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Get a life, Scott said in aNew Yorkerprofile.
Well, shut the fuck up then.
and the full two-and-a-half-hour film is unlikely to assuage the historical-accuracy concerns.
Audiences just looking for a good time at the movies may be as unbothered as Scott about this stuff.
Spoilers ahead for the film (and for ancient Roman history).
They would also sometimes use ponds or manmade pools outside the Colosseum for various nautical events.
But yeah, to my recollection, the Romans never had sharks.
Marine spectacles are well attested.
They had seals periodically, we know that.
But Ive never come across sharks in my research.
In the film, a lot of animals featured in combat.
Would a gladiator ever have ridden a rhino?Again, not that I am aware of.
Ive seen that clip.
I mean, that looks awesome.
And there were rhinoceroses periodically in the Colosseum; actually, they predate the Colosseum.
But in my research, Ive never come across mention of anyoneridinga rhino.
In fact, I dont know historically if thats ever been done.
Have you heard of baboons being used?No.
Now, there is a record, more broadly speaking, of the Romans keeping monkeys as pets.
Certainly not in violent spectacles.
So that sounds more like something that could have happened.Thats feasible, yeah.
Its sort of like the bit inThe Hangoverwhen they find the tiger in their hotel room.
So yeah, a pet monkey, in and of itself, wouldnt be implausible.
It seems Ridley Scott took a lot of liberties here.
He was Caracallas Praetorian prefect.
But the Praetorian Guard by Macrinuss day also handled a lot of legal affairs.
And then he was emperor for a matter of months before he was overthrown by Caracallas younger relative Elagabalus.
But yeah, the historical Macrinus, was not a what did you say?
Now, one thing about him, he was the first Roman emperor who wasnt of senatorial status.
When he became emperor, he was still of equestrian status, which was sort of the lower tier.
So he did have a relatively lowly background, and he was a provincial.
But he wasnt a prisoner of war.
That would be the closest thing to how the movie depicts Macrinus.
I think thats a bit of an overdramatization.
But even without that, everyone inGladiator IIseems pretty fluid.
Theres an undercurrent of what wed now call bisexuality or pansexuality.
But yeah, it was basically on an emperor-by-emperor basis.
I know they werent twins in real life.They were not twins, but they were close in age.
Theyre co-emperors in the film, as they were at one point in history.
How often was that kind of co-ruling arrangement happening?It did happen from time to time.
You know, it sort of depended upon the specifics of a given situation.
But ultimately, it did not work out.
We do see inGladiator IIthat Caracalla has Geta killed, though its much more direct than in history.
These films make it seem as if being an emperor was a very dangerous job!
Or were these just really unstable years?No, it could often be dangerous.
And of course, this was the body of elite troops Augustus created to protect him and subsequent emperors.
They were the only body of troops stationed right in Rome itself at that time.
So the third century, or much of the third century, is particularly dangerous.
His portraits are instantly recognizable.
[Gladiator IIpresents a different version of Getas assassination, but thereal storyis also Ridley Scottlevel brutal.]
You know, his word was law.
So as a result, according to the source in question, he basically became a monster.
I have one more emperor question thats a little broader.
Thumbs up to save the losing gladiator, thumbs down to kill him.
But some people have looked at this short phraseturned thumb: What does that mean?
Some have argued in the past that we have our interpretations of the thumbs-up and thumbs-down gestures wrong.
In their eyes, the natural position of the hand is with the thumb hanging down.
And in that instance, thumbs down might actually have meant spare the fellow, put your sword down.
Ive asked a lot of questions about historical accuracy inGladiator II.
Thats something personally I can sort of laugh at.
Im not gonna lose my temper over it.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
