Rome (TV): The Hollywood Reporter indicates that HBO and The BBC have given the greenlight to a 12-episode drama series based on the Ancient Roman empire. Budgeted at an incredible $5 million an episode, production is scheduled to begin next year at Rome's Cinecitta Studios with location shoots throughout Europe and North America. The project has been in development for over three years now, and the plot will be based on the lives and families of Roman soldiers Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus who live in Rome during the latter part of Julius Caesar's reign when the city was in its first few years of Imperial rule. Crossing several years, events portrayed will include the pair sabotaging a treasonous plan of Pompey to usurp Caesar whilst famous historical figures and events like Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Octavianus, and potentially Caesar's assassination are to be portrayed. The series will be broadcast in 2005.
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