Christian outrage as Basic Instinct director plans film of Jesus being the child of Roman soldier who raped Virgin Mary
Dutch director Paul Verhoeven will direct the project
The film will be based on Verhoeven’s 2010 book Jesus of Nazareth which discounts the events commonly attributed to the life of Christ
News has sparked accusations that the filmmaker is attacking Christianity
Controversial: The film will be directed by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven
The script has not even been written yet, but a film disputing the immaculate conception of Jesus is already causing controversy.
Paul Verhoeven, who worked on the 1992 film Basic Instinct, will direct the film which will suggest that Jesus is not the son of God and instead he was conceived after his mother Mary was raped by a Roman soldier.
The film will be based on Verhoeven’s 2010 book, Jesus of Nazareth, which discounts the events commonly attributed to the life of Christ.
Academy Award-winning Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary is reported to be adapting the book into a screenplay.
The news has sparked accusations that the filmmaker is launching an attack on Christianity.
‘Hollywood isn’t anti-Christian, we are constantly told,’ Dan Gainor of the Culture and Media Institute told RadarOnline.
‘Yet the evidence keeps piling up that it is precisely that way.’
‘This isn’t accidental. Christians and Christian faith have been under decades of attack by hedonist Hollywood that is desperate to rationalize a culture of immorality,’ claimed Mr Gainor.
The project has only been announced this month and the cast has not been revealed so a representative for Verhoeven told RadarOnline that any reaction is premature.
‘There is as yet no script on the subject, and until there is, there’s nothing to discuss.
Disputed: Passion Of The Christ (2004) is one of the most recent controversial films about Jesus. Starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, some critics claimed that the extreme violence in the movie ‘obscures its message’
Criticised: Monty Python’s Life of Brian contained themes of religious satire that were controversial. Left to right: Michael Palin, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
‘It will be at least six months before we have a script,’ the director’s spokesperson revealed to the website.
Verhoeven, whose most recent project was 2006’s Black Book, told Deadline last year that he respects what Jesus stands for.
‘If you look at the man, it’s clear you have a person who was completely innovative in the field of ethics,’ said Verhoeven.
‘My own passion for Jesus came when I started to realize that. It’s not about miracles, it’s about a new set of ethics, an openness towards the world, which was anathema in a Roman-dominated world.
‘Jesus’ ideals are about the utopia of human behavior, about how we should treat each other, how we should step into the shoes of our enemy,’ he told the website.
The movie is one of several on the horizon based on Biblical figures, with Darren Aronofsky currently considering a story about Noah’s ark, and Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg reported to be considering adaptations of the life of Moses.
There have been several films about Jesus’ life which have caused controversy in the past.
In 1979, Monty Python’s Life of Brian drew accusations of blasphemy and protests from some religious groups.
Background: Paul Verhoeven, directed Basic Instinct (1992) starring Sharon Stone
The film contains themes of religious satire that were controversial at the time of its release.
It tells the story of Brian Cohen – played by Graham Chapman- a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.
Thirty-nine local authorities in the UK either imposed an outright ban, or imposed a high age certificate.
Another film which came in for criticism was the 1988 film The Last Temptation Of Christ.
Directed by Martin Scorsese and shot in Morocco, it stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus and depicts him being tempted by imagining himself engaged in sexual activities, an idea that has caused outrage from some Christians.
The movie includes a disclaimer explaining that it departs from the widely-accepted Biblical portrayal of Jesus’ life, and that it is not based on the Gospels.
Mel Gibson’s The Passion Of The Christ (2004) is one of the most recent controversial films.
Starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, it covers the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life.
Some critics claimed that the extreme violence in the movie ‘obscures its message’, while some Catholics questioned the authenticity of the non-biblical material the film claimed to have drawn upon.
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