June 30, 20222 yr Seems like even Baz is still thinking about this project. Also didn't know Scorsese was in line to replace Luhrman. Baz Luhrmann Says Mel Gibson Nearly Played Leonardo DiCaprio’s Father In His Unmade ‘Alexander The Great’ Epic In the 2000s, the critical, financial, and Oscar success of Ridley Scott’s ancient Rome actioner “Gladiator” led to studios chasing the same highs. A string of high-budget period action films were greenlit in its wake, such as Wolfgang Petersen’s Greek epic “Troy” (loosely based on the Iliad), Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven,” and Oliver Stone’s ambitious but ultimately messy “Alexander.” Stone wasn’t the only established filmmaker that attempted to tell the story of the ancient Macedonian general and king, Alexander The Great. Back in 2002, Australian director Baz Luhrmann (“Elvis”) teamed with producer Dino de Laurentiis to shoot his own competing Alexander The Great film in Morocco that would have reunited him with his “Romeo + Juliet” star Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. Both Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox were set to back the project that Luhrmann had been nurturing for ten years. Ultimately, it fell apart before its planned production. Luhrmann recently spoke on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (listen below) to promote “Elvis.” During the lengthy conversation, his abandoned ‘Alexander’ epic was brought up, and the filmmaker explained why he deserted the project after years and years of research. “[Dino de Laurentiis] built a studio for the film in Morocco for the films, but what happens is I’m already down the road on it, but honestly, it became one of those things where …[Oliver Stone] wanted to do [his version], and I’m not a racer,” he explained, about the rush to be the first film in theaters to tell this story at the time.” I can’t work like that. Plus [My wife and I] wanted to have kids; it became a moment where I was like, ‘I have to draw a line here.’” The director revealed that he wanted fellow Aussie Mel Gibson (“Braveheart”) to play Alexander’s father, confirming a nearly two-decades-old casting report. “I mean, it was a great cast…at one stage; Mel Gibson was going to be the father, the king, the mad king,” he continued. Of course, all of this was years before Gibson’s drunken meltdown arrest and domestic abuse allegations. Hiring Gibson, at the time, still would have been a bit odd, given Variety had reported the Oscar-winning director was developing his own Alexander The Great project at HBO: a 10-part miniseries budgeted at a hefty $120 million that was being compared to “Band of Brothers” in scope. “I had to draw a line, and it took a very long time to get over. Funny enough, we were trying to get pregnant, and I was very, very pregnant with this story.” And note, while Luhrmann didn’t say it in this podcast, an old excerpt from Dino de Laurentis’ book “Dino: The Life and Films of Dino De Laurentiis,” says Martin Scorsese was trying to develop an Alexander The Great film with DiCaprio, too at one point. The roles of Alexander’s parents in Stone’s version were portrayed by Val Kilmer (“Heat”) and Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie (“Girl, Interrupted”). The two were arguably too young for those roles considering that a 28-year-old Colin Farrell played the lead role. Jolie being the same age as her “son” certainly made it harder to be convincing at the time. The director’s most recent film, “Elvis,” is now in theaters. You can listen to the whole podcast conversation below. https://theplaylist.net/alexander-the-great-dicaprio-mel-gibson-20220626/
June 30, 20222 yr Writer Jenny Han on having a huge crush on Leo back in her teenage days. At 14, Jenny Han Wrote Rom-Coms About Her Friends & Fan Mail To Leo DiCaprio To a teenage Jenny Han, Leonardo DiCaprio was everything. “I was very obsessed,” the 41-year-old author says. She proudly holds two framed photos of the star as Romeo in his heartthrob-making role in Romeo + Juliet up to the Zoom screen. “This came out in the newspaper and I got this frame and spray painted it gold and I still have it,” Han says from her Brooklyn apartment. She even wrote him a letter: “I did not get a response.” full interview: https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/jenny-han-the-summer-i-turned-pretty-crushes-high-school-interview Now I'm wondering if all the Leo/Chris Briney talk is really a coincidence LOL probably not
June 30, 20222 yr And yet another woman having memories of Leo. It's a bit long but actually interesting. Among many other things she's saying what most of us said before social media is doing "incredibly terrible" things to human beings. It's the place where people hurt other people these days. Nancy Jo Sales Remembers Her Iconic Story, “Leo, Prince of the City” Juliet is joined by author Nancy Jo Sales to discuss her 1998 New York Magazine profile of Leonardo DiCaprio Juliet Litman is joined by author Nancy Jo Sales to revisit her iconic 1998 New York magazine profile of Leonardo DiCaprio. They talk about how difficult it was to get Leo to talk to her for the story (1:00), why the article has had such a lasting impact (16:05), and how celebrity journalism has changed since she wrote it (40:11). https://www.theringer.com/ringer-dish/2022/6/29/23187563/nancy-jo-sales-remembers-her-iconic-story-leo-prince-of-the-city
July 1, 20222 yr From Tobey's b-day, he doesn't look very happy. https://www.google.com/amp/s/people.com/movies/tobey-maguire-rings-in-his-47th-birthday-with-leonardo-dicaprio-and-more-celebrity-friends/%3famp=true
July 1, 20222 yr 17 minutes ago, akatosh said: You're right. He's looking kind of sad. I want to hug him. Yeah, he seems thoughtful, disappointed, idk.
July 1, 20222 yr 2 minutes ago, Jade Bahr said: Always find this pic highly attractive 🥵 This one is very nice 😍
July 2, 20222 yr On 6/18/2022 at 10:00 AM, YouNoMe said: Good to hear from you! @Mirella This the best scene in the movie in my opinion He seems so real and serious when it comes to fighting scenes!
July 2, 20222 yr 22 minutes ago, Magical said: https://globalhappenings.com/entertainment/217957.html Leo is not obliged to read her DMs (especially, when he probably doesn't run his social media by himself) and respond to her requests. She barely knows him. And if he is not vocal, it doesn't mean that he not helped Ukraine (he actually did) Spoiler First weird gossips, then this... I feel like Leo is currently attacked on purpose
July 2, 20222 yr 4 minutes ago, Lilja K said: Leo is not obliged to read her DMs (especially, when he probably doesn't run his social media by himself) and respond to her requests. She barely knows him. And if he is not vocal, it doesn't mean that he not helped Ukraine (he actually did) Reveal hidden contents First weird gossips, then this... I feel like Leo is currently attacked on purpose No.it was his WhatsApp number 😂
July 2, 20222 yr 25 minutes ago, Magical said: This the best scene in the movie in my opinion He seems so real and serious when it comes to fighting scenes! This one is good too. I think this movie was full of fighting scenes!! He & Kate are really professional actors! Wish to see them again in a new project 🤩
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