14 DAY TRIAL // The Biblical-inspired movie “Noah” is not out in theaters yet, but it's creating controversies left and right simply because it takes on a religious theme. First, it was the ban of the movie in the Middle East as several Muslin countries deemed it was making a mockery of the term of Prophet, and now it looks like the Pope won't even watch it.
Variety claims that the Pontiff has scrubbed a scheduled meeting with Russell Crowe, the star of the movie and Darren Aronofsky, the director of the biblical epic, fearing that the news might leak and it would bring the Vatican negative press.
Crowe was very vocal on Twitter last month, appealing to the Holy Father several times and trying to schedule a private screening of the film he thought would be fun to watch. “Dear Holy Father . . . The message of the film is powerful, fascinating, resonant,” the Australian actor pleaded.
There was also another scandal with the film, when Christian religious groups petitioned Paramount, the studio producing the movie, to add a disclaimer in its promotional trailers, warning the public that the movie was not historically or religiously accurate to the story told in the Bible. The studio complied and changed all promotional material to address the fact that the movie was fiction.
Meanwhile, the supposed meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, but it's apparently not going to take place anymore, despite the fact that Crowe and Aronofsky will be landing later today in Rome, in preparations for the local premiere of their film “Noah.”