10 Based On True Story Movies That Left Out The Craziest Part

Okay, Gladiator isn't considered to be historically accurate. Not only did Maximus and Commodus have no relationship in real life, they lived two centuries apart.

However, the director, Ridley Scott, wanted to make the film as true to life as possible. He kept away from cliched images of Romans in togas eating grapes and drinking from goblets. He wanted to tell a story that felt real.

However, Scott changed his mind when he read the original script. In the first draft, there were scenes of Russell Crowe's character, Maximus, promoting olive oil for a sponsorship deal. Worse still, Maximus' face was plastered on mosaics and action figures. Scenes like this sound so absurd, it feels more fitting in a Monty Python sketch rather than a historical dramatisation.

Upon investigation, Scott was baffled to learn that the script's accuracy was spot-on. Because gladiators were willing to fight to the death for pure entertainment, they were the biggest celebrities in the city and used their fame to sell products. If you thought that athletes had only began promoting products recently, it is a practice that has been going on for millennia.