Posted on 04/15/2004 8:15:35 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater
A new spec screenplay has created a lot of heat in Hollywood thanks to Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Bobby Florsheim and Josh Stolberg's THE PASSION OF THE ARK was sold to Columbia Pictures for $1.5 million dollars, with another million waiting for the two writers if the project gets greenlighted. It's a huge sale for the industry, especially for two previously unproduced screenwriters, but that's the kind of heat that high concept religious movie ideas have in the wake of Gibson's CHRIST film.
THE PASSION OF THE ARK is set in the modern day and follows a regular man who is told by God that a second great flood will be coming. God instructs the man to build an Ark like the one Noah made thousands of years ago.
All of the major studios were going after Florsheim and Stolberg's screenplay but it was Columbia that ponied up the most to own it. Columbia-based film production firm Original Films (FAST AND FURIOUS producer Neal Moritz's company) is developing the project.
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
Yawn. So its not about scripture, is it respectful of religion?
(Bomb.)
That's why "The Alamo" bombed too. Hollywood didn't treat the Alamo with respect.
Good enough reason to boycott this piece of crap idea for a movie. See if Hollyweird gets it then when it flops.
ROFL...what utter rot.
Saw the Alamo today. Thought it was fine. And respectful.
The weird Alamo-bashing campaign on FR by people who largely didn't even see the movie is one of the lamer things I've seen around here. Typical was grand-idiot Joseph Farah's article urging a boycott though he admitted he didn't see it. Of course it all started with an e-mail campaign that basically lied about events in the movie.
The movie bombed because of the lack of a major star, and the fact that most Americans have no idea what happened at the Alamo; certainly isn't covered in schools anymore outside of Texas.
"Gods and Generals" was a massive box-office flop, and FR loved that movie. "Master and Commander" was a box office disappointment, even with a major star. Seems historical war movies may be going out of style.
Now if they had just called it Thw Passion of the Alamo .....
But later in the script the man turns out to be an ambulance case and all is forgotten.
But later in the script the man learns that since no flood came, there is no god, and he turns inside himself for 'crystal' mysticism.
But later in the script, it is revealed the 'instructions from God' were holograms designed to get the 'man' to build the world's largest 'ark-themed' rave club, where all the teenage E-bots 'see' the animals come in two by two.
I heard a snip of the dialogue on NPR a couple of days ago.
Davy Crockett, with fear in his voice asks, "I understood the fighting was over in Texas. Isn't it?"
That is the publicity that is getting out to the public: a cowardly Davy Crockett. The Liberals could not care less about the Alamo. The Conservatives don't want to see a Disney (Eisener) movie that deconstructs yet another chapter in American history.
The movie uses the Diary of Jose Enrique de la Pena which most scholars believe to be a forgery.
If you read John Kerry's Congressional testimony and "thought it to be fine" would that qualify any criticism of it to be "utter rot"?
Do you believe the de la Pena diaries to be forgeries or genuine?
No, it's not a spoof. Cinescape tends to publish a lot of genre-related (usually sci-fi/action/horror) news and rumors, but they're generally quick to point out whether a story is a rumor.
The complete lack of thought put into this script idea seems very plausible to me, that's for sure. Hollywood has proven time and again that they're completely out of touch with the outside world. Here is Exhibit 430,998 (give or take a 100,000).
At first I doubted that statement, since BoxOfficeMojo.com says that "Master and Commander" earned a "Total as of Apr. 14, 2004: $93,821,423 + Overseas Gross: $115,767,000." That's $209.5 million, worldwide. However, production and marketing costs were approximately $180 million, giving a net profit of just under $30 million.
That's still pretty good, but, given how good that movie was, not nearly what it should have taken in.
Then there's "Gods and Generals." Total costs: $86 million. Total BO gross: $12.8 million. Yeah, I'd call that a disappointment.
I wouldn't count on it. How many "Police Academy" movies did it take before THAT message was sent?
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