Which Alexander the Great pic would you rather see?

[©brad]

I would love to see Baz's, just cause he would pull a Romeo + Juliet and modernize the whole thing...

What good would that do?

[©brad]

The 'Great' race is shifting into high gear
(dated 1/16/03)

After landing Warner Bros. as domestic partner on "Alexander the Great," Intermedia has set a late June start for Colin Farrell and Oliver Stone.
"Barring accidents and natural disasters, this is a definite 'go' movie for us," said Intermedia chairman Moritz Borman. "Colin's deal has been made, he's juggled his dates and made time for training. We've not decided 100% where we are going to start, haven't made up our minds whether we'll sell territories ourselves, or to a studio like we did on 'Terminator 3.' The June date changes only in that Oliver might begin second unit shooting earlier."

Borman wouldn't disclose locations, but if his timetable is accurate, the pressure's on the rival pic from Baz Luhrmann and Dino De Laurentiis, who have backing from Universal and DreamWorks and Leonardo DiCaprio. De Laurentiis declined comment. Same subject picture races are common, but the victor is usually the first before the cameras. What financier could stand risking $140 million on the second film about the world conqueror?

The race is further complicated by its need to shoot in places like Morocco at a time when war is looming, affecting everything from completion bonds to insurance to stars reluctant to leave home.

"Maybe there is room for two Alexander films," said Borman, who'll be at the Golden Globes rooting for his pics "Adaptation" and "The Quiet American."

"This is not one-upsmanship. We've got the money and are going forward with blinders on. It was hard labor for Oliver to find the angle to tell the story, but when he turned in his script, it glowed in the dark. There's adventure, battles, doubt, conflict and glory. As the blueprint for an epic, it's all in that one character. Warners shared that passion, they've been a good partner on 'T3' and Oliver had good dealings with them. The pieces fit."


Great great great news!! Looks like the script is a winner too. Oliver shoots/edits extremely fast as well, so it shouldn't be too long before we see the finished product.

[Satcho9]

Ill bet 20 bucks that the Luhrman version gets canned. (Fingers Crossed)

[Jeremy Blackman]

I would love to see Baz's, just cause he would pull a Romeo + Juliet and modernize the whole thing...

What good would that do?

It would be fun, and he probably wouldn't glorify the bastard.

[MacGuffin]

Colin Farrell Talks Alexander the Great

MTV talked to Colin Farrell about Oliver Stone's Alexander the Great to which he's attached, though not officially. The film is competing with Baz Luhrmann's similar project, to star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Colin Farrell couldn't care less what Leonardo DiCaprio's doing. He's ready to star in Oliver Stone's "Alexander" whether Leo's "Alexander the Great" flick happens or not.

"If it happens with Stone, I'm there, regardless of the other one," the Irish actor said.

Director Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge") has long labored to get "Alexander the Great" off the ground with DiCaprio in the conqueror's saddle, while Stone ("JFK") is working on a similar project called simply "Alexander". Both are scheduled to begin production later this year. Luhrmann's story reportedly focuses more on the bisexual Macedonian warrior's personal life, while Stone's will deal with a conspiracy theory surrounding his death, among other things.

"There seems to be this race going on," acknowledged Farrell, who recently topped the box office with "The Recruit" and co-stars in this week's "Daredevil." "But that's all for the other heads and the people that are involved in it on a different creative level and the business people to sort out."

Currently busy shooting "S.W.A.T." alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Farrell said he has yet to officially join the "Alexander" cast but has screen-tested for Stone. "I would love to do it, man. I'm not up on my business affairs. I am just kind of focusing on what I am doing at the moment. But I'd love to work with Stone. I'd love to do that 'Alexander' piece that he wrote, [it's] just a beautiful f---ing script."

Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world 2,300 years ago. The fact that playing a historical figure of such magnitude would require a great deal of preparation isn't lost on Farrell. "If it happens, I will [do the research]," he promised. "There is a lot of work to do if that happens."

Stone hopes to get moving on "Alexander" in June. Luhrmann, who previously worked with DiCaprio on "Romeo + Juliet," plans to begin shooting his project toward the end of the year. A spokesperson for DiCaprio recently described the "Gangs of New York" actor as "very interested" in taking the part.

[bonanzataz]

One of these movies isn't going to get made. Remember Kubrick's Napoleon?

[Gold Trumpet]

Well, for the Kubrick and Napolean reference to work, one would have to be made, released and fail before the other could even begin shooting. That was the deal there. I don't think Baz's will be made. Stone seems to have the heart to really do so while Baz is looming around with other projects that are taking center stage above this one. So for that, I want to see Stone's much more now than Baz's.

~rougerum

[Duck Sauce]

Colin Farrell is cool. The type of guy who will drink himself to death by the age of 30. I think if either gets made its Stones.

[©brad]

Man I am pumped. Every article I read about it praises the script. I'm just excited as hell, as obsessive about Stone as most of us are about PTA, so its a big deal for me.

[RegularKarate]

Colin Farrel is an idiot... he may as well be in N-Sync.  
Oliver Stone is washed up... I doubt he could make this a great movie.

I'm not a huge Baz fan, but I think he's closer to being able to make this good than Stone is now (I'm sure if it were ten years ago, I'd say differently).

[xerxes]

Colin Farrel is an idiot... he may as well be in N-Sync.  

he seemed like a nice guy to me... gave me a nice tip.

[Satcho9]

Colin Farrel is an idiot... he may as well be in N-Sync.  
Oliver Stone is washed up... I doubt he could make this a great movie.

Ouch. Why all the hatred?

[RegularKarate]

Ouch. Why all the hatred?

Didn't say I hated them... I do think that people give Oliver Stone way too much credit though... I think he's used all the talent he had and he should either quit or get a new game.

Colin Farrell, on the other hand is just a new "it" actor that doesn't deserve all the attention he gets.  All he does is talk about drinking and sleeping around and acts like acting is just something he does on the side of being a celebrity.

[MacGuffin]

Colin Farrell, on the other hand is just a new "it" actor that doesn't deserve all the attention he gets.

Agreed. I don't think he's truly proven himself to earn $8 - $10 mil a picture. From Entertainment Weekly:

Bad boy Colin Farrell is Hollywood's hot commodity

It's hard to know which rumor is a surer sign of Hollywood heat: scoring an $8 million-to-$10 million asking price or scoring with Britney Spears.

Until now, the reported Britney hookup may have been Colin Farrell's most newsworthy act (there was a supposed kiss with Demi Moore, but that's so yesterday). After all, the 26-year-old has gotten as much notice for his drinking, smoking, and smooching as for his roles, which have included a critically lauded turn in 2000's ''Tigerland'' and a gig opposite Tom Cruise in last year's ''Minority Report.''

What a difference a No. 1 box office bow makes. With the $16.3 million opening of ''The Recruit,'' in which Farrell costars with Al Pacino, audiences are focusing on more than the star's love life (or duds like ''American Outlaws''). That trend may continue with his scene-stealing role as baddie Bullseye opposite Ben Affleck in this month's ''Daredevil,'' and in April he gets a chance to prove he can open a movie on his own with ''Tigerland'' director Joel Schumacher's ''Phone Booth.''

Studios are banking big-time on the Dublin native. Farrell reportedly earned $5 million for ''The Recruit'' and $8 million for August's ''S.W.A.T.'', costarring Samuel L. Jackson. Why are so many putting their money where Britney's mouth may have been? First, there's screen presence: ''Daredevil'' producer Gary Foster describes Farrell as having ''one of the most infectious cases of charisma I've ever seen.'' Then there's his acting. ''He'd be saying 'Maybe'I should try this, maybe I should try that,''' says Foster, ''and [director] Mark Steven Johnson would say, 'I appreciate that you're thinking about all these intricacies, but he's just a guy who can pick up weapons and kill people.'''

Charisma, acting chops, sex appeal: Such triple threats are in short supply -- witness Farrell snagging the title role in Oliver Stone's upcoming ''Alexander the Great.'' ''There are so few possible leading men that when people find one, they're willing to pay -- and overpay,'' says ''S.W.A.T.'' producer Neal H. Moritz. ''After 'Tigerland,' he got lead offers right away,'' adds Schumacher. ''People start competing and throwing out more and more money. Are you worth it? If the market says you are, yes.''

Fox chairman Tom Rothman, who oversaw ''Daredevil'' and ''Phone Booth,'' thinks salary talk ''gets blown out of proportion -- that isn't the issue for the audience.'' Nor, it would seem, for Farrell: He made ''Phone Booth'' for scale, and he'll star in the indie (read: cheap) adaptation of Michael Cunningham's novel ''The Home at the End of the World.''

Even Farrell's party-boy persona probably won't cause a backlash. ''Making out with Britney and Demi doesn't hurt,'' says one agent. ''There's a double standard -- a man scoring with women makes him a commodity.'' And ultimately that's what counts. Says another agent, who isn't yet sold on Farrell: ''He's been in five or six bad movies and nobody cares. But his asking price is $8-to-10 million, so yeah, I'd love to rep him.'' Whatever his rep may be.

[Gold Trumpet]

weird arguments on colin farrell.

Mad he makes 8 to 10 million a year when he doesn't deserve it?

who cares, thats the business people's deal.

He is an idiot because he talks of partying instead of focusing on his job?

Ah, do you know the history of most Hollywood actors, acclaimed and not?

I Like him, and his work has shown that because until recently, I thought he was American. That's impressive.

~rougerum