Tom Ford To Direct Film

It may be Tom Ford's official day of resignation at Gucci, but the famously hard-working designer already has a new plan. True to the rumors, he's going Hollywood. Ford has announced he'll be directing a remake of the epic "Spartacus," to be produced under the auspices of Miramax Studios. The original famously told the story of a slave who led a rebellion against Rome, and has been one of Ford's favorite films "for as long as I can remember," he says. "Something about the Roman fashions against the desert backdrop has always stirred me. It's the same hard-edged sensuality that has inspired so much of my work at Gucci. It's just a natural extension of my aesthetic. Besides, the gladiator thing is always sexy, sexy, sexy."

Ford already has ideas about the visual look and costuming for his debut effort. "The original Kubrick film was fantastic, of course, a classic," comments Ford, clearly already devoting a lot of thought to the matter. "But I thought it was trying to be too historically faithful, especially in the costume detailing. Those tunics lack movement and grace, so I'm thinking of adding some subtle kick pleating in the back so that it skims the backside becomingly, especially when the slaves are running." Ford's famous attention to detail, verging on the perfectionistic, already has honed in on the hair. "The whole Caesar look, I'm over it," he says. "We're going for something windblown, I think, with a few sun-streaked highlights around the crown. It's all about that sexy desert thing."

No word on casting or scripting yet, although Ford is working on it. Ford throws some leading man ideas around off-the-record, adding "Well, if anything, I have acted before." Ford has already tackled the extras issue, which threatens to be an issue with the budget-conscious Miramax people. He plans on using the famous Massive computer program, recently used to animate epic battle sequences in Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, to create his hordes and battles. His innovative twist? "I'm personally going to be the model for the extras," he says. "I've been working out for years. And we can vary the look, adding a goatee here, or some different hair there. Can you imagine? A million versions of me fighting themselves!" He looks satisfied at the thought. "I can't think of a better adversary than me. There's really no way of getting exactly what you want unless you do it yourself."

Ford will soon select a screenwriter to adapt the classic into a new narrative more fitting for modern times. "We're going to make it even more violent, more graphic, to emphasize the difficulties of Rome. It's the perfect analogy for today's political situations. And of course, we're going to sex it up quite a bit." Film and historical purists may object, but it looks like Ford relishes the possibility of controversy. "I've waited my whole life to do this," he states. "I've always wanting to live in the Tom Ford world, and now I finally get to do it. I can't tell you how exciting this is, for myself - and for the world."

Read more about Tom Ford's directorial debut.

Posted by Kat in Pop Culture
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