As Charging for Alexander screens on BBC Four Liz Hyder finds out what it was like for BBC television producer Alison Grist on the set of Oliver Stone's latest epic
From the dreaming spires of Oxford to the dusty plains of Morocco, Charging for Alexander follows historian Robin Lane Fox as he goes behind the scenes on Alexander, Hollywood director Oliver Stone's new movie. Lane Fox, one of the leading authorities on Alexander the Great, was delighted when Stone asked him to be historical advisor on the film, but the contract came at a price. Lane Fox, a keen horseman, would only agree to take on the role if Stone would let him ride in some of the huge cavalry charges that are re-enacted in the film. Producer Alison Grist says: "Robin always said from the outset that the only reason he was doing this is because he couldn't bear to think that a film about Alexander the Great was being made somewhere in the world and that he wouldn't be part of it. He simply had to be there." Stone agreed to Lane Fox's unusual request and Charging for Alexander charts the historian's extraordinary journey from Oxford don to an armoured warrior ready for battle.
Oliver Stone, one of the most controversial directors in Hollywood, usually operates a closed set to the media but Grist managed to persuade him to give BBC Four exclusive access to the main set in Morocco . She explains: "Oliver was really generous in giving us access to the film set on only the fifth day of principal photography. Although he has a reputation as a maverick, I believe Oliver to be one of the best writer/directors in Hollywood/movies, so to be involved in some small way by charting the making of his movie was a thrill." After Stone had agreed for the BBC to have exclusive access to the set, it took just three weeks for Lane Fox and Grist to head off to the sun-baked deserts of Morocco. Grist confesses that coping with the heat was difficult at first but matters were made worse when she was told to wear boots with a high ankle because of the many scorpions on and around the set. But it wasn't just the heat, Grist reveals that "Every time the horses charged, the dust from their hooves literally showered us, the camera crew wore goggles and by the time we returned to the hotel at night we were caked in sandy dust."
Charging for Alexander is much more than a behind the scenes documentary though, Grist explains that once she knew Lane Fox's ambition was to take part in the film, she knew that was their way in: "It was a completely different angle to any other behind-the-scenes programme and in following Robin, we'd learn about Alexander from a historian's point of view and in seeing the movie being filmed we'd see the dramatist's vision." Lane Fox had never been on a film set before heading to Morocco, but his baffled delight at the Hollywood way of working is charming to watch. Grist was also pleased that the relationship between Lane Fox and Stone develops over the course of the programme, she confesses that she really warmed to Stone and "loved seeing the friendship that forged between him and Robin."
For Grist herself, being a woman on set made her in the minority and she says she often found herself surrounded by "lots of gorgeous male muscles". She found that the reaction to her directing and producing Charging for Alexander was overwhelmingly positive. "I think they enjoyed seeing a female director recording sound, operating the second camera and taking stills And I got some good reactions from a lot of the cast and extras because I was a woman who smiled at them!" she laughs. Charging for Alexander is quite different from anything else Grist has worked on previously (her portfolio includes EastEnders, Newsnight Review and Art That Shook The World) and although she only spent two days on set, she confesses that, "It was very exciting and I loved every minute".
As well as dust-storms and scorpions, Grist also found herself surrounded by Hollywood stars, from Angelina Jolie to notorious bad-boy Colin Farrell who stars as Alexander the Great himself. Did she find that Farrell's reputation was deserved ? "I see him as a rising lead actor who not only works incredibly hard but plays hard too", she says. "He's a Dubliner who likes a drink or two in the evening but that doesn't stop him getting up at six each morning to carry out his work in the heat of the desert sun." Grist also reveals that Farrell earned the utmost respect from his fellow cast and crew by learning to ride bare-back within three months. "In Charging for Alexander, Robin Lane Fox says that he thinks Colin is a better rider than he is and Robin has been a horseman for 45 years!" laughs Grist.
There are lots of up and coming young actors in Alexander and Grist gives a few tips for the top, picking out a British actor called Elliot Cowan as particularly gifted. Seen talking to Lane Fox in Charging for Alexander, Grist says that Cowan "plays Young Ptolemy in the movie with Anthony Hopkins playing Ptolemy the elder. It's Elliot's first role in a feature film, so I hope he does well out of it, he's certainly got great presence and a nice voice." Grist confesses that she can't wait for the film to be released in the UK and says "because we were only on set for two days, I've only seen part of the filming of the battle of Guagamela. I'm really looking forward to seeing the final finished movie, I think it'll be fantastic."
Liz Hyder
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