Here are some new photos of Russell Crowe at the Moscow photocall for Noah, his bloated, water-logged Biblical epic. Russell’s been relatively MIA from promotional duties thus far, which… considering he’s the lead, that does not bode well. As for these photos… even though I’m pretty sure he’s an angry wanker, I still have some residual affection for Russell. I think he looks chubby and cute here. The Daily Mail was making fun of his (obvious) dye job, but that might be for a film…?
Anyway, one of the few “promotional” things Crowe has done thus far is try to get some kind of Vatican screening for Noah. He’s been tweeting the Vatican (seriously!) and the studio has been trying to get Mr. Good Guy Pope Francis to say something, anything about the film. But it’s a no go.
Pope Francis has nixed a meeting with the creative team behind “Noah,” including star Russell Crowe, director Darren Aronofsky and Paramount vice chair Rob Moore, which studio executives had been scrambling to schedule as a photo-op, Variety has learned.
The meeting was never fully confirmed, but tentatively on the calendar for Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in the VIP section so the Pope could figuratively lend a blessing to the $125 million Biblical epic. The reason the Vatican cancelled it, according to a source, is over concerns word would leak, causing a spectacle as Crowe and Aronofsky landed in Rome.
When reached by Variety last week, Aronofsky said the meeting had been proposed, but it wouldn’t happen if any**** reported or Tweeted about it.
“Noah,” scheduled for U.S. release on March 28, has been criticized by some religious groups for taking too many liberties with the story of Noah’s Ark.
Even though the Pope doesn’t normally screen movies, he recently met with Philomena Lee, the subject of the Weinstein Co’s “Philomena” at the height of Oscars season in February.
My guess is that the Pope heard some of the bad reviews as well. And the film has already been banned in several countries, including Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE. Paramount is bracing for more bans across the Middle East. There’s also an outcry from American evangelicals too, because there are some derivations from the Biblical story. So, boycotts all over the place. Which might work to give the film some added “danger” and some cool caché… if only the film was high art or something. But it’s not. It’s just a bloated Biblical mess. Stay away, Pope Francis!
Cele|bitchy | Russell Crowe wanted a papal blessing for ‘Noah’ but Pope Francis blew him off
