Cast and Crew

Image digital manipulation by Herald Design

Director - Baz Luhrmann

Writer - David Hare
David Hare's involvement was announced in August 2003. Previously, Ted Tally had written a treatment based on novels by Valerio Manfredi, and Baz Luhrmann himself had also reportedly had some input. Luhrmann supervised Hare's rewrite and Hare was expected to deliver his script around February 2004. To date, I have heard no further news regarding this screenplay.

Producers - Baz Luhrmann, Dino De Laurentiis, Martha De Laurentiis

Executive Producer - Martin Scorsese

Studios - Universal Pictures and DreamWorks

Production Companies - Bazmark Films and Dino De Laurentiis Productions

Estimated budget - US$160 million

Production scheduled to begin - On hold/Unknown if project will go ahead

Production of Alexander the Great was previously set to begin around April 2004. However, in November 2003, it was announced that production would be delayed until some time in 2005. In mid 2004, it was further announced that the project would be put 'on hold' until the end of 2004 when Luhrmann would make a final decision. Luhrmann has now moved on to another project. It has therefore now been assumed that Alexander the Great has been put on hold indefinitely.

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Cast List

Alexander - Leonardo DiCaprio

- Recommended fansite -
OmniLeonardo.com

Leonardo DiCaprio's role as Alexander was confirmed by producer Dino De Laurentiis on 18 September 2002 in this article published by The Toronto Sun, verifying online rumours that DiCaprio was in negotiations to play the part.

However, on 16 November 2003, Variety reported in this article that Leonardo DiCaprio has no deal to star in ATG. His involvement with the project now seems uncertain, although Luhrmann remains adamant that he wants DiCaprio to star as his Alexander.

DiCaprio developed a close working relationship with Baz Luhrmann both before and during the production of Romeo + Juliet. It is therefore understandable that he has chosen to star in Luhrmann's version of ATG, but his schedule has become much more hectic since R+J. He is now one very busy actor and, in the next couple of years, he is set to star in no less than four movies. He was set to star in Alexander the Great after completing filming of The Aviator. However, on 16 November 2003, Variety reported that his next project will instead be The Good Shepherd. For more information about DiCaprio's recent and upcoming projects, click on the links above to visit the recommended fansite and view his page on the Internet Movie Database.

Olympia (Alexander's mother) - Nicole Kidman

- Recommended fansite -
Nicole Kidman United

Nicole Kidman's role as Olympia was confirmed by her own publicist, Wendy Day, on 1 January 2003 in this article published by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, verifying online rumours from December 2002 that she was considering a role.

Kidman developed great respect for Baz Luhrmann during the production of Moulin Rouge. Her popularity has soared in recent years and, although she is set to star in several feature films over the next few years, Kidman has also committed herself to starring in Alexander the Great. In early 2003, Kidman was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (click here to read an article released by AAP). She was also awarded the Best Actress Oscar for her stunning performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours. For further information about Kidman and her upcoming projects, feel free to click on the links above to visit her recommended fansite and view her page on the Internet Movie Database.

Please note: In the history I've read about the life of Alexander the Great, his mother is actually called Olympias. However, the 's' appears to have been removed to make the character's name simply Olympia for the purposes of this film.

Philip (Alexander's father) - Mel Gibson
(Rumoured)

Mel's involvement in Alexander the Great was hinted at by Luhrmann and De Laurentiis themselves in late June 2003 at a press conference held while they were scouting for possible locations in Australia. Rumours have been circulating ever since that Mel might be set to play Philip, Alexander's father. However, this casting news has yet to be followed up and has definitely not been confirmed.

Young Alexander

In July 2003, Luhrmann launched a worldwide search to find a boy to play his ideal young Alexander. However, there has been no further news regarding whether or not his ideal candidate was ever found.

Please note - As production of ATG is currently 'on hold', it seems probable that no actors have yet been officially cast and no contracts signed. If Luhrmann does decide to go ahead with the project, it may well be that a whole new casting process will commence. If you have any further casting information that is not featured here, please feel free to contact me. 

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Plot summary

Conquering 90% of the known world by the age of 25, Alexander the Great 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. (from Yahoo Movies)

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Previous Locations

Ouarzazate, Morocco

Baz and Dino in Morocco

Originally, filming was set to take place in Morocco. In early 2003, three brand new soundstages were built in Ouarzazate especially for the production. This studio facility was a partnership between De Laurentiis and Bazmark Productions and privately financed by Dino and Martha De Laurentiis.  Luhrmann and De Laurentiis were also reportedly planning a second US$60 million movie making use of this facility called The Last Legion. However, plans for the production of Alexander the Great then reportedly moved to Australia (see below).

Jordan

In early 2003, Luhrmann reportedly said that the King of Jordan had offered him "an equally exciting invitation" as King Mohammed VI and had been scouting locations with the King of Jordan in the Royal's Black Hawk helicopter. However, plans were reportedly abandoned in favour of an Australian shoot.

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Proposed Location

Australia

Ever since Luhrmann first announced that he would be directing Alexander the Great, he had expressed interest in doing some filming at Fox Studios in Sydney. When plans to shoot in Morocco were abandoned in May 2003 because of fear of the threat of terrorism, producer Dino De Laurentiis announced that the production was scheduled to film entirely in Australia.

Luhrmann and De Laurentiis visited various locations across Australia during June 2003 before deciding on the area of Broken Hill in rural New South Wales. A meeting was held with the Australian Prime Minister on 27th June 2003 to pitch the prospect of filming ATG. However, we are still awaiting confirmation that filming will take place in Australia.

On 16 November 2003, Variety reported that production of ATG could be delayed for two or more years, and so location scouting will probably now have been put on hold.

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Further information

If production was to go ahead, Alexander the Great would reportedly have the potential to become the second biggest production of all time with an estimated budget of around US$160 million with backing by Universal Pictures and DreamWorks.

Originally, filming was set to take place in Morocco where it would have reportedly created 20,000 seasonal jobs. The project had full backing from King Muhammed VI, who had pledged 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 horses to recreate extensive battle scenes, and also granted access to prime locations throughout the country. However, because of fear of the threat of terrorism, filming of the production was reportedly set to be moved to Australia. The production is currently 'on hold', and so location details remain essentially unknown.

The screenplay is reportedly based on the trilogy of novels by Valerio Manfredi ("Alexander: Child of a Dream", "Alexander: The Sands of Ammon", and "Alexander: The Ends of the Earth"). An original treatment was written by Ted Tally, but writing credits have now been given to David Hare who has re-worked the script.

Baz Luhrmann has revealed that the life of Alexander is "endlessly fascinating" to him, and is quoted as saying, "There is so much to rediscover about Alexander. There were too many challenges he had to face but look at the huge transformation he goes through, not only a ruler but also as a conqueror. More than any other man, he spread the ideas of Western civilisation. One could even say that he invented the genetics of Western civilisation."

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Not to be confused with:

'Alexander the Great' HBO miniseries

American TV network HBO planned a US$120 million ten-part mini series about Alexander the Great starring Mel Gibson. However, Gibson reportedly dropped out without explanation and the production has now been shelved. Indeed, reports from Variety.com on 29th June 2003 suggesting Gibson may be cast in Luhrmann's project would almost definitely have meant that this mini series would be dropped.

Martin Scorsese's 'Alexander the Great'

This project was dropped by Scorsese in favour of The Aviator, a movie about Howard Hughes starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Scorsese instead signed on as Executive Producer of Luhrmann's film.

Alfonso Arau's 'Alexander the Great'

This low budget production by Alfonso Arau, which would be shot in Mexico, was still awaiting a green light in early 2003. It does not seem that this production went ahead.

Oliver Stone's 'Alexander'

Stone's Alexander was released in late 2004 to mixed reviews. It had a reported budged of around US$150 million. This film focussed on the conspiracy theories surrounding Alexander's life and death, which would have differentiated it from Luhrmann's separate project. Stone reportedly spent a year scouting locations and re-writing the script for his Alexander film. He began filming on 22 September 2003 in Morocco. Colin Farrell played Alexander. He won the role around July 2002 after doing a 'persuasive and extensive' screen test with Stone. Stone's previous choices for the title role had included Tom Cruise and Australian star, Heath Ledger.

There was speculation about how different Stone's version would be. It was always set to be quite a contrast from Baz Luhrmann's direction, according to the following information published on 30 December 2002 by The Guardian:

"While Luhrmann and Tally's script is believed to stick closely to Manfredi's take on Alexander as the great expander of Greek and thus western cultural influence, Stone's take is more heretical, as one would expect from the man who made JFK. It also gives full play to the whirl of conspiracy theories that surrounded Alexander's life and death."

"I was intrigued to discover that his famous father, Philip II, had been assassinated under mysterious circumstances," Stone said. "Alexander, not far from his side that day, was immediately suspect. The assassin himself was quickly slain, and the murder remains an enigma. In Alexander's own untimely death at 33 we have again strong evidence of a conspiracy of family clans. Did he die of fever or from poisoned wine? I choose to believe the latter."

Click here to read my personal review of Alexander.

For further information, I recommend the following fansite:

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