Aludra

So here's the deal: There are two movies about Alexander the Great in the works, and Oliver Stone is set to direct Farrell in his, according to rumour. And imdb... [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] Anyway, I'm madly excited about this project and just needed an outlet and possibly people to anticipate with.

Honestly: Colin as an ancient Macedonian warlord? [img]smilies/drool.gif[/img] And not just any, Alexander?? I love ancient history!

Alexander on IMDB

Oh, and for the record, the other *grimace* film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, is directed by Baz Luhrmann and intends to focus on his love life. Stone's script works with conspiracy theories surrounded the death of Alexander's father, etc.

tvfreak

Yea I so hope Colin's does better... I mean, the conspiracy thing already sounds more interesting! Hahaha, Leo doing Alexander... ok I'm sorry but I do NOT like that guy. Never did. Wished he had stayed washed up.

Anyway. Colin could be a Greek God. He's already a god in my books!

[img]smilies/sail_boat.gif[/img] Claire

[ 02-19-2003: Message edited purple monkey dishwasher ]

Lena

I'd definitely prefer Colin as Alexander over Leo. Can't wait for this project to get started! It says they're going to Thailand!

BBJifted

Premise: Conquering 90% of the known world by the age of 25, Alexander the Great (Farrell) led his armies through 22,000 miles of sieges and conquests in just eight years. Coming out of tiny Macedonia, Alexander led his armies against the mighty Persian Empire, drove west to Egypt, and finally made his way east to India. This film will concentrate on those eight years of battles, as well as his relationship with his boyhood friend and battle mate, Hephaestion. Alexander died young, of illness, at 33. Alexander's conquests paved the way for the spread of Greek culture (facilitating the spread of Christianity centuries later), and removed many of the obstacles that might have prevented the expansion of the Roman Empire. In other words, the world we know today might never have been if not for Alexander's bloody, yet unifying, conquest.

according to Yahho! Movies: http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808402865

Apparently Tom Cruise was originally supposed the have the part, then Heath Ledger, and then our Colin got it.

Micki

Colin seems much more like an Alexander than Leo! First of all, Alexander was from Macedonia...I'm sorry, but Leo does NOT look ethnic at all! Plus, there's the accent. Leo proved in Gangs of New York that he can't even handle a subtle Irish accent! In my opinion, casting choices aside, Oliver will make a much more compelling movie than Baz. Good luck, Colin & co.!

Lena

I'm wondering about Baz Luhrmann's movie, is it going to be a freaky musical? LOL [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Rabid_Horsey

Something funny...If Leo's focuses on his love life, Alexander was gay, so...imagine Mr. DiCrapio playing a gay guy!

Lena

Any news about Alexander?

Aludra

Last I read, whichever group starts production first, the other film will back down. Apparently Stone is busting his butt to get going!

Lena

From zap2it.com's tabloid section:

P Y R O

From BBC Radio 1 News:

Greed, love, betrayal and Colin Farrell
Last updated 23 April 2003

Colin Farrell's getting excited about his forthcoming role - as a bisexual.

He'll be playing Alexander The Great, the 20 year-old King of Macedonia some 2,300 years ago, in his next movie.

He's due to start filming in June and Colin says Oliver Stone has written such a phenomenal script he can't wait to start shooting:

"Everything is in it. There's greed, there's jealousy, there's love, there's pain, there's hope, there's desperation, there's pride, there's friendship, there's betrayal. It's an amazing, amazing story."

"There's so much in it - it's so dense that it nearly reads like bad fiction. Obviously bisexual - which wasn't even an issue back then."

"There was no term for bisexuality - it was just the way society was. People made love to men and women. It was only later on you had to pick one side of the fence. It's amazing."

Lena

Thanks Xan! Sounds like he's really excited about this role!

P Y R O

It looks like Colin's Alexander project will be out the gates first, as the BazLuhrmann/LeoDiCaprio version won't be filming until early 2004 and won't be in theaters until Fall 2005, a full year after OliverStone/ColinFarrell's version.

Yahoo! News

Baz Concedes "Alexander" Race
By Josh Grossberg

The Great race is over.

Baz Luhrmann, who had been running neck and neck with Oliver Stone to bring the story of Alexander the Great to the big screen, has decided to go the slow and steady route.

The Aussie auteur behind Moulin Rouge announced he has postponed production on his ambitious historical epic Alexander the Great until the beginning of next year.

According to reports in Daily Variety and the Los Angeles Times, Luhrmann's delay means his version, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role and Nicole Kidman (news) as Alexander's mother Olympia, won't hit theaters before 2005 at the earliest.

It also ensures that Stone's competing project, simply titled Alexander and starring Colin Farrell (news), will be the first one into production and into theaters. Warner Bros. has targeted Alexander for Thanksgiving 2004 release.

According to Luhrmann, he refuses to be hurried in telling the mammoth story of the Macedonian king who conquered the ancient world before dying prematurely at the age of 33.

"I am not going to be drawn into a race," Luhrmann told the Los Angeles Times from his home in Australia.

The director now hopes to commence work on the film, a coproduction between Universal and DreamWorks, by April 2004.

Twentieth Century Fox, which financed Moulin Rouge, was one of the original backers of the project but later bailed because of budgetary concerns--the cost is estimated at $150 million. DreamWorks stepped in and will now handle overseas distribution of the film, which once had Martin Scorsese (news) attached as director.

Luhrmann scuttled his previous schedule for a variety of reasons, the most important being that his Leo-ness had already committed to playing Howard Hughes (news) in Scorsese's biopic on the oddball billionaire titled The Aviator. As a result, the former "King of the World" wasn't available to play King of the ancient world until fall at the earliest.

Another snag in getting Alexander the Great off the ground was the war in Iraq (news - web sites).

According to Luhrmann's producer, Dino De Laurentiis, the helmer originally planned to film in Jordan, where he had already scouted locations. But try getting insurance for two of Tinseltown's top stars to make a movie next to a war zone.

Luhrmann briefly flirted with shooting the film Down Under, but decided he wanted a more authentic location and waited out the war. But instead of Jordan, he and De Laurentiis will head for Morocco, where they secured the support of King Mohammed VI, who put over 4,000 soldiers and 8,000 horses at Luhrmann's disposal. In return, De Laurentiis agreed to build three soundstages in Morocco that the country could use for future productions.

They'll certainly need them. Alexander the Great reportedly has 17 principal characters, more than 70 speaking roles, not to mention thousands of extras.

"This huge preparation can't be done in less than eight or nine months," De Laurentiis told Daily Variety.

Also adding to the holdup was Luhrmann's Freudian desire to revise screenwriter Ted Tally's script to examine Alexander's childhood and his complex relationship with his mother before growing up to be the warrior king who founded the Persian empire, the largest empire mankind has ever seen.

The delay will also give the filmmaker time for diaper duty. He and his Oscar-winning production-designer wife, Catherine Martin, recently announced their expecting a baby, their first, in October.

While he's still got a year until principal photography gets underway, Luhrmann, ever the perfectionist, plans to begin working on the flick's digital effects in November and rehearsing DiCaprio and Kidman in January.

Despite the setback, DiCaprio lent his support to the project, indicating he's more than ready for the challenge of portraying a man of such epic proportions.

"What most attracts me is the complex character of Alexander himself," DiCaprio said Tuesday. "His legend is one of the most compelling stories in human history."

Luhrmann's no stranger to taking his time. It took him five years to make Moulin Rouge following 1996's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, which also headlined DiCaprio.

As for Stone, the Oscar-winning Platoon director is used to running his productions like a military campaign, so it comes as no surprise to hear that he's already begun filming some background shots for his film in the Himalayas. But unlike Luhrmann, Stone aims to shoot his epic in a breezy four months starting in July in, yes, Morocco. The cast and crew will then take a break for a month to escape the searing desert heat and return to locations there in September.

Thus continues Hollywood's trend of rival productions featuring the same subject made simultaneously by two very different directors.

Other films in competition include 1997's heated contest between Dante's Peak and Volcano, 1998's face-off between Armageddon and Deep Impact, as well as Antz and A Bug's Life, and 2000's race between Mission to Mars and Red Planet.

This year's no exception, with dueling reality flicks about spring break in Mexico (New Line's just-released The Real Cancun and Universal's forthcoming The Quest) and two films about horse jockeys and their beloved steeds (Universal plans to release Seabiscuit in July, while Disney will follow with Hidalgo in October).

LiL_Starzz

Glad to hear that Oliver's version is heading out first. And Anthony Hopkins hsa just signed on to costar so this definately is lookin good. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

icicle

just wondering.

since the next summer olympics are in Greece, does anyone know how or IF this movie will be tied into them??