Filming the Ark

Interest in Biblical epics appears to be on the rise in Hollywood. Big budget films on Moses, Noah, and Jesus are in the works. These are considered grist for serious films and not comedy, as has often been the case recently.

It will take more than $130 million to put the account of Noah’s Flood and Ark on film.1 Scheduled to be released early in 2014, Noah, with superstar Russell Crowe as the lead, is already creating Hollywood buzz. Producers are insisting they will treat the biblical text with respect.

Such an ambitious film project mirrors the nationwide interest in Noah’s Ark. Two studies have shown that a minimum of 1.2 million people would make the trek each year to see the all-wood, full-size Noah’s Ark slated for construction in Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati, Ohio. Such numbers may even eclipse the number of moviegoers who will see an Ark on a theater screen, and the impact of a reconstructed Ark where the gospel will be presented will have a far more lasting (eternal) impact.