"My sense of what I wanted to do with it was tougher, more graphic, a closer cousin to "Saving Private Ryan". There were financial and creative disagreements between Imagine Entertainment and Disney, particularly over Howard's proposed budget. Disney rejected Imagine's proposal, and due to the project not moving forward at the time, Howard stepped down as director, but he would stay on the project as an executive producer, alongside Grazer, who stated in an interview at the time:"I wasn't interested in making 'The Alamo' as a PG-13 film, or PG movie, I didn't get it, I just didn't understand it. Whereas I did understand it through a different filter, through an R-rated, very intense (story) showing sacrifice, showing pain...all of those feelings....I didn't understand why you should do it the other way". Robert Rodriguez was briefly considered for director, but Disney opted for director John Lee Hancock and a budget of $107 million. Casting During pre-production, several actors such as Mel Gibson and Brad Pitt were considered for roles in the movie. Russell Crowe was in talks to play Sam Houston, while Ethan Hawke signed on as William Barret Travis. Producer Brian Grazer wanted Sean Penn for the role of James Bowie, and Billy Bob Thornton was cast as David Crockett. After Howard stepped down as director, Crowe and Hawke exited the project while Thornton remained, Viggo Mortensen was considered as a possible replacement for Crowe, but Dennis Quaid got cast in the role of Houston. Jason Patric was cast as Bowie, and Patrick Wilson replaced Hawke as Travis. A full $35 million was spent promoting the film. Filming on the Alamo set Most of the film was shot between January and June 2003, primarily using sets built at a ranch near Austin; at 51 acres, it was the largest set ever built in North America (at the time). A number of buildings, including the mission, were constructed for the film, at a cost of about $10 million. They depicted a Spanish colonial village. The sets were subsequently abandoned but were visited occasionally, at the Milton Reimers Ranch Park, although they were deteriorating; they were not intended to endure for a long period of time. Nine of the 12 major structures were damaged in a fire in September 2011. The park's web site in 2020 makes no mention of the movie or the sets. Hancock's version was purported to be