Trust us when we say not to go into this film expecting it to be the classic version of the Biblical tale that you’re likely familiar with. Not only is it dark and complex, but it also presents a fantastical element that might catch some people off guard. In fact, it’s this very element that Paramount has been shying away from in their marketing, despite Darren’s urges to have them show some of it off.
“I knew from the beginning that Paramount would not sell that to the audience. I begged them to, but I knew they wouldn’t. It would have helped me if they just got that aesthetic out there, because it’s such a strange aesthetic. Everyone’s going to go “wow, what the fuck is that?” when they see it.
If you show the fantastical stuff in the marketing though, then it sets up that there is a fantastical element to this film. It lets people go, “ok, this isn’t my grandma’s bible movie, this is something new and different.” That’s why I’ve been trying to sell them. But Paramount has their own game. And I respect them. I mean, they’ve done this many times before and it’s their money on the line.”
The initial worry was how the religious groups would react to these more fantastical elements, but as it turns out, they’re actually completely on board with it all.
“The religious people really dig it, they love it,” exclaimed Darren. “It’s the most bizarre thing,” he said with a laugh. “I think it’s the more general audiences that will have a problem with this stuff. Russell Crowe is so real, and the film is so real. You feel the wind and you feel the nature. Then suddenly these strange things appear and it might take people a while to get into them.”
We pointed out to Darren that we felt the problem with putting the fantastical elements into the marketing is that it might alienate some people. However, if you leave them out, people go into the theatre not knowing what they’re in for and then the movie itself might alienate them.
“Exactly. That’s the problem. On the nose,” said Aronofsky.