The Historically Inaccurate Reason That Product Placement Was Removed From The First Gladiator Film

When you picture the original Gladiator film from 2000, the first thing that likely comes to mind is Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius. However, in an interview with Vanity Fair, the actor revealed that he actually almost dropped out of the film entirely as he didn’t like the script, and there were some strange inclusions that he didn’t agree with.

“I was confident about my abilities as a leading man. What I wasn’t confident about with ‘Gladiator’ was the world that was surrounding me.

“At the core of what we were doing was a great concept but the script, it was rubbish, absolute rubbish. And it had all these sorts of strange sequences.”

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="6665" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":5,"contentIndexByType":1,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Vanity Fair","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIsbLox_y9dCIMLd8tdC6qg","cache_age":86400,"description":"Russell Crowe takes us through his illustrious career, including his roles in ‘Young Doctors,’ ‘L.A. Confidential,’ ‘Gladiator,’ ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ ‘Cinderella Man,’ ‘American Gangster,’ ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ and newest film ‘The Pope’s Exorcist.’\r\n\r\nTHE POPE’S EXORCIST is in theaters now, https://www.thepopes-exorcist.movie\r\n\r\nDirector: Funmi Sunmonu\r\nDirector of Photography: Joe Machart\r\nEditor: Matthew Colby\r\nCelebrity Talent: Russell Crowe\r\nLine Producer: Romeeka Powell\r\nAssociate Producer: Emebeit Beyene\r\nProduction Managers: Natasha Soto-Albors\r\nTalent Booker: Meredith Judkins\r\nPost Production Supervisor: Edward Taylor\r\nPost Production Coordinator: Jovan James\r\nSupervising Editor: Kameron Key\r\nAssistant Editor: Justin Symonds\r\n\r\n00:00 Russell Crowe’s Career Timeline\r\n00:37 Young Doctors\r\n02:30 L.A. Confidential\r\n04:52 Gladiator\r\n09:46 A Beautiful Mind\r\n13:41 Cinderella Man\r\n16:52 American Gangster\r\n20:25 Thor: Love and Thunder\r\n23:04 The Pope’s Exorcist\n\nStill haven’t subscribed to Vanity Fair on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2z6Ya9M\r\n\r\nWant to stay in the know? Subscribe to Vanity Fair Magazine and be exquisitely informed ►► http://vntyfr.com/2RuQGW2\r\n\r\nABOUT VANITY FAIR\r\nArts and entertainment, business and media, politics, and world affairs—Vanity Fair’s features and exclusive videos capture the people, places, and ideas that define modern culture.","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C23LrxaUx-0/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Russell Crowe Breaks Down His Career, from ‘Gladiator’ to ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ | Vanity Fair","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C23LrxaUx-0","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"668ff789e4b0fb744167362b","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-historically-inaccurate-reason-that-product-placement-was-removed-from-the-first-gladiator-film_uk_668ff789e4b0fb744167362b","entryTagsList":"ukfilm,trivia,russell-crowe,gladiator","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":8},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"668ff789e4b0fb744167362b","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"ukfilm","slug":"ukfilm","links":{"relativeLink":"news/ukfilm","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukfilm","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukfilm"},"section":{"title":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"topic":{"title":"Film","slug":"ukfilm","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukfilm/"},{"name":"trivia","slug":"trivia","links":{"relativeLink":"news/trivia","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/trivia","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/trivia"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/trivia/"},{"name":"Russell Crowe","slug":"russell-crowe","links":{"relativeLink":"news/russell-crowe","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/russell-crowe","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/russell-crowe"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/russell-crowe/"},{"name":"gladiator","slug":"gladiator","links":{"relativeLink":"news/gladiator","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gladiator","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gladiator"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gladiator/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

Gladiators were the original influencers

One of these ‘strange sequences’ was scenes in which the gladiators rode chariots that had promotions for olive oil and other products on them.

While this may have seemed like an anachronistic choice for the filmmakers, gladiators in the Roman Empire really did take on endorsement and product placement deals.

According to the marketing experts at Banknotes: “The Colosseum was the mecca of entertainment in Ancient Rome, exposing gladiators to thousands of people at once.

“This is why historians have long suggested that Roman Gladiators were arguably the first influencers of purchasing behaviours.”

Russell did actually know this but said that it just wouldn’t resonate with audiences. He exclaimed: “That’s all true but it’s just not going to ring right to a modern audience, they’re going to go, ‘What the fuck is all this?’”

Maybe he was on to something as the film grossed $465.4 million worldwide.

Gladiator 2 is out in cinemas on15 November 2024.