russellRussell Crowe, it seems, is really into the idea of making - and starring in - a sequel to Gladiator. Despite the fact that, you know, his character is dead. While this sort of desperation doesn't usually start until at least a decade after a guy wins an Oscar, Russell seems to have a wild hair about this one. He even claims to have paid for Nick Cave (apparently the music one. Who knew?) to write a draft of Galdiator 2:  Maximus' Rotting Flesh, such is his passion for the project. Alright, I made up that title. But Crowe himself is the one who brought up the afterlife thing - "We’ve had...ideas...where we step off into the metaphysical and you actually acknowledge the fact that Maximus is dead." I don't know about anyone else, but I particularly like that quote for the use of the words "actually acknowledge" and "dead." To me, this suggests that his other ideas involved bringing his character magically back to life without any explanation whatsoever. If that took off, boy, it could lead to all kinds of things. Most importantly, of course, we would finally get Shane:  The Return.

[Via The Movie Blog]