Hollywood’s Revisiting of Exodus Story a Part of Throwback ‘Year of the Bible’ And Genesis 3D – A Christian Movie at last….
In a throwback to the golden age of cinema, Hollywood has declared 2014 the “Year of the Bible.” From Ridley Scott’s “Exodus” starring Christian Bale as Moses, to Russell Crowe playing Noah, Hollywood is gambling on new innovations in technology and star power to revisit some of the most popular stories ever told.
“It’s definitely a throwback to the 1950s and early ’60s,” Dr. Stephen J. Whitfield, an American Studies professor at Brandeis University, told JNS.org.
Starting with “The Robe” in 1953 and Charlton Heston’s 1956 Passover-related epic “The Ten Commandments,” and continuing with Heston’s other biblically themed films — 1959’s “Ben-Hur” and 1965’s “The Greatest Story Ever Told” — the post-war era was packed with movies that appealed to the conservatism of the era.
“One of the reasons biblical epics were [so] popular in the 1950s and ’60s was because of the general atmosphere of piety of the era,” Whitfield said.
Advances in technology also played a role, according to Whitfield.
“The second reason [for the popularity for bible-related films] was television, which was in black and white for most of this era,” he said. “What movies could do is provide rich living color on a very big screen.”
But in an age of increasing secularism, will the latest biblical epics be able to capture the attention of a new generation of Americans?
Son of God
One of the first biblically inspired films on the docket for 2014, scheduled for February release, is “Son of God” by British-American producer Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey. The devout Christian couple made headlines last year for their acclaimed History Channel TV mini-series “The Bible,” which drew polarized reactions over its literal interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Produced by 20th Century Fox, “Son of God” seeks to trace the life of Jesus of Nazareth while also telling the story with “the scope and scale of an action epic,” according to the film’s trailer.
So far the review the reviews have been mixed
The New York Times’ Nicolas Rapold says, “‘Son of God’ runs through the scriptural greatest hits of the Passion with the reliability of a Sunday reader.” He continues, “Jesus looks like a tanned model in robes in the person of the Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado. His scenes pivot on teachable moments buttressed by reaction shots to his coterie, undermining the mysteries of Jesus with the blandness of the filmmaking.”
Rapold concludes, “‘Son of God’ may have hit the mark if part of the goal was to create a portrait flat enough to allow audience members to project their own feelings onto the screen.”
Noah or Noah?
Coming on the heels of this story about Jesus will be the March release of Jewish-American director Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah,” starring Russell Crowe as the biblical patriarch who saved mankind from the Great Flood. Joining Crowe are other Hollywood stars Jennifer Connelly, playing Noah’s wife Naameh, Emma Watson of “Harry Potter” fame, playing Noah’s adopted daughter Ila, and Sir Anthony Hopkins playing Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather.
Aronofsky has garnered criticism over his movie’s environmental slant and other creative licenses.
“Noah is a very short section of the Bible with a lot of gaps, so we definitely had to take some creative expression in it. But I think we stayed very true to the story and didn’t really deviate from the Bible, despite the six-armed angels,” the film’s producer, Scott Franklin, told Entertainment Weekly.
“Hollywood’s return to biblical stories can also be explained by the huge advances in computer-generated graphics, similar to the role color played in the 1950s,” Whitfield told JNS.org.
“These massive special effects have already been demonstrated in revisiting science fiction and comic book stories,” he said. “Now they can put this into recreating the ancient world.”
No historical character is getting as much attention in the movie business these days as the Bible’s Noah, who now has not one, but two movies being released about him on March 28.
One film, of course, is the $125-million blockbuster “Noah,” from Paramount Pictures, featuring actor Russell Crowe in the title role.
The second film is from Christian evangelist and filmmaker Ray Comfort, who boasts, “Theirs is a fake Noah; ours is the real thing.”
Comfort’s movie, “Noah and the Last Days,” however, will go beyond retelling the tale of the famous Ark builder to reveal how the ancient story applies to both today and the near future, which Comfort says is being revealed through biblical prophecies, indicating the return of Jesus Christ is coming soon.
And while Comfort’s film will be released on YouTube and DVD on the same date as Paramount’s “Noah,” it’s being made available ahead of time, in a special download package that includes a “Noah and the Last Days” companion guide and a “Creation and the Last Days” video from Answers in Genesis.
“They [Hollywood] have no qualms about sensationalizing the story of Noah in order to make it more profitable. That’s their bottom line,” Comfort told ASSIST News about the Paramount picture. “But the movie strays so far from the biblical account that it omits its essential message: God’s judgment for man’s sin and evil. Taking ‘poetic license’ on this story further erodes the public’s perception of the biblical account and of the Bible in general.
“That’s why we produced our version of Noah, which looks at him from a different perspective,” Comfort continued. “We reveal ten undeniable Bible prophecies that link to Noah, and show that we are living in what the Bible calls ‘the last days.’”
Discussing the film on his regular video series, “The Comfort Zone,” Comfort said, “Theirs is fiction, ours is based on the Word of God.”
Exodus
Another highly anticipated 2014 biblical epic is famed director Ridley Scott’s “Exodus,” starring Christian Bale as Moses and “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul as his lieutenant Joshua, which won’t hit theaters until December.
Whitfield said that by focusing on major figures in the Bible and using Hollywood megastars, Hollywood is not gambling too much on these films, despite the many changes in America today.
“By producing movies focusing on major figures like Jesus, Noah or Moses, these are individuals that even the most ill-educated know of compared to most other historical figures,” he told JNS.org.
Whitfield added that the movies, by using biblical stories that take place in the Middle East, are also able to feature diverse casts and weave modern political themes into the stories.
“Because it is set in the Middle East, you can also have a multiracial and multiethnic cast that appeals to Hollywood’s values,” he said.
Also in slated for release in late 2014 is “Mary, Mother of Christ.” The film, which bills itself as the “true prequel of [Mel Gibson’s] ‘The Passion of the Christ,'” stars 16-year-old Israeli actress Odeya Rush as Mary, Ben Kingsley as King Herod, and recently deceased Peter O’Toole as Simeon, a prophet from the Gospel of Luke.
The trend of biblical epics on the big screen is likely to continue for several more years. A number of other biblical movies are also under consideration, including Will Smith directing a movie on Cain and his fratricide victim Abel, and a film starring Brad Pitt as Pontius Pilate, the villainous Roman governor of Judea who sentenced Jesus to a painful death.
“Despite increasing secularism today, the Bible is still a very strong part of American culture,” Whitfield said. “There is more of a chance [for biblically inspired films] with recognition and widespread appeal, than [there is for] another movie about an American president or any other historical figures.”
Genesis 3D – A Christian Movie at last
Last week, TheBlaze told you about “Genesis 3D,” a new Christian film project that seeks to disprove the purported “lie of evolution,” while bringing the Bible’s story of creation to life. Now, just a few weeks after a crowd-sourcing campaign launched with the goal of raising $150,000, the film’s creator, Creation Today President Evic Hovind, has some major announcements to make.
Not only did “Genesis 3D” surpass its goal (as of 11:45 a.m. ET on Sunday, the Indiegogo campaign raised more than $151,000), but a church in Texas recently called Hovind with a stunning pledge: An additional $100,000 to help up the ante and bring the story about God’s creation of the universe to movie theaters across America.
As for reaching the first benchmark, Hovind, who is the film’s executive producer, was elated.
“We are blown away by the Christians who are cheering us on with their support! They want the truth of God’s word to be proclaimed and experienced around the world,” he told TheBlaze in an e-mail interview.
The pace at which monies have flowed in has been surprising.
On Sep. 27, just days after it launched, TheBlaze reported that more than $90,000 had already been collected. This is proof, director and producer Ralph Strean says, that Christians crave “quality productions that are biblically accurate and stand for the truth of the Holy Scriptures.”
“This has been an incredible experience for us as we’re helping to unite the body of Christ behind a powerful message. We’re looking forward to completing the film and sharing it with the world,” said Strean.
After all, there are still 26 days left in the Indiegogo effort. And while that certainly leaves the window open for additional funds to stream in, there’s also the $100,000 that was donated by an unnamed church in Texas. This surprising donation helped satisfy a second phase of fund-raising that the filmmakers were already considering.
From the start, the minimum goal for the project was $150,000 to get the film on Blue-ray, but if Hovind and his compatriots were able to raise $250,000, they knew they’d be able to add in more 3D sequences, bring in additional animators and potentially see the project grace the big screen.
See the trailer, below:
“We were blown away when we received a phone call from a church in Texas that said: ‘God wants us to fund $100,000 of this project. We know that God is going to use this to reach millions and we want to be a part of that,” Hovind told TheBlaze.
What was once a dream will now become reality. Hovind says that his team is working with Resurrection Pictures, a faith-based movie distribution company in California, to get the film as much distribution as possible.
Photo Credit: Genesis 3D Movie LLC
“We are noticing that a huge percent of the people who watch our campaign video are supporting the project. IndieGoGo says our stats look ‘amazing,’” he said. “I told them, ‘No, God looks amazing.’”
The more support “Genesis 3D” gets, the more theaters the film can extend to, so the Indiegogo effort, despite the church’s big contribution, is nowhere near complete. On a grassroots level, considering the donations that have come in thus far, the potential for wider distribution is huge.
As the campaign continues, Hovind wants people to continue spreading the word, watching the trailer and sharing “Genesi 3D” with friends and family. Prayer and financial contributions, he says, are more than welcome.
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