Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula (2005)

Director:

Francesco Vezzoli

Writer:

Gore Vidal

Genre:

Short | Comedy | Drama | History

Tagline:

Let them hate me, so long as they fear me.

Plot:

This is a short film based on the 1979 film of the same name. The film is stylized with the actors wearing modernized robes and Roman jewelry and females playing male characters and vice-versa. |

Plot Keywords:

Movie Trailer | Cameo | Caligula | Roman Empire | Spoof

Cast

Adriana Asti	...	Ennia
Justine Bateman	...	Attia, Imperial Courtesan
Karen Black	...	Agrippina
Barbara Bouchet	...	Caesonia
Gerard Butler	...	Prefect Cassius Chaerea
Benicio Del Toro	...	Macro
Milla Jovovich	...	Druscilla
Courtney Love	...	Caligula
Helen Mirren	...	Tiberia
Mia Moretti	...	Priestes of Isis
Michael Okarma	...	Greek Slave
Michelle Phillips	...	Messalina
Glenn Shadix	...	Claudius
Tasha Tilberg		(as Tasha Tilberg)
Francesco Vezzoli	...	Caligula
Gore Vidal	...	Himself
Kallean de Castelbajac	...	Druscilla's Soldier (uncredited)
Danny Pardo	...	Cliatus (uncredited)
Darren Dupree Washington	...	Servant (uncredited)

Directed by
Francesco Vezzoli

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gore Vidal

Produced by
Keeley Gould	....	producer
Alexandra Hayden	....	executive producer
Alexandra Hayden	....	producer
Joseph Uliano	....	executive producer
Joseph Uliano	....	producer

Cinematography by
Paul Laufer

Film Editing by
Greg Harrison

Casting by
Bill Marinella
Katie Rose Taylor

Costume Design by
Leesa Evans
Donatella Versace

Makeup Department
Heba Thorisdottir	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bettina Godi	....	assistant director

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeremiah Kent	....	film loader

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Luisa Dalmagro	....	assistant costume designer

Other crew
Luisa Dalmagro	....	set supervisor

Production Companies

• Crossroads

Runtime:

5 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Crossroads

Trivia:

This was shot like a movie trailer, complete with credits to advertise the actors when they first appear on screen and a tag line toward the end of the film.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Caligula (1979)

The Joke's On You!

If there is anybody left out there who doesn't recognize this as parody, you're either incredibly ignorant about film, and everything connected to it, or incredibly dense. Come...On! Watch it again, and pay attention this time! Let's start, as the trailer does, with Gore Vidal, one of the most esteemed historical writers of our generation. Why would someone of his caliber seriously license a film that is blatant, gratuitous pornography? Think about it. The first "Caligula" was controversial in it's portrayal of debauchery and violence (mild by today's standards), but at least it was an accurate chronicle of Caligula's life and times, based on research of the documentation. Next, think about what you know of Hollywood, how many films get made that feature a cast dominated by middle aged actresses, some of them has-beens? Although I personally love all these grand dames, let's be real here! Where are the young, anorexic contract starlets that studios demand (like Megan Fox, Elisha Cuthbert, Diane Kruger etc.)? The pretty effeminate young male stars (Zach Ephron)? The only thing not crusty and old in this trailer is Milla Jovovich, and she is known to have a hearty sense of humor. Speaking of casting, what director, who wasn't a complete idiot, with a deathwish for his own career, would cast Courtney Love in a dramatic lead? First we have to buy the lie that Gore Vidal would allow his historical story to be altered so radically as to change the gender of his lead character, and then that the character was a homely, high and tasteless woman (albeit a very talented musician). Courtney Love is suitable for a few bit roles in films, and the lead in only one type of film, a documentary about her own life! Now think about the FCC and the MPAA. We've seen human heads exploding on screen, human body parts juiced in a blender and force fed to a woman, but we've barely seen 10 films out in the last 10 years with full frontal male nudity. The rating a film gets has a direct correlation to it's box office value. It's highly unlikely any studio would fund a film that is guaranteed to garner an "X" rating (one that shows oral copulation with a dildo, using semen as skin cream, and worse), when the biggest movie-going audience is teen aged and unable to get in to see it at the theater. Finally, this trailer is a testament to the fact that Hollywood is aware of just how morally bereft the American viewing public perceives them to be. They know that we believe they would "go there". Thank goodness that somebody there still has a conscience and wouldn't. They're just having some fun, at our expense.