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Aronofsky Goes Biblical

By Steven Lloyd Wilson | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (23)

noah.jpg

Daren Aronofsky won a poetry competition when he was 13 years old with a poem describing the end of the world from the point of view of Noah. Fast forward a couple of years and he’s like a Hollywood director with budgets and science fiction street cred, and so naturally what he’s working on now is a film adaptation of that vision.

I’m all kinds of torn here. First of all Aronofsky just doesn’t make bad movies. But on the other hand, a reimagining of the dude with an Ark just doesn’t sound like it has all that much potential. Apparently movie studios are leaning towards the latter reaction since despite having a script and a big name actor (whose name no one has leaked yet) isn’t enough to get any sort of film deal. That reaction might also be prompted by “lots of people had stoned biblical visions when they were 13. It’s not the basis for a feature film.”

Undeterred, Aronofsky has started down the road of adapting the story he has in mind into a graphic novel, which is not new territory for him since The Fountain got the graphic novel treatment after its release. Here’s a trailer that he’s released showcasing the graphic novel version of Noah:


And here’s what Aronofsky said about the project:

It’s the end of the world and it’s the second most famous ship after the Titanic. So I’m not sure why any studio won’t want to make it,” said Aronofsky. “I think it’s really timely because it’s about environmental apocalypse which is the biggest theme, for me, right now for what’s going on on this planet. So I think it’s got these big, big themes that connect with us. Noah was the first environmentalist. He’s a really interesting character. Hopefully they’ll let me make it.

I’m tempted to be interested in this project, I really am. But what really stops me is that if the name “Aronofsky” was removed from everything I just typed, I would roll my eyes at the project. This might end up being genius, but let’s be honest: the track record of vanity projects is really abysmal, even with incredibly talented film makers. I’m rooting for this to be as incredible as he thinks it can be, I’m just not willing to bet on it given what I’ve seen here.

(source: SlashFilm)









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Comments

This being Aronofsky, as long as Noah undergoes some extreme physical and/or mental breakdown I’m in.

Maybe he can’t get enough wood together quickly enough for the Big Boat; maybe God won’t stop badgering him about the design of the Big Boat; maybe his wife ‘just isn’t the mood. Got a headache or something’ and he’s the only living creature on the Big Boat not getting any.

Whatever the cause, as long as we get a breakdown, I’m in. The rhinos are laughing at you, Noah! They’re laughing at you!

Posted by: zeke the pig at February 8, 2011 10:39 AM

At least we can expect some interesting sex scenes among an arkful of animals as they try to repopulate the earth.

Posted by: sars at February 8, 2011 10:42 AM

Out of interest, sars - assuming an Anglo-centric view of the world - which side of the Atlantic are you on?

Posted by: zeke the pig at February 8, 2011 10:47 AM

Geographically, Zeke? I'm almost smack in the middle of North America, but culturally I'm among what you'd call 1.5 generation, originally from SE Asia.

Posted by: sars at February 8, 2011 10:55 AM

Gotcha. Only asking as I was just wondering if you didn’t happen to be located in London (or the other bits on this island around it – they don’t matter so much), as you seem to post at similar times to me, while most of the rest of your lot from the States don’t start until much later.

Posted by: zeke the pig at February 8, 2011 11:00 AM

Settled. Now, may we continue talking about the animal sex scenes? I'm storyboarding at this moment.

Posted by: sars at February 8, 2011 11:03 AM

Jesus. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth after Kentucky's governor gives millions in tax breaks to a Christian group building an Ark museum. I just don't want to legitimize them in any way, or give them any more fuel for the fire.

Oh, even better? The park will include a life-size replica of the ark. And dinosaurs. Because they were on the ark too, natch.

Posted by: linny at February 8, 2011 11:08 AM

Noah was the first environmentalist.
---
And you would be well justified in rolling your eyes at that nonsense. People sure seem to enjoy applying modern motives to historic (or legendary, whatever) figures. Noah was just doing what he was told, and endured the mockery of near everyone who knew him. He was the neighborhood crazy with a vision. I bet people came from miles around to see the big boat he was building a long way from any water ...

Damn, I think I just talked myself into thinking this might be OK.

Posted by: , at February 8, 2011 11:17 AM

Settled. Now, may we continue talking about the animal sex scenes? I'm storyboarding at this moment.

Posted by: sars at February 8, 2011 11:03 AM

------

Well, there's gonna be some cross-pollination, right? Giraffes sticking their big long necks up the hippos’ backsides. Stick insects fingering cats. Ant-eaters eating out ants.

Jesus, get storyboardin’!

Posted by: zeke the pig at February 8, 2011 11:19 AM

Snore.

Posted by: seth at February 8, 2011 11:35 AM

How can you fall asleep with all that hot animal farm action going on? That's just sad. Quick, somebody make seth ssqqquuuueeeeeeeeaaaaalllll like zeke the pig!

I guess this is the project Comic Book Resources asked Aronofsky about last month. There was some minor controversy about him making yet another film into a graphic novel first (for lack of financing, or whatever), something that's becoming a trend in the comics world, and how that supposedly cheapens comic books as an art form. I never really understood that argument in terms of Aronofsky, though, because a) he's clearly a fan of comics, and b) having read his graphic novel of The Fountain I can tell you he doesn't just use film storyboards to make a comic; he actually uses the medium to great effect, and the comic and the movie aren't interchangeable or adaptations of one another. Rather, they're two separate tellings of the same story, and they're both bitchin'.

So... at least the track record for Noah is good. And his story has opportunities for the sort of mental/physical breakdown Aronofsky likes, and just imagine what he'd do visually with the flood scenes... I'm definitely intrigued.

Posted by: RobP at February 8, 2011 11:51 AM

Oh, even better? The park will include a life-size replica of the ark. And dinosaurs. Because they were on the ark too, natch.

Posted by: linny

But...but that sounds AWESOME.

Posted by: Figgy at February 8, 2011 12:28 PM

a reimagining of the dude with an Ark just doesn’t sound like it has all that much potential

I grew up in the church, and the story of Noah and the Ark is a popular one for kids, probably because of all the cute widdle animals and the easy counting exercise. My mother collected figurines and ornaments on the theme. I have always known the story.

In 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit, I remember listening to a report on the radio and having to pull over the car to the side of the road. Suddenly and viscerally I had this flash of the world during Noah's time. THAT is what it looked and felt like. I had always accepted this cutesy story which focuses on the smiling cartoon people and animals on a big boat. I had never dared to imagine the horror, the apocalyptic terror of EVERYONE ELSE in the world as they were wiped away Etch-a-Sketch style.

I would hate for a movie to ignore the bigger picture and settle for excess effects (cough cough ::Baynis:: cough), but you can't tell me there isn't potential for one hell of a production.

Posted by: Patty O'Green at February 8, 2011 12:30 PM

No, no, no, Linny! There were no dinosaurs on the ark -- that's why they went extinct! Don't you know anything about science???

Posted by: jimbob at February 8, 2011 12:33 PM

That's right, no dinosaurs, no unicorns, no dragons, no mythical creatures. Let the "freaks" fend for themselves. Segragation at its finest.

Posted by: Kargoyle at February 8, 2011 1:19 PM

Interesting book on the flood: Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findlay, Canadian author/playwright.

I think this *could* be a very cool project. It could certainly be a visual feast, like The Fountain but with a more concrete plot. I'm not sure why this is labeled a "vanity" project - wouldn't the ideal world have artists working on the projects that they are passionate about, even if the money isn't there?

And Noah did have a breakdown...read Genesis. He's gets drunk and one of his sons checks out his junk. And that's why there were slaves.

Seriously.

Posted by: Sara Tonin at February 8, 2011 1:54 PM

Behold, jimbob, straight from the horse's mouth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDB0A23jcNI&feature=player_embedded

The governor at least has the good sense to look a bit embarrassed by the whole thing.

Posted by: linny at February 8, 2011 2:53 PM

Yeah I can see a bunch of fundies exposed to the Aronofsky treatment via Noah. Trauma will ensue. Sounds like a good social experiment.

Posted by: Recondite at February 8, 2011 4:25 PM

I'm gonna boycott this movie unless they give proper credit to my man Utnapishtim.
(OK, I'd settle for a cameo)

Posted by: Pat C at February 8, 2011 4:27 PM

Hopefully Aronofsky figures out that the Ark is actually an Armageddon artifact that, once activated, actually instigates the Flood or any other apocalyptic events.

Let's see if he can figure out a story without the overbearing presence of Yahweh, and move away from the tired myth of the Hebraic Flood. Perhaps include some elements from other myths that had a global deluge as well, from the Hindu, the Greek, and the Mesopotamian versions. If he does something this, instead of some generic BS, then I'm there.

Posted by: oroboros at February 8, 2011 5:41 PM

A high point of any Noah story is when they bring the mosquitoes, flies, and wasps aboard. "Ouch, God damn you! Oh, sorry."

Also, doesn't he drunkenly impregnate his daughters at some point? Or am I thinking of another biblical perv?

Posted by: Janis at February 8, 2011 11:28 PM

Janis,

Really, it's tough to beat the Bible for sex and violence.

Posted by: , at February 9, 2011 12:50 AM

Janis, you're thinking of Lot and his two slutty daughters, who instigated the whole thing. Being raised in Sodom was almost as bad as being raised in Hollywood.

Posted by: Pat C. at February 9, 2011 4:31 PM