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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Moses story has been a recurring Hollywood fall-back since Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 silent hit, “The Ten Commandments.” Since then, several directors have painted their version of the narrative, and even Demille himself revisited the biblical tale 30 years later with mega-stars Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner — though to be fair, there are almost no similarities between his two films.
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But Hollywood just can’t seem to leave the desert dwelling prophet alone. And this time, they believe they have the version we’ve all been waiting for.
According to Nikki Finke And Mike Fleming of Deadline New York, director “Steven Spielberg is near to etching in stone with Warner Bros on that biopic portraying the Jewish leader as the warrior to beat all warriors.”
With the working title “Gods and Kings,” Spielberg is set to retell the account with a “Braveheart-ish” flare, referring to Mel Gibson’s 1996, Best Picture winner.
Dealing with some heavy and often disturbing themes, it’s not difficult to imagine Spielberg interested in a darker version of the Bible story. But comparing it with Gibson’s often graphic, historical epic is definitely a detail that suggests this will be nothing like the the Heston and Brynner film.
“This film is as far from a remake of the Cecile B. DeMille-directed epic as you can get even though they cover similar ground,” Finke and Fleming continue. “Instead Warner Bros wants Spielberg to direct it with the gritty reality of Saving Private Ryan, which is considered a masterpiece redefining battle movies.”
With “Lincoln” out of the way, Spielberg is working through his next big picture, “Robopocalypse,” and after that is expected to begin work on “Gods and Kings.”
Warner Brothers has made it clear that they don’t want to see the film in 3D, and though a $100,000,000 parting of the Red Sea might be a bit more awe-inspiring right in front of your awkward glasses, most movie goers will probably consider that detail a welcome one.
Travis is a graduate from Brigham Young University who has spent most of his professional life in the tech-world, with a heavy focus in multimedia, videography and database administration.
