Farrell With Director StoneFarrell and Stone on the set of AlexanderColin Farrell and director Oliver Stone have spoken out to defend new movie Alexander, which has been given a thorough kicking in the US.

The £80m movie, which shocked America by portraying the Macedonian warrior king as 'Alex the gay', has only taken £18m across the pond.

Stone, director of Platoon and Born On The Fourth Of July, said: "There's a raging fundamentalism in morality in the US.

"From day one, audiences didn't show up. They didn't even read the reviews in the South because the media was using the words 'Alex the gay'.

"I was quite taken aback by the controversy and fierceness of the reviews about a character we don't really know too much about."

Colin Farrell has been called "hopelessly out of his depth" in the title role but Stone said the Irishman would "ride it out".

Colin admitted friends thought the film was "not exactly Gladiator".

But he said: "If Oliver ever wanted to work with me again, I would do it in a heartbeat."

Stone hinted he'd make changes to the DVD of the movie.

He said the "bond" in the homosexual scene could be "suggested in different ways".