Movie preview: "300"
300 is a highly stylized telling of the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae. There, 300 Spartans took on a Persian army of hundreds of thousands of men. 300 isn't exactly historically accurate but it inundates audiences with special effects, hard bodies, and visuals to make up for it. 300 is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel and stars Phantom Of The Opera's Gerard Butler as the Spartans' fearless leader, King Leonidas.
Gerard Butler on 300's unusual heroes: "I find the source material is just such a kind of kick-ass pumping story, you know, with very very unusual heroes. They're not very hero-like in a lot of ways, you know. They're kind of bastards, you know, tough as you like."
Gerard Butler on 300 costumes: "When we first wore the clothes it was like, 'What the hell is going on?!' I mean, it was a little bit scary and we had to look at each other and laugh. But of course after a day of just walking around in it you quickly get to a kind of zero balance of you feel okay and then, for me, I started to allow it to define me, to define my character."
Following are clips from 300:
Leonidas is angered by a Persian messenger threatening Sparta: (Gerard Butler) "You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings to my city steps? You insult my queen, you threaten my people with slavery and death! Oh, I've chosen my words carefully Persian, perhaps you should have done the same." (Messenger) "This is blasphemy! This madness." (Butler) "This is Sparta!!"
Leonidas gets advice from the Queen: (Gerard Butler) "What must a king do to save his world when the very laws he is sworn to protect force him to do nothing?" (Lena Heady) "It is not a question of what a Spartan citizen should do, nor a husband, nor a king. Instead ask yourself, my dearest love, what should a free man do?"
A Persian soldier threatens Stelios: (Soldier) "By noon this day you will be dead men. A thousand nations of the Persian Empire descend upon you. Our arrows will blot out the sun!" (Michael Fassbender) "Then we will fight in the shade."
Leonidas and Xerxes meet: (Rodrigo Santoro) "It would be nothing short of madness were you, brave King, and your valiant troops to perish all because of a simple misunderstanding. There's much our cultures could share." (Gerard Butler) "Have you noticed we've been sharing our culture with you all morning?" (Santoro) "Yours is a fascinating tribe. Even now you are defiant in the face of annihilation."
Gerard Butler on 300's unusual heroes: "I find the source material is just such a kind of kick-ass pumping story, you know, with very very unusual heroes. They're not very hero-like in a lot of ways, you know. They're kind of bastards, you know, tough as you like."
Gerard Butler on 300 costumes: "When we first wore the clothes it was like, 'What the hell is going on?!' I mean, it was a little bit scary and we had to look at each other and laugh. But of course after a day of just walking around in it you quickly get to a kind of zero balance of you feel okay and then, for me, I started to allow it to define me, to define my character."
Following are clips from 300:
Leonidas is angered by a Persian messenger threatening Sparta: (Gerard Butler) "You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings to my city steps? You insult my queen, you threaten my people with slavery and death! Oh, I've chosen my words carefully Persian, perhaps you should have done the same." (Messenger) "This is blasphemy! This madness." (Butler) "This is Sparta!!"
Leonidas gets advice from the Queen: (Gerard Butler) "What must a king do to save his world when the very laws he is sworn to protect force him to do nothing?" (Lena Heady) "It is not a question of what a Spartan citizen should do, nor a husband, nor a king. Instead ask yourself, my dearest love, what should a free man do?"
A Persian soldier threatens Stelios: (Soldier) "By noon this day you will be dead men. A thousand nations of the Persian Empire descend upon you. Our arrows will blot out the sun!" (Michael Fassbender) "Then we will fight in the shade."
Leonidas and Xerxes meet: (Rodrigo Santoro) "It would be nothing short of madness were you, brave King, and your valiant troops to perish all because of a simple misunderstanding. There's much our cultures could share." (Gerard Butler) "Have you noticed we've been sharing our culture with you all morning?" (Santoro) "Yours is a fascinating tribe. Even now you are defiant in the face of annihilation."
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