Every studio must sit down near the start of the year to discuss which films they think would be an appropriate fit for them to cut a special commercial to air during the Super Bowl.
There are some movies that seem like perfect fits, and it seems like any movie that is a visual spectacle is a good fit. If you’ve got a trailer that ends with massive eye-popping special effects, then you want that conversation that’s going to result from you showing off some of that eye candy.
Even so, I’d love to have heard the conversations that went on before Paramount decided to advertise “Noah” during the game on Sunday. Internally, Paramount’s been wrestling with how to sell this movie, and it’s hard to blame them. Aronofsky’s script is earnest and unusual and filled with some strange digressions that will throw people who expect a standard-issue Bible movie, and while there is a huge audience out there ready to support Christian-themed movies, they might not know what to make of his vision for this story.
Sources have told us that Aronofsky prevailed in the struggle to decide which cut of the film to release, and when we see the film in theaters, it will be the film that Aronofsky set out to make, under his full control. Whether it’s great or terrible or somewhere in between, it is his film, the one he’s wanted to make since he was a teenager. At this point, it’s that passion that has me most interested. I’m not much for the story itself, and I think it’s a hard story to make interesting considering how often we’ve heard it told. It’s one of those Bible stories that I think makes most sense as a metaphor, not as a literal adventure, but seeing Arofosky bring it to life with a cast that includes Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ray Winstone, I’m willing to assume it’s going to be something big and grand and that we haven’t seen before.
This is a quick glimpse, but by now, I would imagine you know if you’re interested or not. Tell me what you think of this particular ad…
… and remember, “Noah” arrives in theaters March 28, 2014.