When Ridley Scott's Gladiator first started production, they were without a major piece of the puzzle, a script. Even though it was light on pages, both Ridley Scott and star Russel Crowe believed this would be something special. As production on Gladiator moved forward, the script shortly came into focus after several writers were brought in. Eventually debuting to glowing reviews, and a massive box office haul, Gladiator would go on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Starting without a script would be unacceptable in most cases, but Gladiator proved to be the exception to the rule.