Newsbites: Moses! David! Cabrini! Clarence!
Newsbites: Moses! David! Cabrini! Clarence!
A trailer, a production rumour, a corporate-synergy tie-in, and a couple of interviews.
Just a few quick updates here about some films I’ve written about before.
Netflix releases a trailer for its Moses docuseries
Netflix has released a trailer for Testament: The Story of Moses, a three-part docuseries that is coming to the streaming service on March 27. Behold:
When I first mentioned this series two weeks ago, I noted that it was being made by a Turkish production company—and because Turkey is a mostly Muslim country, I wondered if the series would give us a distinctly Muslim take on the Moses story. But based on this trailer, I think it’s safe to say that the series will be more secular and/or ecumenical in tone. We’ll know for sure in just a few weeks.
House of David to start shooting in May?
The Cinemaholic says House of David, the Old Testament series being produced by Jon Erwin for Amazon Prime, is going to start filming in Greece in May.
No source is cited for this information, but the “in May” part agrees with what I’ve been hearing from multiple sources ever since the project was announced in January.
The “in Greece” part is new to me, though—and it’s interesting, if true. Most recent Bible films and TV shows that I can think of have been filmed in places like Italy, Spain, Morocco, Malta, even South Africa.1 I do know that Peter and Paul, a TV-movie starring Anthony Hopkins as Paul, was filmed in Greece—but that was over 40 years ago, and in any case, part of it actually takes place in ancient Greece!
Bible-themed movies and TV shows like Noah and The Chosen have been doing pretty well on Netflix etc., so I’ve been wondering for a while if any of the streaming platforms would start making their own biblical content. Between House of David and the Netflix Moses series (if it counts; it does seem to be more of a documentary than a drama, after all), it would seem we finally have an answer to that question.
Erwin, of course, co-directed Jesus Revolution and I Can Only Imagine, and he is one of the co-founders of Kingdom Story, the company behind Ordinary Angels, etc.
Angel Studios promotes Cabrini on Tuttle Twins
Now here’s a bit of corporate synergy that I don’t recall seeing in the “faith-based” or faith-adjacent arena before: Angel Studios, to promote Cabrini—a biopic about a nun who became the first American citizen to be a canonized Catholic saint—released a special mini-episode of Tuttle Twins in which the title characters, a couple of kids who travel through time with their grandmother, meet the nun in question.
Cabrini opens in theatres today. Tuttle Twins—a series that teaches libertarian lessons about politics and economics, etc.—will launch its third season in May.
The Book of Clarence — more interviews as the Blu-ray approaches
The Book of Clarence came to North American theatres almost two months ago, and it’s been available for digital rent or purchase for a while, but new interviews with the people who made the film keep trickling out. Here are two recent items:
First, make-up artist Matiki Anoff (previously highlighted here) spoke to Awards Radar:
Can you tell us about the process of designing Mary Magdalene’s looks for the film, including when she was stoned and dripping with blood?
Matiki Anoff: Mary Magdalene had a specific character arch that needed to be explored visually. Her character transforms from a high-spirited rebel to a demure follower of Christ, and her makeup transformation is needed to exemplify that arch. I designed a stronger, tougher appearance for her earlier scenes, then stripped down her look for a softer, ethereal makeup look after the stoning. Jeymes and I agreed on the specific amount of blood for the stoning scene.
Side note: It’s kind of fascinating how the interviewer also asks Anoff about the film’s “accurate” depiction of “biblical history” while simultaneously asking her about the film’s “authentic” representation of the characters’ “African heritage”. Historically, most if not all of these characters were Palestinian Jews, not African!
Meanwhile, hair stylist Siân Richards spoke to Essence:
“Clarence had two different wigs,” hair stylist Siân Richards tells ESSENCE. “The first was his ‘ragamuffin’ wig and the inspiration for that wig came from [the director] Jeymes’ own hair.” Stanfield’s first wig, which resembled the director’s afro, defined the introduction of his character, Clarence, hustling to make ends meet.
“The second wig was Clarence’s moneyed-up look,” Richards says. “By this time he made some cash, went to the beauty parlor and got his hair cleaned and styled, so it was the same style but sharper and bejeweled with golden lock clips that I stuck real lapis lazuli on to.” Referencing Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Tutankhamun, Aladdin, and Jesus Christ himself, Richards styled Stanfield’s wig with 14 lapis crystals as a “subliminal representation of the 14 stations of the cross,” she says. This is fitting (spoiler alert), considering he carries the cross and is crucified in this hair style.
Additionally, Stanfield plays Clarence’s twin brother, Thomas, as well. “Jeymes suggested an afro, but I also wanted to address a different type of texture because LaKeith and I worked to make Thomas a slightly lighter skin tone with lighter eyes than Clarence,” she says, addressing colorism through both characters. “Once we got LaKeith’s head shape, I passed that to the wig maker and we started the process of making those three wigs.”
Finally, as noted above, The Book of Clarence is already available digitally, but if physical media is more your thing, the film is coming to DVD and Blu-ray on March 26.
Previous videos for The Book of Clarence:
The teaser trailer (August 29, 2023)
The BFI London Film Festival world premiere interviews (October 13, 2023)
The official trailer, the ‘Behind the Scenes’ featurette, and the ‘Hallelujah Heaven’ lyric video (November 28, 2023)
The ‘Hallelujah Heaven’ music video and the ‘Defy’ TV spot (December 22, 2023)
The ten-minute ‘Extended Preview’ clip (February 7, 2024)
The ‘Light Bulb Moment’ clip (February 22, 2024)
Other previous posts on The Book of Clarence:
‘Jeymes Samuel and LaKeith Stanfield are going to make a Bible movie’ (May 16, 2022)
‘The Book of Clarence gets a production company and a new co-star’ (October 22, 2022)
‘Pins and Needles (formerly The Book of Clarence) now filming in Italy’ (November 25, 2022)
‘The Book of Clarence: a lot of new actors, and a few new plot details’ (December 6, 2022)
‘The Book of Clarence gets a release date’ (March 4, 2023)
‘The Book of Clarence gets a test screening’ (June 5, 2023)
‘The Book of Clarence is now coming out in January’ (August 16, 2023)
‘October release-date news: The Book of Clarence gets a world premiere, Taylor Swift scares off Angels and demons’ (September 2, 2023)
‘The Book of Clarence — the world premiere round-up!’ (October 13, 2023)
‘Talking about The Book of Clarence’ (November 3, 2023)
‘The Book of Clarence gets new posters, sneak-peeks in Atlanta’ (December 19, 2023)
‘The Book of Clarence round-up: A few last soundbites and interviews’ (January 11, 2024)
‘Box office: Mean Girls breaks a record, The Book of Clarence barely cracks the top ten’ (January 15, 2024)
‘The Book of Clarence round-up: International release date news, and a few new interviews’ (January 22, 2024)
Just off the top of my head: Italy: The Passion of the Christ, Ben-Hur, The Book of Clarence, and many, many others. Spain: Exodus: Gods and Kings, Journey to Bethlehem. Morocco: The Bible, A.D. The Bible Continues, Killing Jesus, and many, many others. Malta: Risen, Paul Apostle of Christ. South Africa: Of Kings and Prophets, Samson, the first two Visual Bible movies.