Ben-Hur-themed news items are still trickling in as the film rolls out overseas.
Variety reports that the film could lose $100 million, though sources close to the film “believe the ultimate losses will likely be between $60 million and $75 million”.
Shoot Online ran a story on the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Cameras that were used to film the opening sequence, when Judah Ben-Hur and Messala race on horseback:
The opening action sequence of “Ben-Hur” begins with a wide CG shot of the future Circus Tiberius, the stadium where the chariot races take place. The scene then fades into a skeleton of the future Circus, eight years before it is built, with two riders on horseback. The two riders are Judah and Messala, racing their horses in a full strength competition around dangerous curves and pushing each other into the trees and rocks. The scene showcases the friendship between the two young and equally strong men and sets the stage for what is to come.
Because the two actors playing Judah and Messala were good at horseback riding, director Timur Bekmambetov used them for much of the opening sequence. According to Kozlov, Bekmambetov wanted to shoot as close as possible to their faces in order to capture the emotion and intensity as it plays out during the scene.
A handful of Christian news sites noted that executive producer Roma Downey posted a note to Facebook on Monday, after the film’s poor opening, saying she felt “empty”.
ABC News Breakfast in Australia spoke to Morgan Freeman about the multiracial cast (his character, Ilderim, is an Arab in the book and was played by a Welshman in the 1959 movie) and to Jack Huston about the differences between the two films:
3AW in Australia spoke to executive producer Roma Downey:
Fox 4 in Kansas City spoke to Downey and her husband Mark Burnett:
And Hollywood Chicago spoke to Huston, Downey, Burnett and Wilfredo “Pastor Choco” De Jesus on the red carpet of the Chicago premiere last Friday:
Check out earlier trailers and other videos here:
- The first domestic and international trailers, the ‘Welcome to ShareBenHur.com’ video, and the Entertainment Tonight promo (March 16, 2016)
- The ‘Epic Faith’ trailer (March 23, 2016)
- The ‘Rodrigo Santoro as Jesus’ featurette (March 25, 2016)
- The second faith-based trailer (June 8, 2016)
- The Entertainment Tonight reports (June 11, 2016)
- The ‘Chariot Race’ featurette and Entertainment Tonight report (June 13, 2016)
- The ‘Epic’ featurette (July 6, 2016)
- The ‘Ceasefire’ music video (July 13, 2016)
- The ‘Revolution’, ‘Spark’, ‘Legend’ and ‘Combo’ TV spots (July 18, 2016)
- The ‘Back to You’ music video (July 21, 2016)
- The second domestic and international trailer (July 25, 2016)
- The ‘Jesus the Carpenter’, ‘Jesus Helps Judah’, ‘Jesus Protects the Leper’, ‘Judah and Esther’ and ‘Jesus’ Crucifixion’ clips (July 26, 2016)
- The ‘Ceasefire’ worship video, the Jack Huston interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the ‘Defy an Empire’ TV spot (August 1, 2016)
- The ‘The Only Way Out’ music video, the ‘Andra Day BTS’ featurette, and the ‘Rise’, ‘Greatest’ and ‘Revolution’ TV spots (August 2, 2016)
- The ‘You Should Have Killed Me’ clip (August 4, 2016)
- The AOL Build, WSVN News and Movieguide interviews, the Morgan Freeman interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the living poster (August 8, 2016)
- The ‘Chariot Race’ clip (August 8, 2016)
- The ‘Morgan Freeman’ featurette (August 10, 2016)
- The ‘Ben-Hur: A Tale of Forgiveness’ making-of video (August 10, 2016)
- The Mexico City premiere and red-carpet interviews, the 100 Huntley Street, The Talk and Sway’s Universe interviews, the Spanish webcast, the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, and the ‘Chariot Race 360°’ video (August 11, 2016)
- The ‘Roma Downey Star Ceremony’ and ‘Cinecittà Legacy’ featurettes, the Fandango interview, and the ‘Chant’ and ‘Legend’ TV spots (August 15, 2016)
- The ‘Chant’, ‘Follow’ and ‘Bold’ TV spots (August 17, 2016)
- The ET Canada set visit, the CBN News special, the Los Angeles red-carpet interviews, the press-junket interviews and the B-roll footage (August 18, 2016)
- The ‘Slave Ship’ clip (August 18, 2016)
- The second batch of press-junket interviews (August 22, 2016)