
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Ciaran Hinds, Kevin McKidd and Lindsay Duncan head a cast of top British acting talent in Rome, the BBC/HBO blockbuster epic drama series that chronicles the rise of the ancient Roman Empire through the eyes of two foot soldiers. Ciaran Hinds stars as Gaius Julius Caesar, the battle-weary commander of Rome's conquering army in Gaul and Kevin KcKidd is Lucius Vorenus, one of the two foot soldiers around whom the drama unfolds.<br>
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Ray Stevenson is the headstrong legionary Titus Pullo, Vorenus's battlefield cohort; James Purefoy is Marc Antony, one of Caesar's powerful political allies; Lindsay Duncan is Servilia, the lover of Caesar and mother of Brutus; Polly Walker is the powerful, manipulative and sexy Atia, Caesar's niece; Kerry Condon is Octavia, the daughter of Atia, who is forced to choose duty over love; Ben Whishaw is Gaius Octavian, who becomes the first Emperor of Rome and Indira Varma is Niobe, Vorenus's stunningly beautiful wife.<br>
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Rome is a co-production between the BBC and HBO.<br>
The 12-part series is being shot mainly in Rome, and additional location filming will take place throughout Europe and North Africa. Production will be based at Rome's Cinecitta Studios, on a five-acre set.<br>
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The first season of 12 episodes is planned to be broadcast on the BBC in the UK and on HBO in 2005.<br>
Rome, the saga of two ordinary Roman soldiers and their families, looks at the birth of the Roman Empire through the eyes of ordinary citizens, as well as famous historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and Rome's first Emperor, Octavian. It is an intimate drama of love and betrayal, masters and slaves, husbands and wives, and portrays a fascinating and influential period of history - the birth of a modern society as we know it today - and brings the audience vividly into everyday Roman life.<br>
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The series begins in 52 BC, as Gaius Julius Caesar has completed his masterful conquest of Gaul after eight years of war, and is preparing to return to Rome. He heads home with thousands of battle-hardened men and a populist agenda for radical social change. Terrified, the aristocracy threatens to prosecute Caesar for war crimes as soon as he sets foot in Rome. Caesar's old friend and mentor, Pompey Magnus, attempts to foment mutiny in order to maintain the balance of power. Two of Caesar's soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, thwart Pompey's plan. Their fates become entwined with those of Caesar, Marc Antony, Cleopatra, and the boy Octavian, a strange and awkward child who, by political guile and bloody force, will become the first Emperor of Rome.<br>
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Rome is the first series co-production between the BBC and HBO, who previously co-produced the acclaimed serial Band Of Brothers, which won the 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries.<br>
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The co-executive producer is Frank Doelger; the producer is Marco Pugini; co-producers are Robert Papazian and James Hirsch. Additional writers of Rome will be Alexandra Cunningham, David Frankel, John Milius and William J MacDonald. (source: BBC)<br>
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Sex and the city with togas<br>
by BAZ BAMIGBOYE, Daily Mail<br>
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Rome wasn't built in a day. The one Joseph Bennett designed took about a year and, if he's lucky, it'll stand for another five.<br>
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Behind sound stages at the famed Cinecitta Studios (just outside the real Rome), a replica of the Arch of Janus and the two temples of Mars and Jupiter, along with the Basilica Giulia, have been erected for an epic television drama called - you guessed it - Rome.<br>
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The American TV company HBO (behind Sex And The City and The Sopranos) has teamed up with the BBC to create a drama that really brings the ancient civilisation of Rome to life.<br>
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As Jonathan Stamp, the show's historical consultant, noted: "This is the studio where the movies Cleopatra and Ben-Hur were shot, and the same kind of look pervades those movies.<br>
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"I call it the Holly-Rome look - starched white togas and everything sanitised. The whole ethos of our Rome is to do something entirely different."<br>
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Indeed, James Purefoy, who portrays Marc Antony in the new production, has already boasted on these pages about how the bonking scenes have left him exhausted.<br>
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Even a lothario of his stature was initially unnerved when told that his love scenes would be scrutinised by actors playing slaves. "But this is what went on," explained Stamp.<br>
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"It meant nothing to Marc Antony to have his slave, or the slave of his mistress, in the room during sex. It was what they did then and was considered perfectly normal," Stamp told me as he gave me a guided tour through the incredible back streets and lavish temples created by Bennett and his team. Some of the buildings have been daubed with red paint, and straw and food (offerings to the gods) left on the steps.<br>
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The idea was to give various buildings a lived-in and weathered look. In a sense, the same is true of the cast. Sure, the men are handsome and the women beautiful (costume designer April Ferry has created some opulent, decadent gowns), but they look like real people, as opposed to that plastic, full-whiteteeth look of some U.S. actors who get cast inTV roles these days. Ciaran Hinds, as Julius Caesar, leads the company.<br>
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Other British actors such as Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson star as foot soldiers, whose lives we will follow in the drama which has an initial 12 episodes, with the possibility of five series in all.<br>
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Polly Walker plays the manipulative and sexually eager Atia, who's also the mother of Octavian (played by the acclaimed young actor Max Pirkis, who was so good in Master And Commander).<br>
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Lindsay Duncan is Servilia and Indira Varma plays Niobe, who is married to McKidd's character. They have three children, although the parentage of the third becomes a major plot line in itself.<br>
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As I walk around the various stages and workshops, I am fascinated by the activity around me. I have the feeling that if they can get it right - and there have been some major production problems - it could be a big hit.<br>
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Brit prop master Arthur Wicks is 'dressing'a lavish banquet scene with roast hams, quails, figs and chickens, as Stamp watches carefully to make sure no food is presented that wouldn't have been around in 50BC.<br>
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Wicks reckons he'll be in Italy, on and off, for several months for filming.<br>
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"There are enough stories to go to at least five seasons," Frank Doelger, the HBO executive in charge of production, told me.<br>
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He said that the tales from that period have a "great familiarity and yet there's a wonderful strangeness about these people and their lives." (source: The Daily Mail, 10/29/2004)<br>
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The empire may seem more colourful than expected, with gold statues topping turquoise columns, but production designer Joseph Bennett said they were true to history.<br>
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"Most people think about Rome being monumental, white marble. We try to push the aspect of colour -- not because it's not realistic, but because that's the way it was," he said.<br>
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Producers did take some linguistic licence, however, shooting in English and casting British actors. "An American audience expects a British accent from any period that's more than a 100 years old," Thomopoulos said.<br>
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Rome may also be more raunchy than some would think. Behind grandiose temples, a maze of narrow streets and rickety market stalls is dotted with brothels covered in explicit graffiti and mosaics showing couples in Kama Sutra positions.<br>
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"It's about money, it's about power, it's about men being men," said Kevin McKidd, who plays one of the Roman centurions at the centre of the story.<br>
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"People raped and pillaged, all these campaigns, there were orgies, all that kind of stuff which was day to day life." (source: Reuters)<br>
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[Ebusitanus]

More shots!!!<br>
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<img src="http://img17.exs.cx/img17/9492/romemarcantonyincrowd8ao.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://img76.exs.cx/img76/4613/romerickwarden14ef.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://img57.exs.cx/img57/3784/rometheonlywaytotravel2rn.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://img236.exs.cx/img236/2226/romelion8do.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://img17.exs.cx/img17/2558/romealley7na.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://img17.exs.cx/img17/5303/romecrowd8mc.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://img17.exs.cx/img17/5672/romeaprilferryjamespurefoy3zo.jpg" style="border:0;"/><br>
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<img src="http://img236.exs.cx/img236/8571/romejamespurefoy0po.jpg" style="border:0;"/> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=ebusitanus>Ebusitanus</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://fla.fg-a.com/spainC1.gif" BORDER=0> at: 3/29/05 11:37 am<br></i>

[Gordak]

looks like those shots got taken down, did anyone get ahold of them?,

If you ignore the armor, that USA "Attilla" movie wasnt that bad.

Though there were many other problems, its always armor that botheres me most.
-Gordak

[FAVENTIANVS]

The only good thing from Attila's movie was the sister of Valentinian III, specially when she offers her self to Attila at the baths...

Theodoric's squamata looked good too... if you didn't glance at his HORNED helmet.

[Niedel]

HBO has a section of its website dedicated to "Rome" now. There's not much there yet, but the trailers look pretty good. The best one is the "On the set" report, lots of shots of troops (in lorica hamata!!!) etc:
[url:2kk4hlss]http://www.hbo.com/events/rome/index.html[/url]
Click on "Watch the Preview", there you'll find two teaser trailers and the "On the set" report.

Also, ABC's "Empire" is scheduled to run starting June 28. This site has a bunch of pictures (warning: plethora of leather armour): [url:2kk4hlss]http://www.abcmedianet.com/specials/pages/empire/empire.shtml[/url]"Empire" sounds kind of cheesy (vestal virgins being prosecuted for supporting Octavian or something like that, huh?), but "Rome" looks really promising, IMO.

[Ebusitanus]

Very weird looking helmet choice for Caesar´s troops, some sort of Coolus? Also plenty of rectangular shields Check the "Are you with me" and the "Back in formation" Teasers

This place has some nice info and other spoilers

http://deadwoodstage.proboards34.com/in ... mespoilers

[Nathan Ross]

The sets and most of the costumes look lovely - sadly, though, the military gear looks like the usual hokey collection. At least the soldiers are wearing mail and bronze helmets - although they're definitely 'Hollywood Attic' (0r whatever they're called!). Not sure about the dragon standard either:



The Senate House is also, once again, portrayed as circular - I don't know where this idea comes from (a 19th century painting called 'Cicero denouncing Catalina' might be the origin) but 'Gladiator' also had the senate meeting 'in the round' - maybe it makes for more dramatic panning shots? And what sort of Roman would conduct a banquet sitting up at the table, wearing (leather) armour? Barbarians!

[Robert Vermaat]

Not sure about the dragon standard either

That's a dragon? it looks rather more loke a constipated fish!
But you're right to be unsure, these things turned up in the 2nd c. AD, for cavalry use.

[Nathan Ross]

That's a dragon? it looks rather more loke a constipated fish!

Weeell, I was making allowances for artistic licence! But it was a high level of unsureitude nevertheless - same goes for the 4th-C military belt apparently sported by the fella on the left, and the square-section pila too. I suppose we should be thankful for small mercies (no segmentata) - or should we? The annoying thing is (as usual) that they could certainly, for the same cost, have got things right.... ah, ye cannae win.

[Tiberius Claudius Vindex]

Looks like one of them (bald guy on the right with a white tunic and red cloak) has a Mueseum Replicas Baeltus on as well...

[Graham Sumner]

Hello Nathan

Where did you get the pictures from? Are there any more, you mentioned something about a scene in the Senate?

Graham.

[Nathan Ross]

Hi Graham

The pictures are from this page:

[url:24txq4zs]http://deadwoodstage.proboards34.com/index.cgi?board=romespoilers&action=display&thread=1116896535[/url]

...scroll down the page a bit for the larger linked images. Here's their version of (what I presume is) the Senate House - unless, for some reason, the senators are meeting in the Temple of Vesta :o



Interestingly, looking through these pictures again it appears that several of the swords used actually resemble spathas - they have very 'ovoid' spatha-type pommels at least, and it occurs to me that, with those big belts, the film makers might have picked up a bunch of 4th-century replica gear from somewhere and decided to use it.

Still, my favourite costume is the khaki vest worn by one of the heroes - it has a 'Roman eagle' stencilled on the chest. Bit like those USMC vests I suppose... :roll:

Nathan

[Graham Sumner]

Hello Nathan

Thanks. I did go to that site before but did not wait long enough for the pictures to download. It is suprising that they are not originally from the series official website!

Still, my favourite costume is the khaki vest worn by one of the heroes - it has a 'Roman eagle' stencilled on the chest. Bit like those USMC vests I suppose...

Next seasons must have for Roman re-enactors!

Interesting to see the painted buildings and the red triumphal face. Not the usual Hollywood armour but an odd mixture nevertheless. Strange that only the set designers from 'The Fall of the Roman Empire' have ever bothered to copy the actual Senate House in Rome, although that is a later restoration.

Graham.