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Tag: Son of God

  • ‘Son of God’ Movie Cuts Satan Following Obama Controversy

    Less than a year after The Bible miniseries aired on the History Channel, a film called Son of God that incorporates scenes from the series will open in theaters on February 28. One character that caused quite a bit of controversy in The Bible will be missing from Son of God, though: Satan.

    When Satan first appeared in The Bible miniseries last year, quite a few people were upset with the actor selected to portray the character because they believed he bore a striking resemblance to President Barack Obama. Moroccan actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni portrayed Satan in the series, and after he appeared on screen, it wasn’t long before the Obama-Satan comparisons began, with many people wondering whether the show’s producers were trying to make a political statement.

    Check out a comparison of Ouazanni as Satan and Obama below.

    Whatever controversy Son of God stirs up when it opens in theaters next week–it’s almost certain that someone will take issue with the film–it won’t have anything to do with Obama this time around. The Bible and Son of God co-producer Roma Downey (who you likely remember from her days on Touched By An Angel) has verified that Satan won’t appear in the film. “It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting-room floor. This is now a movie about Jesus, the son of God, and the devil gets no more screen time,” said Downey.

    While it might be strange to view a film about the son of God without seeing Satan, Downey felt it was necessary to ensure that people leave theaters talking about the right person–Jesus.

    “Someone made a comment that the actor who played the devil vaguely resembled our president, and suddenly the media went nuts,” Downey said. “The next day, when I was sure everyone would only be talking about Jesus, they were talking about Satan instead. For our movie, Son of God, I wanted all of the focus to be on Jesus. I want his name to be on the lips of everyone who sees this movie, so we cast Satan out.”

    In addition to Son of God, another Biblical film will hit theaters next month. Noah, starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, will open on March 28 and will bring the story of the flood to the big screen.

    Image via Twitter

  • ‘Son of God’: Jesus Remains, Satan is Cut

    ‘Son of God’: Jesus Remains, Satan is Cut

    The New Testament story of Jesus Christ will once again hit the big screens on February 28th. This time it has taken a different approach to Mel Gibson’s 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, which focused more on the final moments of Jesus in Jerusalem up until his torture and crucifixion.

    The movie Son of God, however, will go more in depth about the birth of Jesus, his teachings, execution, and resurrection.

    According to a synopsis on the film’s official website, this is an experience you would not want to miss:

    Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar®-winner Hans Zimmer.

    For leading actor Diogo Morgado, conducting a little research prepared him for his role as Jesus.

    The 6’2, Portugal-native portrayed Jesus once before in The History Channel’s Emmy nominated miniseries The Bible. As a Christian, Morgado’s new cameo gave him the opportunity to learn even more about his faith just by observing his surroundings.

    While visiting the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Morgado told Good Morning America Wednesday that he encountered an experience that put everything into perspective.

    He expressed how his portrayal of the Biblical leader inspires him to educate people, but especially children:

    I saw this father and a young kid, they were praying. And I stood for like two hours there. By the time I left, they were still praying and I realized whatever I was about to do would be connectinore with that kid than his father. We live in a visual world now. Kids can learn a lot by seeing things rather than reading it. So I really understood the responsibility…

    There’s a lot of people out there. A lot of kids, especially. They don’t know who exactly Jesus was. So, this is actually a tool that can teach these kids about why Jesus was who he was and why the Bible was the most important book.

    Well, one character that will be standing on the sidelines this time around is Satan.

    Film producer Roma Downey made sure to edit out any scenes involving the villain due to negative feedback regarding the appearance of Satan in The Bible, which critics said uncannily resembled President Barack Obama.

    Below is a Fox News coverage about the controversy: 

    Downey and her husband, who were also executive producers of the miniseries, decided to cut actor Mehdi Ouzaani from the 2013 TV special. In response to the controversy, they also released statements asserting that the Moroccan actor “previously played parts in several Biblical epics — including satanic characters long before Barack Obama was elected as our president.”

    Now, with another chance to redeem their filmmaking reputation, yanking Satan out of the equation may be the way to go (cough, cough).

    “It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting-room floor,” Downey told The Hollywood Reporter. “This is now a movie about Jesus, the son of God, and the devil gets no more screen time.”

    Well, I think that The Passion of the Christ will always be one of the most superb Christian films about Jesus. Therefore, I may just pass on this one UNLESS reviews direct me otherwise.

    However, the film Noah, which will recreate one of the Bible’s most catastrophic events, seems very interesting. Honestly, why would you not want to see a big wooden boat fight against a colossal rainfall as God wipes out the earth with a flood?

    What are your thoughts? Do you think that the portrayal of Jesus will be the same without his foe being in the mix?

    Here is the trailer to Son of God:

    Image via YouTube