Hollywood has an epiphany
The saint-like image of a hooded woman looms out from the movie poster, her arms outstretched as a divine light bursts from the sky. A message written above is simple and unambiguous: “You Will Believe.”
So goes the promotional campaign for the forthcoming Hollywood blockbuster Mary Mother of Christ. “Under the reign of terror of Herod the Great and, against all odds, they survive as young parents in one of the most treacherous times in history,” reads a synopsis.
Mary Mother of Christ, whose title character will be played by Odeya Rush, a 16-year-old Israeliborn actress, is one of a series of biblical epics due next year.
Studios that have spent the past few years releasing superhero and zombie films have, it seems, had an epiphany.
In March, audiences will be treated to Noah, a $150-million special-effects-laden extravaganza from Paramount Pictures in which Russell Crowe will build an ark and rescue mankind from the Great Flood.
Noah will be followed by Ridley Scott’s Exodus, in which Christian Bale, as Moses, will part the Red Sea. Scott has described the film, in a less than godly phrase, as “F---ing huge.”
Another movie of Moses’s life called Gods and Kings is planned.
Meanwhile, Son of God will tell the story of the life of Jesus, with Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado in the lead role. It’s a role he’s familiar with: Morgado portrays Jesus in the Mark Burnett-Roma Downey TV miniseries The Bible. Will Smith is said to be planning a film based on the story of Cain and Abel and Brad Pitt is rumoured to be playing Pontius Pilate in a separate project.
Phil Cooke, a filmmaker and media consultant to Christian organizations, said Hollywood’s epiphany had financial, not spiritual, origins. “What’s happened is they’ve understood it’s very good business to take Christians seriously, and this is a real serious market,” he said.