Latest news with #Spartacus
Geek Tyrant
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
SPARTACUS: HOUSE OF ASHUR – First Look Photos with Story and Character Details — GeekTyrant
Twelve years after the original Spartacus series signed off in a blaze of rebellion and carnage, Spartacus is officially back—and this time, it's Ashur's story. Spartacus: House of Ashur reimagines a world where the scheming ex-slave didn't meet his brutal end at the hands of Naevia. Instead, he survived, thrived, and is now master of his own gladiator school. Starz just dropped the first look via Entertainment Weekly, and Nick Tarabay is back. The series, created by returning showrunner Steven S. DeKnight, is an alternate-history sequel that picks up six months after War of the Damned . The rebellion is over, Spartacus is still dead, and Ashur has been handsomely rewarded by the Roman Republic for his betrayal. He's now in charge of the ludus once run by Batiatus, but holding onto power, especially as a former slave, proves far more treacherous than earning it. 'The only difference is Ashur didn't die,' DeKnight explained. 'Everybody else who died, I hate to tell the fans, they're still dead. I don't want anybody to think that we're digging up Liam McIntyre, as much as I would love to. But the war is over. The rebellion has been crushed.' That grim tone shouldn't surprise fans. The original Spartacus series was brutal, operatic, and soaked in betrayal, and this follow-up doesn't seem interested in softening things, least of all its lead. Ashur isn't getting a redemption arc. He's still 'scheming, murderous Ashur,' DeKnight confirms. But this time, he's a 'hero of the Republic' walking a tightrope in a society that mistrusts him just as much as it celebrates him. 'On the one hand, he's a hero of the Republic for helping quell the rebellion, but on the other hand, he's an ex-slave, which they don't care for,' DeKnight said. 'He's an ex-gladiator, which they care less for. And he turned on his brothers. Nobody trusts him because he, obviously, can't be trusted. So he's in this odd position where he has everything he ever dreamed of and is discovering it's really difficult to hang onto it.' Don't expect Ashur to suddenly grow a conscience. This is still the same venomous opportunist, just in a deadlier game. 'He is Ashur,' DeKnight said. 'He's the same guy, but in this position he's in now, he has to maneuver in a different way. Is he a good guy now? 'No, he's Ashur. He's scheming, murderous Ashur, but the best way to get an audience behind a character like that is roll out the people who are worse. The Romans, the elites are much worse than he is.' New cast members include Dan Hamill as Celadus, Evander Brown as Ephesius, Jordi Webber as Tarchon, Graham McTavish as Korris, and Tenika Davis as Achillia, the show's first gladiatrice. Ashur introduces female gladiators to Rome. 'We wanted to bring in the female gladiators, but historically they didn't appear in ancient Rome until about 100 years later,' DeKnight said. 'This time around, Ashur upsets history and introduces the female gladiator 100 years early. 'She's just as driven, just as dangerous as the men... One of the things we wanted to do on this show is, of course, have all those great staples of the original — the sex, the intrigue, the violence, the complicated twists and turns — but also offering something new. One of those main pillars were the gladiatrices.' DeKnight also addressed why he waited so long to return to this world. 'The reason I kept saying no year after year was that the show was incredibly difficult to do,' he said. 'And then, of course, we lost our star to cancer, Andy Whitfield, which really took the wind out of everybody's sails… I think I needed a decade to recuperate from the original experience, which was wonderful, but just grueling and emotionally gut-wrenching.' Spartacus: House of Ashur premieres this fall on Starz.
Forbes
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Best-Reviewed Shark Attack Movie Since ‘Jaws' Was Just Released
Dangerous Animals I'll be honest, I had never heard about Dangerous Animals until about an hour ago, but now that it's on my radar, I must see it. It's a shark attack film that happens to be the highest-scoring entry in the genre since the original Jaws, and that's no exaggeration. Here's the synopsis: Man-eating sharks? Serial killers? What more could you ask for? This may sound goofy, but critics and audiences agree that it's actually awesome. It has an 83% critic score with well over 100 reviews in, plus a 74% audience score. Here's how it stacks up against other shark movies: Dangerous Animals You get the idea. I'm giving Dangerous Animals a leg up over Kon-Tiki because it's both more of a shark attack movie, and it has more reviews. There are other shark movies with higher scores, but they are all documentaries mainly about the plight of real-world sharks who do not eat people all the time or align themselves with serial killers. There's some bad news about Dangerous Animals, however. It's not going to be available on any of your streaming services at the moment. It's an actual theatrical release, so you'll have to truck out to see it over the likes of Mission Impossible and Ballerina. I'm not sure I can bring myself to do that, and this does seem like the type of movie that will probably hit streaming rental in a month, so I'm probably just going to wait for that. The only actor I recognize here is Jai Courtney of Spartacus, Suicide Squad and a bunch of other 'that guy' roles (where he's very good!). Hassie Harrison plays Zephyr, who you will probably recognize from a long arc in Yellowstone as Laramie. I don't watch that, so I couldn't place her. Before that, she was in the long-running TruTV series Tacoma FD. This sounds awesome, and those are, in fact, impressive reviews for a shark movie. I'll see it as soon as I can watch it on my couch. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Irish Independent
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Today's top TV and streaming choices: The British Soap Awards, Spartacus and Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal
The British Soap Awards 2025 Virgin Media One, 8pm Jane McDonald hosts a lavish evening of celebration at London's Hackney Empire. Among the highlights are a farewell to Coronation Street veteran Helen Worth and EastEnders' 40th anniversary. Capaillíní TG4, 8pm Máirtín Ó Neachtain meets the Corrandulla Show's organiser, Lucille Smyth, who explains why she believes events such as hers remain so important to the public. Plus, two people can be seen preparing their horses for competition. The final two episodes of the series begin with a surprise – the Pope has agreed to be a special guest on the show. However, as you may have already guessed, nothing goes exactly as expected. Spartacus BBC Four, 8.15pm Stanley Kubrick's wonderful Roman epic stars Kirk Douglas as the titular slave who leads a rebellion against their oppressors. The incredible cast also includes Tony Curtis, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Woody Strode, Charles Laughton and an Oscar-winning Peter Ustinov. Dept. Q Netflix, streaming now DCI Carl Morck may be an excellent investigator, but there's no hiding from the fact that he's a terrible co-worker. There's the small matter of his scathing sarcasm, which has left him without a single friend in the Edinburgh police force. Then there's the rather more serious issue of him having fatally shot a young officer and permanently injured his partner. Unsurprisingly enough, following this tragic turn of events, Morck is relegated to Department Q: a cold-case unit which was created as a publicity stunt. Although the force is thrilled to see Carl go, he soon sets about assembling a group of outcasts who are all keen to prove themselves. Yes, it does sound a bit like Slow Horses, which is quite the gauntlet for Netflix to throw. Only time will tell if it's worthy of comparison. With yer man from Leap Year (Matthew Goode) essentially playing a hybrid of Gary Oldman's Jackson Lamb and Jack Lowden's River Cartwright, I wouldn't hold my breath. A Widow's Game Netflix, streaming now Picture it: August 2017. In a Valencia parking lot, a man is found stabbed seven times. The city's Homicide Group, led by a veteran inspector, races to solve the case, which appears to be a crime of passion. Their investigation soon takes a shocking turn, pointing to an unlikely suspect: Maje, the victim's seemingly sweet and stoic widow, married to him for less than a year. Mission: Impossible Fest Disney+, streaming now We can never get enough of the Mission: Impossible movies, it seems. You can now watch all the prequels to the recently released The Final Reckoning if you're so inclined. Bono: Stories of Surrender Apple TV+, streaming now Behold Bono's one-man stage show, exploring the personal experiences that have shaped him as a son, father, husband and activist. Oh, and as one of the planet's biggest rock stars. If Owen Wilson's signature shtick is more to your liking, The Stick lands Wednesday. Good Boy Prime Video, streaming now In order to combat crime in a perilous underworld, a group of former medal-winning athletes exchange the podium for police badges. In an exciting, action-packed ride, Yun Dong-ju (Park Bo-gum) and his group battle a formidable criminal syndicate. Also on Prime Video, we have season 2 of The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, courtesy of producers Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne. The Better Sister Prime Video, streaming now D'you know what society needs? More portrayals of women being pitted against each other. Based on Alafair Burke's novel, however, this eight-part thriller attempts to turn things. When media executive Chloe (Jessica Biel) and her estranged sister Nicky (Elizabeth Banks) are reunited after a murder, they must unravel long-buried family secrets to uncover the truth. Criminal Code Netflix, streaming now Season 2 of the Brazilian action series inspired by real crimes sees an elite Federal Police unit take on a ruthless gang in a high-stakes battle. For a telenovela twist, The Heart Knows follows a man who unknowingly falls for his heart donor's widow. Yep. Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal Netflix, streaming now NBA legends Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson were among the biggest names sporting Reebok in the '90s. Now, O'Neal is trying to revive the brand's legacy and find a rising star to rep it (his son being among the potential candidates).
The Age
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
If I could interview Donald Trump, this is what I'd ask him
This story is part of the June 1 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories. Writer Molly Jong-Fast is best known for being a commentator on US politics. She is also the daughter of Erica Jong, the author of the 1970s feminist tome Fear of Flying. Here, the 46-year-old discusses the important men in her life, including her grandfather, Howard Fast, who wrote Spartacus. My paternal grandfather, Howard Fast, wrote Spartacus as well as 80 other published books. One of my favourite things about him was that he was smart and disciplined. He would wake up at 5am and you'd hear the typewriter going. He was very much a product of the Charles Dickens' paid-by-the-word kind of writing. He went to prison for three months in 1950 for his communist beliefs. In his memoir, he said everything that was bad about him – like cheating on my grandmother, Bette, a sculptor, with whom I was very close – was not in his FBI file. My father Jonathan, a writer and later a social-work professor, and my mother Erica Jong [author of Fear of Flying ], were introduced by my grandfather. They moved from California to Connecticut, where I was born. When I was three, they had a bad divorce. My mother moved out and left me with the nanny. After that, I'd see Dad every other weekend. Then, a year later, I went to live with Mom in New York. I am like my father as we both have red hair. We both get motion sickness and both have big feet. I was a bad teenager and very entitled. Drugs, drinking and blacking out were my focus at high school in the Bronx. I got along with boys OK. I wasn't uncomfortable, but I wasn't super comfortable either. My first celebrity crush was Jay McInerney. I was in that generation that thought he and the literary brat-pack that also included Bret Easton Ellis were the coolest. Mom married four times and had numerous fiancés. She looked for someone to save her, and to get her out of her own head. I kept meeting these men and thinking they were going to be my father and then they were not. I liked some of them better than the ones she ended up with. I am the daughter and granddaughter of alcoholics. But I am so different to my mom because I got sober when I was 19, and so I didn't ever have to be, or didn't want to be, her.
Sydney Morning Herald
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
If I could interview Donald Trump, this is what I'd ask him
This story is part of the June 1 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories. Writer Molly Jong-Fast is best known for being a commentator on US politics. She is also the daughter of Erica Jong, the author of the 1970s feminist tome Fear of Flying. Here, the 46-year-old discusses the important men in her life, including her grandfather, Howard Fast, who wrote Spartacus. My paternal grandfather, Howard Fast, wrote Spartacus as well as 80 other published books. One of my favourite things about him was that he was smart and disciplined. He would wake up at 5am and you'd hear the typewriter going. He was very much a product of the Charles Dickens' paid-by-the-word kind of writing. He went to prison for three months in 1950 for his communist beliefs. In his memoir, he said everything that was bad about him – like cheating on my grandmother, Bette, a sculptor, with whom I was very close – was not in his FBI file. My father Jonathan, a writer and later a social-work professor, and my mother Erica Jong [author of Fear of Flying ], were introduced by my grandfather. They moved from California to Connecticut, where I was born. When I was three, they had a bad divorce. My mother moved out and left me with the nanny. After that, I'd see Dad every other weekend. Then, a year later, I went to live with Mom in New York. I am like my father as we both have red hair. We both get motion sickness and both have big feet. I was a bad teenager and very entitled. Drugs, drinking and blacking out were my focus at high school in the Bronx. I got along with boys OK. I wasn't uncomfortable, but I wasn't super comfortable either. My first celebrity crush was Jay McInerney. I was in that generation that thought he and the literary brat-pack that also included Bret Easton Ellis were the coolest. Mom married four times and had numerous fiancés. She looked for someone to save her, and to get her out of her own head. I kept meeting these men and thinking they were going to be my father and then they were not. I liked some of them better than the ones she ended up with. I am the daughter and granddaughter of alcoholics. But I am so different to my mom because I got sober when I was 19, and so I didn't ever have to be, or didn't want to be, her.
