Russell Crowe

Ensuing death threats lead to years with personal bodyguards as he feared for his life. His wife divorced him, his children chose to go live with their mother and disassociate with him. The pressure and stress caused him to begin drinking heavily. At one point his home and offices were broken into and that coupled with the death threats led him to live anonymously in hotels with his full time bodyguard. There were lawsuits brought against him for revealing trade secrets. These suits were settled after the tobacco industry settled their litigation suit for two hundred and forty six billion dollars. In 1999 the movie The Insider starring Russell Crowe was released. The movie depicting his life and the events that ensued from his whistle-blowing. “Ever since The Insider came out in 1999, Wigand has been in demand. He speaks at dozens of schools a year.” (Salter) He feel he has been vindicated because of the movie and states “it gave me a tremendous amount of credibility and a much larger platform”.…

In 2000, Ridley Scott directed a movie titled Gladiator after being inspired by a 19th century painting which depicted a gladiator standing atop the bodies of his slain enemies. The chronicles the story of General Maximus Decimus Meridus (Russell Crowe) and begins one night when the emperor, Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), reveals to his son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), that he wishes for Maximus to become his successor. In a fit of rage, Commodus murders his father and declares…

CONNECTIONS REPORT My connection, not giving up, is shown through these four texts: A Knight’s Tale (directed by Brian Helgeland), Gladiator (directed by Ridley Scott), The Help (directed by Tate Taylor) and 127 Hours (directed by Danny Boyle). A Knight’s Tale shows the connection not giving up when the main character, (William, a young squire with a gift for jousting) forges genealogy documents in order to enter a jousting competition. Despite not being a knight, he gains popularity and wins…

In the 2000 film Gladiator, Maximus, a Roman general, is betrayed and forced to live as a slave in the arenas as a gladiator, where his strength and courage alone can free him from his imprisonment. With the ultimate goal of enacting revenge on Commodus, the emperor who put his family to death, Maximus proves himself on the battlefield by defeating numerous opponents, many very gruesomely, in the name of vengeance attempting to earn a rudiarius (a sword granted as a sign of freedom to…

As a historical figure, the Roman emperor Commodus is a fascinating character. Even more interesting are the varying portrayals of him. Director Ridley Scott saw an opportunity for this character when he directed his 2000 epic, Gladiator. Gladiator has been deemed a visual masterpiece that brings Ancient Rome to modern audiences. There is no doubt that the movie is visually stunning with its sweeping views that show the grandeur of the Coliseum, large gladiator battles, beautiful landscapes,…

The articles “Gladiator University” wrote by Jennifer Marino Walter and the article “Did Gladiators Always Fight to the Death?” , these articles changed the way readers look at gladiators and their ways. The recent archaeological developments has changed ever reader's perspective on gladiators. In these passages it explains how they lived and what archaeologist discovered about gladiators lifestyle. We in modern time thought gladiators were murderous and inhumane people. In shows, movies and…

Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a 2000 film industry achievement which stars the hero, Russel Crowe, as the unwavering Hispano-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius. Joaquin Phoenix is the foe and stars as Commodus, the degenerate and goal-oriented child of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The maturing Emperor is featured by veteran performing artist Richard Harris. Lucilla, little girl of the Emperor, is featured by Connie Nielsen who needs to oppose the perverted advances of Commodus and ensure her…

The film Gladiator is not true but there are historical events, gladiators, Coliseums, and actual people in which this film was about. The time frame of this movie, which is 180 AD, takes place around the time of the real characters and events. According to David Neelin, the director Ridley Scott and story writer David Franzoni of this film tries to not only show historical history, observation and experience, but to show the characters mental attitude and culture. While the events of what…

Jerry Maguire is a movie about a difficult time in a passionate sport agent’s life. Jerry Maguire, desires to be the best at what he does and later to find love. He ultimately achieves his goal through the help of Rod Tidwell and Dorothy Boyd. While the theme of the movie focuses on the trials and tribulations that a sport agent goes through there is also an underlying powerful relationship that adds to the movie’s actuality. Jerry Maguire integrates failure and success with his job and…

The 1996 film Jerry Maguire stars Tom Cruise who plays Jerry who is a an upcoming sports agent going through a challenging time in his career. As he has to face the reality of his company’s ethical behavior, Jerry decides to develop a more personal angle to the sports agency world therefore setting him apart from the rest of the sports management industry. Beginning the film Jerry is working for a large, well-known sports agency firm who is only focused on making the most profits like every…