While admitting that 'this is a long and collaborative process,' Aronofsky's rep insists the director and the studio 'are working together to make the best version of his movie that they can.'
- Oct 17, 2013
AceShowbiz - Darren Aronofsky clears up rumor suggesting that he clashed with Paramount over the final cut of his new film "Noah". "This is a long and collaborative process, and Darren and the studio are working together to make the best version of his movie that they can," a rep for the director says. "To comment on anonymous quotes only gives time and space to false rumors and gossip."
People at the studio reportedly got antsy after they received bad receptions from the early test screenings for key audiences these past few weeks. They screened the biblical movie in New York for Jewish audience, in Arizona for Christians, and in Orange County, California for general public.
Due to the unfavorable result, the execs allegedly wanted the "Black Swan" helmer to make changes to the $125M-budgeted flick, but the director refused. "Darren is not made for studio films," a talent rep involved in the project said. "He's very dismissive. He doesn't care about [Paramount's] opinion."
Due March 28, 2014 in the United States, the movie stars Russell Crowe and Emma Watson. Aronofsky once hinted that there would be no real animal in it. Some of the creatures would be "slightly tweaked," and the others would be portrayed as fantastical beings.
Christian-minded screenwriter Brian Godawa who obtained a version of the script last year said in his review that the film was "an uninteresting and unbiblical waste of a hundred and fifty million dollars that will ruin for decades the possibility of making a really great and entertaining movie of this Bible hero."
Despite the rumors and the critics, Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore insisted "Noah" was going through a "normal preview process" and the final cut would be "one version of the movie that Darren is overseeing." While admitting that the director "definitely wants some level of independence," Moore said he "also wants a hit movie."
The executive added, "We're getting to a very good place, and we're getting there with Darren."
