Crowe jumps aboard Aronofsky’s Noah

Russell Crowe (right) has signed onto NOAH, directed by Darren Aronofsky (left).

At first, it was hard to imagine what the director of Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan might make of an oft-told story from the Old Testament, but now that Gladiator star Russell Crowe has committed to the title role of Noah, the idea is easier to picture.

Then again, this is a Darren Aronofsky film, so such an attempt to envision the outcome will likely prove futile, anyway. But what we can now reasonably infer is that, with Crowe in tow and Fox grabbing a March 28, 2014 release date this early in the game, Aronofsky’s “edgier” look at Noah’s Ark will undoubtedly be a big-budget epic.

Last year, before Paramount greenlit the production, rumors swirled that the budget on Noah could be as high as $140 million, which if true would make it Aronofsky’s biggest by four-fold. Up to this point, the most expensive film he has made was The Fountain–also a spiritual tale–which cost $35 million and tanked in its theatrical release, grossing only $10 million.

The Fountain was nowhere near as well-received as Aronofsky’s successes in the indie realm, but it was essentially an indie with a budget — full of grandiose symbolism and spiritual themes. Noah will be his first true blockbuster, and there’s every reason to eagerly anticipate it given the filmmaker’s typically high level of ambition. With the reliable Crowe in tow, it’s one step closer to a great film.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter