In an effort to head off controversy with religious groups before the film opens in late March, Paramount has announced that it will add a statement to Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, which stars Russell Crowe as the Biblical hero. The statement will make it clear that the Black Swan director’s film is not a line-by-line version of the Biblical story.
The studio made a deal with the National Religious Broadcasters, which helped create the final statement. The group’s CEO, Dr. Jerry A. Johnson, appealed to Paramount to make sure audiences knew that this was a piece of art, not just a verbatim version of the Noah’s Ark story.
“Because of the quality of the production and acting, viewers will enjoy watching main themes from the Noah story depicted in a powerful way on the big screen,” Johnson said in a statement. “However, my intent in reaching out to Paramount with this request was to make sure everyone who sees this impactful film knows this is an imaginative interpretation of Scripture, and not literal.”
From now on, all marketing material for Noah - including the next trailer, the film’s website and print and radio ads - will now include a statement that reads:
”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 of Noah can be found in the book of Genesis.”
Noah is the first film from Aronofsky since Black Swan and stars Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson. The first trailer was released back in November. The movie hits theaters on March 28.
It makes perfect sense for Paramount to try to please religious groups, while also making Aronofsky happy by not imposing any changes on his vision. Earlier this month, Variety reported that a survey from Faith Driven Consumers showed that most were not satisfied in Hollywood’s version of religious events and that included Noah. The studio later blasted Variety for its interpretation of the survey, notes TheWrap.
image courtesy of Paramount