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Hero worship First edition, 2004 |
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"Toga
saga,
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Ancient Greece is hot property in Hollywood right now, as studios scramble to launch a new generation of sword-and-sandal epics. (Toga saga, another genre description batted about, is, of course, technically inaccurate: Ancient Greeks dressed in chitons, which doesnt quite have the same ring to it.) Ridley Scotts Gladiator was a runaway hit in 2000 and its success revived the genre, long neglected since the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor flick Cleopatra threatened to bankrupt Twentieth Century Fox. Alexander the Great is receiving royal treatment with two major biopics, directed by Oliver Stone and Baz Luhrmann. In the 4th century BC, the charismatic king expanded his fathers modest Balkan domain as far as the Himalayan foothills, rewriting western civilisation en route. Stones version, due out first in 2004, fizzes with conspiracy theories about Alexanders life and death. The script co-written by the director and Oxford academic Robin Lane Fox even tackles his controversial sex life. Colin Farrell plays mainstreams first bisexual action hero. Alexander dallies with the Queen of the Amazons, as well as his childhood friend, lover and general, Hephaestion (Jared Leto). "Back then there was no term for bisexuality," Farrell told the BBC. "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." Luhrmanns film doesnt dwell on the lurid details in such depth. Instead, the Moulin Rouge director choses to explore the cultural impact of the conquerors nine-year campaign. The 2005 release stars the high-powered duo of Leonardo di Caprio as Alexander and Nicole Kidman as his mother, Olympia. Troy, meanwhile, has already caused an early flutter with publicity shots of Brad Pitt in his battle skirt as Achilles. This adaptation of Homers Iliad, out in 2004, is directed by Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm). Other stars include Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Julie Christie and Sean Bean. Pitts Achilles will probably see more action than his literary counterpart, who spends most of the epic sulking in his tent. Purists may be dissatisfied on many points, however: Petersen has omitted the Greek gods, who meddle ferociously in the original poem. Director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) also is ransacking the classics library. Hes chosen the blind bards second masterpiece, chronicling Odysseus long, convoluted journey home after the Trojan War. Spanish actor Javier Bardem will play the lead role when production starts in 2004. George Clooney may charge into battle as Leonidas, leader of the brave, outnumbered Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae, where a mere few hundred warriors turned back the vast Persian hordes in 480 BC. Michael Manns film, Gates of Fire, draws on Steven Pressfields historical novel, as well as Herodotus, the father of history (aka the father of lies). The stirring tale also attracted the attention of Twentieth Century Fox, who asked screenwriter Erik Jendresen to update a 1962 film, The 300 Spartans, about the same battle. Cameras are rolling elsewhere in the ancient world. Vin Diesel is to play Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca in a film by the genres past master, Ridley Scott. Oscar-winner Denzel Washington is lined up for the same role in another production. And Warner Bros is developing a new Cleopatra film, based on the two-part novel by Karen Essex. |
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"Colin Farrell plays mainstreams first bisexual action hero'."
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"Pitts
Achilles
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