Deadline has amended it's original article about the search for the new Spartacus and how Starz has whittled down the casting to three actors
Stephen Amell, Aiden Turner and Liam McIntyre.

The lastest news is that Stephen and Aiden have been released and it's now down to one. Deadline speculates that it could be Liam or Starz considering other options. That is a mixed bag of maybes. It also sounds like we're back to still searching for Spartacus if Starz doesn't thing Liam is the right man for the job.

The other possibility raised by Deadline is that they may make someone else the lead character. So instead of the show focused on Spartacus, it may focus on Crixus or another character as seen by their point of view. An interesting idea.

I'm sure the last thing we want is to see the end of the show which will impact on so many people (actors, producers, directors, makeup, wardrobe etc).

Recently in the NZ Herald there was an article about the ongoing dispute between the actors and the movie The Hobbit. In the article it made mention of how much it cost to produce Spartacus and how many people are involved:

Producer Chloe Smith, who is working on Spartacus with American Rob Tapert, said the level of rebate was no longer competitive but New Zealand had other factors in its favour including the reputation of film-makers such as Sir Peter. She said every production's budget would break down differently, and the level of post-production depended a lot on the level of visual effects.

The spending on Spartacus, for example, was soaked up by location shooting; pre-production made up 18 per cent of the budget, while post-production was 17 per cent.

Almost half of the total spending was labour costs, covering not only 64 actors but also crew, casuals, extras and security.

So we get back to finding the right Spartacus so 64 actors + crew, casuals, exras, production staff can get back to work. There is alot riding on finding the right Spartacus.

Read Original Deadline Article | Read the NZ Herald About the Hobbit Dispute

Reported by MaryD and Barbara Davies