Casting
Aronofsky had previously offered the role of Noah to
Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender, both of whom were unable to take the
part due to previous commitments. Bale went on to star as Moses in Ridley
Scott's upcoming religious epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Dakota Fanning was originally cast in the role of Ila, but
departed due to a scheduling conflict.
Julianne Moore was also considered for the role of Naameh.
Liam Neeson, Liev Schreiber and Val Kilmer were also
considered for the part of Tubal-cain. Aronofsky reportedly wanted an actor
"with the grit and size to be convincing as he goes head-to-head against
Crowe's Noah character".
Filming
Principal photography began in July 2012, in Dyrhólaey,
Fossvogur, Reynisfjara and other locations in Southern Iceland.
Filming also took place in New York state. A set
representing Noah's Ark was built at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Upper
Brookville, New York. In September 2012,
while on break from a location on Long Island, Russell Crowe and a friend, both
of whom had been kayaking for several hours, were rescued by the Coast Guard
near Cold Spring Harbor. Production was put on hold while Hurricane Sandy
subjected New York to heavy rain and flooding during late October 2012.
Themes
The president of the National Religious Broadcasters stated
that the Noah film includes "major biblical themes" including
"sin, judgment, righteousness, and God as Creator." In addition, the
film promotes the concept of evolutionary creation. Ari Handel, the
scriptwriter for the Noah film stated that “The story of Noah starts with this
concept of strong justice, that the wickedness of man will soon be met with
justice, and it ends when the rainbow comes and it says, even though the heart
of man is filled with wickedness, I will never again destroy the world... So it
ends with this idea of mercy. God somehow goes from this idea of judging the wickedness
to mercy and grace. So we decided that was a powerful and emotional arc to go
through, and we decided to give that arc to Noah.” Commenting on God's mercy,
Wesley Hill in First Things notes that "near the end of the film, Emma
Watson’s character, Ila...says to Noah that perhaps God preserved him because
God knew that he had a merciful heart", "the film ends up locating
the rationale for God’s mercy in some native spark of goodness in Noah that
will, viewers hope, make the new, post-flood world more livable than the
antediluvian one."
Information Source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_%282014_film%29
