ATHENS, Greece – A group of Greek lawyers angry at the portrayal of Alexander the Great (search) as a bisexual in the Hollywood movie "Alexander" indicated they had no plans to take legal action against the film.
In the Oliver Stone (search) epic, to be released here Friday, Alexander has an intimate relationship with a male childhood friend. The movie has opened to mixed reviews in the United States.
The lawyers argue there is no historical evidence supporting claims that Alexander had male lovers. They had wanted a disclaimer warning audiences that the movie wasn't historically accurate.
But after a special screening this week, the 25 lawyers decided not to pursue legal options.
"There is a kiss that can be interpreted in many ways, but we have avoided the worst," Giannis Varnakas, one of the lawyers, said after the screening. "Fortunately it was not what we had feared. The people can go and see the movie."
The Greek distributors of "Alexander" had argued that art shouldn't be censored.
"Everyone has his own ethical values and beliefs, but I don't believe we should censor art. Cinema is an art and [Oliver] Stone did a movie — not a historical documentary," said Serafim Mavromatis, marketing and advertising manager for Spentzos Film (search), the Greek distributors of "Alexander."
Mavromatis said he'd seen the movie and argued that there is nothing in it that can damage the image of Alexander.
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