Not long ago, we reported that director Darren Aronofsky was being sought to make both Maleficent, a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, and a biblical epic about Moses. Around the same time, there were rumors that there was another possibility, a dark take on the tale of Noah.
Aronofsky has apparently been trying to get the project made since 2007, but has been finding funding hard to come by, particularly after The Fountain didn’t do all that well at the cinema. In order to garner more interest in the project, he has collaborated on a graphic novel version of the story with comic book artist Nico Henrichson, which seems to have done the trick as now the director wants to make Noah his next film and is now seeking funding.
There are two things that are going to make getting this project made a whole lot easier for Aronofsky. First, he’s just coming off of the major success of his last film, Black Swan, which earned several Oscar nominations, including a Best Director nod. Second, Aronofsky’s script has been rewritten by famous screenwriter and fellow Oscar-nominee John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator), who has some big credits coming up including Hugo Cabret, Bond 23, and Lincoln.
The film is being budgeted at $130 million. New Regency is said to be close to putting up half of it while Fox, Paramount, and Summit are all considering making up the difference.
A few months ago, Aronofsky had this to say on his vision for the project:
It’s a great script and it’s huge. And we’re starting to feel out talent. And then we’ll probably try and set it up… It’s the end of the world and it’s the second most famous ship after the Titanic. So I’m not sure why any studio won’t want to make it…It’s a really cool project and I think it’s really timely because it’s about environmental apocalypse which is the biggest theme, for me, right now for what’s going on on this planet. So I think it’s got these big, big themes that connect with us. Noah was the first environmentalist. He’s a really interesting character. Hopefully they’ll let me make it. Noah was the first person to plant vineyards and drink wine and get drunk. It’s there in the Bible – it was one of the first things he did when he reached land. There was some real survivor’s guilt going on there. He’s a dark, complicated character.
This sounds like it could be interesting. I would have loved to see him tackle The Wolverine, but I’m sure if Aronofsky wants to make a biblical film about Noah, then it’s not going to be just a standard retelling of the story.
There’s no word yet on a start date for the film, but if he can pull together the money and a cast, it could get going before the end of the year.
(Source: The Playlist)
