It was classic Oliver Reed: his death was as unpredictable, tragic and theatrical as his life. It also, like many of his wilder whims during a tempestuous career, left several people in the lurch.

When the actor died of a heart attack in a Maltese bar just over two weeks ago, he was on location for a film directed by Ridley Scott and financed by Steven Spielberg.

The movie, Gladiators, was part of a belated renaissance for the troubled actor. But production will go on, partly as a tribute to one of its main stars.

Gladiators is a blockbuster in true Hollywood style. Costing $120m, it is being filmed in two locations: Farnham, in Surrey, England, and Malta. It's on a huge scale - with 2,000 extras needed for many of the scenes. They arrive every morning in buses, to stand in a Roman crowd for up to eight hours at a time. They each earn about £40 a day for their trouble: and several have developed one sunburned shoulder from wearing togas in the blazing heat. Epic to recreate Ben Hur The film is set in ancient Rome, and huge sets reconstruct the Roman Colosseum and the Roman Forum. It is set in 180BC, and aims to recreate the tradition of epic gladiator movies like Ben Hur and Spartacus. It centres around a power struggle for the position of Emperor of Rome, and its great set pieces take place in the gladiator's ring. The cast is star-studded, with Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi and Joaquin Phoenix heading the list. Recreating Oliver Reed