LEONARDO DiCAPRIO TO STAR AS ALEXANDER THE GREAT

October 23, 2001Oct 23, 2001, 11:00 PM GMT+1

Alexander the Great was not a man to do things by halves. It seems appropriate, therefore, that when Hollywood turns the spotlight on the ancient Greek hero, it does so in epic style: Tinseltown currently has more than four separate Alexander projects under development.

The highest profile piece is a Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle written by Oscar-winning scriptwriter Christopher McQuarrie of The Usual Suspects and Jurassic Park III wordsmith Peter Buchman.

Leo stars as the Macedonian king who sets out to conquer the ancient world but ends up dying a mysterious death at the age of 33. The Titanic actor, whose most recent project, the period drama Gangs Of New York, is still in postproduction and awaiting a release date after being affected by the September 11 attacks, will have to put his heroic role on hold for the time being, however. He is committed to starring in the Steven Spielberg production Catch Me If You Can co-starring Tom Hanks through the early part of next year.

The writers for the Alexander project pocketed a mid-seven-figure sum for the script, and the big-screen history lesson is being billed as a “multimillion-dollar epic”. “We have paid a significant figure for this excellent script as we believe Alexander is the perfect vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese to join forces again following their successful collaboration on Gangs Of New York,” says the CEO of the project’s US production company, Graham King.

Writer McQuarrie was originally to direct the project – until Martin Scorsese showed an interest. “Buchman and I have been working on the project for six years and it was always with the understanding that that I would direct it,” McQuarrie told Daily Variety magazine. “But when Martin calls, there’s no shame in stepping aside.”

Other Alexander productions in development are a Dino De Laurentiis-directed adaptation of a trilogy of novels about the young Greek hero written by Italian author and academic Valerio Manfredi, and an adaptation by Born On The Fourth Of July director Oliver Stone. Cable TV network HBO and production company Intermedia also have Alexander projects underway.

The production of Alexander starring Leonardo DiCaprio is just one of several projects about the Greek hero currently under way in Hollywood

The Titanic star's version, however, is likely to pack a powerful punch as its direction has fallen to master film-maker Martin Scorsese

It also features a seven-figure script by Oscar winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, the man behind the critical success The Usual Suspects (above)

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