18 December 2002
Sydney Morning Herald - click here for
link to original source
Baz's great epic rolls on with help
of kings
By Garry Maddox
After his success with La Boheme, the Baz Luhrmann show is
rolling on. With Martin Scorsese as executive producer and Dino De Laurentiis as producer,
plans are advancing for the Australian director to make the historical epic Alexander The
Great at the end of next year, with Leonardo DiCaprio as the ruler of the ancient world.
After working with Luhrmann on Moulin Rouge, Nicole Kidman is reportedly interested in
playing Alexander's mother, Olympia, in a role that would see her age as he grows from
child to man.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox has surprisingly pulled out of a
deal to make the film with Universal Pictures, and DreamWorks has stepped in as a 50-50
partner.
Sources close to the film say a rising budget - believed to be $250 million to $270
million - and De Laurentiis's lucrative deal for a share of gross box office were factors
in Fox's withdrawal.
Given that Luhrmann is personally close to the Murdochs and Fox has backed Romeo + Juliet
and Moulin Rouge, the studio's withdrawal and the family's reported absence from the New
York premiere of the opera La Boheme have sparked speculation about a rift. But a source
in Sydney insisted yesterday that they were still "very close", with Fox's move
"just a financial decision" on a big-budget movie.
As well, the studio would have been delighted by the prestige surrounding Moulin Rouge,
including opening the Cannes film festival, winning two Oscars and being nominated for
best picture. A Fox spokesman told the Reporter the studio wanted a long-term relationship
with Luhrmann but "this deal does not work for us economically".
Luhrmann said he expected to work on future projects with Fox.
"They were starting to express nervousness about the scale of the project. To
confront this kind of epic material, I knew I had to be working with people who would have
an absolute commitment to the project."
Luhrmann is expected to begin pre-production in May with filming possibly taking place in
Morocco, Jordon or Australia or even a combination of the three countries. As well as
having new sound stages built, Morocco's King Mohammed VI has lent his support to the
production along with 5000 soldiers and 1000 horses. The King of Jordan has offered
"an equally exciting invitation", Luhrmann said. He described Alexander as a
psychological drama involving a small boy whose parents are fighting for him and whose
father was unable to acknowledge his love for the son. When the father dies, the son vows
to avenge his father's death.
"In this pursuit of revenge, he transforms Persian culture, but the whole time he is
driven by his desire to connect with a love that can never be realised because it was
never there in the first place."