Noah Steps Up Marketing Campaign Following Director Dispute with Studio

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hree new teasers, a poster and a full-length trailer were all recently released for Darren Aronofksy’s Noah, as the marketing campaign for the upcoming $100 million Bible story adaptation steps up.

The poster, which features Noah’s back and a flooded Earth, gets the point of the story across effectively, (even if it is slightly generic and looks worryingly similar to the banner for Roland Emmerich’s disaster flick 2012) and the visually impressive trailer boasts an Academy Award winner infested cast that includes Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connolly and Emma Watson. Crowe plays the seafaring titular character whom, as we all know, undertakes a holy mission to build an ark that will protect the innocent from the wrath of God and the coming flood.

This new phase in the marketing of Noah comes only weeks after an apparent dispute between Aronofsky and Paramount Studios regarding the final cut of the movie. This quarrel seems to have originated after recent test screenings of the film to select Christian and Jewish groups were, rather vaguely, reported as being “worrisome” and “troubling”. The specific cause of the religious groups dissatisfaction is unknown but The Hollywood Reporter claims auteur director Aronofsky is apparently ignoring suggested changes from Paramountafter an anonymous talent rep tied to the project said, “Darren is not made for studio films. He’s very dismissive. He doesn’t care about Paramount’s opinion”. Paramount Vice Chairman Rob Moore dismissively claims that Noah is going through a “normal review process” and the film will be “one version of the movie that Darren is overseeing”.

Producing a big budget, CGI laden adaptation of a Bible story is inevitably going to provoke some controversy and studio interference. Noah is already generating exactly that. Aronofsky is a director used to having full creative control following his work on smaller independent projects such as Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan, so his resistance to adhere to Paramount’s request is understandable. However, whether the critically lauded American director may be forced to compromise his visionat the behest ofthe moneymen remains to be seen.

Noah will be released in cinemas March 28, 2014