April 2009 Archives   29 April 2009 Variety Reports John Hannah's Casting John Hannah ("The Mummy" franchise) and Erin Cummings ("Dollhouse") have booked roles in the Starz series "Spartacus." Hannah will play the owner of a gladiator school; Cummings will play Spartacus' wife. Source News contributed by Barbara Davies       24 April 2009 New Rob Interview - Gay Characters on Spartacus Brent from the TorchOnline.com has another interview with Rob and this time it centers on Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Sex and Violence on "Spartacus" Will Be Unlike Anything on TV by Brent Hartinger The first episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, a new series starring Lucy Lawless that tells the story of the legendary rebel Roman slave, finished shooting this week in New Zealand, and those involved say it includes graphic sex and violence unlike anything ever seen on television. "[The network] has given us quite a bit of rope with which to hang ourselves," says Rob Tapert, the co-creator of Xena: Warrior Princess who is executive producing along with Joshua Donen and Spiderman's Sam Raimi. "It's unlike anything we've done before, because it is very hard and very explicit. It's harder than 300," he says, referring to Zack Synder's explicit 2006 movie adaptation of the graphic novel. Rob also says that the show will have gay characters (male and female). Click here to read the full interview     21 April 2009 Starz' Spartacus: Blood and Sand goes Graphic Starz' anticipated gladiator drama "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" is due on the smallscreen by 2010. Hailed as one of the most realistic depictions of Roman gladiator life, the series has also spawned a Graphic/Comic book series. Devil's Due Publishing and Starz announced today their collaborative launch of the comic book mini-series this October based on the network's upcoming series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." Award-winning producers/filmmakers Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi and Joshua Donen will serve as executive producers on the program, along with Steven S. DeKnight, who will also be the show's head writer. DeKnight spoke with Monsters and Critics at the winter TCA press junket in January about "Spartacus," and what to expect from the smallscreen series. "We're not going for horror movie brutality...Much like '300', there was a certain visual beauty in the way they shot it. So, it is almost an era of violence. It is an ode to violence when the fights actually happen. We are definitely not shying away from it." "The other part of this is the sexuality of the times, it was very different kind of sexual feeling, particularly with the slave class where it was completely acceptable to have sex with your slaves, even inside a marriage. Usually it was fine for a man to have sex with female slaves and sometimes the male slaves. It was a little bit trickier for the women, but we don;t want to shy away from either the violence or the sexuality of the period. We're trying not to put it on screen just becasue we can. We want it to come from the story that if this story leads us to an extremely violent incident, we want to be able to show it and the same thing sexually." Read full article     21 April 2009 Official Spartacus Forum Starz Entertainment has created an official forum for Spartacus. Not much going on at the moment, just an official press release about the casting. You can subscribe and join in the fun when the show starts in 2010. SPARTACUS - The deafening roar of the crowd. A piercing thrust of the sword. Destined for great unfortunate things. Click here to go to the Official Forum Many thanks to Adi and Lara for the news     20 April 2009 Spartacus: Blood and Sand Comic Series Devil's Due Publishing (DDP) and Starz combine forces to launch a comic book mini-series this October based on the network's upcoming series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand." Award-winning producers/filmmakers Rob Tapert (The Grudge, "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man and Evil Dead), and Joshua Donen (The Quick and the Dead) will serve as executive producers on the program, along with Steven S. DeKnight ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Smallville," "Dollhouse"), who will also be the show's head writer. "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" will be a provocative, violent and sexy television series chronicling the life of the famous Ancient Roman gladiator and his rise to fame. Actor John Hannah (The Mummy films) has signed on to play the devious Batiatus, the owner of the gladiator school and husband of Lucretia (action TV favorite Lucy Lawless), his scheming, insatiable wife. The series stars Andy Whitfield in the title role, a Thracian Soldier in the Roman Auxiliary who was taken prisoner and condemned to die in the gladiator arena.     16 April 2009 Gladiators in Training - Blog and Video Haas Duman is a gladiator on Spartacus and he has created a blog about the training. The blog also contains pics and video. I'm not sure how long Haas is going to have his site up but it's interesting to see behind the scenes training for the gladiators on Spartacus: Blood and Sand. YouTube Videos Blog Entries * Gladiators training DAY 2 * Gladiators training DAY 1 News contributed by Barbara Davies     11 April 2009 Andy and Erin At Star Trek Auckland Premiere Star Trek Premiere In Auckland AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - APRIL 09: Actors Andy Whitfield and Erin Cummings of 'Spartacus' arrive on the red carpet for the Premier of 'Star Trek' at Sky City Cinemas on April 9, 2009 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images): Click here to view image News contributed by Barbara Davies     9 April 2009 Casting News - John Hannah is Batiatus Scottish actor John Hannah has been cast in the role of Batiatus according to The Official Xena Fan Club Page. This news hasn't been officially announced yet through the usual outlets as yet. Check out John Hannah's Wiki page and John Hannah Dot Net - a fan site for John     6 April 2009 Gladiator's attack on Hollywood - Taranaki Daily News From Taranaki Daily News - 6 April 2009 His character is a doomed gladiator called Kerza and Hawera-born actor Karl Drinkwater is using him to make it in Hollywood. Spartacus is the latest mythical action TV show to be filmed in New Zealand, following in the footsteps of the hugely popular Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess productions of the 1990s. It is loosely based on the story of Spartacus, the Thracian man who supposedly led a slave revolt against the toga-wearing Romans about 100BC. The production will bring New Zealand's favourite action woman Lucy Lawless back to the screen and this time Drinkwater too, a Taranaki lad now based in Auckland. For Drinkwater the involvement in the big budget American production is a chance to take his career to the international stage.     5 April 2009 Lucy Going Back to Old Times - Chicago Tribune Xena's Newest Mission - Chicago Tribune 5 April 2009 Lucy Lawless Going Back to Old Times in "Spartacus" - Article about Lucy's involvement in the show and the role she has been cast in. Added scan of the article. Click here to view     Read More Archives