ALEXANDER: Final Cut?

Jesus, Stone's ego is out of control.
His comment that he did not do the story of Alexander justice is the only thing in the whole freaking interview I 100% agree with.
So much is wrong with the film that no amount of recutting and juggling can make it better.
I might get the DVD just because the battle scenes are great and some of the visuals --Babylon , for instance" are so good but thank god for DVD scene selection so I can watch these and not deal with the endless amount of shit that surrouds the few good scenes in the film.
God, Stone had great subject matter, and freedom that most directors would kill for, and he fucking blew it.
And trying to blame everybody else for the fiasco is lame.

Yeah he seems to be really off his rocker. I've never been the biggest Stone fan but I must say I think its sad how far he's fallen.

I haven't seen it so I can't judge but is Leto really that bad?

I had heard the gay scenes weren't done well but I think this is the first time i've heard Leto was THAT bad.

I look forward to seeing the badness.

Maybe Robin Lane Fox's commentary will be halfway interesting. The guy is probably the outstadning expert on Alexander and his time, and I have a feeling he is reponsible for the few good things about the film..the accuracy of the battle scenes and the production design.
It just makes me sadder that this could have been such a great movie other then the disaster it was.

The battles were the best part of the film along with Alexander's entrance in Babylon, but are nowhere near accurate.Especially the battle of Hydaspes was unrecognisable.

You are right about Hydaspes, but Arbela is pretty damn accurate.

And newly inspired!

Whatever that means!

Now I know I'm in a small minority on this one, but I liked "Alexander" quite a bit the first time I saw it. Yeah, its definitely flawed, greatly at times, but there are some really interesting choices, and its just so out there I appreciated it. I think Farrell did a nice job with the title role, and a few scenes stand out as pretty good.

The thing is, for all Stone's bitching about America and homosexuality, those were hardly ever the reasons cited for not liking the film, and they aren't even the worst parts of the movie. Oliver, you made a rambling 3 hour epic that is at times laughable. That's why people didn't like it.

This DVD release scheme is just stupid. There's nowhere near enough fans of this to constitute a dual release. Put them both on one DVD. And for him to try to call the shorter cut the director's cut is just ludicrous. Come on Oliver, like the studio really fought to get those extra 8 minutes inserted? Please.

What Stone is bitter about is not the box office failure...he has had those before...but that this is the first time that the critics have, universaly, turned against him. Even his less well received films have never had the kind of pounding that ALexander had.
He is no longer a Critic's Pet, and that is what is pissing him off.
And his whole blaming the film's reception on the Gay angle is so fucking stupid. That was a minor issue with most reviewers. Just about the only person buying that as the main reason the film failed was Harry Knowles in his now infamous rave review in which Harry wrecked what was left of his credibility by blaming the film's failure on the election of Bush. I hate Bush as much as anybody but that was stupid.
And what it more stupid is that the vast majority of the critics who panned Alexander are pretty far to the left in their political opinions...

Oliver Stone mad at media reports

CANNES (Hollywood Reporter) - Oliver Stone is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it any more.

Fed up with what he calls the Internet "echo effect, which goes on and on," the filmmaker has sent out a press release to contradict recent media reports about him.

"Contrary to recent reports in the media, I've never announced or intend to make films called 'Constantine,' 'The Night Watchman" or the life story of Margaret Thatcher," read Stone's release, which was issued Thursday from Los Angeles.

"Nor, as also reported, have I fled the United States for France, 'apologized' to Turkey for (1978's) 'Midnight Express' or denounced my film 'Alexander,' which has now grossed $170 million internationally and will be released on DVD in two versions Aug. 2 in the United States, Latin America, the U.K., Australia, and other countries. Lest my friends are confused, I continue to live in the United States, where I am developing various film projects."


In an interview, Stone said that he had been developing an adaptation of the James Ellroy book "The Night Watchman" with writer John Ridley, but "it didn't work out," he said. "I'm no longer involved with it."


As for reports that he's planning to make a biopic of former British Prime Minister Thatcher, Stone said that stemmed from a joke he made at a news conference to promote "Alexander."


"I made a crack that the life of Margaret Thatcher would be great with Meryl Streep," he said. "It hit the news wires and the Internet. Can you imagine me doing the life of Margaret Thatcher?"


As for the speculation that the pending DVD issue of "Alexander" would be significantly different to tone down the homosexuality featured in the theatrical version, Stone said that in truth, Warner Bros. plans to release two versions of the DVD, the theatrical cut and a director's cut.


"There are a lot of changes, a whole new third act," Stone said of the director's cut. "It's 25% changed. We lose 20 minutes and put back in 12. ... It was a big job (that required) two more months of editing work."


Stone also asserted that Millennium Films chief Avi Lerner had announced this week at Cannes that Stone had committed to produce a film about the Roman emperor Constantine that would shoot in Bulgaria. Lerner could not immediately be reached for comment.


"I have never heard of the project," Stone said. "I do like Avi Lerner. I faxed him, 'What are you doing?' But I haven't heard back."

I have to admit, I haven't seen ALEXANDER, but a lot of what I heard about it were from voices who sounded less than qualified, and this cements it. I'll rent it and judge for myself, but I refuse to acknowledge that an oliver Stone film can be ignored.

I'm going to hold off till I read some DVD reviews. Its hard to predict whether a newer cut will be better or worse. I actually thought it had some decent themes about Alexander, the are consistent with Oliver Stone's previous films. The we kill the dreamers amongst us (JFK) before their dangerous dreams can upset the status quo. Unfortunately, as delievered by heavily made up Anthony Hopkins, it's sort of lost in the shuffle.