http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/792/792758p1.html
Aronofsky's Ark
Fountain filmmaker sets sail with Noah tale.
by
IGN Staff
US, May 30, 2007 -
The Fountain filmmaker Darren Aronofsky has been dropping hints about an epic-scale bible-inspired project that he's been developing for some time now. The subject matter of the film, which Aronofsky has said is partly inspired by a poem he wrote in seventh grade, has been kept secret until now
"It's an adaptation of Noah's Ark," Aronofsky tells the EmpireOnline.com website. The
Pi helmer says he's almost done with the script, and that the film will take a much more serious approach to the well-known story than the forthcoming Steve Carell comedy
Evan Almighty.
"This is not a comedy," he told Empire. "It's funny, because Noah's always been done as a comedy. This is definitely more the sci-fi version. It's the traditional Noah story, but it's told in a serious way. More fantasy than comedy."
Noah's ark, according to Abrahamic tradition, was a massive vessel built at God's command to save Noah and his family from the Great Flood. The story is contained in the Hebrew Torah, the Christian Old Testament, and the Islamic Quran.
Aronofsky says the film will be "huge," and we imagine it'd have a
huge pricetag -- much, much bigger than Aronfsky's original plan for
The Fountain which the studio ultimately scaled back.
Evan Almighty, with its tongue-in-cheek tack on the tale is already the most expensive comedy ever made (final costs are estimated at around $250 million). The bank involved in creating an authentic-feeling film based on the subject could be astronomical.
The Noah's Ark film won't be Aronofsky's next, however, as he says he'll do "something smaller" first. How about a remake of
Ben-Hur?
Lawrence of Arabia, perhaps? No. He probably means "something much smaller." In fact, that small project could be
Black Swan, a psychological thriller set in the world of ballet (naturally) that Aronofsky has been circling since earlier this year.