Rejected Gladiator 2 Script Leaks… Did We Mention Nick Cave Wrote It?
Okay. This already wins the award for the most bizarre story of the week. First off, why the hell would Ridley Scott ask mopey rock icon Nick Cave to write a script? Why would Cave agree to said project. After agreeing to write the thing, how could Cave have thought that including a scene where Maximus battles the Vietcong with a flamethrower would be a good idea? And of course the largest elephant in the room… why in God’s name do we need Gladiator 2? Most of us are still traumatized by the steaming pile of crap that was the original.
Gone Elsewhere has been generous enough to provide a synopsis of some of the script’s highlights. After being meeting Roman Gods in the afterlife and being reincarnated, Maximus starts kicking some major ass:
Middle Eastern Battlefield: Maximus stands surrounded by hundreds of Crusaders as they battle a Muslim army. Everyone dies around him, only Maximus remains untouched.
- Europe: Maximus battles tanks in World War 2.
- Vietnam: Maximus battles Vietcong with a flamethrower.
- The Pentagon, Present Day: Maximus washing his hands in a men’s room sink. He stars at himself in the mirror… reflecting. Mordecai stands behind him… whispers: “Until eternity itself has said it’s prayers.” Maximus exits; proceeds into a large war room containing a dozen men in suits.
This sounds so bad actually, we must admit our curiosity is piqued. Thankfully, Gone Elsewhere puts things in perspective.
This is not a reflection on the quality of the piece, but I’m not really interested in seeing a sequel to Gladiator featuring elements of mythology and the supernatural. They weren’t present in the first film and they simply feel out of place here.
It’s like making an action-packed follow-up to Schindler’s List with a cryogenically-frozen Liam Neeson helping to save a doomed alien species 10,000 years in the future. Sure, there might be an interesting story there… but it doesn’t make sense given the pre-established universe.
We’re trying to locate the script, so link us up in comments if you find it!
Turns out Russell Crowe asked him to write it — which would explain why it’s about Maximus and not Djimon Hounsou’s character, who so clearly had “sequel” written all over him.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117945764.html?categoryid=2185&cs=1
Not so weird that Cave’d be asked either way, though. “The Proposition” was a pretty great movie about violence too, after all.
oh hang on, just realized that comment made it sound like i liked “Gladiator” in the first place, and i totally didn’t. in fact, the only thing i liked about it was that i saw it at the now-gone Commodore on Broadway with bunch of guys smoking blunts in the back and talking about “oh shit, he gonna fight a tiger now!” — which was basically the only thing that made it bearable.
so, anyway, just forget that “too” in my previous note, thanks.
PDF file of the script: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=5616d8137d9eb8d9e62ea590dc5e5dbbe04e75f6e8ebb871
Who knows how long it’ll stay alive so get while the gettin’s good.