Touchstone Pictures’ highly anticipated and ambitious production of “The Alamo,” has been given a new release date of April, 2004, it was announced today (10/28/03) by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and the film’s director John Lee Hancock. “The Alamo” stars Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Jordi Molla, Emilio Echevarria, and Patrick Wilson.
Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, “The decision to move ‘The Alamo’ to April 2004 was made at the request of the filmmakers, who felt they needed additional time to complete this great movie. Too often in Hollywood these days, release dates are set before a film has even completed shooting and it forces the director into a situation that compromises the work. Our experience working with John Lee Hancock has been so terrific and our belief in his opinions, talents and abilities so strong, that we felt his concerns about the looming release date warranted strong consideration. Ultimately, the end product is more important than the need to meet arbitrary deadlines for awards, etc. Audiences will have to wait just a bit longer to see ‘The Alamo,’ but we feel that the wait will be worth it and result in a motion picture that is superior and satisfying in every way.”
Hancock commented, “Dick and Nina Jacobson have been 100% supportive of this film throughout the entire production process and I am thrilled that they have agreed to give me the necessary time to complete it to my satisfaction. The Alamo has, from a very early age, been the most important story of my life, so when I agreed to rewrite and direct the film, I set the bar very high, both for myself and the finished product. Post production on an epic ensemble piece takes time and no deadline, no prestige release date, no awards season is worth more to me than the movie being fantastic. I owe that to myself as well as the film.”
Where myth meets history … where legend meets reality … the roads cross at San Antonio de Bexar and the small, ruined mission there: The Alamo. This new, action-packed retelling of the American legend shows there are at least two sides to every story — and more — when America’s extraordinary figures are involved. Against all odds in the spring of 1836, less than 200 men — men of all races who believed in the future of Texas — held the fort against thousands of Mexican soldiers led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (Emilio Echevarria), ruler of Mexico and commander of its forces. Led by three men — the young, brash Lt. Col. William Travis (Patrick Wilson); the violent, passionate James Bowie (Jason Patric); and the living legend David Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton) — the Texians and their deeds at the Alamo would pass into history as General Sam Houston’s (Dennis Quaid) rallying cry for Texas independence and into legend for their symbolic significance. “The Alamo” was produced by Mark Johnson, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, and executive produced by Todd Hallowell and Philip Steuer. Leslie Bohem and Stephen Gaghan and John Lee Hancock wrote the screenplay.
