Some quick facts about the HBO/BBC drama Rome.
A co-production between HBO and the BBC, ROME began shooting in Rome in March 2004, with Michael Apted (“Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “The World Is Not Enough”) directing the first three episodes. Additional directors include Allen Coulter (HBO’s “The Sopranos”), Julian Farino (HBO’s “Entourage”), Jeremy Podeswa (HBO’s “Carnivàle”), Alan Poul (HBO’s “Six Feet Under”), Mikael Salomon (HBO’s “Band of Brothers”), Steve Shill (HBO’s “The Wire”), Alan Taylor (HBO’s “Deadwood”) and Timothy Van Patten (HBO’s “Sex and the City”). Production for the series is based at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, with additional locations throughout Italy.
Quick Facts
The BBC joins HBO to co-produce Rome in August 2002.
The BBC and HBO decided to shoot Rome in Italy in spring 2003, and pre-production began at Rome's legendary Cinecittà Studios that August.
The set was designed by Joseph Bennett and building began in November 2003. Location shooting began 22 March 2004, and the first shoot at Cinecittà began 1 April 2004. Production wrapped in May 2005.
The 11-episode series of Rome spans 52 to 44 BC, and will begin transmission on BBC TWO in the autumn of 2005.
Rome boasts the largest standing set in the world, comprising five acres of backlot and six soundstages at Cinecittà Studios.
Rome is the first English-language series to be shot entirely in a non-English-speaking country.
Rome employed an international crew of 350, and has welcomed more than 50 local Italian interns during the course of production.
The Forum set is approximately 60 per cent of the size of the original Foro Romano. Twenty-five per cent of the set is invisible in the form of wiring, pipes and gas to fuel its working braziers and torches. The olive trees in the Sacred Grove are over 200 years old.
References for the vibrant colours of the temples, statues and streets, as well as graffiti and signage, are taken directly from the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia Antica.
The series required over 4,000 pieces of wardrobe, designed by Oscar-nominated costume designer April Ferry; 2,500 pieces were used in the first two episodes alone. Approximately 1,250 pairs of shoes and sandals were made in Bulgaria.
All of the fabrics used in the costume design and set dressing are authentic to the time - wool, linen, cotton and silk. Fabrics came from Prato, Italy, as well as India, Tunisia and Morocco. They were purchased in their natural state and dyed on set.
Two hundred and fifty chain mail tunics for soldiers, each weighing 36 pounds, were made in India, as well as 40 leather cuirasses for legionary officers.
Leatherwork for the principal actors was done on set by Augusto and Giampaolo Grassi, second-generation craftsmen whose father created the body armour for Cleopatra and other period films shot at Cinecittà. The quality is such that many of those costumes are still in use decades later, rented throughout the world to other productions.
Prototypes for helmets and other metal costume elements were handmade by metal designer Luca Giampaoli and replicated in India. He personally created all metal costume elements for the principal actors.
Rome used a peak of 40 horses in one scene, and on the largest day of shooting, 750 actors/extras for the scene of Caesar's triumph.
Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson trained with swordmaster Giorgio Antonioni for one month before shooting, learning authentic Roman fighting techniques rarely portrayed on film or television.
Fifty-five Italians were cast as "special ability" extras and sent to a two-week boot camp, living in tents, to train as Roman soldiers; 43 completed it.
A typical day of the extras' boot camp began around 5.00am with an hour of physical training, then 20 minutes for breakfast. Next they were split into three groups, working on marching, sword training and manoeuvres. They had 40 minutes for lunch, followed by more group training, including camp building and dismantling. After dinner they were permitted to bathe in the nearby lake without soap. Lights out was at 9.00pm, followed by sentry duty and night manoeuvres.
Battle scenes in Rome represent one of the first times that authentic techniques have been portrayed - for example, no large, slashing sword movements like Gauls and Celts used; instead the series featured a tightly-packed "Roman Wall" of men shoulder-to-shoulder, thrusting straight from above and below their shields. The front line rotated to the back every 30-45 seconds, ensuring well-rested soldiers in the fray at all times.
Rome is currently airing on HBO and will be broadcast on BBC2 in the UK later this year.
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