In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo, keeping with the trend, ponders the Roman Empire while discussing “Those About to Die.” The Peacock series follows the many types of people who entertained the masses in the Roman Empire —from Emperors, criminals, the wealthy and powerful, down to the lowly horse wranglers. The show stars Anthony Hopkins, Iwan Rheon, Jojo Macari, Sara Martins, and more.
Director/Producer Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “2012”) joined Bingeworthy to discuss the epic historical drama. During the interview, Emmerich detailed his desire to narrow the focus of the series and make it not just a show about the Roman Empire but also the importance of sporting events as a tool to control the masses.
“This is a TV show about sports,” Emmerich explained. “So everything has to be around sports. So that said, it was quite difficult because the Colosseum was built by slaves, by Judean architects, and by stone masons. But they have to kind of do it in the Roman way. Second, there is the whole betting business. We had fun doing that because betting was outlawed, but everybody did it. And then you must also understand how important sports were [at the time]. They paid as much for sports as for war. A third of their money went into sports. And a third went into war efforts. And only one-third went into building roads, buildings, et cetera.”
The series comes on the heels of the TikTok Roman Empire trend, which saw women asking their significant others how often they think about the Roman Empire—the answer was always far more than many would think. Emmerich discussed hearing about the trend while production was underway.
“We actually laughed it off at first. We said, ‘It cannot be that every man in America thinks about that on a weekly basis,” Emmerich said. “But obviously, it’s true. I actually lived and breathed the Roman Empire for the last four or five years on a daily basis. While I was doing “Midway” and while I was doing “Moonfall,” I was already planning and doing things, and it was an adventure.”
Emmerich is famous for his visual effects-heavy films like “2012,” “Moonfall,” and more. Having never directed for television, the big-budget director shared how much of a change the effects timeline was compared to the many months he would usually spend on his large-scale films.
“Yeah, [it was a learning curve] because everything had to be so fast,” Emmerich said. “[Normally] you have 15, 16, 17 days for the TV pilot and then 12, 13 for a normal show. But we kind of naturally said, ‘Oh no, we have to have like 18, 20 days.’ And it was like a lot of pushing—my co-director, Marco, and I just insisted on it. If you want to have quality, you need time.”
Emmerich has become known as the king of the disaster films. When the discussion turned to what keeps him coming back to the genre, the director admitted that he has less interest in other large-scale movies that are currently popular.
“You know what? I don’t like comic book movies. Comic book heroes leave me cold because I didn’t grow up with them. So, very easy [to say no to them],” Emmerich shared. “So you get pushed against the wall. And the first [disaster] movie I made was ‘Independence Day,’ where I mixed science fiction and a disaster movie. And it was totally modeled after ‘The Towering Inferno.’ And that was so successful. Naturally, they want you to come back to that situation. Then the next one was like ‘Godzilla,’ and then there was ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ ‘Moonfall,’ and ‘2012.’ These get made easier than other films.”
So, will the king of the disaster film return to the genre after “Moonfall” seemed to leave audiences cold? The director says the odds are “very good.”
“I have a big, big film project. And I don’t know if I should do the second season of [“Those About to Die”] first or if I should do a film project and then the second season. I don’t know yet,” Emmerich teased. “It’s a little bit like the sequel to ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ in that we’re a stupid race. And we kind of don’t understand what we’re doing to our planet… It’s a totally different story and characters [from Day After Tomorrow]. But, yeah, we’re a stupid race. That’s what we are.”
The director has also received mixed feedback from fans about his “Independence Day” sequel, “Independence Day: Resurgence,” which wasn’t as well received as the original. The director has admitted that the film had to be re-written at the last minute due to star Will Smith dropping out. Does that mean Smith and Emmerich might come back together to set things right in another sequel? Don’t get your hopes up.
“Well, yeah. I’ve been like, ‘[Will’s character] died in number two,’ Emmerich said. “But also, Disney now has the decision to make it, which is even worse, you know, because they never ever did my deal.”
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The Playlist Presents – Roland Emmerich’s Film Recommendation Playlist:
1.) “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) – Directed By Steven Spielberg
2.) “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) – Directed By David Lean
3.)“Cinema Paradiso” (1988) – Directed By Giuseppe Tornatore
The entire first season of “Those About to Die” premieres on Peacock on July 18th. Listen to both spoiler-filled interviews below: