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Quote:
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.
Everyone associated with "Alexander," from Stone to star Colin Farrell, insist the film, which opens on Wednesday, 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.
Farrell, in a recent interview with Reuters, said he had no problem with the role because "Oliver made the film as historically accurate as possible and ambivalent sexuality was something of the times and part of the character."
Stone said he kept the movie accurate and had an historian on the set. He added there was no question that Alexander had "a polymorphous sensuality and was an explorer in the deepest sense of the world."
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., a unit of Time Warner Inc. , should be sued for twisting history. The lawyers said they have asked Stone and Warner Bros. to include a reference in the title credits saying the film is fictional. Spokesmen for Warner Bros. and Stone did not have any immediate comment.
"We are not saying that we are against gays, but we are saying that the production company should make it clear to the audience that this film is pure fiction and not a true depiction of the life of Alexander," Yannis Varnakos, who is spearheading the legal campaign, told Reuters in Athens.
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.
Oliver Stone's no Mel Gibson, his movies will be historically accurate. But will they keep these Gay scenes? I think they should.
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I heard that the test audiences were so disgusted by them they walked out of a free screening.
Just because its historically accurate, doesn't mean it has to show everything that happened. They could still say he was bi-sexual without showing the gay sex.
November 6th, 2012: Americas new Independence Day.
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Eh? I read a couple books on AtG and I didna' see shit bout' him being bi-sexual.
Apparently, Oliver jus' wants to stereotype Greece or some shit.
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Maybe that's because they didn't put the bisexual stuff in Middle-School level books, nihilist.
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If that's gonna be your tone.
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Quote:
JQ said:
Oliver Stone's no Mel Gibson, his movies will be historically accurate.
Like JFK? 
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Quote:
Captain Sammitch said:
Quote:
JQ said:
Oliver Stone's no Mel Gibson, his movies will be historically accurate.
Like JFK?
JFK was an exception. Oliver Stone detailed all the popular JFK conspiracy theories from two in-depth books. He even admitted he didn't believe in a lot of them.
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Just makin' sure.
Everybody spins, you know.
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Quote:
JQ said:
Quote:
Captain Sammitch said:
Quote:
JQ said:
Oliver Stone's no Mel Gibson, his movies will be historically accurate.
Like JFK?
JFK was an exception. Oliver Stone detailed all the popular JFK conspiracy theories from two in-depth books. He even admitted he didn't believe in a lot of them.
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I don't know if "Nixon" was that historically accurate either.
In any event, given the paucity of original source material from the times being portrayed, its difficult to say that Stone is or isn't any more historically accurate than Gibson (or vice versa). That kind of comment, JQ, seems to speak more towards an anti-Gibson bias on your part than anything else.
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Point. What does it say if there's a rough equivalent between Stone's accuracy with comparatively recent history and Gibson's accuracy with things that happened centuries ago? 
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It's pretty well known with a lot of Greeks that Alexander was bisexual, but there's also a lot of Greeks who deny he ever was. It's all about the culture and "masculinity" or whatever. But fact was, a lot of Greeks were bisexual back then. It just wasn't as big a deal to them as it is to people today. I'm pretty sure PJP could back me up on this.
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Q:Why couldn't the Greek man leave home?
A: He couldn't leave his little brothers behind.
Q: How do you seperate 2 Greek brothers?
A: with a crowbar
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Quote:
rex said:
They could still say he was bi-sexual without showing the gay sex.
What fun would that be?
We all wear a green carnation.
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EWWWWWWWW! Thats just gross *yuck*. I saw the previews and wasnt gonna see it either. Gross....thats just nasty.
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I'm not gonna see it cuz' of Jolie and Ferral.
Colin is good sometimes, but not in this kinda role.
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agreed his past portrayals of gay rulers have been awful!
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No, I mean when he's blonde.
Just downright horrible.
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by horrible did you mean adorable?
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Yes, as a matter of fact I do mean horrible.
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From what I'm hearing, if this movie tanks, it ain't gonna have anything to do with whether Alexander was gay, straight, or bi. It's getting ravaged by critics as a bad movie in its own right.
But with all the outcry over Alexander's sexual orientation, I guess we'll have to see whether "controversy = audience" will work for the third time this year.
"Well when I talk to people I don't have to worry about spelling." - wannabuyamonkey
"If Schumacher’s last effort was the final nail in the coffin then Year One would’ve been the crazy guy who stormed the graveyard, dug up the coffin and put a bullet through the franchise’s corpse just to make sure." -- From a review of Darren Aronofsky & Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One" script
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This movie friggin' sucked.
...you tell stories, we tell lies.
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Nah.
Cuz then I'd be happy.
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I kinda like it, though it was friggin long at times
 Racks be to MisterJLA
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