Just announced: The official illustrated companion book for Gladiator coming in May! (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebooks) By John Logan, David Franzoni. It will feature excerpts from the screenplay, historical sidebars and illustrations, details on period costumes and epic set designs, behind-the-scenes photographs from the location filming, and interviews with the screenwriters, actors, and director.

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Here are some lines they already wrote about Joaquin and his performance in "Gladiator":

While Joaquin Phoenix has the role of the treacherous young Emperor, it’s a part that he runs with and from which he never lets go. Phoenix is devilishly hypnotic here, and is aided by other top-notch work by veteran British thespians Richard Harris and Derek Jacobi.

... Phoenix in an impressively evil performance ...

.As his foil, Commodus, Joaquin Phoenix gives a surprisingly superb performance, exuding jealousy, anger, and deviousness.

Phoenix also does very well as the evil Commodus who is a deeper and more complex villain than most blockbusters.

What was surprising was the performance of Joaquin Phoenix. He usually plays scrawny little losers in films like To Die For (1995) and Clay Pigeons (1998), but here he's gained some weight and muscle and plays one of the Cæsars, a tough, ambitious man who won't let anything keep away from what he wants.

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"Gladiator" seems to get really good reviews. Just look at www.rottentomatoes.com (they are collecting reviews and other stuff about big movies). There you will find a lot of good critics:

"Gladiator is a great cool film." -- Harry Knowles, AIN'T IT COOL

"Gladiator is not just a movie; it is a cinematic experience." -- Annette Kellerman, AIN'T IT COOL

"Gladiator is a fantastic movie experience." -- 'OZ,' HOLLYWOOD BITCHSLAP

"This is certainly Scott's best work since Blade Runner." -- 'Garth,' DARK HORIZONS

"This film was outstanding. I'm having a hard time thinking of anything bad to be said about it." -- Scott Trimble, STST FILM REVIEWS

"Great art direction, beautiful cinematography, realistic action sequences and great performances by all of the players." -- 'John Marzo,' DARK HORIZONS

"Gladiator is the first great film of 2000." -- 'The Cinema Files,' DARK HORIZONS

"The true art of cinema is redefined with this remarkable film." -- 'Paul Fischer,' DARK HORIZONS

Friday, March 17 2000
Joaquin discusses "Gladiator" (some excerpts of the article):

He's dark and brooding, outgrowing the shadow of his late brother, quietly unpretentious yet a young man genuinely unaware oh his true ability as an actor. Through it all, in Ridley Scott's stunning Gladiator, he holds his own among the very best, and for this actor, it's the work, and nothing else, that counts.

He's clearly unaware of the kind of charisma that generates from the screen. As the villainous Roman Emperor he plays with a flawless English accent in Ridley Scott's $103m epic, Gladiator, Phoenix is an arresting and hypnotic presence. It appears, though, the actor doesn't seem to realise how good an actor he is.

"I WAS living in New York, then Gladiator came up, was in Europe for five months, so I gave up that place, and now I'm just looking for something." He does add that he's now "anxious to find a place I'd call home." And he's referring to more than just a house. He did also live with one Liv Tyler for three years, "but that's over now. I seem to wander around without a real residence, but the truth is that I want a steady relationship and home and all that. It just hasn't happened yet."

He'll be soon seen with Kate Winslet in the sexual drama Quills, which features the pair "in the toughest and most unusual sex scene I've ever done". The actor will also be seen in The Yards, opposite Charlize Theron. "At the moment, acting is my passion. It's liberating and I love it. Whether that will last, remains to be seen."

Move on to the whole interview!!!

The release date for "Quills" got pushed back again, this time to September 8th, 2000 (LA/NY); expanding to other cities at later dates.