Greek Lawyers Threaten To Sue Over Gay Alexander Film

The group wants Stone to include a reference in the title credits saying the movie is fiction and not based on fact.

Yannis Varnakos, the spokesperson for the group, admits that he has not seen the film, set to be released Nov. 24, but says he has already gathered enough evidence to suggest there are what he calls "inappropriate references".

One of the greatest warriors of all time, little is known about Alexander's life. What we do know has come from ancient writers.

In a 365Gay.com article on Alexander, University of Washington classicist Marc Millner says ancient historians like Plutarch (circa 70 AD) and Curtius (around 41 AD) were never circumspect about Alexander's sexuality. (story)

Most modern historians also agree Alexander was bisexual, if not gay. Greeks, however, have never accepted the theories, insisting the great national hero was straight.

Two years ago hundreds of men from northern Greece stormed an archaeological symposium after one speaker presented a paper on the homosexuality of Alexander. Police had to be called in to clear away the demonstrators.

While most of the film Alexander involves the conqueror of the known world's battles the movie does not shy away from his bisexuality.

Neither Stone nor Warner Bros. has commented on the threatened suit.

http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/11/111904Alexander.htm

As the culture wars rage anew between social conservatives and their liberal counterparts, Hollywood is preparing to break fresh ground by releasing a high-budget epic film in which the lead character - a classic, and classical, action hero - is passionately in love with a man.

In Oliver Stone's three-hour drama, "Alexander," Colin Farrell, as the fourth-century Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, has a number of tender love scenes with his best friend, Hephaistion, played by a long-haired Jared Leto. In the film, which cost about $155 million to produce, Alexander is also married to Roxane, played by Rosario Dawson, but the marriage takes a back seat to his passion for his boyhood friend.

In decades past, Hollywood hinted at classical homosexuality in major films like 1960's "Spartacus." And it has dealt with the contemporary subject comically in films like "The Birdcage," the 1996 adaptation of the French film "La Cage aux Folles." But the film industry has never risked quite so much on a blockbuster film that depicts a leading man as gay or bisexual.

In breaking with that historical reticence, "Alexander," set for release by Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Brothers studio next Wednesday, may redefine what is acceptable to mass audiences when it comes to heroic portrayals on the silver screen.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/20/movies/MoviesFeatures/20alex.html

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) says the film breaks new ground for a big budget epic because it shows Hephaestion “as the true love of Alexander’s life.”

A line from the film says: “Alexander was defeated only once — by Hephaestion’s thighs.”

Last summer’s blockbuster film Troy, which could have portrayed Achilles and Patroclus as lovers, brushed aside any homoerotic elements to concentrate on Achilles desire for a Trojan princess.

Everyone associated with Alexander, from Stone to star Colin Farrell, insist the film, which opened on Wednesday in the US, is historically accurate and reflects the pagan mores of around 330 BC when the Macedonian king captured the world’s mightiest empire, Persia, and pressed on to the ends of the Earth.

British scholar Robin Lane Fox, author of a biography of Alexander and historical advisor to the film, said homosexuality and bisexuality were not “issues in ancient times” and that Alexander had extensive relations with women.

But a group of angry Greek lawyers say Stone and the film’s distributor Warner Bros., should be sued for twisting history.

Two years ago, hundreds of Greeks from Alexander’s home turf Macedonia, stormed an archeological symposium after one speaker presented a paper on the homosexuality of Alexander.

Stone’s film, which he had been trying to get on the screen for 15 years, was filmed mainly in Morocco and Thailand. The Athens News Agency said no scenes were shot in Greece because of government opposition to Stone’s portrayal of the Greek hero.

Asked if he toned down scenes, Stone maintained he shot the film the way he wanted. The only overtly sexual scene in the movie is a wedding night love scene between Alexander and his wife Roxanne that starts with her putting a knife to his throat after she catches him accepting a ring from Hephaestion, who is played by Jared Leto wearing eyeliner.

http://www.htnext.com/news/5922_1114523,001500230004.htm