July 2010 Archives   31 July 2010 Lesley-Ann At Sparty Boot Camp With... Lesley-Ann's last day at the Sparty Boot Camp produced this photo which would make all Crixus and Naevia fans very happy. Manu Bennett looking very unlike the Manu we've been used to seeing! Click here for the larger image You can also see (if you haven't already caught up with the boot camp pics): * Peter and his protein * LAB looking very gladiatrix like by taking on a stuntie * Naevia forgives the Syrian Snake - LAB with Nick Tarabay * Barca is back! (Antonio is looking fantastic) Subscribe to Lesley-Ann's Tweets at http://twitter.com/lesleyannbrandt     26 July 2010 The Flick Cast Reviews Spartacus Panel SDCC10: ‘Spartacus: Blood and Sand’ Panel, Andy Whitfield Talks Prequel, Season 2 Details It’s no secret that some of us here at The Flickcast are huge Spartacus: Blood and Sand fans, having written about the Starz show during it’s premiere season, covering Andy Whitfield’s battle with a treatable form of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, as well as Starz’ decision to film a 6- episode prequel to buy some time for Andy to recover. So when Starz announced there would be a SDCC 2010 panel featuring Andy Whitfield and the cast and producers, we knew we’d be there to cover all of the Comic-Con exclusive news and trailers. Read More (Reported by Barbara Davies)     26 July 2010 SpinOff Online Interviews Steven At Comic Con SpinOff Online interviewed Steven at Comic Con. One of Steven's favourite characters is Batiatus: DeKnight went on to say that, even though a writer wasn’t supposed to have favorite creations, he was drawn to Hannah’s Batiatus because “what he says is what I’m thinking all the time.” A lot of his excitement about the six-episode Gods comes from being able to write Batiatus and Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) together again. But even though his focus is on the prequel, which starts shooting next week, he’s still very conscious of the show’s future. “The show will hit major touchstones in history, ending with the slave uprising,” he said. “I’ve always said we’ve got about five to seven [seasons]. … We’ve got a good idea of the first five years. It’s not entirely written, but we know historically, this [will have happened] by the end of season two, this will have happened by the end of season three. We know where we’re headed. Read Full Interview     25 July 2010 Comic Con Lucy Press Video Interview Maureen from the Chicago Tribune has a Lucy interview up on her YouTube video channel. It appears to be a press interview. Nothing new in the interview (other than what was actually said on the panel about Lucretia not being dead, coming back better in Season 2, Lucretia's past being explored in the prequel). Lucy looking fab as usual. Reported by Barbara Davies     25 July 2010 AUSXIP Spartacus Comic Con Event Page Updated The Spartacus Comic Con Event Page has been updated for easy access to all things Sparty at Comic Con. Hosted goodies include: photos, video and screencaptures from the fan chat video all easy to locate Linked goodies include: articles / interviews, video, photos and funny pics of Lucy tormenting Ausiello - easy to find Click here to access the AUSXIP Spartacus Comic Con Event page     25 July 2010 Spartacus Panel Videos 1-7 Complete Now Online I've uploaded all 7 clips now and they are available to view on the AUSXIP Spartacus Video Channel - Comic Con. The clips were created by AUSXIP reporter Lori Boyles. Many thanks to her for doing that and also taking photos (with help from Annie & Kathy). The photos can be found here and the Comic Con Video Page is here Part 7 – Spartacus Panel Part 7 of the Spartaucs Panel at the 2010 Comic Con (Final Part) Part 6 – Spartacus Panel Part 6 of the Spartacus Panel at the 2010 Comic Con Part 5 Spartacus Panel Part 5 of the Spartacus Panel at 2010 Comic con Part 4 – Spartacus Panel Part 4 of the Spartacus Panel at the 2010 Comic Con Part 3 Spartacus Panel Part 3 of the Spartacus Panel at the 2010 Comic Con Part 2 – Spartacus Panel Spartacus cast: Andy Whitfield, Lucy Lawless, John Hannah, Viva Bianca and Steven DeKnight at Spartacus panel at the 2010 SDCC AUSXIP Video by Lori Boyles Part 1 Spartacus Panel Andy Whitfield being introduced to the crowd and interview before rest of the cast is introduced.     24 July 2010 Spartacus Cast Fan Video Chat From Comic Con - Screencaps & Recap The video chat was so much fun with Lucy, Andy, John, Viva, Steven and surprise guest Jai! Here's a brief recap of what was discussed. Click here to view screencaptures of the chat 1. Lucretia does survive and make it into Season 2 (I think we all knew this since Lucy spilled the beans some time ago) 2. One of the new cast members Marisa Ramirez is going to be Oenomaus' (Doctore) wife and her name is Melitta and she also is Lucretia's body slave. 3. Season 2 will see a much more tougher Lucretia and none too nice; Ilithyia and Lucretia will be forced to work together but from how Lucy described Lucretia, you get the feeling she will be out for Roman blood herself. 4. Jai Courtney made a surprise visit without his blond locks but now brown. Still cute. 5. Andy is looking very well although IMO a little skinny. 6. Lucy wants to cop a feel of John (those two are just cool together) 7. Andy wouldn't mind playing Bond or acting in a romantic comedy. 8. They talked about Katrina's role of Mira and how they interracted with Spartacus. Steven mentioned that Mira had never been loved so that's all she wanted from Spartacus (awww). 9. There will be some behind the scenes and deleted scenes in the DVD/Blu-Ray which is coming out in September There will be photos and video from the panel going up later tonight (as soon as Lori can send them to me...let's hope the hotel connection is good).     24 July 2010 Spartacus Gods of the Arena Teaser! Starz has officially released the teaser promo for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena! Roll on January! Goodness I love this show :)     24 July 2010 Spartacus Prequel News from The Panel Latest news (from the Panel Tweets by Spartacus_Starz and Moryan) about the prequel. Andy will be seen in the first episode and the last episode of the Prequel John Hannah says producers had considered 2-3 flashback eps to Batiatus' ludus even before Andy's illness. There was a chance to expand Oenomaus wife, Batiatus father -- "Instead of telling you about that in S2 we will show it to you in the prequel" EP Stephen S. DeKnight 5 minutes Lucy on the Prequel "we don't ease into the action, it starts of pretty hot, you fans will like it. All the blood and gore you can handle" Varro not coming back for prequel. They wanted to find a way to bring him in but just could not. We'll see "quite a bit" of Doctore in prequel. He plays major role, DeKnight said. Cool, cuz Oenomaus/PeterMensah is awesome.     22 July 2010 The Australian - Australian Actors In Spartacus The following was published in The Australian 21 July 2010 AUSTRALIAN actor Dustin Clare has nabbed the big US role he’s always promised to get. He will star as the lead in the prequel to the American minsieries (yet to be seen here) Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. The sandals and swords series grabbed quite a following in the US recently for, let’s say, its graphic nature. Clare will play Gannicus, the champion gladiator in the House of Batiatus before Spartacus. Australian actor and model Andy Whitfield, who features in upcoming Aussie film The Clinic, will rejoin the cast, months after passing a cancer scare, as Spartacus. Viva Bianca, the Melbourne daughter of film composer, Cezary Skubiszewski, starred in the first series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand.     21 July 2010 Interview with Marisa Ramirez - Lucretia's Body Slave on GotA Jim Halterman has interviewed Marisa Ramirez, one of the new actors for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Her role is that of Lucretia's Body slave and her name is Melitta. JH: What can you tell me about Melitta? Is she good? Bad? MR: What I've been told is that Melitta is a body slave to Lucretia, who is Lucy Lawless's character. I don't know what a body slave is but I'm going to find out! Melitta is married and has complicated relationships with other men and that's pretty much all I've been told. I only have the first script so far. Read Full Interview     20 July 2010 Starz Press Release: Gods of the Arena Casting 19 July 2010 DUSTIN CLARE CAST IN KEY ROLE OF GANNICUS IN STARZ’ SERIES ‘SPARTACUS: GODS OF THE ARENA’ Australian Actor to Play the Former Champion of Capua in Six-Part Prequel to ‘Spartacus: Blood and Sand’; Premiering in January 2011 Jaime Murray, Marisa Ramirez Also Score Key Roles as Production Gets Set to Start Beverly Hills, CA – July 19, 2010 – Spartacus wasn't the first champion of the arena. Many men lived and died on the sands before him. “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,” the highly anticipated prequel to Starz' hit series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," brings to life the story of Gannicus, the first gladiator to become Champion of Capua. Australian actor Dustin Clare has been tapped for the role in the series which begins production this August and will air early next year on Starz. Joining Clare in the series are Jaime Murray and Marisa Ramirez in two central roles. Also returning to reprise their roles in the series, which takes place before Spartacus joins the ludus (gladiator training school): Lucy Lawless (Lucretia), John Hannah (Batiatus), Peter Mensah (Oenomaus) and Manu Bennett (Crixus). Andy Whitfield (Spartacus), will appear briefly in the prequel, and rejoin the show in season two, which is set to begin production later this year. Continue reading Starz Press Release: Gods of the Arena Casting 19 July 2010.     19 July 2010 Gods of the Arena Character Information Here are some details of the three new characters / cast to be added to Spartacus Gods of the Arena. The other interesting item...Peter Mensah's Doctore is now under the name of Oenomaus. As we learnt in season 1 finale, Doctore means trainer. So I wonder if Oenomaus will just have arrived at the Ludus and not yet achieved his Doctore status. New Characters Dustin Clare cast as Gannicus Dustin Clare, a virtual unknown in the U.S., but a popular TV actor in his native Australia, has landed the lead in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Gannicus is the first gladiator to become the Champion of Capua (I'm assuming it's the first gladiator from the House of Batiatus) Learn More about Dustin Clare Marissa Ramirez is a Slave Girl (Name not yet mentioned) Marissa Ramirez will play a beautiful slave girl with complicated relationships (is anything simple at the House of Batiatus?) Learn more about Marissa Ramirez Jaime Murray is Gaia Jaime will play Gaia is Lucretia's friend and a Capua social climber. Interesting character. Another of Lucretia's friends. Learn more about Jaime Murray     19 July 2010 Gods of the Arena Casting - Starz Casts Gannicus Starz has cast the role of Gannicus, the gladaiator before Spartacus (and presumably before Crixus became the Champion of Capua). The Hollywood Reporter had the following news: Starz casts 'Spartacus' prequel, firms up story line Dustin Starz is firming up the cast and story line for its "Spartacus" prequel series, whose subtitle will be the epic-sounding "Gods of the Arena." Three Australian actors have joined the cast, including Dustin Clare in the lead role. Clare ("Underbelly," "Satisfaction") will play Gannicus, the champion gladiator in the House of Batiatus before Spartacus came along. "Spartacus" star Andy Whitfield, who was sidelined for several months after being diagnosed with cancer, will make a brief appearance in the prequel. He has been cleared by doctors to return to work. "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" will begin production on six episodes next month and will hit the air in January. Season 2 of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," starring Whitfield, will begin production immediately after "Arena" wraps and air later in 2011 for an undetermined number of episodes. Starz also has cast Jaime Murray ("Dexter) as a Capua social climber and Marisa Ramirez ("General Hospital") as a slave girl. In the prequel, Batiatus (John Hannah) is not yet the head of his family or of the gladiator training school. Gannicus is the lead gladiator in the Ludus, but the House of Batiatus hasn't earned social respect or the right for its gladiators to fight in championship bouts. Gannicus struggles to turn around the House's luck. Source     18 July 2010 Lucy as Lucretia in Gods of the Arena Promo Added a new promo for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena with Lucy as Lucretia.     View Larger Image View more Lucy in Spartacus Promo Images on AUSXIP Spartacus Galleries     18 July 2010 Comic Con Starz / Anchor Bay Booth Spartacus Prequel Props Fans stopping by the Starz/Anchor Bay booth #3345 at Comic Con will experience: Comic Con Premiere of official Altitude theatrical trailer at Anchor Bay booth; Comic Con Premiere of official theatrical trailer for Hunt To Kill with Steve “Stone Cold” Austin; Trailers for upcoming Anchor Bay Entertainment releases including the I Spit On Your Grave remake, Adam Green’s Frozen, The Stranger with Steve “Stone Cold” Austin, Dolph Lundgren is The Killing Machine, and Tekken. Upcoming Manga releases previewed include First Squad and Redline; Authentic production props from “Spartacus” prequel. In addition, fans who come by the ABE booth will be eligible to win prizes, including Blu-rays™, DVDs and signed posters! Source (Reported by Barbara Davies) For more about the Spartacus cast at the 2010 Comic Con Panel and Other Events go to the AUSXIP Spartacus 2010 Comic Con Event Page     15 July 2010 Spartacus Screencaptures An Update With Spartacus: Gods of the Arena going to air in January, I've been asked by several AUSXIP readers if I will be posting screencaptures once again. First a backstory to this: During Season 1, I was posting screencaptures of ALREADY SCREENED episodes after they had been shown on the US West Coast. There was no Starz policy related to not create screencaptures (that I knew of). During Season 1 some fans decided that they needed to be showoffs and start circulating screencaptures and/or video clips from episodes NOT screened. We're not talking about episodes that have gone to air on the East Coast and not the West Coast. We are talking episodes that were to screen 2-3 weeks down the track. These fans were warned not to do it because it will have consequences. Those consequences came in full force and it was Starz's absolute right to do so. Starz decided to ban ALL screencaptures from episodes; including already airred episodes. Now, how was Starz going to enforce this rule was the big problem considering how we all know the web works BUT that wasn't my concern. The new Starz policy came into force because screencaptures and video were being circulated of Episode 9 (Whore) and 10. Two very pivotal episodes that Starz NEEDED to keep some surprise element too (Ep 9 was a complete game changer and of course episode 10 which changed the direction of everyone's life and ended poor Varro's life...still mourn for Varro) Those fans spoilt it completely. Up until episdoe 8, we posted screencaptures of airred episodes without any Starz comment but that leaking was too much. You can push the copyright boundaries so far and then when you step over that line...you are going to get whapped. AUSXIP and the AUSXIP Talking Xena / Spartacus Chat boards enforced the no screencapture rule after I was asked by Starz to remove them. I also believe other websites and forums also enforced this rule. There are those sites who don't adhere to this request but that's their decision. This decision also impacted on artwork. Artists could not use screencaptures to create art. I think is the biggest problem because fans have universally expressed their love for a show via their art. AUSXIP was born to showcase my love for Xena/Lucy Lawless and to showcase my art...there wouldn't be an AUSXIP if RenPics came down on the fans like Starz did; RenPics, at the time, allowed fans alot of freedom but in turn, the fans also behaved and didn't cross any gross copyright infringement. I remember a couple of times when RenPics did come down on some fans who were selling artwork but that didn't have repercussians on the rest of the fandom. I don't blame Starz at all; it's their right. I blame the boofheads (Aussie slang...google it) who created the problem. Now back to the present. So the answer to this question about screencaptures for Gods of the Arena and for Season 2 is this: Starz have not indicated that this policy will change (I have asked). So until Starz gives me the nod to add screencaptures, no screencaptures are going to be created for GofA or Season 2. AUSXIP has been authorised to use any official image and episode stills but no screencaptures. That's the policy until Starz reverse their decision. Cheers, MaryD     15 July 2010 Lesley-Ann In Spartacus: GotA Costume Fitting Lesley-Ann is back in New Zealand and went straight for a costume fitting for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena! She tweeted the following about it: And I'm in Capua!!! tried on my costume and it's perrrrrrfect. Great to see all the crew, can't wait to start training on monday!     15 July 2010 AUSXIP House of Batiatus Site Update The site has been given a new banner (look up) and despite the Official name of the prequel being Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, I'm sticking with AUSXIP House of Batiatus and adding Spartacus Gods of the Arena to it as well just for good measure :) There will be a ton of news about the prequel at this year's comic con so get set for an avalanche of news and images from Starz PR to show up. As per Spartacus Season 1, AUSXIP will have authorised promo images from Starz and other goodies. Stay tuned!     13 July 2010 Starz Live Video Interview with Spartacus Cast The following was posted by Starz on the Official Spartacus forum: Friday, July 23rd 5:30pm PST – Details on chat to follow We’re soliciting excellent advance questions for Andy Whitfield (Spartacus), Lucy Lawless (Lucretia), John Hannah (Batiatus), Viva Bianca (Ilythia) and Steven S. DeKnight (Executive Producer / Head Writer). Please post questions in reply to this board post. The best questions will be chosen and answered live. Deadline to submit questions is Monday, July 19th 5pm MST. If you see a question already posted that you like, give it a good rating. Likewise, if you see one that stinks, rate it low. We'll be paying attention. :smileywink: Thanks! Submit your question here     8 July 2010 Spartacus: Gods of the Arena Jewelry Here's an interesting piece of news about the Spartacus prequel: Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. This was posted on The Crafty Celts facebook page. The Crafty Celts Yesterday we mailed a box of jewelry off to Pacific Renaissance, LTD, in Auckland, New Zealand (the creators of Zena and Hercules). They are creating a prequel to Spartacus, Blood and Sand, and will be using our jewelry in it! 10 hours ago Visit their website here (Reported by Barbara Davies) --     Read More Archives