I remember Darren Aronofsky discussing his idea of creating a film based on Noah, the ark, and the flood, but I had no idea he was so serious about doing it, so I shrugged it off as just an idea that would never become much more than that. That is until I read Peter’s interview with Aronofsky over at /Film:

“Noah was the first person to plant vineyards and drink wine and get drunk. It’s there in the Bible – it was one of the first things he did when he reached land. There was some real survivor’s guilt going on there. He’s a dark, complicated character. The tragedies we perform on each other are so well reported. Quite clearly, the planet is dying, and we are dying on it. … We have an amazing screenplay… It’s a great script and it’s HUGE. And we’re starting to feel out talent. And then we’ll probably try and set it up. … It’s the end of the world and it’s the second most famous ship after the Titanic. So I’m not sure why any studio won’t want to make it. … I think it’s really timely because it’s about environmental apocalypse which is the biggest theme, for me, right now for what’s going on on this planet. So I think it’s got these big, big themes that connect with us. Noah was the first environmentalist. He’s a really interesting character. Hopefully they’ll let me make it.”

This really got me thinking. With someone as unique and insanely talented as Aronofsky behind the camera, this thing could be massive and spectacular and frighteningly relatable. With three major acts – before the flood, during the flood, and after the flood – this could make for a great epic character study.

While their views on the story may not be identical, the story of Noah is one that is embraced by three of the world’s major religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. On one hand, this means Aronofsky could offend over half of the world. On the other hand, it is possible he could craft a film that not only followers of each religion would embrace, but one that anyone else could enjoy too, simply as a mythological story of a severely troubled and guilt-ridden, but good-hearted man and his wife, his three sons, and how they deal with being some of the few survivors of the end of the world.

Like I said, there is some great mythology surrounding this as well. The time before the flood was supposed to be a time of great wickedness, a time when people lived nearly one-thousand years, a time when giants roamed the earth, when there was no such thing as clouds or rain. Some believe that before the flood, as many as 500 million people inhabited the earth (which makes sense if they lived almost one thousand years). I just think this could make for a fascinating character study with an epic magnitude.

So, Darren, if you read this, this is my plea: get this thing made!