14 December 2002
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Nicole Kidman May Join "Alexander The Great"
Furious behind the scenes deal-making has saved the big budget
"Alexander The Great" movie to star Leonardo DiCaprio, and now Nicole Kidman is
said to be interested in joining the cast in the role of the world conqueror's mother,
Olympia, according to reports by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
The movie, based on novels by Italian author Valerio Manfredi and adapted by Ted Tally, is to be directed by Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge"). It was to have been made by 20th Century Fox, but as the budget soared past $140 million, the studio got cold feet. Now executive producer Martin Scorsese has joined with producer Dino De Laurentiis to set up the movie as a co-production of Universal Studios and DreamWorks, with major backing from another independent production entity.
As Olympia, Kidman would play a role that requires her to age on screen as her son grows from a boy into a young man who takes up his late father's mantle and goes on to conquer most of the known world of his time. "What we are exploring is the notion of pathos," said Luhrmann. "This notion of an unfulfilled desire, a pursuit of a horizon that never arrives."
The plot suggests that Olympia was involved in her husband's murder, which confuses Alexander and fires his desire to make things right. "It's the Rosebud theory," Luhrmann said. "Alexander is the Hamlet of the ancient world."
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