Russell Crowe started making a real splash in Hollywood with his Oscar-caliber flicks like the period noir film “L.A. Confidential” and Michael Mann‘s “The Insider,” but it wasn’t until Ridley Scott‘s Roman Empire epic “Gladiator” that he really proved his leading man status and won a Best Actor Oscar statue for his performance. That film’s success led to a string of other period epics cashing in on that audience’s hunger for nearly a decade. He’s now making a return to a project set during that period of history with “The Last Druid.”
With production set to commence next month, the pic, as revealed by Deadline, “will tell the story of a Roman Emperor who discovers a secluded Druid stronghold in the mountains of Caledonia. A peaceful Celtic elder (Crowe) must take up arms to protect his family and people from annihilation.”
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William Eubank will be directing “The Last Druid” after working with Crowe on the serviceable special forces action flick “Land of Bad” that also starred Liam Hemsworth and Milo Ventimiglia. The filmmaker was also behind the visually stunning Kristen Stewart sci-fi horror movie “Underwater.”
That’s not it, as “Game of Thrones” and “Downton Abbey” actress Rose Leslie is part of the cast alongside Andreas Pietschmann (“Dark”) and Daniel Zovatto (“The Pope’s Exorcist,” “It Follows”). We’ll see director of photography Agustin Claramunt reunite with Eubank after lensing “Land of Bad.”
Eubank co-wrote the script of “The Last Druid” with Phil Gawthorne (“Modern Life is Rubbish”) and Carlyle Eubank (“Muzzle”). Filming is going to take place in Barcelona and the Spanish Canary Islands, with cameras said to start rolling on June 8.
Action-drama is out to buyers at the Cannes Film Market and is being produced by Adrián Guerra (“Buried”), Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (“Longlegs”), Fred Berger (“La La Land”), Ben Pugh (“The Courier”), and executive-produced by Núria Valls, Xavier Parache, AJ Bourscheid, Brandon Millan, Sam Wasson, George Hsieh, and Stuart Ford. Range Media Partners and CAA Media Finance are securing financing for the picture with Nostromo Pictures and overseeing the U.S. rights to the movie. Meanwhile, AGC International is managing the global sales after pre-selling the film in multiple international markets, including Amazon for a handful of territories.
We’re a tad curious if Russell Crowe felt pressured to get back into that genre after his recent criticisms of Scott’s follow-up “Gladiator II,” throwing Maximus’ “moral core” into a wood chipper after the sequel’s story/twist revealed he had cheated on his beloved wife and fathered the main character Luicis (Paul Mescal took on the part in the sequel) with Connie Nielsen‘s Lucilla in secret. Or if the veteran actor simply wanted to get back onto a set with Eubank.
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