{"id":21370,"date":"2014-09-01T14:37:18","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T21:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?p=21370"},"modified":"2014-09-01T14:38:48","modified_gmt":"2014-09-01T21:38:48","slug":"newsbites-clavius-the-dovekeepers-black-nativity-book-of-amos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2014\/09\/newsbites-clavius-the-dovekeepers-black-nativity-book-of-amos.html","title":{"rendered":"Newsbites: Clavius<\/i>! The Dovekeepers<\/i>! Black Nativity<\/i>! Book of Amos<\/i>!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"clavius-tomfelton\"<\/a>Four quick Bible-movie-ish items.<\/p>\n

1. I somehow missed the fact that Clavius<\/a><\/i><\/b>, which concerns a Roman soldier investigating reports of the Resurrection of Jesus, started shooting a couple weeks ago. Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter<\/i> movies, posted some<\/a> photos<\/a> to Instagram \u2014 and apparently he\u2019s playing a character named Lucius<\/a>, which also happened to be the name of Draco Malfoy\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

In addition to Felton and Joseph Fiennes, who is playing the presumably titular Roman investigator, the film\u2019s IMDb page<\/a> lists several actors who are playing well-known Bible characters \u2014 and at least two of those actors have extensive experience in the Bible-movie genre already.<\/p>\n

Peter is being played by Stewart Scudamore, who previously played Judah in In the Beginning<\/a><\/i> (2000), James in an episode of Bible Mysteries<\/i> (2004), Simeon in The Nativity Story<\/a><\/i> (2006) and the Pharaoh Ramesses in The Bible<\/a><\/i> (2013); he will soon be seen as Hamor, the king of Shechem, in The Red Tent<\/a><\/i> as well.<\/p>\n

And James \u2014 the brother of Jesus, or the son of Zebedee? \u2014 is being played by Selva Rasalingam, who stars as Jesus himself in the Lumo Project<\/a>, an adaptation of all four gospels that has been in the works for a few years and is due either this year or next. Prior to that, he played Asher, one of Jacob\u2019s twelve sons, in Joseph<\/a><\/i> (1995).<\/p>\n

The IMDb also lists actors playing the disciples John, Philip, Bartholomew, Mary Magdalene and Cleopas (will the film acknowledge the tradition that Cleopas, who saw Jesus on the road to Emmaus, was also Jesus\u2019 uncle<\/a>?), as well as actors playing Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate and some as-yet-unannounced characters.<\/p>\n

Pilate is being played by Peter Firth, who has played at least one other Roman officer with experience in Judea. In The Battle for Rome<\/i> (2006), he played Vespasian, who was the general in charge of the Roman side of the war in Judea when he became emperor in AD 69, one year before the destruction of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

2. More casting news for The Dovekeepers<\/a><\/i><\/b> has come in.<\/p>\n

Rachel Brosnahan<\/a> (House of Cards<\/i>, Manhattan<\/i>) is set to play Yael, one of the four female protagonists who live in Masada during the Roman siege of that fortress, while Kathryn Prescott<\/a> (Skins<\/i>, Finding Carter<\/i>) is set to play Aziza, a \u201cteenage tomboy and expert archer\u201d who is also a lover to Yael\u2019s brother Amram.<\/p>\n

Still no word on what\u2019s happening with A.D.<\/a><\/i>, the other<\/i> miniseries set in first-century Judea that Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are producing.<\/p>\n

3. 20th Century Fox will release an \u201cextended musical edition<\/a>\u201d of Black Nativity<\/a><\/i><\/b> to Blu-Ray on October 7. No details on what new bits it will have, yet.<\/p>\n

\"Web\"<\/a>4. The anthology film Words with Gods<\/a><\/i><\/b> \u2014 which includes the segment \u2018Book of Amos\u2019 directed by Amos Gitai, who has previously directed feature-length treatments of Esther<\/a> and Ruth<\/a> \u2014 had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival<\/a> over the weekend, and the reviews are beginning to trickle in.<\/p>\n

Here is how Boyd van Hoeij<\/a> of The Hollywood Reporter<\/i> describes it:<\/p>\n

Sandwiched between Sufferings<\/i> and The Confession<\/i> is the film\u2019s most enigmatic if also rather entrancing entry, Book of Amos<\/i>, from Israel\u2019s Amos Gitai. Like in his recent feature Ana Arabia<\/i>, the film consists of one continuous shot, here moving sideways from left to right as different actors, most of them Gitai veterans such as his Kadosh<\/i> star Yael Abecassis, recite verses from the titular book, which is part of the Hebrew Bible. As the actors deliver their oft-impenetrable prophetic texts to the camera, soldiers fight and cars are burnt in the background and even a violent rainstorm descends on these steadfast prophets in modern dress.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And here is Guy Lodge<\/a> of Variety<\/i>:<\/p>\n

More conceptually elaborate is Amos Gitai\u2019s \u201cBook of Amos,\u201d in which passages from the eponymous Hebrew text are recited by a relaying group of street folk (played by faces familiar from Gitai\u2019s past features) as soldiers face down a public riot. Certainly the most topical entry in light of current events, it\u2019s executed with some panache but feels rather exclusive in its Biblical and political allusions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If I find any more reviews, I may add them to this post.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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