Starz has announced a new TV series version of Spartacus, the stirring historical epic of a doomed but feisty slave rebellion in ancient Rome. With intense gladiator action sure to be on tap, it’s no surprise that the tale — already interpreted as a film by Stanley Kubrick, a novel by Howard Fast and a ballet by Aram Khachaturian — would be ripe for adaptation for a new generation. However, the buzz words in the press release are, we believe, of some interest to our audience:
Starz’s new series, “Spartacus,” an entirely new twist on the ancient legend, will utilize virtual environments giving it a unique graphic novel look and style, along with a fresh narrative approach….
With comics-loving exec producers Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Josh Donen on board, getting that graphic novel look and feeling should be a snap; in addition, though, the show runner is Steven S. DeKnight, who worked on Smallville and “Season Eight” of the Buffy comic.
From the talented team responsible for some of the biggest action feature film hits, and consistently popular action TV series, “Spartacus” will take the story of the rebellious warrior-slave and re-imagine it for a generation of TV viewers raised on graphic novels and cutting-edge production technology. Audiences will get 13 hour-long episodes of unsparing action, set in the brutal world of gladiators.
The show promises lots of “character, action, sex, and combat,” meaning it will be much like a typical day at the San Diego Comic-Con, where the idea was probably hatched.
In all seriousness, is this the first TV show to be done in the “Frank Miller/green screen” style?
Frank Miller green screen style? Now he gets credit for that? I really don’t think he came up with the idea of “green screen”.
Yeah, even if “green screen” moviemaking has been connected to graphic novels with SIN CITY, ya gotta give much credit for that to Miller’s co-director Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez had been doing impressive green screen work with the Spy Kids movies well before the technique became synonymous with comics movies like 300 and THE SPIRIT…
First TV show to be done in the “Frank Miller/green screen” style?
Wasn’t that LAND OF THE LOST? (But their screens were probably blue.)
“THEY DIDN’T HAVE FLAT TOPS IN ANCIENT ROME!”
Is this the new fad at Starz??
Every new series they introduce is going to be based on already existing motion picture?
No original concepts or ideas?
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Coat
The Sci-Fi Channel series “Sanctuary” is filmed entirely with green screens. (“Land of the Lost” had a lot of real sets.)