The incipit of a bit in the Coventry Telegraph last week:

CLASH OF THE TITANS director Louis Leterrier says he is hoping the film will be the start of a franchise and has mapped out a possible trilogy centring on ancient Greek mythology.

He said: “We’ve talked about it loosely. Any movie of this size, [the studio wants] to know you won’t hit a wall after your first movie. So they’re like, ‘If we green light your movie and give you the money, what’s the idea for the sequel?’

“And you just give them some ideas. You draw an arc for your character. I’m not saying I know what exactly will happen to Perseus in the next two movies, but I know the direction and it’s pretty exciting.”

Speaking to MTV, the filmmaker said: “I’d love Clash to be a franchise. Clash is like creating your own world. It’s like James Cameron with Avatar, he can explore different planets.

“Well, I can explore Greek mythology. You’ve got so many creatures, so many heroes, so many gods. You have Daedalus, Icarus, amazing stuff. You’ve got several worlds. I could spend the rest of my life directing Greek mythology movies and I would still not finish everything.”

“If Clash does well and we’re lucky enough to make it into a franchise, that’s what I’d love to do. Before the gods, there were the titans, there were even bigger creatures and monsters. That could be something. It’s ancient superheroes.”

via Clash of the Titans director reveals ideas for possible trilogy | Coventry Telegraph.

… sounds suspiciously like undergrad life …

Top ten passions of Ancient Rome | The Independent.

Since up in Canada here we don’t get the new Spartacus until Monday (on TMN), I was looking to see if it was on iTunes … while waiting for the predicted iTunes update to install (why do folks tolerate these constant wholesale updates? If that were a Windows thing there’d be no end of complaints), I came across this … what’s potentially interesting is the Spartacus Workout app! (besides the show itself of course):

Starz is mixing digital and traditional marketing strategies to drive tune-ins to the Jan. 22 debut of scripted drama series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, the premium network’s second scripted drama after Crash, but one it renewed for a second season before the first one begun.Starz is trying to reach young viewers through show-specific, gaming applications for Apple’s iPhone and iTouch devices, according to Marc DeBevoise senior vice president, digital media, business development and strategy for Starz Media.The mobile game can be accessed via iTunes and has a Wi-Fi connection feature that lets players amongst each other, he said.It also is distributing a four-part comic series based on the show. Each episode of the digital comic book series can be purchased at a suggested retail price of $1.99 on Amazon.com, iTunes, Sony’s Playstation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox videogame consoles.Starz has teamed with male-targeted Men’s Health magazine to create a digital workout around the series. The official Spartacus workout/exercise routine is available as a free iTunes app.More young people are using their iPhone and iPods for entertainment purposes, so DeBevoise believes the digital offerings will help build momentum.Otherwise, Starz has teamed with several cable operators to offer free on-demand previews of the series’ first and second episodes. Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, Cox Communications, Insight Communications and Mediacom Communications will air episode 1 on Jan. 20 one and episode 2 on Jan. 27 on demand on Jan. 27, Nancy McGee, executive vice president of marketing, said.DirecTV also will offer a preview of the first two episodes on Jan 21 via its 101 channel.Apple’s iTunes and Netflix will offer Spartacus episodes day and date with their debuts on Starz, said the network.

via Starz Launches ‘Spartacus’ Assault | Multichannel News.

Haven’t been keeping up with all the Clash of the Titans gossip of late … this incipit from Reuters is very interesting:

Warner Bros. will decide in the next 10 days whether to release Louis Leterrier’s remake of action fantasy “Clash of the Titans” in 3D.FilmThe studio has ordered a 3D test of the film — set for release on March 26 — and will screen the converted scenes next week before deciding whether to make the move. Studios across Hollywood are looking into possible 3D conversions in the aftermath of the big box office bonanza called “Avatar.”

More: Clash of Titans in 3D decision coming soon.

From the incipit of a movie column in the Times:

William Graves, son of the writer and poet Robert Graves, has sold the rights of his father’s I, Claudius for a big-screen feature, to be directed by Jim Sheridan. Leonardo DiCaprio, whose production company is appropriately called Appian Way, has expressed interest in the project in the past. William, a retired geologist, got $500,000 for the rights and hopes it will be a little bit “raunchy”.

Meanwhile, bids are brewing in Los Angeles for the Oxford poet’s other most famous book, the mordant first-world-war memoir Good-bye to All That, and HBO scouts are scanning the letters Graves exchanged with Spike Milligan in the 1960s — which embarrasses William. He says his Edwardian father was going a little “celebrity” by then.

The BBC’s serialisation of I, Claudius in the 1970s turned Derek Jacobi, John Hurt, Patrick Stewart and Brian Blessed into household names; the more recent series Rome did the same in America for Polly Walker, James Purefoy, Ray Stevenson and Kevin McKidd. It’s even persuading Hollywood that old books may be the next big thing. What is that old saw? Latin is a language, as dead as dead can be… Not quite.

• Hollywood biteback