New 'Alexander' Movie Under Fire for Sexual Portrait

Fri Nov 19, 2004 06:06 PM ET
By Arthur Spiegelman
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... ID=6872825

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oliver Stone's new film about Alexander the Great depicts the king as bisexual, fueling outrage from Greeks and prompting Hollywood to ask if a world conqueror with dyed blond hair and waxed legs will be able to attract box office hordes.

One newspaper calls it a case of "Queer Eye for the Macedonian Guy." Others have speculated that Stone, always a controversial filmmaker, is taking a big risk with a $160 million epic by including scenes of passionate embrace between Alexander and his best friend Hephaestion.

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.

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I wonder if Hepheastion's thighs will be Alexander's Achilles heel at the box-office.....hmm....

that was a good little joke at the end of that one.