August 15, 2002

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The race is on to bring the story of Alexander the Great to the screen, with as many as four different projects vying to be first out of the gate. But it looks like that crown will go to Leonardo DiCaprio, 27, and his "Romeo + Juliet" director Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge"), reports Variety, which says that producer Dino De Laurentiis is putting the finishing touches on a deal to start shooting the $140 million movie early next year. Others preparing to tell the tale of "the Macedonian master of the universe," as the trade paper calls Alex (356-323 BC), are "Platoon" director Oliver Stone, with "Minority Report" costar Colin Farrell, 26 -- although, says Variety, for several years Stone had wanted Tom Cruise to don Alexander's armor. Another version of Alex's story was to have been a 10-part $120 million miniseries for HBO by Mel Gibson's Icon production company, though that reportedly turned to dust when Gibson pulled out. Yet another that was discussed was to have been directed by Martin Scorsese and was to star DiCaprio, who headlines that filmmaker's long-in-the-making "Gangs of New York," which is finally scheduled for release this Christmas. For the DiCaprio-Luhrmann collaboration, says Variety, producer De Laurentiis hopes to enlist the support of the King of Morocco, who is expected to provide his personal army of 5,000 men and 1,000 horses for the staging of war scenes.