film's aesthetics helping influence Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008–present), and the DC Extended Unvierse (2013–present). The film's mainstream success was also responsible for an increased interest in Roman and classical history in the United States. The Cicero biography Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician and Gregory Hays's translation of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations received large spikes in sales after the release of the film. According to The New York Times, this has been dubbed the "Gladiator Effect". Gladiator had a cultural impact through various forms of media beyond cinema. The film influenced numerous television series such as Rome (2005-2007) and Game of Thrones (2011-2019). Jack Gleeson based his performance of Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones on Phoenix's performance as Commodus. British-American underground hip-hop artist MF Doom's signature mask was inspired by the mask worn by Maximus in the film, having picked up one of the replicas that were sold following the film's success Dialogue such as "Are You Not Entertained," "Am I Not Merciful," "I Will Have My Vengeance," and "Strength and Honor" are among the most recognizable quotes and have become the subject of numerous internet memes. In 2009, Maximus was featured on 55c "Australian Legends" postage stamp series, with Crowe attending a ceremony to mark the creation of the stamps. The film also had become a touchstone for the careers of its cast and crew. After Thelma & Louise (1991), Scott faced a string of critical and commercial flops during the 1990s including 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), White Squall (1996), and G.I. Jane (1997). Gladiator became a reversal of fortune for Scott, earning him his best acclaim and interest since Thelma and Louise. In the wake of Gladiators success, Scott followed up by directing Hannibal (2001), the highly anticipated sequel to The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Black Hawk Down (2001). Gladiator, along with The Insider, helped elevate Russell Crowe into an established A-lister and worldwide fame. His performance in Gladiator resulted him landing top-billing roles in Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). Scott and Crowe would collaborate again for A Good Year (2006), American Gangster (2007), Body of Lies (2008), and Robin Hood (2010). Gladiator also brought fame for Phoenix, who would go on to be cast by M. Night