Somewhere in Heaven, “Ten Commandments’’ director Cecil B. DeMille is having a good laugh. Paramount Pictures, the studio he co-founded a century ago, has agreed to put a disclaimer on marketing materials for Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming biblical epic “Noah,’’ starring Russell Crowe, as a sop to fundamentalist Christian leaders.
The Hollywood Reporter says “an upcoming trailer, the film’s website, all print and radio ads, as well as a percentage of the film’s online and broadcast ads’’ will contain this ridiculous statement: “The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide. The biblical story can be found in the book of Genesis.’’
Imagine that: A biblical movie has taken artistic license!
For starters, there is no one “definitive’’ version of the Bible, even though some fundamentalists might quarrel with that. There are dozens of versions and translations of both the New and the Old Testaments, not all of which contain exactly the same material.
And various religious groups and biblical scholars have argued for centuries about the interpretation of various passages, who actually wrote them, and whether some or all of them were even meant to be taken as a literal account of historical events.
Which has always given filmmakers and actors plenty of room for “artistic license’’ and interpretation.
There’s a world of difference in the way Jesus Christ is portrayed by Max Von Sydow in George Stevens’ bland “The Greatest Story Ever Told’’ (1966); Willem Dafoe in Martin Scorsese’s edgy “The Last Temptation of Christ’’ (1988), which fundamentalists abhorred; or Jim Caviezel in Mel Gibson’s borderline anti-Semitic “The Passion of the Christ’’ (2004), which fundamentalists embraced.
There’s also Diogo Morgado’s Jesus in “Son of God,’’ out Friday, which was expanded from a TV miniseries (minus a controversial appearance by the Devil, who was played by an actor who some complained looked too much like President Obama).
None of these — and no biblical movie that I know of — has ever carried a disclaimer. The whole idea is totally ridiculous.
So why did Paramount cave to an “appeal’’ by Jerry A. Johnson, president and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters?
“We are deeply appreciative of Dr. Johnson’s efforts to bring this idea to us,’’ Paramount VP Rob Moore told The Hollywood Reporter. “Our goal has been to take every measure we can to ensure moviegoers have the information they need before deciding to buy a ticket to see the film. We are very proud of Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Noah.’ We think audiences all over the world will enjoy this epic film.’’
But an earlier Hollywood Reporter article suggested Paramount is so worried about whether the film will tank with mainstream audiences — it’s tested “as many as half a dozen cuts’’ and will add 3-D to boost overseas showings — that it’s been aggressively courting the fundamentalist crowd who made “The Passion of the Christ’’ a surprise hit.
I haven’t seen the film, but HR reports “Aronofsky’s Noah gets drunk … and considers taking drastic measures to eradicate mankind from the face of the planet.’’ Christians recruited as test audiences “questioned the film’s adherence to the Bible story and reacted negatively to the intensity and darkness of the lead character.’’
John Huston sure didn’t have this problem back in 1966, when he not only directed “The Bible … In the Beginning,’’ but played a cranky Noah.
Having won this victory, you have to wonder if fundamentalist leaders will next target Ridley Scott’s “Exodus’’ — starring Christian Bale as Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt — for literal scrutiny. Fox has scheduled that one for Christmas release.
DeMille, the king of biblical epics going back to the first “Ten Commandments’’ and “King of Kings’’ during the silent era, knew how to handle this. As his biographer Scott Eyman says, DeMille met with religious leaders of all faiths, listened to their advice — and then did exactly what he wanted to.
His 1956 version of “The Ten Commandments,’’ starring Charlton Heston as Moses — an enormous box-office smash that still turns up every year for Easter on ABC — finds plenty of room for a full-scale orgy in its free adaptation of “The Holy Scriptures’’ and three other books.
Maybe Paramount should add a disclaimer to this year’s showing of “The Ten Commandments’’ and on the DVD box. And while they’re at it, shouldn’t ads for the same studio’s “The Wolf of Wall Street’’ say it takes “artistic license’’ by changing the names of most of its characters for legal reasons?