Monday, November 2, 2009
Via JR Telegraph, the blockbuster event of the year. My only question is does Sheik al-Qaradawi get an executive producer credit? I'm thinking that if your goal is to "educate people about the true meaning of Islam," then I don't know that Qaradawi is your guy. On the other hand, maybe he is (if we get the whole story)...
Matrix producer plans Muhammad biopic
Producer Barrie Osborne cast Keanu Reeves as the messiah in The Matrix and helped defeat the dark lord Sauron in his record-breaking Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now the Oscar-winning American film-maker is set to embark on his most perilous quest to date: making a big-screen biopic of the prophet Muhammad.
Budgeted at around $150m (£91.5m), the film will chart Muhammad's life and examine his teachings. Osborne told Reuters that he envisages it as "an international epic production aimed at bridging cultures. The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam".
Osborne's production will reportedly feature English-speaking Muslim actors. It is backed by the Qatar-based production company Alnoor Holdings, who have installed the Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi to oversee all aspects of the shoot. In accordance with Islamic law, the prophet will not actually be depicted on screen.
"The film will shed light on the Prophet's life since before his birth to his death," Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mustafa, Alnoor's chairman, told al-Jazeera. "It will highlight the humanity of Prophet Muhammad."
The as-yet-untitled picture is due to go before the cameras in 2011. It remains to be seen, however, whether it will be beaten to cinemas by another Muhammad-themed drama. Late last year, producer Oscar Zoghbi announced plans to remake The Message, his controversial 1976 drama that sparked a fatal siege by protesters in Washington DC. The new version, entitled The Messenger of Peace, is currently still in development.
Oh goodie. I can't wait for the Oscar nominations.
A full-length movie about the life of Muhammad, in which Muhammad never once appears on screen? In other words, a movie full of people talking about Muhammad, or doing things they say Muhammad told them to do off-screen?
Yawn.
How on Earth do they expect to persuade people to go see it?
I have a better idea. Go ahead and show Mohammad, but pixelate his face... or, better yet, replace it digitally with a big round yellow smiley-face whenever it appears.
I bet I could get more people to come see the movie -- if, with every ticket, you also get a copy of MBOE:
htp://www.islamcomicbook.com
cheers,
Daniel in Brookline