That’s right, Hollywood is once again planning on trudging out Bible-based epics, but it’s a pretty smart move. The Bible Belt is a huge market that isn’t afraid to vote with their dollars and lately, they have been sorely underserved by Hollywood. But when they do find something they like, they reward it, as the box office tallies for such films as “The Passion Of The Christ” and “The Blind Side” (which had a huge faith-based marketing campaign) will attest to.
With that in mind, Warner Bros. and Fox are both developing pictures based on that Old Testament badass, Moses. First up at WB, Brit screenwriter Stuart Hazeldine and American scribe Michael Green are teaming up on the screenplay for “Moses.” The story will naturally be “an epic version of the story of the Israelites’ departure from Egypt” and these writers certainly know how to deliver big. Green penned “Green Lantern” and is currently writing “The Flash” while Hazeldine has been busy wrangling Milton‘s “Paradise Lost” into a screenplay and has also turned in “The Tripods” for Alex Proyas.
Meanwhile over at Fox, they haven’t decided on a title yet for their “Untitled Moses Project” but have entrusted the script to the team of Bill Collage and Adam Cooper, whose wonky resumé includes “New York Minute” and “Accepted” as well as gestating “Marco Polo” and “Moby Dick” scripts for Francis Lawrence and Timur Bekmambetov, respectively.
No word on which picture will make it to screens first, but with Fox’s project already out to directors, it seems to be in the lead. WB are awaiting a final draft. But as is usually the case, one of these projects will drop by the wayside once the competition starts production on theirs.
We can’t say we’re too interested; the mother of all Moses movies “The Ten Commandments,” has become one of those staples to help you sleep after you’ve consumed a huge holiday meal. But maybe a modern take with jazzy effects will keep us up a bit longer after we’ve stuffed ourselves with turkey.