Nicole Kidman has agreed to play Alexander the Great's mother, Olympia, in Baz Luhrmann's epic film of the Macedonian conqueror's exploits. Leonardo DiCaprio will play her famous son. Both actors owe a significant debt to the director for boosting their careers through Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet respectively. Luhrmann's film is only one of several currently on the slate to deal with the subject of the King who rose from relative obscurity in northern Greece to conquer the Persian empire. Filming is due to start this year in Morocco, where King Mohammed VI is handily providing 5,000 soldiers and 1,000 horses for the battle scenes.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its Oscar shortlist for achievement in visual effects and sound editing. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Minority Report, Spider-Man and XXX are nominated in both categories. Attack of the Clones and Men in Black II are also contending for the visual effects category, while Road to Perdition and We Were Soldiers will compete for sound editing. Nominations will be announced on February 11.
Robert Downey Jr is joining the cast of Mad Max 4: Fury Road. Writer-director George Miller, who shot all the other adventures of the apocalyptic warrior said: "Mel [Gibson] had the idea of offering a part to Robert Downey Jr, who I love." He added: "I myself would like to see actors from previous episodes like Tina Turner or Emil Minty [a supporting player in Mad Max 2]." Filming starts in Australia in May 2003.
Peter O'Toole should be the new Dumbledore, in the view of the family of the late Richard Harris. The family is lobbying the makers of the Harry Potter film franchise to cast the Lawrence of Arabia star as the Hogwarts headmaster. Harris' brother Noel said: "Dicky (Richard) made the role his own. He will be a hard act to follow. Peter was a great, great friend of Dicky's for most of his life. And he has similar qualities on screen. Our family would be delighted if he was offered the part."
