It has been a rocky voyage for Noah, Darren Aronofsky’s watery biblical epic. While religious tales are a predictable magnet for controversy, the battle over Paramount’s $125 million Old Testament blockbuster has been more contentious (and full of half-baked storm puns) than most. As Christian groups criticized the film’s message — not to mention its portrayal of Noah as an "environmentalist wacko" — the studio tussled with the notoriously independent Aronofsky over test screenings and the right to a final cut. Here's a timeline of how it all went down:October 2012 Long before the movie was due to hit screens, religious screenwriter Brian Godawa expressed early doubts about the film. After reading an early draft of the script, he posted a review, criticizing it as an “anachronistic doomsday scenario of ancient global warming” that portrayed Noah as an "environmentalist wacko." July 2013Anticipating controversy, early efforts were made to appeal to Christian viewers,...
- 3/27/2014
- by Anna Silman
- Vulture
There's a lot at stake with the release this Friday of "Noah," and not just for the filmmakers or the studio that sunk a reported $160 million into the film.
In a year when Hollywood is releasing several Bible-inspired movies, "Noah" has become the test case for a number of issues -- whether Hollywood can earn the trust of fundamentalist Christians (and whether it's worth risking money and controversy even to try), whether it's possible to make big-budget spectacles that please both religious viewers and secular action-film fans, and whether directors can make Bible-themed movies that adhere to doctrine without compromising artistically or making dull propaganda.
It would be easy to see this saga as a story of just two players. On the one side is Hollywood, represented here by "Noah" studio Paramount, which would like to attract Christian viewers, and which has practically bent over backward to do so, testing...
In a year when Hollywood is releasing several Bible-inspired movies, "Noah" has become the test case for a number of issues -- whether Hollywood can earn the trust of fundamentalist Christians (and whether it's worth risking money and controversy even to try), whether it's possible to make big-budget spectacles that please both religious viewers and secular action-film fans, and whether directors can make Bible-themed movies that adhere to doctrine without compromising artistically or making dull propaganda.
It would be easy to see this saga as a story of just two players. On the one side is Hollywood, represented here by "Noah" studio Paramount, which would like to attract Christian viewers, and which has practically bent over backward to do so, testing...
- 3/25/2014
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Paramount Pictures, and Hollywood in general, is acutely aware of what a benefit it is to have the Christian community on your side when promoting a film adapted from the Bible. Because of this, the studio has been working double time lately to keep its upcoming Noah in the good graces of the church. But at what cost? The film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, is said to be none too pleased with some of the studio’s efforts to win over Christian groups. They’ve added disclaimers and changed up all of the Noah‘s marketing materials without consulting with the Oscar-nominated director.
According to TheWrap, they’ve spoken to someone close to the situation who claims the director is not happy with the decision to pander to the religious groups. The film will apparently now open with this disclaimer:
The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken,...
According to TheWrap, they’ve spoken to someone close to the situation who claims the director is not happy with the decision to pander to the religious groups. The film will apparently now open with this disclaimer:
The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken,...
- 3/6/2014
- by Mario-Francisco Robles
- LRMonline.com
It's become quite obvious what draws me to the theater more than anything, the work of directors I've come to admire, appreciate and expect great things from. Certainly a film's subject matter adds to that excitement, but most often it's because the directors I most anticipate tell stories I most want to see brought to life. However, what today's list of my top ten most anticipated movies of 2014 illustrates is that even when the subject matter isn't necessarily something in my immediate wheelhouse, the thought of a new movie from one of my favorite directors makes such subject matter immediately more interesting. Or, as in the case with one particular film on this list, the subject matter, the development of the film itself and the talent involved makes it an obvious choice for my top ten, which we'll get to right now... If you've missed any of the previous installments...
- 1/9/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Noah, Darren Aronofsky’s big-budget biblical epic, doesn’t arrive in theaters until next March, but the Oscar-nominated director and Paramount reportedly are already feeling the winds of a brewing storm. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film has generated unfavorable reactions in early test screenings, and the studio is leaning on Aronofsky to make changes — changes that the Black Swan director apparently is resisting. “Darren is not made for studio films,” The Reporter quotes a talent rep close to the movie as saying. “He’s very dismissive. He doesn’t care about [Paramount's] opinion.”
Russell Crowe stars as Noah, the...
Russell Crowe stars as Noah, the...
- 10/16/2013
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
With Noah, director Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Black Swan, The Fountain) has apparently made what can best be described as a "Darren Aronofsky movie". Word surrounding the pic suggests he's taken the Biblical character and turned him into something of an extreme environmentalist. Aronofsky has said as much in the past, saying "Noah was the first environmentalist" and adding, "Hopefully they'll let me make it." Well, they did, and apparently some aspects aren't going over so well in certain circles as test screenings have started to take place. A major piece of contention seems to be the film's third act, which The Hollywood Reporter says may have the potential of alienating the huge Christian audience while screenings in New York (for a largely Jewish audience), in Arizona (Christians) and in Orange County, Calif. (general public) have all "generated troubling reactions". I hadn't heard of it until now, but apparently faith-based...
- 10/16/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Mixed reactions at test screenings for key demographics credited for wrangle over final cut of Biblical epic starring Russell Crowe as the ark-man
With a high-profile cast including Russell Crowe as everybody's favourite antediluvian patriarch, it has been billed as a blockbuster fantasy spectacular to resurrect the biblical epic for the 21st century. But Darren Aronofsky's Noah looks to be running into trouble after it emerged that the American auteur director of Black Swan and The Wrestler is embroiled in a fight for control of his ambitious new film with studio Paramount.
The problem, according to the Hollywood Reporter, is that the two key demographics identified by producers as critical to the box office office success of the film have both reacted negatively at test screenings. Christian viewers in Arizona did not much like it, possibly because the movie plays fast and loose with its biblical subject matter, and...
With a high-profile cast including Russell Crowe as everybody's favourite antediluvian patriarch, it has been billed as a blockbuster fantasy spectacular to resurrect the biblical epic for the 21st century. But Darren Aronofsky's Noah looks to be running into trouble after it emerged that the American auteur director of Black Swan and The Wrestler is embroiled in a fight for control of his ambitious new film with studio Paramount.
The problem, according to the Hollywood Reporter, is that the two key demographics identified by producers as critical to the box office office success of the film have both reacted negatively at test screenings. Christian viewers in Arizona did not much like it, possibly because the movie plays fast and loose with its biblical subject matter, and...
- 10/16/2013
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Dread Central got word that casting has officially begun in Los Angeles for Cruel Logic, a feature length indie film based on the short of the same name by Brian Godawa.
Shooting is set to begin in April. For a bit more on the short film check out its synopsis below. Hit up Godawa's blog to watch the trailer and more.
Synopsis
"Albert Fish is a brilliant university professor. But he is also a ruthless killer incarcerated in a hospital for the criminally insane. When Fish escapes from his prison, Dr. Joseph Kallinger, the psychiatrist who testified on behalf of Fish’s insanity, is called in to help profile him with Detective Van Til, the cop who originally caught Fish. Their bitter pairing intensifies when Kallinger exploits Fish’s case for his book on criminal behavior. The stakes increase when one of Kallinger’s female students, with whom he is having a secret affair,...
Shooting is set to begin in April. For a bit more on the short film check out its synopsis below. Hit up Godawa's blog to watch the trailer and more.
Synopsis
"Albert Fish is a brilliant university professor. But he is also a ruthless killer incarcerated in a hospital for the criminally insane. When Fish escapes from his prison, Dr. Joseph Kallinger, the psychiatrist who testified on behalf of Fish’s insanity, is called in to help profile him with Detective Van Til, the cop who originally caught Fish. Their bitter pairing intensifies when Kallinger exploits Fish’s case for his book on criminal behavior. The stakes increase when one of Kallinger’s female students, with whom he is having a secret affair,...
- 1/6/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Casting is underway in Los Angeles on the thriller Cruel Logic . The production concerns a serial killer escapes from incarceration and sets out to seek revenge on the therapist who wrongly diagnosed him. Cruel Logic is an expansion of the 2007 short film of the same name by Brian Godawa. Starring Robert Pierce, the short also told of a serial killer who videotapes his debate with a college faculty victim. The topic? The killer's moral right to kill the professor. More can be found at Godawa's blog . Shooting on the feature begins this April.
- 1/5/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
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