Ridley Scott Edited 90 Minutes of ‘Gladiator 2’ Amid Strike Shutdown, Including a Baboon Fight Scene; Director Haunted by Video of Real Attack in South Africa
variety.comZack Sharf Digital News Director Ridley Scott revealed in a recent New Yorker profile that he has been editing the 90 minutes of footage he was able to capture for “Gladiator 2” before the Hollywood strikes shut down production.
Scott was shooting the long-awaited “Gladiator” sequel in Morocco when filming stopped indefinitely. He can’t resume production until the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved.
As reported by The New Yorker: “With SAG-AFTRA and the studios back in negotiations, he was preparing to pick up ‘Gladiator 2,’ which stars Paul Mescal, the moment the strike was resolved. ‘I could shoot on Monday,’ he said. (The talks fell apart a week later.) In the meantime, he’d been polishing the 90 minutes he had, including a scene in which the hero fights a pack of baboons; he’d been haunted, he said, by a video of baboons attacking tourists in Johannesburg: ‘Baboons are carnivores.
Can you hang from that roof for two hours by your left leg? No! A baboon can.'” Russell Crowe faced off against Joaquin Phoenix in Scott’s original “Gladiator,” which grossed a whopping $503 million worldwide in 2000 and won the Oscar for best picture, but “Gladiator 2” star Paul Mescal will apparently be going head-to-head against a pack of baboons.
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