Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II The Paramount film, starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal, opens in theaters on November 22 and seeks to build on the success of the first film, but another famous The director experienced a bumpy road with his historical epic 20 years ago.
A long-time passion project of Academy Award winner Oliver Stone, Alexander Focusing on the life of ancient Macedonian king Alexander the Great, the film stars an all-star cast led by Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto and Anthony Hopkins. At the time, Baz Luhrmann was producing his own Alexander movie, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Mel Gibson also attached.
“Everyone was racing to be the first one, and Oliver wanted to start as soon as possible,” producer Tabrez Noorani told us hollywood reporter.
Producer Thomas Schühly recalls developing the project with Stone in 1988, when the first installment was a hit Gladiator 2000 help Alexander Finally succeeded. The painstaking production, based on the work of historian Robin Lane Fox, was filmed on three continents over a six-month period and dealt with filming battles with 25 highly trained elephants as well as legal challenges. Challenges included Lehr breaking his leg off set.
Warner Bros. released the three-hour Alexander On November 24, 2004, it was slammed by critics and sparked debate about the ruler being bisexual. THR’The review states Alexander “Too much indulgence” and “so clumsy that it elicits chuckles.” The film’s budget was over $150 million, but the global box office was only $167 million, and poor response took its toll.
“We all said, ‘OK, guys, we’re going to the Oscars,'” Farrell told us THR Expectations were high after filming wrapped last year. When the comments came, the mood quickly changed, with Farrell remembers even questioning his career path: “I was so ashamed.”
stone tells THR 2012: “It took me three years to solve that movie [in the editing]I also suffered a lot. I mean, I lost my reputation.
Looking back on the experience, Shuley finds it hard to believe that the film would ever see the light of day. Producer told THR Now, “I’ve never understood how a company like Warner Bros. could embrace this quality.”
A version of this story appears in the Nov. 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
