The director of the upcoming film Noah, Darren Aronofsky, is suffering friction at the hands of Christian previewers who say the film isn’t biblically accurate and the character of Noah (played by Russell Crowe) isn’t appealing. He’s also irritated at the producing Paramount Pictures’ insistence at having to conduct the test screenings in the first place. But, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount and partner New Regency Productions is footing a $125 million budget on this film (by far the most costly film Aronofsky has yet made), and execs are a little nervous about the film’s appeal to the faithful of every religion and even those who don’t believe at all.
And, apparently, this is for good reason. Previewing audiences filled with Christians, who the studios hoped would make up the movie’s biggest fan base, reacted negatively to Crowe’s brooding intensity and darkness playing the Noah character. But Paramount’s vice chair Rob Moore says the studio will soon launch an advertising campaign that clarifies the artistic license taken by the filmmakers and the fact that the film is more of an exploration of Noah’s “emotional journey” rather than a literally biblical retelling of the story.
“This movie has a lot more creativity to it. And therefore, if you want to put it on the spectrum, it probably is more accurate to say this movie is inspired by the story of Noah,” says Moore.
At the same time, he says the film reflects “the key themes of the Noah story in Genesis—of faith and hope and God’s promise to mankind.” The studio is aware that a vocal segment of Christian viewers might reject the film over accuracy. Still, Moore says, “Our anticipation is that the vast majority of the Christian community will embrace it.”
View the current trailer for Noah.
