‘Eros Maximus’, OST for a lost erotic feature film or just another hoax by David Thrussell? – UPDATE
'Eros Maximus': David Thrussell’s Roman fantasy - or just another hoax?
This article has been updated by a comment by David Thrussell.
In April 2005, Australian musician David Thrussell claims he was approached to compose the score for an erotic feature film titled “Eros Maximus”. The only problem? There’s no trace this project ever existed.
According to Thrussell, the film was envisioned as “a surreal blend of Roman imperial themes, reminiscent of films like Caligula, drawing inspiration from emperors such as Elagabalus and Commodus.” Sounds wild enough.
But – predictably – just before principal photography was set to begin, a major financier supposedly pulled out, sinking the entire production. Convenient. Despite the dramatic backstory, no evidence of casting, production teams, or even a script has surfaced. To our best knowledge, this smells like another one of Thrussell’s elaborate pranks.
In a reaction to this article however, David says that for once he didn’t try to prank us: “…hehe… naturally, I understand your skepticism… yes, I am a bit of a prankster sometimes… and yes, I do flirt with satire and performance art… but – somewhat ironically – in this case, it’s true. ‘Eros Maximus’ is the music for an abandoned film…”
And he adds: “Films collapsing just before principal photography isn’t uncommon. In fact, it’s happened to me twice (the other film was a big-budget remake of ‘The Red Shoes’ – it was to star William Hurt and Juliette Binoche). You won’t find any trace of these abandoned projects online. The finances collapse, the phones go silent, and everyone involved is too burnt out or embarrassed to talk about it…”
“Eros Maximus” will be released on April 14, 2025, via ant-zen. The music nods to the lush excess of Italian cinema from the ’60s and ’70s. Tracks included are “Eros maximus”, “Eros lesbos”, “Pape satanis”, “Eros baccanalia”, and “Eros finale”.
Note that Thrussell claims he worked with Die Teufelsmaschine for the music performance. No trace of that ensemble either though, but that doesn’t matter, as the music is there alright!
Check out a first preview.
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