Great ex-pec-tations

1/2
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh10 April 2012

Last week, against all predictions, a fairly good sword 'n' sandals flick with no big stars, based on an obscure comic book about the ancient battle of Thermopylae, broke US box office records. The tersely titled 300 in fact took the equivalent of £36million in its opening weekend. The big question is, why?

'You know? I have NO idea!' grins its fast-talking US writer/director Zack Snyder, with cheery honesty.

'The truth is, we made the movie for $60million (£31million), which in Hollywood terms isn't vast. I thought, if we stayed really, really consistent to the very particular aesthetic and radical vision of Frank Miller's graphic novel, we'd create a movie experience that at least feels slightly original. Maybe that's it?'

Maybe. The dreamy look of 300 is certainly a unique draw. And the battalions of oiled six-packs can't hurt. Like previous Miller adaptation Sin City, 300 combines dazzling virtual backgrounds with racy live action and an intelligent script, fleshing out macho mythology with Orc-tastic battle scenes and blood-drunk heroes. 'I feel it's far closer to Pirates Of The Caribbean than Alexander,' admits Snyder.

The truth is, though, no one can really answer why what Snyder calls 'a niche, almost indie genre, movie' such as 300 has attracted such wide appeal. Certainly not the bemused ensemble cast of mainly British barely-knowns gathered in South-West London's Berkeley Hotel this morning.

Jiggling his massive knee as if he'd rather run off and strangle a lion than answer press questions, Scottish leading man Gerard Butler (best known for the film version of The Phantom Of The Opera) is clearly hideously embarrassed at the idea of being the new Russell Crowe. No wonder, given we, like the 300 poster, are focused on his epic abs.

'I trained for six hours a day, even before our eight-week boot camp in Montreal. I got a bodybuilder. I pumped all the time on set. I trained at lunchtimes, I trained at weekends. I made that my focus - emotionally and psychologically. The Spartans trained like buggery.'

Butler rocks intently back and forth. As does the table in front of him. 'Only after 20 years of training were they allowed - maybe - to become a Spartan soldier. I wanted to be worthy of that. And I don't mean that in a bullshitty way. I was working with great actors. I had to be their king. Plus, I'm a really paranoid person. I didn't want them to think "he's a dick who doesn't prepare".'

Butler is King Leonidas, a hero who leads just 300 Spartans against Xerxes and his massive army of decadent Persians - all to protect Western democracy.

It is a scenario that has, predictably, stirred up controversy, even though war on terror parallels are hardly explicit. At a recent New York press conference, one journalist was reduced to asking: 'Is George Bush Leonidas or Xerxes?' Snyder's answer? Neither.

'For me, it's a complete fantasy,' he insists. 'I consciously exaggerated that. I mean, Xerxes is 8ft tall and he's not even the "bad guy". In some ways he's the voice of reason from a superior culture. The last thing I intended was for anyone to be offended.'

Most audiences are unlikely to fret much about political allegories as they munch their popcorn. So far, they seem far more intrigued by the lads' boot camp trainer.

'The guy's had 9million hits on his website,' according to David Wenham (Faramir from The Lord Of The Rings). Once voted 'sexiest man in Australia', ruggedly blond Wenham (who admits his nickname is 'Daisy' - I kid you not) can certainly hold his own in a cast that includes Rodrigo Santoro, 12th on People Magazine's 2006 Sexiest Man Alive list and the latest hunky addition to Lost. Basically, 300 has a lot of very pretty men in it.

'You've got a lot of male actors, in barely nothing, looking fabulous, so it was all rather... mmm... interesting,' admits Yorkshire actress Lena Headey (The Brothers Grimm), who clearly relished the gender bias on set.

'It was like a role reversal. For once they were all naked and had to watch what they ate. They only got two almonds for breakfast, or something.'

Headey's role, as Leonidas's wife, Queen Gorgo, was considerably beefed up from the original comic book. Yet she's surely not the only queen on set...

There must have been a moment, I put to Wenham, a very down-to-earth Aussie, when he and Butler looked around at all these fit chaps in red Las Vegas capes and leather Speedos and went 'how super gay is this?!' 'I'd be lying if I said no,' Wenham laughs, briefly caught off-guard into admitting the unspoken: that 300 is one for the boys in more ways than one.

'Last question,' barks the publicist. I realise it's now or never. So I blurt out what I know everyone wants to ask: 'Show us your six-pack!' A dignified Butler rightly doesn't. Spoilsport. But if you still want to know 'why' you should see 300 this weekend, there are six rock hard reasons, right there.

300 is in cinemas from Friday.

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