Book that Inspired Gladiator Movie Franchise to Debut Exclusively Across Screenvision’s Expansive Cinema Network
NEW YORK, N.Y., NOVEMBER 26, 2024 –Screenvision Media, a national leader in delivering comprehensive premium video advertising and content representation services for top-tier cinema exhibitors, today announced that its Front + Center preshow would feature exclusive content from “The Way of the Gladiator,” the book from Daniel P. Mannix that inspired the Gladiator movie franchise.
“Cinema has the power to elevate stories and connect brands to audiences on the big screen,” said Ted Bolan, Senior Vice President & Creative Director, Screenvision Media. “This is a unique opportunity to collaborate with Open Road Media and introduce moviegoers to the backstory behind Gladiator.”
“The Way of the Gladiator” is published under Re-Discovery Lit, Open Road’s program devoted to republishing out-of-print and reverted books.
David Franzoni, Academy Award–nominated screenwriter of Gladiator and producer of Gladiator II, discovered The Way of the Gladiator (previously titled Those About to Die)while on a motorcycle tour from Germany to Australia.
While driving through Eastern Europe and the Middle East, he said, “almost everywhere I went there were coliseums…I realized this was a huge franchise.” At a camp in Baghdad, Franzoni traded the book he was reading for a copy of The Way of the Gladiator, “this crazy, tawdry, wild book about the Coliseum…It hardwired in my brain the absolute similarities between who we are and who we were.” Putting the games in the context of Rome’s rise and dramatic fall, Mannix captures all the history, planning, and savage pageantry that went into creating the first spectator sports.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Screenvision to share with Gladiator fans the backstory about the book that started it all,” said David Steinberger, Open Road CEO.
About Screenvision Media
Headquartered in New York, N.Y., Screenvision Media is a national leader in delivering comprehensive advertising and content representation services for top-tier cinema exhibitors The Screenvision Media cinema advertising network includes nearly half of all measured cinema admissions, comprising 14,500 screens in 2,300 theatre locations across all 50 states and 94% of DMAs nationwide; delivering through more than 150 theatrical circuits, including 7 of the top 10 exhibitor companies.
About Open Road Integrated Media
Open Road Integrated Media is the publishing industry’s leader in applying proprietary data science technology to book discovery, enabling authors and publishers to achieve dramatic increases in the sales of their titles. The Open Road Ignition service accelerates discovery and sales of previously published (backlist) eBooks, while Open Road Activation enhances discovery and sales of newly launched (frontlist) titles in all formats. Open Road’s partners include such industry leaders as HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Scholastic, Grove Atlantic, Europa Editions, Abrams, Harvard University Press and Yale University Press. Open Road’s proprietary marketing vehicles include Early Bird Books, a daily eBook deals newsletter and website; The Lineup, for fans of true crime, horror and the paranormal; The Portalist, for fans of science fiction and fantasy; Murder & Mayhem, for fans of mystery and thriller; The Archive, for fans of history and non-fiction; and A Love So True, for fans of romance. Open Road also applies its data science technology to enhancing the discovery and sales of books it publishes. Its publishing programs include Bloodhound Books, a UK-based publisher of commercial fiction, and Open Road Media, a global eBook publisher whose catalog includes legendary authors such as Joan Didion, Graham Greene, William Styron, Alice Walker, Pat Conroy, Gloria Steinem, John Jakes, Pearl S. Buck, Walker Percy and Ruth Rendell.