The production of the Ben Hur movie is off to a great start ever since its lead actor, Rodrigo Santoro, who plays Jesus Christ, received a blessing from Pope Francis in Rome, Italy.
During a break from production, he and co-star and actress Nazanin Boniadi attended the Papal Audience and met the Pope in person. Both of them received a blessing from Pope Francis, and the touching moment was even captured in picture, the Hollywood Reporter shared.
The movie Ben Hur is based on the novel written by Lew Wallace - Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. It has been set for a February 26, 2016 release, which will also star Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman, Ayelet Zurer, and Sofia Black D'Elia. This will be the third film version of the novel, which was previously adapted for the big screen on 1925 and 1959.
It is all about the story of Judah Ben Hur, a Jew who has been falsely accused of treason by his dear Roman friend Messala, who just so happened to be an officer in the Roman army. He was forced into slavery while his mother and sister encountered difficulties of their own. However, Ben Hur's spirit will not be quenched by slavery and he slowly rises up from the ranks. After saving an important person during a terrifying accident, his fate is forever change and he seeks redemption for past wrongs.
The movie is produced by Mark Burnett, Sean Daniel, Joni Levin, and Duncan Henderson while Timur Bekmambetov directed it. Keith Clarke and John Ridley wrote the script and also served as executive producers alongside Roma Downey and Jason Brown.
Despite the blessing, the film did encounter some setbacks. Apparently, Rome's ancient chariot racing stadium Circus Maximus has refused entry for the cast and crew of the movie, and Italy's Minister of Culture is not happy about the thought of renting out the historical site.
As a result, the Ben Hur remake has decided to shoot the iconic chariot scene at Dino Studios at Cinecitta.
It was also there that the original film shot their chariot scene back in 1957. The movie starred Charlton Heston and given the technology back then, it took the entire crew to film the nine-minute chariot race scene a whopping three months. All the hard work has paid off though since it is considered by many as one of cinema's most iconic sequences.
