Chariots of Fire! Ben-Hur Remake in the Works

"Ben-Hur" is going to be remade by MGM studios, with sources telling Deadline that the focus of the storyline will feature more heavily on Jesus Christ.

The 1959 movie, based on the Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, won 11 Oscars and is considered one of the most successful Christian movies ever made. The 1880 Lew Wallace novel Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ outsold every book but The Bible until it was eclipsed by Gone With The Wind.  The story focuses on the Jewish prince Ben-Hur who is forced to live for many years as a Roman slave, before he rises to power and meets Christ, witnessing a number of miracles along the way. The planned remake will reportedly be more faithful to Wallace's novel and focus more on Jesus' life, while at the same time interjecting Ben-Hur's account.

Deadline reported that MGM has emerged from bankruptcy following the massive success of the 2012 James Bond movie "Skyfall" and the "Lord of the Rings" prequel "The Hobbit," both of which have made around $1 billion worldwide in terms of box office success. This has provided the ability for MGM to buy the "Ben-Hur" script from screenwriter Keith Clarke.

Sean Daniel and Joni Levin have been chosen as the producers for the remake. Levin has been behind a number of big Hollywood projects, including the "Mummy" franchise.

"It's one of the great stories of friendship and betrayal, and faith, that works in the context of a big onscreen action thriller for a global audience," Daniel has said of Wallace's novel.

No release date has yet been set for the project, and producers will only now begin to look at casting choices.

Movie fans are preparing for a number of major biblical movies that will be hitting the big screen in the next few years, with Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" starring Russel Crowe, "Pontius Pilate" starring Brad Pitt, and no less than two movies about Moses, directed by Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott respectively, all in the works.

Steven Spielberg to Direct Moses Epic?

Deadline is reporting that Steven Spielberg is near to etching in stone with Warner Bros on a movie portraying the Jewish leader as the warrior to beat all warriors. With a working title of "Gods And Kings," what’s envisioned is “a movie like a Braveheart-ish version of the Moses story,” an insider tells Deadline.  And despite the awesome screen possibilities of the parting of the Red Sea, the movie isn’t being contemplated in 3D.  In 1956, Paramount released "The Ten Commandments" in VistaVision to give moviegoers a more spectacular experience of scenes like that. But this film is as far from a remake of the Cecile B. DeMille-directed epic as you can get even though they cover similar ground. Instead Warner Bros wants Spielberg to direct it with the gritty reality of Saving Private Ryan, which is considered a masterpiece redefining battle movies. ”There have been glossy versions of the Moses story but this would be a real warrior story,” an insider tells Deadline.

The studio has wanted Spielberg on the project since last September when he first read the script. Talks intensified, and now insiders tell us the dialogue should consummate by the end of the month. Warner Bros wants to start production sometime in March or April of 2013.

Spielberg just finished directing "Lincoln" and is already working on Robopocalypse. Spielberg wants a big film next and this is it: "Ten Commandments" was one of the most profitable films of its era, grossing $65 million in 1956 — which in today’s dollars is equivalent to close to $1 Billion theatrical. Spielberg helmed another seminal Jewish movie, "Schindler’s List" which won seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.

Meanwhile this marks the second high-profile film Warner Bros is developing on a seminal Jewish hero. Mel Gibson and Joe Eszterhas are collaborating on their pitch to tell the story of Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee, who teamed with his father and four brothers to lead the Jewish revolt against the Greek-Syrian armies that had conquered Judea in the 2nd century B.C. Gibson has the first option to direct, and he will produce the film through his Icon Productions banner.

Ridley Scott Reveals Plans for Moses Film, Calls Religion 'Source of Evil'

Director Ridley Scott revealed that he is planning a movie about Moses, and shared that he is skeptical of religion, calling it "the biggest source of evil."

Previewing his latest movie, "Prometheus," a prequel to his 1979 sci-fi classic "Alien," Scott discussed religion in an interview with Esquire magazine, published online this week, as well as brief details about the Moses film. The director, who is also known for the films "Blade Runner" and "Gladiator," explained that he wants to take a unique, personal approach to the movie.

However, no details about the film have yet been announced, as it is not officially under production, and the director admitted that he wasn't supposed to talk about it yet.

"No, I've got something else in the works. I'm already doing it. It's called Moses," Scott responded to a question about possibly filming a movie about the Virgin Mary.

"Seriously, seriously. It's going to happen," he added, but remarked: "I probably shouldn't have let that slip out. I'm not supposed to say anything."

"It's definitely in the cards, though," he noted. "What's interesting to me about Moses isn't the big stuff that everybody knows. It's things like his relationship with Ramses [II, the pharaoh]. I honestly wasn't paying attention in school when I was told the story of Moses. Some of the details of his life are extraordinary," Scott said.

Earlier in the interview, Esquire commented on an "Old Testament" vibe in the movie "Prometheus," to which Scott replied, "Great. Then I've done my job."

"I'm really intrigued by those eternal questions of creation and belief and faith. I don't care who you are, it's what we all think about. It's in the back of all our minds," the director added.

When asked about a scene from the "Prometheus" that tests how much one can hold on to faith in bad times, the director projected his skepticism concerning religions.

"I do despair. That's a heavy word, but picking up a newspaper every day, how can you not despair at what's happening in the world, and how we're represented as human beings? The disappointments and corruption are dismaying at every level. And the biggest source of evil is of course religion," Scott said.

"Everyone is tearing each other apart in the name of their personal god. And the irony is, by definition, they're probably worshiping the same god," he added.

A potential Ridley Scott Moses film would only add to a line-up of big-budget Hollywood biblical epics that are rumored to be on the way. Steven Spielberg will be coming out with his own Moses movie, although that one is said to be bigger in scale and focus on the wider Old Testament story. Darren Aronofsky, who directed "The Fountain," "The Wrestler" and "Black Swan," is planning, on the other hand, a film on the story of Noah and the Great Flood.

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