Exodus: Hollywood Needs Sunday School

Just weeks ago, The Hollywood Reporter ran a story detailing concerns over Exodus in the wake of controversial comments by actor Christian Bale in which he characterized Moses as both “barbaric” and “schizophrenic.” Today, the other shoe has dropped as The Hollywood Reporter has a new story featured on The Drudge Report detailing two additional points of significant concern – Director Ridley Scott reveals that the voice of God is played by a young boy and a consultant to the film admits “they went off the biblical text” in making Exodus.

“Each new detail on Exodus diminishes our hopes that the film will resonate with faith and secular audiences alike. Consumers don’t object to filmmakers taking artistic license – they expect that – but they strongly object to deviations that fundamentally undercut the core biblical story and message. Using the voice of a child for God the Father is a primary example, it will likely offend millions around the world. It’s gross miscasting, the biblical equivalent of choosing an old woman to play Harry Potter. Fans would say, ‘Harry Potter is a young boy, why did you make that choice? I’m gonna sit this one out.’ Our research indicates Exodus is no different,” said Chris Stone, Founder of Faith Driven Consumer and Certified Brand Strategist.  

“The admission that Exodus strays from the biblical text, claiming that the Bible is ‘very terse’ affords another such example. Any casual reader of the Scriptures understands clearly that there is a great level of detail about this story. It’s not difficult to get the basic elements right. Key elements of a story matter, just as its fundamental message matters.

“From available media accounts, and what we are being told privately from insiders, Exodus is on track to be the next Noah. If that is true, it’s unfortunate for the audience, the investors and the studio. Just like Darren Aronofsky and his take on Noah, few but Ridley Scott will get what they want with Exodus. The film’s likely performance will leave millions on the table because it is neither true to the letter and spirit of the text.”

Christian Bale will play the role of Moses in ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’; Photo Courtesy of Google Images.

Please note two distinct sets of data below. The first set measures the opinions of Christians in the United States, approximately 77% of the adult population, as well as the entire U.S. population. The second data set measures the opinions of Faith Driven Consumers, a distinct subset of the overall Christian market, which comprises 17% of the adult population. This data also includes the views of the overall Christian market, but lead with the Faith Driven Consumer data.

The data on Exodus, never fully released until now, comes from a previous American Insights survey for Christian News Service/NICAEA, which was conducted May 1-8, 2014 on a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adults in the United States.

U.S. Adult and U.S. Christian Market on Exodus:

• 74% of all Adults would be likely (36% very likely) to see Exodus if it accurately portrays the biblical account of Moses leading the Jewish people out of captivity. However, 68% of all adults would be unlikely (46% very unlikely) to see Exodus if it does not accurately portray the Bible.
• 80% of Christians would be likely (41% very likely) to see Exodus if it accurately portrays the biblical account. However, 69% of Christians overall would be unlikely (47% very unlikely) to see Exodus if it does not accurately portray the Bible.
• 84% of Protestants overall would be likely to see an accurate Exodus, while 70% would be unlikely to see an inaccurate depiction.
• 75% of Catholics overall would be likely to see an accurate Exodus, while 67% would be unlikely to see an inaccurate version of the story.
• 84% of people for whom religion is extremely important would be likely to see an accurate Exodus, while 74% would be unlikely to see the film if it does not accurately portray the biblical story.