Hollywood Flashback: How Oliver Stone Made ‘Alexander’ Not So Great

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II seeks to build upon the first film’s triumph — with Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal starring in the Paramount title that hits theaters Nov. 22 — but another notable director experienced a rocky road with his own historical epic 20 years ago.

A longtime passion project for Oscar winner Oliver Stone, Alexander focuses on the life of ancient Macedonian king Alexander the Great, with an all-star cast led by Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto and Anthony Hopkins. At the time, Baz Luhrmann was developing his own Alexander movie that had Leonardo DiCaprio and Mel Gibson attached.

“Everyone was racing to do the first one, and Oliver wanted to start quickly,” producer Tabrez Noorani tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Producer Thomas Schühly recalls developing the project with Stone back in 1988, with the popularity of the first Gladiator in 2000 helping Alexander finally get made. Based on the work of historian Robin Lane Fox, the arduous production shot on three continents and spanned six months, dealing with challenges such as filming a battle with 25 trained elephants and Farrell breaking his leg off set. 

Warner Bros. released the three-hour Alexander on Nov. 24, 2004, and it was battered by critics and spurred debate over its suggestion that the ruler was bisexual. THR’s review noted that Alexander “wallows in excess” and “is so ham-fisted as to induce titters.” The film had a budget of more than $150 million but collected just $167 million globally, and the poor reception took its toll.

“We were all like, ‘Right, lads, we’re off to the Oscars,'” Farrell told THR last year about high expectations after shooting wrapped. The mood quickly changed when reviews arrived, and Farrell remembered even questioning his career path: “I felt so much shame.”

Stone told THR in 2012: “It took me three years to solve that movie [in the editing], and I suffered greatly. I mean, I lost my reputation.” 

Looking back on the experience, Schühly has a hard time believing that the movie even made its way to the public. The producer says now, “I never understood how a company like Warner Bros. could accept this kind of quality.”

A version of this story appeared in the Nov. 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.