Pain and exhaustion aside, the cast members remain impressively fond of their director. ''He's open to what you think your character should do,'' Bloom says. ''He humors us: You do your cute little acting thing and if I don't like it I'll cut it! Fair enough, that works.'' Adds Bana: ''Your brain tends to expand because he's asking you your thoughts. Whether it's a trick or just his personality, he makes you feel like you're making a film together -- he's a very, very giving filmmaker.'' And how does that compare with Hulk director Ang Lee? ''They're different,'' Bana says. How so? ''They're different.''

Cast adulation, however, doesn't necessarily translate into box office success, and Warner needs that badly. Petersen estimates that tax rebates will drop the price tag to about $175 million. But that's still a wildly expensive film -- Gladiator, by contrast, was a cheapo $103 million affair. On top of the budget, the studio must add about $40 million in domestic marketing costs alone. Scary figures, considering that Troy is two and a half hours long and rated R -- and a Petersen film has never grossed more than Perfect Storm's $183 million. ''I know I have a great responsibility because it's a very expensive movie, and I make damn sure if I can that the money comes back, or even more,'' Petersen says. ''I am very, very keen on seeing how an audience will react. You say butterflies? Of course.''

Bana's more mellow: ''Whether it explodes or not doesn't affect my self-esteem at all. If there's one thing I can admit to being really, really good at, it's relinquishing the things I have no control over.''

Considering the film's source material, it's probably the most appropriate response: Place Troy's fate in the hands of the gods -- and hope they're in a benevolent mood.

Originally posted May 14, 2004 Published in issue #765 May 14, 2004 Order article reprints
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