Darren Aronofsky's 'Noah' footage screened at Christian arts festival
First footage of Darren Aronofsky's Noah has been screened for Christian film fans at a church conference in Texas, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The story of the chosen one who escapes a terrible flood with a menagerie of animals is not due to hit cinemas until March 2014.
In a video introduction which was briefly posted online but later removed, Aronofsky talks about how a poem he wrote about Noah while in the seventh grade (aged 12 or 13) won a competition for its author to read it at the United Nations. The subsequent experience inspired the film-maker to pursue a career as a writer.
"Noah's very much been a patron saint in my life leading me toward my creative endeavours," Aronofsky told the audience at the Echo church conference, which - according to the festival's website - is a meeting place for artists, geeks and storytellers. Aronofsky added that he hoped to stay as close as possible to the words of the Bible.
"I'm excited that Hollywood has finally agreed to make the first biblical epic in almost 50 years," he said. "It's been a long time since Bible movies were on the screen, and there's been a lot of advancements in technology and special effects, and maybe that's the reason why Noah's never been attempted on the big screen before, because of the size and scale of the deluge and all the different animals … But now, finally, with Hollywood's help, we can actually do this and bring it to life."
Noah stars Russell Crowe as the title character, with Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah, his famously long-lived grandfather; Jennifer Connelly as his wife Naameh; and Ray Winstone as villain Tubal-Cain. Studio Paramount will be hoping the film can repeat the box office success of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, which took more than $611m (£397m) in 2004 after successfully engaging churchgoing audiences worldwide.
- Courtesy: The Guardian
