SPARTACUS: War of the Damned! Final Season!

[Golgo-13]

Spartacus:War of The damned will be the final season in the Spartacus chapter.

Airing Jan 2013!

http://collider.com/spartacus-war-of...season/170958/

Beverly Hills, Calif. – Date June 4, 2012 – STARZ announced today the upcoming season of the international hit series “Spartacus” will be the conclusion of the saga. With a visual style completely unique to television, the franchise has amassed both critical and popular acclaim to become the most successful on the network and one of the highest rated programs in all of cable television. More than six million weekly viewers watched last season, “Spartacus: Vengeance,” which has amassed more than 2.5 million Facebook fans. Globally, the series airs in 150 countries in more than 15 languages.

“The fans have been tremendously supportive of our show,” says creator and executive producer, Steven S. DeKnight. “We did not come to this decision lightly. It was an extremely difficult and emotional decision for my partners and I. Yet, in the end, the story was best served by rolling all of the remaining action and drama of Spartacus’ journey into one stunningly epic season that will be extremely satisfying for everyone who’s been along for the ride.”

[Sawyer]

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

[Fives]

Awesome! I've been watching Spartacus since it first started, so I can't wait to see how they end it.

[Marvolo]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

Still put off by the fact they are ending the story right when it is suppossed to be starting. So much to set up and go through, and to give these characters a real conclusion in only 10 episodes seems like a steep order.

[cheungcheung]

Yeah sux that this will be the final season

[Sawyer]

Steven S. DeKnight's next project:

DeKnight’s Incursion follows a squad of soldiers caught in a war against a hostile alien race. Each season the battle will be fought on a new, exotic planet as humanity punches deeper into enemy territory.

[Baramos]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Steven S. DeKnight's next project:

Man that sounds awesome.

I've loved Spartacus, this past season was amazing. No idea why they are ending it so soon, does it get poor ratings or something? Budget reasons?

The upside is it will never have filler or get bad, it will live on as one of the best series on television with presumably few if any flaws. The over-the-top gore and nudity is basically its "thing"--you either like it or you don't. If it didn't have it it would probably be the next Camelot--cancelled before its time and forgotten (and heck, I liked Camelot).

[Marvolo]

I wonder if they will end this show on a high note with a vcitory, ambiguously, or go with history?

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Originally Posted by Baramos

Man that sounds awesome.

I've loved Spartacus, this past season was amazing. No idea why they are ending it so soon, does it get poor ratings or something? Budget reasons?

The upside is it will never have filler or get bad, it will live on as one of the best series on television with presumably few if any flaws.

I think when this show is looked back on the two major flaws will be cast changes (avoidable and unavoidable) and when sex was used at the expense of story. I also don't think the storyline in the latest season touched the first season and prequel season in terms of quality. But just giving the other side. Still an awesome show, just not as awesome.

[Dangerman]

Originally Posted by Baramos

Man that sounds awesome.

I've loved Spartacus, this past season was amazing. No idea why they are ending it so soon, does it get poor ratings or something? Budget reasons?

The upside is it will never have filler or get bad, it will live on as one of the best series on television with presumably few if any flaws. The over-the-top gore and nudity is basically its "thing"--you either like it or you don't. If it didn't have it it would probably be the next Camelot--cancelled before its time and forgotten (and heck, I liked Camelot).

Camelot was great had a slow start but really picked up. But then again I'm still upset they ended Rome much sooner than they should have.

[Primal Slayer]

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

Can you say upgrade?

And trailer:

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

And since we wont be getting a Xena movie anytime in this life time I wouldnt mind this team and Starz rebooting the franchise for the network if they were able to find an actress that could hold a handle to Lucy Flawless

[Siby]

Sheesh! That trailer had my heart pumping.

[Superhero 101]

God i can't Wait!!!

[Golgo-13]

From Comic-Con!

[Lencho01]

http://collider.com/liam-mcintyre-sp...ic-con/180320/

Comic-Con: SPARTACUS Interview with Steven S. DeKnight, Liam McIntyre, Manu Bennett, Cythia Addai-Robinson – Tales of Epic Endings, Loves and Tributes

by Nico Posted:July 13th, 2012 at 10:47 pm

I’ve been watching Spartacus since day two. I somehow missed day one. Spartacus is much more than sex and gore, it’s about heart. It’s about the growth of these characters from slaves to freedom fighters. So getting a chance to sit down with Steven S. DeKnight (executive producer), Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), Manu Bennett (Crixus) and Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia) was a big treat. They’d flown straight from set in New Zealand to talk about the series. For what they had to say about the final season Spartacus: War of the Damned, airing on STARZ in January 2013, read on after the break.

Liam McIntyre (Spartacus)

On where they’re at in production, “When I go back, I will be shooting the last couple of days of episode five, so we’ve just gone past halfway. Shot five scenes on Thursday and got on plane. This year’s crazy. Some of the best writing I’ve seen for the whole series.”



On boot camp, “They just make it harder. You’d think it’s the last season, take it easy. The guys got on a military vibe, which was a nightmare. It’s great, it means you do the work and feel good about yourself when you do those love scenes. It’s one of the best ways to get a cast together, put them in an environment where failure’s not an option, but that’s what they’re trying to get you to do. You work together, you fight together, it feels like the war that you’re about to go through in the story.”

Andy Whitfield’s advice over email to Liam, “It’s a big family. Look after yourself. It’s a tough show, but it’s one of the best experiences ever.”

On this season’s story, “They skipped ahead to the meat of the story, they’ve chopped out all of the fat. They built a whole city. It’s going to wrap it up in an exciting and still unexpected way, because you can Wikipedia Spartacus and find out what happens. It’s one of those lucky histories, all the details are a bit vague so you can fill it with all the interesting plot points you want. People die at all different times. People go on to exciting adventures that you don’t expect. Every script that I’ve read has given me something that surprised me so far.”

On where’s his character is at, “He’s very much business now. He’s closed a bit of the chapter on his personal pain. He’s tried to embrace that for the masses, for freedom thing. That’s been a challenge because everything in acting is about relationships so you can’t just play some general of people who’s just out to win the war even though that’s his story now. There are thousands of people dying. It actually weighs heavier on him. But he has to close all of that out so he can be the warrior general so that everyone else has the confidence that they can win this thing which is for all intents and purposes seemingly impossible against the richest man and the strongest nation in the world at that time.”

On playing himself in a video game, “That **** is the bomb!” (P.S. He used to run a video game store.)



Manu Bennett (Crixus)

On the relationship between Crixus and Naevia, “Right from the very start until what we’re filming right now, there’s still a determination between Spartacus and Crixus behind what the meaning behind freedom is. Whether you’re doing it for yourself or doing it for others. What are the things to protect if you’re trying to gain freedom. For Crixus, once he met Naevia and that love story began, it’s been about finding that window that she opened up for him. We begin season three with the idea that the two of them are in their zenith of their relationship. They’ve found everything they’ve ever been looking for, except being beyond the borders of Rome. Everything takes a slide towards the worst.”

On the scope of this season, “This is the season about Rome bringing all its might and all its power in to squash this group that dared to defy them. It starts out with the group feeling quite confident in themselves, because they managed to beat one small legion and hold a city for a while. Now, here comes the might of Rome. Anybody who researches the history of it knows it doesn’t end well. The epic nature of the War of the Damned is the epic battles that do take place. We’re saying goodbye to each other slowly as the end nears…”



On the relationship between Crixus and Spartacus, “Crixus and Spartacus have a huge power struggle this season. Spartacus has the concept that everybody deserves freedom, including the Romans when it comes to some circumstances. When he starts defending the enemy, Crixus thinks, ‘Are we in a war here? Can you afford to care for these people, to feed these people, when we barely have rations for ourselves? And they’re the enemy, they’re the people who have done this to us. What’s the statement you’re trying to make, Spartacus?’ That really starts hinging on the drama of the rebel force who start to divide itself based on whether they believe that this concept of Spartacus’s should be for everybody, including the Romans. That is the heart of this season — the difference of opinion in that equality of freedom for all.”

On Be Here Now, the Kickstarter documentary about Andy Whitfield, “(Points to the “Be Here Now” emblazoning his shirt) This is Andy’s tattoo which he put on his arm during his treatment phase for cancer. Be Here Now is a documentary that was shot during Andy’s treatment phase and they shot right up until a few days before Andy passed away. There’s a trailer for it on YouTube. I believe they just finalized getting all the funding they need to produce the documentary and finish it off. If you’re a fan of the show and you want to know just more about that man behind our first series, that brilliant actor, that wonderful father, that caring husband which he was, make sure you watch Be Here Now when it comes out. It’s about living the moment and being aware of the gift of life. For Andy, being a family man and having children, it’s just been so sad for all of us to have lost him. If it’s this message about cancer that helps awareness and speeds up finding a cure, that’s what Andy would’ve wanted from this documentary.”

Steven S. DeKnight (Executive Producer)

On the inevitability of history, “You know, the thing about the ending is, it’s kind of like the sinking of the Titanic, you know the Titanic sank, but still James Cameron’s movie made a billion dollars back in the day. It’s not about what happened, it’s not about the ship sinking, it’s not about the Roman’s winning, it’s about how did we get there. It’s the human story. The great thing about the history of Spartacus is, if you read it, it’s all written from the Roman’s side, so from an artistic standpoint, there’s nothing about the people. There’s nothing about why. That’s something we get to explore. The trickiest thing about the ending is, you don’t want to have the complete downbeat ending. Everybody died, they lost. It’s the great thing in the Kirk Douglas version, there’s that ray of hope. Even though he was crucified, his son was going to live free. We’re not doing that, obviously, but I think we found a way to have a message of victory in the face of defeat.”



Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia)

On Naevia’s relationship with Crixus, “I think that the response to that storyline, people are obviously really invested. At the end of the day, myself and Manu (Bennett) were really passionate about honoring what that storyline means to people, that epic love of loves. This man has gone to hell and back to find this woman. Who doesn’t want that level of love? It’s really amazing.”

On getting the role, “When I got the role, I was put on tape in Los Angeles and didn’t hear anything and I thought, “Oh, that went away” and then all of the sudden, I get a call that Steven DeKnight would like to meet with you. ‘How would you like to go to New Zealand and swing around a sword?’ ‘Okay’ Once I found that out, I had a week to pack up my life and go to New Zealand. I’ve been on this crazy ride ever since. It’s been a dream come true, getting to travel to this location and meet all these amazing people and play a role that, I really don’t think there’s a role like this on television right now… Any female that gets to kick ass at this level, you feel pretty lucky.”

On how she’d like it to end, “I don’t know. Maybe come back as a zombie…”

[Lencho01]

http://collider.com/comic-con-spartacus/180231/

Comic-Con: SPARTACUS: WAR OF THE DAMNED Panel Recap Plus New Images from the Show

by Nico Posted:July 13th, 2012 at 9:14 pm

In an effort of full disclosure, I am a fan of the Spartacus series. It’s not the blood and guts, though there’s plenty of both. It’s not the hyper sexuality/sensuality, though that’s also available in spades. It’s the character performances that make this series stand out for me. I couldn’t pass up the chance to get a glimpse at what’s to come in the the final season Spartacus: War of the Damned, airing on STARZ in January 2013. This panel really brought out the dead. Find out what I mean after the break.



The panel started with a teaser for the final season and, in one word, it was epic. The battle between the freed gladiators/slaves and Rome looks to reach new heights as it reaches its climax. Following that, Steven S. DeKnight (Executive Producer), Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), Manu Bennett (Crixus) took to the stage in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

When asked why Spartacus was ending after its fourth season, DeKnight said that they wanted to go out on top and make “the biggest, most insanely epic final season we could.” He knows the pressure to, as he puts it, “stick the landing” is on and he wants to live up to the impact of season one’s finale. McIntyre added his excitement because they are packing a lot of storytelling in.

When the attention shifted to questions from the fans, and the first fan asked McIntyre about filling in the Andy Whitfield, all three men on stage lead the crowd in a standing ovation to honor that fallen warrior. They also want interested fans to check out the Kickstarter for Be Here Now, a documentary about the life of Whitfield named after the tattoo he got on his forearm when he started cancer treatment.

DeKnight spoke briefly about his next TV endeavor, Incursion, and described it as Band of Brothers meets Halo — hard R-rated military science fiction show with both men and women fighting.

DeKnight teased that while we won’t see a direct riff on the famous “I am Spartacus” scene from the Kirk Douglas movie, the show may tip its hat to it.



When asked how they send off the cast members whose characters meet their end on the show, Bennett performed the beginning of the Maori war dance he leads in tribute. A fan couldn’t ask for a fitting segue as first Lucy Lawless came to the stage, but then she was also joined by other cast members who met their demise in Spartacus: Vengeance: Peter Mensah, Katrina Law, Nick Tarabay, Viva Bianca and Craig Parker. This once again brought the crowd to their feet. Some even rushed the stage.

Little cuts:

McIntyre referred to Bennett as “man mountain” in describing the boot camp. Bennett likes boot camp because by the end, the cast has become a team.

“I was told we were rationing out blood at the end of last season.” McIntyre on the gratuitous use of that particular red bodily fluid.

“I always like to say we’re ‘historically adjacent’.” DeKnight on the use of factual events in the storytelling.

“It’s The Princess Bride, if it were R-rated.” DeKnight on describing the series.

“…Unlike The Princess Bride, our midget has a dildo on his head” Bennett’s follow up.

To catch up on all of our Comic-Con 2012 coverage, click here.

[Golgo-13]

Still wish the original Naevia was still there.

[MarvelKnight]

Originally Posted by Golgo-13

Still wish the original Naevia was still there.

Me too. Naevia2 doesn't hold a candle to her.

[Sawyer]

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

The looks on the faces of the other women as Lawless describes her death is hilarious.

[Lencho01]

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

[Golgo-13]

Crixus now feels like a shadow of the character he was in the prequel and season 1.

[Lencho01]

Originally Posted by Golgo-13

Crixus now feels like a shadow of the character he was in the prequel and season 1.

I think the whole Naevia situation hurt his character.

[Lencho01]

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

[Lencho01]

http://collider.com/spartacus-war-of...railer/209021/

Starz Announces Premiere Date for Final SPARTACUS Season, Plus a Sneak Peek at SPARTACUS: WAR OF THE DAMNED

by Allison Keene Posted: November 6th, 2012 at 11:37 am


Sarz has announced that its gladiatorial series Spartacus will come to its conclusion with its third season, Spartacus: War of the Damned, which will premiere on Friday, January 25th 2013 at 9pm. Spartacus fashioned itself initially as a kind of response to HBO’s great but gone-too-soon series Rome, also piggybacking on the popularity of 300, but distinguished itself for being particularly violent, with lots of explicit sexual content.

Aside from having to establish itself among a bevy of currently running period dramas, the series faced difficulties during its first season when its star Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which lead Starz to produce a prequel mini-series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. Liam McIntyre then replaced Whitfield for the following season, Spartacus: Vengeance, and will finish out the series’ run. Hit the jump for more on Spartacus, including a sneak peek video of War of the Damned.

Series creator Steven S. DeKnight as well as Liam McIntyre and Simon Merrells have joined together for a short series recap and preview of the final season in this clip “Strategy of War.” From it, it looks like War of the Damned will have just as much blood, shirtlessness and short Roman skirts as prior seasons, but potentially may double down on the violence, if that’s possible.

Here’s the synopsis for Spartacus: War of the Damned:

“Spartacus: War of the Damned” takes place following the defeat of Roman commander Gaius Claudius Glaber. Spartacus and his men have amassed major victories against the Romans after the Battle of Vesuvius. These victories have not only forged the legend of Spartacus, but have greatly increased the ranks of the rebellion slaves to more than 30,000. Rome is indeed beginning to tremble at the threat Spartacus now represents.

“Spartacus: War of the Damned” sees the return of Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), Manu Bennett (Crixus), Dustin Clare (Gannicus), Dan Feuerriegel (Agron), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Naevia) and Ellen Hollman (Saxa). This year, Todd Lasance joins the cast as Gaius Julius Caesar, along with Simon Merrells, who will play Marcus Crassus and Anna Hutchison as Laeta.

[MarvelKnight]

Can't wait for this to come back. Hopefully it's as epic as I think it's going to be.