Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 Cameramen Had To Dress As Roman Soldiers Because Of His Filming Technique

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal reveals that camera operators would dress up as Roman soldiers due to Ridley Scott’s filming strategy. Coming 24 years after the beloved original Gladiator, Scott’s sequel follows Mescal’s Lucius as he becomes a hero of the Colosseum. Gladiator 2 reviews were generally positive from critics, with praise aimed at the movie’s action sequences and epic scope, and it’s now been revealed that Scott used an abundance of cameras to capture it all.

During THR‘s Actor Roundtable, Mescal speaks about Scott’s filming strategy on Gladiator 2, recalling just how many cameras the director used for different scenes. Though a more intimate scene may use five or six, the Lucius actor reveals that Scott would have a dozen going for more involved fight sequences. Getting this many cameras into a shot required some cleverness, and Mescal recalls camera operators wearing Roman soldier gear to blend in. Check out Mescal’s comments below:

In the scenes in the cell, he would get as many cameras in there as possible — maybe he’d get to five, trying to cram a sixth in the door. Whereas when you’re shooting the battle scenes, it’s 12 […] Twelve cameras, easy. Camera operators dressed up in costume like Roman soldiers […] So you save time with the amount of takes that you’re going to do because the coverage is there. But you also gain a sense of freedom because continuity goes out the window.

What Scott’s Gladiator 2 Filming Technique Means For His Career

One Collaborator Had Harsh Words About Scott’s Use Of Multiple Cameras

Scott is currently 87 years old and showing no signs of slowing down. He continues to pump out new films, with The Last Duel and House of Gucci arriving in 2021 and Napoleon arriving in 2023. His method of using a dozen cameras to film an action scene allows him to make quite involved, epic movies fairly quickly.

Gladiator 2 cinematographer John Mathieson recently criticized Scott’s filming process as “really lazy,” calling the director “quite impatient” for wanting to capture scenes as quickly as possible. He also took aim at Scott’s use of CGI, which wasn’t just used to enhance Gladiator 2‘s Roman setting and add Colosseum opponents like a rhino and baboons, but to remove cameras, equipment, and crew members that ended up in shots from one of the dozen cameras being used.

Though Mathieson may not be a fan of this multiple-camera technique, especially because it makes lighting a scene a major challenge, it doesn’t appear Scott will be changing his methods moving forward. Scott has already expressed interest in making a third film that continues Lucius’ story after the Gladiator 2 ending, and he has a variety of projects at various stages of development.

Our Take On Scott’s Gladiator 2 Filming Technique

How Gladiator 3 Can Be An Improvement

The response to Gladiator 2 has been somewhat lukewarm compared to that of the original starring Russell Crowe, but it wasn’t Scott’s filming technique that was arguably the sequel’s biggest problem. The movie’s faults can probably be more fairly attributed to the script, which lacks the emotional highs and lows of Maximus’ story. With Gladiator 3 potentially on the way, Scott’s filming technique seems here to stay, but hopefully Lucius’ story ends up being a little more compelling.

Source: THR

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Gladiator II

Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.

Release Date

November 22, 2024

Runtime

148 minutes

Main Genre

Adventure

Cast

Paul Mescal , Pedro Pascal , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Fred Hechinger , Derek Jacobi , May Calamawy , Peter Mensah , Matt Lucas , Alexander Karim , Tim McInnerny , Lee Charles , Chidi Ajufo , Alfie Tempest , Riana Duce , Chi Lewis Parry , Paul Candelent , Hadrian Howard , Alexander Simkin , Mikhail Basmadjian , Matthew Charlery-Smith , Maxime Durand , Lior Raz

Character(s)

Lucius Verus , Marcus Acacius , Macrinus , Lucilla , Emperor Caracalla , Emperor Geta , Gracchus

Writers

David Scarpa , Peter Craig , David Franzoni

Studio(s)

Paramount Pictures , Universal Pictures , Scott Free Productions , Red Wagon Entertainment

Distributor(s)

Paramount Pictures

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