In theaters Friday: Lawless, The Possession
New on Blu-ray: Battleship, The Lucky One
No, not from Hurricane Isaac. A flood of Biblical proportions is brewing at Paramount Studios. Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky is finally bringing his passion project to the screen with Noah, an epic retelling of the Old Testament tale of God letting loose his wrath on sinful humanity but sparing one man, his family and the animals of the Earth in a giant boat called an ark.
The film doesn't arrive for another year and a half, but USA Today has the first promotional image of star Russell Crowe as Noah. Crowe looks suitably haggard and world-weary in this first glimpse, an indication that Aronofsky is telling a story as dark and treacherous as the familiar and apocalyptic Biblical account requires.
What's most interesting, and potentially controversial, is Aronofsky's inclusion of elements of Noah's tale that are slightly more apocryphal than the Genesis text itself. Rephaim, only mentioned in passing in Biblical texts are thought by scholars to be a race of inordinately tall men, and they will be represented in Aronofsky's version by a giant named Og, the King of Bashan. According to Hebrew lore, Noah built a special compartment of the ark for Og and ferried him to safety through the storm.
Aronofsky will also bring frightening, wingless fallen angels to the big screen in a move that will surely fascinate or infuriate Christians and Hebrew scholars alike. Emma Watson is aboard along with Jennifer Connelly as Noah's wife, reuniting her with her A Beautiful Mind co-star, and Sir Anthony Hopkins as Noah's 900-year-old grandfather Methuselah.
See Aronofsky and Natalie Portman discussing Black Swan with Charlie Rose:
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Bad Guys, Good Eats! Pop-Up Dinner at Restaurant IPO
Chef and 225 contributor Jay D. Ducote and Chef Chris Wadsworth hosted the Bad Guys, Good Eats! dinner at Restaurant IPO Wednesday night. The dinner was themed around famous movie villains, pairing cocktails and ales with plates of food resembling famous baddies like The Joker, Lord Voldemort, Hannibal Lector, and many others. The highlights of the night were the three middle courses—a black bean soup laced with blood sausage to signify Lord Voldemort, a brace of coneys on black eyed peas resembling Sauron, and lamb medallions atop a fava bean puree to pay homage to the famous favorite of Hannibal Lector.
Summer Crush
Elizabeth Arkley Hammett, a local nursing student and Fur Ball co-coordinator, and her husband Grey Hammett III, who works in commercial real estate, will take you through our summer guide. And they'll look good while doing it, too. Where noted, their clothes and accessories are available from local retailers.
Better Block BR
On Saturday the two blocks between Bedford and Beverly drives on April 13, 2013, residents will get to see a model of what Government Street could look like if we push local and state officials to update the roadway to a safer, more "complete street" model.
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