In a behind-the-scenes clip released Wednesday, "Exodus: Gods and Kings" director Ridley Scott discussed what attracted him to the epic biblical story.
"The Moses story was a massive challenge, which I really love," he said. "The idea that they were brothers, and then rivals...was very interesting."
The biblical figure Moses was a Hebrew adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter, before going on to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. In Scott's adaptation, Moses is the adopted brother of Ramses II.
"I wanted to explore the complexity of [Moses'] character, and I was stunned by the giant, lifespan story, and what he went through," Scott said.
The behind-the-scenes feature demonstrates the scale of the monumental film, which utilised hundreds of crew members, thousands of background actors, and breathtaking special effects.
"It's an immense production," admitted production designer Arthur Max. "Everything is as big as we can build, but at the same time, Ridley has bigger ideas in mind."
The enormity of the film was one of the aspects that piqued Scott's interest in the film.
"What attracted me to the material is I felt there was a beauty in the massive scale," Scott revealed. "You're working with at least 700 crew, plus the 4,000 extras, and of course the armies will be expanded exponentially [through the use of special effects]. Four thousand could be tiled, and grown into 20,000."
While many are anticipating the epic film's release, others are calling for a boycott of the picture because "Exodus: Gods and Kings" was cast with white actors playing the royal leads, while blacks were given the roles of the thieves and slaves in the film.
"It's White Moses Versus White Pharoah [sic] Saving A Bunch Of White Guys From The Other Bunch Of White Guys, None Of Whom Should Actually Be White," read a headline on movie blog site Twitch.
There is also a Change.org petition asking people to boycott the film.
"The Bible says both Egyptians and Ethiopians are descendants of Ham," the petition reads. "Remember, Egypt wasn't invaded by Rome until 300 BC. Egypt is in Africa not Europe."
The petition has received 583 signatures.
When questioned about the controversy at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Joel Edgerton – who plays Ramses II – distanced himself from the issue.
"I do understand and empathise with that position," he said, adding, "It's not my job to make those decisions. I got asked to do a job, and it would have been very hard to say no to that job."
"Exodus: Gods and Kings" also stars Christian Bale as Moses, Sigourney Weaver as his adopted mother, Queen Tuya, and John Turturro as Pharaoh Seti. The film will be released in the US on December 12.
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