THE MASTERPIECE
THE STORY OF begins with a 148-year-old painting called by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. Depicting a victorious gladiator standing over his victim in the Roman Colosseum as spectators look on, it was that canvas that DreamWorks executive Walter F. Parkes and producer Douglas Wick armed themselves with when they went to pitch Ridley Scott their swords-and-sandals epic. As it turns out, that was all they needed. The striking imagery was enough to set Scott’s imagination ablaze, and the filmmaker all but signed on to direct the movie on the spot, without even learning what the script was about. It wouldn’t be the— and five Oscars later, it’s safe to say that their instincts were proven right.
