Kirk Douglas attending the Starz Celebrates the Original 'Spartacus' Kirk Douglas held at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Goldenson Theater in Los Angeles, on May 31, 2012

STARZ presented an interview with the legendary Kirk Douglas to discuss his new book, I am Spartacus! Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist. Also present were Liam McIntyre and Steven DeKnight who respectively star in and produce the series “Spartacus: Vengeance”. The evening started with DeKnight and McIntyre discussing the original “Spartacus” and “Spartacus: Vengeance”. Then, Douglas came out carrying a sword upright, still a gladiator at 95.

Douglas spoke about the making of “Spartacus” and the Hollywood blacklist. His screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, was blacklisted at the time and worked under an alias to be able to work on this movie. This movie, and Douglas himself is credited with breaking the Hollywood blacklist. It was Douglas’ insistence that Trumbo was credited that helped break the black list. Many of his experiences producing and starring in this important and challenging movie were detailed in this book.

There was a very touching moment where Douglas was talking to McIntyre (and the audience inc HT). He said, “I spent 5 months in Melbourne. I love the Australians, and he’s [Liam] a typical Australian – outgoing and speaks his mind. I think they made the right decision when they asked him to play Spartacus.” The charismatic Liam was clearly stunned into silence for a moment. I would not be surprised if tears sprang to his eyes. When next he spoke, his voice cracked a bit. It’s McIntyre’s first major part, and a screen legend, the progenitor of his role, just validated him. Yeah, I’d tear up too.