"Rome" The Movie

[God of War]

Back in December, Bruno Heller revealed that he wants to produce a theatrical wrap-up to his critically beloved and prematurely canceled HBO drama "Rome." Now, MovieWeb sat down with actor Ray Stevenson (Titus Pullo in "Rome") to find out the status of the movie.

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"It is no longer a smoke and mirrors rumor," said Stevenson. "The script is in full development. We could go into production in a year, or it could be as quick as six months. It will happen. At least it is no longer a rumor. From what I have heard, they are nearing the end of script development."

The lavish period drama ran for two seasons on HBO. With the final season of "The Sopranos" as its lead-in, the first season was solidly rated, but high production costs presented the network with a tough call on the pickup. HBO opted for a second season to help get more value from its initial investment but not a third, effectively canceling the show in summer 2006 before the second season debuted the following January. The "Rome" sets were destroyed, and the actors were released from their contracts, making the decision all but irreversible.

LINK (http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=12600&count=0)

[Steven S.]

This is fantastic news, if completely true. Now they just need to do the same for Deadwood (I know, it's a pipe dream, but so was this). I'm skeptical though about this mainly because they killed off Vorenus in the show's final episode, and it was the Pullo/Vorenus relationship that really held the show together. Unlike Deadwood, Rome's cancellation wasn't completely unforeseen and the writers took steps to tie everything up before the end came. That's why season 2's narrative ended up feeling a lot more forced and jumpy than season 1's. They were trying to pack what was supposed to fill two more seasons into just one.

[Monotreme]

Thanks but no thanks. It was great to have a lavish, period-set TV show about Rome, because with a TV show and even a mini-series you can explore the subject like no film can; but cinematically, we've already had a "Rome" The Movie, and not too long ago, which kind of makes this one redundant:

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[Brendan M.]

Can't wait. Rome was a great TV series and it will be nice to finally see them wrap everything up. Ray Stevenson as Titus Pullo is always a plus.

[Abbie Normal]

I have more interest in watching hamsters have sex than a Rome movie. I would rather watch Jim Rome from ESPN get punched in the face than watch Rome the movie.

[Steven S.]

Thanks but no thanks. It was great to have a lavish, period-set TV show about Rome, because with a TV show and even a mini-series you can explore the subject like no film can; but cinematically, we've already had a "Rome" The Movie, and not too long ago, which kind of makes this one redundant:

http://artofmanliness.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/gladiator-crowe.png

I don't think so. Gladiator is almost a decade old now, so I'm not sure what you mean by "not too long ago." It also didn't even come close to Rome's level of historical authenticity. Saying we've already had a Rome movie is like saying we've already had a WWII movie, so there's no need to make Inglorious Basterds. There's an infinite number of stories you can weave out of such an interesting period. The goal of a Rome movie doesn't have to be an encapsulation of the entire epoch.

I have more interest in watching hamsters have sex than a Rome movie. I would rather watch Jim Rome from ESPN get punched in the face than watch Rome the movie.

Okay... why?

[crayon]

In addition to what Steven.S has said, Rome wasn't merely a great city that existed for a few decades, it has a tremendous history, and the HBO tv series presents a different period to Gladiator. The tv series is set probably two centuries earlier and contains far more significant historical events, if anything we could use more films set during this time.

[Steven S.]

I just started rewatching the HBO series. Holy hell, I'd almost forgotten how damn good it is. Just the scene where Caesar's horse takes its first step into the Rubicon, the kid watching, Marc Antony's wink at him... every hair on my body, I'm tellin' ya.

[God of War]

Rome is a magnificent series. Really shits me when great shows are cancelled.

This show could have gone for as much as 3-5 seasons.

I for one cannot wait to see Rome on the big screen.

HAIL CAESAR!

[corran horn]

I'm on board with this. Although I do not have HBO, I fell in love with this series on DVD. This and Arrested Development are the two TV-show-based films that actually excite me.

[Steven S.]

There's an Arrested Development film in the works?