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Paul Mescal as adult Lucius in the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images; Adobe Stock (3)
Ridley Scott’s Very Expensive Roman Holiday
With accidents on set, complaints about animal abuse and now reports that the production went wildly over budget, sources tell Rambling Reporter that Ridley Scott’s long-awaited release Gladiator The sequel is leaving Paramount executives feeling a little like Joaquin Phoenix’s Emperor Commodus: “terribly upset.” Initially budgeted at $165 million, sources say that figure has ballooned to something closer to $310 million. (Paramount insiders insist the net cost of the 49-day shoot was less than $250 million.) “It’s a runaway movie,” says a source. “It is not being managed.” Strikes account for some of that money; Closures that began in July reportedly cost $600,000 a week, or a total of about $10 million, until Scott resumed filming in December (although there were reports that he kept the cameras rolling during work stoppages, filming extras in crowd scenes in Malta, where he built a set for the Colosseum). But even before the strikes, Fortuna clearly disapproved of this sequel, starring Paul Mescal as an adult Lucius, the young royal in the original who adored Russell Crowe’s Maximus. A stunt gone wrong in June sent four crew members to the hospital with non-life-threatening burns. Then, in July, PETA sent an open letter to Scott filled with “whistleblower” reports of horse and monkey abuse on set, reports that sources close to the production deny, noting that the Humane Society was on site during filming. .
Jon Peters cuts stylist check for January 6
Beverly Hills salon owner-turned-insurrectionist Gina Bisignano, who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 wearing a Louis Vuitton sweater and Chanel boots, shouting into a megaphone: “We need gas masks, we need guns, we need strong, patriotic patriots.” angry to help our citizens.” guys” – has a benefactor: Jon Peters. Rambling Reporter has learned that the reclusive film entrepreneur (former head of Sony Pictures, former love of Barbra Streisand and, most recently, self-proclaimed “Trump of Hollywood”) is partially funding Bisignano’s legal defense (after initially pleading guilty to six counts, (she withdrew her guilty plea to felony obstruction of an official proceeding and is scheduled to go to trial in August.) In addition to writing her a $10,000 check in September (supposedly to “train” her two taps in Brussels), Peters wrote her another check in December, Bisignano told her associates, and she has confirmed that THR that Peters gave her “a large amount” to help her with her cases. Peters, of course, began his historic rise as a hairstylist before producing films like A star has been born, flash dance and Michael Keaton Batman photographs. His connection to Bisignano seems to arise from both personal entanglements and ideological sympathy; She describes herself as a close friend of Peters’ fiancée, actress Julia Faye West. Peters did not respond to a request for comment. — Samuel Braslow
Fury in Beverly Hills over no-remodeling rule
You might want to hold off on that Amazonian quartzite countertop. A Superior Court judge halted all new home improvement projects, from kitchen remodels to multimillion-dollar grotto installations, in Beverly Hills. Judge Curtis A. Kin’s December decision was clearly an attempt to pressure the affluent city to finally approve new housing for low-income residents, something it has failed to do for several decades. Unsurprisingly, the edict has outraged many people in the 5.71-square-mile borough. “People are angry that a judge has the right to put a moratorium on residents on something that is neither their fight nor their fault,” says Aaron Kirman, a resident who represents properties throughout Los Angeles and appears on the real estate series from CNBC. Impossible listing. “The reality is that Beverly Hills doesn’t have much land.” Housing advocates dispute the lack of space argument: “There are plenty of places to build (low-income housing),” says Matt Gelfand, an attorney for Californians for Homeownership, the group whose lawsuit against the city led to the ruling. by Kin. Beverly Hills challenges the ruling. — Kevin Dolak
How The Grill kept the big guy going
For anyone dealing with a spouse who doesn’t know when to put down the bottle, restaurateur Bob Spivak shares a foolproof strategy, courtesy of legendary bon vivant and world-class drinker Jackie Gleason. In Spivak’s recent memoirs, Saved by a blonde and a chicken pot pie, the founder of Grill on the Alley says that the Great One, as Gleason was nicknamed, often ordered “five or six” double J&B whiskeys “for when dessert arrived.” But “unbeknownst to Jackie, our waiter and waiters had a prearranged agreement with his wife, dancer Marilyn Taylor. While the first drink was a true double, the second was a quarter of water, in the third drink it was half water and in the fifth drink it was water with a splash of whiskey.” How sweet it is! — Julian Sancton
This story first appeared in the February 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here for subscribe.