"Whale Rider" star to play Virgin Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes)

Leading The Charge ^ | March 17, 2006 | Borys Kit

[NYer]

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Keisha Castle-Hughes Keisha Castle-Hughes, the Oscar-nominated teen-aged star of "Whale Rider," has been cast as Mary in "Nativity," which looks at the life of the Virgin Mary before the birth of Christ.

Catherine Hardwicke ("thirteen") is directing the New Line Cinema project.

The story, to be told with a strong female perspective, will follow Mary and Joseph‘s life before the birth of Christ as their love, faith and beliefs are tested. The script incorporates their departure from Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem and includes such biblical figures as King Herod, John the Baptist and the three kings from the Orient, among others.

Shooting will begin on May 1 in Morocco and Italy. The studio is eyeing a December 1 release.

Castle-Hughes, 15, who is of Australian and Maori descent, became the youngest actress nominated for a best actress Academy Award when she was recognized for her breakthrough role in 2002‘s "Whale Rider." She also had a brief and silent turn in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" as Queen of Naboo.

[NYer]

Keisha Castle-Hughes

[NYer]

BVM Ping!

[klossg]

This looks like it has potential to reach a wide audience based on the directors past very "hip" movies. I do hope they love Our Lady and St. Joseph and show the goodness of their love and marriage as well as the grit. I'll say some prayers for the movie and all those involved.

[Unam Sanctam]

Should be good, if it's well done and orthodox.

[Nihil Obstat]

I was doubting but now I have high hopes. The movie script is written by Mike Rich, who wrote the script for "The Rookie". That was a pretty good movie with kind of a Catholic angle to it.

[klossg]

That is good news about Mike Rich. The Rookie was a good movie with some Catholic undertones. Didn't the Rookie keep a medal of St. Rita?

[markomalley]

OK, so let's see:

• We have a movie about BVM...good
• It's being produced by New Line Cinema (business unit of Time Warner)...not so good
• It's being directed by Catherine Hardwicke...whose film credits include Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown...less good
• She was selected because she's going to bring a "woman's perspective" to the movie (coming from the management of "New Line Cinema", that's an interesting comment)...worrisome

Why do I suspect another "Last Temptation of Christ" is about to be produced rather than another "The Passion of the Christ"?

[Petronski]

Would you expect the film to portray Christ's conception as immaculate?

I am very pessimistic about this whole thing.

[Nihil Obstat]

I am hopeful but I don't know. Mike Rich has written some clean movies at least. He wrote Radio and The Rookie.

Prayers of Nuns and Saint Rita and a medal of Saint Rita had some prominence in The Rookie.

[Romish_Papist]

Well, it's got the potential to be great. Here's hoping it will be.

[It's me]

Oh dear...

Catherine Hardwicke ("thirteen") is directing the New Line Cinema project.

Plot Summary for Thirteen (2003)

At the edge of adolescence, Tracy is a smart straight-A student--if not a little naive (it seems...she smokes and she cuts to alleviate the emotional pain she suffers from having a broken home and hating her mom's boyfriend, Brady.) When she befriends Evie, the most popular and beautiful girl in school, Evie leads Tracy down a path of sex, drugs and petty crime (like stealing money from purses and from stores). As Tracy transforms herself and her identity, her world becomes a boiling, emotional cauldron fueled by new tensions between her and her mother--as well as, teachers and old friends.

[It's me]

Unfortunatley, I have to agree with you about your reservations.

This is probably one movie I won't be seeing unless there is a HUGE change of heart in the director.

All thigs are possible.

[klossg]

The reason I have hope is that the director is of the world but she showed how a "broken home" produced "cutting, smoking ... emotional pain." Thirteen was not a movie to glorify this stuff. (I didn't see the movie). But from the descriptions it doesn't seem like a Spring Break Party-on movie.

Her other movie was a movie about original skateboarders and how they made up the sport in local empty swimming pools. This is what kids eat up.

If the movie is even half full of goodness and truth, it has potential will capture a wide, young audience. But, as you rightly point out, don't buy tickets for it today, we'll have to see what it looks like.

Mel Gibson played a psycho cop, Mad Max, many adulterous leading men ... and he made the Passion. Faith is a wonderful and powerful force. That is why we should pray for all those involved, now before they create it.

[markomalley]

I wish I could be as optimistic as you. I will keep my eyes on the project and see how it develops; however, right now it has the smell of a project Hollywood is using to 'tap into' the Christian market.

If the motives for that are to 'tap into' a market with the current mindset of Hollywood, I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if the movie turned out to be anything but a perversion.

[It's me]

That's why my last line was "All things are possible."

[Dumb_Ox]

Would you expect the film to portray Christ's conception as immaculate?

Pedantically speaking, the concern is whether His conception will be portrayed as "virginal," not "immaculate."

[klossg]

the concern is whether His conception will be portrayed as "virginal," not "immaculate."

Aye and since we are drilling this down ...

I have a feeling they may make the conception virginal but the birth probably won't be. Hollywood don't do Jesus's birth as the Church Fathers teach. Mary was a virgin before, during and after the birth. (I had a hard time accepting that teaching once I found out that his birth was supposed to leave Mary physically a virgin. I wanted to believe that Mary suffered and delivered like every other woman. Please correct me if I am off on this.)

[big'ol_freeper]

Ping

[Salvation]

Thanks for putting that in perspective. It's a wait and see thing isn't it?