012902 Ananova

January 29, 2002
Ananova
New British movies focus on Roman battles
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Rachel Weisz and Dougray Scott are being tipped to play Queen Boudicca and her macho lover in the new film Warrior Queen.

The feisty Boadicea, as she later incorrectly became known, led a famous First Century uprising against the Romans.

And Heath Ledger is being tipped to play an idealistic Roman soldier in Gods Of War.

Rachel Weisz would play the leader of the Iceni tribe from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire who went on the rampage after her husband died and her daughters were raped.

She destroyed the Roman colonies at Colchester and London killing 70,000 Romans.

The drama is being backed by Warner Bros and is scheduled to go into production in the autumn.

Gods Of War follows the fortunes of a Roman soldier as his legions meet pockets of resistance in a series of bloody conflicts.

Producers Dominic Morgan and Matt Cameron Harvey have scripted the movie which should go into production later this year.

An insider told Ananova: "There seems to be a historic trend to go further back in time to this period at the moment, largely through Gladiator.

"The problem is the budget. Make-up and costume cost more, especially Roman battledress."

Story filed: 11:30 Tuesday 29th January 2002