How Russell Crowe's 'Gladiator' defied death, fire, tigers and a 'rubbish' script to become a Hollywood classic
Briefly

"At the core of what we were doing was a great concept, but the script, it was rubbish. Absolute rubbish," Russell Crowe told Vanity Fair in 2023. "I did think, a couple times, maybe my best option is just to get on a plane and get out of here, you know?"
"When we actually started that film, we had 21 pages of the script that we agreed on. A script is usually between 103 or 104, 110 pages, something like that, so we had a long way to go, and we basically used up those pages in the first section of the movie."
The historic success of 'Gladiator' is all the more dramatic because it was, well, a disaster to make. So before jumping off your chariot to see 'Gladiator II,' here's a look back at how 'Gladiator' defied the odds to become more powerful than the Emperor of Rome.
Oscar glory was certainly not a feat it was expected to ever attain upon its release in May 2000. 'Gladiator' became the second highest grossing movie of the year - raking in $465.4 million, not adjusted for inflation - and was the most-nominated film at the 2001 Academy Awards with 12 nods, and 5 wins, including Best Actor for Russell Crowe and Best Picture.
Read at New York Post
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